#its been like a decade and i still quote this constantly.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

I'm so full. I'm so happy. This is everything that I wanted for the tannies. It's so amazing. Never mind its 144p and I'm still learning the lyrics. I had such a blast! Jimin was so cute. Yoongi was so funny and cute and sexy and awesome and just,,, just,,, JUST!!! Couldn't stop grinning while watching their wlive and burst out laughing as Yoongi ended it so abruptly. lol Love you, Yoongi. Love them. Who's doing it like them? Have you seen the Tiffany crowd? Have you seen the concert crowd?!!?

***

It’s a different sort of high being a fan of BTS, isn’t it?

It’s a different sort of joy seeing them be their remarkable, awe-inspiring and goofy selves. It’s so beautiful to see the love they so clearly have for each other. It feels a little too intimate sometimes, and in my experience, this is a feeling that’s unique to BTS. This group is very special. What they’ve got feels genuine because it is.

Jimin was vibing hard. Yoongi’s performance felt electric from start to finish. They spent time together, [*]riding to the venue and leaving afterwards. Its clear as day that Yoongi is happy Jimin is with him, and Jimin wears the respect and love for his hyung on his face. It’s just so easy with them.

And can I just mention Yoongi’s energy during tonight’s concert?

The way he attacked HUH?!

AGUST D???

Christ.

It’s like he gets stronger, wilder, every concert… lol, like I suspected, he’s already a bit too good at this. I’m gonna need him to calm down before the Cali dates. And now that we know we’re getting Tony Montana at a future date, I think we’re all going to really learn to pace ourselves. This could get crazy before long.

Because we’re only three days in and I’m already hanging on by a thread.

What he’s doing to me with these performances cannot be written on the internet.

He fucks me up so bad y’all.

Let me go on a short tangent here:

STD is an acronym that’s known in Korea to mean what you think it means. Everybody knows it. Language isn’t a barrier in this case. When people in Korea hear “STD”? They know what it’s referring to.

Now, what do you think about the way Yoongi introduced his alternate persona: AGUST D in 2016? The way he enunciates that phrase is sickening and intentional. The very mention of his name in the mouths of his detractors is a sickness they get from him fucking them. Or ‘fat dicking’ them, to quote Yoongi. And on that song he spits one of the sickest bars of his entire career. You’re guaranteed to be fucked just by hearing it. I mean just in his name there’s already triple entendres.

It’s mad.

Yoongi has a very peculiar energy. It’s very catlike, but also serpentine and there’s an undercurrent of barely restrained lunacy deep beneath the surface. Hobi is actually more crude than Yoongi in speech and flow, but Yoongi can be so cruel. And that quality, one he doesn’t shy from turning on himself too, coupled with his pragmatic and caustic delivery… lord. He sets himself apart from every other artist alive. Nobody in BTS cuts to the bullshit faster than Yoongi - he’s lived through the consequences of deluding yourself that you’re okay when you’re not. He’s a man who is constantly examining himself, checking his worst tendencies, but never compromising on what he truly believes.

Ugh.

Times like tonight, I look at BTS and feel so much calm. They are so competent, and I’m certain whatever they make, it will be very good. Yoongi has proven that so far with this tour. Yoongi’s D-DAY concert tour is easily the best solo concerts I’ve been to this decade, and I haven’t even attended one yet. But it’s easily the best one. Easily. And I’ve been to a lot (actually been to them), especially in the last 12 months.

That crowd Jimin pulled for the Tiffany’s event is no joke. We’re now at the point where Western celerities know they’re not the main popularity driver if Jimin is also involved. They know the crowds are there for Jimin. And when he eventually showed up, he looked magnificent. Elegant. Polished. Understated. One of these days I want to see Jimin bejewelled and dressed in all primary colours - something more vibrant and queer. But that Tiffany’s event went for traditional and understated and that’s okay. It worked, because Jimin can work anything.

**

Edit [*]: Typo correction. Should include "after", meaning after arriving at and leaving the concert, Yoongi and Jimin spent time together. They arrived separately and left together, spent time together also before and after.

#yoonmin #jimin #park jimin #yoongi #min Yoongi #bts #bts army #bts fandom #kpop #d day #tony montana #d day tour

[joseopher]

Outfits as the atlas six characters

These are outfits that represent their characters not necessarily something they would wear (though sometimes they can also be that).

Reina:

This outfit is based on her fully accepting her powers and embracing her godhood. Her confidence is shown in the no-back dress she's wearing and her see-through jacket that has leaves on it (to show how her new approval of her powers).

Parisa:

Parisa's outfit is obviously meant to be enticing (ex. no shirt, pearls around the bra and lace around the thigh). However, the coat gives her a sort of professional aura and the pearls imply riches. This shows that she mostly sleeps with people to get power/money rather than out of love. Also, the ring on her ring finger implies that she's technically still married, revealing some of her past.

Libby:

Libby's outfit has an academic vibe as she's the most dedicated to her studies. She's had to work very hard to earn her place in the world and in academia as she comes from a mortal family. It also looks like the kind of outfit someone who would have a breakdown over one poor grade would wear. It's modest, showing her original lack of confidence but it's not inelegant, when it comes down to it she will prevail.

Nico:

Nico's outfit is meant to compliment Libby's as they are two halves of the same hole. His outfit is slightly more casual than Libby's as he's more relaxed than her and it has no baggy coat to prevent him from easy movement as he so enjoys.

Callum:

This outfit matches Callum for many reasons. For example, he has lots of biblical imagery surrounding him. Callum's name means "dove" and doves are an important symbol to early Christians as they stand for peace and the Holy Spirit. We also have his speech, "We all have our own curses. Our own blessings. We are the gods of our own universes, aren’t we? Destructive ones.". This is very biblical, both because of his own beliefs and its involvement with Reina in her god-complex plotline. Finally, we have this quote, "Tristan forced himself not to flinch when Callum raised a hand, touching his thumb to the center of Tristan’s forehead. A blessing, or the mockery of one.". Callum literally gives a blessing which fits with this religious-inspired outfit. But is it religious or is it mocking religion? The gloves symbolize decadence, deceit and keeping one's guard up/reluctance to be vulnerable all of which resonate with Callum's character.

Tristan:

The gloves again. This time deceit represents all the people manipulating him and his own deceit/betrayal in trying to kill Callum. The gloves also show how Tristan constantly keeps his guard up, suspicious of everyone. Thirdly, the gloves are a connection between Callum and Tristan's outfits showing their uncanny similarity (which might've been one of the reasons that Callum manipulated him). Finally, the outfit is grimy and almost dystopian, signifying Tristan's pessimistic view of the world and his paranoia.

Dalton:

This is the perfect outfit for Dalton. Parisa describes his cheekbones as "princely" more than once and to the magical criminal underbelly, he is known as The Prince. Not to mention part of himself is literally TRAPPED IN A TOWER! So obviously I choose a prince outfit, but of course, it's dark as The Prince is a dangerous and dark individual.

Atlas if he stopped wearing tweed for two seconds:

HEAVY SYMBOLISM HERE! The black and gold aesthetic is reminiscent of The Library/The Society which Atlas has a lot of himself tied to it as a caretaker. At first, the readers don't even really know much about Atlas except his status as a caretaker. The swords represent The Library/The Society and this quote at the start of The Atlas Six, "Beware the man who faces you unarmed. If in his eyes you are not the target, then you can be sure you are the weapon". The initiates are literally Atlas's weapons/swords. Stars represent "positivity, happiness or renewal" and in this outfit, they show how the initiates, specifically Tristan, are Atlas's hope of getting to another universe/world and escaping his guilt and depression.

