#thinking about ppl i used to be friends with

[djpachipikachu]

Hey! You draw so beautifully! Do you think you can give me some tips for anatomy and sketching?

AW stop thank you so much ur so nice !!! and id love to :]

ive done a big post about some anatomy tips that you can check out here

but it is definitely a little old so here are more tips on anatomy !

i think my most utilized piece of advice for my own sketches is adding guidelines similar to the ones ppl usually add for the face to show where the body is facing? as an example here, i use a curved guide line to show how cj's body twists and tilts to build up a form , as well as lines for his legs and arms just to know where theyre facing

along with that CURVED LINES ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND !!! every part of the body is a glorified cylinder stacked on top of cylinders ! a lot of what helps make a body believable is that there Is some perspective used to show the dimensions even if there isnt any visible background

feet are also smth i see people struggle with and i dont Reallt know how to explain how i draw them but i usually draw a triangle with a half circle in front to mark where the toes are.,., make sure to include the arch of the foot and such..,,. make sure that the back of the heel pushes out a little further than where the leg connects....

this other small tip is about some of my favorite muscles to draw bc idk theyre fun LMAO but its about the deltoid and this other mass of muscle that control the neck

the deltoid is that triangle thats at the top of the arm and part of the shoulder ! adding some small lines that overlap into the arm and show the creases of the skin where the deltoid is placed helps add more solid form into the body :] and just drawing that sloped line of the neck muscles (green part) helps to connect the arm to the neck a littl more believably than if you just drew a straight line from the arm to the neck

HOWEVER LIKE . thats a stylization choice and also a matter of body type since im more used to drawing filled out muscular/fat body types, im not very experienced in bonier kinda bodies !

as for sketching advice ummm ..,. although i usually try to make a sketch as clean as possible first try , dont be afraid to have like a Super rough gesture type of sketch/thumbnail sketch just to get the movement and emotion down as best you can before refining it ! trying to make it accurate and detailed and shit on the get go can cause it to feel rly stiff , so get the Entire pose or comp down quickly in maybe 10-20min or less to just capture the motions before going over it again in a cleaner sketch ?

i tend to have the issue of forgetting to just capture everything first before getting into details so thats something i gotta remind mtself a lot LMAO here are some messy sketches i have where i just wanted to get shit down above all else

i also try to use as little lines as possible and get the vibe right in one brush stroke type of feel , no small chicken scratch/hairy lookin lines , which is mainly bc im aiming to be a storyboard artist and also bc i want to be able to post my sketches without needing to clean them up LMAO the only times i do a second sketch is for bigger pieces usually

another example of rly rough jotting down before cleaning it up

last bit of advice is using pen to do traditional sketches thank you and goodnight blows kisses

[finnbbl]

Game Of Love - Hwang Hyunjin SMAU

Chapter 11

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Masterlist

Warnings: Swearing, anxiety, Hyunjin loses his temper (wow what a surprise !!)

A/N: I love seeing you all write your conspiracies in the comments, it makes me to happy to see ppl intrigued in my story 👀 Written below the screenshots !!

You walked into your first shift feeling somewhat excited. Art had been one of your favorite hobbies for the longest. But as you endured your hardships during high-school, it was something that didn’t seem to bring light into your life anymore. Painting had been the one thing you missed the most, though. The way the bristles of the brush glided against the canvas was a long gone, yet euphoric feeling. Something about watching the trail of paint that followed the brush was relaxing. It was a stress reliever for you, and something that you’d wish to experience again. Preferably soon. On top of that, you’d not always been independent. Throughout your life, as your parents grew more and more absent, that was the time you had to learn how to live on your own. Not only did it cause more stress, but it left no time for your stress relieving hobby. Although it wasn’t a young age, it was still challenging as you were previously left to rely on people for your whole life. Nowadays, being independent was something you still struggled with, but when you did it you could feel a small flame ignite inside you. Another feeling that you missed often, but enjoyed. Hopefully, this job could help fuel that.

As your shift continued, you couldn’t help but feel excited. Not only because you were back in a place that used to bring you so much happiness, but also because of Seungmin. Thinking back to his messages left your heart to flutter. The clock grew nearer and nearer, and you couldn’t help but eagerly wait for 4:00 P.M. to hit. Except, all that excitement crashed down the moment the door opened. You looked up as the bell chimed to see none other than Hwang Hyunjin. A feeling of uneasiness and slight anxiety immediately sparked inside of you. This was something that several people had warned you about. Hell, you should’ve expected it yourself. Both yours and Hyunjin’s passion for art was something that was strong, it was something you shared. Well, used to share.. It’s not like you doubted Jeongin’s words, you had expected to run into him. But not this soon, you hadn’t mentally prepared yourself for this yet.

You could feel your chest tighten as your eyes scanned his figure, he hadn’t noticed you yet. Was it too late to book it out the back? But then you’d be risking your job. Your job that you desperately needed. With a deep breath, you spoke and decided to treat him like any other customer. “Can I help you find anything.” Hyunjin’s moves came to a sudden hault. You could’ve swore you saw his grip tighten around nothing, his knuckles growing white. His eyes made contact with yours. There was something about his gaze, his piercing gaze that shot chills down your spine. The fake smile you had plastered on didn’t last long. It soon faded as you fidgeted with the keychain that dangled from your belt loop behind the counter. Your body was now filled with anxiety. Thankfully, the door opening tore both of your eyes away from each other. Your eyes trail back to the door where Felix had just followed in. ‘Thank god.’ was all you could think.

