#so that's more a vibes based thing but the rest should be self-explanatory

[ladystoneboobs]

House of the Dragon s01e05 We Light the Way // Game of Thrones s02e06 The Old Gods and the New // House of the Dragon s01e05 We Light the Way // A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin, Chapter LVI, Theon V // House of the Dragon s01e07 Driftmark // Game of Thrones s02e03 What Is Dead May Never Die // House of the Dragon s01e07 Driftmark // Game of Thrones s02e07 A Man Without Honor // House of the Dragon s01e07 Driftmark // A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin, Chapter LVI, Theon V // House of the Dragon s01e07 Driftmark // A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin, Chapter XXXVII, Theon III // A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin, Chapter LVI, Theon V // House of the Dragon s01e07 Driftmark // Game of Thrones s02e06 The Old Gods and the New // House of the Dragon s01e09 The Green Council // Game of Thrones s01e04 Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things // House of the Dragon s01e09 The Green Council // A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin, Chapter LXVI, Theon VI // House of the Dragon s01e09 The Green Council // A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin, Chapter XLVI, Bran VI // House of the Dragon s01e09 The Green Council // Game of Thrones s02e03 What Is Dead May Never Die //

[awfulalignmentcharts]

what the f%#$ does ____ mean on that stupid ass ship chart

saw a few questions, so ask (the air) and ye shall receive.

top section

"describe their vibe" — you can interpret this at will. it's just a space to put whatever you think encapsulates the vibes of their dynamic/them as a relationship. it can be like a list of tropes, a dumb tweet screenshot, some other type of image, anything really.

everything else should be straightforward lmao.

rest of the shit below the cut so i don't take up your dash space.

continuums section

"repressed vs (sexually) open" — as it sounds. repressed as in like they're a prude or open as in they're down to bang on the regular.

"no libido vs terminally horny" — not horny to very horny lmao

"aggressively romantic vs allergic to PDA" — kinda like how private the character is/how embarrassed are they by the notion of displays of romance. do they prefer lowkey displays of romance or are they dramatic about it?

"(severely) mentally ill vs mentally stable" — fairly self-explanatory. are they full of mental problems or are they actually mentally sound?

"kms'ing over being in love vs blushing giggling twirling hair" — pretty much their reaction to being in love, specifically with the other person. do they hate the fact they love the other person, or are they super giddy that they're in love?

"doomed by the narrative vs blessed by the narrative" — it's a little open to interpretation but my usage of it for individual use is like how fucked over by the canon events are they individually? (if the relationship's doomed, they're probably both on the doomed end; if the relationship ISN'T doomed but one was severely fucked over by the story's events, then they could be in the doomed section while the other one could be hovering elsewhere)

"big spoon vs little spoon" — self-explanatory. it's cuddle time. who's the big spoon, who's the little spoon.

"the weapon vs the wielder" — ngl, this continuum may not actually work too well for some healthier ships, but the general vibe of it is like the weapon is the one who tends to do things at the wielder's behest. the weapon is commonly more of a warrior type, more of the "protector" (and may also have self-worth issues), while the wielder is the one that typically gets protected, may have a great deal of importance for some reason, and is sort of the "user" of the weapon. you're more than welcome to make your own interpretations of it lmao

the pyjamas — based on this image: (who's the sleepy old man with the candle that goes snork mimimimi vs the beautiful wife who's likely also a damsel in distress)

"jealous vs chill" — should be fairly self-explanatory, but like is the person chill with their partner, or do they easily get jealous when the attention isn't on them?

"has zero game vs insane game" — are they bitchless or can they pull bitches? regardless of charisma (or lack thereof), can they actually get laid or not

"functional vs soggy loser" — are they a functional member of society with their shit together or are they born-in-a-wet-cardboard-box, perpetually soggy, capital P Pathetic?

the other shit

"what brings them together?" — what are some reasons that this ship actually has grounds? what do they have going for their relationship?

"what is keeping them/kept them apart?" — were/are there any reasons why they haven't just kissed yet? what are those reasons?

"poorly describe their meetcute" — describe how they met but be funny about it.

"list their reductive fandom tropes/fandom appeal" — reasons why people might ship them or like the ship. (e.g. enemies to lovers, angel and demon dichotomy, etc.)

"who's the armrest?" — two guys. one likes to turn the other into an armrest by sticking their arm on the other's shoulder (or something; done possibly with the intent to annoy). who's the one that's being used as the armrest more often?

"who's the headrest?" — two guys. one puts their head on the other more frequently. who's the one that's more often turned into a head rest?

"who fell first?" — who fell in love first?

"who fell harder?" — who fell in love harder?

"who cooks" — should be obvious lmao

"who cleans up more messes?" — can be literal messes, or who more often deals with the fallout of the bullshit one of them gets up to.

"who's the bigger yearner?" — who yearns more?

"who confessed first?" — should be literal.

touch

should be fairly self-explanatory, but it's kinda like what is or isn't off limits to contact of any form from the other person. say character A is entirely red while character B is entirely purple. A is allergic to any form of contact anywhere from B, while B fucking loves anything from A.

[lesbomaticlove]

I'm not sure if you've made a post about it already, but I'd love to hear your thoughts/headcanons for the jjk characters too!! :O

i briefly mentioned maki in a tangent off someone elses post, so ill go full into it here :)

-JJK spoilers ahead-

in general, i think its fitting for all the students to be in shape. i mean, physical training is a large part of their curriculum, its essential, but at the same time its important to recognize the variety of athletic bodies

also, i stated in my one piece post about how a bodybuilding physique isnt sustainable, and thats because you should have fat between your muscles and skin, end of story. and muscles generally arent defined without flexing anyway (another post that addresses this).

so, what does this mean for drawing these characters? it means theres no damn way yujji's dead ass is looking like this in the morgue

there should be little to no definition on those abs yet each one is shaded like that??? listen i for one fucking hate drawing abs period i will take any excuse to simplify it, but it realistically it should be far more subtle, just a suggestion of the muscles rather than individually outlining each and every one of them

here i have sketched a majority of the main students in my body hcs

todo is absolutely the type to go after an aesthetic body, but i fr just see no appeal in a body fat percentage below 10 (by reference of this image)- so i kept his muscle level, but took out much of the definition (of course he could still flex to be more defined, but resting would be more like this)

the rest have much smaller differences, but differences nonetheless. based on vibes.

yuji is muscular, but drawn off the assumption he doesn't do much weightlifting, just strength training (a bigger focus on function over fashion). its the same thing with megumi, really- you can be strong without having bulk at all (see movementbydavid on yt) only really showing muscle when flexing

the rest follow the same lines of logic. vibe based and all that. i dont wanna drone on explaining each and every decision bc i hope its mostly self explanatory.

remember: their cursed energy strength is not equivalent to their visible strength. abs aren't always visible. use references and try to vary your body types, fanart or not.

[mushroomwitches]

Okay so I am very adhd and have like a ton of drafts started for some fanfic ideas and wanted to focus on one to start with, but I wanted to get peoples opinions because I’m also very indecisive! Below the cut I will explain each option I have that I’ve started to help!

Slight Spoiler warnings

Option 1: okay so this idea is inspired by mamuro-chiba-ua ‘s artwork here on tumblr, though I have seen other talk about in on here, but their artwork and Au made me start to wonder how being the uncle to Vivi would effect buggy! This would focus on buggy as he goes about his life and would be a cross guild (crocodile, mihawk, and buggy! )

Option 2: for whatever reason kaveh and Alhaitham give me the swan Princess vibes. So this story would follow kaveh as he is captured by Dori and given to a mysterious man who changes him into a paradisea by day, only allowing him to return to his human form at night to build for him. Can Alhaitham save him or will he be trapped forever ( featuring Tighnari, collei and Layla as the others trapped with Kaveh and also turned into animals, Cyno as Alhaitham friend and Faruzan as the overly annoyed and sarcastic advisor to Alhaitham )

Option 3: so this one could either be gigolas or aralas, both work and I am a multi shipper who loves both options! I could also tweak this and make it a throuple if anyone is interested in that. But basically I was a total band kid and feel like Legolas would be a color guard member. Now if I do Gimli, that boy is definitely a percussionist, and I would say I could see him in the drum line as a bass player. If it’s Aragorn, I am a little more torn on that, I could see Aragorn as either a low brass player or the drum major! Basically a fun marching band AU (specifically based on DCI (drum corps international) which goes to 21 so they would all be over the age of 18!)

Option 4: so I’ll set the stage. Bilbo is the lead in the local theater companies upcoming production of Les Miserables (could totally see him singing who am I, like the voice of the original Jean Val Jean just fits in my head). But oh no, Bilbo’s babysitter ( *cough cough* Gandalf) didn’t show up and now he has to bring baby frodo with him, but he has to practice. So he call Bofur, his friend from college to see if he could come to watch frodo while he’s performing. Bofur agrees easily, but is also currently dealing with a brooding Thorin after a really shitty date and decides to bring him with. Thorin isn’t thrilled, claiming to hate musicals and only like his metal and stuff he can play with the rest of the band, but sees Bofur won’t let it go and agrees to go. He goes right in time to watch Bilbo practice the who am I song and just is like damn. Basically meet cute here and then just follows their life from there with all of life’s up and downs (plus cute little kids with frodo, fili and kili)

Option 5: okay so shanks and buggy give off like such ex energy, and I just love the idea of they got like married real young and got divorced a year or 2 later because they both wanted different things, but they are forced together like 20 years later (either a job, event, taking care of roger who is sick, something like that) and being to fall in love again!

Option 6: so I feel like this is pretty self explanatory. Basically I have begun taking both the hobbit and lotr and putting them into the star wars universe! The hobbit would include ships like bagginshield and lotr would include ships like samfro, Aragorn x Arwen, and gigolas!

But yeah feel free to answer the poll and comment or pop into my inbox with any questions!

[skelletors]

MCYT as D&D Characters 1 - Tubbo

So, there has been a CRIMINAL lack of D&D content surrounding the MCYT community, so I have decided to throw my hat into the ring and go over how I would make various figures in the Minecraft community into D&D playable characters.

A few ground rules for this thing:

This will not be balanced and the builds may not be very good. This isn’t for the minmaxers (not that there's anything wrong with that), this is purely based on either stories these people have participated in or their overall persona on the internet

These characters will go up to level 20, but in no way do you have to play them to the max level to get all the mechanics that make up the character

There will be little to no homebrew in these builds, just for my own ease of use.

I will be using standard array for all of these characters (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) when determining the stats for these characters, also for my own ease of use.

Now, with those rules out of the way, let’s get this series kicked off with the person who started my hyperfixation on this concept, Tubbo!

Character Traits to Emulate:

Crafty and chaotic

Charismatic but naive

Goat lad

NUKES

Race, Class, Background, Stats

Race: Satyr (This is the closest thing we get to how Tubbo is depicted, and I think the trickster aspect of the Feywilde fits Tubbo’s character very well.)

Ability Score Increases: +2 Charisma, +1 Dexterity Ram: You can make an unarmed strike with your horns equal to 1d8 + Strength Mod bludgeoning damage. Reveler: Proficiency in Persuasion, Performance and one musical instrument Mirthful Leaps: You can add a d8 to your jump speed whenever you jump, even if it’s from a standing position.

Background: Soldier (While Tubbox is fantastic, this is more aligned with the child soldier aspects of his character, from fighting against Dream at the start of the server to the L’Manberg revolutionary war.) Proficiencies: Athletics, Intimidation, One gaming set (Chess), Land Vehicles

Class: Fighter 10, Bard 8, Artificer 2 (Hopefully the Fighter class is self-explanatory, child soldier and a pretty good fighter. Bard is from Tubbo’s time as president and his attempts to settle issues through diplomatic means before the whole butcher army arc. Artificer should also be self-explanatory, man made nukes so of course he’s gonna be a bit of a tinkerer.

