#FYI this is like my favorite niche

[artsycooky13]

Family Friends Day 5 - Family/Friends @glowweek

#connie maheswaran #steven universe #connverse #my art #FYI this is like my favorite niche #i love the MY FRIENDS talk when they are all like family members #bonus points if it includes ur spouse and kids lmao #not really connverse but kinda connverse cuz the shoes are married

[door]

9, 11, and 20 for the book ask meme!

book ask meme

9. Did you get into any new genres?

hmmmm not really? reading (especially fiction) was a big challenge for me this year, so anything that caught my eye that i thought might hold my interest, i read. it ended up being more nonfiction and het romance than i feel i typically read.

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

my favourite fiction was Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer (1933), which was such a blast. the protagonist is just a bitch of a man, every person who speaks to him tells him to his face that he sucks and yet he manages to be just charming enough to carry it off. it's a wonderful entry in heyer's mysteries and i loved it. (fyi i wrote about all the heyers i read here)

my fave nonfiction was Merlin Tuttle's memoir, The Secret Lives of Bats (2015), which was wonderful if you love bats and want to read about a man repeatedly almost dying in pursuit of them

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

there are a few books i would say i was eagerly anticipating (murderbot, the last book in the last binding series), but to be completely frank the real answer is Gay Architects by Voigt and Bresan, mostly because the english translation was due out in the fall of 2022 and it took until march 2023 for it to actually arrive. queer architecture is one of my very passionate niche interests and this is (maybe?) the first architectural history book explicitly about queer architects. and unfortunately, it is very poorly/lazily translated. i don't know if that was part of what delayed its release, but i found it very disappointing. it's still extremely valuable, and i'm very glad that books like it are finally being written, but whew. this was a $45 paperback and some of the chapters were no better than google translate

#book ask meme #asks #protolith #2023 books

[roosterbox]

Fic Rec Friday 6/16/2023

Title: The Best Part of Me is That I’m the B-Side to You

Rating: Explicit

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Category: M/M

Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016)

Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, And ensemble

Additional Tags: Hurt and comfort, Angst, Established Relationship, kind of, Fix-It, not a slow burn we burn fast like cheap cigarettes, [magnolia park's "i'm back on my bullshit" plays in the background]

Summary: Maybe it was too early to say that. Maybe it was too early to say Steve was in love. He usually fell hard. He thought he was in love with Nancy Wheeler. He fell hard for her too.

But Eddie Munson?

Eddie Munson is intoxicating.

----

AKA the one where Steve and Eddie have been dating Eddie's entire senior year.

———

*heavy breathing*

Okay. So. This one is a bit of a doozy for me. I hope the 80k isn’t too intimidating for you - if it is, I get it - because holy shit I cannot recommend it enough. You know a fic is fucking good when you read it once and immediately resign yourself to never reading it again because it’s just… too much. That was me months ago when I first read this. The very thought brought me to tears. And if that wasn’t enough, I couldn’t listen to Head Over Heels again until like a week or two ago, lol. And now I’ll have to wait months and months again before I can listen to it without immediately tearing up. The power of incredible writing.

This is probably (definitely) my favorite of the ‘Steve and Eddie are secretly dating’ subgenre of Steddie fics. As well as my favorite ‘Eddie and Steve knew each other while Steve worked at Scoops’ story. They’re both very niche genres, of course. So much of this fic has kind of wormed itself into my brain and my own headcanons that re-reading it for this rec was an eye-opening experience. “Wait, that was from this? I thought I made that up!”

I never would have thought that a substitute phrase for I Love You could make me tear up, but dammit, if I even slightly think of the words “I’m forever yours,” I’m gone. In tears as we speak. With that out of the way, yes - I cried again while re-reading it. Not as much as I did the first time, mind you, but yeah. Y’all know me; I am as soft as a gently baked batch of cookies.

To summarize: cute boys being cute together and almost dying makes Roosterbox cry like a baby, lol.

Highly, highly recommended.

Important side note: No link, except to the login page. The writer has locked the fic for the time being. Not gonna complain or judge them for it (if they’re reading this, I understand - you do what you feel you must), just FYI. You can still find it if you have an Ao3 account.

———

Next Week: Okay guys, I’m gonna level with you. I think it’s time to dive headfirst into one of my favorite fic tropes. One that a loooooot of people aren’t into. For various reasons. And I get it. I do, I swear I do. But you know… it’s always been one of my comfort tropes. I am, of course, talking about the M word. Mpreg. And it’s my favorite type of Mpreg story: one where it isn’t explained. Is it ABO? Maybe but probably not. Is the guy trans? Maybe. Is it just that men can get pregnant in this universe? Maaaaaaaybe. Draw your own conclusions and/or have your own headcanon. Just enjoy the ride.

Oh, and it’s Arthur/Eames by the way. Figured that was important to mention.

Until next week, darlings ❤️

#fic rec friday #steddie #writer: novacorpsrecruit #canon compliant #secretly dating #watching the actual show will never live up to this #sorry Duffers #lol #actually i’m not sorry #these boys deserve good things

[scorsesedepalmafan]

Meantime (1983) is now on my drive! (for anyone who is interested, dm for link)

The movie’s basically just a look at these different characters and seems to comment on things like class, unemployment, gender and race relations. It stars Gary Oldman in his first starring role (his character is an absolute idiot fyi lol) and Alfred Molina in a small role as Uncle John.

Hope you guys like this little slice of Britain (the soundtrack to this film is one of my favorites) and thank you again for all the continued support of my simping and niche stuff 😓

#alfred molina #meantime #meantime 1983 #(or 84 in some places) #movie #criterion-restored #scorsesedepalmafan

[birindale]

She-Ra: Progressive of Power

Episode 1: “The Sword of She-Ra” - Introduction

I’m really bad at consuming podcasts, but being able to read along helps. It makes things easier to find later on when I tune back in after getting distracted, or weeks later after I inevitably forget when things were discussed but want to double check something. And this podcast has a few interviews with crew members on top of its premise generally appealing to me, so. I’m making transcripts, I’m posting them here, if this isn’t of interest to you go ahead and blacklist “progressive of power”. If this is of interest to you, please click through the above link and support the hosts directly.

... and I annotated it. sorry. at least it’s footnotes this time?

Narrator from The Secret of the Sword (1985)(Which for series purposes is referred to as The Sword of She-Ra as it’s made of the first five episodes squashed together, I promise that’s relevant): [the She-Ra: Princess of Power theme plays behind him] Where darkness rules, fights the champion of light. Where hope seems lost, there rides the Rebellion. Together they stand ready against the dark, evil warriors of the Horde and their leader, the terrible Hordak. The Rebellion, armed with hope and ancient powers against the force of an intergalactic army. This is the story of one who will become leader of the Great Rebellion. She-Ra: Princess of Power!

ERIC: Hello everybody, my name is Eric.

LAUREN: My name is Lauren. It's nice to hang out with you and talk about a cartoon from... the year I was born I guess?

ERIC: Whoa! The year after I was born, so yeah this is the pilot episode of She-Ra: Progressive of Power. This is a rewatch podcast with a political twist. We're going to watch episodes of the She-Ra animated series which is now on Netflix and kind of look at the ways that it both holds up and then fails a modern day progressive agenda. And I'll talk about why I wanted to do that in a minute. But first I thought we should maybe get into just a little bit about who we are because nerds love to gatekeep. I might edit that line out. But I feel like we should just give some context to why we are two people who are qualified to take on this project. So first off, both of us are political volunteers for a very progressive Illinois campaign.

LAUREN: A certain progressive Illinois campaign.

ERIC: Yes. Maybe gubernatorial in nature. Maybe if you watch our Facebooks it’ll become clear. But either way, you know, we're both on that side of the political spectrum and we're both very nerdy. I make podcasts for a group of people called The Nerdologues, and... I don't know, this show has always been a favorite of mine. I saw Wonder Woman and I thought, “Wow, Wonder Woman is amazing! I want to watch another thing with an amazing female lead. And then I'm like, oh, I love She-Ra. Hey, it's on Netflix!” Now, FYI, I have the DVDs, but they're buried away. I dug them out to watch the documentaries for this podcast, though. But I'm like, ooh, Netflix is easy. And I started watching it and I'm like, “This feels... maybe too relevant.”

LAUREN: Netflix is just successfully making every other form of media irrelevant. Like, well, you have the DVDs, you don't need them.

ERIC: Yeah, but so Lauren, you have never seen She-Ra before.

LAUREN: Right, and that's kind of why I agreed to this. Otherwise, I think pretty niche-y premise. So, I wrote the blog Geek Girl Chicago for a solid five years or so. I've kind of backed off of that, mostly because when I was very small and into science fiction and comics and geek culture, it was an underground kind of, uh... subculture. And now it's just culture. You know, I was just downtown and went into Uniqlo with some friends after going to Starbucks. And all of Uniqlo was like Nintendo shirts and Disney. And my friend goes, “It's like we're at a convention except it's just downtown Chicago. It's not... it’s not geeky anymore.” So I hate to be that elitist dork who's like, “I don't like it anymore because it's mainstream.” But I was really excited to maybe talk about something that everyone has heard of, and watch something that I've actually never experienced before. I also cosplay. I have worked on other podcasts such as Our Fair City and I don't know. I'm a dog person. We’re... We're here with Eric's dog, and she definitely smells my dog. And I find her very distracting, because that's a big part of my personality these days.

ERIC: Yeah, P.S. my dog’s name is AC, short for I kid you not, Adora Corona. So clearly the She-Ra fandom is big in me. But yeah, you'll get to know Lauren and I through the course of this show. Let's dive into She-Ra. So we're going to cover a different episode or a different set of episodes every week. Today we're talking about the... the first five, which is kind of the pilot of She-Ra. It's called the Sword of She-Ra. And uh, this is gonna be more of a top level discussion, I imagine, than what eventual episodes will end up being. Because I don't want to get into as much plot specifics as just kind of like the creation of this character and why she exists. And yeah, we'll talk about the five episodes and stuff. But I think the background of She-Ra is really fascinating. So if I may, I will lay the groundwork, and then, I am so excited to hear what you thought about this.

LAUREN, laughing: It's on your face. He's smiling so big right now.

ERIC: Oh my God, this is great. Because well, I asked Lauren, “What do you know about She-Ra?” And she's like, “I've seen girls cosplay as her and that's it.“ And I'm like, “You don't know her story at all.”

ERIC AND LAUREN: “No.”

ERIC: Okay, so, clearly there's a big twist in the Sword of She-Ra, and Lauren didn't know what it was until she watched these episodes. So we're going to get there. But let me talk about the background of the show because I think it's interesting, and it's going to inform our discussion about pro--like the progressive values of the show. So this is 1985, and He-Man, which I'm sure a lot of you guys are familiar with, at least in passing, that's all you need to be, has been a show for two years. And the production company that makes it has reached the point where they have so many episodes that they would actually be losing money to produce new episodes, like it was just in their advantage to sell it to syndication. And so they're looking for the next show to do. So Lou Scheimer, the guy who runs the company, wanted to do a show for girls, the reason being he had worked a long time ago on a show called The Hardy Boys and his daughter said to him, "Dad, why do the girls always trip and fall?” and so Lou said, "I wanna make a show where it's the men who trip and fall." [[1]] And initially th--Filmation was going to produce a Barbie show, and Mattel said, "No thanks,” and this is the actual quote, according to Lou, which is very creepy--the Mattel exec said, "Because Barbie already exists in the mind of a child."

LAUREN: What?

ERIC: Which is a weird reason to deny a business partnership. But so Lou and--and his crew were thinking about the success of He-Man, and a couple of the better writers from He-Man, because that show certainly had ups and downs--but a couple of the actual consistent writers had this idea to like, what if, what if he had a sister? And what if no one knew? [[2]] So that's the basic plot of the Sword of She-Ra is that He-Man is summoned to go to this strange world he's never been to before, and he takes this sword with him, and the sword is designed for this woman who works for the bad guys, the Evil Horde, who ends up being his sister. And so you find out that Hordak, the leader of the Horde, took her as a baby from her parents and then like, hid her away. And the pain of that memory was so great that the Sorceress on Eternia on He-Man's world made everybody forget except for her parents and the Sorceress herself, which is like fucking traumatic and still that plot gives me chills.

But what we have here is an action show with a female lead, which already is pretty... pretty irregular and that was something that the creative team was very aware of. Staff writer Francis Moss, I have some quotes from some documentaries on the DVD. He said, from page one, “We're empowering girls. I don't know about proto-feminism, but it certainly was female empowering.” Staff writer J. Michael Straczynski doesn't hesitate to use the F word. He said it was feminist from the go. So this is very consciously a female-centric show. A lot of the staff shied away from calling it feminist, because that was the time. But you know, it's not really any different now.