“Oh hey Y/N!” The blonde greeted you, earning a glare from the taller male that stood next to him. However, it had gone ignored. With a subtle swallow, you greeted back. “Hey Felix. Did you need help finding anything?” But before Felix could answer, a certain someone had beat him to it. “We’re fine, thanks.” Your body tensed up at Hyunjin’s harsh tone. It was the first time he’d talked directly to you, and not spat insults over text. Hyunjin quickly made his way behind a shelf to avoid having to see you, dragging his friend with him. That of who shot you a sympathetic look. As they disappeared out of sight briefly, you exhaled a sigh of relief glancing back at the clock. Ten minutes was going to end up feeling like an eternity. Anxiously as time passed, your fingers tapped against the glass shelf by the checkout counter. Although he was still in the store, he was out of sight. That alone managed to ease your nerves a bit. It was until you heard that harsh tone, once again. “Where are the oil paints?” Glancing up, your eyes met once again with Hyunjin’s. It briefly took you back to high-school. You remember looking into his eyes and seeing nothing but a soft look. One filled with safeness, you saw love and affection in his eyes.

However, all you could see now was pure hatred. You weren’t sure why, but your heart ached a little at that thought. Eventually, you mustered up the courage to respond. “Uhm, depends what brand.” His eyes narrowed,

“What?”

“It.. depends what brand. They’re on the shelf over there.” You gestured. “But.. If you’re wanting a more high end brand then I’ll have to grab it from the back..” The words softly and cautiously fell through your teeth. You’d not had a physical conversation with Hyunjin in years. Surprisingly to you, his voice was the same. It hadn’t changed, and the more you observed about him the more pain you felt in your heart.

You two were so good together, why did things have to end up this way?

“So?” He spat out harshly. You were left utterly confused with his question, still keeping your guard up. “So… what?” You retaliated back at him, except you kept a nicer tone. You made a point to not piss him off more. He crossed his arms, “You know what brand I use, or did our relationship just mean that little to you.” That specific statement left both you and Felix frozen, along with a thick tension in the air. You inhaled shakily, there was no way he was doing this right now; right? After all these years? “You know what, let’s go Hyunjin-“

“It’s okay Felix.” Turning to the blonde who had now haulted his attempt to drag Hyunjin away before he could make it any worse. Slowly, you watched his grip loosen and soon release from Hyunjin’s arm who meanwhile, was stiff and filled with hatred. Your head turned back to Hyunjin. “To put it simply, I made a point to forget everything about us after we broke up. It wasn’t worth remembering.” Truthfully, that was not the case. You still knew and remembered every little detail about him, whether you wanted it or not. His favorite brand, his favorite color and food. You even remembered the name of the cologne he used. In fact, you could smell it. It was like he planted a seed with his DNA in your heart. It was an unshakeable and painful feeling. Even so, you stood your ground and watched as his face grew red. Out of anger or embarrassment? You’d never know.

You kept a firm ground, your eyes glaring back into his. Hyunjins eyes glanced back and forth between you, and the shelf that held the oil paints which he had some how overlooked. Likely due to the anger he could feel when he heard your voice. And as if it couldn’t have been better timing, the door opened once again. You quickly looked away, finding any excuse to break eye contact. This time, it was Seungmin who walked in, and you couldn’t help but let a smile creep onto your face. “Hey, Seungmin.” You stepped out from behind the counter, making your way over blissfully unaware that Hyunjin’s eyes had followed you. “I thought we were going out after my shift?”

‘Going out?’ Hyunjin thought. His eye twitched at the thought of one of his childhood friends and his ex dating. Anger began to boil inside him. You surely hadn’t meant anything romantic by the term ‘going out’ right? Then again, why should he care? Maybe because it felt like a stab in the back. Not from you, but from Seungmin. Someone he had put all his trust into for years. Felix immediately recognized the problem and tension at hand, “Let’s go Hyunjin, we’ll come back later.” He muttered quietly, successfully dragging him out of the store this time, leaving you and Seungmin alone. Except you were completely unaware that a new problem had been created.

Felix had decided to take him next door to the cafe they both worked at, sitting him down at a table in the corner which was somewhat tucked away. Hyunjin was mad, irritated, livid. He was pissed, and it showed. “Fucking bastard.” The words fell from his mouth as he ran his fingers to the middle of his scalp, tucking his head away as he acquired a tight grip on the strands of his hair. It wasn’t long before the shorter male noticed his knuckles turning white. “That’s not healthy Hyunjin, quit it.” With felix’s words and the way his hands grabbed onto Hyunjin, he was able to pry his fingers away from his hair. “Remember what your therapist said-“

“Felix I don’t give a fuck what the therapist said.” He snapped, head now tucked in his hands. Luckily, Hyunjin was quiet, but that didn’t erase the sharpness in his tone. “I don’t fucking go there anymore so it really doesn’t matter.”

“Okay well you need to.” His tone was now sharp as well. The black haired male raised his head to glare at his friend. “Not you too, that shits fucking stupid.” He leaned back in the chair as he crossed his arms. He was going through so much and all anyone cared about was sending him back to therapy? He scoffed at the thought. Felix couldn’t help but sigh at Hyunjin’s behavior. Despite how frustrated he was, he kept his composure. “It’s not stupid, Hyunjin. There’s a reason you went in the first place and-“

“Okay well drop it! I’m not going back and you can’t force me!” His voice grew louder as he raised out of his seat, now attracting attention despite being tucked away at a corner table. Except all Felix could do was stare up at him, unable to care about the stares they may be receiving. His face showed nothing but pure irritation towards him. Hyunjin then happened to catch a glance outside the cafe window. There you and Seungmin were. Hands interlocked as he leaned over to whisper something in your ear. All he could do was sit and watch at how you giggled at whatever he whispered to you. That did it for him, pushing the chair over and storming off to what Felix could only assume to be the break room despite not being on the clock. His eyes shut at the racket of the chair hitting the floor. The blonde took a deep breath before standing up to pick it up. He glanced up at one of his co workers, apologizing for the noise before going behind the counter himself after Hyunjin.

