#maybe I'll reblog a comparison some other time

[khalliys]

Wearing her wife's warpaint.

I was looking to redraw something and since I never really liked my first attempt, I chose to redo this screenshot art. I just needed Beau to look even hotter.

[charliehoennam]

A/N: fulfilling @j23r23's request. Subtle reminder that my ask open again! Tried my best to sum it up, hope you enjoy <3

Summary: Reader's a pub owner and fianceè to The Alfie Solomons. Turns out she's a bit more than just that.

Pairing: Alfie Solomons x F!reader

Warnings: Language, Adopted!reader, not proof-read, I think that's it??

SHARING IS CARING, SO PLEASE REBLOG

Most people would have been nervous if Alfie Solomons strolled on into their area of business without any notice.

Everywhere he went, his most trusted and strongest lackies followed behind for protection. They were intimidating on their own, but Alfie's dominant presence was enough to make anyone mentally retrace their days, wondering if they'd made their weekly payment for protection or if they'd gotten in trouble with any of Alfie's clan.

You, on the other hand, were not like the others. You remained calm, cool and collected the minute he wandered into your pub.

Despite it being young to the busy street and small in comparison to the neighboring establishments, you had heard many things about Alfie. Only rumors, however, mostly from your drunk clients at the Glass & Barrel.

Some would argue that he was full of himself. Others would make remarks on how he was a form of savior with the jobs he'd given them. A few despised him with all their might for the beating he'd ordered onto them. Judging by what you knew of these specific clients, you knew it hadn't been for nothing.

It was early morning when you hear the doorbell chime. You could hear him mumble on as he looked around at the pub, but couldn't quite make out what he said.

You knew right away who he was. The hat and the cane were dead giveaways, but it was his demeanor that made it clear. And what he did for a living did not sway you in the slightest.

You had expected his visit for a while. It was just a matter of time that he showed up to explain how his method of security works. It was simple. You pay and his boys protect. Extra pay meant he'd place a strong lad in the pub to chase away any unwelcome, rowdy guests.

The first thing Alfie noticed about you when he walked in and sat down at the bar was how unfazed you seemed. He knew at the moment that you were a fearless woman and he admired that.

He assumed you had to be that way, given the dubious characters that milked the bottles from your shelves and the barrels in the basement.

However, there was still a sweetness in you that teased his curiosity. It made him yearn for a woman in such a foreign way that he hadn't felt since he was a young lad.

Since then, his visits became more and more often until you realized he was stopping by about two or three times a week. The funniest thing about his visits was that he never drank anything other than water. It was quite comical.

He enjoyed charming his way into your heart. Every visit consisted of laughter, taste-tests of his finest brews, playful flirting and him trying to convince you to go out on a date with him.

You resisted. Alfie knew that you wouldn't be easy. He could barely imagine just how many drunken fellas have tried their luck with you. The gun you hid under the bar wasn't for nothing.

In fact, your reservation made you all the more special.

He respected your pace and, every time you turned down his invitations, he didn't press you.

"I respect that, love. But a man's gotta try, right? Maybe one day I'll get lucky and you'll say yes."

And he was right. One day, he did get lucky indeed and you finally accepted one of his relentless invitations. However, you requested that it'd be during the day.

You told him it was because the pub made more money at night, but really, you didn't want to give off the impression that you'd be repaying him with sexual favors.

Not that you didn't want to. Alfie's ruggedness was just one of the many features that you admired. You were more than attracted to him, but you weren't the type to sleep with someone so early on.

It was an unspoken boundary, but Alfie understood you better than you could ever imagine. He didn't need to hear you say it and he never forced you or questioned you about it. Truth is he was willing to wait as long as he needed to because he knew it'd be worth the wait. Because something told him that you would be the one.

The chemistry between you and Alfie was naturally cohesive. He cherished every moment he got to spend with you. Every laugh and smile he teased out of you were trophies to him.

Your relationship grew into mutual petting and necking often stolen in secret at the opera, in the corners of fancy restaurants or in the convenient shadows at the pictures. It gradually grew to the point where you finally felt comfortable enough to invite him to spend the night with you.

Alfie was right. It was definitely worth the wait.

He made sure to take it slow as to burn every single second and touch of into his memory. He wanted to make it about you and your pleasure.

Every kiss of his lips burned into your skin. His beard scratched your soft flesh of your as his kisses trailed over your body. His greedy hands pulled and squeezed you tightly, aching to meld your bodies to become one.

He couldn't get enough of you and you couldn't bare to part from him. The softness of his hair when your fingers raked through it, his hairy chest brushing against your breasts and then your back, the moans and groans vibrating from the depths of his core. It was enough to have you addicted to him.

That night with you was unlike any night he'd ever spent with any other woman. There was meaning to this act, deep meaning. You were the woman he loved, the one he hoped to marry. You were the woman that had given him hope to become a father and inspired him to be a better man. Despite being a hardworking man, he felt the lost desire to have a home to return to. Suddenly, Alfie had hope for a future in which he wasn't alone.

Throughout the time he'd gotten to know you, he noticed how you always seemed to stray away when the topic shifted to your family. You didn't lie about them. You told him just enough to satiate to his curiosity that was entirely about your adoptive parents.

The truth was that you barely knew your biological family. You knew who they were - your loving adoptive parents had always been honest with you about your origins - and that you were indeed one of the legendary Shelbys of Birmingham.

You hadn't thought about them for a long time until your now-fiance Alfie was meeting with Tommy Shelby at the distillery.

At first glance, you didn't know who was sitting across from Alfie in his office until Ollie told you and asked you to wait.

You stood outside of the office, away from Alfie's sight. It was clear Tommy was in rough shape. You'd heard about the beat down; you were amazed to see him still walking.

If he recognized you, he didn't make it obvious. He only saw you on his way out of Alfie's office, but he simply walked past you and left the distillery without looking back.

An emptiness hollowed you inside after he left. You wondered if he knew who you were. You wondered if anything would've changed if you had told him. After all these years, you doubted he'd even remember he had a little sister younger than Ada. Granted he was older than you - you yourself didn't remember anything from that time - there was a small part inside you that had hoped he'd remembered, but you had finally been answered.

It'd been a couple of days since you saw Tommy at the distillery. Although it hurt a bit to know he hadn't remembered you, you accepted fate as it was and felt like you could finally put it behind you as if you had finally buried the past.

Until the devil himself walked into the Glass & Barrel, announcing his arrival with the doorbell chime. He paused for a moment and let his eyes scan the pub.

It was early in the morning with only a couple of your regulars: veterans of the war drinking away their sorrows, and Bubba: the large bouncer Alfie insisted to keep inside the pub.

You froze as you watched Tommy take a cigarette before sliding it across his lips to wet the bud. From the corner of your eye, you noticed how Bubba looked at him and sat up alert, instantly recognizing him.

Bubba was a tall man who had gained his nickname for seeming common and unthreatening. You'd seen him in action plenty of times dealing with the rowdy clients to know he was anything but. He could blend into the crowd just as easily as he could fend off four men at once. Bubba always loved a good fight.

You nodded at him to let him know it was alright. He opened his newspaper again, but his eyes stayed locked on Tommy from the far corner.

You treated Tommy as you would treat any customer and offered him a drink.

"Whisky, please," he answered as he sat in front of you at the bar.

"Brown or white?"

"Brown" he nodded watching you move behind the bar. "This place yours?"

"It is, " you answered setting a glass in front of him to pour his drink.

"Nice place... Decorate it yourself?"

"I did."

He nodded and a small sip of his drink.

"You grew up 'round here?"

"Around London, yeah. Moved a bit here and there, but always stayed in London."

"You know, I once had a little sister. She was taken away early from us. My poor mum, she did her best to raise us. We were a bit of a handful. Six in total... Last I heard about her is that she lives in London."

Tommy cradled the glass in his hand and admired the brown liquid, but he could feel your eyes burning through him.

You froze as the realization washed over you. It was no coincidence that he wandered into your pub. It was entirely intentionally.

"Runs her own pub. Seems like that tends to run in the family," he paused and eyed you with a steely steady gaze, as if he could see right through you. "Does he know?"

Tommy felt like he already knew the answer. Alfie would have most likely brought it up during their first meeting if he knew.

"No. I haven't told him. I don't feel it's necessary to."

"I can respect that. But it doesn't change the fact that you're still family."

"With all due respect, Mr. Shelby, I have a family."

"I'm just saying, that's all. If you ever need a hand, you know where to find us."

You didnt bother replying since he was quick to stand, snuffing his cigarette out in the ashtray on the bar.

He stopped just before the door to set his cap on his head before glancing at you one more time on his way out.

You felt Bubba's eyes boring a hole into you so you quickly moved about, getting back to work. There was no doubt he'd be telling Alfie about this little visit. Tommy's a wise man; Bubba knew his visit was no coincidence despite having not been able to hear your conversation.

The truth would have to come out.

Once Eddie arrived to take over the night shift, you made your way a few streets over to the home you and Alfie shared.

Unlocking the door, you walked inside to hang your coat up. But from the corner of your eyes, you could a familiar shadow standing by the fireplace.

Alfie was never home this early. The lack of acknowledgement to your arrival made you certain something was up.

"Alfie. You're home early," you smiled walking towards him.

"Yeah, I am. I had an urgent matter to tend to myself."

"I see..." you nodded as you slowly drifted over towards him over the wooden floor that now felt like eggshells. Had Bubba told him about Tommy's visit? Had word spread about your relation?

"I heard tommy Shelby went to see you today... Care to tell me what that was about?"

"Before I tell you, Alf, there's something you should know."

As he lifted his gaze from the warm fire, his eyes carried the same softness he heard in your voice.

"I never told you this because I never thought it'd be relevant. But the truth is that I was adopted when I was a child... From Birmingham. I was 12 when my parents told me I'd been a Shelby."

You paused, hoping for some sort of reaction from Alfie, but there was nothing that could hint at his reaction.

"I didn't even who they were until that day I went your office. To be quite honest, I didn't even think any of them remembered me. That's why he came to the Glass & Barrel, to tell me he knew it was me."

Unbeknownst to you, Alfie already knew the truth. There was a doubt in the back of his mind that questioned - if you did in fact know your biological family - where your allegiance would lay and, at this point, it was only growing within.

