#I’ve been watching the original sailor moon lately haha

[saradika]

sailor mandalore

[risottostitties]

Hi! First time here to ask haha! Any HCs for La squadra with an Otaku s/o? Like she watches anime and even buys merch in secret cuz she's scared they might find her hobby lame and immature? (Also,what will be their fave anime? And genre?)

Oh boy let me tell you I have some THOUGHTS about these boys and their taste in anime

La Squadra with an Otaku s/o

Risotto 

at first he’s gonna be kinda confused, not gonna lie. Growing up the only ‘anime’ he knew was like, Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z but at that point he was too old to really get into Pokemon, and he never considered DBZ anime because it aired next to cartoons and stuff.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t appreciate s/o and their good taste. He’s the kind of guy who wants to learn about what interests the people he loves, and he loves you. So he’d honestly enjoy late nights spent binge watching your favorites.

Comes to realize that DBZ was low key his gym goals for the early years of him working out. If you bought him a ‘Swole like Goku’ tank he’d probably wear it to lift in, ngl.

Knowing your favorites he’d probably look to merch for his go to birthday or Christmas gifts. Considering the hobbies and interests of some of his co-workers, a scantily clad waifu figure is honestly a welcome change of pace.

Depending on the style or aesthetic of the anime (ie, is it goth) he would be down to couples cosplay, although he wouldn’t be comfortable with you posting pictures of his face or any identifiable features of him online

His fave is probably the original Dragon Ball Run, followed very closely by DBZ for the nostalgia bit. Something deep like Full Metal Alchemist (Brotherhood and the original) would also appeal to him

Is also a big fan of Beserk, disappointed by the anime. And Vinland Saga, not disappointed by the anime.

Partial to Princess Mononoke as well. He likes some Ghibli films, isn’t afraid to admit it. Thinks the score for Spirited Away is bomb af.

Prosciutto

Prosciutto doesn’t really get it at first either. Honestly? He probably didn’t know the difference between cartoon and anime until you explained it to him.

Unlike Risotto he might be a bit more judgey if you try to get him to watch some with you. So you gotta hit him with the real classics. 

But similarly to Risotto, he at least makes an effort to try and indulge in the things you like. He might not be as patient, but he tries.

Probably wouldn’t do cosplay himself, but would hunt down exclusive seasonal merch to gift you. He’d take careful stock of your collections and do some research to pick out only the finest figurines and posters for you.

Would buy that hella expensive premium bandai apparel for you too, might even pick something subtle up for himself if he really liked the show it came from.

Also back on the cosplay note, if you agreed he’d find the highest quality cosplay possible and have you model some of his favorites for him.

(In particular if you were comfortable in fem clothing, Faye Valentine gets him going)

He loves Cowboy Beebop. 100%, wants to watch it again as soon as it ends. Everything from the characters to the story to the music and the fliud animation that has aged like fine wine appeals to him. Prosciutto is a man who likes the finer things in life. He oozes class. Cowboy Beebop oozes class and prestige.

Also likes Maasaki Yuasa. It was his idea to go see The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl in theaters.

In general his tastes tend to lean towards arthouse type anime or bona fide classics.

Pesci

Pesci knows anime and has been doing his absolute best to keep it a secret from the rest of the gang because they already tease him enough.

He’s one of those secret weebs, you gotta know where to look. Your best bet is to look at his accessories. Is there a watch with a certain symbol from an anime you recognize? A lanyard with a familiar print? Something subtle that isn’t immediately noticed by people not looking for it.

He has a secret box in his room full of blue rays from his faves. He watches them sometimes when he’s home alone. There’s nothing X rated in there obviously, he just doesn’t want people to know.

Thank god he has you.

The two of you probably bonded pretty fast over your mutual love of anime. Hell, you being such an open and proud Otaku probably gave him a bit of confidence in expressing his interests too.

Yall are the weeb couple. Yall definitely go to conventions together. Couples Cosplays, the whole thing.

He’s a sucker for Shonen just as much as he is for the really good heart wrenching painful ones. 

He watches Boruto because he loves Naruto so much.

He would also tear up at Clannad.

Dango Daikazoku triggers almost a pavlovian response of heart ache.

So does Secret Base.

Ano Hana is probably his favorite, although even you’d need to pry it out of him. Its one thing that Prosciutto gives him shit for liking anime, its a whole different ball game if he found out Pesci liked girly anime

Fromaggio

He knows what hentai is. That’s about as far as his knowledge went before yall got together.

He thinks its pretty interesting though, so he’d be down to watch some with you.

Turns out he really likes action shonen. He got really, really into One Piece. Like, instantly. He likes the fact there’s so much to watch/read before he’s caught up too.

Another boy that would couples cosplay and be really into it. Especially if it continued into the bedroom.

He’s pretty go with the flow, so he isn’t picky about what y’all watch. Even if it isn’t his cup of tea he’ll sit through a few episodes on a night with you.

Fromaggio can’t tell the difference between a high quality figure and a shitty one. Its a crap shoot what he buys for you. Its more a process of ‘oh, so likes this character’ rather than checking the seams and paint quality and how dynamic the pose is/interchangeable parts. 

Definitely buys way too much in the dealers room because of this.

He tries his best.

His fave is probably One Piece, liked bleach a lot but never read the manga, Yu Yu Hakusho is another one he really enjoyed. The Dark Tournament arc had him at the edge of his seat and hype as shit.

Illuso

Had a passing knowledge of anime before dating you. Knew what it was, saw a few of the mainstream ones, thought they were enjoyable, moved on with his life.

Your dedicated interest in anime would surprise him at first, because he always figured it was kind of a niche thing.

Would snoop around your collection of manga/figures/plushes in the mirror world while you sleep.

Winds up reading a lot of your manga like that (he’s good at reading in reverse because of his stand)

He finds he appreciates the art style of 80s-90s manga a lot more than he does the modern stuff. He really got into Ranma 1/2 and thinks Rumiko Takahashi’s artstyle is excellent.

If you asked him to watch Inuyasha with you he wouldn’t say no.

Probably wouldn’t want to do couples cosplay, but he definitely has an appreciation for you in cosplay.

You could talk him into going to a con if you caught him in the right mood. It’d be a hard sell though.

Has a surprising enjoyment for J-Rock. 

Inuyasha is high on his favorites list, as is Ranma 1/2. Also a fan of Ghibli movies although its pulling teeth to get him to admit it.

Melone

This man has watched so much hentai in his life.

He probably actually knows them by title honestly.

He enjoys anime too, and is not ashamed unlike Pesci. Everyone already knows he has unconventional tastes there is nothing to hide here.

Melone enjoys traditionally feminine anime, especially Sailor Moon. That one has a special place in his heart as he has memories of his sister watching it with him when he was much younger.

Its more of a decompress thing than anything else, so he doesn't tend to favor heavy anime with dense plot and more mature subject matter.

He likes Maid Costumes. On you, on him, it doesn’t matter.

Doesn’t know a whole lot about merch and what makes something higher quality but he learns fast. Between you and him the Dealers Room at cons won’t know what hit them.

Is the type to preorder a figure he knows you’d like. And maybe one for him.

Buy him this and he’s putty in your hands for a month straight (SFW don’t worry) https://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Sailor-Moonlight-Memory-Locket/dp/B00UA9XB48

Sailor Moon is his favorite as I’ve said before, his favorite sailor scout is Rei. Is also a fan of Ano Hana, Violet Evergarden, and Toradora although he needs to be in the right mood to watch them.

Ghiaccio

He went down the Fate rabbit hole and we haven’t seen him since.

The gender bending grates as his soul but he is addicted regardless. There’s just so much dense lore that he can’t seem to stop going.

But also seeing how much care and attention is paid to the historical background of a lot of the servants is intriguing to him. Its the perfect blend of accurate and harem trash that infuriates him but also leaves him needing to know more.

He hasn’t played every game but he has Grand Order on his phone and has sunk an ungodly amount of money into the gacha trying to get his favorite (Its Jeanne Alter, in case anyone was wondering) and has seen all the anime (His favorite is the cooking spin off because its surprisingly calming to watch)

Fate Zero is probably his favorite ‘serious’ Fate adaptation. He enjoys the gravitas of the Holy Grail Wars (and hates how it was tossed out the fucking window in UBW/Stay Night/Heavens Feel) and the ritual aspect to the summoning and foreshadowing of future events as well as hints at a deeper magical lore in the universe hit all the right spots in his lizard brain.

