#massive love for the minute acts of love and kindness in this world

[nuclearforest]

🐸💎

Hello friendly anon! Ty for the ask ❤️ Maybe we'll see some oversharing on my part this morning.

🐸 Describe your aesthetic.

Gremlin living in the woods.

I love the woods. I like a healthy separation and lots of trees and shade and no big wasteful lawns. I love the colors changing with the seasons and snow on evergreens. And the idea of a cabin nestled in the woods with a gravel driveway and a little trail of smoke billowing from the chimney with the scent or something warm hanging in the air is just so lovely. Bonus if it's lakeside or has a little stream.

Inside the cabin (log or cobblestone) it would be so nice and cozy. Lots of wood and shiny rocks and handmade things with tasteful modern conveniences mixed in. I don't mean smart stoves bc those are fucking stupid, but decent wifi and a little worshop in the basement or off to the side for my myriad of hobbies. Big open spaces and high ceilings and a wood stove for heating and cooking. Double bonus if there's a nook for fluffy things and chilling out and cuddling with cats or dogs or possibly a werewolf 🤣

I like soft things in natural spaces and wanna appreciate how mother nature really went nuts with the rings in wood and the crystalline structures that naturally form underground and the way that things change in a rhythmic soothing way. The patter of rain on the roof or crackle of fire in the fireplace with enough privacy that you can curl up and lose time with those you love.

In other words: I am a monumental sap and a softie.

💎 What’s your most prized possession?

Honest to God: my baby blanket.

So like, fun fact: sometimes I get in a headspace where I wonder how much of my life I could get rid of and be fine without lol. Usually it happens when I get 🌈 hella anxious 🌈 but since actually starting to take meds for it, it's been a lot less frequent.

But the conclusion for these tangents usually fell to my baby blanket. Like everything else is replicable or replaceable outright. I don't have that much pride or care much for stuff I made (most joy comes from the process of making pretty things and not owning pretty things). Most stuff can be backed up on the cloud if I need it, and even then how likely am I going to be to look at ALL my old unsorted pics? Physical stuff is cool but whatever. Makes for conveniences and costs money to replace.

But one of those irreplaceable things is my baby blanket. I have a hella emotional attachment to it, and in my life it represents a very pure kindness that I can't shake the feeling of. Great Aunt made it for me. Mended it for me as a kid. And it's still kicking well after 2 decades of wear. It represents somebody making something warm and loving for somebody that they gain no benefit from, and like. That just absolutely kicks me in the honey nut feelios.

A close second is my car. Because I kinda bond with it like pets and I don't have any pets yet lol. I sobbed like a baby when I had to trade in my old one for my current one instead of fixing it, even if it wasn't worth the cost to fix and might not have been that reliable for my brief foray out on the other side of the US. But years later I've now bonded with my current car, too, and get massively upset if something breaks 🤣

So TLDR: I'm a sap and form strong emotional attachments to inanimate objects, making them inherently irreplaceable.

[crevicedwelling]

I have a pretty bad fear of wasps. Nothing crippling, I can observe them from a distance just fine, but it does make being outside on warm, sunny days a stressful experience. I want to work on it, because I know they're just like any other animal: they're just minding their own business 99% of the time, they're not out to get you, and they deserve a place on this world as much as any other. And I know some can even learn to recognize/"befriend" people, which I think is super cool. I actually followed your blog partially because you post about wasps and I knew it would help to regularly expose myself to wasps that way.

I still sometimes freeze up or get really jumpy when I see a wasp near me. But I can tell I've been getting better. Just the other day I went to the Renaissance Festival and was carrying around a big cup of mead (a.k.a. wasp attractant) and, yeah, I was followed by a couple wasps. At one point two of them just hung out on the inside of the cup for like five solid minutes licking it clean.

If it weren't for your blog I would've been so terrified I probably would've thrown the cup onto the ground and waited from like twenty feet away for the wasps to leave. But I DIDN'T. I carried it around with me and patiently (and anxiously) waited for the wasps to fly away whenever they did show up.

It's really hard to make myself just stay still when I see a wasp near me. Earlier today I could only do so for maybe 30 seconds before I had to stand up and wait nearby for it to leave. But I'm really trying to get over that fear, and I'm slowly getting better, and I think I owe your blog quite a bit in that regard. So, thank you.

I believe the most common wasp here (at least, the one I was dealing with in those two anecdotes) is some kind of Vespula yellowjacket, probably Vespula maculifrons. So... I dunno, if you have any fun facts or pictures or videos about yellowjackets (either V. maculifrons or yellowjackets in general), I'd love to hear/see those. And if not, that's okay too <3

I think a fun fact that most don’t appreciate about yellowjackets is how much they parasitize one another!

Vespula maculifrons here is a widespread, common species in eastern North America. queens of this species do the usual overwinter under log, find a hole, make a nest deal. they scavenge, they hunt, they feed on nectar. pretty standard Vespula.

V. squamosa is a species that’s very common locally, and when you see workers out and about they act much like other yellowjackets. however, their queens (no photo) are huge, hornet-sized orange wasps quite different from the workers. curiously, V. squamosa don’t make their own nests about 85% of the time. instead, most of those big bruiser queens wait a few weeks longer to come out of hiding, and track down a new Vespula maculifrons nest founded earlier in spring. she’ll march into the smaller species’ nest, chew the original queen to pieces, and bully her daughter workers into submission. she then lays her own eggs in the nest, and produces her own workers who forage alongside the V. maculifrons workers, and over time the colony becomes only made up of V. squamosa. V. squamosa will even take over nests that have already been usurped by another facultative parasite, V. flavopilosa, which usually targets V. maculifrons as well!

in the warmera south, V. squamosa nests can become massive superstructures housing dozens of queens, used year after year. if you’ll allow me a moment of poetic speculation, most of these ancient castles must therefore contain the remnants of a tiny V. maculifrons nest at their core, the gnawed ruins of a conquered house.

[creampuffqueen]

I wanna hear more avatar headcanons! From the novels or just the avatars themselves! I loved reading your kavik and yangchen hcs 🥹🫶🏻

ahhh thank you!! i'm glad you like my random thoughts lol 🫶

here are a few more random thoughts i've been having that i just haven't quite made into posts yet (mostly yangvik because i love them but some other avatars as well):

yangchen is actually a terrible cook 💀 she's basically always had people taking care of her so she never really needed to learn! she can make a good cup of tea and that's about it. she regularly burns rice. she's also just generally bad at remembering to feed herself. kavik, who is a decent cook, is largely the only reason she remembers to eat

as for the other known avatars: kyoshi is by FAR the best cook. she's genuinely good at it. aang is a very close second. roku, kuruk, and wan are all average at it. korra has been banned from every kitchen in republic city

yangchen and kavik both strike me as people who really enjoy physical touch. they both really enjoy cuddling with each other, even before their relationship turns more romantic. acts of service is also a major love language for them

i also feel very strongly that they never used typical labels for their relationship. they usually referred to each other as their 'partner', occasionally 'lover', but most often just continued to use 'companion'. these vague labels frustrate scholars to no end, and today in the atla universe nobody can agree on the nature of their relationship. which is exactly how they wanted it lol, they were extremely private about their relationship

yangchen does have the iconic crooked smile that all the avatars share, but it only comes out when she's well and truly happy about something

her laugh is the same way. she has a very convincing fake laugh, as her real laugh is kind of 'ugly'. it's some kind of snorting, wheezing sound that kind of sounds like she's dying but is also absolutely adorable. yangchen hates it. kavik adores it, and will make an absolute fool of himself trying to hear it

yangchen is a massive, merciless flirt and takes great pleasure in seeing just how red she can make kavik's face turn. but on the rare occasion kavik gets enough confidence to flirt back, she turns into a total mess

pik and pak's favorite place to sleep is right on top of kavik's face

because of how hard she works herself, yangchen often falls asleep in the strangest places. if she's actually tired, she can fall asleep literally anywhere. it's simultaneously a superpower and a massive annoyance

a somewhat sad/bittersweet headcanon i have is that yangchen dies first. i've seen a lot of people saying that she lives to 150 but i can't find a source for that anywhere so i'm choosing to ignore it. yangchen has already watched too many loved ones die, she doesn't need to see kavik die before her as well. they both live very long lives, but kavik outlives her by a few years. after yangchen's death, he returns home to the northern water tribe

at one point, only a few months before his death, he is out for a walk when a little toddler wanders up to him all alone. he chats with him for a few minutes until the boy's parents find them and thank him for watching over their son. 'kuruk, what have we told you about wandering off like that?' the mother asks. the toddler waves goodbye, and kavik walks home feeling oddly contented. he never meets the boy again, and he dies well before kuruk is revealed as the avatar, but he feels a sense of peace from the interaction, knowing deep down that yangchen has made it safely back into the material world

when kavik dies, he wills his bone necklace to kuruk's family. they don't understand why until kuruk's sixteenth birthday. (SERIOUSLY THEIR NECKLACES LOOK ALMOST IDENTICAL ITS WILD)

that's all the thoughts i can scrape up off the top of my head, but i'm just generally thinking about avatar characters All The Time lmao. thank you for asking!!!

