#circa waves 1

[piasgermany]

[Album + Video] Circa Waves kündigen neues Album "Death & Love Pt.1" an!

Die Liverpooler Indie-Rock-Band Circa Waves sind zurück mit ihrem neuen Album "Death & Love Pt.1", das am 31. Januar 2025 digital über Lower Third erscheinen wird. Das 9-Track-Album mit kathartischem Gitarren-Pop dient dabei als starker Bewältigungsmechanismus, um eine Nahtoderfahrung von Frontmann Kieran Shudall zu verarbeiten. 

Anfang 2023 erhielt Kieran einen Anruf von den Ärzten, die ihm mitteilten, dass die Hauptarterie in seinem Herzen stark verstopft sei. Schon zwei Tage später lag er auf dem Operationstisch. Was folgte, war die Absage zahlreicher Auftritte, die Einnahme zahlreicher Medikamente und vor allem die Notwendigkeit, ein neues Leben zu führen.

“I needed this record to process what I went through. A letter to tell myself I would stick around”, erzählt Kieran. “Most of all, I wanted to make a record for me, with music I love and hopefully music to make kids in their bedroom pick up a guitar and believe they can take on the fucking world.”

Die von Kieran und Matt Wiggins (Adele, Lana Del Rey, Glass Animals) produzierten neun Tracks von "Death & Love Pt.1" versprühen Nostalgie und erinnern an die Klänge und Themen, die Shudall dazu brachten, überhaupt erst eine Gitarre in die Hand zu nehmen. So auch die erste Singleauskopplung "We Made It", die nur so vor Hoffnung und Optimismus strotzt.

Tracklist "Death & Love Pt.1": 1. American Dream 2. Like You Did Before 3. We Made It 4. Le Bateau 5. Hold It Steady 6. Let's Leave Together 7. Blue Damselfly 8. Everything Changed 9. Bad Guys Always Win

Instagram Facebook

[uboat53]

Well, as expected, Trump can't keep his focus on policy attacks against the Harris-Walz ticket and keeps wandering off into racist/sexist/bizarre personal attacks. Many say that this is a Trump problem, but I think it's a lot bigger than him in a way that's going to keep hurting Republicans long after he's gone. LONG RANT (TM) time?

INTRODUCTION

I'm sure you've noticed the Very Serious (TM) Republicans like Lindsay Graham and Marco Rubio and Very Serious (TM) conservative media outlets like the Wall Street Journal that keep talking about how Donald Trump would absolutely destroy Kamala Harris in November if only he could keep focused on policy instead of pursuing personal attacks and angry vendettas. Of course, all of them are missing the main reason Trump isn't talking about policy; Republican policy is overwhelmingly unpopular.

Look, I don't give Trump a lot of credit. I don't think he's very intelligent or insightful and I doubt his ability to focus on anything but his own personal vendettas for more than a few minutes, but the man knows popular. You can see him at work at his rallies, he'll start spitballing on something and play with it back and forth with the crowd until he finds something that resonates, it's what he does.

If Trump isn't running on policy, there's a good reason for it. Of course, we should look at specifics to illustrate the issue.

ECONOMICS

To put it bluntly, the Republicans don't have much of an economic policy anymore. Maybe the used to, but that's all gone. There are only two policies they have left, two things you can guarantee will happen under any Republican administration with a minimally compliant Congress: (1) they'll cut taxes for rich people and corporations and (2) they'll try to undo regulations.

That's it, that's all they've got. Now go around and ask people if they think cutting taxes for rich people and corporations is a good idea. I'll bet you don't get many positive responses and you'll get more than few profanities. Even cutting regulations doesn't do so well when you actually get specific about which regulations. People dislike the idea of regulations in general, but they like those regulations that keep the air and water clean.

Now, there was a point where Republican policy had some grounding. Back in the 70s when the Laffer Curve was first proposed, no one knew where the point at the top of the curve was.

(For those who are unaware, the Laffer Curve is the idea that there is some optimal tax rate. Taxing below that rate raises less money for the government, but taxing above that rate also raises less money because it overtaxes the economy. You should look it up, it's a very interesting concept.)

Nowadays, of course, we've got 40+ years of research on it and we have a pretty good idea that the optimum top marginal tax rate is about 70%. In other words, there is, at current tax rates, no way to grow the economy by cutting taxes, but Republicans keep doing it anyways. It's like a zombie policy that's immune to evidence and reason and just keeps on going from sheer inertia.

Of course, that's just the evidence about the economy as a whole. We also know that, starting in the 1980s with a wave of tax cuts and deregulation, worker pay stopped increasing with productivity. In fact, we've seen decades of stagnating wages and increasing income inequality under Republican economic policy to the point where you can actually look at graphs of economic data and point to where Ronald Reagan was elected based on where things started getting bad for average people.

Yet, still, Republicans hold to this economic policy. Despite all of the evidence and the very real consequences it has had for our economy, Republicans cling to the economic policy of Reagan circa 1980 with no interest in creating something new that they could hang their hats on. It really does speak to the state of ideas in the party.

FOREIGN POLICY

And foreign policy? Yeah, Trump can't talk about that either. Dictators like Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin aren't very popular and NATO and democratic countries are. Heck, support for Ukraine has fallen since its peak, but it's still more popular than Trump himself.

Maybe there's a case to be made that the views of Cold War-style Republicans like Rubio and Graham who are pro-NATO, pro-Ukraine, and anti-Russia, are popular, but that's not Trump's policy. His foreign policy runs pretty hard against what most Americans think our foreign policy should be.

The one thing in his foreign policy that has even a little bit of positive approval is his plan for tariffs, but even that would fall apart in the details. Most people who support it do so with the vague idea that it would protect US jobs, but how many of them would still support it if they knew how likely it is to turbo-charge inflation? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it'd sink like a lead balloon if he talked about it enough that it actually started getting coverage.

DOMESTIC POLICY

Okay, so there's economic policy, there's foreign policy, and there's domestic policy which basically comes down to "everything else". I'm going to take his domestic policy ideas from Agenda 47, Trump's official campaign site, instead of Project 2025 because Trump is pretending not to know anything about the latter (despite cheerleading it behind the scenes for years), but they're really not all that different.

Trump wants to "certify teachers by their patriotism", abolish teacher tenure, cut funding to any school that doesn't teach subjects the way he wants them to, re-introduce prayer in schools, and close the Department of Education. He wants to establish a commission stocked with conspiracy theorists to investigate autism, he's both approved of and opposed plans to negotiate drug prices, and he's planning to deport tens of millions of undocumented immigrants. He wants to dramatically expand the death penalty, end any government involvement in civil rights, and try to use federal health care money to prevent people from getting transgender surgery even if they pay for it themselves.

None of these things are popular and all of them would be even less so if he actually went around promoting them or worse, tried to actually follow through on them. And Project 2025, which he has disavowed even while maintaining close ties with those who wrote it, is even worse. If you think targeting transgender people polls badly, wait until they come for abortion, birth control, IVF, and pornography.

MESSAGING

You can see all of that in the way that people who only live in a conservative world try to attack liberals. The Wall Street Journal, for example, recently tried to attack Gov. Walz, now Kamala Harris' VP pick, for creating a state system of family and medical leave, providing free college for kids under a certain income threshold, making it easier to vote, and providing school lunches.

