#the other black and white dog i featured is also related

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Okay, so, there's one thing that I'm kind of tired of beating around the bush with white fans about, and it's this: if you pretend to "ignore" race in OFMD, you will miss a lot of what the story is trying to tell you.

Now, I do not truly believe that race is something you can ignore in a story. I just don't think it's possible, and when you try, what you wind up with is something like the conservative worldview of "not seeing color." Trying to ignore race will make you sound racist and ignore important racialized themes.

You can't understand Stede's need for character growth at the beginning of the show if you just focus on how he's "cringe" instead. When Stede makes his crew members of color serve them at dinner when the English board, this is gross, and their faces tell us exactly how they feel about it. Stede unlearning his biases here isn't subtle (guy who called him and Pete "fucking racists" I love you forever), and learning to take all of his crew members seriously as fully actualized people, moving away from the sort of Kindergarten-teacher behavior at the start to truly valuing them as people and taking their input and suggestions, it's an important aspect. Stede asking Abshir for intel at the party isn't just funny, it's also proof he's learned to see value in people in positions like Abshir's.

You can't understand the motivations behind Ed's actions, especially the violent ones, if you ignore the racist overtones. Ed is not a randomly violent person - he gets angry at a captain for calling him a "rich donkey," and if you think it's unreasonable for a brown man to want to get revenge on a white man for calling him that? Then fuck I'm glad you can't see the conversations I have with my other black friends, man. Ed's anger and frustration at the party aren't just because he fucked up with some spoons, lol, you can't get it unless you realize he's the only brown guest in that room. Yeah, he's ignoring Stede's advice, but he's immediately under a pressure Stede never has been. Ed's wanted posters in s2, too, rely on heavily caricaturizing Jewish features to make him look grotesque and monstruous. We're supposed to be horrified by that aspect.

And, yeah, when we ignore the racist tones to Izzy's behavior, I think that's undermining an important aspect of who he is as an antagonistic character. Him buying Ed from the English should feel like a gross violation, because it is. When he sits in front of the crew eating and making Fang and Ivan serve him, I think it's a pretty obvious parallel to how the crew members of color were similarly insulted in the pilot. It's impossible to ignore race in the way he dehumanizes Ed and tries to force him back into a caricature of behavior he hates and is horrified by - when he calls Ed a "wild dog" in s2, if that doesn't cause a visceral reaction of disgust in you, I dunno what to tell you. This doesn't mean that Izzy is irredeemable - just as Stede wasn't - but it does mean that racist biases are things Izzy had to unlearn.

OFMD so often takes so much care with how its characters of color are depicted. We get thoughtful, relatable moments (those French boat people getting humiliated and setting their boat on fire after they'd tried to touch Ed's beard is so satisfying, guys) and excellent, supportive friendships between men of color. The characters of color on OFMD are clean, smart, respected, and it's wonderful. And just because these things aren't always relatable to you specifically doesn't mean they're not important parts of the story.

[princessbrunette]

not the anon that said this but i think i am a mixture of puppy and kitty - and i think it just evens out to kind of bunny?? idk heres my thoughts!

i am super outdoorsy at times and love to chill, drive around, go on walks, am super energetic and loud and love to laugh and just say and do stupid stuff and be super unserious and i find that people sometimes baby me, so to me thats very puppy especially bc i can loose focus easily and be very childish (not in the creepy way help like just carefree ig and lost in thought)

but on the other hand can have a full mood swing and be very irritable and mildly controlling/possessive at times, kind of bossy but good intentions. i love wearing iconic black fits, either all black or all pink white and blue, obsessed with taking risks and very rarely embarrassed, just overall confident in who i am, depends on the situation but i present kitty, am very sleepy and thoughtful and observant like her with some toxic traits, but sometimes i just let loose and have more puppy features. i hate having people boss me around and like to have control but also be more laidback and not take everything so strict, and am very impulsive and ride or die for those i love, and when im grumpy i tend to be mean and have kitty ish traits but try to apologize like puppy.

idk this is long but i relate more to kitty, got her on the quiz, but also have lke major sunshiney puppy personality at times

interestinggggg okay so to me this just levels out to be an orange cat …… bc those cats lowkey act like dogs sometimes but at their core they’re still cats yk??

[luthsthings]

A Sims 4 Horse Ranch* review, by a Simmer who's not all that into horses

* Software not final. Sponsored by EA.

First, many thanks to EA/Maxis for the early access! This was a treat for me, to get access to an early build to try out for a while, as I'm not exactly a high-profile streamer. Or a streamer at all. Or even a creator (though I'll upload a household I came to love to the Gallery when I get a chance!). But I do love this game! And I love that I can help more of you play it the way you want to. Anyway, the review…

What I liked!

The great range of build/buy! I'll get LOTS of use out of this. It complements some other packs well too.

There are lots of helpful rooms in build mode for fast stables and nectar-related spaces! As a non-builder who sometimes tries to build, I was really happy to have a premade horse stall for my lot.

[image: a pre-built stable room in Build mode]

There's lots of Teen–Elder clothing and hair, and I love the dirty clothes swatches. I'll get LOTS of use out of this pack's CAS! And it will go well with styles from some other packs, too.

The new Afro-textured hairs are a welcome recognition that the cowboy culture of the Old West was not a White culture — there were lots of Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous cowboys and entrepreneurial women in the Old West!

I deeply appreciate the Indigenous content in build/buy, recipes, and CAS — I could see lots there in CAS, for example, that the Navajo people I saw and met in Utah and northern New Mexico (which is a part of the world I really want to go back to) wore IRL.

Lots range from fairly small (15 x 20) to quite large. I appreciate the range as someone who isn't a fan of building on large lots when I do build. There are horse practice areas in the land around some small lots, so you can still keep a horse there.

For Strangerville owners who love that landscape (which I do!), there's now somewhere for that valley, with its smaller population, to be "near". I can imagine that you'd drive up into a range from the new world and drop down into hidden Strangerville. Driving the other direction might take you to Oasis Springs.

The horse-riding and other horse animations are really detailed and fluid. They interact a lot with each other, too. I felt like parent and child horses recognized their relationship even.

[image: a mare lovingly nuzzling her foal]

The sheep and goats are endlessly adorable. Plus profitable! :D And they can sleep in your house!

The rabbithole adventure location out in the countryside has a very different gameplay than previous ones! And it has great sound effects -- play it with the volume up! It's hard to find, though. But it was nice to not need other tricks to get access. (I still have not done the secret places in Oasis Springs or the Outdoor Retreat pack!)

What I didn't like:

No new fridge, stove, bathtub, or toilet (I do like getting more of those!)

Very little boys' children's clothes. And no chaps for Children, even though they can ride and even though Toddlers got some

I would have liked a higher-tech/automated version of a nectar maker. However, this isn't a feature I care about much anyway.

You can't breed the mini goats and sheep, and there aren't even smaller baby ones. I'd have liked to have a full-on sheep farm. I like sheep. (I can practically see my husband glaring about how much I like sheep, even though he's waaaaay far away at the office right now.)

[image: a smiling, leaping mini-sheep, with a spotted goat behind it]

I definitely would never have found the countryside rabbithole without help, but maybe you will? If I could figure out how to do spoilers here, I would...

The horse-toy balls are a little… glowy? for my taste. They also weren't where I looked for them in the catalog, so you'll want to use search for them.

Cross-pack things?

