#love popular culture

[technically-human]

I love your art so much its so amazing, if you get a chance would you draw some jealous ivo☺️

I love your jealous ivo so soooo much

And thank you for the amazing are you do

I like to think Stone understands everything the Doctor says except the references

ko-fi

[keferon]

Jazz can't catch a break from learning a whole new culture in these days

Studying cultures was Jazz’s initial job in TFP and I love this waaaaay more than any other origin for him. And it shows. >:D

Oh man you know what

I think he would be all chatty and curious with everyone at first. But then also those people are basically just soldiers. They would have fun telling him about concepts like sports and food and movies. Sure. But the moment he accidentally says/asks something inappropriate or awkward or personal most of them would just laugh and mysteriously wiggle their eyebrows.

He would probably also get pranked like “oh this gesture means you’re respecting them” *holds middle finger*

Which is. Kind of a nightmare for trying to blend in in a completely new planet.

So at some point he gives up and goes back to asking Prowl all awkward questions. Because 1 - Prowl’s sense of humour is far from calling middle finger a sign or respect. 2 - he understands the struggle and explains things in kind of documentary way. 3 - he has bulletproof poker face so Jazz doesn’t have to watch him do the “tehee alien doesn’t know what a rickroll is” expression.

[plomegranate]

i love palestinian and arab culture so much.

my grandma wearing thobes around the house and making us tamriyeh. my cousins wedding when we all wore thobes and keffiyehs and took photos downtown and we danced with someone playing the guitar on the street and this lady stopping us to tell us we all looked so beautiful. walking the graduation stage in a thobe. the girl who liked to guess arab peoples ethnicities telling me "you're wearing tatreez... do you want me to write 'palestinian' on your forehead?" the keffiyeh my brother keeps on the drivers seat of his car.

my dad sending me off to my last semester of college with 2 pomegranates and a jar of palestinian olive oil. my cousins wife coming up with new ways to make zaatar and cheese pastries. me and my grandma sitting on the floor and making waraq 3neb- my job was to separate the leaves so she could roll them easier. my mom sending me and my brother to school with eid cookies for my teachers and tasking us with delivering some to the neighbors. my aunt glaring at me and piling more food on my plate and then asking if i was still hungry (i wasnt). my mom always telling me to invite my friends and cousins over for dinner and asking me what they like to eat. my family getting my dad knafeh instead of cake for his birthday. the man who told me i made the "best fetteh in the western hemisphere".

the man in the shawarma shop who gave me my fries for free and baklava i didnt order because we spoke about being palestinian while he took my order. the person on tumblr who i bonded with because we are from the same palestinian city. the girl i met on campus who exclaimed "youre palestinian? me too!" because i was wearing my keffiyeh. the girl in my class that showed me the artwork about palestine her dad made and donated for fundraising. the couple in the grocery store who noticed my palestinian shirt and talked with me for 20 minutes and ended up being a family friend. the silly palestinian kids i tutored sighing in disappointment when i told them i was born in america because they were hoping that id have been born "somewhere cooler". my friends family who bought me dinner despite me being there by chance and having met me for the first time the day before.

the boys starting uncoordinated dabke lines in my high school's hallways. the songs about the longing and love for our land. the festivals and parties and gatherings where everything smells like shisha and oud. memories of waiting in the car for an hour as my parents talked at the doorway of their friends homes. my cousins and i showing up at each others homes with cake or fruit or games as if it was the first time we ever visited even though we always say "you dont have to".

kids stubbornly helping to clean and make tea after a meal while being told to go sit down because they are guests. the necklaces in the shape of our home countries. people hugging and laughing and acting as if theyve known each other for years because they come from the same city or know people with the same last name. the day i finally got to bully my friends into letting me pay the bill because i had a job and they were still students. my moms friend who calls us every time she's at the grocery store to see if we need something

palestinian people are so resilient and hardworking and charitable. they love their culture and their community and are so quick to share and welcome anyone in. everyday i am so thankful and proud to be part of such a warm and lovely culture

