#for my personal vote I think 3 is the coolest

[professor-doc-emeritus]

possible readings of the admech:

1 - admech rituals don't work and aren't necessary. imperium tech largely works based on a combination of dumb luck, ork-esque psychic gestalt fields generated by humanity's collective belief in it, and the efforts of the handful of heretic priests who worked all this out and now do all the imperium's actual IT/maintenance work in secret. The majority of the imperium, and the adeptus mechanics itself, still believe in the rituals wholeheartedly.

2 - admech rituals do work and are (mostly) necessary, but only because they are obfuscations of actual technical work, e.g. the application of sacred oils and incense is just an elaborately ritualized method of getting rusty old machines lubricated regularly, binaric prayers work because they actually contain bundles of voice commands to activate onboard error handling programs in most Dark Age of Technology artifacts, and "machine spirits" are just ancient and ornery onboard AIs that take pity on the occasional tech priest asking for help. This status quo is an unintentional side effect of millenia of collective trial and error; virtually all members of the admech genuinely believe in the cult mechanicus & are unaware there's any material benefit to their rituals.

3 - same as the above, except the admech are (or at least used to be) in on the ruse. The rituals do work, for the above stated reasons, but are deliberately designed to be as mysterious, impenetrable, and terrifying as possible. The people who made them didn't believe in the omnissiah, and sufficiently well-informed members of the admech don't either, often foregoing their rituals entirely when in private or in a pinch. The median admech member understands the basic principles of technology FAR better than they let on, and the cult mechanicus in general exists as part of a massive conspiracy meant to keep humanity at large ignorant, and the control of technology exclusively in admech hands, which they use to their own nefarious ends. This fact used to be common knowledge within the faction itself, however the heresy era split, the subsequent millenia of conflict, and their own overzealous propaganda have all eroded their collective memory. The truth is now only known to its highest ranking and longest-lived members, and is doled out on a need-to-know basis to a select few. This is why most tech priests that feature in the books and video games unironically believe in the omnissiah: they haven't yet been told the truth.

4 - admech rituals do work and are necessary, and the spiritual aspect of it is at least partially true, but this is only because the omnissiah is actually a manifestation of Mag’ladroth the Void Dragon, C'tan god of technology and Aeldari god of oblivion, a shard of which was defeated and imprisoned beneath the surface of mars by the emperor. This shard, either intentionally or unintentionally, influenced and warped the collective psyche of the mechanicum of mars until they became the admech we know today. Their apparent control over technology is the result of some combination of their proximity to the shard giving them aspects of its power, intentional siphoning of the shards power by the mechanicum, the shard itself lending them power as part of a long-term plan to corrupt & use the imperium as a means of revenge against the necrons that shattered it, and the Emperor's defeat of the shard granting him its domain over technology. It's this domain the Emperor won that allowed humanity to expand out and conquer the stars without their tech getting corrupted by the warp, and why technology made by other species and the machines-making-machines-that-make-machines (i.e. the men of iron) fall to the warp faster and more often than human technology

5 - the admech are just batting a thousand and are right about pretty much everything.

[starkwlkr]

Can I request one with Hugh Jackman where he and reader are both trying to ignore some of the mean paparazzi? And like a clip of Hugh defending her goes viral and he gets asked about it in interviews?

that’s my dad! | hugh jackman

an: just wanted to let y’all know how happy i am writing all these amazing requests! this is going to take place in my marvel actress!reader universe <3

tw: paparazzi (because it should be illegal tf?) and rude comments lmk if i missed anything

After months of you and Hugh filming and doing press interviews, you were finally reunited with your three kids in New York. It was a nice sunny day in New York so your family took advantage of it. Your family decided to eat at a brunch spot that you’ve been meaning to try out. You were the one that suggested eating outside since it was a nice day. Your daughter, Olivia, was the one that had spotted a man dressed in casual clothes with his camera out.

Why isn’t paparazzi illegal? You thought to yourself. You were just trying to have a day with your family.

“Well our family day was fun while it lasted.” Olivia frowned.

“Just eat and ignore them, Liv, maybe they’ll get bored that we’re not doing anything interesting and walk away.” Her older brother, Reese, said as he continued eating his sandwich.

So everyone went on eating while the man kept taking pictures. Olivia had brought up some trip that her and her friends wanted to take. It was all going good until more paparazzi started showing up.

“Get your things, we’re leaving.” Was all Hugh said. He stood up from his chair and walked away.

“But I haven’t finished my food!” Olivia frowned again.

“Finish it in the car, dumbass, dad’s going to beat the shit out of that guy!” Alex smirked as his dad started walking angrily and yelling at the paparazzi.

“You heard your dad, let’s go.” You grabbed your purse and sunglasses while the kids grabbed their stuff. Thankfully your car wasn’t far away.

Olivia quickly stuffed her face with pasta and drank the last bit of her coke before she followed you and her brothers. “Wait! I can’t walk that fast!” You stopped and waited for her then grabbed her hand.

Alex walked in front of you and Olivia while Reese walked behind you. Hugh had always told the boys that if paparazzi ever fought up with them and he wasn’t there, it was up to them to keep you and Olivia safe. They took that job seriously.

“Hey! Congrats on the new movie! How does it feel to be back as Wolverine?” A camera man from TMZ asked Hugh.

“Look, I’m just trying to have a nice day out with my family. Please leave us alone.” Hugh demanded.

“I’m just trying to do my job, man.”

“Fuck your job. Get the fuck out!” Hugh was so close to grabbing his camera and smashing it on the ground. The kids made it safely to the car while you waited outside for your husband. Just then, the camera man made a comment about you that made Hugh lose it.

“My bad, I’ll let you get back to that hot ass wife of yours.”

Hugh grabbed the camera and smashed it on the ground. He was about to do even more damage, but he heard you yell his name. “Don’t talk about my wife ever.”

“So you had an eventful day in New York recently. . .” Ryan said to Hugh. They were the guests host on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. You and the kids were watching from backstage as Ryan got Hugh to talk about the incident that happened. “I think People magazine voted you sexiest husband alive,” Hugh laughed at Ryan’s comment. “I mean it was like playing wolverine all over again.”

“It did feel like it,” Hugh admitted. “When I got back to the car, my kids were cheering so I am now the coolest person they know.” The audience laughed.

“Were you not before?”

“No, they called me a big nerd,” Hugh laughed it off. “But as I was walking back to my family, I heard my daughter just yell really loudly ‘that’s my dad! My dad beat his ass!’ and i have never felt prouder.”

“Father of the year, everyone!”

@kellyxo1

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Sword gays showdown preliminaries

Propaganda:

For Kazuma Asogi:

ok so he’s not CANONICALLY queer but it’s ace attorney. so… he does, however, canonically have a katana! a sword so integral to the plot it gives me shivers just thinking about it. the sword also has a name, it’s karuma (translates roughly to karma) and it gets passed onto the main character, ryunosuke naruhodo (who he calls partner), after kazuma (spoiler alert) dies in case 1-2. except (SUPER spoiler alert!) he isn’t dead! he comes back in case 2-3 and would you look at that he has ANOTHER SWORD, a more european sword (cause he ended up in england after his amnesia brain said he REALLY had to go to england). once he gets his memories back, ryunosuke gives karuma back to him and proceeds to use it to destroy the wax figure of his dead presumed serial killer dad (long story), and now he has, you guessed it, TWO SWORDS! for the next two cases he wears both swords at his sides, and also he broke the tip off of karuma attempting to murder someone (he didn’t actually murder anyone but still) and then turns out karuma’s hilt has the REAL serial killer’s will in it. very VERY important sword. in the end, kazuma gives karuma back to ryunosuke which is really symbolic but that’s besides the point, and they cross swords and it’s a whole big thing. 10/10 gay sword guy.

For Raiden:

Man catches knives with his heels and uses a sword to cut through robots 20 times his size

He's such a tragic character! Raised to be a super soldier from birth and is constantly being exploited by the government. As for the lgbt part him and his rival in the latest game he's in have so much tension it's unreal (gay). I headcanon him as trans too because he has a feminine figure, his voice gets more masculine as the series goes on (testosterone) and his entire body gets replaced with cybernetics (trans allegory...)

For Claudine Saijou:

Fights with a longsword! Should be number 1 for this line alone: “For heroes, there are trials. For saints, there are temptations. For me, there is you”, said to def not her girl crush but rival btw (stream Revue of Soul) Vote for my disaster theatre kid its what she deserves!

