#ok most of this was meant to be written funny and it was fun for me

[kitkat-the-muffin]

Tis a niche of its own

Sorry there is only two female characters, I kinda pulled these off the top of my head and probably missed a ton of other candidates. Reblog with an addition if you have one!

Edit: I forgot to make this poll a week long! Once this poll ends I'll remake it with new additions depending on the results (the characters with the fewest results will be replaced with suggested characters from the notes so be sure to suggest some!) in the meantime tho plz reblog to increase sample size

This follows my own definition of what "Comic Relief" means: A character that is used as a conduit for comedy in a piece of media

Through character studies I have determined that there are 5 types of comic relief: the Character Relief, the Audience Relief, the Tone Shifter, the Butt of the Joke, and the Slapstick. Characters that identify as "Comic Relief" usually fall into one or more of these categories

Further explanation under the cut

The Character Relief refers to a character who actively makes jokes to be funny in-universe through conscious humor. Examples from this poll would be Sans and Rayla, who go out of their way to make their friends laugh

The Audience Relief refers to a character who makes the audience laugh regardless of their impact on the story. Examples from this poll would be Lapis and Gus, who are often involved in comedic bits meant for audience entertainment that aren't acknowledged by the narrative as anything unprecedented

The Tone Shifter refers to a character who makes jokes to relieve tension and shift the tone of a scene, either consciously or unconsciously. Examples from this poll would be Jay and Leo, as they both consciously make jokes about grim situations to help their friends or family feel better. Additionally, Jay would do this unconsciously before his trauma made him start doing it on purpose

The Butt of the Joke refers to a character who is made fun of by other characters in-universe, whether endearingly or not. Examples from this poll would be Dewey and Lance, who are often met with insults whenever they do something wrong or silly. The insults are usually meant to be endearing and comedic, but they can still feed into the character's possible inferiority complex. This also applies whenever a villain hits them with a sick burn*

The Slapstick refers to a character who is made fun of by the narrative and the audience like a punching bag. Examples from this poll would be Sokka and Yusuke, who are sometimes put in troubling and awkward situations as a gag for the audience's entertainment alone. These gags are not fun for the characters yet delightful to watch

Most comic relief characters can be characterized as multiples of these. For example, Jar-Jar from Star Wars is both Slapstick and Audience Relief, and even if you don't find his jokes funny that doesn't change the fact that they were written with your entertainment in mind

If you're curious how a "The Narrative's Favorite (derogatory)" character would fit into this chart, they're likely both a Butt of the Joke and a Slapstick character, making their life absolute hell. To be honest, MK from Monkie Kid is an example of a character who fits all 5 categories, but he isn't blue so he isn't in this poll

*Ok if you've ever seen Phineas and Ferb Mission Marvel let me just say MODOK is a total Butt of the Joke and my favorite line in that special is when a TV announcer calls him a "Giant Chicken Egg with a Face" and I just had to mention that omg

#I wanted to put Aqua from Kingdom Hearts but she's technically not a comic relief character #I did initially put Phoenix Wright down but ultimately decided Lapis needed a shoutout #Phoenix is both Butt of the Joke and Slapstick. no wonder he's traumatized #polls #comic relief #character analysis #atla #atla sokka #ninjago #jay walker #voltron #vld lance #ducktales #dewey duck #sonic the hedgehog #the owl house #gus porter #undertale #sans undertale #the dragon prince #tdp rayla #persona 5 #yusuke kitagawa #rottmnt #rottmnt leo #steven universe #lapis lazuli #ok ko #ok ko let's be heroes #omg im out of tags

[irldiancie]

All Kagehina “proof” I know of

Ok i wasnt gonna post this but ive been told by a friend to explain why some might ship Kagehina so... try me. i dont exactly ship this myself but lets just say im a pro when it comes to this topic also it's not as bad as i thought it was there are worse ships idk why i was a hater also i lowkey got some of this from shipping wiki but most of it i knew already, plus NOT ALL OF THIS IS NECESSARILY REFERENCES TO THE SHIP it kinda just adds on to it anyways lets just get into it

ok so starting with common knowledge i think everyone knows that Hinata is the protagonist followed with Kageyama being the deuteragonist, they get the most screen time together and are pretty much paired MOST of the series, we get a lot of content with them together while also getting content of them on their own, they're known as the "freak duo," the "greatest teammates" and like 100 other names they've been called I've seen a lot of people intemperate their relationship wrong, I've seen a few say Kageyama was downright "abusive" to Hinata which I think is a little farfetched, but to each their own! They genuinely do care for each other and it shows, even at the end of the manga you can tell how far their relationship has come, even if they consider themselves rivals, they are without a doubt still friends Now a lot of people have said "well they're not gay they're just friends", while this is true, it has been referenced/implied officially in many places, including manga panels and english dubs, so while it isn't canon there is a few cute things about it which we know are official which is why I'm sharing this, I myself know it isn't canon, plus I didn't really make this to prove anything it was kinda for fun sorry if that made little to no sense but I'll start getting into more interesting stuff 1. at the tip of the iceberg we have the fact they're in so much official art together

theres like a 1000 more of these btw theyre often put near eachother even in official arts not based off them

I have like 1k more of these but i have more proof than this but i think you get my point some of this is probably promo art but that's also considered official art so 2. moving on i think another known one is that Ukai calls them lovebirds ONE TIME in English dub and I have no idea who approved that but I think it's funny and obviously this probably meant nothing but take it as you want video of it here 3. this is kinda randomly thrown in but the fact that they also trust eachother, they've mentioned it a couple times but I think it's nice to know 4. i dont remember when this was or what chapter or something but kageyamas grandfather said "somebody even better will come for you", which just happened to be Hinata of course 5. ALSO after that whole fight scene back in season two, Hinata says this

he didnt really consider kageyama as a friend, but he considered him a partner which i believe is more important to hinata. teammates/partners were always something Hinata wanted, as before he went to Karasuno, he didn't feel like his friends in Junior high were necessarily teammates. Meaning he valued Kageyama more because he was his partner.

(credits to triananero for these images) and when him and Kageyama started working together, they most definitely were perfect together, as they balanced each-other out, which made them become an unstoppable duo or whatever they called them 6. the fact that they have matching jersey numbers 9 and 10 moving on to less canon stuff, there is a light novel of Haikyuu called Haikyū!! Shōsetsuban!! which probably isnt close to canon but Furudate was a part of it even though it wasn't written by him, so it's at least somewhat official 7. anyway according to shipping wiki there is a chapter where Kageyama feels "fluttery feelings at the bottom of his stomach" when Hinata texts him, it's on volume 8 chapter 1, I REALLY WANTED TO SHOW YOU GUYS BUT I COULDNT FIND IT ANYWHERE ONLINE. i searched countless tumblr posts and websites but i could only find chapter five and chapter three so im fully convinced this is lost media LMAOOOO 8. also in Haikyū!! Shōsetsuban!! apparently there's a part where Hinata daydreams about him and Kageyama eating under cherry blossom trees i just found that cute AS MUCH AS I WANNA SHOW YOU GUYS I LITERALLY CANNOT FIND ANYTHING OF THIS LIGHT NOVEL ANYWHERE i just know it's real, if I ever get my hands on it which I doubt, I'll share proof it exists btw AND THIS IS REALLY RANDOM AND SOMEONE WANTED ME TO INCLUDE THIS BUT 9. Basically there was a ad for deodorant a couple years back, collabing with Haikyuu, where you could buy deodorants to “smell like them” or whatever, some shippers believe it’s a Kagehina reference as they also advertised Kageyama and Hinatas scents together as some like matching couple thing

and then there's this

And I think I've said enough, there's way more you can find out about this ship, but I hope with this post you've learned something new or whatever... I MIGHT MAKE THIS A SERIES should i do kenhina next or kuroken ANYWAYS DISCLAIMER I didnt look too much into most of these things but I can gaurentee this stuff is true also this was just for fun and not serious but i hope you liked my little post!

#haikyuu #kagehina #im just rambling #kageyama #tobio kageyama #haikyuu!! #ship #um #PLS ignore all the grammar mistakes i made this wasnt supposed to be serious #i love hinata shouyou #hinata shouyou #shippingpost #haikyu #hi #wht ship should i do next

[safely-in-vhagars-belly]

Aemond and Aegon brat taming lannister daughter oc. (Not their daughter BTW they ain't related)

Made by me but requested to be brought back by: @elegantsplendour. Here you go my friend.

This will likely be a short story and contain around maybe 10 chapters but I hope yall enjoy.

Warnings: Dub con non con mean mc mc being a bitch and poking fun of Aemonds eye and spankings, mentions of sex and actual sex, ass fucking, orgasm denial and humiliation and slut shaming (tho they both quit that once they learn she is not the whore they thought her to be) mentions of owning dangerous protected animals (Mc owns a lion) (YES THAT'S BAD OK WE SHOULD PROTECT ALL ANIMALS!!!!!) MC HAS A SHOPPING ADDICTION. (This is not meant in a funny way she uses it to make herself literally be happy. I have the same thing so I know what I'm talking bout)

Mc when she is challenged (Basically picture a blonde mini Blair)

Aemond: (once you call him a charity project)

Aegon: (once you call him a drunk)

Mcs mother.

And Twyin if he was alive, describing Aemond and Aegon:

It's another bloody hot day in the hell called Kings landing. You and your friend, Harmonia Beesbury, just watch Criston Cole, and one of the princes fights in the yard. The king had three sons with the new queen, but they could take your head, and you wouldn't know their names.

They are going at it, completely lost in their little fake battle. Men. You don't understand.

Harmonia does. She has a smitten blush over her face with two glazy eyes. Cole and the prince circle each other like savages and also destroy a good shield. Which is likely paid with your family's coin. Savages.

You'll never understand men: They pretend to play war when there is no war, they fight in wars when there are wars, and if there aren't any wars: they make sure there are. They are so eager to die, and for what? To create a legacy? To become a legend? Most of them won't even be mentioned.

