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#and don't hang out with people who steal art
ryo-maybe · 2 years
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can u explain why AI art is bad without fearmongering, moralizing or bootlicking lol
I'm going to answer in good faith, even though the tone you're using sounds like you're harboring anything but. The issue with AI art isn't specifically inherent to the tools used to produce it, because, ultimately, a tool is merely that: something devoid of will which, in the hands of a human, can produce a specific outcome. It's the human element that taints what we could otherwise enjoy for the unquestioningly fascinating topic that is AI art and, by extension, AI software as a whole.
Now, the problem isn't people, period, but the kind of people that are responsible for giving AI the bad rep it's been getting, along with the intent that goes into both the development of AI tools and the things produced by dint of said tools. I'm talking about the tech bros happily rubbing their hands, waiting to provide business moguls with a brand new means to commodify and mass-produce what artists stake their entire livelihoods upon, because when you have enough zeroes lined up in your bank account, your eyes are utterly blinded to the soul and personality that human beings put into their handiwork, and which a machine won't ever be able to reproduce no matter how much stolen art you feed it. Oh yeah, by the way, that's how AI art tools have been making the rounds: by chewing on thousands upon thousands of stolen pictures made by actual people so that they may learn how to ape someone's style and spit out absolutely soulless derivatives, while the original authors don't see a lick of recognition or monetary retribution for any of it. Do I need to tell you why stealing and parading someone else's art as your own is a terrible, vile thing to do?
But sure, you did ask me to refrain from "fearmongering, moralizing or bootlicking", which I guess I've already done. So since you'd rather I skipped straight to the point in a concise manner, lemme offer some quick examples of why the culture surrounding AI art has already developed into one of the most abysmally disappointing displays of how greed and an utter lack of human decency can ruin something objectively brimming with possibilities:
Less than a week after the sudden death of Korean artist Kim Jung-gi, someone trained an AI model to mimic his artstyle, having the audacity of asking for credits if anyone wished to use it. I sincerely hope I don't have to explain to you why this is a ghoulish example of the kind of tone-deafness sported by tech bros who buy wholesale into the AI art craze.
A piece of AI art was submitted to an art contest and won. The "artist"'s work amounted to little more than picking a series of prompts and letting the machine do the work. It's as much art as googling a smattering of terms and making a collage of pictures taken from Pinterest (and even then, you would have put more work into it than this person did). That they won at all says a whole damn lot about how abysmal the respect given to artists - real artists - nowadays is.
There are a multitude of people out there already selling prints of AI-generated art. I could link some of them here, but honestly, type "ai art prints" on a search engine and you'll get inundated by them. I've seen and personally know artists who have had to undersell their works because commissions were the only thin, frayed string they could hang on in hopes of making it through the week without fucking starving themselves, but here we are: any random asshole can now yell "MASSIVE BREASTS, THIN WAIST, COCKTAIL DRESS, HUGE BADONGAS" at a computer, let it mash together a trillion of other people's hard work, and print it for easy bucks that the actual authors of the basic ingredients of their insipid soup will never, ever see a dime of.
It really bothers me that you mentioned "no bootlicking". Whose fucking boots is this side of the debate supposedly tasting? That of the artists who post every day about how angry, sad and terrified they are by the prospects of what the development of AI art will entail for their livelihood and passion? What kind of gall did your mother birth you with that you have the spiteful spunk to type that word, when you've got shit like an artist who had their sketch stolen while they were drawing it on stream, then fed to an AI and posted by someone passing it off as their own art? How does that not ignite your indignation? "Bootlicking". Like anyone's tongues have been tasting leather but those of the same tech bro chodes who kept trying oh so hard to convince us NFTs were the future while ruining the environment to make the absolute stupidest point ever made in the history of humanity.
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astraystayyh · 1 year
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Conversations with Hyunjin
or what i imagine dating Hyunjin would be like (kind of went overboard because i love this man).
warnings: reader feels insecure when hyunjin looks at them for too long. a little suggestive in the end. hyunjin is dramatic but we love him 🫶
if you enjoy please reblog or leave a comment,, means the world to me <3
Minho's version.
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"Look a bit to the left... Perfect", Hyunjin gently grips your jaw, his paint-stained fingers slightly moving your head to the side. You were in Hyunjin's little art studio, and he was halfway through sketching a portrait of you.
He didn't explain why he suddenly wanted to draw one, but his multiple kisses on your face the night before were enough to convince you.
But now that you were sitting on this chair and he's been looking at you for the past half an hour, you can't help but feel self-conscious. He was intently staring at you- you wondered if he started to notice all the imperfections on your face.
Hyunjin's brush strokes falter when he realizes that you are fidgeting with your fingers. He tries to hold your gaze, but you avoid it each time, a tight smile drawn on your lips. You scratch your throat, once, twice, and he steps away from the canvas.
"Angel," he smiles when he's right before you. He doesn't have to look down to grab your hands- they find each other instinctively.  "What's wrong?".
"Nothing," you attempt to smile, but your voice is strangled, and Hyunjin feels his heart drop in his chest.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?". His voice is quiet, a stark contrast to his excited demeanor when he just started painting you.
"No! No, baby. Never", you reassure, squeezing his hand tightly. "It's just... I feel like the more you stare at me, the more you'll notice my imperfections".
"What imperfections?" he questions seriously, his head tilted to the side as if the thought of you having a flaw was inconceivable.
"I don't know... I just don't like it when people stare at me a lot, I guess".
"My love, you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen," Hyunjin leans down, leveling his eyes with yours. He needed you to know how serious he was.
"You are only saying this because you love me," you smile, and he shakes his head no vehemently. "The first time I saw you, I squeezed Jisung's arm so bad I almost broke it."
You've lost count of how many times you've heard this story. Each time you hang out with the boys, Han has to remind Hyunjin that he was starstruck when he saw you. But it still made you feel warm inside- like a blanket tightly wrapped around you.
"You looked so beautiful, and you also had this alluring aura surrounding you. I wanted to talk to you as soon as I laid my eyes on you", he pecks your nose, and you scrunch it up in response.
"And I'm glad I did because not only you're the prettiest human alive," he leans away, his hands gesturing up and down in reverence, "but your soul is the most beautiful thing about you."
"Now," he gently flicks your forehead, and you laugh, "no more talk about imperfections."
"Yes, sir!" you giggle, and he smiles softly at you. "You know what? Let's leave the portrait for another day. Come sit with me while I draw?"
"You know I can't say no to that."
And so for the next hour, Hyunjin paints your favorite flowers with you curled up in his lap. You don't talk much as he draws, but his minty breath tickles your neck from time to time and you haven't felt this content in a while. 
°°°°°°°°°°
"Babyyy, what's wrong?" you lean into Hyunjin's side, who was seemingly ignoring you. You've just returned from running some errands to find Hyunjin sulking on the bed.
"Nothing," he huffs, turning his head away from you.
"Then why aren't you kissing me?" you whine, and he steals a glance at you.
"Because you didn't kiss me first."
"What are you talking about?" you chuckle, making him sulk even more.
"In the morning, you didn't kiss me," he grumbles, and you internally melt at his antics. Sometimes Hyunjin made you feel as if he needed your kisses to breathe.
"I did, you were asleep, but I kissed your cheek."
"Well, I didn't feel it."
"Yeah, because you were asleep, dummy," you giggle, and he finally looks at you, his tongue poking slightly against his cheek. He knows he's been ridiculous but it was too late to back out now.
"Well, then you should've woken me up!"
"I will next time", you smile at him, and he brightens up, "You promise?"
"Pinky promise". You lace your pinky with his, and you both kiss your thumbs, stamping them together.
"Now come here" You open your arms wide, and he sinks into them. His mouth falls perfectly on top of your collarbone, and he grazes it gently with his teeth, making goosebumps erupt on your skin.
"Baby?", he calls out a while later.
"Mhm?"
"On second thought, don't wake me up. I probably need the sleep", he says sheepishly, and you giggle, "I know."
°°°°°°°°°°
"Hey, love," Hyunjin leans in to kiss your forehead, snapping you out of your haze.
"Hey," you turn your eyes back to the TV, hugging your knees tighter to your chest. You weren't really watching the movie you put on; you just needed something to take your mind off the weight on your chest.
"Bad day?" he asks, his tone soft, and you nod silently.
Hyunjin kisses your head again, and for a second, the world around you stills and you feel okay. But his lips quickly leave you, and you're left aching for his hold.
"Wait here," he tells you, and you hum in reply; you couldn't move even if you wanted to.
Ten minutes later, Hyunjin comes back to the living room. He pulls you up and leads you to the bathroom. There, you find some candles lit up and rose petals thrown on the ground.
"Let me take care of you," he says as he starts to undress you. You appreciated how he kept his voice barely above a whisper; the bathroom was fit for hushed conversations only.
When you are both bare in front of one another, he pulls you into the bath he filled- your back flush against his chest, and you sigh contently.
Hyunjin pours some gel wash into his hands, then rubs it on your skin, skillfully massaging your tense body. He's so gentle with you- his touch is featherlight, and his mouth leaves a sweet trail of kisses on your back. You feel as if you are floating in space, somewhere where no one can hurt you.
You notice that he used his body wash, not yours; and soon his scent surrounds you until all you could smell is him.
You know that this way, you'll carry Hyunjin with you throughout the night, and onto the following morning when he is no longer there with you.
His scent on your skin will remind you of how he took care of you, how he loved you, how he held you so close to him until you both became one.
°°°°°°°°°°°
"You don't have to stick your nose in the painting to see it", you giggle, and Hyunjin leans away, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.
"I'm trying to see the details. Leave me alone", he pokes his tongue out at you, and you retaliate with the same childish gesture, which in turn makes the both of you chuckle.
You lean your cheek against Hyunjin's arm, and you both contemplate the painting in comfortable silence. "I really wanna be poetic, but this just looks like a child's drawing," you finally say, and he laughs loudly, head tipped back- you can't help but stare in awe at how much joy suits him.
"That's what I thought too!" he high-fives you excitedly before grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the next painting.
It's one of a Renaissance couple kissing, their hands cradling each other's cheeks closely- as if they can't possibly get enough of each other.
"Now this is beautiful", you sigh, and he pokes your side gently. "Let's recreate it."
"You just want an excuse to kiss me", you wiggle your brows at him, and he holds your jaw, beckoning you closer to him.
"And what about it?" he smiles bashfully before crashing his soft lips on yours.
Hyunjin might be biased, but he thinks that if someone were to capture this moment, it would look much better than the painting behind you two.
°°°°°°°°°
"This bag is so heavy," Hyunjin whines, and you stare at him pointedly, "I told you not to buy all that stuff."
"But they were dumpling-themed toys for dogs! I had to get them for Kkami."
"That dog doesn't even like you," you tease, and Hyunjin screeches loudly, stopping in his tracks. "How dare you!"
As you two continue your bickering, an old couple passes you hand in hand. They are seemingly arguing, but as you near them, you can tell they are just joking- just like you two. The fond way they gazed at each other with was a clear testimony of their love.
You and Hyunjin both turn to look at each other; mouths slightly hang agape. "I just got chills," he whispers, and you nod in agreement, "I think we just saw our future selves."
"I can't believe you'll annoy me even when I'm seventy", he jokes, and you lightly punch his side. But in true Hyunjin fashion, he yelps loudly as if you had hurt him.
"Will you still be this dramatic when we are older?"
"This is the only correct way of living", he declares solemnly, and you laugh heartily. The truth is, you wouldn't have it any other way.
Hyunjin throws his arm over your shoulders, bringing you closer to his side. He presses a quick kiss to your head, and you wrap your arm around his middle, resuming your walk.
"I was always afraid of growing up, but it doesn't seem as daunting with you. Because I know I'll have you with me in the end", he says and you beam at his words.
"I can't wait to meet every version of ourselves."
"I know I'll love you in each."
"Yeah? Even if I annoy you every day?" you smile cheekily, and he pinches your cheek affectionately.
"Even then. You are my last love, yn".
°°°°°°°°°°
"Don't come in!", Hyunjin shouts as soon as you open the door. His arms are open wide like a shield blocking you from stepping forward. 
"And why is that...?", you chuckle, slightly pushing him away to pass. He doesn't budge, and you frown.
