#PEACOCK SUPREMACY

[ultear-tigra]

I just wanna say

PEACOCK SUPREMACY

[shiemori]

OMG PEACOCK PFP!!!

Yay skullgirls!

YAY SKULLGIRLS INDEED!! love love love peacock, best gal <3

[wisteria-lodge]

I LOVE the version of Lucius in your fic Prison of the Phoenix. He's different from a lot of portrayals I've seen. Why did you decide to write him how you did?

A lot of the fun of writing a book-accurate fix-it fic comes from taking the events of the book, and removing JKRs (simplistic, misleading, sometimes just weird) narrative framing. Slytherins = baddies, Gryffindors = goodies, you know. 

This is especially fun with Lucius Malfoy, who just like… isn’t very evil? Chamber of Secrets is his most villainous book, and I’ll get to that, but otherwise? He tries (unsuccessfully) to get the animal that attacked his kid killed. He donates to hospitals (but in like, an evil way.) He is a hilariously incompetent Death Eater, and then he's Voldemort’s punching bag. 

That’s kind of the point of Lucius. He looks the part. He commits to the aesthetics of the thing, with the hair and the peacocks and the snake-wand-cane. He likes the mystique of walking into a room and knowing that you know (but can’t prove) he’s a dark wizard. It allows him to be… kinda lazy. He can coast on his family name, money, reputation, privilege. I really think that if you sat Lucius Malfoy down and asked him to walk you through all the wizard-supremacy talking points he wouldn’t be able to do it. He’ll toss around words like “mudblood” and “mudblood-lover” no problem, but in the end he doesn’t really care. Lucius is not a true believer. The way the world is set up benefits him tremendously and he doesn’t want Voldemort back. That’s just text:

“Use your brains, Ron,” said Bill. “If they really were Death Eaters… I bet they’d be even more frightened than the rest of us to see him come back. They denied they’d ever been involved with him when he lost his powers, and went back to their daily lives… I don’t reckon he’d be over-pleased with them, do you?”

Lucius and friends had too much to drink at a sporting event, put on the old outfits (again with the aesthetics) and started levitating muggles. Which obviously isn’t GOOD, but they’re not killing or torturing, or furthering any kind of agenda. It’s important that Barty is so insulted and pissed off by the way they’re basically playing Dark Wizard that he casts the Dark Mark to “show [them] what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it.” Which kicks off most of the events of the book. 

Prison of the Phoenix is going to have a companion, parallel fic told from Harry’s POV (tentatively titled Harry Potter and Malfoy’s Suspicious Interest in Werewolves.) Lucius does show up in that one, and I was honestly surprised by how much more frightening and intimidating he is when filtered through Harry’s perspective. Because with a Severus POV… when Severus is used to spending time around Voldemort, Greyback, Bellatrix, honestly Dumbledore and Sirius Black…. Lucius is not scary. Lucius wants to buy presents for his son, go to high-profile events with his beautiful wife, and wear a variety of snake-themed accessories and extravagant hats. 

I wanted a kind of college-roommates-who-stayed-friends feel for the Severus + Lucius relationship, because they are friends. Sirius calls Severus Lucius’ “lapdog,” and Narcissa calls him Lucius’ “oldest friend.” Lucius is also part of the welcoming committee when Severus is first sorted into Slytherin. He’s five years older (I think Jason Isaacs is the only Harry Potter adult the same age as the character he plays), which would have affected the dynamic between him and Severus a lot in school. Personally, I think it makes sense for Lucius to be a little protective of this brilliant half-blood kid with no money. And as an adult, there’s some guilt mixed in there as well. Severus probably would not have been sucked into the Voldemort thing nearly as deep or nearly as fast if it hadn’t been for Lucius, and the war kind of destroyed him. Lucius remembers a younger Severus who was modding potions, inventing spells, coming up with cheeky nicknames for himself, and that person is gone. That’s a big part of the reason he’s so invested in the Severus/Remus relationship in Prison of the Phoenix. Something about Remus has managed to wake up parts of that younger Severus, and Lucius thinks that’s fantastic.