I'd have liked to check out these before now, but with the pre-patch builds, that's not an option, and I'm always kind of busy when patches come out! For example ...

How do cats and dogs interact with horses, sheep, and goats?

Can horses be familiars for spellcasters?

Are there new Milestones?

Are there new Lifestyles?

Are there new Club rules, and are there enough of those?

This Simmer needs to know! (And eventually will.)

Neat things to know!

There's a rabbithole building in town where you can change or plan outfits like a dresser! And just off the main road in town there's a rabbithole building where you can buy goats, sheep, and groceries and other useful things, like horse age-up treats. I liked having an alternative way to buy these things and a whole new way to plan outfits. I'd be happy for more of that. If I can't go into a building, I might as well at least be able to pretend I can. As long as they don't end up being worlds stuffed with rabbitholes in place of gameplay (actually watching horse competition would have been nice!).

You can use a Community Board in town (or from B/B if you want one on your lot) to take local one-off jobs for money. Most need you to own a Horse or some sheep or goats. There are lots of ways to make money as a rancher without needing someone in the household to have a job. My relatives who are farmers will be seriously jealous.

Get to know that Crinkletop guy! He's very useful.

Bugs? Bugs!

Things to watch out for that were issues for me in the early-access build, which is NOT the release build, so hopefully it's a bit better:

Ranch dancing is EXTREMELY popular. You might want to not keep a radio at home until the new dancing has a mod to … moderate it. Or is tuned down by the devs. But I do like it when I'm in control!

[image: five Sims ranch dancing (line dancing) as a group, including two Don Lothario and Eliza Pancakes]

The beautiful stone fireplace was also very, very popular, and of course potentially deadly. Watch out for that.

Ranch hands are NOT reliable. They might stay really, really late. They might stop showing up after a couple days. They might forget the things you instructed them NOT to do the day before. They might be super into kicking the garbage bin over. Keep an eye on your ranch hand. At least until the day, someday, when they get fixed. I'm hoping this is also moddable for those of us on PC.

At one point I had a weird bug where my Sim decided she would NOT eat. The rest of the household could eat. Guests could eat. They could eat HER food. It was fixed by going to the world map and back into the household, so I didn't find out if she was going to just starve to death.

I couldn't find some of the new CAS at first because some men's outfits were under "jumpsuit" for no apparent reason. So, if you're looking for some cool outerwear, try "jumpsuits." Hopefully it was recategorized for the release build!

And that's it! I'm happy to answer questions!

[5-7-9]

Okay so- Fairytail actually showed a few other designs of celestial spirits when they partied at the celestial spirit world. UNOFFICIALLY NAMED BUT SOME OTHER SPIRITS ARE SHOWN TO EXIST AND ACKNOWLEDGED BY CANON!!! Seeing as the Celestial Spirit King states 88 constellations, I’ll try only basing the amount to basically 88 spirits since it’s canonized. Although i think unofficial constellations would also still exist, I’m not 100% certain. (Also, I’m not sure whether or not to count the Celestial Spirit King as a constellation since idk what he’s based after, what the heck is he supposed to be??? He doesn’t count unless i know his constellation. CEPHUS IS THAT YOU?!!? But then if so he’s missing the queen Cassiopeia and princess Andromeda. So i guess not?)

Counting down all 12 zodiacs! Plus Ophiuchus! 🔑 That makes 75 down to go already!

Crux, Horologium, Lyra, Plue aka Nikora aka Canis Minor, Caelum, Pyxis, Polaris aka Ursa Minor, and Deneb aka Cygnus makes for 8 silver key🗝️ spirits! 67 left! Or more like 21 spirits shown!

I should note that the website I’m using apparently states there’s 42 animals, 14 humans, 2 chimeras (cross/mix between multiple creatures), 28 objects, and 2 nature. Now, Fairytail took the liberties of mixing up the forms and they can technically all shapeshift, which explains why Aquarius is a mermaid (half human half fish), why Aries and Leo and Cancer Scorpio and Deneb are all anthropomorphic human-like with animal features, while Capricorn and Taurus are leaning towards their animal counterpart with human-ish-ness, Pisces have both animal and human-like forms, Gemini are… something, Ophiuchus is actually supposed to be a dude holding a snake(?), and Pyxis is part compass and part penguin (i actually like that one because the north pole). Therefore! These creatures can be anything!!!!! Edit: my website is inaccurate because a SEA GOAT IS A GOAT AND A FISH COMBINED and for some reason isn’t counted as a chimera 🤦🏻 close enough

I’m also assuming there’s multiple types of silver key spirits because they’re 1: not rare because what makes the golden keys so different is that there are only 1 of each, thereby implying there’s multiple silver keys of each. 2: There’s multiple Canis Minor dogs.

Okay back to this. Starting from right to left: (not including Lyra because i already counted her before).

The crown is either the Southern Crown or the Northern Crown👑. I think it’s the North because of its shape, aka Corona Borealis. 22☑️

That blue-ish creature without ears- I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to have ears 👂🏻 but the word covered it up and so the animators didn’t translate that onto animation either. But there isn’t any animal constellations besides bear🐻 that could look like that creature… but if Ursa Minor aka Polaris is that giant pink robotic mecha machine… then how would this be Ursa Major which is the only other bear constellation? My only guess is that there’s multiple Ursa Minors, and this is one of the forms it can take. Because Ursa Major should be bigger than Ursa Minor, right?

That white bird with human head hair… it looks more like a swan 🦢 but that’s technically taken up by Deneb (who I’d add has black feathers). I assume this is another one of those silver key quirks where there are technically more than one, so this counts as another Deneb but with regular white feathers and more animalistic features. Or it’s the Crane, which sorta looks similar but it’s beak isn’t dark… hm…

The purple dolphin! 🐬 yes! Now that is new! Delphinus the star is a Porpoise which is a species related to dolphins i think!!! 23☑️

That wolf!!! Is a wolf!!!! 🐺 LUPUS!!!!! 😭 24☑️

The triangle🔼📐 is obviously Triangulum. But there’s another Triangle called Triangulum Australe. Idk which is which but they both sound the same to me 🤷🏻 (idk astrology). 25☑️

The chameleon🦎 is realllllll 🥲 Chamaeleon is barely a difference in the name 😂 but yay!!! He would be really cool as a secret spy operative that turns invisible! 26☑️

THAT CREATURE AT THE END LOOKS LIKE A KANGAROO🦘 BUT THERE IS NO KANGAROO. Might be the 🦊fox? But the lower mouth isn’t white… then again the colour is the animator’s job. 27☑️

I’m not really paying attention to the 88 constellations that aren’t animals so idk if there’s a turtle🐢 related non animal stars but Keya has a turtle star (although there’s 2 in panel). This might count regarding in the 88 or kinda counts as an outlier! 28✔️

Those two large fishes don’t look like Pisces?

But don’t worry! There’s 5 more fish🐟🐠🐡 stars apparently! 😅 the Volcans the Flying Fish, Piscis Austrinis the Southern Fish, Hydrus the Water Snake, Hydra the Sea Serpent, Dorado the Swordfish. Definitely not Hydra or Hydrus or Dorado. The Volcans is just one fish, but going along again with the multiple silver keys theory, then I think it’s the Volcans. 29☑️

Bottom left there’s another bear, but also a Giraffe🦒 blowing a star⭐️ shaped humoungus horn🎺. Camelopardalis 30☑️ there’s 2 people playing the piano but idk who/what that could be, probably 2 Lyras since they’re musically inclined. I’ll have to check back with the human stars later.

