#i'm sorry if i got anything wrong!

[pencilmint]

Sunset in Shinjuku

[vaguely-concerned]

having seen at least the rough outlines of all the romances now I have to say that I think emmrich's is probably objectively the best in terms of coherence and completeness of story arc (with the understanding that ultimately the 'best' romance is whichever one makes YOUR heart sing anyway so objectivity is a silly thing to claim that way, it just felt like it's the arc with the most well-paced focused content and the least dangling threads)... but lucanis' is my favourite haha. just. the whole kneeling before your beloved full of reverence but without any of the distance that usually implies??? his complete undramatic certainty and calm in every scene with rook after this, having spent the whole game caught between fear and longing???? mr. lives in a pantry but it says nothing about my psyche don't worry about it it's purely for tactical reasons that I keep myself contained in a small dark room not entirely unlike a cell, love among the parsnips -- finally coming to rook in their room and it's so comfortable and comforting???? after all the times rook supports and comforts him through the game he's finally able to return the same to them when they need it while being so calm and steady and it's so fucking sweet and feels so effortless and with no price attached?????? he basically assigns himself the role of your bodyguard and he WILL stab a god over it??????????????? the turn to protector (which was in his heart all along longing to get out and find a place) of it all????? he sounds like he's found himself unexpectedly stumbling into such a soul-lightening state of revelatory existential relief, full on 'you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves' mary oliver style, and he goes and he shares that with rook and protectively envelops them in it when they're hurting??????????????????????????? hello for the maker's sake hello can anyone hear me?????

[boughclan-clangen]

six clangen characters meme except i did 7 and ALMOST did another one but i ran out of steam hahaha so hopefully a doodle of my fursona in the empty space suffices.

left to right, up to down, we've got:

dr. frecklesmoke from @uss-echo-clangen

blizzardfawn from @direclan

zinniaspirit from @sapling-clangen

moorsnow from @splinterclan

iciclepaw from @a-song-upon-the-waves-wishclan

ospreystorm from @the-tale-of-stingrayclan

shadowdive from @salt-clangen

thank you to everyone who made suggestions!! i had so much fun drawing these characters!

[calware]

quick sketch bc i needed to color something

[justsillymilo]

Hellenic Polytheism 101

Tips on How To Start Worshipping the Greek Gods!

!Disclaimer! I’ve only started practicing Hellenic polytheism a few months ago! I’m not a professional and while I will try my hardest I’m not gonna get everything right

To many, starting to worship the Greek gods can be daunting. You’ve probably heard a lot about them and maybe don’t know where to start—but never fear—your helpol big brother is here to help you!

Today, I’m going to go over what Hellenic polytheism is, well-known gods, common misconceptions, and some helpful tips! 

Before that though, I just want to reiterate that I am not a professional and have only started this journey a few months ago. It’s important to fact-check any information you receive to make sure it’s correct, even if it’s from a credible source. 

Alright, let’s start with what Hellenic Polytheism even is! To put it simply, Hellenic Polytheism refers to the religous practice of honoring the gods of ancient Greece. This religion has existed for a very long time but because of the introduction of Christianity the religion is not as big as it was before in ancient Greece. Though, in recent years, the religion has gained popularity and is steadily growing! 

Well-known gods: 

There are many gods in this religion including The Twelve Olympians, divinities and spirits of nature, underworld deities, and heroes. To keep this simple, I’m just going to talk about some of the 12 Olympians. 

The first and probably one of the most well-known gods is Zeus, the sky and thunder god and king of the gods on Mount Olympus-where he and the other 12 Olympians live.  

Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto and the Greek god of the sun, light, prophecy, music, dance, plague, healing, poetry, archery, and much more. He is also the twin brother of Artemis the goddess of the hunt and the moon. He is often depicted beardless and often holding a lyre

Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, passion, and more! She is often associated with lust and fertility. In some myths, she is considered the daughter of Zeus and Dione. However, in other versions, she is said to have been born from seafoam, emerging fully formed from the sea. Her son Eros, the god of love, is a significant figure in many myths.

Hermes is the god of travel, herd, luck, speed, trade, and more! He is the son of Zeus and the Pleiad Maia. Hermes is also known to be the messenger god and quite mischievous 

Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus and Leto, is the goddess of the hunt, wild animals, nature, chastity, vegetation, childbirth, and the moon! She is often depicted with a bow and arrow and accompanied by an animal (usually a deer or sometimes hunting dogs) by her side. As one of the three virgin goddesses Artmis took a vow of chasity. Additionally, she is also the protector of childbirth of young children,  

Hera is the revered queen of the gods and the wife of Zeus. She is the goddess of family, marriage, childbirth and women. Known for her jealousy and vengeance, especially towards Zeus and his many lovers and their offspring. Her children are Ares, Hephaestus, and Hebe. Eileithyia is also sometimes considered to be one of Hera’s children. 

