#diana is not at all biased

[kindred-spirit-93]

hilals eyes are a dark brown, and in the sunlight they glow faintly the colour of brownies and salted caramel (diana's favourite dessert)

although a daughter of hades, she inherited little of his physical attributes. she does however have his large round eyes and a gaze that strikes terror and dread into ones core. a death glare if you will..

her resting face is blank, cold and uninviting. plenty of campers avoid her for fear of being struck by some unknown force. those who do venture however are taken aback at the warmth and life she radiates.

the irony is that she is naturally very expressive, but she rarely allows herself to show her emotions so openly. it makes her uncomfortable and shes not a little self conscious. what a coincidence that diana can read her like an open book.

[softgrungeprophet]

me designing characters: turquoise! purple! black! red and gold!

[britneyshakespeare]

this is sooooo silly but i keep thinking about it. disgraced would-be-debut author cait corrain (a youtube video about that if you aren't aware of what i'm talking about). i can't remember where it was shown right now that they were talking to a biracial artist they were commissioning to draw a black character for them. for some reason they just kept wanting to like overexplain why they are going to an artist of color and how they would do a better job (why not just tell that particular artist how you appreciate their particular skills?). bc they were like well a white person probably wouldn't do as good a job on it. this might not seem like the most important thing to point out, but you don't need a reason to commission artists of color. you can just do that. there's nothing inherent to the art of drawing that would make white people less able to drawing people of color, or any person less able to draw anyone else with different features than them. especially if what you're seeking is a realistic piece; an experienced realistic artist shouldn't have trouble drawing ethnic features that they don't personally possess.

it felt like cait corrain was just very much overspeaking on troubles with racial representation in popular art. and they don't really know what those problems are or how they arise. when white artists are bad at drawing people of color, it's usually not that they just have some sort of difficulty of perceiving accurate shapes or forms. it's that their stylistic preference has a bias towards lighter skin, eurocentric features, that sort of thing. you don't have to tell an artist "i think you'd be better at drawing this character because you're non-white." like that's just so weird.

oh wait super important edit im making immediately bc i meant to say this in the original post: U CAN HIRE ARTISTS OF COLOR TO DRAW THINGS OTHER THAN PPL OF COLOR. HIRE ARTISTS OF COLOR FOR ANYTHING U WANT COMMISSIONED. U DONT NEED A VIRTUE-SIGNALLING REASON TO DO IT. u could even have them draw one of your white characters (gasp)

[demonic0angel]

DCXDP Prompt

Sassy Fentons and the JL

Danny got his sass somewhere, his smug smile of victory, Jazz might have this more innocent smile to her but when she snaps you're pretty much roasted.

I like to think Danny (Ghost King?) as a teenager, about to get adopted by Batman for being a traumatized looking, In danger, scarred, blue eyes, black hair, messy kid to add to his collection of traumatized looking, (was)In danger, scarred, blue eyes, black hair, messy kid wards.

I want to see Danny and Jazz and Dani/Ellie (& possibly a redeemed Dan) sassing and bickering with the JL and roasting everyone when they can.

Insult Batman about his Adoption Tendencies? Check✅

Call out supes complicated relationship with Kon? Check✅

Call flash a clumsy, unreliable speedster(They hate speedsters cuz of the time disruptions they make)? Check✅

Call out John Constantine's Tendency to run away from problems through drowning in alcohol? Check✅ [Bonus Points if it's the rare pair Dan/John]

Etc.

The only people they don't sass is Wonder Woman[WW is the Best.] and J'onn Jonnz[Danny is Biased as hell—]

“How is that fair!” Flash cried, “How come only you and J’onn get spared from his roasting?”

Wonder Woman shrugged. “Skill issue.”

“Oh my god, you’re even imitating their slang now!” Flash looked at Batman. “Don’t you think it’s unfair?!”

Batman looked up from the reports and stared at him through his blank, white eyes.

Flash immediately changed tactics and looked at Superman. “Supes, don’t you think it’s unfair that the Phantoms keep ragging on us but not Diana or J’onn??”

Superman coughed. “I have nothing to say.” ‘Because I get ragged on the most’ went unsaid, but clearly shown on Superman’s depressed expression.

Green Lantern looked around the room at the dejected heroes, minus the ever-radiant Wonder Woman and calm looking Martian Manhunter.

“Wow.” There were no words left to say. After all, the Justice League being roasted, sassed, and nitpicked by a group of teenagers was already humiliating enough. Nobody else knew how to express their sadness at the (brutally and savagely true and honest) disrespect they were receiving.

They (besides Diana and J’onn) sighed in unison.

It was a hard, hard life when a group of teenagers found a whole bunch of evidence to verbally dissect you with.

[thankskenpenders]

Amy's fortune cards

The Sonic fandom has long been the kind of fandom that takes minor details very seriously, for better or worse. On the one hand, this means fans will really dig for the diamonds in the rough, latching onto fun character interactions, animations, bits of background worldbuilding, and more in pieces of Sonic media that many would write off as "the bad ones." But it also feels like every week another needlessly hostile debate over Sonic minutia erupts on Twitter, whether it's over individual lines of dialogue, fanart that makes Tails' shoes blue, or the ideal length and volume for Sonic's quills.

So it was probably inevitable that a fandom-wide debate would erupt upon seeing Amy's new gameplay style in the DLC for Sonic Frontiers, which takes the once-obscure fact that she enjoys reading tarot and shines a spotlight on it like never before.

I mean:

The thing is, while I basically always try to tune out Sonic fandom bickering... for once, I kind of sympathize with the detractors? Don't get me wrong, I like Amy's tarot stuff, and people on all sides of the discussion are being overly nasty about their opinions, as usual. (Sonic Twitter remains my personal hell.) But when I set aside the hyperbole and zoom out, I do think I understand why some fans are put off by the sudden shift in focus for the character, even if I think it's cool.

It's complicated. Let me attempt to present the cases for and against Amy's fortune cards

For years, I was always one of those fans who thought it could be fun if they played with Amy's tarot reading, or even leaned into some kind of magic with her. Part of that is my own biases showing, but there's just something that makes sense there, especially when you look at Sonic, Tails, and Amy as a trio. (I would argue that's the real "Team Sonic" these days, especially in the comics where Knuckles is more likely to be stuck on Angel Island or otherwise doing his own thing.)