[thekidsarentalright]

you guys ever think about when fob came off hiatus the venues they were performing and touring at were small, often standing room only capacity venues and just about a decade later, 23 years into their career overall, theyre consistently selling out massive arenas and stadiums and headlining huge festivals. like you ever think about how them coming back was such a hail mary, unlikely to work thing and they cheated death and are more successful than ever and that success is only expanding, not diminishing

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Broke (2016): BBC Sherlock is a phenomenal piece of media and anything that seems like a flaw just hasn't been fully explored yet

Woke (2020): BBC Sherlock is an incredibly flawed series run by an egotistical writer, it never deserved the hype and is actively bad on so many fronts (especially representation)

Bespoke (2024): BBC Sherlock is flawed and bogged down by increasingly poor writing, which many fans refused to see while it was airing, leading to hugely misplaced expectations (particularly for the final series), AND it has the seeds of some compelling characterizations and portrayals, some genuinely solid performances, and touches--albeit imperfectly--on complexities that are still being discussed today (particularly as it relates to the relationship between Sherlock and John). The huge cultural impact of the show has created a massive pendulum effect in its public perception, leading to most people today remembering a caricature of the show (whether positive or negative) rather than appreciating its nuanced merits and failings...that being said Season 4 sucked

[shallowseeker]

the way that even in early usa, extended families often lived together or within walking distance

the idea that each nuclear family should have its own house, own appliances, own everything and that adult children should move out at 18 is a relatively recent post-WWII, suburbanization-era invention

and it just so happens to be highly profitable

[st-4-cey]

📸

[thistledropkick]

NJPW posted a mini documentary on Goto's win on their youtube channel, with English subtitles.

They localized the title as "Ninth Time's the Charm" which is fine, but I like the original title so I want to talk about it.

The original title is 八転九起 - Fall Eight Times, Stand Nine Times. This is a reference to the Japanese saying 七転八起 short for 七転び八起き. The original saying means, fall down seven times, stand up eight times.

This phrase is closely associated with Daruma dolls, which are associated with perseverance and achieving one's goals. Daruma dolls are based on Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism. They traditionally have a round, weighted base, so if they tip over they stand upright again on their own. They're intended to help a person achieve their goals - these dolls have blank eyes, and when you get one you paint the first pupil when you start your goal, and the second once you achieve it.

This association obviously suits Goto, a guy who has done waterfall meditation training and come to the ring covered in Buddhist sutras, very well. So I thought this title was just perfect for him.

[themyscirah]

Complaining abt Suicide Squad yet again but the fact that they have Waller exposing the alien community to space racist attacks and talking abt how she got to her position through deceit and being a terrible person and stuff is just. Ahsfiwueh JUST SAY YOU DONT KNOW WALLER.

Anyways literally the 3rd mission of the Squad ever (and the first framed as smth Waller picked and not orders from above) was the Squad discrediting and stopping a rogue vigilante who was only arresting POC and funneling white people into white supremacy groups (of which he was the most prominent member) in SUICIDE SQUAD #4. and it's explicitly framed as this mission being personal for Waller that she's hiding from the government bc its illegal like. Guys. Please why are we having her incite (space bc comics) racist attacks now

Also the whole "Amanda got her position through deceit and being a terrible person" NO. she KEPT her position through being shitty and playing complicated political games!!! She wasn't always that way like there is a difference and it is IMPORTANT ppl PLEASEEEE. In Secret Origins #14 we learn Amanda's backstory and she used to be a normal, caring person! Like even after she entered into working in government and politics she wasn't automatically morally bankrupt like please people. She was originally given control of the Squad by Reagan (*sigh* 80s comics...) to distract and get rid of her because she was so successful at pushing progressive social policy in Congress. Acting like she's this static pillar of evil is such a waste of her character and so fucking uninteresting and disrespectful to her arc it drives me MAD.

Like I am NOT saying Waller is all sunshine and rainbows, she fucking SUCKS (said w love <3) but like there's a human being there. It's a progression, she has a character arc like please, DC, please!!! They've fucked up Waller so bad and made her so opaque and uninteresting she can't even be the protagonist of her own story for fucks sake!