Edit because I just noticed it (the anime makes clearer): THAT’S DEFFO ONE OF THE WATER SNAKES HYDRUS ISN’T IT?!!??!!!?!! 🐍 31☑️

Plus there’s a circle face standing guy. Could be Reticulum the telescope net (google says it looks circular). Or the microscope or telescope! Idk. I won’t count it, too far fetched.

There were two food courts so this is the right table. On the left side of this food table: Another goose looking creature. There’s a humanoid with cat/dog/pointy looking ears on their head but idk what that could be. On the right side: two identical humanoids. A… banana with arms and feet??? 🍌 I HAVE NO CLUE 💀 maybe the air pump but that would be a terrible design 😭

This is the food table on the right. From the left side of this table to the right: animal (fox?), humanoid with horns, humanoid in a bikini, idk a pig???, a square🔲⏹️ face, animal (fox but shorter ears?), animal (lizard?), humanoid with antennas and wings, humanoid(?), a black cat(??), another goose/swan, a wolf/fox.

Square face could be Norma the Carpenter’s square. Or the way it’s standing could be the stand thingy that holds up paintings- Pictor the Easel 32☑️

Idk about the humanoid ones so I’m skipping them 😀 random NPC unnamed stars

Another wolf/dog🦮🐕‍🦺 (the jaw is shorter) which is probably Canis Major 33☑️ but LOOK!!! The BIRD!!! It could be Columba the Dove or Aquila the Eagle. Neither one has a tuff of hair but i assume it’s like that goose/swan with human head hair 😀 an aesthetic choice… but the beak!!! It’s curved like an Eagle🦅 34☑️

These ones are a doozy but I think I got it. From right to left: Another fish🐟 but it walks! flying and pisces the two are taken so this must be Piscis Austrinis the Southern Fish! 35☑️. If you look carefully, the text is covering up another dog. Since there is another dog constellation that doesn’t need to be big, I’ll claim this one as Canes Venatici the hunting dogs (although there should be 2 I’m claiming it anyways!!!). 36☑️.

These next two are the tricky ones because they’re objects but idk which ones. I know there’s a part of a ship stars which sound confusing enough, so I think these could be it. Actually nevermind, it kinda looks like a boring but weird looking cup🏆 Crater(?), or that vessel since that’s also a large cup Ara the Alter? It does look like a cup because to top part is rounded? Edit: it has a handle!

The left one could be the boat’s hilt🚢 or Stern of Argonauts’ ship aka Puppis. I’m more confidant on this one. That little guy really looks like the edge of a ship. Idk why it looks like it’s hiding inside that thingy tho it’s cute. 37☑️

Guy all the way to the left is some sort of goose chicken but humanoid like Sagittarius with a human face but fake animal head 😃 OH HECK NAWWEW NOOOOO NOT THE MAJESTIC BIRD NOOOOOOO 😭 The head has these tuffs that could only leave… Pavo the Peacock/Peafowl ��� HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO THE MOST COOLEST BIRDS EVER 😖 I REFUSE THIS CANON DESIGN EVEN IF IT CANONIZED ANOTHER CELESTIAL SPIRIT 😠 38☑️

The thingy on the top is why I choose the North crown from before. Because this crown is smaller, just like the Southern Crown👑 Corona Australis.

…WAIT IT HAS A HANDLE LIKE A CUP ☕️ 🤦🏻 THAT’s THE CUP ISN’T IT 😱 Crater the Cup. 39☑️

The anime didn’t exactly translate it properly, in fact it seemed to combine 3 panels into one. The panels of the Nikora with Happy and Carla alongside the celestial spirits we’ve never seen before. It leaves out the hiding ship edge looking thingy and fish (probably because a fish next to Happy doesn’t bode well 😅) and changed the colour of the Peacock to pink for some reason. This scene was moves very annoyingly in a way that I’d have to take multiple pictures to get all the details of just one each spirit 😠 grrrrrr

So yeah that’s the dog again but it looks even smaller in the anime than it did in the manga. But that thingy that I said before looked like a cup? It actually looks more clearly like Forax the Furnace! There a random skinnier top part like a chimney and the bottom part is bigger where you cook! I think. Now that I’m looking back at the manga, there’s clearly meant to be a handle on the bottom part of the left side. So this is most certainly Forax! The anime makes him look too fleshy than mechanical tho… 40☑️ and his telescope🔭 doesn’t look alive but Telescopium is a constellation too 👀 (I won’t count it for now…)

Another bird!!! This white one is probably the actual Columba the Dove🕊️ this time. 41☑️

The grey one… I assumed it was another dolphin or seal🦭, but it could be a bird too? I really wanted to show that thingy’s hat tho. Look! It has hearts 💕 and a tiny crown👑 on it! 🥹 very cute! But it’s hands don’t have wings like the bird next to it, so I think it is another dolphin Porpoise Delphinus. Last picture to analyze.

Idk why the (it’s obviously a bunny) rabbit🐇🐰 is in a bunny costume, but yay!!! Bunny in a bunny costume!! How counter productive. Lepus the Hare. 42☑️

See! You see both dogs in seperate panels! So, technically, i win with the hunting dogs 😌😏 hehe… Another goose/swan but this one’s cuter because it has a little crown and no weird human head hair or human face alongside fake(?) animal head!!! Actually 🧐 the under wings🪽are shaded/black like a *gasp*😱 A CRANE!!!! The beak still isn’t correct BUT STILL. THIS IS MY MOMENT!!! Grus the Crane!!! 43☑️

😃 WHAT IS THAT RECTANGLE RULER📏 WITH ARMS??!!!!!?? Aw mannnnnn idk guys 😭 this one might be Norma the Carpenter’s square although it’s a rectangle. Only because it’s a ruler tool looking thingy :( idk…

There was also when Scorpio cheated on Aquarius with a bunch of humanoid spirits, but I checked and it was from a filler that also got alluded to during an extended version of Lucy and Yukino’s battle under the Grad Magic Games. Not canon! 👏👏👏 Plus google says Scorpios are mainly loyal and passionate. Scorpio’s porbably the least likely to cheat. Also i guess the humanoid spirit girls could be unnamed stars too, or whatever, but still, it’s filler!

So discounting the canon known keys, there’s about 22 unnamed possible keys >:)

[dailydemonspotlight]

I really love these posts could you do one for Pele or Cait sith

Cait Sith - Day 41

Race: Beast

Alignment: Neutral

May 17th, 2024

There are a lot of cats this week! What's up with that? Cat monsters are a dime a dozen throughout mythology, and for good reason- whether it be the Bakeneko, Bastet, or the Wampus Cat, as I've said before, cats are aplenty throughout several spurts of folklore. One of the most famous, though, is the legendary hero of Puss in Boots, the eponymous pussycat in question. This 1600's story has had several bits of backing throughout the centuries following its publishing, but like most fairy tales, it wasn't just spurred on by a stroke of imagination or a fever dream- no, Puss in Boots' origin can be traced back years earlier to a celtic monster that serves as our demon of the day: Cait Sith, the fairy cat of Irish myth.