You whine a bit by your best friend. You like to shop. It makes you very happy to purchase new things. 'Harmonia; I've seen plenty. Shall we go do something useful and pleasant? Instead of watching this savagery?' You suggest.

Harmonia pouts a bit. 'I'd like to watch them finish.' Of course, she does. Harmonia is stuck with her nose in a book every moment of every day. For her, this is probably her ultimate fantasy, two knights fighting for her hand. Except they aren't fighting for her hand, just lame training.

Your eyes roll, and you sigh. 'You enjoy yourself doing that, I have an appointment in town.' You don't. But she doesn't know that, does she?

Harmonia sighs but follows along, grabbing your arm. 'Fine, fine.' She says. You grin. A Lannister always gets her way.

You two walk to the gates where another Dornish guard carrying the name Cole waits for you. It's ser Criston's bastard-born son, Mesan.

'Lady Lannister, Lady Beesbury' He says with a nod. You scoff at him. How dare he even look at you? He is filth. Harmonia gently greets him back with an innocent smile, but you lean in and try to keep your grins hidden.

You nod to the prince.

'Bastard, watch out. It seems like your father has found a new charity project to support.' You nod to where Cole applauds for the prince who bested him, pride written over his face. You see Mesan's jaw clench, and his eyes harden. You grin before leaving the keep, but not before you watch Mesan confront the prince.

---

You sit in the newest boutique in King's Landing. They just had your size done, and now you are fitting necklaces when the seamstress works on dresses.

'Leyonara, that was very unkind. Prince Aemond and Ser Mesan are not charity projects.' Harmonia says when you try two red with gold necklaces.

Your poor friend must be so confused. 'I didn't ask about them; I asked: what necklace looks better on me? The one with the golden locket or the heart one?' You say, ignoring her comments about the one-eyed charity project or the bastard.

Harmonia sighs. 'I'm serious, Leyonara.'

'Well, hello serious. I'm Leyonra.' You dryly say. 'I didn't come here to bitch about boys. I came here for a nice new necklace that will get me lovers and a new enemy.' You say.

'Prince Aemond is worth your respect. He is your prince. That you are a Lannister doesn't change that at all.'

You feel a bit icky just thinking of that one-eyed silver-haired man.

You decide on the locket. The heart is too soft. You add the Locket to your growing collection of jewellery. There is nothing a good shopping won't solve. 'He is not. I don't know why he is not sent to the wall yet. He is a waste here. He will never be king. Neither will his brother. At least Aegon has two eyes to make up for it.'

'Leyonora! They're our princes. We should treat them with respect-' You feel your lips curl but hide it very quickly when you drop the necklace in a jewelry box.

You turn around to face her and just see how worked up she got from your harmless argument. There is no question or doubt about it. You can read her very well. 'How long have you been in love with that mutilated monster?' You grin.

You try to calm it down but part of you finds it so ridiculous that she of all people fell for that....thing.

You go on. 'You know he will never marry you? He is royalty. He has to marry for his house.' You say, teasing but it works.

'I'm not stupid!' She growls nearly shouting at you. You lean in and grab her by her throat suddenly. You don't choke her, but you want her to understand you.

Your voice is thin as ice and cold as stone. 'Good. Get rid of those feelings. We are not men, dear. We will likely be married off and Aemond isn't exactly an option.' You don't want him to be.

Harmonia's big blue eyes soften.

'It's nice to fantasize, not? I mean...He has become handsome.' She touches a necklace as well. It's a silver one with a big blue sapphire.

You suppose?

You never really thought about him that way. 'He is forbidden. No need to dwell on him. He will only destroy your reputation and bring ruin to your house.' It's for the best to be like that. If you don't reach for the stars you will never fall.

You do see her heartbroken little face and feel bad instantly. A bit. You hope she knows you mean well. 'Come, let's pick a new necklace for you. I heard Aemond likes sapphires. Do you want a necklace? My treat.' She looks at the necklace she has been toying with since you entered this place.

'I'd be so embarrassed if he knew why I'd worn it.' You can imagine. It would be so embarrassing.

But the bigger part of you hates the thought of her holding back because of him. 'Fuck him. If you like to wear it, you wear it. He is the prince, not a god.'

'Alright...'

--

That night you enjoy a nice big cake. In your dream. Shirtless servants feed you and you count your diamonds happily...

Until there is a hard knock on your door like someone tried to personally hurt it. One of the newer servant boys enters and quickly bows. 'Lady Lannister-'

You cover yourself and scream at him. 'By the Seven! Do you wish me to die from a heart attack?!' You scream at him. 'I am not properly dressed! Do you know I could have your eyes poked out for this?' You continue berating him and even grab your golden lion statue that stands next to your bed ready to smash his brains in.

He gawks.

'I'm so sorry my lady, you have a visitor. That's all.' He scurries off.

You sigh. You get out of bed and put on your robe made of golden silk and brush your hair very quickly. You apply some light blush and put on earrings before leaving your room.

Inside your study, two men are waiting for you. You instantly feel the tension rise. One of the two is the charity project you insulted. The other is the brainless drunk you also insulted many times.

Aemond wears his usually black clothing and is busy inspecting your desk. Touching it and everything. You will ask them to clean it later for you.

Aegon waits on your sofa, toying with a pillow. You will replace that, just in case. 'I assume there is a good reason for you two to be here at this ungodly hour of the night?' You speak directly to Aemond. He is easier to insult.

He looks at you.

You hope he looks at your necklace and not your breasts. 'New necklace?' A very transparent desperate attempt.

You scoff, covering yourself even more. 'What do you take me for, a simpleton? Explain yourselves, or I will have you removed.'

Aemond chuckles at your threat. 'Hm. There are rumours you said something very improper about us.' He makes it sounds like you were complimenting them or fawning over them like some smitten girl.

You quickly clear it up.

'Don't flatter yourself, I was just insulting you.' You will not have them think you think of them. No. Not at all.

He blinks with one eye, very displeased. 'That's what I was referring to.' He says. 'Something about...a charity project? Did you know what was said, Aegon?' He asks his brother, but you just know he knows very well.

Aegon thinks, but surprisingly enough, he does remember something. 'Something about you being better off at the wall. How we were both useless, but at least I still had both my eyes. And she called me a drunk.' And so what? Where is the lie?

The other prince smiles sweetly at you, tilting his head a bit. 'Oh yes. That was it, indeed.'

They woke you for this nonsense. You regret not having your lion with you. 'Do you want me to apologise for hurting your feelings? Do you want me to take it all back? Maybe get on my knees and beg for forgiveness?' You suggest, sarcastic and mockingly.

'No.' Aemond speaks firmly. 'We have something else in mind.' You try to ignore the alarm bells ringing in your head and just keep calm. He comes closer and grabs your chin, touching your face when leaning in closer and closer. You feel your cheeks become red but don't pull away. You won't give him that satisfaction.

'What is that, exactly?' You ask, leaning in too so your noses can nearly touch. As can your lips. You can nearly taste the wine he had hours ago and it tastes so good just from the smell.

'Punishment.' You freeze.

'What?' You laugh. 'Punishment? Who are you, my father? My husband? My Septa? You don't decide when I have Punishment. You can't punish me I'm an adult.'

'I am very certain I can and I will. The question is: Will you make this easy and lower your Punishment or will you disobey and add to it?'

You understand finally how serious he is.

You look at his sitting brother. At him. At his daggers. And finally at the door. Aemond follows your gaze but he is never prepared for the kick you give him before running off. Aemond curses before following you.

You scream. A guard opens the door quickly and sees you and Aemond fighting. Well, Aemond dragging you and you just clawing at his face. 'Get him off of me!' You groan.

Aemond stares the guard down. 'I am your prince. Get out of here. You saw nothing. Understood?' He loses his patience and hits you across your face. You knock to the ground and feel your split lip.

The guard nods and leaves. You still scream at him enraged. 'No! You're supposed to protect me! I fucking pay you, you brainless imbecile! You worthless street rat!' Aemond chuckles.

You groan.

'I hate you!' You groan as he pulls your hair. 'I hate you, I hate you!' You don't want Punishment. It sounds scary and very unpleasant.

Aegon chims in.

'You'll accept it sooner rather than later. I think we'll start with a nice spanking to warm up. Then we can think of all the fun and dirty ways you will apologise to my brother and me.'

------

Twyin if he saw his ancestor alive and slowly getting closer to two royals.

#house of the dragon #aemond targaryen #dark aemond targaryen #house of the dragon fanfiction #dark aemond targaryen x oc #aegon ii targaryen #dark aegon ii targaryen #dark aegon ii targaryen x oc #aegon the drunk #brat mc #brattaming #dom Aemond targaryen #dark! #head the warnings #dubcon #possible triggering content #She/her reader #AFAB Reader #DarkFantasy #Possible noncon #Possible gore #Old work

[sensitiveheartless]

🎶, 🍆, 🎯

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

I do! I have tons of playlists for different fics, as well as ones that are just instrumentals for when I really need to focus. I have one that is basically just “for sad scenes in the rain”, I have one for the Skyline pigeon fic which does in fact have the song “Skyline Pigeon” in it as well as a bunch of Neighbor Totoro songs, I have a pretty giant one for the Howl AU…etc lololol as for what song I’ve been playing a lot recently…uhhh I have to check actually let’s see:

Ok so for the Howl AU, while I’m working on the epilogue and such, I’ve been listening to “Patience gets us nowhere fast” by Capital Cities, as well as “When can I see you again” by Owl City.

Also just as a general skk song: “No Lullaby” by Siames!

Oh, and less as something for a specific character and more just cause I like the song: “Loving You” by Cannons :D (I know that was more than one song but I like music alskdjfj)

🍆 Do you write the spicy stuffs? If so, what’s your most popular nsfw fic?

