#Wouldn't go so far as to call it bad but it was so underwhelming in every aspect that it's impossible to call good

[maeamian]

Saw Ferrari on Christmas as part of our ongoing tradition of being not at the big tiring family gathering the whole day, and I gotta say if you're thinking of seeing that one: don't fuckin bother. The story is unsatisfying, the acting is solid but lacking, the action is impossible to follow because the main rival to Ferrari is Maserati and they both use Italian Racing Red so you gotta memorize the car numbers if you want any sense of the race, the main character is deeply unlikable and his character arc is literally nonexistent: he shows no growth whatsoever over the course of the movie, the cinematography is the visual equivalent to a picture book for five year olds of all the shots there were like two that were at all interesting, and the ending is deeply unmotivated like who even fucking cares?

[apomaro-mellow]

OP's post

As far as jobs go, this gig wasn't too bad. Eddie wouldn't call him a connoisseur of the fine arts by any measure, but he knew how to appreciate passion that went into every work. He wasn't there to gawk though. He was there to guard. A friend of Wayne's worked the night shift and had gotten Eddie the job during the day.

So he got to patrol a pretty swanky art museum and broaden his horizons. And the pay wasn't half bad either considering how cushy it was.

Like most art museums, the exhibits were divided by era and country of origin. Sometimes whole side rooms dedicated to a single artist. There were mostly paintings and statues housed here, with the occasional odd exhibit like masks or minature figures. There was an annex building across the street that held the collection of modern and post modern art.

Eddie typically preferred the kookier stuff there but he enjoyed being around the classics. Especially the statues. Especially Steve.

In the hall for marble statues, there were many the depicted the human form in all its beauty, but none were as beautiful as the one simply titled 'Steve'. That definitely seemed like an underwhelming name for such a magnificent piece. But in the couple of months he'd been here, Eddie had grown to love the simple name.

Steve was carved in a lounging position and when Eddie first saw him it looked like he was waiting for a lover. There was a cloth carved into him that draped in such a way to only just barely give him modesty, leaving the rest on display. Had it not been stone, it looked like the slightest breeze would expose him. Like most of his peers, Steve's body looked strong and sturdy. And yet the way he was posed and positioned made him look soft.

Eddie didn't notice the first time he looked but after passing through and looking enough (leering, gazing, obsessing) he realized Steve even had a glorious patch of hair on his chest. Now that was rare. All these bare chested figures and very few of them showed any body hair outside the one atop their heads.

And that mane of his. Thanks to policy, Eddie had to keep his own locks in a tight bun under his hat. Steve's hair, thick and luxurious flowed freely. Eddie thought more than once to touch it, sure that despite the marble it was as soft as it seemed.

Another eye catching feature was the scarring on Steve's back. To make something so exquisite and then put the suggestion of violence... Sometimes Eddie wanted to look up the history of Steve's creation.

So greeting Steve became a normal part of his guard route. Even when he technically wasn't supposed to be in that wing, who was gonna stop him?

"Morning gorgeous", he'd greet some mornings as he passed by, coffee in hand.

Sometimes, when the room was mostly clear, he really would just stand and stare, taking it all in. He could look at most of the art for only so long before he lost interest (except for some of the landscapes, some of them were breathtaking and literally took him to a different world) but Steve.... Steve was something he could look at for hours.

And he would've if the crowds didn't come by to get a gander as well. So he did his job, made his rounds, kept people from getting too close to the art and then clocked out around 4.

"Night Stevie", he said on his way out, even though Steve's pedestal was out of his way to the exit.

It was all pretty nice until they switched him to the night shift unexpectedly. Eddie was a night owl by nature, but he preferred to use that time leisurely. That and he was more likely to come across an actual thief at night.

And also museums were kinda creepy at night.

He took a deep breath and leaned on a statue of the goddess Nike.

"Let's make a deal. I do my job, you slice and dice anything that comes through those doors."

As he bargained with the stone goddess, he thought he heard voices down the hall. Must be the other guards. For sure. Besides Eddie, there were like, five other guys doing patrols or watching the cameras. They were all Wayne's age though, so not a lot in common.

Needing a balm for his nerves, he ventured towards Steve's way.

"Heya beautiful. I knew comin' to see you was the right choice." The moon came in through a sky light and made Steve glow. "I'll come back for you Stevie, probably more than once if I have a choice."

Eddie was walking past Steve when he heard a voice reply to him.

"I'm glad you came tonight."

Eddie froze, and carefully turned.

Steve was looking over his shoulder.

"You....you're...."

Steve got up from his lounging position to stretch his arms and back and it sounded like rock grinding gently on rock. Eddie could hear similar sounds all around him. All of the statues were moving. All of them.

Eddie was still frozen solid in place. Almost like he and Steve switched places. Steve was sitting upright on his stand, that cloth still just barely covering him.

"Did you mean all those things you said?", Steve asked.

Eddie didn't know what he meant but he never lied so he just nodded.

Steve curled in on himself, bashful looking and Eddie wanted to wrap him up.

"You really think I'm beautiful?"

Eddie found his voice because if there was one thing he could say right now it was what he thought of Steve.

"Like an angel. Like a vision. You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen." This time Eddie stepped closer to Steve, still in shock but not afraid. "So, I am in fact totally mesmerized by you and by what's happening, but what the hell is happening?"

Steve held out a hand and Eddie took it without question. It was still cold and the surface was hard like stone but somehow flexible like a real hand.

"I'll explain on the way", he said, stepping down so that he was on his feet. He was about the same height as Eddie.

Eddie had about a million questions. But Steve's voice was as attractive as the rest of him so he could listen all night.

[bcacstuff]

Here’s the thing. Studios do test screenings, plus studio execs have enough experience to know when a movie is a piece of crap. They knew Love Again was not good long before it opened. That’s why there are so few reviews - they didn’t pre-screen it for critics, which is always a bad sign. I’m guessing that there is someone in a position of power who is “all in” on promoting PCJ’s acting career, so LA got a wide release and as much of a promotional push as the studio was wiling to finance, knowing in advance that the film was a flop. LA pulled in slightly under $1 million on Friday; it’s likely opening weekend box office in North America will likely be $3 million or less. That’s very underwhelming for any film that got a wide release (as opposed to what’s called a “limited release” in far fewer theaters). LA isn’t going to make anyone involved in it a major Hollywood film star, least of all SH.

Do you remember this?

He posted this himself on 23 September 2021!

Yes, 2021, this was the first screening of then still named TFY. I know it's not what you mean, it's not a pre-screening for critics. But what I wanted to point out is, that this screening was almost a year after it was filmed, and then it took another year and half before it is now released and 2 more title changes. That already was enough to know it's not a RC event movie, it's actually not a theater movie. It's a streaming movie, and they should've released it like that. It would have been more low under the radar and wouldn't have gotten the brutal reviews it has now.

I saw the Box Office Forecast little less than a month ago

So far these are the actual numbers 👇

I think your estimation isn't far off, and the forecast, they do not even come near the 3 day opening (FFS) low range.

[the-official-account]

Edils instant ramen adventure #2: Nongshim Gourmet spicy

Prev

Because linking these together makes for better future reference.

So I've had this ramen before, and yeah, it is spicy. When I was previously desensitized to it I stopped crying every time I ate it but I can't say I expect that same mercy today. Out of the eight remaining flavors, I chose this one because @powerwordcum recommended a specific way to prepare it that I'd like to try and write about later but first I need to have a recent control taste (very official food blogged business, you understand).

Today I am deadass too lazy to fry any eggs.

Anyway, the preparation for this is simple, it just takes and extraordinary 7 minutes I'm the microwave (really nothing from someone who occasionally likes my maruchan cooked for 12. Usually I don't admit this without being waterboarded, because people react with horror. But for sciences sake)

Upon leaving the microwave, my ramen was dry as fuck because I am a filthy American who has no close what the 700 ml reccomend on the label estimates so and I want about to look it up. Science

I put some more water in

Stirred and ate!

I noticed that the noodles are semi translucent, making me think they've absorbed some of the soup broth, but I find myself underwhelmed by the flavor when I taste it. While not at all tasing bad, I wouldn't say this tasted strongly in its own right. The noodles are still nicely sheet, however, and pretty thick without being too much so.