These only sound like bad things if you live in a bubble of conservative media that separates you from the real world. Real people love feeding hungry children and letting caretakers take time off to care for loved ones!

POPULARITY

We need to pause for a moment here and address one thing. You see, Trump and Republican's economic policies are unpopular, yet more Americans say they trust Trump to keep the economy strong than trust Harris. How can that be?

Well, there's an old saying (and I'm paraphrasing here) that people are Republicans in theory, Democrats in practice. In other words, they like the vibe of Republicans and they like the sound bites but, once you actually start to talk about the details of any given policy, they don't like Republican ideas at all.

I'm pretty sure that's what's going on here and it's one more big reason Trump doesn't want to talk policy.

CONCLUSION

Look, I get the instinct from Republicans that they'd like their presidential candidate to be more serious, but if they ever want that to happen they're going to have to grapple with the fact that the policies they want are not anything that would ever win an election. Trump is running on personal attacks and vendettas because he knows that these are all way more popular than the actual policies that he and Republicans actually want to put in place if they were to win and the only way to keep any sort of advantage on any policy is to keep it vague.

Until that changes, don't expect any Republican candidate to make a serious policy based argument for their election, even after the age of Trump.

[formulinos]

Hello everybody! Today, I come to you off-character to touch on such a heavy topic that is the ongoing genocide taking place in Palestine. For the past month, Gaza and the West Bank has been unrelentingly attacked by Israel in retaliation against a surprise attack by Hamas - an armed Palestian group, who was in fact partially funded by Israel in the 70s.

Currently, Gaza stands practically without resources such as fuel, water, food and medical supplies while bombings continue. The little that manages to pass through is thanks to the continuous work of organisations that help to pass on donations to the people inside.

As we witness such a strong wave of hate take over our society due to the escalation of actions of a powerful group of bigots way back in the 20s, it truly is painful to see how they have succeeded in dividing us to their own gains. The Jewish have suffered too much to now have to see a settler state commit the same crimes it was once inflicted upon them. Likewise, the Palestinians have been in forcefully stripped of everything they have, and now what’s being demanded of them is their families and their lives. Nobody deserves this.

Therefore, my goal here is to try and fundraise whatever little possible in benefit of Palestine. There are three ways I wish to help:

1) Donations to the UNRWA: The United Nations Agency Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is one of the main sources of assistance for Palestinians as circa 717 000 people are currently sheltering in 149 UNRWA facilities. Most recently, one of their schools has been bombed in Jabalia, resulting in the 15 deaths and 70 injuries.

2) Donations to the Medical Aid for Palestinians: MAP have been instrumental in providing help to Palestine, managing to supply them with essential medication, medical supplies, hygiene kits and even mattresses and blankets. One of the main consequences of this siege is the eminent threat of a public health crisis with a possible spread of infectious diseases and it’s instrumental to Palestinians to have access to more supplies as soon as possible.

3) Donations to #ConnectingGaza: This is an initiative from writer Mirna El Helbawi to supply eSIMS to people. Connections often go dark in Palestine as Israel shuts them off prior to attacks, so Palestinians often rely on these eSIMS hosted abroad to reach their families, obtain help and coordinate the delivery of donations.

I’ve created a PayPal account for this purpose with the money being split equally between these three organisations. I have a small blog but my number of followers is non-negligible, and as every penny counts I could not ignore the possibility of being there for Palestine in the only way I could. Please, whatever you can give works just well, and if you don’t have anything to give you can still reblog this!

If you don’t trust an internet stranger, however, and you wish to donate directly to these charities, by all means do! In their websites they have instructions on how you can collaborate, this fundraiser is only here to make it even easier for you to help. I fully intend on updating you daily with how much has been raised and passing all I have directly to the organisations above. Whoever tries to con you guys with such a severe topic is going straight to megahell.

Here’s my PayPal: LINK

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 1, Wave 2, Poll 12

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Korra-Avatar: The Legend of Korra

Qualifications:

Korra is not only bisexual, having dated both Asami Sato and Mako, but was and still is disabled by the end of the series. She doesn't magically get better from being poisoned, she's forced to relearn a lot of things: how to walk, how to do things for herself, and even how to fight properly. Her physical disabilities are mixed with extensive trauma and PTSD that prevents her from doing her job as the Avatar throughout Book 4: Balance.

Canonically bisexual, has PTSD, and spent a while partially paralyzed and using a wheelchair.

Bisexual badass who ended up going through about 5038309340 traumatizing events, one of which involved mercury poisoning that had her unable to walk for about a year and left her with lasting PTSD and depression (though again the depression is a little less clear wheras the PTSD was obviously intended to be read as such). There was also her shadow self, but it's unclear whether that was a form of psychosis or a literal spirit. In short, she's bi and has PTSD if you want to stick with the more long term, obviously canon bits.

Propaganda:

She's the Avatar, you gotta deal with it! But, seriously, Avatar Korra was the first onscreen LBGT+ character in the Avatar franchise alongside her girlfriend Asami Sato. While limited in what could be shown onscreen, the two were explictly portrayed as a couple in the 2016 Dark Horse comic "Legend of Korra: Turf Wars". Likewise, her disability never quite went away. She still struggled with trauma, PTSD, and learning how to do things for herself again for two to three years in the time between books 3 and 4 that were shown off in flashbacks during her solo episodes.

She's canonically bi and has PTSD, and disability was an incredibly important theme for her in her show's final season.

i dunno I think i covered all my bases in the qualifying bit but also its 3am and i dont feel like typing more

Anything Else?:

The creators of Korra, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, fought long and hard for their show, including taking a massive budget slash circa book 4 to avoid firing half their staff. Likewise, they took to Tumblr and other social media in 2014 to state firmly that Korra and Asami were both bisexual and in love. Here's a link: https://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/105916338157/korrasami-is-canon-you-can-celebrate-it-embrace

The qualifications and propaganda paragraphs correspond, @foulfirerebel is the first submitter, they also did the anything else section.

Will Kenrith-Magic: The Gathering

Qualifications:

Canon bisexual and lost a limb

Propaganda:

In his debut novel, Will and his twin sister Rowan discuss a boy he had a crush on. During the fight for Arcavios, he lost the lower half of his right leg. He summoned a prosthetic using his ice magic, but he has to consciously keep it formed.

