#that's ZS writing for you though

[fruityumbrella]

why is writing the most difficult thing on earth

[spindrifters]

Umm, unpopular opinion but I feel like the ATYD fic really ruined the perception and canon traits of MWPP&Co. Especially amongst the Gen Zs who think reading a used HP book will make them seem like they're supporting the terf compared to reading a queer fanfic is neutral ground. 😶

okay real talk, though? it's nothing to do with atyd itself as a work of art. I really enjoyed the fic! however! something really interesting happened here. which is........

*drumroll* *elevator music* *dun dun dun*

the covid pandemic.

and specifically the way it coincided with the advent of tiktok.

people were looking for community, and they couldn't find it physically because they were on lockdown, so they found it online instead. which is, I posit, the reason atyd went viral in the first place. source: idk I've been on the internet for a while. but that fic finished posting TWO YEARS before it went viral. I think @broomsticks might have the stats for us. if not, sorry bout the tag, I'm on glass of wine #3. so people found community -- in the foraging niche, in the sourdough breadmaking niche, in the fanfiction niche. first with dracotok, then marauderstok, and I'm fairly sure atyd being the fic was nothing more than luck of the draw. tiktok introduced a whole new group of people to fandom, in a way that had never happened before. a way that was.........

*gasp*

mainstream.

suddenly reading and writing fanfiction isn't the dark secret you keep from your friends and loved ones, it's something you gush about on tiktok with your full government face. (which is lovely, by the way, just new.) (and not only a gen z phenomenon, for the record, though largely centered on them due to tiktok's demographics.) and for many people, their first introduction to marauders fanfiction was atyd. so what had been just one interpretation out of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of fics, becomes the focalized point off which this new swath of fandom is basing their perception.

so. I kind of agree. but I'd blame covid/tiktok rather than the fic or author itself.

[meoproject]

Yeah. Well. Val knows Beriith is tall compared to her, but she lacked context as to how tall Beriith is compared other members of his race. And. Hm. Yeah. Beriith is tall, even compared to his own kind. Not, like, unnaturally so? but tall enough for other goets to note it as a significant feature of his.

I also never draw Val's and Beriith's actual height difference unless it's a full body picture :') she's just lunking around several Scully boxes so she can fit in the frame better.

(the map also isn't a representation of any region in the story/world, i haven't made any maps for the world so i had to whip up something map-like for this piece.)

(also Goet language isnt like. a real conlang and not even a real cipher, its just nonsense, i should redo the font too.)

BONUS!

One significant Beriith feature that I can't really convey well is that he speaks with a noticeable accent. I've thought about phonetic accents a lot (thanks to another of my projects which has a character with severe speech impediment of not having lips) and since the balance of fun and annoying is quite delicate, I don't really write them out unless I really have to, and even then I'd downplay it. Beriith's accent isn't meant to be to thick anyway.

More accent talk under cut for those interested.

If we take "middle common" (the language Val and Beriith speak with each other) to be non-diegetic "English", Beriith has, in comparison, fairly flat intonation, and he trills his Rs and has some trouble with "ng" sounds and Ws, which he generally pronounces more like Vs. He also pronounces "th" sounds leaning towards Zs, which sorta runs into the slight logic bomb of "wait, doesn't his name end in 'th', but the watsonian explanation is, of course, that transliteration of his name from Goet to middle common isn't perfect and the h just implies a sightly softened t sound :) (the doylist explanation is, of course, that I decided the name before figuring out how accents work, but if you explain it away, it's not a mistake, just worldbuilding!)

As mentioned before, Beriith's accent isn't thick or anything, definitely not Hollywood-thick, but everyone who hears him speak either knows where he's from or wants to guess where he's from (though you can know but looking at him, Goets are distinct enough, but you know what I mean.)

Val, by the way, speaks the most generic middle common imaginable, like only a step or two below news casters; that's by design (of her parents). They sent her (and her siblings) to a school that specifically taught middle-common without any strong regional accents to give her the most easily-understood accent imaginable. Her family are big into business, mostly in export/import, so her parents figured out having children with neutral, easy to understand, "trustworthy" way of speaking would be the best. Yes, this means Val's parents have a completely different accent than she does, and Val speaks their variation of Elvish with a middle common accent. It does cause some bitterness, Val is kinda... not okay with it, but since her studies are all in middle common anyway it's kinda... whatever, not good but could be worse, but her younger sister is especially upset with not really knowing Elvish that well.

Val is fluent in three languages, middle common, high common (it's occasionally used as a language of magic studies, it's kind of an older version of middle common, or rather a version that has more in common with the older version of the language and branched out a bit differently) and Elvish. Beriith is fluent in like five languages and conversational in several more and "can sort of understand" in many more.

(this wasnt the vignette i was talking about earlier but i needed to get this out of my system.)