You could argue that Tails is all about logic, relying on science and technology and deductive reasoning to solve problems. But Amy is all about emotion. She wears her heart on her sleeve, is extremely empathetic, and is very prone to magical thinking - both figuratively and sometimes literally. Her origin story has always been that her tarot cards told her it was her destiny to meet Sonic on Little Planet. She's claimed to be able to "sense" peoples' presences - particularly Sonic's. She's the type to believe that The Power of Love is a literal magical force. So, on some level, it makes sense to mirror Tails's science by having Sonic's other best friend believe in magic. And then Sonic is somewhere in the middle, primarily following his own gut instincts but taking advice from both of them as needed. This isn't totally accurate to how their dynamics actually function in canon stories, but I think it's a mode that could work for them.

Going off of that, it's fun to lean all the way into Amy being a magical girl, or even a witch, using her fortune telling as a foundation. Take, for example, this version of Amy from Diana Skelly's old Sonic cast redesigns from before she freelanced for Archie and IDW. This is one of MANY such redesigns for Amy.

Fast forward to the 2020s, and Amy's tarot cards are, in fact, finally getting brought up again in canon. Which is fun! I like seeing that. I like all of the individual stories involving Amy's fortune cards. This is a fun character trait for Amy, a fun nod to old lore, AND a fun storytelling device, all in one. It's really cool that the Sonic universe has its own thematically appropriate arcana, and that the cards are getting made as physical merch. And sure enough, the official card backs and borders were designed by none other than Diana Skelly, in yet another cool example of an ascendant fan leaving their mark on the series.

BUT... when you step back and look at the big picture, I get why some fans find this shift in focus jarring. At the moment, it's starting to feel like every new story about Amy involves her fortune cards to some degree.

The most recent mainline comic arc to feature Amy as the lead character, 2021's Trial by Fire arc, prominently features a sequence where she reads fortunes while camping with the girls. The Origins version of Sonic CD now bookends the game with scenes of Amy and her tarot cards. Sonic randomly mentioned it in a scene in Frontiers. And now, just this week, we got the (very cute, gorgeously illustrated) Amy's 30th Anniversary comic with a story revolving around Amy's tarot cards, followed the very next day by the Frontiers DLC in which she gets a brand new tarot-based moveset. Even her base melee attack now has her throwing tarot cards instead of swinging her hammer. Again, I like all of these individual things, but after years of it almost never coming up at all, it's VERY noticeable that Amy's tarot cards are suddenly everywhere.

To be fair, I'm looking at this from the perspective of a superfan who's actively following ALL Sonic media. Casual fans - especially kids - aren't necessarily going to be reading the comics every month, buying the thousandth rerelease of the Genesis games, or playing the ultra-hard new alternate ending DLC for a game that came out last year. Each of these stories is going to be someone's introduction to the idea that Amy can read tarot, and that's probably part of the idea behind this unified push.

But to play devil's advocate, for my fellow superfans, I understand why it feels like a very minor footnote of Amy's character is suddenly becoming the entire focus of her personality. While Amy has always been said to enjoy fortune telling, that wasn't really a character trait in and of itself, but rather an example of her being a typical girl who hopes she'll be able to find true love one day. It's less that Amy can literally predict the future and more like her using a cootie catcher or going "he loves me, he loves me not" while picking the petals off of a flower. So I get not vibing with this stuff, or feeling like it's being pushed very hard out of nowhere.

What I don't agree with are comparisons like "it's like if they made Knuckles' moveset revolve around him liking grapes." Like, I get it. Ian Flynn loves shoehorning in his little winking references for us nerds, and mentions of Amy's tarot cards were previously on the same level as other random bullet points from old Japanese manuals. But a multifaceted hobby like fortune telling that opens up so many narrative and aesthetic possibilities is obviously very different from having a favorite food. It's ALWAYS been a part of her story, not just a random fact, and there's no reason why the fortune telling can't be elevated to something more.

And, hell, even if it wasn't an established character trait, there's nothing inherently wrong with injecting new ideas into a character. One of the best Amy stories in recent years, the Free Comic Book Day special "Amy's New Hobby" written by Gale Galligan, came up with the idea that Amy's secretly been drawing little comics about her and her friends. Is this based on Lore? No. But it's cute, and helps tell the story of a younger Amy who's still coming out of her shell as both a hero and a friend.

Certain fans are also looking at Amy's Frontiers moveset and using it as evidence that once again the Vile American Contributors like Ian are CORRUPTING Sonic Team's perfect vision of Sonic with their misinterpretations. And like. Come on. Ian does not control the gameplay. He's a freelance writer. The tarot stuff is clearly something that Sonic Team likes if they made it the basis of Amy's new moveset - and, you know, if they keep approving comics and animations about Amy's fortune telling. None of this gets made without their blessing, and lord knows how much they can micromanage shit and shoot down ideas over the most minor of details.

Like, yeah, Amy's fortune telling was probably conceived less as a sign that she Knows Magic and more as a pretty mundane hobby for a lovesick young Japanese girl to have. But you're gonna sit there and tell me that using Amy's tarot cards for more than that could only be the result of a cultural misunderstanding? That nobody in Japan uses tarot card theming and aesthetics (or the general idea of magical cards) for the cool factor? Stardust Crusaders? Persona? The Astrologian class in FFXIV? Cardcaptor Sakura?? Hello??? Do you think Capcom put Gambit in Marvel vs. Capcom ironically because they thought using magic to throw cards at people was stupid? There's tons of precedent for this! It's nothing like Knuckles throwing grapes at people, be for real.

Giving Amy a very magical girl-esque moveset also just makes a lot of sense. For decades her hammer attacks have literally made sparkly heart shapes appear around her. Leaning into both that and her tarot cards in her new moveset makes a lot of sense to me.

But, admittedly... I do think it's very odd that her hammer is treated as a secondary element here, rather than having her primarily use her hammer and adding the cards for extra flair. If hitting the attack button made her swing her hammer instead of throwing cards, I'm not sure we'd even be having this discussion right now.

But the tarot-cycle and Amy riding her hammer like a witch's broom are fucking SICK and I will not concede on this point

The thing is, this whole fortune card discourse is but a small piece of a bigger problem. Amy's been a character who needed some work for ages, but there's basically nothing you can do with her without pissing SOMEONE off.

