#anyways I’m really rooting for this show and all involved

[theloneliestblackgirlblog]

adding onto yesterday but my biggest unpopular opinions on PJO show is

1) I don’t think the creators/writers of the show are responsible for the runtime so blaming them for it does nothing.

2) I think they’re doing the best with what they have budget wise laying the foundation of the show and hoping to expand upon it for later seasons. I think fans should give a bit more grace in that regard.

3) I think a lot of y’all are exposing yourselves/shooting yourselves in the foot when I see you complaining about some of the changes in the show whilst comparing it to the movie that a lot of you SELF ADMITTED to hating. It’s extremely hypocritical and exhausting to watch y’all be like “at least the movie did THAT right” because a scene in a 30 minute show was rushed when you have a whole manifesto on how you previously hated the movie.

4) I think a lot of people need to be honest with themselves and realize they were never gonna like this adaptation because you didn’t like how these kids looked.

5) I think a lot of fans need to remember that these actors are indeed children. So tread lightly when it comes to shipping or edits or whatever. These kids are not their characters even though we joke they do really well.

6) I think you can tell that the people running this show actually do care a lot about the books and the fans and are willing to move accordingly. Even accepting of criticism and I think that will aid in future success.

7) On the other end, I’m sorry but not all fan suggestions, theories, ideas and criticisms are valid or are going to be taken into consideration. And honestly we should be glad for that 🫶🏿.

[florwons]

‧₊˚ ⋅ hurt — nishimura riki ‧ ˚₊‧

synopsis you hated niki. he hated you. despite your ongoing rivalry, your recent arm injury seems to have had an unexpected effect on your so-called enemy. rather than making fun of your injury, he's shown a surprising twist of kindness by wanting to draw on your cast instead.

pairing rival!niki x fem!reader genre fluff, e2ls, hs au !

warnings profanity, injury, just niki and reader being a bickering mess !! typical rival things

featuring danielle newjeans jungwon enhypen wc 2303 !

note first enha work !! first time on blr and i think i’m getting a hang of it.. took too much time figuring out everything though 😵‍💫. i guess this happens when you’re bored (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝) anyhow, i just think niki fits e2ls !! also i think he fits this cute idea i was thinking about so why not combine the two ?? might also create a part 2 to this !!

— read part 2 here !

"Wow, two whole months for it to heal? I’m sure it hurt, didn’t it?" Danielle exclaimed, her expression filled with shock as she glanced from your cast to your face. The two of you were seated next to each other during your first period, giving her a chance to closely examine your injury.

"Yeah," you replied with a touch of sarcasm, a sigh escaping your lips as you gazed at the plain, white cast encasing your arm. "Just the sort of thing that can happen when you take up a part-time job at a convenience store. But, my doctor assured me it's not too serious, so this arm should be back to its usual self soon!" You lightly tapped your arm with your free hand, showing her that you’re completely fine.

"Well, it's still frustrating to have to let it heal for that long," she pouted, receiving a light chuckle from you. Extending your uninjured arm, you gently held her hand, offering her a soft smile. "Don't worry, Danielle. Two months will fly by."

You were truly grateful for a friend like Danielle, who consistently showed concern for your well-being. It made you wonder why your life couldn't be filled with people like her instead of people like him. But no, the universe had different plans and had given you Niki, your classmate, or rather your enemy.

This rivalry with Niki had its roots all the way back to elementary school, and due to both of your stubbornness, it had been brought into your high school years. Poor Danielle found herself caught in this mess, being friends with both of you. You did feel bad for involving her, but the blame fell largely on Niki, who seemed to exist solely to get under your skin.

"Does... you-know-who... know about your injury? You guys walk to and from here together," Danielle hesitated, bringing up him in the conversation cautiously. You shook your head and replied, "No, not as far as I know. I actually left a bit early today—oh no."

Your hand instinctively moved to your forehead, the beginnings of a headache forming from the thought. Danielle let out a small gasp, concern evident in her expression. "What's wrong, YN? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine—wait, no, I'm not!"

"Why? What's the matter?"

"It's Niki! I just remembered that he's probably going to make fun of my injury for the entire two months." You slumped in your chair, already envisioning the scenarios in your mind. "That asshole."

“You actually got me worried!”

"Sorry, but this is something you should be worried about! Niki's constant teasing might be the end of me!"

"YN, you'll handle it. You both argue every day, anyway," Danielle said with a dismissive tone, not fully grasping how serious the issue felt to you. After all, Niki having another reason to mock you during class was far from trivial.

You sighed, realizing that you really wished for your arm to heal as quickly as possible.

In what seemed like no time at all, the second period arrived—a bit faster than usual. You hurried into the classroom, aiming to get into your seat promptly. But there was no use of that if he’s your seatmate! Just why couldn’t it be Danielle? You silently cursed your teacher for arranging the seating this way. More people started filling the classroom, and Niki’s unmistakable blonde hair caught your attention — he was walking your way.

His gaze fixed strangely on your arm as you withdrew it from the desk, letting it hang at your side. You deliberately avoided meeting his eyes, unwilling to deal with his presence at the moment. The scrape of his chair against the floor caught your ear, prompting you to take a deep breath. "Already pissed?" His voice carried a teasing tone, and you could practically feel the smirk in his words, causing you to roll your eyes.

“Aw, you got my routine down already?” You scoffed, placing your notebook on your desk. You were determined to shut out his annoying voice, but of course, life had other plans. "Seems like it. Just call it the Niki effect, I guess."

"Yeah, a real heartwarming effect," you replied monotonously, your attention shifting to the front of the classroom. In the corner of your eye, you could see him take out a notebook as well. You silently hoped he'd simply focus on his work and not pay attention to you, though it seemed he had different intentions.

“What’s up with your arm?” he points at your injured arm with his pencil. Now that made you wish you could snap that pencil in half. Nonetheless, you managed to maintain your composure, or at least tried to, as you responded calmly. "Oh, you know, just your typical arm-breaking experience. Nothing major—just a cozy two-month wait for it to return to normal."

"I didn't need a breakdown of your recovery process, but I suppose thank you for letting me know,” Niki remarked, adjusting his seat position. "Wouldn't expect any less from someone like you."

Holding onto your pencil, the pressure of it snapped its lead, and you clenched your teeth in frustration. "Do you ever know when to just keep your mouth shut?" you retorted, your tone edged with irritation.

"It's one of my finer qualities—maybe you should catch up," he shot back, a hint of amusement evident in his voice.

"Sure thing. Just do me a favor and stay quiet for two months, will you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "And what's in it for me?"

"Me sparing you from my rude remarks—just not like what you're doing right now."

“Can’t make any promises,” He dragged the last word, making you sigh. He smiled slightly, knowing he knew exactly how to piss you off.

The bell rang, and relief washed over you like a wave. Hastily gathering your belongings, you were so focused on getting out of the classroom that you failed to notice Niki's gaze on you. Slinging your bag over your shoulder, you headed toward Danielle. Unknown to you, Niki's attention lingered, a subconscious concern for your well-being flickering in his mind.

"Niki? Niki!" Jungwon tapped him on the shoulder, causing Niki to start slightly. Wait, what was he doing just now? Before he could analyze his actions, Jungwon pulled him from his thoughts. "You seemed out of it for a bit. Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I spaced out for a second. Let's not miss our third period, alright?" Niki hurriedly packed his things, walking alongside Jungwon, his earlier behavior still puzzling him.

Niki's earlier slip-up had him lost in thought, and it continued especially during P.E. class. His eyes were drawn to you, sitting on the bleachers with a bored expression, casually observing the movement of the others. Then, unexpectedly, you excused yourself and headed toward the nurse's office. Niki found himself continuing to watch you, his focus on you more than anything else around.

