#so hopefully relevant tag?

[umblrspectrum]

oh yeah i forgot to post this here too

[neverenoughmarauders]

Thank you so much for explaining all that! It’s the best explanation I’ve seen and I can see why people would feel that way. I can try to explain why I feel differently though I’ve got no idea how representative this is.

The importance of liking (or not liking) James

The thing I really hadn’t considered was how much hinges on whether one grows to care for James, as well as Remus and Sirius. My father died when I was young and I’ve got very few memories of him. But I was (so I’ve been told) far more similar to him than my two sisters. I would often be told how similar I was to him, and felt the same pride Harry often did when he was compared to James. Anyways, aside from how much SWM was a kick in the guts on a deeply personal and hurtful level, this might help to explain why I did develop affection for James, and not just Sirius and Remus. I honestly feel the first chapter in the PS(/SS) is one of the saddest in the series because Harry loses his parents/Lily and James dies and Sirius gets sent to Azkaban.

In my view Sirius is defined in the series through his love for James

In fact, my initial affection for Sirius was born from the love he shows Harry and James. It felt like you implied we don’t see Sirius show his love for James (it just stated) when I feel we basically see nothing but that throughout book three and four. Sirius thinks about avenging James throughout POA and he spends all of GOF by Harry’s side in Hogsmeade. If you believe Remus mattered all that much to Sirius then his choice to stay in Hogsmeade that year is all the more proof of how much he cares for Harry (and the way I see it, by extension, James). He could have been with Remus and still been quickly by Harry’s side if he needed to. Sirius completely loses it in GOF when Harry talks about his parents in the most heartbreaking way and it’s so unlike him. He shows so much emotions when it comes to James vs any other aspects and it gets to me.

I don’t think anyone believes Sirius couldn’t have a relationship with someone who wasn’t James. But a lot of the wolfstar fics I read there’s just no real basis for James and Sirius friendship which for me is the whole foundation of Sirius’ character/role in the series. Sirius was James’ best friend, which meant James trusted Sirius with switching secret keepers and he made Sirius Harry’s godfather thus giving him the roles he has in the books (escaped convict and father figure). I’ve read Sirius telling James things like: ‘you’re my best mate,’ in fics and I just want to scream: ‘where the hell is the proof of that? Every scene that I read is you and Remus pining or you and Remus bonding over how stupid and immature James is - when Sirius himself tells us that he was just as much a berk as James’.

It’s only in OOTP we get Remus and Sirius being together for more than a few hours - and Sirius is miserable

Maybe because of the long wait between book 4 and 5, maybe because 5 was just that much more longer but I’ve read the first four books far more often than the three last ones. This means I spent most time with Sirius pre-OOTP. Which means I don’t really have that connection to Remus and Sirius being together all that much. One of the reasons I find OOTP so hard to read (in addition to the ending) is because Sirius is so miserable. I know that’s Grimmauld Place but at no point do I get the feeling that Remus is close to fill the gap in Sirius life. In fact, the two times Sirius is described as genuinely cheerful in OOTP it has to do with James and Harry. It’s when he and Remus remembers James ruffling his hair and playing with the snitch, and it’s when Harry is over for Christmas (after we know Arthur won’t die). This for me just makes it come across as Remus isn’t nearly enough for Sirius. Also, Sirius doesn’t come and stay with Remus when he has a choice (after POA). Fine, he’s on the run but as we understand from the end of GOF he could clearly have ‘laid low’ at Remus’. Maybe Remus didn’t have a place as long as he was a teacher at Hogwarts, and then as we established, Sirius felt a need to be around Harry in GOF. But still, you can see how Sirius and Remus’ friendship isn’t that much of a focus except from being reunited briefly in POA (in which I’d still maintain the focus is on them wanting to avenge James).

I’ve always understood James to have been the glue of the Marauders

As for the Christmas present - Remus is poor and I never saw that present as anything other a way for friends to handle that situation. In fact, what Sirius does for Remus is not very different from what we know James used to do for Remus; help him financially. I’m not disputing they were close friends and I love the scene when Remus and Sirius are finishing each other’s sentences but we knew the marauders were tight. I can’t help but feel James was the glue of the marauders. James didn’t suspect his friends (much to his peril), he financed Remus when he couldn’t get a job, he took in Sirius when he ran away and he saved Snape from Sirius’ ‘prank’.

