#stans find a different hobby challenge

[uxji]

okay so from what i gathered, some kpop stans dont like the suit to be called a whore/slut suit bc a real life group wore that outfit?

[pyroclastic727]

Luz and Amity have the same motives

Anyone who has seen The Owl House knows Luz and Amity’s dynamic. Not so much the fighting one, but the one that Eda refers to as “adorable banter which is literally making [her] sick.” They work together perfectly: two rivals who make peace. How do they do that, though? By finding similarity, mainly in motives.

Both Luz and Amity want to be witches.

However, they pursue this in different ways. Amity goes the traditional route. She enrolls in Hexside at a young age, dedicating her life to witchcraft. This is the only path she knows, and she sees it as a way towards success and (probably) pleasing her parents. Being a witch means proving that she is competent and skilled enough, something she doesn’t believe, as shown by how she points out other people’s incompetence and boasts about her own (this is a thing that insecure people do. I know from experience ^_^).

Luz travels a strange route, which you probably know. I mean, she finds the scrappiest, artificially-aged owl-witch antihero, who hates school and teaches her in a ragtag, reluctant fashion. Most of Luz’s learning is on her own. It’s very much the difference between an art student and someone who draws as a hobby; without pressure, Luz can be thirsty for information. However, information tends to be much harder to access, since a lack of pressure also means a lack of resources. (Thanks a lot, modern school system).

Both Luz and Amity want the other person to stop bullying them.

From Luz’s point of view, Amity starts as a bully, so much so that this YouTube video keeps popping up in my recommended, explaining why Amity is an excellent bully. It seems convincing from this point of view; I mean, their first meeting is comprised of Amity obsessively shaking Luz’s lifeless form. Sure, Luz is making a lot of mistakes and altogether shitting on the rules, but that’s what you do when you come from another world and aren’t even enrolled in the school. And as Luz sees, Amity repeatedly does things to insult Luz, someone she hardly knows. She specifically mentions Luz in her Instagram post, calling out humans as being not invited to her conjuring. It seems like she’s specifically targeting Luz, this person who just stumbled into the world and has had about three interactions with Amity. The other girl has really assumed the worst in Luz, which makes no sense at all, since Luz is, well...Luz. 

Meanwhile, Amity sees Luz as a bully. Remember Amity’s main motive: to become a witch and join the Emperor’s Coven so she can convince herself that she’s competent (which isn’t going to work, but that’s how us top-student types think). Luz has been destroying Amity’s plans. The first thing Luz did was help a student cheat on an assignment that Amity worked hard on, and then take Amity’s gold star, aka her symbol of competence, as a spoil of war. Then she challenges Luz to a duel and cheats on that. Amity has been working all her life to be perfect, and meanwhile Luz goes and cheats and lies and isn’t perfect, and gets what she wants. For Amity to accept that Luz’s actions aren’t bullying would mean to admit that perfection isn’t what Amity wants.

Both Luz and Amity want to enjoy fan content shamelessly.

For Luz, she is openly a fangirl at home. I mean, one of our first lines from her is an admission to making anime edits (what a weeb) and getting sucked into Feminist Harry Potter. She makes art and writes, and I would be surprised if she hasn’t written fanfiction. Yet her mom wants to send her to a camp to stifle her creativity. All the other people at school shun her for having weird interests (you’d think that would be unrealistic at this point). Her original motive for staying on the Boiling Isles was so she could be a creative fangirl in relative peace. Even on the Isles, she continues to be a fangirl, going so far as to cosplay Azura in front of Amity. (Luz is what would happen if Tumblr were a person, I swear).

For Amity, she wants to be a fangirl, too. She stans Azula, going so far as to own the first four books. The difference is, she’s closeted. I’m guessing that her parents put a lot of pressure on her to be perfect (or at least, that they used to). If not that, then there’s the embarrassment her siblings cause her, and her subsequent attempts to make her family name seem respectable. At least there’s a sense of sibling competition, since they’ll always be better than her, as long as they have more experience. All that has culminated in an internalized belief that Amity holds, that she has to be perfect and the top student. Would a top student read stupid books and sink into a fandom? No. A top student spends all her time studying and doing things to make the teachers favor her (wow look it’s my mantra from last year). Beneath Amity’s self-consciousness and low self-worth is the desire to simply enjoy things and be herself. Luz helps her get there, by cosplaying and lending her book. But she still has a long way to go, which probably includes standing up to her parents, and most importantly being vulnerable with herself.

Both Luz and Amity want to be valued.

This is at the base of each girl’s personality. I mean, Luz at home doesn’t seem very valued. Her mom is okay, but she is also willing to send her to a summer camp, and after A Lying Witch and a Warden, they don’t text at all. Her classmates don’t value her. When she comes to the Boiling Isles, part of the reason she’s so happy is because so many people value her: Eda, King, Willow, and Gus. She has a family and friends and is fairly content. Now all she needs is to become a real witch so people will value the part of her that loves magic. 

Amity has it way worse. For the most part, she isn’t really valued. Remember the scene where she’s sitting on her windowsill, staring out the window and brooding as her friends take selfies without her? She doesn’t feel any attachment to her friends, alone in any crowd she’s in. Her siblings, while they love her, are an annoyance to her. They don’t seem to see the real value in her, and if they do, they don’t express it. She would probably cry if one of her siblings said he or she was proud of her. Meanwhile, we don’t see much of her parents (I’m writing this after S1E12, for future viewers). Keeping in mind that Dana Terrace and Alex Hirsch also wrote on Gravity Falls, she probably has the parents that Pacifica Northwest has: a distant, cold nuclear family with high expectations and low tolerance for her. Without any love at home, she seeks some at school. We know that she once valued Willow, but lost her. (My guess is that she pushed Willow away). Her professors give her validation, but judging by how quickly they take it away, it seems more like a toxic dependency than a real relationship. By this point, Amity has spent so much of her life without being valued that when Luz extends kindness to her, she doesn’t even know how to respond.

This sets both girls up to learn from each other. 

Luz is excitable and reckless, and she can pick up some discipline and ambition from Amity. Amity is high-strung and repressed, so she can learn some self-indulgence and emotional freedom from Luz. Usually the best way to learn a lot from a peer and have them learn from you, in fiction, is to form a close bond with them and spend a lot of time together. Fortunately for Lumity, similarity breeds attraction.

[hotgirltarot]

Pick a Card: Hot Girl Summer Edition!

Pile 1 (Citrine) - Pile 2 (Rose Quartz) - Pile 3 (Carnelian)

Pick a Card/Pile or Crystal that calls out to you the most! Then, read our next posts to find out what it means for your Hot Girl/Guy Summer! LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS UNDER YOUR PILE!

Tips are appreciated! $dejawash19 on cash app

PILE 1/CITRINE

At the beginning of the summer, you will have a conflict with someone who will challenge your opinions, and not appreciate the effort you put in. You must stand up for yourself and hold onto your values. This is the lesson you will learn this summer. Be careful not to drown yourself in other people’s negative opinions and their energy. You will become a person who is confident and surrounded by love and in tune with your higher self. A lot of old habits will die this summer like negative thinking, self-doubt, and settling for less than you deserve. You will be more empathetic, independent, flexible, and confident by the end of the summer Pile 1. Some of you will move, change jobs, travel, find new creative hobbies, and meet new friends this summer! Shake that ass, you’re leveling up!

PILE 2/ ROSE QUARTZ

We are seeing that the situations of last year have helped you become more mature, confident, ambitious and make you realize that you don’t need anyone to fulfill you. Unfortunately, everyone’s growth is different and a friend/co-worker of yours will have a hard time understanding your new way of thinking and they might get defensive when you try to give them advice. It’s a small fight that will help you both understand each other. This summer your financial situation will improve and a lot of doors will open up for you in terms of career. If you have been searching for a job or trying to switch jobs soon you will get a lot of job offers. Any problems in your life will fix this summer and you will walk away victorious! Period ladies! We stan boss bitches!

PILE 3/ CARNELIAN

You have been struggling with self-love and your body image for quite some time, but we see you putting in the work and it’s going to pay off. You will do a lot of shadow work and you will learn so much about yourself this summer. Your image of yourself is going to improve and you will feel so beautiful, confident, and ready to show yourself to the world. We get that some of you were a little scared in the past when you meet new people or trying new styles of clothing and we see you conquering your fears this summer! Pile 3 will do a lot of new things this summer they never thought they could do in the past! You’re a baddie and you will feel like one!

Tips welcome! $dejawash19 on cashapp!

[circuslollipop]

Jester and Essek?

JESTER:

Why I like them: ksdjhf where do i BEGIN. she's that one character who was INSTANTLY my favorite; i fell in love with her voice, her demeanor, her personality, everything! but i also love her and relate to her on a deeper level--how she's seen as less mature because of her likes and hobbies, how she represses her negative emotions for fear of making other people hurt or uncomfortable, growing up isolated. also i really love her creativity and her growth from someone sheltered to someone with a bit more worldly experience who takes initiative, but in that growth she never lets go of her love for unicorns or fairy tales or the color pink or her joy and kindness and belief in the best of people! i love her so much

Why I don’t: literally nothing i can put here she's great

Favorite scene: the tarot reading on lucien that was INCREDIBLE

Favorite season/movie: i cant pick a favorite arc w her shes great all the time!!

Favorite line: "something must end for something new to begin" but also "let chaos reign"

Favorite outfit: ALL OF THEM but if we're going by purely official art then her xhorhas outfit. but if we look at my tweaks to the outfits then the winter one becomes my favorite

OTP: JESTERMAUK but i also ship her with beau, yasha, and calianna

Brotp: jester essek besties for the win also team cleric good

Head Canon: bi grayro/grayce jester my beloved

Unpopular opinion: kinda wish we got more time for jester introspection/inner conflict in the travelercon arc? it got kinda wrapped up pretty neatly and i do wish we could've gotten more conflict. i do like that her friendship w artagan was reaffirmed in the end, but idk i do wish there were some more challenges thrown her way in that regard and that would make it all the more satisfying to see her rise above it all and fight for her beliefs and win in the end. also ngl some of the shipping discourse i see is Weird and im just gonna leave it at that. also there's more to jester's humor than d!ck jokes and i kinda don't like how one-note it all started to become in the later episodes

A wish: continuing from the first point in the unpopular opinion section, would have LOVED to see the timeline where the traveler actually was taken to the feywild and jester turned to the moonweaver for help. while her faith in artagan is definitely strong in canon i feel like that kind of arc would have made her faith feel even STRONGER. also i wanna see her feywild adventures

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: please don't let her """mature""" out of her hobbies and interests let her become a little old lady who still loves unicorns and stories and pink

5 words to best describe them: chaotic, vibrant, joyful, strong, lively

My nickname for them: another canon nickname but i do call her jessie or jes sometimes

ESSEK:

Why I like them: oh golly gee ANOTHER character i relate to! gifted kid burnout syndrome my beloathed. mainly the experience of being considered a prodigy early in life and then expected to preform to that standard every time. also i LOVE essek's arc and his character development, he grew from someone cold and isolating to someone who cries over a person he didn't even know (mollymauk) and all that growth was SO satisfying to watch. easily my favorite character arc

Why I don’t: n/a

Favorite episode (scene if movie): episode 91 was SO GOOD

Favorite season/movie: despite being a Molly Stan, essek was easily my favorite part of the aeor arc! (mostly bc the molly and lucien stuff made me stressed and emotional while watching; essek was nothing but satisfying to watch) anyway i loved being able to see that growth in real time!

