#it's talent and luck

[idkimnotreal]

thank you japan for all the anime. i was supporting you until the end. now i will continue supporting you until we (brazil) eventually meet in a match, if we do.

(edit. we could get them as soon as the quarter-finals. that would be literally the most exciting match of my life. of course we’re gonna win but it would be bittersweet to send them home)

#world cup #japan #europeans out #seems money can't buy talent #boohoo etc #they deserve at least quarter-finals #they're really climbing the ladder #and it's all passion #it's not that artificial kind of football from europe #it's talent and luck #no ugly technique bs #they play like us #and apparently they hired brazilians to teach them football in the 80s/90s? #so yeah

[inkskinned]

the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.

three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.

two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.

their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.

one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.

i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.

i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.

and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?

you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.

a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.

someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.

#writeblr #warm up #this is longer than i wanted i really considered removing that part about myself and what i went thru #but i think it really fucking bothers me that EVERY time i talk about being an artist #ppl assume i just like. had the skill and ability to drop everything and pay for grad school. #like sir i grew up poor. my house wasn't a safe space. i gave up a FREE RIDE TO LAW SCHOOL. for THIS. bc i chose it. #was it fucking hard? was i choosing the hard thing?? yes. #but we need to stop seeing artists as lazy layabouts that can ''afford'' to just ''sit around and create'' #when MANY - if not MOST - of us are NOT like that. we have to work our fucking ASSES off. hard work. long and hard work #part of valuing artists is recognizing the amount we sacrifice to make our art. bc it doesn't just #like HAPPEN to us. also btw it rarely has anything to do with true talent. #speaking as someone with a chronic condition i hate when ppl are like u have it easy. like actively as i'm writing this my hands r #ACTIVELY hurting me. i haven't been posting bc my left hand was curled in a claw for the last week #this isn't fucking luck. after a certain point it's not even TALENT. it's dedication & sacrifice. #''u get to flounce around and do nothing with ur life'' is a narrative that is a direct result of capitalism #imagine if we said that about literally any other profession. #''oh so u give up 10 yrs of ur life to be a doctor? u sacrifice having a social life and u get SUPER in debt? #u need to work countless hours and it will often be thankless? well i wish i was that lucky'' #we should be applying that logic to landlords ONLY #''oh ur mom and dad gave u the money to buy a house? and all u did was paint it white and rent it? huh.''

[blacknedsoul-blog]

My bet on what Annabel wanted to do and why

So I'm reading the mansion arc again because the hiatus is over and that scene is coming back to me.

Now I have a whole theory as to why Annabel did what she did and for what. One of those "all or nothing" ones, but I thought it was interesting to share anyway.

The Background

The first thing to keep in mind is Annabel's role within her group: she's there to get information and to see herself as someone competent and worth following, but also as an agent of chaos in the shadows, actively trying to get them to fight each other (put a pin in that, because it's going to be important).

The whole scene where Montresor makes Ada bark introduces us to this guy, not as just any bully, but as someone extremely sadistic. While Annabel manages to get him to back down in the end, this makes it clear to her that he's a problem she needs to solve by yesterday, because, as if his sadism weren't enough, he's uncomfortably interested in Lenore.

The Amontillado

So she decides to take the first step to satisfy Montresor's thirst for blood by throwing someone under the bus, and unfortunately Duke is the most logical choice: Berenice and Eulalie share a room, Morella can manifest, and although Prospero is not Pluto's friend, he won't get involved in this kind of shady business. Duke, on the other hand, is an easy prey: he cannot manifest and shares a room with Montresor. It's all advantages.

But Annabel can't allow Montresor to commit murder outright. Not that she gives a shit about Duke's life, but if this guy finds out he can murder people in school, it's pretty certain that it will be impossible to push him back. Next it will be her, or worse, Lenore.

