#all this to say i just do not see the appeal

[adollwritesblog]

Edit: I just want to start with saying that nothing about this has to do with OP and I don't want to attack anyone. As with Southpauz, I too am not okay right now and needed to breathe out my opinion. Most people support progressive ballots and measures. Even 57% of people who voted in FLORIDA wanted to bring back abortion rights (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/05/us/florida-abortion-ballot-measure.html) . Progressive policies were popular all across the nation (on abortion: https://www.npr.org/2022/05/06/1096676197/7-persistent-claims-about-abortion-fact-checked) (on minimum wage: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/04/22/most-americans-support-a-15-federal-minimum-wage/) (on medicare for all: https://www.citizen.org/article/public-support-for-medicare-for-all/). Hell, most people support trans folks!!! (https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/06/28/americans-complex-views-on-gender-identity-and-transgender-issues/)

Kamala Harris did not convey any of her progressive policies to her voters. She was cowardly and her messaging was extremely ineffective.

When asked about trans rights, she said "We should follow the law" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbVPee2UdJk) .

"When asked about Palestine, she said, "Isreal has the right to defend itself" (https://theweek.com/politics/kamala-harris-israel-gaza-policy).

When asked about immigration, she said, "Protect the border" (https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/trump-harris-border-wall-arizona-rusting-2021-rcna173094).

In saying all of this ridiculous "centrist" shit, she LOST 20 million votes (Biden got 81 million votes, Harris got 60 million) (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/fact-focus-multimillion-vote-gap-2020-2024-fuels-115586026).

There is not a sudden change in what people believe in. For instance, most people do not want mass deportation (https://www.vox.com/2024-elections/379883/mass-deportations-trump-harris-polling-immigration-border) (when presented between granting citizenship and mass deportation, most people say citizenship). This might be surprising, given the candidate who won is a huge advocate for this, but the dems DID NOT PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE (see above). (Or, at least, they did not convey effectively that they were an alternative).

Whether you agree with people withholding their votes for whatever reason or not (I personally believe people should vote no matter what, but people will do what people will want to do), it is the job of the democratic party to work to earn their votes. On just about every issue, the Democrats were fucking abysmal in this front. The only economic policy that they would convey was the $50,000 for start-up small businesses, and most people don't give a rats fuck about that (https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2024/09/04/harris-proposes-50000-small-business-tax-deduction-for-startup-expenses-heres-what-to-know/) (at least, I know I don't).

I understand that people are scared and frustrated. I am too. But the democratic party has been dropping the fucking ball for the past 12 years, ever since Obama, and I'm tired of people being blind to this. ESPECIALLY since the democrats keep pushing themselves further and further to the RIGHT. Already, they are discussing abandoning trans rights to appeal to the "centrist" voter (https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/democrats-transgender-rights-harris-election-rcna179148).

The whole "vote-blue-no-matter-who" is idealistic and ruining the party because no body cares to hold these cowards accountable. And the media has also definitely fucked things up tremendously, I agree with that. All that the democrats did was run the "harm reduction" campaign, which is rarely an effective motivator to get people out to vote. My source for this is the way the democrats have used this strategy for the past 12 years and only barely eeked out Trump in 2020, (I think it was like 12,000 popular votes?) and that was mainly because of Trump's horrible mishandling of a global pandemic.

Most of Trump's policies are not popular. But Trump, unlike Harris, actually conveys a message to people, a message for change. The Dems keep trying to go for maintaining the current order, and NOBODY FUCKING WANTS THAT. WE WANT CHANGE!

I'm not mad at anyone who are feeling frustrated by everyone around them. It looks really scary right now, and I sympathize with that. But just please, please, please understand that it is the job of the democratic party to appeal to voters to get their votes, and when they don't do that, they fucking lose and we pay the price!! Leftists have every right to vote how they please, whether you agree with their views or not. Hopefully people will learn from this that bullying people into voting for your candidate is not effective and only stews resentment between groups with common interests. If you want leftists to vote for your candidate, give them policies that the candidate will do that will directly benefit their lives. The dems think they can abandon the left, but then they get less and less turn out. I'm sick and tired of people blaming leftists for having boundaries with politicians. The dems gambled not getting these votes, lost them, and lost the election. If the leftists are so necessary to win the election, do LITERALLY ANYTHING to get their votes.

It is time we stop blaming voters and start holding our representatives accountable for their stupidity and blindness.

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Dark Days Coming

King: hey guys sorry i'm late King: i just could not get up this morning King: feels like I've been sleeping for days King: what did i miss? King: how did the election go? Lovecraft: not too bad King: King: oh no King: oh no oh no oh no

Lovecraft: don't worry steve it won't be so bad Lovecraft: I've heard assurances from the new regime that they only want the trade unionists King: King: King:

Lovecraft: i mean really steve Lovecraft: how bad could it be? [meanwhile] Donald Trump: we're gonna have the biggliest boot stamping on a human face forever Trump: we love the boot stamping on the human face forever, don't we folks? Trump: more and more people are saying they love the boot

Lovecraft: you're overreacting steve Lovecraft: what's trump even going to do? King: well i'm glad you asked King: [unrolls comically long scroll] Lovecraft: oh is this going to be a song

King: well for starters King: decimate reproductive rights King: LGBTQ rights King: labor rights King: civil rights King: accelerate climate change Lovecraft: [sweats] this is making me feel bad steve Lovecraft: i can't wait for trump to outlaw you telling me this stuff!

King: use the military to brutalize americans King: abandon Ukraine King: and as for gaza George Romero: in all honesty steve Romero: that probably won't change much King: oh look! an optimist!

Lovecraft: ok but Lovecraft: has he actually SAID he's going to do any of that? King: yes Lovecraft: oh he was probably just lying Lovecraft: he lies a lot Poe: he does lie a lot

Lovecraft: i think you're overreacting, he's probably not gonna do all the stuff he says he's gonna do King: so you don't believe him? Lovecraft: nope! King: king: then what's his appeal? Lovecraft: well he's just so honest

Lovecraft: a real straight shooter Lovecraft: tells it like it is Lovecraft: says what he means King: King:

King: howard please tell me you didn't vote for trump did you? Lovecraft: [sweats] steve! please! Lovecraft: i'm only a loveable archie bunker style racist Lovecraft: i'm still 100% yang gang King: King: King: i picked a bad day to quit cocaine

King: i really need some cocaine King: edgar you know where i can get some cocaine don't you Poe: steve stay strong Poe: you don't need cocaine King: just one bump King: to get me through the next four years King: i mean few days King: no i mean four years

King: how about a beer? i was an alcoholic too you know King: maybe i'll take that up again King: this is good drinking weather Poe: steve no Poe: dean help me hold him back King: don't try to stop me! Poe: no steve! you've got so much to live for! King: yeah? like what? Poe: well Poe: you've got a loving family King: Joe is pretty great Koontz: and owen! King: King: yeah and owen is alright too i guess

King: yeah he's pretty good King: what the heck, i can say it King: i love owen too! Koontz: and there's naomi too King: whoa wait a second, i have THREE kids?? King: this just keeps getting better!

King: thanks guys i do feel a little better Poe: good, hold onto that Poe: cuz it's going to be a long four years Lovecraft: only four years? i thought we weren't gonna have to vote anymore! Poe: Poe: good drinking weather, huh?

Joyce Carol Oates: huh, i really don't see why the electorate would hate trans people unless they were persuaded by hate speech and fearmongering JK Rowling: well well well look at the fancccy pantsss rich author Rowling: with her out of touch fancccy ideasss about a pluralissstic sssociety! Rowling: with her fancccy german automobile! Oates: this car was made in Guatemala

Rowling: you're clearly too rich to underssstand the feelingsss of the common man Rowling: unlike me, a true daughter of the proletariat Rowling: i know all about the material needsss of the underclassss Rowling: anyway i'm going to insulate my Scottish castle with big bags of money

[chanafehs]

My Veilguard review:

Note - I will be honest in saying this is very long and very negative. If you enjoy this game please don't let me be the one to ruin that for you and skip on this post. I will be discussing spoilers. This is just my opinion so please don't crucify me for it.

I think my thoughts about this game were shaky to begin with as I had been exposed to different spoilers and information before the launch. I wasn’t actually expecting this game to be amazing but as someone whose favorite Dragon Age game is Dragon Age 2, which is arguably the weakest in the series (until now), I still went in with the impression I would have a good time regardless. I did not have that at all, in fact towards the end of Act 2 and the beginning of Act 3 all I wanted was for the game to be over. 

The problems for me really started right in the beginning with the Inquisitor character choices and their characterization. No choices for your Warden, no choices for your Hawke, and only three choices for your Inquisitor out of the dozens you made in Inquisition. The romance option just felt like a very polite way of asking if you romanced Solas or not, especially after completing the game where your non-solas romance will only get one letter for you to read, outside of that, the Inquisitor will not even mention them. Disbanding the Inquisition meant basically nothing and vowing to stop Solas felt like it had little bearing on what my Inquisitor said when she showed up. 

The time frame to make Dragon Age 2 was just over a year and somehow included more choices from Origins than Veilguard did with over ten years of production. That is the information that's been banging around in my head throughout this entire game. In Dragon Age 2, we get the consequences of our decisions with Alistair’s fate and we get extra dialogue concerning Isabela/Zevran/Leliana/Anders/Nathaniel + some sidequests. Veilguard couldn’t even give us so much of a mention of our Inquisitor’s friendships and the consequences of those friendships outside of Solas. The Inquisitors themselves are locked into one personality type as well, and regardless if you choose to stop Solas or not, they are very amicable toward him. 

