I wanna get around to doing some small story beats for the "Main Six Takes Manhattan" story. It'd be a good chance for me to play around with different art styles too.

I'm really excited about this story too because it'd be splitting everyone up into pairs for their own little arc.

Rarity attends a fashion showcase in upper Manhattan, with April-Jacqueline in tow as her "attendant." The two get swept up in industry drama as they uncover the abuse faced by amateur designer Carol Cho under the American fashion house "Polomare."

Pinkie and Thea head to Harlem for a rent party, hosted by Thea's city friends. Despite Thea's protestations, Pinkie can't help but be the life of the party as its tenants and musicians attempt to raise enough money to fight their landlords and demand housing justice.

Dash and Félicie navigate NYC's transportation system to go to a ball game: the New York Wonderbolts vs. the Washington Senators. While Dash meets her heroes, Félicie can't help but feel homesick and smothered by the big city.

Matthew Needham (actor who plays Larys) on Larys' foot fetish:

"I don't think it's a foot fetish like we understand in 2022. I think it's weirder than that," he mused. "It's not just about a man with a clubfoot being attracted to feet. It's that he can make her do it," he noted. "This is a very disturbed person with a lot of trauma... It's about making her feel as much shame as she does for that part of her body as he does for his."

"He can cut out tongues and he can cut out eyes. I think he likes that," the actor continued. "I think he likes making people incomplete. He can't do that with her. He can, though, associate that part of her body with a trauma so that long after he's gone, she's got this sick feeling about it that's connected to that. That's the thing about assault like that: it makes the victim's body the scene of the crime, and I think that's what he likes to do. So I don't see it like he loves feet. It's the fact that she's not into it and he can make her do it."

When I say "I'm rooting for everybody Black," I mean I'm including Black people who are usually overlooked outside and within the community. Black people whose Blackness becomes conditional the second they confront other Black people about bigotry within our community (Transmisogynoir, Transphobia, homophobia, ableism, sanism, etc.) not abusers and coons...

Passing as a trans man is a nuanced and complex topic, but one thing I have been noticing as somebody who is a cis-passing (white) trans man is the way I'm treated when there is conflict.

I've noticed that in conflict, people are almost meek around me, willing for me to try working with them up until a woman is involved. When a woman (or, really, anybody who the other party assumes is one) is part of the conflict, they direct all their anger and rage to them. It's fucking insane the way a woman is treated when there is conflict, even if it isn't her fucking fault. These people are fundamental cowards for seeing my manhood as the only reason they can't be openly hostile to me, but it reveals a lot about how a misogynist thinks on an almost primal level.

I'm watching the women and people around me I care about being torn apart by people, and that's unacceptable. I can't sit around to watch it, and I don't want to do that. I need other people to perhaps read this and remember to not stand by if there is something that you can tangibly do to help, even if it's to lend a listening ear or let the person vent.

my thoughts on Saga Anderson and the lack of spotlight on her in fanworks

Hmmm…this has been bothering me since I waded into the fandom after AW2 dropped. WHY DOES 99.9% OF THE FANDOM SLEEP ON SAGA WHILE IT'S HALF HER GAME???

I DON'T understand the fixation on Casey (even though I adore him and he's the other half of my OTP), or Zane to the point that when Saga is in ensemble art, she's relegated to being the "bro". And for what purpose? She has just as much build up and storyline as Alan himself. She certainly has more screen time than FBI Casey. I see posts going "oh, I love Saga so much, she was so badass" and then almost nothing when it comes to fan work.

Do y'all understand, how, as a black woman, this frustrates me to NO end? I go to her tag on AO3, see new fics, get excited...just to see she's the bro or footnote to CaseyWake. I've literally been brought to TEARS over this. Saga was written with SO much love and care, and it's so obvious. She was not the stereotypical sassy, angry, loud black woman that we tend to get when we're even thought of at all.