[straycalamities]

how did you come up with making Entre? What inspired you?

the onceler LOL and homestuck

okay story time w chase ahem

so actually how i got into tumblr at all is very relevant to the chain of events that led to entre existing. so before here, i was mainly on a...particular art webbed site that was basically a sinking ship circa: 2010 so i forgot how i heard about tumblr? but i joined here at first just to do naruto comm rp. like my only account was a naruto rp account for the first... i dont remember how long

eventually i got curious enough to make a personal account and started being active on that. a bunch of my friendgroup from the other site moved with me and we were just hanging out being naruto nerds. at some point i got into homestuck/learned about the askblog format. i don't remember which came first, but i DID run kibanaru and flutterdash askblogs before the lorax was a blip on my radar

i remember when i was in the homestuck fandom, i was so used to the naruto fandom where like..sure it's huge but i had established myself in a corner of it and it felt very like... it was a community! and in the homestuck fandom i didn't feel like that at all. i felt swept out to sea and it was very lonely tbh aside from the friends id manage to drag with me into it, but i always felt a certain dissatisfaction from my time in it

a friend of mine was the one to show me the lorax and the once-ler. i don't...remember how THEY found him, but they were already very into him before they even came to me about him. and they basically nagged me into watching the movie LMFAO (this was when the movie was still freshly in theaters so all we had was shitty camrips and LiveStream was a thing) so i started to draw smexy onceler and oncest fanart to mess with them and...well y'know ye olde saying about doing things as a joke.

so yeah i kinda got...genuinely interested in him. especially after i watched the 72' short and reread the book and was like wait. this movie is mid as hell actually. (the siren song of mid media) and i was like "well if /i/ wrote the movie id do this n this n this n this" and then all that added up in my head and i was like wait.

what if i did a once-ler askblog where i just change certain things to what i like? it wasnt gonna be a complete revamp/remastering because i wanted to do a proper askblog so i wanted to have his character be recognizable to any fans of the onceler. and this was wayyyyy before anyone was getting the idea to do the very creative and expansive onceler takes we have these days as a norm. so it was kinda like? being shoehorned into being Canon!Once-ler because?? that's just how you did askblogs back then

BUT!! there were a few other askblogs already around back then (end of April 2012 for ref) so i didn't wanna do what everyone else was doing (very much Established Business Once-ler/Greed-ler, Vest-ler/Oncie, or Aftermath Once-ler) so i got the idea to do the onceler but! he's still very fresh and new to his business. still basically vest-ler/oncie in personality but with big things on the horizon.

i started creating his blog the weekend before may. that's why his birthday is May 1 because that's when i officially started his blog and posted his first post and all that. literally when he was born.

so yeah this was all to try and find my niche in a community again as well as do what i'd already been doing for years now: waving my headcanons in ppls faces via my art LMFAO

it was honestly pretty new for me in a bunch of ways so it was very scary. i even tried to keep it a total secret at first. i thought people wouldn't recognize me for my art style.... (yeah idk how i thought that'd work either) and i mean??? for the most part that was true because it's not like anyone in the once-ler fandom would've known me beforehand anyways

so for the first uhhh...idk it didn't last long tho..i was a secret mod, but i got too itchy about sharing art that i didn't wanna put on his blog so i broke that pretty quick. i had a lot of personal rules i put on myself on what to do/not to do on and with his blog. and i still, to this day, follow a handful of them. so when i drew other stuff that i didn't think fit on his blog, i was like well damn i wish i could show this somehow...

tho sometimes i wish i'd tried to keep up the secret mod shtick a little longer

anywho. from there it's kinda like..he really just grew on his own. new ideas, new inspiration, new experiences shaping this or that. now i can write him without touching him for years like i just picked him up yesterday. he's that wormed in my damn brain at this point. he's basically his own person sitting in my head telling me what to do with him/what he'd say

so yeah at first? it was just me trying to write a very accurate 2012 movie onceler with a few tweaks. and then he just grew organically into what he is now. that's still his root and so that's still the default direction i try to take, but he definitely has a lot of things that make him his own person at this point too. even on his main blog.

as for why he's so stupid goofy. well. that's because i like drawing dumb expressions. the end. and in the end i'm glad his main blog remained super unserious and lighthearted because it really helped me mentally a bunch (those random spikes in activity? yeah it was for my own mental health LMFAO he helps me...a lot...because of the escapism and comedy)

bonus: as for truffula flu entre. i don't remember if something in particular inspired me to make him the ender of the world. i just felt like it'd be a fitting story for the once-ler for him to be in that spot. and from there i just approached him how i thought someone like him would react were he to find himself in that position.

my goal was always to make him as human as possible. like he's technically the villain of this story, but he's also the protagonist. yaknow. so i wanted to really interweave those two ideas interestingly into his character (and now im obsessed w it)

originally i thought of truffula flu as everyone doing their own storylines. i didn't expect at all that everyone would adopt MINE as all of THEIR canons. that was LKFJSLDKF a big surprise for me i was like wait what. i guess it seems silly now in retrospect that i didn't expect that, but i was just like "well this is entre's story. ppl can do whatever else they want tho" but suddenly entre's story was everyone's story. and it's pretty cool i can't lie

[goncharov-propaganda-factory]

Mishapocalypse: what the-

Hey, former redditors! Welcome to the hellsite, we're all glad that you're here (especially you 196 folk you warm my dead, frozen heart). While on the whole you seem to be adapting AMAZINGLY fast to site culture, if any of you are confused over one of our founding myths this may help.

(or if you're a veteran tumblrina and just want to read an essay that's fine too)

(others key parts of our national identity to learn about if you're curious include Goncharov, I Love You, Color of the Sky, My Three Girlfriends, and many more)

also if you don't want to read my entire fucking essay take this and run

but if you want to know the deal with this man, read on!

Mishorigins

Supernatural is a 2000s-ass TV series that ran on the CW from 2005 to 2020. It's about two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, who are "hunters" that protect people from various supernatural entities. The show was originally planned to last five seasons, with an angel character named Castiel (this is important) slated to be revealed as God in the finale. Castiel (nicknamed Cass by the CW and Cas by objectively correct people) was introduced in S4.

left: Castiel, the gay angel of our collective dreams. right: Misha Collins.

The Man Behind the Mish

Misha Collins is a straight man who was forced by a cruel and uncaring god to play a heavily queer coded angel on a TV series intended for any demographic BUT gay teens (which is what it became). His performance as Castiel, and the large queer teen fanbase he drew, were a driving force behind a show would ultimately continue for three times longer its original plan.

I don't have anywhere else to put these facts so they go here

he was an intern in the Clinton administration during the Lewinsky scandal

he knows Tibetan throat singing

he was arrested for climbing onto a bank roof (he was trying to... read a book? 👀👀👀)

he probably made Jensen Ackles (the guy who played Dean less homophobic? Maybe?

he held a scavenger hunt called GISHWHES several times for his charity, Random Acts

cool guy

he later played Harvey Dent on Gotham Knights this very year (2023)

there's icebergs of this shit

he farted on an airplane once

Mishion: Impossible

April 1st, 2013 is a date that will live in mishinfamy. Tumblr a main hub of the SuperWhoLock fandom (a mega-fandom amalgamating Supernatural, Sherlock BBC, and Doctor Who), was the only place the Mishapocalypse could happen.

For boring deets I'll redirect you to the KnowYourMeme page but these images should sum it up.

left: a list of Tumblr users, circa 2013. right: a fine example of Misha culture

There are two takeaways here:

You cannot outrun Misha.

You will become him.

On April 1, 2013, a significant portion of Tumblr changed their avatar to the now-iconic Mishapocalypse photo and their handle to "Misha Collins", followed by similar waves of Mish across other social media sites.

above: the modern Prometheus

This beautiful event was emblematic of pre-Dashcon Tumblr, an era as far away from us now as 1200 AD was from 1208 AD. You'll be pleased to know that the Mishapocalypse returns every April 1st to grace these ancient halls, a small group of pilgrims tracing new paths on the well-worn floor of the Church of Misha.

(this isn't to say the Supernatural fandom is dead, it's just somewhat diminished from it's glory days.

