#this is all kinda basic history and you could easily look most of this up lmao

[pyr0graves]

every now and then i will have a thought about the 70s and then spontaneously combust into a thousand fla[gets dragged away by security]

[godslino]

MIGRATION | bang chan first date series. strangers to lovers.

pairing: bang chan x fem!reader word count: 5.5k genre: fluff, romance, falling in love at first sight summary: you've never been lucky when it comes to dating, but a blind date with chan just might turn that around

chan | minho | changbin | hyunjin | jisung | felix | seungmin | jeongin · · · ♡ series masterlist · · · ♡ taglist · · · ♡

author’s note: hello and welcome to my first date series!! i seriously had so much fun writing this and i’m so excited to continue with the other members. i hope you all enjoy! if you liked it, please remember that any and all feedback is appreciated!! happy reading <3

“So…I know a guy.”

You groan, throwing your head back against the cushion of the booth you’re currently shoved into. Changbin drops his fork to gesture at you with his hand, a look of exasperation on his face.

“Come on, I haven’t even said anything yet!”

“The problem is that you’ve said anything at all.” You say, glaring at him as you reach for your drink.

Changbin, as much as you love him, is notorious for being the worst wing man in the history of wing men. His most recent pick, Jooyoung, was a friend of his from high school. A freelance writer, the owner of a snazzy apartment in one of the more sophisticated districts of Seoul, and conveniently single. They’d recently reconnected after a mutual friend threw a party that they both went to, and he was ecstatic to try and set the two of you up.

You’d been reluctant, rightfully so, but Changbin is anything but a quitter and you also just so happen to be the world’s biggest pushover (his pout is just too good, okay?), so you’d agreed on the off chance that it just might work out.

Long story short, it didn’t.

Jooyoung was probably the biggest asshole you’d ever been on a date with. Not that you were surprised, though. Changbin’s circle of friends when he was younger mainly consisted of grade-A douchebags who were born with a golden spoon in their mouths. Perks of being born into a wealthy family and attending one of the most elite private schools in the country, apparently. Changbin had attended a university on the outskirts of Seoul for a reason. Lesser known, laid back—to study music of all things—and the sole reason for his father’s headache, as he’d put it. That’s where he met you.

“Okay, but I think this guy might be the one.” He makes air quotes around the two words, and you scoff as you cross your arms.

“And what would you know about that?”

“Um, a lot? You’re my best friend, I know exactly what you’re looking for.”

This is the part where things go south—or so you assume. Changbin puts on the puppy eyes, jutting his bottom lip out to hell as he stares at you from across the table. You glare at him dead on, unwavering. He won’t get you this time. Not over your dead body.

“At least let me tell you about him?”

“No.”

“I met him at the company. He makes music just like me, only slightly better. And you know how I am, I don’t just say that stuff. That means he’s really good.”

Choosing to ignore him, you go back to poking at your noodles.

“He’s from Australia. Born here, moved there when he was young, then moved back to pursue music. Kinda ballsy if you ask me. But he speaks English, so at least communication won’t be as much of an issue as other guys.”

A small crack in your composure. The idea of this guy growing up somewhere other than Korea is…pretty intriguing.

Despite moving here three years ago for school, it’s still kind of hard to communicate when your Korean could be more polished than it is. You’d basically kept to yourself for the first year until you met Changbin. He’d easily integrated you into his group of other music majors, even though you stuck out like a sore thumb as both a foreigner and a stem major. But if it weren’t for him, you think that you might’ve hauled ass back home a long time ago due to the isolation. So to be introduced to someone who can speak english, under the prospect of possibly dating them, sparks a bit more interest.

Changbin notices the slight twitch of your brow and smirks, one side of his mouth pulling downwards. Bastard.

“Hmm, what else? Oh! Dude’s got a killer set of dimples. You’re into that, aren’t you? You used to go on and on about that younger guy in your physics class during senior year. What was his name—Jeongsuk? Jeong—Jinyoung? Jeongin! It was Jeongin.” Changbin snaps his fingers like he’s impressed with his own memory, pointing at you as you fix him with a blank stare. “He has dimplessss.” He sing-songs for emphasis.

And, really, this should not be the breaking point. You’re better than this. You’re not so shallow that you would throw away your pride for a man you’ve never met—let alone never seen before—all because he has dimples.

But, once again, you’re a pushover. A big one. So yeah, fuck it.

“What’s his name?”

Changbin blinks like he wasn’t expecting you to fall for it. “Seriously? That’s what got you?”

“You have five seconds to tell me his name before I change my mind.”

He scoffs, mouth agape. “I went as far as disregarding my own talents to play up this guy and his music making abilities—”

“Five.”

“—tried to give you a little bit of a backstory, too—”

“Four.”

“—and the dimples are the final nail in the coffin?”

“Three.”

“Chan! His name is Chan. God. Just—stop counting. It freaks me out.”

Chan. You throw the name around in your brain for a bit, pointedly ignoring the way Changbin is whining about how you sound like his mother when you do the whole number thing. It’s kind of…cute. Not enough to conjure up an idea of what he might look like, but putting a name to a faceless stranger with dimples in your head is gonna have to do for now.

“You swear this guy is normal?”

Changbin rolls his eyes. “Define normal.”

“Okay, let me rephrase myself,” you push your plate forward, laying your forearms on the table as an indicator that you’re serious, “Is he an asshole?”

“No.”

“Hm. Okay. So that’s a maybe.”

“What the fuck? I just said no.”

“Yeah? You also set me up with Jooyoung, remember? The guy who literally started flirting with the waitress right in front of me five minutes into our date? And then proceeded to yell at her when his fries weren’t salted?”

“How was I supposed to know…” Changbin mumbles, looking off to the side guiltily.

“Nevermind. Just—if this goes bad, I’m blaming you. And then I’m never going on a blind date with one of your friends again. Matter of fact, I’m never going on a date again, period. Deal?”

Changbin grins, the apples of his cheeks shiny under the restaurant lighting. He holds his hand out for you to shake, and you take it hesitantly, grimacing when he uses his strength to jostle your arm like a ragdoll.

“Deal.”

🎥🍿

Any hope you had for the date going smoothly starts to dwindle once Chan texts you the day of.

You’d gotten his number from Changbin, who had so kindly already given Chan your number before he’d even broached the subject with you. The resulting lecture about privacy and consent may or may not have extended the rest of your time at the restaurant, a sheepish Changbin rubbing at the back of his neck while you berated him for his lack of common sense.

When your phone buzzes on your bathroom counter, Chan’s name flashing across the screen, you mistakenly think that he might be messaging because he’s early. Which, given the fact that you were standing in nothing but a towel, hair still wet from your shower and face covered in moisturizer you hadn’t rubbed into your skin yet, would be less than ideal.

Chan [12:32p.m.]

Hey! I’m really sorry to have to do this, but can we push the date back an hour?

Something came up at the studio

I tried to get out of it but I have a deadline to meet, client probably won’t be too happy of their track isn’t done on time

Great. Already off to a rough start.

In his defense though, you appreciate the fact that he’s messaged a whopping two hours in advance. Most people probably wouldn’t be bothered to allow that much of a grace period.

You [2:33p.m.]

no worries!!!

you didn’t buy the tickets yet, did you?

Chan [2:34p.m.]

Nope! So we should be fine

I’ll purchase them for 6 and then be there to scoop you up around 5:30 if that’s cool?

You [2:36p.m.]

sounds perfect

hope stuff goes well at the studio!!

Chan [2:40p.m.]

You’re sweet

Thank you, I’ll see you soon :)

You’re sweet. You stare at the words on the screen, your brain buffering for a moment. A big fat loading circle floating above your head.

Suddenly it’s way too hot in the bathroom. You blame the fact that you shower with the water cranked all the way up to boiling, because really there’s no other explanation for the warmth spreading throughout your cheeks.

To be fair, it’s been almost a year now since you’ve had any sort of positive interaction with another male. On one hand, your last relationship ended in a ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ ordeal that most definitely gave the impression that it was you. On the other hand, most of the dates you’ve been on have ruined themselves within the first five minutes, never really giving you the chance to feel any sort of connection. Cocky attitudes, overly pushy encounters, and even someone who walked into the cafe you were seated at, took one look at you, and walked right back out. That one still hurts.

It’s a little sad that Chan is the only guy out of the mix whose elicited any sort of reaction out of you. Especially since you haven’t even met him yet.

The extra hour that you have to compensate for flies by a lot quicker than you expect, and before you know it Chan is messaging that he’s five minutes away.

You take one last glance in the mirror: a pair of light wash jeans that sit right above your hips, black halter top bodysuit, and a thin cream colored cardigan to tie it all together. Simple and cute. A movie date doesn’t really call for all the dramatics, and you’d hate to overdress for a first impression.

You’re in the middle of reapplying your chapstick when the doorbell rings.

Take it easy, you say to yourself, inhaling deeply as you reach for the door handle. You let the air out with one final huff, swinging the door open only to be met by a bouquet of daisies directly in front of your face.

You blink in surprise. Well that’s a first. Before you get a chance to speak, the bouquet is being lowered, and the moment Chan’s face comes into view causes a small gasp to fall from your lips.

He’s…cute. Beautiful, even. A bright smile, dimples that tuck themselves into his laugh lines as his eyes disappear into crescents much like the moon, and lips that make your head spin when his tongue darts out to wet them nervously. His hair falls messily across his forehead in a faded hue of purple with hints of brown, definitely unconventional and an obvious result of one too many washes, but he makes it work. He makes it work well.

He clears his throat, brings a fist up to his mouth to emphasize it, and then grins. “Hi there.”

It takes a second for your brain to catch up. Even his voice is attractive. He’s using english, which leads you to assume that Changbin has already told him that you’re not from here. His accent is there, not too noticeable but also strong enough to be picked up on.

“Hey.” You smile, rubbing a hand up and down your arm.

“These are for you. I, uh, as an apology for being late. Is it too much?”

You shake your head quickly. “No! No, these are—they’re beautiful. I love them. Thank you…Chan.” His name rolls off your tongue hesitantly, but it all disappears as soon as he flashes that smile again.

“Good, I’m glad,” his voice catches the breathy end of the laugh he lets out, “This is weird, isn’t it? I’m sorry, I don’t really do well with this kind of stuff. But you look really nice, and I’m excited. My car is parked just out front if you’re ready to go.”

Honest. Awkward. A laugh that makes you want to hear it over and over again. You were sold the minute his eyes met yours. Chan offers his elbow for you to take like you’re in some cheesy romance movie from your childhood.

Yeah. This one is definitely gonna go well.

🎥🍿

Chan might not show it, but he’s just as nervous as you are.

You wouldn’t be able to tell at first glance that he spent an entire forty-five minutes deciding on an outfit, only to settle with some jeans and a white shirt, a jacket thrown on top for some color.

When Changbin first proposed the idea of going on a date with you, he was adamant that he wasn’t looking for anything right now. But as soon as you opened the door, eyes wide and looking like the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, he’s glad he said yes.

“So what movie are we seeing?” you ask, frowning when Chan laughs. “What? What’s funny?”

“It’s a surprise.” He smiles, rushing forward to hold the door of the car open for you. When he puts his hand against the top part to block your head, you have to suppress the smattering of butterfly wings that start to clamor against your ribcage.

