#we love a bit of research

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Mushroom body

(for @mikkeneko)

#SVSSS #shen qingqiu #mushrooms #body horror #better drawn mdzs #<-tag for higher effort art. At times like this I really wish I chose something else. #What is an October raffle for if not to end off with a little mushroomy body horror? #This one is inspired by my massive disappointment upon discovering that sqq's 'mushroom body' was just....guy shaped. #Come ON where is the fun in that? Why are we being kept from Fungi Amalgamation Monster Loving? #It's not going to stop Luo Binghe! SQQ could be a shapeless lump of slime and LBH and would still be over the moon for him. #Thank you *so* much for the prompt! I had so much fun. I love mushrooms and doing research was a delight! My citation list is long! #Broke my style a bit but I think it was a good choice. I have been trying to practice non-dot eyes more and its slowly coming along! #Also huge congrats mikkeneko for winning Twice In A Row!! #Your odds were a little over 1 in 1000! Lucky you!

[sweetgaleria]

Help a college student graduate by answering a survey!!

Hey!! Are you over 18 and in the miraculous fandom? Then this is for you!!

Hi everyone, this is my last semester of uni, and one of my final projects to be able to graduate is to write a scientific paper. I'm writing an article about adult fans of children's animation, specifically Miraculous Ladybug. My goal is to understand what makes adults (like us) want to join fandoms centered around shows aimed primarily at children, and to do that I'd love to hear directly from the source! The survey takes around 10 minutes to answer, it's 100% anonymous and it would help me immensely!

>>Click here for the survey<<

I need at least 30 people to answer, but honestly the more the merrier! I've also made a little thank you gif at the end, so if you see it let me know! If you have any questions feel free to send me an ask, as well!

Please reblog so it can reach more people! Thank you so much!

#what do we love (or hate!! I know people are here bc they dont like the show as much too) abt miraculous that #makes us want to spend so much time thinking and creating things for and about it? #miraculous ladybug #i am once again asking for your support #insert bernie sanders meme here #alskdjasd #no but really if you answer this it would help me so so much #and i'll be so thankful #i will reblog this post a bit frequently so please be patient with me 😭😭 #also the point of this is not to shame anyone for watching kid's shows in any shape or form #i just love animation and kids cartoons too #my first intentions with this research were to ask why do we mostly view animation as a kid's genre instead of a technique to tell stories #in the west at least #but it was too broad of a question and I dont have enough time to dedicate myself to it #so i narrowed it down to something i'm familiar with #which is why i went for #so uh anyway #pls reblog #and answer my survey #thank you so much

[skitskatdacat63]

Fernando Alonso & His Relationship With Cards

I'm sure we're all familar with the cards on the back of Fernando's Vegas GP helmet by now, but did you know his relationship with cards goes a lot deeper?

I. Magic Tricks

You've probably seen or heard someone at least mention Fernando's propensity for card tricks. As far as I can tell he was doing them(publically) as far back as 2003 all the way to as recently as 2018. Even once performing a card trick, with a condom and a teddy bear(!??!?!??!!), in front of Valentino Rossi who said "How was that possible?"(x)

But how did this start? According to James Allen, "Fernando admits to having been heavily influenced by his grandfather, a mercurial figure, who taught him magic and card tricks, still one of his passions away from the race track."(x) And I'm not sure the validity of this one, because I couldn't find an actual source, but apparently he once said: "My parents are responsible for the two things I like doing most - driving and magic tricks. They bought me my first go-kart and a magician's kit."

In several interviews he described it as his hobby off track, and that he loved learning new tricks and surprising others in the garage with them! So clearly cards are pretty important to him both as a hobby but also to who he is as a person since they've been with him just as long as racing has.

II. Card Symbolism in His Helmets

This is the reason I originally made this post, but I thought I should also explain the origins of his card fascination first. As I said, we probably all remember the cards on the back of his helmet in Vegas, but did you know that wasn't the first time he had cards on the back of his helmet?