Meanwhile, you and Seungmin were unaware of the conflict. Well, Seungmin was to an extent.. “Seriously Seungmin, I appreciate the gesture but you didn’t have to pick me up from work.” Seungmin’s lips curved into a smile before parting, giving you a glimpse of his perfect teeth. His fingers finding their way in between yours. “It was nothing, seriously. Besides..” He trailed off before leaning down to whisper in your ear. “More time with you.” His breath was warm, despite the somewhat cold fall air nipping at your skin. Heat rose to your cheeks and you couldn’t help but giggle. “Well then, glad to know I’m fun to be around.” Your eyes briefly looked up before looking back down. A breath of air escaped from your lips as a thought crossed your mind. Your smile turning into a purse of your lips. It was a comfortable silence of you lost in thought, and Seungmin successfully managing to take in every single one of your features without being noticed.

“What you thinking about? Seems like you’re lost in thought..” He said as he started to lead you by one hand along the sidewalk. Your eyes looked up to meet his as you walked. There was a question that was unanswered to you. Yet, it was one that could possibly backfire against you, or you receiving an answer you didn’t want. Eventually, you found the will to ask. “Where do you think this is leading..” Seungmin stopped and you did the same as you came to a cross walk. The screen signaling for you to wait. His eyes narrowed in confusion. “Where is what leading?” Seungmin’s body turned to face yours. “I mean.. us? This..” You trailed off as you gestured to your interlocked hands, earning a chuckle from him. “Well…”

He started and took a brief pause before continuing. Yet this brief paused seemed to last for hours. Part of you wanted to be more with him, to put a label on you guys. But another part of you felt differently.. Before you could decipher what that feeling was, he gave you your answer. “Whatever you want us to be..” His head tilted as he looked down at you. A smile tugged at both of your lips simultaneously. Unfortunately, the moment was then ruined by the screen changing, letting pedestrians know it was their turn to walk.

As the evening continued, that conversation and his confusing(?) answer was pushed to the back of your mind. What did you want? Hell you didn’t even know yourself. Every relationship since Hyunjin had done nothing but damage you internally. You swore when you were with Hyunjin that there would be no one better than him. Did you want to risk heartbreak again, or worse? Better question, why was your guys relationship still on your mind. You should’ve been over him a long time ago, in your eyes. All these questions raced through your mind as the night came to a close, and Seungmin walking you from his car to your doorstep. Before you could reach for the handle, he stopped you. “So.. you never gave me an answer.” He said in a somewhat serious tone. “What do you mean?” You cocked your head to the side. He smiled before softly asking the question you knew was coming.

“What do you want us to be?”

You froze, looking up at him. “I wasn’t aware you asked..” You teased as he chuckled, running a hand through his hair. His brown eyes still visible even with the shadow casted from his hair. You observed them, they were filled with a look of safety, affection, and something else you couldn’t quite decipher yet. Whether it was the heat of the moment, or maybe you had internally decided an answer, next thing you knew you leaned up. Briefly, you pressed your lips to his. And as you pulled back, you noticed a look of what seemed to be uncertainty in his eyes. You then questioned if it was a mistake. Anxiety ran through your veins. Did you fuck up?? But even with these doubts racing through your head, you questioned him. “Does that answer your question?” A smile falling upon both your faces as he chuckled. “I think it does.”

Now, it was his turn to initiate. Seungmin’s lips found their way back to yours. His hands gently grabbing your waist to pull you a bit closer. His touch was gentle, welcoming. So welcoming your arms snaked up around his neck. He tilted his head as he deepened the kiss. You only had to have been there for about 30 seconds but it felt so much shorter. As he pulled back, you had wished it lasted a bit longer. “Goodnight, yn.” He hesitated but let his arms return back to his side, you doing the same. As you parted ways, bid your goodnights and headed upstairs to your room, you couldn’t help but think. It had only been two short months, but you felt a spark with Seungmin. It was a different spark. A lot of different feelings crept their way into your heart with Seungmin, it was almost worrying. Almost…

Should it have been worrying? Maybe? But you couldn’t find it in yourself to care right now. For once you weren’t thinking about school, your parents, or even Hyunjin. You were distracted, and that’s all you cared about. All you could hope is for things to remain this way, if not blossom into something better. Something more

but we all don’t get what we want…

taglist: @rylea08 @estella-novella @gabriellamarie @elqivxstxr @4ln-stay8 @lostgirlinthewoodss @hwashua-luv @linavc @yaniluvs @ddroh @writtingrubberducky @vegetablesarefuntables @lixies-favorite-cookie @emilywjinnie

[bylerbean77]

EL HOPPER DESERVES BETTER!!

I love Byler sm but I also love El

Poor girl has gone through so much she deserves soooo much better than how mikes treating her

My girl has been in a LAB and got treated like an experiment. She had zero friends and got manipulated by the person she called her father.

She got bullied and it makes my heart ache that she went through all of that. She’s so sweet, funny, smart, pretty and just overall a great character.

I genuinely hate seeing her sad

She just wants someone to love her and I think that she craves platonic love most bc for the whole of her life she had Papa who she thought loved her. But he betrayed her and now she has hopper. I honestly don’t think she’s ready for a relationship/boyfriend right now and that she may need to work on herself and FIND herself again.

She definitely deserves someone to love her romanticly but I don’t think Mikes the one.

