#not really but idk how else to tag this lol

[istherewifiinhell]

[ID: Tumblr tag screenshots (sashabarkov's tags) also with the flag dancers: raised gloved fist (black power) specifically while in a flag formation on those steps. 1968 olympics #tommie smith and john carlos #black men at the top of their game using their podium to speak out #what else would that sentence apply to? this performance perhaps?

(cowumbo-uwu's tags) not even going into sam playing an uncle character in django #like so much to look into the flag divided #etc

(spiritsong's tags) SUPERB #spectacularly said #thank you for taking the time to write this and sharing #one gripe I have with tumblr is that whenever anything Black culture enters the mainstream conversation. white people get real loud #as in their reactions and opinions and analyses take center stage. which is extra ironic in this particular instance because #imo kendrick has always been for US. but especially now. especially with this performance. #and we just have to accept the fact that because kendrick is huge and mainstream his audience is going to include a lot of white people #which isn't a problem in and of itself at all!! come and enjoy the artistry!! learn something!!

#it's just sometimes it feels like they take up space in such a way that pushes Black people out. see: tumblr #the beef with drake has gone beyond the culture lol. it's largely why there's so much attention on kendrick now and #as a performer he is beholden to that to an extent. of course it's important to the culture and it's important to him. #and Im really just talking about how I feel at this point but to me - especially with "their favorite song" - it does feel like… #fulfilling a quota. here's your entertainment. here's what you came for. and of course it's mostly what people are focusing on #when there was so much more to his performance. as shown in this brilliant post #so anyway all that is to say shut up and listen to black people #kendrick lamar

(your-dads-filing-cabinet's tags) ♡♡ #also!! idk if you saw them bc you mentioned that your stream wasn't showing them but there was a phrases theoughout lit up in the stands #….none of which i can remember right now (^~^")" but yeah!!! #idk maybe this is a reductive take #but the "tin (grey) and brown now they 100 and blue" could be a reference to Confederate soldiers to now cops (boys in blue) #and their shared/transitional position of forcing black men into positions of servitude/chain gangs/prisons etc. #(for context "transitional" bc prisons +jim crow laws was just slavery 2. look at the creation of US vagrancy laws) #but idk what the brown or 100 could be referencing so like i said. might be a stupid take. END]

A Crash Course to Kendrick's Super Bowl Performance, from a Black Woman

Note: this does NOT go in depth into all of the song's lyrics. I don't have time to recount two decades of his discography. This is just a summary of the performance itself.

Let's start with the first visual we get:

UNCLE SAM - most notably recognized from WWII American wartime propaganda, Uncle Sam is the personification of American patriotism and freedom. The term "uncle" is also evocative of Uncle Tom from Uncle Tom's Cabin, an abolitionist book that aided in inciting the Civil War. Uncle is also a very common term (both endearment and derogatory) towards Black men (eg. "unc"). Samuel L Jackson was fantastic.

Uncle Sam also resembles a circus ringleader, notable for my next point:

THE GREAT AMERICAN GAME - no, not Super Bowl. The GAG is us the people being pitted against each other: through late-stage capitalism, through the culture war, through class warfare, through being built of the backs of slaves. We are all players in the GAG because none of us on this site were the oligarchs seated at the inauguration.

This is also seen as Kendrick's stage was a Play Station controller. Not only did it remind of circus rings visually, but it was a game battle stage. The Great American Game is a battle royale of the commoners for the amusement of the rich whites.

Remember the foods / Them color was tin and brown / But now they 100 and blue - For this I'll just say, look what the last election said about lowering the price of eggs... and look at the prices now.

The revolution about to be televised / You picked the right time / But the wrong guy - Election 2024 once more.

THE FLAG DANCERS - yes, the dancers formed the US flag... off of the backs of Black people. Not a single white person in sight, and that's true of the cotton pickers in the fields. Plantations are part of how the US came to economic prominence after being a "backwater" colony. Remember tobacco? Cotton? Our bloodlines do.

The red and blue dancers are also notable for representing the Crips and Bloods, two infamous street gangs. The dance in Not Like Us is the Crip Walk. I recommend researching more on your own time about them, but just know they are a large part of the stereotype of Black people being "ghetto."

TOO LOUD, TOO RECKLESS, TOO GHETTO. Do you really know how to play the game? - This is exactly what Black people, especially Black men, get told all the time. It's why we change our names on resumes if they sound "too Black." It's why we codeswitch in non-Black company. This is especially rich considering how non-Black people love our culture and love to make money off of us, as the latter part of the quote points to. And it's even more profound during the Super Bowl-- the NFL is majority Black players.