[kinky-pen]

Do you have any headcanons of the hosts, both SFW and NSFW?

(2/2) ...Actually, when I mean “NSFW” Headcanons for the hosts, don’t include Honey, obviously. Have a couple of random thoughts on all the hosts. Not too much for the SFW, as I recently answered something similar, but a couple of NSFW headcanons for each of them below the cut.

SFW Headcanons

Tamaki

Finally realised he was pansexual in his final year of university, which really should've come sooner. Had a whole, elaborate coming out party, during which Kyoya just yelled inarticulately and stormed off. That's when Tamaki found out his best friend had been in love with him since middle school. (Depending on what you ship - I ship everything - that would be when Tamaki and Kyoya got together)

Haruhi

Finally gets fancy tuna in university. It wasn't the hosts who bought it for her, however, but a classmate who was incredibly thankful for the tutoring Haruhi gave them. Yes, the hosts were all incredibly upset (showing it in their own ways), and it was just a massive headache for Haruhi in general. They did admit it was stupid of them after about a week, though, and apologised.

Kyoya

Started med school in an effort to catch up to his brothers. The subsequent mental breakdown was not worth it, and he dropped out. Took the rest of the year as a gap year and then took the usual business and finance degrees when he got back from his travels. (The new septum piercing was discarded not long after he got back, however, after too many comments from the twins and Akito.

Kaoru

His fashion design degree nearly killed him. He was living on ramen (because it was convenient) and energy drinks for so long, just working on his projects day and night. The other ex-hosts had to host an intervention and make him sleep. He woke up after being dead to the world for nearly 20 hours, and everyone (except med student Kyoya) thinking he'd slipped into a coma.

Hikaru

Conversely to his brother, Hikaru spent a lot of time in university going to parties, especially those held by the chem majors (iykyk). Had a lot of fun, made a lot of friends, and dragged Kaoru with him by his hair more often than he probably should've. It was good stress relief for the both of them, though.

Mori

Very popular at university, in both senses of the word. While Mori's not the type for too many trysts and one night stands, it didn't mean he didn't have a lot of offers. Had a couple of girlfriends, and a few boyfriends, during this time.

Hani

Buckled down during university, in terms of studying, but still retained quite a few of his childish traits. Usa-chan did frequently accompany him to lectures, and was a bit of a hit with the rest of the class. In fact, Usa-chan became the class mascot not too long into first term.

NSFW Headcanons

Tamaki

Versatile. Can go from a good boy whining but taking it like a champ one minute, only to switch up and use that charisma and princely desire to pull one over on his partner (consensually, ofc) the next moment.

It may have been a joke in the beach episode, but this boy is indeed into bondage! Restraints, blindfolds, harnesses. He doesn't mind if he's tying up his partner, or if he's the one being tied up!

When subbing, he loves puppy play. He's just a good boy who needs you to tell him he's a good boy, petting him and rubbing his tummy while giving him treats for being so perfect and precious (whether in a feedist scenario or not). Kinky, stop projecting ffs

Haruhi

A switch, but does prefer topping. You've got to be the right kind of top/dom to get her to step down, basically. I feel like Haruhi's love language is mainly acts of service, with a smattering of words of affirmation, combine beautifully to make a service top who knows what she's doing.

When in full dom mode, she loves total control of her sub. They do as she says, or she'll keep them "in suspense" until they cry. Could certainly be an excellent brat tamer for the right sub, but it depends if she can be bothered to have that much attitude aimed at her. I mainly see the brat tamer dynamic working for HikaHaru, rather than any other ships, though.

Wants to hear her partner come undone, but is happy to use a gag on them if they whimper loud enough for her to hear. Actually kind of enjoys the challenge of trying to make them so loud that the gag doesn't do much of anything.

Kyoya

Kyoya is a sub, a bottom (because they are not mutually exclusive) and a pillow prince, I'll take no criticism at this time, thank you. He just melts in so many kink scenarios where he's told what to do, from being pampered to being tortured. He'll try topping for the right person, if they really wanted him to, but it's much more likely that you'll have a surprisingly needy brat on your hands.

Blindfold him and tell him he's pretty. Worship him with your voice and hands, and make him feel like he's the most precious thing in the world. He'll start crying, I promise, and then you'll get to see cute tearstains on that lovely blindfold. (He loves the feeling of support while being so incredibly vulnerable, it's not something he's had much of before)

He's either so silent when he cums that some partners would barely notice (and proceed to just overstimulate him to the point of multiple orgasms - but he loves that), or the loudest goddamn sub ever. The quietest whimper, or the loudest fucking screaming and begging to cum, absolutely no in-between.

Kaoru

Surprisingly, prefers topping. His act with Hikaru had him as a power bottom (thank you ohshc manga for spelling that out plain as day). I highly doubt he'd want a sub dynamic with someone he actually wants a relationship with (whether romantic or purely sexual), as it'd just make him think of hosting with his brother (ew!)

Though, this boy is still a Hitachiin. Loves humiliation. Will be using your kinks against his partner in order to embarrass them (again, consensually). Think comments like "wow, can't you keep it together? We're practically in public", while doing everything he can to push his partner's buttons.

Kaoru will lick his partner dry when they're done, cleaning them up with nothing but his tongue. As long as he has time on his hands, at least. It's a talented tongue, and half the time it just starts another round off again. How bad, what a shame /s.

Hikaru

Says he's a top, but actually is a bratty power bottom (how the turn tables). He wants to be fucked hard, and if it's not to his liking then he will let his partner know. Teasing, jeering, everything. Loves making whoever he's with pissed off while their fucking him. It just makes it rougher, even more passionate, and he just wants his brains fucked out of his pretty little head.

Bullying kink. Some slight bimbo/stupification leanings, honestly. Wants someone to talk down to him like he's just too stupid to function. They'll get something sharp and snarled in response, but his eyes and erection are begging them to keep pushing. Call him every name under the sun, shove him around, step on his crotch. He'll fight it, duh, but it gets to the point where he's just too turned on and needy to continue, and then he can be fucked to his partner's content.

Wants multiple orgasms (most of the time), and what he wants, he gets. If his partner doesn't get him off enough times before stopping, he will just touch himself until he gets another one or two in. If his dom can't stop him first, that is.

Mori

Service top, gentle dom. If his partner wants him to be any degree of mean, there's going to be a lot of trial and error, as well as a lot of talking about it before hand. It's going to take a while to build up to Mori using his massive strength and such on his partner (but it'll be worth it when he gets there, trust me)

No restraints but his hands and weight. Well, maybe on request, but he wants to pin his partner down himself, using those big hands to pin their wrists, pressing his weight down on them so he can feel every buck and shudder. Why should he let some metal and scraps of fabric do what he takes pleasure in?

His voice goes so deep when he's on the edge of an orgasm, encouraging his partner to just keep going, so good, feels so nice. Deep and breathy, all at once. A quiet guy, but so pretty to hear. He also likes his partner being loud about their own pleasure, does like to try and make them beg a little. He just wants to know they're having a great time.

