#In the words of Mr incredible

[lordfarquuuad]

Not a question, but I've been binge-reading The Stars Are Dark over the course of the past few days and YOUR MAJESTY. YOUR HIGHNESS. PHENOMENAL work. Bless you for blessing us with this content 🙇

Omg 😂😊 thank you so much! I'm hoping to bless my own frustration by releasing the next chapter soon. Its over halfway done, there's been a few hiccups along the way and a bit of writers block, but I'm hoping to get the brunt of the work out in the next 2 days.

This isn't spoilers, but for anyone reading this that in interested in the progress of the fic, I'm excited to say its gonna get very fast paced after this chapter is released. Which (hopefully) means I can stop dragging my feet and chapters will (hopefully) be back to a monthly schedule. Fingers crossed 🤞

Thanks for this lovely message 💙❤️ means a lot.

[quatregats]

Patrick O'Brian was so real for this one <3

[anotherpapercut]

literally so funny how internet leftists will be like "ummm actually using drugs is bad and evil and destroying society (I know bc the us govt and/or some random conspiracy theorist told me so 😌) and anyone who thinks we should end the stigma around drug use and try to make it safer for users is actually just trying to destroy America" but then they'll also turn right around and go "don't forget to take your meds!!! remember if you can't make your own dopamine store bought is fine ❤️. end the stigma around needing lifelong medication!!!"

like girl are you somehow laboring under the delusion that like xanax is safer and more effective at treating mental illness than LSD or ketamine or even like MDMA bc boy do I have some news for you

[quillify-tries-to-talk]

On Art

I just remembered I had this thought but forgot to write about it so making a note here before I forget again.

Okay, so this was prompted by my brain remembering, out of nowhere, V.E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and that led me down a rabbit hole of more thinking. My main point can be summarized as this:

In the 21st century, any form of art is seen as disconnected from the larger world around it.

I picked Addie LaRue because obviously, a book about art and books and literature with supposedly philosophical underpinnings would talk about the inherent connection of art to humanity. There is a tendency, I believe, in today's world to see art as an entirely separate realm: pure, beautiful, untouched by the messy realities of politics and war and humans being cruel and callous etc. It is a beautiful thing, it is a lovely thing, it is a redeeming thing. Creativity is a gift to be given for consumerism, to remind people that they are good no matter how rigged the systems are in the favour of the top 1%.

This is all true. Creativity is a gift.

But I think we forget that it depends upon the creator to utilize or manipulate it according to his own wishes. Addie LaRue presents art as this beautiful, humane thing entirely disconnected from the realities of war or politics. Actual history. The events that the main protagonist lived through are left out in favour of presenting this fairytale ideal, so wholesome that it connects all humans.

(Yes, I know I sound cynical)

Except, this fairytale-esque, profound connection was not the reality for several thousand groups for years. Yes, of course, there was joy. Everyone was creating art and writing books, all our cultures are replete with thousands of years' worth of beauty and knowledge. And of course, the book does not touch it. It is unabashedly Eurocentric, right down to its ideals of artistry and literature.

Because guess what sort of art the Europeans were also making c. 1700s-early 2000s :) You think those heroic portraits of Britannia or Germania were created for funsies :) just a cutesy little project for a cutesy little artist totally disconnected from what was happening in the larger world :)

Addie LaRue, as a protagonist, has the kind of features that allow her to move through the world with a certain level of comfort and anonymity. Had she been any other person in the world, the book would be called The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

Several other books take the same course even as they promise to tackle these prevalent issues in sff or historical fiction or any genre, really. A few familiar names pop into my mind. Even those in different genres, such as romance, seem detached from anything real, even if it's cultural joy or pride. They exist. They move towards the culmination of their arc or their love interests, quite anonymously like Addie LaRue. Their view of the world, and their art is entirely sanitized: hollowed out of any and all substance only to be pretty for an aesthetic, fit for consumption by everyone. There is this idea of appealing to an anonymous, universal gaze that is mostly white American (and quite obtrusive, because any reminders of actual history are panned and demonized, or simply brushed aside as happening in tHe OrIeNT). If you really think about it, this is how the world seems divided even today.

As Edward Said said in Culture and Imperialism (in context of the classics):

"Critics have often, I believe, relegated these writers' ideas about colonial expansion, inferior races... to a very different department from that of culture. Culture being the elevated area of activity in which they 'truly' belong and in which they did their 'really' important work."

Incredible how this is applicable to criticism in any way, shape or form today. In addition:

"Culture conceived in this way can become a protective enclosure: check your politics at the door before you enter it."