I also think Lucius might be the character who knows Voldemort the best. He’s one of the only Death Eaters who Voldemort calls by their first name (Bellatrix, Severus, and Draco are the others) and he’s weirdly familiar with his “slippery friend” Lucius, addressing the whole speech about how/why he returned to him, for some reason? Anything that helps Voldemort make sense as a person I’ll take, and to me it makes sense that young Tom Riddle charmed Abraxas Malfoy, Lucius’ father, first. The dates are right, and he’s exactly Tom’s type - rich, pureblood, probably easily flattered (let’s be honest) and sitting on a pile of magical artifacts. It’s very Hepzibah Smith vibes, is what I’m saying. And rich, posh, popular seventeen year olds don’t join cults. But if Lucius’ father was already in a cult… 

It also makes sense to me that Tom Riddle got sort of stuck when he killed Marvolo Gaunt, and made his first horcrux at sixteen. He has this fascination with sixteen year old pureblood wizards (so Barty, Draco, and Lucius would have fit this profile.) He sort of wants to be them, but also sort of wants to break them? It’s messy, and complicated. It’s creepy and compelling, that Lucius is aging but this spectre that’s dominated his life isn’t. 

And so when Lucius gives Ginny the diary in Book 2… it makes sense that he’s just trying to get rid of it. He was just at Borgin and Burkes selling dark artifacts, but knows that the diary is worse. He needs to make sure it can’t possibly be traced back to him. So he gives it to the daughter of the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office. (It is an enchanted muggle artifact, after all.) If Arthur Weasley finds it and deals with it, fine. If Ginny is discovered with it in a way that blows up in Arthur’s face, also fine. If it does get to Hogwarts and does open the Chamber of Secrets - well Draco is going to be fine, and it might undermine Dumbledore. If it was really important to Lucius that the diary rid the school of muggleborns… he would have given it to Draco and had him use it. Or given it to Draco, and told him to leave it somewhere for an enemy to find. But Lucius doesn’t do that, because he doesn’t want Voldemort back and his politics just aren’t that important to him. 

The one trait I did give Lucius is being an unrepentant wife guy. (And I mean… it doesn’t contradict anything. There isn’t anything in the books to suggest that he isn’t a wife guy.)  EDIT: I cannot believe I forgot the little "it's going to be okay" wrist squeeze Narcissa gives him right before he passes Voldemort his wand. This meta does a fantastic job getting into who Narcissa is, and I am officially justified in writing them just as googly-eyes about each other as I want. Also going full Gomez and Mortica makes them a better foil for the Weasleys, and the (not typically on the same page) Arthur and Molly.

[writerandbaka]

More sketches about the Ao3 fanfic "The Last Constellation of the Knight" written by @leeryder

I was hoping for it a lot and finally after so many chapters my dreams about peacock Kaeya have come true, and I can't hold back my happinessss yaaaayyyy (★ω★) Bird gang! Bird gang! Bird gang!🪶⭐

In case anyone hasn't figured it out yet, I believe in owl Diluc and peacock Kaeya supremacy ahahah!! As soon as I read the new update I immediately found myself drawing them 🦉🦚 Obviously everyone else imagined Aether's arrival with Kaeya in his arms as an epic and poetic scene, but my buggy mind imagined it as the ostrich and the smoothie meme, loool, that's why here they are ahah (*꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ)

Well, anyway this fic is damn amazinggg (๑>���<๑)💕 I'm so excited about what happens next!! Everyone go and read it noooww!!! ✧˖°

[jerzwriter]

Thanks for this ask - Here is part 2 of a series of little drabbles to see what Tobias does with the pumpkin pie throughout different periods of his life (and in some different worlds, too!) I hope you enjoy it as much as Tobias (and I) love pumpkin pie!

Book: Open Heart (pre-series) Characters: Tobias Carrick, Ethan Ramsey Rating: Teen Words: 1,003 Summary:             It's the Hopkins years, and if you think Ethan & Tobias's rivalry takes a break for the holidays, you would be mistaken!

A/N: Participating in @choicesholidays Winter Event - "You did what with the pumpkin pie?" and @choicesdecember2024 Day 1 - Naughty and Day 8 Spices.

It wasn’t a typical night in Ethan and Tobias's Baltimore apartment. Tonight, neither man would be found hovering over textbooks. There was no studying and no cramming for exams, but their competitive nature wasn't taking a break - tonight, it just took on a different flavor.

The smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin engulfed their home, spreading out to the hallways. It smelled delicious, even if the kitchen looked like a lab experiment gone horribly wrong. Flour dusted every surface, and bits of dough were scattered everywhere. The joyful strains of Christmas music played in the background, but they were barely audible over their neverending bickering.