In my view, there’s room for Wolfstar but not prior to OOTP

Now finally, I’ve tried to avoid discussing the whole: Sirius thought Remus was the spy thing, but just to note I think there’s a lot of evidence that makes it hard to justify wolfstar prior to James’ death. I too see enough in the canon to see them have a relationship in OOTP, but I don’t see it as the soulmates that finally got each other. More like two people who have lost too much (friends, time, hope) and share what’s left.

Jily vs Prongsfoot vs Wolfstar

I can’t stand Jily stories without platonic prongsfoot just as I can’t stand wolfstar stories without platonic prongsfoot. As for full on prongsfoot I don’t really think anything else is needed. Prongsfoot is what’s fundamental to the story!

In conclusion - we are never going to see eye to eye because we picked up vastly different things

(Not to say this hasn’t been hugely enlightening!!!) I think it all comes down to what you weigh and what you latch onto in the story! I have always been attracted to ‘bromance stories’ whether it’d be real brothers that have each other’s back no matter what (Joe and Frank Hardy, Fred and George) or people who were like brothers (BBC’s Merlin/Arthur and Sirius/James - and in my view both are fun to ship romantically as well). To me, the Marauders would never have interested me without James and Sirius‘ friendship. I have always loved Remus, but I feel I get to follow his story in the main series in a way I never got Sirius or James’. For those stories, I need the marauders and the marauders era!

I feel like I missed the memo, y'know?

When I read POA, GOF and OOTP, I read about a man who was still grieving his best friend in this entire world. They were described as inseparable, compared to twins, and they clearly meant the world to each other. This man missed his friend and loved him so much that he continued to keep his own life on hold so he could take care of this best friend's son. And that's why I don't get Wolfstar. At no point did Remus come close to fill the gap Sirius experienced after losing James.

This isn't meant to be a bashing of the whole wolfstar genre thing. I think I'd really love it if it was a rare pairing, but how this became more normal to read about than Jily or Prongsfoot (surely that's the obvious marauder m/m ship?) I will never understand!?!

[joshuamj]

Linktober Day 1: Mirror

Prompt list I'll be trying a few days from!

[camelspit]

Keeper Sexymen 2025: Artist Portrait Signups

The Sexyman Contest is back for its 3rd year! Each year, artists sign up to make portraits of all of the men for the Keeper Sexymen Contest. This form will be open from Nov 21 - Nov 29, and I'll release the portrait assignments on the 30th. You will have until Feb 9 to complete the portraits and turn them in!

(alphabetized) List of men + Info about portrait submissions and rules below the cut! If you have any questions, feel free to message me :).

Alden Vacker

Alvar Vacker

Barth the Reaper

Behnam Aria

Blur

Boobrie Dude

Coach Bora

Bo

Brant [REDACTED]

Councillor Bronte

Bullhorn

Cadfael

Cassius Sencen

Councillor Darek

King Dimitar

Durand Redek

Elwin Heslege

Councillor Emery

King Enki

Ethan Benedict Wright II

Fallon Vacker

Fintan Pyren

Gethen Ondsinn

Grady Ruewen

Greyfell

Iggy

Jurek

Councillor Kenric

Kesler Dizznee

Marty

Mr Forkle

Mr Snuggles

Mr Sweeney

Councillor Noland

Prentice Endal

Quan Song

Quinlin Sonden

Ruy Ignis

Sandor

Councillor Terik

Tiergan Alenefar

Timkin Heks

Trix

Watson

William Foster

Woltzer

Wraith

Yuri

When you finish your portraits, you can post them and tag me in them and/or message them directly to me! The choice is yours <3 as long as I get them sometime before or on Feb 9. If you think your submission might be late or you need to drop out, please message me as soon as possible!

