#this is more of a reflection on my personal tastes based on what I've found to be popular in the fandom

[antimony-medusa]

The thing with RPF

Okay, I don't tend to engage much with RPF. I have read it, but only when recommended by someone whose taste I trust (I think it's all supernatural aus that I've read, to-date), and my intention is not to write it. Not really my scene.

However, I really think this fandom could stand to stop treating RPF like it is the devil.

If you engage only with someone in the form of like an hour a week of video of them performing for an audience, particularly if that video is edited, like, when you start mentally rotating characters to create with, your brain isn't gonna draw a huge difference between the guy from the scripted thing you watched, and the person from, idk, mythbusters. Love to see my guy make a big explosion.

In both situations, you don't know them as people, you know them as like, personas, characters. You are essentially engaging with them as fictional characters, cause you only see the small segment of their lives that they put into the video, and whatever story they're telling with that. You don't know them as people, because how could you? So your brain going "hehe what if hunger games au" is just one of the ways brains work.

And idk, as long as you know you're doing that, I think that's fine.

It's fiction. You're writing/reading fiction. It's in the name. You know that it's not true, you're dealing with fictionalized versions of like, stage personas, or teaching methodologies, or historical records, and you can make your little fictions, and you show it to the eight people who are also really into *spins wheel* Ancient Egyptian RPF or *spins other wheel* Taskmaster UK TV RPF or *continues to spin the wheel* Polygon (web series) RPF. You all shake each other's hands and go "man I really like [person/character] and I think about them a lot" and someone else goes "I also think about [person/character] a lot and I think that if he was a warrior cat he would be a kittypet" and someone else goes "I think if [peson/character] would boil an egg the egg would explode cause he's really bad at boiling eggs" and you go "go on". You are all silly together, and you are all doing fiction, and you go on your merry way.

Like that is A Thing People Do On The Internet, and that stays in its its designated space, and that's fine. Might not be your jam but it's fine. That is not more weird than inventing an elaborate imaginary religion for a minecraft world, or working out the emotional nuance of an arranged marrige au between fictional detectives, or carefully making an elaborate interlocking series of stories where someone from a children's cartoon is horribly tortured, rescued, recovers, and gets their vengance. All of that looks weird from the outside, and is a fine and honourable thing to do in your little circles on the internet.

The part where this becomes a problem is when you take your fiction (lies we tell recreationally) out of the designated circle of people enjoying the fictions, and you shove it in the face of the person it's based on, and go "do you like this" or "is this okay" or "I found this and I think it's bad is it bad".

When you are doing the fiction you are engaging with the person as a character which is like, fine, and a truthful reflection of how much you actually know them (not at all, you don't know them), but in shoving it in their face you are going "I don't know you but I want you to react to this for my entertainment/justification, because I think this reflects on you, and apparently I think I deserve your time and attention, and also I think I already know how you're gonna react and I'm gonna use it for my callout posts", which is like, so much ruder than just making fictions about people you don't actually know.

Like writing a superhero au about the person you watch video game speedrun— based. Love the imagination. That is making something from nothing, a great creative act. I could not do that at all but I salute you.

Telling the speedrunner about it? No were you raised in a barn. You are not writing it for the person to approve of— they don"t know you— you are writing it for fun and the enjoyment of other speedrunner enjoyers. Keep it locked down.

As long as we're all aware that RPF is fiction, and we keep it in circles where we're circulating it as fiction— ao3 archive locks exist for a reason! this is not something you want to show up on a google search!— this is just a thing people do for entertainment. Don't bring it up to the person it's about, and you're fine.

And I've been thinking about this because like, I don't think what I'm writing is RPF, but BOY from the outside people seem to think it is! Including the creators! Which means that even while I'm doing my best to adhere to character beats from the story and not just streamer personas, and differentiate between the dude in england and the dude in 3rd life, also I should be aware that if the creator hits it, he's probably gonna think that I'm just writing this about him.

Things go SO MUCH BETTER if the creator only finds it if he goes "huh I wonder what people are writing about me" and deliberately goes to look for it, not if he's just going along thinking about disney movies and someone comes screaming into his field of view like "people are writing about you on the internet". And then he's gotta deal with the ways he's percieved, and whatever weird warrior cat situation people were putting him in, and the fact that people don't know him but think he can't boil an egg, and the 3rd life cannibalism aus, and and and— it's a mess. Please don't do that.

All of this to say A) RPF is fine actually that's just like one of the ways storytelling works— we're not writing RPF but it isn't the devil either. B) STOP TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT FANFICTION.

#discourse #rpf #I had to sit through people ask phil TWICE on friday what his favourite fics are #and I could have bitten through the screen #fandom meta

[cryptid-intraining]

People who discredit fanon interpretations of characters can suck my dick. just because something is fanon doesn't make it bad, say you don't like fandom and fanfic culture and move on.

I know of people who've only ever read Batfam fanfiction and fanon content and never once touched a comic, but then gone in to write their own Batfam fics purely from their understanding of them from fanon and I think that's incredible. good for them, honestly. the fact that fandoms and writers and artists can create a whole separate world that you can consume and explore without ever getting into the canon material is so cool and such a unique element of fandom that I could honestly talk about for hours and shouldn't be discredited.

If people are talking about why they think Jason is redeemable and why they think he's misunderstood and you bring up how he's actually really unrepentant and violent in the comics, fine, that's a great argument if we're talking canon, but if they're talking about fanon and their own headcanons? that doesn't make what they're saying any less valid and shouldn't be dismissed as unimportant.

Saying "oh but pit madness isn't canon" in response to people bringing it up in discussion of what Jason did to Tim and why they think the characters could reconcile if the work was put in and they actually address their issues when they're talking about fanon and headcanons is asinine.

We know. We're not talking about canon. Not everyone values characters based on their canon representations.

Most of my favourite characters wouldn't be my favourite if it weren't for fanon. They're just more interesting through the lense of fandom. The fans always have better ideas, more interesting theories, and far more complex interpretations.

Plus they're fucking good writers. Far better than the ones that write the canon. The same goes for the artists.

And while we're on the topic, just because people like Jason as a character in canon doesn't mean they're saying he's a good person. we can like bad people in fiction and also acknowledge that they're bad people.

But then we go to fanon and fanfic to explore the idea of them being better and changing. Because the canon material leaves us wanting, we see these characters with such interesting potential and want to develop it.

Bad person =/= likable character. Saying we shouldn't like a character because they've done bad things is genuinely ridiculous.

I've seen so many people say that Jason is being fucked up by DC writers (I agree) but then have an issue with fanon without acknowledging that people go to fanon and fanmade content to get better portrayals of their favourite characters. just because you don't like how fanon views a character or that fans write them to be redeemable where you don't see redemption doesn't mean it's wrong or bad or stupid.

You just don't like it.

I don't understand this mindset that fanfic needs to reflect canon. obviously you can do whatever you want with fanfiction, that's the glory of it and I would never want to take that away, but why write what is already found in canon? Jason doesn't need to be written like a violent, unrepentant guy in fanfic just because that's how he's written in canon.

If you don't like a character, cool. We all have characters we don't like but you don't have to list reasons why you're right and why the character is actually shit. Just because you dislike a character doesn't mean fans of that character are wrong or misguided or misinterpreting the character. You just don't like them. That's it.

