#i wonder why it's always the artists that get targeted with this specific kind of shit. what they got against us anyway.

[sophisticatedpjparty]

We all hate ai and want it dead ofc but do any other artists find it just a little affirming that ai image generators can't make hands. like. we've all been making the "hands are hard" jokes for years and now we've got a machine fucking them up so so badly and basically showing us that like. yes. hands really ARE that complicated. idk. food for thought.

[ihopesocomic]

Hey there! I’ve got a bit of a meta question for you. How do you feel about the differences between artistic intention versus the reader interpretation? You’ve been getting a lot of questions about ableism in your story, especially coming from Vicious and Jasper, so I was wondering how you felt about readers interpreting their actions in this way. Before I started regularly reading your explanations and analyses on here, I admit that my understanding was that Vicious and Jasper were ableist; they both used Hope’s disability to try to make her feel small or incapable, with Vicious using it as an excuse to infantilize her and Jasper using it as justification to verbally abuse her. But, as you said, they’re not only abusive to Hope - they’re abusive to their other family members as well - which shows that they would’ve abused her regardless of her disability. I just think it’s possible for both of these interpretations to exist concurrently: that Hope’s parents are abusive to all of their children and prey upon different things for each of them (unrealistic expectations for Adamant, ignoring Quiet, naming Careful’s cubs mean names), but for their abuse of Hope specifically, they attempted to target her disability as a perceived point of weakness. They’re not abusing her because of her disability, but because they’re abusive and she has a disability, they attack it or try to justify their behavior with it. And obviously, we see that this view is not normal in the world and that other lions do not share it - which is further emphasized when Edge calls Jasper a fool for not seeing Hope’s potential and strength - and maybe Hope can gradually shake off her parents’ awful words as she sees more of the world and realizes that the way they treated her wasn’t normal and most lions will not treat her like that just because she’s missing a leg. All of this rambling aside, I guess I’m asking if it bothers you that readers might still read those early chapters without your additional commentary and come to the conclusion that it’s ableism? Sorry this is so long, and I hope I didn’t say anything to offend!

There's nothing wrong with having reader interpretation but if the interpretation is outright incorrect or inaccurate and doesn't line up with what we aim to get across, we do feel it's best to clear things up and correct things here and there.

If things were truly like what you describe with how some readers respond to Hope's abuse: that would be quite fine. You've absolutely nailed it. However, that's not what we've consistently encountered.

Because Jasper and Vicious are ableist towards Hope (because they're not very nice people), some readers have taken that as a cue that ableism is an everyday, normal part of the society of our lions despite evidence to the contrary pointing out that it's not.

Because too many people still assume we're doing "My Pride but better". And to be honest: that's when it bothers us.

When we say we don't want to be "My Pride but better": we mean it. We're also at a point now what we've had to repeat ourselves for nearly three years, the differences between both sets of media are now very apparent and yet we're still where we're at. I don't think y'all can blame us for being 110% done. lol

Because here's the thing: we found that My Pride's society and worldbuilding is such a convoluted, contradictory mess that we don't want to touch any aspect of it with somebody else's barge pole. It's another reason why we ditched the AU idea and started up our lore and worldbuilding completely from scratch.

You also don't always need an abusive, oppressive society to represent abuse and oppression. You can do allegories like that with individual characters and we've also found it's more effective to dismantle this kind of thing when contrasting said individuals with other individuals (i.e. Jasper vs Obsidian, Edge vs. Jasper and so on).

So, to sum it up: reader interpretation is fine but if your whole interpretation hinges on the comic "being a better My Pride" discourse and drawing up comparisons between the two, then yeah, we're gonna just have to say no on that one, I'm afraid. - RJ

[pure-jeff-ward]

Ok, I have questions to make. I have been reading a few questions here by some anonymous lately, I would like your truest opinion. Why is it soo bad what other people posts in their IG account related to Jeff , is it some kind of a crime what they're doing there ? Have they done something bad, by tagging him in their posts, just because they feel inspired by editingtheir photos and mentioning him ? I'm just curious, I mean, it's something different to see, not everything the same as most people do, it gets kinda repetive. I don't know, but I think people should respect of what they do. Because for now, those people haven't disrespected Jeff nothing at all. If it would, he would have opened his mouth and said it to them, don't you think? And i believe the reason why Jeff has only selected posts in his tagging side, think... maybe it's because he get tons of tags about him and he just pick what he likes, that's it. Just giving my 2 cents here. Thank you, and you do have a wonderful blog, congrats. 😉

hi there anon, first of all I want to say thank you for your side of things related to this discussion we've been having about Jeff's instagram page and his tagged posts and the fan pages dedicated to him too. I've always been of the mindset that everyone should have a chance to voice their thoughts and feel safe enough to share their opinions over here; and I hope whoever chooses to reply to this post will be respectful of your ideas, because I do see your point in all of this.

And I do agree, nothing has been inappropriate or in any shape of form disrespectful either - trust me, I may not have gone to look myself, but I have heard of a loooot more.... *ahem* let's say... problematic things from different fandoms that happen on IG in regards to celebs getting tagged in certain pictures and posts, which definitely is not what's happening here at all! I don't believe that expressing one's creativity and sharing it with others and even tagging Jeff is a crime, we all have the freedom to make art and put it out in the world, photo-edits and otherwise, when they're mindful of his life and pictures that he shares with us. In fact, I do think that there's a wonderful sense of community that he could very well know about which shows him that he has so many fans who love him and adore him and celebrate his works - fandom is very important to actors and actresses and all other artists so everything you say lines up.

If anything, the "issue" - forgive me for wording it that way, it's the first thing I thought of - is seemingly with tagging Ashley in posts when her account has been made private; again, every person here has their own interpretation of whether it's good or bad, right or wrong, uncomfortable or not. Her profile used to be open to everyone and now that it's not, perhaps she did so in order to reclaim a sense of privacy; she isn't part of the celebrity world, she's the family member of someone who is and I would think in that sense, there could be no harm in tagging her when the posts are respectful and appropriate, but... I can understand why someone else would think the opposite.

In the end, I would say that my personal opinion is that the line between celebs and fans has been known to blur on occasion, not specifically with Jeff Ward mind you, this is a more generalized observation of fandom culture I've witnessed over the last decade or so - there's two sides to everything, we've got the fans who simply just want to meet their favorites at a convention, speak to them and tell them how their lives have been changed because of their impact through their work, get a photograph and/or autograph and share something that they've made. Or even just tag them on IG if they can't reach a physical appearance, because social media has made that connection possible.

On the other side though, there has been and will always be fans who sit behind a computer screen and sometimes a grey icon (not targeting anyone again, anonymous is an option on my blog to let you all have your privacy, so please don't misunderstand that I mean you or any of my anons here, I love getting asks, even if I don't know who they're from, it's actually fun to imagine and hope there's a dozen or more of you out there who talk to me!) and sometimes even off anon, they spout hateful comments and make remarks about people's looks and fashion style and whatnot.

So... as long as we're mindful of the boundaries between celebrities, their families, their friends and us fans, keep everything clean and respectable and appropriate and healthy then... I think we're good :)

I do appreciate hearing from you dear anon! I hope I covered everything you had questions about and if not, feel free to send a follow-up or ask me something else! apologies for this getting a bit long :p I am all for positive discussions and debates with everyone who follows me because it goes to show that we all care about Jeff in our own way and that's what unites us, differences and similarities alike!

[euclydya]

i'm glad that you like kid pixie they're one of my favorite new/modern artists. thanks for your recommendations, i really like blue stahli's sound and it's been years since i listened to any vocaloid.

aw man if i had realized y'all hadn't seen star trek before i would've recommended warp 11's song 'a song for people who never watched star trek' (although i think this song should be called (a song for people who never watched star trek before' if you listen to the song you'll understand why).

today's recommendations: seventeen by marina and the diamonds for billy, target practice by carolesdaughter for eddie, ordinary man by jonathan coulton for steve (our dr. west is annoyed that i'm recommending "dan's song" to you but i think it suits you), and let me fall in love by broken at best for your jonathan.

Wonderful recs as always!! target practice & ordinary man are our faves so far omg,, We haven't listened to Marina in a while (or really,, ever outside of a few songs tbh) damn she's good

our recs:

Fall Out of Love - Salem ft. Carlie Hanson

Okay so firstly shoutout to our friend Wes for introducing us to this song it's become a HUGE favourite of mine (and Max) over the past........ Uhhhhh. Month?? Since we stsrted fronting normally lmao.

Classique™ love song except it was in a horror movie so it's bloody. Lov it, 10/10! -Billy

Headphones - Walk the Moon

okay I was torn between a serious song or a funny song JFJDJSJDJFJF. ultimately chose a serious song tho.

I think this was theeee,,, Third?? Ever song I willingly listened to when I first formed.

Fun fact, the FIRST song I UNWILLINGLY listened to (and the first thing I was like, fully Aware Of Hearing when I First Ever Fronted) was fucking Blurred Lines. </3 Sometimes music is bad! FJFJDJDJDJ -Eddie

Best Friends - Grandson

Not much to say tbh. High energy as fuck though!!

We collectively remember finding this dude RIIIGHT at the start of his music career and listening to this + Kiss Bang (another good song btw!!) almost daily. Kinda did forget about him though over the years rip -Steve

Beguiled - The Smashing Pumpkins

Okay if you've been following us/keeping up with our insane rambling bullshit the past week at least you'd know that we (though me specifically) have been losing it over this song. The lyrics are Meh at best but the guitar is SO good!! Once we get spoons to practice guitar more often we're gonna try to learn it

however I recommend you listen to this through Spotify if you use it because there's not an audio only video on YouTube yet, and the music video is full of flashing lights/epilepsy triggers,,, fucking sucks honestly. flashing lights our detested </3 -Jonathan

Bonus: It's Hip To Fuck Bees - Vinesauce???????? Technically?????

Shoutout to Will for fully fronting for the first time today (yippee!! 🎉) however UN-shoutout to him for only ever saying "it's hip to fuck bees" anytime he's talked in-sys thusfar.

He's… Still kind of a fragment apparently, so. It'll take a couple days for him to be able to Fully Talk. but until then I guess it's hip to fuck bees??????? -Jonathan

[dollsahoy]

so now we're seeing ~artists~ saying the ~only~ problem with NFTs is that they're ~ugly~ and ~randomly generated so have no human touch~ so if you'd just let them use the NFT medium to make Good Art™ then NFTs would be all better

and then other ~artists~ appearing and saying that every artist should be thrilled to put their art in NFTS because that means that the artists will always get paid!!!

I wonder if those people came to those conclusions on their own, or if they've been convinced by NFT enthusiasts who are specifically targeting artists

to reiterate

an NFT is a small amount of text that can be appended to a blockchain entry; they often are URLs that point to art, but the art is not the NFT, and what's located at that URL can be changed at any time by whoever owns the webspace (which, again, is not the NFT owner)

people who buy NFTs for the art (even though that's not what they're actually buying) want those ugly styles, specifically because those art styles are associated with NFTs. They want the status the ugly monkeys, badly drawn furries, and low-effort pixel art get from other NFT enthusiasts. Sticking a prettier image ~with a human touch~ at that URL isn't gonna impress the kinds of people who can and will afford NFTs (which, sorry to say, probably are often hand drawn, or at least curated, and only happen to look like random generator stuff)

NFT is not a medium. It's a URL somebody buys access to.

Everyone who ever had the NFT gets paid when its sold, I think? No, wait, it's still a regular sale transaction, the money only goes to the selling entity (there's no licensing fee paid to the artist--and technically never could be, because it's not the art being sold, it's just the URL where the art is located), BUT the entire blockchain of every transaction ever involved with it has to be updated, with processing-intense math, with every new transaction adding to the chain/amount of processing needed.

More importantly, though, not every artist wants to work for profit. (In fact, many dream of being secure enough to be able to make whatever they want without worrying about getting paid)

and this is without going into the horrible waste of electricity that happens with every blockchain transaction. even if it's claimed to be green. we could still use that green energy for other things, or, better yet, not at all, y'know?

(also not touching the fact that video cards are better at processing the math than regular CPUs, and that's why video cards are currently in low supply high price mode. and also not mentioning how raw materials strip mining is increasing to try to keep up with demand for making video cards)

[ppangjae]

PLANET GIRL | part 1

SUMMARY. When Jaehyun turned twenty-one, he started to hear his soulmate’s voice singing an unfamiliar song in his head. He should be happy, right? Wrong. There are two things wrong with this:

He’s taken. He’s off the market. He’s in a 3-year relationship and,

The voice singing in his head is not his girlfriend’s voice.

Now what?

GENRE. soulmate!au | cinderella!au | cupid!reader | college!au | fluff | angst

WORD COUNT. 6k+ words

author’s note. after much consideration, i decided to post this fic in three parts so that it’s not as hectic! you know me, i love adding ✨drama ✨ now, before you come at me for posting this and not a made to fall in love update, this first part of this fic has been done since mid-september. i’d rather release it than let it collect dust in my drafts. so yes, here she is. happy reading!

taglist: @billiondollarworth @cafemochi @stae-yong @chanyeolscoon @ggaayyyong @soothingjae @taestannie @plump-peach @oshmendes @lanadreamie​ @justineasian​ @jjpmoans​ @beryllium-io​ @jaeismytamtation​ @noonapabo127 @hanniesbubble​ 

PART ONE. cupid | PART TWO. jupiter | 2.5 intermission | PART THREE. PLANET GIRL

“Mark, get your ass over here before I do it myself!”

“Holy shit, what’s the rush?”

“Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day.”

“And what about it?”

It’s that time of the year again; Valentine’s Day. It’s the day where people fall in love or get their hearts broken. But to you, it’s the day where you’re designated to a new target. To put it simply, you’re Cupid. You are part of a family of Cupid’s. However, you hate being called Cupid, you moreso see yourself as a matchmaker. 

Every Valentine’s Day, you’re designated to a new target. As a matchmaker, it is your responsibility to make your target fall in love within one year. If you fail to complete your mission, you will be stripped of your abilities of matchmaking. 

Last year, your target was Johnny. Johnny was an easy target to work with, for he fell in love with the local cafe barista within three months. The two of them are happily dating now and it’s almost as if they’re still in their honeymoon phase. 

