#this is the level of storytelling i dream of seeing man

[lionheartedmusings]

there's something so special about fit's lore stream, and the build up to it? best lore so far hands down, no questions asked for me.

don't get me wrong, cellbit's federation arc was fun but in terms of storytelling, it felt (to me) way too rushed to feel real or poignant from a character perspective, and railroady from a overall lore perspective. it had no build up, no time to sit and fester, and sure there'll be consequences but frankly, it fell flat. it's not the sort of plotline you go through in a week, and it was more stressful than satisfying.

fit has been dropping this and letting it build for weeks, always leaving me questioning whether it was a troll or something else. it was a blink and you miss it moment in the middle of someone else's stream, a little uncomfortable and suspicious but also completely harmless, and unassuming. and then fitmc from 2b2t turns around and drops not only a massive plot point (is he hired by the host? by someone who railroaded the host's plan? why were the people here picked? what's the point of putting them together? where does the federation come into this?) but also just… a really solid character arc.

a man from a world that's broken, chaotic, baren, who can't trust anyone except for himself signs a contract to do a job, and what does he find? home, a dystopian nightmare of a home but a beautiful one still. family. friends. a son to love and care for on his own, a responsibility he's never wavered from for a second… but he still gave his word. he finally bites the bullet and tries to reach out to his employer, tell them things have changed and while he'll do as he agreed to, "have they considered the cost of their request?"

he loves his son, loves these people, he grieves with them and wants to protect everyone, but knows he's in a position where he can't win -- he was doomed from the start, having gotten here knowing more than the rest and knowing at the end of the way, when push comes to shove they won't trust him. but he's used to not being trusted -- he just wants to help protect these people, while keeping himself and his child safe.

his message doesn't go through, his plea doesn't reach anyone's ears.

don't send me in dark despair from all that i hunger for but open your angel's arms to this stranger in paradise and tell him that he need be a stranger no more

fitmc from 2bt2 indeed. he's a tired man from a loveless place, and for the first time in his life he doesn't want to be a stranger anymore. how unfortunate for him, prayers are rarely answered.

[meggtheegg]

FNAF Movie Theory...

I'm pretty sure there's still one major plot twist in the universe of the movie that's been set up for a sequel but hasn't actually happened yet. Heavy spoilers under the cut:

After watching the movie in theaters and then revisiting a few scenes on Peacock, I'm still kind of convinced that Mike Schmidt is Michael Afton.

Here's my reasoning. A lot of the characters spend time acting like they know something the audience/other characters don't, and those things are...mostly resolved. But some of them just...kind of aren't.

The main thing that sticks out to me is William's whole storyline. Starting with the scene where he offers Mike the job, his behavior is almost explained by the movie's logic. He sees Mike's name, seems...kind of deeply upset, looks at him very closely, stands to get coffee, and has a moment of visible internal conflict. Then he instantly offers him the Freddy's job. The way the movie frames this, it seems to be saying that he recognized the name of one of his victims, realized this was the kid's brother, and decided to kill him right then and there. Which is passable as an explanation, but it has a lot of holes, if you look deeper.

Why would William so instantly recognize a fairly common last name as the brother of some kid he killed that wasn't even anywhere near Freddy's? Why did he kidnap/kill Garrett in the first place, in some random forest in Nebraska? Why did he see the name on the file, then immediately stop and examine Mike's face so closely, when Mike's memories/dreams pretty clearly show that they never saw each others' faces when Garrett was taken? Why did he send Vanessa to "keep Mike in the dark" if he purposely gave him the job to get him killed? Why not have the animatronics kill him right away? He didn't know that Mike was searching for the man who took his brother, and while he could have maybe guessed he was still actively haunted by what happened based on Mike beating up a guy that he thought was kidnapping someone, it still feels like a weird choice to go and hire him, then just have him do the job with no issue for a few days.

As for Vanessa, we see that she's been cleaning up William's messes for years. Why is Mike the one she changes her mind and stands up to her father for? There's no implied romance between the two and no particularly meaningful connection beyond them both having family issues. I guess she cares about Abby because she's a kid, but kids getting hurt clearly never stopped her from helping her father before.

And, on a more meta level, this is Scott and his storytelling style we're talking about. The man puts plot twists inside of plot twists and everything always ties back into the Aftons, somehow.

So, here's my theory: I think that Mike is William's kid, but Mike's mom left Afton when he was young and remarried the man that Mike thinks is his father.

It seems convoluted and maybe cliche, but if it's true, then suddenly there's an answer to all of those questions. "Michael Schmidt" isn't exactly an eye-catching name, unless you had a kid named Michael and your ex-wife married a guy with the last name Schmidt. Garrett's kidnapping, then, becomes an act of intentional, petty revenge rather than an extremely random coincidence. Giving Mike the job and sending in Vanessa suddenly becomes about piecing together how much he knows and figuring out if he's worth trying to reconnect with or is just a threat that needs to be killed. (It feels worth noting that William is as far as I can remember the only person to call him Michael in the whole film. He also very pointedly never says "Schmidt" until he's decided to kill Mike and suddenly announces his full name out loud. If he went by Michael as a little kid, that is what William would default to calling him, but if he took the new husband's last name, that would be like like salt in the wound that he wouldn't want to voice. By finally saying it out loud, it feels like he's making the decision to fully separate himself from Mike.)

As for Vanessa, if Mike is her brother, it makes sense that he would be the person she'd turn against William to save. It would be weird for her not to tell him, but she could also be trying to protect him, in some way. There's never any mention of her mother, and it seems like it's just been her and William for a long time. Also, ending the movie with her in a coma feels like a strange narrative choice, but it makes sense if she knows information that's purposely being kept hidden for the sequel.

Of course, it could just be that the movie has kind of messy writing and I'm trying to fix it because I want there to be a deeper reason for it. Maybe there is no Michael Afton in the movies, or maybe he's off chilling and doing his own thing somewhere and we'll see him in the sequel. Only time will tell.

[memryse]

if mcyt isn’t fiction then

people who create dnd characters that are similar to them in personality are just playing themselves and should not be treated as having made a character

people who make any other dnd character should also be treated as just playing themselves since people refuse to even consider roleplay smps as fiction

any ocs someone puts a bit of themselves into? nope not fiction!

actors who play a character with the same first name as them aren’t really acting

and so on

maybe YOU can’t separate characters and real people and think that everything you see from a youtuber even when they’re explicitly acting is how they are in real life but we as a fandom just don’t have that issue lol. we’ve had disclaimers and indicators for when we’re talking about characters and not content creators for years because a certain smp contained a character having suicidal thoughts as a result of abuse at the hands of another character and we needed to make it absolutely crystal clear that we were referring to a fictional storyline and not real guy #1 being an abuser and real guy #2 being suicidal. these customs have either extended into other corners of mcyt fandom, or some developed their own independently like hispanic mcyt fans have used the word cubito to distinguish mc guy from real life guy from years, a term that other language speakers liked so much we’ve also started picking it up lol

we know exactly what we’re doing. i get that the line maybe does seem more blurred to an outsider looking in (i wouldn’t know given that both my first fandom at age 12 and current fandom at age 20 were mcrp lol) but it’s universally understood amongst us. i don’t have a problem separating hermitcraft!gem and empires s1!gem the wizard with a twin brother and empires s2!gem the princess and cc!gem the real life canadian woman.

idk it rubs me the wrong way that after years of trying to explain this we’re either met with people calling us racists because of three guys that the rest of us (all of us, really, because dream team fans do not claim to be minecraft fans. those are the type to actually write rpf and ship the real life racist guys) hate probably a lot more than any of you do, or they watch a few minutes of a less roleplay-heavy series/part and decide that the entire medium is invalid as a form of storytelling

it’s so annoying. i don’t think we need to be understood to have validity as a fandom we’ve been doing this for years already without that but it is so infuriating and sad how whenever there’s some kind of fandom poll thing one of three things happens

mcyt fans are banned outright and placed on the same level as something like hp

an mcyt fan runs their own and gets harassed for it

a non-mcyt fan allows us in until they get harassed so badly by whatever fandoms we go up against that they end up deleting our bracket

in what world is that normal behaviour. and that harassment always involves calling them all racist cishet white men such as misgendering both eret (real life bisexual genderqueer person) and their character (also queer), attempting to harass jimmy solidarity fans because jimmy makes mc videos so he must be a dream associate (the only time they interacted was in a tournament during which dream and georgenotfound shittalked jimmy’s best friends to his face), all the shit quackity has gotten for being a former friend of the dream team as if he wasn’t the #1 victim of their racism and xenophobia, the fact that any time c!technoblade is involved in a poll we have to beg other fandoms not to talk shit about him because the real life man died of cancer before dream’s grooming allegations came out, similarly when tfc was in one. and so on and so forth. all because people can’t separate roleplay and real life and think that the entire minecraft sphere revolves around dream just because their idea of mcyt does (not even his own smp named after him did that).

[thatfeelinwhenyou]

KINDRED — 18

It’s your final year of highschool, and your only goal is to graduate top of your cohort, as usual. Except as student council president, your advisor can’t seem to leave you alone. What happens when you take Decelis Academy’s top student, their star athlete and put them in front of a camera?

smau + written (3.6k words)

❥･• episode 18 — you are approved!

In the soft glow of the cosy cafe, you sit in quiet observation as Jungwon engages wholeheartedly in playful banter with Bora. He's gone so far as to immerse himself in a roleplay, portraying a gallant knight on a noble quest to rescue his cherished princess. You laugh as Jungwon’s eyes twinkle mischievously as he adds in adlibs of his own, only to feign innocence when Bora scolds him for not sticking to the script at hand.

"Uncle Jungwon! This is the 10th time you've died and come back to life," Bora declares with a pout, crossing her tiny arms over her chest. Her earnestness tugs at your heartstrings, and you can't help but chuckle at the sight of your precious niece scolding Jungwon once again for deviating from the storyline she's meticulously crafted within the confines of her young imagination.

Jungwon's laughter rings out, a warm and melodic sound that fills the cafe with an enchanting harmony. You casually sip on your mango juice, supposedly for your niece, though it’s merely a flimsy excuse to indulge your childlike taste buds without Jungwon giving you a hard time about it.

Unbeknownst to you, a gentle smile forms on your face as a heartwarming scene unfolds before your eyes. Jungwon affectionately feeds Bora pieces of the chocolate cake they were sharing while hanging on to every word of her animated storytelling about a vivid dream she had last night. Needless to say, it’s a stark contrast to the interactions you’d witnessed between the two of them earlier today.

You recall the moment when Jungwon stooped down to meet Bora at eye level, inadvertently causing the shy little one to seek refuge behind your legs. It’s a humorous irony—Jungwon, who claims to be terrible with children, yet when confronted with one, he effortlessly transforms into a gentle and nurturing presence, a side of him you've longed to see more of, so different from the way he usually acts around you.

Jungwon catches your gaze, his eyebrow arching slightly at your evident distraction. It dawns on you that you've been staring blankly at him, and in a swift reaction as if you’ve just been caught secretly peeping at your crush, you avert your gaze, a faint blush colouring your cheeks. With self-consciousness gnawing at you, your eyes start to wander around the cafe, scrutinising every detail except the man who's become the epicentre of almost all of your daydreams these days.

As your gaze sweeps the surroundings, you notice several members of the film crew discreetly stationed in various corners of the cafe. Their cameras are pointed directly at you, serving as a poignant reminder that this entire scenario is being documented for the world to witness—and, more pressingly, for your mother to see. At this moment, you yearn more than ever for a black hole to materialise out of thin air, whisking you away to another universe where you could escape the spotlight's unrelenting glare.

