#excuse my inability to background

[ed-died688]

HELLO GUESSS WHAT

I MAY BE GOING CRAZY

[age-of-moonknight]

“The Moon Warrior,” Marvel 85th Anniversary Special (Vol. 1/2024), #1.

Writer and artist: Yuji Kaku; Special thanks to Ken Kunito

[naranjapetrificada]

Specifically about the racefakery:

I'm primarily seeing the conversation around All This focus on plagiarism (which makes sense) but I wanted to say some things as one of the handful of Black people I'm aware of that hang out around here:

1. Discord makes my brain itch and I've been afraid to go to OFMD bluesky after how bad OFMD twitter was, so I'm often one of so few Black people on here that you can count us one hand. I wasn't especially close with Atticus but I did like knowing that someone else was gonna be loud about racist Ed takes from a "position of authority" as it were. That knowledge made shit feel a lot less lonely over here and this motherfucker took that from me. That's what I feel betrayed about. That's what pisses me off about the racefaking in particular. Things are now unequivocally going to be harder for me around here than they were before and I hate that he was able to put me in this position.

2. I'm not aware of if he plagiarized any of my fics because they're mostly 100% canon compliant or in one case, too weird to effectively copy, but I'll never know because 100+ middling fics is too many to check through. I'm okay not knowing because the stilted way he wrote about Ed's hair and Ed's race are not things I wish to subject myself to anymore. But for the record, his fics are one of the places where the racefakery shows the most imo because writing makes you tell on yourself in unanticipated ways.

3. Maybe this next point will get me blocked by even more white people in this fandom but here we go anyway. I've struggled to come up with a more diplomatic way of saying "white people are too polite/conflict averse" but like, white people are too polite/conflict averse. This has literally come up in this exact fandom before, around a less fraught issue but still. It had ugly fallout then and it's had ugly fallout now, and while I understand not wanting to come at somebody you perceive as a person of color where everyone could see it, I do wish we had an environment where people who did have suspicions about him could have come forward. The amount of harm he was able to do is directly proportional to the amount of time and space he had to do it, and even before you start talking about the racefaking he was up to shady shit that I certainly had no idea was going on. Which leads to my next point.

4. I can recall a couple times where my race-related spidey senses tingled, but any unease I had was easily lost in the constant din of race-related shit that comes with my existence both in and out of fan spaces. To borrow from scarrletmoon (I miss having you here!) it's like background radiation. Also, there was always the "maybe it's just bad writing" excuse, or the "it's not my place to say but the way he writes about Judaism isn't quite like the way Jews I know talk about it" excuse. There was my (continued) inability to imagine why some white person would bother, because no amount of clout is worth what it's like to be Black on the internet. There was also probably some kind of aversion I had to the idea of losing "one of us" on here, which honestly might be something he was preying on but it's not productive for me to try to get inside the mind of someone who would do what he's done.

And if I was falling into those particular traps (around the racefaking in particular) myself, there's no way the rest of y'all could have known anything was up. Certainly not in isolation. Now I can't help but wonder if being seen interacting with me gave him some kind of legitimacy in any of your eyes, which is lowkey horrifying if true.

Anyway, those are the things I have to say now, after processing for a bit. It's still not worth my sanity to spend more than 30 seconds at a time looking at Discord, where I know a lot of this sort of thing gets discussed, but I can't help but wish I'd known about this sooner.

[godricgryffinsnore]

Rainy Day Cuddles ♡ : A James Potter Fan Fiction.

pairing : James Potter x female!reader

summary : On a rainy day at Hogwarts, James Potter finds the perfect excuse to be over-the-top romantic, pulling the reader into his warmth and silliness—all while the Marauders add their signature banter in the background. It’s cozy, chaotic, and full of love.

warnings : Excessive fluff, Overdramatic James Potter antics, Mild language, Light teasing and playful banter, Extreme secondhand embarrassment (courtesy of the Marauders), Tooth-rotting sweetness, Use of Y/N. Please let me know if I missed any.

author's note : English is not my first language, so please forgive me for any grammatical errors or spelling errors. Re-blogging is completely fine with me, but please don't copy my work. I love you all. Enjoy <3.

word count : 1k

main master list <3

banners : @cafekitsune and @dollywons

The storm outside raged with a fierceness that could rival a Hungarian Horntail, the heavy rain hammering against the windows of the Gryffindor common room. Inside, the fire crackled merrily in the hearth, sending dancing shadows across the cozy room. The warmth from the fire was a stark contrast to the cold, dreary world outside, and as you settled into an armchair near the window, a content sigh escaped your lips. You were surrounded by piles of homework, but somehow, the sight of the rain made it all feel less pressing.

James Potter, however, was less concerned about homework and far more preoccupied with a different task: how to make this rainy evening as absolutely perfect as possible. His eyes flickered to you from across the room, where he had been pretending to study. But in reality, he was waiting for just the right moment to do something utterly ridiculous and over-the-top, as he often did.

And of course, his timing was impeccable.

“Y/N!” James called dramatically, sweeping over to where you sat, arms wide like a hero from a Shakespearean play. “My fair lady!” he proclaimed, a wide grin spreading across his face. “I have come to rescue you from the dreadful, dreadful cold! My heart aches to see you in such discomfort.”

You raised an eyebrow, amused by his antics. “James, you’re so overdramatic.”

“Overdramatic?” he gasped, eyes wide in mock outrage. “I am but a humble servant of love, a knight in shining armor, risking life and limb to save you from the very chill of the heavens themselves!”

You chuckled, shaking your head as you patted the seat next to you. “Alright, Sir James, come sit then. I don’t think I can handle all that heroism standing up.”

James lowered his voice to a whisper as he dramatically flopped down beside you, his body practically falling across yours with a sigh. “Alas, my noble heart is but a slave to your company.”

The Marauders, who had been lounging nearby, couldn’t help but overhear the spectacle. Sirius Black, who had been reading an ancient issue of Witch Weekly, looked up, his eyes glinting with mischief.

“Please tell me you’re not going to pull this ‘knight in shining armor’ act every time it rains,” Sirius drawled, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “You’ve got more dramatic lines than an entire play at the West End.”

James grinned, unabashed. “Oh, Sirius, you’re just jealous. Not everyone is blessed with the talent to sweep a lady off her feet with a single glance.” He gave you an exaggerated wink, which only made you laugh harder.

“Really, James? The only thing sweeping me off my feet is your inability to do your homework,” you teased, nudging him gently.

“Well,” James began, adopting an overly thoughtful expression, “if I had any homework, I would certainly attempt it. But alas, my dear Y/N, the burden of your beauty has rendered my brain utterly useless.” He placed a dramatic hand on his forehead, pretending to faint against your shoulder. “It’s all too much!”

Remus Lupin, who had been quietly sitting by the fire with his nose buried in a book, finally looked up, shaking his head with a soft smile. “You’re lucky she’s used to your nonsense by now, James,” he said, his voice steady and calm as always. “If this were the first time, I’m sure she’d run off screaming.”