Ezra:

Ezra's mother died as a result of a shooting. He clearly cares for his mother a great deal because he went back in time repeatedly in an attempt to save her. Unfortunately, her death is what Ezra calls an "unalterable event". However, Ezra has made many questionable decisions such as kidnapping his girlfriend. Based on the evidence in the book his mother would likely be '"sad" about this. Not to forget his involvement in The Forum's less savoury practices, especially since Ezra came from a poor family. Because Ezra tries very hard to appear normal and mundane I choose a t-shirt for his outfit. The yellow colour represents joy, happiness, and hope, all things that Atlas gave Ezra when they first met, only to do the opposite by unravelling Ezra's and filling him with hopelessness and guilt the last time they met.

#the atlas six #libby rhodes #tristan caine #callum nova #nico de varona #reina mori #parisa kamali

[angstics]

my chemical romance has always been a band about death. bullets' bonnie and clyde, three cheers' resurrection-rampage plot, black parade's dying main character, danger days' "where the good guys die and the bad guys win". the vampires and corpse-like make-up and lyrics constantly looking to the end. 1000+ hits when you google: "death-obsessed" "my chemical romance". gerard way's "if we never play another show again, keep yourself alive" in 2008, when the band had an exhausting few years and an uncertain future (video, article).

it took a few years, but the band eventually played its last show. it wasn't just a break or dissolution. the band died. their final song was released posthumously in 2/14 and it was titled "fake your death" -- not a hint at reunification, but a finale that put to rest who they were as my chemical romance. as gerard way said: "i don't think my chemical romance is supposed to happen again. i think it's supposed to stay beautiful forever; it's a beautiful thing. it's supposed to die young in the car wreck" (kerrang , 7/14).

dying young has haunted my chem as long as death has. every single main character of theirs' was both dead and young: irl demolition lovers on the LOTMS cd, the patient being "too young to die", the fab four being teenagers according to the killjoys: california comics. even gun's "never gonna have a son" and "if im old enough to die for your mistakes / then let's go". even helena, who is directly about the ways' grandmother, is played by a young actor -- with make-up matching the bands'. there were fears surrounding gerard's health ending the band then at one point his life, as stated by brian schechter in LOTMS. after the band ended, mikey and frank had near-death experiences. gerard released hestiant alien's how it's going to be, a song about "waking up from the dream and realizing it's not exactly what you wanted" (video): "you said we'd all be dead by twenty five" and "we're just bored you're still alive". the entertainment industry is marked by the iconization of artists who died young. the 90s - 00s was a time + place defined by DARE and AIDS and young veterans. the band coincided with BIG life changes (sky-rocketing careers, new families).

this is all to say that my chem tightly links youth and death. there is also a great emphasis on death as a performance -- dedicating songs and albums and theatre productions and art and stories and appearances to it. the aesthetic of death.

though the band died young, its people didnt. years went by. my impression as an outsider to that time is that even without reason (least of all from these fuckin guys), hope didnt die. it laid dormant. the group friendship and musical relationship was revived sometime 2017 - 2018 because of a family bbq (podcast, quote). that was two years of possibility before they decided to return in 2019. after some hurdles where hope never diminished, they began their first tour after a decade -- filled with projects and personal hardships and children growing up -- in 2022.

this tour has been marked by their visible and stated joy. not a nostalgia tour, not an album tour, but a chance to "reintroduce ourselves to the world" (podcast, quote). the sources of joy are endless (isnt that just so beautiful??) one of them is discovering the link btwn living and old age.

theyre still about death, theyre still about youth, theyre still about drama. gerard's dressed as princess diane and joan darc, famous women who died young. the when we were young night 2 costumes are bout the horror of aging but not changing. it's a forever mcr theme.

#mcr #qessay #i wrote this 4 months ago so take it as it is

[fecto-forgo]

top 5 robot characters

ok brain do noooot fail me now lets recall some cool robots.also ive decided to rate them on both how much i like them n how interesting i find the usage of them being robots.tho apology before hand it seems two robots who r only those in quotes due to technicalities made their way in

5.five pebbles (rain world)

ok so i love pebbles V dearly.character i heavily sympathize w, frankly one of my only favorites who actually expresses regret over doing bad things.that being said.hes.hes a giant computer im only letting him in here bc the iterator puppets border on being robots, n i think the way theyre used is cool! its a rly neat way of making iterators able to communicate w the player n the way theyre kinda puppeteered around by that giant arm is rly cool.but again barely counts.thin ice buddy.if anything moons a bit cooler bc she lost most of the computer part yeah actually pretend shes in the title of the entry too my girl deserves it.she put up w sm.

4.susie (kirby)

susie.is a weird case where.idk man we just dont know! shes a robot *to me* but ive seen ppl treat her like a cyborg some other mechanical being or straight up just some fucked up looking alien.n theres not a lot of robot thingies going on w her either.this always disappointed me a bit so its my lifes work to make my susie gijinka as explicitly a robot as possible.that being said still got no explanation for how she eats.shes just superior ig

3.metatton (undertale)

the trans allegory w how his body was made perfect for him n he loves it is rly cool but its been literally nearly a decade since my undertale phase so i sadly have lost a lot of my attachment, hes a rly entertaining character n all of his designs r rly good (someone saying they were struggling w beating his boss bc they were scared of their mom walking in on them fighting him n having to explain why the robot has such sexy legs lives in my head rent free) (also neo deserved better?? im still mad toby made it a fake out comedic fight </3)

2.gir (invader zim)

i have to obligatorily bring up gir bc.cmon this is a 2000s scene girl blog.he just has such a cute little design n bc its a cartoon its all squishy n stretchy n its so fun.that being said.idk i just dont have a lot of robot centered points to give him hes just a nifty little man made out of rubber metal

honorable mention:metal sonic (sonic)

i cant go without reminding everyone my boy exists.cmon its metal sonic.tragic guy ever.trapped in a narrative in a cell of capitalism bc any development to him would change too much from the status quo.i love him.his design is so fun its such a neat way to make a robotic sonic.his counterparts like chaos n shard n all the other robot sonic models all got cool points too ! great guy

1.cyn (murder drones)

ik ik i just bought her up i have her in my icon i kin her this is a safe blog for painfully biased ppl.but the reason cyn of all the drones wins number one spot for me is bc of how she moves n talks ! being a zombie drone she doesnt seem to function properly, shes constantly fixing her head from falling over n walking around a bit cowered n generally seems her movements dont flow naturally, she announces her actions while doing them (likely bc of some error from the zombie thing just making her naturally do that) n fully borrows her voice from the absolute solver (likely bc of some issue w her own) n generally the fact shes a robot that accidentally rebooted after being discarded n is clearly not running as intended is rly visible n i love it !!! i love robot characters whose roboticism is extremely relevant to their whole character instead of just being a quirky design thing.n ofc this all also resembles how puppets move which is such a fun double meaning thing to how shes the absolute solvers first host

#ask

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 29

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “I know what you’re thinking. I was thinking it, too.”

Number 29 is…Thomas Magnum, from Magnum P.I.

Originally played with immortal perfection by Tom Selleck, Thomas Magnum – the titular private eye from “Magnum P.I.” – is probably one of TV’s most recognizable sleuths. He’s also one of the most versatile: rather than a typical murder mystery detective series, Magnum P.I. was really one of the first really popular “crime drama” shows on television. The focus wasn’t always on solving a mystery, but sometimes on other types of crime-solving issues, with a lot of time devoted to the characters’ personal lives, relationships, and personality developments. The show was a firm fixture of 1980s television, lasting almost the full decade from 1980 to 1988, and is still highly lauded today.

The premise of Magnum P.I. revolves around the main character, a private detective who lives in Hawaii. Through the strange whims of fate, Magnum has been allowed to live as the guest of a wealthy author, ostensibly because a.) said millionaire owes Thomas a debt of some sort, and b.) Magnum acts as a sort of live-in security expert. There is a great dichotomy to Magnum because, in some ways, he is the sort of person many people DREAM they could be: he’s handsome, athletic, has access to all kinds of wonderful things thanks to his host’s money (including a sweet car), and is a clever detective who spends his days chasing down and facing off various bad guys.