[xo-hugs-n-kisses-ox]

Hello, can I have a quick request of Paul Lahote. Where Paul x Reader(Kiana) are together and she is a fox shifter. She is nice, shy and kindest girl and the pack loves her including the Cullens. She is close to Emmett and Alice because she sees them as a brother and sister. But of course she still loves the pack, she wants to hang out with them. At Emily’s place, Kiana talked to Emily about an advice because she always talk to her and she looked up to her as a mom. She talked to her about telling Paul to hangout with Emmett and Alice since he hates vampires. Emily gave her an advice by softly asking him to hangout. She hugged Emily and waited for the pack to come. When they did Kiana was nervous but she approached Paul and softly asking and telling him that she wants to hangout with Emmett and Alice. Paul frozed and frown little bit, he stayed quiet and Kiana stared at Sam because she worried and Sam saw that and he approached Paul. After a few minutes, he said I don’t know it is too dangerous and Kiana looked up at him upset but she told him again that she wants to hangout with them. Paul got mad slowly and said no. Kiana just walked out and went to the Cullens and hangout with Emmett and Alice. She hangout with them and came back to Emily’s place but went upstairs to her room instead of hugging Paul knowing he mess up. He went upstairs and apologized to Kiana because he doesn’t want to lose her and she reassured him that he’s not and she kissed him.

Fox and the Hound

Paul Lahote x Reader

———

Forks, Washington, was an interesting place. I had moved here recently, and it was… lonely, at first.

Alice, a small girl with wispy hair and large, round eyes, had started talking to me at lunch one day, and the next thing I knew was that I was being dragged back to her table.

Her and her family were a bit strange, but so was I. I think she knew, but I couldn’t be quite sure.

It wasn’t until Alice had sat me down in the library and slid over a book on mythology. There were two pages tabbed; one on shape shifting women who turn to foxes, and another on the undead feasting on human blood.

My heart felt like it was going to explode when I read the first marked chapter, but as I flipped to the one on Vampires, I saw highlights.

Pale skin, ice cold, no pulse.

Alice reached out, pressing her icy fingers to my arm. She slid her hand into my palm, turning to over to make me feel her pulse, or lack thereof.

We were closer after that.

She was my favorite, loving and kind and so eccentric. She was bubbly and bright in this gloomy town, and she corralled me into hanging out with her adoptive brother, Emmett. He was funny, kindhearted, and wild. Despite his lack of a beating heart, he made everything more lively.

Quicker than I thought, we were friends. I was over at their house more than my own, considering them my family.

Through Bella, I was able to meet Emily Young. She was a lovely person, acting almost motherly to myself and the rest of the pack of wild teenage boys who could shape shift into massive wolves. Even though I could also shift, I was never quite so big. Foxes weren’t exactly large creatures, and even as a shifter I was only about as large as a big dog, like a Doberman. It was convenient, though, because I could still slip away from school or out of my house. Why would anyone suspect a fox?

Trough Bella, I also met Paul Lahote.

The first time I met him, something seemed to click into place. It’s like my world narrowed down and expanded again, my view shifting to pinpoint him.

We started talking, and I did my best to seem normal enough. I was sure the shape shifting part wouldn’t bother him, but the suddenly new, very odd, Paul-central thoughts that appeared in my mind might scare anyone off.

He seemed to understand, though.

A few weeks into getting to know each other, he explained something called “imprinting.”

It was basically like a soul tie, and he explained that it just made him want to help me and care for me.

“It doesn’t have to mean anything other than friendship,” He had told me, looking almost nervous. “So even if you don’t want anything more than that, I would be more than fine with it.”

Relieved, I had explained my own feelings. We talked about what we both wanted, and how we both felt. He was a bit awkward about it, but he managed to explain his feelings.

We decided to start going out, and I was never more happy.

He still couldn’t stand the Cullens, but he did try to at least tolerate them for me. He had a reason to distrust them, it was in his nature not to like them very much, so I didn’t try to make him like them. I just wanted him to know that there were important to me, just like they knew that he was important to me, too.

---

Paul had slowly started to dislike them more after Bella married Edward. I didn’t fully blame him. If Bella was turned, it would hurt both Jacob and the treaty. Jacob was his brother, and the treaty was there to keep mortals out of harm’s supernatural way.

Emmett, Alice, and I were supposed to have a movie night tomorrow night, and I didn’t know how to bring it up to Paul. I decided to ask for help.

“Emily?” I called, walking into the house. The radio was playing, and I made my way to the kitchen. She was mixing batter for muffins, and I slowly approached her.

“I need help,” I told her as she reached out to hug me, “I have a movie night planned with Alice and Emmett, but I know that Paul’s been stressed about the Cullens and all the things going on with Jacob, Bella, and Edward, and I just… I don’t want him to be more stressed, but they’re still my friends.”

It was word vomit more than anything, a way to get these feelings off my chest. She hummed, nodding at my words.

“He loves you very much, just ask him,” she advised, and I nodded.

“I just worry that he wouldn’t want me to go because of his distrust, you know?” I was worried, “I don’t even really know what to say, either.”

Emily patted my arm, sympathetically saying, “Explain to him why you want to go, and what you three would do. Maybe you could invite him over there too, so he would feel comfortable knowing that if anything at all happened, he could help you out?”

I was about to respond, but the door swung open and the horde of boys came rushing in. I smiled at Emily, turning to go greet everyone. Paul, who was in the middle of bickering with Seth, pushed to hug me tight.

Taking the opportunity, Seth ducked away and dove for the food Paul had been saving. Paul scowled at him, but didn’t go after him as he continued to hold me tight.

“Paul,” I started, “Emmett, Alice, and I have a movie night planned tomorrow,”

Paul frowned a bit, and I was quick to keep talking.

“We were going to watch the movies at my house,” My heart was beating quickly. He couldn’t really tell me not to go, but I still didn’t want him to be upset. I continued, “I know things are tense right now, so—”

“Yeah, things are tense,” he agreed, his tone slightly off. Sam looked over, but the others were too engrossed in their food to really notice anything.

“I know, so—”

He cut me off again, “I don’t trust them, and I don’t want you to be around them alone. Edward and Bella were bad enough, I don’t want something to happen to you because you were at the wrong place at the right time.”

“Let me finish please,” I asked calmly, but he shook his head.

“I don’t want you to go.” He said finally, and I sighed, frustrated.

“You aren’t hearing me out,” I told him, annoyed that he wasn’t listening to me.

We went back and forth, until I eventually just left. If he wouldn’t listen to me, I was done trying to make him. I got into my car and drove quickly to the Cullen’s home, deciding to have our watch party early.

We watched some new action movie, and I had fun. It was nice to hang out with them, and I enjoyed not having to fight Seth and Jared for the popcorn.

Eventually, I drove back to Emily’s house. I was staying with her for the week since it was summer. Everyone was eating dinner, and I walked past them all to go to the spare room that I had claimed as mine.

I heard a chair scare against the floor, but I didn’t turn around to see who had gotten up. I just walked into my room and shut the door, going to sit on my bed.

A moment later, and there was a knock. I sighed, telling Paul to come in.

He walked in and sat on the bed beside me. He looked annoyed, but I had been around him long enough to know that it was just the face he made when thinking.

“I’m sorry for not listening to you,” he started, “I don’t trust the Cullens, but I trust you. I know that Alice and Emmett are your… friends, but it’s hard for me to see you being with them because of how dangerous vampires are.”

He paused for a second, but continued, “Emily said that you were going to invite me to go with you, since you know how uncomfortable I am about you being alone with vampires. I’m sorry, and I should have let you talk.”

I watched as he spoke, his eyes on his hands. I reached out to put my hand in his, rubbing my thumb soothingly across his skin.

“The offer still stands,” I told him, “We have a movie night every few weeks, it would mean a lot for you to come with me.”

He nodded, and I smiled at him.

“Thank you,” I told him, grinning widely. He smiled a little at me, reaching out to put his arm around me and falling onto the bed to lay down. I laughed a little and he pressed a kiss to my temple.

“I just don’t want to put you in danger,” he murmured, “You’re already in enough being close to us, and sometimes I worry that you’ll get hurt.”

“I know,” I told him, tilting my head to press a kiss to his lips, “I know.”

———

Sorry this took so long to get out!! I got busy with school and couldn’t write a ton this week 🫠

I hope you liked this!! Thank you so so much for requesting 🥰 lmk if there’s anything else you want me to write!! 😁

[maxiemumdamage]

So this turned into basically all of my immediate reactions, I will say more in depth when I have time which may not be until June:

It’s occurring to me now how devastating even thinking he lost Weiss must’ve been for Whitley.

Sooo Winter handling her grief VERY well, honestly I am a little worried for her

TEAM CFVY FUCK YEAH COCO AND CO

Oh yeah, the refugees from Atlas would’ve just drawn a ton of Grimm towards Vacuo. I’m sure that was great for relations with a country that already colonized them and was now a massive burden on the economy.