“Ah, but you’re wrong, Moony,” James replied with a sly smile, his voice dropping to a more serious tone. “The beauty of my charm is that it grows on you. Slowly, like a vine, wrapping itself around your heart until you can’t escape. And then—POOF—before you know it, you’re madly in love with me.” He grinned at you, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

“Is that so?” you asked with a playful smirk. “Because right now, I’m pretty sure you’ve only managed to tie my heart in knots from laughing at your ridiculousness.”

James raised an eyebrow. “Not just laughing, though, right?”

You rolled your eyes, still grinning. “No, not just laughing.”

He leaned in a little closer, his expression softening. “That’s right. Because I know you love me,” he whispered dramatically, as if it were the most important thing in the world. “But I won’t hold it against you... for now.”

Sirius snorted, his voice thick with sarcasm. “If you two lovebirds don’t stop, I’m going to hurl.”

“Not everyone has such exquisite taste in romance,” James replied, winking at you. “But don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ve got enough love for all of us.”

You let out a quiet laugh, reaching over to grab the blanket from the back of the couch and draping it over the both of you. As you did, James immediately wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer, his chest warm against your side.

The Marauders continued their banter in the background, but the sound of the rain outside and the warmth of the fire, combined with the comforting weight of James's presence, made everything feel just right.

"You know," James murmured softly, his voice no longer theatrical but warm and sincere, "I could stay like this forever. Just you, me, and the rain outside."

You smiled up at him, your heart full as you tucked your head against his chest. “I think I’d like that, too,” you whispered.

From the fire, Remus gave a soft chuckle. "I think we should leave them alone before it gets even more embarrassing.”

“You’re just mad no one’s writing you poetry,” Sirius teased, earning a slap on the shoulder from Remus.

“Alright, alright,” James said loudly, lifting his head from where it had fallen onto yours. “Enough of this sweet, poetic nonsense. Let’s get to the real important stuff.” He grinned and pointed towards the pile of homework on the table. “Who wants to help me write a love letter to Y/N? I need some inspiration!”

You groaned, but at least this time it wasn’t because of the rain.

“I’ll help you, but only if you promise to stop with the Shakespearean speeches,” you said, your smile barely contained.

James winked again. “Deal, my fair lady. But know that I shall still declare my undying love for you every day, in whatever ridiculous way I see fit.”

And with that, he buried his face in your hair, his arms tightening around you, and the Marauders continued to bicker in the background—life at Hogwarts, it seemed, was always better when you were wrapped in the warmth of a rainy day with James Potter.

[shatcey]

Anita Klein (twins' mother)

Not many people will agree with me, but I really admire this woman. But I have to say… I don't approve of her methods, but I understand why she did it, and it somehow reduced the cruelty of her actions in my eyes. Not completely, but partially.

Just in case, I'll put my explanations under the spoiler.

She was a free-spirited person, very passionate, a dancer. And after this free life, she was stuck in a royal palace, and not in any, but in the Rhodolite one. Basically she jumped from one extreme to another. And just because she gave birth to twins, she was under constant harassment for almost 10 years. Every single day.

Yes, people get used to even bad things, it has become a kind of white noise. Something that is always present, but we don't pay much attention to it. But I see her as not only a strong person, but also a kind and sensitive one. These qualities are possessed by her sons, so I believe that she was the same. So… for a sensitive person, such an environment would be too difficult. But still… she lasted almost 10 years. She was really very strong.

And despite all this stress, she continued to teach her children so that they would be ready for the same environment, so that they would become the best versions of themselfs. She wasn't doing it because she was cruel, she was doing it for them.

I know that's not an excuse. Nothing can justify child abuse. Her method was extreme. But in her place… I don't think anyone could have found a better solution. Except to run away with the children.

But… We must not forget that Anita found herself in this situation because of the complete inability of the last king to influence anything in his palace. Or because of his lack to do so. And… this is the most sad for me… Sariel did nothing.

Sariel appeared at the royal palace right after the twins were born, and yes, he was still a child at that time. But, of course it didn't begin when they were babies or even toddlers. Anita most likely started making them compete with each other when they got older. And Sariel had more influential at that time, and more people were afraid of him. And he could… he definitely could have done something. But he didn't.

Sariel mentined that he tried to reached Licht AFTER the tragedy but failed. But he never mentioned that he did nothing BEFORE that. And that pains me.

And not to end on a sad note… I have another theory…

At one of the last events with Licht (his dreams) they examined Anita's background and came to the conclusion that she was from Tanzanite. And in Sariel's sequel, there was information that almost all children with silver hair are born into the royal family of Tanzanite. And, as you probably remember… Anita had silver hair and red eyes like her sons. So… she could be a princess. And that makes Azel something like a cousin of Licht and Nokto. It could be wrong. But there is a high probability that this is exactly the case.

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🔝 Start page 🔝

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[all-pacas]

I love the changes to Chase's background due to hiring actors. First,he goes from a 35 yo New England dude to a 20-something Australian. Then,he goes from the USA old money to being the son of a Czechoslovakian immigrant(played by a Belgian actor) for...reasons? Couldn't they hire an Australian old guy to play Rowan(and keep more or less in line with the initial idea for the character)? Why does Chase need to be half-slavic,since Rowan's actor is from Belgium? Is it more about skill and chemistry,nationality be damned? Or was simply a matter of hiring the first old white guy to show up,and toss in a random nationality to excuse the lousy Aussie accent?

It seems likely to me that they did decide "European expat" based on the casting, if only because there's no reason for Chase's father to not be Australian: that he was a famous doctor actually comes from the pre-casting Pilot script, but obviously that's not nationality based either.

As you mentioned, Bauchau is Belgian, not Czech, which makes me think the nationality choice was intentional: if they based nationality on actor, well, he'd be Belgian. This makes me think Czech is intentional, although I have no idea why: my best guess is they wanted a quick handwaving excuse on why this doctor moved to Australia to have Australian children, and Soviet Bloc is a good one that requires no elaboration.

-

I think the initial idea of the character of Chase (old money, New England) was abandoned with the casting. Not just because of Spencer's age and inability to fake an American accent, mind you.

In the original Pilot script, one of the throwaway mentions is that the hospital was in Boston. It was meant to be located in the old money New England capital, possibly associated with Harvard (they got a bit of this with Princeton, another Ivy League school). But that association? And Chase's New England routes? That's not a fucking coincidence.

I don't know how much non New Englanders know about this shit, but. Boston has / had this whole social elite class. There's this other group of vague… the Cabots. The Lowells. Thayers. Adams. Just these names associated with very rich old money families. Browse that list: there's famous politicians, famous everything. Very WASPy. Absolutely no Boston Irish Catholics in this group. (The Kennedys were also from Boston, but see 'no Catholics.') Chase, as a name, is very, very… it fits right in. Chase, a 35-year-old Old Money Nepotism hire from New England, working in a Boston hospital? He was absolutely envisioned as one of those.

