#Either that or people are bored and uninterested in me idk

[thefloatingstone]

Sometimes I'm like "where is everybody? :(" on tumblr because I forget not everyone's brain runs on ADHD hardware where 3 minutes was an hour ago.

[idolomantises]

talking abt that one thing in velma thats on my mind a lot for the past few days (that turned into a big incoherent rambling about gay rep in media)

i'm seeing jokes about how the queer representation in mystery inc being so much better than the queer representation in velma and honestly it makes me want to go on a whole tangent about my thoughts on queer representation nowadays vs the more subtle examples decades prior.

There's this weird debate that goes on online about what is "good" queer representation, and one of the most notable and honestly annoying examples is that queer representation has to be so subtle that you could easily miss it/ignore it. i've always hated that take because its a claim mostly said by straight people who are uncomfortable with seeing characters who are openly queer and/or state their identity, but they present it as some sort of push for subtle and nuanced writing. personally i do prefer it when a character just, identifies as how they are without explaining their identity, but that doesn't mean flat out explaining your orientation is inherently bad representation. its why i will always defend the very clunky and awkward high guardian spice scene. it is absolutely poorly directed and written, but that doesn't make it "bad representation". however, I do consider the character who explains that he's trans bad representation because he is flat, uninteresting and very clearly a creator self insert. he doesn't feel like a well rounded character who's also a trans man, but just an incredibly sanitized example of trans representation.

i have many, many issues with helluva boss/hazbin hotel and i do genuinely find some depictions of queer characters just flat out offensive (you can argue with me about how angel dust being written like your average 90s gay stereotype is woke actually because he has trauma, i dont care), but i do admire and appreciate that the series doesn't want to sanitize its queer characters, even if its done poorly. though i could go into a whole rant about how i find it very telling that female characters that are queer are far less sexualized or allowed to be problematic compared to their queer male counterparts.

anyways back to velma. that show does something that i've always found pretty irritating in queer representation which is just this weird lack of faith in its audience. characters can't have a slow burn anymore. internalized thoughts, anger, frustration, longing. you have to immediately know that two characters are gay for each other, even if they're lifelong enemies. its like when modern horror movies open with the gore because they're scared people are going to be bored or leave early. there's no subtlety or chemistry between daphne and velma, they're just lovers because idk, its two girls who hate each other and who doesn't love that.

then i think about how mystery inc handled velma and her sexuality, how she was allowed to be well rounded and nuanced before you slowly realize that "oh, she doesn't like boys". i know her whole thing with shaggy is controversial among fans but i always loved how she does do something pretty unlikable but not immoral. yeah, it is shitty to force shaggy to choose between her and his dog, but i can understand her line of thinking and empathize with her. and i do like how they become friends in the end despite their awkward break up. It's always fun rewatching it and realizing that their incredibly awkward and cringe relationship was meant to be awkward and cringe. it was supposed to be weird and difficult to watch, because those two weren't meant to date each other. you could see how hard velma was trying to make the relationship work despite the fact that you never get the vibe that either character was full invested in it, unlike daphne and fred's relationship.

then you had velma and her relationship with marcie, which started off as sort of a catty rivalry (not full on attempted murder, i mean holy shit hbo velma) that slowly grows to where you're completely convinced that these two did gradually like each other. and i do really enjoy stuff like that, more subtle writing like that. which doesn't just apply to queer rep btw, my favorite ships are relationships that feel understated, something you have to really dig for and pay attention to. its why i consider bubbline the best f/f representation in cartoon. because its subtle, but not too subtle where it feels out of no where when they kiss, and nuanced in ways that enhances the relationship AND characters.

there's a good amount of relationships i see in cartoons where the creator, who is usually queer themselves, often wants to depict queer relationships, but is weirdly adverse to depicting the uglier aspects of that character, and refuses to add subtlety to it. steven universe is a show i've always felt conflicted on its handling of queer representation because on the one hand i appreciate writing lesbians that are messy, traumatized and make constant mistakes. but on the other hand, the show goes out of its way to ignore these issues and/or make excuses for it, making the decision to make these characters messy and complicated genuinely baffling (this is also one of the big issues i have with catradora and stolitz).

it makes me think back to my own work too. i really enjoy making fluffy, easily digestible gay content for my followers and myself because it puts me in a good headspace. But even now and then i like exploring those little nuances too, because i don't really enjoy stories with little conflict. Because of that acknowledgement of how satisfying it is to write fluffy, queer rep, you end up putting yourself in other creator's shoes. you're so used to media that either dehumanizes gay people or tells people that they don't exist that you push yourself to make the most in your face queer rep you can but its at the cost of an interesting and subtle characters. characters that don't really have arcs or places to learn and grow.

With bugtopia i made a joke about how i want some of my queer rep to feel like you're being queerbaited. It's not literal, obviously, but mixed in with characters who are already married and in same gender relationships, i really want to write dynamics that feel subtle enough for a bit of a slow burn. even if you know they're going to end up together, to at least value the characters on their own before centering them on their relationships. queerbaiting is something that deserves all the criticism it can get, but it is embarrassing when queerbaiting feels genuinely more interesting than actual queer rep because queerbaiting has that factor of "maybe they won't get together" that adds that bit of intrigue, vs so many shows that repeatedly hammer in your head "don't worry guys, they're gonna be lesbian lovers".

mystery inc (and many other shows) being forced to keep a relationship obvious while subtle to get through censorship really forced creators to be creative with their storytelling and not center characters around their relationship and identity. but nowadays i think shows like to take the easy way out. for me, i always thought the most impactful example of queer representation in steven universe is "Rose's Scabbard". I genuinely don't enjoy that episode because it's a good example of the show thinking that trauma is an excuse for shitty behavior, but i cant deny that an entire episode of pearl breaking down and finally accepting that she wasn't the center of rose's world. it's the crew being forced to be creative and push through censors to telling a compelling story about a traumatized lesbian slowly realizing that she basically deluded herself into thinking she was someone's savior.

I think it's silly to try to place good queer representation in one box. like subtle queer rep is good, but also queer rep where a character flat out states that their gay. where I think it falls apart is when it either reinforces stereotypes without properly deconstructing or expanding on them, makes the characters so overly kind and non-controversial that the relationship is just boring, or try to make your messy and complicated characters but the narrative refuses to hold them accountable or at least acknowledge that they're doing something wrong. and to clarify on that last part, i'm not asking for some hays code nonsense where every bad person goes to prison and/or promises to stop being a bad person again. i mean the narrative doesnt just fucking sugarcoat their behavior. i don't want to see helluva boss ignore the fact that stolas made blitzo call him out for only using him for sex and then pathetically rush to justify their relationship by giving them a bizarrely sanitized and sweet backstory. and i don't want to see catra literally end the fucking universe and only do something good because she's straight up out of options and the show just decides that that was her redemption and she doesn't need to do anything to atone for what she did (including repeatedly abusing and verbally berating adora).

anyways velma has none of those interesting qualities and i'm pretty sure daphne and velma kissed because the creator is a weird pervert who thinks two girls kissing is hot.

[strayflowersstarsandlove]

Busan (hwanghyunjin)

Author's note: for some reason every time I write of Hyunjin's I end up with lenghty paragraphs I don't know why, he triggers the writers in me idk I love this man💀💀 anyways this one can definitely be read as a standalone as most if not all my longer writings! reading Preoccupied first might give you a little additional context but it's not essential 💖

"I don't know... What if he's just not that into me?", you puff your cheeks out and cross your arms tightly across your chest, trying to keep warm in the chilly early morning breeze, shifting your weight on your feet from side to side, "bullshit! He is so into you! He's just shy", Changbin whines, only pretending to be annoyed at you as he pinches and pokes your cheeks until you start giggling.You were currently waiting for the whole gang to arrive at the train station for a day trip to Busan.