"Hey, Niki!" A familiar voice brought his attention away from you, just in time to see a ball hurtling his way. He attempted to react, but the ball had already hit his arm. Wincing, he gripped his arm, a small crowd forming around him. Mr. Kim scolded him, and Niki nodded in acknowledgment—it was his fault for not paying attention.

“Take this pass and go get an ice pack,” Mr. Kim said, already finishing up the pass for him. At first, he contemplated declining, but then he remembered that you were in the nurse's office.

This was the fastest he ever grabbed a pass. His movements were swift as he exited the gym and quickly navigated the route to the nurse's office, hoping he could arrive before you left.

He knocked on the door, and a soft voice invited him in. Stepping inside, he found you seated in one of the chairs. Your surprise was evident as you looked at him, his hand resting on his left arm—the same one you had injured. He observed as he grabbed an ice pack before making his way over to where you were sitting.

In the row of chairs, he left a space between you, taking a seat. Your voice broke the silence, teasingly suggesting, "Starting to think you're obsessed with me." Niki couldn't help but scoff lightly as he settled in.

While you weren't exactly off the mark with your comment, admitting such a thing to you was out of the question. He waved off your words with a dismissive tone, "Me? Obsessed with you? Sure, as if."

A quiet pause settled between you both, and subtle glances were exchanged. Breaking the silence, you remarked, "Seems like you're about to join me, huh?"

He looked at you with confusion etched on his face, only to glance down at his arm and yours—both injured in the same spot. Niki couldn't help but chuckle softly, acknowledging that you were right. "Well, not quite as bad as your situation."

"Shut up." Niki's laughter filled the air, and for the first time, you found his laugh endearing—a thought you quickly brushed off. You simply smiled at his boxy grin. Has his smile always been this charming?

Niki realized he had let his guard down, his throat clearing as he subtly corrected himself. He needed to maintain the distance he had always kept between you two—at least for now.

"What are you doing here?" you started to answer, but he interrupted himself, realizing his mistake. "I shouldn't have asked, I mean, look at your arm."

There was the Niki you still had so much hate for. "If I had both arms, I'd strangle you right here."

"But you can't."

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder, idiot—as if I wasn't already aware," you retorted, rising from your seat. He wouldn't be entirely honest if he didn't admit part of him wanted you to leave. It was strange, but he always felt a certain oddness when you weren't nearby. "Can't wait for you to make jokes about my injured arm at every given opportunity."

Your words sparked an idea in him, and as you turned to leave, he was already formulating a plan — his way of getting closer to you than before.

That's exactly what he did. Every chance he got to be near you, he seized it. His motives remained a mystery – was his plan to push you further away? If so, it was definitely working, as he managed to piss you off with every passing moment. Niki couldn't forget the way you clenched your teeth and let out exasperated sighs whenever he was around. He acknowledged he was being a nuisance, but was there really any other choice?

Could he just flip a switch and suddenly be friendly? That would be too suspicious, wouldn't it? Still, there was an inner push for him to say something decent for once.

And now, here he was, sitting beside you, gazing at your plain cast. Two weeks had already gone by – why hadn't anyone doodled on it yet? He hesitated before gently tapping your arm, causing you to look at him, your expression vacant. You were ready for him to bring up your arm again, almost as if you expected him to repeat his hurtful comments again.

“What? I swear if you make fun of my arm–”

"Can I draw on your cast?" He uttered the words, seemingly without a second thought, catching you completely off guard. Why this sudden change? Could he possibly be planning to write something embarrassing? Then again, your cast did look rather dull, almost too depressing to glance at. But, you still had your doubts.

“What? What if you draw something weird–”

“Come on, I’m not that terrible of a person.”

“Literally who do you think you are–”

“I’m your classmate, loser. Think I can’t be nice for once?” His words left you stunned, and you watched him retrieve a sharpie from his bag. He uncapped it, motioning for your arm to move closer to him. However, you found yourself hesitating, which prompted him to raise an eyebrow ever so slightly. "May I?" he asked.

You didn’t know what went through his head, and yours too! Before you knew it, you were extending your arm to him, watching as he concentrated on writing and drawing on your cast. He held it gently, clearly being cautious not to cause you any discomfort. You were undeniably intrigued by his actions, even though his presence was obstructing your view – not that you cared anyways.

Soon, he finished, closing the lid to his marker. The bell rang, almost as if on cue, causing him to hurry out of the classroom. It was as if the roles swapped, he was now the one rushing out quickly. His abrupt exit left you wondering – why was he so nervous? He didn’t know either, maybe he was suddenly being nice with his rival.

As you finally glanced at your cast, your eyes fell on the words he had written: "Hope you heal quickly, loser." Right beside the message was a small drawing of Shin-chan sticking his tongue out. This time you found yourself breaking into a smile, rather than being irritated.

"So you're telling me I could have been writing about your cast this whole time?" Danielle exclaims, her eyes fixed on the doodles now on your cast. She stops, examining the drawings more closely. "Hold on, isn't that Niki's handwriting?" Without giving you a chance to explain, Danielle is already teasing you mercilessly.

You knew you couldn’t argue back with her. After all, how could you explain the decision to let your rival draw on your cast? You gazed at the doodles once more, finding yourself involuntarily breaking into a small smile. Maybe, just maybe, you'd allow him to draw on your cast again.

Yeah, you were totally out of it.

[zootopiathingz]

My issue with Vaggie and her character

(TW: Opinion‼️)

I’ve been wanting to make a rant about this for a while and I’m sure other people have already done it, but I figured I might as well share my thoughts because I like to think my opinion matters to some people lmao. Anyway, I wouldn’t read this if you’re like a die-hard Vaggie/chaggie fan, but that’s up to you!

So I’m sure some of you by now heard the news that Charlie and Vaggie are getting another duet in S2 which apparently will be about their sex life. Which like, ok sure. In a show like this I expected a sexual-themed song to happen eventually. Here’s my issue with this though;

If you need to make an entire musical number about how much your main couple fucks, because of the severe lack of any hints of a sex life between them in the first season, then it’s not a good pairing, and this feels like a desperate attempt to give them chemistry that they just don’t have.

I saw someone say something similar on Twitter and I really couldn’t agree more. Some of you are going to say “you only say that because you don’t ship Chaggie!!” You’re right. I don’t ship them. Because there’s nothing there for me to root for. Like, at all.

Let’s start off with the fact that Vaggie has no personality outside of being Charlie’s girlfriend. I tried to like her character, I really did, but she’s honestly the most forgettable to me in the entire show. Some of you might disagree with me, but be honest and answer me this; can you name one interesting thing about her character that doesn’t involve her relationship with Charlie? And what she adds to the plot besides being Charlie’s “voice of reason”? (Which she’s not, she basically just gentle-parents Charlie into not doing things that Charlie wants to do)

Let’s take a look at some of the other characters in our main cast: Charlie, princess of Hell, desperately tries to help other people even when nobody believes in her cause. Alastor is a powerful overlord who’s supposedly helping out with the hotel, but clearly has ulterior motives that have yet to be revealed. Angel Dust is a famous porn star in an abusive relationship with his employer and is on a path to redemption himself. Husk is a former overlord who lost all his power to his gambling addiction and is now being forced to play bartender. Lucifer, the king of all Hell, a fallen angel who lost his will to dream, a shell of his former self. For fuck’s sake, even Lilith—whom we have yet to even hear speak—has a more compelling plot; she’s been gone for seven years, she’s in Heaven having made a deal with Adam and we have no idea why.

And what does Vaggie do exactly? She gives Charlie advice, she helps run the hotel, she.. occasionally threatens to hurt people with an angelic weapon (you know, the thing that kills souls for good?)

Ok so she’s also a fallen angel—a former exorcist in Adam’s army that leads to exterminations. Now that could have been an interesting plot point. It does explain a little why she’s so aggressive and skilled in combat. The scene with her practice-fighting Carmilla for answers was probably the most interesting scene that prominently features her. And even then, Carmilla kinda steals the spotlight for me, as I’m actually way more invested in her character and her background (seriously, why is she so knowledgeable about angelic weapons and Vaggie—the literal former angel herself—isn’t?)