From 2008-2013, he used to have a pair of cards on the back of his helmets. The symbolisms of the cards themselves as well as the evolution of their design is really fascinating to me! Even more so with the recent development of the card choice in 2023.

Fernando said he wanted to reference his two titles in some way on the back of his helmet and after his friend sent him several ideas, he decided on having two cards(an ace of clubs and an ace of hearts, sometimes pictured with 05 and 06 on them as well), saying: "I picked the cloverleaf [the ace of clubs - Ed] to give me luck, but the only pity is that it doesn't have four leaves!"(X)

2008.

Here's the very first appearance of the cards! They're displayed flat, with the 05 and 06 clearly visible

2009.

Very similar to 2008, but with a slightly different design, and they're maybe a bit more straight with less shadow?

2010.

This is the first major change! I was sad they didn't have the years on them anymore, but then I realized they're sparkly to match with his signature lightning bolts on the top of the helmet!!

2011.

Honestly I'm still somewhat unsure if this is the actual 2011 helmet? It's pretty difficult to find clear photos of the back of helmets from older seasons. It's easiest to find them on replica sites or auction sites so I'm not 100%? But anyways, I like that this has the championship years on the underside of the cards

2012.

This is when I started getting weirdly emotional about the helmets. Do you see how they've progressed from being a centerpoint to being curled up and sad at the bottom of the helmet? Not listing the year anymore??

2013.

Same thoughts as 2012. And after this season, they cease to exist (just like his ferrari chair in the garage, WOAH CALLBACK), until cards make a reeappearance in his Vegas helmet, albeit in a different form

2013 Monaco(Honorable Mention):

For some reason 2013 helmets were easier to find proper pictures of, so I happened to witness this absolute beauty. The creativity of this helmet genuinely blows me away??? Wanting to keep the card motif, but making sure to incorporate it into the rest of the puzzle piece design?? Mwah! There was another special 2013 helmet but they didn't change the cards at all so I really applaud this one

2023 Las Vegas(The Return of The King):

The magnificent return! But look! The cards are different cards! Instead of being two aces, it's now an ace of hearts, a four of hearts(his driver number of course!) and, the, now iconic, representation of himself as a Joker. I literally could not believe my eyes when this helmet was released and I saw the Joker card, what a fucking silly old man....I really wonder if he felt nostalgic having cards on his helmet again or if he didn't think about it all and was just like, "ah cards because Vegas!!!"

III. Why Does This Matter?

*The rest of the post was factual, this is moreso my personal thoughts on the symbolism of the cards/designs

This post spawned from me recently watching the 2010 Bahrain gp and noticing "hey wait a minute...are those CARDS ON THE BACK OF HIS HELMET!?" It's a really tiny detail that's unfortunately covered up by the HANS device pretty much whenever he's wearing the helmet, so it's really difficult to spot! But I became fascinated with the fact that he had cards on his helmet before that recent helmet, and now here we are!

There's something to me about how the design of the cards evolves over the course of six seasons from the cards being front and center to being smaller, more folded up and closer to the bottom of the helmet. As I said, the 2012-2013 ones genuinely made me depressed because it feels, symbolically, like his hopes for getting another Ace are becoming more and more unlikely and falling away until they eventually fall falt and fade away entirely after 2013 and disappear for basically a decade.

But when they return? They're not the same cards! Instead of representing Fernando's championships, they now represent him as a person, displaying his driver number and his persona of being a Joker!! Though I do think it's interesting he happened to keep the Ace of Hearts, even though he talked more about the Ace of Clubs before. I'm not sure it's actually this deep in reality, but I like to think that it's him not letting his championships(and the lack thereof) define him, but rather letting who he is as a person shine and be the centerpoint instead! But on a sadder note, as @suzuki-ecstar said to me, maybe the Aces aren't there anymore because he's lost all hope for a chance at a third Ace entirely :(

