#[ cause its just based on a matter of aesthetics ]
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you stole my shirt (and took my heart with it)
ship: natsu dragneel x lucy heartfilia
summary: As Natsu watches Lucy totter around the house donned in little more than an oversized tee, an itch of familiarity lingers in his brain. He's seen that shirt before, but not on Lucy—he just can't seem to place his finger on where.
ao3
For as much as Lucy loves cute clothes and getting dressed up all nice and pretty, she also values being comfortable—something that some of her cuter clothes do not afford her. That’s why she has a drawer full of what she calls “house clothes” which are exactly what they sound like: clothes she only wears around the house.
It’s almost entirely made up of cozy oversized cotton tees and pyjama shorts that are so short that they barely peek out the hem of her shirt. They’re no fashion statement, but they’re comfy and give her enough mobility to do chores around the house, and that’s the most important part.
How she looks when she’s tottering around the house, doing her laundry, cleaning the bathroom, or cooking her meals doesn’t matter, because there are a grand total of two people who see her in this state—herself and her nosey, breaks-into-her-house best friend. She’s come to accept him seeing her like this, which is important considering he’s currently sitting on her couch, munching away on whatever snack he has found in her kitchen as she totters around her apartment.
What she doesn’t notice, however, is the way he stares at her as she does so. It’s not in a perverse manner, in the way perhaps anyone else would stare while she was in this state; no, he was thinking about something else entirely.
There’s something about that shirt that seems... familiar to him; he just can’t put his finger on what.
It’s old, worn cotton, with the name of some Magnolia sports team barely visible on the front. It raises a few suspicions considering he’s pretty sure she couldn’t even tell you what sport they play, but he can’t put it past her to have bought it for the comfort rather than the aesthetic.
He’s seen the logo plastered on shirts and hoodies throughout Magnolia for as long as he’s lived here, but that’s not what's causing that itch of familiarity in his brain.
As she walks past him again, he notices part of the hem on the sleeve has torn and the fabric has subsequently rolled out, exposing its raw edges. It rings some sort of bell in his head, like he’s seen that exact thing before, even though he’s not sure he can recall Lucy ever wearing this shirt.
The whole thing is bothering him to no end.
He’s seen this shirt before; he’s certain of it, but not on Lucy, so where the hell has he seen it before?
It lingers in his mind as a vague memory, but every time he tries to conjure it up in his brain, it only comes to him in hazy images.
He furrows his brow and squints his eyes as he watches Lucy wipe the dust off her bookshelf. Thus far, staring has done him no good, so he decides that instead of trudging further into this dead end, he’s going to try a different tactic.
Pulling himself off the couch, he marches right up behind her with the intent of getting answers.
As she turns around, she walks straight into him, her eyes widening slightly in surprise to see him so close.
“Uh, hi?” She greets, polite but certainly confused.
He doesn’t bother with a reply—he has much more important things in mind. Instead, he presses his nose to her shoulder and takes a deep whiff of the fabric. It smells of Lucy—obviously—it smells of the lavender-scented fabric softener she uses, but it very, very faintly smells of something deeply familiar to him.
It’s barely there, only just intertwined within the weaves of the fabric, something he might have missed entirely if he had not been so in tune with the recognisable smell, and suddenly the answer hits him.
“That’s my shirt!” He accuses, and based on the way her face quickly turns a deep red in response, he knows he’s hit the mark.
“N-no it’s not!” Lucy exclaims, though her voice contradicts her words.
Had he not been convinced before, her reaction certainly would have done it. Lucy is not a good liar, and as her best friend, Natsu knows all of her tells, including just how defensive she gets' when caught in a lie like this.
“Yeah it is!” He shoots back.
Lucy babbles for a few moments, unable to come up with any better argument or excuse.
“You left it here!” She finally replies, as though it justifies her wearing it.
Now that he knows where it's from, he remembers clear as day. It explains why Lucy has a men's-sized shirt of a sports team she probably doesn’t know exists, and it explains why he hasn’t seen the damn thing in months.
“Give it back!” He demands.
“What? No!” Lucy replies, sounding almost offended by his demand. “You left it here, so it’s mine now!”
The phrase finders keepers echoes in his head in her voice. She didn’t explicitly say it, but he could certainly feel the childish vibe that came with it.
Not that he was much better. In fact, what he plans to do is certainly much more childish than that.
He grabs the bottom hem of the shirt and begins to lift it up, eliciting a horrified squeal from Lucy as she defensively wraps her arms below her bust, stopping him in his tracks lest she flash him and anyone else who may have the misfortune of seeing in through her very open window.
“Natsu!” She cries out. “Stop it!”
“No! I want it back!”
He doesn’t actually want it back as much as his external desperation might imply.
Normally he wouldn’t care too much—it wasn’t exactly a sentimental item; he’d almost forgotten about its existence entirely, but a little voice of chaos inside his brain was telling him that he needs that shirt back. Now.
Maybe it was because it smells like her now, her scent having permeated into the fibres of the fabric in the months since he had last seen it. He had hardly ever worn the shirt in recent times, but the idea of wearing a shirt that had become Lucy’s, carrying with it her scent everywhere he went, is oddly comforting to him.
He wants to have that, and maybe, just a little bit, he wants an excuse to see her without a shirt on.
Despite her protests as she tries her best to hold the shirt down, Natsu does not give in—in fact, it only makes him tug harder. He’s determined to get it back, and he’s well aware that he’s stronger than her. If it’s a means to an end, he doesn’t mind using all of that strength to get his shirt back.
He pulls harder on the shirt, and Lucy responds in turn by gripping down harder. It doesn’t deter him, and he simply keeps pulling it up, stretching the fabric out until eventually it gives in and tears with a loud rrriiippp.
Instinctively, they both let go and look down at it, slack-jawed in shock, to assess the damage.
Though the seams have managed to hold up, it seems as though the fabric was simply unable to withstand the force of it and ripped straight across the front, leaving a giant hole in the shirt.
“Natsu!” Lucy scolds, snapping her head back up to face him. “Look what you’ve done!”
“Me? You did it too!” Natsu replies.
“If you hadn’t grabbed it, I wouldn’t have had to hold it down,” she huffs.
As she looks back down at it, he sees a soft crease form in her brows and her lips turn down in something that resembles sorrow. It’s not a look he likes on her, and it causes a pang of guilt to hit him as he realises what he’s just done.
“Sorry…” He murmurs, letting whatever was left of his determination to get it back melt away. “I didn’t realise you cared so much about it.”
“I liked it because... it smells like you.”
“Oh…”
He’s vaguely aware of the fact that even though his sense of smell is far beyond hers, even he can become desensitised to his own smell. Though he can barely pick up on his own scent on it, it must be stronger to her.
The realisation that his smell brings her just as much comfort as hers does for him makes his heart thrum just a little faster in his chest. It makes it feel a little achy in a way that he’s not quite sure he can explain.
It certainly makes him feel even more guilty for what he’s just done.
“It’s fine,” she tries to dismiss, hiding the sadness in her voice. “I can just stitch the hole up, and then you can have it back.”
Though he had just tried to take it back by force, suddenly the idea of having it back in his possession seemed much less appealing. Getting back a torn shirt that he already knew he would never wear again meant much less to him than Lucy’s happiness. If she wants the shirt, she can have it. In fact, she can have every shirt, jacket, hoodie, and jumper he owns if that’s what will make her happy.
“I’ll fix it,” he offers, despite not having the foggiest of an idea of how to go about doing that. “And then you can keep it.”
“Do you even know how to sew?” She questions, her brow quirked up in vaguely amused curiosity.
“No, but I can figure it out,” he says. “It’ll be easy.”
His reply elicits a laugh from Lucy at his absolute audacity and confidence that that is something he can do. It wipes that sad expression right off her face, and it might be the most beautiful sound he’s heard.
"No, really, you can have it back if you want,” she reassures. "I'm not sure how much you’d still want it, but... the offer still stands.”
Natsu simply shakes his head.
“Nah, it’s yours now,” he says. “But I want something in exchange.”
She looks at him with eyebrows raised, her expression curious but apprehensive at the same time.
“I want one of your shirts!” He exclaims.
“What? Natsu, you can’t-”
Anything she wants to say is quickly cut off when he makes a dash to her dresser, not willing to wait for her reply considering he already knows what it’s going to be.
“Hey! Stop it! It’ll tear at the seam if you try to put it on!”