STREET LIGHT A CAPELLA -- "thug" stereotype dancers to counteract the a capella connotations, with Uncle Sam then saying that Kendrick figured out "bringing other street guys around being a culture cheat code." Yes, this is a direct hit at Drake (listen to "Not Like Us") but also politically. Look up "model minority". Notably I would point to Candace Owens, or the Miami Venezuelan political group that's been in the news recently, especially as this directly led to Kendrick being surrounded by...

DANCERS IN WHITE -- it's white America. That's... that's the allegory.

NOT LIKE US TEASER -- Kendrick says "Not Like Us" is "their favorite song." -> he means white people specifically here. It comes after he's surrounded by all white dancers, the women around him who are his call and response are also in white (my opinion, they represent the industry). He's saying "Not Like Us" is the favorite of yts because it is about BLACK MEN FIGHTING. This again is reflected in the video game stage and ringleader Uncle Sam.

SZA -- instead of giving what they want, we see SZA. She's one of Drake's exes and Kendrick has always supported her.

ALL THE STARS -- This was in the first Black Panther movie, which I recommend you watch. Rest in Power Chadwick. Notably, this movie was incredibly mainstream as a major Marvel movie, and then we have Uncle Sam say...

"THAT'S WHAT AMERICA WANTS: NICE AND CALM. DON'T MESS THIS UP" -- translation: Marvel (the industry, America, etc.) wanted a safe, semi-pop song because white American likes safe pop songs, not Kendrick's usual heavy rap style about his life as a Black man! Don't mess up what you've got going mainstream for having this "Black rap feud" with Drake, who is an R&B model minority to white people because he's safe.

So what does Kendrick say?

IT'S A CULTURAL DIVIDE / IMMA GET IT ON THE FLOOR -- He was warned not to be political or apologetically Black for this Super Bowl performance, but he is using this big stage opportunity to speak out.

40 ACRES AND A MULE / THIS IS BIGGER THAN THE MUSIC -- 40 acres and a mule are what the freed slaves were promised. Instead, this land went to white sharecroppers. Research Jim Crow laws.

THEY TRIED TO RIG THE GAME / BUT YOU CAN'T FAKE INFLUENCE -- rig the election, rig the industry like with model minority Drake, rig the Great American Game with culture war to distract from active class warfare.

NOT LIKE US -- the only thing I'll mention because it made me holler is Serena Williams crip walking on Drake's metaphorical grave. She's another one of his exes.

TURN THE TV OFF -- exactly like he said! The TV is a distraction, the Super Bowl is a distraction, the mainstream news is often a distraction. Turn it off and get with your people!

GAME OVER — could not see this on my stream but at the end of the performance, the lights in the stadium spelled this out. The world is watching, America…

In conclusion, Kendrick Lamar is a visionary and thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[ninupi]

could i request a manjiro fic or headcanon for akaashi!reader with the childhood best friends trope? yk, that they meet thanks to shinichiro and takeomi. i love your work! ♥️

best friends | s. mikey

₊˚⊹♡ tags; fem!reader, reader is kinda mean to Mikey, she's lowk a tsundere, she's also crybaby so if you don't like then don't read! imo its justified tho idk, she's ALSO a bit embarrassing, reader gets a bit insecure with the way she acts, she's got layers to her LMAO yeah just lmk if anything else

₊˚⊹♡ wc; 2,200+

₊˚⊹♡ a/n; this came out a lot more angsty then I intended LOL sorry about that

1998

You and Emma watched from a distance while her brother and your brother started play fighting. You noticed Emma shaking her head with a sigh. "Boys are so stupid… c'mon y/n." You let her drag you away, but your eyes stayed on the two boys until you couldn't see them anymore.

"Haru is stupid. I think Mikey is cool, though." Your words make Emma stop in her tracks and give you a disgusted look. "Ew!! What are you talking about?" She drops your hand, waiting for you to explain, but you just stare at her, speechless, not believing you said that out loud to her.

"Y/n do you like my brother?" she questions with that same disgusted tone from before, you quickly shake your head reaching for her hand again. She quickly pulls away not believing you and runs back in the direction of the two boys.

"Mikey!!! Y/n likes you!!" you quickly run after her trying to stop her from saying anything to the boy "Emma shut up!!! That's not true I don't like him!!"