Thanks for reading! Reblog if you liked. I'll leave you with a bunch of Mishimages of my own that I posted for Mishapocalypse 23 (the 10th anniversary). Shameless self-promotion!!!

in clockwise order:

The Mona Misha

Mishius

Misha's extra hour in the ball pit

The Mishian (with Mish Damon)

Future ideas include Salvator Misha. Feel free to ask any questions you have, and I hope you enjoy Tumblr.

Happy Mishing!

ps I have not actually watched supernatural you just learn all of this via osmosis

[catindabag]

TBOSAS on Crack!AU: ✨The Fave Banned Songs of The 24 OG Mentors✨

A friend of mine asked me to list the Mentors’ favorite banned (100% illegal in Panem) songs in my TBOSAS Crack!AU.

So here they are:

1. Coriolanus Snow (Sugar Baby Era)

Snow On The Beach by T. Swift & Lana

Radio by Lana Del Rey

Careless Whisper by George Michael

Bloom by Troye Sivan (For Sejanus)

“Sl*t!” By Taylor Swift (For Sejanus)

2. Sejanus Plinth (Sugar Daddy Era)

Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran

Jenny by Studio Killers (For Coryo)

Lover by Taylor Swift (For Coryo)

Hey Blondie by Dominic Fike (For Coryo)

Ride by SoMo (For Coryo)

3. Festus Creed (Dumpster Fire Era)

We Can’t Stop by Miley Cyrus

Last Friday Night by Katy Perry

All Star by Smash Mouth

Honeypie by JAWNY

Chicken Nugget Dreamland by Parry Grip

4. Lysistrata Vickers (Crazy Fangirl Era)

Wannabe by Spice Girls

Barbie Dreams by FIFTY FIFTY, Kaliii

Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles

Starman by David Bowie

Groupie by Cate

5. Felix Ravinstill (Class President Era)

Under Pressure by Queen, David Bowie

Touchy Feely Fool by AJR

The Hype by Twenty One Pilots

Kingdom Come by Jon Bellion

This is What Makes Us Girls by Lana

6. Persephone Price (Unhinged Lover Era)

Candy by Unknown Brain

Crush by Tessa Violet

Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max

I Really Like You by Carly Rae Jepsen

7. Clemensia Dovecote (Friend-zoned Era)

Still Into You by Paramore

Your Type by Carly Rae Jepsen

Midnight Love by Girl in Red

Mr. Lonely by Bobby Vinton

8. Livia Cardew (Rich Queen Era)

7 Rings by Ariana Grande

Material Girl by Madonna

Barbie World by Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice

9. Androcles Anderson (Sneaky Sneak Era)

Stand Up by One Direction

Cake By The Ocean by DNCE

Drive By by Train

Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

10. Hilarius Heavensbee (Disowned Clown Era)

Birthday Party by AJR

Sad Happy by Circa Waves

SugarCrash! By ElyOtto

Thomas Theme by Thomas & Friends

11. Palmyra Monty (Chef on Crack Era)

Cooking by The Book by Lazy Town

Raining Tacos by Parry Grip

Fruit Salad by The Wiggles

Krusty Krab by Trap Remix

12. Apollo Ring (Sunshine Boi Era)

Oh Potato Dog by Parry Grip

Sunroof by Nicky Youre, Dazy

Sunkissed by Khai Dreams

Come On Eileen by Dexys M.R

13. Diana Ring (Pastel Peach Era)

Rainbow Magic by Rosanna Pansino

Cupid by FIFTY FIFTY (Twin Ver.)

Penguin On Me by Schmoyoho

My Little Pony Theme by My Little Pony

14. Vipsania Sickle (Gym Gal Era)

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! By ABBA

Eye of The Tiger by Survivor

YMCA by Village People

15. Gaius Breen (Hype Man Era)

Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars

The Nights by Avicii

Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes

16. Dennis Fling (Trader Joe’s Era)

Billionaire by Travis McCoy, Bruno Mars

Money, Money, Money by ABBA

MONEY by LISA

17. Pliny Harrington (Sleepy Dawg Era)

The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars

Some Nights by Fun

Saturday by Twenty One Pilots

18. Domitia Whimsiwick (Farm Gal Era)

Everything She Ain’t by Hailey Whitters

If You Go Down by Kelsea Ballerini

WWDD by Lainey Wilson

Biscuits by Kacey Musgraves

19. Urban Canville (Exploding Man Era)

World’s Smallest Violin by AJR

All Time Low by Jon Bellion

When I was Done Dying by Dan Deacon

The Pi Song by AsapSCIENCE

20. Io Jasper (Nerd in Love Era)

Boys by Charli XCX

What Lovers Do by Maroon 5, SZA

Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen

The Science Love Song by AsapSCIENCE

21. Florus Friend (Introvert on Stage Era)

Dreamland by Glass Animals

Loretta by Ginger Root

Herp De Derp by Schmoyoho

22. Iphigenia Moss (Rebellious Diet Era)

Boom Clap by Charli XCX

Popular Song by MIKA, Ariana Grande

Prom Dress by mxmtoon

23. Juno Phipps (Royal Baby Girl Era)

Rich Girl by Gwen Stefani, Eve

Dance The Night by Dua Lipa

California Gurls by Katy Perry

24. Arachne Crane (Screeching Banshee Era)

Beautiful Trauma by P!nk

Super Bass by Nicki Minaj

Primadonna by MARINA

[ag-updates-and-archives]

The Sound Of Animals Fighting Go Apeshit At Webster Hall

By Joseph Buscarello - On Jan 23, 2023

Post-hardcore collective The Sound of Animals Fighting rolled through Webster Hall this past Saturday, January 21st, for the penultimate show on their 2023 winter tour. The tour comes fresh off the release of their new EP, and first new music in 15 years, Apeshit. These shows mark the band’s only fourth ever tour, but the hardcore supergroup were in fine form Saturday night as the eight-piece collective constantly shifted roles and personnel throughout the night.

The Sound of Animals Fighting have always existed behind shroud and mystery, famously doing their original press photos wearing animal masks and only identifying the band members via their animal monikers. While the core lineup has not been a mystery in a long time, the band has a new permutation of their rotating personnel for this era. Vocalist Anthony Green (Circa Survive, Saosin, L.S. Dunes) anchors the band with his soaring, melodic vocal style backed by RX Bandits members Rich Balling, Matt Embree, Steve Choi, and Chris Tsagakis. Rounding out the Apeshit lineup is Keith Goodwin (Days Away, Good Old War), Matthew Kelly (The Autumns), and Jonathan Hischke.

On Apeshit, The Sound of Animals Fighting dial back the atmosphere and cinematic elements of their style in favor of more straight forward and in-your-face post hardcore. Standout track “Sharon Tate, Despite Everything” comes in waves; Rich Balling drones over a dark and melodic instrumental with sporadic drumming then Anthony Green barges in screaming out a long “Sharon Tate…” as the song takes on a more formal post-hardcore progression. The two sections blend together as the song progresses, creating one of the most interesting songs in the genre in some time. The title track kicks off the EP with a relentless hardcore presentation and technical, near math rock guitar and rhythm sections. Things slow down a bit on “Wolf”, with swirling and distorted synths backed by electronic drum kicks before the EP closes with “Duche Das”, most reminiscent of the interludes on 2007’s Tiger and The Duke.