Accounts of the Cat-Síth, commonly misspelled as Cait Sith, date back far into the past, likely around the 13th century in a story titled "Le Morte d'Arthur, Morgan le Fay," though that was only really when the term was solidified. Fairies have been used as shorthand to explain paranatural phenomena for years before, albeit under different names, or even in different cultures- per instance, a Yōkai could be seen as a type of fairy, just centered in Japanese myth. Getting back on topic, though, one of the most peculiar of these fairies is the pitch black oversized cat in question. Typically depicted as a cat the size of a dog that is all black save for a white spot on its belly, the Cat-Síth is portrayed with many peculiar abilities, having humanlike intelligence and walking upright on two legs.

Due to these unique abilities, some purport that the Cat-Síth isn't exactly a usual fairy- many people support the idea that it is a witch who is able to transform between cat and human, and part of that legend also ties into the belief of cats having 9 lives- as the legend regarding the witch goes, she can transform between cat and human only 9 times, and if she were to cross that threshold, she'd be stuck as a cat for the rest of her days. I'm not sure if this is directly correlated to that old wives tale, but the connection between cats and 9's in folklore and idioms is certainly something to look into.

The origins of the Cat-Síth are unclear, with many scholars purporting the idea that the stories surrounding this feline fairy are headed and inspired by the Scottish wildcat, or the endangered hybrid between said wildcats and domestic cats, the Kellas cat. The main source for this seems to originate in the fact that Kellas cats share similar features to contemporary depictions of the Cat-Síth, being 'dog-sized' pitch black cats. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

I have a personal theory relating this to the stories of the Nekomata from Japanese myth as well- the odd behaviors of the Cat-Síth may have the same origin as the Nekomata's behaviors, that being a cat infected with rabies. This is my own personal pet theory, though, based on the similarities between yōkai and other such cryptid-esque monsters from the past. Yōkai, fairies, demons, cryptids- they could all have similar roots in animals infested with disease or people who had gone mad, only bastardized through the years and storytellings.

This fantastical feline fairy firmly roots itself as a strange bit of folklore, but what's up with its design in SMT? It's an obvious homage to a famous fairytale, drawing a connection between the Scotsman cat and one of the most popular cat creatures in history, that being everyone's favorite death defying feline, Puss in Boots.

The connection drawn between the devious daredevil Puss and the tricky tabby Cat-Síth is somewhat obvious, as both are legendary european stories based primarily off of the weird and crazy shit cats will commonly get up to. This spotlight is growing a bit long, so I won't regail you with the details of Puss's entire life story, but the curious connection drawn between Puss and the conniving calico that is Cat-Síth throughout the series' many demonic compendiums brings to mind a lot of curious ideas. It does seem entirely possible that Puss was partly inspired by this guileful grimalkin, given the relative timeframe between the two stories.

Jeez, I'm running out of wordplay, so I'll have to wrap this up. Cat-Síth has even more to it, frankly- this cat could have inspired so much more, indirectly, and I haven't even touched on Final Fantasy yet! This conniving cat is a recurring demon throughout the series for hopefully obvious reasons- Cat-Síth is probably the first fairy one thinks about in celtic lore, and this impish pussycat is certainly deserving of the demon of the day. Now, I'm gonna have to restock on catnip.

[ceph-the-ghost-writer]

Happy STS Ceph! If someone was looking for your characters, how would they describe them to people? What features would they most pick out to distinguish them from a crowd?

Isaac: His messy black curls are probably the best way to spot him. Not messy as in stylish bedhead, but as in oh, this man is on the brink and desperately needs help with self-care. (It's not until Dorian coaxes him into it that his hair starts to become noticeably healthier and eye-catching for other reasons.) Elfy describes his fashion sense best: Mexican grandpa and/or country veterinarian. That is, flannel/plaid shirts (buttoned all the way to the collar in Isaac's case), and old jeans that don't fit him well at all. Again, it's not until Isaac starts rebuilding and maintaining relationships with others that this changes. 9 out of 10 times you'll catch him with his eyes glued to the screen of his tab, doing something work-related.

Renato: If you meet a man who makes you forget every warning your common sense screams at you, you'll know you met Renato Faria Dimas. Of course the blue-green color of his eyes gets the most attention. Though he acts like this is tiresome, he goes through a lot of effort to groom his brows and hair as well as pick clothing colors to show them to their best advantage. He's a dating sim character come to life: handsome, charming, seductive, and definitely hiding more than meets the eye beneath the pretty façade. Dimples are another weapon in his arsenal he uses to devastating effect.

Dorian: Critics rave 5 stars, want to hug and/or cuddle with them on first meeting. Dorian exudes a love for life and the topics they're passionate about which is downright infectious. Their peacoat is legendary, though they do wear other hoodies and sweaters depending on the season and conditions. They've loved having their hair braided since they were very small, and continue to make an event of it as an adult, with food and movies and drinks with family and friends all day. They also really like the freckles across their face and shoulders, if you're one of the fortunate few to see those. You may have to wade through a sea of their other admirers to get to them.

Kinslayer: Isaac wasn't exaggerating when he described meeting their gaze as staring down the barrel of a rifle. Their eyes are an utter shade of black, reflecting no light whatsoever. Kinslayer has worn many faces and experienced life in all sorts of bodies, but this feature remains a common denominator no matter what they look like.

Elfy: She's the tiny woman with all the piercings, the mop of reddish-brown curls piled on her head, and who's vibrating like a rocket about to take off, unable to keep still. Can't miss her.

Ben: They just don't make 'em like this nowadays. He looks like a thug or back alley boxer from a movie set during the Great Depression because, well, that's kinda what he was. His size, the broken-one-too-many-times nose, and scarred knuckles give him a natural intimidation factor. He's quick to smile though, and the gleam in his brown eyes can turn someone's knees from a solid to a liquid even quicker. You know, if big, bi vampire guys are your thing anyway.

Motley/Noose: Its stitched together skin really makes it stand out in a crowd. Even its sunken eyes are unusual amongst necromancers, smoldering with a sullen red light rather than being the dull, lifeless gray of something that's been preserved in a jar of alcohol. Of course, it could very well be disguised as that stray dog trotting down the street. Or a white-faced barn owl in the tree outside the window. Or--goodness forbid--somebody you knew.

Breezy: One of the three weed-smoking girlfriends, now semi-retired in her 60s and versed in witchcraft. When she feels like wearing clothes, she could be in full, flowing ren faire garb or a pair of denim overalls for working in her garden. (Has a pretty nice tan, given her nudist tendencies.) She might braid her long white hair, but more often than not leaves it in loose waves over her shoulders.

[3gremlins]

"el cadejo"

another entry into my mythological creatures coloring pages series (from november)!

Anyway El Cadejo is a folklore that comes from central america (mostly el salvador and guatemala but folklore moves and evolves around places, so there's all sorts of variants on it).

(long post is long)

The myth tells of a spirit that appears in the shape of a large dog like creature with glowing eyes that appears to travelers on the road at night. If the dog is black with glowing red eyes, the traveler is doomed and will be eaten; if the dog is white with blue eyes, they'll have a safe journey. In some versions, there are two dogs- so if the white dog appears while the black dog is upon you, you will be saved (usually you're just SOL if you see the black dog). In other versions, there is only one "dog" and the color/eyes are just determined by how the spirit is feeling that day (if it's calm, it is white with blue eyes, if it's angry, black with red eyes).

Most descriptions of the dog are that it's kind of thin and tall and weird looking for a dog, so I decided to base these on coyotes (specifically the subspecies that are found in central america- they have slighter frames and slightly different features to other subspecies).

