#not a great example bc she’s beautiful in both

[ozwuv]

How did you learn to draw hands?

HANDS I'm a freak who loves drawing hands... This is going to sound odd, but it's another thing that ties into being autistic for me kfdsjkfsd I have poor facial recognition skills and generally avoid eye contact, so I tend to identify people by their hands. I couldn't reliably visualize my own mother's face if my life depended on it, but I sure do know exactly what the back of her hands look like. As a result, I have hands burnt into my memory lol. But more importantly, I love to draw character interaction, and hands are sooo integral to that. If I force myself to enjoy something or at least hold a lot of interest in it, it'll be easier to learn long term and I think that's something a lot of people can relate to.

More under the cut bc I'm longwinded

The other thing is something nobody wants to hear, but tbh just studying them lol. Short gesture drawings are best for this (think 60 seconds max), but tbh Mochijun's way of drawing hands really inspired me when PH was still running in the last quarter of the manga. I wouldn't suggest studying purely from one person's illustrations, but it helps to pick out a few artist who draws hands in a way you love. Nowadays Hoshino's (DGM's mangaka) way of drawing hands inspires the heeeell out of me.

Like are you seeing this shit? The way she draws hands fucking rules lol

I wouldn't stick to 100% studying irl hands or 100% studying drawn hands -- a mix of both is great, bc you can have all the knowledge in the world of how to realistically emulate hands, but studying how others stylize hands can be helpful for actually drawing them. This goes for anything in general because not having an idea of how to incorporate something you're studying into your art can be really frustrating. For example, the thing I enjoy most about how Hoshino draws hands is how the fingers are not just straight lines -- they have dips and jut out to indicate knuckles/joints and such. I find the way she draws hands to be so expressive, unique, and beautiful.

Another thing to keep in mind: don't focus on the details. Just get the general silhouette down for a bunch of different poses -- details can come later. This is why gesture drawing is so useful, it forces you to get the key points down so you don't over-detail something you don't fully understand yet and wind up making things look awkward/stiff.

Also, never forget you (most likely) have two hands right in front of you that you can reference any time! Take pics of your own hands from various angles if you must. Really useful!

Btw: Quickposes a really useful resource for gesture and figure drawing. It has options specifically for hands (!), humans, animals, landscapes, etc, with time intervals as short as 30 seconds, and an option for custom intervals. Line of Action is also great, but it's limited to just human options.

I haven't used either of the above in a while since I'm too lazy to draw anything but anime lol but if they're still as good as I remember, I would highly recommend them.

OH ALSO SONIC FANART you have to git gud at drawing hands if you want to draw sonic characters they got bigass hands. Sonic also taught me how to draw shoes kfjDOIWGJI

ALSO PT 2 just trace shit. Literally. People act like tracing is evil but it's a great way to learn. You can even trace other artist's work, just don't post it and claim it as yours lol

#THANK YOU for asking about this i really adore drawing hands. AND YOU CAN TOO!!! #yip yap

[xxxchuuyaslovexxx]

Bsd characters with a darling that has an ability to see all the enemies movement, she naturally has stars on her eyes caused by her ability like Ai Hoshino from Oshi no ko

Darling is a very confident fighter, she may not be strong physically but with how many times she dodge almost impossible attacks with the speed of lightning we can tell that darling is a flexible and speed Queen, with her ability she can shoot from very far away and not even miss it ! She is the dodging queen and sniper queen ! Imagine how Dazai uses his ability on her and it’s the first time he sees her whiteout star yes since her ability is always active.

You can do any Bsd characters you want !

Thanks for your request. I hope you like this work. (Actually wrote the Dazai part 2 times bcs I wasn't happy with the first version so it took a bit longer)

Dazai and Akutagawa with a ability user s/o that can see enemy's movements

Headcanons + scenario for Dazai and Akutagawa

Warnings: None~

Word count: 1k

Dazai

Dazai was pretty amazed by your ability. He had seen it many times in action and the speed you were able to dodge was impressive

But there was one thing Dazai always criticized. Your physical strength. It was obvious that you could never win a fight on your own when you just dodge the attacks

But him being the great Dazai (his words) he would train you but under the condition that you couldn't use your ability

He absolutely not did that bcs he new he knew he wouldn't be able to defeat you with your ability

That was also the day he realized that the stars in your eyes are part of your ability as he uses his ability on you

And oh boy not even Dazai could take his eyes off of you for a moment

He feels like he could watch into your soul through your eyes

It took some moments for him to come to the real world again. And as he did he pretended that nothing happened and just continued with the training Even without your ability are fast enough to dodge his attacks

But you couldn't land a hit yourself so the both of you fighted quite a while

When finally Dazai tricked defeated you lay on the ground exhausted

Scenario:

'Well beautiful I see where the problem is. You can't even do the easiest attacks. Without a gun there is no chance you could win a fight alone. But you are lucky. I don't mind teaching you.' He smiles at you as you sit up. He offers you a hand which you take.

'I already know the basics. For example: you should never let your guard down.' You say as you pull him on the ground with you.

'Maybe you need some teaching as well.' You say as you smirk at him.

'You got me Belladonna~ Then up to you next lesson.' He suddenly pins you to the ground. 'You should always stay close to your enemy or else you will give him room to attack you.' 

You tried to free yourself and kick him but it didn't work. You give up and look directly into his eyes.

'Okay, you won. Seems like I still have some things to learn. Now get off of me. Someone might see it… And maybe think something wrong…' Towards the end of the sentence your voice got lower and your face heatened up. 

'My Belladonna is embarrassed. How cute. Of course I could give you free but you didn't even apologize for being cheeky towards me. C'mon a little sorry won't hurt.'

'Sorry…' You said as you looked away from him.

'What was that I couldn't hear you.' He said teasingly.

'Damn it Dazai. I said I am sorry. Now finally get off of me.' You cuss at him frustrated.

Dazai got up, giving you some room to move and get up. You look at him annoyed and the stars are back in your eyes. You turned around to go away.

'Asshole…' you mumbled to yourself as you blush again.

'What was that?'

'Nothing.' 

Akutagawa

Imagine Akutagawa trying to get you with his Rashomon but he just can't. It doesn't matter how many times he tried he just couldn't defeat you And it's frustrating him A LOT (but he wouldn't show it)

So he asks you to fight him over and over again until he will be finally able to defeat you

Yeah Akutagawa is very stubborn when it's about fighting… and he has his very… unique way of showing it

Like he will stare at you like he will kill you any second but actually he is just trying to think of ways to defeat you

The first times this happened you were actually scared of him and didn't want to upset him any further until finally his sister told you he was just thinking

After that you actually got to know him better and figured out he was actually pretty nice (in his own Akutagawa way <3)

You would sometimes talk to him (mainly about work and stuff) to get known to him a little better

You should also tell him how much you admire his fighting skills, his ability and his personality

Actually most things you know about Akutagawa are things his sister told you about

After some time Akutagawa would also warm up with you and open up a little

After a long training (Akutagawa still couldn't defeat you) you would go to get some food together. This time it's most likely he would talk a bit about himself even though he still prefers listening to you

It's actually funny that the fact Akutagawa couldn't defeat you made you good friends

Scenario:

Akutagawa never lost hope he would defeat you one day. But today wasn't the day. You dodged all of his attacks easily and it was getting too late to continue.

'Don't be sad Akutagawa-san! You are super strong.' But your praise actually didn't mean much to him. Pretty words couldn't cover the fact that he was too weak.

You always asked yourself why he was so hard on himself. Just because he couldn't defeat you didn't mean he was weak at all. You were only able to dodge his attacks. That didn't mean you were stronger.

'Let's get some food. I'm starving!' You say and he nods slightly.

