#well not like huge I can use it just fine tbh which is why I haven’t replaced it

[tricksterlatte]

Anyone else think short form social media based on algorithms designed to promote topics that create more engagement instead of more joy, the idea of fast fashion but conveyed through social media, and the fact you can monetize suffering and outrage better than ever has largely resulted in the death spiral of media literacy and the mass emergence of bad faith readings?

[arolesbianism]

I've just been playing the new cotl update for most of the day and I'm so so close to being done with the main new story bits I think but it's also past midnight but also I'm so excited idk if I'll be able to sleep but also god damn do I need to sleep

[hadesisqueer]

i dont follow you for rwby but im curious who is nora and why would it be fun to see azula shoot lightning at her??

Good question indeed.

Okay so this is Nora. Nora Valkyrie.

Nora is a character from RWBY, and part of the main cast. She is like 5 feet tall, 18 or 19 years old, cute, playful, happy-go-lucky and often a menace (she'd get along with Toph or Sokka if you understand me), though she's gone through many things and can actually get pretty serious too, and is very loyal and brave. Physically speaking she's strong. Like, really strong. Ridiculously strong. And her weapon as you can see is a huge hammer (its also a grenade launcher but we're leaving guns out of this). She is part of team JNPR. Team JNPR's members are based of legends and myths. Nora is based off Thor (hence the hammer). Her semblance —a superpower, let's say— is also as a reference to Thor as well. Its name is High Voltage, and it allows her to *checks* absorb electricity into her body and enhancing her strength.

This is an example of Nora using her semblance:

This is Nora at her limit btw, overusing her semblance too much on an energy field, which is why she collapses and gets scars (which look sick on her later tbh). Normally, while being electrocuted can still be painful for her, she can withstand it with relative ease and get moving fast (usually with a smirk). And that includes actual lightning. She actually explained once that she found out what her semblance was because she got struck by lightning one day and she was fine and didn't die.

So, yeah, if Azula, or any other lightningbender, hit her with lightning, Nora would probably fall and feel the pain. Then two seconds later she'd proceed to get up with a smirk because the bender just powered her up.

[amorremanet]

For Fandom confession ask game: I think jiang cheng loved Wei wuxian in a more than brotherly or platonic way but didn't have the emotional knowledge to recognize it and that's why it hurt him so bad when Wei wuxian defected from the jiang sect and later went off lan wangji because Wei wuxian was supposed to be his person and he left him behind

Y E A H

YEAH

And this isn't even me being amatonormative about it, because it doesn't even have to be romantic or sexual to be an intensity that is beyond what is typical of siblings or best friends or sworn confidantes. I posted once about how Jiang Cheng embodies Jo March's reaction to John Brooke asking to court Meg in Little Women:

“Of course not. It would be idiotic! I knew there was mischief brewing. I felt it, and now it’s worse than I imagined. I just wish I could marry Meg myself, and keep her safe in the family.“

IF ONLY HE COULD MARRY WEI WUXIAN HIMSELF AND KEEP HIM SAFE IN THE FAMILY!!

Of course, if you are interpreting this in a romantic/sexual context, there is SO MUCH to unpack there, especially re: his resentment towards Wangji, and it is outrageous to me that it's not one of the top Jiang Cheng ships.

[jacqulinetan]

On writing fanfiction

Exactly one person hinted that this might be helpful and I thought, well, okay, why not? tonight I have the time. I've been collecting thoughts for awhile and posting fic for more than a decade (writing longer than that!) so why not create a little manifesto of sorts.

A [not at all comprehensive] guide to writing and sharing fic - for beginners - from someone who is serious about writing fanfic as a hobby but casual about everything else:

On logistics:

Where should one write? I use google docs. Recently there's been some discussion about not using gdocs because of AI concerns, and I think if you are sharing nsfw files with other users there is a nebulous risk of losing access to the file... so I've heard. Tbh I cannot speak to the actual risk of either of these things. But I like gdocs because it's free and I can access the same doc from my phone as my desktop which is good for on-the-go thoughts. Other programs that people like are scrivener (costs money - but everybody who uses it says its worth it) and libre office (I tried this and didn't like it, but only because I'm used to gdocs). There are other programs out there, but these are the ones I feel I hear about the most. For me personally, I also have a notebook. If I'm inspired and want to get some scene or dialogue out quickly, writing analog is fastest for me and I find my thoughts flow well like that too.

Where should one post? Archive of our own dot org. There are other fic sites (wattpad) but none of them have the legendary tagging system that ao3 has - more on this later. On ao3 you will need to create an account (if you need an invitation, I'm not sure if you do, but if you do I will personally give one to you, just dm me). But you can post fic under your user handle or anonymously. When you browse the site, you will see that everything is separated by fandom, then by pairing (though non pairing/romance or 'gen fic' is fine too), then by characters involved, then other tags. I imagine it's overwhelming if you are not there a lot, but when you post, the form guides you for what to fill out (e.g. you will fill out the fields before you drop in your fic). You can always edit later if you want to change things around, but ao3 does not have an algorithm, so people will find your fic based on 1) the time it was originally posted or more likely 2) the tags that give an idea of what the story is about. I could write for ten thousand years about the merits of ao3, but like most things, you have to just get in there and try it out.

Other people who are smarter than me and know more than me can write and have written huge, in depth explanations for how to use features, and work skins, and the beautiful bells and whistles of ao3, but here is the down and dirty kind of explaining for sorting and filtering. I'm not going for nuance, I'm going for broad stroke understanding, and the nuance can come later. On ao3 fic 'metrics' we have hits (clicks), kudos (basically a 'like'), and bookmarks -- as a reader you can sort by any of these, which basically means you can move more popular fics to the top based on your preferences. And as a writer, it means you are hungry for people to kudos or bookmark your fic so that it potentially gets more eyes on it. Well, that's kinda putting the cart before the horse so to speak, if you're just getting started, but it is nice for your work to get feedback.

Tagging beyond pairing and character is important because it's how people will differentiate your fic from the others. This is things like 'canon compliant' or 'post canon' or 'coffee shop au' or 'enemies to lovers' or 'anal sex' or 'Bottom Shiro' or literally anything. Literally anything. These can be big tags ("wrangled tags") that everybody uses commonly enough that they are their own kind of category ('dom/sub') or random silly things you want to advertise with (e.g. 'blatant disregard for hoverbike safety'). You can add as many tags as you like. There are no rules to writing fanfic but tagging content warnings appropriately is important to readers, and you will find YOUR people most expediently if you tag honestly and robustly. Again, I could write 150k just about the intricacies of using ao3 as a reader AND writer, but 1) there are other folks who have done it better already/know more than me and 2) you really just gotta get in there and play around to understand it.

I am always happy to talk about fic and so if any questions about logistics arise, I will happily try to help. ao3 also has help pages and support. One random but important note is that the crux of ao3 is that it is an ARCHIVE only (so there is minimal moderation of content, to an extent ) and not for profit, so you must never ever mention money exchanged for fic there. if a work is a commission or something of that nature, that is fine, just mention it on socials or elsewhere, do not put put that in the summary or author's notes, etc as it will cause your work to be removed for legal reasons.

On writing:

The best advice for writing is the easiest to give and the most useless to receive: you really do just have to write. Write, write, write. That is the only way you will find what works for you, the only way you will get better, the only way you will tell your story. Since my goal is not to be patronizing, I will not say that. I will try to give some random and interesting tips that really get to the heart of what I feel you need to know (in my world of healthcare we call this type of information 'clinical pearls' LOL)

Getting started -

It's likely that there is a specific scene you want to write and that's why you're considering starting a piece in the first place. That's grand. All you need is that little bit of inspo!! when you're crafting a story around that point, try to drop the reader in at a time that is interesting/exciting/unexpected. if you're just starting out and all you have is the inspo scene, write that. then you can decide if that gives a full enough picture on it's own (fics don't have to be hugely long, esp in the beginning of your writing journey) or what else you want to add to be satisfied.

