#but you clearly dont have a technical background

[dramallamas]

Rewatching Beyond Evil and I’m taking (somewhat) unserious notes! Enjoy my brain worms.

Episode 1 || Next Episode

Ooooo dead body

Mad to think that when I first saw Jihoon’s actor he was playing a bully. This is a complete 180 and he does both roles well.

Intense middle aged running with intense music

(Spongebob style) Flashback~

Ah a church. You will never catch me there

The song they’re singing is oddly fitting to the theme of the show sans the whole God thing

We don’t stan Dongsik slander in this household.

Lee Dohyun <3

The signs in this flashback. The shot of the guitar pick, Kang Jinmuk being seen a lot but in the background, Bang Juseon being rude to Dongsik, Dongsik telling Yuyeon to leave at night (aka he had “motive”) etc

Lee twins crumbs I love it.

The cold filter when Dongsiks mum finds yuyeons fingertips nice touch

The title being “(to) Appear" mwah nice

Love the shots of how everything is “worse”when we transition to Dongsik now

Oct 11 2020 remember that me

HERE HE IS ITS JUWON

Dongsik saying stop in english <3

Pls the dramatic slow mo 🤣

Dongsik is a true justice/law upholder. Never letting things slide if its wrong. He and juwon are alike in that sense.

“Many a mickle makes a muckle” netflix what does that mean???? Like i get it but ive never heard that saying in my life

Everyone turns to see Juwon par Dongsik… that is until he speaks.

Juwon judging people and things right off the bat. Bro is not amused.

Technically Juwon is higher rank than Dongsik because Dongsik is assistant inspector and Juwon is flat out inspector

Dongsik immediately knew something was up as soon as he heard who Juwon’s dad is.

Juwon’s first impression of Dongsik is that he is intelligent and follows the law like rulebook when dealing with people (ofc he also thinks he is a murderer and should avoid someone like him and has already decided he hates his guts)

The tension starts as soon as Juwon drives past Dongsik. They immediately are making notes on each other

YOO JAEYI MY GIRLBOSS BELOVED. She is so much more clever than people give her credit for.

Jeongje and Dongsik being best friends…

OH JIHWA ^^

I love the manyang crew interactions.

“He’s not my type” not now… but he will be. you have no idea whats coming for you, Dongsik

Ew Hna Kihwan

I love these dinner scenes with Juwon. They so clearly reflect him and his attitude at the time as well as his relationship with his dad as well as how they change over the show.

아버지 and not 아빠 really emphasises the father-son relationship they have (or lack thereof)

Their first interaction and they already dont like each other.

Everyone sucking up to Juwon and trying to work with him and hes like yeah… no. Y’all are weird.

THEN GETS OFFENDED WHEN DONGSIK SAYS HE DOESNT WANNA WORK WITH HIM LMAOO

so hes like… two can play at this game bitch and calls Dongsik a nutjob.

Their reaction when Sangbae pairs them up is top tier

Juwons inner thoughts: “Day one… fuck my life”

Dongsik started teasing Juwon off the bat

They both have a super impressive memory wtf

“There are no secrets in this town. You are always being watched by someone.”

Dongsik nags Juwon about his aggressive driving and immediately drives aggressively because he can

Ah the reed field…

Juwon traipsing through the mud was me last week when I had to walk home (our area flooded)

We dont give the score for this show enough credit its so good like

“Why did you just stand there when a gust of wind was coming? You’ll learn once it slaps you in the face.” Metaphorrrrrrr

Juwon is already accusing Dongsik like 40mins into the ep like damn

Fresh out the shower dongsik is so yes.

Juwon in that white jumped is also a yes.

Mate respectfully I don’t think you got how relationships work. “People at my school or in my hometown want to be my friends by showing me unwanted kindness or attention. But at get-togethers they all talk about what I have or my connections. They gossip and laugh about it. In the end they all come to me for favours.” Dongsik is right in asking “Is it that simple?” Because it isn’t. (I will make a full post about this omg)

“What could you possibly have that makes you think you are the most important person in the universe?” THE MEANINGS OMG

Man gets so offended when people are like you have mysophobia then ends up roped into a get together.

Juwon trying to text a fake excuse to get out of the get together is so me because I have done that (its the anxiety for me)

Juwon is so awkward bless him.

“You’re supposed to stay glued to your partner all day, and know the colour of his underpants.” Dw Jihoon Juwon will learn ;)

Everyone clapping for Jinmuk and calling him the most important guy in manyang…

Juwon not liking his dad being brought up and Dongsik joking about it to diffuse the situation and also poke at Juwon

All important scenes happen when it rains.

Juwon quickly learns to not believe what dongsik says half the time XD

“I don’t want you to like me.” “It’s up to me to like someone or not.”

“Leave before you get caught.” What interesting phrasing Dongsik

Ah yes the Juwon and Hyeok brother dynamic. I find it interesting and think its an underrated Juwon relationship.

Hyeok trying be Han Kihwans son and Juwon is like “dont. Trust me.”

We mention Dongsiks wall of notes and stuff on the Yuyeon etc case but we dont talk about Juwons enough. Mf has two. Two fricken boards. One he makes in his closet (?) above his computer and the other next to his bed.

The! Score! Ugh im a lover

It takes a whole day to get to the reed field this time??? Cause he arrived in the morning (i assume) at the police station and then the sun is set by the time he gets there. I think he may have procrastinated bc of the mud or he actually arrived in the afternoon and the sun sets ridiculously early in late october?

Juwon getting jumpscared by Dongsik again XD

I love how this episode brings us full loop to the start of the episode but includes Juwon the second time to add fresh perspective and the aftermath.

Juwon’s step back and shaky hand is a give away that he knows her and Dongsik immediately picks up on it. Yet Dongsik tells Jihoon to leave knowing this must be a secret.

And Juwon doesn’t miss a beat when Dongsik says its a woman. They’re both one upping each other all the time

We give Juwon shit for constantly grabbing juwons collar/shirt but Dongsik did it first! (And it was hot because he smooths out Juwons shirt after) Juwon just copied and repeated.

And Dongsik quickly realises why Juwon is in Manyang and decides to just play with him and be a little shit.

Mate you guys are at the first ep and already in each other’s faces

Ok fin see you next episode ^^

[greenreaper04]

So what's the point of Din and Grogu this season? What's the point of cutting away from Boba Fett's story to show how Din is struggling with the DarkSaber, without him overcoming that? We'll he doesn't want that responsibility, he just wanna be a ✨Space Dad✨. Bruh, he's already a space dad in the first season. He started as reluctant space dad in the first season. Then in season 2 he fully embraces his status as a space dad, yet he still has a goal to return Grogu to it's people, at the same time challenging his beliefs. Sure he doesn't wanna be a leader, fine, but at least give him something more than just a space dad, because he already redeemed himself in the first 2 episode of this, so what the fuck are his goals this season?

"I don't wanna have him be the leader, I just wanted him to have a space adventure with his son" They are already doing that in the first 2 seasons, and if that's what you only want from him in this season, then he's gonna be a stagnant and boring character.

"I'm tired of the reluctant leader trope, let him be a normal guy," I am too, but then again, what's the point of setting it up in Season 2 and BoBF, if your not gonna follow through. But if that's the original goal, then what's your plan with his character then. Redeeming himself? Bruh, we barely struggle with that one

"People missed the point, he just wanna be a background character, he doesn't want attention" Yes we know, and we love him for that, and that's what made him special, but even those times, he still has a motivation and story to tell, here, he was just being sideline, which goes back to my original question, "Why is he here?" I know that he's not a passive character, and his choices still affect the overall story, but so does other the characters. Give us a moment that we'll have us say, that, "Yup that's Din, and that's why he is here." Because the moment that he choose to save Grogu in chapter 3, and both times that he removes his helmet, are those moments that we realized why are we rooting for this guy. And so far this season, he doesn't have that moment yet.

"It's called the Mandalorian, not Din and Grogu show, it's Bo-Katan's turns since technically she's a Mandalorian" Then what's with the promotionals and trailers that you have released leading up to that season, which barely show Bo. And I know that it's probably for marketing, they knew that we are here only for those two, and basically bamboozled us. Have they called this The Bo-Katan show and have it package to us that way, I would have no issue with them being sideline.

And dont get me started with Grogu. He is no longer a plot device, he is not mc guffin anymore, it's time we gave him a character.

The reason why we fall in love with the show in the first place is because of the relationship between Din and Grogu. And the writers clearly forgot that part. Don't get me wrong if they don't want Din to be a leader and just a ✨ Space dad✨ I'm on board with it. But please give us that properly and not just the scraps and bare minimum just to justify them being in here. They're barely interacting in this season. We didn't even get to see Din's reaction when the armorer made the new piece of armor for Grogu with their clan's signet. Heck it was not even acknowledge by Din, making me wonder if that's only created for just merch. We didn't even linger on Grogu after the flashback, like after next scene it was already forgotten. Imagine how beautiful it would be when Din returns and sees how sad Grogu is, and how he tried to cheer him up by giving the ball (which for a very important object in their relationship from the previous season, was not yet shown here). We barely got a moment between this two, just hanging out and enjoying each other's company because they have to be dragged to a plotline that they're barely connected just to justify them being here. It's a problem when they have more intimate moments in season 2 than this season considering that they were separated midway through that season. If you're not interested in moving his character forward, and has barely shown the relationship that we cared about, I'd rather have their story ends now, instead of them being static wallpapers only here for merch.

I know that Bo Katan and other characters from the animated show are loved as well, but they wouldn't even be here without those two, and it breaks my heart, that they're being shafted for those characters. They deserved more than this.

[maguneedsalife]

T'zekhwalker - Final Zenos Fight

i spent so much time here it needed its own post. i'd be lying if i said this one scene wasn't a main reason i pushed t'zekh through the main story (the other was i wanted him to get to 90/get the rdm artifact gear so he could wear his canon glam but you know)

so, some background for folks who are new here: t'zekh was the main wol for stormblood. he was the one zenos became obsessed with, and he has spent most of endwalker trying to get zenos to leave him alone. he knows zenos desperately wants t'zekh to kill him--to come at him with fire and rage and bloodlust--but t'zekh refuses to kill anyone no matter how much they deserve it.

i had been waiting so long for t'zekh to be able to do this dialog choice and the answer i had envisioned for him actually changed from the time i did this with aoife. originally i'd thought he'd go with option 2, but by the time i got here, 3 was more his style.

which ended up being a good thing, because zenos's response to that answer was fucking perfect for t'zekh

small aside--it drove me bonkers back when spoiler embargo first lifted and ppl (mostly on twitter) were INSISTING that answer 1 was the only possible canon answer and if you picked any of the others you were clearly playing the game wrong. even despite yoshi p confirming that there was no "correct" answer and the team had tried to write it so that players could respond to zenos the way they felt best reflected their own character's experience. people were STILL out there like "sorry but if you didnt pick option 1 you're just wrong"

so to see the text validate my choice and my hcs so perfectly has me feeling vindicated in this chilis. it is okay for people to have a different experience of the game than you!!! (i'll get off my soapbox now)

option 3 was perfect for t'zekh because he is finally fed up enough with zenos that he's finally willing to cast aside his moral opposition to killing in order to make sure zenos can't hurt anyone else in his name.

and zenos caught on to that and responded in kind.

anyway then i took a fucktillion pictures in the instance (most of which i'll put on my wol blog)

it was so hard to get them in the same frame lmao

and then i did the solo fight! not too bad on red mage, surprisingly enough - was very thankful to have vercure though lmao

this punch is still just as satisfying the second time

On my way to the last credits sequence i learned that you will actually fuck up the music timing if you skip or speed up the credits. it was playing revenge twofold when it was supposed to be playing flow together. that was very jarring. i don't know why they haven't set it to just start playing flow together for that sequence. dont skip the credits folks

and that's a wrap! i uhhh might have abandoned him before finishing out the quest so i could go farm memoria misera with aoife but im very happy to have (technically) beaten Endwalker with him before the year ended, which was one of my goals.

