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nohoperadio · 12 hours

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That cool bee book I was talking about a while ago mostly refrains from philosophical digressions (which I think is a strength, I appreciated how the author had total confidence that just clearly presenting the facts about his subject would be enough to make a fascinating book without the need for any "...and here's why that should blow your mind" editorializing, and he's totally right), but there was one towards the end I've found myself thinking about a lot, which is: he wants people to stop using "self-consciousness" (i.e. the concept exemplified by the mirror test but used implicitly or explicitly in tons of other contexts) as a criterion for which animals can be considered sentient/morally relevant/having significant inner lives/however you want to describe it. Not, as you might expect, because he thinks it's an unreasonably high bar to meet, but because it's such a low bar that it produces no distinctions: he argues that basically any animal with any kind of developed central nervous system has to have some kind of self-consciousness almost by definition.

The example I remember best is: imagine you can see an object in your visual field getting closer to you. No matter the specifics, it's obviously always going to make a huge difference to how you evaluate this situation whether the cause of the object getting closer is a] the object is moving towards you, or b] you are moving towards the object. If a, then something might be pursuing you or falling on you or a thousand other things that are just not even worth considering in the case of b. But visually the two cases are indistinguishable; if you're going to be able to track the difference, your brain has to be putting at least some work into keeping tabs on what your own intentions are and what choices you're making as you move through the world, predicting the expected consequences of those choices, and maintaining a fairly tidy mental separation between stuff in the world that you're making happen and stuff in the world that's just happening of its own volition. Otherwise, every time you walk towards a rock you'll freak out and think the rock is rolling into you, or vice versa.

And it's not hard to see how this applies to your entire sensory world right, it applies to sounds and tactile sensations and even feelings internal to your body to some extent, if you're going to both perceive the world and take actions in the world then it's mandatory to mentally separate yourself and the world before that's going to yield even an ounce of helpful information, you just can't function successfully on the most basic level if you're processing stuff that you're doing on the same level as stuff that's happening, if you're in that state then you simply don't have a usable model of the world at all, you just have chaos.

So you can very easily eliminate a certain seductive narrative about the evolution of consciousness, which starts with very primitive animals who are mentally processing nothing but basic sensory inputs, then as you rise up the chain more complex animals are forming concepts of objects and building up a more nuanced understanding of the world, until finally you approach humans and the mind becomes so subtle and sophisticated that it gains access to this special advanced meta-level of thought where it can even understand itself! No, the self is precisely the one idea that has to be in place from the very beginning, before any of it has even the most rudimentary practical value. Self-consciousness isn't the pinnacle of the mind's evolution, it's one of the lowest, most basic foundations that everything else builds off of.

I think this is really cool stuff! I don't know enough about the relevant academic philosophy of mind debates to say how far all this does or doesn't speak to that, maybe someone will tell me the "self-consciousness" concept being attacked here is a strawman somehow, I don't know. But it's definitely impacted the way I (just a dumb guy who likes creatures) think about our small small cousins and what their lives might be like and I think it's super interesting. If you think it's interesting too then maybe you wanna buy The Mind of a Bee by Lars Chittka and read it. It's mostly not about this stuff, as I say it's light on philosophy and heavy on bee-life immersion, but if you actually read this whole post then you're probably in the market for that I feel like.

#creatures: they've got a lot going on #I think we'd better just let them get on with it #nohopereadio #uninteresting

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writing-for-life · 3 days

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Dream's Therapist

I’m not sure if I should apologise for this brain fart in advance, but it just found its way to the page after this. Yes, this is how my brain works (or rather doesn’t)…

Intake Session

The client presented for his intake session on 22/04. When he made his appointment, he showed particular interest in the fact that this is an integrative therapy practice which uses cognitive, behavioural, somatic and Jungian approaches and is also versed in sex therapy. Naturally the ethical kind.

He was extremely on time (that is to say, close to three hours early), but he insisted on spending that time in the waiting area instead of coming back later. My receptionist assured me he did not move from the offered chair during that time and that he, in fact, did not move at all. She occasionally had to check (inconspicuously of course) if he was breathing.

Upon entering my office, he was polite if slightly aloof. He was dressed all black and refused to take off his coat. No problems with personal hygiene could be perceived from a distance. After getting seated, he enquired whether I could dim the lights ever so slightly because it was too bright, to which I agreed.

I noticed his staring at the crystal paperweight on my table for an extended period of time before he, seemingly out of nowhere, asked: “I trust your office is a mere illusion, a fleeting moment in existence?”

DT: Something like that I guess. What brings you here?

Dream: Well, I have these recurring nightmares. Not while I am sleeping, since I obviously don’t sleep.

DT: Obviously.

Dream: I create them.

DT: The nightmares?

Dream: Yes. And all of a sudden, they all suffer from… existential dread instead of helping to get rid of it. Also, my hair keeps getting tangled and knotted all the time, but I am not quite… certain if this relates in any way.

DT: Interesting. And how does that make you feel?

Dream (deadpan): Feel? I don't “feel”. I weave narratives, conjure nightmares, and occasionally attend celestial tea parties. Emotions are for mortals. The hair is inconvenient though.

DT: Right. Let's explore your childhood. Did you have any issues with your family?

Dream (I notice uneasy shifting in his seat): My family? My father, always running late. My mother… (I notice a slight tremble in his bottom lip)… well, she is… dark. My sister, Death, tells me I am a buzzkill, especially at family gatherings. Truthfully, I believe all my siblings are just trying to gaslight me into believing so because I can be… quite entertaining? (I notice uncertainty). Plus, one of them is… let's just say: they are the reason I have commitment issues.

DT: Commitment issues. Let’s expand on that a bit. Have you ever been in love?

Dream: (I notice extreme rigidity): Love is a quaint human invention, like gluten-free pizza or reality TV.

DT (I don’t know what that means and ignore it): I sense reluctance around the topic?

(He stares at the paperweight for a good 3 minutes)

Okay, let's try word association. I'll say a word, and you respond with the first thing that comes to mind. Ready?

Dream: Proceed, mortal.

DT: Sand.

Dream (I notice a raised eyebrow and a slightly tetchy sigh): Golden grain sifting through my fingers.