The fact every fate anime has a different version of Saber (or a Saber Clone) pisses him off too.

He really loves Fate. And will scream about it for hours at you.

Getting him to watch or talk about anything else is like pulling teeth but he eventually relents because he loves you.

Its difficult to get through a single episode without him grumbling about something or another, but he tries once he sees its important to you. He does his best not to outright insult your favorite anime.

Can appreciate high quality merch as well, probably collects Jalter Figures himself.

If you’re comfortable in fem clothing, Cosplay Jalter for him and he will literally ascend then and there. Keeps pics on his phone. Would probably make it his background. He’s weak

Outside of Fate he finds he enjoys high fantasy shows. Historical fantasy pisses him off too much, and straight up historical drama would also have him grasping for inaccuracies.

Full Metal Alchemist is a non-fate series that he really loves because of the world building. The movie Maquia was one he enjoyed as well. Likes every Miyazaki film, don’t tell anyone. Cried (and raged) when Ushio died in Clannad.

In general he just likes really good world building. It has to be good otherwise he’s going to spend the whole time picking it apart.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

TMM New 10 - 12 (FINAL) | Kami Kuzu Idol 7 - 10 (FINAL) | Kekkai Sensen 1 - 12 (REWATCH, not including recap ep.) (FINAL)

TMM New 10

Shirogane’s dialogue reminds me vaguely of Mamoru from Sailor Moon. *thonk* (SPOILERS!) Also, the only thing I remember of the original Tokyo Mew Mew is that Ichigo turns into a cat properly at a critical moment and Shirogane does too IIRC.

“…gigantic cocoon…”

Fighting like cats and dogs��literally.

TMM New 11

Now, if only they talked about platonic love in its own terms… *sighs, but realises the anime is trying its best to communicate its own feelings*

TMM New 12 (FINAL)

I know there’s a s2 coming soon. Hold on to your horses!

This is why you don’t check your phone while fighting, kids. /half-sarcastic

Anyways, that was fun. See you for s2…if I can.

Kami Kuzu Idol 7

To be honest, occasionally I do so much of other things, I forget to watch anime. Lately I’ve felt really stressed for no reason…that must be it. (Then again, The Amazing Race has been on lately and I love that as much as I love anime – so much I make sure to know what happened in the episode on streaming services as quickly as I can after it’s aired - which may explain where time has disappeared to.)

WWAD: What Would Asahi Do? *sweatdrops*

…wow. Yuya just kicked all the hardcore single idol oshis in the guts with this talk, haha…

Kami Kuzu Idol 8

There’s a bunch of stars that just keep adding on as the episode count goes higher…cool!

The kanji says “whole body, whole soul” to go with the devotion talk.

One month ago…at Pig Lord [Bar]…

That appears to be a book on royalty and dogs that Yoshino has…

Asahi: How am I? How am I? Fufu~…

…I don’t remember if I noticed this previously, but…that’s Sho Hayami as narrator, yeah??? That was his Jakurai voice!!! *faints like Kasenjiki, /hj* Update: Yes.

…does being a professional model count as a job where you do nothing…(?)

So this is Hallelujah…? I never thought we’d get to hear it! Hooray!

Kami Kuzu Idol 9/10

Now that I’ve pinned Hayami down as the narrator, I wanna see Jakurai as an idol fan. That would be so funny!

The CGrass friend (I forgot her name) is such a nice supportive friend…

I like the zodiac flourishes on the stage. Gemini – the sign known for being two-faced – is the perfect aesthetic for an anime like this.

“Tired and unmotivated,” says Niyodo (Asahi version). *sweatdrops, but also grins*

Update: It appears “Mogami” is made of characters that read “the best”!

Welp, that was fun. It didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it sure did remind me how I got to be a translator, since Hikaru looks a heck of a lot like a character in a manga I was scanlating when I started out. Anyways, see you next time! *waves*

Kekkai Sensen 1 (REWATCH)

I keep recommending this show to other people, so it’s good that I can revisit this as well.

(I did have another note, but I was in the middle of doing chores at the same time…so I forgot what it was…)

Kekkai Sensen 2 (REWATCH)

*sigh* The ep with Zapp again…

[There were no other notes, except for apology after apology until the end. It probably didn’t help I kept doing chores while doing the “rewatch”, so I didn’t focus on the screen much, because I took my time...so much time that I ran out of time after the Sony merger and me deciding to cut my Funimation subscription as a direct result of that. I did move on to Kekkai Sensen and Beyond (dub on Crunchyroll) after this though.]

[jewelridersarchive]

Why do we love seeing new versions of the same thing? Is it simple nostalgia? Is it the desire to engage with some sort of content that once moved us in a new and different way? Is it new creators wanting to stamp something they loved from their own childhood with their mark? Or is it all of the above?

I’m not immune to loving reboots. I devoured the new DuckTales on Disney XD, I’m reading the new Rainbow Brite comics from Dynamite, I’m watching the new iteration of Will & Grace, and continue to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Reboots are fun; they not only allow fans who loved something to have a nostalgia party, but also allow potential new fans entry points into what sometimes appears to be never-ending streams of content (I’m looking at you, Transformers). But things seem out of hand when even ReBoot, the mid-90s CGI cartoon, has a reboot on Netflix (ReBoot: The Guardian Code). Have reboots become the “safe,” risk-averse way companies can cash in on portfolio properties that already have known fanbases? It’s the equivalent of an artist only drawing fanart because they know it will get thousands of likes versus hundreds on original content.

And I fully admit some level of fatigue with franchises that just keep chugging along, seemingly forever. Every movie that comes out seems to want to be a tentpole franchise builder. Or a reboot of an existing franchise, or a soft reboot that only takes some elements going forward, or an alternate universe or…well, you get the idea.

I love original content. One of the best shows I watched this year was Alex Hirsch’s Gravity Falls (yes, I know I’m rather late to the game). It was a bright spot of originality, something new and not tied to any other content or previous iteration. Many of the anime I watch and enjoy are either original or straight adaptations of an existing manga. I think original content and ideas are important in entertainment. They allow a generation to experience a piece of entertainment in its prime, and have something uniquely “theirs.” Kids of the 60s had Star Trek, kids of the 70s had Star Wars, kids of 80s will always be the original audience for Jem & the Holograms and He-Man/She-Ra, kids of the 90s will always have X-Men TAS and Sailor Moon. (And PGJR, of course haha). No matter if they are rebooted down the road or not, that original experience belongs to the original viewers.

Which is why it’s always hilarious to me when people who hate on the new version of something say “It’s ruining my childhood!” Your childhood is whatever it was, frozen in time. Those original cartoons obviously still exist, and if you have the desire you can watch most of them. A reboot doesn’t destroy the original, no matter how many changes it makes to the original idea. The best reboots can often give us (as adults) what we thought we were watching as children. And often, the reboot can drive traffic back to seek out the original, as adults want to share with children the version they loved at that age.

Which brings us to She-Ra. I didn’t watch any He-Man or She-Ra as a child, for whatever reason. I found He-Man & the Masters of the Universe through the 2002 anime-influenced incarnation (also a great reboot IMO), then went back and watched the 1983 cartoon, followed by the 1985 She-Ra: Princess of Power. I loved it all. Sure, sometimes it was goofy, and there was lots of animation reuse in the older versions, but the core concepts were really strong. They are classic good vs evil, freedom vs tyranny stories, told with engaging casts and crazy creative worlds.

I powered through all 93 episodes of She-Ra during the summer of 2010 while I studied for my board exams. It holds the special place of being the series I turned to to relieve the stress of studying. I love the 80s fantasy girl designs, the color schemes, the powers, the sheer kookiness of the side characters. She-Ra was the OG American magical girl, and I finally understood what all the fuss over this franchise was about. She-Ra feels iconic in the way that characters like Wonder Woman and Sailor Moon do. Yes, she starts out as a spin-off of the successful He-Man franchise, but he makes very few appearances in She-Ra’s cartoon.

