#full version was too big for tumblr at high quality

[hootiee]

FULL BLUE EXORCIST JUMP FESTA PANEL

Over half an hour of tons of news and showcases for the new anime series, discussions from the cast's voice actors, and a message from the mangaka herself! It's Blue Exorcist's first time (in a long time?) to be showing up on Jump-Festa's most important & popular stage panel's (Stage Red)! This event doesn't come often! So for those who've missed it, or want to rewatch it, here's the live stream!

ENGLISH TRANSLATED VERSION: CLICK HERE(mega.nz)

ORIGINAL JAPANESE VERSION: CLICK HERE(mega.nz)

Both are in high quality! And you can watch it directly in mega.nz, no need to download! why post it on mega.nz? well the file is too big for tumblr..

[seamayweed]

omg jesus christ how the hell you can sharpen the gif that.. sharp 🥹🥹 im such a fannnn please let me know some tips thank you

Hello, sweet Anon! I’m beyond flattered and honored that you would ask me for giffing tips and tricks 💙 “is he/she mad” sdfghjkl sounds about right - thank you!! 😂

Okay, let’s delve into it without much further ado:

(more underneath the cut)

1. HQ Videos

The most important thing is to get high-quality video files. I usually work with 1080p and got mine from dr*maday.me - you can find other kdramas there as well. It’s the go-to source for most kdrama gifmakers.

2. Brightness/Contrast

Make sure to get some good contrast with a Brightness/Contrast layer. That’s how you get the vibrancy, brightness, and deep blacks to make everything look more dynamic and quite sharp already even before the actual sharpening, though usually the colors end up too saturated and vibrant, so you’ll have to tone those down.

For the first gif in this set I used these settings:

This is what the gif looks like without any Brightness/Contrast layers (but still with all the other adjustment + coloring layers) vs. what it looks like with them:

3. Basic Sharpening

I like to leave the sharpening for last since it fits better into my workflow. For the basic sharpening (two Smart Sharpens) I use these common settings:

This is what it looks like after the two Smart Sharpens:

4. Vivid Sharpen (VS)

a. Full VS

For big gifs that are 540x500px or larger, I do a Vivid Sharpen after the basic two Smart Sharpens, and that’s what I did for the gifs in this set as well since they are 540x600px. I follow this tutorial, keeping the same settings (3.0px for the Gaussian Blur, 30% opacity for the VS group): https://sidonidoneeey.tumblr.com/post/667301663059656704/a-really-nice-anon-requested-a-gif-sharpening

And voila, there you have your beautiful crisp gifs! You could let it stay at that, but personally I also like to add an extra step…

b. Masking (Partial VS)

Hope you are familiar with masking, Anon!

If you aren’t, that’s okay too. Basically, you click on the icon of a circle in a square and a masking layer will appear on your VS group layer (as indicated by the red circle and arrows in the screenshot below). You can use a soft brush on that masking layer to hide and show what you like. Black = hiding the layer effect; white = showing the layer effect. After making the whole masking layer black (by inverting the colors with Ctrl+I), I use a white brush on the spots where I want to apply the VS:

Narrowing down the area of the sharpening is quite useful since VS tends to make gifs REALLY big, and the Tumblr size limit for gifs is currently at 10 MB, so that's something to keep in mind.

I also do it for depth of field (i.e. when the object in the foreground is sharp and the background is soft/blurry). Masking is a good way to amplify that, play with the soft/sharp contrast, and direct the viewer’s gaze.

With Park Sung-woong I found that VS works well on the dips and grooves in his skin, so I just generously used it on his whole body and face; with Woo Do-hwan I feel like VS looks a bit too harsh on his face, so I tried to use it mostly on his body + his hair, eyes, and mouth, leaving out the rest of his face (as best as I could since there's some movement), the way I did in gif 4 with the masking layer looking like this:

Here you can compare the screenshots of a partial VS vs. a full VS:

IMO the second one with the full VS looks slightly too harsh on his skin and darkens his face a bit, which I don't want; the background ends up looking grainier as well.

To get back to the first gif, here are three versions with different levels of sharpening for better comparison:

No Sharpening:

Smart Sharpen x2:

Smart Sharpen x2 + Partial VS:

And here you have the original footage (after cropping and resizing) vs. the final colored and sharpened gif:

...and that's how I did the sharpening for this gifset. Hope you found this helpful, dear Anon!

[thealphabard]

Alright kiddos, Daddy Jace is going to sit you all down for a long post. With twitter (and probably tumblr?) implementing genai i decided to take it upon myself to test both Nightshade and Glaze so you don't have to. Or to maybe clear some stuff up regarding both programs bc i myself was not able to find info on the quality in relation to stylized art! I'm risking my own butt for this lol

lets start with Glaze since that's just what i opened first. for clarity sake, this is what I'm chucking into it. i decided to go with 3 levels of images, starting with a basic no background fairly simplistic piece, a more detailed subject, and a full background piece from a long abandoned wip in favor of redoing it in a sense.

now there are 3 main settings I've noticed for glaze, its a default medium and high setting (there's render times too, but for this test I'm staying on the default render time which is medium and takes about 2 minutes per image)

For the most part it hasn't crazily distorted my images but you can still see some discoloration in the art. not a big deal for me personally, as you can still make out what's going on just fine. it gets pretty rough in some of the background on the big image, but thats probably the worst of it for this setting. next we will do medium!

haha ooookay just for your knowledge, I'm writing this in real time. OKAY yeah so, medium is where you will see the diminishing return it seems, while it probably really fucks with ai, unfortunately at this point my images look pretty distorted especially in backgrounds and high detail areas. but i will do high just in case anyway

Yeah so this is where the full distortion happens in all 3. again, you can still see the subject and key details, but its a bit unsavory isn't it?

now i want to make something clear. the program itself will give you feedback if the protection is enough, and for all of these tests it was fine so unless you aren't too worried about how the pictures look on social media (ie, if you share a full version in patreon/send the raw com to the owner) you can most likely choose default without any issues.

we are moving onto nightshade! in nightshade it has roughly the same UI, with the option to select a poison tag. we will come back to this later ass you can only use it on 1 image at a time. its settings are low, default, and high with similar rendering times and i will be using the same images to test them out :D starting with the low setting!

Now, i don't know if its just because I'm fresh out of the high settings from glaze, but i personally prefer this setting on my artwork. it doesn't have as much of the "oilspill" look that glaze has and is harder to notice the distortion at a glance. onto the default setting though!

Once again, prefer this over the medium for my style in particular. a lot less muddling and color distortion . obviously still there, but not effecting the details as much. High next!

This is definitely the too much gene lol however i would compare it to the medium of the glaze. Though, and this is important, please choose based off what you feel fits your needs. for me, nightshade is what i will use but it wont be the same for everyone. i just hope this gives a good comprehension on what each program does! now, to explain the tagging. in batches it will automatically tag, but it seems this is just to make an invisible coded footprint if you will in everything you do. you can overwrite them in your results, or if you do image by image (ie, if you make a new image, and put it through nightshade) you can tag it there. i will personally just be using my username as my tag going forward. and to show how that looks on an image with standard settings just to show that's its not effecting your image any extra on a visual front.

and that concludes Jace's decent into madness.

the biggest stipulation, is these are both windows/macos based applications for now

HOWEVER while I am able (given I'm not swarmed) i am more than happy to help those who would like to protect themselves and do not have the means to and i encourage others to do the same if they are comfortable. please reach out. FUCK AI ART

[canmom]

Toku Tuesday 40: Seinen Manga

みんなさん、今晩は！

Good evening everyone! We’re going to continue another week of ‘actual tokusatsu’: tonight on Toku Tuesday, our theme is, movies based on seinen manga...

In the notional demographic system of manga, 青年 seinen means ‘adult men’, in contrast to the other major demographic categories of 少年 shōnen (teenage boys), 女性 josei (adult women), and 少女 shōjo (teenage girls). In practice these categories, defined at the magazine level, are very porous; a series can move between different magazines of different demographics, and they often serve more as genre classifications than ‘only x demographic will be interested in y kind of story’.

We can maybe see all four demographics as successors to the legacy of the gekiga movement of more adult-oriented comics; once, gekiga was conceived of as a different type of thing entirely than manga, but now it’s all conceived of as different types of manga and the oldschool Tezuka-style comics have almost completely vanished. I’m not exactly sure how or when that shift happened...

So, what exactly does seinen manga mean? I am nowhere near widely read enough to give a full overview, but the manga that I’ve read that falls into this category tends to include heavy psychological dramas, historical fiction, horror, nihilism, and of course (probably goes without saying) usually quite a bit of sex and gore. Many of Tumblr’s favourite mangaka, like Junji Ito and Kentaro Miura, fall into this demographic, but so too do works like Houseki no Kuni.

I think there may also be a visual component, in that the works I think of often show an emphasis on high detail, anatomical realism and very refined linework, although inevitably that depends a lot on the artist, and to a fair extent is shared with manga at large. Even within those trends, there is of course considerable diversity. Here, take a look at a few examples, all classified under seinen...

Homunculus, illus. Hideo Yamamoto.

Made in Abyss, illus. Akihito Tsukishi:

Vagabond (coloured version), illus. Takehiko Inoue

Uzumaki, illus. Junji Ito:

Berserk, illus. Kentaro Miura:

Houseki no Kuni, illus. Haruko Ichikawa:

Ghost in the Shell/Koukaku Kidoutai, illus. Masamune Shirow:

Gantz, illus. Oku Hiruya

Insofar as a lot of such manga depends on the specific qualities of illustration and comics, adapting them to film - whether animation or live action - can be a tricky challenge for a director. But there have been plenty of attempts! So tonight what I have for you are adaptations of two manga series I enjoyed. Which is mostly an excuse to talk about some manga I find interesting! To not keep you in suspense, that’s Gantz and Homunculus change of plans, Ichi the Killer.

Lets start with Gantz. This was perhaps the first really edgy manga I read, back at the age of... I want to say 17? It was a big shock at the time, but also was still pretty early in its run. I came back to it much later to read with adult eyes.

Gantz starts on a relatively small scale: a group of people who recently died wake up in a room, where a large shiny black orb containing a bald man on life support mocks them and equips them with strange weapons and suits before dispatching them to assassinate an ‘onion alien’. The series is deeply fascinated with gore, from the gradual ‘printing’ of people in space by the Gantz orb to the delayed, splattery dismemberment of the sci-fi guns. The protagonists soon discover the many dangers of their missions: they’ll get their heads blown off if they stray too far from the mission area, their superstrength suits can be overloaded, and their enemies become increasingly overwhelming. In between battles, Kei returns to his civilian life at school, unable to speak about what’s happening in the strange pocket dimension where the battles take place, but soon the violence spills out to threaten him at home as well.

But what of the actual thematic arc of the series, beyond the moment to moment action? This centres at first on the dynamic between Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, reunited when they are killed by a train attempting to rescue someone who fell onto the tracks. Kei was once a very prosocial upstanding young man, but by the outset of the series becomes increasingly embittered; Masaru on the other hand looked up to Kei’s example when they were younger and tries desperately to save the people teleported by the orb. Spoilers, Masaru dies, and Kei - who survives enough missions to become confident navigating the battles - starts to attempt to live up to what Masaru saw in him and earn enough points to bring him back, along with everyone else who died, all contrasted against the nihilistic views of other successful survivors and the slaughter of the various groups pulled into the sphere.

It’s also a story of... a lot of love triangles! Kei falls into relationships with various girls, from a popular idol who’s part of the Gantz team, to a shy schoolgirl. Sounds like wish fulfilment? No doubt, but as the series goes on, it turns into a story of an alien invasion by enormous giants who start to gather the humans as pets. It turns out the Gantz system was somehow a means to train humans to resist the aliens, put in place by a third alien power. The series splits into a number of different narrative strands, following humans trapped in the alien spaceship - Kei’s girlfriend Tae in particular - and the resistance on the ground.

Eventually, the humans win and start committing war crimes against the giants, and the third party reveals themselves to tell everyone that they are omnipotent, everyone’s suffering is pointless, and there is no god, and to demonstrate this point, they summon back various deceased characters and then kill them off again. But also reincarnation is in fact real! The series ends with Kei, finally reunited with Tae, going back into space to fight a duel with one of the surviving alien giants to protect the Earth from a last-ditch attack by the aliens.

A word must surely be said of Gantz’s attitude to girls. It’s undoubtedly horny as all hell; the camera loves to linger on nude shots and nearly every issue of the manga will have a cheesecake version of the suit at the start or end. It’s not unable to afford girls subjectivity or give them a place in the battles, even if the centre of the narrative is always Kei. The relationship between Tae and the alien giant woman who initially takes her as a pet but later starts talking to her is interesting, with definite shades of Fantastic Planet. But ultimately, all the girls desires are rather limited by the heterosexual imagination - a very frustrating limitation.

It’s quite a thing. It is a very chaotic story, with a keen sense for impactful and disturbing visuals. Although I know Hiruya intended from the start to slaughter most of the cast, I feel like the overall arc of the story can’t have been planned; rather what unites it is perhaps an overall attitude. The ideas it’s dealing with - hope, despair, nihilism and meaning - are perhaps familiar, and Kei is very much an anime protagonist boy not too far afield from his shōnen counterparts, but the underlying brutality helps give them a bit of weight.

As a highly popular manga, Gantz has seen a few adaptations, although none attempt to cover the whole work. None other than Ichirō Itano, inventor of the Itano Circus shot in which dozens of missiles scatter across the screen (c.f. Animation Night 64) took it on in 2004, carrying on the ethos of his bloody 80s OVAs like Battle Royal High School. Maybe at some point we’ll take a look at that on Animation Night?