Fandom is such an important space and there is genuinely so much to be gained from having conversations that take into account both sides of a character (like there are so many issues with how some people talk about Jason that go beyond personal taste and just become super problematic but that would be a whole other post) but it is just so hard to hold a civil discourse about these things, irl or online, and especially on this hellsite.

If you want to discuss in the replies and reblogs, fine by me, but don't be assholes and just respect other people's likes and views.

#batfam #jason todd #red hood #batfamily #batman #dc comics #bruce wayne #tim drake #stephanie brown #batfam headcanons #jason todd headcanon #my rants #fanon #fandom #batfam fanfiction #batfam fandom #batfam fanfic #rant

[raayllum]

What do you think of tdp's rating potentially changing for s6? Personally I'm all for it because I'm on the younger side of the fandom (not a minor but I definitely was when I started the show) and it's nice that the show is growing with me, but I've heard complaints that the increasing darkness doesn't fit well with some of tdp's less mature aspects/humor. One of my favorite artists dropped the show because of it, which is a little disheartening since I thought s5 was absolutely amazing.

Honestly I thought S3 was pushing the lid on Y7 with some of the final ep violence / some elements of the Aaravos-Viren-dark magic body horror, so I think realistically S4 (because of the Ibis scene) and s5 (gestures to - half the season) should absolutely be rated PG. Y7 tv shows tend to get away with a lot more than G-rated films (at least since the mid 2000s I think) so I think that skews stuff as well.

As for the humour, even when it doesn't work for me (personally S1, S5, and S4 have had the best humour for me) it's almost all character based so I give it a pass. Like soo many people acted like the goofiness in S4 or fart jokes were baseless / a personal offense, but 1) Claudia's always had bathroom humour and while it's never been something I found funny, I appreciated it for its character consistency and that a girl gets the gross out humour at all bc we just don't see that a lot, and 2) teens and adolescents make bad jokes all the time. I make fart jokes all the time. I don't really want 'em in my media, but I do think they're funny, and I like that the characters in my media think they're funny because yeah... Bad puns, stupid jokes, being ridiculous with your friends, even or especially in times of crisis - sounds pretty grounded in realism to me.

I think part of the disconnect people have with humour (and less 'mature' humour, which - my favourite Shakespeare joke is the "do you bite your thumb at me sir" from Romeo and Juliet which shows my 'maturity' level when it comes to laughs, lmao) vs the rest of the show is... People outside of the age demographic being unwilling to accept that they're outside of the age demographic. Like drop TDP for any reason you want, of course, but

It's like - I didn't love the episodes in She-ra about "learning how to be a good friend," but I'd be dumb if I genuinely complained about it because this show is For Kids and it's catering to them first and foremost. It's not supposed to cater all parts of itself to my age demographic, nevermind my taste and no art does that, even stuff that is for my age demographic because it's an unrealistic choice to put on media. TDP is a little different since they've gone on record stating that its for Families, so that warrants something a little more 'mature' by proxy (and I very much think the show reflects that) but like - it's for families, and that means reflecting all those elements, too. Including humour (some for adults, some for tweens/teens/etc).

TLDR; emotionally scared because I love all the kiddos but very glad overall about the rating change, cause I'd rather people be warned ahead of time / be able to make informed choices about what they want to watch / consume.

#thanks for asking #anonymous #as always subjectivity is the root of preference

[unluckyxse7enart]

So this is from 2021, but I was on a Sanders Sides kick and had a fun idea - Sidesonas!! Seven Sides, if you will /j

I started out by making my own emblem designs, reassigned the canon colors based on associations with each theme, and then designed the sides from there! In order of the emblem keys, red is intrusive thoughts; dark blue is logic; light blue is creativity; lavender is morality; green is deceit; and yellow is anxiety!

I initially was going to draw a lot more of these guys at the time, but stalled once I discovered.... I did not match the colors to my own skin and hair tones very well orz.... So how I'll handle that going forward is tbd, but I'm very proud of the results otherwise and would love to play with this concept again! Honestly I may even oc-ify them, the objecthead alternates in particular just sounds like fun to work with...

In-depth design notes under the cut:

Intrusive thoughts:

Ironically, despite the placement on the key, Intrusive Thought's emblem was actually the very last design I came up with! It's a Rorschach-inspired blot mirroring Anxiety's emblem, to tie the two in since for me they're heavily connected concepts.

Red was a given color as for me, most such thoughts are, well, violent.

Designwise, the sona leans heavily into my more goth/guro/yami kawaii style tastes!! Pretty straightforward given my fashion and art tends to be influenced at times in this way

Logic:

For me, logic functions a lot on questions and answers, if=then statements. The question mark thus felt fitting, and an exclamation point for that 'aha!' moment felt like a good closure to it

I have to say it, Sanders's dark blue IS a very good logic color. Can't say any of the others vibed as well to me so I just stuck with it.

Ironically, this sona looks the least like me - not necessarily to divide it from me further, but just because I like leaning into that straight, angular look for such character types. I've worn that hairstyle in the past though and found it incredibly functional at the time, so it was 'logical' to use it here

Creativity:

Ironically this emblem gave me troubles - fortunately my partner suggested 'brainstorming' as the angle to use, and it all fell into place from there!

Since I used cloudy imagery, but wanted to keep the vibes bright and promising, I used light blue here!

This sona's design was Also a challenge - my creativity is broad, varied, and expresses myself in so many ways (True to the canon sides, intrusive thoughts also got a good chunk of some other ways my creativity has been channeled) - I settled on my tendency towards sleek elegance, as in outfits and in fashion/character design, this tends to be where I lean innately. I added touches of an oc I most associate with my creativity, Masafumi, and it felt complete!

Morality:

Morality for me is not an easy topic to navigate, and can be a double-edged sword in my experience - so I made the emblem to reflect that. Sanders Sides covers the good aspects of morality well, but I wanted to capture more how it can be weaponized as the focus - and how that's what has been internalized for me.

I can't honestly recall the thought process on lavender - might just have been purple was the last color to assign - but since purple is a warm and cool color mixed together, it felt right for the complexity of morality.

This sona is a (former) girl scout! That time in my life was probably the best setting for where my own practice of morality was showcased. I'm happy to say this is not where most (if any) negative experiences stemmed from, but it was where I tried to exemplify being a good, moral person the most, so the sona reflects that!

Deceit:

Had fun designing this one - the emblem is a scowling eye or mocking tongue, depending how you look at it. Both felt fitting for what my deceit often hides - namely, variations of contempt and/or a lack of respect.

If memory serves, I went for a rather artificial mint green to lean into the core of this sona's theme - an imitation of something natural (fake plants vs real ones for example).

This sona leans into more comfortable, girly looks I've worn on rare occasions - both in reference to my complicated relations to gender (and how my presentation doesn't reflect it well); and to seem as nonthreatening, polite, and soft as possible. In other words, this sona isn't so cartoonishly evil as Janus Sanders, but could be considered just as devious in their own way.

Anxiety:

Emblem took some time to sort out, but the eye imagery felt too perfect even if it was on the nose

yellow is often a happy, exciting color, but I also associate it with shock or alarm due to its bright, eye-catching tints so I applied it here

Frankly I just pulled from my high school years for this sona's look lmao. Not much to say other than it was so hard to settle on which social aversion headgear item I've used to maintain for the final design. I went for the hat since it both blocks eyesight and would hide my hair but the mask and glasses are still good alternatives imo

#art #fanart #digital art #sanders sides #sidesonas #sonas #sona #sidesona #gore cw #for intrusive thought lmao #character design #design concept #ocs #yeah why not lol #ts sides #tss #logic #intrusive thought #anxiety #deceit #morality

[caw4brandon]

The Three Conditions (Lore)

It's been a while since my last post and I would like to take this opportunity to show a fun bit of lore that will play an important role in the < Murder The Crow > series.