"Please just go, go, go," he grabs your shoulders, spinning you around until you are facing the door again.
"Hyunjin, what are you hiding?" you ask, amused as you free yourself from his grip. He looks everywhere but at you, and doubt starts to seep inside you. 
"Are you... are you with someone?"
"NO! God, no, how could you think that?"
"Well, you are acting suspicious, I don't know!" You throw your hands up in the air defensively, and he sighs.
"Fine, come see."
Hyunjin walks first into the kitchen, and you gasp softly. To say it's a mess would be an understatement. There are pots everywhere, flour on the ground, and some clearly not-edible cookies on the table.
"This is embarrassing" He hides his face between his hands, and you giggle, gently removing them.
"Did you try to bake for me?" you coo, leaning your face into his until your noses brush together.
"Yeah, I know you've been working hard, and I wanted to surprise you. But clearly, I shouldn't have."
You feel your heart clench at the defeated look on his face, so to cheer him up, you grab a cookie from the tray. Its brown color throws you off, but you still take a big bite. You try your hardest not to scrunch your nose because he definitely used salt and not sugar, and oh- that's an eggshell you are chewing right now.
"This is yummy," you force out, and he rolls his eyes at your blatant lies.
"Please spit it out. I don't want you to die from food poisoning."
You oblige eagerly, thankful for the opening, and Hyunjin leans against the counter, gazing sadly at the cookies. 
"You are the best boyfriend in the world. You know that?"
He timidly shakes his head no, and you smile softly at him, "You are. Now let's clean this and order pizza. I'm starving."
"You are not mad?"
"Why would I be?"
"The kitchen is a mess."
"Well, it's our mess to clean up., And you doing this for me made me so so happy." You stand on your tiptoes and grab the back of his neck, pulling him downward for a kiss. When he leans away, you smile cheekily at him, and he rolls his eyes at you, "Come on, just say it."
"Leave the cookies to Felix."
"Noted."
°°°°°°°°°°°
"Guess who?" you whisper in Hyunjin's ears as you cover his eyes with your hands.
"An intruder who is oddly romantic?", Hyunjin jokes, and you flick the back of his head playfully, "I hate you."
Hyunjin turns around to grab your arm and drags you across the couch. "You love meee", he singsongs as he makes you stand between his legs.
"Yeah, I do" you giggle as he looks up at you, a huge smile on his face.
He looks so pretty from this angle, you think, his eyes wide and sincere poring into yours. You liked how Hyunjin never hid any of his emotions from you; and right now, you could clearly see the adoration he felt for you painted on his face.
You swipe your thumb affectionately across his cheek, and he leans into your touch, totally unguarded. "So... your birthday is in a month," you grin at him, "but since you'll be busy, I figured I'll give you your gift early on."
"You are my gift," his reply is instant. You once thought phrases like those were cheesy but you quickly realized that Hyunjin means them. He says them so easily because it's the truth for him.
"I think you'll really like this present," you smile excitedly as you pull out an envelope from your back pocket.
"Open it," you urge him, and he does as you say. He takes out two plane tickets and looks up at you, confused.
"What are those?"
"We are going to Paris!"
"We are?"
"Yes! In a week. I've prepared everything! I made all the reservations and a list of all the places we could visit. And I got us an exclusive tour of the exhibition you've been dying to see", you explain happily. You've been planning for this trip for a month now, you wanted it to be perfect for him.
Hyunjin's eyes well up with tears and he bites the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying. You knew how badly he wanted to go to Paris, and you went to all of these lengths to make him happy.
"Yn... I..." he stammers, and you hold his hands, gently squeezing them into yours. "It's okay, Jinnie. I know."
"No, I need to say it... I..." he pulls you onto his lap and you place your legs on either side of his body. He buries his head in the crook of your neck, and you pat his back gently, giving him a few moments to gather his thoughts.
"The reason why I wanted to draw your portrait is because I wanted you to see yourself how I see you. I wanted to capture you in a way only I can because I'm so in love with you," he pauses and you kiss his temple, overcome by emotion.
"I hoped that decades from now, someone would find those portraits and they will see how perfect you are. This way, you'll live again through my paintings and my love for you."
"Jinnie...." you whisper, at loss for words. Now it was your turn to tear up.
"Can I finish your portrait in Paris?", he clears his throat and you giggle through your tears, "Please."
"We also should get a portrait done of the two of us on the streets. And we'll hang it in the living room."
"Isn't that a bit pretentious?"
"It's our home. Who's picture are we going to frame? Han?"
"I mean he is our biggest supporter...", you trail off and he laughs at your words, "He really is. But I'm your number one fan."
"Prove it", you smirk and he flips you around until you are laying on the couch and he's caging you with his arms- the necklace he bought with your initial on it dangling over you.
"Oh I will."
------------------
(if you want to know how Hyunjin celebrated op's birthday, you can read When I fell in love heheheh)
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ohisms · 29 days
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↪ ᵀᴴᴱ 𝑀𝐼𝐶𝐾 , ꮲꭲ 2 . (  a  series  of  sentence  starters  from  season  1  of fox's sitcom ,  “ the mick ” adjust phrasing as necessary . )
damn , [ name ] , how many cars can one person crash ?
i can't help it — when i'm behind the wheel , i'm a slave to the power of the machine .
other people worked very hard to buy those cars , and now they're mine .
why you gotta put me in a cage ?
i'm not a rat , okay ?
shut up , you don't know what you're talking about .
i am NOT joking , i don't wanna do this .
guys , we don't snitch . that's it , end of story .
will you listen to yourself ?? "jUsT tElL tHe tRuTh"
[ name ] , you snitch you die !
pretty sure that was already there when i walked up .
how is this good news ?
everyone's gonna call me a traitor , like you .
don't worry about it , it was worth it .
what are you doing tomorrow night ?
just say the words , and it can be yours .
oh , it's like that , huh ? fine .
what was that ? i can't hear you ... you can't breathe ?
you better figure something out , 'cause if you don't — i'll have to go public with this .
that's called extortion , stupid !
those guys are just covering their own asses , they don't even like you .
as easily as i can save you in this world , i can destroy you .
if anybody messes with you , let us know - okay ?
with a dong like that , you'd think he'd be happier .
do i look like i'm playing , [ last name ] ?
oh , your breath reeks of booze .
i hope you have a plan .
i was up all night watching prep school movies in preparation .
there are some real evil illuminati-type vibes in here , right ?
there was a time i could see , and i have seen .
oh , i'm just getting warmed up .
we are but food for worms , gentlemen .
whose burrito did i just step in ?
get out of here , the tv's mine .
what did you do to my shirt ??
how would you feel if i ran around stealing your clothes ?
we had to kill him cause he wasn't a team player .
no more special treatment for you .
i grew up in squalor , i am perfectly comfortable in it .
[ name ] , don't you dare !
didn't know you were gonna be so weird about it .
if you decide that you don't want me around , just tell me and i will go .
you're not the only game in town , buddy , okay ?
you don't know who i hang out with .
jealousy is the reason people hate us .
you don't have to worry about labels , just like who you like .
i hope this is some sort of emergency .
you kept me waiting , so i'm gonna get right to it .
don't make this your thing , this is [ name's ] thing .
suing is how rich white people solve their problems .
i wanted to sing and show you there's nothing to be afraid of .
i'm so nervous for you ... i want to throw up and run away .
you could have me escorted out , but you have no security .
ooh , dark scary room ! you know what they call that in prison ? they call that a blind spot . great place to catch a shiv .
what kind of operation are you running here ?
you didn't do anything wrong . i was the problem , not you .
where i'm from , the guest gets the good seat .
i drink , smoke , lie , steal ... i'm drunk right now .
i will ruin him . please don't let me do that .
i'm not the one doing whatever you guys are doing ... what are you doing ?
i'm not judging , at least he's a hot mess .
it's the wolf's job to eat the sheep , so y'know ... this was bound to happen .
i will RUIN you when we get home .
i'll give it back to you in a minute , you're gonna get it back .
the suit you destroyed cost a grand !
come on , [ name ] . i'll help you get settled .
he can't know it was my idea .
she made her mean bed and she can sleep in those scratchy sheets .
woah , tough day at the office ?
what the hell did you just say to me ?
you are right ... no matter what you say about anything .
we do this all the time , but usually there's some art to it .
this is not nearly as fun as i thought it was gonna be .
you're letting a bunch of nerds pick on you with their computers ?
why don't you just systematically destroy her ?
i can see where this is headed , so i'm just gonna hit the road .
she ripped me open , stuffed me full of devastation and then sewed me back up again .
leave me alone , this is all your fault .
why are they yelling ? are they angry cause they're bad musicians ?
i will never understand your generation .
let me have it . how bad is it ?
do you have any idea what i saw in there ?
you should come and check out what's going on outside , cause i think you'll be pleasantly surprised .
i just want us to be friends again .
it would be such a silly waste of time for someone like me to be mad at someone as insignificant as you .
the truth is , i pity you .
when the universe gives you a sign , it's not up to you to ignore it .
[ name ] gave it to me . it means i'm in charge .
i'm not comfortable with the whole arrangement . where's [ name ] ?
this is outrageous ! i'm getting passed over again ?
i don't have a problem , i'm just blowing off some steam .
you wanna get in on this ?
you deserve to take a time out as much as anybody else .
sorry , i didn't realize you were the fun police .
having money has reaaally changed you .
i've lost control ?! oh no , you dumb , dumb idiot . YOU'VE lost control .
that's a gross overreaction .
i will show myself the door in a ... graceful and classy manner .
thanks for sticking around .
look , i realize i did some questionable things in there .
i just felt like the universe was giving me a sign .
i'm the only one worthy of its power !
keep it in your pants and follow my lead .
it's no offense , i just don't know you very well .
let's go over this one more time , just so we're clear .
we've already been over the terms .
what's in it for you ?
i like the element of surprise .
wasn't expecting that . are you okay ?
i saw a burglar , i didn't know what to do ... so i SMOKED his ass !
you SHOT me ! what the hell's the matter with you ?
that gunpowder's like a hundred years old , it probably just broke the skin .
what about the police ? they're expecting a gunshot victim .
guys , we've gotta move this along , okay ?
you got it , i'll get you a pillow .
you're lucky no one was killed .
here's the thing about the bordeaux ... i drank it .
i'm so sorry that you had to keep our mansion warm .
how do you think the police found them ?
if you're done criticizing me , i think i'll head on up to bed .
you want me to do the jobs no one else wants ?
can we pick this up tomorrow ? i was shot , so ... i'm very tired .
it has nothing to do with that . okay ? now please leave .
i wanted to thank you for having my back earlier .
that had nothing to do with you . i was just trying to hurt them .
it's chloroform . i found a recipe online .
[ name ] , don't come at me with that .
i was gonna do whatever it takes . i'm not a quitter.
i wanna tell you , i really do . but first there's something i need .
oh my god , you're bailing again .
innocent people don't sneak in and out of their own home .
'cause i don't like you , that's why .
i'd rather get mowed down in a hellfire of bullets than listen to you screech .
you don't have to lie . i heard you guys .
how was i supposed to know you were gonna hug me ? i didn't even know you knew how to hug .
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newtdrawz · 8 months
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Outsider HC's but they're mainly about Ponyboy,, cuz he is my fav,,
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Most of these are just Pony interacting with the gang and his brothers 😭 are they gonna be OOC? Probably. Do I care? No. Am I right abt all of these? Yes. (No.)
ALSO alot of them are post-main story/mention Dally and Johnny's death a lot cuz I am unable to let my favs be happy 🫶 (! None of these are ships btw,, they're all platonic and stuff lol)
Anyways,,
Ponyboy & Johnny
Johnny and Pony regularly have conversations quietly around the gang, most of the time they have a whole conversation with just a couple looks and jerks of their head. They both seem to get what they're saying while the rest of the gang is completely lost on what they're saying/talking about.
Pony is the only one who calls Johnny, J as a nickname.
"We're not scared because monsters don't live here." Was a sentence said many, many time in the abandoned church.
Pony and Johnny can lie pretty well, but when they have to lie together they suck.