But after her initial run, She-Ra remained a virtually dormant property for the next 30 years. He-Man had two different reboots in 1991 and 2002, but She-Ra was stuck in limbo. Only once the Masters of the Universe Classics collectible figure from Mattel released in 2010 did She-Ra finally see the light of day again. Story-wise, the bios on the back of the toy packages gave us a little info about She-Ra’s further adventures, but it wasn’t until the 2012/2013 Masters of the Universe comic from DC that She-Ra comes back, this time in the guise of the villainous Despara. It’s a dark but interesting take on the characters; an exploration of what being raised by the Evil Horde would really do to a person.

Interestingly, this seems to be the jumping-off point for the new “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” animated series from Dreamworks and Netflix. This show takes as its central theme the relationship between Adora and Catra. When Adora finds the sword that lets her turn into She-Ra, she leaves the Horde – an organization to which she has devoted her life. Almost more importantly, she leaves behind Catra, her best friend. It’s this broken relationship that informs the emotional tone of the rest of the show.

Unlike the 80s version, this time around the Rebellion knows Adora’s identity as She-Ra. It’s an interesting change – shows of the 80s were obsessed with secret identities, and sometimes it could get ridiculous making up excuses for what happened to the other identity of the character every time. Thankfully, that is avoided here, and instead of angst over whether or not you can let people know the real you, we are treated to relationships that ask whether we can accept someone who we know has wronged us before.

Much has been made over this update’s reworking of the body types and ethnicities of the main princesses. While I confess not loving all the updated designs and missing the 80s fairytale warrior goddesses of the original, I understand and fully support the change. Reboots are about viewing something old through the lens of today, and audiences of today want to see themselves in the media they watch or read. We can’t (and shouldn’t) go back to mostly-white casts. The world is a rainbow of colors, and the show feels richer for including them.

Speaking of rainbows, I have to mention the new show’s decidedly queer bent. The relationship between Adora and Catra is somewhere between ex-best-friends and ex-girlfriends in tone. Netossa and Spinerella, long shipped by the fandom, are finally outed in a true relationship this time around. Other characters like Scorpia, Bow, and Entrapta all tap into queer mannerisms and norms as well. The end result is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen in children’s entertainment, and I couldn’t be happier. I wish I’d had something similar as a child, but I’m grateful today’s queer kids have their own heroes.

When we talk about a successful reboot, what are we looking for? Here’s what I think a good reboot need to accomplish.

Bring the characters and concepts of the original property up to date for current audiences.

Explore the characters or world in new and different ways.

Add depth to the original concept.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power does all of these in spades. I think it’s the nicest treatment an 80s female-driven property has gotten in a reboot. The show is full of strong characters with interesting dynamics, great writing, and interesting world building. Yes, some of the episodes can be a bit predictable and the designs are not always my favorite, but everything works together toward a greater whole. I won’t spoil the story for you, because seriously if you haven’t watched this, get thee to Netflix and enjoy!

For the Honor of Grayskull!

Chris

P.S. Can you imagine getting a ✨Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders✨ reboot that brought all this to the table? I’d die!

Read the complete blog at The Jewel Riders Archive! http://www.jewelridersarchive.com/posts/she-ra-the-princesses-of-power-and-reboot-culture/

[prixmiumarchive]

Rosemary, Verbena, Winona :D

Rosemary: what cartoons did you grow up with?

I watched reruns of things that came on Cartoon Network mostly. The first show I remember really “discovering” that had a major impact on my life was the Sailor Moon dub. After that, it was Digimon which was the first show I had Higher Than Original Rating headcanons for. The Lion King was the first film I saw in theaters and I was really into it.

Verbena: playlist for your life? 

Wow this is an ambitious question. I guess I’ll go with things that have been most important lately? Other than the DCTV and Expanse OSTs which I listen to a lot. I’m gonna pick like 10 in no particular order.

1. Hoodie - Hey Violet - I’m obsessed with this song for some reason? My friend @thethirteenthhouse​ made me this great playlist of music recs recently, and I got to this one and just listened to it like 200 times this month. I’d heard of the band before, but listening to this song made me start listening to that album a lot. Also, like fuck, the aesthetic of their music videos gets to me (although I don’t know why because it feels very idealized high-school-y at times and I am sort of horrified by high school now more than I was as a teenager lol). Link to the video.

Favorite Lyric: I can’t keep your love / I can’t keep your kiss / Gave you everything and all I got was this --

2. Praying - Kesha - I already talked about this song in my last ask from this ask meme. I just fell in love with this song the first time I heard it, and it has never faded. I just think it is such a powerful and important message about forgiveness and moving on and what to do if what something did to you was unforgivable. It is beautiful because it never equivocates about what it’s about, and the way Kesha performs it is just so raw and honest. It reminds me of several fictional characters I love which is often high on my criteria list for reasons to like something, but this song is also deeply personal for me.

I guess I talk about it less than I used to, but a lot of my life story so far (and, you know, more uncomfortably what feels like a lack of one) stems from the aftermath of a very short-lived but life-altering and worldview-shattering relationship with a boy in high school. Then more recently, the first hope I’d had of that kind of realigning itself and healing in terms of a romantic prospect was pretty casually and quietly shattered in a way that, in some sense, hurts more badly than abuse and coercion at the hands of what I now recognize was a disturbed and neglected teenager. I’m angrier about this more recent experience even if it was technically “less” abusive. It was a stronger break in trust that was negotiated and given, so I’m still this boiling kind of pissed off when I think about it, which is a mood I think really shines in this song and its performance.

This song just.... grapples with this really complicated feeling of caring about someone who abused you but learning to do so in a way that is no longer justifying, no longer equivocating, no longer excusing, and no longer hoping that it will ‘get better’ with you in the picture. It is acknowledging that you have a right to your experience and to tell whatever truth about it you want because you know the truth and won’t let them trick you out of your own perception anymore. It acknowledges that maybe you loved this person, maybe you currently love or currently hate them, but you can still find a way - either way - to wish the best for them and not to let a wish for vengeance make you bitter. This song is bitter and vengeful, but it is also triumphant. The revenge it seeks is simply in being honest about an experience and the person someone currently is. It doesn’t demonize or dehumanize the abuser, which might seem like a kindness undeserved, but it is an important kindness for the sake of one’s own humanity and one’s own perception of other people going forward. It doesn’t let the person get a cop-out because they were a monster. It doesn’t let them hide behind a boogie-man mask. It lashes out in a way that is perhaps even more frowned upon because it doesn’t excuse a person’s (or a man’s, let’s be honest about the context but it could apply to women too) villainous and wicked actions because of something innate to them which cannot be changed. It allows for the possibility of forgiveness, for change, and therefore insists that it is the abuser’s job to take responsibility and to change their ways, and at the same time it does not place the onus on the abused to be the one who enacts or grants that forgiveness. It just just one of the most powerful things I’ve ever heard on coping with being an abuse survivor of abuse that, at the time, felt voluntary or asked-for, and I love it with all my heart. It will probably be one of my favorite songs forever. This video is also the bomb.

Favorite Lyric #1: I’ll bring thunder / I’ll bring rain / When I’m finished, they won’t even know your name

Favorite Lyric #2: Sometimes, I pray for you at night / Someday, may you’ll see the light / Oh, some say in life you’re gonna get what you give / But some things only God can forgive

3. Break My Heart - Hey Violet (again, sorry for patterns) - This song feels like a silly favorite when I’m not in the right mood for it. It’s a break-up song, so the literal interpretation of the lyrics is pretty exclusively for fictional characters for me, but it also feels like this song that speaks to a certain kind of frustration and anger that I feel sometimes that it touches in a way that other songs don’t. It’s cathartic. It’s fun and sort of punk-pop-y in a way that makes me feel like I’m letting it out without hurting anything.

Personally, I can’t help that it reminds me of a relationship that was more platonic than romantic but which was really complicated and blurry for a while, then was nonexistent. This relationship has since healed back into something that is kind of doable. I’m glad it didn’t end forever, but I also fear that it’ll never feel as big and real as it once did. I love the person I’m talking about dearly, but it’s still a part of my history in the past couple of years that also colors my emotional health and worldview, so yeah. Also the night I realized we were probably going to have to let Rudy go back (which we did), I listened to this song over and over to block out or at least buffer the absolute tidal wave of misery that seemed relentless a few weeks ago.