Like I don't know how many times I have to scream it until DC hears me or remembers but WALLER IS THE MAIN CHARACTER OF SUICIDE SQUAD. ITS HER BOOK. yet right now she's a cutout to be used as the villain wherever the writers please. Even in her book we get none of her perspective really displayed, no exploration of her thoughts with any kind of understanding of the role she traditionally has played and was made to play in the story.

[ranchwamen]

You mentioned something about becoming human/taur being spells in the tags, what's stopping non-taur humans from learning it?

Thanks for the question! Same thing with Waterspeak, nothing really! In fact I think Sirpa was born as a two-legged human, but spends and has spent considerable amounts of time in the water as a mermaid because her mother is a mermaid. I guess you could consider her “half mermaid” as a result! She could’ve very well been born as a mermaid but her parents had to think long and hard about what form would be easier for her to live in as her original form, given their location and fears about water pollution it was undeniably two-legged

Sirpa tangent aside, anyone at all can learn the spell that makes you a mermaid, or the spell that makes you a terrestrial taur, or the spell that makes you a taur that can fly, so on so on! However, it can be seen as really weird if someone who was born as a two-legged human to a family that’s pretty much always been only two-legged humans to suddenly start living life as a taur. Taurness is not only just a body shape, after all, but a culture. Several cultures! Even if taurs are humans with human sensibilities, they’re shaped so different, they wear clothes that are different, they move differently, they can do things that two-legged humans can’t and can’t do things that two-legged humans can, they specifically have had many many stories about how they could’ve come to be (two-leggeds not so much), they need their own furniture, sometimes they’ve even lived separately from other types of humans. Merfolk are the most extreme cases, since they quite literally live where terrestrial humans can’t go naturally and every bit of their life has been adapted to an aquatic environment. Even if it would be very cool to live as a taur in theory, it’s fundamentally a very different experience, a more difficult experience sometimes, and people would probably give one many glances if they decided to become a taur one day for no other reason than “just cuz”. You may have the shape of a taur, but are you really even a taur if you’ve never experienced the culture?

Nuance exists, of course, like if you have a lot of taurs in your family and ever since you were a kid you’ve lived your life as many forms that are all equally “you”, or if your taur friend was like “lol wanna see what your true animal form would be” one night and you tried it out once and that was it, or if you have lived for a while now with many taurs — usually taurs are a minority on land but there are exceptions, for example in a very mountainous, difficult-to-traverse region a good bit of people might just be taurs for their better balance — and eventually decided to become a taur to fit the customs of the community better, or if you paid one billiam dollars at an exotic recreational center where they “Let [You] Feel the Wilderness Inside You (TM)” by having folks explore like a wildlife area as taurs, then like, yeah lol those are some random examples where no one would bat an eye! Also ironically, even though merfolk are definitely the most removed from terrestrial humans as a whole, it would be most acceptable to become a merm if you have an extended stay underwater (work, vacation, whatever) and need accommodations for breathing and moving in the water and things like that. It’s simply seen as the easiest way to do things, however true that may be! Similarly merfolk on land have a lot of pressure to “simply become two-legged” even though accommodations like wheelchairs for merms exist (and all merfolk can already breathe air). It’s a little… sad. A lot of merfolk don’t really like that their own selves are treated as unimportant and disposable and that the “best way” to go about moving in a foreign environment is to literally ditch your own body away to become something else. Many taurs never become two-legged because it would remove a big part of themselves, so why are merfolk any different? These are unfortunately some societal problems of the Sirpaverse.

TL;DR: Any non-taur can learn the spells that make you a taur, however there are societal and cultural implications of doing that and it might not be very appropriate in all situations.

[cloudsndreamsxo]

[blissfulcrow]

Way Home is Through You

https://archiveofourown.org/works/60094282/chapters/153862384

Link to first part: https://www.tumblr.com/blissfulcrow/765505943344693248/way-home-is-through-you-chapter-1-blissfulcrow?source=share

Hey yall! An update!! Let me know if you guys are enjoying this series. I am considering a beta reader so hit me with a DM if you're interested.