DT: Pillow.

Dream: A convenient weapon during astral battles.

DT (I momentarily feel confused and lose my footing, to which he reacts with)

Dream: I could show you? (I notice he makes a move to get up from his seat)

DT: That won’t be necessary right now… Word association: Unicorn.

Dream: (I notice grave seriousness) My ex-wife. I think.

DT: That should suffice for now. Let’s briefly discuss coping mechanisms. How do you handle stress?

Dream: Stress? When the universe unravels and the fabric of the Dreaming tears, I binge-watch reality shows. The Kardashians, mostly.

DT: Why the Kardashians?

Dream: Distraction. Inspiration. For all manner of things. Mostly nightmares.

DT (I notice the recurring theme of nightmares): Do you hold any hopes or dreams for the future?

Dream (I notice a nervous twitch around his mouth which he tries to hide unsuccessfully): I am the King of Dreams. Dreams shape reality itself. But if you must know, I dream of a world where everyone flosses regularly and understands general relativity.

DT: Why is flossing important?

Dream: I just like good teeth.

DT: Why general relativity?

Dream: Because it would help. With ships.

DT: What ships?

Dream (I notice eye-rolling and bridge-of-nose-pinching): Never mind.

DT: It’s okay, we can talk about anything that seems important to you.

Dream: It is of no import. Is time up yet?

DT: No.

Dream: Good, I shall leave then.

DT (I feel confused but try not to show it and respect the client’s wish to leave. I’m getting paid either way): Same time next week?

Dream (who is already standing): Time is a mere construct. But yes, let us pencil it in. And remember, reality is just a draft…

Further notes: The client suffers from insomnia and thinks he creates nightmares. He potentially has internalised he is one. He seems detached from his feelings to the point he believes he does not have any emotions and does not seem to relate to being human. He feels misunderstood by his whole family and suffers from the delusion that his sister is Death. He makes another of his siblings responsible for his failed relationships, which has led to the ingrained belief that love is not for him. He seems to compensate with believing he is above others and refers to himself as the “King of Dreams”. I notice a tendency to shirk potentially painful topics. He seems to communicate diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities apart from binge-watching TV, but he seems quite enamoured with the concept of astral battles and general relativity, which requires further exploration…

#the sandman #sandman #dream of the endless #morpheus #Dream’s therapist #satire #or a tragicomedy of sorts #dream of the endless RP #morpheus RP #the stupid ideas generated by polls

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bettyshoweduptotheparty · 2 days

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A Wrinkle in Time - The Story of Us and the Met Gala 2024

I don't want to raise any undue kaylor hopes but I have to dump my observations here, so enter at your own risk 😉

Since Midnights Taylor has told us that the love blackout is a glitch, or a wrinkle in time, something that interrupted the intended state of being, but will eventually end.

Glitch - The system's breaking down Midnight Rain - So I peered through a window A deep portal, time travel All the love we unravel And the life I gave away Hits Different - A wrinkle in time, like the crease by your eyes

Side note: 'A Wrinkle in Time' is actually a book by Madeleine L'Engle and it's a science fiction story about a girl who gets sucked into an alternate universe run by an evil entity called IT that forces people into conformity (heteronormativity much...?). She eventually triumphs over the evil by facing her own fears and insecurities and becomes the hero in a 'love beats all evil' kind of way. 👀

Now that we have TTPD there is an even stronger narrative of coming home to the person who's been waiting for you all this time (I'm still in shock about that tbh).

MBOBHFT - Just say when, I'd play again FOTS - Now, pretty baby, I'm runnin' back home to you, To the house where you still wait up and that porch light gleams To the one who says I'm the girl of his American dreams The Alchemy - But I'm coming back so strong, So when I touch down, call the amateurs and cut 'em from the team Ditch the clowns, get the crown, baby, I'm the one to beat

And in addition, in The Albatross the villain (Anti-Hero?) eventually becomes the hero, much like the heroine in A Wrinkle in Time:

She's the albatross She is here to destroy you -> Spread my wings like a parachute I'm the albatross I swept in at the rescue The devil that you know Looks now more like an angel

So, it might be foolish, but I'm tentatively optimistic that a Kaylor revival is on the cards. And our Anti-Hero seems to be preparing for her act of heroism.

This is where the guesswork starts so leave now if you're not up for a bit of clowning 🤡 Ok, so I noticed this today:

In So High School, Taylor places her bearding show with 🏈 at a time 'at the brink of a wrinkle in time'. At the brink means the wrinkle in time is imminent. Are we about to time travel back to when the glitch began in 2016? And have we not already said that Taylor's recent overexposure, Bahamas trip and Coachella are all very 2016-coded? And do you remember what else she last attended in 2016? Oh yes, the Met Gala. Which brings us to....The Garden of Time.

The theme of the 2024 Met Gala is 'The Garden of Time', based on a short story by JG Ballard. I've put a summary above, but basically, it's about a man who can reverse time by cutting flowers from his garden, each time buying him and his wife a bit more time in their little paradise before they eventually pack up all their treasures and brace the invasion. Firstly, that really reminds me of the🎃 7th message that's about picking daisies and dandelions in the garden of the house that is their safe haven behind the tall fence. But you can't keep a paradise hidden forever, every move to keep away the invasion also takes a sacrifice from the beauty of the garden itself.

Secondly, this year also just so happens to be 13 years since Taylor and Karlie first met at the 2011 Met Gala (yes, they'd been introduced before then but that's the first time we know they spoke and started their in joke about 'baking cookies together'). So...13 years of the story of us, so to speak. And the Story of Us came out as a single on April 19th 2011 and was recently referenced in both the Fortnight music video and the Spotify pop-up library in LA.

So.....is it time to tell the story of us 13 years later?

#kaylor #the story of us #a wrinkle in time #the tortured poets department #the garden of time

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scoonsalicious · 2 days

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Bonus: Iron Man 1; 1/?

So, I decided to re-watch Iron Man tonight, and I started thinking about how Pocket would fit into existing MCU narratives. So, here's a little bonus, taking place during the first Iron Man movie. This might turn into something, it might not. For now, just a little fun thing I did, mostly so I could write more Pocket/Tony (even though she hasn't been given the nickname 'Pocket' yet). Enjoy!

