#we can make this trending if we try hard enough/j

[pinktrashgoblin]

IT’S SPOOKY SEASON, Y’ALL!

This is an art piece I made for A Broken Paradise! It’s an animated series in the works, and it absolutely deserves all y’all’s support :D These are the main protagonists, the S. Quad and I absolutely adore them grhrhfaerhrfbw

There’s quite a few of us working on it and there is definitely a lot to look forward to, so go check out the Twitter post with this piece and the official account in general!

There’s a lot of love and hard work going into this bad boy, so stay tuned because there’s definitely some cool stuff to come!

[the-haunted-office]

For the portrayal meme! I was tired last night so sorry this is kinda later lol. It's hard for me to proper words to things sometimes. But I think the way you write is very fun! I know we haven't written long, but I think your muses are very lively and you do a good job of balancing the comedy and horror enough it can still be serious at times and silly in others without feeling too discordant or out of place.

I also think you manage to make your characters feel like people, who are imperfect and have flaws, from what I've read of them in our threads and on my dash. They are fun, and you give us ways to see the kind of people they are. You don't just say 'my character is verbose' you show it-- and i think it's very fun getting to understand the kind of person your character is just from seeing them in action and picking up the details!

If there was one thing I could think of, it's just that some minor tweaking to pacing could make your already good writing a tiny bit stronger! As an example, in our first thread with Thursday, I think the way she talked was great! It really showed Artair that who he was talking to was friendly and enthusiastic, without you having to say 'she's friendly and enthusiastic and chatty' or anything like that necessarily. It helped me understand a character i barely knew a bit better and endeared her to me. Honestly in my brain i was like 'oh sometimes i do that xD' seeing her response!

But i think having it be her talking a bunch, and then immediately transitioning to them moving on made it a bit wonky for me, because my muse wasn't given the chance to respond without it being back-tracking to reply. And that's not necessarily a bad thing! But my trouble with back-tracking is that if you have too much, then it almost.... morphs into characters having multiple conversations at the same time, but one is set further back in time, but they're overlapping each other? It just kinda gets messy in the timeline lol, which i used to be horrible about and the number of conversations would get huge and it'd be --- a real mess lol

So for me, I think it can be better to either leave the replies with the space to interact first before transitioning (maybe save the paragraphs of the transition to use, but next reply once there's been a chance for a reaction), or even hit up the other mun to see if it's a good place for a transition if I'm worried-- OR to lean into it as a character trait! Like having her talking but barreling ahead on purpose! I kind of adapted my response to be more like Thursday had said all she did and then kind of continued on in a vein similar to that, despite you mentioning her waiting, so it'd be more like Artair had to hurry after to keep up and didn't get time to respond, to keep it more in the present with the dialogue but still following the transition. I don't think there's anything wrong with a muse forcing a transition, it's just better if we play it like it's purposeful, or give the other muse a moment to react if we want it to be more of a mutual proceeding ahead. xD

Now I do want to say we only JUST started rping so it's not like it's even something I could call a trend at this point! It's just something that I worked around because-- -that's part of rp! keeping on your toes and working with stuff! it definitely wasn't anything bad, and certainly not enough trouble i had to reach out about anything, but in the spirit of trying to offer something constructive, i think that's the only thing I can think of! So far I'm really enjoying our rps and think they are very fun and your writing has a good energy that keeps me engaged and immersed. I'm excited to see more of Thursday and Doomsday and the kind of people they are and what they do, and learn about the world they're from in the meanwhile! ^^

Thank you for coming to my TED talk /j

Yooo, thank you for sending this! This is super detailed and helpful!

We have just started rping together and I'm already having lots of fun with our character dynamics and I'm enjoying your muses and writing and everything. So I really appreciate you sending this in to me!

Don't worry, you are absolutely not the first person who has pointed out this critique to me. Pacing in my threads is definitely something that's something I'm aiming to work on. I think it's become a difficulty for me because a lot of times I feel compelled to take the lead on threads. If I may be candid, and hopefully this doesn't come across the wrong way or offensive to anybody (certainly not to you because we just started rping together!), but a lot of people I've rped since I've started roleplaying on tumblr have a tendency to... I guess take the back seat when it comes to threads. That is to say, threads stagnate because their muses aren't doing anything, they are simply reacting to what my muse has said/done. So I always feel compelled to have my muse say/do something at the end of the thread to move things forward, and that causes that disjointedness and "moving things too quickly" that's happening. Does that make sense?

I will work on this for sure, especially since you are the second person who has brought up this same critique today alone. I sincerely appreciate that even though we're new at writing together, you have taken the time and courage to share your views with me. It is extremely helpful to me!

Regarding the compliments, thank you so much! Showing not telling is something I always wonder about in roleplay because I'm sitting here thinking, is my rp partner picking up on this or do I need to explain my muse's actions in text? I love writing, so sometimes I can send a whole book at you, but I have to try not to do that because I don't want to overwhelm my writing partners either. I'm really glad that my muse's actions and characterizations are shining through!

Also, I have to say, being candid again, and this might be a bit critical - but I hate "perfect" characters. It really bothers me when there's a character who can never do any wrong, or when people tailor their characters to be completely perfect and never make any mistakes in any situation ever, they always get along with everyone, they always have the "right" answer, they're stronger than everyone else, they're just perfect in every way. It just bugs me. And not just when it's roleplay muses, I'm talking about characters in any kind of media. Give me flaws! I need people to feel more real and for there to be ugliness and conflict! Not everything in roleplay has to go 100% smoothly, at least not for me. So yes, my muses WILL be stupid and erratic and make mistakes sometimes, and I will never be sorry for it. I'm always glad when people point out that they're flawed. :)

Again, thank you so much for sending this in. I sincerely appreciate it! 💞

[trenttrendspotter]

Are You Part of the Buzz at Natural Products Expo West?

Want to be the brand everyone is buzzing about at the sprawling Natural Products Expo West, taking place March 7-11, 2023? The consensus of successful marketers is to start thinking and talking about your news long before the event begins.

If your brand is not being talked about before, during, and after the show, your job isn’t done. Being well branded, and having a meaningful message, a breakthrough product, and creative ideas, is great…but it isn’t good enough. You need to get noticed.

90% of the work that goes into a trade show should happen before you set foot on the show floor.

It’s a year-round effort.  It’s not what you say about your brand that counts, it’s what others are saying combined with media exposure, that gets people talking.  Media relations needs to be a focal point for trade show success.

Trade shows are a lot of work for journalists too.  At a trade show, every attendee, exhibitor, and their marketing person is trying to garner the journalists’ attention. It can be exhausting!

Before you approach a journalist, you need to make sure you have a story that stands out.

What can you do? We went straight to trade and consumer journalists in the field and asked them what gets their attention. We also asked retailers and brands what’s worked for them in the past.

Invite face time

Trade shows (especially SupplySide West), are like a reunion that people look forward to all year. That doesn’t mean you can’t break into the crowd, but you need to be prepared and have a good story. Trade shows are a great opportunity for media to reconnect with old friends and resources and meet new ones.

This is your big change to get face time with hard-to-reach journalists. They want what’s new!

Booth staffers who are eating, drinking, texting, reading or slumping are not inviting or engaging. Friendly faces do the trick.

Deliver what’s new

Getting a journalist in the booth doesn’t get a story. You need to give them news in a format they can use.

World-weary journalists have seen everything, but still get excited when they see something that is genuinely, breaking news. Newsworthiness can be hard to quantify. Sometimes it’s a gut feeling you get, but often the criteria is based on whether something feels fresh and new, if it’s innovative, if there is credible support such as research or experts, if it feels authentic, creative, useful, on trend, and whether there is passion behind it.

An interactive experience can trigger interest and inspire thought.  Have an activity available to immerse people in the booth, for attendees to participate in and watch others.  It’s not hard to get a journalist to engage when you give them a sensorial experience.

Find the story

There is a reason behind everything you do, and journalists want to hear about it.  Your story not only draws people in, but it also saves them time.

Media-savvy companies get coverage because they tell good stories.  Always be prepared with memorable facts and tips.  Don’t expect a journalist to remember or even take notes at the media event. You must make their jobs easier by having good talking points. A press kit is easy for them to use and should always include a “what’s new page” for a quick snapshot.

You have to speak in their language by tailoring your message to the audience for the publication. New products. New studies. New trends. There is always something new to talk about.

Angle for attention

Every editor wants to get there first. Be armed with at least three different story ideas before you speak with a reporter. Find out what they are working on or interested in and adapt your idea to support their interests so that it’s always exclusive to each media outlet.

Don’t go to a media event without considering what journalists will be there. Know how your product philosophy and services would be viewed by the various types of media whether, it’s TV, magazines, or blogs.

Check to make sure your “story” or “news” is at least slightly different every time you speak with a journalist. Giving them old news that you told them before, bores journalists and maximizes skepticism and disinterest.  There will always be similarities, but making sure you stay on point for their audience or story line is important.

Get—and stay—ready

Don’t limit your time frame to the week of the trade show. Most trade shows offer year-round marketing. Contact the show organizers to find out how you can get involved in publicity activities.  Always take advantage of pre-show marketing opportunities with the trade show.  Check if the show has a newsletter, media events listings, or press releases they send out periodically, and see if you can get your product included.

Schedule new product introductions, research briefings, or a corporate announcement in sync with the show and prepare news releases about your activities. Contact trade magazines and daily newspapers with news about what you have planned around the event.  If you have a visually stimulating product or demonstration, consider contacting local TV stations.

We recommend you start to come up with a theme for the next year’s event right after you finish the current event.

Previous contact with journalists and the media can also spark interest long before the event. Through listening and engaging in an activity while providing more information, they learn something new, and then you have an advocate for life.

Offer tools of the trade

So often you get to a booth, and the exhibitor has no press release, no press kit, and they refer you to a marketing person who isn’t there. Have a press release with your news ready for the journalists. Bonus points if it includes links to a high-res image. It also helps for us to see an example. Then we can use our senses to craft a description.

Readers are looking for expert tips, treatments, products, ingredients and breakthroughs.  Have this information at your booth and in your press kit.

Don’t forget to follow-up!

Half of the reason you attend trade shows is for leads and potential business.  The same applies to future publicity. It’s important to call or email editors you met at the show.  Ask whether they have any questions for you or how you can help with their post-show articles.

Send a press kit consisting of press releases, facts and statistics, and bios of key team members. Continue to keep them updated between trade shows about your products and send them a flow of story ideas to write about. Your goal is to become a resource for articles about the industry.

For trade show trends,

read the latest from trend-spotter Nancy Trent

. 

[kanmom51]

Jikook Q&A answers quick run:

- Q. Favourite Jikook moment of all time?

- Q. Favourite domestic moment?

- Q. Jikook’s loudest year?

- Q. Jikook’s loudest moment?

- Q. Favourite holding hands moment?

- Q. Most sus Jikook moment?

- Q. Moment you keep thinking about that released recently?

- Q. Jikook moment you think about a lot/ the most?

- Q. Favourite Jikook hug?

- Q. Most romantic Jikook moment?

- Q. A Jikook moment you really love and find a big deal but people don’t talk about it enough?

- Q. What’s your stance on how much you believe Jikook are a couple? E.g. casually/genuinely think they are/maybe….

- Q. The first moment that stuck out to you a weird/something going on?

OMG, you sent me the hardest ask like EVER. A great ask, but so so hard for me to answer.

Having to choose these moments just makes my mind reel, How am I going to do this? But I will rise to the challenge and attempt to answer your questions:

- Q. Favourite Jikook moment of all time?

That is such an unfair question.  Really.  Forcing me to choose one favourite moment is practically undoable.  

Even this is choreographed, I have to choose the MMA 2020 Black Swan dance. It's big, it's loud, it's absolutely gorgeous.

- Q. Favourite domestic moment?

Run pajama party episodes. This:

Idk, something about that moment is just all that for me. The way JK is sprawled over JM, engulfed by him, and their interaction with each other screams domestic to me.

- Q. Jikook’s loudest year?

To make this easier to answer, I’m going to go according to the content release dates, and based on that I would say 2021 has to be their loudest year, I mean hickey-gate was absolutely mind-blowing huge.  Nothing can surpass that at the moment, and I emphasise: as of at this moment.  

I will explain why I say that.  Jikook, to me, have been getting louder and louder ever since the release of GCFT.  They have been pushing the boundaries year after year.  2018 we had BV3, MMA’s 2018.  2019 was big with RB, the last Seoul concerts, BV4 and how can we leave out JK’s JM tattoo on his hand for all to see?  2020 was big with the release of memories 2019, ITS 1, Black swan MMA performance, Dynamite holidays remix.  

But 2021 Jikook, talk about boundary pushing.  The start of the year we had Jikook lite, domestic kind of under the surface, but hell did they get loud since August.  Memories and Mots ON:E dvd were the peak of it, hickey-gate and their following consecutive selfies on the day.  JM’s birthday Vlive.  Do I really need to say anymore here?

- Q. Jikook’s loudest moment?

That would have to be hickey-gate, no doubt.  And I include in that both JK & JM’s consecutive selfies that followed it trending online.

No matter how you look at it, bite (not really) or hickey, the whole situation is as loud as f**k.

- Q. Favourite holding hands moment?

Yet another Impossible one for me, but I choose an almost moment. JK holding his hand out, with a finger love sign, and JM almost holding JK's thumb, kind of brushing it. That was a twist my heart moment.

- Q. Most sus Jikook moment?

Oh boy, what to choose? There are a few that are hard to pick one from...the Osaka & Tokyo Vlives, J-14 interview, the BV footsie (why oh why is it always in BV, lol). But if I have to pick, it will have to be the upload of Own it, because wtf? Why? What was the thought process? Or maybe there was no thought process before uploading that specific clip, considering it was uploaded same night as the Tokyo Vlive...

- Q. Moment you keep thinking about that released recently?

That would have to be JM’s Vlive, and specifically JM’s especially reaction when Hobi asks him why he’s doing the live in JK’s studio.  This one is a mystery to me and I keep going back to it.  Why is it such a big deal they are in JK’s studio?  Why does JM get so flustered and shy?  Why the need to try and cover up? The whole thing is kind of sus and I have too many unanswered questions.  Some of which I am hoping will be answered when their upcoming new album is released (which I’m really hoping to hear an announcement from them about in the near future, maybe even during their stay in LA).

- Q. Jikook moment you think about a lot/ the most?

A moment I adore and think about A LOT is during the last LY concert in October 2019. JK crying and falling falling to pieces when he turn back and sees JM.

That whole concert is something I think of all the time, including the oh so loud and special changes they made to TTU.

- Q. Favourite Jikook hug?

Gosh, the unfairness here.  How am I supposed to choose one?

Hand twisted, I will choose Run episode 112.  JK gets what JK wants, lol.

And that smile on JM’s face...

But I ain’t leaving here without an honorable mention to both the pajama party episode, of which we only got the still photo.

And 2019 Summer package.

- Q. Most romantic Jikook moment?

Again, so hard to choose, but if I’m forced to, well their Tokyo trip, arranged by JK after JM had said multiple times how much he wanted to travel alone with JK, and followed by GCFT.  

GCFT no words needed.

- Q. A Jikook moment you really love and find a big deal but people don’t talk about it enough?

For me that would have to be this:

Serendipity, JK wanting to join JM in the ‘snow globe’, JM inviting JK to join him and holding JK’s hand to burst the bubble.  Idk, it just tugs at my heart and screams super romantic to me.

- Q. What’s your stance on how much you believe Jikook are a couple? E.g. casually/genuinely think they are/maybe….

Oh, I think I’ve been loud and clear.  I believe that JK & JM are a couple.  Period.  I believe they have started their journey together since August 2015, paving their way, establishing their relationship as a couple ever since. 

- Q. The first moment that stuck out to you a weird/something going on?

That would have to be this moment:

The way JK holds on to JM's shoulders, places his head and just closes his eyes, all while they are in actual fact posing for a photo. That was the first moment I saw that made me go "oh, interesting", and a digging I went.

[rrasado]

The demon brothers with MC who is very childish like they still watch blues clues wear soft and pastel cloths and play with toys?

Such Childish Antics

And again, I’m soft af- y’all just keep sending fluffy requests and it’s distracting me from my daily dose of angst dkns/j. But on all seriousness I had a lot of fun with this one ^ ^.

Lucifer

At first it was...not exactly what he expected, like far from it actually. Was there something that purposely made you wanna act like this? Who knows.

When he checked your files prior it didn’t mention anything about... needing routine head pats or literal tucking into bed- heck he didn’t expect you to actually go along with Mammon’s equally childish antics.