There are more Olympians but to keep this post short-ish I’m going to stop here. But I encourage you to do some independent research and look more into the gods! 

Common Misconceptions 

There are a lot of misconceptions about Hellenic Polytheism so I’m just going to go over some of them and clear things up! 

Myths:Myths are very misunderstood in the helpol community particularly when taken literally. The myths-crafted by ancient men, were never meant to be taken literally. We value myths because it’s a way to see how the gods were veiwed back then and worshipped. They’re also just fun to read! Think of it like fanfiction (if you’re into that sorta thing): you wouldn’t start hating a character in a show just because of how they were written in a fanfiction, that would be irrational. The myths are simply stories about the gods created by men of the past. The gods are not their myths!

Candle Divination: Candle divination is a form of divination that interprets a flame and it’s movements to communate and understand messages from the gods. But, this form of diviniation is unreliable and you will give you false signs and readings. It’s best to not use this method and stick to more reliable ones like, tarot, dice or oracle. I’ll talk more about divination and different methods in another post!

No sins: In Hellenic Polytheism the concept of sins actually doesn’t exist. While there are things you can do to offend the gods, a sincere apology should be enough for forgiveness-just don’t repeat the mistake again. The gods will not be angry if you can’t make an offering everyday, they will not be angry if you can’t talk to them everyday, they will not be angry if you make a mistake. The gods know that you are only a mortal and mortals make mistakes. So don’t sweat it

General Tips

First, if you are in a situation where you can’t make a physical altar, I recommend using a box, like a shoe box. You can add your offerings in this box and anything else you think the god you’re worshiping would like! Remember, you don’t have to make an altar if you don’t want to, alters are not requirements, just useful tools to have! Don’t feel pressured to make one especially if you’re unable to! The gods won’t be mad

Dive into plenty of books! Books offer a lot of useful information about the gods and are just a nice thing to invest in. I recommend reading Mythology by Edith Hamilton-It’s a great book that provides really fascinating and interesting information about the gods and their myths! 

If you’re unable to make an altar there are other ways to make offerings to the gods. One of these ways is devotional acts. For example, if you wanted to do a devotional act to, lets say Apollo, you could decide to practice singing for 30 minutes a day and dedicate it to Apollo. You could practice using songs about Apollo or just think of him while practicing! If you wanted to do a devotional act for Aphrodite you could dedicate a day to self-care and think about her while doing it! I’m sure you get the picture! 

Just saying good morning and goodnight to the god/dess you’re worshiping is a great way to connect with them. And thanking them if you see something associated to them is great as well. For example, if you were at the beach you could thank Poseiden for the beautiful waves, or if you were going for a walk you could thank Artemis for the beautiful nature you see. Just taking a little time out of your day to connect with the gods will go a long way when trying to build a relationship with them 

If your only goal in building a relationship with the gods is to ask for stuff, don’t even bother. When forming a relationship with the gods, it should not be driven by self-interest; the relationship should be mutually beneficial, a concept known as kharis in Hellenic polytheism (I’ll discuss this term in a future post). Remember the gods are not obligated to grant you anything if they don’t want to. While the relationship should be beneficial for both you and the deity, it’s not a transactional exchange. 

Your relationship with the gods may be different from someone else's, and that's perfectly okay! Just as your relationship with one friend group might differ from another, the gods are complex, and what works for one person may not work for you. It’s important to establish your boundaries with whichever deity you’re working with, just as you would in any other relationship!

I hope you found this helpful and that it gave you the confidence and information you need to start a relationship with the gods. Remember to be respectful, but remember to relax and enjoy the journey. The gods might seem a bit intimidating, but they are kind and will appreciate any new worshiper! Good luck on your journey

Xoxo Milo

[mysticalcats]

finally finished starlight express so here is my silly train oc?! more about him under the cut :)

connie is extremely fast and prides himself on always being on time to his next stop. he gets impatient REALLY easily and you'll probably see him tapping his foot with a look of absolute fury on his face if he's being held up by something.

he often gets very frantic and panicked as he makes his way to his next stop, because he cares so much about being there on time. this guy does Not know how to relax

he loves his job tho and is like a jolly train conductor :) (ignoring all the other stuff he has going on)

[ghirahimbo]