[destinyc1020]

The thing is that the Challengers script was sitting on a shelf gathering dust because nobody had expressed any interest in optioning it. It even made the "Black List" of the best scripts that had not been optioned by any producer. So the movie was only made because Amy Pascal offered it to Z. Just like M&M was only made because Z asked Sam to write something for her. Zs character is black but the script doesn't really dwell on it. A change made from the original script is that the movie actually shows Tashi's parents and shows that Tashi's mom is the babysitter for Tashi and Art's daughter. Z mentioned that she didn't think that Tashi would trust a stranger with her daughter and that she's really close to her parents. She also mentions that her ruthless competitive spirit comes from not coming from wealth unlike Patrick and Art and that she can understand the pressure that Tashi is under due to her own background and the pressure to be perfect and not fuck up

Z has talked about how she was supposed to work on a project with Nia DaCosta but the project fell apart at the last minute. Many of us think this was A White Lie. The director of Space Jam 2 is black and Z was brought on the project at a late stage by Ryan Coogler because he wanted more star power to help sell the movie. The problem that Z faces playing the protagonist in a predominantly black cast is the the director may be accused of being colorist. Jordan Peele who like Z has a white mom and black dad, has talked about hiring dark skinned black actors in leading roles in his projects because they rarely get these opportunities in Hollywood. So I see her leading a predominantly black ensemble only if she plays a real person like Ronnie Spector. I think that sometimes fans don't realize that Z has not really worked in a lot of projects, and given her recent statements, her output may further slow down. It's not easy to get these multimillion $ projects made

Thanks Anon. 😊 I agree with some of your sentiments.

My thing though is, why does it have to be either/or?

Do people forget that big-name actors can be in ensemble films? Z was just in a huge ensemble film ("Dune: Part 2"). She doesn't always have to be the "lead". 🤷🏾‍♀️

In fact, "Challengers" is her first lead role. But she could be a co-lead in a film with a predom. Black cast. A darker actress could be the main lead, and Z could be a co-lead. 🤷🏾‍♀️

I think some ppl forget that big actors don't ALWAYS have to be the main lead in a film. In fact, I think it's actually smart to switch it up every now and then tbh. 👀

There's nothing wrong with doing ensemble films, or taking a smaller role simply because you want to work with a certain director or a certain phenomenal cast, even though you might not be first-billed.

It's also a LOT less pressure on your shoulders as an actor if the film tanks or doesn't do as well as hoped. 👀

[hantenguclonesimp-minuszoha]

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐑.

Note: This is for every adult user who chooses to consume my content.

Let's skip straight to the point. Master Chef Rose is a minor. Scary!!‼️‼️😱😱😱😱

Alright, seriously though, Rose is a minor.

———

How old?

None of your business, really. However, take into consideration that everything you read and interact with is written by a minor. I'm not trying scare you away or anything or even say that you shouldn't interact with me at all, in fact, please do interact because apparently Tumblr is a place where people don't like to do much and it can make you feel as if it ain't good enough. I quite frankly do not give a rat's ass about discussing NSFW that revolve FICTIONAL CHARACTERS, I'm just warning you.

Let's get into more detail, shall we? (If you're interested)

OP has been writing NSFW for 2+ years – that's what the Internet does to you, snowflakes – and does not intend on stopping. I'm not new to writing fanfiction, I've got the whole gist. I am not telling you to stay off of my page, this is only a warning. You can do whatever you want here – just don't be an ass. Don't be shy to request, Idk who you are or if you're even an adult but usually such things scare the millennials and old Zs off.

There is, however, one thing I would like to ask of you.

Should you choose to follow me on my other socials, I politely ask you not to message me at all (pretty easy, really). Some past events have made me very skeptical of people, so please respect that. This is for your safety and mine which should be pretty obvious. So, my Discord is off limits. I make exceptions for those of 20 and down since the gap isn't too huge, but anyone above the age of twenty is a no-go, at least when it comes to more private interactions such as DM on other socials (goofy convos are exceptions). We can interact in the comment section and reblogs, but that's as far as things will go. Pretty easy to understand, right? Nice!

Anyways, enjoy your stay and happy reading!

[lindszeppelin]

Do you have any predictions for the next generation of nepo babies? This generation (late millennial/Gen Z) hasn't done great things imo, with a few exceptions. A previous anon talked about the people like Austin, Callum, Dua Lipa and others who came from ordinary backgrounds and had to work hard to get where they are. How do you think the kids of 'first-generation' (i.e. non-nepo) celebrities will turn out, assuming the celebrities themselves choose either self-made or non-famous partners? Do you think the self-made late millennials and Gen Zs will do anything differently in raising their own children?

Just throwing this out there because I'm interested in the nepo baby phenomenon in general. I feel like a lot of the current nepo babies were raised by parents who wanted to distance themselves from their middle-class or working-class beginnings, and viewed being extravagant with their children as a status symbol. I think this is what's led to a lot of the issues with kids of famous parents not acknowledging their own privilege and not doing much or anything to make the world a better place. I personally hope that the next generation would be more mindful, compassionate and proud of their roots, although you never know. Do you have any thoughts?