He’s well aware of the fact, but it does little to deter him. If she gets a shirt that smells like him, he wants a shirt that smells like her, and Lucy is simply going to have to give into the fact that today, Natsu’s ripping two of her shirts.
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writers' block can have many causes, but one of the most common and insidious is what i call the Bad Faith Audience: the mass of anonymous readers in your head who make fun of and belittle your work. the Bad Faith Audience happens when you're staring at a document, you want to write something, but you think to yourself, "who's going to read this? why should i bother?" it also happens when you restrict yourself: "that's a stupid idea. it's bad writing." that's what's so messed up about the Bad Faith Audience--it's an assumption of a homogenous population of people who somehow get to decide what Good Writing is. "this isn't very good," you think to yourself of your own work. but by what standard are you judging yourself? how exactly have you reached that conclusion? you've built up a non-existent audience of people to attempt to appease. the harder you try to appease that Bad Faith Audience, the more you concede your own ideals and flatten your writing to appeal to the largest common denominator.
you stare at a blank document, and before you've even written a word, you've reached the conclusion it's not worth existing. that it won't be good enough based on an unidentifiable standard. it won't be perfect. and then you don't write it.
possibly you think, "but there are all these writers i admire and i'll never be as good as them." there will always be writers you think are better than you. always. that does not invalidate your work. you have improved from where you began and you will continue to improve as long as you keep writing. the author you admire may be on a different mile marker on their own journey, but you'll get there too eventually. or maybe you won't; maybe you'll walk down a different path than them and be able to acknowledge that their voice and aesthetics are just not what you write, and that's okay. you don't have to be able to write everything. you can admire something and not adopt it into your own goals.
here's a thought experiment that's gotten me to close the curtain on the Bad Faith Audience:
don't imagine many readers. imagine one reader. i call this reader Aunt Janet. Aunt Janet can look down on anything, no matter how lauded or famous. van gogh's sunflowers? "it's just flowers. who cares?" the mona lisa? "she's not even smiling."
Aunt Janet looks at your work and says, "what's the point? go do something better with your time." but the thing about Aunt Janet is that she doesn't know anything about writing or art or music, has no knowledge to help frame her understanding of your work, and so why does her opinion matter? you can never make Aunt Janet happy.
so whenever i think, "i'm not good enough," i ask myself, says who? Aunt Janet says who. and Aunt Janet doesn't know jackshit.
now let's look at the other side of the spectrum: the very opposite of Aunt Janet, the reader who just gets you, gets what you're doing, and loves it. i call this person the Ideal Reader. they're in awe of everything you write. they read your work and leave dozens of keysmash comments in the margins. they can't wait to see what you write next.
Aunt Janet doesn't exist and Ideal Reader doesn't exist either, but in the same way you can define Aunt Janet's tastes by reasons she would hate your work, you can define the Ideal Reader by the reasons they would love it.
Ideal Reader is exceptionally well-read in your genre. they know all the tropes and expectations. they know what authors your work is in conversation with. they have an intimate understanding of where your work belongs and the frame of reference necessary to understand the context of your work. all writing has context; when we dislike something, it's usually because we don't understand its context, and if we were to understand it, it may not be for us, but we can at least understand the kind of person who values it. we can fathom its Ideal Reader and avoid becoming Aunt Janets ourselves by acknowledging that every piece of writing can be loved.
whenever you dismiss an idea as ridiculous or stupid, Ideal Reader is there going, "no, wait, i want to read that." when you can't take your work seriously, Ideal Reader is shaking you by the shoulders saying, "it's serious to me."
now imagine Ideal Reader has a platform. they have authority. they're a BNF who recs your fic. they're an acquisitions editor at your dream publisher. they're a producer asking to buy the rights to your manuscript. imagine Ideal Reader is someone who can champion your work and take it to its highest possible place.
Ideal Reader has been in the business a long time. Ideal Reader is confident and doesn't take shit from anybody. Ideal Reader stands up for what they believe in.
imagine bringing Ideal Reader to a party and introducing them to Aunt Janet. Aunt Janet immediately tries to belittle Ideal Reader: "so you publish books, so what, who cares about books?" "so you have a million followers. why don't you do something real with your time?" "you're a producer? go to med school and do something meaningful."
Ideal Reader is amused by Aunt Janet and her gross misperceptions. but then Aunt Janet goes after your work, and that is too far. Ideal Reader points at Aunt Janet and goes, "you have no idea what you're talking about." and they proceed to list off all the things they value about your work.
imagine the things Ideal Reader would say to Aunt Janet, and write out that list.
that list is your value. it's what you're giving to your community when you share your work. it's why you write.
the sad truth is that you'll encounter far more Aunt Janets than you ever will Ideal Readers. sometimes Aunt Janets are actually very knowledgeable and still demean your work, but it's because they're jaded and insecure and maybe a little pretentious. that's okay. your Ideal Readers, or the people closest to it, are the only ones who matter.
i had trouble fathoming the Ideal Reader for a long time until i published my first story and the editor went wild over it. it was the first time someone i didn't even know read my work and saw merit in it, all on its own. i once got into a pretty prestigious residency and it honestly kind of baffled me, until i got there and found out the woman who ran it was a fangirl. when i workshop a story, usually only one or two people in the group will Get It. the rest will try and they'll mean well, but ultimately they're coming at it from a different context and different personal tastes, and that doesn't mean the work is bad, but that they're not my audience. when my agent offered to sign me, she wrote me this long, lovely email about how much she loved my manuscript, and she appreciated the same things i appreciated about it. becoming a successful writer, however you measure success, isn't about being Good. Good Writing is a myth. there's only the stubborn insistence of staying true to yourself, and the long journey of putting your work in the hands of people you hope are Ideal Readers.
there will always be people out there who will understand your work and champion it. there are people whose personal tastes align exactly with yours. but you'll never be able to find those people if you don't write the ideas that are dearest to you and share them with the world.
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look i dont know when solarpunk turned into an aesthetic—maybe it always was, and i was just exposed to an odd part of the community at first—but i'm reclaiming the word <3
solarpunk, as I understood it, was:
a political movement based on the belief that (a) there exist (potential or current) societal models and lifestyles that reconcile the needs of humanity with the needs of the rest of the world (b) such a model would actually be best for humanity (c) such a model can only be achieved if the current structure is eventually overhauled
some core concepts related to that, at least to me:
(12 2-4 sentence bullets under the cut)
humans are a part of the ecology, just the same as any other organism. we are not separate—it does not exist to serve us, and we do not exist to blight it. rocks, plants, bacteria, birds, humans, and every other part of Earth are all a part of the same landscape
there is value in existing. something does not need to be useful to be worthy
your environment, your community, outsiders, and yourself all need your respect. you interact with all of those things in different ways, but that does not mean they don't all deserve respect
life exists the way it does because that has worked out for it. organisms are adapted to specific environments, and any significant changes can be expected to interrupt them. this is not always a bad thing, but it is always something worth considering and analyzing
things should not cease to matter once they stop affecting you personally. places downstream and future generations and those in different communities are worth our love. the universe is a complex web of cause and effect
there are infinite possible experiences, and the experience you're used to is not inescapable or inevitable or destined. restricting your perspective can lead to everyone's downfall
it's risky to take actions when you're not sure that you have the full picture, and knowledge and understanding are the key to that full picture
all strong movements come from group efforts. when one member of a group falters, the others can continue on until they are back on their feet and can do the same for the others. though leaders often exist, and should be acknowledged, they are no more important than everyone else making up the group. there is no forest without trees; a forest can do things a single tree can't
there is no shame in sharing. property is not a universal concept
every person, group, creature, object, species— every thing has its own niche. its own strengths and weaknesses. one entity can't replace another, though adjustments and adaptations can be made
accidents happen. imperfections are natural. they can be acknowledged, worked through, learned from, and recovered from without signifying some great failing
purposelessness is not a free pass for accountability. neither is predetermination. whether the universe has something planned out for you doesn't make you any less responsible for your own choices and biases. do not use "humans are ultimately bad" as an excuse to do bad; don't use "humans are ultimately good" as an excuse to assume you've done no bad
#solarpunk#hopepunk#just tagging that one bc theyre related#i would tag this as anarcho-socialism because they are related to me but im afraid of getting roasted by ppl with#more theory and experience than me lmao
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The original "Mirror, Mirror" episode of TOS is revealing for what it says about the priorities of the Federation and Starfleet, but the return to the Mirror Universe in STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, ENTERPRISE, and DISCOVERY is mostly indicative of the intense hypocrisy (and acute moral failings) of modern STAR TREK writers in addressing the conceptual structures in which the franchise operates.