…Ok so I have written a singular spicy stuffs, but I posted it on anonymous because a), I know at least some minors follow me and I didn’t want to inadvertently encourage anyone to read content they aren’t ready for (speaking as someone who had too much internet access as a kid and got exposed to certain things way too early), and b), I have an irl friend who may stumble across this account at some point and if they see that fic in particular then I will die a little on the inside.

So I won’t be linking it here, but if any of y’all are adults and want me to link it to you in a DM then I wouldn’t mind, just keep in mind that I am not a particularly adept spiceologist (seriously no clue what I’m doing, that fic is mostly an excuse to mess around and experiment with character stuff in a really low-stakes premise), and also the fic spawned from a “hey wouldn’t it be funny if” thought I had, which then grew a character study around what is still essentially just a goof.

Also of course y’all can probably find it on your own, I don’t think it’d be that hard lol — but if you are a minor please do not talk to me about the fic, I would be extremely uncomfortable.

(I would offer to make a sfw version but unfortunately the nsfw is baked into the stupid premise jskdkdjfhf) (…actually some parts of it are kind of a sillier version of the Skyline Pigeon fic so I guess I am working on a more serious and sfw version of it)

All that said, this (sfw) bit from it still makes me laugh, so here:

🎯 Have any of your readers accurately guessed major plot points? Care to share which?

Just about everyone who knew the plot of Howl’s Moving Castle before reading the Howl AU (and even some people who didn’t!) guessed what the twists were going to be before the ~grand reveals~ (although fewer people caught on to the Oda reveal, I think in part cause that one was more based on the HMC book rather than the movie) and I was honestly expecting that going into it lol —

I felt like trying to make it shocking would be less fun than the readers being able to accurately piece everything together for themselves. I loved seeing people commenting “OH MY GOSH THAT’S WHAT’S HAPPENING” as they went through the chapters, because it meant they were thinking over all the clues! And that they cared about the story enough to do that! And even though most people knew what the “twists” were going to be, they still seemed excited to see how everything was going to pan out, so I had a great time :D

Ah, also, to be more specific cause I just realized I was being vague (spoiler warning lol): just about everyone knew that Chuuya was Starlight, most people guessed Rimbaud was the scarecrow, and I saw a handful of people figure out Oda before that reveal happened, too!

#ask box #ask game #senhart's writing #senhart rambles

[starscweam]

RISE OF THE BEASTS THOUGHTS BELOW

For the sake of fairness, I'm going to list some of things about the movie that are good:

The designs are good.* The majority were recognizable while also still feeling like alien robots. They are colorful and not too overwhelming to look at.

The humans were good! They were sympathetic and felt well written for the most part. You weren't annoyed when they came on screen and they played an actual part in the events of the movie.

The number of cops that crash and burn in the movie's first hour is beautiful.

Mirage, the transformer that is paired with a human for this movie, is fun! The "You were inside me" line got a laugh out of me.

Optimus actually has an arc in this movie. It's small, but it's there. And the parallels that movie draws between him and the main human character, Noah, actually make sense in the context of that arc.

The movie ensures to avoid the ancient aliens trope. It is explicitly stated that humans were the ones to build ancient structures, which is refreshing to see.

There were some typical marvel movie type lines, but it's not the worst.

Ok. Now onto the bad stuff:

There are only a grand total of 4 beasts wars characters in this movie. Not only are some of the most colorful beast wars characters not in the movie, but the autbots outnumber the maximals 6:4. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE A MOVIE ABOUT THE RISE OF THE BEASTS IF THERE ARE HARDLY ANY BEASTS IN IT?

Out of the 4 of them that are there, only two of the maximals really talk. Cheetor only has one line and rhinox doesn't speak at all.

Airazor dies. She delivers exposition, makes some heroic saves and then dies. We never get to see her transform out of her beast mode either. (Bumblebee also dies but is brought back at the climax.)

The women coded characters are once again second fiddle to the rest of the man coded cast. This is inevitable given the franchise we're talking about here. All of them also fall into the "sensible woman" trope as well. The rest of the cast can have colorful and funny personalities, but they can't. This movie only just barely passes even the bechdel test. Out of the four, two die.

The sense of scale/the stakes of this movie are totally off. Unicron is a planet eating god of chaos and destruction with endless hunger. He is a climax of the narrative level villain. They showed him too much in this movie and diminished any impact he could have had. He is not what you want to start out with, especially if Hasbro intends to make a trilogy. How much bigger than Unicron can you get? Where can you go from here?

It's a little unclear what kind of damage a transformer can walk away from. In order to get visceral fight scenes, the movie made it unclear how much is too much. (Save for head and spine being pulled out. That was pretty clear. )

*Wheeljack. Nothing about how Wheeljack's character was handled in this movie was good. From the bad, unrecognizable design, to the tone deaf bits of dialogue (calling a latino character racist for assuming an alien with a spanish speaking accent could speak spanish is not funny), it was all bad. The whole movie could have benefited from his character not being there.

Mirage could have been replaced by Jazz. Not to say that Mirage's movie personality is a 1:1 match with Jazz, but his original personality would have been a much closer fit that Mirage's original personality.

G.I. JOE? Why in the WORLD would Hasbro think teasing a G.I. Joe crossover for the next movie is a good idea? The worst part of the previous transformer movies was the presence of the military, there is no good reason to bring them into the mix again.

Hasbro wanted too many things in this movie and the pacing suffered immensely for it. This is the root cause of most* of the issues in this film. Many scenes lack impact because they pass by so quick that you can't process them. You are given too much information all at once and it's hard to lose yourself in the story as you are meant to. In my opinion, the story would have benefited more if it was broken up into two movies. The first movie could have been about getting the first half of the key and would have given us time to get to know the characters more so that stakes would feel higher when they were in danger. The emotional impact on the main humans leaving their home in search of the other half of the key would have had more weight if it had taken place in a second movie, and would have given room for the trust between transformers and humans grow more organically.

All in all, in terms of a Transformer movie it's not terrible, but it could be better. Hasbro, sadly, did not manage to learn anything from what Bumblebee did right.

Transformer Movie Score: 7.5/10

General Movie Score: 6/10

#rotb spoilers #tf rotb #tf #star.txt

[gamesception]

Sception reads Cass Cain #6

Batman #569, September 1999 written by Janet Harvey, pencils by Sergio Cariello

So here we have the first instance where Cassandra is the main character of an issue, and the primary focus of its story, but the lead creatives aren't her primary team of Peterson, Puckett and Scott. And for a mainstream comic hero that's a big test. Harvey takes a different approach to writing a non-verbal character than Puckett, one that's maybe less innovative and experimental, but that's so easy and obvious that I really have to wonder why I didn't see the same approach taken more often. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The comic starts with a non-super-villain affiliated gang trying to kick this Sanchez guy out of his gas station in an area they've claimed, presumably to take whatever gas and supplies are left there. And in blue boxes we have some faux noir-esque narration of the type commonly employed throughout bat books from the dawn of time, both for exposition and for letting letting the audience in on the main characters' thoughts. I'm not a big fan of the gimmick generally, and one of the things I liked about Cass, especially in her early non-verbal days, was that her book focused more on storytelling and characterization through the art on the panel. I know "show don't tell" is a bit of an overused cliche, but imo it invited the reader to empathize more directly with Cass since you didn't have this layer of text in between you and her.

But not every writer and artist were up to that - and Cass's faceless costume design made it that much harder. Most back book writers had been relying on their narration blocks for so long that they didn't know how to tell a story, let alone a bat story, without them. As a result, it seemed like most of the bat book writers just didn't know how to use Cass, and so she showed up sparingly in other books, and when she was just this silent shadow that none of the other bat family characters could meaningfully relate to.

The funny thing is, looking back now at this issue for the first time, from before her solo book even started, Harvey had already figured out how to put the circle through the square hole.

Because the blue text blocks are Cass's thoughts, or at least describing what she's thinking, even if in universe she isn't thinking these things in words exactly. In the same way that a comic might write out a foreign character's dialog in English, and then just tack a note that in-universe they're speaking French or whatever.

Which, yeah, is just the obvious solution to the problem? If you're writing a Cass story but don't know how to do that without your typical narration boxes, then just use your typical narration boxes.

Oh, also I love that close up in the middle panel there, with her big smile - drawn right through the mask the way I keep saying artists should do. Because it's ok to cheat in comic art. Spider man cheats by having the eyes on his mask change shape to show his expression all the time. But anyway, yeah, with that big smile you can feel her easy confidence and excitement. She's enjoying herself. She's having fun. This is play to her. That idea, that she /enjoys/ being Batgirl, will be important when we get into some of her issues with guilt later in her own book, so it's great that we're already seeing that side of her here, an aspect of her personality that is entirely lost when she's portrayed as just Batman's silent ninja enforcer.

But yeah, that's Cass right there. That's our girl, that's who we're here to see.

We also see that her instincts are dangerous - she was taught by an assassin - trained to kill. No matter how much fun she's having, she can't just cut loose, can't get carried away and lose focus. She has to actively restrain herself. She starts to have fun flexing her fighting skills, but then she remembers what those skills were originally meant for, what she was originally meant for, and the fun is over.

Mr. Sanchez is in high spirits after the rescue and very chatty. Cass gets annoyed by this, which I choose to read as reflexive insecurity about not being able to communicate verbally herself.

Cass signals Bat HQ that she's secured the gas station. Apparently there had been a plan to send extra help to get some gas for the hospital (the hospital is still functional? Why isn't Dr. Thomkins there then?), but it's too dangerous at the moment so Cass is just going to have to hold the station by herself overnight. Which is framed as a tough mission, a test of her competence.

There's a flashback to a few hours earlier when the mission was first assigned, and we get to see how excited Cass is to be useful, how eager she is to please Bruce in particular. Especially nice since we get to see her emoting without the mask in the way. The scene is nice, and it emphasizes both her youth - she's still just a teenager - and her motivations. We also see Barbara both vouching for Cass's ability and worrying about her safety, which fits the big sister/surrogate mother role she'll serve in Cass's ongoing.