This was honestly a twist I didn’t see coming, and it had so much potential to add more to Vaggie’s personality and character as a whole. Seriously, losing her wings and her fucking eyeball must’ve been severely traumatic. She might hold some grudge against Adam and Lute for abandoning her and tossing her aside like she was nothing, even after all that work she put in to be one of the top exorcists. She could maybe miss Heaven and even if she’s content living in Hell, a part of her will still always long to go back to what was once her home.

…But no, the entire reason she’s a fallen angel is just to create conflict between her and Charlie. And that barely lasted a whole episode.

Again, everything about her and her ‘personality’ all narrows down to Charlie. Not only is this a terrible foundation for the main couple of the series, it’s also just extremely unhealthy realistically speaking. Even episode 3 alludes to the toxicity of Vaggie thinking she has no purpose outside of helping and protecting Charlie. And I find it funny that Charlie is so taken aback, but she doesn’t actually say anything to correct Vaggie, because…it’s true.

It’s very frustrating for me to say this. Vaggie had so much potential to be at least a somewhat interesting character, but instead she’s always resorted to being Charlie’s partner/sidekick. Ik this has a lot to do with Vivziepop being terrible at writing female characters but imma be real, even Loona interests me more and they almost have the exact same traits (grumpy, aggressive, insecure, etc.)

I’m gonna try and wrap this up the best I can. Honestly guys, ship whatever you want but for me, Chaggie just has no appeal at all. For the first four episodes, I didn’t even know they were a couple. I assumed Vaggie had some sort of unrequited, unhealthy crush on Charlie. Hazbin Hotel’s writing is already kinda bad to begin with, but if I can’t tell that your main female leads are in a romantic relationship within the first few minutes of their screen-time, that’s really saying something. And I understand wanting more wlw relationships in media, but having two female characters together just for the sake of having a wlw relationship in your show is not good representation. You need to actually have chemistry between them, you need to make them compelling characters as individuals, and sadly Vaggie is too one-dimensional that, on her own, she has nothing going on, and I’m not rooting for her and Charlie.

And I’m sorry but I can already tell I’m going to cringe so hard at this ‘sexy’ duet between them next season💀

[hoodreader]

the upcoming months for nicki minaj (predictions).

i’m making this for practice.

to be honest, i don't feel like middle to end of september is going to be good for nicki minaj. and i think it's gon suck well into october too...

she has her twelfth house containing mars in capricorn. the tweflth house is the house of one's own self undoing. it's highly karmic, so we are often undone by things we refuse to accept and grow from. it's no surprise that nicki is quite terrible at expressing her anger and frustration... like... to be honest, this is all because she's quite insecure in reality.

mars is the planet of the root chakra, and the root chakra shows our survival and our sense of security, and hers is afflicted. as is it's a malefic, in the house of "bad spirit." it forms a mutual reception with her tenth house saturn in scorpio. she could be using it to learn how to properly direct her energy -- how to assert her authority. but she doesn't.

but she want everybody to bow to her and i think it's her tenth house saturn conjunct her ninth house pluto. the ninth house is the house of god. so i wonder if the tenth house lord being in the ninth house conjunct her tenth house saturn creates a god complex.

anyways. i think her insecurity is causing her to be paranoid and lash out on people but that's compromising her ability to create from a space that's not also insecure. to be real, i also think that's why her music ain't hitting like it used to. in this case, she lowkey embodying the myth of saturn. saturn can show how far someone will go to maintain power. that nigga literally ate his kids. and she always talking about how bitches her sons so... do the math.

this pluto in capricorn transit over her mars been showing just how paranoid she is. she been wanting to undermine others because she want to feel powerful but her spiritual "power bank" is again compromised.

and her twelfth house lord is in the tenth house. this shit is really impacting her legacy and her public reception. instead of gracefully solidifying herself as a legend & accepting that times change, she's conspiring against herself due to her paranoia. she also is a natal eighth house virgo moon. an overactive mind in the shadows of her mind is lowkey fucking with her.

there's going to be a transit moon, transit pluto, and natal mars conjunction in her twelth house on october 11th. i'm just throwing shit out... but the way the moon works is that as a luminary, it illuminates whatever house it's in. in the twelfth house, it can illuminate the ways she's undoing herself and thus undoing her career as a result of it?

there's going to be a lunar eclipse in her second house-eighth house axis on september 17th. i do not think it'll be nice to her. but that's because she's not nice to others and thus, she's not nice to herself. "when u hurt me u hurt urself." this lunar eclipse will be passing over the transit saturn rx in pisces in her second house. i haven’t yet thought about how the lunar eclipse will impact the saturn rx, but it does involve the nodes. and specifically the south node. the node of past life karma. of the body without the head. it’s baggage.

lunar eclipses illuminate things that were hidden within us. the transit moon will be in her second house, the sun will be in her eighth house conjunct her natal moon. which means her natal eighth house virgo moon will be opposing the transit pisces moon. true colors really finna show. i think this should be a dormant time for her. she don’t need to be tweeting, arguing, going live, nothing tbh. she already got natal indications for having baggage so it’d do nothing but illuminate it.

all-in-all, there's a lot of moon/mars/saturn/pluto energy concentrated.

transit moon in saturn's sign

transit pluto in saturn's sign

natal mars in saturn's sign

natal saturn in mars' sign

natal mars and saturn mutual reception

natal saturn and pluto mutual reception (i'm unsure if exalts count but her pluto is in libra)

et cetera.

some other things is her twelfth house south node in capricorn and her sixth house north node in cancer. i can’t yet think about how to connect that. but anyways. we'll see in due time.

edit: also she’s a huge fucking pick me & it’s that afflicted moon and moon-venus square. she need to work onnat. and maybe the lilith-venus conjunction. which sucks cuz if u know how to harness lilith energy a lilith-venus conjunction is so cool.

[logan-lieutenant]

i feel so high school (au) pt 2. charlos

anyway here are some high school aus for my fav f1 rpf ships and an exploration of who knows how to ball, and who knows aristotle

(based on american high school setups cause of the song)

theatre kid!charles/stage crew!carlos: probably goes without saying but carlos knows how to ball, charles knows aristotle (though maybe not in the traditional sense). so here we’ll have carlos as the stereotypical jock, plays like four sports and is the team captain in all of them, lowkey giving frat boy energy and is honestly the only reason the school has won a game in the last four years. he’s probably known for being the only guy who’s both like a jacked up gym-is-life bro and also an utter gentleman, he’s always the one holding open doors and giving up his seat. and he’s usually pretty quiet/disengaged but if anyone disrespects a female teacher you know for a fact he’s death staring them into a puddle until it stops. the only fight he’s ever gotten into was with a guy who was harassing a girl at a dance and wouldn’t let her go when she tried to pull away.

charles is like the school heartbreaker, because he can never seem to make a relationship work no matter how many times he tries… and it seems like he’s a player and he’s got a different girl every week which isn’t entirely false but he also just doesn’t know how to say no to anyone which is the root of the problem. anyway so yeah i’m making charles a theatre kid, like one who can fit pretty much any role but he prefers the classics (he’s the kind of guy who knows a shakespeare quote for pretty much any situation). he usually gets cast as the love interest whether he wants the role or not but he does get a lot of stage time which he’s happy with. he’s way more comfortable on stage than when he’s actually with people, and his looks get him pretty far but in reality he’s just really awkward and kind of shy and gets flustered so easily.

carlos is on stage crew because he needed to fill the “arts/language” requirement to graduate and stage crew counted as performing arts even though it’s all behind the scenes. so he’s there almost every day, spending more and more time as the shows approach helping build sets and man the ropes and (insert lots of other cool and technical stage crew activities here). so even they know of each other this is the first time their paths really cross and they meet.

this is going to be the most cliche romance ever. charles having breathless pearl-clutching moments of gay panic when carlos gets paint all over his shirt and stops to take it off, or lifts giant sandbags or ladders or planks around like they don’t weigh anything. except ofc charles is way too shy to say anything or make any kind of initiative move so he just finds excuses to stay longer after rehearsals, maybe he starts helping paint the sets/designs cause he’s not bad at visual arts (emphasis on alternate in this alternative universe). bonus if he makes friends with one of the stage crew girls and all of the sudden he’s got a new handler (“look around twink! everything in this office is either dead or dying even the therapy dog killed itself”) who is constantly rolling her eyes at BOTH of their inability to take a hint

this would be the kind of hc that involves dressing rooms and unexpected moments behind curtains etc.