Her gay levels are off the charts. She has a homoerotic rivalry with another classmate (Maya Tendo/Tendou Maya) that is integral to her character, as she was always first until she met Maya. She’s also half-French, but that’ll be important later. When she’s looking at pictures of Maya stretching (to study her form of course) and another character asks her what she’s looking at, she panics, blushes, and says none of your business. Her and Maya have a heartfelt conversation while stretching with Claudine’s face pressed into Maya’s chest (between her stomach and breasts). Some art from a magazine has Maya pushing Claudine into a deep stretch, but it looks like something a lot different (Claudine blushing doesn’t help. Also I realized that there’s a lot of gay stuff related to stretching with these two).

During a two on two duel (I know it’s not a duel), they fight together. Not only that, but at one point they hold hands and take a pose typical of romantic partners in dancing. For no reason. They just pause and do it to show off. They aren’t even fighting. Anyways, when they lose, Claudine starts crying, not because she lost, but because Maya lost. So, of course, Maya starts speaking to her in French, with one of the things she says being “You’re cute even when you cry, my Claudine.” All of this is stuff that’s happened in the series (except the magazine thing).

Now for the gay stuff in the movie. Their duel with each other is so dense with sapphic undertones they can hardly be called undertones. For starters, the song that accompanies this revue is called “A Beautiful Person, or Perhaps it is.” While this title is incomplete, the director states that he wanted the watcher to fill it in and this removed the end of the original title. That title is “A Beautiful Person, or Perhaps it is a Love Song.” The duel is framed as a fight between a hero (Maya) and a devil (Claudine). Maya is in an outfit reminiscent of Renaissance Italy and Claudine is in a suit. Thus, Maya signs a contract giving her soul over to Claudine, as is the case with marriage. With her own blood, in the shape of Position Zero (an important symbol in the show), which happens to look like a T, for Tendou. After a few minutes of fighting, Maya disappears and monologues, appearing in a white dress. This means that Maya has signed her soul over to Claudine, and they are now both wearing a white dress and suit. Not beating the gay marriage allegations. Maya finished her monologue with “For heroes, there are trials. For saints, there are temptations. For me, there is a devil.” They continue to fight, Maya proclaiming herself emotionless and empty. Maya then cuts the medallion from Claudine’s chest (they wear medallions and you lose the duel if it gets cut off).

Claudine falls. Maya attempts to claim victory by stabbing her sword into Position Zero, which is then covered by steel doors. Claudine sits up and reveals she has another medallion in her mouth, which she does by sticking out her tongue in a uhhhh. Anyways, after a bit of back and forth, Claudine tells Maya that she’s full of arrogance and pride and envy and longing. She then says that “No matter how many times I die, I will revive! Tendou Maya! To beat you, my rival, into submission!” She then makes her stage entrance, taking Maya’s usual entrance speech and mocking it. She also says “I fill myself with exploding passion, now, and bash it into your heart!” After some talking, Maya makes her stage entrance, taking Claudine’s usual entrance speech and mocking it. Up until now, they have been playing characters, but still letting their own emotions shine through. Now, they are entirely themselves.

They begin to fight again, running downs white aisle before clashing swords, with Maya saying “Such an ugly, emotion drenched appearance-“ and is cut off by Claudine, who says “Show me more, Tendou Maya! Right now, you’re the cutest you’ve ever been!” To which Maya responds “I’m always cute!”  The song starts up again (duels are accompanied by songs), with Maya singing “With a grin of deception I’ll tear this piece of cloth.” Deception in Japanese is mayakashi, a reference to Maya’s name. Maya then sings “I want to show you my feelings becoming dyed in black.” Black is Kuro in Japanese. Claudine, in Katakana, is Kurodine, with her nickname being Kuro, so that line could also be interpreted “I want to show you my feelings becoming dyed in you.” Claudine then sings “Only me, always, forever,” before they sing in unison “You only need to look at me,” as they lock blades. Some fighting happens and they’re falling through the sky, holding onto each others clothes and Claudine says “Only I can make you lay everything bare!” To which Maya responds “I’ll expose my everything, on the stage!” Claudine shoots back with “There’s a partner you can expose everything to, on the stage!” At this point, there’s a short time with independent vocals for Maya and Claudine in addition to their talking. Maya has been singing “If I’m on the stage, if I’m in front of you,” for the last two lines of dialogue. Claudine sings “Be it ugly or beautiful,” as Maya sings “I will expose, anything and everything, all of me, all of me.” As this happens, Maya is saying “We love the stage,” which is continued by Claudine saying “And we can’t part from the stage!” Maya calls them both “Pathetic clowns!” To which Claudine corrects “No, rivals!” Maya says “If you’re there, I have to strive higher!” Claudine says “You make me even more beautiful! Maya!” Maya then yells “Claudine!” Claudine yells “For heroes, there are trials!” Maya continues “For saints, there are temptations!” Then, as one, their swords crossed, faces inches from each other, yell “For me, there is you!” Over top of this, their voices sing a line in unison: “Forever and ever, I’d like to cross swords with you.”

Claudine’s sword stabs through the contract, through the Position Zero in blood, which may be Maya’s family name, and Maya says as an aside “Saijou Claudine… You are beautiful.” Claudine cuts the medallion from Maya’s chest, finally beating her rival.

[the-90s-music-colosseum]

Round 5, Match 8

propaganda below the cut! (wall of text warning)

Tracy Chapman:

"I can’t think of anything clever to say because I’m too busy sighing dreamily"

"GUYS ITS FUCKING TRACY CHAPMAN VOTE FOR HER OR ELSE ILL EAT PLAYDOUGH"

"Tracy Chapman made the best song of all time (fast car)"

"ik im the hope sandoval guy but if hope doesn't make it tracy has to she made me realize i was a lesbian i just thought i was bi then i listened to her and now im a lesbian she is powerful she is strength if you looked at her and looked at my art you would see 20 years of inspiration from one single woman"

"she's too good to commit atrocities to me but im the gore guy and you aren't for that. i would let her take out my vocal chords and use them as floss. i would have her saw down my bones to make a vinyl of her music. i would go on all fours and let her slaughter me like a pig. i want to be her cat"

"The most powerful written and performed voice of the 90s. Everyone, of any nationality or belief system, could feel the words Tracy Chapman sang. She gets her dues but deserves even more."

Kathleen Hanna:

"if you don't think kathleen hanna is the coolest person ever you're WRONG she's better than everyone and more gorgeous than everyone"

"i think if she was my age and we went to middle school together she would've been my queer awakening. she would've been who i considered my "first girl crush" and ii'm so in love with her she's kathleen fucking hanna <3"

"IS PROPAGANDA EVEN NEEDED!!!! She fronted a whole genre, bagged arguerably the best beastie boy, got into a fight with courtney love, invented the phrase girl power, helped nirvana to its success, and looked like a god while doing all this."

"Kurt Cobain this, Nirvana that. IF KATHLEEN HANNA WASNT ALIVE THERE WOULD BE NO SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT. I mean- who else could be able to say that they had a whole ass movie made about them that's literally titled THE punk singer??? She's THE moment. THE icon."

"vote kathleen or you hate FEMINISM!!!!"

"A vote for Kathleen is a vote for riot girls everywhere"

[miscellaneoussmp]

My love letter to qsmp and qsmpblr.

I saw other people doing this, so I might as well too!!!! I like the positivity of it all!!!

My story with qsmp is kind of a sad one, so sorry, but warning for the death of a loved one is mentioned in the second paragraph.

Originally, I was very excited about qsmp from the day it was announced. Quackity had been one of my favorite content creators for years at that point. Although, the day it started, I was on vacation with my mom and grandma for my little sibling's birthday. I didn't have time to watch day 1, so I just didn't get into it. I got updates through a friend of mine (Hi Warren!!!) meaning I had some idea of what was going on. Plus, I watched clips here and there. (Also, fun fact!!! I voted in the elections for Bad even though I didn't know what was going on!!)

Okay, here's the sad part. In early July of 2023, my grandfather on my mom's side died. It sucked. I was closer with him when I was little, so I didn't know what to feel. It hurts, I think. Everything about that situation sucked, from getting there to the mess that is my big ass family. Though on my last night there, I was thinking about the qsmp for whatever reason. I decided that I wanted to get into it there and then. I sat in the airport waiting to get on an airplane to go home watching qsmp compilations to get caught up. It was amazing. I felt better, just a bit.

I made my first post with the qsmp tag on July 13th, 2023, and y'all have been stuck with my ass ever since.

Now!!! It's time to shout out the lovely people of qsmpblr!!! (Under the cut cause I think this is getting long)

@kadextra Kade!!!! You're the first person I ever followed in qsmpblr and the person who inspired me to keep writing. I can never ever thank you enough for that. Your art is wonderful!!! Please keep creating!!!