And it's genuinely PAINFUL to see all of the love, all of that care, ALL OF THAT RESPECT, IGNORED by fandom because you want to focus on the white men. Because why? I get it, het is so icky for most of you, fine. But to not even give her fanart/fics just on her and her daughter? It's terribly egregious.

Saga Anderson is genuinely a role model. She's smart, warm, funny, dedicated, sympathetic and passionate. She will change REALITY just to save the ones she loves. She's NEVER had to deal with anything like the Bright Falls situation and she came through it with such GRACE. She saved the fucking day. She did what Alan couldn't do in THIRTEEN YEARS. And she gets no recognizance in fanworks?

And I know the majority of this fandom happens to be made up of women, at least for fanworks. You truly mean to tell me you can't, at all, even a little bit, relate to this woman? You can't make her the focus, instead of a background character? The white men are easier to understand and draw/write for?

I can't tell anyone who to like, or who to ship, nor would I ever try to, because on the internet, it seems like het is icky despite how amazing the woman is. But I've seen comments towards andercase fanart going "Saga, no, you're married!" But shipping CaseyWake in the same breath, despite Alan being married and getting back to his wife being the main motivation for Alan to do anything at all.

It comes off as hypocritical, it comes off a wee bit "I don't know what to do with this black woman...hmm, let's just make her root for CaseyWake" I'm left feeling that Sam and the team love Saga more than the fans ever do or will. And that fucking sucks. Because to put so much thought into a character and love the character, just to be ignored?

That hurts, really really badly. I genuinely enjoyed feeling like I was represented. I loved having a character I could relate to, one I could understand. But it feels like I'm in the minority. When she tells Alan he's not alone in this, this is THEIR story...well, that was the truth for me, and I wish others felt the same way.

I genuinely adore the works Saga has gotten that focus on her, and I see so much love and care put into them. It just somehow feels like fandom made this game into CaseyWake 24/7 and it's icky.

Sanji you incurable simp

Bonus

the full quote is even better: "And like any woman, she's a mystery to be unraveled."😍

bonus bonus

Not Dante, not Vanica, not Lucius, but a fourth bonus sibling.

I bought a Keffiyeh so I can identify myself as a supporter of Palestinians offline, and also because I wanted to support a Palestinian owned business. Unfortunately Hirbawi has not had any in stock since October according to Reddit which is understandable considering the circumstances. I was pointed towards HandMadePalestine instead which utilizes partners in the states to keep business flowing outside of Palestine. Profits go towards planting trees in Palestine and towards supporting Palestinian artisans.

The Kieffyeh I received is absolutely gorgeous and soft and light and seems to have been lightly perfumed as well. I was hoping to use it to keep the sun off during field work but now I don't want to get it dirty.

The store has so many other items as well such as dates, perfumes, jewelry, bags, sculptures, and more! Shipping only took about 3 days if that's important to you.

Please support this business and others like it!

ID LOVE TO SEE YOUR HUMAN RED GUY BTW

well gosh if you're gonna be so enthusiastic about it sure. here's a drawing i did of him a while back. if you really want i'll show you the others but ah, im shy.

Sanji finds out that she has a trans little sister Reiju told her through mail. She really can't forgive them for how they treated her but her heart would be breaking if she knew because she knows that yonji is fucking miserable. She wants to help but she knows it's going to be a fight not only with the family but with the sister but she's willing to do it. Fuck it. She has nothing else to do.

Yonji of course would feel jealous and hates Sanji even more. Every time she looks at her bounty just sends her into a rage she hates her so much. She starts lashing out at her family especially her dad and Reiju the most. Her lipstick started going missing frequently along with nail polish. She finds it in yonji's room. (emptied and destroyed)

After a fight she finally confesses she's trans. Showing an overwhelming amount of vulnerability (she's an UGLY and violent cryer). Reiju comforts her the best she can, she is a little frightened by the aggressive hug. They're a lot closer after and Reiju is just supporting her the best she can, keeping her escape plan with sanji a secret.