During the second cut scene you get with the Inquisitor in Dock Town, they will go on to ask you about your progress and then go on about Solas. Mind you, my Inquisitor is extremely unsympathetic to Solas and I chose the option to stop him no matter what, so why is it that every time I speak to her, she keeps trying to ask me if Solas is being genuine and that he was her friend? That doesn’t sound like someone who has vowed to stop him. They will also try to draw parallels between you, Rook, and Solas. Even at the end of the game, they will still try to appeal to you to see reason with him. That is essentially all the Inquisitor is there for. Incredibly frustrating. 

Throughout the game you will get missives from the Inquisitor detailing the devastation that is being brought to southern Thedas and every letter feels like more and more of an insult. To keep it short: Southern Thedas as we know it has been essentially wiped out. I think that deserves more than a footnote in some missive most players aren’t even going to see.

So the setting we spent all three games in, that we saved countless times, had our companions and protagonists die for, gets demolished in the background where we cannot see it. Skyhold had to be taken back from demons and whoops, that's not actually something you can do anything about. Nothing the Warden, Hawke, or the Inquisitor ever did mattered at all and it renders everything from the previous games absolutely irrelevant. 

With that aside, the companions are also another issue for me. I found myself having trouble getting attached to any of them and every single time I recruited one I had the internal question “Why are you even here?” None of their companion quests really tie into the story at large, save maybe Harding and Davrin, and they are incredibly boring save for a few cool moments.

The main appeal of Dragon Age for me is the companions, it’s why Dragon Age 2 is my favorite of the series. Despite the overused environments and the rushed production I still had a great time with it because of the companions. I was actually eager to do the companion quests and learn more about them and how they all fit into the main narrative. Even characters I didn’t like, I still understood why they were important to the story. Like I can’t stand Anders but I know why he is there, he has a purpose.

Every companion is painfully amicable towards you even if you decide to be “stern” towards them. I found myself not caring what dialogue option I chose about them because it made absolutely no difference. There is nice, funny nice, and gentle parenting. That is really all you have to work with in terms of the dialogue wheel. It was more difficult to get disapproval than approval and I can probably count on my fingers every time in this game I actually got companion disapproval. There is only one companion in my playthrough that became hardened, Lucanis, and it had virtually no impact on his character other than the fact he leaves for a couple of saves and comes back to kissing your ass. 

Something I actually really liked about BG3 and the previous Dragon Age games was working for your companion approval - this meant actually learning about your companion and what made them tick. If you don't understand them well enough you get disapproval, when you actually listen to their ideas and thoughts you get approval - there is an active effort to get these things. In Veilguard this does not exist and you are essentially promised approval no matter what, meaning there is no encouragement to know who these people are if they're just going to support you regardless.

I have to agree with the Skillup review they made about this game saying that every dialogue option feels like it was made with HR in the room and I one hundred percent agree. This is not how real people talk to each other. This is how teachers talk to toddlers when they want to explain the virtues of sharing toys with their classmates.

It felt honestly insulting at times to be treated like I don’t understand the concept of bigotry, I still have no idea what they were trying to go for with this, like were they trying to appeal to a market of high school boys who hadn’t discovered what empathy was yet? There is zero trust in the player and every dialogue and decision you make in these moments feels handhold-y and preachy. Like Pixar levels of life lessons you learn.

In the moments where I had to settle arguments over coffee and companions not respecting each other's interests, I could not honestly believe this is the same universe with Loghain Mac Tir, Meredith Stannard, fuck even Corypheus. Humor has always existed in Dragon Age and I love the comedic banter between the characters but it was always humor that served as an escape from the oppressive and dark situation around you, here the dark and oppressive situations feel like an escape from the unrelenting friendliness and tone deafness of your companions. 

The companion I probably had the most issue with was Taash and the way they were handled. I’m not going to get too deep into the Bharv scene because even thinking about it makes me cringe but If someone messed up my pronouns and then immediately dropped to do pushups I am most definitely killing us both. Isabela’s explanation is extremely preachy and she proceeds to do the exact thing she says she hates about people messing up pronouns. Anyways. Moving on. 

Taash I think is a good example of how to not write a multiethnic character. I don’t expect a white person like Trick Weekes to understand the first thing that comes with being multiethnic or having strict parents that intersects with that identity but it is most definitely not whatever the hell this is. 

The only thing I can offer here is that as a multiethnic person (my father is Palestinian and my mother is mainly Irish and Seminole) is that there has never been a point in my life where I felt like I had to choose what culture I am let alone give that choice to someone else in my life I just met.

That’s not what being multiethnic is. I do not have to choose between anything - I am whole and I don't need to cut myself into halves and quarters to be accepted.

It also feels subconsciously like you are supposed to choose Rivain as the Qunari are depicted as bigoted and oppressive as they always have been in this game. Knowing all of this really tainted my experiences with them as a character and I understand a lot of other non-binary individuals love the representation they brought on that level but personally, I’m just tired of “queer representation” always coming with racist undertones. Again, this game feels like it always had white queer people in mind, not lgbt poc. 

These kinds of comments are really only made worse knowing what the Qunari take inspiration from - primarily Black and Brown SWANA Muslims. Why should Trick Weekes have any authority over a questline like that is beyond me. 

Also, this sucked. Especially because they said it to Neve too. I don’t really want my non-binary representation sprinkled with Misogyny as well, especially since we can’t really call Taash out on this comment unless you’re playing a woman (as far as I know).

Aside from Taash, I thought the writing around Harding was strange. Don’t me wrong, I love Harding, but I do not remember her being this friendly and people-pleasing in the Inquisition. If you play as a Dalish elf the first thing she says is she’s surprised that you would care about anyone else - there is absolutely no inclination of this kind of perspective in Veilguard. Additionally, despite knowing everything Solas has done and the consequences that had on her ancestors, she still tries to push you to reason with him?

All of her quests about learning about the Titans, experiencing and embracing their anger, and you still want to appeal to Solas? That was another thing I found so weird about this game, throughout the entire story you are being told again and again that Solas cannot be trusted, he is to blame for everything, and will stab you in the back and yet it seems like every companion tries to push back on you if you agree with this viewpoint? 

Also, something I didn't know at this point of the game but I do now is that Solas had killed Varric and she does know this so why is she acting like this knowing Solas had killed her friend who she spent years with?

Genuinely this whole game felt like: Devs: Solas is a villain

Rook: okay understood

Devs: actually nvm you don't understand him if you think he's a villain

The only companion quests I was actually genuinely interested in were Emmrich and his thoughts around death and becoming a lich. Lucanis' quests had the best boss fights for sure. Outside of that, it felt like “Go here with Bellara” or “Go here with Taash” and it got so grating I couldn’t wait for these quests to be over so I could progress with the main story. It felt like an annoying back-and-forth game to finish a main quest just to finish all the companion quests and then go back to the main quest. Like a list of chores to get through before you can have any fun. 

The inclusion of characters like Morrigan and Isabela in this universe was extremely hollow and they do not feel like the Morrigan and Isabela we know at all. With Morrigan there is a bit of an explanation to this with the essence of Mythal however she reiterates that it is still herself and it is only the memories of Mythal that remain inside of her.

In my canon playthroughs of Dragon Age, I romanced both Morrigan and Isabela, so I was curious to see how the developers would address their pasts with our Warden and Hawke. Unfortunately, the answer is that they don’t address it at all. Morrigan hardly mentions her past, leaving us to wonder if Kieran even exists. The game implies that the relationship between Morrigan and the Warden is insignificant; a codex entry oddly suggests, in a very slut-shamey way, that Morrigan had more lovers than there are trees in the forest. Isabela doesn't reference Hawke either, as she fondly remembers Kirkwall for found family and friendship. It seems that if you romanced Isabela or Morrigan, congratulations—your canon doesn’t exist.

I will echo the statement others have made about all the cameos feeling like mascots because that is really what they are. There is no substance to any of them, Isabela only feels like she is there to be a supportive voice for Taash, Morrigan will only really talk about Solas and Mythal-Dorian is the only one who actually gets a substantial quest related to him. I thought he was fine minus the "illegal slavery" bit because what is illegal slavery Dorian. Next up we will discuss legal murder.

Another thing that genuinely broke the immersion for me in this game is how awful the armor is. It is a Dragon Age game so I wasn't expecting Haute Couture but the design is all over the place and nothing looks right. Not to mention the extremely weird orientalist undertones that follow the Lords of Fortune everywhere. The outfit Isabela is wearing is even worse in person and I tried to give this game the benefit of the doubt by thinking we would be getting some underwater mission with her and that would be the explanation behind her bikini outfit - this did not happen.

The belly dancer-esque outfits with the coin-bedazzled turbans were pretty egregious and made me want to limit my time in Rivain as much as possible. For a game released in 2024, I am disappointed we are still dealing with the same Orientalist fantasy tropes. Even the Qunari are more naked in this game than I had ever seen previously. At least DA2 and DAI gave them pants. But hey the Antaam are all blighted and evil so who cares right.

Speaking of the Antaam, a lot of the antagonist motivations for this game genuinely did not make sense to me. The Antaam are suddenly giving up their fear of magic to pair up with...the Venatori? To fight for the elven gods? It honestly felt like they had no idea who to make fight for the Evanuris so they just pulled two of the baddies from the Inquisition and went "We can just use them and call it done". When you press for information on why this is the answer is always a mustache-twirling dialogue about power. Nothing much deeper from that than any of the villains besides Solas. All of the villains, especially Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, are extremely one-dimensional and have no motivations other than being evil and striving for power. At least Corypheus had cool lines.