Ponyboy & Dally (ft. Johnny)
After Johnny and Dally died Pony stopped drawing and reading or writing for awhile. He picked it up again and his sketchbook is full of doodles and sketches of Johnny and Dally.
Dally has a soft spot for only Johnny and Pony. It takes a lot for him to get soft with the rest of the gang. He's still mean and tough but more just teasing with Johnny and Pony.
Before the fire Pony would read out loud all the time while Johnny would just sit and listen, sometimes Dally would listen too but interrupt with questions and criticizing the characters. Now that they're both gone, Pony will sometimes read out loud on his own, pretending that both Johnny and Dally are there listening.
Dally is very supportive of Ponys hobby in art. He's usually the one who catches him sketching or painting and just watches until Pony is either finished or notices he's being watched. Dally always nods in greeting and says "keep it up, kid." Or "nice job, kid." But Dally will brag to his other buddies that aren't the gang about how talented the kid is. ("Nah man, the kid draws from memory. He drew this one picture of his big brother, yeah the big big one, looked exactly like him. Like a photograph almost. Kids real talented.")
Ponyboy & Steve
Steve says he can't stand Pony and is mean to him, but Steve is very high on the list of people who care about Pony. He's the most frantic (mostly angry) one next to Soda when Pony got jumped. He secretly cares about him a whole lot, like he's his own brother.
Steve will give Pony rides to places or offer rides time to time. (He only does it if Pony's gone awhile without annoying him lol)
Steve (and Soda, but surprisingly it was Steve's idea) took Pony to his first drag race. He definitely should have not been there.
Ponyboy & Two-bit
Two-bit and Steve started sitting in and listening to Pony read, they're not Johnny and Dally but Pony appreciates it nonetheless.
Two-bit was actually so obsessed with toddler Ponyboy, he always insisted on bringing him with the gang and letting him in on games, he always wanted a little brother. He loved how easy Pony was to entertain and make laugh.
Two-bit was the only one who didn't think twice about Pony and Soda's names.
Two-bit sometimes steals art supplies for Pony.
Ponyboy & Sodapop
When Pony would visit the DX Soda would walk him through fixing a car and even let him help out on small stuff. Even Steve would help too.
He'll leave notes everywhere for Pony and Darry and sometimes the gang. They're either dumb jokes or funny little drawings.
Soda gets very excited when Pony asks him anything abt cars, he'll talk for hours abt them.
Soda was so obsessed with Pony when he was born, all he wanted to do was hold him and hang out with him. He would brag to Darry that he's not the only big brother now lol.
Ponyboy & Darry (I'm so obsessed with their dynamic & their growth)
"Dang it Ponyboy you're giving me gray hairs at 20!" Is a regular sentence said at the Curtis residence.
Darry always tells the other guys to be careful with Pony when they're rough housing. Pony thinks it's cuz he doesn't want them to break anything in the house, Darry just doesn't want Pony to get hurt.
Toddler Pony would follow Darry and Soda/the gang everywhere but mainly Darry. If Darry was doing homework in his room then boom Pony would be in there quietly playing or sleeping on Darry's bed.
Darry regularly cuts Soda, Pony and his own hair. They don't have the privilege of going somewhere to do it so Darry just does it and he does surprisingly well. It's a whole day activity.
The night after Dally and Johnny died Pony had trouble sleeping, even though soda was there. The first person he went to for comfort was Darry. Darry was in the kitchen cleaning, trying to distract himself when Pony walked in. Darry held him in his arms the rest of the night.
On the first father's day without their parents Pony makes a card with a drawing of him and Darry on it and leaves it on the kitchen table for him because he's embarrassed. Darry keeps it forever. (He did get very emotional over it but not infront of anybody. When he got home he hugged Pony, smiled and walked away. Those actions spoke a thousand words between the two and Pony knew he said thanks.)
That's all 🥹 (for now 😦)
I will be doing more of these 🙏 I wanna try to do individual characters cuz ik some here didn't have a lot as well as ALL of these being pony centric and I love them all lol
OH ALSO feel free to add on to these (or ask me about them) or add your own HC's cuz I love outsider headcanons ❤️
Also can you tell I love when Dally and Steve are nice to pony lol? Love it. Love the idea that Steve actually cares abt him and shows it sometimes or Dally caring just as much abt him. THEY ARE ALL A HUGE FAMILY YOUR HONOR 🧑‍⚖️🧑‍⚖️🧑‍⚖️🧑‍⚖️🧑‍⚖️ I'm also so obsessed with Darry and Pony,,, they are so,,, complicated sibling relationships get me everytime
Are some of these good? Probably not. Do they make sense timeline and story wise? No and idc. Am I so normal about them? Yes. Most of these are based of fanfic versions of them anyways so yeah
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ghostgirl101 · 1 year
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Dating Wednesday Addams Would Be Like This:
A/N: I've been wanting to write something for her for a while, and I feel like this is long overdue 🙃 requests are still open if you have anything in mind you'd like to see for Wednesday or the other characters included on my pinned post. Enjoy reading.
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☠️• How did you manage to capture the attention of a certain eccentric, gothic young lady? Maybe you're just quieter than the rest, and unlike everyone else, there's something about you that she can't quite place. Whatever it is, it infuriates Wednesday to no end that her mind keeps wandering to you whenever she's trying to write, trying to distract herself by playing the cello to no avail... you really are an interrupting nuisance.
☠️• But one she doesn't mind being around. After she's gotten over her unwanted reactions and thoughts towards you when you first met - probably through Enid - you'll find that Wednesday suddenly pops up in all the places you go to, at and around Nevermore. Ask her why? You're the only 'tolerable' one, and then she's off again, a slight flush to her cheeks that she needs to go and deal with.
☠️• Speaking of Enid, you'll make fast friends with her. She's definitely more observant than she seems, and so she'll catch on after a week or two how Wednesday seems to lighten up ever so slightly when you're around. She'll invite you for slumber parties and to join her team in any group project, which only encourages Wednesday herself to reluctantly agree to become a part of it too.
☠️• "Come on, Wednesday, join in! It'll be fun!" "No." "That's a shame... you know who's joining us. But if you're not interested-" "...I suppose I could make a few adjustments to my schedule. This once. Don't look so pleased, Enid."
☠️• You're the only one she'll make exceptions for, and doesn't seem at all as put out as she voiced a couple of minutes ago. Even if it's not really her scene, she'll sit by you and watch, or listen to what you have to say. Someone interrupts you?
☠️• "Quiet. Well, go on."
☠️• Wednesday tends to get quite jealous - in her own way - when people she disapproves of steal your attention when you're hanging out. And she disapproves of pretty much anyone, minus Enid and her few closer friends. Usually, her glaring at them encourages them to leave a bit quicker, but if that doesn't work, she has no problem speaking up.
☠️• "Do you mind? We're working. Go and share your trivial attempts of small talk with someone else."
☠️• Being Wednesday's 'friend' also includes her being very protective of you, especially if you're more on the shy side and find it hard to stand up for yourself. Did you see what she did for her brother? You get the same treatment. If someone makes you self-doubt for a minute, she'll deal with the person in a way that most likely includes blood and a trip to the head's office, and a sweet but... well, a Wednesday-like attempt at shutting down those negative thoughts to make you feel better.
☠️• "Don't be ridiculous. Your facial features are... well, significantly prettier than any others I've seen here at Nevermore. And back at home, for that matter." "If you weren't clever, I'd have no interest in spending my time with you. And here we are."
☠️• She likes being with you and Enid doing whatever, usually, but at the times when it's just you and her unwinding after a chaotic day at school, Wednesday prefers getting on with her writing while you do whatever creative work you like doing. Interested in art? Here's a very flattering offer to illustrate a few things for her characters from her books. Like writing yourself? Alright, write a few hundred words of descriptive writing so she can see what your style's like. Writing together and sharing ideas is an example of a perfect evening for Wednesday.
☠️• Another way to bond is her teaching you how to play the cello. You're a 'passable student' that she's comfortable with teaching, and if you already play a different instrument, you can harmonise with each other. Even you can't miss the way her breath catches as the closeness of it all, and Wednesday gives Thing a knowing glare as you bite your tongue and hide a smile.
☠️• Eventually, when Wednesday has to come to terms with her feelings - or rather, Enid begs with her to do something and tell you how she feels, because 'you guys as a couple is so cuuuute!!' - you'll get a slightly overwhelmed-looking Wednesday Addams at your door, and a blunt invitation to go on an odd trip with her to the cafe. A date, you ask? "'Call it what you will." And then, before she rushes off again, "yes, a date. Obviously."
☠️• She can't help but take you to a more interesting location like the cemetery afterwards though, because that's Wednesday for you. If it's clear you're enjoying yourself, she'll give the smallest of half-smiles and state that she knew you'd like it, you two are similar, in a non-nauseating way. Whatever that means. It's a good thing.
☠️• After that point, it's clear that you're a couple. She refers to you by your name or as her significant other or partner when you're mentioned, and if she hears you call her your girlfriend, she'll get a feeling that isn't half as disgusting as she thought it'd be, after seeing how her parents are with each other. Her parents will be desperate to meet you, something which Wednesday has to give them a firm lecture on what not to do or say before she lets them. Still, it's nice to see you get on with the family. After all, you're a part of her family too.
☠️• I know a lot of people think that Wednesday isn't very affectionate at all, and that's something I half agree with. It's hard for her to initiate anything physical, and the thought of being all sappy like her mum and dad makes her feel nauseated... but if you move closer to her for a hug, she won't pull away. She'll shift closer when she thinks you don't notice, and only tenses and goes back to her indifferent, annoyed self again when Enid squeals in delight when she comes across the two of you. Any display of affection from you is welcome, and in public, you're either walking impossibly close to each other, or are hand in hand. If anyone comments, she'll make a remark on their embarrassing love life, or even decide to ignore them. You're more important. She'll deal with the idiots later.
☠️• I've mentioned it earlier, but again, highly protective. Honestly, once you get to that level of trust where she tells you everything - about her books, her visions, her private thoughts and feelings, her plans before she goes ahead with them - this girl would take a bullet for you. It's another way she shows she cares.
☠️• She comes off as indifferent and dark and sadistic, and Wednesday is all of those things. But with you, she finds herself softening a little, and maybe, just maybe, starting to rethink the things her mother told her before about love. And when she thinks you're fast asleep and not paying any attention, those very words are whispered vulnerably into the darkness of your room.
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genderflu1dwh0r · 11 months
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Are you stupid?
You can be racist and have POC friends, Jason is way worse than Billy any day. Jason isn't the one being abused by his father everyday, he isn't poor, he didn't get taken from his home and live with a step sibling that he didn't know that well.
Jason is a horrible person and got his friend to tackle Erica, then he held a gun at Lucas. You can't tell me that that isn't racist, you can't tell me that's worse than what Billy ever did. Jason said "I thought you were one of the good ones". That. Is. Racist.
Billy got his bad traits from his father. Billy got beat by his father. Billy was crying into the phone for his mom to come home. Billy had no support system. Steve was the only person that Billy bullied and tormented, and in my opinion, Steve is a worse character than Billy.
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Steve threw slurs, while Billy got slurs thrown at him by his own father. Just because you don't care about abuse victims, doesn't mean you have to spread your hate.
I think that Billy just wanted Lucas to stop hanging around because if Neil found out, Billy would be the one getting beat. Neil would probably hurt Lucas way more than Billy could have ever done. Billy was protecting Max and himself, he was scared that Neil would find out. He did care and love Max, he just showed it in some confusing ways.
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Also, the Duffer brothers are racist, they wanted Dacre to say the N word. Dacre protested and it ended up not happening. Billy saying the N word isn't canon, cause it didn't happen in the show. Stop always going to that excuse for him being a bad person. He never said any slur.
People say "if the actor wasn't hot, then people wouldn't have liked him" and I disagree. His character is very interesting. He has a backstory, he has trauma, he has an actual interesting plot unlike any other character. Dacre is also a very amazing actor, he was able to make Billy even more interesting.
Dacre has said that his art imitates his life. He put his own life into the character, he didn't have a great relationship with his dad, he has said this.