anyway, I think the Vinsmoke kids are genetically modified physically, but I really feel like their cruel and apathetic nature is just environmental. They were praised when they were being tough and ruthless. Any kind or empathetic act was punished stunting their emotional development and understanding

Sanji can't forgive them for what they did but she's still the way she is and of course, she can't let a trans girl suffer the same way she did. It breaks her heart to think about Yonji like that, really. She tries to ignore it. To say "Well, she'll deal with it on her own the same way I did". But she can't. She's too good. She's constantly worried and it's pretty obvious because Luffy notices. But Sanji doesn't want to be a burden once again... Luffy practically forces her to admit she wants to go help Yonji, tbh. So Sanji ends up talking to Reiju to see what they can do. Tbh I think the rescue mission is a bit, uh, hard. Yonji refuses to accept help because it makes her feel weak, and she doesn't like the fact that it's Sanji of all people the one helping her. But anyway-- I think that after a very emotional argument and heart-to-heart, they end up understanding each other better. Yonji manages to escape that nightmare finally (yay only 2 brothers to save from their dad left) (Reiju is already saved, okay, she's staying for them mostly). Btw, I like to think Niji and Ichiji don't have any issues with Yonji being trans and they actually are more supportive with her than with Sanji (because they're supportive of her but, like, there are all of these feelings too of resentment so it's a bit complicated).

Yeah, I mean- I don't think you can actually modify a human to keep them from feeling. And if Judge actually did, there's no way these kids won't develop empathy of their own at some point. They're just,, So repressed and fucked up that it hurts to watch.

Bobby Seale co founder of the Black Panther Party 🖤🖤🖤

Obviously I would have preferred it if Dimple made *zero* sleazy comments about teenage girls, but I was afraid from his pre-Black Vinegar characterization that it was going to be an ongoing aspect of his character and was relieved to discover that instead it was complete spitballing like "dang I don't remember how people work but i have to make this kid like me. what are adolescent boys into? ummm. objectifying women? that's probably it!"

i think the weirdest bit of lore ive decided to adopt into my belief system is that the rgg plushies have different 'underwear' colors and therefore ive decided thats canonically the underwear color those dudes wear

Everybody is thirsting over Tenoch Huerta, and I agree that he's so so hot but the sexiest thing about him is his soul.

Every time I'm watching an interview of him, I'm humbled by how much he brings into the conversation.

I've personally never really seen a male actor talk so vocally about colorism and racism in the entertainment industry and in soctiey (the only ones I can think about right now are John Boyega and Jesse Williams) but it's something that isn't so common.

Tenoch talks about it so unapologetically and actually says the words, he doesn't sugarcoat it or minimizes it. He not afraid to talk about how racism and colorism are still present in Mexican society.

He's not afraid to talk about what the movie means to him, he's not afraid to talk about his origins, his history, about how for hundreds of years Mexican people with Indegenous origins like him were thought to be ashamed of those origins, and how they were taught to be ashamed of their ancestors, how it's a trauma shared with all the people who were "conquered" but how proud he is of his origins now.

He's not making his way by trying to blend in but by being himself.

Another example I have in mind was in a talk show the other day he was asked a question about accents and explained how accents are part of our identity, it's our linguistic identity. He gave the example of "American English" and "British English", he went on to explain how you can't really say that one or the other is the correct accent, it's just different linguistic identity. Let me tell you, I had never thought of accent that way but, wow.

He explained how happy he was that Ryan Coogler wanted to keep his accent and didn't ask him to work on it or change it and made it part of his character.

I'm mesmerized by the way he talks about such important issues, I mesmerized by the way he talks about his castmates, I mesmerized by the way he doesn't let any question destabilize him and just choses to be unapologetically himself.

The idea that Black people are predisposed to hating queer people is Anti-Black rascism. The people most hurt by these assertions are not only Black people but queer Black people as well. You are not saving queer people by throwing Black people under the bus, and you'll never save queers by doing that, so just stop.