I'm not going to get too deep into lore changes since I know a lot of things happened in the comics, books, and TV show (all of which I did not read or watch) but I honestly do think it's a bad idea to have a "soft reboot" while needing to read several books to understand everything. That's not being welcoming to new players that's homework. If you wanted a soft reboot probably don't start off with half your plot and characters coming from various comics and novels people need to catch up on.

The portrayal of the Dalish in this game is inconsistent. When we inform them that their gods are evil and planning to overthrow the world, they respond, "Okay, heard you." How can they accept this explanation so readily? In previous interactions, Solas shared that the Dalish did not listen to him and even threatened him when he revealed this truth. Yet, when we present the same information, they believe us almost immediately. Is there no pushback or skepticism? The Dalish accept everything about the evil elven gods meanwhile Andraste’s followers remain completely unaffected by these revelations.

I think what frustrated me even more was watching our elven companions express grief and regret over the actions of the elven gods like they had something to do with it, painting the Dalish as adjacent to oppressors when they themselves are oppressed in every way. The only thing that remains consistent is the sad boy Solas act about it.

At the end of the game, two of my companions - Harding and Emmrich- were killed. Emmrich's death was unfortunately overshadowed by a zoom-in on a rock and I had no idea he had died until I got the popup. Still, all I can think about is just going "Rock moment" when he died. I don't really have anything negative to say about Harding's death other than the way she went out was fitting for her narrative. Bellara got blighted and there were no consequences for this and she walked away from it - forgive me but I am still under the DAO impression that if you get blighted that's game over but all the rules about the Blight have been changed in this.

I decided to trick Solas, and honestly, I don’t have anything negative to say about it, except that Solas should have noticed me holding the fake dagger since it was clearly in his line of sight. I liked the idea of outsmarting the god of trickery. While it wasn’t extremely satisfying, but I’m okay with how it turned out.

Even as the credits began rolling I still have trouble believing rook's role in any of this. Just the persistent nagging idea that they really just have no place in this story at all. In the beginning I wanted to see how Rook is looped into all of this and how they become central to the fight against Solas but just like with most of the companions, I have no idea why they are here. This should've been the Inquisitor's story to finish.

I'm not going to pretend that everything about this game was irredeemable and terrible. There were genuinely parts I enjoyed and had a good time with. The romance ending scene with Neve was fantastic, even though it took a long time to get there. Davrin was an unexpected aspect of the game that I actually liked, as I never cared much for Grey Wardens before, but he changed my perspective. Harding's mention of the Inquisition was also very sweet. Although I wasn't particularly invested in Emmrich, I loved the conclusion to his quest when he became a lich lord.

While I'm not the biggest Solas fan, I actually really enjoyed the cutscenes between him and Rook because one of my aims with this game was the ability to be mean to Solas and kick him while he was down. They definitely delivered there even though everyone else kept disagreeing with me.

The worlds are beautiful and the CC is definitely the best we've gotten in any Dragon Age game, I spent probably a solid hour in there. The hairstyles are great and the four unibrow choices? Bioware you shouldn't have <3.

Overall I definitely didn't have the best time with this game and towards the end of act 2 I was incredibly bored and the combat became repetitive and stagnant enough that I turned down the difficulty to get through it faster. I can't see myself replaying this any time soon and I am unsure what my stance on Dragon Age is now, do I Ignore this game ever existed or do I carve out everything I liked and pretend this is the Dragon Age I love? I have no idea, I am disappointed at how this game leaves us off and I really wanted to sit here and say It's good but I can't.

I think this game will reach out to and resonate with a different group of Dragon Age fans than me, I just wish I could enjoy it as much as I see other people doing. I was originally going to give this game a 3/10 but knowing you can pet the cats I will give it a very generous 3.5/10.

[3igbootyl0ver]

A New Face Pt.2

pairing: Tara Carpenter x Reader

summary: Tara was devastated you didn't text her. That was until you met her at a party.

word count: 2248

Pt.1

a/n: hey guys, first of all thank you all so much for the overwhelming support 🥹 I didn't expect this much attention at all especially for my first ever pic I've written. Anyways, I'm always open to feedback and requests if you have any. Take note I'm still getting used to this whole Tumblr thing so it may take a while for me to put up master lists and all that stuff (p.s sorry if there's any mistakes, a part of me feels like this lowkey sucks lolz)

It’s been 2 weeks since Tara had last seen you. And during those weeks, Tara’s mind had been fogged by you. Her mind kept repeating your interaction and every time a smile grew on her face. The group of friends had been making fun of her ever since they entered the lift after leaving yours and Chad’s apartment, saying she looked like a kid getting a lollipop for breakfast, all giggly and in a daze, but she didn’t care. 

She wanted to see you again badly. She started plotting and thinking about ways your paths can collide again. Like, she could plan walking in school and “coincidentally” cross paths even though her classroom was nowhere near yours and at least 10 minutes away from your building. But she wouldn’t do that! “I’m not that crazy” Tara thought. But would she? (A teeny tiny part of Tara knows she’s capable of doing so.)

She didn’t have the guts to text you and it’s already been two weeks! A part of her was hoping that you’d text her, but a pang of disappointment hit her when you didn’t. She usually isn’t this hung up on a person like this. Sure, she found some individuals cute from time to time, but she wouldn’t go up to this extend. She wouldn’t chase for someone, but for you, maybe, just a little bit, she would start jogging a little. There was something so.. alluring and appealing about you that Tara couldn’t comprehend. It’s like her mind glitched and was programmed to think about you 24/7.

 Tara was currently lying on her bed occupied by her mind (thinking of you obviously) when there was aggressive knocks on the front door.  “Give me a minute! Jesus..” murmured Tara as she walked towards the threshold. She opened the door which revealed Mindy looking impatient. 

“Dude, are you not dressed yet? We planned to go this party at least a week ago!” 

“Oh shit, I forgot about this Mindy I’m sorry! Give me 15 minutes to get ready” Tara replied apologetically while Mindy rolled her eyes and plopped herself down on the couch, kicking up her feet onto the coffee table and reached for the tv remote. After an excruciatingly long 15 minutes (it was actually 45 minutes), Tara and Mindy were set to leave and make their way to the party that was a few blocks away.

The house reeked of alcohol, weed, and cigarettes. The party-goers were dressed casually, with some wearing revealing and tight clothes to attract attention, no doubt trying to get laid. There was r&b and occasionally hip hop music blaring through the speakers. Mindy met up with Anika, dragging her to get a drink to get the night started which made Tara lose track of them, leaving her all alone. Tara’s stomach churned when she kept seeing couples making out in the hallway as she strolled to the kitchen to get a drink. (She kept this like a dirty secret, but she had imagined as if it was you and her making out)

“Hey Tara!” She turned around and saw Chad, with a random girl with his arm around her waist. 

“Chad? I didn’t know you were coming to this party” Tara explained, ignoring the dirty looks and stink eye given from the girl

“Yeah, I didn’t want to actually, but Y/N asked me out to this party and….” Whatever gibberish Chad spewed out was ignored as you occupied Tara’s mind. You were here? Y/N? Chad’s sexy and hot and super cute roommate? She’s doomed. 

“Why didn’t you tell me they were coming?! Oh god! Oh my god, Do I look good? Do I have anything between my teeth, I knew I should have put on a sexier outfit”

“Tara- Tara calm down. You look good, okay? Don’t worry about it. If it makes you feel any better, they called you cute after you guys left the other day.” Chad commented, putting a stop onto Tara’s word vomit. You called her cute? Tara felt butterflies in her stomach. But why didn’t you text her? All Tara could hope for is that the universe is on her side tonight and let her catch a glimpse of you, and preferably not drunk to make a fool of herself and to earn atleast a decent conversation. 

She chugged down the alcoholic drink she made and decided to make one in an instant, trying to get rid of her blush since just thinking of you made her stomach do somersaults. She sat down on the couch, hoping she could see you soon. After almost half an hour, her patience was wearing thin, she hadn’t seen you yet. How even big is this house? Why couldn’t she see you? It was as if this house was alive and kept shifting its walls purposely to block her view of you. She made her way to the kitchen to make a stronger drink. Mindy was probably making out with Anika in a random room anyways so she doesn’t really bother, which left Tara looking like a real loser all alone weeping in the kitchen. 

She chugged down another shot of her drink, before making a new one. As she lifted her head to swallow her drink in one go, she felt a presence behind her. She smelt a scent of a wood, earthy with a reminiscent of smoke notes, along with a subtle smell of sweat. 

“Hey stranger. What’re you doing here all alone?” Tara choked on her drink when she heard your voice. Damn it, even your voice is hot. How does that even work? Tara had a coughing fit, while trying to cover up her blush and not make a fool out of herself (she already did). You made it even worse by wincing slightly and putting your hand on her lower back, rubbing it up and down her back and trying to at least comfort her while she was having a crisis.

“You alright there? Let me get some water for you,” You softly chuckled before proceeding to the refrigerator and grab a bottle of water, opening the cap and passing it to Tara which gobbled it down. It took her a few moments to settle down and for her blush to subside.

“Thank you, really. I appreciate it.”

“No problem, I can’t debate with you about horror movies if you’re dead, right?”