Originally it was supposed to be just you and Hyunjin, Changbin and your other best friend, Changbin's girlfriend, a double date of sorts. It only ended up being a group outing because Jeongin overheard you guys talking as you were planning the day and decided he wanted to be your tourist guide and then Han overhead Jeongin and felt excluded from the activities so he invited himself and Minho along, and one member led another and so you ended up being stuck with 6 other people on your date.

Which wasn't inherently a bad thing, ever since you and Hyunjin had started seeing each other after meeting at a party, you had had the chance to hang with all of them and you quickly understood just how tight knit and lovely they all were, you thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them and always ending up your day with cramps from all the laughing.

This time you just wanted to be alone with Hyunjin though. You had been going on multiple dates in the last few couple of months, each and every one of them had been great and you could tell that you were getting closer. But he hadn't popped the question yet and you were way too shy to do it yourself. You thought that maybe a change of scenery and the beach would have set the perfect occasion for either of you to try and make the move but even when Lexy had to pull out due to a nasty stomach bug, you were still left with 7 more people on said scenery, Changbin being the sulky one too cause he missed his girlfriend dearly.

You stuff your hands in your pockets and hum to yourself, still mulling over your best friend's words, absentmindedly kicking at the dirt beneath your feet, "he will ask you to be his girlfriend, y/n. I promise. I think he's just trying to find the courage. He made the first move already by kissing you and asking you out, which is out of character for him, give him a little time". Changbin serious, softer tone comforts you a little, you smile weakly at him and nod, "I'm willing to give him all the time he needs, I just wish I knew if he's into me as much as I am into him. I can be very clingy and boring and overall uninteresting, I wouldn't blame him if he just decided I'm not worth it".

Your best friend sighs frustratedly and forcefully engulfs you in a big bear hug, "yah! Don't ever say that again, you hear me? You are so worth it, you're exactly his ideal type too. Hyunjin-ah is just fundamentally shy and he got burned on his last relationship. I'm sure he's just trying to feel this out a little after he dived in head first and got broken hearted. He falls in love so quickly, trusts so easily, he's such a sensitive, reserved person it's amazing he felt this comfortable and outgoing with you so far. He's gonna fully come out of his shell, trust me".

You hug him back very tightly and mumble your thanks and are about to reassure him you understood what he said completely when you hear a loud yell followed by some ridiculous bickering in the distance and soon enough Han and Minho emerge from the car park, shortly followed by Chan and Felix, with Seugmin in tow. They all look so happy to see you and greet you so warmly you instantly cheer up. Even more so when you see Jeongin in the distance, he's fixing his hair amenably after an overtly excited Hyunjin has basically jumped on his back to ruffle it over and over. You can hear him giggle all the way from your spot and can't help but feel a soft, warm rush to your chest.

When they finally walk over to the group Hyunjin beelines to you. He pulls you close and kisses the top of your head while squeezing your hand, smiling softly at you, his demeanor still bubbly and hyper but more tender, softer when he greets you, "hi", he beams at you, his sweet smile reaching his eyes as you reciprocate the gesture and ask him how he's doing today, to which he solemnly replies that he's excited for the day, and a little twinkling in his eyes confirms that. God he's so cute.

The train compartments are divided into four seats each and after much debating (and some mild, playful fighting, Hyunjin looking defeated as he concedes to Changbin who just has to sit on the more outside seat cause he hates when his shoulders squeeze against the window seat ) you end up sitting by the window, Changbin sitting next to you while Hyunjin is directly across from you, next to Chan.

The chopsticks, Felix and Jeongin sitting on the opposite row while Seugmin enjoys "some deserved peace and quiet" as he sits next to other passangers behind your row. 2racha starts talking among themselves the minute the train departs and even though you and Hyunjin try to participate into the conversation you both quickly realise their argument over whether tomatoes are fruits or vegetables is getting pretty heated pretty fast so you just glance at each other and snicker, he stretches out his long legs and loops them around your feet, and then lends you one of his bluetooth earbuds, a silent invite to block out the noises and enjoy the scenery outside your window.

Once you arrive in Busan the group splits for a preventive toilet stop, you, Chan, Felix, Changbin and Minho being the ones brave enough not to take advantage of the washroom at the station as you aimlessly stroll around while you wait for the others. You can tell Chan is trying his best to keep his kids in check while also trying to give you and Hyunjin some space, the moment the group is reunited again he immediately tries to lead them towards the exit so Hyunjin can make his way to you without all eyes on him.

If there's one thing about Chan is that he is very perceptive, he obviously knows his friend very well and figured you too like to keep it low key, you too aren't overly into pda and would rather spend some quieter times with just the long haired brunette.

And his efforts are repayed when he exchanges a quick, complicit glance with Hyunjin, who slows down behind everyone else until he's walking right next to you, he sneaks an arm around your shoulders and pulls you to him, "you're doing okay? I'm sorry they're so loud", he apologises, a fond smile forming on his lips as his eyes wander to his friends animously talking and grabbing at each other's hands and butts, "I'm doing great. I'm actually happy they've taken seemingly well to me, I was afraid they wouldn't like me that much for a sec", you admit sincerely, trying to fall into step with his long strides, "why wouldn't they?", he replies simply, matter-of-factly even, smirking a little when he notices you blushing.

As soon as you all step outside into the blinding sun, Jeongin turns into intense chaperone mode, he gives directions to where to go first and which local stores you should stop by so he and Chan can plan out the day a little. And so the adventure begins.

First stop is dalgona coffee and Sinchang toast from a local café where most of the boys also help themselves to Milmyeon and Ssiat Hotteok, which you share a portion of with both Han and Felix, as they're saving up some space in their stomachs for more desserts later on in the day. Which you can only agree with.

After that you make your way to the beaufiul Haedong Yonggungsa, the temple by the sea, a sprawling temple that sits right on the eastern coast of Busan, which literally takes your breath away with how incredible and sacred it looks, the air there just feels different, rarefied even. As you lean on the balauster that looks out on the baby blue sea, you find yourself shutting your eyes.

You whisper a silent prayer only you know the meaning of. And it's curious, how for that mere couple of seconds you manage to numb your ears to the sound of the wind, the mumbling and praying of the locals and the tourists gathering in the temple, even the stifled laughs of your friends, you almost feel like you're the only person in the whole building as you wish just for happiness, in whatever form that wants to presents itself in.

When you open your eyes again Hyunjin is silently standing next you, elbows resting on the balauster as well, his eyes deviate from the stunning sea below to your surprised ones, a small, reassuring smile playing on his lips.

Next stop is another temple, Taejongsa temple, with its bursting hydrangeas paths and blossoming plants all around, Changbin gets particularly sulky as you guys walk through the place, he whines about being in such a romantic scenery without his munchkin little baby, which you find ironic considering you're currently being swept up into some deep conversations about love and the expectation of society with Felix and Chan, Han butting his head in every once in a while only to be pulled back by a bemused Minho that makes him twirl and fall into every single flower bed on their path.

For lunch you all help yourselves at local street vendors on your way to Gamcheon village where you stop for pics with the little prince statue (everyone makes Jeongin take at least one selfie with each member and the statue), and then wander off to the shops and thrift stores. All the while your group of friends manages to keep you  entertained and laughing your ass off, but sadly also busy and never really alone with Hyunjin. You manage to lock eyes with him on a few occasions and briefly hold hands as you walk through the narrowest parts of the village, but you somehow always end up separate, despite Chan's best efforts no to have the kids hog you all the time.

Part of you feels extremely happy they feel so comfortable with you they want to include you into their every activity or conversation, but another part of you longs for some alone time with Hyunjin.