Chan is sweet. He double checks that you’re buckled in before driving off, he asks if there’s any specific music you want to listen to before foregoing it all entirely to ask about you instead, he listens with an attentiveness that has you feeling seen and heard, and he smiles with such genuinity and warmth that you feel cold once it disappears. You stare at him in awe, like he’s a figment of your imagination.

Chan’s been staring back, too. He spares glances in your direction when you’re not looking, feels the steady thump of his heart gradually increase whenever you lean a little too far to the left when he makes you laugh, and he thinks your voice is prettier than anything that’s ever played on the radio.

You learn more about him as he drives. He moved back from Australia when he was seventeen, he’s got two younger siblings and an adorable puppy named Berry back home (and pictures on his dashboard to prove it), he prefers Australia’s summers over Seoul’s winters but he finds more inspiration here in the city than anywhere else. You resonate with the fact that he doesn’t really have anyone here besides a small circle of friends. No family, no one to fall back on when things get tough.

Chan talks like he’s an old friend, like he’s re-telling a story you’ve heard a thousand times. He makes it easy to fall into step with him as if you’ve been here all along.

By the time the two of you get to the movie theater, the initial awkwardness that had hung in the air is gone, replaced by comfort and ease. Chan throws the car in park and all but books it out of his seat to open your door for you, and you giggle when he makes a dramatic bow as you exit.

The theater is kind of busy for a Thursday night. There are families with their kids lined up to get tickets and groups of teenagers at the concessions, all of which make for a crowded lobby. Chan glances down when you place a hand on his arm, mostly because you want to stay close, but also because it’s hard to ignore the feeling of being magnetized towards him. He smiles, bending at the elbow to allow your arm to slip into his.

There are cardboard cutouts along the sides of the lobby, all of which serve to promote the newest animated release about a family of ducks. You squint at the showtimes once the two of you make it to the front of the counter, letting your eyes scan the movie titles until you finally land on—

“Two tickets for Migration, under Bang Chan.”

The girl behind the counter looks up, her eyes bored. She can’t be any older than sixteen, most likely resentful about the fact that she’s stuck here on a school night. “The kids movie?” She asks, unimpressed.

Chan braves a glance in your direction and—ah, there goes that grin again. Cue the butterflies. You’d agree to a three hour long showing of static and white noise if it meant he’d never stop doing that.

“Yup, that’s the one.”

Tickets in hand, a smiling Chan right next to you, and a massive line for popcorn that honestly might have the two of you late for the previews. “We’re seeing a kids movie?” You ask, moving up a spot in the line.

“Mmhm. I spent so long looking at all the options. The romcoms seemed boring, Bin mentioned that the newest superhero movie was bad, and I figured a scary one was too cliché,” he eyes you sidelong, “Unless you’re into that.”

You huff out a laugh, not really expecting him to be so straightforward, “I definitely am not.”

“Hm, so the old yawn to put my arm around you trick won’t work?” His eyes are playful, but something about the idea of being in even more contact with him has your stomach doing flips.

“Nope. Sorry. Seen that one before.” You say, making him laugh, his earring dangling when he drops his chin towards his chest.

“I guess I’ll have to figure out something else then.”

Another thing you learn about Chan is that he enjoys interesting food combinations.

“You like peanut m&ms?” he asks, throwing a bag of them onto the counter when you nod your head. After he pays, he pockets his wallet and turns to you with a bucket of popcorn tucked under his arm and a large drink with two straws in his hand. “Could you grab the candy?”

First door, theater one. There are a bunch of parents and their kids entering ahead of you, all of them buzzing with excitement. It’s a little funny, the fact that two grown adults—no kid in tow—are walking into the showing of a kids movie.

Chan leads you to the very back row. “For the kids, just in case they can’t see over us.” He quickly clarifies after noticing the way your eyebrows shoot up in silent question, but even in the dim lighting you can still see the tips of his ears turning pink.

“Taking me to a kids movie and then propositioning me in the presence of five year olds? You’ve got some nerve.” You say, timing it perfectly as Chan is leaning forward to take a sip of the drink that’s placed in the cupholder between the two of you. He sputters around the straw in surprise, coughing into his fist.

“That’s not—” You laugh, cutting him off as he stares at you with red eyes from his coughing fit. The mood shifts after that, and Chan visibly relaxes into his seat as he starts throwing jokes out a lot easier than before.

“Learned this from my dad,” he says, opening the bag of m&ms, “It’s my favorite thing to do at the movies. Haven’t been in a while because—well, I don’t really have anyone to go with.”

You watch as he dumps the candy into the popcorn bucket, shaking it to mix everything together. He reaches in to grab a piece of popcorn and an m&m at the same time, popping it into his mouth.

“Oh my god,” he sighs, slumping into his seat, “Forgot how good that is.”

When you don’t respond, he looks over. “You okay?”

Are you? You’re not sure. Every bone in your body is screaming bloody murder because Chan is making it really hard to not want to lean over and kiss the concerned frown off of his stupidly pretty face.

The thing about it is that you don’t do blind dates. And you most especially don’t enjoy them. But Chan is different. Chan holds doors open for you and makes corny jokes. Chan laughs at everything like it’s his last day on earth and he’s making up for lost time. Chan listens when you talk and responds with genuine interest. Chan compliments the little girl in the theater lobby who’s wearing a princess dress to watch the new superhero movie. Chan shares something as special as his dad’s favorite movie snack with you. Chan is just…Chan. And you like him. A lot.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay, I’m just—thank you. For sharing that with me.” You say, the corners of your mouth lifting.

“Stop doing that.” He mumbles, eyes trained ahead.

“Doing what?”

“Smiling. It makes my head spin.”

Your heart slams against your chest. You’ve spent the entire date trying to make sense of the way Chan makes you feel, trying to put it all into words. Yet here he is, right in front of you, saying his thoughts as they come and absolutely ruining your resolve in the process. Like it’s easy for him.

There’s no time to answer when the lights go down, the screen up front widening to signal the start of the movie.

Just like any other kids movie, it’s easy to get caught up in all the surface level jokes while also understanding the themes. You and Chan laugh outwardly at some parts, hold your breath at the suspenseful ones. It’s almost like you’re a kid again, enjoying yourself fully for the first time in a really, really long while.

Chan was right, the popcorn and m&m combination is good. You reach back into the bucket for more, freezing when Chan does the same and his knuckles brush yours in the slightest of touches, sending a jolt of electricity up your arm. It happens a few more times, each one leaving his hand lingering for far longer than the last, until eventually he makes a show of digging really hard for an m&m and hooks his pinky with yours in between the popcorn. It’s cheesy and cliché but god does it make your stomach do somersaults.

About three-quarters of the way through the movie, when it’s clear that neither one of you are willing to take it the next step further, you lean into his ear.

“You okay? You look kind of tired.”

Chan turns, confused. He’s certain that he wasn’t dozing off. He did have a late night last night. He was up working on the track that still somehow managed to hold him back today, hoping to have everything polished so that he didn’t run into any obstacles before your date. But that didn’t really work out in the end.

“Huh? No, I’m fine. Honest.”

“You sure?” you ask, a slight lift to your voice, “I don’t know, you looked like you were about to yawn.”

The light from the movie hits the left side of his face, illuminating all of his features in a way that makes your breath hitch. He’s pretty. So, so pretty.

Chan blinks, slow, and then his confusion slowly turns to one of understanding. Cue the grin.

“You know, now that I’m thinking about it…I am kind of tired.” He makes a show of fake yawning, stretches his arms above his head (and not blocking any children since you’re in the back row, thankfully), before bringing his right arm down and around your shoulders.

You spend the rest of the movie like that, tucked into Chan’s side while his fingers move gently against your shoulder. He’s unbelievably warm, and eventually you find your head resting in the spot just between his shoulder and his neck, his cheek pushed up against the side of your head. The position makes it easier to reach up and pat his eyes dry at the end, a single tear slipping out as he sniffled and mumbles a ‘M’not crying’ that has you giggling and doting all over him.

He doesn’t move his arm for the entire walk back to the car, and you momentarily mourn the loss when he opens the door for you (again!) so you can climb in. When he finally gets in on the other side, he says nothing, just reaches over to intertwine his fingers with yours and places your joined hands on the center console like it’s something you’ve done a thousand times.

“Ready to go home?” He asks, looking over at you.

You glance down at your hands, then back up at him. “Is it weird if I say no?”

“Not at all,” Chan grins, throwing the car into drive, “I was hoping you would say that.”

🎥🍿

“For you.”

Chan plops down on the bench, a hand outstretched with a steaming hot chocolate ready for you to take.

“Thanks,” you smile, cradling the cup between your hands.

After some deliberation, you and Chan had decided to come to the Han River. It’s quiet, the bridge lights reflecting off the water as the sounds of the city fade into the background. The temperature is slightly on the colder side, the tail end of winter just barely there. When he notices the slight shiver of your shoulders after a particularly strong gust of wind, Chan shucks his jacket off in a heartbeat to drape over you.

“Oh, you don’t—”

“You’re cold,” he scolds, pulling at the collar of the jacket to tighten it around you. His hand lingers near the base of your neck, fingers itching to reach out and touch. He doesn’t though, just smiles and settles back into the bench. “Plus I think Changbin might actually kill me if something were to happen to you.”

“Oh please,” you roll your eyes, “Ignore him. I’m not a baby.”

Chan takes a sip of his own hot chocolate, licks his lips to catch the excess. Not that you’re staring. “I’m serious. I mean, I get it. He told me that you’re here alone and stuff.”

You hum in understanding, turning your head to stare out at the water. “So are you.”

It’s Chan’s turn to look at you now, his elbows resting against his knees, and you watch out of the corner of your eye as his face turns unreadable.

The silence stretches thin, nothing but the sound of cars passing and a dog barking nearby. It’s kind of comforting in a way. Being on your own in a new place has been one of the hardest transitions you’ve ever had to deal with. There were times where it felt like a mistake, where you wished that you’d never even gotten on the plane. But then there were times where you felt lucky to be experiencing the things you are; to be able to try new things and pursue a life for yourself that you never thought possible.

“How’d you do it?” you ask quietly, turning to meet Chan’s gaze. “I mean, you were young. Seventeen is basically still a kid. Being alone in a place like this is scary as an adult, I can’t even imagine what that was like.”

Chan smiles, but it’s sad. His eyes twinkle with something like resentment, the lights from the bridge making it look like he’s glowing. A flame that’ll never burn out. “Would you believe me if I said I’m still figuring it out?” The end of it comes out as a laugh, but you can tell he means it.

“I don’t know, being a big shot music producer with deadlines and clients seems pretty figured out to me.”

Chan nods and stares at the cup in his hands. “My parents hated it. Still do, I think.” You don’t say anything. Chan is grateful for that; grateful for the space you’re giving him to explain. “They wanted more for me I guess. But I’m not sure that more would’ve necessarily been what I wanted, you know? I’m content with where I am now. I’m doing something I love, even if it took a while to get here. They don’t see it.” He chews his lip nervously, fingers playing with the soggy material of the paper cup’s rim.