He treats her so bad and it pains me to see El upset.

Im not gonna bring Byler in but I definitely think El and Mike shouldn’t continue dating because it’s clear it’s hurting both of them.

Yes ppl can change but the damage as already been done.

El deserves someone who loves her and Mike deserves to love someone.

He clearly doesn’t Love El romantically and he’s kinda being forced to say a lie to someone who he cares about. He doesn’t want to hurt her but at the same time he can’t hurt her without her knowing that he doesn’t actually love her like that.

Mike needs to find someone (cough* cough* Will Byers) who he genuinely loves and gets along with.

He needs someone to Love but El isn’t that girl person

Mileven doesn’t work and is canonically making El upset and unsatisfied.

The chances Byler will happen in my opinion is risky bc the Duffer Brothers could queer bait us and yes there definitely are queer coded signs for mike, it could just be straight up queer bait.

But I’ll say this; Mileven will definitely break up because if they don’t then they’re promoting toxic relationships that don’t work to a wide age audience and I don’t think that’s their message.

[motelroomjesus]

whooo I finished ep 4 and 5 of The Heart Killers

I still don't like Kant, I'm warming up to Bison, still obsessed with FadelStyle, and I want Style carnally.

I'm also really interested in how they're using the music and soundtrack to emphasize the emotions of some scenes.

This post is about to be longer than my usual since it's covering two eps but anyway

Spoilers under the cut !

Me when I overanalyze my BL:

First and foremost, that pat down scene in ep 4 where Fadel maintained eye contact with Kant as he searched him... How do u put that there and expect ppl to not imagine things, Jojo..... 😫 Even the goofy music in the background couldn't dissuade me from thinking they should hate fuck ☝️ but anyway

It's very obvious that while Style isn't fully committed and his feelings for Fadel are just starting to bloom, he definitely wants that man. Atp where we are in ep 4 he's obviously lusting after that man (face economy, body tea). I mean he gave him, apparently, the best sex of his life in a grief meeting storage room. He let the man cut his little crop top off. The lust of it all is so real. But I think now, after the chase, after spending more time with him, especially after hearing how Fadel was asking where he was, he's pursuing Fadel with more sincere intentions and I think he truly wants to know Fadel more. And lord have mercy, that scene in the woods.

That scene in the abandoned warehouse in the woods, aside from the iconic "I don't like that I miss you", is when I first noticed the soundtrack specifically highlighting the emotions. Now, I know soundtracks are meant to do that but I think they're doing it in a really fun way IDK They put a lighthearted cute, and low-key hopeful, little tune over a heated make out and handjob. It felt like it reflected their emotions in that moment really well and how the audience is meant to see the scene. It's not just a hot and heavy make out session because yay official, it's an indicator of a turning page, especially for Fadel. It's a signal that he can get butterflies in his stomach too, even with his enormous walls and stoic mask (defense mechanism), and I'm sticking to that interpretation. I love u my emotionally and sexually repressed little hitman.

And then Kant came in and decided NOW is the perfect time to finally tell his friend that oh yeah ur new bf is a hitman. It's not even that part that actually annoyed me, it's the little quip when Style says gunman instead of hitman. Like I'll kill u with a gun Kant. 😭

I fear I may never truly warm up to him, he is so annoying to me. 😔

Okay so ep 5, I kind of warmed up to Bison. He's cute he's fun, he's totally ignoring his instincts about Kant even tho he knows better. He seems less than helpful in most scenarios though, but whatever

There were two scenes that caught my attention and they were obviously meant to:

1) Kant and Bison post coital cuddles

2) Style and Fadel's intimacy towards the end of the ep

I'm mostly talking about the music again and the intentional use (or absence) of it. During the KantBison scene, when Bison is being so gentle with his kisses and telling Kant tender words, the music reaches a subtle crescendo once Bison says he feels like his life is changing since he met Kant and the camera lands right in Kant's distressed face. It was a great way to signal that Kant is gonna face the music very soon. I found that fun and I had to rewind a couple times just to make sure I wasn't making it up in my head. Could just be a transition sound choice, but I'm reading into it.

The KantBison scene felt like a big contrast next to the FadelStyle scene to me. At this point I think they're both feeling more than they're letting on for each other. Fadel and Style's night is, mostly, quiet. There's no backtrack for the most part. Fadel is splayed out in the bed just watching Style take his shirt off, exposing himself more than Fadel, and caging Fadel in by crawling on top of him. Style is on top of him kissing him, doing what he wants to, and Fadel is letting him. Style is telling Fadel that he wants to be trusted, he wants more from Fadel and he's willing to wait for him to be ready. He means it. And I know there's the component of this all starting for some car and Style now being aware of the reality of the situation but I think that's the point. That's the point of doing this specific scene with the absence of a backtrack until Style starts getting actually frisky. When Style is saying all of this and kissing Fadel's scar, we only listen to his words, their breathing, and their kisses. It's bare bones, but that's the point. To bare it all.

Did I read into that too much? Maybe! but idgaaaaffff. I'm eating this shit up and having fun dissecting things that maybe don't need dissecting. :P

I think it's obvious I'm more invested in FadelStyle than KantBison.... zorry! They put me-targeted drugs in FadelStyle. It's not my fault. 🧍

[aithusarosekiller]

Because somebody made a possibly targetted post misconstruing something I said in a reply and bc feeling dumb is my worst fear...

here is why some people may think that the wwdits finale was mocking shippers even if it wasn't.