I think I started main story with him in January, so it's taken me about a year to get through... mostly what set me back was i had to make time/build emotional strength to make progress through parts I knew would be difficult emotionally. But I committed to not to skipping any cutscenes and just pressing on through a second read, and I'm glad to have embarked on this journey.

as soon as i finished endwalker the first time i knew it was going to be equally aoife and t'zekh's story. they both ended up having stakes in the plot in different ways, and getting to play through and see things from t'zekh's perspective was so much fun.

i still keep thinking abt the version of the ending in my head, wherein t'zekh is lying at the edge of the universe and all he can think is "i want to live, dammit!!"

and he hears a voice calling out to him.

"there you are!" aoife shouts, "I was looking all over for you!"

T'zekh has spent so much of the story kind of in aoife's shadow, grappling with what it means to be a "hero" in his own way. he spent a lot of stormblood resenting her absence.

but by the end of endwalker… i think they end up really close friends

---

Next, it'll be Banri's turn.... skipping as many cutscenes as possible so i can get him through before Dawntrail!

[pop-punklouis]

anon from yesterday, haven't even finished but YES i agree entirely: i had such an off-and-on relationship w her in the 2010s and really couldnt stand her in the 1989 days and lover is what tentatively pulled me back in. to me, lover was mostly a guilty pleasure though, i kinda liked some of the songs even though i knew they technically weren't the best (like i listened to me! but was embarassed about it) but i still felt really conflicted about it bc i could see through the "activism" of yntcd in that it was Very surface level and i could tell was just selling the album and era and "see i'm an activist now!" when she very much was not. but folklore actually got me to be a fan, it was just so enrapturing. same with evermore. and like you said, midnights was such a disappointment comparatively and im just waiting for ttpd to be the same. anyway agree w everything else you said, early morning think piece was time well spent.

separately, YES i remember his season of zoey 101 so clearly bc i was a big logan/quinn girlie. loved seeing the trailer to the reboot movie last summer (have no desire to see the actual thing) and know they end up together and that quinn had the glow up of the century.

what's funny is they put ned's declassified on netflix like a month after elvis came out and i'd just moved to a new city and didn't know anyone and i'm very ashamed to admit this but i did watch the whole thing (and really enjoyed doing so?? it held up? i did not expect that) and it was sooooo cute and funny and silly to see austin in the background all the time. i dont know that he ever had ANY lines but to watch that literally a MONTH after elvis was so funny

this is such a late reply whoops dsfsjkfjslk

BUT i do find it endlessly fascinating that so many people i know that didn't care for taylor during the 1989/reputation era found themselves climbing back in during lover. and i agree, i think it felt like a guilty pleasure more than anything at first with some of the songs because they were so unapologetically pop and powdery and sticky sweet or salty etc. and not to be that person but i think there is definitely a tie between her even showing an inch of public activism during that era and her dating joe who is very politically observant. but thats its own thought entirely lmao anyways!!

oh my god i would've died for logan and quinn. they were the IT couple for me on zoey 101. i think my fav episode of austin's season on that show was when him and zoey were trying to have that nice, private, romantic dinner at that restaurant on the hill and unbeknownst to them, logan and quinn are also having dinner there and they have to pretend like they aren't there together and somehow it becomes a huge mess lmao

BUT yessss him being an extra for ned's declassified was so cute. he was just happy to be there and i love going back and seeing him there. neds declassified in general is so good i still love watching it and other old teen nick shows.

[hostilemuppet]

@mayorofsmashville64

nothing! the tv series is a totally solid season, and probably the BEST from a writing standpoint, since each episode basically had double the length and they were allowed to fit more in (including a lot of tiny gags that dont progress the plot but are just there and funny, like nuttys candy whistle in 'in a jam' or the twins stealing disco bears meat punching bag in 'ipso fatso'). two of my favourite episodes of the entire series, dont yank my chain and wishy washy, are from the tv series!

however i think from purely an ANIMATION standpoint, it doesnt have the spark the other seasons have. the tv series was animated by the (now defunct) animation studio fatkat, instead of in house at mondo. now im not saying fatkat employed BAD animators (it at onne point was the largest animation studio in atlantic canada, and other than htf they worked on jimmy two shoes, curious george 2006, and family guy) so of course theyre not god awful! i just think, since its the only one that wasnt animated in house, it feels a little. cheap? at times. i THINK (not positive!) the tv series is where they switched to puppet animation as opposed to hand drawn? which would make sense, im not saying puppet animation is inherently clunky and cheap but it makes sense for the transition to not be the smoothest. but to give examples of what i mean for the tv series not having the best animation:

look at the way they pant here. not even trying to hide the clear tweening. or how in several of the logs you can see the shape of the water objects overlapping

look at the intestines clearly switching between two symbols mid scene. if you look extra close you can even notice their foot reaches PAST the intestines.

and for a more 1-1 comparison, heres the first episode of the series, spin fun knowin ya, compared to when it was reanimated in the tv series episode blast from the past

yeah, the tv series is more technically well done. there are less tiny mistakes like toothys ears being backwards, more detail is put into the gore, and the backgrounds are nicer. but it feels so plastic to me. it feels almost phoned in. look how little they squash and stretch compared to the original, how little cuddles flails his legs about, how easily toothy slides down the trunk as if there was no resistance. spin fun might not have been the highest quality compared to season 5, but it still had heart in it! you can tell they were laughing their asses off when they wrote the random plane being at the public park only to tear cuddles to pieces, which btw isnt even a thing anymore since blast from the past gave a Reason for the plane being there.

tldr: happy tree friends had a very rough transition to puppet animation (but they got better! s3 alone (the next season after the tv series) is leagues ahead, and s5 is Incredible)

[teeto-peteto]

My friend, I would love to read you Ramble about Soul fighter Pyke and Gwen.

NO 👹 DONT DO THAT YOU WILL OPEN THE PANDORA BOX Im weak for them, and since Soul Fighter is an universe based on the present, it made my mind run free.

For starters, its stated that Pyke did die in this universe too, and that Gwen 'helped him come back from the spirit realm'. Nice, but what if Gwen 'had to sew him back'? I headcanon Pyke with the scars going all the way around, instead of the flashy ray shape they have on the skin. Imagine that Pyke actually died on a very gruesome way, and was dismembered? And Gwen somewhat found him and sew him back with her threads and power. That way you have the cute and wholesome storyline of the canon on wich Gwen helps Pyke and he bows to himself to protect and make her proud of him, but also a gruesome, horrid background on wich technically, Gwen had to find a dismembered body somewhere by accident and decided to sew it back. Maybe she was just feeling like doing a puzzle ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Its something very Frankstein, and i dont think Pyke remembers who killed him, but still affects him to this day.

They are bestfriends, and they live together. I think thats pretty obvious in the canon given the splashart of LOR where Pyke is holding the shopping bag, it shows that they most probably share residence. Pyke clearly is the one that carries the heavy bags from the supermarket saying 'Im fine' while his arms are in pain, and Gwen carries the paper towels happily, its not like she cant carry the heavy bags but that Pyke is both not trying to bother her but also very prideful.

'My parents didnt want me' 'Omg same!!' kind of traumadumping. I dont care that much about Viego to see the voicelines of his skin but Isolde is clearly siding with him i guess? So i guess Gwen is a random child running around with her little friend.

Since its based on present day im betting all my horses that Gwen is very active on social media. I headcanon Gwen being one of those tiktokers that do makeup, but not the cute/impressive ones but the creepy and hilarious ones that try to resemble a cartoon character with face paint and ducktape... and while shes filming Pyke is sometimes passing through the hallway and then stands by Gwen's room door watching her doing her tiktoks with a very confused face and hes appearing on the background of the video like 🧍 but she can also do impressive makeups, also shes a great dancer she just loves to be weird and hilarious. Pyke does have social media but its undercover, he doesnt use his name and its under an alias because he doesnt like the attention, but likes and shares all of Gwen's makeups and videos. Doesnt publish but spends his spare time watching reels or tiktoks with sea creatures and sharks with goofy sounds or those ones with the little star/swirl thing on the midddle with a lot of sea animals footage. He's pretty much clueless, often goes to Gwen and asks 'Why is people making edits of me with Mary on a cross?' for example. Doesnt interact but probably Gwen would record an embarrassing storytime and he would comment 'It didnt happen that way.'

Gwen films him when hes not looking, she loves that, or takes funny pics of him when he's distracted, eating or asleep. She will definetly pull up an embarrasing pic and post it.

im unaware if this is true, it was the first thing that came on google but imagine Gwen posting a pic of Pyke sleeping on an akward position and he screams 'GWYNETH-' from another room in embarrasment. She also post cute pics of him, and pics together, they have a bunch of polaroids on their rooms doing silly stuffs or just being cute <3

They like baking together... cant explain but its just so real... and they are so good on it... and they decorate it together... when they are done with soul tournament they are going to open a bakery.

On skin design i really like both of them BUT i would love to see more of them being on the same team aside from the colours... like Pyke could have a little kitty bag on his belt or a charm resembling Gwen's cat hat... I recently drew Gwen with a little Pyke plushie attached to her i think it would be cute if she made matching plushies so they can keep each other... wholesome...

Pyke's thing about being designed around belts and zippers... its just funny to imagine him on his room super distressed on the verge of tears and Gwen goes 'Whats wrong?' 'I cant pull my back zipper up'.