Five years later, a second attempt would begin: Shinsuke Sato’s live action film adaptation, consisting of three films (one made for TV), the first released in 2009 and seemingly fairly closely following the early parts of the manga, the second diverging with a plot in which there are two Masarus, one good and one evil. This project seems to have been reasonably successful, praised for the special effects, and would set Sato on a path to adapt more manga to film, including one of Bleach. Whether it can capture the sense of desperation that the manga expresses remains to be seen, but I’ll definitely be curious.

My plan for the second film was to take last year’s adaptation of Hideo Yamamoto’s manga Homunculus by Ju-On creator Takashi Shimizu. Unfortunately I hear it sucks, both as an adaptation and a film in its own right, stripping the manga of the complexity that is so vital, particularly in e.g. the rape scene where an exceptionally careful touch would be needed. I haven’t found even one good review of it, from fans or critics of the manga alike; fans are in particular unhappy that it substantially changed the second half of the story and removed a lot of character complexity.

So let’s abandon that plan and go for another gorefest, based on a different Hideo Yamamoto work: Ichi the Killer.

Now, to be clear, I have not read Ichi the Killer, and I can’t comment on whether Miike’s adaptation is close or not. Regardless of its origin, the film garned immense controversy for being really hyper-gory (trust Miike!), portraying a spiral of yakuza violence surrounding an extremely unsympathetic main character. Critics say things like

"It's a paradox, but Ichi the Killer, a film that sets new boundaries in the portrayal of violence and bloodshed, takes a strongly critical stance towards the portrayal and the consumption of the violent image. However, it does so without ever taking a moral stance towards either the portrayal or the consumption, thus circumventing any accusations of hypocrisy on the part of the director. Miike does not moralise or chastise, but provokes the audience into questioning their own attitudes towards viewing images of violence. He steers them into a direction but leaves it up to them to draw their own conclusion".[5]

I suppose we’ll see for ourselves what that means. Miike is someone we have seen on many a previous Toku Tuesday, albeit more in the softer end with films like The Happiness of the Katakuris and Zebraman. So this is perhaps an opportunity to dive into the other side of Miike, the one who is known for his splattery films and pushing boundaries to breaking point. (Some of which we saw in his take on Jojo).

Ichi the Killer follows an unstable, sadistic man who loves to get off on watching other people commit sexual violence. He is manipulated by a man named Jijii who, acting behind the scenes, wants to kill off various factions of yakuza. Under Jijii’s hand, Ichi is given a number of false memories, convincing him in particular that he raped someone in high school, which shapes him into a horny murderer that Jijii can turn on whoever he wants removed. The plan, inevitably, goes to shit and the escalating violence soon reaches back towards Jijii himself. The whole affair sounds reminiscent of something like the Vengeance Trilogy (TT#29), and it has similar moments of ‘ooohhhhhh gross’ like skewers in ears.

From reading this film’s synopsis, it seems very few people walk away from this bloodbath intact, but sex workers seem to have both a fairly major role (almost all the women mentioned in the synopsis are sex workers) and don’t tend to live very long in this film. I feel like there is probably a lot to critically analyse here, especially placed alongside the other works of Hideo Yamamoto, but I should hold off until I have seen the film and also read the original manga.

So to summarise, tonight the plan is to watch Gantz (2011), and Ichi the Killer (2001)! In whichever order they first get onto my hard drive.

Unfortunately due to a paucity of seeds, I am still waiting for the films to download. Expect Toku Tuesday to begin in maybe an hour and a half, around 9pm UK time, and I’ll be sure to announce it here when we’re ready.

[majokkoradio]

Hello! When I try to upload my own audio to here it always says it's too big, but it's just a three minute song from various anime. How do you pass this issue or make the file smaller?

The issue is that tumblr has a file size limit of 10mb and most high quality mp3s now are usually past that. (sometimes just barely too, like 10.3mb :/)

If I run into this I use Audacity (I have the full software because it came packaged with another program I bought so I'm not sure if the free version of Audacity can do this) to export it to a lower kbps to change the file size

If you ever see an MP3 file that says something like "320kbps" that's gonna be a large file size. When I convert it I usually set it to 128kbps and usually reduces it enough to take care of tumblr's size limit. Before you upload you can always check what the properties of your mp3 by right-clicking it and selecting "properties" to see what's going on.

[imgucciking]

Mmmh [KAI]

Listen as you read

Pairing: Idol!Boyfriend!Kai X Fan!Reader 

Genre: Smut, Smut, Smut. After care fluff. And some fluff at the start.

Words: 2k

Warning: Masturbation! Cursing! Marking! Eating out! Penetration! Size kink! Unprotected sex! [stay safe y'all] 

A/N: My first work on tumblr, I wanted to start of with Kai.

Kai was your boyfriend, and he had been for a total of 3 years last month. You had spent the time well at home, he had even cooked some dinner for the both of you! A surprise cake was baked by him as well, in the flavour of chocoltae, your favorite [ You didn't tell him how you found a few egg shells in it]

But right now though, the pair of you were separated. You lived near the outskirts of Seoul, while the headquarters of SM, as well as Kai's house was in the middle of the busy city. Kai was busy with the preparation of his new solo, whiich he hadn't even revealed the name for to you.

He said it was super secret and it would be ruined if he revealed. You of course had pouted, and even tried some aegyo, which you never did in order to get him to tell you what the song was called, atleast. Somehow though, he never told you. On the november 25, the teaser of mmmh had been revealed. 

You had watched the video, then went straight to your bed, your phone in hand, already dialling kai. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? WHY YOU GOTTA KILL ME?" He had laughed. He fucking laughed. That. Was. It

You were so excited for today! Mmmh was finally getting released and of course you were excited! You got your big computer ready, put it on full screen, 4k quality and the volume was full on. Your phone was right beside ou incase kai decided that he was going to kill you in this mv like the teaser. 

You used the phone a lot. You called him the moment the song started, and of course, he was there, like the sweet boyfriend he was to listen to you fangirl over him, and then gasp and pretend to die when he revealed his abs. He found it very endearing that you did all this. Then, once you were done watching the mv for about the 100th time, he asked ou to always call him like this cause he found it awesome.

You blushed before replying with an ok and then cutting the call. 

It had been a month since then. You were going through the many memories you and Kai had created right now, looking through the million selfies and photos on your phone, your background music being a 10 hour version of mmmh. Bless the soul which made such an awesome repeat.

"You make me feel so mmmh hmmm~" You mouthed the words. All of a sudden, the repeat got over. You pouted to yourself, your hands reaching over to your phone to see what was going on. But suddenly, the song played again, only this time his voice sounded deeper, sexier. Your thighs automatically came closer, his deep voice doing something to your inside. 

Tentatively, you let your hand travel lower down your body, underneath jong-in's hoodie which you had on. You let out a breathy gasp as your fingers came in contact with your heat. You allowed your hands to travel the rim, but not deep in. You wanted to tease yourself. 

And oh were you doing a good job at it. You lied your body more comfortably on the bed, then spread your legs wide, your/kai's hoodie pulled up until it was bunched up underneath your neck. Your nipples had formed hard pebbles due to the cold air in the room, and your left hand was currently playing around with your left breast, twisting it around, rubbing it, and playing with your tits. 

One hand still rested comfortably within the folds of your clit, gently flicking it and pinching at the sensitive nub. One important rule of kai's was that you never played with yourself, because he wanted to be the one to please you, but the thought was long gone from your head, and besides, it wasn't like kai was coming home today, was he?

Oh how wrong could you have been.

The door clicked open loudly, as Jong-In stepped into the house. "I'm home baby!" His words, however were left to drift into the silence, as you were far too lost in the pleasure your fingers were causing you. Granted, they weren't as large as Kai's, but it did the deed and that's all you wanted. 

You were edging closer and closer to your high. "O-Oh! Kai!~" You screeched, as you finally cummed all over your fingers, the white sticky substance coating your hand. Kai heard you. And judging by the way you sounded, he also knew what you were doing right now. 

His cock twitched in his pants, like waking up from a long nap. "God Y/N..." He groaned, before pulling his shoulder back off and placing it on the table. Unbuttoning the top 2 buttons of his top, he walked into your shared bedroom. God how you lay on the bed, his hoodie all bunched up on you, your fingers still buried deep within your cunt. The tent in his pants became painful to handle as he stalked closer to you.

Your eyes were shut from how you rode out your high, your breathing heavy as you rested. Jong In edged closer to your body, before he put his lips very close to your ears. "Didn't I teach you to not touch yourself?" Your eyes shot open as you looked up at his figure hovering over your tiny self. 

His lips were curved up in a smirk. "K-Kai I-" You were cut of by him placing his finger on your lips. "Hush...." He removed his finger once he was sure you would keep quiet, his fingers now wrapped around your airpods, as he plugged one of them off your ear. "What were you listening to, baby?"

He puts one into his ear, greeted by his voice singing out. "Ahh baby.... My song?" You nod furiously, not wanting to do anything that might displease him. He let out a groan seeing you so submissive. He pulled it out, then curled his fingers round your phone which lay forgotten beside you. 

He disconnected the earphones, allowing his voice to sing out loud. "I'm going to fuck you, with my voice in the background. Is that okay babygirl?" You nod once more. His fingers curl around your neck, a tight grip. "Use your voice~" You quickly let it out. "Yes, kai!"

"Ah ah!" He tutts, his grip around your neck tightening. "What is my name?" Your eyes widen before you remember. "Yes s-sir!" He nods, before smiling, his fingers unravelling from you neck, to your hair as he gently strokes it. "Such a good girl for me, aren't you?" His tugs at your hair, pulling you up into a sitting position. 

"Such a good, good girl.... But you've been bad now.... Should I punish you?" Your eyes widen. "No sir! I'm s-sorry!" He smirks, before pulling the hoodie of your body entirely. He inches close to you, and you think he is about to kiss you so you pucker your lips. "Ah ah! Only good girls get kisses!" You pout, and Jong in almost wants to kiss you now.

"I'm sorry!" You say again, as you try to pull him towards you. But he, is able to resist, and he buries his face deep into your neck, gently breathing in and out your scent, his breath hitting right on your sensitive area. He knew how crazy you get when he does that.

"Sir!" You moan, your voice sounding foreign to even yourself. Kai's teeth sink into your soft unmarked skin, as he paint art on you. He was the artist, and you were the canvas, nothing you could do would get you out of this. Once he was done with the hickeys covering your neck, he stood up and went to the chest of drawers were you stored your... toys..

Kai was a bit overexcited with the usage of toys and such, so the pair of you had bought an entire cupboard to keep in the stock of your sex toys. 

He selects a black blindfold, and fuzzy cuffs. Mmmh...Your favorite.

He ties the blindfold around your eyes, and seats you up on the bed, with your hands cuffed tightly. Not too tight enough for it to hurt, but tight enough to not allow you to escape its grasp. You struggle a bit, adjusting your body, till you feel a flat muscle lick against your cunt. 

Your body goes rigid and you stop moving around. He smirks against you, and he knows you can feel him right there. He lets out a soft groan, when you start grinding yourself onto his face, but his hands go to your thighs and he quickly stops you by holding your thighs. 

You whine and whimper at the sudden hold, but he teases you by letting his tongue wander all over your heat, but not where you want it this most. "Kai!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Please!" He suddenly stops. "Ah, ah... What's my name?" "Sir!!!!!"

"Good girl, I'll award you, shall I?"

He starts lapping at your juices, sucking, pinching, and stroking at your cunt. Your eyes had rolled back so far into your sockets, that you thought it might get stuck right there. His tongue was much better at pleasing you than your fingers, and the tightening in your stomach only increased. 

"Jong In!! I'm gonna c-" His warmth suddenly leave you. You look up at him, to see him smirking at you. You whine at not being able to release. "I think you've been stretched quite enough, right Jagi?" He unlocks the handcuffs, before tying it again onto you, except this time its not against the bed.

He undresses himself quickly, and as soon as he gets his underwear off, his large member flips against his lower abdomen. Your eyes feast on his naked body, all the ripped muscles on it. You want to trace your fingers over him, but your hands are unfortunately locked. 

You groan at this fact. His hands curl around his member as he strokes it, coating it with his pre cum. Once its enough, he bends over and produres his head into your heat. You groan at the feeling, clenching him and trying to pull him. "So thirsty for my dick, babygirl? Well then, I'll give you what you want!" 

He suddenly pounds into you, thrusting hard and not even allowing you to adjust to his length and girth. "God!" You screech, the pain and pleasure mixing together to cause something totally new. Your hands tug of your blindfold, wanting to see Kai fuck you deep. 

He lifts your left leg up, and places is onto his shoulders, reaching to places within you that had never been touched. "Feel me there? Right in that pretty little stomach of yours baby?" "Oh god yes! You scream, and you know your neighbours will be able to hear you quite well. 

But Kai liked that. He liked to show them all who you belonged to.

He grunts as you clench tightly around him, nearly not allowing to thrust. You were close and he got that. He pound into you even harsher, like an animal unleashed and allowed to do whatever it wanted with your body. He reaches over to your hair, and tugs you up. 

You comply, placing your head on his chest as he continues his work. These move was all you needed for you to come, and you let your cum flow, your eyes rolling to the back of your socket and all you can see for awhile is white. 

He continues pounding into you, chasing his own high. You, being hypersensitive clench tightly around him. This pulled him over the edge, and he cummed into you, releasing his load well. 