They do look like dogs at a glance until you get up close and are like OH NO THAT'S NOT A DOG*. Coyotes are also ambush pack hunters- often you'll see one coyote and it will "lure" you into the rest of the pack which matched up a little bit with some stories of the black dog "luring" travelers to their death (particularly travelers who were incapacitated in some manner).

It's also often described as having long tangles of hair along its back but a naked face- so I gave it a tendril-y mane and sort of a more sunken look to its face with some hints of skull. I wanted the black dog to feel darker but not actually be completely opaque too, so it got a lot of line work whereas the white dog got very little. They still (hopefully) look related. 

For the scene, I really wanted to try and convey an isolated area that's not that far from civilization-almost because you're so close to home, that getting waylaid by something supernatural is THAT much worse.  I also wanted it to be clearly night time but making that fun to color was a weird balance (i might tweak it when i get to the colored in version)- I ended up doing negative space inking with white on the mountains to give a little more texture to them while still keeping it a night scene. I went with the two dogs version mostly just b/c it fit what I wanted with the composition (the fear of "you're so close to home" but the also slight relief of "ah but maybe there's help on the way" and then pair it with the "but will it be in time")

this was actually suggested by my therapist, who is from el salvador and his father would tell him cautionary tales of el cadejo when he was groing up. i've been trying to expand what sorts of folklore i hit for this book (that i have been eternally working on now T.T) and he was telling me how he would have loved as a kid to see more of the tales he grew up with in more mainstream books etc.

(i really want people to feel seen and included in my work but i also don't want to overstep so i've been trying to balance that. Doing the research for this one made me really want to learn spanish b/c i found so many great folklore articles that jstor didn't have the best translations for lol).

*i'm originally from new england where we actually had coyote-wolf hybrids running amok (coywolves) and they are REALLY big and not something you'd want to meet at night when walking your dog (they also will absolutely stalk you/try to bait your dog, and they do eat pets a fair amount) so i was also pulling from that a bit. Most of the coyotes you get in socal and further south are much smaller and not terribly aggressive.

[cartoon-buffoon]

I've posted a few of my crappy art related to my OC/persona Toon before—uhh here he is again for reference

And in those posts I briefly make jokes and or reference some lore for him. Now Toon is technically an extension of me and his personality mirrors me in lots of ways to the point I obviously use him as a pfp because he technically IS me—that being said this post is the exact lore for Toon and his story! (Also before anything the 3 demons I reference in his lore are just my favorite characters of Skitzo, and The Cartoon Cat & Dog... I like attaching my character to pre-existing characters from media, so what?). Anyways lore below if anybody cares ↓

In an abandoned studio one day there was born a creature of unknown origins, it was an amorphous blob of ink who awoke in absolute desolation with no idea who or what it was. It had intelligence and oddly enough had knowledge from what had happened in the world since roughly the 1930s to the 80s, yet it has no idea who it was. Faceless and without a body it wandered the barren halls to try and find anything resembling an identity, trying to find a name or appearance it could latch onto. After searching through room after room clouded in dust and mold it found a few partially intact film reels, these films showcased old cartoons that were...subpar in quality to say the least. The main character was drawn sloppily, constantly off model, sometimes lacking certain features, or even showcasing entirely new attire or a different body type. The backgrounds were also pretty low quality, often times just being pitch a solid pitch black color making the main character blend in with the background. Despite the inconsistencies and quality the main character had something that stayed constant, some the the blob needed. A face. The cartoon character was a weird mix of a rat and rabbit with white fur, long ears, some fluff, a triangle nose, and the most noticeable trait was a black stripe that ran across its face like a raccoon's mask.

The cartoons staring the character obviously were broken, heck the characters name wasn't even shown due to the fact that the opening sequence on the reel wasn't intact cutting that introduction out. Yet it was a face, a face the blob of ink felt an odd connection with.

Slowly but surely it took note on the cartoon character’s appearance and mimicked it, building up a visage similar from its own ink. The black liquid that made up it solidified and changed colors mimicking what it saw on the reel, it even altered the texture to feel like normal animal fur. With a newfound face the creature decided to take up the moniker "Toon", the full title being "Toon the Ratbit" seeing as other cartoon characters last names were their species he too wanted that for himself. After getting a name and face it realized it needed a body to go with its new look. For some reason though when it tried to mimic the character's body on screen it's ink got confused, the several inconsistencies made it nearly impossible to get an exact form down and it would always be slightly off from what felt comfortable. The living cartoon did the best he could, he fashioned legs, a grayscale rat tail, and hands that looked like a cartoon character's gloves. After creating all that it could the torso still remained unfinished, it didn't know what kind of appearance it wanted yet like the face it wore it wanted something that felt comfortable. It wanted a body that felt like it's own, it just couldn't figure out how to create that body.

In desperation Toon scoured the empty halls, rummaging through box after box, uplifting animation desks, even breaking into janitor closets in some desperate hope to find more film reels. He just needed some footage to mimic that was concrete, an ideal body he could connect with, latch onto, and take for his own. An appearance is what he desired the most, instead what he found was a few burnt reels with film that hung onto the metal by charred paper that wrapped around it. There was numerous warnings and labels on the reels strictly stating do NOT play them although in his haste he didn't care and slotted all three into projectors and started them up. In doing so he awoke 3 creatures that looked like demented cartoon characters and acted like monsters. All three were dragged out of whatever hell they called home and into the physical world where they were free to commit whatever atrocities they desired. Their plan was sadly foiled upon finding out they couldn't get too far away from Toon, if they tried they'd inevitably burst into flames and the very hellfire that brought them into existence would try to drag them out forcing them to stay within a somewhat close proximity to the one who awoke them. The worst part is they couldn't even kill Toon to break their curse, they could maim and harm the little hybrid to their hearts content, yet some invisible force stopped them from killing Toon.

Ever since then they were all forced to coexist, Toon never found a body that felt comfortable so it covered itself and the inky mess that was its true form with a faded red hoodie. As for the the three psychopathic cartoon characters who found themselves bound by invisible strings to the one who summoned them, they tormented Toon from time to time yet the hatred and disdain the three felt faded over the years. The three didn't get along either, there was constant fighting between the trio and Toon would be swept up into it the havoc usually.

The once faceless blob of ink now found itself in a chaotic life full of the constant threat of being stabbed, slashed, gutted, or beaten. Oddly enough though it didn't mind despite the torment it faced. The world was boring and dull, yet with the other cartoon creatures life was chaotic and random, the chaos felt comforting in a way. It made him feel like he was an actual toon and not just something pretending to be one, whenever he'd stop and gaze at his body which never had a solid form Toon would embrace the chaos and it felt like he belonged. Life was a weird symbotic relationship, they all lived in the abandoned studio Toon woke up in and soon became accustomed to each other. Instead of getting mauled now Toon only faced pranks and the occasional (frequent) mean spirited comment, it was annoying and sometimes frustrating yet it sure beat getting hurt. Life with crazy malevolent creatures attached to him did have perks for Toon, the rodent could do and get away with anything considering the demons couldn't let him die do they became begrudgingly protective. There was also the fact that they had knowledge of the unnatural and strange which would come in handy from time to time, and Toon had access to all this and the only thing he really had to do was put up with them and occasionally keep peace.