Tobias was proud as a peacock, holding up his pie crust as if it were a trophy. “This... this right here is art. Crisp, buttery perfection so flaky and delicious, it has been known to make angels weep.”

Ethan’s eyes rolled back in his head. “Angels don’t give a shit about your pie crust, Tobias. But they do care about flavor. It’s all about the pie filling, and I’ve perfected the ratio of spice to sweetness in mine.”

"Are you calling me bland, Becky?" Tobias smirked. "Please, I'm waiting for you to add raisins to the mix, just like you did to your potato salad on July Fourth."

This had been going on all day. All it took was Tobias casually mentioning his mother’s pumpkin pie recipe - then Ethan insisted his was better. Anyone who knew the two of them knew there was only one way this could end, and that’s how the two future doctors found themselves elbow-deep in flour, vying for culinary supremacy.

Ethan’s girlfriend, Vincenza, sat perched on a stool nearby – close enough to bear witness but far enough away to avoid becoming a casualty. She was as patient as she was beautiful, quietly sipping her wine as she watched the chaos unfold. “For the record, if this ends in a tie, I’m declaring myself the winner just for sitting through this. It’s not exactly how I planned on spending date night.”

Dina, Tobias’s “flavor of the week,” leaned against the fridge with a grin. The raven haired law student had quickly adapted to the whirlwind that was Tobias Carrick, and tonight was no exception. “Hey, I’m just here for free pie,” she laughed. “But I have to admit, you two are taking this far too seriously.”

“Too seriously?” Tobias gasped, clutching his rolling pin to his chest. “There is no such thing as ‘too seriously’ when it comes to pumpkin pie.”

“For once, you're right,” Ethan said without missing a beat. “This is serious business, Dina... it's not for the faint of heart!”

By the time they placed the pies in the oven, the kitchen looked like a war zone. Vincenza snapped a photo for posterity—or, as she put it, for “evidence when you inevitably blame each other for this mess.”

About an hour later, the two pies emerged from the oven, golden and fragrant. Dina blindly placed a sticker with the letter A and another with the letter B at the bottom of both pies. Then, the four of them sat around the small table for the taste-off.

Vincenza went first, thoughtfully tasting a bite of Pie A. She was impressed. “The crust is really good – buttery, flaky... and the filling isn’t bad either. This is off to a solid start.” She cleansed her palate with a sip of wine before moving on to Pie B. Her eyebrows shot up. “Wow! This one is spicy! Great texture... it has a bite. They're both great, but it's B for me.”

Dina was next and eager to offer her opinion. “Pie A feels classic, like something that would be served on antique china at a fancy Thanksgiving dinner. But Pie B is more... adventurous. It’s like a modern twist on an old classic. It’s great, but A is more my speed.”

Tobias and Ethan each tried to maintain poker faces as they bit into what they assumed to be their own creations. Tobias declared A the winner, while Ethan insisted it was B.

Vincenza peeked under the pie pans. “Not that it matters since it’s a 2-2 tie, but Pie A belonged to Tobias, and Pie B was Ethan’s.”

“A tie,” Tobias groaned. “I demand a recount.”

But Ethan merely shrugged, taking a bite of Tobias’s pie. “Honestly, I’m impressed. Your crust is better than I expected. If you’d just used my pie filling, you might’ve actually won this thing.”

“You two are insufferable,” Vincenza said, shaking her head with a laugh. “But at least we get two great pies out of this!”

As the night went on, Dina stood up with a yawn. “Well, I’m exhausted,” she said, giving Tobias a pointed look. “I’m going to head to bed.”

“I’ll be right in, gorgeous," Tobias winked.

But before he made his way to his room, Ethan caught his friend grabbing the remainder of his pie filling and a can of whipped cream from the fridge out of the corner of his eye. Tobias almost made a clean getaway when Ethan’s voice called out.

 “What are you going to do with that?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

Tobias paused in the doorway, his signature mischievous grin spreading across his face as he turned around slowly. “Oh, nothing wholesome, my friend. Nothing wholesome at all... do you really want to know?”

Ethan groaned, running a hand down his face. “Please, forget I asked.”

“Done,” Tobias nodded, “but unless you and Chenza are planning on making some noise of your own, you may want to put up the Christmas music. Capiche?”