Two years ago, your target was your roommate Mark. It took a while for him to fall in love. He was quite difficult to work with because he was so focused on his studies that he barely batted an eyelash at a human of the opposite sex. But you still managed to do it and all it took was to introduce him to Mina, the studious chemistry student who’s been crushing on him since freshman year. 

But this year, you’re not quite sure who to expect. 

“Are you getting your new assignment tomorrow?” Mark finally enters your room after what seems like forever, falling against your bed. He lands and lets out a soft ‘oof!’. You turn away from your desktop to face him. 

“Of course,” you reply with a quirk of an eyebrow. “What kind of question is that? Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day, the day of love and the day of heartbreak.”

“Are you excited?”

“Not the slightest bit.” You let out a tiring sigh.

“Why not?” He frowns.

“Because I have to stress over someone else’s love life for another damn year.” You shrug your shoulders as you explain. “I already have other things to stress out over.”

“You’re always granted a year per love assignment. A year is enough to make someone fall in love, right?”

You laugh. “A year per love assignment? I wish a year was enough. A year goes by with a blink of an eye. Before you know it, it’s Valentine’s Day again.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself. Why don’t you just skip out on the matchmaking just for this year?” He suggests and you shake your head.

“I can’t.” You purse your lips into a tight line. 

He lets out a snort. “I’m sure it’s possible—”

“It’s impossible.”

There are many great things about being a Cupid; you help people fall in love with each other and the outcome is always beautiful. But there are also many downfalls about being a Cupid, one of them being cursed to never fall in love. You’ve always craved the feeling of being loved by someone. As much as you hate to admit it, you’re needy for love. But the closest you’ll ever feel to being in love is witnessing the love being shared by two people, specifically between your love assignment and their soulmate.

You wonder how it feels to have someone care for you. You wonder how it feels to be sought after. You wonder how it feels to hug someone and hold their hand. But you guess you’ll never know because you’ll never experience it.

“God, I want to throw up.”

Johnny lets out a snort as the both of you pass by the seasonal section of the department store. There’s a plethora of Valentine’s Day chocolates on the shelves, along with teddy bears and heart plushies. Seeing the bright, flashing red on the days leading up to Valentine’s Day is surely a sore to the eye. 

“I know, it makes me want to poke my eyes out.” Johnny sighs.

“And what are we here for again?” You ask Johnny as you follow him to the baked goods section of the department store. Your question seems to be answered when you find yourselves standing in front of a shelf filled with ready-made birthday cakes. You quirk an eyebrow. “Who’s birthday is it? It’s definitely not Mark’s birthday, don’t even try to trick me.”

“It’s Jaehyun’s birthday tomorrow, I figured it would be sweet of me to get him a birthday cake.” He shrugs his shoulders as he points between two cakes on the shelves. “This one or this one?”

You point at the plain birthday cake on the left. “This one. You know what would be really funny? If you printed his face on the cake.”

Johnny looks at you and squints his eyes. “You're a genius.”

You have no idea who Jaehyun is. You don’t even know what he looks like. You’ve only heard of him through Johnny. The both of them host the university’s famous evening radio show, Night Night with JohnJae. You’re a listener of their show, mainly because you are supportive of your best friend Johnny. You’re sure Jaehyun is a great guy, especially since Johnny and Jaehyun share good chemistry with each other. You’ll probably get along with him well if you met him. But that encounter has yet to happen. 

As Johnny hands the cake over to the bakery chef to print Jaehyun’s face on it, he turns towards you. “And now we wait.”

“What time do you have to be at the studio?” You question.

He looks down at his watch. “I’ll make it on time. By the way, Mark has been making great song requests by this SoundCloud artist. From what he tells me, the artist is a student from our university.”

You quirk an eyebrow, gulping nervously. “Who’s this SoundCloud artist?”

“Planet Girl.” Johnny pulls out his phone and opens up the music app before handing it over for you to see. You stare at the artist’s profile. “Do you know her?”

You shake your head in reply. “Unfortunately, I don’t.”

“Damn,” Johnny lets out a sigh. “I was hoping you did. Jaehyun and I want her to be a guest on the show, it could probably help her get more attention in the industry.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” you purse your lips into a tight line. “I only know so many people in my program. I have a very small, closely knitted group of friends. They are the only people I’ve known since I stepped on campus in freshman year.”

“I was hoping you’ve heard of her, at least.” He chuckles. “But damn, her music is so good. I can’t wait until her mixtape drops. I’m sure it’ll be such a banger.”

“I should probably check her out.” 

“You should!” Johnny exclaims. “I wonder who she is.”

You fiddle with your fingers. You stare at Johnny who’s scrolling through the SoundCloud artist’s profile, adding a couple of the artist’s songs to his playlists. You blink and with a slight tilt of your head, you clear your throat. “Yeah, me too—”

“I have an order for Johnny!”

11:51 pm.

“Right before we sign off for the night, do you have anything to say to our listeners?”

Johnny has a shit-eating grin spread across his lips. He comes back into the studio with a birthday cake. It’s not just your typical birthday cake. It’s a birthday cake with Jaehyun’s face on it and it’s blown out in an odd proportion. The candles aren’t birthday candles either, in fact, they’re heart-shaped candles, perfect for Valentine’s Day. Jaehyun lets out a sigh. What is he going to do with Johnny?

“I just wanted to greet our handsome radio host slash Valentine boy, Jaehyun, a happy birthday! We have—” Johnny glances down at his wristwatch before continuing. “—nine more minutes before it’s officially Jaehyun’s birthday and Valentine’s Day. And what’s better than celebrating it with a birthday cake?”

“Is that my face?” 

“Who else would it be, doofus?” Johnny scoffs, pulling out a lighter to light the candles. Jaehyun lets out a snort as Johnny starts to sing him a happy birthday. After the happy birthday song, Johnny frowns and sends him a death glare. “Why aren’t you getting emotional? I did all of this to get that reaction?”

Jaehyun gives him a look. “And so as we sign off for the night, I just wanted to thank Johnny for his efforts in kicking off my birthday on a high note. I also want to greet everyone with a Happy Valentine’s Day. Whether you are happily dating someone or admiring someone from afar, just know that you are all in our hearts.”

“Stop being greasy.” Johnny winces. “Anyways, we’re going to sign off for the night with a song request from Mark Lee! Goodnight and see you tomorrow, here is Loose by Daniel Caesar.”

They turn their microphones off and Johnny pushes the birthday cake towards him. “Quick! Make a wish before the candles go out.”

Jaehyun clasps his hands together and makes a wish. With a satisfied grin, his eyes flutter open and he blows out the candles. Johnny’s taking a video of him blowing out the candles before dipping his finger into the icing. Jaehyun gives him a warning look but it’s too late because Johnny smears the icing on his cheek.

“You little shit—” 

“It’s midnight! Happy birthday, Jaehyun!”

12:01 am. 

It all happens quickly. Johnny’s dipping his fingers into the icing to smear more of it on Jaehyun’s cheeks. Jaehyun hears a slight ringing in his ears and his eyebrows knit together. Johnny doesn’t seem to notice how uncomfortable Jaehyun feels until he’s about to smear his cheeks with icing. 

“Jaehyun, are you alright?” Johnny asks him with a concerned look.

The ringing in his ears halts to a stop. He remembers this. He remembers his father telling him that he experienced a distinct ringing in his ears before he started to hear his mother’s voice humming in his head. Jaehyun blinks. The ringing in his ears causes him to see different specks of colours, red, blue, and even green. He feels like his head is spinning. He feels like he’s going to pass out. But it only happens for a brief moment.

Suddenly, he hears a soft voice humming a melody in his head. In an instant, the soft humming in his head stops him from seeing colours and he no longer feels faint. He’s too absorbed in his thoughts to snap back to reality. Johnny is waving his hand in his face to pull him out of his trance. Jaehyun sucks in a deep breath, almost like he’s gasping for air. The soft humming in his head slowly turns into a voice that’s singing an unfamiliar song. He’s never heard this song before.

Johnny sighs with relief when Jaehyun snaps out of his deep trance. Jaehyun looks at Johnny with slightly widened eyes. 

“Johnny, I think we have a problem.”

Johnny snorts. “What are you talking about? You’re probably just tired. We should head back to the dorms before you knock out cold in the studio again.”

Jaehyun runs his fingers through his hair. “R-Right. We should probably go.”

Johnny rests his hand on his shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s—everything’s alright.” Jaehyun stutters.

No, nothing’s alright. Nothing’s okay. 

His phone buzzes in his pocket. He pulls it out to see a new text notification from his girlfriend. 

ara (12:03 am): happy birthday my love! and happy valentine’s day! i love you 3000.

Jaehyun just turned twenty-one. Not only that, but he just started to hear his soulmate’s voice in his head. He should be happy, right? Wrong. There are two things wrong with this:

He’s taken. He’s off the market. He’s in a 3-year relationship and,

The voice singing in his head is not his girlfriend’s voice.

Well, shit. Now what?

It’s the day you dread with your entire existence; Valentine’s Day. The campus couples flock to the local cafes and parks, the dormitories and even the campus football field. It truly makes you want to throw up. If you could take a shot of vodka for every time you’ve witnessed a couple kissing or giving each other their Valentine’s Day chocolates, you’d be shitfaced drunk by now. 

The only person keeping you sane is Mark. But even with Mark’s presence, he’s too absorbed by the presence of his own girlfriend, Mina. You guess this will do. It’s not like you really have a choice.

Today, you’re going to get your new love assignment. You’re not sure who to expect. Every year, it’s become less surprising and more disappointing. You guess it has to do with your aching desire for love, but you’re not going to dive deep into that. 

You’ll know who your love assignment is when you meet their eyes. When you meet your love assignment’s eyes, you won’t see yourself reflected through their eyes, but their soulmate, their partner you’re supposed to link them to. The moment you witness it, your year to make them fall in love begins. 

Be careful though, time is ticking.

“Can you guys stop talking to each other in baby voices?” You snap at the couple sitting next to you on the picnic blanket. 

The couple had decided to bring you along on their picnic date, just because they figured that you needed to ‘spice’ your life up a bit. You feel like a huge burden to them because whenever you’re with them, all you do is complain about all the things they do as a couple. Could you really blame yourself at this point? 

“Y/N, if only you had a boyfriend, you would know how it feels.” Mina sticks her tongue out at you and you feel your eye twitch. 

Mark lets out a nervous laugh. “Y/N is an independent woman who doesn’t need a man—”

“Yeah, your boyfriend’s right.” You cut him off, looking at Mina dead straight in the eyes. “Got a problem with that?”

“Stop giving me attitude—”

“And stop acting like I didn’t help you and Mark get together.” You snap.

She smiles and laughs sheepishly. As she gets up onto her two feet, she dusts off her straight-cut jeans before pointing towards the local cafe. “Do you guys want anything? My treat.”

“I’ll have the usual,” Mark replies. “Take my card—”

“Babe, no—”

“I’m not letting you pay for our drinks again—”

You let out a scowl, placing some cash into Mina’s hand. “Here. I’ll pay. I’m this close to ripping my hair off my scalp and it’s because of you two.”

“Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?” Mina frowns. “You’ve been petty all day.”

“Get me a double shot on ice,” you mutter. “No sugar or cream. Got it?”

“You’re just like how you like your coffee,” Mina folds her arms. “Bitter.”

As Mina is walking away from you and Mark, you fall back against the picnic blanket. The clouds come by in funny shapes today. You spot a tiny, heart-shaped cloud floating past in the blue skies. You snort, love seems to be everywhere today, even in the skies. Your eyes flutter shut. You’re so close to dozing off into a quick nap until you hear a loud yell from a couple of metres away. It’s too late for you to open your eyes and see who’s yelling because the moment you do, there’s a soccer ball flying in the air. The size of the soccer ball grows when you start to realize that it’s literally going to land right on your face—

“Nice save, dude.” Mark says as he looks at you with amusement. Just in time and with your fast instincts, you managed to cover your face with the palms of your hands to catch the ball. 

Mark’s pulling you up into a seated position. As you sit up, you see someone approaching you from the corner of your eye. 

“I’m so sorry about that!” A soft voice exclaims and you turn to your right. You look up at a woman around your age. She has long black hair and a soft face. She looks warmhearted. Her vibe radiates happiness and happy-go-lucky, welcoming and sociable. Everything you’re not. She’s sporting a soccer jersey and a pair of athletic joggers. “Are you alright? I hope you didn’t get hurt or anything.”

You wave it off. “I’m A-okay. There’s nothing to worry about. Here’s your soccer ball.”

She slightly bends down to retrieve her ball. Her long black hair blocks your eyesight for a brief moment until the wind blows it away. Your eyes meet hers and a soft gasp threatens to escape your lips. 

You’ll know who your love assignment is when you meet their eyes. Her eyes are a nice warm brown, shining underneath the sunlight. You swear you could see stars in her eyes. No, scratch that, you can see galaxies and stars in her eyes.

When you meet your love assignment’s eyes, you won’t see yourself reflected through their eyes, but their soulmate. And indeed, you look at her with slight surprise and shock when you don’t see your own reflection through her eyes. Instead, you see what seems to be a soccer player. The more you look into her eyes, the more information you obtain about her soulmate. He slowly turns around and it reveals his name on the back of his soccer jersey—

“Yuta?” You whisper.

The woman’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. She takes her ball and straightens up her posture. “Thanks again. What’s your name? I feel like I’ve seen you before.”

You snap out of it. “Y/N! My name’s Y/N. Nice to meet you.”

She smiles and her eyes form into beautiful crescents. “Nice to meet you, Y/N. I’m Ara. I should probably get going before I run late for lecture. See you around?”

You nod your head vigorously. “Yeah, I’ll see you around. Nice to meet you too, take care.”

You find yourself staring at her as she walks away. Mark looks at you as you seem to fall into a deep trance. He follows your gaze that falls on Ara. “Hey, is everything alright?”

You tear your gaze away from her to look at Mark. “What’s her name again?”

Mark looks at you with a funny smile. “You forgot her name already? Her name’s Ara.”

“Mark,” you gulp nervously. “She’s my love assignment for this year.”

Mark’s face pales. His funny smile vanishes from his face. He looks like he’s seen a ghost. You can’t seem to comprehend the expression on his face but you know that something’s not good. There’s an unsettling feeling in the pit of your stomach as Mark’s mouth hangs open.