#yes its finals week and im up to my eyes in coursework but instead decided to spend like 5 hours researching and writing this post #nah bcs i actually genuinely put more work into this then I think I have all semester dsfjdskjg #that thing about him using a condom and teddy bear in a magic trick genuinely had me crying with laugher. actual tears rolling down my face #<- HOW!?!? WHAT WAS THE TRICK?? its literally inconceivable to me what he did. oh if only there were pics UGH #anyways!! this post was a lot of fun to make!! i really really love the symbolism and design of helmets so this was a rly fun project #and i also went down a lot of rabbitholes while make this and saw many very weird articles from yore #i feel like i make an equal amnt of deranged posts abt seb and nando but i dont know why nando is gifted w all my well researched projects #<- i.e. chair post. that was the same level of research as this one but at least this one i could find actual sources about.... #idk theres smth about the extremely long history of nando's history that evokes research posts like this KLAJSLSKDJ #theres just so much that i dont think I ever really see people discussing! so i must create. #haha what was that joke tag i wanted to make abt my researched posts? I think: #normal posts that catie normally makes in a normal fashion #<- one day ill go back and actually tag posts w that. bcs the amtn of research compared to my actual schoolwork is so unwell #fernando alonso #fa14 #f1 #formula 1 #catie.rambling.txt #we do a little bit of f1

[mossypidder]

I have more reasons but I don’t have the energy to write them right now.

But yeah, I’ve been thinking about what I’d be if I were in Faas and Enya’s universe and I thought I’d be a changeling as well for a while for many reasons, but upon further consideration I think I was wrong. So here’s the first concept art for a my avian persona.

As for the songs (which was one of the main influences on why I started thinking about avians because I realized that over the last six months the majority of songs I’ve been obsessed with have bird centric undertones at the very least) you can find them here

#my art #this is the first fluid pose I’ve managed to do in a long time and I’m so proud of it #also I was drawing the headshot at co-op and multiple kids came up behind me and were like #ooo cool bird person #it was still a sketch at that point so I was happy it translated as bird #and just compliments from kids are the best ones #avian character design #character design #persona #Ava art #avariel #avian #bird humanoid #the wings and coloration are based on a female cutthroat grosbeak #because I’ve always really loved their markings- even more than the males #and upon researching into them I’d say we actually have quite a bit in common #they are usually very solitary birds #the biggest group you’ll find them in is nesting pairs #they are rather elusive #they live mostly off seeds nuts and fruits #which I relate heavily to lol #they care for their young a nearly after they’ve fledged #sometimes longer #there were other things but I can’t remember them #will add them when I remember #small artist #artists on tumblr #chibi style #digital art #young artist

[sunnykeysmash]

the structure in mac and dennis break up

this is gonna be a short post tbh, I just rewatched the episode and I have a couple of thoughts.

if you need a refresher on what I think the structure is in general, I talk about it here.

I think Mac and Dennis Break Up shows us an example of Mac and Dennis (and Charlie and Frank) working properly in regards to the structure, let me explain why:

First... I don't think there's a need for me to describe the plot of the episode, we all know.

What I want to focus on, is that at one point Mac moves in with Frank and Charlie, and starts bringing his way of life to them.

At first, Frank is thrilled.

"I could use a little structure in my life here." he says.

This reminds me of dialogue from Carries a Corpse.

"Nobody admit this to Mac, but... I feel like he was carrying a ton of weight."

"That would be another one of his annoying identities... the man who could carry stuff."

He's been shown carrying Dennis, on top of generally being inclined to micromanage, take care of others so they're safe, and make decisions or at least demand to be consulted in them (like which movie to watch on movie night).

That's when Mac works best, so I assume that Mac generally brings structure (or is a man of action, as he describes it).

Later on, we see Mac take this too far, and Frank doesn't like it anymore. To me, this is because what this episode tells us is that Charlie and Frank don't work well with a set structure, the way that Mac provides. They're more free.

I think this reading is important because it shows me why The Gang Gets Romantic fundamentally fails in its objective (not as an episode god forbid, I mean in the narrative, especially for Mac and Dennis).

It applies the romcom structure to Charlie and Frank, while it doesn't to Mac and Dennis, when it should be the opposite. Throughout the episode we see that Mac and Dennis keep fitting the tropes to the romcom structure, but they refuse to follow it, and thus it crumbles. It can't work.