Favorite line: "it's not fair" AAAH the heartbreak and also i cant remember any other essek lines atm RIP

Favorite outfit: out of all the different interpretations of his mantle i do like the munchkin interpretation (aka kyotosparty's) the best!

OTP: SHADOWGAST but i do also like shadowmauk

Brotp: jester essek besties

Head Canon: short essek fave essek

Unpopular opinion: i dont think i have one?

A wish: if the m9 ever get an animated series, i hope essek gets more lines and more chances to give his input once they get to the aeor arc! i understand that matt was juggling SO MUCH at the time so i def see why it didn't happen during the actual show. also i would love to see more adventuring essek as well as an origins comic

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: that after the m9 are all gone, that he doesn't ever find happiness again and slips back into loneliness. i would like to think he's able to find more friends, more adventures, and more love while still honoring his old ones, and he's able to live a long and happy life

5 words to best describe them: complex, relatable, flawed, hopeful, ninth

My nickname for them: i dont have one for him i dont think

[howdoyousleep3]

Here I am writing a sappy love note to all of you even after I said I wouldn’t do this, but it brings me happiness to show love to others and this year was pretty challenging and we deserve this. 

I don’t even know how to begin to explain what this page and this fandom and all of you mean to me. Before I had this fandom in my life I was sad. I had no hobbies, I went to work, I came home, I dicked around on the internet; there were very few things that brought me much happiness. 

What started with finding this fandom and writing a little Daddy Steve that I wanted to see on “paper” has brought me such incredible amounts of joy and happiness. Never have I ever felt so loved and appreciated. I know I started my blog in November (i think??) of 2019 but 2020 is where we’ve grown. Look, I hit this moment last week–

🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

You make me feel cherished here. You make me feel adored. You support me in a way I’ve never experienced before. Writing brings me joy but you supporting my writing and loving on it brings me the most joy. You’ve helped me grow as a person and as a writer and you have helped me create these worlds that we cherish together and share as one. 

This is a special place for me and it is because of you and I’ll never be able to repay you for the happiness you bring me. 

Here are a few people I want to shoutout specifically while I have the time to do so. This is going to be so long, bear with me plz:

@cantabile-l, you are the softie we all dream to be, my precious jo bean. You are intelligent and so very sensitive to others in the best way possible and I hold you and our friendship so close to my heart. I love you.

@maddiewritesstucky, you are my sister soul mate and nothing will convince me otherwise. You show me immense support, you bring me so much sexual frustration, and I am baffled I can be so close to someone when we’ve literally never even met in person. Lord help everyone in Hawaii when we meet up god knows when. I love you. 

@ixalit, you are my bub, my poet, my porn provider. You have a soul so deep and broad I swear it stretches over here to me in my state. I can only hope that you continue to share your talent and love with the world. I love you. 

@musette22, you are my sweet sweet minniebug and your friendship came at a time when I needed it most. You always know exactly what to say to me at the exact time I need to hear it and seeing your texts on my phone when I wake up in the morning makes me smile. I will always be hear to listen to your Seb and Chris shouts. I love you. 

@rainbowsandcoconut, my baby Ditte there are very few people that make me laugh and smile more than you do. There is no one else in this world who loves Chris Evans more than you do either, stg. Even if we don’t talk every day I feel your presence in my corner nonetheless and I hope you feel mine as well. I love you. 

@imlittlebitdie, Riley bb when I think of the word support I immediately think of you. You are so thoughtful and a pillar of support in my life. You have taught me how to be a good friend, so much about privilege, and the intricacies of hockey. I love you. 

@andysmountains, my lizard-loving plant-loving dose of sunshine. You are so special to me and our friendship is a light in my life as well as the pictures of your kitties and plants. I can’t wait for the plant tour. #BuckyBear4Life

@sheetsforwhichimmade, oh god Soph I know we just recently and drunkenly confessed our love for each other but I must do it again at such a time. Your James/Stevie brain blows my own mind, your texts about Boyfriend make me scream, and seeing your name show up on my phone makes me so happppppyyyyy. I love you. 

@doctorenterprise, my Daddy Twin, my fellow Ball Gobbler, I know our friendship was just kindled but there isn’t a conversation that I have had with you that hasn’t made me giggle or smile. You are the ultimate hypeman, you have the Daddy Brain, and I can’t wait to continue on into 2021 with you by my side. 

@ceratonia-siliqua! My honeybun! You have the largest heart that anyone has ever had and I wish I could drive across the country just to snuggle you close. I hope 2021 treats you better. You deserve the best things life has to offer. I love you. 

@becassine​, my sweet bratty Bex where did you come from? You are literally the most beautiful creature I’ve ever set eyes on, your way with words is unmatched, and no one else hypes like you do. I hope you get all the lovin’ and touchin’ you deserve in 2021. Thank you for loving me. I love you. 

@thegodswife​, Manda you are such a constant source of, “i’m not crazy, right??”. Your hype is unreal, I don’t know how you don’t have more attention given to your work, and you are one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. I love you. 

@hannah-stagram​ My sweet baby Hannah Banana you are someone who I feel understand me on a different level than some others. You are sweet, you are caring, you show me so much love and kindness. Your random hype texts on some mornings bring such a smile to my face. I love you.

@hanitrash​, giiiiirl I don’t know how you do it. You work, you have a family, you write some of the best smut out there and the ideas never stop flowing. You are inspirational. I miss you and love you. 

@trekchik​, my Meetcute Queen I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us in 2021. Thank you for all the support this year. I miss you and love you. 

@rorybarnesrogers​, rory baby I lub talking to you almost every day. You are so fucking funny and supportive and I can’t wait to read that damn story. I love you. 

@the1918​, Lynne even with us talking things out now, my happiest fandom memories this year most definitely include you. Your talent is unparalleled, as is your hype, and I only wish the best for you in the next year. 

Even more love goes out to all of these beautiful beautiful people who bring a smile to my face every day who I love with all of my being! 

@ywecanthavenicethingsanymore @hawkeyeandthewintersoldier @sunflowersstan @fishcustardandclintbarton, @thiccbuckybarnesfic, @babyyhoneyydarling​, @tae-withsuga​, @hbalbat​, @tonguetiedmisfit1​, @martelldoran​, @kalee60​, @martianjuice​, @darter-blue​, @crownofstardustandbone​, @solasnagealai-escapism​, @stardi293​, @cuteplanties​, @sweeterthanthis​, @fandomfluffandfuck​, @willbakewithstucky​, @thewaythatwerust​, @softestziam​, @ozarkthedog​, @seb-stan-lover​, @fafulous​, @littlesurfergrl​, @pixidustprincess​, @dreadlockholiday​, @maireadtbts​, @korean-disaster​, @allegedlyann​, @hoeforthegays​, @justice-for-plums​, @mossystark​

I know I’m forgetting someone and it’s gutting me but I have been working on this for three hours now and I must eat din din. 

I love you I love you I love you. 

[moons-and-stars-and-shit]

Hi hi can i request a cake with haikyuu bois??

Pronouns, sexuality: she/her, straight

Appearance: 160cm, dark dirty blonde hair with black roots and I wear a black glasses, love wearing skirts and dresses, eyes colour is really really dark brown which only noticeable if that person is standing 1cm in front of me

Mbti, horoscope: ISFP-T, pisces

Personality: cold to new people but wild and weird around close friends, always act tough and bottle up my feelings but actually very sensitive and cry baby, independent hence I'm always too afraid to ask for help, stubborn and determined, kinda bit tsundere but can get very very clingy in a relationship, hot-headed/short-tempered, don't do well in stressful situation and will try to run away from it but I'm trying to change that, get shy and awkward and cringe at myself easily even if it's just me having a music jamming session all by myself

Hobbies: listen to songs, play video games or watch esport tournaments or pro players stream, sometimes shopping cuz i like fashion related stuffs

Random facts: very picky eater, always rage in video games and scream at my teammate who ruin my game but not to my friends, have a very cliche dream of visiting Musee de Louvre, MOMA, and the Van Gogh Museum in Netherlands, have a weird habit of crunching ice lmaoo

Values I look for in a partner: loyalty, sweet and caring, protective/dominance, able to accpet every part of me because I tend to change myself in a relationship if that means they will like me more

Thank you for answering my request!

🍰 for @lhlj

Romantic Matchup

Bokuto Koutarou

How yall met

you were a third year who had just decided to become a volleyball manager

So he knew you on that level

But he never actually KNEW you

You always seemed too blunt to conversate with

And you never really asked for help with anything

So he just never really made the effort to talk to you

Then one day he walked into practice and saw you talking to akaashi

Wait....

Were you smiling?

Omg your laughing now?????

Now that he thinks about it he has never seen you laugh before

After you left he ran up to akaashi

“Akaashi how did you get y/n to talk to you”

Akaashi looked at him like he just asked if the sky was blue

‘Oh you won't believe it, it's almost like i went up to her and just said some words” 😐

We stan sassy akaashi

No way it had always been that easy to talk to you

Right?

He decided to test his theory when he saw you struggling to grab the net from the storage closet

“Hey y/n you need some help there?”

Oh hey bokuto yeah if you could help that would be great”

Omg

It really HAD been that easy to talk to you

If he'd known how easy it was he would've tried befriending you MONTHS ago!

Well there's no time like the present am i right

He was shocked to see how differently you acted around people you're comfortable with

He always took you as a bit of a shy person

But turns out your even goofier than he was

And you were actually a really interesting person

Like he never knew that you wanted to go to the Netherlands!

And you were just so cool,and funny,and kind and-

Bokuto-san, you have a crush on them”

Huh?

No way

You were just his friend!

His really pretty friend that he couldn't stop thinking about`

Omg he had a crush on you…

It took him a couple of weeks to find the courage to tell you how he felt

Then one day he offered to walk you home after practice because he wanted to talk to you

So you agreed and started walking

Bokuto seemed off to say the least

Actually now that you think about it

He's been acting pretty weird for about a month or so

“Hey Bo you doing alr-”

“I have a crush on you y/n”

After he registered what he just said his face turned DARK red

“Ok gotta go bye”

“Wait Bo, i like you too”

I beg your pardon

You?

Liked him back?

Omg he could not be happier!

When you walked into the gym hand and hand the next day the whole team was just like

Omg about time 🙄

What they love about you

He loves how independent you are

He truly believes you can do whatever you put your mind to

However

He does wish you weren't so hesitant to ask for help when you really needed it

He's your boyfriend now!

