#based on rl events..

[bloodypawwz]

me cvtting myself : yayyay did i hit styro ?! waow i love how the blood looks ! eek i love this feeling !!

me accidentally cvtting myself while shaving : OWIEowww owwoww eek oww this hurts so bad why wont it stop owwiee !!

[bluebunnysart]

I did some Papercraft today 'cuz I saw someone else's Papercraft Miku and Teto and immediately wanted my own Negidrill to have on my desk at all times.

Link for Miku template

Link for Teto template

I didn't know a Neru one existed until AFTER I left the library (printed them out there 'cuz my at-home printer sucks) so I think I'll try to make Neru sometime to complete Triple Baka.

Link for Neru template (and many others)

THIS tutorial was super helpful for making Miku but Teto didn't have one. Therefore I messed up her drills a little at first but I'm just glad that she's complete and not a disaster, hahaha. xD

This is my first time making Papercraft characters and it's fun. Unfortunately Miku and Teto's heads easily fall off so there's no way I can do stop motion animation with them or anything or move them around too much, but I enjoyed this. They're cute. ^^

Their arms being outstretched like that was a total accident and how the paper itself wanted to bend, so I took the opportunity to make them touch hands lmao. They probably can't get any closer than that without dying (their heads falling off) though LOL. Idk what else to pose them doing but they'll definitely chill on my desk full-time I think.

Btw Mesmerizer Papercraft definitely exists and I even saw "Who Knows" Teto, and someone also made SV Teto. So if I'm motivated I might print those out and build them too. ^^ (You should try it. It takes like an hour or more per character and after the first time, it's straightforward to do.)

[gifti3]

i cant believe jousha has one of the best 3d models in the game...

[tspultradeluxe]

Reverse 1999 so funny there’s an Oliver Twist inspired character that’s from the 1950s

[writer-and-artist27]

Vy I'm so devastated, I'm playing the summer event and Achilles said he doesn't like to be called Achi... I want to respect his wishes but I've been calling him that in my head for so long because of Passing Days... what do we do

If it helps, I justified that scene with Sei in Summer 6 in my head with Achilles only liking that nickname from Vy. No one else.

Heck, I still remember when I came up with the nickname and he automatically went, "Wait, what? No." But then he looked into Vy's happy eyes when she found a nickname that suited him, and he couldn't voice the "No." Especially when she started jumping up and down, shaking her fists happily from her own joy.

Vy established a bond with him via that name. Sei kinda using it in the event just... didn't work the same way, I'd like to think.

[code-of-creation]

Inviting a tumblr mutual to follow your real facebook account like "Want to see my normie persona"

[lullabyes22-blog]

Arcane S2 and its Critiques Therein..

There is a reason why I side-eye the 'arcane critical'-critical crowd who insist we cannot equate real world politics with fictional universes, or project our 'leftist' agenda on a world of pretend.

There seems this undercurrent of condescension in the attitude, as if it stems from people who have perhaps not considered why they enjoy the shows that they do, or how a certain character or plot makes them feel; either positively, by representation, or negatively, by erasure.

And yet... we are drawn to stories that resonate with our own experiences.

These stories, in turn, are written by writers who live in our world and who often pull their ideas directly from it. We gravitate toward characters who are reflections of ourselves, and avoid the stories which cause us discomfort for whatever reason. Even 'guilty pleasures' stem from an inner desire to explore themes or issues which we know exist (and may be problematic in social spaces) but which, through fantasy, become more bearable because we can safely distance ourselves from what is real.

Ultimately, most writers put something of themselves into their work. A little sliver of self always peeks through the cracks; a touch of idealism here, an emotion felt there, a comment on a political issue sprinkled somewhere in between.

It does not mean that fictional universes are a perfect mirror image of our reality; but it behooves us not to forget how influential 'RL' has been, and always will be, when writing fantasy or science fiction.

Tolkien was undoubtedly inspired by his experiences of war, all of which would later bleed into the pages of his Middle-Earth tales. Even in a tiny microcosm, I notice how life events and current political attitudes affect the way I write my stories, whether they are fan-based or original pieces.

We live in chaotic times. Fiction, at its crux, mirrors that chaos, because it comes about as a result of real life. As much as we wish to escape from harsh truths or present-day issues... they still seep through the veil between imagination and reality.

Escapism should not blind us to the truth that stories are products of our environment, and therefore, inevitably political.

With that in mind, there's something innately disingenuous about insisting that Arcane is somehow separate from real world issues - when, on so many levels, it borrows from real world problems and confronts its viewers with topics which are inherently political: poverty, inequality, state violence ... even the underbelly of the Piltover elite and their dealings with the undercity echoes how we see corruption occurring in governments worldwide.

That the show, by S2, reduces these issues to aesthetics - for instance, the writers admitting they wrote up Vi's backstory with her parents being killed by Enforcers to introduce an element of conflict into hers and Cait's future romance - or, worse, resolves these conflicts without any further nuance - like Sevika becoming a Zaunite representative on a Council that plainly disdains her, and the narrative coming away thinking this is acceptable in lieu of actual independence - is, in essence, disappointing for the themes that were promised.

It feels like the writers realized halfway through writing these plots, that they either did not have the time, budget, know-how or interest in delving too deep into these gritty, tough-to-solve sociopolitical pickles, and instead opted to pander to a (admittedly broad, myself included) subset of viewers who just wanted a sapphic couple with soft angst and sweet reconciliations to contrast all of the ugly machinations happening around them, while the rest of the cast was going through literal hell.

