#something about sharing and reclaiming the aesthetics makes me feel things.

[horreurscopes]

i."Revelation - It's Grand Climax at hand!" Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 1988.

ii. "Pure Worship of Jehovah​—Restored At Last!" Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 2018.

iii. Watchtower magazine, April 1989, May 1989.

Illustrators uncredited in publications and therefore unknown. 

[grifonecoronato]

Mae-ho Aniseya: Film Noir Protagonist

(Spoilers for The Acolyte)

As I've said in another post, Mae and Osha are binary opposites in their personalities and motivations.

Mae has a kind of "first child syndrome": a desire to exhibit perfection in the eyes of her mothers, so that they can shower her with praise. She loves being in her community of witches, learning and using the Thread, and indulging in the daily activities of life on Brendok.

She thrives when she is surrounded by her people, but Osha doesn't want the same things, which is something that confuses Mae deeply.

In this scene from Episode 3: Destiny, the two sisters as children talk about what they want:

MAE: "It isn't fair. I share everything with you, and you hide things from me or run off alone." OSHA: "I want to have my own things." MAE: "Why?" OSHA: "Because I don't want to do everything together all the time." MAE: "But why?" OSHA: "Because we're not the same." [...] OSHA: "Don't you wonder what else could be out there? Besides Brendok?" MAE: "No. Everything I need is here."

For Osha, her arc in The Acolyte has all the trappings of a dark romance. But from Mae's perspective, she's the heroine of her own Film Noir.

Film Noir Themes in The Acolyte

Beyond its aesthetics, Film Noir has three (3) major thematic characteristics with regard to its protagonists:

Its protagonist has an idyllic past where they were happy and life was good;

Their idyllic past is ripped away from them, often violently, in a single moment that they relive again and again in the present;

The inciting incident is an opportunity to reclaim their idyllic past, or if that's impossible, to get justice for what was lost... because to do nothing is to be haunted by it forever.

For example, we can look at the seasonal arc of Veronica Mars (2004): she's a happy high schooler and best friends with Lily Kane, then Lily is murdered and Veronica is ostracised from her former friends, and now she is seeking opportunities to solve her friend's murder, while being haunted by the memories of her.

Or consider the video game Max Payne (1998): he's a cop with a happy wife and daughter, then his wife and daughter are murdered by drug addicts high on Compound V, now he joins the DEA in an effort to find and destroy the source of Compound V, and finally stop feeling haunted by the memories of his family.

Mae's story is very similar: she was a happy kid living with a family and community that gave her everything she wanted, then the Jedi came and massacred everyone she loved, and now she's joined up with a powerful ally who will teach her to get bloody justice.

Mae's Fatal Flaw

Mae's biggest problem is that she's impulsive and frequently enters situations without a clear plan. However, this bullheadedness shows that she trusts herself to get out of any situation she finds herself in.

(Qimir once said to Osha "you should learn to trust yourself", but I doubt this is a lesson he had to teach Mae.)

Detractors often say that Mae's motivations don't make sense, or that she's "flip flopping" all the time. But this criticism -- like most criticisms from the fandom menace -- is unfair. Mae's motivations are very clear, and her shifting tactics are done as a response to new information that comes her way.

In Episodes 1 and 2, her goal is two-fold:

Hunt down the four guilty Jedi

Keep The Stranger satisfied in her progress as his apprentice

But in Episode 4 and 5, after she learns that her sister lives, her goal changes to "reunite with Osha." But when Osha refuses to listen to her, Mae's slightly modifies her goal, to "find a way to de-program Osha from her Jedi brainwashing, by exposing Sol."

Viewers that understand what drives Mae see that not flaky; she's adaptive.

The Fatal Lesson of Film Noir

The thing about Film Noir protagonists is that most of the time (not always, but most of the time), their quest for reclaiming their idyllic past is a fool's errand: they either sacrifice a big part of themselves in the attempt, or they learn to heal form the past, let go, and move on.

Mae opts for the former. When she finally succeeds in revealing that Sol has been lying for sixteen years, Osha murders him. Afterward, Osha bargains for Mae's life, which the Stranger accepts but only if he be permitted to erase her memories.

So Mae recaptures her idyllic past by being able to reconnect with her sister... only to lose her sense of self in the process. The quest consumed her.

But was it worth it?

[jfashion-confessions]

I don't understand the back and forth between Jirai. As a mentally ill adult with BPD as well as other illnesses. I don't understand trying to claim a slur I wouldn't be called as a western who lives IN the west. No one in the west randomly uses that SLUR because its japanese. English speakers still don't jot their english with random Japanese. English speaker would call me: Crazy, lunatic, unhinged, attention seeking, someone they gotta tiptoe around / walk on eggshells around, mental, a "amber heard", a danger like jodi arias. the list goes on and on... I've heard hurtful and dismissive comments about my mental health or even just heard this about others who are mentally ill, because not everyone knows my status. But my point is the "feed back" and dismissive and belittling comments are always in english. I just find when I see younger folks arguing its a slur they like or they wanna reclaim it doesn't sit right with me. We don't get called those things. We get called ENGLISH words. I've never heard it in my life until the subculture became more popular in the west in 2020/2021. And since probably 2023 I've seen it become more popular. But even still I don't *hear* the word enter normal peoples vocab. I also don't really like calling it a lifestyle, because mental health isn't a lifestyle. It's a condition. I don't want to glamorize mental health, it should be seen just like any other health condition. Just like allergies, or physical illness something else. The difference between education and awareness and glamorizing is awareness gives you better understanding of the disorder. Glamourising makes people wish they were disordered or don't want to seek treatment because thats their "thing". We all struggle and have bad days, some stuff will set us off, sometimes stuff is difficult. But thats not "jirai" to struggle. I like the term "dark girly" as someone who's got bpd and psychosis because it also removes my mental health from the fashion. Dark girly addresses the aesthetic, motifits and beautiful (dark and rich) colors I see. Jirai can't be divorced from its original context, or the sex trafficking or other aspects of its shady history and inevitable trauma it's created. I also don't like negative stereotypes being connected with mental health. I can recognise for japanese young women / women this slur has preduices and that culture is not as open with mental health. It's more judgemental, views it as a private affirm. (and yes, as a western I can see the relatable because I had parents who were in this same conservative mindset of we don't share bad things. Don't talk about your suffering, don't talk to a therapist. Stop! But, I'm an adult now & as a western I have more access to getting help, but also being able to openly speak about my issues and find spaces were I can do so without stigma or judgement. I'm not aware if japan has this so much. Culturally speaking I'm an outsider, so my awareness is ignorant.) For reclaiming the slur too, I find it really strange because the west has a lot of different cultures in it, and i'm sure all of them have their own slurs for mentally unwell people and society beliefs with mental health and how its shameful & yet I don't see westerns grabbing those slurs and being like 'you know what! I'm this too, I'm reclaiming all of this." I just feel like Jirai is being claimed by misguided youngsters. But I really wish the back and forth could stop and I realize I'm fueling the debate to. So I'm sorry.

.

[myangelicdisguise]

Ingrid Alicia Rose | The Angel Above

she/her, 22 | Singer/Songwriter & Visual Artist

This is a safe space - I’m always happy to help ♥ I share resources & my own work.

What do I do?

My songwriting captures deeply personal experiences. You could say I am exposing myself.

“The Angel Above” is symbol for reclaiming purity and innocence after intense humiliation and ostracisation. References to Social Anxiety, Trauma and cluster b personality disorders are common. I try to show rather than tell, which makes my writing graphic.

My Music & Art are centered around duality, so I combine horror and ethereal aesthetics. I share my darkest experiences, thoughts and feelings. I want to show you that no matter what you have gone through, you can recover. People can know your insecurities, but they cannot hurt you. They can hate you. They will hate me. But they cannot hurt you,

because I am here.