“Ha ha. Very funny. Anyway, I didn’t know you were coming to this party. I assumed you were too cool and busy for this type of stuff.” Tara  teased. She took this time to take in the sight of you, you were wearing baggy jeans with a fitting t-shirt, revealing your tattoos. There goes the butterflies in her tummy again.

“I didn’t call in a shift today and I had nothing to do. Plus, it was an impromptu thing to come here since, well, I had a feeling you were going to be here and..I wanted to see you.” You softly chuckled, with your voice lowering at the end. Now it was your turn to start blushing, and Tara found it adorable.

“Well, I’m right here in front of you, cutie. What did you want to talk about?” Tara boldly added in the nickname, in hopes of seeing you blush again. You smiled at the term which revealed those dimples AND your blush. Tara gave her a pat on the back for the double victory. You opened your mouth to give a sly reply back, however your response was cut off by someone calling out for you.

“Y/N!! You in to play some beer pong?” You looked at Tara apologetically for the disruption and invited her to play along with you as a pair.

You both were up against another pair, which was obviously experienced beer pong players at that. You were willing to drink the cups that your opponent successfully had thrown the ball in, but Tara insisted on drinking it while you focus on throwing the ball. Understandably, both of you lost and while you thanked them for the round and lost gracefully, Tara stomped off like a little kid while mumbling swear words to herself, evidently affected by the amount of alcohol she had to drink. You chased for her and found her in the kitchen, mixing different liquids to create an abomination of a drink.

“Tara, you had enough for tonight don’t you think? Let me walk you home.” You suggested while taking her cup away as she was right about to sip it, making her whine. Tara turned around and looked at you as if you had said the most ridiculous sentence she had heard in her lifetime.

“NO!!! Please, let’s just stay a lit-little longer. I p-promise I’ll behave. I just want to spend time with you.” Tara begged and slurring her words, while learning against you for your warmth, and looking up at you with those undeniably adorable doe eyes, giving you the best puppy look she could express.

“We can talk on our way to your apartment, okay? I promise I won’t leave you alone” Tara huffed and rolled her eyes, but continued leaning against you for support. You only made it to the threshold of the exit holding her beside you until you couldn’t handle it anymore with how Tara kept moving around and losing her balance. You offered to give her a piggyback ride, which she immediately accepted after nodding her head enthusiastically.

“Why didn’t- didn’t you text me? I was waiting..waiting for you all along, man, fuck” Tara slurred, having hiccups in between her sentences.

“I’m sorry Tara, would you feel better if I said I was too nervous to text you?” You replied smugly, which made her wrap her arms around your neck a little tighter. You could feel a sudden warmth on the side of your neck, indicating that Tara was blushing. “Cute” You thought.

“Whatever..Whatever, dude. I just wanted to ask what horror movie you preferred,” Tara tried to shrug off and tried to act nonchalant as if your silence for the past 2 weeks didn’t bother her.

“I loved watching Terrifier 2. Art the clown really is a masterpiece,” You softly commented. You’ve reached the entrance of Tara’s apartment and entered the lift, softly asking what level she lives at before the lift door closes. You’re surprised you that didn’t feel tired of carrying her at all. Even after walking atleast 2 miles from the party. Most of the time carrying her home was in silence, since Tara was falling in and out of sleep.

“Me too!! I l-loved watching him kill random people” You walked her towards  her door, slowly getting her on her feet and stabilizing her when she was swaying around clumsily.

“Oh yeah? Well, I heard the new Terrifier 3 is coming out. Maybe we could watch it together during the premier? Like, a date?” You suggested, blush slowly creeping up from your neck to your cheeks. You knocked on the door, hoping Sam was awake to bring her in.

“Yes.” Tara simply replied while nodding insistently. You chuckled at her boldness.

“It’s a date then. We’ll talk about when you’re sober and having a hangover tomorrow, okay?” Tara nodded her head, her arms snaking around your neck to pull you closer. Your hands landed at her waste, feeling her being overly warm, probably from drinking too much. You decided to lean in and give her a kiss on her cheek, holding it for a little longer just to tease the shorter girl.

When you pulled back, you could see her blushing, probably not expecting the kiss. However, she decided to lean in this time, and now aiming for your lips. Just as both your lips brushed each other, the door opened, revealing Sam looking upset with wide eyes. You both pull back, with you coughing awkwardly under Sam’s gaze. Tara entered her apartment after saying her goodbyes, leaving you and Sam. You tried to talk to her, but ended up backfiring after she rolled her eyes and slammed the door on you even before you could utter a syllable. You made your way home and tried to ignore the interaction with Sam by occupying your mind with the younger Carpenter. You know talking to Tara won’t be easy due to her overprotective sister and friends, but you’re always up for a challenge, especially for a girl you’re falling in love with.

On the other side of the door, Sam was relentlessly scolding Tara, since she didn’t inform her of the party she was going to attend and that she had been worried sick the whole day. The least she expected was Mindy or Chad sending her home. Not you. Tara ignored Sam and went in her room, and plopped down on her bed with a huff, and fell asleep not even 5 minutes in.

The next day, Tara woke up with the most excruciating throbbing headache, it got worse when Sam continued her nagging about her going to parties without informing her. It took her awhile to adjust herself, with eating breakfast and taking a hot shower. She realized her phone had died since yesterday and decided  to charge it. When it turned on, the first notification she saw was from you.

Y/N: Heyy, hope you’re feeling better.

Sent at 11.33am.

Y/N: And I’m also hoping you didn’t forget the date we planned. Looking forward to seeing you soon :)

Sent at 11.36am.

[transmasculinizing]

ive seen people say the left should appeal to men more but not ask why it doesnt already. well why do all these right wing grift influencers appeal to men? its because they target impressionable young men who just got rejected and wanna hear that its womens fault no 1 wants to fuck them. i swear we need a big oily hyper masculine dudebro to start making videos titled "how to be instantly attractive to women" "15 male self improvement tips" "how i became an alpha male in 30 days" and the videos are just the guy sitting down and saying "hey dont stress about how you look or what other people think of you because the right person will love you for you. remember to take accountability for your actions and treat women with respect even when they reject you and see woman as people and not potential girlfriends" or something along those lines. like all his videos are just teaching self love, compassion for women, how to react to rejection ect then i swear there would be way more guys on the left

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[my-debauchery]

Appeal.

idol!mark × afab!reader

g`hurt/comfort?, fluff, smut

cw`emotional distress, kissing, oral(f), face sitting, explicit content

A/N: hope you enjoy this one. as always, constructive criticism is more than welcomed. if you see mistakes in cw tagging, please, let me know

you feel a bit jittery. nervously looking at your phone, afraid you are running out of time. mark could be here any second, so you try to hurry up.

you brush out your hair to fluff it up. touch up on your make up and spray on parfum. you see a message from mark 'i'll be home in 15 minutes'

you step into the bedroom and put on new lengerie, that you bought just for mark to enjoy. it's a red two piece. all lace and mesh, with beautiful stockings.

you dim the lights and put on slow rnb playlist, quietly in the background. close the curtains and sit down on the bed.

in a couple of minutes you can faintly hear the door open and mark shuffling in the living room 'babe, where are you? babe?' he calls out to you 'i'm in the bedroom' you reply, standing up and shaking a little from the nerves and anticipation.

mark opens the door and lifts his eyes up. mark's breath hitches and he feels like he's about to lose it. he feels overwhelmed and drained all at the same time. he can see how prettily you done yourself up and he knows it's for him.

he knows he promised you a romantic evening together. but his work almost destroyed him today and he doesn't want to disappoint you. even though he knows that you won't be. but all he can think about is how many times he had to cancel on you.

he takes shallow breaths and crumbles on the floor. you get up and make your way over to him swiftly. mark starts sniffling, you crouch down in front of him and ask 'can i touch?' he nods. you circle your hands around him and squeeze him as hard as you can. and rub your hands up and down his back.

'what happened? are you okay? do you want to talk about it?' you quietly ask him, while pulling him up on his feet 'let's sit down first, hmm?' he says and moves towards the bed.

mark sits down at the lower end of the bed and you move to sit next to him. he shakes his head 'i need you closer' he pulls you on his lap and rests his forehead on your right collarbone.

you lace your hands through his hair and massage his scalp. mark lifts his head up and looks straight at you 'i'm sorry. i'm just so exhausted. i wish i could rest just for a week, couple days. i wish i could just shut it out for a moment. all of it. you know?'