I think this idea has become extremely predominant in modern culture too. Art is equated to a disconnected aesthetic with no bearing on reality. And while I acknowledge that this approach is useful in reviewing a work without personal biases or based purely on our own enjoyment, completely stripping a text of its socio-political realities does not serve any purpose. The goal, to borrow Said's words again is to admire works for the pleasure and profit they give us while simultaneously observing "the imperial process of which they were manifestly and unconcealedly a part; rather than condemning or ignoring their participation in what was an unquestioned reality in their societies..."

To sum up, our constant struggle to achieve a pure and untouched aesthetic is ultimately fruitless because art is not created in a vacuum. It never will be. Art is born of human hands. You cannot run from its history any more than you can run from your own reality.

[musicalislife]

The tabloid story about Käärijä’s Mr. Worldwide nickname.

“Did Käärijä copy his nickname from a con-rapper? The Latin artist has been using the title for more than 14 years

The wrapper shares his Mr. Worldwide nickname with a well-known Latino rapper.

Artist Käärijän, 29, while following the Eurovision tour and social channels, may have heard him call himself Mr. Worldwide (Finnish: Mr. world-wide).

So far, the wrapper has not specified where exactly the nickname comes from. Its use started roughly around the time when an artist who speaks bad English started his world conquest at Eurovision. When he suddenly became a global phenomenon, the name remained alive in the artist's international interviews, videos and social channels.

However, the wrapper is not the first to use that name. Latino rapper Pitbull, 42, who has been making dance music since 2009, has been using the same name for himself years before Käärijä. He even has a song called Mr. Worldwide from 2011.

In addition to his stage name and nickname, Pitbull has a third designation: Mr. 305, which is the area code of his hometown of Miami. The rapper explained the story of all his nicknames on the Nova Fm radio channel in August 2012.

- In Miami, I learned to see that music is a global language. When I got out of my recording contract with TVT Records, my music got a chance to grow because no one was there to stop it. Then you get a real chance to feel the global movement, Pitbull said on the broadcast.

- That's why I give you three characters to show my own development in the career: Interesting character Pitbull, Mr. 305 who is part of his city and Mr. Worldwide who learns about every country and city, the rapper added.

According to Promolta magazine, the rapper also earned himself the nickname Mr. Worldwide when his popularity spread worldwide very quickly. Pitbull has shouted or rapped his name during many of his songs. Examples of these include the hits Fireball, On the Floor and Hey Baby, also heard in Finland. Pitbull last performed in Finland in Suvilahti, Helsinki, in June 2012.

Original Mr. Worldwide or not, Käärijä's worldwide popularity was already proven on July 13, when tickets for his European tour went on sale. In less than a day, concert tickets were sold out in no less than five cities.

Especially in Great Britain, the Käärijä drug was so big that the organizers decided to move the gigs to bigger arenas. Käärijä's performance in London will be moved from 02 Academy Islington to the Electric Ballroom, which is almost twice as large in audience capacity. In Glasgow, Käärijä's gig will be moved from SWG3 Warehouse to the twice bigger Clyde Rooms.”

I used google translate for the translation so I don’t know how accurate it is.

@katinkulta thanks for the correct translation.💚

[starlit-pathways]

mr. sunshine is an absolutely spectacular and beautifully poetic show that burned so brightly to me—that i know for a fact i will never put myself through the pain of watching ever again.

[moonchild-in-blue]

Dawgs I was just watching a nature documentary* with my dad and they featured sea turtles and!!!! my heart!!! I canNOT watch sea turtle content without getting in my feels 🥺 They are so little and smol and only 2 minutes old and ALREADY they gotta fight the damn seagulls and sharks and water currents??? They showed 3 little ones getting eaten and omg I wanted to cry.

Sea turtles man. Oof.

*Our Universe on Netflix. We love those D. Attenborough ones

[howgalling]

also i finished better call saul what THE FUCK!!!! BEST SHOW EVER

[astranauticus]

i have an exam tomorrow but i know my brain won't know rest until i post this. anyway i just looked up the lyrics to 超度我/set me free by floruitshow and i just. have to inflict this song onto other people it is so robits

(real quick one thing i will say is please listen to the song, i once described floruitshow as 'the perfect combination of classically trained and a little bit insane' and this song is 100% that vibe. like i cant promise you'll like it but i can promise that it probably won't sound like anything else you've heard before)

Also I'll only be translating the verses because the chorus is literally lines straight from the Diamond Sutra and explaining those is above my paygrade

(Verse 1)

来不及 There's no time left 最后一句想你来不及让你知道 No time left to say to you my last 'I miss you' 再也回不去 We can't ever return 那个有彩虹出现的下午 to that afternoon when the rainbow appeared 再也感受不到你温度 I won't ever feel your warmth again 如果你留我在梦里 If you left me in my dreams 我会放弃呼吸 I can give up my breath 请 超度我 Please, set me free