Like Oscar straight up used the world Colonization we are NOT hiding it

People flinching at Nora’s scars noooooo

Oscar saying he wishes he could borrow Ruby’s certainty when we KNOW she’s never certain and just tries to put on a brave face

Even just in outline Shade academy is SO cool

Ren just immediately peeking up at the sight of Nora made me so happy, and seeing him visibly bury his emotions for the sake of supporting her (because he can see she’s doing the same) made me much sadder

Mercury tries so hard to act all scary and evil but he clearly looks miserable with Tyrian

“No Place for Royalty” is the Crown coming back? I thought for sure that the novel plots would be self contained!

I realized after a minute that MEH was Marrow, Elm, and Harriet, but I LAUGHED MY ASS OFF when I first saw that label

(Also Qrow being grouped with the Happy Huntresses…?)

PETER PORT BACK AGAIN??? DR. OOBLECK???

I guess if Salem is going North to South it makes sense to trample Vale all over again on the way from Atlas to Vacuo, but also, HAVEN’T THEY BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH????

Qrow and Willow recovering alcoholics together!

Marrow and Fiona’s uncle!

I loved Qrow’s little speech about how small kindnesses are often all it takes to restore your faith. Even when you can’t make a huge difference, doing something good, however small, will end up helping someone.

Also he’s still wearing Clover’s pin!

Robyn and Qrow friendship HECK YES

The Ruby mural!!!! The quiet little faith in her! The ironclad belief she has made a difference!

I didn’t think the portal was Ruby and co at first, I thought it Raven showing up while Qrow was brooding alone and it made me laugh

But Raven did show up, which then made me feel confused

I realize the idea was one unified kingdom against Salem but uh. Mistral is still fine isn't it?

THIS WILL BE THE DAY MY BELOVED

They even added concept art!

Real question: how did the Ruby muralist know what her boots look like? She was only visible from waist up in the broadcast!

[fuckyeahizzyhands]

Rachel Leishman interview with Con O'Neill 22.11.2023

Rachel: Hi, Con. How are you?

Con: I'm very well, Rachel. How are you?

Rachel: I'm doing great. To start, so you've now joined the canon of I guess my favorite thing in TV is when people sing La Vie En Rose, because I loved when it happened in How I Met Your Mother and now it happened in Our Flag Means Death. And I was crying through both times. And so getting to kind of have those emotional moments that I didn't even care that the song didn't even exist, I was just happy it was happening. So getting to have those moments where you have those emotional kind of songs and journeys on a show that is outrageous and fun and quirky what for you as an actor is the joy of getting, you know, get to dive into something like that with a character like Izzy Hands that has had such a kind of arc, especially in Season Two.

Con: I knew he was going to go on a journey in Season Two because David had told me and I will be eternally grateful to him and his brilliant writers because they didn't make it sentimental. They didn't suddenly turn him overnight. They gave him a journey that I could work through emotionally and not feel like I was jumping ahead of myself or I was having to cheat. The song itself... had you asked me for a song for Izzy to sing, I would never, ever have picked La Vie En Rose. And now I can't think of any other song Izzy should sing. So again, that's down to David and also to all those people, my partner and Jenna, who's a friend of mine who just played PF in London, who helped me learn the French, which was excruciating for everyone involved.

Rachel: When I interviewed David, I said to him, I was like, you should be in jail for making me care so much about Izzy Hands throughout this whole season and then just put me in so much pain by the end because it was just such a beautiful arc from beginning to end this season. And I can only imagine as an actor the joy of kind of getting to dive into something that kind of rich, because...

Con: It is joyful, but it was incredibly lonely. I found myself spending a lot of time on my own, a) because a lot of the scenes are on my own, and b) if I wasn't filming, I was learning how to walk in that fucking leg, or I was sword training or I was working out or I was learning French or I was recording. It was a very solitary experience doing this season and I loved every minute of the work, but it was challenging on a whole other level that I didn't really think about until I found myself in the middle of it. And, yeah, I'm glad we did it and I'm glad we respected the character that we've created in Season One.

Rachel: And it is... I like, I really enjoyed because I think Taika's performance as Blackbeard especially. I love how kind of different it is because I'm a big fan of his work in general, but I do think it's very different from everything that I've seen from him. And I love the dynamic between Blackbeard and Izzy because that is something that I think as much as Steed and Blackbeard drive this show, without Izzy's love for Blackbeard, I don't necessarily think that relationship would be as strong as it is. And when you guys kind of have the arc you do in Season Two still cool to kind of have that final moment that we end up getting throughout in this show, for you two as actors to kind of in a comedy, get to have that emotional sobbing moment. You're comedians, but you're crying like having this kind of death scene on a beach. What is it for you two as actors and friends to kind of come to that moment where you're like, hey, we're still actors at the end of the day, but we're going to be sobbing on a beach over these two characters?

Con: You know what? I love working with Taika. I love acting with Taika. And Taika is a world renowned Oscar winning writer director actor, but he doesn't nearly get the plaudits he deserves as an actor. And the death scene in particular, I was dreading it because it's massive. And we were going to shoot it in the last week, at the start of the week, then the middle of the week, then the last day was going to be the morning of the last day. And then it ended up being the last thing we shot in the entire shop. And when you're filming something like that on the ship with hundreds of crew and the whole cast, and we're getting towards the end of the day and there's a lot of energy, and then suddenly it was just me and him. And if he hadn't given that to me, I was fucked. But he just held me in it and everything else disappeared. And we just trust the writing and we just do it. And he's a fucking awesome scene partner. There's a lot of good actors in that show, a lot of fucking great actors. But in that moment, I've never felt more collaborative and more trusted and more held than I have in probably my entire career.

Rachel: And you said collaborative. A show like this is kind of the joy of it, is that there are so many characters and it is such a collaborative show as a whole. And I think that's why fans love it as much as we do, because it's such a family unit. And for you as an actor, what is the kind of draw for you to a show like that that is so much a group of actors and comedians that are all kind of together, all on set, working as a unit?

Con: I'm a sporting actor. It's what I do. I like to work with an ensemble. It's how I do my best work. And the cast are sharp, witty, intelligent and also wonderful actors. So it's a no brainer for me. But also the show's... show is about love, and it's about queer love. And it's a show we should have been making a long time ago. It's a show that appreciates its audience and it's a show that is kind and none of our violence in our show is ever ever aimed at anyone for their gender or their sexuality. And we should be making queer of shows like this more. And that's what drew me to it. And when I saw... I was on set, when the boys in the first season, when they filmed the 'you wear fine things well' scene, and I watched it being shot and the beautiful performances and the beautiful dialogue and the way that it was being shot was exquisite. And I suddenly realized not only were we in this pirate show, but we were also in a romantic, queer love story that wasn't going to not be romantic. And I thought, there we are. That's it. That's what people are going to plug into.

Rachel: Yeah. Thank you so much for talking with me. This show means so much to me and people that I know and love. So thank you for talking with me.

Con: My pleasure.

Rachel: And I want more seasons of it. I love it so so so much.

Con: Thank you so much. Rachel.

Rachel: you have a great one.

Con: Take care. Bye bye.

[ashes96]

Simon X Reader (Valentines Special)

Simon was stood outside y/n's door, trying to work up the courage to knock. A beautiful red rose was held delicately in his hand. The thorns had been carefully removed so that none of them would prick her delicate fingers. He exhaled slowly "Just do it, Riley. She's worth it" giving himself a little pep talk. This is the man that on the battlefield was unstoppable, a strong force not to be messed with. But when it came down to his feelings for y/n, he became a nervous mess. He forgot how to breathe whenever she entered the room. It was like her very presence just sucked the oxygen from his very lungs.

He had been in love with her months now but didn't want to face any rejection. His own personal fears of not being worthy enough of her love played a massive part in the procrastination. Y/n had always shown him care and kindness but in his head it was simply just an act.

Y/n was lying on her bed arm over her eyes just simply relaxing, winding down from a stressful mission. Every muscle was aching in her body, there was no way she was moving from this bed. Base on fire? Cool, she will just lie there. An attack on the base? Let them just come and she will just lazily fire at them from the spot on the bed. 