As the afternoon rolls out slowly, you and your group walk aimlessly around the streets, some of the guys stop to take pictures of the colorful walls and murals, some feed into their caffeine addictions by cramming inside tight little cafés. Seeing that Felix and Seugmin walk out of a cute bakery with delicious looking pastries and drinks, you decide to step in yourself and order some warm coffee to go and milk bread. Which tastes absolutely delectable.

You flutter your eyes shut as the yummy, soft texture melts in your mouth, you almost moan at how good it tastes, "jeez, calm down. It's just bread",you hear a brash voice and some snickering and find Changbin looking at you like you're some kind of crazy person, "you don't understand Binnie, this is heaven. Heaven in bread form", you try to explain, stuffing your face with more, "you and flour boy are meant to be. Go to him, share it with him. Hyunjin loves milk bread", he says, stealing a bite from your roll first, "mmh not bad, not bad", he comments, taking a sip from your coffee too.

You make your way towards the back of the group, and patiently wait for Hyunjin to finish talking with Chan before attempting to shyly approach him, "milk bread?", you offer, holding your precious wrapped roll out for him to bite into. He lights up. He tears into the bread making the cutest, frowniest face and you giggle, "mmmh oh my god so good", he yawps, his arm wrapping around your shoulders as he leads you down the steep pavement, "hehe it's yummy, right?", Hyunjin nods and hands you back your food but you signal for him to finish it as you happily sip on your coffee, even offering him some too considering his cup is already empty, he gladly accepts and puckers his lips around the straw, the sight momentarily making your breath hitch in your throat. It's been a whole week since you last kissed him properly. You're having withdrawals.

"Coffee and milk bread. You really know how to take care of me, uh?", Hyunjin smirks at you and next thing you know he's pulling you inside a little souvenirs shop, dragging you towards a far off isle in the corner where you almost knock down all the tiny porcelain little tea cups and hand painted fans and cute colorful socks.

You erupt into loud giggles as he himself trips over the rug but manages to straighten himself out at last. You giggle and giggle until he's leaning in, his lips just inches away from you - "annyeonghaseyo. How can I help you today?". The clerk was so adorable and smiley both you and Hyunjin end up with a bag each full of gifts for your respective families. And deep red ears and blushy cheeks.

As the sunset bleeds into early night, you stop at a photobooth and take multiple pictures with everyone. Or you try to. You're just about to get back inside the booth with Hyunjin after Jeongin and Minho went in when Han gets so whiny and fussy from how tired he is that Chan has to drag everyone out and back on the road.

The last stop on your trip being a sightseeing one at Gwangandaegyo Bridge. The square is so crowded and bustling with people and lights and energy you feel so immensely grateful and lucky to be there with your friends.

Chan on one side and Changbin on the other, you loop your arms together and sincerely thank them, "I appreciate everything you two have been trying to do for me today! Thank you for making me feel so included and for looking out for me". Changbin grins at you and pokes your cheek, "I told you you were going to have a great time!", he exclaims while Chan just laughs, "I'm sorry this wasn't the most romantic thing for you and our Hyune but I'm sure seeing you so comfortable with all the boys and vice versa means a lot to him too", he nods toward the man of the hour, giggling and pointing at the colorful lights and taking pics with Felix. "Yeah, I hope so", you mumble, looking fondly at them.

You all take a few more pictures and decide to look for some street food for dinner before redirecting towards the train station, Chan winks at you as he calls up on all the guys and orderly leads them towards downtown, conveniently making sure you're in tow with Hyunjin.

You quietly walk next to each other, fingers interlocked, playfully bumping into each other every once in a while, "did you have fun today?", he asks, his eyes searching yours intently, "of course, I'm like so tired, but very happy! Busan is charming and the food is amazing, I couldn't have asked for more. Did you have fun? ", you reply earnestly and he nods, "mmh…I did. I liked seeing you happy",you smile bashfully and blush as he says that, which must give him some sort of an ego boost cause he looks so satisfied he bites down his lips and tugs at your hand when you refuse to keep eye contact with him. In the spur of the moment he bends down to kiss your cheek, sighing softly :"y/n would you… no wait… Can I be-", "HAN-AH NOT ON MY NEW SHOES".

Poor Hannie feeling sick all over Minho's shoes wasn't the perfect ending to your amazing day in Busan. The boy ate a little too much a little too fast and then washed it all down with too much iced coffee that's all. With all of your adrenaline levels down and the tiredness of the day catching up to you all, this time when you get back in the train nobody fights for the seat distribution.

You finally end up next to Hyunjin, who scrambles to fling himself on the faded blue leather seat next to the window and basically forces you to sit beside him while Seugmin and Jeongin sit across from you. It barely takes 2 minutes for the maknaes to fall asleep in their seats, their cute little heads atop of each other, sleepy, pouty faces so irresistible Hyunjin has to take a few sneaky pics.

Just as you did on your way there, you share earphones with the brunette, who also offers his shoulder for you to lean on as you feel so sleepy after the long day. The ache in your legs and your feet dissolving as you finally relax to the music playing in your ears and the comfort of the sweet guy next to you who clasps your hands together and breathes so softly as if he's afraid he's going to disturb your sleepy state.

Travelling into the night to the light hum of the train feels calming, a bit surreal even. You feel as if you're in a bit of a dream like state, the moonlight filters through the big window as the train speeds through miles upon miles of rail tracks, every single passanger on board either sleeping or quietly scrolling through their phones and you just feel so at peace, your eyes droopy and heavy but still refusing to completely give in to sleep.

"Y/n…are you sleeping?", Hyunjin calls out quietly for you. At first you're confused as to whether he is actually talking or the song currently playing in your ear is playing tricks on you, but when you lift your head up and meet his soft gaze and gentle smile, you're sure you're not just hallucinating. You blink a few times and shake your head slightly, "not sleeping yet", you murmur as your rub your eyes with your knuckles. Hyunjin visibly melts at that, you can see it in the way even in the dim light his eyes go all soft and crescent moon shaped as he smiles.

He hesitates a bit, as if he's mentally debating whether to further speak or not, and then he leans in and kisses you. Plump lips crushing into yours, a soft hum as he grazes your bottom lip with his teeth, your muffled gasping as his tongue explores your mouth. If this is a dream no one dare wake you up right now. That's all you can think.

"Can I be your boyfriend?". You pull away still breathless and confused. Your brain short circuiting from how much you've made out in the past few minutes. You look at him confusedly as he licks his lips and looks at you expectantly, you shake your head briefly and pull out the earphone still idly playing whatever song, "you-you.. What?", you stutter and he giggles, pecking your lips once more, "I said: can I be your boyfriend?". So you heard that right the first time. It wasn't just the absence of oxygen reaching your brain then. You squeal and squeak, almost waking up the sleepy heads in front of you, and then jump at Hyunjin's neck, almost crying as your repeat yourself over and over: "ohmyfreakinggod YES PLEASE!".

[spirit-mail]

Fresh Meat

this is some "old" writing that I've decided to continue... idk, but it's on ao3 under the same title! rai_viz <- my ao3

König × M!Reader - 2.5k -

C1 - C2

___×× follow n send asks so i can write more ♡

The bass filled your ears and sent vibrations through every crevice of your body, eyes closed while your hands flew into the air, waving and slapping against other peoples hands. You couldn't tell if you were on the dancefloor, and you could barely tell if your friend was still with you– he was probably shitfaced drunk at the bar– or maybe he went home with some idiot. Either way, you figured you'd be better off pretending Kyle didn't totally abandon you after he invited you to meet his friends.