“You’re joking, right?” Mark frowns. “How could Ara be your love assignment? That’s—That’s impossible, I—”

You shake your head. “I’m not joking. I didn’t see myself reflected through her eyes, I saw Yuta—”

“You saw Jaehyun.” Mark cuts you off. “Right? Jaehyun. You saw Jaehyun, right?”

You let out a nervous laugh. “Why would I see Jaehyun? I didn’t see Jaehyun. I saw Yuta, the university’s soccer team player. He was wearing a jersey and he turned around. I saw his name printed on his jersey. Nakamoto Yuta—”

“Please tell me you’re kidding.” Mark winces.

“I’m not kidding!” You exclaim in a panicked voice. “Why would I be kidding?”

Mark palms his forehead and lets out a laugh of disbelief. He shakes his head. You stare at him questioningly. What’s happening? What’s going on? 

“Mark, you’re confusing me.” You say with worry etched on your face. “I am telling you the truth. I saw Nakamoto Yuta reflected in her eyes—”

“Ara is Jaehyun’s girlfriend. They’ve been dating for three years. Now you’re telling me that Ara’s your love assignment and you don’t see Jaehyun reflected in her eyes… but Yuta?”

“Holy shit.”

“I’m back with our drinks! Wait, what’s wrong? Why are you guys looking at each other like that?”

The image of Yuta’s reflection in Ara’s eyes never seems to leave your mind. In fact, it has been the only thing haunting you ever since. The revelation leaves you in nothing but a spiralling mess. You are required to make Ara fall in love with her soulmate, who so happens to be Yuta. But at the same exact time, to complete your mission, you must do something to end Ara’s relationship with Jaehyun.

You wish it was a joke.

It all comes down to whether you have the heart to lead Ara to her destined soulmate and end her relationship with Jaehyun or leave things for her to figure out but lose your matchmaking abilities as a Cupid.

The sticky situation makes you want to pull your hair off your scalp. It makes you want to look up to the heavens and yell at your ancestors for being Cupids, for passing down their matchmaking abilities to every generation after them, and for passing down the curse of never falling in love. 

“Stop thinking about it too much, it’s making you age faster.” 

You glare at Mark. “I don’t even know Jaehyun personally but I’m sure he’s a great guy who deserves everything in the entire universe, not some soccer player and a so-called Cupid to ruin his three-year relationship with Ara.”

“What happens if you don’t make Ara fall in love with her soulmate within a year—oh, Johnny, hey!”

Your mouth clamps shut and your head whips around. Johnny occupies the empty seat next to you and greets you with a light nudge. He nods his head at Mark. “What happens if what?”

Mark gulps nervously. He lets out a squeak. “Nothing!”

Mark makes eye contact with you and you give him a warning gaze. Johnny shrugs his shoulders and brushes off the conversation by starting a new one. “Tonight at six. Jaehyun’s apartment. We’re going to have a chicken and beer night.”

“This is exactly what I needed—” Mark points at him.

“I think I’ll have to pass on that one. I have a—” 

“Uh, no you’re not.” Johnny shakes his head. “What excuse are you going to tell me this time? Your excuses are getting lamer every time. It’s quite obvious.”

You sigh. “I’d rather study. Besides, I have a midterm coming up and the last thing I want is to tank it.”

“It’s just one night. Chicken and beer. Who turns down chicken and beer? With friends, too?” Mark tries to convince you but you’re using your eyes to communicate the idea that this will not turn out well.

“Who’s coming?” You tear your gaze away from Mark when he doesn’t seem to take a hint. You’re reaching for your water bottle to take a quick sip of water.

“It’ll be me, Mark, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Ara,” Johnny recalls the guests from the top of his head. “Oh! Yuta is coming too—”

You choke on your water. As you’re going through a coughing fit, Mark grabs your water bottle to prevent any more water from spilling onto the table. Johnny pats your back. “Y-Yuta? As in, Nakamoto Yuta?”

Johnny smiles. “Indeed. Why? Do you have a crush on him or something—”

“No!” You and Mark blurt out in unison.

Johnny gives you both a funny look. “Okay, geez, I was just joking around. Unless, you do, have a crush on Yuta, Y/N—”

“Look who we have here.” 

It’s a foreign yet familiar voice. You’ve heard that voice somewhere. You sneak a quick glance at Mark, whose eyes are wide like saucers. You could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he gulps nervously. Mark’s eyes trail down to meet yours. 

“Jaehyun! Ara! Perfect timing!”

Definitely not perfect timing. You mirror Mark with the same wide eyes. It’s almost as if you’ve shrivelled up or froze up into an ice statue. Johnny doesn’t seem to notice you shoving your things into your tote bag out of sheer panic. Mark’s eyes dart between you and the newly-arrived couple. 

“Hey, sorry, I completely forgot that I have a meeting with my group for our project.” It comes out as a squeak. Everyone’s looking at you and you can’t find the strength to look at any of them in the eye. But you can surely feel the attention that’s been shifted towards you. 

“Leaving already?” Johnny pouts. “I just got here—”

“Sorry!” You exclaim, standing up from your seat and making a beeline for the exit doors of the study room. You look over your shoulder. Johnny has a cute pout on his lips as he watches you scurry away from them. “I’ll make it up to you!”

“You’ll make it up to me by joining us tonight for chicken and beer!”

When Jaehyun and Ara take up the spot you used to sit at, Mark can’t help but look at Ara with round eyes. He just can’t seem to look at Ara the same way anymore, especially when she’s with Jaehyun. Mark decides to settle his gaze on Jaehyun instead, but he still feels the same. He can’t look at Jaehyun the same way either. The first person that comes to mind when he looks at the couple sitting across from him is Nakamoto Yuta. The second and last person that comes to mind is you.

There are two innocent people being brought into this mess. It’s you and Yuta.

And what’s worse is that Jaehyun and Ara are just as innocent.

You and Mark find yourselves standing in front of Jaehyun’s door. Surprisingly, it’s quiet. You don’t hear Johnny’s loud voice through the thin door. Instead, right when Mark knocks on the door, you hear someone’s faint shuffling that gets louder and louder as they get close to the door. The door swings open and your mouth slightly parts open. This is—?

“Jaehyun!” Mark exclaims, crashing into Jaehyun’s arms. 

You stand there awkwardly as you watch them embrace. Jaehyun pats Mark’s back until his eyes meet yours. Jaehyun. You’ve known of him. But now that you can put a face to his name, you’re immediately brought back to your freshman year, specifically your freshman orientation week. You’ve seen his face before. Jaehyun was amongst the popular freshmen in your year mainly due to his charisma and charm. By the end of freshman orientation week, he had become a magnet that attracted everyone to him. But not only did you remember him from orientation week, but you remember being one of the many people who were attracted to him. He had become your first university crush, but ever since orientation week, you never saw him again.

Until now.

“I’m guessing you’re Y/N?” Jaehyun asks and you find yourself snapping out of your trance. “I’d be surprised if you weren’t.”

You slowly nod your head. “Yes, that’s me.”

“The one that was scurrying away earlier?” He chuckles.

You roll your eyes. “God, please don’t remind me. That was embarrassing.”

“Nice to meet you,” he smiles and oh boy, are those dimples? 

You swoon. Too bad Jaehyun’s off the market. But at the same time, it’s a shame that you’re going to be the one to ruin his relationship and put him back on the market. You muster up a smile. “Nice to meet you too, Jaehyun.”

You and Mark make yourselves comfortable in Jaehyun’s apartment. Your eyes scan the place and just by the small touches to his apartment, you can pick up what kind of person Jaehyun is. From the LP turntable sitting in one corner of the room accompanied by a great stack of records—he has some exquisite taste in music—to the mini fridge filled with bottles of wine, you can tell that he’s a young man with an old soul. You turn to your right when you spot a piano and a microphone stand. It’s a makeshift studio in the opposite corner of his living room. He sings?

“I’ve heard many things about you from Johnny,” Jaehyun starts a conversation as he hands you a can of beer. “And Mark, of course.”

You open the can of beer to take your first sip, making sure to squint your eyes at Mark. “I hope they’re good things.”

He smiles. “There’s nothing to worry about. They put you up to the highest standard.”

You cough. “As they should.”

Mark scoffs. “You’re being too obnoxious right now.”

“Shut up,” you mutter, taking another sip of your beer. “What’s taking Johnny so long to get here? After scolding me for bailing out on every single function, here he is, pulling up later than promised.”

“Speaking of,” Jaehyun says as he stares at his phone. “His uber just pulled up. I’ll meet up with him downstairs. While I go fetch him, make yourselves comfortable.”

Jaehyun leaves you alone in silence. The moment Jaehyun shuts the door, Mark shoots you a cheeky grin. He’s wiggling his eyebrows at you and you can’t help but squint your eyes at him. 

“Why are you looking at me like that—”

“You like him, don’t you?”

You scoff in disbelief. “I do not like him like that—”

“You do.” Mark cuts you off. “I’m getting that type of energy from you—”

“Well, sorry to disappoint, I don’t like him like that. Besides, he’s in a relationship with Ara—”

“He’s in a relationship that you’re destined to end.” Mark reminds you and you frown. “What? It’s true!”

You shake your head and with a stern voice, you say, “I don’t like Jaehyun. I just find him... charming.”

“That’s all—”

“And handsome—”

“Oh—”

“And sweet.” You add. “But other than that, I don’t like him. I’m Cupid, remember? I’m cursed to never fall in love and so the chances of me liking Jaehyun? Very slim.”

Mark smirks. “But you find him charming, handsome, and sweet. Isn’t that more than enough to like someone?”

“There’s a very distinct line drawn between infatuation and love, Mark.” You state with a matter of fact. 

“So, you’re infatuated with Jaehyun—”

“What’s up party people, put your hands up!”

Both of your mouths clamp shut at Johnny’s freakishly loud voice echoing the apartment the moment he walks in. You dumbly put your hands up and Mark lets out a loud cackle. Entering right after him are Ara and—

“Yuta, my right hand and my go-to!” Mark exclaims.

You wish you were invisible, especially when Ara spots you on the couch and sends you a wave. You’re mustering up a very tight-lipped smile as you wave back at her. Great, this is going to be a long night. Jaehyun follows suit, throwing his arm over Ara’s shoulder and pecking her cheek. Mark sneaks a glance at you as you’re tearing your gaze away from the couple to take another sip of beer.

“Y/N actually came for once,” Johnny teases you. 

Everyone gathers around the small coffee-table. Scattered on the small table are three boxes of chicken along with a can of beer for everyone. You’re sitting right across from Yuta, who hasn’t uttered a single word since he got here. But surprisingly enough, his eyes meet yours and you quickly look away. Your heart begins to race. 

And your heart starts to beat much faster when Yuta never seems to break his stare at you for the rest of the night.

Yuta has definitely seen you before but he can’t seem to pinpoint exactly where he’s seen you. It must have been a fleeting moment, where the both of you passed by each other unknowingly. But after looking into your wandering eyes, after watching you chug a can of beer right across from him, he has found his answer.

Valentine’s Day.

He was biking on his way home after a three-hour lecture. Too many couples. He remembers the excessive amount of couples strolling down the busy streets. He remembers having the urge to rip his eyes out whenever he came to a stoplight and spotted a couple sharing a passionate (way too passionate) kiss. But he also remembers the sudden loneliness he felt.

Ara. He’s always found her pretty in her own special way. His first encounter with Ara was when she auditioned for the co-ed soccer team. He was seated at the bleachers as one of the head coaches who chose the new team members. She was everything he adored in someone. It was like she had her own glow whenever she ran down the field, with her hair bouncing as she ran. 

But too bad because she’s—

“Taken?”

Jaehyun let out a sigh on the other phone line. Yuta pursed his lips into a tight line. “Listen, I tried to get those concert tickets for you tonight through my connections. But all of the available seats are taken. Well, there are still some seats but the seats you wanted are gone.”

“Do you have tickets for other seats?” Jaehyun questioned.

“Yeah, but the seats are pretty far from the stage. Are you alright with that?”

He heard distinct chatter on the other phone line. He heard Ara’s soft voice and a smile threatened to escape his lips. Right… she’s taken by Jaehyun. “We’ll take them!”

“Perfect.” Yuta chuckled. “I’m on my way to your apartment, actually. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes to give you the tickets.”

Yuta turned to his right and into a familiar neighbourhood. He slowed down his bike when he reached Jaehyun’s apartment building. As he headed up a couple flights of stairs, he reached Jaehyun’s apartment completely out of breath. The door opened and he saw—

“Oh, hey, Ara.” He scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Is Jaehyun here?”

Ara beamed up at him and nodded her head. “Come in. You look like you’re out of breath. Do you want a glass of water, or something?”

“I’m good. Thanks.” He mumbled, too shy and nervous to utter anything other than those three words. Ara bit her lip to stop herself from smiling. God, why is he so nervous around her?

“Yuta!” Jaehyun said in a sing-song voice, greeting him with a fist-bump.

“Hey—oh?”

Yuta clamped his mouth shut when he looked into Jaehyun’s eyes. Jaehyun’s eyes sure do look pretty, he could see stars shining back at him. But that’s not what he saw.

He saw an unfamiliar woman. He’s never seen her before.

In Jaehyun’s eyes, he saw a woman holding what seemed like a microphone. She had headphones on and her face was illuminated by what he assumed was a laptop screen. She was singing a song he couldn’t hear. Yuta blinked, soaking in every little detail about the woman he saw in Jaehyun’s eyes. But it was not long until his face paled when he realized something terrible.

The woman he saw in Jaehyun’s eyes was not Ara.

Valentine’s Day. It’s the day he dreads the most out of the entire year. It’s the day where he receives his love assignment for the year. He has one year to make his assignment fall in love with their soulmate. But how is he going to do that when his love assignment is Jaehyun? 

Cupids are cursed to never fall in love. Although, Yuta does have sheer hope that he could definitely find love. How could he not, when he’s a hopeless fool in front of Ara? It’s this specific Valentine’s Day that he dreads the most out of all the Valentine’s Days he’s spent. Why? Because while he found out that Jaehyun’s soulmate isn’t Ara, that surely doesn’t mean that he has a chance with Ara. In fact, he’ll never have a chance with Ara. He could potentially be the man Ara will hate the most.

Because one way or another, he must tear Ara and Jaehyun apart.

author’s note. welp, i hope you enjoyed the first part! i should be able to post the second part after all of my midterms. look out for it! thank you for reading!

