#It isn't much of a list yet lmao but I wanted 2 get this out before April ended

[undescribed1mage]

Every May — August 2023 RTC production that I know about !! (If you see any of these, please get a recording of some kind!)

Abingdon Community Theater, Bel Air, Maryland — May 6th — May 7th

Stone Soup Theatre, Durham, North Carolina — June 8th – 11th & June 23rd — 25th

Santa Barbara High school, Santa Barbara, California — June 1st — 4th

Tribble School For The Performing Arts, Houston, Texas — June 1st — 4th

Mini Mirage Theatre, Kendall, Florida — June 2nd — June 11th

Oddfellows Youth Theatre Playhouse, Middletown, Connecticut — June 16th — June 17th

Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas — June 22nd — June 25th

Skiing Squirrel Productions, Clinton, New York — July 7th — July 8th

Forest Theater Guild, Carmel, California — June 16th — July 9th

Trinity Theatre Company, San Diego, California — July 21st — August 12th

Opera Wyoming, Casper, Wyoming — August 4th — 13th (with a preview on the 2nd)

Brown Cow Collective, Alberta, Canada — August 11th — 26th

#It isn't much of a list yet lmao but I wanted 2 get this out before April ended #ride the cyclone #rtc #tommy talks!! #again; please get a recording of some kind !! even if it's just an audio !!

[66sharkteeth]

I've been rereading City of Blank before it gets censored, and I just wanted to say I love it just as much as I did when I first started reading 3 years ago, if not more so now that I can see plot elements being set up and foreshadowing, etc. It made me sad to see you on twitter/X talking about how S1 isn't good. I can understand being hard on your own work, I'm like that, but why S1 in particular? I really like it! I could make notes as I go through listing out each and every thing I love in every chapter and I'd be doing it for ages. I've read a ton of web comics before and after finding CoB and yet it remains my favorite even still, including S1. Ignore my question if you want, I don't wanna bother you, but please at least accept the compliments because you deserve it and more, thank you for sharing your story 💜

Hmm, to be clear, it's not like I think season 1 is a steaming pile of crap or anything... I just think it's...nothing special and not particularly good.

I think it's biggest issue is it's pacing. S1 feels like...2 or 3 episodes, all stretched out into 25 episodes. A big part of this is because I was told they wanted s1 to end on Jericho's reveal, and back then, they didn't want first-time creators like myself committing to 50+ ep seasons they weren't sure they could keep up with. And honestly, not a ton happened between the first ep and Jericho's reveal. In hind sight, there was a lot more I could have done. I could have had Rex bond with Des and Lyss more, and just...given Lyss more screen time in general. I know so many people dropped the series because Lyss is introduced and when boy meets girl in media, they assume there's gonna be SOME romance there...but then Lyss just kinda fucks off and is asleep for literally 2/3rds of s1, losing that entire audience. Even if...Lyss didn't end up being the love interest, I wish I kept her around more to at least give people the false hope that she would be so I could have just maintained that huge part of WT's audience LMAO.

But instead, half of s1 was spent on that night on the town with Rex and Des and fighting Claude. These are things that crossed my mind when writing it but... I don't know how else to put it other than back then I just had the mindset of "eh, good enough." And on that note, I think the story just wasn't nearly as personal to me back then. I remember literally telling people like "It's nothing deep. The blanks don't represent anything. Sometimes people just wanna tell a fun story." Which...to be clear, 100% valid to people who wanna tell stories like that! But uh... by the end of s2, that stopped being the case. And this story became very personal to me. It became really impossible for blanks and their struggles to not represent things deeply personal to me. Around end of s2 is when this story started to be a lot more than "just a fun story w/ no deeper meaning" and when I really really started to pour my heart into it, and I LIKE to think it shows, because s3 is hands down where I'm most confident in my writing, compared to s1, when it was just trying to be a safe shonen adventure.

Lastly, going back to s1, I guess I kind of underestimated just how much this would end up meaning to me, and how having a weak-ish s1 would impact me 3 years later in s4. Back then I wasn't thinking about how the audience I get back in s1 is only gonna be a fraction of the audience you maintain in s4. I didn't realize there would be literal discussions on Reddit of comics people dropped and CoB being one of them bc of a lackluster s1. I wasn't thinking about how I would eventually be showing this to agents and publishers and that they might not look past it beyond s1 as just very average, mid content.

I was really just kinda in the mindset of "This is just Canvas 2, and if people like it, they like it!!" I wasn't thinking about how not putting 100% into s1 was going to potentially cost me thousands of readers, dollars, and even potential opportunities.

So TLDR, I don't think s1 is the worst thing ever, but a lack of heart, ambition, certain conditions, and just experience made it very lackluster in my opinion. I wish I could put a huge disclaimer on the series "IT GETS BETTER I PROMISE"

#city of blank #rambles

[swiftie-as-a-coursing-river]

Hi! Heard you are Nikolai Lantsov's no ! stan. I love that man. What songs do you think would associate with him?

LMAO I LOVE THIS ASK SO MUCH OMG.

I actually have so many I associate with him, it’s a little crazy, but I’ll list some of my top ones (they’re all Taylor swift lmao)

*apologies for how long this is and how bad I am at explaining things LMAOOOO

1. Castles Crumbling by Taylor Swift- I could write PAGES UPON PAGES about this. The whole song is him but that BRIDGE?

“Smoke billows from my ships in the harbor/People look at me like I’m a monster”

TELL ME THAT WASNT WRITTEN ABT HIM?!

2. The Archer by Taylor Swift- Don’t even get me started. I’ve seen so many edits of him to this song (and I made one myself but it’s not on my edits tumblr yet). Once again, the BRIDGE of that song?!

“They see right through me”

“All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn’t put me together again”

“Cause all of my enemies started off friends”

But also a lot of the lyrics outside of the bridge

“I never grew up, it’s getting so old”

“I wake in the night/I pace like a ghost/the room is on fire/invisible smoke”

This song is insanely Nikolai coded.

3. Mirrorball by Taylor Swift- I saw the most insane edit to this months ago that lowkey changed my life. It was to the speech from the long pond studio sessions film where she discusses the song, saying:

“We have mirrorballs in the middle of a dance floor because they reflect light, they are broken a million times and that's what makes them so shiny, we have people like that in society, too. They hang there and every time they break it entertains us. And when you shine a light on them it's this glittering, fantastic thing, but then a lot of the time when the spotlight isn't on them they're just still there on a pedestal but nobody's watching them”

If this is not Nikolai I don’t know what is. Some other lyrics I connect with him are:

“I can change everything about me to fit in”

Really reminds me of how he kinda completely changed himself and his various identities to match what others wanted

“I'm still a believer but I don't know why”

“I’ve never been a natural all I do is try try try”

“I’m still on that trapeze/I’m still trying everything to keep you looking at me”

4. Dear Reader- Taylor Swift

This song has always been a Kaz song for me but is insanely Nikolai.

“Dear Reader, get out your map/pick somewhere and just run”

“Dear Reader, burn all the files/desert all your past lives”

“And if you don’t recognize yourself/that means you did it right”

All of these make me think of how Nikolai grapples with self image and identities throughout the books. The second part makes me think of Sturmhond, the demon, and also lowkey Isaak.

And then the BRIDGE?

“So I wandered through these nights/I prefer hiding in plain sight”

“These desperate prayers of a cursed man”

“You wouldn’t take my word for it if you knew who was talking”

“To a house not a home all alone cause nobody’s there”

“No one sees you lose when you’re playing solitaire”

That’s all I’ll be talking abt for now but there are so many more. Some honorable mentions are:

The Lucky One

The last great American dynasty

You’re on Your Own, Kid

Bejeweled

Anti Hero

epiphany

And so many more. I’ve actually made edits to a lot of these at @to-assess-the-equation-of-you and on tiktok @cassles.dazzles! I could talk about this all day and sorry for how long this was 😭

#grishaverse swifties #six of crows #grishaverse #shadow and bone #taylor swift #swifties #nikolai lantsov #Nikolai shadow and bone #king of scars #rule of wolves #Cass explains #asks

[scrunkalicious]

💋🐹🫐 for the ask gameb

WHGAT IS THAT THING??????? WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE GTHAT????? squishmallowz be tweakin rn

anywayz there as no specification for which f/o so i do both >:3c

current me edit: took me a while to do and i talked a ton so hope that makez up for my long time taking teehee

💋 [KISS]- What love language does your F/O have? What about you? And how do y’all express it to each other?

Marly's main Love Language is physical touch!! Holding handz!! Cuddling!! Hugz!!! Kiss yeah mhm allat stuff yk?? OKOK now the silliez 👇

FOR MORDECAI: Quality time and acts of service are his main two! Just spending time w/ one another is enough for the both of them. Mordecai isn't really into all of that "fancy" date stuff, he thinks it's all ludicrous LMAO,,,, so a simple day out on the porch or whatever is enough,,, and acts of service oh my bog!!! Does the end-pin of Marly's cello look a little bent? He'll see if he can get it fixed, and will even see if there's a luthier (instrument fixing person) who can do it. The seams in her coat look a little wonky? Catch him at the right time and you'll see him patching that up. Mordecai isn't the biggest fan of physical touch, but thingz such as holding Marly's hand in a crowded area to keep her nearby are sooooo oughhhhgg

FOR VIKTOR: Words of affirmation and physical touch!!! Yeah if you can't tell I can't pick just one I am HUH????? Anywayz!!!! Words of affirmation, he likez giving them and receiving them! He def givez hella good praise, just hearing him happy is sooooooooooooooo ngbgbhggbygbbg and receiving!! Watch Marly list everything she lovez about him and hoollaayyy moollaayy blud is melting ong!!! And assuring him that he isn't a burden due to his physical shortcoming,,, and how amazing he is ough wordz are sooooo wordy yeah mhm!!! AND PHYSICAL TOUCH? BRO YOU HAVE NO IDEA??? At first like pre-dating stage, Viktor would sometimes tap Marly's foot with his cane. Whether it be in a playful manner, if he feels something is off about a certain situation, or just to get her attention when he wants it. Established relationship? DONT GET ME STARTED!!!! the two of them are sooo touch starved it is crayzee,,, while Viktor may be a bit shy with physical affection, so marly may have to be the one to start off, but oh my god they are sooooo fr w/ physical touch!! Whether it be small things like holding onto one another's hand/arm while walking, Marly kissing Viktor's beauty marks, or full on cuddling on the couch, they love it all!!!!!!!!