And there's some fascinating subtext to that, too, because Chase was still a nepotism hire in the pilot. He's this rich, silver spoon old money guy with a Big Name… and he still needed his dad to get him the job in this reality. He's a fellow, and he's a decade older than Cameron and Foreman; hell, he's the same approximate age as House, pre-casting. He is pathetic. You know how Taub was slumming it? This Chase was way, way worse. Which could have been fascinating in its own right. Or he could have been a minor villain, the ur-example of someone Foreman has to overcome, even worse than the Chase we got in canon.

So aside from being younger and Australian, what else changed with the casting? The original pilot script doesn't have Chase's lines (from a deleted scene) about enjoying the job because he gets to date women: Chase's sluttiness came with casting. His daddy issues were implied in the original script, with the nepotism line and a line about Chase's dad being a famous doctor, but I'd say moving across the world away from him for a job has a different subtext than OG Chase's probable working in the same town as my father. It's also hard to say if OG Chase was Catholic: Boston is an American epicenter of it, but WASPS are pretty anti-Catholic by tradition; on the other hand, the Kennedys were from Boston and Catholic, and Damned if You Do was written fairly early (August 2004 according to the script), although after casting.

Spencer has also said about his audition that Chase was briefly envisioned as British (but he sucked at that accent, too), and that he helped develop the character a little and pushed for him to be Australian. We also know that Hugh Laurie and Omar Epps were older than their characters, and that the show was eager to write/rewrite things with actors in mind (I've seen it cited that Taub was made a team member specifically because the team liked Jaconson so much, and the same goes for them dragging Anne Dudek back onto the show by making Amber date Wilson and then be a ghost), so I don't think they were ever super sold on OG Chase or anything, although I do find the concept pretty fascinating.

[remindingpersephone]

Here we go again

Hi gang. I'm back on my Chris-Get's-Healthy kick, again. I know I've talked about this and asked for your help in the past. I am once again attempting to quit sugar and work out more.

If you have offered me advice in the past and are tired of my requests, yet again, for advice and ideas, I understand. I get it. Believe me, no one is more tired of my bullshit and my inability to stick to a regimen and make the healthy choices than I am.

This last time I was derailed by my mom's illness and death. I just did not have the mental space or physical energy to commit to disciplined nutritional choices and consistent work outs while taking care of her. But the reasons don't really matter because there were excuses before this one, and on and on. I have been starting and giving up on, healthy living routines since I was 18 years old. Let's do the math, that's 30 years!

A little background: I am not a yo-yo dieter. I very slowly put on weight starting with my first desk job at 20 and never dropped it. The weight has never bothered me. I am a confident woman who has never needed to fit into a six 6. I am also single by choice and nothing in the last 30 years has given me a reason to change my mind about this.

This situation now is that I'm looking hard at 50 and the little aches and pains: the trick knee, the occasional sciatica, the feet that get a little too sore too soon, are, I feel, all red flags signaling that hitting snooze on my health is no longer an option.

I truly believe that fitness and nutritional eating are not only the key to staying fit and active, but I think if I just commit and get through those first few tough months, I would actually like it.

Lately I've been drinking my Dr. Pepper and eating my high-calorie cheesy pasta and lots of sourdough bread (all my favorites), but they just haven't been as satisfying as they once were. [Sidebar: I realize some of this could be residual depression and grief making life just not as wonderful as it once was. That will take time.]

Mostly, I'm just tired of giving the "I have got to get my health in order" thoughts the mental real estate in my brain. I need to deal with it so I can move on from it. So it is not such big part of my daily thoughts.

My long-winded and self-indulgent post here is just to ask once again - and I swear for the last time - what do you all find works for you as far as fitness and nutrition goes? My fitness goals are:

to get stronger and improve flexibility and mobility while protecting the joints and ligaments

staving off osteoporosis

alleviating some peri-menopause symptoms

My nutrition goals are:

to kick the sugar addiction once and for all and change my palate so I don't crave sweet things so much

prevent diabetes/heart disease, etc. before they start

improving gut health

I welcome all comments and advice, and that includes the tough-love "girl, you have got to get your shit together!"

[gryficowa]

I use AI, because maybe I will eventually embrace how to manage a fucking space because I had a tailor's profession, not a fucking architect

Seriously, backgrounds that are not forests and meadows are my fucking nightmare

Being a self-taught artist looks like this, well, at least we have fucking tools to help (which are hated by other artists, before it was tracing, now AI images)

Seriously, in my universe (which I create) the market and other backgrounds have, and my brain never how to manage space and it is empty empty

Seriously, how many times I tried to draw a field from my universe, I will not count, and it still looked too empty and cheesy that even fucking AI is doing better than me…

Serious, I would like this place to have something known to me in the background (which I do not see too much in American productions), gray blocks of flats, which together with the fountain and benches give this unusual atmosphere, such an unusual

Unfortunately, my inability to manage the background prevents me, and I would like to reflect this atmosphere, where the background is gray, and yet you do not feel depressed, because the place is full of life and by people around, this gray takes on color

Maybe I will add random graffiti on the walls of the buildings (as in my city they are located, nobody knows who created them, but they became part of the landscape)

Maybe AI does not show this climate 100%, but if I learn to manage fucking backgrounds, it will take up, and AI is a tool that should be used to help in learning (not everything is helpful through errors that can be seen with the eye, but in terms of help in this topic like a perspective, it can make it easier)

Simply put, the anti-ai movement and pro-ai movement are wrong about AI in many topics, forget that this tool, and AI Art should serve as a help of an artist (especially beginners or interrupting a fucking artblock, which no artist likes), and not as their replacement, and AI art has some value, but I see her in a different way, often omitted by anti-AI and pro-AI

Simply, larger artists love to cut the wings smaller artists, because they want not to have competition, which is why they hate guides and AI arts, because they create competitions on the market

This is a real reason for the anti-ai movement, because they have an excuse to abuse beginners (and as I mentioned, they only get rid of the competition), yes, the beginning of this movement had a good goal, but now he aims at artists, who even if they do not use AI, they will be attacked as a style that this movement recognizes as "Ai"

Now the anti-ai movement consists in killing competition by major artists to still be at the top, are you self-taught and use AI as help They will burn you at the stake for this crime (as they did with people what tracing they did, mainly children… because let's agree, they are the targets of abusing them because it is easier to get rid of the competition when they is young and defenseless)

The post was to be about my attempts with background management, but well, the topic related to AI on many levels was not yet raised in the right way, because it serves as scaring or as a tool for capitalism to make life more difficult for the artists themselves

In short, the anti-ai and pro-ai movement are two extremes that piss me off, because they skip other pros and cons of AI than this mainstream, because let's agree whether the anti-ai movement thinks about AI as a tool that can help a novice artist, and the pro-ai movement thinks about capitalist bosses who will be able to do their shit without spending money on people, because they will prefer to have everything for free?