You were sort of a shut-in? To be fair, you were just touchstarved- and you were perfectly fine with it, really. Relationships were never your thing, you always had something else to focus on- and now that you didn't, you spent your time fantasizing about all sorts of things- things you could have pulled off if you used your confidence correctly. Kyle- or Gaz, your only friend for the past 6 years, total slut, and not in a bad way of course. He never stayed with a guy (or girl) for more than a week, unless they were rich. You admired him, really, you just didn't understand his extroverted behavior- chatting constantly with random people about absurdly uninteresting things, or just pretending to be a nice person for some shitty sex in an alleyway- it bored you to death.

Kyle's bountiful friendships and dumb ideas lead you here, to some shitty club filled with drunkards and people looking for one night stands.

Either way, he was tired of your stupid moping, and listening to you rant about how badly you want a relationship with no emotional ties, so he set you up. You were sort of asking for it, in a way, and he was just being a good friend! A good friend hooks you up with a friends friend. His name was Soap, apparently, stupidly weird name but hey– no judging. Kyle was supposed to take you to meet Soap and his anonymous friend, but now that he was gone you had to do it yourself.

Once your legs got tired and your arms went limp from waving in the air so long, you found yourself weaving through the crowds of people and trying not to trip on the spilt drinks and strange substances that you'd rather not think about for the rest of your night.

You quickly found yourself seperated from the sweaty maze of people, standing on the velvety floor, staring at the bar in front of you. 3 bartenders moving around and serving drinks hastily, people chatting, others covering their drinks anxiously, surrounding the bar. You looked around a bit before you saw two large figures approaching you. The shorter one, average guy with a stupid haircut. You figured that was Soap. He waved at you, grinning and walking quickly towards you. His gargantuan friend behind him, walking fairly slow to take in the atmostphere of the club. He was underdressed and overdressed at the same time, somehow. He wore a simple hoodie and some sweatpants with crocs, but you couldn't see his face whatsoever. He had on a thick pair of sunglasses and a black mask- as if he was some kind of world famous celebrity. You winced, immediately wanting to go home. What if this dude was a total fucking creep? Is he wanted in this state- what's he hiding his face for?

Thoughts rushed back and forth through your head, some negative, and some positive! Maybe he was so blindingly attractive that looking at his face would kill you... totally. You nervously stepped closer as the shorter man, Soap, placed his hand out for you to shake.

"Sorry we're so late! He took a stupid long time to get ready.." He rolled his eyes jokingly, pointing to the oblivious man behind him. "Ah- you must be Gaz' friend- yeah? I'm Soa- John. Soap is what they call me though." He stuttered out in a thick scottish accent, constantly checking his phone nervously. He looked like he had somewhere to be, and you instantly caught on. "Nice to meet you too, Soap.. I'm [Name], and you?" You shake Soap's hand and gesture to the tall man behind him who was staring at you aimlessly through his glasses. He practically jumped, his scarred hand met yours as he crouched down awkwardly. "König."

"Nice to meet you, König," you smiled, giving his hand a light shake while Soap quickly slid out of the way, running off to find Gaz. "is that your real name? Or another nickname?"

He looked around, realizing his only friend had abandoned him. He was annoyed, to say the least."Yes." You nodded, you frowned at his short answers and frank lack of interest. "So, how do you know Soap?" You beckoned for him to follow you down to the last two empty seats in the bar, taking a seat and watching how he still towered over you even then. Your neck was starting to hurt from looking up at him. "Work friends- acquaintances. He is very- how do you say..." He thought to himself before continuing. "Extrovert! Very extroverted." you smiled, maybe he wasn't as bad as he dressed. "Seems like it. Would you like a drink? On me."

His eyes lingered on you for a minute before he nodded a quick yes. You ordered two Shirley Temples, simple non-alcoholic drinks. The silence quickly shrouded you both, he stared on around the room and you watched the bartender make your drinks, each hoping that the other would strike up conversation. He reaches his hand up to his face, sighing as he slid off his glasses. You immediately took notice, getting a better look at his bright blue- almost crystal clear eyes. He had blonde- maybe reddish eyelashes as well. You quickly noticed the scar running from below the mask, across his nose and slitting his left eyebrow- looked tough. He probably wouldn't appreciate you bringing it up- with how he went out of his way to hide his face. His eyes darted back and forth from yours to every single detail of the atmosphere around you, adjusting to the bright lights and random flashes from the dancefloor.

"You have beautiful eyes." You stated, taking a quick sip of your drink as you stared him down. "T-thank you very much.. what is this?" He picked up the drink and swirled it around with his straw a few times, examining its contents. You grinned, "no alcohol in it, if that's what you're wondering. It's just soda and cherry syrup." He nodded again, poking the straw underneath his mask to take a sip.

His demeanor towards you instantly changed. He practically drank the whole thing within seconds, and then asked for another one. "Thank you for showing me this- it's- it's very good." His eyes squinted in a smile and you smiled back. "Of course."

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you wear the mask?" You questioned, maybe he didn't trust you?

"I just prefer it.. I'm not a big fan of crowded places.." He answered sweetly. "Ah, me as well! Did Soap force you?"

"Yes.." You both rolled your eyes, mentally cursing Gaz and Soap for their stupid, stupid set ups. "Where did they go, by the way?" König asked you, now on his 4th Shirley Temple. "Fucking in the back, most likely. Or they went back to Kyle's place." he chuckled, his mask unable to stretch, revealing certain parts of his face. A few scars here and there, some freckles. You desperately wanted to see his face. "So, where do you guys work?" you figured that would be the start to a long conversation, so you asked. "I work at KorTac Labs! I know Soap through a project partnership with 141 Tech." He lit up at your question, obviously excited to talk about his work. "That sounds fun, what's the project about?"

"It's confidential, sadly. Government work." He trailed off, taking another sip of his drink. "What about you? What is your occupation?" He lit up once again. "I work at a cafe," you laugh at yourself softly, "just a simple job. I also make art though. Its enough to pay rent, plus, painting and latte art do go hand in hand." He chuckles, staring at you again. "Wow,"

Your conversation continues for a while. Long enough for the both of you to forget your friends abandoning you, as you laughed together, graduating from Shirley Temples to light alcoholic drinks. You both were tipsy, having asked eachother every ice breaking question in existence, you passed jokes between eachother, and told stories as you drank.

"Hey, you know what-" He paused, emptying a glass and beckoning for you to move closer to him. In your drunken haze, you slid closer as he crouched down to whisper in your ear. "I know a place- we can go, if you.." he paused, his eyes closing before his head dropped onto your shoulder. You almost fell from just the weight of his head as he giggled softly with you. "Fuck- sorry.. If you'd like, we can- we can go to a hotel.. it's too loud here.."

He spoke without bad intentions, and so you agreed, standing up as he followed you. "I hope you do not think I'm some kind of.. pevers." He hesitated, holding your hand tightly and ripping his mask off. It was around one AM, pretty dark, but with the city lights around you, you could see the freckles that danced across his face, the scars littered around his cheeks, and his eyes that practically glowed in the darkness surrounding you both. You finally saw the full scar, from his left brow, all the way down to the right side of his lip. It was quite a deep cut, leaving that part of the lip opened enough for you to see his tooth.

"[Name]? Ah- sorry about my uhm- mask.. But your staring is making me want to put it back on." He grinned, you continued to stare blankly, your eyes wide with admiration. "You're so pretty." He instantly covered his smile with his hand, a light blush creeping across his cheeks. "Thank you.."

"L-lets get going then, yes?" He looked away for a minute, grabbing your hand once again and dragging you along with him until you had reached his hotel. "You get flustered very easily, König." You smirked, wrapping your arm around his as you entered the luxurious hotel. He was totally entranced, from the way you walked to the way you talked, the way you fluttered your eyes towards him sweetly. You were a fucking monster.

