#like everyone in the late 2000s/early 2010s was so mean

[pigfartsviatardis]

Was discussing queerbaiting recently with a friend because we’re watching Once Upon A Time (trash, but shockingly well written trash in the first 3 seasons) and obs we both ship swan queen. I mean. Come on.

But we noticed that from the start of s3 onwards, there was noticeably less shippy stuff between these two. There’s still a bit here and there because a) lesbian mums and b) chemistryyyy… but it felt like the writers were intentionally backing off from that pairing and putting genuine effort into the male love interests for both characters.

You might think that becalming the swan queen ship would have annoyed or disappointed my friend and myself, the shippers. But tbh we both agreed that it was actually nice to see a writing team see a popular queer fandom ship, go ‘oh whoops that’s not endgame’, and actively NOT bait it.

Obviously everyone here is aware of the Golden Age Of Queerbaiting, the late 2000s/early 2010s; even if you’re too young to have actually battled through it, it’s deep tumblr lore. We all know the repeat and egregious offenders from that time - destiel, merthur, johnlock, whatever the main one was on teen wolf - and how gleefully these shows would dangle queer rep in front of our twitching little noses.

Recently, I’ve noticed a more insidious trend: the Male Friendship Scarcity Myth. The most glaring recent examples are nandermo (WWDITS) and jayvik (arcane), both of which were popular ships after the first season(s) of their shows aired and were subsequently given increased screen time and shippy scenes/storylines. In the case of nandermo, the romantic feelings (at least from Guillermo) were textual. Both pairings were given ambiguous endings where they were together, but not confirmed as, yknow, together.

And then both showrunners, after the shows ended, decided to step up to the mic and give a heartfelt little speech along the lines of ‘men are allowed to be friends without it being sexual, and it’s actually really important that we show this, because we need more representation of close platonic brotherly male friendship in media’.

Anyone who was around during the aforementioned Golden Age Of Queerbaiting, or in fact anyone who consumes popular media at all, knows that this is horseshit.

It’s only ever close platonic brotherly male friendship. Or at least, 95% of the time. Everywhere you look, from major fandom shows to mcu movies, platonic male relationships are often front and centre. That’s nearly always the canon. How often does a major mlm ship actually go canon??? Hardly ever. Even destiel didn’t; cas’s feelings were confirmed last minute, but the official canon dynamic between him and dean is still brotherly bffs.

Are these friendships often the subject of intense fandom shipping? Yes, as literally any close relationship between any two characters of any gender always will be. People like shipping! But the official canon, and the gospel truth held up by poorly disguised homophobes in fandom, is nearly always strictly platonic bros.

Anyway. All this to say, I’ve been disillusioned recently seeing this myth pop up in every comments section on any jayvik-related content, that we have a lack of male friendship in media (we don’t, we have a lack of male friendship that isn’t queer coded to super turbo gay hell and back in media). I was even more disillusioned seeing the exact same rhetoric being spewed by those involved with WWDITS, which is ironically a show jam packed full of close male friendships THAT INVOLVE CASUAL SEX. The call was truly coming from inside the coffin on that one.

So, unexpectedly and somewhat depressingly, swan queen and OUAT have been a balm for the soul in the midst of all this. No queerbaiting (at least not where I’m up to), just good old fashioned straightwashing. At least it’s honest 🤷‍♀️

[useless-catalanfacts]

Are cats important in Catalunya? Barcelona's mascot (they sadly never use) is a cat, and the mascot for the Olympic games in Barna was a cat too. Or is it just coincidence? :eyesemoji:

Hello!

First of all, I'm very glad to see someone getting the city's shortened named right (Barna). I had almost accepted that it's a lost battle to get foreigners to stop calling it Barça! (Barça means the football team, not the city).

Cats are used as a symbol of Catalonia sometimes, because Catalonia is shortened to "Cat": think for example how the internet domain for sites in the Catalan language is ".cat", how the government of Catalonia is named Generalitat de Catalunya but gets shortened to "GenCat", or how some people cover the E of Spain in the driving plate with a sticker saying "CAT" (this last one used to be very popular in the 2000s and until the early 2010s but stopped because the police got serious in fining the people who had it).

Example of what a Spanish licence plate looks like (all EU countries have the blue band with 1, 2 or 3 letters that identify what EU country it's from) and an example of a plate with the CAT (Catalunya) sticker over the E (España) band.

For this reason, a cat was used for years as a symbol of Catalonia:

It was created by a Catalan independentist organization Lliga Anticolonial (Anti-colonial League) in the late 1990s or early 2000s as a response to the symbolic occupation of the Toro de Osborne (Osborne Bull). For context, the Osborne Bull is this:

The bull is a symbol of Spain. These gigantic (14 metres tall!) billboards in the shape of the bull species used in bullfighting (a Spanish tradition of torturing and slowly killing a bull in public while people cheer, seen as a national symbol of Spain and Spanish manhood) were set up by an alcohol brand since the 1950s. There were dozens of them, next to the highways and roads everywhere in the state of Spain, and this silhouette quickly became a symbol of Spain just as much as the Spanish flag. In fact, you'll find many Spanish flags used by fascists include this bull silhouette at the centre. There are also all types of merch with it and Spanish nationalists often put a sticker in their cars with this silhouette (used to be very popular in the early 2000s, the stickers in cars in general have stopped being so popular nowadays).

In the 1990s, there were new laws in Spain against billboards on roads/highways, because adverts distract drivers and result in accidents. However, this bull had become such a symbol of Spanish nationalism that they made an exception for it. All the billboards in certain places were taken down except for the Osborne bulls.

Meanwhile, as you can imagine many people in the nations occupied by Spain were not happy to have these giant symbols of Spanish nationalism around our land, it feels like a symbol of occupation. Like a "remember we own you". For this reason, independentist groups in the Catalan Countries and the Basque Country often cut down the bulls or sprayed murals and political slogans of liberation on them. When the new laws against billboards came, everyone was expecting to finally have to stop seeing our land branded with these symbols of occupation, but as I said before the Spanish courts did an exception. Then, more people than ever before decided to get organized to cut down the bulls, but they kept putting them back up and persecuting the "vandals", and the Spanish Justice System even gave the Osborne Bull billboard in El Bruc the legal condition of national heritage to legally protect it and be able to persecute activists who protested against it more! (El Bruc is a town in Catalonia that is very symbolic for Catalan people because of the folk tale of the Catalan resistance against French invasion that is one of the most widespread folk tales in Catalonia, but in this town the Spanish Army has had its biggest army headquarters in Catalonia so it has become a place of occupation and stronghold of the Spanish army).

During all of this battle of symbols, the occupied nations came up with their own symbol to symbolize their resistance: the cat and donkey in Catalonia, the cow in Galiza, and the ardi latxa sheep in the Basque Country. Organizations sold stickers of these symbols to raise money for good causes related to our cultures.

(I explained why this autochthonous species of donkey is a symbol of Catalonia in this previous post).

But, in the end, cutting down the bull billboards was successful and many weren't put back up. The last bull billboards in Catalonia was cut down by activists in 2002. Nowadays, you can still find about 100 bull billboards around Spain, but not in Catalonia.

The cat and donkey kept being popular for some more years, but eventually they lost popularity once the bulls were out of our daily lives. For some reason though, the donkey has remained popular as a symbol of Catalan-ness in Northern Catalonia (the part of Catalonia annexed by France, so the one that never had the Osborne Bull in the first place!). If you visit Northern Catalonia, you'll still find many cars with the donkey sticker and many souvenirs with the donkey.