Just both movements are extremes that even artists have enough (I am an artist… maybe not outstanding and still at the beginning of science in many aspects, but still), it reminds me of ACTA II from Europe, which was supported by larger artists at the expense of smaller and beginners, just a and just want to get rid of the competition and consists of larger artists who will do everything to put out smaller artists as soon as possible

I just don't like both movements through their hypocrisy, because the Anti-Ai movement began as a movement protecting artists, and now it is about destroying them and I don't like it at many levels

[sunlitsorrows]

well Frankenstein is definitely going up on the shelf with Watership Down and Murderbot: I’m going to need both editions and the annotated comparison plus reading copies, lending copies, and pretty cover collector copies

(i’m not sure which edition I just read, but it was good and i cant wait for my annotated comparison to get here!)

i don’t think i’ve ever read a book that made me laugh as hard as it made me cry (victors inability to forecast cause and effect, his self awareness he is making Bad Decisions—but THIS time he is Completely Right and Correct! Except what if he’s not? He was wrong last time! No but he is! Because Big Emotions! So he defiantly is!)

i’ve always struggled with understanding people’s attraction to toxic trainwreck stories but I get it now, at least from the parent/vs/child angle, it was extremely comforting to see all the rage I’ve always struggled with, and the horror at that rage, put into words by someone else

Remember, kids: It’s okay to have conflicting feelings about your parents, just don’t sink to their level/succumb to the despair/start murdering people about it 😂👍

(Something something that pinspirational about how It runs in the family? This is where it runs out.)

Or else you wind up like The Frankensteins!

(At least the Creature had the excuse of basically being an eight foot CHILD—there’s a reason we are SMALL while we learn emotional regulation, which is what, IMO anyway, makes the Creature potentially forgivable, whereas Victor is just… wow. Your family didn’t deserve this but you… *Chicagos He Had It Comin’ plays in the background*)

[pixie-skull]

My 278th edit and a huge thank you to @2009jorose for the suggestion and motivation too. =D I do attribute this edit to my friend @sailorzelda94 and I miss this friend so much. As well in tribute to @0chaotic-queer0 and @geebs96 . However I did take a few of casting ideas (as shown in first picture) and my own casting. I for whatever reason have a 10 photo limit, so please excuse my inability to post my typical “in the making” references. I am curious though who did I cast you agree with, disagree, and more (like asking what inspired outfits, which yes I attempted to recreate some famous portraits, or at least foreground characters). :D As well thank you @airasora for the background character I used her outfit in this edit too from Cinderella 2.

Henry VII: I casted Vladimir as similar body type, an underused character, if I could make videos, he has good scenes from the movie Anastasia.

Catherine of Aragon: I casted Cinderella as again reasons of @sailorzelda94 and bonus plenty of scenes over Cinderella trilogy.

Anne Boleyn: I know @2009jorose played with the idea of Meg, but I understand such limited screen time is that, limited in Hercules. That being said Meg I enjoyed the idea as Anne Boleyn. I suppose Marina from Dreamworks Sinbad could work, yet Meg looks closer to real life Anne Boleyn.

Jane Seymour: I agree with @2009jorose in casting Odette.

Anne of Cleves: I am aware my dear friend said Anastasia Tramaine, but in doing my research Anne is a brunette. So with Drizella has a nearly identical face to Anastasia, brunette and an also underused character with plenty of screentime, in my hypothetical video she would work.

Kathryn Howard: I would pick Vanessa, yet technically for body shots that could be not too in the face Ariel as @sailorzelda94 suggested. Bonus Melody I could use for younger alluded scenes in Kathryn Howard’s song. I realized I completely forgot to change Vanessa her to auburn.

Catherine Parr: Belle is a great fit so I agree with both @sailorzelda94 and @2009jorose .

[mayflowers515]

@tiaragamin

I played two games of Mario Party 9 not too long ago + a minigame mode!

First time through, I played as Bobby (Peach) with Hoppy, Kickin, and Picky (Daisy, Wario, and Birdo respectively). Kickin chose the board most likely (it was Blooper Beach anyways). So basically some interesting notes I picked up from that + potential hcs...

Kickin seems like he would be pretty good with minigames that require some skill. Bro literally got a perfect strike in Goomba Bowling. Funny enough, Picky also got a strike there- (she was determined ig). Ngl, Hoppy only got 13 points there, but I feel like she might've done better with that minigame (taking account the events that DID happen though, she probably was a little salty Kickin and Picky got it with that much ease-). Meanwhile Bobby didn't get any points. She tried copying what Kickin and Picky did, but... it didn't quite work out for her T^T

Okay, when it came to that and the previous minigame Player Conveyor, it made me think that Bobby isn't the best with certain minigames compared to others. She managed to get better in this round after the mini boss with Lakitu, though. (She struggled with that a little in the beginning but has pretty much gotten the hang of things by the time he was all mad and stuff-)

At one point, Kickin landed everyone on a 1v3 space and he picked the minigame Mob Sleds. I feel like, talking about characters here, he picked that thinking he wasn't going to get caught. But no joke- LITERALLY AT THE LAST SECOND BOBBY GOT TO HIM- Hoppy just dying laughing in the background and teasing Kickin when that happened. Picky was probably like, "Oh damn..." and Kickin is just sitting there with his jaw dropped like- "HOW?? HOW?!?!" (his ego got crushed there lol) Also, made me realize those Wario poses are literally him 💀

By this point, Bobby has gotten a better hang of the minigames. She was likely more desperate to try to catch up at least since she was in last originally- The others are impressed but also probably like "Oh, now it is on!" with her lol (if we're talking character here, she may not be so desperate to the point she would make everyone else get in the path of Mini Ztars, which I feel bad about btw because that's literally what I made her do and then I was thinking back about that decision and made me realize that Bobby would've just taken the Mini Ztars for the party's benefit T^T Ig the excuse I could put here would be that she was desperate because she kept falling behind before)

She still didn't do THAT good with all the minigames though. Particularly Upward Mobility (she wasn't as fast with it as the others were; partially due to my own inability to win that minigame lmao). I think she also does the memory related ones well. She wouldn't have THAT good of a memory as Bubba ofc, but she did good in minigames such as Plunder Ground.

Btw, not only is Bobby a total tild card in the minigames, but she is also pretty much the group's savior. The second the event happened where Mini Ztars were filling the board she just happened to get the right number needed to reverse them back to Mini Stars. The group was probably relieved as heck when that happened-

HOPPY'S MINIGAME SHOWED UP AT ONE POINT :)) Unfortunately she didn't win though 😔 (she definitely would win that more going by character though) Kickin and Picky were neck and neck by the end, and Picky ended up beating him. He was pretty salty about that since he was sure he would win now that Hoppy's rocket fell behind (his ego recovered in that gap between Mob Sleds and Launch Break ig and now it cracked again lol). Bobby did lose ten mini stars from getting 4th this time tho since they got Launch Break through a Fire Bro battle minigame... (this is weird cuz like, you want to feel bad because she keeps getting the short end of the stick when she doesn't win. She got fourth in quite a few of the minigames where she didn't get first, but like- she's also doing very well with them at the same time 😶 She literally kept swapping between receiving 1st and 4th with BARELY an in between- Talking character though, I feel like she'd be more likely to get like 2nd or 3rd in minigames. When she loses though, OH BOY SHE LOSES-

By the homestretch, the party was getting more into the Bowser Spaces (not AS frequently as that one experience that was mentioned for a different round but it was still a lot). Mainly Kickin kept getting those spaces, and let's just say... my dude's got LUCKY with those! 2 times out of 3 he landed on giving mini stars to last place, but the thing is... HE IS IN LAST PLACE LMAO. HE JUST KEPT RECEIVING MINI STARS FROM BOWSER. Even in the one time Kickin didn't get that in the Bowser Roulette he still didn't lose Mini Stars. There was a reverse mini game at one point (Thwomper Room) and he WON. By that point, Kickin was just joking like- "BOWSER SURE LOVES ME TODAY". Hoppy and Picky were just rolling their eyes. Bobby in the background just listening but also being sad that she didn't get out first (she and Kickin got hurt by the thwomp around the same time, but Kickin seemed to have gotten to it a frame before she did TvT' Also ig the excuse for Bobby wanting to get out here is that she couldn't imagine the others getting hurt by the Thwomps lol- The others would be like "Sure sure..." She can be mean against them if she wants to, but probably wouldn't be so mean to the point that they can't recover).