He lied next to you, both of you panting and sweaty. His cum flows a bit out of you, wetting the bed below. "That was-" Kai smiles at you. "I love you, Jagi" 

You grin, feeling a bit sleepy. "I love you too baby" 

[inhibited-irregularity]

EUROVISION 2021, personal favorites:

- Russia 🇷🇺

Manizha, Russian Woman: Absolute favorite. The sheer originality of the song! Her energy and the level of absolute badassery! She can sing, she can rap,and she's a bomb of energy. The way reggae and brass and hiphop and Slavic melodies overlap and it somehow works, the transitions between fun and "I'm bitter about the sexism and I'm mocking it unapologetically and making a stand" and the anthemic, emphatic and powerful message to Russian women; I was swelling with emotion while watching her. While to an American or a Westerner it may seem like performative feminism, I'm gonna remind you that in Russia and other Slavic countries that's very much not a thing and actually a very unpopular stand to make, and in Russia, The Balkans, and Eastern Europe in general, hundreds of women face domestic and sexual abuse on the daily, and those who do come forward rarely get support and are mostly dismissed. Let's not forget that Manizha got a huge backlash from the Russian government officials, and a big part of it was for her Tajik roots. The honesty of her message is real, and she's speaking from personal experience and the experience of women around her - nothing performative about her song, and you can tell from her delivery that the fire within her is true and she leaves her heart on the stage and pours it into the song. The staging and costumes are great as well, and symbolically well thougt-through. I would really like her to win, or at least get to the top 5. Most of all, I hope her message is heard and felt. 10000/10

- Italy 🇮🇹

Måneskin, Zitti e Buoni: definitely the closest thing to my actual music taste this year, so liking them off the bat wasn't a surprise. However, they're not just your regular Franz-Ferdinand-ish young alt rock band that wants to do rock "properly" - they have IT. The X factor, the Je ne sais quoi. I've been exposed to that particular genre, and I can confidently say that the song still manages to be refreshing and original (that bridge, those riffs!) The band has a great energy and no matter how much Damiano steals the show, they are still a unit and nobody is left in the shadows. They have the spirit of great rock bands of the previous century, and yet they don't try to copy anyone (khm,Greta Van Fleet, khm). Damiano's vocals are both powerful, seductive and provoking, and I'm still admiring the sheer amount of emotion he can pack into a single line and the nuance and yet rawness behind it. I'm not gonna state the obvious lol (the obvious being yes, I'm thirsty as well, he becomes yet another unattainable rockstar for me too,and yes they all look great) Anyway, great song, and maybe the clearest and most serious candidate for the number one spot, taking both the jury and the public into consideration. 10/10

- Iceland 🇮🇸

Daði Freyr and Gagnamagnið, 10 years:

What can I say about this masterpiece that hasn't already been said? A clear fan-favorite (hi, Valentina), but with the guns to back it up. The song is contagious, fun and campy, and unlike some other songs with said qualities, actually good from a musical perspective. Daði is incredibly charismatic and his sense of humor shines through, and even though he's the star of the show, the same can be said about the other band members. The synergy Måneskin has can be applied to Gagnamagnið as well, even though the energy is entirely different. They're serving us fun, sunshine, kitties rainbows sugar spice and everything nice, and manage to do it with zero cringe factor (plus those funky keytars). I'm one of those Eurovision fans that lament the golden age's (2004-2009) campiness (We'll never forget you, Verka), and Daði managed to bring it back, but modernised, polished and still sincere. I personally preferred the epic dad joke that slightly more commercial Think About Thing was (but that's one tough act to follow), but I'm always down for a husband adoring his wife and singing praises to their relationship. Since we're on tumblr, I feel obliged to use the term "cinnamon rolls" in describing Daði and the band. 9.5/10

- France 🇫🇷

Barbara Pravi, Voilà: She brought the theatrics, she brought the drama, and she brought the 101 in "that's how you perform". Her personality leaps through, and her voice is both beautiful and full of emotion and power. I'd hire her to star in a serious and artistic movie. Despite the fact that Voilà is from its melody to the singing style to the video to the vibe and the aesthetic hands down the most French thing I've seen since Amélie (do not come for that movie), it miraculously doesn't come across as a cliché, but rather an homage, and an individualistic one at that. It's not entirely my cup of tea, since I'm usually biased to songs that may come off as snobbish (I mean, the jury is going to lap it up), and are all about being proper and technical and oh how ~artistic~, but Barbara puts the soul into the immaculate. I'm not giving her the highest mark because I'm yet to see the performance, but I'm rooting for her. If she delivers the performance, we might have a clear winner. 9/10

- Ukraine 🇺🇦

Go_A, Shum: I'm a sucker for all things ethnic and mytological, so this was a no-brainer. I want that song played at every party. I want to go to the forest in the video and chant and summon the spring with flute and hard-bass. Kateryna Pavlenko has some unexplainable power over me, and her eyes are simply hypnotizing. The vocals are great, proper Slavic ethno right there (seriously, check out Slavic folklore and traditional music), and she has a subtle punk quality too(?). Ukraine came to save the spring and make us forget about the pandemic, and minus the Maruv fiasco (justice for her!), they always deliver and I expected nothing less. On the other hand, I loved the original version much more and couldn't help but be a bit disappointed with the revamp (yes, I know they had to), and while I personally love Shum, I think some other acts are more deserving of the higher placement. Go_A are not my winner, but definitely soon to be in my playlist. 8/10

- San Marino 🇸🇲

Adrenalina, Senhit ft. Flo Rida: You know that golden age of Eurovision I mentioned? THIS. I'm Serbian, so I can't resist a banger reminiscent of our horrible turbo-folk elements (and I say that endearingly,takes me back to 18th birthday parties (boy I'm glad that's over)). Let's just crown Senhit this year's Queen of Camp. The wild factor of Flo Rida...just?? Amazing. Can't wait to see how the performance goes (EDIT- it went great, I had a grin on my face the entire time and couldn't help but dance along). A certain refreshment after Serhat and Valentina Monetta endless loop. They didn't dial down the weird, but made it catchy af, and the vocal can rival any Balkan folk diva. While I think it's definitely the most entertaining entry this year, it's far from being the most original, and it's not really my genre of preference. Will vote for Senhit and root for her to qualify. 7.5/ 10

- Sweden 🇸🇪

Tusse, A million voices: As I mentioned before, I'm the first person that starts complaining about Sweden Superiority as soon as Eurovision season begins, and I'm with you all with being tired of Sweden qualifying just because they're Sweden and usually just bringing the same brand of MTV/Calvin Harris/American pop, or a successful and not-so-subtle imitation of the performances that did well the previous year,but listen: A million voices is a solid pop song and I'm going to die on that hill. It actually embodies the essence of pop - a catchy, pleasant melody sung by a good vocalist, with a short,sweet and uplifting message. It's not the same as previous years, it's not commercial, just good pop - good pop being something you immediately like and vibe to no matter how many common elements of the genre it checks. It relies on RnB rather than electronic sounds, auto tune or various DJ effects. Tusse is charming and charismatic af, and he's a 19yo kid doing an amazing job on a global stage. You don't have to like it, but there's no need to hate on it (ask Jendrik). Imo, Tusse deserved to qualify. Not winner material yet, but I wish him a fun time and a successful career. 7 5/10

- Switzerland 🇨🇭

G'jons Tears, Tout L'Univers: I saw the video first, and I HATED IT. It came across as a Duncan Lawrence-high-art wannabe, something technically perfect, but empty of soul or meaning, another soft boy with a sad falsetto, another jury-points bait. BUT. I changed my mind entirely after seeing him perform. Hands down, it was touching and epic. Reminding me of Hamlet aside, he DELIVERED, and made me love him, and actually enjoy the song. I still think the song is less original than Tusse's voices, but I enjoy the troubadour vibes of the pre-chours. G'jon is absolutely adorable, and I'm not gonna be mad if he wins. 8/10

shout-outs&honorable mentions:

- Serbia 🇷🇸 Yes, some national bias, but I'm proud of our girls. Ever Since we placed 2nd with Željko's Lane, we had that goddamn flute e v e r y year, and the same outdated scenography with a side of extra pathos (I'm sure that ruined Sanja's chances and her otherwise great performance back in 2016.) Finally something fun and actually representative of the music popular here. They looked flawless and the energy was off the charts. Go, Hurricane!

-Finland 🇫🇮 Yes, cheesy and corny and I cut my finger accidentally from watching the video on all the edge, but I'm biased because they're bringing emo and nu-metal back, and that's the music of my early adolescence (hello, Kaulitz brothers and Andy Biersack,hello Gerard Way and Linkin Park) Call me grandma lol

- Malta 🇲🇹 DESTINY CAN SIIIIIIIIING! I wasn't impressed with the song initially, but the performance blew my mind.

- Ireland 🇮🇪 A for effort, and so nice of her to try and give us something unique! While it wasn't good enough to qualify, it was super fun and she seems so nice. Also, we all know that she was out of breath an can sing much better than that. Still wasn't bad.

- Romania 🇷🇴, for being so young and brave enough to put on a show. The nerves got the better of her, but the song itself is good and no doubt she'll do well in the future

- Lithuania 🇱🇹, thanks for the memeries

- Croatia 🇭🇷, Not my cup of tea, but Albina gave a great performance

-Norway 🇳🇴, for embodying the spirit of Eurovision

- North Macedonia 🇲��, for the disco chest

- The UK 🇬🇧, for putting some effort

(Might edit later)

[iridescentides]

hi again dia! happy first day of december ❤️💚 i wanted to ask you what, in your opinion, are the 5 most underrated dcoms? i remember you saying before that you've watched all of them so i'd love to hear your opinions 😊 - 🎅🎁🎄

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH secret santa you are so good! asking me all the best questions 💜

okay so i literally had to make a list of all the dcoms i consider underrated and then narrow down a top 5. theres lots of dcoms that i love, but that i think got the right amount of attention and care (like lemonade mouth and the teen beach movies, for example), so this list just focuses on ones that deserved more hype for their quality level.

5. The Cheetah Girls: One World (2008)

okay so even as i type this i feel like a hypocrite. i have only watched this movie one time. BUT i can acknowledge that its one of the most criminally underrated dcoms ever, tons of people didnt watch it simply because raven wasnt in it. thats why i avoided it as a child, and i didnt get around to watching it until i did my big dcom binge in 2016. and it was so good. theres a really long post floating somewhere around tumblr full of specifics on why its actually the best cheetah girls movie (my favorite is the second one purely out of nostalgia), so to paraphrase some points from that post:

its a solid example of cultural appreciation, rather than appropriation, as the girls go and learn about bollywood and indian culture together

the indian characters arent treated like props or unimportant sides, they get their own agency and storylines that are important

the songs are good!!!

basically this movie was overlooked and slept on even though in terms of role modeling and social value, and just like the first two cheetah girls movies it was important and impactful.

4. Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (2011)

okay so as someone whos very neutral and occasionally negative-leaning towards the hsm franchise (mostly bc its overhyped and not really representative of all dcoms), i was pleasantly surprised by sharpays fabulous adventure. this is another one that i know lots of people skipped right over and dont hold with as much esteem as the main hsm franchise, and that doesnt sit right with me.

i do not agree with the “uwu sharpay was the real victim in hsm” arguments bc in their efforts to look galaxy brained the people who say that overlook the fact that she was a rich white woman who used her power and status to exercise control over opportunities that should have been fairly and freely available for all; they were not “making a mockery of her theater” in the first movie, they were literally just kids who wanted to try out a new school activity that everyone was supposed to be allowed to participate in; and despite allegedly learning her lesson and singing we’re all in this together with everyone at the end of the first movie, she literally showed no growth in the second movie as she fostered an openly hostile environment and favored troy so heavily that it literally cost him his friends, all as part of yet another jealous plan to take things away from people who already have less than her. she was NOT the victim in the main franchise, and she did not seem to exhibit any growth or introspection either.

and that!!! is why sharpays fabulous adventure was so important. in focusing on sharpay as the main character, they finally had to make her likeable. they did this by showing actual real growth and putting her outside of her sphere of influence and control. we saw true vulnerability from her, instead of the basic ass “mean girl is sad bc shes actually just super insecure” trope (cough cough radio rebel), and this opened us up to finally learn about and care about her character. throughout the movie we see her learn, from her love interests example, how to care for others and be considerate. she faces actual adversity and works through it, asking herself what she truly wants and what shes capable of. and in the end, when she finally has her big moment, we’re happy for her bc she worked hard to get there. she becomes a star through her own merit and determination, rather than through money and connections. this movie is not perfect by any means, but it is severely underrated for the amount of substance it adds to sharpays character.

3. The Swap (2016)

okay i know im gonna get shit for this but thats why its on this list!!! just like sharpays fabulous adventure, its not perfect and definitely misses the mark sometimes, but it deserves more attention and love for all the things it did get right!

the swap follows two kids who accidentally switch bodies because of their emotional attachment to their dead/absent parents’ phones. and while i normally HATE the tv/movie trope of a dead parent being the only thing that builds quick sympathy for a young character, they definitely expanded well enough to where we could root for these kids even without the tragedy aspect. we see them go through their daily struggles and get a feel for their motivations as characters pretty well. as a body switching movie, we expect it to be all goofy and wacky and lighthearted, but it moves beyond that in unexpected ways.

the reason the swap is on this list is for its surprisingly thoughtful commentary on gender roles. its by no means a feminist masterpiece, and its not going to radicalize kids who watch it, but it conveys a subtle, heartfelt message that deserves more appreciation. the characters struggle with the concept of gender in a very accurate way for their age, making off-base comments and feeling trapped by the weight of expectations they cant quite put their finger on. we watch them feel both at odds with and relieved by the gender roles they are expected and allowed to perform in each others bodies, and one of the most interesting parts of the movie to me is their interactions with the other kids around them. as a result of their feeling out of place in each others environments, the kids inadvertently change each others friendships for the better by introducing new communication styles and brave authenticity. 

the value of this movie is the subtle, but genuine way it shows the characters growing through being given the space to act in conflicting ways to their expected norms. ellie realizes that relationships dont have to be complex, confusing, and painful, and that its okay to not live up to appearances and images. jack learns that emotional expression is good, healthy, and especially essential to the grieving process. one of the most powerful scenes in the movie comes at the end where, after ellie confronts jacks dad in his body, jack returns as himself to a very heartfelt apology from his father for being too hard on him; the explicit message (”boys can cry”) is paired with an open expression of love and appreciation for his kids that he didnt feel comfortable displaying until his son set an example through honest communication. this is such an empowering scene and overall an empowering movie for kids who may feel stuck in their expected roles, as it sets a positive example for having the courage to break the restrictive societal mold. for its overall message of the importance of introspection and emotional intelligence, the swap is extremely underrated.