However, while on the surface Magnum has basically anything anyone could want in life, his actual personal life is not all peaches and cream. This was actually something Selleck suggested with the character during the creation of the series: Magnum is essentially an everyman stuck in a wild place. It’s a sort of Alice in Wonderland setup: he’s a pretty normal guy, who just so happens to be in an almost fantastical situation. Despite his access to so much splendor, he clashes constantly with people around him, and still has to face a lot of private difficulties. He also just has a lot of flaws as a person, which sometimes hinder him both professionally and personally. It’s sort of a case of a person who has everything, but doesn’t know what to DO with it, which leads to a lot of interesting scenarios.

The original Selleck series was so popular, that not only is it still highly revered today, but it was actually revived for a reboot in 2018. The reboot series did not run for as long – in fact, it actually had its final episode just this past January – but it still lasted longer than I think many people might have initially expected. Having seen some of the reboot – which starred Jay Hernandez as Magnum – I actually think it was a worthy successor to the original show. However, between the two, I do prefer the original series…which segues into a big question: given the popularity and recognizability of Thomas Magnum, why is he so low on the countdown?

Well…remember how I said I’ve seen SOME of the reboot? The same applies to the original show, too. To be perfectly honest, I just haven’t seen that much of either series, overall. I like everything I’ve seen, mind you (including a crossover between the original series and another great crime show I love much more, “Murder, She Wrote”). Still, at the end of the day, I just don’t have a strong enough connection to feel like I can, in good conscience, give dear Mr. Magnum any higher a rating. Still, for being both one of the coolest and one of the most human detectives on TV – in both versions – he still earns some credit on the main countdown.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 28!

CLUE: “Change never comes without pain.”

#list #countdown #best #favorites #top 31 fictional detectives #gathering of the greatest gumshoes #number 29 #magnum pi #thomas magnum #tv #mystery #crime drama #tom selleck #television

[raisinchallah]

the recent discourse re:yuri is so curious to me. my two cents is that some of it can be attributed to the very well researched book on yuri history by erica friedman that came out a couple years back which made the seemingly legit claim that the genre started with women authors. of course the whole picture is more fraught than the viral posts i see on this paint it. and the book itself has a long section on The Bad Parts of yuri. but the quotes i see people use and word of mouth fail to mention that part. i can kind of get the defensiveness bc yuri is so often dismissed as a genre JUST for the tillitation of men in a way that really erases the quite large subculture of lesbian/bi otaku and the women writers themselves. which tbf is often the case with a lot of these subcultures (sooo much "moe" was/is written by women but was imediately dismissed as a dude thing. this kind of radicalized me as a teen.). all of that being said there WAS an interesting shift these last few years on the stories being told and how they are told (maybe because of the critical/comercial success of kabi nagata's memoirs and of series like kase-san and yagakimi? the overall evolving discourse about lgbt people on the public sphere? the uptick in openly queer women writing independent webcomics? none of these? all of these and more? shrugs). i've been reading unhinged gay manga in dynastyscans for like, a decade by now. and it's become increasingly more common for them to feature adult women, people actually saying the word "lesbian", lesbian bars even. it still surprises me constantly. comic yuri hime actually split itself in two (the idea is that the core mag is for women and the other is for men. fostering this idea of yuri by women to women). even the kirara magazine started including a lot of yuribait in its publications. which is a different beast entirely but is amusing enough that it makes me go "okay who is this FOR? yuribros? just to snatch the stray lesbian reader?". sorry for the long message i am just fascinated by all of this.

no worries at all this is actually extremely interesting thank you so much for all these extra details yeah i have been curious about like general demographic surveys or such of major yuri magazines yeah that makes sense from a lot of my research as well erica friedman seems to be the main source of a lot of information about yuri i have also wondered in general if some of the confusion around the genre also seems to come from a lot of western bookstores manga hosting sites and so on seemingly grouping memoir and short like joke comics about lesbians and so on under the yuri label i mean im sure part of that online is cuz dynasty scans has a really wide interest in what they seek out and translate which like i love that this stuff has a wider audience but its odd to call it yuri yeah ive noticed that as well in terms of shifts in whats actually focused on i read one yuri manga that was also about broader yuri fandom i guess like about a lonely lesbian who wrote yuri doujins and so on helping another manga artist find her love for drawing again and talking about like actual stuff about being gay and so on idk very interesting the places things are going like i think thats the other funny thing about the new narrative around yuri is like as you said its often kinda surprising still when characters actually say they are lesbians cuz a lot of works kinda held onto like oh ur my exception oh this will fade etc idk fascinating stuff thank u also for the details about the states of different magazines very interesting also if u wanna discuss this more in dms :3

#also if u like unhinged gay manga thoughts on gunjou owo

[stickthisbig]

I got real angry about DC vs Marvel movies and yelled about it for a while, it was very cathartic

So here's the thing.

I'm not interested in litigating or relitigating the MCU. I'm over it. But the MCU fucked up summer tentpole movies, because like Tolkien did to fantasy, they've convinced everyone that they have the only formula for success.

Here's why that's fucking DC so hard: because Marvel is about groups, and DC is about people.

The grand history of Marvel Comics is about who is, figuratively, in bed with who. Marvel is about big teams that fight other big teams, because ultimately Marvel is about holding a mirror up to the real world and saying that all of this *makes big hand motion* is a metaphor for the larger issue.

DC's not.

It's not. It never has been. When you think about the greatest moments from huge DC Comics crossover epics, it's moments of individual heroism or cruelty. It's Barry on the treadmill sacrificing himself. It's Max Lord shooting Blue Beetle in the head. DC is The Longbow Hunters. DC is The Hiketeia. DC is Solomon Grundy being forced into the cycle of reincarnation in Starman when he's finally known peace. DC is Crispus Allen realizing that he will never be whole again, but choice is an illusion.

DC Comics is about individuals who are unique and uniquely alone, and not just that, their choice to be alone is validated by the text over and over and over. They are punished for the choice to let people in constantly. In DC Comics, the path that is presented as correct is to be on your own, maybe with one person you can trust. JLA has felt like an afterthought since the 80's and you can fuckin quote me on that.

DC's been doing this for decades. Marvel definitely has those characters that lend themselves towards it, though I find that especially in the Silver Age they really overcorrected when they tried. But it's embedded into the ethos of the DC universe. It's a place out of time where people work on their own. The two narratives are constructed differently, and oh my god it is just so much easier to pull someone out and spotlight them than to throw a bunch of people together.

DC, in its movies, has absolutely the fuck failed to capitalize on any of this. Do you know what lengths I would go to for a Hard Traveling Heroes movie??? WHERE IS MY ALL-STAR SUPERMAN. All those TV shows that do so well? It's because they all do exactly this. Smallville ran for about four seasons longer than anybody needed it to, and it's about a guy who is uniquely separated from the rest of the world, where the only people who can truly understand him are, their word not mine, freaks.

I do not care about the Justice League! I have shown to you my many DC bona fides and I say that when I was still actively reading DC, it was the one I always skipped. I put it to you that the Snyder Cut still would have been the second-worst MCU film, but it was even more of a failure as a DC film, for its complete inability to understand what DC is.

Wonder Woman was great! That's because it was a war movie about a woman who is out of place and out of time, who was forced to make the choice to attack. It’s a huge movie in terms of set pieces, but it’s a very small story. Where is my fucking Ralph and Sue Dibny detective movie???

The two lessons they haven't fucking learned from the MCU are that 1) you have to have good characters before you smush them together 2) sometimes you just have to take a leap. My GOD if you're gonna make another goddamn "what if Superman.... bad????????" movie, it better FUCKING be Lex Luthor: Man of Steel. I am just the fuck exhausted of hearing there's gonna be another DC movie and having to hide my face.

#someone is wrong on the internet #well #not on the internet #just wrong in general

[megacross-ground-zero-rated-r]

I'm still flip-flopping on Eddie’s characterization and what I want this series to be. Whether Eddie or Nick will refuse to change as the world turns to a new age. I can see a very convincing case for both of them.