His doubt consumed him, slowly but surely, over the following days. Everything had changed.

You first noticed that Alfie started missing dinner. After you moved in together, he was always home for dinner.

The mornings you once used to treasure due to the breakfast you shared with him were shared only with the presence of Cyril.

Gone before you woke up and home after you'd fallen asleep.

This night, you decided you were not going to bed. Tonight would be the night you confronted him.

The exhaustion of the day was beginning to set in. Your eyes felt heavy as you struggled to read your book, attempting to keep yourself awake.

Cyril, whose head was resting on your lap to be petted, snored peacefully. Blissfully unaware of your brewing angst.

Adrenaline quickly chased away and drowsiness you felt the minute you heard Alfie's car outside. It was now or never.

You waited for him to unlock the door and hang his coat up along with with his hat, still seated on the couch.

Alfie noticed the living room light on as he walked towards it and spotted you on the couch.

"Bit late, innit love? Should be in bed."

"Why are you avoiding me, Alfie?"

"No one's avoiding you," his foot was already on the first step of the stairs. Your anger quickly turned to tears as he proved you right.

"Then stay down here and face me, damn it."

Your hands trembled as you marched towards the stairs. Alfie stopped halfway up them when he turned to face you.

"I did not choose this, Alfie. I did not ask you be a Shelby. I did not choose the family I was born into. But if there's one thing I did choose was you."

Silences lingered heavily. His blue eyes stared down his nose at you. Your chest rose and fell with the adrenaline and flood of emotions coursing through you. As frustrated as you were, you didn't want to hate him. You couldn't if you tried.

Alfie hadn't thought about how his attitude would have affected you. He needed time to think. He trusted you blindly, but not knowing if your allegiance could change paralyzed him.

He watched how deeply emotional you were about his absence and realized that - the same way you chose to leave your biological family in the past despite knowing who they were - he needed to make a choice too.

He walked down the stairs until he stood before you.

"You're right, love," he nodded gazing into your tear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry, yeah?"

His palm met your cheeks as he cradled your face in his hands.

"I'm sorry."

"Do you really think I would betray you, Alf?"

Your hands wrapped lightly around his wrists.

"For a moment, I wasn't sure if I'm not honest. Fuck, love. You gotta see from my side, yeah? Just wasn't expecting the love of my life, the apple of my eye, to be a Shelby. And that you knew."

"I didn't it mattered, Alf. I'm no Shelby. This is where my family is. In this house, here with you. I'm a soon-to-be Solomons."

"Right, you fucking are," he whispered wiping an escaping tear from your cheek.

"I choose you, Alfie. You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, love. C'mere," his arms opened and welcomes you into his embrace. "I choose you too."

[deblklesb]

[Another Diamond Day — Ellabs x Reader Drabble]

[established relationship, farm!au, fluffy/soft, afab!reader]

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

a/n: this is 100% self-indulgent, I'm not being able to finish the request as fast as i wanted but had this cute piece of fluff that had been engraved on my mind 🫂 it's just pure softness and a silly time. love ya!! despite it, i don't want minors interacting with my content so this is still MDNI

not proof read | reblogs are highly appreciated

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The sun was rising when Abby came back from the corral with a bucket full of fresh milk. A thin fog covered the pasture denouncing a hot day following that cold night, and she already knew you and Ellie would be looking forward to a dive into the lake later. Suzy, the cow from which she milked, was now resting peacefully next to her calf while Abby made her way into the kitchen.

You and Ellie were fast asleep still since that was Abby's day to take the milk. Your limbs entangled with Ellie's in a mess, but comfort reigned on that bed and enveloped you in calm dreams. Abby looked at you both after fixing the milk, the auburn hair of the Williams girl all messy and cute and your adorable pout. She smiled at herself unconsciously, thinking how tranquil your farm were in comparison with the buzzy mornings of Jackson. The community was fine, but nothing compared to that piece of heaven you three had. The days were calm and the chores were shared between you all.

"Morning, sunshine", Abby said when Ellie opened her eyes lazily. Her face was marked by the folds on the pillowcase, and she yawned while pulling you closer.

"Don't keep staring there like a creep, come here", the both of them smiled while the blonde approached the bed.

You squirmed in your, now, light sleep, and soon opened the eyes to see them both next to you. Ellie hid her face on your neck while Abby kissed you face fondly.

"Milk's in the kitchen", she said, a hand going to caress Ellie's arm around you.

"I'm starving", the brunette murmured.

"Let's get up then", you moved slightly, lounging the legs.

"Don't wanna"

"Then starve"

"Goddamn", Abby laughed, followed by you both.

The mood was so cozy and warm, the sun wasn't so bright yet, the chickens were making sounds afar and the air was chill. That was your piece pf heaven.

Sometimes you tried to think what would be of you three if the world wasn't ending. But then realized that the only reason why this was the piece of heaven was the almost-like hell you've been through before. Your parents used to tell you stories about the old world, about music and parties and the fears people had before. They told you about wars and christmas, about ice creams, mathematics and philosophy. It was such a big world and it was all to the ground before you were even born.

Maybe it was impossible to conceptualize that existence in a reality so distant. But, well, it was just the first moments of the morning. You were definitely far too deep into those books you've found.

"C'mon, I'll make us some hearth shaped waffles", you said out loud, getting Ellie's full attention.

"Will you let us eat the cutout edges?"

"What would I do with them, Els?" She kissed your face repeatedly, taking a easy smile from you. On the other side of your face, Abby did the same, finishing with a peck on your lips.

The moment made your heart flutter, and your body suddenly felt so small to contain all the love and excitement them two gave you.

Finally getting out of bed, you and Ellie went to the bathroom before meeting Abby in the kitchen picking up the stuff to make breakfast. She placed it all in the island carefully and all you could think about was how delicate she could be all the time.

Most people get intimidated by her size, but Abigail is one of the most careful woman on the planet most of the times - if she needs to beat you, that's another story. Her hands would travel along your skin lightly while you're laying on the couch listening to the radio, crickets and tree tops whispering from outside, enveloping you in a tranquil time. When she casually puts one of Ellie's hair strands behind her ear, it exhales delicacy and tenderness.

"Thank you, love", you say while pecking her biceps.

Ellie puts coffee on the stove for both you and Abby and then grabs juice from the refrigerator for herself.

"Who's shaving the sheeps today?" Williams ask, sitting on the kitchen isle.

"You", Abby is kick to answer.

"I'm getting the vegetables" you add. "And Abby is cutting wood"

"Oh man, I thought I would cut the wood today", her pout is adorable as she laments, earning a peck from the blonde.

"That's tomorrow, you dork"

You were prepping the waffles and fixing the strawberry syrup, satisfied with the sweet smell running around the kitchen, even with the small window open. You notice a wild cat running outside, trying to catch some insect in the field.

"Hey, isn't that the same cat from last time?"

"Really?!" Ellie almost jump, coming to look outside. "Should we keep it?"

"You don't even know if it wants to stay with us", Abby laughs.

"Who wouldn't want to stay with us?"

"Sometimes I reconsider my decisions", you chuckle with these words coming from the blonde.

As they eat the cutouts, you place the same amount of waffles to each one and then put the syrup on the table. Ellie takes the coffee and mugs, Abby gets the bread and what is left of the chicken.

The breakfast goes calming, comfortable after Ellie puts some disco to play from the living room. You and her mumble the song as Abby stays silent, enjoying the presence and the energy surrounding the place. It's a beautiful day to walk around and maybe go swimming on the lake nearby a little, as the area is always clear due to Jackson's patrols. You three also go out in some runs, just to make sure, and the last time you found an infected it was alone.

"Okay, I wanna finish it soon, so let's not waist any time, ladies", you announce as soon as you finish.

"Wanna go swimming later?"

"Only after the chores"

"I bet a boob I'll finish it first!" Ellie collects the plates, smirking even though she has the longest chore for the day.

"You bet. With these babies, the wood will be cut in no time", Anderson flexes her arms, making you roll your eyes. It would never be boring with them both around.

"I just wanna get the vegetables"

And so the day starts.

You change clothes to a more appropriate to the soil environment, putting a cloth on your head to hold the sweat you know will come drip down your face. The boots come later, dirty from all the external use. You put a sunglass you found on a old Jackson patrol and get the basket and the gloves from the back porch.

The garden looks beautiful. Vibrant green pops from the healthy soil, you recognize it after working so much on the thing back in Jackson. A smile takes place in your face as you go collect the vegetables, carefully walking through the plants to later kneel between them.

Ellie is good with the sheeps. She talks to them, calling by their names - you never knew how she could tell them one from another, and somehow Abby could do it too. Only some wildly different you could keep in mind. But Ellie was always making jokes and petting them, hugging the animals after shaving them and saying how much of a good work they did.

"That's it, Madam Olivia, you're so brave!", she murmurs, kissing the sheep on the forehead before letting it go. "Sir Callahan, you're next! No, you're not running away from me this time, I know you're all nice with Abigail, it's me you have for today, okay? Yeah, it'll be okay, it'll be fine. I'll bring a coat made of your fur, what you say?"

Despite the sun, she stays with the back to it and put all the fur on a sack. They'll take it to Jackson in the weekend, using the time to visit Joey, Tommy, Maria and your mom. The woman makes her best to clean them before cutting the fur, paying attention to sticks and bugs even though a cleaning work will happen in the city too.

Abby is nearby you, getting all the wood she'll have to cut today next to a large trunk. While you collect the vegetables, you can hear the axe going down again and again, the cracking of the wood and then it being thrown next to her. This goes on for over an hour.

It's almost relaxing, to be honest. She focuses on one task and try not to get hurt, mind empty. The pieces end up all pilled on the other side, waiting to be stocked away.

It's before midday when you three finish it all. You also clean the vegetables and cut some of them, making sure to treat the soil later.

"Run to the lake?" Ellie it's the one to suggest, gaining a smirk from Abby almost immediately.

"No", you cut, laughing. "Let's just get our stuff peacefully and go there in our sweet time, please"

They obligated for the most part. You actually got the stuff: towels, clothes and food. But later, when getting close from the lake, Abby started running and Ellie wasn't the one to deny it. And you came right after, making your away on the trail, still partially cautious about the sounds.