Jungwon must have caught wind of your uneasiness, which doesn’t take a genius to figure out by the way you are shifting uncomfortably in your seat. He catches your gaze with a reassuring smile. “Hey, just ignore it. Look at me instead, like you’ve been doing the entire time.” A teasing smirk tugs at the corners of his lips, and you just know he’s not about to let this go without some playful banter.

"Yeah, I was staring at the chocolate stain on your cheeks." You didn't even notice the stain on his cheeks until just a few seconds ago.

"Sure you were."

"Halfway to your mid-life crisis, and you can't even eat a cake without smearing it everywhere." 

"Told you, I'm a big baby," he concedes with a casual shrug, returning his focus to entertaining Bora. A sigh of relief escapes you as he drops the topic, and you mentally pat yourself on the back for coming up with a reasonably convincing excuse to divert his attention away from your blunder.

However, Jungwon isn't the only subject taking up your thoughts these days; so was the whole documentary leading up to your midterm exams in less than a month. Doubt creeps in, and you begin to wonder if your mother is right—that this isn’t such a good idea after all. Because at the end of the day, is this pursuit of good publicity worth compromising your academic performance for?

As your mind grapples with these uncertainties, you momentarily drift away from the present moment and inadvertently surrender your grip on reality. In that fateful instant, a moment of distraction seizes you, causing you to accidentally tip the glass of mango juice that rests before you. The bright liquid spills over the brim, splashing onto your top and drenching your jeans in a sticky cascade. The cold sensation against your skin jolts you back to reality, a stark reminder of the unpredictability that life seems to throw your way, much like the documentary project itself.

As you attempt to salvage your dignity, Jungwon springs into action. Without a second thought, he reaches for the napkin holder, his movements graceful and purposeful. "Y/N! You alright?" You struggle to process the whirlwind of events, your eyes widening in astonishment as Jungwon rushes to your side, his concern palpable in the depths of his expressive eyes.

"What were you thinking? I thought I was supposed to be the baby," he playfully teases, a trace of amusement dancing in his gaze as he extends a helping hand. His fingers, warm and reassuring, gingerly touch the damp fabric of your top, blotting away the sticky residue with a tenderness that sends shivers down your spine.

Despite the embarrassing mishap, you can't help but be entranced by the depth of his concern, which brings back memories of that incident with Hana outside the campus library.

It's as if the universe conspired to orchestrate these moments of vulnerability, allowing you to glimpse a more intimate side of Jungwon, a side that sparks a connection neither of you can deny. 

In this unexpected moment of closeness, you lock eyes with him. Your heart flutters like a fragile butterfly, and you find yourself drawn to Jungwon in a way you've never experienced before. The looming spectre of the documentary, once a daunting presence, now fades into the periphery, leaving behind only the two of you in a world of your own.

“Accidents happen to the best of us,” Jungwon finally speaks, his voice a velvet whisper that tickles your senses. His eyes remain fixed on yours, their depths seemingly bottomless. "But sometimes, they lead to unexpected moments like this."

"What?" you murmur in response, lost in the captivating spell that seems to have woven itself around you.

"Let's go," Jungwon declares with a determined resolve. He stands up straight, his arms extending forward in a silent invitation for you to take hold. Without thinking, you place your hands in his, feeling his grip envelop your fingers. He guides you gracefully out of your seat, shedding his jacket and draping it tenderly around your shoulders.

“Go… where?”

"You can't possibly go home like this," he insists, his voice laced with concern. "Your mother won't be pleased to see her own daughter drenched in mango juice.” He laughs before continuing, “My place is nearby; you can change into one of my mother’s clothes. Come on."

Shock and any synonyms along the line aren't sufficient to describe what you're feeling at the moment. It's as though reality has taken an unexpected turn, leading you down a path you never dared to dream of. The notion that Yang Jungwon, a figure you've long held conflicted feelings toward, would extend such a heartfelt invitation to his home—his safe space—feels like a surreal twist in the script of the initial plan of just pretending you like each other. And it's not just the invitation itself but the ease and casualness with which he offers it that leaves you bewildered. Who are you to be on the receiving end of such unexpected kindness from him?

Your chilly discomfort only becomes apparent when you're enveloped in the warmth of his jacket, a cocoon of reassurance that he so willingly lends. As you bask in the comforting embrace of his jacket, Bora, who has been silently observing from the sidelines, picks up a napkin of her own. With a gentle and caring touch, she begins to delicately dab at the stain patches on your jeans, mirroring the actions she had witnessed Jungwon perform earlier.

"Are you helping me wipe the stains too, Bora-ya?" you ask, your fingers playfully pinching her chubby cheeks. In response, she scrunches her nose, her cheeks dimpling with delight. You notice her tiny fingers gently picking at the fabric of your jeans, and it's clear that she has something on her mind. Concerned, you crouch down to her eye level and cup her cheeks in your hands. "Princess, what's wrong?"

"I'm sleepy; I want to take a nap," Bora murmurs, her voice a soft, sleepy sigh. You can't help but smile at her adorable request, realising that you had momentarily forgotten about her daily afternoon naps that she holds dear.

"I guess you'll have no choice but to accept my offer, Y/N," Jungwon declares with a teasing glint in his eyes and a cheeky smile gracing his lips. You hadn't initially planned on accepting his offer, but as reality sets in, you realise that you may have no other choice. Your apartment is a long, hour-ride away on the metro, and with your mango-stained clothes and a sleepy Bora in tow, the journey seems like a daunting task. Reluctantly, you nod in agreement, a mixture of gratitude and uncertainty swirling within you.

"You must be Y/N! It's so nice to finally meet you!" Mrs. Yang exclaims, her hands slightly frantic as she hurriedly wipes them on her apron before reaching out to you. You graciously accept her welcoming gesture, noting the uncanny resemblance between her and Jungwon, especially in their eyes. She sports a pair of dimples, just like her son, and it's a striking familial trait that adds to the warmth of her presence. "I've heard a lot about you from Jungwon."

"Nice things, I hope," you tease, playfully squinting your eyes as you exchange a friendly banter. Her laughter fills the air, casting aside any lingering nerves.

Mrs. Yang isn't a complete stranger to you; your mother had mentioned her in passing, having met at school events organised by the council. However, her vivacious and welcoming demeanor is a pleasant surprise, different from how your mother had previously described her.

"Jungwon informed me that you were coming over, so I prepared a fresh set of clothing. They're some of my old clothes, so don't worry about returning them," she says, her warm smile putting you at ease. With a gentle hand on your shoulders, she guides you away from Jungwon and Bora, leading you to an empty room that you deduce to be his mother’s. "Feel free to freshen up. You and the little one can stay for dinner too if you'd like."

Her kindness and hospitality leave you touched, and you nod gratefully, appreciating her thoughtfulness. As you step into the room, you can't help but wonder how this unexpected visit will unfold and how it might reshape your perceptions of the Yang family, especially Jungwon, who seems to be a different person in the comfort of his home.

As you step out of the room and into the living area, your eyes are drawn to the film crew busily setting up cameras all around the apartment, and you begin to imagine your mother’s reaction when this particular scene airs. 

In the heart of the living room, you find Jungwon and Bora seated side by side, each clutching a Nintendo Switch controller. They're engaged in what appears to be an intense game of Mario Kart, their expressions ranging from fierce determination to pure delight. Your heart swells at the sight of them bonding so effortlessly.

Silently, you watch as Jungwon purposely slows down in the middle of the virtual track, allowing Bora to race ahead. Her infectious enthusiasm knows no bounds as she jumps up and down on the sofa, gleefully celebrating her victory against Jungwon when she spots you. "Bora-ya, didn't you say you were sleepy?"

"Auntie Y/N! Come on and play with us!" she exclaims, her excitement palpable. The sparkles in her eyes are impossible to resist, and you find yourself folding at the mere sight of her eagerness. In this moment, you realise that you've never quite engaged with Bora the way Jungwon does. Your interactions with her have typically revolved around helping with homework or leisurely walks in the park, which often end with her complaining about being tired of walking and you carrying her home on your back as she naps. You now understand that Bora is a child, and children should be free to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

With a gentle smile, you nod, and you don't protest when Bora runs over to tug you toward the gaming console. Before you know it, you find yourself seated between Jungwon and your niece, controller in hand. They enthusiastically instruct you on how to play, offering playful critiques whenever you make a wrong move. "Are you guys playing, or am I?" you sigh in mock exasperation as you come in last place against Jungwon once again.

"I never would've thought the day would come when I found something you're horrible at," Jungwon teases with a playful grin as the game-ending credits roll out, his chosen character standing triumphantly in the centre of the screen.

"I don't care. We’re playing until I win," you declare with determination, pressing the start button once more. Jungwon, who is not one to shy away from a challenge, simply laughs and shrugs, as he prepares himself to win against you once more.

Game after game unfolds, and you lose track of how many rounds you've played until your first victory. While you may not have secured first place, the satisfaction of besting Jungwon is a reward in itself. You suspect that he may have let you win at will, but you refrain from mentioning it. After all, you've been engaged in this virtual competition for the past 30 minutes, and you figure he must be growing tired.

In truth, Jungwon's loss resulted from his distraction—watching your unwavering concentration and determination to defeat him in a mere game of Mario Kart. He realises then how competitive you are, much like himself.

Before you can fully relish your single victory over Jungwon, you feel a delicate weight on your arms. Bora, who had been awake and cheering you on not long ago, has finally succumbed to the gentle embrace of sleep. "I'll take her to my room," Jungwon offers, his voice soft and filled with consideration. "Also, I'm pretty sure my mom could use some help."

With the grace of a protective guardian, Jungwon lifts Bora into his arms. Her small, peaceful form nestled against him is a heartwarming sight. He flashes you a tender smile, a silent understanding passing between you, and then he disappears into a room down the corridor, leaving you with a sense of longing that you're still trying to comprehend.

With Bora's departure, you decide to extend your helping hand to Mrs. Yang. "Would you like some help?" You announce your presence at the entrance of the kitchen, catching her attention. Her warm smile and welcoming demeanour put you at ease. "That would be lovely, Y/N."

You immerse yourself in the culinary task at hand, assisting her in prepping ingredients for the dinner you hadn't initially planned on staying for, but Jungwon insisted that his mother had already purchased the ingredients, and you figured it would be impolite for you to just leave.

"How's your mother these days?" Mrs. Yang asks in her gentle attempt to bridge the silence between you.

"Oh, she's still the same old feisty woman," you joke, and she responds with a soft laugh, recalling her limited interactions with your mother. "I always thought you were a really kind student when I saw you in school, though Jungwon used to tell me otherwise."

"Really?" You raise an eyebrow, curious about Jungwon's perspective.

"He used to say that you were arrogant, but he also thought you were too good for him. I suppose he didn't want to admit that he liked you," Mrs. Yang playfully teases her son, and you chuckle at the revelation.

"Well, Mrs. Yang, any bad feelings between us are long gone, so you don't have to worry about it."

"I'm glad to hear that. You know, this is the first time Jungwon's brought anybody from school home. I was worried that his training was taking up too much of his time and that he wasn't fitting in well enough. So, imagine how happy I was when I found out he was going to be doing this documentary. Thank you, Y/N, for giving our Wonnie a chance to act like an ordinary high school student." She puts down the utensils in her hands, replacing them with your own dainty fingers as she gently caresses the back of your hands in heartfelt gratitude.

"The pleasure is mine, Mrs. Yang."