The grimdark elements- Transplanted characters fighting against the repressive environment they've found themselves in and Nick’s downward spiral- Are too depressing for me right now. I can't do them, and all the meta-horror and slow-build, mundane tragedy that comes with them, justice in this headspace.

What does cutting all that leave us with?

Interspersed through all of this: The strangest, dirtiest, kinkiest sex I could possibly come up with. Just to see if I could push my own limits. Oftentimes it is supposed to be kinda funny, but also hot and/or heartfelt. No idea, except incest and pedophilia, was shoved off the table as too out there. Too niche to possibly appeal to anyone. The VAST majority of dubcon and noncon will be as enjoyable experiences that quote-unqoute "doesn't canonically / in their real, waking life happen to the character", as in its dreams that they enjoy, fantasies, and Safe Sane Consentual roleplay, etc because I feel more comfortable with that framing. I'm not saying "real / hard" dubcon or noncon won't happen period, or the "softer" versions won't come with some mixed feelings. Not closing that door yet.

Eddie getting into a new relationship and discovering lots of new things about himself.

Conrad slowly realizing... Wait. Maybe I'm not crazy. This IS all happening the way I'm seeing it. Then the various relationships he persues trying to get over Nick, then being forced to go to Officially Sanctioned Therapy instead of relying on trusted allies like he has been. "I was doing JUST FINE, I don't know why you people are insisting on this, but WHATEVER. You know my conditions for showing up. DO NOT fuck with them."

The group he's gathered around himself and Billy deciding what they want out of this world. A bunch of big, headstrong personalities clashing with each other here.

Roger and Jessica going to Booker T Beaver, the world-renowned Toon Pysch, for couples therapy. Booker is seeing the majority of the main cast in some capacity and gets embroiled in their tangled web of personal drama.

The ghosts of Greasy and Wheezy looking for suitable bodies to inhabit.

Smartass finding a new crew to run with and setting his sights on becoming The King Of Clubs in LA. Might also be part of the community efforts setting up safe havens for transplanted characters to live in as they're adjusting. Always busy with somethin', this guy.

Attempting to unravel the phenomenon of random resurrection and see if it's tied to characters from other worlds being pulled here. Why do some show up as human and others as Toons? Why can some come back from the dead as they make the jump?

...And Jones and some other Antagontists causing minor havoc in the background.

***********

Even as Conrad and Nick feel like their entire reality is crashing down around them, they have very strong motivations pulling them. Conrad may change his immediate goal at the drop of a hat early on, but the core is still there: He wants to be free to roam and do what he wants, and be in control of himself. Even being with Nick takes a backseat. Safety? That isn't guaranteed, so it's secondary to making sure he doesn't get locked up.

Very quickly, he thinks he's done it. He didn't fuck up the fresh start handed to him on a silver platter. People like him. He's got a good, physical job that's perfect for the lifestyle he wants. We're all good.

Except...

He's gone through extreme parental abuse. He's been suicidal for literal decades. The Merc Brain constantly running calculations of How Do I Fight My Way Out Of This Room If Someone Pulls A Gun On Me... You can't just snap your fingers and shut that off. The fight is not over, and treating it like it is could potentially become VERY dangerous for himself and others if he gets trapped in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the right combination of stressors.

Him and Nick have chronic mental health issues that're fucking exhausting to deal with on a day to day basis. They're trying as hard as they can. The question is how much do I focus on that with a lighter and softer tone? Just how much do they start cracking under the pressure? Are the people in their lives helping? Or are they just one more hindrance? Why or why not?

I will be writing more kinky shit this weekend.

If this series will be easier to publish as everyone having fun with fetishes, airing their shit with Booker, and lots of relationship drama, I will do that. I'm just sad to see the big, grand, tragic saga not work out.

#nsft text

[leonbloder]

Getting Saved, Again

In the faith tradition I grew up in, you had to "accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior" by praying what was commonly referred to as "The Sinner's Prayer."  The prayer went something like this:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.

I first prayed that prayer when I was six years old.  My parents typed up a note that they kept in their keepsake box with a brief narrative of the event.  In our faith tradition, you needed to remember the moment you accepted Christ for it to be real.  

If you think I'm joking about that last bit, I'm not.

Even with all the proof, I constantly worried that I wasn't going to heaven when I died.  So every time there was a chance that I could, I would pray that prayer again. When I went through puberty and had impure thoughts about every other second, I "got saved" at least three or four times a week.  

Before the age of fifteen, I went down the aisle at scores of worship services, revival, and youth camp meetings to pray that prayer- sometimes alone or with someone else.  

And then at the age of fifteen, I just stopped.  

I not only stopped "getting saved," I stopped believing in any of it.  I doubted that God existed, at least the God I had been taught to believe in.  I wanted to believe in Jesus, though---the Jesus I read about in the Gospels, not the Jesus I heard preached about in church.

It took me another couple of decades before I understood that all of those trips down the aisle, prayers for Jesus to "come into my heart," and all the rest of it were part of my journey toward being a follower of Jesus, not the end of it.

Recently, I read a fantastic quote from Bono, the lead singer of U2, who wrote this:

I’d always be first up when there was an altar call, the “come to Jesus” moment. I still am. If I was in a café right now and someone said, “Stand up if you’re ready to give your life to Jesus,” I’d be the first to my feet. I took Jesus with me everywhere and I still do. I’ve never left Jesus out of the most banal or profane actions of my life.

I  love that quote so much.  It really does capture how I feel about my Christian faith.  I  don't regret where I started for a moment, even though my journey took me to some painful places in my spiritual life.  

And this is also true for me: I still find Jesus compelling.  I still want to follow him.  I still need to be saved every single day.

While I don't believe in the overarching theology of how many Christians view The Sinner's Prayer, I do believe in its sentiment.  It's the kind of prayer that anyone who wants to follow Jesus should pray for as often as possible.  

The truth of the matter is that we all need Jesus.  We all must let go of trying to live our lives on our terms.  We should all surrender to following Jesus wherever Jesus might lead.  

May it be so for you today and every day.  Find moments to pray your prayer of surrender, and give your life daily to following the One who showed us the Way to eternal life begins now and is forever.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.  

[readingangelsthoughts]

The emergence of embracing your femininity resulted from the recent hate on the pick-me attitude.

The term pick-me may seem like its a term that dates back decades but its actual origin remains unknown, it only gained popularity in March 2016 on black Twitter with the hashtag #TweetLikeaPickMe which as its name indicates is a trend of mocking stereotypical phrases pick-me use to prove they are “wifey material”. To sum up, being a pick me is acting “like a boy” or like the “perfect” woman and catering one's personality and interest to appeal to men. She will reject anything pink and girly in favour of sports, junk food and being “rowdy” or boast about cooking and cleaning skills. Pretty much every woman has come across a pick-me girl whether it be in real life or in media. But what once was regarded as just being one of the boys and hating on other women because they are “too much drama” is now agreed to be blatantly misogynistic and consciously or not promoting views that women’s interests are below what men might deem respectable. It is all a result of internalised sexism which usually happens in early teens if not earlier when girls start becoming hyper-aware that their actions and choices are being intricately dissected by their peers and that whatever they do the boys in their life will have an opinion on it, good or bad, and most of the time will not hesitate to make that opinion known. To better understand misogyny the book Down Girl by Kate Manne is a skilful exposé of how society as a whole uses misogyny as a tool used to enforce women’s roles and oppress the ones who dare defy the norm that they should strive to fit into. 

They are as many types of pick me as they are types of boys. If she hangs out with sports lover she’ll wear the jersey of her allegedly favourite player, watch all the games and take part in them as well. If she hangs out with music nerds she’ll be a walking Wikipedia of everything regarding the genre to be able to be always right when she’s inevitably quizzed by her pseudo friends and if she hangs out with skater she’ll reject everything that might show she’s a girl, know all the tricks name and only wear specific brands with busted vans on her feet while demeaning other women. A sub-genre of pick-me are the ones that are mostly seeking validation by being the perfect wife, their end game is to be seen as marriable because they act as a caretaker for the men around them, wearing modest clothing and basically mothering boys into falling for her. 