On a relating-it-to-characters or just aspirational things for myself, I also think that it’s really cool that it sort of has this dissonance between its sound and its content. It also seems like it has a speaker/singer who’s not being entirely honest with the person she’s addressing. It has this very puffed-up kind of vibe that seems a little childish, endearing, defiant attitude of “Well fine, if you want to go ahead,” that is clearly not entirely genuine but that is no less a little bit brave. Even the ways in which this attitude seems doomed when looked at from an objective and calm standpoint are part of what make it a bit precious. Basically, it’s this steeling oneself, ripping the bandaid off, fake-it-til-you-make-it anthem for me and fictional people whose angst I find cathartic. Also this is the video that made me think all of Hey Violet’s stuff was probably not for People My Age, but I still love it. Kind of has this Sofia Coppola vibe to me without all her bullshit? That heart-shaped pinata and the baseball bat bit is like one of my favorite Aesthetic things I’ve seen ever. Also I love how she literally looks like she’s sobbing sometimes and it matches up with the sound of her vibrato.

Favorite Lyric: It’s like a test, it’s like a game / To see how much I can take / I’m curious to live and learn / So light me up and let me burn / Tell me you’ve never loved me / Tell me that it wasn’t real / Just say you found somebody else / I want to know the way it feels / Tell me you’ve never loved me / Tell me it was just a lie / I want to feel the pain / I want to see the light

4. Fuqboi - Hey Violet (let’s finish with them I guess, haha) - This song needs to be required listening/reading for every single girl on the planet who is even slightly romantically oriented toward boys/men. It is hilarious, but it has some really stinging truths about boys/men who are the products of their culture/toxic masculinity/etc. It’s really fun to feel like you’re insulting and condemning the right subsection of men without writing off men who are willing to grow, learn, empathize, and feel unfairly in a way that only furthers a stereotype and agenda of painting men as heartless and entirely useless and incapable of the previously-listed things. That kind of “misandry” literally has become, in my opinion, almost a movement that does only deepen the mire of toxic masculinity. This, however, is exactly the right type of #misandry that is cathartic and beautiful and fun. A lyric video here that maybe contains one or two errors.

Favorite Lyric: There’s this cute guy down my street / I always wanted to meet / So I went creeping around on his socials / In all the selfies he takes, his head is tilted the same / Oh yeah, and his favorite hashtag is #beastmode

5. She Used to be Mine - Sara Bareilles - This song is much more melancholy than the songs on this list so far. It’s hopeful but kind of feels a bit more like a self-pity song. That’s not to say that the lyrics themselves are self-pitying in their conclusion. Lately, my job is kind of hurting me, and my best friend’s job worries me on her behalf, so I really relate to it even though the Waitress references occasionally make it highly specific. It also is a really beautiful song, I think, about the transition between being, like, in your early 20s and feeling enchanted by adulthood and the challenges of it even if they hurt and then getting in your late-20s and beyond and feeling a little bit afraid of the loss of youth and stuff. Here’s a lyric video. 

Favorite Lyric: It’s not easy to know / I’m not anything like I used to be / Although it’s true / I was never attention’s sweet center / But I still remember that girl / She’s imperfect, but she tries / She is good, but she lies / She is hard on herself / She is broken and won’t ask for help / She is messy, but she’s kind / She is lonely most of the time / She is all of this mixed up and based in a beautiful pie / She is gone, but she used to be mine

The songs after the above on this list are less deeply personal (and Hoodie just is because I feel it so viscerally even though I don’t super relate to it - maybe it’s envy of people who can) and more, like, “this reminds me of a fandom thing” right now or “this sounds cool” so the tone will change.

6. Haunted Heart - WILD - Some random song I found on spotify that is #reylo and several other shippy vibes. It’s more ambient than anything else, but it can literally apply to a lot o fictional relationships we obsess over. Lyric video.

Favorite Lyric: As the shadows dance across the room / I pretend that in the dark it’s you / It’s all I have

7. Go - Grimes ft. Blood Diamonds - Honestly this song has been lowkey in my head for days, and I wanted an excuse and reminder to listen to it again. I just recently fell down another fiction/fandom rabbit hole in The Expanse, and the only part I could hear in my head was the chorus before the dub-steppy drop, but my brain for some reason was summoning and suggesting it as a song that would fit my vibe about this show. Sure enough, I am feeling it for The Expanse, and it makes me wish I could still make fanvids. The actual verse lyrics are more Miller @/Julie than anything else I’ve seen so far, so if you ship that a lot then maybe this is even more your song for this than it is mine, but for me what I like about it is the sense of this personal connection being very important but kind of interrupted by all of this noise. Maybe that’s me reading too much into the design of the song, but I love that the chorus cuts itself off until its last repetition. “When I go can I go with--” and then finally “--you?” Audio video here.

I don’t need to do a favorite lyric because it’s got so few but it’s the way they parse “When I go can I go with you?” through the music.

8. Let Me Go - Hailee Steinfeld, Alesso (ft. Florida Georgia Line) - I honestly feel a bit conflicted by how much I like this song given that it’s got heavy involvement from bro-country artists Florida Georgia Line, but I like what I like. As far as an association goes, it’s like my sort of heartbreaking Lauriver song honestly. I really like the idea that they could have been happy together, might’ve been soulmates in another world as is implied, but that it’s sort of irrevocably fractured in DCTV Earth 1. Now, if only they had let me have that, Olicity, and Merlance, I would have been happy forever. Lyric video.

Favorite Lyric: Chased that high too far, too fast / Picket white fence but we paint it black

9. The Night We Met - Lord Huron - The first time I saw some lyrics to this song it was on this edit for this sort of maybe American Civil War Era fandom I have never identified or known what the heck it was. But when I saw them, I had to know what this song was, and I knew we’d be in love forever. And indeed, I love this song. It’s just so simple and sort of that new-folksy thing that my kind of a hipster ass loves. I love it for fandom and shippy reasons because it touches on one of those hard-to-quantify and only slightly less-hard-to-qualify things that I love fanfiction and headcanon to tackle. That thing is this messy, awful (and awesome - we’re focusing on the word awe here, sublimnity) feeling that comes from having loved someone in an intimate, sexual way but then watching that totally and completely vulnerable bond erode into something where you can no longer touch that person in any sense of the word. It’s a terrible topic full of angst but it’s so much a human thing that happens and I love it. (Of course, in my fanfiction and roleplay and shit, I want it fixed, but give me all of it.) It also does that thing with unconventional but technically comprehensible syntax that I love.

Favorite Lyric: Take me back to the night we met / And then I can tell myself what the hell I’m supposed to do / And then I can tell myself not to ride along with you / I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you / Take me back to the night we met

10. Ophelia - The Lumineers - On the topic of folksy-or-something feeling music that feels like it’s touching on weird, underbelly human emotions that no one knows how to describe or wrestle with, there’s this song. It is one of those songs that makes you want to dance in the rain life throws at you. It sounds happy or melancholy depending on when you’re listening to it and what you’re bringing to it, and that is probably why it has been on Spotify’s “Your Top Songs” compilation it makes for me at year’s end for two years in a row. And gosh the instrumentation. I know nothing about instrumentation technically speaking, but gosh. It feels like going to church, driving down a country road, being in a bar, and crying your heart out in a bathtub all at once. This is probably the most playlist-for-life song on here because it is just really one of those songs that it feels like you could carry in your pocket to soundtrack a lot of moments in your life when you’re quiet, observant, and just paying attention to it. It’s not really about anything, but it kind of feels like it’s about everything. Lyric video.

Favorite Lyric: And I don’t feel nothing at all / And you can’t feel nothing small

Winona: favorite quote? 

I actually answered this one earlier, but let’s see if I can come up with another answer. My friend @morethanprinceofcats​ did a cute thing I forgot to do where she talked about text posts that come to her mind and sort of get stuck in her head, and I’ve got those too.