You practically had him on his knees for you already- all the time you spent moping in your room imagining how you'd get some guy to fall head over heels for you might have actually been worth it, you think to yourself while sauntering into the empty elevator with him. "Well- yes, but my friends do describe me as a "shy guy", so.." Oh my god he's so cute. He didn't know how to act around you- let alone look you in the eyes. You entangled your arm within his, actually proud of yourself for the first time in a while- and yeah, maybe you were being vain, or manipulative, but isn't everybody?

"It is a bit.. unangenehm- unpleasant!" He corrected himself, leading you out he elevator and to his suite. "It's very cute, I think." he looked like he was about to pass out, and you hadn't even done much. His cheeks were red, palms sweaty, and despite his intimidating appearance, he was shaking- like a scared kitten.

He opened the door and you were instantly met with the glorious fruits of money and power.

Honestly if you didn't know this was a hotel, you'd have thought it was an apartment. The entrance lead straight into the large livingroom, a lavish couch sat in front of a flat-screen TV, a coffee table with a plate of half-eaten breakfast on top, adding to the homely feeling. Across from that area, a dining-area connected to a small, but still modern kitchen. "Scheiße.." You heard him mutter under his breath, using your basic common sense you understand immediately what he says, his arm pulling out of your grasp to quickly grab the messy plate off the table.

"My apologies for this mess- I didn't really plan to have visitors.." He smiled awkwardly and slid the plate out of view into the kitchen. "It's fine, really." You grinned, striding towards him with a hand out. You had a bit of trouble at first, wrapping your hands around his neck- you would have had to climb him if he didn't lift you up with his left hand, unconsciously placing his right on your thigh to support you.

"Y-you're very pretty- or handsome.." He breathed.

"You're pretty handsome too, König."

You ran your fingers through his hair before tugging on it softly and lowering your neck to kiss him. Your lips met eachother softly, no tongueing- just a simple, sweet kiss. You felt the warmth radiating off of his cheeks, his grip on your thigh getting rougher. You quickly pulled away, enjoying the way his eyes widened immediately in shock.

He almost dropped you, the silence making you question whether he wanted it or not. Your thoughts were quickly interrupted by his raspy mumbles. He placed you down with a quick plop, touching his lips and smiling. "Do it again, bitte?"

You instantly found yourself face to face with him, hands running through his hair wildly while he picked you up happily and walked over to his bedroom for a more.. comfortable experience. "Please, again? I'm- I'm sorry I just-" You stopped him mid-sentence, kissing him again, but rougher. Biting at his lip gently and tugging on his hair. He turned around, seating himself on the large bed and allowing you to straddle him. "You're so.. so cute." you panted, both of you catching your breath. You mindlessly started to buck your hips against his groin, holding onto his shoulders as one side of your nearly fully unbuttoned shirt slid off, revealing your chest to him.

Within seconds you could feel his entire energy change, his hands rested on your hips, head tilted back in a slight groan. "Scheiße.." You took the chance to lean into his neck, kissing and biting as gently as you could- but hard enough to leave a mark.

"König," You called, resting your hands on his hips while his eyes met with yours shyly. He was breathing heavily, leaning on his hands for support. "...are you sure you want to do this?"

"Ja, bitte.."

[maykitz]

obviously i am by no means a professional or even a Good artist myself lol but as an art appreciator the entire ai thing just leaves me so unfazed because every ai piece i've seen so far had that exact same ultra smoothed stiff lifeless attempted-but-not-quite photorealistic look to it that i just don't find exciting at all. admittedly i don't go looking for ai art but i have seen quite a few (most of which were samey pin ups) and it's all just been like, okay. acknowledge but scroll past without much of a glance. it's like the fast food of art, and not the indulgent stuff either. the kind of image that, if i'm honest, is supremely uninteresting to me from a real person too. meanwhile every artist i've actually been interested in had a unique stylisation or fluidity or nonrealistic palette or interesting linework or memorable designs or storytelling or humour or what ever original spark in there that ai just doesn't even get close to. and i doubt it ever will because by nature it can only copy what already existed and in practice it's mainly trained and used for boring shit. i can understand the fears of career artists (although tbh the horses have left the barn on that one) but acting like ai threatens real people artistically or threatens some sort of integrity of art and going all crisis mode about it is like saying home-cooking is threatened because there's now a lot of boxes of cold mcdonalds fries on the ground outside. idk

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken

So uuuuuhhhhh yeah. I don't know what I was expecting with this movie. Wasn't expecting it to be good, and it wasn't. Nobody is fucking surprised.

Ruby Gillman is, well, a teenage kraken, who lives with her family on land and tries to blend in as a human while being Omg Quirky Relatable Shy Nerd (seriously this movie doesn't have an original bone in its body, we'll get into that more in a bit). She eventually discovers she can turn into a giant kraken and that she comes from kraken royalty. Throw in the breakdown of trust between her and her mother, a new "friendship" she strikes up with a mermaid named Chelsea, and OMG THE PROM IS TOMORROW and you have a whole mess of cliches that didn't come to an end nearly quick enough for me.

So yeah this plot is... extremely derrivitive, on two very specific Pixar movies in particular. It's like... a weird crossover between Luca (fish people trying to blend in on land) and Turning Red (puberty metaphor, mommy issues, etc) and it does none of what those movies did well anywhere near as close to good as they did. Like this movie tries so hard to be surprising and have twists and turns and like... literally none of those surprises landed. None of the emotions landed. None of the jokes landed. Nothing in this boring ass movie landed.

The characters are all pretty one-note. Ruby is your traditional nerdy, awkward girl with a crush on a guy who is also just as bland as stale bread. Her family is pretty uninteresting, her mom is... somewhat better, I guess, and I did like her grandma, but she was about the only character I found some level of enjoyment out of. We also have Chelsea, who big surprise, is our twist villain, as if I didn't see that coming from the second I saw her show up on screen. The way she so easily manipulates and plays Ruby is just... god it makes you wannt scream "DON'T TRUST HER YOU DIPSHIT" the entire time, like girl, I get you're an anxious 15 year old but you should know better jfc.

This movie tries to have lore and be epic, but like... idk it just isn't. The climactic fight scene at the end was so slow-paced and dull, there wasn't really anything about it at all, which for what's essentially a giant kaiju fight, is a damn shame. The jokes were honestly non-existant, and the script itself is already hella dated with so much social media references and modern teen lingo (bestie, bae, etc) despite only coming out last year.

It also doesn't help that, at least in my opinion, this movie is ugly. Like the animation itself is fine, but these goddamn character designs, christ I think they are some of the WORST to ever come out of a Dreamworks movie. The humans all have weird proportions that don't make sense, the krakens don't look like krakens at all and instead look like... humans with long tentacles, which is weird, and the set design... was admittedly ok to look at, but that's about it. Pair that with an utterly forgettable, but servicable score and plenty of equally forgettable pop songs and there's just not much going on here.

I think, at the end of the day, Ruby Gillman is just... lame. Like the concept itself... isn't awful, but the execution, man, they just floundered (get it, fish) on all fronts here. No wonder this thing tanked at the box office. I wouldn't have gone to see it either.

Overall Rating: 4/10

Verdict: Harpoon these lame-ass krakens

Previous Review (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish)

Next Review (Trolls Band Together)

[shippergirl-14]

Clyde Head Canons

Hii again. I’m pretty sure I mischaracterized him in this since I don’t really have a clear picture of him in my mind, but I hope it’s still fitting in some point and please correct me if I’m wrong. Again, they mostly apply when he is older.

His room is a perfect mess and none of his friends understand how he managed to find his stuff in there.

He moves a lot in his sleep and only Tolkien and Craig can tolerate it. Jimmy will actively avoid sharing a bed with him at a sleepover.

He has a shelf full of dvds of his favorite movies and he knows almost everything about them.

His favorite trope is fantasy, but he hates horror movies. His friends force him to watch them with them anyway.