@disfrutalakia Kia!!!!! You literally mean the world to me!!!! You were my full introduction to the Brazilians of the server, and I can't thank you enough for that!!! You say my characterization of Pac and Mike is amazing? Well, I couldn't have done it without you!!! Also, thanks for letting me live in your inbox for literal months!!!

@thesmpisonfire Des!!!! Hi bestie!!!! Before we were friends, whenever you were in my notes, I would get so excited!!! I thought you were the coolest person and still do!! Thank you for letting me ramble to you endlessly!!! I love everything we've made together!!!

@ultra-raging-ghost Ghost!!!! King!!!! The beloved ghostie on my dash!!!! And my beloved coauthor of Freaks and Their Tapes!!!! There's a lot I couldn't do without you!!! Thank you for being an amazing friend!!!!! Love you /p <3!!!!

@factorialsotherfandoms Factorial!!!! Beloved!!!! You're an amazing writer and kind friend!!!! I think about your fics all the time!!!! Please keep writing forever and ever!!!!! Please!!!

@iridescentpull Aynée!!!!! My fellow demigod Pac enjoyer!!!!!! I literally screamed when I saw we became mutuals!!!! You're so fucking cool and your writing is amazing!!!! I created demigod Pac content for us only tbh!!!!

@fitpacs Tumblr user fitpacs!!!!! The light on my dash!!! Please keep being so bright!!! I love seeing whatever you post!!!!!

@wsdanon wsd!!!!! The #1 Felps writer in my eyes!!!!! Your writing is beautiful, and characterization is everything!!!!! Adore seeing you on my dash!!! Please keep being you!!!!!

And to any mutuals, anyone in my notes, or just in the community in general!!!! This place would be nothing without y'all!!!!!

Thanks again!!!!!

- Misc, the most annoying qsmp blog ever <3

[monsterhuntertournament]

We have a winner!

After just under half a year, the Monster Hunter Tournament has come to a close!

First, our 3rd place winner is Dalamadur!

Ahtal-Ka put up a good fight against its round 1 rival, but in the end Dalamadur took the titles of 3rd Place Monster and Tumblr's Favorite 4th Final Boss. It's still impressive how far Ahtal-Ka made it in the tournament, fans of the golden empress (including me!) should be proud of how well it did, while Dalamadur is very much deserving of it's spot in the top 3. Congratulations to the largest monster in the (main) series for getting such a fittingly high spot!

As for our champion, it's Gore Magala!

After a very close match, Gore Magala managed to pull ahead and claim its place as the #1 Monster! Namielle put up a very close fight, and was even winning for the first day or two, but Gore managed to sneak ahead for the win. Full disclosure: I personally wasn't a huge fan of World, to the point that Iceborne was the first (and to date only) MH game I've skipped since I got into the series with Tri / 3Ultimate. Because of this, I actually hardly knew anything about Namielle before starting this tournament, and certainly didn't expect it to make it this far. Seeing this monster that I had personally not really thought much about have so many passionate fans behind it was honestly one of the coolest parts of running this whole tournament, so thank you Namielle fans! You've made me appreciate this monster that I've never even fought way more than I had previously.

Conversely, I wasn't surprised at all by seeing Gore in the finals: from before voting for round 1 had even started I personally guessed Gore was going to make it really far in this tournament, and I can't deny it wasn't deserving of it. Between being the monster with the most story relevance in the only MH game that tries the hardest to have an interesting plot (barring stories and other spin-offs anyway), having a super unique and engaging status effect, and just generally being a very aesthetically cool monster, it was always going to be a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. Despite it not being my personal favorite monster (that would probably be Valstrax), I'm definitely alright with it being our tournament champion.

Thank you all for joining me for this! While being much more work than I expected, this was a lot of fun to put together. For the future, I might do some smaller, one-off polls if I have ideas for them (feel free to suggest any you think of!), and once Wilds comes out I might do another bracket (either with just Wilds or the whole roster again, I'm not sure). Until then, happy hunting, and thank you all for voting!

[lovearion]

SCARLET HOLLOW ASK GAME

saw this scarlet hollow ask game floating around and it seemed fun so I also tried filling it out myself!

TRAITS:

Your "canon" trait combination? I honestly have no idea, but if I have to choose maybe my Keen Eye + Talk to Animals run, which was the run I had the most fun with, or my Book Smart + Hot run, which was my first run.

What third trait would you add for hardcore mode? Probably Mystical. It offers unique insights about events, things, AND people, which I found to be really interesting! And you can also have people thinking you're a total weirdo, so that's a plus!

What trait are you least drawn to? Powerful Build. I'm not really a strength type of person in video games, and I just don't think this trait will suit me in any way. I mean come on, I get sick easily and I have a pretty weak physique, I can't even open a bottle cap for the life of me, I just can't relate </3

Coolest trait? Talk to Animals. Hands down. It makes the game so much more fun and I love Dustin and the other animals with all my heart!

ROMANCE:

Who are you romancing? I'll romance everyone at some point but my main is definitely Reese! <3 His loser boy vibes have ensnared me, I'm so in love with him to the point it always takes everything in me not to flirt with him whenever I try to romance the other characters lol. Wayne is a close second tho. I love that creepy stalker <3 lmao. He's definitely an intriguing fellow, and despite the characters thinking he's a total creep, I actually find him trying to protect us kind of sweet, although I know there's definitely more to that than what meets the eye.

What romance are you least interested in? Dr. Kelly, yeah I think this one is pretty self explanatory considering how much I love Reese lol. I know Sybil should be on here too but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see what an absolute trainwreck romancing her would turn out to be, I'd definitely want to see how that unfolds lmao

Who would you romance if every single character was eligible? Still Reese, he's my number 1 boy, but if we're just talking about the non romanceables, then I'd say Isaacs and Bo! Bo seems like such a sweet guy, and Isaacs is quite interesting, I hope we could get to know them better.

MISCELLANEOUS:

What character would hurt you the most if something bad happened to them? Tabitha, I've grown attached to her and she's been going through a rough time her whole life already, the poor woman deserves a break from everything, I'm taking her with me and we can go to the beach together!! And Dustin, I love that little guy I would rather die than let something bad happen to him, my heart won't be able to bear it </3

Would you stay in Scarlet Hollow when the week is over? It definitely depends on how things pan out, so my opinion could change once new chapters get released, but at the moment I'm not very keen on staying. It's obvious the town is going to crumble soon enough, I'm probably just going to take the characters I like and then run the hell away from there. And besides, I did promise Reese that he can live with me in my apartment in the city with my cat Truck, and I definitely plan on upholding my end of that deal!!

Who would you vote for dog mayor? Scraps. No questions asked. I trust Gretchen's judgement, and besides, I saw him in action and it's obvious he really cares about the animal population, he'll be a great leader!

[captain-astors]

if you’re still doing 003 reqs i’d LOVE to hear what you think of tatara! he’s one of my favorite characters so i’m biased </3

I am indeed still doing these, and still thriving. Here we go!

How I feel about this character: 

So cool looking, the white trench coat and mask combo is so stupid and pretentious but it works somehow, and the fact that it has emotional value actually leans to the silly side of it in my mind. I’m not sure why, I think I’ve just wired my own brain incorrectly enough to go “haha you have emotions.” But I’m going to tell that portion of my mind to be quiet for now, because he has an excellent design, though it could stand to have a few more defining traits, and he looks a bit like a pokemon gym leader.

Oh! Also, Hands down coolest Kakuja and I wish I’d seen it before the Kakuja polls, in which I so foolishly voted Uta or something, thinking there could be no better. How wrong I was, FLAMETHROWER KAKUJA. The mere combination of words invokes awe. I could roll it around in my mind for hours. Continuing the pokemon comments, it really feels like the evolution of his normal outfit because it is also pretentious and stupid but somehow works and it’s really cool anyways. I didn’t realize how… large it was supposed to be before I saw a screenshot of the anime’s portrayal. It always felt human-sized to me, perhaps a couple feet taller but no, it apparently has the dimensions of an 8-wheeler and I don’t know how to feel about that. He definitely doesn’t really have a grand plan he’s just chilling with these comparatively much worse people while doing nothing particularly remarkable himself, he’s mostly just a functional figurehead eating grapes and providing the method to the madness that is Aogori. Eto had plans but she’s not going to take the time to carefully direct them herself. It’s a thankless job but might as well have the pale beanstalk who was-a-mask-wearing–kakuja-before-it-was-cool do it. He doesn’t seem to mind, or at least he’s just going to be in the same bad mood regardless.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: 

Just secondhand HouTata. I observe it. Live in antagonism, die alone, perfect. The golden standard. Neither of them are happy. Be like them, fictional couples. Also I like the thought of Tatara being awful at cuddling but the natural warmth makes it nice anyways. 