Here's another thing.

Dennis' back broke in the S15 finale.

That is funny, yes, but what does this mean when I say that Mac is the (his) structure, then?

Well... Carries a Corpse implies that Mac was carrying most of the weight of the corpse, and the corpse is meant to be the show... and most show meta is basically the same as Dennis meta (most meta lines seem to relate to him, whether the fact he left for north dakota and came back, or the fact he's a dad, being between life and death, breaking his back aka the structure, and so on), as I have discussed better in my other post.

Point being, Mac carries Dennis. That's what he's meant to do, and what he does best in their relationship.

This makes me think of another recent scene that I think is emblematic of their dynamic... but in an interesting way.

So, in 2020: a Year in Review, Mac and Dennis work together on a song.

They seem to be in harmony, but eventually start disagreeing and stop altogether to focus on something else. Why?

Because Dennis is working on the backup vocals, and Mac is working on the words. Which means their roles are reversed. Mac is supposed to be carrying the song, like the wind beneath his wings that he is, and Dennis, like the man of words that he is, should be responsible for the lyrics. They're doing each other's job, which means any harmony they reach is still bound to crack a bit the moment the song doesn't work for them.

Their seating position on their sofa reflects this.

Compare it to Mac and Dennis Break Up, which is supposed to be our ideal.

They're in each other's places, in 2020.

This isn't new, they've been sitting in each other's places ever since Break Up. Mac was sitting in Dennis' place in MFHP, Dennis was sitting in Mac's place in Gets Romantic.

So tl;dr... Mac and Dennis work well under structure, when Mac is the one to bring it and carry Dennis. They fit a proper couple structure after all. Charlie and Frank don't work as well under structure, since their relationship is more unique and doesn't quite abide by normal rules because of that.

This does bring me to one last consideration though...

They're back in their right spots, in season 16! Only problem is... couch is different. I would argue an inflatable couch doesn't offer the same amount of support (structure) that a normal one would...

Now that Dennis' structural essence broke, is he gonna feel what it's like when Mac is absent?

Perhaps this is why in Cursed we get Mac as the lucky one while the others as so unlucky they start to believe they're cursed (according to the synopsis...).

So the whole gang needs Mac?

Well...

In Goes To Hell pt2, when they build the human pyramid, it's both Mac and Dennis that end up at the bottom, as its structure.

So maybe... Dennis needs Mac as his structure, and the gang needs them to be in sync so they can both, together, support them (or shut the hell up about it, as both madbu and s15 would argue). Maybe this realization could be what brings the gang to work together in order to get them together. But that's getting into just speculation so imma end it here.

I like these thoughts though... Mac and Dennis being the foundation, the structure of the whole thing :)

#iasip #it's always sunny in philadelphia #s16 spoilers #always sunny #macdennis #macden #analysis #meta #this is as good as ''mac is the rat dennis is the cheese and together they're the trap of macdennis'' #i do love building meta off of other meta that i pre-established... makes me feel like im citing my own research papers #if this only makes sense to me im so sorry my bad. it will happen again #this was born as a twitter thread while i rewatched madbu and things started making a bit too much sense so i had to write about it #i think if by the end of inflates they go back to their normal couch thats like golden sign that macden is going canon #cuz they maybe start experimenting different couches and none of them work for them. so they start blowing them all up #you know. like the stew!!! throwing it in the face instead of eating. using it wrong to get a thrill. #but by the end theyre like... no actually. our old one worked the best. for us. it worked. it supported us right #not flimsy like an inflatable couch is #so mark my words. if by the end of inflates we see macden sitting AT THEIR RIGHT SPOTS with THE RIGHT COUCH mirroring madbu... #then macdennis is gonna happen. period #dennis is gonna figure out that mac is his structure and theyre gonna go back. together. at the BOTTOM of the gang pyramid #getting pissed on together<3 like meerkats #dennis ''i aint goin down'' reynolds when hes destined to be part of the structural support and thus has to go down and stay down #dedicating this post to parker and joe they'll know what i mean #dennis reynolds #mac mcdonalds