Apparently it was all clear, as usual. Taking off the clothes were secure. Abby puts it folded on a rock, Ellie just trows it there before jumping in the water.

You never like the contact of a body of water around you immediately, it takes a minute to get used to it. The way every movement reaches to your skin, and how completely different it is; like experiencing two different realities at once. You have patience to relax before going to the two women messing around and enjoying the fresh water under the sun.

Once you saw this old painting on a suburbian house, you mother told you what suburbs were. The painting had this beautiful lake on it, fast and raw brush strokes creating the image of a landscape. First you thought how cool it was to be able to create something like that. Then, you imagined what would it be to bathe on that place, with a little bit of tranquility and the company of whoever wanted you good.

It was good. It was sweet. And it was true. As you felt Abby's arms around you in the water, as you reached to put Ellie's hair away from her face, you realized once again that it was real, you were there. Touching them and living with them, breathing, feeling, and you couldn't think of anywhere else you'd rather be.

Birds sang sweetly around the pond, the sounds coming from everywhere sporadically as the time passed in front of your eyes. One of those rare moments when the good doesn't fly away, but walks with you, hand in hand, guiding your perception through the details. Their cool skin against yours, little drops on the limbs above water, wet hair slowing drying as breaths were so loud you thought it could be heard miles away.

"I love you. So much", you whisper under the natural track, sighing.

"We love you too", Abby said, face resting on your head as her arms enveloped you, and Ellie's hands rested on the blonde woman's biceps.

Ellie kisses your cheek as you smile.

The afternoon walks with you lovely for the next hours, and then it's time to go home again. You spent some time sitting on the border to better dry, putting back the clothes. Now, them both do not run around, just calmly wander next to you in silence for the most part.

"I'll go get the food, you to can shower first", Ellie said as soon as you reached the limits of the farm.

"Okay, thank you, sweety", you hold her hand.

When the night approaches, signing that a new day is closer than before, you three are with warm clothes on the living room. You and Abby read a book, Ellie reads a comic, and the limbs are tangled on the couch. As tempting as it was, the fireplace would never be lighted up in order to not attract unwanted people, so duvets and socks are essential for this moments.

And for the next hour you three just sit in silence and appreciate the comfort of each other's presences, before going to bed together to finish another day.

[cackled0g]

A little birdie told me you've got some opinions on Ganondorf in BotW and TotK versus his earlier portrayals, and how the aforementioned pair of games misunderstands and even massacres Ganondorf's character. Please DO elaborate on that if it's not a bother 👀 pre-BotW weirder more-cunning Ganondorf enjoyers rise up!!

Wow, anon, your informant sure does seem to have some strangely specific information about me! Anyway, my main beef with the BotW and TotK games comes down to the fact that in the former, Ganondorf is entirely nonexistent and in the latter, I wish that Ganondorf had never existed.

More LoZ games than not have no Ganondorf, so that's honestly fine in BotW. I think that if every game had Ganondorf it would be more of a downside than anything; in my opinion Ganondorf is best used sparingly in canon. In any case, I would have greatly preferred almost anything other than the shallow, boring, utterly flavorless interpretation of Ganondorf that exists in TotK. I think this ties into my general dislike of the storyline of TotK (I hate the Zonai, Rauru is a colonizing asshole, Zelda gets to be a fridged wife two times in as many games, etc) but even in a vacuum, this Ganondorf is just incredibly fucking stupid?

I think it's worth noting that Ganondorf in the previous games has never been a meathead--he is equal parts military strategist and Big Man with Evil Magic. In OOT he convinces the king of Hyrule that he's trustworthy with relative ease and seemingly only Zelda, who has prophetic dreams, can see through that. In TP he manipulates Zant to do basically all of his dirty work for him so that he can operate behind the scenes. In WW he would have succeeded in destroying the world with the Triforce if not for the king's wish to flood all of Hyrule.

In comparison TotK Ganondorf is laughably shortsighted in refusing to simply not send an army of like...bokoblins over the sky king who has taken over all of Hyrule. He's got no finesse, no strategy here--his plan is like Step One: Kill Rauru Step Two: Rule Hyrule. Any other Ganondorf would have wiped the floor with Rauru no contest, with or without Zelda there to point to him and be like "That man is obviously evil."

My main issue is the lack of depth I guess. What is Ganondorf's motivation in TotK? He doesn't want to join Rauru's Hyrule? He wants PoWeR? Ganondorf has always been ambitious, but this is like middle school fanfic levels of writing. I feel like I need to actually go back and rewatch all of the TotK cutscenes just so I can dig in and try to analyze this stuff better because he so unremarkable that I', struggling to even remember his whole deal. Maybe I'll do that and then reblog this with additional commentary.

[waitmyturtles]

THE MORNING AFTER: ONLY FRIENDS, EPISODE 1 ("MY PHONE'S STILL NOT WORKING?!") META EDITION

(Unless something changes, I'll be letting loose my Only Friends episodic meta a day late from now to October -- mommy duties call on the weekends! Saturday nights'll be for that GMMTV good-good from here on out.)

So, yesterday's episode was great. I totally enjoyed reading everyone's unhinged pleasure at the first episode yesterday, and I reblogged a whole bunch of stuff and picked up on some early theories. Jojo, Ninew, and Den were having a grand time on Twitter, and it was just a lot of fun to track (JOJO).

Before getting into the meta, just to put this on the record: my first expected and/or hoped-for clown checkpoint is a confirmed and committed throuple (NOT the missed threesome we almost got in this episode, but damn it, missed opportunity!). I understand that @respectthepetty and @shortpplfedup have separately originated a murder/manslaughter clown checkpoint (thanks, @slayerkitty, for THAT heads-up, lol) (and see below re: Mew), which tracks with Jojo's previous comparison to 3 Will Be Free -- am I HOPING for murder? Maybe I'm not HOPING for murder, but for what I'm about to muse on, maybe it won't be a surprise?

@cookie-kat777 (here) and @isaksbestpillow (here) and so many more folks out there are positing that something the fuck is UP with Mew, and I agree. I find him to the the most interesting character so far, simply because he's the only one who's not letting his actions fully tell his story -- he's almost fully in charge of his narrative, as opposed to everyone else so far (Ray, obvious pained drunk; Sand, obviously broke and tired of the BS, cc: @neuroticbookworm, etc).

My read on the kitchen scene is that Mew knew beforehand that he would stop Top in his tracks prior to letting Top in. Mew is clearly a game-player, slamming that bell during bar trivia (....... y'all, that was a HELL of a lot of drinking for bar trivia, HA), and it just struck me that there was a "win" in Mew getting Top to move towards commitment before Mew gives up his thang. I smell narcissism on the dude. Mew's not acting like a blushing maiden, quite the opposite, he knew FULL WELL what he was doing when he let Top in -- but I want to know his goal in getting Top to settle down and in first.

And moving towards faen in a week? (A WEEK?!) (UM.) For Top to bag commit to Mew -- a virgin! -- that quickly, particularly in the face of the conversation he had previously had with Boston about getting with Mew in the first place: what's Top's ultimate priority here, as well? Top's going to commit to someone he hasn't slept with yet? Color me surprised. What, to show up Boston? Is that how playas play? I dunno, we'll see. I'm not sure that Boston is a strong enough reason. Maybe there's a male-toxicity-driven shallange that's coloring this narrative, but I'll wait to find out more.

Other quick thoughts: what's the source of Ray's pain that's driving him to multiple and regular black-outs? What's Sand so tired of? (Family strife, poverty, rich kids, etc. -- what's happening there). What's up with Cheum, Mew, and Boston leaving Ray to stumble to his car alone -- especially now that it's clear that he has a pattern of blacking out and showing up to school hungover?

I don't want to project, but I'm gonna: this is a hell of a heavy drinking crew, partying QUITE hard and regularly. If Jojo's previous references to at least Gay OK Bangkok stand, I'm wondering if one overarching commentary/lesson we're going to get out of Only Friends is -- escaping to the bottle is not the best way to mitigate yours or anyone else's issues. We know he's framed shows around health issues before, GOKB and The Warp Effect as the most prominent. Let's see.

Speaking of Gay OK Bangkok, I offer another OF clown checkpoint: in my review of GOKB, I posited that Pom of GOKB and Shin of 3 Will Be Free are avatars of a very similar character style -- virgins, glasses-wearing, and unassumingly wiley in their ability to survive in a competitive world. I think Mew joins that avatar crew, but in a much more insidious fashion. Let's see. I love that Jojo is playing around with this style.

One more clown checkpoint I'm gonna put out there is that Jojo and Ninew do not let the recent Thai political turmoil escape this show. I don't know HOW it'll even work, but I have my eyes sharply peeled, because the political craziness was going down literally as they were filming the show. We'll see -- I'll likely be wrong, but ya never know.

I think that's it! I LOVE Jennie, I can't wait to see Nonnie, and Drake -- welcome back to the boys, my friend. This episode was fantastic, but by FAR the best part about yesterday was seeing the filmmakers go totally insane on social media, hyping their work and their people -- damn. When the artists KNOW what they made is good, then that's just like, it's cookies for us. Jojo and Den are out there replying to fans, and it’s just awesome. What a ride already!

[st-dorothy-minority]

Fic Writing & Fandom Nostalgia

To any/all that checked out my HH fic "You Didn't Know," I want to sincerely thank you. I loved writing every bit of it and sharing it. Reading the comments brought me so much joy. Seriously, I got so giddy seeing a new email come through with a comment!

If you read the latest chapter shortly after I posted it, you may have missed the note I added saying it was going into an indefinite hiatus. I'm calling it quits on writing. (Maybe for now, maybe forever)

I go through periods where I want to "burn it all down" because I get caught up in the comparison game. My writing isn't as good or creative as other authors. I never get as much attention or comments as other authors, and I have nowhere near the popularity level of artists. I think of all the ways my writing sucks and "why didn't I come up with *that* idea? They're so good (author or artist), why do I even bother putting out my stuff? No one would notice if I just disappeared and stopped posting."