Stats:

Strength: 14

Dexterity: 10 + 1 -> 11 (Racial Benefit)

Constitution: 12

Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 8

Charisma: 13 + 2 -> 15 (Racial Benefit)

Level 1: Fighter

Fighting Style! One key way to flavor any fighter is through their fighting style, and I’m going to go with Interception. Essentially, if you’re nearby an enemy you can reduce some of the damage they’re dealing if you have a shield or some kind of weapon. I dunno, it just fits with his vibes.

Second Wind. Once per long rest, you can recover some amount of HP. Pretty damn good for a person who’s fighting a lot

Level 2: Fighter

Action Surge. The bee boy can attack more once per long/short rest.

Level 3: Fighter

SUBCLASS TIME BABY! And while there are many options for Fighter, I think that it’s best to stick with the classics

Champion Archetype! There’s no perfect fit, but I think Champion is good because of just how straightforward it is in concept.

Improved Critical! If you roll a natural 19 or 20, it counts as a critical hit!

Level 4: Fighter

Ability. Score. Improvement. You can either bump up one stat by two (or two by one) or take a feat. For this, since we’re still in fighter mode for Tubbo, we’re gonna bump his Str up by 1 and his Int up by one, leaving him with 15 and 16 respectively. He’s stronger, but he’s also smarter.

Level 5: Fighter

Extra Attack. You can take two attacks instead of one as one action.

Level 6: Fighter

ASI. For this, we’re gonna wanna add that to Str again, bumping it up to a 17.

Level 7: Bard

Jumping over to Bard now, you get a bunch of cool things from this class. Your spellcasting ability will be Charisma, so we’ll want to see about bumping that up soon

Bardic Inspiration! You get to inspire your comrades and give them a Bardic Inspiration die. Currently it’s at a d6 and you can do this as many times equal to your Charisma modifier

Level 8: Bard

Jack of All Trades. You can add half your proficiency bonus (Rounded down) to any skill you’re not already proficient in.

Song of Rest. During a short rest, if your allies are spending hit die to recover HP, they can recover extra HP. Currently, it’s a d6 worth of healing. Not amazing, but for someone who just wants to help even that d6 can go a long way

ASI. You already know, add 2 to Cha, bringing it up to a 17

Level 9: Fighter

Back to fighter, you get a cool Subclass feature!

Remarkable Athlete: You add half of your proficiency bonus rounded up to any Str, Dex or Con checks or related skills that you’re not already proficient in.

Level 10: Fighter

Nothing new here, but if you’d want to change your fighting style, you could. I won’t, but you could.

Level 11: Bard

What’s that time again? It’s Subclass time again! This time, we’re going with…

College of Swords! Now while Wilbur’s speech about how to get things done is through violence, I can’t help but feel like that rubbed off on Tubbo. Looking at you, Butcher Army.

You get bonus proficiencies, but as a fighter these are already covered. But you can also use a sword you’re proficient in as a spellcasting focus! Nice!

You can choose between two fighting styles, dueling or two-weapon fighting. I’ll choose dueling, since there’s not a lot of dual-wielding on the DSMP. This gives you a nice +2 to damage rolls if you only have the weapon in your hands.

Blade Flourish. If you use one of your Bardic Inspiration die, you can do some pretty shit! And some pretty cool shit, too. You can add to your AC for a turn, add extra damage or even push someone away from you. Certainly good at that last one, at least.

OH BUT WE’RE NOT DONE FOLKS! Bards get a lot of stuff at third level, who knew? This time you get Expertise. You can get a few more proficiencies, just to be EVEN BETTER AT THINGS, as long as things are skills.

Level 12: Bard

It’s that time again. Ability. Score. Improvement. This time, we’re taking a feat. More specifically, the inspiring leader feat. You can give allies some temp hp equal to your level + your Cha modifier. And let me tell you, Tubbo’s actually super good at giving speeches, it’s really fun.

Level 13: Bard

Font of Inspiration. You regain all your Bardic Inspiration after a short rest now, not just a long rest!

Bardic Inspiration: 1d8

Level 14 Fighter

Indomitable. If you fail a saving throw, you can reroll it! But be warned, you MUST use the new roll. While Tubbo may not be renowned for his PvP skills, he certainly has that indomitable spirit in the DSMP storyline.

Level 15: Bard

Countercharm. If you keep talking, you can create a countercharm that prevents your allies from being charmed so long as they can hear you and you’re awake. Tubbo has not only been able to keep quite a few of his allies close, but he’s also made more friends through his charm.

Extra Attack. You get to attack more? Honestly, not sure how this’d work with your extra attack so maybe they’d cancel out, maybe you’d get to attack three times. Still, it is nice to have.

Level 16: Bard

ASI. Let’s bring up that Intelligence to a 17, you’ll see why soon.

Level 17: Artificer

We won’t be taking many levels in this, just enough to get the cool benefits. 

Magical Tinkering. You can make tiny, nonmagical objects into magical ones with a handful of cool effects

Level 18: Artificer

Infuse Item. You can learn a handful of artificer infusions and put them into objects

While you won’t quite be making nukes at this point, these give you nice buffs to your spells that you might as well call them nukes with the firepower you’re packing.

Level 19: Bard

Last Ability Score Improvement. Take the Tough feat, significantly boosting your HP. Tubbo is very resilient and has gone through quite a lot of pain and suffering, so he’s probably bolstered his ability to take hits as well as his defenses.

Level 20: Fighter

Additional Fighting Style. This could go two ways, but I’m going defensive, giving you a slight buff to your AC. Again reflecting the bolstering of defenses after Doomsday with Snowchester’s walls and the making of nukes, all to keep himself safe.

And there we have it! The bee boy himself!

[mithrilhearts]

I’m just going to dive right in and say the Onion 👀

THE ONION!!! Oh my gosh, this is going to be so much fun! @stardryad-random and I have put together two big playlists for this fic already, and now to trim it down to a soundtrack like this? EXCELLENT, but tough. Great choice, my friend!

A Soundtrack for When Darkness Shines Brightest

3 Character Intro Songs

Shades and Shadows: Peter Gundry Star and I dubbed this as “Thorin’s Theme” for this fic a long time ago, and it has stuck ever since. It’s a perfect fit, and much like the rest of Peter’s work that is in these playlists of ours, it captures the somber attitude amazingly. It also gives me some small “Jack’s Lament” vibes, which, if you’ve been following this fic from the beginning, there are some loose TNBC elements here!

A Little Place Called Home: Adrian Von Ziegler This was dubbed as “Bilbo’s Theme” long ago as well! It’s a soft little tune that captures him, as well as his environment in a big contrast to that of Thorin. Also, I can say, you should be listening to this when we meet Bilbo, it just fits the scene so perfectly. When will that be? Soon.

Black Heart: BrunuhVille Oh man, we’re so excited to feature Arvinur (our young OC dwarf!) here in this one! This is a theme we decided fit him perfectly, which will be touched base on more later on in the fic, but it has this somber ‘music box’ style tune that really attaches to his character and what he’s lost. 

2 Lyricless “Mood” Songs

When Darkness Shines Brightest: Peter Gundry This one I feel is pretty self explanatory, it’s where we got the fic title from after a LOT of time looking. Also, Peter Gundry is a HUGE part of our “instrumental playlist” for this fic, the mood is just so PERFECT. It’s dark and somber and paints a perfect picture for the main setting of this fic - Erebor.

Tick Tock Goes the Clock: Jo Blankenburg Another theme for Erebor, but a far cry from what we’ve heard so far. It’s more fun and a nod to what the mountain used to be, as well as what lays within!

1 Villain/Conflict Song

Close In The Distance: Pealeaf, Chewie Melodies For any of my fellow FFXIV fans, you will absolutely recognize this one! And for those who don’t know the game, give it a listen, the song is just beautiful, and it occurred to me later on that it really fit a big conflict within the fic. I happily dragged Star into it too, and it’s just an emotional piece that I associate with a very big turning point that we’ll see later on. Enjoy!

4 Scene Songs

Fading Light: Aviators I wouldn’t say this is a specific scene song, but it’s a great theme for the fic overall. I would say it’s also a great “credits scene” song ahaha, if such a thing existed for fics!! One of my personal favorites when it comes to this fic.

Guiding Light: Mumford & Sons This song really fits the Thorin & Bilbo dynamic, though it is more relevant after a few chapters of the fic. I don’t want to touch base on it too much because we’re not that far in the fic (published, anyway ehehe).

Will the Sun Ever Rise: Five Finger Death Punch I associate this song a LOT with Thorin and his current situation within Erebor, being unhappy about the state of things. This is also a great song for when the full extent of his history and plight are brought to light against someone who has had it far easier than he..

Once Upon A Dream: Lana Del Rey This scene absolutely holds importance for a scene later on that Star and I have gushed over. I can’t talk about it yet, but just...listen to it and imagine for yourselves.

Send me any of my fics and I’ll give you a soundtrack!

[yumgrapejuice]

An analysis on Ranboo’s lore playlist

okay y’all first of all, ranboo has a killer taste, i love him, and second, i couldn’t resist. i’m an analyst by nature. am i looking too deep into some things? did ranboo maybe choose some songs purely for the vibe? perhaps. do i care? no. let me have my fun.

I’m gonna drop my own analysis/interpretation based on these songs but feel free do use this yourself if you want!! And also feel free to disagree/correct me on anything!! I’m not a professional musical analyst lol and I did take some inspiration from already existing interpretations for the more lyrical songs.

here’s the playlist btw

“Introduction to the Snow”—introduction to the album. Fitting for the playlist’s beginning, seeing the tone. It’s mostly referencing (self-imposed) isolation.

“Dream Sweet in Sea Major”—this Miracle Music’s whole album is about dreams and reality, how they clash, loneliness and the wish to be close to someone, yet still remaining isolated. Very whimsical, metaphorical, melodic, and it has this vibe as if on the edge of consciousness. I’d say it fits quite well with c!Ranboo’s general vibe. This song in particular deals with sleepwalking(ha)/being in a dreamlike state, the line between what’s real and what’s not blurred.

“The Mind Electric”—oh this one fits Ranboo extremely well. First part is in reverse, the second in normal (mirroring), and it can get quite unsettling. Like you’re not sure what’s happening with the instrumentals, many different voices. Again, very metaphorical, but to put it shortly, the protagonist is being judged for a crime they’ve committed and, in their defence, they say: “Father, your honor, may I explain, my brain has claimed its glory over me; I’ve a good heart albeit insane”. They get “condemned to the infirmary” for that, where electric shock is used on them as a form of “therapy”. As a result, the protagonist loses grip on reality and themselves and truly does go insane. They beg for mercy and sympathy, but there’s no one to help them. “Someone help me; Understand what's going on inside my mind; Doctor I can't tell if I'm not me”—need I say more, really?

“Live and Let Die”—the phrase “live and let die” means to live your life how you wish and let others live how they wish without interfering. At first, you live by the phrase “live and let live”, meaning you have your ideals and you try to change the lives of others according to them, but as life progresses, you stop caring as much/try to distance yourself from others’ business.

“Turn the Lights Off”—dreams and nightmares. Mildly foreboding yet energetic. The actual meaning is about growing up (transition from childhood to adulthood), but we can take some other interpretations that’d fit with Ranboo’s character better. This Tally Hall’s album deals with differences, black and white, and how there shouldn’t be a divide between them. In this song, there are some noteworthy lines that I’d like to mention:

- “Bend the nightmare, you control it; Artful dodger, easy does it”—lucid dreaming, you have to be careful with it so as to not lose control.