Unbeknownst to both you and Mrs. Yang, Jungwon stands at the entrance of the kitchen, a silent observer of the exchange between you and his mother. His heart swells with appreciation and warmth as he listens to the bond forming between the two most important women in his life. In this moment, he realises that life has a way of weaving unexpected connections and that his world is becoming richer by the day with you in it.

You knock gently on the door of Jungwon's room and wait a few seconds before a groggy voice on the other side invites you in. The sight that greets you is one that tugs at your heartstrings: Bora is sound asleep, nestled atop Jungwon, who appears to have just woken up from a nap. "Good morning, sleepyhead. Dinner's ready," you whisper softly, your fingers brushing the stray strands of hair that cling to his forehead, to which he responds to your touch by leaning in.

Jungwon is careful when waking Bora up from her sleep, knowing how kids get cranky when they’ve been disturbed in their beauty sleep. Surprisingly, she doesn't resist his gentle nudges; instead, she responds with tired laughter, finding the sensation ticklish rather than annoying. It’s a miracle she hasn’t bitten a finger or two.

You marvel at her level of trust in Jungwon and the bond they've formed in a matter of hours, surpassing any interaction you've witnessed her have with others.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve mistaken her for your daughter.” You playfully jest, to which Jungwon scoffs, amusement dancing in his eyes. "And you'd be the mother?" His teasing tone takes you by surprise, prompting you to deliver a quick but playful slap to his chest, eliciting a hearty laugh from him.

Around the dinner table, Bora eagerly devours her plate of food, a feast prepared by Mrs. Yang herself (with your help, of course). She eats with a gusto you've never seen before, and you can't help but wonder if there's some kind of magic in Mrs. Yang's cooking.

Jungwon keeps a watchful eye on Bora, gently cleaning her mouth each time she takes a bite, ensuring no stray food lingers on her lips. It's a level of care and attention that surprises you, and you can't help but admire how easily he has slipped into this role of guardian and friend to your niece.

"Uncle Jungwon!" Bora chimes merrily, her laughter echoing through the air as she savours another slice of apple that Mrs. Yang had spontaneously cut up.

“Hm?" Jungwon responds, his curiosity piqued by Bora's enthusiastic proclamation.

"You are approved!"

“Approved? For what?” Jungwon tilts his head curiously as he gently pushes the loose strands of hair behind her ear.

“To be Auntie Y/N’s boyfriend!” Bora exclaims with a triumphant grin, her little hands clapping together as if she's a brilliant detective who has finally cracked the code. Meanwhile, you find yourself in an unexpected predicament, your throat tightening as you inadvertently choke on the water you were drinking. A subtle blush creeps onto your cheeks, though you manage to stifle your surprise with a discreet cough.

"Bora-ya! You can't drop bombshells like that out of the blue. It might make Uncle Jungwon uncomfortable, okay?" You lovingly scold Bora, appreciating her bubbly and chatty nature but also wishing she wouldn’t put you on the spot like this.

Jungwon, on the other hand, is caught off guard by Bora's candid declaration. His gaze fixates on a distant point, lost in a moment of profound contemplation. For an instant, he allows himself to imagine what it would be like to be your boyfriend, even if just for a second, and weirdly enough, it doesn't seem to bother him as much as he thought it would.

Mrs. Yang simply laughs at Bora’s bold proclamation, and you struggle to maintain your composure as you stuff another apple into her tiny mouth, hoping it will distract her long enough for the topic to roll over.

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♡。·˚˚· ·˚˚·。♡

authors note: it’s finally here…. zzzz

perm taglist. @hajimelvr @s00buwu @urmomssneakylink @grayscorner @bubblytaetae @mrchweeee @artstaeh @sleeping-demons

taglist open! @uuzhanggggggg @missingemobeomgyu @jiawji @ocyeanicc @s7noo @asterizee @j1nniee @noascats @yunwonie @saturnmooonxx @enhaz1 @jiaant11 @clairecottenheart @i2lain @miumiuoi @zhounauts @hoey2k @neocockthotology @nanuer @yenqa @ahnneyong @chanhee-hee

[shaniacsboogara]

My dream party for a Watcher DnD podcast:

Steven Lim. This man commits to the bit on a level that I don't think I'll ever be able to comprehend. He is EVERYTHING. The amount of chaotic energy he brings to the Watcher Cinematic Universe is incredible and watching him play DnD again would probably mend every single piece of my little rotten soul.

Ryan Bergara. I know, Ryan would OBVIOUSLY be in the party if they made a show, but WE NEED TO HIGHLIGHT HOW AWESOME HE IS. Again, incredibly chaotic energy, committing to the bit, lots of good vibes, the whole shebang. But what I'd be most excited for would be for Ryan to play in a long term campaign and start going full conspiracy theorist with the lore. It would be incredible.

Katie Leblanc. Just watch her as Quezza in Sdndnd. That's all. She's so wonderful.

Joyce Louis-Jean. JOYCE. IS. EVERYTHING. She's incredibly funny, charming, and would create the most kickass PCs, I can feel it in my BONES. I support Joyce rights and Joyce wrongs, and would be thrilled to see both unfold in a campaign.

Ricky Wang. I think Ricky would be an INCREDIBLE person to have at the table. Sure, he isn't as openly chaotic as Steven / Shane / Ryan, but he brings this subtle, supportive energy to the shows he's on. He has such a wonderful presence, and I feel like he'd be an incredible team player. Plus, he's got a bit of a chaotic streak too. We've seen how excited he got about the potential of committing arson on that one ph episode.

"But Boog, where is Shane?"

Oh, you silly silly booger, Shane would be the DM! After seeing his storytelling prowess in the hot daga / puppet history / sdndnd, I would be absolutely THRILLED to see a patented Shane Madej™ homebrew world. Can you IMAGINE the lore he'd create??? The NPCs???

Alternatively, if Shane doesn't DM, I think Brennan Lee Mulligan would be a great fit to play with the Watcher crew. However, it would also be cool to see Brennan as a player in the campaign.

A few other people I think would be incredible for the Watcher crew to play with (feel free to add on to the list):

Anyone from the D20 gang (Zac Oyama, Lou Wilson, Emily Axford... etc), any of the Try Guys, Brittany Broski, Matt Mercer (I just think it would be silly), Garrett Watts, Sara Rubin...

[dragonfoxgirl]

MY THOUGHTS ON THE HAZBIN HOTEL SEASON 1

It’s been a while since something moved me with the level of power that the Hazbin Hotel series has. I’ve been following its creator ever since before the pilot, back when it was just tumblr doodles fueled by dreams.

I knew that holding back from becoming too influenced by just the pilot would end up being beneficial in the long run and Oh man, how it paid up. 

There’s few things that have all my tastes combined and packaged in such a pleasing style. The art, the characters, the visuals, the amazing music… Really, everything that we’ve been waiting for, in my opinion, has been absolutely worth it.

You notice it, when you’re an artist yourself. You see the level of love and dedication poured into every frame to such an extent that the end result is a piece of animation that breathes and lives and just fuels your own dedication to the craft of storytelling.

I’m just so damn happy that I am alive at this time to enjoy it. I am happy to witness another creators’ work be refined and polished over the years to end up being such a fun, meaningful and frankly, healing piece of art.

Congratulations to everyone involved. Thank you so much for your hard work. Enjoy this victory!

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] April Fool’s 2024 ‘The Hero, Reincarnated in Another World’ Event Story - Part 1

I hope all the names don’t get too confusing!

Chapter 1

-inside castle-

storyteller (aogiri): —This is the Starless Kingdom. The strict king that rules over this land is currently in a state of disarray. Why? Because the princess who is loved dearly by this nation, was kidnapped by the wretched and evil Demon King. And so, the king has summoned a hero in order to see her returned home safely...

haseyama: ...Huh? Where am I?

??? (kei): —Was the ritual successful?

haseyama: Huh? Kei? What he hell is going on here?

king (kei): I am the king of this land.

haseyama: ...What?

king: The princess of this kingdom has been kidnapped by the deplorable Demon King. I have called upon you in order to save her.

haseyama: What are you going on about? ...Actually never mind that, what on earth am I wearing? When did this gaudy outfit get put on me. You damn bastard, is this your doing? 

king: I have summoned you here from another realm to subdue the Demon King. Once you defeat him and return the princess to me, I shall allow you to return to the world of which you came from.

haseyama: Huuh? ...I must be dreaming.

king: Whether this is a dream or not is a moot point. Either way your task remains the same.

-kei points his sword at haseyama-

haseyama: Hey now, put that blade away. You wouldn't want to put a hole in my throat would you?

king: If you do not intend to carry out my order then I have no qualms in sending your head flying.

haseyama: Shouldn't you be the one going to defeat the Demon King? Why are you relying on someone else?

king: There are countless other scoundrels aiming for my throne. A king cannot leave his castle unattended. Now answer me, will you carry out my order or not? You may only accept or refuse.

haseyama: Threatening me huh? That's not very noble of you. Do you think I'll listen to you just cause you've got a sword pointed at me?

king: If you do not wish to cooperate then I will just summon a different man after I've executed you. So, once again, answer me.

-kei points blade closer to haseyama-

haseyama: Ok, fine fine! I'll play along with your little world of make believe... Jeez.

king: Splendid. In that case, Hero, I shall bestow you with this legendary sword to use in battle.

haseyama: Hero this legendary sword that, this isn't a video game you know? So I just need to stab the Demon Kong with this then, right? Where is he?

king: You must ascertain that yourself.

haseyama: ...Are you kidding?

king: Gather your own party of companions as well. As for any funds you may need for your journey, acquire it by your own means. The currency we use here is called ‘yell’.

haseyama: Whaaat?

king: A Hero should be able to handle that much without issue. With that, I wish you luck on your journey.

haseyama: Wh... What the hell!?

—end

*yell - same name as the currency in-game

-

Chapter 2

-inside castle-

haseyama: What was all that about? He barely explained anything to me. Was that not actually Kei...? Jeez, he could've at least told me where I should head to first.

-time pass, grassy field, day-

haseyama: Let's see, what should I do...

??? (rindou): Oh, could you be the Hero?

haseyama: Huh? —!?

??? (rindou): You are the Hero, right? I share the same goal as you, let us go together.

haseyama: You're Rindou ain't you?

nameless swordsman (rindou): I do not possess a fine name such as that. I am merely a nameless swordsman. My sword skills are of a competent level, I promise I'll be of use to you.

haseyama: (That bastard Kei did tell me I should gather companions...)

haseyama: Sure thing. I'd rather not travel alone either, let's team up.

nameless swordsman: Really? Thank you very much!

haseyama: So, how do I gain even more companions?

nameless swordsman: We should head to the tavern. That is usually where parties are formed.

haseyama: Parties...?

nameless swordsman: I think we should try recruiting some members in Umbrella Village. 

haseyama: Ok, let's do that. Heroes in video games always gather a team after all.

nameless swordsman: Video games?

-mokuren appears-

??? (mokuren): I've got you!

-rindou jumps in front of haseyama-

nameless swordsman: Watch out!!

-mokuren attacks-

haseyama: Woah!?

??? (mokuren): ...Hmph, you guarded him.

nameless swordsman: Kicking people out of nowhere is quite rude. What do you want from us?

??? (mokuren): That guy's the Hero isn't he? Wouldn't it be fun to knock him down a peg?

haseyama: What are you saying? Have you gone insane, you bastard?

??? (mokuren): You're a Hero yet this other guy had to protect you. It's laughable. Could it be you're not actually capable at all?

haseyama: As if. Who the hell do you think you are?