Chan doesn’t know why he’s saying any of this. He’s not the type to completely bare himself out to anyone, to scoop away at his insides until there’s nothing left besides the hollowness he feels whenever he thinks about how he traded his life back home for a life of music. But you’re different somehow. Chan knew since the moment he saw you, felt it in the way your eyes lit up whenever he spoke and in the ease of how well the two of you got along. He was doomed from the start.

“I see it.” you say, your eyes still fixed on the water. “I might’ve only just met you today, but I see it. And I get it, too. Maybe not to the same extent, but the feeling of wanting to do something for yourself even if it meant losing something else. There’s purpose in that, in you. It’s okay to be selfish if it means you’re prioritizing your happiness.” You let the words settle for a bit, hoping that you don’t sound too shallow. When you turn to look at him, he’s already looking back.

“You don’t know me enough to say that.”

“I don’t have to know you to believe in you, Chan.”

A beat of silence, and then he’s laughing, short and punctuated as he lets his head fall forward with a small shake.

“You’re…”

“What? Corny?” you supply, smiling over at him.

“No,” he says, meeting your gaze. “Perfect.”

You huff out an incredulous laugh, looking away to hide the blush that’s spreading across your cheeks. “You can’t just—god, now who’s corny? Huh?”

“I never said I wasn’t corny.” Chan argues, sitting up to face you fully.

“Yeah but you can’t just say stuff like that.”

“Why not? I think you like it.”

Your mouth opens and closes quickly, lost for words. Chan’s closer now, a lot closer than he was before. One arm thrown across the back of the bench, loosely framing you in, he bends it at the elbow to bring a hand up and tuck your hair behind your ear.

“I never said that.” you mumble, your gaze flicking down to his lips and then back up again.

“You want me to stop then?” he asks, voice just above a whisper. You know what he’s implying the minute his fingers trace the shell of your ear, moving down slowly until they start playing with the collar of his jacket.

“Is it bad if I say no?”

Chan’s hand is warm to the touch, ice to fire. You lean into it. A moth to a flame, one that’ll never go out.

“Not at all,” he repeats, just like earlier, “I was hoping you would say that.”

A dog barking in the distance. Cars beeping as they pass by. A plane flying overhead. A group of friends laughing as they ride past on their bikes. The minute Chan’s lips connect with yours, everything fades, the sounds warbling together like static. Unintelligible; nothing besides the feeling of Chan kissing you matters.

It’s slow, nothing more than a press, but you feel it in every fiber of your being. Kissing Chan feels like the poles of the earth are colliding, meeting in the middle and sending its molten core spreading throughout your entire body. Warm, warm, warm. Chan is warm. He’s soft and gentle and his lashes tickle your cheeks when his eyes flutter closed halfway through because he was too busy etching your features into his memory.

You’re the first to pull away, admiring the way Chan’s eyes slowly peel open, lips swollen and pink. Unable to resist, you lean in and peck them once more, giggling when he blinks at you in shock.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been as compelled to kiss someone as I was just now.” You smile.

“Me too,” he sighs, resting his forehead against yours. “I don’t normally kiss on the first date.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t normally do dates anyways. At least not ones that don’t immediately go up in flames.”

“What about now?” Chan asks, raising an eyebrow. “Have I changed your mind?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I kind of told Changbin that if this was a disaster I was never gonna go on a date again.”

Chan laughs and pulls you into his side, tucked right under his arm like the shape of him was molded in a way to make sure that you fit perfectly in his embrace.

“Is it bad if I say I like that idea?” He asks, glancing down at where your head is resting against his chest.

“Nope,” you say before leaning up to kiss him once more. He smiles into it when he feels your fingers playing with the curls at the nape of his neck, humming softly against your lips.

“Worst date ever, then?” he mumbles against your mouth.

“Yeah,” you sigh, pulling back to stare into his eyes, big and brown and brighter than the stars, “Worst date ever.”

[tags: @palindrome969 @summergirlsmj @n1staytiny ]

© all rights reserved. godslino 2024. please do not steal, translate, or re-upload.

[alpaca-clouds]

Try to learn about the old foods

I have most recently started to meal prep, with making a lot of foods and putting them in the freezer. This ended up allowing me to buy the foods in bulk from the local market. And, well... This allowed me to eat some of the foods that the supermarket does not have.

We do have a bit of a problem. And that problem mostly is that we got our food kinda messed up. Because people have lost the connection to the food they eat. But also because of colonialism.

The big thing that happened is, that we lost contact with most local foods. No matter where I go in the "first world nations"... The foods offered to me in the supermarkets are the same - and they also look the same.

This means that a lot of people have no real idea, what foods came from where in the world - but also do not know half of the foods that originated with where they are from, because they are not easily available.

Tomatoes are an example. Not only did historical tomatoes look and taste very differently from the tomatoes we eat today, but obviously... they came from the Americas. So they are not a food that originated with Europe and was not widely available in Europe until the 1600s. While, yes, the first tomates came here more than a hundred years earlier... it took a while for them to catch on.

This is parsnip. Another root vegetable that was commonly eaten in Europe for most of history. It has a more intensive taste than the usual carrot - but is also not that different from it, when it comes to consistency and how it is going to cook.

This is fennel. You might know fennel seeds as a spice or something you might drink as a tea. But the rest of the plant is edible, too, and a surprisingly strong flavored vegetable. It also is very crunchy and makes a really great addition to salads. But it is often not really sold in many places.

This is the Jerusalem Artichoke, another vegetable that originates within the Americas. To be exact, this is the root of a kind of sunflower. It got its name for being very similar in taste and tecture to the Artichoke. I honestly do not know, though, why it is called "Jerusalem Artichoke", because it does not have anything to do with Jerusalem.

The Potimarron is a kind of squash that - like basically all other forms of squash - originates in the Americas as well. It has a very nutty flavor. In Europe it was very popular in France for a long while, hence the french name. It has tons of meat and really makes for great stews!

This is a rutabaga, which originates from somewhere in northern Europe. We do not really know from where. All we know is, that it was a Swedish botanist who cultivates the form we still eat to this day in the 1620s. Which is why it is also called the "Swedish turnip". It does taste like a more bitter carrot, but makes really good addition to stews or can be served stamped.

This is the Chinese Artichoke and another root vegetable, that as the name suggest originates from China. It was cultivates in China in the late medieval period and has later made its way to Europe, especially France. It has a really sweet and nutty taste and can be eaten raw or in salads. Though there are dishes mashing the vegetable, too.

These are tigernuts, a vegetable that has been around forever. It originates in southern Europe, southern Asia and northern Africa. It is a dried fruit, with a sweet and earthy taste and it is known a lot in Spanish cuisine, but also in the cuisine of southern Asia.

Yacon is a root vegetable that originates with Peru, where it is still eaten, while the rest of the world mostly forgot about it. Well, except Japan, where it is currently getting more and more popular. It is a vegetable, but it has a very fruity taste.

I could now go on and name more vegetables from all around the world that were once grown and fed people, but got forgotten more and more in favor of the very limited diet made up of potatoes, corn, potatoes, peppers, cucumber, onion and tomatoes, that is basically what you will get to eat in most places.

And... Well, the thing about it is that... It is not really a good thing that we grow the same stuff everywhere. It is not good for us and it is not good for the environment. It is not good for those foods, either.

I really wish people would try and eat more of the stuff that originates with their region. And that they would eat the not-so-perfect looking foods as well. Because it is gonna be more sustainable in the end.

[megantheestallion-ismypresident]

Tag You're It

Billy loomis x Stu macher x Black!fem reader

Summary: You're new to Woodsboro but Billy and Stu take a liking in to you, they would do anything to have you even if it means killing anyone that's get to close of around you.

Y/n was new to Woodsboro since her parents got a new job here, but she later on got to her new school and made quite alot of friends when she moved here, Y/n first met Tatum in history class and that's when they become fast friends and she later on became friends with Sidney.

Y/n loved Tatum and Sidney they were like sisters Y/n never had. Y/n joined cheerleading and she became very well known and popular in school that she caught the attention of most of the boys in school, especially Billy Loomis and Stu Macher they both had girlfriends but they would easily kill them just to get close and have Y/n all to themselves.

Y/n first met Stu and Billy on her first day here, Y/n first met them in history class one thing Y/n could say they were very attractive but they both are dating her bestfriends Sidney and Tatum, so Y/n really never thought too much about them dating her best friends.

Billy and Stu were obsessed with her, when Y/n would get home from school and take a shower they would secretly look through her window and watch her get naked and stare at her body.

"She is so fucking hot." Stu said awestruck staring at Y/n's body.

Billy didn't respond back he was to focused on Y/n's boobs and ass to even form a sentence back at Stu.

"We need a plan to get Y/n, to be ours even if it means killing anyone, we'll scare her just a bit but we won't kill her she's to precious to be hurt. She's special." Billy said as he licks his lips watching Y/n walk away and getting inside her bathroom.

As Y/n takes a nice shower. She was kinda paranoid because there was killing spree, she was dating this one guy from the football team, but he was killed by the Ghostface killer. Y/n stopped going to Cheer practice and stopped going to Sidney and Tatum's house. Those letters were getting a bit creepy she got a letter with blood on it. Y/N was so freaked out she told her parents about it that told the police. Y/n was so freaked out by Ghostface she let Billy and Stu walk her home every single day. Billy was very skeptical about Billy, since he was arrested for being Ghostface but is a false alarm and he was actually innocent so Y/n didn't really think too much about it and just let it go. Y/n really liked Stu he made her laugh and made her feel less paranoid about the murders that's going on.

Y/n got out the shower and saw her window was unlocked, so she closed it back up. "I remember I close this window?" Y/n said questions. Y/n dried her body and took of the towel leaving her bare. She moisturized her body and put on a matching blue lacy panties and a blue bra. She put on a white crop top and some black sweatpnats

Y/n made it downstairs and turned the TV on, ber parents were at work and they would come back next morning. Y/n was getting very paranoid but she just thought it was her paranoia getting the best of her.

Y/n heard the phone rang so she picked it up. "Hello?" Y/n responded, all she could hear was breathing which freaked her out.

"Listen, who the fuck is this I don't have time for this." Y/n said growing irritated.

"Whats your favorite scary movie?" The voice responds, even though Y/n was irritated she couldn't lie the voice was very sexy that it turned her on.

"Can I tell you that I don't have a favorite scary movie." Y/n said as she rolls her eyes.

"Oh, Cmon everyone has a favorite scary movie, why don't you have a favorite scary movie?" The voice says questioning Y/n.

"I just don't find them scary, like the main character is a dumb basic blonde blue eyes chick who doesn't know any better and dies."Y/n said explaining why she doesn't have a favorite scary movie.

"Thats a bummer I really liked you and the way you look so sexy tonight in that white crop top." The voice said making Y/n's heart stop.

"What did you say?" Y/n said as her heart starts beating as she takes a little sneak peak at the window looking around closing the curtains quickly.

"I didn't say anything? Let's continue talking." The raspy voice said but Y/n was to scared to continue.

"Yeah I don't think so you fucking pervert." Y/n shouts over the phone as she was about to hang up the voice starts shouting.

"You hang up, I'll gut you just like I did to your boyfriend, you don't want your guts to be spread on your parents doorstep, do you?" The voice taunts Y/n, Y/n was so scared tears started to from in your eyes.