Okay, so I am probably going to get hate for this, but I voted for Trump, and I am shocked at how upset people are about his re-election. As a Republican, we have constant allegations of being racist, homophobic, xenophobic, fascists, against women (the list goes on and on). We have been silenced and abused for over a decade, and yes it hurts. I am genuinely curious how Trump is any of those things listed above, despite there being no evidence shown through his actions, besides clips spread by the left-wing media taken out of context or a joke being blown way out of proportion. (Building a wall to keep millions of people from pouring into our country illegally without any screening not counting as racist). It's clear his personality isn't for everyone. His rhetoric is masculine, he obviously is not sensitive, politically correct, or polished, but despite this, millions of other people from all walks of life support him, including MILLIONS of people from so called marginalized groups. I highly doubt that over half of the people in this country are filled with hatred and violence. If anything, I have felt physically unsafe as a conservative around far leftists. (For example, once at a music camp I heard people say that they would volunteer to shoot conservatives into a ditch like the Naz*s did to the Jews, and everyone was like "YASSS QUEEN.") They thought it was hilarious, but I was terrified. Another thing that I noticed was the only concrete thing Harris really talked about in her campaign was abortion. I think it should be available for incest and rape, (there is also so much you can do before it gets to that point too, unless you're a helpless child, like go to the hospital for plan B) but I find it sick how that was basically the only thing focused on in the Harris campaign. I highly doubt that anything will change as far as "women's rights" since it's up to the states now to decide their abortion laws. It's obvious that many people certainly felt scared during his first term, and I am not denying that racism sexism etc. does exist, but to me, it's evident that the scale of the fear had completely been blown out of proportion. There were no wars, no boys in girls' sports, transgendersism being preached to underaged kids in school, and the prices for everything were better during Trump's first term to name a few things. I certainly felt happier and safer. I was scared of my brother being send overseas for WW3 if Harris was elected, so I am very relived. I don't know your personal beliefs, but why do you think so many people are hysterical about his re-election? I really admire you and your work, so I say this in all respect.

For context, I received this ask a few days after the election, and worked on my response off and on over the next few weeks before dropping it altogether because rehashing it all was putting me in such a bad mood, and then honestly… I forgot about it. Having rediscovered this in my ask box, I figured I might as well post what I’d already written since I really did put some time into it, and then try to wrap it up with some sort of ending. It’s long. Here goes:

Hi! You seem to be reaching out in good faith, so I’ll do my best to respond in kind. There's a problem in this country where people seem to be experiencing two very different versions of reality, and I've been grappling this week with the question of how to break through the cycle of outrage and fear that so many of us are trapped in. Maybe this can be a start to that. 

I can also speak to you from the perspective of someone who grew up conservative and shifted drastically leftward throughout my 20s, and who remembers struggling early on with some of the same things you're struggling with. Particularly, I remember grappling with the accusations that people like me were racist/homophobic/etc. because I didn't feel any such way.

With that being said:

When you speak of feeling unsafe, this is due to beliefs that you hold—and beliefs, while an important factor in determining who somebody is, are subject to change over time on both the small and large scale. If your social or political beliefs eventually shift, you will no longer feel threatened in quite the same way. When marginalized communities describe feeling unsafe, this is due to something intrinsic to their nature, whether that's gender or sexual orientation or the color of their skin. There is no way for them to alter themselves in a way that will make them “acceptable” to those who already hate them for who they are.

This is not to argue in favor of belief-based discrimination or to excuse the kids in music camp—young people exist on both sides of the political spectrum and they’re gonna say shit, and I heard the same or worse from people in my grounds crew in college targeted towards a more liberal population—but it's important to recognize that not all beliefs are created equal. Some are straight up incorrect (flat earth theory), some come as a result of undue influence (cults), and some beliefs are flat out dangerous (white supremacy). Where one person's beliefs interfere with another person's rights is the point where most people start to take issue—and all of that is to say that the beliefs of Donald Trump and his party trample on the rights of marginalized groups and others, and whether you personally align with every one of those beliefs simply doesn’t matter. Whether you personally think of yourself as racist, xenophobic, or anything else, by supporting Trump’s presidency, you signal your acceptance of everything that comes along with it, and those who feel threatened by that support won't care whether your acceptance comes out of ignorance or malice. You're going to face, and have already experienced, a lot of animosity due to your support of those harmful beliefs.