- “Shut the closet, get under the covers”—you’re afraid of something and instead of facing it and seeing whether there even is something to be afraid of, you hide.

- “Turn the lights off”—confront your fears. It can also mean that in the dark, there’s no differences between people, going back to the album’s meaning.

- “And everybody wants to get evil tonight; But all good devils masquerade under the light”—this could mean that everyone has a darker part of themselves but those who actually indulge in their dark tendencies do so in plain sight by pretending to be someone else.

“Ruler of Everything”—the main theme here is time and how it’s the “ruler of everything”; time doesn’t matter about where it goes, and it will never stop. The second verse is most interesting to me—there are two singers, man and time, but for the sake of interpretation let’s just see it as two voices. One is obsessed about being liked, fitting in, constantly asking for reaffirmation (“Do you like how I walk? Do you like how I talk?”), while the second criticizes the first (“You practice your mannerisms into the wall”). They argue—”I’ve been you, I know you, your facade is scam; You know you’re making me cry, this is the way that I am”. The second is calling out the first for not being honest to himself. Tone is lighthearted but with an edge of unease.

“Merry-Go-Round of Life”—from Howl’s Moving Castle soundtrack. The title’s self-explanatory, I’d say.

“Killer Queen”—this one’s a harder one to interpret in regards to Ranboo lol. The song is about, based on an interview with Mercury, a high class woman that likes to indulge in her various desires (mostly sexual). I would doubt that’s what Ranboo was going for, so! Perhaps about a person that has no regards for their reputation and instead does whatever they feel like it? They have a certain image but still act however they like. Yeah, not too sure about this one :’) But that’s what I’ll go with for my later analysis.

“Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked”—quite straightforward. A person that performs bad deeds has reasons for them. Not excuses, but explanations, and you can sympathize with it. We all do “bad” things for one reason or the other, and, in the end, we’re all just trying to get by. Once again, plays into the theme of there not being a clear distinction between good and bad.

“The Bidding”—another harder one to interpret. On the surface, it’s about an auction where men are trying to sell themselves to women. They all present themselves in different images, and it’s remarked that the women care less about the date and more about the prospect of it, the pretty words. The date, actually, ends up being disappointing. Could be about expectations. Some men outright admit they’re assholes so whoever chooses them should know that. People can tell you what their intentions are from the start so if you end up hurt, you have no one else to blame but yourself.

“A Mask of My Own Face”—another interesting one! Unusual instruments, strong beat. They’re singing about how they have a desire to pretend to be someone else while secretly still being themselves. “I’d rob my own apartment and I wouldn’t give a damn; I’d blame it on the person that nobody knows I am”—implying they have no regard for their own livelihood and are just out to have some fun. Plus, that no one would be aware it’s all an act. “I'd wear it on Thanksgiving and I'd laugh in the parade; At all the people hissing, knowing I'm the one they hate”—they take delight in the idea of upsetting others and them not knowing it’s actually the singer that they should be hissing. “And at the big finale I would tear my face away; And smile as they grip their own and try to do the same”—everyone wears masks, and this person implies that their mask and their true self is not different from each other while others’ are.

“Stardust Crusaders”—soundtrack from Jojo. Action-packed? idk never seen it sorry lol

“I Can’t Decide”—oh, this one’s a doozy! One of the ones that do not fit c!Ranboo at all, but that’s what makes it interesting. A classic, the singer is out to have fun, very lighthearted and yet they’re singing about murder. The protagonist here is clearly mentally unwell and they’re indecisive whether they should let their enemy/toy/(up to interpretation) live or not. Some curious lines:

- “It’s not easy having yourself a good time”—in the context of the song, that “good time” implies something wicked.

- “I’m not a gangster tonight, don’t wanna be the bad guy, I’m just a loner, baby, and now you’ve got in my way”—they don’t view themselves as “bad”, however, the next two lines are paradoxal—the singer says they’re alone and yet decide to “mess around” with whoever comes up in their life.

- “No wonder why my heart feels dead inside, it’s hard and cold and petrified”—signifying lack of empathy.

- “It’s a bitch convincing people to like you”—they don’t actually want to do that and see it as a bother.

“Stranded Lullaby”—back to Miracle Musical, back to the theme of isolation. Super lyrical, super musical. They talk about how their memories float around aimlessly in their head, a sea, and may sometimes get lost. The protagonist, a sailor, is losing touch with reality and can’t tell apart what’s a dream anymore and what’s not. They question what they’re going through and why.

“Hidden In The Sand”—a song about longing, in my eyes. The protagonist sings about how “you” love things and how he wishes to love the same things, in the end admitting that “all I’ve wanted was you”. They don’t wish to be separated, they wish to have someone in their life that they could love.

“Now I’m Here”—euphoric. They sing about how they’re alive again, thanks to one specific person. I’m not gonna go too much into this one (partly because it’s a more difficult one for me again, partly because it’s Queen and I don’t wanna uhh talk nonsense on accident lol), but what I got from it is that when one one else saw them, someone did, and they made them “live again”, and now as a result the protagonist is devoted to them.

“&”—really highlights Tally Hall’s album’s theme of black and white and that there shouldn’t be a divide. The repetition of comparing opposites is present throughout the entire song (Weak & Strong & Wet & Dry…) and it’s heavily implied we should “say goodnight” to this mindset. But people love to choose sides, put things into good or bad categories. By the line “They took a lesson from their fathers” it’s implied that people don’t develop this mindset by themselves and are rather influenced by others around them. The whole album is titled “Good & Evil” and Tally Hall examines and criticizes this idea. If we keep dividing people into good and bad, eventually, we’ll all destroy ourselves.

“I’m Gonna Win”—a song about someone who’s struggling to get by. “Sometimes it can seem like a merciless dream”—life can get really hard and the protagonist wonders “what’s really worthwhile”. In the chorus, whoever, they declare that they’re “gonna win” no matter what. They might get “bloody and bruised” but they won’t give up until they “won’t be abused” and until they’re “laughing alone”. No matter how hard life/others kick them down, they’ll keep going. By the lines “It’s hard to be charming and smart and disarming; It’s hard to pretend you’re the best; It’s hard to fulfill everyone’s expectations; It’s hard to keep up with the rest” it’s implied that they find it tiresome to keep up appearances and be liked. It’s challenging to always fit everyone’s expectations, but they’ll continue doing whatever they have to to “win”.

if ranboo ever adds more songs to his playlist, i may add them here too :) 

[coffeeshoptalkks]

nct 127 kibbe types

key: (D) dramatic, (SD) soft dramatic, (FN) flamboyant natural, (N) natural, (SN) soft natural, (DC) dramatic classic, (C) classic, (SC) soft classic, (FG) flamboyant gamine, (G) gamine, (SG) soft gamine, (TR) theatrical romantic, (R) romantic

the boyss ! ! ! 

taeil: SG? little unsure about this one... i considered R but his limbs are longer than an Rs would be but i would probably say he has a R essence as flowier fabrics like this look good on him

relatively large head in comparison to body

isnt delicate the way a TR would be

also TR lines don’t look great on him

im so sorry i always use ten for TR but like, TRs are freaking hard to type and hes non ambiguous so whoops

you can really see the contrast here

i feel like they always style him as a FG? and he just doesn’t have the yang to handle it 

think all the hair colors, excess excess amount of details that ty wears a lot

johnny: SD - sliGht C undertone 

long and lanky ass balloon man

thats all i got... jk. kinda

not a D, too much yin.

i’ve seen FN but really, hes not frame dominant, just looks tallish with a little squish in him

handles details decently well - oversized isn’t the best look

the reason i said a tiny c essence/undertone is because i prefer him in more minimalist SD clothing, more detail does start to look a little ridiculous (i promise i mean that in the nicest way possible lol, don’t come for my entp ass)

the classic comes in cause he looks PHENOMENAL in traditionally classic lines with a little umph and also looser classic lines (the yin in SD)

i needed to include this masterpiece

taeyong: FG. ah yes, the debate about ty... some argue D but he just doesn’t have the vertical line

(sitting somewhere btween D and FG, but FG fits better)

obviously a yang type

but you immediately remove any sort of natural and SD cause he isn’t wide and he isn’t squishy

doesn’t have the vertical line for a D, even from a lower angle you don’t look at him and go “yes, hes really tall” and thats what Ds are really about

it doesn’t matter how tall someone actually is, its how tall they appear to be, and taeyong just looks his height

think about how well ty carries every concept

thats a FG thing. (i can’t find the exact quote but a staff member said that its really interesting to style ty because u can put so many elements on him without it overpowering him

yuta: FG. if taeyong is a FG then so is Yuta

somewhere on the spectrum between FG and D but has to be put in FG just cause a dramatic’s first and foremost trait is vertical line

my next guess would be SD but really he doesnt have enough yin in him, hes all sharp

but because hes sitting somewhere in between he’s not gonna carry as much detail as a “purer(?)” FG

hes 100% yang based but doesn’t have the vertical line of a pure D

this looks phenomenal

he looks like a friggin anime character excUse me sir

i’m fine no i’m not

doyoung (dongyoung): SD. i’ve seen DC, and i do get the argument, but he isn’t as sharp as a DC would be.

you take a look at this and he just isn’t sharp in the way that seonghwa or vernon are

hes definitely a yang type but hes got an undercurrent of yin 

how do i explain this

SDs actually have a lot more yin than DCs despite them being placed closer to dramatic in a lot of graphs. (you know the ones i’m talking about)

even if you could make an argument for vertical line (as i think doyoung has a moderate to long one)

kai (a DC/C) is over 180 and yes he has a vertical line, but he has more yang than doyoung - hes just more boxy and has less yin

when i’m having trouble typing an idol i start looking really heavily at outfits and how they suit each style

doyoung just doesn’t make classic suits pop in the way a DC would

he looks restricted and needs a little extra yin detail to match 

the neck scarf with the draping absolutely ties this look together and he absolutely rocks it

he just doesn’t give me DC vibes and i really do think that SD fits him better

jaehyun: SC. leaning on pure classic with some sort of yin essence

okay, ngl i had problems with this one

I saw somewhere (probably reddit lmao) that jaehyun has a SD head on a not SD body... and i couldn’t agree more

my first instinct was to go to SD but really, he doesn’t have the vertical line and details don’t feel right

idk if its just how he’s styled but i really can’t find an era where i lOve what jaehyun is in

i genuinely think he’s just a larger boned SC with some SD mixed in with a weird combo of essences

a good example of a SC ish look is this where you can see the moderate vertical line (despite being 5′11/180)

it might be my personal bias coming in but i really do like him in more minimal and somewhat looser clothing opposed to him drowning in details

this confuses me cause it feels like it should work but it doesn’t...

this looks awesome this is pretty darn decent but i still feel like something is missing 

i compared jae’s vertical line to the SC poster boy joshua (svt 5th from the left) and kai (DC/C) and felt they josh’s was pretty similar but really, i wouldn’t rule out any of the classics or SD

idk if its just how he’s styled but i really can’t find an era where i lOve what jaehyun is in

tldr: big boned SC and thats as close as i’m gonna get lol

mark: FG. pretty self explanatory lol

leaning yang but obviously not a natural or (S) dramatic or classic

leaves you with FG

very sharp facial features

sharp sharp sharp

and a decent vertical line (looks his height ish)

rocks pretty much every hair color on the planet

if you asked me to nail down an essence i wouldn’t be able to hes just a FG lol

jungwoo: FN. classic essence

heres my problem with jungwoo... like jaehyun his type gets really ambiguous cause of essences not matching his actual body type (classic essence, FN type in this case)

because really, hes just too tall to be a DC,

too box like for SD

and his skin is much too yin to be a pure D (he is very squish, a true D - wonwoo svt is taught and yang through and through)

and once you rule out DC cause of height you’re kinda left with??

but his vertical line is just too prominent to be a DC, but hes not as shoulder heavy as most FNs and just?