This is not enough to say we shouldn't enjoy Arcane for what it is. I've made plain, on several occasions, that I found the finale visually spectacular, thematically satisfying, and a masterpiece in terms of animation.

And yet, what elevated Arcane S1 to such high levels of acclaim was also its willingness to probe the uncomfortable issues surrounding power, control, exploitation, abuse, morality and free will; as well as, at least initially, its decision to offer a critical lens into how we approach each of these themes, as refracted to a cast of different characters.

We can acknowledge these strengths while simultaneously recognizing their flaws.

Arcane is far more than 'just a video game show.' It's a beautifully designed piece of fiction that deals with so many real-life issues, in spite of its fantasy setting. Yet the criticism that 'we cannot project real world politics onto it' feels inherently unfair - because no story ever exists in a vacuum, least of all one which confronts us with stark contrasts between poverty and wealth, oppression and liberation, authority and agency.

There is nothing wrong with simply wanting to sit back and enjoy the ride. But please spare me the holier-than-thou attitudes whenever people try and open up discourse on why certain shows should take responsibility when it comes to the messages they broadcast.

Because, believe it or not, there exists a slew of media that, in fact, sticks to the landing re: difficult questions about humanity, society and politics. Media that does not ignore, diminish or erase people who are struggling, precisely because those very same issues resonate in real life - and thus, have real consequences for real people.

It isn't asking much that audiences look past the veneer of aestheticism to find the beating heart within stories. Nor should we be belittled for wanting to hold writers to account if the world they create becomes nothing more than a pretty backdrop.

This can be done without hate-mongering, derision or critique; in fact, I'd go so far as saying that critique is a necessary aspect of engaging healthily with art, media and fiction.

At the end of the day, writers are responsible for the world-building of fictional universes and their plot choices; and both things do have an impact on those who watch those worlds come to life. That doesn't mean writers need to pander to every opinion out there; hell, playing to the gallery (and the shippers) rarely ends well, and more often than not detracts from the message of the tale.

But it does mean we can hold storytellers accountable for the impressions they leave behind, for better or worse - especially when said impressions further compound real world experiences of inequality, erasure or prejudice.

As consumers of media, let's be willing to dig beneath the surface to uncover the meanings of story. Let's not settle for anything less than writers who do everything possible to deliver compelling narratives that ask questions which reflect our humanity in meaningful, resonant ways. Let's enjoy our sweet sapphic ships and our goofy doomed sciencebros, while still looking closely at all of the other issues bubbling beneath the surface.

Let's keep up the healthy dialogues and stop dismissing criticism as merely spiteful.

Escapism is only truly fulfilling when, upon returning to the 'real world,' you feel that something has changed inside you; where you have been enriched, uplifted, inspired even... and sometimes, yes, educated.

Stories carry the weight of imagination; and we must allow ourselves to be transformed by wonder. But never forget to question the reality that is portrayed. Stories are born out of humanity, after all, and thus carry within them fragments of us. When we embrace fantasy, we also learn a lot about the way we see ourselves, and the kind of world we choose to live in.

And if all else fails, I guess we'll have fanfic to fall back on.

But that is another post, for another time.

<3

[aris-has-a-paracosm]

So we all know Canary Jimmy, but what about Albatross Jimmy? Hear me out on this:

Okay, so firstly, Jimmy has a very big personality. He is loud, highly interactive with those around him, and is impossible to ignore in any situation. Plus he's usually depicted as one of the tallest members of the Life Series. Is that not fitting for the bird with the biggest wingspan on earth? (On top of that, albatrosses are seabirds, which is definitely helpful in bridging some gaps with the Codfather.)

The Canary Curse in of itself is based on the concept of Jimmy's death foretelling the tragedies that are about to occur for everyone else, but what if Jimmy's death is what *brings* the curse? I was thinking about Rime of the Ancient Mariner again, and the albatross there is supposed to be an omen of good luck until the titular Mariner shoots it down with his crossbow. After a while of still waters and horrendous thirst, every sailor on that ship drops dead except for the Mariner, who is bound to the albatross, cruelly spared only by Life-In-Death (Watcher symbolism anyone?).

I know there's a headcanon stating that Skizz is the cause of the Boogeyman Curse (I don't know who created this headcanon, so please tell me if you know), and Albatross Jimmy only strengthens that: Skizz is the Mariner.

Skizz causes Jimmy's final death in Third Life with a bow of all things. He effectively “shoots him out of the sky." And not only did the chaos increase in Third Life immediately after, but every season Skizz has been present for since has involved the Boogeyman Curse in some way.

The only series Skizz was not in was Double Life, where there was no Boogeyman Curse. How would the curse continue if there is no Mariner to accompany the Albatross? Easy answer: Tango took on the role of the Mariner for Double Life, as the cause of Jimmy's first death via Dare To Flare all way back in Third Life. Since this death was not as permanent as the death that Skizz caused, the intensity of the curse was not near as strong, and resulted only in the Ranchers being soulbound (which became a very wholesome, comforting thing for them rather than staying a curse).

Since the curse is primarily based in the events of Third Life, Jimmy dying first may not continue to be a requirement for it as the seasons go on (as evidenced in SL and RL), but what it does require is 200 final deaths total before the curse can end.