VR-LA during/after MR-SN's death?? reflecting on all the things he never got to say, all the things they never got to do because they never got enough time together, 'i can give up my breath' all that time VR-LA spent alone on that empty ship fighting the thoughts of leaving it all behind.. (yells)

(Verse 2)

对不起 I'm sorry 不经意就在你的影子里活下去 It's so easy to live on in your shadow 我不在意 But I don't mind 不过是白日梦里一瞬息 It's nothing but a moment in a daydream 为何还起念动心 Why does my heart still stir? 怪你名字太熟悉 It's all because your name is too familiar 当我是一花一叶一春木 if I pretend I were a flower, a leaf, a spring sapling 可否回到世界之初 Can I return to the beginning of it all? 请 超度我 Please, set me free

Y'all wanna talk about how VR-LA's still not over MR-SN. or how he spends s2-s3 haunted by his old crew ('live on in your shadow' owwww). 'a moment in a daydream' VR-LA seeing MR-SN in overclock... being stuck in the horrible horrible headspace of the Zuggtemoy curse and finding comfort in this snippet of the captain he can barely remember.. 'your name is too familiar' i mean just look at the wish speech! he says it better than i ever could, it's getting the old crew's names from maxim that really sets VR-LA off on this whole journey to find them because even after the everything just their names is enough for him to remember how much he loved and still loves them!! augh

(Outro)

我的执念 万千千千 My obsessions, hundreds and thousands 放不下地 放不下天 I can't let go of the earth, I can't let go of the sky 我把红线折折剪剪 I cut and fold at the red strings 落入凡间镜重圆 I fall to the mortal realm to seek reunion

Again, y'all wanna talk about how VR-LA's still not over MR-SN. but also the last two lines as being MR-SN's POV, the 'red strings' being a reference to the red strings of fate (strings that tie lovers/soulmates together... aaa), MR-SN (or well, Mystra, I guess) literally defying fate so that they can meet again. 镜重圆 here is likely referring to 破镜重圆, a phrase that directly translates to "mending a broken mirror" and basically refers to couples (generally romantic) reconciling/reuniting after a breakup/some kind of separation which... i mean yeah thats literally just 3.7 huh. MR-SN coming back from the dead to give VR-LA closure and catharsis. anyway i'm gonna go lie on the floor now

[senso1954]

mrs dalloway, virginia woolf / crow, mount eerie

[proustianlesbian]

i wanted to post this for rosh hashanah but i forgot and i'm lazy. however, i hope that my favorite fictional "old jewish men" had a nice new year 🍯🍎🍏. (they are all canonically jewish, trust me this is 100% real haha don't look them up to verify, just believe me.)

also i can only remember these ones... are they my six (seven if you count runge/lunge from monster but he's not celebrating rosh hashanah, or anything, so i don't put him on this post) OJMs characters i can think of ? probably not but i've really searched a lot inside my brain and i can't really think of others... maybe i'll do a second post because i know i forgot some..

[thesaintofnevergettingitright]

Neil Gaiman works hard but fanfic authors work harder. The new season may have ripped my heart out of chest, but never fear, I’ve already read 3 fix-it fics that made it all better.

[matoitech]

what the fuck is achillean

[skz-miroh]

“You can’t leave this bookshop”

You can’t leave me

[todayisafridaynight]

SORRY FOR HARASSING YOU AS YOU WERE ALREADY REBLOGGING IT GJKHKSFJLS

But yes. Yeah. I cannot believe I'm acting this unhinged over a little ant-sized guy milling about but I am. The ahoge is very much the key, but it also feels like... it disappears depending on the frame? That's why I'm not confident, aside from being unable to make out the nose. IMO he also has very distinctive ears, as do most RGG characters (that's partly how I was able to identify RGGO Joon-gi before he was revealed), so it sucks not being able to line those up.

It is possible I shouldn't have used Hijikata or wasn't able to line everything up perfectly though, because there definitely are differences; I would say Mine's features are a bit more delicate and youthful. So seconding that you're not crazy!

Also you Can and Must say he's dressing like a dweeb, his initial concept art was rejected for being "unbelievably garish" for a reason! This is half the fun and I say it with nothing but affection. (Miura pics for context)

I actually WAS gonna make a comment about the ears but I didn't want to sound too deranged (that's partially where my jaw hypothesizing came from as the length of the jaw could also skew the ears lining up). In any case, whether it is him or not, I'm absolutely super invested to find out who this is when LaD8 comes out (whether it turns out to actually be Mine or if it really is some random guy Kashiwagi decided to hire).

[misterradio]

list of twilight zones about a guy who is just kind of weird and has a really specific obsession