Meanwhile, Bruce still isn't completely sure what to make of Cassandra. He trusts Barbara's recommendation, and has seen first hand Cass's martial skills and her commitment to finding nonlethal solutions to problems even where none seems possible, but yeah, this is very much a test.

Cass gets frustrated with the chatty Mr. Sanchez and heads outside, where we get a bunch more of the narration blocks and some art I don't especially care for, with weird comic woman proportions and spray-painted-on costume and weird boots. The ruined city background art is pretty nice, and none of this is terrible looking. Just not particularly great. I like the way the artist draws Cass's Batgirl outfit when she's just a lurking shadow, just a silhouette, like in that first panel there, even if it's small, or this panel from earlier that I didn't grab before:

Yeah, good spooky Cass silhouettes. But when the details fill in, not as much.

Anyway, the thugs come back later with a rocket launcher, there's some fighting, but while Cass is able to save Mr. Sanchez, the gas station is destroyed.

Which means Cass failed her mission. Failed the test.

Failed Batman.

Cariello does a fantastic job portraying how fucking pissed Cass is in this panel, and how terrifying she is in her anger. Again, when he's rendering her as a spooky silhouette it's great.

Again Cassandra risks gets carried away - this time by her anger rather than having fun - and her restraint slips, letting the lethal training her father drilled into her come to the surface.

Sanchez talks Cass down, and she turns away just as Bruce shows up, and thankfully there was a separate stash of gas they can take to keep the hospital generators running.

....

Overall this was a pretty good issue for our girl. While I might not like some of the art or some of the writing choices as much as if this issue had been done by Peterson, Puckett, and Scott, this is still very much a Cass Cain Batgirl story, the kind you might have seen in her solo book. The tone is right, the themes are there, the interpersonal dynamics between her, Bruce, and Barbara. Her character and personality comes across well.

Given how badly her solo book drops off later on, her disastrous villain period, the mess that followed after, how I never really felt like she found her footing again... over the years I've kind of built up this idea in my head that, as great as Cass was in her prime, maybe she just wasn't a good fit for the collaborative, factory format of mainstream US superhero books. Like only one team could ever get her right, which made her a bad fit in a medium where creative teams are constantly shifting and a shared universe where characters are regularly crossing over into each others stories.

But this book stands as an easy and very early refutation of that entire thought. Harvey isn't writing this book like Puckett would have, and Cariello isn't illustrating like Scott would have. This is a book that looks and reads much more like typical Bat book fare, and yet Cass is working fine here. That's very recognizably our girl. And this right after the previous issue I looked at, where she worked pretty well as a side character.

If multiple creative teams outside of her own could get her right this early on, why did others fail - and fail so very badly - later on, when the character if anything should have been more well established?

#sception reads cassandra cain #cassandra cain #batgirl #batman #dc comics

[rum-and-shattered-dreams]

Gravity Falls 10th Anniversary List O’ Favorite Things:

OK, Let’s GO! @gf10yearslaterzine​, thanks for the questions/prompts!

1. Favorite Character:

At first, it was:

^Because of that moment^

I started watching shortly after NWHS aired (with no knowledge of the emotions train that would hit when I got to that episode) because I’d seen a few people talking about how funny, cute, and smart Gravity Falls was and instantly liked the girl who made a light-up sweater. Instead of marathoning it, I saved it to watch an episode every so often as a fun pick-me-up for after watching more dramatic/sad/emotional things and eventually caught up right around when ATOTS aired.

Then this happened:

And Ford became my favorite and the show became a hyperfixation. This nerd who survived thirty years of what drove Fiddleford to erase his memory from a few seconds of exposure and who wrote things like Trust No One, who shoots first and asks questions later, and who is so full of trauma just... Played happily along with Giggle Time Bouncy Boots. He was still so passionate for the things he loved, still ready to be silly, just wanted to have a friend because he’d felt alone for so long, and was still trying to do good for the world despite everything. He had his flaws and misconceptions but ultimately, this nerd was doing the best he could with what he had.

Also, I’ve written about this before but it meant a lot, personally, to see his character type allowed to be one of the heroes where most media would villainize someone like him.

Answers for the rest of the questions (and a plaidypus drawing) are under the cut (because it’s easier for my brain to process answering them together and I don’t want to take up a ton of dash space):

2. Favorite Journal Page:

Oof. A Tough one. There are so many hilarious or cute or just well put-together pages. But, I’m going to go with the last two-page spread because it’s so nice to see them all happy like this:

Honorable mention to this one too just because I love the artwork for it:

Oh! and a third mention to the MY MUSE WAS A MONSTER page for the sheer rawness of it.

3. Favorite Monster/Creature:

The plaidypus! So much cute...

4. Favorite Location:

The deep/enchanted forest areas. They’re so pretty.

5. Favorite Episode:

To tie in with the favorite character prompt:

We get to see the family work together, Weird Al is there, Grenda gets to weaponize an armchair, and we get to see who Ford is now, not from the past, not from the journal, and not fresh out of the nightmare realm. Bonus points for Stan apologizing to Dipper for making fun of him. I feel like that was a huge character growth moment for him and more reason to love his character too.

6. Funniest Joke:

Oh man. I’m not sure what to pick here. There’s the classic ones that became memes, of course, but there are also things like Dipper’s internet history and Mabel and the leaf blower. 

Hmm. I’m going to go with basically the entire premise of this:

Getting bored while falling in the bottomless pit.

It’s personally hilarious because on a trip in 2010, a few friends and I saw a well on the top of a mountain and wondered how deep that would have to be if there wasn’t a spring or something. That led to the idea of “at what point do you stop screaming and get hungry or bored or need to sleep when falling into a bottomless pit.” So this episode was basically our thoughts on it.

7. Favorite Game/Book/Merch:

Oof another tough one because, while Journal 3 is probably my favorite, I want to give a shout out to:

I love that it gave us more stories. We got more Pacifica development, creepy faceless Mabel, a post-Weirdmageddon Stan and Ford adventure with bonus Mabel in the multiverse, a smol Stans adventure, and *gestures to all of Comix Up. I mean, how could you not love some Dipper and Pacifica bonding, Stan finding out that Ford is an interdimensional criminal, Baby Stan and Ford bonding, and almost the entire cast hilariously stuck in anime schoolgirl uniforms and thrown into various other comic book personas. 

8. Favorite Song:

Definitely:

Because that whole karaoke thing was adorable. And this actually leads into...

9. Favorite Quote:

“Karaoke is not about sounding good, it's about sounding terrible, TOGETHER.”

The sentiment is applicable to so many things. It’s not about being good or perfect, it’s about throwing expectations and self-consciousness out the window to have honest fun with the people you love.

10. A Special Memory or Moment About Gravity Falls:

Meeting so many incredible people through the fandom; People I’m friends offline with now and who I still chat with about life. It’s been one of the best experiences of my life getting to talk to so many awesome people, see your creative content, and to create my own (This show made me start drawing again and I’ve gotten hundreds of thousands of words in writing practice thanks to writing fics! Plus cosplaying and getting to meet other cosplayers! So much fun!). Thank you to everyone who helped make this show possible! 

#gravity falls #gravity falls 10th anniversary #gravity falls 10 years later #gravity falls favorites #mo's ramblings and such

[armorabs]

I'm curious, why do you dislike Plankaren if you're more into Karendy?

i am obsessed with the way this is phrased. the thinly veiled implication that because i like one i should like the other???

to actually answer your question: the reason i dislike plankton and karen's relationship as a marriage or otherwise romantic is because i just hate seeing a man repeatedly make his wife so miserable on a regular basis that she cries. that's it.

i hate the way plankton treats someone he should love and cherish and prioritize, and in fact legally promised to. i hate seeing just how OFTEN he belittles her and makes her cry because he cares more about the krabby patty formula or even krabs himself than spending time with her or making her feel wanted. i hate that he cheats on her in multiple episodes, not even just with the goal of attaining the krabby patty formula. i hate to see female characters chase over male characters who aren't that interested in them, have other priorities, or otherwise... don't care about them. i don't enjoy it. i don't enjoy watching it. it's not fun.

there's a lot that i'm willing to deal with in fictional relationships and a man just not being any good to his wife or girlfriend or otherwise a woman he is meant to care for is like... at the top of things i am not willing to deal with! i like slapstick comedy, i'm FINE with rivals duking it out comedically, i'm FINE with banter and arguments between characters who are meant to butt heads - that's their purpose, and it can be really funny. it depends on how it's written, but it usually is. but jokes about hating your wife or being in a marriage at all, and portraying the marriage as miserable, and portraying a man as repeatedly neglecting and cheating on his wife and belittling her... that's not funny. that's entirely too real. i don't like it.

yes, there have been some recent attempts to rehabilitate the relationship between plankton and karen relatively recently - sbtm and a few episodes of the cartoon in particular - but most of the time there's still always that edge of neither of them really wanting to be there. when its like, they could just get divorced. there are a few episodes where they break up, one of them ends with them still broken up. why can't they just stay broken up. i think we should normalize divorce. i think we should normalize divorce in childrens media. "oh, it wouldn't be funny-" maybe not but sometimes things happen in spongebob that aren't actually meant to be funny, so why can't this be one of them, hm? give me a really good reason why these two characters can't get divorced, or shouldn't get divorced. there isn't one that i find acceptable.

and that's not even getting into what i think of their portrayal in kamp koral - so its in this awkward state of it's fine but it's not at all what i'm willing to put up with.

meanwhile karendy is like, ok, at worst there could be an age gap but like... so what? sandy isn't a child. she's somewhere between 26-27 to 31-32. she's a consenting adult. why would i care. on the other hand, they have a mutually respectful relationship where they constantly uplift and compliment each other whenever they're on screen together. they casually flirt with each other sometimes. they're girl best friends. it makes me happy :)

#IS THIS THE KRUSTY KRAB?