Below the Cut

My Songs My Art About Me

Resources

My Songs

Written, but not yet produced. Lyrics & Acapella recordings coming soon.

I Arise I found something beautiful Please just stay Bleeding Heart These songs contain references to social anxiety, loneliness, bpd, revenge, childhood & animal abuse. If you are currently struggling with any of these issues, please see a licensed professional. For educational purposes, I recommend the HealthyGamerGG community.

My Art

Fanart: Toga Sketches, Shigaraki Illustration, Ochaco Sketch Original Art: Nr.01 Skill Evaluation Piece Feb 2024

About me

Name: Ingrid Alicia Rose Age: 22 Country: Austria

Music I like: CORPSE, girl in red, IC3PEAK, Kade McCuen, SKYLAR, Ethan Bortnick & More. Lots of Indie. Also Jazz, Classical, Folk, Metal & Rap. And SO MUCH MORE. Art I like: Romanticism | Aristocratic | Rococo, Horror, Ivan Aivazovsky, Springtime by Pierre Auguste Cot, Albert Bierstadt, Alena Aenami, Jenni Pasanen, Peter Mohrbacher, Eliran Kantor, Miles Johnston, Yuliya Litinova, Stefan Koidl, Ivan Stan Fandoms: Harry Potter, DC, My little Pony, Creepypasta, various anime, & cartoons Hobbies: Cosplay/Dressing Up, Journaling, Reading, watching movies/series, sculpting, learning Interests: Psychology/Mental Health/Personality, Business/Marketing/Sales, Fitness/Beauty/Fashion

Resources

No gatekeeping. I share everything I know when someone asks. But I’m also just 22. So I share many things shortly after learning them myself. This includes: Business/Marketing/Sales for Creatives Psychology/Mental Health/Self Help Visual Communication & Storytelling Art & Writing Advice

Examples:

How to stick with a hobby

Farewell ♥ And remember. You can walk through hell and still be an angel.

[monsterfloofs]

I don't know if this recommendation will interest you or if you've already seen it but have you seen the movie Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust?

They have the whole movie in dub and sub on youtube for free and I'm plan to rewatch it again this year.

It following a Dhampir vampire hunter who is commissioned to save a lady named Charlotte from the Vampire Meier Link who seemingly stolen her away. But there is more to it than most people in there world expect due to prejudice.

That's the best I can describe without spoiling it. Now it's a mostly fine movie to get through but I must mention at the final act especially from what I remember there is some blood and gore sprinkled throughout the film but other than that its a great movie. Especially for Halloween. That even me who is a bit squeamish I do really like the movie.

It's really beautifully animated and characters. And it's set in the future but covered in old gothic era elements and aesthetic.

Now you don't have to consider the recommendation but if you're interested it might add to your Halloween.

Sorry for the long ramble but I saw your post about it being hard for you this season and I've been feeling the same lately catching a cold at the cusp of the season. But I'm trying to plan out for a fun day on Halloween with things I like to make it more special.

Here's hoping it ends on a high note for us both and everyone else who needs it! Take care and I wish you all the best and fond wishes!

I have not seen a Vampire D movie! I did listen, to an audio book of the story while I was at work shelving one time. I thought it was a facinating story and did not realize the world building in Vampire D included both electronic marvels and also semi historical things thrown together in a distopian world due to what happened to the human race. It's a fascination mash up between the two and from the snippets of art I have seen it is a very beautiful art style.

Geniunely, truely, from the bottom of my heart, please never feel bad about rambling here! I am a shy bean who has trouble making connections and communicating so getting to talk to others, even in an ask format is a treat to me. I say this with every ounce of sincereity I can muster. Thank you, thank you for taking the time to share something that is precious to you. You have no idea how many times I read this before trying to figure out an equally suitable response.

And I am also going to send you a buck of digital hugs 🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂 because it sounds like you need them too this season. I am so sorry that spooky month is also not going so well for you. But yes, we shall do our best to reclaim it, and if that means extending it through November and beyond well, I'd like to see people try and stop us! Spooky season is a mindset after all. ^-^ ) Thank you again for sharing a spooky month tradition of yours with me! Watching beloved movies is high on our tradition list too!

I honestly would love to read about what others do to celebrate, what nostalgia things they like to do, what movies they dust off and rewatch every year like a ritual. Songs or games, or lighting candles? Decorating the porch, heck, where I live, raking leaves is like a ritual. We have a beautiful fall change over and the leaves get everywhere! A big tradition for our household is holding a family pumpkin carving party, where we eating apple dumplings and watch Charlie Brown's Halloween and The Disney Legend of Sleepy Hollow to celebrate my Mother's Birthday since she was born just a few days from Halloween!

[outeremissary]

13 and 23 for Balthazar (edgy asks)

I'd say "sorry for the long delay," but somehow "thing from August" is actually one of the least delayed in my godforsaken inbox. I think I'd also meant to unqueue that list at the time... really fell into the time void immediately ^^;; So uh. Sorry.

[prompt list]

13. If you met your OC, would the two of you get along?

God no. I don't think so. Not really. I'm very socially awkward and I dislike smooth talkers. He's beautiful, of course, and I can respect some charm, but hm. That's not the kind of person I'd ever approach on my own, only watch from a distance. I just feel awkward around out-of-my-league type social butterflies, and I really can't stand socially slippery people who always seem to be giving you the runaround. And he's often not a very pleasant person to be around long term. I don't think a weird little shut-in like me has anything to offer Balthazar either- I can't imagine him paying me much mind at all. I'm not especially interesting by his measures, I'm not useful, and I'm not an obstacle in any way I can imagine (unless we're looking at this as a re:Creators situation). But maybe I'm too much of a pessimist here.

I guess if you put us in a room together and made us interact we'd be able to have at least one decent conversation- some shared aesthetic or intellectual interest- but I think that's the best that could be managed. I guess that's a sort of getting along...?

23. What emotion is the hardest for your OC to process? How about express?

Well, the emotion that's hardest to process is easy. Genuine affection, real love... They're not things Balthazar squares with himself easily. He understands respecting other people, being amused by them, even enjoying their company. And those things can be a part of love. But having a sense of warmth around someone, wanting their company for its own sake, feeling safe in their presence, having some irrational pull of loyalty... these are alien things. He dislikes detecting them in himself. It makes him feel sick. Confused. Vulnerable. He's the type of person to try to explain those feelings away every way possible besides earnestly analyzing them. Maybe that's why it's easier for him to find affection for people he initially has friction with- it's a straightforward mask. At any rate, all the confusion and denial (which isn't even conscious sometimes!) makes him a bit clueless about his feelings for someone so used to playing with hearts. That's the power of a stubborn will.

As for hardest to express... I'd say that's sadness. It's not that he's not capable of expressing vulnerability, but it's easier when it's something that can be twisted and performed. Reclaimed by turning it into a tool, you know? It's easy to be scared, and it's easy to express fear. You just need to show it to the right person in the right way and you'll pull sympathy and protection. But there's something more personal about sadness, something less easy to direct into anything that's recognizably useful. And sadness doesn't have a target that can be focused on. It feels very helpless. It's an admission of defeat without the hope of turnaround. And that's not the kind of thing that he wants to admit to himself, let alone anyone else- he's the kind of person who drowns his grief in projects rather than show that he's been hurt by a loss. The catharsis of letting it out just isn't worth the exposure of the breakdown. Not even when he's breaking down privately.

That aside, he's a master of crocodile tears.

[why-raven]

Did you design your OC with a specific aspect of RP in mind? Such as shipping, NSFW things, attending in-game social events, hosting events or entertaining others?