I noticed many of the rehydrated flakes (which look to be seaweed and mushroom pieces) stick stubbornly to the edges of the bowl, and the more I eat, it seems, the less broth I have. While I am not eager to enter a chugging competition with some thirsty noodles, I will not back down from a challenge.

Spice level for the noodles is a solid medium-low burn around the tongue, my lips feel pretty normal despite my horse-like slurping. I did get a random throat punch of spice, but that doesn't seem consistent. It's also worth noting that the spice does build if as you continue to eat, and is exacerbated by the warmth of the noodles themselves. Not for the faint of tolerance.

Sipping the broth does not immediately warrant a cough, and it DOES make me want to go back for a second sip, even a third. It's got a richness to it that might be a meat/bone broth I'm the base that I appreciate, and I would go back to drink it.

While craveable for it's spice and broth, I find myself frustrated with the flakes, who's only purpose seem to be adding something to get dried on in the dishwasher if you aren't careful. I'd even go as far as saying the mushroom tastes actively bad. And I like mushroom!

The sodium level is high, but not as high as the Jongga kimchi. However, the Shin ramen doesn't have the variety of flavor offered by the acidic kimchi, that make the Jongga ramen superior for the sensory variety. Also, I feel decently full after eating these noodles! It's not a particularly large portion, but it wasn't meager either.

I would call the Shin and Jongga ramen equals, with strengths and weaknesses in different areas, placing the Shin ramen at a 7/10. I'm not really eating for cooking time, but its worth knowing that although the Jongga ramen has a deceptive 3 minute wait, one should factor in the time it takes to bring the water to a boil, so both ramens cook at approximately the same speed.

Now for that other people are saying:

We asked expert witness @powerwordcum for his opinion on these noodles. Here's what he had to say

Ive only had the spicy kind, but its p good, a little high on my spice tolerance but still tolerable. Noodles soft but not *crumbly* like maurachen. What I like to do is give it two fried eggs, stir some mayo into the water * PRE POWDER * and put some green onions

We'll follow up on his recipe, the next time we get green onions from the store (they spoil like a bitch, though!)

Amazon reviews show Shin ramen to be a very popular brand. Many recommenders offer only praises, especially highlighting the texture of the ramen. One recommends draining the broth to get a spicier noodle (heresy) and another recommend adding a bone broth to make up for the Gourmet Spicy's lack of flavor in comparison to some of Shin's other flavors, which does make me curious about comparing some of those. (Another uses half the spice packet and half chicken bullion for a less spicy, similar effect)

The abundance of complimentary recipes does give this ramen an advantage, and being able to find an abundance of ways to mix it up is something people on the fence might like to know. However, we don't give Popularity points in my house.

Notable reviews include those titled "might be poisonous"!

While no one seems willing to SELL a child for this ramen, it does seem incredibly popular among spicy tolerant kids and teens. The price fluctuates, though mine were roughly 2 bucks per bowl, which i'd day is reasonable.

Without much new information in the mix, I'd say this one continues to sit at a solid 7/10.

[fromdusks]

Hiii there! Hope it's okay that I sent this in!!!! If you've played the gtao update, what did you think of it?! Anyways, have a nice afternoon!!!! Sorry to bother you!!!!

Hi anon! You're not bothering me at all! Thanks for the question ❤️

I played it the day it was updated (Tuesday) and finished it all in about an hour and a half.

My thoughts on the update under the cut:

So honestly, I was not a fan of this update -- which is part of the reason why I haven't really talked about it much on here.

It felt very underwhelming for a winter update. I understand that Rockstar is going to be releasing a ton of drip-feed content, but from what I've seen so far (from released content to upcoming content), I'm not that excited.

I'm just going to be very honest.

Characters: Dax is annoying as hell. I don't like him at all. I was mostly excited to see Ron but he was only in the introduction cutscene and that's it? We only got a mention of Wade which was disappointing, also.

But yeah, not a fan of Dax. He was (to me) as irritating and badly written as KDJ from the Tuners update. If making a character funny is talking about buttholes every 3 seconds then they need to fire some writers over at Rockstar HQ.

Not a fan of his crew/friends either. Like I said before, annoying.

Plot: Here's where I can go on for hours, and of course this is just my opinion, but here we go.

You have Protag, who is (at this point), EXTREMELY rich and experienced -- a LITERAL Kingpin of Crime. Has done countless heists, raids, etc. Has SAVED THE WORLD -- and you expect me to believe that in 2022 they're doing...THIS?

In what WORLD do you go from top-tier jobs such as Doomsday, The Casino Heist, Cayo, even working with Dre, and then you're suddenly like "yeah I'll just do THIS now"??/1/???? Helping an annoying-ass Seth Rogan wannabe start up an acid lab in LS???

ON TOP OF THAT, Protag LET'S Dax and his crew call them "Fresh meat"???

Listen, I know that GTAO is essentially a choose-your-own adventure. I also understand the concept of Protag being so high-up the ladder that their anonymity is the basis of their Kingpin identity -- and that Dax wouldn't know who they are. But this just doesn't seem like "it" to me.

Honestly, I feel like this was made for teen boys who have an unhealthy addiction to Breaking Bad. I get it, I do. But not for the WINTER FUCKING UPDATE.

Will I check out the drip feed content? Yeah. Am I happy with the update? No.

All in all, I'm disappointed.

But thank you anon for the question because I NEEDED to vent about this.

For the record, @death-in-tight-pants also agrees with all of the above, since we have been bitching about this to each other since Tuesday lmfao.

[xplrvibes]

So, Hell Week is upon us once again.

Before I get into this, I want to be completely honest with you all- I had zero expectations going into this. ZERO. I wasn't overly excited, I didn't think it was gonna blow my mind- in fact, after the underwhelming mess that the Trilogy wound up being (sorry to any Trilogy fans out there, please read the "opinion" dieclaimer at the front door), I was a bit concerned about how this was going to go.

So, imagine my surprise when I actually came out of this kind of...really enjoying it? It reminded me of some of the better parts of the so-called season 2, at any rate.

I'll put the rambly stuff behind a cut, but in short- solid start.

Remember my disclaimer: Any thoughts, criticisms, or reviews expressed in this post are my own opinions. The definition of opinion is: “A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.”

This place has a very heavy story- so heavy, in fact, that snc did have to stop multiple times to issue trigger warnings and disclaimers. I do want to say that I think that is pretty nice that they issued those warnings, and that they used discretion in how they were providing the ugly story being told.

That being said- snc clearly seemed surprised by the fact that a hospital run by nuns and priests could be so evil and have such terrible back stories, and that naivety was kind of sweet, but also caused a little bit of confusion for them throughout the video. Trust an old lapsed Catholic who was taught by nuns and priests when I say that this place having bad vibes and being the site of a lot of cover ups and corruption didn't exactly make my jaw unhinge and roll across my kitchen floor in shock.

As far as the paranormal activity that they caught was concerned- I found a few things interesting:

Absolute power, after all, corrupts absolutely.

I had to laugh when the rem pod thing was going off in the beginning and Nate said, "Why don't you move the bag full of equipment, see if that helps?" They moved the bag of equipment, the rem pod stopped going off, and they immediately developed short term amnesia and were like, "Whoa, wonder why this suddenly stopped going off?!"

I'm not always a fan of the robot voice box thing, but I did think it was extremely interesting how many religious/Catholic words came up in this particular place. Random how things like "contrition," "rapture," "thurifer," "oremace," etc. The fact that they've never heard those words before, to my knowledge, until they were in a Catholic place was kind of compelling.

Thought it was interesting that Colby said earlier in the episode that he felt "wobbly" in the nun room, but when he went up there later, nothing happened. He was even saying that he felt like it was residual energy up there, which sidenote- why does he always casually drop little pieces of knowledge like that out there and then never expand on his thought? How did he know it was residual energy? Explain, please.

The voices they were hearing were kind of cool. And robot voice thing going "Yeeessssssss" when they said they heard a voice was creepy as shit lol.

The fog on the camera was kinda cool, but Nate could've just adjusted his hold on it and just breathed directly onto the lens? Idk.

The double Estes Method. I'll admit, I didn't understand why in the hell they would even attempt this at first. Seems pointless and counterproductive. But once it got going up in the chapel, it was actually interesting. Everytime their answers not only synced up to the questions, but to each other- gotta admit, that was cool. It was also cool that occasionally, one would hear something that the other wouldn't, but that it would still match the question being asked. So yeah, I liked that.