“You know, getting through medical school is hard enough without having to deal with you.”

“Please,” Tobias laughed. “I keep things... interesting.”

Ethan stepped into the living room and joined Vincenza on the couch, laughing despite himself. He turned up the volume of the radio before slipping an arm around his girlfriend. Life with Tobias was always unpredictable—but it was never, ever boring.

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[captain-price-unofficially]

A Dutch CV9035NL and German Leopard 2A6 during Exercise Peacock Supremacy in Klietz, Germany, 15 Feb 2018.

[lurkingshan]

Only Friends and Engaging with Queer Male Media as a Cishet Woman

I’ve had some good conversations this week with friends as we’ve been unpacking our early reactions to Only Friends, which has only just begun getting into the messy dynamics we know the show is going to explore. One of the things that has come up in conversation is our different reactions to the scene between Boston and Top in the shower stall, and how we each read that in terms of consent, sexual coercion, and what it says about each of the characters. Some of us were relatively unfazed by the scene, finding it to be a fairly realistic depiction of a pushy aggressor and his conquest who is not that into him, but also not really opposed to getting sex anywhere and any way he can. Some were more uncomfortable, recognizing behaviors we might call assault in other contexts and wondering whether we should be condemning the character or the scene for the behavior depicted.

For me, this discussion brought up a lot of my previous fandom experiences, taking me all the way back to ye olden days when Queer as Folk (US) was airing and the majority cishet woman fandom spaces were scandalized, scandalized I tell you, by some of the aspects of gay male culture it depicted. It was not the first or the last show to do so, but it stands out in my mind as an important cultural moment at the turn of century as I was coming of age, when the internet was booming and the proliferation of online fandom spaces was rapidly accelerating. Because QaF did it all—casual sex, cruising, group sex, very public acts of indecency, aggressive boundary pushing and peacocking, open and polyamorous relationships, cheating and betrayal, age gaps—and it depicted it all quite explicitly, which made a lot of people uncomfortable. Especially women who were used to thinking about sex and relationships through two primary, and heavily socialized, lenses:

heteronormative romance, and

heterosexual rape culture.

Let’s take a moment to unpack those terms. Heteronormative romance is a big, broad term that I’m using as a kind of container for a lot of things, including patriarchal structures, misogyny, rigid gender roles, purity myths and fetishization of virginity, courtship rituals, promiscuity and respectability politics, the madonna/whore complex, sex as an act primarily for breeding and procreation, expectations of sublimating sexual desire in service of caretaking for others, and so on. Basically, all the bullshit cis women get jammed into our heads from birth that gives us so many hang ups about sex and love. With heterosexual rape culture, I am referring to the undeniable culture of sexual violence women also endure in a majority heterosexual society, in which we are in constant danger of having our boundaries transgressed, being physically and psychologically hurt, and then being told it doesn’t matter because our personhood has always been in question and never mattered as much as any one man’s power or pleasure. I’m not going to drop a bunch of citations for the above because this is tumblr and I have escaped the icy grip of graduate school, but if any of these ideas are unfamiliar to you, google is your pal (and please read about intersectionality as it relates to these concepts while you’re at it, because there are layers of identity that make these dangers worse for some, like our trans and BIPOC sisters, and all of this is undergirded, as ever, by white supremacy).

So, yes, engaging with media about sex is fraught for women, especially when that media does not conform to our heteronormative ideas of morality that have been shaped by all of the above, and particularly when we as individuals have not done the work to unpack and interrogate our socialized beliefs, which is often the case for cishet women especially. Many of us instinctively cringe away from unromantic depictions of sex. Many of us can’t stand cheating and betrayal in our love stories. Many of us shy away from media that depicts the unfortunate reality of grey and dubious consent. All of that is valid, to an extent, and rooted in the way we have been taught to think about this stuff from birth, and the ways we’ve had to adapt to survive. 

But, here’s the thing, girlies: most of those socialized hang ups I just talked about? Do not apply to a story by, for, and about queer men. 

Before you start yelling, here is your disclaimer: of course patriarchy and misogyny also hurt men. Of course rape culture also exists in queer communities, and of course some queer people engage in heterosexual sex, so these are not mutually exclusive categories of people. And, importantly, cishet women are not the only ones who struggle with these tensions—just the ones who are most relevant to this particular post. 