Little OC Creation Ask List. — OPEN

Thank you for the ask, @mimble-sparklepudding! I always love your ask questions for the thoughtfulness and insight, and I’m very happy to receive one from the OP (´◡`) To answer the question: not really, for the options stated in the question.

Whenever I design my OCs for storytelling (be it for writing fanfics or RPing with others), I usually go along with either my personal aesthetic taste, or if I already had a rough idea for their lore to pick something that would work reasonably. I don’t think about what other players would feel towards my muses because I didn’t create my characters for them in the first place. Great if you like my blorbos, but it’s fine if you don’t vibe with them. My characters and I aren’t here to please everybody. I’ve been writing and roleplaying in other fandoms for at least a decade, way before I even joined the FFXIV community, so I’ve never felt the need to create my characters around other people unless absolutely necessary.

So far, I’ve only shared two major muses openly on this site: Sora and Yiuno. Sora is a likeable sort of character, with her cute appearance and child-like innocence (we do not talk about her penchant for violence). She was the first OC I made when I started playing the game during Shadowbringers launch. I was fairly clueless about FFXIV back then, so I didn’t really think much about her character development and mostly went along with what felt right for her. I only started working on her backstory proper around patch 5.55, when I’m more familiar with the game’s lore.

As for Yiuno… he wasn’t created to be someone good and straightforward, like Sora. When male Viera is added to the game in Endwalker, I thought of designing a character who is multilayered, complicated, and fun for me to explore from various perspectives. Yiuno is a dangerous but broken man; almost nothing about him is particularly likeable as a person (except maybe his face, lol). Speaking of appearance, that was what I had intended for him—he has an idealistic beauty that could charm others to gravitate to him, until they finally realize the horrors he kept behind that pretty smiling mask (and by then it’d probably be too late). He’s supposed to be a hypocritical existence, the embodiment of paradox and contradiction.

The only exception created for shipping with NPC, I’d say, is Persephone, the other half of Yiuno’s Ancient self. The serious reason is my own take on the true motive that drove Emet-Selch to extremity in his actions against the Sundered on Etheirys to reclaim the Star for his own people (i.e. my way to fill in some blanks in the canon). The fun reason? I enjoyed the various studies on the relationship between Hades and Persephone in Ancient Greek mythology, and I want to do something similar with them. (Also, I stand by my personal headcanon of Emet and Lahabrea often lamenting about their wives after the Convocation meetings.)

While most people might be unwilling to admit this, our characters also serve as an extension of our real selves, particularly in a virtual world like Etheirys. I mean, we technically don’t see the real faces of other players in the game (unless you share your RL photos, that’s on you), so naturally the avatars that everyone sees in the game is a representation of the player controlling that character. I believe that ultimately people create characters for themselves, because they are the ones making the conscious choice and taking the necessary actions to fulfill that decision. Just my two-cents.

[buckys-little-belle]

Hello, I'm still new to the whole wider concept of age regression and things like that. I'm trying to learn more about it, and about the whole little space. I would always prefer to actually ask someone directly instead of just blindly Googling. I hope this is okay to ask, & of course no pressure if you don't want to answer, but how did you figure out you were a little? What do you wish was more understood about being a little?

I don't think I'm a little, but I do certainly have far more stuffed animals than any 30 year old needs, lol. I am also an anxiety sufferer though & sometimes there is definitely that pull of wanting to disappear into myself. Into my, for lack of better words, unjaded child self. Wanting to be taken care of. I have no idea if that makes sense, but I figured it might help to share a bit of my own self since I'm asking you to share.

Thank you in advance if you decide to answer. I also really like your Nemo story. It's still one of my Disney favorites ❤️

HI! I totally get wanting to ask someone instead of just googling, and I’m a totally open book when it comes to regression! My “How I knew I was a little” can be found here, in short I struggle with Tourette’s quiet a bit, at one time the dissorder was really overwhelming and I slowly found comfort in colouring children’s colouring books, ones I had as a kid, I also then suffered some serious memory loss and now only remember my traumatic childhood memories, so regressing has helped me feel like being a child wasn’t so scary, and has helped me build some good memories in the headspace of a child, since I’ve lost all of mine, and has actually helped me seemingly uncover some of those memories I once had.

I think something I wish more people knew was that age regression is not related to sexual age play, it a very common misconception and can be very harmful to the community. Regressors often regress for many reasons, some being. One, people, like me, regress to create happy memories in a childlike headspace because we don’t have any, or don’t remember any good ones, we are trying, subconsciously or consciously to reclaim our childhood in a positive light. Two, people regress because they had good childhoods and want to go back to that happiness and joy that they once felt. Three, people are under a lot of stress in their every day lives, whether that’s taking care of others, taking care of themselves, doing strenuous activity’s, working too hard, and just want to find joy without all of those responsibilities, and want to be taken care of because they need a break. There are also so many other reasons people regress, those are just the most common ones in my opinion. But we don’t do it in a sexual way, like age players, and I think that that is something I despise the most when it comes to misunderstandings of our community.

Also I wish people knew it wasn’t like a pinterest board, not everyone likes pink, not everyone wears skirts and pony tails, and I wish more people got over their need of aesthetics and allowed us, and themselves to regress how we/they want to. I mean I wear a metallica hoodie when regressed, have the funkiest looking homemade stuffed animal and watch scooby doo when regressed, something I’ve never seen on pinterest, and I wish more people knew that they don’t have to fit a set aesthetic to be a regressor, because that is something that so many stress about.

Also I totally get what your saying about your anxiety and wanting to escape from that, I have a raging anxiety disorder and life can get so stressful, sometimes you just need to snuggle up and enjoy the less stressful things in life like a kids movie, I’m not gonna sit here and ‘diagnose’ you as a regressor, because you could totally just be someone who enjoys simple things sometimes without regressing into another headspace, so don’t feel pressure (I don’t know if you do, I just want to make sure you don’t) to come up with a conclusion on if you are a regressor or not, if you enjoy the age regression fics and a good kids movie, enjoy it, you’re welcome here any time whether you are or are not an age regressor! I do hope any of this answered something, I do feel like it might be a bit ranty and random, please feel free to ask any more questions any time, or message me if you want to talk to someone, I’m an open book and my message doors are wide open if you need anything! <3

[drwcn]

Hello~ may i ask you something about Chinese culture? i'm a white person and i know that wearing traditional clothes from other cultures (for example as a street wear) simply because it's beautiful is disrespectful because it's also a form of cultural appropriation. A few months ago one of my friends and i were talking and exchanging facts about our cultures and lifestyles and i made a comment about how stunning some hanfu she showed me were and her first reaction was " oh you like it? what's your favorite color i can buy you that one! " and she was quite gleeful and seemed to be unaware of the ethical problem behind me wearing these clothes.. i kindly refused but it's been puzzling me for some time now and so I'd like to know a bit more about it so i can maybe educate myself on this matter and explain my position better next time such as why I can't wear these clothes. i'm really sorry to drop this important and not so simple ask on you but i actually don't know anyone else i could ask, also know that you don't need to answer this if you're uncomfortable or anything tho! it's such a long text omg again sorry for taking up so much of your time aldhsks i hope your day will be great 💝

Hi friend! 

From where I stand if you want one, you should get one, especially if your friend is willing to help you pick a nice one. :) 

Here’s the thing about culture appropriation - everyone has a different opinion on it, so even if I say something, another Chinese person can disagree and that’s valid. 

I have a feeling, just a feeing, that if you go to China and buy a hanfu and put it on and walk around in it, most Chinese people aren’t gonna come up to you and say hey! this is cultural appropriation! In fact they might ask to take pictures with you.