[enhanced-operatives-division]

Not gonna main tag this because the proportion is all over the show, but I've not been able to draw for myself for a couple days and of course I draw one Doctor Prism immediately

#sigh. idk I'm feeling weird abt things again but that's not for y'all to worry abt #ohhh doctor prism save me doctor prism.....doctor prism save me..............sobbinngf.. #[agent moose's art] #her and her robots...they do so much to me....she loves them so dearly and it tears me to shreds... #she just. she didn't deserve it. she got betrayed twice over and like. she knowingly walked into the 2nd or at least a bit #she knows Zor wouldn't use her research for good and yeah she didn't know the gravity of that nor the personal betrayal #but she didn't need to be manipulated into the position she ends up in idk IDK im so #curls up into a ball. openly weeps. #desparately clinging onto my ieytd hyperfix rn because it's the only thing keeping me grounded rn.l #<- exam season. #I'll be fine.... I'll live.............we muscle through...with my ieytd hyperfix keepibg me alive brah... #prospect of ieytd 4 is. a very vood motivator #j digress

[abombihoney]

What's the deal with Leif in the Venom AU? Is he a modern bug or did he get time travelled some other way?

(also what color is he)

He's a modern bug! He was raised by his grandparents which is why he talks like he's a hundred million years old.

He's married to muse and is a researcher! He studies languages and knows quite a few! He actually knows quite a bit of roach, while not fluent, he is the foremost expert in bugaria.

When Kabbu and Vi go to snakemouth den, instead of getting trapped, they get chased out by the spider. Kabbu knows Leif, and that he's interested in roach stuff and mentioned what they discovered. Leif of course, like any sane person with a special interest, immediately demands that he come on their next incredibly dangerous excursion.

Which of course, is how he gets venomed lol. And yeah, he's red btw. If i made him blue then I'd have to make all of team snakemouth blue.

#bug fables spoilers #venom au #ask #chit chat #tangleslime2 #Leif @ muse: Hey u cool w me going a dangerous explorer mission? #Muse: i thought u hated kina??? and also we can't ask Suze (muse and muze r twins now cause i said so) and Hawk to babysit for that long #Leif then has to explain no #he does not want to accompany his wife and her explorer partner on their next mission #He wants to go with his buddy Kabbu and his partner Vi into the scary cave that kills people cause there is WORDS there #Leif gets to go IF he promises not pick any fights and also if Kina is cool with Muse taking a break for a bit. #Leif didn't pick any fights (he let kabbu and vi pick them and then gleefully participated) #Muse didn't think to tell him not to touch anything weird #He is so careful and delicate with all the artifacts he researches #muse after this mission: Leif i love you but PLEASE do not touch any mystery creatures to “see what happens” ever again #Leif: what if they try to kill me. #muse: then i want you to come back alive or i'll kill you myself.

[lvminisciel]

dance macabre

let us have this dance of macabre!

strums of lullaby accompany our steps

spectators of all kinds eagerly waiting in silence 

people of all race, of all ages

humans and fae alike, mingling into one

isn't this what you always long for, my dearest?

rub away your tears, if you would

look above, my dear!

look how the ceilings crumbled, 

forging a path upon the starry skies

under the sea of stars shall we waltz with grace

one step forward, two steps back

a tango everyone desires

now then, don your brightest smiles!

as we are the prima donna of this palace 

knightly boots replacing glass slippers

briars and thorns, prettier than roses

mere infatuations and lust desist,

only loyalty alone shall exist

hush now, dear

do not loathe me amidst parada

cease your sadness at once

bury your soul deep within one’s eyes

never let those speckles of aurora

be tarnished by the mere sight of carcass 

for I have bestowed you the honor

of taking my hand for this dance

moving in front ochos,

I whisper to you eternal happiness

a promise that’ll never go unkept

holier than the eternal slumber

oh, if only the crowd would cheer!

rather than rotting beneath our feet 

but fret not, my dear 

as we have a long night ahead of us!