(This isn't me saying it's 100% true or that I believe it was done with malicious intent, I do think it is most likely a coincidence! It's just an explanation as to why some people may have had their guard up. Especially because everyone in the replies to that post saying the ppl who felt insulted were just fucking dumb and never watched the show felt mean when 1) you don't know them, 2) shows like this have conditioned us to expect it by now so it feels like a betrayal that this one is the same. As a wise man once said (in much better words), the writers presented us with a thing and different people will merge it with their own experiences and opinions differently so you can't perfectly predict the reaction you want to receive. That doesn't mean they're dumb or sensitive or weren't paying attention, they just interpreted the facts provided differently)

There are two points that were mentioned in the mentioned post that can be either entirely innocent or echo past malicious intent towards an audience depending on the person watching:

Point 1: Nadja's language towards the audience

The first thing people say when they read this is that the people who think it was an attack on the fans clearly have never paid attention to her which just isn't true. It's actually impossible to watch the show and not notice her disdain for humans and our feeble minds unless you're actively skipping every scene with her in it! Most people saying that the direct address felt like an insult adore her, at least I do. People know that she's Just Like That™️ and most people probably laughed along with it because it is so authentically her to say that after spending the whole season trying to understand human psychology (she tried her best y'all 😭). Nobody is disputing that and nobody is saying it's mean of her to say that. She laughs at humans all the time, it's not our girl Nadja that people are wary of! It's the possibility that she was being used as a mouthpiece at that moment for the writers.

The trend of doing this isn't new. Often writers will pick a character who is Just Like That™️ as a way to give their opinion on the audience without having to stand up and say it on a stage. It's in character so they can get away with it more easily. This may not have been what they were doing but it does echo past examples so it makes sense if people connected those dots in their minds. Here are two pretty well known examples of it:

If you are unfamiliar with Sherlock and in9 (which are both shows I love despite this) I'll clarify: in the first one, the likeable, no-nonsense detective is used by the writers by remaining in-character while voicing their opinions on their audience theorising and making shit up for fics, which they later doubled down on in interviews and shit. The fan-club making silly pathetic gay theories is meant to be laughed at because it's ridiculous and they obviously don't get it the way the writes do. The second one is about a show-runner/script writer who just wants to mind his business, he is talking to a stupid crazy fan who clearly doesn't understand the text and intention and he dies and that makes him nerdy and pathetic. Simon liking the fanfic his friend wrote is stupid and framed as an insult to his intelligence, he's a loser for wanting to engage with the series beyond just watching it. The fan later turns out to be a creepy stalker who predates on the writer btw...so...there's that.

Ofc not saying this is what wwdits were definitely doing, but it's a technique that's been utilised by shows before, especially those in which the writers and directors have said similar things in interviews to Simms, so it's not surprising that people read it this way, it actually makes perfect sense. You can't hate them for being wary, even if you think they're taking it too far!

Point 2: the timing of one of the laugh tracks in the Newhart ending

This point is less stable because it is just a replica of Newhart but I also see it used to make hurt people seem pathetic and dumb which isn't fair at all. People know that laugh tracks exist, they know they're used in sitcoms, they likely know or can infer that it was used gratuitously in Newhart, even if they've never seen it or any previous parodies of the ending. The existence of the laugh track isn't the bit people are upset about, I think it's the implication that Guillermo being there is hilarious. Which, yes, is the exact timing of the laughter from the original, that's OBVIOUSLY what they were going for, but contextually it can feel a little different if you're somebody who has clung to the disappointed 'do you really want to see that?' we've heard before. The intention may be honest but people are always going to read it negatively given the context of wwdits and the crew's previous views.

Maybe they're reading 'too deep' into it in your opinion but maybe they shouldn't be called useless and stupid because of that. Instead of laughing at these people for feeling hurt by the thought that they're the ones being laughed at, maybe either leave them alone or try to NICELY say that you think they were just trying to be loyal to the original.

The bottom line is: don't be mean or dismissive to people who get hurt by the implications they take from the text! Be polite and inform them or just let them feel the way they feel. ❤️❤️ this was edited so if the reblogs look different that's why!

[h0use-fly]

ppl are so petty dude

[inkskinned]

she's singing in another room and my dog is asleep at my feet. my grandma asked me why i haven't found a man yet and i laughed. oh, you know. i like my house clean.

my girlfriend is also my man is also "my partner" if i'm in a professional setting. yesterday we went to a ren faire and a man mimed at me - you're together? and at my delighted nod, his baffled, you're gay? made me laugh. a woman with rainbow hair said i love the two of you together. you're both so beautiful it's absurd.

my dad introduced my partner as my "..... friend. or whatever" the other day. he knows we're dating. in the same way, i was never able to get my sister's husband to stop saying that's gay like it's 2008. he still uses the word fa***t, and my sister's defense of him has always been well, he's just kidding.

my lover and i dance to old music in a tiny kitchen. we judge new music together and take food critique very seriously. we watch love is blind before we fall asleep and agree that if they had a queer season, it would be bloody but also make for excellent tv. of fucking course queer people would know someone for only 2 weeks and agree to get married. what are you saying.

at a bar with friends, a man puts his hand on my wrist. got a boyfriend? and yes, i do have a boyfriend, she's amazing. i am texting her while i wander around a gas station named after geese. i am visiting a swing state for a wedding. in the candy aisle i overhear: she's actually like a lesbian it's disgusting. two teenage girls with packaged sandwiches in their hands, giggling. no literally, like. i'm not, like. okay with her being there while we're all, like, naked and changing.

my girlfriend and i tailgate, drink gin and cider out of cups. from the frat group beside us, a man corrects himself with one of his friends: bro, i mean, nonbinary entity, and it makes everyone around him laugh, myself included. he razzes his friend the same way i would have killed for at 19 years old - like nothing happened, he continues: you apply sunscreen like an alien. he does a little sassy (and fairly accurate) dance interpretation of the motion. his friend is laughing so hard they're crying.