“Only you would fuck a girl who called you a war profiteer,” you told Tony over the video call from your office in New York. “She still upstairs?”

“Miss Potts should be taking care of her right now,” Tony said as he fiddled with the engine of his 1932 Ford Flathead Roadster in his Malibu garage.

“How’s that working out, anyway?” you asked, your interest piqued. “She’s lasted loads longer than any of your other personal assistants.”

“She’s good,” Tony said, taking a piece of the car’s engine out and putting it aside. “Very efficient.”

“I like her,” you told him. “I think she’s been good for you.”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t need her if you just moved out here permanently,” he told you.

“And just leave the New York office to Obadiah Stane? I don’t think so,” you said.

“I don’t know why you hate him so much, Kiddo,” Tony said, turning his focus away from the car and fully onto you.

“He’s the one who hates me,” you clarified. “I’m just matching his energy.”

“I think you’re reading too much into it. He’s a little wary of you, that’s all.”

“He hates that you nominated me for Chief Technical Officer,” you said. “He officially opposed the nomination in front of the board.”

Tony frowned. “When the fuck did that happen? Why wasn’t I informed of it?”

You rolled your eyes. “Maybe if you spent a little less time shooting craps and fucking Vanity Fair reporters, and actually attended a board meeting every once in a while,” you said.

“I’ll talk to him,” Tony assured you.

“No, don’t,” you protested. “It’s bad enough he thinks I’m just another one of your fangirls. The last thing I need is for you to make a demand on him for my sake.”

“Well, what do you want me to do?” he asked you. “This job is yours– it should be yours. You’ve earned it.”

You sighed. “And I appreciate you saying that. Thing is, I’m not going to prove that by having you tell people. Only way it’s going to happen is if they see what I’m capable of, and if I leave New York for Malibu, they never will.”

“Did I ever tell you you’re very annoying when you make a valid point that goes against what I want?” Tony asked you.

“Frequently. All the time. Why do you think I enjoy doing it so much?”

“You know, I think I liked you better when you were just a stripper,” he said.

You stuck your tongue out at him through the video feed. “Yeah, well, whose fault is it that I’m not anymore?”

“You could always join my flight crew, if you ever wanted back on the pole,” he teased.

“Please,” you scoffed at the suggestion. “You call them dancers? They should be ashamed of themselves.”

“Hey now, what they lack in rhythm, they make up for in other… areas,” Tony smirked.

“Do you ever get tired of being a giant slut?” you asked affectionately.

“Not yet, but if I do, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Maybe second,” you told him.

“Whaddaya mean?”

“I don’t know– maybe you should tell Miss Potts first,” you grinned. You looked behind him to see the woman in question coming down the stairs through the glass door behind him. “Speaking of which, it’s her birthday today, so be nice.”

Tony’s eyes widened. “How the hell do you know that?” he asked you.

“I pay fucking attention, dumbass,” you said.

Pepper Potts entered the basement, talking on the phone. “You are supposed to be halfway around the world right now,” she said to Tony as she tapped something on her tablet.

“Hey, Pepper,” you called.

“(Y/N), hi,” the other woman said. “How’s the nomination going?”

You shrugged. “Oh, you know, just roadblocks from the patriarchy. No big deal.”

Pepper nodded understandingly at that.

“How’d she take it?” Tony asked Pepper, interrupting your conversation.

“Like a champ,” Pepper offered.

“Which translates to ‘like an obnoxious bitch,” you chuckled. Pepper winked at you over Tony’s shoulder. “You owe her a raise, Boss,” you told Tony.

“You give a raise,” Tony said. He directed his next words to Pepper: “Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?”

“Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago,” she told him.

“That’s funny,” Tony said as he continued to play with the engine of the Roadster. “I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there.”

“This is the flight to Afghanistan?” you asked, and Pepper nodded at you.

“I mean,” Tony spoke over you, “doesn’t it defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?”

“Ignore him, Pepper,” you said, turning to face your computer monitor. “Tony, if you don’t get your ass to the airport right now, I’m going to hack into JARVIS’s system right now and swap all your playlists from metal to nineties bubblegum pop.”

“You wouldn’t.” Tony said, standing up and wiping his hands on a towel.

“Don’t test me, Boss,” you threatened. “This is a huge-ass contract.”

Inside Tony’s garage, the opening notes of Hanson’s MMMBop began to play.

“Fine, enough! You win, you tiny monster!’ Tony grunted, throwing his towel down.

You immediately cut the music. “Get on that plane,” you warned him. “I’ll know if you don’t.” You gave him a Look. “And Pepper, tell him to stop pulling your pigtails, okay?”

Pepper blushed, but she just nodded.

“Give Rhodey a hug for me,” you told Tony, “and let me know when you land, you absolute dipshit.” You disconnected the call.

“You know,” said Tony, turning back to Pepper, “sometimes I regret ever meeting that kid.”

Pepper smiled. “No, you don’t.”

Tony grinned at her. “No, no I don’t. Not even for a second. Now, about that Jackson Pollock painting…”

#unwanted bonus

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kateisprettyodd · 3 days

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Discussing Watcher again lmao

Okay, now that a couple of days have passed and emotions aren't running high anymore - I wanna talk about the situation, the backlash, their potential response and everything else once again (with somewhat of a refreshed POV lmao).

I haven't changed my mind about this move whatsoever since the moment I heard about it. I'm an international fan, and through the very kind Tumblr user who is organizing a subscription match-up between fans through Email - I think it was @prettyghoul- someone was thankfully willing to reach out to me and share their account. So the money issue isn't a problem for me, sure, but WAIT - the website isn't international, I don't know if it's gonna be made available in my 'insignificant' Eastern European country (lmao), so a whole slew of issues arise that aren't money related (but of course, someone else would be paying, so I can't really speak on that issue on that person's behalf).