Which fully circles us back to the subtle fact that he learns to actually find rest in your behavior because let’s face it- your childish and his brothers’ childish are different.

Actually gets worried when you refuse to eat your veggies tho- he didn’t think he’d had to resort to...very underhanded methods i.e. using illusion spells to just feed you proper food despite sweets.

“MC you must finish this if you don’t want to fall ill. You wouldn’t want that would you?”

Very by the book with dealing with you he isn’t exactly the best at kids due to his aura but overall his actions make up for it.

Mammon

The solidarity you two have just spiked up tenfold, don’t worry about being the few people that still use jinx or superstitions like swallowing gum and believing it’ll stay there for the next seven years, because mammon also semi believes them-

But on a more chaotic note, mammon would go from ‘hey I don’t like the human being here why do I have to look after them they’re so childish-‘ to ‘oi f*Ck you my child is fine-‘

Sometimes feels guilty of taking advantage of your childish nature so he makes sure to make it up to you in some way whether a food treat a plushie treat or heck whatever outing you’re up for.

Which equates to the conclusion that if mammon is being nice to you he might’ve pulled a joke or two unbeknownst to you and his mind won’t let him rest the guilt dsdkwksk.

“Yo! I found a new ice cream downtown wanna get some and try? We can bring beel if ya want!”

As proven by season two(?) he’s good with children so I believe he’s the best at dealing with you in general. Besides you distract him from the suffering he gets from his brothers so win win!

Leviathan

This can go either two ways, one a grand friendship via watching anime and reading manga/comics or two unholy screeching cause hey Mc don’t touch those not so family friendly series he has ey-

So starting with the former- wait you said you wanna binge some colorful series instead of doing work? GRAB THE POPCORN LE GO- will literally have stars in his eyes the moment you two click on one series and it’s just a rant (on his end) while you nitpick at your favorite elements of the series.

The latter well, after delving into your more hyper ish series he’ll try to avoid letting you catch glimpses of his other stuff, which we all know is a lot but we don’t need to mention that now do we-.

Will not hesitate to pull out a human tv with a human cable plan just for you to binge watch your own cartoons and series because if that’s what it takes for you to calm down then aIGHT- besides it’s calming you down so win win?

“Hey wanna cosplay that duo together?”

I kid you not it becomes a dream come true when you both get to cosplay duo characters from series and the sheer nya uwu power you two hold is powerful enough to break devilgram records djdjd.

Satan

As uncanny as it sounds, he reads bed time stories for you, to put into context- he teaches you a lot of useful still via bed time stories because he can’t approach you the normal way.

Like- the concept of corruption in the history of the Devildom? Yey let’s turn that into a tyrant king! Need to learn the importance of always having one of the brothers with you? Eyyy this is the tale of the Queen’s child and their knights!

If there are any words you have a hard time getting your head around or just don’t know the meaning like at all, he’s your go to dictionary.

Suffice it to say he’s good at what he tries attempting. Was at first a bit concerned because you complained about his books not having pictures and it takes the fun out.

“Hm? Well we can always search for ones with diagrams in the library if that’s how you learn faster...”

Surprisingly to him those horrific diagrams did help you learn faster in various Devildom subjects, but your suggestion of making them colored ink was just calmly rejected.

Asmo

I pray for the House of Lamentation’s mail box because it’s full of chEQUES AND BILLS- the shoppings sprees you two go on is enough to even have Mammon concerned.

Like- you two just went down town to buy some new matching outfits and really pretty ones at that, and asmo is now dragging you by the arm to head to another newly opened boutique saying it’s from another district and he and has to be the first ones to post some of their pieces? Mhm

Non stop devilgram pictures, you are the epitome of color in the Devildom soley because of this Demon- He actually managed to make pastel a trend in the gloomy circle of hell with the amount of pastel you wore in your pics together.

When he takes care of you or offers you a relax day, mans will grab the most spontaneous bath soaps and body washes and even make you a bubble bath with hella cool shaped bubbles in, ngl I want one now-

“Ahh darling your genuine laughter is just a good break from the others’ bickering it’s actually doing wonders for my skin-“

Asmo is the ultimate wine aunt and he will not hesitate to end anyone’s career the moment they speak of one negative thing about his precious human.

Beel

....we all know it’s gonna be glorious food- ANIMAL CAKES AND CUTE CUPCAKES THINK ABOUT IT GUYS THINK ABOUT IT-

His food diet looks like a Pinterest aesthetic pastry board because of you, the amount of cafes and cute bakeries you go to because you said you liked their vibe and that they look cute has him nomming sweets upon sweets.

Heck- you two Will attempt to make those cute Sanrio bento boxes for lunch, well more like for you cause he doesn’t care what his food looks like but hey! If it makes you happy and if it’s good then he’s hella happy.

Is probably on Lucifer’s side regarding you needing to eat your veggies. He’ll shape them into cute animals and objects if that’s what it takes assuming he can even go without eating them himself-

“Please MC? For me? Finish mr snikerdoodles-“ “you named your chives after what-“ “hush it Belphie”

Will join you and mammon on district runs for food and outings, will also join you and Levi when making cute food from certain series you’ve watched.

Belphie

Depending on how childish you are you’ll either see nap time as a blessing or a punishment, no matter which one you’ll still wind up napping with belphie.

Ya don’t wanna nap? Well too bad cause you’re already trapped with his arms to sleep, he does that with his pillow and since his pillow helps him sleep well Goodluck cause you’re now a plushie.

You wanna nap? Good cause you get to nap with a lot of stuffed toys heckin soft pillows fluffy blankets and a grown man to make sure you actually sleep and not...pretend. (I actually do that a lot believe it or not-)

But here me out, animal onesies, matching animal onesies, matching soft and comfortable animal onesies- ok but really, onesies you two will wear and not care if the others see because you’ll walk a round the house and that at night heading to the twins’ room.

“Want some milk before bed? It’ll probably get us more good dreams..”

Whether he actually believes what he’s saying or not, a good glass of milk before bed is one of the few calming routines you two share and he finds them pleasant.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

I read your opinion on J-Hopes new song and I would like to share some of my own opinions and observations, if I may. Overall I agree that the concept for the MV with this song is...a bit higgeldy piggeldy. I believe that the visuals were probably more catered towards a 'vibe' to fit the rock genre and while visually and technically it was still a good MV, it's true in terms of the general Kpop genre it's weak. And with that I want to segue into the actual song a little bit. Again, in terms of how we know kpop to be structured musically they have different way of structuring their music, which is why lots of people in the west often find it quite jarring in the beginning, since they're used to the way we structure our songs in the west. And that's the thing with this song...which I think might also be influencing your opinions on how this song is not as much as it could have been. After listening to it a few times, I actually think this song is very western in structure. Because otherwise production wise and from the flow, this is a great song, the genre blending from a technical standpoint is so good. It's so hard to do successfully without sounding either really kitschy or jarring. The mixing is so good, the wall of guitars. Urgh. The production. So good. The verses are so punchy. The starts are so on point. Though sometimes it's hard to tell where you are in the song, but it kinda works with the whole feeling of the song. The beat is pretty simple, but it helps with the blending too. I wish I was half as good at that when I work on audio projects.

(Maybe I'm just really excited that rock is making a comeback, I've been hoping for this to catch on in popular music again since harry styles first solo album and the nods to the early 2000s pop-rock coming out of olivia rodrigo? rhodrigio? maybe I'll finally be inclined to listen to chart music again instead of just observing the market and production trends)

But yes, either way, I wasn't expecting a rock genre to come out of J-Hope and I am actually pleasantly surprised. At the very least it's a nice change from the very very very bland pop we got from the past 2 years. It may not be groundbreaking. But let's be honest...they may not be fully mainstream, but by now they are mainstream enough (in the west I mean, well kinda, I mean it's still niche but I think you get the point) to get themselves trapped in the pitfalls of mainstream music production. Especially with how much western market value is on the line at present. I don't want to speculate but who knows, maybe HYBE had a say in how far he could take it. For my part I am excited to see what the rest of the album has to offer so I can form a more rounded opinion. So sorry for the rant, I'm not sure it's fully coherent I feel a migraine coming on. Fucking weather is throwing me for a loop. Hot, cold, thunderstorms, hot again, cold, rainy, hot, thunderstorms. I feel like a 70yo with rheumatism. Either way, I'm interested to read what you think.

Hi anon! Thanks for adding your thoughts in terms of technical aspects. That's quite helpful in trying to understand how the song is created, what works and what not. You were coherent enough, no worries. Yep, this weather is a bitch. It's so hot that I struggle as well to write a text that makes any sense or even start at all and then I just choose to lounge.

You made a good point about the song being actually more western in terms of sound and production wise. It's definitely different than how a K-Pop song is made. The flow really is different. And while I do think it was an interesting choice for Hobi and perhaps he thought that given what he wants to express with his music as a solo artist from now on, this would work better, I still think the flow doesn't work. Now, I know you said it does and you explained why. Obviously you're more of an expert in this field, but for me as a listener, it just didn't work. It felt a bit all over the place, too fragmented. I mean, I listen to punk, I'm familiar with just noise and some screams for 3 minutes, so the genre is not the problem. Perhaps the song came across to me like that because this is not something that Hobi is well versed in. It doesn't sound like a song made by a musician that knows his way around the genre, but more like a kid in his bedroom who really wants to sing like those rock bands he likes, but he barely has any experience, so the first song doesn't come out very good.

But anyway, I also think it's important to listen to the entire album to form a more rounded opinion, but this single also set the tone for what's to come so it's important to have that in mind as well.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

We Keep Going, That’s All

@whimpers-and-whumpers , this is for you. Hope your surgery goes well today!

CW: Aftermath of near-death, hospital whump, recovery whump, survivor's guilt, alcohol use, referenced drug use

Ryan shows up to the hospital with Coke bottles full of liquid that absolutely is not Coke - or not much of it, anyway - and Nate doesn't refuse the gift.

He twists off the plastic cap and takes a drink, wincing at the burn down his throat. "Jesus, Ryan, this is m-m-more Jack than Coke."

"Yeah, well. Figured we could use some relaxing." Ryan gives him a slight smile, and the bruising that's been along his jaw - the obvious press of fingers - is finally starting to fade. Off-white bandages ring his neck, hiding from direct view the deep, slowly healing gashes rubbed in by the iron collar he'd worn for a year.

There are other wounds, Nate knows, underneath the lightly-draped black t-shirt Ryan wears, under his effortlessly casual, perfectly-on-trend jeans.

There are deeper wounds still entirely underneath his skin, inside his head. Nate knows those even better. He doesn't begrudge Ryan the need to find some way to fuzz out the edges of what must be written in stark, bright blood in his memory.

Nate spent a year and a half doing the same, after all, before Bram came back for Danny again.

"How is he?" Ryan asks, settling into a hard wooden chair with plastic back and cushion in a dull pastel mauve. "Any different?”

"Then y-yesterday?" Nate exhales, slowly, rubbing at his unshaven jaw. The stubble prickles his fingertips, itches a little as it grows in. There's a razor in the private room's little bathroom, but he doesn't have the energy to use it. All of Nate's energy now is focused entirely around staying right here, being right here, for the rare moments that Danny is both awake and himself.

"Yesterday wasn't... great.”

"No, it wasn't." Nate sighs, leaning over in the chair he sits in, next to Ryan, reaching out with his good left hand to gently nudge a bit of wavy red away from over Danny's face.

The love of his life - the man he's killed for, twice, and would kill for again - lays on his stomach with his head turned to one side. The hospital blanket is pulled up nearly to his chin, hiding from view the fact that nearly all of Danny seems made of bandages these days, bandages and tubes and wires. He breathes slowly, a drugged deep sleep to let his body rest and try desperately to heal itself around the nearly-fatal place the knife went into his back.

He sleeps, more than he's awake. But Nate makes sure that when his eyes open, someone is here for him, every single time.

"Today has been a little b-better, I think," Nate says after a moment's though. He brushes a crumb from the corner of Danny's mouth. "He ate a l-little, this morning. Just Jell-O and a little bit of cereal, but...”

"But something." Ryan nods, takes another drink, looks out the window. Outside, the day is bright and sunny, with a cloudless blue sky. The courtyard below is full of visiting families and patients taking walks through the landscaped flowers, all of them in brilliant bloom. "Have you even left this room since we got here?”

"No." Nate doesn't bother to lie.

Ryan looks over at him, and smiles very slightly. "Remind me to bring you by some multivitamins do you don't die of Vitamin D deficiency.”

"I'm f-fine." Nate takes another drink, feels the warmth slowly spreading through his shoulders, relaxing the knots and tension that have been slowly building day by day. The 'bed' he has here is just a visitor's couch built into the wall, lumpy and hard, with exactly one flat pillow with a scratchy pillowcase. But he'd rather be here than anywhere else. He'll be here for every single second Danny needs him. "I eat oranges for breakfast every d-d-day. No sc-... sc-... scurvy for me.”

"Didn't we joke about scurvy once?" Ryan asks, slightly faintly, looking up at the ceiling. "After Danny came home the first time?”

"M-Maybe. Don't remember. Why do you c-care if I feel good, anyway?”

“My brother can’t fuss over you right now,” Ryan says with a casual shrug. “So someone has to. He’ll never let me live it down if anything happened to you while he’s here. I’ll get chewed out if you get so much as a headcold and we both know it.”

“I d-doubt-”

Danny shifts a little and both men go silent, watching him move in the bed - just an inch or so to the right, his eyes tightly closed, body tensing as even the slightest movement brings a wash of pain.

"It's okay," Nate whispers, and Danny's eyelids flicker, slowly open. The blue in them is hazy and clouded, but not empty. This time, at least, it's Danny who is looking at him, and not the other one, the one that Nate knows only as someone else. The one who runs Danny's body when Danny can't do it any longer.

"Hey," Danny says, in a hoarse whisper. He tries for a smile, and it's faded and wobbly, but it's there. Then he lifts his head a little, looking over to see Ryan. "Oh, you're both... here. How long was I asleep?”

"Four hours or s-s-so," Nate says, standing up - ignoring the twinge of pain in his bad knee - and moving the pillow under Danny's head to still support him even as he moves. A hint of freckled shoulder shows, with its swirling trace of scars from Bram's knife. There's a star carved into the back of his left shoulder that Nate did, at Bram's command, once.

Ryan's gaze be damned, Nate leans over to kiss it, and to kiss one by one the carved letters that are still there, faded, in the back of Danny's neck. A. D. N.

He tries not to feel the guilt that twists in him at the ownership Bram had meant to make obvious, there. His own first initial with Bram's initials, his own... his own culpability.

“How do you feel?” Ryan asks, leaning over close to Danny. 

Danny’s nose wrinkles. “You smell like a liquor store.”

“Yeah, well. When your big brother scares the shit out of you by getting himself stabbed almost to death because of you, maybe you need a little pick-me-up now and then.” Ryan manages a half-cocked smile, but it’s fragile, and they both know it.

With a hiss of pain, Danny moves his hand up the bed, offering it to Ryan, who takes it without hesitation, leaning over so his forehead rests gently against Danny’s. 

“I’m okay,” Danny whispers.

“No, you’re not,” Ryan whispers back. 

Nate moves to sit back in his chair, then stands again, restless. He doesn’t want to sit there but he doesn’t know where he does want to be... until he looks at Danny, thin and dwarfed even by a small hospital bed. He sets down the mostly-jack-and-a-little-coke and climbs into the bed without hesitating, laying down behind Danny on his side, letting his good hand rest just next to a swirl of Danny’s hair on the pillow. 

Danny’s smile widens - not that Nate can see that, from his vantage point. Although Ryan can. “I’ll be okay,” He corrects himself, watching his brother. “They said there’s no sign of paralysis. I’ll walk, I’ll probably even run after a while.” He tries moving and hisses again. “A long while. It’s going to be okay, Ryan.”

“You always were way more optimistic when you were high as balls,” Ryan whispers, and he and Danny laugh, until the action makes Danny whimper at a new spike of pain. “What do we do now, Dan, huh?”

“Keep going,” Danny says, voice low, barely audible even to the two men on either side of him. “That’s all. We keep going.”

“I keep thinking I should’ve died back there, ten times over,” Ryan murmurs. “But every single time, you took the pain for me. I should’ve died-”

“Nah. You’re my little brother. I need you here.” Danny manages to keep the smile, then, and his blue eyes are warm. “If you feel so bad about it, sneak me some of that booze next time, yeah?”

"Dan, I am not going to help you mix IV drugs and alcohol-”

“Just leave it in a really easy-to-reach place and I’ll help myself.”