I need them to stop with that drawing planchette thing immediately. It's silly. Stop doing it, stop forcing the scribbles to mean something, stop all of it.

As you all know, I'm not a big fan of some of the more...easily debunkable equipment, such as the rem pod and the whacky flashlight tricks. However, I was just thinking about the flashlights in particular, and I wonder if maybe some of what happens with those flashlights is more of their intuitive nature coming out, than these ghosts just sitting around and flicking the on/off button every couple of seconds. Like, maybe they can already sense the right questions to ask, to line up with the flashlights flickering on and off (cause when you set those twisty flashlights up the way they set them up, they can pretty much flicker off and on at will). Maybe we're looking at the power of the flashlights from the wrong end. Maybe it's the questions, and not the answers, that are paranormal in nature.

Or maybe I'm an idiot who ate too much shrimp today. Idk. Could go either way. I'll consult the flashlights about it.

A few more miscellaneous thing I just wanted to call out:

I was a little confused and suspicious of the tourguide right off the bat (even though we never saw him). They couldn't film the tour because you won't show up in camera? Are you fucking Bela Lugosi? What kind of shit is that??

Everyone already pointed out that the hospital is apparently "invested" with snakes, so I won't pile on and point it out again. Even though I really would like to make a terrible joke about an abandoned hospital investing their life savings with a bunch of snakes...I will refrain.

Nate: "lays down in an old grimey dirty coffin" also Nate: "WTF HOW DID I GET FLEAS?! 😱"

They really backloaded the first half of this video with random clips and jumpscares, like chill out fellas.

Colby Brock, Career Ghost Hunter: "I just shut the camera off cause I got scared."

Colby Brock, Family Man: "The only things that really freak me out are nuns, grandparents, and little kids."

They are so polite to these nun ghosts. Lots of pleases and thank yous.

I've been on the internet way too long- when they were joking about them having babies, all I could think was "mpreg is always possible" lol.

The ending was very...abrupt. And not having a preview for the next video was strange to me.

As i said earlier, this was a solid start. I love their chemistry with Nate and Seth, I enjoyed the editing and the pacing and the solid storytelling, and none of the evidence (besides the planchette) pissed me off, so that's always a plus lol. They didn't get too much, but what they did got was kind of cool, kind of creepy, and surprisingly cohesive. Overall, I'd give it a solid 8/10.

Excited for the rest! Let me know what you thought!

[msfbgraves]

Waxing on about Waxing On

Oh, Ralph Macchio, you lovely complicated man.

His respect and warmth towards his fans is genuine, and I feel he always tries to give them what they need from him, or more likely from what a part may have evoked in them. His whole memoir feels like an effort to do just that, and yet it feels incredibly polished, ironed out, careful, considerate. He knows he ought to be grateful for the impact it had, he wants to support people in their emotion surrounding that world, and he loves it, too, and the character, the people he works with. I think he genuinely adores how today's kids finally see him as an adult first and latch onto the second generation, all the while giving them something to share with their family. I even feel there's a tiny shoutout to people who enjoy the third installment.

But there's two other memoirs under this book, and they're far juicier.

Well, there's three. One is a sports memoir and I wouldn't give that a second look. I hardly know what the world series is, I've never seen a baseball game other than the snippets in Hollywood films. Same for hockey, which in my country is ice hockey, and I know even less about. It's hard to overstate how much I do not see it, what he loves about it, but you do you, King.

The second is Ralph Macchio's guide to show business. Now that is juicy. Tell me about pilot season politics, Ralph, you know all about it. Tell me how you worked your way back up from the D-list. I mean, you went from being asked to present at the Oscars (which you declined, and are rightly kicking yourself for now) and meeting with Spielberg, working with Coppola and De Niro (when he was still being discerning) and having chats with Warren Beatty to... Chicken Soup for the Soul and that would have been it, man. There's no real clawing your way out of that one, and it can't only have been because of one underwhelming turn as Daniel LaRusso. It's not like you didn't know people in the industry. I think Ralph did well recognising that he really is a family man first and foremost and living like it, but still... looking at imdb, he managed to get himself some pretty good tv shows before sniffing out the very start of reboot fewer and riding that wave like nothing else. Well done, man, truly, but how did that work? You're very strategic about your career. I actually want Game of Thrones - Hollywood, and I know you could tell me about it. Sequel!!

The third could be called The Karate Kid and My Ego.

He mentions ego a lot in the book. On the one hand, is it really that bad? Show us an actor without one. Actor-on-actor interviews are rampant with A-listers going: "When I first saw you in [X film], that was really important to me, so I really appreciate this chance to ask you what you think of my work." And Ralph is incredibly, and I mean incredibly generous with his fans and you can't fake that. But yeah, he does sometimes sound like he conflates what Daniel LaRusso meant to people with what he meant to people. And of course these lines blur, he says it himself. But it's not the same thing, and I feel that what he keeps chastising himself about - not really appreciating what he had when he had it - also stems froms the difference between what an audience needs from the work and what he needs. And I don't think that has radically changed.

A lot of people want their art, first and foremost, to have an impact on other people.

But I don't feel Ralph is one of them.

And goodness, he does not have to appreciate the impact of his work! He was hired to do a job, and he did it well, because he enjoys doing good work. He doesn't have to care about my enjoyment. Really he doesn't.

Still, I feel that people kept telling him he ought to be grateful for having had an impact but that is not where the gratification of the job lies with him. He wants to tell stories, and tell them well, and stretch himself creatively. And when he doesn't get to do that, he bitches. Even when everybody is like: "But Ralphie, you should be greatful for how obviously you're being appreciated for your work and how happy you make people."

(Was that the reason he was dropped? Did they think him an arrogant little brat?)

Now, he's like: I should not have taken it all for granted, because it is very easy to not get appreciated at all, but... and this is no diss - he feels like he's trying to make himself care when really? It's secondary. Of course he wants to make people happy with his art, but I feel that he mostly wants people to watch what he makes and give him the chance to make more of it. And of course in order for them to do that he needs to know that he makes them happy. But that's not why he does it, and so the impact and appreciation for art he's already made doesn't exactly make up for the fact he doesn't get to make more. Art and money. He's in this to have a good time! It's frankly astounding how generous he is with all his fans despite the fact that honestly, if he made something, got paid good money, and got a few people saying: "You're a great guy, Ralphie!" he probably wouldn't lie awake if he knew that nobody spared his past work a single thought. Not if he got to make more.

Again I really, really don't think that the stories he's told were particularly life changing for him, if he really does care about telling them well and doing his characters justice. I feel that for him, the joy lies in the doing, and the impact on his person lies in the people he's met along the way.

And that's alright. He doesn't owe anyone more.

Still, it's darkly funny that a man whose motto seems to be "Been there, done that, what's next?!" is constantly made to reflect on past work. But such is the irony of life.

So Ralphie, I hope you get offered a fullfilling part with a nice fat paycheck soon after Cobra Kai. Because I very much enjoy your work and hope you make more of it.

[carica-ficus]

“Fourth Wing”

26/12/2023

Reading progress: 346/498 (69%) Read through since last update: 122

Another sick day, another rampant reading day. I've been noticing A LOT of inconsistencies and bad plot hole mendings in this section. Thankfully, this book is more than easy to read, so I should be done with it soon enough, but man... There's too much stuff that just doesn't make sense. Another thing I noticed and that I can't overlook is that this book is purely written as a "and then" narrative. There's a really good video from the South Park creators that break this concept down, so I'm not going to go into that right now, but yeah, I'm painfully aware why this plot doesn't work for this book (among many other things...) This time, I'm mostly ranting. I'm really losing my mind over this book, so I need to get some stuff off of my chest.

Thoughts today:

So, Violet talks about how she would, and I quote, "climb the man like a tree", but literally on the next page says she's not mad enough to do it.

And then the cringe part when she calls herself a masochist as a joke and he's intrigued. I'm guessing they'll have the most vanilla sex I have ever read.

I've just realized that it's kinda weird that Tairn and Sgaeyl are the only mated pair know in the book so far? I think it's kinda weird because this novel is filled with so much unnecessary information and now it seems to lack something that would maybe be useful. Or at least interesting.