🐹 [HAMSTER]- Do you and your F/O have a pet? If not, what pet would you like to have with them, or why wouldn’t you want a pet at all?

FOR MORDECAI: No pets!! Was originally thinking of giving them something but then I was like "they are catz" so nevermind!! Feral animals exist in the Lackadaisy world AND there are photoz of Mordy with one of those yappy dogz (I'll get a photo lmbo). But honestly I think Mordecai would think that a pet is too unsanitary for his taste. Maybe one day they'll get like,,, a fish or smth!!!!

FOR VIKTOR: BRO,,, BRK,,,, if I look at the overall Martor lore, they've had two catz!! The first when they were both Academy Students, pre-arcane plot and also during season 1 kinda. A Siamese cat named Sage!!! Not gonna say what happenz to her tho 😈,,,, and a second one named August!! A silly guy,,, not gonna say much Abt him either,, yet mwhwhwhwh!!!!!!!! They also have this bird creature thing called 'Blird' hez hella funny I love BLIRD!!!!!! Blird is the product of what happens when you try to mix HexTech and geneticz,,, Marly and Viktor accidentally created this goofy ahh creature, they have no clue how it workz ngl but a blird is a blird we love BLIRD!!!!!!!!!!

🫐 [BLUEBERRIES]- What aesthetic do you associate with your F/O (or your general dynamic with them)? {{this quesytion was a lil silly 2 me n i didnt fully understand it BUT!!!}}

FOR MORDECAI: Ship dynamicz include the follwing teehee,,,, Childhood Friendz to Loverz, Sun x Moon, tall & short (me/marly are 5'1 im sorry,, mordy is like 5'9ish i think) erm i cant think of anythig else!! I dont rlly get the aesthetic part of this question but monochomaticz and stuff like this brah

FOR VIKTOR: woohoo!! ship dynamicz include Artist x Scientist (where is lucy we are twinning), tall x short (sigh he is 5'7), friends to lovers, one sided pinging for a teensy bit from viktor to mutual pining in predating stage, and im mixing a ttiiinnnyyy bit of friendly academic rivalz so erm!!! as for aesthetic, veyr dark acedamia kinda yea and blue/purple science styuff

{{both moodbaordz from pinterest!!}}

bonus phtotoz of mhy husbandz:

#THESE WERE SO FUN TO DO IM NOT JOKING #TTBAK YOU FOR THE ASKZ #kindaaa started yapping a bit 😋 #never let me open my mouth again #eat it up martor and marloray fanz #💜Martor💜 #🎻marloray🪓 #marly divata #marloray #Martor #selfship ask #marly answerz???

[nataliaphantomhivesblog]

What are your current fandoms??

OH MY GOD!!! I WAS WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ME THIS!! LETS GOOOO🥳🥳🥳

1. Black Butler<3

It would've been incredibly distasteful to not put this beauty on top of my list. I have been a fan of this one since 5th grade, the literal backbone of my insanity.

I may complain monthly over the agnoizingly short chapters, but the narrative and storytelling in this manga is one of my favorites ever.

Although you didn't ask, I have the need to mention: Ciel Phantomhive is my child!!

And yes, I am still awaiting Prince Soma's return.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a sebaciel wierdo and my space doesn't welcome the romanticization of pedophila. "waah waah but it's fiction!" okay?? my account is dedicated on fictional stories and characters and I don't want your wacky shit here. Thank you in advance.

2. Bungou Stray Dogs!!!

What a crime it would've been if I didn't mention the reason my account grew in the first place!!

BSD has such a special place in my heart. Tbh bsd saved me during the downfall that was 2021.

I think people who aren't new to my blog know I'm a sucker for Soukoku. I've made extensive analysis on their relationships for 3 years now. When will this brainrot end!?!?

And oh, of course I am forever greatful to the lovely @ryuuaka713 for collaborating with me on various post, I couldn't have done it without her!! Hope life treats you well! You got a tumblr friend always rooting for ya<3

ALSO: If any of you ever want to ask me anything regarding bsd that isn't Soukoku, please do! I love bsd as a whole and would be happy to answer<3

3. Berserk

Let me make one thing clear!!! I am NOT a berserk reddit fanboy who completely ignores and neglects the narrative of this story in order to fill whatever inner void that needs to be filled.

I am suuuper passionate about the Golden Age Arc and the Pre Eclipse era of Berserk, it would be impossible to shut me up about it.

I could go on billion rants about Griffith's character and his actual complexities throughout the narrative. (no, he isn't emotionless, that would destory the whole point of the story lol)

Also I want to give a not-so-subtle shoutout to @bthump for validating every single thought I had while reading Berserk and always providing textual evidence. Thank you for being the light in the darkness of this fandom!

4. Death Note

sighs yes I am still in the fandom of an anime that has only one season and ended so poetically that it makes perfect sense that it doesn't have a continuation yet my brain screams for content when obviously it will never happen.

Before anyone asks, I am not team Light or team L, both of them are selfish people and used others lives in order to beat one another.

I am a constant defender of the fact that the Death Note consumed Light. Not only is it textually stated; but it's visually stated

(Light's eyes get wider and more innocent looking for a reason when he forgets the death note guys!!!)

Anyways, this story is absolutely awesome and I think most people can agree with that.

I don't rewatch this anime often, but when I do I get shooked by the big brain plans and big brain confrontations lmao.

5. Moral Orel

"MORAL OREL SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN CANCELLED!! FOOLISH PEOPLE FEARED IT SPOKE TOO MUCH FACTS" I scream into a void, tears fill my eyes as losing my religion by R.E.M plays in the background.

Seriously though, I love this show; a literal masterpiece. I don't think theres any show that made me incredibly concious of how my own family's dynamic worked as this one did.

Has amazing takes of the human condition and contains life long lessons.

I once made a long post about the generational abuse of moral orel if you want to check it out!

Anyways, if you haven't had the glorious chance to watch this masterpiece. PLEASE DO!! I BEG!!! The whole series is out on youtube!

we don't talk about the first 3 episodes!!!

6. Sonic!!!!

I never post anything sonic related on my blog, but I adore Sonic! Not only my childhood, but it continues to pump off amazing content and games.

Fun fact: I have a cute mini sonic keychain my friend gifted me, I take it with me everywhere!!

DID YOU KNOW THAT KELLIN QUINN FROM SLEEPING WITH SIRENS WAS INVOLVED WITH THE SONIC FRONTIERS SOUNDTRACK!?!?!? AAAAAAA I LOVE SONIC GAMES MUSIC AND ITS DIVERSITY

Nobody asked, but my favorie character is Knuckles and Shadow for anyone who wants to know! (No one wants to know but I HAVE THE NEED TO SAY IT.)

anyways yes, I love Sonic, I am at arms-lenght with the fandom since i'm... well... not much into the furry stuff that goes on. But theres lots of fanmade content out there that is super cool!

IN CONCLUSION!?!?!?

I have lots and lots of other fandoms im in but i fear i will go on forever if I keep on talking.

Thank you so much for reading all the way through and please, don't ever hesitate to ask me anything related to any of these fandoms above. Hyper analizing stuff is my speciality after all:D

#fandoms #inbox #black butler #kuroshitsuji #bsd #bungou stray dogs #soukoku #berserk #berserk manga #griffith berserk #ciel phatnomhive #death note #llight yagami #moral orel #orel puppington #adult swim #sonic #kellin quinn #knuckles the echidna #shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog

[fantasticalleigh]

LEIGH'S RIDICULOUSLY BIG TBR/TBW LISTS

like i mentioned before i am too busy/hesitant to actually consume a lot of new media (or at least be able to focus on it) so i'm critically behind on so much stuff. don't judge me pls :S lmao

anything in bold is something that i've begun but not finished :P tagging @snow-in-the-desert bc you expressed interest in seeing the lists!

TO READ:

The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood

The Hurricane Wars - Thea Guanzon

Winter's Promise - Christelle Dabos

The Stand - Stephen King

North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell

The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

Work - Louisa May Alcott

Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes

Dr. Sleep - Stephen King

The Secret History - Donna Tartt

The Last Duel - Erik Jager

Portrait of a Lady - Henry James

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton

The Great Mortality - John Kelly

Dead by Sunset - Ann Rule

Dracula - Bram Stoker

It's Lonely at the Center of the Earth - Zoe Thorogood

The Great Influenza - John M. Barry

The Monster of Florence - Douglas Preston

The Lottery and other stories - Shirley Jackson

Helter Skelter - Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry

White Noise - Don DeLilo

Icebreaker - Hannah Grace

She Is a Haunting - Trang Thanh Tran

This Thing Between Us: A Novel - Gus Moreno

Parable of the Sower - Octavia E. Butler

^^ This is an incomplete list--I know there are others but these are the books I've bought over the past couple years and have not yet finished/ready. They are stacked on my desk and around my room, silently accusing me of neglect. I wither in shame. The rest of the list escapes me currently. This also doesn't include the tbrs currently on my e-reader since I can't remember where it is to see what's on there.

MOVIES/MEDIA TO WATCH:

Any Adam Driver movie that isn't on Netflix (House of Gucci, Annette, Paterson etc.) I have seen the Last Duel, Blackkklansman, This is where I leave you, Marriage Story, White Noise, Frances Ha and a few others). I know Ferarri is in theaters right now but I've kind of developed a phobia of theaters since 2020 :S

a ridiculous number of documentaries/video essays on youtube that I do not have the energy to go look for right now

Fall of the House of Usher (I love Mike Flanagan's work but I'm still hooked on Midnight Mass and Daddy Father Prewitt)

The Haunting of Bly Manor (I know everyone was obsessed with this and I meant to watch it but I was reading the Turn of the Screw when it came out and didn't want to get spoiled for it so I avoided it like the plague and finished the book but never got to watching the show)

Blue Eye Samurai

The Beguiled

Ugly Betty (I'm actually on season 2 and it's charming and funny but holy shit the amount of body shaming/slut shaming/ homophobia in this show. definitely a product of its time.)