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: 

Ayato. “I don’t care about him at all, not worth more than the dust beneath my feet without about the same usefulness- oh they grow up so fast.” Go put what can only be described as your awkward nephew to bed, I don’t know why you thought it was a good idea to let this child into your terrorist organization Tartara, but congratulations he’s yours now.

My unpopular opinion about this character: 

I have few opinions on him and none of them are very strong so it’s difficult to find an unpopular one… his personality gives the profound impression of an undersalted pretzel stick standing upright inexplicably, and a shade of light green-grey. When lost I just spew a small piece of my constant stream of nonsensical, slightly unhinged simultaneous thought processes. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: 

More screentime. Yeah he existed to prove points about other characters but you’d think the debatable leader of Aogori would be a bit more fleshed out.

Favorite friendship for this character: 

Eto! Mutual respect, terrible decisions, fun times.

My crossover ship: 

Maybe Rem. Or Luida. These are just my end-of-ramble thoughts now. The song I listened to for most of this has several instances of very goatlike screams and they were never where I thought they were no matter how many times I looped it. 

[straightbaittournament]

only the option with the LEAST votes will be eliminated. propaganda under the cut (and more always welcome!):

akko kagari and andrew hanbridge:

Very typical hetero-love-interest introduction, rival vibes, aloof rich boy & headstrong "commoner" girl, learning to see each other's point of view, she dresses up for the first time in the series to sneak into his party to try to talk to him. Just classic 'ugh they're clearly gonna get together' but... they don't. Nothing romantic is ever explicit, and by s2 they're friends and that's it. there's no discussion or drama. they're good friends. literally shocked me. apparently a guy and girl who fit a bunch of romantic tropes... can just be friends

sam winchester and eileen leahy:

The last season set them up to be together, and then in Sam’s finale flash-forward, they replaced her with “blurry wife” literally a random blurred out woman rather than having him end up with Eileen Eileen is the coolest Supernatural character: she's deaf and also formerly dead (like Sam)

asuka tenjoin and yuki judai:

The ship name (fianceshipping) comes from the episode where Judai *accidentally* duels some guy to become Asuka's fiance (said guy never asks Asuka how she feels about this, ugghhh greater Duel Academia student body be normal about ladies challenge). Turns out that he *didn't know what a fiance was* and just wanted to have a good ol' time cardgaming. I think that this says more about this ship than anything else I could tell you. During the final season, Asuka almost confesses to him but cuts herself off & they then thank each other for giving each other some clarity of mind because they're both going through pretty rough times at that point in the plot. Looks concerningly like they're about to do a whole "ohh we need to make the main girl and boy romance out of obligation" bit and then they just don't do it. It's great. judai is the gayest guy of all time (subtext) and im like 80% sure asuka was experiencing comphet bc he's the only guy in their grade that treats her like a person. besties 4ever!!!!!!!! [straightmod has been informed that judai is also textually queer because he is canonically attracted to a non-binary character.]

kurosaki ichigo and kuchiki rukia:

Oh man, where do I even begin? So, for some context, Bleach starts when Rukia (a shinigami) gets critically injured saving Ichigo from a monster, and she transfers her powers to him so he can finish it off. Instead of transferring half her powers as planned, however, she transfers all of them, which forces Ichigo to take over her job as a shinigami. During this time period, Rukia... lives in his closet. Yeah. The entire first arc of the manga is dedicated to their relationship, and while a lot of it is playful banter, Rukia's presence in Ichigo's life fundamentally changes it for the better. Rukia then gets kidnapped by the rest of the shinigami who aren't at all happy she gave her powers to a human, and the main plot ensues from there. Throughout the story, Rukia and Ichigo constantly save each other when they're at their worst. When Rukia thinks she deserves to die, Ichigo is there to tell her she deserves to live. When Ichigo is in a funk about his superpowered evil side, Rukia is there to snap him out of it (something his canon love interest explicitly realises she was unable to do). They share a sun/moon motif for crying out loud, and yet like that last sentence said... they don't end up together, but with other people instead. Yeah. No shade to the canon ships, but Ichiruki is peak straightbaiting, honestly. They have a lot of banter/chemistry, fundamentally change eachother's lives for the better, save each other when they're at their lowest, and have a very deliberate sun/moon dichotomy... but they both end up paired off with different characters instead asdfghkl

izuku midoriya and ochako uraraka:

It’s the classic main character x friend who is a girl ship. They have no actual romantic interactions outside of their friendship. Ochako has “feelings” for Izuku, but they are clearly feelings of friendship until one of her friends insists that she must have a crush on Izuku, making her feel confused and embarrassed. Izuku clearly sees Ochako as a good friend, but when they first meet, he blushes and thinks “I can’t believe I just talked to a girl.” On the same day, he also blushes when he sees that a famous male hero is proctoring their exams. It’s literally so boring as a romantic ship. They have no chemistry as a couple.

edward elric and winry rockbell but SPECIFICALLY in the 2003 anime:

literally in different dimensions by the end! they still have a lot of the hallmarks of "ohh endgame childhood best friends" or whatever but fma 2003 just said. naah. winry got the shortest end of the stick and i feel so bad for her!!! continuity specific straightbait. in every other universe they get married and have kids but screw you two specifically 🙏

mako, korra, and asami:

it's that one meme where the guy ignores his girlfriend to check out another girl, only the two girls get to know each other and get together. S1/2 has love triangle drama between who Mako will be with (Korra or Asami). S3 no one is together but Korra and Asami become really close friends. S4 Korra and Asami are together. Mako is single. Like the only example of exes being good friends and Not getting back together, as well as giving the middle finger to heteronormative assumptions when after the love triangle is over, the two girls get together Shipping the two girls in a love triangle together but it actually happens

pat and ink:

Pat has a crush on Ink early on, and it seems possible at first that she may feel the same way. However, it is later revealed that she actually has a crush on his sister and is a lesbian. It's okay though because then Pat realizes he's in love with his childhood rival and they become wlw mlm solidarity! Everyone wins!

maka albarn and soul evans:

Throughout the series, they have a deep friendship with each other which is consistently extremely important to the story's narrative. In order for them to be able to fight, they must get along and resonate with each other, and due to the mechanics of their world, fighting independently of each other is extremely difficult. In multiple instances, they are shown to be willing to put themselves in harm's way to extreme degrees to keep each other safe. They are even shown to live together. They are The Singular Straight Ship I have ever shipped and I love them. Also they are really cool and Soul can turn into an awesome scythe weapon that like only Maka can wield. And they fight really awesomely together.

luke skywalker and leia organa:

The idea of Luke and Leia was used in advertisements but they obviously decided not to do that. IT’S SO FUNNY. Like, I think this is the closest white straight people will ever get to ‘they were cousins’ing a couple. I looked up advertising to see if it was just in the movie proper or it WAS used to sell it and https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5z1SziDPKQw&t=118s&pp=2AF2kAIB ‘Luke and Leia: in danger, in love, in Star Wars’ is going to be one of the things that rolls around in my head for ages. It’s not just the whole ‘het love triangle advertises 2nd pairing that everyone knows won’t happen’ like Twilight, it’s the backpeddaling ‘no no it can’t happen, they’re actually siblings! It’d be weird! Ignore the ‘good luck’ kiss and the ‘I’ll be back’ kiss in the medbay and of course the full on make out session scene that happened! And even our own advertising’ Of it all.

good luck everybody! now go vote!

[ezralva]

Any 2×4 HCs?

Oh, I don't think I'm the right person for this, but I'll tryyy

Anw, whenever asked for HCs they turn into drabbles somewhat so it's under the cut cz it's long lol

HC 1

As far as Akai remembered, Shun had never called a girl ‘kawaii’. Not directly or behind them.

Shun hated that word with all his might.

But when the boys gathered together with nothing better to do, the topic usually changed to which newest idol girl or rookie actress is the cutest. All of them would then start shouting out why their biases were the cutest, except for Shun.

“C’mon, Shun-chan! You could at least pick one, vote for my girl!” Aoyama urged him to pick his imaginary girlfriend.

Shun looked at the picture of a row of cheerful-looking girls with fluffy uniforms and colorful ribbons decorating their heads, examining them carefully one by one.

“Hmm…they all look the same to me, so no one.” Shun just casually shrugged his shoulders.

“You’re kidding, right??” Kida grumbled, “They all are different people, famous idols!”

“But all their faces look similar to me. They all even wear the same outfits!”

“You must be blind, Shun-chan.”

