#gathering swans

[trashbatchar]

toxic eye, gouge my toxic eye

Did a quick sketchy painting last night of my batsona as the cover of Choir Boy’s “Gathering Swans” album, which I've listened to a LOT of over the past couple years. So sad I had to miss them playing live this week bc I was recovering from COVID T.T

[queer-flesh-simulacrum]

Tim Avery's masksona really branched out musically after I Love You Baby

[thewhizzyhead]

how genderbending the warriors (2024) is done not for the sole sake of "bad-assery"

okay here we go feminist ramble time for our newest chick on the block: warriors. now i'll be honest, prior to listening to the album, when i first heard that the warriors main girls were originally dudes in the movie and the novel, i thought that the decision for the genderbending, in lmm's perspective, were from the following: 1.) girl power move in like a very basic meaning of the word "bad-ass" 2.) simply a twist on a cult movie about big gang bros loved by the film bros, and 3.) a way to have the schuyler sisters back together gjfkdfldf

but when i read more about warriors and its development and how lmm took inspiration from the gamergate controversies of 2014-2015 aka among the peak of gamerbro misogyny campaigns, that's when i realized that Oh Shit Is Serious - because adapting a story about a group being framed and targeted and harassed for something they are accused of doing without any substantial proof other than a man screaming "THE WARRIORS SHOT CYYYYRUUS" with 21st century misogyny campaigns in mind makes the theme of fighting back a lot more complicated and a lot more resonant, going beyond just marketing a cast you can call "badass"

take the hurricanes' quiet girls, for example. the hurricanes (concept album version) is the only gang that lets the warriors off the hook and with a stern warning: quiet girls don't make it home. here, the hurricanes berate the warriors for not saying shit or attempting to defend themselves from accusations they know well aren't true. THIS MESSAGE IN PARTICULAR is what stays and influences ajax, fox, and swan til the very end of their stories.

literally one song after this does ajax show how easily she resonated with the hurricanes' lesson by finally sticking with her gut and actually choosing to fight back against both the baseball furies AND against the sleazy undercover cop. the latter encounter is one of the instances that really solidifies the recontextualization of the story because in the OG movie, ajax (a dude) WAS the sleazy fuck up harassing a woman in a park - and now with the literal character switch, ajax goes from being just a rebellious gangbro dude bro into someone whose want to fight is warranted. such a want to fight is seen in fox seeing as fox is the first to comment on the quiet girls scene and that, in the concept album, she is the one that instigates the rumble against the police in union square - saying that she is sick of being afraid of them and their 'fuckin powder blue' colors (also notice how she is the only warrior that really does say fuck the cops i think that's cool BUT I'LL TALK ABOUT FOX MORE NEXT TIME)

to a less obvious extent, swan also gets the receiving end of this recurring theme - by the album's finale, the usually violence-averse caution-first interim leader becomes a lot fiercer in protecting her crew. but perhaps among what i consider to be the biggest recontextualized change in the feminist sense is MERCY and her motivations to join the warriors in the first place. according to the wiki, her attraction to swan and the warriors and um seeing the orphans as wimps is what led her to switch sides BUT IN THE CONCEPT ALBUM, mercy's motivation to become a warrior is deepened, rooted in admiration rather than attraction - wanting to be like those women who hold their head up high. and again, we see this in Sick of Runnin' when she takes part in the rumble, finding her bravery within their ranks as they fight back. here, mercy becomes less of a swan tagalong and more of someone that wants what the warriors have: pride.

of course now that i type this out i realize that warriors is not based solely on the feminist rhetoric as with their theme of hope amidst adversity, the story is more intersectional and rooted in community struggle and wanting for more than that. but nonetheless, i genuinely believe that the twt filmbros arguments on why the genders should not have been changed in the first place just for "woke" points is kinda like,,,very shortsighted because not only does the narrative of women narrowly escaping unwarranted accusations actually fucking fit, but the act of learning to fight back amidst all odds - be it that of disbelieving, predatory men or the power of oppressive pigs - stays resonant for women yesterday, today, and the days to come.

ultimately, warriors (2024) is not solely a tale of female badassery - rather, it is a tale of the need for such "female badassery" in the face of past and present realities, which is why it somehow fucking worked.

[endlesslytired]

bonus!!!

@shipsarebeautiful did a pull on my account for Robin and GOT ME AN E2 IN ONE PULL.

and while THAT song was on!

I made a playlist for our group pulling for fun and that was added for a joke.

THEN THAT HAPPENED.

vin I hope you win every 50/50 ever. sorry I initially cursed you for jinxing Bronya on me. enjoy Clara and your own Robin!

[misty-wisp]

something tells me they don't like each other. idk just a hunch

[thegamingcatmom]

Far, far, far down the line of The Sisters x You...

The Denalis and the Cullens huddled together in a room with their petsies hoomans (You & Bella) just happily existing:

Carlisle: 😊 "Ah...wonderful, isn't it? The whole family together."