Anne with an E

Fleabag (never finished it but thought it was amazing)

What we do in the shadows (have seen all but the most current season)

Reservation dogs

The Batman (2023)

Black Swan

The Crown

Band of Brothers

Demon Slayer

Whiplash

Wolf of Wall Street

Birds of Prey

Downton Abbey

Peaky Blinders

Nimona

Drag me to Hell

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Queen Charlotte (halfway through but haven't finished. i hate things that make me cry when i watch them so i have to be in a very specific mood to watch emotional heavy things)

Lady Bird

The Banshees of Inisherin

BARBIE (*ducks thrown rocks* I'll get to it, i SWEAR) (but i'm amazing at avoiding spoilers at this point i still know very little about the movie)

Men

Pearl

The Invisible Man

The Turning

Succession

Suspiria

Promising Young Woman

Shiva Baby

Luca

The Green Knight

Licorice Pizza

Bullet Train

The Menu

Women Talking

Knives Out + Glass Onion (*ducks more thrown rocks*)

Paddington 2!!!!

SHadow and Bone (honestly I lost almost all interest in reading/watching this once I heard the hot villain dies. BOOOO)

Carol

That one newish show with Adam Scott that looks super liminal and sci fi i can't remember the name

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Oppenheimer

Killers of the Flower Moon

Guardians of the Galaxy 3

M3gan

Turning Red

Everything Everywhere All At once

Nope

Barbarian

Just like the book list, I'm sure there's many other titles I'm forgetting to put here. I actually have branched out and watched a fair amount of new movies this year so i'm going to keep it going! and here's one more list just because this is fun

Stuff I watched or read in 2023 that I loved/recommend (with the caveat that not all of this came out in 2023): (and i'm not including obvious stuff like Spider man across the spiderverse)

White Noise

Don't Look Up

Living in the Time of Dying (documentary on Youtube. It is HEAVY on existentialism and the science/data on the current state of climate change. This WILL ruin your day so I'm warning you now. Definitely don't watch it today. This really affected me and I cried for a long time after watching this but it is incredibly important to keep in mind.)

Blackkklansman (i had to watch this with the volume on the lowest setting bc of all the n words being dropped so frequently lmao but goddamn this was so good and funnier than i expected.)

DIMENSION 20: Burrow's End!!!!! As well as The Unsleeping City season 1. Neverafter and A Crown of Candy are probably at the lower end of the list but I still love them. (thank you to @rogueimperator for cluing me onto how amazing D20 and Dropout are. <3 this is a whole new world lol)

Midnight Sun :)

7. Christine and the Queens - Redcar les adorables étoiles Full show on Youtube. I was supposed to see him live in October but he got injured and had to cancel the rest of his tour :( but this album and the video are incredible! Slight warning for semi nudity.

8. Game Changer on Dropout. he's been here the whole time!

9. The 1975 live at Madison Square Garden. I was lucky enough to see them twice this tour with my twin sister and we had an absolutely amazing time. They always put on amazing shows and this particular tour/their latest album meant so much to us. Even our younger brother has come with us for some of these shows so it's something we all share. (Last time they came to Chicago in 2022 the venue was too small so they didn't have the House set with them so we didn't get to see it in action until this year) Sex and The Sound will always be the perfect closers for their shows and I get so emotional every time I hear them. Core memories for sure.

10. Puss in Boots: the last wish. this seems like another obvious answer that i probably could have left off but this gets an honorary mention because our family cat was diagnosed with advanced bone cancer in August, and we had to put him down very soon after that diagnosis. We spent an agonizing week tending to him and cherishing every last second we could get with him. I've been fortunate enough to never experience the death of a pet until this year, and i almost wish we didn't have any pets at all because I've never felt such excruciating grief. He was a fat, grumpy orange boy with beautiful yellow stripes and a little yellow mustache. I was trying to distract myself and found this movie on Netflix and watched it, then recommended it to my sister (who is actually Thomas's owner but we all shared him) though I warned her the movie did deal with themes on mortality. We all watched it together the night before his final vet visit and Tommy was there with us on a comfy pillow. I hope he approved of the movie, because now any time I think of Puss in Boots i think of him. <3

I could add more to this but my eyes are tired and I'm wired up from coffee. I know this is long as hell so sorry but I had fun making it! I'll probably keep coming back to this post in the future to cross out what I've watched.

#leigh speaks

[dapper-lil-arts]

1. How did you get so good at drawing? And do you have any tips for someone who isn't?

2. Of your characters, who gives the best hugs?

3. What inspires you to make your characters?

1 - i practiced and fully finished a piece DAILY for at least 3 years, i used TONS of reference and was inspired by plenty of diffrent artists. And i also was very motivated on making "feezable" bodytypes rather than just realistic human ones! taking the furry concept of character design to its maximum capacity. I would say another thing that made me good is my constant desire to outdo myself and learn new styles of coloring and shading and lining and anatomy. My advice for getting better is trying, trying, trying! keeping an open mind and love for art, trying as much as you can passionately everyday. and keep in mind that you will suck at something before you're good at that something. 2 - depends on whats best for you tbh. some people like to be smothered, others embraced gently. 3 - i like making original stuff a LOT. i never wanted to just follow trends, but i realised i needed to have SOME appeal to my art, so on the nsfw i decided to make booby ocs. it kinda spanned out into it being its own semi organized thing on its own, rly i still express myself even on the facet of huge breasts. Also i never liked to half ass anything. so rather than making semi large breasts like the classic anime girl, i decided to go all the fuckin way. if the concept and appeal of these characters is that they have big boobs, i am going all the fucking way. breats bigger than head. (which ironicaly lowers mass appeal lmao. very few people are gonna wanna reblog huge tits.) on the sfw character front, (and generaly rly even booby) ive always been fond of characters that were combinations of multiple tropes and concepts at once, and still worked, easiest example is Agatha, shes a witch, a mom, goth, a killer, and sexy af; it was so fun creating her by combining a whooole buncha concepts and tropes n ideas; forming their own original thing! A lot of my sfw characters can be seen as those combinations too; one of my favorite side-passtimes is making a list of all characters that remind me of my own that i see out there. its very messy, and yet, very fun to do.

I honestly recomend anyone that has ocs, even if they dont share them and their details with the public (like i sure fuckin dont lol) to try doing stuff like this. its rly funny to have those "aha!" moments when you realise a character you love has stuff in common with a character you made. like YES jim hawkins DOES have a lot of daddy issues and is an angsty teen! add him to the list. lmao. thanks for the ask!

#ask #ask doodle #i love talkin about art n characters n stuff!

[talkingbl]

Policing Sex and Shaming Folks for Liking LITA

Let's talk about all the girlies mad about sexy BLs finally getting some shine these days.

While BL's move toward including sexual themes in dramas was met with great fanfare, there's a growing backlash toward these productions brewing underneath the surface. Soft BL fans complain that BLs have gotten too raunchy and that all of the "top BLs" are all sex and no plot. These stans have taken to the forums and Twitter streets to shame hard fans as gross fetishizers and liken shows with heavy sexual themes to "softcore porn."

I want to address these concerns.

BL isn't being overrun with sex, it's just becoming more diverse.

People keep parroting the idea that BL is all about sex now and there's no plot/art/etc. to be found anymore (this, despite the fact that most BLs pre-2gether are a dumpster fire of cliches and unsatisfying romance). But if you really look, BL is as fluffy as it's always been. Many of the most talked-about BLs fall decidedly out of the sexy category and even explore topics like politics, wealth inequality, workers' rights, family, LGBTQ+ rights, self acceptance, social anxiety, and much more. More than that, a lot of these shows are devoid of any real sexuality. In the past 2 years, we've had: 1000 Stars, Bad Buddy, Cherry Blossoms After Winter, Fish Upon The Sky, ITSAY, My Gear & Your Gown, etc. that don't even feature actual sex scenes and yet deal with complex themes and plot points like those listed above. These are but a few popular examples of many.

2. Even if BL's are featuring sexual relationships, what's the real problem?

Look, I understand there are people who prefer not to have sex scenes in their content for a variety of reasons. But my problem is the idea that BLs shouldn't be sexual or that popular BLs shouldn't contain sex at all so as to appeal to this audience. This is frankly ridiculous. There are so many BLs that will give you what you want if you wish not to see sex scenes. But to try and shut out any sex is messed up for those who want to see different types of relationships on camera.

3. People who enjoy BLs with sex scenes aren't all evil.

Of course some are lmao but it's such a large community that to paint everyone with one stroke is disingenous. Someone enjoying LITA or KinnPorsche is not going to end the world. Indeed, romance as a genre has historically featured sex to ground stories and showcase the very real sexual situations present in most romantic relationships. Not seeing how it makes someone a bad person to want to see the things we get in het romances in BL/GL/etc. romances.

#thai bl boys love #korean bl #1000 stars a tale of a thousand stars bad buddy #cherry blossoms after winter fish upon the sky futs bbs itsay i told sunset about you #my gear and your gown kinnporsche love in the air lita

[suleikashideaway]

🎶✨️when you get this, put 5 songs you actually listen to, then publish. Send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positivity is cool)🎶✨️

Oohh fun! Thank you!!

Fun fact about me: I am in irl professional musician and music teacher! You'd think that would mean something special about my taste in music but, heh, I guess you can be the judge of that. In any case music is important to me <3

I also am the type of person to find a single album or artist and only listen to that specific thing for...several months to a year, so instead of listing 5 songs of my current obsession, I'll list one from each of my past 5 obsessions lmao

1- Okay, the current boy on my mind. Hozier is...out of this world. I cannot BELIEVE I only discovered this godlike human a few weeks ago. I'm not kidding when I say I cried when I found out he's coming here live in a few months and tickets are already sold out. This song is from his latest album and it is etched in my soul:

2- In my efforts to be the best music teacher I can be, I picked up the ukulele and along the way picked up Eddie Vedder and his unbelievable album called Ukulele Songs. I can't believe how much I undervalued this man. He is an iconic songwriter and I've grown to love his appreciate his voice and style. Every song on this album is a hit but I'll give you the one that'll make you swoon:

The rest are under the cut because I like music a lot lol

3- I went through a pretty intense Florence + The Machine kick last year. I had always loved them but I had never put in any concentrated listening until I (belatedly) discovered the album High As Hope. Again, amazing album from start to finish, but this song...oooh.