You always talked a lot and it didn't seem like Akutagawa listened to you but he did. He listens to every single word you say. And he enjoys it.

'You know I think we would make a great duo.' You smile at Akutagawa.

'I work better alone, thank you.' He replied.But he was always like that, distant and straight forward.

But you couldn't blame him.

You know about his past. At least the bit he told you because you seemed interested.

'Akutagawa-san? You know you are really strong right? You have such a great ability and it's actually useful. You are a way stronger fighter than I am. Unfortunately I have a useless ability and can't physically fight at all. I really respect your strength!'

As if he didn't know that himself. But secretly it makes him happy hearing that. A slight smile appears on his lips.

'Thank you.'

Thank you for reading! Have a nice day/night

#bungo stray dogs akutagawa #bungo stray dogs #Bungo stray dogs dazai #Bsd #Anime #Manga #bsd anime #bsd manga #bsd akutagawa #bsd dazai #dazai x reader #Dazai #dazai osamu #osamu dazai #dazai x y/n #dazai x you #akutagawa ryunosuke x reader #akutagawa x reader #akutagawa x y/n #akutagawa x you

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 2/20/2024

i don't usually use these writeups as a memory aid, but this week it's good bc most of last week was a blur of applying to jobs and playing breath of the wild

listening

i have several playlists that are several hours long with a couple different flavors of the really specific kind of instrumental music i need to do mass quantities of data entry. these are now all poisoned by horrible memories of my last two jobs so i'm slowly building new ones. a great candidate is OASIS, off the REDLINE soundtrack. REDLINE (2009, dir. Koike) is an extremely horny anime movie about driving really fast, being true to yourself in spite of corporate overlords, sports betting, and fucking.

i think this was a scene with background club or cafe music? electronica instrumental with a little bit of a groove and a very particular mid-aughts sound. you know when powder coating is extremely matte but also extremely sparkly? spotify.

-

reading

Samantha Cole (previously Vice, co-founder of 404 Media) has a beat that's focused on sex tech, sex work, deplatforming of sex work, and kink community beefs that manages to be both detached and very, very kind. i trust her to write about any kink community in a respectful and fair way, and even when she visibly doesn't understand the appeal of a kink she writes about them in a respectful and fair way. a great example of this is the furry adult baby diaper community being deplatformed by patreon.

but her most recent investigation, "can this shitty vibrator actually give you malware?" is fascinating. any job that can legitimately claim vibrators as a buisness expense and perform a teardown is fascinating to me.

what a tremendous and endlessly fascinating world we live in.

-

watching

there are many movies on tubi that i have like. name recognition of but have never actually seen, so i'm starting to work my way through things that aren't noir or obscure westerns. like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, dir. Lee).

the practial effects in this movie are insane. the wirework is insane. wirework insane. this is the dreamiest and most beautiful chase/fight scene i've ever seen and they're zipping around a bamboo forest.

we're going to have to live with this imperfect screenshot ok this laptop is Extremely old. the interior sets often look like theater sets (complimentary). just a stunningly beautiful movie with the sickest action scenes you’ve ever seen. plot a little choppy but forgivable imo. i know this is regarded as one of the finest movies of all time, not just one of the finest martial arts movies of all times, so saying anything feels a little like giving it a dollar store plastic trophy. i liked it and i had fun. watching a critically acclaimed non-american good movie is good for the brain steeped in lackluster american westerns, i think.

-

playing

much like in real life, in breath of the wild i am refusing to do much towards the main quest and am mostly puttering around looking for shit to upgrade my outfits.

unlocked rudania, did not go inside.

what's with this little. sword graveyard??? on the northeastern edge of the caldera??? the only thing on that island is an octorok?? did it kill like eight guys???

finished richard scarey's tarreytown :) including that horrible rich guy who wanted me to kill some guardians for ??? reasons. i am pretty confident about killing hinox (is the plural of hinox, hinox?), wizzrobes, and most lizalfos if i can get the drop on em but i am Not confident about killing actively moving guardians without guardian arrows, which is an expensive way of doing business. due to reliably one-shotting the wizzrobes with revali's bow, i am running into the interesting problem of always having a glut of magical weapons. which leads me to go fuck around the extreme hot and cold areas those magic weapons are good for. and less fucking around the normie areas i actually want to fuck around.

got the good sword at thirteen hearts, i stopped short at twelve hearts gone and the deku tree called me a pussy. i unfontunately did not screenshot that. hey did you know there's a korok on the deku tree's head whose life's purpose seems to be riddles?

:(

and now for quite a lot of horse talk.

dodged like four lynels taking Ganon's horse up the northern edge of the map to get a pic of the leviathan.

caught the white horse, we are such pretty pretty princesses together. i think it's very funny that the gerudo fanciest weapons and hylian royal regalia look so similar. purple and gold eternal.

did you know if you feed your horse an endura carrot you get extra spurs???

i was looking for a 5 star speed horse but after catching and releasing four different solid black horses this is the best one (4 str, 4 speed, 5 stamina) i found. maybe I’ll shoot for a bright chestnut with lots of chrome for my speedy horse, the equine equivalent of a red convertible.

very funky conincidence on the grasslands behind the lord of the mountain's spring. not identical, bc the lead horse doesn't have facial markings, but what are the odds of that huh. i wish grays in this game didn't look so chalky and washed out, i love a gray horse in real life.

i think it's some bullshit that you have to fight your way into this spring, get told "go get a dragon scale", deal with all that, fight your way BACK into the spring, and then be presented with a Major Test of Strength shrine. c'mon just give it to me!!!

game continues to be very bad at spitting out riders next to horses or donkeys EXCEPT!!! for this doctor. i didn't know hyrule had traveling doctors! i quite honestly didn't think they had the techonology, given that the state of medicine in hyrule is very mortar and pestle based!

the game gave me a tooltip like "make friends with dogs! they'll lead you to treasure!" and i was like What but it does actually work, you just have to target them in the camera first and then feed them several hunks of meat. bonkers game. how many other goddamn mechanics are there that i've missed???

next steps: shrine hunting. i have like 50 out of 120 which is wild to me. i played this game two years ago, got to about a hundred shrines, and managed to forget where they all fucking are. yes my shrine sensor is always on. there's probably at least twenty in central hyrule, which is not a place i touched much on my list playthrough, also the last two memories i need are in there. i have filled out a good chunk of the compendium (completely filled the materials pages) but idk if i will be a completionist about it. there are so so so so so many weapons variants. i am cheating a bit and looking up the animals i missed (mostly a lot of bugs and fish) but one of the entries is for patricia, the royal sand seal. i would not have ever thought to take a picture of the named sand seal, i'm sorry game but that's a bit obtuse.

-

making

not much progress on the cross stitch or job fronts, but since i finally have a balcony, i planted peas and beans from @shiny-good-rock and basil from @morrak than have been languishing in a box for several years, the basil had an okay germination rate so my fingers are crossed re: peas and beans.

i am a bit annoyed about marigolds. maybe it's a bit too early for them here, or maybe they're not as popular as they were in the northeast? i tried like five different big box stores and indie nurseries, only one indie nursery had any and they were very pest-ridden. i would like marigolds, as friends for my tomatoes.

it is currently 11:40 PM CST as i type this so tomorrow i'll add something with a garden layout and what varieties i planted.