[savagesbonergarage]

ok, i need SMUTTY thrawn. like anything you wanna write

Don't we all 😏

I’m weirdly a little upset with Thrawn right now for ridiculous headspace reasons, so this is gonna be interesting. I think I have a good idea, though...We’ll see how this turns out lol

Update: Wow this has a lot of feelings??? Apparently I needed to get that out of my system *shrug*

A/N - Tried to write this for a gender-neutral reader so let me know how that works 🤐, longer than I expected but what else is new, yeah feelings like I said, but it turns into you domming Thrawn so I think it’s worth it, face-riding, cumming in pants, role-play? kinda?, the smut’s at the end

Thrawn

“Neglect”

“What is this?” you asked with a knowing curiosity and no small amount of irritation in your voice.  

You held the painted helmet in your hands, Thrawn’s gaze never leaving it until he eventually answered you through a defeated sigh. “It belonged to one of the rebel captives I’ve been tracking. The boy Jedi.”

“I see...” you retorted unflinchingly, inspecting the crude loth-cat design on the front of it through hardened, yet undeniably sad eyes. “So this is what you’ve been up to this entire time? Spending your vacation working instead of...” 

Instead of being with me, like you’d promised.

The chiss finally rose from his seat, although he still couldn’t bring himself to meet your eyes. He was fully aware of the situation he’d created, of the promises he’d made and failed to keep, and most importantly the lies he’d told in order to continue tracking this particular band of rebels. “I...I apologize for disappointing you.”

You uttered a scoff, nearly rolling your eyes at his words. After finally catching him in the act when he’d sworn he was too tired to stay up with you and was heading straight to bed all these nights, it was difficult not to take this revelation a little personally. Not to mention his superiors had specifically instructed him to use this shore leave to actually relax and enjoy himself after his continuous dedication to the Empire and his duties without fail or complaint - and when he’d arrived with more luggage than usual, you interpreted that to mean that he was intending to stay the entire length of his trip this time with no intention of returning to work early as he typically did - however, that extra baggage was ultimately filled with rebel artifacts that he was fully preparing to study. 

“I’m not disappointed, nor am I surprised,” you admitted through a sigh, moving to stand straight across from him with only the width of the helmet between you as you continued, “I don’t know why I was expecting this time to be different from any of the others. I know you. When you’re dedicated to pursuing something, there’s no stopping you or trying to change your mind.”

His lips parted as though he had something to say, but ultimately decided against it. He must have seen through your facade of trying to keep your expression firm as he gently spoke your name, and you silently cursed yourself for never being able to keep a straight face. You caught his hand when he moved to bring it to your cheek, only holding it firmly in mid air as you kept your head down while you asked him the question that had been plaguing your mind for years.

“Are you still pursuing me?”

You clutched his hand even tighter, your frown already shifting into a grimace as you stared straight down into the visor of the helmet. This talk wasn’t one you’d been particularly looking forward to having, especially since you more or less already had a preconceived notion of what his answer would be. Perhaps your relationship really had changed, and rather than voice it outright, Thrawn expected you to determine the status of it through context to avoid having an uncomfortable conversation. It certainly didn’t feel like the two of you were lovers anymore, and with this revelation that he had the time for intimacy if he desired it and was choosing his usual activities over being in your arms, there was little reason to believe otherwise. 

The helmet was abruptly removed from your hands and placed elsewhere, with the hand that was holding yours moving to snake around your waist as you felt him pull you against his broad chest. It was a kind gesture, but what you really wanted was a definitive answer. 

“Thrawn-”

“I’ve always been adept at coursing after my targets,” he began with an ounce of regret in his somber tone, “yet I find that the ones affecting my career operations tend to take precedence over the ventures in my personal life.”

You’d already known that much, and yet the sinking fear that came with the prospect of the inevitable “it’s not you, it’s me” parting discussion still began to overtake you. It felt like you were going through all the stages of grief all at once - denial, anger, bargaining, depression...but you weren’t ready to accept this just yet. You weren’t sure you ever would be. Anger was definitely occupying the forefront of your mind; anger at Thrawn, anger at the Empire, anger at yourself...you wouldn’t be enduring all of this if you’d never fallen for him in the first place. You just had to go and fall in love with a man that was emotionally and physically unavailable, didn’t you? You’d known at least some extent of what you’d be getting into when you agreed to be his significant other - that your rendezvous together would be short-lived and few and far between, with his work always taking priority over you, but this...knowing that given the choice, given the mandate, he was still choosing the rebels over you...

It hurt.

You were tensing up in his arms, doing all that you could to keep the tears from forming. If only to encourage the transparency you wanted to see from him, you began solemnly pouring your thoughts out against his chest, the release of the words you'd been keeping to yourself for so long aiding in your preemptive recovery somewhat.

"I've often thought about joining the rebellion just to reclaim some of your attention," you admitted, the statement sounding more pathetic to your ears than you'd anticipated, "I've never been an artist, but I like to imagine what it would be like if I made rebel propaganda for you to find. I've wondered if you'd even be able to figure out it was mine, and that with every stroke it was really just me trying to tell you..." ...that I love you.

You hadn’t realized you were crying until you felt yourself involuntarily choking on a sob, and before you could hide your face from him his hands were caressing either side of your jaw and pulling you up into a deep, tender kiss. 

How long had it been? When was the last time you felt his touch like this, let alone a kiss? It almost didn't feel real, and you instinctively returned his vigor to make sure it wasn't all just a fantasy. Your tears were stinging against both of your faces now, and Thrawn drew back to wipe them away with the pads of his thumbs. His glowing red eyes were so melancholy, his brows threading into a line as you held his indigo hands to your face and leaned into them, as though the warmth of his skin was a rare sensation that you were savoring to remember back on when you'd be without it again.

"My love..." Thrawn began, his voice soothing as he brought his lips to the tender flesh of your ear, "if I've been so neglectful of your needs that you would become my enemy to be closer to me, then I've failed you so much more exponentially than I ever could have surmised. For that, I am so, so very sorry."

Part of you perked up at the implication that perhaps he wasn't intending to cut ties with you just yet, although it was clear he had much more to say. You brought his hands down to your chest and interlocked your fingers with his, holding onto them for dear life as he continued. "I...I have become consumed by my mission. My mind won't allow me any reprieve unless I've made substantial new discoveries and analyses concerning these rebels on a constant basis. I haven't faced any challenging opposition like them in quite some time, and to feel the invigoration of facing a worthy opponent with the potential to outmaneuver me...it's...addicting."

You listened to his confession intently, relieved to have him opening his heart to you once again. You brought his hands up to your mouth and smiled with amusement before you placed a kiss against them and bore into his concerned gaze with a look of alleviation gracing your own features. “I think I’m beginning to understand where your superiors were coming from when they demanded you take this leave.”

Thrawn’s countenance softened as he returned your smile, even managing something of a titter while he brought your own hands to his lips. “Am I that insufferable?”

“You already know the answer to that.”

He flashed his teeth in an impudent grin, moistening your skin with his lips as he resumed speaking against it. “Reassuring, as always.”

“Thrawn...” you spoke gingerly as the seriousness of the conversation recommenced and you withdrew your hands, rubbing the place where his warmth had just been while you gathered up the courage to proceed with your thoughts, “I need to know where we stand. It would have been stupid of me to expect our relationship to be like anyone else’s...I’ve been aware from the beginning that your duties come first, and I’m perfectly content with that. I want to see you succeed, and I love that you’re so persistent and driven. But...”

“I know,” he interjected, his guilty conscience evident simply by the tone of his voice, “my behavior as of late has been inexcusable. You mean so much more to me than I’ve led you to believe. It has been despicable of me to overlook your wishes in favor of my work when it is unnecessary. I...I love you, and...I’d like to make it up to you.”

Your heart breathed a sigh of relief, remedied by the fact that it still belonged to him. Before you knew it, you were back in his arms in an instant and planting another passionate kiss at the corner of his mouth while you grasped at his light civilian clothing. “Do you mean it?” you asked before he could properly perform the action in return.

“Of course. There are few things I wouldn’t do for you.”

For you, that was about as good as anyone else saying that they would do anything. Some things were off the table, such as leaving the Empire or betraying the Chiss or halting his investigation of the mysterious alien race that posed a threat to the entire galaxy - but other than that, he was yours, and that was more than enough.

“I might already have a few ideas...” you admitted pleasantly, capturing his lips in a more heated kiss as you wrapped your arms around his neck. His smile granted you more access to the rest of his mouth and you obliged, nipping at his skin and warring with his tongue as both of your actions became more lascivious. It wasn’t long before you felt his warm, strong hands snaking up your bare abdomen while you fumbled with the clasps of his shirt, though it become more difficult to concentrate once he reached your chest and focused his activity there, drawing a moan from deep within your throat. Taking note of your struggle, he briefly took his hands away from you to discard his top and aid you in removing your own. 

“I’m intrigued by these ideas, if you wouldn’t mind enlightening me,” Thrawn said as he reached both arms around you to grasp your behind and knead it through the fabric of your pants while he continued to kiss you along your temples and hairline. Your mouth was too busy peppering his pecs with kisses and love-bites to really say much, but that was alright - you were more of a demonstrator, anyway. You brought his hands to your sides and he helped you slide your bottoms down, giving your ass an excited smack once it was bare for him. He attempted to sneak a hand around the supple flesh of your inner thigh and curl a few digits upwards, but you smacked it away.

“Ah-Ah,” you tsked, guiding his arms away from you entirely. He started working at the sealing strip of his own waistband, but again, you stopped him. “No.”

“No?” he asked, a brow raised in amusement but also plenty of genuine confusion. 

“No,” you reaffirmed as you stepped completely out of your pant legs and planted your palms onto his chest, pushing against him with enough force to influence him to step backward. The pressure was continuous, so he didn’t stop until his back hit the cool metal of the durasteel wall behind him. “You’ve kept me waiting for a long time, Admiral.”

“I...yes,” he uttered, slightly taken aback by the firmness and determination in your voice, and especially the mocking tone you used with his moniker, although he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t enjoy it. 

In an impressive display of flexibility, you raised your leg up until your heel rested in the curve of Thrawn’s neck and over his shoulder, holding him in place as you stared him down with an air of dominion. “I’ve lost most of my patience,” you explained as you applied a significant amount of strength down through your foot and into his muscle, indicating once again that he was to move. He did so silently this time, enraptured by your confidence as he slid down until he was sitting on the hard ground. Your foot didn’t let up, adding more pressure as your tone became a little more demanding. “Down. All the way.”

He obliged, shifting downwards so he could lean back onto his forearms and lower himself completely onto the floor. Your foot remained on his shoulder, a smile contorting your face as you could see he was taking in the view and enjoying it, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. His eyes eventually met yours, giving you an innocent and questioning look as he spoke.

“Would you like to take this outside of the office? To the bedroom, perhaps?”

“Here’s fine,” you retorted smugly, and for a moment your attention was captured again by the painted rebel helmet that was perched atop the desk beside you. You took it, examining the artwork on the front one more time before you smirked at the curious Chiss beneath you and donned it upon your head. His breath hitched when you suddenly dropped to your knees over his chest and slid your hand around to the apex of his skull, lightly grabbing a fistful of previously perfectly slicked-back hair before gazing straight down into his crimson orbs.

“Are you still curious?” you asked with an inflection of authority.

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the motion before he spoke lowly, just above a whisper. “I believe I understand.”

“Good,” you began, positioning yourself directly over his face as you pulled his head forward so that the tip of his nose was only centimeters away from the source of your pulsing heat, “...you kriffing Imp.”

With that, you saddled his face and sighed when you felt the hot wetness of his mouth envelop you, the room quickly filling with the sounds of the obscene slurps and smacks of his ministrations on your flesh. Your other hand grasped another lock of his hair as you bucked against him, his tongue finding all your most sensitive spots as it darted over them, and all the while you carefully supported his neck while he fucked you religiously with his face. You looked down at the master tactician through half-lidded eyes before throwing your head back in ecstasy, feeling the creep of your climax edging closer and closer. You were having a difficult time catching your breath, and eventually you decided that this sensation ought to be somewhat mutual.

You reached your hand back behind you and starting palming Thrawn’s erection through the fabric of his pants, earning an approving sigh between your legs as you stimulated the head through the still-expanding wet stain of his precum. You jerked him as well as you could in tandem with his movements, struggling to suppress the moans and expletives that erupted from your lips as he went at you even harder. His hands gripped your hips with a cautious desperation as both of your breaths became increasingly ragged, and it wasn’t long before your thighs were quivering against his ears as your orgasm crashed over you in waves of absolute pleasure. Your gasps of euphoria coupled with the intensified friction of your touch had Thrawn stilling and slightly jerking his hips not long after, finally leaning his head back away from your entrance as his face flushed while he came in his pants.

The both of you relaxed as you were overtaken by the surge of your highs, and after a while you managed to shift downward so that you were straddling his waist as you removed the helmet and set it aside. You returned your attention to the handsome, feverish warrior panting beneath you and moved a stray strand of his mussed hair back into place. You leaned forward and kissed him gently on his swollen lips, not minding the taste of yourself as you rested on top of him and listened to the accelerated beating of his heart together with yours.

And when his arms wrapped around you while he planted a loving kiss on your forehead, you looked up at the ceiling and pondered just how much work he’d get done the next time he studied that helmet.

[squeiky]

!!!List of papyrus things!!!

(Update 3! mini update.)

For anyone who needs more info on the guy! Since you usually dont see alot of info about him!

A list of stuff thats just papyrus's tid bits i've collected overtime!

(Disclaimer: some things can be taken off of memory, though I did search most of the stuff up, so you dont have to worry too much. But if your feeling unsure, search it up! And correct me while your at it.)

his room doesn't play/have music.

(If you have reunited playing at enter his room, it'll disappear forever. Untill you go back and let it play again. Even without reunited, a song that plays no matter what room your in, doesn't play any music.)

Never takes off his battle body.

(According to sans, he only takes it off if he has no other choice too. Otherwise he'll just put clothes ontop of it, or just repaints it if needed. He does how ever, change his pants but never takes off the top.)

the minute "royal gaurd " is out of the picture, he's got nothing.

(It was the one thing he worked up for. When the royal gaurd disbands He says he "working hard on doing absolutely nothing". Then again this can be interpreted as papyrus does say he is working on something, despite not being a royal gaurd yet.)