RULES:

I dont care how big it is but please use a SQUARE canvas. This makes the posts a lot easier to format <3

Portrait is a broad term- you can draw however much of the man you want in whatever post you want, whether it be full body or just the head

It does not have to be entirely canon accurate! You can add your own hcs (ex. poc vackers), it just has to be identifiable as the character

Have fun!!!

[lucalicatteart]

 sculpted a strange shimmery two headed snail, speckled with wild flowers on it's shell~

[idiotsonlyevent]

the first episode/chapter of dandadan has sexual assault scenes, and while nothing past that point is as intense as that first scene, sexual assault does NOT go away. on top of that, there is non-sexual nudity of teenagers, there are jokes about okarun's balls throughout the whole manga, there broadly seem to be themes/discussion of violating bodily autonomy - if those things make you uncomfortable, i suggest either bracing yourself or checking something else out

[wajjs]

I am sorry but I'm peeved by this post. Or more like, peeved by the justifications as to why Hal Jordan should be considered androgynous.

First of all, there is NO way around it, Hal Jordan IS a very masc man. He looks like a man. By definition, someone who is androgynous looking is neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine, as in dress, appearance, or behavior. That does not apply to Hal (least of all to Lobo). Hal is very masculine looking.

But leaving that aside, my main point of contention is... you guys KNOW that genderqueer and genderfluid people DON'T owe you androgyny, right? Like you guys KNOW someone can be genderqueer/fluid while not looking androgynous, RIGHT?

Being genderqueer doesn't mean being androgynous. Those things are NOT synonyms, and it is sincerely bullshit that they're still treated as such. Someone can be very much genderqueer while presenting themselves as a specific gender. Someone can be genderqueer but not look androgynous because they have huge tits, for example, and not looking a certain way does not make them less queer.

It's not cute or innocent to correlate looking androgynous to being genderqueer or genderfluid. Fucking knock that off.

[thegeminisage]

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: James T. Kirk/Spock, James T. Kirk & Leonard "Bones" McCoy, James T. Kirk & Leonard "Bones" McCoy & Spock, James T. Kirk & Thomas Leighton, James T. Kirk & Original Character(s) Characters: James T. Kirk, Spock (Star Trek), Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Anton Karidian | Kodos, Thomas Leighton, Original Child Character(s) Additional Tags: Tarsus IV (Star Trek), Episode: s01e12 The Conscience of the King, Tense Changes, Blackmail, Trauma, Angst, Established Relationship, Flashbacks, Dark, Untagged Trope

AOS-style take on Conscience of the King. Twelve years after Tarsus IV and three months after dying to realign the warp core and save his ship, Jim Kirk seems to have a new lease on life: he's been resurrected, started pursuing a tentative new relationship with Spock, and has an entire five-year mission ahead of him. That is, until the attempted murder of an old friend forces him to divert the Enterprise away from her intended course and towards Planet Q. After a chance encounter on the planet's surface, new secrets about Jim's time on Tarsus IV come to light—secrets that threaten to destroy everyone he fought to protect, and the new life he's finally achieved. Some things you carry with you wherever you go.

[dromaeo-sauridae]

ah shit here we go again. behold, a cat. 2 cat

[allthepandasintheworld]

bro im so normal about this old man im sooooo normal about him

[samantha-and-nellie]

wait sorry why is the gazebo bad?

hi anon! i have several reasons why i dislike the gazebo, but if it’s a product that you like, please don’t let my opinions affect that!

that being said, my main gripe is that there’s no reason to have given this to samantha. she already had a big ticket item that was relevant to her stories (the ice cream parlor) and, unless there’s some gazebo that pops up in the beforever versions of her stories that i’m not aware of, they literally could’ve stuck this product in the modern line and it would’ve fit in perfectly. beforever was such a mess in general, and this item kinda epitomizes all the problems with that line for me.

also, most of the big furniture items fall into this trap so this isn’t really a problem, but the proportions are just so off it’s comical:

lovely! a child-sized gazebo. sure hope there aren’t any adults in those stories who’d like to use it

[liquidstar]

Between commissions I finally managed to finish this OC set of parent characters! If the looks aren't enough to show you who their kid is, the background colors match them ^_^ but of course more details below!