It was chaotic, nonsensical, and sometimes bloody, yet it was a life Toon found enjoyment in, even between all the ups and downs. Mainly downs... A whole lotta downs….

[cafeleningrad]

Hej hej, a big thanks for @bookwyrrn for having tagged me! It has been a while since I picked up my tag games, so why not do this one. Thank you for the tag. :D 3 ships you like: At the moment I don't feel too engaged in neither fandom nor shipping. However, I currently enjoy Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, and the JInshi/Maomao-dyanmic is hillarious. Overdramatic bishounen falling for gremlin STEM girl is a wonderful slowburn, comedy-packed dynamic.

First ship ever: Phew, hard to say, but I think for conciously looking up tags and fanart it was either Saber/Gilgamesh (Fate/stay night), or Miss Balalaika/Mister Chang (Black Lagoon).

Last song you heard: Sinnerman by Nina Simone.

Favourite childhood book: The Dragonkeeper trilogy by Carole Wilkinson, His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman, the HP saga like every other kid my age, Draconology by Ernest Drake [hmm, I am sensing a theme here...]

Currently reading: Just finished "House of Hollow" by Krystal Sutherland (this book is sincelery the most tumblr-aesthetic engineered mesh I've ever read), and "The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides. Finishing "L'amat" by Marguerite Duras. Parallel reading about the 30 year war (which might or might not be related on Daniel Kehlmann's writing having a tight grip on dopamine release.)

Currently watching: Reservation Dogs. Tried watching Yellowstone but except for some pretty scenery shots it's a paint-by-numbers US dynasty-drama featuring white-man-insert-fantasy, and probably the worst writing of female characters I've seen since a good while.

Currently consuming: Why should I be in need of consumption?

Currently craving: A good night's sleep but honestly, I think I am fine these days.

alright, next tags are up to: @harrowscore, @wynafryd-manderly, @rainhalydia, @mrs-storm-andrews, @timelord-assassin, @inclblackbird, @ante--meridiem, @nikita-not-nikola, @bigre-fichtre and everone who also wants to play!

[the-autistic-agoraphobe]

Autistic April Day 10: Childhood Special Interests

I have three Childhood special interests which I want to talk about and they are the Tweenies, Fremantle Dockers and Tamagotchis.

The Tweenies was one of my first special interests I have had. The Tweenies is a children's TV show made by the BBC that is about four children named Bella, Fizz, Milo and Jake who go to a family daycare that is ran by Max and Judi. There is also a dog named Doodles. I had toys and books from the show. I also watched the show on VCR. I even went to their concert in 2002 but couldn't see the whole concert because I had to go to hospital due to abdominal pain.

The Fremantle Dockers is an Australian Rules football team. When I was younger I used to live in Western Australia and one day my family and I went to a footy game. I sat on my dads lap while he explained to what was going on with the game. I got really interested in it and my dad and I continued to catch the bus into Perth for games regularly. I have attached a photo of me from when I was 8 or 9 with Johney Docker who is the mascot for the Fremantle Dockers here.

Tamagothis are little egg shaped toys with screens on them. The screen featured a little pet which you can play games with and raise. Once I was given twenty dollars to spend on what I wanted so I was at the shops and I saw Tamagotchis for sale. They looked interesting and a girl explained to me what they were. I decided to spend my $20 on one and was a huge fan of it. I kept it on a lanyard and I cried when my first Tamagotchi died. I remember when I saw other kids with their Tamagotchis I asked them if they wanted to connect our Tamagotchis.

Image Descriptions:

1: This is a photo of me at a shopping centre with Johney Docker. Johney is a mascot that takes form of a person in a costume. He has longish blond hair and is wearing sunglasses. He is wearing a long sleeved shirt that is red on the right half and light green on the left half with a white anchor in the middle. He is wearing purple bands around both of his wrists. He is also wearing a pair of purple shorts. I am standing with Johney Docker I am about 8 or 9 years old in this photo. On my head I am wearing a black cap with the Fremantle Dockers logo on it. The logo depicts a man holding an anchor on a shield that is half green and half red. I am wearing a white shirt that has a blue oval on it with "Australian Idol" written in the oval. I am also wearing a red lanyard. The bottom part of my body isn't visible in the photo .

2: There are a list of prompts for each day of the month for Autistic April. The top and bottom of the image is light purple and the middle part of the image is white with black text on it. The black text says "Autistic April 2024 Prompts: 1: Special interests 2: How you found out you were Autistic 3: your favourite stim 4: alternative forms of communication 5: your favourite fidget toys 6: textures you hate 7: safe foods 8: other disabilities you have 9: LBGTQI+ 10: childhood special interests11: comfort items 12: your favourite Autistic celebrities or characters13: unmasking 14: sensory aids 15: misdiagnosis 16: Autism friendly places 17: Disability support you have received 18: animals 19: favourite thing about being Autistic 20: echolalia 21: idenity first or Person first language 22: the spoon theory

23: colours that represent Autism (not blue) 24: Autistic owned small businesses 25: meltdowns and/or shutdowns 26: Your clothing prefences 27: Self care 28: Relatable Autism memes 29: Accessibility 30: routines" There is an infinity symbol that is half red and half gold on the top right corner of the white section. End Description.

[mwezina]

The Moon & FE3H

The Moon represents hidden thoughts, feelings, doubts, and fears. The presence of the crayfish symbolises the subconscious and dreams. We see it crawling out of a pool of water, ready to make its presence known. The presence of the moon points to instinct, and the woman within it points towards fertility and the mysteries of feminine intuition. A dog and a wolf howl at the moon, showing the power of instinct over both the civilised and the wild. However, the path leading from crayfish to mountains reminds us that fear should not override our faith in the future, and that the subconscious could lead us to achieve great ambitions. 

The crest associated with this card is the Crest of Riegan. This seems to be another nod to King Lear, Regan being one of the evil sisters. In the play, Regan builds upon the evil deeds and ideas of others. Generally, she follows either her sister’s or Edmund’s lead, not taking charge or coming up with her own schemes. 

The dragon associated with this crest is the Star Dragon. In Japanese culture, stars could represent hemp leaves. These leaves represent children and the hope that they will grow strong. Stars are also overall an icon of positivity, happiness, and renewal. Sparklers and decorations frequently feature stars. Shooting stars could also represent fulfilment of wishes and hopes. 

In my mind, the Star Dragon is all black and covered in shining white spots, almost like the antithesis of the Dark Dragon. When sighted in the sky, perhaps humans would see it as a sign of prosperity. 

The character I can best relate to these ideas is Claude von Riegan. He is full of schemes and is distrustful of others, representing the anxiety and fear that’s potent within The Moon. Like the crayfish, he has many ambitions, and he must see past his own preconceptions in order to achieve his goals. 

Just like the other King Lear references before him, Claude also appears to be a subversion of Regan. He has plenty of original thoughts, and others generally follow his lead as opposed to the other way around. 

In terms of the Star Dragon, Claude begins to embrace hope and the future during the war phase of the story. While his wild dreams appeared to be just as plausible as wishing upon a shooting star, Claude was lucky enough that Byleth and Rhea both were aligned with his goals of peace and achieving a Leicester Alliance that would no longer discriminate. 

Overall, I think Claude could have been better integrated with his tarot card, especially with the dog and wolf symbology. Although, I understand Claude went through many revisions, and likely certain parts had to be cut from inspiration to execution.