He lies. (And can manipulate)

(Though he is really bad at lying, he seems to manipulate just fine, though its usually not out of malice. He gets undyne to befreind you by mentioning "challenge", which is a weakness of hers, since she never can turn down a challenge. And has lied about floweys name to her to. Has lied to sans or atleast mislead him about the things he knows about. Pretended he didn't know what a lab was during a call in hotland, but if you call him when sans isn't there, papyrus mentions the lab as if it was common knowledge instead of saying "Labrador-y?" As if he had no idea.)

Changes up his attacks

( if you get captured a few times, you see variation in his attacks. If you do it right, you can get him too skip half of his entire attack.)

Calls his own puzzles "Awful"

(This happens after battling papyrus, he says "WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE PALS... WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM??" This could be interpreted in many ways.)

Spikes, fire, traps, fencless bridges: are all safe for children, according to papyrus.

("EACH AREA HAS TO HAVE A PRECARIOUS BRIDGE" -bridge likely to collapse, dangerous. "ITS MANDATED BY THE GOVERNMENT. OF COURSE KING FLUFFYBOY WANTS TO UNMANDATE IT SAFER." "WHY?! WONT HE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!)

Has "talked" with asgore before.

(Sadly, asgore and papyrus has crossed paths. Asgore advises him not to but dangerous puzzles around town, for the children. Papyrus wants to put dangerous puzzles around town, for the children. This results in them bickering over saftey laws, with papyrus usually winning.)

Tried to start a flowey fan club

(On multiple occasions calls flowey "his best freind" and shows genuine love for the little guy. He even gave flowey a little red scarf to match his, during the 5th anniversary winter alarm clock.)

Has photo-graphic memory for phone calls.

-call in the room where undyne chased you. He seems nervous, or atleast stressed out during this call. I'll leave any and all interpretation to you.)

(Ps: papyrus has bad memory, but good photographic memory?)

His disliking for grease

(Says this during a call with undyne in grillby's place. Undyne says she loves grease, and he quickly dismisses his opinion in favor of hers. Of course, papyrus HAS visited grillbys before, as the dogamy and doggeressa mention him with sans. )

Calls alphys "great"

(During the first tile puzzle, he praises alphys by calling her "THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS" )

Knows about undynes crush on alphus

(He teases undyne a few times on this, leading to the "hot voice" and "audible wink" papyrus lines. He's not oblivious to the things around him, unless he chooses to be.)

Put limes in his eyes!

(Conversation in hotland! The guy thought limes where cucumbers and stuck them in his eyes. When. He thought it wasn't working he put more limes. It burned like hell but he says it was all to have "mettaton's bishoning eyes")

Knows about mtt's eyes

(Nobody seems to know that mettaton has eyes?! Undyne confirms this fact. Papyrus is the only one who outright mentions it.)

He got mettaton to do the tile puzzle thing

(FOR SOME UNEXPLAINED REASON- mettaton was the tile puzzle robot alphys built. The puzzle robot papyrus had during his own tile puzzle. Infact, during mettaton's tile puzzle in hotland, he says that you'd is this a few hundred rooms ago. If you call papyrus, he starts rambling on all the instructions again. Hehe.)

he likes dinosaur oatmeal

(According to the undertale tumblr, flowey response to "whats papyrus's favorite food?" Is DINOSAUR OATMEAL!! YAY!)

really enjoys mtt's show and mtt in general.

(and mtt even helped him with a tile puzzle)

enjoys cars

Owns a car bed

(Want to drive one)

really freaking artistic!

(Paints a whole bridge, makes a snowpapyrus, made his own costume/battle body, built a okay replica of a sentry station)

The red book on the table in the skelebro's house is infact his!

(For specifics, the quantum mechanics book with infinite books inside of it. It isn't specified who reads it, but both brothers should be capable as jokes and puns are not out of papyrus wardrobe.)

has his own shed and tools.

(Also known as "the punishment shed, doghouse, cpature zone, guest room, a garage" or undyne's pun which was "the coolshed". Ah, to be enriched by shed puns... Wonderful.)

tried to learn the "horoscope"

(Got "stumped" according to sans)

thinks junior jumble is harder than crossword

wants a 6 pairs of hot pants and 6 pairs of legs to wear those pants

has a dream of owning a shop where he just sells flames

(Call near in waterfall, near the turtle man shop.)

He's very influential

(If he's the only one killed in a neutral run, even without undyne, a revolution will still occur. Look into it yourself if need be.)

Called himself a genius

(During the instance, where he talks to you after turning the light on in sans's room.)

Can't really tell when someones mad

(He couldn't tell when undyne was mad at him during a call. He asks us too.)

Doesn't watch anime.

(He thinks its like cartoons for babies. Jokes around with undyne for awhile before taking it all back once he knew she watched anime.-during one of the calls.)

Brutal kind of guy

(He says this himself, i don't exactly know WHY he thinks this of himself, but he does.)

Bookworm

Owns a bookshelf

(He has a book Its where his vast dictionary comes from.

Knows about the time and space manipulation tactics sans uses.

(HE KNOWS- HE MENTIONS IT WHEN HE TURNS ON THE LIGHT IN SANS'S ROOM!!)

believes you can be a better person, if you just try.

(And he's right. Even if you kill him he still believes this, beacuse well.. Its true. Undyne wont forgive you and try to kill you, sans won't fight you, bht he's still right either way)

Knows about river person

(He asks about how river person is doing. No body seems to know about river person, and its unsure if undyne knows about their prescence.)

The days in his date scene (Monday, Tuesday, weekday, Thursday,e.c.t ) changes depending on your computer. Even though the date in undertale is always Monday.

(River person has a scheduled thing that matches up to your computer date as well, but this is about papyrus, not river person.)

Weird abilities

(Flying and super speedy twirling, flying backwards. He doesn't even hide it.)

He's pretty freaking tough!

(According to undyne, the person who defeated asgore.)

His "absolutely normal attack" is a giant cluster of bones.

(In theory, his attack could be the size of the entire area, including the giant bone at the end.)

Papyrus can lower the giant bone at the end of his "absolutely normal attack"

Has Collection of bones (or was planning to make one.)

(The room behind the sink was made for.. His attacks/bones. Before toby(dog)came in and made a shrine instead.)

Is annoying dog's favorite target.

Has a cannon, spears, fire thingy, and a dog at his disposal.

(Displayed during the bridge scene)

One persistent dude.

Likes to say "NYEHEHE!"

Has alot of MTT items.

Owns makeup!

(Mtt brand of course!)

Never dated anyone before.

(He says it himself.)

owns a dating manual

Not much of a sleeper.

(To the point where he just calls sleeping "naps" which aren't that long. He outright says he's always working, so he doesn't sleep.)

Dislikes hotland

dislikes hotland x2

Dislikes hotlands puzzles

Dislikes hotlands ethics.

Doesnt know much about hotland

(Says he knows it like the back of his hand!)

Says he never taken off his gloves, so he has no idea how his hands look like.

(He wears gloves or mittens on top of his gloves. And refuses to take it off, like his "battle body")

Calls hotland's steam puzzles garbage.

Dislikes hotlands conveyors

Thinks L1 and R2 stand for left and right

( Of course, it takes him awhile. He starts making puns, and tries to compare the words to pasta, and THEN comes to the conclusion that its left and right. Its Trail and error.-)

Knows about death.

(Said he wanted to meet death one time during a waterfall call.)

He pauses when speaking as a lost soul.

("I MUST CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN EVERYONE WILL. ...." This is unusual as he is the only one that pauses. This can be interpreted, but it is rather interesting nonetheless)

Alright this is a bit more interpretive. Things may not be 100% facts down here.

Disclaimer: i will be putting "Interpretive" in red coloring for things that have may my interpretation or opinions in! Please do be mindful in your search, and take it with a grain of salt. It doesn't make it comepelty wrong, it has facts! Just muddled with oppinions.

Ready?

self-worth problems.

( can be called interpretive: He always feels very unimportant, as if he doesn't actually matter. During a call in waterfall, with the puddle hallway, papyrus talks about not letting it "get to you" or something along the lines of that. Since undyne speaks from her experience with the puddles, then i'd assume papyrus would too.)

(I think its just a sign of self doubt or insecurity. Someone once said its dysphoria, which is a cool headcannon for paps or something. What ever it is, he has some demons that he doesn't want to let out.)

Forgetable.

( according to the genocide description)

( Interpretive: Other than that, he's not even noticable. Though, there are a few people that appreciate him, most dont really acknowledge him. Unless you kill him of course!)

Sad/depressed?

( interpreitive as well:Before the human showed up, sans explains how his brother was feeling quite down lately. We see a.. Happier side of papyrus through out our journey.. He vents out to us, the player/human, about things he dislikes, or troubles he faces. Hes like a froggit. Life is hard for a froggit.)

Smiles through things.

("This is where I tried to capture you! What a bad memory." -quote he says as he smiles through it all. He does have a sad emote, but so far i have only seen it during a call in hotland, where the CORE was shown. As your adventure is coming close.. To an end.)

Uses his playful "OUCH!" emote when you straight up kill him. Instead of his hurting/in pain emote when flowey catches him off guard before absorbing everyonesones souls.

(The reason is unkown, but that emote is normally associated with more of "light taps." Examples are, toriel's fireballs at asgore and flowey. Unless... Cutting off his head was considered a "light tap" then, but flowey wrapping him in painful vines is considered more painful than getting his head chopped off and still having enough consciousness to joke about it.)

He knows his cooking sucks and that nobody likes it.

(He's not naive. He knows. He even says it. "Nobody has like my cooking before!" - QUOTE. This isn't some hidden fact. He's trying his best, "mabye next year, he might even make something edible." -sans quote.)

That was all the stuff i gathered for now.

Feel free to tell me anything i haven't added! :)

yeah, hes a pretty cool dude, ain't he?

(Edit: i've added some new things to the bunch, and fixed/deleted ome opinions or unrelated junk. Please, continue helping me add!)

[accio-victuuri]

Hello! Feel free not to answer this, since it kinda ventures into the realm of talking about antis, but I was on twitter the other day (side note: ggdd twitter is insane holy—) and I saw someone saying something about dd CAUSING 2/27 to bring gg down and boost himself up, and I was wondering if you knew why some people genuinely believe this? Like, they put some bs “proof” which was just inane and non-sourced statements. It was quite shocking.

Hey Anon! It’s okay for me to answer this cause this is more of why people are quick to believe these baseless statements. and this is not just with bjyx and the entertainment world ; We are in the golden age of misinformation. People believing without verification is everywhere and it’s affecting elections, people’s health decisions and even the environment. So back to your specific question.

• language barrier and lack of context - This is a big thing especially if you are someone who sees this screenshot and a caption that says THIS IS WHAT THIS MEANS and proceeds to spew lies. It could literally be a random paragraph/ post and you will never know cause you have 0 idea on the language. take for example this one I just made.

you can’t verify it unless you know someone who understands it. even then, it’s important to get some context. What i mean is, who is this person who posted? Is this a well known yxh account? Have you seen their track record on wb? Is this one of those accounts that GG and Web are actively suing? Most of the time, these accounts are saying damaging things about other artists too. If you are on international platforms, the same steps apply. What does this person usually post? What posts do they like and interact with?

• people are inclined to believe statements that agree with them - it’s just how our brain works. It’s motivated reasoning. You tend to agree on things that are agreeable with what you believe in. I wanna say majority of them don’t really like Web in the first place. What’s sad is, some of those who read these are not really antis and just have little doubts. but because of these words, fueling their doubts, they go and believe it. even repeat it to other people and make it their reality. It’s like when you have a friend that you feel like their s/o is shady and one day your friend tells you you’re right. In your head, you go— “i knew it! i knew it! I was right and he/she can’t be trusted!” This is what it’s like- the BIG difference is— there is no confirmation w/ these rumors. The “confirmation” is a lie that these antis are paid to post about. Some are not even paid antis, I see this a lot in international platforms. In their mind, they are defending their idols. from what? well i don’t know..

• lazy thinking and just scrolling - people generally don’t have that time or really care that much to fact check. most of these people are ones who didn’t have to use a library and read books to finish their reports in school. especially if it’s an outrageous claim, oh lord! then it’s much more attractive! when you’re mindlessly scrolling after a long and tiring day, these kinds of things are what catches your attention. Especially if it’s a picture with big red circles and underlines. with ‘insider’ information and all the trigger words. It’s like an Ad that wants you to look at it. Look at this product. Don’t think too much, just believe this thing i’m saying and buy into it.

• if a lot of people are saying it, then it must be true - there are so many accounts that spread this kind of bs. not only on twt. even on youtube. instagram. everywhere. The worst thing in the world right now is not to be wrong, it’s actually to be RIGHT and have to lose all your energy trying to prove it. It’s the logic of, well, if everyone is saying it then it must be true. Which is what these antis want. If a disparaging article about xx always come out once or twice a week, if you are just a passerby, you’re opinion of xx artist will somehow be affected too. This is why these twts/posts are mostly targeted to new fans. Or they may even try to mask themselves as a fan. Saying, i was once xx fan but now I know the truth or some shit like that.

I’m personally not safe with these kinds of information. I try very hard to look at the source and even then i fail. My general rule is if it reads like an Anti wrote it, then it must be from an Anti. Even if it sounds like good news.

This is a good article on How your brain tricks you in believing fake news.

[void-inked-pen]

Cowabunga! Its 2012 Mikey VS Rise Mikey Fighting Time~

This post might get a bit long because I wanna put a lot more into it instead of making 3 separate posts. So this will have 2012!Mikey’s fighting analysis and comparing it with Rise!Mikey.

SO! let me just say, I have to analyze them differently from the others. What I mean is, the way Mikey fights in all versions is mainly by instinct and tends to be all over the place. He’s a free fighter, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have some technique.

The Nunchuku is a very dynamic weapon. it requires you to have spacial awareness at all times, especially if you use 2 Nunchucku like Mikey. there’s only one move specifically I’ve never seen Mikey in 2012 do and that’s a closed Nunchuku punch which adds twice the force to a regular punch.

The Nunchucku are also symbolism of freedom and creativity. Wonder why our orange boy got this particular weapon? hmmmmm...