That’s gonna be different if you did the same thing in New York, or Montreal, or Sydney, or London. 

I’m not a sociologist or anthropologist or political scientist, but I am a young person who has a lot of incongruous feelings towards cultural appropriation. There are obvious answers. Any action whereby an item/accessory from a certain culture is used in a mocking or offensive way, or is used as a costume or a gimmick, is of course entirely inappropriate. This is the obvious answer. But, the question that is often asked, and the exactly thing you are getting, is: what if I’m not intending to be offensive? What if I just like it? What if I want to honour it and support it? 

And the answer to that is complicated. 

I am a CN diaspora, and from what I’m seen and experienced, the term “cultural appropriate” comes from a place of fear and feeling of threat. For countries like the US where the population is very diverse and there’s a pressure to assimilate and fit in, there used to be a time when immigrants felt they had to do everything in their power to be more integrated into the new community they landed in and that meant turning their backs on the culture that they’ve left behind. 

The movement we see more and more nowadays is the reclaiming of some of that lost culture and the embracing of every aspect of one’s identity. However, the part of us that’s not quite “white enough”, that we’re just starting to build up the courage to be proud of, is still so tender, so raw, so vulnerable to any kind of assault from outside forces. The fear that we used to feel, the fear of being completely ourselves, it never truly goes away. It’s in the memory of being embarrassed to bring cultural food to lunch at school and wishing your mom could just pack you pizza. It’s the awkward moments when you can’t wear the shorts you want like the other girls in your class because your immigrant mother/father says it’s not appropriate. It’s loving a wuxia story and having no one to share it with because all your friends are non-cn and you’re 14 and everything is embarrassing. Imagine carrying that your entire life, that heavy mixture of shame and fear, and waking up one day and suddenly some pop artist is using aspects of your culture in their music video. Just for the aesthetics. And for that they’re getting millions of hits on youtube and making a fuckton of money. 

The very thing that had caused you so much grief, so much mockery and stress, is being used and monetized. How could you be okay with it? Especially when commercialization often comes with sexualization and objectification as well.  Now what if it’s not some famous person, what if it’s just a random citizen who wants to put on a kimono or a hanfu? Is that okay? Then it really depends on who you’re asking and what their relationship is with their cultural identity. Personally, I don’t really care because the community that I grew up in was very accepting of my culture. I never experienced as much cultural threat as other cn disasporas in other communities. So, like your friend who is CN (I’m assuming), I don’t feel as though my own identity is being infringed upon if you were to wear hanfu. In fact, I would take it as you being interested in my culture.  But imagine someone who comes from a community where they weren’t allowed to freely express their unique cultural idiosyncracies, where they felt much more pressured to assimilate and fit in. I would think that you wearing hanfu would be absolutely seen as cultural appropriation in that case. Because the bottom line is, if they wore hanfu in their community, they would’ve probably been mocked for it, and so a person who is non-cn wearing hanfu just for fun, cheapens the struggles and the pain that they must’ve experienced ongoingly in their life. In simple words: imagine an unpopular kid at school had a mole on their face, a mole which earned them constant mockery from the popular kids. One day, however, one of the popular kids decided having a mole is “cool” and “sexy”, and drew one on their face and began sporting it around. Suddenly everyone is doing it. That kid with the mole is probably thinking having a mole is my thing, it’s part of who I am, I can’t change it, and you made my life hell because of it. Now, not only are you being a complete hypocrite, you’re also taking away a part of my identity. You’re removing the mole from it’s origin, from its context, and you’re drawing it on your face just because you like the look of it. 

There’s a reason why Chinese people from China don’t care if you go to and buy all the hanfu you want. A) it’s generating business, but more importantly B) Chinese people in China are secure in their cultural identity. Being Chinese is their every day life, it’s their norm, their background, their default. By you wishing to try Chinese clothes, eating Chinese food, to them you’re simply going with the flow of their society. Diasporas on the other hand have a completely different relationship with our culture. We’ve had to fight to carve out a space that’s just for ourselves, and no diaspora’s experience is going to be the same as another. Therefore, our relationship with our culture, and with the term “cultural appropriation” is going to be very different. 

[lobselvith8]

Fallout 76 asks “Should we give pseudo-Nazi scientists a chance?”

There are things about Fallout 76 that vex me. With the release of Steel Reign, an incredibly short finale to Steel Dawn, the conclusion to the storyline has been incredibly lacking. Rather than delve into the ideological schism that exists between Rahmani and Shin, allowing the player to get some nuanced insights into the two positions that each potential leader of the Expeditionary Force in Appalachia represents, the story instead decided to present a binary choice that is completely divorced from the dichotomy between the two and, overall, is fairly jarring.

For some reason, Rahmani mentions to Shin that Maxson came to regret killing the Nazi-like scientists at Mariposa who were torturing and experimenting on unwilling humans, which is an incredibly odd “creative choice” for Bethesda to make.

Of all the things you can make the original Maxson come to regret, is killing amoral scientists who were conducting experiments on helpless people, and killing countless innocents in the process, really the direction you want to take that character in? It feels as misguided as Fallout 3's The Pitt presenting the dilemma between Ashur and the slaves, but then focusing instead on the baby.

The exchange between Rahmani and Shin is odd, and it honestly has little to do with the ideological schism between them over how the Brotherhood of Steel should be run. It falls into Dragon Age territory by setting up a problem that bypasses the actual issues between two opposing groups, and it hurts the overall story.

At the near conclusion, you're given the choice to decide the fate of three scientists who helped Dr. Blackburn experiment on unwilling civilians. All of whom make it clear that they want to continue their experiments into altering humans, and one of whom shows absolutely no remorse about the innocent people who they sacrificed in the name of their experiments.

Is sparing amoral scientists who have engaged in torturous and vile experimentation on humans that only lead to the creation of Super Mutants really their idea of a "gray choice"?

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like 76 is living up to the promise, even though Wastelanders pivoted the game in a better direction with NPCs and dialogue choices.

Looking at 76 as a whole, the game has a number of issues which may or may not bother some people, depending on how you feel about the original games and the current direction of the franchise. In terms of story, one could address how the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 76 shares more in common with the Fallout 4 variant than with the original depiction of the Brotherhood in Fallout. The hierarchy, the attire, the responsibilities of the Scribes, the aesthetics of the emblem and the Brotherhood controlled environment, and then one could also ask why the currency of the Hub is used, why Super Mutants exist before the Master, why Jet exists before Myron creates it through the mass experimentation and the subsequent murder of slaves, and what the point is in trying to establish a society (backed by gold) in the model of the Old World when we have seen the homophobic, imperialistic society of the New California Republic that emulates America.

One could also make the argument that having vault dwellers serve to "rebuild America" on orders from Vault-Tec (a morally bankrupt company who ruined countless lives) falls into some questionable territory that could have been avoided had the main characters instead been, say, the Followers of the Apocalypse. Humans, ghouls, Mariposa Super Mutants and Nightkin, cyborgs, and others coming to the region to help after the fall of the Master.

Admittedly, some find the tonal shift distracting. Fallout 2 addressed how "Spears of nuclear fire rained from the skies. Continents were swallowed in flames and fell beneath the boiling oceans. Humanity was almost extinguished, their spirits becoming part of the background radiation that blanketed the earth." Now the Reclaimers lobby nukes with abandon, something that's even brought up in-game by characters like Shin (indicating that it's not simply a game mechanic but part of the story).

In terms of gameplay, there really isn't much to do, so you can basically explore the whole of Appalachia in about two or three months time, and you're essentially done, which I would constitute as a real problem for an online game. Gameplay is artificially inflated with a scoreboard where you're doing the same things each day to earn points in order to get "prizes."