For a simple rundown. My characters; Sadie mac Lir, Jamie Ann Robyn, and Hector James Dagger don't look human at all. In fact, they always have one offset feature found on their head area.

These features are known as; The Three Conditions also known by its other name; Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil.

- Eyes, Ears, Mouth, and Nose? -

First, let's get down to the basic details.

How did the conditions come to be?

In the universe, the Conditions are an after-effect of being under the atmospheric influence of The Burning Core. Which mutated the said humans of this fictional world; Kingshaven developing highly sensitive conditions to aid them in this once hostile and dangerous world.

These conditions help increase a certain trait but also overamplified the individual to require external aids or accommodations to make their lives tolerable. As a quick rundown, here are the names of said conditions.

Elvenlead - Elf ears with the perk of heightened hearing, and temperature sensitivity. This Condition however comes at the cost of overstimulation to the slightest peak of sound and temperature.

Hollowaye - Darken eyes with the perk of night vision or being able to see through hidden things. This Condition comes with the drawback of light sensitivity.

Grimmjaw - A Venus Flytrap-like mouth with the perk of a strong grip and a uniquely sensitive tongue. This Condition removes the need for teeth and leaves the person vulnerable to all airborne bacteria.

With that said, there are ways to combat the discomfort respectively. Elvenleads found the solution of noise-canceling headphones or earbuds to lessen the stimulation and earmuffs on hand in case of terrible weather conditions. Hollowayes use special sunglasses to help adjust their eyes to light. Grimmjaws learned to use facemasks to cover their mouths thus, protecting themselves.

- The No-Evil Monkeys -

When I originally set out to design my characters, I made the mistake of giving Sadie elf ears but that mistake lead to this peculiar idea of making none of my characters look normal which re-ignited this memory of seeing the monkey statues on display.

My characters and this universe, in general, reflect the phrase; Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil. Which is indeed a part of the inspiration. In an ironic way, these Conditions ultimately reveal the evils found in each sense. Sadie hears all, Hector sees all and Jamie tastes all. (in some way, feels all)

Despite this, for the Conditions. Sadie, Hector, and Jamie are still human in a sense. Peculiar humans if you will but humans still. Said Conditions are categorized as a Dominant Mutation that is bound to appear as one or the other based on the child's gender.

For example, should an Elvenlead mother and Hollowaye father produce a child. The daughters will obtain Elvenlead traits while the sons will have Hollowaye conditions. Under another scenario, if a Havenite (resident of Kingshaven) reproduces with a Normie (human with no Condition) the mutation will follow based on the Havenite parent regardless of gender.

- Do You Know The Muffin Man? -

While I have talked about this very subject in the past, the intention of this post is to lay AN OFFICIAL RULE as to what the Conditions are and provide a colorized version of said subjects because the doodles in the past are all in black and white.

Something I hope to share more after this post is to share more about the respective character's profiles as I am in a bit of a joking mood recently. I've been hinting at the dynamics between these three and I feel confident that I can achieve a lot more for this coming month, despite the fact that it will be a very busy month this coming April.

While drawing this, I was suddenly reminded of the video of about three housemates asking about a certain [Muffin Man] because...I'm just kinda random like that. hahaha~ With that said, that is all for now about the Three Conditions. More to come surely.

Thanks for reading

- Caw4B -

#murder the crow #kingshavenacademy #kingshaven #havenite #sadie mac lir #jamie ann robyn #jamie robyn #hector james dagger #hector dagger #original character #characterdesign #the three conditions #hear no evil #see no evil #speak no evil #elvenlead #hollowaye #grimmjaw #mutation #stay peculiar #Peculiar

[anotherobeymeblog]

Obey Me cast relationship with MC songs (2023 edition)

Found this post when scrolling through my old posts from 2020 and decided it would be fun to give it another crack now that 1) we have a LOT more canon material to go off and B) my taste in music has expanded past just grandma songs (not that I don't still enjoy grandma songs ofc) Also adding Diavolo, Barbatos, and Solomon since I have a better grasp on their personalities now. (Well, only barely with Barbatos, but we'll get to that lol)

Warnings: mild spoilers for lesson 16 of the original game in Belphie's, some of these songs use gendered language when talking about the significant other (implied female: Mammon; implied male: Levi, Asmo) *this doesn't mean MC must be that gender in those scenarios*

Lucifer: Honey Moon by Birds in the Airport. Okay, starting off on a somewhat angsty note lol. But look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong. "...tear open every exit from the maze inside my mind" like come ON that's literally what MC does with Lucifer. Whether he'd verbalize any of this is another question entirely, but also isn't the point here.

Mammon: Fair by The Amazing Devil. I hemmed and hawed over this for a while, tbh. Wasn't sure if it was a lil too soft for his outwardly prickly ass, but I eventually settled on "this is him but he sure as hell isn't admitting it any time soon". The trouble with tsundere characters ig. But anyway he's a dork and the trying to make his partner laugh when they're mad at him felt very on-brand.

Leviathan: A Shitty Gay Song About You by Ezra Williams. I've associated Levi with this song for quite a while now. It has it all. Goldfish, self-deprication, pining, it's great. Oh, for Levi to lend me his sweatshirt tbh.

Satan: Cat Serenade by Beetlebug. Absolutely adorable song. It has cat metaphors, it has pining, it has the whole "I used to never open up to anyone but here we are", it's just super Satan in a lot of ways.

Asmodeus: Freckles by Kevin Atwater. I mean it's just adorable, first of all. But second of all, the theme of actually falling in love with someone for real when you're used to more casual relationships is pretty fundamental to Asmo's relationship with MC.

Beelzebub: Strawberry Mentos by Leanna Firestone. Idk maybe this is a bit too straightforward but even outside of any food references, it's such a sappy, sacchirine love song that it really does feel Right for Beel, big babey that he is.

Belphegor: Grace, Anatomy by Homemade Haircuts. Okay, while this isn't really addressed in-game, if he ends up in a relationship with MC, the shit that happened in the attic is gonna be weighing pretty heavy on his mind for a long time. Between that and his general abandonment issues, this song is an excellent reflection of his feelings about MC (at least early on in the relationship), even if most of it is stuff he would never actually say out loud.

Simeon: Chai Tea by audrey. Yeah, yeah, I know the title sounds more Barbatos, but the song itself is just so cozy and easygoing. (Of all the possible words to describe Barbatos, I think "easygoing" is about the last thing that would come to mind). All the other love interests are a bit more... uh... intense. Whereas this song is literally just being incredibly sappy and drawing a quiet comfort from the other person's presence even without talking about anything in particular.

Diavolo: Touch Starved by BB Bean. This doesn't require much elaboration, I don't think. The title says it all. Like honestly. "I'm just tired of the bubble, I just wanna hand to hold" is deadass how he acts in every surprise guest (at least in the og game, less so in nightbringer lol). Just wants to feel normal smh

Barbatos: A Wistful Waltz by Teddy Hyde. Okay, I need to apologize to Barbatos stans bc I struggle so much to figure this guy out (which I suspect is the point, but it makes it damn hard to come up with headcanons for him). But based on my tenuous grasp on his personality and... odd dynamic with MC, I think this should fit the bill. It's subdued but with that underlying intensity that I always seem to pick up on with him.