Gwen designed his outfit, and the prestige one. Imagine her very concentrated with her pins taking measurements on him and she says 'stay still! you are moving!' 'sorry m'am...' He wears his outfits proudly, and constantly bombards anyone who approaches saying 'My best friend designed and made it! Shes an angel' and shows everyone her socials...

i love them, and i imagine them with a lot of struggles, and a lot of self doubts. In the end Pyke has to learn that he doesnt have to preassure himself to the edge to make someone proud of him, and Gwen has to learn that not everyone will return her kindness back, but she still has to keep going. They have each other and they support each other, and i love them very much.

long post im going to self strangle and nobody is going to sew me back

[brieq]

my acotar unpopular opinions

I got bored so, i decided to make this, with some of these i use the word “unpopular” lightly 

i love all the archeron sisters 

nesta is my favorite archeron sister

i love feyre on her own and w/ rhys however, i do think acosf did her dirty at times

speaking of acosf...feysand was done dirty in this book. like what was the point of putting them through more emotional turmoil, especially feyre. it also went back on both feyre and rhys character decisions made in maf and war (im not saying that were acting ooc though) feysand deserved a peaceful pregnancy, which couldve happened in the background while nesta’s story still happened. 

which leads me to my next point, nesta deserved to not have her story be overshadowed by that shit baby plot 

the intervention scene should’ve only been nesta and her sisters 

my favorite characters are nesta, rhys, gwyn, honorable mentions are lucien, eris, cassian and feyre

this is probably rlly unpopular after acosf but my favorite bat boy is still rhys

azriel is my least favorite of the bat boys 

i dont think tamlin is a bad person and id like to see him get better for himself and others. i think he should get an arc

technically all the acotar characters are morally grey (well maybe except gwyn, emerie and tarquin..lucien too i guess)

i know there’s debates on whether rhys can be considered one but I think he is. the issue is sjm wrote the acotar world very black and white. sometimes she picks and chooses when her characters are allowed to be morally grey and this happens a lot with rhys (honestly with tamlin and nesta..etc. practically where we see odd double standards) this honeslty does a disservice to rhys’s character and the others as well

i’m not saying that tamlin didnt abuse feyre because he did but it’s pretty clear that he gets over demonized a bit

rhys may be one of my favs but im fully aware that he’s been abusive at times and isnt not a perfect character (clearly). i dont think he was ever meant to be technically.

i feel like a lot of the male characters trauma gets swept under the rug. (Lucien, Rhys, Cassian and even Tamlin) idk about azriel yet tbh

for some reason im obsessed with vassa and jurian..honestly the band of exiles in general. i cant wait to see more of them

i hope elain ends up with lucien and the band of exiles

i know a lot of ppl hate the idea of nesta or gwyn getting to some degree with rhys but i think it’ll be good for him bc they’d give it too him straight (maybe even elain tbh)

you know how cassian and feyre have special friendship as well as nesta and azriel...i’d like to see that with rhys and someone (most likely gwyn, i think she makes more sense than elain..plus they have more in common)

im not anti any characters. i like all of them but ill still call them out on their shit when warranted 

my least favorite character in general is amren tho

the most believable friendships in the IC are the bat boys (rhys, cassian and azriel) and cassian and feyre (maybe feyre and mor)

i do think azriel and rhys are in a rough patch atm tho (doesnt mean that they dont love each other tho)

id like to see feyre make friends outside of the IC (im not saying that mor has been terrible to her but she should branch out)

the valkyries definitely have a healthier full group

[ankhisms]

thought a lot about art today as i mentioned earlier.. this will be very jumbled rambling but i shall now expand

after my mom and i got groceries today we stopped at this building that was hosting an art showing of a local art group, my mom wanted to go because she recently sort of reconnected with a lady she went to college with and this womans paintings were in the art showing so she wanted to see. we both ended up not being very impressed with the majority of the work at the showing, the lady who my mom knew probably had the paintings that i liked the most even without knowing beforehand that it was her. i always try to be very fair when it comes to art and im of the mind that even if i dont like a certain style or a certain piece of art that doesnt make it bad or devoid of meaning and doesnt mean its not meaningful and good to someone else, and i think art is something that every person is capable of doing in some fashion no matter your skill levels or capabilities theres so many ways to create art and thats what makes art so beautiful and amazing and deeply human. i really am aware that in the past ive been surrounded by very unhealthy and toxic mindsets when its come to art and its ended up hurting me and my growth as an artist and im still unlearning and working through allowing myself to be messy and make "bad" art.

so with that being said at the same time ive had this weird feeling that im not entirely comfortable with where like.. i looked at a lot of the paintings that were supposed to be realistic landscapes or still life and thought "i could paint this better". and i dont like having that thought. it feels petty and mean spirited. i dont want to be someone who thinks theyre better than others, and honestly my thoughts about myself and my creative work are usually the complete opposite. but for some context all of the women artists in this show were 60-70 years old and almost all of them had some kind of art degree, ranging from bachelors to masters degrees in art and several of them are art professors or teachers. one of them specifically whos paintings did not impress me is a painting teacher at my old college. all of them are clearly coming from wealthier backgrounds than me and my family and i should note that all of them are white, there were no women of color having their work showcased in this.

and it just feels very strange because its like i dont like having the thought "i could do a better painting than this" but at the same time... these ladies all have had so many more opportunities than me and my mom as artists and its like. from looking at the paintings of the one painting professors i felt almost relieved that i didnt take art classes at college when before i had felt kind of sad that i didnt have time in my schedule to take any art classes, because like it was very clear looking at these paintings that this lady doesnt have very basic art theory stuff in mind that i have taught myself with no real art schooling.

but then again i circle back into thinking about how i dont think people should have to have any real technical training in order to do art and people certainly dont have to go to school in art to be an artist yknow as i said before i think every person is capable of creating things and that art is a deeply human thing that is within each of us

i think its just weird because i know how privledged these women are, moreso than my mother and i, and they all are so much older than me and are supposed to be professional artists and yet its like you havent even done really basic stuff where your still life and your landscape look worse than the paintings i was doing in highschool. part of me feels like im just being bitter and maybe i am. i genuinely think my mother is an amazing artist thats not just me being biased because im her child ive talked before about my complex relationship with my mother but she genuinely is skilled and dedicated to her craft she works her ass off to have our family just scrape by and she works on her art whenever she has a little bit of time and the pieces she does are so beautiful and breath taking. but she was talking about how we dont have the money to properly frame any of her work and real frames like the ones in that showing cost a lot of money and part of me just has this anger inside me like. why do these rich ladies with their mediocre paintings get to be in galleries and be art teachers when my mom and her beautiful artwork doesnt stand a chance of ever getting in a gallery. and then i start thinking of all the amazing artists i know or follow online and how many of them are just struggling to stay alive and get their basic needs met and i get even angrier.

so yeah i dont really know if im contridicting myself by feeling that art should be accessible to everyone and that everyone is capable of doing art and wanting to encourage artists at all levels and not be an asshole needlessly to artists but at the same time. i was not impressed and felt bitter i guess. because of the rich ladies paintings. then again these ladies are calling themselves professionals and putting their work in galleries so i guess its not the same as just like seeing art online like i guess you have to expect people to critique you if youre calling yourself an art professional and having your work be displayed. anyway thanks if you read this love you

[missingn000]

hi, it's messeduplittlebastard from your frequent commentors back on ao3! i havent really asked you anything over on tumblr, but i'm curious if you dont mind answering. what are five characters in jjk you think arent fleshed out enough, even though they have the potential for so much more? unrelated to tpg, just curious! <3 thanks lol

HI OMG GOOD TO SEE YOU HERE!! this is such a fun question. unsurprisingly my reply got long so answers below cut!

okay. first up. TOGE. i love him to pieces, but we know shockingly little about him. no backstory. not a single line of inner monologue/thoughts in the WHOLE series. while it's definitely fun to write him because you can do so much interpretation as to his thoughts and personality, it would be really cool to have at least some background on his past and how that crazy lil mind of his works. also, where the fuck is he? i only half-heartedly keep up with the manga based on spoilers i see online, but fuck, even panda got to come back. toge is a fan-favorite, come on gege. i am annoyed as hell. give me back my boy!!!!!!!

second!! KAMO! yes, i know he is technically back for the moment, but i think he had a lot more potential than just throwing him in another fight scene. i think he could've been a really great character foil for megumi, and yet...well. they barely interacted. to me, he was definitely the most interesting of the kyoto kids, other than mai. he was vying to be a clan head and learning of his past beyond a mommy issues flashback could've shed light on how the other major clans operate. sigh

third: SHOKO!!! my beloved, my wife, my everything. we know so little about her, and even in gojo's past arc she barely got any screentime and was mostly sidelined to stsg. i think she has such a unique perspective on jujutsu society, and her isolation could offer some insights on the many ways this horrible world treats their most important members. how does she cope, beyond drinking and smoking? i want to see her emotions, i want people to stop reducing her to a character that just smokes and is tired of stsg's bullshit. i think she could've also been a great character complement to nanami, which i--clearly have feelings about and am acting upon. yeah.

fourth: YUKI. this one i am genuinely annoyed about. she's the only woman special grade and we don't even know her technique. she hasn't been in a fight scene, and even when she did finally arrive she was here for maybe like what, 3 chapters? before she got stuck in a tree to #$%@ choso. i'm so interested in hearing more about her research to eradicate cursed energy and her personality/backstory as a whole. her one conversation with getou was so interesting, and i want to hear more of her opinions on non-sorcerers and the trajectory of the world. clearly i had feelings about this too. yuki my queen

last, and definitely least: naoya. now, i absolutely do not mean this in a "he was great and i wanted more of him!!1!1!" way, but rather, i think he had so much more potential either as a villain or a character with insane development than...whatever the fuck he is now. i knew he was going to come back as a curse, but...idk. to me, he represents everything wrong with jujutsu society. exploring his character really could've shed light on how things got this bad, and how he was raised. the thing is, people forget frankenstein is the one who created the monster, and i feel that way about him. jj society failed him as much as it failed others. do i think he deserved his fate? absolutely i do. but i wish more had happened before that, or, if his character arc was going to go in a different way, that could've been interesting too. anyway

thanks again for asking this, and i hope you like the new chapter today!! i always love your comments btw, but you know that. still, i'll say it again❤️️

[red-dyed-sarumane]

having been here from the very beginning i think my fave aru sekai series lore is that

• despite it very clearly being a series (it is. it IS i can prove it to u) hiiragi magnetite has never addressed it as such. the fan art tag on twitter is aru sekai bijutsuten However it was chosen via poll and was a listener created tag. hiiragima themself has yet to say anything about it being a series. if u ask them a question (for example when i asked if the charas have names) they wont correct u & know what ur talking about but nope. they dont talk about the content of the songs outside of the songs at all

• possibly not aru sekai but we'll see eventually- they decided to make a song thats one second for every like they got. theyre currently making a song thats 70,000 seconds long (like 19 &1/2 hours). they have the file name saved so that "seconds" is replaced with "illness" which sounds the same in jpn

• the content is so fucking specific every time i see other people try to translate it theyre like "this was so confusing". they are so right but also i promise u it gets 2% easier when u know the songs are related

• sena yuta does the art for the main aru sekai series songs. asa is the other illust. even tho asa tends to do art for nonseries songs (nadenna, uni, rasshaina) marshall maximizer & canon are absolutely part of the series & i cant believe i keep seeing people over look this. the motif is RIGHT THERE. canon says aru sekai de in THE FIRST LINE whats not clicking

• many songs have context as text flashed for a frame in the video background! as of right now aru sekai soushitsu, kyuuyaku hankagai, shuuen touhikou, unplanned apoptosis, marshall maximizer, canon (this ones in code) have text. oumen mokushiroku, kugutsu ashura, laboratory do not. (if u want to get technical oumen has the ou kanji to say its part of the aru sekai shoushitsu order but theres no new information in it)

• all of the songs except for kugutsu ashura & laboratory have the "nami no ne no yume wo miyou" melody from aru sekai shoushitsu worked in somewhere. if u dont believe me ill get u time stamps if u ask. those two songs dont have it but im telling u its thematic, they ARE part of the series, but i cant only really theorize on what it means until we get more songs & content

• hiiragima once said "if u dont know how to read the title of kugutsu ashura you can just call it ashura" this is especially funny bc they always put furigana for their titles in their descriptions.