If you ever need ANYTHING he'll be there for you

So pls pls pls ask him for help when you need it

He loves that your a dreamer

After you told him about your dream to visit places in the Netherlands

Bb boy started saving any extra cash he got in a jar

He will save up for YEARS if it means he can make your dream come true

Omg he LOVES how clingy you can get

We all know this boys love language is physical touch

So whenever you want to cuddle he literally ZOOMS to get pillows blankets and snacks

Yalls cuddle sessions are *chefs kiss*

Favorite things to do together

Honestly he just loves to spend time with you

So anything

Literally anything

You wanna play videogames all day? Bet

You wanna go to the mall all day and shop? Where's his wallet

You just wanna stay home and chill all day? Great! Anything for you

Random Hc

This man SPOILS. YOU. ROTTEN

If you so much as make the COMMENT about liking something in the store

Expect it to be in your hands the very next day

He actually was able to save up enough money to take you on your dream trip

You guys both went the summer after you graduated

One time he saw you just eating ice

And he was like “ooh let me try”

The second he put it in his mouth “ouch that's too cold :((((“

Yall have karaoke nights

It's basically you just putting songs on a speaker and jamming out while cooking dinner or sum

Astrology

Pisces + Virgo

Compatibility 88%

Virgo and Pisces represent the axis of the exaltation and fall of both Venus and Mercury.

This makes them partners with greatest challenges and the greatest potential for love in the entire zodiac.

They need to find a fine balance of rationality and emotions, each one individually and together through their relationship.

In many cases this is not a couple that will last very long, as their mutable quality makes them changeable enough to disregard the entire relationship quickly if they aren’t satisfied.

They need to realize that perfection they seek might not be presented in the form they expect. If they stay together for long enough to understand the benefits of their contact, they might discover that the love between them is the only true love they could find in this lifetime.

Overall Aesthetic

Surreal Dreamer

Songs-

Sunflower (Rez Orange County)

3 am (HONNE)

Little talks (Of Monsters and Men)

Out of my league (Fitz and the Tantrums)

[redvanillabee]

Shipping while Aro: why aros who ship make sense and are valid

I often see on aro blogs people wondering whether being aro and enjoying shipping fictional characters make them “not aro” or “not aro enough”. The answer, of course, is no. You can be aro and ship. But that got me wondering: as a raging aro and a shipper, how come I find this enjoyable? Why would I happily spend hours upon hours writing two fictional characters being in love and domestic together, but if my friend asks me to go to their wedding I would immediately depart for Nepal where I intend to live as a goat?

To answer that, first we need to understand what aromanticism is. The most common definition is that aros do not “experience romantic attraction”, but I find that a little vague. To me, aros are people who do not...romance someone for the sake of romancing them. We know why people become attached as friends or family, but that pull to romance someone is beyond us. For demiros, then, the pull to romance someone--whatever romance may entail in your culture--comes only after knowing someone well. Alloros will be people who not only experience that pull to romance someone for the sake of romancing them, but that pull is not conditional upon anything.

Onto the other subject: what is shipping? Shipping, at its heart, is a literary game of liking the idea of two people being together. It is about seeing two characters who, metaphorically, slot together. Maybe it’s their personalities--power couples who run into battles together, guns ablazin. A broken, desolate person and their partner with a big heart. From a character and plot analysis standpoint, it makes sense for these people to be together--as partners, as close friends, as family.

Real life romance rarely “make sense” in this way. There are couples who are as different as can be, with completely mismatched interests, barely overlapping hobbies, held together by shreds of common traits, but are very happy together. If you ask a couple why they like each other, their answers may as well be describing why you like your friends. It’s hard to...stan the idea of them being together the way you would fictional characters. Like, yay you have a new friend. Woohoo. But celebrating a romantic relationship for the sake of a romantic relationship... that is definitely beyond me.

For me, this is why shipping while aro makes sense. The two characters that I ship fit well together. They have demonstrated that they work well as close friends, close family, close partners. I like their dynamic together. If the narrative decides to take it a step further to make their relationship romantic, I can see the basis of that. Of course, I still wouldn’t understand or like it if their whole storyline as a couple is just them staring into each others’ eyes all the time with no other plot and character development. But assuming that we are talking about well-written couples in well-written stories, even as an aro, I can see myself stanning the idea of those two characters being together.

This may also be why unlike other alloro shippers, it is very rare for me to be interested in non-canon ships, crack ships, and rare pairs. Any well-written canon ships will have plenty of details in canon supporting why these two would be a good fit together. Maybe we are shown how they have fared individually, and their partners being what they need in life. Maybe we are shown the two of them braving their ways through challenges together, working well together. Non-canon ships, crack ships, and rare pairs rarely have that kind of...”supporting evidence” that make their partnership, romantic or not, sensible to me as an aro viewer.

In other words, in my opinion, not only is shipping while aro valid; our aromanticism actually makes the action of shipping make a lot of sense. If you’re a shipper aro, what do you think? What are your experiences with shipping?

[dumbass-denbrough]

Losers Club as Student Athletes

Bill: bill is the captain of the football team. he loves the support of being on a team and being hyped up by the people around him. he naturally attracts attention and admiration by being a friendly, talkative person, and he loves the feeling of being cheered for after a good play. he has a lot of energy, so being able to get that out in a healthy, productive way makes him feel a lot better. no one not on the team has ever heard any of his locker room speeches, but apparently they’re legendary

Mike: mike is a cheerleader!! his main hobby in life is hyping other people up, so when he heard about cheer tryouts he thought that would be a great opportunity to make people on other sports teams feel appreciated. he made the team, but when he mentioned to one of the other cheerleaders why he joined, she told him that cheer was its own sport, that didn’t need to exist in relation to anything else. over the course of the season, he learned that cheer was its own skill and he fell in love with it as his own event

Ben: ben is a track and field thrower. he never really thought of himself as being very athletic until eddie bullied him into coming to a preseason open track with him and throwing a shot. he did really well and eddie convinced him to try track and field, for a season, and even though he dreaded it at first, he really enjoyed it after a while. he really loved throwing because, unlike all the other events, not many people watched him while he threw. he didn’t feel like he was performing for anyone, he just did it for himself. he ended up being stellar at all the throwing events and becoming pretty well known in the district

Eddie: eddie is a track star. he’s been doing track since middle school, and everyone on the team knows him really well. he’s mainly a mid-distance runner, but he loves sprinting. sometimes after practice or during the off season when he’s particularly stressed, he’ll go onto the track and just run as hard and as fast as he can, just to give himself a release. he’s not sure why he wanted ben to come with him to the open track, he just had a feeling he might find something he liked. it paid off and now he has a loser on the team with him!!

Bev: bev is a softball player. although she doesn’t believe that any sport should be gendered, she loves that one of the most dangerous, violent sports at the school is strictly feminine. a few baseball players have tried to convince her softball was just a watered down version of baseball (there’s a reason it’s called softball) so she challenged them to a game, sandlot style, but she insisted they use a softball instead of a baseball. the larger ball threw the baseball players off and the softball team won 3-0

Richie: richie is a swimmer. he’s loved swimming since he was a kid, messing around in the quarry with the losers. he gets a unique thrill from pushing against the water and feeling it push back. he says it’s the closest thing the average person can experience to being in space. he loves the splash of diving in and having his whole perception of the world change. he always opens his eyes underwater to try to look around but he’s still blind as hell so he really can’t see much. he insists the best part about swimming is getting to strip down in front of the whole school tho

Stan: stan is a baseball player. being as tall and skinny as he is, he’s able to sprint in between bases pretty fast. his main skill is pitching though. he’s the player who gets the most action in the game, and he’s integral in every single play. he loves going to bev’s games and she loves going to his. when the softball showdown happened, stan insisted on watching from the sidelines. he’d played with a softball before, he knew it was way different. he very much enjoyed seeing some of his more irritating teammates get their asses handed to them

[inmyarmswrappedin]

DRUCK reactions - s4 ep1

Ages ago I said I wanted to write meta about Cris’ and Matteo’s seasons, so of course, when I finally sit down to write reactions to a Skam remake, it’s about Amira instead.

A few weeks back I was composing tumblr posts in bed before falling asleep (my number 1 hobby lol) when it struck me that the writing for Amira’s season was really… indefensibly bad. So let’s stroll down through memory lane and revisit Druck s4, or how to throw away your potential because you have to put out this season before summer is over!

CLIP 1: Dark clouds over Winterberg

Obviously I’m writing these with the benefit of hindsight, but I will try and incorporate what my initial reaction to a clip was whenever I can remember.

Sometime between the Abiball episode and episode 32, I argued (on twitter) that the Abiball special was the Abiball episode instead, the first episode of Amira’s season. It would thus introduce us to the conflicts and characters that would take place during Amira’s season. I thought that in addition to the obvious Amira/Mohammed, Carlos/Kiki/Essam would be important, Kiki’s family life would be important, Stefan would be important, and David/Matteo would probably not be important as they seemed to be doing just fine in their scenes.

I didn’t think Mia/Alex would be important because I didn’t actually watch their clip lol. The Winterberg stans on my twitter orbit thought the clip was cute and nothing to worry about. That should’ve been my first clue that the (twitter) stan habit of repeating the “we never lose” mantra doesn’t make for great viewing comprehension, because watching the clip, it’s so obvious that shit is gonna go down lol.

Mia moves from one of the flat share’s bathrooms to the other because they never really recreated Mia’s room in the s3 flat share.

I still haven’t watched Mia’s episode, so I don’t know how all this stuff is going to get resolved, but it seems like Mia doesn’t think they can handle a LDR, and Alex is picking up on those vibes hard. I guess I don’t really get why Mia is so pessimistic about it because at that age I kinda thought a few months break weren’t really an obstacle. (Not sure if it would help me to watch Mia’s season, because this seems like a wholly new conflict.)

Anyway, Alex acts sweet/reassuring (I really like how soft spoken everyone is in this episode), so Mia puts it out of her mind for now. But Idk, they haven’t really spoken about the elephant in the room.

CLIP 2: Don’t call them the chastest evak ever again

Tbh this clip comes across as a direct rebuttal to all the s3 commentary about David and Matteo seeming like they’re not into each other, or like they aren’t ~passionate~ like the other evaks.

It’s like, “these gremlins are horny on main, now shut up.”

But I like that they’re fully dressed, like yes, you can show physical intimacy without undressing your teen actors (shade fully intended).

I love Lukas von Horbatschewsky’s hair and I’m very jealous of Matteo in this sequence, lmao.

Luis Sepúlveda died of coronavirus this year, in Spain. You’re welcome for that bit of 2020 misery dripping onto this cute clip.

I do think David feels guilty that he may have caused Matteo to fail his Spanish exam because of David’s own issues, which I think is very on brand for David. Obviously it wasn’t his fault.

I really like how soft spoken everyone is in this episode, 2X.

And this has been said a million times by now, but David and Matteo are the one evak version where they’re the same age (Joana is in the same year as Cris, but is a year older, so she must’ve gotten held back at some point). So it’s funny, and possibly a reference to Isak and Even, to see David talking about what it’d be like if they had that age difference. Like, maybe David would be more like Even in behavior! And, going by Matteo’s reaction, he wouldn’t be into that.

This clip really feels like the ending to Matteo and David. They’ll go on a road trip, they’ll work on David’s movie, they’ll be around, but this clip is their conclusion. They both feel secure and content in their relationship, and ready for everything that’s to come.

Like I said on the post about Cris and Joana, I like that David and Matteo don’t have further issues. And while I have tons of issues with Druck s4, which I will be talking about forever in the following posts, I never had an issue with how they deployed Matteo or David. (Okay, self. Now say that again without crying about David’s season that should have been.)

Fucking David cutting their make out short only to then say such a highkey flirty, romantic thing to Matteo though. No wonder Matteo’s like, “STOP, I’M SUPPOSED TO STUDY.”

CLIP 3: A challenger appears!