Thank you for writing in! This is a very thought provoking question so I took my time on what I was going to say. You worded everything beautifully, and it helped me to piece my thoughts together.

So, I can understand maybe why some celebs from yesteryear who grew up middle class, didn't come from wealth, when they got famous they basked in that. So when those celebs had children, they wanted to raise them the Hollywood way, which arguably would be way more privileged than their upbringing. The problem with that though is that they are so blinded by the fame they have that they get used to the weird behaviors, and the grey area boundaries, and things that normal people shouldn't have to deal with (paps for example, basically selling yourself/your image to magazines etc). But they are so deep in the sauce that they don't see it as a problem.

Hollywood made them famous. All their wildest dreams came true. Their families back home would be proud they made it out of the boondocks. But it comes with a price. They might enjoy the life, but they force their kids into it. So someone like Johnny Depp who grew up middle class is deeply engrossed in his fame (even if he is shy and might reject it...still though), and then Lily-Rose has no other choice but to live in that Hollywood system. And the problem goes DEEPER. Johnny Depp doesn't know what it's like to be born and raised in that kind of Hollywood lifestyle as a child. He got into it when he was a young guy who chose Hollywood. His children didn't. But yet, the late millennials and Gen Zs that enjoy their nepo-baby privilege are jaded by what they experienced growing up. Therefore they don't see any issues, and their parents don't see it either. And the toxic cycle gets repeated and trauma happens and the family cycle is forever ruined, basically.

Now, i can see a couple of young actors today that are making names for themselves like Zendaya and Austin and Callum, etc. They are the light at the end of the tunnel that doesn't perpetuate the harmful environment Hollywood produces, especially if born into it. If one of them gets married to a non celebrity, like you suggested, then I think there is some hope that instilling good morals will be a parenting tool for them. Reminding their kids where their parents came from, etc. And with luck I think we can see a brighter future for Hollywood. Because it needs to be reconstructed. It's foundation is too out of touch and not keeping up with the changing times. Celebs are expected to bend to the will of Hollywood or they risk not having careers. But that's not true. Hollywood should bend to them.

While im sure there will be children of "first generation non nepo celebs" that will inadvertently be thrown headfirst into the Hollywood life and live by that privilege (it's unavoidable, not everyone can be better for their kids or themselves sadly), i think there will be a lot of them that will be raised on the value of a dollar, the roots of their self made celeb parent and non celeb parent will be instilled, and they will grow up having the best of both worlds...true privacy and enough privilege that they don't have to worry as much about things like college tuition etc. If these celebs want to protect their future kids when/if they have them, they have to be better. And celebs like Zendaya, Callum, Austin, I can see that if they choose to have kids that they will be beautiful little angels.

I hope that answered your question! <3

[ozym4ndi4s]

List of Bullet Train handwriting headcanons I came up with earlier today because I'm a fucking nerd

I like graphology

Ladybug

Small-ish middle zones

Lower i dots

Writes perfectly on the societal line on notebook paper

Writes slower

Slightly illegible

Medium pressure

Distance between words are normal, distance between letters are closer

Tangerine

This man writes in fucking cursive there's no changing my mind

The most illegible of everyone except Yuichi

Medium-light pressure (yes I'm basing this off of how he said that tangerines are adaptable shush)

He writes so fast he would get done with writing essays in 20 minutes max

Sharper letters

Letters are slightly farther apart than Ladybug's, same distance between words though

Lemon

Medium-heavy pressure

Struggled with learning how to write when younger

He writes in all caps, no excuses

Sharper letters

Crosses his Zs

Letters are closer, words spread apart a bit

Prince

Look up every red flag you can find in graphology that could signal psychopath, sadist, or just not right, this bitch has got it

Disregards. The. Societal. Lines

Screams "menace to society" but not in a good way

Yuichi

The lowest of low t bars

Convex curve

It takes five minutes to read one fucking sentence his handwriting is too fucking messy

Medium pressure

Words are WAY far apart, and letters are WAY too close

Literally everything that screams low self esteem

If you have any suggestions, or anything you don't agree with, please let me know!!

[dreams-and-drabbles]

Hi, it's me again! You probably already know what my request is <3 Will you write me more romantic headcannons with Take on various topics?? (though nsfw, though just romance, it doesn't matter) Only more. Thank you in advance

Welcome back!!! It’s great to see you again!!! I’d be happy to fulfill your request, Anon !!!

SNUGGLES W/ TAKEMIKAZUCHI (…)

When in the comfort of your home, he’s absolutely a snuggle bug. He’s prone to randomly laying his head on your shoulder, or surprising you with a hug from behind—

He’s more reserved in public, of course, but he is absolutely going to hold your hand. Should you be too tired to walk, well, it’s absolutely no one else’s business if he carried you home…

He has a hidden soft spot for you doing his hair, and while he may ‘complain’, the moment you stop running your hands through it— Well, he didn’t really mean for you to stop. He’s actually rather fond of the action. It’s really just a matter of pride that keeps him from admitting as much.