I get that Dain is very strict with the rules, but his recent outbursts seem so out of character. Why wouldn't he believe Mavis tried to kill Violet? He thinks everyone is out to get her anyway.

We have so many unnecessary characters in this book, but then the other 2 wingleaders get introduced at page 245. (Future me: And then are never mentioned again. Just like 90% of all the characters in this book.)

I got to the orange part and if I haven't watched a review for this book a few hours ago where the reader mentioned the absurdity of this specific scene, I wouldn't even know what it's about. This might be the absolute worst fucking part in the book just because it's so random and has literally 0 context. (Future me: I understand what the orange was used for later, but the way this information was introduced is so forced. And lazy. Like damn.)

Hate hate hate that Xaden calls Violet Violence. She literally cannot kill anyone. She never picks a fight. It's used only because it seems quirky.

Okay, I knew the dragon fucking scene was coming on. I get it. I don't judge. In fact, I don't mind. I actually like when authors take the liberty of exploring sexuality in their work. Sure. But how does it make sense to build this whole shit up, to make Violet be overcome by lust, only for Xaden to teach her how to ignore it??? And after she is successful at it, THEN they kiss??? Why?? Why why why???

And then they don't even fuck. Bruh, what the fuck.

(I know it's because Xaden felt like he would take advantage of her, but what the fuck? What the fuuuuuck????)

"The only weapons we're allowed to have are the ones we earn." I've grown numb to all the stupid rules established as a ways to compensate for Yarros's poor writing skills, but this is by far the worst one I've heard. Y'all are in the military, for fucks sake! Shouldn't they provide you with weapons???

The whole squad as Violet and Xaden trash around on the matt:

I was just thinking how it's incredibly weird that Violet's mom hasn't inquired about her at all, only for her to finally appear again after 200 pages! Yay! I wonder what she'll say about her daughter that she forced into the position of a rider?! Still not happy? Shame. I'm so surprised.

What's the whole point of the games? I mean, they were fun, sure, but felt a little underwhelming, mostly because the last assignment was dull, in my opinion, and the rest of them were barely mentioned, let alone featured.

Yup, it makes perfect sense that Xaden doesn't reveal he can talk to Violet telepathically. And it makes perfect sense that the first time he does it is during an important briefing. Just to tease her. That rascal, him! He's so silly!

Speaking of which, that next kiss of theirs as they're leaving is so... unemotional. It comes out of nowhere. From Xaden who has suddenly, in 3 days, had a change of heart he hasn't experienced in the last 3-4 months they have been training together. Like, what?

Can you guess I'm getting a little frustrated? I am really searching for a way to connect to this book, but it's becoming so hard. There's a few good pages, then a dozen bad ones. Well... See y'all tomorrow.

[maya-matlin]

How would you rank all nine OTH seasons from favorite to least favorite, no ties? S3 is my favorite but I have the fairly UO of loving S2 and S5 almost as much :)

1.) Season 3 (It's not close for me. This is easily the strongest season and OTH at its best. The show never came close to reaching the same heights again)

2.) Season 1 (In contrast to later seasons, this was a very down to earth era where everything happened organically rather than for drama or as a response to fan criticism. Watching the first season almost feels like reading a book. It all feels very well planned out and like everything that happens from the beginning is pretty much inevitable)

3.) Season 2 (The most underrated and unfairly hated season. It's literally just about Brucas, right? Even Naley fans admit that while they didn't like seeing their couple separated that the tour made for good angst and drama. But because Lucas decided he wanted Brooke instead of Peyton, oftentimes the entire season is written off even though there was so much solid character work and relationship development going on during this season. Admittedly, the loss of basketball and the soap opera tone particularly with Dan weren't the strongest aspects, but season 2 is far more good than bad)

4.) Season 4 (I have a lot of complicated feelings about season 4 and mostly find myself frustrated with the first eight episodes but once I get past that, season 4 is overall pretty great. The highs pretty much carry the season and make you forget that the lows are pretty terrible)

5.) Season 6 (Honestly, seasons 5 and 6 are practically equal for me. The reason I lean towards season 6 is that season 5 has more off putting plot points and story lines. Like, the Carrie arc. I also can't tolerate the Lucas/Peyton/Lindsey love triangle with Lucas being desperate to get married regardless of who ends up being the bride. It's exhausting, and nearly ruins Lucas's character. Season 6 at least puts a stop to the Carrie arc five episodes in and has Lucas settle down with Peyton. Otherwise, everything going on is pretty solid aside from the Mouth and Millie garbage. Nathan's comeback, the Brooke/Sam arc, seeing Brooke fall in love again, Quentin's death, Naley in general, the small amount we get of Haley's musical aspirations, etc)

6.) Season 5 (As stated before, season 5 is almost equal to season 6 for me. It does a solid job setting up the adult years and reestablishing the characters and their dynamics. Brooke is at her best in a lot of ways. I loved seeing Brooke and Lucas grow close again. Nathan and Haley come out of their separation and marital problems stronger than ever)

7.) Season 7 (It's not my favorite season, but I think both Haley's depression arc and Nathan being accused of having an affair baby are both strong story lines that center the entire show. Alex is a fun, new character, standing out to me over Clay and Quinn. Everything else is mostly underwhelming)

8.) Season 9 (The final season is pretty much carried by the return of Dan, Nathan's kidnapping, and nothing else. Who asked for Xavier to come back? Who asked for fatphobic writing? As cute as Logan was, Clay didn't need to forget an entire child. At least Chris Keller was there and Haley was allowed to be a badass)

9.) Season 8 (It's mostly a filler season. None of the story lines are great. I wouldn't call this a bad season. Compared to later seasons Riverdale, season 8 of OTH deserved an Emmy. But it's mostly just a lot of fluff and plots that don't actually matter. I can appreciate it only because 22 episode+ seasons are starting to become a rarity, but season 8 is no one's favorite or go-to season)

[th-ramblr]

[Baldur's Gate 3] - Squidhawk #14

[Cross-posted on AO3]

Arriving at Waukeen's Rest was a little more chaotic and disappointing than he'd first assumed it would be. Much of the buildings had been burned down, the corpses of Flaming Fist and goblins and drow all scattered in the courtyard, wild birds trying to pick at the corpses every opportunity that no one was looking. Everyone fussed and moaned about the disappearance of some man named Ravengard and the death of some people inside. Whatever livestock they'd had previously had either died or fled in fright.

And all of that?

Was none of his concern.

The only thing he cared for was finding the hidden spot that that caravaner had mentioned. The "invitation only" place that the man had been so kind as to tell him the pass-phrase for, before he'd slit his throat and taken his cargo.

The place that he found was... not really what he was expecting. Rather underwhelming, if he were honest. It just looked like a dirt shack with stacks of old, sun-beaten boxes in front, which he carelessly shoved aside with the bottom of his boot before pushing the door open, stepping inside cautiously. His eyes wandered the dark space, and immediately singled out the clusters upon clusters of explosive barrels.

A trap...?

No sooner had he thought it before he saw a flame burst to life from the darkness, held in the palm of some man he'd never met before.

Instinctively, his hands went up in a show of peace, knowing all too well just how bad of a spot this was to be in, his mind scrambling. "Wai'!" The other man paused, but didn't relax, waiting to hear what he'd say next. "Li'l serpen', long shadow."

Finally, the man dispelled the fire in his hand, straightening himself up more.

"Gah - Helm's orbs. Thought you were Flamin' Fist." The man was still shaking off some of his tension, apparently startled, but easing up. "Down you go, then. They'll be on us soon, so if you're looking to trade, you'd best be quick. Entrance is hidden behind the wardrobe-" He extended out a key for him to take. "Go on."

Giving the man a last glance and arched brow, he strode around the small maze of shelving towards the back of the hut until he found a hatch, leading down into a storage room. Far back in the corner, he found the wardrobe in question, pushing open the false backing that led into a rather impressive cave, heading towards a thick, iron gate.

"That's far enough!" a rough female voice called from across the cave, standing at attention on an adjacent cliff. "What's your business down here? Answer honestly, and maybe we'll kill ya clean."

Kytes' arms crossed and his nose wrinkled, shifting his weight from one leg to the other before he swiveled slightly to point back towards the entrance. "Guy------fron', lemme through."