I like the fanon that David is a healthy eater (or at least in comparison to Matteo), because all we ever see David eat of his own volition (i.e. not food that was made for him) is candy.

God, I love Kiki snatching David’s fruity gummies out of his hands. It makes me laugh every time, particularly how she demands to know if the candy is vegan.  

Hanna looks beautiful. ;_;

There’s a split second when Jonas is about to give Hanna that box where David looks alarmed in the background. In my mind he’s all, “Bro, no. Not a public proposal. Reel it back in, bro!”

And then, to the surprise of Jonas and all the viewers, we find out that not only are Jonas and Hanna not together, but Hanna is dating German Arthur. Again, in “fandom refuses to acknowledge storyline conflict until it’s staring right at them” news, Stefan had actually been introduced via an audio to Hanna the day before, but people were convinced it was Hanna’s dad. Whose actor they called just to record an audio. Clearly.

My belief at this point was that Stefan would be relevant to Amira’s storyline, but instead it was just a way to give Hanna her own episode. 🤡

Matteo’s transformation into Michi is complete by donning his grandpa hat.

He also makes to trip David for no real reason. Throwback to Unter Wasser.

Matteo saying Inshallalalah in a sing song voice is cute, but so annoying.

Matteo Florenzi: He’s a pain in the ass, but we love him.

CLIP 4: I guess Abdi and Axel picked up his grades at another point

I love the way Matteo grabs David’s head to pull him along. They’re so cute and I’m gonna enjoy every second.

Jonas also grabs Hanna along, because fans needed to be further confused as to what was happening with Hanna and Stefan and Jonas.

Thank you, Druck, for telling me Kiki’s and Amira’s grades, but as you can understand, that’s nowhere near enough to satisfy my curiosity and I will be needing to know everyone’s GPA because that is the kind of thing that’s important to me. What about it!!!

I think, going by how impressed Mia is, that Mia’s grade isn’t as good as Amira’s. Which I think is a neat detail, since the Nooras are kind of supposed to be the perfect girls. I like that Amira is even better than Mia at school.

I thought the concept of Carlos failing his final exam and maybe realizing school wasn’t his thing would’ve been an interesting storyline to explore, but I’m not mad that it didn’t happen. Hopefully Druck will touch on it with the next kids.

And we’re now treated to three reveals about Kiki. Kiki has a sister (now she has two), she likes the idea of moving out and living with Carlos, and her mom isn’t doing well.

The remakes trying to develop their Vildes past s4 make sense to me. By the end of Skam, Vilde clearly was the character who’d been the most robbed of a season, there were several potential storylines to do with her. Financial instability, alcoholic mom, eating disorders, plus it seemed obvious that any season taking place during the girls’ russetide should go to her. And that’s without getting into Vilde’s strong denial that she was a lesbian.

So the remakes are sitting on all these potential storylines, but as we now know, they can’t make their own Vilde season.

And from a European TV exec’s point of view, Vilde (who in every version is a white, skinny, ostensibly straight girl) is a very safe main after the gay and Muslim seasons.

Cue the LITTLE SISTER.  

I get why people are fed up with the Vildes’ prominence in the remakes that are in their latter stages, but at the same time we got 8 versions of Noora’s season, most of which are a limpdicked enemies to lovers story with a misguided sexual assault storyline tacked at the end. (And I say misguided because after a strong start, it’s mostly about what William will think, how William will react, I can’t tell William about this, etc.) So in my case, I’ve had quite enough Noora to last me a lifetime, but my Vilde thirst has only begun to be quenched.

Tangent over, Kiki lies that she’s not going to the lake because she’s going to check on Carlos. Bad form, Kiki.

CLIP 5: Graduation (Friends Forever).mp3

In clown news, I predicted there’d be a clip between the Kiki stuff and the actual dance (maybe a Sam clip), as it seemed to me there wasn’t much of a connection between Kiki looking sad on that ping pong table and PARTY TIME. Lol at me.

And speaking of clowning, while I thought the Abiball episode was part of s4, I also thought that was fine because it was just doing the multi POV episode in the beginning of the season rather than at the end, right? Wrong.

As much as it would’ve been great if Sam and Abdi had storylines pertaining to racism and islamophobia (whether Abdi is or isn’t a Muslim, people would probably assume he is), I also have to admit… This conversation is hilarious.

“I want to have intercourse with you.” [glass breaks in the background]

Abdi closing his speech with a wide smile gvvhvh.

The first hundred times I watched this scene, I thought Alex seemed a bit alarmed at the conversation taking place, but really… We’re back to stone-faced Alex lol.

Don’t kill me, but I feel a little bad for Abdi in this moment. He really put himself out there and Sam just leaves without giving him an answer, yikes. I actually got tired of Abdi’s sad sackiness during the season, but right now I feel for him. L

There’s this smile Jonas sometimes directs at dudes (like Alex here) that makes me think… Bi. He also directs it at Matteo in s3.

Ugh.

There’s a parallel universe where Stefan was the villain of Amira’s season, and it would’ve been a much more interesting season than the one we got.

Because Stefan is a bit of a Darth Jonas. He works for Greenpeace, but, at least in this scene, seems a bit full of himself, and like… twisting the knife in a way that feels like it has to be intentional. And it would’ve been so interesting if Druck had tackled the white dudes who seem like they’re not going to be assholes about Muslims, but then turn around and say some shocking garbage. I’m sure we’ve all met a guy like that before.

In my mind, Stefan would’ve driven a wedge between Hanna and Amira, which would’ve been way more compelling than what we got, but on the other hand, it probably would’ve made fandom people hate Hanna, and people outside of fandom hate Amira.

Anyway, tag teaming gays! I love how David and Matteo share a look and immediately take care of both Jonas and Stefan.

I also love it when David looks murderous. It looks good on him.

But I feel like this didn’t go anywhere? Like, Matteo always hated Stefan and continued hating Stefan until the finale. In this scene, David seems to dislike Stefan just as much, but it’s not a thread they bother following. It’s too bad because I think Matteo and David together sabotaging Stefan is a lot funnier than just Matteo doing it.

I love how soft spoken Amira is when telling Essam not to show up at her graduation party. I would’ve been a lot less polite lmao.

You know, I actually thought Kiki was genuine here when she said she wasn’t a fan of competitions. Obviously that’s not the Kiki we’ve known until this point, but like, I thought it was meant to show character development on her part, But we’ll talk about THAT more in the following episodes.

Matteo fully blames their win on David being so hot, mysterious and new, and it’s hilarious because that’s also what initially drew him to David. Like, “fuck you for being so hot!”

I thought it was such a nice detail that they brought back the girl from the refugee classes in s1. We’re saying goodbye to all these school people who are going on their own post high school journeys without us!

In my mind, Abdi and Alex are talking about something completely serious, like, I don’t know, Abdi’s dad wanting him to study business and Alex advising Abdi on the best business schools in Berlin or something.

I feel like Hanna is the one girl in the squad who really doesn’t feel ready for post high school life and I HATE the writers so much for how they wrapped her character up, but we’ll save that for later.

I could watch Matteo passing the tiara (=the main) to Amira forever. The way he tips his hat and looks like even he’s a little surprised that he (a character like him!) was ever the lead on a teen show, David’s voice asking Matteo if he’s coming, Matteo leaving with David to live happily ever after, the initial notes of Just Got Paid as Amira looks at nighttime Berlin. This meme is overdone by now, but THE POETIC CINEMA.

Jonas glaring at romantic rivals at end of year dances is iconic at this point.

Amira being tagteamed by an annoying little brother AND a well-meaning, embarrasing older brother. Choose your own nightmare.

I really love the set up for the Essam/Kiki/Carlos conflict. The emotional potential is SO good because on one hand you have Kiki, who wants to have a good time for once instead of parenting her own parent, then Carlos whose self-esteem is on the floor after having failed his final exam, and Essam, whose own sense of self-worth hinges upon whether white German girls find him attractive. Like, obviously Essam is never going to come between Kiki and Carlos who have been through some shit together, but with Carlos out of commission and Essam eager to please, you can see how the situation could so easily turn into a mess.

Amira and Mohammed have the most sexual tension out of any Yousana pair, period. They literally just said hi to each other and I already feel like I’m intruding gvhvhv.      

Social media

David saying of Matteo: “Er bekommt Auslauf.” (Something like, “he gets walkies” because he’s been good with revising) is the cutest shit ever.

Remember when Stefan sent Jonas a whole ass message and signed it “with sunny greetings”? Stefan was much more fun when we were supposed to find him unbearable.

Kiki creating a new Whatsapp group for every single thing is so true to life.

I’d forgotten that Amira also hated Stefan almost right away. The season that could’ve been, I tell you.

All the Abi Chaker Clan content reminds me of how I thought Jonas looked like, well, such a child, compared to Stefan, and I thought that was intentional. Like, here is Stefan with a Greenpeace job whereas Jonas doesn’t know what to do with his life, and he’s like, spray-painting abi chaker clan onto walls and posting pics to the abi chaker clan account. It’s not that I thought Jonas should’ve acted like a whole ass adult, of course he’s having fun with his high school friends, but I thought Jonas might feel inadequate in comparison to where Stefan is at this point of his life.

I can’t remember who revealed it, but Sara was supposed to end up with Toilet Sam and that was supposed to come out during the s3 finale (on that week, Sara posted a story with a guy whose face was obscured iirc). Since that was part of the clip where Hanna and Jonas also got back together, which they cut to make way for Hanna/Jonas/Stefan drama, Sara takes some other dude to the Abiball. And I think we’re supposed to think that’s the same dude she went on that date with.

[jacintatveit]

Fotogramas Magazine June 2019

This is the google translate version of the Spanish interview. I just manually type the Spanish words into google translate.

And it’s so good！I urge all of you to read it! 

A not so clear version of the scan here: x

License to mutate

Hey, did you hear anything from Disney? 

To me, nothing at all. While reporting on the second coffee of the day, James McAvoy throws the glove at Michael Fassbender. 

Me neither. Nothing, answer this, before the two break to laugh. 

If X-Men: Dark Phoenix - the last film based on the comics created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and the fourth joint adventure of these two monsters of the scene - is a farewell, at least it comes loaded with good vibes. 

It seems that this is going to be the last. Or, at least, we feel it, even if you know, says the last Charles Xavier. 

I also have that feeling, replies Magneto's alter ego. I think that with this film, the circle closes. At least, for us. Surely, in a while, the saga returns with younger people and much more prepared. Improved versions of ourselves. 

Mutant chronicles

With X-Men: Dark Phoenix, the directorial debut of Simon Kinberg - a regular screenwriter and producer of the series -, ends 19 years of mutant chronicles. We are facing the twelfth film of a universe that has known a pair of casts, a temporary reset and several spin-offs. A closure that comes after accumulating delays in the premiere, endless extra filming sessions and problems with viewing tests, and after circumventing the controversy surrounding for years Bryan Singer, promoter and director of four installments of the franchise. And that, without mentioning that it will be the first comic strip to be released after the box office armageddon that Avengers has supposed: Endgame.

But none of that alters the mood of McAvoy and Fassbender when FOTOGRAMAS sits down with them. On the contrary, the feeling of the two actors is, above all, gratitude.

Is that X-Men has been something very good, has a strong Scottish accent McAvoy. I think I speak for both when I say that it has given us a lot of freedom, as well as a good salary.