[strawberrycarat]

I want to rant about those ‘leaks’ that are on the internet (about seasons to come, not season 2) and honestly it would disappoint me entirely if they ruin Cregan Stark. Like I really hope it’s just rumours and nothing else…

The Starks are and have always been ‘the goodies’ (every single people in Kingslanding knows that Starks never break their oaths - they’re loyal, noble, etc,. and for some reason they always repeat ‘winter is coming’ even if we’re in the middle of the summer leaving people like wtf?)

Anyways. The point is that Starks would never break an oath (and, as someone else pointed out, Jon breaking his own oath was indeed something that impacted through the series and the storyline). So, it makes sense that Cregan helps (even if it’s a little) Jace (because he respects the Oath from his father to king Viserys and Queen Rhaenyra)

it just doesn’t make sense the showrunners want to make Cregan a villain that supports Aegon - why would he accept Jace’s proposal then? I’m any case, he could’ve killed him by throwing him from the Wall while his dragon wasn’t near and send a raven to Aegon or something. That’s why it was so important to show us Jace/Cregan relationship (Cregan saw him as a brother because Jace reminded him his own death brother - they even made a blood pact - something even more solemn than a oath by words)

I’m any case, it makes sense Cregan being in Rhaenyra’s side and still be ruthless in The Hour of the Wolf but naming Aegon king for the history books. Here are my thoughts.

Cregan, unlike Ned Stark (RIP) didn’t seem to give second chances in this part of the Dance of the Dragons because he had a different background (let’s remember Ned’s downfall was trusting Littlefinger and warning Cersei). Cregan doesn’t trust anyone because he was betrayed by his own kin (his uncle wanted to stay in the power and he had to take what was rightfully his). He sees this child (the little brother of Jace - who he considered a brother) and I bet he wants to leave him in the best hands. Yes, Larys and Corlys killed Aegon, but that only showed that they could change their intentions in any given moment - he definitely needed to take that from the root - I think that’s why he wanted to execute all of those that were involved in the plotting to kill Aegon II. It was the usurper, but it was their king (how was Cregan supposed to trust them?)

Now, about him naming Aegon II as the official king in the history… i think it was probably to calm those who were still team green and avoid them to continue the war (he even married Aegon with Jaehaera to reinforce this). At the end, Aegon, Rhaenyra’s son, was sitting in the throne, and he had to take the most strategic decisions to keep that kid safe in the first moments of his reign. Because he owed it to Jace… because he made an Oath.

Anyways, let’s hope HotD doesn’t ruin Cregan, and let’s see what happens…

[tlou-reid]

scaredy cat ✰ jj maybank

warnings ✰ mentions of abuse, only what’s shown in the obx show this is my first piece of writing on this account please be nice lol

summary ✰ jj has a lot of fears, kooks make a lot of them come to surface

jj maybank has a lot of fears. most people, even his closest group of friends, wouldn’t believe this to be true. jj maybank tries to appear as fearless as possible; that’s his whole schtick. he drives really fast on his dirt bike. he has fought his own abusive, piece of shit father. he was arrested for something he didn’t do. he’s fought so many kooks. he stole a gun. he stole an ambulance. he’s done so many things that make him out to bethis fearless, adrenaline-searching, asshole.

but that’s not who jj maybank is. jj maybank is scared of losing his friends; that’s why he took the fall for pope, that’s why he stole an ambulance, thats why he stole the gun. he’s afraid of not being good enough, that’s why he sticks up for his friends so hard and drives so fast. he’s afraid of turning out like his dad. that’s why the resentment he had for his dad festered and he took a swing at the object of his fear. he has multiple deep-rooted fears that present in chaotic, dangerous ways.

that’s how he got where was his right now. you’d think he’d have learned by now not to fight at his job. or, jobs, he guesses. but damn, when the kookiest motherfuckers he’s ever seen waltz into the outer banks’ newest restaurant, where he was working as a food runner, his mood is already ruined. when they ogle their waitress, a sweet girl named Marlee that he’s seen around the cut, his hand starts to tense and his fists start to ball. but, when you walk in, wearing his muscle tank with a visible sports bra underneath, carrying a brown bag with his lunch in it, all of that negative energy seems to wash away. he notices when the kooks start to stare. he doesn’t mind stares, stares give him a sense of pride. yeah, he thinks, look at my fine ass girl that you’ll never get to touch.

but, then the stares turn into words. jj can tolerate stares, but he absolutely does not tolerate disrespect when it comes to his girl. just as you approach to hand him the bag, the kook boy in the baby pink shirt hollers, “damn, you can almost see her entire ass out of those shorts. good for us, though.” and, suddenly, jj’s looking right past you, straight to the table where 6 kooks were sitting, staring at you. “shut the fuck up, man”, jj shouts and waves an arm at them. you reach up to pull his arm out of the air “j, it’s fine, i’m only here to drop this off.” as you speak, you’re holding up the brown bag for him. “yeah, j, it’s fine. she’ll be leaving with us anyways.” one of them yell, mocking your tone.

and jj was off. he jumped right at them, not tolerating the way they were speaking about you. his fists were flying and the manager slammed the kitchen door. the older man races over, pulling jj off of the kook. “get the fuck out!” he shouts at jj, pointing to the door. jj glanced at the table of kooks, smirking at the black eye forming on pink-shirt’s face. he then glances at you, seeing your shocked expression. then, he turns around and walks out. you sheepishly follow, leaving the brown bag somewhere in the restaurant and avoiding the now-angry looks from the table.

“what the fuck was that?” you ask jj, not quite raising your voice but definitely in an authoritative tone. “i was protecting my girl.” he smiles like nothing is wrong. your fold your arms over your chest, “i wasn’t in danger.”

“yeah,” he moves forward to pull your arms apart and stand closer, “but you would’ve been if i didn’t stick up for you.”

and there it is. there’s the fear behind his actions. there’s the fear that drives the way he thinks. there’s the fear that dictates the outcome of any situation involving you: losing you. whether it be to a kook, or really any person in general, or if it’s you getting hurt. that was his fear. honestly, if you asked him and a managed to get a real answer out of him, he’d say that was his biggest fear.

“but where are you going to work now?” your priorities shift, basking in the sweet sentiment of him wanting to protect you, even if it wasn’t the best course of action. he just laughed, “i’ll figure it out. i always do.”

[heavencasteel420]

Okay. I’m gonna be a hater.

I’m not against St4ncy because of the association between their first time and Barb dying. If they were good together and she really wanted to be with him, then I wouldn’t be rooting for her survivor’s guilt to keep that from happening.

I’m also not against St4ncy because of the S1 graffiti, per se. From a writing perspective, I think the show over-egged the pudding by making both Jonathan and Steve do such shitty things to Nancy in S1. I believe the creators were mainly trying to make certain things happen plot-wise (there needs to be a photo of the demogorgon, the teen confrontation needs to be immediate and public so Jonathan and Nancy can end up at the police station) and trying to foreshadow Steve’s heel-face turn by making his objections to the photos more reasonable, and they did a clumsy job of it. And I think it’s basically fine for the creators, having realized that this was all too much, to quietly drop it. Such is the nature of multi-season TV. Realistically, it’s wild that Steve and Nancy would get back together a mere month after all of that, but, unless a shipper actually says stuff like “it’s not that bad that he would do that, because he was understandably upset” or “it was just vandalism,” I’m not going to assume that they’re chill with the graffiti.