Including Real Life, there have been 89 final deaths across the whole of the Life Series, including all six wins assuming that the winners died after each season anyway for the series to continue. Therefore, also assuming an average of 17 players for every subsequent season, there would need to be seven more seasons of the series to accumulate 200 final deaths, in which Skizz would be the final winner.

[empty-vessel-of-a-person]

Zayne's Character/Relationship Development is so RL

Note: Referring to Memories/Cards/Events since Launch. You can guess which memories I am referring to. hehehe It'll be fun. Contains Spoilers. You Are Warned!!!!

Back when we first meet Zayne, he barely talks and smile was never in his vocabulary.

When grandma Josephine and Caleb died, he started opening up. Giving us encouragement and support. He never left us. Based on the proceeding memories/cards, he always makes time for us.

He then started holding our hands. Always reaching out to us and making sure we eat and taking care of our selves.

Then there is the Hospital Gala and Reunion. We are being introduced to everyone. He is making sure everyone knows he is with someone and we are his.

We progress a little more and we are now allowed to touch him. He was no longer grumpy and it getting hard to annoy him even in the Destiny Cafe.

He then started to smile. I remember getting weak in the knees when he first smirked at us. It like the first warm air after the winter. We never know how much his smile meant to us until he does and so we fell more in love with him.

And so we have our first kiss. After a little misunderstanding, we become more open to him and so does he. Instead of guessing what he thinks, he started to speak his mind and saying what he truly feel. He tells us when he misses us and even find a way to say I Love You indirectly.

He holds our hands and hugged us in public. He no longer care whoever sees us being physically close. It felt like home. We no longer need to be careful who sees us and it felt so welcoming.

We finally makeout with him. The situation may not be ideal but definitely significant.

And we proceeded to take the next step and did "it" together. I will always remember every touch and moan I hear from him.

We achieve a milestone as we celebrated his birthday together and singing my heart out for that happy birthday song.

You make me very happy, Zayne. I Love you so much.

[disabledwhumphurtcomfort]

Introductory Post

Welcome to the 2025 Disabled Whump & Hurt/Comfort Writing Challenge!

This is a 30-day writing challenge for original and fan fiction in the whump and hurt/comfort genres which centers on characters with disabilities. One general writing prompt is given for each day, and participants post a piece written to fill the prompt (any length) on that day, tagged appropriately (see rules 3 and 4).

The challange runs through April 1-30 2025, but late submissions tagged for the event will be accepted and reblogged to be featured on this blog. Prompts are posted now, so feel free to write things ahead of time, as long as they are posted on or after April 1.

All writers are welcome! This challenge will uplift the work of disabled writers, but you do not have a disability to participate.

There is a post with resources for writing disabled characters respectfully and learning more about disabilities here.

The moderator is Mod K (she/her), and can be contacted via the ask box or messages.

The Optional AO3 Collection for the event is here

Please read the rules and goals before sending asks as they have many FAQs in them!

Rules:

This event will be centered on characters with disabilities and chronic conditions, both visible (ex, paraplegia; limb differences) and invisible (ex, migraines; CFS). For writing to qualify, please have one or more disabled/chronically ill characters as the focus of your story, rather than a side character/cameo in a story about nondisabled characters. Prompts are meant to facilitate stories about disability and disabled characters in the genres of hurt/comfort and whump (also known as hurt-no-comfort).

"Disability" can have a broad definition, and many conditions can be disabling. The moderator will not be filtering or rejecting submissions based on what medical conditions "count"; the only parameter is that the central character lives with a chronic condition of some type which is disabling for them in some way. Disabilities which come about in a fantasy or sci-fi setting are welcome as long as they are portrayed as being disabling in some way which is analogous (eg, a permanent problem caused by magic, or vampirism as a fantasy-disability). In fanfic it does not have to be canonical - headcanons and AUs are fine.

Please do not TAG your posts/links with the names of disabilities you are writing about (eg tagging a story about an epileptic character with “#epilepsy”,) or with “#disability” or “#chronic illness”, as those tags are used by disabled folks to talk about our RL disabilities and in the past there have been issues with writers inadvertently clogging those tags with fiction/writing advice.

Please DO tag your posts and links #disabledwhc2025 and, in a second tag, the day (eg, #day 1: established disability) so the mod can find and reblog them to the blog!

Original work and fanfic are both welcome; anything goes in terms of settings and genres (fantasy, sci-fi) as long as it’s h/c or whump.

You do not have to write for every prompt (that’s why there’s a mix of hurt and comfort!) or every day to be featured. If you don’t have time for 30 days, do as many as you feel like. If you only write either H/C or Whump, you can do a 15-day challenge, reinterpret the hurt prompts to include comfort, and/or find a whumpy spin on the comfort prompts.

If you write prompts out of order please still tag which day you are writing for and the title of that prompt set. So if you decide to post the prompt “frustrated ambition” from the set “Loss”, which is day 21, on April 3, please still tag your April 3 post “day 21: loss”.

There are no restrictions on what content can be posted, but please use content notes for the following topics: "Rape/noncon" "Underage" "Graphic Depictions of Violence" (ie gore), and "Major Character Death" before the start of your piece. You can also use the warning "Creator Chose Not to Use Content Warnings" if you do not want to spoil fic. Please use a "read more" for these pieces.