One I really should refer to more often is this one: http://burninglianyu.tumblr.com/post/169380411461/angel-ani-setheverman-what-is-the-january

And for the part of me that occasionally wants to become a surreal, non-human entity that dwells in the space before the alarm clock goes off and never has to move past it, this one: http://burninglianyu.tumblr.com/post/167821073666/sarah531-the-first-time-i-ever-heard-take-me-to

Oh, and I have no idea how it didn’t come to mind earlier but, like, the entire novel Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov? I always feel like there is a certain kind of shame-narrative attached to genuinely liking that book. Sometimes it’s for good reason like people who are using it to romanticize CSA beyond what the book already does as a means of justification. However, when I think the text is really read honestly and compassionately it does a lot of those things that I was saying above the song “Praying” does for me. It does so in absolutely gorgeous prose that certainly is worthy of a murderer with a fancy prose style.

I think I love it because of the way it shows the villain as protagonist and gives him this beautiful way with words that forces you to understand his point of view while conscience and even the foreword charges you never to condone it. I also think that its aesthetic quality and attention to detail of, I guess, mid-century (1900s) America and the trappings of suburbia and the places that live alongside interstates just enchants me. There’s something about that part of the description that reminds me of feeling some kind of visceral mix of pleasure and discomfort that comes from just existing in the summertime for me on a day spent outside. It reminds me of something and some time I lived through in the last 90s that I think has since passed into oblivion -- the experience of living in an America before the internet and cell phones’ prevalence or something. Suburban anonymity and the creepiness of that but also the strange, transient beauty of plastic, neon, and trying to get anywhere in a car across this absurdly big country.

The quote that came to mind this time was this one (warning for mention of child sexual abuse):

We had been everywhere. We had really seen nothing. And I catch myself thinking today that our long journey had only defiled with a sinuous trail of slime the lovely, trustful, dreamy, enormous country that by then, in retrospect, was no more to us than a collection of dog-eared maps, ruined tour books, old tires, and her sobs in the night — every night, every night — the moment I feigned sleep. 

Basically it just encapsulates that vibe I was talking about for me except, of course, for the banal horror of that list item.

Also, pairing the words “rust and stardust.”

[surveysonfleek]

435.

When was the last time you used a pair of ear/headphones? a couple days ago.

Have you ever tried to count to infinity? no, what a waste of time.

Do you like making mixed cds? when i was younger, yeah. now i just make playlists.

Would you want to live forever if it meant being a tree? no.

What is the strangest thing you’ve put chocolate on? nothing that weird.

Could you earn a good living selling weed? i mean you probably could but i personally wouldn’t do it.

How would you use a photographic memory? to remember diagrams and stuff.

What would you do tomorrow if you had $500? nothing lol. keep it.

What body hair gets the most attention? the hair on my head?

What’s your favorite commercial? none. i hate ads.

Do you like pie? i mean i do but it’s never my first choice for a meal/dessert.

Do you appreciate dishwashers? i’ve never had one.

If you could change someone else’s past, what would you change? i wouldn’t.

What’s the worst experience you don’t remember? being bitten by a dog.

Are your dreams usually cheerful? nah.

What’s your favorite color of eyeliner? black.

How’s the weather where you are at? it’s nice.

Anything bad happen today? yeah. i didn’t get off work early lol.

Can you solve a Rubik’s Cube? probably. but it’d take forever.

What was the last thing that you microwaved?  leftovers.

Did you have an easy-bake oven when you were little?  no.

Have you ever seen a donkey?  yes.

Do you like sheep? no.

Do you like dogs?  yes.

Do you have one?  yes.

Do you ever want to be married?  someday.

Do you take a lot of pictures?  not as much as i used to.

Where is the boy you want most? sleeping.

Where will you be 2 hours from now? in bed sleeping.

What is your current mood? tired.

Where are you going tomorrow? work.

Who was the last person you yelled at? i forgot.

Do you think you’ll be a good Mother/Father? hopefully!

The last thing you drank?  water.

What’s in your pocket?  no pockets.

What colour are your fingernails? dark red.

Have you ever left school just because you didn’t want to be there?  yes.

Did anything cute happen today? no.

What are you currently hearing? nothing.

Are you afraid of the dark? only if i’m not familiar with my surroundings.

Do you usually tell people when they hurt your feelings? depends who it is.

Do you have a common first name? no.

Do you like your middle name or your first name more? first.

What year would/did you turn 21? 2011.

What was popular when you were a kid? barbies, pokemon, sailor moon.

Do you wear more rings or necklaces? necklace.

Have you ever been engaged? no.

Can you see your veins through your skin? kinda.

Do you worry about having good grammar online? yeah.

Do you know anyone with a lazy eye? yes.

Did your parents let you have pets when you were a kid? when i was 12 so yeah.

Would you rather live in an apartment or a duplex? neither.

Do you like spicy chips? no.

Do you have any ‘different’ keychains on your keys/purse? i guess.

Do you collect pins? sorta. whenever i stay in hotels, i’ll take the pen.

What band was on the last band t-shirt you wore? the weeknd.

Do you wear more pink or yellow? neither.

Have you ever been out of the state you were born in? yes.

Do you have any tattoos on your arms? no.

Have you ever owned or known someone who owned a black cat? no.

When was the last time you felt jealous? idk been awhile.

What’s the last thing you bought besides food/drink? petrol.

What album is the last song you listened to from? idk.

Who scheduled your last doctor visit? me.

What’s the last video game you played? tekken.

Do you have anything on your wrists right now? my bracelet.

Do you have any holiday theme’d socks? nope.

What kind of accent do you have? australian.

What’s the last funny movie you watched? i forgot.

Can you remember your parents’ birthdays? of course.

Is there anyone who you just absolutely cannot STAND being around? yes.

What is the design on your shirt? it has minnie mouse on it.

Do you know anyone who just flat-out fails at life? no.

Are you a Ghoulscout? no.

Do you know someone who’s just always wrong about everything? haha kinda.

Do you make fun of people often? no.

Do you read your friend’s surveys? none of my friends do surveys.

If you had to get a tattoo tomorrow, what would you pick? i wouldn’t.

How do you feel about band tattoos? it’s whatever.

How much are you willing to pay for a pair of sunglasses? if it has my prescription lens in it, quite a lot.

What is the origin of your last name? spanish, but i’m filipino.

Do you ever use the n-word? no.

What piercing do you like most on the opposite sex? none in particular.

What brand of hair dye do you prefer to use? i haven’t dyed my hair in years.

What country do you live in? australia.

Did/do you ride the bus to and from school? i did until i could drive.

Do you prefer beef, chicken or steak? steak.

Are you any good at applying make up? i guess so.

Do you misuse commas? no.

Have you ever bitten your dentist? no.

Are you someone who likes to make simple things difficult? no.

Who makes you laugh the most? my boyfriend.

Do you have any plans for this weekend? not sure yet. games night on sunday tho.

Do you crack your knuckles? sometimes.

Coffee or Tea? both.

Do you know anyone named Matt? yes.

Wearing any bracelets? yes.

When were you last outside? 30 min ago.

Do you need someone to cheer you up right now? no.

Are your nails painted? yes.

Do you think things will change in the next 3 months? yeah hopefully.

Do you think you’d make a good parent? i hope so!

You start crying. Who do you want by your side? my boyfriend.

Ever cried while you were on the phone with someone? yes.

Did someone screw you over lately? yes.

Would you ever get your hips pierced? no.

If you were given the chance to go to Paris, would you go? if i didn’t have to spend anything, then yeah.

Who was the first person you talked to today? my bf.

What’s your favorite musical? les miserables.

How do you get to sleep? i’ll fall asleep if i’m tired or i’ll read.

What happened at the last party you went to? eh, idk.

Have you ever smoked a cigarette? yes.

What’s your hair like at this present moment? down.

Are you more comfortable sitting or lying down? lying down for sure.

What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen? idk there’s been a lotttt.

Are you an untidy person? no.

Have you ever been a fan of N*Sync? nah, i always preferred bsb.

Do you watch a lot of television? no.

Do you think you’re fat sometimes? yes.

Do you like to flex your muscles? no.

Do you think you’ll ever get plastic surgery? no.

Have you ever completely misunderstood what somebody was saying? yup.

Favorite kind of cake: anything moist.

Was it a boy or a girl to text you last? boy.

Name something you are doing tomorrow? working :(

Do you sleep on your stomach? yes.

Where are you going to be at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow? leaving home to go to work.

Are you missing someone? yes.

Do you like horror or comedy? comedy.

Who did you last share a taxi with? my bf and friends.

Dogs or cats? dogs.

What were you doing at 12 this afternoon? sleeping.

Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 months from now? yes.

What’s your favorite season? Why? autumn, it’s my perfect kind of weather.

When’s the last time you did something you knew was wrong? idk.

Did you have any unread text messages this morning when you woke up? yes.

Who was the last person you hugged? my bf.

Do you think you would be a good parent? wtf lol i swear this survey has asked this three times?

When was the last time you cried? it’s been a couple weeks.

Who was driving the last time you were in a car? me.

Does any part of your body hurt right now? yes.

Do you like your bed? yes.

When did you last talk to your brother or sister? yesterday.

How much cash do you have on you? a couple coins, i never carry cash.

Are you tanned? no.

Did you get any compliments today? no.

Have you ever gone to court? yes but to watch my boyfriend graduate as a lawyer.

Do you get jealous easily? no.

Would you ever want to swim with the sharks? no.

What are you doing Saturday? idk yet.

What is in your back pocket? no pockets.

What were you doing at 3:00 a.m. this morning? netflix.

What do you usually do first in the morning? check the time.

Are you any good at math? kinda.

Any plans for Friday night? not yet.

Do you have a little crush on someone? more than a crush.

When’s the last time you ran?
 it’s been awhile lol.

Do your jeans have rips, tears, and holes in them? nope.

What are you dreading right now? working tomorrow.

Do you celebrate 420? no.

Do you get the full 8 hours of sleep a night? not always.

If anyone came to your house on your “lazy days” what would ya’ll do? lay around, watch youtube, tv shows or movies and pig out.

Who last grabbed your ass? my bf.

Have you ever been on your school’s track team? no.

Do you own a pair of Converse? yes.

Did you copy and paste this survey? duh.

Do you eat raw cookie dough? sometimes.

Have you ever kicked a vending machine? no.

Don’t you hate it when the radio ruins good songs by playing them over and over? yes.

Do you watch Trading Spaces? no.

How do you eat oreos? by themselves.

Have you ever stayed online for a very long time waiting for someone? back in high school yeah.

Are you cocky? yeah.

Could you live without a computer? probably but i’d prefer to have one.

Do you wear your shoes in the house? only downstairs.

Who or what sleeps with you? nothing.

At what age did you find out that Santa wasn’t real? maybe around 7 but i pretended to believe in him.

What do you do when you’re sad? sleep.

Who would you call first if you won the lottery? my family.

Last time you saw your best friend? thursday.

Are you in high school? no.

What jewelry are you wearing? necklace and bracelet.

Is anyone on your bad side now? no.

What’s the first thing you do when you get online? go on youtube.

Do you watch Grey’s Anatomy? no.

Would you wear a boy/girlfriends clothes? only out on convenience. if it’s cold etc.

Where do you work? casino.

What are you doing tomorrow? working.

Do you return your cart? most of the time lol.

Do you have a dishwasher? no.

What noise do you hear? faint sounds of traffic.

Would you survive in prison? probably not.

Who is the youngest in your family? my cousin.

If all of your friends were going on a road trip, who would most likely overpack? me lol.

What’s the last thing you purchased? gas.

Do your siblings ever pay for stuff for you? yes!

What brand are your pants right now? not wearing pants.

Ever been to Georgia (the state)? yes.

What irritates you most on the internet? buffering.

What brand is your digital camera? canon.

Do you own expensive perfume/cologne? yes.

Are you taking college classes right now? no, i finished.

Do you like sushi? yes.

Do you get your hair cut every month? no, i should though.

Do you go online everyday? yes.

What makes someone a best friend? knowing everything about each other, someone you can rely on and laugh with.

[larryrickard]

tagged by @transmichaelscofield.  thank you !!

1. Name:  ren. 2. Gender:  genderqueer.  dfab, female-presenting. 3. Star sign:  taurus. 4. Height:  5′6. 5. Time:  11.41pm. 6. Birthday:  may 4th. 7. Favorite bands:  jimmy eat world, jars of clay, the elms, acceptance, chrvches, echosmith, paramore, matchbox twenty, garbage... 8. Favorite solo artists:  lady gaga, marina and the diamonds, kesha, michael jackson, sia, ellie goulding, florence + the machine, natalie imbruglia, carly rae jepsen...  9. Song stuck in my head:  nothing currently bc i’m watching youtube.  but the last song was ‘praying’ by kesha. 10. Last movie watched:  the loft.  before that it was the number 23 (a rewatch) which i enjoyed a lot more lol.  tbh i only watched the loft for wentworth miller.  with a side of karl urban. 11. Last show watched:  the flash.  catching a friend up with s3, and i’m doing a rewatch of my favorite reactors in s2. 12. When did I create my blog:  2007 something.  my first post was in july? of that year but idk when i actually created.  i didn’t really start posting on here until years later bc tumblr is so fucking different now from what it was then.  they were nothing alike. 13. What do I post:  i don’t post original content really, but i reblog mostly tv shows and celebs, random ass posts when i’m actually online (everything else is mostly queued), some movies...  14. Last thing I googled:  i don’t remember and i only keep track of my youtube history lol.  probably defining something or making sure i’m spelling a name/word correctly. 15. Do you have other blogs:  yes.  i have some random blogs mostly for myself so i don’t spam this account lol but my main one is @harrywells.  the others are listed somewhere on my profile if anyone cares. 16. Do you get asks:  not really :(  oh well lol i don’t really publicly interact with ppl on here and nor do i really post personal stuff or original content, so i’m not surprised at all. 17. Why did you choose your url:  bc i’d just gotten into the flash and love harrison wells. 18. Following:  801 lmao.  probably at least 150 of those are inactive but i loved those blogs and can’t quite bring myself to unfollow them. 19. Followers:  939. 20. Favorite colors:  blue.  then green.  black and grey are p gr9 too. 21. Average hours of sleep:  depends... 8ish i guess.  lately i’ve been really shitty at this bc i’m forcing myself into staying up bc i don’t want to go to bed yet lol.  i slept almost all day on thursday whoops. 22. Lucky number:  i LOVE 11 v much but over the years i’m growing closer to my second favorite:  13.  17 is p good too.  33. 23. Instruments:  none lol.  i took piano, clarinet, and flute lessons.  i tried guitar on my own but eh.  good thing my parents bought me a cheap-ass guitar bc after about a year i never touched it again so i just donated it... :/  i sucked at all of them anyway.  i can’t read sheet music beyond a few notes sooo. 24. What am I wearing:  random pajama bottoms (christmas ones haha) and my starry night luna (sailor moon) shirt. 25. How many blankets I sleep with:  one during a lot of the year.  when it’s colder i may use two. 26. Dream job:  i love what i’m doing now!  i can’t imagine being this happy anywhere else.  i love my coworkers, my boss is amazing, my experiences with customers is generally pretty positive, i feel appreciated every day, and i make stupid good money considering (and i just got a raise). 27. Dream trip:  new zealand.  and then europe, but i’m not sure where.  it changes all the time but nz is p damn solid. 28. Favorite food:  it varies... i do like mexican food.  but bacon cheeseburgers are p damn great, too. 29. Nationality:  american. 30. Favorite song now:  ‘cut to the feeling’ by carly rae jepsen.

tagging:  @noctisia​, @ladybubblegum​, @rhymeswithpi​, @cisco-imfineashell-ramon, @aquaexplicit, and @blindobi-wan.

[stormsbourne]

hi! i keep seeing you reblog stuff about women and fic and i just want to say: i was that 14 year old girl who read gay fic and swore up and fucking down i was as straight as they come because i was fucking TERRIFIED like i dreamt about kissing a girl once and i basically refused to sleep because if i didn't sleep i wouldn't think about kissing girls and i'd still be normal. fanfiction literally helped me come to terms with myself and i'm pretty sure i'd still be in denial if i'd never found it

Oh anon, let me tell you, I was that 14 year old girl too. Though I was … haha, I had a longer way to go.

I used to be the most homophobic, vile little piece of shit. I’d make posts on fanficrants (once I got a livejournal, which was, uh, when I was 17-18) about how characters weren’t GAY what was WRONG with fangirls? I’d complain to my friends about how not everything had to be gay. I would watch shows (mostly anime) as a teenager and muse about how I didn’t GET why people made the stuff between Male Character 1 and Male Character 2 gay. 