Where 76 could have excelled at are compelling choices that really make you think and reflect the type of protagonist you play as. As in the past recent games, you could have been a Lone Wanderer who was faced with the choice to give Harold the peace he sought, or to help his roots expand because it might lead to the rebirth of the Capital Wasteland in defiance of his plea. Your Courier could have abandoned the vault dwellers to save the farms if you were playing as someone who had plans to make the Mojave viable (perhaps even envisioning a future where the NCR is ousted). In Steel Reign, however, your choice is to decide whether to allow three scientists who did unspeakable acts against numerous people, and set loose Super Mutants into the region, another chance. Essentially, if you want to engage in your own Operation Paperclip, and Rahamni seems oblivious when the scientists (within earshot) make it clear they want to continue their experiments.

However, this has nothing to do with the issues between Shin and Rahmani. It's a weird choice to present as the decider between who will govern the Appalachian Expeditionary Force, and it feels like it's trying hard to be in the same vein as the morally ambiguous choices you had with Oasis in Fallout 3 or how you handled certain choices in the Mojave.

[septembersghost]

I saved this last week from an artist I follow who is releasing a book next month inspired by Romantic poetry (and has created art for Florence Welch). it’s very much my aesthetic™ and it struck me close to the heart, being posted so near Red’s re-recording and in the light (or shadow) of everything that’s happened this past year, real and not real. it may be part of why the thought of amaranthine was glistening somewhere in my mind - love-lies-bleeding, everlasting red.

the thing about our real loves is that they never die, and maybe that’s more true with connections to art than it even is in other places, because that passion is unique and flourishes in us differently, and blossoms in the soul.

being given Red, my longtime favorite album of Taylor’s (folklore may have surpassed it, but this week has vividly reminded me why it’s still near the top of the list, why I’ve carried and cherished it for so long) nine years after its original release was the best...balm or blessing or sense of catharsis I could possibly have asked for or been given to wrap around me this week. I’ve said this before, but how often do we ever get to relive something we deeply love twice? this has been simultaneously like going back in time and recapturing a younger part of myself, while also giving grace to my current self in her more grown yet far more fragile state. Taylor does a lot of comparing of love to sacredness, to holiness, and it captivates me because, albeit perhaps in a different sense (the spark is the same), I’ve long done that too. sacred prayer, I was there.

I’m not sure what to say about Dean tonight that I haven’t already, so there’s this - yes, he imprinted upon me as a person, and yes, I have struggled and grappled with tumultuous grief and anger for over a year that a story I loved for the entirety of my adult life was stolen from me in a way I couldn’t reconcile, as I know many of you have too. I sit here now, reflecting on it, on how inconsolable I was at this exact time of night a year ago, and thinking of the gift of the time I didn’t expect to have and to share with all of you, and I’m...feeling a sense of graciousness. not closure, or reconciliation, but it’s easier for me to breathe now. stories are what we make them. we hold onto what we need. in a lot of ways, Dean’s never felt as alive to me as he has this past year because of the deep conversations I’ve gotten to share with all of you, and the remembrances of why the story and its characters mattered. reclaiming music lives in a similar place in my spirit, and while I didn’t have to reclaim Red because it never left me, Taylor did, and she did it so triumphantly and bravely that it has made me feel a sense of something akin to...wonder, I guess? how we can embrace ourselves with gentleness and stitch our stories back together and say - I remember this, and it affected and touched me, and there was pain there, and love there, and we can present the pieces of that without shame, with sincerity. she said - it’s always been ours.

art is always ours. love is always ours. it’s resilient, and we can still find it whenever you need it. that’s what I’m remembering tonight. how powerfully it lives on, crystalline and (the word I’ve used too much but it’s the best description) transcendent. we craft it anew and make it real. never fading, forever beating.

thank you for sharing this past year with me 💖

[brooklynmuseum]

Conservators Ellen Nigro, Natalya Swanson, and Kate Wight Tyler discuss the use of repurposed and recycled materials in artwork and the overlap between Environmental and Art Conservation in this conversation inspired by Earth Day.

KWT: As themes like consumption and climate change are increasingly addressed by artists, we see more use of recycled, reclaimed, discarded, and degradable materials in their work. How has this evolved our role as conservators?

NS: Sustainability-themed art is challenging conservators to adapt our practices, partially because repurposed, reclaimed, and recycled materials tend to be more fragile and often require innovative solutions to preserve signs of use, and partially because it raises bigger concerns about the sustainability of our materials and practices. 

El Anatsui’s fabric-like metal tapestries made of recycled liquor-bottle caps and wrappers present interesting challenges. Every time the artwork is installed it is formed into a new shape. Variability is a defining feature of these works, but also requires a lot of handling which wears on the recycled metal tabs. Our conservation strategy includes attaching mesh onto the back of the artwork, which redistributes the weight off the metal tabs without restricting future iterations of the artwork. By using recycled materials and employing local community members to help construct the tapestries, El Anatsui not only comments on consumption and waste practices, but literalizes a foundational sustainability principle of prioritizing community well-being when making decisions. The more I work on this project, the more I wonder how conservators can embed sustainability values into our practices.

EN: The artwork cycle by Hugo McCloud is a collage made of single-use plastic bags adhered to a plywood panel. As a paintings conservator, working with the McCloud has been a different project than what I am used to, since there isn’t any paint used in the artwork. It was an opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues in objects conservation, especially Kate Wight Tyler. Although my education included lessons on plastics and plastic degradation, I haven’t thought about them in a while!  Having conversations with Kate really helped me understand the degradation that may happen in this work.

KWT: When components creating an artwork are made for different purposes or already had a use-life it can complicate the terms of preservation. How does caring for these works reiterate and/or contradict the message the artist is trying to achieve?

EN: Cycle is part of a series where McCloud depicts workers in developing countries moving large amounts of materials, often in plastic bags. These works address class, labor, resources, and how they are all intertwined on a global scale. They call attention to the prevalence of plastic in our lives and throughout trade systems.

In this work, as well as others in the series, McCloud uses new bags and plastic sheeting in these works instead of upcycling materials. By doing this, I think he reiterates and highlights the message that plastic is present in many aspects of our lives and throughout global trade. It seems that McCloud wants to make an environmentalist statement by calling attention to the pervasiveness of plastic in the world, but by using new plastic, he is actively participating in the use of single-use materials and contradicting the environmentalist message.

Caring for this work of art involves gathering information from the artist through a questionnaire or an interview to learn about how he views degradation in his work. As conservators, we are trained to decrease the chance of physical change in an object, however, this is not always the best approach for treating works by artists that value degradation or change in the work’s aesthetic over time. We are still in the process of gathering this information. For example, if Hugo McCloud prefers for his work to remain as pristine as possible, we may implement preventive conservation measures like glazing to protect the surface from light, humidity, dust, and other pollutants. However, if he values degradation of the plastic, then we may take a more passive approach to the care of this work.

NS: I’ve been thinking about the question of artist intent in regards to the El Anatsui a lot, and wonder to what extent his emphasis on intersectional environmentalism (a term used synonymously with “sustainability” that only differs in the sense that it underscores the intersectional nature of sustainability work, rather than relegating it to the environmental sector) should affect our decisions as conservators.

Unlike the McCloud piece, El Anatsui’s Black Box embodies sustainable decision making in all aspects, from sourcing recycled materials to employing locals to create the works. Because of this, I’ve been feeling conflicted about our decision to use plastic mesh in our conservation treatment. Like all decisions, the rationale behind our choice was complicated: we needed to use a flexible but strong material that won’t change the physical properties of the artwork; we also wanted to use something that has a long lifetime, so we won’t have to redo the treatment in a few years. The plastic mesh meets all these criteria, but conflicts with the message El Anatsui communicates by making these works.