Not pacified, she barked, "Then your answer decides his fate as well as your own, so make it good."

"Only here-----'rade things."

"Raid?" she hissed, and he tensed, eyes widening as she reached for her bow and he quickly held up his hands.

"No! No." He cursed his faulty words and quickly searched for something he wouldn't screw up, correcting himself. "Buy. Sell." He licked his lips, trying to force the word out. "TT-t-t----t-rrr---tt-tr---a----de."

She seemed to relax a bit, at least. "Trade with what? Your life was ours the moment you walked in here." She still wasn't friendly. "But... maybe I'll let you buy it back. I have a job needs doing." She gave a hand signal towards people below, before calling across to him, "We've disarmed the traps. Come down."

Breathing out under his breath, he deflated a bit, moving towards the gate and pushing it open. He definitely wouldn't be sticking around this place for long, but he could at least offload some unneeded junk for coin and see if they had anything of worth to him.

With all the explosive barrels he saw at the entrance, maybe he'd be lucky and they'd have a stock of smokepowder bombs for sale.

---------------------------------------------

"Some of my people are missing," Zarys explained. "More importantly, so is their cargo. Find them. Barring that, just bring back the chest. Unopened. I'll pay you a handsome sum to get it back."

Kytes crossed his arms, thinking for a moment about what she told him. "Found them," he shrugged. "Already dead." She didn't need to know the last survivor had their throat slit by him.

"Shit," she spat. "And what about the cargo?"

Slinging his bag off his back, he rummaged through it a moment and carefully pulled the iron flask from within, standing back up and pulling his backpack on before holding it out to her. "This?"

She took it from his hands and smiled, but it was a thin smile, her eyes curling at the corners in a strange way and going glassy. Something was wrong.

"You... you opened it?" He could hear panic underlying her voice and he frowned. "You've killed us all. Every last one of us." Her smile turned into a scowl, her eyes alight with malice. "But you're not getting out of it either. Lads! Don't let him leave! Kill him!"

------------------------------------------

Somewhere in his gut, he'd known this was a bad idea, but had he listened to it? No. He seldom did. He usually convinced himself that he'd be fine and he could handle it. Sometimes he was right. Often times he wasn't.

Why did he never listen to his better sense? It was beyond him.

He hissed and all but threw himself to the ground as an arrow whizzed past his head, barely missing, and quickly scrambled further into the cave. He didn't have smokepowder bombs, but there were explosive barrels and oil all over this cave, and he did still have some alchemist's fire, which he hefted as soon as he saw a few of Zarys' goons standing too near to some of the barrels.

They scattered or were thrown screaming, much to his satisfaction, but he didn't plan to stay and fight them all. He needed to get back to the entrance, quickly, but he was going to have to maneuver cleverly to get there.

He already had half a plan forming in his mind when a huge, hairy beast ran to block his way ahead, letting out a thunderous snarl that made every hair on his body instantly stand up in alarm, skidding to a stop.

His eyes glazed over, his body freezing, and in a quick flash, he was elsewhere...

Standing on the dark street, which was devoid of most city life at this hour. It wasn't uncommon for him to skulk about the shadows, looking for opportunities to take things that didn't belong to him. Some nights he was largely successful. Others, he didn't find much.

Tonight, he had other troubles to worry about than just whether or not he managed to pocket any goods that were worth his while. The night prior, he'd gotten caught trespassing in a shop, and he'd struck the shopkeeper upside the head with a makeshift weapon, knocking them unconscious as he'd fled.

Tonight, the Fist were out looking, and they had help.

A huge white dog stepped out from another street, nose to the cobbles, before it lifted its head towards him. Its eyes and its pelt both shone in the moonlight, and even at so late an hour, he could see every thick muscle rippling beneath its skin. It stared him down ominously, then lifted its head to let loose a loud, sharp bray, bringing its master running.

"Did you find them, boy?" The Fist spotted him - he spotted them. Kytes didn't waste time. He turned and took off running. "Get 'im, boy!"

He dared to look back, and regretted it as he saw the huge dog quickly closing distance, its jowls flopping with each bound before it lunged. He almost tripped over his own feet, swiveling to raise his arms and try to protect himself, and was immediately taken to the ground.

The dog snarled - he screamed. It pushed its square head past his arms, clamping down on his face and savagely jerking its head, tearing chunks that would never heal right until his face was soaked red with blood. He instinctively kicked and clawed, trying to wrestle the dog off him, but the damage was already done--

Without even thinking, barely even seeing in front of him, he swung his knife into the wolf-dog's skull, hearing it scream in pain and retreat away from him.

He had to get away.

He had to get away, before--

He turned, and froze, gasping as a blade pierced his stomach. When did-?

It wedged deeper under his ribs, making him choke and grasp the wrist of the person that'd stabbed him, trying to blink the haze away from his mind and remember where he was. Where was he-? What was he---

They pulled the blade out and plunged it into him again, and he grimaced in pain with a soft wheeze, barely a whimper.

"Take his things. He won't be needing them."

Someone else was wrestling his backpack free from him. He blindly lashed out with his dagger, but someone caught his wrist and twisted it until he cried out in pain and the blade fell from his hand.

"We'll feed his innards to the dogs. That'll make 'em nice and happy."

No, no, no-!

He finally managed enough movement to yank his arm away and shove off the man that still had a blade in his gut, yelping as it yanked free and took some of his blood with it. He pressed a hand to his stomach, trying to keep the blood in, stumbling, and--

He felt his foot slip, falling onto open air. All the breath left him as his shoulders struck stone several meters below, bouncing off another ledge and rolling uncontrollable over sheer, stone slopes until finally stopping in some deep, dark place below. Bloody teeth gritted tightly together as he arched his back and writhed in pain, trying to roll off of his back.

"Where'd he go?"

"Should we go after him?"

"Leave him. There's only one way out, an' that's through us. Besides, he'll bleed out long before he manages to crawl his way out of that pit."

Managing to plant a hand under him, he pushed himself up with a grimace, gasping breathlessly as he tried to take stock of his surroundings, but the darkness was too thick, the only light a faint flicker of torches far above him. Moving around on his hands and knees only made him hiss as his wounds tugged and spilled more blood into the dirt, groping around for anything of use.

All he managed to find were long-forgotten bones to keep him company in his final moments, and his awareness was quickly fading, forcing him to roll onto his back again and prop himself against the cold stone. Something gently clattered as his hand bumped against it, blindly patting his hand around until he found it and held it up to the distant light.

One of his daggers... seemed it had fallen with him. Why couldn't it have been one of his potions?

Well... he supposed it was its own kind of mercy, dropping his hand down and laughing hoarsely, barely a whisper on his lips, before it melted into an equally hoarse cough that had him wincing.

So this was it.

Dying in a dark pit with nothing but himself and a dagger. Somewhere no one would even find his bones for another hundred years.

What a fitting end for a miserable, sick, forgotten urchin like himself.

The cold was already seeping in to every corner of his awareness, in the parts where feeling hadn't left him entirely, but his wounds still burned and he tightened his fingers around the handle of his knife. One small mercy, at least...

It wasn't the first time he had contemplated it. He'd found himself staring at a knife's sharp edge more times than he could count, or peered over the edge of a fatal height, or watched the dark, churning waters of the sea and thought of whether or not it would be painful to drown. Death had dogged his steps every moment he drew breath, from the moment he was born, cursing him with a weak heart that could fail him at any moment without reason.

He had danced with it, sometimes.

In moments where his heart fluttered too hard, agony within his ribs, until he'd passed out for days at a time.

In moments where the world felt too cruel, and he'd tried to take his own life, and failed, or chickened out at the last minute.

But now? Well, nothing was going to save him now. Not in this place. Not with these wounds.

The least he could do for himself was make it quicker, raising the blade and steeling himself to drive it into his throat. It was already hard to breathe right, and if he waited much longer, he wouldn't have the strength.

[Don't!]

His eyes cracked open again, and he couldn't help wheezing another voiceless laugh, smiling mirthless.

And there he is. My self-declared protector.

[You're grievously injured...] No shit. [But this isn't the way.]

Then what is? There was nothing here that would save him, not even if he tried his hardest. Those bastards had been right. He was bleeding out faster than he'd ever be able to climb out. He had no friends, no one that gave a damn about him. No one was coming.