Years of stories where Amy's crush was her primary motivator and Sonic went "Ew, cooties!" have lead many casual fans to believe that being Sonic's obsessive fangirl is Amy's entire personality. At best people might call her Sonic's Minnie Mouse. This isn't just a matter of Amy having haters within the fandom - venture outside of that bubble and you'll realize that this is how MOST video game playing people seem to see her to this day. I don't feel like this is a fair assessment of the character, but this idea didn't come from nowhere. No matter how much good deeply entrenched Sonic fans may see in their old dynamic where Amy perpetually chases Sonic, this is a very real problem that Sonic Team has to contend with for their leading girl. Of course all those games where the way-past-cool protagonist thought Amy was annoyingly clingy and tried to get away from her made people think less of her.

If new stories were to go back to emphasizing Amy's crush on Sonic a little more, they'd probably be taken as confirmation that Amy's just the girl with a crush on Sonic and that this is her entire personality. Conversely, when the crush is played down, you piss off the hardcore SonAmy fans who don't seem to understand that they're Charlie Brown and Sega is Lucy holding the football. You can't win.

And so here we are. In the absence of what was once her defining trait, now reduced to an occasional blush or wink in Sonic's direction, new stories are trying to mine Amy's past for additional material to work with. Having been a thing fans wanted to see for years, right now we're getting a lot of tarot, but we're also getting reminders of her compassionate nature and her desire to go out of her way to help the little guy. This is an ongoing process. I continue to hope that her bubbly, exuberant demeanor can shine more in future stories. Now, I also hope that the tarot stuff gets balanced out a little better with other traits of hers. But I don't want it to go away. I think it's fun.

This course correcting is far from exclusive to Amy. Knuckles is getting stories that remind us that he's a competent fighter, an experienced treasure hunter, and even a self-taught archaeologist after years of him being perceived as either the dumb one or just the guy who stands in front of the Master Emerald all day. And Tails has been getting some stories reminding folks that he's a capable hero in his own right and not just Sonic's timid kid sidekick.

But no supporting character will ever compete with the sheer number of new ideas Sega has tried with Sonic himself. Like Amy, his Frontiers moveset has also given him half a dozen new superpowers that he never had before, from the Cyloop to air-slicing projectile attacks to his own take on Shadow Clone Jutsu and beyond. He's also been a hoverboarder, a swordsman, a time traveler, an Olympic athlete, a racecar driver, cursed with a Flame of Judgment, imbued with alien power, a fucking Werehog with stretchy powers, and on and on and on.

If Sonic can do all that, Amy can try out using a tarot-cycle.

Anyway TL;DR the REAL problem with Amy's current characterization... is where the FUCK is Amy's bestie, Honey the Cat???????

[suzukiblu]

WIP excerpt behind the cut: YJ accidental baby acquisition. (( chrono || non-chrono ))

“Genetically, Kenley is our offspring,” Tim cuts in quickly, keeping his voice as even as possible. “The DNA test was clear. And they’re a child. They can’t just stay at the Tower or on the Watchtower.” 

“Impulse is technically seven, and Superboy is–what, five?” Barry says, looking exasperated. Kon’s still a few months away from four, actually, given the whole “was dead for a year” thing and some other weird shit that’s happened in their lives–they actually did the math pretty recently, but the fact that they had to do the math at all is very obviously a sign of weird shit happening in their lives, and either way, Tim won’t be correcting Barry’s math right now. “And you and Wonder Girl are what–seventeen?” 

Speaking of people who were dead for a while and lost track of shit . . . 

“I’m nineteen,” Cassie says, narrowing her eyes at Barry. “And Robin’s eighteen. No ‘technically’ about it.” 

“Physiologically and mentally, Impulse is seventeen and Superboy is nineteen,” Tim informs them shortly before anyone can try and make the technicalities an issue. “It’s unreasonable to treat them as capable of risking their lives as active superheroes after they’ve both already died in the line of duty but then claim they’re not capable of basic childcare when you think it’s inconvenient for them to be allowed to.” 

“Also you’re not allowing anything,” Bart says with a frown. “Kenley’s ours. Genetically and, like, ‘found and saved’-ly.” 

“Bart, you have no idea how difficult taking care of even a normal kid is. Assuming the kid’s safe, an actual foster situation is going to be necessary,” Barry says in exasperation, sounding weary, and Wally looks a little stressed too, which is not good. Wally’s the best chance they have to get the League at large not to be unreasonable about this–at least as long as Dick’s here, anyway–but he and Bart have never really seen eye to eye and he’s never really understood him or taken him seriously, so . . . 

Also, Wally’s the one who has the most experience with having superpowered kids in this conversation, and with nearly losing said kids. If anyone’s going to be the one they can get on their side, well– 

Technically, Tim is perfectly aware of Jon Kent’s existence and the fact that he has superpowers and was also temporarily “lost”. He’s equally aware of both Otho and Osul’s existences and past traumas and own powers. 

He is even more aware of the fact that Clark apparently didn’t know about Lophi and Martha and has never fucking once trusted Kon to be responsible for anything but a dog who was already invulnerable and indestructible and that he just personally happened to need a long-term petsitter for. Which might be unfair, a little, but is also objective fact. 

So yes, Wally is definitely their best shot here. Especially with Dick hopefully willing to back them up, if it comes to it. If he weighs in too quickly, Bruce will think he’s either biased or being too emotional, but if they can at least start to convince Wally and maybe Diana . . . 

“What do you expect us to do, just dump ‘em on Max Mercury or Red Tornado? Go see who’s the Spectre right now?” Cassie demands, folding her arms. “Go dig up Cadmus wherever they’re currently buried, see if they’re hiring kindergartners? Hey, I know, ship ‘em off to Hawaii with a sleazy–!” 

“Kenley doesn’t need fostered,” Tim cuts in quickly, because that line of conversation is not ending well no matter what. “We’re their biological parents, and we’re capable of taking care of them to an appropriate standard.” 

“That isn’t an acceptable decision for Young Justice to make without input,” Bruce says. 

“What is this, a superhero-CPS visit?!” Cassie snaps, clenching her fists. “Based on what, exactly? They’re ours! What’s not ‘acceptable’ is for the Justice League to decide you all get to make decisions about our fucking kid!” 

“Also, like, super hypocritical, I’m pretty sure,” Bart says. “Nobody interferes with what any of you guys do with your kids.” 

“None of us just kidnapped a kid straight out of a lab, Impulse!” Barry says in exasperation. 