Everyone except Rosalie & Irina: 😊*nods in agreement*

Rosalie & Irina: 😐 *silently wish to be anywhere else*

Alice: 😁👏 "Oh! I've been meaning to ask: How did all of you come to...be? Like this? I wanna know everything!"

The Denalis: 😳 *experience flashbacks of kidnapping you and keeping you with them against your will*

Edward, reading their minds: 🥲 *struggles to remain calm and composed*

Bella, slightly concerned: 👀 *looks at Edward who looks like he´s dying*

Bella, mouthing in a totally not subtle way: 'You okay?'

Edward: 💀 *continues to look like he´s dying*

Kate: 😇 "Well, fun story actually. Tanya?"

Tanya, on the outside: "😅"

Tanya, on the inside: "🤬🔪"

Tanya: 😅👀 "W-Well, fun story indeed. Carmen?"

The Cullens: 🙂 *patiently wait for an answer, gazes switching back and forth like they´re watching a tennis match*

Carmen: 🙈😶‍🌫️ *dies inside*

Irina: "🙄🤦‍♀️" (girl´s done)

Kate: "😁"

Eleazar: "🤷‍♂️" (he´s the most innocent of em all tbf)

Tanya, finally remembering she´s the coven leader: "Well, you see, it is quite a fun story actually-"

You, getting fed up with your weird ass family: "They abducted me."

The Cullens (except Edward), thinking it´s a joke: "😅😉"

You, being deadass: "😐"

...

The Cullens: "🤨😳😰😱❓❓❓"

The Denalis, at the Cullens: "😅"

The Denalis, at you: "❓💀❓"

Esme & Carlisle: *share a look*

Esme, turning to you, most concerned: "A-Abducted?"

You, in good spirits: 😊 "Yup. Plucked me like a ripe berry."

The Cullens: "😱"

The Denalis, who can´t deal: "🫠"

You, completely oblivious to the collective mental breakdown: 🤨 "...Is everyone alright?"

Everyone: "👁️👄👁️"

BONUS:

Bella leading you out of the room while Edward distracts everyone:

Bella: 👉🗒️👉👁️👁️🫵 *hands you a note, signs you to read it*

You: "🤨"

Bella (forcefully): "...👉🗒️👉👁️👁️🫵🫵🫵"

You: 🙄👁️👁️🗒️ *starts to read it because you´re about to lose it*

The note: "BLINK ONCE IF YOU NEED RESCUING"

You: "🤨❓"

Bella, waiting with bated breath: "👁️👁️"

You: *blinks once because it´s a fucking necessity*

Bella: *internal screaming*

OR:

Your very first family gathering doesn´t quite go as planned...

[googlyeyesonmagiccards]

Illustrated by Serena Malyon

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Salvation Swan (Showcase Ver) by Serena Malyon

[adventuretimebandshirt]

Eat feet

[dawnbrigayde]

i like genuinely wish my memory were better so i can draw people i saw on the street or a cat or a cute little trinket i saw earlier that day and keep it close. i see so many things and so many of them charm me so deeply but i can never remember what they were actually like for longer than a few minutes and it galls me

[mtgfantokens]

MtG Token: 2/2 blue Bird 1-4

Magic: the Gathering has been around for 30 years. There are 27,000 unique cards and growing. And a lot of them create tokens. While the official tokens are great, I have a need to celebrate the artwork of our (mtg) ancestors. Let's celebrate older artwork with a new coat of paint.

Token: 2/2 blue Bird creature token with flying

Swan Song is the key card that makes 2/2 birds

The key blue bird is Storm Crow from Portal by Una Fricker

Zephyr Falcon from Legends by Heather Hudson

Dream Thrush from Invasion by D. J. Cleland-Hura

and we break the color by using Birds of Paradise from Alpha by Mark Poole

The literal and graphical information presented on this site about Magic: The Gathering, including card images and mana symbols, is copyright Wizards of the Coast, LLC.

[laianely]

My OTP's history can definitely be traced back by my mugs 😅

[megapwnus]

So I finished watching the Season 1 newest release of Earthspark episodes (March 2023) and I’m going to make a more detailed post in the future but my opinion in a nutshell: incredibly meh… everything I loved about the initial release was almost completely stripped away… very confusing and jarring and disappointing

[rottengurlz]

My top 2 artists are paramore and twice i live for the girls and only the girls

[battleram-skirmisher-fr]

Wait, it's 40 black swans for the vista? I thought it was 20! D=

Man, I'm only half way there. =/

[husband-steve-cortez]

Noah isn't pure soldier coded. As much as I love his hand-to-hand combat proficiency, it has to be with glowing blue fists or feet that can hit really hard situationally. And also Noah has to be able to make force fields. Preferably holding out his hands knees buckling under the strain but holding his ground protecting his crew from whatever.