Y/n let her eyes slowly flutter shut giving in to her exhaustion. Not even two minutes in to the blissful sleep there was a knock at her door. She groans and is tempted to just let whoever it was come back later. That was until she heard the familiar voice of Simon mumbling to himself about something being stupid. Now she may have been more than happy to let the world pass by her while she lay in bed but when it came to Simon, she would do anything and everything for him.

Slowly getting up and trudging towards the door as quickly as her aching body would allow. She opens the door and immediately it's like the world became a brighter place just seeing his masked face made her eyes light up and a grin make it's way on to her face. 

Simon was about to leave when she didn't immediately answer second guessing his decision of confessing. That was until she opened the door and stood there with her beautiful eyes lighting up and a gorgeous grin on her lips. Internally he cursed at himself for forgetting how to breathe. The rose was hid behind his back.

"Simon, you good?" Y/n asks with a raised eyebrow confused why he was just stood there not doing or saying anything. He just stares at her unblinking under his mask, his nerves had gotten the best of him. Y/n grew more concerned so she stepped aside "come in Simon" her voice was so soft and velvety. Still unable to find his words he just nods, slowly walking in past her.

He stood in the middle of her room sighing softly. "Si? Has something happened?" Y/n softly enquires. "No" Came his simple response. "Then why are you quiet and seem like someone just took a puppy from you?" Y/n continues to probe him for answers. "I need to tell you something and you need to let me get this off my chest no interruptions" this slightly threw y/n but she simply nodded.

Simon reaches up and slowly takes his mask off. The look of surprise isn't hidden on y/n's face. She has never seen his face before and the fact that he stood there at this very second revealing his face had took her by surprise. It wasn't a bad surprise, not at all. Seeing his face had blown her away. He was attractive, super attractive. He had a defined jaw line with a prominent chin. A few scars were scattered on his face but that just added to his enchantment.

He holds his mask in one hand and moves his other arm out from behind his back. Y/N's eyes landed on the red rose. But she stayed silent like he had requested. "I'm going to be blunt, I need to get this off my chest. I like you Y/n. Have done for months. But I was scared and I know what you are thinking. How can someone like me be scared but I am only human. I wanted to ask you to be my valentine and go on a date with me. It's alright if you aren't interested in me. I mean I'm not exactly-". She had heard enough, she knows that she promised to let him talk no interruptions but he was beginning to spiral and doubt himself. "Simon. I'd love to be your valentine" A massive smile adorns her face. It was Simon's turn to be taken by surprise "Really? You aren't just messing with me?". Y/n licks her lips sighing "I'm not messing with you Simon. I'd love to go on a date with you".

She slowly approaches not wanting to scare him with sudden movements. Once she is toe to toe with him, she gazes up lovingly into his eyes one hand on his face caressing his cheek. The other hand softly touches his. "I'd love to Simon, honestly" her smile softly growing and the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. The simple small touches from y/n's hands on his, had his own heart beating out of it's chest. He drops his mask and the rose on the floor before putting one hand behind her head while the other one was placed on her hip. Leaning down he softly kissed her. This is what all those months of longing had been leading to and he didn't want to ever stop kissing her. Never wanted the feeling of the butterflies or his heart beating fast, the way she made him lose the ability to breathe or think. He was going to always return to her no matter what, always protect her.

[arthurtaylorlester]

you may have seen my previous theory on wtf is going on with john doe malevolent, but i have more proof this time to show for my hypothesis!

in episode one, we first hear someone turning on a radio, presumably in a car, listening to “You call it madness (but I call it love)” by Russ Columbo (not the 1946 version by nat king cole trio we all put in playlists lol), then arthur gain consciousness

afterwards, they are in bookstore when a radio starts playing the song again, the entity doesn’t see the radio, but he does recognise the song

both arthur and the entity recognise this is odd, since atp the entity had only been in arthur’s body for 20 odd minutes

but, if you’re caught up, you’ll recognise that this is moment directly parallels a scene in part 33

this, however is not the only time something like this happens. in part 5, john uses a turn of phrase

this moment is soon after arthur’s month-long coma, so unless lily had been reading robert frost to arthur (which john would’ve most certainly mentioned when arthur brought it up), he shouldnt have any way of knowing this sentence. 

the first time we hear the poem in full is in part 26

but even still, in the context of the moment, why does john know this poem? he’s had no moment since he came back to learn anything of the sort, even ignoring the time it’d take to memorise something like this.

before this, there are only two instances of 'miles to go before i sleep' appearing, once at the end of part 17 and just before arthur leaps of the edge in part 23

so now, my answer to all these questions is a bit weird.

in part 1, the entity says as follows regarding time in other worlds and the dark world as being timeless

which initially led me to reach the idea that john's forgetfulness in part 33 has to do with the time he spent away from arthur in s3, which he claims he does not remember.

i think he was actually sent back to the dark world and spent an indefinite time there, since there is none, causing him to forget finer details. but that raises leaves many questions unanswered, like why did the entity know the song before ever being with arthur?

i think it's time fuckery. the entity we see in part one could be some sort of future!john, at some point he could be sent back to the dark world indefinitely once more, than brought back via the book at a different moment in time that from which he left, the past.

this theory makes a lot of leaps, but it also gives reason to why john already knows call it madness and miles to go, i believe he might use both of these as some sort of anchor to not go mad himself in the dark world, thought he does end up losing parts of himself and of arthur. still, he isnt completely gone, which is why he's eventually capable of becoming john again

it also kind of explains the first sentence the entity ever says in the show

of course, on your first listen you assume he means what happened to arthur a few moments prior, but with the context of a timeloop, he could be referring to the whole shows events, even what we havent seen

later, when john says he doesn't remember who he is either, and arthur says

i understand that the entity knowing what he is might help them both, but it's still a weird thing to say. arthur has just woken up with a corpse and voice in his head, and acts like it's not his first time doing this? i'm not saying he'd remember, but it would make more sense if he was partially amnesiac to the future/past loops like the entity/john

also, i think it's important to distinguish the entity and john, the former being an amnesiac john who has only the potential to become john, but could just as easily become yellow.

last point is, obviously, also a massive stretch.

in part 9, after their first consequential argument (as in it nearly gets them imprisoned), arthur tells this fable to john

which yeah, could be foreshadowing john being the king in yellow in the s1 finale, but. it wouldn't make much sense since john doesn't permanently get him and arthur killed?

i think it goes like this, if it lines up with my theory.

john starts forgetting about the dark world, starts getting dicier and riskier with his and arthur's choices, whether it be about his deal with kayne or other future lies, but he pushes and he keeps pushing until both he and arthur meet their end. at some point, he gets himself sent back to the dark world and arthur killed/otherwise indefinitely unavailable, and as he does, he says "it is in my nature", so the last thing he tell arthur isnt sorry, but an excuse. perhaps they end on bad terms, after all he's promised to not let him drown.

he is left there to rot in his misery with only faint memories of his new self (significant moments, like him telling arthur the poem) and after he starts forgetting, a long time for a place with no time, he is pulled into the book in the past, eventually reaching arthur again. he might recognise arthur's voice, but he might not remember enough at this point, having turned back into the entity, no longer being john.

but hey. this is based on my relisten of s1 and little else. i love stretching the canon to make it make sense lmao

edit 05/12/23 — further proof i only now noticed in episode 30 “The Tenant”

[dabblingreturns]

A lukewarm defense of Kristen Applebee's.

I'm on fantasy high junior year episode 5 and things are not going well between Kristen and her godess.

And I'd love to say that it's because Kristen is a selfish dirtbag who doesn't know how to have a healthy relationship. But that wouldn't be fair.

I think the issue is a twofold.

One big issue is expectations.

Cassandra used to be a major diety. With thousands of followers and cults of mysteries before she was betrayed. She is used to reaching out and always finding a follower who is overjoyed to be touched by the divine.

Kristen on the other hand spent 15 years as the favorite Cleric of Helio. And was praised by her comunity for being the one that Helio talked to directly. As It that was an honor. But Helio had other followers he could tap, it wasn't just Kristen. The amount of worship Helio needed from Kristen was relitivly low. She was a long term investment for him. Helio was able to subsidize Kristen's power for a year after she left him, just in the hopes of getting her back. But circumstances have changed.

Both Cassandra and Kristen are used to working with excess resources but now neither of them have those resources that they used too. But they both still act as if they do.