*insert clown face*

a DC wouldn’t carry an oversized outfit like this

i actually like him in stuff like this, if not a little less oversized, he just looks so cozy

this gets close-ish but he looks a tad bit constricted

the reason i finally just gave in to FN is cause its as close as i think i can get. SD and D aren’t right, hes not a SN or pure N (jun svt) and in this pic (and others) you can kinda start to see that he IS actually more frame dominant than you first expect. (think like yanan pentagon, - minus the shoulders - super long limbs, lanky but still relatively squarish)

so FN it is

tldr: FN with a classic essence cause really thats (imo) the closest and best option you have and confused kpop fan 

haechan (donghyuck): G. right now i would put him in pure G but he might hit FG at some point in the future cause he isn’t 21 in international age and his type is still settling

boom vs resonance

okay its not that different but i sWEar hes picked up more yang somewhere

not a SG because his isn’t absolutely massive in comparison to the rest of his body 

chenle i’m looking at you (fifth from the left)

moderate to short-ish vertical line

sharp jawline vs squish face but he doesn’t have the sharp yang of a FG (mark)

just still got some squish on him 

[hollowisthyname]

Hello, Icarus! Please infodump to me about Danganronpa?

okay so! I had written out a whole thing but then tumblr deleted it! so that was fun! /s but now that I know what I'm going to write it's much easier, so that's good 😌

n e ways, I'm gonna do like a basic timeline w explanations and some other stuff that hopefully I'll remember once I start writing!! so let's go :D

a list of everything danganronpa in chronological order (not the order that you should play/watch the stuff in, I'll put that in the explanations)

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Despair Arc (DR3) - second anime, watch along with the Future and Hope arcs after playing the first two games (and UDG if you want to). backstory for the cast of the second game.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (THH) - first main game, play first. also has an anime that's basically the same as the game, but since there's not enough time to put everything from the game into the anime I definitely recommend playing the game. high school students from a prestigious school trapped in said school are forced to play a killing game, hijinks ensue.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (UDG) - third game, not main. play after playing the first two games. very different game mechanics from the main three, and widely considered not cannon by the fandom. I like it though, and it introduces a lot of really interesting characters along with giving a v underdeveloped character from the first game a lot more character development. it's not necessary to play it (though one of the characters plays a pretty big part in the third anime, so that would make more sense if you already knew her), but I think it's interesting and fun. there are also robot fights.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (DR2 or SDR2) - second main game, play after playing the first game. same basic premise as the first game, except it's a different class (same school though) and this time they're on an island. even more hijinks and plot twists than the first game.

Super Danganronpa 2.5: Komaeda Nagito to Sekai no Hakaimono - (I could only find the Japanese title for this one, sorry 😔) kinda also part of the second anime? watch after playing the first two games (and UDG if you want) and watching DR3. character is woken up from a coma via overdramatic and overpowered other character.

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Future and Hope Arcs (DR3) - second anime, watch along with the Despair arc after playing the first two games (and UDG if you want to). aftermath of the first two games.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (DRV3) - third main game, fourth game in total. I don't actually know when it happens bc they're v secretive about everything, so I'm just putting it last. play last. same premise as the first two, the class is trapped in a school with a courtyard and a huge sort of dome around everything. peak hijinks, too many plot twists to count.

woo!! that's the timeline as I know it, hopefully I didn't miss anything. and I have managed to remember what else I was going to say, so let's move on to section two:

the mechanics of the games

danganronpa is, at its core, a glorified visual novel. every character has a certain amount of sprites for when they talk, as well as voice lines that aren't usually the exact text on the screen but fit the vibe of whatever they're saying. and as I've said before, there's quite a lot of talking. these games have more plot than should really be possible and most or all of it is done through dialogue. cutscenes and class trials are the only parts that are reliably fully voice acted, but there are a lot of those.

as for the parts that are less visual novel-y: you can walk around, and the settings are pretty much as 3d as the 2d-ish style of the game allows. you can also click on things, and sometimes clicking on stuff will get you monocoins, the currency of the game, which means you'll be able to buy presents for the characters!!

"now why do I need presents for the characters?" you ask. well, that's because you're given a certain amount of free time each game to hang out with characters you want to get to know better! the game's ending is fixed, so you won't change the course of the game by who you do or don't hang out with, but you can learn more about characters and become closer to them! giving them presents they like makes them like you more :D

and the most exciting part of danganronpa, what a lot of people play the games for, the true lure of the game.... the class trials!!

so these characters are in a killing game, right? basically, they're faced with a sort of lose-lose predicament: stay trapped in the school forever, or kill one of your classmates to "graduate". but it's not as simple as that, because in order to graduate, you can't be caught. and how do you determine whether or not a criminal has been found out? well, a trial of course!

enter the class trials. every student (barring dead or severely wounded ones) is required to participate in a kind of mock trial- except someone's really dead, and they need to find the murderer or they'll all die too.

(right, did I forget to mention that? only one person can graduate. getting out alive insures that none of your classmates get the luxury of doing the same.)

so, yeah. the class trials are a true fight for life on both sides, because who ever loses will be executed.

and they're really, really fun.

entirely voice acted! enough minigames that the list of them is probably longer than this entire post! the joy of solving the mystery! the... execution, right in front of everyone.

hey, it's a dark game. not like they're trying to hide that. and the executions aren't actually all that gory most of the time, but they're still very much there and onscreen. also as close to fully animated as the games ever get, which is pretty cool.

so how the class trials work is this:

there's a murder. dun dun duuuun. you investigate everywhere related to the murder to get "truth bullets", which are the reason you don't immediately fail at the trials. you don't have to remember all of them, they're all written down in your e-handbook. plus, the protagonists all seem to have really good memories.

time for the actual class trial!! Monokuma (asshole bear running the killing game) introduces everything, explains the rules. and everyone starts talking.

there are a lot of different parts to the class trial, but most of it is "nonstop debates". everyone talks one after the other, and you have to find inconsistencies and shoot the right "weak spot" with the right truth bullet. you refute the lie or mistake and everyone goes back to arguing normally.

there's also hangman's gambit (weird hangman to find a key word), multiple choice things (self-explanatory), and plenty of others.

near the end of the trial (or sometimes only a little over halfway in, it varies), the killer will.... kind of become obvious. there's a specific kind of change in behavior that's the mark of the murderer in these games, but I'm not sure how to describe it exactly. a lot of times there's an accent change, and in general they start acting much more erratic. since it's a trial, though, even after this presents itself you still have to prove your case beyond reasonable doubt.

and once it's become clear to the killer that they're backed into a corner, you have to do the "bullet time battle". it goes by different names in different games, but the basic mechanics are the same: you battle against a student (usually the killer, but not always) in a rhythm-based battle where you have to click to the rhythm to refute your opponent's statements. once you've dealt enough damage, you shoot the final piece of evidence, and that's the end of it.

the murderers react differently different times. sometimes they break down and confess. sometimes they keep denying it. sometimes, they're just calm. however they act, though, the end is the same. they are caught and punished accordingly.

but before that, there's one more thing to do. the closing argument.

your final task is to explain how the murder was committed, from idea to execution (look, a pun! see I can be funny too 😌). and you have to do it... as a manga.

you don't have to draw the whole thing yourself ofc- you just have to fill in the missing panels and then watch as the protagonist narrates it to the rest of the class.

and that's all for the class trial, not counting the long talks after every execution while still in the courtroom.

wow, this is getting...... really, really long. there's only one more thing I'm gonna add, and I promise it will be much shorter than the other two bc it is late and I am officially Incredibly Fucking Tired.

with no further ado, a very short part three:

my general impression of the game. its vibes or smth, I dunno this is just what i think about it

when I first heard of danganronpa, I thought it was a horror game. I can now assure you that it is not. thriller? maybe. debatable. but definitely not horror.

and despite its extremely dark premise, this game is not all doom and gloom. there's so much stuff about hope, and overcoming despair even when it seems impossible... it's not exactly a happy game, but there's a lot more of that in there than you'd probably expect.

all in all, I love this game. so much. it means a lot to me, and I think it's a really good game. thanks for letting me talk about it so much asdhfd :D

[a-little-slice-of-fandom]

A) hi how ya doing? B) I miss you C) can you analyze anything of Aragon? Thank you :)

Hey anon! I’m doing good ❤️❤️❤️ thanks so much for asking! I hope you’re doing well too!

Aragon is really interesting to me, because her song is kind of like the bohemian rhapsody of six. Very few people will say that it’s their favourite, but everyone will instantly sing along because it’s so catchy! Plus, it’s a great song to follow ex-wives with. It keeps the energy up and introduces the audience to the plot of the show.

I will say this until the day I die: while I would love if more songs were as scathing as say AYWD...you could never start with those songs. It’s too much too quickly. You need the more catchy, light-hearted songs of Ex-Wives, No Way and DLUH to start with because it helps get the audience invested in the show and the plot as a whole. Six, first and foremost, will always need to work dramatically. That’s why the old, more openly bitter No Way was changed to something a little more light-hearted.

The first thing that always comes to mind when I think of Aragon is regal. She’s the queen who was married to Henry for 24 years and was a Spanish princess as well. She’s the refined, confident queen who knows her own worth and honestly? I get the vibe she just wants a little bit of respect from the other queens. While some people characterise Aragon as rather cold, I honestly don’t get that? The show portrays Aragon as a very loyal person despite all that Henry put her through, and she clearly cares for Mary and also, to a lesser extent, Parr as her god daughter (remember she calls Howard “the least relevant Katherine”...meaning she does see Parr as relevant.) and she often refers to other queens as “babe” even though she was just arguing with them five seconds earlier (harking on the idea of forgiveness, something I think Aragon is very good at in the show!). Plus, while there’s only one line referring to Mary, Aragon is always so protective of her and warm to her. In the album, Renee’s “aw, hi baby!” is the most adorable and heartwarming part of the song and it’s clear she adores her daughter, while the “oh, you don’t remember?” in the live versions is so protective of her baby. It’s honestly something we don’t discuss enough. Moreover, Aragon’s song is one of the most energetic, but she has her earnest moment of pleading as well, along with her undisputable strength of refusing to back down and accept Henry’s lies. She is also incredibly passionate when talking about something she loves or defending herself when she has to (which make sense! This was the woman who rode with an army wearing armour while pregnant. Aragon was not to be messed with!).