There's the reason why the cat is a symbol of Catalonia, it used to be a very popular one but it has lost popularity nowadays. I must say that it's with this ask that I've seen Barça's mascot for the first time. I didn't even know they had one, but yes, it's a cat. But the mascot for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona (called Cobi) was supposed to be a dog drawn in cubist style. But you're right that it looks like a cat 😅

[ermesskiss]

what music I think jjk students would listen to

✧ ft: yuji, megumi, nobara, maki, todo, yuta, haraki, kirara ✧ a/n: been thinking about this for a minute, and I decided to write out my opinions/hcs

jjk adult version here + jjk character playlist works here

reblogs and comments are always welcomed!!

· · ───────────── 𖥸 ────────────── · ·

✦ yuji

➥ he definitely listens to pop music with overall good vibes. I also think he would listen to R&B and rap, but nothing that is too vulgar, he is the stereotypical sunshine character so I don't think it would be in character for him to listen to music that is highly explicit

➥ I feel like yuji definitely listens to music from the 2000s and 2010s, the type of music you would hear on the radio as a kid during that time, the nostalgic type stuff,

➥ I feel like he's a big fan of some of the old Drake music and Kanye's graduation album. I also think he would love Tyler, The Creator

songs

♪ Stronger: Kanye West ♪ Loving Is Easy: Rex Orange County ♪ Games On Your Phone: 24kGoldn ♪ Glitter: Tyler, The Creator ♪ Headlines: Drake

──────────────────────────────

✦ megumi

➥ my favorite emo, he for sure listens to dorky music, such as Weezer (hence, gege made Island In The Sun his theme song), probably some alt and rock

➥ though everyone calls megumi emo I don't think he would listen to sad/depressing 24/7 unless something horrible happened to him (the recent manga chapter) I think overall for somebody as grumpy as megumi, he does listen to more upbeat, positive music

➥ I think that he would listen to older music, stuff from the late '90s and early 2000s; I honestly think he listens to a little of everything in regards to the era. honestly whatever he does listen to relates to him or has some kind of story or meaning to it, if yk what I mean

songs

♪ You Get What You Give: New Radicals ♪ QUEER: BROCKHAMPTON ♪ Time to Pretend: MGMT ♪ I Want A Dog: Weezer ♪ Wake Me Up When September Ends: Green Day

──────────────────────────────

✦ nobara

➥ listens to more women artists than men (a true girls girl) regardless of the music genre, she's going to be more interested in women singers

➥ since nobara is very confident in herself and her abilities, she listens to music that makes her feel confident. Seeing her listening to sad music as she self-loath isn't in character for her

➥ a large majority of the music she enjoys is queer-coded (she's a lesbian, fight me about it)

songs

♪ Brand New City: Mitski ♪ Cherry Bomb: The Runaways ♪ Silk Chiffon: MUNA ♪ Broken Clocks: SZA ♪ Just A Girl: No Doubt

──────────────────────────────

✦ maki

➥ I get the vibes that she listens to rock music and also likes pop and some R&B; it’s a mix of all three tbh

➥ similar to Nobara, I can see her listening to music that makes her feel powerful, little music that is self-loathing; she’s trying to keep up with her stern and strong appearance

➥ is a Megan thee stallion fan, listens to her while training

songs

♪ Conceited: SZA ♪ I’m So Sick: by Flyleaf ♪ Did It On’em: Nicki Minaj ♪ Cocky Af: Megan Thee Stallion ♪ Hard Times: Paramore

──────────────────────────────

✦ todo

➥ All upbeat music, not a single sad or depressing song on his playlist

➥ Because it’s all upbeat music, he usually listens to rap and R&B. His workout playlist is the only playlist he listens to

➥ Also listens to music from female artists that are his type (Megan Thee Stallion, etc.), and he tends to listen to music that is explicit about women

songs

♪ Baby Got Back: Sir Mix-A-Lot ♪ Started From the Bottom: Drake ♪ Faneto: Chief Keef ♪ You Better Move: Lil Uzi Vert ♪ DOGTOOTH: Tyler, The Creator

──────────────────────────────

✦ yuta

➥ I think Yuta's musical taste combines Yuji’s and Megumi’s. On the one hand, he’s a lover boy, sunshine MC, and on the other hand, he has an emo/self-loathing part of his personality

➥ Given the genres, I would say he would listen to rock, alternative, bedroom pop, and Indi

➥ I think that yuta is open to listening to any type of music, he's interested in hearing other people's favorite music and he's also a bit of people pleaser so even if he doesn't like he'll agree so the other person doesn't get upset

songs

♪ Can’t Dance, Don’t Ask Me: Weezer ♪ Creep: Radiohead ♪ Day ‘N’ Nite: Kid Cudi ♪ Television/So Far So Good: Rex Orange County ♪ Bad Habit: Steve Lacy

──────────────────────────────

✦ hakari

➥ Listens to rap and R&B, without a doubt, and maybe some rock music from time to time

➥ Knowing that it is canon that he is a rebel and doesn’t like following the rules, I can see it fitting him also the fact that he’s a bookie and a player

➥ he's a drake fan

songs

♪ Baby Keem: Baby Keem ♪ Bad and Boujee: Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert ♪ I Don’t Know Dem: Chief Keef ♪ F**kin Problems: A$Ap Rocky ♪ Crazy Story: King Von

──────────────────────────────

✦ kirara

➥ Based on their appearance and fashion style, they listen to alternative, rock, and dance/electronic

➥ kirara definitely giving off 2000s emo type music

➥ Since hakari and kirara are always together, kirara started to like hakari music more

songs

♪ freak show: Punkinloveee ♪ Ginseng 2002: Yung lean ♪ Helena: My Chemical Romance ♪ GOOD LOYAL THOTS: Odetari ♪ Hands Up!: 6arelyhuman

──────────────────────────────

✧ a/n: I had a hard time with a few characters; you would think, since I have over 1.9k liked songs, it would be easier lol. Anyway, feel free to comment your opinions and/or if you agree or not

[aritakahashi]

Raiden Headcanons

⊹˚. ♡˖This post will include mixed headcanons of both Raiden himself and what he’s like in a relationship!

♡ Word Count: 1.501

♡ Warnings: None!

(This is fully gender neutral on reader’s side!)

- He’s a shy guy, he probably confessed to you as red as a tomato and stuttering as if he’s about to go into cardiac arrest.

- He’s very interested in nature. He loves birds and squirrels. Probably has a dozen encyclopedias in his place about various animals, earth and space.

- Absolutely loves lofi/indie/indie folk music. Usually listens to whatever calms his mind, not so keen to rock/metal/pop music but he likes to listen to late 2000s / early 2010s hits because of Kung Lao and Johnny.

- Plant dad. He has lots of plants, flowers and vegetables in his garden and in the house. He likes taking care of them, and spends a lot of time to make sure every one of them is healthy.

- Loves both dogs and cats, so he’s neither a dog or a cat person. He would love to adopt one each, if not more. Knowing his love for animals, he would always leave a big bowl of water and food outside his garden so strays can drink and eat; regularly checks it so he can fill them up when they’re empty. Definitely has a bird feeder somewhere.