• they actually do a good job of getting characterization across once u get past the technical language they use. some of them are a lot more obvious than others (unplanned apoptosis. i think this girls so funny bc its so different from everything else) but theres a lot u can get from the word choice/play once ur used to all the weird science (?) terms. sena yuta's art also does an AMAZING job of getting their characters down in a single drawing. u can tell so much from the art for real. this is a whole essay in itself im stopping here for now

• all the characters have names!!!!!! i would know i asked directly & they responded they said yes the characters have names but theyre waiting for the right moment to reveal them. every day this torments me both bc i would like to call her by name instead of saying tenshi everyday and also bc i know this means they have plot significance & im not ready to handle that

• so far all the charas in the songs are girls but if i remember correct the bg text in some songs (shoushitsu & maximzier i think? id have to double check) refers to there being at least one guy in there somewhere.

• this is just a personal note but none of these people have basic lab safety i mean look at their outfits. if the world wasnt ending they die anyway wearing that esp the laboratory chara but i digress

• in general the series is ur "the world is ending and we need to find a way to stop it from ending"typical story i guess. not only plays on destruction of the world but also destruction of the self. its not ur lighthearted easy to handle voca series if u want that may i suggest honeyworks or perhaps last notes mikagura school suite instead

• we dont have a timeline. i can tell u from context the songs arent being posted in chronological order. i have no idea what the order is ive made a guess before but its just a guess.

• theres a paragraph in shoushitsu about a swampman & hilarious as it sounds it actually describes exactly whats going on. both about how the world functions in that no two attempts are the same but also that people who lose their "self" are also The Same But Not. which is interesting to know its so thought out considering the time between songs & how hiiragima claims to just be doing whatever they want. its very cohesive. somehow.

• i have no idea why the english titles of the songs are like that on youtube. i dont know if they did that themself or not but i for one refuse to acknowledge that shuuen touhikou is called "blade" over there. girl what how did we get there u just lost soo much connotation doing that. i want to say the swords arent even a main part of the song but i dont think i can actually. anyway the "eng" titles on yt dont exist to me

• the theme used to be 5 kanji title songs were the main songs and katakana with the first repeating (ex MArshall MAximizer) were more like. sub or context songs. and then we have like canon & laboratory so idk if those are just another type of song along with the others or if they decided they didnt want to follow that anymore. i need more info but still something to note. the kanji songs also used to be sections of shoushitsu (kyuu, shuu, ou, fuu, mei, juu, mou, ei) but then, again, kugutsu ashura threw me off so [vague confused gesturing]

• rain. thats all i need to say really. very few songs that dont have rain or the color blue in it somewhere & that's absolutely intentional.

• i saw sena yuta say something about flower language in regards to the laboratory art but i never saw if they elaborated and my friend whos into flower language was having a time trying to pin point what flower it was so for now another mystery unsolved

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Ayyyyyyyyy time for Episode Nine babesssss hopefully its not as bad as the star wars movie

Okay, the scene of that one girl whos been helping the No Name Guard throwing some stuff into Aphs house is fine, I'll definitely have to change the order on some events though since Im assuming Aphmau is gonna see the effect of those splash potions right away now, which she cant do if shes staying in Brightport

Okay so, Aphmau cant have this convo w/ Garroth at the beach so I'll do it like this: Garroth still gets those disturbing news and he still gets worried abt Aph n stuff (at least I assume hes worried its kinda hard to tell). Meanwhile Aphmau is hangin out at the village, packing her things bc she wants to home soon. Paul accompanies her while they both go to the docks but on their way they hear a bunch of people whispering about lords being killed and all that. Paul stops and goes "uh oh, aphmau that doesnt sound too good" and she answers smth like "yeah it really does, its a good thing we wont be in danger though" to which Paul goes "Ehhh, I wouldnt be too sure about that ykno" Aphmau is a bit confused because "Im not a Lord" but Paul goes and says smth like "Ive seen the way you care for those villagers, for me, youre a Lord if ive ever seen one" Shes kinda flustered for a moment but then goes "Oh. Wait doesnt that mean Im in danger then?? Maybe I should stay here for a while" Paul agrees and tells her he knows someone she can send as a messenger so the others back home dont worry/they can maybe work something out while keeping Aph save

(The way im imagining this rn is basically like, Aphmau writes a letter to Garroth, gives it to this messenger who travel to him and gives him the letter and so on, I might come up w/ something better but thats the best ive got as of me writing this)

Zenix is doing something at the old Lord's house while Brenden works to take it down, Im not sure what I should write here bc like, Zenix is pretty clearly doing some shady shit but I dont remember anything he did or why he did it or the fact that he existed at all. So yea, maybe I'll just cut this entirely and leave it as something weird goin on in the background or I'll rewrite it when I have more context

She also doesnt get any of those potions, but they are technically free for Zenix to take now, so if that ever plays a role.......

Aphmau finishes the letter and gives it to that messenger, they have an exchange thats basically like "hey I heard this stuff about how Im like, a Lord basically and also theres someone going around killing all the Lords so I decided to stay in Brightport for now" "hello its good that you know that, Ive heard that too, deciding to stay there when you heard that was smart but Brightport is not as advanced as us (no offense) so it'll be better if you returned as soon as possible"

Im gonna research how long boat routes usually take later, for now I'll just say that between the messenger going back and dorth and Garroth n Aph writing the letters this takes like, one and a half days (bc yknow, that messenger has to sleep n eat too)

Meanwhile, Aphmau is mostly just chillin in Brightport. Shes a bit anxious bc of the whole Thing, but shes having a good time bonding with her new cat and keeping Pauls spirits up. At some point he says that he feels ready to go talk to Visher's Wife now, Aph gives him some encouraging words before he leaves and then she takes the opportunity to ask around a bit about the Lord and what he was like (i dont actually remember if that gets brought up at any point, so itll have to be pretty vague for now). Maybe she can also help w/ some issues the villagers are having so she can distract herself from her anxiety more idk

Maybe we can have a part where our villagers are a bit worried about Aphmau, particularly Emmalyn, Donna n Kiki. Maybe potentially Garroth too, but I actually think its kinda cool that so much of Garroth is initially a mystery and I'd like to keep it that way here too

Alrightyyyyyy also sorry for accidentally posting this before it was done lol

[terrorbirb]

If I say "there are no sewn seams. What you need would have to be made during the weaving process and we're not a fabric mill." I would really like it if my customers didn't call me and say "so you say that the seam on our current product is sewn. So you don't actually make sewn products like your website says?"

[lucidpantone]

No I mean Isi has been questionable this season and everyone forgets as soon as mlm comes into it. I’m annoyed we didn’t get a solid gender story but the writers pull out the relationship and expect it to make up for their plot holes

There is no mlm couple because Isi does not identify within a single gender. Please be careful mis-identifying non-binary folks. Its hurtful and feels like you're suppressing their voices. A more inclusive term would be queer. Isi and Sascha are a queer couple. Concerning the writing and brushing off all of Isi's bad behavior I agree but at this point its the last episode this is the best druck could put out and now its left to the audience to decide how to digest the season. I mean this isnt a first Kieu-my behaved badly and people brushed that off too. I mean we didnt even get to see her apologize and really own what she did to Ava within a clip (i guess we at least got that with ISI, druck writers were like let me give you the bare minimum sis). This season is so damn nonsensical I gotta laugh. Like whatever..... I am not even mad at people clinging onto sascha/isi's love stories there isnt much in this season so its like people gotta get something out of it. I am happy I saw David so thats where am at. Happy we got to see the queer youth center. Seems weird we introduced Lou's character to then throw her out immediately. Like weird asf but whatever. You know what would be dope druck writing a season about a main who decided to do a technical skill like carpentry or mechanics. We can wax poetic all day about what this season should have been but this is what we got so like I said I am not even mad at those clinging to the breadcrumbs of this season's narrative. S7 is like a poor man's season s6 but Fatou was at least cool and like-able and had density. Isi feels so lackluster as an overall character..... could have been such a cool complex narrative portrayal but like i said for me its just such a C- . Like put it like this I dont even know what Isi wants to do concerning college or like their aspirations after school after 10 weeks with them thats how little the writers tried to give the character some decent background. Isi should do botany tho.....clearly loves plants.

[jincherie]

florescence | v

❀ — pairing: taehyung x reader x seokjin ❀ — genre: hybrid au, hybrid tae, hybrid jin, poly au, fluff, smut (future), angst ❀ — words: 6.8k+ ❀ — rating: sfw ❀ — warnings: a pinch of angst, some hurt n comfort, and a teensy bit of risque content towards the end.... yay for scenting!! ❀ — notes: There was a fair bit that I changed in this one so part way through i ran into a bit of a block-- gradually, I pushed through!!! here is the next part uwu, I dont have anything written after this so the next update may take a while. (also, for anyone still having trouble with this, I did add a read more)

Okay, so maybe you’re lonely, and maybe there is something missing in your life, a void that you maybe want to fill with a companion that may or may not be of human origin… You’re perfectly content not doing anything about it though, until your best friend calls you in desperate need for your help and you suddenly end up coming home with not one, but two hybrids that may or may not have been on the way to the chopping block had you not taken them in. They’re more than a little rough around the edges, and the situation is less than ideal but… maybe the best things don’t always come in perfect, shiny packages. Maybe they just need a little time to bloom.

— posted; 11.03.2020 // masterlist || prev. | next.

When you wake up, you feel so well-rested that you almost completely forget what troubled your heart the night prior. Almost. As soon as you sit up and your gaze flits over the window, weather uncharacteristically gloomy, you recall what has been troubling you the past week and a bit and all of a sudden you can physically feel your mood drop. Right.

Well— you attempt to stop the spiral before it can really begin— today is your chance to make things right. You have the whole day off! That, for one thing, is sure to cheer the boys up a little bit. If they’re still not in the best of spirits, like you feel they might be, then you have the whole day to come up with a plan.

Yawning and scratching your head, allowing yourself a moment of indulgence before you get up to dive into the day headfirst, you attempt to bolster your confidence at least a little. With a little perseverance, you can do this!

You can do it! x   x   x

You can’t do it.

You thought that you’d be able to keep a cheery mood going, that you’d be able to cling to some optimism, but as it turns out you were somewhat wrong and this situation as it is now at around midday has your glass looking half-empty.

You’d gone about your normal routine after getting up; showering and then cooking and cleaning a little. To your surprise, the boys hadn’t come out to beg and plead with you at all. Even as their behaviour in the evenings changed during the past week and a bit, their behaviour in the mornings never did. So, understandably, this new development filled you with an icky feeling that stuck to the sides of your stomach like tar. You need to figure out what you’re doing that’s actually upsetting them, but attempting to pull the answer out of them is like pulling teeth. And with nothing but the barest hints to go off, you don’t really know where to even begin your online search, either.

So, halfway through the day and already almost at your wits end, you suppose the only way to go now is trial and error.