Solomon: Painting Roses by Dresses. I actually don't have much explanation for this, but Solomon in Nightbringer especially is just. He's such a fuckin disaster, man. (I actually was torn between giving this song to Solomon or Satan, but I ended up going with Sol in the end)

#obey me #obey me belphegor #obey me asmodeus #obey me leviathan #obey me mammon #obey me satan #obey me lucifer #obey me beelzebub #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me solomon #obey me simeon #obey me headcanons

[mermaidsirennikita]

Seriously anytime I see a controversy over on booktok it's something self-published a bunch of people found on Amazon and it has abuse or a predatory relationship or incest or idk monsterfucking, etc. just something fucked up or taboo. And I'm always like a) how do you even find these books b) why the fuck are you making such a big deal out of this?? Who cares that these books exist and that there are people are reading them. Nobody is going around saying that's not problematic or it's quality literature. Like it's smut. I only wish these people were reading better written taboo smut because usually these books are crap!!

Honestly, the vast majority of what these people are reading is not that bad. A lot of the monster books are very tame, tbh, they just involve monsters. And while some get through the Amazon censors, the reason why I say they're not that bad is because those censors exist and keep the truly insane things from being published on Amazon. I've tracked down a few books that Amazon wouldn't host. They exist. People aren't discussing them on BookTok because the vast majority of BookTok people are getting their books off Amazon. I mean, C.M. Nascosta had Morning Glory Milking Farm taken down for a minute because it got snagged in Amazon's censorship machine--it can be nasty. And if you do get them past the censors, the language around them is coded, and you as a reader need to know those codes to find them.

They find these books because someone originally had it suggested to them based off their reading habits, lol, which isn't always reflective of their actual tastes because algorithm issues, buuuuuut.... And then that person spreads it around, and those views lead more authors to write to that market.

Personally, I think that there are absolutely books featuring abuse and dark relationships etc that are well-written. I mean, I'm reading a book right now that involves a relationship I would say is not at all healthy, and I think it's extremely well-written. Sierra Simone is one of the best romance writers out there, and one of her most recent romance novels features one of those things you listed right there (I mean.... I won't spell it out because spoilers, lol, but it's pretty easy to guess). It can be quality literature. Things don't have to be morally acceptable to be well-done. But that's the space we live in at the moment, in terms of entertainment. If it's dubious, it's bad.

That's my real damage, tbh. I don't care about what people read, I just don't want them condemning things that are good because they're morally disagreeable.

#romance novel blogging

[vuele]

i am feeling a lil reflective today, and i want to remember (for the future) that i've always been my own harshest critic. but i shouldn't be!

i was talking to my manager today, who told me that the people he went to school with who were constantly failing back then are all thriving now, because they were tenacious and learned a lot from failing. and i found that so scary! i hate not being good at things, and feeling like i don't meet people's expectations (or my own expectations), and i don't want to fail ever. but... i want to change that!

he also told me that instead of focusing on how much i know, i should focus on how well i can learn, because you never know what might happen in life, and things could drastically change, but if you know how to learn, you can adapt. and reflecting on this past year and a half, it's so true!

there was a lot i liked, and some things i loved, about my old job: i was on a team of almost all women, i got to work with tons of amazing artists, i helped create a space where people from the diaspora could come together to celebrate their culture and feel at home. i never felt like i wasn't capable; whenever i had a new project to tackle or was given a new area to take ownership of, i was able to do it well.

but it was also miserable, because everyone cared about the mission, so the longevity of the organization was the number one priority, at the expense of the employees. i constantly had too much work and was paid too little; by the time i quit, i was managing all of the classes, including ones we offered to corporations, on top of all my other random work, but my title was always just "associate." at one point i was in charge of the bar and constantly had to drive to bevmo in my personal vehicle to pick up alcohol for the events, and one time i had to juice a ton of limes to make a huge batch of mint mojitos for a special event, when i only drink maybe a handful of times a year. i didn't even know what they should taste like!

also! i had to deal with a lot of milquetoast-liberals-who-consider-themselves-leftists who cared more about their feelings than social justice. i still remember, in 2020, we shared a post talking about how there's tons of anti-blackness in the latine community and had to take it down because we were met with so much outrage from people complaining that we were calling them racists. i think that was when i started realizing that we weren't ever going to be able to do anything Actually Radical -- the most we could do was promote corporate EDI values.

anyway, by the end of 2021, i realized that my workplace talked a lot about community, but didn't actually care about our community, or, rather, didn't care if disabled people were included in our community. i was the only one still masking and they made me feel like a nuisance for it, and when i said we should require masking at our events to keep everyone safe, they said they didn't want to "police" anyone, and that people had trauma from policing (?!?!).

so, i secretly started working on my escape plan, and studied hard and got accepted into a selective training program in a completely new field to me, and then i gave like a month's notice before my program started because i felt guilty, lol. and almost a year later, i'm going to graduate from that program! and i didn't have as much experience as some of my cohortmates, but i made it through the intense learning portion, and now i'm interning somewhere that i never ever thought i would be capable of working at! and somehow, even though i feel like i'm lacking in everything, i've been doing well here! and even if i don't get a return offer after this, the things i've been working on these past five months will be used by tons of people!

all of this is to say... i want to be kinder to myself. i want to be the first person who believes in me, instead of the last. and instead of basing my self-worth on things i do, i want to base it on things i am.

ok that's really really all for now!

#i didn't think this would be so long oops #i was supposed to be preparing for a review session tomorrow but i spent like an hour here #anyway i will be less vague about what i've been doing once i secure a job lol

[theangryjikooker]

Hey, TAJ!

How have you been?

I know the past several months have been crazy in all spaces (might be crazier now, if I'm being honest, and I'm talking about everyone), but I'm glad you're back to sharing your thoughts.

Have you had the chance to listen to Face and D-Day? May I know your thoughts about them?

Also, are you anticipating the release of JK's album? I'm wondering what kind of direction he's decided on.

I've been feeling that the timing for the release of the members' albums to be very tight, though, I understand that they have a timeline.

Thank you!

Hi! Everything is great with me, I can’t complain (outside of the Internet anyway lol). Hope all is the same for you. :)

So, disclaimer, my feelings are based on my musical preferences. I just know some people are going to take this personally because they’ve made it their mission that music is not a subjective art form at all.

For some background, my listening pattern tends to be that I loop things for an indeterminate amount of time upon initial release. Eventually, I no longer have the interest to loop things and start getting selective about tracks I really like and shove them into my shuffled BTS playlist. If I really love something, I also add it to my like tracks, which is more extensive and spans different genres. I often switch between my specific and liked playlists because my listening style makes it very easy to get bored.

“Just change it,” one might say.

If I could, I would, but I also don’t want to. I’ve been like this since I was a kid. It’s also very rare that I listen to whole albums and like every single song. I cannot stress this enough, though I can confirm that this has been achieved by several OT7 albums. Prior to these, however, I was raised on classical vinyl records, and I don’t quite count them as “albums” in the way we understand them today. Make of that what you will.

Anyway, point being, my listening style and ultimately how I organize songs after the initial novelty has worn off is definitely a reflection of my long-term interest.