For me, I usually have an idea in a google doc and some bits of dialogue or random stuff that goes along with the idea as I got random inspiration. then when I want to start on a new work, I try to conjure up one scene that will get me rolling -- from there I can just keep writing what comes next. As a less experienced fanfic writer I wrote more outlines and was more methodical. when I'm writing now I don't really know how things end (except for in a very vague sense) until I'm actually writing the ending. this makes writing a lot of fun for me. when I write fic, I am my own audience and I am writing for my own entertainment.

Establish a setting -

I feel like a lot of less experienced writers fail to place these characters in a setting. If I open a fic and it's just mostly dialogue (chat fic, I'm looking at you, darling) I'm thinking ?? okay ?? are they floating in space??? what is happening?? I don't like chat fic. Give people an anchor at the very least and try to remember that the reader doesn't have your Mind's Eye and they will likely not know what you are imagining unless you explicitly state it. this might seem obvious, but writers who are good at setting are remarkably good at writing, I think. also, I do not like to open with dialogue but that's personal preference.

Magical paperclip moment -

Along the same lines as grounding the characters in setting, I like to add in what I call in my mind 'magical paperclip moments.' This is something I made up (I'm insane, btw) after being really impressed with a writer's work (I think in the hetalia fandom, I wish I knew the exact fic because it quite literally changed my life). anyways, the characters are having a conversation in the fic, and the author randomly added in a line about one of the guys playing with a paperclip while they talked. It did not move the plot forward, it was not important to the guy's character, it was just a random idiosyncrasy that made the story feel real. magical stuff. I love that.

Decide on vibes-

This is a big one for me!!! at the beginning of my working google doc I usually have some random notes, a running list of tags, etc, but I also have a category for ~vibes~ In other words, I am thinking hard about what kind of overall feeling I want the piece to have, and I am thinking about what kind of feeling I want to invoke in the reader. should this story be dreamy? Gritty? Fast paced? Emotional? And then it really helps direct the scenes because I'm trying to stay within that framework of vibes for the reader. So I try not to write just the story alone, but also the tone of the work. Also having a theme in mind, or a motif that runs throughout, can really make a work powerful

The POV has a voice-

This depends on the style of the writer, but for my work, it's HUGE. If I'm writing from the POV of one character and it is identical to the POV of another character, I am not doing a good job. through the way things are described, the tone, whether the writing is more formal vs casual, all of this can help establish the voice of the fic. the fics that I've written that are the most stand out, or the most entertaining, or the most popular - all of them have a very distinct character voice to them that matches the story and the tone of the fic, and helps characterize the pov. it's not for everyone, but to me this is the single most important thing to elevate a story into something special

Writer's block-

Getting stuck is inevitable. When you're stuck, you have two options: grind it out or let it simmer. Grinding through the block is not for the faint of heart - by this I mean literally chain yourself to the laptop and poke out word after painful word until the words start to flow. This could take hours and hours and barely result in a paragraph.... that you might scrap later. But, sometimes it can be enough to break through the block. If you let it simmer, that's more gentle - take a shower, go to the grocery store, go on a walk, etc. If that's not enough, read, watch tv, consume some other kind of media that fills your cup. Let your brain work out the block in your background processes. return to the fic when you really want to and then you will be ready.

Two things I always think of when I don't know what comes next in a story: What would I as a reader be so insanely stoked to see happen next??? and What would be unexpected or exciting here?

On community:

You can't really talk about the transformative work of writing fanfiction without mentioning the fandom as community. I have a lot of precious thoughts about this, but I will keep things brief here. Fic is shared in a dialogue with other fans - it is not sold, it is not beholden to canon, it is not for the satisfaction of the original work. People are writing purely because they want to and that is an amazing and powerful thing !!!!!

Comments -

Well we all want comments because we love to hear about how people love our take on our precious blorbos. But you have to leave comments on other folks work too. truly, as a writer, you have to. I think this is a good way to start finding your people: read fic that excites you -> leave a comment there -> see who else left comments -> read their fics -> look at their bookmarks -> read more fics -> leave more comments -> you will start to 'know' the people who like the same thing as you. you will start to have readers! you will find writers that inspire you! you will get better at writing! you will be in fandom!

One important thing to note for new to fanfic folks is that construct criticism of any kind is not welcome on fanfiction. it's not needed because the author is SHARING fic with you - I am by no means the first person to say this, but think of it like going to their house and eating their home cooked meal... if it's not to your taste, peace out. just leave. no need to let them know. this is doubly true if you don't like the content of a fic. simply leave...it's not for you, so find something that is. or make your own thing. As a writer, if someone is not following this basic fandom decorum, and they hurt your feelings with a nasty comment, you need to remember that they are the one in the wrong - they are being rude and you are justified to feel irritated or hurt. if you've tagged your own work appropriately, then you haven't done anything wrong by writing your fic.

Social media-

Two things about writing and social media (fandom circles of socials). 1. be insane about one particular thing, that will be your brand and bring you people and be fun. you don't have to do this, you could just be insane about a lot of things, but I think having one niche interest that really gets you going is good. that's my opinion! 2. never publicly discredit your work. don't say "LOL I suck at summaries" in the summary of the fic. don't put yourself down even if you have doubts about your writing....you can improve without doing that!!!

Sharing your fics in a post on twitter or bluesky is a good way to get more people to click on them, esp if you are a new writer. sometimes you will see people make pretty little title cards - they are making these on canva dot com and it is easy and free to use. I love doing this and it took me awhile to figure out how my favorite writers were making such pretty title cards for their fics. so now you know!

On concluding:

I can't imagine the resiliency of the readers who made it to this point!!!!!!!!! WOW !! Obviously I will post this with the caveat that I am just one little girlie and there are a lot of fic writing folks out there, some of them much more well spoken and more knowledgeable and better writers than me, and maybe if they posted a similar essay, it would have completely different content. that is okay and I am not sad about it. in other words, I do not pretend to be an authority on any of this, I am just a person who loves writing fanfiction and this is what I would tell a complete beginner <3 thank you for reading <3

[jisuto]

On the topic of game reception, what are your thoughts on the current state of pokemon?

OK THIS ASK WAS SENT BEFORE THE HUGE LEAK LOL but I have a lot to say:

I watched VHS tapes, played the games, and owned merch since a young age so the series is very special to me. But I don't like the current direction at all and it's not because of the designs or nostalgia. The quality and game performance plummeted so how can I enjoy playing when there's mad lag or low frame rate that hinders my progress and worsen the experience??

It took too many years for them to realize they need to put quality over quantity after the SWSH mess, seeing that they can get away with pretty much ANYTHING and still make huge profit. You see people say that Pokemon should've never went 3D and stay 2D but tbh, it's a series that improves it's graphics as technology advances so it's not a surprise for them to finally go 3D and personally I think that's fine but just keep it looking good and fun (though I would love a 2D/3D hybrid). XY introduced a lot of new features but still lacked in some aspects that still haven't really been solved or added.