-qu appears-

??? (qu): My apologies. This one is the type to attack an opponent they're interested in the moment they see them. They're a dancer and I'm a priest. We were travelling together but...

dancer (mokuren): Travelling with the Hero sounds like fun. Let me join you. 

priest (qu): There you have it.

haseyama: Hey, this sword I've got is pretty amazing. Just by carrying it on me everyone's recognising me as the hero. Killing time in this world ain't half bad, everyone here is depending on me.

nameless swordsman: Indeed. The fate of this realm is in your hands.

haseyama: Alright then, I'll take you two in as companions. In exchange, escort me to this so called Umbrella Village.

dancer: Don't stand behind me.

-mokuren almost kicks haseyama-

haseyama: ...!? That was close!

nameless swordsman: Amazing, you evaded their kick so gracefully. You really are the true Hero then, how excellent!

priest: Still, it's best you avoid walking behind Dancer. We wouldn't want to have to go looking for a new Hero. 

haseyama: They'll throw a kick at me the moment I step behind them? Since when are dancers such violent people!?

—end

*Umbrella Village - reference to the song umbrella/amegasa

-

Chapter 3

-inside tavern-

haseyama: Hmm, so this is the tavern where I can gather team members?

nameless swordsman: Yes. All sorts of people visit here, so you can try and recruit whoever interests you.

haseyama: Hmm, all sorts of people huh...

drunkard (akira): Bartenderrrr, hurry up and bring me more booze~ I placed my order ages ago didn't I?

haseyama: ...Geh, that's Akira isn't it?

drunkard: No need to apologise to me sir, if you know any cute girls just introduce me to them, ok?

priest: ...Appears there are some drunk customers here as well.

dancer: Don't tell me you're planning to make him your companion? He's beyond drunk. Pick your friends better, Hero.

haseyama: Shut it you. I don't wanna have to make a team full of faces I recognise either. Is there no other options here?

bartender (hinata): Ah, welcome! Would you like to order?

haseyama: Oh, someone I don't recognise actually showed up. Are you the bartender...?

bartender: Yeah, what about it? That's one impressive looking sword you've got with you sir ♪

haseyama: Yeah. I, as the owner of this sword, am looking for some suitable companions to travel with. You're... a bartender so you'd be no good in a fight. Is there anybody that's strong in this place?

bartender: Ah, there is there is! That guy drinking alcohol over there! He called himself the 'Strongest Sorcerer'.

haseyama: Ooh, the strongest huh?

strongest sorcerer (lico): (drinking) Whew that's good...

haseyama: What, him? That's just Lico though?

nameless swordsman: The strongest sorcerer? It's true that I can sense he isn't just your average person.

haseyama: You can? Well... I guess I'll try talking to him then.

-haseyama walks over to lico-

haseyama: Hey, you.

strongest sorcerer: Hm?

haseyama: Join me. It's an honour to be on the Hero's team, no?

strongest sorcerer: ...Excuse me? What are you talking about. I doubt a decrepit old man line you could defeat the Demon King.

haseyama: What did you just call me!?

strongest sorcerer: I can see why you'd wish for the help of I, the strongest sorcerer. It's obvious you'd need my power. If you'd like for me to join you, then bow to me first.

haseyama: Excuse me!?

strongest sorcerer: My abilities don't come cheap you know. Are you going to hire me? How much money do you have, can you even afford it?

haseyama: Bastard, how about I go ahead and double the debt you owe me?

strongest sorcerer: Debt? What are you talking about?

haseyama: Never mind! Besides you're talking all big but are you even a sorcerer like you claim to be? Reeks of bullshit to me.

strongest sorcerer: Shall I show you my skills then? —There.

-all of the bottles on the shelf burst-

haseyama: Woah!?

priest: All of the alcohol bottles exploded at the same time...! What an impressive spell.

haseyama: I see, I see. So you being the strongest wasn't a lie after all. Got it. If it's money that you want I'll pay you later, however much you want. So join me.

strongest sorcerer: However much I want? Do you really expect me to believe that?

haseyama: No, but once I beat the Demon King that arrogant king of yours is sure to give me a handsome reward right? Once I return to my world I'll have no need for this place's currency, so you can have it.

strongest sorcerer: Return to your world?

haseyama: Ah... Just don't sweat the details! The point is I'll give you whatever reward that unpleasant king coughs up for me. Deal?

strongest sorcerer: ...Well, that offer doesn't sound so bad. If that's the deal then I don't mind joining you.

haseyama: Perfect, the contract is decided.

—end

-

Chapter 4

-riverbed, night-

cat beastman (maica): Argh... Disappear!

mob class demon (kasumi): Guh, he got me!

wolf beastman (ginsei): These bastards... go away already!

mob class demon: Uwah, they're strong!

cat beastman: (heavy breathing)... So? Is it gone now?

mob class demon: Nope, there's still more of us~!

-three kasumi's appear-

cat beastman: What!? Even more appeared!

wolf beastman: No matter how many we defeat there's no end to them...! Shit, if only it was a full moon I'd be more powerful...!

cat beastman: Aah damn it, my charm skill isn't having any effect! Even though it's just a mob class...!

mob class demon: My apologies~ I'm going to keep attacking you now!

-the three kasumis leap forward-

-scene cuts away-

haseyama: I heard at the tavern that the Demon King's castle is in the north... but isn't that a bit too vague? Where in the north?

priest: Well, let's just continue heading north for now.

haseyama: I don't want to just aimlessly walk in a direction with no idea what's ahead. One of you find out where—

wolf beastman: Someone please help us! Anybody!

priest: Oh my? It appears those two are being attacked by a demon.

haseyama: (smirking) Oh are they now...? In a situation like this we have no choice but to help them out hmm? All of you, help them.

strongest sorcerer: Sure thing, that amount of demons is child's play.

nameless swordsman: Are you not going to fight, Hero?

haseyama: Hm? Well, I suppose I could at least try this sword out. Alright, here we go.

-haseyama swings sword-

mob class demon: Gyahh! That hurts!

mob class demon: Kyaaa~! Ouch!!

mob class demon: Retreat~!

nameless swordsman: ...How surprising. That sword really is just as powerful as it looks.

haseyama: Never mind that, those guys dropped some money when they ran right? Hurry and pick it up.

wolf beastman: Um, thank you for helping us. We were in a real pinch.

cat beastman: You're strong. I'd expect no less from the Hero, you have my gratitude.

haseyama: Hey now, don't tell me you think words alone will pay me back for deciding to help you?

cat beastman: !

priest: What? Um, Hero? Why are you pointing your sword at civilians...

haseyama: C'mon, pull out all the money and items you have on you. Small price to pay for us saving your lives, no?

wolf beastman: Huh? S-sure. Sure thing, here's what I have.

cat beastman: Then... Here's what I have too, take whatever you'd like.

haseyama: Thank you~ Alright let's get going guys, north we go.

priest: ...Yes.

-hero party leaves-

cat beastman: ...He took literally everything we had!?

wolf beastman: Are they really the hero party...?

—end

-

Chapter 5

-village-

haseyama: Look, I'll say it one more time. What I want is for you to prepare me some weapons and a full set of armour.

weapons dealer (aogiri): Yes, I understand that sir. That is why I am trying to arrange an appropriate price with you.

haseyama: I'm the hero that'll be defeating the Demon King. Shouldn't I be getting whatever I need for free?

weapons dealer: Are you saying that you'd like for the common folk to die from uncompensated work, Hero-sama?

haseyama: The heck is up with that attitude of yours. Tch, whatever, who needs equipment anyway. Oh well... I guess I'll take a look at the map we stole from those beastmen.

??? (sinju): Hello there, Hero-san. What have you got there?

haseyama: Huh? Oh, Sinju?

villager A (sinju): Who? I'm a villager. I live in Umbrella Village.

haseyama: Tch, doubt you'd be very strong in battle then. This is a map with directions to the Demon King's castle.

villager A: Oh wow! As expected of the Hero, that's one cool map.

haseyama: Cool how? Look at it, it's no better than those scribbles Unei calls drawings. I don't even know where to head other than north, does no one have any clearer directions? Hey, do you know how to get to the Demon King's castle?

villager A: Uhh... Nope, I have no idea. Ah but, on the outskirts of this town there's a fortune teller who has a reputation of always being correct. Why don't you try asking him?

haseyama: Fortune teller huh... Well, if he gets it right then that'll be beneficial. I guess I'll give it a try.

-haseyama walks to the fortune teller-

fortune teller (heath): ...Welcome. What would you like?

haseyama: ...It's Heath, huh? Anyways, I want to go to the Demon King's castle. Tell me how I should proceed to get there.

fortune teller: Ok. In that case, I will turn over my tarot cards... I have the result.

haseyama: Oh? And?

fortune teller: North. You should continue to proceed north.

haseyama: I know that much already! You're just a damn conman ripping everyone off ain't you? Good for nothing, what a waste of my time.

-haseyama goes to leave-

fortune teller: Wait.

haseyama: What now?

fortune teller: The cards also say that disaster will befall you. I recommend you be careful.

haseyama: Hah, what a joke. Coming to this world was already a disaster in itself.

-haseyama's office-

??? (unei): It appears that a man calling himself the Hero is in search of my castle. Hmm, ‘hero’ he says... Kuku, no matter who they are all someone is capable of doing in the presence of my dark magic is grovelling on the ground before me. I suggest you watch closely, Princess! I'll send that Hero to an early grave!

saki: Umm, who is this Hero you’re talking about? And... Where am I exactly...?

??? (unei): It is none of your concern, Princess. Now then, let us get ready for supper.

saki: (Why is Unei-san wearing that outfit? Where am I? What is going on...)

—end 

-

Chapter 6

-forest, night-

dancer: Hmph, the sun's completely set.

haseyama: Where on earth is that damn Demon King's castle! There's nothing but forest here!

nameless swordsman: It's best we find somewhere to set up camp and rest. The forest is a dangerous place at night.

strongest sorcerer: Huuh? I didn't sign up for camping.

nameless swordsman: We have no other choice, there aren't any inns nearby.

priest: Let's sleep in shifts and rest our bodies.

haseyama: I'll leave keeping watch to you lot. I'm sleeping till the sun comes up.

-time pass-

haseyama: Zz... zz...

nameless swordsman: Hero, are you awake?

haseyama: Nn... Huh? What is it? I'd finally gotten comfortable.

nameless swordsman: My apologies, but I must tell you something very important. I don't want the others to overhear so let's move somewhere more secluded.

-they move deeper into the forest-

haseyama: So? What is it? 

-haseyama stumbles-

haseyama: Wh— Woah!? Ouch, the hell is this? There’s a rope—

nameless swordsman: Appears you're caught.

haseyama: Hey, bastard! Don't touch my sword, what are you planning to do with that?

nameless swordsman: Sir Hero who is very much only a hero in name. I'll be taking this sword from you.

haseyama: Excuse me? You asshole, are you betraying me!?

nameless swordsman: Fufu, from the very start my aim has been to— !?

-kokuyou appears and attacks rindou-

??? (kokuyou): You... You're the man with a bounty on his head known as 'Gentian' aren't you?

gentian (rindou): I don't know who you are but it appears my covers been blown, hm?

haseyama: Bounty? That means you're villain doesn't it!?

gentian: No, I am simply part of the resistance. That doesn't make me a villain. This sword of yours should be in the hands of someone more deserving. The person who corrects the wrongs of this world does not have to be a subordinate of the king.

warrior (kokuyou): Shut the hell up already. I'll be taking your head!

-kokuyou attacks rindou-

-rindou dodges-

gentian: Woah there!

-screen goes white with a smoke bomb-

haseyama: Argh!? (coughing)... The heck, I can't see anything!

gentian: Appears the odds are not in my favour, so I'll be taking my leave here. Let us meet again someday.