4- Apparently I'm a big fan of The Staves...my Spotify wrapped informed me I'm in the top .05% of listeners??? So it would only be appropriate if I put them on here. I love how they've evolved over time. This song is kind of like, my theme song probably. (Except the bit about snow lmao)

5- Arghhh only five songs?!? Alright I'll end on an uplifting song to start your day. (If the theme isn't apparent, I pretty much love really angsty songs. If it doesn't make me cry on first listen it's probably not my thing lmaoooo BUT I do like a good touch of optimism occasionally to get me pumped!) This song is from The Wailin' Jennys, yet another female trio (that's a theme, too), whose arrangements are just otherworldly. This song is their take on a Dolly Parton song (both versions are the best lol)

Honorable mentions: Brandi Carlile, Turnover, Incubus, Bon Iver, Joshua Radin, and Raffi lmao.

Oh, and anyone who wants to play, consider yourself tagged!!!

#music #me #ask me!

[roxtron]

Y'know now that I think about it, the kh fandom seems to have a huge problem with ignoring or disliking games they find "irrelevant" to the plot. I came into the fandom post-kh3 so I can't say I know how the fandom's changed over time but.. it's kinda ridiculous to me tbh. Because from what I read it sounds like most people hated/ignored BBS and 358/2 days because they were "spin-offs." (Which is dumb anyway, like, even if hypothetically KH3 didn't exist and they were just spin-off characters- Why is that a bad thing? Why should you treat them like they don't matter? Why do some people think the characters from those games don't matter because they only care about the fate of the Destiny Trio?) And even still people consider Chain of Memories irrelevant because "Oh Sora forgets everything anyway, all you need to know is that." And then they consider Coded/Re:Coded irrelevant because "It's all data anyway." And THEN they consider DDD irrelevant because "All you need to know is the Xehanort time travel stuff in the finale." It's so weird to me how some people can claim to be invested in these games yet only care about the numbered titles. It can't be because they care about Destiny Trio that much if they consider titles including them to still be irrelevant.. So what is it then?? Is the concept of a spin-off inherently bad to these people? Like, sure, if you're thinking of the BARE MINIMUM KNOWLEDGE then yes I would agree you don't need to know much about those games beyond what I listed.. HOWEVER, that does not mean it's good to only go into the games with that knowledge. If you truly care about this series and its characters, you would value the ways those games expand on their characters. And even if you don't.. If you're only going into these games with the idea of "vaguely understanding the plot" but the plot alone. Not the characters. If all you care about is "How did Xehanort revive other versions of himself?" And not the buildup for the characters and how these arcs affect them, y'know, as characters..

I just don't understand how you can go into these games like that and still have fun with it. Like sure if I'm into a series where I appreciate the worldbuilding but there isn't much to the characters I can get behind that. (And I mean that in the sense of games with blank-slate protagonists, not to say the characters don't matter to me, but that the characters don't have much personality to get attatched to.) But in a story like Kingdom Hearts where it is about the characters, and the story is just how the characters choices affect each other- I dunno man. I'm not sure of the right words to explain what I'm trying to say but it just feels so dull and boring to only care about that in a series, and especially a series like this. I could go on and on about the ways those games affect the characters and the story more than those little one-sentence quotes.. And sure, maybe I will in addition to this, but that's not the point I'm trying to make here. Even if they didn't affect the story, even if they were solely character-building, or even if they barely served a purpose at all beyond a couple of scenes.. It shouldn't devalue the entire experience as irrelevant. (Chain of Memories I kinda get disliking due to the combat LMAO but aside from that + some people do like the combat-) The games are more than story alone. They're more than gameplay alone. And they're more than characters alone. All aspects of the game come together to create an experience, and if you want to devalue the entire experience as a bad game, because you find it irrelevant due to it not fulfilling your specific preferences of what you want out of these games- Then I have a hard time believing you appreciated this series at all to begin with. Also a hard time believing you have good media literacy or even care about having any but hey that's a topic for another day am i right

#kh #kingdom hearts #kh rant #kh spoilers #kingdom hearts spoilers #even though it's one little sentence i'd still rather tag it #but yeah i just wanted to talk about this mindset cause. it's kinda annoying tbh. #i used to think similarly until i actually played or watched cutscenes of those “irrelevant” games and realized #hey wait a minute these aren't irrelevant at all #and they're way better than people give them credit for..

[sapphire-weapon]

May I ask what your thoughts are on the RE4R end credit song, the Bullet or the Blade?

Because it is really not my personal style of music and yet the number of times I’ve listened to it not just to have thoughts on Leon is concerning. And no one else in my life is a fan of re so I’m feral for genuine thoughts on it.

Sorry for sitting on this ask for so long. It came in while I was at work last night, and I wanted to save it for when I could take the time to sit down and listen to the song and really think about it instead of just firing from the hip in between shows, because I legit have never sat and listened to this song all the way through -- much less really thought about it -- until you sent this ask.

Musically, I only start to enjoy it in the final third of it when the beat finally drops. I know that that's not what you asked but LMAO I'm so butthurt that the final 1/3 of the song fucks so hard but the first 2/3 is just eugh.

Lyrically, it's a good window into Leon's loneliness and the sense of othering he feels -- not just from other people, but from himself and the person he used to be. It's a good reinforcement of the concept raised in the intro, about how Leon needs to keep himself occupied so that he doesn't sit and dwell and stew in what happened in Raccoon City.

But there's also a sort of concerning and melancholy undertone to it of like... he says he's moving forward, but he's not really. By refusing to stop and face and really work through his emotions surrounding the whole thing, he's actually just running in place. He's not making any progress; he's just swapping out one conflict for another.

The things that he's stuck on, per the lyrics, are:

Losing an overall sense of belonging and a sense of where/what "home" is

All of the death he witnessed and all of the people he couldn't save

Ada's betrayal

His own poor judgment and his resulting and consequential inability to trust himself

The latter three on this list are things that he's able to redeem about/for himself throughout the events of RE4make. He saves Ashley, he cuts Ada out of his circle of trust, and he's forced to follow his own heart, gut, and mind once he loses contact with Hunnigan, and things actually work out in the end despite only having his own judgment to go by.

The first one on that list, though, is very interesting to be included with the others, because that's not something that overtly gets addressed over the course of RE4make's events.

The key word there being: overtly.

It's wild to see this pop up in the song, because I said all the way back in April that Ashley carries with her some of the tiny pieces of Leon that he thinks he left behind and lost in Raccoon City -- because she brings parts of his old self out of him throughout the course of RE4 in a way that no one else really does.

And the very last thing I said in that post was that, if Leon were to pull his head out of his ass and really examine his feelings, he'd find that "home" isn't the country that he slavishly (literally) serves to thanklessly protect – but that it's a person, and her name is Ashley Graham.

#resident evil 4 #leon kennedy #meta analysis

[asylummint]

My headcanons for Haarlep, Dammon, Rolan, and Zevlor with shy gn s/o request is so good! I'm pleasantly surprised that you finished it already! I won't blame you if you took longer though! I love it especially Haarlep would actually love being with someone shy ☺️, he would try to get them out of their comfort zone often, he's fully aware of what he wants, he would order for them if they can't, he would bark at anyone who makes them uncomfortable 😡, he loves to introduce new things to them, he would be the type who would do acts of service, how nervous he would be if they go somewhere alone 😥, he may not fully understand how shy they can be but that won't stop him from trying to listen & understand 🥹, Dammon would understand better since he's not the most outgoing either, he's more than happy to stay at home with them if they don't feel like going out, he doesn't mind just sitting with them at a corner of his forge where isn't hot or sharp, he loves just being near them ☺️, he would be upset if they are 😠, he's an acts of service guy, he would order for them, Rolan would try to push them to do it since he's headstrong, he genuinely cares for them & wants to see them shine, it's best to tell him if he pushed too far since he has a thick skull 💀, he loves to spoil them 🥰, he won't let anything happen to them when he's around 😠, he would try to make them order for themselves, Zevlor would do his best to make them comfortable, he would only push when it's needed since he respects their comfort zone, he loves to spoil them & take them out, he's another scary dog privilege 😠, he would definitely order for them & remove them from any situation that made them uncomfortable, and he would often have a hand on them! This is so good 👍 especially since you never wrote for them before! I could feel how much efforts you put into it! Thank you so much for doing my request because I love it so much :) Can I request now? Only if you don't mind of course!

Thank you so much!!!! im so glad you liked it, tbh even in my own play throughs theres like 2 characters on the list i havent even come across yet! i tried to feel them out as good as i could lmao! you are more than welcome to keep requesting!!!

#bg3 #karlach #bg3 rolan #bg3 x reader #bg3 headcanons #bg3 fanfiction #baldur's gate #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate iii

[dnpsuck]

(different anon) i do want your opinion on the john mulaney divorce drama actually. i may even agree

i have a loooooot to say about this and it’s not at all popular so it’s under the cut and it’s long lmao cw: nuance 

my opinion is that the treatment he received after he left rehab and filed for divorce shows that we don't care about drug addicts at all. literally i once saw a tiktok that made my blood boil because they listed "is a drug addict" as a reason to hate him and... how dense can you be? addiction isn't a personality trait or a quirk, it's a fucking disease that could still kill him if he ever relapses again.

his life was never as publicized and torn apart as it was the minute he left rehab (and yet somehow people still managed to get so many things wrong?), there were tweets and tiktoks spewing all kinds of hateful things about him right after he received treatment for his relapse. also people started coming up with extremely invasive speculation and rumors (that may or may not be true but that's not the point here) and accusing him of things none of the people involved accused him of and still doubling down on their hate for him when... most things actually back the timeline john himself gave us?

around oct-dec 2020 (or even earlier) a much smaller, but super invasive, group of people in the john fandom were already aware of their separation because they were never spotted together anymore and anna fully stopped using 'mulaney' as her last name way before we knew john was in rehab (as well as people with information from "sources" etc but that's too deuxmoi-y for my taste). then john left rehab in february 2021 and immediately filed for divorce - and y'know how in rehab people are encouraged to get out of situations and relationships that can lead them to another relapse? and then he left rehab and immediately filed for divorce? what's. not. clicking.

but, anyway, the divorce news only came out around may, almost at the same time as the news about olivia and because of this timing some people to this day still believe that it all happened on the same week when in reality he and anna had not been together for like. half a year lmao

and i love anna. i'm not in any way saying she's in the wrong in this situation, she went through a shitty divorce, after a shitty year and unfortunately her ex-husband moved on really fast, and because of exaggerated public attention, he also moved on REALLY publicly, and that's fucking shitty. i felt awful for her because of course i didn't want that to happen for them, i loved john and anna together, i genuinely believe they’d be together forever and obviously i was disappointed by the news.