“Danny. No.”

“Danny yes.”

“Daniel Michaelson-”

“Ryan Niall Michaelson-”

Nate’s rumbling laughter interrupts them. It’s such a rare sound that both of them go immediately silent when they hear it, and Danny even tries to look over his shoulder, gritting his teeth through the ache to see the smile on Nate’s face. It’s slight, nearly private - a smile barely noticeable by anyone who isn’t looking for it.

But Danny is, and through the fog of the painkillers still coursing through his system, he sees it. 

“What?” Ryan says. “What’re you laughing at?”

Nate lays a hand over the star he once carved into Danny’s skin, and moves to rest his nose, just lightly, against the warmth of Danny’s neck, breathing in the scent of him under the hospital-smell that surrounds them. “Nothing,” He says, and Danny shivers a little as his lips move against the curve of the D at the back of his neck. “I’m j-j-just... realizing I’m g-going to listen to you two do this for the r-rest of my life.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Ryan’s voice is dry. 

“No,” Nate says, eyes closed. He can almost feel them in the cabin, like this, just the two of them on days Bram was gone. Lying in the bed wasting the whole morning being warm, just them together. Warm and safe. It feels like being in Danny’s apartment during their year and a half of freedom, the way sometimes when Nate couldn’t get out of bed Danny would just stay with him, holding him, until the pain inside of Nate had lessened enough to let him stand. 

Now it’s his turn to hold Danny. 

-

@tiddiroki @whump-it @bleeding-demon-teeth @finder-of-rings @whumpywhumper @endless-whump @18-toe-beans @pumpkinthefangirl @goneuntil @swordkallya @astrobly @evermetnotforgotten @whumpiary @card-games-and-pain @raigash @whump-tr0pes @orchidscript @wildfaewhump @doveotions @eatyourdamnpears 

[studies-in-the-art-of-deduction]

Deduction #2 Process

Correction time is here! in this post I will explain the process behind the deductions I posted a week ago (you can go check out that post here and the picture being deduced here). Now let's have some fun!

The saved websites are almost entirely composed of browser games, they're saved to have easy access to them, which suggests that this person uses them often, some of them are even games that are played online, which suggests they might even play with friends. With access to games like Fortnite or Minecraft that aren't hard to run on virtually any computer, and are sometimes free, I gather it's unlikely this person opts for browser games to play at home, so my best guess is these are games they play in school, possibly when they're bored and can't pay attention in class. So we know they're a student.

We also see a website called JustSketchMe and Pinterest are both saved, which suggests this person is an artist, which means they need somewhere to do art at home, somewhere well lit and with a stable, flat surface, so probably a desk, with a lamp or a window (or both) as a light source. Someone who spends their time in school playing browser games and spends a lot of free time sitting at a desk drawing and painting has less time to actively socialize, granted this is slightly faulty logic but we have very little information to work with so we'll take it as a piece of evidence that points slightly towards introverted.

We can see they use JustSketchme to have a model for their drawing reference, which suggests they don't have a physical model at home, this gives us an idea of how extensive their art supplies are, so chances are they have simply a good set of drawing and coloring pencils to work with and little else. We could theorize that the reason they have so few supplies is low economical stability, it's a weak theory but again, faced with a lack of information we can take a bit of a chance and expand on it a bit: low economical stability suggests other parts of their life would be affected by it, most teenagers nowadays have a phone so if this one does they would have some android phone (that are usually cheaper than Apple), or one of the older Apple models, at this point the older ones are iPhone 8 and iPhone X, we could go lower but the iPhone 7 and older are harder to find.

Note: it's important to realise that deductions like the introverted one and the low economical stability one are faulty, and the only reason they're being presented is because of the lack of information in the picture, basically I'm trying to squeeze as much as I can out of what I have, which is great for training and exercise, but it's important as a deductionist to realise that these deductions are flawed and that in most scenarios they should be avoided if possible.

Going back to the saved browser games, their existence alone suggests this person has trouble concentrating in class which leads to having to study more on their own, which could potentially lead to lower grades

As for the personality types, we've already established Introversion, creative people tend to be high on openness and N types, F type is just a way of saying they're decently emotion-driven, which is a trend in artists, and the fact that their art is on their mind often enough for them to have Pinterest and JustSketchMe saved on their browser gives the deduction some slight support, so does the fact that they make their own work (they don't just draw what others have already drawn), so an F type makes a lot of sense (but it's good to realise that with only this evidence in mind this part of the personality is a bit of a shot in the dark). And J type is directly related to the fact that their saved websites, tabs, browser windows, and other opened programs on the computer are almost non-existent (you can faintly see part of your taskbar and see that there are basically no open programs), which suggests someone at least decently organized which in simple terms suggests less of a chaotic way of working and thinking and interacting with the world, which culminates in an INFJ

When it comes to the bookshelves and corkboard: as I said, their saved websites, tabs, browser windows, and other opened programs in the computer are almost non-existent, which suggests someone at least decently organized, which means they probably have furniture to accommodate for that, most likely a lot of bookshelves.

Even if that's wrong, they're a feeling-oriented person to some decently important degree, They need models to draw and I'm pretty sure they use Pinterest for reference so they're a very visual person, and they're also obviously very creative, so it makes almost no sense for them not have some way of visually displaying the things they need to keep organized, think about, and work on, or the things that trigger emotional responses in them. This place would be somewhere where they can see easily and at eye level in their desk since it's where they work and draw and stuff, so it's where they feel comfortable, likely candidates for this simply because of their efficiency are a corkboard or a whiteboard. Basically, there are a plethora of reasons for someone like them to have a tool like a corkboard and almost no reason not to have one

So that's it for this deduction, i thought it'd be quite interesting to post considering the challenge was to deduce as much as possible from as little information as possible. I will be making another smaller post regarding this deduction, specifically regarding my use of Personality in deduction. If you have anything to add or any questions don't hesitate to let me know!

Happy Observing

-DV

[illfoandillfie]

I don’t know if you’re still doing asks for the advent calendar. But just wondering if you could do a Ben x Reader x Present!Roger, where Ben and reader are the subs for Rog and he is hard!dom and they’re getting punished but at the end it’s super fluffy with my fav poly relationship. Idk if this makes since and I hope you could be comfortable with writing this! Btw love your writing! ❤️❤️

Oh i absolutely love this prompt and honestly i can’t think of a better way to end this thing than with a rog x ben threesome!!

Warnings: smut, spanking, edging/orgasm denial, sir kink, dom! rog, sub! ben, sub! reader, collars, a tiny bit of hair pulling, overstimulation, minor mentions of oral sex (m and f receiving), there’s also a bit where rog steps on reader, also its like 4k lmao

Blurb Advent: Day 25

It had been natural to let Roger take the lead, so to speak, in your relationship. Even in the early days, there’d never really been a question about you submitting to Roger. For one thing, you trended towards submissive anyway but something about Roger, the way he carried himself, automatically made you want to kneel before him. Age probably had something to do with it too. There was a perceived expertise because he was older (and as he frequently joked, wiser too), that had you agreeing to call him Sir and to follow his instructions, even within the first few weeks of getting together. Normally you’d wait a while before jumping into anything especially kinky with someone new, and to be fair he hadn’t rushed into bringing out the harder stuff, but it was almost shameful how fast you’d let him toy with you, agreeing to wear a collar to symbolise your submission. You’d well and truly established your dom/sub relationship before you’d agreed to consider each other boyfriend and girlfriend, (His age may have been a hinderance there, the word boyfriend not often associated with someone like him) so when Ben first met you, he assumed something entirely different. Roger had invited him around for dinner, with the added intention of being able to talk drums for as long as they wanted. Ben had shook your hand and made a comment that implied he thought you were Roger’s niece or grand daughter or something along those lines and before you’d been able to correct him he was caught up in a discussion with Roger about one of the songs he had to play in the movie. You left them too it, shrugging Ben’s assumption off. If you were going to date a man in his seventies then you had to be prepared for people to think you were connected by blood or else that you were in it for the money. Neither was true but it’s what people would think and there was no reason to get upset about it. Ben’s impression was re-evaluated later that day when he’d wandered away from the drum kit to find Roger and walked in on him giving you a quick edge. As soon as he realised Ben was there Roger apologised.

“Oh, that’s um, no, uh, no need for that,” Ben stuttered out, “I just thought, but, uh, I was obviously wrong,”

“Family or sugar baby?” Roger asked curiously.

“Family. Then sugar baby when I saw your hand up her skirt.” Ben seemed to realise what he’d said, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

“She’s my girlfriend actually,” Roger turned his head to smile at you, “I would have said so but we’ve really only just started telling people so it kind of slipped my mind that I could,”

“No worries, um, I’ll leave you to it and just go try out that bit on the drums again.” Ben turned and walked back down the hallway as quickly as he could, Roger chuckling softly as he kissed the top of your head.

“How would you feel if I invited Ben to have sex with us?” he asked suddenly.

“What?”

“I’m not saying I definitely will but…he’s been looking at you a lot this afternoon. I figured he was probably trying to work out who you were to me but if he assumed family he might have been checking you out.”

“You think?” you asked, trying to keep your tone level. Ben was fit and you wouldn’t have minded him making a pass at you, even if you’d had to turn him down.

“I’ll keep an eye on him, see if I can work it out, but would you be okay with that? If he joined us?”

“That sounds kind of fun,”

“Alright then, I’ll feel him out and see if I can’t convince him to stay the night.”

 Over the course of the afternoon and evening Roger used every trick in his book to determine Ben’s attraction to you, and if he’d be interested in a threeway, steadily getting less and less subtle. By the time dinner had been eaten just about all delicacy was out the window.

“Look, sorry again about earlier,” Roger said, passing Ben a scotch and soda, “I’ve been edging Y/N a bit today because I’m planning on fucking her rotten tonight and I want her dripping wet and ready to beg for it,”

You weren’t sure whether you or Ben was more embarrassed by that but Roger didn’t seem to notice.

“Not that I really need too because she’s got, well let’s call it a very healthy sex drive. Edging her keeps her in her place and makes sure she knows I’m the one who controls if and when she gets an orgasm, but honestly she’s ready to go whenever I ask. I could tell her to strip right now and she would.”

“Is that right?” Ben said despite himself. His eyes darted about the room, not knowing where to look, but his tone was curious.

“She’s very obedient. If you wanted I could tell her to suck you off and it would take literally two seconds for her to be on her knees.”

Ben audibly gulped, his face beyond pink.

“Should I tell her to do that Ben?”

“Umm,”

“I think she’d like it if you joined us tonight. She does think you’re fit.”

“J-joi-join you?”

“We can set up one of the spare rooms for you if you want to stay. I might even see about lending her to you for the night.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, hypothetically, if you did stay, we’d share her for a bit, make up for all those edges I gave her. Then afterwards you could take her off to another bed and have her as many times as you wanted while I got a good nights sleep. Twice this week she’s wanted me in the middle of the night, it’d be nice to let someone else deal with her instead. Of course, there would be a few ground rules but they’re easy enough.”

“Like what?”

“Oh well, you can take her raw if you like but we’d prefer you not to finish in her cunt. Anywhere else is fine though. Obviously safewords are a must and limits have to be respected, hers, yours and mine. And you do need to understand that I’m in charge. She submits to me, she calls me Sir and she wears a collar for me. We both enjoy it, we both get off on it, and we expect anyone who joins us to understand that.”

“I understand,” Ben nodded.

“Does that mean you want to stay?”

“Yes.”

Roger had grinned and turned to you, “Well, why don’t you give our guest a proper welcome.”

 Ben fit in better than you might have assumed he would. It had been natural for you to submit and apparently Ben felt the same. That first night he constantly looked to Roger for guidance and permission, not wanting to overstep any boundaries or do something that would bring the night to an end. As you’d sucked Ben’s cock Roger had commanded you both, telling you when to deepthroat him and when to come up for air, telling him to grab your hair or push you down further. After that he’d suggested Ben repay you and walked him through edging you with just his fingers, teaching him the signs of your impending orgasm so he could stop it at the last second. And when you did finally make it to the bedroom, he’d told you both how to position yourselves, giving instructions and making demands as you’d been filled by both of them. Ben joined you in calling Roger Sir, giving up control as fully as you did. When Roger suggested edging Ben himself, Ben didn’t object. He dropped his eyes and bit his lip and whined prettily as Roger stroked his cock carefully, always stopping short. Afterwards he’d been rewarded, as Roger had promised he would be, with you as company in his bed. Mostly you’d stayed up talking, Ben curiously asking questions about your relationship with Roger and how it had come about. He was most intrigued by the dominant and submissive dynamics, how it worked and how you’d felt adding an extra person to it. Of course, you’d made sure it wasn’t all talk. Ben was hot and Roger expected him to fuck you so there was no harm in it. Besides, you knew Roger would call you a good girl if you were obedient and took Ben however he wanted. Ben seemed to like that aspect of your reasoning too. He didn’t want to disappoint Roger by not using you and the chance of being called a good boy for it was motivation enough.

 You’d expected it to be a one night thing but a couple of weeks later Roger had extended Ben another invitation to dinner. Things went in much the same direction, only Ben had fallen asleep in the bed you shared with Roger rather than taking a spare for himself and the next morning had offered a repeat performance of the night before. It was the same the next time Ben came for dinner and the time after that. On the sixth time you all gave up the pretext of dinner. Ben arrived earlier in the afternoon and Roger greeted him with the order to strip, which he did without question. The next morning Roger, pleased with Ben, made a suggestion that it become more official, and offered him a collar identical to yours.

“You can say no, of course,”

Ben hadn’t even hesitated before he picked up the collar and fitted it around his throat. You’d helped him with the clasp at a look from Roger who’d then ordered you both to suck him off. From then on it became a much more regular thing. For the most part both you and Ben would submit to Roger, gradually showing Ben harder things like spankings and restraints and all the fun stuff. Sometimes Roger would just sit back and watch Ben have his way with you and sometimes he’d disappear with Ben while you were busy or not in the mood. When Roger was called overseas unexpectedly Ben stayed with you. Roger asked for photos and videos and you delighted in sending him pictures of hickeys and scratches you gave each other as well as videos of each of you edging or Ben’s cock sliding in and out of your cunt, your moans in the background. Of course, the shifts in your sexual relationships also impacted your non-sexual relationships. Ben was important to you and Roger. He wasn’t just someone you hooked up with, he was part of things. When you redecorated the kitchen, Ben helped pick out the colours and when Roger wanted someone to listen to the first demo of a new song he’d written, Ben was there to give feedback. He was an extra shoulder to lean on, an extra pair of hands when there was chores to be done, and extra person to spend time with. But even with all the changes, your sexual dynamic remained the same. Roger was in charge. And that was how he liked it. Especially when he got to punish one or both of you.

Not that his punishments were ever really punishments. Once he’d come home from a weekend trip, expecting a clean house only to find the kitchen covered in rubbish and dirty dishes while you and Ben giggled away under the covers upstairs. He’d got very stern and made you both write lines. I will complete my chores before I have sex one hundred times each. But for the most part his punishments were actually fun, if a little painful. Spanking and orgasm denial and bondage, things that you could get off on, and always for small misdemeanours like poking your tongue out at him or going over an edge before you had permission. Because you and Ben enjoyed giving up control so much, your slight bratty tendencies generally just signalled a desire to be pushed or for something a little harder than what he was giving you. When one of you acted out without involving the other he’d let them help with the punishment, giving you both an outlet for any of your slightly more dominant inclinations. But more often than not you’d wind up being punished together.

On one such occasion, you and Ben had started teasingly referring to Roger as Mr Softie within his hearing after he’d dripped ice cream on his shirt. He’d smiled and laughed along but that evening he’d got back at you, using your collars to chain you to the desk in his office, your hands bound in cuffs in front of you. For a while he left you there, just out of reach of each other, wondering what he had in store. The silence was broken every so often by one of you making a quiet suggestion as to what he might do to you or wondering when he’d return, the anticipation building with each passing minute. Your heart pounded in your chest but you only grew wetter as you were forced to wait and Ben seemed to be in a similar predicament, his pants getting steadily tighter. Finally, Roger returned, ignoring you as he placed a paddle and a vibrator down on the desk you were tied to. Without acknowledging you he unclasped Ben’s collar, giving it a tug to make Ben crawl toward the couch set up at the other end of the room.

“Sir?” Ben asked as he reached the couch, looking up at Roger from his place on the floor.

“Up on the couch. Face down. Now.”

Ben jumped to follow the direction, settling with his face pressed against one cushion, his knees resting on the other, and his hips as high in the air as he could comfortably manage.