People still don't like to use that word necessarily. But... more than that, it's kind of this story... You know, in He-Man, it's the typical 80s cartoon setup where the good guys are reactive. So the bad guy does something, and then the good guys are like, “You can't do that. That's against the social order.” And then he comes and stops them. But She-Ra, it's the inverse where these guys called the Horde have been ruling this planet for--according to the series Bible--20 years. [[3]] And they--they are the status quo. And the heroes are the Rebellion fighting against the status quo to make that change. So the heroes are proactive in the show. And I mean, not to get--Well... I'm gonna have to not say ‘not to get too political’ on this podcast. Cause it's political.

LAUREN: We have the word progressive in the title.

ERIC: Right.

LAUREN: I think you're stuck.

ERIC: This is a political show. It felt... It's not a one-to-one correlation, but watching the pilot again on Netflix, I'm like, this feels... this is too real right now. This idea of like an evil empire that controls basically everything from, you know, taxation to... to free speech, and the people are subjugated and some of them don't even know. It's just really... It feels more relevant than it probably has in a while. And I want to read,before I turn it over to Lauren, what J. Michael Straczynski--who by the way, you guys will probably note is the creator of Babylon 5, so he went on to have a wonderful career after She-Ra--What J. Michael Straczynski wrote in the series bible for She-Ra, page one. He says, “The time for words is past. It is the time for action. A time for the taking of vows, the forging of alliances against tyranny. A time for leadership. For over 20 years, the evil horde has ruled Etheria with an iron fist and cruel calculation. Their rule has gone largely unchallenged, until now. A band of patriots brought together by their love of freedom have pledged their lives and their swords to bring down the dark dictators from another world, willing to tackle impossible odds in their quest for an ideal: Freedom. Leading this band of patriots is She-Ra: Princess of Power.”

And so... even though a lot of episodes of the show did devolve into standard 80s cartoon fare, I think it is baked into the very premise of the show. Like these writers are very conscious of the fact that this is at its heart a political struggle, a band of women fighting an oppressive militaristic regime led by an evil pig man. And that just feels so relevant. So, Lauren Faits.

LAUREN: Yes.

ERIC: What did you think of the first five episodes of She-Ra?

LAUREN: Oh my gosh, what a ride. So I do need to point out that before I started watching She-Ra, um, I had not watched He-Man either. And Eric gave me an episode of He-Man to watch. And, uh, you know, it was charming. I joked that just the--the background music was always just He-Man over and over and over. It was just so pumped up and masculine the whole time that I'm thinking gosh, you know is this She-Ra show just going to be this in pink and purple and light blue and I--I mention the color palette because honestly... oddly enough, that was the first thing about this show to really strike me. In addition to there being so many women on screen all the time, we live in this era, still, today where toys are us and Target have these like pink aisles where... that's the girl stuff and that's where you go to look for girl toys, and She-Ra and the Rebellion and all the villains, they don't stick to that color palette. It is a wonderfully just, colorful show and it's not screaming ‘princess, pretty, feminine’ the whole time, and yet it manages to be feminine, and that's pretty exciting to me. Um. Some of the things that surprised me from the get-go, uh-- I wasn't expecting a male narrator, in the beginning of the theme--

NARRATOR: Where darkness rules--

LAUREN: But, you know, all right, cool. And um... in one of the first scenes--so they’re clearly, they're trying to sell She-Ra through He-Man, like He-Man’s super popular I guess in 85?

ERIC: It was, uh, for its second season, I think, it was the highest rated show in syndication.

LAUREN: Yeah, wow, and so... They really make it He-Man's story for one to two episodes, but also they you know, they show him cooking, they show him having relationships with his mom, and like the women in his life, and he's, you know, not as bloated and masculine a character as I expected them to present him as? This show is very 80s, though, and I loved watching how some of this animation was so intense--You see Battlecat leap forward in this like, very violent and action-packed way, and then a monster grabs him and throws him, and the sound effect is still like ‘boing’! [laughs] They're just--the 80s were this time when cartoons were still for kids. There was no acknowledgement that cartoons can really be for grown-ups, so all the voices on this show are so goofy, all the sound effects are so goofy, and anytime it just starts to take itself seriously-- [affects a stupid cartoon voice] someone comes in with this voice! And you're like, oh, hello 1985.

Some of the things I want to talk about that you brought up--I I love. I'm so interested in that quote that calls the rebellion a band of patriots, because the one quote that I wrote down, was in episode one Bow, who is the token man who's costume I love, and I'm going to Dragon Con in September and if I don't see at least one I'll just cry--uh, the quote was:

[audio clip from SOTS]

HORDE SOLDIER: Surrender, citizen!

Bow: [chuckles] I'm not a citizen. I'm a rebel.

[end clip]

LAUREN: --and I--I’ve--I've been thinking about that for the last like 12 hours or so, because I would argue... that a patriot, who's fighting for justice and equality and freedom, is like... the ideal citizen? But this Rebellion is so disconnected from... the Horde, and the establishment, which I guess has been around for 20 years that they don't even call themselves like citizens of that regime, and I think that’s... that's striking, especially if you're talking about our current political climate? I think that's an accusation, often, that comes from both sides. If you're not--I'm going to say the T word--if you're not a Trump fan in 2017 you're not a patriot, but then the other side says, if you're supporting the tyranny of this, then you're not a patriot, and uh... these people in the Rebellion are patriots, but don't consider themselves citizens, and I want to hear what you think about that.

ERIC: Well, first of all, I like that you uh, caught that quote because I also--I just read the series Bible for the first time last night, and I had never... thought to refer to the Rebellion as patriots, and I think that that also kind of has... because you know under eight years of Obama-- that was what all the... angry people on the far right, ‘oh we're patriots’ and so I bet now... I mean I don't want to put too much on JMS's politics, but he probably was pretty lefty to to write the series Bible for this show. He might not use that word ‘patriot’ and I also think... First of all I really want to talk about Bow, and maybe this isn’t the episode for it, but just in general like that character of the token male and his crazy outfit and his-- his weird relationships. There's that moment in episode 3 where Adam's like oh I'm gonna go to the Fright Zone and find Adora, and he's like “Godspeed you on your quest, Adam!” and Adam's just kind of like “... Yeah cool man. Anyway I'm gonna go bye.”

[clip from SOTS]

BOW: You are a brave man, Adam. I salute you. Good fortune speed you on your mission.

ADAM: Yeah, uh... well thanks.

[end of clip]

LAUREN: He's just too extra, even for He-Man.

ERIC: Side note, Larry DiTillio in the series Bible mentions that Bo is kind of supposed to be the Adam figure on Etheria. Not the He-Man but the Adam, the kind of, ‘oh he he jokes around, he kind of slacks off, and he may be a little too earnest and he can't always back it up’... Anyway to the quote of “I'm not a citizen, I'm a rebel”. Yeah, nowhere in the show does it ever say ‘the Horde's been here 20 years”. It's just kind of an indeterminate amount of time. And there's episodes we'll watch later, where it seems clear that they are ‘the establishment’ and I think maybe that's the difference between the show and--well, that's clearly a difference between the show, and where we are in the world is you know the horde is -- they're straight, like -- they're not even making runs at being a democracy, like it's straight up tyranny. Uh, so I guess in that sense I think Bow’s quote is legit, but I think that's probably a way that, yeah, it is disconnected from... from the modern times, we are all still citizens even if we consider ourselves resisting the current power structure.

LAUREN: Right I feel like we all still believe in America, and our version of what America could be, at its best, and we all want to live in that place. You hear people who are like ‘well if you don't love it you should leave it’ none of us want to leave we just want this place that's our home to be better and include everyone. [[4]] And I'm--I--I guess in the end--not to skip way ahead, but that's She-Ra's choice as well. She's given the option to go to, sort of this idealized place, where the good guys, uh are already the force in power. In Eternia, He-Man's family is getting to rule--I mean they're--they’re menaced all the time by Skeletor, but they're... that's the king and the queen and... the good guys kind of make the government if you will. And She-Ra's like, no I can't stay, I'm choosing to go back to this tyrannical miserable place because my job there's not done, so I guess she is a citizen, she kind of insists she is.

ERIC: Yeah and I think that's really the crux of what drives this show, and you know we're gonna do an episode later on the-- the Price of Freedom, which if anybody listening is a She-Ra fan you'll be like ‘yeah that's the episode you have to do’ [[5]] but yeah that's the key difference in the show right is like She-Ra... she gets a taste of home in, I think, a very sweet moment and I also think a moment that if you are a He-Man fan kind of closes off--because even in the one episode you saw, you know there's this through line in the series, Prince Adam is always a disappointment to his dad because he can't let him--it be known that he's He-Man. So he's just kind of this jokey prince. And then he brings home their lost daughter and King Randor is like ‘you've made me so happy’ and I think all right, Adam's arc is done, like... he has fulfilled his job and completed his family. And Adora gets a couple days on Eternia and then Skeletor and Hordak come and try to take her away and she realizes she--if she if she stays, she's doing a disservice to the people who really need her, and I think that is it's awesome, like it's a great choice and it gives her so much more responsibility than than He-Man. And you know something that the writers keep noting is that whereas Adam and He-Man are two very different characters, Adora and She-Ra are basically the same. They're both very like duty-bound and honorable and uh, and noble.

LAUREN: I did notice that, which as a total newbie to this series brought about one of my major questions, which is: Why does her identity need to be a secret? I find Adora and She-Ra to be so similar and really the stakes--at least in this pilot--seem so low and it's... I don't know who else the Horde could think this mysterious warrior woman is, they're like ‘ah the princess escaped... and it's this lady's fault!’ and I [laughs] the--the--you really have to suspend your disbelief to like, let the alter ego thing even slide

ERIC: Oh I mean yeah, there's no way that the rebels shouldn't have figured out that Adam is He-Man okay. Prince Adam shows up he's like, ‘I have a friend who could help you fight!’ and then He-Man shows up, they rescue He-Man oh then Adam's back! And then He-Man comes back--it doesn't make any sense. I mean I guess if you really--because clearly the answer is that it’s the superhero trope, right.

LAUREN: Right.

ERIC: But if you really want to find an in-world answer, maybe it's to protect Adam's identity? I don't know. It--or maybe I mean if you want to dig psychologically, ‘cause Adora kind of doesn't have her own life, and so maybe she's trying to claim one for herself, to have her own identity and not be She-Ra, and there actually will be an episode we'll watch later that is about that duality.

LAUREN: I can buy that. I can buy that. Um. Speaking of the life that she doesn't have, one of the [laughs] most stone cold plot holes in this whole thing for me was that four people were allowed to keep the memory of Adora's existence, and everyone else didn't. So poor Teela is like, ‘no, who is this though’ and no one ever really like... stops to convince her or check in with her. There were two times during this pilot that I laughed just out loud by myself and that was one of them, because she really got a bad deal.

[clip from SOTS]

RANDOR: Well Adam we’ve done as you asked, now where is the surprise of yours? Must we wait all day?

ADAM: All right, you can open your eyes now.

TEELA: Who's that?

MAN-AT-ARMS: By the ancients!

RANDOR: It's about ti--[gasps]

MARLENA: Adora!!

ADORA: Mother! Father!

MARLENA: My daughter! Oh, my dear sweet daughter.

TEELA: Daughter?? [laughs uncertainly] I don’t understand.

MAN-AT-ARMS: Why, she’s Adora! Adam’s twin sister. And she’s back, after all this time!

MARLENA: Look at you! How lovely you are!

ADORA: Oh, Mother. I’m so glad Adam brought me here!

RANDOR: Son, I want you to know that today you’ve made me the happiest man on all Eternia. The royal family of Eternia is whole once more, and by the Ancients I swear that nothing shall ever separate us again.

SCENE TRANSITION: SHE-RA! [musical sting]

[end clip]

ERIC: What was the other time you laughed?

LAUREN: The other time I laughed... was the first time the horse... transformed into the Pegasus-unicorn. Is it Swift Wind?

ERIC: Swift Wind, yes.

LAUREN: And Swift Wind could suddenly talk. And had the--and had another goofy 80s voice. He's like, [affects a goofy 80s voice] ‘now, I'm Swift Wind’ and they go flying.

[clip from SOTS]

SWIFT WIND: I am Swift Wind, my dear friend.