DEEP SPACE NINE's Mirror Universe episodes are predicated on the idea that mirror-Spock did eventually succeed in reforming the Terran Empire, but it produced a worse result: The Alpha Quadrant was conquered and the former worlds of the Empire enslaved by the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. The writers of DS9 have been explicit about how they intended this to be interpreted: According to Michael Piller, who is the credited co-writer of the script, in Ira Steven Behr's words, mirror-Spock "actually screwed things up" by bringing about "a much more gentle empire that was conquered and taken over by the Klingons, the Cardassians and others." (This is per Captains' Logs Supplemental: The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, as quoted in the Memory Alpha page for "Crossover.")
The idea of showing that the TOS characters were not infallible or always correct is by no means unreasonable; it's certainly true that throughout TOS, Kirk often attempts to enact dramatic, sweeping changes in other societies based on snap judgments, and it's fair to suppose that some of those decisions didn't turn out well (which is something the DC STAR TREK comic examined at several points). However, it's revealing, and dismaying, that the one DS9 chose to pursue is "Mirror, Mirror" rather than, for example, "A Taste of Armageddon," "The Apple," or "Return of the Archons." After all, what could be more emblematic of the liberal values of STAR TREK than the Kissingerian argument that fascism is justifiable where the alternative is disorder and instability? I don't hyperbolize when I say that this is the most morally indefensible position presented in DS9, although it's also sadly consistent with the franchise's political position overall.
To make matters worse, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, who contributed to the script, later asserted (in the Deep Space Nine Companion):
Empires aren't usually brutal unless there's a reason. There are usually external or internal pressures that cause them to be that way. So I just thought that if the parallel Earth was that brutal, there had to be a reason. And the reason was that the barbarians (the Klingons and the Cardassians) were at the gate.
This statement is so abhorrent I don't even know where to begin, and it makes an argument much darker than anything in "Mirror, Mirror," whose depiction of the Terran Empire is singularly horrifying, leavened only by the campy cartoonishness of its presentation.
The storyline of the ENTERPRISE Mirror Universe episodes, the two-part "In a Mirror, Darkly," is clearly shaped by Doylist (real-world) priorities — specifically, to nostalgically revisit the aesthetic of TOS — and the admittedly amusing spectacle of the regular cast playing comically evil variations of their Pollyanna-ish characters. It mercifully doesn't take Wolfe's bait about the rationale for the Empire, instead indicating that the divergence between the Prime and Mirror Universes dates back to before the events of FIRST CONTACT. However, "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II" ends up strongly implying that the main reason the Terran Empire of Kirk's time is so similar to the Prime Universe Starfleet is that the Empire has captured (and presumably eventually reverse-engineered) a time- and dimension-displaced 23rd century Starfleet vessel, the doomed Defiant from the TOS episode "The Tholian Web." DISCOVERY muddies the waters on this point, but the ENTERPRISE episodes tend to undermine the idea that the Terran Empire is simply a different version of the Federation, instead implying that its technology and knowledge is stolen from its future "good" counterpart.
Then we have DISCOVERY's Mirror Universe episodes. Hoo boy. DISCOVERY acknowledges the ENTERPRISE storyline without really answering the questions it raises beyond indicating that knowledge of the captured Prime Universe ship is a closely guarded secret ("Vaulting Ambition"). However, DISCOVERY makes a series of extremely troubling attempts to argue that the moral failings of the Mirror Universe reflect differences in the structure of that universe (for instance, the utterly absurd assertion that the Mirror Universe is literally darker than the Prime Universe, rendering Terrans unusually photosensitive) and even the biology of its inhabitants. "Die Trying" indicates that by the 32nd century, Starfleet believes that "a chimeric strain on the subatomic level in the Terran stem cell" gives Terrans a biological inclination toward duplicity. Yikes! This is a ghastly eugenicist argument, if anything even more repellent than Wolfe's apologia for tyranny: Some people are just biologically predisposed to be evil! Thanks, I hate it!
Again, this is much worse, and much more facile, than "Mirror, Mirror." In "Mirror, Mirror," the Mirror Universe and its brutal Terran Empire serve as essentially a moral bellwether for the Federation and the familiar STAR TREK characters. Its condemnation of fascism is not deep ("the illogic of waste"), but perhaps the most valuable point it makes is that the (relative) goodness of the Federation and Starfleet is not a state of being, but rather the product of an ongoing series of moral choices. This is the other part of Kirk's argument to mirror-Spock: When mirror-Spock remarks, "One man cannot summon the future," Kirk immediately retorts, "But one man can change the present."
DISCOVERY takes the opposite position: The evils of the Mirror Universe are intrinsic and immutable, and its resemblance to the Prime Universe is largely a coincidence that is rapidly diminishing ("Terra Firma" indicates that the universes have diverged so greatly after the DS9 era that crossover will eventually become impossible). Its principal ethical or moral relevance to the Prime Universe is simply to be an obstacle and an affirmation of the Prime Universe's utopian goodness rather than an examination, even a flawed one, of it might actually mean.
#teevee#star trek#star trek tos#mirror universe#star trek ds9#deep space nine#star trek discovery#star trek enterprise#i find discovery morally objectionable in a variety of ways#and strange new worlds has been worse
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just a disclaimer: i’m queer and nonbinary (afab) as can be, so all of this is from a personally queer perspective? i also know that i don’t tend to really jive with ND stevenson’s work (she-ra didn’t quite work for me) either and if you loved the movie, great. i just gotta drop thoughts somewhere because well
they’re less than positive
like “nimona” wants to be a Queer movie so badly, but the entire humourous basis of the character herself is that she is 1) young looking (despite being immortal) and 2) appears to be AFAB and isn’t it funnily jarring when little girls want to be violent instead of cute and sweet?
She doesn’t want to be a monster, but clearly genuinely enjoys destroying things (again: basis of the bulk of her character humour, and one of most defining character traits) with no regards to anyone who gets hurt or could get hurt in the process.
also this is Entirely Personal preference but while the animation was stunning, the contrast in the medieval aesthetic and modern day technology just continually brought me out of the movie. which is too bad, because treasure planet and it’s 70/30 rule and aesthetic blend of old timey and big technology is one of my favourite things ever, but i think Nimona being 50/50 just... didn’t work for me. was also slightly disappointed that i figured out who the actual bad guy was before the queen’s death (and yet another movie with a black queen who Dies Instantly / a movie with literally queer men of colour being technical side characters to a white, allegorically queer main ‘female’ character).
Ballister is a great protagonist, but due to his opposition of everything Nimona is personality and scheme wise, it feels like they’re almost running around in two separate stories. As well as like - he wanted to enjoy the Elite, Privileged, fighting force? An elite, privileged, entirely based on birthright system ruled by a Black queen before it was called into question, when it’s also a pretty clear allegory for the Police? The fact that this isn’t resolved - what’s going to happen to the Institute, is it going to be reformed or even better yet, disbanded (‘defunded’), is entirely left hanging as a plot thread, which doesn’t happen matters.
Halfway through the movie (specifically Nimona’s “or that sometimes I want to let them [kill me]”) is when I finally started to feel emotionally invested, but like two scenes later when Ambrosius’ stabbing was over dramatic rather than just letting the tone hold, I looked into the camera just... so incredibly unimpressed. The monopoly and shark dancing didn’t help.
“She’s my friend.” “Aren’t I more than that?” so there were no aspec people in making this film. Got it. And Ballister’s heel face turn into calling Nimona a monster is also very quick, especially when his whole arc this movie is being unfairly demonized himself by the very same thing/people that are demonizing Nimona as well. The sheer harshness and length of the scene is also much longer and given time than him saving her, leaving that feeling kinda lopsided as well.
And Nimona’s issues I think are very evident in the fact the movie lets us see all the damage she’s causing at the end when she loses control, which is sad and tragic for her... but does not excuse or remove the real harm she’s bringing hundreds of other people. This is mitigated when she sacrifices herself to save the city, but given that her problem wasn’t necessarily selfishness so much as recklessness, and given that Ballister had literally just talked her down from suicide, it’s... Muddled to say the least.