Fassbender talks while playing with his huge wedding ring - in the fall of 2017 he married, in Ibiza, with Alicia - It has been like a home ... and it has allowed us to pay for our houses. And also my mother's, jokes before let McAvoy take over: 

It has paid for the houses of enough people around us. It is strange to say something like that, but X-Men has been the pillar that has sustained my last ten years as an actor. When you have something so salty in the bedroom, you can afford to risk your trade, but also make vital decisions like buying a house or even being a father. I guess it would have been very different from having to go from work to work, trying to make everything right. It has been a luxury, a fucking splendid luxury.

Crossed destinies

The end of his days as Professor X and Magneto puts a dilemma to the duo mutant fans: they need to find a new project that will allow them to continue working together. 

Or, Fassbender points out, we could stay and hang out there. Is not that better, James? 

And McAvoy answers: Much better. Going out on the spree and acting on something together just because yes, because we feel like it. I love collaborating with Fassy. But, to tell the truth, we have only done it in X-men: First generation and a little in X-Men: Days of the future past. Outside of that, we have hardly had a fucking scene together. I miss him!

Fassbender agrees: We only see each other when one arrives and the other leaves. The right time to get a little up-to-date, roll: Hey, how are you, dude?  How are you doing? 

And, when we agreed, it was always more or less the same scene, continues McAvoy. He tries to mess it up. I ask him to stop and reconsider, and he says nanay. In the end, Erik, your character, just wants to lead a quiet life. It's not bad dude, but something always happens that fucks the existence! What the fuck you have! 

To which Fassbender agrees: It is to think twice before going around with him. Because he's a fucking magnet for misfortunes, he laughs.

Battlemates

The two jump like a spring when we ask them when was the first time they heard about each other. In the shooting of Blood Brothers, they point out referring to the HBO miniseries. 

It's been 19 years now, Fassbender snorted. I was part of the cast, and he came to act in an episode. I remember how much James impressed me then. Behind the cameras, the thing was like in front of them: the new recruits and the veterans platoon. James was the rookie on duty with a suicide mission: a very complicated scene with the toughest of the company. But the guy came with that confidence of his, that chunky air that he knows is good. I thought: This guy I like. 

McAvoy replies: Chulesco? It was all facade. I had a bad time because of the scene, but also because one of the protagonists, I'm not going to say who, was dedicated to making my life impossible. It was an integral cocoon. You, on the other hand, were very nice. Dexter Fletcher too. And Robin Laing. It was weird because, shortly after arriving, I already had a scene ... and with dialogues! Meanwhile, some of the cast members had been there for months and had not had any.

The (Blessed) Crisis of the 40

(James did a lot of movies in the recent years.) 

Meanwhile, Fassbender ... 

He has not done anything !, ends the phrase the Scot. And it was always the other way around. At the time I had made a play or filmed a movie, Michael had acted in ... I do not know, 20? I'm happy that I can explore other interests, but ... 

The reply of Fassbender is not long in coming: Since I was a kid I dreamed of being a racing driver. I always thought that if everything went well, when I turned 40, I would try to change my goals a bit, so I did that.

From 2018, the Irish competes in the Ferrari Challenge, at the wheel of a model 488 of 670 horsepower. 

It is very difficult to get insurance that allows me to pilot and interpret at the same time. So I've decided to focus on cars, but I'm still working on behind-the-scenes projects with my production company, DMC Film. And, if there is something that I can shoot in the months when there are no races, then I am open.

McAvoy cuts him off: It's the most fucking awesome excuse for not acting. I can not shoot because they do not assure me because I'm a fucking racing driver. Will it be possible ?, he asks himself, and both laugh eagerly. My hobby is to stay at home looking at the walls. In shorts, the Scot jokes.

Fassbender protests, teasing him: It's not true. You also play football very badly, do not you?

And, when the laughter fades, McAvoy picks up the thread to make the final point to the meeting: The 40 is a stage ... interesting. Right now, I am in a vital moment in which I rethink a lot of things, because, who knows, maybe I have already gone through the middle of my life. Have you seen the one of people who die at 70? Sometimes I think: Fuck, you have to make it worth it! And I am clear that not everything must be work ... so I think I have to do it too, take some time for me.

[piccolina-mina]

I received a bit of fandom positivity recently to my surprise, and I felt compelled to share some positivity for something meaningful to me in this fandom.

I've been fortunate enough to befriend some great people from many paths, and I adore each and every one of them dearly.

However this is specific...

To the fans of color in the Roswell New Mexico, I adore you, and I'm sending you love and light.

For navigating near constant microaggressions with class and grace

For always explaining and holding your ground even when you're being gaslit, or ignored, or told you're playing the race card.

For sharing your experiences, your background, your culture when you don't and shouldn't have to because your words are invalidated unless you prove yourself.

For having your culture and heritage explained to you.

For being accused of appropriating something that's yours.

For still finding ways to enjoy your representation even when others tear it apart.

For always reminding people that your representation is important and valid too.

For creating the content you want to see when no one else will.

For carving out a space for yourself when you aren't always welcome.

For rising above the petty that runs far deeper than those participating in it seem to realize.

For staying in a fandom that deliberately tries to run you out because you know you don't have to cede your joy for drama.

For standing with each other, and embracing each other, and protecting each other. For being a safe space for each other.

For challenging problem areas no matter the backlash.

For sometimes having to endure your own friends and acquaintances engaging in problematic behavior or saying problematic things.

For taking anon hate like champs even when it's ugly and hurtful.

For refusing to be erased or cast aside.

For bonding through navigating fandom racial bias despite having different opinions and interests.

For uplifting characters of color that fall by the wayside.

For choosing to exist in this fandom, good, bad, and ugly even when the ugly hits too close to home.

For always finding the joy, and never being discouraged, and finding ways to have fun anyway.

For carrying on.

When you find something that brings you joy, an obsession, a hobby, a slice of escapism, it matters. It's something seemingly insignificant, but it brings you elation. And it should be fun.

It's not always fun, and that part sucks. But that's why I love the positive energy anyway.

And it's not ship specific, or character specific ... Maria stans, Kyle stans, Rosa stans, Echo shippers, miluca, malex ... regardless of where your interest lies, we know, most of us, that being a person of color in this fandom can be very freaking difficult.

It's a minefield. That much we can all agree on.

So this is my positivity post for all of you. Sometimes it's intentional and other times it isn't, but the racial undertones are always present.

But my god, my lovelies, so are all of you. I love that. I respect that. I see that.

Keep on protecting your space and holding your place.

You matter. You're valid. You're not alone. You kick ass too.

Thank you for everything you bring to fandom. And for being part of it.

Here's to you. ❤

[thelazyeye]

oh okay, internet famous Losers, like they're all youtubers and insta famous kids doing really different stuff around the nation, what do each of them do? who connects with who and how?

Ooff I love this idea. I used to be moderately into youtube people. Mamrie Hart anyone? She cracks me the fuck UP. Anyway this got super long so its under the cut. I hope you enjoy anon! Thanks for sending something it!!

Okay. Here we go. 

Richie 

is a youtube personality. Duh. He started out vlogging and his Voices and somehow his channel picked up. He writes comedy bits, does personal blogging, and tests his voices. 

When he was starting out he had a bit where he was a weatherman that had multiple personalities (Voices) and it got insanely popular. He received some backlash due to the offensiveness of the bit and has since retired it, but references it from time to time to credit his fame. 

Now he focuses a lot on his comedy routines and improv acting with other members of the community. He does challenges from time to time as collabs as well

People are super invested in his personal life (bc people seriously get like that with youtube people) and started speculating about his sexuality. It took him a few years to address all the rumors that he wasn’t straight and how he was probably dating this youtuber or that youtuber. 

Eddie 

is an LGBT Activist that has a youtube channel as well (think Laci Green but LGBT and not sex ed, though he does do sex ed work)

He got his start when he was in college. He became the president of the LGBT club. He wanted to reach a large number of students and he figured the best way to do that would be youtube

The entire club helped him out. Every week he would have another club member on the channel to talk about their sexuality and experiences

It didn’t get big at the school but he got lowkey noticed by the HRC after about 6 or 7 videos. He was contacted by a social media manager on the team to commend him on his work

From then on out he started to work harder on his videos, including more in depth information and he included links to more resources

Eventually, his videos started to rack up views from young LGBT kids thanking him for his channel

He started to collab with famous LGBT youtubers (troye sivan, hannah hart) and that’s when he really blew up 

Bill 

actually got his start on Vine. He mastered the art of the 6 second story and when the platform went down he migrated to youtube, snapchat, and twitter. He’s got profiles on almost every social media platform and he’s written a couple of webseries, as well. 

His first webseries (pre-vine) focused on comedy. He and some college friends got together and wrote the script/acted it out. It wasn’t very big but the following for it had a cultish feel. 

It blew up after he became famous on vine

After that, he started writing more webseries and partnering with other youtube actors

He wrote and completed two successful comedy webseries before he got bored of it. He decided to make the jump to horror work 

Think Marble Hornets

He ended up getting a scholarship to a film school and has been working on becoming a movie director ever since

His youtube work is on a hiatus but he still posts blogs and updates of his life. He’s active on Snapchat and Twitter the most. He still does dumb, funny shit from time to time and tweets out very random jokes

Stan 

is an adventure youtuber. He travels all over the world, seeking thrills and exploring nature. His videos usually have some kind of educational component but they’re always entertaining. Stan has explored the Savanah and Rain Forrests, he’s sky dived and scuba dived. He’s done a lot

He has a side channel for his love of birds because how can I not throw this in here?

When Anti semites started showing back up in the world Stan started to dedicate more of his channel, and his other platforms, to Judaism. He’s uses his popularity and fame to educate people and create awareness around the issues Jews face

As a result, he blogged his Birthright to Israel. It was a weeks worth of videos, some candids that he just uploaded on the whim, and some he took the time to edit. They were adventurous, educational, and full of his personal journey

Stan has also faced a lot of backlash for his involvement with the jewish community. He voices this in his videos. To combat the threats against him, he recruits other members of the youtube community to collab with and talk about issues. He makes it fun. He’s cooked Jewish foods, celebrated Jewish holidays, and had fun discussions with other personalities. 

Bev 

is a famous fashion designer and makeup artist. She got her start on Instagram, posting her designs and outfits that she created. Sh started young. Like 15 years old. As she grew up and went to school, her fashion instagram grew. People got to see her skills improve and they watched as she turned into a teenager designing clothes in her bedroom to a design student to a professional

She gives fashion tips to people and her favorite hobby is making posts that help girls and boys create fun, new, and exciting clothes out of what they already have in their closet

She firmly believes that you don’t need to have money and status to dress well. She wants fashion to be accessible. 

She started a youtube channel out of request from her followers. She got a lot of comments about her makeup and she started to do makeup tutorials there (Think Sailor J)

People really started to see how funny she was, then. She would always throw little bullshit videos onto her story but this was the first time she posted video content that didn’t disappear after 24h

Her youtube is not nearly as active as her instagram. That’s where you can find all of her content

She is also a vocal activist against child abuse on her insta. She frequently donates to various organizations and she does it very publicly. She runs clothing drives for those in need and has even hosted makeover days for young girls whose families can’t afford good clothes/makeup. 