When conserving conceptual art, conservators sometimes have to make compromises with physical elements to ensure they are preserving what’s important (the concept). It feels like we are grappling with a similar type of problem with sustainability-themed artworks.

KWT: Art Conservation is sometimes confused with Environmental Conservation. In what ways are they connected and how do they differ?

NS: This is a challenging question. Both heritage and environmental conservation are based on the fundamental belief in caring for valued and shared heritage. Both fields are scientifically-oriented professions that use a similar technical language - and although we both use terms like “restoration,” “preservation,” and “conservation,” we mean very different things when we use these terms! Also, both professions believe in and practice collaborative interdisciplinary work. 

Perhaps one reason why there are not more overlaps is because our guiding principles are significantly different: environmental conservationists believe in a holistic approach to community well-being achieved through balancing future and present needs; art conservation is primarily concerned with the long-term preservation of cultural property. Sustainability work has shifted away from an expert-driven decision making model, while this is still the dominant approach in heritage conservation. Over the past few years, the boundaries between our profession have gotten more blurry as heritage conservators realize that preservation of the natural environment is critical to long-term care of tangible heritage. We’re still working on how to integrate this thinking into our “best practices,” but there’s widespread agreement that we can begin by creating more space for collaborations and candid dialogue with our environmental conservation colleagues. 

EN: As I have worked on the McCloud, I’ve been struck by the difference in how conservators think about plastic degradation versus how environmentalists view it. While the two fields agree on the science of plastic degradation, what is perceived as acceptable or unacceptable is quite different. In the context of art conservation, plastic is a very delicate material and one that easily degrades through exposure to ambient light, humidity, and temperature, and something that may start to change in a relatively short period of time, affecting the function and/or aesthetic of a collection object. However, environmentalists express concern over the timeline of plastic degradation, and highlight that the plastic may not fully decompose for hundreds of years. The two fields have very different ideas about what timeline for degradation is acceptable.

Photos of El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944). Black Block, 2010. Aluminum and copper wire, two pieces. Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., by exchange, 2013.7a-b. © artist or artist's estate and Hugo McCloud (American, born 1980) cycle, 2020.

[system-of-a-feather]

i didnt know you guys were chinese!

First-generation from my dad's side. We are half Chinese half white mix. We hadn't talked too much about it on this blog because for a while we had a lot of internalization and parts that would get really really aggressive about us overstepping our bounds because we are "basically white and uncultured and saying anything else would be basically the cringeist Chinese-aboo" and it'd make us anxious and stuff but like

Over the years we kinda worked on it and at this point, some of us take a lot of pride in it and give proper credit to both that we ACTUALLY have been cultured in it - albeit not as hard as some of our other Asian American friends / friend groups - and that honestly a lot of our childhood and teenage years were really affected by it XD

We actually used to help run and be a part of the Asian Club in our highschool partially on the account that all my friends either were from marching band or Asian

Yet our trauma brain that thinks us breathing is taking up space we aren't allowed to take up (same thing with being nonbinary or even LGBT even though we were 'queer out of the womb and everyone knew it') and just said we were faking. .... yes faking being Chinese.

Honestly though, like, I've been doing it for like a year, but me specifically as a part, holds reverence to the Chinese Dragon. I don't like to say worship because I don't really believe in it, nor do I see myself as below it, as much as it is kind of a cultural spirit guardian relationship to me? I've always been really closely tied to it and had a tradition of every Chinese New Year buying 1) a fan 2) some form of house hold decor relating to the dragon that I didn't have before 3) any new dragon coins if I can find it and 4) a coin for the zodiac year it is since I was like 12 or 14 cause I found it a lot of fun.

Lately this year upon reflecting about it like... I was born into an actively severely abusive household that had been really abusive for at least 4 years before I was born and my mom has clearly stated it that the reason I was born was because they wanted a dragon born on the millennium (2000 was both the turn of the millennium and the year of the dragon, the luckiest and most respected zodiac) and so lucky old me got to live a life in a hellscape because, well, my parents wanted a dragon

It was something I used to have a lot of mixed feelings about, but lately I've kinda decided that firstly, I will reclaim it as my own because fuck yeah being a dragon is cool and secondly, because the cultural reverence to the dragon is a really powerful thing. It has the power to make children be born when they otherwise wouldn't be because people hold a lot of hope and faith into those born into the year of the dragon. It's sucky and it doesn't justify the way we were born, but it also means that I am one of the many that is held culturally with a lot of like... hope and support and spirit.

So like last year I had officially decided that I am reclaiming my relationship with the idea and culture of the dragon and taking it personally to be an idea of guidance and guardianship from the faith, spirit, and hopes that come from what a lot of people believe to be the dragon and using that a bit as a centering thing. Recently I just decided to be honest and say I myself pretty much hold a lot of reverence to the dragon and WILL stab white people who wear it as an aesthetic and reduce the value of the dragon to an aesthetic.

Like yes, the dragon is aesthetic af and its fine to see it that way, but respect it and all the meaning behind it or I will murk you personally.

But ANYWAYS, even if its kinda cringey, I take pride in being a dragon even if I don't actually believe any of it truly is real. Personally, cultural beliefs and shared ideologies have power of their own in the world and I see it kind of similar. At the very least, the idea gives me strength and pride and happiness so honestly, call me cringey but I'm gonna be unapologetically cringey with this cause bitch ass, if the culture around the dragon made me live a shitty childhood / life, then bitch ass I deserve and hold the right to have this intimate relationship with the concept of the dragon.

but ANYWAYS, most of the system doesn't care as much about it as me XD The only one I think who cares much about the dragon or anything is Jii and Jii is just the part that really got me out of denial about being... half Chinese.

I KNOW ITS DUMB TO BE IN DENIAL ABOUT YOUR BORN RACE / ETHNICITY BUT I WAS

-Riku (Host)

[subtly-menacing]

About the line between psychological otherkin and reclaiming nonhumanity in a symbolic way

I have thought about this regarding my kintype a lot, so when this discussion came about I wanted to try to find the words to describe how I feel about this.

I mean. I'm not cisgender, or monogamous, or perisex, or straight, or neurotypical. A lot of those things alienate me from various connections I could have otherwise. Not only that, I'm a Christian mythos adjacent demon and "demonic/satanic influence" is often cited by Christian religious fundamentalists to justify those things being illnesses, failures or otherwise bad.

Also. I do experience some form or maladaptive daydreaming, so it would be really easy for me to project myself into a fantasy and imagine stories about being any sort of nonhuman being, and/or fictional character, as long as they were appealing enough. Although my kintype isn't solely defined by past or present stories, I did notice patterns regarding scenarios or parame ("self insert character" within daydreams) traits that helped me figure out things about my kintype.

Which means that, in theory, me seeing myself as a demon could be seen as some sort of projection based on reclaiming archetypes used in the society I live against people like me.

So. Here are my opinions:

I don't think "can this be explained with normal human things" is a good rule of thumb. Most people don’t share their non-normative thoughts, so it's hard to separate "normal human thing" from "nonhuman only thing". Especially for those who, like me, never had a lot of close friends to talk to.

What I think is more helpful is thinking about how prevalent and "attached" (for the lack of a better word) this identity is.

So, say someone adopts the identity of a changeling, a demon, an orc, a cat, a rabbit, an alien, a Mewtwo, a crystal gem or whatever/whoever else either because of neurodivergence itself (in the case of delusions, for instance) or because of dehumanization and/or isolation.

(And while someone could forge a linktype because of this, since we're mostly talking about being otherkin here, let's say this adoption is or can be seen as unconscious and/or that this process ends or can end up on the kintype not being a choice because it's tied to permanent identities and/or experiences.)