And I should hope that many of you are adult enough to understand that not liking everything an artist puts out does not make someone any less of a fan. Purists are not invited in this house; if you have an issue with it, go to someone who’ll pander to you.

All this said, I’ve listened to both albums.

When FACE and D-Day were released, both followed the aforementioned pattern. I agreed with the sentiment that FACE didn’t sound like your typical Kpop genre. Jimin has always defied expectations in that regard. Visually and conceptually, FACE was excellent, but knowing what Jimin is capable of, I was also expecting something a bit more, musically. I’m not saying the album was bad, but it was different. I think, for that reason, I’ve mostly been undecided, even though I did add the majority of the album to my BTS playlist. Except for “Letter”—shipping aside, it’s very beautiful. It’s a shame it wasn’t released as a stand-alone because I probably would have given it near infinite plays, and it would’ve found a spot in my liked playlist as well.

If I were to take anything away from this, it’s that I’m more interested in what his sophomore album will look and sound like, now that he has a taste of the process and has the experience.

D-Day is a very strong album, but keep in mind that Yoongi (like the hyung line) has a lot of experience under his belt. That’s natural. But for a while, with the exception of “Daechwita” and “People” off D-2, I had a hard time connecting to the tracks released under Agust D. FOR SHAME, I know. It wasn’t until D-Day that I was able to listen to D-2 and the self-titled album with a different mindset, which also affected my renewed appreciation for them. D-Day, however, is the superior installment of the trilogy. Maybe it’s cheating, but I think it also helped immensely that I was given free passes for the Agust D tour, which I hadn’t anticipated on attending. But free is free, what can I say. There’s a reason why music and live performances are crucial to an artist and their art. Sometime ago, a lot of people here assumed Yoongi was my bias, despite how rarely I talked about him. He wasn’t, and over time I gradually accepted that I didn’t really have one. Now? I can say that statement probably resonates with me a lot more these days.

And of course I’m interested in what Jungkook’s cooking up. I maintain that his voice is appealing to big western production, so I’m thinking we might see something that fits that particular palate? But the thing with Jungkook is that he’s been exploring sound and allegedly having a hand in the instrumentals, which only serves to expand his range, so my previous assumptions on his album might already be outdated.

#TAJ asks #nauicheonsanauisesang #bts #park jimin #jimin #min yoongi #yoongi #jeon jungkook #jungkook

[celestemagnoliathewriter]

Your Blackbolt stories are so good! (as is everything you write). I notice as time has gone on, you seem to like and be much more invested in Sirius as a character than you were at one point. I gained a much greater appreciation for the character myself after I stopped letting certain shippers and spaces bother me.

Wow, thank you so much anon! I've got so much to say about this, so forgive the long post:

I am definitely more interested in Sirius as a character than I ever have been. Two big reasons for that: A) I've gotten to know the lovely @artemisia-black. Her metas about Sirius have really helped me understand him as a character and appreciate him. B) I too have given myself some distance from certain ships and spaces that once put a bad taste in my mouth for Sirius Black.

As for Blackbolt, one of the reasons I got into the ship (and thus got more invested in Sirius) was by sheer dumb luck. Awhile ago, I wrote a crack fic, Always Knock, and I wanted to make these wild ships happen, and for what I think are obvious reasons, I didn't include certain popular ships. Instead I put Sirius x Kingsley together and thought wait just a hot minute, there's something to this.

Then, for A Changing Pack, which features Sirius more heavily, I wanted to write a ship for him (and it's not in the fic yet, so sneak preview, I guess?). I don't like making OCs unless I have to, because they're so much work, so I looked back at canon characters, looking for a good 'fit.' I remembered Kingsley, and found a way to get that relationship going in the fic (though we're not there yet!).

When @harrypocter did its winter sun fest, starting with Kingsley, I already had stories to write based on reflection of Sirius's character and the role I wanted him to play in A Changing Pack, but I had to think deeper to look at Sirius from a canon perspective, to see how this would work with his 'baseline' personality.

Now I've got this good idea in my head of how they'd be in canon, but how they'd be in a different story too. I'm super excited to introduce Blackbolt into my Remus raises Harry AU, but I'm also excited to show off this new ship (as of today it still doesn't even have 50 fics on ao3, how crazy is that?) and see how Sirius's personality can be brought out in a new dimension when he's got someone else taking up some of his time and affection.

Anyway, all that's to say thank you and to reflect on my own journey with Sirius and Blackbolt.

#sirius black #kingsley shacklebolt #blackbolt #starking #kingsley x sirius #sirius x kingsley #asks #send asks #thank you

[randomcanbian]

What kind of Edeleth fanfic are you reading? I read a lot of fanfic ( albeit I filter what I read ) and Edeleth always put an emphasis on Byleth, the person beyond the vessel and mercenary. It's often one of the major point of the story.

Okay, in fairness my rants are in large part due to recency bias 😂 There are several (dozens of?) amazing, well-written Edeleth fic with Byleth fleshed out as a character who's usefulness isn't only relegated to physical battles but also to strategy and the morale of the Strike Force and the Imperial Army/Adrestian Faithful at large, whose personal relationships didn't revolve entirely around Edelgard!

That said, I've been reading Edeleth fics since the game came out, I've finished all the fics whose opening chapters I found good/interesting, so I've been trying to read everything else...honestly, it's no wonder there's a drop in quality. My gripe is just that there's so many fics among the recent ones I've read where I find Byleth's characterization unsatisfying, and I'm the type of person who gets annoyed when there are a lot of people who think about my fave in a certain way. Hence, the rants.

To describe what types of fics I've read, here are common enough tropes that I've found in multiple Edeleth fics that I find annoying:

Byleth's humanization coming from her loving Edelgard first-and-foremost--the insinuation that romantic love trumps platonic love rankles me. I wish there was more of an emphasis on how Byleth was humanized through her caring for all her students, and they caring for her in return. And--it's a matter of personal taste I guess--but I like to think Byleth returned Edelgard's romantic feelings only during the timeskip. Before that, she cared for all her students equally.

Byleth choosing to side with Edelgard because it's Edelgard, and not because of the ideals she's waging a war for. Hate that. I've read too many fics where Byleth doesn't really get why Edelgard wants the crest system eradicated / abolish nobles, but she's siding with her because it's her. I'd rather people draw from her background as a commoner--I know that Byleth's been in a daze for most of her early life, but if FEW3H has proven anything is that Byleth feels good when she helps people. Outside of the mercenary group, where she has the chance to interact with people she didn't have to kill, that she had to take care for--it should be enough for her to reflect on her own principles.

Post-Crimson Flower where Byleth isn't doing anything except waiting for her wife to come home and complaining about how much work she's doing and being emo about how they don't have enough time together. Even without the crest and Sothis' power she's a skilled fighter and a great tactician. She also has experience as a commoner / mercenary which Edelgard and the Twin Jewels (I love you Ferdibert) don't have. Surely she'd be better utilized and much busier than just being Edelgard's arm candy? (Honestly lmao I think most of my frustration stem from fics centered on this...like I know the writers wanted to write a fluff fic based on this trope and didn't want to overthink it, but it just bothers me. I'm a complainer.)