Also thought it'd be funny to mention that during the homestretch, Bobby just to happened to get the lucky space TWICE that led the party to the star island, but Picky was always the one that won all the Mini Stars at the end. She really did get lucky there- After this point, most likely everyone was certain Picky was going to win considering where she stood between the rest of the party, so they started to get a bit tense about that I think lol.

Near the end with the Bonus Stars, I genuinely thought Picky was going to win the Minigame Star since she kept getting first in many minigames. I guess I didn't keep track of how often she did, tho- Bobby still won it despite how many times she got 4th in some of them (she has really gotten better near the end ig). Speaking of Bobby and Picky, Picky had a LOT of Mini Stars in general, but because of Bobby landing on the Boss Battle space, receiving first place from Wiggler AND the captain bonus, I'm pretty sure that was the upper hand she needed cuz SHE WON!! Nobody was mad completely though since she was getting kind of screwed during the rounds. Though I can imagine Hoppy used what Kickin said earlier about Bowser loving him to her advantage though since he ended in 4th lol. Hoppy herself got 3rd (she was a little salty about that since she thought she'd do better, especially with the minigames but they were surprisingly not her strong suit this time. Kickin probably tried to tease her back about that lol). Meanwhile, Picky was just proud of Bobby for winning, though deep down kinda sad because she thought for sure she would win ;v; Bobby beat her by ONE mini star lol. For context, Bobby got 71 Mini Stars, Picky got 70, Hoppy got 53, and Kickin got 46.

Alr, second time through, I decided to play as CatNap (Shy Guy) with DogDay (Toad), CraftyCorn (Yoshi), and Bubba (Koopa). The board chosen was Toad Road since two out of the four Critters in that round (DogDay and CraftyCorn as was mentioned before) have that as their favorite. So what happened here that could be potential hcs? Well...

Not TOO much happened at the very beginning. Though at 10 to Win, I can imagine Bubba was absolutely trying his hardest to remember where every single card was despite how scrambled they all were. He didn't do too badly, but some of the cards were mainly ones he didn't want to get completely. CatNap's the opposite I imagine. He just chooses whatever seems right. That didn't work too well for him in this round, though (he got last ;-;) Crafty kept getting cards that supported everyone from what I remember (probably relieved her to know she could've gotten worse than she did). Pretty sure DogDay mostly won because of the cards the others chose (like a 1st card Bubba ended up getting at some point, DogDay was in 1st at the time and I can imagine Bubba just facepalmed when he did that-)

Just want to mention that Shy Guy's fourth place animation did make me think of CatNap, though I feel like if CatNap showed how he'd react to last place, he would just sleep away his sorrows if he got last lol

Speaking of CatNap, I feel like he's a menace in Mario Party. Like, anywhere else he's pretty chill, but make him play a game? Oh, it's like there's another side of him sorta- (he still keeps his laid back energy but he's clearly having fun against the party) Mainly thought of that because of him getting a 1v3 minigame (Spike-n-Span) and he pretty much wasn't holding back. He got EVERYONE.

I guess Bubba learned about how easy it was for CatNap to win that minigame because literally when he landed on a 1v3 space himself, HE CHOSE THAT SAME MINIGAME- He probably leeches off of the experiences he witnesses in the game and uses what he has seen to his advantage (it doesn't help for the others that Bubba has really good memory so he would probably know what to do to win; this could go for Mario Party in general tbh). Unfortunately, Bubba lost the minigame that time- Ironically enough tho, CatNap got out first lol

Every time the party kept getting Bowser Jr spaces, it was because of DogDay. I find it funny that Bowser Jr always paired him with CatNap tho (probably bc of him being first player tbf tho). First Bowser Jr minigame they played together wasn't so good. They played Sand Trap, and CatNap was a little confused on what to do. DogDay wasn't faring much better though. I feel like he was mainly waiting to see what CatNap was planning so he took his time. When they lost that one, I feel a part of CatNap was probably thinking "If we go down then we go down together :>" but another part of him felt bad because he legit had no idea what he was doing. DogDay was likely assuring him after that, hopeful that they'd win against Bowser Jr again next time. Sure enough, when DogDay landed on another Bowser Jr space, they did :) That minigame was Double Pounder. The instructions were easier for them to understand by that point. CatNap didn't really mind that DogDay got Mini Stars too that time (pretty sure DogDay wasn't in first by that point from what I remember). DogDay was just happy the two were able to win together. Probably gave CatNap a small hug after that. (Meanwhile Bobby in the background is just going: AWWWWWW 🥹🥹)

Oh yeah, Crafty was just chilling with her first place status in the first half too. She had about 33 mini stars during that point. She's not exactly planning on bragging about her status. She was just internally hoping she wouldn't get destroyed later TvT (she got this ahead because of a lucky space she landed on where climbed up a vine and got all the mini stars in that area- 12 MINI STARS) At some point, CatNap was catching up to her in terms of Mini Stars so there likely was some tension by that point. Crafty is just scared but at the same time defensive about her stars. Meanwhile CatNap was probably just silently hoping something happens to her stars and that he can get ahead-

This especially shows when Crafty got the Captain event. She legit chose CatNap to go last 💀 She was hoping it would be less likely for him to get the stars at the end if he was last. For more context, she chose Bubba to go first, then either herself or DogDay, but considering she was still in first, I think she was thinking that she could get the Mini Stars if she rolled high enough, so she would've needed to be the third person to do that- Unfortunately, Crafty's ploy didn't go too well. CatNap STILL got the stars at the end. Pretty sure that made them even in Mini Stars by that point-

CatNap just casually dominating most minigames... Pretty much like that with minigames like Pinball Fall. My guy literally didn't fall down a hole ONCE during his run- I think he probably has a bit of luck similar to Picky but he also is genuinely determined to win and happy to see the others struggling in the minigames deep down. Doesn't exactly voice this, but if you paid attention to his expressions, you'd know

Also, I think CatNap just pretty much wins a lot of the Reverse Minigames. The minute he hears that's what happens when the group lands on a Bowser space, he's like "K. I always wondered what happened if I just willingly jumped into this" in the most casual tone. DogDay would just look back at him concerned-