He likes reading to you in the evenings, and takes great pleasure in helping you fall asleep, in this way— He doesn’t mind in the slightest having you snuggle up against him to catch some Zs. In fact, he may be prone to falling asleep himself, curled up against you…

He is incredibly ticklish. This is something you discovered by mistake, when you playfully squeezed between his ribs and he shrieked. Yes, shrieked— The sound surprised him as much as it did you, and the both of you promised to never mention that again.

INTRODUCING TAKEMIKAZUCHI AS YOUR S/O (…) | TAKEMIKAZUCHI INTRODUCING YOU AS HIS S/O (…)

Surprisingly, he makes a good, if not lasting impression. He takes a lot of pride in your relationship, and is incredibly doting towards you both at home, and in the presence of others. He’s perfectly polite but makes it clear that you’re taken— To strangers, the two of you may seem like newlyweds, with how close the two of you often are.

Your friends either absolutely love him or hate his guts— There’s really no in between, and you’re quite thankful they don’t know his true identity, as they’d probably never recover from the shock… Takemikazuchi, to his credit, is an incredibly skilled actor. He fills the role of playful and doting boyfriend quite well, and absolutely does his research on human customs. Sometimes, even you, almost forget his true identity— He’s just that good.

Going out on ‘public dates’ is something that you both find quite entertaining. You’re often invited to couple’s events and double dates, as it’s quite clear to anyone who’s seen you two together, that you’re in a dedicated relationship— Even those, you haven’t officially told, don’t take long to figure out the manner of your bond. ((“It’s the way you look at each other”, one person said— “It’s like it’s the only two of you in the world…” ))

When he first introduced you as his significant other, you were petrified— Dating someone such as himself was rather taboo, after all, and you were unsure of what to expect. You definitely didn’t expect to be gushed over and dubbed ‘Michi’s incredibly cute almost-human—‘ That was the last thing on the list of your expectations, yet somehow, you found yourself with a rather large group of self proclaimed ‘bodyguards’. At least, you wouldn’t have to worry about any creatures from the far shore snatching you up…

Somehow or another, you have convinced everyone that you’re engaged, and are just shy about admitting it— Even those that you’re incredibly close to, keep hinting at wanting invitations to the wedding, which completely puzzles you. After a certain point, you introduced each other to new faces, the responses you received changed to — You’re not married yet?’ or ‘Congratulations!!!’

TAKEMIKAZUCHI AND JEALOUSY (…)

He’s not the type to get jealous easily, as you’re both pretty clear about your relationship with each other— In fact, you can count the number of times you’ve seen him jealous on a single hand.

When he is jealous, however, you can tell almost immediately— He squeezes your hand a bit tighter and seems far more tense. His confident and easygoing demeanour shifts into one of cold indifference towards the others around the two of you. He’s not outright rude to others, which you greatly appreciate, but it’s easy to tell that he doesn’t want to be there—

Fortunately, he’s easily consoled, a gentle and reassuring squeeze of his hand, and a smile solely for him, and he’s perfectly relaxed once more—

He may or may not be a bit more affectionate than usual, after getting jealous, which you find incredibly cute and rather funny. He’s not at all the type to be insecure about things, but sometimes when he sees you close with others like that, he feels oddly left out—

Takemikazuchi’s way of saying he was jealous is by stating ‘I misjudged.’ It’s a phrase you’ve heard only a few times from him, and one that always leaves you fairly flustered… It’s not often that he lets down his pride enough to say something like that, and that he does so for you, leaves an incredibly warm feeling in your chest…

[kura-reviews]

Mountain Dew Pitch Black review

Those of you who know me, know that this one has a lot of weight to it.

Originally a Halloween limited edition flavor in the early 2000s, I was lucky enough to try it in its original run. I loved it instantly, and I always wanted to see it and taste it again. Over the years there were a few limited time re-releases and I bought as much of it as I could when it was available, but it always left store shelves again and again, and I lamented the time we had apart.

2016's DEWcision campaign put the venerable Baja Blast against Pitch Black to a vote for which would become a permanent offering. My love for Baja Blast was only topped by Pitch Black, and I voted accordingly. I felt lucky that my vote ended up for the winner, but it was not to be - my area rarely stocked Pitch Black even then, and according to the Mountain Dew fandom wiki, it disappeared entirely from store shelves yet again in 2019.

My hopes remained that I would once again be reunited with my beloved. When I heard the news last fall that a new can design was leaked, I was beyond excited, especially when the rumors turned out to be true. Another limited run of my favorite pop (or soda, for those of you who call it that)! Even with a brand new zero sugar variant, as is my preference. I could not believe how lucky I felt. It was to be a limited time product starting in January 2023.