Please tag any NSFT works (explicit sexual content) as "NSFT". Please use a "read more" for these pieces.

Challenge Goals:

Help destigmatize writing about disability in the whump and hurt/comfort genres. Complete recovery is not the only way to have a happy ending, and whumping already-disabled characters is a valid option for stories. So is having disabled characters doing the comforting, or the hurting!

Highlight disabled characters, canonical in media or original, in the genre.

Make disabled creators visible! A lot of us are drawn to hurt/comfort partly due to our disabilities.

Encourage nondisabled creators to try writing about disability, and dispel fear or anxiety about being “allowed to”.

Expand horizons of who disabled characters are. Headcanons or AUs about a character having or acquiring a disability are entirely welcome.

Other Ways to Contribute:

Do you want to participate but don't have the spoons (energy) to write anything? Here are some other ways to be a part of this event!

Make a reading recommendation list of works with disabled representation in whump and hurt/comfort. Please make sure that these are tagged #disabledwhc2025 and have "reading recommendation" somewhere in the post title. Please only do this with works whose authors have tagged them as whump, hurt/comfort or related terms. If you find a work on tumblr which you really, really want to recommend which you feel fits the genre and criteria but is not tagged as such, please ask the author if it is OK to include on the rec list before doing so, as some people may be uncomfortable with the genre tags being applied to their work, and ask or message mod K with a screenshot of the permission you received.

Like, reblog and comment on others' works! By following this blog you will see featured works and can give some love to the people who made them.

Reblog the prompts or otherwise spread the word about this event.

[oldbutchdanielcraig]

what is UP with Eugene Allerton ????

i think it would be very easy and it would sum things up decently to say "it's the repression" but i can elaborate and in fact i will

because it's really fun and awesome and messed up how and why he is repressed.

some things about allerton from the book are that he's "too lazy to hold a job" and "simply careless and lazy to the point of appearing, at times, only half awake," "disliked commitments, and had never been in love or had a close friend," and has "a talent for ignoring people."

when lee sort of first invades his defenses and talks to him in a way that makes allerton consider him friendly, this is what lee writes: "Allerton shrugged irritably and began arranging the chess pieces on the board. He looked like a sullen child unable to locate the source of his ill temper. After a few minutes of play his customary serenity returned, and he began humming."

he sleeps all the time and he doesn't like working and he just kind of floats through life as he pleases, with few meaningful connections. drew starkey says he views allerton's relationship with lee as a "game" allerton is playing, but he's left it open-ended whether or not he's aware he's playing a game.

one clear thing to say is that he's depressed, which explains a lot, but i don't really like to do psychoanalysis as an end all be all for character motivations. so that's just one teensy piece of it to me.

i have been thinking a lot in the past few days about this quote about allerton from jw anderson: "I think, in a way, it would be easier for Allerton to accept what was happening between them if the experience were less intense, if it were less complete, if the telepathy were less successful…"

i think that allerton expects (and hopes) he'll get to live the rest of his life as he has been. no connections, no attachments, no duty to anyone else. (he's kind of like bobby from company this way. BUT I DIGRESS.) lee just completely shakes this up for him. he has demands of allerton's time and attention — but more than that allerton wants to fill them, in some secret and hidden part of himself, and this terrifies him. when lee gets junk sick, allerton doesn't take care of him because he's kindhearted. because he is not kindhearted. he just loves lee and feels for the first time the duty of love.

i don't think allerton is so repressed in the way that he's searching for a wife and kids to hide his true self or that he's determined to have a proper life. i think he views his life as an indifferent, third party (I'M NOT QUEER I'M DISEMBODIED ANYONE?) where the events of it unfold like a standard timeline or a storybook. he's young, so he has his fun, and at some point he'll get married, and he'll have kids, and he might even get a steady job. because that's what people do. so for him to fall head over heels in love with lee (read: not even just a man, but someone who's older than him and acts like lee acts and is unashamedly in love) he hypothetically would have had this same final reaction if he'd fallen head over heels in love with a woman, but that's where repression really rears its head because there's this extra layer of homophobia and societal expectations and the expectations of family and religion and all of that good stuff. so it's like. of course he runs. this is the great shakeup of his life.

the last thing i'll say is: it's really fun (to me anyway) how little information there is about allerton and therefore it becomes kind of necessary to make him inseparable from his rl counterpart lewis marker. who also has hardly any information about him available to the public. so a lot of it is based on the little tidbits i know about him tbh. but like ....... i also love allerton interpretations that are different too!

[magicalrocketships]

i looooved your last fic so much it was such a lovely holiday gift thank you so much for sharing it with us ❤️

i’m curious about what are your thoughts on what happens after the end and if and how they reconnect and live happily ever after in australia

oh thank you!! I have got lots and lots to say about what happens after the fic. I had to stop myself from writing more because the scope of that fic is about them wanting and needing change and acknowledging what it is they want (each other, to be happy, for the other person to be happy, for their lives to change). And it was too big a jump to just be like, yeah, [time skip] this is how their hearts settle permanently together. But they do ❤️ Spoilers within.

So.

There's a lot Max has to deal with in the Netherlands - he has the inheritance from his dad of the karting track, and his dad's house, and the life insurance, and he hates the house because of the bad memories, and he wants a relationship with his sister and more of one with his mum. Practical things he has to do, and things he has to build. But he ends up selling the house because he hates walking into it let alone standing in it, and it turns out in this that Victoria wants to be involved in the karting track so they decide for them to co-own it, and Victoria takes over running it.