-smoke clears-

haseyama: Dammit, that bastard! He's damn quick at running away.

warrior: He was after your sword... Are you the rumoured Hero?

haseyama: You're... not Kokuyou. Who are you?

warrior: I'm a warrior, I work as a bounty hunter. 

haseyama: Ooh? You're strong enough to make a swordsman turn on his heel and run. Join me. If you come with me then as compensation I'll um... Oh I know. Once we defeat the Demon King I will grant unto thee dominion over half the world.

warrior: I don't need something as absurd as half the world... But I am interested in beating that Demon King to a pulp. You got me at a good time, I'm free right now so sure, I'll come along.

haseyama: Nice. Oh right, by the way, would you happen to know where the Demon King's castle is?

warrior: I have heard it's in the north.

haseyama: Is that all any of you can say!?

—end

*gentian - 竜胆 can be read as ‘rindou’

*half the world - this line is a dragon quest reference

-

Chapter 7

-forest clearing, day-

haseyama: I don't see any castles in the distance... Could we at least hitch a ride on a horse and carriage or something?

strongest sorcerer: I was thinking the same thing. Why does someone as magnificent as me have to do all this walking?

dancer: Oi, Hero. We're out of food too. I'm hungry.

haseyama: Oh shut up, do you see any grocery stores around here?

priest: I'm sure if we just endure for a little longer we'll stumble upon a town or village.

-dark mist appears on the path-

-mizuki and two kasumi's appear-

??? (mizuki): Hey, you over there!

haseyama: Huh?

??? (mizuki): You're that shitty ass Hero that's going after the Demon King yeah? I'm gonna kill you dead!

haseyama: ...!? Who the hell are you?

mob class demon: He is one of the four great leaders of the Demon King's army! His name is 'Mad Dog of the East'!

mob class demon: I'm merely an ant compared to his unbelievable power~!

warrior: Four great leaders? He doesn't look that tough to me.

mad dog of the east (mizuki): Kyahahah, attack 'em!!

mob class demon: Yes, sir~!!

-they attack the hero party-

-time pass-

strongest sorcerer: Haa... That's it, I'm at my limit. I can't walk another step.

warrior: We managed to defeat that great leader guy but I'm all out of stamina...

haseyama: Despite being a dumb brat he was dang strong.

-gui appears-

??? (gui): ...Hero party.

haseyama: Wah...!? Shit, another assassin? This is a terrible time...!

??? (gui): Eat this. It is fryryce fruit.

haseyama: What? Is that even edible?

dancer: I'll take it.

priest: It may be poisonous, be careful.

dancer: This is... delicious! What an amazing fruit, give me more.

??? (gui): Here.

dancer: Delicious...! I can feel my strength coming back to me...!

haseyama: Really? Let's see then... !? Why does this fruit taste exactly like fried rice...?

strongest sorcerer: Woah you weren't kidding, I feel much better. I'll be taking seconds.

haseyama: What's up with this fruit? This world makes no sense.

??? (gui): My wish is for you to rescue the Princess.

-gui disappears-

strongest sorcerer: ...Huh? He just disappeared?

warrior: What was up with him?

priest: He may have been a spirit of the deceased that watches over this land.

haseyama: I have no idea, but he helped us out. Now we can keep heading north.

—end

-

Chapter 8

-beach, day-

haseyama: Why do I have to be the one to find some food... Jeez, it stinks of ocean.

-menou appears with eyes closed-

haseyama: ...Hm? There's someone collapsed on the ground over there. Is it a corpse?

??? (menou): Yawn~ You're finally here... I got so tired of waiting that I fell asleep. You're the Hero, right? Excuse me.

haseyama: What, you were alive? GAH!?

-menou stabs haseyama, screen flashes red-

??? (menou): One and a two~

-red flash-

haseyama: Wh... You bastard... what are you... Gah!

??? (menou): And a three and a four~

-red flash-

??? (menou): There we go, five stabs. That should be enough right? I've done what I was told to do.

haseyama: Argh...! You... Who are you...?

??? (menou): Me? I'm one of the four great leaders of the Demon King's army~ My name is... Um, what was it again? I forgot. Oh, you can just call me Yu. It's my favourite combination of letters. But well, it's not like we'll ever see each other again anyways. See you.

haseyama: B-bastard, don't you run away...

-mokuren appears-

dancer: Rejoice, Hero. We found a whole bunch of shellfish over... Hm?

yu? (menou): Oh, your companions are back. How troublesome.

warrior: The Hero is all messed up, just how powerful is that guy?

dancer: Oi, we should attack him. From this distance magic will be fastest. 

strongest sorcerer: Sure, but I might hit the Hero as well. Is that ok?

dancer: Who cares, shoot.

strongest sorcerer: Fine fine, here I go~

-lico shoots a magic blast-

yu?: ...Hm? Was I just hit by something?

haseyama: That attack didn't effect him at all! Strongest sorcerer my ass!

strongest sorcerer: Shut up! I really am the strongest in that village!

yu?: Sigh... You're all so weak, I'm bored. Maybe I'll just retire from being a great leader and live in an onsen somewhere...

haseyama: Hey, wait...!

yu?: Oh right, I should take your money first.

haseyama: Huh!? My money!

yu?: Bye bye.

-menou leaves-

strongest sorcerer: What the heck, he just ran away? Pisses me off.

priest: Are you ok, Hero? I'll cast some healing magic, please hold still.

haseyama: Godammit! All of you are useless!

dancer: ...I didn't think the Hero would be this weak and pathetic. How boring.

-mokuren goes to leave-

priest: ...? Where are you going, Dancer?

dancer: I'm going to go find someone more exciting to fight under. I'm done with him.

strongest sorcerer: ...They really just do whatever they want huh.

warrior: It's just a fighters instinct. 

priest: We all must search for our own true strength...

haseyama: Isn't that person just a dancer though!? ...Hey, that hurts! I thought you used healing magic on me? Why am I not healed!?

priest: I'm terribly sorry, but I've used up all my mana. This is as much as I can heal for now. There should be an establishment where we can get you proper treatment further along this path. Let's head there.

—end

*Yu - ゆ meaning ‘hot water’ is the hiragana used on the entrances to onsens

To Part 2

[tategaminu]

I haven’t watched hazbin Hotel but it looks so bad, and I’m sick of seeing it on my dash (even with the tag blocked). So I’m always happy to see your posts about how bad it is

It just doesn’t look bad, IT IS BAD. I’m also kinda sick of watching it everywhere, of course people can enjoy and post whatever they want and I don’t blame them for it, it’s more a me problem but, it’s frustrating me how most recent series with good writting and animation like Blue Eye Samurai are being ignored while this thing is being treated as the masterpiece of the 21st century.

I’m not joking when I tell you I almost cried three different times at the watchparty, I was trying so hard to hold myself together. I had to use my phone in episode 7 because I was so so bored and annoyed at the whole thing. It’s been a week and I’m still emotionally wrecked over this like it’s the kind of series that affect you not because it’s impactful but because it’s painful to watch.

The series is a tumblr sexy man jumpscare when a lot of things happen but at the same time nothing happens at all, I was going to write a review but I’m already emotinally unstable after watching it I don’t think I have the strenght to think about the series anymore. I feel like I will be dreaming with twinks the whole year, if the bible was written today Jesus wouldn’t be crucified, he would be foreced to watch Hazbin Hotel over and over.

Thank you for telling me this, I'm very glad it makes you happy because I’m not fond of posting about stuff I don’t like, I would rather stick with series I like. If I love a series I want to stay in the positive and I’m not super picky, but I also enjoy storytelling and animation so my critical mind may surface sometimes with stuff that goes too far in the bad level. I just don’t like sounding like a prick because maybe people that follow me like the series but the thing is, if the creator and fandom weren’t so bad I would probably not mind much and ignore them but I can’t stand how she acts and how her fandom works, it’s genuinely depressing.

[monstersinthecosmos]

Daddy Kink in Gallows Bird

[read on AO3]

CW: Incest, noncon, TVA stuff !

Okay so. I’m in the middle of writing another meta about Daddy Kink in VC/TVA/B&G so please forgive me if this post or the other winds up being redundant, but in the middle of all the deep thinking I’ve been doing about that topic in canon, I also had some interesting convo in the comments of this fic, so I wanted to park this somewhere as well. I’ll try not to be too repetitive and I’m going to try to keep the convo focused a little more on the fic than on canon (to the best of my ability since they overlap so much!) because I wanted to talk specifically about the train of thought that informed the fic, and just take it with a grain of salt because it does veer into headcanon territory at times when I’m filling in gaps from canon.

Anyway so I brought Daddy Kink/father themes up a few times in this fic, here’s some examples (this might be all of them actually, I forget lol):

During Amadeo’s dream about being raped, that the smell of wine subliminally reminds him of his father, even though he can’t quite put it together.

Matteo commenting that Marius is Amadeo’s father (during sex, and implying that Marius fucks him).

The man at the party towards the end who is thinking about his own son while he eats Amadeo out.

Marius telling the men in the final scene that he and Amadeo are named Ivan and Andrei.

BONUS POINT, less obvious: Marius musing about Rome, the fatherland, and Roman storytelling trying to paint forefathers in a better light.

I admit that on some level this is not that deep lol it was just being horny and indulging in daddy kink, but like I do want my fics to make sense when it comes to meta and I did want it to be plausible with canon.

So off the bat we have to say like, VC vampires exist above social constructs anyway. Marius isn’t someone who’s going to get grossed out by crossing a boundary like this, in the same vein as Louis and Claudia or Lestat and Gabrielle. As vampires they do not exist inside familial structures anymore. So I think this is extremely present in the Venice portions of the books, that there’s this blurry line around father/mentor/maker/lover.

I also think about this part of B&G every day of my life:

And I, with all my power, and all my blandishments, could not replace Amadeo’s father in Amadeo’s mind. Why was I so jealous? Why did this knowledge sting me so much?

BONUS LINE IN NEXT PARAGRAPH: I loved Amadeo as I had loved Pandora.

I WANT TO BE HIS DADDY BUT ALSO HIS DADDY. I WANT HIM TO BE MY CHILD AND ALSO MY WIFE.

There’s just so much going on here!

Anyway so in TVA I think like, not knowing Marius’s POV at that point, Marius is having lots of mood swings, he can be hot and cold, at times sends Amadeo mixed signals. But in B&G when we get the insight, we learn how often he struggled with whether or not to turn Amadeo as he began to love him. (I think also a lot about when he tells Armand at the end of TVA that he sees Armand loves B+S more respectfully than Marius ever loved Armand!!)

And I want to like, balance this against Marius’s inherent selfishness with how he treated Amadeo, how he treated him like a pet or like a project. I don't think (in canon) he saw Amadeo as a full person, and it's why he interrupts Amadeo so much in the fic. Amadeo at this point in canon exists for Marius's own needs.

(Sidenote, when I was working on this fic and kept struggling with like, the POV of a Marius who doesn’t actually see Amadeo as a complete person, I kept using how I feel about my cats as a reference lol. Like I love them to death, I would die for them, but they don’t have a single fucking thought in their brains, they are little babies that I take care of bc they’re cute and I like having them around.)

I talk a lot about how I love Marius because he’s a flawed person; I find his flaws and missteps to be so human and relatable, like I too do my best to be reasonable and kind and patient and yet I do have a petty side. I can hold grudges. I think all of us are capable of acting selfishly.