Reusing assets is common in the industry but only to a certain extent. They claimed that SWSH was taking a while to make because they were making brand new models which turned out to be a lie and they look like bootleg figures with the new lighting. The 3DS models were ripped from Pokepark, including some animations, but a lot of them still barely have any character. They have their own in-house team (Creatures Inc) so they made the decision NOT to have pokemon properly animated or look alive.... Also they made spin-offs like Ranger, Colosseum, Pokepark, and Pokken which look AMAZING

FRLG took only one year while HGSS was being developed at the same time as Platinum and took 3 years to finish that turned into one of the best games and remakes ever made. As the franchise expands, the team also needs to add more manpower but Game Freak can definitely afford to get more resources to help them?? They can't continue having a ragtag team of like 20 people to make a game back then and do the same now then expect good results... Hire more people who know how create with current gen consoles IT'S COMMON SENSE PLS also I can't believe they had a different company create BDSP knowing how beloved and groundbreaking DPPT was?? No redesigns like the previous remakes and thought it was a good idea to keep it looking a carbon copy to the DS style...

Also it's shocking to see how fan reception can change how the devs direct the next gen ESPECIALLY when it's not even real constructive criticism?? When Unova came out, I remember seeing all the online outcry about "OH THEY HAVE AN ICE CREAM CONE POKEMON AND A TRASH BAG, THEY'RE RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS EW" then actually hear it being repeated at school.... I WAS TRYING TO SURVIVE SINCE DAY 1 IN THE TRENCHES DEFENDING THIS GAME IT WAS ALWAYS GOOD AND DIDN'T NEED 10 YEARS TO AGE WELL. It's crazy how these are the same people who want another Kanto when Trubbish is Grimer (garbage waste) and Vanillite is Voltorb (based on literal items) then you could not catch any other pokemon from different regions in the main game. And the leak confirmed that the disgruntled hate from the west made the devs not release new pokemon in B2W2 and move them over to XY instead AND NOT GIVE A SINGLE GEN 5 MEGA EVOLUTION. So we were robbed because of genwunners who were fixated on the wrong things and ignored all the great content Unova brought us. It's strange how players keep complaining they want a different and fresh game, but want it to continue being super formulaic and binary like wtf do you want make up your mind

None of the switch titles really got me invested and I always end up replaying the older games but hopefully PLZA will break the curse and finally give us a nice game. Also why don't we have more spin-offs on the switch if there's so many of them floating around like the DS had a bunch??? STOP BEING COWARDS I WANT A POKEMON NINTENDOGS GAME OR THAT FIRE EMBLEM CROSSOVER WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GET. I JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN AGAIN ;w;

[underaverageheight]

paint my love

hwang hyunjin x artist!gn!reader genre: fluff warning(s): none other than hyune being a bit of a crybaby

note: took me a while but i finally got to fully write out my little thought from here because tbh sending in asks to sage gets my brain going lol

word count: 2.1k omg

“Hey Bin! Um... can you do me a favor? Like a big, big favor?” Your best friend nodded eagerly, awaiting your words. "Can you... buy me a studio? Nothing huge. Just a studio?"

Changbin looked at you as if you were speaking gibberish. At this point, real gibberish would have made more sense. "Um. I love you but why? You have a studio and Hyunjin. Ask Hyunjin."

"Well, you see... I want to give him a new studio for our anniversary but I want to keep it a secret. A very secret secret and it’s not like I can drop a grand or two randomly and play it off." You looked at Changbin, reaching for his hand on the table. "I need you, Binnie."

He raised his eyebrow. "You need my money."

"Well... yeah. But I'm a good friend so I'll say I need you. Besides, I'll pay you back," Grinning, you gave him the best puppy eyes you could muster, causing him to groan in defeat.

"Fine." He pulled out his card. "For the love of this world, do NOT go buying a whole bunch of buildings. Okay? Ask Chan for his card if you're gonna do that." Changbin smirked and handed you his card before getting up to pat Hyunjin's shoulder, who looked at you with a puzzled facial expression.

Later that day, you spent your time sketching cherry blossom trees, scraps of your designs littered the floor of your shared room-turned-mini-studio, which was mostly filled with Hyunjin’s finished projects and some half-finished projects. With both of you being artists, many of your projects mixed with Hyunjin's. You tugged at one of his binders and flipped through the paints your boyfriend had bought or created. You found various shades of pink and red, ones you considered using for your project. After all, it had to be the most perfect anniversary gift for him.

"I'm home~" Hyunjin kicked off his shoes and found you scavenging through his binders and some of your folders. He gave you a quick peck on the top of your head. "Artistic rush?" You nodded and he chuckled, sitting down next to you. "What are you looking for?"

"Just some shades. I'm trying to find the nature catalog." Humming softly, you leaned against his shoulder. "I had a little thought." Laughing softly, you traced patterns on your boyfriend's thigh. "How was practice?"

"It was kinda fun today. We goofed off mostly and we were all okay with it. Even Minho was okay with it." Hyunjin tangled his fingers in the locks of your hair before reaching into a mess of binders and pulled a smaller one out. "Here."

"Thanks Hyunnie.” He hummed his acknowledgement, kissing your cheek again.

“I’m gonna shower and work on some things,” He got up and went to get his clothes from your bedroom. You, on the other hand, grabbed a spare bin, put the catalog, some paints you could easily find, and many brushes or various shapes inside. The rest of the day, you looked into multiple art studios, trying to find ones with a nice view and large windows. 

“This is the one.” You found a lovely, spacious yet cozy studio that faced the west, allowing one to see the prettiest sunsets from the room. Booking a viewing appointment for tomorrow, you quickly made another checklist; things to double check and look for to make sure what you were buying had the proper things. Grabbing your tote bag, a birthday gift from your boyfriend who painted delicate roses on the sides, you put the list in, your car keys, and your wallet with Changbin’s card inside. 

“As you can see, this studio has a smaller, more private office area with a lovely view of the city. It’s perfect for smaller businesses or artists or all kinds. Out here,” the realtor led you out of the little office to the outside space, “is the kitchen and a large open area here that can fit your various needs. Should it be a living room, meeting area, art studio based on your pretty bag there.” The woman smiled, gesturing to your tote bag. 

“It’s beautiful. May I check and look around the studio?” 

“Feel free to. I have another client downstairs so take as much time as you need,” The realtor smiled and left, going to the bottom floor to meet the client. Looking around, you checked for any damage, locating wall outlets, checking the space, checking the windows. Satisfied, you went down the many floors to find the realtor, going to make your down payment with Changbin’s card. 

You better love and use that studio to bits and pieces. Pay me back when you can :>

Texting Changbin back that you promise to pay him back, you drove home, catching Hyunjin on his way back to the house from a company dinner. Next week, you’d start the painting and prep. “Hi Jinnie! I finally figured out my artistic rush. So unfortunately I’ll be busy for a long long time.”

You giggled at the silly ferret’s antics. “Oh no! You’re going to disappear off the face of the Earth for a long time. When can I expect your kisses?” “Mmm… a week or two?”Jaw drop.

“Lord. Are you being summoned to paint down in the depths of hell? What are you painting? A skyscraper?” Hyunjin pounced on you, hugging you tightly and peppering kisses all over you. “Come back alive, my love.”

“Dramatic.” Laughing, you hugged him back, with a big grin, “I just wanna perfect this project. Besides, I literally see you everyday, angel.”

“Alright, alright fine.”

For a few days, you spent hours painting the walls, deciding on a green summery background, with faint mountains in the background. Coming home, you set your bags down, sighing, glad to be home. “Babyy!” Hyunjin comes to you, hugging and spinning you around with a wide grin. “You have green paint on your cheek… You’re really using that nature binder, huh?” 

You flushed a light pink, attempting to wipe off the dried paint. “Ah…” Laughing slightly, you rest your face against Hyunjin’s chest. Stilling slightly, Hyunjin brought his hands up to your head and your back, rubbing soothing circles on your back. 