That being said, the whole “Steve’s feelings were hurt because he thought he was being cheated on and he’s young and it was all Tommy’s fault anyway and he apologized” vs. “Jonathan had no motivations other than intrinsic badness and his youth is not a factor and his apology doesn’t count and his terrible home life is not only not an excuse but a justification for Steve’s tenuously connected shitty actions” thing has soured me on large swathes of Steve fans across the board. I’ve seen too much of the so-called real-life justice system to find this attitude anything other than disturbing. But this isn’t exclusively a St4ncy shipper problem. If anything, they at least usually like Nancy enough not to act like she’s somehow at fault for the photos because she forgave Jonathan later (???) or put her “cheating” on Steve on the same level as the guys’ worst S1 behavior.

My main reasons for disliking the ship (in an exclusive endgame kind of way; I’m cool with Stoncy most of the time and I think they canonically had some good times together) are way more subjective. The first reason is that Jonathan is my favorite and St4ncy shippers invariably don’t like or get him. This is predictable, although not inevitable; Jancy shippers don’t dislike Steve so uniformly, for example. So obviously that’s not gonna work out.

The second reason is that I just don’t find the things people like about their relationship very romantic or desirable. He’s protective of her, but that mainly seems to involve trying to keep her from doing things she believes she has to do or retaliating against others in ways she finds distasteful. There’s not a lot of awareness of her perspective. He wants to be with her “no matter what,” with no consideration for the obstacles, but those obstacles seem to include “what she wants” and “what they are both like as people.” I’d get it more if he was like “I don’t know what the future will bring, but I’d like to give this a chance in the short term” or “listen, I can figure out what to do with my life in Boston as well as anywhere else,” but instead he just does not seem to know her at all or be thinking about what they would do as a couple in the immediate future. After a point, that’s just being in love with the idea of being in love.

Also—and I am not trying to be catty here—I think it’s kind of silly to compare his romantic dreams with Jonathan having reservations due to trauma, poverty, and family obligations. That’s not so much a testament to Steve loving her more as it is an indication that he is relatively unburdened by material concerns. He may be broke, but he’s not dealing with entrenched multi-generational poverty. I’m not saying these things to suggest that Nancy would be wrong to break up with Jonathan—sometimes love isn’t enough—or that Steve is less deserving of love because his life is easier, but I am saying that Steve was kinda born on third base here.

I am not convinced that Steve would do “anything” for Nancy! Nor do I think that he should! That is not a good or sexy dynamic in an equal romantic partnership to me! They should both have other principles and goals of their own! (Also. Is the guy who wouldn’t revise his college essay in S2 really gonna move to Boston for her? I think he’s changed, sure, but not in that particular way.)

[snapscube]

hihihi ok. so i’m in my last of us fixation mode and i’m being extra silly about it but i NEED to know what’s ur current opinion on the last of us hbo?? also i logged onto tumblr and saw a lot of rly good points defending joel’s final choice and i remember during the last of us pt1 playthrough u had differing opinions so i wonder if u think the show’s differences affect that at all? btw i LOVE ur stuff and cannot wait until u do last of us pt 2 wehehehehe!!! anyway besides all that i just want u to know that u are one of the things in my life that makes it easier to get up in the morning

I still feel exactly the same about the final events as I always have! The show didn't change it for me, and actually being able to remove myself from being in control of the situation in the game and actually just watch the events play out in show format solidified that further. The connection I have to Joel as a player when I play the game really helps me understand his perspective more and stomach the goal a bit more easily, but without that immediate intimacy it puts into perspective for me how kinda monstrous the whole thing is from every angle. Obviously I don't ever lose that sympathy for him, and I never stop understanding why, because the whole point of the conflict is that no one is in the right. Ultimately I think the damning thing for every single person involved is that they removed Ellie's agency from the equation, and I still stand by that. They all should have talked to her. They should have told her the truth. All she wants is for her immunity to matter, and I believe that they may have been surprised at the lengths she's willing to go in order to make a difference, whether it's ultimately the right call or not.

I don't know what arguments you've seen exactly in defense of Joel's choice, but personally I don't really agree with one I see a lot and I'd expect will pop up again now that the show is over, which is the whole "well who's to say a vaccine would have worked anyway?????" angle. I think, while reasonable from a meta standpoint, completely ignores the intended framing of the story in order to more conveniently justify a protagonist that the story through its entire runtime is trying to tell you is a little bit of a piece of shit. It's pretty clear and safe to assume that the ultimate intent here is that... yes, the vaccine WOULD have worked. Maybe not in the sweeping way they hoped, but Ellie's sacrifice absolutely would have done something. The whole moral dilemma of the situation really does not make any sense unless you give them that as fact imo.

So then, assuming that is true, you have to wrestle with the idea that Joel is willing to take down the entirety of humanity for Ellie. And not really for Ellie, because none of this is what Ellie wanted. The game AND the show QUITE LITERALLY SPELL OUT for us that Ellie really really really does not want to go back to Jackson without finishing what they started, regardless of the cost. Joel's reasons for saving Ellie, while understandable, are ultimately selfish and rooted in his own trauma and having just seen the light at the end of his grieving over Sarah. Again, incredibly sympathetic, but it's selfish. I know we like to joke as much, but Ellie IS NOT his daughter. They share a similar bond after everything they go through, but by the end of the game you can already feel Ellie pulling away from that notion because she's starting to realize Joel doesn't have the same commitment to the idea of her immunity being meaningful as she does, they're only a few miles away and he's already asking her to give up and go back to Jackson with him.

Then, of course, I think what ultimately damns Joel in my eyes on a poetic/storytelling level is his decision to lie to Ellie after it's all over. That's the nail in the coffin for me. It would be one thing if he said "they were going to kill you on that operating table without even telling you what was going on and I couldn't let them do that", but instead he lies to her to make sure she's still able to see him as the father he desperately wants to be again. It doesn't change anything. He tells her her worst fear has come to pass: her immunity, this unexplainable thing that has taken so many of her loved ones from her, is completely useless. Not only that, but now even more people are dead. Including Marlene, who's known her since birth. The only thing his lie changes is the fact that he's responsible for it all.

Anyway, part of what I love most about The Last of Us Part II is how it follows up on these threads and you may be pleased to know that I actually just started streaming the game last night after the HBO finale premiered cause I was so pumped up I couldn't wait any longer haha. So you'll be seeing VODs for that soon :)

[calissarowan]

So, since @lonelybiscuits has started writing their super awesome one-shots using my Gantlos half-vampire headcanon, I’ve been getting far more into it, and thinking over the lore a bit. I did a post about it a long time ago, but some stuff is being tweaked, especially due to the fact I’m not as squeamish over the idea of Gantlos hunting anymore. So, I might do a post with some more lore surrounding his family, if anyone would like to see that. (I used to have an oc that was his sister, but she doesn’t really come up in anything, so she may have fallen by the wayside. If anyone actually remembers her, let me know.)

Anyway, today I wanted to talk about his vampire/wizard physiology a little, namely him switching between his two sides.

So, most of the time, Gantlos looks…I’m gonna say human? He doesn’t look supremely normal, but neither do Ogron or Duman, so…human. We’re going with human. (We don’t really have a species label for Duman, but I don’t think he needs one. Also, Anagan does look human. I’m so with @spilledmilkfkdies when they say he’s ‘just some guy, in the nicest way possible’.)