I've been working on my tumultuous relationship with fic and fandom in therapy (yes, it's embarrassing to have to explain what fandom/fic is to your therapist 😅), and what I've found at the core is the longing for connection. I keep thinking it will happen, that I'll connect with a reader (or readers), or that I'll get more comments in order to make said connections happen (and receive the validation I am unfortunately conditioned to need), and when it doesn't happen, there's significant disappointment and feelings of worthlessness.

I haven't seen people talk about this, but the way people engage in fandom is so different than it was when I first started 2 decades ago. Back then, there were limited sites people would post to (livejournal, fanfiction.net, and DeviantArt being the main 3 imo), so there was more opportunity to really get to know others. You had your own little communities and friendships formed beyond the centralized community and it spilled over into people's personal LJ's and even the exchange of phone numbers. People left comments regularly on art and fic alike.

Now, there are so many sites to post on, so many more people in fandom (especially with it being more "acceptable" nowadays), and it's much easier to just leave a like/kudos and move on to the next thing rather than staying and engaging. Of course, there are some people who make a name for themselves in a particular fandom and have their regulars who engage, but for the most part - people just don't put in the same kind of effort to engage with the work/creator as they did when I was just starting out. And reading a fic? That takes a lot of effort!! So I can see why fanarts gets way more likes and reblogs than a fic because there's more time that has to be invested to read rather than just look and like.

I miss when I had fandom friends and how we all kind of knew each other. I miss genuine connection. I miss sharing my interests with someone who loves it like I do and will geek out with me.

If any of this resonated, I'm glad I'm not alone 😅💜 just something that has really been on my mind and needed to get it out.

[karenandhenwillson]

The usual aftermath

Right now, the people who started this are experiencing backlash. Dealing with public posts condemning their behavior in sometimes not very polite way and dealing with anon messages. I can't say I have much sympathy for them.

As already said, they have stated several times that they don't think a call out post is bullying. But the thing is, you can't control what the mob will do with your words, your anger, your outrage. They'll run with it and they'll hurt people.

A friend brought up a good comparison: Imagine a person pulls the fire alarm in a busy building as a prank. Maybe a mall or a big business building. There is no fire, but no one knows that. There'll most likely be a panic, there will be chaos—and among all of that there will be property damage and the busier the building the more likely there will be injuries or even people dying. The person who pulled that fire alarm as a prank will be held accountable for paying the first responders who were deployed because of the alarm as well as any damage done during that panic in most countries, I'm aware of even if they never even saw the people who got hurt or who actually did any of the property damage.

Your call out post is you pulling the fire alarm. You are culpable for anything that happens afterwards, even if you have no chance from the very beginning to control the crowd.

Me saying "You brought this onto yourself" does in no way mean "I agree or support this behavior". I did repost some things on Tuesday, one of them has a phrase used in it that when I first read it, I only found it amusing and kind of fitting. I have in the meantime read a post by one of the people addressed by that phrase that's making me think a little differently about it.

As communication has been one of the things that's just completely lacking in this situation, I'll not just vague post about this one thing. The phrase goes along the lines of "the white women who started this and their token POC so they can claim they talked with POC about their accusations first".

I completely understand why any person who'd have to feel addressed by the word "token" feels hurt by it, probably horribly hurt. I've added to the tags on my reblog of this post to state I don't agree with that specific phrasing but still with the overall message. It's not a phrase I'd adopt personally, not even before I saw the thoughts shared by one of the people addressed by it.

There is a but, though. And that but is the situation as it openly presents itself to everyone who is not part of the group who created the call out posts about the artist. As far as I know there were three of them. And one person talking to the artist privately but also commenting openly on one of their posts before the call out posts. All four of these people have stated to be White at one point or another. So what everyone seeing the call outs could see was four White people attacking an artist who turned out to be Korean. 

The same people who loudly shouted into the fandom they wanted to make the fandom safe for POC were in the process of that "protection" attacking a POC. Whatever might have been said or might have happened in private in some DMs or on a Discord server, no one seeing the call out posts has any chance to know about it. So no one seeing them cold see POC raising some concerns and their friends supporting them even if that might have happened somewhere in the background.

So when I read the above mentioned phrase first, I found it fitting because all we had seen at this point were some White people harassing a POC, trying to lecture that POC about how they were allowed to perceive the coloring of the skin of their own race, and claiming there were POC voices in the background but no one could really be sure about it. It was an instance of me not taking the time to think about the people on the other side of the comment, which very clearly was a mistake.

I talked with someone involved in this whole debate about the uncertainty of how to support POC voices, of elevating their voices, without stepping out of our lane. A couple years ago I talked with some POC RL friends about this. After very long consideration and calling one of them earlier, I've decided to share what they told me:

Elevating POC voices means being at their side when they speak up. Sometimes that just means literally standing beside them giving whatever physical comfort they are comfortable with while they voice their protest. Sometimes that means listening to their (open) protest and then taking those words and expanding them, building on them. It doesn't mean speaking up when they don't feel like speaking up for any reason (of which there can be many, speaking up is exhausting). It doesn't mean taking their privately shared words and carrying them forward in an attempt to fight their battle for them. Especially not if they don't feel to be in a place to fight any battle at all.

I'm aware that's the opinion of a very small group of people compared to the world. But it's what my friends told me they wished how I and others would act with and for them. So, I'm living by it. And I’m trying to do it with everyone, no matter their race. I believe that me not deleting my reblog but adding a tag pointing out that this phrase is not okay is living by it, is carrying forward the openly shared words of a person who got hurt.

I very much hope this situation will die down now. And that maybe at least some people on both sides will learn from it. My DMs are open. I've not blocked a single person so feel free to write me. I'm of course reserving the right not to response if I get the impression you are coming at me in bad faith or if your tone is disrespectful. I'll not be answering any asks about this topic. That wouldn't be helpful in giving this situation a rest.

[dykelawlight]

you're one of the best nsfw writers writing lawlight at the moment what are your tips for being explicit without giving people the ick

Oh wow, thank you ⁠— this is really really sweet!! Let me see what I can think of that's like...concrete building blocks

First things first: if you don't know, research! It's always great to pull from experience when possible, but there have also been many nonfiction books and such written about like, basically Kink Rules™ that can be very helpful to pull from when you're trying to plot out how a scene would go or what you personally find really sexy. (Of course, there are plenty of these that are cringe and icky too because the ~kink community~ is vast and contains many people who are very annoying, so take what works and leave the rest.) I once read an entire book that was just about bootblacking/shoe stuff because I didn't know a lot about it and thought it sounded hot. As a broader example, I write and prefer dom/sub stuff (as you well know!), so I like Dossie Easton & Janet Hardy's The New Topping Book and The New Bottoming Book, both of which can be kind of hokey but which have a lot of sexy things to say from the perspective of people who engage in d/s relationships and scenes irl aimed at people who may be new to one or both. (They're also both available digitally but they're pretty easy to secure hard copies of if you think you'll get any significant use out of them.) I would say I don't need to refer to these personally as a source of actual new knowledge at this stage of my life, but specific concepts or scenes that resonate and/or that I've never personally tried can bloom into fanfic stuff later.

I write things down immediately as they occur to me. If I'm fuckin standing in the elevator and I experience a vision of a character I'm writing like moaning a specific phrase or some shit I'll straight up jot it in my notes app so I don't forget and can build on it. I also often will write when I personally am already kind of warmed up because I find that's when the least inhibited and therefore hottest shit hits the page, to be cleaned up and edited into presentableness by my less-revved self in the future.

Stick to basic terms for most things 99.9% of the time. I find that "cock" and "cunt" etc., while sort of standard and definitely something you'll probably see a lot of if you ctrl+F your fic later, are basically the "said" of porn. Not everything needs to have an explicit description all the time. I will also slide into use of "dick" and "pussy" when I feel it's raunchy and hot to do so but I generally don't come up with any shit other than that. Never talk about anybody's "pearl" or "flower" or shit. I'm not saying you can't make comparisons to those things, but it can't be The Word you use to talk about someone's genitalia.

On the opposite spectrum, too much use of "moan" to describe sounds and sentences gets very repetitive very fast! People make a lot of different noises during sex and describing more of them than just moaning adds depth and sexiness. Much like "said," that's not to say it doesn't have its place and not every word should be "yelped" "whimpered" "sobbed" etc. (though I am partial to the latter), but it doesn't need to be every sound, either.

Don't be afraid to write shit you like even if you feel like you might be the only person on the planet who finds it really sexy. I'm writing strap sex for this next fic I'm working on and, while it's obviously a very broad category, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea and some people are actively averse to it in lesbian fic. That's fine, but I know what I like and what I like is to get my silicone dick wet, so that's what's going to happen. I guarantee other people will find it and enjoy stuff you wrote just for you even if they maybe originally didn't think it was for them.

That's everything that immediately comes to mind!! I welcome feedback/comments/reblogs etc. here because I have some HOTTTT writers following me who I think frankly put me to shame 🙇🏻‍♂️

[writing-plurals]

Hello! I've been thinking of writing fanfics about a ship making them share the same body. It's going to be drabbles/one-shots tho, since I'm not good at writing (I barely ever write XD) and I don't think I would be able to write a full story with various chapters. I'm plural myself so I have a basic idea of what I should avoid (evil killer alter trope for example)

There's some ideas I came up with and would like some advice on writing the following:

In-system romantic relationships

DID systems

Median systems

Plurals fighting together as heroes

But there's something else I wanted to ask advice on (even if it isn't exactly for writing). See, I'm a native spanish speaker so I'm gonna write the drabbles in spanish. I think it could be a good way of introducing non-disordered and non-traumagenic plurality to other spanish speakers since most of the plural content and activism in spanish is about dissociative disorders only, but because of that there's many sysmeds and anti-endos and I don't know how I should deal with them.

I don't think I can ignore them, specially because I don't want them spreading misinformation (as always) in the comments but I also don't want to flood them debating sysmeds. I thought of maybe making a carrd (with sources) and linking it but IDK if it's actually worth it to make a carrd just for this.

Hey friend! That's a lot, and I can't touch on all of them, so some of them I'll be throwing to other mods and our followers to add on in reblogs. I hope that's alright!