A week later, you set the wet brush down on the paper, admiring your work. In the center of the wall was a grand cherry blossom tree, its branches stretching across the walls and parts of the ceiling. The white and pink blossoms stood out against the greenery, a flurry of floating blossoms seeming to drift in the wind. After hours of research, you found UV paint and glow in the dark paint. You outlined the tree and some blossoms. You added small details in your mural, working a lot later than you normally had, determined to finish this soon.

By the time you finished detailing, you gasped in wonder as the paint glowed brightly, seeming to shine brighter than the night life down below. The next and last day, you took the UV paint, marking up the mural with tiny messages. Satisfied, you sat on the couch, taking in the view of your finished mural. You were proud of the work you produced, stopping to admire it while you were cleaning up the studio. Before you left for the day, you left a little bag on the counter with a note. 

“Can you believe we’ve almost been dating for 4 years?” Hyunjin smiled as he held you close, his arms wrapped around you, blanketing you with his warmth.

“Speaking of which, I planned dinner at the restaurant we went to on our first date tomorrow.”

“Really? Do you think your message is still by that table in the corner?” Hyunjin’s eyes shined, recalling the memory.

On your first date with him, you both went to this small local restaurant. It was cozy yet elegant in its own way. After finishing your meals, you pointed at the wall next to the table, decorated with messages from its many visitors. “For good luck?” Hyunjin shrugged, pretending not to seem overly excited. “Sure.” You found an open area on the wall, scribbling the date. You thought for a moment before writing Y/n & Hyun - our first date ~ Hyunjin tried his best to hide his smile as you got up to use the restroom. Unbeknownst to you, he stood up and wrote a message of his own near the ceiling, convinced you’d never see his wish for luck. 

“Good morning darling. Happy anniversary~” You woke up to a decorated room, the walls of your shared room covered in many sketches and drawings. 

“What is this?” Walking over to the walls, you read off the writing on a smaller sketch. “‘The 73rd thing I love about you. Your sleeping patterns.’” The sketch depicted a person, presumably yourself, curled up like a koala. You laughed and looked at other sketches. “‘The 12th thing I love about you. Your hugs.’ ‘The 5th thing I love about you. Your smile.’ ‘The 1st thing I love about you. You.’ Aw Jinnie… I love it so much. It’s beautiful. I love you so much. Happy anniversary my love.” You hugged your boyfriend tightly, kissing him lovingly. 

“Where is it…” Your finger traced the walls, scanning for your message. “Found it! Right here, look!” You pointed at your faded handwriting, smiling brightly. You drew a heart near your previous message and wrote a new one. Happy 4 years to the one I love. “I don’t remember if you wrote one. I don’t think you did, did you?”

“I did write one. Honestly, I was completely head over heels for you when I first met you…So I wrote one in secret. Didn’t want to scare you away if you knew how much I cared about you.” Hyunjin blushed, looking away from you before searching the writing near the ceiling, pointing at the corner. I know it has to be you, so please let it be you. Underneath was a small cherry blossom, a symbol of when you first met Hyunjin. 

“Speaking of cherry blossoms… It's time for me to show you your gift.” Taking him to the tall building, Hyunjin was confused, unsure of what you could be referring to.

“Oh my god. Did you buy this building?” He paled slightly, making you laugh.

“Why does everyone think I’m gonna buy a building?!” Shaking your head with a smile, you took him up to the studio, placing the key in his hand. “Happy anniversary, darling.” Hyunjin nervously unlocked the studio, gasping at the sight.

“A new studio? For me? This is your gift? Oh my god.” You flipped the lights on. The mural was fully revealed, nearly bringing your boyfriend to tears. “I…” He rushed to feel the wall, tracing the blossoms. “Cherry blossoms. When we first met…” 

“This isn’t even the best part.” You grinned, relishing in how emotionally touched he was.

“There’s more?!” He nearly shrieked, trying to figure out the tricks you hid up your sleeves.

“Close your eyes.” Hyunjin hesitantly closed his eyes, anxious for the rest of your surprise. You turned off the lights, waiting for the paint to glow again. The low glow of the paint illuminated part of the room. “Open.”

Hyunjin stared, mouth agape at the glowing mural. Tearing up, he sniffled, coming to hug you tightly.“It’s beautiful. I love it so much. I… don’t even have the words to express how much I love this. It’s stunning…” 

“Go grab the bag on the counter.” Hyunjin reluctantly peeled himself off you, sniffling as he grabbed the small bag off the counter. “Go ahead, turn it on.” Reaching inside, he revealed a UV light. He turned it on, waving it around. “No you goofball, point it at the wall.”Slowly but surely, the UV messages you spent writing all over the mural revealed themselves. Your boyfriend was full on sobbing, sitting by the wall, tracing your messages with his finger. Looking back at you with tears streaming down his face, he made grabby hands towards you, making you come over to him, hugging him and laughing. 

“Don’t look at meee…” Hyunjin sniffled, wiping his face with his sweater sleeve as he read your messages aloud. “‘I expect my kisses in two weeks' time.’ ‘If you find this, I may or may not have used up all of your green paint.’” Hyunjin laughed, still crying as he buried his face in your shoulder. “I love you. I love you so much. I thought you bought me a whole entire building… Maybe I should do that. Buy you a building so we can paint every room, every wall, everything. I’m gonna paint the world for you.” Giggling, you wiped his tears, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. 

“Gonna paint my endless love for you.”

[anonymous-dentist]

Can you give me a recap. What's happening with Cellbit???

God what isn’t happening with Cellbit

Basically, here’s a list of what the Feds have done to him, and his current response:

15 years ago, the Federation kidnaps him after he sees something he shouldn’t have. It seems like he was being held for observation. He escaped, but I think he was caught again? Idk I don’t speak Portuguese

He got shipped SOMEHOW to the Hunger Games with no memories of his childhood with Bagi and his parents

Time passes. He’s put in prison because people were “afraid of [his] potential”, aka probably because he was entirely too chill with killing the shit out of people

Time passes again, he crashes onto the island, and Problems Start

My guy gets chainsaw tortured! Aka he gets chased down a hallway and murdered by a laughing Cucurucho and then revived and chased down a hallway and shown his corpse by a laughing Cucurucho. After an interrogation, he’s elevatored upstairs to… Richarlyson’s old bedroom area, which was basically the Feds saying “Hey we’ll do this to your son too lol”

Felps aka Cellbit’s best friend get kidnapped

Bobby dies and so does most of Roier’s soul

Because of that, Cellbit joins the Feds to investigate secretly and shit. He then gets kidnapped and he ends up losing like three days’ worth of memories

He tells people about the chainsaw torture and they laugh in his face and/or ignore him. For MONTHS

The Feds try and murder him during the elections, but that’s fine, he ends up murdering himself

The Feds trick him into giving up a HUGE amount of information in a secret office under his house (this is a surprise tool that will help us later)

They keep making him go on jobs for them, and he’s pretty sure that they’re the guys threatening to kill his son if he tells anybody about the missions (that was probably the Resistance tbh, but he doesn’t even know they exist)

ElQuackity happens. Just. Everything about him tbh, but especially him threatening both Richas and Roier to the point of Roier Cubito legit being afraid for the literal first time ever that Cellbit has known him

Then the eggs get kidnapped, and the Feds aren’t doing shit to help

Then Forever and Pac are drugged

Then Forever is sent on a suicide mission into the Nether

And then the eggs aren’t back

And then there’s a Federation prison on the server

And then the eggs aren’t back and neither is Forever

And now Roier is even more of a broken man than he already was because the Federation isn’t doing shit to help find the eggs

And then Cellbit finds out that he’s missing 12 or so years of his life because of the Federation. That he had a HOME, and then. He didn’t. Because of them.