"What the fuck do you want from me?" Y/n shouts over the phone getting scared.

"Good girl, let's play a game, you like games do you?" The voice says over the phone.

"Yeah, whatever just tell me what game we're playing." Y/n said as she grows impatient, angry, and scared.

"Let's play Simon says." The voice says.

"Simon says... touch your knees." The voice says Y/n could tell he was smiling over the phone, this... sick fuck.

Y/n bends over touching her knees, even though Y/n couldn't see The killer doesn't mean he couldn't see her, As Y/n was bending down, Billy couldn't help but stare at her ass.

"How long is this gonna last?" Y/n says irritated.

"Until I say so, sweetheart." The voice chuckles, even though Y/n was fucking mad she couldn't get over how sexy his voice was.

"Simon says take off your crop top." The voice says over the phone. Y/n has never been this scared in her life.

Y/n does what he says and slowly takes off her crop leaving her in her blue lacy bra, Billy has a boner just by you wearing a bra, he really wanted to see what your tits look like without the bra.

"Simon says take off your bra." Billy says as Stu opens the window for Billy to get in. As Billy made it into Y/n's room he felt like he was in heaven. Billy gives Stu a confused look as he sees Stu opening Y/n's underwear drawer.

"What are you doing?" Billy whispers growing irritated as Stu smiles to himself.

"Chill out dude I'm just taking a little souvenir." Stu said in surrender taking a pair of Y/n's underwear as he shoves it in his pockets under his black robe of the Ghostface costume.

Y/n takes of her bra leaving her bare, Y/n felt the cool air on her tits.

"Simon says take of your sweatpants and underwear." Billy says as him and Stu makes it downstairs innthe living room quietly, thank God Y/n could see them since she was facing the window, giving time for Stu hide in the kitchen.

"Simon Says turn around." Billy says, Y/n heart stopped as the voice felt like it was right behind her, Y/n turn around seeing Ghostface right in front of her.

Y/n punches Ghostface in the face, giving Y/n enough time to run, Y/n runs to the kitchen to see another Ghostface right in front of her. "Surprise, Y/n." Ghostface says but Y/n felt like she heard that voice before.

Stue takes off the Ghostface mask making Y/n shock, Y/n wanted to cry but beat the shot out of them since they were the killers that killers her boyfriend and Casey and probably others.

"Oh, you should've seen you're it was priceless, but God your body is perfect." Stu said whispering in Y/n's ear giving her chills down her spine.

"You're such a fucking slut, Y/n taking off your clothes for us." Billy said coming closer to Y/n behind whispering in her ear.

"What the fuck are you sick fuck gonna do, kill me?" Y/n says.

"No, you're to precious for us to kill." Stu said cupping Y/n's face kissing her out of nowhere, as Billy smiles watching Stu kisses Y/n.

Y/n wanted to stop but she couldn't stop kissing him it was to good, Billy starts kissing Y/n's neck making her moan.

"Do you want to take this upstairs?" Billy whispers in Y/n's ear.

Theres a part of Y/n that wants to say 'no' and called the police but she didn't want to stop, she felt so fucking guilty

"Yeah." Y/n moans out which turn Billy and Stu on, the just couldn't keep their hands off of you.

Stu carries Y/n bridal style as he made it uo the stairs as Billy follows behind them

As they made it to Y/n's room Stu places Y/n on her bed, Stu stands infront of the bed unbuckling his belt leaving him bare, and that could y/n say it was... big.

Stu gets in bed with Y/n as he inserts himself in Y/n making her moan wrapping her legs around his waist as stu grunts as his thrusts were fast. Billy watches as he felts his dark getting hard. "Cmon... Billy I want you to join." Y/n says through moans as Stue thrusts her getting harder and harder.

"Flip her over stu, head hanging off of the bed." Billy instructs as he walks over to the bed as he unbuckles his pants.

Stu flips Y/n over where her head was hanging off of the bed as Billy stands right infront of her as stu pounds into her.

"Open wide, sweetheart." Bilky says as he shoves hisndick down Y/n's throat almost making her gag, Y/n sucks Billy off as Billy groans as he places his hand on Y/n's head making her go lower. Y/n felt so worn out.

"I'm almost about to cum." Billy said.

"Me too." Stu says as he pounds into Y/n.

Billy and Stu both groaned as they both came at the same time, Y/n moans as she came making her pant.

Billy lightly grabs Y/n chin kissing her making Y/n moans in the kiss.

"We should do this more often." Stu smiles as he puts his pants on.

"We should." Billy says still making out with Y/n.

"That was amazing." Y/n smiles looking back at Billy and Stu.

"Well we gotta go, princess we'll finish this nextime." Stue says as he kisses Y/n on the cheek.

"Maybe, next week we'll play Tag You're it." Billy says putting his pants on buckling is pants.

"I can't wait for that." Y/n says smirking.

"Bye, princess." Stu said as him and Billy walks out of Y/n's room,leaving Y/n alone in her room collecting her thoughts.

"What the fuck am I doing?" Y/n thought to herself knowing there was gonna be alot of drama coming her way.

[coinandcandle]

Hello, I'm the anon who asked about reading recs! I did respond back right away, but since you just asked for asks, I get the feeling Tumblr ate my ass 😄. In case it did, here it is again:

I'm trying to get my footing into witchcraft in general. I'd really like to start practicing, especially anything nature related, but I truly know nothing more than what you'd get scrolling through the tumblr tag. So I'm supposed I'm looking for a good starting place to learn my history around the practice (I know "the practice" is an incredibly broad way to describe it. But I don't know enough to be specific. I suppose anything that could give me a foundation to build from?) and something(s) that could help me dip my toes in for the first time. I've been watching everyone else swim in the pool for years, but I've never even touched the waters.

To simply put it, I'm trying to figure out the very beginning steps of witchery. I know I described everything broad and vague, but I don't really know enough to be more specific 😅

(if Tumblr didn't eat my ask and you haven't responded to my ask for any other reasons, no worries! I'm certainly in no rush)

Omg hello! No tumblr didn't eat you but I was waiting on some responses from friends who I asked for reading recs and my draft box DID eat your ask lol. Thank you for following up with my ADHD-addled ass!! <3

The good news is to start you just kinda jump in. I'm not saying throw yourself into the deep in but you can get your feet wet pretty easily.

Unfortunately during my beginner years most of the published books available were heavily soaked in Wiccan ideology which is absolutely not my vibe and not something I think people should start out with since there's a twisted history to it that you have to unwind but I see why people are attracted to it--it's structured in a way that solitary practice isn't.

I found my start online, honestly, then followed my gut to see where it took me next. All that said;

Here are some recs from me and my buddies:

Magic in the Middle Ages by Richard Kieckhefer (History)

Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits by Emma Wilby (History)

Popular Magic by Owen Davies (History)

Grimoires: A history of magic books by Owen Davies (History)

Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World by John G. Gager (History)

The Crooked Path by Kelden (Traditional Witchcraft)

13 pathways by Daniel Schulke (Occult Herbalism)

A Deed Without a Name by Lee Morgan (Witchcraft)

Of Witchcraft and Whimsy by Rose Orriculum (Witchcraft)

Grovedaughter Witchery by Bree NicGarran (Witchcraft)

Queering Your Craft by Cassandra Snow* (Witchcraft + queer)

Condensed Chaos by Phil Hine* (Chaos magic)

Outside the Charmed Circle by Misha Magdalene* (Witchcraft)

Sacred Gender by Ariana Serpentine (Witchcraft + queer)

Kitchen Table Magic by Melissa Cynova* (Witchcraft)

*Queering Your Craft and Kitchen Table Magic are that they both feel more basic, Condensed Chaos is more of a "102" type book for chaos magic specifically, and Outside the Charmed Circle is strongly Wiccan in influence but brings up some very interesting topics and ideas. (Note from Jasper)

Make sure to keep an open mind and take no one's word as law when it comes to witchcraft and magic. Take in the information and come up with your own conclusions based on your experiences! :>

Thanks to @windvexer , @stagkingswife, @jasper-pagan-witch, and @rose-colored-tarot for help with the recommendations!

Feel free to comment or reblog with your own suggestions!

[exeggcute]

there's a developing story in Australian media about Tiktok pixels collecting unauthorised data in an aggressive manner via their ads on thrid party websites, and I was wondering what a Professional like yourself made of it

ooh reading into this now... full disclosure that (1) until/unless I get another job in adtech I am technically not a Professional anymore lol and (2) pixel tags weren't a big component of my last role so I only have a fairly basic understanding of how they work. but from what I'm seeing here it sounds like the main issue with tiktok rn isn't the data collection per se, since these pixel tags are functionally identical to the ones employed by facebook and others, just that tiktok isn't obtaining user consent the way other companies are ostensibly do. although even that seems like a convenient lead-in for the whole Oh My God A But Chinese Company Is Doing It thing.

and tbf I kinda can pull that in both directions—on one hand facebook in particular has gotten in a lot of trouble before for bad data collection practices and putting that data in the hands of people who used it to (maybe, allegedly) sway public opinion, so the general fear underpinning this thing is like, not unfounded right. (even though I don't think the issue behind the cambridge analytica scandal was centered around tracking pixels specifically?) on the other hand the very nature of facebook's rocky history re. data and privacy proves that western companies can and will spy on their users and it's for sure disingenuous to act like ~shady foreign governments~ are the only ones with any incentive to do so lol.

I guess you could argue that facebook's incentive for all the spying was simply Making Money, even if they took money from people who did use that spy data to spread propaganda; like, to the parent company, the propaganda wasn't the goal. whereas many will obviously argue that with tiktok data some undefined form of propaganda is the goal. but seeing that tiktok ads are a multi-billion dollar enterprise(!) I'm way more inclined to believe that tiktok is also spying for the sake of Making Money. clearly a whole fucking lot of money!

this is something I've for sure said before but I also wholeheartedly believe (and to some extent, know, although again pixel tracking isn't my exact wheelhouse) that advertising data is a lot less granular and therefore less useful than most people imagine it to be, which severely limits the kind of compromising shit you can pull under normal circumstances.

even in the article I linked, where they talk about tiktok pixels being able to track the shopping/browsing habits of users, basic device info, and occasionally some PII like phone numbers and email addresses... like, okay, so let's say tiktok knows that junglejim4322@yahoo.com used an iphone to look at a website that sells orthopedic shoe inserts. or even maybe something more salacious like, idk, questionably legal gas station dick pills. from a "let's use tiktok to spread propaganda" perspective I really struggle how that information would be valuable or what you'd do with it other than emailing that person outright to taunt them about their fucked up feet and/or dick? (if the goal is to show people certain kinds of content in tiktok's app then certainly you have both the means to do so and plenty of behavioral data to draw up on in the app itself. it's a literal video platform lol.) otoh from a "let's use this data to create advertising segments" perspective then you can easily monetize this info by telling advertisers that you know a guy who's a prime target for ads about podiatry treatments or whatever, in which case advertisers are more eager to spend money on ads because they think they're talking to a relevant audience. and in that case advertisers don't really care what the guy's name or email is, just that he ticks certain boxes that make him a worthwhile use of ad dollars. and even in cases where bad actors do want more specific data for shady purposes, it's pretty difficult to collect it and even harder to propagate it across different platforms; one thing I think gets overlooked a lot with cambridge analytica in particular is that it happened on a platform where users willingly share their full name, birthday, gender, relationship status, political leanings, job title, etc. outright, and then create connections between other people who also willingly share all that info. in some ways I don't think it could've happened anywhere but facebook, because this is a situation where you really didn't have to squeeze anything out of users—they just came out and told you! (it's also part of why non-shady facebook ads are so lucrative; you don't have to guesstimate audience data when you can literally just specify that certain ads should only be shown to people whose profile says they're between the ages of 35 and 55.) and as far as I'm aware tiktok just does not have anything remotely approaching that kind of profile data.

anyway lol. as far as I can tell I think this is a GDPR-y consent issue first and foremost, which will probably turn into a thorny battle over whether tiktok can/will be held to EU data standards or similar statues with a good helping of Chinese Company Bad mixed in for good measure. also side note but remember the whole thing about tiktok data transparency but the american company they put in charge of it is fucking oracle?