And this is the problem. They keep not providing what the other needs because they can't, but are then suprize when the other also let's then down for the exact same reason.

Kristen isn't thinking and communicating with her godess 100% of the time because she is a highschool student who is busy saving the world and dealing with drama and being a dumb teen and sleeping. And that is normal behavior. She doesn't feel that checking in with Cassandra every five minutes about how every decision in her life might effect Cassandra is a reasonable thing to do. Because it's never been nessasity before and is a massive inconvenience in combat. Cassandra asking for updates while Kristen is in combat might get Kristen killed.

And Kristen not being able to provide the worship and attention is activly harming Cassandra even at times when Kristen can't provide attention. (Kristen should be providing more worship than she is, but I don't think she can provide as much worship as Cassandra needs)

But both Cassandra and Kristen keep treating the other as if they have limitless resources and thats not true.

The second issue is a fundamental misunderstanding how how Kristen liturgical nature.

Kristen is a really particular kind of saint. She's a Heroic Saint who does big miracle and has Revelations (tm) and changes the face of the world.

But Kristen is NOT a evangelical Preacher (tracker is but that's a differnt post) or charismatic leader. She doesn't have the skill with words or psychology or organization to create a church and recrute people. She has no talent for missionary work.

200 year from now she could become a great saintly example as a vessel through whom Cassandra saved the world. But currently she is a hot mess. (Heros often are).

But Cassandra is expecting a missionary, not a hero. So Kristen keeps failing in her eyes.

And Kristen is messing up and missing opertunities.

Kristen messed up by not going on social media after the Night Yorb and sighting Cassandra as the major diety involved.

Being the ASB president at Aguefort Adventuring Academy doesn't sound like it should help Cassandra but if Kristen played it correctly it could. Other students looking for a new diety might pick Cassandra if Kristen remembered to mention her more. Kristen could be a godly influencer. But she's so all over the place she doesn't.

Basically Kristen Applebee's could be doing better in a task where she has been set up to fail.

It's shitty for everyone, but if Kirsten could sail though this smoothly, she would gave to give up everything that makes her Kristen Applebee's.

[celestiaras]

‧₊˚✧ ❛[ quiet in the library ]❜

ft. aia amare x gn! reader — iluna, nijisanji en

╰₊✧ while you’re left to study & aia is having the time of her life at the library, you eventually get bored & decide to mess around with her┊1.3k words

contains: smut!! dom reader & sub aia┊established relationship, semi-public (but it’s practically public), fingering, a suprise…

➤ author's note: real ones know that this is a repost from when tumblr was acting up

for what felt like the hundredth time, you checked the time at the bottom-right corner of your laptop and sighed when you once again saw that barely a single minute has passed. spending your saturday studying for classes that you already had good grades in was the most mind-numbingly boring thing you could be doing right now. with the holidays coming up, you were ready to just fail the assessments and put it all behind you so that you could enjoy all of your free time for hobbies and spending time with loved ones.

alas, your girlfriend wasn’t too fond of the idea of you throwing out your schoolwork when break hadn’t even started yet. sure, your grades were high enough to take the hit, but you were smart enough to pass if you put in the effort and she didn’t want your scores to lower just because you were lazy. that’s why she dragged your ass out to the local library and took away your phone so that you could concentrate, skipping off to explore the archive while leaving you to suffer in silence while fueled by nothing but crappy overpriced coffee.

with the excuse of needing to stretch your legs, you asked a classmate who happened to be sitting at the same table as you to watch over your belongings and essentially bolted out of there to begin your search for your beloved angelic maiden. the building was massive, but all it took was asking a kind old lady where the section that contained the books about whatever aia’s current hyperfixation was to track her down.

there were dozens of students of all ages who were there to study or to partake in festive events the library was hosting, but this wing at the back was pretty empty in comparison. you found her softly humming and swaying to the sound of her song while flipping through one of the books— looking so peaceful and lost in her own world that you almost reconsidered pestering her, but your boredom and need to get away from schoolwork was much stronger than any self-control in your body.

you tip-toed up to her and wrapped your arms around her before she could detect you, giggling at her gasp followed by an adorable pout when she realized that it was just you, “you’re supposed to be studying! it hasn’t even been an hour yet, you’re a lost cause!”

“you left me all alone while you went off on your own adventure,” you whined, rocking her back and forth in your grasp for the sole purpose of being more irritating. “what are you reading about anyways?”

her teal eyes widened with enthusiasm as she eagerly began telling you about all of the cool new things she learned today and how it all tied in with the facts she already knew just above a whisper, completely forgetting about her annoyance with you in favor of rambling. you’re so blessed to be in a relationship with such a loveable dork, she’s so cute when she gets excited about things like this!

a bit too cute.. makes you wanna bully her a little…

you quickly looked around to confirm that there wasn’t anyone around (just a straggler or two out of the corner of your eyes, but none of them seemed like they would be heading in your direction). slowly, you began to tug on her long skirt with your dominant hand with the other one remaining around her waist. she didn’t seem to notice your suggestive movements just yet, still talking about information that was honestly going one ear out the other with your new task at hand.

it wasn’t until the fabric was well above her knees that she started stuttering and turning red at your obvious intentions, “h-hey! are you crazy? what if we get caught?”

“there’s practically no one around, it’ll be fine! if anything happens, i’ll take full responsibility and be your slave for a week, how does that sound?”

she had to admit, the prospect of having you obey her every order was incredibly enticing. “… make it two weeks…”

“deal!”

aia felt herself shiver in excitement when your skin brushed against her soft cream thighs, biting her bottom lip in anticipation when you gently began to pull her lacy white underwear to the side and getting embarrassed from how wet she was from your want. you experimentally ran the tip of your index finger along her folds, collecting slick on it before beginning to prod into her hole and circling her clit to get her to relax.

although, it’s hard for her to relax where you guys are literally in public! she never realized how loud she must be regularly until now when she’s forced to keep quiet in order not to draw attention to the both of you, finding it more and more difficult to fight against the sinful sounds threatening to spill from her lips. you held her body still, but she still reached out to grab onto the shelf in front of her to steady herself.

it was so cold with the breeze of the air conditioning against her exposed skin and yet so hot with the lust blooming in her womb. she felt nervous at the prospect of getting caught yet it was providing such a rush of thrill that she couldn’t describe.

you could feel her walls fluttering around your two angled fingers that were gently rubbing her soft spot with the palm of your hand providing friction to her pink pearl, lightly kissing her slender neck at her reactions of every sharp inhale and weak pleas for more. “ngh.. r-right there… please!” her hips bucked lower for your thrusts to push even deeper as you read her demands to press on, curling your fingers right where she wanted.

it didn’t take more than a few extra seconds before she gushed all over your hand and saw stars, swearing much more loudly than she would have liked to in the quiet environment. her plaited pale hair was now messy with sweat and her thin glasses were crooked and fogged up, prompting her to take them off and clean them with the fabric of her dress that wasn’t soiled with remnants of her climax. all this while, she relied on your support to remain standing since her legs were trembling from your actions.

“let’s go get you cleaned up, okay angel? i’m sure there’s a restroom somewhere nearby for you to go in while i grab my things…” you swung her off her feet and held her bridal style like a knight would (if you ignored your not-so-knightly behavior of skipping studies to seduce a maiden), “then we can order some takeout and watch a movie, it is saturday after all!”

“y-yeah…” her voice remained shaky but sounded content with what unfolded. she’ll remember later that she completely forgot to check out the books that she wanted and she’ll complain about it later, but for now, she was warm and pleased in your arms that carried her around the library.

the two of you were so enamored with each other at the moment that neither realized that there was a set of red eyes belonging to a certain enchantress watching the entire thing from above on the upper floor, a place that you forgot to check before starting this entire thing.

scarle came here to study just as you did, but now she would have to rush home to take care of the growing desire pooling in her stomach and dripping down onto her panties while thinking of her friends. she knew that she should probably wipe the entire thing from her mind since she had stumbled across something that she shouldn’t have as it was the private and intimate affairs of lovers, but it wasn’t too private now that you did it in public, now is it?

[ifuckinglovedinosaurssomuchjesus]

GODZILLA MOVIE MARATHON: Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974)

Ah, the twenty year anniversary of the big guy himself, celebrated with the introduction of one his most enduring adversaries in the doppelganger automaton: Mechagodzilla!