LAUREN: But what made me laugh, not only was his voice, but the fact that it doesn't appear that he can talk when he's not transformed [laughs] and uh, and Battle Cat can. And so it's just another like raw deal that a character gets. [laughs] Like, ‘I lose my sentience when I'm not transformed’. Oh, my gosh. Poor Swift Wind. [[6]]

ERIC: I do want to say as far as the uh, the voice casting goes... So there's only six actors who work on the show. And one of them is the producer, and one of them is the producer's daughter. [[7]]

LAUREN: They really go for it.

ERIC: Yes.I--I appreciate the challenge. And, you know, everyone always kind of looks at these shows and say, ‘oh, these are the cheapest cartoons of the 80s’. And actually, the opposite was true. Filmation was the last studio to do all of their animation in America. And so it was very cost-prohibitive to hire a big voice cast, because they had to pay like, American wages to their animators and not just ship overseas.

LAUREN: You could see, though, where the great care was taken in the animation, and then sort of, where it wasn't? So similar to other 80s shows, like if you imagine Scooby Doo, and you see Shaggy and Scooby running, and the background is repeating itself over and over, um, in the like, Slave People. Those are the same slaves walking by over and over. And yet when He-Man disguises himself in a robot body, they take the time to draw like little tups of hair sticking out of his uniform. I was like, ‘oh, see, they had a budget. They just invested it in very specific places.’

ERIC: I love that that's a plot point, too, is that He-Man's hair gives him away at one point. I thought that that was so funny.

LAUREN: And it busts him really fast. I was expecting them to like... give him the benefit of the doubt and let him sneak around a little bit. And the second they see him, they're like, ‘that's He-Man. What an idiot.’

ERIC: Yeah. Fun f--I don't know if you or anybody listening will care, but Filmation had a--a system called Same-As. Same dash as, and it was their stock animation system. So anytime someone animated something they like, they would put it in like a file, and then they would use it in later episodes, again, because they thought, oh, this is a really great piece. We can keep using it and then we can, you know, put our efforts into something else next time. So that is why you saw like scenes of slaves just over and over again. So I want to know just at the very base level, like, did you see the twist coming about Adora's identity, and what did you think?

LAUREN: By the twist, do you mean, literally, that it's He-Man's sister?

ERIC: Yes.

LAUREN: So I thought it was pretty obvious, considering like one of the first scenes is the baby getting stolen. Like, who else would that baby be? I was actually more surprised when she was introduced as a bad guy, and I was trying to figure out, is she legitimately a bad guy who's going to need to go through sort of a massive change of heart, or is this just like a hypnosis situation? And the answer was both.

ERIC: Yeah.

LAUREN: It's both.

ERIC: Yeah. And I think, I think it says something, you know, probably for our purposes, one of the more interesting sequences is after He-Man is in prison--which by the way, there's a lot of being imprisoned, a lot of metaphors and literal imprisonment in this five part episode. When He-Man is at the--in prison and he tells Adora, ‘hey, just go see for yourself like what the world is like’, you know, she's like, ‘oh, I haven't really left the fright zone, but Hordak tells me that we're the rightful rulers and everyone likes us.’ And He-Man's like, ‘well, why don't you go see?’ I thought that was cool, even though the scenes of her investigating are sooo dramatic and like it's, you know, like an old guy who wants water and a trooper throws him in a lake. Like, yeah, that's horrible, but also it's like not really grave social injustice. You know?

LAUREN: Yeah. It was really on the nose in a way that, I mean, I loved, but was also so over-the-top because... one of those scenes is like an airplane just comes rolling up. And She-Ra’s like, ‘what's happening?’ And these two citizens in just the most exposition heavy dialogue are like, ‘well, John here was talking about how the taxes are way too high. And an evil robot overheard him and here comes an airplane to blow up his farm.’ [laughs

ERIC: Yeah, I was like, let's get this in really quick. Like 10 seconds in, Adora gets it.

[clip from SOTS]

ADORA: What's going on?

VILLAGER: Lars said the hordes taxes were too high and a trooper overheard him. Now they're going to destroy his home.

[explosion noises]

[end clip]

ERIC: Something you said at the beginning of our conversation that is really true. You know, as you pointed out, this is She-Ra's story. The whole kind of five-part pilot is about giving her control of the narrative. It's basically He-Man passing off the the torch, or the sword, as it were. And that had real-world implications as well as you deduce. It was a way to... because She-Ra clearly is marketed towards girls, but the people at Filmation really wanted boys to watch it. So they're like, all right, if we put He-Man in, maybe we'll trick the boys into thinking this is cool. And it totally worked. And I remember as a kid, I liked this show way more than He-Man. Even then, I deduced, like, this show... it's just richer. Like, it has this background--having the Horde and having the bad guys win. It's such a more interesting uh, background on which to tell different stories. So She-Ra was the second highest rated cartoon of the year it debuted, right behind G.I. Joe, which was a new show. It had a 4.3 share, which I think means 4.3 million people watched it every week, which is pretty good.

LAUREN: Yeah.

ERIC: So it totally worked. And I definitely at some point want to talk about the show's marketing of the toys, and how much of a failure that was. But as far as just on the show, like, I think it's pretty uniquely positioned to appeal to all genders.

LAUREN: Absolutely. And I'm interested in seeing where it succeeds and where it fails, as a feminist piece. Because even in this pilot, there were moments that were so strong and there were moments that totally whiffed, because there'd be quotes like, ‘that's not very ladylike’ or ‘just like a woman’. And I would say they were like 50-50 for, ‘no, you're supposed to think that's evil and dumb’. And then suddenly, like, He-Man would put his finger to She-Ra's lips and you're supposed to be like, ‘oh, that's okay’. And it's not. It's just like weird and sexist. And so they're trying so hard, and I want to see kind of what their success rate is going to be throughout the series, because it's bumping along.

ERIC: I completely agree, and I knew you were going to bring up--it--it is--And I just said it was one of my favorite scenes. And yet I still regret the unfortunate dialogue that's ‘not very ladylike, but then again, you're not much of a lady anyway’. [laughs] Although Scorpia of all the Horde villains, my least favorite. I do not like her. That voice, [affects a Scorpia voice] ‘oh, she talks like this, like she's from Brooklyn kind of’.

LAUREN: The vill--the side villains, I kept... I mean, all the side characters, so many mascots, which was very 80s, we got to make as many potential toys as possible. But so many just like... Catra: She's a cat. Angel-la: She's an angel.

ERIC: Broom is a broom.

LAUREN: [laughs] Yeah. There was also, the other like--most 80s thing about this was how violent, but nonviolent it was. There was some violent animation happening. But it was like, ‘they're just stunned’. The one guy whose powers is just eye beams? He has the eye beams that threw off He-Man's sense of balance. And I was like, either he is just like messing with He-Man's inner ear a little bit, or he's giving him brain damage. And I don't know, like [laughs]

ERIC: It's such like Warner Brothers style violence.

LAUREN: Well, right. And this, the big ‘Magna Ray’ was apparently going to affect an entire forest, but is also stopped with a rock.

ERIC: Yes.

LAUREN: And I'm like, all right.

ERIC: And then Hordak has enough power for a second shot, which was never mentioned before, because he drained just enough to get it to work one. I don't, there's a couple subplots, like I love the overall through line of He-Man finding She-Ra. The Magna Beam, the harpies. Oh my God, that harpy scene. I do not like it at all.

LAUREN: No.

ERIC: Um. Too--Earlier, you mentioned, you know, 50-50 on the dialogue being either they're calling out sexism, or it's just casually sexist.

LAUREN: Yeah.

ERIC: The other example you mentioned that wasn't He-Man, I think is really interesting because there's a lot of that in the scene when Adora is captured by Skeletor, and she's in Snake Mountain. And then as She-Ra, she fights her way out. And I--I almost feel like that scene, it's at the start of the fifth episode--To me, it's like almost consciously, and maybe I'm giving the writer too much credit--bringing femininity to Masters of the Universe, because it's so on-the-nose.

[clip from SOTS]

SKELETOR: And now, princess, I must decide what to do with you.

ADORA: [fake swooning noise as she fake passes out]

BEAST MAN: Uh. She’s fainted.

SKELETOR: Hah! Just like a woman!

[end clip]

[start new clip from SOTS]

BEAST MAN: You’re sure a pretty princess. [gross laugh] It’s too bad we have to lock you up in the dungeon.  

[end clip]

ERIC: Like, it's just so creepy. And then... and--when she's busting out She-Ra goes, ‘no one around here knows how to treat a lady’. And of course, the scene is capped by a true 80s villain defeat. Everyone is just laughing at Skeletor as he says, [affects a Skeletor voice] ‘ah, a female He-Man--

ERIC AND LAUREN IN UNISON: [both doing Skeletor impressions] ‘This is the worst day of my life!’

ERIC: And like, that's the end of the scene. That's like, no, he's a criminal.

LAUREN: Yeah [laughs]

ERIC: Why aren't you doing anything?

LAUREN: He's the big bad of this universe.

ERIC: Right.

[clip from SOTS]

TEELA: Hmph. I don't believe this.

SKELETOR: Neither do I. A female He-Man. [pitiful whining] This is the worst day of my life!

TEELA AND MAN-AT-ARMS: [laugh at Skeletor]

[end clip]

LAUREN: I was trying to... also decide, and I think this is something I'm going to wrestle with through most of this show. Uh, because my personal brand of feminism really tries to live by... a woman can be whatever she wants. If she wants to show her body, if she wants to cover it up, it's all fine. If she wants to be promiscuous, if she wants to be conservative, it's all fine. Be a mother, don't, get married, don't, I don't care. Feminism is, you're supposed to be able to do just whatever you please, because you're free. And I feel like pretty often we scoff at, when a woman is stereotypically feminine, and I think that's a mistake. And there's a moment where a big skull falls on top, it's like an animal skull falls on top of Skeletor. The thing that She-Ra says is like, ‘well, I think that's an improvement to your look’ and I'm like, wait, why is she concerned with aesthetic? Like why is she making like, cute jokes? And I struggled with it for a second, and then I went, no, it's great that she's feminine. It's great that she feels empowered in being a little bit about aesthetic. Like that's fine. And I feel like I'm going to have that conversation with myself a lot while watching this.

ERIC: I do not think you are wrong about that. Maybe it will make you feel better to know--And again, you know, I'm of the critical school of thought that intent only means so much. It's a window into something, b--into interpretation but it's not the be-all end-all. That said, I did find it interesting to see how keyed-in these writers were to the things that we would be talking about. So here's a Larry DiTilio, who again wrote four fifths of this pilot said: “I think the way you make things girl-friendly is you don't worry about the fact that she's a girl. You let her do what everybody else does. Everybody was equal on the show. We wanted a show where many times women were not only the equal of men, but the superiors of men.” And that's something that Lou Scheimer also echoes, like, his whole point ‘wasn't feminism’--which I disagree with--but he just wanted to show that women could do anything that they wanted. And I think that you do see that in the show. I think there's a huge variety of women characters of all types.

LAUREN: Yes, absolutely. And I'm glad to see so many female characters, on the good side, on the bad side because it gives them the chance to have diverse aesthetics, diverse intention, diverse personality. And I mean, that's sort of... I guess my final observation is how many things She-Ra IS being successful at that we're still struggling with today. Uh, when I went and saw Star Wars Episode 7, I remember feeling so moved by how many women I just saw standing in the ranks of the Empire, and standing in the ranks of the Rebellion, just existing within the space of this world, and how especially in... sort of geek culture things that's still sometimes rare. And this is so many years later, and the second we see the Horde, there's girls. And the second we see the Rebellion, there's girls. And this is a very action packed show, you know, girls punching, kicking, flying, riding. And... the fact that I feel like marketing professionals in toys and media today are still questioning whether or not young women can enjoy that is shocking. Because this, you know... this was literally before I was on this earth, this show started.

ERIC: It was 32 years ago, which is crazy. And it... Yeah, just kind of, I don't want to say effortlessly, because that takes away from the work of people who, you know, put the effort in. But seemingly easily is perfectly integrated. It's great. Now that--there is a huge caveat, and we're going to do an episode on this, but I need to mention it now, because I know someone's going to bring it up. She-Ra is super hashtag white feminism. This is a very white show. Now the series Bible even mentions that there should be ‘people of all colors’. And I don't know whether it was the animators, or just something at loss in translation, didn't happen. So there's an episode that kind of head-on deals with taking away a black character and making her a pink character. [[9]] We'll talk about that later.

LAUREN: People of all colors, you know, like purple and green.

ERIC: And that's kind of the fantasy trope that is unfortunate about She-Ra, right? That's one of the very 80s things is like, yeah, they’re all--there are all colors, but not real life colors. You have white, and then you have fantasy colors.