Yet still, it remained hard to find in my area. A few stores carried a single row of 12-pack cans of the original flavor, but Zero Sugar was nowhere to be found. I managed to find some of the regular at a grocery store, and then again two final cases buried in a display at a convenience store. As I write this review, I am sipping the final can I could find.

Now, the review, with just a bit more waffling because I truly can't resist.

It has been a number of years since I was able to crack open a cold Pitch Black. And though the familiar Pitch Black flavor is very much present, my time away from drinking high fructose corn syrup-flavored drinks has given me a new sensitivity to the HFCS flavor, which cuts through the delicious grape and lingers in the mouth. This was disappointing to realize and hampered my enjoyment, especially given that I was only ever able to try the ZS variant once. Grape soda fans would enjoy it, but it still carries the signature Dew citrus undertone. The grape flavor is somewhat different than that which is found in candy or run-of-the-mill grape sodas, so even those who aren't big fans should try it if they can. Not guzzleable in my opinion. I never once discovered Pitch Black Zero Sugar in the wild, but my girlfriend saved me a single can from her travels. It was incredible. Everything I loved about the original but without the sugar. Such a smooth taste and feel in the mouth, without the HFCS aftertaste.

Regular is a 8/10. My memory had it rated at 10/10, but tastes change over time.

Zero Sugar, 10/10.

As of the time of writing this (mid-April 2023), this flavor is starting to disappear in stores. If you can still find it, it's worth checking out. But as time goes on, we'll just have to wait for another round of this special drink.

[cj-the-random-artist]

seeing as you don’t have an e or an n, I’m going to just go through the whole alphabet backwards until I hit one

so do you have a z?

You're not gonna believe this but I have 2 zs and I'm gonna talk about them both cuz they're both cool and I don't talk about either of them enough

So firstly is Zaahira

By the time she appears in the story she's in college, as are most of the rest of my characters, and she'd probably be majoring in botanical studies / biology. She really likes plants, has always maintained an interest in them from the time she was a kid, which makes a lot of sense given that her magical ability in this universe is being able to grow plants at increased speeds (think Perfuma from spop type thing, but maybe not quite as like... over the top / with a different set of limitations and she doesn't have any problems with cacti). Zaahira's a somewhat prickly character, she's not overly social and she can be a little closed off. But while she may come off as mean at times, it's not intentionally so.

A few notes about her- she's from Egypt, although her actual like... ethnic background (I think that's the right word???) is kind of a mess because of story related parentage reasons. Which I won't overly go into here. She's quite good at doing makeup, particularly eyeliner, she got into doing that in her freshman year of college when one of her roommates suggested she try it. She's fairly good at painting and drawing as well, though not as practiced in it as she is makeup.

Next Z character is Zander!

He's kind of one of my OGs, which means a few things- firstly, he's like 13 when the story starts because he's introduced in the very first act. Secondly, this means he's been an OC of mine for almost 7 years. He's an OG lol.

Some stuff about Zander!! He wears those glasses basically all the time except for when he's asleep because he can barely see without them, and they're really thick and kind of heavy. He qualifies as blind legally, but doesn't really need much other than his glasses and sometimes when it's really dark he just needs to hold onto Jesse's arm and he's fine. (Note: Jesse is another OC. Zander and him have been friends since they were like 5. This is a tangent so back to Zander). Near the end of the story, when Zander is in college, he probably studies video game design. He's not super technically smart necessarily, but he loves computers and he loves creating detailed concepts. He probably has dabbled in coding, concept art, and script writing and still isn't 100% sure what he wants to do.

Zander's generally pretty nice, but for some reason he and one of my other OCs, Lukas, just. Have an issue with each other. For like no reason. It gets resolved but they have an issue. But for the most part Zander is nice enough. He's quite extroverted and loves people and he can be a little blunt at times but he's also very honest and likes to lookout for people. He doesn't consider himself very responsible (he is, actually. Don't try to convince him of that he won't let you) but he's also technically the oldest out of my cast by a few months so while he's not generally looked to for things like magical advising (he technically has no magic abilities) he is looked to for moral support and impulse control.

That was a lot of words lol. But!! I finally has OCs for the letter you picked anon, so I hope this is satisfactory. Have good day <2

[whereistheonepiece]

i'm both extremely late and extreeeemely new to this discussion, but here i am, regardless.

[ this is in relation to a post you made last june about zoro's feelings being disregarded in a lot of zs content / zoro being more of a glorified prop. ]

i completely agree, though i don't know if things have gotten any better or any worse i am /very/ new to one piece. but from what i've seen, a lot of the jokes surrounding zoro or using zoro as the butt of the joke have a tendency to fall flat with me.

this is because he's such a stoic character, but i get uncomfy when he's made the butt of the joke - either literally, he's the chosen target of a prank or well-meaning jibe, or even just with his running gag of getting lost, or the idea that zoro is stupid or dumb. i get iffy when he's not laughing along, mostly, since the trend of it across a lot of zosan content / fics / discussions nudges it into something more akin to bullying for me.

i'm not sure if this is what you were getting at, please forgive me if i've gone off the rails, but it does bug me quite a bit.

pretty much since i joined this specific ship's fandom, i've been collecting zs content where zoro gets cared for, like a dragon with a hoard. it's such a shame that it's not more common / it's so hard to come by and you usually have to actively dig for it, if you don't just happen to run across it, but there's so much mileage to be found there, i think.

zoro is a wonderful character with his own depth and feelings, and as much as i adore sanji, i think we would only benefit from zoro getting some of the spotlight too :)

( sorry for the long ask, i have several feelings about this )

Okay! Sorry it took me so long to respond to this!