With the tour over, and the EP released, the future is uncertain for The Sound of Animals Fighting. The band has only toured four times since their debut in 2005 and all of their members are active in many other projects. Anthony Green himself has seen a resurgence in recent years, forming new band L.S. Dunes (who are fresh off a debut LP and tour) and remaining active in Saosin. While Circa Survive is currently on hiatus, you never know what Green will embark on next.

The passion and cohesiveness of The Sound of Animals Fighting was top tier at Webster Hall this past weekend. The band performs as if they have been on regular tour for 15 years and the energy and engagement with the crowd was palpable. While we wait and see what the future holds, we can rest assured that we just witnessed one of the best post-hardcore tours in recent memory. Check out the full photo gallery from Webster Hall below.

The Sound of Animals Fighting, Webster Hall 1/21/2023

Setlist: Wolf, Apeshit, I, The Swan, Act I: Chasing Suns, Act II: All Is Ash or the Light Shining Through It, This Heat, My Horse Must Lose, Another Leather Lung, Blessings Be Yours Mister V, On The Occasion of Wet Snow, The Heretic, Act III: Modulate Back To The Tonic, Act IV: You Don’t Need A Witness

Encore: The Heraldic Beak Of The Manufacturer’s Medallion, Skullflower, Stockhausen, es ist Ihr Gehrin das ich suche, Sharon Tate, Despite Everything

[journeytothewestresearch]

The Worship of Red Son

Fans of Lego Monkie Kid, did you know that Red Son (Hong hai'er, 紅孩兒), this guy ...

... is worshiped in Chinese folk religion? Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592) states that Guanyin (觀音) gives "Red Boy" the religious title "Child of Goodly Wealth" (Shancai tongzi, 善財童子) upon his initial capture and fake submission to Buddhism:

"Since you have received my commandments," said the Bodhisattva, "I won't treat you lightly. I'll call you the Child of Goodly Wealth. How's that?" The fiend nodded his head in agreement, for all he hoped for was that his life be spared. [1]

菩薩道：「你今既受我戒，我卻也不慢你，稱你做善財童子，如何？」 那妖點頭受持，只望饒命。

This is the Chinese name of an established Buddhist deity called "Sudhana". He is best known as a young cultivator from the Gaṇḍavyūha Sutra (c. 200 to 300 CE) who studies under 53 respective gods, goddesses, bodhisattvas, holy monks, and lay practitioners to achieve enlightenment. [2] He is commonly depicted as one of Guanyin's two disciples, the other being the Dragon Girl (Longnu, 龍女). For instance, here is a Malaysian religious statue of the trio in my personal collection:

Here is a detail of the Child of Goodly Wealth (his right leg is not broken, just bent at the knee). Take note of the Monkey King-like curlicue band around his neck and the golden rings around his wrists and ankle(s).

The bands/rings are very similar to those worn by Nezha in Monkie Kid (more on this below):

Here is a stand alone statue of the Child in my collection. The curlicue-style neck band is not included:

While the rings are likely connected to the kinds of adornments historically worn by South Asian religious practitioners, Journey to the West states that Red Boy/the Child's ornaments serve the same function as Monkey's golden headband. They are used to further submit the stubborn demon:

Dear Bodhisattva! She took the fillet and waved it at the wind once, crying, "Change!" It changed into five fillets, which she threw at the body of [Red Boy/the Child], crying, "Hit!" One fillet enveloped the boy's head, while the rest caught his two hands and two feet. "Stand aside, Wukong," said the Bodhisattva, "and let me recite for a while the Golden-Fillet Spell" (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 251).

好菩薩，將箍兒迎風一幌，叫聲：「變！」即變作五個箍兒，望童子身上拋了去，喝聲：「著！」一個套在他頭頂上，兩個套在他左右手上，兩個套在他左右腳上。菩薩道：「悟空，走開些，等我念念金箍兒咒。」

I should note that this is not a case of later believers copying details from the novel. It's actually the reverse; Journey to the West simply gives a fanciful origin for the rings that have been associated with the deity for centuries. For instance, here is a Japanese statue from the 13th-century.

This is where it gets interesting. Some modern practitioners worship the Child of Goodly Wealth in his Red Boy form, as evidenced by these circa 1970s drawings from a Singaporean idol maker's shop (photos by Keith Stevens/courtesy of Ronni Pinsler of the BOXS project). Notice how they are strikingly similar to Nezha:

They are so similar, in fact, that modern statues of Nezha and Red Boy are easy to confuse. Here is a prime example. The figure on the left is Nezha in his "Lotus Prince" (Hualian taizi, 蓮花太子) form. [3] The leaves on his shoulders look just like those from the first Red Boy drawing above. The one in the middle is his "Wrapped Stomach" (Du wei, 肚圍) form, which shows Nezha wearing a baby's stomach apron. And the last is Red Boy. He wears the same apron and even stands on a fire wheel just like Nezha (refer back to the second Red Boy drawing).

Update #1

This website notes how someone added a spear to their Child of Goodly Wealth to make Red Boy.

Update #2

An informant states that more recent practitioners consider the Child of Goodly Wealth and Red Boy two different deities:

[H]ave to wonder just why wu cheng en decided to hybridise existing buddhist figure sudhana with red boy, these days many devotees subscribe to pov that shan cai and red boy are two seperate individuals with shan cai statues unarmed and red boy statues wielding weapons

They also directed me to this (likely custom) statue of Red Boy. I love the flames shooting from his mouth:

Note:

Original source changed slightly.

His spiritual journey is summarized in Fontein, 1967, pp. 5-14.

After sacrificing his life, Nezha's physical body is replaced with a divine one constructed from a lotus. See Creation of the Gods (c. 1620).

Source:

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vol. 2). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Fontein J. (1967). The Pilgrimage of Sudhana: A Study of Gandavyuha Illustrations in China, Japan and Java. The Hague: Mouton & Co.

[attaboylew]

Hello! 🎸

Hi 👋🏻,

1. golden days - circa waves

2. won’t go quietly - example

3. cross you out - charli xcx ft sky ferreira

4. sky musings - wolf alice

5. so hot you’re hurting my feelings - caroline polachek

[oklcmc]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀BILLIE JEAN ❪MASTERLIST❫࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ [18+]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀〝⠀For FORTY DAYS and for forty nights，THE LAW was⠀⠀⠀on her side，〞

I do not permit anyone to repost nor translate any of the work that lies beneath this line break. May this also be a quick reminder to not，and I repeat⸻ do not take from my characters，plots，graphics nor formats and try to use them as inspiration to those of your own advantage without asking me for permission or rightfully crediting me first! I originally came up with these ideas myself，that including my forewarning and playlists’ formatting. I would hate for new readers to be led astray by thinking I’m stealing from someone else when that really isn’t the case at all! I will not hesitate on blocking you from my account indefinitely either. Let this be your final warning!