I personally disagree with people who try and claim that Toby and Lucy wrote Aragon as the “angry” queen because she never truly gets to the levels of boleyn or seymour (yes there’s the miscarriage argument where she does raise her voice but like...are we ignoring Seymour’s “boohoo Mary had the chickenpox” or the fact that Boleyn is also shouting in that argument??? And she usually goes louder than Aragon???) and yet she’s so often defined by that trait even though other queens share it and are even more extreme. And yes, Im fully aware of why certain people characterise aragon in this way and I’m so annoyed that even though we continually call out the fact that’s it’s problematic, it continues to happen. However Aragon does have flaws like every good character should. Aragon just won’t try and listen to the other queens. She refuses to accept that Boleyn or Seymour might have had a worse time than her. Now I personally never got the feeling that Aragon blames the other queens for anything. Her feelings are directed at Henry. Notice in now way she talks about how henry is “running around with some pretty young thing” and she refers to him having “one son with someone who don’t own a wedding ring”. Those people? They’re clearly supposed to be Boleyn and Bessie, two people who are actually on stage at the time. But Aragon doesn’t take an easy shot at either of them in her song. She doesn’t say their name or call them out or try and involve them in her song. Contrast this with DLUH where Boleyn grabs Aragon, forces her to be front and centre in this verse and then insults her constantly (“three in the bed” = airing Aragon’s and Henry’s ✨ intimate issues ✨ with the entire world while “Don’t be bitter, cause I’m fitter” and “he doesn’t want to bang you, somebody hang you” are both pretty self explanatory). I think it’s absolutely key that Aragon doesn’t blame Boleyn or Bessie or direct any misplaced feelings towards them in no way or the show. Her (very justified) feelings of anger and betrayal are (generally) directed at Henry. And that’s something so many people ignore! And I personally wish more people would be like Aragon in this regard in the real world. I don’t know if other people agree with me, but it’s your boyfriends/husbands job to not cheat on you, not someone else’s. I do know some people think that Aragon is slighting Boleyn and Bessie in that verse but if we’re sticking to tudor ideals, Aragon not mentioning them by name (in essence keeping their “dignity” and “honour” intact) would be the kinder thing to to. (Note I’m only saying this with Tudor ideals in mind. I also think Aragon fully knows that Bessie was 13 when Henry started making advances on her and again, refuses to blame Bessie for what happened because she knows she’s a victim).

However...Aragon doesn’t ever try and listen to other queens and will insult them if she has to. She (along with the other queens like Boleyn and Seymour) gets more and more defensive and petty as the show continues. However, she never gets to the same levels of hard hitting insults has say Boleyn. But I mean...Aragon was a queen who went through so much in her lifetime and never was able to really talk about it. Yes, she resisted Henry trying to get their marriage annulled, and she was one of the strongest women at the time, but she couldn’t deal with her emotions the same way that we can today. She never got to told Boleyn to go away or leave her alone. She never got to bad mouth Henry because he was the king. She was, first and foremost, a lady, and she was expected to act in a certain way all of her life. And now that she’s reincarnated in modern days, she doesn’t have to do all of those things. She can be annoyed and let it show, she can tell Boleyn all those things she wanted to do back in the day. Some actresses even lean into the idea that it’s sort of cathartic for Aragon to FINALLY just say what she wants to say without having to worry on how it would reflect on her as queen. Mind you, I still think that Aragon considers how her words would reflect on her (much more than any other queen) but she definitely has more wiggle room within the show than she did during her reign.

In addition, while the fandom also like to reduce Aragon to obsessed with her religion, I actually really like how her relationship with Catholicism is portrayed in the show. While I do concede that Aragon’s faith is sometimes reduced to the butt of the joke, that’s not always the case and I personally really enjoy how Aragon seems to gain a lot of strength from her religion, instead of it holding her back or hindering her. While I do understand why so many characters in media struggle with their religion or find it suffocating (my relationship with Catholicism is...fragile at the best of times), but I genuinely love this idea that Aragon’s faith is what guides her and gives her inner strength in times of need. I mean,,,when she’s pleading to Henry during now way, the music slows to something that sounds more like a gospel song, Aragon is kneeling with her hands clasped and there's bright white light around her (i also vaguely remember something that looks like a crucifix behind her as well? But I'm not 100 percent sure on that). At the time where Aragon is most vulnerable and needs to find inner strength and wants guidance...she turns to her religion and that's seen as a very positive thing!!! The same with Aragon's verse in Sox. Moving to a nunnery and finding friends there is something that's now postive and liberating instead of being stuffy and boring and restrictive like nunnery are often portrayed as in media. (yes I know that's also a play on Henry wanting to send Aragon into the nunnery after their divorce but I do think that there’s no malicious religion-basing in Six is a nice touch that’s often overlooked).

Finally, Aragon’s costume is quite important to her character. It is one of the more feminine outlines (especially the updated version on broadway) and I do think it’s an inadvertent issue that the queens with the more stereotypical feminine costumes are more catty whereas the more stereotypical androgynous or masculine outfits (aka Parr and Cleves) are often the voices of reason, but I don’t think that’s intentional or is intended to comment on anything. It’s just a coincidence. However, the gold of Aragon’s outfit obviously symbolises her love, courage and passion, along with indicating her status as a noble. While yes the rest of the queens were all noble in some way before they married Henry, Aragon was a Spanish princess and the daughter of two incredibly powerful monarchs. She was probably the highest standing out of any of the queens, and her costume reflects that. I also think that her wearing gold to flaunt her status could be her trying to make up for the years between her marriages to Arthur and Henry (where she didn’t have many provisions made for her as far as I know) and also the last few years of her life. (I’ve seen differing reports on how Aragon was provided for after Henry divorced her, with her claiming that she was living in poverty while others state she got 3000 pounds. If anyone has any confirmation then let me know). Either way, her wanting to flaunt her status after her reincarnation by wearing lots of bright gold makes total sense. I’ve also seen a few people say that the bust on Aragon’s costume is the most historically accurate but I can’t confirm that, although if it is then that’s a really nice touch.

Well this took ages, but it was fun to finally get to analyse stuff again AND do it on a queen who doesn’t get discussed very much!!! Aragon often gets reduced to “catholic” or “angry” within this fandom, even though she is just as complex as any other character within the show but she just expresses things in very different ways. And that’s okay! This whole show is about how women (and NB folk!) are different and do have different experiences and do express things differently and have different personalities and that’s okay! We should celebrate our differences.

[dreamaboutwhathappens]

the man was FILLED with easter eggs and metaphors. here they are!

1. being in the room where it happens

in the lyric video for the man, we see a woman working so hard to try and get to where all the men are -- on top, both physically and metaphorically. in the music video, we see The Man starting out here, just another normal day at the office. another normal day in charge, and on top.

2. “i’d be a fearless leader”

The Man not so much as walks into the room and makes a few comments before getting applause for his work. at the same time, every desk in this office can be seen with a mountain of papers, files, and books stacked on top of them. for all the hard work that these people are doing in this office, The Man gets all the applause for a fraction of it.

3. the subway

now, obviously what we have here is what you have on any and every subway or other form of local transportation -- that one asshole who feels entitled to take up as much space as he wants at the discomfort of everyone around him. while i could get into how mansplaining is a metaphor for men feeling the right to take up more space in society then women, i won’t. instead, i want to focus on all the little details on this subway that tell men they can. at the very, very top of the frame, we see text at the bottom of an ad that says “because you DESERVE what you want” and the posters on either side of The Man tell us “mother nature doesn’t stand a chance” and “capitalize on the feeling”. this is how society treats men. they should get to do whatever they want, based only on their feelings or wants. this notion will become important in the subway station.

shoutout to the girl in the miss americana hoodie! i think we can safely say she’s listening to lover on her headphones.

4. the newspaper

for this image, i turned the brightness WAYYY up so we could read the newspaper. the leading headline is “what man won the year in celebrity dating?” with the caption “who crushed it this year?” one headline says “years most eligible CEO’s” and another says “men in love in sports”. now, i don’t have to tell you that taylor swift was vilified for her relationships. these headlines show the difference between how men and women are treated when it comes to relationships. what’s it like to brag about getting bitches and models?

on the back cover, we see a contrast between how men and women are viewed in society. the ad dedicated towards men has a very strong and tough vibe to it, and the article beneath it carries the title “it’s men against boys with no ladies around.” in fact, the only mention we get of said “ladies” is in the “style section” where we see two sexy, rail thin women posing at fashion shows. while society views men for their strength, women are supposed to be objects of beauty and desire, and nothing more. 

5. here lies taylor swift’s reputation (and all her previous albums)

now, obviously, the sign says “missing, if found, please return to taylor swift” and grafitied on the walls are the names of the albums whose masters taylor does not own. remember when those ads on the subway told men that you DESERVE what you want? that’s what empowered The Men who stole taylor’s masters to take them. they wanted them, after all! let’s also remember that The Man is can be seen pissing on the wall in this shot. it’s a metaphor for The Men who own taylor’s old albums and are essentially pissing on all her hard work. we can also see “KARMA” written in big letters in the middle of all the albums, which invokes a lyric from look what you made me do: “all i think about is karma, and then the world moves on but one things for sure, maybe i got mine but you’ll all get yours”. pretty sure karma is coming for The Men who own taylor’s masters.

if you look closely, you can also see a sign to the left of The Man that says no scooters! sc*oter bra*n is not welcome at the 13th street station

6. “i’d be just like leo in st. tropez”

for your viewing pleasure, i have included an image of leo in st. tropez. we can see women in bikinis, and every sort of expensive, luxurious form of leisure you could think of. during the verse where we see The Man on the yacht, she sings “they’d say i hustled, put in the work, they wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this i deserve”. this is reminiscent of The Man when he was in the office and how, no matter how much work he did or didn’t do, he is heralded as a genius. the point of saying she’d be just like leo in st. tropez is not to try and call out leonardo dicaprio for going a cruise and having some fun. people should be entitled to celebrate and vacation however they please. the point is that women should be able to do the same thing.

7. The Man’s “walk of shame”

this is a metaphor for how men in society are treated when they take a misstep. while women can be criminalized and thrown the wolves, it appears that men always have people on their team, and in this case, hands lining up to be high-fived. men often are not held to the same standards as women, and even when they do something wrong, they face very little backlash for it, and normally have their own set of groupies or supporters telling them that they were really in the right (and they are allowed to believe it).

at the back of the hallway, there hangs a portrait of The Man pointing at the camera, as if to say “you ARE the man.” it feels like uncle sam, but in a “ i want YOU for us army whatever your heart desires” kind of way.

8. world’s greatest dad

the bar for men is so low that when they do the very minimum (in this case, merely look after their own child), they get commended for it. imagine if this were a woman. would she be applauded? no, she would probably be reprimanded for being on her phone and ignoring her child, like The Man did here.

9. bragging

this one is pretty self-explanatory. what’s it like to brag about raking in dollars and getting bitches and models? what’s it like when it’s all good if you’re bad and it’s okay if you’re mad? in this scene, we see The Man telling all his buddies about the bitches and models and dollars, and then freaking out on somebody. 

10. raking in dollars

who's on the 100 dollar bill? he is! the serial number on this bill also ends in 13. i thought there might be more hidden goodies here, but if there are, the video isn’t in high enough resolution to tell. the only other thing i can make out was that it said “for motion picture use only” which i thought would be an easter egg until i rendered it in photoshop and could read it clearly. oh well!

11. raising money for the women’s charity

a problem we see in society a lot is people of privilege being an ally only by action, not by everyday behavior. here, we see The Man benefitting a women’s charity, but all throughout the video we haven’t seen him go out of his way to respect or give a voice to women. even in this shot, a woman stands on the sidelines while The Man takes all the glory. while he raises money for women, he has no other character traits that show he actually cares about them. 

in a different shot of this scene, a water bottle from taylor’s merch can be seen on the sideline.

12. the unimpressed umpire

this is taylor’s dad! his name is scott. in a video full of mediocre men, scott is our resident Good Man :)

13. the freakout

in 2018, serena williams unleashed on an umpire who accused her of cheating and stuck her with her third penalty of the game -- penalties the whole crowd was certain she did not deserve. she even said at the time “To lose a game for saying that, it’s not fair. How many other men do things? There’s a lot of men out here who have said a lot of things. It’s because I am a woman, and that’s not right.” this is a DIRECT representation of this. it’s as they say, it’s all good if you’re bad, and it’s okay if you’re mad.

14. the hat

the hat our tennis attendant is seen wearing says “TS” in big letters, and in a circle around it, it says “i’d be a fearless leader, i’d be an alpha type.” taylor’s dad can also be seen wearing this hat.