i am lucky, i live in a safe neighborhood in a safe state. my masc passenger princess comes up from DC. i drive her for an hour to where all the leaves are a violent arrangement of color. we walk along the trails, letting autumn into our blood. in this part of the state, there's a lot of pickup trucks and trump signs. when we chastely kiss before getting into the car, i accidentally make eye contact with a woman holding her child's wrist. she looks disgusted. she looks fucking pissed.

two hours later my girl and i are eating dinner on a patio, soaking in the last warmth of new england sun before the chill of winter sets in. we are giggling and trying to talk through plastic vampire teeth. at another table, i see a young woman sit up straighter. i watch her watch us. she blushes and takes her partner's hand from across the table. shy, like the taste of evening has just become something deeper.

it's worth it for this moment, i think. my lover is still humming the same song she's been singing for four days straight and i don't want to kill her for it. her guitar is beside my bed. her toothbrush is in my bathroom. in a few moments i will make us lunch. we are lucky enough to have found each other. it is lucky enough to be in love.

[gunsatthaphan]

#attaboy.

[redysetdare]

I think i just need to express that the culture surrounding QPRs right now made me think that i couldn't have strong bonds with my friends. Society told me i cant have strong bonds with friends because that was only for romantic relationships. Then i went into aro spaces and this idea was reinforced using QPRs instead of romantic relationships. it was "You can still have strong bonds with people without romance! It can just be a QPR instead!" "QPRs are MORE than friendship so you can have STRONGER BONDS than you would with friends."

it made me think that the relationships i wanted with my friends HAD to be something other than friendship for it to be as strong as i wanted. If i wanted to be the first person in someones life i had to enter some sort of committed relationship. if I wanted someone to care about me as strongly as i did them then it would have to be a relationship that was "more" than friendship.

I thought I wanted a QPR because i was told the only way to get that care and security that I wanted was to enter into a relationship that was "more" than friendship. because friends didn't care that much. because friends didn't live together their entire lives. because friends were never the priority relationship wise. and it took me years to realize that i didn't want any partnership and i shouldn't have to be in one to want these things from a friend. these things CAN be something friends can do. but i found that out on my own. because the aro community kept saying "you want a QPR" when i just wanted a friend who finally saw me as a priority in their life.

[puppyeared]

i like him

[shepscapades]

Why does Ren have 4 ears? Are they all real or is one set fake?

Hehe I’ve gotten this question a lot actually! They’re all real— I like to think hybridization isn’t always a clean balance of traits, so Ren just unfortunately ended up with two sets of ears— his Dog ears being much more receptive to sound, naturally— and sometimes when the extra intake of sound is too overwhelming, I imagine he wears earplugs in his human ears to help adjust :> it’s a bit weird, but idk! i like to make designs funky and nonconventional! I liked the idea that Ren had hearing struggles due to wonky hybridization and just kept the concept :>

[sergle]

I'm listening to a lot of Maintenance Phase (bc I love it) and this comes up sometimes, so I'll just be sat here thinking about how common it is for little kids to grow up watching their moms and other women in their life jump from diet to diet. Just as ambient background noise in your childhood, the adults around you obsess over calories aloud, express guilt over eating enjoyable food, frame exercise as a form of punishment for eating, and so on.

[iphigeniacomplex]

breaking my silence on chess the musical to say that i would literally not give a fuck about this show if i thought it was good or fully successful at what it is saying. SORRY! i love how messy she is. i love how since 1984 and continuing to this very day people with entirely different perceptions of and opinions on the musical have attempted in their own ways to "make it good" by creating all these different versions with like notably different plots, characterization, and song order, and i love how fucking bad the vast majority of these are despite it all. i hope people keep trying to fix chess the musical forever and until the end of time. i hope no one ever figures it out. i want every currently living theatre director in existence to make their own version and for all these versions to come out on broadway at the same time, making that year's musical season entirely comprised of various different versions of the cold war chess musical by tim rice and half of abba. i want not only our greatest minds but also our middlest-of-the-road and worst minds to come up with their own conclusions as to why chess does not entirely work in its original form or any subsequent forms like to really think about it and yes i do want someone to dedicate their entire life to perfecting chess by releasing version after version after version until they die peacefully but still, as always, in the grips of obsession. i want marriages to be broken up. i want mental states to be shattered. i dream of this world

[lord-squiggletits]

I think the key component to my personal reading of post-Delphi Pharma is that he's trying to be a horrible person on purpose. Not "on purpose" in the way that people have free will to exercise their own choices, but in that Pharma's "mad doctor" persona is a performance he puts on to deliberately embrace how much everyone else hates him. Basically, if people already think you're a "bad Autobot" and a horrible doctor who just kills his patients for fun, why try to prove otherwise to people who have already made up their minds about you? Just fully embrace the fact that people see you as an asshole. Don't try to change their minds. Don't plead for their forgiveness or understanding. Just stop caring. If you're going to be remembered as a monster, you might as well be a memorable monster, and eke as much pleasure and hedonism as you can out of it before karma catches up to you and you inevitably crash and burn.

I mean, I guess you could just go the route of "Oh, Pharma was always a fucked up creepy guy and Delphi was just him taking the mask off," but I really don't like that interpretation because, for one, it feels really wrong to take a character like Pharma becoming evil under duress and going, "Oh well clearly he did the things he did because he was evil all along," as if somehow Pharma breaking under blackmail/torture/threat of horrible death was a sign of him having poor moral character. As opposed to, you know, suffering under the very real threat of horrible death for himself and everyone he cares about while being manipulated by a guy who specializes in psychological torture.