Secondly, people who are defending Watcher on here and on other social media - I understand you, I get you, but to be perfectly honest some of you are cherry-picking the information you present and are somehow blind to their intentions, either on purpose or genuinely. I don't understand how people can't see that making this move is so incredibly selfish. That's the best and frankly only way to describe it. And no, it's not because creatives don't deserve to be paid for the work that they do, and it's not because we are ENTITLED to receiving free content on YouTube (which is the main narrative being pushed by defenders on here) - but it's because their ambitions do not line up with the audience-based shows they have been creating. They have incredible creative abilities and true passion for creating shows which are "much higher-quality than other YouTube shows" (simply not true but I digress), but nothing will ever change the fact that they started on YouTube, that their main audience was cultivated on YouTube, the place they have come to despise because of the limitations to THEIR creative work, such as appealing to advertisers and whatever else they mentioned in the video. This I can understand, YouTube's algorithm sucks and advertisers are also horrible, as well as the fact that 'unappealing' yet passionate shows don't do well - this can all take a hit on their creativity and their passion for YouTube. I understand. But they have to weigh these cons against the pros, and they clearly did a horrible job of that. YouTube allows them to increase their relatability and their marketability if you play by the rules, YouTube allows them to connect with other creators WHICH SOME OF THEIR SHOWS LITERALLY depend on, YouTube allows them things like the discover page and the trending page where new audiences can find your stuff once you expand your reach to appeal to different demographics and interest groups, YouTube Membership is a thing if you need income, whatever. I understand that they don't want to play by the rules, but if your audience is gone then who are you making these shows for??? When your main venture is paid, even if it is 'only' 5.99 a month (lmao again), other options where they can make revenue immediately close up, since they can't really justify them. Why does their Patreon still exist??? What was the purpose of PodWatcher??? How are shows like Are You Scared? and Too Many Spirits going to survive on a streamer, shows which are based on that exact YouTube vibe of low-production two dudes chilling and laughing. Why are they considering their shows TV-caliber? Puppet History and Mystery Files are certainly NOT TV-quality and they are the second- and third-most popular.

Which is what brings me to my next point - how this all seems Ghost Files and Travel Season centered. No one can convince me that most of their expenses are not going to these two shows right now. Ryan said it himself, a season of Ghost Files takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to make, which is fine and I commend him for that effort. I don't even have to tell you why Travel Season also may have cost them a lot of money - which is also fine and I understand the appeal of it. But why not try a different approach? A season of Ghost Files doesn't necessarily have to come out every year, they could space out their budget, spend time churning out Too Many Spirits and Are You Scared (also shows that perform quite well), update their Patreon to look more Mythical Society-esque, do a merch drop (I have seen so many people asking for box-sets of their shows, and I can guarantee people would have paid A LOT of money to get a Puppet History karaoke thing on Patreon or WHEREVER)... Just generally diversify their income??? And space out these GIANT, extremely expensive shows, generally pace themselves and take it easy?

Now, they won't be able to expand their reach EVEN IF they bring new personalities onto the streamer. No one new will hear about them, and if they do, why would they pay for something they've never heard of before? There is no algorithm to cater to the masses which recommends their videos to new people. People who were here from the BFU days are disilluisoned and probably won't pay. They legitimately sacrificed their audience for money to fuel their creative ambitions, but their creative ambitions don't have an outlet anymore.

TO BE CONTINUED as this is too long already

#watcher #ryan bergara #shane madej #steven lim #ghost files #mystery files #watcher entertainment #are you scared #puppet history #too many spirits #travel season

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grimrester · 2 days

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i lied! i did big fibs, i have more to say about the watcher situation after all. some assorted thoughts:

1. i'm a little surprised at just how big the rift is in the fandom post-apology. if i go into the tag, it literally alternates between "you guys are twisted sickos for bullying them into walking back the new platform" and "you guys are major chumps for accepting the apology and my trust is permanently damaged." this is a fandom that previously seemed pretty monolithic to me as an outsider, so i wonder if this will have long term implications for the sustainability of their fandom.

2. they said there'd be a "free subscription" to the platform for patreon supporters. makes sense, since their patreon tiers are mostly more expensive than the watchertv sub. this was presented as an indefinite sub dependent on continuing to pay their patreon, but patrons are receiving emails saying the sub is actually only for 3 free months. i'm like 90% sure this is the same kind of situation where they encouraged password sharing even though the platform doesn't enable it. they once again just seem to not fucking know what the vimeo ott platform they're using is capable of doing. they have to stop making statements like this until they get a better understanding of it because it's continuing to make them look bad.

3. there are multiple reports on reddit that at least ryan and sara (shane's spouse) are deleting comments on their instagram. look, i get it, some of the things people are saying are downright vile. the pointed targeting of steven and the borderline fanfic-writing quality of some of the theories about what went down interpersonally on the team during this decision is fucking weird at best and racist/invasive at worst. furthermore, i dont think making comments on personal instagrams is a good way to be heard. but on the other hand, controlling what people say on your platform right after you made a "we hear you" statement is really bad optics. obviously i think they have a right to delete anything that's outright bigoted, but it seems like they're deleting anything decidedly negative.

4. some of the comments getting deleted are about potential "fake" or "plant" patrons trying to skew the narrative positively on the watcher patreon. i frankly think this is unfounded conspiracy shit until i see substantial proof, but deleting these comments in particular without responding can cause some straight up streisand effect. this can really quickly start snowballing if they make it look like they don't want anyone talking about it. overall i just don't know if they understand just how much they're under the microscope right now. i didn't have to search very much to dig this stuff up - people are watching and documenting them. i think the variety article revealing they did initially intend to remove their backlog and them trying to pretend they didn't walk that back has caused a lot of people to hyper-inspect their every move. they're already in the youtube drama content cycle, and they risk someone making a blowout exposé if they aren't careful.

#watcher #long post

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teddywook · 1 day

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intoxicated ꨄ sungchan

warnings. first person narrative, smut, mention of alcohol consumption and others substances, mdni, semi-public sex, non idol!sungchan x fem!reader, kinda situationship to lovers?, and more i guess...

words. 1.119k

hope you guys like it since it's my first attempt at a fic here (also the first time i write smut). english isn't my firts language, please let me know if something isn't clear enough. enjoy !!