[Not this.] How very helpful of him. [Just hold on. You can't give up yet.]

He choked, breathing coming in strained pants. If there was ever a time to give up, now is that time...

Fuck. He was starting to lose consciousness, his arm going limp and refusing to move. He didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid, tears pricking at his eyes. Gods - he didn't want to die. Not here. Not in this place. Not like this.

His eyes rolled back and he found his surroundings flickering, changing, from darkness to ethereal, starry skies, to darkness again.

[Just hang on... I'm here. I'll protect you.]

Protect, protect, protect. False promises... always false promises. You can't protect me. No one has. No one ever will.

The space around him kept flickering and shifting, back and forth. He felt the presence of someone else encircle him, holding him rested against them, and his surroundings stabilized into that surreal dream place. Somewhere in the distance, he heard thunder booming, but it was too far away and he was too exhausted to care.

"I have you..." Rune's voice came softly; gently, a warm hand slipping against his jaw and cradling his head against the man's throat. For the first time - the only time - he didn't try to pull away or resist. If Rune wanted to hurt him, or use him for his body, it didn't matter now. He wasn't going to live long enough to experience it, or have to live with the consequences afterwards.

For once, he just wanted to be held without feeling afraid, giving in to the embrace willingly.

Just once...

"You're going to be alright, I promise..." The hand on his jaw moved to brush through his hair, holding him securely. Safely. Like he was something precious. He wished he could have had more of this while it still mattered, but it was nice to have even for a moment here at the end. "I'm not going to leave you to die alone and forgotten in this place. Just hang on a little longer. You're going to make it through this."

If he had more strength, he'd have laughed at him. He could only close his eyes as darkness took him.

You're a liar.

[this-is-not-a-slow-burn]

I'm still watching the whole show, but WOW this season is somehow worse than S2

The script is a godsdamn mess. The production value is dismal. The editing is super weird.

I'm not mad about the things most of the people are (not following the books etc) but I am disappointed in how badly this adaptation has been done as far as the quality of the content. It's really bad.

There have been a few bright points but not enough to prop up even a teeny bit of the episode let alone the season.

Just going to muddle through it.

Specific spoilery call outs for episode.... 4? below the cut

WHAT in the effing hell was that scene of Ciri escaping the Wild Hunt?! It was painfully clear Freya Allan was sitting on some kind of fake fur covered mechanical thing that bounced her around. It was absolutely comical. Not only did the weird camera angles used to try and cover that up do the exact opposite, but the scenes where you could see the "horse" it was very clearly a fake animal. Even in the non zoomed in shots it looked like two people in a horse costume.

(may Melitele strike me dead if I'm wrong about the fake horse)

Fake horse aside, it was so brief and underwhelming. They're supposed to be absolutely terrifying, but the scene was so short and so disarmed by the stupid horse head that it had zero tension and no impact. And then Geralt is just magically there, and blasts them with one shot of Ard and they fuck off? WHAT. WHAAAAT? it took more effort to slay much lesser beasts. Dumb.

And while we're on the subject, the way they employ the monsters is so completely random and senseless. They all look the same, and they all look like cheap rubber halloween decorations. I decided to be extremely generous and went with "this had to be a deliberate nod to The Hexer", but boy was it a tenuous grip.

Triss not telling Yen exactly why Ciri shouldn't show up to Aretuza was absolutely stupid sitcom logic of not telling someone everything because.... it would wrap everything up and there wouldn't be the need for the rest of the episode. Super fucking lazy writing. (sorry i'm to sleepy to dig up the trope name at the moment)

I'm just going to pretend the only scene of Jaskier and Radovid started when Radovid started playing the lute. Because everything in that scene before that moment was nonsense. That line about being brave?!

Though I did absolutely love the "I can't take you inside" "then take me here"

that was like kicky feet squeek levels of good.

Geralt's wig went back to being terrible if not worse. Hair does not grow that way. It is incredibly distracting.

I do LOVE Yen's long culotte pants though. But her shoes are horrid. Her tops..... are bad. That dress for the conclave party is ugly as fuck.

there's so much more to rant about but it's 3 AM and now I go to bed.

[partywithgyu]

TXT REACTION.

S/O being insecure about her body / looks.

Warning: Suggestive stuff for Choi line. Mention of bad eating habits.

Choi Yeonjun.

The heated make out session was bound to lead to things, you knew. Yeonjun had his arms around your waist as he kissed you, greedily. You were greedy too. You wanted more, he could tell. Pulling away, he asked, "Do you want to go ahead?" You looked at the man before you. This was the first time you two were going to do this act, so a little nervousness was bound to get you. Not letting ir get in the way, you decided that you wanted to do it. "Yes, please," you said.

The edges of his lips curved a little, as his fingers held the end of your t shirt. He lifted it, taking it off. Maybe it was the fact that he himself was a very beautiful person, that made you feel rather conscious about your body. You found yourself wondering if he had formed an opinion on it.

Now that he had access to more of your skin, he started kissing you neck. The kisses trailed down to your collar, his hand softly pressed your still clothed thighs. The insecurity took your attention away from the kisses. When you seemed to move a little far from him, Yeonjun stopped. He looked at you clueless.

"Are you fine? You don't have to do this," he started to say. You shook your head feeling a little bad about how you must've made him feel as you stepped back. "I want to do it. It's just that," you started to say. To admit your insecurities was a tough thing to do. So your gaze wandered around. "I am worried that you won't find me very beautiful," you added.

Yeonjun's eyebrows furrowed. "You're beautiful. I find you very very beautiful," he confessed. "Not like that. I was talking about my body," you let him know. You couldn't look him in the eyes so you stared down at the floor. "I just don't want to be less beautiful than you'd expect." Yeonjun felt bad for not noticing this earlier. "Look at me, please," he said softly. You did that only because of how comforting his voice was. "Don't feel like that. All bodies are beautiful because they all hold their uniqueness. You don't have to look a certain way to be beautiful to me, I swear."

"Really?," you asked. "Really," he assured making you feel a lot better. He raised an eyebrow. "If you want me to, I could always prove how much I meant that."

Choi Soobin.

Soobin had noticed how you had been avoiding situations that would lead to things. He was observant like that. It made him worry a little. He was afraid that he had done something wrong the last time you two had sex. It was a thought that stayed in his head for a long time. There was a reason you did this. The change in you weight made you feel bad about your body. You didn't want him to notice it too. You believed, if you yourself didn't like the way your body was looking , he wouldn't like it either.

On this very night when you two were watching a movie, he noticed how you didn't sit as close to him as you usually did. You yourself were worried about him noticing it. He paused the movie. You looked over at him. His expression was a little serious. "Babe, is everything fine?," he asked you. You faked a smile. "Yes. Does something seem wrong?," you asked nervously.

He could tell you were hiding something. He knew you well. "I think you have been acting a little weird," he said to you. All you could do was act clueless. The man on the other end of the couch wouldn't buy it but you could try. "What do you mean?" Soobins didn't want to force you into confessing the truth. So, he decided to talk you in a softer tone. "Listen. If there's anything wrong that I did, you can tell me," he went on. "You've not done anything wrong," you said immediately. You knew there was a possibility that your actions could lead to him thinking that about himself. So, you decided to tell him.

"It's just my weight." You could not leave tell him just that so you went on. "I have a hard time maintaining the same weight. Whenever I look in the mirror now a days, I feel really ugly." Your tone only became sadder as you went on. His heart sunk on hearing that. He felt bad for not noticing it before. "Ugly? You aren't ugly. How can you even think that?," he said to you as he moved closer. He cupped your face. "You can lose or gain a lot of weight and I won't find you ugly. Gaining or losing weight doesn't make someone ugly. Don't think so much about it, okay?" You just looked at him in silence because you were a little surprised at the confidence behind his words. "Okay?," he asked again. "Okay."

Choi Beomgyu.

Beomgyu and you were shopping online for some lingerie. It was an idea you had come up with a while ago. He sure would like to pick the lingerie you would wear for him. However, things weren't going as well as you expected them to. As the two of you scrolled through the images, you found yourself wondering if the lingerie would look as good on you as it did on the models.