“Then just name one person out there that you think befits the word ‘kawaii’. There’s gotta be someone! Even the little sister in your neighborhood is fine,” Akai said.

“Knowing Shun, he might say it’s his sister,” Aoyama piped in.

“Hmm, sis is always a lot older than me so I don’t think she’s cute. But my sis is pretty for sure!”

“Well, maybe not from a girl’s group, but a boy’s group? Apparently, kawaii boy is a trend nowadays,” Akai suggested.

“I don’t know any boys group, but if I had to choose one, then it’s him.” Shun laid out a picture from his smartphone, of a red-haired boy, looking like a middle schooler but curiously with piercings on his ears.

“Eh? I’ve never seen this idol before, who is he?” Aoyama asked.

“Oh! Maybe he used to be a child actor?” Kida blurted randomly.

“What? He’s no idol! He’s a part-timer from my sis’ café. And he’s my friend.”

“So…the only person you think is cute…is this friend of yours?”

“Yep, his name is Souma. He’s actually 2 years older than us, can you believe it? That makes him kawaii, right?”

Akai, Aoyama, and Kida just stared at each other, speechless.

Because that…just answered the long-time mystery of why Shun never called any girl ‘cute’.

HC 2

For materials of his new web-based short story, Motoharu once again surveyed the boys on what act or style or behavior they consider as ‘cool’ in men of all ages.

They were now at the café not long after the lunch rush-hour, when it closed for 3 hours to prepare for dinner.

“So from Hayate first, what is it?” Motoharu prodded.

The boy seemed to think hard on the topic. They waited for the whole 10 minutes in silence but no answer came out. Instead, the boy had started fidgeting in his seat and his face randomly went red out of the blue.

“Okay, understood.” Motoharu broke the silence and suddenly jotted something on his notes.

“Huh? But…I haven’t said anything?”

“For Hayate, everything Takayuki does and wears is the standard of cool men.”

“Whaa?! W-wait a min—” the poor boy stuttered, his blushes went all the way down to his neck.

“Next, Souma?”

“Igarashi-sense—”

“Hmm, since you mention Mima-san, I remember I’ve always thought that a guy is the coolest when they wear a suit. The complete 3-piece suit is even better!” Souma cut Hayate off.

“Ah, I think I get it.” Motoharu agreed. “We both don’t have many occasions to wear one, right?”

“Yeah! Also, I remember the 1st time I saw my bro wearing a suit, I just had to take his pics, I asked him to do this pose and that until he was late for his meeting, ahahahah-”

“That’s just cause you’re a brocon,” Shun grumbled audibly, looking very upset all of a sudden.

“Eh not just my brother, though. I agree with Hayate-kun, Mima-san has a good sense of fashion. Everything he wears looks good on him.”

“B-but I didn’t even say anything!” Hayate was flustered, looking around as if making sure that Mima was really not around.

“Maybe it’s because of his build, must be nice being that tall, right?” Souma added, ignoring Hayate.

“Okay, so for Souma, is the mature appeal, right? It’s a bonus point if they’re taller than average?”

“Yep!”

“And Shun?”

“Of course! Guys who play sports are the coolest!”

“Boo! That’s just like calling your own self ‘cool’, Shun-chan.” Souma gave him a tongue-out.

“I-I’m not! I think artists and creators like you, Souma, a-and Motoharu-san as well, are really cool and so is a brainy and quiet guy like Hayate-san, also a man that is good at his job like Mima-san is cool too!” Shun exclaimed in one breath.

“Aww, that’s so sweet of you, Shun.” Motoharu piped in.

“Aww, that’s so cute of you, Shun-chan.” Souma giggled.

“I ain’t cute!”

The next day, Mima who wasn’t present yesterday and hence didn’t know anything, suddenly got a call from Shun, asking him about his height when he was a 3rd year high-schooler and if he still grew some inches during Uni days…

***

“Of course you will, Shun-kun, you’re not even 20 yet, right?”

“Yeah…Mima-san, do you think I can even get taller than you?”

Eh? What gives…?

Mima was compelled to ask what brought this on but thought better and left him be. It must’ve been just another episode of Competitive Shun.

“Sure, I think you’ll surpass me in no time.”

It must’ve been the answer the boy was looking for, as his tone obviously cheered up after.

“Then, Mima-san, can you bring me along the next time you’ll go shopping for clothes? I’d like to buy clothes like the ones you're usually wearing.

".............."

HC 3

Despite the tradition, on Valentines, Souma always gives out ‘giri choco’ (friend chocolates) for Shun, Hayate, Mima, Motoharu. But it is only Shun whom he invited to his apartment for dinner where Souma would cook him all of his favorite dishes, from scratch.

Shun thinks that is because he’s special to Souma, that they are best friends.

Even though Shun is forever dense and can’t read between the lines, Souma is still happy to invite him every Valentine.

Because he knows how much Shun loves his cooking.

So he’s going to keep doing this until that boy comes around.

HC 4

The reason why Shun went into modeling in his Uni days started when Souma needed a model for one of his final projects which was portrait photography.

He asked Mima first of course, but the guy only had one facial expression for all poses on the camera...

He asked Hayate next… but for heaven’s sake, that boy could not follow any of the instructions without blushing too hard and grimacing. Though his candid pictures did come out splendidly, it’s not like he could submit portraits where the only model was always staring at nothing on the wall or looking out the window…

Motoharu couldn't take irrelevant gigs which require his face going public without breaching his company's contracts, as the novelist had become even more popular nowadays.

So Shun it was...

Which turned out for the best.

He came out of the project with A mark and a lot of offers for jobs, which extended to Shun being scouted as a model.

Shun magically no longer shut his eyes when being captured on camera. And that only happened when Souma was the one behind the camera.

Shun also got praised a lot for being a handsome model and even got an offer to be scouted as an actor. They all said, for amateurs, they both showed great chemistry onsite and did a really great job, as a pair.

After all, Souma’s teacher said that 'the camera is the window to the cameraman’s heart'.

For some reason I like them best during this pining phase! It just feels right for now with how oblivious these two kids are lol

[mochidreambubble]

Scarlet Hollow ask game

Tagged by @cymatile AND @georgiedoesntfloat 🖤TYSM for always including me in these haha

I'll offer up two variants for some of the answers, using my main OC file (Ashe my beloved) and my 2nd one that I use to mess around (Atlas who I have mentioned like... Once-)

TRAITS:

Your "canon" trait combination? Ashe: Mystical/Hot. I will take any chance I get to use my attractive OC son- (2nd best to go option tho via) Atlas (maybe I just like 'A' names lol): Mystical/Street Smarts. Let me break all the rules and lie my way thru everything pls- (basically, I like it if it can help me socially and Street Smarts has its perks there too haha)

What third trait would you add for hardcore mode? For Ashe I'm tied between Talk to Animals and Street Smart. Animals to go down the full something is definitely up with him kind of vibe vs the one he'll actually likely have due to his personality/bad boy roots lmao. Atlas gets Book Smart, to be deceptively like the type where he doesn't look it.

What trait are you least drawn to? Powerful Build. Strong? My vain bb Ashe who would never chip a nail? I promise you if he looks like he has muscle it's purely for show lol. And Atlas is a stick. Aside from achievement hunting, I'm also just not down to throwing hands/go for physical strength to solve my problems haha. Nice if you want your MC to lean more to himbo if you pair w/ hot, but if not for that then nah :p

Coolest trait? Mystical. I know I'm not alone on this haha. Aside from enjoying lore and slapping it on almost all my runs for my OC army, I feel like it fits best for SH's setting.

ROMANCE:

Who are you romancing? Reese for Ashe and Wayne for Atlas (me slapping the two Monster Lover achievements like DO YOU SEE THESE)

What romance are you least interested in? Dr Kelly. I do not hate her per say, I am just emotionally reactive to the *motions to the whole revelations of Episode 4*

Who would you romance if every single character was eligible? Isaacs or Harrison, likely? Like, I know Bo is a popular choice and I do like him, but considering it's 50/50 if he loses his dad, I wanna give the poor guys space to grieve first cause he's a sweet fellow.

MISCELLANEOUS:

What character would hurt you the most if something bad happened to them? Not including Reese who I am deeply hoping is ok on the endings where he's still breathing, I gotta say Kaneeka and Tabitha. For Tabby, I'd put my MC thru hell if I have to (and I legit yelled when she choose to take on those years the first time I played Episode 3 like Tabby NO I'LL DO IT PLS); for Kaneeka, god her whole situation is just shitty I just want the best from her and someplace that she can go very far from her mom p l s I will cry if something happens to her-

Would you stay in Scarlet Hollow when the week is over? It's too early to say. Very likely no because SH rn doesn't strike me like it will let you burn the root of whatever looms and haunts over the holler. If anything, I wanna drag people OUT of Scarlet Hollow by week's end.