2008

You're walking to Emma's house after school while she rambles about how Draken still hasn't asked her out but your thoughts are on a different blonde. "Are you listening y/n?" you turn to Emma who has a small pout on her lips. 

You give her a sweet smile "Not at all, no" you laugh as her jaw drops and she softly whacks you on the arm "I'm sick of you talking about Draken! I'm just going to tell him to ask you out already" you groan throwing your head back to look at the sky.

"No you can't do that!" She panics grabbing onto your arm as a plea "And why not?" you shake her hold off running up ahead a bit and begin walking backwards "B-because then he'll just feel forced and it'll be like he didn't really want too!" 

You roll your eyes at her ridiculous thinking while turning around "Emma are you dumb or are you stupid?" you can't help the grin on your face at her gasp but quickly start running when you hear her start to chase after you "I'm not dumb! Or stupid!" 

"Yeah your not, but Draken is! Seriously I'm just going to tell him to ask you out!" You call out to the girl behind you "You do that and I'll tell Mikey you like him!" This immediately makes you stop running to face the girl behind you who bumps into you not expecting you to stop. 

"I don't like Mikey, would you drop that?" you grumble gently pushing the girl off you "Oh come on y/n, why are you lying?" you give her a disgusted look before continuing in the direction of her house "Y/n~" she whines grabbing onto your arm. 

It's been 10 years since you've 'liked' Mikey, and in your opinion a kiddy crush doesn't count "I was like 7 Emma, I don't like him anymore. I'm not you" you saying hinting at her life long crush on her brothers best friend. 

He cheeks softly flush before she sighs "I know your lying, I just don't know why...I don't care if you like my brother anymore!" you give her an odd look "Seriously why do you think I like him still? That was like 10 years ago!" you can't help but laugh at the absurd assumption. 

She gives you a look before a teasing smile forms on her face "You know we have a lot of sleepovers right?" your eyebrows furrow waiting for her to further explain "Did you know you talk in your sleep y/n?" This reveal makes your ears heat up.

"What are you talking about?" you question while you guys finally get to her house "You know," she shrugs opening the gate while walking in "No, I don't know!" you question urgently wanting to know what she's talking about. 

"I like to talk about Draken while I'm awake, but you love to talk about Mikey while you're asleep." She giggles opening the front door stepping inside "Stop lying that's not funny, I don't sleep talk!" you insist hoping she's lying to get you to reveal the truth. 

"You do sleep talk" You quickly turn after taking your shoes off to see Mikey eating a taiyaki giving you a blank look "I told you" Emma nudges while walking further into her house "You didn't know you slept talk?" Mikey questions with a full mouth giving you a confused look. 

You stare at him a bit wide eyed while Emma smirks from behind him "N-no I had no idea I slept talk..." you mutter trying to walk past him but he only follows "That's so funny, I'm always talking to you when your sleeping" he laughs causing you to turn towards him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" you interrogate him hoping you've only exposed your secret to Emma. "I mean its the only time you actually talk to me and aren't mean to me" he explains looking at you up and down motioning towards your hostile attitude towards him. 

"I'm not mean to you" you mutter turning away from him hoping to get away from the conversation "You're a lot nicer when you're sleeping" You can hear the pout in his voice and when you turn towards him he has an unreadable look on his face. 

After leaving Mikey in the hallway alone you and Emma headed to her room to complete your homework, then you insisted on staying in there to hide away from Mikey. But after a few hours Shinichiro had called the two of you out to go eat dinner.

Once you entered the kitchen you noticed that your bother and some of his other friends had shown up while you two (mostly just you) were hiding away in Emma's room. "How long have you been here?" Haru gives you a suspicious look while pointing at you. 

"She came right after school, you know she didn't know she slept talk?" you slightly jump at Mikey appearing from behind you "Would you shut up about that?" you bark at him only to back away when he gives you a 'told you so' look about your conversation earlier.

"She's always slept talk, it's freaky" you quickly reach over the table to yank on Haru's long hair "You're freaky!" he glares at you planning to do the same to you "Hey! No fighting, please!" you turn to Shinichiro who has a desperate look on his face and quietly mutter an apology. 

"It's funny, we're always talking to you when you're sleeping" Baji laughs causing everyone to softly laugh "It's not funny, why do you guys even do that?" you groan at this embarrassing conversation "Because you'll tell us anything when your asleep!" Takemitchi adds causing you to glare at him. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" you notice his smile immediately drop at your tone "Nothin- you always tell me how much you love me" Mikey casually says taking a bite of his food while everyone stares at him shocked. 