[wesavegotham]

Batman vs Robin #4...spoilers and a long rant under the cut.

Waid continues what he started doing in the preview and wastes Bruce's inner monologue on listing the martial arts moves they are doing. What is he trying to tell us with this? They know a lot of fighting techniques, what a revelation. The parts not about martial arts aren't that interesting either.

When I got to this page I thought for a split second that Bruce was finally going to reflect on his relationship with Damian a bit, but it's the most basic, surface level deep stuff you could possibly write. And instead of picking something meaningful from their history (Bruce gifting Damian Titus, Damian giving Bruce one of Martha's pearls he searched for in the sewers, the scavanger hunt, their trip to the moon, Bruce reviving Damian...) the artist gave us...this. Heartwarming. You can really feel how much writer and artist care for the relationship this book is supposedly about according to the title.

Also apparently obligatory Talia bashing.

I believe Bruce saying "he's my son" here was supposed to make me feel something, but it's all just so damn basic. He's Bruce's son, and? He doesn't seem to like him as a person and Damian being Bruce's son has never stopped Bruce from letting Damian down. Badly. If Damian being his son truly meant anything their relationship wouldn't have gotten this bad.

If anyone feels happy that Bruce's injuries from the last issue didn't get ignored here, let me assure you, despite it looking like it for a few pages none of this is going to matter later.

(I'm going to skip a page here, it's just more martial arts move and Bruce thinking that Damian can counter all of his moves. I'm really not sure what Waid wants to tell me with this. Am I supposed to think that Damian is a real threat? But Bruce already said that he could easily beat him under normal circumstances. Pride? But again, he's doesn't seem that impressed? Idk. I don't get Waid's Bruce.)

It's not compelling.

Also, as if anyone would even think for one second DC would let Bruce seriously be beaten by Damian. DC makes Damian lose against characters that picked up martial arts like two weeks ago to hype them up or to "teach Damian a lesson"

(Another uninteresting page of Damian punching Bruce and talking about killing him I'm going go skip here.)

Because why should Damian ever be allowed to have a win?

Also, we could have gotten a cool scene of Bruce rescuing Talia and talking about saving their son together, but instead Waid chose to go for the boring "gotcha, Bruce always pulls something out of his ass" route. I swear to god, DC writers are so afraid of letting Bruce make mistakes or be in real danger that it's infuriating. It's so boring to read Bruce. I know this twist is coming, I'm just always hoping they don't do it because it's such a predictable twist at this point.

Yay. Batgod😒

With the power of the helmet Bruce simply breaks Nezha's control over the possessed characters and teleports most of them home.

Damian immediately begging for forgiveness from Bruce kinda irks me. Especially when I consider how Bruce talked to Damian in the first issue and how he thinks about him...it just all gives me the vibe that this book is trying to "put Damian in his place". It's all so...patriachal? In a really bad way.

Bruce starts fighting Nezha. Bruce is batgod and Nezha is boring.

Talia and Damian go after Mother Soul, but Mother Soul can't really do anything on her own, so they beat her easily. She's also boring.

Nezha continues to be generic.

Bruce's line could have been really cool and touching. If Waid had built up to it. But at no point did Bruce reflect on anything Damian said to him during this book or think about how his mistakes as a father landed them in this situation, so when and how did Bruce reach the conclusion that this was actually about being the father Damian needs?

Because to me it feels like Damian was only in this as an excuse to draw Batman going up against demons.

*sigh* I feel like I read this dialogue 100 times already.

Bruce is still fighting Nezha, but is too cool to use magic correctly, so Nezha is able to pull the helmet off his head and the helmet breaks and lands in the lazarus pit, releasing all the magic it accumulated into it. If Damian had pulled something like this he would be laughed at for his arrogance, but this is Bruce so instead Nezha just rants about how great Bruce is:

You know, for one second I thought Damian was actually allowed to something useful for once in this story and save Bruce, but of course it doesn't go that way.

Instead Bruce ends up saving Damian. Why actually talk about their relationship issues if you can just throw in a heroic sacrifice to resolve it all?

Do you know how many times DC has "killed" Bruce this year? He'll be fine.

Also, Bruce had basically nothing nice to say about Damian or Talia this entire book so seeing them care so much about his death is just...guys, he's not worth it.

King Fire Bull arrives and starts fighting Nezha because he apparently killed his real parents. I don't care, they are both generic.

Black Alice revives Bruce with the lazarus magic running through Nezha's veins. I guess that is why Bruce turns into a demon in Lazarus Planet.

Nezha flees, the humans run to the plane Bruce arrived with and King Fire Bull blows up the volcano that spews the contaminated lazarus pit water all over the world.

Uff. I just feel like Waid has absolutely nothing interesting to say about Bruce and Damian's relationship. There is zero reflection going on. This book only exists to make Bruce look cool and everyone else is only there to give him opportunities to do so.

[wack-ashimself]

Know what I never want to hear again, not even ONCE, the rest of my life?

"Our government would never do that."

YES, THE FUCK, THEY WOULD. THEY HAVE. THEY DID. THEY WILL, EASILY, AGAIN.

If we could also include to avoid: "Our government never did that" and "Our government COULDN'T do that*" It would be much appreciated.

During #JFK: They wanted to do a #falseflag, and blame it on #Cuba. During #Nixon: Crack to the blacks.

In the 70s, the #CIA OPENLY admitted they had a gun with a dissolving bullet that could cause an undetectable, natural looking heart attack. NOW, they have radar dishes they can point at people to give them execrating pain, making them nearly immobile.

We started with a genocide to fund the #usa, had slavery for far too long, made concentration camps for Japanese-Americans during #WW2 where we stole BILLIONS from their houses and assets, and today? Today we have the largest #prison#slave population in human history; yes, more than when we actually had legalized slavery. The biggest military EVER, which, historically, has killed more than any other military with new age weapons. Yeah-can't deny the whole white phosphorus, regular ole bombs, and of course, NUCLEAR WEAPONS. What's ironic? Japan actually hates us more for the firebombs we used on them (more suffering instead of instant death). Didn't know about the #firebombs? MOST DON'T.

And then we get to 9/11. Ya know. When our government shut down all airports, but let a FEW special planes go out of #Florida just after it happened, containing some very unique individuals (proven). Or how about how not 1, not 2, but 3 buildings fell down perfectly straight, which is basically impossible from being hit on ONE side. Oh, and the 3rd building, building 7, which contained a lot of classified government documents was never HIT by anything!? Or how JUST before all this happened, the pentagon announced (not for the first OR last time**) they lost trillions of dollars, and had no idea where it went? OR how the guy who owned the #twintowers insured them for terrorist attacks just months before it happened?

Finally, today....where our #DEMOCRATIC president, brain dead #biden, is openly funneling guns, weapons, and worse to a terrorist colonizing state called #israel, against a nearly completely defenseless people in #Palestine? A #genocide, in real time, for MONTHS now, funded by our government. They're trying to pass another funding bill of billions as I type. Over 12k children killed in cold blood. MULTIPLE RAPES have been proven done by the israelis. You literally can not imagine a worse thing to happen due to a government (outside adding cannibalism).

SO PLEASE, never fucking god damn say again "Our government would never do that" when they have done it EVERY-FUCKING-TIME! <Forgot to mention the experimentation on their own citizens. That's a whole other post!>

Because when you live in an #oligarchy, you got to assume the rich in control will do ANYTHING IMAGINABLE AND UNIMAGINABLE to maintain their wealth and power. Historically, they always fucking do. WAKE UP!

*The technology they hold back and use against us may not come out to the public for DECADES. We have proven weather modification is real AND works. Not a debate. And Direct Energy Weapons (DEW) have been documented to being real just recently...You really think they can monitor, categorize, AND filter ALL THE DATA we say and do without AI? No. And they've been doing that for HOW long? Over 20 years? And when did we get access to AI? Side note-pentagon RIGHT NOW strong arming their way thru congress, trying to force them to allow the military to turn on AI's capabilities to choose what it kills. So that's...#terminator fun.

**The #pentagon, aka, the military, losing money has been a tried and true method of filtering money to the bad guys. It's kinda like how Tony Stark found out he was arming terrorists in Iron Man. You forget we helped for Al-Qaeda and #Isis? WE DID. Osama Bin Laden was a CIA asset! Why? To fuck with everyone in the Middle East all the way to Russia. Look it up if you didn't know.

<When we do physical or mental labor for taxes to be taken away, they usually go to murder. When you do your job, your taxes pay mostly for the rich to get richer and murder. Nothing else. If I'm wrong, look outside at how great it is, how free everyone is, and all the happy smiles. We allowed this to happen. We can create something better without them. What's the harm in trying? It can't get worse, sadly. But at the same time, inspiringly: we can only go up from here. :)>

No war but the class war.

[onceuponmyanime]

OBEY ME DEVILDOM

GIF by meenah-chan

*I've always wanted to write about little Fluffy segments on the side about how MC felt in a new place like the Devildom with all these people she should be afraid of but finds an odd sense of belonging.

So this is my small take on it.*

The Avatar of Pride...

"Thou shall not be conceited..."

Even though I've been away from the human world, the feeling of homesickness hadn't quite gotten to me yet.

There were far more pressing things to be worried about in my situation.

"Aren't you a tasty looking thing."

Like not getting eaten by any of the demons.

"No need to play hard to get, I won't bite... hard." Another voice joined the first one.

Getting out of this hallway was something I needed to do as soon as possible.

"I suggest the two of you should move along before I lose my temper."

His voice evoked chills down my spine, but it was the look Lucifer gave the other two demons that had them scatter away quickly.

My fear wanted me to do the same, but common courtesy rooted me in place.

Introduced to me as the eldest of the Demon Brothers, Lucifer always seemed intimidating just in the way he held himself wherever he went.

From my very first day here, he only ever made the effort to speak to me if there was anything I needed during my stay.

He was very curt and straight to the point, and I had the distinct feeling I was more a hindrance to him then I was a guest.

It was a good thing I was only in the Devildom for a year.

His impatience was shown loud and clear as I stood there staring at him, forgetting that I still had to thank him for coming to my rescue.

"Thank you for your help."

I could only imagine what would've happened if he hadn't.