Mechagodzilla is a great character and deserving of his spot in the "Big Five." His popularity comes from his versatility and his status as a mechanical, artificial monster, but that's not really explored in his first outing. Instead he's kind of just a generic space monster, the whole robot double aspect really only mattering for an obvious twist that is revealed at the end of the first act. After that, he's just another kaiju controlled by cartoonishly evil aliens set to invade earth.

I will say though, despite the trope being hopelessly tired by this point, this is probably the best alien invasion plot since Astro Monster. Mostly held up by the Interpol officer, who adds some mystery to the first half and executes some fun spy action once the climax hits. Don't get me wrong, you're still just sitting here waiting for the monsters to show up like almost every other Godzilla movie, but it'll keep your attention until then, which is more than a good chunk of the later Showa era can claim.

Luckily the monsters do show up pretty quickly, in fact the first fight is at the twenty minute mark, where we get to watch poor Anguirus get wrecked. That's another appeal of the movie, it's not like vs Gigan or Astro Monster where the monsters feel unconnected to the human drama, here the entire plot is about getting the statue MacGuffin to Okinawa before the aliens can steal it and the prophecy ends. Keeping the kaiju in the forefront narratively and adding a ticking clock keeps the story jugging forward and prevents that sort of meandering boredom some of the worst kaiju films suffer from.

King Caesar in the man of the hour in this film, the monster they need to awaken in order to save the world from the wrath of Mechagodzilla. The movie is hyping him up and he gets a whole musical number to announce his arrival... only for Mechagodzilla to absolutely slaughter him. It's great, genuinely so fun to watch the guy we've been hearing about cower behind a rock until Godzilla shows up to do most of the work. It makes him endearing! Like a big puppy way over his head.

Mechagodzilla is the real show stopper here, the movie does a great job establishing his power by having him beat Anguirus and match Godzilla. This might be the first beam clash in the franchise, with Mecha-G's eye laser and Goji's fire breath meeting in the middle to cause a massive explosion, knocking them both out. That's where this movie shines, the fights are so fucking fun. No stock footage or clunky old suits here, it's all so fresh and dynamic. Mechagodzilla stands out in the Showa roster because his specialty is the full frontal assault of explosive fury. He has missiles and lasers coming out of every orifice and joint. His fighting is so colorful and exciting, especially contrasted with Godzilla's more physical fighting style. Plus what a finisher! Godzilla rips his head clean off, no ambiguous falling into the ocean here, we got to watch a fatality.

Overall a really good movie that encapsulates everything that we love about the Showa era, with one of the best villain kaiju battle in the franchise. It's not quite the top of the list though, not hitting the highs of King Kong vs Godzilla or Godzilla vs Hedorah in my eyes, more matching the vibes of the last movie, so it'll get a similar 7/10 score from me.

[sheriffgrimes-archerdixon]

It’s not even funny how these wonderful interactions and memories I now have make me bawl my eyes out. Jamie was so so so patient with me (because… yes… I cry a lot. I cry at a lot of things lmao) but this man means so much to me and I’m eternally grateful for him. One thing that will forever stick out to me is during the moment of meeting him I said “I’m very grateful for you” and he smiled looked me in the eyes and said “I’m very grateful for you too. Thank you for sharing that (mental health stuff) with me Amber. I appreciate it.” He listened to me at my lowest and was there to comfort me.. he’s fixed a heart he didn’t even break. He’s a one in a million human being and I’m forever grateful for him and his kindness. I asked a question during the talk and it was super special, I’m an anxious person and never ever have I talked in front of a massive crowd before let alone two celebrities so I was trembling so bad and both Jamie and Tom just waited patiently and the people around me were assuring me to take my time and just breathe and finally i managed to get the question out which was “you both play emotionally and mentally taxing roles and I was wondering how as an actor you deal with those emotions.” And they both answered it whilst looking directly at me. (Couldn’t stand straight ngl) LMAO. I don’t entirely remember exactly what they said but here’s something along the lines of what I remember.

Tom: “wow that’s a pretty heavy question. But my answer to that is you have to understand that’s it’s just a role and although you have to get into a pretty dark headspace having supportive people around you really helps… it’s difficult to deal with sometimes but again you have to separate the acting from your real life. Sure it’s tough but at the same time it’s kinda fun? You have to deal with it from an actors perspective almost and try to remain to your own headspace as best as possible but sometimes that’s impossible. Thank you for your question.”

Jamie: “that’s an amazing question. I love that question so much. And honestly it’s difficult. It really is. During the scenes where I’m terrorising the kids and just during the Laboratory scenes I had to take a step outside afterwards and just breathe and try to separate myself from the character I’m paying. I however love it. I wouldn’t change it for the world. (I cant remember everything else he said but it went on for another two minutes!) I really appreciate that question you asked, thank you so much for the great question. Thank you.

[bookshop]

A correct amount of words about wang yibo

I keep trying to indoctrinate the good people of Post.news who have the misfortune to follow me into joining the Wang Yibo fandom. And that's hard to do given that this is a whole-ass sea of like white Gen X MSNBC liberals who probably only think about China as politics, but I am doing my LEVEL BEST, and the result is this absolutely enormous post about Yibo that most people reading this on Tumblr don't need to know, but which I am going to put here anyway, because I need to feel Seen.

I wish to talk about Yibo's beautiful New Year's Eve performance, but first some context.

actually no, first, a picture because isn't he lovely

Over the last four years, this has become a holiday tradition: Eagerly awaiting Wang Yibo's release of a huge song on December 30 — his only single of the year — that he then performs live on an annual New Year's Eve concert the next night. Every year, when he does this, it's a huge deal and the songs always become the bestselling single of the year on the last day of the year, which is the kind of massive flex that compels me to yell about it a lot.

So in 2019 he released "Wugan" (which he wrote) on 12/30, and it became the bestselling single of 2019. At the end of 2020 he released "Rules of My World," which he also wrote. That then became the second-bestselling single of 2020. (More on the single that beat him in a minute.)

The next year, he released his 2021 end-of-year single "Nian" completely for free, probably in response to the Qinglang restrictions I wrote about here, in which, among other things, China banned multiple mass sales.

Yibo is known primarily as an (extremely good) hip-hop dancer, so since "Nian" was more of a power anthem everyone was anticipating something more upbeat for his end-of-year song this year. Instead, Yibo surprised us all with a gorgeous love song, "Like the Sunshine" (像阳光那样)", which immediately became not only the bestselling single of 2022, but the first single to top 2 million sales in China since the CCP banned mass sales 18 months ago.

And then he paired it with this incredible modern dance performance at Dragon TV's new year's eve event.

Please watch it; he cut his hand and his feet while dancing barefoot on stage but kept performing, and this gives you such a good glimpse of what a heartfelt and mesmerizing performer he is.

What you wouldn't know just from watching this is that Yibo has rarely if ever danced modern dance before onstage, only hip-hop and other dances blending modern dance elements, but never anything like this. And yet he looks completely at home and in his element. The climax and fully the last 60 seconds show so much control and power, combined with his ability to be completely immersed in the flow and feel and emotional dynamics of of a song — which you get both from his movements and his vocal expression. He's just. So good. All the time.

It will be three years at the end of this month since I first discovered Wang Yibo, and I still feel every day like I just discovered him for the first time, because I'm continually blown away, not only by how tremendously talented and gifted he is at whatever he picks up, but by how unapologetically passionate and pure-hearted he is about loving dance and loving acting and music and racing and competition and all his geeky quirky little hobbies, about loving people and loving life.

Everyone who works with Yibo just winds up raving about about how talented he is, whether it's his acting or dedication or dancing or singing or that time he just fucking did this what the fuck, and you can see so clearly from all of this, and especially this new NYE performance, that it's not just that he's incredibly talented and skilled enough to master a totally new skill in weeks, but that he goes full-throttle in every performance, makes himself completely raw and vulnerable. Yibo eschews method acting, is arguably not neurologically suited for method acting, but instead has this wonderful ability to slip in and out of character, become whoever he's asked to become in any given moment. And when he's dancing as himself on stage, he consistently shows us his heart and his pure emotion, whatever it is.

He is just, above all things, a consummate entertainer: He prioritizes the mood and the moment of the art he's creating, and he delivers that consistently, each and every time. Case in point: let's enjoy him performing "Pick Me" for Produce 101 in 2019, when he served as dance mentor to women competing for a spot in a girl group. Every time Yibo gets asked to dance "cute" dances — and probably the reason he keeps getting asked — is that he commits to the cuteness without any posturing or machismo and just, again, lets his performance serve the dance/song without letting his ego get in the way.