Max is a horrible person too, she drugged Billy with something that she didn't know was in, almost hit him with Steve's bat, screamed at him before leaving and stealing his car. Billy could have died on the floor, he was drugged and had no car. Tell me that that isn't abuse. Just because Billy grabbed her wrist ONE time, doesn't mean it's abuse.
Siblings fight all the time, it's just what happens. Especially how their family dynamics was. I and many others have fights with our siblings. You get over it in like a day. That doesn't make Billy a bad person. He did some really shitty things, yes. But that doesn't excuse all the hate he gets. He's a complex character, no other character is like him.
That's why he's my baby boy. I relate to him, I'm an abuse victim, I love knowing that I have a character to relate to. Stop blaming abuse victims on how they grew up, they can change. He could have changed if he didn't die. He could have, but nobody let him.
Nobody tried to help him. He didn't have a support system. The people who compare Jonathan to Billy are wild, cause Jonathan did have a support system, his mother did so much. Billy had nobody. His father beat him, hi stepmother did NOTHING to stop Neil, she just watched. She was clearly abused too, but she's the adult, she has to be there for Billy. She has to get Max away from all of this, which in season 4, she did. But she turned into an even worse mom.
Right here. He was trying to get help, he was trying to get the MF to get out. He wanted someone to help him. He kept fighting, and that's how he saved everyone on the day he died. He knew he was going to die, he was sobbing.
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Try to think before talking bad against Billy.
Why do people say Vecna/Henry/Jason/Troy/James/Angela are better than Billy?
Vecna/Henry literally tried to kill children and the whole world. Billy wanted to have some fun and games, he would never go to prison for killing a child. He was never going to hit Mike, Lucas, Dustin, or Will.
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Troy/James made Mike jump off of a fucking cliff while wanting to take Dustins teeth out. Tell me that isn't fucked. MIKE WOULD HAVE DIED IF EL WASN'T THERE!!
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Jason held a fucking gun to Lucas's head and got Erica hurt. He sent a witch-hunt over Eddie and that ended up killing that poor boy. Literally, he was poor and Jason is a rich christian white boy. Tell me that isn't classist. Jason also did this to get information out of a kid.
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Angela deserved the roller skate to the face for what she did to El. I would have done the same thing, El never deserved any of what she went through there.
Anyone going to object? Cause you can't, my points are spot on. Why aren't we gonna get mad at Jamie Campbell Bower over saying he relates to Vecna/Henry? If Dacre is bad for doing so, why can't we shame Jamie for the same thing?
I would count the MF taking over Billy like that as a reference of sexual assault. His body gets taken away from him, he is crying for help, he is scared and tried to tell someone. I've talked to SA survivors and they agree.
Anyway, I am pissed at Billy antis and I am just so done with them.
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nagitoro · 11 months
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。ₓ ू ₒ DENY, THEN EMBRACE — RIN ITOSHI
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he'll deny these feelings, those anonymous gifts, and the need to hug you.
a rin itoshi oneshot! rin itoshi x fem! reader
iya's notes ; my first work on my new blog! i made it extra fluffy for everyone >&lt;
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rin itoshi thinks he is a master of it, the art of denial. he denies most things, and in very different aspects too.. like being asked to hang out, his answers would be a stern "no thanks.", he denies the anger he feels whenever isagi yoichi, his rival, steals a soccer goal away from him. but the biggest denial of his life, is in love.
and is in you, the denial of his own feelings. rin itoshi isn't so accustomed to having such musty feelings, as he referred to them as such. but, to be honest, rin doesn't mind feeling it in the comfort of his own mind, where his imagination and love roam free.
he's not allowed to fall in love yet, when he has a huge dream and a path to take in front of him. it's a distraction. from the soccer career he is putting his life on, something that he has excelled in all his life, second only to his brother, sae. maybe one day, those feelings will eventually fade.
rin itoshi is not a believer in romances, after all. he trusts that maybe in a week, such feelings will go away. maybe.. in two weeks? a month? two months? he doesn't know, it's been how long since he wished his longing to be by your side would just go away, to not let it plague his mind. as good as the feelings he gets from it, it makes him weak, he thinks.
vulnerability isn't so much what rin itoshi aspires to be, and yet in the presence of you.. he feels every bit of the word vulnerable. it makes him weak in the knees, making him feel shivers from head to toe. “it's just a crush, this is how it normally feels like.” he reminds himself, he's had a few crushes before, how does this make it any different.
“rin!” your voice calls out, and his soul gets turned into a messy puddle. he tries his best to keep calm, fixing his coat and hair subconsciously before coughing, clearing his throat. why? it's his subconscious speaking, the player thinks. “hello.” and as you walk towards him with a grin, he could only muster a weak (and honestly shy) smile back.
rin itoshi doesn't even smile most of the time. but i think any smile that came from him, an always upset and reclusive man would be a huge advancement towards a more neutral, at least personality.
he held a small conversation with you about nothing in particular, until you mentioned something about wanting to buy plushies and figurines. explaining how cute they are and that you're starting a collection of such items, showing him a picture of a lamb holding what seemed to be a tulip. “is this.. what you want?” he asks, no emotions shown on his face and yet inside the cogs of his head were working.
itoshi rin went home that day, seemingly happy to see you once in a while. sitting on his clean desk, he thinks deeply. reminiscing the quite short conversation you two had earlier that day. a much more visible grin on his face, he was after all in the comfort of his own bedroom so he felt free to express little bits of happiness and what people called butterflies in their stomach.
he grabbed his phone, typing in “lamb with tulip” before stopping, staring at the wall in front of him with a look that could only be embarrassment. what am i thinking.. buying them this can't buy their love. he shakes his head at the thought, being a firm believer that not even money can buy affection and love, especially yours. rin took another look at the plushie, before imagining you holding on to it tightly with a very pleased expression.
he smiled to himself again, like an exercise to his face's muscles that he hadn't quite had in a long while. rin pressed the buy now button, before putting his phone down a few minutes later. they don't have to know that it's from me.. all they need to know that it came from someone who adores them, even if i am not allowed to. he thinks to himself, burying his face into his hands while thinking about his feelings.
i will like them, as long as my heart wants to. rin itoshi nods to himself, maybe.. he has the hold over his feelings for you by now. standing up to go to the mirror, he looks at himself, the faint blush on his face as he sighs out loud. “i don't think my heart will ever stop liking them.”
a few days later, rin sneaks to your apartment, and stuffs something into the mail carefully. his disguise was shades, a baseball cap and a black facemask. making sure to look around before placing it inside, he smiles then walks away. rin waited in anticipation for your reaction, perhaps a message? no, there was no indication that it was from him anyways, no letter, not even a measly sticky note.
opening his instagram, he sees a post. and instinctively, rin grins. you look perfect. he thought, staring at the selfie you took with the plushie, holding it in different poses. the caption of your post read:
@username: whoever gave me this will get a hug and a lot of thanks, tysm anon &lt;3
rin blinks, is that true? he thinks, tapping his finger nervously on his wooden desk. “maybe it's a joke, she wouldn't. and besides, she doesn't know..” he gulps down, sighing. but the thought of other people who may admire you, taking credit for buying you that gift take his chance away from receiving a hug makes him frown, a huge scowl accompanied with thoughts of multiple people taking credit. his brows furrow and he slumps on his bed.
rolling over and over, wondering if he should text you. “but how..” he blinks up at the ceiling, this is stupid he thinks. i look like a middle school student with a stupid crush.. and quite frankly, it's true. rin can't help but feel young and dumb, in the face of what might possibly be his first love. what happened to just denying it all?
he thinks it's too late to deny it, he's enamored.
not my fault.. i can't help but like you, who wouldn't? i'm not going to deny it.. not when i want to give my all for her.. this is the only other thing i want other than soccer, my other wish, is them, and what seems to be an impossible.. romance? with her. i can't believe myself, using terms like that. it's icky.
he shivered, rin seemed like one of those characters of romance movies that he despised. but how long would it take if he still denied the feelings he held for you? how long would his wait of “it'll go away soon, they're just a crush anyways.” go on? rin thinks he's already too deep in, maybe, just maybe this is the type of love that he imagined to be disgusting. if so, why is it making him feel like a new person, a much better, and a less selfish person.
and as he types into his phone, his hands shake with nervousness. this was one of the stepping stones he had to overcome, to get a little closer to you.
@ rinitoshi : when's the meetup? i need to have that hug y/n
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murkycran · 1 month
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Staticmoth/Voxval Fic Rec List
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Welcome to my Staticmoth/Voxval Fic Rec List! :D
I will keep updating this periodically as I read more fics, so feel free to check back every once and a while! I'll reblog it when I update it, plus make a note with the date at the top. Trust me, this is by no means a complete list; there's fics I still want to add to this that I just haven't gotten to yet. I just decided to go ahead and post it anyways, because if I kept waiting until I ran out of fics to rec I'd probably be working on this forever.
These are not in any particular order; I'm going by both my Bookmarks list on AO3 and my memory of fics I forgot to bookmark. I also tried to make notes on what fics were written before season 1 released, but I might have missed some, so keep that in mind.
Please let me know if any links don't work!
✨Before you proceed:✨ read the tags on these fics if you decide to read them. Many of them have heavy material - no surprise given the fandom, but still, felt like this needed said. On that note, there's also fics with explicit material and some fics are straight up PWP. Again, read at your own risk/heed the tags.
Fic Rec List Masterpost
Radiostatic Fic Rec List
Misc. Vox Fic Rec List
------
Freak-A-Zoid by Femalefonzie
Summary: A shortage of suppressants in Hell means that Vox is going to be enduring a heat for the first time in years. Who better than the Vees' resident pimp to help him through it? Afterall, the last thing they need is for someone to complicate the situation with "feelings" and Val was the best at keeping love and lust separate. Until now.
TLDR; Valentino plays himself.
Notes: SO FUCKING FUNNY. Cannot read this in public bc I laughed too much. Val and Vox are both idiots. Perhaps the most human depiction of them that I've seen, especially during sex. Neither of them are suave or coordinated, but by god are they trying.
system takeover by Subedarling
Summary: Velvette has never been the type to play hero. But when a mysterious new player enacts a dangerous plot to usurp the Vees' power, taking her two idiots hostage in the process, that's exactly where she finds herself. Now she has no choice but to go on an impromptu rescue mission, maintain the facade that everything is fine to the outside world, and prove why she's the backbone of the Vees—and she hasn't even had her morning coffee yet.
Vox and Val are going to owe her so hard after this.
Notes: Technically Velvette-centric but I'm including it anyway bc it does have Staticmoth; found family. She's so badass in this, I love it. The Staticmoth is very sweet. :3
even if i quit there's not a chance in hell i'd stop by Subedarling
Summary: Valentino stretches his arms over his head as he enters the kitchen, yawning. His robe is hanging loosely around him, and God, if Vox were to run his hand down his chest he could probably count all his ribs. He stops short when he sees the plates waiting for him on the counter. His eyes narrow. “The hell is this?”
“You know, most people would say thank you when their partner makes them breakfast,” Vox says dryly.
Notes: Very tender. A good kind of hurt. Deals with ED.
Parvulus by Heliosolar
Summary: Vox woke up to something... unusual. Terrifying, even. He calls Valentino, desperate for the help.
Valentino is, of course, irresponsible, and Vox is exhausted.
He just wanted to get through the day like normal, why did this have to happen?
Notes: Written before season 1. The art of Tiny Vox is not linked, but I've seen it before and it is SO CUTE. If anyone has a link, please share with me so I can link it here!
A Wager of Desire by Heliosolar
Summary: Valentino and Vox have a small dispute over something meaningless, so they make a bet.
Vox has to last an entire dinner while at Valentino's mercy.
What could go wrong?
Notes: Written before season 1 release. One of the first Staticmoth fics I read. :)
Venenum by Heliosolar
Summary: During an uneventful meeting, Vox makes the mistake of stealing a drink from Valentino.
Notes: Written before season 1 release.
Getting Railed (By Child Support) by Charnel_Goat, spappest
Summary: The female of several species can store sperm for many years prior to using it to fertilize her eggs. As it turns out, spider trains do this too.
Decades after their romantic fallout, Overlord Choo Choo Charles is knocking on Val's door to demand he take responsibility for the results. By way of kidnapping his boyfriend to lure him to his den.