15. the one where lover is NOT the happy couple’s first dance

first of all, this shit makes me SO uncomfortable. this is obviously an allusion to all the men who marry MUCH younger women, which is poignant because, again, taylor suffers mercilessly for her relationship choices, and they’re nowhere near as abhorrent as this. something also worth mentioning: scott borchetta is turning 58 this year. i’ll let you figure the rest out.

16. mr americana

any taylor swift fan will know that in january, taylor released a documentary with an intimate perspective on her life titled “miss americana” which focused a lot on the struggles taylor has overcome in her career. choosing miss americana to be a part of this video is a wise choice, because it highlights those same struggles that taylor is tackling in this music video. we can probably assume that mr americana faces significantly less struggles.

every part of this poster has been revamped to be man-centered, even down to the star role - tyler swift, not taylor.

17. take two

here, our director tells The Man that he needs to be sexier, and more likable. this reflects criticism that taylor and other women in the public eye hear almost daily. as i mentioned before, women in society are valued only as objects of beauty and desire, and here, we see the script flipped to bring that to light. 

in this final scene, we leave the fantasy world of the music video that The Man is starring in, and go to what appears to be a woman-dominated world, insinuating that the universe of the music video is one opposite to our own. this drives home the claim that if taylor were the man, she would be the man.

18. dwayne the rock johnson

i thought that having the rock voice The Man was really poignant. think about the rock’s career -- started out as a wrestler, is now an actor, but he’s known for his kindness and his dedication to social justice. if you asked me if he had ever been a part of any scandal, i would tell you no. and that’s exactly who The Man is. that’s exactly who this song is about, and that’s who taylor is. she has had an insanely successful career spanning over a decade, crossing into multiple different genres and fields, and excelling at all of it. she’s friendly, hard working, a social justice warrior, and a philanthropist. but all of those things are pushed aside in favor of the negative. using the rock as The Man was the perfect way of finishing off the statement,

“if i was a man, i’d be the man.”

[alrightbookreviews]

Shadow and Bone

by Leigh Bardugo

book: 7/10

show: 9/10

Alright so i’m assuming most of y’all have heard of this book after the Netflix series came out like a week ago and are like “damn i shoulda read the book” or maybe not. but if not then idk why ur even on my blog but whatever. i read this book like a month or two ago before i even knew about the show so it was a strange coincidence for me but i was excited for the show bc the book was pretty decent. so i sat down to watch the show w pretty low expectations bc the movies are never better than the books (duh) but i ended up liking the show WAY more than the book and here’s why.

So basically, the plot of the book is this chick named alina who draws maps i guess has this friend named mal (who she grew up at an orphanage with) and she has been high key in love w him basically her whole life and he is so fucking clueless so he doesn’t pick up on it at all. but they get sent on a boat across this big black cloud thing called the “shadow fold” w spooky monsters in it. so you’re probably thinking “oh okay since they took a boat, the shadow fold must be over water” wrong. it’s over some crusty ass sand and instead of getting something with wheels they drag this big ass boat across dry land which makes 0 sense to me but okay. also i should probably mention that there are people w like magic powers or some shit but i’ll get to that later. anyways, so alina and her bestie end up on this boat goin across the big spooky cloud with some other rando people. another design flaw of the boat that really bothers me is the fact that there are EVIL FLYING MOSTERS up in this dark ass cloud and instead of like putting everyone below deck or whatever, they jus have everyone vibing out in the open for the monsters to snatch. so of course, the monsters start snatching bitches. and mal gets snatched and alina is like omg no and then she passes the fuck out. very wild stuff. so they make it out of the shadow fold somehow and alina wakes up and these guard dudes are draggin her to the fancy magic people tent. i think now is a good time to explain the magic people so ima do that. so basically there are all these people with magic powers called “grisha” which is kinda confusing bc it sounds a lot like geisha but whatever. there’s like a bunch of different powers and they all have wacky names that i can never remember so i just call them the wind people, the water people, the fire people, the heart people, the healing people, and the builder people. the names are pretty self explanatory. but then there’s this one guy called “the darkling” which is the dumbest name to ever exist omfg i laughed over it for a WHILE. so y’all can probably guess what his power is based off of his stupid name. he makes the shadows move oooo spooky. and he can also use the shadows to chop people in half. i guess. so back to the story, they drag alina to the darklings tent and he’s like “bitch u got powers” and she’s like “nah fam” and he’s like “yeah watch” and he cuts her w a knife and she lights up. like she turns into a human lightbulb. and she’s like “damn okay so like that’s what happened on the boat when i passed the fuck out” so they take her to the palace bc i guess she’s the first person to ever have that power and it’s important bc it can get rid of the shadow fold or whateva. and basically the rest of the book is her trying to figure out her powers and the darkling trying to find this deer whose antlers will amplify her power and alina complaining about living in a castle blah blah blah.

so here’s why the show is better than the book:

her friend/guy she’s in love with is so fucking toxic in the book. he’s such a bitch to her and she’s just like lol okay ily and i’m like wtf? why do u like this piece of shit? he’s just rude man. and in the show i actually liked him. he tried his hardest to get to the palace and find her after they took her away unlike in the book when he didn’t do shit and when she finally saw him again he was mad at her for some reason idk i was like bro u gotta chill. so i’m glad he was chill in the show.

the darkling’s name in the show is “general kirigan” which is also pretty lame but SO much better than the darkling. no debate.

leigh bardugo has 7 books total taking place in this little universe (the shadow and bone trilogy, six of crows duology, and the king of scars duology) and they threw some of the characters from six of crows into the show for some reason. i was a little skeptical of how that was gonna go before the show came out bc shadow and bone and six of crows take place at different times and also i haven’t read six of crows yet but omg. i loved them. it’s this little squad of this ninja bitch, some guy w a cane who is hot af and (my favorite) this gay dude who mostly just talks about a goat. they were baddies and i was so happy they made a lil plot for them and put them in the show.

and those are really the only reasons. idk. i’d recommend both the book and the show but definitely the show a lil bit more.

now it’s time to talk some shit about everyone. (SPOILERS!!)

jesper: okay something important i need to say that my mom mentioned as we were watching the show: wouldn’t it have stank like shit when jesper fucked that one guy in the stables??? like dude no. literally do it ANYWHERE but there pls and thank u.

kaz: jesus fuck make a move you goddamn pussy holy shit

inej: okay first of all the actress who played her was GORGEOUS and she’s such a badass. kaz and jesper can’t do SHIT compared to her.

alina: she lowkey annoyed me a lil bit in the show. she ended up being the one who was a dick to mal instead of the other way around and it kinda made me sad but whatever. also the antlers in her skin omfg i gagged every time i saw it it was fucking disgusting.

mal: dear book mal, go fuck yourself. dear netflix mal, ily boo <3

the darkling/general kirigan: they chose an old ass dude to play him in the show. like in the book even though he’s like hundreds of years old, he’s only supposed to look like 20 and the homeboy who played him in the show is 39. mmm no. poor little 25 year old jessie who had to make out with this grandpa motherfucker.

genya: wtf was that tall ass collar she was wearing?? made the bitch look like she had no neck.

david: 🧍‍♂️. also you traitor motherfucker.

baghra: we needed more of her. i love that crusty bitch. kinda upset that she attacked mal in the show but whatever he was fine i guess? idk i liked her a lot more in the book lol.

nina: idk who tf this bitch was bc she aint in the book. her lil plot was boring tbh.

milo: queen milo i live for you.

and that’s it. thank u for reading.

[palimpsessed]

The Welsh Red Dragon, Kurt Vonnegut, and Social Activism

The inspiration behind Shepard’s pins

(original post with full artwork here.)

So, I spent A LOT of time thinking about the kind of pins our good friend Shepard (from Omaha, NE) would have on his denim jacket. Like a lot. Like an obsessive amount of time. I made a list, which seemed appropriate for this fandom. And because I’m a nerd and this sort of thing really interests me, and I’m proud of what I came up with, and because I think some of these items open up the possibility for some good, good literary analysis, I decided to make a whole post dedicated to Shepard’s pins. You’re welcome.

First, a little bit about my thought process. How did I decide what kind of pins to give Shepard? Well, he’s a guy full of stories. Stories that he can’t wait to tell anyone and everyone. And stories that others (mostly Maybes) have told him, once he’s earned their confidence. So, I wanted his pins to tell a story, his story in particular. What is the story that Shepard wants to tell about himself? More precisely, what is the story he wants to tell his new magickal friends on a disastrous summer holiday? The story is that of his own magickal credibility. His journey to magic (his come to Crowley moment, perhaps?) (I’d apologize, but I’m not sorry…) and his trustworthiness as evidenced by all of the Maybes he’s met along the way. He’s gotten drunk off dandelion wine with a creek dryad, given a toothbrush to a Sasquatch. spilled the tea with a jackalope, midwifed a centaur foal. Shep’s journey is just as impressive as Simon’s, and while Simon has been collecting notches on his dead dark creature bedpost (that’s a weird fucking metaphor…) (and now I’m thinking about dark creatures and Simon’s bedposts…so, you’re welcome, Basilton), Shep’s been collecting notches of the friendly variety. (Shoutout to @adamarks who did some super lovely analysis on Simon and Shep as mirrors here: https://adamarks.tumblr.com/post/188046272067/ok-so-when-shepard-said-he-was-cursed-the-first). So, I decided that I wanted to use Shep’s pins as a way to show the notches on his bedpost, so to speak. (Okay, I’m really losing this metaphor, but I think you’re still with me.)

Let’s dive in!

(I’m working my way down one side of his jacket at a time, for those following along at home.)

RIGHT SIDE

Welsh Dragon: I made this one very large, and easy to spot on his right shoulder. Of all of his accoutrements, this one felt like the most important. Mainly, because of Simon. Simon is, after all, half-Welsh. (The Mage, may he rest in pain, came to Watford from Wales.) And, of course, Simon, just like the Welsh Dragon, is a red dragon. (Or in the process of becoming one? Or a half-dragon? Or a dragon kitten?…) And the dragon that Simon and Baz fought on the Watford lawn, when they first worked together, and first shared magic, was a red dragon. Of course, the actual dragon in question here is Margaret. Shepard would absolutely have a pin to commemorate his friendship with her. And since I was going to give him a pin with a dragon, I knew I was going to have to use the Welsh Dragon because it would perfectly capture his burgeoning friendship with Simon, as well. Now, I want to go on a slight detour here (this blog post will be its own Odyssey) and talk more about the Welsh Red Dragon. I took the design for the pin from the Welsh flag, which is the thing that first made me think more about Simon’s Welsh connection. I’m not really making a point here, I just think it’s fascinating! There’s a lot of Welsh lore about the Red Dragon (and Margaret herself calls Simon “Great Red” - that ‘R’ is capitalized, by the way, so this seems to be a proper name for the kind of dragon that she thinks Simon is). Full disclosure, I am not Welsh and I am not a scholar on any of this by any means. That being said, a cursory, and super academic, perusal of the Wikipedia article on the Welsh Dragon led me to a few different history websites that linked the symbol of the red dragon with Merlin and King Arthur (son of Uther Pendragon, literally dragon head). Merlin, one of the most well-known magical figures and Arthur, one of the most well-known Chosen One figures in literary tradition. I know very little about Arthurian legend, and Welsh history, and dragon lore, though, so I’m going to just say, do a little research on your own when you’re bored and feeling nerdy!

Resist!: Shep is a young black man (and reasonable human being) living in the U.S. during the [redacted] Administration. I should hope this one is self-explanatory.