#tuesday again #tuesday again no problem

[completeoveranalysis]

You know, thinking about the whole True Name business, usually in fantasy True Names and Names as Power come into play with the fae and deal making with supernatural creatures. Which is especially interesting in Tsubasa with Yuuko being a witch who makes Deals, some of which are fae deal type stuff. (Thinking about that ghost girl that got exorcised bc she requested for her house to not be scary anymore)

It's true it's a very similar pattern! If I had to guess I'd say that CLAMP weren't thinking of the fae, since that's pretty squarely European mythology whereas xxxHolic is a beautiful exploration of Japanese folklore, but it does highlight the similar traits that cultures tend to give the supernatural when they develop their understanding of the world around them. "Be careful of deals with supernatural beings because they have different morals than you" is a lovely thread that runs through both examples, as does the name thing, like you point out.

If anyone was studying folklore at university this would be a GREAT connective tissue to compare the two.

#Sometimes I go - oh wouldn't it be great to study that stuff again? #And it would! If I had the time #But who has the time these days? #replies #anon #tsubasa #xxxholic #folklore #mythology #Though if anyone DOES know a publication that explores this #please do let me know #I'd love to read it

[thereisnolumos]

All the people going about how Nancy wants a career, not a family when they’re whining against Stancy getting back together, I just can’t.

First, it’s absolutely possible to have both a career and a family, thank you. Never once have Steve mentioned that his dream includes her becoming a stay-at-home mother. If anything, Steve would be a stay-at-home dad and he would THRIVE at it! He would be phenomenal even, being a parental figure literally been shown to be his true calling in life.

Second, there was never anything pointing out that Nancy doesn’t want to have a family. She doesn’t want to have a marriage LIKE HER PARENTS, where husband and wife barely care about one another and are only together bcs they were supposed to get together. And that wasn’t a family Steve was describing, you know, the one she said she LIKED the image of. She was all heart-eyes when he was talking about it.

Third, to the argument of “well, she’d have to birth them for him”: there are different ways of becoming a parent, you do know that, right? And wouldn’t that be a fucking great full circle if they fostered/adopted kids in need?? Come on! Also, he wasn’t even set at six. He’s thrown it out as a joke, after talking about wanting a big family. Steve is an only child of a very neglectful parents. If anything it was overcompensation for a dream.

Stancy is a fantastic example of second chance romance trope. They didn’t work before, when they were younger. But they both grew and matured and changed. And now when they start to catch feelings again (or what’s more likely when they discover that those feelings never went away truly) they just might work. And they’re scared and yet they want it and it’s beautiful and filled with hope and I want them to be together soooo much!!! (Especially after we were shown how little Jonathan actually understands about Nancy as a person)

#stancy #stancy endgame #stancy for the win #pro stancy #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #steve x nancy #i love them your honor #second chance romance #one of the most beautiful tropes #alexa play this love by taylor swift #anti jancy

[booksandpaperss]

elli booksandpaperss hello fellow sex education enjoyer. do you have any favorite character or characters in that show. i am very interested to hear your thoughts

I would like to start this out by saying this ask out of context would be hilarious to someone who didn’t know you were referring to a TV show while reading the first sentence kdjjsbs

but hiiiii omg thank u for this ask I literally love that show so much omfg it is rlly does cover a lot of different sexual experiences for teenagers (both queer and otherwise) and it is so genuine with its characters (and btw quite honestly its what a lot of people think heartstopper is in terms of queer rep and more soooooo)

its hard to say I have a favorite character because all of the major teen characters have found a place in my heart in their own way because every single one of them is so well written but! if I had to be forced to pick one favorite character I think it would be Eric. I adore his storyline in every season but I think the reason I would say he’s my favorite is because of season 3, I love the way he gets to explore his queerness in the context of his culture and I liked seeing how it impacted his relationship with Adam bc it showed that those two were having two very different queer experiences and how that was okay, and it was beautiful how going to Nigeria helped Eric figure out how he wanted to be his most authentic self. I also really loved how it put Eric’s black queerness specifically front and center for the season because rarely do you ever have shows that actually acknowledge that the POC queer experience can be different from the white queer experience, much less show it so beautifully and honestly. whiteness as a political concept and queerness aren’t compatible so it’s extremely ironic that most queer shows never really bother to show that. I also just really adore Eric as a character, the way he interacts with the other characters and with himself makes the general storyline so much richer, and I love his friendship with Otis almost as much as I love Maeve and Aimee’s friendship <3

other than Eric I can’t exactly say I have any other one fave but my other top characters if I had to pick would probably to Ola, Lily, and Maeve. I’m literally in love with Maeve, and Ola and Lily individually are great characters, plus I love their relationship (also they’re a great example of how to have a wlw couple that while isnt really the primary romance of the show still gets a storyline that actually gets attention outside of when it’s only convenient for the mlm and het couples yes heartstopper I’m looking at you I’m still pissed abt how Tara and Darcy literally felt like props to taoelle and nick and Charlie, ola and Lily have their own dynamic as well as their own development and issues and they never felt like props to Eric and Adam or Otis and Maeve)

and ofc an honorable mention goes to my girl Ruby, to me she was part of why season 3 was so good (can u tell season 3 is my favorite season lol). but SEE WHAT I MEAN I can’t rlly pick one character cuz I love them all since they’re all just so well written like in terms of character writing I’d say it’s easily one of the best Netflix shows

anyways feel free to ask me abt sex education anytime I love that show SO much and bee I hope u don’t mind that I used ur ask as an excuse to write an mini essay lol

#bee <3 #booksandpaperss asks #sex education #sex ed netflix

[juneviews]

omg I saw your post about the jungle and I have to rant because I’m so conflicted! On the one hand it has some of my favs in it and so I want to adore it, but on the other hand the whole thing is just MESSY. And from what I’ve heard of the source material, they’ve stuck to it super closely including dedicating a chapter/episode to each character and I think it’s that (plus the really underwhelming production values) that’s bothering me the most. As far as I’m aware there’s no overarching storyline and so it comes across as a series of short stories set in the same place. I also do recognise though that the actor schedules were also apparently really difficult to work around, and that’s probably affected the series in regards to scenes with the full or most of the cast.

Having said all that, I’ve definitely seen A LOT worse from gmmtv even in recent years and I keep reminding myself that at least it’s messy in a fun, sexy way rather than completely bland (apart from leemook which broke my heart because I was looking forward to seeing them together again). For example if I go by series this year, UMG looked beautiful and was acted well but was horrifically boring, double savage almost tried to market itself as a pseudo bl with perth and ohm and was tedious to get through, I couldn’t get past the first episode of loneliness society and I wasn’t enamoured with 10yt except for view and off. And that’s not me even touching on some of the underwhelming bls.

Also I am trying to keep the faith and have hope because I feel there’s been a drastic improvement from episode 1 to episode 6 and that scene with the twins fighting each other in the parking lot in particular was so good and such an amazing performance from Nanon who apparently worked for 6 hours shooting it and I commend him going so hard for something as unserious as this

okay so first of all I agree with mostly everything you said in this post! I didn't even know the show was adapted from an original material, now the one episode per character makes much more sense! but yeah the lack of overarching material IS an issue, but on top of that the writing is so bad?? from the shows you've mentioned I've only seen 10yt & loneliness society, which I both liked enough & personally I think the writing for these shows is MILES better than for the jungle. I agree that ep 6 was the best episode so far, and it's down to nanon's AMAZING performance & also his great chemistry with mild, but all of that could not cover how SHIT the writing was this ep. nithan is DISAPPOINTED that naannam does a no show to her engagement ceremony EVEN THOUGH she now believes him to be a cheater and a MURDERER??? then he shows up & SHE'S HAPPY???? then the real naannam arrives & professes his love without clearing the air once & telling her the truth AND SHE STILL ACCEPTS TO BE WITH HIM?????? the twins make up OUT OF NOWHERE??? and say they love each other OUT OF NOWHERE???? in fact, I was so confused as to which twin was who until I watched this latest ep, and believe we shouldn't have known of naanfah existence at all until the reveal to punpun's character so WE'D BE SHOCKED TOO!!! yes that would've been a cliche plot twist, but at least there would have BEEN a plot twist! I just cannot, tbh. it's giving the three gentlebros level of writing but with even less screen time & I actually liked t3gb bc it was a silly surface level romcom whereas this does not want to be one but most absolutely is. the dichotomy is killing me I fucking hate it here 😭

xxx

#answers #the jungle #the jungle the series #I'm not surprised that scene in the garage slayed so hard if he spent 6 hours filming it omg #currently going feral at how much of a miss this show is I'm so fucking mad lol