Gantlos could be human or vampire, depending on what he chooses, but people tend to take ‘human’ way better than ‘blood-drinking immortal monster’, so he’s human most of the time, even if he’d be much stronger in battle as a vampire. Though he’d also be far more vulnerable to sunlight, so that’s not good when you’re fighting the Fairy of the Shining Sun. Plus, if someone got hurt and started bleeding, he’d have a hard time keeping himself under control, and if he couldn’t force himself back into human form, he might just have to run so he didn’t try and kill anyone.

But there are some times when Gantlos can’t stay human. The first, as I showed in my one-shot, is during a blood moon. This is pretty much the same as werewolves during a full moon, except the changes are more gradual, and Gantlos is fully aware of everything happening to him. He can try and stay human, and there are ways he can, but they all involve pretty dangerous levels of sunlight which, while it can keep him in human form, also burns him and makes him weak and sick, so his friends put a firm stop to that a while ago.

The second is rooted in actual biology. So, during the fight-or-flight response, adrenaline is released, and this causes changes such as a raised heartbeat, increased blood sugar, and higher blood pressure. The point of all these changes is to optimise the body for fighting or running away. Now, Gantlos is evidently more equipped for both of those things with vampire speed, strength and agility, and so, when he experiences high levels of adrenaline, his vampire side starts to come out. Sharper fangs, longer claws, etcetera. This is why, in the series, sometimes he has fangs and claws, and sometimes he doesn’t. He’s got a lot of adrenaline, and he can only keep so much control. Also, if Gantlos were to experience a panic or anxiety attack, since his body would be responding as though in actual danger, and adrenaline may be released, the effects would be similar. Also, I imagine if Gantlos had a panic attack, he’d wind up unleashing seismic waves out of panic, so that would be doubly bad.

I hope you thought this was interesting! I’m pretty happy with the link to adrenaline I came up with, since that feels like it actually makes quite a bit of sense. If anyone has any questions about this headcanon, please do ask! I love answering them!

[troutfur]

Oh I ended up missing the first window! The preference for female characters has made me realize how the (permanent) members of Thunderclan's Augur den in Augur!Frostfour AU is a no boys zone between Frostflower, Yellowfang, Brightheart and Cinderstream LOL. Moth Flight must be rooting for them somewhere in Starclan.

So the prompt: A light-hearted scene where Brightpaw tells her mom Cloudpaw will be her future husband. Frostflower's frustrated while Brightpaw is in her rebellious 'no one understands me MOM' phase. Set pre-dog attack.

Hope that fits the bill as a recursive AU of To Aaron and his sons! I've also been trying to put together a prompt for the Tanistry AU but canon WC leadership is so male dominated this guy is struggling.

Hi, hi, hi! Glad to see you back!

Oooh, I love this. This is gonna be good. I don't have much prologue today so let's jump right in!

(I still very much am in need of prompts, so if you wanna help me get to November 30th, read my guidelines and give me one.)

“Brightpaw,” Frostflower said with a heavy sigh as she turned away from the piles Cinderpaw and her had been hunched over sorting and towards her other daughter.

Time had seemed oportune to discuss her daughters’ future when during the middle of an herb sorting session Brightpaw had come in complaining about sore pads. With Thornpaw and Brackenpaw taking care of ThunderClan’s foreign relations and a deputy old enough to have been Cinderpaw’s mentor, the rare opportunity had been presented for them to take a tom as a mate just because they fancied them. But having heard the name that’d just come out of her warrior apprentice daughter’s mouth she was now more than ever understanding why matriarchs and patriarchs often had to be the ones arranging the matches.

“I urge you to reconsider,” she continued. “I really want to believe you can be trusted with the priviledge to choose your own mate instead of leaving me to arrange it for you. It would be a shame that you let this opportunity go to waste due to a fleeting attraction to a troublemaker.”

“It’s not like that,” Brightpaw insisted. “Cloudpaw is not just a troublemaker. What’s your problem with him anyway? Weren’t you on Fireheart’s side when he brought him into the Clan?”

“That was before he gave me a reason to regret it,” she replied. “He’s rude, barely shows the bare minimum of piety, speaks out of turn all the time, he even betrayed the Clan once already! I really would think that whatever you find charming of him would be greatly eclipsed. He’s not even got an attractive pelt for you to be so set on him.”

“He came back to us,” Brightheart countered. “He’s hard working, he’s talented, he’s brave, and the deputy’s son. So what if he is not afraid to speak his mind? If you listened to him you’d know he’s right sometimes. And with an attitude like that he would make a great deputy to Firestar.”

“There is such a thing as impertinence, Brightpaw,” Frostflower said. “And from the looks of it, it’s rubbing off on you. For all their virtues Fireheart and Cloudpaw share this flaw. And it’d be a shame for you to embarass our great lineage by emulating that kind of kittypet behavior.”

“Why do you have to be so hard on them all the time?” Brightpaw said. “Don’t you see how much work Fireheart puts into running the Clan? He’s more of a leader than Bluestar at this point!”

Frostflower looked down at Cinderpaw’s twisted leg. Although her anger with Fireheart had mostly subsided it was still hard to accept how quickly her trust in him had resulted in this. Cinderpaw gave a glare at her mother as she caught her staring. Ever since that argument moons ago that even Bluestar had to get involved in she really couldn’t voice her thoughts on the situation without her daughter turning defensive of her former mentor.

“I need to be a harsh critic of them if they’re going to overcome their natural tendencies and become great ThunderClan warriors,” Frostflower settled on as her response. “I’m not asking that you stop being Cloudpaw’s friend or that you stop being fond of him. Only StarClan knows when Bluestar will allow you and your sister to swap positions again so you will likely end up being denmates for a while longer. I just ask you to consider your choice of mate better.”

“Cloudpaw is my choice,” Brightpaw insisted.

“Why don’t you try and get closer to Ashpaw instead?” she suggested. “I know he can be a little reserved and quiet but surely that just means he’d be more amenable to listening to you. Don’t you think that would be a better quality to look in the father of the next generation of patricians?”

“If you’re not going to listen to me I’m leaving,” Brightpaw declared as she turned around back into camp.

Frostflower gave a deep and prolonged sigh before turning towards Cinderpaw. It was a cold comfort, but at least with Brightpaw set on taking Cloudpaw as a mate she was sure her other daughter could not pick anyone worse. And with the tense atmosphere in the air still hanging between them they set out to continue their work.

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group I Round 3: #I8 vs #I2

#I8: “I’m sick of being a tragic girl, so we’re gonna punch god in the face!”

#I2: Three girls start a fun club and get into shit

Details and poll under the cut!

#I8: Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero (Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru)

Summary:

In her everyday life, Yuuna Yuuki is a hero. As proof, she is in her middle school's Hero Club, where she does her best to help others and bring a smile to everyone's face.

But Yuuna, always up to any task, is about to become an even bigger hero. Mysterious destructive forces called Vertexes begin threatening the world she loves, and the Hero Club is called upon by a strange phone app to save it. Along with her best friend Mimori Tougou, as well as sisters Fuu and Itsuki Inubouzaki, they must transform into magical girls in order to battle the Vertexes.

In between studying and putting on shows for kids, Yuuna and the Hero Club must fight for the very existence of their world and face the harsh truths behind their own powers, all the while discovering what it truly means to be a hero.

Propaganda:

I adored this show from the moment I watched it because throughout it all, it’s hopeful. These girls go through a lot. A LOT. A lot of horrible, horrible things, and yet they bounce back. These girls bounce back pretty much every single time and do anything to help their friends do the same. To me, that is insanely inspiring.

The cast of characters here are also insanely compelling. They feel like actual, real friends—doing things together, hanging out, comforting each other and laughing with them all the same. This point I feel helps that sense of hope this show has absolutely.