The thought of Beomgyu thinking that you looked underwhelming in them, now that he had seen them on the models, scared you. "Look. This red one will look nice on you," said the man excitedly. You gave him a small awkward smile. "What if it doesn't?" You immediately regretted asking him that. You didn't mean to share to him about your insecurities. "Red looks good on you. Why? You like something else?," he asked not really getting the hint. You sighed. "Not what I meant. Add it to the cart though," you said as you turned your attention to the screen.

"What did you mean?" Beomgyu could be stubborn about such stuff you knew. There was no way he was going to let go of the topic. So you found yourself telling him the truth. "I meant that, will anything look good on me? I have to have a good body for anything to look nice on me," you said to him. He spoke against that immediately. "You have a great body."

You sighed. "You're saying that to make me feel nice." He clicked his tongue. "Wow. How can you be so clueless? You really don't know how hot you are?," he asked you. You still didn't seem to believe him but he wasn't going to shut up until you believed him. He wouldn't be able to go by his day knowing that you are insecure about yourself. The fact that to believe that about yourself, made him feel bad. Like he had done a bad job of not hyping you up.

"Come here," he said to you. Holding onto your hand, he lead you to a mirror. In front of the mirror, you two stood. "Look at that! That's one hot person!" His animated tone made you chuckle. It was cute to watch him try his best to cheer you up like that. "And you are there too," he added making you low key cringe. You didn't hide it. Your expression said it all. Beomgyu just gave you a big apologetic smile for the lame joke. "Okay. I was joking. Look at you! You are so hot!" "Yeah. Yeah." "Say it."

You looking at yourself in the mirror you said what he expected you to, "I am hot." "Louder." "I am hot." He chuckled. "One more time," he said to you. "What's your name?," he added. "Y/N." "What are you?" "Hot."

From that day on he would randomly ask you those questions often. Many times a day, you would have to call yourself hot.

Kang Taehyun.

When he had asked you to come to the gym regularly with him, he just wanted your company. You found yourself wondering if you had gained enough weight for him to say that. He was being subtle about it, you thought. You jumped to a conclusion and found yourself being dedicated to your goal of losing weight.

You'd be measuring your weight more than once a day. Often Taehyun would find you wrapping a measuring tape around your body. The measurements you'd take, would be noted in a book by you. Soon, you found yourself questioning if even fruits were worth eating. They would just add to the calorie you believed. Skipping a meal or two wasn't a big deal to you.

Taehyun felt bad when he noticed how strict you were being with your meals. The portions were small. You wouldn't even binge on snacks during movie night. He had lost your company for midnight snacking too. Instead you would sit by yourself in the room, reading a book or playing a mobile game. He didn't like it.

He decided to talk to you about it, so he sat you down one day. In front of you, he placed a plate of chocolate chip cookies you liked. You looked at the plate and then at him. Your lips curved into a small apologetic smile. "You love these," he said to you. "I know. It's just that I am trying to lose weight," you said to him. "By skipping meals?," he asked. You couldn't exactly agree with him. You were aware you weren't doing the nicest thing. Yet, you found yourself doing it.

"You need to take care of your health. Now will you get any nutrition if you skips meals," he started to say as he picked up a cookie. He started eating it. "Honestly, I know skipping meals isn't the best thing to do. But I find myself doing it. The thought of losing weight makes me do it. I have started counting calories and it's making me too paranoid," you confessed to him. You needed his help to break this bad habit. Taehyun could help you, you believed.

"Your metabolism will be a mess," he said to you. "I know." He sighed softly. "Being healthy isn't being skinny. It's about staying active, eating a good amount of food and having a good mental health," he continued explaining. It was sad how you knew all this. You felt like a fool for forgetting it. "You go too hard on yourself," he added. "I am just like you, aren't I?"

He rolled his eyes at your comment, smiling a little. "I know it's difficult to be confident. Please try though," he said genuinely. "I wish you'd see yourself the way I do. You're beautiful, just in case you don't know," he added. "Oh. I know."

Huening Kai.

It was a beautiful day. On a day like this it made sense to put on cute outfits and head to a café and then a park. It was when you guys were at the café, you pulled out your phone to take a picture of beautiful boy. Showering him with compliments as you clicked the pictures. He returned the favor of course. He took your pictures only to notice a small frown on your face as you saw it. You didn't seem to like it. Perhaps, it didn't turn out that well, he thought and took down a mental note to do a better job next time.

In the park you refused to get your photos taken. "It's alright. I'll take your pictures instead," you said to him. You clicked a lot of beautiful pictures of him. As you two went through them, you spoke about how pretty the scenery looked. You loved the flowers too. "Are you sure you don't want to take pictures in this beautiful place?," he asked you. You shrugged. "What's the point? I don't look good in any of them anyway," you said to him.

"I'll do a better job than I did at the café," he said to you making you chuckle. "I didn't mean that, you dummy. I meant my face. We need more than good lightings and angles for it," you said in a casual tone. It was surprising to him how you seemed to have accepted the false idea as the truth. He didn't want to turn the mood all serious. So, he decided to handle the situation in a light and casual way. "It was my bad skills I swear. You have the most beautiful face. I will do a better job. Go pose."

You did end up posing for photos. Huening Kai was dedicated to taking really good pictures of you to prove a point. After clicking a few, you headed to him. You stood beside the tall boy, ready to face disappointment again. He wasn't going to let you feel bad about the photos no matter what. "Wow. I did such a good job here! You look so good!" Bright compliments left his mouth as you two went through the photos. "Wow. I can't even tell who's the flower!" You laughed at his comments. He only kept going. "How can someone be so beautiful?!"

‹•.•›

a/n: Hey! I wanted to take a moment to say idealization of impractical beauty standards can leave us all feeling bad about ourselves. Let's remember that our bodies are more than props for insta pictures and be easy on ourselves. ♡

To head to my masterlist click here.

[shieldofrohan]

Only ending I prefer for Tyrion is death or he sent to wall. If Cersei and Jaime are going to die even Tommen and Myrcella who are innocent, then why Tyrion is going to live?

Hello Anon,

Because he is author's fav. That's it.

I wish you could see me right now. I am looking at my computer and trying to find the words that can tell what I am feeling and thinking about this Tyrion issue. I put my fingers on the keyboard and take a deep breath and nothing. I am speechless. Because I simply don't understand.

My only explanation is that Martin tries to point out that sometimes bad people win and they end up with power. Maybe it is a realistic take because yeah it happens i real life but in FICTION, this just underwhelms the readers. Because I personally feel like I read him being a horrible person and a RULER/HAND for nothing (but asoiaf is not nihilistic he says... my as* I say...)

He was not smarter or better than Baelish or Tywin so why did they die and lose but Tyrion ended up fine? Baelish was smarter than him x100 times but he lost. And it was satisfying to read. Tyrion's ending makes no sense so far and it just leaves a hollow feeling after witnessing the whole journey.

Yes I know, we still don't know how Martin is going to serve this ending to us but I don't have higher hopes. I am afraid even show's ending will be considered better than his own take.

Some of my theories (which are weak imo):

Tyrion will be crucial in the fight with Da*nerys. He knows enough about dragons and HOW TO KILL THEM. So maybe they'll need him for this.

He'll help and side with Starks. He designed a saddle for Bran in AGOT because Jon asked him (if I remember right) and this was a strong FS of him helping the Starks to have POWER. Even in the show they chose Bran as King after Tyrion's stupid speech. He'll be the one who'll open the way for Bran to become King and maybe Jon will be the one behind this.

Martin just want to diss Tywin even more in his death by leaving Tyrion as his only heir (does Martin have daddy issues because I feel like he does). Even Joff's death makes me sad so I can't talk about poor Tommen and Myrcella. I don't get it.

He'll have some kind of a leverage against the Starks/Westeros. I don't know maybe like sth RLJ? He'll threaten them to expose it in the wrong time. It can be anything, I really can't take a guess right now.

He'll have strong allies. I really can't imagine how or why but this would explain why he'll end up alive and well. Jaime was not punished for killing the Mad King because the monarch changed and his father Tywin played a role in it, also Lannisters were too strong. So sth like this might occur again. Maybe he will win allies by promising them wealth and power. I would accept him as a Hand of a CHILD (!!) too if he promised me sth in return.

Take your pick. They all suck. In any case I can't just accept that the idea of becoming a HAND TO A FCKING CHILD can be considered as a PUNISHMENT.