The thing is. Does this person consider themself Other over this? If it's just for jokes, internet nicknames, aesthetics and daydreams the person considers to be separate from their real self, that's probably not an alterhuman experience.

But, if the person deeply sees themself as Other; if the person considers what does it mean to be Other in the way they are and in what ways their life is affected by it; if the person sees their identity as something they were always meant to be and can't just stop if it's inconvenient? I don't think it would be right to consider this roleplaying/wishkin.

And this basically means it's mostly based on what someone thinks about that identity themself; how much they want to explore it and/or how much they think it's tied to their sense of self. Maybe someone can have sort of the same experiences I've had but then came to the conclusion they are not just deep/just part of a mix of finding an archetype cool and projecting onto it in a neurodivergent way.

This is where the "experience over strict definitions" stuff gets relevant, right? I'm not a demon just because of taste in media or shifts, or even because other people could (and already did) call me demon as an insult, but because I need to be aware of the stuff I have to work through for being what I am in a humancentric society, because seeing myself as demonkin makes sense in a way that's deeper than what I'm able to express, and because this is not something that goes away based on trends or interests.

Of course, others can have other reasons as to why/how they are otherkin even though it could, at least in theory, be explained away. And a lot of similar experiences can also be filed under otherlink or othervague instead of otherkin, I suppose. The line can be quite fuzzy, and that's why I find selfdetermination and knowledge about alterhuman labels to be so important.

[i-did]

HELLO 👋 I WAS SENT HERE BY PALMETT-HOES. What are your thoughts on the foxes + tattoos?? Originally it was Neil + tattoos but if you have thoughts of the other foxes too I'd love to hear them if you want to share 🥺

Okay, so I actually might try to become a tattoo artist and love tattoo culture. I also have already about 30 tattoos, some the size of my whole hand and some the size of a quarter, a lot of mixed and matched stuff. I also always try to think of the foxes in their timeline, so 2006-2007 era, and when I think said foxes would get tattoos in their life and why. 

NEIL

First off: I personally HC Neil has keloid scarring and a lot of scarring so tattooing is hard on his skin. I have a friend who has more scars than I've ever seen on anyone else IRL before and we both love tattoos but even with him trying to prep the artist, unless they were a scar micropigmentation expert, they usually underestimated how hard it was going to be to tattoo on his skin. It's uneven and dense and doesn’t hold ink well. His non-scarred skin faired a lot better but his skin was something artists just weren't prepared for. I might get some micropigmentation on some skin grafts I got to even out the coloring and make it look more “natural” but I’m waiting to see if the pigment will settle and heal more first. 

I personally don't see Neil ever getting a tattoo, and this bums a lot of people out lmao. I think his scars are too thick and too raised and it's too cosmetic and aesthetic centric for it to be something on his radar. On his skin that isn't touched by scars I think he would want to leave as be mostly out of neutrality. I don't see Neil as the type of sentimental tattooer, I see him thinking “well if it matters to me I remember it” sort of and him wanting to keep the really deep stuff personal just for himself and even another person putting it on him is someone else there. I think if he were ever to get a tattoo, he would be like… idk it would be the kind that says “yes I got shot, stop asking” over a bullet hole scar or like that one guy whos missing his leg and above it there's a tattoo that says “one foot in the grave” that's the only type of tattoo I can see Neil doing and even still I'm not convinced he would do it. 

ANDREW

I don't ever see Andrew covering up his scars with tattoos either. I think he likes how the armbands can come on and off and be fully covered to not at all. He's not ashamed of them but he's private, and I think the tattoos could seem like he's trying to hide them when he's not-it's just nobody's business. I think if he were to get anything it would be American-traditional, it ages well, its classic, and doesn't really go out of style. Before the…. Let's say 80s, there weren't the different tattoo “styles” like there are today. It was just… tattoos in America. There was Japanese-style tattooing and then American-style tattooing, and since tattooing started curating its underground culture in the ’50s in America… those circles did not blend. They do now, but they sure as hell didn't then. So I could see Andrew with American-traditional because it's classic and I could see it appealing to him, but I could also see Russian prison tattoo style black-work something that appeals to him too. Get him some gulag tats. However if he had those, and since I currently HC him as white and with a buzzed or grown-out messy buzzed head, he would deadass look like a fuckin skinhead so... yeah lmao. Overall I don't see Andrew getting tattoos really, but if he would, American-traditional seems fitting. 

KEVIN

Okay, so Kevin out here looking like a MF SoundCloud rapper with his single face tat and nothing else going on. I know it might be OOC but since his mom is Irish and I HC his dad as Maori (even tho in the canon Wymack likely has 90s new age tribalism, which is a complicated issue but instead I choose culturally significant tattoos over the tattoo trend that was largely popularized by a movie lmao anyways-).

So I think Kevin is the only one who dives into tattoo culture and bonds over it with his dad. If he just has the chess piece, it still feels like a branding, like a mark so distinct against the rest of him, but one full sleeve of Celtic knots and symbols and the other arm full of Maori's distinct tattoos of swirls and symbols could be a cool way for him to reclaim his own skin and have it not be something he did just to cover something up, but make tattooing something connecting him to his cultures and family. 

NICKY

Nicky is the guy who got like, fierce, or pride, or something like that tattooed if he got a tattoo. I see Nicky getting a pride tattoo of some kind maybe and it being calligraphy or like if Nicky/Erik is a bear then he gets a bear paw. I could also see him getting his and Erik’s wedding date tattooed somewhere. I also don't see him as the type who didn't know how much research and shit goes into finding the artist for you, and kinda assumes you can go to just anyone and just walk in and then was like “wait what” when he couldn’t (or couldn't if he wanted to get exactly what he had in mind) so he probably got/gets tattooed by some non-homophobic apprentice, maybe even that apprentices first tattoo, and also since Nicky is Mexican and darker-skinned I doubt he thinks to put on sunscreen and the sun makes his ink lines bleed and so it doesn't age the best (it be like that). 

ALLISON

Got a trendy tramp stamp to like, really stick it to her parents. Right on her lower back I bet it's the classic 2000s swirls and a butterfly and some of those stars, idk what they're called. If she was a young 20-year-old now tho she totally would have gotten a fine line tattoo, like not a tight three, a real 1 needle tattoo. They were seen as really nice back then and “so Cali” and like I could see /maybe/ her getting it done before she's 30 but they were not that common yet and like micro-realism is so new we still kinda don't know how it's going to age at all since tattoos before it have been designed they way they have for aging. Again if she got a micro-realism/single needle tattoo tho it would be something kinda basic like a butterfly or like a lion. I swear I've seen the same google image lion tattooed on a lotta people and like IDC it's your skin. But yeah, she gets the classic 2000s swirl butterfly and stars tattoo above her crack one night, maybe after a really bad phone call with her parents and she got drunk and pissed off. Maybe someone said she couldn't take the pain. (which btw, tattoos don’t hurt as much as they make them out to be in shows and shit, they can hurt tho)

DAN

I HC Dan as very dark-skinned, she's 75% black and 25% Sioux and grew up in a very very white area when outside her home on the res. Tattoo culture is still really sexist and really colorist, and at this point in history I think if she ever did want a tattoo, she maybe asked vaguely about it and they flat out said “I don't know how to tattoo on black skin” or “it doesn't go with my art” which… are shithole excuses and I think she thought, “well fuck u too” and never thought about it much since then. 

