#very easy to tell which characters they are

[sirfrogsworth]

Nostalgic memory loss and cherry picking annoy me to the core.

2006 features other CGI-laden flims such as...

Son of the Mask

And Ultraviolet

While 2024 featured...

Dune 2

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

This shot was literally impossible to create in 2006.

Good CGI is made by good artists who have the proper funding, time, and resources. The year doesn't matter.

There has always been bad CGI. There has always been good CGI.

Current CGI is much more advanced and allows for much bigger stories to be told. Most of it is so good, people do not even realize they are looking at CGI. Yes, Top Gun 2 shot a lot of amazing practical footage. But they still had 2400 VFX shots.

And no one could tell the difference.

But also, movies with 2000+ CG shots usually have a quality delta. They run short on time and budget and they have to prioritize which shots get the most love. If there is one valid complaint about modern CGI, it is the lack of consistency.

You might have a weird looking floating head in one scene...

And that is very easy to cherry pick and say "look at how bad CGI is these days!"

But then later in the movie you have the shadow realm moon.

A gorgeous scene that used a groundbreaking lighting effect. Using a strobe technique and a high speed camera, every frame in the scene had six different angles of lighting.

They were able to show a fast revolving sun circling around the characters without having to rig up some crazy light that flies around the room.

Again, not possible in 2006.

When artists have proper resources they will blow your mind.

CGI isn't worse. It is better than ever. It's just that the artists making Davy Jones were amazing. They had the time and money to realize their vision. They had 1400 fewer shots to make than Top Gun Maverick. (Jurassic Park only had 63.)

They also understood their limitations and didn't try to force the CG to do something it wasn't ready for yet.

[consistently-panicked]

Ok hold on. Now I don’t disagree with your take. Jess is 100% given way more shit than he deserves by people. He’s a heavily traumatized teenager and a lot of his actions stem from that. He reacts based on how he feels in the moment and very little logic (which, again, he’s a teenager. This is very normal).

BUT, he did way more than outlining a body in chalk outside of Doose’s to get the “bad boy” reputation. He stole from Babette (Pierpon, gorgeous), he attempted to steal the beer from Lorelai, he stole Rory’s bracelet (yes he found it after it had fallen off, but he still took it and didn’t return it until much later), he got in fights at school (whether Chuck Presby deserved to be punched is besides the point, to a small town like Stars Hollow fighting would absolutely have people thinking you’re a “problem child”), he skipped school constantly (same situation as the fighting. People should’ve been asking him why he was skipping school and tried to help him feel more engaged and actually care about his education. Whether he would’ve accepted the help is another question, but he was a child and most of the adults in his life fundamentally failed him).

And now, for the biggest example of Jess being the bad boy, and honestly that’s not even the way I’d phrase it because in this moment he’s really just acting like a bad person. Season 3, Episode 19. Oh boy. Consent wise, the scene from the party is extremely dubious. Rory is very clearly uncomfortable and she is verbally expressing this. But Jess continues. In my opinion, the whole scene feels very coercion/ manipulation esque. Him continuing to pursue Rory in this moment doesn’t stop until she physically removes herself from the room. It’s an incredibly uncomfortable scene to watch and it’s because of Jess’ gross actions. Of course, we don’t know how many people in Stars Hollow’s know about what happened, but there were many people who witnessed him and Dean fighting afterwards and considering what a small town it is, I’m sure at least part of the story was known.

So listen. I think the people of Stars Hollow’s judged him way too harshly way too quickly and more often than not, his actions were not those of a bad boy, but those of an angry and traumatized teenager who needed HELP. But there were also quite a few instances where his choices affected others negatively, and whether you’re traumatized or a teenager it’s important to recognize that your choices affect others. And, of course, nothing excuses the way he acted at that party and I hope that at some point he apologized to Rory and really took a step back to evaluate his actions. It’s the least he could do.

(Now, I didn’t bring anything up about the whole car situation and there’s a reason. I think that is a huge example of the town just blaming him because it was easy and convenient to pin it on the kid no one liked, the bad boy. Even though it was Rory’s fault and she tried to tell everyone as much.)

Sorry for the long ramble, this show has been my most prominent hyperfixation for years, so I have a LOT of thoughts about it and the characters.

Jess’s ‘bad boy’ label to me is so, so funny. He is constantly reading, works two jobs, saved enough money to buy a car—but he’s the ultimate bad boy in the town’s eyes. Let’s be clear, the most ‘rebellious’ thing he did was the chalk outline outside Doose’s. Boy did magic tricks for his crush, why is he labeled a bad boy? 😭

[baambied]

As your head rested on her thighs, her body tensed up. She looked down at you, forgetting all about her game. Her opponent was kicking her characters ass, but that was something she didn’t give a single fuck about in that moment. The sight of your pretty face laying on her lap, so close to her crotch, made her heart pound against her ribs violently. Her thoughts raced uncontrollably, imagining very wrong things. But she couldn’t help. Her cunt was so close to the place she wanted it to be. Against your fucking mouth.

Yeah… she was definitely a motherfucking horny loser.

Loser!Ellie x Femme Best Friend reader? very soft at the beginning and an horny desperate mess at the end?

𝑪𝑼𝑴 𝑹𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 𝑶𝑵 𝑴𝑬. . .- 𝑰 𝑴𝑬𝑨𝑵 𝑪𝑨𝑴𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑫𝑬𝑹𝑰𝑬!!

content warning - nsfw , cursing , inexpiernced!ellie , biting kink , cunniligus(ellie!receiving) , clit play , ellie is an absolute loser with no experience , perv!ellie , masterbation mentioned (ellie) ellie cums in her boxers , reader is kinda blunt , ellie is shy and awkward here . .

pairings - bsf!loser!ellie ✗ fem!reader

"holy shit! why am i eating literal ass right now in this game!... "

you scoff at ellie's words, looking down at the book in your hands once again. At this moment, you laid flat on your stomach on ellie's blue carpet in her room while flipping through a random dinosaur book you saw on her desk while ellie - your best friend sat comfortably in her gaming chair near you.

it was safe to say that you were bored out of your damn mind , your friend who would rather play on her PC than entertain you in some fun way was annoying the fuck out of you - especially her random loud yelling when she lost a round in whatever game she was playing. . .

you rolled over on your back , eyes staring at the ceiling with a frown creased in your eyebrows. "ellie. ." you spoke out softly as your eyes flickered to her form.

due to her ginormous gaming headphones, she couldn't hear you, her face shown nothing but determination as her fingers roughly hit her keyboard - right leg bouncing anxiously. . . you sigh , you wanted her attention on you. . you don't understand why she'd bother to invite you over if she was just going to be on her computer the entire time. you slowly sat up, sighing at the ache in your back, a small pout on your face as you still eyed ellie.

you slowly roll over, now on your hands and knees, crawling towards ellie quietly and slowly without her realizing. . your cheek was then meant with the feeling of her cloth sweatpants as you layed your head on her leg. . . unknowingly to you, ellie's body tensed up in an instant at the feeling of you on her thigh.

"u-uh. . . hey, whatcha doing? there?.." the now flustered girl spoke out, her green eyes too nervous to look down as she felt her freckled cheeks warming up.

"I'm bored. ."

"o-oh - uhh, i thought you were . . um reading?"

"ellie i don't give a shut about fossils and dinosaurs - no offense. ."