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

When seeing the most popular fics in the Violetta and Soy Luna tags on ao3, you can see what people really prefer to read about. And it’s not so much non-canon ships

Ok, so checking the Violetta tag, the most popular fic is my season 1 rewrite (hashtag no flex). Honestly I think it gained this because 1. Back when it was posted, Violetta legit had like 10 fics. Which meant that, well, whenever someone posted a fic, you read it, regardless what it was about. And it’s been so long now that it has gained that amount of hits. So I wouldn’t say it’s really the ”definition” of what people like to read. However, number 2 and 3 in the hits list are two leonetta fics (which ALSO are written by me… which feels a bit funny because it’s also the ONLY leonetta centric fics I’ve written). And honestly, I think it has to do with the fact that leonetta is the most popular canon ship and, I myself when I was younger LOVED reading about them, and I know how much Leonetta holds so many people chokehold. I was one of them. I myself don’t think it’s as fun to write about Leonetta anymore even if they’re still dear to me, and I don’t think my fics focusing on them are my best work, but they excite young teenage girls a lot and I get that.

However, after this? The non-canon ship fics starts to flood in. It’s Luty, it’s Franletta, it’s Natila… WLW fics are dominating. I mean, sure, the fics about Leonetta have the most hits, but relationship wise, who does people want to write about the most?

The queer girls own the Violetta tag on ao3 it’s true

But the Soy Luna tag? Yeah, there is very little non-canon ships that are getting the most hits. It’s a very consistent theme there: Simbar.

Simbar this, Simbar that, Simbar doing anything and everything with each other. The majority of the first page is just tagged with Simbar, even if it’s not the only ship.

But canon ships dominate the SL ao3 tag. I mean, when it’s two boys or girls it’s most often just tagged platonically, with some few exceptions.

(Also 10 of those Jim/Yam fics are mine… I was surprised with how little content they had when they seemed to be such a well liked ship… I guess people just found it more interesting with the canon ships than with them, since they canonically didn’t end up with someone).

So… Yeah, it’s not so much non-canon ships maybe in Soy Luna, but in VIOLETTA? The queers awoke and blasted off

#violetta #soy luna

[piosplayhouse]

Hey now i wasn't saying there was no gender allegory, just where to find an argument for sqqs queer gender since it wasn't obvious anywhere in the text, and im still not entirely convinced by the argument "he mentions castration several times". Svsss totally addresses gender and casts sqq and lbh in feminine roles at different points of the story; that just doesn't directly wire into the endless puzzle box that is sqqs mind. Social or literary role is a different thing. I'm also not ragging on gender queer or trans sqq hcs but it seems a bit much to say he is definitely one or the other. You could also argue mbj is feminine coded because he wears black and devours his father and sha hualing is a trans man or nb because they seek to dominate their partners and their gender performance is so hypersexualised to compensate. I mean, sure! Fuck that's interesting! But other readings, it must be said, are also valid.

Ok yes sorry I understood what you meant in the first ask I was just simplifying it in an unrelated joke for the sake of comedy and because I was up until midnight last night assembling IKEA furniture.

Did you read the whole section I said might help though? The first phallus chapter is mainly focused on castration but I pointed towards the second chapter because it includes more generalized discussion that I personally think paints a more consistent picture of repetitive mentioning. Even beyond positioning himself as the "woman" (literary role) in his relationship, sqq repeatedly compares himself and his experiences to women in a very frank way-- I believe this is most obvious by his comparison of his pain to period cramps, but there's also the significance of the Skinner mission featuring a demon which is described as an originally male demon that wears female skins but yearns for another male skin (Shen Qingqiu's). You could argue this is just a reflection of transphobia in the story but I do think it's interesting to note that this is sqq's first mission, and comes during a period of time that he still clearly believes himself to be a man (Shen Yuan) wearing another's skin (original Shen Qingqiu's). And of course he continues to project his own feelings onto the female characters around him, which you could argue is due to his literary role becoming that of a female love interest's, but a point that I find particularly interesting is that he also compares himself to Binghe's mother completely unprovoked, something that easily (maybe even more easily) could've been substituted for a male comparison for him using Confucian values of the teacher/student relationship relating to that of a father and son. Instead, he becomes the mother.

Umm I'm not totally sure what you're intending to say with the demon argument or references, I'm sorry. If you or anyone else would like to elaborate on the meaning I'd be glad to respond but for now I'll just leave it how it is.

Of course all readings of the text are valid, hell I don't even hc sqq as trans most of the time unlike mbj or other characters I talk about, but I just think it's a funny concept that there's so much serious and progressive queer discourse surrounding a satirical parody of a male power fantasy novel written 7 years ago. Sorry if this sounds accusatory in any way, I truly didn't mean to make fun of you for asking an innocent question about the analysis and I hope this sets some things straight about what I was trying to say

#anddd i am late for a meeting ciao 😭😭 #long posts #long post #svsss meta

[fvji-kvjakv]

DIRECTOR’S CUT AND COMMENTARY

OPENING NOTES:

hello hello!!! i’ve always wanted to do a commentary and for my first to be for this fic, i couldn’t even begin to say how pleased i am. over the last few months, this fic has been my baby: i don’t write plot, i don’t like fluff, but this prompt just called out to me and i knew i could finally write the comedy of my dreams. 

the reason i called it supercut is explained later in the fic, so i hope you manage to catch that line! as far as characterisation goes, i think it’s a kind of dynamic you can expect from two people who have only been around each other all their lives. there’s nothing else there until you see them apart. they just gravitate towards each other. the reason i mainly shed light on san’s character through flashbacks was because i needed there to be the perfect level of “you are my past, present and future” for me. this was just what worked.

what you have received is exactly what my humour is, unfortunately, so i only pray you find this fic funny as well. written with no purpose but to make readers laugh, i hope supercut was enjoyable to read, and i can’t wait to see if anyone managed to pick out all the real scenarios from this fic considering there are so MANY, some of which i mention in this commentary. 

but i have to say before i start that i do not remember writing any of this for most part, so i’ll only be talking about little easter eggs i’ve thrown in here that i only noticed during this reread. with that out of the way, let’s begin! 

COMMENTARY:

And then he’s out like a light. As San slumbers next to him, Wooyoung can’t help but wonder if the human heart was meant to beat this loudly.

ok. so. what a way to start. i don’t actually have much to say about the scene generally, apart from that i only wrote this to set the tone and shed some light on what wooyoung and san’s relationship used to be and what it eventually evolves into.

Wooyoung had snorted, and the visual of Mingi walking into a glass wall right then had immediately changed the subject, and that was the end of that.

inspired by the time i ran full speed into a wall of glass and cried about it bc i got made fun of by my cousins

Wooyoung calls it objective admiration and Yeosang calls it bullshit. Jongho usually likes to stay out of their business.

very much inspired by my group of friends

“House,” Wooyoung says. “He says to bring bitches.”

“I’m already bringing you, though,” San immediately answers, and then ducks when Wooyoung throws a pillow at him. “Who’s going?”

this is. so funny to me personally. this fic became a very weird amalgamation of american and english humour and you can really tell when you start to read: there are some specific english vocabularies used later to mark the difference, but the reason i mixed things up (as far as i remember), is because as an international student abroad, your humour tends to match up in a lot of funky ways. i think it is inevitable to kind of. end up with layers. to You as a person esp with forced proximity and a change in environment but i love it because it describes my friends and i very accurately! (can u tell i wrote supercut with my loved ones in mind) 

“Proudly,” San sneers, and then he chugs half the carton in one go. “Now scram. I can feel you staring. I know I’m the sexy husband but I’m not just a hot piece of ass, you know.”

this is directly taken from conversations i’ve had with friends where we roleplay as a really messy friend group. married to. each other 

Wooyoung is deep into Yeosang’s bottle of Captain Morgan’s

all we did first year was drink rum <3 

Yeosang has been trying to roll a joint for the better half of the last hour while his boyfriend watches helplessly and the others are playing the world’s most intense round of Monopoly Deal when the doorbell rings. 

the amt of times i have been yeosang here. and also the amt of times i’ve had game nights with friends and family and it always ends with violence 

“So,” Yeosang starts, “Monthly BDSM test?” 

Wooyoung turns his phone back on.

idk what to tell u. my friends and i did this monthly just to mess with each other

“Your mum,” Yeosang says.

Jongho just whistles and reaches for a high five. “Nice.”  

San glares. “What are you, twelve?”

“Yeah,” Yeosang nods casually, blowing a blueberry-flavoured stream of vapour at San’s face. “Twelve inches in your mum.”

very real conversation i heard my cousin say to another player when we were 12 years old and fucking with them online over a game of cod (minus the vape)

It’s so loose, kief falling from the tip, that even San just stares at him. “Yes, I know it sucks. Jongho—”

#throwback to the time my horrid rolling skills let me down at what felt like rock bottom 

Wooyoung tiredly wipes a bead of sweat from his temple before bringing his hand to wipe away the juice all over his mouth. He’s made a mess, he thinks, eyeing the green stickiness all over his palm. His brother’s going to tease him all over again.

this is nothing more than what used to be routine for me: my uncle had a car and he would usually take all of us to the park and then to the harbour where we’d get slushies and popsicles while we watched the sunset…!

San babbling next to him about the newest Digimon game his sister has gifted

this was actually a very common occurrence in my household growing up, though i do have to confess it was mostly about pokémon! we were little nerds on picnics with our gameboys out <3 

“I bet you liked it.”

The silence is deafening.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jongho asks gently. “I genuinely want to know.”

i was jongho in this scene 

“Don’t you make playlists all the time?”

part of the reason why this prompt called out to me is that the main arc is making playlists — something i do constantly all the time because it’s a big love language of mine. it just felt a little funny, picking apart my whole life, only to end up with this fic. but i think that’s why this one will always mean so much! 