Hoover Dam: At some point in his visits to see Blue, I’m sure Shepard stopped off at the gift shop and bought himself a souvenir pin to mark the incredible experience he had making friends with an actual river. (This pin design is based on an actual souvenir pin of the Hoover Dam I found on Google Images—along with most of the other pin designs. I think it’s vintage, which just felt even more like Shepard to me, because he’s the kind of guy who would appreciate stuff that’s got a past.)

Deathly Hallows: I mean, IF the Harry Potter books/movies exist in the Simon Snow universe (which hasn’t been confirmed, as far as I know, by our Queen) I’m sure Shepard would have been totally into it as a kid, and probably would have found greater significance in its magical lore once he discovered that ACTUAL MAGIC EXISTS! So, he would have a pin to show his belief in the magickal world, and maybe also as a nostalgic reminder of when magic was still just something fictional he could turn to for escapism (and not something that would result in being cursed by a demon…).

The Truth is Out There: So, I know virtually nothing about The X-Files (my sister was obsessed with it to the point that she wanted to become a FBI agent for a few years, but I never watched it), but I’m sure Shepard is a fan. If nothing else, the sentiment is awfully apropos.

So It Goes: This one is very hard to see. It sort of looks like a black teardrop with a bar on top of it (it’s supposed to look like a bomb). The pin I based this off of reads “So It Goes”, which from my very superficial research, is a line repeated in Vonnegut’s anti-war novel Slaughterhouse-Five every time someone dies. I don’t know anything more about it, other than that it is a Kurt Vonnegut-inspired pin available for purchase on Etsy, and Shep mentions that he wanted to get a Vonnegut quote tattoo, even though “everybody has those.”

Green Alien Head: You will never be able to convince me that Shepard does not 10,000% believe in the existence of aliens. If he were still in the U.S. during the Area 51 Raid, I’m sure he would have stopped by, just, you know, for science…(I’m thinking he was probably still in the UK, but I guess we’ll see in AWTWB.)

Centaur: This one is also hard to see, but I took the design from a pin I found of one of the centaurs (the blue-haired, blue-bodied one, if that rings a bell for you) from Disney’s Fantasia. (Fun fact: I was super into Fantasia as a littlun, and I attribute my lifelong love for classical music in large part to the centaur sequence and my latent lesbianism—I mean, it was ludicrously erotic. Watch it sometime and tell me it would not make an impression on a sapphic three-year-old.) Midwifing a centaur foal was probably a very emotional and formative experience for Shepard. Buying this pin would be his way of remembering that experience, and the excitement and gratitude he likely felt to have been entrusted with that kind of acceptance from the centaur(s).

Jackalope: It doesn’t help that this pin is almost the same color as Shepard’s jacket, but it’s based off a design of a jackalope’s head that, again, I found on Google Image search (honestly, I don’t know how I ever made art without it). We know that Shepard once got some gossip from a jackalope, who vented to him about magicians calling “themselves ‘magicians’”, like “they’re the only ones with magic”. (This is totally irrelevant, but I always think of Americans when I read this. I am an American, by the way. America is a continent, but those of us living in the U.S. calls ourselves Americans, like everyone else living in America doesn’t matter.) Anyway, the jackalope offered Shepard some valuable insight into the political workings of the magickal world, so it gets its own pin.

LEFT SIDE

Pansexual Pride Flag Pin: I mean, technically, canonically, we don’t know what Shepard’s sexuality (or asexuality) is, but I just get some vibes from him. Plus, if we take him as a mirror for Simon (who is somewhere on the bi-plus spectrum), it’s not a far cry to imagine he also identifies somewhere on that spectrum.

Pentagram: This is another symbol that I chose based on my interpretation of Shepard’s character, and not so much on a Maybe or a story that he mentioned. The pentagram, or pentacle, is typically associated with the occult and witchcraft, which is something that could potentially also be said of Shep.

Sasquatch: You don’t go backpacking—or not backpacking—and introduce a Sasquatch to the benefits of dental hygiene without getting yourself a souvenir of the hike.

I [heart] Mystery Spot: The Mystery Spot is a weird sort of phenomenon in California (my home state). It’s a place outside the beach town of Santa Cruz that boasts of a “gravitational anomaly” on its website. I went once, years ago, and while you’re there, it can feel pretty convincing. (Also, I was probably like 10, so…) People outside of California will likely never have heard of this place, but driving around here (at least in the Bay Area, where I am, which isn’t that far from Santa Cruz) you’ll see yellow Mystery Spot bumper stickers on cars everywhere. I’m not really sure what the thing is with the bumper stickers. Like, I’m sure not that many people actually think it’s legit, and maybe it’s like one of those things that Californians just do (like freak out and forget how to drive when we feel water falling from the sky). But yeah, these bumper stickers are everywhere. Anyway, Shepard drives around a lot. He knows about the Vampires of Las Vegas (how is that not an indie rock band?) and the Katherine Hotel, and the Next Blood. So, he’s probably made it past Nevada and into California before. And while he was there, it’s not a great stretch of the imagination that someone who chases after magic wouldn’t wind up at a place called the Mystery Spot and get himself a pin while he was there. (And maybe even a bumper sticker.)

Black Power Fist: Unfortunately, this one is also hard to see, because the fist is black and I didn’t have anything to go over the outlines of the fingers with, which I sort of didn’t think about when I colored it. This one also feels self-explanatory. Shepard is black. Blackness has long been treated in itself as a crime by non-black members of law enforcement, and just the general racist population of the U.S. Young black men are especially vulnerable to racially motivated violence. I’m sure Shep, who drives all over the country by himself and gets into high speed chases at night in the middle of nowhere Nebraska while hunting super shifty rando Maybes has had a run-in or two. Stay safe, Shep!

Every Pronoun Belongs Here [Trans Pride Flag background]: Also, super hard to see because the letters are too small to read. I found this exact pin in a basket by the register at my local bookshop. (Support local bookshops, people!) They were being sold as a fundraiser for a LGBTQ club at one of the high schools, and I loved the idea that I could help them raise money and add this pin to my own growing collection to show off my support for trans rights. (Support trans rights and trans people, people!) I decided to give Shepard this same pin, because I could imagine him having an almost identical book buying experience in a dozen other towns that he’s probably visited. And I love the simplicity of the message, because it’s one of belonging, which EVERYONE is desperately seeking, no matter who they are or how they identify, and Shepard, and every character in this picture, is no exception. (Plus, it seemed like a cool way to connect my pin collection with Shep’s. Maybe I should have mentioned the fact that I’m also a pin person at the beginning? I walk to work and on my lunch breaks, so I carry all of my stuff in a backpack. And I proudly display my random pin collection on my backpack. Including several Simon Snow-related pins.)

Don’t Panic: This was based off a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy pin. I don’t really know anything about the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (including if it’s okay to abbreviate it as HGG? THGTTG? whatever), even though I did watch the movie years back when it was on TV and I still lived with my parents who had a TV. But the sentiment felt appropriate, and Shepard is a sort of magickal hitchhiker. Apart from managing to hold down a job at Dick Blick, he appears to lead a somewhat nomadic lifestyle. He tells Penny, “the road is my teacher”, and if that’s not a hitchhiker slogan, I don’t know what is. (Ass, gas, or grass?)

Black Lives Matter: They do. Just sayin’.

Magic Troll Doll: When I was growing up, the Troll doll was all the (nightmare-inducing) rage. Trolls are one of those magickal creatures that are continually mentioned in the series. Shepard talks about lonely trolls under bridges. Simon talks about killing trolls. Agatha would rather kiss a troll. And Baz was kidnapped by numpties, who are sort of like trolls. I couldn’t not include a troll. And the Troll doll specifically felt perfect, because the full name was Magic Troll Doll. You can bet if Shepard had to pick a troll-related pin, it would be a magic(k)al one.

[Asshole]: This is another Kurt Vonnegut pin. It looks like a messily drawn asterisk (*), but it’s actually meant to be an asshole (taken from the preface of Vonnegut’s novel Breakfast of Champions, and drawn by Vonnegut himself). I just thought, why the fuck not? So, here. Have an asshole pin. (I should have put it on a buttonhole…)

HONOURABLE MENTION

Shepard’s Phone Case: Remember that line I quoted earlier, about Shep wanting to get a Vonnegut quote tattoo? Well, when I was trying to figure out what to put on his phone case, I thought that seemed like a reasonable place to start. So, I googled Vonnegut quotes, to see if I could find one that I thought Shepard would like. Here’s the quote: “a purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.” I just loved that for Shepard.

[piddies0709]

Thoughts and Predictions of SUF finals

Soooo... Last two episodes before the final were quite a doozy and I think I might try to take a break from seeing anything SU related on Tumblr, knowing full well how (ironically) black and white the fan base can be. I also know for some, this will not sit well with them and leave a really bad taste in their mouth. And I can’t change your own thoughts as to whether you guys consider this to be a “bad” writing decision or not. But I would like to stay away from as many angry posts on the matter as much as possible. I can only take so much rage filled opinions venting on a show like this. Yeesh, it’s like the “9″ fandom all over again...

Major Spoilers Ahead

So in Mr. Universe, Steven learns about why his father left his old home in the first place. Greg grew up with very strict parents and as a result of his own rebellion, he got his named changed (which came from a song) and ran away. Never looking back. Very similar to what his mother did. Steven is understandably pissed by this, knowing what it has resulted in. Though I wouldn’t call Greg a bad father for this. He defiantly screwed up here. This results in the in Steven breaking the steering wheel and crashing the van.Thankfully Greg and Steven come out of this okay, but Steven has now placed “another brick in his wall” so to speak. Which leads to the episode “Fragments” And let me first say, what a fitting title that is. Not just for what literally happens at the end but also the metaphorically as well.  Steven is breaking apart his relations with everyone around him. Especially with his family and the only person he feels can help him with this problem. The one who triggered his diamond powers in the first place. Jasper. Who is quite honestly the last person you should ever take advise from, since she's basically Animal Mother from Full Metal Jacket. All she needed was some one to throw hand grenades at her for the rest of her life and that hand grenade in this case was Steven. This really brings the first episode of this season into perspective. As I had a really bad feeling that nothing good was going to come out of this fight. Yet still not prepared for when it finally did happen. And quite frankly, both Steven and Jasper are at fault here. Jasper for continuously egging on Steven’s aggrieve powers and Steven for letting all his “Demons” take control and shattering Jasper.

Like I said before, nothing good was going to come out of this. It’s one thing to release your anger and let it out on something, but it’s another when that anger goes too far and ends up hurting someone... And boy did Steven find that one out that hard way. Thankfully, he was able to bring Jasper back. So while her “death” wasn’t permanent, That won’t change the guilt Steven is feeling over what he just did. While some may argue that this is just being edgy for the sake of edgy. I don’t see it that way. I think this was a real wake up call for Steven, to see just how dangerous he’s becoming. Still he ain’t out of the woods just yet. Jasper after being brought back, isn’t angered over being shattered. In shock yes, but now finally respects Steven as “her diamond” which is really the last thing Steven needs right now.

Also is anyone else getting Why So Blue vibes from this?

Which leads to my predictions for the last four episodes. Keep in mind these are just guesses of what I think could happen. 