Notes: One of the crackiest fics I've ever read. Vox is an idiot with a horrible sense of self-preservation and Val fucks a spider train without birth control. Just...read it, okay? I literally cannot think about this fic without giggling like an idiot every time.
Beautiful Monster by IceBlueButterfly
Summary: “You’re late,” is the first thing that comes out of Vox’s mouth.
That sharp smile somehow grows wider.
“I believe the term is ‘fashionably late’ baby,” a smooth voice with a light Spanish accent replies.
Which… okay if Vox is being honest, is kind of hot.
Screen heating up a little more, Vox shoots a bored look.
“Or just late,” he snips back. “Oh well,” he claps his hands. “Doesn’t matter, you ready to get down to business?”
“Oh baby,” a bright gleam in even brighter eyes, “I’m always ready to get down.”
Vox is already regretting this decision.
OR Moments in time throughout Vox and Val's relationship. Vox may have no idea what the moth demon will bring to his life, but neither does Val.
Notes: A very nice exploration of how Vox and Valentino's relationship evolves.
Only a Shadow by passthevoxcord
Summary: Vox shows up on the hotel’s doorstep with no memory of how he got there or who he is. They agree to house and heal him, and slowly but surely he finds joy in becoming better. Then Valentino shows up and is forced to choose between self-altering addiction and the closest he’s ever come to love.
Meanwhile, Velvette has a new potion brewing, one that will grant her more power than the Vees ever had. Only Vox and Val can stop her, but will goodness really overcome evil? Or will they be only a shadow of their former selves?
Notes: The Voxval is currently toxic and only just now being touched on in Chapter 9 of the fic; I say 'currently' because the author explains in the AN of the first chapter that both Vox and Val will go through some "self-discovery and healing". Seriously, just read it. It's very good!!
You Found Me by passthevoxcord
Summary: Long before Velvette came along, it was just them. Vox and Valentino. Valentino and Vox.
Notes: Includes some interesting headcanons for Vox and Val.
Virtual Reality by passthevoxcord
Summary: Vox gets tired of his cybernetic biology being a barrier to his sex life, so he starts a new project to fuck Valentino in VR. Val will try anything once, but he has something else in mind.
Notes: Surprisingly sweet. ^_^
Muted by passthevoxcord
Summary: Val helps a nonverbal Vox deal with sensory overload.
Notes: Sweet and tender. :)
Freaky Friday by passthevoxcord
Summary: Vox and Val wake up stuck in the other’s body, but it’s no big deal because they both know how easy the other has it. Right?
Notes: Written before season 1 release. Sweet take on the different challenges Vox and Val face in their daily lives.
Something Akin To Love Series by Awesome_Possum
Summary: Vox's taste in partners is delightfully self-destructive and that's an itch Valentino is more than happy to scratch.
It's not safe or sane, and whether or not it's technically consensual is heavily up to interpretation, but what they have is probably something akin to love.
A collection of StaticMoth fics set in generally the same continuity.
Valentino is awful and Vox is unfortunately really really into that because a control freak in the streets is a masochist in the sheets.
Notes: Has 2 parts, both very much worth reading. Very funny, lol. Vox is in a hell of his own making but enjoying it at the same time.
Update Prescription by innerfray
Summary: Vox tricks Valentino into getting his eyes checked. They're forced to confront the nature of their partnership.
Notes: One of my favorite Staticmoth oneshots. Felt like an interesting take on Val's blindness. Angst so good...
Like Moth to a Flame (Or to a Bright Blue Screen) by datweirdo
Summary: Valentino is a moth after all
Notes: Cute and funny!!! "You fucking murdered him" lmao
30 Decibels by Shortsighted_Owl
Summary: Somewhere, under the low humming of the monitors, the quiet gurgling of replacement coolant being piped into Vox body, a new noise - dry, yet somehow viscerally wet, and so very soft - made itself known, but only just.
And Valentino almost missed it. - After a fight with Alastor, Valentino watches vigil over Vox’s broken form.
(What if Vox still has organic vocal cords, and after a fight with Alastor, the synthesiser he uses to amplify his voice is destroyed. What if Valentino hears Vox’s real voice for the first time?)
Notes: Heed the tags, there is in fact body horror lol. Sweet but mildly horrific. <3
Priest, mailman, cruise captain or chef? by Destabilize
Summary: Inspired by Vox's outfits in Stayed Gone - Val and Vox try out some kinky stuff with a priest outfit, to mixed success.
Ah ha!” Val squealed with delight, wine glass drained and thrown on a sofa, “This!” Val was standing proudly by the wardrobe holding up a long red robe with a hat and some kind of sash. Vox scowled, “Is that a fucking priest outfit?”
“Si! Isn’t it fun- it’s in your colors too!”
“You wanna be a priest?”
“No baby! You be a priest and I can,” Val sidled up and leaned down, puffing some smoke in Vox’s face, snaking an arm around his waist, “lead you astray...”
Notes: Surprisingly cute and funny! Vox fails epically at roleplay and it is hilarious.
riding out the drop by spoondrifts
Summary: Like he’d said before, killing Alastor was Vox’s kink, not his. He had been prepared to sit back and enjoy the temporary chaos until Vox got over himself.
What he hadn’t accounted for was the possibility that Vox was exactly as obsessive, bitter, and desperate for Alastor’s acknowledgement now as he had been seven years ago. Distance hadn’t made the heart grow fonder: distance had made a highly detailed revenge scrapbook complete with a conspiracy corkboard done up in red string.
Or: Valentino gets fed up with Vox's fixation on the radio demon. They fuck about it.
Notes: Features (sex favorable) asexual!Vox! :D (I lowkey headcanon him as ace ever since the "better than sex" comment)
Featherstone by spoondrifts
Summary: “To me,” Vox told the baby, “it seems like bad parenting to leave your helpless kid for a whole month with two unstable psychopaths and their parole officer. But hey. Who am I to judge.”
No intelligent reply was forthcoming.
Or: not-so accidental baby acquisition, starring the three least responsible idiots this side of the Pentagram.
Notes: Big Vees as family vibes. Wish so desperately this was canon.
vark attack by tarltonnnnn
Summary: Valentino has to petsit Vark for a day. Chaos ensues.
Notes: Written before season 1 release. Vark is a big dumb (and very cute) baby.
Unplugged by pinkpunchy
Summary: Vox looks like he’s going to vomit. Valentino frowns.
“For the one who suggested this, you’re being a real pussy.”
“Fuck you! Just give me a sec.” Vox spits out, muttering darkly as he adjusts his shoulders on the pillows, trying to arrange his body for the moment he loses all function. Valentino, despite his impulsive nature, waits patiently. His manicured nails drag along the spot where cable and port connect, thumb smoothing up and down the flat surface surrounding it. Vox’s breath is coming faster now, not slower, something Valentino is tuned into as naturally as his own breathing.
“Hey.”
A large hand grasps a corner of Vox’s screen, tilting it up and putting an immediate stop to his fidgeting. Valentino smiles, red eyes narrowed to slits.
“Do you trust me?”
Notes: Sex as a...trust exercise? Lol I'm joking, but seriously. Sweet and hot at the same time.
Electric Desires: Lust, Power, and Unspoken Longings in Hell by Dani69696969
Summary: Vox is starting to get fed up with Angel Dust being the only thing Val talks about when Vox is right there, ripe for the taking. Inspired by Vox looking happy that Angel might have quit in Episode 2.
Notes: Very sweet. Plot with porn. :)
The Art of Pimping by MarenRose
Summary: Desperate to close a deal with one of the most lucrative investors in Pride, Vox does the unthinkable and pimps out Valentino for a one-time date. What could go wrong?
Notes: Vox's jealousy and possessiveness really brings out his stalker side in this lmao. Vox is a little pathetic and that makes his jealousy all the more funny to me. :D
Welcome to VoxTek Enterprises! by MarenRose
Summary: Subsequently, Valentino, of all people, has become the office’s saving grace.
(A series of VoxVal ficlets through the eyes of Vox’s assistant)
Notes: Pretty funny! Vox's assistants are really going through it. One of the tags is "Imagine being happy to see Valentino" lol.
(Fic rec list to be continued)
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eliounora · 9 months
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I'm not a big disney fan outside of childhood nostalgia but every time I see one of those prince rankings I'm like ok but I could rank them better. and I happened to be bored so I did
some mentions I have to make so people don't wonder:
flynn rider: basic choice. scientifically engineered to be a hot man. no bite or edge to him. if you look at concept art he was supposed to be a big guy but they changed him to this market researched douche with a soul patch. absolute travesty
aladdin: he’s cute and good-hearted, lies to get his way but learns to be true to himself. lessons we all learn in life. next
jim: has the best song. i too want the moment to be real
phoebus: mmm. ehh
prince charming: literally what it says on the tin. storybook prince. not a man, a plot device
cinderella's prince: has a thing for feet. nice. funny in the sequels but a cardboard box is more interesting than his design
and now the top 10:
10. hercules: hunky demigod himbo. true hero is tested by the strength of his heart. the lesson all gym bros need to learn.
9. quasimodo: has heart and character, and sang “out there” like an angel.
8. prince eric: spends all his days with his dog and playing the recorder. who let him out of containment. too nervous to kiss a girl he likes even though she is sending obvious signals. he wants to get the know her better. king
7. tarzan: loin-clothed hunk with the facial structure of a statue. roams the jungle to the tunes of phil collins. loves his mom without being weird about it. prime man
6. the beast: eye and soul candy for the monsterfuckers. hot take but he wasn’t that bad as a human. he was hot. especially when you consider that his backstory included him being so snobby and vain that he was turned into the beast. like isn't that the consequences of your actions pretty boy. love to see it
5. milo: linguist. has round glasses and that 90s curtain haircut. all features that can indicate sleeziness but he is a good guy, meaning sometimes a man with round glasses and 90s curtain haircut can be trusted. a lanky charming nerd and therefore my exact type unfortunately
4. kenai: excellent protagonist. so deep in the throes of toxic masculinity he gets turned into a bear. isn't that the consequences of your actions pretty boy
3. shang li: bisexual king. nothing more to add.
2. prince naveen: now I may come from a protestant culture but a lazy jackass learning the value of hard work and love is what it’s all about. a dish. gets turned into a frog, isn't that the consequences of your actions pretty bo-
1. robin hood: “he's a fox hahah furry" FUCK YOU. HE IS THE FINEST MAN OUT THERE. HE HANGS OUT WITH HIS BEST FRIEND IN THE WOODS. HE HAS BEEN TRUE TO HIS SWEETHEART SINCE CHILDHOOD. he thinks he’s not good enough for her, but in a chivalrous way instead of pathetic. steals from the rich and gives to the poor. great with kids. they don’t make men like this anymore, and with that I mean men of integrity. “MARIAN MY DARLING I LOVE YOU MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF.” (CRIES)(THROUGH TEARS) LOVE IT SEEMS LIKE ONLY YESTERDAY YOU WERE JUST A CHILD AT PLAY
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leebrontide · 5 months
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This is not gonna win me a lot of friends on here but seriously a lot of y'all are irritating me lately with your gleeful piracy posts.
"Poor people deserve stories, to!" You're right. 100% Go on gumroad. There are a ton of authors, myself included, who are giving away free books there. Many of them are from the very marginalized backgrounds y'all claim to want to champion. Look for newsletter giveaways. there are literally so damn many ways to get books that come from creators who have consented to give them away. Oh, but you think anyone should be entitled to the exact book they want without paying for it? the popular book from the big publisher? That's a different thing. That's a different thing that continues to uphold ideas that the mega-corporations are the only source for good stories, that only stories vetted by the companies you claim to be rallying against have value.
"Piracy is archiving!" Archiving is archiving. I can't speak to how it works with indie videogames or what have you, but with books, this is absurd. Ok, say you illegally download a book. If it's from a huge publisher, this is nonsense cause a ton of those were printed. It is not in danger if vanishing. Say it's from a small publisher- you have now decreased that publishers chances of of continuing to print and distribute the book. You are making the book harder to locate in the future. You want to make sure a book doesn't vanish? Pay for it. If it vanishes utterly off the internet when the author dies or whatever, then yay, you have a copy and can maybe help get it back in circulation. Not paying for the book didn't help with that. You can help save an out of circulation book later just as well if you paid for it.