Of course, this is the point where we’re going to have to backtrack because you've already mentioned not understanding how Trump is anything negative other than rough around the edges. As bewildering as that statement is when held up against my own experience, you're not the only person I've seen saying something similar—but then, our country's perception gap (how people from each political party view each other) and the effect of echo chambers and algorithms on the information we're exposed to are both well-studied phenomena at this point. You also stated that Trump's first term as president was fairly positive from your perspective—no wars, a stronger pre-Covid economy, and a general feeling of safety. These two points seem related to me, and I’ll address them together.

I guess first of all, whatever information you've been exposed to thus far, I do want to assure you that Trump has clearly demonstrated the content of his character beyond the need for embellishment or anything pieced together out of context. In fact, the old classic “grab ‘em by the pussy” is made much worse by its context: “I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”

I just… simply don't have the energy to pull up all the receipts on Donald Trump of all people, but if you're inclined to do some research, look into all the contractors Trump stiffed in previous construction deals, causing bankruptcies and destroying small businesses in the process. Read up on the scam that was Trump University and the predatory tactics used to sell expensive “courses” specifically to vulnerable people. Consider whose best interest Donald Trump has ever and will ever look out for. All of this was well known (I think?) during the 2016 election, but not enough to keep Trump out of office, which is maybe why it's simultaneously treated as common knowledge and never brought up anymore.

Leading into Trump’s first term, I think it’s fair to assume that neither you nor I are in a demographic that was most obviously affected by the worst of Trump’s acts as president, but I do still remember the Muslim Ban: straightforwardly xenophobic, promised first on the campaign trail and then later put into effect during his presidency despite findings from the Department of Homeland Security itself that people from the seven nations affected by the travel ban posed no increased terrorist risk. It sure did fan the flames of hate among those who were already afraid of our Muslim population, though—and consider that according to an FBI report, hate crimes rose by 20% during Donald Trump’s term as president. Consider the wave of racially motivated harassment and texts spurred by the most recent election and realize that whatever Trump’s own views may be, he has always emboldened and empowered the worst of us. I don't care if Trump is personally racist when his policies and rhetoric directly affect minorities. I don't care if he's homophobic when the politicians he places into power alongside him specifically and explicitly want to dismantle hard-won rights for LGBTQ people.

I remember the nuclear pissing match Donald Trump got into with Kim Jong Un on Twitter, and the fear of World War III that lingered for weeks after—a fear famously memorialized in John Mulaney's “Horse in a Hospital” bit which, if you watch it, might explain exactly how that first Trump presidency felt for many Americans. Did that not seep through to the right wing media? 

More than anything else, I remember the “zero-tolerance” anti-immigration practice that came in the form of the child separation policy—and yes, I remember the wall. The wall that Mexico was going to pay for, though of course only US funds were ever used for its construction. The wall that research from the Department of Defense determined would not prevent a substantial portion of immigration—but it sure did make a handy mobilizing symbol, didn’t it?

The lies. There's just something different about the way Donald Trump lies—something that makes you feel a little crazy. Most of them are just so easily disproven that you wonder how he could possibly get away with it… but then he doubles down, and his rabid fan base believes him without question, and the far right media treats it as fact, and suddenly you have to treat his most ridiculous statements seriously because they have serious, real-world consequences (I think I’ve seen this described recently as “sanewashing”). Donald Trump says with no basis in fact or reality that Haitian immigrants are eating your dogs and cats, and a woman in Springfield calls the cops on her Haitian neighbor because her cat has gone missing.

And then poke around a bit. Look up some facts. Research. You've asked me to help explain why so many people are scared of Trump’s re-election, and I've already put literal hours into this response because I'm hoping it might do an ounce of good and I don't know what else to do… 

In fact, do me a favor: go to the Wikipedia article titled “False or misleading statements by Donald Trump”, really internalize this warning:

…And this is where I lost steam when I was initially writing this response because honestly, there’s an essay that could be written to refute every point you’ve made, and I just can’t do that. Political analysts across the country have tried to take apart and analyze voting demographics and campaign strategies and just about everything else related to the election, to varying levels of success—so I’m just gonna wrap this up with the strong suggestion that you can’t see the racism/xenophobia because it’s coming from inside the house, and a plea to you to recognize why you are being led to fear the “other.” 