Him and Kenny would always trade playboy magazines behind the school when they were younger.

He often jokingly asks Tolkien to buy him food or small items he sees in shops, but he feels bad when he actually does it.

Because of his mother, he can fluently speak dutch and would sometimes switch languages to piss his friends off. Tweek and him can somehow communicate and will use it to talk about people.

He really likes cooking and trying out new recipes, but he is super clumsy. He has once almost burned down the kitchen because he was distracted.

Since the school wants their students to join a sports club, he is in the football team, thinking it would make him look cool.

His grades are mostly average, but he doesn’t really bother studying since he believes he could ‘ free style’ his exams. His favorite subject is art because he can chat freely with everyone there.

Almost everyone in school knows him and since he can be really extroverted sometimes he isn’t afraid to join conversation. He is more outgoing and loud without a sense of boundaries.

He really likes physical contact and is often seen wrapping an arm around his friends’ shoulder or lean on them when it's actually unnecessary. His friends don't mind that much.

When he is bored, he would go in his sister’s room to either annoy her or play games with her. ( I think it was mentioned he has a big sister but idk)

He has the habit of showing up unannounced at his friends doorsteps and either invites himself in or drags them along.

He hates playing Mario Cart with his friends because he always loses.

He is that one kid that every teacher hates because he will talk back when something seems unfair.

Aside from his group, he is also close to Kenny and he sometimes tolerates Cartman.

All parents like him and think he is a great example because he is always super polite to them, but he is the one with the most insane ideas.

He can be really reckless sometimes and Tolkien tries to stop him whenever he has one of his 'great' ideas.

He doesn't see showing emotions as a weakness and thinks it's bullshit that men are not allowed to cry.

He has at least once cried because of math. ( same)

Clyde can sometimes be a bit slow, but he isn't dumb. Sadly, he rather acts before thinking about the consequences leading to him getting in trouble quite often.

He doesn't hold grudges, but will start ignoring you if he is upset.

He shares small problems loudly with his friends - they claim to be uninterested and don't want to hear him whining about girls or other stuff - but he rather keeps the serious things to himself.

[kirnet]

I love ur analysis of dsom. I read it a couple years ago and got so frustrated thinking "this is the book everyone is raving about??" The magic system and world has such potential but the characters drag it down. I remember a scene where Kell is up in his feelings about his whole. Incredibly fucked up "family situation". And Delilah is essentially like "well at least you HAVE a family". And the narrative seems to frame that interaction as her being cool and edgy and the voice of truth or whatever. And Kell is like. I guess youre right :( ill stop complaining. But the story doesnt grapple with that any further??? Doesnt use that moment to build out either character beyond "Delilah is so cool and also right (and an asshole but thats what makes her cool)" and "Kell's complex feelings about this are now solved/set aside after this clap back". Family is one of the themes of the book but even this scene doesnt really explore the concept in depth. I may be misremembering it but that one scene just summed up for me everything frustrating about the character writing and the way the story uses the characters. Maybe the issue is revisited in later books. I wouldnt know, bc very little about the writing makes me want to read any more.

Yeah!! Yeah!! That scene was… argh, you’re exactly right. The main source of frustration for Lila for me is that the narrative frames her as right almost always and especially in that instance. And like, if I’m willing to engage with it, it is a telling character moment of hypocrisy where Lila is lashing out in grief after losing Baron (?? I dont remember his name) and is displacing all those feelings onto Kell. But the way it’s handled, like you said, makes me assume that no, Schwab didn’t intend for it to be that deep. It’s so frustrating because the world and the characters have so much potential! With a few more drafts and edits this could be a really good book! But as it stands it’s a 400 page book with little to no plot, hardly any interesting character progression or arcs, boring flat fight scenes, and uninteresting prose. The masquerade scene is there bc she thought it sounded cool. The elements are there bc she thought atla is cool. The fake eye is there because she likes bebop. There’s no actual substance. I have read books half the length that have succeeded in all of these places. I’ve heard similar criticisms of her pacing in other books from people who did like darker shade so, idk, it sounds like she needs a better editor honestly.

And like, yeah, maybe this is revisited in later books, maybe her writing gets better, maybe the second book is fantastic. I honestly had a lot of the same criticisms when I read the Founders Trilogy, but the difference there was that i ADORED the characters and the world building. They were so solid that I HAD to continue even if i had some issues with the writing style and pacing. This series has none of that appeal for me. If she had ended it on a cliffhanger, if she had actually set up this world to be as dark and edgy as she thought it was, if Kell had to use his wits as a smuggler to survive in a place far from his family leading him to conclude that yes he does love them, if Lila had to fight to survive trapped in white london and then come to grips with her violent nature and that its not actually a positive, then I would be all over the rest of the series!! Idk, other reviews mentioned that they were disappointed with this after reading some of her other worlds like viscous, so maybe I’ll give that a try when I feel less burned.

[enconfess]

If im honest really (as a fan of enstars since EN first release and have caught up with a few JP events except for like the super recent ones), I found most of the event stories and main story stuff uninteresting or just overall a headache to go through. Most of the time (through both official and fan translated) they would get me shaking my head asking "what the heck is going on??",or the story drags around that it feels both frustrating and just too boring for my brain to be able focus even, and just as I thought its gotta get better they will usually have some lame conclusion monologue going on that either my monkey brain is unintellectual to understand what's going or maybe its the writers are like that idk Im happy to see the pretty cgs though.

I would very much rather have someone summarize the stories to me even if it sacrifice for inaccuracies and biases. Ok here's an example, Antique Legends? The only thing I remember from the story is the fun interactions within Hokuto and his dad, which may be due to my bias with Hokuto but really that was the only truly entertaining part to me.

Speaking of characters I really don't care about character depth at all all I wanna see is them being cute in those little idol stories cause idol stories (yes I mean those short stories that are mostly like one - two chapter long) and scout stories are really what I look forward to the most personally cause they aren't over the top complicated or draggy like event stories and main stories, its not to say they are boring no in fact they are way more entertaining cause they make things that may seem so simple and mundane to something fun and also I love seeing them in wacky events too.

Also yes I did mention being a HokutoP though I would say I'm more of an overall drama clubP with other characters I like such as Aira and Naruchan (love calling her that personally) (and also I love every character in their many uniqueness and to be fair its just the bias demons that posses me). Now what do these guys have to do with this post? well to bring point that I know absolutely nothing about their 'complex sides' other than that they are sweet angels to me and I love seeing them in cute and funny situations, and guess what I still appreciate seeing them and hell I own a Wataru nui (planning to get a hokke one too soon) because even though yaydadad the whole war thing and his 'masks' I personally find him super fun even if I'm aware that he may just be putting on an act (plus I also have a mini white party dress for him that I make him wear whenever I went to anything fancy like my when I went to see my cousin perform on a orchestra concert).

To bring my final point I personally think that enstars best strength or interest for me is the idol / scout stories because even with their cookie cutter like surface layer personalities they manage to even be more memorable and overall fun to read. Oh and stories aside I adore most of the cards although they get bland sometimes and most of the songs are pretty good in my opinion love trickster songs muah. Anyhow thats just how I feel like enjoying the game and to be fair I prefer to enjoy it alone rather than to have a mutual around cause ye I'm that those type people who enjoy being alone and find a lot of people to be a waste of a space personally, well I have a lot in my mind currently as per usual but they most aren't enstars related so for now imma really stop myself here right now though I may come back here for more confessions idk depends on me I guess (I will also be surprised if you read through this entire thing and if you do thank you and may God bless you my good friend).

.