"oh. ." ellie let's out a soft sigh when her character in the game accepted death once more , letting out a shaky sigh her hands pulled away from the keyboard . . genuinely ellie felt kind of , stupid. . she was now a whole bundle of nerves just by you laying your head in her thigh - she swore to herself that this little crush she developed on her bestfriend would go away thinking it was just a small phase in her life - i mean everyone liked you at one point. .since you were so pretty and so fucking sweet. . genuinely a great personality.

but that was when she was 11. . and now she's 19 and still can't stop feeling her heart pound rapidly against her chest whenever you were near her - which was almost all the time.

she remembers talking to Dina about it , and instead of receiving good advice, she received a laugh in the face telling ellie to just go for it and ask you out. . yeah as if it was that easy - ellie knew you liked girls . . both of you found that out in high school together, but ellie knew for a fact she wasn't your type.

i mean, your ex was literally one of the most famous football jocks in the college you both currently go to. . abby fucking anderson - nothing was particularly wrong with abby it's just the simple fact the woman always had her hands on you like some sort of horn dog in heat. . . and you let her , it made ellie's blood nearly boil over just thinking about it.

and she couldn't deny the overwhelmingly happy feeling she felt when you came to ellie once telling her you broke up with abby - ellie had good dreams that night.

but that was just one side of ellie's crush , the other was. . . different - now ellie isn't a pervert but in her defense, it's just hormones. .on one of those nights when you, ellie and other mutual friends would go out to parties around campus , ellie didn't know if it was the alcohol in her system or whatever type of pill dina gave to her but seeing you in the middle of the dance floor , rubbing up on a random girl making your short dress ride up showing more of your thigh. . shit.

ellie didn't know why , or how but when she went back home that night her hand somehow. . . made its way straight into her pants as soon as she hit her bed - letting out all of those hot desires and feelings on her swollen , wet clit . . fingers rubbing in tight circles as her other hand covered her mouth.

she wasn't exactly proud of masterbating to you, but she knew she'd never actually get a chance to do this with you in real life, so there's no harm in using her imagination, right?

"and i- ellie? elliee!"

ellie flinched at the sound of your face, calling out to her, frowning slightly she finally looked down at you and immediately her breath got caught in her throat as she found your eyes peering up at her curiously. . . you looked so damn pretty. .

"did you hear me els?"

"wha - what did - huh?" ellie's words came out fumbled under her breath causing you the peer at her with a confused grin.

"jeez okay i know you don't like her, but i want to know what i should do" your sentence made ellie frown as she was suddenly snapped out of her lesbian yearning gaze "huh?"

"psh i knew you weren't listening - abby! should I text abby back?"

abby?

who's the hell is abby- ohhhh no ellie remembers. . wait, why was abby texting you?

"abby? why is she texting you?" You shrugged at ellie's words "i dunno , says she misses me or something like that. ." ellie frowned as a small pout formed on her pink lips at the thought of you and abby getting back together.

"you. . broke up with her for a reason , you shouldn't reply. .but do whatever you want. . i gues.." ellie spoke out softly and almost unsure as she now looked back up to her computer starting the game once again - needing a distraction as she was avoiding your gaze now , silence over took the room for awhile.

"yeah but i low-key need a good fuck. ."

ellie's hands froze on her keyboard, the sound of her characters' fatality being heard around the room - her eyes wide as her warm cheeks are a shade of dark red "w-what"

"I've been so stressed about exams and shit , it wouldn't be bad to just y'know" you say in a almost obvious tone to ellie , thinking she understood what you meant but by her rigid motion and shocked expression it was clear she somewhat didn't "ellie? what dont tell me youve never fucked someone to let out stress or something..?"

suddenly ellie stood up from her chair arubtly causing your head to nearly hit the desk beside you. "hey! a warning would be nice el!"

"it's hot in here - yeah I'm super hot!" ellie suddenly yelled out as she walked over to her bedroom windows and unlocking it to open the window up - the cold autumn breeze immediately hitting her heated body . . . you sigh and stand up making your way to her bed, plopping down on her comic book themed bed sheets you laid on your back and peered at the girl who stood near the windows still.

"els come here. ." you called out softly, ellie - tense but obeying your words walked over to her bed and slowly sat near the edge . . honestly if someone saw the scene they'd think you were the owner of the bedroom instead of the timid girl who sat on the edge on her own bed nearly falling off.

"ell- why are you ever there? come here weirdo. ."

ellie gulped thickly and moved her body higher up, her back now leaning against her headboard as her eyes searched around for something, anything to make this any less awkward for herself, her hands grabbed up the dinosaur book you once held - flipping it open to a random page.

"what are you doing?"

"reading this - unlike you I'm very interested in fossils and dinosaurs. ."

"Trust me, ellie, I'm aware of that it's just - why are you reading it upside down instead?"

ellie cringes in embarrassment as she hastily flipped the book to the correct side , thinking about how much she's an idiot she suddenly felt something in her lap, lifting the book to get a good view. . there your head laid in her lap once more.

why the fuck do you keep laying there? ellie thinks with red cheeks.

"you seem pent up els. ."

ellie's eyes widened at your choice of words "pent up? what do you??"

"have you really never slept with anyone?" your head that was laying in her lap was once looking across the room and was now looking at her face, reading her expressions like a book. . . your right hand grabbed the book out of ellie's hand and threw it somewhere on the bed.

"anytime i touch you, your body goes all stiff. . as if you've never been touched by another girl before . ."

fuck! was ellie being that damn obvious, and ellie thought about your words for a moment, and if she was being honest, she was very pent up , especially at this very moment. . . the sight of her best friend whom she's known for years having her pretty face laying in her lap . . . so fucking close to her crotch area. . this alone made her heart rapidly pound within her chest, her breathing becoming shaky as sinful thoughts raced through her mind , she couldn't help it . . your head was so close to her cunt - that was pulsing uncontrollably by the filthy thoughts in her mind and you asking about her non-existent sex life . . - shit. . she wanted nothing more for your plump lips to be around her swollen clit.

and at this very moment ellie knew that she was nothing but a mother fucking loser horny for her bestfriends mouth.

"ellie?. ."

"fuck. ." the sound of your soft voice calling out to her in confusion - she couldn't help but imagine you moaning out her name in the same tone.

your body perched up, leaning towards ellie with both your hands planted on the bed on both her sides , your face leaning close to her's. . you've known ellie for years, meaning you could read her like an open book - you weren't stupid you were able to see right through ellie and how she acted around you . . to be honest you were just never 100% sure - but the sight of her freckled cheeks turning red , her green eyes looking anywhere but you. . oh you were sure.

"do you like me ellie?"

"w-what. ."

"am i the reason your cheeks are flaming red?"

ellie breath caught her throat , she couldn't speak . . what the fuck was happening right now ellie closed her eyes tightly before opening them , she had to make sure she wasn't dreaming . . her lips shuddering slightly as her whole body felt like it was on fire , ready to explode. . a soft whine escaping her lips when you leaned closer. .she could smell your pretty chocolate-vanilla perfume entering her nose.

"what do you want me to do to you?" Your whispers made her thighs clench as her eyes closed. ."tell me. ."

"i don't- i don't know. ."

"yes you do, cmon i know you want something. ." one of your hands that was rested on the bed then moved to ellie's thigh , you smirked at the feeling of her slightly flinching by your touch.

"please. .please. ."

"Please, what?"

"touch me. ." ellie has never felt more nervous and shy in her life. . she's never had any experience with women at all , this was a first for her . . her thighs clenching hardly against each other as both her hands fisted her sheets, not knowing where to put them. .

ellie could feel your hand now on her cheek, your thumb on her pink bottom lip , your head leaning closer to her, causing ellie to close her eyes once more thinking she'd finally be able to feel your pretty lips against her's - instead a soft moan escaped her throat when she felt your lips on her neck, leaning her head back so you can have more access. . hissing when she feels her flesh being pulled by your teeth.

ellie could feel her boxers absolutely soaked with her wetness from her cunt, clenching around around nothing just from the feeling of your lips on her skin. . . skimming around her neck for her most sensitive spot.

"w-wait please! i -- ah! fuck!" ellie could feel the embarrassment wash over her body , as her hips buckled she could feel the cum leaking out her pussy - did she really just orgasm just by the feeling of your lips on her neck?

you pull away, looking at ellie's face, her chest heaving as she tries to get her breath .the supirse was evident on your face, and you couldn't help the way your ego boosts a little at the sight. . your own thighs clenching together , your sharp eyes now staring at ellie's sweatpants.

"take off your pants. ."