#tw // disturbing themes #malleus x silver #mallesil #malleus draconia #silver vanrouge #ths is basically the bad ending of book 7 #where despite everyone's efforts they r unable to stop his overblot #leading him to exhaust his magic till none is left #what happens when the caster's magic is depleted #what'll happen to those falling victims of his um #no one knows #but here i hc them slowly rotting & decaying #stuck in samsara of dreams; their consciousness slowly slipping away as death seeps in #as his magical reserve are getting thinner his time-stopping barrier would fade as well #and mother nature will took over the bodies; decomposing it w/ no mercy #w/ the last bit of his magic; malleus used it to wake silver for one final dance #and voila! here we are #no; there'll be no magic saving us this time #malleus is lying yall theres no 'long night' they'll die approximately after twilight lololol #sorry not sorry #his magic just wouldn't last for both of them any longer #as for how much time had been spent before that? i leave it to ur thoughts :> #'why the cinderella reference diasomnia is based on sleeping beauty' hv u considered tht perhaps the author loves cendrillon #no the author certainly did not research on tango steps & watching how to tango tutorials wdym #miè writes ✍️ #miè's poems #one more thing!! #unlike the prev ones- this one was actually made today!! #so enjoy while it's still fresh!! fresh outta the oven!! >:D #....ths is the last one for today i promise

[zkretchy]

Hope you like thrill rides

Aka after both the mine cart sections&the final boat ride....my mind went to rollercoaster? The game sure feels like it at times and I love it

quick bonus:

#resident evil #re4make #re4 #leon kennedy #ashley graham #well and i guess ada in the bg but i wont count this extra bit as enough to be a main tag #art #zkretchy #also do not ask me why mr x is the one manning the entrance #idfk it came to me in a dream or whatnot #did not have the energy to fully research and do a detailed drawing of salazar+hands either BUT i had to get the idea out so #once again shoutout to the 2 novistadors bc boy do i not know insect anatomy #much less oversized mutated insects anatomy #i mostly just wanted to draw ashley having fun tbh #everyone else is a bonus #2nd shoutout to luis' jacket bc boy i love you but did you have to pick a jacket that has BOTH a gradient AND overly detailed designs on it? #can we like.....not? pls think of the artists i beg of you qwq #ashley&leon had their jackets stolen but theirs were simpler in design anyway #all we gained was some arm views-which actually yes thank you #but luis....please... #literally went 'i am not drawing all that' and did vague scribbles which looked good enough #me with art in general: #anyhow have this & enjoy and i will go rest bc this got much bigger than expected #resident evil 4 remake #luis sera #luis serra #re4remake

[mantaineeboulevard]

For clarification, I don't mean a romantic connection as in an explicit label. Just canon acknowledgement that there are romantic feelings occuring not dissimilar to Rose, Martha, Riversong, Amy, etc. Whereas I'd argue Donna & Bill are very much not implied to be romantically attracted to The Doctor at all (for obvious reasons)

Feel free to explain why!

#Doctor Who #The Doctor #the fifteenth doctor #the 15th doctor #Ruby Sunday #Season 14 #DW #FOR RESEARCH #Please reblog for a bigger sample #not necessarily what you want but what you feel like will occur #imo i think they are emphasising just how YOUNG ruby is #like we havent had a companion this young since rose but even then being a teen didnt stop her from being a love interest #but yeah i think that changes the dynamic a bit! #i also think this a wlw WIN #i wlw truth ruby all day everyday

[rawliverandgoronspice]

What do you mean you don’t think you can be THE Professional Impa Spokesperson? It’s been YEARS since I’ve seen someone praise Impa as much as yourself. You should take the title so that I have a rival (like Impa was supposed to have the Triforce of Power but then MY WIFE Ganondorf took it and became the power guy so 😏)

I mean, it is on.