Recently there has been more and more talk around the pick me phenomenon with videos like “The “I’m Not Like Most Girls” Phenomenon” by Kurtis Conner which gained 11 million views on Youtube and the hashtag pickmegirl on Tiktok which has amassed 1.2 Billion views as of November 6 2022 and even more with variations of said hashtag. The general consensus is that being a pick me is wrong but what one might ask is does it stems from insecurity and fear of being a potential target of fellow boy’s mockery or just a deep need for validation from peers ? I would guess that it’s a mix of both because while it might conscious it all boils down to being liked by a specific gender group. Being a pick-me is harmful to oneself because in the end you isolate yourself from other women and spend all your time being exposed to men’s expectations and constant critics of women and let's not forget hyper-sexualisation of them. Hearing about all of those things is probably going to make the pick-me insecure even though she reassures herself with her position as one of the boys because they wouldn’t talk about her that way right ? because most of the time they don’t even acknowledge her as a woman.  Although the issue still thrives, thanks to the constant conversation around the topic many women who where once pick me managed to break free from the internalised misogyny and realise how the way they were acting was doing more damage than anything else. Constantly praising oneself for being quote-on-quote different from other women when there is nothing shameful about just being yourself is entirely toxic, because while condemning women for doing certain things you are also forbidding yourself from liking and doing those things. 

a quote from Margaret Atwood that nicely resonates with the whole pick me thing: 

Male fantasies, male fantasies, is everything run by male fantasies? Up on a pedestal or down on your knees, it's all a male fantasy: that you're strong enough to take what they dish out, or else too weak to do anything about it. Even pretending you aren't catering to male fantasies is a male fantasy: pretending you're unseen, pretending you have a life of your own, that you can wash your feet and comb your hair unconscious of the ever-present watcher peering through the keyhole, peering through the keyhole in your own head, if nowhere else. You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur.”

Instead of desperately trying to conform to those male fantasies it can be speculated that the pick-me attempts to escape it by escaping femininity as a whole. In a way, if she’s doing everything that goes against the fantasies you can’t bash her effort. If she’s not trying to cater by being a woman and instead being a man, then she is allowed to shame those girls who try to fit those standards or choose a middle ground by being themselves. 

As a result, we now see more and more women talking about embracing their femininity in their late teens or early twenties because they spent so much time and energy pretending they weren’t into the very things they made fun of. On social media there is an apparent emergence of the hyper-feminine girly girl “aesthetic” with lots of pink, bows and glitter, this goes hand in hand with the “coquette aesthetic” which is just a variation of the girly girl with a heavy influence of Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola instead of Regina George from Mean Girl or Elle Woods from Legally Blond. These girls play right into the very stereotype they tried so hard to detach themselves from and own it. Also, one might say that girly girls are the equivalent of alpha males in the sense that they both take gender stereotypes and make them an entire persona, taking it the furthest possible. In that sense per example, Youtuber TheWizardLiz is to woman what Andrew Tate is to men. As much as turning the table is a good thing the main point is to be respectful to one another. 

In the end, being a woman is hard especially nowadays with the ever so changing micro trend and the urge to completely conform one's identity to a certain “aesthetic” in order to feel fully complete and in a way worthy of branding oneself as that specific aesthetic. Who knows maybe in the next month someone will claim that being a girly girl is being anti-feminist for x reasons and then life will go on to a new set of expectations and moral values. Just like how not so long ago sex work was promoted as being feminist and is now corrected to being truthfully dangerous and harmful to one's future especially if you are not prepared to face lifelong consequences. Because let's not forget that digital footprint is a thing and that the OnlyFan you make at freshly 18 might still be accessible when your family or employer researches you for fun (or not) on the internet. 

Sources:

Rosida, I., et al. (2022). The manifestation of internalized sexism in the Pick Me Girl trend on TikTok. Alphabet, 05(01), 8-19. doi: 10.21776/ub.alphabet .2022.05.01.02

#SocietyPosts

[translationandbetrayals]

What makes Japanese Animation certainly closer to Western Animation?

There are several differences between Western animation and Anime. It shows that is a fact, but the gap between stylistic and evolution comparison has been a total roller coaster in the last decades.

Back in time, Western productions, or specifically, US productions appeared with the beginning of animation itself, kicking off with methods and searching for sources to animate, so in that manner, their successful purpose was to reach the fluently, implicating fluid movements to make them closer to reality. 

Thomas LaMarre (American-Canadian academic, author, Japanologist, and professor) insert a distinction between two types of movements: drawing movements and moving drawings. The former one, involves the multiple hand-drew in a picture series for them to be projected, creating the illusion of movement, which is related to US techniques, and for the latter, moving movement involves making an object moves inside its frame or producing the frame to move in different directions but also around the object, recreating an induced movement, which is associated to Japanese style. 

Even so, most animes are influenced by manga, evidently because of the pictorial of its nature and the way it causes the movements to appear stiffer in distinction to US animation. But besides that, The future is now, and with it, changes are happening quickly. As we know, Japanese studios were inspired by US studios, but now on, Japanese Animations have improved techniques, more financing, and recognition involved in the issue, and that’s how constantly they’re around the corner to surpass Western when it comes to 2D animation: 

“Mob Psycho was confirmed to have an episode with 20,000 hand-drawn frames. Chainsaw Man's trailer dropped, and it has some of the most gorgeous animation ever seen in a television show. It garnered over 5 million views on YouTube and was trending on Twitter. One Piece constantly gets hundreds of thousands of views on short clips and has some of the best direction of any animated TV show in the past decade”.

Here and now, Japan continues the refinement on 2D, meanwhile, the US goes more onto 3D animations, and how was pointed out before, Western is positioning its rising, and despite that, Japan steps forward, so how they proceed up to the present time it’s likely to them to advance on 3D. However, it’s not fair to say that Japan is stuck on 2D animation when they came up with a whole new level of improvement and, if I’m being honest, I find it way more respectable than going on to 3D animation, speaking from the dedication and time spent far from the technological implications.

“Disney was always the king of animation, though anime has carved out its own lane at this point and I think is still leading the scene. In Japan, anime and manga are held in more professional ways than most webtoons, and the stories have a grander scope than most cartoons”.

By: Brenda Acevedo Z. 

Quotes:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterRant/comments/wpcv9p/western_animation_will_soon_surpass_japanese/

#Anime #Japan

[talkingharrystyles]

https://talkingharrystyles.tumblr.com/post/682492044561809408/a-q-for-having-met-harry-and-kind-of-having

Here’s part two!

🌌Just based on what’s being seen and circulated, I do agree that blackmail is being used to extend the stunt. What exactly varies. I will say though that people accredit to Olivia TOO MUCH INTELLIGENCE and POWER when her lack of career proves otherwise. Yes she was around Weinstein, but Olivia’s stupid. She learned to use sex to get what she wanted- not brains. That’s why she’s obsessed with linking power to her cobweb infested vagina and sex. When people make it like she’s this benevolent figure who knows where all the state secrets and bones are buried, I do laugh because y’all…wtf was she before Holivia? Where’s her Oscar? Why wasn’t Booksmart premiered at Cannes? Why was it until AFTER Holivia she landed a Vogue cover? Coachella is a public festival, and this woman never attended once with her entourage? Most importantly, why are all of her tweets and pics of her with Weinstein incriminating her still available and easily traced? If she was so stealth and a Queen mafia, she would had employed the right PR team to scrub the internet from that and keep her image untainted. Look how long Weinstein, Hefner, Epstein and others carried on with their blackmailing and schemes. Decades. Yet Olivia’s dirt can be easily found within a few clicks??