I hate dumb jock Byleth. Hate it. She may not know a lot about the world, but it's out of a lack of curiosity, as well as her father intentionally hiding things from her. I see her as someone more pragmatic, who only searches for knowledge if it's of use to her, but if it interests her she picks it up quickly. I remember seeing this more often in modern AUs, but I'm sure it's happened enough in fics set in canon for the hatred to have cemented in my mind.

I heavily dislike fics where Byleth barely interacts with the rest of the Black Eagles, or where it's obvious that she cares about them much less than she does Edelgard. I also dislike fics where the rest of the Black Eagles feel distant from Byleth, when in-game they were as worried about her as Edelgard was.

Special mention since I'm already complaining, but it's not really relevant because it's more a personal taste:

Byleth and Edelgard falling in love at first sight (I find love at first sight stupid in general, it's inorganic. I understand horny-at-first-sight, and obsession-at-first-sight, but the love-at-first-sight trope bothers me, and there are only certain ships where I'll let it slide. A recent fic that I read that I loved had Edeleth review an opera someone made of their love story, and both of them agreed that the initial part where they fell in love at first sight was stupid and wanted it rewritten, lmfao. It also makes less sense on Byleth's side due to her muted emotions. I'd buy that she'd feel connected to Edelgard because of her shared crest, but many fic writers don't go that angle, she just thinks Edelgard's hot, and that really annoys me (muted emotions reason))

#im sure i can think of more common byleth tropes that i hate but i really did waste too much time on this haha #i'm sorry i'm a hater #anw tl;dr there are actually a lot of great edeleth fics but since i ran out of them ages ago (except for the occasional ones that pop up) #im left to read fics that i find less suitable to my tastes #and i'm the type of ranter apparently who generalizes the fandom when i'm in a fit of anger #i also want to add that it's not just fics but also popular tweets / social media takes on byleth that send me on these rants #hope this is a satisfactory enough answer for you anon

[tmarshconnors]

Traits Through Your Preferred Drink Choices! 

As a non-drinker navigating the world of socialising, I've found myself in a unique position to observe the fascinating interplay between individuals and their drink choices. In this exploration of the psychology behind preferred alcoholic beverages.

I bring a teetotaler's perspective to the table. While I may not partake in the libations, I've keenly observed the distinct personalities that emerge based on what people choose to sip on.

Oh who am I kidding? I can’t lie I have had a drink before. If I had to drink it would be a Baileys Irish Cream with ice. It’s a form of Whiskey in case you didn’t know.  No lie though I do enjoy my tea and coffee to much. I digress let's get on with this blog..

Brandy - The Social Sage 🥃

If you're calmly sipping brandy, cognac, or Armagnac, you don't mind being noticed. You may not seek attention actively, but there's something captivating about you. You're the social sage, preferring to stay quietly seated in the corner, speaking only when necessary.

Whiskey - The Confident Storyteller 🥃

Confidence is your middle name if whiskey is your drink of choice. You enjoy entertaining others with stories from your life, valuing lasting happiness over temporary highs. Just be cautious not to cross the thin line between confidence and overconfidence, especially after a few personalized drinks.

Tequila - The Life of the Party 🍹

Living in the moment is your motto. Success or failure calls for a celebration, and nothing says party like a tray of tequila shots. You're at ease being the 

center of attention on the dance floor, interpreting "You can dance" as a direct order from your drink.

Scotch - The Discerning Drinker 🥃

Distinguishing between scotch and whiskey, you're a slow drinker who appreciates life's finer aspects. Criticisms about arrogance for knowing the difference roll off you, as you prefer saying one wise word over talking all night.

Absinthe - The Naturally Creative 🍸

Always seeking your next muse, you keep to yourself and surround yourself with like-minded individuals. Your creativity knows no bounds, and you carry instruments, sketchbooks, or notebooks wherever you go, aiming to inspire without seeking fame.

Margarita - The Conversationalist 🍹

Margarita drinkers fall into two categories: frozen or on the rocks. If you enjoy frozen margaritas, love dancing, and embrace garish party decorations, you're a social butterfly. On-the-rocks drinkers start conversations with anyone and love making new friends outside their group.

Champagne - The Ravishing Life Lover 🍾

Your life is simply ravishing. Champagne is your everyday celebratory drink, reflecting your grand perspective on life. You have a magnificent taste, giving precise answers and expressing opinions eloquently.

Vodka - The Life of the Party 2.0 🍸

Vodka drinkers dive into the action, turning up the music and buying rounds of shots. It's about tracking progress more than savoring the flavor. Vodka cranberry enthusiasts simply want to see how much is left in the glass.

Wine - The Super Social 🍷

Wine drinkers spill secrets, whether their own or others'. With a glass of Pinot, their daring levels rise, making even the most personal questions fair game. They adore a good story and are super social.

Gin Martini - The Traditionalist 🍸

Classic gin martini drinkers are traditionalists who appreciate the art of holding their liquor. Known for their enigmatic and intelligent nature, they grab attention effortlessly at parties. According to some, they aren't particularly fond of those who order filthy martinis.

Always remember: psychology is my playground, and people are my puzzle. Investigating the intricacies of the human mind is my passion.

#PsychologyInvestigation #MindfulObservation #PersonalityTraits #PsychologyPlayground #CuriousMind #HumanBehavior #MindUnveiled #IntriguingInsights #MentalMaze #PuzzleOfPersonality #DiscoverTheMind #PsychologyJourney #BehavioralPatterns #CognitiveExploration #AnalyzingMinds #PsycheRevealed #MindfulInteractions #SoulfulPsychology #MindMysteries #InsightfulInquiries #today on tumblr #deep thinking #new blog

[nmiinh]

Compulsory Question 1

In Week 11, we were asked to create a manifesto that sums up Critical Thinking Skills B as a group. Based on each member's shared values, goals and interests, our group manifesto champions the ethos of being Bold, Raw, and Authentic in our creative pursuits. It goes by the name "A Quick Guide to Be Bold, Raw, and Authentic."  We've come up with 10 straightforward "rules," each accompanied by a brief insight. These rules mostly revolve around the common challenges encountered in our early days as designers, explaining how we tackled them and the lessons we learned from those experiences.

Honestly, I'm not entirely content with the outcome. The insights are quite basic and general. I haven't really taken the time to ponder this aspect before, so this is also an opportunity for me to figure out what I want in my work. If given the chance, I'd like to make some changes.

After taking some time to contemplate and engage in self-reflection, I came to the realization that these common problems are shared not just by myself but also by most of my colleagues. These are some valuable lessons I've gained from this journey.

The only enemy is yourself.

Remember, everyone follows their own timeline, so comparing yourself to others doesn't help. It's like a two-edged sword – useful for figuring out where you stand, but be careful not to overdo it. Instead, measure your progress against your past self, not others. This not only keeps things healthier mentally but also makes success more personal and tailored to your journey.

2. Be kind to yourself.

Have you ever felt that, despite making numerous changes, you're never quite satisfied? It's likely because you have good taste. I found my answer while stumbled upon some valuable insights from an artist named "nae" on her YouTube channel. She's been generously sharing her learnings from the past few years of chasing her dreams. As the saying goes, "Your taste is why your work disappoints you." There exists a gap between your skills and your refined taste. This creates lofty expectations, especially challenging for beginners. You sense, if not outright know, that there's immense potential within you. The catch is, you might not have acquired enough skills to bring it to life yet. Achieving balance involves persistent practice. One effective method is to mimic until you organically develop your unique style.