Previous: The Star

Next: The Sun

[n1et]

Hi ok so I saw your tags asking about how witches were antisemitic and wanted to give you an actual answer! Basically every common stereotype of witches has roots in antisemitism. Green skin color, stealing children, frizzy black hair, hooked noses, sharp teeth and nails, pointed hats, satanic worshipers, all of it.

A lot of times historically when they're talking about persecuting witches, they were more often targeting Jews alongside other heretical minorities, it's definitely not mostly innocent white woman like certain groups often like you to think cough t*rfs cough. Satanic worshipers or associations with Satan in general are another common antisemitic dog whistle. Even so far as historically it was common to give Judas red hair because in Italy/Spain it was common for Jews to have red hair and obviously Jews betrayed Jesus so clearly they were of the Devil (sarcasm).

The witches hat takes directly from the pointed hats that medieval Jews in Europe were forced to wear to identify them as Jews, they were literally called judenhut (literally jew hat) and if you look up on Wikipedia you can see some good visual examples of hats from historical artwork

On the note of physical features, large hooked noses and "frizzy" (curly) hair are very common Jewish features both in actual people and stereotypically, but it's the antisemites who added unnatural skin tones, and sharp teeth and nails. Antisemites often gave Jews in art unnatural skin tones, usually greens and yellows, to exemplify their "otherness" and "inhumanity". The sharp teeth and nails goes along with the kidnapping children and occasionally earlier association with the devil, either way showcasing Jews as "predatory creatures" with the general (Christian) public being the poor victims. Kidnapping children and eating them falls into the category of blood libel, which goes super far back as well, and you can even find it in a lot of fairy tales like the tale of Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty. Also has definitely stuck around in modern day, just in the form of "celebrities taking babies adrenochrome to stay young".

Kidnapping children and eating them falls into the category of blood libel, which goes super far back as well, and you can even find it in places like the tale of Hansel and Grettel.

Even the term "witches sabbath" takes from Judaism itself, the day of rest being Shabbat (or Shabbos if you are Ashkenazi) and Sabbath is just the 'English' pronunciation of that, as well as the associations with the moon, when the Hebrew calendar is lunar based and often the rituals/celebrations that come with the beginning of the month were done by the women in the family/community.

There's probably even more I'm forgetting about here, because antisemitism is just like that, but anyway that's a not-so-short summary of how witches are related to antisemitism. Obviously there are ways to have witches in media that aren't antisemitic, but the ones in minecraft certainly are.

Thanks for the prompt response!

[pop-goes-the-sneasel]

Was reading your Raichu post, which prompted this giant message.

There actually is some evidence that regular animals still exist in the Pokemon world, just not as prominently. There's actually promo material of Pikachu and Ash walking past a lady walking her dog, for example. This suggest that, originally, regular animals and Pokemon were supposed to coexist.

One possible explanation for why we don't see them is that they're less popular than owning Pokemon, and since wild animals generally avoid humans, trainers wouldn't encounter them, much.

Takashi Shudo, on the other hand, claims all real-world animals went extinct and were replaced by Pokemon (presumably by evolving into them...hopefully) but this seems to contradict all the stories of "Ancient" Pokemon, unless the series is thousands of years in the future, making us the Ancient Ones.

I actually dislike this explanation, because he also claims all the real-world animals that appeared were simply "animation mistakes" which makes zero sense in the case of the Ghastly turning into a mongoose, which was very obviously deliberately done, not a "mistake" like he claims.

There also was a Pokemon book called "Bulbasaur's Trouble" where Bulbasaur had to find a frog to settle a dispute between two children...the frog was a main part of the plot, and thus can't be written off as a "mistake."

Furthermore, the inclusion of Pokemon like Arceus, who supposedly created the world, would imply that Pokemon have been around since the beginning...unless he either wasn't originally a Pokemon, or recreated the world after it was destroyed.

Takashi Shudo's word should also be taken with a grain of salt since he didn't create the series, he was mainly the chief writer for the anime adaptation, so while he was very influential and created Lugia, his word isn't exactly final, it's just one opinion that many of the other writers for the series may disagree with for all we know. As a matter of fact, as far as I can find, he's the ONLY one who spoke on the matter, so we don't know the other writer's opinion on the matter. Raichu's entries continuing to reference Indian Elephants could be a sign that others working on the games disagree with his interpretation. We still don't have Satoshi Tajiri's word on the matter, either.

Furthermore, while it is more common in Gen 1, you can still see real-world aquatic animals in the Sun and Moon anime such as starfish and various shellfish, all the anime features coral, barnacles are sometimes seen, and in the Black and White manga they ask if someone was scared by a spider...a regular spider.

If you want to look more into it, Bulbapedia has an entire article listing all the times normal animals appeared in the franchise.

You sent this a year ago, and I’m just now publishing it because I’m only now deciding to finally return to this blog! In the year since you sent this in, though, a fascinating thing happened: Raichu’s dex entry in Legends Arceus seemingly retconned the old Indian elephant into Copperajah. Or, alternatively, an Indian elephant is just as easily knocked out by Raichu as Copperajah is, and Copperajah is simply a more useful barometer for Professor Laventon to use :U I think my stance at this point is that it’s undeniable that, early in the franchise, real animals were 100% intended to exist in the pokemon world, even in modern times. This tracks with early promotional material you showed above, and also the supplementary Gen 1 Pokedex book translated by Dr. Lava just a couple years ago, which not only includes references to real-life animals, but also theorizes that stuff like Vulpix are related to real-life foxes. Most outlandishly, Kabuto is claimed to be a common ancestor of hermit crabs and *turtles*. It’s a fascinating read and I highly recommend it! Link here: https://lavacutcontent.com/1996-creatures-pokedex-translation-1/ As for nowadays, though, I think it’s kept purposefully vague. Stuff like starfish are still shown, as are coral and some small insects, but most things that people will readily identify as a traditional “animal” are very strongly avoided. I suspect there’s not really an internal statement whether real-life animals do or don’t exist -- there’s just general orders not to show them, regardless of if they do or not. And invertebrates are just the best at slipping through the cracks. For myself, though, I agree with you -- if non-pokemon plants and fungi and rocks can exist, why not non-pokemon animals too? Anyways, with SV having recently unveiled its official artwork for its new pokemon, now’s as good as time as any to resume the reviews c:

[idledreams4]

I have come to make an announcement!

(if you get the reference ily /plutonic)

On October 24th, 2024, I will be officially opening Royal Stag Creations

At the moment I am the sole member of the business, so please be understanding that I am only one person, and as of Tuesday I will have a full time job, so orders will likely take 3-5 days.

I still have so much prep work to be done, but I have the business side of things figured out.

At the moment you can find us here on tumblr @royalstagofficial

And on twitter @ royalstagstore

I have a friend I will be working with to get an Instagram account up as well

And once I find a username it will let me use, we will also have a tik tok

The most detailed and coherent description of the shop is on @royalstagofficial's pinned post

I will be adding prices soon.

I can tell you guys right now

Signs- $5 CAD

Bookmarks- $2 CAD

Pins- $1 CAD

Stickers- $1-2 CAD

Earrings- $3 CAD

That is all I am starting with. I know I was talking about art prints earlier, but that is going to be a later-on thing.