- His love languages are words of affirmation and acts of service. He will shower you with compliments, always support your decisions (unless they’re concerning) and he will do his best helping you with all the work. He will help you with chores, running errands, cooking, baking, even your own work if he has an idea of what it is. He loves giving gifts as well but he makes sure it’s either handmade or something he thinks you would really like.

- He has a super calm personality. He’s a pacifist, he sees fight as the absolute last option in a situation.

- He’s a stay at home guy, not really keen on social stuff but he’ll have a great time with you and friends if you come up with outside activities.

- Crowds aren’t generally his thing, but he will find calmness in watching people when he’s sitting somewhere having his tea. It brings him peace to know everyone has their own lives just like he does. It makes him feel more alive.

- When he takes you out on dates, it’s usually coffee dates or a small street food place that makes good food. He’s not a fan of extravagant stuff, so he keeps it as minimal as he can.

- He doesn’t drink, and he doesn’t smoke. This doesn’t mean he won’t drink at all though; he will drink 1-2 bottles of beer occasionally in social settings, but that’s about it. Since he barely drinks, he’s quite lightweight and will get drunk easily.

- He’s a touchy one, but not in the inappropriate way. He loves holding you, hugging you, kissing your head, nose and forehead. He likes to kiss your forehead the most.

- He loves reading interesting facts about our world. His Instagram reels are full of zoology, geology etc. kind of nerdy posts. When he watches tv, it’s usually documentary channels. He doesn’t like following the news because there’s usually sad or stressful things.

- Very positive person, he will look at everything on the brightest side possible.

- His sister would love you and you’d frequently have girl nights together, sometimes even pull pranks on Raiden if you’re feeling mischievous enough.

- You’re both his partner in life and his best friend (along with Kung Lao, CAN’T erase him from this part). He will share EVERYTHING with you, and will be really happy every time you do the same.

- Very easy to communicate. No arguments happen in the relationship because you two handle it like two grown adults by communicating your feelings and understanding each other. He has very high empathy, and will do his best to get your point if there’s a disagreement.

- He gets cold easily, so he will wear the fluffiest and warmest sweaters during winter. You will find him wrapped around blankets while he’s watching TV, with hot chocolate or tea in his mug.

- He likes playing board and card games, his favorites are the ones that you need to use your thinking skills.

- When he watches TV series, he will resort to sitcoms more than fantasy, drama etc, he thinks he already has enough fantasy elements in his life thanks to Liu Kang and being an Earthrealm Champion. He also loves animation movies; especially classics like Ice Age, Kung Fu Panda and Shrek.

- His favorite Disney princess is probably Mulan.

- He prefers village life over city life.

- He has a light blue pickup truck and it’s still in perfect condition despite being very old.

- He loves thrifting and will often go thrift shopping with you.

- He has a big library in the house filled with informative and literary books.

- Loves buying small decorations for the house. I believe he’d keep it more minimal with warm colors, and it’d feel very cozy inside.

- He works out in the house once in a while, but farming is usually enough physical activity for him.

- He will meditate regularly.

- He loves all the traditional Chinese food. Wonton soup makes him feel all warm and happy, and he’s obsessed with Kung Pao chicken.

- He’s interested in every mythology, but his favorites are Egyptian and Greek mythologies because they’re very complex and he can be occupied reading them and thinking over them for hours.

- He loves word puzzle games.

- He adores every traditional festival and will drag you with him and Kung Lao. His favorites are Chinese New Year and Mid Autumn Festival; he loves eating as many moon cakes as he can during Mid Autumn. He also loves seeing you in traditional Chinese clothing when you go to the festivals with them.

- He’s not a big fan of anime, but will watch them with Kung Lao and then complain about some nonsense, making Kung Lao side eye him and say “shut up, your sitcoms are way worse than this.”

- His YouTube recommendations consists of animal/nature/space documentaries, mythology and philosophy along with funny animal videos.

- (Very self indulgent) if you watch true crime documentaries, it makes him worry about your mental health sometimes, but you reassure him that everything is fine.

- Hates big lights, loves dim lighting. He will only keep smaller lamps on in the house. He thinks it’s more calming and easy on the eyes.

- He will frequently light candles and use incense. He might even use sage to help fight off negative energies once in a while; he’s a believer in spirits and such things like that.

- Very helpful towards everyone around him even when he doesn’t necessarily know the person. He will offer his help to anyone struggling with a task, will always help old ladies and grandpas with carrying their stuff around the village.

- He writes poems sometimes, but no one knows about them except you.

- He doesn’t know a lot about computers and phones, so if he struggles in something he will ask you instead of trying to handle it himself.

- He’s very interested in nature photography. He will never miss a chance of snapping a good scenery photo.

- He’s better at cooking than he is at baking. He once burnt a pie and mourned it for 3 days because he spent so much time on it.

- He can sew and crochet. If you have any damaged clothing, he will fix them up right away.

- Never wastes food. If you are picky, he will eat what you don’t off your plate even if he’s full.

- Loves preparing you breakfast and sometimes does it while you’re asleep, bringing it to you to the bed with flowers he picked off the garden.

- He can sing well, but is insecure about it despite your encouragement.

- He once tried skating after Kung Lao gaslit him, and he almost cracked his butt after falling.

- He loves bicycle rides. He will go on rides every day usually during evening, and will watch the sunset in somewhere nice before going back home.

- Hiking is a good hobby for him. He loves taking walks in forests and he likes camping a lot. He will bring you with him when he goes camping and hiking, sometimes Kung Lao will join. You guys sit around the bonfire as you eat marshmallows on sticks and Kung Lao babbles scary stories, trying to creep you out.

- Fengjian Teahouse is his favorite place to spend time when he’s in the village. Everyone knows and adores him.

- He would listen to your chatter about anything for hours. Your hyperfixations are entertaining for him and he will try to learn as much as he can so he can join the conversation because he knows you appreciate it a lot.

⊹˚. ♡˖ Hope you enjoyed!

[writers-potion]

hi!! im working on a story that takes place at a 2012 public high school - the issue with that is that i was not in high school in 2012 lmao. do you have any tips on how to keep it feeling realistic?

Well, neither was I!! But here are some tips:

Define Your General Setting

Sure, high school has a different feel compared to an average town/city setting. However, it is still a part of the bigger community, and will be impacted by external factors.

What part of the world are your writing about? What's the general economy like? What's the most common occupation of the kid's parents? What's the prevailing fashion/art/music style?

Your teens will be impacted by the popular culture and trends of the time, so start by outlining the general setting!

Fashion

I think this is where schools have changed the most. There are going to be some overlaps between early 2010s and late 2000s, so if you think in the direction of Y2K fashion, it should fit.

On a general note, I think 2010s fashion was vibrant, with lots of colors and flashy items...

Side fringes and backcombed/straightened hair were still very popular

most girls had huge messy sock buns on top of their heads

boys had the Justin Bieber cut.

Jack Wills and Hollister were pretty popular, and a lot of girls had a Paul's Boutique jacket and a Jane Norman bag for their PE kit (or one of the Hollister bags with a topless guy on).

Converse were universally cool, and there were lots of imitation brands.

Open flannel shirt over a t-shirt was a pretty popular outfit.

Skinny jeans and band t-shirts

bright chunky rubber band bracelets.

Vans were cool among the alternative kids.

Getting different colours on your braces was cool.

Most of the boys had at least one of those t-shirts with the buttons and the mismatched cuffs.

School-uniform-wise, short ties with big fat knots were cool, and hard kids would pluck a stripe or two out of their tie.