"sh -- shit! ahh! feels so . . ah!"

your lips placed around ellie's pink clit, sucking on it sometimes letting your tongue flicker against her which made her thighs shake - ellie's groans escaping from her lips and into your ears making you suck against her harder. . . one of your hands holding her thigh open as the other held her naked breast - her white shirt pulled all the way up to her chin.

you pull away for a moment, causing ellie to whine at the cold air hitting her wet cunt.

you lean back in , tongue now lapping at at her cunt in fast motions - you groan at the feeling of ellie's fingers pulling at your hair . . you could feel her wetness trickling down your chin . .

"feels -- so fucking good! f- fuck!" ellie choked out - this was almost like vivid sex dream she couldn't believe was real. . never did she ever think she'd actually have your head in between her thighs getting her off - her hips buckling up into the air , leaning more into your mouth . . seemingly attempting to thrust into your mouth, which caused you to chuckle at how needy she was being.

your tongue now sliding down to her clenching hole , entering it her pulsing cunt around your pink muscle as you develed in her pussy.

you were almost pussy drunk just from her taste , so bittersweet but so enjoyable as you moved your head side to side . . one of your arm moving away from her breast and on her stomach - fingers leaning towards her cunt as you presses them down on her puffy clit.

"f- fuck! think I'm gonna -- cum again!" ellie moaned out as her hips now buckled against the sheets, groaning when she feels you push one of her legs deeper on the bed so they spread wider.

" eating my -- pussy so fucking good! fu -- fuck!" ellie hands that was once gripping your hair was attempting to push your head away from her pulsing cunt , you could feel her cum soaking your tongue causing you to moan against her rolling your tongue in small circles before eventually being forcibly removed by ellie's hands.

"Too much -- fuck!"

your lips were soaked as you licked them, moaning at the taste of her still. . . your stare penarating ellie as you just stared at her chest rapidly, moving up and down ,head still leaning back into her pillow, heavy breathing escaping her mouth.

the sight of her breast still uncovered made you all squirmy inside , as if your panties weren't totally ruined hours ago.

you lean away, on your knees, hands going to remove your shorts and underwear and carelessly throwing them to her floor. . ellie eyes were closed, not noticing your movement as she was still coming down from her high , you move to her body hands opening her shaky thighs once more as you slip your legs in hers.

"w-what are you -- woah. ." ellie began to ask before realizing your position, her already pink cheeks going a deeper shade.

taking a breath before planting yourself on top of ellie , gasping at the feeling of all of her wetness spreading against your pussy - ellie breathed heavily at the unfamiliar feeling . . holy shit a bunch of curse words floating around her brain her mind still couldn't comprehend if this was real or not.

you lean forward, planting your hands on ellie's abdomen and began to slowly rut your cunt into ellie's , whining as your clit bumped into hers. . you weren't gonna last long. You knew that already - so you started to move your hips eagerly against her grinding harder as both if your slicks mixed with eachother. .

the only sound heard in the room was the wetness of your two pussies and soft , gentle moans escaping both of your mouths - you pulled your hands away reaching for your shirt tossing it off of you as you rutted your hips harder. . you could feel your cunt clenching against ellie's getting ready for a release.

"Ahh -- ohnygodd! feels so goo - ellie!"You panted, throwing your head back further. .lost in your own pleasure, you don't feel ellie's eyes on you. . . she watched in awe as your pretty breast moved on your chest from your faster movement - the beautiful fucked out expression shown on your face . . . god you were so beautiful - ellie suddenly growing confident placed her hands on your hips, moving your hips for you against her. .fast and urgently.

your eyes rolling back as your incoherent sentences meant her ears - letting out a low groan as she felt your pussy clench and leak against her's . . observing you intently with hard breaths as your body shook from your orgasm.

yeah. . this wasn't a fucking dream. . and thank god for that.

hope this was good !! this was one of my first request !! 💌💌

[steveseddie]

happily ever after

written for the @steddiebingo kissing booth mini event | prompt: happy ending | rating: t | wc: 1,7k | no cw | tags: pre-relationship, oblivious steve, dungeons & dragons, love confessions

read on ao3

Steve doesn’t know when it happens but at some point, he stops hating Dungeons & Dragons.

He still calls it anything but its actual name to the kids’ faces, and he still bitches and moans about having to drive them to and from their stupid meetings, but he can admit that he kind of likes it, at least to himself.

Definitely not enough to play it. He still believes there’s way too much math involved and he gets a headache just thinking about memorizing an entire character sheet, but he does enjoy it enough to sit and watch the kids and Eddie play.

Eddie is also probably a big part of why Steve started liking it. He has a way of making everything interesting. His voices, the way he insists on randomly jumping on his chair or shooting up to his feet, and the twists and turns he weaves into a story so expertly.

There’s also the fact that Steve is head over heels for him and sitting through one of their games is the perfect excuse to stare at him all he wants.

Realistically, he can’t be at every one of them. He has a job and a tiny shred of reputation to maintain. He can’t be seen dedicating all his free time to a game for nerds.

He can, however, dedicate his Friday night to it when Eddie invites him over for the big finale of their latest campaign.

“It’s going to be great, Stevie, I’m telling you!” Eddie says, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “You can’t miss it!”

“I won’t, Eds, I promise,” Steve tells him, trying not to show just how easy it is for Eddie to get him to agree to anything.

The big finale does end up being great. The kids spend the whole time sitting at the edge of their seats and Eddie delivers twist after twist until finally the legendary sword is found, the kingdom is saved and everyone lives happily ever after.

Or maybe not everyone.

There’s something that stays with Steve even after Eddie dramatically announces it’s the end, but he doesn’t get to ask him about it until two days later when they’re hanging out at the trailer.

Steve is sprawled on the bed, leafing through a sports magazine he swiped from Wayne’s stuff and Eddie is pretending to organize his desk. In reality, he’s spent the last twenty minutes playing with a rubber ball he found among his things.

“Hey, Eds,” Steve says just as Eddie throws the ball toward the ceiling. He turns his attention to Steve and forgets about the ball, which bounces against his face.

“Ow! Shit!” He swears, rubbing at his eye. Steve stifles his laughter behind the magazine. “What’s– what’s up, Stevie?”

“Can I ask you a question about Dorks & Dweebs?”

At that, Eddie snaps to attention. His eyes are wide and one of them is a little red from the ball hitting it. “Steve Harrington, did you just say you want to ask me about Dungeons & Dragons?”

“I said Dorks & Dweebs, but yes.”

“I don’t even care that you refuse to call it by the proper name,” Eddie chuckles disbelievingly, then he jumps to his feet and joins Steve on the bed, a big grin on his face. “Holy shit, yes! Of course, ask me anything you want!”

Steve can’t help but chuckle at Eddie’s excitement. The way he rests his chin on his hands and stares expectantly at Steve like this is the most amazing thing to happen to him. It’s very cute. “Okay, you weirdo,” he says, his voice dripping with fondness. “At the end of your last game–”

“Campaign.”

Steve waves him off. “At the end of that, what happened to the singer guy? The bard? Uh, Everard?”

Tilting his head, Eddie asks, “What?”

“You know, the– the guy that helped the kids– uh, the party find the legendary sword. The EMT or whatever.”

Eddie’s mouth twitches amusedly. “The NPC.”

“Yeah, that.”

“Well,” he says, scratching his head. “He died.”

“What? Why?”

“Because he got mauled by carrion crawlers, Steve.”

“You got mauled by bats and you lived!” Steve argues. Eddie’s nose scrunches up, most likely at the mention of his near death. “Couldn’t one of the kids have used like, a healing spell or something?”

Eddie taps his lip with his finger, thinking it over. Steve can’t help but follow the movement with his eyes.

“I guess they could but– he’s not important, man, he’s just there to help them find the sword.”

Steve averts his eyes from Eddie’s lips and crosses his arms over his chest. “If he’s not important then it doesn’t matter if he lives, right?”

“Okay, sure,” he snorts. “He can live if you like him so much.”

“Good,” Steve says, nodding. Eddie rolls onto his back, probably assuming the conversation is over but there’s something else Steve has been wondering about. “Does he go back to the princess?”

Eddie’s whole body visibly tenses up. “W–what?”