[bloogers-boogers]

Help me blooboo im with rarepair brainworms and need people to comfort meeeeeh ToT

Im shipping Cartman with Kevin (the Trekie kid) and already felt into writing about it and i know jackshit about star trek T~T

Oh boi this one’s a toughie! Idk jacks shit about star trek either 😭 however I do know Cartman hates it, I see those two having been pair up for something and Kevin had to invite Cartman to his home and he just whistles while going inside his room seeing all the little figurines, posters and shit like that. He comments genuinely about it and he leaves Kevin confused cause normally Cartman would bash on it but then he comments so casually (like it’s normal) “eh, myah friends aren’t here and I’m bored having nothing better to do, why not?”

And suddenly Kevin just forgets about the project they assigned too and somehow feels hopeful he could make somebody become a fanboy like him (someone like Cartman who’s a shameless hater) and he runs around his room in circles looking for shit to show Cartman talking endlessly about Star Trek eventually Cartman gets the grip and acts indifferent to it (but internally he starts getting into it; he’ll never admit outloud tho).

However Kevin gets the dissatisfaction when Cartman just groans and acts all uninterested again. They get an F jsjsjs of course just because they were fooling around instead of ever doing school work.

And, then it cuts to Cartman’s pov were he’s already fanboy screeming watching Star Trek in his room.

[wingkink]

can i just say. and I'm making this not rebloggable because this is only partly coherent and I refuse to let people misconstrue this. I don't like the way bdsm has become so. idk normalised is the wrong word but like. in certain circles at least. like as the default kink? like when people talk about kink they think it's synonymous with bdsm. like that's the only kink ever.

like example of conversation I've had to explain where I'm coming from. was talking to friends in a discord and had someone ask if I was a dom or a sub. I thought this was a weird question as it was not prefaced by asking me if I was into bdsm or d/s dynamics (I'm not) so I was like I am not either. I'm deeply uninterested in that stuff. and feel slightly uncomfortable at having that question asked like I must be one or the other. and then the ppl who asked went into teasing me for being "vanilla" which is weird again because 1. not being into bdsm doesn't make someone vanilla. other kinks exist. where has this binary come from and also 2. even so. if someone is vanilla/uninterested in kink culture why is this a bad thing. why are we calling these people boring and acting like the way they enjoy sex isnt good enough. it's weird.

[yeahiwasintheshit]

Saw that movie, X, that came out earlier this year and it’s clear they’re going for that retro 70s exploitation movie vibe, and if that’s the only thing they wanted to do with this movie, than it worked, I guess. Problem is there wasn’t anything else to any of these characters. It was all very surfacy. Nothing deeper about these characters, but since It was only an exploitation movie, then I guess I shouldnt expect more? idk. Now knowing they are planning a whole expanded universe with this character, maybe they’ll do more with the person(s) who survive in those other movies? i suppose, (trying not to spoil anything) but on its own, I didn’t get much of anything out of this. I wasn’t bored, but I wasn’t too invested in who these people are.

And the main actress Mia goth was fine. I think she did an ok job, a little flat and one-notey, but I feel like they were going for that. I just didn’t really buy this character living in that time. Like the main thing for me is they shaved her eyebrows off, and they have a lot of blue eye shadow on her, and it just makes her look comical or homicidal. And they never mention it. Like I was waiting for them to say something like, “ok honey were about to film your porn scene, it’s time to draw on your eyebrows, it’s such a shame you can’t grow them yourself” but like... it’s just never mentioned. All that’s mentioned about her is that she REALLY wants to be a star. It’s literally the year 1979, and we’re to believe that a person who watches TV and the movies in 1979 is so motivated to being a big star that would they would just walk around with no eyebrows? No big celebrity in 1979 was in movies or TV with no eyebrows, and to think she would think not having eyebrows was ok, didnt feel true for her character, in that time setting. It was just so distracting. It just didnt ring true to any of these characters in this time in history that no one would mention it either. Especially since they are about to film a scene in a porn movie with her. Like she wasnt trying to be famous in like some sort of underground horror movie scene, where maybe you can get away with no eyebrows, she wanted to be a star star, and it just made no sense why she would not draw on eyebrows. I was so distracted by that lol

It was shot well enough, and had some interesting scenes, like there was one over head view of when maxine was in the pond with the alligator, (Chekhov’s alligator? Lol) to me that built some tension, but overall, I felt there were no stakes for these people because right at the beginning, in the first few frames of the movie, we see there was a bloodbath at the farm. We don’t know who or what, but we know most if not all of the people we will meet will die, and for me I don’t really like that kind of framing. It deflates tension almost immediately.

There was also a couple really cheesy kills, like the one in the barn. It was so obvious what was going to happen, it made it uninteresting and a little eye rolling (no pun intended) to watch. Tho there was a cool shot, right before that kill, when the camera pans all the way on the floor and we see what’s right in front of the person and we know what is about to happen next. That was great bit of leading the audience, and built some tension, and when that thing happened I really got the willies. Cause I felt it too lol

Other than a couple scenes that were kinda good, I really didn’t get much out of the movie. I didn’t find any of these people likable or worth rooting for. It’s not that they were bad or evil people, it’s just they were pretty one dimensional characters. And even the villains were kinda dumb. Like there was an interesting scene at the beginning when maxine is in the house and old photos on the wall are shown to her, there was something there. I was intrigued to know more, but they didnt really build on that, and when they kinda reveal the villains motivations theyre really muddled and kinda weak. I felt a few times watching “why?” and there was no really interesting reason.

I also didn’t really like how much the “age” of the older couple was used as a device to elicit horror and grossness from the audience. The makeup on the old people was really pretty good but it was clear it was makeup and it made me wonder why are they putting old age makeup on people instead of just hiring old people (later found out it was the whole prequel/ sequel thing, I guess) But they go out of their way to illustrate that the old people are gross, and they are gross for having sexuality, or having sexual feelings and eventhough they do horrible things because of it, the mere fact of their sexuality was presented as being gross, which again was more of a distraction and kinda off putting.

Idk, I think they wanted this movie to be like really cutting edge and cool, but its kinda vapid and empty. Like the idea of an exploitation movie lends itself to being sort of one dimensional and empty. (pile on the kills and boobs and nothing else than all is good? no) but it just never went beyond that. Maybe they will with the other movies, idk, but im not sure i care enough to find out.

[hazelcephalopod]

So I like Buddie. I think it’s neat. I think it makes sense. I think the show should actually just do it. However, I have to say, at this point I also think it’s just going to be queerbaiting -as far as show canon goes plz continue to ship and fanfic away- but I’ve seen this so many times before. I know, the show has queer characters, the spin off has several, but that does not make it immune from queerbaiting. It’s one of the most watched shows on the network, many people watch this but don’t really interact with the fandom and sadly most of them are probably straight and can just… not see it. Idk how, but they exist. So, personally I think it’s just queerbaiting —b/c I don’t think they are going to do it and even potentially risk their audience dipping because people suck and they are cowards.

That said I’m bored so plz continue if you want to read my various contradictory musing hc on this ship. B/c when you recognize the show probably won’t do it you can really just go wherever with it*.

Disclaimer: uh, kinda only partly organizing this and just spitting out thoughts tbh.

However, within fandom I’ve got more to say, mainly “what are the various ways we can interpret this relationship and what it is?” So, let’s get out of the box! The box being the standard mlm ship, b/c the allosexual/romantic monogamous ship is great, I like it just fine and go for it! However, I think equally valid is reading it as ace/aro could also be interesting. (You could also go poly but I don’t really get much into that here?)