Who would you vote for dog mayor? Scraps. I trust Gretchen and I just think Scraps is cool.

Tagging: no one, my SH Tumblr circle is so small anyone I would have thought of tagging has already been tagged on another person's post 😂

[bisluthq]

I was wondering if your partner has any insight on this, I know he doesn’t work on vfx but maybe he has more knowledge of the subject if he works in post production.

I have seen some actors say they’re going to vote no to the deal based on some stuff Justine Bateman has been saying. But I have seen people say that the issues she has brought up are either things that are already done (filling a stadium with copies of the same person) or things that we won’t possibly have the technology for in the next 3 years. I know she said scenes should only use real people and I saw someone say you can’t hire thousands of extras for a battle scene because it wouldn’t be safe. That’s one of the reasons why we use cgi in those situations now, but that’s different from AI. I’ve also seen actors say that bigger actors are going to be able to say no to AI but smaller actors will lose jobs if they say no. I have also seen people say that the full body scan actors are worried about costs 10k per person to do and they would never spend that much on background actors, when they already make fake crowds with cgi.

I’m conflicted because it does sound like actors are overreacting and I can’t really see a full AI movie doing well anytime in the near future (and by that I mean a “live action”). I think we would get realistic games before a film, and while you can play a game and say the graphics are really good, I wouldn’t enjoy that in a movie. But at the same time, vfx people sound like they’re into AI so I’m not sure if I can trust them.

What are your thoughts?

So my bf is really into AI lol and thinks it's awesome. I think post people are generally just crazy into technology (based on him and other people I know in the industry) and because they're geeks like they geek out over new shit and rn they're geeking out over AI. He uses it a fair amount. He's not completely au fait with it yet because there's like a LOT to know but he's done a course and he's like suuuuper into it. His whole thing is like it makes things faster and easier and it's dope tech and he's like "people thought shooting on digital was 'cheating' at one point" and I'm like "that's true they really did." He also makes the point of like CGI can do most of what AI is doing but it takes far longer and you have to deal with the CGI people lol and they're all a bit weird.

Personally, I think AI is gonna affect jobs for a lot of BTS people unless you're getting on board and like using it and it's gonna affect jobs for mid level actors because yes 10K is a lot but it's cheap like longterm. I don't think it's gonna be used for crowds really but like yk Gunther from Friends? He could be AI generated now. Like that's the kind of role that could go to AI and cut production costs down. Random bitty part actors, especially on shows, could go to AI rather. There won't be full AI movies for a long time imo because 1) AI looks a bit weird lol like you absolutely can tell if it's fully AI 2) AI is not that smart rn like it needs to be spoken to a lot and in very particular ways and like creatives aren't into that it and geeks can't generate a film based on prompts imo.

Fwiw like I like AI lol - I did part of my bf's course with him because I found it interesting and again I'm teaching atm so there isn't a reason for me to stress about AI but I've used it for lessons also like Twinkl has an AI bot that lets you generate stories and comprehensions and I've done that live with kids and they get SO into it lmao like they think it's the coolest thing they've ever seen.

[writing-for-life]

This is it, everyone! Our final three!

And what a journey it’s been to get here, so forgive my blabbering, but I need to get this out first and won’t even schedule tonight because I’d rather chat with all of you 💜

Thank you to everyone who’s been with us up until now. We know writing about artists is a bit leftfield and niche, but it was so nice to see that such a good amount of people regularly polled, reblogged and shared their thoughts. It was our first fandom event, and I think I can speak for both @tickldpnk8 and myself when I say we were a bit nervous about it, but it was so much fun to see people come together over something that really *everyone* can take part in, even if it’s just to vote.

Again: Thank you to all of you! Each single one 💕

And massive, massive thank you to my co-host @tickldpnk8 who just threw a wild idea at me, and without even thinking twice, I said yes (because Sandman and art? I mean, have you *looked* at my blog? 🤣). This thing wouldn’t have happened without you, and you were wonderful at keeping everyone engaged and having a close eye on the reblogs. Plus, you design the coolest logos and brackets. Big round of applause for you 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

And I simply have to mention @marlowe-zara who wrote a post and fulfilled our briefs EVERY day for close to four weeks. Thank you for being totally committed to the cause, you must be as pooped as the two of us 🤣. Gold star 🌟

But as usual, I’m talking too much, so let’s get to the point…

Man, this is a tough one, and I feel bad for any of these artists I can’t give my vote. But my personal winner is Jill Thompson, and my order has to be:

3. Shawn McManus

2. Mike Dringenberg

1. Jill Thompson

I admit that while I love some of Shawn’s humour, he is nowhere near my top artists (plus, I’m holding a grudge he kicked out my boy Jon J by 2 votes! ^jk). So that’s a no-brainer.

The choice between Jill and Mike was harder, but my heart ultimately belongs to her depiction of Morpheus. There is just something about the way she draws him so stiff (get your minds out of the gutter, please!) and yet ethereal, so weird looking yet beautiful that I just have to say the juxtapositions she manages to depict with so little work for me (and if you ever read my magnum opus 🤣, you know I have a thing for lengthy descriptions of juxtapositions and even called my first chapter the same).

I love Mike, but I’ll get to the point: He didn’t get my vote because he’s not in my personal top 3. Not even in my personal top 5, which I will tell you promptly:

Jon J Muth

John Watkiss

Michael Zulli

Jill Thompson

JH Williams III

You can see that only Jill is left, so I had to vote for her, despite really loving Dringenberg (doesn’t mean I don’t just because he’s not in my top 5).

The hardest round for me was round two, where I had to choose between Zulli & Muth AND Thompson & Williams 😩

Agony was felt, I assure you. And to see Jon J lose out against Shawn by two votes (not letting go of that one, folks 🤣) HURT. As did seeing Dringenberg obliterate Watkiss, because my relationship to John is fraught with lots of memories and a bit of pain, and he was very dear to me as an artist.

And while I can absolutely see Dringenberg take this home, I have no regrets about my vote.

Jill, you’re the last one of my top 5 standing, you’re my queen, I adore you and the way you draw my sad man. I feel his essence when I look at your art (and I agree with what @tryan-a-bex has written in their post). That is all.

Don’t forget to vote and share your thoughts, because there will be a final roundup before the winner will be crowned tomorrow!

The Grand Finale!!!

We’ve made it, everyone! Today’s the day, and we will all vote for the artist we want to see as the winner. But to say it quite frankly: Every single one of them is, because our goal was to bring all artists back to our memory, post their best (and also funniest/weirdest) art and shower them with our appreciation. That’s why we’ll bring the whole bracket back for you—get up from your seats and give them all a round of applause!

But over to our finalists:

Shawn McManus, Jill Thompson and Mike Dringenberg

All wonderful artists who have given us the biggest, most beloved arcs and wonderful depictions of Dream, and it is so, so hard to make that final choice.

If you need a little refresher how they got here (it’s worth checking out the links, people have posted great art and thoughts):

Round 3:

Shawn McManus (51.7%) vs Jon J Muth

Jill Thompson (90%) vs Miguelanxo Prado

Mike Dringenberg (86.8%) vs P. Craig Russell

Round Two

Round One

What we’d like to know from you in the reblogs today is:

Why are you choosing your favourite?

How do you rank the final 3?

And who is in your personal final 3 (it’s okay to shower your favourites with love even if they didn’t make it to the final)?

And without further ado, here comes our last poll—make it count!

Thank you so much to everyone who has participated and posted/reblogged, and please keep on doing so for this final poll! We want to hear all your thoughts and see all your favourite art, because this is the most important one of them all!

Event organisers: @writing-for-life and @tickldpnk8

[the-90s-music-colosseum]

Round 4 Match 16

propaganda below the cut!

Lisa Lopes:

"she's got the prettiest eyes of any woman ever. I love her. she deserves to win."

Kathleen Hanna:

"if you don't think kathleen hanna is the coolest person ever you're WRONG she's better than everyone and more gorgeous than everyone"

"i think if she was my age and we went to middle school together she would've been my queer awakening. she would've been who i considered my "first girl crush" and ii'm so in love with her she's kathleen fucking hanna <3"

"IS PROPAGANDA EVEN NEEDED!!!! She fronted a whole genre, bagged arguerably the best beastie boy, got into a fight with courtney love, invented the phrase girl power, helped nirvana to its success, and looked like a god while doing all this."