[cosmicbrowniefan]

also if you feel like doing more than one set of hcs I am forever and always searching for platonic/qpr madwheeler crumbs 🙏🏼 🕯

beck, of course i'll do platonic madwheeler headcanons for you. after the contributions you've given to the fandom today, or at the very least, the strange chaos you've caused, you deserve this.

i think that max and mike have very similar food opinions and they kind of hate it? like why tf are you copying me??

but also it's validating to have someone that they can count on to agree with them

i think they both like those coconut macaroon cookies

they're the only ones who like them btw

but if they ever have differing food opinions?

all hell breaks loose

bc neither of them is wrong. they're just not.

for example, mike likes candy corn. max. does not.

also

i don't think either of them will admit it, but once mike starts growing his hair out, max helps teach him how to style it

also when he starts wearing eyeliner and painting his nails, she does that for him too

because he doesn't have a steady enough hand to handle that shit

we all know the party has a bunch of different mini sub-divisions that have sleepovers all the time and everything

but i think mike and max have literally scheduled to have a sleepover with each other at least once a month

because to both of them, the other is just the best possible person to vent to and blow off steam with, and they make sure to have a scheduled time for that so they can get their emotions out in a healthy way

of course they end up having sleepovers and venting more than once a month most of the time, but they just always keep that standard to make sure they have a set aside time for it

they go to break rooms together

(places where they give you safety goggles and just let you smash stuff, not sure if that's just an america thing or if they have those everywhere)

breaking stuff is just so therapeutic to both of them

also they do that tiktok trend where you write things on a plate and then you smash it

and max braids mike's hair when he's stressed and venting a lot of the time

he leans back into her lap while she does it and he just explodes with his feelings

but enough with them venting all the time, let's talk more positive things

both max and mike are INCREDIBLY intelligent

they're actually the dream team for group projects and things like that

everyone wants them in their group

even though you might think they'd argue over ideas, they really have the same ideas and opinions when it comes to academics

also they go christmas shopping for their boyfriends together!!

will and lucas also go shopping for max and mike together hehe

i have a hc too that max and mike are disney channel original movie junkies

they know the lyrics to every fucking movie under the sun, and can act out full on musical numbers just the two of them

they entered their school talent show together with "can't stop singing" from teen beach movie

they learned to tap dance for it.

so we know mike doesn't like getting his picture taken (unless he's in a picture with will), and max sees that

but she thinks mike has a great smile and she wants him to know that and understand that

so she gets a polaroid camera for the two of them to share and they take candids of themselves and their friends all the time

and max shows each picture to mike and tells him that, no matter how chaotic the picture is, it's beautiful because their friends are together and the pictures show so much joy

mike still doesn't LOVE having his picture taken, but he appreciates it a lot more now, and smiles for pictures more often

they both have just. the biggest hearts

and they both want to act in the best interest of others which is why they get in fights sometimes but i think they can actually talk it out and realize that they both want the same thing

their communication definitely gets better the older they get and their relationship gets stronger every day <3

i hope you enjoy @tntozier :)

#stranger things #stranger things headcanons #madwheeler #madwheeler headcanons #platonic madwheeler #max mayfield #mike wheeler

[abri-chan]

So I know Attorney Woo had both the exponential absurdness of soap operas where we go from 0 to 100 real quick with regards to how the court cases mix with personal life, and the cheesiness of a happy ending despite it all, but there were quotes or moments in this show that quite inspired neurodivergent people, especially girls and women. Especially the part when Young-Woo said her life is unusual and peculiar, but still valuable and beautiful. Yes it is cheesy and episode title drop but it is also important to hear. Besides we also have hurting male characters like her father and male lead, and the fact that the romance didn't have any of the red flags and borderline (if not outright) sexual harassment we see in other stories, and was actually healthy is a win. The issue of consent was brought up throughout the show too, and while Extraordinary Attorney Woo feels preachy or in your face at times (similarly to how it is quite educative when it comes to autism), it is a good thing we are moving towards a positive direction when it comes to portraying healthy relationships on screen.

There are things I really liked about Woo as an autistic woman, or in general as a woman in the workforce. For example, the fact she is plain and dresses for comfort; that is something positive that we don't often see because we always assume women should prioritize looks over comfort, and they must be beautiful before they are smart. I also like that she wasn't forced into the nurturing role, and in fact was a woman who loved her job, and who got a love interest through her skills and abilities, and not looks. (What I mean is, the myth persists that women are attracted to competence in men, while men are attracted to looks only in women. So while the male lead finds Woo cute, he first notices her for the unusual way she approaches cases and her intellect, and in fact when confessing he talks a lot about how her ability and enthusiasm around law makes her shine in his eyes.) I understand in Korean cultures Woo's loudness and mannerisms stand out more, because the men too are quite composed, but in a Western context some of the things Woo does, like talk out of turn are things we forgive in men and punish in women, so Woo standing out and not being punished for that is a good thing to see. Now there are a few things for which this drama could have gone the extra mile: Woo is too neat, and in fact all the actors clearly wear makeup--especially for an autistic woman, but women in general, we need to get to a stage where women can show their face on-screen without makeup. The fact that Woo, while we can't blame her for her good looks, and in fact autism or lack of has nothing to do with genetics and how attractive a face is, is in fact cute or still attractive presentation-wise, that is to say, makeup, no blemishes, on-point hair, shows we still have miles to go when it comes to female representation on-screen, but it is a first step. I liked that Woo was more weird than cute, and we should keep it that way, and allow women, neurodivergent or otherwise, to keep being weirder on-screen.

Overall, some things were cliche, bc such is the format of a drama, but within those constraints, Extraordinary Attorney Woo did some very interesting and original things, and the characters are quite interesting, and in the end, there is nothing wrong with a feel-good drama: showing autistic people that they deserve happiness is a good thing. Plus there is also nothing bad with instilling some morality and cooperation into how people should treat colleagues, and others at large, and that in fact we should all try to be fundamentally good, open-minded tho those around us, and learn from our mistakes, and that redemption is possible even if painful.

(I also liked some of the magical realism aspects, such as the whale scenes or the rotating doors as a dance. Plus the fact that so many women are also formed and helped Woo grow is important, and it is great to see more women in the workforce, along with their diverse worldviews and opinions and choices, even if those choices are not what we might agree with. But that range, and its portrayal, is important for women on screen!)

(now there's an argument for why an actress who was actually autistic wasn't chosen to portray Woo, but I won't get into it. as someone on the spectrum tho, I didn't find the portrayal of Woo in-bad-faith or exploitative, and I did enjoy her character. that is my personal opinion tho, and I can't tell others to think like me. I think it is a step in the right direction, as we get these roles more acceptable and then hopefully soon we'll see actual neurodivergent people on screen playing such characters.)

#anime manga rambles #extraordinary attorney woo

[dekusleftsock]

I saw your post about Bakudeku and Horikoshi's use of romantic tropes. I wanted to add a couple of my own thoughts. Bkdk also use the trope of "impress the girl" a bunch. In stories the mc often has a crush and wants to impress the girl, but she's just not interested. As he progresses in the story, the two of them start to interact and flirt more. In a lot of ways, bkdk reminds me of Astrid and Hiccup. Both of them

1: use the Impress the girl trope a lot

2: have a nerdy and emotional mc

3: have a beautiful bad tempered warrior blonde as a love interest.