Meanwhile for Bubba, poor guy barely won many of the minigames (much less end up in 1st). I feel like he would still do very well in certain minigames taking character into account. He probably wouldn't be super fast though since he would prefer to calculate his moves I can imagine. Probably why he waited so long to even try to hit in the minigame Logger Heads (ironically enough though, he still ended up hitting a bomb at one point-) What made things worse for him was that he got no points and it was a Bowser minigame where they fought between half of the whole party's Mini Stars. He was already in last place by that point. He was likely frustrated about that, but pretty calm about the frustration anyway. Just silently facepalming and grumbling at himself for doing something he sees as dumb. Can also imagine that in general, Bubba would get much more quiet if he was in last due to the frustration but also because of trying to focus and think about ways to get himself back in the game. The party would probably be concerned about that-

Okay, I just wanna say for the record... The bosses in this round are the exact same as last time. For highlights there, Bubba got the captain bonus for the Lakitu boss and Yoshi's 4th place animation legit made me think: "Yeah, that looks like Crafty right there" because I could imagine her doing that 🥺 As for the Wiggler boss, CatNap was literally dominating everyone in that. He didn't even lose any points either. He also had the captain's bonus lol I imagine he just did all that with the most chill expression ever, too lol. He'd probably just be like "Imagine losing..." to everyone else in a casual way. If Kickin was playing against him, he would get offended by that so much lol

Speaking of dominating, there was NO CONTEST with the winner by that point. CatNap beat everyone by at least 60 MINI STARS- HE GOT 104 TOTAL COMPARED TO CRAFTY'S 40, DOGDAY'S 37, AND BUBBA'S 30 NEAR THE END- I blame that on Logger Heads tbh. The minute that minigame happened, CatNap just dominated Crafty in winnings. There wasn't really a chance for her to win now T^T Bubba was disappointed in himself but at the same time, not surprised that CatNap won now. He also blames CatNap's winning on Logger Heads and luck (since CatNap could get the captain's bonus easily since he was only a couple spaces away so he could use his 4-6 dice he kept on him) Meanwhile DogDay is just absolutely amazed by how well CatNap did. No bad blood against him at all. He's just happy for him :> (We love the golden retriever and black cat energy)

Finally, I decided to do one of the minigame modes for fun. I chose to play as Kickin this time and also adding Bobby, Crafty, and Bubba. I chose for them to do Choice Challenge. They had to choose between five minigames, which were Thwomper Room, Urn It, Tuber Tug, Polar Extreme, and Pit or Platter.

Bubba was the only one to choose both Thwomper Room and Urn It. LITERALLY JUST HIM. He got 200 points right off the bat. Bobby and Crafty were pretty worried by that point, but Kickin wasn't at all expecting that- He was probably making sure he won the next minigames he chose. Funnily enough, he was trying to go for Thwomper Room, too, but he must've accidentally chose another minigame. It would've been a StarStudent matchup there (sorry StarStudent shippers ;-;)

Bubba didn't choose Tuber Tug and Polar Extreme but Bobby, Crafty, and Kickin did, so it was literally just competition against those three for a bit. They practiced Tuber Tug first through Kickin's plea because he was wanting to make sure his Wii Remote worked (he wanted to make sure he could dominate his competition- Don't blame him). I can imagine Hoppy would likely be calling him a chicken in the background for not going straight into the minigame despite knowing how to do it. Either way, Kickin won the minigame and got 100 points. Crafty got 50, and Bobby 30. No practice was done for Polar Extreme as the instructions were simple. (Btw, this was the minigame Kickin accidentally picked over Thwomper Room-) All three of them still never made it to the goal, though Bobby survived the longest so she won. This time Bobby got 100 points, Kickin got 50, and Crafty 30. Considering how well she did with the minigames last time they played together, I can imagine Kickin would get pretty suspicious of Bobby. Though he isn't nearly as worried about her as he is with Bubba. Y'know... THE DUDE WHO GOT FIRST PLACE AND DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO TRY TO GET THERE.

Everyone chose the Chance minigame, Pit or Platter. Kickin's ego was probably kicking in again by that point because he's usually good with skill minigames. This one wasn't his best attempt at it though. Hoppy calling him out probably cut him deep so he didn't choose to practice this time, even though he probably needed it- Either way, he just wanted to make sure it wasn't Bubba that won. Sure enough, Bubba didn't win that minigame. Bobby did

Bobby really proved to be a wild card when it comes to minigames, but it actually goes in her favor this time- She actually won against Bubba by 30 points. She had 280 and he had 250. Crafty and Kickin were pretty far down in terms of points though. Poor Crafty didn't get first place once- Kickin meanwhile is just glad Bubba didn't win but also a little salty that Bobby won since she won against him last time- It didn't really matter to Bobby that she won anyway. She was just happy to play with her friends. She let them know that too through her usual affection :>

(Sorry this was so long, but I had a lot of fun doing this- It's not everyday I'm able to play on my Wii due to college stuff 🙃 I hope you liked what I listed tiara, and in general, I hope y'all enjoyed =v=') Speaking of tiara, credits to her for the Mario Party 9 headcanons idea for the Smiling Critters. These were fun to come up with :)

[magesmeatymuses]

🍔 for Nia?

Nia doesn't even notice themself constantly snacking out of boredom. After absentmindedly stuffing themself with greasy fast food, Nia finds themself 1020 lbs fatter than before. They keep gaining and their breasts have grown as well. They try to lose the weight, but they can't resist even more food.

To say that Nia was a little spoilt was kind of underselling it, to be frank with you. As a former noble, she was used to the more finer aspects of life shortly before her brief stint as a Torna terrorist, and settling down with Rex and the others only meant that she had a whole group of people who were more than willing to drop everything and bend over backwards for her. A tiny part of Nia did admittedly feel a little guilty whenever they did that, but she was a proud Gormotti through and through, so she revelled in the attention.

Of course, over the course of their journey towards Elysium, it wasn't exactly hard to miss the fact that Nia had gotten—was getting—a lot rounder all over. Given the fact that Pyra was a (quite literal) god at cooking, Nia had more than ample amounts of opportunities to stuff her face on whatever Pyra fancied cooking that day. This was without Rex's insistence that everyone take it easy so they'd be able to face their upcoming challenges in tip-top shape, which Nia quickly realised was just an excuse for Rex to see everyone happy and gladly welcomed with open arms.

Which, of course, lead to the present circumstance of Nia burping contently after polishing off her third helping of Pyra-fried Fish and Chips.

"Ooof... That hit the spot real good... Shame about my diet, though."

You wouldn't believe it just looking at her, but Nia actually had been conscious of her recent weight gain and had been doing her best to mitigate that. Mòrag's military background meant that she would have been a shoe-in for weight loss efforts—but Nia's inability to complete even basic stretches meant that working with her was a no-go. Rex was more than happy to teach her how to salvage since diving did burn calories, but that, too, proved untenable as soon as she landed into the Cloud Sea and started just straight-up sinking. You'd have thought that Pyra would have at least done meal planning and preparations on Nia's behalf, but Pyra just couldn't help herself from cooking Nia's favourites even without being asked to do them. Perhaps this, too, was a side effect of being created by an Architect.