Training with Nunchuku is actually quite intense. Just like the Bo staff, you’re prone to hit yourself... a lot. It’s one of the few weapons that move through the air and require very specific movements. (Rise Mikey can’t even do it)

Nunchucku are actually considered part of the Iron Body training regiment, it makes you tough. When you use a Nunchucku you’re using a very specific set of muscles that most athletes, martial artists, or weight training individuals don’t use too often. These include your ribs, arm pit and other side muscles that are weaker than the rest of the body.

Compared to his brothers, Mikey in 2012 would have the strongest/toughest side muscles and upper arms. Both Donnie and Mikey’s weapons are prone to hitting themselves so both of them would get tougher the more they practiced... too bad the show never showed that strength huh?

2012 Mikey tends to do what martial artists call, “Juggling”. Which means flashy moves that just throw around the chucks and don’t have any practical use. Personally, I think Mikey doing that is actually okay. it fits his personality. from a fighting standpoint tho, you’ll be prone to loosing your weapon.

Also like Donnie, 2012 Mikey has to have extremely good balance. A solid stance and fluid control help our energetic Boi do crazy flips and control his otherwise out of control Nunchucku. It helps that 2012 Mikey uses b-boy moves when fighting. break dancing is actually a very practical way to learn how to hold your own weight and move more freely.

Now, let me talk about 2012 Mikey’s Kusari-Gama (Chain Sickle). Did you know this weapon in particular is meant for assassination? You use the weighted chain side to pull your target towards you and the sickle to quickly slit their throat/decapitate them... Kind of a um... Intense weapon for Mikey which honestly makes him quite scary (ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS PART OF HIS ARSENAL IS HIS MOST REFINED MIGHT I ADD).

There’s only a slight difference between 2012 Mikey’s Kusari-gama and Rise Mikey’s Kusari-Fundo (weighed-chain). Obviously aside from the fact that Rise Mikey’s Kusari-Fundo has pyro abilities.

While Rise Mikey tends to focus on long distance, 2012 Mikey is close and mid-ranged. Let me explain, 2012 Mikey doesn’t really have a super long extendable chain. Where as Rise Mikey’s can extend exponentially!

From what I’ve seen so far (Im currently watching season 2 now), 2012 Mikey doesn’t use his Kusari-gama all that often. And unfortunately, whenever 2012 Mikey DOES show his stellar fighting skills, it’s always when he’s on the sidelines. Never when he’s the central point of an episode. This makes it hard to watch for Mikey at least because they use him as the butt end of a joke more often than not and he’s never really allowed to be serious or have a cool focal point on some crazy fighting maneuver.

The show doesn’t give him the recognition he deserves with his fighting prowess. He’s the most naturally gifted at martial arts IN CANON, but yet they don’t let him show off that skill all that often. I’m speaking from personal bias now because I wish the “B-team” got more appreciation. They are as good if not better than the so called “A-team” who, btw, DON’T FIGHT CORRECTLY! (and I’ll get into that later)

What I wished 2012 would do with Mikey, is let him be free. Let him fight creatively and not have him seem like a complete idiot. Just like Donnie and the rest of his brothers, he should be close to a ‘Master’ in skill level. So why the show didn’t feel the need to use him more effectively outside of a joke is beyond me. (If you want a show that has a comedic character who has serious moments and is done well: look at the ORIGINAL Teen Titans. Beast Boy’s arc is one of the best)

Anyway, hope this analysis was something worth reading. I won’t make a Rise Mikey fighting analysis post cause... this one kinda talks about it already. They both are creative and dynamic. what’s more to say?

I’ll link my previous analysis posts below. Thanks for reading!

How 2012 Donnie’s Fighting Is Incorrect

Difference between 2012 Donnie and Rise Donnie’s Fighting Skills

Rise Donnie Fighting Analysis

[beholdme]

All the Many Shades of Gerry - Chapter 7

Chapters: 7/19

Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist

Characters: Martin Blackwood, Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay, Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Sasha James, Gertrude Robinson, Elias Bouchard

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Library AU, Librarian Jon, Artist Gerry, Trans Male Character, Trans Martin Blackwood, Canon Asexual Character, Asexual Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Ace Subtype - Sex Positive, Polyamory, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romantic Fluff, Falling In Love, Boys in Skirts, Kissing, Demisexual Gerard Keay, Minor Character Death, Past Character Death, Canon-Typical Child Neglect, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Flirting, Minor Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker, Adventures in Hair Dying, Happy Ending, Banter, Gerry has a lot of sass, Gerard Keay is Morticia Adams, Jon is a very grumpy Librarian, Martin adores them anyway.

Summary: In which Gerry is a kaleidoscope and Jon and Martin can’t help falling in love with him.

He happens to love them back.

Find it on Ao3

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

They are absolutely trashing Martin's bathroom, but he can't bring himself to mind. Not even if it costs him the security deposit on his ridiculous, tiny flat.

Gerry is sitting in the empty bathtub, stripped to his briefs, laughing so hard that tears roll down his checks, tracking black eyeliner with them, and Jon is sitting on the edge of the tub and trying to keep track of which pieces of hair have been dyed while Gerry refuses to keep his head still. Martin is sitting on the floor next to them and holding the bowls of varying shades of purple dye.

The dye itself is flying everywhere, between four hands attempting to apply it and Gerry's apparent inability to keep stationary and stop laughing for even one second.

"Gerry! Keep still," Jon yells in his best teacher voice. His imperious tone is demanding, but the grin on his face rather undercuts it.

"Can't," Gerry insists, pulling his head down (with dye covered hands) to press their lips together. The kiss is sweet, but Jon doesn't appreciate all the new places it covers him in hair dye.

"Gerry, it might all go more smoothly if you just let Jon and I do it for you." Martin advises him.

Gerry pouts, "Letting the men in my life just do things without my participation wouldn't be a very 'strong independent woman' move on my part."

"You're not a woman," Jon points out drolly, "Besides, what does that say about me, with the way you two are always arranging to pay for everything we do and everywhere we go?"

"It says you have two incredibly attractive men who like to do nice things for you." Martin tells him firmly, as he always does when the topic arises. They all hear Jon's eyes roll.

"Gerry," Martin starts in the voice he knows gets just the right response from him. "Stop being a brat and. Sit. Still."

Gerry sits still. Martin kisses him to inspire continued good behavior, and Gerry's teal eyes practically glow in a way that fills Martin with supreme satisfaction.

With their target stationary, Martin and Jon make quick work of Gerry's remaining hair.

He is ordered to stay put in the bathtub while it sits, and Martin starts cleaning up the bathroom. Jon heads into the shower to avoid being dyed in a plethora of bizarre places.

Martin goes to return the dye to Gerry's hair product box, and pauses with his hand in it.

Gerry, sensing Martin's distraction, jumps up to go over and stand behind him. Martin settles back into the warmth of his chest, and Gerry's arms snake around him.

"You would look very fetching in that colour," Gerry whispers enticingly in Martin's ear.

"You think?" Martin murmurs back, eyebrows rising in consideration.

"Yes," he replies, leaning forward to bite Martin's ear lightly. "Please."

"Whatever might you two be consorting about over there," Jon demands cheerily, emerging from the shower wrapped in his towel.

"Martin was just about to agree to become the next hair dying victim." Gerry informs him confidently, snaking an arm around Jon's shoulders and bringing him in close so he too can see the bottle sitting in Martin's hand.

"Oh." Jon says in a reverent sort of voice. "Yes, I think that's a very good idea indeed."

***

Martin sits still much better than Gerry did, and Gerry does his hair himself, Jon having already rid himself of persistent stains and wandered off to make something for lunch.

Gerry pushes Martin in front of a mirror (not Martin’s favourite pastime, but for Gerry, he suffers it) and they both look at him. Gerry grins. “It’ll look better in the end obviously, but what do you think, love?”

“I like it, actually.” Martin whispers, like a confession.

“Actually? I expect more self-confidence than that from my masterpieces, babe.” They laugh and sway together in front of the mirror.

“I love it, thank you.” Martin turns in Gerry’s arms and they kiss slowly and thoroughly.

Martin presses his hands along Gerry’s bare sides and up along his spine, where he knows a line of eyes is inked along each vertebrae.

Gerry keeps his hands on Martin’s chest, in an effort to keep their respective hair dye where it belongs, although his hands cling to Martin's shoulders and push and pull in response to their movements.

“Really you two? I leave you alone for 5 minutes and you’re both half naked and making out?” Jon interrupts them from the doorway, his words soft and appreciative.

“We could be even more naked, if you're interested in that?” Gerry offers, winking at him.

“Could we?” Martin asks, apparently just wondering out loud.

Gerry raises a suggestive eyebrow at him. “We definitely could be.” Gerry smirks, "You are familiar with how nudity works, yes?" He illustrates his point by pulling at the waistband of Martin's briefs and letting them snap back into his hip.

"Yes, I am familiar." Martin growls into his mouth, biting his lip for good measure. "Care to join, Jon?"

"Maybe when there's less hair dye on the table, so to speak. Ger, your timer went off, you'd better jump into the shower and wash off."

"Yes, sir." Gerry pecks Martin one last time, salutes Jon and strips off to hop into the shower.

Martin flushes at his casual nudity, and a heavy look passes between him and Jon.

Taken with Martin's pink laden head, Jon can't resist going over and pressing just one kiss to Martin's soft lips.

**

Later, when the bathroom is clean and everyone has washed, dry hair, they all pile around Martin's sitting room, a documentary playing softly in the background. Martin's new soft pink hair looks even better dry and Jon had whispered to Gerry conspiratorially that it reminded him of Martin's sweet early morning blush.

Martin is braiding Gerry's now wildly purple hair, and Gerry has convinced a reluctant Jon to let him paint his nails.

"We really shouldn't." Jon protests, even as Gerry paints on the base coat. His own nails are painted black, of course. His artist's eye appreciates Jon's neat, smooth nails, and he considers what kind of tiny designs he might be able to sneak onto them at some point.

"Why not? I used to paint your nails all the time when we were younger. That's where I got most of my early practice."

"I'm not a teenager anymore, Gerard. I have a professional job!" Jon complains, but Gerry knows these are only nerves, not lack of desire.

"Oooh, Gerard!" Martin coos, before tumbling into a laugh. "There's nothing in the dress code that says you can't have painted nails, Jon. And we all know you like having them done."

"That's meant for women, and you know it, Martin." Jon protests.

Gerry and Martin both stop their tasks abruptly to stare at him. "Jon, babe," Gerry can barely contain himself. "You are wearing a skirt. Martin has pink hair. I'm getting my absurdly long hair braided - into pigtails. I don't think any of us are exactly paragons of toxic masculine stereotypes."

"Besides," Martin adds, when he can speak calmly without tumbling into hysterical laughter, "there's no gender specific dress code at the library. All it says is 'If nails are painted, they must be neat and unchipped.'"

Jon looks askance at both of them, crossing his skirt clad legs primly.

"Come on," Gerry encourages gently, "It's just this one time. If you don't like it, we can take it off before you go to work on Monday morning. Or while you're at work on Monday. Or in an hour. Or anytime at all. It's just one small adventure."

"I know it's been a while, love." Martin pitches in, "But, don't worry, Gerry will be gentle."

Jon ends up with green nails, which he likes very much. Gerry is enamored with his braids, and begs Martin to teach him to do it himself. Martin is simply delighted to have a house full of laughter and colour for the first time in his life.

[emsartwork]

Sorry if you’ve already answered this but J was wondering if you could talk more the girls childhood/growing up? Love what you’re doing btw, absolutely adore how you’ve basically recreated the Winx world! 💗

Thank you!!! and sure thing! long post ahead

BLOOM: she never really had any problems family wise, Vanessa and Mike told her she was adopted at like…. Age 7 or so (in a positive affirming way obvi) and even if any kids teased her about it she never doubted her parent’s love for her. Even with Daphne’s spell helping her blend in with earth life, Bloom still had a nagging sense she didn’t “fit”, and got lost in fantasy books and art whenever possible. Growing up she deals with some body image issues that probably stem from the whole wrong fit feeling. Bloom grew up an artistic and quiet kid, Mitzi and Selina were her best friends from childhood, and because they both had really strong personalities, Bloom often repressed her own feelings in order to play peace maker. Up until high school, where Mitzi, who was always the leader, slowly started to turn into a bully in order to gain the approval/fear of her peers, targeting Selina specifically. Bloom was more of a follower at the time and just didn’t want to loose her friends so she didn’t stand up to Mitzi but tried to treat Selina as if nothing had changed, which was not cool with Selina and she not-so-subtly started to reject Bloom as a friend. Bloom, for her part, did get her shit together and stand up to Mitzi, loosing her only other friend right before her senior year of highschool (she was still technically friends with Andy but they had also just broken up and everything was awkward lmao). Bloom regrets not standing up to Mitzi sooner, and wants to rekindle her friendship with Selina (and Mitzi if she’s willing to tone down the bitchiness).  

STELLA: So Stella’s childhood is a little more complicated. Stella is the first SoLuna heir in Solarian history, and a very loud minority protested her very existence. Stella also had to stay close to the Second Sun of Solaria as a child, so she had a very solitary and confined early childhood in a wing of the Solarian castle. When she did figure out how to sneak out she was only 10 or so, and spent most of the time just wandering around the capital city. She didn’t have any problems in the city, but an off duty guard recognized her and took her back to the palace. Stella was then sent to an elite boarding school under a false name (Sasha), she formed close friends with Nova and Varanda, but the trio was the target of the rest of the school’s bullies (for various reasons). Junior high was peak nerd Stella, but she “princess Diary-ed” herself when starting high school and started placing all of her value in her appearance and status as a sex object. Her parents’ marriage was also starting to crumble and Stella felt like she had lost their love. Because Stella craves validation and affection, this lead to a couple bad relationships because the only way she could get people to “love her” in her brain was through physical intimacy, even if it didn’t really fill the void she felt. Nova and Varanda were her rocks during this period and Stella was able to learn to love herself first with their help. Stella was insanely nervous to leave her friends and go to Alfea, and tried to force friendships with other people originally, (this mostly lead to people thinking she was annoying and getting multiple censures from Griselda), and her first genuine connection on Magix was with “Prince Sky” (Brandon). Nova and Varanda were VERY worried when Stella first told them about “Prince Sky”(Brandon) and how fast they had gotten into a relationship and they may have stalked/threatened him on a visit to Stella but they eventually came around and started to like him. Stella being expelled was only kind of an accident, Varanda texted Stella in the middle of a Chemancy class her application to Alfea for the next year had been accepted and Stella got SUPER excited and blew up the classroom. She probably could have stayed in school but her response to Fraragona and Griselda’s “now what do you have to say for yourself young lady” was *giddy laughter* and “ i only wish the explosion had been big enough to send me forward to next year!!!!!” and griselda was like “either she goes or I go” and Stella was like “ya gurl i gone” of course her time back on Solaria didn’t go exactly as planned as her parents were just fighting every time they tried to do something together making her people pleasing/self blaming tendencies worse. 