"Why are you down here?" He all but scolded.

 "You're supposed to be in Devildom History?"

I cast my gaze low, feeling a little embarrassed that I was being told off for the most basic of things.

"I got lost."

Which sounded stupid, but then all the halls looked the same in this place.

I still had no idea where the bathroom was.

Instead of being annoyed, Lucifer's dark eyes were filled with mild amusement at my little blunder.

"Fair enough. I suppose I should show you where to go then."

Relief washed through me.

"That would be great."

"But in the future," He said matter-of-fact. "I suggest you call Mammon should you need to find your way around." Then under his breath he muttered. "Which he should have been doing anyway."

I knew Mammon was assigned to look after me during my stay in the Devildom, but for some reason I found he was a hard one to like.

Plus he was not an easy person to find.

"He's not very friendly."

"Don't worry, I'll deal with him." Hearing the tone in Lucifer's voice, I kinda felt a little sorry for getting Mammon in to trouble.

Lucifer didn't seem the type to forgive very easily.

With his hand to the small of my back, he directed me back up the stairs until we came to a red door on one of the higher levels of the Academy.

"This is Devildom History. Try not to get lost again." With that said, he continued on, leaving me to stare after him in puzzlement.

I knew one thing was certain.

Lucifer was a very serious demon.

[bohemian-nights]

Rhaenys is my favourite character on the show - a show that was overall a massive disappointment - , and along with Visenya, Rhaena and Alysanne, she's my favourite character in the book too. I prefer the book version. The book,while sucking at many points, at least allows much more interpretation since it’s just a history book written by some dude years and years later. Therefore I can literally do whatever I want with the "real" story and don’t have to mind other interpretations. Now the show overshadows and ruins everything Lol.

Okay, but the thing that annoys me personally most is the romantization of Rhaenys/Corlys. First I was angry they made them the same age. I mean, come on! The creators clearly have an issue with depicting age gap relationships since Daemon never ages despite marrying one childbride after another (funnily enough a new haircut doesn’t make me think: oh, look, he grew older). Book!Rhaenys married a man twice her age, which is totally fine, if it weren’t for the fact that she was just 16 years old at the time. (And just btw, in the real Middle Ages people FROWNED heavily on matches like this - even in noble and royal circles). So Rhaenys was basically just a child, who I think was legit infatuated with the older and exciting man. Corlys in turn was glad to score a Targaryen princess, who was then heir to the throne, a dragon rider and pretty. But this relationship only has trouble written across it!!! Corlys isn’t a gentle man. He's got pride and plans - every part of his story shows us an ambitious, determined man, which is okay. If you ask me though, he could only end up grooming Rhaenys. She was a child, and despite all her brains and whatnot, at 16 she still had a child's naivity, that can be too easily shaped by the right person. By someone like cunning Lord Velaryon. The show, however, bust decided to make them this random straight couple from any 80s drama, and completely missed out the potential of a complicated relationship.

And I agree with you regarding the Council of 101. Rhaenys and Coryls could've done more lobbying/politicing for their cause. (I have my theory on why that didn’t happen, but if I say that I attract even more hate from Corlys stans).

But you know, this is why I'm so angry about the Rhaenys/Corlys dynamic on the show. Give me a damn twist. Show me this cool woman finally snapping out of her stupor and realising how she's been manipulated, trying to please men all her life (I see the irony in the Alicent & Rhaenys speech, even though I actually enjoyed that moment. It's good acting). Watching her daughter marry an even worse man, who then immediately after her death grabs the next girl he groomed (killing off her husband on the way) - what better premisis would there have been for Rhaenys to finally wake up??? But what does the show do? They give us a Rhaenys who runs around in circles, telling people she can’t make decisions without her husband and blah blah blah. For f*sake! Let her be a dragon! But no, in this setting women can only be as strong as it's comfy for patriachy and then we have to sell it off as feminism, because "she loved him so much".

I also never quite got why Rhaenys went to Rook's Rest on her own. When Daemon goes to the Riverlands there's an army with him, but Rhaenys heads out all by herself?...bad bad writing. And just as bad to me is the remark on how angry Corlys was about her death. I mean, come on, he was only angry because he basically lost his most powerful tool. Lucky though, that he had those bastards waiting in the background, ready to claim another dragon for House Velaryon.

Note: I would also like to thank the other anon who mentioned they didn’t like Daemon at all. I'm glad and relieved to hear other people share this feeling!

Rhaenys is a really interesting character who has so much potential to be this amazing woman, but then she kinda just goes along with the tide without really putting up a fight. I agree that book!Rhaenys’ actions are a little more understandable(although yeah her going by herself to Rooks Rest is a choice 😬), but show!Rhaenys’ actions don’t make a lick of sense past episode 7(cause why side with the woman who you think killed your son who just married the man who made your daughter so miserable 🫠).

How they handled her relationship with Corlys has been another choice. They’ve still kept the fact that he cheated on her(unless they make Alyn and Addam Vaemond’s bastards) so Rhaenys running around talking about I won’t do anything without Corlys is only going to make her look stupider when those boys show up(and some people say they’ll appear in episode two and she’s probably still alive then😬).

It would’ve been nice with the changes that they made she snapped and said enough is enough, but yeah that doesn’t happen. She never puts herself(or her granddaughters) first. She’s exactly who she claims Alicent is except she might be worse considering she had way more power than Alicent ever had yet she threw it all away for reasons🤦🏽‍♀️

At this point, it’s pretty obvious that this show is all about giving girl boss-looking moments(see having Rhaenys come in through the floorboards), but at the end of the day these women just look silly and weak(getting choked out, cheated on, slapped around, abused, acting oblivious to what’s happening around them, being smiling pretty puppets, etc.)

For a feminist show these women sure do lack agency🤷🏽‍♀️

Can I just say I love how people trash Daemon on this blog even though he's my favorite🤣 It's super amusing, but I get it cause he is very out there. He's an acquired taste.

[no-romo-hoes]

I hate VENOM as a film. I hate it. It sucks. But I also love it. It's great. I'll never watch it again. Let's back up a bit. (Before we begin, No I haven't watched the second VENOM movie, so this is from what I remember from the first one)

I love Venom because it's so fucking funny. The symbiote itself, not the film. It's so strong, it's blood-thirsty, it's horrifying to look at, it's an alien, it's murdered and eaten dozens of innocent civilians, but it's got sass, it's easily offended, it likes tater tots and chocolate, and it provides the funniest commentary of any marvel film. It's like having a really freaky roommate that'll tease you all day if you get flustered by an attractive person, then demand you buy them food, then murder your highschool bully because they called you a mean name. He'll even "leave the apartment" for a night if you wanna do something privately. But he'll tease you endlessly afterwards. And the fact that he explained to Eddie how he was considered a loser on his planet makes their duo that much more lovable. Two outcasts from different societies meeting and becoming best friends/in love (whatever your view on their relationship is 'cause it's kinda vague). I seriously love Venom as a creature.

Next, I love how different the hero is to other marvel heroes. Iron Man is a billionare weapons designer, Black Widow has been trained to kill since she was 12, Thor is a literal god, Black Panther is the freaking king of the most advanced civilisation on the planet, Captain America is a super soldier and the textbook definition of a "good person". And then look at VENOM. Eddie Brock is a stressed, unemployed, drug-addict in a shitty apartment that just got dumped by his girlfriend. He is the textbook definition of a "loser". Then he meets this random glob of alien black-cat-energy and he's just like "aight". The most relatable superhero in the history of superheroes.

But I hate VENOM. I was so disappointed when I watched it. The writing of the dialogue was good, but it could have been way better, we didn't really get to see the development of the relationship between Venom and Eddie, nor the character development we would want for Eddie now that he has something to fight for. We see the classic sacrifice-yourself-for-your-friend-but-oh-turns-out-you-survived trope, but there was no time for Eddie to properly mourn. Basically, there wasn't enough angst. There wasn't enough time for it. I think it would have been better as an episode series instead of a film, that way we could have a lot more time for character development, awesome battle scenes, as well as general Roommate Comedy™. To add to this, I was disappointed at the lack of a training montage. Cliché as it is, they went from having just met to "we're unstoppable and have codes and battle strategy and shit", so having some training time on screen would have eased that transition significantly, and the flow of the film would have improved.

This is the most irritating part of the film; the fact that the concept and characters are brilliant but were executed poorly. I would have no issue with a film that was just bad, but to have such a fun and new idea written in such mediocre fashion is infuriating. Now I feel no shame when I say I have searched for reader-insert fanfictions that include the symbiote (not x readers though, I'm not a monster fucker) and there are very few of quality. If you can correct me, please do. So my appreciation of Venom must remain tucked away in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the front saying "beware of the leopard".

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

I have posted a little bit about this before, but I finally read some very old X-Men issues to learn the brief history of the Changeling, the character who got retooled into Morph my beloved.

Changeling was absolutely an unambiguous villain back in his first appearance, and he talked basically the same way most comics villains talked back in the   60′s.

That’s Changeling in the goofy-ass purple helmet, Kevin, wtf are you wearing, bro?  Are you okay?  (Of course, he wasn’t Kevin back then, he didn’t have a name other than Changeling.)

Changeling was part of a group called Factor Three that wanted to heat up East-West tensions in order to trigger WW3, and destroy humanity to create a society ruled by mutants.  This was a pretty short-sighted plan given that most mutants could die in a nuclear blast just as easily as humans, but whatever.  The group consisted of old X-Men enemies like Vanisher, the Blob, and Unus the Untouchable, with the mysterious Mutant Master as the leader, and Changeling as his second-in-command.

The only interesting thing about Changeling in this first (and mostly only) appearance is that he starts to question Mutant Master’s actions.  Not in a “maybe this is morally wrong,” kind of way, more in a “I don’t trust your motives” kind of way.  Xavier also attempts to appeal to Changeling while he is captured by the group.  It apparently works, because Changeling winds up freeing Xavier and Banshee, then confronting Mutant Master in Xavier’s form to call him out.  Why that callout required Xavier’s form, I don’t know, but it was a fairly anti-climactic reveal of Changeling’s previously unspecified shape-shifting powers.

Mutant Master turns out to be an alien who actually wants to destroy ALL life on Earth, not just humans.  The other Factor Three members are wisely not down with that, and help the X-Men defeat him.  Then the groups just kinda awkwardly part ways. 

That’s the last we see of Changeling until the retcon.  Next is the story in which Xavier dies, and which was apparently originally intended to be the actual death of Xavier, until they wanted to bring him back and realized that they had a convenient shape-shifting character running around.

In the story, Xavier is acting weird, and sterner than usual, while making apparently irrational decisions and spending a lot of time alone with Jean.  Meanwhile, the X-Men fight some dude named Grotesk, who is the last survivor of an underground society, and wants to destroy the world with an earthquake machine, and it’s all so dumb I really don’t care.  But in the end Xavier stops Grotesk’s machine, and is mortally wounded in the explosion,  Then as he dies, he reveals that he was already dying of an illness, and he pushed the team so hard because so they’d be prepared to fight on without him.

It’s a sad story when you read it as Xavier, but even sadder when you re-read it as Changeling going through all this, while wearing another person’s face.  He’s genuinely heroic here:

“There’s no need for you to want to see the Earth destroyed!  No reason!”  Changeling, buddy, you were trying to start WW3 like three weeks ago.  But I’ll call this character development.