"Kurt Cobain this, Nirvana that. IF KATHLEEN HANNA WASNT ALIVE THERE WOULD BE NO SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT. I mean- who else could be able to say that they had a whole ass movie made about them that's literally titled THE punk singer??? She's THE moment. THE icon."

"vote kathleen or you hate FEMINISM!!!!"

"A vote for Kathleen is a vote for riot girls everywhere"

[beauty-and-passion]

What Eurovision 2021 taught us

1. That a nice, enjoyable show was possible (even if 4 presenters are still too much)

Of course nothing can beat Love Love Peace Peace (even if Ja Ja Ding Dong does its best), but this year's intermissions were very enjoyable.

We expected something flashy and over the top because hey, The Netherlands. Sex, drugs, gays and all that jazz.

But instead Covid surprised us. And then The Netherlands surprised us even more, by making a very enjoyable show, despite the restrictions. My personal favourites were:

The water intermission of the first semi-final. I loved the mixed feelings, how water is both scary and respected, for being such a powerful, unstoppable force.

The rooftop concerts during the final. Social distancing? Sure, no problem, let's make the past winners sing on top of some roofs all over Rotterdam. That was pure genius, I loved it so much.

On the other hand, the presenters were basically all useless. We could've had just two of them instead of four. But hey, at least they weren't as cringy as the three scary ukranians from 2017 or the useless four ladies from Portugal. The true highlights of the show were the intermissions, the guests and especially the songs themselves and this is perfectly good for me.

________________________

2. That we can live in a world without boring ass ballads

I’ve never been so proud of the Eurovision public, especially during the second semifinal: that evening was PACKED with ballads. Boring ballad after boring ballad, with just a couple more funny songs in between.

The ballads were all left behind. Even the two Amen. And I love the irony we chose El Diablo and the finnish band for the final, but no Amen. No saints allowed, only the norwegian angel. As it always should be.

And so we had the best final I've seen since I started following Eurovision in 2014. Catchy songs, dance songs, upbeat songs. And power ballads. Yes, ballads can still have a place, but only if they're good.

Because yes, Switzerland and France were good. Very good. Just not as good as the ones the public wanted.

________________________

3. That we want Eurovision, not Englishvision

Every year, the same message blasts from all Europeans: send a song in your native language. This show is supposed to make other people from Europe (and the rest of the world) to know more about your own country, to enjoy its rhythm and to listen to something we don't usually hear. So why waste this huge opportunity, to bring a generic song in English?

Because the English song wins. Because we all understand English, so English has more chances.

Flash news: GUESS WHO WON THIS YEAR. No, it’s not the generic English song.

The public has been crystal clear, the final poll is even clearer: the top five includes an italian song, an ukraine song, two french songs and only one english song. We want different styles and rhythms, we want to listen to Europe.

So I want to give my full thank you to:

Albania: amazing song, great voice, wonderful language. Do it again.

Serbia: these ladies are fantastic, their song is great and they sang it in their language so I love them

Switzerland: thank you for leaving English to the side to give us some good french

Spain: the song wasn't as good as Universo, but it was in sexy spanish, so thank you for using it almost every year

Danemark: the song was terrible, but it was in your language and this alone deserves everything

France: I know we all make fun of you for being France, but your language is perfect for songs, so thank you for always using it

Ukraine: take note, Ukraine, because Europe is madly in love with your language and your rhythm

Italy: our language is beautiful, so thank you for delivering every year

While my biggest biases go to:

Greece: a generic pop song with no balkan rhythm and no greek either? An absolute shame, greek should always be used for songs.

Russia: russian language is very melodious and yes, we got something this year, but what about bringing a full russian song? We want it!

Germany: I may sound crazy, but I honestly think german language is good for songs. It's not like the mediterranean languages, but it still works. So please, do not be scared and show what you can do with it!

Scandinavian countries: why do you never want to bring your own language? Do it, don't be scared! Yes, Sweden, I'm talking with you: you still never tried to bring something in swedish, so do it.

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4. That we don't want Americans to play with us

For reasons we still have to understand, Flo Rida was competing this year. And he was competing for San Marino, the smallest European country.

I'm pretty sure they took some time to explain to him what was going on, where he was, where San Marino is, wtf was happening, why there were sexy italians and ukranian witches and a norwegian angel and loads of beautiful women everywhere.

And I loved how we all send memes about this, about ahahah why is Flo Rida here, what if San Marino wins where would they host Eurovision, all while enjoying an actual catchy song.

And then, in the end, Flo Rida basically disappeared. Who remembers Flo Rida, when we got Ukraine, Italy, Finland, Iceland, and the UK? And Germany being wholesome? And the love story between Norway and Azerbaijan? We collectively forgot about him and I think it's very sexy from Europe to just say "nope" and push America away, even if for just one week.

And this isn't the first time: we basically showed Madonna in a corner in 2019, thanks to Mans, Eleni, Verka and Conchita. Once again, Europeans knows what they want: we don't want Americans. Australia can because they're like that little brother we took under our wing for no reason and now it's part of us. But not Americans.

The rest of the year is all yours, but one week is ours.

________________________

5. That we can lose like bosses

This year, the voting results have been absolutely insane and FOUR COUNTRIES got zero points from the public, while the UK got both zero points from the public AND the jury.

Don't get me wrong, the song was bad. And yes, Brexit played a role in this. And yes, hating England is Europe’s favourite sport.

But can we please all take a moment and appreciate how James Newman reacted? The public gave him a round of applause and he celebrated this achievement like a boss.

And he had all the reasons! He achieved something incredible, he unlocked something that this new voting system was supposed to never lead to. But he did it. So hats off to you, my boy: My Last Breath was better.

Germany is also used to the bottom of the chart, but this year I really thought Jendrik could have a chance to achieve a higher position. The song was funny, carefree, lively, the hand costume was the kind of trash we need and the message was nice as well. But he still got 3 points.

Despite that, Jendrik celebrated like a maniac and seeing his this happy made me happy as well. I really wish him the best.

________________________

6. That FUCK YOU JURY

Again, same message every year: the jury vote should be eliminated. It's a fucking farce and their votes have nothing to do with what the public want.

The jury focuses on the voices, except when they don't, and clearly giving points to your neighbours is because you like the song, not because they're your neighbours.

I usually make fun of Greece and Cyprus showing eternal love to each other, by giving 12 points to each other every year, but this time, it sounded even more stupid than usual. It really looked like a farce. Why should we see this farce? Why can't we just choose what the public wants? So at least we would blame ourselves for our shitty musical tastes.

Even if I'm pretty sure we all have great musical tastes. Let's not forget that in 2019 the public's winner was Norway, with a song that mixed english, a catchy rhythm and an amazing part in yoik language. Arcade is good as well, but we cannot deny the norwegian entry was a lot more interesting.

And this year, the public's taste was flawless:

Look at this beauty: italian glam rock, ukranian techno folk, french powerful ballad, finnish hard rock and whatever that thing was with Iceland.

There's variety, there's everything for everyone. And there are native languages. Italian, Ukranian, and French on top three, followed by English.

Moral of the story: the public is great and the jury should be abolished forever.

________________________

7. That Ukranian technofolk is all we needed in our lives

I didn’t see enough love for Go_A, so as italian, I think it's my sworn duty to give my appreciation to them and their amazing entry, because this band is awesome and Shum is currently on top of the Spotify top 50 - as it should be, because everyone should listen to it and join this slavic rave party.

I already liked their entry for 2020, Solovey. But I also liked My Last Breath from the UK and Universo from Spain. And this year they brought two of the worst songs. So I was very wary of Go_A.

But Shum is an absolute blast. Katerina Pavlenko's voice is unique and the song is even more, because based on ukranian folklore and traditional dances to summon the spirit of spring. They managed to teach something to all Europe in a three minute song and I think that’s incredibly sexy of them.

And so, I searched for other songs and OMG, I don’t know how it’s possible, but they are all great. Rano-Ranenko, Zhalmenina, Tanula, they all are perfect and I’m in love with this band.

And if all of this is not enough, THEY DID A COVER OF DANCING LASHA TUMBAI. The most iconic Eurovision song, sang by our god Verka. And this is the coolest, most badass cover ever in the whole universe. Please listen to it HERE everyone needs to hear this.

So thank you, Ukraine, for giving us Go_A. We all had a small empty place in our hearts and this place has ben perfectly filled by them.

And yif you think you don’t need ukranian technofolk, is only because you still haven’t listened to it. Please listen and enjoy Shum. You’re welcome.

________________________

8. That rock and roll never dies (and Italy’s well deserved victory)

The last time Italy won was in 19-fucking-90. 31 years ago. I was just born.