2. Freaky Friday (2018)

this is my favorite dcom, and probably my favorite movie at this point. ive always assigned a lot of personal value to this movie (and i love every freaky friday in general), for the message of selfless familial love and understanding. i know i can get carried away talking about this topic; i got an anon ask MONTHS ago asking me about the freaky friday movies and i wrote a super super long detailed response that i never posted bc i didnt quite finish talking about the 2018 movie. and thats bc on a personal level, i cant adequately convey all the love i have for this movie. so i will try to keep this short.

first lets state the obvious: the reason people dont like this movie is bc its not the lindsay lohan version. and i get that, to an extent, bc i also love the 2003 version and its one of my ultimate comfort movies, and grew up watching it and ive seen it a billion times. i even watched it a couple days ago. but the nostalgia goggles that people have on from the early 2000s severely clouds their judgement of the wonderful 2018 remake.

yes, the 2018 version is dorky, overly simplistic plot wise, a bit stiff at times, and super cheesy like any dcom. the writing isnt 100% all the time. the narrative takes a couple confusing turns. the song biology probably shouldnt have been included. i understand this. but at the heart of it all, this movies value is love. and its edge over all the other freaky friday movies is the songs.

on a personal level, the movie speaks heavily to me. i cried very early into my first viewing of the movie bc i got to see dara renee, a dark-skinned, non-skinny actress, playing the mean popular girl on disney channel. that has never happened before. growing up, i saw the sharpays and all the other super thin white women get to be the “popular” girls on tv, and ultimately they were taken down in the end for being mean, but that doesnt change the fact that they were given power and status in the first place for being conventionally beautiful. so, watching dara renee strut around confidently and sing about being the queen bee at this high school got to me immediately. and in general, the supporting cast members of color really mean a lot to me in this movie. we get to see adam, an asian male love interest for the main character. we have a second interracial relationship in the movie with katherines marriage to mike. ellies best friend karl is hispanic. and we see these characters have depth and plot significance, we see them show love, care, and passion for the things they value. the brown faces in this movie are comforting to me personally. additionally, the loving, blended family dynamic is important to me as someone in a close-knit, affectionate step-family.

but on a more general level, this movie is underrated for its skillful musical storytelling and the way it conveys all kinds of love and appreciation. in true freaky friday fashion, we watch ellie and katherine stumble and misstep in their attempts to act like each other. its goofy and fun. but through it all, the music always captures the characters’ intimate thoughts and feelings. the opening song gives us a meaningful view into ellie and katherines relationship and the fundamental misunderstandings that play a role in straining their connection. ellie sings about how she thinks her mom wants her to be perfect, and her katherine sings about all the wonderful traits she sees in her daughter and how she wants her to be more open and self assured. this is meaningful bc even as theyre mad at each other, the love comes through. the songs continue to bring on the emotional weight of the story, as ellie sings to her little brother about her feelings of hurt and abandonment in her fathers absence. the song “go” and its accompanying hunt scene always make me cry bc of the childlike wonder and sense of adventure that it brings. for the kids, its a coming of age, introspective song. for katherine who gets to participate in ellies body, its a reminder of youth and the rich, full life her daughter has ahead of her. she is overcome with excitement, both from getting to be a teenager again for a day, and from the realization that her daughter has a support network and passions that are all her own. today and ev’ry day, the second to last song, is the culmination of the lessons learned throughout the movie, a mother and daughters tearful commitment to each other to love, protect, and understand one another. the line “if today is every day, i will hold you and protect you, i wont let this thing affect you” gets to me every time. even when things are hard and dont go according to plan, they still agree, in this moment, to be there for each other. and thats what all freaky friday stories are ultimately about.

freaky friday 2018 is a beautiful, inclusive, subversive display of familial love, sacrifice, and selflessness, and it is underrated and overlooked because of its more popular predecessor.

1. Let It Shine (2012)

this is another one of my favorite dcoms and movies in the whole world. unlike the other movies on this list, it is not the viewers themselves that contribute to the underrated-ness of this movie. disney severely under-promoted and under-hyped this movie in comparison to its other big musical franchises, and i will give you five guesses as to why, but youll only need one!

let it shine is the most beautifully, unapologetically black dcom in the whole collection. (i would put jump in! at a notable second in this category, but that one wasnt underrated). this movie was clearly crafted with care and consideration. little black kids got to see an entire dcom cast that represented them. the vernacular used in the script is still tailored mostly to white-favoring audiences, but with some relevant slang thrown in there. in short, the writers got away with the most blackness they were allowed to inject into a disney channel project.

the story centers on rap music and its underground community in atlanta, georgia. it portrays misconceptions surrounding rap, using a church setting as a catalyst for a very real debate surrounding a generational, mutlicultural conflict. this was not a “safe” movie for disney, given its emphasis on religious clashes with contemporary values. it lightly touches on issues of image policing within the black community (cyrus’s father talking about how “our boys” are running around with sagging pants and “our girls” are straying away from god), which is a very real and pressing problem for black kids who feel the pressure (from all sides) of representing their whole race with their actions. its a fun, adorable story about being yourself and staying true to your art, but also a skillful representation of struggles unique to black and brown kids and children from religious backgrounds.

on top of crafting a fun, wholesome, thoughtful narrative and likeable protagonists, let it shine brought us what is in my opinion the BEST dcom soundtrack of all time. every single song is a bop. theyre fast, fun, and lyrically engaging. “me and you” is my favorite disney channel song of all time due to its narrative significance; i will never forget my first time watching the movie and seeing that big reveal unfold onstage, as a conversation and a plot summary all wrapped into a song. the amount of thought and care that went into the music of this movie should have been rewarded with a level of attention on par with that of other musical dcoms.

if disney channel had simply cared about let it shine more, it couldve spanned franchises and sold songs the way that other musical dcoms have drawn in success. i would have loved for a sequel that explored and fleshed out cyrus’s neighborhood a little bit more, and maybe dipped into that underground scene they caught a glimpse of. i wanted a follow up on the changed church community once cyrus’s father started supporting his sons vision. i want so much more for these characters and this world than disney gave them in just one movie.

for its bold, unabashed representation of blackness and religion, subtle, nuanced presentation of race-specific issues, strong, likeable characters, and complex, thoughtful songs, let it shine is the most underrated dcom.

and because i made a full list before i started writing this post, here are some honorable mentions:

going to the mat (2004)

gotta kick it up! (2002)

tru confessions (2002)

dont look under the bed (1999)

invisible sister (2015)

[goadventuremaps]

Hi hi.

For this map choose to make a passage full of spiders between a couple of cliffs.

This path is home to spiders of different sizes, from normal spiders to giant spiders that can devour beasts and humans.

To cross, you have to use the elements on the ground to pass through the big spider web at the top, or use your jumping skills or climbing skills.

otherwise you will end up being spider food like the poor who have already been caught in the web.

Even so, small spiders are also a problem since although they are small, they are too many, and bites could affect your life.

There is much more on my Patreon , if you liked the map do not forget to take a look at my other maps.

By supporting me you will receive for each map: high quality images, special version for Roll20, map tokens, color variations, versions without props.

this is a preview of this map tiers

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[jaybug-jabbers]

Top 3 Favorite PokeGods

For the unaware, PokeGods were schoolyard rumors back in the days of Gen 1, of powerful, secret pokemon hidden in the games. Many of these rumored pokegods were entirely fabricated, while others were apparently based off poor memories of seeing snippits of actual pokemon designs planned for the next gen of games.

I thought I’d make a list of my top 3 favorite pokegods, since I’ve been in a top 3 sort of mood.

#1 - Shadybug

Shadybug has an interesting detail to his tale; rumors of his reality persisted longer than other pokegods. Up until fairly recently, he had an entry in Bulbapedia, claiming that Shadybug was a pokegod based off glimpses of a real beta pokemon design.

This supposed design was called “Kage no Mushi” (‘Shadow insect’), and was a pokemon design supposedly uncovered in a Japanese web archive.

This is a sketch supposedly along similar lines to the fan sketches of Honōguma and other beta pokemon (or perhaps an attempt at concept artwork from the game creators themselves):

However, this is in all likelihood not a real alpha/beta design– there are few sources for this supposed design leak. For further discussion on this, go here.

All this talk aside as to whether Shadybug is a real beta design (no evidence for this at all), it IS a real Pokegod. In other words, there really were rumors in the 90s and early 2000′s circulating about him along with the other pokegods.

Rumors of course differ, and some rumors said Tricket, another bug-type pokegod, was the evolution of Shadybug, while others said they were two unrelated bug-type pokemon.

In any case, the two always really intrigued me. I’m honestly thrilled and impressed that bug-type pokegods were even invented by kids, as bug type was traditionally viewed as the weakest. And yet, they exist. Bug types were also included among the pokegods that were evolutions of pre-exisiting pokemon (usually evolved via the mythical ‘Mist Stone’): Beedrill evolved into ‘Beepin,’ Butterfree into ‘Locustud’ or ‘Locustod,’ Parasect into ‘Brainsect,’ etc. Even Metapod had a pokegod evolution, oddly enough– Metazap, a presumably Bug/Electric type created when you gave it ‘the Lightning stone.’

Getting back to Shadybug, though, if we look at the original pokegod rumors, we don’t know much about it. Typically it’s only described simply as “a bug that protects itself with a leaf.” The Kage no Mushi design seems to take it in a design direction similar in ways to Paras or Nincada. My favorite fan interpretation of Shadybug can be found at this post here, which honestly is so adorable I want to scream.

#2 - Tricket

This pokegod had a very consistent rumored ‘code’ for how to obtain it, something copy and pasted among the many 90s websites of young pokemon fans:

This code is for TRICKET! a new Pokemon for Gold/Silver.

First, you must carry ALL 6 BUG POKEMON in your party in this order: Caterpie, Metapod, Butterfree, Weedle, Kakuna, Beedrill. Then, open an empty box in your PC without any Pokemon in it. Go into the Safari Zone and catch a wild Venonat and a wild Venomoth. You cannot catch Venomoth before Venonat.

Then, catch a wild Paras and a wild Parasect. Same rule applies for Parasect not before Paras. Keep them all in your PC box and do not change for any new ones. You do not need Scyther or Pinsir because they are rather rare to find. You’ll see them on the Victory Road, however, by catching all of the other bug Pokemon. That’s a pre-code.

Yes, along with Scyther in Red, Pinsir will be in Red too, and along with Pinsir in Blue, Scyther will be in blue! It’s the truth. Beat the Elite Four all the way through with the 6 Pokemon told. Do not allow Caterpie, Metapod, Weedle or Kakuna to continue to evolve, just press B to stop them from evolving.

Its best for them to be on high levels. Such as L50 Caterpie and Weedle, L60 Metapod and Kakuna and L75 for Butterfree and Beedrill. You can use Rare Candies and Gameshark to boost them up. After you win all five(Gary too) matches, Professor Oak notices you have all your Bug Pokemon. He asks if you’re a bug collector, YES or NO. If you answer NO, he says, “my mistake” and then the Hall of Fame comes up. If you answer YES, then, he takes you a cage where TRICKET the CRICKET lives! He lets you take it and use it for future battles.

Tricket is on Level 65, the same level as Gary’s final Pokemon. Tricket knows Spore, Twineedle, Mega Kick(crickets like to kick their legs) and Sing. I do not know if it learns any moves. It has no link with Shadybug. Shadybug is an entirely different Pokemon. They’re just bug pokemon.

There’s appeal to this code– unlike a lot of the wild ‘codes’ for obtaining pokegods that relied on doing something an exhausting number of times (and thus was hard to prove wrong), this was a single challenge run that sounded quite possible, albiet difficult. I also admit with my bug type bias and my love of pokemon bug runs of the game, I love the heck out of it for that reason too.

There’s a few other rarities about this code that I like; for one, Tricket is a very pokemon-sounding name. It seems to rely on a simple and appealing word-mash of ‘Trick’ and ‘Cricket’ and a rare moment of genuine quality for pokegod names. A lot of pokegod names are rather outlandish and sound very much like young kiddos made them up: Anthrax (this was during an anthrax scare in the US, keep in mind), Mysterio, Doomsday,  Zapmolcuno …

Additionally, the moves described for Tricket are all real in-game moves. Again, usually when moves are described for pokegods, they’re invented with outlandish names. But the moveset described adds to the realism here. Admittedly, ‘Spore’ and ‘Sing’ are needlessly redundant, though. I would suggest swapping Spore out with something else, such as Screech or Razor Wind or something.

Anyway, there are a number of charming fan interpretations of this pokegod. One popular design is this one here, which is a rather straightforward but cute cricket with surprisingly big fists, akin to Ledian. Seems to suggest some punching moves in addition to the kicking ones.

Another sketch posted to Tumblr that only has a few notes is actually a very unique and awesome Tricket design, in my opinion, right here. A wizard cricket sounds fantastic, and it’s well executed in this sketch. The original moveset suggested for Tricket seems to have a physical attacker emphasis, but this version would probably be Bug/Psychic and more of a special attacker. We have yet to even have a Bug/Psychic type in pokemon, so the idea is an exciting one.