“Right,” Roger said, turning back to the desk and continuing to ignore you, “It seems you need to be taught a lesson about respect. And I think the fastest way to teach you is to spank your arse raw. Maybe a few days of not being able to sit down will be a strong enough reminder that I own you and you will respect me.” As he talked, Roger retrieved the paddle and tapped it against his hand, just loud enough that Ben could hear, his whimpers rising as he waited for the first strike. You watched as Roger stalked towards Ben, raised his arm and brought it down hard on Ben’s arse, the shocked cry that escaped Ben almost enough to have you whining yourself. Roger didn’t pause, just lay three or four hits on Ben, each one hard enough that Ben tried to wriggle away and the sound cut through the mostly quiet room. Suddenly Roger reached for Ben’s cock, stroking his already hard member before laying another few spanks on him. Ben made a mixture of sounds, some of pain and some of pleasure but all of them egged Roger on as he edged Ben and turned his arse a dappled purple wherever the paddle struck.

“How does that feel slut? Does it hurt?” Roger’s tone shifted to one of mock whining and back in a matter of seconds, “that whore’s going to be in for it too since it was her idea to disrespect me.”

Ben howled as another few spanks hit him, tears getting lost in the cushion of the couch, but you could see how his hips jolted with every light touch to his dick and how he twitched when Roger retracted his hand.

You’d lost count of how many edges and spanks Ben had received by the time Roger hooked two fingers into the collar, using his grip to pull Ben up higher, “Do you think you’ve learnt your lesson or should I keep teaching you?”

Ben shook his head, eyes still watery and voice more of a sob, “no more, please, I understand,”

“I’m very happy to hear that. Do you think you should be allowed to cum now?”

“Yes please Sir,”

“Yeah? You think I should stop being mean and wank you off already?”

Ben nodded.

“Okay then Benny. But only if she manages to hold out.”

Ben whimpered but nodded, falling to his side.

Roger gently stroked his fingers through Ben’s with a few quiet words of praise before he turned to you. Just like with Ben, Roger unchained you and then made you crawl to the couch. It was awkward with your arms bound but you didn’t dare sit up straighter to walk on your knees, that would only leader to a harder punishment. When you reached the couch Roger stopped you, telling you to turn around and get into the same position Ben had been in, your face against the carpet and your arse in the air. The only difference was that you remained on the floor, your arse facing Ben. The first spank took you by surprise. You’d been so concerned with your position and wondering how closely Ben was watching that you’d forgotten what was coming. It was followed by another three in rapid fire, the paddle thwacking you with such force that you jolted forward each time.

“You’re in trouble Benny,” Roger said, bending slightly to drag his fingers along your cunt, “She’s already soaked. Don’t know she’ll last.”

You whined and squirmed as his fingers traced over you and then yelled when he hit you again. There was no pattern to his punishment, try as you might to find one. He gave you two hits and then pressed his fingers into you, fucking you with them for a moment, and then another five hits, his fingertips lightly rubbing your clit, another two spanks, a spank to your cunt, another three to your arse, and then his fingers again. But there was no way to tell how many spanks you’d endure before he edged you or even how he’d touch you, whether he’d twist his fingers inside you or circle your clit.

“Finger her for me,” Roger said and you heard Ben wince as he stood and knelt behind you. You heard Roger walk away as Ben sank his fingers into you. He slowly pulled them out and pushed them back in, wanting to do as he’d been told, but not wanting to accidentally push you over the edge lest he not get his own orgasm. That was until Roger, over his shoulder, told Ben to do it properly or be spanked again. After that Ben was merciless, shoving a third fingers into you and roughly pounding his them as deep as he could go.

“That’s better,” Roger said when he returned to your side, “make the whore pay for getting you into trouble.”

You cried out and tried to wriggle away as another spank came down on you, but it was impossible to escape with Ben’s fingers hooked in your cunt and your bound hands. All the same Roger placed one of his feet on the side of your head, holding you down against the carpet as he whacked you again and again, ignoring your screams and the tears soaking the carpet. He stopped and you breathed a sigh of relief but it was short lived as a buzzing noise filled the room and you remembered the toy he’d brought in with the paddle.

 There was no way to suppress your moan as Roger held the vibrator against your clit, warning you not to cum. He held it there for a matter of seconds and then pulled it away again. Ben’s fingers left you a second later and then you were being tugged up by your collar again, the thick leather band pressing into your throat.

“On the couch, whore.”

“Yes, Sir,” you managed to sob as a few more tears rolled down your cheeks.

Once you were on the couch, positioned the same way you had been on the floor, Ben was handed the vibrator.

“Against her clit, highest setting. Don’t move it until I tell you.”

You whimpered, knowing there was no way you could hold back an orgasm with that kind of stimulation. But that didn’t seem to matter to Roger. He expected you to hold it, reminding you that you didn’t have permission in low growl as he spanked you on the back of your thigh. Your arse tingled all over, stinging twice as much whenever he hit you again but it was nothing to the sensation of the vibrator against your clit.

“I’m close,” you whined before another cry was ripped from you as Roger spanked the back of your other thigh.

“Don’t move it slut. The whore needs to fucking hold it.”

You tried but it was no use, there was nothing you could think of, nothing you could do, that could keep you from disobeying. You moaned as the orgasm rolled through you and heard Roger drop the paddle.

“Don’t move it Ben,” Roger growled as he stalked around to your head, pulling it up by the hair, “I thought I told you to hold it whore,”

“I’m sorry, Sir,” you half yelled, whining as the vibrator kept buzzing against your clit.

“You will be.”

You lost sight of Roger as he shoved you back down and walked away.

“Guess we have our answer Ben. Since the whore couldn’t stop herself from cumming, you won’t be allowed to.”

“No, Sir, please, I really need to,”

“That was our deal though slut.”

“Sir,”

“Don’t argue, it’ll just make things worse for you. And don’t move that vibrator.”

Ben fell silent, though a few whimpers escaped him as he pressed the vibrator against you harder.

You were expecting another series of spanks, so when you heard the small jingle sound of Roger removing his belt you cringed away, assuming that was what he was going to hit you with. But instead of the swishing sound it made before a strike, it was followed by the sound of a zip. Roger grabbed your hips and pulled them around so he could press his cock into you. By now the vibrator against your clit felt painful, the overstimulation enough to make you sob but the feeling was only amplified by Roger fucking you hard, his jeans rubbing against your arse since he hadn’t bothered to push them down. You squealed and sobbed as he used your cunt, the vibrator torturing your sensitive clit and making you cry into the couch cushion. Roger just grunted about how tight you were and how your sobs just turned him on more, until finally he came deep inside you. Only after he pulled out did he take the vibrator from Ben, shushing you when you sobbed out a thank you. He stood behind you until he saw his cum dribble out of you and then pulled Ben up by the collar and told him to clean you up. There were footsteps as he left the room but neither of you dared disobey so Ben continued to spread your lips with his thumbs and lick along your slit, pulling a soft moan from you. Roger returned with a warm damp cloth and told Ben to stop. He swiped the cloth over your thighs and up along your lips, gently cleaning off whatever Ben had missed. When he was satisfied he asked you to move over and sat down in the centre of the couch.

“You did so well, Y/N,” he said softly, letting you rest your head in his lap and smoothing back your hair with his palm, “Do you wanna come up here Ben?”

Ben nodded and gingerly knelt on Roger’s other side, too sore to sit properly.

“You were such a good boy Ben, and I’m so proud of you for holding out,” he said as he lay the damp cloth flat against his hand and then reached for Ben’s dick, using the cloth to wank him, “You can cum now.”

Ben panted out a thank you, his voice falling into a moan as he finally got what he’d needed for so long. You watched through tired eyes as Roger’s fist pumped over Ben’s length until his hips stuttered and he moaned with his release. Roger kept praising him until he was completely spent, using the cloth to gather the evidence of the orgasm. It was thrown to the floor and Roger carefully unfastened Ben’s collar, leaning in to give him a soft kiss on the lips and whisper that he loved him. He wrapped his arm around Ben and let him settle on his chest.

“Y/N, love, can you sit up for me?”

You nodded and slowly pushed yourself up, feeling a little dazed.

Roger gently removed your collar and kissed you too, taking an extra moment to cup your cheek, his thumb wiping away the last of your tears, and remind you how good you were and how much he loved you before he let you settle in his lap again. He knew he’d have to move you both eventually. There were ice packs and aloe downstairs in the kitchen that would help with your bruised arses and he’d have to make sure you both ate something and drank some water before you went to sleep. But Roger was happy just to sit there for a while to comfort and cuddle the two people he loved most.

[theyarebothgunshot]

ROSE I AM FREAKING OUT HAVE YOU SEEN THE PREQUEL STUFF???? WHAT IS GOING ON, my god... I was literally about to go to sleep, decided to check Tumblr one last time and see this.... what WHAT!! WHATTTT!!!!!! I don't even know if this is good bad or what but just JENSEN IS PRODUCING A SUPERNATURAL PREQUEL AND DEAN'S GONNA BE THE NARRATOR OR Sth LIKE???? -🐸

YEAH i am normal about this <3 (jk i am also freaking out) welcome to: people screaming to me in my inbox about prequelgate ft. j/2 fallout theory. let's goooo!

Another copypasta and suddenly chaos machine is full on gay I love this prophecy

you know whats funny i just checked the j/2 tag and i feel like for the first time in a long time they are starting to realise that maybe THEY should be the ones who are "gutted" *sips tea*

ROSE HOLY SHIT ROOOOOOOOSE ITS HAPPENING HOLY SHIIIIIT

YEAH

Nevermind just read prequel and well good luck I guess but just you know kind of bleh who wants to watch John Winchester well let’s have hope anyways

i know a lot of people are bummed out but i am kind of very excited actually?? i trust robbie and even though yeah j*hn winchester turned into a nasty abusive bastard, it can be interesting to explore how it all started (imo). it's just the first of many stories they can tell.

I can only accept this circus if it’s Dean telling the stories to his and Cas’ kids and then we have a revival to show that the whole finale was in fact the end Chuck wanted there Jensen I fixed it

i would not say no to this

heyloo bee anon here

um- wtf is happening?

jackles prequel series?? why? i want to be excited about this but sheesh im scared

because supernatural is never dead <3

okay, but, jensen... john winchester ≠ jdm, you don’t have to go /that/ hard for him 🙃

true true... though i am waiting for jdm to comment on this, please i need it

WAIT A SECOND J2 FALLOUT THEORY TRUE??

LMAO HELL YEAH BESTIE

Rose you really picked the worst time to sleep for real

bestie it was literally 4 in the morning, what do you expect from me sdfjsfhsf

I can’t literally can’t we were all right LMAO j2 fallout theory is real and cockles (Misha supporting Jensen) is [gunshots] I’m just laughing cause what the hell is this timeline we’re living LMAOOOOOOOOOO

we would always end up here <3

Do we have the copypaste anons to thank for JP basically confirming the J2 fallout? lol 🦚

yes, everybody say 'thanks annoying idiots!'

ROSE, WAKE UP, COME HERE,

THERE'S A LOT GOING ON FFS

YEAH I KNOW BUT I NEEDED SLEEP

Anticipating that there's going to be a lot of yelling about the prequel on here: I am cackling, but also, I mean, the first time Dean got a look into his parent's past, Cas was the catalyst: literally entered Dean's mind and catapulted him to the 70s. So idk, it's not completely unreasonable to expect some Cas cameos, maybe setting up a parallel timeline since Dean is narrating. What I'm saying is, this is Jackles, he's getting JDM and Misha in on this lmao -Honeymoon Anon

you were right lmfaooo also i fully agree. misha's tweet further cemented that thought for me. he knew about this prequel and i dont think he is cas-baiting us, i think he'll be involved. i'd also be obsessed to see jensen and jdm act together again (though idk who jdm could play seeing as it's a prequel and he is way too old to play young j*hn)

longlivethetribbles heeft gevraagd:

Heyyyyyy bestie, are you SEEING the absolute madness going on right now holy shit

well a little late but I SURE AM BESTIE

bestie wake up pls s16 finale just dropped.

- 🍯

and WHAT a great one it was

I love coming home from work to see all of the chaos unfolding on Tumblr and Twitter. I'm absolutely buzzing right now. I'll probably still be here by the time you wake up and check tumblr 😂 - 🐢

lmaooo and were you still awake?? did you see my freak out??

Oooh bestie wake the fuck up, I know you’re gonna be excited for this one jsnsjsj

god i had SUCH a morning like. it's 12:00 now and all i did since i woke up is check tumblr rip

short summary: jen and dee gain the rights, they post on ig/twitter about a prequel ft john and mary that no one asked for, the fandom loses its everloving shit as usual, they trend on twitter thanks to the beloved twt intern who missed us, misha qt’s jen about cas possibly benefiting from being in the prequel, then j*red qt’s jensen abt how his feelings got hurt by him not being told about a prequel his character as no involvement in & he initially throws a tantrum, and the rest is history - 🦋 anon (ps: i hope this helps a little, i’ve been scattered brained trying to keep up with it all night lmao so pls let me know if i missed anything, bug crew !!)

thank you so much darling i figured it out eventually but this is a helpful summary!!!

I hope you enjoyed waking up to all of this XD -🐢

i sure did!!! also that answers my question about you being awake lmao

I WILL NEVER EVER EVER FORGIVE MYSELF FOR SLEEPING THROUGH ALL OF THIS DRAMA AND NOT EXPERIENCING IT IN PERSON I DIDN'T NEED THIS SLEEP - tea anon

well the party was still going strong this morning so im not TOO "gutted" see what i did there lmaooo

Now that you are caught up with the news... So idk if you remember this but...didn't jarpad tell jackles he was up for a reboot in an online panel? And jackles answered that this was news to him??

-🍯

yeah i think you are right but he was clearly joking and didnt expect jackles to actually be working on something already

J2 anon spare more of those anons let's finish this - tea anon

please, we're having a ball in this bitch

I saw a post on tumblr where someone said now that Kripke gave J&D the rights, maybe they’re starting with a prequel just to end on a reboot in years time and honestly ? I wanna believe that so badly. This is tinhatty but what if this is all calculated in a way that makes it so that Jensen is slowly starting to fix everything that was wrong with spn - now that he has the rights and he’s slowly making spn his own story ?! I mean he did say in his ig post he wants to ‘fill in the rest’ - and maybe Mary and John’s story is only the beginning of spn related content from J&D to come ??? Maybe he wants to give spn the justice it deserves ?? Thoughts ??

i dont think this is tinhatty at all i think this is very possible and not that much of a reach. i could see this happening yeah for sure

want to hear something funny. I found out I had a ruptured blood vessel in my eye because I was sending my friend a video freaking out when the prequel news dropped and I noticed the corner of my eye was red af. and when I got back online jared had tweeted.

DJFHSJD ANON THE CHAOS OF IT ALL, HELP, are you okay? <3

rose.. bestie... how are you feeling about The News? nsfshsf being european is a curse </3 🐞

i feel GREAT im living for it i feel on top of the world tbh (and yeah it really is dsjfhs)

What am I waking up to I can't WHAT I rested my eyes for like 5 minutes help *hits reblog button* - anon anon

yep yep essentially djfhs

“Jensen and Misha are Co workers who barley talk”

I can’t be sure of course but I’m fairly certain that this is the copypasta that brought the j/2 fallout theory back to life. Who’s apparently ‘barely talking’ now? skansjsjsj. It’s almost prophetic, these j/2 anons have superpowers I’m telling ya.

-poker face anon

next time we get one of them we should be thanking them lmaooo

ok, but are we gonna talk about the "When Daneel and I formed Chaos Machine Productions, we knew that the first story we wanted to tell was the story of John and Mary Winchester [...]"-quote because the way this is phrased implies they formed CHAOS MACHINE Productions with the intent of telling this story (first), i haven't been in this dumpster long enough but the name just tickles me in that Misha way, isn't it so sus??? am i missing something???? i mean with this announcement they SURE lived up to that name... 🧩-anon

you are absolutely right, chaos machine SCREAMS misha and we are all here for it!!

hey hey hey. joining the clownverse, there's no way THEE cas girl danneel doesn't know just how much the fandom loves misha and cas. so 2 + 2 = misha in the spn prequel!

AGREED

So I think I finally managed to catch up on wtf happened while I was asleep and my brain melted. What a shit show to wake up to.

Anyway thoughts.

I don't hate the idea of a Mary&John sequel. I think it has the potential to be good (It has the potential to be really bad too, so I'm kind scared).

🕯️🕯️🕯️ manifesting Mary being badass and John being kinda useless🕯️🕯️🕯️

As for the Jensen and J*red thing.