The second reason is that it just doesn't make sense to write Pharma as having been evil all along. I mean...

Occam's Razor says that the best argument is the one with the simplest explanation. Doesn't it make way more sense to take Pharma's appearances in flashbacks, his friendship with Ratchet, his stunning medical accomplishments, and the few we see of him speaking kindly/sympathetically (or in the least charitable interpretation, at least professionally) towards his patients and conclude "This guy was just a normal person, if exceptionally talented." Taking all of these flashback appearances at face value and assuming Pharma was being genuine/honest is a way simpler and more logical explanation than trying to argue that Pharma for the past 4 million years was just faking being a good doctor/person. I mean, it's possible within the realm of headcanon, but the fact is Pharma's appearances in the story are so brief that there simply wasn't room in the story for there to be some sort of secret conspiracy/hidden manipulation behind why Pharma acted the way he did in the past.

I just can't help but look at things like Pharma's friendship with Ratchet (himself a good person and usually a fine judge of character) and the fact that even post-Delphi, pretty much every single mention of Pharma comes with some mention of "He was a good doctor for most of his life" or "He was making major headways in research [before he started killing patients]" which implies that even the Autobots themselves see Pharma's villainy as a recent turn in his life compared to how for "most of his life" he "used to be" a good doctor.

And although Pharma doesn't know this, we as the readers (and even other characters like Rung) know about Aequitas technology and the fact that it actually works, so... if Pharma really was an unrepentant murderer, why couldn't he get through the forcefield too? The Aequitas forcefield doesn't require that a person be completely morally pure and free of wrongdoing or else how could Tyrest get through, just that they feel a sense of inner peace and lack feelings of guilt. Pharma has murdered and tortured people by this point, and put on quite a campy and theatrical show of how much he sees it as a fun game, so why then can he not get through?

It circles back to my headcanon at the start of this post that the "mad doctor" persona is just that-- a persona. Delphi/post-Delphi Pharma's laughing madman personality is just so far removed from every flashback we saw of him and everything we can infer based on how other people see/saw him before that, to me, the mad doctor act is (at least in large part, if not fully) a persona that Pharma puts on to put his villainy in the forefront.

To avoid an overly simplistic/ableist take, I don't think Tarn tortured Pharma into turning crazy. To me, it's more like the constant pressure of death by horrific torture, the feeling of martyrdom as Pharma kept secret that he was the only one standing between Delphi and annihilation, the physical isolation of Messatine as well as the emotional separation from Ratchet, being forced to violate his medical oaths (pretty much the only thing Pharma's entire life has been about), etc. All of that combined traumatized Pharma to the point that the only way he could avoid cracking was to just stop caring about all of it. Because at least then, even if he's still murdering patients to save Delphi from a group of sadistic freaks, Pharma doesn't have to feel guilty and sick about doing it. As opposed to the alternatives, which were probably either going off the deep end and killing himself to escape, or confessing to what he did and getting jailed for it.

In that light, Pharma becoming a mad doctor makes sense. It avoids the bad writing tropes of "oh this character who was good his entire life was actually just evil and really good at hiding it" as well as "oh he got tortured and went crazy that's why he's so random and silly and killing people, he's crazy" and instead frames Pharma's evil as something he was forced into, to the point where in order to avoid a full psychological breakdown and keep defending Delphi, he just had to stop caring about the sanctity of life or about what other people might think of him.

Then, of course, the actual Delphi episode happens, and Pharma's own lifelong best friend Ratchet basically spits in his face and sees him as nothing more than a crazy murderer who went rogue from being a good Autobot. Then Pharma gets his hands cut off and left to die on Messatine. At that point, Pharma has not only been mentally/emotionally broken into losing his feelings of compassion, he's received the message loud and clear: He is alone. Everyone hates him. Not even his own best friend likes him any more. No one even cared enough about him to check if he actually died or not. He will only ever be remembered as a doctor who went insane and killed his patients.

So in the light of 1. Having all of your redeeming qualities be squeezed out of you one by one for the sake of survival and 2. Having your reputation and all of your positive relationships be destroyed and 3. People only know/care about you as "that doctor who became evil and killed his patients" rather than the millions of years of good service that came before.

What else is there to do but internalize the fact that you'll forever be seen as a monster and a freak, and embrace it? People already see you as a murderer for that blackmail deal you did, so why not become an actual murderer and just start killing people on a whim? People already see you as an irredeemable monster who puts a stain on the Autobot name, so why beg for their forgiveness when you could just shun them back? You've already become a murderer, a traitor, and a horrible doctor, so what's a few more evil acts added to the pile? It's not like anyone will ever forgive you or love you ever again.

Why care? Why try to hold on to your principles of compassion, kindness, medical ethics, when an entire lifetime of being a good person did nothing to save you from blackmail and then abandonment? Why put yourself through the emotional agony of feeling lonely, guilty, miserable, when you could just... stop caring, and not hurt any more?

[cheruib]

would u guys notice if i just disappeared from tumblr.com

[jq37]

So, that lady FH episode was amazing and all, but...

Hoo boy, I already see the discourse around the Ratgrinders' fates forming and it is going to be painful. Be careful around the fandom space.

(I mean, resurrection is still on the table for them, but that's based on if the players feel like it and right now, we're looking at 50/50 odds at bests)

Yeah, don't worry about me. This isn't my first rodeo and also I post a lot about D20 and respond to asks I get but I don't actually personally engage with any of The Discourse (tm).