And yet.

The first completed original piece of fiction I wrote, which I finished when I was 16, was incredibly fucking gay – I still have it, all 236 handwritten pages of it, and good lord. None of the characters in it act even remotely straight. I had an assignment as a 12 year old in art class to design a cartoon character and I basically designed an incredibly butch lizard. Pitching it to myself as “trying to understand why people ship gay stuff,” I wrote an uncompleted piece of original fiction (before the first completed one) that just involved literally everybody being gay. My mother and I had a small tiff about it without talking directly about it, just her saying she knew the sort of stuff I wrote in my spare time. My gayness was always there. I just didn’t know it.

By the time I was 17 I was aware that maybe I wasn’t really … completely … straight, but as a deep-set Mormon in the middle of “the Mormon corridor” (Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada) I shoved it out of my mind and tried not to think about it, until my first girlfriend confessed to me once during a sleepover and I confessed back. 

A lot of my self discovery process at that time was through fanfic. I’d been really noisy and annoying about how much I didn’t ship one (canon-intended) gay ship in my fandom of the time, Fire Emblem, and I wrote a 2000-ish word piece about that ship just using it to explore my own sexuality, my conflicted feelings about it. The deeper I dug into fandom to try and work out my feelings, the more comfortable with myself I became. It didn’t matter if it was m/m or f/f. I tinkered with both. I realized that I’d always kind of shipped Rei/Usagi from Sailor Moon, and just sold it to myself as caring a lot about their friendship. My first girlfriend and I, long before we confessed to each other, had shyly admitted we were both sort of interested in Kurama/Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho. I ran a fanfic competition (back when those were a thing) in one of my main fandoms and the winning fic made me cry with feelings I hadn’t understood at the time, but did now. 

I’m never going to buy into the purity discourse about what women – straight, gay, bi, whatever – should or shouldn’t ship, what characters are “healthy” for them to identify with, what fiction they are or aren’t supposed to consume, because in those years of my life, fandom was my only outlet. I still remember being 19 and making a terrified post on my livejournal about being bi (which I thought I was, at the time). How unhappy and uncomfortable I was with myself. How for years I told myself I hadn’t really loved my first girlfriend and, for a long time, even refused to call her my first girlfriend or my ex. How fandom is where I found other women like me, writing gay stuff like the stuff I was getting more and more interested in. Fiction is an important tool to help us discover ourselves. That doesn’t end when you get to fanfiction just because it’s based on already-existing work. (If anything, doesn’t that make it even more of a tool to discover ourselves?) 

So yeah. I’ve been there. And because I’ve been there and it was what made me discover who I was, I’m always going to support women getting to have that same experience. I often think of myself as a late bloomer in terms of my gayness, but the fact is there are people discovering themselves out there every moment of every day. Some younger than me. Some older than me. And they should all have that chance. 

[thehoneybunnyblog-blog]

**New Video**

Yesterday I took the 10 Styles Art Challenge and today I have the video to prove it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osofrzk6w4Y

*If you want to suggest a challenge you can comment on the video or send us a message at any time! We’re always up for a good challenge, or at least I am haha! Also, be sure to subscribe to our channel. We post a new video every Friday! :)  *

                        ::Here are a few facts about the artwork::

Each Honeybee Polaroid took about an hour each to sketch, ink, AND color (about 9.5-10 hours total) Translated into Bunny words: That’s 10 hours without cuddling which was torture XD

The styles I chose (with help from Honeybee of course!) were Disney, Winx Club, Adventure Time, Monster High, NoFlutter, Sailor Moon, Ouran Host Club, Miraculous Ladybug (Tales from Paris 2D Version), and Tim Burton.

I took more creative liberties with the NoFlutter and Ouran versions. NoFlutter is one of my favorite artists with a particular style as well as a love for steampunk, so I added a similar steampunk twist to Honeybee’s design. With Ouran, I also gave her the uniform and made her look a bit more like Haruhi, though I initially used Renge as a reference.

Instead of using the 3d reference from Miraculous Ladybug or from the original pilot anime trailer, I opted to mimic the style of the mini Youtube shorts, “Tales from Paris” because it looked more unique compared to the anime styles I was already using.

I’ve been back on a true horror/ mysterious disappearances kick lately so the whole time I was drawing I was listening to either Let’s Read narrations, Cayleigh Elise’s Dark Matters Series, or Criminally Listed. Sort of a darker contrast to the kawaii Polaroids being created >w<

xxxBunnyxxx

[jewelridersarchive]

She-ra & Reboot Culture

Why do we love seeing new versions of the same thing? Is it simple nostalgia? Is it the desire to engage with some sort of content that once moved us in a new and different way? Is it new creators wanting to stamp something they loved from their own childhood with their mark? Or is it all of the above?

I’m not immune to loving reboots. I devoured the new DuckTales on Disney XD, I’m reading the new Rainbow Brite comics from Dynamite, I’m watching the new iteration of Will & Grace, and continue to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Reboots are fun; they not only allow fans who loved something to have a nostalgia party, but also allow potential new fans entry points into what sometimes appears to be never-ending streams of content (I’m looking at you, Transformers). But things seem out of hand when even ReBoot, the mid-90s CGI cartoon, has a reboot on Netflix (ReBoot: The Guardian Code). Have reboots become the “safe,” risk-averse way companies can cash in on portfolio properties that already have known fanbases? It’s the equivalent of an artist only drawing fanart because they know it will get thousands of likes versus hundreds on original content.

And I fully admit some level of fatigue with franchises that just keep chugging along, seemingly forever. Every movie that comes out seems to want to be a tentpole franchise builder. Or a reboot of an existing franchise, or a soft reboot that only takes some elements going forward, or an alternate universe or…well, you get the idea.

I love original content. One of the best shows I watched this year was Alex Hirsch’s Gravity Falls (yes, I know I’m rather late to the game). It was a bright spot of originality, something new and not tied to any other content or previous iteration. Many of the anime I watch and enjoy are either original or straight adaptations of an existing manga. I think original content and ideas are important in entertainment. They allow a generation to experience a piece of entertainment in its prime, and have something uniquely “theirs.” Kids of the 60s had Star Trek, kids of the 70s had Star Wars, kids of 80s will always be the original audience for Jem & the Holograms and He-Man/She-Ra, kids of the 90s will always have X-Men TAS and Sailor Moon. (And PGJR, of course haha). No matter if they are rebooted down the road or not, that original experience belongs to the original viewers.

Which is why it’s always hilarious to me when people who hate on the new version of something say “It’s ruining my childhood!” Your childhood is whatever it was, frozen in time. Those original cartoons obviously still exist, and if you have the desire you can watch most of them. A reboot doesn’t destroy the original, no matter how many changes it makes to the original idea. The best reboots can often give us (as adults) what we thought we were watching as children. And often, the reboot can drive traffic back to seek out the original, as adults want to share with children the version they loved at that age.

Which brings us to She-Ra. I didn’t watch any He-Man or She-Ra as a child, for whatever reason. I found He-Man & the Masters of the Universe through the 2002 anime-influenced incarnation (also a great reboot IMO), then went back and watched the 1983 cartoon, followed by the 1985 She-Ra: Princess of Power. I loved it all. Sure, sometimes it was goofy, and there was lots of animation reuse in the older versions, but the core concepts were really strong. They are classic good vs evil, freedom vs tyranny stories, told with engaging casts and crazy creative worlds.

I powered through all 93 episodes of She-Ra during the summer of 2010 while I studied for my board exams. It holds the special place of being the series I turned to to relieve the stress of studying. I love the 80s fantasy girl designs, the color schemes, the powers, the sheer kookiness of the side characters. She-Ra was the OG American magical girl, and I finally understood what all the fuss over this franchise was about. She-Ra feels iconic in the way that characters like Wonder Woman and Sailor Moon do. Yes, she starts out as a spin-off of the successful He-Man franchise, but he makes very few appearances in She-Ra’s cartoon.

But after her initial run, She-Ra remained a virtually dormant property for the next 30 years. He-Man had two different reboots in 1991 and 2002, but She-Ra was stuck in limbo. Only once the Masters of the Universe Classics collectible figure from Mattel released in 2010 did She-Ra finally see the light of day again. Story-wise, the bios on the back of the toy packages gave us a little info about She-Ra’s further adventures, but it wasn’t until the 2012/2013 Masters of the Universe comic from DC that She-Ra comes back, this time in the guise of the villainous Despara. It’s a dark but interesting take on the characters; an exploration of what being raised by the Evil Horde would really do to a person.