RENEE

I HC as Renee as darker-skinned than Dan, and like the only places she could possibly get tattooed are maybe her palms, the bottoms of her feet, or her inner mouth probably. Some people genuinely are so dark that tattooing is hard, because it's based on the concept of black ink on a lighter surface, which is why scarification catches on in cultures where the skin is too dark to pigment with ink effectively. However, the idea of fuckin, 15-year-old Renee who is still Natalie with “PU$$Y” tattooed in her mouth kinda sends me. I think lil kid Renee thought she was gangster, and tbh she was, and I could see her getting some “fuck you/in your face” tattoo, especially if she was a lesbian in such a homophobic world, getting that tattooed is even better. We also know she got her back tatted in the EC with angel wings that look almost closer to dragon wings, so I imagine they show up as almost raised dark lines like scars from the untrained tattoo artist going way too deep, making it a cross between a tattoo and scarification, even if accidental. (also white ink really wasn't a thing yet and even now is still kinda hard to tell how it will heal, so that's why I don't think she gets any white ink tats)

MATT

He's a rich boy from NYC, he could really get like… whatever he wants. Once he's famous he can afford it that's for sure, but even before then he could with his allowance similar to Allison (even if on a completely different level). However, I doubt he gets anything lol. He's not particularly religious in my HC and doesn't have the same sense of being lost like I feel Kevin does with his own parents (I mean Kevin was raised like an orphan, kinda so it makes sense). I need to develop Matt’s background further on what it means to him personally to be a Filipino-American. I have several ideas about how his parents met in the Philippines and then came here but I would need to flesh out locations and then local cultures and then his parents said opinions on tattoos and then how matt would react to said opinions. I could see him possibly getting something for dan or his kids tattooed on. Which really makes me want to have him get his first kid's name tattooed really big or intricate somewhere like on his chest over his heart and then his kid comes out as trans and he's like “...fuck” lmao and gets it removed maybe and then redone or something. I see him viewing tattoos are personal and symbolic, and if he would get something it would probably be family-oriented, possibly Dan's portrait or like his baby's footprint which I've seen before. 

AARON & SETH

Stick and pokes were not nearly as common then as they are now, and I feel like people kinda have to remember how taboo tattooing was then and still is now in a lot of cultures. My family is Not happy lmaoo. But it is what it is. Stick and Pokes were not a thing bored white middle-class teens did like I see them doing now. It was seen as super sketchy and I know someone who was 16 getting tattooed in a garage by someone who was both drunk and just out of prison for the first time, and that was seen as sketchy as stick and pokes at the time. I could imagine either Seth or Aaron having a failed and fucked up stick and poke tattoo, and out of the two of them, Seth seems like the drunk tat guy. Maybe once he got drunk and mad as fuck after Allison and him broke up and she said he didn't seem serious enough so he got her name drunkenly tattooed on his arm or something and then she was even more pissed because it was spelled wrong “YOU FORGOT THE SECOND L OMFG SETH.” (I can also imagine his future girlfriends don't love it lmao). I also love the idea of Seth just having Marvin the Martian or the Tasmanian Devil tattooed on his ass.

Anyways sorry for the lack of pictures but I didn't want to do that... so I didn't. I didn't go into niche tattoo culture and history like I was expecting myself to but this also got fuckin long. Might not be what you were hoping for at all but it is my current opinion on the foxes and tattoos. (This is also surprisingly free of my own personal aesthetic opinions on tattoos and that I'm kinda proud of ngl, since my preference is none of these, but also I grew up in a very different tattoo time than them)

[moony-artnstuff]

Commission @cabinetacademia

Note: @cabinetacademia I am so, so sorry that this took so long. I don’t really have a valid excuse other than that school has been requesting a shit-ton of time lately and the only moment I did have time to write I couldn’t get myself to do it. I sincerely hope you can forgive me for the long wait and I hope you enjoy your matchup!

The Hobbit: I ship you with THORIN OAKENSHIELD

Thorin is a King, and, though many would not think it at first sight, a gentle soul.

Sure, he is a warrior, and a legendary one at that, but he is also creative. He is a craftsman, a musician, someone who values food and cheer and song and family above all else. Someone who loves you with all of himself once you’ve finally captured his heart.

Thorin has travelled a lot in his lifetime, and especially now as a king I can imagine he has an incredible knowledge about all kinds of cultures, history, mythology, etc. Not to mention he has access to the royal library night and day, which he extends to you even before you start courting, as a means to capture your heart.

I can imagine that after the quest to reclaim Erebor was accomplished you stayed with the company in the lonely mountain to become a professor (probably teaching young pebbles the many languages of middle earth).

One of Thorin’s favorite places to be is the room that you two share. It’s filled with all kinds of trinkets you’ve collected over the years (including Thorin’s many courting gifts), mountain high piles of books, note- and sketchbooks, letters and many other things. It’s a good kind of cluttered, and it fills Thorin with a fond feeling whenever he takes it all in, as it reminds him of you and all your lovable quirks.

Even before you and Thorin married, even before you started courting, Thorin saw you as a queen. Your intelligence, your creative and ambitious nature, the way how everything you said sounded like it came straight out of a novel, and how when you called out his name it sounded like poetry had him immediately wrapped around your finger.

Once you marry Thorin you become queen under the mountain, meaning you’ll have to attend all kinds of social gatherings, meetings and grand feests. Don’t worry though, Thorin will be there to hold your hand and shield you from the overwhelming attention, and there’s no way in hell he will let anyone talk over you. Thorin values the things you say, and he thinks it’s important for others to listen as well.

One time you off-handedly mentioned to him you’re attracted to beards, and he wore this really giddy and proud smile for the rest of the day (and you noticed he since started to put just a little bit extra care in his facial hair in the morning).

As you most likely will have noticed when watching the movies, Thorin is not exactly good with words. It’s why he’s so happy you write him those lovely letters with all the reasons why you love him, and he does the same for you. He enjoys having you in his arms at night as he reads to you out loud his love letters with all the reasons why he adores you, and how the Arkenstone isn’t even half as much in worth as you.

Lord of the Rings: ARAGORN

Gift giving between Aragorn and you changes over time. While the two of you are still rangers, his gifts tend to be more simple and practical, like well-crafted daggers, a warm scarf for when winter comes, a new satchel for your maps and other items. Once Aragorn becomes king - and therefore has more money and no longer travels everyday - his gifts become more extravagant and fancy, like a new waistcoat, a beautiful dress, beautifully detailed fountain pens, etc.

Story-telling is a must. Every night when the two of you have made a fire and set up your camp, you tell each other stories. You tell him about folklore and mythology and all your favorite stories, while he tells you about his travels around Middle-Earth, the people he met and what it was like to grow up in Rivendell.

Aragorn confides in you with everything he does. Your advice and kind words have gotten him through many hardships in his life, and he holds your opinion in high regard. It’s you he goes to when he worries about the quest and the One ring, it’s you he goes to when he fears he will never be the king Middle-Earth needs, and you soothe his mind every time.

Aragorn is a ranger so does not carry a lot of unpractical trinkets with him, but he treasures everything you give him and keeps all your gifts in a special bag. He will often craft you tiny statues while travelling. When the two of you come across a town he will often get you a pretty bracelet or a beautiful dagger.

When the two of you cuddle he likes to trace your moles and play with the lighter patches of your hair. He likes having you near him and he pays attention to all the small details that make you you.

He carries a few of your love letters bound with a small robe with him at all times, wherever he goes. He misses you immensely when the two of you are apart, and the letters bring him comfort. It warms his heart every time he reads them and he has tried many a time to write love letters for you as well, though he always feels like the words he writes cannot even begin to convey the love he feels for you.

Once he becomes king and you his queen he likes to take you shopping for clothing that matches your aesthetic, often asking the tailors to make something specifically for you. He wants you to feel both beautiful and comfortable, and he smiles whenever you try to pick out his outfit so you can match aesthetic.