Glimmering smiles over the edges of wine. Hushed commentaries about the relevance of Gossip Girl in today’s climate and frozen pizza.

Things inevitably go back to normal as things always do.

there’s nothing for me to comment on i just really like this bit 

They’ve known each other for years—months weeks days hours minutes seconds—and Wooyoung doesn’t know how to feel about the fact that San has conveniently wiped their history away, leaving nothing but a blank slate.

the reason i highlighted this was because i needed it to be emphasised just How long they have known each other like how many seconds in those years have they spent together and with each other. a little crazy

San is humming along to the opening notes of Mr. Brightside

have u lived in england if u haven’t sung this on every night out actually

“I’ve always wanted to kiss someone to this song,” he blurts.

my best friend and i had a very serious discussion about him wanting to do this and i’m glad to update everyone with news that he has succeeded thumbs up emoji

“This is going to sound awful,” Jongho finally says, laughing under his breath as he leans back in his seat, a distant look on his face. “But probably when I realised I’d let him roll shitty joints for me forever.”

this is 100% real one of my friends said this to my face 

“Put that camera away!” Wooyoung yells, “What are you waiting for?”

this seems much. bigger than it actually is. but this is taken from the time i went on a trip around uk and did a lot of hiking with my friends. we were setting off fireworks to celebrate the new year, and one of my friends who’s a photographer wouldn’t come set them off because he was too busy taking pictures of us! 

“On God, man.”

“Just stop talking.”

“Anyway, when is our train tonight?”

“Oh, it’s—”

this entire phone call. i was asleep, hungover and also sick to boot, and my cousin who’s about 8 hours ahead had called me without realising i was majorly unwell. it went exactly like this, only for him to ask me where his girlfriend was. of course, i hung up on him without further response. 

Tonight, every single one of them was in Leeds for the weekend—they got an Airbnb, they stole their host’s rolling paper while arguing that there shouldn’t have been rolling paper in the first place, and then they cracked the bottles out once they started getting ready, long-winded compilations of Max Verstappen and Charles LeClerc playing in the background, courtesy of Jung Yunho’s current Formula 1 phase.

those who have my twitter will know what this is about. but basically. me and moot were in london bc she was visiting me and we literally ran out of rolling paper on the second day in the middle of her getting me into f1. we checked all over the place and what do u know. the paper is right there. it should not have been there but thank u olga. if u are seeing this that is why u have a new set of rolling papers in ur drawer i felt really bad and wanted to get a new one for u

Wooyoung just lets out a breathless laugh before he promptly turns around, letting San settle behind him. Dizzee Rascal blares from the speakers, the familiar beat thundering through his veins.

the song is dance wiv me btw this is one of the three songs my friends and i Must play during pres before we go out

“Go piss, girl,” comes Yeosang’s voice.

no comment i just think this is so funny 

Wooyoung knows one thing: he can’t make this shit up anymore.

also no comment but <3 this is tian’s line <3 thank u for the feedback and support i luv u so much

jongho: fuck mondays…… i mean its just another day to me but for the school students out there, fuck mondays……

ANOTHER REAL CONVO nier. never change. i love you

When Wooyoung is sixteen, pants around his ankles while he takes the biggest shit of his life to Eminem’s Ass Like That, his girlfriend dumps him.

umm. also real. i was literally mid shit when the guy i was seeing ended things over text and all i said was “ok cool be well king 🙏” 

San is already watching him, hand raised to bring his beer to his mouth. There’s a soft smile playing on his lips, gaze terribly warm and tender. Slow and unbothered. Somehow, they always find each other. The music disappears until it’s just the two of them. You’re my best friend. I’m living. Young-ah. San is looking at him like he knows something Wooyoung doesn’t again. Does that taste good? You’re my forever. What are you waiting for? San takes a step, then two, and then he’s walking over. Young-ah, Young-ah, Young-ah. You’re my forever, San’s voice echoes. 

this entire paragraph. it means so much to me. i think my style has changed so much since the first fic i had ever written for ateez, and i would like to think that all the experiences i’ve had here, with everyone around me, i have grown. as a writer and as a person. to be honest, i think i spoiled myself with this fic and i can never go back to writing dirty things like i used to. i think this is the kind of writing i am meant to produce.

“I think I’m in love with you.” 

“Oh,” Wooyoung breathes. He nods once, twice. “Okay. I love you too.”

okay. so. this. i couldn’t make them get together in a flashy, manic way. it needed to feel natural, and what i felt was that these two knew it was the right time, that it is finally time to take the next step. because it makes sense and because it is as natural as breathing. and so it is. like that. 

Their walk home isn’t rushed as Wooyoung expects. They take the ten minutes and walk around aimlessly in circles until it’s been at least an hour of San telling Wooyoung what his day has been like until they reach their place.

THIS PART!!!!! again, back to it being natural. it is just another day for them, all things considered, so it just makes sense to keep going about life as they always do. they’ll figure it out together. 

The bell dings once they’ve reached their floor, and instead of stepping out of the elevator, San keeps on kissing Wooyoung like he knows he will be able to do it again.

you don’t know. how obsessed i am with this line. that san finally knows he can kiss wooyoung. that he can keep doing it forever. or as long as wooyoung wants because he’s been waiting for so long. waiting for wooyoung to catch up. 

He shakes when San presses a finger inside him and he laughs when San says I love you against his belly.

they are just so!!!! elated!!!!! and giddy!!!!!!!!!!!

They talk about anything and everything and Wooyoung cries himself laughing when San tells him that after the seduction attempt, San had jacked himself off and cried because he had felt so guilty about defiling the memory of his best friend in his head.

I’M SORRY LIKE. THE VISUAL WAS TOO FUNNY NOT TO WRITE

Watches San moan Wooyoung’s name until Wooyoung’s hips are stuttering on every gasp. Watches as San falls in love with him a million times in a matter of seconds.

just another line that i Especially love <3

as for the sex scene, i actually didn’t want to write it at first. i originally only had two little paragraphs dedicated to the scene because i had wanted to step away from smut and see things without a nsfw lens. but then they started acting up. i had to write Something even if it was miniscule and not at all my style <3 

“I was born by C-section so I’m a gold star gay,” Yeosang says smoothly, not even missing a beat. “No vaginas on my record.”

THIS IS REAL I PROMISE we now refer to the guy who said this to my best friend as “c-section gay”

“You absolute bellend,” Wooyoung says, shooting Yeosang a venomous glare.

“You’re already learning!”

only because my two favourite aggressively english words to use are “cunt” and “bellend” 

wooyoung: why do my feet always feel so warm when i wake up

yeosang: we don’t want to hear abt ur feet wooyoung

san: @wooyoung sorry ill stop

taken from the time nier admitted to liking my feet  

“Wait, did you buy another Polo pack again? I can’t fucking taste anything, mate.”

my polo addiction… 🕊️💔

Just as he predicts, Yeosang and Jongho get back together. Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn on the other hand, he figures, is not for him to decide.

this entire scene is dedicated to my best friend who cried about them breaking up. update: she is keeping up to date with the matty healy dating rumours, and i have to say, i don’t think she is pleased. 

San surprises him with a tub of ice cream and a Spotify playlist, sitting on a bench and talking for what seems like hours until they finally get up and start making their way back.

OK. THIS BIT. i intentionally made it sound like a throwaway line but it is not. it’s overshadowed by the Very dirty sex implied right after, but this is the first time san ever makes a playlist. and he intentionally made it for wooyoung who is his sole audience. it just felt fitting to end with a playlist since it begins with a playlist. full circle, lads. 

CLOSING NOTES:

PHEW. what a ride. i didn’t realise i had so much to say in so little, but i’m thankful. i hope everyone who reads this enjoys it as much as i enjoyed writing it. i may not remember much, but the few memories i have are all good. 

this fic made me want to Write again after years of staying away from plot. i think i’m one step closer to figuring myself out. additionally, thank you to all of my friends who took the time out of their day to encourage me to write this, i cannot thank you enough. i can’t wait to write another fic for you soon. 

see you when the next one comes out, my loves! <3 

#faith's fic commentaries #ao3 suijin #woosan #ateez

[chameshida]

Nine Realms season 2 review

Here's the dutyful Nine realms season 2 likely not coherent review from yours truly. A short version for those who won't read the whole thing is; It is good, slightly better than the previous season, not groundbreakingly much and it is still more or less the same show with same flaws and feels. If the first season is not your thing then this season might still not for you, but if you're looking forward for some improvement then it has improved a little and certainly now has the room to explore now that it's out of the introductory period.

Now bullets point time:

-Overview

Last season was kind of an introductory season that spent 5 of 6 episodes on Introduction characters which is not a bad thing but it meants that we has no time to get to the plot or episodes that experiments with the characters in different scenario yet. With this season yes we finally getting off to have an actual episodes and some semblance of overarching plot. Most of the episodes is the "Dragons of the episode" format which while scratch exactly the ich I need for this sort of show but it can also get exhausted at time tho  with "new dragons introdueced>they fight the dragons>they overcome the problem. but that might be just me binging all the episodes in one go. Also the thing in last season about how it seems to has too much call back and seems to lack the sense of self is actually improved here. Apart from the actual dragons from the old show showing up, there're no longer visual parallel/call back now which I'm glad.

Like I said it's still pretty much what you got from the first season, nothing groundbreaking just a substantially fun time for those that crave more dragons, there're still clinches, scient base and all that.