4: mc knew said love interest even as a kid.

5: Said love interest disliked them and considered them a rival before finally befriending them.

This is also what I often want to say to bkdk haters. We've basically already seen relationships very similar to Bkdk on screen before, they just weren't gay. But in terms of dynamics and canon trope use, both of these couples share multiple romantic tropes. People argue that bkdk is toxic, but Astrid/Hiccup also had a rivalry and bullying going on. People say they are childhood friends and brother-like, but Astrid/Hiccup grew up in fairly close company to one another. I haven't seen many people mention the similarities between the two couples so I figured I might as well.

Definitely! The thing that’s so weird about bkdk is that it’s like this.. idk.. “cringe” queer ship. That bc Katsuki bullied deku it is automatically both toxic/abusive, and also that it is the “cringy, girl who likes gay ships way too much”. In a weird way, it’s trying to say that it IS the queer ship for straight girls, completely ignoring the many other people (99% of the time queer writers) that ship it!

It’s kind of like seeing bkdk as competition for izuocha in a weird way. Because, yeah, bkdk DOES fit a lot of romantic tropes, and the only reason it’s not seen as both a valid and possible ship, all circles around homophobia and the alt right.

Cringe culture was born out of the alt rights nihilism (that’s why the indomitable human spirit trend is so interesting to me personally) and that nihilism stretches to everyone. Queer, leftist, liberal, or even down to who ships what and how much they expect it to happen.

Let’s be honest here, if izu//ocha becomes canon then it’s bad writing. Simple as that. Bkdk has followed romantic tropes, had more development, had more screen time, his LOVE INTEREST has another love interest that better compliments her, (toga and possibly tsu) and it fights what makes a shonen well, shonen. The parody of the stereotypical shonen, but when you look under the cracks nothing really follows the normal tropes. From something as minuscule as an unwise mentor (all might) to the love interest of the story.

I have many, many thoughts on this subject, (my absolute monster of a meta post that’s in the works and thankfully almost done can attest to that) because I truly do think it’s deeper than people not understanding how shipping and fandom works. There’s more to it. Could be due to horikoshi making a character driven shonen over a plot driven one. (Another example of breaking the tropes of a normal shonen) Could be general homophobia in the anime community. We just, don’t know.

Kiri//Baku is also an interesting character in this whole idea of shonen. And that’s because of the fact that Katsuki not only doesn’t have a female love interest and therefore has to have a male one that’s closest to them and not Izuku (ofc without destroying the carefully built system straight love interests, like Mina for kirishima, jirou for kaminari, etc) because Izuku has ochako.

That’s why people always say that the ship is the “most straight queer ship”, even if there’s a lot of queer people who do.

Sorry kinda rambled a bit bdisndidkdji I just have a lot of thoughts on how shipping works culturally in a fandom. Super interesting.

Anyway, how to train your dragon was a great example and I’m glad you brought it up!

Btw I feel like I shouldn’t have to say this but just in case, please don’t harass anyone who ships anything. Block them if they’re attacking you in any way that genuinely hurts you or your mental health. It’s just better if we all stay a little more positive in general. Starting a nonsense argument in a tag? Ignore it. Block it. You’re only giving them your platform which is exactly what they want. The attention you’ll give them and the argument you’ll start. Also if it’s just some guy being a mild dickwad, don’t harass him. Please.

Like I say this every once in a while just so everyone remembers that being positive and creating art out of crappy things people have said (but keeping them anonymous) is infinitely better than giving someone your platform. (This isn’t targeted at the person who asked this btw, you’re all good this is just a general positive message I talk about sometimes hedjidndl)

Be safe, be happy, and let’s uplift each other than being crappy people down. That way, we’ll always go higher :)

#midoriya izuku #mha deku #bkdk #bkdk brainrot #bakugou katsuki #bakudeku #bnha deku #mha analysis #deku midoriya #mha bakugou

[pinewoodpipit]

so long, we become the flowers - Cowboy AU - Fic Beginning Meta

So, "we become the flowers", a.k.a. my cowboy au is finally out and being worked on! I'm super excited to be posting this. I'm delighted to have gotten it done already as I was hoping to have it posted before the 17th to celebrate the RDR re-port hahah. I got lucky!

Here is a link to the fic midpoint meta, posted along with chapter 5!

Here is a link to the post-fic meta, posted after the fic was completed!

-

General thoughts

This fic is meant to be a western style of story, and as such I wanted to follow one of the three western storylines (bounty hunting, revenge, and political stories). I chose revenge! Bounty hunting is technically in there too, but I’d call this more of a revenge story than one about picking up a bounty.

I kind of blended this Western revenge genre with Austen-style romance because ooughh,,, the romantic and homoerotic tension in wanting someone SO BADLY but not being allowed to make a move for fear of scandal… it’s tasty stuff.

The au is meant to be set in a fantasy alternate - real-world in many ways, but flowers can bloom whenever I feel like it because I want cute flowers throughout the fic. I wanted an early-spring discussion in the beginning of this fic, but Fade gives her a peony, which bloom starting from late spring.

The town was named Vennecoate both as a reference to Venice and also to Bloodwritten Silver. I chose Venice as the inspiration behind Venshire in that fic and I liked the reasoning well enough to do the same here - that reasoning being Venice is both a huge part of Valorant lore and also where the training range is. I just like it! I chose this specific naming style after a real old western town, too - Kennecott in Alaska, which was a mining camp abandoned after natural resources dried up in 1938. It’s a national historic landmark now and can be visited.

Fade and Neon are called Hazal and Tala in this au, but like I did with bloodwritten silver, I’ll be calling them and other named characters by their codenames just for my own sake in meta posts.

Neon’s dog is called Kidlat which means lightning… bc “lightning strike”… she has Lightning and Strike… I’ll go now

-

Moodboards

I made mood boards for Fade and Neon’s rough looks, as well as examples of their horses with their counterparts in RDR2. I also have Sims of them and their horses which I’ve shared before!

I’ve made more moodboards for this fic, but those are spoilers which I’ll only show in the fic ending meta…

Someone on Discord actually drew these guys too, and they managed to NAIL the exact vibe I was going for without ever even seeing the moodboards. Huge shoutout to WissyDumb / wizzul on discord! Sharing these with their permission of course.

They don’t have their piercings in the fic (piercings wouldn’t become commonly used until around the 1950s) and Fade actually has some trauma related to infection and disease (we’ll learn more about this later), so she wouldn’t risk it even if they were commonly worn at this time.

-

Playlist

I have a playlist for this fic of course, as I do with all of my larger projects. I imagine this will continue to grow as I work on the fic but I'll share the songs on there so far!