Because tbh, they are characters anything goes, s/x it takes people a long time to figure this stuff out. Sometimes they repress it for years, and so on. Sometimes they don’t have the language to express these things until they do. Which, I mean just look at them, either could totally be like “hey wait that’s what sexual attraction is? Huh. I need to go learn some things” or even “romance is what now? Hmm I need to go learn some things.” I could easily read Buck as ace, because even tho he’s had a lot of sex it’s easily read as he is just chasing pleasure and something to do, he’s just like “yea sure I guess that’s fun” and when he’s asked so you like them he’s like “well we had sex so I have to right?” Or how both are just trying to fill the role society expects of them as men. Aromantic? Both of them seem uninterested in the relationships they enter, it’s more the mechanics of “well that person was there and everyone seemed to think it made sense so I guess?” At least not much more interested than friendships. There are so many options those are just some examples. However this does not answer the shipping portion, which isn’t necessary but I did set up the expectation and I shall endeavor to meet it.

Now of course ace/aro people can just date (or not, but again we aren’t here for that, plz explore if you wish) -there are spectrums and also, people are complex. They can be in non traditional relationships like QPR’s, or even not really formalizing that. People can get married because they are just like “you’re great and marriage has benefits”, or even just move in together b/c it is cheaper -and they like the company. With this ships there is the child angle, which can set up all sorts of stories. So plz, go wild with that too.

*I say this because, it decreases the attachment to a singular idea or way things should play out when you just give up on that.

Ps. tbh makes me a little sad that the wider population isn’t aware of aro/ace people b/c it would open up so many interesting stories. Buddie (or even though this isn’t the topic them alone!) could be a great example of this b/c look at them!

[irrigos]

@juggle-monkey i didnt make any posts about it, just mentioned it in the answer to an ask, where i said it got the dubious honor of being the worst dating sim i ever played

tbh its not like. THAT bad. i thought the art looked nice and the dungeon crawl mechanics were pretty fun. but i was not into ANY of the love interests (i am simply not that into skinny people, and none of them had interesting enough personalities for me to look past the fact that i wasnt immediately attracted to any of them) (i think they added a big guy in an update or maybe dlc, but he wasn't in the game when i played it)

i also didnt enjoy the story, but i was very shocked to finish the game a few days after release, go on twitter to see how other people felt about it, and see them be very mad because they thought the game had too MUCH plot.

(i dont really consider this a spoiler because theres literally a content warning about it at the start of the game, but if you wanted to go into the game knowing absolutely nothing... well idk why you asked for my opinion then!!) the main plot of the game is your player character goes on a date with a guy and then he stalks you. there was a good chunk of Disc Horse about this, because some of the players hadnt known it was coming, and were pretty upset that they were being stalked when they just wanted cozy low stakes dungeon crawls with hotties. there were even people telling this characters voice actor that taking this role reflected badly on him, that he would be comfortable even PRETENDING to be this guy. obviously this was very silly, and none of this was how i felt about the game. to be honest, i just thought it was really boring and kinda dumb! the bad guy is so comically bad from the first moment you meet him that i instantly knew he was the villain, hes literally the only character you cant flirt with (iirc you cant even really be nice to him) so the fact that it turns out he's evil is sooo obvious. and then everyone you know is 1000% on your side and agree hes a creep and he sucks. (which is... not usually how it goes, from my observation!!) and then at the end the villain literally says he needs to go to therapy. i just thought it was sooooo uninteresting and simplistic, like it was a children's cartoon meant to teach the youth important lessons about boundaries.

also the first romance route i did, the guy told me we weren't dating and he just wanted to keep it casual, and i was like "cool sure" and then later he dumped me for falling too in love with him. which was funny because i really felt nothing for him. was fully just using him bc his weapon was fun

anyway i know lots of people did like the game, and i had fun when i was actually playing it. i guess the takeaway here is that, if none of the love interests seem like they would appeal to you, they won't, and if you're wondering if the game will surprise you, it wont do that either

[lewishamil10n]

y'all remember that guy i liked enough to come out to? went out with him and all?

well he's been really distant since then, the texting has been SO DRY and like. now that i think of it lmao the date was too, he was very quiet throughout it all except when talking about football. which is ALL HE TALKED ABOUT like. he was so silent when i was making conversation but so animated about football and in retrospect i am glad there is very little chance of a second date. i love sports too but i'm not gonna talk about something that absolutely doesn't interest the person i'm with... and he knows i find football boring. he KNOWS.

and not just all of this but like. he seems super uninterested now. tbh after meeting him i realized i am not that into him either because. he's a good guy, decent and all, but. tbh kinda boring? he doesn't seem to have any ambitions, he doesn't seem to have hobbies outside of playing cricket or watching footie or binging netflix. ig sometimes people can seem really compatible over text but very different irl. because in retrospect i also realized i am not attracted to him physically either.

also, the fact that his reaction to me saying "i don't want kids at any point ever" was to go running to his sister to tell her about it like ..... i think i dodged a bullet lol because she was like "how do you expect me to be ok with that" sis why do you need to be ok with anything ... and my guy why are a random person's reproductive choices any concern of your sister's..... i didn't give a flying fuck what any of my brother's gfs wanted to do with their uteruses lol

idk im just. sort of annoyed and bored of this entire situation now and i kinda don't care enough to give him more chances.

[imperial-nuisance-rudje]

I have had people responding to a Twitter post I made acting like I am either oblivious to what has happened in-text or that I want Zenos to be not an asshole and it makes me want to shake them

(Spoilery ranting about EW things under the cut)

I made that post bc I think the plot twist with Zero is fucking boring! It strips potential complexity and Good Drama from her and the rest of the writing either doesn't go into it enough (because let's be real she is weirdly chill with having her will stripped away from her) or doesn't acknowledge that Fandanny is very much the reason Zenos had the ability to do that in the first place (at least in English, I know fandanny gets mentioned more in other translations (which, can we discuss how fucking weird it is that the clown, a major antagonist for EW, is being glossed over this hard in favor of Zenos, who was for much of 6.0 a glorified side character despite his buildup in 5.x? I fucking hate it, on both counts))! Having the contract be mutual and having Zenos just be the shittiest client known to Voidsent is just way more interesting for everyone involved, because he's still a trash man but in a way that isn't boring stereotypied villain behavior that sends me to sleep and it means the Scions have to grapple with Zero knowingly harming people even if she had no malice behind it!

Like, I'm already not happy that Zero seems to be heading down the path of either having all her interesting traits sanded off to make her more universally appealing or getting the axe (I think the former is more likely due to the power of being in marketing material, but who knows given that this is the ff4 expac and Zeromus is a thing/historical problems 14 has had with introducing characters to kill them off the same expac), but that one thing in particular (combined with making her a normal person, fuck you guys I wanted a fucked up monster girl, I am aware of the writing justification for it and i think it is the realm of COWARDS) I think should have been a warning for how they would handle her and it displeases me that she's going down the way that signaled in the end, especially since a lot of the other Scions have had the sanding issue happen to them as well.

Idk, I just get annoyed when people see a very specific complaint and think it means "oh we want our villain woobified" instead of "I have found many aspects of how they handled these two narratively dissatisfying and it's only gotten worse with time, here is my take on probably the biggest with the most knock-on problems", or that it means I'm being misogynist about zero when my frustration with zero is that the writers keep swerving away from narrative complexity with her and have consistently chosen to not offer any novel insight to Zenos with her criticisms of him—"Zenos bad" is boring and uninteresting after the first time (where it at least gives info about Zero herself) and the English translation veering away from 6.3's "Zenos and Fandaniel are very alike in how they perceive the world" in favor of more "Zenos bad" is particularly frustrating bc it removes relatively novel info about why they could have been drawn to work with each other for no reason except a Zenos hateboner, as far as I can tell (literally, Fandaniel gets a full namedrop in every other version of that line, it's not like the translators didn't know he was included).

Turns out when you strongly bind two characters together, boring choices for one tends to negatively affect the other too! God. I'm just, so tired of people deliberately reading my fucking lukewarm at most "character writing in 6.x suffers from the scale it is trying to handle in the space it is given" takes in the most negative fashion possible.