And Daniel starts to get himself sorted, because he's been dealing with this kind of ebb and flow of really low lows for so long that it's hard to manage it evening out over time. Moves out of his shitty house share (with Max's help when he comes over to stay, clearing out the bottom drawer of underutilised sex toys before Daniel's parents show up with some boxes) (also there's the photo that Daniel stole off the fridge when he first left Max, folded into a notebook in his top drawer).

Anyway they end up buying the karting track in Perth that they visit at the very end of the fic, and Daniel doesn't have any money to invest in it but Max still makes them co-owners because they're starting their life together and sharing shit now. And [immigration stuff hand wave because they're married and trying again] Max moves out to Perth on a pretty permanent basis and moves into the flat that comes with the track, and Daniel to all intents and purposes stays there 99% of the time but his permanent toothbrush and not his visitor toothbrush is the one at his mum and dad's (AT FIRST) because he is scared it will all go wrong again.

Spoiler it does not go wrong again

Anyway Daniel gets to mentor young drivers in a smaller version of his rl karting scheme and he fucking loves it, like working with kids and teenagers and karting and running his own place with Max makes him come alive again and he's just loving it. And Max never stops thinking about that young carers charity, and he runs regular events for young carers to come and kart and he aggressively raises funds for the charity and for one at home in the Netherlands that partners with the track Victoria runs. And he goes to the Christmas tree stand in the shopping centre every Christmas to buy presents for the kids.

And: Max figures out he loves e-sports. He gets to stream and be really fucking great at it, and Daniel starts small with a range of t-shirts based off of the karting track and because people like Scotty come and do instagram stuff at the track and in his shirts they start to take off in their own way too.

Basically at first they're not very good at the things they need to be very good at (talking about shit and admitting when they're feeling sad/bad/mad etc instead of pretending everything's fine) but it's okay because they just want to be together and find a life for themselves that isn't so sad and they both just want to be happy. And neither of them are strangers to fighting for what they want, it just got lost somewhere under the weight of everything else.

[accio-victuuri]

so about the Rocco Liu “issue”, I feel like I have already made a case with my candy post on the same day. I have 3 points to address and people are free to hate him or whatever because that’s on you. however, it’s ridiculous to project those thoughts and make up stories that WYB feels the same way as you do. Or that he should do certain things, because if you have all forgotten, he is a grown ass man that can make his own decisions. he can decide who he interacts with. i understand that most of the negative reactions come from a place of love and care for yibo but we should still try and be rational.

disclaimer, this is all my personal opinion based on my own values and experience. i don’t represent any fandom with this post. for those of you who wanna know what i think about his 227 kadian then scroll to the last part.

I see a lot of people making a big deal about how RL allegedly has a crush on WYB and therefore that makes him a creep.

My dudes, let me tell you a secret…..

99.9% of people who meet WYB will end up having a crush on him. Will be a little bit in love with him, after spending 2 minutes with him or even having the slightest bit of interaction like an eye contact. That’s just the kind of person he is. He is the main character.

The narrative of certain fans who get threatened of people like RL or CZX because they are in a position of power and seem to have ulterior motives with WYB is ridiculous. WYB is not some starlet who needs to get his foot in the door. RL & GQ need someone like him in that event. He has the upper hand or they are at equal footing. If people really know WYB like they say they do, it would be very clear that he sets boundaries. It’s not like WYB is defenseless.

If RL has a crush on him. Can you blame him? What’s so wrong? That makes him part of the majority. So where is the creepy part coming from?

Some are giving example of incidents that RL was inappropriate with WYB.

First of all, it is very clear that he was not being forced to ride the boat with Rocco. We all know Yibo’s standing. There is no one there who can match up to him. He is also not actively promoting a drama to join a certain set of people. So the next best thing is to be with the “host” of the event. I was actually thinking he might be alone but realized the theme was you will have someone to ride it together with you. It makes perfect sense to me. It’s the most logical choice. Yibo is the guest of honor.

Second, I don’t know where people are getting the idea that he was uncomfortable with that 3 minute ride out of very short clips. Did we even watch the same thing? As soon as he rode the boat, he was chill. He even said hi to Li Xian who called to him first. He had his coffee and was relaxed. All entertainment blogs praised him for his state. Unlike other celebrities who were so awkward or did unnecessary things. The hot search was RL & WYB rode the boat together. That’s all. No one commented on main that the two were awkward with each other. If you monitored the hot search, you would know that. The discussion and critique was more on people mocking how boring it was and that it’s just a simple boat. How it looked “cheap” and asking why is there no host to interact with the celebrities. There was nothing majorly bad about WYB. He was on hot search in a positive light even on the next day.

EXAMPLE ONE: RL was trying so hard to be close and sit next to WYB but he said no. Because his gege will be mad uwu

But if you look at it, he was asked if he wants to switch seats. Look at RL’s hand, pointing to his side of the boat. WYB declined. He was okay with his position. Does that smile look faked to you? It’s a genuine smile that’s all good with the person they are interacting with.

EXAMPLE TWO : I can’t find the video but it was RL touching WYB’s waist like guiding him and WYB moved away. I can understand why people will find that too touchy feely. I see it was WYB was surprised so he did that. RL is not someone he spends so much time but to say it’s because WYB was so uncomfortable is a stretch. He was talking to him and was v chill even in the old town red carpet.