Tucking in shirts was initially not cool, then it became cool to tuck at the front but not the back.

Lots of boys wore black trainers, and lots of girls wore those ballet pumps.

Girls doing their lips with their foundation, with a thick ring of black eyeliner and spidery clumpy mascara - and having a visible orange line where your foundation met your neck was common.

Multiple ear piercings were popular with the alternative crowd

Belly button piercings were big for girls

Just search up some pictures on Google, you should get plenty of "Early 2010s teen fashion starter pack"

Social Media

Smartphones were already popular, and with the introduction of Snapchat(2011) and Instagram(2010), the social media hype was just starting to boom

Facebook and Twitter were popular - basically everyone was on it

TikTok(2016) and Discord(2015) didn't exist yet

Pictochat

Phones were allowed in the classroom, but phones/laptops weren't an important part of school work like it is now.

Digital Devices

Phones-wise, most people had pretty basic dumbphones (although they were just called mobiles back then), and not everyone carried them all the time

Blackberry (BBM), Nokia, LG Cholate, iPhone if you're rich enough

Most kids were on PAYG phones, so you'd run out of credit sometimes (i.e. no more calls or texts) and have to go to a physical shop to top up. Nobody really had data, and there was always a moment of panic if you accidentally opened the web browser on your phone because it was so expensive. Wifi became a thing around 2012.

Nintendo DSes: Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Nintendogs

iPods or another MP3 Player

Slag

Slang-wise, Urban Dictionary is a good resource.

Fleek, peng and YOLO were popular with some crowds. Leetspeak was a thing online, especially in nerdy communities. Emoji were starting to take off 

rawr" (or "rawr means I love you in dinosaur") and "xD" as a laughing face 

Music

One Direction, Jedward, Katy Perry, Carly Rae Jepson, Justin Bieber, JLS, Little Mix, Beyonce, Paramour, My Chemical Romance, Bring Me The Horizon, Black Veil Brides, Ke$ha, Eminem, The Killers, OMI, Gotye, Bruno Mars, Macklemore, Skrillex, deadmau5, blink-182, Green Day, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Lana Del Rey.

Fandom Stuff

Twilight was huge, then Hunger Games.

Harry Potter was everywhere all the time, people would go to midnight releases for the books and movies.

High School Musical was popular, then that crowd migrated to Glee and Mean Girls.

The Olympics were in London in 2012

Other Stuff

Reese's peanut butter cups, Marshmallow Fluff, Nerds, etc. 

Veganism wasn't well-known, but still there were a few

Lots of casual homophbia, kids jsut genuinely not knowing rather than truly hateful towards it

Here are some movie suggestions, that shows school like in early-mid 2010s quite well:

Easy A

The Duff

LOL

For YA Novels - Be Timeless

Before you start doing any of the things above, remember this if you're writing a YA novel: The key of this genre is to feel somewhat timless, taking readers back to their high school years no matter when and where they've gone through it.

High school is the phase where many people feel awkward, unsure of themselves, feeling special in their own head but knowing that they're not really.

And it's not like the problems just disappear when we hit adult life. A major reason why YA novels are so popular is that they address themes that are repeatedly felt by the general human being, often in a such a direct, straightforward way that provides vicarious satisfaction.

[jojo-schmo]

For a while I’ve thought about having a Kirbysona, personally deciding between NESP and Poppy Bro, but I wanted to ask you something

Is it normal to have multiple sonas for a particular fandom?

Lemme ask, What is "normal?" A set of standards made by someone else?

I wonder how many people here were online during like the late 2000s, early 2010s- when I remember seeing "Mary Sue" discourse happening a lot in the Kirby fandom. It was so mean-spirited for no reason. There was a lot of pointing and laughing and gossiping about characters that didn't "conform to a certain standard of canon." What really was the harm of appropriately shipping OCs and canon? Giving them tons of cool powers or being best friends with their favorite characters and saving the universe a bunch? The existence of someone else's story and characters doesn't erase or overwrite anyone else's!

I'm really happy to see that negative attitude has faded over time and there are more positive celebrations of people's characters, like the OC Tournament or Artfight! :)

Anyway, sonas represent YOU! If you feel like an NESP one day, and a Poppy Bro another, I say be BOTH! Be a shapeshifter! Or just have multiple forms! That doesn't need to be logically justified! We are fluid beings, and allowed to change and feel differently as time passes! Don't make chains for yourself by conforming to what is "normal!" Break free! Keep your sense of whimsy! Especially in a universe like Kirby where basically anything is possible! The only rule is that there are no rules!! When it comes to your art and writing, you are your own boss! >:D

Also, I don't think I've seen Poppy Bros or NESP sonas yet. That sounds super duper fun and creative!! Everyone's Kirbysonas can hang out in Dreamland and eat fresh apples and take naps under trees and enjoy each other's company over a picnic. <3

[nitewrighter]

(Book binding anon) Anon has been given blessings to ramble? *deep inhale* Cindy perfectly encapsulates everything, and I do mean everything, that I have missed from so many fairy-tales, love stories, and fanfictions in the past decade or so. Every character is so lovingly simple--like, everyone involved has their flaws and strengths and a strong voice in and of themselves, but the prose is to the point and simple for their mannerisms, movements, and actions. For all the big, grand things that everyone does (or has done, looking at you, Mrs. Queen), the narrative always treats them as a person making choices. (Just a Lil Guy, if you will.) Which! Is! The Point! Of Cinderella!!! She is amazing because she has always always always chosen to be kind despite the shit going on, and the narrative subtly reinforcing that at every turn not JUST through lawn-chair-sitting author and their impeccable and funny inserts DIRECTLY calling out Cinderella, but in how it frames every character? The Prince's reflections? The slow understanding of everyone around the two of them how powerful that can be if you take the moment to think about it? Amazing!!! (Know that if I could put more exclamation marks and even more synonyms for "amazing" here without cluttering things, I would.) I remember as a kid finding book series like Skulduggery Pleasant which made use of short descriptive phrases and formatting (almost screenplay-esque?), and it read so easily; I'm always delighted to find things that make similar use of the dashes and ellipses to really hit home that cozy conversationalist tone. I can hear every character! Every! One! And there's JUST enough similarity to the way lawn-chair-sitting author speaks for that doubly nice reminder that yeah, we are sitting in their backyard getting told a fun story. Can we also appreciate that set-up? How it parodies so many funny retellings or strangely modern ones, sure (Masterpiece Theatre anyone? Does anyone else remember the horse lady?), but the readers aren't being talked to as kids? Like...lawn-chair-sitting author is tired, man. But they're hopeful. All their asides and inserts and descriptions feel like they're scooting to the edge of their chair to look me in the eyes and ask drunkenly but earnestly, "life fuckin sucks sometimes. But sometimes it's also good. This is my reminder." and sprinkling in all those other classic reminders of all kinds of other morals that make fairy tales so comforting. And! And and AND! It's so! Loving!!! To Cindy!!! I love the bits where the narrative "gives her space," builds her up even though she can't hear, lets her feel, and gets angry f o r her!!! It's just...it's so rare to find pieces where the characters are really, truly loved. Every time I reread it I feel like the story as a whole is just setting a big blanket on Cindy's shoulders and vicariously hugging her through the family she builds. Cindy and the Prince? The build up? The awkward second meeting? The constant communication? The quiet understanding? The build up of e v er y o n e 's eventual friendships??? The whole thing is just...so genuine and loving. I want to gush more, but at this point, trying to put how much I adore it into words just has me sitting at my keyboard making little grabby hands. Much love for your writing style, from the voice you have to the descriptions you use. They're all really wonderful, and when I get this thing bound, I'll send pictures <3

Sorry it's taken me a while to respond to this. I've just been reading it over and over.