And I'm not really surprised at the reaction. I know people have been opinionated all season in two main camps (that have a lot of overlap): people dissatisfied with the narrative direction and people deeply sympathetic to the Rat Grinders to the point of being mad at the Bad Kids.

The first camp I mostly understand. I get wishing the cast would explore a certain storyline more. For example, I've been on the Aelwyn redemption arc train since literally the first episode of Fantasy High so I was a little disappointed that when that finally came to a head in Freshman Year, it was a big fight and then very little aftermath/unpacking because Aelwyn was sent to jail right after. And Sophomore Year hadn't been announced so I had no idea that she was gonna get another shot. But I wasn't upset or anything. Adaine at that point still hated her sister. She had no reason to want to reach out. And at the end of the day this is other people playing a game. Brennan presented them all the possible plot threads and they were most interested in self discovery, hanging out with each other, doing Shenanigans, and playing Tomb Raider re: Ankarna. Those are all options they were presented and it's not like they were doing crazy off-roading. It's well within the parameters of what D&D is. If you're gonna watch a show like this (or honestly any show), you have to accept that what's most interesting to you isn't always going to be the most interesting thing to the people in the driver's seat.

So yeah, I feel like this side of things I get (even though I'm fine with how things turned out).

The other camp--people being legit mad at the Bad Kids (and in some cases the actual cast) for treating the Rat Grinders like antagonists instead of victims that they were responsible for empathizing with and redeeming--I find kind of wild.

Like…you're mad at the kids who go to Child Murder School for killing kids who want to end the world and kill them specifically? Literally the first day of school the principal of the school says that adventurers are violent wanderers who engage in shenanigans and enact violence. This is the exact assignment they were given and that's what they're doing.

I think it's wild to at the same time believe that the Rat Grinders (who have killed people) are not responsible for their actions and deserve to be talked down while in the process of causing an apocalypse because they're just kids who were manipulated while at the same time calling the Bad Kids evil lunatics for trying to stop them by killing them (in a world where Revivify and Resurrection exist) even though they are ALSO kids who are doing what they've learned at Child Murder School. The Bad Kids have to be mature enough to thoroughly investigate the situation and have nuance about it but the Rat Grinders don't have any responsibility to not join a shady evil murder plan*? And do the Bad Kids really hate the Rat Grinders to the point where they're doing some overkill in this fight? Absolutely. But it's not like they're killing them because they hate them. They're killing them because they're trying to end the world--and they also happen to hate them. Are we forgetting that Kipperlilly killed Buddy--her own teammate--with a gleeful smile on her face? That was so out of pocket.

They're adventurers! Not guidance counselors! If Jawbone was like, "We need to kill these kids," yeah that would be weird but why would the Bad Kids extend an olive branch to the kids who (1) famously hate them, (2) killed at least one maybe 2 of their own party members, (3) endangered the entire student body population an hour ago, (4) are currently trying to end the world. Hell, Adaine was ready to be mean to her own sister in elf jail literally up until the point Brennan described how rough she looked from the torture and that's when she changed her mind. The Power of Love and Empathy is on the menu but it's a special item you only can get if you know the chef. Everyone else is getting a serving of These Hands. Just because you can find a vegan solution to a problem it doesn't mean you're obligated to.

This all comes down to, "Maybe teenagers shouldn't have godlike powers and the ability to play judge, jury, and executioner" but that's literally the premise of the entire show so you can't get around it without rejecting the show's entire premise. If they were like, "Hmm the systems that underpin our world are questionable and we should change the power structures" instead of, "Let's kill some bad guys!" then that's a totally different thing we're doing here!

And, idk man, this show has always had a Who Framed Roger Rabbit style morality where the normal rules of ethics stop applying when it's funny. They beat the crud out of Ragh and then lied to him that he shit his pants just for the bit. A pirate was rude/kinda racist to Riz so they scared him into killing himself. Riz ate the remains of the sentient (albiet evil) dragon he killed. That's all unhinged behavior but none of that is meant to be serious. Getting upset about Fig sending Ruben to hell to me feels like getting mad that Jerry hit Tom with a cartoonishly large mallet.

None of this is new so I have to assume that people are having a big reaction because they relate to the Rat Grinders or just really like them so it feels bad that the Bad Kids are treating them like fodder rather than beloved NPCs.

But again, this is a world where you can bring people back from the dead and the Rat Grinders have showed intent that is grievously neglectful at best and insanely murderous at worst so I can't muster a lot of sympathy for the fact that the Bad Kids are just taking them down without remorse. I don't think you have to try to empathize with the people who are trying to harm you if you don't want to especially while they are in the process of harming you.

(*And we still don't know how voluntarily they joined this plan. We don't know if they were killed and basically forced into resurrecting with rage or if they just leapt at the chance to join a plan that would let them get one over on their rivals. It literally could be either. We've had kid villains on this show strong armed into being party to evil plans by threat of harm (Aelwyn) as well was kid villains who just had their own selfish motivations and weren't tricked at all (Penelope and Biz). We actually don't have any clear answer on how culpable they are. We don't know if they all have rage crystals (except for Buddy). And we don't know how much having a Rage Crystal effects your actions. The best indicator we got is in this latest ep when Brennan said that there was a mechanic where Porter was going to call anyone with a rage crystal to fight for him but that says to me that he's only directly puppeting them when he uses that action and otherwise they have free will and are just angrier. The Bad Kids don't have a reason to believe definitively that the Rat Grinders are just unwilling puppets even if that is the case so of course they're treating them like enemies. Anyway, this is a whole lot of "I don't knows" but that's only because I've seen a lot of people talking like the Rat Grinders literally aren't in control of their actions but that's not info that we have. It could be true but we don't actually know that so it's not a good argument.)