Because like, his love of Amadeo is conditional, it’s like having a pet. In the book he keeps changing his mind if he should turn Amadeo or let him free to have a real life and we don’t know what his ultimate decision would have been because Harlech forces his hand. The question is: Would he have ever let Amadeo go?

He specifically chooses Amadeo because it’s someone he sees as a blank slate, A FUNERAL SPIRIT, someone on borrowed time. Marius considers Amadeo’s life over already, so this is all bonus for him. There’s never a question of rescuing him out of goodness and returning him to his home. Marius specifically chooses him to groom as a fledgling because he’s lonely, and he doesn't see Amadeo as a human with a potential life anyway.

So in the fic I tried to make this clear, all the times Marius wonders if he can keep Amadeo, even begging Akasha for a clue, and by the end he realizes he has to keep Amadeo because this experience has ruined him. He’s never going to be able to live a normal life now, and Marius knows it*. AS FAR AS THE FIC UNIVERSE GOES, we could ask the same, like, will Marius still turn him in this fic timeline if Harlech doesn’t show up, but I think he would.

*also as an aside, I wrote this fic to be like backwards engineered Devil's Minion, so I bring this theme up a lot in my Armand/Daniel fics, and the entire thesis of The Lotus Eater is that Armand was careless with Daniel and broke him, which is what Marius does to Amadeo.

Anywhoo, back to the daddy stuff.

Like sure yeah it’s just there to be horny because I think Daddy Kink is absolutely present in canon, but Marius is enjoying this game they’re playing, too, even if he’s a little too proper to admit it. He likes taking Amadeo out and getting to protect him. He likes indulging in the kill when Amadeo is fucking wrecked, like it’s a sex act they can share. He likes that their victims think he’s Amadeo’s father. It makes him feel powerful.

And towards the end, when they’re talking about stoicism and whether or not you can simply turn your emotions off, it also leads into whether or not Amadeo can make the choice to remember where he comes from.

Canon doesn’t explicitly say this so this is where fic headcanon comes in, but I wanted to make it that Marius can see into Amadeo’s dreams, and I implied that he knows perfectly well exactly where Amadeo is from. He knows about the monastery, he knows about Andrei’s home life and his parents, he knows their names! So every day that passes in Venice where Marius doesn’t offer this information, or bring him home, is another day he’s chosen to keep Amadeo, and is ultimately selfish.

On the other hand, especially once the fic starts and Amadeo’s memories start coming back to him, Amadeo knows that Marius knows, and he never asks.

This is of course like, dubcon territory of like, SHOULD AMADEO HAVE TO ASK? Is Amadeo’s fragile mental state a clue that he cannot consent or make informed decisions? Is Marius behaving badly by allowing this wounded child to make his own decisions, or as the adult/immortal, even as the mentor/father/lover, should he guide Amadeo to do what’s right? And what exactly is the right decision?

But from the moment Amadeo realizes that Marius knows more about him than he reveals, Amadeo never asks, which means he’s making a decision to stay in Venice. And like, the morally correct thing is not really relevant here when Marius’s moral compass is so far removed from human sensibility, but it also affirms his desire to be wanted. He’s happy that Amadeo wants to stay and wants to be his pupil and his baby boy, so he’s not going to challenge it.

And that’s why he drops the names Ivan and Andrei in the final sex scene, as a climax to all of this. It’s serves both as one final way to challenge Amadeo, to ask if he TRULY doesn’t remember, but also serves to take on the ROLE of Ivan. He wants to be Amadeo’s Daddy. And even though the men in the room are teasing him about how he’s not actually going to sell Amadeo, how Amadeo must be his favorite, how he must be a freak, etc, he still owns Amadeo in this sense, and it allows him another level of release along with Amadeo’s sexual release.

WELL. I hope that makes sense!!! It made sense to me at the time when I was writing it. I love these two dweebs, please talk to me about them any time!

[magicweirdos]

I did this last year and everyone seemed to like it, so here’s my entirely unranked, incomplete, and uncategorized list of things that made me a better writer and storyteller in 2023:

- Across the Spider-Verse

A spider-man movie where the narrative is structured around Gwen Stacey is already genius, but when you take surrealist animation and the philosophical deconstruction of “Canon” into consideration… I can’t believe this movie exists.

- Kesha: Gaga Order

Kesha has always had an unhinged brilliance, but this is next level of both.

- Godzilla Minus One

Spectacle shouldn’t be what they remember from your story.

- Oppenheimer

I’m growing obsessed with the idea of a literary, poetic presentation of real lives. That’s what makes biopics fresh. (See also: VICE)

- The Adventure Zone: Steeplechase

When a storyteller uses any medium to reconcile complicated feelings about things they love, it’s the stuff of dreams. People sense it.

- They Cloned Tyrone

No one needs me to provide a Caucastic analysis of this movie, but I always appreciate when meta-aware stories use their meta-awareness to let characters break the tropes society builds for them.

- Lakota Nation vs. The United States

May be the perfect documentary. Gentle but searing imagery.

- Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine

I’m a James Webb Telescope groupie, and this is a celebration of its triumph that made me say “Maybe… maybe we’re exploring more than we give ourselves credit for.”

- Barbie

Goofy gleefulness and sincerity are really, really not that far apart from each other on the emotional spectrum.

- The Last of Us

The game is already my favorite story of all time, so I’m biased. But I can think of no higher form of art than presenting a character doing the wrong things for selfish reasons, but doing so in a way that makes you go “yeah, of course, I’d do the same thing.”

- Percy Jackson and the Olympians

We only have three episodes so far, but I’ve never seen ANY media for kids (even THAT one) that takes kids’ complicated emotions so seriously.

- Baldur’s Gate 3

For me as a DM and player, this game did that magical thing where it jumped mediums to give you the best experience both have to offer.

Honorable mentions:

- Leave the World Behind

- The Creator

- Super Mario Bros. Movie

- Asteroid City

[honourablejester]

Watching the Sandman Calliope story, and maybe this is just everyone’s brains being different, but why the fuck do you need inspiration for ideas? Ideas are a dime a dozen! Read two books and watch a nature documentary and there’s at least 15 ideas in there. I just … If we’re talking a premise, a one sentence concept, ‘in the year 5000 there are werewolves on Mars’ or what have you, they are limitless. You don’t need a Greek goddess for that, just go for a walk and read some fiction that weekend.

I can see needing a muse for motivation. For the skill and energy and time and will to turn that premise into an actual story, to make the words flow and the phrases turn good. But the premise, the idea? Do you live in a box? Go outside for a while and read some other stories.

Like, is this just me being weird? Am I blessed by a good relationship to the muses and just think that’s standard? But everything Madoc says in that second presentation, when Dream’s already inflicted inspiration on him, that’s bang on. Ideas are everywhere. Stories are everywhere. Now, taking them and turning them into a printable manuscript that you could then actually show to people, that’s a different, hah, story, but if you just need stories to tell yourself at night to get yourself over the hump into sleep, or daydreams, or a premise to get you started …

I honestly have no idea how someone could run out? Writer’s block, I get, but that’s not having no stories to me, it’s having all my stories feel clumsy or irritating, or just no motivation to put any of them on paper/screen. Like, are my ideas good? Maybe not. But there sure are a lot of them.

I don’t know, maybe this is just my brain, but holy god Richard Madoc seems pathetic to me. I mean, he’s definitely supposed to be pathetic, but like even more so. You can’t even come up with an opening premise? Why do you want to be a writer if you have no stories to tell?

Not that there’d be any good reason to keep a Muse captive, and we’re not going to go into everything else that shows him for an absolute scumbag here. But just taking what he said, that he needs ideas. If it had been the motivation/fluency/translation-into-format problem, I’d at least sympathise a little bit. He still should have just hired a ghost writer like a normal person and just dropped his blurb/outline off with them, but at least he’d have done some of the work. But just. ‘I need her. If I didn’t have her, I wouldn’t be able to write, I wouldn’t have ideas.’ I am one with Dream’s face when those words came out of his mouth. An idea is the basic unit of storytelling. You can’t even reach step one?

I don’t know why this makes me so irrationally angry. But you can pick up ideas on a street corner. Just steal them like a normal hack! Ask 10 people in coffee shops what type of books they’d like to read and shake the results until a basic plot falls out. Read 10 short stories, pick your favourite elements of each of them, and throw them in a blender. Find an online concept generator, there’s loads of them!

And I get it, not every idea you come across is going to be one that you yourself can work with. But I’m just … If you can’t even come up with that much, did you make any effort at all?

And honestly. Saying this to the Lord of Dreams. The personification of the global subconscious. The personification of storytelling. No wonder Dream just downloaded an avalanche of concept fragments into his brain until he went mad. You want ideas? There are 20 million of them. Pick one and let us all get on with our lives, you pathetic sack of shit.

Wow. I’m just. Richard Madoc makes me angry? On a moral level, yes, absolutely, but also just on put some fucking effort in level. An idea? Just read. For fuck’s sake.

Sorry. I have a screaming headache today, and this man just annoys me. The amount of harm caused for the most pathetic reason. I cannot.

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

25 years of standout storytelling and stand-up

by Madelaine Empson

Rhys Darby is one of New Zealand’s most successful comedy exports. It all started with stand-up for the world-famous comedian and actor, who set out on the scene in Christchurch in the 90s. In 2004 after his move to the UK, Darby landed the BBC radio series Flight of the Conchords with Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. He returned to the role of band manager Brian-now-Murray in the 2007 HBO American television series that jumpstarted a phenomenal career in the entertainment industry and helped fulfil his long-standing dream of becoming a comedy actor.

“I guess all my stand-up was building up to that moment of being able to act and thankfully with my friends”, Darby tells me. “We had a good laugh and we created a really, really cool show. Everything else kind of came after that.”

There’s a lot to cover in that “everything else”, including starring alongside Jim Carrey in Yes Man (2008), joining the star-studded cast of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2018), moving to LA, and scoring something he always wanted: “to be a lead in a comedy series and getting to dress up in historical outfits” in Our Flag Means Death (2022).

Through it all, Darby never strayed far from his stand-up roots. He’s performed his distinctive brand of physical comedy, zany storytelling, and obscure observations all around the world and now returns to New Zealand with a retrospective show featuring the best bits of his five specials almost in order – from early robot and dinosaur impressions right through to material from Mystic Time Bird (2017).

“You’ve seen my stand-up, now see it again!”

Darby invites Wellington fans old and new to The Opera House on the 19th of August to join the 25-Year Celebration Club, which he just came up with on our Zoom call.

“Yes, I’m just starting that now.”  

How does it feel to be celebrating your silver jubilee in stand-up?

It’s really bizarre. My last special Mystic Time Bird was about my mother’s passing. My own therapy was to create that show, to see the lighter side of everything and to think about how we may live again, what our spirits really are, and who we are as beings on this planet. Once I’d done that, I felt like the world had gone in such a transformed and a very positive way, but also a bizarre way whereby I found that I was less relevant – as a comic, as a performer, as just a middle-aged white guy. I felt like, and rightfully so, it’s not about me anymore so I would take a step back. I felt like [Mystic Time Bird] was a good one to end on.

When it comes to stand-up, I only realised this year that it has been 25 years. All these new fans that have watched Our Flag Means Death hadn’t seen my stand-up and started looking at it online. I was just inundated with comments and people retweeting stuff, a lot of TikTok stuff, people discovering me for the first time. It gave me a rebirth in a way, made me feel like my stuff must still be relevant. I looked at it and it really is just pure happiness. There’s nothing offensive to anyone. It’s just about laughter for laughter’s sake, me taking the piss out of myself in awkward situations, me as a human, and me being confident enough, without realising it, over time, to just put my weirdness out there and be proud of it. I think that resonated with a lot of people, especially the LGBTQ-plus community. They really started loving my stuff, and I felt like I was becoming a captain in a way.