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁰⁰¹.⠀⟆⠀WANNA BE STARTIN’ SOMETHIN’࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❪SERIES⠀╱⠀CINEMA❫

▋⠀UNDERGROUND COMBAT ❪URBAN❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀street fighter!black!male oc ❪keith powers❫  ✕  black!female oc ❪kelis rogers，circa ‘99❫ ⋮ㅤㅤㅤ⠀⠀⠀HAVING BEEN BIRTHED IN SEATTLE，Washington of late August with vaguely enough parental guidance，Kei Valentine had rightfully earned the persona of being spunky，straightforward，eccentric and diligent，but so had the boy whom was birthed twenty-four hours later，five years earlier and more than two⸻thousand miles apart from her. The only difference was that while Kei was discovering the positives in life though being abandoned at an early age， Tyree Devlin was raking up all the negatives before her. He was eager， callous，streetwise and rebellious as they came，thanks to the teachings of his only false God. ㅤㅤㅤFar from compatible，how the two Leos paths aligned was something that only the underbelly of New York City took to swallow，digest and keep sacred，but it wasn’t at all unattainable to one’s own access. You just had to know the correct route to take and connects to make. This is Underground Combat.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀or⠀⠀⠀in which even the innocent can wind up being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀TABLE OF CONTENTS⠀⦂

❱⠀SYNOPSIS. ❱⠀CHARACTER VISUALS. ❱⠀ACT I⠀⦂⠀〝MONEY，POWER ⅋ RESPECT.〞╱SOUNDTRACK.╱CHARACTER AES.

❱⠀CHAPTER UNO⠀⦂⠀〝HEAT WAVE.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER DOS，PT. 1╱2⠀⦂⠀〝SING ABOUT ME，〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER DOS，PT. 2╱2⠀⦂⠀〝I’M DYING OF THIRST.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER TRES⠀⦂⠀〝LOVE THY NEIGHBOR.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER CUATRO⠀⦂⠀〝STOCKHOLM？〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER CINCO⠀⦂⠀〝HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A WOMAN SCORNED.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER SEIS，PT. 1╱2⠀⦂⠀〝HIGH RISKS，HIGH REWARDS.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER SEIS，PT. 2╱2⠀⦂⠀〝FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD.〞

❱⠀ACT II⠀⦂⠀〝IMPERIAL OVERSTRETCH.〞

❱⠀CHAPTER SIETE⠀⦂⠀〝THE MARATHON.〞❪COMING SOON❫!

▋⠀IF YOU WANT ME TO STAY ❪BLAXPLOITATION╱THE GET DOWN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀shaolin fantastic ❪shameik alti moore❫ ✕ black!female oc ❪beyoncé giselle knowles-carter，circa ‘02❫ ⋮ㅤㅤㅤ⠀⠀⠀REFLECTING ON MY YOUTH，I must’ve pitied myself. That was the only real explanation I could think of when it came down to injecting my developing mind，body and soul with any chemical compound that broke me down until I completely surpassed the feeling of numb. Numb to the fact I was being exploited more ways than one by the hands of those other than my own. Numb to the fact I endured it all just to temporarily substitute the void my mother left Roam and I in since the ages of six and ten. She manifested every aspect of the young woman I was so desperately trying to become；independent， selfless and seemed to have the answer to any question thrown her way. I grew dependent on men，selfish to my own habits and breach to every promise I vowed to keep，even those that were left lying on her deathbed. I was untouchable，Mr. Nicky Barnes，until I was repeatedly caught up in my own acts and imprisoned by the same narcotics that made me numb. The good thing about rehabilitation was that I found time to humble myself，the bad thing about rehabilitation was that it was always hard to resist temptation. My final recovery couldn't have came at a better timing. It was Summer of 1977 when I made my return to the burning borough of the Boogie Down Bronx to make amends with my only sibling，make steep career choices，fall in love with a man with just as much venom as myself，resist folding under the pressure of the crooked cops and maybe even get a hit of that sweet stuff they call Hip-Hop.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀or⠀⠀⠀in which the origin of hip-hop is told from a woman’s perspective.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀TABLE OF CONTENTS⠀⦂

❱⠀PROMOTIONAL POSTER. ❱⠀SYNOPSIS. ❱⠀CHAPTER ONE⠀⦂⠀〝BE THAT AS IT MAY.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER TWO⠀⦂⠀〝DISCO INFERNO.〞❪COMING SOON❫!

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁰⁰¹.⠀⟆⠀BABY BE MINE࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❪IMAGINES⠀╱⠀ONE⸻SHOTS❫

Beneath this divider you’ll find imagines╱one⸻shots all written by me that will more than likely consist of black insert，heterosexual and sexually explicit content. lesbian╱bisexual imagines╱one⸻shots will rarely occur in this instance. My name or the names I’ve made up will be what the original characters go by，so no〝y╱n，〞❪？✕  reader❫，but feel free to replace these names with one of your own if you so please.

❱⠀SHE’S OUT MY LIFE ❪HAMILTON ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀soft!john laurens ❪anthony ramos，circa ‘15❫ ✕ black!toxic!female oc ❪beyoncé giselle knowles⸻carter，circa ‘08❫

❱⠀IN LIVING COLOUR ❪HAMILTON ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀aaron burr，jr. ❪leslie odom，jr.❫ ✕ black!journalist!chorus substitute teacher!female oc ❪faith renée evans，circa 1995❫

❱⠀ANYWHERE ❪BMF ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀demetrius edward〝big meech〞flenory，sr. ❪demetrius edward〝lil meech〞flenory，jr.❫ ✕ black!female oc ❪cheryl renee〝salt〞james，circa 1988❫

❱⠀WALKED OUT ❪EUPHORIA ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀fezco ❪conor angus cloud hickey❫ ✕ black!dentistry undergraduate!female oc ❪taylour dominique paige❫  

❱⠀ANYTHING GOES

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀kendrick lamar duckworth，circa ‘22 ✕ black!female oc

❱⠀PLUVIOPHILE

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀bryshere y. gray ✕ black!publication editor⸻in⸻chief!female oc

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁰⁰³.⠀⟆⠀THE GIRL IS MINE࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❪HEADCANONS⠀╱⠀DRABBLES❫

❱⠀NATURE FEELS ❪BLACK PANTHER ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀n’jadaka╱erik〝killmonger〞stevens ❪michael b. jordan❫ ✕ black!female oc ❪chaka khan，circa ‘77❫

❱⠀PLAY NO GAMES

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀kendrick lamar duckworth，circa ‘17？ ✕ black!female oc ❪lorraine ward❫

❱⠀LOVE.

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀kendrick lamar duckworth，circa ‘18 ✕ black!female oc ❪lorraine ward❫

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁰⁰⁴.⠀⟆⠀HUMAN NATURE࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❪REQUESTS⠀╱⠀SUGGESTIONS❫

The requests╱suggestions section is currently unavailable for the time being，so please refrain from sending me any. I vow to inform you guys in the near future⸻ When I actually have more time on my hands⸻ On when this tab will actually be open to the general public and with more information regarding to how to earn one，so don’t fret! Just to inform you guys ahead of time，I will not be writing homosexual ❪boy ✕ boy❫ imagines╱one⸻shots╱headcannons forewarning.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀OKLCMC presents… ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀BILLIE JEAN࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❪THE MASTERLIST❫

⠀⠀⠀heavily inspired by michael jackson’s ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀thriller ❪1982❫ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⓒ oklcmc，2024.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❛ BUT WHO CAN STAND ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀WHEN SHE’S⠀⠀⠀IN DEMAND ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀HER SCHEMES 𖬺͟ PLANS，❜ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀❪THE TAGLIST❫

[aphverse-confessions]

cishet zane part 2: zanechan

important to note that the cishet zane era coinsided with the rise of twt purity culture in general fandom circa covid times. you can't just not like something, it has to be 'problematic' and you have to cite your sources. like a callout but entirely ineffective because fictional character.

so people who didn't like zanechan/zane would make these posts trying to point out how 'problematic' it was, usually focusing on zane because kc was experiencing a new wave of popularity post nana reveal.

not saying zanchan is good or bad (arguably it is the healthiest canon ship tho), these are just the three takes i saw most often, in ascending length of reach.