Transphobia, for example, is not only written between the lines of your ask but soaking it all the way through. I saw enough political ads leading up to the election to know that “transgender panic” was one of THE issues pushed forward by right wing media (right alongside immigration), and if you’re pretty young, which I think you are, then you might not realize how much of a recent development this is culturally? Not transphobia in general—not at all—but the panic part. When I was roughly as old as I suspect you are, it was gay panic, and “think of the children,” and the reaction against Proposition 8 and “I don’t care if they’re together, but why do they have to call it marriage?” And before that it was the satanic panic, and woven all through our country’s history is anti-immigration rhetoric against various groups and ethnicities, because demonizing the “other” keeps your focus off the people who are actually, tangibly making your life worse through the corruption and policies they enact that you don’t notice because they’re pointing the finger elsewhere. It's an old song. And I just scrolled up to look at your ask again, saw that you’d written that “it's evident that the scale of the fear has completely been blown out of proportion,” and burst out laughing because that’s what it is! 

And like, I could link you to some sources that I think do a good job of debunking everything that the “trans panic” is built on (there’s an episode of the podcast Maintenance Phase that has some of the best gathered research I’ve found so far), but you probably wouldn’t find it particularly palatable—and that’s part of the problem, isn’t it? 

Anyway, I don’t think I can stomach reading all this through again right now, but I do wish you luck and a happy new year. I hope this response did any good at all, and I hope my fears for the upcoming presidency prove to be overblown. Can’t say I’m feeling too optimistic, though.

Peace ✌️

[beaft]

I just saw your post about the jock protagonist and that sounds hilarious but also a linear algebra magic system? Like creating subspaces outside of our plane of existence for magic and shit? That sounds cool as fuck tell me more - someone who’s taking linear algebra right now

so the initial idea was pretty similar to what you described - it revolved around blindly manipulating the ethereal plane* and using differential equations/matrix tables to predict, anticipate and control how these manipulations would manifest on the material plane. (so in terms of difficulty, roughly equivalent to doing brain surgery with a black cloth covering both your hands.) if you think of the material plane as one vector and the ethereal plane as another, you can - in theory - affect a linear transformation by altering the magnitude or direction of something you can't see and mapping that alteration to something that you can.

to put it mildly, i am not a mathematician, and i realised partway through that relying on just one specific branch of mathematics was actually kind of limiting and required me to know more about linear algebra than i actually do. (i kept producing endless sheafs of notes and obsessing over "getting it right" without, y'know, doing any actual writing.) so now i've switched to more of a "homebrew" magic system that incorporates aspects of loom-weaving, since fibrecrafts are a pretty central part of the story and weaving is often startlingly mathematical. (unsurprising, given its links to early computer programming!) the system i've ended up with is still algebraic in nature, but it gives me more room to improvise and invent without worrying that i'll scandalise legions of theoretical mathematicians.

*it's not referred to as the ethereal plane in this universe; it's called the Reverse, as in the reverse side of a piece of embroidery, where all the threadwork is visible and the pattern is lost. but that's a whole other thing.

[fl00mie]

I remember you're genocides 🫵

( do you even remember who moqi is ... hai its me )

now answering to your question.. no sorry i can't remember someone called like that-

(read tags pls)

[quixtrix]

rayman, eden's feel good american dream story; an analysis

guess who's back with taking ubisoft's silly guys and cutting them open. yknow, if you strip rayman of his personality, of all the behind the scenes we get of him, we get a run of the mill news reporter that is an immigrant, who by face alone serves as a shining ray of hope. he's easily something that by all means, can be classified as a diversity hire. immigrant, nonhuman (which in the world of clh can be considered to be equated with poc irl), and notably the only one in his work environment. don't believe me?

we rarely ever see anyone other than rayman on the show in the form of a coworker. the only time we do see other eden affiliated people, they are both white. "but you can't see red's face!!" there is a reason his dialogue makes you think of more right leaning people with their claims of 'wokeness is destroying everything' under something like april from tmnt being black and not ginger. he's a caricature meant to represent a specific group of people under fascism; those who have successfully consumed the fearmongering and have let it turn from fear of those that they are told are beneath them into hatred for them. there is also the fact that on live tv he throws up a middle finger, refers to an implied group of immigrant people as 'filthy interdimensional alien scum,' and seemingly gains no backlash for it. yes, the other reporter does try to give red a chance to go back on his words, but he sticks to it. and despite all of this, we get no indication that neither red nor the niji 6 had to apologise or received punishment for this. in fact, red is possibly given more chances by eden due to him being weirdly in charge of bullfrog's containment in a way? (i'm not entirely sure WHY he was there, but as he is one of eden's tv personalities, he's at a possibly televised trial of a terrorist.) now if you compare this to rayman, who also acted inappropriately on tv by literally saying fuck, you'd come to realise that rayman was treated so much more harshly. he was IMMEDIATELY replaced by a clone of himself, with no warning nor any indication that eden would do such a thing. it's very likely this was one of, if not the first time that rayman has slipped up like this on live tv. maybe it's a repeat offence considering his personality, but then you could argue that red is a repeat offender of the same shit and then you have to wonder why a soldier like red was not easily replaced but someone who is the literal face and voice of eden was with ease. it's because rayman made himself more than jus a story, he humanised himself by showing a peek of his raw feelings. remember that cute little exposition of the rayman kids show about hybrids? where we see all of these hybrids working as society's grunts and the kids are told to be thankful for hybrids? it's very sweet and gives a good message! now the rayman kids show is a product of eden propaganda, but rayman very much has a hand in it, most likely as a writer. he uses his platform to speak on issues that has happened and affected him. this can be seen in his biopic.