It's hard to tell if she suggested putting him behind a wall or just told Montresor, "Why get your hands dirty? I know you can be more creative." Either way, she's doing it to buy time: again, there's no upside to Duke dying, but maybe she can twist this in her favor somehow. And she needs to do it fast.

The Pendulum

The answer comes to her as if it fell from the sky with the pendulum, which is on the table as an object to be chosen during the test, and the stroke of luck is that it is Lenore who chooses it. So she keeps it: this was the piece she needed to turn the situation around.

Annabel knows where Duke is. And maybe our friend isn't far away either (there were five people moving through guarded corridors, one of them unconscious), so it's enough to get to where he is, break through the wall, and leave the pendulum aside so Duke can find his way back to school or join his friends more easily. After all, he'll have Pluto looking for him like crazy, and it would be absurd for him not to use his spectre for that. And if these people don't manage to hit the right spot, she has already discovered the pendulum's range during the test, she could do it herself without arousing suspicion.

The test is over. The Misfits get more and more desperate, Lenore is taken to Dreamland and Ada manifests only to fall into Montresor's arms. All of this actually suits her quite well, for one specific reason: Annabel wants to put a target on Montresor's back and make him doubt his "trusted" people.

Will's spectre can copy people's appearance, while Ada shared a team with Lenore during the test. Both could have stolen it. At the very moment Montresor discovers that the pendulum was used to save this guy, there will be doubt as to which of these two (whom he thinks he has in the palm of his hand) betrayed him. After all, they both seemed pretty uncomfortable with the situation.

Suspicious of Annabel? That was the look on her face as Duke desperately begged her to stop them.

Speaking of Duke, after he tells the rest of his friends what happened, Montresor would be an immediate target to confront…just like Annabel. But hey, "protect me from your allies and I'll protect you from mine," Lenore will avoid getting her guts ripped out (right?).

Maybe she found out she couldn't manifest after the test, so she left it until the next day. In this image, we are told that Annabel gets up ridiculously early, which is quite possible without anyone seeing her.

And while Pluto mentions that he still can't manifest again, let's remember that Annabel has a little more control over her spectre than he does.

Parenthesis: on the Widow Watch

The question here is: if this idiot had it all figured out and swears her wife is okay with all this crap, why not tell Lenore?

My answer is summarized in this picture:

Annabel is a long-term player, this girl doesn't care about Duke's safety, and his life only seems relevant to her because his death doesn't benefit her. She doesn't care about saving him, she cares about how saving him will distract Montresor from Lenore and allow her to take the first steps to get rid of him.

If Lenore runs off to save Duke (something Annabel thinks she will do out of guilt), the only thing she will accomplish is to make Montresor even more fixated on her and possibly blow Annabel's cover: it would be strange if they could suddenly find him easily without anyone telling them.

Another thing to consider is that Lenore arrives at the Widow's Watch in this state:

She may not have been able to see what happened to Montresor from up there because of how surprised she is, but Lenore's clothes are burned, and it doesn't take a genius to know who inflicted at least some of those wounds on her. All the more reason to try to keep Lenore out of this situation until the time is right.

House of Cards

One thing I really love about Annabel is that while many of the things she plans make sense, and indeed several of her predictions come true (such as the students not being able to manifest themselves by approaching Lenore), to quote her, she is not a mind reader. And watching her machinations unravel because of things she can't control is not only plausible, it's really interesting.

Especially when Lenore is the cause. Immovable object meets unstoppable force, and until they get their act together, this is doomed.

And disaster has arrived at that very moment.

The first thing that disarmed Annabel at this point, in my opinion, is that Lenore knew what she had done to Duke before she should have: without knowing her intentions, this looks like a completely deliberate and cold-bloodedly planned simple murder attempt. Annabel was confident that Lenore would understand as soon as she saw the pendulum, either as "I got our enemy off your back for now, but he won't stop" or, if I'm wrong and this woman has some self-awareness, as "I found no other way to get our enemy off your back, but I did everything I could to keep this man safe".