I can see Jensen not telling J*red even if they are still friends, because J*red is kinda good at accidentally telling Secrets. He could have told him right before he announced it so, so that J*red didn't have to find out from twitter. He was on the show for 15 years, he is bound to get asked about it. The public twitter meltdown was really unprofessional so. Like you have Jensen's number J*red. You could have sorted that out in private like a normal person, but instead you choose to act like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

Is it weird that I'm actually going to be kinda that for them if the actually had a falling out, even tho I don't like J*red all that much. They seemed to be really important to each other and while I thought before that the might have triefted apart a bit, I didn't think that the where actively fighting.

- 🐌 anon

the thing is, the polite/normal thing for jensen to do was text him before announcing it on twitter. it's weird he didn't, and that makes me believe that maybe yeah they did have a falling out. especially with the way j*red responded to it on twitter. if he had no other reason to be this upset (no prior beef or falling out) you'd think that he wouldn't be responding like this. on the other hand, the man is a mysterie to me so who the hell knows. i'm not gonna mourn about it if they did/do grow apart because j*red is just.... awful imo.

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression - Ep 44 'Guitar Center' preparing to file for bankruptcy & Urgent announcement.

On screen text:

Notice

27th Dec 2020 (Sun) 23:30~ The Freedom of Expression LIVE #3 Live broadcast.

K: Hi, this is Dir en grey's Kaoru with this week's episode of The Freedom of Expression. Joe, Tasai, welcome. Well, I feel kinda attatched to the topic this week. Joe, please could you..?

J: Yes, its sad news, but.. America's largest musical instrument retail chain 'Guitar Center' is preparing to file for bankruptcy. According to the New York Times, its possible that the chain might go bankrupt due to business difficulties. The chain is the biggest musical instrument chain in America, and has around 300 stores nationwide. Taken over in 2007, the business struggled hard with the switch to online sales, but was pretty successful in two and a half years, and up until this February had been increasing sales for ten quarters in a row. However, because Guitar Center is dependent on in-store sales, the business took a huge hit from the coronavirus pandemic. Sales for the most recent financial year were declared to be $2.3 billion, but the chain has $1.3 billion in debt, and its credit rating was downgraded in April. According to the New York Times, the chain fell behind with interest payments of $45 million this month for the first time ever, and although they have been given 32 hours, there is a chance they will default on thier debts. According to specific sources, Guitar Center have been in contact with thier creditors, will file for bankruptcy within the month, and are considering a plan to withdraw at the start of 2021. 

K: It says within the year, right?

J: Oh, yes, sorry, within the year.

K: The first time I went to this store was about 23 or 24 years ago, when we went to America for recording. We were taken there..me and the other members, but it was so huge!

J: It is huge, yeh.

K: It was in LA, but I never relised that type of place existed.

J: Its Hollywood, right?

K: Yeh.

T: How big was it? Like how many guitars?

K: It was as big as a Japanese supermarket.

T: Ehh?

J: Its as big as a wearhouse, isn't it?

K: Well, yeh, it looks like that from outside too.

T: Was it like the instrument shops you see in Tokyo?

K: No, no, no. They normally don't have drum kits and stuff assembled in stores here, but they do there.

T: Ehh? Thats really big.

J: It is. So Kaoru, did you go there and test out the guitars?

K: I have done. But back then, I didn't really feel any preferences as for the instruments, I just got the feel of the place. I was just like, 'Wow, Im in Guitar Center!'. It was a great feeling seeing all the different instruments.

J: The Americans try out the instruments pretty enthusiastically, don't they?

K: They were really good! haha

J: Right?

K: The people playing...I gradually just stopped trying stuff out there.

J, T: Hahha.

K: But when we go on tours and the equipment breaks or something, we have been to Guitar Center to get replacements before. So if it disappears, we could be in a bit of trouble on tours.

J: Thats right.

T: Yeah.

K: Its a bit risky ordering stuff online to arrive at the venue in time.

T: Of course.

K: If you go to the store you can just get what you need and leave.

J: With 300 stores, it seems like there are quite a lot in big cities, so if anything happened on tour, you could just drop into one of the stores..

K: Yeh yeh yeh.

J: And they would have what you wanted.

T: America is amazing. It says here they worked hard with the move to online sales, but don't you need to test-play a guitar before buying? Is it ok to buy online?

K: Nah, but people buy everything online these days.

J: Yeah.

T: I kinda imagined you would go to the store, play the instrument, and then decide you want to buy it.

K: Well, yeh. But I didn't test out my first guitar before buying it.

J: Oh, is that so?

K: It was a specific model that was sold out, so I had to reserve it..

T: I see.

K: And pay for it in advance, then wait till it arrived.

J: Ehh? But you knew what type of guitar you were getting though, right?

K: Yeh, I knew what shape it would be and stuff, but its cause that was my first guitar.

T: By the way, how old were you when you bought your first guitar?

K: Around first year of high school.

T: Ahh, I see.

J: Ahh. Eh?! First year of high school when you bought your first guitar?

K: Yeh. I started playing a bit earlier than that using borrowed guitars.

T: So, you thought, 'I want one', and bought your first one, right?

J: I bought my first electric guitar when i was in Junior High school. Everyone starts a band at that age, don't they? And I thought, if Im gonna do it, then I should be on guitar, right? With drums you really need space at home to set them up, so I couldn't buy a set. I bought a kind of cheap guitar/amp set for beginners. But I couldn't play the F chord properly, it was pretty frustrating.

T: This will make me look clueless, but Kaoru, how many guitars have you actually bought?

K: I havn't really..

T: Oh, not many?

K: No, I havn't actually bought that many...Like 10? I usually have them made through contracts with ESP.

J: But by now you have signature models and stuff, right?

K: Yeah. I mean, I will buy a guitar myself if I want to play it at home or something.

J: Ahh. Well, its kinda sad seeing these musical instrument stores disappear.

K: I've always had the impression that musical instruments don't sell in large numbers anyway.

J: But..well, i've done some interviews in relation to this, and it seems like musical instruments have been selling quite well during covid. Especially in America, it seems like there was a lot of people in the countryside playing guitar at home. But as for sales, they would probably buy online, especially during covid when you couldn't go to the store in person, I think some of the stores would have been closed. So even if online sales have increased...like with Guitar Center, if you have that many stores..there will be the burden of maintenance costs, staff wages, rent, and somehow the debt will grow and grow. But if online buying continues to develop in this way, we might see an increasing trend of people who play guitar without having tested it first.

K: Hmm, yeh, they won't be trying them out first. ???*1

J, T: Yeah, thats right.

J: What are your thoughts on this, Kaoru? About the concept of a test-run disappearing?

K: I wonder whether young people will still buy guitars. I think the people buying them will be like wealthy people etc. But I don't think young people these days are that interested in buying a guitar and starting a band. If they do become interested in musical instruments, I think it will be more and more online sales.

J: I wonder how thats gonna go, with the guitar makers and musical instrument shops struggling..

K: But even if guitars sell, I wonder if there is anyone who will still buy amps?

J: Ahh, I see.

K: Young people these days don't really buy amps, do they? There are amp simulators now, so you can buy one of these machines and input the data digitally, and then just use a regular speaker.

J: And thats just enough, right?

K: Well, you can do it like that, yeh. And you can simulate lots of different types of amp, so you can get specific sounds. People probably aren't buying the real thing these days.

J: But the subtleness of the sound is different, isn't it?

K: Its totally different.

J: Right? Its completely different. So its...Well, for peope like us, we've heard the sound coming through amps at live houses, we've been hearing that kind of sound for years, but for young people, in one sense a different sound is...

K: (*Kaoru talking about amps/simulators. I don't know enough about amps to really get what he means here, sorry!*)

J: Ah, so if they start thinking there is only one choice, rather than listening to the old types and making a reasoned decision?

K: Yes. So even now, if you go to a Japanese musical instrument shop, there used to be amps all lined up, like Marshall or Fender etc. Now, there are no amps, but many types of simulator machines. You can just buy them and take them straight home. It seems like they sell well. So if you find one guitar that is easy to play, and you have one of these simulators, you can make all sorts of sounds.

J: Yeah.

T: I see.

J: Like usally, if the neck is different, the responding sound will differ, but you will be able to compensate for that with a simulator, so..

K: I don't think many people do that.

J: Oh, right.

K: But I don't know.

Kami: Um, can I ask something? Um, I've played guitar before. But I got blisters straight away, and my wrist started to hurt. Does that happen to you too, Kaoru?

T, J: Haha

T: Thats a grest question to ask a guitarist, Kami.

K: Well, during recording...or like when recording something all in one go, it does start to hurt, haha.

T: Haha

J: If you are playing non-stop? But hey, I wonder how this situation will look in 10 or 20 years?

K: There'll be no music stores like Tower Records etc by then.

J: Yeh, yeh.

T: Hmm, yeh.

J: Old guys will be sad. 

K: But even with cars and stuff, there is that kind of rental service now, isn't there?

T: Carsharing?

K: Yeah. So won't car showrooms eventually disappear?

J: I think so. And with clothes, there's a high possibility that stores will start to disappear.

K: Oh, now you mention clothes, do you remember that online thing we talked about before where they put the clothes that you like onto your photo?

J: Yeah, yeah.

K: I had thought about doing that, but the site has shut down!

J: Ah, its over?

K: Yeah, so I couldn't do it.

J: Oh, thats a shame.

T: It is.

J: So many businesses have been hit by covid, I think the view that we see before us will be a lot different by next year, or the year after. Getting aound this will have an effect on the way we live or express ourselves, I feel.

T: I lived on an island in Kagoshima when I was little. We had a Shamisen in our house, it had a kind of plastic stick to play it.

J: Can you play, Tasai?

T: No, not at all. I only ever just picked it up sometimes for fun.

J: You could show us a Kagoshima folk song to finish.

T: Haha, no no no. Why?

J: I don't know. To wrap it up?

T: No, it wouldn't wrap it up, haha. 

K: In that case, Joe, you should play guitar.

J: Lets perform together sometime!

K: No way!

T: Joe!

K: No thanks, haha.

J: I'd gain prestige by playing with Kaoru from Dir en grey. There would be no merit for you though, Kaoru.

T: I'd go numb, I wouldn't be able to play at all if I were you. haha. Playing next to a pro.

J: Well, what can I say? I have big dreams. No, but if we did play together, I'd practice, I'd give it my best.

T: Of course.

K: Well, yeh.

J: If, for example, we played together on this youtube channel next year, I'd be serious about practicing.

Kami: I'll do it too.

J: Kami too?!

K: Hahaha

J: Would you, Kami?

Kami: I would.

K: But your hands would start to hurt.

T: Right.

Kami: I'd practice.

J: You'll practice? In that case, we could have Tasai on Shamisen too, and all play together.

T: Shamisen is ok? Well, I guess its a stringed instrument like guitar.

J: Lets announce something.

*...silence...*

K: Hahahaha

J: No-ones getting on board with this?

K: hahaha

J: Oh, nevermind then! haha.

K: Well, if the opportunity arises, right?

J: Yes, if the opportunity arises.

K: Ok, we'll finish here for this week. Please subscribe. Thank you very much.

On screen text:

Notice

27th Dec 2020 (Sun) 23:30~ The Freedom of Expression LIVE #3 Live broadcast.

*1,2 Couldn't catch.

* Feel free to inform if it looks like I've misinterpreted some of the amp/simulator talk.

[neocatharsis]

The Brilliant Members of World Renowned NCT 127 Share Their Thoughts Fashion, Music, Lifestyle, Favorite Things… What Their Individual Styles Are　#007 JUNGWOO

Read more https://mensnonno.jp/post/53212

Some Excerpts

What’s the relationship between JUNGWOO’s “appeal” and “confidence”?

MN: To the question, “How would you particularly like to appeal to the readers of this series”, you wrote,“I have yet to show all of what is fascinating about me as a person. There are many appealing sides to me”. Of all those appealing aspects, what are you most proud of?

J: I’m sure many know this by now, but “being sort of cute and lovable” is my strong suit. Because I believe that the fans deeply love that adorable charm I have, I honestly think that “my cuteness” is my strong suit!

MN: How lovely that you feel ‘the part my fans love = my strong suit’. For the question, “What is important to you in expressing yourself and conveying your style as a global artist?”, you wrote,“By far, the most important thing to have is confidence. That is because I believe that with confidence you can achieve anything”. Is it because you value self-confidence that you are able to find yourself to be fascinating?

J: But to be honest, for a while after our debut, I didn’t really have much confidence in myself. So, I was constantly thinking about and wondering “how I could gain confidence” and was always trying to be confident.

MN: For “your favorite motto”, you also wrote,“Be confident and do my best”.

J: Yes. I have also been training to strengthen my mind for a very long time. Even if I may sometimes tend to lose confidence, I tell myself not to, and I have continued to try to overcome these things. At first, I often felt nervous and unsure, but by keeping that in mind, over time, I think I became confident in a natural way.

MN: Even though you say “natural way”, there probably was a tremendous amount of effort that went into it… You told us that you worked very hard to become confident, and now, through that process, from the viewpoint of the performer JUNGWOO of NCT 127, could you kindly share with us what you are able to feel confident about?

J: Personally, I have the most confidence in my performance for the song “Hero; Kick It”. We practiced hard for it, especially since it has been a while since we have been able to present something to our fans. So, how do I say this, it was like ‘sharpening our act’.

MN: Woooooooooooh.

J: It was a deeply awakening feeling preparing for this stage. So, for me, it became a very memorable piece of work.

MN: Was there something that was particularly challenging?

J: I would have to say managing our facial expressions on stage. We were very particular about how we wanted to present our expressions, so we challenged ourselves with many options. I thought about what I was lacking, and I challenged myself to be bolder and more confident. Those were the goals I placed on myself. I’ve always wanted to show my fans how wonderful I can be, but in this case, I wanted to go deeper, beginning with my facial expressions, so I prepared much more differently and with creativity.

MN: You are the seventh person to be featured in this series, JUNGWOO-san, but all the members up to now have pushed with confidence “Hero; Kick It” as their most recommended NCT 127 song. Perhaps we can say that it was that challenging for all of you, and that what you felt, as well as your self-assessments, was in line with one another. As each member responded with the same song one after another, you could feel a strong sense of accomplishment that is shared within the group.

J: I agree with that. The song “Hero” is a powerful song, and so a lot of practice and preparation went into it. I think that it is very NCT 127 and expresses our personality more than ever. On top of that, we were confident that the fans would love the song. Our fans tend to love our individuality and our unique “color”, so we thought this was the perfect song.

NCT 127 is like a chameleon?

MN: You mentioned the word “color”, but to the question, “What do you feel is the “coolness” of NCT 127, you responded,“To impress and share empathy with our fans, and show them our unique “color”. If you were to share something that is truly your “NCT127 color”, what would that be?

J: Regardless of the type of song or genre, we are a team that has the power to absorb whatever it is, like a chameleon! To continue to express genres across the board; I believe that is the best of our team when it comes to “color” and strength!

MN: Right from the opening, you mentioned the metaphor “Yairo-Bird”. You seem to have a very colorful image when it comes to yourself as well as your group and its activities, JUNGWOO-san. Now then, let’s share with the readers that ever-changing chameleon attitude that challenges all types of songs. Could you recommend any MVs other than “Hero; Kick It”?

J: Yes! There’s a song called “Punch” that I would like to recommend first. It was released after “Hero; Kick It” and it was part of a re-package album. It is really a strong and powerful song. In addition, even in the visuals our personality shines through. It is a very well put together piece and I love it. Another one is a song called “Highway to Heaven”. The music video has a wide open feeling and is amazing, and it is a song that suits us very well. So, I would like to recommend these two songs.

MN: It certainly is a song with a completely different feel. You can see how you challenge different tastes.

J: Yes! Exactly! I wish we could ask everyone what they would like to see about NCT 127, too.

MN: You’re sure to have a bunch of different responses.

As a global artist, what have you found meaningful?

MN: When you’re being creative while also constantly challenging yourselves, teamwork is imperative. Could you share with us exactly what NCT 127 means to you, JUNGWOO-san?

J: We members are family as well as a team. We all make up for what each of us lacks and what we need, which unite us as one strong team. We are all there to help each other to be our best. In that way, our individual personalities and virtues work together like a synergistic effect…. creating synergy, and I believe it further enhances NCT 127’s “color” so-to-speak. I hope more people will get to know this about us.

MN: Listening to what you have to say, JUNGWOO-san, our image of the group becomes even more colorful. Speaking of complementing one another, in what way in particular do you feel the members help you out?