LAUREN: Yeah, I mean, 80s nostalgia is really hip right now. You have your Stranger Things and your Glow. And I've watched Glow very recently too. And sort of remembered that... in the late 80s, early 90s, there was this message of equality and freedom and like, togetherness. And it was like, ‘yeah, racism is over’. And then you realize like, no, the way society presented race was far, far from perfect we’re far from done with it. And so I think there's a lot of difference between saying ‘our show is for everyone’ and actually creating a show that is for everyone.

ERIC: 100%. And you know, I would still argue that She-Ra's heart was in the right place and compared to the other--like Transformers, G.I. Joe, He-Man, Thundercats, it did better, you know.

LAUREN: Mhm.

ERIC: But it still had a long way to go. That said, I'm really glad that you found... that you saw what I saw in this show. That it has troubles, but... It's pretty good, right?

LAUREN: It is!

ERIC: It's pretty good.

LAUREN: I'm going to DragonCon at the end of August and I was like, ‘is anyone cosplaying She-Ra? There's an 80s cartoon photo shoot. I should go talk to those guys. I mean, I wonder if there's going to be a She-Ra’. And that was after one sitting with this show. [laughs]

ERIC: So, yeah, I guess, like I said, this episode is going to be longer than the others, because we're just getting into it. But to close out, I'd like to know like, are you looking forward to exploring the rest of the show now?

LAUREN: I am. I'm looking forward to especially meeting more characters because I believe the implication was, we freed one castle, but there's going to be more kingdoms, with more people. And I did some spoiler-free googling and there's like a mermaid and an ice lady. And for one, I was like, ‘oh man, look at all these toys they could manufacture’. But on the other, I was just excited to see, you know, we already have so many female characters and the show is going to give us even more and I'm stoked to meet them.

ERIC: Yeah, absolutely. So I will mention, kind of the plan for this show going forward is after my Wonder Woman binge, I went through and I have an embarrassing amount of books on He-Man and She-Ra. So I read through and I'm like, OK, this seems like this would be good. So we're going to talk about episodes that kind of directly address progressive issues first. And then... I think if you guys like this show, Lauren and I talked about going back and doing all the episodes. It's 65 episodes on Netflix. That's a lot. So hopefully you guys like this and then, uh... we'll have a lot of fun. And I do want to point out even in the episodes that are directly addressing issues that we care about, there's a lot of failures and we're not going to sugarcoat things. But I think that when we really get to the dregs of She-Ra, that might be when the really... like, the claws come out. So we'll see where this show goes.

LAUREN: Well, I do believe that you should be critical of the things that you love. And so I'm sure there will be moments that I sound like I hate this, but I--I really only give even the time of day to things that are worth it. And this seems like it's going to be worth it.

ERIC: 100 % agree. And you know, I told Lauren when we were planning, I don't want this to fall into the unfortunately gendered dynamic of like, ‘guy likes it, lady nags on it’. And I don't think that's what's going to happen because I think we're both being pretty real about the show.

LAUREN: It's going to be ALL nagging, all genders, all nagging.

ERIC: But like, I don't know. I mean, you--you just experienced this in 2017, right? And you are a professional woman, got a lot going on. You're an established person, and you like the show. And to me, that says even 32 years later, this has some potential.

LAUREN: Yes. And you know, when I'm watching it and my husband walks into the room and just out of context, he's a muscly He-Man like tied to a table and he's like, ‘what are you watching?’ That just that that alone was worth taking on this project.

ERIC: So much bondage. All right. So next episode next week, we're going to do Duel at Devlan. So please feel free to follow along on Netflix. We'd love to hear your thoughts. We actually don't have anything set up to do that at this point, but we'll post some way for you to get at us, uh, when, you know, with the episodes. So, yeah, talk back to us as long as you have constructive things to say, good or bad, we'd love to hear them.

LAUREN: Yeah, this was awesome. I can't wait to watch the next episode. Thank you. Thank you for this idea.

ERIC: Yeah. Thanks for doing it. Hell yeah.

[clip from SOTS]

HE-MAN: Farewell, She-Ra, Princess of Power.

SHE-RA: Farewell, He-Man, dear brother.

[end clip]

LAUREN: Do we do we have a moral today?

ERIC: Oh, yeah. So that's something that's going to be coming up is uh, moral segments, because as you know, these 80 shows like typically have morals at the end. The pilot forgoes morals. So there isn't one baked into the show, but I don't know, if you were to assign a moral to today's episode, what would you say?

LAUREN: Oh my gosh. I think, I mean, this is so cheesy, but that's the 80s. I think the moral would be... be open to everything, be willing to try new things and confront new experiences with an open mind, because when Eric presented me this idea, I literally was like, ‘that's the weirdest thing I ever heard. I have to sleep on it’. And by morning, I was--I was ready. And I'm just so glad to say yes. I'm so glad to be open to a new experience.

ERIC: At first I thought you were going to relate that to like Adam's experiences of like, you know, ‘he did it with the Sorceress and it worked out’, but I like that it was a real life moral too.

[EPISODE OUTRO]

Thanks for listening to She-Ra, Progressive of Power. If you like our show, you can write and review us on Apple Podcast. We'd super appreciate it. You can also send us any feedback you have, add it to our email address, [email protected], or as a comment on our website at progressiveofpower.wordpress.com. And make sure you listen to the show all the way through to the end. In future episodes, we're going to use this space to promote progressive organizations and causes we like a lot, related to the topics we're talking about, that can help make the world a better place. But for now, just enjoy this rad theme music.

[outro to "I Have the Power”][[10]]

ERIKA SCHEIMER AND NOAM KANIEL: [As She-Ra and He-Man] For the honor of love, we have the power so can you.

ANNOTATIONS

[[1]] This is an anecdote from Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation, page 230, about his approach to creating female characters in general. Erika Scheimer, the daughter referenced, went onto work for Filmation herself, and in 2007 came out as a lesbian, calling Filmation “one of the gayest places in town”.  

[[2]] This is actually where things get complicated, because multiple people have claimed responsibility for the ‘long lost twin’ element, including Lou Scheimer on the very page cited in footnote 1. We know on the Mattel side at least that she was initially slated to be Teela’s long-lost twin, not Adam’s, which further tangles the narrative on the Filmation side. Larry DiTillio also claimed credit for the twin plot point, though he described it more as ‘filching’ from Star Wars. He and J. Michael Straczynski developed the world of She-Ra, so I think we can safely afford them the bulk of the credit, but Lou Scheimer had long wanted to create a female-led action show, and to build off of He-Man’s success--while on the Mattel side of things, Janice Varney-Hamlin had been trying to get a female action figure line greenlit for some time. She claimed it was her idea to build off of He-Man but there’s little (no) evidence of that and she’s... a gifted marketer, shall we say.

[[3]] This reactive vs. proactive bit is a reference to something Larry DiTillio has said a few times, about his intentions for the story. I just like that they did research for this podcast it makes me really happy. Here’s a link to the series bible.

[[4]]

[[5]] The Price of Freedom is one of a handful of episodes that make you ask, “the censors wouldn’t let them hit people but they were allowed to do this?” Basically, the Horde attacks Dryl. She-Ra calls the Sorceress for backup (He-Man), but they can do little more than evacuate the villagers into the nearby mines. She-Ra leaves to get help, because now they’re pinned there and Dryl itself is burned to the ground, but naturally Hordak blasts the shit out of He-Man and traps everybody in the mines. They start getting testy when their air starts running out, some of them are like ‘where the hell is She-Ra’, but one of the villagers gives this big rousing speech about how they can’t always rely on She-Ra and He-Man to fix all their problems, and they dig to safety. Or, they would, except they cause a cave-in, which is less a metaphor and more a reason for She-Ra to return (without any help).

[[6]] It could be worse! In the German audio plays, he couldn’t even talk as Swift Wind. But don’t worry, Filmation dropped the restriction pretty early on & we got the goofy 80s voice talking horse we all wanted.

[[7]] The aforementioned Lou and Erika Scheimer.

[[8]] Larry DiTillio said this on the 2007 BCI DVD’s "Documentary Feature - The Stories of She-Ra Part 1″. And boy is it concerning I recognized it so quickly.

[[9]] I think he means Huntara? ‘Pink’ is kind of a stretch but she was originally supposed to be black, per both Larry DiTillio & the character design sheet. They were going for a Grace Jones vibe. I guess we’ll find out in a later episode.

[[10]] Official theme song of the Secret of the Sword movie. There’s a music video and it’s incredible. Fair warning this gets stuck in my head constantly so if you’re susceptible to that... tread carefully. I linked you to the version with Erika Scheimer explaining the background of the song to force you to learn <3 don’t skip ahead that’s cheating

#progressive of power #podcasts

[cantillat-moved]

@ad-simul 1 and 2 buckle my shoe /shot and 14, 15, and 7?

1. Which muse(s) is/are your favourite(s)?

I don’t think I have a favorite muse per say, but currently my most active ones are the Emiyas. I have been considering roleplaying as Shirou and Archer since circa 2013 give or take, but at the time the seething hate towards Shirou thanks to the studio DEEN adaptation butchering his personality made me afraid – I’m pretty sure this is a feeling that Umineko fans can relate. It was before the release of the UBW anime – in fact, the DEEN version of UBW was the one floating around. Another muse that was dear to my heart back when it had his own blog is Narukami. I loved the original game when I first played, but when I finally got the Vita version I was in a similar headspace : I was moving from one of the largest cities in the world back to my hometown, a place with tons of fog and my parents’ place is right next to three communications towers. You can pretty much hear “Who’s there?” playing during raining days. And, of course, Snoopy. One of my former classmates says she recalls me liking Snoopy since my daycare center days so I’m like… Fan of him since I was 2 years old? Technically speaking that’s the longest I’ve been fan of anything lmao (and everyone likes a fluffy mascot).

2. Which muse(s) do you wish had more interactions?

So many to be honest. Kiritsugu has been just chilling, Waver and Gray are good beans too. I also wished my Code: Realize muses had more interactions but I understand they are very niche. Some of the muses in my new secret menu are in there because they seldom got any interaction and some are new and I’d like to take them for a spin. I also have promised myself to try to have more interactions with my OCs.

14. What is your favourite fandom to write in? Why?

I love the Fate fandom and its universe. It is also pretty compatible with crossovers for anything that happens in the real world. Persona? Sure, the Palaces, Metaverse and the Midnight Channel could be forms of Reality Marbles for example. Madoka Magica? Well, Kyubei could be a foreign entity up to no good. Fatal Frame? Just look at how often ghosts show up in the works. So on and so forth, all we need is to sit down and brainstorm a bit.

15. What is a fandom you wish to write in one day?

Right now I don’t think I have any particular fandom I’ve been eyeing. Maybe something niche like the long dead Shadow Hearts or Phantasy Star.

7. Do you have crossover verses for the muses on your blog?

…Puyo. I do have a Fate AU for Snoopy as a Servant (he is a Ruler, but he can also manifest as a Rider in his Ace form fyi). Believe me: if I don’t currently have a crossover, I’d love to make one.   I do have a Persona 5 AU for Shirou and a prototype Pokemon verse for him. I also have a fully fleshed-out Pokemon and Fate AUs for Hajime. I also have an Opera Omnia verse for Rufus (aka: the Dissidia verse so he can interact with any FF muse). Give me ‘em AUs. AUs, crossovers, verses, I love them.

#ad simul #. meme reply

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

Get to Know You Tag

Thanks for the open tag @verkja :)

Relationship Status: Married. Occasionally questioning life :')

Favorite Color: Purple purple purple :D

Favorite Food: ease of access: thomas brand bagels. my number one safe food. my only safe food that hasn't changed since I was a child. cooked: my mom's bean dip. eaten with scooped tostitos. yum.

Song Stuck in My Head: I continuously play music so this doesn't happen 😂 Listening to Asking Alexandria right now.

Last thing you Googled: I did research on whipping. What does it feel like? What kinds are used when, how severe are the injuries, how many lashes can one take until one dies? FYI: it ranges from 10 to fucking thousands depending on the whip used and intervals of whippings.😶

Time: At this exact moment it is 11:22 pm EST. At time of posting it is 11:46 pm. I am slow.

Dream Trip: I really love the beach. I love the sound of the ocean. I like the sand a little less, but I'm willing to deal. Sun hates me, but same. So give me a beach, preferably a warm one, and I'm good. Also, alone would be good. I need a permanent vacation from people.

Last Thing You Read: The latest chapter of Undeserved by @i-can-even-burn-salad.