Or! Or! This next song! I love this performance because it's completely inexplicable at a glance but SO fun and just, happy. What's happening here is: He's a special guest on a variety show where the object is (wait for it) to SING SONGS WHILE SPINNING ON A LITTLE SPINNY THING.

And one of the judges of this show is Da Zhangwei, who's both a well-known like, comedy/variety songwriter and Yibo's good friend (they hosted a variety show together for years). So Yibo makes a surprise appearance to perform one of Da Zhangwei's own songs, "Pop Rocks Candy," while spinning around on a little spinny thing!!!! (China!!!!)

And this should be absolutely absurd, like, cringey beyond belief, over-the-top excess, right. But because Yibo is so committed to this performance, without a hint of embarrassment, it somehow just becomes this joyous, endlessly delightful gift of Wang Yibo performing one of his friend's songs and turning it into a celebration of fun and whimsy.

OR! here he is being dragged into a silly dance battle in 2018 while filming the rom-dram Gank Your Heart. Nothing at all going on, he's just hanging with the other cast and dancing for fun, except Yibo is just so excellent that the camera eventually gives up following the other cast members and just zooms in on him. Everyone always winds up zooming in on Wang Yibo.

To return to 2020: Yibo was second in song sales that year only because the top spot went to his best friend Xiao Zhan's song "Spotlight," which was/is the biggest selling single of all time, as in, in world history, as in this song outsold both the Beatles and "White Christmas". You will assume I must be exaggerating until you click that link and learn that this is actually a well-verified fact.

The reason you have never heard "Spotlight" is because the combined impact of the CCP's isolationist tendencies and the tendency of other countries to treat China like a sealed vacuum means it's easy to ignore/write off whatever's happening in China, even while entertainers like Yibo and Xiao Zhan are making major inroads and breaking through international culture divides.

But I think that might be changing sooner rather than later, and Yibo is a big part of the reason. In Q3 of 2022 his studio, Yuehua, was preparing to go public (they eventually withdrew) basically fully on the strength of Yibo's popularity: They released an investor report claiming he was responsible for 80% of their overall revenue in 2022. (I saw a later claim that in Q4 that # jumped up to 90% overall but I couldn't find a source. I believe it, though, because YIBOOOOO.)

Yibo has three films coming out in 2022. One of them I've already discussed in this Post post (lol), without mentioning the fact that in the scenario where Born to Fly is China's version of Top Gun, Wang Yibo is Tom Cruise as Maverick. (At age 24, by the way — just a year older than Cruise when he first played the role.)

The other two are equally eye-catching. One is One and Only, a street dance movie created and scripted entirely around and for Yibo, clearly inspired by what an absolute phenomenon he has been as a captain on Street Dance of China. This movie won the Weibo award for most anticipated movie of 2022 (back when we still thought it was coming out in 2022, sob). The director stated on the awards red carpet, "If there's no Yibo, then there's no movie." Brb sobbing into my tea.

The final film drops on 1/22 and it's called Hidden Blade (previously titled Anonymous) and he stars alongside Tony Leung, YES I SAID TONY LEUNG, and it's also one of the most anticipated films of the year. And, listen, I would go a long way just to watch Tony Leung, but the trailer, along with the latest just-released poster, each make it clear that Yibo is every bit the co-star:

Sooooo this movie will probably land on the international radar — hell, it already has — and if I know Yibo, he won't be easy to overlook.

Because that's the thing, always: Eventually, no matter the context, you always wind up zooming in on Wang Yibo.

[lightwoodbanethings]

Final part! Also now on AO3

Part one || part two || part three || part four

They’d been acting weird. Instead of the usual flirtatious looks and fleeting touches, Steve and Eddie had been pretty much avoiding each other. A fallout maybe? Whatever it was Murray knew he had to act soon. He couldn’t leave these two oblivious buffoons to their own devices for much longer. If Murray had found all the goo goo eyes and soft touches annoying, this weird avoidant behaviour and longing glances across the room was much worse. 

They were at a movie night, hosted at Harrington’s place, something about Jim’s being too small for everyone. Murray attended, along with his trusty flask of vodka and with the intent on finally sitting the metal head and momma bear down and bashing their heads together. However, Murray needed a good drink first. 

Everyone had gotten settled with various snacks and drinks in the living room and Murray was able to score the singular chair. As the film started Murray found himself watching the boys, Eddie had sat down leaving a space that Murray assumed was for Steve. However, the Harrington boy walked straight past him and sat with the girl from Starcourt, the one who is apparently good at languages. Eddie had looked crushed, but then Nancy had sat next to him and looked over in what Murray assumed was supposed to be a comforting look. 

Throughout the film he caught both the boys taking quick glances at the other, and frankly it was getting ridiculous. Murray couldn’t wait for the film to be over so he could at least get the boys talking to each other again. He went to take a sip from his flask and realised it was empty, great. Now he had to sit through a film, in which he had no idea what the fuck was happening, put up with all the pining and looks from the two dingus’, without any vodka. 

He looked around at all the fancy vases, ornaments and antiques in the Harrington household. It was clear that the Harrington’s had money, and like most they spent it on ugly decorations. Not only that, but a house which Murray was sure they hardly ever stayed in. For the whole time he had known Steve, after the almost-end-of-the-world, he had been either organising meetups for the kids here (something about a game with dice and using your imagination?) or more recently movie nights for the whole group. Pretty much everyone had been at the house at some point, everyone but Steve’s parents. Which Murray hadn’t found all that surprising, it made sense since Steve seemed so touch starved. Another thing he’ll have to bring up when he finally has his discussion with the boys. 

The one thing Murray hadn’t seen in the house was some kind of bar, surely people with this much money had alcohol somewhere? Maybe he could get hold of some good Whiskey to refill his flask with. He’d definitely need it to deal with these two love sick pups. Which….wait a minute, both Steve and Eddie had gone.

Murray looked around the living room and both boys were nowhere to be seen. As he was debating whether or not to get up and go look for them (and for something to drink), they both quietly re-entered the living room. Steve had tousled hair and his neat polo was now untucked from his jeans and Eddie’s hair was as wild as always but unlike earlier, he now had a massive grin on his face. He was also trying to rearrange himself in his jeans, something Murray was trying to ignore. 

“Thank fuck for that” Murray exclaimed, as he raised his empty flask into the air, “now I’m off to find something good to drink.”

As Murray got up and left the room, offering both Eddie and Steve a smile and nod on his way out, everyone was looking around confused. Hopper just grumbled something under his breath about “Murray being as fucking weird as ever” and then everyone got back to watching the movie. Steve looked at Eddie, confusion on his face and a beautiful blush covering his cheeks and the older boy just smiled back at him and motioned for him to sit down. Nancy shuffled along and Eddie and Steve curled up next to each other on the sofa, just as it should be.

[creativestorylove]

How powerful emotions can be

I could feel how much emotions bubbled up when you stood in front of your father. Anticipation, pride, a sense of victory you earned yourself over the last years. Finally, the moment would come that your endless effort will pay off. I bet you felt the tension getting stronger until your father crashed you down from your high deep into a rabbit hole of shame, unworthiness. While you were falling into the dark abyss you always fought to get out of, the explanations of him didn't even reach you anymore. The atmosphere went cold like a grave. The last act of fatherly love you hoped for didn't happen. Your dreams shattered in a million pieces, not able to restore again. Instead of honoring you with all your imperfections, he had the audacity to prefer another man for the position you wanted. You felt not only neglected but replaced, deleted from the family, from the love you craved. I heard you fighting for his love and recognition, reaching for every straw you had to change your fathers mind, but at some point you must've realized that this all, all your effort was in vain. Instead of getting depressed that many emotions unloaded in anger, frustration, fury, so much that you had to do something about it. Not even I can imagine that massive feeling holding your father tightly to your chest, knowing that his love he gave at this moment wasn't reaching you like his words minutes before didn't too. That wave of pain was too strong to let him go so that he could breathe again. Kind of paralized by your intention that when you didn't get the love, nobody will, you felt the life leaving your fathers body. Tears dripping from your face. The world stood still, and so did the war in your head, but only for a moment...