“Everard is in love with Princess Soliana, right? Does he tell her?”

“No,” Eddie says, his voice sharp.

“Why not?”

Eddie groans, sitting up on the bed so he’s facing away from Steve. “Because that’s not relevant to the campaign!”

“It’s relevant to me,” Steve huffs stubbornly.

“Why?”

Because Steve is a romantic and from the first time Eddie mentioned this NPC or whatever, Steve felt drawn to him for some reason. It might sound stupid, he’s just a character after all, but Steve wants him to be happy. “Because Everard loves her.”

“So?” Eddie snaps, “there are things even love can’t fix.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “In real life, maybe, but in fantasy, man? Anything can happen.”

“That can’t,” he grumbles. He still won’t face Steve, his shoulders hunched over.

“But why?”

“Because!” Eddie snaps, finally turning around. His face is pinched, his lips pursed. “Bards don’t marry princesses, Steve!”

“Says who?”

“Me, and I’m the DM so I make the rules.”

“Which means you can change them, give them a happy ending!”

Eddie drags his hands down his face. “There’s no happy ending for Everard, Steve. He knows that. He’s not the hero who gets the princess, he’s the sorry son of a bitch who almost dies. Even if he lives, he won’t do it. He won’t risk the friend– the kingdom when he knows the princess doesn’t love him back.” He says all of that through gritted teeth, and his voice sounds sad like– like he knows what he’s talking about.

“She’s royalty, Steve. She’s beautiful, she’s brave,” Eddie goes on, his eyes boring into Steve with an intensity that makes him shiver. “And he’s– he’s no one and he’s broken and– and scarred, and–-”

“You,” Steve whispers as the realization hits. “He’s you.”

Eddie’s mouth snaps shut. He gulps, but he doesn’t deny it. He can’t. Now that Steve knows it’s so obvious. The similar name, Everard’s funny and flirty personality, the way he joins the party later in the campaign, and how he’s mauled by creatures trying to save them.

And if that’s Eddie then–

“The princess is me.”

Eddie lets out a sigh, his shoulders slumping. “Finally caught on, didn’t you, Stevie?”

“You– you based those characters off of us?”

“Yeah.”

Steve’s eyebrows knit together. “But you killed Everard.”

Eddie shrugs. “Yeah, well. I took some liberties, I didn’t want to make it too obvious, you know? And I did die for like a couple of minutes, so–”

“But the part about Everard being in love with the princess. Did you take liberties with that?” Steve asks quietly, holding his breath as he waits for Eddie’s answer.

“No,” he says, ducking his head, his hair falling over his face. “That part was accurate.”

The admission makes Steve’s heart try to beat out of his chest. “You– you love me?” He asks with a shaky voice.

“I do,” Eddie says, his big doe eyes finally meeting Steve’s gaze. “But I meant what I said. Everard wouldn’t risk anything, not when I know– when he knows you– the princess doesn’t want him.”

Eddie’s eyes are sad and pleading, like he’s begging Steve not to be mad at him. But Steve is mad. Just not for the reason that Eddie thinks.

“You don’t know that,” he says, frowning.

“I told you–”

“You told me what Everard thinks, now let me tell you what the princess thinks,” Steve says, shutting Eddie up. “She doesn’t think Everard is broken, she thinks he’s strong. He might be scarred, but so is she. And– and he’s beautiful too! Maybe she never thought she could fall in love with a guy– with someone like him but she loves him, Eddie.” He reaches for Eddie’s hand on the bed. It’s shaking. Steve squeezes it. “And I love you.”

Eddie’s jaw goes slack. “Steve–”

“That’s Princess Soliana for you,” Steve tells him, trying to lighten the mood.

It works. A joyful, high-pitched laugh tumbles from Eddie’s lips. “Yes, Your Majesty,” he agrees with a giddy chuckle. “I– did you– do you mean it?”

Another squeeze. “Of course, Eds.”

With his free hand, Eddie grabs a lock of his own hair and tugs it across his face to try and hide the blush creeping onto his cheeks and that just won’t do. Steve uses his hand to tuck the hair back behind Eddie’s ear. “So, now that Everard knows this, what’s he going to do?”

Eddie doesn’t even need to think about it. His eyes instantly dart down to Steve’s mouth. “He’s going to kiss the princess,” he says, his jaw set in determination.

Warmth shoots through Steve’s body, the corners of his mouth curl upwards. “Good,” he says, and then Eddie is pulling him in by his shirt, their lips crashing together in a kiss. Steve’s hand finds its way to the back of Eddie’s neck so he can keep him in place, kissing him back for what feels like hours but is probably only minutes.

“I guess– hmph, I guess Everard did get his happy ending after all,” Eddie mumbles against Steve’s lips after some time. “And so did I.”

Steve’s face splits into a grin. “Nah, Eds, this might be the end for them,” he says, pushing at Eddie’s shoulders until his back hits the bed and he can climb on top of him. “For us, it’s only the beginning.”

[yandere-romanticaa]

I seriously have to stop falling for BookTok hype. Most of the books have the exact same formula and I am getting so tired of it.

Fourth Wing, ACOTAR, Powerless - these are just a few that I've read in the past year and it all feels like the same story told over and over again.

I will tell you the plot for all of these books right now - hot but poor little petite girl is really weak but she's stubborn, which that makes her strong and special. Little petite girl meets a big strong man who is in some high position of power, he's natrually handsome, is amazing in bed and is also often a little tan. Big strong man falls head over heels for petite girl, there is a plethora of sexy banter between them and the book may or may not end on a little cliffhanger but you know that they will all be fine in the end.

And look, I'm not here to give you shit for liking these books. I feel as though they're the female versions of standard male power fantasies. For example, most isekai anime have a male protagonist who is the strongest character in the show and he ends up getting a harem of women who love him. Women meanwhile usually like to read more than men so their needs are usually catered to here. The things that the fem MC has to overcome are usually easy to read and are typically creative, which gives the story a bit of an edge, especially if you're a very casual reader who just wants to shut off her brain for a while.

But I just find it so interesting how the modern writer has mastered this very specific formula which manages to cater to the masses, especially BookTok. I've noticed that a lot of books have started to advertize themselves as tropes such as Enemies to Lovers in order to look more appealing online, which feels a little tiring sometimes.

I also feel tired at how cheated I feel whenever I read these books and just go. Oh. That's it?? Boo!!!!

If you love these kinds of stories, knock yourself out. Have fun with them, I don't see them going away anytime soon. Hell, I am someone who legit enjoyed Haunting Adeline of all things (and the creators other works) while still thinking that the book is kinda shit LOL.

[claws-and-all]

This isn't a very eloquent list, but:

🌹 I'll start at the beginning... A beast... a grumpy beast grieving the loss of a friend (Mentor? Lover? Employee?)... already, I love him!

🌹 Then we see his High Fae form and idk about you, but all my life, lotr elves have been the epitome of beauty and etherealness. And he reminded me so much of that 🫠

🌹 Now personality wise, a broody dork with the weight of the world on his shoulders ... I'm down bad crying at the gym... I know a lot of readers like that egotistical, sassy, snarky male vibes, but I can only handle it in moderation. So this broody boy was straight up my alley. Combine that with his negative rizz and "Your hair is... clean"... SOLD!! 😅🥺 (Seriously, love that line 😂)

🌹 A man who could have taken the easy way out but chose to stand against tyranny and fight for what's right ... I feel like books these days severely lack "heroes". Personally, I'm not a fan of goodie two shoes characters, BUT Tamlin's a great example of I will fight for what's right but still do everything in my power to save you. And that's just 🫠🫠 (also *cough* dragging Beron by the neck *cough* 🥵🤤 ALSO saving Lucien!! Harboring him, giving him a job!!!)

🌹 The fact that he ended slavery, takes in refugees from other courts and celebrates their festivals, and if the tales are to be believed, harbored humans that were from the children of the blessed and treated them well. ... HOW DOES ANYONE NOT LOVE THIS MAN?????