J: Oh, that begins with song and dance, all the basic stuff, I know I am being supported and helped by all the members. And not only for our performances, but also, for example, I feel that the parts in which I have no confidence, the other members are right there to jump in and help out. We talk things out and I get advice on what I feel I am lacking. In that way, I am able to discover what I need to improve on from a different angle than I would have on my own. Thus, they give me a lot of insight and make me think. That’s the kind of role they play for me.

MN: For the question, “What do you think has had the most impact on you as a global artist?”, you responded,“By being able to share what is appealing about us to all the different fans around the world, I feel that it has given us an opportunity to become even sharper”. Does the presence of your fans help you, JUNGWOO-san, to have confidence when it comes to your “appeal”, as mentioned earlier?

J: This is something I’ve felt as we’ve traveled around the world, but the reaction from the fans differs depending on where we are. Even so, everywhere we go, the fans welcome us with such enthusiasm, making us feel, “wow, we really are loved”, and we’re so moved by their passion as we tour the world. As we go to places for the first time and see all the fans for the first time, it is touching to know that they actually listen to our songs and are able to relate to us in such a way. Their reaction also differs depending on the atmosphere of the songs. It has to be because they diligently listen to each and every one of our songs. They sing together with us, and it means a lot to me when I feel like, “ahhh, so we can interact and relate to each other through the songs in this way”. That has left a powerful impression on me.

What triggered you to start singing and dancing?

MN: And now you perform on the global stage, but what is it that made you wind up loving to sing and dance?

J: The first time I became fascinated by singing and dancing was through a movie. I was in the junior high and it was a movie called “Step Up”. It was very popular at the time and everyone around me was crazy about it. The characters in the movie were portrayed doing all these really cool dance moves. That’s when I thought, “Wow, I would like to dance like that, too.” So, I started taking dance lessons. Through taking lessons, I was naturally exposed to all kinds of music, and that’s how I became fascinated with music.

MN: That’s true, learning to dance also means you come in contact with music.

J:“Exactly. I seek out and listen to a wider variety of music than before I began dance lessons, and regardless of genre, whether it’s HIP HOP, the trending songs in the US, jazz, etc… by listening to a whole range of songs on an even scale, my love for the music itself has grown deeper and deeper, and that’s how I developed a desire to sing and dance.

MN: That makes a lot of sense. So, the flow is that you then became a trainee at your agency?

J: Yes. My desire to continue to sing and dance became stronger, and so I decided to audition. I was lucky enough to join a major company like SM (SM ENTERTAINMENT＝NCT 127’s agency), but thinking back now, “My dream really has come true,” which is an enchanting feeling. I have the confidence to say that I will continue loving to sing and dance even more, and that’s the kind of person I want to become.

What fascinating person, piece of work, words have had an impact on you?

MN: Your desire to do more as a performer comes through. To the question, “What kind of adult do you want to become in the future?”, your answer was,“To become a cool adult. I’m still searching”. You mentioned earlier that you did not have confidence in yourself, but this comment feels like you are now looking forward to the future you. What kind of person is the “cool adult” to you, JUNGWOO-san?

J: To me, an adult that is cool is someone who has integrity, works hard at and continues to work towards a goal, and is able to be a good role model for others. Someone who does their best with what they have been given and are passionate about everything. That’s the type of adult I think is super cool”

MN: Do you have a specific role model of the kind of person you want to be like?

J: Well that role model would have to be our senior artist BoA! Of course she’s a senior artist from the same agency, but more than that, watching her pour her passion into her music and the love she has for singing and dancing, without skipping a beat for 20 years… This is truly inspiring. That is why I plan to continue to cheer her on with as much passion as I can round up, and I also hope to be a senior artist to my junior artists in the same as BoA has been for us. I want to become an adult that will give it his all.

MN: To the question, “What culture has had an impact on you?”, you wrote,“I watched ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ with deep interest. It made me feel that nothing is impossible to achieve.” In the same way as “Step Up”, it seems that movies have had an impact on your mindset and behavior.

J: You can see from the main character of that movie [editorial staff note: An editorial assistant of a fashion magazine], that she is really passionate about everything she works on. No matter what anyone says to her or about her, she’s going to achieve what she believes in and what she intends to do. That really struck me. After I saw that movie, I thought, “So there really is nothing I can’t achieve…”, which left a strong impression on me and that is why I wrote this.

MN: It seems that many things have had an impact on you, such as the people you have met, what you have seen and heard, and the times you have spent. To the question, “What piece of advice you have received from others has left the biggest impression on you?”, you wrote,“The words that have left a lasting impression on me are, ‘You do whatever it is you want to do’.”When do these words come to mind?

J: I believe that whenever there is something that you want to do, it should be done without hesitation. I also believe that you should never do anything you’re going to regret. No matter what it is… For example, I always do the best that I can when I’m up on stage, and for mental preparation, I always think, “I’m doing what I love to do”. To think in that way. I think that’s what motivates me, and these words often come to mind in moments like that. I want to reach out to everyone with that kind of power and I think the people around me have given me that kind of power as well.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Spider-Man Movie Villains

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, he does whatever a spider can. And what do spiders seem really good at? Amassing huge quantities of hatred and animosity! True to the wily arachnids that inspired him, Spider-Man has quite the impressive gallery of foes, one that I might say rivals Batman as the greatest in comic book history with how colorful, crazy, and creative they are. Even villains derivative of one another, like Hobgoblin and Green Goblin or Carnage and Venom, manage to carve out unique niches that help make them fun and memorable.

And thankfully, these qualities usually translated pretty well to film! I’ve talked about how good Mysterio, Vulture, Kingpin, and Prowler are before, so now it’s time to cover the others all in one fell swoop! From the Raimi trilogy, we have Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Harry Osborn, Sandman, and Eddie Brock/Venom; from the Andrew Garfield duology, we have Lizard, Electro, Rhino, and Harry Osborn again; and leftover from Into the Spider-Verse we have Olivia Octavius, Tombstone, Scorpion, and that film’s brief take on Green Goblin! Oh, and why not throw in Riot from Venom while we’re at it, because he sucks way too much to get his own Psycho Analysis.

Motivation/Goals: A lot of villains are motivated by the classic motivation: revenge. All of the Green Goblins manage to have this as a main part of their actions, making them remarkably consistent and very easy to discuss. The Norman of the Raimi films wants to take out his anger at being frozen out of his own company, and his son wants revenge for his death, while the Harry of the Garfield films wants his vengeance because Spider-Man wouldn’t help cure him of his otherwise incurable disaease that would kill him (a fact made worse because Spider-Man is his actual best friend, Peter Parker, who is coldly condemning his pal to death). The only one who doesn’t really fit is the Spider-Verse take on Green Goblin, and that’s more because he has extremely limited screentime and spends all of it fighting Peter and being scary as hell.

Eddie Brock/Venom is a very interesting case as both halves of the character are motivated by different reasons. The symbiote half is, of course, motivated by the fact that Peter has tried to rid himself of it via using a church bell to kill it. Eddie, on the other hand, has the most absolutely hilarious motivation ever: He wants Peter Parker to die because Peter exposed him for submitting fraudulent pictures to J. Jonah Jameson. Eddie literally breached journalistic ethics but apparently Peter’s to blame for exposing his literal, actual crime! And he prays to God for Peter to die! This version of Eddie is cartoonishly hilarious.Finally, we have Max Dillon, AKA Electro, who is lashing out at a world that did nothing but belittle and demean him, giving him a far more sympathetic motive for revenge.

Kurt Connors is an interesting halfway point between the Doc Ocks and the villains above, because he is not really evil and his whole transformation came about for altruistic scientific reasons, as he tested his serum on himself because they were going to test it out on the public without consent. While the serum drives him mad, he initially only goes after those who were going to use his formula with people as guinea pigs.

Interestingly, the two Doc Ocks contrast each other. While both of them are doing evil deeds for scientific reasons, Otto Octavius is being forced by his tentacles and genuinely wishes to make the world a better place otherwise. Olivia, on the other hand, is a gleeful sadist who doesn’t care who she hurts as long as she can get some sort of scientific knowledge from it.

Sandman is interesting case because his motivations are entirely sympathetic and despite being the man who killed Uncle Ben, it was entirely accidental and he always regretted it. He only ever wanted to get money to save his daughter. It’s really hard not to sympathize with a guy who turned to desperate measures because the American health care system sucks even in a universe where a dude dressed in a bright red suit swings around New York.

Then there are all the rest. Aleksei Systevich, AKA Rhino, is just a criminal, and has barely any screentime to establish a motivation beyond that. This is especially hilarious because the ads really hyped this guy up, only for him to get maybe five minutes of screentime, with most of it at the very end of the movie before the credits (we don’t even get to see his final battle). Tombstone and Scorpion are basically just lackeys for Kingpin, with little established beyond that. Scorpion almost shows up entirely out of nowhere, just popping in for the fight at Aunt May’s house and then the final battle. And then there’s Riot, who just wants to start a symbiote apocalypse on Earth.

Performance: Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and Thomas Haden Church as Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Sandman in the Raimi trilogy are, in a word, iconic. Dafoe brings a gleeful, cackling hamminess to the Goblin that perfectly suits him and manages to steal every single with how delightfully, cartoonishly evil he is combined with some hilariously chummy moments with Spider-Man. Molina as Ock goes in the opposite direction of hamminess, where instead of making Octavius cartoonishly evil, he gives him this air of gravitas to the point where he somehow manages to make this villain with giant metal tentacles that are controlling his mind come off as sophisticated and serious as Hannibal Lecter. Church meanwhile just looks eerily perfect as Sandman, as if he were ripped straight from the comics and put onscreen, and then of course there’s how well he manages to sell the emotional moments of the character.

The Harrys are a rather mixed bag, sad to say. James Franco and Dennis DeHaan aren’t really bad actors, but they unfortunately have the problem of living in the shadow of the actor who played their dad (Franco) or being in a really awful movie with a terrible script (DeHaan). Franco at least makes up for this by being hilariously, cartoonishly evil to the extent of his dad in the third Raimi film, but DeHaan unfortunately falls rather flat. Topher Grace as Venom is a choice that seems baffling until you realize Raimi cast an actor like this on purpose because he hates Venom so much he didn’t want to give him any dignity.

Jamie Foxx as Electro seems odd at first, but I feel it’s actually a great casting choice, and despite how unbelievably stupid the script is, he’s actually able to do a fairly good job. If his character was in a better movie, he’d probably get a lot less flak (and he’ll be getting his chance soon enough, apparently). Overall, he’s the best part of the Garfield films. Rhys Ifans and Paul Giamatti as Lizard and Rhino are serviceable, but neither film they’re in really gives them much to work with. Giamatti at least gets to steal the show with his brief scenes by being an absolute ham, but Ifans is sadly a bit forgettable in his role (though not for lack of trying on his part).

Now onto the Spider-Verse ensemble! Considering how I gushed over her delightful performance as the Wicked Witch of Westview in WandaVision as well as the fact she is solely responsible for me resurrecting this series from its long hiatus, it should come as no shock at all that Kathryn Hahn as Olivia Octavius is just perfect. Controversial opinion, I know, might get some flak for this hot take. Jorma Taccone as Green Goblin, Joaquin Cosio as Scorpion, and Marvin Jones III as Tombstone all do well for what they’re given, but it’s clear most of the love among Kingpin’s henchmen was given to her (and Prowler, but he got his own review where I talked about how great he is).

Oh, right, Riot. I forgot about him. Riz Ahmed, who plays the human villain Carlton Drake I forgot to mention because he’s incredibly boring, is a really good (and sexy) actor. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get to be quite as good and sexy as an actor like him should be in his dual role. In an interesting subversion of how things usually go, he ends up being rather bland compared to the hammy, bonkers hero. This was Tom Hardy’s show, and no one was stealing it from him.

Final Fate: The Raimi films were all made during a time when, if your name wasn’t Magneto and you were a superhero movie villain, you were dying, a trend I’m certainly glad is finally starting to die off. Thankfully, Green Goblin manages to stick around and posthumously influence Harry, so in his case it’s not so bad. Harry and Doc Ock both manage to overcome the darkness in their hearts at the end and sacrifice their lives to help save the day, while Eddie dies after becoming such a simp for the symbiote he leaps into it while Peter is blowing it up. With Sandman, Peter actually has a touching reconciliation with Sandman at the end, forgiving him for the death of Uncle Ben before Sandman dissolves into dust and floats away on the breeze. And no, this is his power, not Thanos’ snap reaching across time, space, and dimensions; Sandman actually gets out of these films alive.

The other villains actually get off easier, as most of them go to jail. From the Amazing Spider-Man films, DeHaan’s Goblin and Rhys Ifan’s Lizard both end up in prison, and it’s safe to assume that the villains of Spider-Verse are going to jail alongside Kingpin. Octavius was hit by a bus, sure, but considering how popular she ended up being it would be really dumb to have that actually kill her. With Electro and Rhino though, it’s really ambiguous, the former because he’s made of electricity and the way he was defeated means it is possible he survived, and the latter because we never actually see the outcome of his battle with Spider-Man. If the film they were in was actually good and warranted sequels, we may have found out what their true fates were, but at the very least Electro is moving over to the MCU alongside Molina’s Doc Ock.

Oh, right, forgot Riot again. He dies.

Best Scene/Best Quote: I’m combining these this time just to make it easier on me, because in at least in a couple cases the two are the same.

Green Goblin has a lot to choose from, to the point where it’s easy to cop out and just say every scene he’s in is amazing. I’ve always been fond of his chummy chat with Spider-Man on the rooftop, or the scene where he terrifies Aunt May, or the scene where he attacks the parade and vaporizes the board of directors with pumpkin bombs.

Dock Ock is easy: the train battle. This might be one of the best action scenes in any superhero movie ever, and since he’s the villain in it, it almost goes without saying..There’s a reason this scene is singled out so often.

Eddie Brock and DeHaan Goblin actually have their best scenes also be their best lines. Eddie praying for God to kill Peter Parker and DeHaan!Harry screaming “YOU’RE A FRAUD, SPIDER-MAN!” after Spidey refuses to give him a life-saving blood transfusion are just so absolutely hilarious and memorable that you can’t hate them.

Aside from the powerful forgiveness moment at the film’s end, I think it’s really indisputable that the best scene from Sandman, and perhaps the Raimi trilogy as a whole, is the scene of Sandman’s creation. Words really can’t do it justice, so just watch:

Electro’s best moment isn’t even actually part of the movie, unless you want to count his rendition of “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.” No, his is from a Tumblr post, proving definitively that Electro’s power can not be contained.

For Olivia, I’d say either of the reveals for her are great. You can go with the twist that she’s the Doc Ock of Miles’ universe, or the twist that she might have fucked Aunt May. Either way, you can’t really go wrong.

The rest of the villains… yeah, I’ve got nothing. At least with Rhino you can say his entire time on screen was fun, but the rest? Nope. They’re kind of just there.

Final Thoughts & Score:

Green Goblin

Where to begin with this guy? He is everything I look for in a great villain: he’s hammy and cartoonish, he can be terrifying and threatening when he wants to be, he has a ridiculous yet memorable costume, every word out of his mouth is hilarious and memorable, and he’s played by an amazing actor. It’s hard to dispute that Doc Ock is the best villain in Raimi’s trilogy, but Goblin is definitely the most fun. If you thought he’d get less than a 10/10, you thought wrong.

Doctor Octopus

Aside from Green Goblin, Doc Ock is Spidey’s most iconic and memorable foe, nd this adaptation of him does not disappoint. By making him a more tragic and somewhat anti-villainous figure and putting him in the hands of someone as awesome and talented as Alfred Molina, they managed to make such a cartoonish villain retain that comic book silliness while still being a legitimately imposing antagonist. I suppose it helps that a director who knows how to balance silly and serous like Raimi helps. It’s absolutely not a shock that the MCU wants to bring Molina back, because really, I can’t see anyone making the dubious doctor nearly as cool as the 10/10 performance Molina gave.

Harry Osborn

Franco’s Harry has an interesting arc, but one that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense under scrutiny. Frankly, his descent into villain is handled well but when he actually gets to be a villain in the third film, things fall apart.. But at any rate, he gets to be cartoonishly hilarious while he pettily ruins Peter’s life, so I think a 3/10 is warranted just for how goofy he is.