#3 - Mysterio

The interaction between pokegods and glitch pokemon is a complex one. It would be inaccurate to say glitch pokemon inspired all pokegods, or that all glitch pokemon were granted pokegod status, because that’s definitely not always the case. It was sometimes, though.

In many cases, it appears that pokegod rumors came about first, and that later on, Gameshark codes were assigned with the different well-known and well-loved pokegod names, with the tantilizing promise of easily obtaining these mythical creatures. Some authors who made these assigments were very direct and upfront about their arbitrary selections: they heard the pokegod rumors, knew them to be false, but liked to dream about them, and so they decided to assign names to the glitch pokemon just for fun. Other authors seemed to pass along these code lists and earnestly insisted that they were the genuine pokegods. Occasionally these authors made short notes about how the pokegods would ‘appear like messed-up blocks/like Missingno.’ but that they were indeed real despite this fact. In these cases, it seemed most fans agreed that the glitchy appearance was a dissappointment or a downside; people probably preferred the visions in their minds of great, powerful pokemon, not glitches.

The influence of glitch pokemon on pokegod lore was more sublte in other cases. Sometimes, the names of glitch pokemon would bleed into pokegod names. For instance, Blastoise’s pokegod evolution, Rainer, was possibly influenced by glichmon hex C4. This pokemon’s name appears as ‘PokéWTrainer’ in full, but due to the spaces in its name, often only appears as RAINER. It can be accessed via the Mew trick/trainer escape glitch, although its front sprite crashes the game. “Pokemaniac” also appears on many, many pokegod name lists, and this is a glitch typing of glitch pokemon also available through the trainer escape glitch.

Still, these are simply names. Something that seemed far less common were glitch pokemon inspiring any sort of detailed pokegod lore. Mysterio seems to represent at least a few attempts at this, though. It was a name given to ‘M, the sister species of Missingno. that also shares pokedex number 000. It could be encountered along with its sister Missingno. during the surfing along the Cinnabar coast/old man trick.

The relationship kids had with these two glitchmon was complicated. Missingno. and ‘M were typically treated with awe and fear. The false rumor that Missingno. could destroy your savefile or your entire game was incredibly common even back then, which probably explains why this rumor is still so staunchly believed even to this day. (See endnote.) Other kids valued Missingno. and its sister for its ability to duplicate items and used it for that but advised against daring to capture it, lest you put your game at risk.

It’s hard to say what other glitchmon possibly influenced pokegod lore. However, considering that encountering glitch pokemon without a cheating device (via Old Man Trick or the Trainer Escape Trick) seemed fairly well-known and easy to execute, and that the Gameshark codes were well-circulated for those lucky enough to own such a device, kids definitely were exposed to these glitchmon– making for ideal circumstances for rumors and stories to grow and flourish. It’s also noteworthy that glitchmon often had extreme stats; some were incredibly weak but others were incredibly powerful, with stats far exceeding any real, natural pokemon. They also fulfilled two other major expectations of pokegods: they were hidden and could only be revealed with special in-game tricks or Gameshark codes, and their pokedex numbers often exceeded 150. It’s quite possible these factors seriously influenced the rise of pokegod rumors in general, especially the various “tricks” that promised to grant you access to the land of the pokegods. Since these tricks for acquring M’ were real, for example, surely that meant other tricks could do the same for others? What else was waiting out there for discovery?

That same adventuresome, wonderous curiosity is something I feel is still kept alive today with glitch hunters. People are still discovering amazing ways of exploiting glitches and exploring the inner ‘guts’ of the game. Some of the glitch exploits sound like they stole a page right out the pokegod lore books, especially for arbitrary code execution. That’s why I have Mysterio listed as my final favorite pokegod. I feel it bridges the gap between the pokegods and the glitchmon. Quite frankly, if you’re searching for the pokegods, I’d say they have already been found: powerful, mysterious, occasionally dangerous, and completely alien, surpassing even the most wild young kid’s imaginations.

End Note on Dangerous Missingno. Rumor:

While encountering or capturing Missingno. and ‘M does not dangerously damage the savefile, it does visually corrupt Hall of Fame data, which is part of the savefile. This possibly contributed to the rumor that they can harm the save file. There also is a chance of crashing the game if you capture a pokemon at an abnormal level (lvl 0, namely) while having a full party and transferring it automatically to the PC, and then attempting to withdraw it. (Go here for details.) Because pokemon encountered during the Old Man trick, including Missingno. and ‘M, can appear at abnormal levels, this also may have contributed to the rumor.

However, to be perfectly honest, another reason is probably a case of mistaken identity. Missingno. was the first glitch pokemon to be discovered, most likely– certainly the one that was popularized and easy to access. Kids probably applied the name to all glitch pokemon. There are plenty of glitch pokemon that can severely corrupt your game, via glitch moves with unterminated names (called ‘Superglitch moves’). Poor, innocent Missingno. and ‘M were possibly blamed for their cousin’s crimes instead.

Finally, it should be noted that Missingno. in pokemon Yellow is far more ornery then in Red and Blue. With the Trainer Escape glitch, its front sprite can often lock up the game upon encounter; additionally, if successfully captured, it can cause various graphical glitches upon returning to the overworld.

This is a repost on a new blog. The original post was on Jan 14, 2019.

[ngaming661]

How to overclock pc for gaming

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[thecarmillacurator]

Marriage of Convenience - Carmilla Fic Review & Recommendation

Title: Marriage of Convenience

Author: RunWithWolves on Ao3 and @ariabauer on Tumblr

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4016743/chapters/9027772

Word Count: 111K

Chapters: 20

Rating: T

Ship: Hollstein

Tags I’d Assign: #fake dating #fake engagement #mutual pining #best friends to lovers #angst #hurt/comfort #politics #hollstein

Trigger Warnings: abuse, childhood abuse, emotional abuse, mental abuse

Author’s Synopsis: Her scheduled weekly Thursday night video calls with her old college roommate are Carmilla's favourite part of the week. However this week's conversation veers off the rails when Carmilla tells Laura that if she doesn't get married soon, Carmilla's going to lose everything she's worked for.

Thankfully, her mother's provided a list of suitable candidates.

Readability: Prose reads smoothly. There are quite a few minor typos, but they’re not distracting and given that the author was writing this for us in the midst of doing one of her Carmilla-writing-a-thon sessions, who the heck cares?

Reviewer’s Plot Summary: Non-supernatural AU. The author’s synopsis doesn’t begin to cover the meatiness of the story. Carmilla is running for MP in a bi-election, and polls reflect that Carmilla’s youth, combined with her single status, have her perceived as being possibly too young and unstable for the position. Her mother, driven to make sure Carmilla is elected, insists she become temporarily engaged for public relation purposes. And it’s here Carmilla pulls the only maverick move she’s ever dared to where it comes to her mother: Rather than choosing from her mother’s “list,” she asks her former university classmate, former roommate, and still-best friend, investigative journalist Laura Hollis, to take the part before her mother can object. Together, the two end up on a parallel journey, individually wishing everything about their engagement were real, while at the same time, it becomes apparent to Laura that Carmilla is not simply influenced by her mother’s intensity, but that she’s actually been conditioned through decades of mental and emotional abuse (I would argue even physical abuse) into a disturbing, programmed-like obedience. Laura does her best to help Carmilla stand, and knows Carmilla needs her strength and support more than ever, but Carmilla has a history of leaving Laura whenever her mother’s influence demands it. Ultimately, Carmilla will have to decide if she has enough courage to finally say “no.”

Review:  This one hits deep. You want a Laura and Carmilla absolutely wrecked for each other and broken-hearted when first their own fears, and then later, Carmilla’s mother and her abuse, literally rip them apart?  Well, you have it here. You want a Laura who has courage, who is willing to fight for Carmilla? Well, you have it here.  You want to see good overcome evil, and chains get broken? Have a read. And yet, thankfully, there is mutual pining and fake-dating fluff throughout a majority of chapters so the weight of the main struggle doesn’t become too depressing.

The story is written in third person limited, alternating Carmilla/Laura POVs.

The Good: The story has substance and takes full advantage of the core characteristics of canon Laura and Carmilla’s backgrounds: Carmilla is the puppet daughter of a villainous, powerful, cunning mother. Laura is a truth-seeking, justice-demanding investigative reporter with the tenacity of a dog on a scent. Laura’s goodness and dorkiness (and love of sugar) endear her to Carmilla. Carmilla’s depth and quiet steadiness make her Laura’s rock. The main difference between canon Hollstein and this version of them, though? Laura for once is willing to put Carm above her need to out the truth and right the wrongs. And (Ahem, glaring at you, canon-Laura Hollis), it still works out in the end!

The romance unfolding between these two feels more sweeping than we usually receive in a Hollstein fic. I think a few things accomplish this. First, setting this against the stretch of a political campaign adds a certain built-in sense of time and weight. Second, more of their romance is conveyed and developed through actions than through the simple narration of their private feelings. (The first being a significantly stronger writing style, and one I’m perpetually envious of.) The date Laura sets up for Carmilla, the melt-down disaster that happens at the dress shop, Carmilla flooding the newpaper’s lobby with cupcakes or buying them greasy burgers from their old college favorite burger joint, the lightning storms… they all speak volumes without having to rely on internals. And, in turn, they result in evocative physical reactions by the characters and amplify the particular relationship-aspect being highlighted at the time, either through using mirroring metaphors or contrasting metaphors.

In that same vein, locations and things have weight given to them as well, rather than being simply included as background detail. This isn’t a fake-dating plot that could take place just anywhere, or which could theoretically be limited to a few typical, hum-drum locations. The locations and weather (the lake, the city, the newspaper lobby, the dress shop, the frozen river, the cafe, etc.), the literal atmosphere (Fall, stormy nights, crisp days, snowflakes, a chilly sunset seen through the glass windows of a broken down boathouse), and objects (a black swan paddle boat, the ring(s), Sir Bearington, cue cards), all are presented with vivid imagery and matter as to why the characters respond a certain way in that moment. All of this adds a definite theatrical/visual dimension to the story. That is great writing.

The Concrit:  Perry, LaF, Kirsc… They feel a little like throw-aways. That’s not too big of a deal, since that is already the case in many Hollstein fics. But, I would have appreciated a bit more of them mattering in small ways. Matska didn’t have a huge word-count, and yet, her presence was *felt* in the same way the setting, items, and atmosphere mattered to the plot: Her absence would have changed the story. And even Danny, though she only had one scene and a minor role in it, mattered in a tangible, if still small way. The other three, not so much (despite the whole period-table analogy LaF tried to share with Laura). 

Secondly... While I’m not sure how accurate Carmilla’s (verbal) conditioned responses are, this is fan fiction and I don’t think the author was making any claims to be an expert. (And, as it went, it definitely worked well as a plot-device to flag for the reader when Carmilla was in one of her regressive episodes.) But that being said, it was a disconnect for me how normal-functioning Carmilla was in the absence of (or triggering by) her mother. Yes, we’re told she had some self-worth issues, but aside from being told that, really, she seemed just fine.

Finally, I would enjoy an epilogue. Although, as written, it definitely stands on its own without one. 

NEXT IN THE QUE: We’re still on the fake dating / fake relationship au binge for the next two weeks!

Remember: If you enjoy the stories I review and recommend-  whether you’ve only just read them because of my reviews or you’ve read them in the past and these rec’s remind you of them- stop by the authors and send them some love. They’ve given a tremendous amount of their time, effort, and passion to provide us with high-quality, free entertainment that keeps Carmilla alive for us. Let’s thank them. You don’t even have to mention this blog: JUST LOVE ON THEM!

[bow-woahh]

Spop Fic recs (Catradora)

(finally)

Hello Catradora trash can's today I finally give you what I've been promising for MONTHS - a fanfic rec list. Because, if you didn't already know, I read A LOT of Catradora fanfic, probably too much and although I'm definitely not the best judge of...anything, I really wanted to make this post, so here it is, weeks late.

(it's a long one though)

I’ve written my full opinions n shit on like the first 10 multi chapters and one shots because there’s a lot lol, and some I remember better than others (tbf I've re read all of them at this point), but yeahhh. For the others, I’ll describe it in less detail and a bit more jokily lol.

I'm sorry I haven't just linked all the fics bit I just want this to be out of my drafts loll, and I can assure you most of these are pretty easy to find, I apologise for the laziness though haha

Also I’ve tried to find the all the authors tumblr or other social media, but I couldn’t for all of them which sucks, so if you happen to be the author and I left you out, please comment :)

Anyway, Y'ALL NEED TO GET ON MY LEVEL SOOO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO HERE YOU GO:

(here's a key first)

Key:

(o) = ongoing

(f) = finished

[G]=General

[T] =Teen and up Audiences

[M]=Mature

[E]=Explicit

Multi-chapters:

1. Upper West Side by ceruleanstorm (o) 100,000+ words

@princessofgayskull

[Modern AU] [T]

This fic is so amazing!! It goes so deep into their psychology and past and damn is it hilarious at time. Also, I love the premise of it - Catra is a Uber driver and Adora ends up as her passenger. It's a fairly slowburn as it goes deep into the two girls' lives and really gives time for the relationship to develop naturally and that is honestly really appreciated because it makes the good moments between the two even better and more rewarding if I'm honest. A lot of angst though. All the other characters we know and love are also written amazingly in it too, and are made equally important. All in all, I love this fic and everything about it!

As of writing it has fairly infrequent updates, but each chapter is 10-20k+ words and has 9/12 chapters so...there’s a lot.