And all of this ties back into the murky gender allegory of the movie. At its best, it’s very effective and very emotionally resonant (Nimona’s actual flashbacks and a couple of her conversations with Ballister. I can definitely see why people like it - hell, even I like it. “This monster is a threat to our entire way of life!” “What if we’re wrong?” kinda perfectly encapsulates were it falls flat to me, because queerness Is a threat to our current systems - capitalism, racism, cisheteropatriarchy founded on white gender essentialism. Queerness, particularly of gender, disrupts and should disrupt all those things; it’s a political identity just as much as personal one, both by choice and by societal circumstance.
TLDR; found the second half of the movie, overall, much stronger than the first, but with some bigger structural pitfalls. Animation was gorgeous, sense of humour didn’t overall work for me but that’s a personal thing, queer allegory was good but I would’ve liked some of the implications to be taken farther. I appreciate the movie for what it says about freedom of expression vs demonization by the upper class(es), and I think it’ll really resonant and be important to queer youth in their teens (a stage I am long past) figuring themselves and their place in an increasingly anti-trans political climate out, so I’m very glad it exists. It just wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, and wasn’t particularly up my alley. Which is kind of what I expected, but I am disappointed that I didn’t enjoy it more as a nonbinary person who loves story deconstructions, fantasy, and animation
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Thanks for sharing your perspective.
To be honest I didn't see Striker having any specific hatred for Ozzie. He hates all Nobility indiscriminately so the "master" could be equally Mammon or Ozzie, Fizz smells like a rich bastard b cause his clothes are cleaned with the same products. We can assume he washes with expensive skincare. It doesn't matter who "master" is because they are all the same to Striker.
The issue with "Master" being linked to Mammon, even in the show, is that Fizz has only been working with Mammon for 10 years. And we see in the ad that he already had his prosthetics by the time he won the first pageant.
I'm sure the show will retcon the timeline again or make up some dumb excuses to hand wave this issue away and to fit this idea that Mammon owns Fizz, but the episodes given make it clear that Fizz could not have won the pageant before meeting Ozzie. His shows involve a lot of physical ability, most of what he does is musical theatre, not stand up comedy. He would have needed the prosthetics to win prior to working for Mammon.
Even Ozzie's line about Fizz having been only working for Mammon for 10 years screws up the timeline. Because for 5 years, what was Fizz doing? And because Blitz and Fizz are about 14 in the flashback with Creepzo, based on them having prepubescent voices that are in the beginning stages of dropping, there must have been other winners to the pageant prior to Fizz. Which means Fizz would have had to be so good to beat out a previously favored performer to win, which further pushes the necessity that Fizz already has his prosthetics before the pageant.
Also, maybe I need to go back, but I don't believe that was a spotlight. It appeared to be a skylight in the canopy. And canopy beds have been a symbol of luxury, sensuality and opulence since the medieval era. Having a skylight or cutout in the canopy just felt like a weird aesthetic. The spotlight joke seemed to just be that, a joke. Seeing as it was immediately followed a sequence of Fizz putting himself in the spotlight and drawing all the attention to himself needlessly. It's a juxtaposition which either cements Fizz as a class traitor, looking down on those he was equal to at one point, or that he's actually just that stupid.
I'm not trying to say you're wrong, obviously. I am interested in your interpretation. It's far more earnest than the writers are to try and make this show anything but skin deep. The one thing I realized with this series after Western Energy was that if it looks shallow, it has less depth than that.
I had pointed out that Stella divorcing Stolas was more advantageous than killing him. And because of that it also made no sense to Viv's excuse that Stella was the reason the divorce never happened because she refused to accept it. I had pointed out that the solution to this discrepancy is obvious: have the status mean more than the money. Andrealphus is a marquise, which is a lower rank than Stolas as a prince. Have it be that she needs to kill him to keep the status because a divorce would strip her of it, like what happened to Princess Diana after her divorce. It is an extremely simple fix that would have allowed the entire world, not just the characters, have more depth.
Instead it's just that Stella is an idiot.
So I find your interpretation interesting. It's a cute way to give meaning to this show that doesn't give a shit.
I don’t have much of a response anon, the timeline is confusing.
I think episode seven fell on its face (lol) when Blitzø said “why do you need to do the pageant? You have the worlds best sugar daddy” because there is not really a rebuttal to this argument. He’s kinda right? If mammon was black mailing him it should’ve been stated better idk. The implication of the episode is even “well fizz has a new royal demon, he doesn’t need this specific royal demon anymore” but he does need a royal, and does need his approval. The class hierarchy is kinda validated in this show.
His codependency and self worth needs just shifted from mammon to Asmodeus, who are the exact same tier of power. I’m just glad Asmodeus is kind.
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Ok here me out and I'm in no way trying to be antagonistic. This is just something I've thought lately when fans get mad at Timmy's gfs.
If the relationships are fake for PR sake or as a cover then it shouldn't matter who he aligns himself with, right? At the end of the day it doesn't mean anything.
If the relationships are real then it's his business however he chooses to handle it in public and private, right?
I only ask because I see so many fans getting upset with each new gf and the fact checking and looking for clues seems like not a good time for fans. But more importantly, the derogatory hate that gets slung at his gfs is not a great look for us. In reality Timmy and anyone he dates are not above anyone else but I would hope that we as people would not bash these women for the perceived notion that they are not "good enough" for him and are somehow inferior. I don't know Timmy at all but I would think he wouldn't like what many say about these women.
If it's fake it doesn't matter and if it's not our business.
Personally, I see a pattern of him publicly having gfs leading up to movie premieres and then the relationship fizzles pretty quickly after the publicity run. Is it a coincidence, maybe? Is it a PR stunt to get attention for upcoming projects and something that is mutually beneficial while it runs its course to whatever goals they set; maybe? We know stunting of this sort has and continues to happen. I tend to lean towards them being fake but it's also not really my business.
I guess I just feel like no matter what, if it's real or not, how the fanbase reacts says a lot and the hate is so ugly. Even if we don't like someone...attacking their intelligence, self-worth, parenting skills, etc., is beneath us.
I used to be so wrapped up in everything about Timmy and anytime a picture popped up or a mention was made of him with some girl he might be dating, my stomach would tie up in knots and I would try to find every piece of information I could trying to figure out if it was real or not. But I realized how much that was feeding into my already diagnosed anxiety and depression; so I took a step back. I have zero control over the situation and it's going to happen one way or the other.
If it is fake, it is so sad that this stuff is still going on; whether it's for business purposes or personal. I wish this stuff didn't matter and that celebrities private lives also didn't matter but more so I wish people wouldn't let these things bother them so much so they could be happier.
I don't know if any of this makes sense and I know I rambled a lot but I've just noticed all the hatred getting worse and worse. We have so few things right now that are good/positive in the world, let's try not to add more negativity for things that have nothing to do with us?
hi 😊, I understand your feelings, anon, and agree with you.
and yes, you've no idea how I fully agree it's so sad that this stuff has still to go on.. whether it's for business or personal purposes.
first of all, in total honesty and with no hypocrisy I want to tell you that I don't like Tim's "girlfriend" at all, as well as her entire family cause they represent for me what most negative and offensive there can exist about the image of a woman and about a human being in general.
get and buy visibility and popularity only thanks to money, so much money, without having any professional nor personal qualities or merit and promote shamelessly the idea that a fully fake aesthetic beauty based only on your body entirely redone is the only effective way for achieving any type of success and fame, is for me something really toxic, wrong and frankly disgusting at every social and human level.
having said that, you can dislike someone but for this reason getting to the point of hating her madly and erasing him or calling him out in the worst ways, is something that I find absurd, absolutely unfair and I strongly disagree with, for a lot of reasons that I won't be here repeating because I've already expressed my opinion quite clearly about Tim and about judging his life and his choices.
I truly appreciated your thoughts, anon, and I would love if you'd want contact me in private to talk more in depth about them.
thank you for your message. 🤍
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2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 (My question is just say something about them you want to say)
For whichever character/characters your want
woweee this is gonna be a looooong post
2-Favourite thing about this character
Doing this for Dante. The Dr Faust cutscene, or to be more broad I love his silly attitude and his stupid jokes. Made this series iconic and funny and gives him a personality.
3-Least favourite thing about this character
For Dante this would probably be the ‘if you were 18 i would date you’ joke from the first episode of the anime. This really rubbed me the wrong way and its kinda weird to say that to a kid you just met???and ooc for him???
7-Whats something the fandom does when it comes to this character you like?
