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hotvintagepoll · 7 days

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Propaganda

Hedy Lamarr (Samson and Delilah, Ziegfeld Girl)—Look. I'm sure someone has already submitted Hedy Lamarr because she was spectacularly beautiful, and a very strong lady too: she fled both an abusive marriage AND nazi persecution at a very young age and rebuilt a life for herself pursuing her love for acting all on her own!! Her career as an actress was stellar; while she began acting outside of Hollywood (her very first movie, Ecstasy, won a prize at the Venice Film Festival), she conquered American hearts very quickly with her first movie in the US, Algiers, and then just kept getting better and better. If all this isn't enough, she was also an inventor: her invention of the frequency-hopping spread spectrum radio transmission technique forms the base of bluetooth and has a lot of applications in all kinds of communication technologies. I think that deserves a prize, don't you?

Anna May Wong (The Thief of Bagdad, Shanghai Express)—Wong was the first Chinese American movie star, arguably the first Asian woman to make it big in American films. Though the racism of the time often forced her into stereotypical roles, awarded Asian leading roles to white actors in yellowface, and prohibited on-screen romance between actors of different races, she delivered powerful and memorable performances. When Hollywood bigotry got to be too much, she made movies in Europe. Wong was intellectually curious, a fashion icon, and a strong advocate for authentic Asian representation in cinema. And, notably for the purposes of this tournament, absolutely gorgeous.

We are in the quarterfinals of the Hot & Vintage Movie Women Tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Propaganda is not my own and is on a submission basis. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Hedy Lamarr:

The only person you can find both on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in the Inventor's Hall of Fame--her radio-frequency-hopping technology forms the basis for cordless phones, wi-fi, and a dozen other aspects of modern life. She was also passionate in her efforts to aid the Allies in WWII (unsurprising for a Jewish-Austrian Emigree to America), and her name served as the backbone for one of the best running jokes in what is possibly Mel Brooks' best movie. Look, Louis B. Mayer apparently believed he could plausibly promote her as "The world's most beautiful woman". Is an entire website full of people going to be less audacious than one Louis B. Mayer? I didn't think so!

Described as "Hedy has the most incredible personal sophistication. She knows the peculiarly European art of being womanly; she knows what men want in a beautiful woman, what attracts them, and she forces herself to be these things. She has magnetism with warmth, something that neither Dietrich nor Garbo has managed to achieve" by Howard Sharpe, she managed to escape her controlling husband (and Nazi Germany) by a) Disguising as her maid and fleeing to Paris or b) Convincing the husband to let her wear all of her jewelry to a dinner, only to disappear afterwards. Also she was particularly clever and helped develop Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum (I can't really explain it but anyway...)

Her depiction of Delilah and Samson and Delilah just lives rent free in my head. The woman was gorgeous.

One of the most beautiful women ever in film, spoken by many critics and fans. Beautiful shapely figure, deeper seductive voice, and often played femme fatale roles. She was also brilliant and an inventor. Mainly self-taught, she invested her spare time, including on set between takes, in designing and drafting inventions, which included an improved traffic stoplight and a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a flavored carbonated drink, and much more.

Gorgeous and brilliant pioneer of modern technology and the middle part.

Anna May Wong propaganda:

"She so so gorgeous!! Due to Hollywood racism she was pretty limited in the roles she got to play but even despite that she’s so captivating and deserves to be known as a leading lady in her own right!! When she’s on screen in Shanghai Express I can’t look away, which is saying something because Marlene Dietrich is also in that film."

"SHE IS ON THE BACK OF QUARTERS also she was very smart and able to speak multiple languages and is a fashion icon on top of the acting/singing"

"Paved the way for Asian American actresses AND TOTAL HOTTIE!!! She broke boundaries and made it her mission to smash stereotypes of Asian women in western film (at the time, they were either protrayed them as delicate and demure or scheming and evil). In 1951, she made history with her television show The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, the first-ever U.S. television show starring an Asian-American series lead (paraphrased from Wikipedia). Also, never married and rumor has it that she had an affair with Marlene Dietrich. We love a Controversial Queen!"

"She's got that Silent Era smoulder™ that I think transcends the very stereotypical roles in which she was typically cast. Also looks very hot smouldering opposite Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express"; there's kiss energy there."

"Hot as hell and chronically overlooked in her time, she's truly phenomenal and absolutely stunning"

"A story of stardom unavoidably marred by Hollywood racism; Wong's early-career hype was significantly derailed by the higher-up's reluctance to have an Asian lead, and things only got worse when the Hayes code came down and she suddenly *couldn't* be shown kissing a white man--even if that white man was in yellowface. After being shoved into the Dragon Lady role one too many times, she took her career to other continents for many years. Still, she came back to America eventually, being more selective in her roles, speaking out against Asian stereotypes, and in the midst of all of this finding the time to be awarded both the title of "World's Best Dressed Woman" by Mayfair Mannequin Society of New York and an honorary doctorate by Peking University."

"Incredible beauty, incredible actress, incredible story."

"-flapper fashion ICON. look up her fits please <3 -rumors of lesbianism due to her Close Friendships with marlene dietrich & cecil cunningham, among others -leveraged her star power to criticize the racist depictions of Chinese and Asian characters in Hollywood, as well as raise money and popular support for China & Chinese refugees in the 1930s and 40s. -face card REFUSED to decline"

#anna may wong #hedy lamarr #hotvintagepoll #fuck that old woman #ladies quarterfinals

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xclowniex · 2 months

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Something which really bothers me is the whole "jews are white" thing is genuinely racist. And not even jew specific racism.

To give context before getting into the meat of the post, it's important to understand that jews historically have not been considered white. Even white passing jews or jews who are viewed as white in the modern day were not seen as white historically. Whether or not a white passing/European jew calls themselves white or not is up to that jew. No one else can make that decision.

Moving past that, we can acknowledge that non white and non white passing jews exist. Black jews exist, Asian jews exist, arab jews exist, native american jews exist and Pasifika (or Polynesian for my US folks) and Māori jews exist as well as many other types of jews.

Is it not anti black, anti Asian, anti arab, anti every non white group I listed above and more to say that jews are white and that Israel is made up of white colonizers?

Like when a person says that jews are white and/or that Israel was created by white colonizers, they are erasing jews and Israelis who are non white/non white passing.

You are essentially going, "black jews don't exist, Asian jews don't exist, native American jews don't exist, arab jews don't exist, Pasifika and Māori jews don't exist, etc".

And that's honestly bonkers to me. You are now willing to be racist towards all poc because "jews bad white people"?????

Like that's just straight up racism. Assuming that poc can't also be Jewish is racist. You are limiting poc to your stereotypes which in this case means not being jewish.

I already know that most people who say that are antisemitic. But if you ignore the antisemitsm of it, it's just straight up racism.

But I guess now racism is fine if it's against jews who are also "traditional" poc.

Which as an arab jew, it makes me even sadder for the wider implication of the increase in antisemitism

#antisemitism #israel #palestine #i/p #jumblr #gaza #am yisrael chai #i/p war

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midniiights-garden · 5 months

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General HCs on Mizu with an S/O

First Meeting: How would she have most likely come into contact with the reader?