In-system Romantic Relationships

Internal Romantic Relationships are almost the same as ones in the Outside. You can surprise each other with flowers, and presents that's to be THEIRS. You can hold them inside *and* out (when cofronting. It'll all just look a little different.

Person A wants to surprise Person B? Gotta make sure internal walls are built up so they don't know about the flowers until they're set up and they switch in. Have them leave notes for them with the sappy shit people would normally say to their face if there were two bodies involved.

Person A and B want to cuddle while watching a movie, it looks like hugging yourself, but maybe B has control of one arm, and is stroking the face or other hand. During sad parts, A hugs B (with the body) eeeeeeextra tight!

Plurals Fighting As Heroes

The mask a singlet would wear as a hero has multiple meanings once a system puts one on. So plan on the group having a long conversation about the name they all want to use that won't tip anyone off. Think System Name but opposite direction, so as not to be found out.

And same goes for the outfit, except you can probably lead with more of what the system members like in aesthetics.

And the elephant in the room, what about powers? Do they all have seperate (more nichely specific) powers? Do they all have the same one and use it differently? If you've seen the later seasons of My Hero Academia, there's a comparison to Midoriya you might find helpful.

Just make sure that if you include powers, that the way it fits into the world doesn't show your system to be Different because they're a system.

And last but not least (for my advice before additions)

If you're planning on writing some of the first creative representation of plurality, prepare to be the people that are looked to for information.

Set up a Caard or something akin to one with information, (credited and linked to sources!!!, Caards get a bad rep for that), and you can direct people to it like a FAQ.

And by taking on this role, you have to accept the risk that sysmeds are going to try to debate you. So deeply consider if you have the time to research responses that are backed up by studies that you can shut them down with. There are several blogs I've seen share information like this that you might find helpful in bringing it to the spanish side of fandom.

@cambriancrew is a fantastic place to start, and you can find more blogs akin to them there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope that this and advice further down on this post is helpful. And I give my best wishes as you embark on this. We need more people like you making content online.

-Mod Tick Tock

(This has been edited to remove the color, thank you for the feedback!)

[amywritesthings]

good morning, friends! i just wanted to pop on here really fast to clear up some confusion from my inbox/some replies i've received. i hope this does not come off as rude or upsets anyone who may have asked, but i just need this off of my chest.

i am not abandoning silver underground. the outline is written, the ending is finalized, and we have about 10 chapters to go. i finally posted my first piece of writing in nearly 2 months and it was something new, so i can see why people are confused.

that being said, please be respectful that i am enjoying my hobby and exploring new ideas! i do not get paid to write 70K words in under 6 months. all of my work comes from my own free time.

i write all of this out of love and excitement and fixation. i do recognize just how crappy it can be to be waiting for an update and not get it when an author returns -- believe me, i have GAD and the fear of disappointing strangers is constantly on my mind lol. between the last couple of chapters of SU not performing as great a la comments/reblogs in comparison to the earlier chapters, a lot of life events and obligations irl squashing my creativity, and my own mental health, i struggled plenty with knocking out 5-8k chapters a week or biweekly.

i am so proud that i wrote a novels' worth of free story between march and september. i've written ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND WORDS this year alone! and i have managed to keep a social life, career, romantic relationship, etc. it's such a mind-boggling achievement, and i'm damn impressed with myself for doing so.

but please be respectful when you ask about my other works. i know most of you started out only caring about my mando content. that's fine! then it was eddie munson, then the last of us. then it was attack on titan -- and maybe baldur's gate 3 isn't your thing! i've been known to jump fandoms as my fixations wane and grow, and i do not mind updating people about if i'm working on something or not, but all i ask is to not harass or shame me for not updating a certain work in a timely fashion because...

well, because i don't owe anyone anything. this is my hobby. i am compensated through reblogs, comments, inbox messages, and engagement -- and then i get up in the morning to work my normal job, lol. i'll write what strikes me and return to works when the inspiration hits.

thank you to EVERYONE who has contributed to engaging with my work in some form. you are the best. the reblogs seriously make me emotional. the inbox messages and comments on ao3 make me WANT to write. i am so grateful for every soul that clicks on my content and touches it in some way or another.

if you read all of this -- go do some stretches and drink some water lol

xo amy

[mental-illness-bingo]

I have a couple questions for fellow systems (and to be clear, if you believe you are an "endogenic system", you are too early in your journey to answer this question if you don't remember your trauma yet) that have low/no/fluctuating/conditional empathy for people outside of the system. Whether it's due to autism, aspd, npd, etc. if you fit those two things, I'd love your input.

1.) Do you have affective empathy for your alters that you have at least some communication with? If so, is it for *all* of those alters, or just some of them? Try your best to exclude things like emotional bleeding from other alters and passive influence if you can. This one I'll do as a poll, since it can easily be made into one, but if it's closed when you see this feel free to answer in tags/reblogs/replies.

2.) If you do have empathy for all of them, do you think it's possible not to? Would it be possible to not have affective empathy for someone sharing a brain with you? It's obviously possible to not care what a particular alter is feeling, but is it possible - without amnesia barriers involved - to not know what they are feeling if they were to not tell you?

3.) For those who have empathy for their alters, but not for people outside the system, do you feel like it affects your relationships with people outside the system? Does it feel like your relationships with people outside the system are less deep/meaningful than with those in the system? Especially for those with in-system romantic relationships, do you feel like outside romantic relationships struggle to be valuable in comparison?

My answers - to give more context to why I'm asking - are under the cut for anyone curious

Background: have at least somewhat solid communication with pretty much all of my alters except maybe 2? at this point because I have done a lot of work to get there and made it a priority for a long time to get there. I have no empathy for people outside of the system due to ASPD (and possibly also impacted by my autism), besides what are called Exceptions in the ASPD community (similar concept to BPD's Favorite Person).

1.) I have empathy for some alters, but for others, it feels like I don't? Even though I don't know exactly how that would work? I have good communication with these alters and yet I only have a vague idea of what they're feeling unless it is outwardly obvious (crying/yelling/etc) or they tell me, much like how I experience my lack of empathy outside of the system.

2.) I don't know if it is possible, or if it is, how that would work, hence making this post. It feels like good communication would be linked to having empathy for them? System psychology and neurology is a really complex topic with little research and few definitive answers, so I'd love to know anecdotally how other systems are experiencing this.

3.) Due to my particular brand of trauma and me being poly, I am in *several* in-system romantic relationships. There also are and have been other in-system relationships not related to me. In comparison, it feels so much different from how I experience romantic relationships outside of the head. I know any type of relationship with alters will pretty much always be different and likely deeper than outside relationships, but I feel like systems with typical empathy for other people still seem to want to engage in outside relationships. For us, we frequently feel like we're forcing it. I can pretty much only handle dating Exceptions when dating outside of the system because it's the only thing that feels somewhat close. I love my partner of course, and I hope to spend my life with him and any potential afterlife there may/may not be with him as well, but it does sometimes hit me that it doesn't come as easily as dating in the system. It feels much less natural, and I'm curious if other systems feel this way as well, or if it's just my regular ASPD-related aversion to people. Many (but not all) of my alters are Exceptions, so that helps, but I can date non-Exceptions in the system and cannot outside of it. I guess I'm just wondering if I'm alone in this feeling or if any other systems have struggled with it too.

Thanks for reading : )

[hxhhasmysoul]

I remember you mentioned a while back that you rarely made any online friends who are artists. You stated that you made four, three from the HxH fandom and one in JJK. The thing that intrigues me the most is the statement of you most likely won’t be able to befriend another artist within the JJK fandom in such low stakes condition. I was wondering what you possibly meant by that, and was hoping for a possible clarification or explanation. Although I can see where you are coming from, the JJK fandom is extremely… active in comparison to the HxH fandom. Additionally, I do wonder how did you befriended this JJK artist in the first place.

I don't remember how I phrased the low stakes thing. Maybe I was confusing and rambly when I wrote about it. I'll try to write it out clearly but it will take some background.

Despite the HxH fandom being small, much smaller than JJK, it's actually pretty active. But most of all it has Shal, I tagged Shal recently in one of my answers so I won't do it again, not to bother her.

Shal isn't the only person who's active like that in the HxH fandom but she's like a staple of the HxH fandom, someone who the fandom owes a lot to, probably the most to. Shal and her kin are community organisers. For years, like fucking clockwork, Shal has successfully run several HxH annual events. Shal runs a very chill and active HxH fandom server called Greed Island Server. If you look at HxH posts you will see that many of them mention that server. There's a blog on here called HxH events that aggregates and promotes HxH events.

My theory is that, because of Shal's achievements there are also many other HxH events going on here without Shal.

This lowers the bar of entry into the HxH community here, makes it low stakes.

Most events have discords. In a general discord it's sometimes hard to jump into the convo, hard to say something. In an event discord it's easy to interact, talk about the event. Talk about the stuff you're doing for the event. Discuss ideas. The topics are clear. Also many people join these events and some of them are there for the first time, some are veterans. The newbies will ask questions about how it works, the veterans will answer. Clear topic, clear interaction purpose. Also in the servers it's rarely directly to a particular person. At least initially. That also lowers the stakes. Someone starts a topic and others join in or they don't but there's enough people so there likely be some response, not radio silence.

And once it gets going you can make friends. You may find you click with some of these people. You may go to the dms and talk about other stuff. (though no guarantees, this is not a promise that the moment you join an event you will make deep and meaningful connections. doing that will improve your chances, that's it.)

As far as I've noticed JJK has nothing of the sort. There are some popular accounts, some popular writers, artists, meta writers, popular aggressive clout chasers with their cold takes. You will have all of that in the HxH fandom, the good, the bad, the irritating.

But because there are no events to interact with people in the JJK fandom you have to do it here. You have to either be a mean fuck like me and give little shits and just comment on posts in notes, tags or reblogs. You need to send asks off anon. It requires putting yourself out there in a situation where you don't know whether the person, and it will always be one on one, wants the interaction. Any interaction at all or just on this particular topic.

JJK fandom is active like a big city centre. There's a lot of people around, some are in groups, most are there on their own. Most people are going somewhere. It's hard to come up to someone and start a conversation.