Last Book You Enjoyed Reading: Book??? hahaha, I don't read books, I read series. The Drowned Empire by Frankie Diane Mallis has been my favorite read this year. Daughter of the Drowned Empire is the first book. This is an ongoing series.

Favorite Thing to Cook/Bake: I despise cooking. I would rather starve. and yes, I'm absolutely serious, this theory has been tested.

Favorite Craft to do in Your Free Time: I'm terrible at crafts. I've never been overly interested, although I did try to teach myself to crochet once. it didn't last long.

Most Niche Dislike: I'm autistic. my list of dislikes is myriad. this is hard.

Coming back to this one. I hate that I need subtitles, but I can't concentrate on the visuals at the same time. So I usually go without and just turn the volume up. And rewind a lot.

Opinion on Circuses: They are sensory nightmares. And the music does not provide an adequate buffer.

Do You Have Any Sense of Direction: absolutely not. I can barely left/right. I have to use the L my hand makes. I can barely find my car in a parking lot, let alone determine where north is. I have to use GPS to find my way home for 6 months every time I move. I'm 36 years old. I don't think it's going to get any better.

Tagging anyone who hasn't yet been tagged and would like to be!

#get to know me #not whump #open tag

[repost-haven]

Need more fucked up dog coverage in warhammer tbh—

Like ik they’re out there and exist and ik people talk about them sometimes and can probably find the niche I’m looking for but like—

Need more people talking about these fucked up little creature

Or just the animals of warhammer in general— the bestest boys and girls in the imperium imo

(FYI this is just the ramblings of a man who luvs animals a bunch— I think the critters are so silly and the info on them for my favorite TTRPG should be more available so I can give all my ocs and all my favorite canon characters silly puppies and freakish little creatures)

#my thoughts #repost blab #wh40k

[freelancershahin]

Twitter Tags vs Twitter Hashtags Best Practices

✅ Twitter Tags vs Twitter Hashtags Best Practices 🙏🙏 Watch The Video, Don’t Forget to Like, Comment, Subscribe & Share 🧡 How to use a Twitter tag and a Twitter hashtag: Are you interested in stepping up your social media marketing strategy? This video helps with influencer marketing strategies using the social media site Twitter. This video is helpful if you are looking for organic growth on Twitter. These strategies extend the reach of your brand for free. This video explains the difference between a tag, a way of notifying people, and a hashtag, a label for your content so people interested in your content can find the content. You should write about the influencers and let them know in your tweet with a Twitter tag. You don't just use a Twitter tag to let an influencer know you wrote about them. You can use Twitter tag with an FYI letting the person know you thought they'd be interested. However, a Twitter tag where they are actually included in the post you are promoting should have a feat. which stands for featured. You can also mention someone in a video you post on Twitter and use the same @TwitterName strategy. Ask them to retweet the tweet. For instance, include "Please retweet" in your tweet. If you have a sponsor, let the sponsor know you promoted their content. Follow these Twitter Marketing tips to tag the sponsor. You can meet many influencers in your niche on Twitter. Retweet the influencer's content. Comment as well, so the influencer gets to know you. Include the influencer's quote in your web content. Link to them, and let them know. Ask to guest post for the influencer's website or offer to be a guest on their podcast. Interview each other in YouTube videos. These strategies are free and could result in long-term collaborations and even friendships with influencers. Full Blog Post: 👉 https://www.mostlyblogging.com/tagging-on-social-media/ Related Blog Posts: 👉 My Favorite Tweet: https://www.mostlyblogging.com/my-most-liked-tweets/ 👉 Twiends Review: https://www.mostlyblogging.com/twiends-review/ 👉 Advantages and Disadvantages of Twitter: https://www.mostlyblogging.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-twitter/ 00:00 Introduction 00:37 Twitter tags 01:24 Twitter hashtags ........................................................................................................... 🔶 https://janicewald.medium.com/ 🔶 https://www.mostlyblogging.com/ 🔶 https://www.pinterest.com/janicewald/ 🔶 https://www.instagram.com/janicewald 🔶 https://twitter.com/MrsPaznanski/ 🔶 https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-wald-0301ab2b/ #hashtag #twitter #tags #Twitter_Tags #Janice_Wald

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[starkerized]

when you look at me I must be dreaming (moon knight college au, part 2 of 2)

Rating: Explicit (18+, minors dni) Pairings: Layla/Marc, Layla/Steven, Layla/Steven/Marc Summary: After a near-one night stand that leaves Marc and Layla wanting more, Steven and Layla find themselves together in a creative writing class. Friendship and pining ensue. Original Tags: Mutual pining, friends to lovers, light angst, lust at first sight, Steven Grant needs a hug New Tags for Part 2: Marc wants to fight everyone, mild painplay, dom/sub undertones, hurt/comfort, cunnilingus, penetrative sex, bottom!Marc and bottom!Steven, Layla knows how to take care of them Word Count (Total): 10,328 Author's Note: This ended up much more sweet/tender/emotional than I thought it'd be lol. But still very very smutty. Anyway, sub!Marc is my new obsession and no one can take him away from me. Enjoy! Also on Ao3

Link to Part 1

“Isn’t it enough to just be friends?” Steven asked Marc one day during a solo homework session in the library. The top floor was hardly used by students and it was quiet enough that the only sounds were his own typing and breathing. “I mean, it feels really great to have a closer friend like this, who I can nerd out with, and it’s so cool that she wants to be an archeologist like her dad.”

I don’t disagree, but what are we going to when she finds out? About us?

“She doesn’t have to,” Steven muttered, squinting at his notes. “We can just keep going like we’ve been going, can’t we?”

Oh, great plan. Because that always works out perfectly.

In the weeks that followed, Layla and Steven fell into a comfortable rhythm, carving out time on Wednesday to visit the art museum, discussing their favorite poets during long walks outside after class, and meeting for coffee when they could find breaks in their schedules. They even exchanged numbers and started lobbing niche ancient history memes back and forth over text. All of their interactions were decidedly in the platonic realm, though more than once Steven caught himself staring at Layla a beat too long, or realized she was standing awfully close to him when she didn’t have to be.

“Isn’t it enough to just be friends?” Steven asked Marc one day during a solo homework session in the library. The top floor was hardly used by students and it was quiet enough that the only sounds were his own typing and breathing. “I mean, it feels really great to have a closer friend like this, who I can nerd out with, and it’s so cool that she wants to be an archeologist like her dad.”

I don’t disagree, but what are we going to when she finds out? About us?

“She doesn’t have to,” Steven muttered, squinting at his notes. “We can just keep going like we’ve been going, can’t we?”

Oh, great plan. Because that always works out perfectly.

Steven didn’t appreciate Marc’s sarcasm, but his alter had a point. There was a reason the two of them, specifically Marc, maintained some acquaintances but no close friends. It felt like a pretty big bomb to drop: by the way, I have dissociative identity disorder and there’s another person living in my body with the almost opposite personality, just FYI.

“I just don’t want to have to push Layla away, if that’s what you’re implying, Marc. I really like her.”

All I’m saying is, I don’t see how this doesn’t end in a complete mess for all parties involved.

“Maybe it’s your turn to live a little, bruv.” Steven never thought he’d one day be turning Marc’s own words against him, but here they were.

He sensed Marc was grumbling but could see Steven’s point. I guess she likes you better, anyhow, so it doesn’t matter. Steven’s typing slowed and then stopped as the truth of the situation dawned on him.

“Are you… jealous?” he asked incredulously. It had been the other way around for as long as he could remember; Marc was the edgy, smart-mouthed street fighter who didn’t realize how attractive he was, which somehow made people all the more magnetized to him, even though he barely wanted anything to do with them. Steven was the bookish, shy one who struggled to form coherent sentences around women, let alone come remotely close to seducing one.

No! Are you crazy, of course I’m not fucking jealous, Marc muttered, his tone clipped, and that was when Steven knew for certain.

“Wow,” Steven chuckled and leaned back in his chair, an awed smile cracking his lips. “It’s all right, you don’t have to deny it.”

There’s nothing to deny. I’m happy for you, I really am.

He changed the subject, deciding to spare Marc from the discomfort and prickliness at hand. “How do you think she’d react, if she knew about us?”

I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out.

-&-

Marc’s preferred outlet for letting out steam was boxing, which he had been practicing since he was a young boy alongside several other forms of martial arts. While he usually hit the gym at midnight to train, away from the crowds of people, throwing his wrapped fists into a bag until they bled wasn’t always enough to scratch the itch.

He’d first found out about the local underground fight ring when he was a freshman, a wiry mess of muscle and limb who found himself at university on a full ride, mostly thanks to Steven’s diligence throughout high school. Marc’s contributions during that period had mostly involved nearly getting them expelled no less than three times and managing to win the statewide Muay Thai championship two years in a row.

Fighting was something he took a deep-seated pride in, much to Steven’s revulsion, especially if he could find a way to take down someone twice his size. The underground ring was a place where he could completely let loose, earn some much-needed extra cash, and show the world (or at least this particular blood-soaked corner of it) what he was truly made of— where he could earn his scars and deal them back in as brutal of a fashion as he pleased.

Sometimes he pushed it a little too far, though.

When Marc came to on Monday, the first thing that registered was a brain-splitting headache that pulsed behind his eyes and made it impossible to focus. He rolled over in his bed, disgusted to find that his body was still sticky with sweat and caked in blood. Every inch of his skin felt as if it was bruised, stinging, or both. The persistent soreness in his upper chest and back made each breath hurt, and he wondered if he’d fractured another rib. Looking at his hands, he saw they had been washed clean, but his knuckles were still raw and split open.

What the hell happened, Steven?

Steven’s awareness was there, but weaker than usual. I think I brought us home. Don’t really remember much after that.

Marc groaned and held his stomach as he slowly sat up and his feet made contact with the floor. As he pulled his fingers away from the damp fabric of his shirt, he saw that they were stained crimson. Jesus fucking Christ, thought Marc. Feels like we got hit by a bus.

That probably would’ve hurt less, honestly.

Without looking, Marc reached out a hand in the general direction of his nightstand, clawing at the surface until he felt his phone and pulled it up to check the time.

6:47PM. Shit.

He’d missed class. Which meant that he, or they, had stood Layla up, because Steven had promised that they’d get dinner that day, and the ensuing sinking feeling in his stomach seemed to magnify all the other aches tenfold.

There was a knock at the front door. Marc froze.

“Steven?” Layla called, her voice muffled as she pounded on the door again. “You there?”

As far as Marc was concerned, he had three options: sit there and wait it out until she left, open the door and claim that he actually got hit by a bus, or open the door and tell the truth.

Before he could think on it long, the choice was taken out of his hands as traitorous phone began buzzing and loudly playing his default ringtone.

The caller ID read Layla’s name.

“Steven, I know you’re in there!”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Steven,” Marc whispered through dry lips, and immediately wanted to take it back.

Marc knew Steven’s tolerance for pain was ridiculously low, a fact that they had long ago figured out the hard way. Steven also became dizzy at the mere sight of blood, which meant that if he fronted now, the odds of them immediately passing out again were astronomically high.

Gritting his teeth, Marc braced himself against the wall nearby his bed and gingerly stood up. Shuffling forward took every ounce of willpower he had left, as he clutched his still-bleeding abdomen and his body screamed at him to stop.

As he fumbled with the deadbolt and yanked open the door, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was making a huge mistake.

On the other side of it, Layla’s expression immediately shifted from annoyance to shock and concern, her eyes blowing wide as she scanned him over. “Holy shit, what the hell happened to you?”

Leaning against the doorframe, he noticed that in one hand she was carrying a paper bag of take-out food, the leftovers of the dinner they were supposed to share. “It’s a long story, but I’m sorry for—”

“No,” Layla cut him off, “You don’t get to apologize when you’re in this shape. Come here.” Before he could protest, she wrapped his free arm around her shoulder and her arm around his waist, supporting his weight as they hobbled back inside. After depositing him upright on the bed, she hurriedly turned around to close the front door and gather items from the bathroom and kitchen.

Through the fog of pain, Marc had the sense to feel momentarily self-conscious. Layla had dropped Steven off outside of their studio apartment before but had never been inside. The small room was stacked high with books and papers, mismatching furniture items scattered about with little rhyme or reason. He suddenly wished that the place was cleaner, even though it hadn’t bothered them before that moment. 

When Layla returned, she was carrying packs of gauze, scissors, bandages, pain reliever, two bottles of water, and a handful of clean damp rags, which she placed on his nightstand before sitting on his desk chair and rolling over to his bedside. The worried pinch in her brows hadn’t smoothed.