So I wasn't even thinking about the "Haha Zoro dumb!" jokes when I made that post, but they do annoy me. A lot. And I'll admit that there's probably a bit of projection going on there because I don't think Zoro is dumb just because he thinks differently than people and has different priorities. And I'm probably projecting because I tend to get treated as stupid because my brain works differently from other people's. ADHD mind and all that. So I tend not to talk about my disdain for the jokes and the general fandom attitude towards Zoro's intelligence, but I don't add to it.

Idk if I can say if it's gotten better, at least in fic. I haven't read Zosan fic in a while since I find that a lot of the popular stuff does what I mentioned, ie, making Zoro a prop and not considering his own feelings and needs. I'm curious about the fics where Zoro gets taken care of, though. I've had to write my own fics where Zoro gets cared for since it feels so rare.

Anyway, the short version of how I still feel is I think the fandom should portray Zoro with more care and keep in mind that, like you said, Zoro is his own character with his own feelings. So I'm just gonna have to be the change I want to see and make my own food.

[destinyc1020]

Even in a rhetorical wedding list, folks still doubting Timmy lol anyway...

This or That 😃 who/what wuld u choose n why. If its a person can b based on vibes, personality, talent, etc.

-Knowing the story on how TZ got back together or how they 1st met

-Jacob E or Trevor (lol)

-Zs Dune 2 press fashion or Zs Challengers press fashion

-NY or LA

-Toms fashion or Austin fashion

-Sydney or Kaia

-letitia or ayo

Oooo another game! Thanks Anon! 😁

You know what?? I like your game so much, that I'll put your questions in polls and will see what others say/think.

I'll put my answers to your question below and will hide them so that others aren't swayed by my answers lol.

My answers 👇:

-Knowing the story on how TZ got back together or how they 1st met

Knowing the story on how TZ got back together HANDS DOWWWN! 😅 I don't really care how they first met lol. I think we kind of already know that? But I wanna know all of the details and tea on what they were each thinking and feeling during the breakup, why they broke up in the first place, and what they were thinking and feeling when they were deciding to get back together lol. 😁 (I'm just nosy lol)

-Jacob E or Trevor (lol)

Eww... Can I say neither?? 😅 Honestly? I'd have to go with JE on this one. Yea, JE cheated on several girlfriends too, but at least he didn't write a song detailing their sex life as a way to try to make amends. 🙄🤮

-Zs Dune 2 press fashion or Zs Challengers press fashion

Ohhhh this is too much Anon! 😭 Pleaaaase don't make me choose!!! 🙈

Okay, I'll say that I LOVED the fashion for both press tours. 😊 I liked how daring, interesting and AMAZING Z's fashion was for Dune Part 2. She was shutting the place down! 😅 I also appreciated the Challengers press tour clothing too. I loved how creative it was, and how it was very sports-themed, but still very feminine.

If I had to choose one though, I'd HAVE to say the Dune Part 2 Press tour clothing had me shook!!! Challengers had a lot of white and bridal type dresses which were cute, but Dune Part 2 made me go WOW! That robot-like costume she had for the London premiere alone....like, WOW lol. 😲😳🤯 The DP2 press tour clothing/styles were just more interesting to me. 😊

-NY or LA

Mmmm....for me personally? Or for Tomdaya?

If you're talking about me personally.... Both cities have their pros and cons! I like both cities, but if I had to choose, I'd have go to with LA lol. 😊

-Toms fashion or Austin fashion

Oh wow.... This is a tough one! 😂 Are we talking red carpet fashion? Or, just everyday fashion? Cuz umm...that can be two totally different things lol. 👀 😅

I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to (red carpet fashion, or just out and about fashion lol), so I'm just going to give you my thoughts.

Austin: I love Austin's red carpet fashion. He takes little risks here and there, and I like that. 😊 I never know what he's going to wear most of the time on the red carpet, so I like that he keeps me guessing lol. 😅 He tends to wear more baggier clothing (which is fine), but I love it when he wears things that are a little more form-fitting or with color. I think that's nice!

His everyday street-style fashion on the other hand.... 👀😩 Austin's just a simple guy honestly lol. He loves vintage stuff. He shops at thrift stores lol. So he's not really dressy in his casual down time. He's more like a t-shirt and hat kind of guy. I wanna burn the hats lol, but I kind of think he uses them mainly to try to hide and blend in the crowd so that people don't recognize him so easily.