So, after that long and winding road, back to the point: this debate about the bathroom scene in Only Friends is the same shit that’s been debated in majority female fandoms around depictions of queer male sex since time immemorial. And whatever your personal feelings are on that scene, or the no doubt numerous other depictions of questionable romantic and sexual etiquette and dubious consent coming our way in this show, what it boils down to is this: can a majority cis woman fandom step outside of our own conception of sexual morality to engage with this show not with judgment, but with curiosity about what sex and relationships look like for queer men? This show has an entirely queer male writing and directing team. It is made with love by people of the community, for the community. They know what they’re about, they have resumes demonstrating they are damn good storytellers who understand safe sex, consent, sexual health, and sex work, and they are here to tell us a story grounded in their reality. BL has been moving in fits and starts toward depictions of sex that are more honest about queer male experiences, and Only Friends, spearheaded by the Jojo Tichakorn Phukhaotong (who demonstrated quite ably that he has a firm grasp on consent, sexual assault, and the damage that dubious consent can cause in The Warp Effect), is the next step in that evolution. The key point is that sexual activity simply does not mean the same thing or carry the same associations and hang ups for queer men as it does for cis women. With that in mind, can we try our best to process and critique this story on their terms, instead of our own?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Only Friends is not going to be a good time for people who are looking for romantic depictions of relationships and sex or invested in identifying heroes and villains amongst this cast of characters. This show is about deeply flawed people hurting each other, rooted in the lived experience of the Thai queer male community—and those of us who do not share all of those lived experiences may not understand the nuances of every single thing that is happening. We can be sure that the characters will all be wrong sometimes and they will all do things we think are stupid or reckless or unkind. Does that mean we can’t have empathy for them? Do they have to act in a way we think is morally “correct” in order to love them? You don’t have to be comfortable with the things these characters do, and it’s certainly valid to point out when you think lines have been crossed. But attempting to sort them into “good” and “bad” camps is pointless, and moralistic judgment of their behavior is out of place, particularly when it comes from a place of trying to force them into our own irrelevant frameworks for sexual politics. 

And with all that said, I am passing the baton over to my dear friend @waitmyturtles, because there’s an entire aspect of the intersectional cultures at play here that I have barely touched on—Only Friends as an Asian queer story that is building from a specific lineage of Thai queer media. I’m gonna let her take the mic for that part, and say thanks to her, @bengiyo, @neuroticbookworm and @wen-kexing-apologist for reading this over and helping me think through what I wanted to say here, and shoutout to @williamrikers whose post I also linked to above. 

[marinette-sky]

Felix and Kagami is such a cheap romance subplot. I get the idea I guess but like its stupid. Ik its him as the peacock miraculous but what happens she finds out? Isn't that weird??? I miss adrigami so much they were cute. (And lukanette supremacy forever!)

[unleashed-fest]

[FIC] PEACOCKS OF THE BRIDE(GROOM)

Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter Rating: Not Rated Word count: 7016 Tags: weddings, peacocks, pov alternating, alcohol, recreational drug use, clubbing, party, dancing, crack, brief mention of homophobia and pureblood supremacy, no peacocks were harmed, referenced consensual non-monogamy, pureblood culture, azkaban, malfoy manor, canon-typical treatment of prisoners

Summary: The Big Day is here! Draco and Harry are finally getting hitched. Will the wedding be a smashing success or will peacock-induced chaos ensue? (It’s the latter, for sure)

Sneak peek: Two familiar humans stand in his way. One, the pale haired human who persists in trying to corral the flock, but also seems to be the most important human on the grounds as he usually feeds them. The other, the dark haired human who brings the best treats. The peacock would regret killing either of them, but desperate times call for desperate measures. He picks up speed.

Read PEACOCKS OF THE BRIDE(GROOM) on AO3

🐾

[archeryqueen95]

Nine People I'd Like To Get To Know Better

I was tagged by the amazing @ravensfreckles !! Thank you so much for tagging me!! 🥰💕🥰💕🥰💕🥰

Last Song: See You Soon by Beabadoobee

Favorite Color: Purple, Green, Black, Blue sometimes Pink

Currently Watching: Vampire Academy (Peacock), Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Disney+) and Found (Peacock)

Last Movie/Show: Black Orpheus (1959) and A Room with a View (1985)

Spicy/Savory/Sweet: All of the Above because I’m greedy! 😂🤣😂

Current Obsession: I’m not really sure what I’m obsessed with of lately. I guess it would be health, my painting skills, and mental health.

Last Thing You Googled: Percy Jackson character names

I know, I was suppose to tag nine people but I'm going to tag people that I want to get to know better. 🥰💕🥰💕🥰

I’m going to be tagging (No Pressure!) I Love Y'all!!!: @cmcclain001 @5tar1117 @evilgeniusandcats @untilspringdays @seungkwan-s @syeiralei @unica-angel @thenerdybonbon @laymedead @to1gf @stardustspell @atinystraykid @xandis @baekhyunsbambi @siyeona @blackinkedobsession @mars-aria @iamcon-fu-sion @negrowhat @saudadewrites @sweetcantae @cozygurlll @ravensfreckles @six2vii @dreamsxannie @astarkey @youremysputnik @sinpiesinpie @lovwonho @bxrn-thxs-wxy-90five @lonesplendour   @inlove-withfrogs @hydesjackiespuddinpop @soolucky @ijkailm @trashlord-007 @cakeandcloth @lunaintheskyforever @aengustheprizewinninghog @grl-supremacy @dental-jewelry @hohowonho

[ultear-tigra]

AAAAAAAAAAA THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH

I REALLY GLAD I DID TOO

LOOK AT HIM SPARKLIN

The wings are a tribute to real flying peacocks they are LEGENDARY 

Feast your eyes on Cosmic Peacock Transformation!

In this form, Argos have energy wings and peacock tail. Why? Because I can. Look at him. He is so pretty. The best birb boyfriend /sobs/ Also his superhero name is Stargos now :3

Kagami would love it. I really should do Ryuko too. They go on flying dates like in HTTYD. They also burn through Marinette's stock of cosmic macaroons. She charges them for the ingredients now, and Felix is responsible for buying meteor dust for potions. FOREVER :D

Also Chat might or might not notice them going to Mari's place :D He is VERY confused :D

If you want to support me, you can buy me a coffee https://buymeacoffee.com/ultear

[hustlecandy]

And now the final part! Thanks for the nice comments on the last two posts, it rly means a lot!! ^ ^

Day (technically 19 but) 21: Berry

(I know I accidentally skipped this one in the last post I am sorry. Anyway this is the result of me watching too many JimmyHere YLYL streams while drawing)

Day 22: Fungal

"Ah... Our favorite. Fate has smiled upon us."

"The textures work so well together!"

"...A bit too savoury. We shoulda put honey in it!"

(Imma be honest. I didn't get this line on my first playthrough, so when I did on my second I about broke down crying. Fate has smiled upon them,,, ;v;)

Day 23: Flight

"We can fly as high as our hearts wish to! Soar to UNSEEN HEIGHTS!"

(The fact that Kabbu is terrified of heights but loves bounceshrooms is very underrated imo. I think he wants to overcome his fear someday and maybe learn how to fly on his own...)

Day 24: Plant Enchanter

(What did you guys name your Chompys? I named mine Amarylis, intentionally spelt wrong due to character limits. I just think it's a pretty word :>)

Day 25: Lost

"Everyone left on the rescue ferry...but I chose to stay. There's such a soothing beat… How could I leave this place behind? I've gotta find where it comes from...I've...gotta..."

(You ever wonder what happened to the bug who left that note on the Peacock Spider's island? I mean, they're obviously dead, but...I still wonder.)

Day 26: Alternate Universe

(You ever make an AU based on a single line of dialogue & some concept art that gets stuck in your brain and refuses to leave? Yeah, that's what this AU is. The placeholder title is 'The Upcoming Storm', and is an answer to two questions: What if the Roaches followed through with their plans for a Thunder cordyceps? And what if one of Leif's ancestors decided to look into their disappearance?

So this is Cerice, their ridiculously energetic lesbian daughter [who they don't know is their daughter yet; she doesn't remember that they're her parent either] and host of the Thunder cordyceps! Don't worry, Grandpa and Muze still exist - Grandpa's her son. However, Team Snakemouth is split into two teams - Team Snake and Team Mothden - but they still work together. I might make a separate post abt it if anyone wants me to ^^)

Day 27: Song

(Who's a better character for this prompt than the composer's self-insert, lol)

Day 28: Medal

(I am a very firm believer in Poisoned Leif supremacy. Sorry Poisoned Vi and Kabbu, smashing bosses over the head with glaciers is just so viscerally satisfying)

[I didn't have any ideas for Boss Rush, sorry]

Day 30: Bee

"You know...I was about her age when I came to my first festival. Everything was so much cooler than the boring Bee Kingdom! It really made me want to see the world!"

(I really wish they elaborated more on Vi deciding to become an explorer after her first festival! It's a very cute motivation & had a lotta story potential ;^;)

Day 31: Everlasting

"The Usurper, Grasping For Power..."

(Hoaxe is a fun final boss but god DAMN did he kick my ass a hundred times over. It's a good thing I decided to max my rank and stock up on Queen's Dinners, Berry Smoothies & Miracle Shakes the 5th time around)

[gold-rhine]

You've seen new Kaeya skin leaks, right? What do you think about it? I myself really love it, but I've seen people complain about lack of Mondstdadt elements

Yeah, I’ve seen it, I love it so much. I mean, I might be biased bc I just recently said that my fav genshin designs are neutral black-white base plus solid color plus gilded details, so that look is like they’ve been listening to my preferences specifically asdfgjf but they went above and beyond. The peacock patterns that don’t look overcluttered. Braid supremacy. Painted nails and rings. Jewelry in general. The dagger. Fur looks so much better. Finally good silhouette. Cape is mwah. 100 out of ten, would pay actual money, esp if hoyo added dagger to fight animations.

But about the lack of mond, its like fifty fifty at this point. It might be thematically significant, like with fischl’s skin being important to characterization. But it might be ayaka situation where she’s dressed as a character from manga about French detective girlie bc religious ritual vote, and it adds nothing to the actual character. I mean, I personally will live in the delusional fantasy that he’s reconnecting with sumeru half of the family, but I know hoyo won’t free him. But it might just as well be that he’s playing Sindbad rip-off play with klee or smth. Hard to guess without at least skin description

[noonesgaylikegatson]

July 12, 2023

Trans people have long maintained that transphobia does not just affect us. That’s been proven true in the worst way, with reports of two cis people being murdered for allegedly misdirected anti-trans hostility.

In a Sunday blog post, PGH Lesbian Correspondents collected the stories of Michelle Dionne Peacock and Collin Smith. Peacock was a 59-year-old Black cis woman who was reportedly murdered by 67-year-old Tommy Wayne Earl in Richmond, Indiana in June. Officers were dispatched to the Merle Henderson Apartment complex in Richmond on June 30, according to local outlet FOX 59. Peacock’s body was found with a laceration to the throat, and she was pronounced dead on the scene.

Officers found Earl armed with a straight razor and with blood on his hands and clothing. Earl resisted arrest, and according to FOX 59, went so far as to tell one of the officers that he would kill him too.

During interviews with investigators, Earl allegedly referred to Peacock as “a male acting like a woman” several times, per FOX 59, and that he would “do it again.” Earl claimed he had been having a “dispute” with Peacock for months and made reference to the possibility of having had a psychotic break, telling investigators he had recently adjusted how he administered drugs prescribed to him by the V.A. He also reportedly told investigators that he needed to be kept away from Black inmates, saying that he “does not get along with them.”

Earl is being held at the Wayne County Jail and has been charged with a level 1 felony of murder, a level 6 felony of intimidation, and a class A misdemeanor of resisting law enforcement, according to FOX 59.

On her Facebook page, Peacock wrote that some of her many hobbies include shopping, mahjong, cooking, and trivia games. In between Facebook game updates, Peacock had even updated her profile picture to a photo of herself wearing a shirt that said “Legalize Being Black” on March 2. Her daughter, Rochelle Peacock, made a GoFundMe last week to raise money for her funeral. In the description, Rochelle shared that Peacock had lived in Richmond for three years and had been battling “a long life of cancer.” She also stated that Earl had been “bully[ing] her,” and although Peacock made numerous complaints, “nothing was done.”

It’s worth noting that cis Black women are often targeted by transphobia, especially as it intertwines with white supremacy. As Derrick Clifton wrote for Them in 2021, there’s a long history of Black women athletes’ bodies being policed in sports, with people “mak[ing] cruel remarks about their perceived femininity and creat[ing] racist depictions of their physicality.”

In a separate incident, 32-year-old Colin Smith was stabbed to death in Portland, Oregon on July 2. He had been out with coworkers at the High Dive Bar when 24-year-old Rahnique Jackson started harassing one of his coworkers, who is trans. When Smith tried to intervene, Jackson allegedly stabbed him to death, according to local outlet KOIN. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals last Friday and was arrested on charges of second degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon, according to a press release from the Portland Police Bureau.

Smith was remembered as someone who “loved those around him unconditionally,” as his former partner, Paulina Solis, told KOIN. “He always looked out for the people that got overlooked, and a protector which is, you know, how he went — protecting those he cared about,” Solis said. Eater Portland additionally described Smith as having “an unrelenting dedication to service, both in his work and in his relationships.” He also loved animals, cooking, and the outdoors. A GoFundMe for Smith’s family called him a “truly special person.”

Although these incidents may seem disparate, they’re a harsh reminder that transphobia is deadly, and trans people are far from the only people affected by it.

[nickgerlich]

Get In The Stream

It’s funny how we sometimes over-estimate some companies, while at the same time under-estimating others. For example, if I were to ask you which is the largest streaming company in the US, you would most certainly answer Netflix, right?

And you would be wrong. And no, it’s most definitely not Hulu, Disney, Max, Peacock, Paramount+, Apple+, or any of the others. Are you ready?

It’s YouTube. Huh?

Yes, it turns out that YouTube videos are watched on smart TVs more than on handheld devices, and more than any streaming service. While Netflix has 282 million subscribers worldwide, viewers spend more time watching YouTube content than they do Netflix.

And when you stir in all those subs to YouTube TV (eight million) it means that we are watching a hell of a lot more YouTube on the big screen. It may not exactly be the same as watching movies and shows on Netflix, but streaming is streaming. And I am guilty of watching YouTube videos on my 65” screen. It’s sooooo much better.

All this comes at a time when channels owned by Paramount Global, including CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, and Paramount, are going dark today because of a contract dispute. Damn. Now I’m going to miss Jeopardy.

There are multiple trends acting out here. First off all, there is the near ubiquity of smart TVs today. In some contexts, these are called CTVs, or Connected TVs. It is nearly impossible to buy a new TV that doesn’t have native internet capabilities as well as the option of adding apps. In many regards, our TVs are becoming more and more like our handheld devices.

Then there is our proclivity toward getting our content online and not over the airways. Linear television is shrinking rapidly, even if we may still consume it via streaming services like YouTube TV. We get our movies via streaming. We watch all those amazing series, from Squid Game to Only Murders In The Building to OuterBanks and much, much more, all from subscription services.

YouTube, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, reports that viewers now watch more than a billion hours of videos on its service each and every day. That is a massive amount of bandwidth.

Back in 2005 when Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim launched YouTube, no one had a clue it would take off. In fact, the first video was “Me At The Zoo,” which premiered on 23 April 2005. It was pretty silly, probably because no one had any idea how to use this new platform. But Google (long before they reorganized as Alphabet) saw something, and bought the start-up for $1.65 billion in stock in 2006.

And the world has never been the same since then. Not a bad payout for only 18 months of work. This would be tens of billions of dollars today. I’m pretty sure their lives aren’t the same either.

There’s a lot of consumer behavior as well as digital transition to unpack here. Viewers, particularly younger generations, have completely bought into streaming anything and everything. The mere idea of having to watch live television in a prescribed time slot—like I did when I was growing up—is completely alien at minimum, and offensive at max. Viewers want to be in control of when, where, what, and how they consume content, and they don’t want someone telling them they have to be glued to their sofa at 8pm on a Wednesday.

Of course, our technological capabilities have helped usher in this change mightily. None of this would be possible if we did not have high-speed wireless internet, as well as the appropriate software and hardware.

As for the battle, if you will, between Netflix and YouTube/Alphabet, I’ll just leave this here. Netflix’ market cap is currently $443 billion, while Alphabet’s is $2.26 trillion. Of course, that includes the entire corporate portfolio, so view that number carefully. No matter how you tally streaming supremacy—subscribers or hours viewed—just know that the same two entities are always in the viewfinder.

And that, my friends, is something I completely under-estimated 25 years ago when all of this change was just getting warmed up.

Dr “Paddling Downstream” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[m-o-ustafa92]

A Dutch CV9035NL and German Leopard 2A6 during Exercise Peacock Supremacy in Klietz, Germany, 15 Feb 2018.