Eddie Brock/Venom

For the longest time, I hated Eddie Brock, but loved the Venom symbiote for its fantastic design… A design hampered by the fact Topher Grace keeps sticking his face through the symbiote and talking in his normal voice. But then one day I remembered Eddie literally prays to God for Peter Parker to die, and I realize that as crappy as this version of Venom is, he’s undoubtedly hilarious. A 3/10 mainly because of how hilariously bad he is, though the design of the symbiote is unironically great. Shame Grace kept sticking his face through and that Raimi hates the character.

Sandman

Sandman is a villain who deserved a better movie. Sure, Spider-Man 3 is fun and funny, but a character with this much depth and emotional weight deserved a film of the caliber of Spider-Man 2. At any rate, he adds a bit of class and dignity to the proceedings, and Thomas Haden Church really nails it. He’s a 9/10 for sure.

Lizard

Lizard is just a very boring villain, which is a shame because Lizard is not a boring villain in the comics and other media like the cartoons. I don’t really know if he was the best choice for Spider-Man’s first outing; I’ll at least give him that he’s a more inspired choice than doing the Green Goblin again, but that doesn’t score him higher than a 4/10. As boring as he ends up being, that library fight was pretty cool and had a great Stan Lee cameo, so I can’t say he’s the bottom of the barrel.

Electro

Electro is a villain who desperately deserved a better movie. While his backstory as a nerdy fanboy who got kicked around by the world is nothing new, or fresh, or original, Jamie Foxx manages to make the character work fairly well even though almost everything around him is unbelievably stupid. The fact he managed to make “Don’t you know? I’m Electro” sound cool and badass is a testament to his skill, and thankfully he’s coming back in the MCU in some way, so I guess Electro’s power can not be contained to a single movie. Still, this iteration only manages to get to a 6/10, because while all the elements of greatness are there, he’s hampered by the abysmal writing.

Rhino

Paul Giamatti certainly looks like he’s having a blast here. His attitude is almost infectious, but alas, his time is too brief to bring any great joy, and his jarring appearance out of nowhere at the end of the film certainly do him no favors. Still, Giamatti keeps Rhino from sinking any lower than a 5/10.

Harry Osborn

This Harry is just a joke. His arc makes no sense, his actions are unbelievable, and he ends up looking like a really poor Warwick Davis Leprechaun cosplayer. The only thing of note about him is that he’s a Harry who becomes the Green Goblin before his father, something that doesn’t happen very often, and that’s not enough to score this loser higher than a 2/10. Not even killing Gwen Stacy makes him any more impressive, and that’s a real shame.

Olivia Octavius

Olivia Octavius is widely beloved by just about everyone who sees the film.. myself included. This is just a really fun, clever twist on Doctor Octopus, and it’s the sort of character you really hope gets a Harley Quinn-level break into becoming an iconic character across multiple forms of media. Kathryn Hahn’s fun performance and the wonderful design and fight sequences really make Olivia a 9/10.

Tombstone

Tombstone is a villain you might actually forget is in the movie, which is a damn shame. He’s an albino black man, a badass bodyguard, and has a striking design, but he gets a single line of dialogue and is tasked with bodyguarding a man who not only has cyborgs under his employ, but who murdered Spider-Man with his bare hands. Tombstone ultimately feels really superfluous, which is a shame because around the same time Into the Spider-Verse came out he had a very memorable and well-liked appearance in the Spider-Man video game. It’s a real shame but I gotta give this version of Tombstone a 2/10.

Scorpion

Scorpion has a lot of problems of Tombstone above, but he makes up for a lot of his flaws by having a really cool and striking design. Does it really make him a great villain? No. He’s not particularly well-characterized and he’s really just there to look cool and give Olivia backup. He’s a 4/10 at best, saved from being lower only by his awesome look. Looking cool really can get you far in some cases.

Green Goblin

Out of all the really minor villains in Spider-Verse, this version of Norman might be the best. His role is tiny, only appearing during the scene where the Peter Parker of Miles’ universe gets killed, but his battle with Spider-Man is what sets the entire plot in motion. His cool and terrifying design definitely help make him stand out enough to earn at least a 6/10.

Riot & Carlton Drake

Look, there’s a reason I kept forgetting these guys. They’re not memorable in the slightest. Venom may be a fantastic work of art, but that’s because Tom Hardy kills it in his dual role as Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote. Drake is just a boring corporate villain, the kind I hate talking about and the kind I’d only ever even bother mentioning in a review like this. And Riot is just a generic Big Gray CGI Monster for the hero to have a final battle with. Neither of these two are particularly interesting, and neither deserves more than a 2/10.

That’s it, right? There can’t be any more villains, I must have covered them all. Well, not quite. There’s one more character who is most certainly an antagonist and who I really, really want to talk about. And you’re absolutely not going to believe who it is.

You ready?

Psycho Analysis: Emo Peter

“Now wait,” you may be asking, “Emo Peter? Really? How does he count as a villain?” Well, as Schafrillas pointed out in his video on Spider-Man 3, Emo Peter is actually the antagonist for much of the second act. Peter, influenced by the symbiote, becomes a raging jackass and hurts and alienates everyone around him by being a colossal douchebag, not to mention how violent he gets as Spider-Man. This is very much an extreme case of the hero’s greatest enemy being themselves, because literally, Peter’s enemy in the chunk of the movie with Emo Peter is his own overinflated ego

Motivation/Goals: I mean, at the end of the day, it’s still Peter. He still wants to do the typical Peter Parker stuff, he’s just a jackass while he does it.

Performance: It’s Tobey Maguire busting loose and getting to act like an absolute doofus. There is literally nothing about this that isn’t amazing and I’m sorry if you can’t see it.

Final Fate: Peter eventually comes to realize that maybe the symbiote making him act like an egomaniacal tool is not a good thing, and so rebels against it, ultimately leading him to the roof of a church where Eddie Brock is praying for him to die and, well, the rest is history.

Best Scene:

Best Dance Move:

Final Thoughts & Score: Emo Peter has gotten a bad reputation over the years, but Schafrillas’ video really made me rethink why. As he puts it, Emo Peter comes off not as someone cool, but as what a loser thinks a cool person would be (which makes him still a loser). It seems fairly likely that the audience isn’t supposed to be rooting for Emo Peter or finding him cool, but instead finding him insufferable, ridiculous, and funny. We’re supposed to be laughing at Peter’s egomania, at his absurd and hammy showboating, not cheering him on and desiring to emulate him.

And that ultimately makes it more satisfying when Peter overcomes his ego and decides to rid himself of the symbiote. It might seem like I’m giving Spider-Man 3 a lot of credit here, but even Sam Raimi half-assing a movie wouldn’t leave things completely devoid of underlying brilliance. Emo Peter isn’t a villain in the sense that he’s some superpowered antagonist, he’s a physical representation of the negative impacts of fame and ego on Peter. This is Peter letting go of what makes him a hero and just reveling in being an absolute jerkwad to everyone around him.

I love the memes as much as everyone else of course, but Emo Peter is also a pretty clever symbolic foe. But even though I’m giving him an 8/10, we all know the real reason why he’s scoring so high:

Ok, but that’s it now, right? No more Spider-Man villains? Well, maybe for now. But don’t forget:

There’s gonna be Carnage.

[jungwooisms]

pairing: lee donghyuck x female!reader genre: short story warnings: baby angst but nothing tremendous, an f word  word count: 3.3k summary: you never intended to feel this way about him, never intended to find yourself lost in a bittersweet nightmare when he tells you about that’s caught his eye. a girl who was not you.

Ahtti Farm, Gyeonggi-do

Sunlight filters through the dappled tree above, casting its rays down upon him, bespeckling his visage in translucent green. His hair now illuminated with light, it was haloed in a reddish tint among the blond overtones. The soft cadence of the crickets scattered about the field gave way to show how slow and lazy your Sunday was headed, it wasn’t a bad thing though, the both of you treasured such moments much more than you’d ever know. Or ever tell each other, for that matter.

Serenity disrupted when Donghyuck moves, button up linen shirt shifting and straightening as he stands, the cutoff cuffs of his jeans barely brushing his ankles as he found footing on the grass. His shoes had been shed when the pair of you had arrived, anxious to feel the earth on his skin. Several short strides forward he found himself looking down at your sitting figure, head tilting in question. “Are you going to eat those?” Hand now raised and pointing to the basket of berries you’d come here to pick.

Eyes lingering on the bed of grass indented with his shape, something within you twinged sorrowfully. “Not all of them,” you pat your hand down on the blanket beside you, offering him a seat as you turned your attention to him, away from the ghost of his figure slowly lifting from the bed he’d made. Gently picking up one of the strawberries mixed into the plethora of berries you hold it to his hair as he sat, “Hmm, it’s not really the same color, is it? Maybe you should go more cherry red.”

Cheeks puffed, he turns, you know how iffy he feels about his new hair color, but it was fun to poke at him. “Maybe I’ll go bald, might make it the newest trend of the year.”

“Yeah, can’t wait for the day I see the rest of the world go bald,” snorting, you shoved the fruit to his lips until he reluctantly took a bite out of it. “They’re pretty good, aren’t they?”

Nodding he turns his head away, leaving you with the stump of the fruit and its cluster of leaves in your grasp. He chewed for a moment, savoring the taste before standing once more. “I didn’t realize there were places like this near Seoul, it feels like we’re in the middle of nowhere,” Arms outstretched to embrace the scenery and sunlight he spins. It might be a tad over the top but it brings a smile to your lips nonetheless.

“Didn’t you travel when you were younger?” You drop the stem onto your blanket, wondering if it was considered littering if the trash was decomposable and technically not detrimental to the environment around you.

“Jeju, yeah,” he glances back to you, “but I lived there, didn’t really travel much.” Hands on his sides he stretches, leaning left and right. Sometimes you had to wonder where he found all his energy, and if he had any spare to give to you.

Head nodding you brush you knees off; you know they aren’t dirty, but it would feel strange standing up if you didn’t. “You never really talk about it,” Shoulders shrugging you move to stand beside him, looking out at the long rows in front of you. “Weird how there’s no one else here, you’d think it’d be a perfect day for this sort of thing.” The sunlight feels especially warm on your back as it bares down on you.

Donghyuck contemplates for a moment, you watch his brow furrow from the side, “We should do this more often.”

Now your turn to look puzzled, “Do what?”

Head turning to face you, “Hang out, I never see you anymore.” A pout surfacing on his lips as he speaks you can’t help but feel guilty at the sight. It’s not like you were trying to avoid him, it’s just that it was much less hard on you if you kept your mind off him.

“School’s been kicking my ass, you know that.” Reluctantly, you look away from him and to the expanse of green and red in front of you. “Don’t your roommates keep you company?”

“Sometimes, yeah,” You feel his eyes linger on you for a moment more than they should until he follows your trail of sight back to the fields. “But they’ve all got other friends or girlfriends to worry about, and I guess school too but we’re all really a bunch of slackers when it comes time to actually do work.” A sigh, “Maybe I’ve just got to get a girlfriend, it might make my time more worth it.”

A scoff, “You? Find a girl that’ll keep up with your antics? Let me know when that fever dream comes true.” Breeze running along the grass, tickling your feet as you can’t help but have the want to be her. Hyuck wasn’t the type to date friends, and you’d been one for the longest. Yet as you grew to know him over the course of your friendship of several odd years and a half you couldn’t help but to have this growing sense of yearning for him to be a part of your life more intimately so than it had ever been. He was nice, a gentle soul under the perverse, aloof and candid personality that he so often showcased to the world. It was because of your want, your unrequited want, that you took it upon yourself to slowly pull away and try to lessen the blow.

“It’s not that weird,” Pout returning, you didn’t have to look at him to know it was there, it was present enough in his tone. “Besides, I think I’ve found a pretty good one.”

Stomach sinking as you can’t help but have the tinge of unhappiness coating your words, “Oh? Someone from school?” Your eyes concentrate harder on the scenic view, the clouds sluggishly disappearing over the horizon.

“Maybe if you saw me more often you’d know,” A dramatic sigh as he takes a few steps towards one of the closer strawberry plants. “But, yeah she’s from school.”

“Anyone I know?” Questioning further you feel the hole you’re digging getting deeper.

He watches a flock of small birds soar through the sky, some occasionally swooping lower or trying to keep up with the pack. A simple shake of his head, “I don’t think so.”

“Oh,” It leaves your lips like a whisper, you try to recompose yourself, but your thoughts are intertwining and making you lose your focus. “I’m surprised you haven’t asked her out yet, god knows you’re not the type to hide your feelings.” It was a small front to hide the twinging hurt pulling at your lips.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He questions, turning his head in time to see you walk into one of the rows, your feet gingerly stepping to make sure there wasn’t anything that’d poke or prod you on the ground. The scent of strawberries invading his senses as he too takes a few cautious steps forward. A hand raises to his hair, brushing a few sweat soaked strands away from his forehead, “I’m just waiting for the right time is all. Besides, why are you so invested all of a sudden? Are you jealous?”

Yes. “As if,” Leaning down, you inspect a few of the berries that were still too unripe to pick. “I’m just curious, remember: I haven’t seen you in a while?”

The sun blocked as Donghyuck stands over you, leaning to look over your shoulder. “If you say so.” Hand reaching out to turn over a few leaves to uncover the berries hiding underneath. “You know,” he’s musing, and you can already feel your eyes preparing to roll, “I could set you up with Mark, he needs a church buddy and you aren’t seeing anyone, right?”

One of the last people you could see yourself with was Mark Lee, sure he was a good kid but he was constantly stressed and seemed like he would never have time to fit a significant other into his schedule. “Pass,” You straighten up, Donghyuck following suit so he wouldn’t get hit by your elbow.

“Ah, come on, you haven’t even seen anyone since J-”

It only takes a millisecond for you to whip your head to glare and subsequently cut him off. “Lee Donghyuck you know we don’t mention his name. Ever.”

He reacts by raising his arms, surrendering to the fact that he’d made a faux pas. “I know, I know, sorry.” You can tell there’s something on his mind and it only takes a few seconds for him to vocalize it. “I mean, I think you’re just dragging that out. He was a middle school fling wasn’t he?” By this time he’s strolling back to your blanket as you stand there sighing.

“High school but it was still- Ah forget it.” Frowning you follow after him. He’s sitting now, falling back to return to his original position in the grass, looking up at the sky through the leaves of the tree above. And you too return to your blanket, crossing your legs as you sit.

Leaning back, you tilt your head to look at the sky, using one of your hands to pluck one of the strawberries out of the wicker basket beside you. Bringing the berry to your lips you take a small bite, savoring the sweet flavor as your eyes trail along the puffy clouds above. “Sorry for snapping at you,” A sigh as you move your hand away from your lips. “I’d just not like to think about that ever again.”

“That’s why I’m saying I can set you up with Mark,” He nods with closed eyes, trying to act wise but coming off more faux philanthropic than anything. “I mean who doesn’t want a youth group leader as a boyfriend?” Hyuck couldn’t hold back at that one and let out a short laugh. “You’ll find someone better than your ex, I know you will.”

Never mind that your ideal one was the one saying that to you. “Thanks,” Fingers tapping along the plush blanket, “I hope everything goes well with that girl of yours, you deserve someone nice too.”

“That may have been the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Hand raising to his heart, “I could blush.” After he hears you snicker, he turns his head to the side. “You said this place closes at three, didn’t you?” He muses after taking a glance down at the phone lying face up beside him.

“Yeah,” Lips pursed you look to him, “What time is it?”

“Two forty-five,” Nonchalantly answering as he looks over to you. He doesn’t want to leave, doesn’t want to go back and remember everything that’s left to do back home. But it’s useless to wish for things like that so he sighs and sits up, “I guess we should start heading back then?” Arms once again lifting from the ground as he sits up quickly, using his momentum to propel him to his feet.

“I guess so,” You sigh, he’s standing over you now, offering a hand to help you up. Gratefully accepted you stand, using your free hand to pull up the basket of strawberries with you. Once standing he removes his hand from yours and moves to fold the blanket you’d been sitting on, a flicker of a frown as he did so. Hyuck had always been the touchy type with his friends, even with you at times but it seemed like he’d been doing it less and less the last few times you’d seen him.

The two of you begin to walk once he slides his shoes on, the long grass brushing past your ankles as you head towards your car. “Maybe I can make a cake or something with these,” A glance down at the basket as you wonder if your keys were still in your back pocket.

Hyuck hops in front of you, almost excitedly as he begins to walk backwards atop the uneven ground. “That cake with the strawberries you made for Renjun’s birthday last year was,” His hand raises, fingers forming to make the ‘okay’ symbol before he speaks again, “amazing. You should definitely do that.”