Tom: Tom is European, so I'm automatically expecting his fashion and style sense to be better just in general compared to us Americans lol. 😂 When it comes to Tom's red carpet style, he tends to be more classic with the classic tux/suits, and tends to play it safe. He tends to wear some colors here and there though (FFH premiere, TCR premiere, GQ event, etc), and so I like it when it mixes things up a bit. 😊 I would love to see him take a few more risks with his red carpet style and wear some more daring things on the red carpet one day. I think it would be awesome!

Tom's everyday street style has changed drastically for the better over the years imo lol. He used to be a skinny jeans and jeans falling off the butt kinda guy lol. Now, he's got a more mature look and wears belts and argyle sweaters lol. Boy he's come a VERY long way! 😅 I think he's had a great style change over the years, and his look is more mature than it was back in 2017 lol. So I think his casual street style overall is great!

-Sydney or Kaia

I give both of them the slight side-eye.... 👀 (I don't like girls who seem to mess w/other women's men 🥴), but if I had to choose one, I'd say Sydney.

Sydney at least can act rotfl. 😅

-letitia or ayo

Ohhhhh this is a tough one Anon!! 😭😭 I like BOTH of them! I have a soft spot for Letitia. ❤️ I do like Ayo though. I just need to see more of her in her projects to have more of an appreciation for her. She's VERY talented though, and I'm rooting for her. 🥰

[rogueemmy]

IDK - the younger Gen Zs I know seem to think the trolls are a myth. Ya got your "aliens", big foot and the Loc Ness monster, the white kidnapping van - and trolls.

We work in a very public facing business - and take a lot of nonsense for it online. I mention the trolls when the new ones want to use adjectives with opinions or can't back up a fact. I can FEEL their eyes roll, their whole spirt roll!, like I've suggested the Tooth Fairy will pay out if you put plastic vampire teeth under your pillow.

And then they meet one - and many don't even think to avoid them. They want to explain - justify, rationalize, find common ground. They obsess for days that they let someone down, or worse, let these creatures impact their writing style. They often suffer in silence, afraid - not of the trolls - no, afraid of the judgement of a troll dressed as a "real person," or if they do recognize the creature, they fear the judgement of those who know.

The Zs won't ask for help, because that might be asking too much.

Until a troll breaks a Z, they are the boogie man of bygone days. After it happens, though, the Zs talk! They share experiences. They warn each other. THEN! Then they can be reached, in small groups.

Sometimes we could all use a reminder. (source)

[dont-call-me-william]

hey handsome, as i write this it's going on 2 and i'm laying here next to you as you sleep. i know that it's late, but i haven't been able to catch any Zs yet myself. even though you're right here, i miss you. just wanted to write you a sweet note.. i haven't in a while, and it's always nice to get them. sorry… i know i suck, babe. anyway, i wanted to remind you that you're loved, and i couldn't have asked for a better (almost) husband.

gonna try to get some shut eye now. i love you so much, bills. xo, zay.

Hey babe. Couldn’t sleep? I had a minute after work to write back. Thank you for thinking of me. You know you’re the reason I sleep. You keep my head from taking me to places my thoughts don’t need to go. I know I tell you I love you a lot, but I should tell you I appreciate you. You don’t suck. I mean, you do…. But not like THAT. You’re my everything, and I love everything about you. I hope you get some rest baby. I must be sleeping good next to you. I love you, Xavier Drake soon to be Hargrove. ~💙 Billy

[apple-babbles]

Plane Ride to Heathrow

So... I guess I should actually start writing my whole UK journey before I grow older and my memories start messing with me.

(God I hope not, I'm already forgetful as I am.)

(But I'm also hoping that I won't weep as I'm writing this because of how nostalgic it's gonna be. Good, good times.)

Well, so, I've had some trips on the airplane. Some of the longer ones by the time I'm writing this would probably be 1) about 6 hours to Incheon, South Korea, 2) then around 9-10 hours to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and 3) lastly 16 hours to London, UK.

Since I'm here on the subject of my UK trip, we'll talk about the last one.

For some context, I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship to University College London in... you guessed it, London. And it would be my first time visiting a European country, let alone taking such a long journey. The 16-hour plane ride wasn't like straight without transit, though. I actually enjoy taking public transportation (bro, ain't no way I'm flying there on a private jet—I'm no Beyonce) including trains and buses, so sitting on the plane for hours would be no problem for me.

I began actual the trip from CGK, Jakarta, with the first destination to DXB, Dubai. I, along with my three other friends who also were about to start our studies at the same uni, departed with Emirates. We got the ticket for about... 9-10mio? Crazy expensive. However, I'm not kidding if I said I looked like someone who lived under a rock once I boarded the plane. It was probably the best one I've been in?