jus sit with this image for a moment. you ever think about why rayman is specifically made as an alien? why he's specifically an immigrant? in real life news reports and speeches, there is a difference in implications when people use immigrants and not aliens. you wanna know why?

as someone apart of an immigrant family myself, i live in a community of other immigrants. majority of them are hispanic, and while i myself am not hispanic, i am very aware of how hispanic immigrants were referred to and treated by politicians under trump's presidency. how couldn't i? even as children in middle school and elementary, we had discussions about what trump was saying because it directly targets my friends and their families. they are people targeted by a man who specifically uses derogatory terms to dehumanise them, to make it easier to justify in the average american mind that the government is doing the right thing by keeping out and protecting america from these so-called 'invading animals.' makes what red was saying earlier feel very on the nose, right? adi shankar, the showrunner for captain laserhawk, is also an immigrant man. immigrated from india, which by the way, did you know has a lot of people immigrating for the purpose of having a better life? that's a common sentiment that can be found in every single immigrant family's story. i've asked my filipino mother why she took an opportunity to live and work in america, and she told me it's because she wanted to give her children a better life than what we would have had in the philippines. hell, i bet if you share a similar background to me, you can ask your own parents the same thing and get the exact same answer, regardless if you came from latin america or africa, or asia. it's because of the concept of the american dream. everyone who has ever engaged with any degree of immigrant discussion has heard of the american dream. it's a concept that seems to be consistently proven via word of mouth, with the biggest examples being celebrities. they will always, without fail, eventually speak about the american dream within their backstories. and typically, they will use their platforms to further empower others within their community. it's why people from specific ethnicities tend to group together, why people make art meant as something akin to a homage to their people. it provides hope to the masses, makes you relate to the person on the screen, and believe that this society is truly a gracious one by providing opportunity. because yeah, it may be bad, but it could be worse. i mean we appreciate you! just look!

dont mind the fact that the majority of opportunities allotted to you is grunt work, the work where you at the base of the pyramid, with the harder jobs and the jobs no one wants to do. dont mind the fact you will be actively dehumanised, forced to work for hours in conditions we wouldn't put anyone else in, but hey. we appreciate you. we thank you. and yknow, you can become more than what you are. yknow, we let someone just like you be more than what you are! nevermind the fact that if they slip up, they'll be met with MUCH harsher criticism in comparison to someone who isn't you! aren't we so gracious? i probably sound a bit like matpat's insane out of context real world examples, but this show is filled with political imagery, so let me be. anyways, let's get back to eden and rayman. rayman, despite being specifically from dimension x as an alien, keeps hybrids in mind when he's doing his work.

people of colour tend to share solidarity with one another due to the fact that surface wise, we share similar struggles. to grossly oversimplify things, we all face discrimination through our appearances and are oppressed by the rules of a society created by our white oppressors. again, hybrids and dimension x immigrants can be equated to irl poc, and despite being different from each other, there is still community. rayman keeps them in mind, hoping to make things better for the overall nonhuman and nonnative (native as in naturally born) population of eden. but, rayman is not what he believes he is. because despite everything he has worked for, despite what he has tried to do, he is still a facilitator of the fascist regime that has an active hand in the perpetual oppression of his own people. one of the core concepts within fascism is us versus them. it's an easy way to instill fear (which is very much needed in fascism to make it easier to lie to the masses) and it's used in multiple layers, beginning with a large group (ex. us versus ussr, capitalism vs communism), then progressively sizing down (ex. saying all eastern europeans are communist, then going smaller and say all those affiliated with eastern europeans are communist) with the goal being to put people against each other and break up community since if you put your minds together, you'll start to realise that the fascist system is bullshit. what i've personally come to find is that in order to hide the fact that there is fascism lurking is that someone that can be considered a 'them,' an other, will be given a seat at the table. it's so they can be used as an excuse, a human shield, when they inevitably slip up and can be paraded to the masses as proof that the other is not as smart or powerful as 'us.' the 'other' within the 'us' is used as something to look down at, while also justifying to oneself that they have a place, that they are not being oppressed. they have an opportunity as much as anyone else! so long as they don't mess up. rayman messes up, and is shunned from 'us.' hes a mistake, impure, clearly not like 'us,' 'us' who had been so gracious to give this 'other' a place. he's cut out and discarded because he has well worn his purpose, and clearly, they can just get another little puppet. they'll dress him up and make him worthy of being one of 'us,' and make sure that this one won't fall to the fault of his little ideas. which is exactly what leads to rayman's transformation of ramon. being forcibly forced out and discarded by eden because he showed his true ideas makes him realise that there was no real place for him within the system. because what good is his work if it leads to what he tried not to create? it's worthless, just as the system it attempts to thrive in is.