In A Week - Hozier (where the fic's title comes from)

Throne - Saint Mesa

Beautiful Crime - Tamer

Mausoleum - Rafferty

notre dame - Paris Paloma

Habibi - Tamino

Setting Sun - Lord Huron

The Night We Met - Lord Huron

You're Gonna Go Far, Kid - The Offspring

Dangerous Woman - Ariana Grande

the fruits - Paris Paloma

labour - Paris Paloma

Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne

Eyes on Fire - Blue Foundation

Hey, Little Songbird - Hadestown

She - dodie

Let Me In - Snowmine

Coyotes - Modest Mouse

Can't Help Falling in Love - Haley Reinhart

The Wolf - PHILDEL

Hand of God - Outro - Jon Bellion

Breathe (In The Air) - Pink Floyd

The Great Gig in the Sky - Pink Floyd

Family of Me - Ben Folds

All Along the Watchtower - Bear McCreary

My Name is Carnival - Stranded Horse

Requiem on Water - Imperial Mammoth

Short Change Hero - The Heavy

Little Girl Gone - CHINCHILLA

I Wish A Bitch Would - Delilah Bon

One of Us - The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride

No Surprises - Radiohead

Something About Us - Daft Punk

Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want - The Smiths

Creep - Radiohead

Nights in White Satin - The Moody Blues

Blood In The Wine - AURORA

Rawhide - Frankie Laine (hahah)

I See Red - Everybody Loves an Outlaw

House of The Rising Sun - Five Finger Death Punch

The Yawning Grave - Lord Huron

Burn The Witch - Shawn James

Grow as We Go - Ben Platt

Spectre - Radiohead

Long Long Time - Linda Ronstadt

Arsonist's Lullabye - Hozier

Pretty Little Head - Eliza Rickman

Never Love an Anchor - The Crane Wives

That Unwanted Animal - The Amazing Devil

Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood

What Makes A Good Man? - The Heavy

Asleep - The Smiths

The Everlasting Muse - Belle and Sebastian

Layla - Derek & the Dominos

Senden Daha Güzel - Duman

Resistance - Muse

We Could Be The Same - Istanbul - maNga

Last Flowers - Radiohead

Man of War - Radiohead

WHEWW this is a long one. Sorry!

#pipit writes #fic meta #cowboy au #own post #valorant #fadeshock #fanfic

[candy-pants]

Oh no I’m so sorry!! I hesitated to say anything cuz I wasn’t sure if you were just taking your time lol. Sorry we’re down to the last day but let’s pack in a lot of questions in that case!! First off, Ashley is kinda slaying in that vid ngl. And I love learning more about latam Disney channel, thanks for sharing!! What show were they on?? And you have a point about Sabrina lol. Switching gears, ofc ik you love descendants and mal and Ben in particular, who are your favs outside of the core four and why? What are your fav ships besides bal and why? And what are your biggest hopes for rise of red? I hope you have a great holiday and enjoy your gift tomorrow!! Sorry again for the miscommunication!! -gcwca secret Santa

don't worry! i was thinking you were busy or something so i didn't say anything either sdjhdhdsj i know tumblr tends to be the worst functioning website on the planet but we're all still here so i guess that says something about us

okay this is gonna be a long one buckle up

1 - they were in a show called que talento! (yes with an exclamation point) and they were basically playing themselves if they went to high school and were still amateurs lol i really liked the theme song but only the show version bc the studio version sounds awful sorry bruno i know you produced it but it sucks

2 - out of the core four (and ben) i have to say uma is a huge fav for me, probably my 3rd favorite character of the franchise. when i heard china anne mcclain was back on disney channel to play her i was sooooo excited and i can't imagine anyone better for the role. i love that she has such a strong sense of justice and community even if her ways aren't necessarily the best. obviously i love that the franchise makes sure to let us know she and mal are two sides of the same coin and if they weren't both so proud and stubborn they'd be friends, but i like that uma isn't just a carbon copy of mal like they're very much two different characters. uma is driven by collectiveness and she cares so hard about everybody it's almost aggressive and she's such a great example of leadership on the isle (as acknowledged by both ben in d2 and mal in d3 (and as a side note i'm obsessed with mal, ben and uma's dynamic and i could ramble on about it for the next 10 years but that's not the point)) and if i don't stop now this is gonna turn into a mal vs uma analysis

3 - i really really love the idea that mal and uma are exes. like to me that's just canon and no one is gonna tell me otherwise bc it doesn't contradict anything! "and how would you know, mal? you've never had [a boyfriend]" so in my head she could have dated uma idc it was probably quick and messy bc they would have this toxic power struggle which ultimately ends in mal not letting her join the gang. i think they would absolutely kill each other as a couple now bc of how similar they are but as exes? hell yeah that's a vibe

as for present day relationships i'm a fan of harry and uma getting together at some point in the future bc lbr those two are in a weird situationship lmao i also love jay and gil!!! very unexpected but jay realizing how jaded he's become after seeing the beauty of gil experiencing things with such wonder and then deciding to do a gap year so they can travel the world together is something that can actually be so personal

ALSO i'm not usually one for crackships but harry x evie had me like 👀 in d3 bc sorry wtf is this

for the record i don't think they should realistically get together, i don't think they'd work out, but the chemistry is there and for some reason kenny chose to highlight it so idk

4 - oooo so rise of red. here's the thing. i'm fully expecting this movie to be bad sdjdshjdjhsjdh i'm mostly worried about these seemingly amateur writers they got. like. even if descendants is its own little fanfiction thing let's at least try to make things coherent inside its own universe. the fact that they all went to school together defeats the purpose of beast UNITING THE KINGDOMS but well anyway let's see what they're gonna do

i like jennifer phang as a director though! she did two eps of cloak and dagger (one of which is 2x01, one of my personal favs) and the pilot of secrets of sulphur springs, so i know she's competent. and mark hofeling is coming back which is GREAT bc changing the production designer would be a terrible move for a spin-off partly set in present day. i just wish kara saun would come back to do the costumes but oh well

i'm so excited to see your gift!!!!! i hope you have a great holiday as well!!!!!!

#ask #gcwca secret santa #this was such a fun ask!! #too bad tumblr fucked us up

[anisecandy]

☕️ + petermj ☕️ + black cat

On petermj:

I both like it and-

Ughhhh... I guess since this is a honesty hour, with tea and all, let's be honest. I kind of have complicated feelings toward MJ. It's not her, it's me. *I* am the problem. This wonderful, complex, beautiful woman has a shortkey to turning me back into a self-loathing highschooler feeling not good enough to be a woman. I have no idea why. No other character does it to me. But because of that, I keep my distance from anything involving her. Again, *I* am the problem here. This has nothing to do with MJ as a person. From what I know about her, she's an amazing and very well written character!!

So petermj, specifically, married petermj seems very cute to me! From the very few things from that period that I saw, they appear to be very wholesome. But because I'm not super well versed in Spider-man lore as a whole and has never looked into MJ or petermj related context specifically either (due to previously explained reasons), my understanding of it is incredibly shallow. And also I avoid it if possible (due to previously explained reasons).

Ah, I do dislike it in most iterations of it outside of the comics tho. But reasons for that change and are strictly tied to the specific medium. (For example, I don't like Rami's petermj bc I never got the feeling like it was developed beyond an attraction based crush on Peter's part and... I don't actually know what MJ sees there in this Peter. I don't like this Peter. Anyway, I can't see them enjoying each other's company and liking each other as people, once the "crush" factor would be gone. Plus I very much dislike the cheating happeaning in those movies)

On Black Cat:

Great design. I don't know her too well, admitedly. Spider-man lore scares me. So many years... so many comics... It triggers freeze response in me. I do though love what she initially brings into Spidey comics, as far as I know, that being a love interest that loves Spider-man but not Peter, which flips on its head what usually was going on previously! And is so! Deliciously! Tragic! Because it's not just that she doesn't know who Peter is, she's disappointed in him, because he doesn't live up to the fantasy she turned Spidey into in her head. Like I love this concept. It makes me curl into a little ball of happiness and giggle. I've heard that changes over time and Felicia grows so so much as a person which, I mean, that's what you want from your characters, although admitedly it makes me let out a little sad "aww :(". I 100% want to read her issues someday, but I keep on deluding myself into believing that I could read Spider-man comics in order, so I restrain myself from skipping to them. I want to know context and all. But bc of that I keep on getting the freeze fear response bc there's so much content to go through and- Yeaaah my knowledge of Spidey isn't going to grow anytime soon...