While the jokes about Annabel being a masochist are hilarious, on a serious note, I think it's appropriate to note that his complete failure to see how angry Lenore is is because she's never seen her this angry. Or worse, she's never seen her so angry at her. And she knows what Lenore is capable of in that state.

As if that weren't bad enough, her predictions were that Lenore would run to find Duke, but instead this woman picked up a revolver and walked right into the lion's den.

In other words, Annabel has not only failed catastrophically to keep Lenore away from Montresor, she has prompted her into a direct confrontation.

Everything she thinks she knows about her has just gone to hell.

The fallen queen

One last thing I think is interesting about the situation Annabel is in right now is that there is a threat she has no idea about. Annabel was counting on Lenore to protect her from her allies, but…

If Montresor has eyes, he knows. That means he only has to add 2+2 to see through Annabel's little games.

And the one person who could have protected her right now has no interest in what happens to her.

Hiatus over, people. I hope you're as anxious as I am.

#nevermore webtoon #lenore nevermore #annabel lee nevermore #white raven #lenore vandernacht #annabel lee whitlock #I love to see how everything goes wrong for characters that are 4 parallel universes above you #It makes them feel so human #If this woman doesn't die #it's more luck than talent #nevermore theory

[astrobei]

every byler creator who has ever felt unappreciated or has never seen their work on a rec list or has stayed awake for hours working on something for it to get no interaction or has had their work passed up in favor of the big fandom favorites or has never been taken a chance on or has ever come last in a poll they didn’t ask to be on or has felt self conscious about posting or about calling themselves a creator if what they’re posting is not a magnum opus or has created something for themselves and still hoped deep down that people would love it: get behind me. i’ll protect u

#i’m five foot three and terrified of confrontation but i’ll go down swinging #andi would like me to add that she and i are standing on top of each other in a trench coat fighting for u all #thea is also wearing a trench coat but it’s just her and tutter in there #u all better fear thea’s fully developed frontal lobe and streamlined leadership experience (her words) #but seriously guys like #maybe i’m taking fandom too seriously or whatever but i know how scary it can be to put urself out there #especially in fandom spaces where the whole point is u want to enjoy urself and be accepted and not be judged #i’d be lying if i said that luck and timing wasn’t a huge part of why ppl enjoy my fics #and i’m flattered that my name shows up in rec lists a lot but. there are so so so many talented writers that go unnoticed when ppl fixate #on the same 5-6 names #and i know bc i’ve been them for other fandoms! #especially in this community there is such a big issue with putting big creators up on a pedestal #expecting them to be perfect and to keep churning out high quality stuff for free on demand #twt is something else too . like i’m not even talking abt that rn #and people always saying stuff like #‘atp i refuse to read fics unless they’re by _ or _ or _’ #just know that even if u are not one of these names u are so so valued and appreciated #get behind me fr #ok Bye <3333333 #🫂 #byler #/astro posts

[micamicster]

She’s like a cult leader <- words of a man who’s about to join a cult 😂

#literally 2 seconds later he’s clapping along I love it #😂😂😂 #this is giving me… hm. fight my way vibes kinda? #like just in the way that she’s struggling so hard but despite that she’s SO GOOD. AT HER JOB #and her lack of success is about bad luck and not lack of talent… I love that in a female lead #like to me they can be as crazy as you want I just want them to be good at their damn jobs haha #wedding impossible #<- is that what it’s called? or is it impossible wedding idk

[sisididis]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @reallunargift!

Guess who's using his last cents after a night out to wish you a very happy birthday? I hope you're leaning in extra close, because Port has to make himself heard over the pimba playing in the background!