The character designs in general too are absolutely breathtaking, and are nothing like I’ve ever seen from any other magical girl anime. Also, one last thing: this show’s soundtrack is done by MONACA. MONACA is also known for doing the first two NieR games. Take that what you will :)

Trigger Warnings: Flashing Lights, Self-Harm, Suicide

#I2: Asobi Asobase - workshop of fun -

Summary:

During recess, Olivia, a foreign transfer student who doesn’t know English, plays a game of “look-the-other-way” with Hanako Honda, a loudmouthed airhead. Their rowdy behavior spurs the ire of Kasumi Nomura, a deadpan loner constantly teased by her older sister for her tendency to lose games.

Not willing to compete, Kasumi declines Olivia’s offer to join the fun, but eventually gets involved anyway and dispenses her own brand of mischief. Soon, a strange friendship blossoms between the peculiar trio, and they decide to form the “Pastime Club,” where they are free to resume their daily hijinks.

Propaganda:

It’s really funny and hilarious and kind of hard to pin down the demographic and who they were trying to get to watch the show because the girls uniforms are ugly, they make ugly faces and funny noises, and one of the main characters has a strong fear/disgust of men. I live and then I had a really fun time watching it because it’s so out of pocket with the stuff they do.

Trigger Warnings: Gender Identity/Sexuality Discrimination.

One character is implied to be a trans girl and is called out for it by the main characters in a way that suggests they are uncomfortable with it. Her boyfriend is okay with it, though.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

[humanrindswrites]

goldilocks

summary: reader wants to play with corey's hair before he cuts it short again

pairing: corey taylor x female reader/oc

warnings: fluff, sweetness, hair brushing, kisses

word count: 657 words

originally posted to ao3 july 12 2022

“Please, babe?” she asked him, giving him her biggest puppy dog eyes.

“Please what?” he asked back, trying to focus on the show on the TV.

“Lemme do something with your hair while it’s long,” she said as she shuffled closer to him on the sofa. 

“Like what? It doesn’t involve scissors or dye, does it?”

He took her hands and gently pulled her into his lap, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist as she ran her fingers through the ends of his hair.

“No, nothing like that,” she quickly reassured him. “I just wanna play with it for a little before you end up cutting it all off again.”

She trailed her fingertips across his jaw and watched as he leaned into her touch like a cat and gave her a soft smile.

“Hmm, I do like it when you play with my hair,” he said contentedly, almost purring as he savoured the feeling of her skin on his.

“So that’s a yes?”

He leaned forward to close the tiny gap between them and kissed her softly, letting his lips linger against hers.

“I could never say no to you, sweetheart,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper as his breath gently tickled her skin.

“Okay, wait here,” she said as she climbed out of his lap and ran off to grab his hairbrush from the bathroom.

When she returned, armed with a hairbrush and a couple of hair ties, she took her place in his lap again and faced him.

“I’m going to be so sad to see all this beautiful hair go,” she said as she ran her fingers through his locks and gently pulled a couple of knots out.

“You really like me with long hair, huh?” he asked with a soft laugh.

“I like you with all different lengths of hair,” she said as she started to brush through the ends. “But long hair is definitely my favourite.”

“I’ll make sure we hold a funeral for it when it’s cut,” he teased.

She gasped in mock offence and took the brush away from his hair.

“You’ll do no such thing!” she said melodramatically. “That’ll just make me even sadder.”

“I’m just messing with you, sweetheart,” he said softly before tenderly kissing her forehead.

They sat in a comfortable silence as she brushed his hair, starting at the very ends and working her way up to the roots, making sure to lightly massage his scalp with the bristles. The repeated motions were so relaxing that he felt his eyes get heavier and his body get lighter as if he was about to drift off to sleep.

“Are you falling asleep, Corey?” she asked him, snapping him out of his daze.

“Just a little,” he said contentedly as he sat up straighter so she could get the back of his head better.

“Feel good?” she asked, her voice soft.

He hummed in agreement and wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, pulling her closer to him as she put the brush down and started to fluff out his hair with her fingers.

“What’re you cutting it for this time, anyway?”

“Just bored of it I guess,” he answered with a shrug. “Short hair fits better with the new mask, too.”

“Yeah, I can see that, but I like it when your hair pokes out the back of your masks,” she said as she gathered the ends of his hair in the palm of her hand and scrunched them up towards his scalp, making more defined curls.

“Well, now you’ve got me second-guessing myself,” he said as he leaned into her touch.

“So you’ll keep it long?” she asked, shooting him her puppy dog eyes again. “For me?”

“We’ll see,” he said before kissing her softly, his lips warm against hers as he caressed her back.

“Please? You’re so pretty with it," she mumbled against his mouth.

“Not as pretty as you, though.”

[waitmyturtles]

I am hardcore traveling at the moment, and my watch schedule has gotten all kinds of messed up (I still haven’t watched the latest episode of Be My Favorite, EGADS), but anyway, I have thoughts about another show on my mind at the moment: I didn’t have Wi-Fi on this ultra-long flight I took last night, so I could NOT live-blog the FIVE EPISODES I was able to slam out of Manner of Death for the OGMMTVC. And I was DYING because all y’all and I know that this is SUCH A LIVE-BLOGGABLE SHOW, AAAAHHH!!!, so let me just see if I can remember everything I wanted to write about in my travel haze that I usually live-blog during my very late hours (I’m caught up to episode 10):

- Bun and Tan: PRIORITIZE THE SEX *BEFORE* CHECKING THE LAPTOP Y’ALL STOLE FROM THAT CAR YOU SMASHED, obvi

- I KNEW Inspector M would come around

- Um, REALLY LOVED the elder uncle looks that Inspector M was giving Bun and Tan in the safe house after the fake shooting, lol

- So are That and Sorawit a side couple?! SMART MOVE for a not-BL

- KIND OF OBSESSED with the lovey music during Bun and Tan’s romantic scenes, like — this show hasn’t forgotten its roots, whatever those roots are (BLs? CSI?)

- I kinda think Rungtiva is somehow involved in the whole crime ring. She can take in a whole bunch of trafficked women? AND ask why they need to leave her place afterwards? A little sus. I hope I’m wrong, because I love her outfits

- Speaking of outfits, I like how MoD is quietly repping rural Thailand. I LOVE shows set in the country or outside of Bangkok — ATOTS, MLC, The Promise (not the show, just the setting, ha), ITSAY, the parts of BBS in the eco-village. Even Dew the Movie was revealing by way of setting. I really appreciate seeing clothing more akin to ethnic Thai clothing choices — reminds me of watching Indian movies and shows

- There is a SURPRISING amount of food in this show, for which I am very grateful, and

- Just, MaxTul. Love them. So my read right now (without having finished the show yet) is that I think Max is the better actor. When I was looking up Viangpha Mork, I came across a Reddit post on MoD that commented on Tul having this tic where he kinda takes a half a breath and looks up before saying his lines, which made me lol a bit, and doesn’t really bother me, but it’s like, he *does* need a second before he says anything, and I’m not sure it’s intentional for Bun. But I’m not complaining, I just think it’s funny that I saw that about him. Max, on the other hand — he’s GREAT, and I think they’re both so much improved from Together With Me.

- Oh, one more point. Bun and Tan: CLEARLY INVINCIBLE. Too many injuries to count!

I am TOTALLY into this show. Going from ITSAY to YYY to MoD has been a damn SWING, but a fun one, and it’s just extremely cool to watch a show where a romance aspect is not necessarily the center of the show. More on this analysis in my write-up, but like 3 Will Be Free, queerness here is inclusionary, and not the central point of the plot. I just love the structure, and ABSOLUTELY see how it precedes KinnPorsche. More soon as I finish it out over the next few nights.