I've never read Skullduggery Pleasant! I remember hearing vaguely about it online as a kid in the late 2000's/early 2010's, but I always thought it was a webcomic or something!

It's a little embarrassing to recall it now, but I actually did drunkenly tell a version of Cinderella from a deck chair... I want to say back in 2014? It was actually Sapsorrow from Jim Henson's "The Storyteller," which is closer to Donkeyskin, which uses the whole "Dress the color of the sky/Dress the color of the Sun/Dress the Color of the Moon" mechanic. We were *all* drunk and also passing a bong around but even then I was like... totally thrown off by people actually paying attention to me??? It always stuck with me, but I honestly wasn't even thinking about that time when I made that initial Cindy post. It only really came back to me around chapter 6, and I was like "Oh--this is like that time!!"

But the voice and the sense of spontaneity was very important to me throughout the whole thing. It still like... hits me that the story still emotionally affects people two years later--and I'm not saying that because I'm over it or anything! It's just... easy to kind of feel like you're not doing enough creatively when everything is 'content content content--are you putting out enough content?' these days. It's just... really affecting to be hit with "you floated this out into the world and it means something to people." It really means so much to me.

Thank you so much, I really mean that.

[romeoeatzkorn]

*holds out my hands for more facts abt highschool wally and barnaby*/nf /lh

me @ u /pos

YESSSSSSSS

Barnaby has hearing loss (moderate) so he wears hearing aids

Wally doesn't wear his binder most of the time since he isn't fully out

the au itself takes place during the late 2000s and early 2010s (2009-2014)

wally listens to eminem, backstreet boys, and outkast

barnaby listens to AC/DC, KISS, and ICP

Barnaby can play guitar (when he started to lose his hearing it became harder to play but he still plays)

they first meet when they're both freshmen but they start interacting when they became sophmores

barnaby works at a record store and wally frequents there cause he's crushing on the cute deaf boy who works the counter and restocks the shelves

during their sophmore-junior years theyre just mutually pining for each other

wally is pretty mean to everyone he knows (the exceptions being his friends and barnaby cough cough who's def not his crush cough cough

Wally has a tumblr. (he is me)

Barnaby, Sally, and Howdy have a band called lemon drops which is a shameless reference to the movie lemonade mouth

their relationship is this song

wally has a older brother (U know who)

Barnaby also has a older brother named dimitri. dimitri is sorta a cunt

Wally and julie use AAVE all the time (both of them were born in primarily black households)

Barnaby and sally have no idea what they're saying most of the time

wally does barnabys hair (barnaby never learn how to take care of his hair since he's a 3b n his mom is white)

they have a lot of sleep overs that usually end in them making out

wally is rly affectionate when hes alone w/barnaby

Barnaby bites. affectionately.

i usually protray them when they're 16-17

wally draws barnaby 24/7

:3 hope u like em

[zalrb]

Yeah they absolutely do that to her in the books! They are MEAN to her lol like I do get she needs to be punished but they are just genuinely pretty awful to her even prior to that 😭 they softened them up for the show a lot.

But actually they softened up the girls a lot too. They are all pretty terrible a lot of the times in the books. ESPECIALLY Hanna - she slut shames, body shames, objectifies herself and other women, it’s very apt to when it was written 😭😭 I mean… all the girls are slut shamey and have that late 2000s/early 2010s internalized misogyny in them but Hanna the most of all lol

Spencer gives off the “I’m rich and smart and pretty and have a good pedigree behind me, therefore I’m better than everyone else” vibes

Aria & Emily ummm… sorry to say they’re about as bland as their show counterparts in a lot of ways. Aria gets uppity about being sooo different from what she calls the “typical rosewood boys/girls” & Emily is just kind of a pushover like she is in the show lol.

But separately & as a group they do wayyy worse things in the books than they do in the show. Here’s a couple book only plot lines we missed out on 😂

• Spencer becoming addicted to adderall in college, getting caught with it while with her roommate, and calling Hanna while at the police station to ask her to plant drugs in her roommate’s things so Spencer can put all the blame on her and get off. Hanna does it 😭

• Aria is dating Noel in the books and PUSHES a girl off a ski lift after the girl tells her she’s going to try and sleep with Noel (kinda relatable)

• Hanna tells a big group of people from school that her stepsister has herpes because she ASSUMED her stepsister was about to say something about her 😂😭

• become convinced a girl in Jamaica is somehow Alison even though she’s supposed to be very dead by that point and when the girl threatens them they push her off a cliff, she dies, and they don’t tell anyone

There’s way more but that’s just off the top of my head lol. Sorry for rambling but I’ve been rereading the books & it’s my special interest right now

I don't know why but the "Hanna does it" made me HOWL. But honestly, I would prefer this because it makes more sense when they're ALL terrible because it's like what I said in I think my first review or at least second where there may be a mean girl leader/queen bee, but the entire group is also mean, it's not one person emotionally terrorizing an entire group so reading these things has me like yeah, I can see why those girls would be friends with Alison because they suck!

[grandhotelabyss]

maybe another stupid age question, but is there anything of "youth culture" that came out after your own 20s-30s that you find in any kind appealing or novel or does everything seem just stupid, disgusting and alien?

I mean it in a broadway from technologies to music, to "culture" or even slang or ways of acting and self-identifying

One begins to understand why Taylor Lorenz does not disclose the year of her birth! Anyway, anon, when I was in late high school and early college, nu-metal, rap metal, pop punk, boy bands, and the trashy and exploitative Britney/Christina material, all of it flogged with relentless monocultural domination on MTV's Total Request Live, crushed all before it. I thought all of that was awful; it had driven out more sophisticated music from earlier in the decade in a top-down corporate maneuver of cultural destruction that, for example, Billy Corgan has discussed overtly, speaking as one of its victims. So I don't have a lot of nostalgia for the pop music of my teens or early 20s. What came a little later (Katy Perry or whatever, and the whiny hipster stuff) didn't inspire much confidence either. (I'm generalizing; there are always exceptions.) The pop music of the last decade or so is a lot better, as you can tell from the run of chanteuses I regularly praise. Not everything gets worse! On a different front, I grew up on densely literary Vertigo comics, as I've discussed, and, even though that was an abortive renaissance whose leaders were later revealed always to have been creeps and losers, I still have not fully been able to reconcile myself to the manga revolution; but I've made some attempt to appreciate it (see here and scroll down to my review of Goodnight Punpun) and to learn from it (aspects of Major Arcana, particularly the characterization of the Zoomer figures, are deliberately manga-inflected). We're in a weird moment for slang. Slang used to come into the broader culture from black and queer people, but all the slang now derives from the white male (nominally) straight counterculture. It's too mean, too abrasive—though this is an early-2000s throwback: everyone also said gay and retarded then—but often creative and amusing. Technology? Too big a topic. I like the internet, don't like social media so much. Laptops are better than phones and tablets. Literature seems like it's coming back to life after a decade of dormancy. The movies have been good this decade, too, better than the last. Podcasts qua medium are good, superior to radio. Honestly, I think the '80s and '90s were great, and great things are happening right now as we speak, while the 2000s-2010s were pretty bad. Neither progress nor decline, but cyclic change.