You immediately stand up from the table feeling overwhelmed at all the eyes on you "Wait y/n- not now Emma" you brush her hand off you, heading towards the front door quickly slipping your shoes on walking outside. 

Exactly how long has Mikey known about your crush on him? How long has everyone known about your crush on him? You thought you were doing a good job at hiding it just to find out you babble about it while you're asleep apparently. The thought makes you want to cry, it's so humiliating.

Everyone; Emma, Haru, Baji, Mikey himself knew about your crush and chose not to say anything to you. You guess that was his way of rejecting you just now, telling you he knew this entire time but didn't pursue anything. But how could you blame him?

Like he said earlier, you're always mean to him, it's not like you meant to be mean to him. Well...you did but only because you didn't want him thinking you liked him. Looking back on it now, it was stupid, Emma's always sweet with Draken and he loves her too.

Maybe you should've just been like Emma and been to sweet to Mikey, then maybe he'd actually return your feeling. All these what ifs make your head hurt and your eyes sting with tears, not wanting to cry you look up the dark sky hoping it'll stop your tears from falling. 

Instead it just makes your tears fall after down your cheeks while you groan in annoyance 'this is nobody's fault besides my own' you think to yourself while bringing your hands up to your cheeks to dry them. "Why are you crying?" 

You quickly turn to see Mikey with a confused but also somewhat sad look on his face "I'm not crying" you mutter turning away from him to quickly dry your tears. You can hear him slowly shuffling towards you "You're a shit liar" he whispers when he finally stands next to you.

You softly glare at him wanting to cry all over again seeing his face "What do you want Mikey?" you sigh with no bite in your tone which surprises him a bit. "I wanna know why you're crying," he says again with more emphasis as if he can't piece together the reason for your tears. 

'I'm crying because you don't like me back' you cringe to yourself deciding not to say that outloud and save yourself further embarrassment "Mikey..." you sigh not wanting to explain and hoping he's just being dense "What? Seriously I want you to tell me why your crying" he says a bit agitated.

You furrow your brows at his tone now, does he just want you to say it out loud? Is he trying to get payback for your attitude for the last few years "You're being mean Mikey..." you mutter before you can stop yourself and you can't help the tears that sting your eyes once again. 

He takes a defensive step back "Mean? How the hell am I being mean? I'm trying to help you!" you take a step closer to him "You're being mean! You know why I'm crying!" you point an accusatory finger at him.

"I don't know why you're crying! That's why I'm asking!" he argues throwing his arms to the side, you look at his face for any sign of him lying but all you see is confusion and annoyance "God you're so stupid" you mutter "Ok fine" he bites turning away heading back towards the house. 

"Wait Mikey" you sigh realizing your words came out harsher then you intended "Mikey I'm sorry, come back!" you call out as he ignores you "Mikey please!" you can't help the small sob that leaves your lips as he gets further away. 

Hearing your small cries makes Mikey stop in his tracks and turn towards you "I'm sorry, please come back" you're no longer trying to hide your tears, just hoping he'll give you another chance and come back to talk.

You watch as his face goes from a deep scowl to a frown and he slowly makes his way back to you "What's wrong? Seriously, why are you crying?" he genuinely questions unsure of the reason for all these tears "I'm sorry Mikey" you repeat over and over again.

"It's fine you call me stupid all the time- No I'm sorry Mikey. For all of that, for always calling you stupid, for always telling you to shut up, always being mean! I'm sorry..." you sob reaching for his hands and holding them close to your heart. 

When he pulls his hands away it makes you want to cry even harder but before you can he quickly pulls you into an awkward hug. "What are you talking about? I don't actually care about that, that's just how you are, I'm used to it." he mutters squeezing you a bit tighter. 

"I'm crying because you don't like me" you mutter getting over your embarrassment and just hoping to go back to how things were "Of course I like you y/n- No Mikey, like me-love me how I love you" you sigh wrapping your arms around him enjoying the embrace for the time being. 

Mikeys silence makes your heart hurt but you only close your eyes and hug him tighter "I do love you stupid, I thought you knew that..." you try to pull away from the hug but he keeps a tight grip on you "You never hug me, let me enjoy this" he sighs taking a deep breath. 