#happy happy birthday to one of my most precious friends! #the cleverest jokester the most avid f1 commentator the sweetest person and the most talented all-rounder #the (lunar) gift that keeps on giving! ❤️ #this year i thought i’d draw port wishing you happy birthday over the phone #the original idea behind this was ro talking to port on the phone and the telephone cord stretched out to spell “happy birthday lunie” #but i ran out of time and ro didn’t come out the way i wanted him to #(for some reason he came out looking like george russell don't ask me why he just did!) #i hope that you will like your present all the same #thank you for brightening up another year of my life with your inimitable sense of humor #but most of all thank you for another year of your one-of-a-kind friendship #i hope that this year will bring you happiness good health good luck #(more content on 2 unnamed f1 drivers shhh) #and everything that your heart desires because you deserve it tenfold #la mulți ani lunie! ❤️ #parabéns! ❤️ #aph portugal #my fanart

[illuminatedferret]

can we talk about xie lian's superb eye for talent? like all three people he's got an eye on in Xianle end up having the potential to ascend

#xie lian #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven officials blessing #illuspeaks #like obviously luck was definitely at play for xie lian meeting these people as he did but #him becoming invested in them and their success? that's all him #their potential and talent stood out to him and he chose/wanted to foster it #it happens with lqq and pei xiu too he's like #a bloodhound for ascensions

[nightmaremybeloved]

do u think the wider mcyt sphere ever gets tired of being so negative towards dteam and friends. i dont even mean their fanbases atp because i have good friends in those fan spaces that are NOT going to waste their time getting angry about dream existing. so like whats up with these cc's that seem to think they'll burst into flames unless they show how much they REALLY dont support dteam at every avaliable avenue. its so cringe.

#its been so long since ive had #to think about #how upset mcc #makes me ??? #but its ridiculous to find out #how theyre treating sapnap jusy #because he's talented AND friends w dream #like if it was anyone else getting #their 6th win or whatever #u know they'd at least be wishing them #good luck or saying “hey good game” #over discord at the end #but NOTHING ???? god mcc needs to die #theres hasnt been sportmanship #in ages and its been hurting #smaller ccs even longer than that

[fala-alfredo-pasta]

💗Komanami Week💗 Day 6: AU

Look I really wanted to do the talent swap prompt too from day five and realized the it's technically an au and thus qualifies for day six. No I do not take different opinions thank u.

#danganronpa #komanami #komanamiweek #komaeda nagito #nanami chiaki #chiaki nanami #nagito komaeda #komanami week #talent swap #fun fact: nagito's gamer design is partially inspired by an adult #version of a komanami hybrid/kid I drew quite some time ago #of whom will make a guest appearance in their kid form in tomorrow's prompt <u< #my art #a e i o queue #a free cookie to anyone who can guess the movie reference on Nagito's page 👀 #talent swapping anyone with Nagito is honestly pretty tough if you truly abide #by the laws of his luck considering how much it fundamentally shapes Nagito as a person #it will in no doubt alter that character's personality to some degree #maybe not be as unhinged as Nagi but uhhhhh they in no way will be stable lmao #I figure Chiaki might not be as willing to murder as Nagito and still fundamentally values life #despite being a lot less optimistic and usually expecting the worst outcome to occur #because the bad has always out weighed the good--so she tries not to get her hopes up #and tries to reduce the enjoyment/happiness she gets in life lest she brings upon a #worse bad luck to even it out. I feel she represses her emotions a lot more #and definitely tries her best to stir clear of people so they don't get hurt #I also have this whole spiel for Gamer Nagito but tumbler nerfed my tags #so send an ask if you're interested to hear it lol

[super-license]

it will always be absolutely wild to me that the fia changed the super-license rule solely because of max verstappen. the fact that he never even competed in formula 2 and that he was only 17 when he signed with toro rosso. he will always be the youngest f1 driver ever…absolutely insane. and obvious looking back that he was a future world champion.