Off the top of your head, there are only a few things you can think of that might be bothering them.  

First, there are the insecurities they have that you’re already aware about. You don’t think this is actually the only thing bothering them, but you have a gut feeling that it has something to do with it. Each day they spent in the labs after their creation, under the technical label of ‘failure’, clearly took its toll on them. They only had each other there, and you know that the men you met while picking them up would have done their best to take care of them but as employees in that institution there is a line that they couldn’t ever cross to really give them the comfort they needed. So you know that Seokjin and Taehyung both were deemed ‘failures’ within their batches, exceptions, and you know that this knowledge has brought forth entire complexes around inferiority and worth within them.

Knowing this, it has you wondering if those complexes are leading the two of them to feel as though they’re being slowly pushed aside, or as though they have become a second thought to you. They most definitely haven’t, but with their background you wouldn’t be too surprised if that is a conclusion they have come to. You really want them to know and understand that they are a part of your home now, but you also know it’s going to be hard to get them to that point.

Regardless, it’s difficult to know what is actually wrong with them without being able to talk to them, and as the morning goes on they prove persistent in their efforts to ignore and avoid you. It irks you and upsets you at the same time, but still you do your best to be understanding. They’re not going to come out and have breakfast for as long as you’re in the kitchen, so you make the slightly wounding decision to return to your room for a while so they have a chance to at least eat. Taking care of them from the shadows it is—you leave some eggs and toast on plates for them before you retreat further into the house in the direction of your room.

You really wish that for situations like this there was someone you could just ask who would have all the answers you want and more—not many of your friends know that you even have hybrids, though, and Seulgi is probably at work still. Plus, she’d probably just tell you to look it up yourse— oh!!

You have the internet!

Honestly you’re not surprised it’s taken you this long to realise you could just look it up instead of lamenting and stewing in your own confusion and worry. Flopped across you bed, you pull your phone up and get to work. ‘hybrids upset with me’ is the first thing you intuitively type, and it brings forth an array of results. As one might expect, about 30% of them are actually relevant to what you want. You open a promising-looking one and begin to read.

“When instilling absolute obedience in wayward hybrids, it is expected that at first there will be a little backlash and they may react in an upset manner. A firm hand and unrelenting—”

Well, you click out of that one faster than you can blink. A closer look at the site name, perfectingyourpet.com, makes you realise you really should have inspected it a little bit more finely before opening it earlier.

Back on the search results page, you skim over the rest of them with a more scrutinising eye. It takes you a while before you actually open one that isn’t a run-around or an instant dead end.

‘Just like their animal counterparts, hybrids can become stressed and unhappy from a number of things that we often don’t think of from a human standpoint. Certain foods, environments, smells—the littlest thing can sometimes impact your hybrid companion’s happiness.’

Now that you’re reading this and really thinking about it, that makes a lot of sense. You aren’t sure how you haven’t been coming to these conclusions much earlier, and feel a little stupid and ashamed.

Chastised, you read a little further, soaking up as much information as you can, leaving the things you think aren’t very applicable for your situation. Towards the end, you admittedly skim it a bit, but to be fair that is just because you’re antsy to get started on fixing whatever has fallen through between you and the boys.

Some of the causes of stress this site tells you about are things you don’t think you have to worry about – yelling, fighting, having lots of guests come through and an always busy house. You definitely don’t have to worry about those. But then, when you read through the others, nothing is really clicking into place like this, this is it. You aren’t sure as to the cause still but at least you have something to go off now, even if it will be a process of elimination and learning by error.

One of the first things the site says, in addition to those you didn’t really think were relevant, is that it could be something in the diet, the environment, or a smell—or any change really. Branching off of that thought has you realising that it’s possible your big faux pas here is that you introduced such a big change – you going to work for a few hours a day – so suddenly and abruptly. From what you’re reading, it’s more than likely unsettled them and made them feel a bit insecure in their positions once more.

So, as your first attempt to make things right, you’re going to do your best to include them all over again. With a sigh you rise from your bed and attempt to steel yourself before making your way back into the kitchen, your fingers crossed that they have at least come out to eat something.

You’re quiet in your movements, and you think that is largely what allows you to catch the two elusive hybrids in the kitchen as they chow through the breakfast you left for them. It makes you happy to see they’re still eating what you make, but still sad to know they refuse to do it in your presence.

“Good morning,” you greet softly, leaning against the doorframe.

You hadn’t meant to startle them, but that’s what you end up doing. Seokjin, who had been looking through the fridge (most likely in search of some juice), jumps in fright, one yelp escaping before he bumps his head on a shelf and another, louder one follows it. Taehyung doesn’t make any noise, but you see him jump in his spot by the bench, whipping around to face you with wide eyes and a mouth full of eggs.

It’s an odd mix of emotions that cross their faces, prefaced by a wash of guilt and then a myriad of others you don’t manage to catch in time. They’re still upset, but clearly seeing you has weakened their defences slightly. You quickly take advantage of it.

“I’m glad you’re up and about,” you say, shooting them both a smile and doing your best to make sure none of the hurt seeps through. “I was thinking we could all do something together today!”

Surprise is what greets you as they stare at you, then at each other. Seokjin voices their thoughts, “You don’t have work today?”

From just behind him, you can catch his tail beginning to sway in cautious anticipation. His ears are slightly lowered, as are Taehyung’s, but they perk up when you answer them with a shake of your head.

“I don’t,” you affirm, feeling slightly bolstered by their response. “So I was thinking we could do something… maybe go out to the park? Or a café? Or—”

Their ears flatten and its obvious they’re not too into that idea, surprisingly. You really thought that would be something they’d love! You quickly backtrack. “Or, we could just cuddle on the couch and watch Netflix…? Seokjin, that zombie show you like had another season added.”

At that, they seem much more enthusiastic. Seokjin’s tail begins to wag a little more heartily, if still somewhat tentative.

“Already?” he asks, eyes wide. “Oh that’s good, they left it on a cliffhanger last season.”

The few moments after he finishes speaking are almost awkward, but you step in before they can get to that point.

“Perfect, did you want to watch that now?” You pose the question, before recalling that you’d caught them in the middle of stuffing their faces. “I mean, after you’re done eating of course.”

“Yes!” Seokjin nearly yaps in his excitement, the mood of the two hybrids seeming to have taken a complete 180 now that they know they have your time all to themselves today. You wonder if the ‘cuddling’ aspect had much to do with it, since you’d noticed their eyes light up when you’d mentioned it earlier.

You turn your gaze to the side, and when you see Taehyung looking just as excited, you offer them a bright smile. “Great, well you guys finish up and I’ll wait in the living room. I’ll get it all set up.”

Both of their tails are wagging as you turn and make your way to the room in question, and you feel significantly lighter than you have all week. You just need to bond with them a little more, assure them of their place with you and that you care for them. You were too dramatic earlier, you can do this!

Going around the living room, you end up setting up the couch like a makeshift nest, their comfort the main thing on your mind. Netflix is on and loaded, and you tidy things just a bit in the extra time you have before you hear the two hybrids approaching the room.

They’re excited, you can tell from the second you catch sight of them. Taehyung especially looks like he’s trying not to smile too big, but his tail is whirring a mile a minute behind him.

Seokjin picks up the remote, before turning to you. “You sit down first.”

Apparently it slipped out before he’d realised, because in the next second his face flushes and he hurries to correct himself at how demanding he feared he sounded. “I mean, uh… please. So we can, um….”

He doesn’t have to finish for you to know what he wants. More often than not, the two of them wait until you seat yourself so that they then can flop down and curl around you. Smiling at Seokjin to let him know it’s okay, you sit in the middle of the couch and wait. Well, you don’t even have to wait—as soon as your ass touches the seat the two hybrids dive for a spot on either side of you, nestling against you, the blankets, and the couch.

Their actions stir up butterflies in your stomach and you have to marvel at yourself—wow, you’ve really gotten quite touch starved because of this whole ordeal, haven’t you? That’s kind of embarrassing…

Seokjin swings his legs over your lap and Taehyung presses his body to your side, head on your shoulder. You can feel his large hands fisting the material of your shirt needily, oblivious to the way he brushes the underside of your breast with the action. You ignore the skipped heartbeat that results and pretend it didn’t even happen. That’s a dangerous rabbit hole to go down if you follow that thought.

“What are we watching?” you ask, reaching a hand up to play with the curls at the back of Taehyung’s neck. His grip on your shirt tightens and he presses closer before the tension leaves his body completely, and he lets out the faintest noise in satisfaction. You’d do the same to Seokjin but his higher level functioning ceases when you play with his hair and you kind of want a response.

“This?” he proposes, eyes on the screen. You follow his gaze and watch the preview that’s played for you. “I added it to the list but haven’t, um… haven’t gotten to watch it yet.”

“If it’s what you wanna watch, put it on,” you reassure him, holding your hand out for the remote. He sees your hand and his cheeks warm—you wonder why before the answer follows, and he places his hand in yours, threading your fingers together.

You don’t even have the heart to tell him that you were asking for the remote, especially now that you feel your own face burning. God, what are these two doing to your heart today?!

What Seokjin chose seems to be some new anime with alternate styling to what you’re used to seeing, the mode of animation different but quite cool. Unfortunately, you only get to watch about a minute of it before something disrupts the peace and content beginning to settle over the room.

Knocking. On your door. It’s light but sharp and very persistent. Seokjin pauses the show, confused but alert.

“Who on Earth…?” you murmur to yourself, regrettably rising from the couch and parting from the warmth of the hybrids. There is an odd weight on your side as you stand, and you don’t realise that Taehyung has risen with you, clinging to your side, until you take a step and he bumps into you by accident.

Endeared by the way he dons a sheepish smile, you accept his company and make your way to the front door, wondering who on earth would even be making the effort to visit you on your day off. Rustling sounds from the couch, but you figure it’s just Seokjin getting comfortable and preparing to wait.

“Just a second!” you call out when the knocking stops, worrying the culprit is leaving. Did you order anything recently? Are you expecting anyone and just forgot? You really don’t think so. Taehyung trails after you, connected only by his loose grip on the bottom of your shirt.

You could have peaked out of the peep hole, but you don’t, going straight to opening the door instead. The figure waiting on the other side makes you halt in surprise. Taehyung shoots ramrod straight behind you.

“What are you doing here, rude cat?” you ask in surprise after a moment, teasing nickname tacked on by default. Changkyun gives you a borderline dirty look, but doesn’t speak for a moment- his attention is captured as he catches sight of the hybrid plastered to your back. His mouth forms an ‘o’, realisation dawning across his features.

“Ah, the unhappy audience….” He murmurs to himself, a glint entering his eyes that you absolutely do not like one bit. Before you can warn him off whatever idea has just entered his head, he turns his gaze to you and offers a bright, if somewhat cheeky, smile.

“Hey, y/n,” he purrs, taking a step closer. You’re suspicious immediately. “You left something at our house last time, and since we were driving past your place anyway the madame asked me to come bring it up to you.”

As he finishes speaking, he pulls something out from behind his back, holding it out to you. You can feel the tension of the hybrid beside you as you reach out and take it, eyes wide.