HxH fandom is active more like fair, it's smaller but people come there to do stuff together. They may not know each other but they are open to having fun together at the same time. (it's not ideal, there are shit people, I'm not romaticising)

I hope this explains what I meant.

Re getting to know the artist. It was one of the weirdest things that happened in my life, it was stressful and a bad idea and bad choices on my part that turned out surprisingly ok. I don't feel like revisiting it in detail anymore. It's also not something I'd advise anyone to do. In normal circumstances I would've got blocked because I was a dick.

[animezinglife]

Sorry I'm not just reblogging you like a proper person but yeah I totally agree with you. Personally I did think Tamlin was a little nicer in book 1 - but he was also less traumatized then. He really craves normalcy in book 2, so he does high lord stuff like he knows it from other high lords.

In the end, they just are incompatible, yes. They both absolutely suck at communication. Tamlin always was awkward with social interactions but they both get worse after UTM. I also always felt like Tamlin got anxiety - or yes even paranoia, which makes sense, considering. And Feyre is all over the place lol. I generally feel the word 'abuse' is used extremely inflationary in online discussions, but I honestly don't think it super applies to Tamlin and Feyre. Like everyone calls him an abuser and even with the shit he did, I really don't quite see that. But I also kinda like him as a character so I'm biased. Considering how the narrative paints it, I totally get why people project their domestic violence trauma onto him. It is all kind of framed that way for sure.

You're fine! Any format of conversation that works well with you works for me, too. There's also nothing wrong with a bias towards a character. I don't have one towards him, but I do towards Rhys and Lucien. I'll inevitably have to face that at some point I'm sure.

I definitely lean a bit more towards your end on the "abuse" thing. I'd nearly put it in quotations in my post, but I do think it's more the manipulation and control--whether fully intentional or not--that made me feel comfortable using the word. It's an inflammatory word for sure and yeah, I definitely see a projection with the fanbase. That said, those behaviors genuinely can escalate and worsen in real life. I don't blame them for it--it's just a different take that I think leaves people with different expectations going in.

Maybe he was a bit nicer--truthfully, I just don't remember that much of him in the first book. It doesn't surprise me that his desire for normalcy goes a little overboard though to the point of over-exercising control in the places he shouldn't. I can't say I'm all that mad at the reason he locked Feyre in the house. I just don't agree with the locking her in the house part.

Feyre's a funny one. Right now, the way she's acting with Rhys almost gives me a little bit of an emotional affair vibe. Personally, I've liked him better than Tam from the get-go, but for someone she supposedly wants to think is her enemy and absolutely sees him as Tamlin's, she really has a habit of spilling her gut to him and finding a lot of comfort with him.

Which, don't get me wrong, is something that can absolutely happen on an unspoken, biological level in real life, but I did smirk a bit when they were having the little three truths conversation when he was taking her to the House of Wind and she just word-vomits everything she's been feeling about her relationship with Tamlin.

Like...girl, that's a lot to tell your not-enemy who at this point in time still technically is your current lover's enemy.

I hate to bring another series into it, but a lot of the reactions to things remind me A LOT of the Twilight era.

I have to be honest: my opinion of Tamlin has somehow not changed at all between the first book and this one. Or at least, it hasn't changed enough for me to even acknowledge. I didn't hate him and didn't love him in the first, and I'm still pretty much in the same spot now.

I'm also not at all new to the fantasy genre and not even new to the fae subgenre. Tamlin's honestly pretty mild in comparison to a lot of what you get in those (especially older books).

Again, a comparison doesn't right a wrong or lessen it, but he's definitely not the worst fictional guy out there, and definitely isn't the worst fae love interest.

[musikat18]

DCEU 10 Year Anniversary: "I Have No Idea Where I Am Going To Be Tomorrow, But I Accept The Fact That Tomorrow Will Come" (Edit-- Tomorrow Is Not Coming I Guess)

The quote in the subtitle for this retrospective comes from Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day. Donna is talking to a concerned Cassie Sandsmark-- old guard assuring the new guard, promising that though the future is inherently uncertain, the important thing is they rise to meet the challenge.

Donna, in Graduation Day, is killed by a Superman robot, and Cassie is ultimately disillusioned and leaves behind her group of inseparable Young Justice teammates.

For a while, it kind of seemed like the DCEU was going the same way.

For some context: I was 13 when Man of Steel, the first movie in the DCEU, released in theaters (and I DID see it in theaters when it came out, maybe a week or two after opening weekend because I was 13 and still in a town where the nearest new releases theater was about half an hour to forty-five minutes from home). As of now (a little over a week after I started writing this post), I'm officially 23 years old-- by the time I'm halfway to 24, the DCEU will officially be 10 years old.

I don't particularly know why this hit me now. Maybe it's because I'm another year older and haven't particularly liked myself for the last few years and wanted to focus my attention on something I did love, or maybe it's because the more I think about it, the less ten-years-old the DCEU feels, OR maybe it's because the DCEU just had a formal set of captains announced in James Gunn & Peter Safran which naturally kind of lends to looking back at what came before to try and figure out, well, where we're going to be tomorrow.

And because that fascinated me, and because we just had the 12th DCEU movie come out (yes I do count Josstice League and ZSJL as two different movies), I felt the need to kind of look back on everything and unpack my feelings on each project.

So that's what I'm going to do.

I did a similar kind of post a couple of weeks ago for Phase 4 of the MCU, but I'm not actually going to rate these movies because I feel like the DCEU movies themselves in comparison to Marvel, my feelings about them are a lot more...complex and not very easy to assign a ranked number to. And I kind of just want the freedom to talk about the movies and how they made me feel and how I feel about them today.

Pop your popcorn and feel free to leave your own thoughts in reblogs and replies.

EDITOR'S NOTE!

Hi, I thought I could just put this post aside for a week and nothing could happen. Anyway, my hubris has become my downfall again and now I guess I have no reason to put this off given that the DCEU as a concept is effectively dead.

I put an addendum in the title to kind of underscore the news out this week confirmed by James Gunn that both the Henry Cavill Clark Kent that kind of encapsulates this era and the larger DCEU in its current form are all but dead, but I think it's kind of...it doesn't REALLY capture the full effect of how I feel about the potential future of DC films, but I'll save that for the end. You're here for tea. It's below the keep reading. I promise.

Man of Steel (06/14/2013)-- dir. Zack Snyder

Now that Henry Cavill is back as Superman (Future Kat: and now that he's been once again cut out of future plans for the time being lolol oops), I feel like it's overdue for me to retrospect his whole run in the DCEU so far, and I feel like over time, I've become...a lot kinder about Henry Cavill's Superman? And I feel like a lot of that is because of my own learning about how the filmmaking process works and what's in the actor's control vs. the directors and writers and producers, as well as kind of just watching other parts of his filmography, especially The Witcher.

I don't mean that in a way of like "wow his Geralt shows how great he'd be as a true modern day Superman" because Geralt and Clark Kent are EONS apart as far as character types and mannerisms. I mean I think it kind of opened me up to what Henry Cavill can do as an actor and even though the Witcher scripts aren't STELLAR, he's an excellent performer.

I kind of remember my very first impression of this movie being a mixture of awe and confusion-- I think the movie was a couple of weeks old, but I'm a DC stan first and a human being second and I was really excited to have a Superman for MY generation. And then I just???? Didn't really like him????? I think Zack Snyder is really good at painting striking imagery and moments, but the script just didn't really hit, now that I'm old enough to look back on it and rewatch it and articulate what I don't like about it. I know the idea is that Snyder's Clark feels kind of detached and is struggling with wanting to be connected to humanity but being inherently stronger and more powerful than them, but that's the SAME thing they tried with New 52 Superman, and it didn't work then, and it doesn't work now. It's not even a concept that doesn't work for Superman in general. DC Comics is very much the company of Gods Trying To Be Human. I just don't think MoS got it across in an effective way that makes US feel invested in Clark.

Also this is an ice cold take but Amy Adams was robbed. I don't know who she was playing in this movie but it was not fucking Lois Lane. Amy Adams was ROBBED.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (03/25/2016)-- dir. Zack Snyder

They Sure Made This Movie Huh.

This is one I actually waited until it came out on DVD to watch, and I do have to say not only is it a slog to sit through-- no matter how many times I try to rewatch it, I can only make it through while streaming it with friends-- but the HARDEST part of this movie comes down to the fact that I just do not buy that Batman and Superman should be fighting.

A good Batman & Superman conflict stems from the difference in ideology of the characters: Batman, while he can be hopeful, ultimately upholds the flawed justice system while claiming to work outside of it, while Superman is generally associated with rehabilitation, compassion, hope, and honesty.

In this movie, though, Clark doesn't get to DO much of anything to differentiate him from Batman because Lex is pulling so many of the strings, and Bruce is just so.......................................The Dark Knight Returns of it all was a mistake and I don't think it did anything to make the conflict between the two engaging. It's not like Superman doesn't want to kill people and Batman (again because of the Dark Knight Returns of it all) is getting Rougher, it's one of those conflicts that could be resolved by like. Having ONE conversation.

I also feel like this movie, as I've said ad infinitum, was just trying to be TOO many things. It was Man of Steel 2. It was Batman 1. It was Wonder Woman 0.5. It was Death of Superman. It was Dark Knight Returns. And because of it, it didn't succeed at ANY of it. There's a lot of WB Fingerprints on the blueprint of this movie, and a lot of Snyder Fingerprints, and also a lot of Man of Steel just...not being a franchise vehicle. It doesn't come off that way when you watch it. It doesn't have the environmental richness needed and works a lot better as a character study rather than a franchise springboard.

I do have to say one GOOD thing about this movie, though, and that is the fact that it contains the FUNNIEST accidental canon contradiction in the world by having Patrick Wilson do a voice cameo as The President Of The United States. Yes I DO have my own personal headcanon for how this works with his OTHER DCEU character. No I will NOT elaborate unless asked.

Suicide Squad (08/05/2016)-- dir. David Ayer

Margot Robbie and Viola Davis deserve awards for carrying this entire movie on their backs-- anyway, now that that's out of the way...

This is another one I waited for DVD for, but that was mainly because I was coming off the heels of a long NYC vacation and school was about to start up again (I think this was the start of my junior year? *does some math* Yeah, I was a junior in high school at this time) and I was a busy busy teen but we don't have time to get into my perfectionism issues and completely-ignored anxiety issues at the time.