🌹 One of my favorite things about him is how he values life. From personally burying the blue fairy to feeling guilty about slaying the Naga. It shows that his heart is still soft despite the hard manner in which he was brought up. I think it's such a precious and underrated aspect of him.

🌹 Another major thing is that despite how wronged he was, he still put aside that hatred and saved Feyre and her crew and then Rhysand. I don't think I could ever have such forgiveness in my heart for these characters and what they did to him. It was such a big move from him that it baffles me why fans still hate him to such a degree.

🌹 And lastly... his carefree side. From the fiddling to the swimming to the limericks. I love that artistic side of him. A man with such rough edges but somehow a great musician, a poet. Ugh I wish we saw more of this side of him 🥺🫠

🌹 Okay, one more thing, they always say the best leaders are the ones who do not want the job. Whilst I don't think Tam is the best leader, I do think he truly is a good one. You just don't get citizens willing to sacrifice themselves for a tyrant. That alone tells you they respected him and believed in him. But more so, when your court is completely destroyed and you still manage to inspire people to fight under you. I was truly impressed that Tamlin showed up with a small army in the Hybern war! 👏👏

🌹 Okay, last, last one. He was romantic 🥺🫠😍 I found it so hilarious at how much he did not want to date Feyre. But all those moments, from the rose garden to showing her the fae world, the "Just a glen", the willow o wisps 🫠🫠🫠🫠 it was magical and beautiful and I feel like the rest of the series lacks that. Also, during these moments, you see him going from someone who wasn't interested to someone falling hard and fast and 😭😭😭😭 he deserves better man!

In conclusion, a hott dorky yet romantic man with the heart of gold who will still rip the throats of their enemies (with his teeth 🫠🥵)

can anyone who’s also in love with tamlin please reblog this with the things you love about him? I’ve seen too much negative merch recently and it’s depressing me

[maxdibert]

On one of the previous asks about Snape Versus James you said James 'chose not to be functional' when James canonically improved as a person whereas Snape bullied way into his adulthood. Of course, we don't know James wouldn't have, but considering he stopped hexing people in corridors and Lily fell in love with him despite hating him before I think it's fair to say James DID improve whereas Snape really didn't...

I also think the class argument can be used to a certain extent. James presumably grew up in a world where his blood status gave him power, but was not prejudiced whereas Snape was born with a lower blood status and likely faced discrimination from it (ie Bellatrix's distaste for half-bloods) and yet still embraced those views even into his adulthood (treatment of hermione)

Idk I'm not totally fond of James but I can't help but think you're being a bit unfair

Your argument overlooks several key points that complicate the simple narrative of “redemption” in James’s character. First, using Lily’s eventual affection as evidence of James’s moral transformation is problematic. It implies that a woman’s validation is the ultimate marker of a man’s improvement—a perspective that is inherently misogynistic. Genuine maturity should be measured by an internal commitment to change, not by external validation from romantic interest. After all, James continued to badmouth and bully Severus behind Lily’s back, which hardly aligns with the image of a reformed, mature individual.

Moreover, we must consider the profound impact of class and privilege. James was born into a wealthy, aristocratic family—a background that provided him with extensive social and cultural capital, as Pierre Bourdieu would argue. This advantage means that he had the support systems, resources, and a safety net that allowed him to navigate his missteps with far less consequence than someone like Severus. Academic studies, such as Annette Lareau’s Unequal Childhoods show how children from privileged backgrounds are often raised in environments that normalize and even excuse certain behaviors that would be harshly judged in less advantaged settings.

In contrast, Severus’s behavior must be understood in the context of his troubled, disadvantaged upbringing—a life marked by poverty, violence, and a lack of supportive resources. His struggles and the environment he was forced to endure shaped him in ways that make direct comparisons with James both unfair and overly simplistic. Expecting Snape to adhere to the same behavioral standards as someone who had every structural advantage is to ignore the sociological reality that class significantly influences one’s ability to “improve” or even just behave in a socially accepted manner.

Ultimately, comparing James and Snape based solely on a surface-level reading of their actions not only misses the deeper nuances of their characters but also reinforces a flawed understanding of morality. It’s not enough to note that James stopped hexing people or that Lily eventually chose him; true change should be evident in consistent, principled behavior—and in that regard, his continued mistreatment of Severus and reliance on his inherent privileges suggest that his “redemption” might be more a product of circumstance than genuine personal growth.

Or, to sum it up for you better, let me tell you something my grandfather once told me, which is basically the foundation of my entire argument:

It’s very easy not to steal when you’re not starving.

[starlos-art-stuff-lol]

Wouldn't it be messed up if Portal was like, a time loop or something

Chell escapes in Portal one after a few hours of puzzles, but she immediately passes out and get dragged back in. Chell's sent to sleep for [9999999-] And when she wakes up, she spends another few conscious hours escaping again, but for real this time.

At least, that's what seems to happen in the story.

As a player, you experience the game very differently from Chell.

For example; imagine you're a new player. You start Portal 1, and after the tutorial/easy section, the puzzles start to get harder. They take longer, one of the puzzles seems to require timing in a way that almost feels like it goes against the game rules. You take a lot of time to complete the puzzles, you die multiple times, and that's fine. The game is meant to be played that way. You beat gladOS and escape. This playthrough is for fun.

You start up portal 2, you watch a few cutscenes/scripted events. It's fun that you get to walk around and look at whatever you want, though the room is a bit dim, and Wheatley is kind of the same color as most other things, so it's not Immediately easy to find him when he's talking to you. You solve more puzzles, get betrayed by Wheatley, learn to never love anything, solve more puzzles, shoot Wheatley into space, get broken up with by GladOS, and you're confused by the turrets singing some opera song at you before you leave. You assume it's the devs saying "good job" but like, it's kinda out of place.

...

...So that was fun. Really fun actually. The humor was great, the characters were endearing, and you check out the multiplayer campaign.

You decide to play again.

...

You wake up in that one room again. You question why this bedroom is covered by glass from 3 sides. You hop through the easy levels with ease. You poke a stick at some of the levels, seeing if there are other ways to beat them, and you don't find any. You hop skip and jump through the test chambers, remembering the solutions to most of them. You don't fall for the fire pit near the end, which you didn't the first time, but you didn't know how to escape it and didn't think to portal out of the chamber. You beat gladOS pretty fast now, after figuring out how to beat her the first time. You try to explore, you think about this game know knowing the context of Portal 2. This playthrough is for lore.

You start Portal 2. You try to see if you can do anything in the starting room, which you can't. You know Wheatley's fate, you try to avoid getting attached, but you still hesitate to plug him into gladOS's body. You solve puzzles, trying to explore but find that this game is a lot more streamlined than you previously thought, despite it's scale. You try to save the defective turrets from incineration, but after a certain point, you run out of patience as they just keep coming. You decide to jump into Wheatley's Pit during the part where he kills you, just as a bit, and discover that he has unique dialogue for that. You hear the adventure core tell you to make Wheatley say a certain thing so he can snap back with a quip, and then Wheatley says that thing. None of that happened in your last playthrough. You realize that the turret symphony is GladOS's love letter to Chell, and it's kinda beautiful. You tear up a bit.

...

You finish again. Now what? You love these characters now, but there's not much left to discover. Do you play the game again? Just because?

Sure, why not?

But what's the goal now? Maybe you can try to blast through the games as fast as possible? Sure, you think you've memorized the test chambers by now.

...

You boot up portal again, pushing against the wall until the portal opens and co.pleting the tutorial as fast as possible. You dash through the levels, but end up on several hangups. You think about how you could have done this thing faster, or how you could have avoided that death. You beat the game in only a few hours. This playthrough is about speedrunning.

You start Portal 2. You frantically run around the starting room, unable to skip the cutscene as it's an in-game event. You hop through the wall, grab the portal gun, and blast through the puzzles. You're slower here, you feel like you're getting snagged on ledges more often, and the puzzles are harder to both remember and perform. By the end of the game, you feel like you could have gotten a much better time. Regardless, the whole ordeal is only a few hours.

...

You could have done less, you could have gone faster. You need a better time.

Again.

...