2. For my Sake by doublepasse (f) 100,000+ words

@doublepasse-writes

[Canon Compliant][E]

The story and world building is just - WOAH. This one is quite the slowburn but boy is it worth it. It's set a couple months to a year after season one, where Catra finally captures Adora but the tables turn very quickly when capturing her nearly results in her death, which Catra (unsurprisingly) didn’t want. The story has some BIG plot twists and is definitely one of the best canon universe Catradora fics I’ve ever read and the ending was very satisfying, but also open ended, BECAUSE there’s a part 2 coming and I couldn’t be more excited!

(Also, there is one chapter with nsfw content in it, but it has a sfw version)

3. Skinny Love by Maychup (o) 89,000+ words

@maychup

[Canon Compliant][M]

Another amazing fic that takes place in the canon universe that has such great world building, and is very plot heavy. It takes place days after the S1 finale and goes from there basically. The premise of it is similar to many fics and one shots you’ve probably read - sleeping with the enemy. From the first chapter it seemed like it could have easily been a five chapter easy redemption fic but nooooooo, it goes a lot LOT deeper. I feel like this fic did such a great job on character development, Catra’s specifically, she grows so much throughout the fic. She is also such a mother to all her Horde pals in this and I love that haha.

At the time of writing, it’s still ongoing, and boy am I excited to see where it goes. It’s also super angsty and has a fair-ish amount of smut so be warned!

4. The Heiress and The thief by Fuhadeza (f) 58,000+ words

@fuhadeza

[Regency AU][M]

As it says in the fic summary, it is literally the She-Ra regency AU I never knew I wanted likeeee, it’s so good! Premise - Adora is taken by Lady Brightmoon, leaving her boarding school, and her best friend behind, Catra, and everything is fine until her old friend face resurfaces. This one had me screaming at times (most of them did, but this especially). It was a really enjoyable read and I honestly loved the way the author dealt with love and the way Adora dealt with her feelings and just ahhh- read it.

5. Faded with feelings by yesimgay (f) 24,000+ words

[Roomates AU][T]

This fic. I read this a WHILEEE ago but to this day this is one of my favourite fan-fics ever like it’s hilarious, and fluffy and unproblematic and sometimes you need that tbh. Everything you need to know is established in the first chapter but the way it is done feels so natural, as if it’s just Adora‘s or Catra’s thoughts and I love it. Also the premise is GREAT - Catra has ADHD and smokes weed to help with it, and Adora accidentally takes an edible, which is when shenanigans start to ensue.

6. Dream of Me by DBsean (f) 18,000+ words

[Canon Universe][T]

Although it is on the shorter side with only five chapters, this was another fic that was so so good in quality and premise. For whatever reason, Catra and Adora start sharing dreams, enabling them to share moments together that they (unfortunately) can't have in real life, due to them being on opposite sides of the war, and in turn - enemies. The angst in this fic literally KILLED ME, and the characters dialogue is so good as well! I also recommend you check out some of the authors other fics, they're all great!

7. we've been making shades of purple out of red and blue by darklady21(o) 19,000+ words

[Roomates AU][M]

Another Roomates AU, bUT instead of being best friends, the two barely know each other, or interact at all...GREAT RIGHT?!? Honestly though, I think the author did a great job in making it not seem too rushed, especially in the setup and establishing how although they know each other, they DONT know each other, so the first couple chapters are basically that stage where they are learning more about each other and leaving stupid post it notes around the house, and it just feels so natural and great! Updates aren’t super regular, but there’s already nine chapters (as of writing) so definitely check it out, as well as their other works too!

8. Razorback by Starr_Reborn(o) 22,000+ words

[Canon Divergence AU][M]

Apparently, the author wrote this with the intent of it being fluffy. From the title you can tell that is NOT the case. At all. This one HURTS. This is very very angsty, and also has some themes of rape in it, so if that kinda thing triggers you I might wanna skip out on this one. It is a really good fic though and stands out from a lot of the others because of the way it is written. Chapters aren’t usually longer that 1000 words and the writing style is quite disjointed at times, and it a lot of the time a stream of consciousness. At times it can even be a little confusing or hard to follow, but I find it makes it even more interesting, and also means it will probably be a fic I come back to once completed. It is genuinely so unpredictable, I have no clue where it’s going, but I really love it for that!

9. Sunflower by TechnoSkittles (f) 6000+ words

@technoskittles

[High School AU][G]

Oh, BOY. Oh boyyy. This fic - it's 8 chapters and only 6000 words yet the story is just- Ahhh READ IT. It's so good! And like the author in general is so amazing at writing like check out all their works (especially their latest one shot omg I loved it). Anyway, read this, it's not too long, it's cute and also genuinely surprising, the ending was not something I saw coming AT ALL, so YEAH!

10. I like me better when I'm with you by lesbians_harold(f) 22,000+ words

@lesbians-harold

[High School AU][T]

Just a nice, fun, fluffy high school, friends to lovers AU. Catra moves to Adora’s school senior year and the twos friendship is quickly rekindled, after a rocky start albeit. Adora is a big ol’ jock and Catra draws which is a headcanon I LOVE. It’s written so well, and the characters are also written well too! It is a lil angsty at times, but not to worry - but it does pay off, I assure you.

11. I thought we were best friends by vanilla107 (o) 45,000+ words

@vanilla107

[University AU][T]

Breakups. Lots of breakups, and angst. This one will mend your heart then hurt you. BE SCARED. But go read it. I mean it. It's good!

12. Dirty Dancing by LilLegalLoli94 (o) 9000+ words

@lillegalloli94

[Dancing AU][M]

Basically lots of (sexual) tension after years of not seeing each other because Adora moved to Brightmoon Dance Academy. It's good. Real good.

13. Back to Black by eveynull (f) 6000+ words

[Canon Universe][T]

(Post War) Gays go and visit their past, staring angst, and featuring your favourite co-star - fluff!

14. how things are supposed to be by maggiesbombshell (o) 11,000+ words

@yeunslegacy

[High School AU][M]

A jolly slowburn that will hurt your soul because (internalised) homophobia and gay.

15. Some things you don't see coming by Trashibesensei (o) 20,000+ words

[High School AU][T]

Adora being a big ol' jock, and Catra being a big ol' gay. I’m not even gonna explain it, you have to find that out yourself.

16. A quarter after three by Maychup (o) 11,000+ words

@maychup

[Youtuber AU][M]

Adora's gay panic settles in when she bumps into her childhood bestie, Catra, live streaming in the streets of LA. My favourite part of this fic has to be the YouTube comments she gets. This one will make you laugh. And go AWWW CUTE.

17. A Song to My Heart by DemiRebel (f) 8000+ words

[Neighbors AU][G]

The cute girl next door keeps singing loud, and it sounds BELLE, so what else would you do other than creepily listen?? 10/10 for premise.

18. Occupied by Nny11 4000+ words

@nny11writes

[Modern AU][T]

The most hilarious soulmate AU I've read tbh. One word - bathrooms.

19. Whispering Dreams by dragonesdepapel (f) 7400+ words

[Canon Universe][T]

Adora finds a wounded and sick gay so obviously, she helps her out, much to her protesting. This fic will honestly make you go through the five stages of grief. Big ol' oof.

20. Why you SHOULD bring in your untrained cat to the rebellion by locuas (f) 6800+ words

[Canon Divergence AU][G]

This fic is a literal joke. But it will probably be the best crack you will ever read, so. READ IT.

ALSO HERES A LIL SELF PWOMO OF MY MULTI CHAP:

What drove her insane, 13,000+ words (f)

One shots:

1. hang tight (all you) by TechnoSkittles 9000+ words

@technoskittles

[High School AU][T]

This is a fic that will break your heart and mend it. It's about Adora coming to terms with her sexuality throughout high school in a pretty unsupportive environment, added onto the fact she has a crush on her best friend. It's paced so well, nothing feels rushed and although it's only 9000 words, it manages to flesh out characters that aren't even in the show, and it obviously does a great job with the topic at hand - sexuality and homophobia. Like it honestly touched my heart, reading it I genuinely wanted to cry. I loved everything about it, from the moment it started to the last line. It's just written in a way that is probably relatable to so many people who are or have struggled with coming to terms with themselves, and shows how for some it's really not an easy thing. It's also written beautifully, and I PROMISE you won't regret reading this! Definitely check out some more of their works too, they're all great reads!

2. you're my favorite song (and it's stuck in my head) by artemiswords 16,000+ words

@artemisbye 

[High School AU][T]

A belle valentine's day fan fic which I just,, ahhhhh this is some of the best 16k words I've ever read, it's so nice and fluffy! Premise - Catra has to take the bus to school, and ends up sitting next to this cute girl on the bus, Adora, and listening to TayTay (Swift), sharing earphones with this complete stranger. Obviously, Catra develops a crush, but she is sure Adora is straight. It's written so well, and is such an enjoyable read, with so many great moments and dialogue. Music is a very prevalent theme (which you can tell from the name tbh) in it, and the amount of song references in it also make it feel so fleshed out in a way, like their both just teenagers with somewhat questionable music taste. Just all the exchanges they have are great, especially the ones over text and social media, there were so many funny moments too. DEFO, recommend if you wanna read something nice and lighthearted!

3. The Interlude That Never Ends by FMLClexa 2000+ words

Twitter: catrxs

[Historical AU] [M]

Angst. Quite angsty. But also fairly fluffy, it has a good balance. And the writing style is just so - it gets your heart wrenching despite being fairly short, and is also very poetic, and I don't know about you, but I love things like that! The fic is a historical/soulmates AU where they are bound to fall in love, no matter the period they're reincarnated in. It's one of the most creative fic ideas I've ever read, and the concept is executed so well, which makes it even better. And it's, so so damn sweet ahh, read it read it READ IT!

4.  is there a knife in your bed or are you just happy to see me? by ceruleanstorm 6000+ words

@princessofgayskull

[Canon Universe][T]

This fic was everythinggg, it is so cute, like it’s basically 6k words of fluff! Also, if you didn’t already notice, the title (and the fic) heavily references the fact Adora keeps a knife under her bed (I DIED when that happened in s2).  Set post war, Catra sneaks away from her post to visit an overworked and stressed Adora in Bright Moon and cuteness ensues. I honestly just love everything about this fic, we need more fluffy and funny fics like this! The dynamic the two have in this is perfect and the dialogue and general writing style of it is great! And Adora’s internal dialogue in this honest to god had me dead. Needless to say this is one of my fav Canon Universe one shots.

5.Girl’s Become Lovers (Who Turn Into Mothers) by A_Zap 2000+ words

@azapofinspiration

[Canon Universe][G]

This has to be one of the cutest, well written, fic I’ve read! Catra brings home the only survivors from a tragedy her and Scorpia stumbled upon, but one thing Adora doesn’t expect is for them to be children. The,, emotions in this are so raw and powerful. Even though they obviously have these new little people in their life though, their problems don’t just go away, they still have their own issues, and have to deal with them while looking after these kids. In general they handle mental health so well, and Shadow Weavers lasting effect on Catra SHOWS and it shows hard. Honestly, it made me want to cry at some parts and the ending was EVERYTHING, so reAd IT.

6. baby, i'm a house on fire (and i wanna keep burning) by wittchers 7000+

@huremsultan

[Medival AU]

A really fun fic to read, with a very original premise: after the Horde defeats the kingdom Bright Moon, Hordak is crowned, Queen Angella was killed, and Princess Glimmer is missing, which leaves Lady Adora forced into an arranged marriage with Lord Catra, to keep her people happy. Obviously, being an arranged marriage, with her enemy, she ain’t too happy about it, nor is Catra. But they have to put up with it, and each other. Honestly, like the development of their relationships is sooo good, and there is the perfect balance e of angst and fluff (if you can call it that?) so don’t worry it won’t kill you! Like ahh, the emotions in this - so well described with so little words. And the ending is great, in general it’s great!

7. Adora Casts: Zone of Truth by Hemogobbler 2000+ words

@hemogobbler69

[Canon Universe][T]

Literally just 2000 words of utter cuteness and hilarious dialogue haha. Premise - Catra has just defected recently, and is still warming up to Adora, is still slightly shut off from her. So, to try remedy this, she gets a truth serum from Madame Razz, and slips it into their food, leading to them talking honestly about their feelings for the first time in a while. I just love it so much because I feel like this is genuinely something Adora would do, and also something I’d probably do in her situation - Catra opening up is a rare occurrence! Also, as I said, their are some really funny, laugh out loud moments, which out of context are so weird, yet somehow manage to make a lot of sense. Anyway, if you just had a bad day, I think this fic would definitely lift your spirits.

8. bloom by kimah 4000+ words

Twitter: whitehotmoons

[Modern AU][G]

A post break up fan fic where Catra's therapist suggests Catra write down her feelings, which leads her to write the things she hates about Adora, and their interactions they've had since their break up. The way it's written is so... angsty but like, not? I'm bad at this. Literally, reading this I really felt Catra's pain, and I just wanted to give her a hug at times. Adora too. The small details the author outs into the characters makes the characters all that more realisitic too, and I love it! Seriously though, the angst, will, get, you.

9. I do adore by thankskelley 6000+ words

Twitter: cosmicsporks

[Modern AU][G]

A Catradora fake dating AU. Is there anything more you need in life? Catra and Adora are are roomates, and one day, Adora bursts in, saying she finally came out to her parents, and also that her parent had assumed they are dating... leading her to ask if Catra could pretend to be her girlfriend for while. What could possibly go wrong? Hmm?? I've always loved the whole fake dating premise (to all the boyss) and with characters like Adora and Catra, (especially Catra like she is a TEASE) I always thought it'd be great. Who doesn't love oblivious gays? Their dynamic in this is also great, especially all the flirting and teasing. BUT, of course, it also a bit angsty too. I can promise you you'll love it!