Name: Thuban

Name origin: The former pole star, before the north star (Polaris), it's name means "Large snake" and is referred to as the “Dragon's tail”

Pronouns: He/him

Age: N/A

Relation: Raised Polaris, though they're not related by blood and have a somewhat distant relationship, until he suddenly went MIA

Weapon: Spear (Same as Polaris's)

Ethos (Power): N/A

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: Make no phallic jokes about the large snake thing and you'll be rewarded

Name: Ananke

Name origin: A moon of Jupiter, named for the mythological spirit of necessity, inevitably, and compulsion

Pronouns: She/her

Age: -

Relation: Bella's mother, she raised her to be a warrior

Weapon: Bardiche

Ethos (Power): Indomination (The ability to freeze the movement of objects and people, and lock them in place)

Flaw power is based on: Her strict enforcement of obedience through authoritarianism, and a lack of concern for the wishes of others

Notes: She believes in tough love. It's better in the long run to give your kid strength rather than affection.

Name: Rhea

Name origin: A moon of Saturn named after the Titan known as the mother of the gods

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 38

Relation: Saiph's mother, though she gave him up to the guild when he was very young

Weapon: None

Ethos (Power): None

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: Was unable to take care of a baby at the time, and gave Saiph to the guild. She wishes she'd visited beyond that but it's probably too late now...

Name: Arche

Name origin: One of Jupiter's moons, it's name comes from the muse of new beginnings and is associated with springtime

Pronouns: He/him

Age: 7

Relation: Saiph's half-brother. Neither currently knows the other exists

Weapon: None

Ethos (Power): None

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: He's just a little guy. He likes flowers and playing with toys. He wants to be a cool hero like his dad

Name: Poerava

Name origin: A star in Tucana, the Maori word for a black pearl of mystical beauty and perfection

Pronouns: She/her

Age: -

Relation: Al's mom. She mostly raised him on her own while her husband was with the knights.

Weapon: None

Ethos (Power): None

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: Probably the best parent of the bunch if we're being real.

[well-seasoned]

anyway i made this to clown on my friend but im sure some of yall will get some mileage out of it

[punctuation-completionist]

do you include angle brackets ⟨ ⟩ in punctuation or do they go in special characters?

currently, my thought is that i would count them similarly to the lenticular brackets or manicules. so... yeah! that's the solution for now.

. ? ! , ' ...

6/22

angle bracket bonus! (⟨ ⟩) +2

☝︎ that's what it looks like if you're wondering

[lucalicatteart]

Finally finished my weird hanging painting thing (originally a secondhand partially-done 'paint by numbers' kit that I found at a thrift store and kept to repurpose lol)! Imagery somewhat based in my own worldbuilding projects, and text written in my constructed language for one of my fantasy species, but also vaguely inspired by old tapestries and illuminated manuscripts and etc. I've never been great at neat clean patterning or text, but it looks cool from afar, and I always enjoy making "props" or things that are somewhat like real objects that might could exist in my world. :0

(additional pictures/info under the readmore)

-

Here's what it was originally! I probably didn't have to actually have a river running down the middle because it further makes the composition of the whole thing weird (various connected yet separate locations and things happening, instead of one unified event being portrayed), but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to fully cover up the already existing paint that was there.. and I can also kind of justify it by going with a more "all the imagery is just symbolic so it doesn't have to make exact sense" approach lol.. How is one half of the grass green and the other is suddenly snowy? shhhh.. it's not literal.. shhh...

Made a vague sketch, then painted over it, and then added more distinct lines in black pen. Center image first and border second.

The very last thing was the text, which actually took forever to translate because my conlang is still only like.. partially done, and some of the grammar is not worked out exactly how I would like it to be, so a few sentences I had to think about for a long time before just going "eh, this is probably not how I would do it if I considered it more, but I'll go with it for now" lol . I also am not entirely satisfied with all of the characters for the writing system, but again, it's good enough for a quick project, it doesn't have to be 100% accurate and perfect because it's a fake language that nobody knows anyway lol.