FLORA: ahhh my baby So Flora does remember her father, not a lot and she feel guilty she doesn’t remember more, but she was only 7 when he died. Alyssa remarried when Flora was 13, and eventually she adjusted to having a younger sister who she loves very much now. Due to Rhodos’s nature preservation needing a lot of room for study Flora and Miele grew up pretty far away from any town and didn’t have a lot of friends. This is primarily why Flora and Miele are so close despite their age difference, and why Flora took her role as protector so intensely; she was the only one there (I mean besides the parents obviously). Flora did well in school though she was quiet and reserved, which made making friends even harder than living in the middle of nowhere. She figured out the best way to make people like her was to give them what they wanted, and this snowballed into Flora becoming kind of doormat not comfortable with voicing her true feelings and faking a lot what people expected from her. Flora has a lot of repressed…… everything (Bloom mostly just has a lot of repressed anger she’s good with other emotions lmao) she has trouble identifying what she’s feeling and for the most part is content to leave her feelings buried as long as the surface remains calm. The Winx do help her start to access her feeling more, and encourage her whenever she does voice an opinion. Helia is a perfect match for her in the sense that his quiet nature leaves Flora to express herself without trying to mold herself into whatever she thinks he wants (of course on the flip side this also means Flora and Helia have issues with communication and repression but that’s another topic). 

AISHA: hoo boy another complicated one. Aisha was raised in a strict environment, this mostly stems from her parents and their more…. anxious natures, but royalty on Andros is not as free as some of the other planets. Aisha’s world consisted of lessons and adults and rules and she had very little control over her own life. Aisha met Anne in a rare moment of freedom in the tidal gardens where Anne’s father worked. Anne was biding her time waiting for her dad to get off work so they could grab some dinner and was dancing. Aisha just watched her for a while before Anne noticed her and asked her if she wanted to play. The two formed a fast friendship, and Aisha finally started to feel like she had some sort of influence in her own life as she snuck out of lessons to play with Anne every evening she could(obviously their favorite thing to do was dance lol) Unfortunately Anne and her father disappeared one night. Aisha lost her only friend, the only social outlet she had, her one source of freedom, and couldn’t even figure out what had happened. Feeling so out of control lead to a pretty bad anxiety disorder for most of her teens, primarily triggered by the dark or being trapped in some way. She also has issues trusting others and letting people help her. Aisha started to act out, trying to exert any kind of control and relieve some of her anxiety. Her risk taking behavior got pretty bad, but she had started to tone it down after she met and bonded with Piff(royal business trip to Magix she skipped out on). Of course when the pixies went missing she wasn’t going to let her friendship vanish again and tracked them down with a not so healthy single minded determination.

TECNA: born to higher class parents, Tecna had greatness thrust upon her from an early age. She received extra training and education basically from birth, which she was fine with for the most part. Tecna grew up being able to handle academic pressure very well and met all of her teacher’s and parent’s expectations.  She and Riven had a brief collision as preteens in a school before Riven got expelled. Tecna’s one issue was that of her emotional intelligence, Zenith doesn’t really place an emphasis on that, so she was able to advance through high school very predictably until she attended a non-Zenith based workshop for magic. She found herself socially ostracized and very very confused. Of course Tecna had never met a subject she couldn’t master and emotions wouldn’t be an exception right??? Wrong. Zenith’s information about the brain and the chemicals produced was of no help, her teachers and parents didn’t understand why Tecna suddenly had this new interest in such an illogical subject, and worst of all, Tecna realized she didn’t understand her own brain chemicals. Tecna had a mini existential crisis, realized she had no idea what she even wanted to do with her life or why it mattered and applied to the Alfea Fairy program because “FAIRY MAGIC EMOTION MAGIC HELP” also it would offer her strong emotional experiences(transformations basically require it), the opportunity to work closely in groups, and personally obverse her dorm-mates emotional states. She got way more than she bargained for but doesn’t regret it a bit.

MUSA: my angst child T-T so basically, the first half of her childhood is p good, her parents work really hard and don’t always have enough money but the family unit is pretty stable. At around 12, Musa’s mom gets sick. Nobody is too worried at first, but she never seems to get better and she takes a big turn for the worse when Musa is about 16, Matlin is finally diagnosed with Core Failure Syndrome. CFS is similar to Core Fatigue, but while Core Fatigue can be remedied fairly easily with rest and magic, CFS is virtually incurable unless it’s caught really early. The causes are still unknown, and the symptoms (fatigue, nausea, cognition issues, and muscle weakness) can be prolonged but mild until it’s too late. In the later stages (extreme fatigue, numbness in the extremities, chest pain, joint pain, memory/focus issues, inability to keep food down)  all you can do is try to make the afflicted comfortable. Ho-boe is understandably distraught, and tries to freelance write for music but goes into a pretty bad depressive state. Musa has a few odd jobs here and there, and thats mostly what’s keeping them afloat among heavy medical debt. Musa latches on to her mother for emotional support as Ho-boe is super dissociated. When Matlin does pass as Musa turns 18, Ho-boe finally breaks, and violently destroys every last reminder of Matlin because he can’t deal with the pain. Musa, who has suddenly had her one emotional anchor cut off, is super freaked out and scared by this and it really damages their relationship going forward. Musa becomes incredibly anxious, and can’t really process her mother's death because her father won’t talk about it with her and is still shut off emotionally. Moving to Magix only worsened it as Musa rebelled and went after music with a desperate passion. Applying to Alfea was a way for Musa to get out of the house, and she and her father weren’t on speaking terms when she did leave for the college. Musa had planned on learning more magic to further her career as a musician, special effects infusing magic into a song rubbing shoulders with rich and well connected people who could possibly get her connected to the big shots in music….. The winx situations had her change some of her long term plans a little, but her connection with the group + her separation anxiety and fierce loyalty didn’t really leave any other choice lol 

[femalehumanoid]

tagged by @stay-neurotic . Thank you! ♡˖꒰ᵕ༚ᵕ⑅꒱

Gender: F

Star sign: Taurus

Height: 5'9" (176 cm)

Name: Daria

Time: 00:49

Birthday: April 30

Favorite band(s): I don't really get attached to bands, more to specific songs, but lately I've been listening to a lot of Sabaton and Studio Killers. Oh, and Rammstein and System of a Down are always welcome in my playlist.

Favorite solo artist(s): same story as with the bands. At the moment it's Carpenter Brut.

Song stuck in my head: that one with the dancing polish cow.

Last movie I watched: The Beyond by Lucio Fulci.

Last show I watched: Succession

When did I create this blog: don't remember. A while ago, but there were years-long periods of time when I didn't use it. Mostly I come here for the jokes and the smut, not so much for self-expression (but it happens sometimes).

When I post: when it pleases me. There's no schedule or anything.

Last thing I googled: a synonym for the word 'shape'. I've been googling synonyms nonstop for my writing, it's a wonder I'm not getting targeted ads for thesauruses yet.

Other blogs: one is enough for my needs.

Do I get asks: on occasion. But generally I don't have enough energy to maintain the kind of activity that would attract people's interest.

Why I chose my URL: because it sounds vaguely science fiction-ish and at the dawn of time when I created heaven and earth and this blog I thought it sounded clever.

Followers: uhhh...do porn bots count?

Average hours of sleep: 9-10, otherwise I can barely function. People who can consistently do less than 8 hours of sleep a day and still be productive are pretty much fantasy creatures in my eyes.

Lucky number: 8.

Instruments: none. Tried learning guitar, but sadly I do not have an ear for music.

What I'm wearing: a fox kigurumi.

Dream trip: Angkor Wat, ever since my impressionable young self played Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.

Favorite food: Tom Kha Gai.

Nationality: Ukrainian-polish-russian.

Favorite song: Blood Machines Theme by Carpenter Brut.

Last book I read: The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

Top 3 fictional universes I'd like to live in: Star Trek, but preferably TOS or TNG version. I'm like that conspiracy theorist guy from the Lower Decks - "changelings aren't real, the Dominion war didn't happen!". Let me be a peaceful explorer and make friends with cute aliens, that's all I want. Other than the ST, I would love to live in some kind of urban fantasy universe with cool magic, provided I would be a magic user and not just some schmuck with no powers. I can easily be that in my own universe lol.

Favorite color: magenta.

[razberryyum]

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The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 11

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed)

[covers MDZS chapters 51 and 52]

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰+🐰+ 🐰🐰+ 🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰

I’m frankly surprised Wuji didn’t start playing as soon as Wei Ying turned around and saw Lan Zhan walking towards him. They even slo-moed the scene to further stress the romanticism of the moment so it was rather odd that Team CQL would let this chance to WangXian things up get away from them, especially considering the fact that since Wei Ying spent most of the episode thinking about Lan Zhan, that would’ve been completely appropriate.  

Wei Ying insistently saying Lan Zhan’s name to get his attention, even though he was being totally ignored, always makes me think of an image, which I’m going to share now, despite the fact that I’m pretty much opening myself up to humiliation due to my shamefully lack of artistic talent:

I wish this was actually drawn by a right-handed 3 year old using their left-hand, but unfortunately that truly is the extent of my drawing abilities, which is obviously less than nonexistent. I hope the spirit of what I’m trying to convey still comes through since I think the dynamics between Wei Ying, Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng are applicable for pretty much the entire episode. 

Thinking from Jiang Cheng’s point of view, he’s probably both annoyed and befuddled by how obsessed Wei Ying seems to be with Lan Zhan. Of course he couldn’t understand the greater significance behind Wei Ying’s focus—how could he, when even Wei Ying didn’t understand at this point—but I can imagine him replaying these events years later, after all that’s happened, and only becoming even more angry and bitter at Wei Ying for already choosing Lan Zhan over his own family this early on. I mean, Wei Ying almost followed Lan Zhan to Cloud Recesses because he was concerned for his safety before he even spared a thought about his own sect and family’s safety. It's a good thing Jiang Cheng was still in his loving, brotherly phase during this time, otherwise Wei Ying would’ve more than deserved his ire. Actually, considering how much Jiang Cheng warned Wei Ying against acting out and doing something rash that would negatively impact their sect, I can’t blame him for the anger he felt later on when Wei Ying did exactly what he, and even his father, told him not to do.  

Even though we didn’t see Lan Zhan reciprocating Wei Ying’s obsessiveness in return, I did love the fact that he utilized Wei Ying’s talisman to get away from Wen Xu since that was yet another indication of how much he appreciated Wei Ying’s abilities. I guess he might have gotten the talisman when they were trying to subdue the dancing goddess in Dafan Mountain. This will be the first time he’s kept Wei Ying’s talisman, and even though he was forced to use it, I love that the second time he kept one, he actually treasured it like a precious keepsake and only used it because Wei Ying was once again by his side. It serves as a nice marker of progression of their relationship.  

Jiang Cheng Appreciation Time

It hurt my heart all over again that we will never get to see this kind of interaction between these two brothers any more, I actually got teary-eyed watching it tonight, especially with how adorable Wei Ying was being. I really love their brotherhood before everything went to hell because it’s just so...loving and unselfish, and I give Jiang Cheng a lot of credit for that. If he were a lesser person, he could have easily been an abusive brother to Wei Ying, taking full advantage of his status as the heir of Yunmeng Jiang sect to make Wei Ying’s life as difficult as possible. I know Shijie helped a lot in smoothing their relationship in the beginning, but it is also a testament to Jiang Cheng’s sweet nature that he could even be coaxed into opening his heart to this orphan his father brought home, especially when rumors of his true parentage started floating around...mostly thanks to his own mom.  

I still wince when I watch this scene where Madame Yu basically cuts down her own son out of vindictiveness towards Wei Ying. I love Madame Yu, I really do, but wow do I not admire her parenting skills. Wei Ying almost nonchalant attitude to her rant was a good indication of how common her dressing down was, that he was able to even develop an immunity towards it. Jiang Cheng’s reaction broke my heart though. So did Shijie‘s: her non-stop peeling of those lotus seeds were clearly an indication of just how stressed she was by the situation. But since Jiang Cheng bore the brunt of his mom’s criticism, my heart bled for him more. Yet, despite having lived his whole life being told he will never be as good as Wei Ying, he still loved him like a brother and even admired him, as exemplified by this scene:  

Instead of being jealous of Wei Ying being able to hit the target when he failed and the accolades he received from their sect disciples as a result, Jiang Cheng looked downright proud of his brother, as if Wei Wuxian’s success was his own. If I didn’t love Jiang Cheng before, I sure as hell loved him after this moment. It really showed how big of a heart Jiang Cheng has, how decent a person he is, and just how wonderful a brother he is (despite his constant nagging and disapproval), and it also made me so much sadder about what happened to their relationship and Jiang Cheng as a person later on. I really mourn the loss of his sweetness and magnanimity.

Madame Yu Appreciation Time

I’ve talked about how much I love Madame Yu before, and despite how brutal she is towards her family, I still love her. I loved her the moment she shot that glare of death at her husband. Him looking away and down like a properly whipped man just made me love and admire her even more. Again, I don’t approve of her parenting methods, I would not want her as my mom, but otherwise, she is just fucking awesome in my book. She is also beautiful. Makes me wish Jiang Fengmian was more of a match for her aesthetically-speaking, since he definitely was in the donghua. I wish they didn’t go older with him in the live action since the actress herself (Zhang Jingtong) is actually only a couple of years older than Xiao Zhan. I guess this version of JFM just hadn’t developed his cultivation level enough to retain his youthful appearance.  