- Characters

Tom and Jun is still the blandest ones of the group but I do get a hang of their character and their fuction in the group now. Tom has issues with impulse and keeping secrets, but he has a good heart. I like that they touch upon the fact that he felt bad about "ki,lling" the Fault ripper, something the httyd never touch upon with their red death (not that they need to) so it's nice to see that has some sort of the follow up if only it has lasted longer than "ok I vow to never k,ill a dragon again"

Jun's obsession with occult now above being a quirk function in the story as sort of exposition dumb. as oppose to D'angelo with his ranger knowledge and Alex with her tech, make the three of the group each has not just different personality but different role. I think D'angeleo is slightly worse if I'm to be mean. He's still the good kid but they play his goofy funny guy to the obnoxious level that he's almost like Snotlout now and not the good written one. But I do appreciated the episode that feature his  issues with his dad and how that conflict with Tom. Alex is still my favourite, incredibly she has the good chemistry with everyone she interacted despite her personality. I feel like for some people her constant snark and negativity might get under their skin but so far I like it and I think that's a good contrast with how she's initially introduced also go back to the chemistry, I can feel her getting more important role later on, she's really climbing up that ladder.

The dragons themselves also got personalities too, well not Thunder he's still bland but the rest of them I really like, it's not much different from the original 5 but everytime a dragon made a decision for themselves or showing emotion I actually really like it.

I kinda don't like the adult characters if I'm being honest. Like I like Tom's mom relationship with him and I like Alex's moms but whenever adults show up it would lead to all the scient base talks and bussiness and yeah that's kind of the show worst quality which lead too---

-"The villains"

eh I'm not feeling it and I think it is my least favourite part of the show. There're three villains (if we could call it that) Sledkin (if that's her name) is boring with all her capatalism talks it's so on the nose and cartoonishly bad, her past with tom's mom might be interesting in the future but even now I still don't like their banters all that much. Then there's Eugene who's not really a villain really he's just their to be the annoying brother. I'm less annoyed about his personality than the fact that he's got nothing to do in the story and just there to stop the plot. I have expect him to join the crew at some point and get his own dragon, that might actually be better.

Then there's mr. buzzsaw over there, the bonker edgy teenager that made me 80% sure he gotta be Dagur ancester or just downgrade spiritual sucessor. He's lorax villain level bad if you look at him as villain. Mr. "I like the sound of trees being cut down" over here.

-Unicorn

We don't talk about Bublehorn---Ok ok so when it was first reveal in the trailer I thought "Rainbowhorn! My least favourite dragons ever that I'm not looking forward to see!" despite all this I was actually excited at the introductuon of Rescue Riders dragons into the show even if the one being introduced are these beasts. I know a lot of people won't but my line of thought is "if Nine realms is there to blend all the universe together and fixing all the continuity then so be it" then the dragons actually being introduced in the show is......a different dragons, that look exactly a like but has different name and ability, cool, so now we got the beasts and they aren't even actually truely from Rescues riders. ok cool. What can I say I don't like them but! I do appreciated that they make it very clear that these dragons are well....ev,il. just cute evil little things. so on that note their design actually serving the purposed, the music that acompany them are on purposed too. make it clear that they're annoying and weird and creepy and evil.

(I still hope they added more RR dragons in future season)

-Magma Breather

I was kinda eh when I see them in trailer but I actually really like how it looks in the episodes, a solid round boy design.

-Feather(hides) my beloved

While Gemsbreaker still beating it in terms of my favourite design, Feather is now officially my favourite character from the show. She's just so cute, so baby, so expressive. She brings life to the show.  I'm smithen. Whenever there's the part that I'm not fully entertain just watching Feather in the background is entertaining enough. Truly the show's MVP. Her and Alex, my fav pair. also not just her but the featherhides! Seeing the wild molten ones being absolutely feral and derange are a treat. and the Titan, what a beauty, the entire episode just made me happy and gushing. (drops a bunch of images)

-Flood fang

I don't want to be predictable but obviously I see big chubby pancakey big mouthy water dragon and fall in love. That said I'm slightly disappoint it's not actually Fatomfin like I have speculated. Not the show fault but I just think it would be nice to finally tie up that Fathomfin loose end. As for the episode it shows up in is actually in one of the weaker episodes in my opinion unfortunately. Thanks to a lot of scient base being relevent. But Tom and Alex interaction is nice.

-Spiderwing

Spiderwings are kinda what i was hoping for when I said I want Nine realms to actually has some grotesque looking dragons to counter the critique that the dragons desgin in the show look a little baby, like having their "Whispering Death" if you will. That said the Spiderwings themsellves are kinda disappointing. I think they play the spider part a little too straight and suffer the same problem with the Slitherwing in that that dragon is just snake with wing, this dragon is just Spider with wings. I wished for more lizard feature like Silkspanner.

-Yo Razorwhip be getting an upgrade tho!

To those razorwhip fan who isn't going to watch the show, this one is for you. Razorwhip can now create tornado and fire tornado just by flying in circle cutting through wing or twirling their tails,

-Skrill

Slightly disappoint that it wasn't reveal/more or less decomfirm that Thunder is part skrill like I've speculated which again more on me than the show but I just feel that the design on Thunder wings tips are deliberated as did all the spikes and his underwings and that would explained how there're more nightlight, seeing Skrill showing up in the trailer make me think they might actually go for that route but alas. because of the high expectation the Skrill in that episodes is kind of underwhelm actually now that it's just another ev,il dragon they need to defeat, yeah it still serve it role in the different sort of revealations (more on that later) but the episode itself is also a drag, Like they made it a two parter and don't know what to do with the remain time so it was spent on haha funny Eugene antics that you would expect it to go somewhere like him actually finding out about dragons (which he did he just blush it off so all those screentime is kinda useless)

-The Nine realms

So two season in and there're still no actual confirmation of what the nine realms is but Jun kinda eluding to it in this season and we might have a good theory on it now, basically like some fan speculated, it is a Nine region of the hidden world with HTTYD one being just part of it. Make sense because like someone has pointed out Nine realms actually isn't on the same regeion as HTTYD, America vs North Europe which explain all the different dragons and how in this season when they cross they border they're facing a lot of old face guarding the board like Razorwhip and skrills.

-Looking ahead

Ok so what's all the loose end we have currently? Thunder still looking for his family. Tom also still looking for his past family and there's some sort of hint that berkains had made it to the hidden world somehow. They've discovered the HTTYD hidden world. What's with the crystal? are they actually dragon crystals like in my sotry? am I going to have a fanmade lore that was made canon twice by both the hidden world and now nine realms!?

Let's end this off with the dragon ranking from both seasons bam bam bam

1. Gemsbreaker

2. Featherhide (the molt and titans version are above gemsbreaker)

3.  Flood Fang

4. Magma Breather

5. Mist twister

6. Thunder

7. Fault ripper

8. Spiderwing

9. Bubblehorn

#httyd #dragons the nine realms #httyd the nine realms #the nine realms #dragons: the nine realms #httyd nine realms #long post

[hollowsart]

I love reading spicy fanfic occasionally like anyone else, and although I, myself, am not really a writer, though I have written a little before, I do gotta say..

it’s kinda funny when you’re reading a fic that’s meant to be a one-shot of sorts but they speed through the backstory/lore of the character and don’t really provide much for build up to the spicy part. just kinda.. yeets the reader into it guns ablaze and no hesitation L O L

I find an easy way to get around that for a one-shot if all you want is to just skip the preparation and go straight into eating... Just give a small intro that expresses what most would already know about said character and establish that the character and whoever they’re with have been together for quite some time already which would make the flow into the spicy section you really wanna right a lot smoother and less awkward?

for longer stories, the build up is easier to write since you can just play around with the chemistry between the characters before you get to the “fun stuff” in a satisfying way. (although that’s not to say there aren’t still a few longer fics that have the same ‘speed-dating’ issue of rushing the story, it’s ok, I understand lol)

The “Fun Stuff” portion of any fic, long or one-shot, is more enjoyable and satisfying to read when there’s been a decently established chemistry or relationship or whatever between the characters without it coming off as.. awkward or weird, for lack of better words..?

idk this is just kinda my own personal pet peeve or preference when reading such stuff. but yeah. no hate to anyone, sometimes the characters are well portrayed and the writing really isn’t that bad. It’s just a small trend I’ve noticed for some fics I’ve read with certain characters.

none of this is meant to be taken in a negative light btw

#Ghostie mumbles #this is just a random post talking about fic writing. #would say this is suggestive but it's incredibly vague so not really. #//delete later

[maximuswolf]

Can someone please explain the Beyoncé acclaim? (Not a hate post I promise)

Can someone please explain the Beyoncé acclaim? (Not a hate post, I promise) I really like Destiny's Child a lot. Their music was fun and silly often to the point of being outright comical. There's not a lot of music out there like that. And Beyoncé always was the standout among the group, rightfully positioned up front. She's a charismatic performer with strong vocal talent.I haven't loved most of her solo music as much, but I did like her earlier music.I also admire her more recent album concepts. I appreciate that she creates wholly conceived albums, and I appreciate the ideas that have driven the Lemonade, Renaissance and Country Carter albums.As a gay man who came of age in the 90s, I particularly looked forward to the Renaissance album...but then I ultimately found it unlistenable because of the lyrics, which by and large are absolute nonsense as far as my ears can hear. Not "good nonsense" (for my taste, all things being subjective) like Destiny's Child, but more self-serious nonsense that has potential to be funny but isn't presented in a way that seems to be meant to be funny.The lyrics...Ass gettin' biggerRacks gettin' biggerCash gettin' largerHe thought he was loving me good, I told him, "Go harder"She thought she was killin' that shit, I told her, "Go harder"Just look at this alkaline wrist 'cause I got that waterAss getting thiquerCash getting thiquerThat's that thique, that's that real shitThat's that jelly, baby, champagne and cherry, babyThat's that thique, that's that ball dropThat's that keep going, that's that never stopThat's that thique, that's that na-na, that oochy coochy, la, laYeah, this that Fiji agua, candy girl piñataHit it in the car and take you back to the casaBet I got you rock now, that thique all over the yacht, nowThat's that freaknik, that's that 1996That's that moon Miami bass, 12 in the trunk 808Uh, that's that Castro, eat that shit like Mastro'sShe say she on a diet, girl, you better not lose that ass, thoughAs the kids say, "I just can't."I really can't get into her music.And that's OK, of course. I absolutely accept that all taste is subjective and I don't condemn anyone for their creative output.My criticism, really, is of critics—because I just can't understand the universal acclaim of her music because of the lyrics. Metacritic gives Renaissance, the album from which the lyrics above come (and of which they are pretty representative) an average score of 91/100—universal acclaim.Notoriously hypercritical magazine Pitchfork gave it a 9/10 and wrote this about it:Renaissance is a commanding prescription to be perceived again, without judgment. Listening to the album, you can feel the synapses coming back together one by one...which absolutely baffles me.Can anyone explain what I am missing? I'd like to be able to appreciate Beyoncé's work but I am just bewildered. In all honesty.Also, the song "Thique," quoted above, credits three writers.The lead song on her new album, Country Carter, credits THIRTEEN writers. Thirteen writers!As I mentioned, I came of age in the 1990s, when women singer-songwriters dominated a major share of the music scene, and most of those extraordinary talents composed their own music, sang their own music without pitch correction, performed their own music, and wrote their own lyrics without any cowriters. Some such as Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, have continued to work this way for all these decades, and it's really hard for me to understand most of today's current artists who are universally praised for their songwriting when all of their songs are written by committees of cowriters, and some of their song lyrics seem to be to be pure gibberish without any insight whatsoever.So I ask again, in all earnestness, can someone explain Beyoncé's work to me in a way that will help me to appreciate her as a songwriter, and help me to overlook the seeming superficiality of her lyrics to understand the treasures that seemingly every critic can see so easily? Submitted April 22, 2024 at 08:32AM by AmericanLymie https://ift.tt/H9rMZJz via /r/Music