Chapter 2: Give Me A Reason To Believe

A hurried shuffling could be heard through the streets. Once white sneakers were desperately fumbling over sidewalks, hoping to escape this freakishly strange night's events. The glass of a long broken streetlamp crunched under her footfalls, eliciting a curse from her shaky lips. “Fucking shit!” she choked out. “Just my fucking luck, narrowly escaped a grave-robbing mime just to bust up my last pair of decent shoes. Fuck!”

She skidded around the corner, narrowly missing drunken patrons from the bar down the road. She didn't care; she needed to go home to sleep off this bad dream. When she woke up in the morning, it would all be okay. Finally, she arrived in front of her less-than-perfect apartment building. Steading her hand, she punched in the passcode, and as soon as the door lock clicked, she was in the building like lightning. Climbing up the five-set staircase on any regular day was an unpleasant struggle, but the adrenaline making its way through her body made her barge through her apartment door before anyone could see her. She didn't want to answer any questions from concerned neighbours; manners don't matter in dreams, right?

Hurling her bag in a haphazard direction, she couldn't be bothered to see where it landed. Her focus was on the bed. As she stripped down, all she could think was:

‘You're fine, you'll be fine. Just a bad dream.’Pulling back the covers of her bed, she threw herself into it, wrapping the blankets around her head, protecting herself from the outside world. A mantra over in her head like a stuck record, ‘You're okay, just sleep. You're okay; just sleep. You're okay, just sleep.’

Scenes flashing, A couple, tenderly embracing.

Happiness. Comfort. Love.

A soft gold engagement ring emerges from a box, soft gasps and bright laughter.

Shock. Euphoria. Love.

The man entering his home witnessing his partner being pinned and assaulted. Next thing he knows, he’s plummeting out the window.

Rage. Injustice. Love.

His partner, battered and bruised, still holding onto life. Thirty hours pass before she dies.

Anguish. Pain. Love.

He claws his way out of his supposedly final resting place. 

Hatred. Grief… Vengeance.

Jolting awake, her eyes wild with confusion, she tries to breathe. So much sorrow, so many thoughts and feelings, flood through her mind. Clawing at her chest to self-soothe, she weakly attempts to ground herself. Her heart was heavily thumping through her ears, and she barely registered the taps from the window. Scrambling out of bed, she throws on an old shirt and some shirts. Making her way over, she rips open the curtain. A black crow sits on the damp window cill, surely not the one from before? She heaved the heavy pane open to shoo the bird away, but it had other ideas, quickly ducking past her flailing hands and hopping its way into the apartment. Her eyes meet the birds, and the flashes start again.

The leather trench coat.

Crow symbols alight.Knives.Needles.Cars.

“Tell them Eric Draven sends his regards.”

 A name beating in her head like a violent drum. ‘Eric Draven’ 

She mutters that name as she pushes papers away, ignoring the bird that followed close behind her as she scrambles to find her laptop on the cluttered dining table.

Her hands tremble as she opens up her jacked computer, anxiously tapping the on button. Despite that, the laptop takes its sweet time loading up. As soon as the browser opens, she begins furiously typing the name.

The first article to pop up:

‘Recently Engaged Couple Murdered on Devils Night’

Young couple Eric Draven (member of the band ‘Hangman’s Joke’) and his fiancee Shelly Webster were found on the infamous holiday ‘Devils Night’ dead at their apartment. Eric was found with multiple gunshot and stab wounds, but the coroner reports that his official cause of death was the drop from their top-floor apartment. Shelly was taken into intensive care and 30 hours later died from her injuries. 

Her stomach dropped to the floor as she read the rest of the article. All this happened 19 years ago? 

As she skimmed through her browser, she came across a picture with this ‘Eric’. It was him! The lurker from the cemetery, with less make-up, but it was him. How? The article was almost 20 years old, but he looked no older than his late 20s! This is beyond crazy; people don't come back from the dead.