“Take these,” she instructed, handing him two red and white pills, which he obediently swallowed and chased down with water. Realizing the full extent of his dehydration, he drank the entire bottle in one go, the cold water like a balm to his scorched throat.

As Layla disinfected the scissors with a rag soaked in isopropyl alcohol, Marc wondered if she had done this before. She seemed practiced in her movements.

“I’m gonna need to cut this off,” she nodded towards his shirt, “to see the full extent of the bleeding.” Before he could respond, the cold metal blades were pressed against his skin and he hissed, the soaked fabric peeling off inch by inch.

“Sorry, sorry,” Layla muttered, discarding the bloody scraps of fabric on the floor. “You still haven’t told me what happened, by the way.”

“I…” Marc cleared his throat. Even with the waves of pain searing through his body, the feeling of her warm fingers pressed against his chest made it hard to breathe. “I got into a fight. You should see the other guy.”

Layla flashed him a puzzled look as she gently pressed one of the damp rags against the area surrounding his wound. Marc clenched his fists and let out a mangled noise; she might as well have used sandpaper soaked in acid.

“A very, very weird thing for a pacifist to do,” she remarked, folding the rag to absorb more of the blood. “Also, you sound different again. Almost like…” She trailed off, the thought left lingering in the air between them, but Marc knew what she wanted to say.

Almost like the night we first met. A night he had tried so hard to forget, and yet was permanently seared into his mind.

“Layla,” Marc gritted out, closing his eyes. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Was it that you did not get into a fight and were actually mauled by a bear on your way to class today? Because that seems more likely.” She was trying to keep the tone light, Marc could tell, but the deadly serious expression on her face hadn’t changed. There was the sound of crinkling plastic as she opened an individually wrapped gauze pad and dressed the wound.

“Layla, I’m being serious.”

“So am I, Steven.”

Marc had to restrain himself from flinching; here went nothing.

“I’m not Steven. I’m Marc. We’re two different people.” He felt her movements slow as she looked up to meet his gaze, and never before had he more badly wanted to bury himself in a hole and never emerge. Or maybe that was just Steven’s thoughts hijacking his brain again.

He held his breath as she regarded him inquisitively, her eyes narrowed. “You are being serious,” she said slowly.

“Completely.”

Layla sat up, taking this in. “The first time we met, it was Marc. But since then it’s been Steven. Until today.”

She was catching on quickly. “Yes.”

“And can Steven hear us right now? Is he there?”

“Um… I think so, maybe, to some degree. But he’s not the best with blood, or physical pain, so…”

“So you’re taking it on for him,” Layla supplied, her ‘thinking face’ still on.

“Not exactly,” Marc hedged. “I got myself into this mess, and we don’t like to think of it as there being a ‘main’ one. We’re equals.”

“But with different… areas of expertise,” said Layla. The corner of Marc’s mouth tugged into a small smirk.

“Sure.” That was one way to put it.

Layla nodded, considering this and chewing on her lower lip. “Okay. That actually… makes a lot of sense.”

Marc punched out a breath on an exhale. “You seem really calm about this.” Part of him wanted to add, When what you should be doing is freaking out and running for the hills.

“I mean, there’s really no other explanation, because there’s no way that the person I’m talking to right now is Steven,” she shook her head in disbelief, “crazy as that sounds, though you’re in the same body. Even your voice is deeper, and the entire energy is completely different.”

The relief that coursed through Marc’s veins was sharp and breathtaking in its intensity. Here was someone who saw them—really, truly saw them for who they were, and was taking it in stride. Not that he’d ever given anyone much of a chance, but he’d always figured it would turn out to be something he’d live to regret.

He slumped back against the pillows, suddenly overcome with fatigue once more. Maybe the painkillers were starting to kick in, or his adrenaline rush was fading. “D’ya need to go?” The words came out slurred and soft as he fought his heavy eyelids.

Layla laughed quietly; it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. “No, no. I’ll be here. Go to sleep, Marc.”

-&-

The next time Marc awoke, the headache wasn’t nearly as excruciating as it was the first time, though there was still a dull thud reverberating through his brain. His mind felt fuzzy, as though it too had been wrapped in gauze.

As grimaced and peeled his eyes open, the first thing he blearily registered was Layla lounging in his green easy chair across the room. Her white sock-clad feet were tucked underneath her as she continued reading, until her eyes briefly flickered up to meet his.

“Steven?” she asked, and Marc shook his head.

“Nope, still me.”

“Oh.” Her lips pressed together as though she were holding something back. She wrung her fingers together nervously, playing with her silver rings.

Marc rolled over onto his side, then pulled the blanket around his shoulders as he slowly sat up, throwing his legs off the side of the bed. Catching a glimpse of the small window in the corner, he saw it was pitch dark outside. Part of him was pleased that he felt substantially better than he had a few hours ago, though far from perfect.

“Do you… want to talk to Steven?” He was embarrassed to note how that thought made a burst of jealousy flare inside him, sour and lightning-hot.

“Honestly, I… wouldn’t mind getting to chat with you a bit more.” 

“O-kay,” he said, a little too quickly. The wound between his ribs still throbbed, but the ache had a far-away quality to it, as if he was starting to dissociate.

Marc didn’t know what exactly prompted him to say this out loud, but the words slipped out before he could hold them back: “You know he really cares about you.”

The sad smile that tugged at Layla’s cheek made him feel like he was gazing into a sunrise. “I know.” She looked away, glassy-eyed. Marc saw her forcefully blink a few times. “Does he know that I really care about him too? So, seeing you—and him—like this, I have to be honest, is really fucking hard.”

The shame came with a vengeance, rearing its poisonous head. “I know. And it’s my fault. He’d never put himself in that kind of situation.”

 “You never told me what that was, by the way.”

“I… I get into fights, sometimes.”

The way she looked at him in that moment made him want to laugh, if laughing wouldn’t hurt so hard. Her entire face was telling him, that’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard in my life. “As in, intentionally?”

“Uh, yeah. For money.”

“And why on earth would you do that?”

“I have fucking problems, okay,” he snapped, and immediately regretted it when he saw her flinch—it had been subtle but unmistakable. “I’m a traumatized asshole who’s just barely holding it together, so much so that I share a body with at least one other person who is pretty much the only reason why I haven’t totally lost it.”

Aw, Marc, said Steven. That means a lot, it really does!  From anyone else it would have been drenched in sarcasm, but from Steven it was only a genuine statement.

“I’m sorry. I, um… I shouldn’t have yelled.”

“I shouldn’t have provoked you,” Layla shrugged, as if to call it even, though Marc could tell she was still slightly shaken. “Consider us even.”

“Don’t know if I can do that,” Marc retorted. “I mean, you did literally save my life.”

“Touché. Guess that means you owe me.” Layla stood up from the chair, slowly unraveling herself, stretched, and then—wow.  The slither of stomach that showed beneath her grey tank top was incredibly distracting. “You know, some would say it’s rude to stare.”

Marc arched an eyebrow. If Steven were fronting right now, he probably would’ve jolted and started stammering. Instead, Marc was mostly shocked that he was in fact being...

“That obvious, huh?”

“I’m starting to think that the main difference between you and Steven is that everything, and I mean everything, is obvious about you.” Layla said it matter-of-factly, toying with the hem of her shirt. Marc worried his lip, doing his very best to adopt an offended expression as she walked across the room towards him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked defensively. Apparently it hadn’t been successful at all, because his questioning only made her chuckle. She stepped up to him—wow, really right up in his space—and gently nudged his knees open with her own. His heart started to pound.

“It means, that stupid look on your face is telling me everything I need to know.” She gently put her middle and index fingers beneath his chin and tilted his face upwards so that they could make eye contact, lightly resting the pad of her thumb on his lower lip.

Marc wasn’t sure he’d ever felt so humiliated and turned on at once in his entire life. The blend of the two feelings was heady—it was as though this submissiveness was piercing a hole through the walls he maintained inside himself, until there was nothing left but lightheaded surrender.

“And what is it telling you.” Marc’s voice was scratchy, and he cleared his throat self-consciously.

Layla tilted her head and placed her knee on the bed, right between where his legs were spread with barely any room to spare.  “You ask a lot of questions,” she murmured, annoyed but affectionate. “It’s telling me that you like this.”

Marc nodded slowly as Layla straddled him, her thighs pressing against the tops of his own, separated only by two thin layers. “I do,” he said, but it was barely louder than a whisper.

He felt totally helpless, spinning as she dipped her thumb into his mouth and he had no choice but to wrap his lips around it, becoming the very picture of pliant acceptance. Layla took in a deep breath as she watched him suck on her finger, looking down on him as though mesmerized by his obedience. Layla’s other arm rested itself on his shoulder and cupped the back of his head. Her fingers gently carded through his black curls, and he let out an audible groan which vibrated through her skin.

This time, the change wasn’t so abrupt—there was a barely perceptible shift where Marc closed his eyes and reopened them. It felt as though Steven had been right there, humming just beneath the surface of Marc’s awareness, and so their minds melded through one another effortlessly, almost without conscious effort.

Steven looked up at Layla and felt his heart catch in his throat—the feeling that overwhelmed him in that moment was part thrill, part terror, and he couldn’t quite figure out which aspect was greater.

Layla seemed to sense it, too, her hands moving to grip the tops of his shoulders. She was still straddling him, but the pressure of her thighs had seemed to lessen, as if she had tensed up slightly.

“Steven?”

“Hi, love… um, you can keep going with that, if you want to, it felt really nice—”

“Is that something you’d want?” The way she said it was so simple, so easy and generous, that it made a shiver run down Steven’s spine while cracking open something within him.

“L-Layla, I don’t even… I want anything you want, I mean I trust you, and plus I don’t have a lot of experience, so I don’t even quite yet know what I’d want—”

She hushed him, pressing a finger to his mouth, and Steven instantly went quiet. “Okay, you’re okay. I have something in mind.”

He eagerly nodded, wetting his lips. “Anything.” 

The way Layla looked at him then was half-indulgent, half-awed that someone as pure as Steven could even be real. She moved to take off her tank top, crossing her arms and then pulling them over her head. Beneath it, she wore a dark heather grey bra that was just this side of too small.

The aroused-yet-panicked expression must not have left Steven’s face, because she murmured, “It’s okay.” Carefully, as if he were a skittish animal, she held one of his hands and guided it to cup her breast.

Steven swallowed, gazing back up at Layla with wide eyes as if to seek permission. He must have found it, because he slowly leaned forward, first to simply savor the feeling of his lips brushing against her smooth skin, then to pepper open-mouthed kisses along her neck, shoulder, and chest, down to her cleavage, and on her breasts, leaving a sprinkle of warm skin in his wake. 

As he brought one of her nipples into his mouth and swirled his tongue around it, she sucked in air through her teeth and tried to smother the moan that followed, to no avail. Steven smiled against Layla, giving her sensitized skin a long, soft suckle before releasing her. “You alright, love?”

“I will be if you keep doing that,” Layla growled impatiently, and Steven turned his face to give her a long, affectionate kiss on her inner bicep.

“Steven…” She sounded like she’d meant for that to come out as a command, but it sounded like more of a whine, and they both knew it.

“I know I’m being cheeky, but I just can’t help it. You’re too adorable.” He beamed up at her, and Layla rolled her eyes. 

“Great, just what every girl wants to hear.”

“Adorable in a really hot, sexy way, of course… Could I, um, go down on you, by the way? Would that be okay?” This had been the farthest Steven had ever gone with a partner and had no idea where this sudden burst of confidence was coming from, but he wasn’t going to question it. Plus, there was something undeniably appealing about the thought of getting to do something with only the intention of serving Layla, making her feel good and forget about everything that wasn’t him—or them, really.

Steven watched as her pupils dilated and her breath quickened just the slightest bit. “I, um, yeah. I’d… really like that.”

Layla stood up a little frantically and shimmied her jeans down until they were at her ankles, hopping as she stepped out of them. Steven, in the meantime, was starting to really feel as though it was very possible that he was the luckiest man in the world, in that moment.

“Wow… you look amazing, Layla.” He sounded a little breathless, even by his standards, but he really meant it; she was absolutely gorgeous like this, standing in her underwear completely unselfconsciously, all miles of golden skin and soft curves. Steven’s hands seemed to move almost of their own accord as he reached out to stroke her hips and thighs, which broke into gooseflesh at his touch. He tugged down gently at the waistband of her panties and she acquiesced, tugging them off and discarding them somewhere far across the room.

“How do you want me?” Her question made his head spin with the possibilities, each new one equally tempting as the last.