#at the same time though i’m like….can you imagine if that had happened today?? #i think it’s so bizarre that everyone had so much faith in him bc we’ve seen amazing drivers crack under the pressure of f1 #like they definitely lucked out with him and he was obviously so talented but what if it went another way?? wild to me #emma.txt #max verstappen

[mygreendandelion]

patience and strength to everyone in the process of rewriting any sjm books. lord knows i'd go bald within the first hour

#anti sjm #anti acotar #sjm critical #good luck talented funny people on my dash

[terristre]

If doodle requests are still open— I offer a silly cat

(Your art is god tier and I love the lil twst memes you do <3)

kitty,,,,, 🙀

#hihihihihiiiii tysm :3 you are wildly talented yourself holy macaroni #also ily cloche good luck with all the cat stuff i believe in you #art tag

[sober-rain]

think I just figured out why I'm so attached to Deon even from the very start of the manhwa, he's.. pathetic & it's so endearing to me?? like he's the zero corps commander & hero of the empire but also he's a nervous guy who coughs up blood & just wants to live a stress free life & smth abt that makes me wanna put him in a jar & carry it with me everywhere

#my guy simultaneously got the worst & best luck a manhwa character could have #im not that kind of talent #deon hart #manhwa #peter talks

[oneknightstand-if]

YOUR GAME IS AMAZING!

Because it's not only a really interacting IF with amazing story, but also a game! You can clearly see that your choices have an impact! Actions and phrases have consequences, even your MCs character! My MC is kind, ready to sacrifice himself and thinks about others first. And it’s so so unexpected that you literally can see understanding this character traits in the text. Like - “your concern over someone else's well-being shouldn't be a surprise to someone who knows you well at all.” That's incredible!

Of course there are a lot of interesting IFs out there, they are great. But your IF is a game where players decisions are important. Thank you for this and I really hope that you don't lose inspiration and everything in your life will be great!

Thanks for the comment!

There are quite a few game-y IFs, but those tend to take the form of lots of stat checks that need to be passed and such. Many of the IFs published through the official Choice of Games channel do that.

On the other hand, One Knight Stands doesn't do *that* many pass/fail stat checks in comparison. They're usually something small running in the background (like all the perception checks for more info) or relegated to big moments like trying to save Pippa/Zain or escape a demon & such.

Instead OKS aims to be very reactive to the player's past decisions & the MC's current personality, keeping track of previous choices while continually referring back to them, and sometimes unveiling some perhaps unforeseen consequences. (Who got nabbed by the Monster Under the Bed because it grabbed the long trailing hem of the clothes they were wearing?)

But the price of that is something like a 600k+ first chapter, so I'm not sure if that's something to be particularly recommended for emulation or not.

#Who got nabbed that way couldn't be my MC #Especially as I choose Luck as his talent as a dirty save scummer #Edna Mode does not approve of this message #oks-asks

[remembersunflowers]

thinking about the opening scene of Barbie ✨ when all the Barbie’s are accepting their nobel prizes and each one says something affirming like “thanks! I deserve this!” Or “i worked hard for this, my book is great!”

and the idea that it’s okay to accept praise, to unequivocally be supportive of your own talents, to acknowledge you should be recognized for what you’ve contributed … instead of just demurely playing it off or trying to downplay with modesty…

I saw the movie in theatre and the next day I put in for a promotion

#barbie #barbie movie #greta gerwig barbie #wish me luck babes #I’m talented and I deserve this #it’s okay to be selfish

[leixinyus]

Piamchon Damrongsunthornchai as Ken

Wish You Luck trailer, dir. Chookiat Sakveerakul

#tonnam piamchon #wish you luck #wish you luck the series #thai drama #manydramagifs #tdramaedit #i can't believe we're not only getting tonnam as a lead (finally!) but title as his co-star as well #they're already both so talented individually #but them together? sign me up #sorry for the person i'm going to be when this airs #like even if i ended up not caring for the show itself (i doubt it but you never know) #i'll still most probably post acting and cinematography sets from it #because i just know it's going to be out of this world (you know. because it's a sci-fi show. i'll be seeing myself out now)