“That’d be way too, like, actively proactive, yeah,” Bart agrees, and for just an instant vibrates in a very telling way. His expression doesn’t change, but he’s obviously angry. Very obviously angry. 

Maybe not obviously to Barry, though, Tim realizes almost immediately. 

“Being patient enough to show restraint isn’t a character flaw, kid,” Barry says, still clearly exasperated. 

“You’re being a sprocking nass about this,” Bart says, still staring at him with the same blank expression. “And also a fucking asshole.” 

Well, this is going well. 

“We’re just concerned about everyone’s safety, including the child’s,” Clark says, lifting a placating hand. Bart scowls, and Cassie bristles. Kon–doesn’t look away from Kenley. 

Tim just doesn’t feel particularly “placated”, put it that way.

[icyg4l]

PAC: What Do Your Passed On Loved Ones Admire About You?

Hello beautiful people! Today's reading will be a lot more serious than normal so this is a warning for those who will get emotionally triggered. Your passed on loved ones are with you always! I am simply just passing on the message. My condolences to those who have lost a loved one in their lifetime. If you are interested in this reading, please don't be afraid to dm me so that you can book with me! Be sure to refer to my guidelines and dm me if you have any questions. Without further ado, please pick the image that resonates with you the most.

Top Left-to-Bottom Right: (1-6)

Pile One: Tenacity and strength are the first characteristics that come to mind. Your passed on loved one wants you to know that your childlike innocence is a gift not a curse. This could be your uncle. You are someone that can get the truth out of everyone simply because you know what to say. There’s not a lot that you have to say either. You’re quite the persuasive being. They also admire how level-headed you are. Some of your loved ones were more on the fiery side and because of that, they wish they could have been more balanced with their temperament when they were still here. However, this does not mean that you back down to a fight. You know when to open your mouth to protest against the injustices of the world. You have an undying love for humanity, nature and animals. You are so sensitive and precious to your loved ones. You also know when you’ve made a mistake. Your passed on loved ones see you as their Princess Diana. You’re kind and loving to all, but you fight when your back is against the wall or when others are being judged.

Cards Used: 6 of Cups, 7 of Wands, The Magician, 9 of Discs, Princess of Discs, 3 of Discs.

extras: blue ribbon ice cream. no limits. satisfaction guaranteed. mild. “there’s a lesson in everything.” monthly visits. crown. like mike (2002). lesbian. learning accommodations.

Pile Two: “You’re so cool” is the first thing that I heard. You are someone who is the standard. You are the Beyonce of your family. People try to impress you because you’re just that girl/guy/enby. You are an angel on earth. I feel like some of you were bullied when you were younger and this person came to your defense. This could have been an older sibling/cousin, maybe your mother who was younger than most. But you did not let these traumatic events harden you. You grew into a beautiful person. This pile as a whole went through a lot of back-to-back trauma in their lives but your passed on loved one wants you to know that they admire your peaceful approach to life. You are someone that is easy to bond with. I feel like you choose not to drink when the opportunity is presented because you have a bit of a temper when drunk. Your passed on loved one could have been the same way. You also have a fair way of viewing things. You try not to be biased when shown two sides of the story. You consider everything. You value the truth and the moral of the situation. Your integrity matters, Pile Two. Your passed on loved one wants you to continue to be this way.

Cards Used: Knight of Wands, Temperance, The Moon, 4 of Swords, Death, King of Swords, 6 of Discs.

extras: wet shirt. pushya moon. water sign. effervescent. sniffing flowers. moniker. “grown man.” glow. party pants. amazon. purify. NBA roster. sims 4 gaming channel. kawaii.

Pile Three: You are so humble, dear. Your passed on loved ones really admired your ability to talk to anyone. You never felt like you were above anyone. You treat everyone with the respect they deserve. You have stripped yourself down to the point where everyone can see through you clearly. You do not have to depend on material things to make up your self-concept. Your vulnerability is beautiful. It’s not a level of self-awareness that everyone can achieve. Some people may try to make you feel bad for where you come from but you carry yourself with nonchalance. That saying about sticks and stones is personified. Your passed on loved ones admire how you stay out of the way. “This is a crazy world” I heard. It feels like this is an elder talking to you. They believe that you will do big things in this world despite how little you have come from. You were not set up for failure. You have the tools to improve your situation.

Cards Used: The Star (RX), 6 of Cups, The Hermit, The High Priestess, Princess of Discs, Wheel of Fortune.

extras: neck tattoo. “kiss the ring.” ring around the rosie. martian. elephant in the room. malleable. solar system. troubleshoot. best buy. filled gas tank. empty condom box. snoring. aaliyah.

Pile Four: Your passed on loved one admires you in totality. This is your lover, could have been your fiance/fiancee. This also could have been your best friend. They miss your scent. They miss being in your presence, period. They love the shape of your eyes. They love the way you smile and tilt your head downward. You have this unexplainable quality about you that lights up the room. They know that life is different without them but they want you to keep going. Your go-getter, flirtatious nature is admirable as well. You have this lust for life that everyone should have. Your lover misses your physical touch. Your ability to get up every morning and go to sleep at night makes them want to come back down to Earth temporarily. Your person could have had some egotistical qualities about themselves but they love that you loved them with all your heart. They see you as their other half. They want to reunite with you in another life. This story is to be continued, my love.

Cards Used: Princess of Swords, 9 of Wands, 4 of Cups, King of Wands, 2 of Cups, The Lovers.

extras: eartha kitt. purr. austin powers costumes. chapell roan. meeting in college. musical.ly.

Pile Five: You take pride in your appearance. You stay in the gym to keep your figure right. You get your nails and hair done. You pick out the right colors for your wardrobe. You stay on top of your shit. But you also have this side to you that is in tune with the world around you. You have the perfect amount of both feminine and masculine energy to them. Are you a lawyer or social justice advocate? Your passed on loved one wants you to know that you can do all. You’re living proof that anything can happen. This feels like a male’s energy. He was a dominating force in the household and he was young. This could be your father or older brother. They are smiling down on how you have manifested everything that you two talked about. They were there in spirit when you made history/reached a milestone. They also admire how you keep in touch with family even after their death. They admire how you keep your promises even if it’s something that you don’t want to do. You need to learn to ask for help though and stop being so stubborn. They appreciate the altar you dedicated to them. If not, you need to. It would strengthen the relationship between the two of you.