"Piracy is counter corporations!" See point 1. Also, a lot of the sites where you all are pirating fiction do just as much scraping of indie, self-pub, and small press books. Robin Hood wasn't stealing from the poor to give to the poor. I personally know an author whose publisher dropped them mid series because the book wasn't selling, who later found a piracy site with WAY more downloads of her book than there were legal sales. She gave up publishing after that.
This isn't sour grapes, folks. To my knowledge, my own books have never been pirated, and to be honest, over the years I've sold as many copies as a regular mid-list author with a pig publisher.
But I have watched so many authors- not wealthy people- have their work stolen from them. Many of them are disabled and really struggle with other kinds of jobs. They can do this work, but they can't make money, and this is honest to god a big part of why. I feel like people don't believe this. If you don't hang around authors maybe it's tempting to buy in to the hollywood idea of an author.
If you don't think you're entitled to demand free labor from a plumber, then why do you think you're entitled to demand free labor from an author or artist? Is it because you don't have to look them in the eye? Is it because you feel like you can get away with it? Is it because you've fallen for the fantasy that authors are wealthy people living glamorous lives, and their labor doesn't count because they're so lucky to be making a living with their art?
I don't know. And please don't defend this to me.
Just go read free books, if you can't afford to buy them and don't have library access. Or at least stop rubbing what you're doing in the faces of all the creators on this website who put a lot of hard work into the things they make.
Reblogs are nice, but reblogs accompanied by cheerful endorsements of stealing things which aren't freely given do not make for an ideal community.
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tuesday again 10/10/2023
by dry volume, this post is 80% talking about gallery walls. tl;dr : do not buy or hang up things you do not like in a vague attempt to make your house look more grownup ONLY put up things you love, mat your art to give it visual room to breathe.
listening
had a playlist of the james bond theme songs on while i was deep cleaning my kitchen and the line "YOU GOT TO GIVE THE OTHER FELLA HELL!!! " from SPECIFICALLY the guns 'n roses cover of live and let die (even though the playlist had the correct mccartney version) has been THOROUGHLY stuck in my brain for forty eight hours.
youtube
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reading
academic transphobia to follow:
an anti-reading section, for once. Retraction Watch (site that tracks academic paper retractions and major academic beef like when someone is stripped of tenure for fraud, formerly my beloved) published an op-ed by an anthropologist TERF who is Big Mad she got called out by her professional association for trying to submit a conference talk that amounted to hate speech against her trans colleagues in the name of the stupid fucking largely disproven sexing skeletons thing. the comments have devolved into the professor sock puppeting anyone who goes "hey RW why did you platform this?"
would be very interested to hear from RW about how a retracted conference talk has the same impact on the scientific community as a retracted paper, but we'll fucking see. i think RW provides an important service to the scientific community (they are the most indepth and thorough tracker of retractions, more so than the actual publishers) but this is a fucking weird move
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watching
rewatched Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988, dir. Zemeckis) for fic research. GOD this movie is fucking good. it performs a minor animation miracle every thirty seconds.
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playing
nothing to report
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making
by popular demand (four people), some thoughts about gallery walls. some discourse on the method, if you will. i went with a gallery wall bc i like the look and i had an extremely large blank wall to fill bc this apartment is slightly too big for me. the string lights remind me very much of my dorm rooms but cool lamps have been few and far between down here.
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how to get art (and why/caveats)
i honestly don't have a ton of direct collecting advice here other than "have you tried going to a lot of thrift stores". i cheat bc both my parents were architects who collected art, everyone in my family dabbles in fine art, and my sister has her bachelors in art history. so i am awash in paper, constantly. i grew up with a set of flatfiles and a closet full of spare frames. i recognize most people do not grow up like this.
with that caveat out of the way, how do i actually get my art? usually one piece at a time over a very long period of time. there's a postcard on my gallery wall i got in 2009. this is a game you will be playing for the rest of your life as you discover things you like and your tastes evolve.
it is VITAL that you love every piece on your walls. no filler ikea canvases unless you actually like them. the instant you start thinking "oh i need a landscape to look Grownup" you have to strangle that thought in the cradle. there are no rules, especially in art. put whatever the fuck you want up on your walls with no regard for the public's taste.
i feel like "i should buy and put up more art" is something that often falls into a vague Grownup Improvement Goal (like budgeting) bc it is an Grownup Improvement Goal and not bc they actually want to buy and put up more art. fortunately for everyone, you do not have to buy or put up Morally or Socially Improving art that will impress some vague category of grownups, bc we don't fucking live in victorian times.
most importantly you do not need to spend much (or in some cases any) money to put things on your walls. getting the effect you want (fancy washi tape, matching frames) may take some money, but using the printer at work and stealing some scotch tape is free.
how to get art (actual advice this time)
i feel a little silly typing this all out but i really like reading other chewsdayposters' processes, and it is really helpful for me a lot of the time to have someone say: actually there is this complete other way of doing something you have never considered bc u did not grow up with it
i ask you: do you have a stack of sentimental papers somewhere in your home? congrats you have some frameable items. a thing does not need to be Fine Art to be in a frame to go on the wall and make you happy. tape up a birthday card. put a quilt up on your wall. pushpin a label from a jar of pickled herring bc it reminds you of your grandma. frame a beloved tshirt. this is a martha stewart ass statement but things that are not traditional paper art on your walls will add variety and whimsy to your home.
other places for art that are not thrift/estate/yard sales:
i do believe that making your own art, including a $3 paint-by-numbers kit, will fix something in your brain. it's very similar to how i personally have to go stand with my feet in a body of water twice a year or THE SLUDGE smothers my brain
your favorite weird indie bands are almost certainly selling posters on bandcamp even if they're not currently on tour
i like the artists' co-op justseeds for art that deals with "social, environmental, and political engagement" like my beloved "fuck space tourism" poster
start a "good lines" or equivalent "art i like" tag on here and buy prints when u have the money. even if artists here don't have a shop open or don't have the specific piece u want as a print, ask if u can throw them an appropriate amount of money on venmo or something and get it printed locally or online. ive had good luck with vistaprint and they have rolling sales
do you like a piece of art in the public domain, like something from a museum? print it out. put it in a frame. no it's not as nice as a professional print but it's free if you do it at work and now it's on your wall
fuck around on wikimedia commons and the internet archive. i particularly love pulp magazine covers and little illustrative insets for out of date astronomy books
non- and semi-consumable supplies
if u put $25 into supplies u can use for many many other projects (i assume you probably have some of the following list), you can make any frame nice and save approximately a gajillion dollars.
good utility knife and extra blades
hammer
tape measure
level (comes with most command hook packs, you can also use your phone)
stepstool, sturdy chair, or patient tall person
assorted nails (you can buy a little tackle box with assorted nails from most big box stores)
little squeezy tube of DryDex spackle ($5) and putty knife or honestly old credit card to fill in nail holes when you move out
OR command strips and hooks
matboard that is white on one side and black on the other (~$8 at big box craft stores). you can use this to cut your own mats and/or replace a kind of weird back on an otherwise good frame
most printer paper these days is acid free. steal some from your workplace.
assorted small brushes
little thing of acrylic paint in whatever color you want your frames to be (~$1.50 ea). you can also spray paint your frames for a different finish but i don't have the space or patience in this apartment
sandpaper or sacrificial emery board
i would further recommend a little set of letter size desktop drawers/mini flatfiles like this to keep all the small stuff you want to frame in one place. i have sentimental art i don't want to frame in one drawer and things i do want to frame in the other. this has been very good for my brain bc it's all safely and flatly contained out of sight, and it's easy to flick through a stack of things i already love when i need one more small thing or one warmer thing to fill a gap
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frames
the good news for us is that frames and art are a fucking bitch to move and people frequently give them away. your local discount and thrift stores are going to be fucking awash in small frames 8.5"x11" and under for under $3 each. when you are thrifting or estate saling or yard saling or generally gallivanting about on a weekend, pay little attention to any art actually in a frame. is the frame in okay shape? can you repaint it without too much trouble? will it clean up all right? does it have the glass? can you insert the glass from a different frame into the one you actually want without any thrift store employees noticing?
for weird sizes above 8.5x11 and outside poster size that cannot be easily found at thrift stores, the big box craft stores here in america have roughly quarterly frame sales and frequent coupons. do NOT get your shit professionally framed at michaels bc they upcharge by about 3x compared to other local framers (both on the east coast and here in tx).
i went through two periods of seriously buying frames (last year of high school and the year i moved into the original lair, when/where i thought i was going to stay for a few years) and ive swapped in out and between those dozen or so total. once you have built up a little stock of frames that fit the general sizes of art you tend to collect, ur pretty good for a while. the only new "frame" i bought for my gallery wall was a little floating shelf.
mats
the absolute biggest fucking thing u can do to make your art look nicer is mat that bitch, which gives it room to breathe. if your art does not have a built in border or a lot of white space (see 9, 12, and 13 in the gallery wall below, as well as 8 which has a ton of negative space with the car door), you need a frame bigger than your art. you can google the suggested proportions yourself or decide with your heart.
i am a big fan of a very slapdash floating mat, which means cutting a piece of printer paper to size or flipping around the paper that tells you what size the frame is and slapping your art right on top of that, sometimes with a lick of gluestick to keep it in place. generally a floating mat means a sort of 3D matting technique but we don't have time for that. do not do this printer paper technique long-term with a particularly beloved or expensive piece of art.
u can also buy pre-cut mats at Michaels or Joann’s for not too too many dollars, or cut your own with the acid-free matboard ($10 for a poster board sized piece) and a new utility knife blade and a steady hand. or, if you're lucky, it comes with the frame.
gallery wall specific advice
there aren't any rules. actual galleries and museums tend to put the center of a piece or group of pieces at 57" from the floor. you may want to fuck around with that depending on your own height, the space you have, and the pieces you own.
a gallery wall does not need to be 24 pieces like this one. it can be any number.
this is the first one i have done mostly by myself and it is the most color-restricted one i have ever put up. it is also the one with the most successful repeating motif (circles). usually i grab the art i want most to go together and send pics to my art historian sister who will then arrange it for me and say shit like “do you have another small blue thing for the top left” or “do you have two pieces that are warmer and larger” or "different frame for the middle left"
look at a lot of other gallery walls. personally i like the ones that have non-framed and non-square things in them. ideally mine would have photographs and taxidermy in it for maximum weirdness. but u cannot go wrong with a grid, or all horizontal pieces, or all vertical pieces. for a full wall puzzle piece like this, u do not generally want an american southwest four corners meeting situation. stagger it. lay everything out on the floor and move it around eighteen times (this is the worst part). the gallery wall as a whole does not have to be perfectly aligned to the ceiling or the back of your couch or what have you. it can be sort of an organic blob shape along the top and bottom edges.
my wall
this soothing blue and green wall with wood tone pops has pieces from almost half my life. it skews later in college/recent acquisitions, as i sharpened my taste for limited-number prints and had a car to go to thrift stores with, but that’s just how this specific wall came together
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the list below should tell you what each piece is, how much i paid for it (and the cost of the frame if applicable), and when i got it. this wall has most of the Nice Art in my collection that is signed/numbered/in some way slightly fancier bc it is the wall i stare at when on my couch.
embroidered Scorpio constellation hoop, birthday gift from my sister (free, came with hoop, i used some makerspace felt and batting to properly back and finish it much later so free with my tuition), nov 2016
numbered and signed print of an italianate cityscape, $5 and came with the frame and mat from an estate sale, i put a new back on it with scrap matboard so the back of the print wasn't just naked, fall 2021
signed print of a new england landscape, came with the frame and the mat but is stained right over the signature :( $2.50 from salvation army, one of the last things i bought in spring 2023 before i moved
signed original multimedia on board collage by my sister from her like second ever gallery show, $69 in winter 2022 for the art, the frame was from a free pile i gave a new acid free back with scrap matboard. that was such a good free pile i got a huge pile of frames from that
magazine page (idk which one either) i saved in high school (i graduated in 2013) or very early college, frame was from a free pile by the side of the road in summer 2021 and repainted with some white acrylic paint. it is float matted with printer paper. maybe a dollar for the paint? i definitely did not buy the magazine
this is an out of print poster by one of my favorite living artists (Josh McPhee) so i emailed him and asked if i could get it printed myself if i threw him $25 and he said yes. i think it cost $22 to get it printed professionally, the frame is basics by studio decor ($20 for a 2-pack) (i spent so much money and time on this one bc i wanted a very specific look for a very specific space in my kitchen in the old apartment), feb 22
signed numbered woodcut by Roger Peet ($20 in august 2020), another studiobasics frame that was i think $8 in summer 2022. float matted with acid free matboard and not printer paper.