"But Mikey y-you love me? Why haven't you said anything?" you urge wanting to see his face "I seriously thought you knew, I always tell you when you're sleeping" You want to punch him in the stomach at his obvious tone.

'I'm sleeping though, how the hell would I know!?" you question softly jabbing at his stomach causing him to laugh softly "You always say it back! I just thought you were too embarrassed to say it when your fully awake" he explains grabbing your hands to stop them from touching his ticklish sides. 

You think back to see if you even remember whispering it in your sleep but nothing comes up. Except the few times you've had dreams where Mikeys there, then it hits you, you two always exchange 'I love you's' in those 'dreams'. 

You groan in embarrassment at the revelation trying to hide your face in Mikeys embrace "What happened? Finally remembering how you tell me you love me in your sleep" he grins trying to get a good look at your face "Mikey shut up!" you whine rushing his face away making him laugh loudly. 

[gwyns]

Do you think that Gwyn knows that the necklace was meant for Elain/someone else? I have a theory that her sense of smell is excellent (remember that scene where she says she can tell who the priestesses are by scent?). And that she can scent both Az and Elain on the necklace.

That’s why I think the necklace won’t be a huge deal/moment of betrayal in the Gwynriel book. She already knows and has put the necklace aside, never to be worn.

oh! that's a very good point, i didn't think of that. she could totally know then

even if she doesn't though i really don't see the necklace holding much significance going forward, it was a metaphor for az's shifting attention and nothing else in my opinion. and after 3 years of discourse, i think it's time we retire it lmfao

[butt3rnugg3t]

This is super fun thank you so much for tagging me!! Also, good luck with the doctor's appointment babes!!

last song: Would you fall in love with me again? By Jorge Rivera-Herrans from the Epic: The Musical soundtrack 😭😭😭😭

favourite colour: Like a deep celestial blue...idk if that makes sense

last book: The Enchanted Greenhouse. The second book to The Spellshop! I got to read the arc and it was amazing! Highly recommend. It doesn't come out till this summer though 😭

last audiobook: 😅 .... I don't listen to them. I try I really do but i'm very picky when it comes to the voice reading it.

last movie: watched Set It Up last night, I was sad and I love that movie

last tv show: Currently re-watching Crown of Candy from Dropout again

sweet/spicy/savoury: I'm a firm believer you can't have one without the other. While typing this I'm eating hot fries and chocolate 😅

relationship: ENGAGED!!! I have been since October but I never get to talk about my wonderful partner on here enough!

last thing i googled: *SIGH* The Alice in Wonderland Carousel book from 2017 for a customer.....it's out of print cause (I'm assuming) was a special edition print. The customer insisted our website said we had it in stock........we absolutely do not. It's like $1800 on Amazon

current obsession: My DnD characters, were running two vastly different games rn and I love my characters so much. I kinda wanna write an original piece for both of them but idk how it'll be perceived on here lol

looking forward to: Finishing cleaning my apartment cause I've been rearranging things and I'm so fucking tired

npt: @ellecdc @solsticesage @nikko03 @animeslayer2275 and anyone else who wants to join!!

Thanks for the tag @marlowe-zara ! It’s long past due for a tag game update over here.

Last song: Steal the Show by Lauv (honorable mention for the kid getting into real music), Rushmore by Mumford and Sons

Favorite Color: always purple

Last Book: Little Thieves by Margaret Owen, it was a cute modern take on a fairy tale for YA audiences. I enjoyed the in-universe mythology and magic. Currently reading Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Last Audiobook: I like this addition as I often listen to books on roadtrips or when printmaking. My latest was The Hobbit read by Andy Serkis: he did such an excellent job on the voices like you would expect. (His Gandalf really made me double check if Ian McClellan had done a guest appearance!)

Last Movie: LotR The Two Towers EE (who even watches the theatrical cuts??) Can you see a theme here? It’s winter, so I’m getting cozy with my comfort fandom. And yes, I started with Fellowship.

Last TV Show: Finally finishing The Good Place

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: I’ve never turned good food down. But am lately very fond of making sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies that have butterfinger baking bits in them. Happy to share the recipe if folks ask.

Relationship: um…still in one?

Last Thing I’ve Googled: I’m over here googling birthday ideas for the kiddo and researching new bathroom cabinets. 😳

Current Obsession: The Fall with Lee Pace and Catinca Untaru. I was finally able to stream this on Mubi in the US and if you’ve never seen it, please pause your doom scrolling and go watch it right now. I sobbed on an airplane. And then immediately watched it again later in the week. And then immediately added all of the set locations to my travel list. I miss Lee Pace: he needs more roles because he’s such an incredible actor.