She has recently expanded her fashion designs to male clothing, promoting Non Binary, Trans, and other identities in her lines. She says “Clothing has no gender” and pushes that despite advice to lay low on the issue. 

Mike

is a super unlikely case of internet fame. His instagram is composed almost entirely of his farm animals. He really didn’t think he was going to get famous from it. He just loves his farm so fucking much

The first half of his internet fame just consisted of pictures and videos of his animals. Namely, his dog Mr. Chips and his cow, Barely. They were best friends and Mike posted pictures of them napping together, playing together, and helping him run the farm

Once he started to gain an unreasonable about of followers he would pepper in posts that were educational. He talked about the importance of farmers, the work that he does, and how he maintains his animals. He worked to debunk a lot of myths about farming and really promote the work that he does. 

He still posts a lot of videos of him with his animals being all cute, but he uses his activism to reach large numbers of people at a single time. 

He also promotes healthy eating on his instagram. He talks about balanced diets and how to moderate sweets intake. 

Eventually he talks about working out (because Mike Hanlon is ripped sorry I don’t make the rules) and helps build an all around healthy lifestyle for his following. He kind of accidentally becomes a life coach of sorts. Motivation, healthy living, and cute animals. 

He has no idea how it happened but he doesn’t regret a single minute of it

Ben

is a singer! This sweet old mother fucker started out on youtube when he was 16. He bought a Ukulele and started writing love songs for the girl he was pining after

We all know that one mother fucker who owed a Ukulele in high school

His voice was like velvet, though. He wasn’t popular enough for anyone to really see it so he didn’t get teased in high school for it. His first couple videos got only a handful of views

What kick started his fame is a cover video. When he decided he wanted to do an acoustic cover of Lady Gaga’s Love Game

He did it on Ukulele

It ended up being such a fun and unique cover of such a popular song that he got noticed. Like. The video fucking blew up. He ended up getting over 5 thousand views overnight and the number just kept growing

Ben ran with it. He covered other popular songs (I Kissed a Girl, Viva La Vida, So What, etc) 

He blew up so hard and fast that people started to notice his original works

He got noticed by a label and signed the summer after he graduated high school

His first album was a love album because it’s Ben come on

He doesn’t have much of a social media presence after his youtube channel. He has the mandatory instagram and twitter that all famous people seem to have but they’re fairly inactive

Collabs

Richie and Bill

Richie and Bill were the first to collab with each other. Richie acted in Bill’s first webseries and it built a friendship that lasts a lifetime. 

The two of them do stupid youtube challenges with each other whenever they’re in the same city

Bill used to guest on Richie’s channels and play improv games to help both of them work on their comedy. They always turn out ridiculously funny and normally involve some level of alcohol

When Bill lost his younger brother in a car accident (sorry georgie dies in like every single universe) Richie flew out to see Bill and spend time with him. The two of them filmed a vlog together where they talked about the loss and then they both donated to anti drunk driving campaigns and urged their followers to do the same and never drive drunk

Richie and Eddie

They met for the first time at vidcon when they were first starting out. Richie was already pretty big but Eddie was working on his following. They hit it off immediately and they filmed a video for Eddie’s channel that focused on Eddie debunking stereotypes surrounding the LGBT community. Richie added a tasteful comedic flair that brought in views and he taught Eddie that things don’t always need to be serious 100% of the time

They kept in loose contact after that, always meeting up at vidcon and filming a ridiculous video for Eddie’s channel

2 years later, Richie reached out to Eddie and asked him to film a video for Richie’s channel

He wouldn’t tell Eddie what it was until they were in front of the camera, but Eddie readily agreed. He loved working with Richie. He thought he was fun and witty

When they got in front of the camera Richie revealed that he was bisexual and that Eddie’s videos helped him learn about bisexuality and come to terms with it

They spent the video talking about Richie’s journey to self acceptance, why he decided to come out, and Eddie’s knowledge surrounding sexual identity development. The video ended up being 15 minutes long and had the highest comment numbers Richie had ever seen. Not every comment was positive, but he took the experience in stride and started doing little bits of advocacy here and there for his and other channels 

Richie and Eddie end up dating, but not for a long, long time after that video when they’re both living in LA and well established in their youtube careers. 

Bev and Mike

An unlikely combo for an unlikely youtube star! Bev and Mike do a collab that focuses on self esteem and loving yourself!

Mike gives health tips and Bev gives fashion advice, but both of them talk about the importance of self worth and how external image means nothing if you don’t love yourself first. They both talk about their own journeys. 

The collab starts because Bev finds out about Mike through insta and she ends up contacting him about wool. They partner up business wise and Mike helps provide wool for her fashion line while Bev promotes his farm work. 

They don’t do many intentional collabs after they one, but they do show up on each others stories and in pictures together very frequently. The two become best friends

Ben and Bev

They don’t collab. But they do get married. 

They meet through the fame and bustle of L.A. Ben’s music career makes him end up at the same Gala as Bev, where they’re introduced to each other. They hit it off immediately, connecting with their childhoods and such. 

They date for 3 years before Ben proposes via Flash Mob and song written just for Bev

Bev loves the song so much she insists Ben release it. It becomes a Billboard hit

Eddie and Stan

Stan finds himself in NYC where Eddie lives and he reaches out to do an educational collab on LGBT politics in the Jewish community. 

He takes Eddie rock climbing and the two film the video with go pros. 

Eddie is terrified at first and it makes for a funny introduction but he eventually gets his bearings and the two of them scale a cliff together, talking about issues and getting to know each other. 

Stan and Richie

Eddie introduces them after the Coming Out Video. 

They collab as frequently as they can

They do ridiculous shit and Stan films Richie’s commentary. Its hilarious

They have a natural chemistry and they feed off of each other. Stan didn’t know he was a funny guy until he met Richie. Then it just kind of came out of the woodwork. Richie really highlighted Stan’s eccentric sense of humor. 

Everyone

Richie and Bev are childhood best friends

Eventually, they all end up meeting. They don’t really film videos with each other. Sometimes there’s a vlog that includes more than two of them but very rarely are they all in the same video at the same time. 

It happened intentionally once. It was chaos. Everyone was drunk. The video had to be edited so severely that it was only 1 minute and 30 seconds

They do however show up in snapchats, insta stories, and pictures as a group. By the time they’re all 30 they’re very, very good friends

[the-canary]

Retro - B.B (1/8)

Summary: Please, third imes the charm, right? Because James Barnes is tired of failing at this thing called love. (Modern AU!Reader/Bucky Barnes).

Prompt:  “If you focus on what you left behind, you will never be able to see what lies ahead.”

A/N: This is for @buckyofthemyscira 5k challenge. here is the editor/photographers story i was talking about. 

Masterlist

Please enjoy! Feedback is always welcomed.

“So do you still plan on going?” the blond asks his best friend, as they sit taking in the accomplishments and failures they had achieved for the week. However, this meet up was a little different, Steve Rogers had grown concern over how much work his best friend had taken over the recent weeks. He could tell through the baggy eyes and pale skin that Bucky was running himself ragged and he knew exactly why. The invitation was sitting innocently in front of them.

Natasha Alianovna Romanoff and Clinton Frances Barton invite you…

“Yeah,” is all Bucky manages to say before taking another sip of his drink, as his body tries to catch up with New York time once more after a month abroad. Paris Fashion Week, along with several other assignments, had come and gone and Bucky with his busy photographer schedule had forgotten just what was around the corner when he came back.

He had considered Natasha his second chance at love once, during their college years when they were both naive and finding their places in the world. However, they loved each other like wild fire and in between the hot moments, there was nothing but fighting and it only got worse halfway through her grad school program, when they realized that they both wanted completely different things. It’s funny how the Natasha he knew from a few years back had completely pushed marriage off the table.

“If you want, Peggy and I--” Steve starts once more, as Bucky just shakes his head. As keen as he was at getting into the dating game once more and how kind his closest friends were, Bucky didn’t exactly enjoy any of the dates that Steve had set him up on. Them and Peggy Carter all seemed cut from the same cloth and that wasn’t exactly his type.

“Don’t worry, punk. I’ll figure something out,” Bucky states trying to ease his best friend’s worries before Steve goes on about his kids’ latest interests and and hobbies -- how they missed Uncle James so much. They keep talking until the clock strikes close to 8pm and Steve has to go back home since it’s his turn to tuck in the kids while Peggy is away.

With one last reassurance, Bucky finds himself walking through Central Park as the chilly March air greets him. He immediately regrets it, as he finds himself staring at the couples and families enjoying an early start to their weekend. Blue eyes glance all over the picturesque moment, wondering what angle would be best to catch the streetlight. Bucky can’t help but let out of sigh at how his mind immediate turns everything back to work and while he loves taking pictures -- this wasn’t everything that he wanted out of life.

Though, he wasn't sure about anything anymore.    

He wonders where he went wrong. What changed in the course of the young man that wanted a family and white picket fence to the workaholic he is today? What could he have done better to keep things from falling apart with Natasha? Hell, what had he done to destroy his relationship with Dot?

The things like this were supposed to last forever, weren’t they?

His thoughts just darken even more when he realizes just how close he had gotten to his empty apartment, the most literal representation of the current state of his life. He greets Stan, the security guard, before taking the stairs to his floor. He begins rummaging through his backpack for his keys when he notices someone standing in front of the door next to his. She staring at the door with a defeated expression, as she doesn’t seem to take notice of his presence.

“Hey, are you alright?” Bucky finally asks, as blue eyes met hers. James knows its his next door neighbor, the one that had lived her just as long as he has, though he can’t remember if they had ever interacted like this before. She gives him a tired smile before running some of her hair behind her ear.

“I’m fine, just forgot my keys back at work,” she explains, as he nods following her every word, “And the supervisor isn’t here.”

“When is he ever?” Bucky declares and she can’t help but laugh at the truest comment about their apartment building. Bucky wants to help, but he isn’t exactly sure how since Steve was the one with the skills to jimmy-open a lock. However, she beats him to it.

“You have a balcony, right?” she asks, as Bucky nods hesitantly, “Well, could I just go into your apartment and get to the fire escape placed under my window?”

Blue eyes widen for a brief moment at her crazy idea, but even he could tell that she was desperate. God, knows how long she had been waiting there. And it wasn’t like he was worried about how his home looked, it was pretty empty to begin with, but the idea of a person being in his personal space after such a long time was a little daunting. He looks at his door and then at her for a moment.

“ Please, ” is all she says before he agrees. She watches him go to the door and open it, never moving until he motions her to follow him, which she quickly does. Bucky doesn’t have time to offer her anything and she doesn’t spare a glance at his empty home, as she quickly strides over to the window and opens it with a quick snap of the wrist.

Bucky is standing in the middle of his living room when she turns to look at him one last time.    

“Thank you, James. I owe ya one,” her smile is so much brighter than before, yet before he can say anything she is already out the window and pushing herself above the fire escape.

James stands there for awhile, looking at the opened window before finally closing it, thinking about just how strange his neighbor is.   

Part 2

[kazoosensationsarah-blog]

Babushka Legacy Challenge

Are you looking for a legacy challenge that’s fast-paced so you hopefully won’t get burned-out after 3 or 4 generations? Do you like having goals to achieve during your legacy? Do you enjoy ruining your sims’ lives? Have you been missing some quality challenges? Then this is the challenge to quench your challenge-wanting thirst! 