Actually give the girl characters time to shine instead of just making them sexy eye candy. And the silly family dynamics between the Sparda boys.
8-Whats something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?
the fucking Vergil dodges child support and is a ‘sigma based alpha male’ homophobe. i hate it so muchhh even though the meme is dead it still annoys me so much when i see people still think its funny.
9-Could you be roommates with this character?
I probably could be roomies with people like Dante and Nero and Kyrie. Id probably get a little annoyed at Dante for constantly being in debt and gambling but we could survive. Do not think I could be roommates with Vergil. that man does not know how the oven works.
10-Would you date this character?
fuck yeah I would date Dante.
12-What's a headcanon you have for this character?
Nico is the kind of person who drenches everything in ranch. She buys the ranch ice cream a lot and it makes Nero loose his shit every single time. She drowns her chips in ranch and Nero looks at her from across the table like shes murdered someone
14-Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.
Hrngh fuck im not a fashion person. Do kinda see Trish getting into gothic fashion tho.
20-Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?
Nero and Nico are the perfect best friends duo. Always got each others backs, always making fun of each other lightheartedly. I want more of them sooo badly you have no idea.
21-If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?
its been decades since I have last written anything in general. But I do remember Dante’s dialogue being fun to write for me and I dont like everything else because im constantly worrying if something is ooc
22-If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?
Its been decades since ive read any dmc fic either (get caught up in other things) but as mentioned earlier do love those family dynamics and the attempts to fix everything. Dont like when Vergil os portrayed as ice cold after dmc5.
23-Favorite picture of this character?
FUCK THIS IS SO HARD. I do love the capcom cafe art with dante and his tits out. the teppen card art is also pretty cool.
24- What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?
So considering the only other fandom I am in is about depressed teenagers trying to overcome their trauma its safe to say none. I guess Kel somewhat for Dante? Only cause theyre silly and have older brothers who like blue.
25-What was your first impression of this character? How about now?
When I first saw V back when I knew absolutely nothing about dmc, I thought he was edgy and didnt really like him (the video used the ‘what evil lurks I must destroy’ clip out of context). But now that I have played and beaten the series I must say V my poor guy hes an absolute menace.
26-FREEBIE QUESTION!!
no idea what this means!!!!!so im just gonna make up a question!!!!
26-Would you work for this character?
ABSOLUTELY NOT DANTE HAS NO BREAD!!!! and the job is like. insanely dangerous and im just an internet guy.
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Singing my life with his words...
I am not sure what I expected, but I didn't expect that.
Trailers, I think they serve a purpose, in my personal opinion they can skew expectations, generate false anticipation and quite frankly spoil the story. I stopped watching them a few years ago. I mostly pick my films based on familiarity, or subject material and sometimes, well a lot of times seeing stills or gif sets of the film on Tumblr.
Hey I am a visual artist, pulling out stills of a film that feature its visual aesthetics is like crack to me, I just can't get enough! Recently I added more queer films to my diet, and albeit tonights Friday Night Movie's theme wasn't solely left to the gays, All of Us Strangers had been stalking me for weeks all over the Tumblr-verse, so I gave in and added it to the list along with The Marvels and The Color Purple, two other '23 films that kept @'ing me.
Part of my process in choosing my films is traditionally picking a theme or genre and trying to watch films from different decades just to mix it up a bit. These films were all from last year, so they only other thing I could use to distinguish them was their release dates, this placed All of Us, in the middle, right after Marvel's latest block-bluster. #YesThatWasShade
Having peeped that this was categorized as romance and fantasy, I was curious what made it fantasy. Once again IMDB had mis-labeled a film, this wasn't fantastical but a psychological thriller! #LeSigh Maybe I was way too close to the subject material and Andrew Scott clearly being my contemporary wasn't helping the matter at all.
Some of the details were different, albeit after my moms death I was raised as a single-child. I came from a one-parent home, not two. We didn't live in a house but an apartment. We were clearly not middle-class but living below the poverty level. Even with all of these differences I felt exposed in a way that wasn't remotely comfortable. How had this whyte man found out about my story and was now telling it on a stage for all the world to see? #😳
Metastatic breast cancer was the cause of death listed on her death certificate, not a car accident. I wasn't left alone in her bed while she left me for a Christmas party, but I discovered her dead in her bed, the couch in the living room four days before my eleventh birthday. Nine years later I buried my father, who was found by his parents rotting in his Harlem apartment, a reverse to the film where the dad went first followed by the mom.
Like the film they were joined in a way by both dying at approximately forty-four years of age. I rued the moment I would be the same age because like my parents, I thought I'd never live past it, but just like Adam I ultimately ended up being older than my parents than when they died. If I met them now, I guess I would be the one dispensing words of wisdom.
Unlike Adam I wasn't lonely, I have lived alone for nearly thirty years, and have had moments of loneliness, but like so many things that a multiple-orphan and an individual with intersectional identities, I had developed coping methods that were born when I was separated from my siblings at eleven and for the first time had to suffer the world on my own, navigate bullying and nasty taunts from other children. I had learned to have a rich internal emotional life, being my own best friend, and creating adventures in the simplest of things. I had become my own best company.
But like Adam I longed for connection, I longed for resolution around my dead parents. But unlike Adam I am not dead. That's my big reveal/spoiler these many paragraphs in to this essay/journal entry. I think everyone we encountered in that film was dead. #HolySixSenseBatman Delving into how I understood this is immaterial to how it still felt. His parents wanted him to move-on, which could be misconstrued as moving on with his life, but could also have been acknowledging that he was indeed dead and accepting it. The nuance of interpretations of what exactly is going on in the film is masterful, and the director never quite gives us a definitive answer.
Adam felt he wasn't particularly successful with anything in his life, still feeling the scars of his childhood bullying, taunting and the trauma of losing his parents at such a young age. I have mirrored this feeling about my own life, with the only difference that I have been more successful than my parents because I made it to the upper-middle class. #yea But like Adam I have always felt I am just passing-the-time, existing and muddling through.
Curiously the last real relationship I had was nearly twenty years ago, and also interesting was the fact that like Adam, Karl was my junior and like Harry was damaged in many ways, clearly not visible to the world around him, because even my best friend at the time thought he was the boy next door, literally mirroring the movie by his perceptions.
Isn't this why we watch films? Don't we see ourselves in the characters on the screens and sometimes wish we were them or living the lives they were living? Or sometimes what we see on screen is too close to reality and art imitates life in a ghastly manor. But then that means the director/writer has done his job right? Making you feel the pains, indecisions and joy of fictional characters is what a good film is about. But is it exciting to see yourself realized in a way that you wish wasn't you?
All of Us Strangers is a psychological thriller, clearly with aspects of drama and romance. As the reviews say it is haunting and heartbreaking. It is also something else that I am tired of in queer cinema, albeit as realistic as it is, specifically to my own journey, it once again paints queer-life as sad, aloof and unfulfilled.
Having dealt with dysthymia my entire adult life I guess this is in some ways true, but as I explored in a previous entry, I really want our queer movies to be more aspirational. I am not saying Red White & Royal Blue syrupy, but some middle place where we can be not-partnered, not have kids and not be dying or dead and be content with our lives. Is this asking too much?
[Photo Courtesy of All of Us Strangers via IMDB]
#all of us strangers#andrew scott#paul mescal#andrew haigh#queer film#queer fiction#gay lives#journal entry#essay#psychological thriller#romance#imdb#death of parents#orphan#bullying#parenting#haunting#ghost stories#lonelihood#not a review#not a review a reflection#spoilers#telling our stories#mental health#family#emotional trauma
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Sometimes I wonder what would happen if someone made a post celebrating just as genuinely that a Sonic character has a white voice actor because it means they are white. Which I am pretty sure concerns the entire game cast, by the way.
Of course, I know what will happen (that person will either get eaten alive or just laughed at for being a reaching tryhard), but it does nicely show that the whole "The character must have the same race as the voice actor" is just a whole lot of nothing woque hot air that only goes for when that voice actor is the correct race, aka the poor oppressed black people. And when a character is voiced by a white person, obviously that does not count and they're actually also black!! There's just no way to win here, not with people who will twist anything to support their agenda, no matter how hypocritical, ridiculous, or only applied to what they deem is the correct cause.
I am forcibly and painfully reminded of Steven Universe discourse.