‘Maybe it's just some poser who read about the article and thought it would be a cool way to prank people. That doesn’t explain the visions, though. Maybe it is just a mental break’

A banging on her door pulled her from her downward spiral. Oh no…

Slowly, she inched towards the door, trying to get a glimpse through the peephole without making any noise. Peering through, it was him, the living dead guy. She began to back away slowly; maybe he would assume she wasn't there if she didn't answer. That was the idea before an obnoxious cawing sounded behind her, throwing away any chance of her avoiding the interaction. She opened the door, trying not to show her fear outwardly. For a moment, neither said anything, letting the suspense linger in the musty hallway air. Finally as if a gift from some higher power, he held something out to her. “You dropped this.” He stated, face unreadable. 

“Oh.” It was her license, making it entirely less creepy that he knew where she lived. She took the tiny card from him, a small smile forming. “I appreciate that I didn't have to pay for a whole new one, thank you. You really didn't need to come all the way here for this, though,” she chuckled awkwardly. “It’s not the reason I came, " he said bluntly. His eyes bore into hers, but she couldn't read him. “May I come in?”

“No offence, but I don’t actually know you and I don't have a habit of letting every person who rocks up into my humble abode.”

“The documents on your table tell me otherwise; you’ve been investigating.” Referring to the open tab with a picture of Eric. “How did yo-” She turned away from him to gaze back at her laptop to find he was already there in front of it.

“What the fuck! How did you..? You were just..?” She frantically pointed between the laptop and the hallway, trying to rationalise the fact that this apparently dead guy made it from one point to another in 0.5 seconds. 

Her reactions, to an extent, amused him; it's a lot better than being shot at or stabbed. He understood her fear but was desperate for help; she seemed someone who could help him navigate this world. 

“Your scepticism is warranted but pointless. I don’t know why I am here; all I know is I am stuck in this shithole again and have no clue how to return.” His voice raised at the end, his hopelessness slipping through. He had returned without Shelly before; what cruel world would do this to him again?

“Do you think that person in the cape had anything to do with it?” “I haven't the faintest idea. The last time I came back was because of the crow.” He shared, pointing to his feathered friend. “And she assures me this wasn’t her doing.”

“You talk to the bird?”  

“In a sense, not like you and I are now. It is like we are connected on a deep level.” He stated as he made his way around the apartment, taking in the decorations. It was an admittedly small apartment, realistically only needing to house one person. The wall was unsystematically plastered with odds and ends, photos, concert stubs, and anything that made it feel like home. The furniture was a juxtaposition of different styles. Red-stained wood chairs that looked antique were slid under a white chipped particleboard table. The state of her home reflected her innermost feelings: neglected and cluttered. 

He seemed to be trying to figure something out from the decorations; eyes furrowed in concentration as he poked and prodded at a poster. 

“I like your decor. Reminds me of mine and Shelly’s place.”

Her stance softened, and she felt pity for him. From what she read, they really seemed infatuated with each other, and in this case, that love was undying. She always had a soft spot for a tragic romance and felt compelled to try at least to help him get back home.

“Alright, man, sit down and explain it. I’ll see what help I can be.” She said, walking over to the couch to straighten it up for the present company. For the first time since he returned, Eric’s gloomy face held a small, although genuine, smile.

“Thank you.”

[tumblasha]

bkdk middle school e-dating au, you say? what if i tell u that not only they met on an all might forum but they also run an rp dave x all might blog together

[thekidsarentalright]

so fobcore to be up for two awards they deserve to win, lose both of them, not even show up to the awards show But dress up in silly outfits for their prerecorded performance. would expect nothing less from the band of all time tbh

[moonydulac]

came across a very lame and obviously unoriginal anti-wolfstar post that was written to uplift prongsfoot claiming canon plausibility as the reason. (honestly, prongsfoot is compelling by itself idk this new surge of remus/wolfstar hate but wtv- they are fictional so you do you ig)

this is a rant post so feel free to skip but know that none of this is ever directed to my lovely mutuals. i am usually the type to block and move if you genuinely annoy me (which you all dont <3)

so, a hot take: Sirius is really not as obsessed with James as you all make it out to be, in canon.