And now, they finally won again. And what a song! Despite being italian, I've never listened to Maneskin before, but oh damn, this song is good. Not all their songs are, but this one is. And also Morirò da re.

Their show was perfect as well. This post is really eye-opening about how well they put on their show. The use of the stage, the movements, everything has been part of a great performance, even their clothes. Damiano's voice never faltered, despite having an entire continent watching him. They handled the stage like bosses, despite being only in their twenties. And they gave us some good fucking rock.

And so the public said a loud "FUCK YOU" to the jury and chose its winners. The sassy, sexy italians.

And yes, I know that there has been a lot of petty polemics because those youngsters are having drugs!1!! as if they were a bunch of idiots who used drugs on international TV, with their manager sitting next to them.

Of course it was a pointless accusation and honestly I don't care if some people are sore losers. The drug results were negative anyway, what a shocker.

What we should truly think about is how strong the Maneskin's bladders are, because they spent the whole evening of the final drinking the entire alcohol supply of the Eurovision and, at the end, they were still happy and cool. Hats off to you, you sexy people.

This man is just iconic, why did I miss him before.

Also, have some more Maneskin. You know, as a treat.

________________________

9. That solidarity and wholesomeness are the biggest winners

It's just beautiful to see these nice people, from all over Europe, bonding, having fun, taking photos together and being friends.

The true winner of this, is probably Norway: Tix wanted to have a good time and he had a good time. The video of him vibing with Ukraine and Germany while listening Hard Rock Hallelujah is the best (HERE). His love story with Efendi from Azerbaijan is even better (please, check the video on his youtube channel, it's hilarious). I don't like his song, but he's a great guy and deserves everything.

The italian and finnish rock relationship is also great. Maneskin and Dark Sides found each other, considering they were the only two rock bands in the competition, so mutual appreciation was inevitable.

But Damiano is also a man of culture and he appreciates Ukraine's entry. And Ukraine appreciates both Finland and Italy. Is this what world peace looks like? Because I love it.

________________________

10. That Italians will be Europe's clowns again (and you're all allowed to make fun of us)

Beware, Europe: we Italians are messy and chaotic, our presenters don’t know a single word in English, we are homoerotic AND homophobic at the same time, our musical competitions are so fucking sloooow... let’s say next year’s Eurovision is going to be interesting.

And yes, you’re allowed to make fun of us. We don’t care, we won, so we deserve to be Europe’s clowns once again.

And I don’t know who the presenters will be (my bets are on everyone’s favourites: Fiorello, Amadeus and Malgioglio), I don’t know how we will ridicule ourselves once again, I don’t know where will we find the money to put on the show, I don’t know how ungodly long it will be... but I know that Mans Zelmerlow will be part of it. This man loves Eurovision just like all of us, so I can already see him packing his suitcase and planning his flight to Italy. Come to us, Mans, we will wait for you. We actually need an English presenter, so if you have nothing else to do...

[sibyl-of-space]

Lots of feelings and thoughts under readmore, but for those who don’t want to read it: if you are on here reading this and you ALSO have a DeviantArt you still use (even if it’s very sparingly) that you’d be willing to share with me, can you shoot a DM? I’ve decided to rekindle my old account for a lot of reasons. Or at least try it out.

It’s similar to the reason I came back to Tumblr and the reason I made my own shitty hand-coded HTML disaster website. We’re all feeling it: how shitty the internet is now. I’m trying out a lot of different approaches to find a healthier relationship to communities, and being an artist and a person on the internet.

I basically had a breakdown this weekend over probably the stupidest possible thing that made me really look at myself and what I’m doing. Or... trying to do. What the hell I’m trying to accomplish.

Because I made that OoT Link amiibo I was so proud of, and I AM SO HAPPY WITH IT. I mean, I literally made it because I like playing OoT with the Zora Tunic and Hover Boots on, so I made a figure FOR ME based on MY TASTES. And it came out SO GOOD I literally could not be happier. And I posted it, and all of my friends were like “Leo that is so cool holy shit.” Which sounds like... the perfect outcome, right?

Except my brain has been fried by Number Go Up and I just felt this emptiness and dread, and I came to a really uncomfortable and disturbing realization as to why.

Like, a lot of shit I post is kind of intentionally for the niche-est of niche audiences, so I kind of expect 99% of my content to get 3 likes from my close friends and that’s about it, as it should be. But... I think, because for once I was actually posting about something that more than 8 people in the universe care about, and (in my opinion) I made something of pretty damn good quality, I had this expectation that I’d... go fucking viral or something.

(I really, really think my couple years being addicted - and I do mean addicted in the unhealthy brain-destroying sense - to Reddit is largely to blame for this. My Yggdrasill ToS cosplay was at one point the highest voted post on the Tales of subreddit; it was easy to feel like a micro-celebrity of sorts with that kind of reaction. Quitting Reddit was legitimately the best thing I’ve ever done for my mental health but it kind of permanently altered my expectations for either Immediate and Immense Approval And Worship, or worthlessness.)

So even though I made something that was supposed to be self-indulgent, and the people whose opinions I care about all gave me glowing positive feedback, I was disappointed because I posted something that Could Be Popular and it wasn’t. And I just kind of sat with that for a second and thought back to posting really shitty fanart in middle school and having a circle of online friends who were also shitty learning artists and we would just talk about video games and draw together and... well I kind of just wondered where the hell it went wrong.

When did I start performing for an imaginary audience of strangers so often, so frequently, and so intensely that it soured my ability to be happy with one of the straight up coolest things I’ve made recently??

And the thing is... well, as far as spaces to share art, what I currently have is...

* Twitter, where there is nothing even close to an archive of past art and everything is just instant snapshots soon to be forgotten * Tumblr, where the site-wide search functions are a hot mess and I feel like I’m competing with 50% the fact that no one can find anything and 50% Mona Lisas on display everywhere under the same tags I’m using * Instagram, which somehow has both the “instantaneous snapshots and then it’s worthless” problem AND the “everything I post is competing with professionals” problem (and not just professionals at the art form, but professionals at SOCIAL MEDIA - because curating your art for interaction on social media is its own whole thing) * Discord but I’ll be real there’s baggage there I’m too exhausted to get into right now. There are some promising spaces though for community, but there is absolutely no form of archive or way to look back on personal growth * My website, which is the only space that feels right for how I want my art to be experienced, but also is completely lacking the community aspect.

So, I looked at my old DeviantArt account. I KNOW about the whole f*cking disk horse with eneftitties and I hate it so much and I’m not even going into it. But my old DeviantArt account has shit I posted in 2012 on there, shit I posted in 2008 on there, and has space for journals and groups and fanfiction and interacting with other users while also centering (or at least, it seems to me) art.

And it’s just about the only space that has felt like that, honestly. Where I can be an artist and a person, post things I like with a little story under them under whatever dimensions, even SLIGHTLY customize my landing page, join little communities of like-minded people.

I logged in and, well unsurprisingly it’s a ghost town and only like 1 person I “Watched” a billion years ago still posts. But then I turned on full FFIX brain and went to search for pictures of Freya Crescent, and in an experience I haven’t had on any other goddamn website in as long as I can remember, I received A HUGE VARIETY OF PICTURES OF EXACTLY THAT, from dates as recent as the past couple years to literally over 15 years ago. Very rough amateurish MS paint drawings showed up right next to professional quality polished pieces and they were all what I was searching for.

Like, holy fuck, HOW fucked is it that THAT experience - searching for a topic on an art site, and seeing that topic, ONLY that topic, and a huge variety of results in it - is so rare that it stopped me in my tracks?

But, like, it’s obviously sad too. It’s sad clicking through the banners of all the old groups I joined and seeing the last posts from like 2014. It’s sad that part of the reason it’s easy to find old drawings of Freya Crescent is because next to nobody has uploaded any in the past 5 years. It’s sad that eneftitties are fucking artists over so bad a lot of them jumped ship in protest, and it’s sad that I feel like I’m engaging with a side of this site that stopped really being alive 10 years ago.

But I’m giving it a try anyway. Because GOD I just want to have a place to share art that isn’t a competition and isn’t polished and professional and beautiful and might let me make and maintain friendships that I actually care about. I’m not trying to compete with pros here I’m just trying to post my things and be myself and have people who might like it be able to find it, so I can find them too. Maybe I want to join an FFIX fan club group and look at a billion pictures of Zidane and Garnet. WHO IS TO SAY.

Anyway.... this is 70% vent post, 30% desperate plea if any of you are on DA to hit me up and let me know what your username is because I would love to log in and see people I know and care about and get excited about what they’re making, instead of just seeing empty long-dead long-abandoned accounts and wondering what those people are up to.