'i don't know what to do. what do you want me to do? how can i help you, love?' you feel lost and powerless. it breaks you to see mark this way 'i so desperately want to take away all your hardships, mark. would you like me to run you a bath? to relax

'no. i want to drown in you. i wish i can live in your skin. come one, baby, we can talk in the morning. i want you to sit on my face right now. i want to make you cum, dearest'

you stand up and mark pulls your underwear down to your ankles. he kisses your stomach around the bellybutton and lovingly caresses your hips

he lays back and you shuffle up his body on your knees. you gently lover yourself on his face. mark licks his lips and watches you with hunger in his eyes.

he laces your hands together and kisses the inside of your thighs 'make me cum for you, mark' he dives straight in.

he starts by lightly kitten licking your clit and humming to himself 'aren't you so sweet?' you feel nice jolts of pleasure and he sucks on the bud. you let out a deep, loud moan and bend your back, while trying to hold on to marks hands. stronger waves of pleasure overcome you and heat pulls and concentrate in your lower stomach.

mark lowers his tongue and prodes at your entrance. you look down and your stomach dips from the way mark looks. his hair is all over, eyes glazed over and face sweaty.

he pushes his face closer to you and starts to lick into your pussy faster, incessantly, with hunger. you feel his tongue stroking your slick walls and your legs start to shake from pleasure and exhaustion. you start whining his name and squeeze his hands even harder.

mark continues slurping up your juices and bringing you closer to an orgasm 'mark, please. i'm so close' you keep crying out to him. your feel your walls clenching on mark's tounge and orgasm coming on.

your pleasure builds and builds, until it snaps almost unexpectedly. you clench up, your vision goes white and there's ringing in your ears.

when you come down from your high, mark has moved you on your side. he's holding you right hand, while stroking your head with his left 'i love it when you whimper my name'

he gets up and helps you to sit up. he carefully takes your lingerie off and pushes your gently back on your bed. mark goes to the bathroom and returns with warm damp towel and cleans you up 'let's go, love. you need to pee

'my legs, i can't' he smiles and lifts you up. mark helps you to get to the bathroom and sit down to pee 'leave, i'm shy' you look away and wait for him to leave.

as soon as you flush, mark comes back into the bathroom. he sits you on the bathroom counter and grabs your make up remover. you hold his hands 'i can do it myself, markie. you should go lay down'

mark shakes his head 'no. let me do it' you let up and let him continue. he removes your make up with a delicate touch. you slide down from the counter and turn to the sink to wash your face.

once you done you ask mark 'do you want to shower? a bath?' he looks at the bath 'yeah, that be nice. join me' you turn and kiss his cheek 'take your clothes off' he starts moving and you start running both of you a bath 'no bubbles, please' you nod.

you wait for him to get in and sit down on his lap. mark takes your hand in his and gives your knuckles a kiss 'thank you' you turn yourself to the side carefully 'does it help?' you chuckle lightly

'i know it doesn't fix anything, nor does it make things go away. but i feel so much lighter. when i'm with you it doesn't really matter what happens outside. you are my escape. when i'm with you, i can just clear out my head. when i'm working and having hard time, i always think of you. just thinking of you helps me calm down and center myself. even if all hell breaks loose, i know that you always have my back and love me unconditionally. and i love you too, so much sometimes it hurts to breathe and i'm unable to talk'

you feel like you're about to burst from the love and care you have for mark, so you kiss him deeply and passionately. trying to convey all of your feelings and emotions.

as you break away to breathe, he asks 'why did you doll yourself up today? was it for me? ' you look away shyly 'yes, i wanted to look good for you'

'really? i appreciate it, but i really wish you wouldn't put on the lingerie. i love how you look no matter what you wear and i know how uncomfortable it is for you. don't you see the marks it leaves on your body? doesn't it hurt?'

you look down and see all the angry red marks on yourself, and some do sting now that they in touch with water 'it's okay' your shrug 'i wanted to look appealing to you' mark squeezes you and turns your head to face him.

'you don't need to do anything to be appealing. your essence is the most appealing to me. you as you are is most enticing thing to me' you look at him 'we'll talk about today in the morning, right? please, wake me up, before you leave, okay?' mark nods and kisses your temple 'i promise'

you hum quietly and relax in to him and the hot bathwater.

[ckret2]

Are THEY in universe considered as dreamy and handsome as apparently tumblr users find THEM? If yes, does that have anything to do with how THEY won THEIR elections

VENDOR doesn't strike me as the type of person who feels beautiful or attractive; so I doubt THEY've received much of that kind of attention.

To organics, it probably depends on how much the viewer likes the aesthetics of 1950s kitchen appliances with woodgrain. But they still see THEM like an appliance. So THEIR visual appeal generally caps out at "would buy THEM for the break room; wouldn't invite THEM to the bedroom."

To other machines... I'm going by what's frequently portrayed as attractive in transformers fandom: and unfortunately, THEY've got no real points of articulation; no interesting function-related kibble (no tires, no wings, no treads); very few lights at all; lots of unpainted components in a utilitarian way... Plus I feel like most robots wouldn't be into woodgrain, y'know? It's quirky, but "sticking a banana sticker to your forehead" quirky, not "stylishly avant-garde" quirky.

THEY're probably some people's type (THEY're apparently some tumblr users' type), but not many people's type.

I see THEM as like, equivalent to a middle-aged woman who wears just enough makeup to be considered "acceptable" but has never taken pleasure in the process, and has always worn serious business suits with skirts or button-up shirts with slacks in order to be taken seriously, and keeps trying diets that never stick and whenever she vents about this to her friends they awkwardly reassure her that dieting is hard and it's fine when really she's longing to hear someone say "but you already look great" and feel like they aren't just saying it to be nice; and now she's past her prettiest youthful years but has realized she's never been made to feel beautiful, never made herself feel beautiful, and she's a serious businesswoman so she tells herself that that's frivolous and she shouldn't care but she does care, and it's not shallow vanity to care, because all these years of not caring is a side-effect of viewing her body with an air of disdain and resentment for not being good enough and not being worth the effort to make it good enough; and so she buys a paisley shirt with bright green flowers that she thinks looks outrageous but actually really likes and hopes it will be the start of finally figuring out her style, and aside from the print it's still a respectful button up so surely it's professional enough to wear to work, and all her coworkers are like "wowww, that's... different" and she doesn't know if it's because the shirt's really that ugly on her or if they just aren't used to seeing her as the kind of person who can wear these shirts, when the truth is, they can just tell how deeply uncomfortable she is in this shirt, she doesn't know how to wear clothing she likes without being hyper self-conscious. She doesn't know how to make herself feel beautiful. But she wants to.

And that's why VENDOR got woodgrain paneling.

[jazeswhbhaven]

Can I please request Belphegor, Asmodeus and Lucifer with a fem reader that is insecure about her small boobs? I really loved the other one with the first four kings!! ❤❤

Sure thing anon! Thank you for waiting (it's about time I start these requests anyways ;.;)

Belphegor

When it comes to having small boobs, you'll never have to worry about this king saying anything about it. He's far too busy planting his face in your chest and sleeping to even notice. Sure, you may say an occasional comment when he's reading his usual romance novels where the protag might have huge boobs, or he's watching a show with you and some lady walks across the screen with tig ol' biddies. He'll notice you staring down at your chest and turning to the side and perhaps sighing about your size and he'll come over flop on your lap, wrap his hands around them and tell you to "Stop worryin' about it" so much. Easier said than done, but remember, he doesn't like to repeat himself. If he says he loves your boobs, he loves them. Even if he has to occasionally remind you.

Asmodeus

He's not even sure why you're insecure about your boobs. He's been suckin' on them for days now. He has so many pictures he's taken of them in his phone to jack off to, he has a folder labeled with your name. He keeps mentioning how cute you'd look with nipple rings and if you don't want them, he'll put fake jewelry on them anyway so when you bounce on top he can see it. In a bra? He loves them. Without a bra? He loves them. Under a shirt? He wishes you'd take them out. But wait, your boobs aren't as big as-shhhhhhhhhhh he doesn't care he likes all boobs, especially yours. You wanna know how to make them bigger? if he got you pregnant and they swelled with milk. But in all seriousness...he wants them in his mouth right now and he will leave so many lovebites and kisses, you'll be reminded just how much he adores your boobs regardless of the size.

Lucifer

He of course will tell you very straightforwardly that small boobs can still provide enough nourishment for a child if you chose to have one. (wait did he just get done talking with Asmo? /j) Over the course human life, larger boobs did have an appeal for many reasons, but those reasons do not apply to devils nor angels. Lucifer is quite fine with your boob size, enough to where he says you could go topless if you wanted just so he can prove how attractive you are with no matter size. He could even create a miracle where they'll be slightly larger for a day, and there would be no change in anyone's attitude toward you. Of course, you would decline that, but Lucifer is just trying to make a point. And if anyone has anything to say about your boobs, he'll make it to where they never speak again. And he's quite serious about that. By the way, it's time for your daily massage. Topless this time. *wink*

[athena5898]

So let's talk about Fascism

If you want an even older version of this see: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/umberto-eco-ur-fascism The book I have basically uses these points but points to modern examples and what have you. So the basic tenets of Fascism is about othering and fear and appealing to control. Also the need of a Outgroup (aka Bigotry/etc) 1. The Mythic Past. This is seen as a foundation for most fascism because it gives people a reason to do horrible things. This is what Hitler did with the Arian shit. 2. Propaganda. The system needs a way to spread the mythic past and to get people to believe that the out-group is the one causing all the problems in society. So it creates Propaganda for these purposes. 3. Anti-intellectual. This is what we have seen with Republicans in America. It's a war on thinking and critical thought. The more you think the more you are capable of thinking. (seriously there have been studies on this). The more you can think critically the harder it will be for a fascist regime to work. 4. Unreality. Or forcing everyone to live in cognitive dissonance. Normally you need 3 for this point. This is also just what American Politics is from blue to red. Unreality is insidious cause it can be aggressive but it can also be subtle. Think average German in Nazi Germany. A lot of them just let themselves believe that nothing bad was happening to the Jews. 5. Hierarchy. This is pretty much a given. To remain in control you need to have systems of power in place. It also works with the illusion of control. 6. Victimhood. We've all seen the white nazi fucks crying about how bad they have it. Just right now you have Israelis crying about getting attacked after *they* showed up and started mocking dead children and starting the riots. If the out-group fights back, they just fuel into the feelings of victimhood. It really helps with the sense of self-righteousness 7. Law and Order. If you are going to uphold unjust systems, and hierarchy and keep the out-group out, you need law and then if you disrupt it you can say you are just upholding order. It's why any call to increase military presence or cops is always a dog whistle. 8. Sexual Anxiety- this takes the form of a lot of things. Anti-queerness, anti-womanhood, anti-sex, etc. There is always a "correct" way and anything that falls outside of that must be abolished to maintain the "purity". This fits in with hierarchies most of the time. 9. Sodom and Gomorrah (AKA fear of cities/large groups of diverse people) - You'll notice that a lot of fascist areas glorify rural while demonizing the cities. This speaks to the inherent illogicalness of fascism it will attack whatever it needs to create and demonize out groups even if it needs them at the same time. Rural is gods honest work, the city is for pampered sex deviants who don't even know what gender they are! (sound familiar?) this point exists because of several of the points above since they all work and build off each other if they are present. It should be noted that some of the best ways to combat bigotry is through exposure, so of course, fascism naturally wants to target where such a thing can occur. 10. Arbeit Macht Frei (work will set you free) - This isn't the idea that work is inherently fascist. But the idea that if we force the out-group to do "good honest god manual labor" it will "cleanse them". If they die in the process it just was meant to be or doubly purivies! Fascism doesn't have to worry about manual labor and safety practices if it's being used to punish and restore the out-group. People who study fascism will tell you that not all of these points need to exist at once for an entity to be fascist.