Not sure what a babushka is? That’s okay because I’m about to tell you... A babushka is an old woman or grandmother in Poland and Russia. The Sims 4 isn’t set in Poland or Russia, but we’re still gonna use that term because it’s kinda fun and fresh. 

“ThE RUleS”

The rules are kind of flexible, but some of them are for your own good so you should probably follow them.

It’s not required for your sims to complete aspirations and get to the top of their career ladder, but it is specified in some generations if they do need to complete it.

Keep the game on normal lifespan.

Only use money cheats for your first house by using freerealestate. Don’t cheat for money after that.

You don’t have to live in any specific places unless it is specified in the generation.

This is a fast-paced legacy, but it is still 10 generations, so you won’t finish too fast, but you will be able to keep going without getting bored.

Make sure that your game doesn’t become a game over. The sims age up early into elders, so make sure there is at least a teen or older in the household upon the elders’ death. Some generations have kids really late so just be wary!

If you play this challenge, please post it with the tag #babushkalegacy so I can see!

_____________

This challenge was originally created in my brain randomly on a boring summer afternoon, so hopefully it’s not too CRAZY for all you sims lovers! :)

Generation One: The Sweet Babushka

You don’t know where your parents are (or even who they are), so you want to make sure that you’re there for your own kid...even if they were an accident....

Traits - Cheerful, Clumsy, Active

Career - Food Critic (Critic)

Aspiration - Super Parent

Hobbies - Guitar, Comedy

Goals/Rules - 

Start as an adult or young adult and have an accidental pregnancy within the first 2 sim days

After 1 week (or less if you’re feeling spicy), age up to a babushka (elder)

Devote your elderly life to taking care of your kid(s)

Attempt mastering skills/aspiration/career (BUT it’s not necessary)

Generation Two: The Indecisive Babushka

You love your mom, but you need more friends than just your mom (even though you’ll probably die before your friends). You also have never liked the idea of commitment, so there’s that....

Traits - Noncommittal, Bookworm, Romantic

Career - Management (Business), Mixology (Culinary)

Aspiration - Friend of the World

Hobby - Mixology

Goals/Rules - 

Move 5 times

Swap out a piece of furniture every Monday and Thursday

Have at least 7 good friends and 10 additional acquaintances

Break off a close friendship for basically no reason

Have at least 5 boyfriends/girlfriends throughout life

Age up after 10 days of young adult to a babushka

NEVER have a child, but adopt when you are an elder

Switch career as elder to the mixology career

Attempt mastering skills/aspiration (BUT it’s not necessary)

Generation Three: The Vengeful Babushka 

You were a child once, but that doesn’t mean you like children. Weights and running are better things to focus your time and energy on (do you even lift bro?)

Traits - Self-assured, Hates Children, Cat Lover

Career - Bodybuilder (Athlete)

Aspiration - Painter Extraordinaire

Hobbies - Fitness, Furries (just kidding but you can if you want)

Goals/Rules - 

Have a cat or a few

Get married to the first person you try romancing

Your spouse ends up having an affair on you and has a baby with that person

Gift them paintings to try to win back affection

Have a child with a random person off the street as revenge

Once the revenge baby is a teen, age up to a babushka

Marry the random you had the child with as an elder

Don’t involve yourself with the kid(s)/grandkid(s) until you are a ghost

Generation Four: The Possibly-Murderous Babushka

Your mom doesn’t love you, so it leaves a bad impact on you. You still will love your kids though because you are NOT a monster...

Traits - Mean, Hot-Headed, Erratic

Career - Villain (Secret Agent)

Aspiration - Public Enemy

Hobbies - Handiness, Mischief

Goals/Rules - 

Marry/date a coworker

Have a child with a different coworker

Every child you want has to come from different coworkers

Age up to a babushka when the first child is a teen

Always help kids with their homework, except the genius sim (heir)

Have a high handiness to get out of... sticky situations

Keep mom’s gravestone on lot and allow her ghost to visit for the first week of young adulthood

Generation Five: The Wannabe Youtube Star Babushka

You wanted to be a YouTuber, so you dropped out of school even though you’re really smart and you have potential. Oh, also you move to LA....

Traits - Lazy, Genius, Childish

Career - Trendsetter (Style Influencer)

Aspiration - Mansion Baron

Hobbies - Programming, Video Gaming

Goals/Rules - 

Move to Oasis Springs or Del Sol Valley as a young adult

Get engaged to another YouTuber, have a baby, then break off the marriage

After breaking off the marriage, age up to a babushka

Since YouTube isn’t reliable due to unexplainable demonetization, do some freelance programming for some side cash

Encourage heir to be active because you don’t want to do the chores

Generation Six: The Rap God(dess) DJ Babushka

Your mom was lazy and you hate that. You want to boogie-woogie and dancey-wancey and stealy-wealy until you die....

Traits - Dance Machine, Active, Kleptomaniac

Career - None (A Self-Employed Swiper)

Aspiration - Party Animal

Hobbies - Dancing, DJ Mixing, Wellness, Fitness

Goals/Rules - 

Steal for money

Meet baby daddy/momma at the nightclub/karaoke bar

Teach your toddler(s) to bop to music

When your mom dies, get a $50,000 inheritance and blow the inheritance on a new house with a huge dance floor room (or just some really expensive violins and fridges that are $15k and $14k respectively)

When you receive the inheritance, age up to a babushka

Generation Seven: The Hippie Babushka

You realize that the party life of your parents was just not for you, so you decide to move to an isolated cabin (more like a quiet suburban neighborhood) because you love the environment and are NOT a stan of climate change...

Traits - Music Lover, Loves Outdoors, Vegetarian

Career - Musician (Entertainer)

Aspiration - Musical Genius

Hobbies - Piano/Keyboard, Herbalism

Goals/Rules - 

Live in the city as a teen

Move to an eco-friendly tiny home as a young adult

Have a kazoo club where they play piano (we don’t have kazoos sadly), the club meets twice a week

Have 2 friends with the “Bro” trait

Leave a “slob” sim at the altar, and immediately following that, age up to a babushka, then date and eventually marry a “neat” sim

Go camping as a honeymoon

With the new neat relationship, adopt a pet and a child

Generation Eight: The Awkward Babushka

You’re a nice person and good at writing and meal preparation, you’re just not so good at making people fall in love with you...

Traits - Perfectionist, Unflirty, Foodie

Career - Author (Writer)

Aspiration - Master Chef

Hobbies - Baking, Cooking, Gourmet Cooking

Goals/Rules - 

Live in Willow Creek for whole life

Accept every date you’re asked on

Adopt at least 2 kids before becoming an elder

Complete your aspiration (Master Chef), once doing so age up to a babushka

Find “The One” as an elder

Die tragically (perhaps of embarrassment from PDA? Be creative!)

Generation Nine: The Boujee Babushka

You always knew you were a star, but you just have to prove it to everyone else by becoming rich and famous. You are really... confident to say the least...

Traits - Geek, Snob, Self-Absorbed

Career - eSport Gamer (Tech Guru)

Aspiration - World-Famous Celebrity

Hobbies - Pipe Organ, Singing, Video Gaming

Goals/Rules - 

Master eSport Gamer career 

Become a celebrity

Have a few scandals (IDEAS - out-of-wedlock babies, affairs, celeb drama and catfights, cheating in a game tournament)

Scare off first 5 romantic relationships

End up dating/marrying a sim with one or more of the same traits as you

Age up to a babushka when your first child becomes a teen, or naturally if that’s sooner

Generation Ten: The Try-Hard Babushka

You’re good at basically everything you try. Your parents paid for your med school because you’re so talented. Failure is seemingly nowhere in sight, unless...

Traits - Outgoing, Glutton, Materialistic

Career - Doctor (Get to Work)

Aspiration - Soulmate

Hobbies - Rocket Science, Pet Training, literally anything else

Goals/Rules - 

Doesn’t really try in their career but still gets promoted

Wants to be a scientist but doesn’t want to disappoint parents

Fall in love with a scientist

No kids allowed until you reach Rocket Science level 6

Age up to a babushka when you master the Rocket Science skill

Be really talented and master 4 skills, with at least level 6 in 3 more skills

_____________

This challenge took a really long time to make and I’m happy to let other people try it out now. Have fun!

[maddie-kungs-emporium]

5th Edition: My Thoughts After All This Time In the Sun

So, I love tabletop roleplaying. I actually have to pace myself or else I might overindulge, which comes as a surprise to a lot of people who are learning about me for the first time. Like a lot of gamers, I started with 5th Edition D&D, which is fine, and I loved it initially, and to some degree, still love it now. That being said, I have some things to say about it, some positive, some negative, and some just my thoughts.

But first, to those who don’t know about or haven’t tried new systems: Listen to me first

So, I’m gonna be real: Not everyone’s hobby who plays D&D is TTRPGs. Only playing D&D is fine. If you don’t want to play something other than D&D, that’s fine. If you’re being shamed either for wanting to do something other than D&D or wanting to stay in your comfort zone, that’s bad and a sign the people you play with don’t respect you. This is entertainment and should be treated as such.

That being said, there are several common reasons people give for not wanting to learn new TTRPG systems other than D&D, and I think most of them that aren’t “I’m just not that interested” suck.

The best analogy for this is to think about a tabletop roleplaying game not just as a game, but as a collection of systems to build your own experience. Some of these systems will work better with different ideas. 5e has good systems for some things and bad systems for others. In order to get the best experience, ultimately you have to experiment and find what works. It’s a skill, and one that requires multiple perspectives to truly master.

Also, not every non-5e game has complex systems. Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA for short) is as simple as rolling 2d6 and getting one of three outcomes, and there are some that are just as easy. Hell, you can make your own system if you understand the basics of how TTRPG mechanics work, one that suits your tastes, and it’s honestly not that hard at all. Just get the basics of how you roll dice down and branch out from there, everything else is just more branches.

What about the ideas behind 5e’s core principles? What are your thoughts on those?

So, here’s my opinion on 5e boiled down into one complete sentence: It’s a system like any other, and it should be treated as such.

5e does something not a lot of media can do: it is modular. 5e changes based on who is playing it and why, but still fits a general aesthetic an audience can expect. This seems easy, but it is actually extremely difficult to do this. George Lucas did it. Stan Lee did it. Not many other people have tried and succeeded at creating a fully modular universe, one in which other creators can successfully act within the internal logic and ethos of a media universe without compromising what makes it fun. That makes 5e stand above most of its competitors in terms of potential- but the doesn’t make it good for everything.

I have read several 5e hacks for non-fantasy settings, everything from a modern day spy thriller to a science fiction setting. I can say with confidence they’re most likely all mediocre, and would get about a 4-5 based on my own rating system. The thing about 5e is that it is ultimately designed for a very specific type of experience even if the actual details of the setting and themes can change significantly. That experience can roughly be boiled down to a sort of “MCU-type structure”.

See, what 5e excels at is accessibility. Most stories told with the 5e system will fit the same kind of mold, the kind that isn’t particularly challenging to understand, and that’s the point. At the end of the day, 5e promises the experience of quirky adventurers going on zany adventures and solving some problems, and that’s it. That’s okay, and I like that sometimes. I just like other things too.