“Oh, my cardigan,” you mutter, holding up the dark pink article and pursing your lips in surprise. “I did wonder where it got to. Thanks, Changkyun!”

“No problem!” he answers, perhaps a little too easily, He rolls the ring on his bottom lip as he stands in contemplation for a moment. It’s as though he considers doing something, entertaining the thought for a moment before deciding against it. Instead, he offers you a sly smile, beginning to step backwards. “See you next week, y/n.”

You return the farewell, waiting until he is a good metre or so away before closing and locking the door. The second you do, you feel Taehyung pull away from your back. Surprised, you turn in question—the second your gaze falls on him though, you freeze.  

You’re not sure if you can describe the current look in his face in just a single word—there are many emotions that seem to flick across his features, but the one that seems to linger the most is hurt.

At the realisation you’re baffled, understandably, and while your brain attempts to put pieces together and figure out why Taehyung is looking at you like that, he pulls away. His brows are furrowed, bottom lip a split-second away from trembling fully.

“Tae?” you ask, tentative. At the sound of your voice though the hybrid shakes his head, expression even more upset than before. It makes your stomach drag down with guilt and a certain sense of anxiety. Taehyung steps back, looking at you for just a moment longer before he turns and flees.

A call of his name is stuck in your throat and you can only watch him go, hearing him pass through the hall and then hurry up the stairs. Absolutely boggled, you almost miss the movement from the doorway to the living room.

You turn your gaze just in time to catch a glimpse of Seokjin as he slips away, following the same path Taehyung laid through the house just seconds earlier. After the sound of him climbing the stairs passes, you’re confronted with the painfully familiar sound of their door slamming closed upstairs.

You don’t have to have seen his face to know that without a doubt, whatever you’d done to hurt Taehyung’s feelings so suddenly, the same applied to the older hybrid.

God—you don’t even know what you did!

This is getting utterly ridiculous and at this point you’re sitting and stewing in your own ashamed juices. You’d just been so close to mending things with them! How had things turned around so quickly?

It’s like a bag of rocks has been dropped in your chest, pushing your heart down to your stomach. You feel very crummy, suddenly. You don’t doubt they feel similar. They’re not going to sit and watch something with you now, and there’s no point in waiting for them to come down because you’ve been with them long enough to know that they won’t.

What are you supposed to do?

Fighting a sudden batch of irrational tears that have risen to sting your eyes and threaten to fall, you scrunch the cardigan in your grip and make a beeline for your room. You don’t bother going to turn off the TV because right now you’re too upset and it’s just going to remind you of how you’ve managed to ruin things, again.

As soon as the door closes behind you and you’re in the sanctity of your room, you let a sniffle escape. The silence that echoes off the walls is all that answers and you throw yourself onto your bed, phone in your hand.

Even though you’re sad right now and want nothing else than to just cry into your pillow a bit and get these horrible, heavy feelings off your chest, `you know you can’t let this go on any longer than it already has. Somewhat sulkily, you unlock your phone and open the browser, returning to your search from earlier. At this point you can only conclude that the problem is you, and that you won’t be able to find anything to help your plight online.

Of course, that’s the last thing you want to be true. And so you return to your previous search, going through all the tabs you opened up previously and rereading to see if there was anything you’d missed or misinterpreted. You’re not all that optimistic, though, and as you read you try not to think about the sneaking feeling you have that you’re not going to find anything to help you fix this new mess you’ve made.

X     x     x   x     x

An hour later you’re climbing hastily from you bed, standing corrected. You’d just found the answer and the solution you’d been looking for—the fact that it was in one of the first pages you opened earlier and you didn’t get it until just now is an incredible source of shame for you. At this point in time you’re very frustrated with yourself, but thankfully there are more pressing matters to attend to.

You know what’s been bothering your hybrids and upsetting them so much.

Of course, in retrospect it’s something so painfully obvious that you want to kick the ground and ram your head straight into the wall at the same time. You read earlier about how change and stress can affect hybrids more than humans, but it hadn’t really sunk in the types of changes and stressors they are especially sensitive to. Reading through one of the first pages again had something you missed the first time through smacking you in the face the second time round.

Your hybrids are unsettled because you’re their ‘owner’, and you’ve been going out and hanging around other people and hybrids, covering yourself in a myriad of strange, different scents, when they haven’t scented you yet.

Your face warms as you recall everything you’d read after clicking the hyperlink on that word in the original article. Scenting can entail a lot of things depending on the hybrid, but mostly its innocent, and something they need to feel settled and secure, something instinctive. Which explains a lot of things, honestly.

Again, you feel so stupid.

Now that you’ve… enlightened yourself, you have the decency to feel a little ashamed and guilty for not taking better steps to understand your hybrids and accommodate them. It’s on you that you didn’t know any better because you hadn’t done the necessary research, but at the same time you wish they’d come to you and told you what was wrong. Although, you know that considering their background, it’s probably hard for them. They’re never sure of their boundaries, where they can go and how far they can push—they’re too cautious and worrisome sometimes, you think. You have a feeling that that’s kind of what was happening behind the scenes here too.

Trying very desperately not to give in to the flustered blush that’s trying to heat your cheeks at what you’re about to do, you attempt to calm yourself by going through the motions as you normally would at this time of day. It’s late enough that you can justify changing into your pyjamas, and so you do—and although these are the clothes you usually wear to bed, the fluffy pants and thin-strapped singlet leave you feeling a little more exposed than usual. You know that you’re going to be more than a little embarrassed while doing this, but honestly you’re just going to have to push through it—it’s the least you can do considering your part in this.

Once changed, you kind of want to climb back in bed and procrastinate the inevitable a little longer, but you force yourself out of the room. It’s somewhat sheepishly that you emerge, attempting to be quiet with your door even though you know there’s no way they’ve left their room. The trip down the hall to their door is quicker than you remember and it isn’t long before you’re taking a breath to prepare yourself and knocking softly on their door. The response is instant.

“Go away!”

You fight a smile at the sound of Seokjin’s voice—his words say one thing but the waver and hints of a plea in his tone say another. It’s cute, the effort he’s putting into trying to show you he’s upset when you have a feeling he wants nothing more than to spend time with you as he usually does. You take a moment to steel yourself before letting out a huff.

“I’m coming in,” you announce, trying to keep your tone gentle, and then you open the door before he has time to protest. When you swing the door open and step in, it’s to the sight of him sitting on the queen bed with his knees tucked to his chest, his face red— although you can’t tell if it’s from anger or embarrassment.

“What do you want,” he grumbles, reminding you very much of a child with the way he averts his eyes and pouts. His tail twitches anxiously behind him, his ears pressed against his skull. Your eyes sweep the room, confusion flickering amongst your thoughts when you don’t catch sight of his younger brother.

“Where’s Taehyung?” you ask, head tilting. Seokjin answers you a moment later, albeit reluctantly.

“He’s in the shower…” he says, and now that he mentions it you can hear the soft sound of music filtering through the wall. The dhole hybrid likes having something soft and jazzy playing whenever he showers or bathes, you suspect it’s because it helps relax him a little.

You hum in acknowledgement, standing in the doorway for a moment, leaning against the doorframe as you simply look at him. He seems to flush under your prolonged gaze, desperately trying to avoid meeting your eyes. It takes you a moment to decide how to start, and you try not to keep him on his toes too long. It still startles him when you finally speak a few moments later.

You decide to just bite the bullet and jump right into it. “Seokjin, do the two of you feel comfortable here?”

The male balks at your question, eyes wide as he finally looks at you. His knees drop into a cross-legged position against the bed as he straightens, sputtering. “What? Of course we do, you’ve given us everything.”

You wonder if he realises he’s fallen out of his upset character but push the thought aside in favour of continuing your interrogation, setting the grounds so you can lead up to a certain point. Distantly, you register the sound of pipes creaking in the walls as water is shut off and the sound of jazz music disappearing to a muffle. You shake your head at the male, but smile at his words. “Seokjin, what I mean is, are the two of you comfortable— do you feel at home?”

At those words, the hybrid freezes, staring at you with wide eyes. After a few moments he attempts to form a response, the conflict behind his eyes making your heart clench painfully. “I… we…”

You sigh, offering the male a slightly sad smile. “Seokjin, it’s okay. I… I’m sorry. I realise that I could have been doing a better job, with this whole thing. I should have done more to ease you guys into this, and reassure you.”

The male is silent, his eyes glistening slightly. You continue, “I realised earlier that it’s possible you don’t feel like… like this is a permanent home for you, that you could feel as though I’m just a middle ground or a foster home and that you can’t really settle or feel secure here. Is that right?”

His mouth falls open, expression conveying just how completely caught off guard he is—you are right, it seems. He can’t seem to muster a response, but his features contort into an expression of guilt.  “y-y/n, I’m sorry—”

Realising the turn his thoughts are taking, you hurry to step closer and sooth him. “No, bub, you don’t have to apologise at all. This one is on me. This is as new for me as it is for you two, but that doesn’t excuse it. I need to do better, and I will. I…”

At the barest sound of shuffling, you turn over your shoulder and hold your arm out invitingly; Taehyung stands clad in his stripy pyjamas in the doorway and regards the two of you with wide, watering eyes, apparently having heard your conversation thus far. The second he sees your invitation he darts forward, perching on the bed in front of you and clutching the outstretched hand he’d grabbed on his way past.

You take a deep breath before looking both of them in the eyes, one at a time, and speaking. “I want this to be your home. I want you to feel comfortable, and safe, and loved. I want you to know that this isn’t a short-term commitment for me, okay? I’m not going to ever suddenly change my mind, I’m not going to stop caring for you or wanting you around.”

Your voice softens as you take in the way their eyes water slightly. “You can let go of that guard you have over your hearts, and you can let me in. I promise that I will take care of you. You’re safe here, alright? I’m not… I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I promise.”

“y/n…” Seokjin’s voice wobbles, his chin trembling.  You reach up and wipe away the beginnings of tears, doing the same to Taehyung who moves and nuzzles his face into your touch eagerly. It soothes you to see his stormy mood from earlier has vanished completely.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to say anything.” A smile tugs your lips, a tender feeling warming your chest. “But… I do have something else to say.”

They both seem a little wary at your words, but relax when you cup their cheeks—Seokjin has long since moved over on the bed so you can reach him.

“I want to say I’m sorry, for not being more knowledgeable about hybrid things,” you say, catching the confused look in their eyes. “I’m going to do more research in the future, but for now…”

They seem to guess where you’re going with this, cheeks colouring. Seokjin mumbles, “You’re talking about how we’ve been acting, aren’t you.”

When you nod, he seems a little apprehensive and anxious. You speak before he can come to any drastic conclusions. “It’s because I come home smelling like other hybrids, right? And you don’t like smelling other hybrids on me.”

Now that you’ve voiced it, the two of them have the decency to appear somewhat embarrassed and chastised. They nod, heads hanging slightly, and you fight back a chuckle. At least they’re aware that it’s not an appropriate behaviour, though it’s not like they can help it. It’s instinct for them, and while its hard for you to wrap your head around as a human, you accept it. You accept them.

“You can scent me, you know.”