[strongheartneteyam]

Dani didn’t start anything. All Luna and Sarah ever do is gaslight the fandom and then play victim. Stop believing everything you see. It’s sad you’d think that. Who’s constantly involved in drama every 3 months? Those two. Not Dani. Plus we don’t even know what happened behind closed doors. I’d take her word for it before I ever believe those two. They’ve gotten people bullied so bad they deleted their blogs. Don’t forget that.

I'm not in any Teams. This is not the Twilight fandom in the late 2000s/early 2010s lmao but anyways, talking seriously now: I'm against bad behavior. I'm never taking sides. I don't know any of these people well or even at all. I haven't even read many of their works. Only a couple from some of them, I think. I don't remember well, it was so long ago. I barely know them as artists, let alone as people. Read the things I write more carefully, anon. You're creating an idea in your mind about what I stand for but just because you think you're right, it doesn't mean you are. I think all of us have made mistakes. I also think we should all be humble and admit so. When I say I love everyone in this fandom, I mean everyone. Loving is different from liking. I love everyone because I love humanity but I don't like everyone because not everyone aligns with my ethics and moral code. But I'm never mentioning names. I've been speaking about a whole community in my posts, it was never about one specific individual. I'm not one to throw shade. I'm brave enough to say it to someone's face if I don't like them. But I avoid unnecessary conflict because I'm smart and I love striving for peace ✌🏻 This world is too chaotic already. I love chaos and I am a chaotic person but I also know that we need balance. Too much chaos leads to destruction. I'm sending you love and joy 🤍 have a good day or night.

[asofterepilogue]

when I was a wee teen in the ancient year of 2009 everyone my age in my country had a blog on one specific platform (skyrock.com if you're curious). mine was about fandom (do we ever really change) but teenagers logged on to discuss literally anything from their bikes to their favourite anime or their hatred for their teachers lol. it was really one huge diary.

by 2012, everyone had moved on to more modern and evil pastures (facebook, I think?), and the platform basically became a ghost town, but it was still up so you could still give yourself a shot of embarrassment to keep yourself humble.

they're taking it all down tomorrow though, so I've been doing some archiving, which means I'm feeling extra nostalgic today. if you weren't a french teenager in the late 2000s/early 2010s you can't possibly understand how big skyrock.com was and how bittersweet it is to hear of its upcoming demise years after you last logged in lol. I kept no diary through high school but that platform basically served as one. there's so much of teenage me and my high school friends on there it's a little insane. in a way it feels like that era is ending again, which is weird because I haven't actually been there in 11 years.

anyway, cheers to my 15 yo self's sheer delight in writing, her subpar characterisation skills, her questionable taste in music, and her total lack of shame in creating (and posting!) possibly-mediocre stuff. I've missed her every day.

[dr-jem-nutcase]

I got bored so I made some MvA parenting HCs

Susan

Her kids are probably named after their grandparents and/or great-grandparents

From day one, her lock screen and home screen on her computer, tablet, phone, etc. are pictures of her kids

The best monster with babies

Does her best to be really gentle, considering her size and strength

Holds her kids when they cry (no matter how old they are) and puts together/orders their favorite snack if they had a bad day

The type of mom who lets her kids' artwork cover the fridge doors and later keeps them in a box in her storage space for all eternity and only throws away stuff like any food crafts that started growing mold

Lots. And lots. And lots. And lots of pictures and videos

Bedtime stories every night, no matter how she feels. And almost always from a book

If she has daughter, she LOVES styling their hair: pigtails, curlers (for stuff like Christmas pictures), hair clips, you name it

As a former fashionista, she loves coordinating her kids' outfits. But if they don't want to wear matching outfits, she'll respect that

Watches a movie first to see if there's anything she thinks is inappropriate and keeps her own streaming accounts under lock and key (albeit digitally). She wants to protect her kids' innocence while she still can

Handling the other monsters in occasions like their two visits to Modesto (in the movie & Halloween special) gave her plenty of practice for handling problematic kids

The teen years are hard because she's learning to give her kids some sense of independence and just the fact that they're growing up, as much as she always wants to be there for them. Just wait until they graduate high school and leave for college

B.O.B.

Everyone knows he means well but they know better than to leave him alone with a child. It'd be no better than leaving a toddler alone with an actual baby

Has a baby doll or animal plushie instead and takes VERY good care of it...until he gets distracted

So yeah, no different from a three-year-old with a baby doll

Link

More comfortable being the uncle type than a dad

The awkward but fun uncle who lets his nieces/nephews do a lot of the things their parents wouldn't allow like staying up past their bedtime, wrestling, driving his jeep before the legal age, having Twinkies and root beer for breakfast, etc.

He goes into a mild panic when he loses sight of them

He tells the kids embarrassing stories about their parents in their younger years

He'd also teach them "valuable life lessons" like how to give someone a wedgie or actually legit stuff like "follow your heart but for Pete's sake take your brain with you"

Ok, now to the parent part!

NOT fond at all of late nights or early mornings when it comes to babies and kids

Scared to death of holding babies, even if they were his own babies. Like he's gonna accidentally break them or something. Also he's also very uneasy when a baby cries in a close proximity, like he has no idea what to do, like how do you make it stop?

You know what? Be a dear and don't leave him alone with anyone under the age of two, just to save his poor nerves

Rarely calls his kids by their names. He calls them nicknames like kid, squirt, slugger, champ, etc.

Likes to roughhouse with his kids but has to remember not to be too rough. Lets them win in a wrestling match and then denies his defeat, playfully of course

Lots of beach trips and trips to anywhere without cold water. Those kids will learn how to swim before they learn to walk

Lets them turn up the volume on any music. Anything except classical, traditional country/bluegrass, 2000s-early 2010s boy bands, or anything that gets easily gets stuck in your head ("Let It Go" was the worst 3½ minutes of every day for at least 1-2 years)

Mess with his kid(s), and he'll knock you into next week

He would rather have his kids go after sports and athletics than chess, spelling bees, or piano lessons. He says, "how are those gonna prepare them for the future?"

Handles teenagers better than the other monsters. He's a cool dad

Graduations and sports games/competitions? Proudest papa there ever was

Dr C

We already got to see a bit of dadroach in the TV series, but let's add some more, shall we?

Measures their height and the circumference of their heads on a regular basis as they grow up, a nod to Marie Curie and her 2 daughters

Helps out with their homework, that's a no brainer [TV show h/c: Smarty is strictly forbidden to help, as much as he and the kids might try]

Sets curfews, limits their amount of screen time and junk food, works out a nutritious balanced meal plan complete with daily vitamins

Wants everything, from media to pastimes to outings, to be educational and intellectually stimulating but enjoyable, which he has to work on the latter

Posh and elegant upbringing. Girls are brought up as fine ladies and boys as refined gentlemen. Not that they can't be rambunctious or play tough sports or anything, but they're brought up to not slouch or put their elbows on the dining table

In the meantime, he has to try to remember to not be an overly practical parent. As Link says, "Doc, you gotta let a few of their brain cells rot every now and then"

Reads books on child psychology every night, albeit when everyone else is asleep. He's quite thankful for these

Nobody's allowed in his lab [area], not until they're in high school. Though one time 1-2 of the kids snuck into the lab when he was away. He found out about this later; he didn't say or do anything, no grounding or lectures or anything, but he installed security cameras around the area with a big warning note on the entry way

Has a really hard time with teenagers, probably the hardest time out of all the monsters or Monger

Embarrasses his teenage kid(s) to no end. Most of the time he doesn't mean to. The lame "dad" jokes (like "cat's me-wow") and the maniacal laughter are always gonna be the death of them

Graduations? He wants his kids to go on and succeed in colleges and universities but he has had to learn and accept the fact that it won't be the end of the world if they pursue something else besides a degree

(Criminelly! I really need to relearn to draw this guy again!)