Tbh I think that last bit was the real final straw, but then:

The Mini-Me event was because Cellbit got intel from a rebel worker (kinda) who promised Cellbit information in exchange for the “goods” at the presentation

Cellbit didn’t feel Anything even after he won the day by all means necessary after stealing the Mini-Mes

So he went home and had a nervous breakdown and now he’s killing workers because like. Okay.

So why is Cellbit killing all these workers? Well, he isn’t thinking super clearly now, but he’s basically trying to get his family off the island safely. That’s his priority. They can’t leave until the Feds are gone, so he’ll make the Feds gone.

He’s tired of the complacency everyone else is showing. After all the shit they’ve been put through on the island, why isn’t anybody actually fighting back? Don’t they want to leave?

So. Yeah! :D

[devastatinglygreen]

I love Polly Walker’s portrayal of Portia but i agree. I think so many of these show characters struggle from wanting to address and keep aspects of their book characteristics and then have them make decisions that differ from those for the *drama* or just take other book characters personalities and give them to other show characters omg who said that??

I know Jess B has gotten a lot of hate for changes to s3 (personally her changes at least made sense to me, unlike 90% of what CVD did) so it’s not like I’m looking to add to it. But I do worry about the “consequences” of Whistledown needing to continue following Penelope after her season. If that’s their only way of keeping Nicola on the show and Pen relevant to the plot then I guess? It just feels like continued shaming of Pen for their girlboss-ified LW.

God if I have to watch Pen still be shunned by the Ton can I at least see her and Colin fuck nasty??? Like god where is the hungry boi?? LET HIM EAT (Pen’s) CAKE

polly walker is amazing tbh. like, she just works with whatever they give her, i love her portrayal as portia. yeah, they needed to decide who they wanted these people to be before they just started handing out book personalities when it was going to directly conflict with the show's version of them. a little forethought, if you will.

tbf to jess, she still had to work with what cvd (when i catch you, cvd) left behind for polin. it's a big ask. doing the pen/eloise fight when it doesn't even exist in the books is wild, it's 100% for drama and needed to be handled in s3 so she had that to deal with as well. they did change eloise in s1-2 quite a bit to become the mouthpiece for the modern woman (which is wild bc her brand of feminism comes off so performative--which is probably how a man would write eloise being feminist but that's a whole other issue).

i think LW is more for the audience than anything else at this point. they're used to her narrating and it's good to move the plot forward at times but it's also a huge part of penelope's character so i can see why they kept it. both of them publishing books is great but also they're going to bring in the drama so LW is a very easy way to do that for future subplots.

also yes, 100% it's a fine way to shame penelope for gossip, ha. like girlie printed what she heard--the gossips were already talking she just made cash from it. if she were a dude they'd call it hustling.

sort of hilariously tragic that the audience who hates pen goes online to talk shit with no self-awareness that they're also feeding into the machine they're criticizing on a romance drama show, ha. only then they make it about real people so pretty sure that's worse. but do not tell them, they do not like that.

the man just wants his wife's titties served up like a brunch special okay is that too much to ask?🙏

[magic-crazy-as-this]

fanon vs canon: we're talking (an essay)

Hiya! I've been seeing a lot on my dash these huge arguments about fanon vs canon in the DC/Batfamily univers, and it's getting pretty heated. People seem to be getting upset about what "counts" as canon, what parts of the story are "real" or "made up by fans" and what is "allowed" to be "real".

Personally, I find the entire argument to be reductive and extremely so.

Here's why:

Batman as a property has existed for 85 years. The idea and mythology and story of Batman has been handled by countless writers and artists, been seen in every kind of artistic medium, and has been changed over and over again over the past eight and a half decades. This story has never been told the same way twice and that's half the point of these stories and mythologies we've built up. We've seen Bruce Wayne be morally questionable if not outright reprehensible, a loving father, a staunch loner, a murderer-by-proxy (Batman v Superman, you know not what you do). It's okay to pull ideas from across time because, well, there's a lot of it and things are changing all the time!

There's a lot more there than we can easily comprehend (this is kind of more of a "1a, but fine, whatever, hey) This is something I see a lot where someone is accused of being "too fanon" only for it to turn out to be something pulled directly from the over eight decades of work. Maybe it's not productive to accuse people of this kind of thing when maybe, just maybe, there are sources for this.

Flattening these characters into "allowable" ideas of the character limits our creativity I mean, think about it for a moment: why should we limit what stories we tell and things we create by what other people tell us is acceptable? After all, if we said there were only certain kinds of stories and ideas allowed, we would never have Dark Knights of Steel, Red Son, or even Batman Beyond. Without taking risks, making changes, and telling our own stories, we miss out on so many amazing ideas that would never be permitted to bloom. (ok but the LEGO Batman movies make Damian this cheerful people-pleasing little ball of sunshine and that's not it tbh, there are limits)

People are more nuanced than you think - it's okay to be a little contradictory (this means you!) When I was growing up, I was in an intense and huge music fandom that engaged in something called The Great Poser Hunt of '07 (IYKYK). In what was supposed to be a loving space for the outcasts and forgotten weirdoes of every known high school, we would bully each other relentlessly for "not liking the right thing" or "not being a real fan" and we would constantly test and torment each other over it. It was stressful, it was awful, and it made me and many others like me feel like we had to fit a certain aesthetic, mindset, and media taste otherwise we would be outcast again and this time from a group already ostracised. (And these aesthetics and media tastes that were chosen for us by large corporations but whatever, that's another essay for another day) I listened to Backstreet Boys in secret with my iPod under the blankets, I could let none of my friends know about my secret love of Bon Jovi, and the parts of my heart devoted to 80s New Wave were locked away where no one could see. I felt reduced to what other people wanted from me. I hope you're reading this and thinking "man, that sucked, I don't want to be like that! I want to like all the things I like and proudly!" Which is grand! Please continue to think nice things for yourself! My question to you now is: why would we do this to fictional characters, too? Why can't Dick Grayson be cunning and clever, sometimes kinder than he is wise, friendly and funny and horribly ruthless when he needs to be and all at once? Jason Todd already embodies this kind of thing by being a head-taking badass biker who loves the classics but you know what, he can listen to Slipknot and Britney Spears! That's okay, too! And whatever it is you like, whether it fits a certain aesthetic or scene or mould, that is okay. You deserve to enjoy your things freely and without shame and without shaming others. (So leave Jason's Katy Perry CD collection the hell alone, ya vultures!)

In conclusion:

It's okay for people to make up new ideas for the things you love. It's okay for people to try new things. It's okay for you to disagree with them, too, you don't have to like everything anyone ever comes up with.

But bullying people for their creativity, especially when there's over eighty goddamn years of media to be inspired by, when limiting creativity is stifling and has us miss out on truly special things, and when people in general are more nuanced than you think?

[shysublimecoffee]

Itachi would've been fine to me tbh if like the story just let him be humbled lol. The main issue is that nobody called out Itachi for his actions, except for Itachi himself, which ironically serves to make him seem even more virtuous and flawless. "I understand feeling upset when some people in the fandom community don't use critical thinking. However, imagine investing a lot of time following a story you read since you were a kid. Many people simply follow the story as presented, and can you blame them when the story validates Itachi? I can't really blame them that much when even the writer seems to be bending over backwards to portray the character as a well-meaning hero, like in the case of Itachi." Now, I don't really know how well something like reading a piece of Naruto media can translate to real life but the saying the things we read and watch can influence on how we perceive the world rings true in my opinion because unfortunately some people really do believe in the Uchiha curse b.s and to me reflects a lot when it comes to how marginalized groups are stigmatized like the idea of a group having the curse of hatred inside of them is fucked if you are so set to believe in something based on a fictional group in a piece of media well... it raises questions about how that might influence real-life beliefs and attitudes towards marginalized groups

I think it's important to be at an age where you have developed critical thinking skills to engage with complex narratives like this. Many people are influenced by nostalgia and are such huge fans of certain characters that they are inclined to make elaborate analyses justifying their actions. For example, some might argue that because Itachi was just a kid when he committed certain acts, it excuses his behavior. However, if we start using age or other factors as excuses for heinous actions, where do we draw the line? What other circumstances would you be willing to bend over backwards to justify committing heinous crimes similar to what Itachi did?