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

the music sounds loudly around me, i feel the vibrations from the speakers shake my chest. my senses are clouded, the alcohol hindering my movements and the smell of cigarettes stinging my nose, making me feel dizzy

my eyelids feel heavy, but i force them open when a strange sensation tickles the back of my neck

dark, big wide-open eyes stares at me from the other side of the crowd of people. i look at sungchan with his eyes fixed on me and i give him a smile before my eyelids droop again, letting myself be enveloped by the music again

we've been in a tug of war for a while, just playing cat and mouse. i want him and he wants me, we simply hadn't done anything to deal with it. but nothing to avoid it either

i feel hands rest on my hips and i open my eyes. he crossed the room to approach me

sungchan is huge compared to my small body, so very tall and so sinfully handsome. his eyes are glassy, bright with lust, he licks his lips and his grip tightens on my skin as i press my body to his. our eyes glued as we begin to dance obscenely together

at one point i have my back against his chest, my hips making circles against his crotch. i can feel his bulge pressing into the curve of my ass, his fingers digging into my skin. his breath is hot on my neck as he leans in to whisper in my ear

—can we go somewhere else?

i feel dizzy between the sensation of his lips on my ear and his hands holding my waist, i can only nod my head and let him drag me out of the place.

his lips find mine as soon as my back hits an alley wall. i'm locked between his body and the wall. hot and cold, hardness against softness.

his lips tastes to alcohol and sweetness, to tobacco and glory, to sin and paradise

i almost complain when he stops kissing me, but the feeling of his mouth leaving wet kisses on my neck makes me sigh. one of his hands runs along my thighs and squeezes my ass, the other holds my cheek, tilting my head to have better access. i let out a moan when i feel a sting, his lips sucking on my skin to leave a hickey

he kisses me again and his hands go under my dress, kneading my ass. mine get tangled in his hair and pull on it. i feel his cock, hard under the clothes, rub against the skin of my bare thighs. i let out a loud moan when i move my hips and his crotch rubs against mine, he groans into my lips before he breaks the kiss, a thin thread of saliva connecting our mouths. i look at him with wide eyes, heavy breaths leaving our mouths

sungchan watches me expectantly, his eyes searching for any sign to stop. but seeing him like this, with swollen lips, heavy breathing, eyes shining with lust, hair disheveled

how could i deny him something when he looked so tempting and angelic at the same time?

i grab him by the collar of his shirt and pull him close to me, our noses touching as i talk over his mouth

—please channie... fuck me

he doesn't need another word to kiss me again, hungrier than before, almost eager, needy. he lifts my dress to my waist, his hand reaches my cunt over my panties, pressing against my throbbing clit

—fuck... you're so wet

broken moans leave my lips when his hand sneaks into my underwear. his fingers sliding inside me easily due my slick. his fingers move in and out of my pussy, making my legs shake. the feeling of vertigo makes me lean my head against the wall, my eyes squinting backwards

—please sungchan... i want you

my voice comes out in a sob, sounding pathetic and needy, but i don't care. desire is bigger than shame right now.

—need to prepare you more, baby. i don't want to hurt you if i'm too big for you

—i can take all of you, i swear

he sighs on my lips and kisses my cheek

—how can i deny you when you ask for it with that beautiful expression on your face

i heard the sound of his belt, then the zipper of his pants. his arms nimbly lift me against the wall and i wrap my legs around his waist for more stability. one of his hands holds my ass for support and the other holds his cock against my pussy

—tell me if it's too much

he looks me in the eyes and i nod with a smile to reassure him, but my expression changes as soon as i feel his cock push its way through my walls, stretching me painfully delicious

i let out a slightly louder moan, my nails digging into the back of his neck and I let my head fall back

—you're taking me so well, beauty, such a good girl

—feels so good channie

—like that baby, let me hear you

senseless babbling leaves my lips, moans and whimpers as he fills me up. sungchan's hands dig almost possessively into my skin, his growls over my neck making shivers run down my spine

one of his hands reaches my clit and rubs circles, making me feel the heat accumulate in my low belly. my breathing quickens, my eyelids tighten

sungchan hisses at the feeling of my fingers pulling too hard on the hair at the back of his neck, but instead of stopping him, it encourages him to speed up the movement of his hand

—that's it honey, cum for me

—fuck sungchan!

orgasm hits me like a wave. spasms run through my body, forcing me to press closer against his. i'm at the highest point when i feel the heat of his cum filling me, his heavy breathing hitting my neck

the calm comes to us like a breeze, i feel the rise of his heart couple with mine through slow breath

he lifted his face and our gazes meet, sweat drips from his forehead and his eyes remain glassy. there's something in his fucked-up expression, something beautiful and dirty at the same time. an almost overwhelmelming sensation, which numbs your body and intoxicates your mind

is it possible to become addicted to a sensation?

but when he smiles at me, with a sweet and loving gesture on his face, as his cock stills deep inside me and his cum drips down my thighs, i realize that it is

#riize x reader #riize sungchan #riize smut #riize #sungchan #sungchan smut

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jesncin · 2 days

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please do tell about why woman of tomorrow sucks i love reading your takes they’re always so well written

Sure! And thank you for throwing me this bone because WOOF

(btw it's totally fine for people to like Woman of Tomorrow, and I can even see why! This is just my experience with it that I wish was talked about more)

Quick context: Woman of Tomorrow is about a space farmgirl named Ruthye who seeks revenge on Krem, a guy who killed her dad. Supergirl guides her on this journey so they can learn lessons about grief and revenge.

The biggest flaw of the comic is the narrative prose. Ruthye's dialogue is a rambly, over-indulgent, stylized mix of an attempt at medieval Shakespearian speak, but then in the last few issues the writer remembers she's a farmgirl so he decides she should suddenly say "ain't" more often and speak in double negatives to sound a bit more Southern. I can enjoy wordy comics! But Ruthye's dialogue and narration is blatantly excessive purple prose. So many scenes would hit harder with a less-is-more approach while still being stylized and characteristic. Sometimes the narrations pairs nicely with the art to create layered irony, but most of the time it feels like it's disregarding the comics medium altogether.