Interestingly, this seems to be the jumping-off point for the new “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” animated series from Dreamworks and Netflix. This show takes as its central theme the relationship between Adora and Catra. When Adora finds the sword that lets her turn into She-Ra, she leaves the Horde – an organization to which she has devoted her life. Almost more importantly, she leaves behind Catra, her best friend. It’s this broken relationship that informs the emotional tone of the rest of the show.

Unlike the 80s version, this time around the Rebellion knows Adora’s identity as She-Ra. It’s an interesting change – shows of the 80s were obsessed with secret identities, and sometimes it could get ridiculous making up excuses for what happened to the other identity of the character every time. Thankfully, that is avoided here, and instead of angst over whether or not you can let people know the real you, we are treated to relationships that ask whether we can accept someone who we know has wronged us before.

Much has been made over this update’s reworking of the body types and ethnicities of the main princesses. While I confess not loving all the updated designs and missing the 80s fairytale warrior goddesses of the original, I understand and fully support the change. Reboots are about viewing something old through the lens of today, and audiences of today want to see themselves in the media they watch or read. We can’t (and shouldn’t) go back to mostly-white casts. The world is a rainbow of colors, and the show feels richer for including them.

Speaking of rainbows, I have to mention the new show’s decidedly queer bent. The relationship between Adora and Catra is somewhere between ex-best-friends and ex-girlfriends in tone. Netossa and Spinerella, long shipped by the fandom, are finally outed in a true relationship this time around. Other characters like Scorpia, Bow, and Entrapta all tap into queer mannerisms and norms as well. The end result is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen in children’s entertainment, and I couldn’t be happier. I wish I’d had something similar as a child, but I’m grateful today’s queer kids have their own heroes.

When we talk about a successful reboot, what are we looking for? Here’s what I think a good reboot need to accomplish.

Bring the characters and concepts of the original property up to date for current audiences.

Explore the characters or world in new and different ways.

Add depth to the original concept.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power does all of these in spades. I think it’s the nicest treatment an 80s female-driven property has gotten in a reboot. The show is full of strong characters with interesting dynamics, great writing, and interesting world building. Yes, some of the episodes can be a bit predictable and the designs are not always my favorite, but everything works together toward a greater whole. I won’t spoil the story for you, because seriously if you haven’t watched this, get thee to Netflix and enjoy!

For the Honor of Grayskull!

Chris

P.S. Can you imagine getting a ✨Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders✨ reboot that brought all this to the table? I’d die!

Read the complete blog at The Jewel Riders Archive! http://www.jewelridersarchive.com/posts/she-ra-the-princesses-of-power-and-reboot-culture/

[surveysonfleek]

078.

What was the last strong emotion you experienced? sadness.

Who was responsible for it? my boyfriend. thankfully this was awhile ago.

Do you post the results to your surveys on any other website? no.

When people fill out your surveys, do you read their answers to your questions? I don’t make surveys.

Which do you dislike more: taking pills, or the taste of cough medicine? cough medicine.

Name three bands you would love to see in concert: im not really sure, i’ve never been a band person. there’s bands that i like but wouldn’t be dying to see in concert.

If you could have the answer to any question, which would it be? will i end up happy in life?

What is the most annoying task you have had to complete in the past week? work lol.

When was the last time you canceled plans? What came up, if anything? this saturday. it was getting late and i couldn’t be bothered going out.

Do your hands ever get sweaty when you hold someone else’s? yes but only coz their hand is sweaty.

Does this embarrass you? no.

What goes through your mind when you’re engaged in a passionate kiss? love.

Do you ever wonder what other people think/daydream about? not really.

Do you ever wonder what animals think about? my dog, yes.

If you’ve made a mixed CD before, what type of music did you put on the most recently made one? rnb.

Do you think there is a point where someone is too fat for a bikini? no, but the important thing is wearing the right size. i’ve seen girls on the skinnier side wear like 2 sizes too small and it’s not a good look.

Why or why not? to each their own, i’m really not judgemental about that kinda thing.

Do confident people ever annoy you? only if they’re bragging too much about themselves or fishing for compliments.

What about negative people? i can only take so much negativity. i’ll sympathise with them but if they continue i get over it pretty quickly.

Would you say that you are more confident in yourself, or negative? more negative.

Who do you think has it harder in terms of expectations regarding physical appearance: men, or women? women for sure.

Elaborate on your choice? i feel like women in general are more judged based on their physical appearance than men.

Who is the most emotionally strong person that you know? my parents. idk how they do it.

How about the most emotionally weak? not sure.

Think of your favorite book/movie/cartoon characters. What do they all have in common? they have courage? haha not sure.

What do all of your favorite celebrities have in common? they’re all youngish.

Is there a reality show you would consider being on? nope.

How would you portray yourself on this show? -

What was the last word or phrase that you screamed? bye!

Have you ever cried in the shower? When was the last time?

 yes. forever ago.

Has a survey question ever offended or insulted you?

 no.

Has an answer to one of your questions ever offended you?

 I don’t make surveys.

Has anyone ever insulted your survey-making ability, if you make them?

 ^

When was the last time you felt too hot?
 when i left my heater on in my room.

When was the last time you shivered?

 today.

Do you feel comfortable spending the night at other people’s places?
 nooooo. i seriously struggle not sleeping in my own bed. it’s a lot easier when i’m traveling coz usually i’m out all day and fall asleep straight away at a hotel, but i can’t stand sleeping at other people’s houses.

Or would you rather they stayed over at yours?

 yes. as long as they take the guest room haha.

Do you spend time online when your friends are over?

 only on my phone.

Do you spend [too much] time texting when you’re around others?

 not really. if it’s important i’ll text while im with friends but i usually keep my attention on them.

Do you watch anime? If so, what do you watch?

 nah. i grew up watching sailor moon and pokemon but that’s about it.

What would you recommend?

 those two ^ i’m sure everyone’s seen them.

Who was the “bad guy” in the last book you read?

 i just started reading big little lies, but i’ve already seen the show so meh.

Did anyone die in the last movie that you watched?

 no.

When was the last time you saw two people in love?

 hmmm not sure.

When was the last time you saw two people fighting?

 not sure either. i hardly pay attentionlol.

Is there something you are afraid others might find out about you?

 no.

Can you recall the last time you blinked?

 yes.

Who absolutely disgusts you?

 just all the evil people in the world. i feel for them.

Do you keep up with current events?

 yes.

What is one emotion you never want to experience?

 i think i’ve experienced a lot of emotions already.

What was the last “sin” that you committed?
 gluttony.

Do you believe there is a “right” or “wrong” religion? Explain?

 no. everyone has the freedom to believe/not believe in religion.

Have you learned anything new today?

 no.

Do you learn something new everyday?

 haha probably.

In general, is learning something that you enjoy?

 yes and no. if it’s something completely boring i won’t learn at all.

On a scale of 1-10, how interested are you in the world around you?

 6. haha.

Do you ever watch educational documentaries?

 yes.

Where was the last place you went against your will?
 clubbing.

What is the longest you have ever waited for something?

 i’ve waited months for ebay items in the mail. especially when they’re from hong kong lol.

Was it worth the wait?
 they were cheap so yeah.

Have you ever purchased something expensive, only to realize you didn’t want it as badly as you thought you did?
 yes.

Around which subject(s) did your last conversation revolve?

 people at work.

What is something people assume about your country of origin?

 that there’s heaps of wild animals here out to kill you. totally untrue.

Can you guess another person’s nationality just by looking at them?
 you probably mean ethnicity. and while i think i can guess, half the time i’m wrong.

What nationality(ies) are you? Is it obvious, or subtle?
 my nationality is australian, my ethnicity is filipino. 

What is your favorite song to dance to?

 anything lit lol.

What is your favorite song to listen to while driving? it changes everyday. today it was kehlani.

Do you listen to music while you fill out surveys? How often?

 no.

What are you listening to right now? If you’re not, what did you last listen to?

 kehlani.

Is this song by your favorite band?

 she’s an artist.