Is he alive? Yep. So he is free to do whatever he wants. He is not under imprisonment, no one calls him a betrayer/prisoner/criminal, no one tortures him, he is not banished. I really can't imagine how is this all a PUNISHMENT?

Some say that he'll serve as a Hand but no one will appreciate him and it's his punishment but cry me a river. The man committed every crime in the book and this is what he gets??

Da*nerys stan should cancel Grrm for this, not for King/Queen Bran/Sansa but they still can't admit that Tyrion is bad because her majesty can't have bad people around her... she wouldn't fall for him. Lol.

I think Martin could have at least made KARMA find him in end. Imagine Tyrion wakes up in the morning as the Hand of the King and he fcking slips and falls on his head and he dies... the end. More satisfying if you ask me. Also I don't understand why they just can't get rid off him? Oops he died, can you believe.. let's move on. Come on Ary* girl, stick with the pointy end...

Anyway.

I just want to say that I probably won't remember Asoiaf as a satisfying books series even if we somehow manage to have ADOS in the future. I made my peace with that. But it doesn't mean I am not looking forward for future books for my favs like Sansa, Jon, Brienne, Cersei, Jaime, Jeyne, Bran, Sweetrobin etc. I don't trust the author with them either but I just want to take it all (good and bad) and leave it all behind me. I had great time in fandom with great friends and people thanks to these books and it will always a special place in my heart but objectively I am ready to be let down. Bring it on.

Thanks for the ask.

[aj-lenoire]

i wouldn't call it manufactured tension or say that it loses importance, what makes cassandra's name showing on the gun so big even knowing what happened is not the betrayal in itself, but the fact that percy loses all hope yes but cassandra does too, she felt the same way as he did about getting a part of family back, and now she's being literally forced to turn on him, she can't fight it, she can't tell him she's being controlled in any way, and she's a child on top of all that. it's the tragedy of what percy thinks is happening vs the reality of cassandra can't say, and even the tragedy of orthax manipulating and using percy for his own hunger the same way the briarwoods are using cassandra for power.

(X)

you’re absolutely right in that what matters is what the characters think is happening, because that informs their behaviour, which is why i’m confident that it’ll still be fucking excellent to rewatch, since it’s what percy does with this ‘knowledge’ that leads to one of the best climaxes i’ve seen in a good while (insert sex joke here)

but i do stand by the fact that knowing cassandra didn’t actually betray him—it was a decision both born of desperation and one that was not actually her own—does leave... i dunno something to be desired for me personally from the scene

because the whole ‘loved one is brainwashed and hasn’t actually turned evil’ is... it’s not a bad trope at all—and there have definitely been times where i’m super relieved this is the case, it’s not what i would personally have wanted from this specific confrontation. it might just be that i’ve seen that particular flavour a lot, and i haven’t seen the ‘no they actually turned’ nearly as much

i completely understand where cassandra would have come from had she actually turned—her entire family was murdered, she was tortured, her brother left her to die in the dirt not realising she wasn’t dead. stockholm syndrome is...... well it’s nonsense as far as the origin goes (long story short the police and on-site negotiator were massively incompetent) but living with the briarwoods for five years would do a number on anyone’s psyche even without magic vampire manipulation, and i would’ve believed that she actually turned as a result of all that—or, less dramatically, that she hated percy for what he did as well as the briarwoods and needed a little time

so with that in mind, the reveal that she’s actually being (almost?) entirely puppeted by the bad guys and once she’s free of them she’s completely fine with percy didn’t feel cheapening but it felt like the lesser of two interesting choices—they could have had a legitimately heartbreaking confrontation of different perspectives; percy ran and left her, but he was also a child and he didn’t realise she hadn’t died. neither of them did anything wrong in that moment but that doesn’t mean the results of his actions—choices in a situation where every choice was going to be bad—don’t drive a wedge between them

but instead she was 100% under the briarwoods’ influence and 100% cool with percy after being released—and obviously she’s been through hell and is just as stoked as he is to see she still has family—but the fact that percy immediately runs off with the vox machinae before they get a real moment to actually process together what did kinda cheapen the moment for me a little; turn off evil vampire switch A and sister B is now set to be a happy little side character who only shows up when brother C needs a favour or whatever

in that sense some of the tension is manufactured, because unlike the demon nudging percy towards his worst intentions (with the exception of that wacko and not-gonna-lie-kinda-underwhelming battle in the center of the mind where he was just outright shifting percy’s perception) it was entirely cass being puppeteered, so the tension was more between the briarwoods and percy than cass and percy, unlike with the ‘take off the mask’ scene, since percy was able to somewhat fight the control

again, this is just my opinion—i still think that whole scene will be awesome and i can’t wait to rewatch it—but it would’ve been cooler if the name appearing on the gun had been... like i guess ‘a little bit earned’? like not just the result of a demon dick and vampire roofies. i would have loved to see cass and percy have to actually come to terms with what happened between them

like, because, as stoked as percy was to still have a sister, he was also massively guilty about leaving her, and in the same way i could see cass being insanely relieved to be away from her captors while also still being a little bitter that the reason she was even stuck with them for that long was because he left her behind

but whatever gets the prettyboy with the gun acting deranged is a-okay in my book so YMMV

[stillinaincrad]

I really can't stress how much I know I feel like a broken record lately. I'm basically one of those hipster dbags wearing flannel in July, drinking PBR even though it tastes like sweaty socks, and talking in prose about 'it was better back when' about anything and everything.

But sometimes... sometimes it really was, especially with anime.

Just finished watching Date a Live from the beginning all the way up to the new episodes, even season 2 which I insisted I wouldn't. I will always say it - DAL is nothing significant, is nothing even particularly good, is just a title I've always really liked because it's fun and has some really original characters. The central story is actually pretty involved and well thought out, even though more than once it's strayed a little too far from and fanservice is overused to fill the void.

But the thing I think I like most is how no one studio has made more than one season of the show and there are four seasons now. AIC brought the world to life, and whereas I think they are the most guilty of focused ecchi - somehow with Origami especially - they really did Tohka justice. She's just nothing but great from hello. As is the entire cast, so many memorable and unique characters. IMS did season two and yeah... let's not go there, it was bad. But the characters were still the characters, just very flatly written and voiced, and the overall crafting was bleh at best. JC Staff did season 3 and it was a full-on revitalization - the animation was a massive rebound from 2, the characters were lovable again, and they really included everything they could from the source material to move the characters and story in an elevated way. Very well done. All three studios managed to keep the animation at least mostly similar, the character scores and music have been carried over - that military march when monitoring dates onboard Fraxinus is the epitome of the show's playfulness, I can't imagine episodes without it - and each has at least made an attempt to keep the characters true to themselves.

Until... uuuuggggggh, yes, here's where I say it - until now. Geek Toys is responsible for season 4, and I'm very not digging it. Every character not only looks the same, they look the same as every other minimal effort teenage here-and-forgotten anime that is churned out of Johnny Verbeck's western anime viewership snausage machine these days. It bores me how grievously plain it is. DAL has always had it's own style, now it looks like some 'Is This An... Anime?' release. They kept the music, so I'll give them that, but to the rest, why? Why change EVERYTHING now? Why simplify these decade-established characters and make them static af? Why make them indistinguishable from honestly every background character in every show ever? Why change an entire franchise SO MUCH? I know GT did the Date a Bullet spinoffs, which I admittedly never watched, but spinoffs are their own thing. For a studio that does not have many credits to their catalog, am sure they took this project on because of the fandom they'd inhereit (and because they were lowest bid lol), but so far am so underwhelmed that it's hard to even watch these goofballs I've spent the last 9yrs with.

I'll continue to give it a chance because I'm still a fan of this franchise, but the incredible prosaic makeover of everything is not my bag so far. I don't know why studios continue to do this kind of thing to a well-established brand, but it is out here in the world as-is now. I don't think it's fair to us as consumers, to the effort the other studios made to keep at least some semblance of continuity, or - and this one most of all - to the characters themselves, but it is what it is and our choice is to watch it or don't. And I'm sure I will in spite of it all.

But I mean, come on - we're two episodes deep in a new season and Fujibakama has yet to call anyone or thing lame. Did Geek Toys even watch the first three??