The other thing about Ruthye's narration is that it holds the story back. I get that the narration is Ruthye writing from the future, but the way it's done gives us a very passive relationship with the events of the story. We don't get to be with the characters in the action heavy moments because we're reading caption boxes of Future Ruthye rambling about poetry recounting The Battle of Capes. I'm not experiencing grief or dread with the characters, I'm being told about it. All of Ruthye's narrative rants boil down to "Supergirl is really badass, sad and kind. I promise this is deep." and "here's how my farm girl experience is relevant to this". Ruthye also speaks in glowing admiration, idealization and worship of Supergirl; it makes it really hard to get to know Kara in a humanizing way. I'm sure the purple prose hits differently for others, but I personally think the story would have more room to breathe without it.

You know how people like saying "Superman is boring because everything is too easy for him, he's too powerful" yeah that's Woman of Tomorrow. The conflict Kara faces are not challenges to her character, they're inconveniences. The resolutions to each story don't feel clever or earned. Kara just knows where to find the murdered purple aliens, Kara just happens to have a silver age-reference magical horse that can outrun the suffering-ball Krem throws at her, Kara just toughs out 10 hours in the green sun. Why be a smart storyteller when you can just give your heroine the upper hand every single time? There could've been a great bonding moment where Ruthye uses her famer-smarts to build shade for Kara, she could've crafted a salve to protect Kara's skin. But I guess having her guard Kara from dinosaurs is ok. Kara helps of course, even though she's dying because she's so cool, badass, sad, kind, etc.

Kara's internal conflict is that she was hoping that taking Ruthye on this journey would teach the farmgirl a lesson about revenge, but has Kara herself learned to move on? She's still thinking about Krypton after all. The problem with how this is presented is that it's not a flaw that we get to see evolve with the story. We see Kara act mopey, get an origin story flashback and then Kara tells us this- in hopes it'll recontextualize everything you've read before. By the time we make it to the end, the characters act like they've learned so much and I'm just standing here wishing I got to see all this growth they're talking about.

At the heart of it, I feel like Woman of Tomorrow represents the side of Super-fandom that wants to see the Kryptonians deified by the narrative. They hate seeing Kara do silly girly rom-com teenager things, she needs to be SERIOUS and EDGY and SAD and ALONE but like a god would be and not how a young woman would be that way. How else will boys take her seriously? Don't forget to remind the reader that she's STRONGER than her boy scout wholesome cousin! There's potential in a short revenge story about young girls finding hope in seeing a role-model woman survive loss, but not like this.

"You don't think I could've solved all those problems? C'mon I'm Supergirl." I sure love seeing female characters be badass girl-god legends who don't get to be humanized by being unflatteringly flawed people. Anyway the better Supergirl grief+revenge story is "Supergirl: Being Super". I don't think it's perfect because it misses the crucial difference between Kal and Kara among other things- but as a story about a teenage heroine learning how grief shapes her and those around her, it's way better.

Woman of Tomorrow's art is stellar though lmao would get a copy just as an artbook to reference.

#askjesncin #woman of tomorrow #jesncin dc meta #media criticism #there's a whole Ruthye rant where she talks about how superfam stories aren't pointless because they'll meet opponents stronger than them #and then the story proceeds to show supergirl defeating genocide pirates no biggie with help from horse #all she had to do was fight harder

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rontra · 10 hours

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your failteacher yuri AU is so so good. what's so frustrating about persona is that it has plenty of good ideas and characters that get absolutely wasted or mishandled by the actual narrative… like these two teachers. you write them with so much more respect than the games ever did. keep it up!

so as a general rule i don't tend to respond to this Genre of comment or really even enjoy it--as far as my own personal feelings r concerned, "you do [x] better than [source]" (in whatever ways it's phrased) is Not a compliment--but in this instance i gotta say it. they fucked up so bad and it makes me so madJDBHJJNSDB

so... just this once... i'll salute you... im at least glad people like my work and r enjoying a whiff of my beloved women without atlus sabotage ✊

i've said before that p3 hermit and p5 temperance are my favorite links--p5 temperance especially i think is really tight and has an interesting foundation. the actual narrative glue holding that thing together is strong. like the THING is that i don't have to go out of my way to find interesting and compelling material here (and i certainly don't have to make it up from whole cloth or anything)

i would hate for people to have the impression that i'm spinning this all out of nothing or that i hold the source In Contempt or whatever. obviously my concept/inciting incident is zany (haha) and i've added or tweaked a lot of smaller things to better facilitate this specific AU, but this story wouldn't have nearly the legs it does without the genuinely good material they put in those links, and i wouldn't bother making it at all if i didn't seriously love those characters...

...which i guess is kinda what makes it doubly frustrating... that in both cases they've just kind of stapled on some gross stuff that adds nothing (aside from ick factor of course) and doesn't fit with the rest... when "the rest" is genuinely compelling. not only is it a bad move on its own but also it drags down the otherwise good material around itself which is always annoying, yknow... like if it was Just All Bad i would at least be FREE 😭

anyway it's whatever it's whatever . i want to draw a chapter where they talk about their Deep Baggage sooo bad. and i can be like Look. Normal Hermit. Welcome To My Twisted Mind. Or Whatever

#WE DREAM OF THE “NORMAL HERMIT” LORE CHAPTER WHERE I EXORCISE MY PERSONAL DEMONS #my only solace is p5 temperance has the platonic route as per the New Rules. so at least theres that....would recommend doing that one....#my personal demon on the other hand is that bc p3 hermit doesn't have a “dating resolution” anyway they didnt touch it in reload. GET ME OU #i guess—to look on the positive side—that makes it easy to excise huh. one's an inferior optional route and one's utterly inconsequential #like they just did that for NO reason. unrelated to EVERYTHING else in ANY part of the link. IT MAKES ME SO... [audio fades out]#i gotta keep this project going until Normal Hermit Explained at LEAST... so i can pass away peacefully #sorry . i promise one day i will stop bitching about persona. but nobody bitches about persona more than persona fans i guess HBRBHDJK

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keepyourpantsongohan · 3 days

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Hi.....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from Naruto? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks...

Sure, I don't mind at all!