Changeling takes “commit to the bit” to another level by dying as Xavier.  He was already terminally ill, but since he’d only been leading the team for a few weeks, it’s safe to say his remaining time was shortened here.  He basically sacrificed himself to save the world, and was buried and mourned under another man’s identity.

In issue 65, Xavier’s death is retconned and Xavier shows up alive and explains the switch.

Changeling now talks like a gangster from the 1920′s, and I’m somehow imagining him with a Brooklyn accent. You can see where Morph’s character design came from, although I’m pretty sure TAS series Morph is meant to be much younger.  Changeling here looks middle-aged.  Although maybe it’s also because he’s dying?

Given that the Xavier’s death story was originally written to be actual Xavier, this sad little one-page retcon is all we get of the Changeling redemption story.  He was basically just a plot device to bring Xavier back.  And I have so many questions, the biggest one being:

He was in the basement?  Xavier let another man die in his place and let his team mourn his death, and the entire time, he was in the fucking basement?!  When I first heard about this story, I assumed that Xavier had to go away somewhere to do something really important to prepare for the alien invasion, and left Changeling as a temporary stand-in.  But apparently, he just really needed time alone to concentrate, because he let his team of teenagers cry over his supposed dead body while he was in the fucking basement of the mansion the entire time. 

Putting a former terrorist in charge of his students was already a pretty bad idea, even if Xavier could read his mind to know that he sincerely wanted to reform.  Was Xavier monitoring things at all down there?  Was he available to offer help or advice if Changeling or Jean came to him?  Would he have done anything at all if Changeling changed his mind and went bad again?  I feel like the answer is, “Probably not.”  If Xavier needed absolute, uninterrupted time alone to plan, letting Jean or Changeling pop in to ask questions every day would kind of defeat the purpose - he may as well just keep leading the team. 

More important, did Xavier intend to fake his own death?  He knew Changeling was terminally ill, but the time frame was six months.  He presumably couldn’t have predicted Changeling being killed by Grotesk.  Was he going to come back and let Changeling retire for a peaceful death, or was he going to let him die as Xavier.  Was Changeling’s death part of some messed up plan to force the X-Men to stand on their own, or just some unfortunate wrinkle in Xavier’s strategy that he ran with?  Xavier actually had a “final message” to the X-Men that he had pre-recorded, which they play in X-Men 43 after the funeral.  Who is speaking on that recording?  Is it Xavier himself?  Changeling?  Were they really planning on having Changeling die while still in Xavier form?

And that’s not even getting into poor Jean.  Jean was the ONLY one who knew the truth, and to hide it from the rest of the team.  She was basically a teenager, and had to bear the burden of helping Changeling as fake Xavier, and watching all her team-mates mourn and struggle after Xavier’s death, never revealing the truth.  There was an interview with Chris Claremont where he said that he thought Xavier’s retconned actions in issue 65 were really messed up.  He doesn’t get into the isolating of Jean, just that it was an absolute dick move to fake his own death (either deliberately or unintentionally) instead of just telling the team that he needed to go off somewhere alone and they’d have to fend for themselves for awhile.  In an issue retelling the X-Men’s history after Jean’s Dark Phoenix death, he wrote Cyclops as actually being somewhat resentful of Xavier’s decision. 

If Changeling ever does get resurrected on Krakoa, I’d actually like to see some interaction between him and Jean.  Jean was the only person who knew the truth, and the only person he could confide in or ask for advice during his tenure as Fake-X, assuming that Xavier was totally locked away.  What did they talk about in private?  Did he ask Jean for advice on how to properly be Xavier?  Or was Jean just like, “I understand that you’re dying and all, but could you be a little less cranky?  The team is starting to notice.”  Jean also seems to be the only one who maybe mourns him.  She appears to be just as upset as the rest of the team as “Xavier” dies, even though she knows the truth.  And her comment on Changeling is “He....was a fine person, at the last.”  Jean seems to care more than Xavier, who brushes the death off pretty quickly.  “Yes, team, I let someone else die in my place while I hid in the basement, but that’s all water under the bridge.  Now lets train to fight the aliens.”

Anyway, this is a weird story, and some of the weirdness is partially just due to the retcon.  Changeling would have been a footnote in X-Men history if he hadn’t been adapted into the happy-go-luck Morph, who is so completely different, whether in TAS, AoA or Exiles.  I still want to know Changeling wound up being such a cold-hearted and ruthless character compared to his alternate counterparts. 

Also, Professor Xavier is a jerk.

[hermespie]

ehehe i wanna send in a silly matchup req for your valentines event!!! could you give me a genshin impact boy pleeeaaase? :)

my pronouns are she/her and im a silly little enfp.

personality wise im a huge extrovert who loves making friends everywhere I go.. lol people tell me that I could befriend a tree if i wanted. im always drawn to introverted people because i hate seeing someone quiet and lonely lol. i also tend to be a bit of a goof. i like making people laugh. i get really invested and interested in other people's interests and i pick up a bunch of different things to be able to bond with people i meet.

im very much a talker, i can talk people's heads off if it's about something im interested in. I'm basically very energetic at all times. I can never take things seriously and most of the time i really need someone to reel me back in and tell me if i need to be serious or not.

despite all thattt, under certain extreme conditions, my social battery can run dangerously low, and sometimes i need to sit in silence to chill out for a bit. im also the type of person to speak up for others but never myself lol. im a little bit of a pushover in that regard.

my hobbies, i love singing and music and dance with my entire soul. poetry is also something that i love reading, as well as photography. i do a little doodling on the side too!!!! i love writing and history and sometimes i even enjoy a little math.

but..thats all I can think offfff! have funnnn with this oneeee hehehe >:)

HIII omg I'm so excited to see another fellow ENFP! It's like looking myself in the mirror while reading your description ( nah cuz fr)

Thank you for participating in my Valentines Day event and taking your time to write this! Let's see what we can deal with here <33

#GENSHIN IMPACT MATCHUP

I match you up with......

SHIKANOIN HEIZOU

Credit: Official art

I took a long time thinking about it, and this is the result I had!

Heizou is not an easy person to easily get along with, so I could see that your first encounter with him would be quite awkward at some point. I could see him purposely avoiding you when you're in your extreme extrovert mood as you keep on finding ways to bother him.

But I think after days after days 'trying' to avoid you, instead of completely neglecting you and mind his own business, he starts to find out interesting parts about you and got to know you better.

Like how you suddenly drain out of energy and just sits down below a tree and mind your own business. It's really interesting for Heizou to see you out of your extrovert mood. And we all know Heizou loves random mysteries he discovered.

Having a relationship with Heizou would actually be very entertaining. The two of you would have an absolute fun with each other joking around and pranking people. Probably something like run up to a random person and yell "tag, you're it!" and create confusion.

Something also tells me that Heizou's love language is quality time. He likes to look at you when you're both just doing nothing and stares at your eyes. He also likes to hear your rambles as if it was an opportunity for him to get to know you better, kinda similar like getting clues for a detective case or some sort.

Heizou is a person that is fun, but doesn't lack intelligence. So you don't have to worry if you can't read the room sometimes, cause Heizou would remind you about it respectfully. He is quite reliable on serious times, so it's fine to be yourself around him.

For him, you're his endless mystery and he just loves to spend time with you, no matter if its just a normal night having dinner with you or a grand event. And I think the two of you could actually get along pretty well!

Thank you for reading till this far! I hope you enjoyed it <33 likes and reblogs are appreciated!

[jessjustplay]

7 Things I Didn't Like About Final Fantasy VII

Every game has good and bad parts!

I recently shared 7 things I loved about Final Fantasy VII, and now I want to share 7 things I didn’t like about this popular video game!

1. Too Many Mini-Games

PLEASE MAKE THEM STOP.

This was easily the thing I disliked the most! (I would even say hated.) There were way, way, WAY too many mini-games! They were all annoying and not fun. Okay, one comes to mind that was kind of fun: I liked climbing the wintery mountain and having to take breaks to “warm up”. That one wasn’t too bad, I could live with it.

The snowboarding one (which was right before the mountain climbing mini-game) was extremely frustrating; at one point I got stuck and could not back out of a corner but, after a lot of button smashing, I managed to get out of there. Whew!

The submarine mini-game? Horrible. (I could not tell what the main objective was!) The mini-battle thing at Fort Condor? Confusing! Chocobo Racing? Not fun AT ALL. Okay, I’ll stop. I disliked them all and they made me want to quit the game many times.

2. The Storytelling Was Bad

Very interesting story, but in my opinion, bad storytelling. Most of the time I was just confused. 🙈

In my previous post I wrote that I really liked the lore and history of FFVII. That is still true! I think FFVII has great game lore, history, and even story, but I wasn’t a fan of how the storytelling was done.

What I mean is, I didn’t like how the story jumped from present to past, or from hallucinations to reality. While timeline shifts are completely okay, the ones in this game weren’t executed in a clear manner.

I was confused about the truth and how much the characters knew. Some (like Tifa) seemed to know more but they weren’t giving us any clear answers. (It was very frustrating.)

Unfortunately, there were many points in my gameplay where I just wanted to desperately finish the game to find clarity.

I wrote a tweet saying, “If FF7 OG were a book, I’m definitely at the part where I’m just confused and want the story to be over because I have questions & need answers!” and that’s exactly how I felt.

This is the first time I play a FF game where I actually WANT the game to be over sooner rather than later.

3. Certain Characters Were Annoying

I’m looking at you, Yuffie and Cid.

I thought I was going to like Yuffie, but she’s such a brat! I used her in my party until I got to Cosmo Canyon. While sitting by the fire, she said she wanted to leave because it was a dump with no materia. Cid is a character I kinda like, but also dislike. He is very mean to Shera and that’s what made me dislike him immediately. I think he actually cares about Shera, but HE decided to stop the mission, not Shera. HE decided to save her life. He’s allowed to feel upset that his dream didn’t come true, but that doesn’t give him the right to be mean to someone who was just trying to help.

4. The World Map Sucked

Are location names too much to ask for?

The map was so annoying! I had no idea what any place/location name was and I couldn’t remember their spot on their map, so trying to find where to go next was tough. I liked the world map area (and the music!), but I didn’t like the actual world map. It definitely needs a key and location names!

5. Cloud’s Cloudy Past

Talk about confusing!

I thought Cloud was so cool, but… he’s basically a phony? During the beginning of the game, Cloud uses Zack’s memories to describe his past. Sure he “was there” in most/all of the scenes, but things didn’t happen as he said they did. (Or maybe they DID? I don’t know, this is why I say the storytelling is confusing!)

I didn’t hate the “nicer” Cloud we meet at the end (I liked him!) but I didn’t like the complete character shift. It’s one thing to develop naturally as a character, it’s another for characteristics to be completely wiped away in an instant just because. This felt like a “just because” move and I wasn’t feeling it.

6. The Timing of A Death

I hate to see you go… so soon.