We must keep alert, so that the sense of these words will not be forgotten again. Ur-Fascism is still around us, sometimes in plainclothes. It would be so much easier, for us, if there appeared on the world scene somebody saying, “I want to reopen Auschwitz, I want the Black Shirts to parade again in the Italian squares.” Life is not that simple. Ur-Fascism can come back under the most innocent of disguises. Our duty is to uncover it and to point our finger at any of its new instances - Ur- Fascism

Fascism existed before the word did. Just like anything we have put a name to. Just cause we are just now putting a label doesn't mean it suddenly sprung into existence. You can apply any of these points to various empires and governments throughout the history of humanity. If you want to be Anti-Fascist then you have to be willing to understand the broad spectrum to it. Anyway, not saying all this to defend who OP is responding to per se, but just idk "learn theory" and "Fascism does refer to a specific organization of capitalism" bothered me if I'm understanding what OP is saying here. Fascism can exist without capitalism and has and will do so again probably.

are you people just addicted to not learning theory?

What's with the obsession of using whatever political terms you can, regardless of meaning, as rhetorical ways of just emphasising how Bad something is? Fascism does refer to a specific organisation of capitalism in specific conditions with specific characteristics, not just 'when something is bad and oppressive' - something liberalism is very capable of! - and using the terms this way absolutely annihilates the actually useful analytical and theoretical value of the term, in favour of a view of politics as entirely rhetoric (which is clear from the emphasis on whether the term existed at the time or not, rather than the actual material structure being critiqued, as if the term is just an especially effective rhetorical weapon)

[francesderwent]

it seems to me that our task—as Christians but also just as people who care about this country and don’t want to see it like this—is to step outside the us-versus-them, black and white thinking which elections love to encourage, and begin imagining our neighbors more generously and compassionately.

our politicians have spent the whole election cycle appealing to the very lowest common denominator—but that does not mean that when we picture our political rivals we must imagine the lowest common denominator. it does not mean that that lowest common denominator defines everyone who voted one way or another. the people who voted for the worst possible reasons do exist—people who feel genuine hate for those different from them, the crass and the vitriolic and the cruel, the power-hungry and the callous. these people are all real, and our politics has undoubtedly given them a voice. but again: I think we must challenge ourselves to hold in our minds a version of the “other” who is more human and more complicated than that. our principle should be built off of “innocent until proven guilty”—we should consider people as being politically thoughtful and well-meaning and conflicted, until we are beyond a doubt proven wrong.

the objection, at this point, would be the objection I’ve seen all over the internet: “okay, maybe people had better reasons in mind, but voting for a rapist wasn’t a dealbreaker for them.” and that’s a powerful bit of rhetoric. but, first of all, both sides were using the same arguments leading up to the election to dissuade people from voting third party or sitting the election out: “you’re not supposed to vote for somebody perfect, you’re supposed to vote for the lesser of two evils/the policies you most agree with/the party you think will most support your interests and the common good.” so it’s hypocritical to then turn around and accuse your political opponents of voting for someone who’s personally (understatement of the year) not perfect. and second of all, the notion of “maybe they didn’t like such-and-such policy or quality, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker” is actually exactly my point.

every voter has to weigh for him or herself which issues are going to be regarded as most important. as long as I’ve been alive, people have been pearl-clutchingly scandalized that others have weighed the issues differently than themselves, so the moral panic certainly is not new. but despite that, this is literally what our country is founded upon: there is no set-in-stone hierarchy of values. we all get to decide for ourselves what good is worth pursuing. note: I’m not saying this is a good thing; I think what we’re seeing now is precisely the problem with that system. but the point remains that you cannot insist on the importance of a democratic election and then be horrified that democracy will sometimes vote in favor of a good that you think is subordinate, to the exclusion of a good you think is foundational—that’s democracy for you! that’s the system! you might view it as despicably selfish and shallow to vote based on the price of eggs—but for someone who is very poor, that reasoning might appear far more serious than it does to you. what would be a dealbreaker for you might not be a dealbreaker for someone else.

everyone has to determine for himself or herself what the greatest possible good is which can be achieved by the federal government, and what the greatest evil is we should avoid. at the end of this determination, everyone ends up with his or her own little hierarchy of values. the horror of two-party politics is that unless your hierarchy lines up point by point with the platform of one of the main parties—and it almost certainly doesn’t!!—your vote will either not align with the hierarchy you believe to be right and just, or it will not have the power to put that hierarchy into practice in the real world. this is where imagining people generously and compassionately comes into play: perhaps someone’s first priority in casting a vote for the republicans was the price of eggs. now, instead of jumping to the conclusion that their second priority was expelling hated foreigners from the country or making it so gay couples lose visitation rights at the hospital, imagine that their second priority was something you agree with, something compassionately-motivated and understandable, maybe even something that wasn’t a part of the republican platform. now imagine what priorities they might have that weren’t presented as an option by either of the main parties—priorities they might share with you.

”but my morality is right!” you might say. “their priorities are misaligned and their hierarchy of values is wrong!” that may very well be true. but American democracy cannot recognize it, cannot give any more weight to the true worldview, because that would be taking sides. if you want a democratic system you have to accept the possibility that the correct and the popular might not line up. you might also say, “but they’re wrong about which policies are actually going to help them! the price of eggs won’t go down!” that might also be true. in that case, it’s sort of on the people with the good policies for failing to convince the voters.

you might feel aghast that other people weighed the things you disagree with them about as more important than the things you agree with them about. it’s an understandable feeling. but the crucial thing is twofold: one, unless you acknowledge their right to disagree with you—both in essential matters of morality and in matters of the relative importance of specific moral issues—you don’t actually believe in American democracy. and two, if we are to move forward we have to start acting as if the things on which we agree are more important to our humanity than the things on which we disagree. even if we voted based on the things we disagree on! when we interact with each other we have to focus on the things we agree on.

we have to believe that people are trying their best. we have to, when we engage in political discourse, engage with a hypothetical opponent who is not the easiest possible punching bag. and when we’re confronted with our genuine enemies—those who hate us and hate everything good—instead of dehumanizing them, we have to love them. I don’t end there as a little glittery good-feeling flourish to smooth over the difficulties, because that is the most difficult part. there is no version of this story where all the hurt and fear and division are erased simply by the “right people” winning elections. there is also no version of this story where all the hatred and sin and despair is solved by good people contentedly praying rosaries in little self-satisfied prayer groups. Our Lord reconciled the world to Himself not by the worldly power of conquest, and also not by kindliness and miracles and convincing people one by one to change their lives, but by His suffering and death. the reconciliation of our world will require our suffering, and our death to self. there is no other way out than through the radical love of the Cross—that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He asks us to follow in His footsteps. imagining our neighbor as lovable is a good first step. loving him when he is not lovable is the next one, and the necessary one.

[kisses4tom]

i don’t know if your request are open but i just wanna ask, can you do a headcanon of tom x model!reader. like the readers on vogue or she models for lingerie

ᡣ𐭩 TOM WITH A MODEL GIRLFRIEND

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omg i love this requesttt 😭 i hope you like it! and sorry for disappearing but school is slowly killing me 😻💕

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oh boy he's OBSESSED with you

always buying your magazines

would hang up posters of you on his wall

loves to attend your catwalks and is the loudest in the crowd for you

he pretty much doesn't pay attention to the other models, he's just waiting for you

he's literally Dylan Sprouse (iykyk, a whole ass green forest)

istg he would look at you like this

he's would uhm...please himself with pictures of you...

LOVES to take you photos

and also likes to exchange photos 😀iykwim (freaky ahh)

let's just say he's very pleased with your body type since you're a model and he's really into curves and stuff like that (idk how to word it but if you've seen some of his interviews you probably understand)

makes sure everyone knows you're his

you have a lot of public appeal so he's both jealous and worried people would go too far

makes sure you don't turn your job into something toxic

LOVES when you model for lingerie, but only when he gets the photos lmfao

he's kind of jealous ofc

likes to surprise and visit you during fittings and photoshoots

obviously you also attend a bunch of his concerts, and he's more than happy to see you in the crowd

always locking eyes and getting nervous/shy to the point he has to look away and focus on his guitar 🤭

Bill obviously likes to tease him with: "excuse my brother, he's very busy looking in that particular direction!"

loves when you run backstage into his arms after (especially because you don't care if he's as sweaty as a dog)

I'd say his pda level is a 6-7/10, but if he's a little jealous (doesn't matter the reason) he's a solid 8-9/10

In his eyes you're the goddess of beauty (which you are pookie! 🤭💞)

Since he's so obsessed with you, he probably makes sure to please you most in bed

he's not really into dirty talking, but he definitely gives you some words of appreciation like "you're so fucking pretty", "you're perfect", "i'm so lucky", "this is all for me, right?"