So I spoke to my wife – let’s do some gigs. Let’s celebrate 25 years, set something up and just see if people come. This is in the States, where I haven’t done much stand-up because I wasn’t famous enough over there. It was an experiment of sorts. Anyway, experiment goes really well. They all sold out. There was an army of mostly queer, but all absolutely stoked to see me, fans, and with gifts. I was just in tears most of the nights. I felt good that I was sort of championing them, and amazing that they had discovered me and were wanting to see me live.

Looking back over those 25 years to your very first stand-up gig, were you always putting that weirdness out there?

I’ve always been honest with myself and have performed what I think is funny. I’m definitely quirky. I’m not for everyone, and I understand that, but it does frustrate me because I think it should be for everyone! Some people do want darker stuff or something different. I have always had stuff that is unique in some ways. I’m a massive fan of Monty Python, surreal comedy from Rowan Atkinson and Spike Milligan and those guys from the 70s – alternative comedy that was definitely weird, and there’s probably a bit of that in there. My stuff was original, New Zealand-based, I talked a lot about things in this country that I found really silly and baffling after going overseas and coming back. It’s kind of a celebration of how weird I think we are. I think that’s what made the comedy that me and The Conchords and Taika [Waititi] do become world-famous, because we have a different take on life. It is positive. We don’t belittle anyone. We just like to take the mickey out of who we are, because I think we’re confident that we live in a country that we’re blessed with, because it is a good place.

At the start, did you imagine what might be on the cards for you?

I honestly believed that I was gonna go all the way, because I just had the passion and the drive for it. When I got to the UK, it was the best training ground ever. There are over 300 comedy clubs in London alone. I was working five nights a week, two or three gigs a night. You’ve got to train yourself to be able to repeat things. The UK, they are the most experienced audience in the world, and because they’re British, if they don’t like something they’ll just heckle you straight away. They’re smart and they’re drunk. I had to learn to be quick. And if something didn’t work, you drop it and change it. I had the novelty of being from here, so I had a different voice. But the main thing I had going for me was that my style, my impressions of jet aeroplanes, stories, music, sound effects, bizarre monsters, different characters and things was I think something they hadn’t seen before. What’s this guy doing? He’s not just telling jokes.

I was headlining some clubs, I’d done six, maybe seven Edinburgh Festivals, I’d done This Way to Spaceship, which was my most successful show internationally. But my main goal was to get onto television, onto a sketch show. I wanted desperately to act. The comedy acting side of things didn’t happen for me in the UK. Getting The Conchords radio show with Bret and Jemaine, while we were in Edinburgh, and then turning it into a TV show, and that opening the doors to me coming to America was something I didn’t foresee happening. But it opened up everything and I could be the comedy actor I always thought I’d end up being. I thought it would be England, but they were still like, ‘Who are you, you’re from some colony down the other end of the world?’ The US has been so good to me. They open their arms up to everyone. I’ve never looked back.

You’ve worked with some huge names. Do you get starstruck yourself?

With actors, yeah! I don’t know how it’s happened, but my first movie was with Jim Carrey. I just had to suck it up and meet the guy. The scenes we did together were so special because I got to act alongside my idol and do some pretty zany stuff. Watching his physicality was just something that I was in awe of. He did one scene at this bar where he had a tray of drinks, and he knows exactly where the cameras are and how to manipulate them as an actor. He would come in and he did something where he fell over with the tray of drinks. He fell out of shot and back into shot and fell out and back in again, some sort of weird physical moment, which looked amazing on screen. And then he told me he broke a rib doing that scene like two weeks later. What!

Then it was The Boat That Rocked [2009]. Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, pretty much anyone in that cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman, that was a big one. Rest in peace. Meeting him and knowing that he was one of the best actors in the world, and he had no idea who I was... I just felt like I had won a competition. ‘Hi I’m the guy that won the competition to be in the movie with you!’ He ended up going and watching Conchords. I think Richard Curtis gave him the DVD and all of a sudden he was like, ‘Oh yeah, I'll act with you!’ It was a rite of passage.

I’m okay with meeting my heroes. But The Rock. I mean, guys, come on, ridiculous. Can I do a movie where there aren’t the most famous people in the world? Dwayne was lovely. Jack Black as well, just very open to having a chat. But I’ve been prepared for meeting those people. I think it’s part of being an actor, when you meet someone you’re absolutely starstruck by, you just pretend you’re not. And then you go home and cry. I went to Monty Python live in 2014, I was very, very lucky. I was just sitting there crying. Oh my god. I felt like those were my dads, you know? I’ve met one or two of those guys briefly, but they would be the ones where I would probably struggle the most to act as though I’m not excited to see them.

‘This is fine, this is absolutely fine.’

I’m fine, I’m absolutely fine! Here, I’ll quickly share a selfie! And then I’ll run away and you won’t see me crying!

What are you most looking forward to about bringing the ‘new-old show’ back to New Zealand, particularly Wellington?

I’m excited to bring it to New Zealand because this is where it all began, where my biggest audiences always were. In this day and age in time, where everyone seems to be down because the world’s imploding on many levels, hopefully they can forget about everything for an hour and a half and just laugh at the silly guy on stage.

The Opera House is, in my opinion, the best room in the country. Welly has a real heart for theatre and a heart for performance. It’s magical to be able to return there and just take it all in.

Photo: Kate Little Photography

Source: Regional News: Eyes on Wellington

[ofcoming4th]

I'm doing this far too much lately. Saying goodbye to a friend I never met.

The man in the striped shirt is Shane MacGowan, first lead singer and songwriter for The Pogues - the first Irish punk band anyone had heard of widely in the USA.

He died today, November 30,at the age of 65. With Shane if you didn't know him the first things you might think is, " Oh he passed pretty young" . If you did it was, "Wow he made it that long?"

Shane was a towering talent, a junkie, a poet and often a complete bastard. His own band had to put him out because of his drug problem and general arsehole behavior - supposedly he said, "What took ya so long?"

In the early 80's there were rumbles in the music magazines about a band who went by Pogue Mahone ( which my mom used to yell at people who cut her off in traffic). They had to change it to just The Pogues because too many people knew the same phrase and they could not get any television spots or be on MTV.

Elvis Costello was a fan and helped produce their first widely played USA album "Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash" in 1985. I was in my punk/proto New Wave phase at the time and was able to get someone to drive me to the nearest large city in order to buy the LP in a ratty little store next to a CBGB wanna be bar. I'll admit that the title was the big selling point for my immature self and I had no idea what to expect (as Mr. Joel said, you can't get the sound from the pages of a magazine, even if that magazine was CREAM).

The 5th track was "A Pair of Brown Eyes" and Shane's plaintive not quite on key voice caught me as he mourned the cost of death and hate while staying intensely human. On Side 2 was "Dirty Old Town" by Ewan MacColl. For an Irish American kid from a dying mill town who didn't even have a word for her sexuality the lyrics and Shane's voice put words to my experience even an ocean away from the trauma and violence of Ireland in the 80's. "Dreamed a dream by the old canal. I kissed my girl by the factory wall... " that was me, a bumbling scared girl in a tiny canal and mill town hiding to kiss a girl because it just made more sense even if I knew it would make life even harder.

And that album has never left my possession, changing formats but bringing me back to who I once was when I owned that first LP. Nostalgia is sweet when you know you will never have to be that self in that situation ever again. But good music is good music.

I kept up with Shane through the wild swings of his career and life . Though I don't think his post Pogues music was ever up to the level of those albums - "Red Roses for Me" to "Hell's Ditch" set the standard and pointed the way for bands like Dropkick Murphy's and Flogging Molly with the blending of Irish traditional influence and modern storytelling.

And he made it to 65,changing music, writing the song "Fairytale of New York" ( will somebody explain to me why this is considered a Christmas song staple? Has anyone besides me actually listened to the real lyrics which require cutting on broadcast radio? Just because Christmas is mentioned several times doesn't make this a happy Christmas song!)

I'll stop clutching my pearls and get back on track.

I needed to write this to just get my feelings out . Shane and the other members of the Pogues were the soundtrack to a vital part of my life where I found love, lost it, and found that love had never really gone , I just needed to get my self in good enough shape to accept it.

Thank you Shane, you magnificent, miserable , romantic, drunken junkie of a poet and music maker. Your voice is always in my memories of a muggy summer evening by an abandoned paper mill in Nowhere , New York.

If you haven't heard anything by Shane besides "Fairytale" go now and give a listen to " Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash" and its follow up "If I Should Fall From Grace with God".. You will see that even punk Irish bands during the IRA's height - with all the anger, sorrow and joy that life means, can make you want to get up and dance.

[kabutoraiger]

What if: modern ultraman leo

shopping this one around, huh? well i actually do have many many thoughts on the topic so i'll take the opportunity, sure

i agree with tep that it's difficult to imagine on several levels... like you just do not get misery like that in these shows anymore. a heisei leo like 2000-2005 might've been able to get away with it, but reiwa leo would undoubtedly not be able to horribly murder the entire supporting cast. and also probably would not be able to have the dangen relationship be so. um. "fraught," without changing some core aspect of said relationship. and without both of those things it really loses appeal. since that's a lot of what leo is when i immediately think of it. it's dangen weird toxic energy and also everyone dying.

and i think the sfx quality and aesthetics of the 70s add so much to leo, too. the way certain miniature sets have this amateurish diorama look to them. the bright colors and retro screen effects used to depict certain things. like reading a fairytale popup picture book. it creates such a dreamlike mood. leo to me is being inside a dream that's always walking this thin line between idyllic and becoming a total nightmare. and i don't think modern ultra looks bad by any means but it is undeniably so much flatter and less colorful, less daring with the kinds of visuals it puts onscreen. hard to think that it could ever recreate that vibe.

but, man... i do think sometimes about how good it could be to see leo's story aspects redone with modern storytelling sensibilities and continuity and shit. like imagine getting to see gen introspect more about his home, everything he's lost, the loneliness of being one of only two of his kind on the whole planet. getting more insight into what changed dan into this type of person. getting a comprehensible plotline for astra that wasn't just being made up as they went along. getting actual personalities and attachments to the other MAC members so you really feel the impact when they die (or maybe just get nonfatally injured in this case).

tl;dr - i wish modern leo existed, honestly. i don't know if it could be successful by any metric but just to see them try. as a fun challenge to be graded personally by me and the world's 5 other leo scholars

[oswlld]

oswlld's media wrap up: the oscars

note: i am trying something a bit different this year, so bear with me as i figure out how i want to format this. i wanted to spend more time sharing what i consume, beyond what i rb, and put my thoughts in one place. ✨ = personal fav

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The Barber of Little Rock, YouTube (watched on 2/17) A sharp take on the economic injustice in the town divide of Little Rock. Very concise with its message, “A tree is known by the fruit that it bears. So, if I don’t see any fruit, I don’t see any impact. If you have money and you have wealth and you can’t create impact, what’s the point?” — Island in Between, YouTube (watched on 2/19) Loved the updated storytelling of displacement and crisis of identity when COVID-19 is thrown into the mix. I hope the families that have been torn apart due to COVID measures have/will be reunited soon. — Pachyderme, Vimeo (watched on 2/22) The medium matched the tone of the story wonderfully and the pacing was well executed. — The Last Repair Shop, Shortverse ✨ (watched on 2/23, pictured left) SPECTACULAR! Truly shines on every level. The only short that made me tear up in the end. — Invincible, Shortverse (watched on 2/25) The actor who portrays the protagonist is so talented! If he continues to nurture his acting, I can’t wait to see what he does next. — The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Netflix✨ (watched on 3/2, pictured right) I truly believe this deserved the win, it was magical from beginning to end. It makes me want to backtrack and see the other Roald Dahl shorts. — Ninety-Five Senses, DOC+ ✨ (watched on 3/3, pictured top) This one took me by surprise! Beautiful storytelling and utilization of the theme and medium to its fullest potential. Very much worthy of its nomination, bravo. — Ridder Lykke, Shortverse (watched on 3/6) What a delightful way to end the shorts journey. The most unique, original take on grief that left me smiling.