#ask game #thank you for the ask! #anise talks #spider-man

[myersesque]

UM UM UM fav npmd song?

OH GOD HARDEST QUESTION YOU COULD'VE ASKED. i am notoriously indecisive and there is not a single skip in this whole tracklist BUT ALAS. I WILL TRY

ummm um um uh. i'm gonna have mercy on myself and make it a tie. i'm allowing myself a tie

nerdy prudes must die - i love a good villain song. the reveal of max's new costume/makeup (STUNNING btw, especially considering how stressful it must be do to makeup whilst a show is actively going on - doing a costume change between acts is nerve-wracking enough), will branner's endless charisma and stage presence (literally devastated he's new to starkid bc i need more of him NOW), and his and jon matteson's fucking gorgeous vocals... both the chorus and the "who will pray for me?" section are CONSTANTLY looping in my head. absolutely 500% deserving of title track status.

as cool as i think i am + reprise / if i loved you - i'm counting all 3 of these as one bc i honestly can't decide between them, and i love them all for the same reasons. acaitia is such a well-done establishing song for peter's worldview - both his perception of himself (and how that shifts and skews more positive as he psychs himself up) and his perception of steph (the "smarter than she thinks she is" line always gets me - he thinks so highly of her and is so respectful of her even this early on when they're still bickering, and it sets the foundations for how strong their relationship ends up becoming). it's also just really nice to have a nerd character as a protagonist who has some confidence and, whilst steph liking him certainly helps with that, his sense of self-worth isn't inherently tied to her, it's inherently tied to himself and how he lets himself exist (he's as cool as he thinks he is - if he allows himself to think he's cool, then he's cool - which also has an interesting sort of parallel to max's sue sylvester "you are what i say you are" philosophy). then of course the reprise is absolutely devastating (i have absolutely no shame in saying i was openly sobbing) and serves as such a good example of how things have changed throughout the story, especially in terms of his sense of identity and relationship with steph. then ofc if i loved you is just... SUCH a fun song about their dynamic, and how they both clearly adore each other but aren't willing to admit that until forced. "not saying what we mean, except we literally are, just backwards" is one of my fav kinds of song (also - it reminds me a bit of i could do without you from calamity jane, if that's anything).

the summoning - villain song, horrifically catchy, and the lords in black having their moment. the distorted background vocals, the childish way the lords present themselves contrasted with the heaviness of their song and the darkness of their lyrics ("stephanie has got a gun, tra-la-la-la, how fun!" - they're DELIGHTING in their suffering)... it's just really fuckin good. i also don't super mind the dialogue interrupting it since it's part of the pacing, and the lords breaking into song in the middle of a serious discussion feels very on brand for them

honourary mentions include literal monster (for similar reasons to as cool as i think i am, but for max's character instead - also, again, villain song) and hatchet town (i ADORE hatchetfield's ensemble-heavy songs, and i think this one sorta encapsulates the whole vibe of the series). i also have soft spots for dirty girl and go go nighthawks, but that's in more of a "this is REALLY fun" way than a "i have deep opinions abt these songs" way. obviously just for once is also devastating and a beautiful song that serves as a great demonstration of lauren lopez's skills but i'm trying not to say "every single song, actually"

...i realise i just listed 90% of the tracklist but i justified most of it??? so hopefully u at least got SOMETHING from this answer idk

#you: what's your favourite (singular) #me: here's an essay on why i adore almost every song in this show bon appetit #ask #horror tag #npmd spoilers

[infisonicosm]

Putting this under a read more bc it's gonna be long, TLDR; I love TBAGG, Greta Van Fleet, and I'm overwhelmed about this new era.

TW: Mentions or religion, death, personal experiences with the baptist church, my pouring out everything I've delt with since 2020 cause I need to let it all out.

I'm feeling so many emotions right now and I'm having trouble processing it all. I knew TBAGG was deep but after listening to Meet The Master I'm not reflecting on how deep that album really goes.

There's a new level of pain mixed with strands of falling in love. It's like I'm seeing the story of the album in 4k now.

When I first discovered GVF I was in the early stages of my deconstructing process as a Christian. I'd just recently made the decision to leave the church and really focus on myself and make my spiritual journey something more personal. The church I attended thrived off of taking people's testimonies and making them a an example. Stealing away the personal aspect of a testimony and molding it to be a sermon. That's why I was so drawn to Stardust Chords, cause I experienced it first hand. That song spoke to me the most after experiencing what I have.

Nothing and nobody can take away how I feel God has personally spoken to me though through Greta. I don't talk about my spiritual beliefs a lot as I don't want to make it seem like I'm shoving it down someone's throat. But, I would love to share this with you all.

in 2019 leading up to 2020 I felt drawn to pray to God to prepare my heart and strengthen me before I attended a 3 day conference called Passion. I didn't know why but I prayed and prayed and i felt so at peace about it. I've never felt closer to God. Passion is held at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta so just imagine a stadium PACKED with over 60,000 people worshipping the Lord. It was such a powerful thing. The whole trip I was telling my church group, "They're gonna open the dome I can feel it!" and they would all shoot me down, "They won't", "do you know how much it would cost them to do that? they aren't gonna open it!". After a while I let it go cause maybe they were right.

Well, when Kari Jobe and her husband Chris Carnes came on stage to perform, I was into it, totally drawn in. I feel a tap on my arm from my friend and he tells me to look up, as soon as I did I was hit with the BIGGEST gust of wind that could have rushed through that stadium, it was cold but comforting. It wasn't windy in the slightest that day, but above me was an open dome and a beautiful blue sky. I was moved to tears and so was everyone around me. We felt it, we knew what we'd just experienced.

Later that evening I open instagram to see a post from Kari that I'll link for you all. I was floored and had a new wave of tears flow through me. God heard me. He heard my prayers and he communicated that to me in those moments.

Kari's Instagram post

Little did I know that God was preparing my heart for all the stress and pain I was yet to endure. Days after I get pack from Passion, my Grandaddy is taken to the hospital, upon arrival we see my Great-Aunt there in the ER waiting to be admitted. They were both on the same floor so it made it easy for family to go back and forth. My Grandfather had an ulcer in his stomach, the cauterized it and clamped it. The problem was he couldn't eat anything till he passed the clamp and that could take up to two weeks.

After he started aspirating into his lungs, they ultimately told us there was nothing else they could do and it was time to call in hospice. I felt my world crashing down around me. My Grandaddy was basically my Dad. He stepped up to the plate when my Dad left and helped raise me. A few days after we moved him to Hospice, we heard that my great-aunt had blood clots on her lungs and wasn't going to make it. She passed at 3 am the following morning, my Grandaddy passed almost 8 hours later in Hospice. I had to watch him starve to death, it was the more horrifying things and I'd never wish it on anyone.

Nothing can prepare you for the pain of watching someone you love so much slowly fade away.

That was only January! In February I planned my Grandaddy's funeral and we had his celebration of life. I don't remember much of it since I was under such a thick cloud of grief and depression. Days later, my friend Terra passes away from child birth complications. I'd known her since I was 15, we basically grew up together despite just being online friends. She was like a big sister to me and I admired her so much. I still miss her so bad and wish I had her still to reach out to. She always knew how to comfort me best.

Please stick with me I promise Greta ties into this hell.

In March I was sexually assaulted and almost raped. And then the world shut down cause of covid. Let's just say I'm surprised nobody Baker Acted me.

In 2021, my Uncle passed. He stepped up after my Grandaddy passed to be there for me and I'll forever be grateful to him. The last words he said to me just days before he passed was 'I love you' and I'll always hold that close to my heart.

In 2022, my Mom lost a very dear friend who I always called my aunt, and two weeks later her brother, another uncle of mine, passed. It was all very sudden and unexpected.