Starting with Homeworld Bound, I have a feeling this is where the Pink hued White Diamond comes into play. After what happened Steven goes to Homeworld, feeling he’s done enough damage on Earth. Most likely we’ll see Spinel in this one. Either to have some kind of roll in this or she could just be a cameo. But I’m certain we might see her. At some point during the climax to this episode Steven and White could get into an heated argument that causes the both of them to turn pink. As White has explained Pink was a part of her that she needed to repress and we’ve seen White herself go off color like this before on a more smaller scale. But this fight will not be so small. And if that corruption theory is anything to go off on, I think this little visit will be the second to the last nail in the coffin. Which can only end with Steven going back to Earth.  Which leads to “Everything is Fine” this is where I think Steven will probably get an intervention from all his friends and family. Confronting him to open up about what is going on with him. Which during that time, his powers could be going haywire at this point, trying to dodge the subject. This is the episode I think the corruption could happen. Towards the end. That lead to “I’m My Own Monster.” which is pretty self explanatory both in a literal and metaphoric sense. Most likely corrupted Steven going on a Godzilla rampage while everyone he’s ever known and helped all come together to help him. And then there’s The Future which could be everyone saving Steven from himself somehow and an epilogue in where he will probably leave Beach City to find himself so to speak. 

But thats just my two sense on the matter. To quote a Pink Floyd song here.

“Shine on You crazy Diamond”

[soccialcreature]

Why you (I) did not like Rise of Skywalker

I’i wish i cud just tell ppl that i simply did not vibe with rise of skywalker but everyone just says “oh, youre just a hater” or “youre so cynical” so im going to put into words Exactly what i didnt like about tros so ppl cant say that i just hate it for fun? i guess? or to b cool? idk. under the break so that i dont annoy casual scrollers. and of course u can like it if u want i rly do not care.

The stakes were too high

If our characters failed, then we would see essentially the destruction of the entire galaxy. Or at least, that’s what they made it seem like. Because of this, you knew that the characters were going to succeed, but it was lowkey really stressful, and NOT in the fun, tension-y way. I felt like I was just sitting there thinking “get this done already!” And I just felt annoyed (again, not in the fun way) at every setback. 

I know this is lowkey how every story works, so I’ll give an example of a piece of media that DOESNT do that and it’s going to be clone wars because I’m always thinking about clone wars and im such a clone wars hoe im sorry.

In The Clone Wars, the stakes were much lower. It was always something like, keep this planet from Separatist control, or win this battle, or make this political step. And sometimes, our characters failed. Deathwatch burned down the village, or they just lost a battle to the Separatists and had to retreat, but it was never such a crushing defeat that there was no hope afterward. Watching the show, you didn’t know if they were going to win or not, and you wanted to see what was going to happen and HOW it was going to happen. It made it really fun to watch. Another example is the Mandalorian. Low stakes, but we still care (do not TOUCH baby Yoda or I will LOSE IT).

We didn’t get any time to get to know our characters

This one’s pretty self-explanatory. There was so much going on in the movie and so much that needed to happen to reach the climax that there was no time for character development. This is where the “I wish there was more sitting and talking” comes in. The characters stayed stagnant the whole time. Their views on things didn’t change, and they learned nothing. This was one of the biggest issues with Force Awakens, too (which I liked a lot! Who didn't?), that the characters were essentially being dragged around by the plot with no agency of their own. It was just them moving on to the next plot point and then the next, etc. What’s supposed to happen is that the characters are put in a situation and then they get something out of it that they didn’t expect to. Instead, we didn’t have time for any of that and just moved on to the next plot point.

Again, I’m gonna use the prequels as an anti-example. The whole trilogy was about Anakin’s character arc and his fall to the dark side. What came with that was his relationship with Obi-wan, and Obi-wan’s character arc, etc. The clones in TCW are also perfect examples of good characters.

No themes or morals

Frankly, it was just kind of a bummer. For a happy ending, I walked out of the theater feeling pretty defeated. It may have been because Ben died, but I’ve never really been a fan of Kylo Ren. I know this is so so contradictory because I’m a prequel hoe and the prequels had the most depressing ending ever and no one was happy, but I mean let's be real. It kind of had to for the original trilogy to happen. And it showed a lot about being human and love and anger and corruption etc etc. The issue with this trilogy’s ending, though, is that there was really no reason for it to be sad. It didn’t show anything, and there were no underlying themes of the film at all.

I’ve really had enough of Palpy

Sorry, but we did not need to bring him back. There was no reason for him to come back. It just ruined Anakin’s sacrifice in Return of the Jedi and honestly, this is the worst of Palpatine. What made him interesting was watching the way he would manipulate Anakin and the rest of the senators and the Jedi as a secret Sith Lord. And I didn’t need to see him do the exact same thing that he did to Luke in Return of the Jedi to Rey. Villains where the description is just “the most powerful being in the galaxy: impossible to defeat” don’t really interest me.  

I’d rather be at home watching Clone Wars

I know this is essentially what happened with people who grew up watching the original trilogy and why they didn’t like the prequels, and it’s really not fair for me to judge this piece of Star Wars media based of off how it holds up to this other part that I’ve held so dear for so long, but hey. I think that’s perfectly valid. It’s fine if you don’t like the prequels because they’re not as good as the originals. That’s just how it happens. Sorry sequels, it’s really not your fault. It’s my fault for watching TCW and the prequels first. Don’t get me wrong, the prequels had their issues. There were some annoying characters, bad dialogue, weird choices for who the movies would focus on (Obi-wan should not have been such a side character in Phantom Menace), but the goal and ideas of the prequels were really good. I didn’t get any of that in Rise of Skywalker.

In conclusion, you can totally like the movie if you want. I really wish I did like it. And I didn’t hate it, really. There were a lot of cool parts like the scene of Luke training Leia to become a Jedi which I think was super fun. And Kylo Ren/Ben Solo at the end using a blue lightsaber was cool and again, fun. But ya. I doubt you read this if you liked TROS but. People should let people like what they like, and also let people not like something just because they don’t like it. We shouldn’t make people have to justify or argue everything, but I’m just doing it because my family’s been calling me a hater because I immediately went home and turned on Clone Wars. And also I’m majoring in Screenwriting at college next year so I feel like I should sort of know how to write good stories and characters. Or at least try to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Thanks! <3

[nyame-adi]

So the flavour of the month(year and forever because I just love this place) is still Switzerland and in continuation from last weeks post here are:

10 things I wish I knew before I moved to Switzerland

You do not have to carry the whole of the UK in your suitcase

Moving to a new country, you would want to prepare to make your transition as smooth as possible in real african nature  my mum had it in her mind that it is smartest thing to get me to clear out the shelves in Argos, Lidl, Ikea and Tesco- basically everywhere that would take our money! – Guys I went to this country with 4 suitcases a blender, a sandwich maker( I DIDNT EVEN LIKE SANDWICHES LIKE THAT TO CARRY ONE) cutlery, vaccum packed pillows and plenty packs of Maggie cube, the list extends,  but it was too much.Now, I’m not knocking being prepared for a big move and sometimes it is much cheaper to bulk buy, but I learnt the hard way…. you need to be reasonable with the lists you make. I made a list based of what I would need for university but in reality I  realised when my tenure ended(the hard way) that I packed wayyyyy too much. This included some things  I never used(not proud to say it) – coming home was misson impossible, getting on 2 trains with a journey of a duration of 2h30 from Lucerne to Zurich, navigating the airport before catching a flight to the UK with +4 suitcases BY MYSELF.Lesson:  You do not need to carry a sandwich maker unless you really like sandwiches otherwise then do you. okay well the main lesson is be kind to yourself and let the things you don’t need go.

Take ALL your seasonings with you

If you like flavour – just to do it, thank me later because the seasoning game in switzerland is WEAK, sorry not sorry. As someone who loves food and cooking I remember struggling to find common jerk seasoning – alternatively amazon is the plug for all your tropical sun seasonings – have no fear amazon is here. I did hear from my aunt that if you’re in Zurich you will be able to get supermalt, african seasonings and food items in and around Stauffacherstrasse, tram stop Helvetiaplatz, been there once or twice and there’s a nice little community of africans there.Lesson:  Jollof without Maggie/stock cube is not Jollof.

Time is your friend

I think that goes for everything – take time and settle into your environment because its not going anywhere, in my previous post  I mentioned I took quite a while to settle into my environment (which is normal) but rushing the process or feeling bad for not adjusting is not going to help anything if anything it really kills the vibe.Lesson:  Take time, Enjoy the View and settle in.

Almost everything closes on a Sunday – Don’t eat all your snack on Saturday

Self explanatory really, do all your shopping in the week and leave sunday for Church and chilling less commercialism enhancing the quality of life.Lesson:  Get Organised! Leave that packet of popcorn for tomorrow, you will not die. HA BA!

Make friends

NO ONE IS SAYING GO AND CARRY THE WHOLE NEIGBOURHOOD ON YOUR HEAD. BUT no interaction is done with only one person (As in yo, yourself and you). I’m an introvert so I can easily get aorund by being locked in a cocoon and coming out when I feel like it which is usually NEVER! Nothing good comes from being in a foreign land alone.Proverbs 13:20 : Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.Lesson: It easier to get around if you know people who can direct you accuratey and with love. No man is an Island and sometimes you can be your own companion of fools.

Home is where YOU make it

Get comfortable – HI HELLO WAKE UP, this is where you are at now! looking back at what WAS home will rob you from what is NOW home, focusing too much on where you want to be will steal todays joy. Buy that lamp you wanted! Create that chill corner! Do what you got to do. The worst thing for me was being somewhere I called home that didn’t feel like…home because I chose to blame my environment for not being like what I knew.Lesson: Get settled girl, take responsibility for your HOME – rest your roots and ease them out when it is time to bounce.

Stienhofstrasse outside my window

Stienhofstrasse accomodation

Stienhofstrasse

Should have been #1 – Your faith will keep you

Its easy to be very anixous when you are away from home and I can’t lie I did and still do sometimes fall into the trap. If you’re like me you’d think youself into oblivion and if you do not CHECK. YOUR. SELF. You’ll just spin into a web of fears. Take it easy! Foh Ril! this is a good time to get grounded and cling on to God replace those thought’s with His wisdom and knowledge all packed into His divine word.

What if i get lost on my walk? What if someone kidnaps me? What if i run out of money? What if i get ill? Who will care for me? What if i don’t make friends?

Lesson: Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Stay humbled and find peace, John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.                             

This is your passport in (to Germany, France, Italy, Liechtenstein)

Switzerland is beautiful nestled between other picturesque countries. Unlike the UK it is more feasible to access these places without having to do too much. Infact some countries do not even require getting on a plane to get there.

ZURICH TO MUNICH: 370 KM ; 3h30 on cars; 3h45 by Flixbus; 4hrs by train; 50 mins -1hr by flight

ZURICH to LYON: 419 KM; 4h51 by car; 5h by train; 1hr-1h30 by flight

ZURICH TO COMO: 235 KM; 2h51 by car; 3h by train; 55min flight to Milan and 40 min train journey

ZURICH TO VADUZ: 109 KM ;1h5-1h30 by care; 2h40 train; no flights …Lesson : This leads me to the next point.

Day trips for the win

Need a say more? I used to get so bored staring out my window wishing I could do more with my time. Its not until I took my first trip to Bellinzona that I realised that THIS DAY TRIP THING IS A SHOUT! All it requires is a little planning so you don’t miss your bus or train back home and this can be done pretty easily – when I had last visited Switzerland I took a day trip which took me through the North of Switzerland up until Stein Am Rhein( boardering Germany) and back to Zurich – We had multiple stops and our tour guide provided us with many a dead joke, jkjk, she brought the vibes and told us many a story paired with a couple history lessons –  I booked the day trip on the day  (early morning of course) at the ticket office in Carparkplatz Sihlquai 2 minuets from Zurich Central Station.

Lesson: Can’t put a price on the experience

No experience is too expensive

Especially if it will infrom your understanding of the world today.

So there you have it 10 things I wish I knew before I moved to Switzerland.

      10 things I wish I knew – Switzerland So the flavour of the month(year and forever because I just love this place) is still Switzerland and in continuation from last weeks post here are: