#a different super-producing company

[befuddled-calico-whump]

alexei: "look at my new dogfish" *tugs at mer! uriah's leash who gasps and flops a few steps forward*

skdjdkkr

Alexei would probably see helplessly flopping mer!Uriah and just be like "oh, too easy"

zap, grilled fish.

out of my Wildefire cast, Annie is the most likely to make him a poor tormented pet. Out of just the 'heroes', Maggie is probably the most likely.

[piosyne]

Eagerly awaited sequel to spirit hunter: cutie mark- Bronyashiki

[realbyshinee]

i’m literally sooo happy & smiling about the infinite comeback every day btw

[rxmxa]

uranus through the houses + the future <3

I saw this video the other day of this girl (colette bernard) who became a millionaire selling claw clips designed to look like teeth (her audience was dentists) but then she expanded when they were a hit so she has like cute claw clips designs for a dozen of professions. BUT all i remember thinking that stuff like this is so pluto in aquarius coded and we’re going to keep seeing people become successful more and more through their specific interests and hobbies.

she was truly self made and her passion for art changed her ENTIRE life (even though people told her it was a dumb idea). Pluto is gonna be in Aquarius for a long ass time and we know the significance it has on social changes, the collective, the government, community etc etc. This is a time for innovation and transformation, and with Uranus’s energy on your side, you can truly step into a future where you lead the charge in creating something new and lasting ⚡️

the point is your weirdness, your out of the box ideas, the shit you think is straight up weird or maybe mee maw and pee paw call “useless” IS GONNA COME IN FUCKING HANDY!!! people are changing their entire lives everyday online and/or by finding their niche. so whatever “weird” idea or hobby you have, keep investing in it !! im not saying bc it will bring u money instantly (although thats always a plus) but bc it will bring you OPPORTUNITIES.

we all have our own claw clip tooth idea and we can look at uranus to show us the forward thinking/ innovative energy that can help us during pluto in Aquarius :) 💙🦋✨✨🪩✨✨💙💙

uranus in the 1st house: moving forward by embracing your quirks and letting the world see the real you. dont ever ever ever try to dull yourself down. the right people will find you. dont shy away from shaking things up with how you present yourself or how you lead others. the visionary is YOU and during pluto in aqua you can inspire others to embrace their authenticity the way you do. in a way YOU are the “unique idea” so take full ownership. Dont be afraid to experiment with your style and image, especially in the moments where you are feeling the urge to try something different! Step into leadership roles that call to you! Volunteer for projects that require someone open-minded or that align with innovative (like new companies, organizations or small owned businesses that are producing/ delivering new kinds of products or services).

uranus in the 2nd house: think of unique ways to invest your money (ik theres a lot of debate with crypto) but anything thats outside the box could be a worthy venture. think about you can use tech to help you streamline your finances or organize your budget! just be open to trying new financial systems. this placement gives me the energy of investing something that others might see as SUPER random or specific but then it takes off years later. this is not me telling u to put ur savings in electric scooter stocks or something but to just be OPEN to sustainable investments that catch your attention that can help u and even ur community!! this also reminds me of tech inventors or investing in tech or USING technology as a way to help you determine the kinds of values you want to have and/or what you actually wanna stand up for.

uranus in the 3rd house: moving forward by shaking up how you show up in your online communities, or your social media presence. have you ever been interested in starting a podcasts or blogging more? (like those conversations you have with your friends about your interests or hobbies can go far or even commentary on the way media looks like and is being used now. Invest in learning new methods of communication you have been interested in (like buying that new camera or learning how to code or finally starting that youtube channel). Use your platform to reach more people!! This also reminds me of someone who disrupts the status quo with innovation in education like maybe writing new curriculum thats more aligned to our modern generation or any other platforms/ media that are up and coming and useful to students??

uranus in the 4th house: focusing on moving forward with your ideal home environment in mind. visualize it and focus on the ways you can start putting in into action! dont be afraid to start over and re-design! think about the ways you want your environment to be emotionally and physically stable for you and what its gonna look like (eco-living? smart homes? communal living?) this placement reminds me of those people that buy mansions or plots of lands with a group of friends and put their money together to help grow and live together! Don't beat yourself up if your idea of home or family doesnt fit the cookie cutter image (which is honestly going away now slowly and will def shift with pluto in aqua). YOU get to decide what home and family is and you can inspire others to do the same. Your idea of family has to align with your desire for freedom and emotional growth.

uranus in the 5th house: going all out in the ways you experiment with your art and creativity. You could be great at creating "futuristic" type of art haha (or investing in art forms that arent super popular or well known rn but you're ahead of the game and they could be popular in the future). Be bold in all areas that have to do with the 5h (think outside the box with how you express yourself artistically and romantically). Pluto in aqua will support you in u turning your creative work and forms of self expression into something that inspires people and gauges strong emotions from them! that claw clip idea was def giving uranus in the 5h energy. She was HAPPY creating it, it was a hobby first (5h) and then people told her it was useless or strange and she kept going anyway and she got to profit it from it, especially through social media (the 5h-11h axis). trust me when I say there is something out there for everybody. EVERYBODY.

uranus in the 6th house: pluto in aqua will urge you to break free from outdated systems and explore new ways to stay productive and healthy!! The traditional 9-5 might not appeal to you and thats okay because it doesnt to a lot of people and they have created their own way. Think about the tech-driven approaches you want to explore in your daily life (apps, the media you use, how you use tech in regards to your health). Think about how tech can help your productivity and your health!! This reminds me of my coworker who bought like this ultraface ring (I think thats what its called) but she loves it and its super high tech and fancy and shit and it monitors a lot of her health and its motivated her in her routines! The way we motivate ourselves looks different! You can move forward by exploring the most flexible options for you.

uranus in the 7th house: you can move forward by redefining what partnership + relationships actually mean to you. now more than ever its time to focus on partnerships where there is a sense of independence and equality. ESPECIALLY bc pluto in aqua is going to redefine and TRANSFORM (pluto) what community and friendships and relationships (aqua) look like in the first place. so be ahead of the game by surrounding yourself and nuturing your relationships with people that are not scared to break away from the norm and actually want to work together and are built to support mutual growth and freedom. dont stress trying to confine yourself to keep someone who is not open minded enough for you! find your person/ people.

part 2 coming soon!! 🪩✨🦋

[avicecaro]

see. okay. this is true about chairs. and while i personally think “adult human female, female meaning of the sex which produces ova” is a very clear and comprehensive definition, not everyone agrees. and, for the sake of argument, that’s fine! but that’s not how the law works. lawmaking bodies agonize over the precise definitions of terms to ensure that the law does what they’re hoping it will do, and is not easily misused. that’s their job.

in ireland, the bread that fast food restaurants use is legally considered cake because of the sugar content. cake is regulated differently than bread. do you and i need to argue the finer points of cake and bread? how sweet do you think something has to be so we can consider it cake? does it matter? not really. but it does when you’re trying to tax staple foods and non-staple foods differently.

there have been multiple court cases in the US determining if a taco is a sandwich (as of May 2024, it is, as per the superior court of indiana, fun fact). is a taco a sandwich? i don’t know! i don’t really think so. if someone said “hey i made sandwiches” and gave me a taco, i’d be confused. and anyway, does it matter? not really. but it does when i’m trying to determine if a taco restaurant can open in a space that won’t allow sandwich shops.

is a barbershop different than a hair salon? i think so. i go to a hair salon, my brother goes to a barbershop, if we switched our appointments we’d both be unhappy. it matters for the sake of communication, but is it a super important distinction? not really. but what if i signed a non-compete agreement with the barbershop i work at that said i wouldn’t work at any nearby barbershop for six months after terminating my contract? can i work at a hair salon? now it matters.

if i needed fifty chairs for an event, and the company i contracted with sent fifty horses, or fifty tables, they could argue “but it’s something with four legs that a person can sit on!” and they’d be correct. but i would know i’d been given something different than what i asked for, and i would expect the chair supplier to know that, too. so if i want to demand a refund/return/exchange on the basis that i’ve received the wrong product, do i have a claim?

so, okay, you feel we can’t define the term “woman” perfectly. or maybe we can define it, as in we know what we’re trying to talk about, but we don’t have a good term for it. wouldn’t be the first time it happened! but if we are creating a legal category, it does in fact need to have parameters. meaningful parameters.

if i want to give some speeches promoting radical gender acceptance, i could probably get away with never outright defining the word woman. but what if i want men who kill women to have their crimes classified as hate crimes? i need to have a meaningfully defined category of what a woman is and what makes one different from a man. mexico requires that congressional candidates be split 50-50 between men and women to enforce gender parity. “woman” has to be a meaningfully defined category, or else … well, you’ll end up with the same problem they keep having to deal with.

if we want protections or resources for women, “women” have to be a meaningful legal category. if it is a category anyone can opt into, then it is a category that includes anyone, which is not a meaningful category when it is meant to include only half of people. also women aren’t chairs.

[raguiras]

Music Weeks at NRC!

A Twisted Wonderland fan event

For a big event, Night Raven College splits into four large music groups, each with their own unique style and aesthetic. Follow the beat of your heart and create something miraculous!

These are just some quick sketches, but I'm pretty happy with them!

SHARING IS SUPER APPRECIATED!!! ♡♡♡

DEADLINE: none :) // My other ongoing event (ship art trades)

ALL INFO BELOW THE CUT!

☆ LORE ☆

RAGU Entertainment, an up-and-rising music company focusing on young talents, has offered Night Raven College a sponsorship and cooperation! The student body is being split into four large music groups, each with their own aesthetic and style. For every song made by the students, Night Raven College is rewarded with both exposure and money in exchange for promoting the company through the students' music. Some of the teens chose their groups themselves, others were assigned to one; some are performers, others work behind the scenes. Additionally, everyone is turning the music weeks into an unofficial battle — who makes the best, most well-received songs?

The NRC faculty members supervise the groups themselves, and Allen, the Ramshackle student known for his lyrical talent, organization skills and passion for music, is in charge of supervising the event's quality while simultaneously also working as the co-leader of his own group.

☆ GROUP INTROS ☆

Hazard/Riff: hip hop/rock fusion // street style aesthetic // leader: Deuce (+ Allen)

PASTEL BXMB!: bubblegum/dance pop fusion // pastel aesthetic // leader: Kalim

GLOWCHAIN: k-pop/EDM fusion //sparkly, mature aesthetic // leader: Vil

lonely lantern: indie/soft pop fusion // light academia/cottagecore // leader: Silver

The descriptions are rather vague so there's more room for you to be creative.

You obviously aren't limited to these pictures and can expand on the aesthetic as long as it's still similar! Draw your OC in whatever clothes you consider to be fitting.

☆ HOW TO PARTICIPATE ☆

Pick one of the four groups for your OC. Which one suits them best?

Use said group's designated background (scroll down in this post to find them) and make a TWST event card for your OC!

Write some voicelines, such as gacha or homescreen ones.

OPTIONAL: Make a GROOVY version portraying your OC in a music video scene (may be posted separately).

OPTIONAL: Include a few fun doodles or outfit-related stuff.

Post it with the hashtag ragu music weeks, tag (@) me so I can see it, and link this post in it!

I will link your OC's card in the official lineup section of this post.

Writing a fic, drawing something other than a card, or just doing anything creative in general is also allowed! You can obviously mix multiple of these things, too.

I'm looking forward to ALL types of entries.

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

☆ RULES ☆

No NSFW.

All types of NRC student OCs are allowed (except for fan children/another generation)! Faculty OCs are also allowed, but as supervisors instead of performers.

Your student OCs can be anything: a vocalist, rapper, dancer, instrumentalist, producer, lyricist, makeup artist, stage designer, director, choreographer, whatever! Just don't make them a co-leader without my approval.

You can obviously enter with multiple OCs!

Making cards of canon characters is technically allowed, but the event is supposed to focus on OCs. (I will draw Deuce's OFFICIAL card and maybe also some others.)

There are no canon ships (other than Deuce x Allen, which is only canon/extremely implied because Deuce's planned event lore is heavily dependent on his relationship with Allen), so please don't bash anyone for implying that their OC is dating/crushing on the same canon character as yours.

Don't make your OC beef with other people's OCs unless they've given you permission to do so.

Don't move a canon character into a different group. The official lineups can be found below.

☆ CARD BACKGROUNDS ☆

Hazard/Riff -> PASTEL BXMB! -> GLOWCHAIN -> lonely lantern

☆ OUR LINEUPS ☆

[Your OC will be added here with a link!]

Hazard/Riff (supervised by Vargas)

DEUCE, Allen, EPEL, ACE, LEONA, RUGGIE, FLOYD, Zian, Estella, Iyad, Estelle, Yuhua

PASTEL BXMB! (supervised by Sam)

KALIM, LILIA, IDIA, ORTHO, SEBEK, Carla, Bonbon, Astrid, Romeo, Fiend, Yumi, Yuya, Forsythea, Ben, Ruby, Victor (links will be added once I've regained them... they got removed 😭)

GLOWCHAIN (supervised by Crewel)

VIL, TREY, CATER, AZUL, JAMIL, MALLEUS, Ryuuni, Viviroe, Stephanie, Erin, Kyoi, Aurinelle

lonely lantern (supervised by Trein)

SILVER, JADE, RIDDLE, JACK, ROOK, Jinx, Cass, Yorrana, Illysabeth

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

☆ OUR LEADERS ☆

DEUCE: Having adapted music as an outlet for his delinquent tendencies from Allen and enjoying himself with this form of self-expression, Deuce is the born leader of Hazard/Riff. Not only have his vocals and especially his rap greatly improved by now, but he also writes lyrics together with Allen.

KALIM: Spread joy! Despite it being different from his usual aesthetics, Kalim immediately felt intrigued by the concept of PASTEL BXMB! and knew that this was the group he wanted to join. Through his naturally positive aura and ability to bring people together, he fits them incredibly well, and serves as a vocalist as well as the main dancer.

VIL: GLOWCHAIN has a mature, elegant sparkly aesthetic — it was a no-brainer that Vil would be its leader. The ambitious, talented artist makes sure that the group stands out and draws people in with his preexisting popularity and charisma. He is a vocalist as well as the visual of the group.

SILVER: Being calm, kind and well-liked, Silver is a fitting leader for lonely lanterns, an indie group welcoming to all kinds of personalities and skill levels. With his soothing vocals, good looks and somewhat odd aesthetic, he became the face of the group.

(ALLEN: Being the person who introduced music as a coping mechanism to Deuce, Allen is the co-leader of Hazard/Riff. Not only is he a talented producer and rapper as well as an exceptional lyricist, but he also has a blind understanding with Deuce, and the two spend tons of time together. When it comes to the group, Allen is perfectionistic but enthusiastic.)

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

☆ GROUP FOCUSES ☆

Hazard/Riff: Partial usage of instruments. Focuses on rap, rock vocals, and meaningful lyrics.

PASTEL BXMB!: No usage of instruments. Focuses on positivity, good vibes and dance.

GLOWCHAIN: No usage of instruments. Focuses on aesthetics, elegance and good vocals.

lonely lantern: Partial usage of instruments. Has no focus and is the most open-minded group.

☆ INSPIRATION PLAYLISTS ☆

Hazard/Riff — PASTEL BXMB! — GLOWCHAIN — lonely lantern

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

☆ OTHER EVENT NOTES ☆

You're very much allowed to include my designs, Allen (his profile is linked in the leader section), or the Deuce x Allen ship (they have duo magic too!) in your OC's card's groovy version. No need to ask for my permission!

Interactions between your OC and Allen are very much encouraged! Feel free to mention him in your OC's voicelines, too.

I'll make a card for Allen, and I'll also make Deuce's OFFICIAL card. If the mood strikes me, I'll possibly also draw official cards for some other canon characters.

I'll reblog every entry on my reblog blog and also link all entries in this post!

If this event ends up being well-received, I'll do a second part someday! So far, the idea is that it would be vkei/electro swing/weirdcore/Europop.

All resources were found on and downloaded from Pinterest, then edited. The event art was drawn by me.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment!

[paper-mario-wiki]

i have been struggling to find it, you seem like you might know tho.

i think you may have reblogged it or maybe you've seen it but it's an actor redoing a photoshoot of an older actor wearing like a really thick and soft looking sweater and the modern photo's sweater is just depressingly thin and lame? do you know of any avenues I could use to look for one of those really thick soft knit sweaters?

you seem to be good at finding 'vintage' or otherwise good clothes so have you seen anything like this in your travels thank u

i think ive seen that, let me look it up for you.

i remember the specific context of the discourse around that post was highlighting the difference in quality between a genuine Aran sweater (super fancy special expensive irish heirloom knitting technique, thats as best as i can summarize off the top of my head), and a fast fashion sweater made of cheap bullshit materials warn by a stupid dumb- sorry i started thinking about how shit the modern fashion industry is my insults started pouring onto the dude in the picture whose name escapes me. i remember hes from parks and rec so i'll look up the IMDb for it. i dont remember his name but i remember his face and his bit. he was the really energetic neuvo-yuppy freak who was always doing weird fashion stuff, or so ive gathered from my limited knowledge of that show.

ben shwartz! so if i look up "ben shwartz aran sweater"

here ya go!

actually looking at him he is kind of a doofus in that rinky dink thin ass bullshit nothing sweater. i dont think he IS one but he looks like one here, i feel.

anyway, this has been the process of finding that thing you wanted. thanks for stopping by.

oh wait i just reread the question, u were looking for how to buy old vintage stuff. uhhh ebay, vestiaire collective, and uhh. i mean if you'd be willing to just buy from an actual aran sweater company, which would be similarly spendy to buy a genuine vintage one in good condition, you can buy one made of recycled wool from an irish knittery called Sheep Inc, who display the carbon offset each individual product they produce creates.

they could be secretly evil, i dont know because this is all information ive had to dust off from the back of my mind.

anyways, i hope that you have found something similar to what you were looking for.

[baileypie-writes]

~Why Glitter Force is Problematic~

~~~🎀~~~🎀~~~🎀~~~

In case you don’t know what Glitter Force is, it’s the English dub of the anime Smile Pretty Cure; the 9th season of the Pretty Cure franchise. It was produced by Saban, and released on Netflix in 2015.

Not long later, they made another dub. Only this time, with the season DokiDoki! Pretty Cure, which they changed to Glitter Force Doki Doki.

Instead of keeping everything the same, Glitter Force changed way more than necessary, making it racist and implied to be homophobic.

~~~🎀~~~🎀~~~🎀~~~

First off, I just wanna point out that Saban was a problematic company. They were criticized for their questionable, race-related choices when it came to casting for Power Rangers(the whitewashed version on Super Sentai). They also harassed one of the actors David Yost, for his sexual orientation so much, that he left the show. Lastly, the president of the company, Haim Saban, supports Israel. So Saban is not a good company.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the changes.

~1. Name Changes~

Saban decided to remove all Japanese culture from Smile and DokiDoki! Pretty Cure; whitewashing it. They renamed almost everything, even things that didn’t need to be.

Smile Pretty Cure Name Changes:

Miyuki Hoshizora/Cure Happy - Emily/Glitter Lucky(Glitter Pink in some dubs)

Akane Hino/Cure Sunny - Kelsey/Glitter Sunny(Glitter Orange in some dubs)

Yayoi Kise/Cure Peace - Lily/Glitter Peace(Glitter Yellow in some dubs)

Nao Midorikawa/Cure March - April/Glitter Spring(Glitter Green in some dubs)

Reika Aoki/Cure Beauty - Chloe/Glitter Breeze(Glitter Blue in some dubs)

King Pierrot - Emperor Nogo

Joker - Rascal

Wolfrun - Ulric

Akaoni - Brute(was also changed from a demon to a troll)

Majorina - Brooha

Akanbe - Buffoon

Cure Decor - Glitter Charm

Smile Pact - Glitter Pact

Decor Décor - Charm Chest

Princess Candle - Princess Wand

Märchenland - Jubiland

Bad End Kingdom - Shadow Realm

Nanairogaoka Middle School - Rainbow Hills Middle School

Candy and Pop’s names were kept, I’m assuming because they were already English.

DokiDoki! Pretty Cure Changes:

Mana Aida/Cure Heart - Maya Aida/Glitter Heart

Rikka Hishikawa/Cure Diamond - Rachel/Glitter Diamond

Alice Yotsuba/Cure Rosetta - Clara Yotsuba/Glitter Clover(this one makes no sense to me)

Makoto Kenzaki/Cure Sword - Makenzie Mack/Glitter Spade

Aguri Madoka/Cure Ace - Natalie Miller/Glitter Ace

Joe Okada - Johnny

Princess Marie Ange - Princess Marie Angelica

Ai - Dina

Sharuru - Kippie

Raquel - Rory

Dabyi - Davi

Jikochuu - Distain

Leva - Riva

Gula - Gura

King Jikochuu - King Mercenare

Lovely Commune - Glitter Pad

Cure Lovead - Glitter Charm

Love Heart Arrow - Glitter Heart Arrow

Magical Lovely Pad - Glitter Crystal Pad

Oogai Town - Seashell Bay

Oogai Middle School - Seashell Bay Middle School

Trump Kingdom - Splendorious

These aren’t even all the changes. They changed all the names of the attacks as well.

~2. Cut Episodes~

(There are more that are included in different sections)

Again, Saban wanted no Japanese culture in the dub. So any episodes that contained too much Japanese culture were cut. Some were cut for other reasons. In total, Glitter Force cut 8 episodes. 13 full episodes were cut in Doki Doki, while some were stitched together in other episodes. In total, there are 19 less episodes in Glitter Force Doki Doki.

Here are the sources I used for guidance!:

Glitter Force, Glitter Force Doki Doki

Glitter Force:

• Episode 10: It centers around Akane’s family restaurant, which serves okonomiyaki, a Japanese food. This food appeared once or twice in Glitter Force, but they referred to it as “Japanese pizza”. This isn’t even what the food is. It’s more like a savory pancake.

• Episode 17: It contains a Japanese comedy show. It also contains real life Japanese comedians. So while Saban probably would’ve cut it regardless, they most likely didn’t have the rights to use it anyway.

• Episode 26: It’s focused around a Japanese summer festival. This obviously includes Japanese food, clothes(yukatas) and games.

• Episode 26: It takes place at Miyuki’s grandmother’s house in Japanese mountains. We see rice fields, which I guess is enough of a cultural difference. There are also yokai mentioned, which are Japanese monsters/ghosts.

• Episode 33: This episode takes place on the set of a Japanese edo-period drama. Obviously, this has tons of Japanese culture.

• Episode 34: It’s about the Cultural Festival at the characters’ school. Cultural Festivals are not a thing in America. It also includes characters from Japanese fairy tales.

• Episode 36: Akane is assigned the task of showing an English exchange student around the school. She teaches him Japanese, and shows him the culture.

There were episodes with Japanese culture that stayed in the Glitter Force. And some of those were episodes 13 and 14(episodes 12 and 13 in Glitter Force) where the girls go on a field trip to Kyoto and Osaka. Although, in Glitter Force, they call it the “Asia Pacific Expo”. Now Saban, I don’t know if you know this, but Asia is a continent with many countries. And each one has its own unique culture. So you should’ve just called it the “Japanese Expo”.

They also kept episode 21(episode 18 in Glitter Force), which is about Tanabata, a Japanese festival. Probably the only reason they kept this in was because it contained a very important plot point. Although, important plot points didn’t stop them from cutting episodes in Doki Doki.

The way they treated the holiday in Glitter Force was pretty normal. They did rename the festival from Tanabata to the Star Festival. But besides that, they pretty much portrayed what the holiday is about accurately. They even explained the story behind it correctly(I believe. I’m white, so please correct me if I’m wrong). As a kid, I wasn’t confused at all. Sure, it was a holiday I’d never heard of, but it was explained, so I was fine. So this proves even further that keeping the rest of the Japanese culture would’ve been perfectly fine. So cutting it really wasn’t necessary.

Lastly, I just want to point out how in episode 2 of Glitter Force(whether intentionally or not), they basically poked fun at the traditional Japanese greeting. In Smile Pretty Cure, Miyuki hows Candy how they greet people, which is by bowing. However, in Glitter Force, it’s Candy showing Emily how the pixies in Jubiland, the weird fantasy world, greet each other. While doing so, they say “Hello, my friend! I am happy to see you!” in silly voices. The way this is done and said implies that what they’re doing is funny and weird. So they turned a normal thing to do in Japan into that…

Glitter Force Doki Doki:

• Episodes 12 and 41 were cut for seemingly no reason. At least, not for any I could find.

• Episode 14: Includes Karuta, which is a Japanese card game.

• Episode 19: Not sure why this was cut, but a section of it was used in episode 14 of Glitter Force Doki Doki,“Royal Crystal Chaos”. Saban liked to combine episodes together.

• Episode 28: It’s about a Japanese summer festival. We’ve been over this previously.

• Episode 29: The characters are preparing for their school’s Cultural Festival. It also shows the fairies turning into humans. So more episodes had to be cut because of that.

• Episode 32: The actual Cultural Festival.

• Episode 33: The only reason I can think of why this was removed, was because it talks about Alice being a sickly child in the past. It’s a shame it was cut though, because it includes the story of how Alice became friends with Mana and Rikka.

• Episodes 34, 35, 37 and 38: Ai’s character arc. No idea why Saban wanted to cut it, but they did.

• Episode 36: Ai’s character arc, and it includes Raquel as a human, which was only previously featured in an episode that was cut. So it wouldn’t make sense to keep it.

• Episode 40: Includes a full singing performance by Makoto. Saban most likely cut it because they were lazy, and didn’t want to write a whole new song.

• Episode 42: Includes the fairies as humans. Again, with no context as to how they gained this ability, it would’ve been confusing.

~3. Toned Down/Removed Emotional Scenes/Episodes~

For some reason, Saban decided that children can’t handle anything too emotional. So any scene or episode that seemed “too much” to them was toned down or cut completely.

Examples:

• In episode 42(34 in Glitter Force) Cure March’s siblings are caught up in the middle of a battle. A big attack heads towards them, and March isn’t able to stop it in time. The attack hits, and a big cloud of dust envelops the children. Luckily, when the cloud clears, it’s revealed that the other Cures stopped the attack, saving the kids. In Smile Pretty Cure, there’s silence leading up to the reveal, making the viewers believe that the children are seriously injured, or worse. However, in Glitter Force, we hear the kids talking before the dust clears, saying “Hey, we’re okay!”. This ruins the suspense and emotion of the scene.

Shortly after, all March’s sibling run to her, hugging her. They’re all crying, and share a happy, emotional moment together. In Glitter Force, however, this moment is once again ruined by dialogue. The littlest brother asks why everyone is so sad, and a sister tells him that they’re not, and that they’re crying because they’re happy. That was completely unnecessary. And frankly, I think kids could tell that they were happy tears.

• There was episode about Yayoi that was cut, which was episode 19. In it, it reveals that her father had passed away when she was young, and that she desperately wants to remember him. Though being young when he passed, she can’t remember that much, making her upset. Her father’s death is never shown, and it’s never said how he died. Glitter Force cut this episode out, because heaven forbid death be mentioned. Even though characters die in basically every Disney movie, and it’s fine. I think this episode is important, because it could be relatable for children who’ve lost family members of their own. It could even give them a sense of comfort. So Saban cutting it out is just really stupid.

Added after @glittercakes mentioned it

(Thanks for letting me know about this!)

• In the final episode, Candy has to go back to her homeland, so she says goodbye to the girls. Candy is crying a lot, but the girls just smile, letting her know that it’s okay. When Candy’s gone, the girls break down, finally allowing themselves to cry. It’s a very sad moment, which makes the reunion even better. But in Glitter Force, the girls stay smiling the entire time, even after Candy leaves. Emily even goes as far as to call her dramatic.

All these changes paint the picture that kids are too sensitive, and should only watch things that are happy 100% of the time. This is just ridiculous to me. Having emotions other than happiness in children’s shows is important, because it teaches them that it’s okay to be upset or sad. Having everything happy all the time, even when it shouldn’t be, teaches unhealthy lessons to children, like “it’s not okay to cry”. That’s what toxic positivity is, and it is not a good thing.

• This last point isn’t specifically about cutting emotional scenes, but I thought it was important to add. Smile Pretty Cure includes many life lessons in their episodes. These are obviously meant to teach children how to be better and kinder in life. However, in Glitter Force, they often twist the lessons to make them into funny cartoon shenanigans. I don’t see the point in doing this at all. Including life lessons in children’s media is genuinely useful and important. Taking out the whole point of the episode leaves no value in it.

~4. Homophobia~

There are a few, minor details that were completely unnecessary for Saban to edit out, which gives the impression of being homophobic.

Examples:

• In episode 39(episode 31 in Gitter Force) where the girls get transported into the fairytale “Cinderella”, Reika gets casted as the Prince, since there are no boys. In Smile Pretty Cure, Miyuki, who’s casted as Cinderella, sees her as charming. However, in Glitter Force, all their interactions and dialogue are done in a joking matter, making sure the audience knows that they don’t like each other like that. That was unnecessary, as in the original, it’s never implied that they shared romantic interest. They were just following the story. In another scene, Reika catches Yayoi when she falls. We see Reika from Yayoi’s point of view, and there are the classic anime sparkles, insinuating that she sees her as incredibly handsome. She’s seen blushing a moment later. These tiny details were cut in Glitter Force. Because heaven forbid that a girl finds another girl handsome.

• In DokiDoki! Pretty Cure episode 10(episode 8 in Glitter Force), we really get to see Rikka and Mana’s friendship in greater detail. Rikka always makes sure that Mana is being responsible, and keeping her on top of things. Her fairy partner, Raquel, compares Rikka to being Mana’s wife. This wasn’t insinuating romantic interest. It was just comparing her traits to traits of a stereotypical wife. But of course, Glitter Force can’t have anything related to two girls being together. So they changed the comparison to Maya’s mother.

• Episode 44 of DokiDoki! Pretty Cure was cut, and there’s only one reason that I can think of as to why. Everyone is being super affectionate to Mana. Some people, including girls, even blush at her. That could imply them having a crush on Mana, I guess. And of course, to Saban, girls can’t love girls.

These changes may be minor, but that’s exactly what makes it homophobic. They were tiny scenes that weren’t made to be taken super seriously. But the idea of two girls liking each other bothered Saban so much, that they felt the need to edit them out. And the previously mentioned situation with David Yost proves that this was intentional homophobia.

~Conclusion: Stop Supporting Glitter Force~

The amount of people who still support Glitter Force really pisses me off. Like, I get if you didn’t know about Smile Pretty Cure. But there are people who know that Glitter Force is problematic and still watch it like nothing’s wrong with it. They either deny that it’s problematic, ignore it, or simply don’t care.

“But they made it easier for English kids to understand!”

I’m sure kids would’ve understood just fine if they kept the Japanese culture. Kids aren’t so sensitive, that the moment something is slightly different, they shut down. I mean, look at Disney. They explore different cultures in their movies all the time, and are still the most successful movie company in the world. Mulan and Encanto are super popular, despite the fact that they take place in and contain culture from China and Colombia. So if Glitter Force kept the characters original names and the culture, I’m sure the kids couldn’t care less. Besides, it’s important to teach kids about different cultures, so they don’t grow up to be ignorant.

The only time anime was edited this heavily was in the 90s-early 2000s. And they did it because anime was so new and strange, so they thought no one would watch it if it wasn’t more American. But Glitter Force was released in 2015. At that point in time, anime was receiving a huge rise in popularity. So Japanese culture was much more normalized and understood in the west. So all those changes were even more unnecessary.

As an American, I can say that we don’t need everything to be tailored to be like us. The very idea is just ridiculous to me. And it’s the same for every other country. Just accept things for the culture they are.

“But it was my childhood!”

It was mine too. And I understand that it can be hard to let go of something you grew up with. But the thing is: you don’t have to! You can just watch the original! Even if you don’t have a VPN, or don’t have the bravery to pirate it(which isn’t nearly as dangerous as it sounds, if you know good websites), there’s really no reason to continue watching Glitter Force. There are plenty of fandubs out there that you can watch legally, and are way more accurate than Glitter Force! Smile Pretty Cure can still give you the same sense of nostalgia as well. It did for me, at least.

Choosing to ignore, excuse or not care about problematic behavior, simply because something was your childhood is a very immature thing to do. Especially in this case, where you can just watch the original. I promise you, Smile Pretty Cure is honestly so much better!

The very last thing I want to point out is that Smile Pretty Cure was made to aid the children who suffered from the 2011 tsunami and earthquake in Japan. The overall theme of the show is happiness, with each Cure being named after something that makes people happy. And the anime’s title, Smile Pretty Cure, is a reminder that smiles can help you through tough times. So the fact that Glitter Force takes that meaning away is just awful.

Thank you for reading all this. I didn’t even get to go through all the changes Saban did, but I went through the most important. Let me know if this informed you in any way!

~~~🎀~~~🎀~~~🎀~~~

~~baileypie-writes

[artbyblastweave]

Herofy Norman Osborn (in a way that’s not just “Iron Man in a different costume”)

So this speech, from the wrap-up of one of the Dark Avengers Seige tie-ins, is one that's stuck with me:

The man-at least as written by Bendis- wants to be Amanda Waller very, very badly. He's not.

So, to the extent that Dark Avengers wasn't already doing this, you take this dynamic and you play it for tragic tension rather than framing it as a foregone conclusion that Osborn is going to explode. You take a man who's witnessing every stanford-style superhuman mass casualty event that otherwise gets lost in the churn of continuity and from this you produce a guy who's actually, sincerely trying to get this under control, for whom that has always been the long-term project of his entire corporation, all the way back to before Spider-Man was a glimmer in anyone's eye. Lex Luthor if his abstract antagonism towards Superman's "potential threat" wasn't just transparent cope.

In an inversion of the company's role in the Ultimate Universe, where they were one of the front-runners attempting to reproduce the Super Soldier Serum, Oscorp is the anticape company. Oscorp is the company that builds power inhibitors, a major bankroller of Damage Control, the company that sinks resources into bespoke "cures" for cut-and-dry examples of deleterious x-gene mutations, like that guy who makes everyone within a hundred yards melt. Of course, the problem is that you can't put the genie back in the bottle; you can't sit at a distance from the scrum and just quietly attempt to contain it without becoming part of it. Every Oscorp facility becomes a battlefield between X-men and extremists like Stryker and Trask; research on how to contain or mitigate superhuman abilities gets swiped by disgruntled scientists and used in the opposite direction to create even more superhumans. There's nothing you can do that won't get assimilated into of the game. The goblin persona is a late development- generated from a combination of ambient exposure to research materials in the lab, and the raw stress of sliding over the event horizon into the cape game despite his best efforts- a little voice telling you that the only way you're going to get this under control is to fight fire with fire, just start cutting deals, getting the worst monsters on leashes, blowing them up if they don't cooperate...

[foone]

So there was this psychologist who invented a type of blood pressure test, and while testing it on his wife, he noticed her blood pressure seemed to be elevated when she was angry or excited. This fact lead to a California police officer named John Augustus Larson to develop the polygraph, aka "lie detector", by combining the blood pressure test with several other measurements in an attempt to determine if the subject is lying.

This has lead the psychologist to be known as the father of the polygraph, even though he didn't directly invent it. He definitely tried to commercialize it, though including appearing in a series of ads for Gillette Razors, using the lie detector as a theme.

A few years after the invention of the polygraph, he published a book titled "Emotions of Normal People", heavily based on the original research of his life partner (as he and his wife were in a polyamorous relationship, living together for many years (including 50 years after his death!) and having two of his children). In it, he provided a defense of many sexual taboos. In it, he developed the DISC theory: dominance, inducement, submission, and compliance. He assigned active and passive to emotions and behaviors, and environments as antagonistic and favorable, and theorized how these different attitudes and environments interacted. For example, "Submission produces passivity in a favorable environment".

This was pretty much exactly as BDSMy as it sounds, with him also having theories about how the masculine drive for freedom was inherently violent, whereas women could use their "loving allure" to lead people to an ideal state of submission to loving authority.

Anyway in 1940 he was interviewed by his life partner under a pseudonym, and said that there was great potential for education in the medium of comic books. This interview got read by Max Gaines, a comics books publisher, who co-founded All-American Publications (one of the companies that later merged with National Comics Publications to form DC Comics). The psychologist was hired on as an educational consultant.

After a conversation with his wife about creating a new super hero based on fighting with love instead of fists, he took the idea to Max Gaines and was given approval to create a comic under this idea. His wife's main contribution was the idea that the hero should be a woman.

In any case, the polyamorous psychologist with a bondage kink who had formerly helped invent the lie detector went on to develop his super hero comic based on all these influences. So in 1941, under the pseudonym of Charles Moulton (combining his name of William Moulton Marston with Max Gaines' middlename), the first issue of Wonder Woman was published under the Sensation Comics line:

[alphajocklover]

I’m really a super gay guy but I’m curious how I would be as a straight bro like in your hometown hex stories. Do you think that I could go in there and age up into a big hot straight daddy?

Hey there! Well it’s natural to be curious about what you would be like if things were different, in this case if you were a straight jock, I wouldn’t recommend actually going to Maxford to test this out. Maxford is shockingly self reliant and is designed so that the people inside have as few reasons to leave town as possible, so it's easy to get stuck there permanently if your jock self decided he likes the town (which he probably would). That's not the only problem with your idea though, the other one being that while Maxford changes anyone in its city limits into an athletic, straight, jock version of themselves, it doesn’t change someone's age, at least not usually. Occasionally someone will go through an extra change when they enter the town, like becoming older or younger, but that's fairly rare. The good thing is that there is a way to get what you want, and it actually has quite a bit to do with Maxford. Namely, it has to do with Maxfords main export: bottled water.

I’ve mentioned before that there are other places out there that are like Maxford, places known as transformation areas, places that change people inside them in a certain way. Maxford is the biggest transformation area, but hardly the only one. One example is Baxter Beach, which as I mentioned in a previous post is a beach that turns people into beefy surfers. What I didn’t mention is that transformation areas change more than just the people. While they don’t physically change like people do, everything that enters a transformation area is infused with the magic of it. Everything, from the soil, to the leaves, to even the water. Especially the water actually. For some reason the water that flows through Maxford and places like it retains some magical properties, allowing those who drink it to be temporarily transformed into their Maxford self. The magic usually dissipates shortly after it leaves the city limits, but a small (magical) company figured out how to bottle it in a way that allows it to keep its special properties. Even more impressive, they figured out how to change the transformation you go through by adding some different ingredients. I’ve taken the liberty of sending you a bottle of one of their drinks, ‘Diet Daddy Cola.’ It’ll make you a straight muscle daddy, for the next 24 hours at least. Send me a picture once you’ve changed, if your memory is still partially intact. I’ve also included a couple other bottles I think you’d like. Himbo Punch is one of my personal favorites. It Tastes like strawberries. 

If you’re thinking: This is a lot like the potions you gave that actor, then you’d be right. All potions are made from a base of magical water, and Maxford is one of the biggest sources in North America. I used some to make those potions, though my work is more personalized than most mass produced potions. I’ve actually been thinking of starting a bit of a potions side business… but I’m not sure I want to get in a competition with that potion company I mentioned. I already have enough enemies.

[targaryenluvs]

MY PEOPLE

pairings: annie cresta x fem!reader, finnick odair x annie cresta, finnick odair x fem!reader

summary: you’d been hired to help keep annie’s home clean and to keep her company. what you didn’t expect was to fall in love with her. and to find out that she was with finnick, and annie doesn’t want to let either of you go. but you’ve found your people, and you couldn’t be happier.

warnings: cheating (annie n reader), arguments and then fluff land from there baby, kisses, wholesome moments

wordcount: 2.7k

a/n: this is my apology for the filth i’ve produced in these two months. i need to start writing fluff again, also apologies for any mistakes on annie’s story, god i need to read the books, again i hope my writing for annie is okay i rarely write for girls 😭 NOT PROOFREAD

annie hated when finnick left, he was one of the only people in her life which helped her, cared for her. he didn’t leave when she went through a lot or had an episode, he stood by her, always. but finnick has responsibilities which required him to travel, things to do. even he knew it would be hard to leave annie alone.

 so he scouted for a carer not like a child but rather a companion, a friend as well as someone who could take care of annie’s home. after a lengthy process and a million interviews, he came across you. y/n l/n, 22, born in district four and an excellent carer with reliable contacts, past experiences/jobs, and a good reputation. you were the best candidate he’d come across.

you’d visited a lot in the weeks following up to him leaving, he insisted it wouldn’t be necessary, but you figured annie would have to get used to you before actually becoming comfortable with you. so, you dropped by every day, never outstaying your welcome but bringing by food, presents and books for annie that you read to her. and little by little she began to open up to you.

finnick was rarely there, but the few times you happened to be there at the same time he was always kind to you. which wasn’t super surprising, but he was always described differently by people, charming, charismatic, a flirt. yet when he was around the people he loved he was nothing short of a gentleman, and you respected that. you respected him. not a lot of people would’ve stuck by their partner, even a friend if they were going through what annie was yet finnick remained, and not only that but he always took care of her, annie’s best interests at heart.

and over the time you first spent caring for her you realised why.

when she was in the now, she was like a breath of fresh air. she was sickeningly sweet, and good. she made you smile. when the two of you would read together, she liked to do impressions, changing her voice to portray characters. when you tended to her new garden, implemented by you, she loved to smell the fresh flowers, usually picking one out prematurely to which you’d jokingly scold her for. until she gifted the flower to you. when you’d bake/cook together she was always bound to create a mess. with flour on your aprons, and chocolate laying around you’d laugh your hearts out. which led to the first moment in which you saw her in an alternate light.

messy hair, laughing, doubling over with cramps in her stomach and her adorable nose scrunch. you couldn’t help but admire her, what you didn’t know was that she had begun to feel the same for you. for her it was your personality. you were extremely caring, and not just because it was your job. you genuinely cared for her and she could tell. one of the first things you’d always ask was if she’d eaten.

“get some food in you yet sweetheart?” you asked annie as you hung your bag up, in response she held up the bowl of soup in her hands. “good. how are you?” a thumbs up let you know. when her hair was messy and you pushed it behind her ear. her shirt was off her shoulder and you pulled it up. her sweater had some fluff on it so you’d walk over and pick it off. the little things began to add up, and annie found herself in control more often.

when she’d manage to convince you to stay the night after a marathon of books, and she’d have a nightmare of her games. she’d scream out for finnick, then you when he didn’t help her. only to find you on a chair in the corner and wide eyed as you stumbled your way to her, worry and confusion radiating off of you as you soothed her, “i’m right here an, i’m right here. you feel me? feel my hands? you’re here, in your bed. look at the clock, can you read the time for me?”

annie looked up as her breathing began to even out, “two th- thirty two.” you smiled at her as she looked up at you, slumped on her pillows, “good job sweetie. you okay? i’m right here, your right here. i promise i won’t let anything happen to you. now i’ll stay right here, go back to sleep an.” you had managed to ground her, bring her back to the now, which usually only finnick was able to do. and as her head rested, a few minutes passed.

she was asleep, yet muttering. not clearly, the only words you’d made out? i love you y/n.

she didn’t mean it right? it was just her sleeping, it wasn’t true of course. god you hoped it was true. but the second you allow yourself to dream had reality crashing down on you, your mind reminding you of a certain tall blonde victor named finnick odair. annie’s partner.

annie dreamed of you.

she rarely dreamed these days but she was glad for any dream she got. this one included herself on the beach, the sun was hanging low in the sky, soon to shy away and bring in the dark of night, but the soft orange rays had your brown skin glowing. your dark eyes shone and you looked ethereal, like a goddess. annie felt her heart in her throat, you were too good to be true. and you were looking at her with adoration in your eyes. your gaze was warm like the sun and your smile reminded her of the shining stars she loved. her hair had small seashells adorning them and you had on a flower crown she assumed she’d made. you looked perfect and annie felt guilt. she had this weird feeling when she looked at you. the one she’d only felt for finnick. she was in love.

the first time annie let slip of her secret the two of you were near the water. you’d decided to make a day of it, to get her out of the house before you decided upon what to do that night. maybe painting, stargazing, something to watch or read. “the waters a bit cold an.” you warned as she waved you off, allowing the water to cool her down. as she turned to catch a glimpse of you and potentially wet you, she froze.

the sun was hanging low in the sky, soon to shy away and bring in the dark of night, but the soft orange rays had your brown skin glowing.

deja vu overcame her and she felt it again, love.

“sweetheart? are you alright?” annie snapped out of her daydream at your question, “i’m fine, i’m fine.” and for once she meant it.

that night was the first time she kissed you.

you’d been in the living room together just talking. your arm resting on the couch, your body facing her. engaged as ever and smiling, she loved when you smiled. you looked so gorgeous and she found herself leaning in until she met you in the middle.

at first you’d pulled away and she thought you were disgusted. but you looked into her eyes and she was met with confusion, “what about finnick?” her eyes fell down to her lap in shame. “hey, i’m not trying to make you feel ashamed or anything, it’s just, don’t you love him?” annie met your eye and you saw the tears well, you placed your hand on her cheek as she sniffled, “i feel the same for him as i do for you.”

and you’d gotten closer since.

you couldn’t help but feel guilty on some days. you’d be cleaning and you’d find a gift finnick had given to annie. or a shirt of his in her drawers. but she always assured you that it was okay. you didn’t know how to feel. how would finnick feel when he came home? would he try and fire you?

you were bound to find out.

the night was storming and annie was scared. so the two of you curled up in bed together and fell asleep, annie on your chest. you rolled your head to the side and screamed. someone was in the doorway and your and annie’s throats were hurting and clinging onto eachother. “who the hell are you? get out of this house!” you screamed as annie’s arms clung to your neck.

your hands rested on her face, “hey sweetheart i’m right here. we’re gonna be fine i promise.” you kissed her on her forehead and got her back in bed before approached the door. “if you’re here to rob-” finnick stepped forwards and you stepped back and breathed out, “finnick, you’re back early.” he smiled, “and you made yourself right at home. sweetheart.” annie got out of bed and ran forwards, “finnick!” he opened his arms, “annie.” he sighed out, god he was happy to see her.

you’d never felt more awkward.

in the kitchen, making hot chocolate, you could slightly hear annie and finnick talking. her voice was meek as she explained her relationship with you. finnick was surprisingly understanding.

“i was so lonely, i’m sorry finnick. but- i really like her. she’s so sweet and she isn’t just nice because she has to be. every day she comes over and asks me if i ate. then if i haven’t we make something together. she reads to me and listens to what i have to say. sometimes she takes me out and we have a picnic. or we look at the stars. i really like her finnick, but i like you too. is that wrong?” finnick didn’t know what to say for once.

“no, it’s not annie. people can’t help what they feel. and if she’s really as amazing as you say she is then, i’ll get to her know her for you.” annie smiled and hugged him. you’d been standing in the doorway with everyone’s drinks and couldn’t help yourself from shouting out, “then what’re we?” the two of them turned around and you awkwardly smiled before approaching them, placing the tray on the table and each persons mugs on their respective coasters.

“if annie and i like eachother, and you and annie like eachother then- what?” you sat down on the other side of annie as finnick leaned back, crossing his arms and spreading his legs. “we get to know eachother. and we’ll see where we go from there.” you smiled at him before looking back at annie. “you okay sw- annie?” you saw annie visibly slump at your switch of words. “yes, i think i will be.” and the three of you drank, and ate and talked through the rest of the night, storm forgotten.

and it went on from there.

the next day you woke up with everyone laying on eachother. “anybody hungry?” finnick asked as annie nodded, “i’ll make you your favourite.” finnick and you spoke up at the same time before making eye contact. “you can-” “if you want to make it-” you sighed, “we can both?” finnick nodded as the two of you made your way to the kitchen.

“so.” you decided to make the leap and try to talk to finnick, breaking the tension. “how was your time away?” finnick smiled, “it was fine, i missed annie. i’m glad to be back.” you sighed deeply before dropping your whisk in the bowl, placing your hands on the table before turning to him. “i’m sorry finnick. i really didn’t mean to fall in love with-” you stopped yourself as he tilted his head and you slapped your hand over your mouth. “i didn’t mean that, well i did- but i didn’t.” finnicks hand reached out to stop you from rambling.

“i didn’t know you loved her. we don’t have to rush anything at all, we can just be friends. i don’t know what we are but i know you care for her. and you took care of her and i know she likes you too so i can’t stop that. i’d like to get to know you y/n.”

you grinned, “i’d like to get to know you too finnick. for real and for annie.” he smiled at you and walked over, he was even more gorgeous when you took time to take him in. dirty blonde hair, sweet green eyes and when he smiled his smile lines were on display. god he was beautiful.

“if you want to stare at me then you should maybe take a picture y/n.” you giggled before shoving his arm, “you’re very pretty honey.” he spoke as you replied, “you’re very pretty too finn and you can’t blame me.” you accusingly pointed at him and he pretended to bite it off, “i cannot believe you’re cannibal finnick.” as the two of you laughed annie stood close by, she was glad that the two of you were getting along.

mornings spent cooking breakfast together, shopping together, going out to lunch. you enjoyed their company a lot and you couldn’t remember the last time you’d felt so happy.

“blue or pink?” you asked as you held up the two sundresses as finnick and annie sat on all of yours bed.

“blue.”

“pink!”

“if i had a blue pink dress i would so wear it.” you teased as annie and finnick stared at each other. “she’s wearing blue.” finnick leaned back onto his arms as annie booped his nose. “you’re so cute.” finnick smiled at her and then annie spoke up again, “you’re so cute and even cuter in pink.” annie got up and held the dress up against you, “yup, i was right.” you laughed and kissed her on the cheek before leaving to get changed.

“she kissed me.” annie whispered as finnick got up. “she did.” she looked up at him and beamed, “she hasn’t since you got home.” finnick wrapped his arms around her, “i love you annie, and, i think i love her too. i can see why you like her so much.” you’re heart was racing a million miles and as you looked into the mirror you saw yourself in love, and for the first time, with more than one person.

the beach was calm, and the food forgotten.

you were laying in finnicks lap and annie in yours, you were a bit tired out from the day. finnick was raking his hands through your hair and you were braiding annie’s. it was so cute that if you weren’t apart of it you would’ve vomited from the cuteness overload.

“you okay?” finnick asked as you looked back up at him.

“yeah why?”

“nothing, just checking.”

you smiled up at him and he smiled back. you patted annie’s head to let her know you were going to get up. “i have something to say.” you blurted out as the pair gave you their attention, “here i go, please don’t hate me.”

you begged as annie and finnick looked at you in surprise as you began to talk, “i really like you both. i didn’t even know you could like more than one person at once. but it happened, and i don’t know why. every time i’m with you guys i feel like, nothing bad could happen to me? does that make sense? all i know is that i love you both and if you don’t feel the same then that’s totally okay and i will never bother you again i’ll probably just run far away and-” finnick surged forwards and kissed you which resulted in you freaking out and standing.

“wait you like me? i mean i knew annie did but i thought you were just tolerating me because she asked me to. or you secretly hated me or something for basically ruining your relationship and injecting myself in!” annie and finnick grabbed one hand of yours before finnick cut you off, “y/n, calm down. we’re not going anywhere, neither are you. i love you too, we both do.” your eyes widened at his words. “you do? you do!” you squealed as you hugged the two of them, “i’m sorry. i just, i’m glad. what does- what are we?”

annie grinned, “we can be whatever we want to be.” and as the three of you packed up and walked home you knew this was right where you wanted to be, with them.

“i think i know what you guys are to me at least.” finnick smiled, “oh?” you beamed at the two of them as you made your way inside and collapsed on the couch. your legs were slung over finnicks lap and your head on annie’s shoulder. “now what are we to you sweetie?” annie questioned.

“my people.”

[cochart]

Some of my observations about Korean webtoons.

Also some more serious thoughts. Don’t read if you’re super fan of the genre btw.

I knew that this romance fantasy stuff was popular, but seeing the extent of how many webtoons of this genre is being produced and enjoyed kind of baffles me.

Obviously, romance has been a huge genre always, and a lot of shoujo manga classics are also romance/historical romance. So romance being popular is nothing new.

But I think Korean “romance fantasy” genre is different in that it’s much more “blatant” about the fantasy underlying the romance genre. It’s so “girl gets hot rich guy” without any fluff. You can argue that K-drama has the same trope, but at least in most K-dramas, the female protagonist isn’t usually harping about how she’s “trying to stay under the radar.”

That’s also what catches my eye. Usually, in romance fantasy webtoon, the female protagonist who’s a modern-girl-in-fantasy character, is supposed to be a supporting character or a villain. So she makes a huge emphasis during the initial episodes about how she just wants a peaceful life which we know is not going to happen. The whole “I’m not trying or doing anything, but (rich and handsome) guys keep getting attracted to me and giving me buncha stuff” is so blatant that sometimes it’s embarrassing. I guess this also does happen in some K-dramas but it’s more spelled out in romance fantasy webtoons.

To be fair, this is kind of an escapist genre, so I can’t be too harsh on them. Still, it sometimes creeps me out to think about how many young girls enjoy stories about modern girls dropping into a premodern fantasy world… so they can get married? Because that’s basically the only thing that happens in these stories. The female protagonist gets married to the male protagonist and has children—usually one smart girl who looks like the father and one sweet boy who looks like the mother. Usually, the story pretends that the female protagonist is more than just a wife by giving her a small business or explaining that she does the bulk of managing the land. But it’s almost always only the male protagonist who has the title and an official position. Sometimes, these webtoons almost feel like some Korean version of tradwife fantasy.

Everyone has some sort of guilty pleasures they enjoy, and I don’t want to shame anyone for whatever weird stuff they like looking at. I, for one, enjoy watching crappy horror flicks like Big Ass Spider! (2013). But to think that young girls and women enjoy stories about going to the fantasy land to get married and have kids is kind of sobering in an age where companies in Korea fire illustrators for retweeting a tweet supporting a women’s rights protest (true story lol).

By the way, I know not all romance fantasy webtoons are tradwife fantasies, but I think you’d be in denial if you say that a significant portion of them are not.

*It’s almost insulting when you think about how in isekai fantasy involving men—whether it’s webtoon, anime, light novels, or manga—the protagonists usually end up becoming a hero or some kind of powerful figure. Of course, they also “get the girl” if there is one. So when guys go to isekai, they become heroes but when girls go to isekai, they become wives? If that isn’t sad, I don’t know what is.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The super-rich got that way through monopolies

Catch me in Miami! I'll be at Books and Books in Coral Gables on Jan 22 at 8PM.

Just in time for Davos, here's 'Taken, not earned: How monopolists drive the world’s power and wealth divide," a report from a coalition of international tax justice and anti-corporate activist groups:

https://www.balancedeconomy.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Davos-Taken-not-Earned-full-Report-2024-FINAL.pdf

The rise of monopolies over the past 40 years came about as the result of specific, deliberate policy choices. As the report documents, the wealthiest people in America funneled a fortune into neutering antitrust enforcement, through the "consumer welfare" doctrine.

This is an economic theory that equates monopolies with efficiency: "If everyone is buying the same things from the same store, that tells you the store is doing something right, not something criminal." 40 years ago, and ever since, the wealthy have funded think-tanks, university programs and even "continuing education" programs for federal judges to push this line:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/13/post-bork-era/#manne-down

They didn't do this for ideological reasons – they were chasing material goals. Monopolies produce vast profits, and those profits produce vast wealth. The rise and rise of the super rich cannot be decoupled from the rise and rise of monopolies.

If you're new to this, you might think that "monopoly" only refers to a sector in which there is only one seller. But that's not what economists mean when they talk about monopolies and monopolization: for them, a monopoly is a company with power. Economists who talk about monopolies mean companies that "can act independently without needing to consider the responses of competitors, customers, workers, or even governments."

One way to measure that power is through markups ("the difference between the selling price of goods or services and their cost"). Very large companies in concentrated industries have very high markups, and they're getting higher. From 2017-22, the 20 largest companies in the world had average markups of 50%. The 100 largest companies average 43%. The smallest half of companies get average markups of 25%.

Those markups rose steeply during the covid lockdowns – and so did the wealth of the billionaires who own them. Tech billionaires – Bezos, Brin and Page, Gates and Ballmer – all made their fortunes from monopolies. Warren Buffet is a proud monopolist who says "the single most important decision in evaluating a business is pricing power… if you have to have a prayer session before raising the price by 10 percent, then you’ve got a terrible business."

We are living in the age of the monopoly. In the 1930s, the top 0.1% of US companies accounted for less than half of America's GDP. Today, it's 90%. And it's accelerating, with global mergers climbing from 2,676 in 1985 to 62,000 in 2021.

Monopoly's cheerleaders claim that these numbers vindicate them. Monopolies are so efficient that everyone wants to create them. Those efficiencies can be seen in the markups monopolies can charge, and the profits they can make. If a monopoly has a 50% markup, that's just the "efficiency of scale."

But what is the actual shape of this "efficiency?" How is it manifest? The report's authors answer this with one word: power.

Monopolists have the power "to extract wealth from, to restrict the freedoms of, and to manipulate or steer the vastly larger numbers of losers." They establish themselves as gatekeepers and create chokepoints that they can use to raise prices paid by their customers and lower the payout to their suppliers:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

These chokepoints let monopolies usurp "one of the ultimate prerogatives of state power: taxation." Amazon sellers pay a 51% tax to sell on the platform. App Store suppliers pay a 30% tax on every dollar they make with their apps. That translates into higher costs. Consider a good that costs $10 to make: the bottom 50% of companies (by size) would charge $12.50 for that product on average. The largest companies would charge $15. Thus monopolies don't just make their owners richer – they make everyone else poorer, too.

This power to set prices is behind the greedflation (or, more politely, "seller's inflation"). The CEOs of the largest companies in the world keep getting on investor calls and bragging about this:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/11/price-over-volume/#pepsi-pricing-power

The food system is incredibly monopolistic. The Cargill family own the largest commodity trader in the world, which is how they built up a family fortune worth $43b. Cargill is one of the "ABCD" companies ("Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus") that control the world's food supply, and they tripled their profits during the lockdown.

Monopolies gouge everyone – even governments. Pfizer charged the NHS £18-22/shot for vaccines that cost £5/shot to make. They took the British government for £2bn – that's enough to pay last year's pay hike for NHS nurses, six times over,

But monopolies also abuse their suppliers, especially their employees. All over the world, competition authorities are uncovering "wage fixing" and "no poaching" agreements among large firms, who collude to put a cap on what workers in their sector can earn. Unions report workers having their pay determined by algorithms. Bosses lock employees in with noncompetes and huge repayment bills for "training":

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/04/its-a-trap/#a-little-on-the-nose

Monopolies corrupt our governments. Companies with huge markups can spend some of that money on lobbying. The 20 largest companies in the world spend more than €155m/year lobbying in the US and alone, not counting the money they spend on industry associations and other cutouts that lobby on their behalf. Big Tech leads the pack on lobbying, accounting for 82% of EU lobbying spending and 58% of US lobbying.

One key monopoly lobbying priority is blocking climate action, from Apple lobbying against right-to-repair, which creates vast mountains of e-waste, to energy monopolist lobbying against renewables. And energy companies are getting more monopolistic, with Exxonmobil spending $65b to buy Pioneer and Chevron spending $60b to buy Hess. Many of the world's richest people are fossil fuel monopolists, like Charles and Julia Koch, the 18th and 19th richest people on the Forbes list. They spend fortunes on climate denial.

When people talk about the climate impact of billionaires, they tend to focus on the carbon footprints of their mansions and private jets, but the true environmental cost of the ultra rich comes from the anti-renewables, pro-emissions lobbying they buy with their monopoly winnings.

The good news is that the tide is turning on monopolies. A coalition of "businesses, workers, farmers, consumers and other civil society groups" have created a "remarkably successful anti-monopoly movement." The past three years saw more regulatory action on corporate mergers, price-gouging, predatory pricing, labor abuses and other evils of monopoly than we got in the past 40 years.

The business press – cheerleaders for monopoly – keep running editorials claiming that enforcers like Lina Khan are getting nothing done. Sure, WSJ, Khan's getting nothing done – that's why you ran 80 editorial about her:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/14/making-good-trouble/#the-peoples-champion

(Khan's winning like crazy. Just last month she killed four megamergers:)

https://www.thesling.org/the-ftc-just-blocked-four-mergers-in-a-month-heres-how-its-latest-win-fits-into-the-broader-campaign-to-revive-antitrust/

The EU and UK are taking actions that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. Canada is finally set to get a real competition law, with the Trudeau government promising to add an "abuse of dominance" rule to Canada's antitrust system.

Even more exciting are the moves in the global south. In South Africa, "competition law contains some of the most progressive ideas of all":

It actively seeks to create greater economic participation, particularly for ‘historically disadvantaged persons’ as part of its public interest considerations in merger decisions.

Balzac wrote, "Behind every great fortune there is a crime." Chances are, the rapsheet includes an antitrust violation. Getting rid of monopolies won't get rid of all the billionaires, but it'll certainly get rid of a hell of a lot of them.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/17/monopolies-produce-billionaires/#inequality-corruption-climate-poverty-sweatshops

[ktempestbradford]

Lactation Influencers... Are Y'all Okay?

I dislike clickbait headlines as much as the next Gen Xer, but that does not make me immune to them. Thus, when I saw this headline...

Cookbook author speaks out following controversy over lactation cookies ad

...I had so many questions that demanded answers. I had to click.

Friends, I was not prepared for the journey I was about to embark on.

Before I even got to the first line of the article, this assaulted my eyes:

Whatever I was expecting, it wasn't that.

From the article:

Molly Baz is speaking out following controversy over a Times Square billboard featuring the pregnant cookbook author promoting lactation cookies. ... Brex, the company that sponsored Swehl's billboard, told ABC News the ad was removed following a message from Clear Channel, which owns the digital billboard. According to Brex, Clear Channel said the image depicted was "flagged for review."

Okay, but... lactation cookies?

According to Baz, the concept was meant to "empower" pregnant women and the cookies in the ad are marketed to help postpartum moms produce nutrient-dense breast milk.

*looks it up*

Y'all. They're called "BIG TITTY COOKIES"

I'll give you a minute to breathe through it.

Eye-rolling aside, this isn't the worst product I've ever heard of and, hey, maybe the cookies are good.

So why did Clear Channel want the ad gone? The answer to that isn't straightforward for a couple of reasons.

They did not remove the ad or even ask it to be removed from their billboard.

Molly Baz decided to use this opportunity tragedy to raise her profile as a lactation influencer the alarm about how men are misogynist (????).

"It's super disheartening and infuriating to me that my, kind of, first public foray into being a public mother was one that was deemed inappropriate," Baz said. Said Baz, "From my perspective, the imagery that we put together was no different from any of the other ads that are in Times Square." "[T]ake one look at the landscape of other billboards in times square and i think you'll see the irony. bring on the lingerie so long as it satiates the male gaze," Baz wrote...

I feel I can confidently say that I'm not being sex negative when I retort: MA'AM, what?

"There's a bit of a history of, I will say, a double standard that when bodies, specifically breasts are shown when it comes to selling lingerie, let's say, that's more acceptable but when it's something having to do with prenatal wellness or postnatal care, nursing, that tends to get flagged and we see a little bit of backlash," [Zoe Ruderman, a chief content officer for Adweek], added.

I know this is true in general, but in this case, is that what's really going on? After all, Clear Channel didn't even take the ad down permanently, and the marketing company provided an alternate ad without even being asked. One has to wonder if this is a manufactured controversy.

I say that even though I know full well that there is a double standard when it comes to women's bodies and whose gaze is being catered to and when it comes to lactating mothers, lactation, and women's health. That said, there's no way this image wasn't chosen for its Male Gaze Worthiness.

It's not the amount of exposed flesh, which isn't any worse than any lingerie or bikini ad. It is that this woman is holding cookies up to her breasts next to text that says "Just add milk" and the name of a website/company that is probably well-known to people who are or want to be pregnant and little known outside of that. If I were in Times Square, looked up, and saw that? I'd assume it's an ad for a sex fetish bakery.

In all honesty, the thing I assumed was controversial (before clicking) was that someone had posted an ad for cookies made using human breast milk. That would have made somewhat more sense as a controversy.

There's no way everyone involved in "concepting" this campaign (yes, they used concept as a verb in their official statement) didn't know this was a possible reaction or outcome. They appear to have expected it. Which is why they immediately had another ad to replace it and some very RAH RAH WOMEN! Down with the Patriarchy! social media posts likely on deck. That's real feminist of you, becky.

The disingenuousness of it all bothers me the most. Just because the social justice issue they're highlighting is real doesn't mean they are somehow champions of the cause because they dared to show a pregnant belly on a billboard. If anyone complained, I doubt their complaint was based on a prejudice against lactating mothers or that lactation was hinted at.

[nanomooselet]

Stampede Plant Talk

#if you want to add the rest of your points please do!

Do you realise what you've unleashed.

Not to ruin the magic, but when I write my analyses it's often inspired by visuals. So I figured the best place to start would be with this visual. Like... that's simple, isn't it?

I thought, obviously blue is Knives's colour while Vash's is red. Healthy Plants glow blue, dying ones dim to red. It would seem blue is for Plants and red is for humans. And so clearly Knives is aligned with the Plants, and embracing his Plantness, while Vash is more human and thus aligned with humanity… right?

Yeah, no.

Truthfully if there's a definitive visual motif for the twins, it's not expressed in terms of something that dualistic. But that's a little outside the scope of this post.

A dependent, Vash says, needs a human to take care of it, or the Plant just uses its energy up all at once and dies. I'm guessing that means: what a Plant will produce, when and in what quantity is in the hands of the technician programming it. Being Independent means a Plant has all that under personal control. They all produce different kinds of energy and matter (which are, in a complicated scientific way, the same thing in different states). They are essentially living generators - machines.

They're still made out of meat, though. For some reason. (They do look like sea creatures, and the higher plane is very oceanic in appearance.)

Having the Plant produce more than its Gate can withstand producing means it's left only with the energy reserves of its body to sustain it. The Last Run harvests that energy. Resembles very very rapidly developing dehydration - eyes bulging, skin blackening, skin tightening. It's a very ugly way to die. Their bulbs go red, and then go dark, because the fluid they're in is clouded with blood. The same is true of when they're cut off from the higher plane because they're been overworked.

Dr. Conrad said to Knives that these Plants couldn't be healed in the way Knives demanded of him, and I think he's being truthful. Because Vash also didn't heal the Plant at Jeneora Rock.

In the pictures above, they're at the "terminal stage"; using them any more would push it into a Last Run. Note the colour. Red as blood.

These are the ones Vash does heal. More pink than red, lighter - brighter.

Vash isn't donating energy to a Plant when he heals it; the ones aboard Ship 3 weren't dying because they were overworked or injured. The SEEDS fleet didn't make use of the Last Run, nor did they have to rely on a dwindling number of Plants to survive. They were in deep space on a journey taking hundreds of years, with all those people whose cryosleep had to be maintained. They weren't in crisis. They were planning for a long journey to build a better world at their destination, not a crash. Plants that glow blue/white are healthy. It was paradise; no one had to struggle to survive.

Luida says the problem with these Plants is that they aren't compatible with the environment they're in, and she is a geo-Plant specialist. I believe her.

Vash's super special healing power? The job only he can do? Vash is not being made to act like a battery, giving up his lifeforce to keep everyone else alive. He's not sacrificing himself. That's what Knives assumed, because that's all he sees humans do. (A whole one time before he started killing people.)

Plants do communicate with sound, but not in a frequency humans seem capable of hearing and I suspect it's because they use their Gates. Dependent Plants - and Knives - can only produce a sound. Their Gates are one-way.

Vash's Gate is two-way. He can both produce and receive. He can exchange.

He can have a dialogue.

He's hearing the Plants when they cry out for help then just... going to talk with them. Understanding them. Helping them feel more comfortable. Keeping them company. When Luida asked him so kindly to be a counsellor for the Plants, she said what she meant and she meant what she said.

Vash is a Plant therapist. And he's a good one! He travelled everywhere accompanied by his stepdad just… being kind to humans and Plants, looking after them, teaching them how to take care of each other. And he loves doing it. It's the happiest he looks after the Fall. Brad even tells him, in a very Brad kind of way, that he's done a great job; travelling with this brat beats what it was like just after the crash. And then he gives Vash water and Vash tells him he's a nice guy (and Brad gets offended lmao).

The one who assumes the humans were hurting or using him was as per fucking usual Millions Knives! Because that gives him an excuse to take bloody revenge! And everybody fell for his bullshit! Man, I'm beginning to think when Studio Orange directed Austin Tindle to make Knives sound villainous, they made the right decision.

Now, if you want to be sad?

Vash is doing so much good. He loves doing it. He's the only one who can.

But Rem wanted to see Plants and humans understand each other and she's gone. Vash is fulfilling her dream, but he's doing it alone.

Now compare the colour of his coat to the colour of the Plants. Which matches more closely? The ones who are forced to work beyond their capacity, their bodies gruesomely and horribly used without their consent for the benefit of humans?

Or the ones in emotional distress?