Insecto

Two words: Mama Bear

Makes this soft purring sound as a means of comforting

Monger

It's kind of a sick idea to make a 90 y.o. man a father to children, so let's time travel to the 1940s-60s

His kids are early risers, no sleeping in

They wake up every morning to that same bugle wake-up tune from the military

Instills patriotism into them. They stand for the national anthem with their hands over their hearts, know the pledge of allegiance, etc.

Nobody gives an evil eye like Papa Monger

They eat whatever's set in front of them at the table. No ifs, ands, or buts

The upbringing and memories of his Mama Monger are his bible

The only lazy days are Sundays. He holds that old school/southern regard that Sundays are different from the other days of the week (he's not religious btw)

If he has daughters, they're going to get their hands dirty. No sense in get a manicure hours before working in a barn, so prettying up is for special occasions only

His sons are manly men and are taught how to treat a lady

After-school activities other than homework include helping out at the farm and extra PE

Thinks public school PE is inadequate and "for sissies". His kids might as well train for the army or a post-apocalyptic world: chin-up bars, rope climbing, the mother of hopscotch, target practice, survival skills, even parkour, etc.

Takes them camping every summer, and we're talking tents, campfires, etc. No glamping, let alone any electricity (except for flashlights)

The only pets allowed are herding dogs (collies, shepherds, heelers, etc.). They're not just pets; they're working dogs for the farm too. They get to sleep on the front porch, much to the kids' chagrin

Believe it or not, he gets pretty uneasy when it comes to a girl's time of the month. He hides it pretty well though. Shopping for female sanitary items and any food cravings is one of his worst nightmares

Probably the most intimidating dad to meet if someone wanted to date his daughter(s)

Nobody's allowed to use his jetpacks, though he does want to teach his kids how to use a parachute. They'll get one of their own when they turn 18 or 21

On their graduation or wedding day? so proud that he could cry...if he hadn't lost his tear ducts in the war

Invisible Man [my h/c is that he had 3 kids, so let's go!]

Was pretty stinkin excited and nervous about being a dad. He fell in love with it all on the day his eldest was born

His eldest, a boy, is an almost literal clone of him, minus the invisibility of course

The favorite parent hands-down

Waited until his kids grew up a little to take them on road trips or any special vacations because he wanted them to remember those experiences for themselves. "You can't take a six-month-old to the Grand Canyon." He told his wife. "They'll never remember it!"

The type of dad that hugs his kids and picks them up when he gets home from work

Best piggyback rides in the world

Didn't mind it one bit when he carried his sleeping kids to bed, even if they pretended to be asleep

Bedtime stories every night to the best of his ability. Most of the time, he'd ditch the books and create his own stories

The one way his kids could REALLY make him mad was by disrespecting their mom in any way, shape, or form

The warmest his heart had ever been was when one of his sons told him, "I wanna be just like you, daddy". That man was over the moon for quite some time

[thir13enghosts]

Do you think any of the women are feminist or support feminism? I know for a FACT Royce is drinking "Respect Women Juice" all day everyday

uhhh kind of? i mean i feel like the only one who actively considered/called herself a feminist would've been jean, coming from the vantage point of being from the late 2000s - early 2010s and having more access to feminist material (both from the past and the present) compared to everyone else

as for the others...

(also disclaimer: i'm going with My versions of the ghosts which tend to differ a bit from canon. just roll with it)

billy michaels: billy was like at most 10 years old when he died. he was probably still in his "ewww girls have cooties" phase. he had no concept of feminism.

jimmy gambino: ngl to you, not really lol. i mean he more or less supported women both then and now (at the very least he wasn't Actively misogynistic, which is the bare minimum), but at the same time i feel like he's the type to call a woman he Just met "sweetheart" or "honey" so yeah. he says stupid shit every now and then, but he'll also listen to you when you call it out and make the effort to not do that again (or at the very least not do it in front of you). might roll his eyes or even laugh at you at first, but he'll still make the effort. like the guy's not perfect by any means but. he's trying.

dana newman: that's a complicated one. on one hand, dana strikes me as someone who probably dealt with a Lot of internalized misogyny, and this goes for both my version & the canon version. probably lowkey prided herself on (whilst also hating herself for) her attempts at being a "good woman" which was basically: keep your head down, keep your legs crossed, keep your mouth shut, remember the man is always right, and maybe this time he'll be nicer to you. hasn't really worked for her so far, but third fourth fifth time's a charm! but on the other hand, i also think that dana was at least Aware of the feminist movements taking place during her time (the 1960s) and likely supported feminist goals, even if she never voiced it out loud. like she wanted to believe that things might get better for her and other women but didn't really hold out much hope for it Actually happening.

royce clayton: i feel like he was better than most boys his age when it came to Not Being Shit To Women (which...unfortunately isn't saying much considering this is the 1950s we're talking abt here), but i don't think he thought much abt feminism itself aside from whatever he might've heard on the news or from the papers. he's kinda like jimmy where he'll say something kinda Ehhh every now and then, but he'll also listen to you when you call it out and make the effort to not do that again. his mamá taught him to be respectful after all, and even after all this time, even after all the ways being a ghost has changed his personality, he doesn't wanna let her down.

susan legrow: kind of? like if you told her some feminist talking points without telling her they were feminist talking points, she'd probably agree with them, but she definitely wouldn't have called herself a feminist. remember, susan was around during the reagan administration; she probably only knew feminists as the stereotype of like bitter, man-hating, lonely Bitches with hairy pits (oh the HORROR!!! /s) and harsh voices and no sense of humor who at best were trying to ruin everyone's fun and at worst were actively trying to Exterminate All Men. it was very much like "tbh that does make a lot of sense...but if i started talking Like That, then no guy would wanna go out with me and i want guys to go out with me! that's definitely what i actually want for myself after all and not just me imitating what i've been taught all Normal Girls want!"

isabella smith: feminism wasn't a Thing during her time. however, i imagine she did have somewhat progressive views for her time (which was probably part of why she was so ostracized), and i do feel like if feminism as a term/social movement was Around back then, she definitely would be a feminist

amelia shelburne: i feel like amelia had Heard the word "feminism" and maybe even had an idea of what goals feminism was striving for (at the time), but idk how much she really knew abt it—mostly bc i still go back and forth on how much she knew abt life outside the circus she & her mother travelled with in general. and even then i feel like she was probably a passive supporter at most, like "that sounds great and i wish them luck but i've got Other Things to worry abt"

margaret shelburne: no but in a very resigned kind of way? as far as margaret was concerned, this feminism idea was for the """normal""" women in the big cities, not for a "circus freak" like herself.

george markley: i don't think george would've identified as a feminist, but that's not to say that he would've been a misogynist. i do think that he at the very least thought that women should be respected as the fellow human beings they are. however the feminism movement that was going on during the time that the markleys lived and died was first wave feminism, and first wave feminism was primarily focused on the rights of white women. intersectionality—such as considering the plight of women of color or working class women and how that would further impact their experience with misogyny—wasn't a priority at the time. and since both george and his wife (i've been thinking her name was ruth) were working class black ppl living in rural late 1800s virginia, they weren't ppl that a lot of popular first wave feminists would make space for.

lenore howlett: no bc part of being a feminist requires caring abt other women/other ppl in general and lenore just...doesn't.

horace mahoney: oh fuck no, absolutely not. horace doesn't see women as people—he sees women as machines with parts that he can disassemble and put back together as he pleases. literally.