The effects of this negligence were readily apparent just from a cursory glance at Nia's body. Even with her jumpsuit's size having at least ten Xs added at the beginning, Nia looked like she had been filled into her clothes and never said stop. Based off of Tora and Poppi's extremely conservative estimates, Nia had just barely clipped over the half-ton mark, sitting at AT LEAST 1020lbs and then some. It was a conservative estimate solely because it had been a couple weeks ago, and Nia hadn't stopped being spoilt by Pyra since then.

Nia's buxom body could favourably be compared to that of a fertility goddess with how curvy and fuller-figured she had become. Her breasts billowed outward until they stuck out a good couple feet in front of her, so large that no bra in Alrest had any hope of containing them (and that was saying something, considering Mythra had been around for 500 years and never saw any girl quite as large as Nia up to this point). Her belly was like a wall, an unscaleable, monorolled wall that churned and growled with so much food inside that it would have been a feast for the people of Fonsett Village. Her giant ass, too, had become shapely like a church bell, a wide billboard of a bum that could be used to plug a double doorway if she needed to (and often did without even trying). Nia's cheeks—that is, her jowls) had also grown quite flabby, stuffed like a chipmunks with triple chins that bobbed and squished with every swallow she made.

Suffice to say, Nia was extremely fat now. Any attempts at dieting would be excessively tedious at best and a farce at worst. Despite this, however, Nia didn't feel bad about it whatsoever.

"...Well, I guess I can't complain."

Nia sticked out her tongue and slapped her belly. It wobbled and jiggled to and fro, swaying like the pendulum of a grandfather clock before brushing against her knees as it came to a stop.

"If Rex and both Pyra and Mythra like it... then I'm all well for it~"

[vyllraen]

Class and Divinity

I think only the rich want god. And they want him in the way they want a grand self-portrait; something to last beyond their lifetime and echo their perfected, glorified image. An old-fashioned thing rarely indulged in in the modern age. Their god (whichever they lay claim to) never gives them commands that run against their existing ways. Their god is a bigger, louder voice than theirs (or so they say) but it always speaks the exact way that they would. And their god is always gilding, both in that it accentuates their existing selves as an chosen bit of vanity and that it runs barely skin deep. There is always a perfectly functional engine of pragmatism and mortal will beneath all trace of religion in the wealthy.

The middle class (what paltry few remain, excuse my lack of knowledge) seem the least godly of people to me. Comfortable enough that divinity is a fun thought exercise, neither needed nor wanted to get through the day or excuse the day's takings, they tend to gravitate more towards general spirituality and mutated trappings of religion rather than firm belief in a deity itself and relationship to it. Self-actualization, and more importantly the freedom to pursue it, means all forms of modernized "hippie-dippie" pursuits, most of which read to me as incredibly incomplete and insincere. A thought experiment, where in the end there seems to be an assumption that it's all for fun: at the end of the day, your own thought is all there is.

The lower class (and this reaches in my mind all the way down to destitution) need god. Desperately. And their belief in it is the most all-consuming, sincere religion in the world. Maybe it's always been this way. When the leisure to self-actualize is robbed from you, when forces far beyond your control that dominate every aspect of your life are already something you are accustomed to, when the road up is so steep and impossible that often the best you can do your whole life is not slide too much further backwards, then divine intervention is your only lifeline. You believe in the thing you need to believe in or lose all hope. Same reason rich people don't buy lottery tickets. They don't need a distant miracle to save them, and they don't need to depend on such miracles to start with.

And the suffering. When existence alone is full of hunger and fear and uncertainty, you starve for purpose and fairness even oftener than you starve for food. Religion gives you a reward far out in the distance. Purpose. Divine protection. Divine punishment on your enemies. It hands you a set of pre-made rules and principles, sparing you the long process of developing your own (something you do not have spare time or mental energy for anyway). A shortcut to mental relief from oppression. A sense of order and justice in a hostile and chaotic world. A new standard by which to measure yourself, one in which you can succeed regardless of how much you lack. A shortcut to community and understanding with others that bypasses their personality and background. Something, somebody else to trust in, who is powerful beyond measure, when you are intimately aware of how powerless you are.

In lockstep with this, wealth affords a thousand ways in which you can distance yourself from the human experience. Leisure and safety are only worth so much toward self-realization when stripped of all consequences, risk, struggle, and empathy. The ability to opt out of all conflict and even mere exposure to the suffering of others leads to a very different kind of god than the inability to escape suffering, your own and everyone else's, for even a moment. Not only do the rich want god, while the poor need it, but the divinity of the poor is fuller and sharper and far more sincere not just because of sheer necessity, but because it contains vast amounts of trauma and fear.

this, of course, skims past many related ideas like how religion is actively used to satiate and control the lower classes, how it relates to the way cults form, the differences between deity-specific religions and vaguer, more principle-based religions and how they express, and the limitations of my own experience as it involves almost exclusively the MOST christianized elements of western religion, but it's still a thought i've been turning over.

[aizenat]

Kpop fans make no sense. Le sserafim has proven on multiple occasions that they can’t sing. And these Coachella performances put it on full display front and center. And even the ppl criticizing the performance and how bad they sound keep repeating it “the girls don’t deserve hate” and I’m like wtf do these idiots think this is? A hs popularity contest?

This is the fucking MUSIC INDUSTRY. Know what that means? You’re in the business of making music. And guess what you need to be able to do in that case? Fucking sing. If you can’t sing, get the fuck off the fucking stage. Yes I’m booing you. Yes I’m saying you suck. What else am I supposed to do? Just hum how sad you sing bad and then keep streaming and supporting you despite your inability to the do the bare minimum required to be in this industry? Fucking jlo can hold a note better than these hoes. JLO!

Like honestly, kpop fans are so delusional. They could never last in the music industry for real lol. You know how often and how much artists get torn down when they’re talented? Look at Beyonce and Megan thee Stallion. Fuck, look at Dua Lipa! When she got called out for being a shit performer, did she make excuses like “I tried my best and my audience had fun so there’s that?” No! She got in the studio, hired some dance instructors and choreographers, and put her ass to work. Now this bitch is singing on apparatuses and shit like it’s easy. THAT’S what artists worth our time and attention and praise do. They put in the fucking work.

Maybe if kpop idols focused more on doing the work than starving themselves skinny, practicing how to take selfies, and filming tik toks, they could fucking sing.

And Sakura is too old to be acting this obtuse and stupid. “We’re a rookie group” like okay yes, and? What that got to do with the price of tea in china? Britney went from promoting at malls to selling out stadiums within two years of her “debuting.” And she was dancing and singing with steady vocals. And like Britney even in her time was not the best vocalist we had to offer. Fucking Christina Aguilera was right there! Hell Pink is a much better singer than Britney! And that’s not even including BLACK singers who would dance circles around them!

This is why I refuse to tolerate this shit. If this is the best kpop has to offer, then why listen to it? Hybe and many other labels are trying to remove the k from kpop, and their best acts aren’t even good enough to be background dancers to our (American) most mid artists. Like this is embarrassing.