Cards Used: Ace of Cups, The Emperor, Queen of Cups, Justice, The Star, 10 of Wands, 10 of Cups.

extras: quen blackwell. new workout plan (2004). ari fletcher. olivia pope. kpop bias. fallen curtain. sweeping feet.

Pile Six: When I pulled for you, I thought of the movie ‘Paid in Full’. Whoever your loved one is, they lived a dangerous/risky life at some point. But they admire how cutthroat you are. You get stuff done. You keep stuff moving. Your passed on loved one says that you have their swag. You have a lot of mental energy. You’re smart, both book and street smart. Your loved one says to stay safe and live life to the fullest; but also live it the clean way. They like how you stay outside in nature with the wildlife. I feel like you are the breadwinner or you at least have a lot of money saved up. You are attempting to gain financial stability at a young age and I can hear claps because of that, lol. Along with your practical side, they admire your outlook on life. You try to be as fiscal as possible but you also try to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You will party with a lot of people. I feel like your person was kind of uptight. I feel like you never miss a chance to make money. You’re a “hustler”, just like your loved one. This person feels like an uncle, a cousin, maybe your father.

Cards Used: King of Discs, King of Wands, 2 of Swords, King of Swords, 7 of Swords, Queen of Discs.

Extras: “keep it in the family.” “no one knows.” pork rinds. round glasses. beeper. shady business. groupme. “out of line.” solo dolo. throwback. paying tribute.

[octoberwitchsblog]

Just finished the first episodes of the Crown's last season and it's safe to say that a more vulgar shitshow never saw the sight of the screen. Everything, from the treatment of Diana into this constant victim, to the villainization of the Al-Fayed family (as if Mohammed would give two fucks about anything else than justice for his only boy), without forgetting Charles' whitewashing, is absolutely vulgar in every way. Representing the only Arab characters of your show like literal fame-diggers in order to make the royal family appear more "dignified" is honestly borderline racist.

It's amazing to me how those writers take such a distorted version of the truth and treat Diana and Dodi, and even Mohammed Al-Fayed, DEAD PEOPLE, like pawns in their romanticization of the royal family. I mean, Diana appearing as a ghost to Charles to absolve him of literaly destroying years of her life ? Really ? The first seasons of the show got us used to better quality and better respect of the complexity of these characters. This is just becoming a cheesy and biased documentary instead of being the nuanced portrait of one of the most complex institutions in the world. What a disappointment. The whole thing is barely saved by the exceptional performances of all of these actors, but even they deserves better than this fanfiction writing.

[icedsodapop]

The lack of nuance and critical thought that goes into the whole Princess Diana is a victim narrative online is so annoying. I personally think it's kinda disrespectful to Britain's former colonies when Princess Diana get mentioned alongside them as victims of the British royal family, like the victims of Mau Mau for example.

Like yes, we can acknowledge that she was a victim of the royal family and the tabloids. And yes, I think we should also acknowledge her privilege as a White Aristocratic British woman who was very much benefitted by the status quo and all the biases and blindspots she could have had coming from that background, and that she is still revered becos of the image of white feminity she represents. Like it or not, when Princess Diana was alive, she was instrumental in rehabilitating the public image of the British royal family.

Anyways, here's a good podcast episode on her:

[ophthalmotropy]

what's happening in argentina?

I don't fault you for the broad question because I'd ask too, but I need you to know that as a non-smoker I've never felt so strongly the need for a cigarette as I did just now thinking about answering this question. But I'll do my best.

In November of last year, the country elected Javier Milei as president. He would swear into office the next month. Javier Milei is a self-identified anarcho-capitalist and libertarian, although he states he is a minarchist in the short term (meaning he thinks the only functions the State should serve are those of law enforcement: no public education, social development, market regulations, etc etc). Some of his most controversial campaign statements included projects to legalise the free and unregulated sale of organs, and, along with his vice-president Victoria Villarruel (who in her youth organised visits to Jorge Rafael Videla in prison), apologia for the 1976 military dictatorship by revindicating the theory of the two demons (fair warning that from what I skimmed that article is biased in favour of the theory) and casting into doubt the estimated 30.000 victims of state terrorism (torture, disappearance followed by death) (also warning that that article uses the name the military junta gave this process) during its duration.

Since he took over six months ago, the population's purchasing power has dropped by 38%, plunging millions of people below the line of poverty. In stark contrast to this, Milei has been travelling around the world using public funds to visit his ultraright idols; most notably, Trump, who is not the political leader of any country at the moment (making his trip to see him a personal visit and not a diplomatic one, thus invalidating his arguments for using our money to go there).

On the subject of diplomacy, his government has been swinging quite a lot of bats at hornets' nests, accusing China and Brazil of communism and insulting the wife of the president of Spain. All of this is an international relations nightmare that will take endless apologies to undo.

Another interesting resolution deregulates the operations of foreign companies, SPVs, and offshore companies (article in Spanish), with the stated goal of attracting investments. Those types of companies have historically been used to conceal illicit activity, so resolutions in that vein pave the way to effectively turn Argentina into a fiscal paradise. This isn't the only problem they pose (offshore companies don't pay taxes, so there'd be a loss in the public sector, for example), but it is the most worrying to me because they also eliminated restrictions for Sociedades de Acciones Simplificadas (simplified stock companies), most of which have historically been used to commit crimes among which is the drug trade. Once you have narcos in your country, there's no taking it back--Argentina would be at real risk of ceasing to exist as we know it.

This administration is also slashing public spending, resulting in some universities suspending their activities temporarily. They also failed to deliver oncological medicine, depriving cancer patients of assistance the state is obligated to provide. As a result of this, several people have died already. In this climate of extreme poverty, soup kitchens have been shutting down en masse due to the withdrawal of state funding, and laws that protected tenants' rights and regulated rent prices have been severely modified to the detriment of the tenants.

The violent decrease in public spending also resulted in thousands of state workers being fired overnight. The attack is especially centred on state organisations that promote the arts or whose purpose is to fight discrimination. On this subject, 10% of the transgender and travesti workers who had their positions guaranteed by the law were fired illegally, and government members are outspoken about their opposition to this law--which isn't surprising. Diana Mondino, the current chancellor, has compared same-sex marriage to "the right to having lice" while she held a position in Congress. Ricardo Bussi, a current legislator, compared homosexuality to disability in October 2023. Coming to this year, Francisco Sánchez, the Secretary of Religion, said that the laws protecting the right to abortions, divorce, and same-sex marriage "seek to pervert our children and damage society". Milei is also on record describing abortion as "homicide aggravated by the bond".