For people to consider Olivia to possess a speck of the above listed type of corruption in con artistry is an insult to intelligence. She’s stupid. She and her team have overplayed their hands constantly and exposed themselves. Stop crediting her as some mastermind when the all proof says otherwise.

I think the aftermath depends on how fans treat it. Yes his team will sweep it underneath the rug, just as they did with Christmas gate. We see how they are treating other negative press rather than addressing it. But that doesn’t mean fans has to forget what all has happened and what they endured. Truth? His team don’t take a lot of the fans who complain seriously. History has shown that some fans will complain about something, threaten to exit the fandom in one breath, but then in the next gobble up whatever material he promotes or fawn over something he does/says, rather than hold him and them accountability for clear as day wrong decisions. Unless there’s a massive exodus of fans to where his team’s money train would be tampered with, his team are going to exhaust Holivia as another business conduit until it’s expiration date. I know that might sound harsh, but you have to remind that people have done MUCH WORSE stuff for the almighty dollar. His team aren’t going to be like that tik tok guy and release an expose video. There’s legalities involved to prevent that. But they can treat you all with respect and dignity rather than a dispensable vending machine when they need cash.

These Holivia’s explosions of bullshit are only affecting a fraction of society. Even the fandom. Holivia is mocked by the public, industry and even Harries. It’s only as big as you as allow Olivia’s influence and lies to be in your mind. For people asking: YES KENDALL KNOWS ITS FAKE. She’s close with the Azoffs, she stunted with Harry, and Olivia ripped off her yachgate. Kendall recognizes PR, as her family has almost perfected it; *cough* Astroworld tragedy news has been mighty quiet since Kim and Pete started dating and Kim and Kanye’s nasty split have been playing out in the news. Tip: Whatever narratives that’s circulates in the press about the Kardashians is the very narrative they WANT you to see and read about them. Now take that and apply it to view how Hollywood works and your eyes will begin to differentiate reality from illusion.

Why else would Kendall had kept teasing at it Harry at Coachella the last two weeks (the mushroom dress and book quote) and then make her appearance, taking pictures of Harry, glance at Olivia, talk to and laugh with Xander, if not to remind Olivia who FIRST was on a boat with Harry and even could allow questions about them and he about her, as they were friends. Evenmore, should we bring up the infamous under the blanket and HIS ARMS AROUND KENDALL at a concert? People later shared that they showed up separately, got pictured and then left which arose eyebrows. But at least you had Harry getting involved and selling a believable narrative. Not just staring into the abyss and looking like a kid lost in the supermarket, with a unnecessary bandana on🙄.

Harry does suffer from destination happiness which is too why he’s a workaholic. Even more he links his identity to his wealth, which is why he also is never contended and always taking on another business deal. As long as you anchor your identity to material possessions, you will remain spiritually poor- which is what Harry is. He’s still has issues and despite all the money, recognition, people who claim to be his friends, he is lonely which is his greatest fear to be. This might spark controversial; Harry and others may have convinced him that he does, but he doesn’t know who he is and his worth. If he did then he would had properly handled this situation, than allowed for it to go where it’s presently going.

Unless he’s willingly to actually WANT to change, I kind of see him finishing Holivia and if another stunt presents itself long down the road and he feels it’s beneficial to his career, he’d consider it rather than outright remove the option of stunting from the table. The reason I say kind of is because Harry is almost 30. He wants to be married and to have the family he’s yearns for. Hopefully he and that person do find their ways to each other and build that life, but men typically become frustrated with waiting and will SETTLE due to inconvenience. Which I do see Harry doing as he’s done that in friendships and other relationships. Not with Olivia. That would be a Red wedding 2.0 and Johnny and Amber 10.0.

To those who’ve argue that he doesn’t owe fans all the truth and can do whatever he wants: that’s a weak defensive argument. When those fans are financing your career and making payday possible, respect should be given to sincere fans who are deserved that rightful and humane courtesy.

Lastly, I understand you and the others frustration and exhaustion over all this. I work in the industry and hearing about each new bs explosion, is like clawing nails against a white board. Like others and myself have encouraged before; if it gets too much PLEASE DISENGAGE. It’s a repeated cycle, stunt material, shippers celebrating, fans panicking, PR and truth seekers deployed out to uncover the truth, content exposed, and peace again. The content released isn’t what’s making it worse. It’s fans immediate reactions to it. Don’t overwhelm and sicken yourselves with stress and stuff that imaginations are conceiving. Look at the content, assemble the facts, and then make a rational decision.

As for the anon who asked; Harry and I haven’t seen each other since pre-pandemic. Nor have we talked since we don’t have each numbers nor the contacts of people we directly are friends with. Hate to steal his words; I try to compartmentalize work from personal life. I can’t exactly call him a friend because that term like love is so overly and improperly used today that it’s lost it’s true value.

I’ve never experienced something with him that would strongly bonded us on that level. He is that type of friend, but I try not to open the door, as it blurs the lines of work and personal responsibilities and can invite a lot of unwarranted stuff. All what I’m sharing is already publicly known.

#fauxlivia #holivia is fake #holivia #pr stunt #publicity stunt #holivia stunt #publicitystunt #pr relationships #holivia pr stunt

[bulkhummus]

Welcome to Night Vale SPOILERS/////

listened to wtnv 171 again and having big thoughts and feelings about a cecils literal manic episode about (literally, heavily implied) killing the version of himself in the mirror while on public radio in light of wtnv 192

some quotes that really got my gears turning regarding the big plot drop of supposedly cecils father and his inability to remember correctly (not new But really prevalent in recent episodes) and im not making connections or anything im just drunk and spitballing and the episode really had some gnarly philosophical questions dinnit?

1. “If you think about a memory long enough, doesn’t that mutate the truth? Isn’t every act of remembering another log on the fire of lies?”

“You think awareness and manifestation are one and the same, don’t you?”

vs

“Could that [a crack] be an egg, or a twig, or a leg? Narrative is everything, isn’t it?”

An unreliable narrative is one of my favorite things in story telling. One of my favorite books has to do with the unreliability of memory, and how a distorted memory (from time, trauma, bias etc) comes to be the most accurate version each time you remember it. It gets watered down each time. I think its cool that Cecil is aware of that, and also that its understandably a huge point of distress for him. He’s constantly misremembering and eventually trying to decipher if what he feels or thinks is even real. Pulling things out of context often makes them seem crazy, when there is no narrative to connect them. Cecil’s job is literally to offer that narrative, but what happens when he can no longer supply a somewhat coherent one? What happens to Night Vale? Why does cat ballou not hold up anymore? also i love that cecil watches the movie on repeat (mentioned at some point) bc its like that thing about people who are anxious like to watch things theyve seen because its low stakes and you know whats gonna happen and you dont have to make space for new story or characters in your head? IMAGINE PUTTING ON YOUR COMFORT MOVIE TO FIND THAT ITS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT???????? ouch

2.“When was the last time you saw your mother?…Did she lean over your sobbing face and ask you: ‘Why are you crying when you don’t even exist?’ Did she tell you again about the mirror?’”

vs

“What unholy monster [the one in the mirror] cries like a child, what does it want—Why won’t it stop?!”

“Did you ponder the idea that such a coat was so basic, [angrily] so unassuming, so without frill or feature that no one had ever thought to create it? [angrily, scarily] Do you want to know what’s in the drawer below the table?”

I like here, that these quotes are kind of like call and response within the episode. Cecil talks of his mother asking him why hes crying, and moments later Cecil wonders why the monster in the mirror is crying. His mother tells him he doesn’t exist (SO fucked up) and moments later he’s the angriest he is the whole episode (voice literally rumbling goddamN BALDWIN) talking about how something could be so unassuming that no one bothered to even spend the time or energy to make it. Didn’t think anybody would need it or want it. Why else would they include that angry thought about being so unneeded that the thought never even crossed a persons mind to make the thing? It it weren’t Cecil talking about himself? Panicking about his existence and if he’d ever been wanted or needed to the point of him being there for whoever does?