3. Trust. The. Process. 

Don't just stay on your bed, envisioning how you'll tackle your work. Rise and engage with something on your computer, even if it seems trivial. Eventually, something will come out, rather than nothing. Take those small steps consistently – that's what builds the bigger picture. Consistency in the small things makes a big difference.

CTS B prompted self-reflection, pushing me to confront questions I'd been avoiding. Following this, I feel more grounded, having a support system whenever stress or confusion arises in this journey. With a relaxed mindset, I anticipate creating better work in the future.

Word count: 495 words

References:

“･ﾟ✧ What 4 years of chasing my dreams ☆ has taught me” YouTube, uploaded by nae, 1 Aug. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a-EYyTzoUI&list=WL&index=61&t=504s.

“･ﾟ✧ What 4 years of chasing my dreams ☆ has taught me” 09:34–09:39).

[sian4chatsworth]

Size

Paloma Elsesser

Model Paloma Elsesser joins Precious Lee and Jill Kortleve on the cover of the April issue of British Vogue, under the tagline the "new supers". The trio are a powerful force within the industry, who all share a vision for purposeful fashion and imagery and ask for a more thoughtful and inclusive approach. Paloma is one of the most influential models on the circuit, and was named Model of the Year by Models.com in 2020. In the April issue, she describes confronting an industry that is largely white and thin-centric, and getting to a place where she feels supported "alongside my sisters and the game".

The Brilliant Women Who Brought London Fashion Week To Life

The mood was high on female empowerment at London Fashion Week, as designers cast women of all ages, ethnicities and sizes to model their condensed collections, born during the reflective period instigated by the global pandemic.

Devyn Garcia

Devyn Garcia is very much of and defining the moment, inspired by and moving into the space opened up by models and fellow i-D cover stars like Precious Lee and Paloma Elsesser.

They’re a generation of models broadening what we see in fashion, and Devyn has found herself emerging into the spotlight, effortlessly encapsulating the new mood of freedom in fashion.

Paloma: I wonder also whether the fact that you’re dealing with social media as you start out, has that affected you at all? How do you see yourself? How do you see your body? Your identity?

Devyn: I personally don’t like social media. I find myself comparing myself to other girls - whether it’s the work we’re doing or how we look. We all have our days where we feel super confident. In general, I love the way I look, I love this little mark on my body. And then some days I want to crawl into a hole and just lay there. So I do still find myself comparing myself to other girls where it’s like, oh, why isn’t my stomach as flat as hers? There’s another side of it too - that a picture never captures how you look in real life at all; whether it’s a picture from a professional photographer, or just something taken on an iPhone. Sometimes you look smaller. Sometimes you look bigger. You don’t look like that.

Zoe Elyse

Signed with Wilhelmina Models, Zoe Elyse's career as a petite model has garnered her a following of over 75k followers on Instagram. Known for her quirky style and edgy personality, Zoe interlaces her work with her personal life in an act of transparency.

The petite model explained in an interview with Dazey Lady that becoming a model at her height was a difficult road to head down. "It doesn't happen overnight and the let downs I've experienced only push me forward and help me grow." Zoe's passion for the industry and support from her family kept her eyes on the prize.

Now, Zoe posed for a Teen Vogue campaign and has modelled for Refinery29 to Dolls Kill. She continues to push onwards and truly believes modelling should be based on skill, not body requirements.

"Have fun and don't take yourself too seriously."

Crystal Renn

Having overcome her eating disorder, Renn is now on a mission to foster self-esteem in young women of all sizes.

A lot of people know about your before and after modelling careers, what do you like about modelling at your current size?

“I don’t have to worry about my weight. I’m not someone who says everyone should be plus or everyone should be thin. I fluctuate. I am what I am. And I don’t think I should gain weight for people. I would never take back my experiences because I learned that at a very young age and that’s helped me in all areas of my life. I think this job has the potential to change young girls and to make them into well-rounded human beings if it’s done right.”

What do you see for yourself in the next 10 years?

“Many, many things! I’d really like to design a line for fuller figured women. I think it would be extremely positive for them because I probably have a different taste in clothes than most of the plus-sized clothes that have been put out there and I’d like to offer that to them in some way.

Harvard Referencing:

Fig 1. MONDADORI PORTFOLIO/GETTY IMAGES. (2022) Paloma Elsesser walking in the Andreadamo spring/summer 2023 show. [Photograph] Available from: https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/paloma-elsesser-facts [Accessed: 6th September 2023]

Fig 2. ELIZA SYS. (N/A) "It's The Perfect White Tee" [Online] Available from: https://issuemagazine.com/zoe-elyse/#/ [Accessed: 25th September 2023]

Fig 3. LE SEGRETAIN/GETTY IMAGES. (2010) SAINT TROPEZ, FRANCE - MAY 11: A model walks the runway during the Chanel Cruise Collection Presentation on May 11, 2010 in Saint-Tropez, France. [Photograph] Available from: https://www.glamour.com/story/crystal-renn-hits-the-runway-f [Accessed: 26th September 2023]

SPEDDING, E. (2023) 5 Things You Didn't Know About Paloma Elsesser. [Online] Available from: https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/paloma-elsesser-facts [Accessed: 6th September 2023].

NEWBOLD, A. (2020) Meet The Brilliant Women Who Brought London Fashion Week To Life. [Online] Available from: https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/real-women-london-fashion-week-casting [Accessed: 6th September 2023].

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Fashion Model Devyn Garcia Discusses Body Inclusivity And Beauty Standards. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/crFrs297Piw?si=BysJHh12dILOGsEq [Accessed 22 Sep. 2023].

ELSESSER, P. (2021) Devyn Garcia: “I didn’t want to be a typical curvy girl selling a T-shirt.” [Online] Available from: https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/qjbbww/devyn-garcia-interview [Accessed: 22nd September 2023]

DAWSON, N. (N/A) Top 10 Petite Models Changing The Game. [Online] Available from: https://thephotostudio.com.au/all/inspiration/10-petite-models-changing-the-game/ [Accessed: 25th September 2023]

HUFFPOST. (2010) Crystal Renn is Big on Beauty and Brains: Why This Positive Plus-Size Model is Poised to Change Fashion. [Online] Available from: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/crystal-renn-is-big-on-be_b_527831/amp [Accessed: 26th September 2023]

[awfullydxpeched2]

1. Reflection on a Social Medium: Bandcamp

Bandcamp is a music-based platform, somewhat of a streaming platform but is not the sole purpose. The purpose of Bandcamp is to discover new music, almost an social media for discovering music, showing vinyls or music you have purchased from this platform in a digital feed, and having a profile that shows a collection of your music you have discovered or saved or that you have bought. I am a user of bandcamp myself, as my music taste relies primarily on more niche or now mainly obsolete musical genres, such as new wave (1980s), synth pop, or genres less mainstream like goth music. I haven't found much use in Bandcamp though in honesty, being not that interested in social media personally, as I prefer to find my music through word of mouth, finding music at record stores or records I am given, or recommendations from family or people who are established members of subcultures like goth or new wave, or new romantics. I think there is potential in Bandcamp, for those who are music obsessed and who enjoy discovering music, as well as having a social media element attached to this process.

2.