#asks #impa #shitpost #but for real I actually feel like there's some nuances of Impa Lore than I'm not super versed into #I feel like I need to do more research to stake a Proper Claim #and yes!!! I just love this bit so much about her being originally meant for Power it's just so interesting #she's a woman of many nuances and we almost never get to see them #queen of subtext honestly

[cinnamonsikwate]

of all the changes the netflix adaptation made, making hahn a likable, sympathetic character was what shocked me the most

#avatar: the last airbender #netflix avatar #netflix atla #we just finished watching the whole thing #they changed up A LOT #so now i'm just curious where they're going with this bc they've strayed quite a bit from the cartoon's trajectory #i kept waiting for hahn to be an asshole to sokka but he's just a guy in unrequited love with a childhood friend?? #i'm such a sucker for that goddammit #calemonsito notes #my fave change was having zuko keep a research journal/diary/sketchbook #anyway i don't hate the show but i wasn't impressed either #i'm not quite seeing the vision

[karnaca78]

Wes Anderson's Asteroid City reminds me why I became a film history scholar and why I love this art form so much. I feel like (at least) half of the movie is now permanently engraved in my brain and in my heart for me to treasure forever.

How unprepared I was to be so deeply touched by a funny comedy today. And how grateful I am for it.

I love art and cinema so much.

(and my bf loved it too which is an incredibly cool added bonus)

#asteroid city #wes anderson #cinema #personal stuff #favorite movies #i love all the cast of characters and want to think about them for days #it's been a while since i've been so emotional over a movie #academic research tends to wipe a bit of the feeling away sometimes #it's been an hour and i want to see it again

[gaytobymeres]

i think the point of a university-level education is a bit lost on some of my course mates...

#things are not going to be spoon fed to you you will have to do your own research #seek out your own education guided by lectures and assignments #relish that freedom instead of lamenting it!! #some of these assignments are actually good and ive been able to tailor them to my interests #like rn im learning about the uses of bracken in ancient scotland! #i just did a whole project on tomato grafting (i love solanaceae - tomato family) and whilst it was hard i did enjoy reading about it #we had some mini essays to research and they were so interesting to research and fun to write because one of them was a comparing two #articles and one of them was really bad so it was fun to rip it to shreds and actually apply the knowledge we've been accumulating in class #but i think the point of doing all this is lost on some of them #which is a real shame #maybe im just a nerd? #i very much have the benefit of doing a degree before this so maybe im being harsh #but saying that assessments suck doesnt make them any more interesting #also we have so much free reign over topic that if it sucks it's kind of on you a lil bit #though i will admit some of the assignments are stupid

[nonbinarygamzee]

hii i want some meenah (and or kankri) analysis >:3 love the way you explain things

HEARTTTTTTT thank you mio <3333 you will have to forgive me because the beforus trolls really really are not my wheelhouse outside of, like, talking about the ways that they represent (generally) interpretations of the beta trolls that hussie found shitty and obviously the whole obsession he had with owning the teenage SJWs for being messy about their critique of him as if he did not create the confines and energy of that space in the first place.

that said meenah is one of my favies of the bunch and i think i already have said a little bit to you about why i find her compelling on twitter before but UHMMM cracks knuckles

okay so i am a big fan of the characters whos isolation plays into the ways that make them harder for the rest of the cast to sympathize with. isolation is obviously an element of homestuck that is generally relevent to every characters story but for some of them that makes the friendgroups they have cultivated a source of empowerment and for some of them it functions to magnify why they hold whatever particular place in the narrative they do. why the narrative, as something alive and malicious to the characters living within it, grants some of them agency and denies others. and in some ways meenah gets agency, i mean she is the catalyst for every major decision that ensures the outcomes of her session! she has massive influence and control of her own future and is very strongheaded in her refusal to give that up, i love it for her.