Also recently, Milei's biographer, Nicolás Márquez, gave a one-hour interview in which he characterised homosexuality as a disease, claiming that when the State "promotes homosexuality" (as it allegedly did before Milei came to power), it is aiding a "self-destructive" conduct, supporting these claims with unfounded statistics about the correlation between STIs and homosexuality; he also denied the existence of homophobia and described lesbians and gays as being "against nature". For the sake of full disclosure, I will say he explicitly freed Milei and his government of responsibility for his declarations--but I think it's really important to point out the kind of people and rhetorics this government is giving a platform to; after all, nobody knew Nicolás Márquez before he started writing for Milei. In approximately the same time frame, and in response to a horrific hate crime that resulted in the death of three lesbians, Manuel Adorni, the presidential spokesman, said that he "doesn't like" to talk about a hate crime because men suffer violence too--and he said this in a press conference.

I'm probably forgetting something important--so much has happened in the past months--but I hope this is enough to give you an impression of the changes our society is undergoing. Please let me know if you have follow-up questions. <3

[velvetjune]

Alan Wake 2 Lake House DLC spoilers/review (also spoilers for Control):

Had a lot of fun with this DLC! It’s short (unfortunately expected this), but sweet, although I wish I didn’t watch the trailer for it. It would’ve been amazing experiencing this with no knowledge. As a massive Control fan, I was practically thriving off of all the reading and FBC style. I have some sympathy for fans of Alan Wake who might hate Control, but these games are far more than a crossover by now and moving forward. I can see how this wouldn’t work for people who dislike that.

Personally, Remedy has done well at connecting their stories without it clashing! The AWE dlc for Control was a mixed bag for me, mostly because the story wasn’t really there and the darkness mechanics were bland. This could be because I’m very biased towards Control, but this was a great example of how to merge the settings and traits of both games in an interesting way.

The marital and mad scientist drama was terrible in the best way. I was dying every time one of the Marmonts was “hmmm Wake says we’re going to die horrifically and become monsters, but im personally better than that.”

DR DARLING… <3 He should’ve had more appearances </3

After all the deserved hate directed at AI and producing content rather than art, it was heartwarming to see promotion for Poe. I don’t know the details, but she’s barely been able to release music over the last 20 years (some songs here and there), so having an entire area dedicated to her with links to a (fingers crossed) site about an upcoming Poe project was lovely. Lots of love put towards artists in this.

Ed being there was and thinking he was in an immersive experience was incredibly funny. I’d have to look it up, but was the manuscript page in his room detailing when he was taken HERE and not him dying to taken? Was this DLC happening during the start of aw2 or right before?

I’m in love with Kiran Estevez. She can be judgmental and tries to maintain a level of calm over the situation, but her disgust, fear, humor all shine through in funny ways. Hope that she, along with at least Saga, get to be in Control 2.

Only found this out after checking Reddit (which imo is too harsh over both Night Springs and this DLC), but apparently the Dylan part is skippable. It was SUCH a highlight of this DLC. The shifting environments, the Not-Oldest House, Dylan in the “panopticon” post-Control, etc. was surreal and captivating. Usually with set ups teasers, I don’t particularly care (e.g. the AWE dlc ending was alright!), but man. The way to get it was perfectly strange. Poor Dylan. Just like Control’s “hidden” ending cutscene, this really seems to put Control 2 in the wider NYC.

Having a “person who’s only seen Boss Baby” moment: thought of tma (the podcast) with the tapes, archives, panopticon, all the weird shit. It didn’t influence this game, but I was getting flashbacks to when I listened to it (stopped caring for it, but the first few seasons were fun in a creepypasta way)

I liked the calendar puzzles. I’m not a huge fan of puzzles in games, but these were easy enough to follow without dragging on. however I did spend five minutes confused just because I got Friday and Saturday mixed up :(

The boss fight was easy in story mode lol

Diana brutally killing the taken Jules was one of the only “gross” moments of Remedy’s games and it was great! It’s not much gore, but I’ll take it.

I accidentally pressed the option to instantly destroy (?) the painting :( So im so sorry to Rudolph and I’ll be replaying this dlc soon to see what the other option is.

For my problems, I was sad that the paint monsters were mainly annoying to run from (also they’re cute). I don’t know if it was an issue on my end or a bug, but even once I went to story mode, I still wasn’t finding healing objects until the last fight. The reason I switched to story was only because my low-ish health kept instant killing me by the Painted 😭 Maybe it’s because I haven’t replayed Alan Wake in a while, but this DLC was wildly difficult. If Remedy didn’t add a whole list of assists, I’d be more frustrated, but thankfully it’s there. The map also would keep question marks and loot up even when I interacted.

I prefer the Night Springs DLC, but this was a great look into Estevez, Control, and what art is. Now, Alan Wake 2 is officially done!

[aethertetsuya]

DP x DC Ideas/Rant

I just wanna throw ideas for fic plots. Im so much over the "Bad Fenton Parents" and "Vivisection" for Danny. It's been proven that if Danny's secret got out, his parents would love him anyway. Anyway. Here are some ideas and / or prompts. Credit and tag me if you are inspired.

Ideas 💡

(Each bullet is a separate idea)

Fentons go into the witness protection program until the JL gets the GIW down. They are stationed in the watch tower since the US has extradition treaties with most countries but not in space or with the JL.

Danny is Bruce's uncle, who helped raise him after his parents' death. Bruce and Alfred know his past and Vlad thas the inspiration behind batman. If it can scare Danny, who is the King of Ghost, then it should scare criminals too. Right?

Danny is the son of Barry Allen (Flash)and Diana Prince (WonderWoman). Maddie is an Amazonian who was charged of keeping Danny safe.