Because of tour and different schedules, sometimes you're apart for a long time. But he never misses a chance to call and Skype you whenever he can!

he's so proud that you're his girl

Flirts with you 24/7

He would remind you everyday not to listen to the obsessed fans who give you hate for being his girlfriend

He would do the thumb thingy when holding hands or cuddling

He would flip off the paparazzi if he catches them say something mean to/about you

sometimes he would disapprove of your dresses/clothes if they're too revealing

in conclusion, he's your number 1 fan 🥳

[celeste444spacey]

What is this celebrity energy thing anyway? + how to actually start with channeling it

Some people are just magnetic and just seem to effortlessly get likes and attention on social media. Some people just seem to be getting more, even though you are just as, and if not more talented.

How do they do this anyway???

Well my loves, it's a little thing that we call here, Celebrity Energy.

Now the thing about celebrity energy is a lot of people mistake it for talent. And here's the thing,

Talent only gets you so far.

The immediate instinct when you don't get the same attention as some people is "oh i'm not good enough", "oh they're way more talented", "oh i probably am not talented enough for this, oh i don't have skills for this" yadda yadda yadda.

ENERGY gets you famous. NOT your talent. And this is where people get it wrong. And no, it's not even about your looks.

You have probably met certain people in your life that just have this unexplainable appeal to them. It's just something that pulls you into their orbit and keeps you hooked.

Now that energy? That magnetism? That some sort of 'there's-more-to-them' feeling you get? That's your key to fame.

Some marketing 101 (from a business student herself)

When you sell a product you focus on it's core values

For example: let's say you're selling a lip gloss, the basic features you focus on while marketing is it does the job. It makes your lips look pretty, or acts a treatment or whatever. Then you move to what differentiates this lip gloss from the other products in the market. Those are the winning attributes i.e. the features that makes people BUY it.

Honestly these core principles apply similarly to you if you want fame but this is the key difference

Your consciousness is the product.

As Whitney Uland says,

Fame is just the resource of having people's attention.

Channeling the Celebrity Energy

The first thing you have to ABSOLUTELY 1000000% get rid of is the fear of being perceived. As long as you fear being seen and people making opinions on you, you will ABSOLUTELY never get noticed.

That's because that insecurity and fear of perception can create this void like halo around you, and basically flush down all the magnetic parts of your energy down the drain.

You have to let your authenticity linger and have to make peace with the fact that not everyone might like that. The most magnetic of personalities attract two extremes of opinions, people would either kill for them or absolutely hate them. (Taylor Swift and Beyonce for example).

Celebrity Energy is a mix of confidence, charisma and absolutely unapologetic aura.

Best part? You don't even need to be famous.

Audience looks for someone they can connect to, someone that feels like their 'best friend', someone that they can see themselves in, while also seeing someone they want to be.

And that's why people say swifties are rabid. Taylor has created a very fundamental connection with them over 18 years that has brought us to this very landscape where she holds such cultural significance over two generations. It's almost an emotional significance she upholds in many people's life to the point for the fans, it feels like they know her even when they don't actually know her.

They feel like she's their best friend when she doesn't even know they exist.

And that's cause of the vulnerability she has shown to throughout her discography or her journey. She's not scared to be perceived. Same with you, you shouldn't be scared to be perceived. Because other people's perception is not something you can control. And other people's perception is not your responsibility.

Well this is it for this post, I will be making another post detailing on how to actually channel your celebrity energy, since this one already got long enough ahaha. (And super sorry for the inactivity, ya girl had her midterms and she was kinda slacking off soooooo)

[accio-victuuri]

why jeanswest is kinda competing with bottled joy as a cpf favorite…

disclaimer before we start — i think these are mostly coincidence. i’m sure brands know the target market and are aware of cpfs but whether they try and appeal to us by bringing out specific products is something no one can confirm. so let’s start with the brand itself, which is mainly owned by a hongkong based company and this is why it has this kind of presence in China. i don’t see any of their captions or marketing on weibo being seen as targeted to cpfs. the examples people are pointing out so far are actual products you can see on their official taobao store.

this started with their 10:05 kadian and allegations of feeding cp because of their little prince and tennis designs which I talked about here.

&& then most recently, fans noticed that they have a couple hoodie ( photo on the left ) with the word (我们) as in We/Us — which is very applicable right now since it’s related to XZ’s album. and the design even has that element of sunrise, you want to watch the sunrise? tho xzwyb are more of sunsets. lol.

tho i have to say the brand has a selection of similar couple themed wear. and tbh, the we/us is being used here in the romantic sense cause there’s quite a number of c-ent couples who used this in their caption when officially announcing their relationship on weibo. so JW is most likely referring to that rather than a nod to XZ. we have to realize that he doesn’t own that word. 😂😂😂😂

but i understand why this is 👀 to cpf because of other cp-esque friendly (allegedly) designs from the past.. and it’s a lot….

these ones don’t need much explanation cause for a cpf, you can see it. the shirt with lion + rabbit. the red rabbit shirt. turtle. 95. guangdian colors and with a romantic print/words. x and w with 9 and 5. etc.

now i bring more examples that are also gonna alert cpfs! and this is why i say that these are most likely coincidences. that we, as cpfs, will gravitate towards designs and symbols that speak to us. we do this with other brands and i think that JW just happened to have a lot of these designs that appeal to us. or maybe their designer is a CPF lol.

( paper plane and bunny, 23 which is love zhan in red and green, mountain/camping and the heart gesture they did while filming )

another one is JW and MIIOW which are two separate companies and brands with what looks like identical products. this is kinda problematic tho on their end, so i don’t see this as cpn.

AND EVERYONE’S FAVE IS THIS. The Z shirt, in a writing that is the same XZ’s art signature.

so there you go 🫶🏼

it’s pretty interesting and i’m happy for cpfs who managed to get clothes that represent the fandom even if it was unintentional ( or is it??? ).

i have to add this last part tho cause i see people sharing this screenshot of a livestream where JW is selling clothes with the a similar WM design as in XZ’s work. Some are eating this as candy but the truth is THIS IS FAKE. I placed a red arrow on the actual product being shown, that’s where you will find it on lives like this when someone buys. So the WM was photoshopped.

this is scary. cause there are people out there deliberately doing this for god knows what. this is why we have to be careful of cpns and what is being shared. it’s so easy to see this and go omg they are so brave! or did wyb give a go signal to do this style??? etc when in fact this has a more sinister implication. that artwork is most likely licensed to xz and his studio and infringing on that has legal consequences. so this may be anti fuel, that a brand wyb endorses is plagiarizing xz’s work. so yeah. not all candies are sweet. we always have to pause and remember that our priority is to protect their (xz and wyb) best interest. 💛

[aesops-boy]

Everyone has probably already said and read all there is to say about the US election, but I need to get some things off my chest, so here we go:

I’ve seen a lot of blame from blue toward people who voted green. We knew it would split the party… is what blue would normally say. But this time, it really looks like it didn’t. Jill Stein hasn’t gotten any significant portion (read: not even 1%) of the vote in any given area, except apparently one place in Michigan? (As of writing this, at least.)

And to their credit, I’ve seen a lot of blue actually point this out, too. A lot of blue have acknowledged that as easy as it normally would be to blame a third party splitting the blue vote, it simply does not add up here.

However, I’m a bit disappointed with green. Maybe it’s just my algorithm, which would make sense given that social media gets a lot of success from trying to make you upset and therefore engage, but the responses from green have been troubling. It seems like every one that I see is… celebrating? That they made the “right” choice? The “ethical” choice? That they didn’t vote for genocide?

I mean, sure, I guess technically they didn’t vote “for” genocide… but… there is simply no world where an individual could reasonably believe that for this election specifically, all those blue votes were going to flip green. In fact, it might have even required red votes to flip green.

And it hurts because in deciding to vote to… ease their conscience? No, they didn’t split the vote per se, but it still hurts. “I decided to toss my vote! And I’m glad that blue didn’t get elected because it shows that voters will not stand for blue not supporting Palestine!” is what it sounds like. And what are the Palestinians supposed to do in the next four years with someone who is Hell-bent and has explicitly stated that he wants to wipe them out?

And I don’t want to make everything about me or about people in this country who clearly are not being bombed. But it also hurts personally because you can basically substitute Palestinians for any given minority in that sentence, and it will ring true.

No, green didn’t split the vote. But… can green only act morally superior because blue didn’t win? It feels like some weird version of “owning the libs.” Would it have been different if blue had won? What would it be then? Would green double down on claiming that blue voted for genocide? Would green claim that at least blue realized to not vote red or that even red saw the light and flipped? I don’t know.

And again, it hurts because for every celebratory video I see, every call that claims that green showed blue that they were serious about not voting for genocide and that they will organize and try to get green elected next time…

I hear, “I didn’t care about throwing Palestine under more bombs if it meant I could keep people from voting blue. I didn’t care about Project 2025 if it meant I could keep people from voting blue.”