There was this huge ass article that complained about SU's racism, and one of its points was "Sugilite, the fusion of a Black-coded Gem (Garnet) and a Latina-coded Gem (Amethyst), is savage and violent, while Sardonyx, the fusion of a Black-coded Gem and a white Gem (Pearl), is refined and elegant".
Oh, so we're assigning races based on voice actors? Then by this logic Pearl, Amethyst, Lapis, Peridot and Ruby are all Filipino-Americans. Oh? That's not how it works? You actually don't care about Filipino representation? You'd rather see Pearl as white, so that you can complain about her ballerina aesthetic and her problematic yet forgiven behavior? You'd rather see Ruby as Black because of her afro, so that you can cry racism at that one silly gag of her writing Sapphire's name too close to the edge of the letter, because you chose to see it as "Ruby can't write" instead of the much more obvious "Ruby has relied so long on Sapphire's Future Vision that without her she doesn't even know where to start to write"? Okay :)
I don't know bro I see technicolor characters as technicolor characters. Then again, I was the weirdo who was genuinely confused at people calling Bismuth Black-coded because "but she's liliac???", so clearly I am not American enough for this.
#again this is not discourse i wish to engage into in detail#and some of the wording here is... not how i'd put it#but if you insist on saying 'this character is x-coded'#to then proceed to criticize the work for being offensive#i can only bruh at you#especially if you're assigning human races to animals
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Don't Let the Packaging Get to You😭...
this is my follow-up on "2023 Is the Year to Become A Mindful Consumer"
We learn to buy things based on their packaging - the labels, the colors, graphics, etc. It gets both the logically minded and artistically minded alike. Looking beyond the packaging is not a matter of "not judging a book by its cover." It's important to outsmart the package's many ways of crying out "buy me!" Next thing you know, you've come home with a facial serum that breaks you out, a superfood powder that's 85% powdered rice grains, a drink you saw hyped up on TikTok, and a laundry detergent that claimed was "environmentally friendly" but the contents are just like the conventional brands. You might not even realize how many disappointing purchases you make like this. But if they fooled you, they've surely fooled others -- which fuels the company's marketing team to become more convincing & appealing.
First thing to address is your mentality when you enter a store or online shop. Realize that the point of the set-up is to get you to leave with as many products as possible, spending the most money possible, and leave with the thought of as many products as possible in your mind. If you struggle with sticking to just what you need, understand what is it about the store (its layout, employees, samples, etc) which cause you to be so easily convinced.
Next, understand what kind of customer you are. Place yourself in the shoes of a product marketer. What would you put on a package to sell it to yourself? How would you design that package? Who would you sponsor to convince you even further to buy that package? Look at the common denominators between the products you buy. Do you like going for the tried-and-true/popular brand, glam or sleek aesthetics, environmentally-friendly or ethical claims, more affordable option, latest trends, "doctor recommended" claims, or whatever else?
Also, understand what it means to make a purchase. Sure, everyone has heard that we vote with our dollars. But we don't always take full responsibility or power of our positions. Let's say that you like a product's contents except it's watered down with some waste product (like mineral oil), or you know that the company is deluding consumers with its claims & people are getting sick from it, or you learn that a shop aligns its aesthetics to look a lot like a small & mindful boutique but really it's just a normal sweatshop-run production. What can you do? The easiest thing you can do is not buy from that company (buy from a small business with great practices or make it yourself). You can leave reviews which share the truth. You can contact companies to see if they will consider different ingredients, materials, etc. You should talk about the company with others. You can even discreetly move products in a store so that their less noticeable to shoppers (as to decrease their sales. This isn't something petty, but to prevent funding dangerous or unethical items).
Finally, it's always good to have the habit of questioning, "Do I really need to buy this?" This is how mindless consumption really becomes mindful. It's better to find ways to make the product on your own. Normally, we look at the selection of products offered to us and consider, "What among this appeals to me?" Really, most of what we buy has either convinced us that we need it or it is the closest fit to a product which will serve our life. Creating an item which suits you exactly is better by far because it tends to eliminate more of the unnecessary evils and "unknowns" which come with our industrialized products.
Soon, you'll get in the habit of getting only what you need, being more resourceful & creative, seeing through the marketing tactics, learning about what goes into production processes, and finding fun in supporting true artistry & ingenious handmade creations. You'll begin to feel freer and less easily swayed. This is an important piece in taking control over what kind of lifestyle you live and the impact it has.
#txt#mindful consumption#unlearning#solarpunk#eco#mindful living#slow living#marketing#late stage capitalism#mindful consumerism#spiritual growth#leveling up#holistic leveling up#ethical consumption#intentional living#the medium is the message#conscious consumption#persuasion#awareness#advertising#mindfulness#third eye#sidewalkchemistry
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I think one of the things that makes it so hard to find new creators (that are free) is how insular paywall/early access cc creators are. I literally can't remember the last time any of them used their massive platforms to support newer creators and they only seem to reblog content that features their own stuff or other creators they're close with. They are literally only concerned about their "brand" instead of actually participating in the community that provides them with their livelihoods. If you're looking for content, you're going directly to these creators first and maybe you'll look through finds blogs if you're more invested. To a point, I understand that's how popularity works, but they could be doing so much more.
Plus, since the early access model is so popular, I do think there's a push for new creators to switch to that. You get an initial burst of engagement when you first post and then another when your content is free, instead of just posting once and getting what you get. Also, I do think there's an unspoken rule that "early access creator" = "professional". So, if you want to be taken seriously, you'll imitate what the "professionals" are doing.
I'm sorry you're discouraged trying to find new creators. It's actually insane how much damage the popularity of paywalling has done to this community.
Hey nonny, thanks for sending this and also for your sympathy! I agree with everything you said, and I'm just gonna ramble a bit in a semi related way.
I think the point you made about professionalism is especially poignant. Creating cc is less a hobby now and more a setup for your own "business". But in this marketplace, there are no standards or regulation whatsoever- and many people here are just bad at what they do in various ways. It seems as if they either have the aesthetic & business model down, but are terrible to their customers and/or make terrible product, or they make a good product but can't quite grasp how to play the "game" to work the system to its full advantage. Sometimes you get people bad at all of it, yet they still charge. Because the only consistent thing about this community at the moment is that everything absolutely has to have a price, no matter how shitty it is. And there's absolutely zero consequence for being a gigantic douche nozzle.
This is a mostly disconnected side note, but when I think about these creators, it's just unbelievably depressing. I have thought about what it would be like to try early access a few times over the years, and honestly even the thought gave me such a burst of anxiety I immediately dismissed it. Just releasing cc for free is sometimes an anxious feeling for me, I just can't imagine having to base a business around it. The thought of possibly disappointing people and not consistently providing a quality product that is worth their money is a shameful thought for me. I have gotten a few $1 donations to my patreon over the years and even then i feel bad for not being able to create cc for a while because of my mental health, and not being better at cc making in general. And yet there's people that provide the most lazy, shit items I've ever seen without blinking. Stuff they never tested that doesn't work in game, two second conversions, no hat chops, no lods, gigantic poly, etc. They don't even know how to make cc and admit to that but still charge. I think I would die of shame. I'm sitting here thinking about, do they feel guilt over it, in the back of their mind? Does the stress and the anxiety gnaw at them like it does me? Even just uploading to curseforge for me, causes a bit of anxiety, even though no one pays for it directly. But CF is just another tool to be used to most- now people use patreon, but once its unlocked, the download link leads to CF so they can double dip. So it must not be bothersome to them at all. It's difficult for me to wrap my head around.
...I've gotten so far off track, again. Here's the part where I re-read your ask and try to get back on topic lol. Sorry, my mind runs a lot these days.
I'm glad you mentioned the part about how insular paywallers are. But I think there's even more to this than just popularity. They do not break from their circle, except in the very rare case someone new becomes very popular and they want to do a boring collab with them, and even then it seems limited. I'm pretty sure they have a server (or multiple) where they share people's urls for the purposes of chain blocking them. They also, without a doubt, share people's personal info to one another in order to ban their accounts from their patreons (at the very least). I have witnessed this multiple times. There are several doxxing rings besides the ones that were exposed, at least one exclusive to early access creators. They don't allow new people in/trust others easily because of this. This is why I don't trust paywallers as a rule; not because I think custom content should never be monetized under any circumstances, but because the lack of standardization and consequences for privacy violations makes it unsafe.
I've read through your ask again, and it made me think of something else, so bear with me haha. But the point about how you find newer creators, and how some will go to finds blogs. The fact of the matter is that popular finds blogs have the potential to be compromised as well. I have been blocked by mmccworld ever since EA temporarily banned paywalling and I reblogged a post that had a list of people intending to continue paywalling after that, and they happened to be on that list. They were one of the more popular finds blogs in the community, but I obviously won't be reblogged by them like I was in the past. Now, this isn't that relevant anymore since they're definitely not as highly regarded as they once were, but think about tumblr's lack of algorithm & what you said about how people find newer creators. If you aren't reblogged, you aren't found. And it makes me wonder how many other creators are blocked at a finds blog's discretion. I mean, this isn't necessarily a bad thing; you can filter people how you like, for example I don't reblog from paywallers on mine, or known bigots etc. But it's something to think about, and I think is a smaller example of how simblr works. If you don't play the game and fall in line, if you question the wrong person, you won't get exposure. And to most, in our current system, exposure equals money. Of course you're going to toe the line- no one wants to be publicly shamed, or worse, have a drop in potential income.
This has gone on far, far too long, so let me stop lol. But thanks again for sending this and allowing me to ramble in response, nonny... not that you had a choice 🤣
#asks#anonymous#ceci speaks#negative#the patreon issue#ceci speaks a lot more#long post#nonny complaints
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[ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴊᴊᴋ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ɢᴏ ᴀꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ʜᴀʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴇɴ (ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴘɪᴄꜱ): ᴘᴀʀᴛ 1 ]
ᴀ/ɴ: SPOOKY MONTH BE UPON YE
ᴛᴡ: none
| ɢᴏᴊᴏ
more like goHOE
this absolute slut either goes in the most revealing outfit possible or the stupidest outfit possible. no in between
you know those shitty outfits you find on amazon that are like way too overpriced? yeah he's rich so it doesn't matter
probably goes as either a greek god or a digimon character tbh
either way he looks good and it's infuriating
| ʏᴜᴊɪ
bro 💀💀💀
have mercy on him pls he's kinda stupid
he originally wanted to go as ghostface cause like, he likes horror movies and all that but as soon as he figured out junpei was going as ghostface he decided to ditch the idea (cause he's nice)
instead, he decides that going as sukuna so he could scare the shit out of everyone
also because its easy and all he has to do is put on a kimono
only sukuna is WAY to into the idea
he's so into it that he agrees to behave for the night just so he can get a kick out of people trying to figure out whether it's yuji or sukuna talking
they switch every few hours so that yuji can shovel candy into his mouth tho
(go follow the linked cosplayer on insta, her stuff is really cool!!)
| ᴍᴇɢᴜᴍɪ
ya'll ever seen those aesthetic sheet ghost things on like pinterest n shit?? like with the glases and the skateboard and- yeah yeah you know
he didn't really want to put effort into it because he thought it was stupid, but after getting pressued by gojo to "have fun" and "participate" (🙄) he eventually gave in
he does the absolute bare minimum after a five minute google search and somehow still looks cool
gets a lot of compliments on his costume tho, so he guesses it's worth it
| ɴᴏʙᴀʀᴀ
nothing.
NO LMAO jk shes not a square. she still dresses up and is willing to physically fight anyone that shit talks her for it
kinda basic but she usually just does some variation of a zombie every year
she WAS gonna be a vampire but... you know
ends up going as a pirate because she can't really think of anything else, but looks cool so it's fine
she puts in extra effort to make sure it fits correctly and all that before just deciding to do a closet cosplay, and it ends up looking cooler than the original costume she based it off of
| ᴊᴜɴᴘᴇɪ
you can't tell me this dude doesn't have a full ghostface costume that he wears every year. because you're wrong.
not only does he have the full ghostface costume he actually put EFFORT into it
he's been adding more and more to the costume every year so he can make it seem like it's different (it's not), so it kinda just looks like an elaborate ghostface cosplay by now
it looks cool as fuck though- better than the other ghostface-ers out and about
(its just this but better sorry KDJNFDJ)
| ɴᴀɴᴀᴍɪ
he's a grown man. why would he dress up for halloween.
...gojo made him go to a sorcerer's only halloween party thats why
nanami RELUCTANTLY goes, and ends up going as a ghostbuster because he thinks its amusing
sorcerers are basically ghostbusters, right? it only cost like 20 dollars at target and its the only thing that fits his tall ass well enough to be comfortable, so he just goes with that and calls it a night
| ᴛᴏɢᴇ
mime
basically means he doesn't have to explain to random people why he doesn't talk, and on top of that he thinks the whole vibe is really cool looking
the pic below is only an ounce of what i meant but he looks really cute in the costume so its fine
overall rlly sweet, doesn't have any pre-rehearsed mime acts or anything but does do cool tricks with is curse to entertain kids so its fine
#halloween headcanons#jjk#jjk headcanon#jujutsu kaisen#jujutsu kaisen headcanons#jujutsu sorcerer#jjk megumi#jjk nanami#jjk sukuna#jjk itadori#gojo saturo#jjk gojo#jjk maki#jjk nobara#jjk todo#jjk toudou#jjk junpei#jjk toge#jjk headcanons#jjk imagines#jjk panda
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Would you prefer Elucien in Spring Court or Day Court??
I'm so torn. On one hand, I'd like for Elain and Lucien to bring the magic back to Spring and unify its people. Lucien knows it's people, but he's lost their trust (because of what happened with Feyre, but I think he could overcome it, and I think that's where Elain comes in, she's described as someone who can light up a room and people naturally like her.
I think the spring court would love Elain.
But what draws me to Day Court is just new location and worldbuiding, we already read about Spring, I want to read about other courts so bad lol, but I can do see SJM bringing things full circle in the series and concluding with Spring with Elucien. But if Lucien is the heir of Day, why set up that plot if he isn't going to be HL,
But no matter what I love that SJM has given Elucien TWO possible outcomes based on canon evidence and possible foreshadowing, three if you count the continent 🤗🤗🤗
Either way, SJM has set up their story.
I would prefer Elain and Lucien in Day Court for all the reasons you mentioned and the aesthetic (how incredible is Elucien Day Court fanart, right?). Not to mention the Spring Court is a reminder of unpleasant times for Lucien while the Day Court is a new beginning.
But......if SJM is keeping Helion around then I'm not sure what they'd be doing in Day.
For me it's not enough to say, "well, just let them chill and relax for a few centuries". Lucien has been the sidekick for far too long, the right hand man, the "son of a High Lord" waiting to have purpose, and I think it's time for him to step into being a leader. I don't really like the thought of him as the Crown Prince in waiting in Day and I feel the same for Elain, where she ends her book waiting for a greater purpose that won't come about for centuries.
Feyre ended her series as the High Lady of the Night Court.
Nesta ended her book knowing she's the leader of a group of female warriors.
Their stories both ended with them in a clearly defined role and not, "well someday when this character dies, they'll step into that role".
I want Elucien's book to end with them reaching their potential and not just left open ended for what they'll someday accomplish. Things could change in the next book but as it stands, there's no place for Elucien in Day at this time, there's no void needing filled. Helion is an extremely likeable character, SJM said she's obsessed with him and he and the LoA have an unfinished love story so I don't think he's going anywhere or expendable.
But when you look at Spring....it's current High Lord killed his own sentries back when Mor took Feyre away from there. He allied with Hybern which caused his people to lose trust in him. He chose Ianthe time and again, causing further uncertainty in him within his court. In the novella and SF, we're told he no longer cares for his people at all, leaving his borders unattended, refusing Rhys's help for guards to be stationed at his borders (sorry but no matter how much he hates Rhys, he should care more about the safety of his lands and accept the help. Even Rhys would have allowed Amarantha to continue using him if it meant saving their world), turning a blind eye to the lawlessness within Spring.
I have no doubt that Elain and Lucien are going to be the ones to turn Spring around.
But is that so Tamlin can find his way back as ruler? Would it be believable that his people would even WANT to follow him again at this point? In my opinion the answer to that is no. I think he's abandoned his people and been too volatile for far too long for anyone to respect him again as a ruler.
But Elain and Lucien......
Not only was there the major hint that Spring had been MADE for someone like Elain but Lucien is also tied to the magic of the land through the Great Rite. Lucien expressed sorrow at not being able to return to the lands outside of Tamlin's manor because the people believed him complicit in the lies Feyre told. He also expressed sadness over Tamlin's court not turning out the way he once hoped it would.
But he and Elain could turn the court into everything the people need and everything he wanted.
I also don't think SJM just casually threw in that the position of HL can jump bloodlines when necessary for no reason at all unless she plans on replacing Rhys and Feyre in the NC (which I don't see as happening especially as they now have Nyx).
As Lucien is Helion's bloodline, it doesn't apply for Day.
I'm pretty sure Eris is going to be HL of Autumn and he's the rightful son of Beron.
I can't imagine Tarquin going anywhere either, he's likeable and a new HL set on making the world a better place.
And the other courts aren't a major focus at this time.
So why would SJM have given us that information unless she was building up what's going to happen in Spring. Tamlin is the only HL (outside of Beron) that really needs to go.
I think SJM, being a girl power author, is probably looking to shake up the system of the HL too. Why couldn't the magic choose a High Lady for once? Elain is not ready to rule over a court on her own of course but Lucien, as her mate, could easily stand beside her and help her. Just like Rhys walked Feyre through the process of High Lady of the NC. Lucien has literally trained for the role his entire life and spent centuries beside Tamlin in what was basically an apprentice like role.
If you think back on ACOTAR, Tamlin was no more fit to be a High Lord than Elain would be High Lady (though Elain's natural ability with people already sets her apart from him). Tamlin never wanted to be HL so he turned his back on the teachings of how to rule yet ended up in the role whether he wanted it or not.
And maybe, Lucien will also add the High King role to his bag of tricks. I don't think it's a role that one steps into unless it's during times of extreme unrest, I don't think he gets to command other courts during times of peace but he does seems to be best suited to unify all the courts and the human lands when there are major issues threatening them all.
Centuries later when Helion is ready to step down maybe Lucien will step into his role of High Lord of Day. By that time I imagine he and Elain will have children, one of who might be ready to come into power in Spring.
For me, that's the scenario that makes the most sense with what we've been given and knowing that she loves Helion. Maybe some new information will be introduced in the next book and it'll change my stance but as it stands I can't imagine her killing off Helion and I can't imagine Tamlin being redeemed to the point that his court is happily ready to accept him as their leader once again.
#high lady elain#high king lucien#pro elain archeron#pro lucien vanserra#elucien#pro elucien#acotar theory#anti tamlain#elain archeron#lucien vanerra#lucien spell cleaver#elucien supremacy
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TBC lore dump 5: More general tidbits
(^What the ancients looked like! They were the first ever objects on Fiearth.)
Fiearth's exact creation is a whole mystery that no object is sure of. Some say it formed like our earth, some say it was created by gods... Its a common tale that the ancients were created by the gods though, and they had to figure out the nooks and crannies of the planet on their own. They eventually learned how to use most of the godly marks available to them, and setting in stone the traditional method of creating new objects.
Only a few godly marks- sentience dust, morph slate, peace cotton, tokens and trinkets, blade ore and hard iron- can be safely kept around objects for an indefinite amount of time. All of the others hold a too strong amount of magic that will accumulate inside objects over extensive exposure, and eventually it will turn fatal for the object- This is called magic overload, and burnflowers will cause it instantaneously if consumed.
Fiearth magic is majorly environmental, but there's a lot of it, with how common godly marks are and all. Occasionally and randomly, an object may be born with magic, but no one has anything spectacular. Hell, even the first object born with magic don't have anything flashy going on
Magic objects don't have anyone to teach them how to use it really, so a lot of the time their skills goes unused. Objects are way more adapted to making use of godly marks eitherway.
Cloning in tbc is really just the canon method of creating more objects but minus the morph slate. Just sprinkle some sentience dust on an inanimate object, provided it wasn't previously alive, and you've got yourself a new living being! And that is Fiearth's version of cloning.
Clones have several debilitating traits so its inherently unethical to make any- though it is SO easy to make them and many at once too. its how one of the ancients discovered it- They accidentally cloned their whole garden and that was the start of plants as a class.
Clones have two physically notable traits that could tell them from other objects: they're MUCH smaller and they have dust markings on their bodies. Clones have a way lower lifespan than normal objects (Most of them die around 50), and they're much, much less mobile, due to the lack of morph slate making their limbs stiff and easy to crack.
Any objects born from the same piece of slate are automatically considered twins, no matter how far apart their births were.
Object names are conforming to their objects as a comfort thing. In the way that they find it nice to know what they are, reflecting that through their names. Objects changing their name will often make their new name a different variation of what their object is. Last names are based on aesthetic-types (like, take charger for example, he's a device meant for connecting things) and will also be passed down from generation to generation. When objects marry, they will not change their last names, so objects having the same last names are indications of kinship. Which parent's last name the child gets is dependent on which aesthetic-type they fit more into, or it can be a mashup of all parents' aesthetic-types into one more general one.
If an object changes their last name and they still have living relatives with the same last name, it is effectively considered an act of disowning.
When objects hold funerals, they don't do coffins. They cover the body (if there is any) with the person's favourite plant godly mark, sing some chants to send them off to the Passing Hallways (though they don't know it exists earlier in the timeline so they used to call it the Beyond), cremate the body and the flowers and bury the ashes in a coffin-shaped hole. If there isn't a body they'll burn just the plants, if the late person's favourite was burnflowers they'll throw water over the flowers.
Fiearth objects don't use human body parts terminologies, they have their own. the biological body parts terms are mostly used to refer to animals (and thus if anyone uses them towards anyone its like calling them an animal). They also use godly mark related terms, particularly "dust".
There is a custom where objects try to avoid saying the word "forget" at all cost, else they'll be erased from existence if they say it enough. It's based on an ancient legend about an object who turned against their own kind, and gains power from things being forgotten. Except, its not a legend, its real.
This is said object. It roams Fiearth, killing objects and causing mayhem everywhere. It aims to become just as powerful as the gods and thus destroy them all
#osc#object show community#object show#object shows#the blank crossing#important#lore post#oh there's a lot here. there's so much#there's more
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hi olli! do you have any tips on developing your ocs above the surface level like personalities, traits and such? i feel like with i know my ocs but not to an extend of having them fully developed? do you use any prompts and what advice could you give to someone who's terrible at building pinterest board for their ocs? ���� thank you <3
omg hi!!! first of all im flattered that u came to me of all people to ask this omg? and absolutely!!! gonna do it under the cut cause i have a lot to say <3
okay i get what u mean abt not knowing an oc past the surface level omgg it takes a lot to break through that, ive had vin as an oc for i think just over two years and it's only recently ive truly been able to get deep into his core. i find that doing ask games and such for ocs helps me because it forces me to think of aspects i never really considered so my first tip is look at ask games, you dont need to have the questions send to you to answer them!! it helps develop your character in the smallest ways that can snowball into bigger aspects of their personality. you can find some at @ocaskmemes also @develop-your-oc is SOOOOO useful omg their tag page has everything you could possibly need!!!!! also i LOVE using this ask game by @/deathbypufferfish for developing romantic relationships between ocs!!! i like to keep all the answers in a document to reference later!! (also those cute as hell oc sheets? a god send. if you search oc profile on pinterest u can find so many!!)
fully developing an oc is pretty tricky tbh so don't feel like you need to have everything set in stone within a week or smth, take your time, switch ideas around, scrap things entirely. in the end this oc is YOURS!! you don't need to have their entire life known to you for you to enjoy them!
pin boards for ocs are also helpful for development tbh. when you start a board dont expect it to be amazing right away like my tang board is terrible and its only recently ive figured out how i wanted it like just look at the difference (top is the new one)
expect your boards to be bare bones when you first start them!! usually i have a vague idea for an oc when i start them like their appearance and for solitude specifically i know what their issues are no matter how undeveloped it is. i like to start with like appearance based pins first tbh cause it sets good ground work like eye colour, hair colour, outfits etc (these are all subject to change so don't feel tied down to them) and trust eventually you will reach an aesthetic you like. just keep adding things that make u think of that oc!! u can clean it up later when you have a more solid idea of what you want. one of the big things i recommend is to follow other simblrs on pinterest, if you want some good ones just look at the people i follow (@/lucidicer on pin) look at their oc boards they can really give u some good inspo and dont be afraid to steal the pics pdjfhjdhg. also BIG one...add 'aesthetic' to all your pinterest searches 😁
just have fun and go crazy :D ENJOY UR SILLIES!!!!!!!
#i hope this was helpful!!!!!!! i tried to add as much as i could think of from the top of my head :)#good luck nonny i believe in u <3#olli.txt#asks
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