#IFTTT #reddit

[keepsmagnetoaway]

X-Men: The Hidden Years 1 (December 1999)

John Byrne & Tom Palmer

it'shappeningagain.gif

Ok, so. At the beginning of 1970 the ongoing X-Men title was cancelled (or, at least, it kept publishing, but all it printed was reprints of existing stories): it was revived five years later. In the intervening time, the X-Men still canonically existed within the Marvel universe, and popped up occasionally in other people's books, some of which we will eventually be reading. Once they'd come back later in 1970s, though, and then become massively popular in the 80s and 90s, Marvel concluded it might be fun (i.e. profitable) to go back and tell some stories of what happened to the still-around original team after the cancellation of the book. Thus, X-Men: The Hidden Years.

This wasn't a throw-away cash-in, though, or at least wasn't meant to be: Marvel brought in the then-legendary John Byrne to write and draw the series. Byrne had drawn and written for X-Men in the late 70s, in the heyday of its revival, contributing to the most important X-Men stories ever told, the Dark Phoenix saga and Days of Future Past (someday we might even get to read them), had then written a number of massively successful other Marvel series and then, at the end of the 80s, had been lured away by DC to reboot Superman himself, which he did to considerable acclaim. By the late 90s his star was fading a little bit - notably he was now constantly clashing with his editors and abruptly quitting titles when he didn't get what he wanted - but he was still drawing and writing major titles for DC and Marvel: he was and remains a massively productive and influential figure.

So Marvel - presumably - gritted their teeth and chucked a bunch of money at him to bring his talents back to the X-Men. This isn't the place to do a full history of comics in the 90s, but since Byrne had last written for them, the X-Men too had been on a journey, becoming massively popular and ultimately being the defining superheroes of the massive boom in comics - and then also the poster-children for the crash that came around 1996, when all the hype and collectible mania and, simply, bad art and storytelling came tumbling down (we'll get to some of these issues in, oh, about 2035). Which brings us, confusingly, back to 1970.

Yeah, ok, that was a whoooooole lot of lead-in for, sorry. This is also a very weird issue to read if, like me and perhaps like you if you're following along with this blog, you've just been reading the originals, because Byrne spends the first half of this double-length debut issue recapping what happened in them. Obviously this is a good idea - especially in 1999 when tracking down the issues online would have been next to impossible - but for me it's just very funny to see all this stuff I was reading last week be catapulted fowards into a totally different style and summarised in one panel per issue.

The contrast with the older art, which is still fresh in my mind, is obviously also interesting, and I think mostly not favourable to Byrne and Palmer's stuff here. This art isn't bad exactly, but it's...dull? Like, what is the style here? There barely is one.

It's very primary-colours-driven, a little simple-feeling. It's alright, but it's just...alright.

Anyway, jesus, does anything actually happen in this issue? Well, yes. The point Byrne is picking up from leaves him with two strands: the main team's adventures, and the fact that Iceman just sort-of quit, partly in response to the arrival of Havok and the whole vague love-triangle with Lorna. So we get a certain amount of this sort of thing.

Do you see what I mean when I say the art here is kind of childish? It seems sort of simplistic. as, frankly, does much of the dialogue.

Still, the main team (minus Iceman) are instead on their way to the Savage Land, for...reasons. Those reasons involving having to contact fucking Ka-Zar again.

Once there, they fight some "natives" before being captured by them, and Jean appears to die. Obviously this kind of fake-out is even sillier in a prequel book where we know she doesn't die at this point in the timeline but this post is long enough already so I'll not show you that whole bit. I'll finish instead by saying this: this shit wasn't ok in the 1960s, and it's really not ok in 1999. Jesus Christ.

I guess what I'm saying is, I don't think I'm going to enjoy this series.

#x men comics #an xmen a day #xmen #xmen the hidden years #john byrne

[consumeronionbulletin]

Love to Hate You (2023)

This was a really fun rom-com that kind of slid under the radar this year. While the premise seems a little contrived (like something from a webtoon), by the end of the first episode, I was willing to just go along with it and enjoy the romp, instead of thinking too deeply about it.

What Worked

The series is short and moves pretty quick with few wasted scenes. The writing is confident, and the two leads are fun to watch, with alot of good chemistry. It felt more like watching an extended movie rather than your typical drama, but I liked the change of pace.

I especially enjoyed hearing Mi-ran's take on just about anything. You rarely get a character with such a clear, straightforward voice in a drama, especially from a female character, and it was nice. Like all good comedy, there's a point being made behind all the jokes (especially the stuff coming from Mi-ran), but it rarely leaned too hard into the point it was making. Show never forgot to be funny.

What Didn't Work

You have to accept alot of things if you want to watch this drama. That Mi-ran is just naturally good at everything. That Kang-ho is so broken up over this one bad relationship that he's willing to just take it out on every woman he comes across. That there's basically only one law firm in all of Korea that handles this kind of celebrity nonsense, etc. Again, I went along with it because it was part of the story. But I also read books where elves and vampires and stuff are real so maybe I'm not the best judge of this.

Side rant: the thing that really let this show down is the marketing. They just didn't know how to get across how funny this show is, and the people writing their synopsis did not have a clue. Also, the two leads (and most of the cast) are so pretty, and they somehow fail to get that across in the promotional materials I've seen. That feels like an epic failure.

The Performances

Kim Ok-bin as "super attorney" Yeo Mi-ran. It's obvious how much fun the actor was having with this role, and I enjoyed watching her throw herself into the part. There was a little depth to the character, especially with her family dynamics, but there was also alot of physicality going on and you could tell that was Ok-bin's favorite moments. The only weakness was that we didn't get as much time seeing her do her lawyer thing too. There was enough there (especially since it was only 10 episodes), but a little more would be nice.

Teo Yoo as "super actor" Oh Se-na. I enjoyed this actor in Past Lives but it was nice seeing him do more in this role, especially with the comedy. I also liked his relationship with Do Won-jun. It could have devolved into some kind of unfunny "no-homo" antics, but it never did. It was good seeing two men be close and supportive of each other.

Kim Ji-hoon as "manager bestie" Do Won-jun. I liked what they did with this character. Every interaction with the crazy actors was fun to watch (though not fun for the character, probably), and had some funny moments. It all helped make his relationship with the one "normal" character in the show seem more believable. Won-jun had enough drama in his job, he didn't need any in his love life.

Go Won-hee as "flight attendant bestie" Shin Na-eun. I liked the way the actor played this character, though she was written to be a little passive. I think the story they gave her, including the love line with Won-jun was good, though they didn't have the chemistry the two leads had to make it as fun to watch. It's one of those things where if they had more time to develop it, it probably would have been better.

Kim Sungyryung as "actress unnie" Choi Soo-jin. This character was so much fun to watch and the actor did a great job with the role. I would have loved a few more scenes with her, but there wasn't enough time.

Song Ji-woo as "newbie actress" Hwang Ji-ye. I know we're meant to dislike this character, and that she's meant to be kind of a mediocre talent, but I would have been happy enough to have her completely disappear after the first couple episodes. The actor did okay with the stuff they gave her, but some of it felt unnecessary.

Lee Joo-bin as "eternal ex-girlfriend" Oh Se-na. This actress played this exact same kind of role in She Would Never Know. And she did a good job with what she was given, but I wish they had given her more. They keep acting like the character did a terrible thing, but they never said (or showed) what it was, and they could have.

Choi Yoon-so as Grace. Who was this mystery producer? What was her relationship with the leads really about? I wanted to know more, and they never gave it to me. Is that on the actor's performance, making a nothing character seem interesting, or was I just expecting more? I guess I'll never know.

The crazy lawyer brigade. I had fun watching these guys, but I'm glad they chose to use them in moderation. Except maybe the Ex-boyfriend Lawyer, we still got too much of him.

Mi-ran's parents. The actors did a good job showing how messed up her relationship with her father was. I was happy with the amount of them that we got, though I did enjoy the mother's extra appearances (played by Kim Ye-ryeong).

The action movie gang. This was the most fun to watch, including the director who never spoke, paired up with the stuntman who never shut up. Way more interesting than the law firm stuff and I think it'd be fun to see what they might have done with a longer series.

TL; DR:

This show is a fun romp that you can't take too seriously.

#my kdrama notes #love to hate you