These examples are mostly from cpfs who are irrationally threatened. Going as far as saying that the original iconic boat ride featuring WYB is the 9 min boat video with XZ. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ Here we go again with the unnecessary double standard just to make a point. Trying to make it seem that the experience was horrible to WYB. The notion that WYB can and should only have good memories connected to XZ and vice versa is so unreasonable. There are times that the difference is clear but going as far as to twist things is too much. What if certain accounts picked up on it? I don’t even wanna imagine a hot search that says something like RL harassed WYB all because of what others are posting.

&&& I’m just gonna copy and paste this here:

During the boat ride, he was clapping for Rocco, like applauding him for the event i guess. In the meantime, on Weibo, the top hot search were people criticizing the “boat” thing on GQ ( literally something like GQ boat embarrassment was the tag ) As soon as the live started it went on 1 or 2. I don’t know if Bobo saw that but I just like how he showed his appreciation to Rocco, and by extension, his team. That’s just my interpretation and it could be a completely different thing but knowing WYB, he is very generous with acknowledging people. Maybe we can take a page from his book in this aspect.

He even shook RL’s hand and smiled. If you think this is somehow WYB being fake. I don’t even know what to say to you.

I also wanna point out how some are saying these things because of their prejudice against queer people who look like rocco liu. If they look a certain way then it’s most likely they are queer perverts who will take advantage of young men like WYB. While I do agree that incidents like that happen, it’s horrible how people are jumping to conclusion because of a few second clip and his “look”. I’m sorry but queer people come in all shapes and sizes. They do not look like the boys in your manhua/manhwa. It’s like you pick and choose who is the kind of queer that’s ok and palatable. Which is still homophobia by the way. It’s okay if it’s two guys who are handsome like ZZ and WYB, but if someone else comes close who doesn’t look as fine as them then it’s disgusting.

I remember that one incident, a photo of ZZ with a handsome doctor. CPFs were loving it! Already making up head canons that WYB is jealous or ZZ probably tried to make WYB jealous by using that person. How it would be cool to write a fic about that. 💀💀💀 Which makes me think that if WYB rode that boat with Yangyang for example, someone who he finds handsome and have the bare minimum interaction— CPFs will be elated! It would be twisted into something like a “omg zz is jealous blah blah blah”. This is my problem with some CPFs and how limited their understanding is of the real world. How treating the boys as fictional people is so easy and encouraged. I cringe at those who even implied that XZS suddenly posted a vlog cause he wants to assert his ownership of WYB because of what RL did. If you think that statement doesn’t make sense, then we are on the same boat. 🛶

Which leads us to big argument…

The whole narrative of how can WYB work closely with GQ even if they dissed XZ back in 227 era.

The whole article was not made by Rocco. It was a different person. Even the “accounts” they say are RL cannot be verified. Second, this whole we will never forget mentality is so fuckin toxic tbh. Why can’t their be healing from all the hurt back in 227? Do people really think XZ is out there with a fuckin notebook with all the people who took a jab at him that time? One way or another he will work with these people. That’s how the industry is. I don’t remember XZS saying his fans should seek vengeance. What i recall, repeatedly being said is to not join in on unnecessary conversations that will cause negativity amongst people.

Tho I believe that XZ is more wary of certain people, especially with those who stabbed him in the back.

Now some fans are so angry cause RL’s response with the height HS ( which i talked about here ) is to Kadian 227. The answer is simple. It’s 🍤🍤🍤 who were commenting and doing the most to spread this rumor. So this shade was for them and a reminder what may happen if they are not careful and stay on their lane. We are not new to this. XFX are known to do shady things that do not reflect Xiao Zhan. Tho it’s sad how he gets affected by it when he didn’t even do anything.

This is not special treatment to XFX or that he has some deep seated hatred for XZ. It’s XFX who has the vendetta and capitalized on what some blog and antis were implying. Just the other day, top hot search was Rocco Liu is not embarrassed. This bitch reposted the top post on the GQ boat embarrassment hot search by some blog and said he wasn’t embarrassed. Yep. He is that petty. 😂😂😂😂 He will not take things lying down. If you look at context, it’s pretty obvious.

I also saw Gabrielle, who is GG’s friend and someone who defended him during 227 shared a photo he took of his friends WYB & Rocco. So should we cancel Gabrielle too cause he is friends with Rocco? Where do we draw the line?

In conclusion, it wouldn’t kill you to take a step back and look at things without a cpf lens on. Look at the context. Trust XZ and WYB. It was honestly distasteful how some were focusing more on the drama than how amazing WYB looked that night.

That’s all. Now back to the normal posts. ✌🏼

[lloke]

A while back I got into a new "fannish" interest that's a little unusual for me and I feel kind of embarrassed and cringy about it and I want to talk about that.

I've always had some interest in reading about morbid shit like tragic or gruesome murders/accidents/disasters/etc, so it's not too surprising that at some point I would get interested in the Titanic story. That's not the embarrassing part, plenty of people are interested in historical shit like that. What's embarrassing is the main factor driving this interest, which of course was love for a particular historical figure who became my most recent blorbo. Or more accurately, the mythologized/fictionalized version of this character as depicted in the various movies and other dramatizations (of which I've now seen quite a few).