Naruto is a bitch. I don't really want to extend to much with this character since I just feel disappointment. I wanted him to do more then he failed. He's become a politician I don't know what else to say lol. So many people say he inspired them how? What did he accomplish besides obtaining Hokage their world is still fucked up man the shinobi system still rotten. I thought this kid would grow up to do something about it but he remained complacent and changed nothing only difference is he's on top. I realized about later that was Sasuke role as an antagonist and it wouldn't make much sense lol there need to being 2 opposing sides but yeah... He was a whole lotta nothing as a protagonist he was cute kid but he grew up to be a dumb fuck who can't figure out why his "dearest friend" is siding against him and became man who can't keep promises.

It makes sense he had a hunger for acknowledgement I'm not discrediting that since he was a child but he wanted validation from everyone that he has such an obsession with his own self-image and how everyone thinks of him that I find it portrayal to be unhealthy. Sasuke at the end was just a checklist a reward at the end of the day that he wanted to gain for his personal goal.

Naruto talk no jutsu is so manipulative to me sometimes that instead of directly confronting Sasuke's ideas or opinions as equals would in a debate or discussion he would indirectly undermined them. He did this by ignoring Sasuke's valid arguments and instead focusing on exploiting Sasuke's emotional vulnerability, particularly his feelings of loneliness and despair stemming from the loss of family. Like his approach to me suggests a tactic to manipulate Sasuke's emotions rather than engaging with his ideas or concerns directly. But, I ain't sure if he's doing this deliberately since I don't know if he's that smart or I'm looking to much closely.

I'd rather ship his character with fucking OC's. I feel like each member of Team 7 are obsessed and want something from the guy but they don't care for Sasuke personally because if they did it would show but they're after him for what they want from him as a goalpost and hey they won.

[motheatenscarf]

FREEDOM.

I'm FINALLY done with Heavensward and Stormblood society quests!!

I had the Stormblood ones done a while ago, actually, they were a delight and I breezed through them, but put off doing the combined quest until after the Heavensward one bcs I'm trying to do them in order. But the Vanu and Moogles took SO LONG to do because they only give you a max of 150 reputation every day instead of the standard 180. That doesn't sound like a big difference, but jesus christ, it adds up, wound up adding like an extra 2 or 3 weeks onto the grind. Un-fucking-bearable.

I think that extended grind might be why I didn't enjoy the Heavensward societies that much.

The Vath were okay, kinda cute, didn't overstay their welcome, but I just wasn't terribly invested in them. I've seen the "trying to break away from a hivemind" story before and this one didn't have anything especially interesting to say and the bonds forged didn't feel especially profound. But they did give 210 rep a day, so it just breezed by and didn't annoy me at least.

The Vanu Vanu are.... fine? I personally find their speech patterns to get real old real quick, same problem I had with like. All of the ARR society quests. Just feels unnecessarily Othering. The vath at least have the excuse of being very alien in their hive-mind social structure, but the vanu are just. Big Time islander coded and those are just... people. Which also made the not-Haka dance emote you get from them, the Sundrop Dance, just feel all the more Wrong to use. Like, that feels like it's maybe crossing a line. None of the NPCs really stood out and I kinda didn't pay attention to most of it. Linu Vali has a pretty flower crown and THAT'S IT.

The Moogles are exhausting. I say this as someone who fucking loves moogles, even if not ESPECIALLY when they're being annoying, useless little shits, but they're kinda one-note and it gets old quick. Like, if I, me, someone who spent $40 on a plush of Lulu's moogle doll from FFX twice because the first one had its pom eaten by my dog, that person, ME, if you can't win ME over with your moogle in a hard-hat and drunk moogles getting hit by cartoon bombs, you've done something wrong. It especially drags because you're only getting 150 rep a day and the map is huge and you've got to use special mounts on so much bullshit, and fuck you if your queue popped while you were traveling on the mount, you have to go back and start over on this huge, huge map once you're done with your dungeon. Same problem I had with the Vanu, tbh. Just. A miserable grind and you will feel every second of it. It's almost worth it for the moogle dance though.

But the combined role quest was nice. I like the dance emote, it's got elements of the not-haka dance in there, but enough of the moogle dance that it just feels cute and not appropriative.

Also I'm getting tired of meeting this guy in his speedo.

But at least someone blew up his ship again, so all's well that ends well! Onto Stormblood, which I actually really liked the society quests for!

The Kojin were my least favorite of this bunch, their fixation with spiritual treasures and then "the real treasure being the friends we made along the way" was kinda dumb and not in like, a self-aware or silly way. It was played completely straight and I didn't really find any of the NPCs this time interesting or engaging so it all just fell kinda flat with me. Also I have. A big issue. With the naming of their prayer emote you can pick up being labelled; "Ballroom Etiquette: Heathen Gestures." Like. I know the etiquette books are played for very tongue-in-cheek laughs about boring fuddy duddies, but c'mon, man. That... yikes.

The Ananta are a big improvement, though, I really like them and Alpa stood out as a charming and vibrant character, she's so cute and driven and the humor finally lands for once. Having J'olhmyn as the straight-man to M'zhet Tia's antics works well, and the social blunders that Alpa makes through her more isolated upbringing are endearing. Neither aspect is overmined for laughs and Alpa is treated with enough sincerity that you buy-in to her emotional reality and care about her. Just a solid little self-contained story, I really like the ananta quests, and the emote you can get from them of the /charmed sway of being bewitched/enchanted by something or someone is just adorable. Also, love the false nails you can pick up, and the griffin and elephant mounts are cute too! A good story, fun NPCs, fantastic rewards, this is maybe the first society quest I actually recommend people do for something besides completionism or accessibility to crafting materials. The Ananta are great, I love them and my snaughter, snake-daughter.

The Namazu might be my favorite of all society quests. They're not the best one, I think those come in Endwalker, but they might be my favorite. I just.... I just love them. They're so muppety and stupid and the exact brand of physical comedy that can actually get a chuckle out of me. They're adorable and the premise of saving them from various improbable and absurd extinctions is hilarious. There are so many recurring gags and jokes and none of them overstay their welcome and the comedic timing is perfect every time. The quests are all cute, the story is hilarious and adorable, the characters are great, the rewards are AMAZING, if you love the Muppets or Gremlins or anything with Little Creechurs Doing Antics, you will have so much fun with these quests and love every minute of them and look forward to them. Also, just, like, side-note, but so many of the species in the society quests are so over-designed imo; the kojin, the vath, the amalj'aa. But the Namazu are so simple in a very iconic and cute way, like, they could literally be a new mascot of the Final Fantasy series they're so well designed. I love them so much.

And for once I kinda cared about the combined role quest! BECAUSE THEY KIDNAPPED MY SNAUGHTER! And also they stole one of my fish buddies and I had to get them back too. Also, the puppet who came to life from the kojin story, but he was already kinda dead anyways, so like, whatever, but OH NO! My snaughter!! So I was very invested in getting her back.

Also, the tables have turned, and now Talia is the one in her swimsuit when the villain shows up! WHAT A TWIST!