This movie is not really...a movie, I think, but more a series of short music videos/needle-drop sequences put together in a way that kind of creates a story? It has a LOT of needle-drop sequences in it. Like, a LOT. So many that when I think of this movie, I don't really think of individual scenes or lines or even characters, even if this movie gave us Viola Davis' STELLAR Amanda Waller. I think of all the musical moments. House of the Rising Sun. You Don't Own Me. Fortunate Son. I don't really think it's very effective to rely on the music to explain (sometimes poorly) to the audience the tone of the scene or inform about the character. That's kind of what you have actors there for.

And I guess we should probably discuss the elephant in the room that is Jared Leto's Joker, even though I really don't want to, but I'll at least give it a mention. I'll keep it brief, though, because a lot of what I have to say has been said to death before-- I don't MIND them trying a different angle with the Joker, I just don't think it landed. And I'll openly say I'm not married to Heath Ledger's preceding Dark Knight Joker (yes his work as an actor was stellar. No I don't think it offers anything particularly innovative and it doesn't always feel like a Joker to me), that was never my problem with Jared Leto. It was a valiant effort, but Leto's Joker really does feel designed to cater to the Edgy Teen crowd and that's not really Joker to me, either.

Again, I think studio fingerprints are all over this film, but I don't think I would have been in love with Ayer's version either, and I don't need to see an "Ayer Cut."

Wonder Woman (06/02/2017)-- dir. Patty Jenkins

I remember seeing this one. I REMEMBER it. And I remember CRYING in the theater. Mainly because 17-year-old me NEEDED this movie. Like, needed it, desperately, but because it just has a lot of heart behind it, and I don't think that's an accident.

You can tell that Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot and the cast and crew have a lot of love for Wonder Woman, both as a character and as a concept. Wonder Woman is historically an arbiter of truth and justice and compassion and all that good stuff, and it really shines through in the movie. So much so that even a lot of its weaknesses I'm willing to forgive.

I do wish Diana had more women to interact with in the film. I get what they were going for here, but it felt so odd to have a film so definitively trying NOT to be "women good men bad" (even if it does kind of feel like it sometimes, I'll get into it in another post maybe if people have interest) where it was so focused on isolating Diana from other women and how much Diana didn't fit into Man's World.

But like, even with the things I didn't like and don't like when I look back on it, this film had a HUGE impact on me. I still have a quote from Diana's climactic "deserve vs. believe" speech at the end in my blog bio. The idea that people should do good and work to make things better no matter how hurtful the rest of the world seems is a HUGE part of my ethos personally, and this movie is almost exclusively what affirmed that for me and set it in stone.

Josstice League (11/17/2017) --dir. J*ss Wh*don

(Yes I know this gif is from the Snyder Cut but if there was ever a movie that exuded I'll Make Tea energy for me it's this one)

I...............................................................................................................

*sighs*

I know the exact moment I knew I was going to hate this movie.

Picture this. You are me. You are at the movies. You are watching Josstice League for the first time. You are having a good time in the first half, because you are really liking the supporting case of the JLA and you loved Wonder Woman and are so happy to see Gal Gadot back and Jason Momoa is so fun as Aquaman and you really like Ray Fisher a lot and are so intrigued by his Cyborg and Ezra Miller's Flash is pretty fun too and yeah Ben Affleck is there and you don't care about Batman but you are having a GREAT TIME WITH YOUR NEW JLA!

And then they lose ONE fight and Batman says "fuck it. We gotta resurrect Superman. We can't do this without Superman. Let's bring him back from the dead."

And you slowly, horrifically realize that this is not, in the end, going to be a Justice League movie. This is going to be a movie where all the fun new friends you just met, most for the first time, try their best but ultimately just sit back and let Superman do all the hard stuff.

I have a lot of problems with Josstice League, and now you're all going to hear about it.

I'm not here to talk about the boob fall scene, or the quippiness of the humor, or the fact that no one here seems to really like each other, or that this is almost basically just Avengers but with the serial numbers filed away and given new ones over it. I'm here to talk about the fact that, at the end of the day, the movie is not about the Justice League.

There is no teamwork in this film. There is no bonding in this film. There are no friendly co-workers in this film. This is not an ensemble movie or even a team movie. This is a Batman movie with some side characters who SHOULD be more important than they are written that is later turned into a Batman/Superman movie with some side characters who should be more important than they are written.

I don't know why WB Studios thought the best move would be to bring Joss Whedon in to essentially remake Avengers and hope it would work, because at the end of the day, the Avengers and the Justice League have two very different dynamics going for them.

The Avengers are a found family, but a very dysfunctional one. They argue a lot. They split into factions a lot. They constantly switch out members because people are always dealing with too many personal complexities to maintain the teamwork. But they are, for all their faults, a family.

The Justice League are a found family, but in a very different way. Yes, they have disagreements. Yes, there are ideological conflicts among members. But at the core, the team is a group of individuals who come from all walks of life and yet all share the same loneliness. Whether it be Clark's alien status on a human planet, or Diana's deliberate separation from all she's ever known, or Bruce's self-imposed isolation out of grief for his parents, everyone on the Justice League has felt loneliness, and they stick together because they realize they are no longer alone and they do not have to be.

You can have them argue and have pet peeves with each other, but they can't not like each other at all on some level. And I did not see anyone on that team who liked each other, not even Diana and Bruce, my poor little WonderBat heart from the JLU cartoon days weeps.

Also, Ray Fisher was robbed. We all knew that, but it bears repeating. He was robbed.

Aquaman (12/21/2018)-- dir. James Wan

I've already talked this one to death so I won't keep you here too long lmaooooooooooooo

No but like for real, I love Aquaman. I love this movie. It's comfort food for me. I have a lot of love and respect for James Wan as a filmmaker, and I do think the smartest thing WB ever did was start hiring horror directors to do their superhero films because horror has SO much creativity in it, historically.

I know when the cast was announced, I was definitely confused because it just seemed like a very eclectic group of actors (Khal Drogo, Ed Warren, Boba Fett, Satine from Moulin Rouge, Ivan Drago, and Norman Osborn?????), but the end result was just so, so good. It explores deep themes if you're willing to read them, but it's also just a lot of explosive (literally) dumb fun.

Also, my blorbo. My special boy. My little war criminal. Mwah.

Shazam (04/05/2019)-- dir. David F. Sandberg

*presses mouth directly to microphone*

Shazam Fucking Slaps.

I think this is probably one of the strongest DCEU films and that's probably because it just lets itself be as bananas and fun as it wants. It really plays with the concept of "Big but it's Superheroes" to the fullest and has the feel of an 80s movie like The Goonies or The Sandlot, which isn't a bad thing at all. It's hard not to love seeing Billy and Freddy run around and geek out over how cool it is to have superpowers, especially because I remember being a kid like Freddy once and it absolutely warmed my heart to see Billy develop his relationships with all of his new siblings and his new family.

I also really love that this movie wasn't afraid to get kind of Dark at times despite having the Shazamily all over it. Again, WB having horror directors like Sandberg do their superhero films was a GREAT choice because of the inventiveness they have and the way it allows for Billy to really have a chance to grow both as Billy Batson and as the Champion and face really ultimately uncomfortable and scary things.

Also I related to Mary a little too hard here. I was like "wow she's just like me" and then I was like "hmmmm i think i have Unresolved Personal Issues."

Birds of Prey (02/07/2020) --dir. Cathy Yan

I-- okay. Okay. Okay. First let me share a fun fact: this movie, I actually saw at an exclusive early screening event WB hosted for my university about two days before the movie released, and also this was the last movie I saw before the Global Panini happened.

Okay, so I think this is a GREAT Harley Quinn movie, especially for the Harley of the current era. I like that it's fun and vibrant and colorful and just lets itself be about women who want to beat people up and do so in the most over-the-top explosive sometimes gross way possible, and I also like that it doesn't shy away from Harley being a bad person in certain moments. Like, sure, she's very much the protagonist of this movie, but she's still kind of an ass to everyone around her, even to the people she likes like Cassandra. Also, again, Margot Robbie is just fun to watch in this role. She's probably one of my favorite actors of the 21st century so far (with I, Tonya being one of my favorite movies ever), and it's clear that she loves being Harley Quinn and has a ton of fun with the role.

As a Birds of Prey movie.....................................................that kind of just isn't what it is at all. I get Margot Robbie's logic from what I understand from the behind-the-scenes development of the movie-- the Birds of Prey from the comics are a group of badass women and they go kind of unsung for the wider audience and she wanted to highlight them, and that's cool and I agree with her-- I just don't think this movie accomplished that with Harley at the center of it.

I think there IS a version of this movie that accomplishes both things, and also lets Cassandra Cain ACTUALLY be Cassandra Cain and not just Pre-Transition Jason Todd, but I don't think that's the movie we got. The movie we got is a lot of fun! I loved it! I think it's fun to watch, it's fun to talk about, I always have a good time with it. But I don't know if I'd call it a Birds of Prey movie.

Wonder Woman 1984 (12/25/2020)-- dir. Patty Jenkins

*blows out a long breath of air*

I have a lot of..................complicated feelings about this movie.

I don't really have a problem with the cheesiness of it all-- like I said above, I think that's been a strong point for a DCEU that has been way more willing to lean into the cheesiness of comics in general compared to the MCU (especially EARLY MCU). It really does seek to emulate an 80s action movie with magic and action and big set pieces, and that's fine.

I also definitely GET what they were going for here. I can see all the moving pieces and the themes and everything, and I don't even necessarily think it's a bad thing or a bad story for Diana's character.

I just-- listen, as much as I love Chris Pine and as much as I loved WonderTrev in the first movie, I...think the BIGGEST mistake of this movie was framing it around WonderTrev.

Steve was a really important part of Diana's life, and I can see her struggling with her grief, but I just do NOT think it works to have Diana feeling isolated and lonely in Man's World SPECIFICALLY because Steve isn't there with her. Double especially because I think framing this movie around a tragic friendship to enemyhood between Diana and Barbara is so much more effective! A lot of the parts of Diana's character and mythos that make her unique and compelling like the Amazons end up lost in the Steve of it all, and that's SO sad to me because the idea of Diana having to contend with the greed and envy and gluttony for power among humanity is a GREAT story! I just wish it had been framed on a different idea.