At your words, their heads whip up so fast you’re worried they’ll have whiplash from the sheer jerkiness and speed of the movement. Taehyung’s mouth has dropped completely open, eyes blown wide as he stares at you in disbelief—his whole face slowly stains pink and when you turn to regard Seokjin you find the fox hybrid in a similar state.

“Wh-what did you say?” he asks, so softly you almost wonder if you imagined it. He stares at you like he can hardly believe such words would come out of your mouth, like he’d never even considered the possibility.

“You can scent me,” you repeat, head tilting slightly. “I read that it’s something you need to do to feel secure, and comfortable… am I wrong?”

Taehyung’s mouth snaps shut and he shakes his head fervently, hands clutching yours at his cheek. Seokjin hurries to elaborate.

“No! No it’s not wrong, we… it’s an instinct…” he trails off, biting his lip. “We didn’t know… didn’t think you would be comfortable with it, b-because it’s…. it’s kind of weird….”

You tut, tapping your hand against their cheeks softly but enough to startle them. “You sweet fools,” you say, grinning—their ears perk up at the affection in your tone, tails twitching as though they contain the urge to wag. “I didn’t accept you unknowingly, I realised it would come with new territory and new things I hadn’t heard of or done before. Also, my cute boys, please don’t make my decisions for me. From now on, please tell me when something is troubling you, alright? Let’s keep honesty and openness as our policy. I really want the two of you to be happy.”

The two of them are nodding again before the last word even leaves your mouth, pressing their faces to your palms like eager puppies. It makes you giggle a little, and at the sound they both light up, tails giving a small wag.

“We understand, y/n,” Seokjin says, smiling and blowing you away for a moment with his beauty. “Thank you.”

You nod, appeased for now, and let a few moments of contented silence fall between you all before Seokjin is shifting suddenly, looking very much like he has something further to say. You look to him pointedly and he grows sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.

“Uh, about what you said earlier… c-could we…?”

You snort softly, sending him a reassuring smile. “Yes, Seokjin, you can scent me. Do what you need to do, pretty boys. I’m yours however you need me.”

The two of them are immediately visibly giddy at your words, though something foreign and dark sparks to life in their eyes. You don’t have enough time to decipher it before Taehyung is lurching forward, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you backwards onto the bed with him. Seokjin immediately shuffles back to accommodate, slotting himself perfectly into your free side when Taehyung nestles into the other. They seek out the crook of your neck on instinct, burying their faces there in sync and making you shiver slightly from the sensation.

They rub their faces against the skin, cheeks pressed to your shoulders, and keep that up for a while. You’re curious as to why that is all they’re doing; when you looked it up earlier, several sources said that certain acts embed the scent more deeply than others. Like rubbing their cheeks against you, versus licking, or even soft kisses as some sites had informed you. Different actions made the scent stronger. Although, you know that neither of them have been in an environment where they’ve been able to do this before, so you know this is all new territory for them as well and they’re unsure of their boundaries. Right on cue as you think this, you sense Seokjin grow slightly tense next to you, his movements slowing.

“y/n…”

You turn, pressing a kiss to the top of his head between his ears. “Seokjin, I know. Do what you feel you need to.”

With verbal permission from you, he sags in relief. At once he returns to clinging to you with a hand clutching your hip on the opposite side, worming beneath the edge of your shirt so he is closer to you. Taehyung shuffles on your other side, doing the same. You feel your heartrate pick up slightly from the way they nuzzle into you, lips brushing your sensitive flesh. It doesn’t help that all you read before is fresh in your mind and you know how scenting can go for hybrids of their type—the idea has your stomach flipping in anticipation.

Taehyung is the first to change his tactics. Burying his nose in your neck, he presses his lips to the skin in a soft kiss before you feel his tongue dart out. It swipes along your sensitive flesh in short strips, the tip of the muscle leaving blots of wetness in its wake—it’s a sensation that tickles slightly as much as it makes your heartrate skyrocket, and you can’t help the soft giggle that slips out as a result. You feel his answering smile moments later.

Seokjin has a similar idea, but his execution differs. His body curls around you, fingers digging into the soft flesh of your hip as he begins to pepper soft kiss after kiss along the column of your neck. He pauses as he nears your hairline, taking a moment to bury his nose in your locks and bask in your scent—you shiver at the feeling and he holds you tighter in his arms.

There’s something about the act that seems to make them succumb that little bit more to their instincts. Unexpectedly, they quickly grow a little bolder. Taehyung pulls the thin strap of your shirt down so he can continue his trail down your shoulder and over the curve of your clavicle. Seokjin’s kisses turn open-mouthed, and he seems to have found a place on your neck just under the curve of your jaw where your scent is strongest—lightly, tenderly, he begins sucking over your pulse point. Your breathing hitches unwittingly in response.

At this point you think you’re going to have a heart attack; your pulse is off the charts and your stomach is a live pool of nerves. Even with what you read, your surprised and alarmed and shamefully a little excited at where this is beginning to go.  Through the haze beginning to permeate your brain, you realise you have to stop them in their tracks before they step too far and can’t go back. Still, it all feels so nice…

You’re only jerked into motion when Taehyung moves, shifting closer and holding himself slightly over you as his mouth maps over your clavicle and begins to move further down. Your heart jumps, and with a surprised squeak trapped in your throat you bring your hand to his head right before he reaches the start of your breast, almost at the edge of the singlet.

“Tae,” is all you say, but your tone seems to bring both of them back to the present a bit. Taehyung shudders, letting out a huff before simply dropping his body down half on top of you, head resting in the crook of your neck. Seokjin presses his lips to your skin in one long, final kiss, before burying his face there and relaxing against you as his brother did. Like this, they return to their earlier ministrations, before it began to get… yeah.

Now that they’re no longer making your heartrate jump to unhealthy levels, the longer you’re in their soft embrace the more sluggish and sleepy you feel—their warmth is like a blanket of security and safety thrown over you, their affection soothing any worries or stress you might retain from the week and day. The feeling is mutual; gradually, the two of them begin to slow in their movements, Taehyung’s soft lapping returning to the occasional press of his lips and nuzzle, Seokjin remaining still with his tongue darting out every so often. Without even meaning to, the three of you fall asleep there in each other’s embrace, tension soothed and worries mollified. One last thing crosses your mind before you drift off.

You really are starting to love these two hybrids with all your heart, but after this experience you have to wonder...

Is that the only thing you feel?

a/n: please let me know what u think,, and lmk if u enjoyed this with a like and/or rb!! also feel free to drop an ask, i’m keen to know what u thought! thank u for reading and supporting me!! <3

masterlist || prev. | next.

[awigglycultist]

Alright like last time I hit post limit and couldn't live blog I started writing my thoughts down on docs in real time whilst watching so I could post later, so here:

HES NEARLY 41!?

Cereal!

Hes such a brat

BECKY BARNES

Shelia is a Karen

“Dont you dare gaslight me” his teeth are FINE stop overreacting

Frank the moneys not worth it divorce that jerk

Peter Pan!?!?

I wanna say “yes frank! Stand up! Good for you!” but this isnt gonna end well is it?

Oh yup there he goes. A trap door in the ground.

“Goodbye daaddyy”

Ofc theres others, I wonder how many men exactly has she married and done this to?

Oh no oh no oh no

MIAH????????????

BERRY SWIFT?

Im just omg. BERRY. AHH.

Honey festival mention!

Looking for a new daddy already…

"onliNE?"

Wait is the feast or famine playing in the background?

Frank giving the food to Barry :)

DONT SAY YOURE GONNA DIE I DONT NEED ANGST FOR YOU PLEASE

HELEN?

“No matter what Im always gonna be youre……..daddy”

Wait so if he’s been down there for 2 weeks with toyzone closed whats Lex doing

Sherman dont go to your mom about it just let him out!

BARRY BARRY NO BARRY NO NO NO BARRY

TED

WAIT NO TED OH NO NO LEAVE TED ALONE

“You are a married women” “Hey works for me”

“Dont sass your mother or ill kick your ass old man!”

NO NOO WHY DOES TED ALWAYS HAVE TO GET SHOT WHY DOES HE ALWAYS DIE

OH GOD THAT MEANS PETER COMES BACK FROM CAMP AND TEDS DEAD STOPPPPP

Including homeless man Ted has died 7 times i think jeez

The gift?!?

Barry :(

Rip Marco

I hate her but she does look hot with a gun gotta say

BLACK BOOK

STARRY CHILDREN

Okay so Hatchetmen hate the witches and the starry children hate the hatchetmen right?

Yup stealing their lives

1920….. 1920

LIB!

Goat! Tentacles!

And I truly feel all lords in black in the chile's tonight

Omg sherman drew ontop of the black book

Omg he memorised the words and drew over it on purpose-

Bye bye milf

Ope hes 7

Poor frank that'd be toutre

Its not really forever tho technically bc frank will die eventually it'll just be for the rest of frank's life...

-killer track-

LOOK AT THEM

HELLO

Dangit Thrash is a jerk

Oh hes threatening to kill now

“YOU THINK I'M AFRAID TO DIE?” Clearly a gen z

“Lets go to Dennys >:(“

Thats Rose!?!?!!!!!

Yes it is Kale!

Oh god hes gonna show her the killer track isnt- yup

I don’t like you so much Kale

STATION WAGON? THAT MEANS DUKE

THERE HE IS MY BOY

“Well i dont know ive never done drugs duke!” “...I know.."

Just missed a little chunk bc of my dad but Duke my beloved and poor Rose

“Is it unbelievable? Yes. but this Hatchetfield”

Specialist… Holloway here we come

Miss Retros!

“Hiya Duke!” “Heya Darlin!” hngg

“Great. My life is in the hands of Barbie”

“Make me.” “...alright.”

A glass with a spiderweb inside

Thrash said he sold his soul to satan to get famous hfjhdkfj

Omg the black book! its so cool!

TINKY TINKY TINKY TIME TRAVEL HNG AHHHHHH EVERYONE SHUT UP also “The Tinker” ooh

Also so are there a few verison of the black book?

Ooh holloway is in Rose’s body

Oh theres taco bell

Holy crap. This song. Wtf.

Okay great rose never heard it now….but holloway did right?...

Oh god yeah she took the curse

Dukes face :( hes so sad and concerned

“Your phone” yeah her very super recent new phone…

“If its a ghost. I'll trap it in this jar.”

“If something happens to me i want you to read this” i really wanna know what it says but i DO NOT want ANYTHING to happen to her

Duke has watch right that down RIGHT THAT DOWN

Hey wait a second how come Kale has heard it hasn't died I mean at least i assume they've heard it before, did they make it?

HOLLOWAY :((

OH GOD NO ITS COMING FROM DUKE AND ROSE OH NOO NO

“dont worry im not going anywhere :)” oh god

“Holloway? What are ya doing darlin?” :((

“I understand” …..ominous

Dead. shes dead great. Ofc.

Duke :’(((

HNGGG I LOVE THEM SO MUCH STOPP DUKE ROSE WHY THIS IS MAKING CRY STOP BEING SO SWEET

‘You were in love with her werent you” “who wasnt?”

DUKE HAS A CAT

The envelope oh boy

“Welp. guess im dead!”

Wait about 2 hrs??