And no, it’s not fair to blame green for how things turned out. But this is why I at least get so damn hurt seeing these celebrations from green.

I want green to organize. I want green to put a third party that could actually win on the ballot. I want green to put in the work on a large scale between these big elections to get the electoral votes. And I want green to put in the work at the local level to get a third party in from the ground up. I want a third party. I want to never be in this situation again.

As usual, the blame lies with the blue party, red party, and red voters.

The blue politicians alienated their voters. As much as green’s celebrations hurt, what I heard from the blue party was, “We’re willing to compromise with red by giving in to them and getting nothing in return. We’re willing to try to appeal to voters who will never vote for us. We know they won’t. But we’re still going to do this anyway.” Of course I know most of the blue politicians don’t give a damn about me or people I care about. But I was hoping they at least wanted power. This is such an extreme alienation, too; are they really so confident that they can retain their status as the only other option? Maybe. Maybe that’s exactly it. I don’t know. But I know it hurts, too.

And of course, red. Oh, red. Where do I even begin? Red politicians… repulsive. They say the absolute worst about people, especially those who are vulnerable to them. Red voters… I don’t understand. I must assume they truly hate people like me, or at the very least, they simply truly do not care what happens. When their neighbors disappear, when the blood runs in the streets, it will be fine to them. Maybe that extreme makes some of them uncomfortable, so they simply do not believe it will happen.

“Blue is oppressing us!” they say. So they vote for people who have promised to oppress blue harder. But those people are not just oppressing blue. They’re oppressing red who look like blue, who come from the same place, who aren’t the type of red they want.

“I just want things to be normal and prices to be cheaper,” says “more reasonable” red. Then why vote for the ones with an entire plan, a manifesto, laid out on exactly how they’ll make everything very un-normal? The prices won’t be cheaper when you’re unprotected. The big money would rather see people die than live so long as they can make money, so long as they can keep costs to themselves low, so long as they can make prices high. What makes you think they’ll see you as any different?

But I guess if more people like me (and many more who are not like me in the slightest) die, then gas will be cheaper. Certainly less demand.

I guess if more people like me (and many more who are not like me in the slightest) die, then that’s just divine justice for not voting green.

I guess if more people like me (and many more who are not like me in the slightest) die, then that’s just even fewer people blue politicians have to pretend to care about.

Enjoy those eggs.

[localcanadiancreature62]

Writing Prompt 1 - "But i love you"

Bill and Ford are snuggling together on the couch while the genius rambles about his new anomaly discovery that he's now documenting in his Journal. He discovered that the anomaly is usually found in Scotland and now the researcher wonders about whenever he'll be able to study creatures outside the confines of Gravity Falls. Ford then decides to confront his triangular husband about this,although he wasn't expecting his reaction. "Bill,i'm just wondering.. can i travel outside of Oregon by myself one day?. I want to see other anomalies besides the ones i find in Gravity Falls similarly to the selkie i just told you about. I won't be gone for long though as i wouldn't be able to stand being away from you for a while,my dear muse-." Ford says but then the triangle chimes before he could finish.

"NO! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!." Bill exclaims as flames appear from his hands after he made it very clear that he won't let his genius abandon him. "B-But it will only be for a few weeks or months-." Ford splutters, getting a bit scared of his husband's change in behavior as he tries to reach his hands toward the isosceles in order to calm him down only for Bill to scald his wrist with his flaming palm before he could finish his sentence as he groaned in pain.

"Listen here,Fordsy. You,CANNOT leave my sight no matter what. I need you. I'll be lonely and sad without you. Please." Bill remarks as he tried to look as pathetic as possible with his pleading eye,pulling the guilt tripping card in order to get the genius to stay. Ford looks at him in disbelief over his feigned pitiful stare,not having any of the isosceles' attempts to keep him from pursuing his desires. He then roughly takes his hand away from Bill's flaming hand as he blows on the scorching wound before glaring at his husband.

"You can't keep me here forever,Bill. I have dreams,i have my own wants and desires. I'm not just some pet that will stay here and sit pretty for you. I'm a person. You can't control me. Heh. Honestly,i thought that since you're my husband,you'd support me. But you're just like everyone else,fake and HOLLOW!." Ford yells as he laughs bitterly from discovering that his dear husband is just as shallow as everyone else in the Perfect World,Bill feels his rage growing by the minute but then he realizes that getting angrier would just lead his genius further away from him.

So he decides to act calmer and try to appeal to the man's love for him instead. "But i love you,Fordsy. You can't leave,when i'm the only one who'll take care of you out there." Bill says as he feels himself become more peaceful after burying his anger,the fire from his hands dissipating as well while hiding his desperate desire to keep Ford to himself.

"You may claim to love me,but all you want is control. You don't really love me as your husband,you love me as a dumb PET." Ford replied bitterly as he then gets up from the couch and walks away as he turned his back on his triangular husband,taking his ring off as he doesn't view the isosceles as his husband anymore after seeing that said husband just thinks of him as a plaything with his desire to control him as well as the fact that he never lets him go out of state unless it's on HIS terms meaning that he won't ever be able to leave except for when Bill himself warrants it. Bill then starts panicking as he saw the man try to leave and walk away from him,not knowing what to do except for desperately plead for him to not go. "W-Wait!. Stop!. I-I'll go with you!. Don't leave me!." Bill exclaims as he started to tear up,big fat tears coming out of his eye as he saw his beloved leave. Then he had an idea,an awful wonderful idea. He just needed to erase his memory of the argument again like he did when he claimed the man as his husband before creating the Perfect World. The triangle then floats over to Ford as he attempts to touch his forehead,with the genius resisting his grip as he tried to move away from his former muse only for him to stop once Bill has gotten ahold of his mind. "Don't touch me!-." Ford shouts but then he gets put into a disoriented daze as he calms down from the triangle slowly erasing his memory of the argument as his furious expression changes into a tranquil bliss. "There you go.. That's it. Just let your dear husband take care of this." Bill remarks as he then grabs the memory of their argument from the man's mind which is in the form of a physical photographic representation of it,burning it in his hand as he completely erased the memory from Ford's mind. Ford then goes limp like a ragdoll after Bill lets go of him,as he feels quite relaxed and tired all of a sudden after his husband touched his head. "My dear muse.. i'm sleepy. I think i need some rest.." Ford says groggily as he then almost falls from how tired he is but the triangle catches him before he hurt himself. "Okay. Let's get you to bed,sweetheart." Bill replied as he grinned while carrying the man to the bedroom so he could get some rest,knowing that his plan to make his genius stay worked.

[woman-respecter]

eh, I'm kind of tired of the relentless promotion of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood as feminist when all those female characters exist in relation to men, and that was the message I felt it sent to me: women are great but only if they don't forget their place. Those women are just better written than most because the original mangaka is a woman, but I've read a lot of Arakawa's stuff and it feels like she's really into this kind of promotion of traditional women in a way that has its pluses in showing how fully-faceted those women are, but never seems to really question those roles in a larger sense. I get why it appeals to people but I wouldn't exactly call it "feminist."

(I also have longstanding beef of how people use that to excuse the really fucked up messages about race in that show/manga, especially to dump on the original FMA anime which does that aspect much much better and whose female characters felt a lot more genuinely independent to me, but whatever. Neither is a bastion of feminism lol and don't want to make this about fandom beef)

It's also not necessary because there are a lot of anime that are outspokenly feminist and center women. Revolutionary Girl Utena being the obvious one, and got me through the 2016 election aftermath with episodes like when Utena beats Touga after he defeats her the first time, showing how women can triumph eventually even when the odds are wholly stacked against us. And it has a really probing analysis of the patriarchy and heteronormativity woven throughout the whole show.

A whole bunch of magical girl anime (not the entire genre, some suck and are made for gross dudes, but a lot of them, especially the 90s ones are aimed at women - Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura etc). Sayo Yamamoto's stuff that isn't Yuri on Ice - not that that show isn't great and gay and cute and doesn't say interesting things in its occasional one-off subplots about women, but it's obviously focused on men. But people who liked it who want great women-centric stuff should watch her Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine and Michiko and Hatchin, both centered on women and very feminist in their themes, albeit in a way that requires you to pay attention and think and watch the whole show so you occasionally get Tumblrites without reading comprehension missing the point of them. I was really surprised, given the kind of trashy title, by the anime Maria the Virgin Witch, which is all about fighting patriarchal ideas about sex in fantasy medieval Europe. Also, Yurikuma Arashi by the same creator as Utena is a really good analysis of the ways that lesbians are portrayed in Japanese media and by the broader patriarchy.

For as much misogyny as there is in anime, the stuff that does engage with feminism can often be pretty radical and smart and does it better than you'll see in a lot of other media. It's like having that low hum of misogyny in the medium as a whole builds up a rage in some of its creators that just explodes in the stuff they make. Same with how it often engages with queer themes, tbh.

And then there's just that anime has a lot more female-character-centered stuff even if it isn't "feminist" exactly. Like stuff about women where the story and world is centered on women that you can just put on as a comfort watch. Love Live or something lol

you do bring up a good point about fma, i kinda forgot about that bc i watched it like a decade ago. rgu is really great and i defo recommend it even tho it was directed by a man. yurikuma is actually my fave anime of all time but does seem sexist and fan servicey on the surface. and i love love live and the other cgdct anime but it feels like there is always an underlying misogyny of that genre, knowing how the male fans and creators are. if i were to recommend a comfort watch i would go with k-on bc it has a female director.

thanks for the recs!