gigantic fuckoff unsigned unlabeled poster i bought bc she reminds me of the Barnes & Noble murals, $10 at goodwill (came with the frame, half off) sep 2023
star chart from the US Naval Observatory that was on a free shelf at Amherst College when i was taking a class there in fall 2018, another studiobasics frame (idk when i bought this one) so under $10. float mount on acid free printer paper.
plaster frog mirror from an estate sale in spring 2021, i do not remember how much i paid for it but it was not more than $5
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oh goddamnit this is a new block so of course it restarted the numbering. fatal off by a power of ten error, very typical for astronomy. poster from a show i went to in college spring 2015, do not remember when i bought this sub-$10 studiobasics frame either, float mount on acid free printer paper.
signed poster from my roommate-at-the-time’s cousin’s band in fall 2014 (i can’t actually find the receipt but i did find an email from her cousin letting me know he shipped me and my roommate’s orders together lol) let’s say $20, another sub-$10 studiobasics frame of mysterious provenance.
moon map out of an old science book in high school, let’s be generous and say $10 for both the book and the frame (another studiobasics)
numbered but unsigned new year’s print from a local-ish print shop in massachusetts, $12 at savers with the frame, fall 2022
cover of a very fragile vintage paperback copy of raymond c/handler’s The Long G/oodbye i acquired in high school (could not have been more than a dollar or two), with a frame and mat that came in an ikea multipack my dad bought me in high school bc i had a set of l/ackadaisy miniposters i wanted to hang, looks like the closest modern equivalent is the EDSBRUCK, a single will run you about $12 today
postcard inherited from my grandpa’s collection of loose paraphernalia in 2010 (free but at what cost etc), frame is a studiobasics that come in a pack of 6 for $20 (less if you have a coupon) so let’s round down a smidge and say $3. don’t remember when i bought this frame either, it is matted with real matboard bc the postcard and the back of the frame are so thin
“my heart is a fish” cross stitch (a reference to the imperial radch trilogy of books) i made this and did not date it but i know i blogged about it on here at some point between 2014-2018, i remember having to buy five colors of thread but owned the hoop already, again back and finished it properly much later with maskerspace batting and felt, let’s say $5 not counting my time
postcard from @believerindaydreams last winter in another studiobasics frame and float mounted with acid free matboard.
tiny moon mirror from salvation army in early spring 2015, under $5
CD mirror from Vapor95 ($125? preorder in fall 2021), came with velcro command strips which was very nice of them
a $300 original multimedia collage (the first one my sister ever made, when she was in middle school) i bought in spring 2021 from her first show, sitting on a $5 acrylic shelf from five below i bought last month
22-24 are national geographic maps, 50c each at an estate sale last month, had to buy $7 worth of binder clips and pushpins to put them up bc i don’t fucking know what box they’re in and didn’t have time to rip the whole closet of boxes im ignoring apart
a slightly longer tl;dr: do not buy or hang up things you do not like in a vague attempt to make your house look more grownup ONLY put up things you love, thrift and repaint your frames if possible but you can get very cheap studiobasics ones if you want them all to match, acid-free mat your art for preservation and to give it room to breathe, keep a little drawer or box of stuff you love and might want to frame
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the-monkey-ruler · 5 months
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The demon kings that we see in Journey to the West as antagonists are the ones who also went to pay their respects to Wukong at the beginning of the novel? since you said there were a specific number of demon kings.
Wukong's sworn brothers are stronger than the demon kings we see as antagonists during the journey? From what I understand, Wukong chose them as sworn brothers because they were the ones who reach his strength the most. not as powerful as him, but they were the strongest of all the demon kings who went to see Wukong in that chapter.
The demon kings that we see in Journey to the West as antagonists are the ones who also went to pay their respects to Wukong at the beginning of the novel? since you said there were a specific number of demon kings.
I can say for sure that most of them are not. We see that most of the demons on the journey are runaway heaven pets and they have only been missing for a few days, which is a few years on earth. There are only about 10 out of the 30 major antagonists that are earthbound demons and it can be argued that these demon kings could have known Wukong but it's hard to say since a lot can happen in 500 years.
I actaully have a personal headcanon that a new wave of demon kings took over in Wukong's absence since there was a vacuum of power and that there is a new generation of demons that are not as strong but far more clever than past demon kings. So that is a reason why Wukong has a harder time fighting demons on the journey since they are all new and they got smarter like Wukong is.
Wukong's sworn brothers are stronger than the demon kings we see as antagonists during the journey?
I can’t say if his brothers are stronger than the average demon or not really. We only see Wukong facing off against Demon Bull King and while we can say that Wukong is most likely stronger in both power and endurance, I can’t say if it’s any more of a challenge than other demons since Bull King ran away mid-battle and used tactics similar to other demon kings. By that logic, we can think that perhaps Bull King is about the same level as the average Demon King as he isn't fairing better or worse on average. I will say Demon Bull King is one of the few demon kings we see without a magical item or a special skilled power but still shows to be on pair with Wukong only using his raw power and skill. This could work in his favor to show that he is stronger than other demon kings but he was still captured by Nezha in the end. Nezha also faces other enemies like the Single Horned Rhino King who was able to best Nezha with the hell of his Jade Hoop and steal his weapon. Again it is hard to determine power fitness with the use of magical weapons and such.
I would say that Demon Bull King could be considered stronger than most because he is close to Wukong but I can't say that is only the case, nor that is the reason Wukong chose him as a sworn. From the looks of it, Wukong was just going around and choosing people that he just genuinely enjoyed hanging out with. They did talk about military art but also civil manners, drinking, singing, dancing, and just partying. I don't think being strong was the only qualification to be Wukong's friend at least.
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chaifootsteps · 6 months
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I have so many conflicting ideas about Hazbin/Helluva, where I can't ever join the hate watching crowd because I still, to an extent, enjoy the show if only for its potential. The most recent music video kind of cemented this for me, because... I really liked it. I don't want to feel bad for liking it, because that's silly and separating art from the artist is indeed a thing, but knowing what goes on behind the scenes... it's a bit tricky to reconcile with.
Stolas' songs (You'll be Okay, Owl in a Cage, Look my Way - even though that last one wasn't written by Sam Haft) have always been my favourites, and if I'm being frank, the only ones I've liked. I really like his character design too. Even now I'm uncertain about admitting that because so many people who send in asks to you rag on about how ugly Viv's character designs are, and while I do think they're confusing and impractical I have never considered them "ugly". Maybe I'm writing this so if anyone else feels this way they don't feel so alone? Not being a part of any sort of crowd is a bit of a terrifying place, even if it is ultimately a good thing.
I have ideas for possible Helluva and Hazbin fanworks but I'm scared to do anything about them because, with the creepy adolesent mob mentality the fandom seems to have, I'm afraid I would look as though I'm promoting the show, when I really just got inspired by, again, the potential. I don't want to write out a whole long explanation (that no-one will read) detailing my thoughts on the series and Viv because I might get taken the wrong way, and saying zilch and staying silent seems like the best option and yet also just as poor of a choice.
On a final note, and this is just whishful thinking of a better universe, but I think Hazbin and Helluva would have been a lot more successful and potentially less controversial if it had done the same thing as Daria Cohen, where each "episode" was a music video (because I honestly got more whole enjoyment out of the Look My Way animation than I have out of like, the whole of Season 2), and the whole entire thing could have been told through song (allowing for the more abstract imagery that Viv seems to have a better grasp of while also keeping the projects possibly more manageable). Obviously this would demote it purely to a passion project because she wouldn't be making nearly as much money off of it... which, when you think about it, is probably a good thing anyway.
Sorry for the length!
You don't have to apologize for a thing, Anon! As long as you're not giving her money or making weird excuses for Vivzie herself or named DaniDraws, there's no wrong way to love HH/HB. It's why for every ask I get trashing the designs, two more want to hug these characters close and steal them. We've got people here who hate it all and think it's always been a port-o-toilet fire full of ugly characters, but plenty who genuinely love it -- and I think as more of the fandom sadly hang their heads and come over to the critical side, that number's only going to increase.
Seconding the Daria Cohen bit. I don't know that it would have saved the show in the long run from its biggest problem, which is Viv's cruelty and ego, but a more Vampair or Mystery Skulls Animated-esque setup where each episode is a music video would have played to Viv's strengths and masked her weaknesses.
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newtdrawz · 7 months
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WAITWAITWAIT HEADCANONS FOR TWO AND PONYS FRIENDSHIP?!(!(!(&(& PLEEEEASEE I LOVE YOUR HCS
YESE AHHH I'm so glad cuz I love making them 😭
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I love Two-bit with my whole heart and I love their friendship SO MUCH 😭😭 the amount of older brother figures this kid has is insane 😭
OK SO,,
Two honestly loves Pony, loves him like a brother and Pony does too
When Two first met Pony he was pretty young (idk the ages of the gang when they all first met and I cannot find it anywhere 😭 so I'm taking it into my own hands) and he was honestly obsessed with him
Two always wanted a little brother so whenever Pony would tag along with his brothers Two would be pretty happy abt it while mostly everyone else was a little annoyed lol
Two was never really bothered when Pony followed him around or asked him a million questions while they were all out with the gang
Two always tries to get Pony out of his comfort zone, but not the way Dally does 😭😭
Two tries to encourage Pony to get out of his shell and get out more
He tries to get him to talk to girls more too (which honestly most of the time goes south 😭😭)
Two was really the only one who was able to get Pony out of the house after Mr. And Mrs. Curtis died, he was persistent enough that it ended up working (Soda and Darry thanked him a million times but Two-bit said it was no big deal) (he does the same thing after Johnny and Dally)
Two will steal gifts for Pony while Pony makes gifts for Two
Two-bit will steal art supplies for Pony or anything that he see's and makes him think of Pony
One time he stole like a pack of bookmarks that he thought where funny ("you'll never believe what I found, it's bookmarks with worms reading books!")
Pony will try and draw Two's favorite cartoon characters, especially Mickey Mouse, and give them to him
Two gets really excited each time and he'll hang them around his room at home or keep them safe in a box
Two has unspoken permission from Darry and Soda to give Pony talking to's when he does something stupid
Two also tries to keep Pony out of trouble the best he can, he also tries not to steal when he's with Pony incase someone calls the cops or anything
If he catches word of Pony doing something dumb or hanging out with people Darry specifically told him not to hang out with (COUGH CURLY COUGH) Two will swoop in, pull him away and scold him a little before his brothers can hear anything about it ("You're lucky I caught word of you doin' somethin dumb before Darry or Soda did. I'm not gonna tell em, but don't let me catch you doin it again.")
Two honestly doesn't want Pony to turn out like anyone in the gang so he tells him out right to not do anything he's doing (like how Dally does) ("You see me stealin all the time but don't go out and try and copy me, alright?")
Two-bit is ALWAYS rough housing with Pony 😭
Any chance the two get they're wrestling on the floor
Two-bit's obviously a little stronger then Pony, but Pony's faster
Two will lift him up or hold him down to try and win but Pony will run and try and tire him out to win
Darry HATES when they wrestle in the house, Two-bit tries to remember to wait till they get outside but he always forgets 😭
Two-bit and school do not mix but Pony somehow gets him to do work
They end up having a class together and it's the only class where Two-bit does the work/homework, only cuz Pony tells him too
Pony is NOT about to mess around in class and he outright tells Two-bit that 😭 (he's not trying to get the teacher to call home and get him in trouble)
The teacher is honestly bewildered (a little scared too 😭😭) to see Two-bit sitting quietly and doing actual work. They're even more shocked when he turns things in (are half the answers wrong? Yeah. Did he still do it and turn it in? Yeah.) (It's not that he's dumb he just doesn't care 😭)
Two-bit always tries to sit with Pony at lunch and get him talking. (Pony's honestly so quiet at school so Two tries to also get him out of his shell there too lol)
Pony honestly thinks Two is the funniest person he knows
Pony idolizes a lot of people but Two-bit is definitely on that list, maybe top 5 of people he idolizes.