10. Chocolate and Roses vs. Heartache by Trashibesensei 9000+ words

[High School AU][T]

Another high school AU...I know I have a problem leave me alone. This time, if you couldn’t tell by the title, there’s some heartache involved, because: this Valentines Day, Adora doesn’t spend it with her best friend (now ex bestie) Catra. Even despite her popularity that she now has due to being the star player of Bright Moon’s soccer team, she can’t shake of how much she yearns for her old friend. Somehow, even with all the angst, it is still sO fucking FUNNY, the way Mermista was written was great, and she had some of THE best lines. But yeah, it’s so pure and just - Catra needs a hug, Adora needs a hug, they need to hug EACH other tbh! It had a very nice and hopeful message, and also kinda surprised me with the end.

11. someone you like by caela 5000+ words

[High School AU][T]

As a gen z, or x, or whatever the fuck I am, I always appreciate a fic where the characters say stupid shit over Instagram to their crushes which results it getting a date to prom. Although I can assure you that would never happen to me. But this So FUCKING cute and funny so READ.

12. this is what it's like when we collide (this is how you bring me back to life) by azul (7daysoftorture) 5000+ words

@bluelipgloss

[Canon Universe][G]

This galaxy brain fic is amazing and that’s ThE TEA. Catra gets a wish stone from Hordak and we all knowww, WHO she (subconsciously) craves - Adora, which obviously leads to hell breaking loose, because, disaster gays. Anyway read this it’s great and made me feel forget about the cruel world we live in.

13. Five Times Catra was a Cat and One Time the Cat was Catra by sunscreams 2400+ words

@catradoramma

[Canon Universe][T]

A BELLE, well written 5 + 1 which is just pure fluff (some hurt/comfort too) and Catra being Catra (so a loveable pain in the ass) after joining Adora in Bright Moon.

14. Vital Signs by SereneKarma 2000+ words

@serene-karma

[Modern AU][G]

Like a dumbass Catra breaks her leg and gets put in hospital, but hey - it’s okay as long as she’s got a cute nurse to look after her! It’s pretty funny just based on the concept alone so read ThIs BiSh.

15. You put the cracks into my moral code by Littleamethystc 3000+ words

@littleamethystc

[Gang AU][T]

Catra is a hotshot mafia member, Glimmer and Bow are the PoPo, and Adora is underestimated as HELL. It’s also pretty funny, like the whole concept is just perfect, so check it out!

16. The Best Gift I Could Ever Ask For by blueninjasharpshooter 1500+ words

[Modern AU][G]

Just a short n sweet fic of Adora celebrating her birthday which she forgot, and also Adora has a pocket knife in her boot, which is so accurate lmaooo. As well as having the most accurate character portrayals, AWWWWwwwww, was my reaction to the end of this fic, so read it to find out wHY.

17. but i still don’t wish death on ‘em (i just reflect on ‘em) by ayushi_writes 1500+ words

@ayushipop

[Canon Universe][G]

(Post S1) A year after the battle of Bright Moon, Adora and Catra are standing on a cliff, and Catra finally has a chance to end it all. But WilL she?!?!  Let’s just say, Catradora are the queens of promises.

18. Whiskey and Eggnog by briony8969 3500+ words

@briony8969

[Modern Christmas AU][G]

A cute Christmas fic where a nervous Adora goes home for the first time in months with her new friends from college, scared of what they’ll think but more scared of a certain SOMEONE she hasn’t spoken to in months. So basically: sexual tension gAlore.

19. She's a Regular by BaronVonChop 1500+ words

@baronvonchop

[Coffee Shop AU][G]

Adora is gay. Catra is gay. Catra works at a coffee shop (badly), and Adora goes to said coffee shop soo much, that it gets on her friends nerves, coz she very obviously likes to flirt with a Catra. It’s funny too. That’s it. That’s the fic and I love it.

20. Hand in Hand, We Make Our Way to The End by thethirdphiladelphiavireo 6500+ words

[Canon Universe - Soulmate AU][T]

Catra and Adora figure out they are soulmates after years of not knowing what it meant, but OBVIOUSLY, cannot communicate like mature humans, because - same.

21. How Do You Tell A Girl You Really Like Her Eyes? by Gay_Panic 1000+ words

[Canon Universe][T]

(Pre Canon)Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, a very gay, very wholesome, very nice first kiss fic. They are very gay for each other in this one, they don’t even care if KYLE catches them kissing.

22. Tender Moments by yesimgay 1500+ words

[Canon Universe][G]

(Post-war) Catra still feels guilty about everything she did to Adora in the past, so instead of sleeping at the foot of the bed as usual , she decides to sleep next to Adora...So there’s fluff, lots of fluff, and it is very tender.

23. Perfectly intertwined by dragonesdepapel 2000+ words

[Canon Universe][G]

On Catra’s first official day in Bright Moon, Adora drags her to a festival and they do cute things and it’s cute, and you should defo read it.

24. a girl without freckles is like a sky without stars by dear_universe 900+ words

@catralovesgirls

[Canon Universe][G]

More bed sharing because I CANNOT help myself, I love fics like these! Catra can’t sleep without Adora on her first night at the rebellion, so, she knocks on Adora’s door and things go from there.

25. Something to remember you by by DBsean 3000+ words

[Canon Universe][G]

Adora sneaks back into the fright zone in attempt to retrieve something, when Catra catches her. It’s cute af. Despite the circumstances.

26. Skiffs & Ships by mysteryinc 900+ words

[Canon Universe][G]

(Pre-show) Just two gals being pals who missed each other a fuck ton while on separate missions. It’s pretty cute.

27. Starstruck by InvisiblePinkToast 2500+ words

@invisible-pink-toast

[Canon Universe][G]

(Pre-show) A lil bit of angst, and nightmares, and a little bit of fluff, Stargazing and bed sharing - what more could you need?

28. a truth so loud you can't ignore by adverbialstarlight 2500+ words

@adverbialstarlight

[High School AU][T]

Catra ignores the growing feelings she has for her best friend, until the truth is so loud she can’t ignore it (see what I did there?) But for real tho this fic really gave me angst that hurt my soul then fluff that healed it, so we StAN.

29. Horde kids are just Like That by gerti 1500+ words

[Canon Universe][T]

(Canon Divergence) What would happen if when Adora defected the Horde, her and  Catra where still girlfriends? Read this to find out because it’s FUCKING hilarious lmaoooo, like it’s so absurd but somehow still makes perfect sense.

30. The First Step by oldmountainsoul 2900+ words

[Canon Universe][T]

(Post S1) Apologies which end in getting shoved out off trees are now exclusively for the Catradora fandom only.

31. (You’re My) Haven by giraffewrites 400+ words

@giraffewrites

[Canon Universe - Pre Canon][G]

(Pre-Canon) Adora only kisses Catra when she thinks she’s asleep, but my girl Catra ain’t playing no more so one night she just goes in for the KILL, Aka, cute dorks just being cute dorks.

32. Beyond the Screen by SereneKarma 5000+ words

@serene-karma

[Youtuber AU][G]

If you can't tell I really like YouTuber AU's. Catra being the angsty gal she is starts a YouTube channel to rant about her old best friend who practically vanished when she was 15, and her viewers (who definitely have no life) end up finding her.

33. come on, sugar, don't you leave early by thesqian 1500+ words

Twitter: @crnkgmeplys

[Modern AU][G]

Two gays at a gay wedding, who clearly have some shit going on, but it’s okay because gay weddings always bring gays together. I said gay a lot in that sentence. Read the fic, it’s short n sweet and cute, so you can’t go wrong!

34. but we could never stay away (from each other) by adorassword 1500+ words

[Canon Universe][T]

Catra and Adora have a nice, not so nice chit chat on Adora’s balcony late at night, - these two need LOVE, and I needed a hug after reading this coz damn. Damn.

35. bad ideas by ranpoandpoe 1000+ words

[University AU][T]

How we all wish thinking about your crush at 2am would go. That’s the only context I’m giving, so READ IT.

Also, here are some of my fav one shots I’ve written:

Two Sides Of The Same Coin 1000+ words

[Gang AU][T]

If I was perfect 2500+ words

[Modern AU][T]

And check out my Catradora week series, however my fav is:

damn you, unrequited love 7000+ words

[Modern/Sixth Form AU][T]

Here are some more series packed with fics that I’ve really enjoyed too!

Catradora Oneshots by clicheusername5678 @hey-adora

Catradora Tumblr Prompts BY sunscreams @catradoramma

if I grind my teeth at night, would you hear it? By poetroe

in the bottom of a coffee cup  + pieces by inkwelled (their stuff is great)

Twitter: adorascatrq

Anyway, I hope you guys appreciate this, it took quite a while lol. I had a lot of fun making it, and I hope you check out some of the fics on the list (maybe all if you're a crazy mf)

Until next time (:

[shipersanonymous]

Au

A West-Allen AU 💜

Worth more than gold

Iris West is a multi billionaire and heiress who’s emotionally scarring childhood has made her shut herself off to all possible emotional relationships. Her life takes an interesting turn when her adoptive grandfather passes away leaving her in charge of his fortune, including a share of S. T. A. R. Labs. While in Central City, she meets Barry Allen, an innocent and charmingly clumsy kind of guy with a high EQ who’s trying to climb his way up the science social ladder to become a recognized scientist. Can you guess his lab of choice?

Your average, every day, girl meets boy kinda story with a rags to riches twist, a dash of family drama, lots of angst and a love worth more than Au.

…………………………………………………………........

Author’s Note: 

Here we are! 

Au is finally making it’s way onto tumblr! I’m so excited! I’m gonna try to get tumblr updated by this week, so we’re all on the same schedule! Let’s do this!

XOXO

...................................................................................

WARNING : MAY CONTAIN CONTENT NOT SUITABLE FOR READERS UNDER THE AGE OF 18

*********** Cliffhanger Warning ***********

Chapter 1

Her hand rested on the cool glass of the floor to ceiling window as she overlooked the nightly view offered by her million dollar apartment. The sky was clear, not a single cloud concealed the sparkle of the stars that were dimmed only by the ever present Parisian city lights. The moon was full and white, its iridescent light bathed her naked body creating a picture out of shadows on her bare skin. Iris took a sip from her glass, the semi-sweet wine burning her tongue with a pleasant ardour before she swallowed and it heated her body from the inside out. Her latest boy toy came up from behind her, his body just as bare as hers, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He proceeded to leave a trail of kisses down her neck, savouring in the feel of her warm chocolaty skin against his lips and she simply took another sip of her drink, completely unfazed.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered on to her shoulders but she seemed unmoved by the compliment. With her stare trained on the city-scape bellow she simply said,

“It’s getting late.” Eddie knew what that meant, it was time for him to leave. It didn’t surprise him but even after months of this back and forth ritual between them it still hurt him to know that to her he was nothing more than a sex toy. He quietly moved away from her and made his way up the stairs to get dressed. As always he didn’t bother saying goodbye, he couldn’t say goodbye, not to her. She was like a drug to him, no matter how much she hurt him he’d always come running back when she called. That’s why he couldn’t say goodbye, he wasn’t done with her yet.

Iris waited until she heard the door close to let her guard down. She didn’t do that often but today she made an exception. She had too much on her mind to keep her walls up. With a partially full bottle of red in one hand and her glass in the other she made her way up to her suite. She showered, washing away the tension from her stressed muscles along with the sweat of her late night activities. Wrapped in nothing but a satin robe, she settled down in her bed and drank her way through half the bottle without so much as a minor buzz. She opened her side table drawer and from it took out a black, rectangular picture frame. Her fingers caressed the glass that held a picture of a younger less, damaged version of her, standing next to a kind faced older man. Grandpa West. The only reason why there’s still any shred of humanity left in her. She smiled, as happy memories played out in her mind and this time she didn’t stop the tears from flowing.

This was her one moment of vulnerability. The only minute of grief she would allow herself to have before she withdrew back into her safety shell and locked away her emotions from the world. This world that had chewed her up and spat her out on countless occasions and now it took away the one person that made her life livable.

Elvis West was a type of hero to her. He saved her from the crippling grasp of the foster system she was under and gave her a life fit for a princess. Now, like everything and everyone else in her life, he was gone. No wonder she didn’t open up to the possibility of new relationships. Her father didn’t want her, her mother died giving birth to her and every foster family she went to, succeeded in making her feel less than human. Grandpa West was the last person she ever showed genuine affection towards and nothing on Earth could ever make her open up again. Love wasn’t worth the pain it caused.

She fell asleep with that picture held tight against her chest, the empty bottle of wine rested on the nightstand and her pillow was bathed in her tears. The next morning she took the family jet to Central City for the memorial. The man was sentimental and his birth town held a special place in his heart. As she looked out the window at the tiny town below she remembered the countless stories he’d shared with her at bed time about how he met his one true love. Grandma Esther. Iris didn’t get to know her all that much. She had recently passed away when Grandpa West took her in so the only impression she had of the woman came from the many tales he’d tell. He spoke fondly of her and when he did she noticed that he’s eyes had a certain quality about them as he stared into oblivion completely lost in thought. As a girl she’d dreamed that she’d find someone who would look at her with those same eyes but time and knowledge wiped away that childish fantasy. True love was just a myth that man kind made up to silence their fear of being alone and make they’re animal like desires less shameful. It was an excuse used to answer the existential crisis of the more gullible who believed that a cerebral chemical reaction was good enough a reason to live. Pathetic.

She’d made her peace with it and found a new reason to live. Pleasure. Whether it lie at the bottom of a six thousand dollar bottle of champagne, at the end of the endless zero’s in her checks or a really good night of sex, she would have it and no one could convince her otherwise. No one could tell her that this wasn’t the way to live life. The only person who’s opinion she cared about was currently six feet under ground. The rest of the world was just a stage and she was the director.