[victorluvsalice]

-->While Smiler was bopping away, Victor had finished his upgrading, so I had him transportalate down to the greenhouse, change into more appropriate clothes, and start tending all the plants (a process made a little bit harder today by his bees being angry about life and stinging him occasionally). Alice, meanwhile, was stopped from going out to shower in the rain (Erratic Sims…) and forced to finish her breakfast and take a quick wolf nap to calm her instincts before I sent her out to feed Toothy the cowplant and the poor starving chickens. Fortunately going out in the thunderstorm didn’t make her scared (one of the few perks of a Sim being Erratic) – though it did break her umbrella, so that wasn’t great. Despite this, though, she got everybody fed, cleaned out the coop, and got all five eggs waiting in said coop without incident. Feeling both proud of her for staying on task and bad that I'd made her work in the rain, I then directed her to head inside and up to her and Victor’s bedroom, before having her change into her outfit with the Delicate “bad mood calming” bracelet and start working on her latest book again (the mystery “Who Stole The Tarts?” in case you need a reminder – I did!). She plugged away at that for a bit while I checked in on Victor – he’d finished all his tending, so I decided to have him super-sell his garden –

After he’d bonded with his bees to stop them being so angry. And after he’d evolved his taro root. And after he’d gathered soy wax off his soy plant. And after he’d gotten a pee – which involved him magically fixing the downstairs toilet because at some point it broke (I think the moment he tried to sit down on it, in fact). And after he’d given Surprise a lecture on scratching the furniture. I’m saying it took a WHILE to get to super-selling all that produce. XD But he did get there eventually, poor guy!

-->And then I looked at Alice again and noticed her Fury was getting really high because, despite her bracelet’s best efforts, her “gotta be outside” werewolf instincts were giving her lip. I quickly sent her out into the backyard (fortunately the rain had calmed down to a drizzle at this point, AND her umbrella was back in good repair) and had her somber howl to lower her Fury – then, deciding I wanted to be extra safe on a party day, sent her back up to the séance room to meditate the rest of it away. Smiler, meanwhile, was finally allowed to stop dancing for the camera (I’d left them like that for a while because, uh, it was just easier ^^;) and upload the video to their production station so they could start editing it and adding effects and transitions and all that jazz. Victor, for his part, finished his super-selling at last – I immediately made him Repairio the wind farm (those things break SOOO MUCH) and smash up a twisted tendril growing outside Moory’s pen before having him harvest the prairie grass in said pen. XD No rest for the wicked – or the magical! Though he got a pretty good harvest out of the prairie grass – not only did he bundle up plenty of hay, he also found a bottle of potato nectar – and a bottle of VITALITY nectar. AKA the nectar that can deage Sims and bring ghosts back to life. O.o So yeah, that right there? That is the GOOD stuff. Have to remember to get him to store it in the aging racks later!

-->Anyway – while Victor was getting that done, Smiler uploaded and hyped their finished video (just in time for it to be included in the royalty money for the day, nice), then ran downstairs to lecture Shock for scratching furniture and drinking from puddles. I couldn’t get a good picture of either as Shock kept running away from Smiler to do something else as they tried to lecture her (like going to drink from puddle in the bathroom while Smiler was trying to tell her no scratching the living room chairs), but the lessons DID take, and Shock has learned not to do either thing anymore. Hooray! I then had Smiler mop up all the puddles around the place and take a quick shower as I checked in on Alice – to my delight, she was completely Fury-less! Yay! :D And even better, I quickly discovered an activity to keep her busy while I tried to wrangle Smiler and Victor (Smiler, finished with their shower, was trying to mold the clay blob in the bathroom from last episode while Victor wanted to chat with them) – the laundry! The hamper was starting to look a biiit full, so I had her search everyone’s pockets, then load up the washer with the clothes and a chrysanthemum and set them tumbling. Victor and Smiler had headed back up to Smiler’s room to dance to the tunes coming out of their radio at this point, so I just had Alice head up and join them for a little dance party –

[rruhlreviews]

Film Review - IT Parts 1 & 2 (2017 and 2019)

I have not read the book IT or watched the older movie adaptation, so my only point of reference for this story is the two films from 2017 and 2019. I suppose I should preface this review by saying I wasn’t a huge fan. In general, I’m not a horror movie watcher, despite writing horror and reading it. There’s something about the visual aspect that takes it to a different level from the written word, where the fear feels more imaginary because it really is all in your imagination; you can’t see it or hear it. Horror is a genre, like romance, in which personal boundaries and tastes play the utmost role in one’s enjoyment of a story. I’m not a fan of stories that involve kids getting hurt, so this was never going to be for me. The Shining was different, maybe because it was more focused on the adults and Danny was never hurt too bad. The casual ableism and homophobia, especially in Part 2, left a bad taste in my mouth with the escaped mental hospital killer and “bury your gays” tropes. Anyway, while this movie was not for me, clearly it was for a lot of people given the blockbuster success. I’ll say right away that Stephen King’s name was a significant player in the success of IT. He's such a well-known horror author that someone brand new to the genre is likely to pick up something by him first, and longtime fans are going to eat up anything that comes out with his name on it. Let’s focus on the story, though. In a character driven story, it is the strength of the characters and the compelling dynamics and motivations between them that turn IT into a popular tale.

People love an underdog story. The group call themselves “The Losers,” and you can’t get more underdog than that. In this unbelievable world with alien fear entities, the characters’ motivations are touching and perfect in their simplicity. Someone wants to know what happened with his little brother’s disappearance. Someone wants to escape her abusive father. Someone has hidden romantic feelings for someone else. I remember when IT Part 2 came out, I had a friend who was obsessed with the characters, specifically Richie and Eddie. They don’t get a happy ending, but there’s enough potential there to capture an audience’s imagination, especially an audience that wants to see more LGBT+ characters; 2019 wasn’t a long time ago, but still in 2024, there aren’t a lot to choose from. Catharsis is an appealing emotion for an audience to crave, and has been for all of human history. Tragedy is one of the oldest artforms, going all the way back to Ancient Greece, progressing through Shakespeare, and coming to our modern emotionally motivated genres. For an example on this timeline closer to IT, there’s Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes with the unsettling circus that preyed on a fear of aging. Compared to First Blood, IT has a pretty simple perspective on the good vs. evil theme, and it works wonderfully for the story being told. IT shows that you can have a book or movie with very popular, very old plot types and themes and still make it unique and appealing.

Even more basic than anything else mentioned before, down to the roots of the horror genre: IT is about people who want to confront a fear. The 21st century has been characterized by widespread anxiety. Economic downturns, climate crisis, wars across the world, censorship, backwards movement in human rights, and an entire plague. An audience seeks a safe environment to process fear and see it defeated in a tangible sense. The different ways Pennywise manifests in the film reflect our cultural fears: disease, hate crimes, loss of loved ones that we felt should have been preventable. And yes, the less abstract and existential ones like spiders and clowns. IT permeates our pop culture. I knew who Pennywise was long before delving into the movies. I wonder, were clowns a big fear before IT, or did it cause a surge in clown related fears? Does anyone remember the weird scary clown incidents from 2016?

There’s something interesting to be said about horror movies, which contain characters who are meant to be so grotesque and avoided at all costs, being turned into cute consumer goods. I was at the mall today and saw two different stores with displays with backpacks, shirts, and plushies of horror movie baddies like Jason, Chucky, and Pennywise. If you go online, you can find hundreds of results for smut with these creepy villains in less than one second. I am not shy to say I’m a monster enjoyer, but I can’t say I personally get the appeal of some of these more gruesome things like Pennywise. I never watched a horror movie like IT before and I don’t intend to again. I’m content with tamer shows like The Twilight Zone, and my Halloween decorations include classic monsters like skeletons, ghosts, and vampires. This all being said, I salute those with an interest in the creepy clowns and dolls and demons that I avoid, just like I’m sure there are others who like visceral horror but shy from the gothic tales and psychological thrills I prefer. Maybe preference doesn’t have to have an explanation. There doesn’t have to be deep literary analysis or audience psychology to study— “I just think it’s neat” is reason enough to enjoy a character or story! The horror genre is so varied, and it’s a wonderful thing. There’s a story for every fear that anyone is trying to confront, a story to excite anyone’s macabre fancies, and a special villain for every villain lover.