Also it was lovely to see Lynda Carter in this movie. Fuck, don't show this post to her. I forgot she's here now. Fuck. Oh god the nerd embarrassment is hitting I'm sorry Lynda

Zack Snyder's Justice League (03/10/2021) --dir. Zack Snyder

Okay, so I WAS a Snyder Cut truther from the beginning. Partly for the meme, and partly because I hated Josstice League so much that I needed to believe there was something better out there, and to my credit (and everyone else's), I was right.

Just because the movie is better AS FAR AS THE STORY GOES though doesn't mean it's not full of the ZS stuff that I'm not a fan of, like a lot of the slomo and tacking on the Knightmare future ending at the end-- I always kind of hated the Knightmare concept and I'm glad we'll never get to see it actually. But DUDE this was SO GOOD.

I especially ADORE all the added content with Cyborg. Ray Fisher is a PHENOMENAL actor and Victor's storyline is absolutely the best part of the movie that makes even the slower parts worth it. Actually, let me tell you WHERE you can watch more stuff he's been in because he absolutely deserves a career boost after all the shit WB put him through:

He was in the HBO series True Detective's third season as a main character, which is obviously on HBO Max along with ZSJL.

He had a role in the ABC series Women of the Movement, which is about Mamie Till-Mobley and the murder of Emmett Till centered on her activism right after his murder. This one you can watch on Hulu or the ABC website itself.

He's also GOING to be in Rebel Moon, which is another Zack Snyder film that is (in theory?) going to be on Netflix in 2023, though I know Charlie Hunnam was just injured on set (yikes hate it not a fan) so it might end up pushed back.

Anyway, my point is this was ABSOLUTELY worth coming back and finishing it, and I'm SO glad it got to see the light of day even if it's kind of almost impossible to rewatch.

The Suicide Squad (08/05/2021)-- dir. James Gunn

Okay, okay, not even going to lie, I LOVED this one, and it's what made me so excited to see James Gunn named co-executive of the DC division at WB. I know James Gunn has a very specific style and approach to writing and directing that you either love or hate, so I can understand why this one isn't going to be everyone's favorite, but I for one had a BLAST with it.

First of all, I'm so glad Rick Flag was able to get a little glow-up before his death. I actually almost didn't think he was the same character, and in a lot of ways he really isn't, but a lot of this movie pulls from the older Ostrander run comics, and I can see a lot of that Rick in this Rick.

I also LOVE all the new characters and think they really demonstrate the power of a great ensemble movie. There's someone for everyone to root for and the healthy mix of newer faces and established names makes for a great cast.

Also I think the fact that this movie is SO strong in its writing is what makes Peacemaker work, but I'll talk more about him specifically in a minute. But like Wonder Woman (weirdly), there's an earnestness and heart at the core of the movie that makes the irreverence and more ridiculous elements work-- it has a larger-than-life conflict and villain and sense of style, but at its core it is really about people just trying to not die, both in the middle of battle and in a world that has REALLY shown them no sympathy.

Peacemaker (01/13/2022-present)-- written by James Gunn

James Gunn is really the guy you get to do your show if your first instinct about the main character is "who the fuck wants a show about THAT guy?"

I came into this show really, really, REALLY not sold on the concept, and then in the last episode, I was in TEARS by the end. I think that this show was, in the end, not just a fun little quarantine project James Gunn put together, but it really does provide a commentary and study on how to empathize with people who are NOT like you and who you DO NOT like, especially when they're willing to open that door to understanding and compassion.

Like, everybody on this team is a little bit of an asshole, yes even Leota, and that's why it WORKS. For a very silly show with a very silly premise and a REFUSAL to take itself too seriously, it does feel very grounded and realistic and like you could get a drink with just about everyone it sets you up to root for. We KNOW the Eleventh Street Kids. We ARE, to some degree, the Eleventh Street Kids. It's very cliche but it's also very true.

The core of this show, like many other James Gunn projects of late, is really about empathy over apathy, and that's what I think struck a chord with me. If you haven't given it a shot yet, I really strongly suggest you do.

Black Adam (10/21/2022)-- dir. Jaume Collet-Sera

Oh, FUCK yeah.

This movie reminded me of Aquaman in a lot of ways, in that there's a lot of deeper themes about colonization and the idea of hero idolatry that you CAN read for the film if you want, but it's also a great movie to just turn your brain off to and watch Mr. The Rock fly around and punch people.

Much like Birds of Prey, I don't know if I'd QUITE call this a Black Adam movie because they do a LOT of make him more front-end heroic-- in wrestling terms, the JSA is largely there to play jobber for Adam until things start heating up with Intergang and Sabbac for the main event-- but it is certainly a fun one.

And I do ADORE the JSA in this movie. Pierce Brosnan is a great Kent Nelson, Aldis Hodge is my FAVORITE Hawkman I've ever seen so far (sorry Falk Hentschel I'm sorry I'm so sorry sir but your writing was CW-standard), and I wanted to see a LOT more out of Cyclone. Atom Smasher was there too I guess idk for some reason he didn't really stick out for me but he was a good kid.

Also ADRIANNA TOMAZ IS THE STRONGEST BITCH IN THIS HOUSE. I felt kind of bad watching the movie because I miss Legends so much that I kept calling her Zari in my head, but in her closer-to-source form, she's FABULOUS. I want to be her when I grow up. She is 100% the real star of this movie and Sarah Shahi did an EXCELLENT job.

I think, now that I'm writing this in a post-Henry Cavill Again Superman world, the post-credits scene is unintentionally really really funny, but in the end, I had a good time with it and I'll look back on it fondly.

Conclusion, Literally

There are exactly four movies left to be released in the DCEU: Shazam 2, Blue Beetle, The Flash, and Aquaman 2.

After that, we really don't know what we're going to get. At least until James Gunn makes his early-next-year announcement (I know I will be waiting on the edge of my seat to find out if I am still getting my Black Canary movie).

When I went to finish this post, I added on Tomorrow Is Not Coming I Guess to the main title, but I also said that didn't really capture how I felt about the future of DC films. I don't really see this as the DCEU dying-- frankly, it never really got off the ground to begin with. After Josstice League flopped, the focus was way more on strong solo films than trying to build a connected universe, which I think actually made it stronger.

At the end of the day, this is the chance to put the characters and storytelling at the forefront, and that's why I have so much faith in the Gunn-Safran team for whatever is coming next. Safran has produced some really strong, character- heavy movies with James Wan and WB. James Gunn is a strong writer with a good head on his shoulders for how to best balance creative freedom for directors with not letting their voice overpower every part of the process.

For whatever comes next to work, it HAS to be a collaborative effort on all parts with no one voice overpowering the other. Tomorrow IS still coming. I have no idea what it will look like. But I know that when it comes, I will rise to meet it, and so will whoever is involved in what comes next.

Also James Gunn, if you're reading this, I will write and direct Booster Gold myself. This is not a joke. I am dead serious. I will do it. I have thoughts already and my DMs are open.

Anyway, share your thoughts freely. You know, without being an ass.

[cheshirequeenwithoutaheart]

Info

aka no i am not calling it an introduction bc i've been vaguely on tumblr for several years, at this point.

heya! the name's louise, or chesh. variants on cheshire are also accepted. my pronouns are she/her/they/them.

i write fantasy, mostly. or, well, everything i write is fantasy related in some way. urban fantasy, fantasy horror, fantasy sci-fi- you get the point. i also write romance and comedy which is, you guessed it, also fantasy related in some way. i have a type, what can i say?

most of my projects are relatively small, mainly because i don't spend a lot of time on them. that list includes the o'sullivan family (formerly daily life of a witch PI) and wolfsnare avenue.

my biggest project, and personal burden, is much larger in comparison, called farious pages (or tsenpha).

other places you can find me/sideblogs

lampea by lamplight - a tsenpha sideblog where i post character profiles, writing, moodboards and other assorted stuff (probably). a lot of it gets reblogged to the main blog and a lot of it is reblogged from my main so.

on the twin wave shore - a td(ocs) sideblog which is mostly storage for stuff on my main, but maybe i'll get inspired by td(ocs) and do more with it. who knows.

midnight at the witch house - an o'sullivan family sideblog, where i reblog stuff from the main, post new stuff and other assorted hyjinx.

[moonspirit]

1,6,8,16 for the aruani ask game meme thing!

-Clouds

Hello clouds T^T Thank you for the ask

1 - Share your favorite part of your latest fic #_# I have so many little favorite moments, but well, here's another random moment:

Armin extends both of his hands in front of her, coaxing her quietly to press her fingertips over the backs, between the grooves of his knuckles.  "Annie," He breathes behind her ear. "You know I love every part of you, right?" 

6 - Tell us about your longest fic Uh, so VBEOW xD Maybe like an oopsie baby hahaha but I really never thought it would come this far (you relate, I know, I have an old meme you made in 2022 in my drafts waiting to be reblogged when BW 21 comes out xD) - but uh... here I am. It's definitely a challenge, I'm trying to do very many things with it, exploring characters, their issues, addressing conversations and things we never saw happen in canon, fill in timeskip scenes and missing scenes, while also take the characters (and readers) on a physical adventure (and this physical adventure was 50% of the motivation for building this world and its OCs in the first place) and while it's been a challenge, it's also been a lovely experience and here's hoping I do justice to what I began and dont fuck it up in future

8 - Which of your fics is your least favorite? Why? Well, it's probably Planetesimal Feelings. I'm not exactly sure what part of it I dislike really, maybe it's just that it feels the least well written (by my standards) in comparison to all the others. Then again, it was never meant to become part of a continuous series, so... I guess I didn't really think about it too much back then xD Perhaps some day I'll return to read it and feel differently.

16 - Share a WIP you're excited about. Basically the forest seggs. It's been brewing in my head for a long time now, but I'm unsure whether to keep it as part of VBEOW or split it off into a standalone side-story oneshot because the writing style I'm planning is quite different. But in my head its good! very good! highly sensual too!