For top five characters, I'd say the top three are pretty static, where the other two positions can fluctuate. I love a lot of characters! For today, I'll go with:

Tenzo: So many things! I love that that he is both stern and compassionate with the Team 7 kids. I love that he makes them a Welcome Team Kakashi sign, and I love how he can be a bit of a show-off. I love how he is enamoured by Kakashi's flattery but also enjoys arguing about soba with him. I love how he makes Naruto porridge and tucks him into bed after a panic attack. I love that he has a place in his heart for Sasuke even though they weren't teammates directly. I love that he likes scaring teens with his spooky face. I love that he is willing to question anyone (including Tsunade, Kakashi and the Raikage). I love how he radiates Tired Old Man Energy despite being 26. I love that despite having one of the most difficult origin stories in the series, he is only ever kind-hearted. I love that he has this jutsu which is all about nature, but his creations are often structured and architectural, because that's who he is. I love that both his powers and decision-making are affected by being around Team 7. I enjoy him a lot!

Kakashi: I love his love of not only Team 7, but of all of his friends' students. I love his compassion towards his enemies. I love how much he stands by Sasuke in particular, both in a sense of physical protection but also emotional outreach. I love that he grows from feeling like a failure in leadership at Kannabi Bridge to leading his whole village. I love how he wants to be socially off-putting, but he's actually the most popular guy of all of his peers. I love that in the face of immense loss he opens his heart again and again. I love that he's self-effacing about his personal qualities, but unbelievably competent and hard-working with his ninja abilities. I love his dynamics with Gai, Tenzo, Tsunade, and so many more. I love how neither him nor Tenzo want the kids to see him kill Kakuzu. I love that he's a dog person. I love that his hair's a little stupid. I love that he writes Naruto notes about eating more veggies. I love the ongoing bit of covering half of his face. I love him!!

Sasuke: This post has already gotten quite long, but I love how Sasuke's greatest struggle in the series is fighting how much love he feels. I love his body "just moves" when Team 7 is in danger. I love that he ran to protect Naruto when Itachi was after him. I love that he thanked Sakura and laid her gently on a bench to say goodbye. I love that he is an extremely competent ninja, but can't come up with his own answers the Chunin written exam at all. I love that he reins in his curse mark by thinking about Naruto and Sakura. I love how he constantly changes his aesthetic in questionable ways. I love that he causes international incidents. I love that he uno-reverses Orochimaru. I love how desperately he tries to understand Itachi, the Hokage, Konoha, and himself. I love that he's a snake expert who gets parenting advice from Aoda. I love that he's a cat person. I love his narrative is not about him being home (in Konoha) but about having a home, as in a place to return to where he is loved. He is Teenage Ninja Batman and he is Me, The Baby.

Gaara: I'll try and keep this brief(er): I love that he is so, so unhinged during the Chunin Exams and EQUALLY, so well-adjusted after. I love his relationship with his siblings. I love that he is the first person we see to be both jinchuriki and Kage. I love that he's like, "Wow, Lee, you're slower," during the Retrieval Mission as if he did not personally rearrange Lee's legs. I love that he calls out the other Kage for forsaking themselves. I love that by default his power is defensive. I love how much he adores Naruto. I could talk more, but you get the idea!

Hashirama: I love how he is smart enough to found a village and invent a whole style of jutsu, but at the same time he's extremely silly. I love his relationship with Madara, calling him a "gift from the divine" to begin with, and saying that he's "fundamentally kind" after he's killed thousands of people. I love that he puts matching statues of him and his ex at the border. I love that as he also had this loving relationship with Mito, he invented bisexuality in the Naruto universe. I love that he bows his head to the other Kage. I love that he teaches his granddaughter to gamble (poorly). I love his dynamic with Tobirama, and his love for his siblings. I love him saying, "I'll deal with you later!" I love him patiently explaining to Sasuke his entire origin story. I love that he is willing to die for peace, but also willing to fight for it.

(Honourable mentions to Minato, Kushina, Tsunade, Naruto, Sakura, Neji and Zabuza who I also thought about putting on this list.)

As for favourite moments, here are a few:

Kakashi standing up to Orochimaru on Sasuke's behalf, without mangekyo, back-up, and after signfiicant blood loss

"I liked them! Is that weird?" "No... I liked them too." Kakashi and Naruto's retroactive dialogue about Zabuza and Haku

Gaara using his sand to have Naruto shake his hand

Naruto meeting Kushina for the first time and hugging her

Hashirama and Madara's simultaneous warning to each other to run away when their fathers were trying to attack

#dnana-2809-blog #asks for ts #long post #top 5 asks #naruto series

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jq37 · 3 days

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Man, Gorgug HUMILIATED that worm. Everybody was on their A+++ game. Almost all of them solo'd at least one of the big monsters. And extra credit to all the Bad Kids for their post-battle paranoia. Riz must have been quietly proud of them the whole time.

Now for next week, we'll finally get our steaming lore-dump. The most important one for me being what the eff is Kipperlily's damage? This apparently started in Freshman Year, but outside of the Prompocalypse, the most publicly known things the Bad Kids did that year were killing Daybreak (which is what put them on the social map at least among the freshmen) and the brawl against Aelwyn and her elementals. The only other thing from that year that might have a longshot of being connected is that maybe she knew one of the members of Johnny Spells' gang and is pissed they got killed.

From a comedic standpoint, her being just an immature hater who can't stand that she and her clique aren't the top dogs of their class, makes the most sense. Penelope Everpetal destroyed her entire life, betrayed everyone who loved her and damned her soul to hell, for about a minute of being prom queen and then getting killed. So it's not impossible that KL and the Grinder's whole deal is something super petty. But that feels too easy, I dunno. Anyway, a good story should keep you guessing and this is a good story. Let's see if they can wrap this up in the five episodes they've got left.

They really all showed how proficient they've gotten in battle! From damage to strats to buffing each other. It was a real exercise in hyper-competency which I love. I know nail biters are more narratively tense and stuff but sometimes it's nice to watch characters you love just absolutely wreck house.

Kipperlilly does really seem like the kind of person who would Penelope style just go full Sara Berry and start killing people for some petty as reason like she wants to be Rogue Valedictorian, but I don't think it would be the strongest move narratively to have that happen a second time, just with a nerd instead of a popular girl. It could def happen because, like I said, she has the personality for it and there's the god side of things to add more depth to the story if the RG stuff is too petty on its own. But my current guess is that whatever petty wants she has was the spark but there's more going on. Like you said, hopefully we'll find out soon.

(One last thing: I feel very uneasy that we keep hearing about this Devil's Honey but we don't know what it's being used for. Like, this stuff lets you lie to gods. How can we trust anything fully until that's sorted?)

#dimension 20 #fantasy high #asks #farmer-10

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lilflowerpot · 3 days

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Heyyy I hope your doing well and I hope your resting and not wasting all your free time answering these! Don't forget to drink alot of water and sleep at least 6 hours night. I just wanted to know your thoughts on how Lotor would react to being at the garrison. Meeting his last bullies, classmates, least favourite teachers and so on. How would he respond to both them and Keith. Would he show him off more or something like that? Again rest plenty and only answer when you feel like it.

@stinkyexhaust: So if Lotor were to find out about how much of a prick James was to Keith, how do you think he would react? I mean I don't hate James in fact I think he honestly could have had way more screentime to showcase more of his personality and backstory, especially in regards to Keith.

-

Honey if I only got six hours a night I would be the living dead, but this is very sweet of you nonetheless ♡

I've been asked something of a similar vein once before, as well as the Garrison's reaction to Keith's relationship with Lotor, and I'll repeat now what I said then: it's an important thread of the keitor dynamic (to me at least) that Keith & Lotor strengthen one another by allowing for personal growth beyond simply fighting on their partner’s behalf. So while Lotor mightn't be fond of certain figures from Keith's past—particularly given the little he learnt in chapter 24 about Iverson's handling of the Kerberos fallout—he knows and respects that Keith is more than capable of fighting his own battles, and wouldn't want to interfere with that (something something, galra sense of honour, you get it).

...All that being said, would our favourite prince be practically chomping at the bit to let it be known that he is the man who gets to stand beside Keith Kogane, Blade of Marmora, Paladin of Voltron, and Love of his Life? Yes. yes he would.

With regard to James specifically, it is my personal reading of his relationship with Keith that it was a very poorly handled mutual crush, and yet it was this very antagonism between them that pinged the galra part of Keith's brain in all the right ways. The altercation canon showed us in s7ep01 (which, despite LB being canon-divergent post s4, does in fact remain canon within my narrative bc I actually thought every insight we were given into James & Keith's past was impeccable) wherein James insulted Keith's parents, was a classic case of projection on his part; James strikes me as a privileged kid whose family expected nothing less than perfection—for him to be the best of the best at everything at all times—so I think that effortlessly-exceptional Keith getting the group into trouble simply because he was bored led to an exceedingly cruel comment,,, but I don't believe James actually knew Keith was an orphan when he said what he said.

Naturally, Keith (and we as the viewers with full knowledge of his backstory) assumes James intended to end that taunt with "before they died / abandoned you" but I'm not convinced. James could have just as easily been about to say "before they shipped you off to the military / halfway across the state / out of sight and mind" which I think is exactly what happened to him, leaving him understandably hurt, bitter, and desperate to prove himself. So yes, James—as a volatile teenager with abandonment issues, and oh look, who does that remind you of—fucked up, and payed the price of Keith's fist in his face; ultimately though, I think of Keith as having long since moved past it, and if he doesn't hold a grudge against Griffin, then why would Lotor? Particularly when, by galra standards, that specific instance was been resolved through rite of combat, and the rest of their relationship was, to an Imperial eye, just normal teenage brawling ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#let 👏🏻 lotor 👏🏻 show 👏🏻 off 👏🏻 his 👏🏻 man 👏🏻#Ao3 Little Blade #sa screams back #galaxy garrison crew #prince lotor #keith kogane #keitor

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nova-rpv · 3 months

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"i have a sister now! thank you, granpa! we are going to do so much stuff together!"

(trans masc newborn shado btw. tag as ship and ill kill you)

#im so done. they deserved so much better #im getting atatched to maria now and its #its not easy. shes basicaly a pure white girl but also a completely blank canvas #yet im so. shes so.. i hc those earings are a gift from her parents they gave her jjst before she moved to the ark. she always wears them #she was a human being with her own identity but neither her granpa (the person that raised her) nor the narrative treats her as such #there had to be some fucked up shit she went through psycologicaly that not even shadow got to know #its actually painful for me to draw her not happy. its too much #also shadow is trans masc and just a few days of age thats why maria calls him “sister”#sth #sonic #sonic fanart #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #maria robotnik #nov.aart

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mortispoxi · 2 months

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Seeing Twitter users recommending the People Make Games documentary as a good way to get insight on the issue is so….

I know, I’m always extremely disappointed whenever I come across someone who thinks it’s the end all be all explanations regarding the Studio ZA/UM situation.

Recommending that video always comes with a heavy caveat from me that the person needs to stop around the 40 minute mark since the interviewer shows a very clear bias that’s unbecoming of a journalist.

Regardless, now that more people are finding out about these layoffs, which might take out members of the studio that have been there since the beginning, it could finally help smack some sense into those Twitter users that actually thought, FOR SOME REASON, Rostov, Kurvitz, and Hindpere were lying for shits and giggles rather than seeing what's ACTUALLY going on which is that the investors have a very obvious agenda against the real wronged party. Hopefully this'll also open their eyes to how the People Make Games video fed into this twisted narrative that Kurvitz was somehow at fault/responsible for the theft of his own IP, but that might be asking too much from their concrete brains. Here's hoping though!

#disco elysium #studio za/um #za/um #people make games #and I’m not even getting into Bratt’s response to the criticism he got #this man deleted so many YouTube comments that pointed out the inconsistencies and bias #it’s such a reddit conspiracy theory but at the time I briefly thought Kompus paid him off to push the narrative in his favor #now I’ve talked about this before in a post from almost a year ago #but i truly believe Bratt’s heart was initially in the right place but let his anger cloud his judgement #after kurvitz rightfully denied him a way to wrap up his video in a neat little bow cause he knew the studio would use his words against hi #something in Bratt must've snapped cause all the blame got pushed on Kurvitz for no reason other than he felt slighted by his response #it's kinda tainted PMG's work for me b/c moving forward I'll have doubt if the story truly is being accurately reported #my response #mp

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poorly-drawn-mdzs · 8 months

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