I mean, he's also in a speedo, this scene takes place in a hot spring, but I'm still counting it as a subversion.

Anyway, the Stormblood society quests are the first time I will call this GOOD CONTENT. The surprising siliness of ARR's combined society quests was entertaining after they'd all been played so straight with their dire stakes, but this time it felt like a consistent through-line from the individual to combined quests. The Kojin are the only ones that feel like kind of a letdown and even then, they're still as good as anything from Heavensward or ARR, so if you've done those until this point, you won't feel like you're wasting your time with them at least. And the other two are just great, and the combined quest is fun, and M'zhet Tia turns out to have been carrying Chekov's grenade this entire time, and it's just great. Actually got me to finally LAUGH and not just smile.

[heyyyyyybuttercup]

Hear me out

Peruvian Kenny makes a lot of sense if you think about it!!!

Peru is a third world country, which translates to poverty everywhere!

Kenny's family is poor! (Their houses look the same honestly)

Peruvians eat doves!

Kenny's family surely have eaten doves for thanksgiving! (they're too poor to buy chicken so 😔)

Peru loves pollution!

Kenny's house is...

Peru is kinda the meme for the rest of spanish speaking countries!

And Kenny's poverty is a meme for all the kids (and even adults) in South Park!

See? Kenny being peruvian makes so much sense!!!

.

.

.

Let me be really honest here, as a peruvian it kinda irks me whenever I see the Craig peruvian hc and people just make his skin darker and call it a day. Or to idolize third world countries and just think they're what Google or Pinterest first images (that will always show the best each country has) shows, when it's not the case. I can only speak about Peru but this country has a lot of bad things, from the insecurity (you can't use your phone on the streets) to the pollution and poverty (the pics I used are indeed from Peru).

Also imma be a bit biased but it's kinda racist to assume that all latinos are dark skinned when I've seen the whitest people here or the contrary! Peru has a lot of history and people from countries of other continents came here so we have a huge variety when it comes to our skin color, body proportions or well features sorry I can't find the right words.

As for my actual essay as to why I think Kenny being peruvian fits for Parque del Sur (South Park in spanish) well what I said before is true (except the dove bit that's a meme other countries make of Peru to mock them lol we don't eat doves, I'd say only the poorest families do because they're kinda an animal that's everywhere but in general no, oh also doves outside of Lima exist and they eat actual food so is actually hygienic to eat those i guess). Peru is a country that's used as a meme from other hispanic countries AND Peruvians themselves, which reminds me of everyone making fun of Kenny and Kenny joking with himself about let's say his immortality (ex. In Phone Destroyer he said "Oh no you killed me you bastard! Jk" so yeah he's casual about this so it wouldnt be a surprise if he also jokes about his poverty)

The poverty bit is true but for all countries, in any case I think here it's something that's very recurrent and happens in all regions/states, it's not exclusive to one zone. Plus this actually isn't what buys me into this hc because if it is then I'd fall into the bit of "Kenny's all character is being poor lol". What buys me is the environment of people making fun of him bc of this and I already mentioned how Peru is such a country with tons of memes from other countries lmao and him even joking about it

Another aspect I'd like to highlight that could fit Kenny being peruvian is how this country specifically is known for its informality and creativity when it comes to making a way to get money by hard work. Our economy is carried by "ambulantes" or informal workers tbh, not the formal enterprises. And I think Kenny is like that, he would find ways to gain cash by working no matter what and be creative with his ways too! I think that's something that yells PERUVIAN to me haha

Lastly genetics are insane here bc of what I said before, my great grandma had very dark skin, my grandma was super white, my mom has brown skin and I'm dark tan i think. It could lowkey explain why Kenny is somehow blond when none of his parents are blond (the same genetics apply for hair) so yeah it's not as crazy as you might think lol

In any case this is a silly hc thank you for hearing me ramble ^^

Note: Before I said it irked me the Craig peruvian hc but like only if people do it for the aesthetic. The hc is perfectly fine and I love it hehe (the more peruvian the better 🔥)

[yuukei-yikes]

beach day episode mekakushi dan. which ones dont know how to swim??? (obligatory seto and momo joke) AND/OR who is afraid of the water?

HMMMM well of course seto and momo are afraid of it. i think they try to shrug it off and do a lot of Sand Activities ignoring that they're afraid. momo takes a bazillion selfies at the shore and screams when she gets splashed. i think guys like takane and kano would be a threat to them bc they have the Water Guns and now The Water Is On Ground and it freaks them out❤️

i think hibiya&hiyori are great swimmers idk why. i think theyre the kinda kids to spend every single summer at the beach, so they give WATER DOMINATING lessons to seto and momo, to get over their fear and also teach them to swim.

ayano kido and kano are fine in the water i think the tateyamas for sure had summer vacations at the beach ❤️ its not seto's first time in the beach, he probably used to stay on ground back then too.

oh u asked who would be afraid. ERMMM other than seto and momo i dont think anyone's scared. as for who doesn't know how to swim, mary. mary definitely never went to the beach or even a pool like Man i get so emotional with mary bc she never ever went anywhere in her life, and then when she moved in with the mekatrio she is also described as a shut in. but despite that she isn't unwilling to go out and was super excited about the amusement park, and there she was SUPER serious about visiting every single attraction... so personally i think that despite she's described as a shut in (kido and kano probably didnt go out a whole bunch either) i like to think the 4 of them went places together. not like the beach or even a restaurant but they probably have gone to a park and stuff idk

anyways that said, mary is suddenly seeing in real life things she's only seen in pictures/tv and read of!!! imagine her first time seeing the OCEAN!!!! thats gotta be so exciting!!! considering her attitude she'd be totally over the moon and would wanna learn how to swim IMMEDIATELY. tbh she'd be clumsy but probably has a pool float yknow the ones that are like a donut and ur inside chilling and playing from there. i think thats what she'd do!!! shes disappointed seto can't join in and that rly motivates him to try to get in the water. if he doesn't manage she definitely comes out the water to build sand castles with him and take a walk to pick up seashells :3

others who can't swim are a classic. shintaro and haruka. I'd also say takane but while i do think she was mostly kept away from sports and stuff i THINK takane Can swim, i don't think she skipped swimming lessons during elementary/middle school. so she's like. Ok at it. she's also rly excited about water guns and chasing YOU CHASING YOU CHASING YOU CHASING YOU CHASING Y

shintaro on the other hand can't swim, iirc this is canon cuz momo wanted to go on her trip with her dad to learn to swim Super good and then teach shintaro. ofc this didnt happen Lol and we know shintaro is the opposite of a sporty person so yea he also can't swim. in fact i think he just stays off the water and inside the tent with his phone. he hates it here its hot and he has sand in his ass he wants to go home. ayano keeps trying to drag him in the water 💔💔💔 i imagine ayano getting out the water like soaking wet with her hair all sticky and her eyelashes dripping with water like. VERY LITTLE KID ASKING YOU TO PLAY MERMAIDS WITH THEM ENERGY and goes to get shintaro and he's like AUGGHHH AYANO GET OUT YOURE GETTING WATER INSIDE THE TENT and ayano's breathing heavily like COME PLAY

i think shintaro ends up falling on the water on his stomach and face at least once and he's all icky about tasting the salty water. also takane definitely shoots him and he's DEFINITELY wearing a shirt so his shirt gets all soaked and he's so mad about it. on a more wholesome note i think he'd probably start a huge sand castle cuz hes bored and it gets RIDICULOUSLY huge and it looks amazing. people keep gathering to take pics of it. he probably wins some sand castle contest he didn't even know they were holding and makes a bunch of 10 year olds building castles with their dads rly upset

as for haruka. he DEFINITELY never swam😭 but i think haruka is just the kind to dip his feet in the water and sit there like Ah...effervescent..... while wearing a huge fucking hat to protect his paper white skin from the sun. ratio + takane shoots him with water gun + ayano splashes water on him begging him to get in the water. im describing ayano and takane as such menaces to poor haruka and shintaro but i think that's how it'd be. haruka is out of his comfort zone and excited but wants to take it easy, shintaro doesnt wanna be here AT ALL while takane and ayano are like OK WE ARE PLAYING THOUGH :3 SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH

kido can swim but i think they share this sentiment with haruka. they both kinda wanna chill at the shore with their big ass hats is that too much to ask (it is) (everyone attacks them) i think haruka also gets excited abt the water guns eventually. i think he and takane go a little crazy on each other with those. in my vision kano and takane are annoying everyone with the water guns and when kano gets bored and goes do something else haruka takes his place but instead of attacking anyone else he attacks takane. fatal mistake. they both end up like my ayano description from earlier. little kids dripping water after swimming for 2 hours energy. when kido loses their chilling by the shore buddy to takane they probably go see what's up with momo and seto cuz thats their gf and brother they wanna help..