You press start, you speed through the levels. You run face-first into the corner of a wall, but otherwise make few mistakes. This run is about better speedrunning. You shave half an hour off your time.

You press "new game", you still can't escape the first cutscene, but you ignore everyone's dialogue, you figure out the physics of the game and stop getting stuck walking into ledges, you shave an hour off your time.

...

You're content with this. You aren't a professional speedrunner, but you went pretty fast.

...You're still not ready to let go of this game, yet.

You look online for exploits. Maybe you can find some deleted content.

You figure out how to activate debug mode, and realize you can use this to look behind the scenes.

...

You start the first game again, and turn on noclip. You give yourself the 2-portal portal gun immediately, and start checking out the out-of-bounds areas. You're freaked out by the giant white angelic glowing void beyond the game, but get accustomed to it quickly. You find an unused cake room, you look in the "scientist-examination" rooms outside of most of the chambers, which aren't that interesting, but it's nice to see them. You attempt to teleport between levels, but you find it easier to travel by elevator, if only because you don't have to type as much. Honestly, there's not much to find. This playthrough is about going beyond the bounds of the game.

You start the second game again. The setpieces for this game are a lot more expensive. You finally escape the apartment at the beginning of the game, and realize it's fully modeled from the outside too. You spend hours just looking at the gigantic setpieces from the outside, marveling at how gigantic and beautiful everything is. You don't think to look for Easter eggs more than thrice, as you're so dedicated to simply looking at all the complicated functions of everything. You also notice the light bridge is humming, like it's literally singing. It sounds familiar. The moon exists upside-down, below the boss battle, which didn't even occur to you until you saw it. It seemed like a cutscene up until now.

...

You've gained a new complex appreciation for this game. But you can't help but wonder if this was how you were supposed to experience things. Probably not, but like, whatever. You go into Tumblr and look up portal 2 fanart

...

...

...uhh, where was I going with this?

OH RIGHT TIMELOOPS

Uhh ok so. Thanks for reading all that. Bonus post time

So, what would The Portal Series's gameplay loop look like in-universe?

I mean, it wouldn't look like anything, the characters keep forgetting, but like

Chell remembers, in theory

I mean, she learns, you learn when you die, she should too, since you're controlling her

Imagine waking up in a mysterious place, not knowing where you were before this point or how you got here, so you have to escape.

And you die in a pit of acid.

And then you're not dead. You're at the point right before you died.

First of all, fucking ow. Second of all, how do you not die again? How did you undie just now? (You don't know you're a fictional character in a video game lol idiot)

You die over and over, eventually, you beat the person who keeps killing you, but you're so exhausted and starved that you pass out immediately after getting flung outside.

You wake up, in a small apartment. An electronic voice is telling you want to do. Your last memory is setting dragged backwards, supposedly into the facility again. You don't want to die, but you can't seem to open the door out and your robotic male not-gladOS caretaker doesn't seem to want to harm you. You go back to sleep, exhausted.

You wake up, and this tiny cute robot-

Look I'm not writing a pov fanfic for you, let's skip to the good stuff

You wake up, back in the fucking building again. You escaped, she kicked you out. She doesn't seem to remember. You don't die this time, and the same shit happens.

The blue fucker, you feel kinda bad for him, but he also punched you into a pit, so-

He doesn't remember anything either.

...

Like, that's a whole story there. Chell going crazy because her life is following Undertale RESET rules except she can't change anything without fundamentally breaking spacetime (again, she doesn't know she's a videogame character so that's what no clipping looks like to her)

That'd be so messed up right?

[homestuckreplay]

take me down to the pesterlog city where jade’s text is green and john gets all petty

(page 1394-1406)

It’s pesterlog time!!!! In a 12 page spread (1391-1402) there are seven pesterlog pages representing five characters. I feel like I am a medieval peasant attending my first palace banquet. The rich offerings of character moments and variety of colors on display is blowing my gruel-fed brain.

The art also kicks ass this update! Tbh I am going to make a post about the art more generally as I’ve noticed some big changes recently (and some slow changes that are very apparent when jumping back) so for today I’ll just say: look at this super cool art of John exploring LOWAS on page 1395. He’s so clearly questing in a way that the sprite just can’t represent. I would get this framed for my wall.

I’m delighted to get a longer conversation with CG, who I’ve named Reggie. They’re actually fun and creative with their trolling techniques here, and knowing what they look like means I get to imagine this little grey kid grinding their fangs as they tap away on their keyboard furious at a comparatively sweet and clueless guy. They look like a goofy nerd whose bark is way worse than their bite.

‘IT WOULD MAKE ME SICK TO MY HUMAN STOMACH IF I HAD ONE OF YOUR HUMAN STOMACHS’ is VERY funny. Reggie feels similar to the Felt and Midnight Crew in being so over-the-top in their violence that it loops back around to being funny. And John’s reactions are good too – he’s not upset at the trolling like Jade is, he’s hilarious and willing to turn Reggie’s snark back on them. Their willingness to play off each other definitely increases the ‘enemies to lovers’ feeling of this Valentine’s Day conversation.

It is interesting that Rose accepted GA’s offer to be friends (p.1093), and now Reggie is telling John that they’re friends in the future (p.1394). So suddenly the trolls, who act and look textbook malicious at first, are trying to play nice. Are the trolls setting this up in order to double cross the kids in the future? Or are the trolls trying to incorporate the kids into their group and get them to follow some sort of dark trolling agenda? Or are they also just outcast alien kids who troll people because they’re lonely and want some attention? Hard to say when we have only heard from three of them.

There is something amazing about PM’s sword previously being used for vengeance (p.844, 870) and this time when she tries to do similar, she’s interrupted by WV who convinces her to use it to open cans and share food instead. WV may be from the dark kingdom but he feels like a peacemaker between the light and dark sides, refusing to fight against either PM or AR. I mean he is literally followed around by the light of serenity. And now he sits between PM and AR and shares his food and Tab and they all become friends, which honestly, is amazing mayoral work. Solving disputes in the town already. I really think he could build a town just like Spades Slick did.

This view of Dave’s city is cool too, I love the color of the sky! He straight up lies by saying ‘i always keep birds in here its sort of my thing’ (p.1400) and calling it sincere, considering his earlier bird-free room (p.312). He is on way too many layers of irony to decode (i.e. he just says whatever bullshit comes to mind that might be funny with no regard for whether it’s true or false). Which is soooo great for getting to know his character (also he should stop saying slurs).

However, I can see why Dave is annoyed by Rose here. Like he does kind of bring this all on himself by being so ironic all the time and talking about how ‘cool’ his brother apparently is, but, it’s gotta be hard when he’s been telling Rose about fighting his brother on the roof and she’s dismissing that he went through a lot to get the beta to save her, when Jade had it literally handed to her. Rose doesn’t know the details so I’m not mad at her, but it still can’t be easy for Dave to hear that dismissal from a friend.

I do feel like Rose and Jade have this alliance in seeing themselves as the two who know what’s going on, with the combined power of Jade’s visions and Rose’s perceived high intelligence. This whole update is very gender roles but this does evoke page 838, where Rose is far more aware of Jade’s powers and the type of information she has access to than John or Dave are.

Meanwhile in Dave and John land...

TG: i should probably text him soon TG: see whats up TG: because TG: i love him

Straight up adorable. Don’t even pretend to me that there’s a shred of irony in this. I love how close these guys are. This is sort of the first declaration of love in Homestuck unless you count John’s telling Liv Tyler on his Armageddon poster that he loves her (p.223).

We specifically don’t get to see Rose’s conversation with a troll (yet), but I think we can assume she’s talking to GA, probably the only troll she respects enough to prioritize over Dave. We also don’t see where in the Medium Rose is; John assumes that she’s also in the Land of Wind and Shade, but according to Rose, ‘It’s hard to say for certain. But I think I like it here.’ (p.1402). If the Medium has four planets in between the light and dark (p.703) (holy shit half the story ago) then it makes sense for the players to all start on different planets and have to find each other, so we could be getting ANOTHER super aesthetically cool land within the next few weeks. Or teased repeatedly until the end of the act, who knows.

The puppets (including a wizard puppet) clinging to the totem lathe on page 1403 is a very good gag. Also, ‘eggy loking thign’ (p.240) spotted here in the menu?? Implying a limited set of Sburb entry items?? Also 2,000 starting build grist for Jade to use compared to 20 for Rose, and a bunch more gizmos and gadgets available to deploy, including a disc with a piece of green grist (?) and two devices shaped like captchalogue/strife cards; a further tease of what’s to come.

Finally, I’m so glad Hussie agrees with me that there’s no fucking way Jade knows how to clean a house. Even if she has absorbed gender roles and sees cleaning as a woman’s activity (p.1405) she definitely was not taught to do that and designed some kind of robot to do it for her.

[secriden]

Oh damn, I haven't been able to get on tumblr for like 2 weeks+ and I've barely even processed Episode 11 let alone 12, but thank you for the shoutout!!

I honestly think this is such a lovely and insightful reply and one of the things I became obsessed with before the show even started is the way Fadel and Style were clearly designed to fit together "like missing puzzle pieces" (<- a phrase I used in my first ever meta post about Style, before episode 1 even dropped and all we had was the character interview video), and I think this reply captures some of the most essential aspects of this.

What you say about Style seeing Fadel is so fucking true, and also so fucking important because Fadel is the one character who does not get anyone's understanding at the start/early parts of the show. Bison already has Fadel who takes care of him and tries his best to accomodate Bison's wishes despite the danger to their identity; Kant has Babe as a semi-confident of sorts, who he can talk to even if he can't fully tell Babe all the details; Style has his dad, Kant, and a whole neighbourhood of aunties and uncles and friends (which we see glimpses/references to throughout the series in dialogue or context); hell even Keen has a boyfriend who doesn't know about his whole ~side gig as a hitman information gatherer~ but clearly loves and supports and isn't overly phased even when he's held at gunpoint. But what does Fadel get?? Fadel has no one but a "mother" who used him, who never really loved him, and an ex who (Fadel thought) left him when he found out about Fadel's true darkness.

And what I have kept coming back to, over and over and over again, and what I find so incredibly compelling about their relationship is the way Style chooses to love Fadel. There's something so special about the character who starts out knowing the least, the character who is the most narratively vulnerable and ignorant, and the one most victimised by the context, also being the one who remains unflinchingly loyal, even as each new piece of information about Fadel is revealed. Style chooses to love Fadel and it's a choice he makes over and over despite Fadel's early harsh treatment of him, despite Fadel genuinely hurting his feelings after sleeping with Style and tossing him aside, despite Kant revealing Fadel to be a murderer, despite Fadel turning on him and holding him at gunpoint, despite Fadel needing to "finish" his one last job after Style pleads with him to walk away, despite Fadel choosing jail and separation rather than going on the run and dooming Style to five years of loneliness and longing -- STYLE FUCKING CHOOSES FADEL. (Like, I'm not saying that Style didn't have his own hand in their tumultuous relationship; but my point is that loving Fadel was never the easy route and Style walked that path without ever looking back).

And I think there's something so much more compelling about a love that comes by choice rather than "helpless" and fleeting emotion. Style's love for Fadel is intentional and we see the evidence of that in the way he sacrifices so much for Fadel in episode 12. (The whole buying the Heart Burger back for Fadel?? The way it's done?? I could make a whole post about the way Style not only does it but does it RIGHT. *sobs*)

And on a similar vein, the way Fadel dismantles his own walls to let Style in is so fucking incredible. The way he does this in such an intentional way despite his own fears and past hurts when it comes to love. (Nope, still not shutting up about Fadel getting himself drunk to lay himself bare for Style. Sorry not sorry.) The way Fadel continues to be very upfront about where he's at with Style afterwards, the way he explicitly tells Style all his reservations and reasons for doubting Style once the truth is revealed. The way he so clearly wants Style to know the full extent of his darkness and depression and hopelessness, and hell the way he keeps trying to let Style go. Because love also means wanting better for the person you cherish and Fadel would rent his own heart to shreds again, would return to that darkness if that was what Style wanted.

Their love is so grounded and evidenced in real actions and sacrifice and care and it boggles the mind how anyone could think they don't love each other.

As characters, they truly, for me, stand out as one of the most intensely interesting and compelling relationships I've encountered in a while. They were intentionally designed to be difficult to come together, made to clash and rub up against each other and bring out the worse in each other; but in doing so, found honesty and truth and that makes their love all the more real to me.

As for JoongDunk's portrayal of these characters -- listen, there's always going to be differences in opinion and preferences, but here are my general thoughts:

There are some instances of Dunk as Style that didn't fully land for me (eg. the crying scene in the car bed cuz they tried to balance comedy and drama and succeeded at neither; or the kissing in episode 12 when Fadel and Style are in bed and Dunk for some bizarre reason maintains like a foot of distance between their bodies) but others that I think were fucking incredible (eg. Style pressing worshipful hands and kisses on Fadel's body in his bed in episode 5; the opening scene in episode 6 when Style looks up at Fadel with frank wonder and open invitation; the look of tragic acceptance as Style thinks he's saying goodbye to Fadel after the rock concert; the look of acceptance and understanding when Fadel turns away from Style's kiss in the bathtub scenes -- I could go on). I think Dunk was incredible when it came to the emotionally fraught moments with Fadel and his breakdown at the end of episode 11 was an undeniable example of how well he can communicate both the intense and subtle emotions of his characters. The comedy aspects were over the top and loud, but that was also an intentional character choice that I have no issues with and never did from the beginning. Style is who he is, unabashedly and without reservation, and I loved that from the beginning.

And I think the transformation Joong went through as Fadel was also very beautiful to watch. We are intentionally shown Fadel as being cold and clinical in the early parts of the show and then as each new aspect of his character is peeled back, Joong allows the softness inside to bleed into the way he holds Fadel too. The harshness comes back when Fadel finds out about Style's betrayal, but Joong changes how he portrays Fadel and allows the inner agony and vulnerability to bleed through like Fadel's facade is cracking. I said in another post after episode 9 that I'm so grateful that the show gave Fadel the space to journey into accepting Style back, and this still holds true even until episode 12. Joong was incredibly nuanced as Fadel and ALL OF IT was wrapped up in Style and how being loved by Style and loving him changes Fadel.

But am I surprised that not everyone sees this? Not really. Watching SIMM and then seeing all the hate and low ratings about it online has made me convinced that some people simply don't watch things the way I do and that's... disappointing but there's nothing I can do about it except write posts that hopefully resonate with other people so that I can, at the very least, gather the people who DO appreciate it and love them for what they are good at together into my little corner of the internet. <3

why u like fadelstyle so much? the show ended and i still don't feel like theres love between them, same with all jd couples they don't seem like a couple at all

oh man how to answer this in a way that will do fadelstyle justice? I think @secriden and @bentnotbroken1fanfiction have much better, very in depth analysis of them as a pair and their wonderful dynamic.

but for me personally? simply, it's a type of love that I'm looking for. my personality is very similar to fadel's, the way style always goes out of his way to understand him and push back against all of fadels attempts to push him away - it really warms my heart.

they see each other, do you understand? style guesses that fadel could be a hitman, even if it was just a joke - style always saw him for who fadel is and fadel has been in wanting for that devotion, fadel has been aching to just be held and be able to fall apart - when fadel goes to prison style keeps his dream alive. fadel finally found someone who can understand how much he's had to give, how much he's always had to put himself second, someone who appreciates fully when fadel does it for him - I think style is the only person who's ever even attempted to feel the extent of fadel's sacrifice let alone tell him that he's deserving of the same and then go out and do it.

joongdunk have so subliminally portrayed that growing trust between them, that lived through all of fadel's anger at being betrayed, all of style's fear of fadel's dangerous life. they've just done so well to show what it means to slowly make space for each other, to fall in love through a gradual understanding of each other, I really felt that no matter what happened between them no matter how angry they were or how much distance there was between them every episode fadel and style loved each other more than the last.

fadel and style's romance is one of my favorite couple dynamics period I'm sorry you didn't feel it and even though we are allowed to interpret shows differently and like different things its a pity that I have no way to make you experience the beauty with which they touched my heart.

[ike9306]

We all joke about how the AJ trilogy would have been so much shorter if Apollo had a gun and all that, but we forget that Apollo could very much own a gun.

Like, that guy was raised in the mountains by a group of rebels. He probably has weapons training and could very much own a gun (illegally, yes, but I don't think his life in Khura'in was very legal anyway). He may look like a twig, but honestly, I am persuaded his punch is absolutely wicked.

[sukibenders]

Intersectionality is something that, sadly, is often pushed to the side in Arcane discussions, specifically from a certain side of that fandom. They will go on and on about Viktor, as they usually do, talking about how he suffers from classicism and ableism within the show and fandom respectively (as they should as these are issues, but there is a catch when it comes to these fans as well), but when others in the fandom, especially Mel or even Sky fans, point out the racism and misogyny (misogynoir) that is often rampant in this fandom, particularly from said fans mentioned prior, all of a sudden its not possible or being overdramatized. Like they suddenly can't understand how some of their rhetoric includes or invites the same thing black fans have been calling out since the beginning, because how can you discuss the ableism and such that Viktor faces, but laugh or joke around with people who call Mel slurs or just denounce her to a trope? I thought you were for calling out forms of hate within fandom, or does your "activism" only stretch so far? And back to a previous statement, about the catch regarding those particularly fans----some of them regurgitate the same harmful rhetoric towards Viktor that they say they supposedly hate, just in mode subtle ways. How are you going to say you hate when Viktor is infantilized, but will be quick to forget he's a grown man who can defend himself (often when trying to pair him against Mel, framing her as the aggressor, and sometimes even Jayce too but to a lesser degree)? Not saying Jayce doesn't get equal amounts of hate, but his more so gets pushed aside along with his character to ultimately frame Viktor in higher regard, often making him ooc. It's like they pick and choose when the issues are prevalent, and when they aren't, and it's so frustrating.

[jhonny]

can you guess which reanimated collab im practicing for

[greensagephase]

Hiii, pooks! Yes, I see that in your recent ask with more art it states he's a kingpin variant, which I find so interesting! Also, I love that he's still a very sassy man despite being strict, hehe!

Second, oooh!! I love how you changed it to Miguel being the one who created rapture! You don't have to answer, but this just brings other questions to mind (I'm so intrigued by the lore 🤭🤭), like whether he has produced the drug to spread it all over, the way it's canonically a known and abused drug in Spider-Man 2099's universe? Or, is Tyler the one who starts producing it once Miguel creates it? But anyway... Tyler... 😒 I'm glad to hear mafia Miguel gets his revenge (we hate Tyler in this house!). Also, is Tyler still his bio dad in this AU? I know I'm asking too much stuff, I'm sorry 😭 but I swear it's because I'm curious. If you wrote a fanfic or lore post, I'd read it, but eeee! So mans becomes a villain after this - I feel him (honestly it brings to my mind how our og Miguel doesn't become a villain after everything he goes through 🥲)!😌 Also, another question on his senses being enhanced, for research purposes...🤭 Is he stronger than the average human man because of rapture? I'm thinking about how for Kira, her suit is what gives her her strength (I remember you telling me that some time ago), so... 🤭🤭 Asking for a friend. 😌

About his scar, I got you :)) I initially thought about that, but then thought about Kira giving it to him, haha, and him wearing it proudly because she gave it to him.🤭🤭 But it definitely symbolizes the violence he has experienced as a mafia boss. I genuinely love that detail for that, showing he hasn't gone unscathed and it's not easy being in that world. I think that's important because sometimes in these kind of stories the characters don't have any kind of scars or haven't experienced personal losses, which makes it unrealistic as that type of life is a highly dangerous and unstable one. But EEE, Kira is going to make him HURT, hm? We love the angst!😭

And aww, pooks, of course! As I said, if you wrote a fanfic or something of the sorts explaining everything, I'd DEVOUR it! 🥰🥰

ALSO, IT'S IN MY INBOX, POOKS!! As soon as I saw it, I was B U Z Z I N G -- Like, every time I see it, I feel like I'm about to magically learn how to do somersaults because of it, but hear me out! I didn't want to ignore your previous asks.😭 I always try to answer asks as they are sent, like in the order they come in because I don't want anyone who has sent asks before to see that I'm answering some asks before theirs when it's noticeable that I skipped theirs. Like, say when I update a fic or write something and I get an ask about that specifically. The previous asker would know I skipped their ask, which was sent a day or so before I made an update, you know? Or, in your case, you'd know I skipped 3 of your asks to get to the NC art one. I'd never want to make you feel like I don't care about your other asks non-related to NC,🥺so I try to be fair :)) I will be skipping the one about the drabble of Miguel and Dulzura kissing under the mistletoe, so I can work on it! But only because it involves writing, so the next ask will be about the NC art and GIRL! *SCREECHES* 🤭🤭I will save my reaction for the ask :))

🤭

Hiii, Lara pooks!! 🥰 I’m finally answering this ask that’s also been in my inbox since December (I’m sorry).

Not one, not two, but THREE works! I’m honored! May I say that the first one made me giggle because of how sassy he is? “Ya. The only problem? It’s a shitty plan!” I love this sassy mafia man! Also, God, he looks so good while telling whoever he’s talking to about their bad plan.

Okay, so when I first saw this ask, the second drawing on the bottom half of the first panel got me like??? 👀👀 Because I had noticed the green eyes in the previous ask from the half of the drawing comparing 25yr old and 35yr old Miguel. When I first saw the first ask, I thought maybe you were playing around with the eye color (green), and then you dropped this ask and I was like, “WAIT! This is actually a thing” when I saw that this Miguel has green eyes. And now you’ve revealed that he discovered rapture (in the latest ask you’ve sent, which I have yet to answer. I’m so behind with notifications🫠), so now I have questions that hopefully you’ll answer in future art! So, 25-year-old Miguel was working at a lab and he discovered rapture… And that’s why now in his mafia era, Miguel has green eyes! Did he take it willingly, or did something go wrong? And if he did take it willingly, why? How did he go from a geneticist to a mafia don? I have questions, Lara, and I hope we learn more in the future! 😭 🙏🏼

Also, I love the second panel so much! I love how I can tell 35-year-old Miguel looks so much more mature, not only by the white streaks of hair, but also in his face lines. Mwah! I loved that detail, and I need 35-year-old Miguel in my life, like yesterday, please!

I’m not gonna lie, the last panel had me barki- I mean, screaming! The way he’s sitting there, so powerful and handsome? Bout to ask if his lap is taken, or if I may take a seat. 😩 The hair? Sir, please, let me just run my fingers through it! Also! I hadn’t noticed mans has a scar on his eyebrow?! It’s only because of this colored drawing that I realize it’s a scar, and not like, something he decided to do to his eyebrow for himself (you know how some people specifically shave a line off?). Now I’m curious how he got it! Was it Kira? 🤭 Also, the way the light makes his eyes look so pretty?? I wanna gaze into them forever. 🥺

Aughhhh, Lara! Your art! You’re always cooking, and I thank you for that and also for continuing to share your OC and variant Miguel’s lore. It always inspires me to work more on my own, but I never do lol. 💀Maybe in the future! But, thank you once again for sharing your art with me! 🥹 I’m going to hopefully answer the rest of your asks this week. I was hoping to answer more this weekend, but I started feeling under the weather on Saturday. Anyway, feeling alright now, so I should be able to answer my asks and catch up.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, pooks!💖

Alondra❤️

[oifaaa]

I'm not gonna lie I've been pondering for the last 30 minutes or so on what a good animated Robin movie would look like and Im kinda coming up blank I'm even getting stumped on which Robin the movie would focus on and outside of that what story should be the main focus

[carnivalls]

actually there's no need to make this assignment any more complicated than it already is. horatio vs patroclus 'the lovers' epilogue' short story from 2021 revamped now ok?