Something I did this week: Aggie Album Associates Meeting: Darkwave

I was really nervous going into this club where they were listening to Black Celebration by Depeche Mode from the genre I nominated, Darkwave, because I was worried people would strongly dislike it or either hate it. But, I was pleasantly surprised to see others enjoyed it, a lot. Perhaps not as much as I enjoy it as a hardcore Depeche Mode devotee, as most cannot compare to me in that sense, but liked it a lot and was really impressed by what they had heard in the album. It made me very happy, to see something special and central to my life, Depeche Mode, appreciated by others, and seeing what I see in that music.

3.

Response to Non-Assigned Reading: Why Do We Own Lab Animals?

This article discusses the viewpoints on animals being tested on or medicinal or other purposes, for the supposed benefit of human safety. This is something that stands out to me, purely from a disagreement standpoint. Personally, I follow a plant based diet, and have in some variation since I was 12. I progressed from stopping drinking milk when I was 12, to pescetarianism and still not drinking milk when I was 14, to vegetarianism when I was 16, to veganism when I was 18, as well as adopting a pro cruelty-free viewpoint. I've always been against animal testing in some capacity. Specifically cosmetics, as someone who is passionate about cosmetology and was previously training to become a cosmetologist, I believe beauty should be ethical and free of animal testing, there is no need, in my viewpoint to test on animals for cosmetics, or medicines, to commit cruel and harmful tests on living creatures. If we have any doubt at all that this product or medicine is unsafe for humans, it should not be produced or should be altered accordingly without animal testing.

4.

Something I did this week:

This week I've been pondering in depth the 1980s music revivals that have been occurring, whether it be through TikTok or a song's inclusion on a tv show, like Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill for example. For me it's been a issue, in the sense that while some people will discover a song and continue listening to it and explore the artist more, most will briefly be into the song, which will become a trend and then ultimately be forgotten. I am thinking of a specific example when considering this phenomenon though. Precisely, the song Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode being a part of trend on TikTok, and song Never Let Me Down Again having a revival due to tv show The Last of Us featuring the song in a episode. I have conflicting views on the matter. For context I am a passionate, devoted fan of Depeche Mode, for almost three years since I was 16 and this band is my all-time favorite artist, that is of great importance and emotional significance to me, and that plays a large role in my life that cannot be underestimated and diminished. I feel that while sharing this music, does allow some new listeners, it makes the song into a trend, where people will quickly use the song for trendiness, but not appreciate it's artistic depth and just how musically innovative the music can be, and instead just use it to get views on a video, which is issue for me, one that is caused by TikTok that I do not agree with. It makes songs, incredible songs, just reduced to an option for money or fame, which is not what this music, not just necessarily Depeche's, but is not what any music is intended for.

5. Two Quotes:

Fake Pictures of People of Color Won't Fix AI Bias:

The issue that these technologists are looking to fix is a critical one. AIs are riddled with defects, unlocking phones for the wrong person because they can’t tell Asian faces apart, falsely accusing people of crimes they did not commit, and mistaking darker-skinned people for gorillas. These spectacular failures aren’t anomalies, but rather inevitable consequences of the data AIs are trained on, which for the most part skews heavily white and male—making these tools imprecise instruments for anyone who doesn’t fit this narrow archetype.

Layoffs Broke Big Tech's College Elite:

In recent months, many former interns and recent grads have found themselves among the thousands of people laid off at the major tech companies. That has prompted many soon-to-be grads like Xie, who once assumed they’d easily slide into employment at one of tech’s marquee names, to rethink the value of these companies, their own prospects, and in some cases, what they want from their careers.

6. Response to a non assigned reading:

The "Enshittifcation" of TikTok

The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok

Or how, exactly, platforms die.

WIRED

This article discusses Tik Tok's use of the recommendation system it uses for the app's For You Page. I was excited to see this article, as I have had my deep issues with TikTok, in a philosophical sense, and won't use it. I think the app promotes a lot of misinformation, as well as doesn't promote good content in general, focused on deep topics, almost surface level in its content matter and promotes creater's who are lacking education, intelligence, or integrity, which creates a toxic app culture, at least for me, and I think it is quite harmful for youth. Now, I have felt this way since the app originated when I was 14, and tried it briefly twice then never used it again, and I enjoyed seeing this article promote a view of TikTok similar to my own on it.

7. Resources for a future assignment:

FORBES Why have cassettes made a comeback?

Warbly, wobbly audio tapes are back, baby.

INVERSE

The Convenience of the Cassette

The audio cassette wowed us, entertained us and even educated us but eventually it quietly faded away, making way for its successors.

SOUTHTREE

Cassette

cassette, also called tape cassette, in audio and video recording, flat, rectangular container made of plastic or lightweight metal that ho

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA

Hit the Deck: The Cassette Tape Revival Is in Full Swing

Artists, tape manufacturers, and distributors weigh in on major-label involvement in the latest trend in physical music media.

FLOOD

Global Revival Of Cassettes Has Flourished During The Pandemic

Cassettes are on the up and up and sales have been aided by the pandemic, not hindered, doubling during 2020.

8.

Response to a Non Assigned Reading

Rolling Stone, Trump Says He's Entitled to a Revenge Tour if He Wins in 2024

I have many thoughts about this, too many to fit into this post. As someone who is fiercely Liberal, and despises Trump and the current Republican party with everything in my being, my views on him often range from a mix of "How can anyone even still support this idiot?" or "How does the Republican party become increasingly popular despite everything we know?" As well as everyone else involved with the Trump stratosphere, don't even get me started on Marjorie Taylor Green, perhaps one the most unintelligent, crazy people in politics currently.  It's just another example of why the Republican party is corrupted, none of this would be an issue if we had not let Trump into office for four years. But what does that say about our country? While amazing things legally are coming for Trump that, I, am looking forward to, it still says a lot that he's even considering running again, and that there may be people who will support him. In my eyes, he cannot win again. His winning in 2016 represents how deeply racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, xenophobic, misogynistic, and many other things that are embedded in America, and his being president again will take this to a whole other level of extremeness, one that is incredibly dangerous and needs to be prevented at all costs, for the sake of women, and every other minority group.

[0nlylivinggirl]

bunny - mona awad

It's just so bunny, don't you think bunny? 3 ⭐️

I bought this book MONTHS ago and abandoned it for other, more interesting books I was picking up because every time I looked at it I had this sick feeling I wasn't going to like it. I ended up reading the damn thing in 3 days ... which is the fastest I've ran through a book this year. A lot of the book coincided with my personal tastes in fiction such as there's sort of no massively obvious plot, it's a little confusing, a little mundane; this one differed in the sense it had a fantasy, horror underpinning where typically my taste is more reality based. I felt like I got sucked into what was happening just like the main character got sucked into her situation. I even found myself starting to use 'bunny' in conversation just as it's done in the book I was that entranced. Although I enjoyed the more twisted content I personally didn't find the book extremely hilarious or satirical as said in the reviews but that could just be me. The ending did leave me with questions but in a good way, in a way I like. I'm more fond of stories where there is no big answers or happy ending so it worked for my tastes. There was a plot twist I didn't expect that was done so, so cleverly. I totally should've picked up on it quicker from a storyteller/writer's perspective, however, I was happy I hadn't figured it out because it just reflects how well the book was written. Overall I enjoyed Mona's writing style most; it was continuously interesting, easy to read and really pulled you in. I'd totally recommend this book to anyone who loves something a little bit more on the messed up side, or anyone who's looking for a quick read that will swallow them up.

#digital diary #bookclub #book lover #book review #bunny #spoiler free