Liu Haikuan Appreciation Time

Any opportunity I get to show Big Brother some love, I will take it, although in this instance I would actually like direct that love and appreciation towards actor Liu Haikuan specifically for his heart-wrenching performance in the scene where he begged Uncle Lan to leave Cloud Recesses to preserve his life. I totally felt his desperation and fear for his uncle, and how completely unwilling he was to leave him and Cloud Recesses behind. Some actors can’t even produce a single droplet of moisture even when a scene is calling for them to cry their eyes out, yet Liu Haikuan drops those tears even when he doesn’t need to since they were hardly noticeable. I just love his performance.  

Lan Zhan Appreciation Time

Technically I probably don’t need to set aside a specific section to appreciate Lan Zhan since I appreciate him all the time already, but since I wasn’t sure where to stick this moment, I decided to put it here. I don’t say it enough but I truly love the way he floats down to the ground; he looks like an angel descending upon the Earth.  

Ex-BFFs

I really cannot wait for The Fatal Journey’s release because I am dying to find out how Nie Huaisang and Jin Guangyao went from this to what they become sixteen years later. I know Nie Mingjue is the reason, but the journey to that point is what fascinates me, so although I love Wen Ning and Sizhui and I do look forward to their movie, I must confess that I am most excited about the Nie brothers and JGY’s saga. January cannot come soon enough.

A Questionable Picturesque Setting  

I love the way both Lotus Pier and Nightless City looked, so much so that I wish such places existed so I can go visit them one day. While I’m sure there are probably places in China that resemble Lotus Pier (or can be dressed up to look like it more or less), I doubt anything like Nightless City exists because it doesn’t even really make sense as a residence. Who in their right mind would build their stronghold on a volcano? And I guess an active one at that considering the lava running down all the surrounding mountains. Maybe that’s why Wen Ruohan looks so sweaty all the time. Since this part of Nightless City is obviously different from the section we saw during the Sunshot Campaign and Wei Ying’s final stand later on, I have to wonder just how freaking big is this place. And where was Wen Chao appearing from since there’s no building nearby? Is there some underground tunnel where he popped up from? I didn’t see any openings during the long pan up those steps. And also, for a sect known for its sun motif, I didn’t see even ONE sun printed on any of those banners. I wish they kept the original design; Nightless City made more sense in the donghua’s version of the place.  

Overall Episode Rating: 8 Lil Apples out of 10

Disclaimer: The Untamed would not be possible without Mo Dao Zu Shi and Mo Xiang Tong Xiu-laozi.  I mean no disrespect whatsoever with my humble comparisons between the novel and the live action, even when I sometimes favor the changes in the show. All hail MDZS and MXTX-laozi always and forever!  

[pinarworks]

Colonial Gaze Spotted Alive and Well in Eskişehir Last October, OMM, a modern museum in the city of Eskişehir in Turkey founded and run by one of the richest families of Turkey, Tabanca family, published a ‘photobook’ called The People Who Made OMM. It’s a book consisting of black and white, mostly close up shots of some of the workers who worked on the building's construction as plasterers, shovel men and brick builders. The text accompanying the announcement of the book read as follows: Consisting of short interviews and 18 monochrome portraits, some of the construction workers who made and transformed the museum building talk about their stories, craft, and the relationship they formed with the museum. (...) Highlighting the proximity of labour and artistic production, "The People Who Made OMM" celebrates the transcendent nature of works of architecture and art while immortalizing the construction team as part of OMM’s collective memory. I have looked and looked but wasn’t able to see any such highlight of the “proximity of labour and artistic production” nor any celebration of any kind. To my burning eyes, what these photos -shot by a “renowned art and fashion photographer’’ showed, was the abusive relationship between the proletariat and the rich elite. They lay bare the gentrification of class and memory and the attempt to capitalize on the workers’ already exploited labour, this time through the good old colonial gaze. Reading through the positive and grateful comments under the museum’s Instagram post about the book, I wondered if I was missing something: was this actually a ‘warm’ gesture which managed to equalize the great social and economic gap between those who came up with the idea for the book and those who posed for it? Of course it wasn’t. I emailed the editor and learnt that the workers were not paid in exchange for the content they have provided, they were instead “given books themselves and life-long free entry to the museum’’. However my follow up question asking if the photographer also was paid in free museum tickets was left unresponded. (Please note, a limited edition of 500 copies of the book were printed and are being sold for 140 TL each.) OMM is not the first rich institution/company to have come up with such a lame idea. It is only one example of the imperialist belief that the rich elite has the right to look at whatever and whoever they want, in whatever way they see fit. History of Western civilization is a catalogue of supremacist gazes disguised as warm gestures. Photography's relation to colonialism is historically recorded. It was the main tool that accompanied 19th-century European colonial propaganda, playing vital roles in the administrative, scientific and commercial justification of the invasion of “far away’’ lands. It was the direct agent in creating the Other for the “advanced world’’ to exploit. Documenting it through the eyes of the invader, building the narrative of uncivilized/savage/exotic, fascinating creatures in need of a helping hand. The hand of the white, allegedly good-intentioned colonial man. The infamous remarks Dominique François Arago made in 1839 before the Chambre des Députés: “everybody will realize that had we had photography in 1798 we would possess today faithful pictorial records of that which the learned world is forever deprived of by the greed of the Arabs and the vandalism of certain travellers’’ remind us the shameful role photography played in the heart of colonialism. As Ariella Aïsha Azoulay explains further in her book Unlearning Imperialism, due to the central role of photography within the colonial superstructure, it was never considered as being invasive of privacy. It was always about the photographers’ rights, not the photographee’s, simply because they did not have any. This right, naturalized as the innate freedom of photographers was never questioned. As photography developed and was adopted by many forms, including news, street photography and art, it maintained the unearned right to freely invade. Caring for no boundaries other than its own, photography brought potentials of more exploitation to the dominant elite. It also paved the way to continue doing this in alternative ways, appropriated by art and other cultural means. But in a post-colonial, white supremacist world, photography will always carry its history with it. This is why it is still important to examine who gazes at who and in which context. The right to photograph is still unquestioned because the eye behind the camera is assumed to be the universal eye. It represents the universal person who has the right to see everything. This right then becomes more important than the privacy of the person being looked at. The looker’s first crime is the assumption that there’s no privacy in the world that can’t be invaded. The self-appointed right to look at, the right to knowledge the gaze assumes, therefore, emerges as an act of violence. The saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, implies that power accompanies the beholder. It's the beholder who decides what is beautiful. Looking at a photograph necessitates identifying with the camera: the audience adopts the perspective of the storyteller who creates a world through their framing, rather than simply reflecting the existing world. Gentrification of Labour In its supposed intent to immortalize the workers with the photographs, OMM exposes that it will only recognize the subjects of these pictures if they stay as objects. The position of the photographer and the gaze it dictates, reveal a hunger to capitalize on all forms of labour. In this case, the time workers spend posing for, hence creating the core content of the book - for free. This specific colonial gaze seems to make sure that the objects understand they are only recognized through their labour; either as construction workers or as models. This gaze invests in the workers for the pleasure of high tastes, who would see them frozen in time and forget about them but applaud OMM for its humane effort to immortalize the workers. The gaze only recognizes the workers as resources and treats them as disposable human capitals. As Franz Fanon suggests: “the supremacist gaze fixes its object and leaves no room for any ontological resistance to the white man’’. The gaze introduces an unknown species to its art-loving, educated upper-middle class audience. People they would never come face to face or recognize in real life. The People Who Made OMM does not dress the construction workers in special costumes, neither does it let them pose in their daily clothes. It photographs them in their natural habitat, on the construction site in their dirty work clothes. The black and white photos mostly consist of close-ups, focusing on the details of the faces or hands of the workers. This visual language uproots the workers from other aspects of their lives and romanticizes their labour by capitalizing on their personal, embodied histories. The People Who Made OMM is a performance for others. It invites the audience to become partners in crime by staring at the same scene together. In fact, the photos reveal some sort of relief on the part of the targeted audience as well, because they love to see contentment in the eyes of the workers whose shoes they would never want to be in. This gaze makes the spectator enjoy the scene without feeling guilty since the scene naturalizes social inequalities in a constructed, romanticized setting. These photographs do not celebrate the workers, they create objects out of them for the spectator’s pleasure. This objectification serves to ease the extreme injustice between the workers and the people who stare at them for pleasure. This is an attempt to change the narrative from cruel structural hierarchy to ‘natural harmony’, reminiscent of the narrative of “one big family’’ which is widely adopted in corporate lingo. We are a family in harmony, everybody has their own place and within a family, we only give happy poses to the camera, we don’t talk about class distinctions and other forms of discriminations within. The photos are also an attempt to domesticate, hence gentrify the workers’ relationship to the construction site and the museum. It reduces the workers' history to simple and empty Q&As which seem to be edited ruthlessly in order to not allow any negative implication to seep through their words and their looks. It prepares the perfect background for the spectator to free themselves of all responsibility. It naturalizes the existing hierarchy and pats itself on the back for doing the decent thing: Immortalizing the workers. Gentrification aims at getting rid of the abject through erasing both the collective and the personal histories of certain places. It aims at collective cultural amnesia. OMM’s photographs have a similar effect of destabilizing the reality of unpaid labour. The new narrative is also secured through the minimalist design of the book. The photos show the workers in fragments, as faces, hands, feet and always individually, never together with others. Zooming on certain body parts placed in wide white spaces in the pages, adds to the objectification of the workers through redirecting the focus to the aesthetic value of the book. Patricia Hill Collins’s concept of the controlling image suggests that those who control images, control stereotypes as well. These photos do the ideological work of masking the role of hegemony in structuring political social and economic relations. The interview questions, edited down to superficial one-line sentences amplify the violence. The answers are only there to fill up space, but they end up revealing the reality that OMM is trying to cover up: “What do you plan on doing when the building is completed?’’ asks OMM. 23-year-old Recep, master plasterer and painter responds: “If I find work in Eskişehir I’ll stay here, If not I’ll move somewhere else. We’ll have to see.’’ OMM does not care and will not have to see. Deregulation of Memory OMM is able to present its colonial motivations as art/goodness because it relies on neoliberal notions of profitable personal space and free time. This is evident in their disregard for the workers’ free time and space. These things can be invaded without feeling guilt or paying compensation. Unlike preceding forms of capitalism, neoliberalism prepares background conditions for the market to freely move in, rather than controlling market activities directly. So that regulation seems natural as life itself. With this facade of natural progression, it restructures daily life too. OMM’s photos are doing exactly this: through gentrifying the workers’ labour with a constructed fake setting and showing them temporary recognition, these photos deregulate their memory of the place. It recreates the museum as a utopian place where everyone loves each other and is connected in a way that transcends social conditions. With this attempt to cover any possible distasteful memory, the narrative of supreme benevolence emerges as a weapon to be used against ungrateful subordinates. The gaze as the sovereign’s narrative, erases all possibility of discord by magnifying the so-called harmony of warm moments. And yet, there’s no clean way to separate photography from its inglorious imperial history. The spirit of imperialism is always there and ready to show itself depending on the identity of the gaze and the spectator the gaze represents. These images do not confront a historical division, on the contrary, they secure it and shamelessly present it to the consumption of a certain class without sacrificing any loyalties. In a sense, these photos are re-performing the colonial lies of liberation. They seem like they have a sacred mission but in fact, all they do is reinforce their own privileges. Make no mistake: This book does not celebrate the workers that make OMM, it celebrates itself and its own superficial appreciation of the workers that made OMM. This book is OMM congratulating and talking to itself in the mirror while creating a paying audience for this narcissistic show. The workers do not need to be immortalised through these empty gestures. If institutions like OMM want to recognize workers' agencies and celebrate their contributions to the world, they should start with paying them the money they deserve. https://www.mangalmedia.net/english/colonial-gaze-in-eskisehir

[readyforit]

Do you support Lana's letter?

overall yes but I do think that it was poorly written and so poorly received for several reasons!

I think that the main point of the letter was about her opinion on how her songwriting has been received negatively and seen as setting “women back hundreds of years”, and that in recent years, female artists have finally been able to explore more honest and controversial topics. ‘I’m fed up with female writers and alt singers saying that I glamorize abuse when in reality I’m just a glamorous person singing about the realities of what we are all now seeing are very prevalent emotionally abusive relationships all over the world’. I personally don’t think that we should romanticise abuse, and I agree with lana that she’s (almost) always written music from a very real and honest perspective, based on her real experiences. I don’t think that any of this was intended have to do with marginalised groups, but through poor wording, name dropping and touching sensitive topics, she did bring them in in a negative way, which was iffy on her part. :/

I think it was unnecessary of her to namedrop all those artists. it’s so vague that I can’t tell whether she’s praising or shaming them, and so that paragraph could definitely be taken out of context, thus I don’t think it was well written on her part. another thing is how lana specifically targeted all of those women of colour for being confident in their sexuality, I don’t think that sits right with me, especially when lana is a white woman and doesn’t know of their experiences?

the paragraph about feminism is probably the most controversial and the one that I think I have mixed opinions about? the wording is so confusing, I literally just reread it and realised that lana had written ‘I’m not not a feminist’, not ‘I’m not a feminist’....... that doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s a feminist, but why the double negative lkdjsfdf. I think the ‘there has to be a place in feminism for women who look and act like me - the kind of woman who says no but men hear yes- the kind of woman who are slated mercilessly for being their authentic, delicate selves, the kind of women who get their own stories and voices taken away from them by stronger women or by men who hate women’ part could and has definitely been taking out of context. I think people have been comparing lana being a wealthy white woman to what she meant by ‘women who look and act like me’, but the rest sort of imply a more specific character or personality, like in regards to how she treats and values men? I’m still confused by what she meant exactly because it’s so vague, but I guess I’m glad she’s not not a feminist lksjdfaf. imagine if she’d elaborated and explained that she stands for some feminist values but doesn’t align with others, and why exactly that is, instead of allowing it be up for interpretation. however with a topic sensitive like feminism, I do think that lana should’ve been way more specific and clear on her stance (especially as a rich white woman).

personally, I think that lana should educate herself more in terms of politics and experiences of minorities, in order to build a stronger and more well developed opinion on issues! but then again I don’t know how much she knows or what exactly she believes in ljsfdfl.

overall I do agree with lana, that her music has been received negatively throughout her career because it’s been seen as setting “women back hundreds of years” through writing about more submissive roles, and that it’s wonderful how female artists have had more freedom with songwriting lately. however, I do think that she did make some problematic points through poor wording and misinterpretation, so I’m disappointed in her for that.