[katierosefun]

tagged by @b1uetrees! thank you for the tag buddy!

do you make your bed? i try, the operating word being try. i used to be really good at making my bed, but for the last few weeks, i've been lucky to just straighten out my sheets and pile my pillows on the right way before darting around to make myself breakfast and wash my face.

what's your favourite number? i've always really liked 12 for some reason. maybe because i associate it with the year of the dragon, which is the zodiac year i'm born in?

what is your job? i'm a second-year law student. i think the closest i have to a job right now is that i'm a student attorney (which has been very exciting, because it's definitely aligned with what i want to do after graduation), and this coming summer, i'll be working at a law firm (which is also exciting. everyone pray i don't screw up)

If you could go back to school would you? i mean, would i pursue more education after getting my current degree? i'm not sure. i've played with the idea of getting an mfa for a while now, but also? i think mfa's cost so much money, and the rewards aren't always very tangible. so it depends on how financially comfortable i am and if i can figure out a way to get into publishing without an mfa haha!

can you parallel park? i don't know how to drive, so nope

a job you had that would surprise people? i always get questions about what the heck a costume stock keeper does, but for a short while, i was a costume stock keeper. which basically meant that i organized the costume stock room in my college's theater department. it was really cool, because we had a huge stock room, and my bosses were people who actually worked in a lot of really cool movies, so that was neat!

do you think aliens are real? i have to think so! like, the universe is so big--how can there not be other things out there?

can you drive a manual car? i can drive a golf car. does that count?

what's your guilty pleasure? not really certain if i feel guilty about this yet . . . i guess watching kinda bad old kdramas? (like . . . i know there are some tropes that we've left behind in the early 2010s/early 2000s, but what can i say--some classics are classics, even if some of the stories wouldn't fly in 2024.)

tattoos? none right now, although i've been wondering if i want to get a tattoo before i graduate law school. i think i want to get a constellation somewhere on my bicep. but also, i get so scared of something being permanent and how skin changes over the years, so maybe not :/

favourite colour? i'm currently digging really deep greens lately!

favourite type of music? i think i've been really loving a lot of moody ballads and alternative rock . . . and also whatever the hell the music in alien stage is right now!

do you like puzzles? nope--i'm not patient enough for puzzles a;shdfasdf

any phobias? i am terrified of spiders. i don't care if they're smaller than me--they have eight legs, i have two, and also the way they move freaks me out so much oh my god why do they move like that ! !!

favourite childhood sport? i really liked to swim as a kid, and i still do

do you talk to yourself? yeah--mostly when i'm annoyed or stressed. i've been known to quickly mute myself on zoom meetings or make more of an effort to just shut my mouth whenever i'm waiting for someone to come onto zoom, because i once started muttering "jesus christ, what a way to make a first impression--i can't believe you're late" and i didn't realize that there was? a little thing that was? making a transcript of everything i was muttering? if my boss ever read that transcript, they've been kind enough to never mention it--so!!!! anyways!!! i'm working on that lol

what movie(s) do you adore? i really love kogonada's films (columbus and after yang are probably the major ones), and i also love the korean adaptation of little forest. and also beginners. in general, i think i love films with a lot of green coloring and also just enough moments of quiet to make you feel comforted! or at least--better said--i like movies that feel like you've had a conversation with someone.

coffee or tea? coffee for when i want to wake up and tea for when i want to wind down!

first thing you wanted to be growing up? a writer :) or, at the very least, a well-known storyteller.

no pressure tags: @kckenobi @lightasthesun @l-tyrell @reese-haleth

[bcbdrums]

I think my biggest unpopular Kim possible opinion is that the live action movie wasn’t bad, it wasn’t the greatest thing ever, but it wasn’t the worst thing ever.

There’s a lot of things I liked about it, I liked that Kim had a little arc and that she was allowed to be insecure and be more opens about her doubt and fears, Shego and Drakken were the best parts of it hands down (and they helped revive Drakgo 💙💚), Ron was great as well.

Some people said it was cringe that he referenced memes, but for Drakken that is completely in-character. Drakken would 100% try to use slang and fail miserably.

I’m also appreciate that the live action showed us what Kim and Shego’s age gap actually looks like.

I never thought of it that way, but maybe that also contributed to the movie falling in ratings? It really puts the ship into perspective and I bet some people didn’t like that.

drakken DID try and fail to use slang miserably in the cartoon! they even used the same book cover that he used in the cartoon in the final shots of the live action when shego is driving mini-drakken to high school:

the live action should get a LOT of credit that it doesn't. the canon references are...profound. I mean, that bueno nacho set! wade's striped cup. the grappler. the original mission outfit. I could go on for a LONG time about how very much IN the world of Kim Possible they tried to make us believe we were with numerous background details and references like the aforementioned, and even deeper nuances about the characters and story. but I'll save that for another time if anyone is interested.

I loved that Kim got her identity crisis. I just didn't like how it ended, as I've addressed in other posts. but the cartoon dealt with that very thing in the series' soft-finale episode of Team Impossible. that episode did the same thing: if she's not saving the world, then who is she? and it felt much more Kim-like than the movie did... but you can read my past posts about why I didn't like the end of the movie.

Drakgo. were. awesome. everyone agrees. and they perfectly transplanted them from early 2000's to late 2010's. I very much believed that if those characters lived naturally in that year, that's how they'd behave. that was another win for the movie. they weren't trying to make it like...the cartoon chars had time-traveled, but as if this is their normal world, and it worked perfectly.

part of me wants to rant about the character slaughter of James Possible, but...I'll save that for another post.

and of course, as I've said, I loved that the show distinctly showed the age gap between Kim and Shego. but in doing so it also kind of...broke the suspension of disbelief you need to believe in a...teenage world-traveling crime-fighter who goes to public high school. it's kind of in the same vein as.... Spy Kids, if anyone remembers that franchise. great fun, but wholly unrealistic. and we're not expected to pretend it is! we know we're living in a fantasy world and they don't try to make us believe otherwise... and KP is wholly unrealistic if you take it out of the cartoon world and put it in the real world... ultimately I think that's why the movie didn't launch into something more. some things are simply suited for animation, and do not work in live action without...eh...well, without the grandiose technology it takes to make a Marvel movie. I was just looking at clips of WandaVision a few days ago and thinking how these women just...flying, hovering in the air, with no visible power source... just magic... this sort of thing you don't believe in live action. our logic won't really let us if we're adults. but they had enough high-budget CGI, enough incredible photography direction...they made it more believable than Kim and Ron on the jetpacks. and even so, the world is so grandiose that we don't really believe the marvel world is the real world either. so yeah...the KP live action tried to make us believe it was the real world, and we just...couldn't.

some things simply aren't made to be on film. some things are meant to be cartoons, and should stay cartoons. in my opinion the superhero genre is one such thing, but... that's another topic.