Damian is rescued by the Fentons during a mission gone wrong and decides to adopt-block Bruce by setting Danny up with one of his siblings. (Dick, Jason, Tim -you chose). Too bad Damian didn't account for all 3 brothers developing a crush and fighting over Danny. (But he can only end up with one)

Jon Kent and Danny Fenton were childhood buddies (sweethearts) who met at Space Camp (Kansas and Illinois are just 1 state apart). They made a promise to be there for each other one night under the stars (even carved their initials on a tree) they kept in touch and had summer visits. They discover each others identity during Class reunion episode (Lois was sent to cover and Interview Vlad Masters). Jon knows Danny's heartrate to the milliseconds, so he connects the two easily (it helps that Danny shouts "Going Ghost"). Damian gets jealous/annoyed that Jon's attention is elsewhere when they hangout (he is his first friend, so he doesn't know how to act/boundaries, so he decides to investigate which draws the attention of Bruce) Bruce then decides to ask Clark about this Danny person and Clark is is just all smiles and says he's a great kid and that he (Clark) has got Amity covered. (Apparently, he's been training Jon and Danny, his future son-in-law) Danny is an easy guy who trusts the Kents. Mainly because he witnessed how they heavily critiqued Jack and Maddie's Ghost papers for being biased and taught him and Jazz the most effective way to fight sentient food.

Danny is the oldest blood wayne son. During Bruce's college days, he helped out Jack and Maddie to have Danny. Jack can't have kids anymore due to ectoplasmic radiation (let's face it he is much more lose on lab safety than Maddie) Danny knows the truth from a young age but still treats Jack as his Dad. Bruce becomes the Distant Uncle (Batman and Wayne company keeps him tied). Despite this, he and alfred never missed Danny's Birthday. Every year, he goes to pain staking lengths to lose his kids for a day to go to Amity. Imagine everyones surprise when one day they came back after an extended mission, and Bruce rushed to get dressed to the nines and open a hidden zeta tube (only he and Alfred know) with a stucky note from Alfred which says "I'll reserve you a seat, Master Bruce". The Bat fam only has time for one question "Bruce/Father! What is going on" to which Bruce responds "Its Danny's 25th Birthday" and he's gone. The Bat fam is in shock. Who is this Danny they have never heard of. The Zeta tube is locked out that even oracle cant access or trace its destination. Dick, Steph, Cass, Duke all discuss the potential new brother, Damian, and Jason are fuming, Tim is working with Oracle.

If any decides or is inspired to expand or write with these ideas. All I ask is to be tagged and credited.

[walder-138]

MY BELL OC FROM COD BLACK OPS COLD WAR!

I saw another artist make their version of Bell, so I decided to dig up my version (having just finished my 4th play-through of the game last night) and post her here! This is my first post here, and if people like it, then I might make more OC posts.

Side note that my Bell is based off of my reactions/choices in the game, so it might not be 100% realistic or canon. I’m going with the bad ending, but I shot Adler in the end.

INFORMATION:

Name: Diana Jones/Annika Nikolaevna Voronova

Languages: Russian and English

Nicknames: Nika, Di

Callsigns: Bell, as Diana.

Age: As Diane, about 35, her actual age is 23

Sexuality: Lesbian (though during the time, she couldn’t express it)

DOB: January 21st, 1958 (Another plot hole in the Vietnam false memories; she would’ve only been 10 at the time.)

POB: Volgograd, Russian SSR, Soviet Union.

Eyes: Blue-green (got an eye injury while in Perseus, making her right pupil constantly dilated)

Height: 5’7

WEAPONS

M16A1, 1911, M60, Tranquilizer Gun, MP5, Type 63, Gallo SA12, RPD, LW3 - Tundra, Pelington 703, Hauer 77, Recurve Bow, M79, War Machine, XM4, AK-47

EQUIPMENT

Knife, M67 Grenade, Tomahawk, Stun Grenade, Throwing Knife, Smoke Grenade, C4

•

Career information

Occupation: Perseus Operative, MI6 Agent, MACV-SOG, the latter two formerly (implanted memories)

Rank: Lieutenant in Perseus

Affiliations:

Perseus

CIA, MACV-SOG, MI6 (indoctrinated)

Annika joined Perseus relatively young, when she was 17, and quickly rose up in rank as the years gone by. She quickly earned ‘Perseus’s trust, as she was willing to do whatever it took to earn her place. They’d often have Annika undercover, performing assassinations and ‘cleaning house’ whenever necessary.

She was smart, crafty, resourceful, but she carried a lot of unbridled rage within her. Annika genuinely believed everything Perseus did was for the greater good of the USSR, which left her with no hesitation while killing whoever they told her to. Sure, you could argue that she was manipulated, but Annika didn’t really care.

Her methods were brutal yet efficient. Annika didn’t care about whatever mess she made, only getting away with it mattered (unless she was specifically ordered to make it look like an accident).

When she was 22, Kadivar shot her and left her for dead at the Trabzon airfield in Turkey. While Annika was bleeding out, Russel Adler found her half dead in the back of the car. While she was conscience, she bit, scratched, and kicked at him, until the blood loss got to her.

Annika didn’t even say a word while being interrogated and tortured. Before they brainwashed her, she even tried to bite off her own tongue. Was extremely aggressive the entire time.

(I’ll elaborate more on her story later, but this is all I have so far.)

Random thing: I don’t really understand when people ship Bell with Alder. I’ve seen them as having a bastardized father-child like connection. I could be biased, as I’m a lesbian and my Bell is 17-ish years younger than him, assuming Adler’s 40.

Personality traits:

‘Bell’ had a strong sense of loyalty before and after she got indoctrinated. She’d do anything for the people she’s close to without hesitation.

Extremely petty; would go to great lengths to give the people who wronged her hell. (Definitely isn’t a projection to how I played)

Stubborn + Contrary: Whenever someone, who isn’t a superior, tells her what to do, she would do anything in her power not to do it. However, ‘Bell’s stubbornness makes it difficult to break her.

Sarcastic:

Aggressive: Self explanatory

Immature: ‘Bell’s younger than people would expect, so she’s often labeled as immature by her teammates.

That’s pretty much all I could think now, if anyone has any questions or ideas to improve, LMK!

[makethatelevenrings]

Hello and Welcome!

I’m Honey and I write silly little stories about our blorbos.

Read my masterlist here (mobile masterlist here)

You can also find me on ao3 @honeybeebeeeight

Requests are OPEN // closed at this time :)

If you ever even think about putting my work into an AI, I wish you a very merry fuck you and choke.

Active series at this time: Angel by the Wings & For All the Light That I’ve Shut Out

If you would like to send in a request, please read under the “read more” sign!

Want to be added to a tag list? DM, send an ask, or add a reply to a fic! Please make sure to list who you want to be tagged for and I will check your blog if you are 18+.