Personally I believe that Mizu would have most likely met her future S/O whilst they were travelling or working.

I'm gearing this more towards non-binary/female readers so if you're a guy reading this I'm sorry 😞

Anyways, yeah she probably met her S/O whilst they were either running away from something, hiding themselves or maybe as a brothel worker.

Either way I really think the first meeting would go the same no matter how you met her.

She'd be pretty cold and distant as she is with most people, keeping her distance both physically and emotionally. At first she won't treat her future S/O that differently than others.

Her Type: What would her type be?

I see Mizu as someone who needs stability. So ideally her S/O wouldn't be someone with the tendency to need adventure or conflict to thrive.

She would probably want someone who knows who they are, someone she doesn't need to take care of as an addition to herself. Someone who is ok with being alone especially since Mizu strikes me as the type to need time to herself often.

I also think she wouldn't be great with words of affirmation, so if you really need words to feel secure I don't think she'd be a great partner for that. Throughout the show I notice that she shows appreciation mainly through acts of service and quaility time, and this would still be the case with her S/O.

In terms of apperance I don't think she'd actually care too much. I think she may have an unconcious bias towards other Asians since she was raised in Japan, but due to her prior experience with racisim I don't think she'd necessarily be willing to be with someone of European lineage. I think that this might change through time though, especially once Mizu manages to come to terms with her own features. Then I think she'd be pretty unbiased.

They'd also have to be more on the mature side. Not necessarily in terms of age, but just personality wise. Someone who is self-aware and understanding and paitent.

Trust: How trusting would she be?

At first not very.

Obviously she has had incredibly negative experiences with relationships, so once she had an S/O I think she may still struggle with making the difference between her past relationship and her current one.

This may result in a bit of a turbulent start and I think there may be more arguements.

However, as time goes on and she realises that her S/O is truly in love with her for who she is and would probably die for her she starts to open up some more.

I've seen other headcanons saying that she becomes more feminine once she's comfortable with her S/O and I 100% agree with it. Just imagining her with her S/O, her hair down and letting her partner put makeup on her makes me blush and giggle ngl. Like, she is stunning. Breathtaking. Absolutely gorgeous. Words cannot describe how wonderful she is.

Anyways-

Yeah it would be like the reverse of "calm before the storm".

Arguements: How would she handle an arguement between her and her S/O?

Ok, so firstly I think an arguement would probably arise due to her aforementioned unwillingness to open up. Her S/O would be tired of being kept in the dark or worried about Mizu and would pry, and Mizu would snap.

I think Mizu would actually end up storming off, wanting to cool down first before coming back.

Mizu isn't one to solve things with violence when it comes to the people she cares about, so I think she'd prefer to talk things out calmly instead of yelling.

It may turn into yelling if said S/O tried to follow her when she leaves to go cool down though.

After the arguement she may be a little cold for a couple of days before returning to her usual self.

Marriage: Does she want to get remarried?

At the beginning of the relationship I do not think she was very willing to get married again. (Fuck you M*kio.)

Of course, as I mentioned plenty of times before she would have a lot of reservations in terms of opening herself up emotionally.

She fears getting married again might be a Mikio pt. 2 which would not be great for her mental health.

But as the relationship grows and her S/O proves that they intended to stay by her side ring or not... that's when she starts to consider the idea again. Especially since this time it's with someone she truly loves and who loves her back.

Her wedding would be small. Obviously. No hate to my precious baby but she doesn't have a whole lot of friends nor family to invite over. It would most likely just consist of her S/O and her, Ringo and Akemi. Who may or may not have dragged Taigen along.

Mizu would get to wear her wedding attire and properly get married to the love of her life. 😭😭😭

I can imagine her being really nervous beforehand, wondering if her S/O might consider her ugly once she saw her in her wedding attire and what not.

But of course her S/O would be like "stfu you're beautiful".

All in all it'd be a pretty emotional affair, lots of crying (behind doors for Mizu) and hugs.

(A/N: Ok. So I may have lied when I said general. Listen, in my defense I'm basically just throwing up my ideas here.)

#i love women #mizu blue eye samurai #wlw #blue eye samurai #i love fictional characters #mizu x reader #mizu x you #x reader #x you #fluff #x reader fluff #headcannons #mizu come home the kids miss you #mizu

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mywitchcultblr · 2 years

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I'm done with your purity

I'm fucking done with all of you westerners fucks who take your freedom for granted. AO3 was banned in china because pissy fans reporting RPF TO THE GOVERNMENT UNDER FALSE REPORT OF PEDO OR WHATEVER thus making life a living hell for Chinese writers and fans. ALSO LET ME TELL YOU that fanfic and AO3 is a safe space for many oppressed LGBT people outside of the west

I can't fucking say that I'm trans and bi without having people beating the shit out of me, but I can fuckin' write that I'm gay as fuck in fanfic or writing gay shit about my fave with fanfic

Imagine some people defending state wide censorship over fanfic, because they don't like icky fanfic, that's a sign that either you are brainwashed or fucking privileged and taking your freedom for granted. You know why Asian and other non western USA-European are more chill with fanfic and fandom?

Why we are less prone to make some stupid callout over fanworks?

Because most of us doesn't have the same information and expression privilege like the west, we take any freedom that we can have

That's in 2017... There's probably more than one million websites being censored rn. I cannot even buy pride pin here because NO ONE outside of internet selling it! The censorship always begin from "banning information to protect children and moral from nsfw" down to censoring Spongebob Squarepants

You don't like something? Just don't fucking read it, it wouldn't stop the author to write and when they do stop writing usually after they are harassed so bad to the point of mental break down or suicide. What the actual fuck...

Defending and supporting state wide censorship because you want to feel superior on the internet is beyond stupid and it showing your privilege... Also yah fuck you who defend china aggressive state wide censorship because adult x adult RPF icky or whatever, I like reading Tom Hiddleston x Reader, because I'm lonely and it's fun. Don't lie that you never thinking of marrying your favorite celebrities or dreaming about dating Gerard Way.

What the fuck you gonna do about it? Crucify my ass? So long you are not shoving it to the person's face, who give a fuck? It's not a justifiable ground to cheer for government mandated national wide censorship. A lot of westerners are so privileged and terminally online to the point their mind revolve around online discourse 24/7 I'm not saying discourse has no damn merits but you get what I said...

Some people particularly white westerners are so privileged they have the chance to goes back 180° and agreeing with conservative mindset they claim to hate so much... Also your kink critical bullshit and your bullshit crusading over dark stories? Yeah. Heavily influenced by TERF and conservatism. Newsflash...

I'm not a person who agree with all ship or stories, i don't claim any moral high ground. I was so scared of getting cancelled due to the hostile neo puritan fandom culture, but seeing people defending China great firewall and aggressive censorship finally broke something inside of me and I cannot stay quiet

I don't give a fuck about your fanfic discourse, If i don't like something i just wouldn't fucking engage with it and wouldn't read...