I was listening to Wonder Girls The DJ is Mine featuring School Gyrls and while those girls never went anywhere, School Gyrls could sing. And when I first heard the song, I didn’t even realize that there was an American girl girl on the track because Wonder Girls’ vocals were on par with the American girls. And that was the standard in second gen. Fucking Wonder Girls weren’t even the best second gen had to offer (and I say this as a very loyal wonderful) and they could hold their own vocally with American singers.

But these recent idols could NEVER no matter how hard they work at it. Fucking Demi Lovato was on that remix of le serrafim’s English version of eve psyche and Bluebeard’s wife, and I still remember the way when I was listening to that for the first time how I woke the fuck up when Demi starting singing because the difference in how amazing she sounded compared to le serrafim on their own fucking track was wild to me. And Demi is also not the best singer we have to offer! She might make some ppls top 100 vocalists, but only braindead Disney kids would put her in their top 50, and she sure as hell is no one’s top 20 or 10. And that’s not a dig but just to show how far the gap is. Demi isn’t even the best we have to offer and she’s singing circles around these girls on their own track? What does that say about them?

Oh I know! They fucking suck!

I’m not giving them a pass nor giving them excuses nor tolerating this. This is the music industry in America sweeties. And guess what? When you suck, we dunk on you. Can’t sing and we’re laughing and mocking you. If this was the Apollo, Black folk would be throwing tomatoes. No cookout invite for you tired hoes. Get the fuck out of here. No mercy for the weak too focused on being pretty than good at your fucking job. If we dunked on summer walker for canceling her tour due to anxiety when she can actually sing but was boring as hell on stage, why do you expect better treatment when you can’t even sing?

We’re not giving these mugs a handicap. You wanna tour in the us and promote here? Then get good. Period. And if you can’t, then get the fuck off the stage and stick with the inkigayo performances. Just don’t actually win because god forbid yall have to sing a fucking encore stage and everyone hears your live vocals again.

[wolvebonez]

If you want too: I’m curious to what you’ve observed in the WoF fandom, since I was in it a while ago and it wasn’t too bad for me personally. Though before I got into it I was in comparatively worse fandoms

I got my friend @dwaynedadwagon to write a bit abt it cuz I was never in the WoF fandom for long & it knows much more abt it than me so:

the wings of fire fandom consists of mostly children who got unrestricted internet access at too young of an age. because of this, and other societal factors for the younger generations, the wings of fire community tends to be very mentally unstable. just about every other member voices their personal mental struggles publicly, which leads to more people adding to the pile of public trauma-dumping.

another thing that is caused by unrestricted internet access is their inability to know what is right and what is wrong. there’s a popular member who happens to be a minor that ships their sona with foeslayer, people call this pedophilic, saying it’s like “shipping an adult with a minor”, which is not true. this is like a middle schooler shipping themself with harry styles and writing fanfictions about it. this is not unacceptable nor inappropriate, yet they still end up on a lot of dni lists for this reason, when they seem to be a reasonable person.

what’s concerning about this fandom is the amount of children making content and spitting out incoherent and misleading takes and opinions, which other children repeat and spread further within the community. there is a lack of media literacy, and because of this, people misinterpret the themes of wings of fire. one of them is that, “no matter who you are, you can always change,” and, “you cannot generalize whole groups of people for their appearance and background.” the second one is shown by the repeating examples of dragons within all tribes not fitting the stereotypes the main characters are fighting against (other than the rainwings, but there are a few who are unlike this!). generally, the community never recognizes this theme, and they continue to place each tribe into their own categories for their attributes.

“skywings are blunt and vicious, seawings are cowardly and reclusive, nightwings are secretive and all-mighty, mudwings are gluttonous and idiotic.”

these are all stereotypes, yet the community takes it as fact. they completely disregard what tui originally added in as themes for the books.

though, to be fair, she, too, forgets this theme in the later books. but it’s not an excuse for the community to also ignore these important ideas.

wings of fire is about inclusivity, iradicating misrepresentation, taking the past into account for the future, and so much more. however, the community lacks all forms of media literacy due to being so young, that they only take in the ideas that stood out the most — and those ideas happen to be the ones the protagonists fight against.

Personally, my own specific issues with my brief interactions in the fandom includes people acting as if my concerns about the fact the tribes were called, well, tribes, was completely absolute. Granted, I haven’t seen any outright appropriation or racisim in the earlier books (I haven’t read them in years though), other than the weird choice to call them tribes and not kingdoms or something else. But it always rubbed me the wrong way how quickly ppl get defensive over it getting pointed out haha.

That and I see a lot of discussion from white people talking abt the leaf/hivewing thing which rubs me the wrong way, but, I can’t accurately interact with it because I haven’t read that arc in full. Nor do I really intend to. Like Dwayne said, the fandom is mostly children with bad takes, at least from what I’ve seen, so I try to avoid it and its source material where I can, because god forbid I like another piece of media with a gross fandom. GOW and warriors is enough LMFAO

[the-flesh-is-willing]

some image IDs TBA, apologies!

re: the tags in my last reblog - have some old/abandoned art of my hornet gijinka + star wars au designs this is gonna be a long post oops first was before i figured out how i wanna dress my hk gijinkas (still kinda proud of it esp the facial expression even if i didnt wanna shade it properly lol) second is her pretty much figured out design in training clothes, plus drawings of her as a togruta jedi (i should really get back to that au i love it so much) third is an unfinished thing from like half a year ago (damn) and thats what she wears post sealing of the black egg temple generally although maybe i shouldve given her more visible bags and stuff idt she would leave Everything at her camps right

she has a rope dart because thats what her attacks remind me of most, not the proudest of how heavily i referenced the bottom pose from another artist and idt i would do that as heavily now? but something something growth

in the third design she has a magic spider silk tabard thing instead of armour (hence the silvery iridescence), i imagine it would help with the whole agility thing. capes r inconvenient but hehe Swoosh in case u couldnt tell my hk gijinkas r kinda chinese fantasy vibes??? maybe i should make her a proper like royal princess kinda design sometime ough (and redesign the tiara in the first one to be more chinese as well... hanfu hair stuff is always sick as all hell) ...also when i first posted the first one i wrote a little drabble. i was not and am still not a person who does writing ever but uh

Hornet was usually good at hiding her problems and keeping a calm demeanour. After all, she was the Daughter of Hallownest, destined to inherit an entire kingdom. Hornet knew things were getting worse for her beloved Hallownest, but she could never have imagined that her own father would destroy their home, locking himself in a dreamworld she could never access. Hornet realized she’d never see the palace again, and let her tears finally flow; there was no longer a kingdom for her to rule anyways. (Please excuse my inability to write LMAO) For clarification: the tiara on her head is imaginary and I imagine gijinka!Hornet impulsively shattering her actual tiara once she realizes Hallownest has gone past the point of no return. The phantom tiara + the Hallownest seal in the background indicates how she’ll always be royalty and cannot distance herself from her father’s legacy.

yeah

apologies for the massive wall of text but this is what tumblr is for right