2. B —“You didn’t ask for any of this, did you? But what have you ever asked from the universe that you could not get yourself, and when has the universe ever obliged?”

c-carlos? Maybe is that one thing possibly, good, that has simply happened to cecil ??? (And Their SON??? Obviously but that wouldn’t have happened without carlos there) im just thinkin abt it

3. “What was it your mother said before she left home when you were a teenager? Did she tell you she was an oracle?”

CECIL IS AN ORACLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! LIKE I wrote a big long rant about wtnv 192 and now I listened to this episode and had a conniption when he mentioned her disdainfully being one. A mother telling a child they know them and who they are can feel like divine truth, and if they call you a monster and tell you that you don’t exist, then is it still divine truth? Is she still all knowing? Do you believe her because shes your mother and mothers know best?

4. Do you notice it wears black rings?”

Cecil says this of the monster in the mirror, and says this about the man digging into the tree in wtnv 192, and he thinks that that man is his father. BUT if the monster in the mirror is the cecil we know, who killed the mirror version of himself from another reality who was a teenager (as it’s been implied since cassettes and the intern anyways) then what does that imply???? oy vey

IN CONCLUSION : none of this is literally an essay about anything. Im just drunk on a sunday and put on night vale To fold clothes. i wonder if other people in night vale are as fragmented by the weird reality bubble they are in as cecil? he seems to be caught in the in between one foot in and out With cal and his father and sometimes knowing carlos and sometimes not and whatnot

ALSO AS A FUNNY SIDE BAR: IMAGINE BEING A PERSON IN NIGHT VALE maybe u just cooked dinner maybe ur taking a drive and the fucking local radio host is just having a manic episode with severe instances of unreality (in every sense of the word) on the radio ?????? i so deeply wish after weird episodes like these where cecil is just balling out in the disassociation soup that in the following episode someone would say something about it in passing like “yeah what WAS that the other night cecil? u know we can hear u when u do that right”

also in the REAL world like our world, cecil is a direct metaphor for ptsd, feelings of unreality brought on by anxiety, period of disassociation and just like the mental state being fragmented by trauma. Its like such a direct metaphor lmao.

also like the episode had everything and Cecil Baldwin really used the full command of his voice. truly bonkers, that he could pack so many different emotions into a 25 min spiraling monologue. it could have been so boring but he really organically (while still imploring Cecil palmers flare for radio host dramatics) had the full decadent range of delicious anger, fear, disdain, apathy, panic, disgust, demand, hollow joy, etc and that he sounds so BITTER at the end when he says “wont you have a good night, night vale?” it feels like such a slap to the listeners face because while we get to end the episode (and the town in the show), cecil palmer continues to writhe in these questions and worries and fears. Like it was SUCH a good way to end it.

—also all the funky sound design is so good and I like then warped version of the main theme! they should do more of that (tastefully)

if you’ve read this far godspeed and keep on trucking idk what the fuck was in that vodka lemonade but im wired

#all of this is MY OPINIONS not facts so dont be mean im just having fun #tell me your thoughts i want OLEASANT DISCOURSE #PLEASANT BEING KEY #Come chat with me about it and also anoht what the FUCK carlos’ role in night vale is and if its really him just being cecils husband #Wtnv #Welcome to night vale #thought tag #Wtnv spoilers

[wolfstar-in-color]

July Colorful Column: Remus is a Crip, and We Can Write Him Better.

There is one thing that can get me to close a fic so voraciously I don’t even make sure I’m not closing other essential tabs in the process. It doesn’t matter how much I’m loving the fic, how well written I think it is, or how desperately I want to know how it ends. Once I read this sentence, I am done.

It’s written in a variety of different ways, but it always goes something like this: “You don’t want me,” Remus said, “I am too sick/broken/poor/old/[insert chosen self-demeaning adjective here].”

You’re familiar with the trope. The trope is canonical. And if you’ve been around the wolfstar fandom for longer than a few minutes, you’ve read the trope. Maybe you love the trope! Maybe you’ve written the trope! Maybe you’re about to stop reading this column, because the trope rings true to you and you feel a little attacked!

Now, let’s get one thing out of the way right now: I am not saying the trope is wrong. I am not saying it’s bad. I am not saying we should stop writing it. We all have things we don’t like to see in our chosen fics. Maybe you can’t stand Leather Jacket Motorbike Sirius? Maybe you think Elbow Patch Remus is overdone? Or maybe your pet peeves are based in something a little deeper - maybe you think Poor Latino Remus is an irresponsible depiction, or that PWPs are too reductive? Whatever it is, we all have our things.

Let me tell you about my thing. When I first became very ill several years ago, there were various low points in which I felt I had become inherently unlovable. This is, more or less, a normal reaction. When your body stops doing things it used to be able to do - or starts doing things you were quite alright without, thank you very much - it changes the way you relate to your body. You don’t want to hear my whole disability history, so yada yada yada, most people eventually come to accept their limitations. It’s a very painful existence, one in which you constantly tell yourself your disability has transformed you into a burdensome, unworthy member of society, and if nothing else, it’s not terribly sustainable. Being disabled takes grit! It takes power! It takes a truly absurd amount of medical self-advocacy! Hating yourself? Thinking yourself unworthy of love? No one has time for that. 

Of course, I’m being hyperbolic. Plenty of disabled people struggle with these feelings many years into their disabilities, and never really get over them. But here’s the thing. We experience those stories ALL THE TIME. Remember Rain Man? Or Million Dollar Baby? Or that one with the actress from Game of Thrones and that British actor who seemed like he was going to have a promising career but then didn't? Those are all stories about sad, bitter disabled people and their sad, bitter lives, two out of three of which end in the character completing suicide because they simply couldn’t imagine having to live as a disabled person. (I mean, come on media, I get that we're less likely to enjoy a leisurely Saturday hike, but our parking is SUBLIME.) When was the last time you engaged with media that depicted a happy disabled person? A complex disabled person? A disabled person who has sex? No really, these aren’t hypothetical questions, can you please drop a rec in the notes?? Because I am desperate.

There are lots of problems with this trope, and they’ve been discussed ad nauseam by people with PhDs. I’m not actually interested in talking about how this trope leads to a more prevalent societal idea that disabled people are unworthy of love, or contributes to the kind of political thought processes that keep disabled people purposefully disenfranchised. I’m just a bitch on Tumblr, and I have a bone to pick: the thing I really hate about the trope? It’s boring. I’m bored. You know how, like, halfway through Grey’s Anatomy you realized they were just recycling the same plot points over and over again and there was just no WAY anyone working at a hospital prone to THAT MANY disasters would stay on staff? It's like that. I love a recycled trope as much as the next person (There Was Only One Bed, anyone?). But I need. Something. Else.

Remus is disabled. BOLD claim. WILD speculation. Except, not really. You simply - no matter how you flip it, slice it, puree it, or deconstruct it - cannot tell me Remus Lupin is not disabled. Most of us, by this point, are probably familiar with the way that One Canonical Author intended One Dashing Werewolf to be “a metaphor for those illnesses that carry stigma, like HIV and AIDS” [I’m sorry to link you to an outside source quoting She Who Must Not Be Named, but we’re professionals here]. Which is... a thing. It’s been discussed. And, listen, there’s no denying that this parallel is a problematic interpretation of people who have HIV/AIDS and all such similar “those illnesses” (though I’ll admit that I, too, am perennially apt to turn into a raging beast liable to harm anything that crosses my path, but that’s more linked to the at-least-once-monthly recollection that One Day At A Time got cancelled). Critiques aside, Remus Lupin is a character who - due to a condition that affects him physically, mentally, emotionally, and intellectually - is repeatedly marginalized, oppressed, denied political and social power, and ostracized due to unfounded fear that he is infectious to others. Does that sound familiar?