For three years I've been plagued with grief and sadness. It's crazy how everything is connected though. If it wasn't for all these events happening I wouldn't have discovered Greta. I downloaded tiktok during the pandemic desperately looking for something to make me laugh or distract me. I wouldn't have had any interest in that app or spent as much time on it if it wasn't for everything. I wouldn't have stumbled across their funky lil SNL performance several times before caving and looking into who tf they are.

I wouldn't have taken the jump to make this blog, make friends, or have this connection that I do to this band. I'm so glad that Josh questions everything. I'm so glad he picks people's brains to find a deeper meaning to life. I'm so glad he and the rest of the band translate all these questions, thoughts, and feelings into songs that I will never ever forget.

Meeting the Maker is so much more to me than a new single. It's closure. It's my light at the end of the tunnel and I feel like I can breathe. This band came into my life when I needed them the most but I didn't realize the depth of that till this morning. The lyric "It's my time to go home" sit so personally to me as that was the last thing my Grandaddy said to my cousin. He told her he was going home to Jesus and he was ready.

This song felt like a final hug from him and I can not put into words what that means to me. The message of the song for me was "I see you! I see you grieving but rejoice! I'm going home to my master! The master is good!" and boy is he ever. I see the Garden as their own interpretation of Heaven, there's no pain, no battles, no darkness, just vast amounts of light, peace, and healing.

In these three years, almost four, I haven't had a moment to process any of the loss I've suffered. Work and other responsibilities didn't stop just cause I wanted to.

This new album Greta is about to release if going to bring me to my knees and I have a feeling they are going to help me experience all the healing I've been begging for.

Nobody can take away what this band means to me.

[bisamwilson]

mak’s 95th oscar picks

i have somehow managed to watch all 54 films nominated for an academy award this year (!!!), so here’s my #1 pick for each category and my runner up! this isn’t what i think the academy will choose, but what i think personally deserves it

(note: these don’t necessarily represent my favorite film in each category, for example my runner up in best picture is not what i enjoyed second most, but what i think is second most deserving of the oscar)

some categories will also have a “i will be actively angry if this wins” pick and also some major snubs (only of films i’ve seen though. for example, many agree danielle deadwyler was snubbed for Till but i have not seen it so that snub will not be listed)

to find my review out of 5 stars for all these films, and also a list of 2022 feature length films (non-documentaries) ranked in my personal favorite order, check out my letterboxd!

best picture:

winner: everything everywhere all at once

runner up: the banshees of inisherin

second runner up (bc this category is huge): all quiet on the western front

will be actively angry if it wins: tr*angle of sadness, t*r, avatar: the way of water

snubs: the woman king, NOPE

best director:

winner: steven spielberg, the fabelmans

runner up: the daniels, everything everywhere all at once

will be actively angry if they win: t*dd field, t*r; ruben ostl*nd, tr*angle of sadness

snubs: park chan-wook, decision to leave; jordan peele, NOPE; gina prince-bythewood, the woman king

best actor:

winner: colin farrell, the banshees of inisherin

runner up: austin butler, elvis

will be actively angry if he wins: br*ndan fr*ser, the wh*le (do NOT @ me for this if you haven’t actually seen the movie. i love him as a person and an actor too but that movie was a dehumanizing spectacle that shouldn’t have been nominated for anything, and his performance wasn’t great bc the script wasn’t anything that lent itself to a good performance)

best actress:

winner: michelle yeoh, everything everywhere all at once

runner up: cate blanchett, t*r (blocking this out bc i’m otherwise really negative about the movie)

will be actively angry if she wins: an* de arm*s, bl*nde

snub: viola davis, the woman king

extra note: whatever the FYC said, michelle williams was not a lead in fabelmans. her performance was fantastic, but she deserved a best supporting nom, bc the solo lead was gabriel labelle, but we don’t appreciate young actors enough to acknowledge that

best supporting actor:

winner: ke huy quan, everything everywhere all at once

runner up: barry keoghan, the banshees of inisherin (though a very close runner up race with brian tyree henry for causeway)

snub: paul dano, the fabelmans

best supporting actress:

winner: angela bassett, black panther: wakanda forever

runner up: stephanie hsu, everything everywhere all at once

will be actively angry if she wins: jam*e lee c*rtis, everything everywhere all at once (if she wins over both bassett and hsu i swear to GOD)

snubs: keke palmer, NOPE; lashana lynch, the woman king

best original screenplay:

winner: everything everywhere all at once

runner up: the banshees of inisherin

will be actively angry if it wins: tr*angle of sadness

best adapted screenplay:

winner: women talking

runner up: all quiet on the western front

best animated feature film:

winner: puss in boots: the last wish

runner up: marcel the shell with shoes on 

best international feature film:

winner: argentina, 1985

runner up: all quiet on the western front

snub: decision to leave (dir. park chan-wook)

best documentary feature:

winner: all the beauty and the bloodshed

runner up: fire of love

will be actively angry if it wins: nav*lny (which will most likely actually win)

best documentary short subject: 

winner: the elephant whisperers

runner up: haulout

will be actively angry if they win: stranger at the gate, how do you measure a year? (not bothering to block these out bc stranger is actively infuriating, and how do you measure barely anyone saw)

extra note: i didn’t super care for any of these, but i found the elephant whisperers cute and heartwarming, so it definitely gets my vote

best live action short film:

winner: the red suitcase

runner up: an irish goodbye

will be actively angry if it wins: night ride (please don’t watch this. the vast majority of the film is just a bunch of transphobia couched in a “happy” ending to make it apparently okay)

best animated short film:

winner: ice merchants

runner up: an ostrich told me the world was fake, and i think i believe it

will be actively angry if it wins: honestly anything in this category that isn’t ice merchants bc it deserves it that much, but particularly the flying sailor and the boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse

best original score:

winner: justin hurwitz, babylon

runner up: volker bertelmann, all quiet on the western front

snubs: michael giacchino, the batman; harold faltermeyer, hans zimmer, lady gaga, and lorne balfe, top gun: maverick

best original song:

winner: “naatu naatu,” RRR

runner up: “lift me up,” black panther: wakanda forever

will be actively angry if it wins: “applause,” tell it like a woman

snub: “i ain’t worried,” top gun: maverick

best sound:

winner: top gun: maverick

runner up: the batman

extra note: the academy needs to split this one back up into best sound mixing and best sound editing

best production design:

winner: elvis

runner up: all quiet on the western front

best cinematography:

winner: all quiet on the western front

runner up: bardo, false chronicle of a handful of truths

will be actively angry if it wins: t*r, emp*re of light (this category SUCKS this year)

snubs: decision to leave; NOPE; top gun: maverick; the batman (this category SUCKS this year!!!! the only one of the nominees that should be there is all quiet and these four should’ve gotten the other spots)

best makeup and hairstyling:

winner: all quiet on the western front

runner up: black panther: wakanda forever

will be actively angry if it wins: the wh*le

best costume design:

winner: black panther: wakanda forever

runner up: mrs. harris goes to paris

will be actively angry if it wins: babylon (those costumes are NOT period accurate!!!!)

best film editing:

winner: everything everywhere all at once

runner up: elvis

will be actively angry if it wins: t*r, the banshees of inisherin, top gun: maverick

extra notes: literally the other three don’t come anywhere near fucking close to the top two. i switched back and forth between my winner and runner up a decent amount tbh, they’re both fantastic editing wise)

best visual effects:

winner: avatar: the way of water

runner up: top gun: maverick

will be actively angry if it wins: anything but avatar. the movie sucked but it’s the obvious winner here. the special effects are insane

#mak rants #mak watches movies #oscars #academy awards #95th oscars