Watched Nai Nai & Wài Pó (review here) and Letter to a Pig last year.

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Nimona, Netflix (watched on 3/2) I am a simple person, I see those big brown eyes and I buckle. What a wild journey it has been to follow the development of this film and I am so happy for Nate and everyone involved. — Rustin, Netflix (watched on 3/4) One of the very few instances where I really wished a movie was produced as a limited series. I want his story to be fleshed out more, I wanted to feel the full weight of what that march did for him and for history. Colman Domingo’s charm shines in this role. — Elemental, Disney+✨ (watched on 3/7, pictured bottom) If you told me this time last year that this movie would leave me sobbing at 1am, I would have told you you were crazy and to get some rest. What else is there to say that others haven’t said already. I am so happy that the younger generations have this alongside the likes of Moana and Turning Red. — Poor Things, Hulu (watched on 3/11) This was… a film. I did like the aromantic aspects of Bella Baxter and the dynamic she has with Max. Still trying to sort through my thoughts, but the fact that it still can make me think is… something. — The Holdovers, Peacock✨ (watched on 3/12, pictured top) I love me a great ensemble cast and everyone was on the top of their game with this gem. The director, cinematographer, production designer, and colorist work together seamlessly. Fantastic, truly extraordinary. — American Symphony, Netflix (watched on 3/20) I had this film on my radar before the Oscar noms were announced, so I anticipated tackling this movie hoping it was part of the doc category. In the end, I chose to tackle this movie despite its only nom under Original Song. Having tackled the Documentary categories, this would have been one of the weaker ones amongst the docs I’ve seen but still a very worthy story to tell.

Watched Barbie and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse last year; I hope to still catch Oppenheimer and Robot Dreams later this year.

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Perfect Days, In Theaters ✨(JAPAN, watched on 2/15, pictured right) This was the only Oscar nom that I caught in theaters this year (whereas the majority were on YT/streaming). This movie will hold a very special place in my heart having experienced this in theaters with a great group of people. Wim Wenders deserved this nomination, this is one of his best. — Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Hulu (UGANDA, watched on 2/28) I am so glad I watched this movie. This is a true heavyweight of a film. So much passion, pain, and tenacity. — 20 Days in Mariupol, PBS (UKRAINE, watched on 3/6, DNF) I will be completely honest, I almost made it to the end but could not watch the last 20 minutes. During the Oscar speech, when the filmmaker said he wished he didn’t make this film, I felt every word of that. It is so, so hard to watch but NECESSARY. — El Conde, Netflix (CHILE, watched on 3/8) Of all the noms I had to catch up on this season, this was the only one that landed on mid for me. It is as advertised, a dark horror comedy, but it doesn’t challenge itself. The cinematography was its best attribute. — Four Daughters, Netflix✨ (TUNISIA, watched on 3/23, pictured middle) I’m positive this was the BEST thing I watched this Oscar season. I want to 🎶siiiiiiiiiIIIINNNGGGG all the highest praises🎵. I am obsessed with the way the filmmaker brings us a half step back behind the camera, showing all facets of the story in front of and behind the camera. I want to talk about it more but it’s better to go into this fresh. I’m obsessed, I’m obsessed, IM OBSESSEDDD. — Society of the Snow, Netflix✨ (URUGUAY, watched on 3/24, pictured left) If this movie came out ten years ago, my only wish is that hellsite would have obsessed over these boys the same way we did for all my Les Amis. The cherry on top was seeing that Michael Giacchino composed the score. What a way to end the Oscar watch journey this season.

I hope to still catch Io Capitano and The Boy and the Heron later this year.

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Trigger Warnings for films mentioned :

INVINCIBLE : su*cide attempt (drowning)

POOR THINGS : medical dissection of the human body, su*cide (jumping)

BOBI WINE : illusions of torture, gun violence, hostage situations

20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL : graphic visuals of war tactics, amputations, child death, panic attacks

EL CONDE : beheading

FOUR DAUGHTERS : allusions to sexual abuse with a minor(s)

SOCIETY OF THE SNOW : graphic plane crash trauma, cannibalism

[loveabledirtbag]

1.01 - system

i’ve often thought about the stark difference between how the bear season one opens and the bear season two opens. but they are both actually kinda chill. the bear season one becomes frantic once carmy wakes up, but his dream sequence is kinda chill? until the bear tries to kill him?

the guitar strums as carmy wakes up is etched in my brain and somehow always releases endorphins when i hear it

the amount of storytelling they pull off in a ten second scene of the meat delivery and carmy calling lu is just incredible.

just once in my life i want to have been able to say that i had a back alley deal for some beef. it’s a fun kind of bad ass.

is it just me, or does carmy and sydney just look like BABIES in the pilot?

as someone who has interviewed a lot of people over the years for a passion-intensive type of job, seeing a business (like carmy sees the UPS) and thinking it has something to do with the job being interviewed for is truly understandable and relatable. and its never not embarrassing

there’s just something about the overlapping, chaotic yelling of everyone in the kitchen with the full spectrum of emotions that is just so on point to so many places i’ve worked. happy (and not so happy) memories

having had more time to think about the conversation between richie and carmy in the walk-in…carmy may have been more hurtful. is richie more bombastic and antagonistic? sure. is he more crude? almost always. but he’s a man who’s spent his whole life in a place doing a job with his best friend. his best friend died, and now his best friends kid brother is coming in and changing how everything is done. on top of the money problems. so he’s 44/45 years old and upset about his world changing and asking carmy to keep things how they were. but carmy, once challenged, goes right for “why didn’t michael leave the restaurant to you then?”. brutal. but i think its kind of their dynamic as a whole in retrospect: richie is louder and more aggressive, but when push comes to shove carmy will go in for the jugular and cut deep right away.

“1+1 equals you’re an asshole, bobby flay” “don’t call me bobby flay!” is a beautiful joke

matty matheson’s introduction to the show is iconic. he just comes in BAM and the camera work moves as if a drumroll of “and heeeeeeeere’s Fak!”

the scene where carmy finds his knife on the ground, and we get the intercut scenes of the morgue, and the first look at the back of mikey’s head has never made sense to me. because carmy said he didn’t go to the funeral, and richie says carmy didn’t come home. i assume that means carmy was in new york. so why is he seeing an image of a morgue with a sheet over a body? is it not a memory? is it just part of his imagination? i know the show has a lot of dream sequences and dream logic. but it’s curious.

also, the fact that in the original script, upon finding his knife on the ground carmy has a major blow up (of “review” levels) where he throws pots and screams. but instead the episode cuts to arguably the softest, and calmest shot of the episode: a beautiful softly lit scene of some meat getting salted and cooked.

which is an interesting choice when you know the alternative possibilities of the original script. it’s almost as if they decided that a way for carmy to come down is by cooking. even if that idea is challenged as the series goes on. but the anger is abated by getting into the groove of cooking and the meditative qualities of cooking.

i also think it’s a good thing they cut carmy’s blowup in this episode, because it makes his eventual blowup so much more impactful later in the season. and it would have made us, the audience, much more against him from the beginning. but instead we get through the whole season falling in love with carmy and understanding him, so when he does have his blowup in episode 7 we understand a bit more of where he’s coming from. he’s a bit more human, and we find it easier to forgive him. plus, when sydney and marcus quit in episode 7 it makes more sense that carmy isn’t normally like that. if they were used to his major freak outs than his actions in episode 7 wouldn’t have been so shocking where it pushed them to quit. but because he wasn’t usually like that, it makes sense that they walk away.

the quick back and forth of carmy and tina talking: “hey tina, i gotta see my sister, can you hold down the fort?” “yeah. hey, why doesn’t your sister come around here no more?” is such good writing. because suddenly, what you thought was an extremely antagonistic relationship, you realize has a history. carmy knows tina more than just his short time as owner of the beef. he knows tina, and he trusts tina, and tina knows carmy and carmy’s family.

“i’m gonna fix this place” “no one’s asking you too” is…maybe worth a whole post in and of itself. there are family dynamics, power dynamics, privilege, class relationships, and so much at play in the bear. but the idea of carmy, someone with knowledge and talent, wanting to help everyone in the beef reach their best potential is both a holier-than-thou idea, and/or a testament of love and devotion to a group of people who he knows deserve more out of life if they could only be given a chance. even if they do nothing but mock him. but also; we have to take into account it’s a white guy, with a staff that is predominantly POC, and that has a lot of meaning behind it. there are endless amounts of lenses you can watch and engage in with this show, and people should. feminism, gender, race, class…just so much depth to unpack. i wish academics would get on it and write all the books of the multiple lenses so i could read them, and then bastardize them for tumblr.

carmy having everyone try his new sandwich, and ebraheim (who has ALWAYS been underutilized in this show) saying “it’s redundant and white, just like you” and carmy saying “heard, heard, heard” is (again) such great and deep writing. carmy is one of the best chefs in the world, he KNOWS his version of the italian beef sandwich is better than how it was being done before. but fine dining and classically trained culinary skills often (read: systemically) cater to white folk. so a black man telling a white man his sandwich is white, when that white man has accolades and awards and skill in his world…it means something. and the fact that carmy doesn’t throw his awards, or his skill in ebraheim’s face as a response or get defensive at all is a testament to the fact that carmy also gets it. he understands that there a power dynamics at play, and that other peoples opinions matter even if it goes against the skill and talent he knows he’s using in the creation of this dish. other cultures have other flavor profiles they enjoy and just because their cuisine might not be regarded as “fine dining” in most instances doesn’t make them less valid or important.

family dinner is so beautiful. “i’m grateful for all you motherfuckers”. because that is family, and oftentimes the best team at a small restaurant or shop. you fight, you battle over what temperature you want, you steal their knives, you pretend to not speak english, but that doesn’t mean you don’t LOVE them

“i’m grateful for phillip k. dick” richie has surprising layers to him.

i have been in chicago five times in my life, and three of those times i have seen a random man shoot a gun into the air to (probably) make a point. so richie doing the same thing feels fitting. god, i love chicago.

“you snyder-cut, 4chan, qanon motherfuckers” is also amazing writing for richie. we know he uses homophobic slurs, he calls sydney (a stranger) sweetheart, and babe. we assume he would be a republican, and maybe even a “scary”, trumpy one. but no. the working class has a broad spectrum to it, and just because someone isn’t politically correct doesn’t mean they’re automatically in a specific political party. people have layers and nuance to them, and richie “phillip k. dick” jerimovich is a perfect example of one. “i hate litter, so you cucks are gonna clean up after yourselves. and you’re gonna goddamn recycle.”

the inkling of seeing that carmy’s “system” is having a positive impact on the staff when marcus says “heard, chef” is great. but i can’t get over the fact that carmy seeing that change and then deciding to toss the can of tomatoes into the trash is wasting how many thousands of dollars in one second? (more on that later)

ugh. it’s a perfect show. a perfect episode. it introduces everything and is so economical. you get so much storytelling in 27 minutes. i truly believe this is the best show ever made and i will argue that until the day i die.

Season One: Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8