We’re not going to argue about whether or not “Remus is canonically disabled as fuck” is a fair reading. And the reason we’re not going to argue about whether or not it’s a fair reading is because I haven’t read canon in 10-plus years and you will win the argument. Canon is only marginally relevant here. The icon of this blog is brown, curly haired Remus Lupin kissing his trans boyfriend, Sirius Black. We are obviously not too terribly invested in canon. The wolfstar fandom is now a community with over 25,000 AO3 fics, entire careers launched from drawing or writing or cosplaying this non-canonical pairing. We love to play around here with storylines and universes and races and genders and sexualities and all kinds of things, but most of the time? Remus is still disabled. He’s disabled as a werewolf in canon-compliant works, he’s disabled in the AUs where he was injured or abused or kidnapped or harmed as a child, he’s disabled in the stories that read him as chronically ill or bipolar or traumatized or blind or Deaf. I’d go so far as to say that he is one of very few characters in the Wide Wonderful World of media who is, in as close to his essence as one can be, always disabled. And that means? Don’t shoot the messenger... but we could stand to be a tiny bit more responsible with how we portray him. 

Disabled people are complicated. As much as I’d like to pretend we are always level-headed, confident, and ready to assert our inherent worth, we are still just humans. We have bad days. We doubt our worth. We sometimes go out with guys who complain about our steroid-induced weight gain (it was a long time ago, Tumblr, okay??). But, we also have joy and fun and good days and sex and happiness and families and so many other things. 

Remus is a disabled character, and as such, it’s only fair that he’d have those unworthy moments. But - I propose - Remus is also a crip. What is a crip? A crip - like a queer - is someone who eschews the limited boundaries placed on their bodies, who rejects a hierarchy of oppression in favor of an intersectional analysis of lived experience, who isn’t interested in being the tragic figure responsible for helping people with dominant identities realize how good they have it. Crips interpret their disabilities however they want, rethinking bodies and medicine and pleasure and pain and even time itself. Crips are political, community-minded, and in search of liberation. 

Remus is a character who struggles with his disability, sure. But he’s also a character who leverages his physical condition to attempt to shift communities towards his political leanings, advocates for the rights of those who share his physical condition, and has super hot sex with his wrongfully convicted boyfriend ultimately goes on to build community and family. Having a condition that quite literally cripples you, over which you have no control, and through which you are often read as a social pariah? That’s disability. But using said condition as a means through which to build advocacy and community? Now that’s some crip shit. 

Personally, I love disabled!Remus Lupin. But I love crip!Remus Lupin even more. I’d love to see more of a Remus who owns his disability, who covets what makes him unique, and who never ever again tells a potential romantic partner they are too good for him because of his disability. This trope - unlike There Was Only One Bed! - sometimes actually hurts to read. Where’s Remus who thinks a potential romantic partner isn’t good enough for him? Where’s Remus who insists his partners learn more about his condition in order to treat him properly? Where’s sexy wheelchair user Remus? Where’s Remus who uses his werewolf transformations as an excuse to travel the world? Where’s crip Remus??

We don’t have to put “you don’t want me” Remus entirely to bed. It is but one of many repeated tropes that are - in the words of The Hot Priest from Fleabag - morally a bit dubious. And let’s face it - we don’t always come to fandom for its moral superiority (as much as we sometimes like to think we do). 

This is not a condemnation - it is an invitation. Able-bodied folks are all but an injury, illness, or couple decades away from being disabled. And when you get here, I sincerely hope you don’t waste your time on “you don’t want me”ing back and forth with the people you love. I’m inviting you to come to the crip side now. We have snacks, and without all the “you don’t want me” talk, we get to the juicy parts much faster. 

Colorfully,

Mod Theo

#wolfstar #disability in fandom #disabled remus #crip remus #please write me some crip remus #I beg of you #fandom meta

[metisket]

Books about language

For someone who has never studied linguistics, I am a huge nerd about linguistics in an Amateur Hour sort of way. And so I will torment you with my favorite books about language! No one can stop me.

Most of these books are just dragging English, but some of them wander over and make cruel remarks about other languages as well. Love that for them.

The Mother Tongue, by Bill Bryson

It’s been many years since I read this, and I need to re-read it desperately, because I remember it being hugely fun and just Bill Bryson being like, “So, the English language. WHAT A HOT MESS, AM I RIGHT? Let’s discuss.”

I love Bill Bryson anyway, but he’s also very suited for discussing the theater of the absurd that is the English language. He’s having fun with it and he feels that you should be, too.

Spellbound, by James Essinger

Presumably you are already super mad about English spelling. If you want to direct that anger to a specific source, this is the book for you. (TLDR; it was the Norman Invasion. The Normans did this to us, guys. IT WAS THEM.) This book is very fun and educational and will make you froth at the mouth with rage, because why. WHY. See if learning about the Y thorn doesn’t make you just want to hurl the book out the window. It’s not the book’s fault, but still. STILL.

In the words of the author, “Many people, whether native speakers of English or those learning English as a second language, regard English spelling as at best a joke and at worst a nightmare deliberately designed to bamboozle and perplex anyone who tries to learn it.”

(Also he randomly calls out Bill Bryson at one point, because the world of linguistics is apparently both small and catty. Academia! Love it.)

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue, by John McWhorter

This entire book feels like an ongoing argument the author is having with someone who is not you. He never introduces a topic with, “Here’s what I think about x.” No, it’s always, “SOME people may argue OTHERWISE, but here are all the reasons why they are DEAD WRONG...”

(idk who he’s fighting with, but I thought his arguments about the Celtic influence on English were very strong. Cheering for you, John McWhorter!)

John McWhorter clearly speaks a lot of languages and is mad about literally all of them. He seems to be mad about everything, frankly, but in a way you can respect. Here’s a good quote about a Theory I have also heard and also found to be nonsense in the case of, say, Japanese:

“There is a canny objection one sometimes hears out there, that English is easy at first but hard to master the details of, while other languages are hard at first but easy to master the details of. Purportedly, then, Russian means starting out cracking your teeth on its tables of conjugations and case markers and gender marking, but after that it’s smooth sailing.

“Nonsense. English really is easy(-ish) at first and hard later, while other languages like Russian are hard at first and then just as hard later! Show me one person who has said that learning Russian was no problem after they mastered the basics--after the basics, you just keep wondering how anybody could speak the language without blacking out.”

...Just so angry. *pats on head* *draws back bloody stump*

The Prodigal Tongue, by Lynne Murphy

Another Angry Linguist I love. She’s a New Yorker who’s spent decades living in the UK and being constantly harassed about her American accent, and she’s officially taken all the shit on that subject that she is willing to take in this life. She runs a blog called Separated by a Common Language. She is Done.

But with one thing and another, she has an encyclopedic knowledge of and fascination with all the differences between British English and American English, and it’s really fun to read. Weirdly enough, American English is apparently the more conservative dialect--it’s changed more slowly than British English over the centuries. I feel like I’ve read that this is also true of France French and Quebec French? Strange.

Anyway, excellent book: educational, funny, and full of bitter sarcasm.

Is That a Fish in Your Ear?, by David Bellos

This is about translation, and won me over immediately by having a Douglas Adams nerd reference right there in the title. Bless.

It discusses translation in general, the impossibility of literal translation, machine translations, trade languages, dragomans of the Ottoman Empire, and other translation drama.

There is also a really fascinating chapter on the history of simultaneous translation, which was first used in the form we know it now at the Nuremberg Trials. (Fun for everyone, of course. Nobody knew how exhausting it was going to be for the translators, plus translators kept bursting into tears and having to be replaced due to the nature of the testimony.)

The history of translation: challenging, cool, and a lot more politically fraught than I’d imagined.

Have fun with these navel-gazing books about language. They are great. XD

#book recs #the mother tongue #bill bryson #spellbound #james essinger #our magnificent bastard tongue #john mcwhorter #the prodigal tongue #lynne murphy #is that a fish in your ear? #david bellos #language #linguistics