The jet landed and she took a minute to touch up her make up before she cat walked her way out. As soon as she entered the airport she was showered with a billion flash lights. You’d think she was a movie star or big shot music sensation but all she was, was rich. She owned shares to five of the worlds most prominent media outlets varying from magazines to newspapers and that doesn’t count the old money she was raised in.

Linda walked up behind her and huffed under her breath.

“Mon Dieu (My goodness).” she exclaimed frustrated.

  “Que s'est-il passé? (What happened)” Iris questioned with her shaded eyes still trained straight ahead. Linda was the closest thing to a friend Iris would allow herself to have, mostly because she was a good assistant and Iris found herself enjoying her company. 

“Nous sommes entourés d'idiots. (We’re surrounded by idiots)” she explained and Iris let out an amused chuckle. Remembering that she needed to ease her tongue back into the English language she responded,

“That I already knew.” Her accent was still pronounced but she knew after an hour or two it would soon fade. She might have been raised and educated in France but she was brought up by Americans so english was more like second nature than it was a second language to her.

“What do I have to do today?” she asked, her step never faltering and her face never turning to acknowledge the curios glares. Her security detail walked a safe distance ahead, already accustomed to her need for personal space and fast walking pace.

“Uh…d'abord (firstly)-”

“En anglais Linda. In English.” she interrupted. 

“Oui, I mean yes. Sorry. Firstly you have the will reading with Monsieur Wells and then a share holders meeting at some sort of laboratory.” Linda listed out, her accent much more noticeable than that of her employer. 

“Great, just what I needed today. A sit down with a bunch of old mouth breathers who think they know about science because they invested in a laboratory.” It was all she could do not to slap her own forehead in exasperation. Not that she knew much about science herself but S. T. A. R. Labs wasn’t her baby, it was her grandfather’s and being his only heir, with his passing it automatically became hers.

The limo was waiting outside for her surrounded by reporters and a growing crowd all waiting to catch a glimpse of her. To the public and the press she was basically anonymous. They knew her face and envied her net worth but they couldn’t pin a single rumor on her. As scandalous as the life she led might have been Iris West knew how to be discreet and the mystery surrounding her life is the very reason why she wasn’t just another person apart of the wealthy minority.

She stepped inside the lavish auto mobile without so much as a wave in the on-lookers direction and as soon as the doors were closed she drove off with her security detail riding in a black Land Rover behind her. 

“Why on earth do we need a will reading exactly? I mean my grandfather had no one but me to leave his estate to and I’ve already taken care of all the charity’s he was associated with." 

She’d spoken to all the parties concerned and guaranteed that all her grandfathers monthly and yearly donations would remain on schedule despite his untimely departure. She was an anti-social socialite not an emotionless bitch.

  "I don’t understand the logic behind it either but Dr Wells insisted that you attend." 

Iris huffed out a frustrated breath and massaged her temple’s with her thumb and middle finger. 

"I’m gonna need a pain killer.”

They made a brief stop at the towering black gates and once an armed guard confirmed the identities of all the people in both vehicles they were let through. They drove through the perfectly groomed garden, that was split in the middle by a cobblestone drive way, and pulled up to a gigantic structure. It was a massive building, with just enough floor to ceiling windows to allow for the right amount of privacy. She stepped through the door and made her way up the stair case. 

“Where are you going?” Linda asked, her voice alert. 

“Les toilettes (the restroom). I need a bath.” she answered taking a short turn to the right and climbing up the remainder of the way. 

“But Monsieur Wells will be here any minute.”

“And I pay him handsomely for his time. He can wait." 

Iris shut the doors to her suite and took a moment to breathe before she walked to the bathroom and striped off her travel clothes. Her bath was already waiting for her (the servants knew the drill, they kept track of her whereabouts because as soon as she stepped through those doors she needed to have her bath). She stepped into the scalding hot water, the steam rose all around her in twirling wisps carrying with it the unmistakable smell of coconut. Coconut oil did wonders for her skin. She sank into it up to her neck and closed her eyes completely allowing her body to relax.

Her moment of bliss was short lived, however, because a few minutes later a knock came at her door. She cursed under  her breath before she told the person to enter. 

"Mademoiselle West? Monsieur Wells is here,” came Linda’s voice from the room. 

“I’ll be down in a minute,” she huffed out and waited for the sound of the door closing before she sank deeper into the tub, not worried that her hair was getting wet. She resurfaced and elevated her body from the bath tub. Without bothering to towel down she wrapped her self into a satin black robe that was decorated with yellow, orange and green flowers at the hems. The fabric stuck to her bare, moist body and her hair left droplets of water in her wake as she exited her room, making her way downstairs. 

She found Wells seated in the office with a small cup of coffee in his hands. He stood when he noticed her at the door, ever the gentleman. 

“Ms West. Always a pleasure.” he greeted and she walked into the room, slapping on her most convincing (yet neutral) smile. 

“Wells. Wish I could say the same but unfortunately the sentiment is not shared.”

She took the seat behind the desk and leaned back into it, crossing her legs and arms in the process. 

“Can we speed up the process?” she asked looking far from amused. “Unfortunately not,” he said. 

That response was not what she wanted to hear and after the night she had and the long flight Iris found herself losing her composure. 

“And why the hell not?” she demanded. 

“Because we’re waiting for someone.” Wells answered, loosening his tie as his discomfort grew. 

“Who?” Iris asked confused, as far as she  was aware she was her grandfather’s only heir. She didn’t have to wait long for an explanation because seconds after she uttered the question the door bell rang. 

“I believe that’s him right now.” Wells said standing up to greet the mystery guest. Iris followed suit, her confusion clear on her face. 

“Him? Him who?” she asked and the new comer stepped into the room. 

“Me.” he said. He was a tall, dark skinned man that looked like he was 

somewhere in his late forties. Iris gave him a once over before she folded her arms across her chest and shot him a suspicious look. 

“And you are?” She sassed out. 

“Joe West. I’m Elvis’s son.”

[simonjadis]

Anon I’m ASSUMING that these are from the same person; apologies if they are not

I would say that my feelings are similar to yours, but not quite identical ...

Disney’s handling has been imperfect, and some of the mistakes have been made the highest level (I know that people give Kathleen Kennedy a hard time, but if rumor is to be believed, some of the interference that made IX kind of weird came from higher than that)

for example, Kennedy said in an interview that she tries to find people who just make big, successful movies to make sure that these are also big, successful movies. I can understand that as being a safe bet from a business stand point, but that’s not the same thing as finding someone passionate about very specifically telling good, new Star Wars stories, which we did not really get in the Sequel Trilogy

(one of the most common theories that I saw from TLJ apologists was that people didn’t like that it was new/different than what they were expecting, which was really not the issue for me or my friends. Also it was just a speedrun of parts of Episodes V and VI)

I think that I’m “too close” to Star Wars to see it as a financial asset rather than a beloved universe full of characters and stories that I adore, but I don’t think that “literally just rehash the Original Trilogy for two movies and barely acknowledge any other part of Star Wars until IX” was a good idea

Rey deserved her own story. and Luke deserved to not be retroactively robbed of his

as for George Lucas, I do think that years of backlash over the Prequels sucked the fun out of it for him. Also, who doesn’t want four billion dollars? it was a sweetheart deal for Disney, of course

the sad thing is that this meant the end of Clone Wars, because Disney took one look at Lucasfilm’s budget and was like “OH NO YOU CANNOT SPEND THAT KIND OF MONEY ON A CARTOON” which is why Season 6 was paid for by Netflix and why Maul: Son of Dathomir was a comic

I love Star Wars Rebels and I’m not trying to knock the show at all, but the budgetary difference was palpable. Clone Wars did have it a little easier because of the Clone Troopers (all having the same face), but on Rebels, you notice that 90% of the Imperials are the same guy wearing a hat with his visor obscuring most of his face. market scenes show just a few people (but plenty of Storm Troopers)

the designs of the main characters -- Ezra, Hera, Sabine, Zeb, Kallus, Thrawn, Kanan, etc -- are great and loving and detailed and most of those change a little over time, but there’s a reason that we only see so many planets on Rebels. look at the huge armies and crowds in Rebels. my friend @drunkkenobi​ is the first who pointed out to me that in Clone Wars, you sometimes see lines of ships (Space Traffic) and each ship in line will be unique, distinct from the others

it’s not Rebels’ fault that they didn’t have that kind of budget. that’s also why their space battles (and space ships) never quite look right. meanwhile, for Clone Wars, if they wanted a particular scene or ship that went over their planned budget, all that they had to do was ask Uncle George

eccentric billionaires funding expensive media isn’t necessarily the most sustainable model for storytelling, but it sure worked out well for Clone Wars and for The Expanse

(Jeff Bezos personally called up the head of Amazon Prime programming, who had already been considering acquiring the extremely good but expensive show, and was like “hey the cast from this show is at a thing where I am, I’d love to just tell them that their show is saved, give me it?” and we saw as many new locations in Season 4 as we did in the first three seasons)

but streaming -- where you actually get money directly from customers who then, through their activity on your platform, show you exactly what they want to see aka what is keeping them on your platform -- offers a new opportunity for high quality genre media. remember, scifi and fantasy were EVERYWHERE in the ‘90s and the early aughts, and then because too expensive for regular TV unless they had huge audiences. only through streaming do we have these new Star Treks, The Witcher, and the real possibility of a new Stargate series

why do I bring up streaming? because

The Mandalorian goes to show that Disney can 100% do good Star Wars. Rebels was good, despite its budget, but can you imagine how much better it would have been if it had aired on Disney+

as with the DC movies (three of which are good and I’m also excited for Birds of Prey), the solution to the our-movies-made-a-lot-of-money-but-aren’t-strictly-speaking-good is literally just “let the people who do the cartoons make the movies”

and now we’re getting a final, seventh (half) season of Clone Wars! twelve episodes looking better than the show has ever looked!!

if you’re like me, you probably thought to yourself “gee, only 12?” and, cynically, you figured that it’s a trick -- announced at ComicCon in 2018 to build up the first wave of hype for Disney+

and it is ... but it 100% worked on me, I signed up for Disney+ and will pay anything for Clone War

my HOPE is that this is a test run to see if people really like high-quality animated Star Wars stories enough to continue with it. there’s only so much clone wars that one can cover (my suspicion is that we will see Ahsoka fake her death during Order 66 in these eps, so yep, that’s the end of the Clone Wars right there)

imagine a well-written series with everything that Clone Wars had in terms of content and visual quality, but it’s set after Episode IX. to my frustration, IX ends with effectively the same worldstate as VI which essentially means that nothing much happened in the Sequel Trilogy. but imagine a series set after IX. we could see a new set of (Force-wielding) characters. we could see Rey, Finn, Poe, and Rose during some episodes. Rose could finally get to do something that’s not an insulting fool’s errand (she deserves so much better!!!!!)

we don’t need a new Big Scary Empire/First Order thing, just organized crime and pirates and Hutts and bounty hunters and individual planet systems going to war as the characters try to assemble a NEW New Republic (gods I hate the unchanged worldstate)

now, I know that Star Wars Resistance is not ... reassuring. this is the only screencap that I have from it because I couldn’t get into it. it’s not the animation (I enjoyed Tron Uprising and Iron Man: Armored Adventures and this is the same kind of deal), but three things:

-I watch Star Wars for the Force primarily; other stuff can be cool but I need the Force

-I will never care about ships racing and really I don’t care about an individual ship flying; I’m a Command Ship kind of space nerd

-apparently the writing doesn’t improve much during the first season. people tell the main character to not do something, then he does it, and disaster ensues. that’s ... it’s fine, it’s fine to exist as a show, it’s just not for me

obviously, not all Star Wars media is for me, but when something -- like TLJ or the Sequel Series as a whole (even though VII and IX are enjoyable) or Resistance -- disappoints me, I would never accuse it of “ruining Star Wars”

Star Wars is a whole franchise. the breadth of canon isn’t all wiped away by some disappointments. was the MCU ruined by Age of Ultron? no. it was a bad movie but from the same franchise that gave us The Winter Soldier and Thor Ragnarok. hell, Dawn of Justice doesn’t “ruin” Wonder Woman or Aquaman or Shazam. bad movies aren’t contagious

for the past several years, the Entitled Dude crowd has felt empowered. they were radicalized in the altright/redpill/MGTOW/meninist/nazi/gamergate/comicsgate/etc spheres of the internet and now they just have a reflex where they see any sort of representation and decry it as “SJW,” which they also seem to think is a bad thing

in the same way that well-meaning people on tumblr can get radicalized into being antis/puriteens, people with certain vulnerabilities on reddit or youtube can get sucked into a world that tells them that they are the default and that other people existing is “political” in media and in real life, and that people being upset by outright cruelty towards them is both funny and means that the cruel person is the victor. they need therapy and studios need to not listen to them

unfortunately, sometimes there are movies that are bad despite having things like solid representation. Ghostbusters 2016 was a delight, but my friends and I with whom I saw TLJ (all of us queer feminists) left the theater angry. we’ve bitten our tongues a lot (even if it seems otherwise) because publicly criticizing the film too often leads some incel monster to chime in with agreement, and we’re just like

the redpillgate crowed et all is a natural ally of conservative white evangelicals, even though the former group is generally made up of New Atheists (the short version is atheists who hold socially conservative views because racism/misogyny/transphobia benefit them without using christianity as an excuse). it’s kind of like how terfs will side with conservative hate groups because, though they’re natural enemies, they both despite trans people just for existing

unfortunately, when you’re looking at who went to see a movie or who hated it, not everyone posts with an ID card saying exactly their demographic. which is only going to make studios like Disney even more nervous about including queer content in Star Wars and in the MCU (I mean real queer content with characters whose names don’t have to be searched on a wiki)

that was a bit of a tangent, but yeah. sorry if I missed anything