The blorbo in question is Thomas Andrews, one of the designers of the Titanic who went on the voyage and did not survive. In real life he was apparently one of the first people to realize the ship was actually going to sink and informed the captain, which always makes for a dramatic scene in the movies (complete with visual aids so the viewers will understand wtf they're talking about).

The other well-known story about Andrews is that not long before the end, one of the stewards saw him in the first class smoking room without a lifebelt on, staring blankly into space with a "stunned" expression on his face, and the steward asked if he wasn't going to "try for it" but he didn't respond.

So of course the MYTHOLOGIZED NARRATIVE of Thomas Andrews goes like this: "Guy who is a genius in a scientific/creative/technical field and is very ambitious and also a perfectionist designs an AMAZING PERFECT CREATION, and then has to watch as his brilliant creation fails catastrophically and kills hundreds of people right in front of him, and is so mentally destroyed by it that he doesn't even try to escape but lets himself be killed too." This is a dramatically compelling story! It is the kind of thing that appeals directly to my angst-loving id!! But I feel pretty awkward about the fact that it's based off of the real life and death of a real person, not to mention the part where I'm having silly fannish "feels" over a real event where over a thousand people died.

Of course I obsess a lot about fictional characters, which is embarrassing enough in itself, but I've never been the sort of person to get really fannish about RL people (whether celebrities or historical figures or whatever). Partly I think because fictional characters can be idealized, larger than life, and live up to my expectations in a way that no real person ever could. (Even when the characters I love are supposedly "complex" or "flawed", their flaws are still idealized flaws that don't actually make them any less likable or sympathetic -- at least to me.) Real people will always end up disappointing you; and I've never been very good at like "selective reading" of the source material to support my own preferred interpretation over the most obvious/plausible one even when it comes to fiction, much less real life or real history.

I actually have kinda ambivalent feelings about like "historical"/"based on a true story" movies etc in general... I mean some of them are well-made but it bothers me how they inevitably have to distort everything to fit it into a Hollywood formula, idealizing some historical figures and demonizing others, creating a simplistic morality tale and calling that "history". It's not that I have anything against the Hollywood formula! Simplistic stories with larger-than-life heroes and villains are exactly my kind of thing lol. But I don't like confusing fiction with reality or pretending that reality ever actually conforms to our expectations about what makes a good/narratively satisfying story. I like fiction because it's NOT reality -- because it can actually satisfy our desire for narrative cohesion in a way that real life never will.

So yeah of course it's the law in all Titanic dramatizations (as in the rumors and legends that started circulating basically the minute the ship went down) that White Star executive Bruce Ismay has to be the villain of the story because he survived the disaster, while anyone who died has to have been a flawless hero. But of course it's exactly this highly idealized deeply-noble-and-heroic-yet-guilt-ridden version of Thomas Andrews that I love so much lmao. I mean I'm sure the real guy was a decent person and he was certainly brave for going down with the ship (especially since he was one of the few people who really knew/believed it was actually going to sink from pretty early on) -- but at the same time he was ultimately Just Some Guy, he was probably about as #problematic as any other rich white dude from that era and a lot of the specific aspects of his extreme heroism and nice-guyness as depicted in the various screen versions are clearly exaggerated or just made the fuck up -- so when I'm watching this stuff a part of me is always going "this is historically dubious >_>" while another part is like "my blorbo!! ♥_♥"

But now that I've gotten that disclaimer out of the way: here's some fannish babbling in case anybody cares.

The earlier Titanic movies, including the 1943 Nazi version (yes really) and the 1953 American movie, were less historically based and didn't include Andrews as a character. The first version to include him was the television play "A Night to Remember" (1956), based on the popular nonfiction book about the disaster of the same title. This was followed by the 1958 movie also called A Night to Remember -- this was the most successful and well-known dramatization of the story prior to the James Cameron movie. Featuring Michael Goodliffe as Andrews in a very dry and seemingly emotionless performance until the very end, when he has his dramatic breakdown and gives this memorable thousand-yard stare:

I think this is basically the only version where the person who finds Andrews in the smoking room actually is just a random steward; every other version replaces him with some other character who has a larger role in their version of the story. Also my fannish brain likes that they included a scene where the ship's doctor (who apparently was actually good friends with Andrews IRL) scolds him for being a workaholic, because that's another of my fave characterization tropes lmao.

Then there's the 1979 TV movie S.O.S. Titanic, where Andrews has a more minor role but is played by Geoffrey Whitehead, who I already knew for playing my top blorbo of all time Sherlock Holmes in an obscure TV series from the same year.

One thing I like about this one is that it's the only version I've seen that has people addressing Andrews as "Tommie", which is what his friends and family actually called him IRL. Every other version, if his first name is mentioned at all, has him called "Tom" or "Thomas" because filmmakers are COWARDS. It also depicts Andrews interacting with Mary Sloan, a stewardess who in real life talked a lot afterwards about him and how brave and heroic he'd been. In this version she's the one who finds him in the smoking room and urges him to try to save himself.

(Another thing I like about this one is that it has the most sympathetic portrayal of Bruce Ismay that I've seen.)

Then of course there's the James Cameron Titanic (1997), with Victor Garber as Andrews.

In the movie he forms a kind of friendly paternal relationship with Rose, and of course she's the one (with Jack in tow) who takes the steward's role in the smoking room scene.