Looking forward to: using my new bread cloche the next time I make a sourdough loaf, finishing Link’s Awakening finally and reading Democracy in Retrograde to brace myself for the next 4 years.

I’ll tag @windsweptinred @bobbole @elemen @writing-for-life and whoever else wants to share what they’ve been up to lately!

[somerandomdudelmao]

Let me show you one of my original concepts :>

Because. Why not haha👍

Characters refs Masterpost

Next

[al-luviec]

big fan of these two

[choccy-milky]

more clora as an edited pic of dakota fanning, this time combined with her game model to make it look even more realistic ✨🩵 (credit to noctisvera on twitter for the idea!)

[navnae]

Now I have this Hc of Steve somehow knowing how to read lips and there really isn’t a reason why he just does. Maybe it’s because he’s on the verge of losing his hearing so he might as well learn how to do it right? Eddie notices that whenever someone is mumbling, meaning that what they’re saying is barely audible, Steve always knows exactly what they’re saying. Eddie has caught on to Steve always looking at his lips when he wants to say something under his breath and it’s not the most pleasant thing he can say out loud. Steve finds it cute how flustered Eddie gets when he’s frustrated and he can make out all the faint little rants to himself. One day, Eddie is caught off guard when Steve is basically just staring at his lips even though there really wasn’t a reason to. That give Steve a chance to admit that half the time he’s looking at Eddie’s lips for a different reason leaving Eddie very confused.

[idkwhatimdoingbutslay]

Caitlyn literally went to war for the cooch. Caitlyn LOST AN EYE FOR THE COOCH. She set the bar imo.

[animangalover-writes]

Yk it really bothers me when I see people talking about eurylochus and the crew like they were the problem. It just feels like everyone is just missing the point. Yes they stopped listening to ody, yes eurylochus opened the wind bag, but that's what makes them so human.

Picture this, you leave your home to fight in a war. It takes literal years for this war to be over. You've lost friends, you miss your family, you've been through hell. You're starving and your captain tells you they found food on this island.

And then the cyclops happens. More friends die, you barely escape with your life, and your captain gives his name to the creature that killed your friends.

And everything after that is a direct cause of that decision.

So you hesitate to trust him. Yes he's smart, he's capable, he always has a plan. But he would do anything to get home, and you know that. So when he comes back to the ship claiming to have a bag full of wind, and when he refuses to let anyone near, refuses to trust his own crew, you get suspicious.

Its been about a decade by this point, and your captain seems to get more and more desperate to get home. A god is after you. Odysseus is forcing himself to stay away, all to make sure nobody touches that bag.

Its human, it's realistic, it makes sense that someone would open the bag. Because odysseus stopped trusting you, and so you stop trusting him. So you open the bag.

I just find it frustrating that people look at the crew/eurylochus as bad guys because of this, as pawns for ody to get home and thats it. The point of the show is that ody has become a monster, has dealt with and left behind his humanity. We, as listeners, root for him. We give him grace because of his circumstances. Because he's the main character.

But for some reason, people don't give that same grace to the crew. They're human, their circumstances are awful too. They have no idea if they will get home, they aren't sure then can trust their captain anymore. They question things. They make mistakes. They cause the deaths of others. It's human, its that feeling you get when you think that maybe hope is lost after all, it's what this story is about. Mistakes and loss and blame.

People dislike Eurylochus because he opened the bag. But odysseus gave the cyclops his name. And polites trusted the lotus eaters. And Athena told odysseus to be cruel to a fault. Nobody here is innocent, not really. And none of them knew better either. They were working with what they had, with the terrible circumstances at hand. It's no wonder they made mistakes. It's no wonder people died.

Why are we ignoring the humanity of the crew? Why are we arguing that they, or that eurylochus, deserved it? If the story was about them, odysseus would be seen as the bad guy. But he's the main character, so the others are stupid and wrong, right? All that matters is that odysseus gets home, right? Even if it costs the lives of his crew. His crew who stopped trusting him when he stopped trusting them. His crew who he sacrificed to get home.

I think we're missing the point here. Odysseus did become a monster, and although we cheer for him getting home and Penelope and Telemachus forgive him, we have to acknowledge that he did do terrible things. Those men will never see their families again. Why are we erasing that humanity in them?