[survivorreelsmagicwithin]

Episode 8- “Slytherin is dead, hoes mad, what's new”-Autumn

ALRIGHT professors I was sitting really pretty and y'all really had to go put me with these people I haven't been on a tribe with... -_- okay, I've been on a tribe with Kevin but what if he, Dan and Joanna have some kind of power alliance, I feel like a sitting duck!!  THIS... is not cute lol. But on the more positive side I feel like Dan, Kevin and Joanna are all really strong players and maybe we can skate by without going to any tribal councils. Also, I feel like poor Max is a goner because I think he's grounded again. I just really hope that Lily makes it out of this alive!  I feel the same about Landen and even Owen (as long as he doesn't come for me, LOL jk love you) but at the moment Lily is the person I want to see at the end of this game!! 

4 minutes later

I was about to go to bed before all this happened... now catch me jumping into everyones PM's...  I swear, I NEVER talk to everyone like I have been in this game, I really want to do good and make it far and I'm stressed that this swap is going to send me packing! 

23 minutes later

So I have this OCD thing where I can't log off of skype until I answer all my messages and these people reply too fast, especially Joanna.  But okay, I'm feeling REALLY good about this tribe.  Everyone is nice and talkative and obviously I'm going to be on the bottom and the easy vote but....  Kevin seems happy enough to see me so maybe if we do have to worry about tribal I won't be in danger????   I like them all a lot though and I like that Joanna is a Harry Potter superfan so I can talk about books and movies with her. 

Your girl got too hopeful that it was merge. Can there just be like one round of this and he t to merge already, plzzzzzz?  Also. 1. Very pleased to still be on hufflepuff 2. Love that I’m still with landen. I overall really trust landen at least for a while and in this current moment. Things can change especially with me still paranoid about actually knowing 5 people now 4 (we miss you Jess) people in the game when I told landen I only knew 2. Sooo. Really excited to have to opportunity to talk with autumn again. She is a tru icon and it will be nice to catch up. And I’m laughing and loving that I’m still on a tribe with Owen. After clearly voting for him in the last tribal I’m gonna have to really talk to him in PMs now. I feel like the 4 of us could be a really strong tribe and hopefully do well at whatever the next immunity is but I can’t count on that. I know landen has my back but after voting for Owen at the last tribal it would make a tribal with us 4 realllll interesting. Excited for what is to come and trying to remain positive despite having my heart ripped out without merge. Hoping this next challenge is a fun one or Casanova because I’d love to start playing again. Haha. 

me: I'll never leave Gryffindor for Hufflepuff and you can't make me 

also me: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/57/88/40/57884096081b0494e51028e2942bfefd.

gif Totally forgot the part where Hufflepuff doesn't lose? Soooo maybe this is good- I can play nice with all my frenemies, we can kick back a bit before I have to slit throats, and it'll just be all good. I mean it needs to be all good cause I have a thesis to finish sooooo this back to back tribal energy has to stop I rebuke it. I also rebuke it because then I'm GUARANTEED next boot and I'll be damned. But yeah it's nice over here, everybody's all happy and relaxed and shit. It's truly a vibe and don't tell Gryffindor I said that hahaha also lmao at Jacob giving me my first vote because we been knew! And there is literally nothing that men can surprise me with at this point so go for it. Not to mention everyone wanted Jacob out, literally the entire time which is why the vote was unanimous?? There was just an order of operations and I respected that; hence why it took it so long. Me being the first to say Jacob's name four rounds ago wasn't earth shattering then or now but sure I'll take the credit for it. I said his name before it became cool to say his name but it did actually manifest lol so I'm good over here. Slytherin is dead, hoes mad, what's new

I was so blackout I don't even remember if I wrote a confessional last night... ANYWAY, we swapped!!! I'll talk about that more in a second, but can we first just take another second to STAN JACOB C GETTING VOTED OUT!!! I knew the psychic telepathic messages I was sending to Kevin would have my cute bb getting rid of Jacob for me, what an ANGEL. I stan One Kevin and ONE KEVIN ONLY. I'm so happy Jacob is gone because I know he would've come for me at the merge, not only that but he would've been an independent variable I wasn't prepared to deal with getting thrown into the mix of the war of houses and cross-tribal alliances that's about to probably go down. Onto the swap! Putting us into 3 tribes of 4 was SO ugly, you know that.... I'm literally going to kill Dan for even putting that out into the universe, I know it was already decided but it's still his fault for cursing and jinxing it. NEGATIVE VIBES. That being said, I also got onto Hufflepuff for the 3rd time in a row, which is GREAT because Hufflepuff is basically the blessed tribe and the BEST tribe! You all know I'm the ultimate Hufflepuff and now I have the tribal record to prove it. Not only that, but I've got to spend 3 tribal stages with Lily and I've honestly just gotten really close to her, I really appreciate talking to her about life, college, friendships, travel, hobbies, etc. She has a great strategic mind and is so wonderful socially. I just can't make it clear enough how much I enjoy and respect her as a friend and ally in this game. You always need a constant in Survivor and for me, Lily is that constant. So ending up on a tiny tribe of 4 where 2 votes means literally half the vote and a whole world of difference, having Lily and I together means a lot to me. It also means, bar any crazy spells, Lily and I have a lot of power and influence on this tribe should we go to tribal (which I won't allow, I'll kill all 8 people on the other tribes if I fucking have to. I am NOT going to tribal with 4 people in a game where spells and advantages run rampant. Someone's getting swapfucked.) As for the other 2 people on this tribe, I'm really glad we got Owen, actually. I know that probably comes off as a surprise and yes I am very nervous about what he might do to try and come for me and Lily if we go to tribal (hence why we CANNOT go), but like I said in my confessional last round, doing damage control with Owen and getting a better read on his game is going to be essential for my survival during the merge, he needs to feel comfortable with me. We both fell asleep that day and didn't catch each other at the right time to talk about it, so I'm *REALLY* glad I swapped with him to just have a few extra days to sort of nail things down. Of course that also brings me to Autumn who I'm just really really glad to have here for the same reason as Owen. I discussed how Autumn was a crucial vote I'm going to need, in that I want to work with her and Juls moving forward and I need to get to know her. Autumn and I have already bonded over a lot of things and it's been great to talk to her, I can't wait to get to know her even better and hopefully work with her in the future. This tribe was set up perfectly for me to use it as a vantage point for setting up an excellent merge; but I can't deny that in terms of going to tribal, it's going to be VERY difficult to survive and also VERY difficult to vote someone out who I deem essential to my game, so yeah... I'm really hoping we don't go. With the challenge performance record of the 4 that are here I don't think it's going to be hard to avoid an immunity loss, so that's good. Looking forward to what the future holds! Marshmallow moves! 

new tribes hm.. um, only happy to see jules <3 jk i love chips and max BSSBSN but mac is grounded so i see this taking a toll on some of these challenges, and i literally Cannot see myself voting out jules of chips so uh. hehe! it’s really funny that chips and i have been together since the beginning though, the way i would literally die for that man.. unreal. he’s just the absolute sweetest :pleading: but in another note, WOO! made jury bitches! now all i need is these tribes to merge and i am SET. 

Seriously this entire tribe responds SO fast I can't keep up, LOL. I'm excited for the challenge tomorrow.  I really think that we are going to have an advantage because these people are literally always around and typing something when I send a message so maybe we'll win.   Also, I'm not sharing this with them but if Max is still grounded that might give us ANOTHER advantage of him not posting stuff.  I don't want to tell them this and for them to all get lazy though, so.. I wish these people would stop asking questions in the tribe chat so I could finish my search, grrr. I don't want to sign this off until I finish in case I find something because I want to write about it! I'm really sad that Lily and I aren't on the same tribe anymore, I copy and pasted the spreadsheet we've been using to search to a separate one since we can't compare notes this round -_- grrr nothing, okay I'm heading to bed but at least I know I have enough confessionals this round. 

This challenge makes me want to die

16 minutes later

I refuse to lose this challenge. Will I be going to "school" on 4 hours of sleep? Yes. But I haven't missed a single one since 10 am (and as i'm writing this is 1 am). I'm not losing this challenge. I'm not voting these people out.

1 hour later

another hour.... another chunk of my sanity gone

50 minutes later

I AM SUFFERING

So like we all know by now, I have a big mouth and told my tribe about Max getting grounded shortly before the swap.  No idea if he still is or not but that would be nice for this challenge. Also if I woke up at 3:45 AM and we lose I'm going to be MAD!! 

5 hours later

UGH look at me actually talking a lil in the great hall instead of sleeping, I missed Landen :( PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET.  US.  MERGE! 

the way i stayed up 24 hours...only missed TWO...and still lost because NO ONE ELSE PUT THE CONSISTENCY AND EFFORT THAT I DID....if these people vote me out it's riggamorris....yall better give me most robbed juror....or cutest harry potter fan that's fine with me too EWFJIWEJIWF

WE WON!!! THE SUFFERING WASN'T IN VAIN!!! I'M SO HAPPY

So I feel like I contributed a lot to the last challenge but shout out to Kevin and Joanna for fucking holding it down over night! I definitely still contributed the least so I’m blessed that we won! I’m really praying for merge tonight, but I really feel like there’s gonna be one last round and a merge at 10. I’m worried that another person will join the jury that I don’t have a great relationship with. But at the same time, I don’t want Jules to be voted out because I do feel like she is loyal to me. I’m hoping chips goes honestly ahhaha we NEVER have a great relationship in games. OH and I have such a soft spot for Ruthie, like I love her spirit and her energy, but she also knows I can get to the end and have a good shot at winning (RIP @ me getting robbed in TS: RvR a few months ago). She is someone I want to keep close because she’s GREAT socially, where I’m not, but I’m also keeping an eye on her bc I played her last time. 

If this isn’t the last tribal before merge I might lose it. Now will be the time to tell if my lack of experience in tribals will bite me in the butt. Excited to see what this advantage is tonight as well. Hoping that max isn’t voted out just yet as I see him as someone who would vote with me and be honest with me in merge. I also think some people might want to vote him out before myself or another one of my allies so he would be helpful to have around. I still feel the strongest trust with Ruthie and landen. I hope it’s a while before they would want to turn on each other. I need to touch base with Kevin and see where he is at. I also think chips and juls would be really great allies in this game despite voting differently at the tribal we attended together. I’m ready for the next stage of the game and if it isn’t time for that yet I might go crazy. 

I HATE IT HERE! I HATE THIS FOUR PERSON TRIBE THING AND HOW MAX WANTS JULES OUT! i don’t think anyone understands that i would literally lay down my life for jules and i refuse to let them go anywhere. literally Not on my fucking watch!!!! this vote is literally gonna kill me and max is like i trust you the most :heart: well yea.. because u know ur in danger.. funny how this is the first time we’ve talked game NNN. anyways. i live max but in order for jules to thrive he’s gotta go!

WE WON IMMUNITY !!!!! I DIDNT STAY UP FOR 24 HOURS FOR NOTHING !!!! I AM SO HAPPY !!!!! I hope the merge is after this 

It's like I just single-handedly annihilated, you know, every ORG bitch in the building Like, like, I'm Julesy Minaj, Julesy Lewinsky, Julesy the Ninja, Julesy the Boss, Julesy the Harajuku Barbie Like I mean I don't even know why you girls bother at this point! Like, give it up, it's me! I win! You lose HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Oh shit hahaha, yo