I'm done, I'm tired. Fucking tagging this shit as anti vs pro because i need to get the message out there and LET THE CHAOS begin

( When you want to escape your country censorship to the internet but then you see the supposed liberated westerners people wanting censorship because they want to feel moral. Yes there are even westerners who don't want to see anything even remotely 'problematic' example: they will attack Zutara or fuckin' Reylo shipper whatever. See? You are terminally online and so privileged... Congratulations... Here's your fucking medal and gold star)

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callimara · 7 months

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Important PSA

Criticizing Israel is NOT antisemetism or an attack on Jewish people because

ISRAEL =/= ALL JEWS

And while I am not saying that there is no antisemitism because there is plenty of that too, this is not a case of that. But grouping all Jews together as Israeli and presenting them as a monolith erases their individuality and identity. It's like calling all Asian people Chinese, and that if you criticize China, then you hate all Asian people. It doesn't make sense.

I am so frustrated seeing people who are trying to raise awareness about Palestine be called antisemetic and disgusting by people who cannot perceive Jews and Muslims as anything but a monolith. That's the reason why so many people are having trouble distinguishing between Hamas and Palestinian civilians, because to them, they're all the same.

And that's why they don't see an issue with collective punishment.

And you know what? Palestine is NOT just the Jewish holy land. It is also the Christian holy land, and the Muslim holy land. Palestine wasn't even the first choice for a Jewish homeland because it was heavily contested by Jewish rabbis at the time.

Turning Palestine (I say Palestine because the entirety of what is now Israel used to be Palestine) as an exclusively Jewish ethno-state means that people of Christian and Muslim faith all over the world are stripped of their holy land. The oldest church in the world, dating back to the times of Christ is located in Gaza, and who are the ones protecting it? Palestinians.

And you know who bombed it? Even though it had 500 refugees of both Muslim and Christian faith inside? Israel.

Even the slogan used for the founding of Israel itself, "A land without people for a people without a land." Is blatantly revisionist and erases the existence of Palestinians already living there. It erases all the historic religious sites that stand there and are frequented regularly by their respective devotees. Or worse, does not consider the Palestinians as 'people.'

Some people tend to forget that religious belief is NOT the same as race, and so you CANNOT claim indigeneity just because you are a certain religion. I am an Indonesian Muslim. Born Muslim, raised Muslim, and every generation of my family have been Muslim. That doesn't mean I can say I'm indigenous to Saudi Arabia. Let alone that Saudi Arabian land is my birthright.

If a white American woman born and raised in Seattle decides to convert to Hinduism, can she then say she is now indigenous to India? Or if she has a child, and that child had a child, and they were all raised as a Hindu, but have always lived in the US all their lives, can they claim that they are indigenous to India?

No.

And the fact is, the first Jewish settlers during The First Aliyah (great Jewish migration to Palestine) came from Eastern Europe and are genetically closer to Russians and other Slavs than they are to the Jews who remained in the Middle Eastern region after their exile (and I guess some people forget that you can convert into Judaism even if you didn't come from "The Promised Land." Like for marriages and stuff.) That's why they feel the need to distinguish themselves from the word "Arab."

Granted, there were also Yemeni Jews that migrated with them (whom I would say have stronger claims to indigeneity), but even in the transition camps, there was a clear divide between the European Ashkenazi Jews and the Yemeni Jews, who literally had their kids taken from them to give to the Ashkenazi Jews.

And let's not forget that when Jewish migrants from Ethiopia came, they were given contraceptives without consent to make sure they didn't impact the "desired" population.

Wake up. This isn't a religious war. This is European colonization.

#free palestine #gaza genocide #history of israel #debunking propaganda #psa

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memories-of-ancients · 2 months

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Who do you think would have the best food if they only cooked by their own indigenous resources (spices, veggies, fruits, etc)?

(Also sorry if there's a mistake, it's almost 5am and I can't sleep)

Sorry but I can't really answer that question because for one, I don't know that much about the geographic origin of spices. Second, my palate is the result of over 500 years of columbian exchange. Most modern cuisines whether North American, Latin American, Asian, European, or African are the result of that exchange. In addition the modern world makes it so that any food or spice is easily available in the grocery store or with the click of a mouse. Even way back in the Roman era there were dishes where the Romans used food and spices from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

As a result I can't judge any culture's or geographic region's food by that parameter because I can't even comprehend what that would be like. For example, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai foods are some of my favorite cuisines. What would they be like without chili peppers which is a new world spice? IDK. I would have to do a lot of research and experimental archaeology to find out. Something I don't have the time and energy to do.

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magnetothemagnificent · 10 months

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Apologies if this questions sounds stupid or ignorant, but I'm genuinely trying to educate myself. Can Jews be Jewish *and* a different race, so does a Jewish identity supersede another racial identity? Just wondering because a lot of Ashkenazi Jews I know (in real life or online) push back against the idea that they are white. I've heard European Jews say that they are not considered white, do not have white privilege, etc. so they are not white. But I've also seen a lot of Jews of color identify with both their Jewish identity and their "racial" identity (ravenreveals on Instagram explains how she identifies as Black *and* Jewish, and one of my friends identifies as an Asian Jew). So is there a reason many European (Ashkenazi?) Jews don't identify as white/identify as only Jewish? I'm sorry if this is offensive in any way, this isn't my intent :)

Sorry it took me so long to answer, I am swamped with asks haha

Yes, it's possible to be Jewish and a different race, as Judaism isn't a race, but an ethnoreligion, or even better described as a tribal nation.

Now, first I'm going to push back on you equating European with Ashkenazi. Ashkenazi is a specific term referring to Jews whose ancestors settled in the Rhine valley after the Roman expulsion from Judea. Many of these Jews eventually migrated eastward to Eastern Europe and Westward to British Isles, while others stayed in the Rhine valley region. But not all Jews whose ancestors settled in Europe are Ashkenazi.

There are Sephardi Jews, obviously, whose ancestors settled in the Iberian peninsula following the Roman expulsion, and then later migrated to North Africa, Northwestern Europe, Eastern Europe, and West Asia following the Spanish and Portugese inquistions.

There are also Italki Jews in Italy and Romaniote Jews in Greece, all of which are unique communities of Jews whose ancestors settled in Europe and who are not Ashkenazi.

Additionally, not all Ashkenazi Jews are racialized as white. Ashkenazi does not refer to your race, but rather who your ancestors are and/or what community traditions you follow. There are Ashkenazi Jews of every race.

The reason why lots of what-you-perceive-as-white Jews don't identify as white is because Judaism precedes the modern constructs of race (yes, race is a construct, not an immutable science) and because whiteness is highly subjective and fluid, just as non-whiteness is. Because race is a construct, which race a person is perceived as varies by where they are and by which people they are around.

Jewish "whiteness" is also conditional- and as Jews we don't like to leave ourselves vulnerable to shifting statuses. Jewish "white-passing-ness" can also be a tool of violence, either by denying the racial reality of antisemitism, or by being 'proof' that Jews are shape-shifting inflitrators of the white race. Hitler's Final Solution was total extermination precisely because he feared many Jews would pass as white and spread their Jewish blood among the Aryans, and so the total extermination of Jews was deemed as necessary, like one would exterminate a parasite.

This of course doesn't mean that no Jew has ever had access to the privilege afforded to whiteness. In the post-Holocaust era, many Jews have tried to successfully assimilate into whiteness to access even a little bit of privilege in order to protect themselves. I'm not going to lie and say that if I was pulled over at a traffic stop, my lighter complexion wouldn't give me more grace at the hands of the police officers than someone with darker skin would. Because yes, sometimes I am racialized as white and therefore access the privilege of whiteness.

But that doesn't mean I don't feel deeply uncomfortable when I'm filling out a form and the only options for race and even ethnicity are "white", "black", "hispanic", and "asian". Because while at the end of the day I'll check "white", it's only because I don't want to be accused of fraud (even though Middle Eastern or just Jewish would fit me better, but that's not an option). But that's just me. Some Jews are fine calling themselves "white Jews". Two Jews three opinions and all.

Someone introduced me to the phrase "racialized white/black/etc" a few years ago, and I think it makes much more sense. Because race is entirely dependent on perception and how others racialize you. I am not White, but sometimes I am racialized as white. Other times, I am racialized as "not-quite-white-but-we-don't-know-how-to-categorize-you-so-we're-just-going-to-try-and-guess-and-ask-wildly-invasive-questions".

At the end of the day, call Jews what they want to be called, and don't try and push labels on us. If a Jew doesn't want to be called white, don't call them white. Because race, ethnicity, religion, and all that is complicated, and Judaism predates all of that, so naturally Jews are going to have mixed feelings about it all.

#jumblr #race vs ethnicity vs haplogroup #judaism #jewish identity #jewish experience #if jew know jew know

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kikovanitysimmer · 1 month

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Hi Kiko,

I love your work, you are my favorite sim creator, you have the best hair styles for sims 4 people of color.

I wanted to know if you can make more long natural hair styles - (locs with clips/gold and silver) in different styles for the women in sims 4 :)?

like some long locs with long side bangs

some with clips

different ombre and color options

more edges

hidden scalp, or brown variation of scalps, (brown or black scalp)

I used the gif below to show a example hairstyle that looks different and cool.

Hair, clothes, and shoes is most important to me in sims 4.

Thank you for having this option to contact you,

Sincerely,

Nikki

I appreciate your admiration towards my artwork but this is a very disrespectful thing to ask of me. I'm not sure if this is an innocent ask, I don't see how it is because I know you've heard black people ask other cultures to not appropriate our hairstyles but I could be wrong, if this is innocent below are my boundaries, and explanations on why I (Kiko Vanity; I'm not speaking for the whole black community) I'd like to not be asked things like this in the future.

my boundaries and why

I do not make hair for people of color. People of color is a broad way to say people who are not of White/European/Anglo-Saxon phenotypes. That means people of Asian, Hispanic/Latino, African, Mixed-Race, and Aboriginal descent; and I create CC for simmers who appreciate my artwork but mainly and ideally create CC HAIRS for simmers of African descent, (including mixed race if they also have African descent) because of the lack of black hairstyles in the initial release of the game in 2014, with that, these black simmers create sims that also reflect their environments and black upbringings. I make black content if you feel comfortable downloading my content you should be comfortable saying black. I want to stress black and not African-American (despite me being African American) because there are different ethnicities for each race, including black people.

2. I am not currently taking hair requests because I'd get too many at one time and that's not great for my mental health. To piggyback off the last sentence and statement 1, please do not request my cultural hairstyles using someone who doesn't respect our wishes. You may be asking yourself, "why is this an issue? hair is hair?" (look below)

During chattel slavery, every fiber of the enslaved Africans' lives was controlled by the narcissistic people who kidnapped them. including hair, being made to cover their hair, and calling them names & degrading them for their natural hair. As the years went by and slavery ended black people but more specifically black fem presenting people held the shame for their hair. Fast forward to today, even with all the turmoil the world is facing due to greed, classism, and the patriarchy) this is the first time in history that their descendants (me being one of them) can set boundaries and say what we are comfortable with and what we are not comfortable with. And to put this as bluntly as I can:

Do not send me videos/photos/gifs of people culturally appropriating in black people's hairstyles, it's anxiety-inducing.

I'd like to also say I'm not angry because I know there is an angry black person stereotype, this is simply uncomfortable and disheartening. I hope you can respect my wishes if not please feel free to block me.

Lastly,

You don't have to respect or do anything I am saying. You may do as you wish after reading this. Just if you are going to engage with me these are my boundaries.

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kindlespark · 3 months

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The experience of being Chinese diaspora but only knowing English as a first language is universal and insane. I love that babel toys around with that feeling a lot.

Not to mention the feeling of both being ashamed of not knowing and also that weird feeling of offense that it's an expectation for you to know but then you're like wait- why do I feel offended that someone would think I would know Chinese and the answer IS racism - but it's also like do I have biases or embarrassment that one would think I know Chinese? That I'm Chinese, that I would fall into the stereotype of what they think of me. And then it's this horrific feeling of not wanting to be made fun of, but not wanting to be ashamed, and wanting to know it for legitimate cultural reasons, but not wanting to be pointed at as a spectacle if you do know it. And this is the insanity of living around mostly white folk.

There's a tragedy to being cut off from language that is so important to culture, and how much of that are you allowed to claim when you're made a stranger to it. And then it's an infinite loop of self doubt, awareness of racism, and insanity.

for sure! diaspora of colour face the kind of racialisation from both in our communities and out of them where our languages and our cultures/existences as poc are entwined. we're foreign. whereas european diaspora don't get the same judgment for not knowing french/german etc. but there also is privilege in living in an english-speaking country with your native language being english; poc with accents from their home countries are racialised significantly more

like all asian diaspora art majors i have a lot of old angsty writing about not belonging anywhere and not knowing my language and the shame and alienation that comes with it. im also diaspora of a diaspora; my parents are chinese-malaysian, and now we're in australia. it's easy to feel like a watered-down version of my cultures, or to feel like i'm made out of things that i am Not. not to even mention how being queer factors into that lmaoooo

for me it was easy to be like, if you have to spend time learning your own culture, is it really yours? but the answer is yes! like rereading my old writing makes me giggle a bit because since then i've spent more time with asian diaspora here, seeking out queer asian communities, reaching out to my family outside of australia, learning chinese. it's incredibly healing. in the scene where robin first meets ramy, babel captures that feeling of your walls going down when you meet another poc so unbelievably well. it's why i don't take the romanticism of it as a soulmate-ism on robin or ramy's part (even though it is also because they're gay). i've felt that feeling a thousand times! asian diasporic culture isn't any less authentic, it's its own thing. you're not alone anon!

#babel #this is truly not really a babel post but whatever we mention it twice (2)

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snowviolettwhite · 4 months

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With the rise of antisemitism and me being an actress, I have been thinking about theatre, television and film and identity. During college in one of my classes we were talking about diversity and not putting on shows in area where you know you could not cast certain types of actor. One example example given putting on Hairspray in Norway. I don't remember what my full statement was but one of things I said is Jewish characters should be played by Jewish actors. The professors said we should not get nitpicking we should not not yellowface or blackface but having only Jewish characters only played by Jewish actor is taking it too far. Basically saying if we are having people play only their own religions it is no longer acting. I only said Jewish, I did not say any other religion and frankly it made me feel really stupid.

Also the reason I said Jewish characters should be played by Jewish actors is because Judaism in an enthoreligion. Most people who are Jewish are born Jewish, they are ethically Jewish, they are Jewish by ancestry, if you convert to another religion and do not practice you are still Jewish which is not common in most religions.

That does not even go into the Jewish actors have to change their identity. Jewish actors are forced to deify as European even if they have zero European ancestry. Like, I will think to myself is it okay for to apply for middle eastern roles even though I am Middle Eastern/West Asian. (That does not even go into the fact one of the main reasons it is called the Middle East is because of British colonialism.)

Yet, people who are actually race-swapping, religion-swap, ethnicity-swap roles that are for underrepresented peoples do it will no care.

They had to change their last names and change their appearance to be given opportune. The fact non Jewish actors will use prosthetic noses and spread antisemitic stereotypes.

Like most Hundi people are Indian, it would make no sense to cast a non Indian person to play the role of a Hundi character. You would also have a lot of pissed off Indian people and they would have ever right to angry.

#antisemitism #jewish history #jewish #acting #theatre #leftist antisemitism #antisemitism in film #antisemitism in theatre #antisemitism in television #antisemitism in hollywood #film #television

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olderthannetfic · 21 days

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I'm in a hobby that has the biggest following in East Asia, like really fucking huge, second place is literally Eastern Europe before the Anglosphere slinks in on third place, and one drama topic that pops up every few years through newbies on the Western front is their incredibly narrow and Western centric understanding of the world, and their static assumption about things. This seems to be a widespread issue with anyone tbh, even East Asian diaspora who's only connection to the hobby is Western. Basically any Western Westerner raised in the West might end up having that problem regardless of ethnicity.

I'll try to keep this a lot shorter than it should be but... The occasional English or insert-Western language speaking East Asian likes to join look what's going on in the West, and the topic of "East Asian as obsessed with Eurocentric features" has been a huge part of annoyance and rants for years. Especially when the infantilising and colonialism card gets pulled, aka only reason beauty standards seem to exist is because white people, and even after all this time they assume East Asians haven't developed their own beauty standards based on their own culture, or pre-colonialization culture. That every East Asian wants to be white, and when that accusation doesn't stick it's something else just as ridiculous and Western centric.

One thing I've read more rants about than is healthy, is that Western people only read beauty standards through a Western lens aimed at European features, but seems to be completely unable to accept that these standards might be set without European features. Even in creations in the hobby that do feature European themes the design of the character is often very much following East Asian beauty standards and features.

So here are the biggest features that Westerners constantly accuse of being Eurocentric, and completely ignore that these are features that are completely normal and also very much present naturally in East Asians: Pale skin. Double lidded eyes. High cheekbones. Narrow noses. There are more but I don't exactly keep a list.

When this gets brought up by newbies it's also often very cherry picked, they will not point out that these beauty standards often are mentioned in tandem with more obvious East Asian features. They'll take what can be misconstrued because those features are actually pretty universal, slap a Western lens on it, and call it Eurocentric.

Pale skin especially has gotten a few laughs and some "Do these people know how to google fashion history?" Because it's not exactly hard to mentions of pale skin being the height of beauty throughout the eras.

You could also look at those features through an Asian lens, and see how these features would naturally translate into someone who's Asian. But people just don't do that, even when it's explained to them.

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aphrodisiac-siren · 1 year

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Coffee and Cigarettes~

Modern!Aemond X Reader

Summary: When Aemond's date doesn’t go as planned, one of his feisty classmates comes to his aid and manages to catch his eye, and not by her beauty, but mostly by her bold personality.

~my wifey @its-actually-minicika helped with the plot points and she gets loads of kissies for it mwaahh~

Also I'm sorry I went on a small break oops maybe the next chapter will be spicy?👀

Part 1, Part 2

Part 3

"What do you mean you don't see it?"

Aemond scrunched his nose as Y/N brought her hands up to cup his face, squishing his cheeks as she tiled his face to the side for Aegon to see as if his own brother hadn’t any memory of what he looked like.

"Tell me he doesn’t look like Alucard" she asked the older boy, still holding Aemond's face while he tried to wiggle out of her grasp. He wrapped his larger hand around her smaller wrists and she obliged and let go of his reddening face but let her hands drop onto his lap; a subtle gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Aemond.

"That vampire dude from Castlevania?" Aegon asked as he cocked a brow "I mean I would say yes, when my twat of a brother had his hair all grown out. But I still find it offensive you'd compare this monkey to him"

Aemond only rolled his eye, not too keen on arguing with his brother of all people, but Y/N was quick to respond.

"That's so mean, Aemond is hot"

Aegon chortled at this while Aemond gave her a sly smile, as if he didn’t believe a single word from the sentence that left her lips. And even though she sounded genuine, there was no fucking way she believed what she herself uttered.

Flattery at its finest, he thought.

He picked up his book once again, the one he had been reading before the entire debate of him and Alucard being lookalikes commenced. It was this old book he'd found in a bookstore, dusty and on the 'sale' rack and he wondered how anyone could pass by a book like this one and not want to pick it up and glance through it.

"Put that book down will you?" Aegon rolled his eyes from behind the kitchen counter as he fixed himself a cup of coffee "your obsession with dragons is getting weird now"

"I'm not obsessed" Aemond nonchalantly replied, not bothering to look up from the pages that bore the most interesting information in his opinion. He was well aware his boyish fancy with the mythical creatures would come across as odd and childish to most people but he didn’t really care much about Aegon's opinion and in the few weeks that he'd spent with Y/N, he came to a conclusion that she was not really one to judge someone for things as such.

Either she was too nice or just didn’t care.

"Dragons huh" She leaned closer and Aemond was expecting for her glance into the book but she instead rested her head in his lap as she examined the cover of the book he held from underneath "what's your favourite kind?"

"Oh god, don’t tell me you’re just as much of a nerd as he is" Aegon called out and Y/N simply rolled her eyes in response as she flipped him off to which Aegon responded to by sticking out his tongue "they're all the same. Large lizards with wings"

"Not exactly" Both Aemond and Y/N said at the same time and while the younger Targaryen brother took a moment to ponder over their perfectly synchronised response, Y/N continued to talk, as if their chorus of an answer did not fascinate her.

"There are European dragons, wyverns and Asian dragons" she spoke aloud as she traced the cover of the book, hoping that Aemond had a good grip on the book or else it would fall right onto her face "each one differs from the next. Did you know that-"

Aegon let out a dramatic groan as he plugged his ears shut like a child throwing a tantrum.

"You like dragons?" Aemond asked even though the answer was pretty obvious. He just never thought she of all people would be interested in something like this that most would term as nerdy.

"Duh" Y/N replied, now rather eager and enthusiastic about the conversation taking place "I had this one book when I was a kid by Earnest Drake and-"

"Not another word or I'll change my opinion of you being one of the cool kids"

"I am, regardless of what you say" the girl instantly retorted "dragons are pretty cool"

Aemond grinned at this, as if it was a compliment directed straight at him and not the bloody dragons that he was reading about. Furthermore, he was rather impressed and surprised in equal measure, that she of all people would have any remote knowledge about dragons.

The boy all of a sudden felt himself smiling even wider and he wanted more than anything to go on a whole-ass rant but he kept his composure so as to not frighten her off with his enthusiasm for the winged beasts.

He simply shut the book, after placing his bookmark amidst the pages, and gently booped her nosed with the spine of the book.

"Hey" Y/N giggled as she scrunched her nose, fondly looking up at the boy who was gazing down at her with the same level of fondness "what was that for"

"I didn’t do anything" Aemond snidely said as he shrugged, leaning slightly to his right to keep the book back onto the little table by the couch.

All of a sudden he couldn’t care any less about the book. He was far more curious to figure out the pretty girl who's head rested in his lap. What other interests did she have? Did she like literature too? Would she find ancient languages fascinating? Did she like Aemond? What would her lipgloss taste like? Would she moan or whimper if he-

What-

Aemond's eye widened at his own thoughts. Why the fuck would he even think of-

Stop it Aemond, He scolded himself inwardly she's your friend.

"What" she asked again with a smile as she looked up at Aemond who had momentarily zoned out and then tried to play it off by clearing his throat in a completely not-an-awkward way.

"I mh- nothing, just zoned out" Aemond said in his monotone voice that Y/N was slowly starting to find adorable rather than daunting.

"Just zoned out" she repeated and for a moment Aemond was willing to bet she had read his thoughts despite how ridiculous and impossible the probability of that happening was.

To his contentment, all she did was hum and get comfortable in his lap.

"Movie?" she asked aloud and Aegon shot her a thumbs up as Aemond nodded in agreement.

The silence that accompanied them as they scrolled through Netflix lasted only about a few seconds before each one tried to argue and pick the film they liked best. It was like a classroom full of toddlers who had gotten into a heated debate over who their favourite superhero was.

"We're not watching some shitty ass rom-com" Aegon blew a raspberry "we're going to watch a class-A horror movie"

"Absolutely not" Y/N snapped "you didn’t even hear me out to see which movie I picked"

"I think Hacksaw Ridge is the best pick" Aemond snatched the remote before Y/N could, which resulted in the girl pouting just to see if it would make Aemond submit to her.

It didn’t.

"Nice try" He chuckled which then only made the girl more irritable. She continued to stare at him, her gaze almost burning into his soul as she inched closer and closer until her chest was borderline pressed against his, her nose barely touching his and Aemond knew for a fact that one little move and her lips would collide into his and judging by the mischievous smirk dancing on her lips, she was well aware of it as well.

His heart almost leaped out of his chest when he felt her brush her bottom lip against his own and for those few milliseconds his brain short-circuited. He was about to have a full-blown heart attack but she pulled back and waved the remote proudly in his face that he was holding on to only a few moments ago; which he had absolutely no idea of when she snatched it out of his grasp.

Aemond heard his brother mumble an 'ew' under his breath but he decided not to comment nor give either of them a reaction even though his heart was beating faster. When she turned around to continue her argument with Aegon about the movie, Aemond discreetly swiped his tongue over his bottom lip- right where she'd brushed her own lips.

He softly hummed to himself when he tasted the faintest hint of her cherry lipgloss that she'd left behind in those few seconds of contact and he had to once again scold himself when he caught his brain thinking about wanting to taste more of it.

In the end, Aegon agreed to watch Y/N's choice of movie after they'd watched the horror movie he'd suggested.

Not having any more energy to argue, Y/N and Aemond just agreed.

"Don't worry Aems" she whispered into his ear as they got comfortable under the blankets on the couch "we both can watch your movie after Aeg drifts off to sleep. Or maybe spend the rest of the night in a different way, if you know what I mean"

Aemond's cheeks turned red and he was thankful that the lights were turned off. Y/N didn’t bother waiting for an answer nor did she bother clarifying if she was joking or being serious.

"Cig?" Aegon asked Aemond as he picked one from the pack for himself. The younger brother swiftly took the lone cig from his hand and then the pack which made Aegon sit upright in retaliation "yo what the fu-"

"Not right now" Aemond said sternly as he placed the cigarettes aside and away from Aegon, shooting his thumb in the direction where Y/N was sitting "she doesn’t like it"

Y/N bit the insides of her cheeks to stop herself from smiling; for some reason, she found the gesture cute.

"Simp" Aegon mumbled.

"Shut up" Aemond snapped.

And just to annoy him, Aegon repeated it again, emphasising the 'p' sound at the end that had Aemond groan and Y/N chuckle at their antics.

The excitement that Y/N had when starting the horror movie quickly died down since the movie Aegon picked did not live upto her expectations. The plot was cliché and the jump scares were poorly executed.

"Remind me why we're watching this again?" she asked as she made a face at the pathetic acting.

"Cause the leading actress is hot" Aegon smirked "nice tits"

Y/N rolled her eyes but then again, she wasn’t really surprised by his answer.

"I was more interested in our talks about those books" she whispered in Aemond's ear, making sure to brush her lips against his hot skin "dragons are pretty fascinating eh? Maybe you can show me yours"

Aemond's eye widened and he immediately turned to face her.

"Books" she said with a straight face, inwardly enjoying his abashed reaction to her cheeky statement "I meant you can show me your books on dragons that you have"

"Right" Aemond cleared his throat, quickly looking away from her and back toward the T.V. screen "books, of course"

Aemond wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly what she meant and he knew she wasn’t one to shy away from even doing whatever was on her mind- be it something as innocent as a kiss or something too sinful to even say aloud. The only thing that he found odd was that if he ever found himself in a situation that fell into either of the two categories, he did not seem to mind as long as it was with her.

What caused this sudden change? He couldn’t tell. Perhaps it was her feistiness from that day at the cafe or that underneath all of her ferociousness was a girl who was just as much of a geek as him and didn’t give two fucks about it.

Was he starting to like her? Probably.

Should he allow himself to like her? Probably not.

He was well aware he never had much luck when it came to dating and he wasn’t going to allow himself to get his hopes up only for it all to get shattered right to the ground.

But then again, she barely gave him any reason to feel insecure. That was a good sign, right?

Right?

Taglist: @melsunshine @yentroucnagol @alexa4040 @boofy1998 @rorawinters @fan-goddess @howdoichangemynameto

#aemond targaryen #ewan mitchell #ewan nation #hotd #house of the dragon #hotd fanfic #hotd aemond #aemond x y/n #aemond x reader #aemond

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elbiotipo · 2 months

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Someone in the notes on your post about food in fantasy mentioned connection between at least early modern production of sugar and colonialism and slavery, and while I 100% agree that it's something that should be known, I think that if you want to have lighthearted fantasy setting there are definitely ways to work around this.

Like sugar is also produced from sugar beet. I don't know could it be done without modern equipment (production started at the very end of 18th century so while industrial equipment was primitive it was), but like you may do something with it, like some wizards developing production technology.

In the same vein, crop exchange in the Old World was mostly peaceful, or at least it wasn't due to slavery. Like rice was already grown in Egypt in 1000 BCE and made its way to Spain by 7th century CE. Bananas were grown in Turkey by 15th century CE. And tons of agricultural goods come from West Asia both ways. What I am trying to say is that if your world has equivalent of Americas your Europeans* could have just acquired potatoes and corn without colonization (because they were more ethical than irl or because they didn't have resources for conquest or because American nations were strong enough to stop them). Like potatoes and such are just crops, sailors could have picked them as a supplies and then someone decided to grow them at home.

This is like a suggestion specifically if you want to have a world for costume drama without dealing with heavy themes. I would suggest describing it specifically to point that out, and I can't say that it's very politically aware but definitely not worse than "they just have it" or "yes there are overseas colonies but pay it no mind".

*Because that's usually the case in examples that are discussed, from what I heard East Asian fantasy set in East Asia also suffers from this for the same reason, but I didn't read enough of it to say

Let me say you make real good points and I broadly agree with you. I do think the history of colonialism and where our foods came from is important (I do research that so no doubt). And I also agree that sometimes, those themes are too difficult to board properly, especially in a lighthearted story.

However, in fiction, it's not so much that I want people to do more "clean" ways of getting those crops. Many people told me "well, what if they get it through trade, or what if they got it through magical portals and such" my point is not that you find a "colonialist free" way to have potatoes in your setting, my point is that every crop in real life has a history behind them, and when you place them in your setting, I think you should consider that. Not only because you will learn about real life and its history, but also because of the storytelling potential.

I mean, I do have "worldbuilding fundamentalist" in my bio, and I think even if you don't sketch the entire world, you should at least know where your heroes are. Much of modern fantasy loves to adopt the "medieval" aesthetic, while in fact presenting a world with widespread trade, urbanization, a growing artisan class, etc. (I've done a longer rant about it here). Those things aren't just aesthetic choices, they are different societies that have different dynamics and they do affect the kind of plots and characters you might make on them.

I don't think fantasy should shy away from exploring themes such as imperialism and colonialism, trade and politics, intercultural contact and social change. One reason why I'm so insistent with the theme of crops and trade is that it's because it's emblematic of those issues. Sure, you don't want to explain the potatoes or chocolate in your setting, whatever. Don't you WANT to, though? Don't you want to explore beyond the pseudo-medieval aesthetic, and explore what an American or African -inspired setting might look like? Of course, you could and should also make your own new settings, but exploring actual history, geography, biology (at the broadest term, natural history) will make you a better worldbuilder and a better writer, AND also let you learn more about the world.

Sorry if this rant is a bit unfocused, just woke up from a nap after some wine, but this is why I'm so insistent with the stories that can arise just by considering the crops in your setting. Imagine what else can you write.

#worldbuilding #fantasy #writing

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 27 days

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What are your favorite royal wedding looks and flowers

I answered a lot of these in the other ask so I'm going to use yours to do a deeper dive into most of the Millennial royal weddings. You want opinions, you're getting opinions today!

Quick aside: I mainly follow only the British royals. I pay some attention to the other European royal families and a little bit of attention to the Jordanian Royal Family. So that’s what this commentary will focus on. Because I don’t follow the Middle Eastern, Asian, or African royals (and subsequently don’t know much about them), I don't feel it's appropriate for me to give commentary on their wedding looks/styles when I don't know who they are. Obviously, as you'll see, my favorites are the BRF so the commentary does skew heavily towards them.

Adding this halfway through: This is a really text-heavy post so I'm going to break up the rambling with my favorite photo from each wedding.

Crown Princess Victoria, June 2010

The Cameo Tiara is my favorite. It paired very nicely with the heirloom veil. Loved that she went for off-the-shoulder short sleeves. Not really a fan of how the train attached at her waist (vs being all one dress), but it really worked for her.

Kate, April 2011

I loved how timeless her whole look was. If you take everything out of the picture and just look at her and the dress, it's magnificent. It works in black and white 1950s vintage. It works in the modern fashion era. It works for her as the individual girl she was at that time. It works for the future she's growing into.

Not a fan of the hairstyle and the tiara. It was a complete miss for me. She should've gone full updo or full Chelsea blowout instead of the halfway compromise. The tiara, meh. Didn't really add anything to me. After seeing the floral headpiece she commissioned for the coronation, I would have loved to see what she'd have done for the wedding since a floral headpiece is what she originally wanted to wear. I also thought her hair was a smidge too dark, but maybe that's the contrast with all of the ivory around her. I much prefer the golden/bronzey highlights she has now and I think it would've helped the contrast better.

Thought the flower girl dresses were a tad too long and that her bouquet was out of place. It needed to be more substantial for such a formal occasion. Either more flowers/bigger shape or bigger blooms.

Something about Hugo Burnand's work always throws me off. I think it's the scale and the perspective he uses; the subjects are too far away from the camera that their backgrounds seem to swallow them up. Didn't like most of their wedding portraits because of that. They kinda ended up looking like cardboard cutout versions of themselves.

Overall, a perfect day. It was nostalgic without being maudlin. Modern without being trendy. Celebratory without being excessive. Traditional without being stodgy.

Charlene, July 2011

I like her dress. Reminds me a lot of Crown Princess Victoria's, but with a lovely embroidery detailing.

I don't really have a lot to say about the Monaco wedding. It looked like a lovely occasion. The dress is fine. The veil is fine. The photos are fine, but Charlene looks like she'd rather be anywhere but there marrying Albert (and the rumors that have come out since about the wedding makes me side-eye a whole lot).

Stephanie, October 2012

Very pretty dress, very pretty veil, very pretty look. Not really very memorable for me. A lot of the gorgeous detailing in her dress gets lost in most of the photos; the close-up photos of her dress are gorgeous and I wish there were more.

I do really like her bridal bouquet; that's what I expected from Kate.

Her tiara got lost in the look and her veil not being closer to the tiara makes sense (since the tiara really would have gotten lost) but I think we've come to expect royal brides wearing their veils and tiaras together so this is something different. I do, however, really like how the veil flows in this picture.

Princess Madeleine, June 2013

I don't mind that it's a lace dress. I cannot with the dust ruffle hem. This photo just killed the whole look for me, but this one (above) and this one redeem it to where I can pretend the dust ruffle doesn't exist.

The neckline also had its issues. It went rogue at one point during the wedding and ended up giving her a 1980s-one shoulder style look.

Her hair was very Swedish (they do like their big buns). Her veil was gorgeous too, tying with Beatrice for second. I prefer the way Madeleine styled her veil over how Victoria styled hers.

Madeleine has my favorite makeup look; dramatic eye with a nice pink lip.

Sofia, June 2015

My feeling is that this isn't the dress Sofia would have chosen for herself. I think she went more demure and modest because of her controversial background but she's had a lot of fantastic style choices otherwise. Something about the cut of her dress reads maternity to me - the skirt seems like it starts too high in the bodice.

She has the traditional big Swedish bun, but it's quite a slicked back/severe look for her. I think with the wide open neck in her dress, a softer, looser hairstyle would have made it work better. I do feel like her earrings needed to be bigger with the open neckline, or at least should have had emeralds to match the tiara. (This may be my least favorite tiara styling -- a little too "on top" of her head, not very integrated into the hairstyle so it looks kinda like an afterthought.)

Loved the colorful flowers she chose. Her wedding colors were my favorite before Eugenie came along.

Pippa, May 2017

I know, I know. Pippa's not royal and it wasn't a royal wedding, but it had a big royal turnout so it counts!

THIS is how you do a lace wedding gown without it looking like Granny's tablecloth or Miss Haversham (yeah, I'm looking at you, Kitty Spencer). THIS is how you do a classic English country garden wedding. The way she decorated the exterior of the church was a dream.

Her headpiece was invisible and added nothing. I get why she chose the piece she did, but come on. Hugely missed opportunity to get a major piece from her new husband or to pay homage to Carole in something like this (which I realize is Kate's coronation headpiece) or like this.

The matron of honor/children's minder was perfection. The flower girls were perfection.

Meghan, May 2018

I'm glad Prince Philip was able to attend. I feel like he attended more to support The Queen than out of joy for the couple. I kinda wished Zara would have gone into labor during the service.

Everything was just so darkly lit, even the bridal portraits too.

(Edit: Let me know if you're curious about why I like this picture for their wedding.)

Princess Eugenie, October 2018

Her floral design and colors were my absolute favorite. She wins, hands down, bar none. I loved the moody dark florals and loved how she embraced the autumnal vibes by making the chapel feel warm and inviting.

I thought the sleeves of her bridal gown were too long and too big, and felt oversized. They needed to have been more tailored, like Kate's were.

Eugenie's wedding portraits are my favorite. The scale and perspective was pleasing and the simpler white background of the Windsor room made the people pop.

Overall, it was a very princessy wedding. Very well done.

Lady Gabriella, May 2019

Her veil is my favorite. I like the fuller veil style, but it almost seemed too full because the details of her tiara was lost in all the tulle.

I love the story that she had originally planned for a pink/blush gown but changed it to white when she learned The Queen wanted to attend; that says a lot about her character and respect for tradition.

Bridesmaid dresses were a tad long. For some reason, her Hugo Burnand portraits don't bother me as much as Kate's do. LOVE that she got to do some portraits outdoors, and her outdoors portraits are so quintessentially England. I kinda wish Kate had had that opportunity given how meaningful the outdoors are for her.

So sad about her husband. Sending her all the strength, especially with their anniversary coming up.

Princess Beatrice, July 2020

I loved that she went for sentimentality above all else. She really made the best out of a terrible situation. Their wedding photos make it seem like she (and Edo) are the sort of people who prioritize the marriage over the wedding so I sense they don't mind all the changes too much.

Loved her simple make-up and her grandmother's dress. Loved the veil too. The hair felt undone; this hairstyle would have polished the look nicely.

Princess Iman, March 2023

Iman squeaks into this review by 3 months. She is the youngest millennial royal bride.

I love how soft and golden her portraits are. She ties with Gabriella's outside portraits for the #2 spot for me.

Her look was simple, and I feel this is romantic minimalism done correctly. The drape of her skirt reminds me a lot of Sarah Chatto's, a soft delicate look that's unusual for most royal brides (who tend to go with stiffer, heavier fabric for the formality). It works really well.

The tendrils are a little much and too loose for me; I'd rank her use of tendrils #2 between Eugenie (#1) and Meghan (#3).

Rajwa, June 2023

I appreciate that she went for a look befitting her own individual personality but it was a choice. Her bridal look is a case of "too much pageant fashion, not enough wedding" for me. The draping was strange, the fit of the skirt versus the train seemed like she was wearing pants with a huge overskirt behind her. But the dress "sits" very nicely and I suspect since the Jordanians do most of their weddings sitting (like above), the overskirt style may have been an intentional choice for the photos.

Veil was nice. Bouquet was too small. Not a fa of the earrings. I do think her tiara is a little too far back on her head.

Many congratulations to them for the new baby.

#in this essay i will #all the royal families #commentary #royal weddings

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lorcandidlucienwill · 3 months

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me and sjm are about to have a world building problem because she's killing me she obviously takes inspiration from ancient civilizations and geographical names around the Mediterranean, like the greeks (Eris, Helios, etruscans (literally their goddess of dawn is named thesan). Tarquin the last king of rome (and ironically the opposite of acotar Tarquin). Adriata should then come from the Adriatic sea and their architecture seems greco-roman. But then she mixes it up and gives the court fae brown skin (by the way, what kind of brown, this tells me nothing, i don't need like pantone, but slight more description) For the night court, she's just weird with it. the clothes Feyre is initially given by Rhysand kind of read to me like what you find when you search up 'sexy belly dancer'). Same with all of the clothes she wears when visiting Hewn City. I feel like she was trying to incorporate some more "exotic" things but it doesn't match the rest of the court. It seems like there's a couple different groups with completely different aesthetics that are completely separate from one another. Both Illyria and the court of nightmares seem like vassal states to Velaris and aside from Illyrians having tan skin and being called something around the lines of savages (very POC-coded), there is little to no evidence of any aesthetics that could be considered non-European. Not architecture-wise, name-wise, or (for the most part) fashion-wise. Now, it is a free country, SJM can write however and about whatever she wants. But I feel like there is just such a loss there. No matter where in the world you go, there is evidence of different cultures. Rich cultures which someone could easily take inspiration from!! I just wish she took the time to go down some of the rabbit holes fic writers go down, learning a multitude about what ends up being a small part of your story. Right now, her POC characters feel like an afterthought where she had her story written and then just inserted the word dark/tan on a couple characters. (Also I had no idea Amren was east asian until someone said she was on here and I do have to ask, where is the east asian exotica? Normally if you have one you have the other.) Also her in-universe world building is so convoluted and i hate it and nothing makes sense. I love magical objects as much as the next person, but some of these are one-and-done objects that you definitely could have had more use over. I think she has a vague plan and is just doing whatever she thinks of first to get to each plot point. (me in essays) Also, someone should make an anti-inner circle timeline with all the fucked things they've done so we don't forget. (And hope in the next book, sjm writes about a war crime tribunal for the past... century) thanks for listening to my rant, I've just been struggling to figure out how characters and courts play out and getting more frustrated as I continue.

Anon, you summed up all my frustrations perfectly!

Sjm writes her worldbuilding and tropes like she’s still writing fanfiction. I try to write fanfiction of her stories and I realize I know nothing about the places we’re supposed to be exploring.

Sjm takes inspiration from many many things but then she doesn’t commit to anything. She cherry picks shit to utilize based on vibes and together it doesn’t make sense. It’s really annoying when you see inspiration from your culture that could’ve been used so much better.

As for the IC, they’ve committed so many crimes it would require a thorough reread of all the books to note down all of them.

#anon asks #sjm critical #anti ic

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