Humans do bad things for the sake of saving themselves or the ones they love. That includes Odysseus. That includes Eurylochus. That includes the crew. And that includes every other character in this musical.

[butterflysonnets]

yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.

to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!

i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.

also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.

they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.

they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.

i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.

[scarymonsters-andsupercreeps]

David Bowie study! I absolutely love this photo of him so I just had to draw it!

Original below!

[froggy-nebula]

i might just be pulling this out of my ass but i feel like terezi and gamzee really did a lot of damage to how people see pitch relationships

and i get it, terezi and gamzee’s relationship was basically everything people say about pitch relationships. it was abusive, horrible, and enabled by everyone around them

but they’re also not the only pitch relationship we see in the comic, or even the only pitch relationship we see terezi get into

and they’re not even the only abusive and/or toxic relationship we see by far, and plenty of those weren’t pitch

[gvnuzi]

DAY 1- STARS

Day 1 of md week! Wohoo!

Uzi in spAaAaAce

[snickerdoodlles]

some thoughts on writing humor for anyone interested;

if you want to incorporate more humor into your writing, what you really want to practice is timing. writing humor is rarely about writing an individual funny line-- you don't remember the punchline because of the line itself, you remember the punchline because of everything else that came before it. a punchline without a proper build up or proper timing is just a non-sequitur.

so, when writing a humor fic, a good thing to remember is that the punchline comes last. you can't have your funniest line at the start of your story. think of it like action-- if your first fight is the boss fight, any fight of lower stakes or difficulty that follows is going to feel lackluster in comparison. you want your story and your jokes to build to the final line, or else you'll step on the joke and lose its impact.

and this does take practice! putting the joke at the end doesn't always feel 'natural' at first, learning how to structure and build a humor story is a skill the same as learning how to do it for any other genre. personally, i'd also say humor is something that really comes out in the editing stage more than the initial drafts-- humor is very reliant on timing and rhythm, and it's hard to find and stick to a story's pacing when you're still working on the overall story structure. i mean, this sort of thing tends to go for any sort of writing, but nothing makes humor fall flat faster than wonky pacing and so (for me at least) editing is the stage where the story goes from "oh, haha" to actually funny.

(i also bring this up because fandom has a lot of jokes about not editing a finished draft before posting-- and like, totally feel you, i'm not huge on editing after i reach the end of the draft. however, i have noticed in fic circles where people will get caught up on and sometimes even discouraged by trying to be funny in the fic larva stages when the framework to be funny just isn't there yet. personally, i highlight the humor lines i'm unsure about and move on. then, when the fic's closer to 90% done or so, it's much easier to skim the overall story and cut/format/refine/etc any jokes because they're already highlighted for easy finding.)

another thing to keep in mind is that humor as a writing device is often used to release tension. i would say this is a large part of why humor often falls very naturally into scene transitions; that natural release of tension is very useful as an 'end bracket' to a scene while also setting up the audience to be freshly wound up again. this feature is useful for stories aiming for a more light-hearted tone overall, but in general stories often incorporate humor as a way of controlling a story's pacing so that the tension doesn't get too tight too fast. even if a punchline isn't your end goal, you're still building up to something and it's really helpful to edit your humorous lines by asking "does this fit with my scene/story's pacing, or is it disruptive to my buildup?"

it doesn't really matter how funny an individual line might be on its own-- if its disruptive to the story's overall flow, the joke's effect is going to come off as strained and forced. because humor is really an exercise in structure and story rhythm, the most ineffective way to study humor is to fixate on the individual jokes you remember in your favorite stories-- instead look for the threads that came before the joke that made it memorable, and then practice doing that in your own writing. usually when humor falls flat in a story, it's because either the specific joke pops out of nowhere (missing the build-up) or the joke is in the wrong spot in the story (disruptive, breaks reader immersion). sometimes the fix is as easy as reshuffling a few lines, other times it's a matter of adding more to the build up, or even cutting it altogether so that something else packs a bigger punch.

tl;dr-- i'm repeating the old adage "in comedy, timing is everything." if you want to get better at writing or incorporating humor into your stories, it's honestly more important to practice when to drop a joke than the specific wording of the joke itself.

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Sometimes I try to write down thoughts about this campaign but I admittedly have not been paying enough attention to feel confident in my character analysis so I write an incoherent text post and then delete it because I don't know if I'm actually making the correct judgments.