is that his best friend? absolutely

did he love him very much? duh

was he devoted or wanted to dedicate his life to James? that's where you lose me icl

if anything James was more interested in entertaining sirius, in the one prominent memory we see of them. there is enough context clues and testimonies to conclude that they were very close. and this is what interested me to ship and explore their dynamic (not a post to say you can only ship with canon hints. im just talking within the topic of my rant lol). there is only one person sirius shows utmost devotion to and that's Harry. that's his godSON, his heir and honestly his everything post Halloween.

it is entirely surprising to me how definitive sirius // james shippers sound when they claim it would be more or most canon. both r/s and j/s operate on the same level of delusion and are informed by canon. yes, I think there is a great possibility in canon that sirius was into james- i love the appeal of pining and even heartbreak if not reciprocated. (I also accept this pining and heartbreak in remus//james if anyone is into that wink wink) similarly, I think that remus and sirius could be romantic starting anywhere in the timeline. a boyish sweet love or secret longing and heartbreak or coming together in their tragedy as adults. endless possibilities, it seems, for all of them.

Anyway, back to the point of this post. its insane to me when wolfstar, in particular, gets pushback with emphasis on canon like there isn't chemistry and history between them right on the pages. its not a magnified reading. its there. in their dialogue, their physicality and its Harry clocking all of this. these are two alive and kicking characters in the books that shippers read. idek how many times this has to be said. people genuinely believed this relationship would lead to queer representation in the book, explicit or implied. people did not have hindsight, believed jkr to be a better person lmao. you don't have to accept this reading but you also cannot be so narrow that you refuse to see this reading as a valid experience for other people.

once again, you don't have to ship wolfstar. at all. maybe the popularity and general hype is the annoying part. there are many reasons to not engage with new age wolfstar shippers btw. but god this "stanning fictional characters" or hating one immensely for the benefit of another, unironically, is so corny. giving stan twt like what imaginary competition is happening?

another thing that ticks me off is the notion that wolfstar are not close at all. yeah, i do complex magic to help out people i don't really like for the hell of it as well. ik there will be some justification to those who want to prove their point by any means. "sirius is smart so he wanted to do advanced magic" "he actually did it for james" or wtv else comes up. idk how to tell you that marauders are friends first of all. yes, james and sirius are closer but there is no hierarchy with remus. he is not as close obviously, but he is also on the edges by all of their character designs. sirius, in his recounts, never talks of remus as someone below him or largely excluded, just as someone who was conforming, compliant and the "good boy". it is also quite clear in their communication that they were good friends. james first befriended the quiet kid cause he liked him, supported him financially because that is his good friend. he did not act out of pity. that is a great disservice to his character as well.

this is my personal take/opinion. sirius would obviously mention his relationship with james to harry and not remus' and his friendship. i don't think remus and sirius were secretly closer btw, but it is a bit odd that wolfstar shippers are expected to write james as the #1 priority for sirius when they are not the focus?(this is a very small group of people btw, miniscule in fact. i'm just ranting to rant, not a larger problem) ig my first hot take comes down to this too. you can interpret the text as you want, and that is okay. you can read sirius as obsessed with james, but it is not canon. so to dunk on other shippers when they don't share the sentiment is?? mind you, i am well aware of wolfstar shippers sidelining or flanderizing james in their interpretations and have ranted about that too many times, not that that's relevant here. just pointed out in case anyone misinterprets lol

ship anything man idc but saying wolfstar has no canon support or to insinuate that wolfstar shippers are shipper pilled (this made me laugh, what are you doing at the coven meeting friend?) is a bit ?? my point, if there is any, hypocrites piss me off or maybe its the lack of self-awareness? how to interpret the dynamics, character reactions in au, canon divergence, fiction is really all up to you. you can honestly remove remus and replace him with gilderoy lockhart in the marauders for all i care, its fictional. but you can't bring up canon and say something blatantly false to rag on shippers of a ship you don't like. that's just silly now. extremely condescending as well.

[majorasnightmare]

im so glad bg3 made everyone fixate on how cool drow are and had minthara as one of THEEE best characters period because for years i had to hide my truth from a community of elf haters, but now i no longer face ostracization for what i deeply truly believe in

freaky purple elf hot and also badass