For one, I am sad she died because she’s a great character. I enjoyed using her in battle. I think it makes sense (for the story) that she died so I’m not mad she died… I just think she should have died later in the game. This would have given us more time to use her in battle, and I think her death could have had a greater impact if it was at the end. shrug

7. Sephiroth

I don't get it, him or any of it. 🤷‍♀️ I think I could like him/understand him more once I play more of the other FF7 games and/or watch Advent Children.

I didn’t understand Sephiroth or his story, therefore I didn’t like anything about him. I actually hated seeing him so much during the game because Cloud makes it seem like we’re off to fight him but then we go a completely different route. shrug I think my indifferent feelings towards him can be blamed on the bad storytelling.

[annikuh]

talking abt the animated high school show with the cloned historical figures but absolutely not tagging it bc I don’t need any randos to come argue with me abt it, so

‼️‼️for the folks who have the tag blacklisted (I don’t blame you LMAO) this is your sign to skip ahead‼️‼️

putting it under the cut bc it’s long, rambly, and has several significant spoilers for s2 and s3. it is mostly about Topher bc they did him so dirty LOL. I just gotta get it off my chest bc it’s all eating me alive to the point where it feels like grief😵‍💫

tonight I ended up yelling myself into hysteria about how devastated I am that they’re literally writing Topher out of the whole show (literally 6 minutes of screen time this entire season. like actually literally.) and how easily they could’ve incorporated him more but they refuse to respect him as a character. like they can’t even do the bare minimum of continuing ANY of his story from s2 at all & its honestly a disservice, like they’d rather force his whole character to being defined by a group of other strange losers who all feel the same way as he does and acts the same way as he does, rather than keep him as an individual and UTILIZE HIM. he was a total loner in s2 bc he literally did not fit in with anyone and that made him stand out. but now there are several other weird randos (one of which being the laziest clone I’ve ever seen in my life—like Jack the Ripper was not a sassy black lady, what are we even talking about anymore it doesn’t make any sense, even as a joke) who are ALSO total loners who don’t fit in with anyone.

they didn’t even try to do anything at all with him. the most basic example is that he literally said he had a crush on Joan in the prev season—to the degree that he would convince Abe to get molested and then blackmail him abt it to keep him from stealing Joan from him—& then nothing happened with that at all when there was SUCH A CLEAR IN for that storyline. another insane example: he spent the entire previous season only talking to Abe and said like one word directly to him directly the entire season and there was never any mention of them ever having any relationship. no conflict btwn him and Abe for the INSANITY that Topher put him thru, which is actually nuts. they just…don’t talk.

my honest theory atp is just that he was a character that was too funny of a concept not to include, and didn’t have much else in mind. they just kept giving him jokes that were silly and didn’t take a moment to realize that there was potential for a very interesting ongoing antagonist. his blackmailing storyline was the most interesting thing in s2 for me bc there were so many questions about his actual motivations (bc he surely did not seem to care abt Joan when she was in trouble in s2ep10). & also bc like that’s a character who’s genuinely interesting and dangerous. he’s a total ticking time bomb with no friends and a history of psychiatric hospitalizations that’s constantly overcompensating for who he inherently is as the clone of a genocidal colonizer yet still being disliked because he’s overcompensating so much, who is willing to actively victimize and traumatize the only person who tolerates him over a crush (whether it be him having a genuine interest in Joan or him not wanting to lose his only friend).

but now they have him like “man I hate the popular kids, ooh Joan go change a letter out from the cheerleaders signs lol it’ll make them look stupid” are you fr. “we’re gonna release venomous snakes to poison everyone” don’t even look at me. so shallow, nothing there. why did he give up on trying to seem like a good person? doesn’t matter apparently. I could easily make up a reason but it’s not worth it to talk abt in the show ig so whatever.

it’s just so insulting and kinda icky to see that these writers/showrunners/whatever actively dislike one of their characters this much that they completely ignore both his established character traits AND his mere presence. He isn’t even in the background in half these episodes. He’s just gone.

I would’ve rather the writers just be like “sorry he’s in the asylum forever goodbye” and keep him out of this season entirely bc to see him reduced into generic nothing was a personal tragedy.

I was screaming about this for at least 40 minutes like banging on my desk and trying not to angry cry lol.

ik it’s dramatic but honestly I’m kinda grieving the show as a whole ngl. like I’ve come to the conclusion that it just doesn’t have a place in this decade & in retrospect it shouldn’t have been brought back in the first place. it’s so different from what it started as and I just…I dunno man. this season didn’t have any original music, no musical episode, no celebrity guests as far as I remember, and its just like guys what are we DOIN. it’s just such a deviation from the core elements of the show and it makes how serious we’re meant to take the show even more obvious and strange imo.

AND ANOTHER THING‼️ on that same note of having to take the show and characters pretty seriously, it’s even more obvious that they’re writing Topher out bc he’s the only “main character” in the opening credits that doesn’t get PROFUSE amounts of in-depth exploration—he literally gets zero. whatever nonsense he said in that last episode abt enjoying that he’s a villain doesn’t hold a candle to what everyone else got and honestly means nothing to me bc like…how am I supposed to be even kind of impacted by that reveal when he hadn’t spent a SECOND of this season trying to get anyone to like him. all he did in s2 was try to seem like a good woke guy with his awful activism and he did NONE of that the entire season, so it’s like 1. ok why not like why didn’t he do that if it was his MAIN BIT (A: bc the writers do not care about him clearly) and also 2. so why am I supposed to care abt him embracing his lineage in the last ep? it drives me NUTS bc that could’ve been such an interesting development (ala “aren’t you tired of being nice? Don’t you wanna just go ape shit?”) if they fucking set it up at all but god forbid i guess.

they so easily could’ve just cut out the bleachur creachurs and forced Joan to ally herself with Topher alone bc now everyone knows he’s kind of a misogynist and Abe fuckin hates him for the obvious reasons, and we get to the same place. let him and Joan be seen together. that would absolutely add tension to Joan’s relationship with the rest of her friends, especially since all of the boys KNOW that Topher likes her. There we go, easy peasy set up; it keeps him in his role as an antagonistic force and allows him easier access to the rest of the fucking cast. there are endless fucking possibilities and I could draft up like five different ways they could’ve easily incorporated him in. it makes me so mad.

won’t even get into how they threw candide off to the side too. fucking crazy man.

this sounds so awful but if it doesn’t get renewed, I don’t think I’m gonna be too upset. & that honestly makes me want to cry my eyes out bc this has been my favorite show since I was 16 :(

im rewatching s3 now with my partner and im hoping ill change my mind and inhale some copium and force myself to like it, but at this moment this is how i feel and its exhausting. just bad. (honestly I have several other standout issues that i just don’t like with the season—e.g. fucking Mary is the stupidest character arc they could’ve used like this is so lame. we spent three episodes hyping her up so abe can get his dick wet and she just ended up being Bloody Mary trying to fuck him to death. we have time for this but not topher huh? no time for candide either huh? booo…hisss….stupid fuckin plot line and dumber reveal. some character issues with scuddy boy too…hrng)

anyway, I’m just gonna file the serial number off of Topher and keep him for myself, fuck this noise LMAO

(if you’ve read to this point you deserve a medal and I’m praying to Christ you don’t think less of me LMAO)

[lord-tekron]

Another day, another Behind the Scenes regarding The Springlock Paradox

Felt in the mood to do some ramblings, and given how we’ve talked about The Puppets, we went into the History of The Afton Bots, and we went into the logic behind Dave Miller and ya boi Springtrap. I think we should turn our attention from all of that towards the most newest (kinda) character introduced, Henry Fredburn.

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But first, we need to address something, and it is going to be a bit “meta” (I think anyways, basically a buzzword that means nothing nowadays). But this post is gonna serve secondary purpose. See I finally got around towards breaking my silence and attempting to reuse the Freddit Discord, more specifically the fanon channel. 

Naturally, this will be shared there once everything is written and explained, but it will also double as a way to share The Springlock Paradox to those people without spamming the channel and basically making it all about me. Which is the reason why I was so hesitant to use it for so long, when you got 50+ chapters under your belt and so much you wanna ramble about, you can easily hog the spotlight. And it would be wrong to casually punt away the others that wanna share their ideas and AUs. So this is a sorta workaround to make a best of both worlds scenario (in theory anyhow)

So, hello you select few that looked at that link and have clicked it! I welcome you to the madhouse. Here is the chapter selection of all currently available chapters of The Springlock Paradox that have been made over the last five years. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PQzyf1HbuALjm4ZNVWrGgoHZxu9Qr47f

You can read them if you want, you can not read them, you can read the other behind the scenes posts I shared links to in that first paragraph, you can also not. I will not force you to do so, but do be wary that this stuff is gonna rot your mind from raw confusion if you ain’t ready. With that being said, let’s ACTUALLY now talk about Henry.

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So, let’s first talk about “Why bring Henry back?”, and there are two main reasons. First is because it would be interesting story wise, having him come back after both his ending of FFPS and after all that happened in the first Arc/Saga would dynamics and let me play off characters interacting with this face that is both new and old at the same time.

The second reason, is that it is REALLY fun to bully Henry. Because Scott gave him this grand finale at FFPS, and then five seconds later went and said “Nah that didn’t happen anymore.” (I know there is technicalities all over the place cause of The Mimic but honestly the books make my head hurt). Also because he forced his daughter into being a furry and then tried to sell her for $5, to which I constantly made the joke of him being a “Bad Dad”. I make fun of Henry as much as I make Michael the punchbag in TSP. So it was time we brought him into the mix so the bullying can continue. :V

Now for his design. One thing I wanted was for him to have an inverse color scheme of Dave. Where Dave had a purple suit with a yellow head, Henry would have a yellowish suit with his skull having a purple aura to it.

 Likewise, I had to ensure that the audience was aware that all that was left of Henry’s corpse was his charred skull. So of course we had Springtrap find and display Henry’s skull so he could mock it.

I also had to hide the idea of Henry coming back by making it so he wouldn’t wake up from the ample remnant around. 

Course he would come back, but through alternate means, hence showing the dream/flashback to where he first encountered Ekana

The next quest was to ask “how do we write him?” And the answer was pretty obvious; he is a man that just wants to finally do what he tried to end... Only to be completely bamboozled and confused by everything around him given how little he actually knows about what is going on. I mean, think about it; There are two puppets that ended up reproducing, the person he will think is William is instead his son, the person who killed his daughter is a pile of goo that is now on good terms with said daughter, both magic and alternate dimensions exist, not to mention the fucking mushroom people and SOULDOZER being around. He is basically a person knowing nothing about The Springlock Paradox encountering the ramblings I talk about out of context. He is the outside eyes looking in and has no idea what to make of all of this.

But let it be known that while I am mean to the man, I won’t be cruel. He did reunite with his daughter after all this time. And he also ain’t no pushover either, he has shown in the few chapters that he can throw down. And trust me, he is gonna pull his weight in upcoming chapters... At least he will in my eyes to justify future bullying on him. :V

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And yeah, that is about it for this Behind the Scene talk, granted a chunk of it was to ramble about that freddit discord stuff, but it was something I wanted to talk about nevertheless. Alot of my focus is gonna be on Artfight this month so don’t be surprised if the next Chapter doesn’t get completed anytime soon. Will do pages when I have the time to, but most of it will be on Artfight. See you all next time I decide to spam a wall of text that you have to either read or scroll past.