“Can you, ah… maybe, sit on my face, please.” His face burned with embarrassment from how quietly desperate he sounded. Layla had been wrong in her earlier assessment—neither he nor Marc could even attempt to hide their true desires when it came to her. She nodded, as if she was watching this all of this turmoil play out within him and still wanted the same thing.

“That means you’ll have to lay back,” she teasingly pointed out, and Steven sank back into the pillows as if it were an order. “That’s good,” Layla praised him, and Steven couldn’t quite fully control the soft whimper that left his mouth, accompanying a rush of blood straight to his crotch.

Layla made a sound of realization as she crawled up Steven’s body, careful to avoid pressing down on the many places where he was still sore and hurting. “You really liked that, didn’t you?” He could only hum in assent and nod his head as her knees bumped against the headboard. The scent that engulfed him was pure, undiluted Layla, and he inhaled deeply while turning to kiss her inner thigh.

As he pressed a series of light kisses on and around her clit, Steven quickly realized that Layla was someone who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to take it. She soon began riding his face in earnest, rocking back and forth on his lapping tongue, occasionally dipping it inside her slick opening and moaning at her taste. Steven alternated between this and greedily sucking any of the tender skin he could get his lips around, which tended to produce the most intense reactions from Layla in the form of sharp groans and strings of breathless praise.

“Ah—Steven, that’s perfect, you’re perfect, I can’t—oh my god—I can’t get enough of you, please, keep going, just like that, fuck, oh, wow,” Layla squeezed her eyes closed and dug her fingers in Steven’s hair as she rolled her hips uncontrollably, pressing her wet cunt against Steven’s tongue, his stubble, his nose, streaking the lower half of his face with her pleasure. “Please, you feel so good,” she nearly sobbed, and Steven went completely pliant as she came apart, trembling and sighing through the peak. He hummed contentedly, gently lapping her up as she started coming back down.

“Layla,” Steven eventually murmured as she slowly came back in touch with her senses. “I really think that was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Layla chuckled, still breathless and unsteady as she crawled over to the other side of the bed and laid down next to him on her back.  

“More than French romantic poetry?”

“Definitely, yeah, I think you’ve even got Desbordes-Valmore beat.”

“Such flattery.” Layla turned over and threw her leg over his hips, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Don’t you think we should do something about you?” she asked tartly, eyes dancing as she reached down to cup his almost-painful erection through his pants.

“Oh!” Steven jolted, reeling. “Um, well, you really don’t have to—”

“What if I want to?” He felt her hand slide under the waistband of his boxers and travel lower. Everything began to dissolve in a wash of sensation and desire, until it was Marc who took a deep breath in and exhaled. 

“Babe,” he said, and Layla looked up at him, registering the switch with a small start. Marc wasn’t sure where that pet name had come from, but he liked the way saying it made him feel, all possessive and tingly inside. “We’d really, really like to fuck you.” As in, so badly it was starting to hurt.

Layla nodded as if she’d been thinking the same thing. “So fuck me,” and the way she said it, it sounded like a challenge. Marc bit back a groan as she started stroking him skin-to-skin, her fingers gently milking pre-come from the tip and spreading it down his shaft with each languid pull.

“Mm, fuck, wait—let me take these off,” he slurred. Lifting his hips from the bed to yank down his pants and boxers caused a spasm of pain from his abdominal area. The strange thing was, he found himself liking it, how the stinging ache complemented the pleasure dancing through his body and made all of his nerve endings sing.  

This was a potentially dangerous thought that he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with. Layla, ever the perceptive one, gave him a concerned look. “You okay?”

“I—yeah, everything’s great,” he gritted his teeth and nodded, a little too quickly.

“You sure? You’re still hurt, maybe we should—” She began to pull away, which, no, fuck, that was the very last thing he wanted.

“No, Layla, I mean—” Marc groaned in frustration. He sometimes hated how hard it was to express himself verbally and had to push through the block that sprung up. “Yes, it does still hurt, but also the hurting makes it feel even better? Does that even make sense?”

The way Layla’s eyes darkened in that moment told him everything he needed to know, and a bloom of prickling heat suffused his face. “Yes, that makes perfect sense, you gorgeous masochist.” The way she said it was gentle, but there was a thread of steel running through that made him feel small, like a treasure she was cradling in her hands. “Do you want me to hurt you, Marc?”

His throat worked. The thought was like a shard of glass piercing straight through his mind. It hit him that he’d never wanted anything so badly before in his life, but it was suddenly impossible to communicate this in words. His dick, still hard and heavy with blood, traitorously jumped, which made Layla’s lips quirk.

“Oh,” she reached down to give him a few more strokes, firmer this time, her eyes fire bright. The florescent light behind her head made her curls look like a halo, to Marc. “The thing is, I’m not going to do it unless you use your words. Can you do that for me?”

Anything, for her. “Yes—mm, I. I really want it,” he stammered out, hoping it was enough.

It wasn’t. Layla squeezed him harder, demanding. “What is it that you want, exactly?”

Marc grimaced, feeling resistance knot in his stomach along with shame and humiliation at having to beg for it. Yet his erection strained even harder against her touch, betraying how much this was affecting him in all of the ways he secretly craved.

“I want you to hurt me,” he whispered, shocked by the relief saying it aloud, and it was like all of the air had been punched out of his lungs. “I… I want you to do anything you want to me, use me, choke me, hit me, anything. Please, Layla.” He had to forcibly choke back, I’m yours, I belong to you, no one else.

Layla’s eyes glittered fiercely as she moved to straddle him again, this time framing her knees around his midsection. “And what does Steven think? It’s his body, too.”

The transition was instantaneous this time, and Steven’s hands rose to cup Layla’s flushed cheeks. “I feel the same way, Layla, really.” The tender smile that rose to her face at his words was a balm to the white-hot shock of her wet slit rubbing against his cock, teasing him again.

“You’re… both of you are just…” She braced herself against his shoulders and hung her head, as if overwhelmed. “I don’t even know how to describe it. I don’t know how you’re this perfect. Giving yourselves up so beautifully like this, without a second thought.” The last sentence came out as a warm purr as she lined them up, pressing down to engulf him in her heat without any prior warning.

Stars burst behind his eyes as he fell under, under, under. It was nearly impossible to tell who was fronting at this point, as if Marc and Steven were blurring together then apart each millisecond, surrendering completely to the feeling of being surrounded by Layla’s tight, soaking wet warmth. The sound they both made at that moment was more animal than human, and it spurred her on as she lifted her hips and drove them down into his, again, and again, and again.

“P-Please, Layla,” Marc gasped, not sure what he was asking for but knowing that she’d be able to give it to him. As her insistent rhythm continued, there was suddenly a feeling of sharp, brutal pinpricks dragging all across his upper chest, her fingernails digging bleeding lines into already-bruising skin, and he nearly blacked out from the mix of pain and pleasure that washed over him like a drowning wave.

“Oh! That’s—” he sighed breathily, completely overwhelmed in the best possible way, and she understood, slowing her pace above him, gathering his hair in her hand again, giving it a gentle tug to signal his attention.

“Too much?” she asked, eyebrows knitted in concern. Steven shook his head frantically, biting his lip, unsure of how to say this next part. Everything still felt hazy and not-quite lucid, as if he were underwater.

“N-No, it was just right, I’m just a little… I need a moment, but you can still, you know—”

Layla interrupted him by pressing the gentlest kiss to his lips, and the sharp contrast to just a moment before made his head spin. “Overwhelmed?”

“Y-Yeah.” She rocked her hips carefully, pulling nearly completely away from him, then dropping back down to take in just the tip, which had him mewling for more. “Layla…” Steven was even worse than Marc at keeping a begging pitch from his voice. “Please, I need—”

“More?” It was clearly a hypothetical question but he nodded roughly anyway, and she gracefully accommodated him, taking him deeper, faster, and he let out another contented sigh.

“Layla, you feel so good…” Marc really was sure he’d been transported to heaven in that moment. The way she took care of them, knowing exactly what they needed before they themselves were able to even think it, made him feel like he was melting into a satiated puddle beneath her. He had never felt so close to someone, so completely trusting and blown apart and vulnerable, and the feeling was equal parts bliss and veneration.

The way she gazed back at him was pure, unadulterated wonder, and it almost had him wanting to cry. “Marc, Steven,” Layla coaxed gently, “Could you come for me?”

It was like a switch had flipped, and suddenly all of the finely-knotted tension that had been building inside of him, the potent cocktail of pleasure and pain and lust, weeks and weeks of barely contained desire, were unleashed in a series of torrents, until it all came crashing down on him in a fiery rush. His eyes rolled back in his head as he pumped his seed deep inside her, her hips grinding down to meet his almost greedily, taking everything, he had to give her.

“Layla, oh! Layla, that’s so, wow,” he panted as she carefully rode him through the aftershocks, feeling fuzzy and thoroughly disassembled, as if he’d been a poorly-functioning machine that she had just taken apart and put back together correctly with clinical precision. “That was… I can’t even describe how amazing you are at that.” Steven could suddenly feel that he was back in front, though for a few moments there it had been impossible to tell.

Layla quirked her lips fondly, alternating between stroking and scratching the stubble on his cheek. “I could say the same about you. Both of you.”

Steven pulled her into a tender hug, deciding in that moment to throw caution to the wind and deal with the mess later. “We’ve been wanting to do that for awhile,” he admitted sheepishly, and her knowing expression told him that he had just confirmed her suspicions. 

“You should rest,” she reminded him, squeezing him back before extracting herself to bring over a second water bottle. “And hydrate. You’re still injured.”

He took two long pulls without thought, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand after. “Hmm. Can you stay, though? Or do you have to go?” Even after everything, Steven still couldn’t be sure that this hadn’t all been one ridiculously hot fever dream. He still had that floaty feeling in his muscles, as though her presence was the only thing tethering him to earth, and dreaded to imagine what it would be like if he were left alone in that moment.

Layla looked as though the very idea of leaving confused her, which was a great comfort. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Someone has to make sure you aren’t concussed.”

“Right…” Steven patted the bed next to him, and she cracked a wide smile.

“I can’t believe you’re even real,” she shook her head in disbelief, crawling in the indicated space and delicately arranging them so that her front was lightly pressed against his sore back.

“The feeling’s mutual,” Steven murmured sleepily, settling into being the little spoon. When she turned the light off, it only took a few seconds for him to fall into a deep, peaceful sleep.

#moon knight fanfiction #moon knight #moon knight fanfic #steven grant x layla el faouly #marc spector x layla el faouly #marc spector fanfiction #steven grant fanfiction #layla el faouly fanfiction #smut #my fic

[notbang]

tagged by @catty-words!

Your most popular fic:

by hits and kudos, uncontested, it’s this mess was yours now your mess is mine. which is unsurprising due to its age, length, and being written when fandom was reasonably active.

Your best fic:

agreeing with cori that this totally depends on the metrics but i’m gonna just... wrangle them between this question and the next i guess.

i think heart’s never quite in tune with everything i do is one of my best fics in the sense that i feel like i managed to capture everything i love about the show while creating something that could feasibly be an episode.

special mentions to settled like a loaded weapon (daemon AU) and nothing but time and a face that you lose (eternal sunshine AU) which are both very niche but like. artful.

Your favorite fic you wrote:

even though it’s probably shared with the three above for different reasons, i’m reserving this one for don’t know what you’re carrying or how your heart is wired (bodyswap AU) because - due to it being a bit more cracktastic, and inevitably because of its length - it’s not necessarily, like, as refined as the others but it was such a good time and i’m forever fond of it. (i also associate it with ‘meeting’ @akisazame, so there’s that!)

i’m also gonna give an honorary mention to i’ve got oceans in my head and waves that won’t rest because heather & nathaniel are my brand.

since it’s been confirmed rachel has read fic sometimes i think about which of my fics i would most prefer her to have read jkhfhj and fyi that’s a venn diagram of these last two questions and the overlap is bodyswap and eternal sunshine

Your least favorite fic you wrote:

gonna have to say mess is mine, which is really just because it was one of my first fics in the fandom, and it’s so long, and i just blurted so much of it out in one go then kept adding to it without a huuuge degree of planning so the pacing isn’t the greatest and it’s unbearably sappy in some parts which is just not me at all so i don’t even feel like i wrote it? this is the fic i associate with @catty-words though, so. cringey :/

gonna tag @anthropologicalhands and @heartbash

#i'm here come talk to me about dumb stuff #my fic

[ironhoshi]

Do you have any idea why Kesett isn't already an empire? I get that it's a rarepair kinda and there's no suggestion that they ever meet, but I feel like it sounds almost intuitive? I don't know, I wanted to ask you since you're a pioneer in the ship as far as I know...