UMMM i kinda talked about everyone even if they could or couldnt swim lol. ayano and kano are left ermmm ayano like i said A fucking menace it is her goal to get everyone in the water at once (except seto and momo cuz she gets it) and she probably wants to do beach volleyball or some shit everyone sucks at later. she's the Game Organizer. probably her idea to go to the beach. and she's playing mermaids with mary so much. SO MUCH

and kano is kinda everywhere i think. he's in the tent bothering shintaro. he's with hibiya and hiyori trying to get momo and seto in the water. he's with takane terrorizing haruka and kido with water guns. he's with mary and ayano playing in the water pretending to be a shark to freak out mary (he cant use deceiving cuz ayano wont let him since anyone else at the beach could get freaked out but he DOES keep going underwater and pinches mary's legs to scare her)

mekakushi dan beach episode❤️

[mountainfrogs]

ok ill start with keroro actually. specifically how He of all people got the Keron Star which is like. The Thing for all of keron. highly revered, very powerful, the symbol of Keron itself short of the supreme commander. Why tf does he have it. Who is he.

Invaders are by their nature, soldiers! Warmongers, offensive. They take over planets. They fight and kill. great. Some of canon, least in the beginning, mentions he used to Be this but coming to pekopon changed him. A serious cool invader who only likes toys and eating junk food? tf.

ofc, then you find out that he had apparently Always been like this, and he only supposedly got by through family nepotism.

imo most of that is hearsay, or propaganda, or rumors. Everyone ended up fucking off their respective ways after academy training for the next 8 thousand some years, no? Everyone has all of these expectations and visions, but i hc that the truth is that Keroro is...well...both! Both a clown, and an intelligent leader. When he has the means to be.

He wasn't really a Huge Hyperintelligent Serious Asshole before he came to earth with a fearsome rep - but neither is he a huge idiot dickhead the way later manga and early anime like to show it tbh.

The guy is a clown! He's always been a clown. The guy doesn't like to fight! But he can somehow forge alliances by Breathing. He has a Heart, for all that he's a bit of a dense jackass. He befriended the Angol tribe - an actual race of planet destroyers and otherwise a giant fucking threat to Keron. And it's clear by the progression of the anime, as well as the movies, that he's a lot smarter than people give him credit for.

He Unites people, and when push comes to Actual Shove he can and will actually murder someone for the sake of his folks.

this? these two bitches be co-existing. They are the same people. He is both Clown and Actual Serious Murder Machine.

tbh i hc that keroro is, when the humidity isn't fucking him up, friendly and thoughtful and charismatic with a love for toys ofc, but retains a very sharp edge that isn't afraid to get serious. He can Think and he can Process. He's Intelligent. He can actually sit his ass down and process and do his work like he's meant to and hold decent conversations that don't revolve around gundam or some other silly thing. He can function very well as an adult just fine. I think here of episode 262B in particular.

He's a Lot of things. Not many people saw the complexity. But the Supreme Commander did, and the Keron Star did, and that is what the Keron Star Needed and that is what the supreme commander Saw. a right and proper leader, with Actual Heart, a combination that nobody else really possessed. A person who can get things done without being so forceful or harsh, the way most of the military is designed to be. A unifying body.

its just that the fuckin humidity scrambled his brain so now he's kinda...like That, as he is in the show now.

So what people expect when they think of the holder of the keron star is not what they get - because the holder was not based on pure strength, and his environment is Also not good for his health. he's essentially kind of drunk and heat exhausted like. all. the time. so everyone is like ????

but there's a reason he has it.

[the-blue-phantom]

the whole thing about This Girl's a Killer by Emma Wells is that it COULD have been a good book if it had taken its basic premise (female serial killer that only kills abusive or predatory men) and gone one of two directions with it: either making it a full satire of that genre of book or by making it a more serious analysis of it all. Instead it played it completely straight.

Which, sure, whatever that's fine and the story they wanted to tell and I could have probably enjoyed it just fine if it weren't for the fact that Cordelia Black is sooooo fucking bad at being a serial killer and if Wells hadn't set up the first half of the book for a perfect twist of "Cordelia is absolutely losing it and spiraling further and further". Or even if Wells hadn't been so desperate for Cordelia to be someone you like and root for.

I spent the first 40 pages of the book being beaten over the head with Cordelia telling us how meticulous and careful and good at killing she is, and then the rest of the book she's stumbling around barely able to cover up the murder she impulsively committed (as opposed to the ones she carefully planned out). I could have forgiven that as a side effect of her being off her game, but I did get the vibe that I was supposed to think that all the bad decisions she was making were a sign of her meticulous planning and it was just other people getting in the way of it, rather than a fundamental flaw with the whole plan.

But really the biggest crime is everything with Simon, her best friend's boyfriend. Cordelia meets him and is immediately under the impression that he's a bad guy. He's a bad man and shouldn't date her best friend. And he is a bit of a creep--he's possessive and controlling, but so is Cordelia. And one of the first things you find out about her is that she's a control freak with a temper and has driven off all of her best friend's boyfriends! So when she kills him on impulse and was desperately trying to convince herself that he was actually a monster who deserved it I was like yes! yes! She's going to have to deal with the fact that she killed someone who maybe didn't "deserve" it! And we'll dig more into her negative traits and how they damage or affect others around her! BUT THEN A PAGE LATER SHE FINDS PHOTOS IN HIS PHONE THAT CONFIRM HE WAS A PREDATOR????? Which killed the rest of the book for me tbh, but I shouldn't have been surprised because two things we find out about Cordelia (and this world as a whole) is that a) only men are predators and women are perpetual victims and b) Cordelia can simply tell when men are horrible evil bad people she should kill for the betterment of everyone else.

There was also an absolutely laughable line where she says she "unlearned internalized toxic misogyny" which essentially means that she's a girly girl now and hates her past self who was a huge loser and pathetic or whatever and now every single woman she doesn't like (or that is just poorer than her) is an ugly redneck loser who is vapid and only wants designer bags, as if Cordelia herself isn't so shallow that she name drops every brand name in existence.

This book set itself up to have something interesting to say and explore and then completely dropped the ball at the halfway point because the author had no interest in anything other than making Cordelia a hashtag girlboss girl's girl with a ride or die bestie who was also way too chill with helping her best friend hide her boyfriend's body after finding his head in Cordelia's fridge. Also why did Cordelia leave it unwrapped? Why did she let her best friend help dispose of the body when the entire rest of the book she was desperately trying to keep her from getting involved? Who knows! I certainly don't and I'm not sure Wells does either outside of "ride or die best friends".