The Crimes of Zane Ro'Meave

1. Ableism

Zane has called KC 'weird', 'loud', annoying', etc, several times on numerous occasions.

Yes, the shipping thing is objectively weird, but that's irrelevant

No, it does not matter when in the timeline this happened or if they were even friends yet, it shouldn't have happened at all.

KC can be read as ND coded, which makes this ableism instead of just being a dick.

A contrarian might point out that Zane is also ND coded, and a lot of his specific traits tend to clash with KC's, which might make interactions with her kinda taxing until he gets to know her better (ex. zane's touch averse while kc is bad at boundries). In this case, Zane should get over his internalized ableism.

2. Violence.

In episode 5 of s3, there's this scene where Zane whacks KC's hand with a yardstick a few times.

Despite the fact that this is clearly just a meme (Don't Toucha The Child) that is only relevant in one episode and Zane literally is never violent towards KC in any context outside of this one bit, it is dv he is a bad person.

3. Transphobia

With the Nana reveal, a good chunk of the fandom began to interpret KC as trans-coded (which isn't bad I am also a trans KC believer)

However, bc KC is trans-coded, 'Nana' is her deadname.

So Zane calling KC 'Nana' is deadnaming her, which makes him transphobic.

It doesn't matter that KC literally asked Zane to call her 'Nana' in private, and he respected those terms until he literally had magic brain damage and could not help it.

And then there were all these fix-it fics where Zane would turn down calling Nana by her preferred name because "KC is who she really is" like that's better??? Like???

.

[mareenavee]

WIP WHENEVER! (Wednesday?!)

Hi, today is a bit of a write off day because it's spooky season and NY weather is telling me it's mid-July somehow.

I did manage a little writing :> And I'll be happy to share about ~300 words from two WIPS! But first, tags!

Tagging the amazing and wonderful: @paraparadigm, @changelingsandothernonsense, @thequeenofthewinter, @thana-topsy, @gilgamish, @archangelsunited, @wildhexe, @elfinismsarts, @throughtrialbyfire, @saltymaplesyrup, @snippetsrus, @rainpebble3, @kookaburra1701, @polypolymorph, @inquisition-dragonborn, @orfeoarte, @tallmatcha, @rhiannon1199, @expended-sleeper, @dirty-bosmer, @miraakulous-cloud-district, @nuwanders, @ladytanithia, @viss-and-pinegar, and @late-nite-scholar! Below the cut for shenanigans! WIP 1 has CW for creepy spooky season stuff and WIP 2 has CW for Neloth (yes) and his canon-typical racism (circa Nerevarine times in Morrowind.)

1) Spooky Collab pending a title with @thequeenofthewinter and @thana-topsy! Uldwin is his OC, and this is the downfall timeline. (: Writing is mine.

The ramp that led up to the mushroom tower was itself rotting through, stringy, toxic orange webs of slime mold eating away at the fungus. Lydia balanced precariously on the wooden support beams, cursing the weight of the daedric armor Uldwin had gifted her. Its enchantment sang to her, too—a whisper of some Bosmeri prayer. Like his voice, scratchy from use of the Thu’um. She swallowed hard against another wave of grief. This, perhaps, had been the last of his efforts to spare her whatever fate he’d willingly walked into.

The door to the tower swung open of its own accord, iron hinges rusted and knob caked with mud and grime. Then… Whatever it was had become aware of her presence. This did not bode well at all. She stepped through into the darkness, unable even to cast Candlelight to guide her way forward.

Lydia’s senses were assaulted by the stench of death—mildew and rot, must, pine, the uncomfortable sweetness of fermentation—not at all unlike the smell of Nordic tombs, long undisturbed. She brushed cobwebs away as she crept through the shadows. Dawnbreaker glowed, though its light seemed stifled in this place. Dread settled over her shoulders like a mantle. One step after another. It was all she could do, despite the fear. Despite how very much she wanted to turn and run. She knew she couldn’t. Uldwin didn’t. And now it fell to her to end this nightmare…and to bring him home.As Lydia took another step, something crunched audibly under her boot. A bone. No. She held back a scream as something screeched above her, the noise traveling through her skull like a jolt of Shock magic.

2) Light the Way which is pre-World. Backstory for Neloth and Teldryn, the Nerevarine (: And how they both ended up in the Twin Lamps.

“If I have your attention,” Im-Kilaya said after a particularly grating and reptilian-sounding throat-clearing, “we’ll need you both to help an injured once-shackled individual. His name is Tul, a fellow Saxhleel. Our Eyes have noted his injuries are beyond the help of what potions we have available.” He paused and turned to Sero, handing him a letter. “This, and he will need to be defended until you reach Sterdecan.”

“Do you expect trouble?” Sero asked, scanning the letter. Neloth glanced over his shoulder. It was written in some kind of cipher—it had to have been. Otherwise, it was an egregious misuse of parchment, describing in detail a few fictitious landmarks of Azura’s Coast. He watched as Sero folded up the letter again and tucked it behind the dark chitin plate of his armor.

“Yes, unfortunately. The farmhouse is becoming more visible than we’d like. It’s why this falls to you, Nerevarine. Protect Tul. I don’t know what waits out there in the dark, but the news brings me great discomfort.”

“Orvas has wind of us, doesn’t he?” Teldryn said after a moment. 

Im-Kilaya said nothing, and opted instead to grimace, hands tucked once again into the sleeves of his robes. Teldryn nodded; whatever silent conversation had just occurred between them seemed satisfactory enough.

Neloth knew that name. Duke Vedam’s younger brother, and, at least at one point, the more powerful of the two. There had been rumors about nefarious dealings, and a more recent loss of his position within House Hlaalu. Something Fyr had rattled on about, as he was wont to do, but Neloth hadn’t bothered to listen. He cursed himself for his lack of foresight. Not that Neloth was afraid per se, but what should have been a fairly simple task now seemed infinitely more complex than what he’d at first believed.

[exactlycleverpirate]

Rafayel's Timeline Redux Part 2

Spoilers below.

See Part 1. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7.

?? Island of Songs (Myth) cont...

On the happiest day of his life, Rafayel kisses her and devotes the entire ocean to her. (Did they get engaged or married? Rafayel later calls her his beloved bride.)

“No gray waves, no lonesome islands. A desert of blue-I think if the desert is azure, it ought to look like the sea. In boundless blue, a young man, the God of the Sea, holds a girl’s hand. They walk to the horizon. The God of the Sea gestures for waves to bloom under the girl’s feet. Fish swim. White gulls circle overhead and sing as they land on her shoulder. To the God of the Sea, this is the happiest day of his life. And when he kisses her, he devotes the entire ocean to his beloved.”