I've seen a few people say they don't ship it because the two have never met and it doesn't make sense to them. Which is valid for them. I respect that. Shipping habits depend on the person, so I get it. I, personally, can ship rare pairs like whoa...often writing them on accident. The chemistry- it just smacks me in the face like a wronged rich woman who is furious I just bought the last slice of cake. And I do it again, fyi. That cake tastes better when it has a side of resentment... ahem. Sorry. I'm still drinking my coffee. Back to the question!

When I first got into Jangobi or Kenfetti (whatever you want to call it) it wasn't as big as a ship as it is now. Ships grow when more people get into them, creating art or stories to show their appreciation. That in turn pulls other people in, who share those creations and/or create their own. It is an endless cycle and one that will play out across many ships and fandoms. The right piece can snag a person and turn them into a creator, just saying.

Kesett is small, but it has already grown from what it once was. @fettupwithyou is the real pioneer. They came screaming into my messages and planted the idea in my head and I went "...that is what I am writing, isn't it?" Then I turned around and attempted to pull other people in to this ship with me. We've gone from like 3 fics to 23, so cheers to us! (Also, thank you, vod, for corrupting me.)

The thing is I don't think most consumers or makers of creations even think about the pairing? When most people are looking for something to read, at least in my experience, they are looking for what their favorite authors have written or they are searching for a specific character or pairing or tag. Which is totally fine, I do it all the time! Sometimes I just want to read certain things and sometimes I want to randomly click fics until one clicks with my mind. (Heck, I've had people tell me they only cared about certain stories I wrote so they haven't read the others.) The point is not a lot of people are searching for the Kesett of it all. That means those fics are sitting there, not read at the same volume a fic about CodyWan is- and that's just how it goes for rare pairs. You have a niche following and maybe, someday, you might get a bigger one.

Same with art. I will scroll through tumblr search like a spalunker, my pickax in hand, and unearth the fan art of the characters or pairings I want to see. Kesett, obvs, is one I really want to see, but it doesn't have a large foot mark yet. People draw what excites them and if it is some other ship? Cool! I will still probably devour that image and wish I was anywhere near as skilled as those artists. I'd draw so much Kesett you'd all chase me off this site... (also, @jars-artcollection has some slapping art for this ship.)

I think with time, and enough of me bribing people, it will grow slightly bigger, but I don't know if it will ever be the Empire that Jangobi Kenfetti is. The thing is, the more it is out there, the more people will notice.

So if you, personally, want it to careen towards an empire level? I suggest reblogging the heck out of Kesett things you like. Comment on fics, let the author know you loved the pairing and story. I'm not saying you aren't already doing that, fyi. Do this, what you are doing now. Come into my ask box and talk to me about it. I love talking about Kesett, I love trying to get people to see that they are just a couple of neat dumbasses that go well together. The more people talk to me about it, the more likely I am to write more. I am merely a flower of ideas that requires constant attention and sunlight. Shower me with words and I will spew out a story.

An empire takes everyone. The people creating and the people sharing the creations.

Now my coffee is almost gone and I want to just say one more thing:

It doesn't matter the fandom or pairing, let the creator know you liked it! It does amazing things for our ego. Give your favorite creators a random 💜 today. It will brighten their mood.

Love ya, and stay safe.

#kesett #hoshi writing #this got away from me #thank you for coming to me TedTalk #fandom talks

[tum-bakery]

Baker’s Hot Takes: D.anganr.onpa

I wanted to make this post to completely clear up why certain characters are on my no-go list, some of my favorite characters, and some general opinions all in one place. Fyi this post is LONG and I’m being very blunt.

My No-Go’s and Why:

I want to explain all of these in one place, because I have reasons for all of the characters I won’t draw.

Ishimondo: (both of them and the ship.) I don’t mind them as characters, and the ship is fine, I’m kind of just sick of seeing it though. It’s like... a good perfume that someone sprayed too much of in a room so now it’s obnoxious.

Fujisaki Chihiro: I am non-confrontational, and don’t want to take a stance on the gender discourse surrounding them.

Saionji Hiyoko: She’s child coded. I don’t care that she was “aged up” in dr3, she was EXTREMELY child coded in the game, and I’m keeping her far from the blog because of it. 

UDG Characters: I haven’t played it, and it has a LOT of child characters. I will admit I’ve drawn Komaru before though... I don’t know if I want to draw her again though.

Shinguuji Korekiyo: He freaks me out, I answered why I don’t like him earlier on my blog and I’m going to link it here because I DO have complicated feelings about him but for the most part he just freaks me out. My original post is HERE.

Tsumiki Mikan: Because of her backstory and how she’s portrayed in game she has a rough time of sexualization and likely has trauma surrounding it so just drawing her or writing her without any context makes me uncomfortable.

Komaeda Nagito: This is a holdover from when I first made this blog, and it’s a VERY niche personal opinion, but because of his mental state I don’t like making content focused around Komaeda. I don’t mind him being in a feeder or encourager role however.

Nanami Chiaki: Prepare for a convoluted reason for why I don’t want to draw her... if she was just an A.I. in SDR2 like she was implied to be I would be TOTALLY fine drawing her... but the retcon they did in dr3 where the Nanami A.I. is based on their old class president... who ended up dying before she got the opportunity to grow up. I don’t like the dr3 anime at ALL- but this retcon specifically made me uncomfortable drawing her in the future for kink purposes.

Ships and Characters:

Because everyone has preferences.

Fav Characters: Hinata, Komaeda, Nanami, Naegi, Togami, Ouma, Momota (much to my chagrin), Hoshi, Pekoyama, and Kuzuryu.

Fav to Kink: Hinata, Naegi, Ouma, and Saihara.

Fav Ships: Saimatsu, Naegirigami, Kiiruma, Oumota/Saiomota/Saiouma, Kuzupeko, Komahina, Hinanami.

Not so much (Ships n Characters): Saimota, Kaimaki, Shinguuji, Yumeno, Koizumi, Tsumiki, Fujisaki, Fukawa.

Requested questions:

Favorite Mastermind? -  I’m simple, Enoshima is still my favorite. I can enjoy a good mastermind au, but you can’t beat the OG.

Thoughts on Teruteru? (Kink and in general.) - His execution sucked, and I think his justification was kinda weak in comparison to a lot of other blackened, if it was JUST to protect the group that could have been interesting but bringing his mother into it was odd. I don’t hate him but I can’t really say I like him either? I think he’s a really weak character since they didn’t fully commit to a lot about him positive or negative. Kink wise? ehhh uhm... maybe an encourager. He’ll fuel other fiends.

Thoughts on SDR2 Trial 5? - It’s brutal, and I kind of adore it. Definitely gave me a major reaction when I played and I thought it was a really strong trial for Hinata, Komaeda, and Nanami. Very good. Single-handedly made me love Monomi.

Thoughts on NDRV3 Trial 5? - I want to say I love it- I really REALLY want to say I love it... but I saw through the twist too early and wanted to strangle Saihara a bit. That being said? I love the concept of an unknown victim case, I loved Momota and Ouma working together while still being foils, I adored the pure CHILLS I got the first time I saw the death animation. It’s convoluted in a good way and I enjoyed it.

Favorite and Least Favorite Trial(s)? - I am a personal SUCKER for the ch6 trial in SDR2, and I really liked the trial for ch4 in NDRV3. I liked the concept for trial 5 in DR1 however it’s more fun to speculate about then play. By far my least favorite trial was ch6 NDRV3, it was hard to play, it dragged on too long, I didn’t have fun, I was mad. I also hated pretty much all of ch4 in SDR2... a starvation motive could have been GREAT but everything about how the chapter played out was just... not that great. (Minus that one part you play as Komaeda, that was neat.) and i didn’t like ch3 much from dr1.

I’ll update this post if there’s anything else you all wanna know or if there’s something I think is important to note.

#Bakerspeakin #Blog Stuff #Bakers hot takes #Non-kink #for the most part

[small-quiet-room]

LISTEN UP STAYS AND ATINYS AND STAYTINYS i never in my life make posts like this but i have such an evangelical zeal about everything about this era that i’m here in ur tags to yell to you as a fellow staytiny because i care about your wellbeing

IF YOU LOVE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

ateez’s unhinged stage presence

skz’s unrivaled hype and angst

the extremely niche concepts and aesthetics of either group

the bonkers choreography of either group

ateez’s vocals

skz’s rap

ateez’s rap

skz’s vocals

hongjoong in skirts

bang chan in crop tops

that thing they do where it all goes quiet and they say one world-ending phrase and then the beat drops ddak nawara wara dduk ddak HIT ME

YOU WILL LOVE FAVORITE BOYS BY ACE I AM TELLING YOU THIS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD y’all i’m begging you improve your lives and watch this video just. i don’t care if you want to stan or not, you don’t have to watch anything else although i firmly believe you will if you watch this, i just need other people to experience the joy in all of my nerves right now

(flashing lights warning fyi)

#stray kids #ateez #skz #atiny #stay #a.c.e. #favorite boys #tw caps #tw flashing #a.c.e. kpop

[unclerippuascension]

miitopia demo came out, im gonna talk about it

ok so just as a starting point, i LOVE miitopia. miitopia and tomodachi life are some of my favorite games on the 3DS. i’ve played both games (and restarted them bc the only have one fucking save file), i’ve watched vinny’s streams of both games (both highlights and the full streams, i have too much free times) and loved them, so when i heard miitopia was getting a remake for the switch i was... cautiously excited. so the demo is out now, and i have some thoughts.

first the goods the game looks great! i mean obviously its a graffical remake, so of course its gonna look good. plus its on a bigger screen and if you’re not like me and have a standard switch (and not a switch lite) the screen can be even bigger! mii customization is greatly added, like in the trailers you can add extra flair to your miis, and for those who like to make miis based on cartoon characters or just really elaborate OCs, it really helps. but they’re not in the default mii creator you add them in a menu fyi

now for the bads

how they handle miis, oh golly gee gosh i have some problems. it all stems from the fact that unlike the 3DS, the switch does not have a mii central, and honestly I expected them to make a mii central for the game. like a pokemon home kind of app where you could import miis. you have a few options if you wanted your old miis from mii-maker to be in this game.

you can create them from scratch or choose them from switch save data which are the same thing (which i mean if you can do that for EVERY MII in this game more power to you but i can’t) which is clunky and if you’re like me and are not good at making miis that aren’t all kinda same faced then you have option two

recieve miis from a friend or access key. now if you have a bunch of buddies who have a bunch of miis and really love miitopia too then you have no problem. but given that the mii fanbase is kind of niche and is heavily relying on the 3DS era from what ive seen, this kind of stuff isn’t a good fix. 

and finally we have the ‘popular’ section. this is a collection of the most popular miis from the 3DS version miitopia...and i fucking hate it. because they’re all meme characters. literally its nothing but sans, waluigi, wario, and other meme garbage. the fun thing about miitopia is that the miis weren’t just memes, and since the pool of popular mii’s never changes you’re either stuck with making your own miis for every character in the game, hoping your friends have a bunch of miis or that you find a bunch of access codes online, or choosing one of the 20 warios in the popular section.

also this is a nit-pick, but you can’t have click a randomize all option. idk the magic of seeing batman in the cast of NPCs isn’t as fun when i have to put him there myself. I really wish Nintendo put in a little bit more care when it came to what is the core most gimmick of the fucking game. like when i have to remake a mii from my 3DS mii maker onto my switch like a fucking caveman, something is wrong. again, the solution should have been a mii central for switch.

another negative for me is that the horse feels kinda...idk pointless? maybe im just a crotchedy old fuck man i dunno. and the UI is a smidge weird, but its a 3DS game on the switch so I wont give them too much shit

oh and the fact this game is 49 dollars plus tax, now i hope they add more stuff to justify that but the negative jackass in me says they won’t. speaking of my hopes for the game, my biggest hope is that they add more to the post game. maybe add more post-game bosses, after the game’s story ended it kind of feels like there isn’t much to do.

but yeah, those are my thoughts. again i’m cautiously excited for this release bc of how miis are handled compared to the original as well as the pricetag. 

#miitopia

[kamadaeva]

Congrats on Maou Nobu, they're probably one of my favorite servants even if DW seems to force them into a very specific niche. With their strengthening they're only at full power when fighting a sky attribute ruler with divinity. Which is like, uh, winter quetz and Astrea? As if avengers needed to narrow down their pool of ideal enemies any more

just fyi, just because avengers > rulers doesn’t mean you can only use her against rulers. avengers are particularly good at neutral damage. anything divine kneels to nobu

everyone sky attribute,primarily divine characters as well

#Anonymous