I have the right to ban people without an age or under 18 in their bio if they interact with my 18+ fics. I have that boundary established and set and I expect the courtesy of my boundaries being respected

Things I will not write: sexual assault, incest, drug use, miscarriages, self harm, yandere, noncon/dubcon, underage (character or reader), scat/watersports, agere, RPF

Who do I write for (at this time)?

Marvel: Xu Shang-Chi, Sam Wilson

DC: Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Clark Kent, Diana Prince

Top Gun: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, Jake “Hangman” Seresin, Natasha “Phoenix” Trace

Call of Duty: Simon “Ghost” Riley, John “Soap” MacTavish, John Price, Kyle “Gaz” Garrick

Misc.: Aragorn (LOTR), Jamie Tartt (Ted Lasso), Roy Kent (Ted Lasso), Sam Obisanya (Ted Lasso)

Disclaimers!

I write from a female/AFAB or gender neutral perspective majority of the time and try my hardest to make it race/ethnicity neutral. PLEASE let me know if I fail at confronting my own biases. If you would like a male, trans, certain religion/race/etc reader, please let me know in the request! I will do as much research as I can to ensure I am effectively honoring you.

I reserve the right to refuse any and all requests. Either I will post your ask and explain my reason or your request will just never be posted. I don’t have to give an explanation. Thank you!

Send in a request HERE :)

[pruneunfair]

What I would change about these manhwas

Matthias is the antagonist as he should be

Instead of a toxic romance story, it would be a story of survival in an abusive relationship

Would tackle the darkest parts of being a mistress to a rich man as a commoner

Claudine wouldn't be a villain and instead another victim of Matthias who becomes Laylas ally

Kyle is the new love interest

The ending would still be very tragic but Layla will at least escape her toxic relationship with Matthias

Obviously Javier isn't going to be the love interest anymore, that will go to Lucas

Javier also won't be a slave bought by Reilynn, they will meet normally and develop a found family like relationship

Iris will be more competent as a villainess

The empire would currently under the ire of the populace and on the brink of a revolution, meaning that Reilynn can't throw money everywhere to solve her problems while acting like a smug asshole about it without consequences thereby making room for character development

Her reputation will be lowered not just for the og villainesses past but also because of her latest behavior.

Reilynns new goal to avoid being sent to the guillotine by future revolutionaries would to try and become a better person with other allys like Javier to help her become more mindful of others

Honestly not much

Just have it be more faithful to the novel

Meaning Keira doesn't need a love interest

Ragibach learns Keiras game and starts to scheme with more strategy, making her an ever growing threat that gets stronger with each defeat she learns from

Zeke gets more attention

Ariande will still have the mentality that she's not wrong but it will actually be acknowledged as a flae

Isabella keeps her high intelligence and cunning behavior in the 2nd life

Ippolotio and Lucrezia are less cartoony villains and more disturbing as people

Larriesa is more then just a yandere fiancé, she'd have a backstory explaing her desire for love and her behavior will be toned down

Arabella would live longer then she did originally

Pretty much almost everyone will be an awful person with consequences

The golden rule will actually matter and give Ariande consequences when she does something evil

Ariande will try to understand her newfound powers instead of forgetting about them until the plot needs it

The first life will be referenced more

Hestia would be called out for her behavior

Cael would no longer be a cardboard cutout

Diana isn't the villainess anymore

The story would focus less on petty revenge but on all of the characters growing as people

The idea is how our biases for our favorite characters can cause us to literally distort the truth

As such instead of constantly blaming Diana until the very end, Hestia would focus on what SHE likes instead to get her mind off of it and discovers how thrilling life is again when she let's her revenge plot go

Cael's suicide would be treated less as a plot device to prove why Diana and Helios are evil but as an actual arc that brings up the real struggles of depression and suicidal thoughts

Helga would eventually stop taking everything out on Hilianne when she realizes it's not her fault the Duchess abused her

Of course this also means Hilianne won't be the punching bag

not all of the male characters will fall in love with Helga

lower Helgas plot armour SIGNIFICANTLY

let the other side characters actually use common sense and call Helga out on some of her bullshit

The running away plot would be handled better

Include some more flashbacks on Alisas family in Edenverre and drop more lore on the siblings we knew less about

Marianne will have more screen time to properly explain how her powers work

Luminas will either not be the love interest at all and instead be a mentor fot Aishas later abilities or he could be MENTALLY Aisha age so theres no maturity gap (think of Luminas still being 2000 but he's physically and mentally a early teen like Aisha)

Aisha would actually feel guilty about the innocent people killed by her father just for being related to her assassin

Ysis and Aisha would have more realistic sibling moments (Ex: Ysis doesn't immediately believe that Aisha is a reincarnated princess of the enemy empire)

Aria will still be descended from commoners

The war between Aria and Mielle will be more equal, basically a battle of traditional villainess vs white lotus

Asher would have a life and personality outside of Aria

The maids would also be their own characters and have some dignity

Isis is actually utilized properly

[kara-zor-els]

If WB gave you a blank check to make an animated show, what would you make and why?

Ohh interesting question!

I think that my no.1 (biased) choice would be a New Gods show. I still mourn what we would have had if Mike Mignola's pitch had been greenlit. It would not be a 1-1 adaptation of vol.1, rather an adaptation of both New Gods and Mister Miracle and would focus far more on the alien side than the earth plot, since I always found the human cast to be the weakest part of New Gods (ideally I'd cut all the human characters out and replace them with the Newsboy Legion or even throw in some Jimmy Olsen cameos). I imagine it being like a mix of scifi and classic sword and sorcery style fantasy. I think that half of season one could focus on Orion in New Genesis fighting Apokolips and occasionally visiting earth, and half on Scott attempting to escape Apokolips and his relationship with Himon and Barda, with the two storylines merging in the finale. Also I demand a standalone season 2 episode set before Darkseid and Highfather took their thrones because I want to see the real housewives of the fourth world (Avia, Heggra, Suli and Tigra) animated.

Now, for the non-biased answer, I think that a Wonder Woman show would be nice. I'd essentially adapt Rucka's rebirth run for season 1 (with Veronica Cale, Phobos & Daimos as the bad guys, or even throw in Eris) and set up Circe as the baddie for season 2. The only change that I'd make is change the setting to Gateaway city and introduce Helena Sandsmark as the bff in the place of Cheetah (I prefer her more as a straight up villain that feels entitled to Diana's powers) and set up Cassie for later seasons. I'd keep Etta Candy and Steve tho, both because I like them and to balance the cast a bit more so it's not just 100% white women.