I thought about breaking down the text and translation here like I have for some of the tidbits of Avirrekava (the language) in things I've posted in the past, but I think it would take too long and is not interesting to anyone but me ghghj, so for the sake of getting the post out quickly, I shall not spend an hour typing All That lol.

The general jist of the writing though is that it's just about the Avirre'thel being cast out from the other elves, after abandoning their magic for immortality as a means to truly attain perfection (an important concept in elven culture), the usual, blah blah blah, but how it's Actually A Good Thing, because the gods are wrong and immortality is Cool actually and they like the shitty frozen lands they were sent to, so it's fine that everyone else is being a Hater about it lol

Lastly, here's a few photos outside in the sun to TRY and show the gold detailing actually shimmering or showing up! It really doesn't come through in photos, but there's plenty of little golden spots to highlight light or Importance.

Mostly the fire, the pink sparkle that represents magic, the red drop that represents blood, the light behind Inaashi's hands and head (common symbol for the elven religion/one of their main gods, shout out to anyone who read the ancient elven religion post and recognized that lol), the sun, and the symbol for the Avirre'thel/country of Navyete at the very top. I did a few other gold bits, but they're not highlighted because they're Significant, more just that it looked more symmetrical to have some gold on the border too lol.

Other things of note: The animals are not actually significant to Avirre'thel culture really, I just wanted to put a cat and a bird because I like them lol. (I also wanted to have a few funny looking creatures, as I was slightly trying to go with the 'in some old medieval painting the anatomy and perspective is very weird' vibe, though I think some of the other parts of it look too Normal to pull it off entirely). Same with the four leaf clover, which means nothing in their culture - but these are the only areas where stuff was just added self-indulgently .

Bligabata (giant cabbage that grows along rivers in Navyete) making an appearance! The architecture of the building IS based on actual concepts for ancient elven/older Avirre'thel architecture and metalwork. The Avirre'thel who's turning away from Inaashi/elves/magic and collecting blood, is doing so in a Special Bowl, as is part of their culture (collecting it in the hands, or just in a normal vessel would be disrespectful, they have Specific Bowls which is the only thing blood can be kept in, etc.).

The figure that represents Jhevona (and thus, a closer connection to magic, celestial imagery, etc.) is in weird ugly teal, which is not necessarily a color or design associated with them, as I don't have much common culture (like clothing) worked out for Northern Jhevona (who the avirre'thel would have come into contact with) yet, BUT everyone else is in more Typical colors (a northern elf in green, Inaashi in lavender + white + blue, an Avirre'thel in darker purples and reds).

Some things, like the four figures in the corners, and the two people + fish in the stream, do not currently have a meaning, but in-world they would.. Like, I could make up lore for how they're culturally significant and it would be true because I am god of the world, but I don't have anything currently. But just know.. they DO mean something, I just haven't decided it yet, maybe kind of fill in as I go, come up with a meaning later lol. Probably along the lines of an old myth from the ancient elven religion, a story, etc.

-

I don't know, probably other stuff, but that's my Trying To Keep It Short rambling for now lol. I'm just glad I finally finished this! For how vaguely sloppy it is up close (everything being completely freehanded, only used rulers once when doing the initial sketch and lining where the border should be + my hands are shaky + the canvas is bumpy + my handwriting is scratchy and terrible + etc. etc.) it still took a REALLY long time, even when not trying to make it all perfect. Especially if including the text translation + writing, which took like 3+ hours itself.

Maybe all the asymmetry/lack of things being centered is NOT because I was too lazy to measure anything, but is actually because in-universe, it's a practice illustration made by some young apprentice who has to work on little canvases for years before he can be trusted will a full sized mural or tapestry. It's his first week on the job! of course he's uncoordinated! don't laugh at him!!! lol

[yellowjacketslesbian]

TWITTER IS DYING. EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE. I STILL HAVEN’T FULLY LEARNED HOW TO USE THIS APP

hey y’all! I’m VanistheOGlhb on twitter, and I’ll be more active on here since twitter is basically dying lol

If we’re moots on twitter, let me know your @ on there so I can make sure to complete the moot on here!