that said she also is another victim of fitting into a character slot influenced by hussies biases. i think it is a little bit too simplistic when people try to paint the hemospectrum as just racism flipped on its head (plus that doesnt really account for the lowbloods who are written to be brown), but the makaras and the peixes get the worst of the messiness that IS there, where both on individual levels their characterizations end up saying some extremely fucked up things and revealing a lot about what hussie thinks black culture, like, is. and in a more general sense they invoke the uncomfortable undercurrent of antiblackness and anxiety surrounding black culture becoming a dominating cultural force that troll society is built upon. ive seen this spoken about better, and by actually black fans, so i wont try to hard to restate it all, but the ways that alternia (and beforus by extension) invoke black culture especially in the trolls we are meant to understand as holding societal privilege is like, so so so fucking weird!, and the choice to insert meenah the way that he did, long after discussions about this had started to really permeate the sphere of critique to me cant really feel like anything but a conscious decision, and retroactively erased any chance at him claiming ignorance with what he was doing with gamzee. the decision to double down on the concept that any of these behaviors are instinctual is also the bane of my existence. all of these characters who are loaded with blatant racism and then forced into roles of antagonizers are the ones i feel the most need to align myself with forever no questions asked.

to roll back around to meenah's isolation though, i think a lot of people kind of forget that for as much as she idolizes her post-scratch self, she felt so trapped by the prospect of ruling on beforus that she literally chose to run away and go into hiding and live! all by herself! this is so sad to me and especially drawing back on that metanarrative string of being a marginalized girl we are supposed to read as privileges (eugh!), i think it speaks so blatantly to her want for a nice life where she can be with her friends, even if i think her own conditioning makes her not entirely aware of that because shes spent her entire life being told she is meant to want power and her attitude of embracing that in the least-beforan way possible is so clearly the escapist fantasy of a teenager whos been told all her life how to be who hasnt quite unlearned the idea that power and riches and status are what makes you important.

even despite our entire view of her through her active role in the story being basically hussie telling us over and over and over again what a violent and selfish person she is, everything we hear about her actions in their session point more to meenah just being an abrasive girl who doesnt really know how to express her feelings, especially the ones that make her feel vulnerable or forced onto equal footing with people when shes always been told that isnt what shes meant to do. she bakes them a cakeeee for their anniversaryyyy come onnnn :o(((( i love her. even the stuff she does to damara is all only ever done with the intent of making sure her team can survive the game she has brought them all into (their dynamic is my favorite part about the beforus trolls one day i will speak on it). and ofc her entire plan to kill all of them to make sure they dont all end up wiped from existence!

ok um i am admittedly losing steam with my thoughts here so i will end this there but tldr she is everything to me

#also admittedly i dont think about kankri much outside of like how i wish he couldve been utilized and how much i hate most of what we got #but for you....... i will do my research and get back to u #also i love what u do with their dynamic big fan of vantas wifeguy trutherisms #meenah #ask #meta #<- feels a bit sillay to tag as usual idk if im actually saying anything not surface lvl here lol

[sneez]

The General in Retirement / written 28.08.22

#my writing #new poem! and in a New and Fashionable Format (i.e. printed out stuck in my journal on top of tissue paper then scanned) #the tissue paper is william morris by the way :-D i love william morris. my grandpa loves william morris. we all love william morris #yes this is another fairfax poem. what can i say i love him a lot #also ive been doing dissertation research over the summer and my dissertation is about him so hes been On My Mind #the inspiration for this one comes from a quote i read describing his victory at naseby in [clears throat] A More Particular and Exact #Relation of the Victory obtained by the Parliaments Forces under the Command of Sir Thomas Fairfax (report to parliament) #in which the author wrote that 'before the fight his former lookes were like a dead man to what he had when he went to engage' #and that made me Think a lot. i will not go into more detail as the poem basically Is the more detail but i wanted to include the #inspiration somewhere even if only in the tags (for tag perusers to find. secret contextual information as a gift for you) #i wrote this whilst i was camping this past week :-) you can imagine me sitting by a lake in a field in herefordshire with my notebook #i hope the scan turns out ok i had to wrestle with my printer to get it to cooperate and even then it's a bit blurry in places #anyway! i hope you are all doing well my very dear friends :-) i love you all very much. shaking your hands with good affection #no doubt when i post this i will find 10000000000 mistakes. but no matter i will cope [said through gritted teeth]