“Hmm,” Your head buzzes as you bring a hand to your chin in contemplation, Hyuck glances backwards to make sure he’s not about to trip over anything. “Maybe I can make something for Mark, do you know if he like strawberries?” In all it was a joke, but you can’t help but feel a little guilty for playing along with the joke.

He regrets ever mentioning the Canadian as he turns, steps to the side and falls back into pace with your footsteps. A tinge of annoyance on his tone, “I think he’s more of a watermelon person.” Without another word said the pair of you walk to your car, Hyuck slides into the passenger side as you open the door to the back driver’s side and put the basket behind your seat before subsequently shutting the door and getting into your own seat. The afternoon sun had heated the interior of the car significantly and despite your attempts at trying to blast the AC you could already feel your perspiration adhering the back of your legs to the faux leather seat.

“Did you want to DJ?” Proposing the question through the humidity of the car, you offer your phone out to Donghyuck.

“Is that even a question?” Seemingly out of his little funk he shoots you a quick grin and nearly snatches the phone out of your hand. “What shall we go with today?” Questioning as the car turns on and you begin to slowly back out of the parking space, looking for any pedestrians that might be out. It’s only when you’ve pulled onto the main drag going through the small town when Donghyuck finally picks a song, it’s one you’d never heard before, but he seems to know it well. You’ve been out to karaoke with him in his friends before, so you knew how good of a singer he is. You always preferred it when he sang ballad-esqe types of songs rather than the popish things he normally did. Yet the song he’d chosen wasn’t awful, he was tapping his hand against his thigh as he looked out of the window, only mouthing the words until the song hit its chorus.

An hour later your attention was still focused on the road ahead, Donghyuck was napping, his head leaning back on the headrest. Your phone had died about fifteen minutes into your drive and Donghyuck’s wasn’t hooked up to the Bluetooth. Not that it mattered though, he’d passed out shortly after you’d gotten onto the highway, the gentle humming of you driving over the road lulling him to sleep. So now you drive in relative silence, the only sound accompanying you being that of your car and the occasional bass-boosting driver passing you on the left.

Maybe another ten minutes later Donghyuck wakes up from his nap, waking in time to catch you stealing a glance at him. “Shouldn’t you keep your eyes on the road?” Yawing as he stretches in the confines of his seat belt, he rarely slept, even when he tried to go to bed at a normal time.  

Cheeks warming ever so slightly as you were caught in the act, “I was just thinking that maybe your hair doesn’t look that bad.”

Hands raising to cover his locks, “I swear to god I’ll dye it back to black tomorrow.” Fingers intertwining through the strands you can’t help but laugh.

“I’m serious though!” Your hands lift off of the steering wheel momentarily so that you could express yourself fully, they return, and you clutch the wheel ever so slightly, “It’s actually kind of cute.”

“Cute?” He sounded exasperated, “I was trying to go for macho man.”

“Who told you strawberry blond was a macho color? It’s more summer-timey than anything.” Brow furrowed you flick your turn stick to signal you were heading off the exit ramp. “Was it Johnny?”

“How’d you know?” Almost surprised, he moves his hands from his head and turns to you.

“Because he was probably fucking with you, Donghyuck.” You roll your eyes as you turn off of the exit, inching closer and closer to the city where you resided. “But like I said it doesn’t look bad.”

“Cute,” he sighs, “you said it looks cute.”

A wry smile, “Hopefully that girl will like it too, you’re stuck with it for a while.”

“Yeah,” Another sigh as he leans his head against the window, looking at buildings and trees blur together, “I hope she does.”

“Did you want to take any of them with you?” Your hand motions backwards, towards the basket that you’d tucked behind your seat. The two of you stood outside of Donghyuk’s apartment building, the sun was slowly setting, an orange glow reflecting off the tall buildings around you. It was still warm outside but the cool of the evening was slowly encroaching into the space around you.

“I’m alright,” He nods, glancing to the back of the seat and then back to you. “I guess I should be going.”

“I’ll see you around,” You smile as he begins to walk towards the entrance of the building.

“Let me know when you’re free again, I had fun today,” returning the smile he fumbles around his pockets looking for the entrance keys.

“Will do,” Nodding, you begin to feel around your pocket for your own car keys, “You’ll have to tell me how it goes with that girl.”

Donghyuck freezes at your words, you wouldn’t have noticed it had you not found your keys and looked back over to him. He looked rigid, almost like a statue as his back was still turned to you. Soft glow of orange bringing out the red tones in his hair, you had to stop yourself from having the urge to run your fingers through it. Before you could comprehend it, Donghyuck was standing in front of you, you were perhaps too lost in your thoughts to notice. “Still caught up on her?” A hint of something you couldn’t quite put your finger on in his voice.

Breath hitching in your throat, you cough to try and bring it back, “Caught up? What do you mean?”

“You’ve been acting weird ever since I brought it up,” Brow furrowing it feels like he’s staring into your soul. You don’t like how vulnerable you feel to the glare and you don’t get why he’s being so persistent on it.

“’Acting weird.’” Hands raised to air quotation marks, “Mr. ‘let me set you up with my friend and get all offended when you bring him up,’ if anything we’re both acting weird.” This callousness unwarranted but it bubbled up in your throat, you were unable to cork it.

“You do know I was talking about you, right?” Words ripped from his lips you can only stare as you try and piece his sentence together. It suddenly feels ten degrees warmer outside but that could just be the blood that’s racing towards your face.

Time feels slow as you think of a response, and you can’t think of a verbal one. Hands reaching out to grab the hem of his roughly woven cotton shirt you tug at it as you lean in, pressing a soft, chaste kiss against his lips. “Why didn’t you tell me,” Pulling away you felt a mixture of euporia and hesitation.

“I didn’t know how to tell you,” His hands found their way to yours, gently pulling them off of his shirt and into his own hands. Your nerves afire, “You know if you don’t want this, I can always call M-”

Donghyuck begins, a flush of red staining his cheeks, before you cut him off “Can you stop bringing him up and kiss me already?”

[justseveralowls]

Your best verses your breaking point: From a perfectionist to society in denial

mental healthHello, once again spectacular individuals! Today’s post is covering a topic that I think is very important and doesn’t get enough attention. This post is not a call out or to shame anyone/ any habits, instead, this is a pattern I have noticed in friends/acquaintances, and struggle with myself. This is to share awareness and offer some help and advice. So if you think this could be helpful for you or a loved one please continue! 

So we live in a productivity obsessed society. Proof of this lies in everything from our media (youngest billionaire, world records, how to have it all…), our ‘normal’ timeline for life (high school, college, career, marriage, kids…), and even our economic system (glorifying 60+ hour work weeks and normalizing over time even when not compensated for efforts. We start being exposed to this even before we can understand. We are taught that above average is what is required, praised for working hard had no matter other costs, encouraged to give up things that bring us joy or help us in order to be ‘productive’. This trend leads to an obsession with winning a race/maze that doesn’t exist/never ends instead of going a path that is healthy and fulfilling. 

There are REAL consequences to this method of thinking that are detrimental and reaching epidemic levels. The constant need to do more, be better, do it faster, earlier and for less reward leads to constant feelings of inadequacy and stress. This leads to chronic anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, a decrease in motivation and even feelings of hopelessness. This is the burn-out epidemic, and arguably is a huge problem for mental health and humanity as a whole.

Now I am guilty as heck of this, I have been pushing myself past breaking for years, and it took nearly dying (twice actually) to get me to actually realize this. At my breaking point, I thought I was fine (okay J reminds me, I wanted to think I was) but it wasn’t until I was forced to stop that I realized just how bad the situation was. Now I will acknowledge that my chronic illness struggles and life-threatening mental health issues (eating disorders are terrifying and dangerous. Get help) made this crash much more visible, but even without those two things, I would have been living on borrowed time. What I am saying is you can’t live at your breaking point, not only is it unsustainable but it will mess. you.  Up. Sometimes permanently (#chronic illness sucks guys). 

Learning to do your best instead of pushing yourself to your breaking point is not only helpful, and healthy, but actually can be actually life-saving.

So now comes the inevitable thought of “okay R, that’s great…. But how the flip-flap do you tell the difference between doing your best and going too far/ hitting your breaking point?”. And that my friend is what the following list/ comparison chart if for.

First, let’s look at important things to know about your personal best. Learned from experience, or things I am still trying to drive into my head.

Everyone has there own best, and that is valid and deserves as much respect before anyone else’s

Your best can change, whether by day or year

Example: On my good days my best is three blog posts and a shift at work without debilitating symptoms. But on my flare days: my best is listening to audiobooks and doing symptom management.

Your best is what is best for YOU, not your parents, society, or anyone else. Your job in this world is to make your life as happy and healthy as possible and be not hurt others. 

Okay so with that out of the way… now a handy dandy chart:

This list is a good quick check to see if you are pushing yourself too hard. If you found you fell more in the breaking point category, that is okay, this doesn’t make you bad or your situation hopeless. There are things to do to get back from that point. You are strong enough to have a happy life with reasonable standards and expectations. You can do this.

Reminders/ affirmations to end what turned out to be a rather long post…

You have a right to say no (I have a right to say no)

You are not obligated to push yourself to your breaking point (I am not obligated to push myself to my breaking point)

You are allowed to put yourself first (I am allowed to put myself first)

The people who care about you will respect your needs and boundaries (The people who care about my will respect my needs and boundaries)

Self-love is not selfish

Self-care is not selfish

Your best is enough (My best is enough)

You define your meaning of success (I define what success is for me)

We wish everyone positive energy, rest and happiness. You are doing great, you are not alone, you can do this.

Keep fighting,

R and D

[mbtiofwhys]

How Ni and Ne (don't) binge watch

Premise

MBTI is a serious topic for us mods and we always put our best effort writing articles for this blog. However, we also find entertaining to write in a more light way about how MBTI shows off in real life. This article is one of those: we won’t discuss deeply about theory, but we’ll rather talk about our experiences with binging works of various media, be them books, videogames or tv shows. We love typing fictional characters since we also love works of fiction. Listening to other high Ni and Ne users we found an interesting correlation between those two function and media consumption, especially regarding the topic of binging. So, this isn’t hard science, it's simply a light reflection that 200% comes from our experiences. That being said, we hope this article will be relatable and intriguing. 

Ni dom and binge

INFJ mod here. This may sound counterintuitive, but even if Ni is known to be a function about searching for deeper meanings, discarding options and focusing on the few remaining, I approach works of fictions with a “multitasking” method. What do I mean? Well, I’m not the kind of person who will just sit down and watch an entire season of a tv show, even if it’s the best I ever seen (there are few exception to this rule, works like Persona 5 Royal which I heavily binged. With no regrets). I simply prefer to watch a little amount of episodes, or read few chapters of a book, for example, and then stop, thus having time to reflect on what I saw or read. I just need time to process all of the data and feelings, otherwise I’ll just hit the wall of information overload.

Even if they’re just my attempt to find a correlation between high Ni and all those aspects, I’d like to talk about what the causes of this behaviours may be, with a MBTi perspective.

Binging may be hard for Ni users since they need time to analyze things, putting them in their abstract subjective system. This means, in other words, that the higher the level of complexity is, the longer will be the time needed to absorb it. For example, I can read mindlessly a novel for a mere entertaining value, but if I really like it I’ll just take my time to enjoy the journey, reflecting and talking about my feelings and first impressions to my friends (this is my auxiliary Fe showing, I know).

Ni operates by discarding elements, thus Ni users may reach a point where they simply prefer to stop. This process allows them to elaborate those information, be them characters, facts or emotions (based on personal preferences, for example feelers may tend toward the emotional aspect and T users toward puzzles, mysteries, logical consistency). As I stated above, if I absorb too much data and feelings I’ll just freeze, submerged by the information overload. With works of fiction, I have an underlying fear of missing important aspects of it and the more I read, watch or play, the more I’ll need time to stop and see how all the new things make sense, be them theories, feelings, or simply understanding what’s going on. Even while I’m actively reading/watching/playing I process all the informations as a way to put them into perspective, constantly elaborating them in the back of my mind.

Another personal consideration is: high Ni implies low Se. Low Se may find binging as a form of overstimulation. Moreover Se, in lower positions, requires little stimuli, allowing Ni users to organize the environment (rationally or emotionally through Te or Fe), since high Ni users are J and need a certain amount of control over the environment (Te or Fe) and their feelings or internal logic (Fi or Ti) .

Finally, I think there’s a tendency in high Ni user to consume multiple media, but in small amounts. This isn’t supported by hard evidences, it’s just a trend I noticed talking to friends about the subject. Ni users may prefer to approach different media rather than a single one, splitting their attention and energies through them. So, this is the opposite of binging. Personally, except for few works of fiction which I blindly burned with my passion, I usually switch from a medium to another, a sort of “media multitasking” as a way to “cool down” from one by simultaneously approach another one and still being engaged.

Ne dom and binge

ENFP mod here. I fear I’ll have to repeat the same premise as INFJ mod: This may sound counterintuitive, but even if Ne is known to be a function that works with multitasking and jumps from one topic to the other very quickly, I tend to approach works of fiction by shamelessly binging one and proceeding to be obsessed with it for months (or years.)

This happens especially for the works that end up being my favorites once I finish them - paired with the fact that I usually go through them again at least a second time after I’m finished. It almost feels like that if I’m not binging, I’m not interested/invested enough to care. I binge so much, in fact, that I’ve come to distinguish the ‘soft binge’ from the ‘hard binge’ - where ‘soft’ means a 12 episodes anime in 2-4 days and ‘hard’ means 145 hours of Persona 5 Royal in 3 weeks.

So, how might this work?

Firstly, Ne dom needs stimuli. Constantly. The more, the better. Because external stimuli means more prompts from something that isn’t one’s mind, which causes further reflection, connections and a ton of brainstorming. Ne can connect dots scaringly quickly, and even though proper reflection is appreciated to deepen the subject, connections are often made on the spot. I think it’s very difficult for me to reach a point of information overload - it usually happens with very complex topics and study subjects, for which I need to take a break and write things down into diagrams and lists in order to make proper sense of what I learned. But even in the case of works with heavy and intricate worldbuilding/plot (e.g. Stein’s;Gate, but I’m a sucker for time travel fiction so whichever is fine) I rarely stop watching if something doesn’t add up - I usually understand it later on, or wait for everything to end and search on the internet or talk about it with friends. My only time off is the one between OP/ED (which I NEVER skip and my friends hate me for that.) In that time, I disconnect my brain for 1 minute and 20-ish seconds to recharge.

Ne dom doesn’t have the patience to wait. If it wants answers, it wants them now. Binging is great because it offers both stimuli, questions and answers in a short amount of time. Also, (but maybe this is more of an F thing and for Ti aux might be different) I’m not one to make theories and speculations over fictional works - I might do that, but later, once I’m finished. While I’m enjoying a work, I’m usually so involved that all the theorising is limited to hunches and intuitions. Proper theorising needs time, needs one to stop and reflect on one’s knowledge in order to find hidden meanings and try to predict the outcome. I don’t have the patience to do that. I’m not interested in doing that - I want to know what’s going on, period. The few times I happened to reflect and speculate on a work of fiction were when I watched/read/played the thing simultaneously with some friends and talked to them about it constantly.

Which brings us to: discussing with people. Knowing a work means you’re able to discuss it with others, read reviews and watch video essays and analysis, of course Ne dom wants to devour it as quickly as possible. I literally watched the whole Evangelion (and I mean: the anime, EoE and the 3 rebuilds) in two weeks in order to finally enjoy those sweet, sweet video essays and parody and abridged YouTube wouldn’t stop to suggest me. This may sound silly, but searching discussion topics of the works I went through -even the ones I disliked- is very important to me, because listening to other people’s opinions and prompts is a way to further feed my Ne with different perspectives, viewpoints, things I might have missed while binging.

The problem: the quicker the binge, the more it’s difficult for me to remember details about plot, characters etc that, yet minor, can be important or interesting. Which is kind of the main struggle of having low Si: you know something, but you don’t remember everything you’d need precisely. You can’t pinpoint the scene where a thing happened, you feel you might have already seen a detail but you can’t recollect when and in what circumstances, and the list goes on. And this doesn’t stop once you’ve finished, obviously - it can only get worse. Typing the main Persona 5 cast was such a pain that, during my second playthrough of vanilla P5, I literally had to open a document and write down every single line or detail or plot point that could’ve helped me later. Otherwise, the situation would be: “damn, I know [character] said something alongside the line of [thing that could help me with typing] but I can’t remember what exactly! Let’s spend hours on YT watching walkthrough in order to find by chance the exact scene I’m thinking about.” This may also be why I periodically feel the need to go through my favourite works again: I may know them by heart, but there will always be things that I missed.