Look, as I said, it's my first time being in such a huge airplane like this. I'm so impressed by the tiny stars on the ceiling (love the purple shade as well) and how they lit up when the lights were out. So darn cute hello??? And the entertainment provided was also very complete; you'd get to explore recently-released movies, listen to some music, watch series, and even play some games—hence I think why they have this console-looking gadget as seen in the third picture. I did a little bit of everything; I watched several movies until I was sleepy, then switched to music to help me relax before catching some Zs. Oh, I forgot to mention one little detail; the flight was around midnight. I think we boarded when it was almost 1 A.M. in the morning.

Also, my cabin luggage was broken right before I was about to board. RIP. Luckily, my friends were helpful and one of them brought sellotape with them, so we stitched it to the broken part. It was one of the wheels, and the luggage made an annoyingly loud sound as I dragged it with me. Lordy.

Anyways, it took about 8 hours from Jakarta to Dubai. I think I slept through it, mostly, if not for my excitement exploring the screen in front of me. We were also given some bread and beverage—as seen in the third picture—which were quite enjoyable. I had no idea why I ordered juice because apparently the juice in all airlines is the same. As in they're quite superficial and rather too sweet for my liking. But either way, it was an enjoyable 8-hours flight.

We landed in DXB the next morning, around 10-ish. After dealing with the immigration and everything, we spent some time in DXB since we had about an 8-hour gap to the next flight. I mean, it was a long journey, but on the bright side I could explore DXB to the point I even memorized the isles and hallways and corridors, considering how awful I am at navigation.

The three of us decided to have lunch together and tried this Asian restaurant. We ordered those meals above—which unfortunately I can't remember what they're called. I mean, the one on the right surely tasted like fried rice (I think it tastes similar to biryani?) and the one on the right has a rather sweeter flavor. Either way, again, it was pretty delish, since I'd rather explore the food options than buy just some random chicken from fast food restaurants.

[nickgerlich]

Page By Page

I have always been an avid reader. It started when I was a mere lad, and my parents would buy me Hardy Boys Mysteries books, as well as take me to the library. My parents may not have been rich, but they provided a wealth of opportunity, and I am so happy that I ran with it.

As a writer today—in addition to my academic writing, I also write for several magazines and have been co-author of two books—I have come to realize that to be a good writer, one must first be a great reader. It’s kind of like photography. You learn from watching how others do it, and all that reading I did as a kid, and have continued to do as an adult, provides inspiration, new vocabulary, literary tropes, interesting twists and turns, and more. You can study text books all day long on it, but the real lessons learned are from those out there in the trenches doing the work.

As an adult, I have participated in book clubs, usually informal and mildly structured chat sessions. While we could have done these online, in the pre-COVID days the emphasis was on F2F.

COVID, of course, changed all that, forcing all of us into our cocoons and online for life, love, and work. Now that we continue to emerge in the post-COVID era (and I use that phrasing loosely, because I realize that COVID is still among us), we are finding ourselves doing a balance of both F2F and online.

And here is where all that book talk returns to the discussion. Book clubs are all the rage now among Gen-Zs and Millennials. It’s just that they don’t look a lot like how we did it in the past.

Rather than the typical high-brow book clubs of old, usually in someone’s living room with crackers and adult beverages to complement our insightful colloquy, book clubs are happening in breweries and even on group runs. Of course, if you can talk while you’re running, you’re really not running that hard. You’re socializing, but that’s OK. It’s better than being a couch potato.

And then there are social media gatherings, which can attract many thousands of people through the power of specific hashtags, like #BookTok on TikTok. That’s something your grandparents probably wouldn’t do, they—I mean we—of the tweed blazer with elbow pads set.

How we do it today, though, is not nearly as important as that we are doing it period. That’s the huge takeaway for me, and signals a renaissance in the making for the book industry. Aside from a temporary major bump during COVID, and subsequent minor decline, book sales overall are trending upward. Unit sales are up 30% since 2012.

This comes at a time when I had all but given up hope for a revival, thinking that reading had fallen by the wayside. My daughters read a lot of books while growing up, probably because they were surrounded by them in our house. It rubbed off. But I just did not see it elsewhere. I could see the decline in my students, because what comes out of a person’s mouth and keyboard is a function of what goes in the brain first. You can always tell when a person is well-read.

Fortunately, this is a situation that is correctible. Better yet, it is a breath of fresh air to learn of younger adults developing a passion for reading, and while it is an activity that we initially do alone out of necessity, it can be shared with others later in a group setting. And as we are seeing now, those groups can be real or virtual.

I’ll be understanding and say that reading is not for everyone. Some people have difficulties and disabilities. But for those who can, then I urge them to do. While the brain is technically not a muscle, it can grow stronger just like your quads and biceps. It’s just that you need to exercise it.

There’s hope for an industry as well as for a couple of generations. Keep consuming those words, and instill that desire in your kids. It’s an investment—just like my parents did—that will pay dividends years down the road.

Dr “Buy The Books” Gerlich

Audio Blog