but the thing is... divorce happens. life in 2020 was tough on everybody, people were forced to be confined and everything was put to the test, and a relationship with an addict is difficult as is; now add the weight of a global pandemic and everything else? it's chaos. survival of the fittest and they weren’t the fittest regardless of what people imagined of them.

and we don't even know if it was the relapse leading to the divorce or the divorce leading to the relapse but it was definitely a year that put their relationship to the test and they fucking failed. people who love each other still get divorced. and they can be individually really good people who genuinely loved each other but even then relationships can become bad and if divorce seemed like the solution for the guy that needed to do something about his life in order to not relapse on cocaine again then... i'm glad he chose what was best for him.

but then you go on tiktok and there were hundreds of people who watched 2 john mulaney specials and read deuxmoi like the bible and they were saying shit like "anna got me in the divorce!!!" and doing the most to have the cleverest joke or make the best disappointed face for a few likes and it was genuinely draining. because even if the timeline he offered was 100% false and he did cheat on anna with olivia and all the other awful things he was senselessly accused of (again all anna officially said about the divorce is that she was heartbroken that he decided to end their marriage but wished him well etc), even if he did all of that, the lack of care in the way people talked about him in the first year of his recovery is just fucking cruel. 

i’m not saying everyone should’ve babied him and been like “uwu love u mr mulaney you’ve never done anything wrong ever” but on the simple basis that the guy was in recovery for a cocaine addiction, after being sober for well over a decade (for context: anna met him years after he got clean), ideally people would’ve just backed off and let the guy live his life as best as he could. even if he did things i personally wouldn’t have done in my recovery lol

and i wish anna had been left alone too - i love that she got recognition with her work because she’s very talented and dinner in march + the december 2021 version of dinner in march are fucking beautiful (the dec one is my favorite). but it’s sad that most of the people that are paying attention to her art, even now, almost 2 years later, are only doing that because they wanna diss her ex-husband. and if you’re only admiring anna’s work to find clues of john in it, then she’s not the one that got you in the divorce after all.

the other day i saw a tiktok edit of anna to some sad music with the caption like “omg it’s her song 😥” and it’s... genuinely so sad that if these are the people that are gonna be promoting her work to new audiences, she’s always gonna be tied to her ex-husband. she’s always gonna be introduced through this kind of really pathetic lens instead of having her actual work be the selling point (and her work is fantastic when you see the art itself and not the comedian she used to be married to). they’re basically dooming and reducing her to this divorce.

just leave these people alone. they’re grown adults trying to live their private lives after shitty years. if u wanna laugh at funny jokes, go do that. if u wanna look at art and photography about loss and whatnot, go do that too. stop acting like divorce is some sort of moral issue in the fucking 2020s. move on.

anyway, i know i’m biased and i'd been following john, his career and whatever he shared of his life since 2013-14, but more than a bias, it definitely makes me more sensible to the fact that john could still relapse again, and it could be fatal, and he has a lot at stake now (a whole child). so i do believe his well-being is a bigger priority than how upset i was about john and anna’s marriage ending.

he’d talked so much about his addiction and alcohol issues, which started when he was basically a kid, in his stand-up, in interviews, on podcasts, etc., and how drugs and alcohol made him a terrible person and how much work he’s had to put into controlling his urges with substances etc, and i remember him saying in some podcast (before the 2020 relapse) that he realized he needed help with his addictions when he looked at himself from an outside perspective and realized "oh i'm not rooting for that guy anymore" and then he relapses again, gets the help he needs and as soon as he's out, people decide that divorce is absolutely unacceptable and say "we're not rooting for this guy anymore" and it's like lol. nice priorities y'all got there. but anyway. i’m glad he managed to get by

TLDR; his divorce was a normal thing that happens to like 50% of marriages, and it was all blown out of proportion because of unhealthy attachments to celebrities (which i am definitely at a fault here but at least i do my best to have my facts right). people prioritized taking sides on a divorce they were not a part of and making annoying tiktoks with baseless speculation for clout instead of letting a recovering addict just recover, or letting a recent divorcee just move on

with all of that said, the most disappointing thing about john after rehab was the thing with chappelle. it was fucking embarrassing and truly unnecessary, and it’s what made me take a step back from stanning. still wishing him well 

#addiction cw #drugs cw #alcoholism cw #lola.ask

[anawrites3]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I got tagged by @zeroducks-2, thanks love 💕💕 Sorry it took me so long to answer -3-

How many works do you have on AO3? It's 44 (+1 unrevealed)! And 19 of that are DC fics

What’s your total A03 word count? 163,947 I need to post more on ao3, huh

What fandoms do you write for? Mostly DC rn, tho I have a few fics for COD

What are your top five fics by kudos? on this account all of those are bakudeku because I've been very deep in the fandom until last year lmao so I'm going to cheat a little :3 and list the ones from DC fandom to self-promote myself a little 😂

1. taking a break (alone, please) at 345! I'm really happy with that and quite surprised because it's the very first proper sladick fic I wrote! Dick gets hurt during a mission so Slade takes him somewhere to take care of the wound and maybe have a little fun while he's at that. The only problem is that Dick's comm gets turned on at some point.

2. unexpectedly beneficial at 289. This is surprise since it's a New Year fic and those, in my experience, never get that much kudso lmao It's also my second fic! Dick's stuck at Brucie's New Year Eve's party. Slade comes over to keep him company

3. bunny-shaped trouble at 230 kudos, the idea came from Claudia who sent me a prompt 💕 Dick gets turned into a bunny and takes the opportunity to annoy the hell out of Slade

4. persistence at 219! This was my entry for sladerobin week and for some reason I was very anxious so I'm glad its so high in the ranks Dick goes on an undercover mission, where he has to seduce the target. Slade isn't very happy about that.

5. conflict resolution at 217 kudos! It's the first part of the series and well, let's be honest, compared to the rest (that is posted here on tumblr now, im working on it to post it properly on ao3) it isn't very exciting but I still love it and I'm happy it's so high as well! King Slade Wilson offers the way to stop the war between Gotham and Defiance. He will stop the attacks if prince Richard becomes his royal consort.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I always do!! Sometimes it just takes me longer (like rn oops) but I always make sure to respond to comments and show people how much I appreciate them taking the moment to share their thoughts with me 💕💕

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? It's definitely keeping what's mine because Dick is having awful time in this one, to the point that I tagged it as hurt/no comfort because well, Dick is hurt and doesnt get any comfort. I mean, he kind of does? But it doesnt actually comfort him so yeah 😂

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I write a lot of fluff so this is actually a very difficult question lmao but I would say it's (not) willing to share which is a short domestic fluff. And Dick has a cat so that's very happy for me haha

Do you get hate on your fic? I do not, actually! And I'm a little surprised by it because sladick and batkids ships gets hated on a lot

Do you write smut? More and more lately

Do you write crossovers? Not really right now, no

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Thankfully no or at least I dont know about it lol

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope

Have you ever co-written a fic? Not yet but I think it would be really fun!

What‘s your all-time favourite ship? I have one of those for every fandom I'm in lmao and right now it's sladick

What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Gosh, don't say that lmao! Buut *looks quickly through the list of my wips* probably the one I named "the middle of the night" which is like,,, undercover mision identity porn masquerade ball sladick story that Im very exciting about but for some reason I just keep moving it down on my list of wips sooo... yeah. Maybe cause masquerade balls need a lot of dance descriptions and I suck at that lmao

What’s your writing strengths? Writing dialogue! I like it a lot and I've been told I'm good at it :3

What’s your writing weaknesses? Actually sitting down to start writing 😂 and more complicated descriptions like fights or dances and stuff like that, I'm still working on it

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I like it a lot actually but not if there's too much of it - just a few sentences are enough or just a few words thrown here and there, and there needs to be translation somewhere in the fic, in the notes or something because people should know what the characters are saying but yeah, I like how it directly shows that someone is speaking in another language instead of writing "he cursed in russian" or other stuff like that

First fandom you wrote for? *hides my face into my hands* Strawberry Shortcake probably... from when I was still a babey...

Favourite fic you’ve ever written? sun and sunflower, a little brudick story about Bruce being smitten and a coward

Tagging time! @roipecheur @wingdingery @blackbeanbao @enak-s and anyone who'd like to do it as well!

#tag game #20 Questions for Fic Writers

[feuqueerfire]

Strangers From Hell Live Blogging

I usually stick to my planned shows in a planner order but randomly wanted to watch something dark, so landed here even though it wasn't on my To Watch List.

Do wanna do a proper live blogging, so think I'll only do my favourite parts or things that give me a strong reaction

SPOILERS! I also know some spoilers like Lee Dong Wook's character is a cannibal dentist? or something and also he kills our main character or the other way around, I didn't register the names

Ep 1 (Jan 19)

was afraid we'd get a whole lot about gambling for a sec. Hate gambling in shows so bad omg

bruh is that a real gun or fake wtf girl I'm scared the "crazy man" is boutta kill "the pervert" while playing

lol on the nose with the You know the best part about living here? Nobody cares if anybody here dies

okay it's a fake with play bullets or something ig

damn, Jongwoo fucked up that guy who was beating up someone else bc he got flashbacks to his time in the army

damn someone made a hole to peep into Jongwoo's room

oh the quip about the "he's not stuttering right now" was leading up to the fact that they're twins. i was wondering if mans was faking it

So far, quite unsettling and I'm liking it. Also fun that Jongwoo can't quite tell what's going on or what's happening but we the audience also can't always tell what's really happening vs what's Jongwoo's imagination or dream (like the pervert just continuously saying 'should i kill you?' which was also when the ganster guy found the play bullet thing in his room which was real but it lead to Jongwoo's bloody dream so was the pervert part real?)

Anyway, time to go to bed because it's 12AM and I have to get up in 7.5 hours and I can't handle scary or unsettling things later at night

Things we know that Jongwoo doesn't:

The Pervert is making a hole or cutting the floor or whatever upstairs (in the 4th floor where nobody lives?)

There's a hole in his room that someone can see through

The dentist mans who isn't even involved in the story yet is fucked up

Ep 2: Human Nature (Jan 20)

I hope we stay mostly at the creepy weirdo apartment instead of Jongwoo's freaking workplace bc that gives me more anxiety and stress than the murders or whatever's boutta happen in the apartments

Everyone at this fucking place just has terrible dreams of death and murder, huh? including the gangster. anyway he wants to move out so I'm assuming he's gonna die soon. not to mention he's fucking going to the women's floor that's supposed to be off-limits and empty but the pervert's out there digging the floor there anyway

what the fuck a dead body with blood, how long has the fucking body been there

oh damn one of the twins struck the gangster down?

I wonder whether the landlord knows about the killings and weird happening on the 4th floor or not. her talking about how after the gangster leaves, only good people will be left was sus and creepy

so one of the twins deposited the dead cat?

okay so that specific twin (giggling, stuttering) killed one cat but the others were scorched and burned, so either his other twin killed them or it was the dentist

oh is that missing person poster of the guy who's dead and stored in the 4th floor?

hmm "that guy" that the twins keep talking about. the dentist?

Jongwoo's anger issues and uncontrolled outbursts is interesting because I originally thought he'd be very much the odd one out but he also has darkness in him (even if it's not cruel and sadistic like the other neighbors). like even though that was his imagination of standing up to the hyung boss man but when he beat up those guys in ep 1 was def an indication of what he's capable of

Okay so here's the thing right is the dentist and the "calm creepy" guy in the apartment the same guy? No? The dentist looks like Lee Dongwook (which he is) while the "calm" guy looks kinda like Lee Minho lmao. okay lmfao this whole time for some reason I thought the dentist and the smiley calm creepy guy were supposed to be the same person and kept getting confused that they literally didn't look alike and also was like why would a dentist be at that dingy place wtf but turns out they're unrelated. actually i guess the reason i thought they were the same was bc i knew the smiley guy was up to something weird and terrible for sure and thus thought he was the murderous creep dentist everybody kept talking about

That was hindi in the notebook of the old tenant guy? I saw a comment about how the old Pakistani tenant had a really sad backstory hmm

oh this lady is for sure in on the men making the tenants disappear

bruv, isn't he the police? he should be able to escape the chokehold imo

also the smiley guy is so ? why is he killing a detective or police officer or whoever like how are you gonna hide all of that

ohhh the dentist has a cult I see. In the volunteers I can spot the dentist, the twins, and the landlord lady but not the smiley calm guy though I guess he's one of the guys. will the police lady realize who's in the pics since she's seen one of the twins? Also, I rewatched the dentist and police convo and he mentioned meeting Mr. Park the other dentist at volunteer work, so is he also gonna be involved?

lmfao the convo on the roof with "like it?" "i thought you and i could be the same type of person" is so gay like that's how people talk about homosexuality and that's how confessions sometimes start in BLs. except this time it's murder and horrifying torture!

Things we know that Jongwoo doesn't:

The location of the gangster and also the previous Pakistani resident

Ep 3: A Secret Whisper (Jan 20)

kinda fun how casually the dentist strangles the smiley guy

Was the "I thought you and I might be the same type of person" just in the dentist's head? This show kinda reminds me of Midnight Motel in terms of showing the thoughts and scenarios in the characters' heads, though this is showing much darker scenarios and dreams generally

lmfao Jongwoo being so eager about crime fiction and writing about a murderer who kills the same way the dentist just killed lmfao so funny The Dentist falling in love with him or what and then Jongwoo being charmed by him due to the flattery oh silly man

oh that diary is so fucked. people definitely going into your room

somehow them actually burying a body (the police officer's? the smiley creepy guy's?) seems so mundane like ah yes the murderers must dispose of the body (though does the pervert's ankle bracelet track his location?)

What makes the people who live there just keep writing 죽어 repeatedly while in a trance-like state

let's go back to the dentist extracting the teeth bc that's better than the hell that is Jongwoo's internship bruv I really can't

oh lmfao the models in the dentist's office is made of real teeth i guess? or is he just storing them as fucking stones for rings he's made

oh okay so the landlord lady was a caretaker for the twins at the orphanage

pls the twin appearing closer when Jongwoo peaks out from behind the wall freaked me out + kept being nervous that somebody's behind Jongwoo

ah lmfao ofc the dentist is indeed behind Jongwoo

so do they put a dead cat toward the top and keep the body underneath?

what did the dentist feed Jongwoo ahh is it the gangster's corpse?? cannibalism? pls the dentist really just says what it is but makes it seem like an out-of-the-world idea like "oh i thought there was a body or something" in the bag and now asking if Jongwoo thinks it's human meat or something ew

Things we know that Jongwoo doesn't:

The creepy smiley guy and gangster are both dead and everybody else in the apartment is in on it

he ate human meat rip

Ep 4: Mental Derangement (Jan 21)

It's translated as something like it's delicious but the dentist uses the word 죽어 in it like "it's to die for" lmfao yeah that meat is to die for pun

girl, did Jongwoo's Sergeant in the army also eat human meat wtf or is it just his dreams and real life traumas getting mixed together

okayyyyy I was wondering if the dentist is only good and great with his patients (that one boy was doing great with him) but seems like he may have scared the girl in the car or she saw through him or something

fuckk when they were talking on the phone or texting they seemed meh but now that Jongwoo and his gf are talking irl and being cute, it's soooo endearing I'm

wow Jongwoo's workplace is really gonna kill me

So the landlady saw Jongwoo conversing with the police and the dentist may or may not have seen Jongwoo conversing with his gf (idk if that was jongwoo's imagination or not...)

damn, so the apartment duellers really fucking take people just off the streets to kill and eat? bruv, how are the police only now tentatively investigating them

oh so at least the bodies are being found even if nobody's connecting them with Eden Studio

the subs just completely ignore hyung and such even when JaeHo's like "stop calling me hyung at work" instead of dapyonim

naurrr miss police officer letting out too much about the cat deaths and goshiwon Eden Studio suspicions to the literal mastermind dentist behind it, hope you make it out of the show alive miss girl

What are the clues police lady has so far: the cat deaths near Eden studio, missing people from Eden studio, the twins' videotape - does she realize the woman was the landlady?, one of the twins was wearing the Pakistani guy's watch

The landlady ajhumma is kinda nervous around the dentist and even asked him if he'd kill her bc of her recklessness hmm

I like the shot of Jongwoo walking around the floor and encountering walls everywhere with so many voices in his head. I guess the ajumma fed him the drink to knock him out as they deal with 303 creepy guy's body

Ep 5: The Notebook of Malte Laurids Brigge (Jan 21)

oh my fucking bad, they talked about dealing with room 303 which is Jongwoo - he's supposed to be a replacement for 302 who was the creepy smiley guy

I hope there's a gifset of the parallels between everybody looking at smiling at Jongwoo and the pervert's altercation vs the gangster and the twins previously

bro what the fuck is the "are you filming me right now" "you looked pretty" exchange like evil gay dentist

dang, was the dentist tryna sus out Jongwoo's bloodthirst levels on the roof lol

rip Jongwoo sending home money and thus having less to move out

oof the landlady told the dentist about Jongwoo and the police officer, who the dentist was already ready to kill

the landlady really got the old lady to drink blood, I wonder who that is and why she wanted that health insurance

byee this annoying reporter hitting a nail on the head like maybe a serial killer lives in your goshiwon, imagine living next to a corpse, etc

the cop going everywhere, including the fourth floor, without backup is so alksdfj

the pervert following behind the cop and hiding when she turns around is so

fuckkkkkk the lady fucking escaped and everything only for her to run into the dentist instead of catching up to the cop fucking hell

oh was that thing that the landlady made the old lady drink not blood? I thought it was just terribly coloured blood but seems like it's "mushroom juice" that's lethal cuz that's how they're killing this street lady. i assumed the old lady had just been knocked out but is she dead too

lol so is the dentist fr following Jongwoo around. his practice is deserted and instead he's sending Jongwoo texts like "don't you just wanna kill him"

is Ji Eun really gonna cheat on Jongwoo with the boss man guy? pls T.T no

naurrr fuck Ji Eun now going to see Jongwoo at the Eden Studio but Jongwoo's drunk at the police station fucking fuck

ah shit the dentist has not met Ji Eun outside the studio

this show is making me so stressed

I think this is my fave episode so far, it's got so much suspense and Things Happening and stress

Ep 6: Lost (Jan 21)

lol I'm so dumb I keep reading the episode on-air threads on reddit or going through gifsets of the odd number ep before I finish the even number ep and so end up getting spoilers. I read the 5-6 on-air and learned that the dentist knifes one of the twins oof

T.T I don't want Ji Eun to go into the building T.T I can'ttttt I hope she doesn't die soon

well at least she's not dying this time but everybody's aware that she trusts the tenants so little that he'd bring the police to the place

no she's right like why does Jongwoo still stay here and I get her point like "there are people who are stranger than them although they don't appear to be" bc she might interpret Jongwoo's fear as ableism but like miss girl rip

Whose photo is that in the metamorphosis. Jongwoo and gf? so the dentist is the one who's been going into his room?

oh... that thump thump was from the dentist living on the 4th floor and bouncing that ball? I originally thought it was the pervert digging a hole on the fourth floor

girl why does Jongwoo just keep drinking the stuff the lady gives him alskdfj he knows her eggs are bloody at least, so he should be more suspicious of other stuff

The giggly twin saying the landlady is the scariest person in the whole place and the landlady saying she raised the dentist. okay inch resting, was this also at the orphanage

and so it's like the landlady was the original recruiter? and now the dentist is trying to recruit someone as well? he failed with the smiley creepy guy but now it's Jongwoo

damn, Jongwoo fr tempting all the tenants into killing him or what

oof that drink the landlady gave Jongwoo really had him go off the deep end ig it's mushroom juice, so hallucinogens? also i realized after reading reddit comments that the shots of her cooking has been her cooking these mushrooms to get the juice

oof you should've moved out without asking for any deposit back or anything Jongwoo

nahh how does the dentist have time to stalk not only Jongwoo but also the cop?

oh i see dentist was stalking Jongwoo and the cop also saw him

rip Ji Eun really thinks Jongwoo's just going through it but there's nothing wrong with the goshiwon

ohhh the insurance of that old lady was life insurance?

oh Jongwoo's paranoia is getting ramped upppp as he realizes Ji Eun doesn't believe him at all and he can't afford to more out. Mans bought a knife and is holding it behind his hand while talking to the new guy, giving me flashbacks to the pervert in earlier eps

ooh okay I was wondering whether the new guy is fr and he's gonna get killed soon or if he's also in on the scheme and seems like he is? I wonder if he's in that volunteering photo from Ep 2

girl Jongwoo's going up to the fourth floor with his knife while pervert and twins try to clan up a body?! T.T

man I really am gonna just not look at the fucking reddit posts or tumblr gifs before I finish ep 8 and 10 because knowing that the dentist is gonna knife the twin really took out so much anticipation out of this agh

interesting reaction from the tenants about the death though. the twin being scared but not wanting to die, the landlady being like ah he reached heaven first (cult vibes increased), dentist being frazzled

Ep 7: The Horror Of The Basement (Jan 22)

miss cop I hope your teeth hurt less

ohhh is she gonna connect the dots the name of the dental clinic Spring - the orphanage Spring - the dentist chair on 4th floor

do I trust this new guy Seok Yun?

ooh are we gonna get to see the backstory of the scars from like ep 3 or 4 when he went to take a shower

the pervert getting some girl's legging things ew

oh the cop has now seen the volunteering photo at the dentist's

okay yeah as expected the dentist is from the orphanage and sees the landlady as his mother

agh idk if i trust this new kiddd like Jongwoo realizing from the rap that their situations are similar is making me wonder if the new kid orchestrated it or not

oh the gangster's still alive? girl

rip the twin doesn't seem like he's taking his brother's death well

the new kid jumping to "oh do you think they're organ traffickers?" like hmmm you're too readily accepting

oof Jongwoo gonna think Ji Eun's cheating on him with the boss which... is she?

Jongwoo's so much more callous now, both with the new kid and the twin like he's got anger issues fr

the dentist is really so alksdfj like he just overhears Jongwoo's complaining and anger, corners him against the edge of the rooftop, tell him to hate/curse/kill the people he wants to, then is like oof you might fall

Jongwoo didn't close his door properly when he went to pee agh

ah fuck the landlady showing her scary side yikes and Jongwoo rampaging on the pervert's room to find the knife rip

oh damn Jongwoo's threatening the pervert with a small pair of scissors or something okay okay

lol as expected, the twin hid the knife from the pervert's room

What are we supposed to make of the new guy calling Jongwoo to tell the pervert was staring at him in the kitchen? Was he lying since he was in the stairwell or did it really happen and he just made the call after going to the stairwell?

damn, so Jongwoo's keyboard bashing is real?? since its on the CCTV?

Oh Jongwoo my guy really beating up the 3 kids who were boutta rock his shit. his anger and the physical manifestations of it

So in the PTSD military scene, Jongwoo beat up the guy who was beating someone up and was like ah... should've killed him. interesting, he's had violent tendencies since before

ofc the dentist finds the beaten up, bloody Jongwoo on the street after the fight - i bet the dentist is happy to see Jongwoo's instability and bloodlust

Ep 8: Voices That Choke Me (Jan 22)

oh shit I thought we were gonna get the story of how dentist met and indoctrinated the smiley creepy guy and so thought maybe it was him in the dentist chair but nopeeee our dentist is operating on Jongwoo rn

"What are you?" "What do you think I really am?" "What" "A dentist who lives in a goshiwon? Or a serial killed that you'd see in crime novels?" Also, I just realized that the dentist does indeed call them all Jagi he was like I can be anything Jagi-ga wants

Oh I like the cuts of him introducing himself to the smiley man vs Jongwoo

oh damn so many things are happening. the cop was investigating the parking lot where the detective disappeared/got murdered. Jongwoo and the dentist's conversation continued but we didn't get to see it. Jongwoo's now in the police station for beating up those kids and he's not talking

I don't understand the dentist, why is he appearing at the police station and saying he's gonna pay the parents on behalf of Jongwoo to settle like girl you're suspicious and you know the cop is suspicious of Eden Studio

oh nooo Jongwoo not talking and looking like :< poor boy what's going onnnn what'd the dentist do to his mouth or traumatize him or what

ah fuck Jongwoo's so fucked he mistook his shirt for a dead cat

It's kinda interesting that when Jongwoo's hearing voices in his head and shaking, it's not just the tenants of this apartment but also his military and work and girlfriend's voices

I loveee that Jongwoo used to have so many violent imagined scenarios before that now when he does do actual violence, like breaking the keyboard earlier and now beating his coworker like I kept being like is it real for real?

Jongwoo's so spaced out, just blank behind the eyes

oof another case of Jongwoo smilingand saying "I should've killed him"

ooh the anesthesia in the string is often used in dental settings + the DNA may be from the missing detective

damn ngl the boss hyung doing more to understand Jongwoo than I would, I'd just fire and avoid him

Gonna fucking eat glass, this is one of my fave scenes

(Fave Scene) Boss hyung trying to be understanding -> Jongwoo getting angry at boss and trying to fight him after Ji Eun shows up and being full of emotion -> the dentist showing up and Jongwoo deflating and being scared and trying to move away + moving Ji Eun back -> the dentist goading the boss hyung and also speaking to Jongwoo about half the time even though he's speaking about the dentist and ofc the boss hyung ready to fight -> Jongwoo being scared that the dentist is gonna do something and so Jongwoo stepping in to take the dentist outside bc he's afraid the dentist would do something to the boss and/or Ji Eun ig

lmao the dentist revealing that he was stalking Jongwoo when he saw Ji Eun get out of the boss hyung's car and saying he knows Jongwoo wanted to kill the man then ahh psychological warfare

ask;ldfj ahh I'm so fully convinced the dentist is like in love with Jongwoo bc wtf is urging Jongwoo to kill the boss hyung and when he doesn't, following him to the office and injecting him bc ig he hurt Jongwoo? Dentist even says "Ah, I'm not usually this impulsive. Jongwoo-ssi is very special to me. He's special to me."

also the reporter's seeing all this okay interesting i wonder if he's gonna make it out alive and tell the tale or if he's gonna be spotted cuz his phone goes off or the dentist goes to take the CCTV tapes or something

oh the dentist is calling someone to clean up, i guess it's the pervert and twin?

oh you reporter fucker why are you in your car in front of the Eden Studio after following a murderer there and talking on the phone all chill with the windows down be fucking serious

hmm the alive twin is interesting. what'd he do to the officer did he let him go? he didn't mention him to the dentist and also he gave the dentist some attitude

okay I was suspicious of the new guy for quite a while but I guess he's also unaware of anything actually going on lol anyway, he's eating the human flesh so happily, I wonder what the dentist thinks of him and whether he'll take a liking to him like he recruited smiley creepy and is trying Jongwoo or if they'll just eat him. Also they love saying it's human meat and laughing about it haha

naur the new guy's exploring the fourth floor? oh yeah i remember he also called Jongwoo this ep or last ep saying he smelled blood from there oh my guy

also is the body in the bag the boss buying or reporter’s?

aw poor new guy, you had no chance of going undetected. might survive if you’re a fucked it murderer too tho

My new favourite episode ahh like just the inability to realize whether Jongwoo was beating up the supervisor for real and then the restaurant conversations were both sooo good

Ep 9: Cognitive Dissonance (Jan 23)

oh shit he mistokk Ji Eun for the dentist and litrally held up a knife to her fuck. also on reddit someone said on the preview apparently the dentist kidnaps her so...

miss girl looking for the missing car and stuff in the fucking forest where the guys go to bury bodies or whatever ah sigh will you make it out of this story alive i wonder

oh fuck Jongwoo going back to Eden Studio because he realizes something's up with the new guy agh

oh fuckkkkkkk so??? is the new guy now in on it too???? has he been converted to being a murderer so easily? or is he being held at knifepoint to convince Jongwoo

ah shit new guy crying and bleeding as he begs Jongwoo to stay rip

I hate this detective fucker's condescension sooo much, whether it be because she's a cop not a detective or bc she's a woman

I guess the cop doesn't know that Jongwoo works at this place either rip

Also the body was still at the crime scene but the CCTV was deleted, so was the "clean up" deleted the CCTV but keeping the body there bc the disappearance would be too suspicious otherwise or what. Also who was in the body being carried at the end of Ep 7 then? The reporter?

So the twin has some SD cards? camera memory? idk what that's for. But he spoke to the reporter... was that just to play around before killing him or did he give the reporter an actual scoop and is happy that the serial killer gonna get busted as revenge for his brother

damn the dentist gonna send the new guy's tooth to Jongwoo?

lol the landlady taking the woman praying in the first floor out of the building

so the murder team is also planning on leaving Eden Studio

the twin letting new guy try to escape and even singing red light green light song... this was before Squid Game came out but it's giving me flashbacks

lmfao naurr not the landlady finding the new guy and pretending to not know anything and hide him agh this game is so fucked

poor new guy just keeps getting caught between murderers like it's so horrifying all i can do is laugh

REPORTER GO WORK AT A FUCKING CAFE mans writing his story about the murders in his car like 2 feet away from where the murders happen with his window down and no awareness of his surroundings.

lmfao pls the shot panning to let us see the dentist reading out the window and nodding along is killing me

Also, I wonder if the dentist knows that the twin gave the info to the reporter

oh Jongwoo keeps looking everywhere because he thinks the dentist is gonna show up

ah fuck Jongwoo should've 100% told Ji Eun that Jae Ho was dead as soon as he found out bc that'd make her be careful of the texts and even grant him some credibility that the dentist killed him (though she could also think that Jongwoo killed him lol) but now the dentist is getting to her

noo this army guy also going to Eden Studio? like girl no have him stay and call for backup so that he doesn't die too

Ep 10: Gas-lighting (Jan 23)

I should be studying right now and give myself the last ep as a reward afterwards but uhhh I don't wanna wait, I need to know the ending now

Another hour before this is over hmm I wonder how this'll end. I guess from that one comment on MDL, one of them kills the other (Jongwoo to Mun jo bc it's supposed to be happy ending) but also there are theories about the ending on reddit, so I guess it'll be ambiguous. I'm just hoping that it's not all in Jongwoo's head though, I feel like this would be rated lower if it was and there wouldn't be theories and I would be spoiled about it by now

the title is gas-lightning I wonder if it'll just be about everyone convincing Jongwoo that he's going crazy or... a pun? will there be a fire? The orphanage and 4th floor both burned down and we saw the twin with a gas bottle thing

pls the way the dentist always appears so humorously is gonna kill me like the other two pointing and him and even saying 'ja jan!' as he slides into frame

damn the dentist is beating the shit outta Jongwoo

ooh, are they gonna frame Jongwoo for the murders?

After reveal: Okay I thought that the dentist was gonna get Jongwoo to kill his friend or something and also the smile made me question if he was gonna somehow frame Jongwoo with the tooth bracelet but then since we didn't see him for a longass time, I'd briefly wonder about what he was doing but not dwell on it

okay at least the cop picked up the phone before getting knocked out so that the other cop heard the commotion

lol the landlady really got pissed off about the pervert first fucking with the thug and now the cop when they're in her jail cell

This is the funniest screenshot of all time: all those knives and the one she will choose is blurred

damn we really had Mun jo kill the landlady

and the surviving twin is no more

what's Munjo's end goal here exactly

oh Munjo still wants Jongwoo to join him? Or is he just lying

I can't see their fight properly in the dark

"the human instinct to gnaw on the weak and enjoy as the weak suffer" - k ig that's Munjo's motivation or lack thereof

After reveal: so that's what the dentist meant when he said "you enjoyed seeing the people from the studio die" bc I was like the victims?? but no Jongwoo killed the murderers

"Of course, jagi you are the best masterpiece I've ever created" because Jongwoo promises him a most painful death just before he kills him. Though what does he mean by now jagi and I will be together forever... girl is he gonna haunt him or will they run away together

oh actually these detectives needa die I'm not satisfied until this man apologizes to the cop and she stomps on their heads

oh framing?????? or what like what's going on why is the gangster saying it's Jongwoo. oh i see nevermind he's saying the others tried to murder him

hmm what are they investigating right now, why is the detective saying that the landlady killing the pervert is odd? Also they keep kinda slightly bringing up the vacation rental family being murdered probably by the Eden Studio murder gang but why now... did we even hear about it before

ohhh so is it like what we saw with Mun jo killing the lady and the lady killing the pervert not true? An amateur like Jong Woo did it?

brooo okay yknow I thought the thing with the dentist calling the twin stupid was so Jongwoo-lite, turns out it was Jongwoo

hmmm okay so idk I guesssss Jongwoo did kill the dentist, him and the cop seeing him around is just hallucinations and paranoia (including when he was alive and well and touching his adam's apple after all the murders bc Ji Eun saw that there was nobody else there), but Jongwoo now knows what it's like to kill someone and the "honey and i will be together forever" comment is meant to signify that Jongwoo is the dentist's masterpiece and the glitch at the end

Also, what happened to Jongwoo's friend - just an unmentioned casualty?

Here's why I think Moonjo is dead:

I think Jongwoo did kill Moonjo and afterwards came back to his room and had hallucinations with repeating sentences from their last conversation. The girlfriend saw nobody there and Jongwoo has previously had hallucinations in the mirror about the boss hyung's death like "It wasn't me!" Additionally, the scene was just his last words from the death scene + Adam's apple grab as seen before, so it was like Jongwoo's knowledge of what Moonjo would say or do, not really Moonjo

Everybody accepts that Moonjo is dead, so I'll assume they found the body tbh

I'll assume Jongwoo was hallucinating him after they got out of the building and I'll assume the cop was as well because she saw him in a crowded elevator and I feel like he would've been recognized since they family's been in the news now

There is a sense of "somebody's watching" the cop as she gets in the car at the end but to me, it's once again a manifestation of the cop's paranoia because we also get to see as if someone's watching from the backseat of her car and she turns back to find nobody there.

It's just more satisfying and scarier to me to assume that Moonjo's dead but he lives on in Jongwoo's personality and also Jongwoo and the cop's paranoia - he's haunting them and that's how Moonjo and Jongwoo will be together forever. He's a terror that is gone now but he's irrevocably tainted others, and made Jongwoo his masterpiece and final work of creation.

Overall Thoughts:

I'm not as blown away or enraptured by the ending as everybody else seems to be but I thought it was good and expected. The whole descent of Jongwoo was interesting to see, as well as how his environment and people around him made him who he is and what he had in him from previous experiences and by nature.

The acting and cinematography/atmosphere were good. I liked the hallucinations/dreams (I loved it when I couldn't tell whether he really was breaking the keyboard until the CCTV showed it or whether he was beating up the supervisor until the others came in bc he had violent imagined scenarios so often) and I'm glad it was just 10 eps.

I do like to think Moonjo's obsession was tinted with gayness but the cursory glance at tiktok/twitter shipper posts isn't giving me what I want - it's too ironically cutesy but I like that Moonjo is darkly obsessed and Jongwoo hates it so bad. I've been obsessed with going through people's archives for the strangers from hell tag and reblogging them though lol

I like that he's dead but still alive through Jongwoo; that even if he was killed, he still won.

Rating: 7.5/10

Tiktoks:

Moonjo couldn't have done it w/o me

Immortal He, Return to me - mostly for the comments who get that he's physically dead but lives on through Jongwoo

Moonjo/Jongwoo except it's accurate dynamics where Moonjo is all up in his space and Jongwoo wants to escape

Moonjo vs Jongwoo like cannibal/doesn't like human meat, encourages him to kill people/kills people, etc (jwdscore)

#strangers from hell #ep by ep commentary #okay time for me to stop obsessively looking at sfh gifsets for several hours a day and reblogging them (except those I've already queued) #it's bc i'm not connecting w the fic (i don't want murder husbands T.T i want moonjo's gay but evil obsessive love to destroy jongwoo) and #so my fandom interaction is just looking at gifs and going ooh ahh

[helielune]

i looked at threads so you don't have to

the point of social media is to feel like you can connect with EVERYONE there, and in that sense, since Threads (by meta) is the only twitter competitor with a userbase pre-baked-in, i think they are by FAR the only actual threat to twitter in the near future

i love watching drama from the sidelines so i gathered some info about it, for all of us curious but cautious creatures:

toc: 1. features 2. acct deletion 3. home feed 4. privacy etc

1. threads is purposefully launching with MINIMUM POSSIBLE features. they are not shy about saying this. (wikipedia literally begins the history section of their Threads page by talking about twitter) they saw an opportunity to launch when and where it hurts and they TOOK it, instead of waiting to build an actually full service. and it's WORKING.

as of now, you can post/like/comment, repost, un/follow, mute and block things, and search (for accts). no dms, hashtags, web app, searching for posts, and your home feed IS your explore page (more on this later).

for more details here is a basic rundown of the app so far (nbc news), and here is a list of features they don't have yet (forbes)

2. they are 'looking into' a way to delete your threads account without deleting your entire instagram. (instagram ceo, via threads, and mentioned in other sources scattered around here)

from a slightly tech standpoint, threads is officially built as an offshoot of instagram. it literally calls itself an instagram app. when you sign up, you can only sign up via instagram. so depending on how they developed threads, it's likely that it was literally just easier to build a version of threads that is basically instagram with a hat, where removing the hat removes the body (??). if i give them some benefit of the doubt, maybe they just haven't figured out how deletion should work, since they seem to want every insta acct to have exactly one threads acct (so they'd need to plan ahead in case of returning signups and all). and since they wanted to get threads out as fast as possible, this is just what it came out as.

still, they don't seem to be promising much. imagine if they finish 'looking into' it and decide it isn't worth implementing. lol. also it was still definitely greedy of them to link those deletions together now so no one can leave when they realize there is no functionality yet! the same greedy that made them release this half-baked idea in the first place.

but, if you already made a threads, it is Possible that you will eventually be able to delete it without affecting insta.

3. from what i understand, getting used to threads is like training your fyp on tiktok. (i've also never had a tiktok lmao, but my friends do) it does not have a chronological timeline. it does not even have a Following timeline. you are served whatever the algorithm desires and you just have to deal with it, and you WILL be wading through default shit for a while (the verge but also Everyone is complaining about this lol)

they say that they are working on it too (instagram ceo again, via threads-- with much more conviction than they had for the deletion feature)

4. yes, it is asking for WAY TOO MUCH DATA ACCESS in the app store. meta does this with all of their apps (the general permissions list for threads on the app store is identical to fb's and insta's).

i've seen some people say that threads might not be actively using (or collecting??) every single category. notably, threads does not have ads yet, so a lot of visible surveillance things that fb is known for have not shown up.

this might be true Now (though it's an awfully generous opinion!), but they are At Least actively opening the doors to do so in the future. if you've already agreed to those permissions when downloading or logging into the app, you will NOT be notified if a new update suddenly starts siphoning all the data they ignored before. just so yall are aware.

this is likely not as big of a deal if you already have insta and/or fb downloaded, but it's always great to be informed :)

and yes, meta is withholding official launch in the entire EU, almost certainly because of their data privacy AND new anti-trust legislations. (some links may require subscriptions, but not all) there are other posts about this already though.

basically, threads is hardly even meant to be used at this point. it's almost completely unusable compared to other competing sites, which already existed. it's also run by a Notoriously Evil, massive company, with 114 Blazing Red Flags for personal security. (one for each type of data they ask for, plus 100 extra for saying "other data")

they are launching now to attract as large of a userbase as possible, and then just squatting on it as they figure out which functions to add and how to do that. from what i see, most people are joining for the same reason-- claim their username, and then squat on it as they wait for the app to be functional. no hate to them, because meta is nothing if not a master of marketing, and also there are a lot of legit reasons why you may want to claim your name, or make sure your following can stay with you, etc etc.

but what i'm going to be doing, and recommending to everyone else as well, is just grab a snack and watch this crazy competition from a Safe Distance as it goes down. i said that threads is probably the only twt competitor in the immediate future, because it's the only one with the pre-established market control to be one. but if we don't want to hand our entire society over to a soulless megacorp, we can play the long game. i mean, we're already Here, right? might as well just settle in for a long haul🍿

#threads #wrote bc i saw a lot of people saying a lot of stuff that was technically true but still possibly misleading #long #but with a readmore for yalls sanity <3 #am i also being a bit leading. yes i wrote this with purpose BUT sources included so you are free to check them out yourself! #critical thinking baby! #psa #negative #technically? but important #!!! #thoughts from hel #LOL FORGOT MY OWN TXT TAG #twitter #meta #social media