Pony would never tell him or anyone that but he really does look up to him
He gets a little jealous of how extroverted Two can be and how confident he is so he tries to copy him just a little bit 😭 (like how Johnny pointed that out in the book lol)
He honestly doesn't realize how many mannerisms he's picked up from Two until someone points it out (Steve's the first to point it out and Pony gets so embarrassed but Two is honestly overjoyed by it)
Ah ok!! This one was really fun to do too!! I loves this duo sm 😭
I hope I did them justice 🙏 again anyone feel free to add on!!
(Again sorry if there's any spelling mistakes or if this is ooc 😭😭 I'm trying man)
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wc-confessions · 2 months
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Okay this is just a very weird specific thing that angers me but I do believe its a part of a bigger problem- So a few months ago I saw a bunch of warrior cats edits (I am not the right person to speak about the art stealing and not creditng in those and I never really checked for these/don't remember but please please keep that in mind as well) Basically the premise was that they showed a bunch of she-cats with the text "She-cats who would change for a tom" and then a bunch of other she-cats with more cool music and "She-cats who would change the tom." I didn't interact with them because I don't really think that would help anyone but please, please don't do this. It hangs out feminine women (a lot of the characters were Ferncloud, like Spottedleaf and Leafpool)
It also shows a bad idea of love. When you're in a commited relationship, both of you will change together. That's how it works, you grow for eachother, and if you don't work you either break it off or work TOGETHER. One person/cat shouldn't have to change them for someone else, or force someone else to change. That's not good and not healthy. This also kinda portrays a lot of the more non-feminine she-cats (Squilf, Ivypool and Bluestar) as forceful and like... eh I don't know the word but hopefully you get what I mean. It also portrays toms as like, not having to put effort in relationships, because either they will change because the she-cats makes them to, or the she-cats will change for them.
And also don't get me wrong, Warrior cats has problems with treating She-Cats and often forces them into a box and it's nice to have strong or tomboy she-cats, but doing this... I don't know it irks me so much. And I don't hate people who make these edits, just please keep this in mind going forward and please remember to check if the artist is credited and okay with you using their work <3
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oneatlatime · 11 months
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The Fortuneteller
(A title which I am itching to divide into three words instead of two because boy does 'Fortuneteller' look stupid - seriously, stare at it for a bit and see how fast it starts looking like Fortun Eteller)
The last couple of episodes have had a contemplative character, so I'm rooting for this one to be a silly one. Also more Sokka please. Poor guy gets demoted to one liners in the B-plot whenever Aang is the main focus.
Episode Time!
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We start this episode off with a potential love interest for Sokka.
I had completely forgotten that Katara used to have a necklace. I'd also completely forgotten that she'd lost it. When did she lose it?
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Aang-o-vision has a pretty heavy rose-tinted filter - literally.
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Told you it was a love interest.
The NOISE Sokka makes when the fish slaps him! I love it. Hang on I'm going to rewind and listen to it again.
Yep. Still as good the second time.
Oh wow! Aang just got Momo-zoned. Gotta say I'm not a fan of a romantic relationship between Aang and Katara at this point, so I'm all for some Momo-zonage.
Platypus bear! Finally some hybrid animals. I was beginning to wonder if that would ever come back.
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Is this guy a martial arts master or an idiot?
I'm leaning towards idiot.
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Friendly reminder of Appa's size. That's a lot of molars. No canines or incisors? Guess he's an obligate herbivore.
Is sniffing eggs something that people do? I get sniffing melons or other produce, but eggs?
Yep. Floppy hat guy is an idiot.
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Aang buddy you might want to get that checked out.
And with a mighty squelch, the egg fulfills this episode's Beat Up Sokka quota.
Appa shakes!
Those are weird ducks.
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I don't know a thing about anime, but that's the most anime-looking guy I've seen in this show. Is this show an anime?
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Meng-o-vision is red-tinted. Probably doesn't bode well.
Also, Meng could give Zuko some lessons on how to style Pipi longstocking hair. Someone with more photoshop skills than me needs to make a Zuko with Meng hair.
"Don't be modest, they're huge!" Presented without comment. I'm not going to say a thing. But we all thought it.
Katara is totally the kind of girl who would fall for fortune telling. We've seen (multiple times) that she is gullible. Actually, now that I think about it, we've had multiple episodes where Katara gets swept up in something a healthy dose of skepticism would have guarded her from - Jet and The Great Divide come to mind. The writers are really hammering the 'Katara is susceptible to romantic nonsense and Sokka is a science-minded skeptic' message home. Is this going to play some bigger part in the show going forward? Why else would we be on version number (arguably) 3 of this same plot?
Aang and Sokka took off their shoes, but Katara didn't. Huh.
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Pinky out. Classy.
I am not digging the Aang x Katara stuff in this episode. I'm with Sokka on this one - let's pretend it was a stellar bathroom break.
Aunt Wu is being unnecessarily antagonistic to Sokka. First he gets an egg on his head, then Momo steals his bean puffs, now Aunt Wu tells him his life's going to suck. I should have been more specific when I hoped for a Sokka episode. I didn't mean a beat up Sokka episode.
Aang. Priorities honey. Honestly, Aang casually dismissing his destiny after all that build up did get a laugh out of me.
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A god-like figure coming to have his fortune read and only wanting to know about his love life would give me a headache too.
Add malicious signage to the Beating Up Sokka list.
"The fluffy bunny cloud forecasts doom and destruction." I bet that's the first time that sentence has appeared in the English language.
These people are stupid. Blazing Saddles style 'common clay of the New West' stupid. It would take, what, a day? to run a visual check on the volcano. But nope. Too much work. Listen to me I'm morphing into Sokka.
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Katara giving off some serious fangirl vibes.
Katara is officially addicted to fortune telling.
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Live footage of me watching these village idiots.
Add duck to the list of Things Which Assault Sokka. Gotta love those duck noises though.
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Sokka is getting dangerously close to advising negging here. Also Meng deserves better. Her poor pigtails droop in disappointment. Girl has sentient hair - she deserves better.
Papaya? When you don't like papaya? Just because some old lady said so? Too far. That's not even teenage nonsense; that's tweenage nonsense. I kind of feel like sending Katara to her room. Actually it's just like that one line Log Man said in the Jet episode. Something like 'He tells us what to do and how to think and things all turn out right.' Outsourcing your decision-making. Which, by the way, is both nonsense and cult-like. Then again, the lost boys freedom fighters pretty much worshipped Jet the way this village worships Aunt Wu, so... parallels?
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So if this guy got the panda lily himself, doesn't that mean that he recently went up the mountain? Couldn't he have had a peak inside while he was up there? Would have taken an extra 20 seconds.
"Flowers are fine once you're married" Somebody get this boy to Victorian times. If he ever sees an ankle he'll self-combust.
You have a flying bison. Why don't you fly up instead of climb?
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This is totally live action fire copy-pasted in to the animation. There has got to be a more technical term for that than copy-pasted.
Raise your hand if you saw the twist with the volcano coming. (I did I swear. Blue spirit was an outlier).
Forget Appa, why didn't Aang just fly up?
"They just won't listen to reason." "But they will listen to Aunt Wu." So the mountain comes to Mohammed. I guess talking to people in a way they understand / will listen to is a good lesson for an avatar to learn. I thought he'd learned that one in The Great Divide though. Either way this episode is getting increasingly frustrating.
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Can Meng get a hug? She seems astonishingly self-aware and emotionally mature for a kid. Also way too smart for this podunk town. I may rescind the hug in light of the stalking.
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Well, it's not exactly subtle, but at least volcanic doom isn't a fluffy bunny.
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Look at those yummy purples. Finally an episode where it's light enough to have a beautiful sky. My collection of wallpapers was suffering.
Digging a lava trench might work, if the volcano is going to put out a gallon or two of lava. This must be a baby volcano.
Nevermind.
The ashes effect feels oddly 3-D.
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I guess to an avatar this kind of challenge is small potatoes.
Totally ignoring the Aang x Katara stuff for a minute, I'm with Sokka on this one too, because I also had forgotten that Aang is a superbender. He didn't even need to go glowy.
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If I lived in this village that redesign would absolutely give me nightmares. Are those mega claws of doom structurally sound?
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I am going to punch this man.
Aunt Wu's final speech to Aang makes me think that at least she's not indulging in her own product as it were. I suppose a con artist (whose services are free, so, just jerking around a village for shits and giggles?) is better than an actual believer?
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MENG!!!
Final Thoughts
This episode has me thinking about stories. Part of the reason Katara wants to believe in nonsense like fortune telling is because she is someone inclined to listen to / believe in stories. I think the opening monologue of the first episode mentioned something about her grandmother's stories. Katara was raised on stories and very much took them to heart as more than just entertainment. And you can't blame her for believing the conceits of stories could be possible in their world, not after the events of episode one dumped the star of those stories in her lap. Just so long as she doesn't confuse a belief in stories with a belief in happy endings. There is a war going on in their world, and judging by the stuff that the show did not shy away from discussing or implying in episodes like The Southern Air Temple and The Storm, I am willing to bet good money that there will be a couple of unhappy endings ahead. Not permanently unhappy; this is a kids' cartoon. But there will probably be setbacks and disappointments.
Would Katara have astrology nonsense in her dating profile?
"The fluffy bunny cloud forecasts doom and destruction" is going to be incorporated into my daily vocabulary.
Platypus + bear are interesting choices for a hybrid animal, since a platypus is about 15 normal animals smashed together anyway. A platypus bear is the swiss army knife of animals. Or the Mr. Potato Head.
At first I thought that Aunt Wu was a benevolent meddler (see putting together the couple with the panda lily), but she also advised that one guy to never bathe, which doesn't benefit anyone in any way that I can see. So I've concluded that she's a Bumi level ("it's pretty fun messing with people") shit-stirrer instead. Her services may be free, but she manages to pay for a very big house, an assistant in Meng, and anime guy the bodyguard(?) so I guess grateful villagers give her donations? However she's doing it, she's got it made.
There was some sort of running theme with those large blue-billed ducks that lived in the village. If that was meant to have more meaning than just a running visual gag, I didn't pick up on it.
Meng had a surprising amount of depth and insight for what (I assume) is a one-episode character. Stalking aside, I liked her.
This episode's humourous look at the stupidity of the village (in fact the science denial of the village) is not as funny as it would have been in a pre-covid denial, pre-antivax, pre-"global warming is a hoax" world. A shallow viewing of this episode is still funny because the villagers are just SO dumb (except Meng), but the more you think about the villagers' actions and the conclusions they reach at the end of the episode (to not change AT ALL - at least the tribes made up in The Great Divide, a similarly idiot-filled episode), the more you morph into Sokka. These people have denied reality so hard that it's frustrating rather than funny to watch. Their head in the sand approach is not cute anymore.
I really wanted to like this episode. Like I said before, I wanted a goofy fun episode after the one-two punch of the last two episodes, but this one rapidly went from goofy to frustrating. I can't tell if it's because I'm not the target audience (i.e. too adult) or if it's because much of the world is currently drowning in various forms of misinformation and science denial. I know this episode isn't supposed to be deep - it's supposed to be setup for Aang & Katara as a (hopefully very distant) couple. That's all. And the message at the end about shaping your own destiny (i.e. taking an active part in your life) is a good message, and thematically relevant to the avatar, who presumably is at least somewhat responsible for shaping the whole world's destiny. But damn if this episode doesn't make my teeth itch.
Pros: Sokka had some great lines. Appa got to shake. There were pretty backgrounds. The noise Sokka made when he got slapped by the fish was a thing of beauty.
Cons: Aang and Katara are not allowed to date until they're 35. I will smack each villager individually upside the head with a science textbook. Meng deserved better.
Maybe I'm just not in the mood for this episode. I'll stick it on the rewatch list just for the Sokka fish noise.
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