tl;dr, rayman is a representation of the american dream, specifically celebrities. he tries to do what he can with his platform, but the fact is that within a fascist system, his impact is not entirely felt in the way he wants it to. that is why he becomes ramon.

anyways if you reached the end of THIS LONG ASS PIECE GOOD LORD thank you!! always open to discuss this and take criticism, my ask box is open in the lil 'who's asking' :^]

[dreildream]

"Awesome, super cool, and like, totally awesome. Like really awesome."

[64-jungle-planks]

Night at the Museum: Redesigning Characters (Bonus)

Character profile: Napoléon "Le Petit Caporal" Bonaparte

This character is based off of and takes inspiration from the historical Napoleon Bonaparte.

Real Name: Napoléon Bonaparte

Nickname and Meaning: Le Petit Caporal - A term of affection from his soldiers

Age: 40-41 (Late 1809, early 1810)

Time Period: Napoléonic era frace

Family: Josephine de Beauharnais (ex-wife), Marie Louise (wife)+ seven siblings none of which were brought back besides Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte- his nephew

(Headcanons under the cut)

Based on/taken from History:

Pompous

Very overly confident.

Egotistical. He hasn’t seen his own downfall yet and feels he can win more.

On December 2, 1805, in his greatest victory, he defeated the combined Austrian and Russian armies in the Battle of Austerlitz.

signed treaties that created the Grand Duchy of Warsaw

Late 1809, early 1810, Napoléon’s roughly around 40-41

Still loves Josephine, but planning to divorce.

Upset she wasn’t remade alongside him

From Napoléon's memory, Joseph Bonaparte is king of Spain, but isn’t doing well.

Stupidly cute smile

+ Sensitive + Honest + Intelligent - Nepotist - Aggressive - Forgets other people have feelings

My own silly headcanons:

Has put on weight, he’s not used to fighting with it.

Napoléon likes to steal pop-it’s and water wigglers from the gift shop. He always has to have something in his hands to fidget with- normally it’s his gloves or a snuff box or taking apart and cleaning his pistol. Now that he has access to modern fidgets, he likes to taking the green ones.

He also really likes clicking mechanical pencils

He loves inventions that make life better in little ways. Canning food was invented in his life (he’s actually the one who offered a prize of 12,000 francs to improve the food preservation methods that existed at the time which led to canned food being invented) but there was no simple way to open the cans. He loves can openers- taking them with the promise of returning them to just take apart and put back together.

If your gossiping, he obviously eavesdrops. Napoléon cans and will butt into your conversation about someone and listen like you’re saying the most interesting thing in the world. If he can’t come over to you, he will do the lead paint stare at you.

Still acts like he’s emperor.

Originally thought the average height of humans gained a lot of height. He was envious up until he learned whoever created his mold got his height wrong and he’s 5’2”, not 5’7”, then, Napoléon was just pisssed off.

He loves to infodump about his victories and will call over his men to help act them out, sneaking small fibs in to make himself look even better than he already does. If you ask him about his losses, you’ll only get a stare in return and a quick “Non”. (Credit @frombottlealleytotheharbor)

“Hey, do you remember [insert battle he lost]? What was it like?” “…Non.” “But… weren’t you there?” He starts walking away. “Non.” “But—“ “NON!”

He gets into fights with Al because Al is someone who clearly doesn’t respect him. The Capone trio love to tease him - especially Frank and Al. Ralph watches with a grin, which is somehow even more infuriating to Napoléon.

Sometimes getting out of his box, he looks like a well-loved stuffed animal. It takes him a moment to get himself together.

Loves watching true crime and reality TV shows. Isn’t the biggest fan of Horror movies.

Somehow got his hands on a cigarette, absolutely died after one puff. Napoléon threw it onto the ground and stomped off coughing, vowing to never do it again.

He’s so very envious that Al and Ralph had even a bit of time with their sons while they were alive. François Charles was born after the time he was made, and it makes Napoléon feel so homesick and want his kid- one that he doesn’t even know. He absolutely adores Louis Napoleon, who he only met a few times.

Loves ABBA, originally he disliked, but he's grown to like it now that he knows the meaning

I gave him his Laurel wreath just because I thought they were cool and also to show that he's still very pompous and full of himself.

Unfortunately no doodles, I haven't had time!

Étienne Champenois belongs to @lidensword and Gustave Bréant belongs to @all-yn-oween

Frank, Al, Ralph

[mysticmoondancer]

🎃 Happy Halloween from the MBAV Crew! 🎃

Thought I'd have them all dress up in a group costume and their theme is of course DC superheroes. More specifically, those who were part of the Justice League! I originally wanted to do the founding (or rather the original) members who started the Justice League, but sadly couldn't, seeing as there was only one female member (Wonder Woman) that was part of the Justice League's creation. And of course, for the MBAV gang there are TWO females. So, it just wouldn't work. So, I just went with the more well known/popular members of the Justice League instead.

🔽 More down below about their costume choice and a better look at them individually, as well. 🔽

Rory is Flash because he lost to Benny in a game of "rock, paper, scissors" to see who gets to be Batman. After losing to Benny, he wanted to be Green Arrow, but no one trusted him enough to have a fake bow with arrows. Also, Erica really didn't want him to be the Green Arrow too because from what she remembers, the Green Arrow used to date Black Canary (her costume choice), and she didn't want to hear it from Rory or have him annoy her about that little fact all night long, as well. So, she STRONGLY had him choose another DC superhero to be, instead. Like the Green Lantern, but he didn't want to be the Green Lantern because he thinks his superpower is weak and lame due to having to rely on a ring that you have to recharge every now and then (which is stupid in his opinion, despite what Ethan may think). So, the Flash it is! Plus, he's super excited because now he can use his vampire speed to zip around everywhere like the Flash does!

Benny is Batman because he wanted to be all dark and mysterious. Plus, he thinks Bruce Wayne is awesome because of how rich he is and how he's a known playboy/lady's man to boot. Which is why I chose Benny to be Batman. I think he'd admire Bruce's lifestyle and also just like how Bruce has a bit of dark side to him, so does Benny too, as seen on a few occasions in the series. Oh! And he chose the costume with the fake abs because he wanted abs and thinks it makes him seem even more manly as Batman.

Ethan is Superman because he wanted to do a couple's costume with Sarah while also still doing the group one. And yes, I know that famously Superman's main romantic interest is technically Lois Lane. But it wouldn't work here if Sarah was going to be Wonder Woman and after some research, I found that in some rare instances there have been comics that had his love interest as Wonder Woman and NOT Lois, instead! Some even declared this rare pairing as the power couple of the DC universe! Anyway, that's why I picked Superman for Ethan. Plus, Ethan kind of has some of the same personality traits that Clark Kent/Superman does, as well. Depending on your version of Clark Kent/Superman that you choose, that is. For me, I was going for the Clark/Superman in the animated series "My Adventures with Superman".

Sarah is Wonder Woman because Ethan thought it would fit her, and she agreed. Plus, she gets to be a badass Amazonian warrior princess, as well! She also likes what Wonder Woman stands for (like justice and virtue) and can sort of see a bit of herself in her, as well. Like being a compassionate, strong, courageous, and honest person. If not a little bit stubborn, also.

Erica is Black Canary because she thinks she's badass and cool looking. Not to mention hot-looking, as well. Oh! And is a blonde like her, also! Originally, she was gonna be Wonder Woman but decided to let Sarah be her instead. Mainly because she too thought that Wonder Woman would be a better fit for her bestie rather than herself. Plus, Erica gets to mostly dress up in one of her favorite colors, too. Black. She also thinks that Black Canary has a way better fashion sense in the outfit department than Wonder Woman does when it comes to their superhero costume/look, anyway.

[h3nry-3mily]

i am thinking abt him @melanodis

[yasmeensh]

I hope this makes up for all the Octobear days I've missed. Done in gouache. It's been a rough month...

[kinetic-chaos]

ce que j'ai fair ce soir-là

ce qu'elle a dit ce soir-là

réalisant mon espoir

je me lance vers la gloire

Psycho Killer - Talking Heads