Lemurians later believe that the heart was acquired through deception, and that the humans stole it, resulting the the God of the Sea’s death.

Amund: “I believe in Your Quintessence. Her method of acquiring the heart wasn’t forgotten, was it? If that island sparked the beginning of our demise, then everything should end there. The Lemurians cannot be deceived again!”

MC: “The Lemurian tales I’ve read said the God of the Sea died long ago… I’m sorry, you must refer to it as a “slumber.” How can there still be a God of the Sea?” Rafayel: “Does Your Highness know why he perished? His heart was stolen by humans.”

?? Abyssal Witch (Fragrant Dream) (I choose to interpret this as a memory, but it could also be an allusion to something that could happen in the future or just a dream. Whatever it is, Rafayel reacts to it like it is significant.)

Rafayel and MC were lovers (possibly during the Island of Songs sequence of events?). He would play his flute beneath her window and they frequently explored the sea together.

The last time she saw the sun before becoming the Abyssal Witch, she sat in a boat with her head on her lover Rafayel's shoulder.

She is cursed to be a Sea Witch in the Abyssal rift and loses all memory of being human and of Rafayel. She is accompanied by a red fish and a blue fish.

Rafayel finds her and begins a quest to gather the materials for a potion to turn human. This includes one of his precious scales, a bottle of his eternal blood, and a song in a conch.

Once the potion is complete, he uses the fragrance to turn her human and restore her memories.The potion she made has a bitter scent reminiscent of fermented aquatic plants. As he vanishes into sea foam, he returns her to the shore so she can live and be free.

(When she regains her memories, the voices that play are of current day Rafayel, from his card Your Fragrance. Possibly just because she is remembering this in a dream, rather than those being the actual memories she recovered at the time.)

(Rafayel makes a jibe in Nightly Stroll about waiting 800 years, so is this event and/or the Island of Songs possibly 800 years before the main story, circa 1248? My inclination is to say Island of Songs takes place before Lemuria disappears - and is in fact the impetus for it to disappear - thousands of years ago, but it takes him a long time to find her, potentially putting Fragrant Dream in 1248. But this is all speculation.)

Continue to Part 3.

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LBGTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 3, Wave 1, Poll 8

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included. 

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

James ‘Bucky’ Barnes-Marvel

Qualifications:

Missing his arm and commonly headcanoned as gay

Propaganda:

He's Bucket Barnes

Korra-Avatar: The Legend of Korra

Qualifications:

Korra is not only bisexual, having dated both Asami Sato and Mako, but was and still is disabled by the end of the series. She doesn't magically get better from being poisoned, she's forced to relearn a lot of things: how to walk, how to do things for herself, and even how to fight properly. Her physical disabilities are mixed with extensive trauma and PTSD that prevents her from doing her job as the Avatar throughout Book 4: Balance.

Canonically bisexual, has PTSD, and spent a while partially paralyzed and using a wheelchair.

Bisexual badass who ended up going through about 5038309340 traumatizing events, one of which involved mercury poisoning that had her unable to walk for about a year and left her with lasting PTSD and depression (though again the depression is a little less clear wheras the PTSD was obviously intended to be read as such). There was also her shadow self, but it's unclear whether that was a form of psychosis or a literal spirit. In short, she's bi and has PTSD if you want to stick with the more long term, obviously canon bits.

Propaganda:

She's the Avatar, you gotta deal with it! But, seriously, Avatar Korra was the first onscreen LBGT+ character in the Avatar franchise alongside her girlfriend Asami Sato. While limited in what could be shown onscreen, the two were explictly portrayed as a couple in the 2016 Dark Horse comic "Legend of Korra: Turf Wars". Likewise, her disability never quite went away. She still struggled with trauma, PTSD, and learning how to do things for herself again for two to three years in the time between books 3 and 4 that were shown off in flashbacks during her solo episodes.

She's canonically bi and has PTSD, and disability was an incredibly important theme for her in her show's final season.

i dunno I think i covered all my bases in the qualifying bit but also its 3am and i dont feel like typing more

Anything Else?:

The creators of Korra, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, fought long and hard for their show, including taking a massive budget slash circa book 4 to avoid firing half their staff. Likewise, they took to Tumblr and other social media in 2014 to state firmly that Korra and Asami were both bisexual and in love. Here's a link: https://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/105916338157/korrasami-is-canon-you-can-celebrate-it-embrace

The qualifications and propaganda paragraphs correspond, @foulfirerebel is the first submitter, they also did the ‘anything else?’ section.

[aulel-process]

Jay Steffy, Interior, Circa 1980

I can't find much on Jay Steffy's design philosophy but I read his 1980s interior as postmodern.

"Postmodernism had begun as a radical fringe movement in the 1970s, but became the dominant look of the 1980s, the 'designer decade'. Vivid colour, theatricality and exaggeration: everything was a style statement. Whether surfaces were glossy, faked or deliberately distressed, they reflected the desire to combine subversive statements with commercial appeal. Magazines and music were important mediums for disseminating this new phase of Postmodernism. The work of Italian designers – especially the groups Studio Alchymia and Memphis – was promoted across the world through publications like Domus. Meanwhile, the energy of post-punk subculture was broadcast far and wide through music videos and cutting-edge graphics. This was the moment of the New Wave: a few thrilling years when image was everything." ( 1 )

"The postmodern outlook is characterized by self-referentiality, epistemological relativism, moral relativism, pluralism, irony, irreverence, and eclecticism; it rejects the "universal validity" of binary oppositions, stable identity, hierarchy, and categorization." ( 2 )

Piazza D'Italia, Charles Moore and August Perez III, 1978

Robert A. M. Stern: Residence and Pool House Llewelyn Park, New Jersey, 1982

M2 building, Kengo Kuma, Japan, 1991

"Less is More" "Less is a Bore" LOL:

"If the Modernist movement could be epitomized in a single phrase, many would choose Mies van der Rohe’s succinct utterance, “less is more.” Three authoritative words, three stern syllables: The slogan came to embody the very architectural language it engendered, spawning a whole generation of architects who sought to strip back buildings to their bare essentials.

Mies and many of his Modernist peers advocated the abolition of the superfluous, arguing that ornamentation was a distraction from the beauty of structural rationality, or — worse still — an unethical symbol of extravagance.

Of course, as with any ideological action, there is a reaction, and this is where American architect Robert Venturi came in. Together with his wife Denise Scott Brown, the late Robert Venturi strove to rewrite the book (sometimes quite literally) on modern architectural design, challenging the principles of the Modernist movement with experimentation and witty provocation.

Venturi pinpointed Mies’ sound bite as a key source of influence and countered with his own, simultaneously playful and cutting in its candor: “Less is a bore.”

Venturi’s instantly memorable quote — its fame perhaps only surpassed by Mies’ oxymoronic original — became the mantra for an entire architectural movement. Postmodernism ushered in an age of warmer architecture, buildings full of character that displayed a greater sensitivity toward context, urban landscapes ingrained with more humor and humility than the earnest monuments of 20th-century Modernism.

... For [Venturi], this was the architecture of gentle anarchy, of free-spirited optimism, of unbridled joy." ( 3 )