DON'T CALL AN AMBULANCE OR SEND ME TO THE MORGUE OH GODDD

“I was in love with her” “ya you and everybody” they really get the fans huh

Shes alive!

“Duke. what did my note say!?”

Ooohh the whole town knows about her dying that why she couldn't do to the morgue

Rip duke hes so confused

“It just HAD to be the jukebox”

Yes yes lore dump here we go! Learning more about Holloway!

Wait what.

HEY HEY WAIT KNOW GOOD JOB OF PROVING YOUR MAGIC IG BUT I WANNA KNOW THIS STUFF

This isnt first time shes told him?

Oh shes not making him forgot?

Oh god poor holloway

Omg the honey festival-

Oh are we actually seeing them going to honey festival

The mayor!!

Omg i cant wait to see how the stop the song. Like i KNOW itll be stopped we already saw the festival but like i CAANT WAIT

Oh trust me mayor… this will be a night to remeber for everyone…

HAHA HIS MIC WASN'T OFF

HAILEY

HAILEY MADE ZOEYS VOICE WORSE ON PURPOSE?

TED!!!

“At the point ill never get married. Be daddy.”

DEB AND ALICE AHH AND ALICE WAS IN NEW YORK OOH

Jkdfnjdfnj rip duke

God i love seeing everything connected and all these people together

Needy Beasts!

Oh no Kale

And Kale killed the audio guy

Oh poor Kale

OH NO ITS PLAYING

Ooh Holloways playing over it

Oh i love this

DUKE AND HOLLOWAY TOGETHER :))))

OH THEY FORGOT IT OOHHHHH AND THATS WHY THERE WAS ABSOTULEY NOTHING WITH KILLER TRACK IN HONEY QUEEN

DUKE

“The lanky goon”

Oh wow i understand why duke punched kale but im still surprised he’d every punch anyone

Oh oh no Kale oh no

OH GOD KALE

Aww Duke going on about him being the hero so proud of himself not knowing hehe

Oh a new persona? I wanna know all about her personas

Nooo dont say everyones gonna forgot about miss holloway noo dont :((

Shes gone :(

AND HES FORGOTTEN :(

HOLLOWAY or whatevr her new persona is

I literally missed the entrie convo between them bc of my dad

This songs a bop tho

THE BECKY BARNES BIT WITH THE IRISH ACCENT TOO AHAHFEFNSKLDJF

Paul is dead records?? Director Barry Swift??

Okay go the replay: I love Duke and… Holiday so much.

Alright so we're assuming that the girl that got hurt in shop class is Lex right? There's been the theory that Yellow Jacket is about Lex and I sure hope so so we can see what happened to her after Frank just disappeared for two weeks and what may have happened in shop class

She's a counsellor! The only school counsellor I'd trust!

Hey. Hey. Wait. Ofc this isn't Holloways first time changing persona. I wonder if Duke has met personas of her before, he probably has, I wonder how many times? Oh God this episode made be so emotional

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Tech trustbusting's moment has arrived

When it's railroading time, you get railroads.

When the railroads turn into the personal satrapies of rail-barons, you get trustbusters.

A couple decades ago, it was online service time. We had the users, the telcoms systems, the computers, the modems, so we got platforms.

We had that, but we lacked something important: effective antimonopoly enforcement. Lax merger laws allowed companies with access to capital markets to buy out or neutralize all their competitors, so we got monopolies.

Right on schedule, we're getting digital trustbusters.

Now, some people aren't technically sophisticated, but they do understand a lot about competition law. That's how you get meat-and-taters antitrust proposals like Amy Klobuchar's CALERA, which address the structural problems with antitrust law.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/06/calera/#fuck-bork

Klobuchar's bill is hugely important. The reason we have monopolies is that we stopped enforcing anti-monopoly law 40 years ago. Monopoly isn't a tech problem, it's everywhere from sneakers to glass bottles to pro wrestling to candy to aerospace.

https://www.openmarketsinstitute.org/learn/monopoly-by-the-numbers

Klobuchar's CALERA doesn't just seek to apply antitrust law to tech – it also explicitly restores the pre-Reagan basis for fighting monopolies: we fight monopolies because they concentrate power and corrupt our politics. All monopolies are guilty unless proven otherwise.

But though industries all attained their monopolies through similar tactics – predatory acquisitions and mergers, vertical integration – they also each have their own technical characteristics that must inform our demonopolization tactics.

Take emergency care: monopolists love ERs because we don't choose which ER to use, nor when. You can't shop for an ER from the back of an ambulance. You don't know going in whether you're going to spend $1m or $1k. And you'll buy whatever services the ER tells you to buy.

Or power-grids: demand for electricity is both inelastic (you need power when you need power) and price-insensitive, and that inelasticity increases with demand: that is, when it's freezing or boiling out, everyone wants electricity.

Tech, of course, has its own technical characteristics. Chief among these is its flexibility. At a deep, theoretical level our digital tools and networks are capable of interoperating with one another in ways that no physical technologies can match.

Think of the Australian rail-system. In the mid-19th century, would-be rail-barons laid differing gauges in hopes of conquering the nation's logistics and transport. For 150+ years, engineers have tried to solve the "multi-gauge muddle" by designing multi-system railcars.

Hundreds of designs for cars that retract and extrude different wheelbases have been tried, and none ever caught on. Instead, Australia is tearing up and re-laying thousands of kilometers' worth of track. With physical tech, "compatibility" often means starting from scratch.

Not so with digital tech. If you are an OS company whose rival has locked up all office docs in a proprietary format, you don't have to convince all its customers to abandon their documents and start over. You just make a compatible program:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

With digital and physical tech, network effects drive high switching costs, but when it comes to digital, network effects are a double-edged sword.

With interoperability, a walled garden can easily become a feed-lot, where customers for a new service are neatly arrayed for competitors to come and harvest.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/01/twitter-and-interoperability-some-thoughts-peanut-gallery

Good tech policy emphasizes interoperability when it comes to demonopolizing the digital world. Long before the US ACCESS Act and the EU Digital Markets Act, Mike Masnick published his seminal "Protocols, Not Platforms" paper.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/01/twitter-and-interoperability-some-thoughts-peanut-gallery

And Daphne Keller's work on "Magic APIs" presaged the ACCESS Act's idea of forcing tech companies to expose the APIs they use internally so that competitors can plug into their services:

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200901/13524045226/if-lawmakers-dont-like-platforms-speech-rules-heres-what-they-can-do-about-it-spoiler-options-arent-great.shtml

(that paper is outstanding, BTW, with clear-eyed assessments of alternatives, like a digital fairness doctrine, "common carriage" rules, an "indecency" standard for content moderation – basically a checklist for "So you've got a plan to fix tech – did you think of ____?")

Masnick's "protocols" are a vision for a decentralized, better internet. Keller's Magic APIs describe a legal path to getting there. My own work on Competitive Compatibility (nee Adversarial Interoperability) describes how we'll STAY there.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interoperability

Because monopolies are good at subverting regulation, so any Magic API rule would be brittle – dependent on the tech companies not sabotaging those APIs by moving the important data-flows away from the mandatory APIs.

That's why we have to strip monopolists of the power to ask a court to block interoperators: take away the wildly distorted copyright, patent, terms of service and other legal doctrines that Big Tech ignored during its ascent, but now enforces against would-be competitors.

With both interop mandates and a legal right for new entrants to force interoperability through technical means, tech giants will face consequences if they subvert antimonopoly rules.

The choice becomes: either respect the intent of a mandate and preserve interop; or be plunged into a chaotic arms-race with competitors who switch to scraping, bots, and reverse-engineering.

All of this is incredibly wonkish, a highly specialized debate that involves highly technical propositions about how digital technology works today, how it used to work and how it might work – layered atop a similar, highly technical understanding of antitrust law.

The Venn overlap of "deep understanding of digital tech" and "deep understanding of antitrust debates" isn't so much a slice as it is a sphincter, and the debate has been equally narrow, but when it's railbaron time, you get trustbusters.

The tech monopoly/interop debate is going mainstream. Francis Fukuyama and his colleagues at the Stanford Working Group on Platform Scale have proposed an intervention similar to the ACCESS Act, where trusted third parties mediate between monopolists, new entrants and users.

The Stanford proposal calls them "middleware companies," but they're conceptually interchangeable with the idea of a "data fiduciary": companies that act as referees when a new co-op, startup or nonprofit wants to plug into a monopolist's service.

https://pairagraph.com/dialogue/4124f75013da40038c4cbff5ebdaaa51/3

This is clearly an idea whose time has come – it's present in the EU's DMA and the US Access Act, and latent in the UK CMA report:

https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/online-platforms-and-digital-advertising-market-study#final-report

Importantly, it's an approach that recognizes the distinctive character of tech – taking account of the power of interop to break open walled gardens and unravel network effects.

What's especially interesting about this work is that it appears to have been developed in parallel to pre-existing work from Masnick and Keller (and me) – it's a case of convergence between the tech-policy world and the broader world of policy.

After all, while Masnick and Keller's work is well known inside of tech policy, that's just our obscure, nerdy corner of the policy world – now they're escaping that corner, becoming self-evident to people from traditional policy backgrounds.

https://review.chicagobooth.edu/economics/2020/article/capitalisn-t-francis-fukuyama-s-proposal-rein-big-tech

My hope is that the trend continues – that we see ideas about Competitive Compatibility/Adversarial Interop join the idea of API mandates, so that we produce durable anti-monopoly systems, not just anti-monopoly rules.

Most important, though, is restoring an appreciation for the importance of interoperability in preventing monopolies and promoting technological self-determination for communities and individuals.

Because such a sensibility can escape the legislative world and be enacted via fast-moving, easier-to-use policy  tools. For example, we could (should!) make interop a feature of all government procurement rules.

No school district should buy devices for students without securing the right to sideload the apps they need on them – imagine buying 50,000 Ipads at public expense and then having Apple boot the app you rely on out of the App Store!

Likewise, no district should buy Google Classroom without securing a legally binding guarantee not to block interoperators who want to integrate other ed-tech services into the curriculum, with or without Google's cooperation.

Procurement and interop are as old as the Civil War, when the Union Army demanded firearms and ammo that had multiple manufacturers. As the state-level Net Neutrality rules (which bar governments from using non-neutral ISPs) showed us, procurement can shape markets.

Procurement is just for starters. Right now, tech companies caught breaking the law are handed down fines that are less than the profits their lawbreaking generated – instead, we could demand interop as part of any settlement.

One major barrier to interop is contract law: terms of service, EULAs, noncompetes, arbitration, etc. States wield enormous power over contracting terms: states can declare certain contractual language against public policy and thus unenforceable.

If, say, California were to pass a rule nullifying the mountain of abusive garbage that has become standard in digital "contracts," it would be in a position to export fair usage terms to the country in just the same way it exports robust emissions standards.

Antittrust is primarily a federal manner (that's why 40 years of federal antitrust malpractice has been such a disaster). But every level of government, down to your local school board, can make a meaningful difference in tech antitrust.

Digital technology's inescapable, marvellous, terrifying flexibility can be translated into so many unique, powerful weapons for transforming the industry and empowering communities to control their digital lives and seize the means of computation.