Also in 1997, but otherwise unrelated, was the Titanic stage musical -- yes this exists, and it's actually better than you might expect (IMO). The show doesn't really have a single protagonist and focuses equally on a large number of different characters; but Andrews gets the opening song and the "climactic" song near the end, which makes him fairly prominent. I like how they kind of put him into a trio with Captain Smith and Bruce Ismay and there's a whole song where the three of them argue about who's the most to blame for the situation they're in, with Smith and Andrews both admitting to their share of the guilt in the end while of course Ismay doesn't. And then at the end Andrews has a truly impressive nervous breakdown and spends the last moments of the sinking obsessing over the ship's plans and how really it only needs a few minor changes to make it TRULY unsinkable!! Like... yes, A+, THIS is what I am here for, god damn.

There's also the 2012 miniseries in which Andrews again doesn't play a very large role, but Stephen Campbell Moore does look more like the real guy than any other actor I've seen portray him. So I have to give them points for that.

[artgene]

okay so here are some thoughts about anni

firstly not the biggest fan of laterano myself anyway but they got their spotlight and it's great actually but it kinda sucks what HG tried so hard to spoil an event I really don't get it but yeah anyways

I love exu but I have a feeling that I like her original design more and moreover just remembering her attire on the ambience that will go along with the event right now goddam exu looks so handsome there

lemuen IS good she was so gorgeous in PV although I'll probably skip this banner I hope I'll have her on my acc someday she has absolutely stunning aura

as for skins at this time I have only one favorite and this is fiammetta's skin like what the actual ❤️ she is so cool?! I NEED to buy it and yes I already have her dnd skin so what well I'll have two for her (I also have two for saria smirk) my girl fia absolutely deserves all the coolest skins in game

What really interested me about all this is that silence got a SECOND module I mean-

I mean there will be a continuation of her story and more than that here a kjerag logo on this files so this must mean that somewhere an event with a RL base on the lands of karlan must still happen and silence will most likely take part in all of this especially remembering the words of her VA at the congratulations some time ago

although I was very puzzled by the fact that I honestly expected that this particular event would be at anniversary because it obviously supposed to be big and involve two factions so

not sure when HG going to launch this event now that it's not included in this game year how it looked from the 4th concept trailer

[cubitodragon-moved]

Forever actively hiding his shadow infection worries and upsets me - in that good ‘how dare you rp your character so well’ way CC!Forever brings to the table, of course. (Some of it is also due to meta changes and the Purgatory event being that weird “is it/isn’t it RP relevant?” blurred line, but either way…)

A thing we all need to appreciate is that none of the other Islanders are aware this is even a thing. As far as anyone is concerned, seeing WB012 at the Green reshuffle meeting was the first time the majority had seen it at all. And questions about that went unanswered when they asked the Worker about it, likely thanks to the Watcher’s influence. (They also never saw them leave, and never saw them die thanks to being booted for maintenance. Goodnight sweet WB012, we hardly knew ye.)

But wait, Farli, didn’t people who attended the Guy Fawkes night mini-event see the state Forever was in? Yes, some of them did! And of those present, only Bad actively noticed and openly queried about his extensive injuries, which Forever tried to brush off and defer to explaining ‘later’. The rest simply assumed he was a wreck after being in the Nether for a month —Which, you know. Valid— before all getting distracted by blowing up buildings and setting things on fire.

One can’t fault our beloved cubitos for being easily distracted by things like that.

By the end of the mini-event, Forever had pulled an Irish Goodbye and wandered off to check out Cucuruchito, wander the server, and go back to his mega base. Others logging in didn’t see the state he was in, as he wasn’t there.

Forever had planned to speak with both Philza and Bad privately about what happened - except his PC died in RL. One way I choose to view that unlucky circumstance is thus: his body just forces him to pass out from sheer stress and exhaustion. And that promised ‘Later’ never comes.

The next time anyone sees Forever, he’s in a new skin, burns and scars and infection covered up, and Forever looking tired but somewhat better (for a given value of better). It’d be easy to think “oh the black stuff probably just washed off”, never mind that most people there at Spawn had no idea there was any black gunk on him in the first place.

And then cinematics and server shuffling and the Purgatory event happen. Teams happen. An awful week of awfulness divides friends and made thinking about what happened before Purgatory irrelevant in the face of needing to survive.

Forever is a man who doesn’t share his hurts openly, emotionally or otherwise, bottles things up to an alarming degree until he explodes. He puts others far far far ahead of his own well-being. He’s the sort who wants people to notice and care, but also doesn’t want anyone worrying about him. He has the unreasonable expectation as a people pleaser that he needs to do this by himself. What other people don’t know won’t hurt them, only him.

It’s not like anyone else can do anything about it. So why worry them needlessly, when saving the eggs is the priority?

He’s still covered up. Still hiding the shadow infection. And while he’s now on a team that has a few more people he’s relaxed around and has some trust in, we also have little under one week left of being stuck in Purgatory. For all there are long moments of alone time while preparing for the day, there’s few opportunities for privacy right now, where confiding in someone might happen.

When Forever next gets to rest and check himself over, will the infection have spread? Will someone else see and put 2+2 together - and potentially get a 5? Is the infection why he’ll be able to use the Judas book at all when that time comes?

I don’t know. I’m worried. Especially if the infection could potentially be infectious to others….We’ll have to wait and see.