As soon as I have sample products to share, they will be posted across any social media accounts we have running. I will not be posting directly to this blog though, so if you want updates, PLEASE go follow the store. Once again that is @royalstagofficial

Last night I made some rough drafts for a few bookmark concepts. They're not done. At all. But I am like in love with one of them, so I'm going to share these sneak peaks and explain what the plans are

And don't worry, while these versions are hand-drawn, the final products will be done digitally, so they will be much cleaner

This first one is the one I'm absolutely in love with. It's going to have a black background, the text in white, and the icons will add a little pop of color. I may offer some color customisation when I post the listing, but the basic version will be white on black

The next one is literally unfinished. It was like 1 in the morning, I just didn't want to do the other side. But obviously this is going to be a double sided one, where the front says "Saving people" and the back is "Hunting things" and that will be accompanied by The Colt and the demon killing knife. I still need to decide on what icons to include for the front. I was thinking Baby for one, but I need a second to balance it out. As far as color goes, I'm going to play around a little with the digital render and see what I like.

This one looks deceptively simple. When I have the digital version I'll show you guys. I'm really excited for the end result with this one, because what I'm gong to do is have the background black, and then I'm going to do the text red, kind of emulating the vibe of the "Here's Negan" cover, BUT I'm going to take it one step further, and the text is going to have some iconic scenes from the comics overlayed which I personally think is going to be really cool. I may also make a version where the text is solid, but the background uses comic panels. Both would work really well.

I'm not including pictured of one of them because I have some changes I want to make, but I also have a double sided "fear the living, fight the dead" bookmark that will be available. Like I already said, I will be posting the digital versions which is what I'll actually be printing,

Other bookmarks that I didn't make rough drafts for last night include;

Supernatural:

-"My "people skills" are "rusty""

-a bookmark version of my "good girls go to heaven, bad girls get to hang out with Crowley" sign

-a collage of various sigils and symbols

The Walking Dead:

-Lucille (the bookmark itself will be the bat)

-something else not Negan related I promise

Pride:

-"These are my colours" bookmarks with flags, and possibly tassels in the appropriate colours

-assorted silly quotes that I haven't decided on yet

Alterhuman/otherkin:

-something akin to "I'm reading about Home" or "books are home to me" for fictionkin

-"I eat books" featuring buyers choice of wolf, dog, fox, coyote, or a custom option

-something about hoarding books/comparing books to gold for dragonkin

Unfortunately I have to remind everyone that bookmarks will not be available, possibly until the new year, depending on if I decide to wait on the laminator or not

But I have plenty of concepts, so the store will have lots of stock as soon as Im ready to start making them.

[alightinthelantern]

film reviews: Jazzmen / We Are from Jazz (1983 Soviet film)

Tonight I watched the 1983 Soviet musical film Jazzmen, aka We Are from Jazz, directed by Karen Shakhnazarov.

Synopsis: In 1920s, post-revolutionary Russia, Jazz is seen by most as a bourgeois form of music, a pernicious product of American Capitalism, and is deeply unpopular, with its roots with disenfranchised Black Americans all but ignored. Konstantin, a talented young pianist at a music conservatory, is expelled for his love of Jazz music, and seeks to form his own Jazz band. He unites with a Klezmer folk duo who play banjo and drums, and later with a middle-aged saxophone player who served in the military in Tsarist times, and the four form a Jazz quartet with the hope of popularizing the musical genre in Russia and thereby gaining fame and recognition. The band experiences many hardships in this quest, as authority figures crack down on Jazz and the public remains indifferent, but their dogged determination finally sees them win success, as the final scene of the movie shifts from the 1920s to contemporary Russia, with the now-elderly band members playing for a rapturous audience.

Review: I’ve long adored jazz music from the 1920s through 1940s, and thus I wanted to like this film. I’d seen five Karen Shakhnazarov-directed films before this one; after loving one of these films and disliking the other four, I was equal parts hopeful and apprehensive for this film, given its subject matter vs the types of stories the director tells in his films. The film is a musical with a very standard plotline of Hero forms a group, they experience tribulations, and their persistence wins success in the end, very much in the same vein as Western films with this type of plotline, and unlike Shakhnazarov’s other films, which have a very Russian consciousness and often controversial subject matters. The film is well-made and well-acted, and crafted with an obvious love and respect for American Jazz music. The film also made the deeply unfortunate choice of casting a White Russian actress to play an African-American singer with the use of blackface (or possibly Latin-American; they’re inconsistent with the amount of makeup applied to her so whatever ethnicity she’s supposed to be is ambiguous). The 1980s was a very tense time in the Cold War, with Russian-US relations the most strained they’d been since the 1960s, and the ability of a Russian filmmaker to cast, and bring to Russia for filming, a Black American actress was probably next to nonexistent, but I doubt they even tried for the film, and either way it remains a deeply uncomfortable choice for me. (The film also features a White character wearing blackface during one performance, but this is only makeup in-universe and is merely historically accurate to prevailing attitudes at the time).

Whether I’d recommend this film to others depends on whether they’d be willing to accept a blackface role in a film made during the 1980s. If one can look past that, it’s otherwise a very well-made film with a conventional but well-handled and satisfying storyline, but if one is deeply uncomfortable with blackface, as I myself am, then I would not recommend the film. For those interested, the film can be watched on YouTube here.

[sowhatnotcreative]

You think some random tumblr users vent is comparable to a book by Malcolm X? Now I know you're delusional XD

Dogs are not the predators of sheep either u nitwit, wolves are not dogs.

Yes, if a white person starts saying racist shit, acting in a racist way, and then say "black people hate us" and your response is not to argue the racist shit, but instead try to tell them "black people don't hate you" you will 100% get a more racist student. Because you didn't actually condone the racism. Just as you are very clearly allowing the boys to be misogynistic in favour of wide statements about a group and ideology you seem to know very little about.

About what I know about human suffering or what ever, you're already proving that you don't at all understand what i am writing, maybe your mind can't even see males and females in seperate groups?

MALES see FEMALE suffering and laugh, get annoyed or jerk off.

Those kids have most likely already started doing all of those things. There is nothing "human" about what men do in regards to women. Boys start by find humor in teasing the girls, pulling their hair, pushing them, touching them against their will. This is considered "boys being boys". Absolutely nothing feminists have made up it's a feature of society. In the early teenage years they will start to get into porn and get off on pain and degradation of women. This is also not made up, there are statistics. Well over 50% of all porn contains violence against women and boys connect with eachother, sharing in these videos, no matter how gross and disturbing. They gather together to laugh at them, then they open them at home and jerk off to them. Talk to any young man and most of them aren't even ashamed these days about how they shared rape videos with their friends in the early teen years. "boys being boys isn't it that's just what we did".

As I already said those kids have not ever been in contact with ANY feminist writing and we don't make Tumblr posts for teenaged boys either. So instead of condoning Andrew Tate, instead of actually explaining anything, you make stupid statements about the supposed "feelings" of a fuckin ideology. I already wrote that they get the idea that we hate them from misogynistic men but you're obviously ignoring that part to keep pretending that some 12 year old boy have been on tumblr and is now worried that feminists hate him. Wonder what else they are saying about women and feminists that you're not saying here? Surely it can't only be "they hate us"? Considering the ages it's probably something Tatey but i guess it could have come from any online forum, youtube comments, gaming chats, tiktok. Anywhere the "alt right pipeline" resides. But yea that's also not important to teach them about is it? It's obviously not as important to teach them about fact checking or considering where the information is coming from when you need to coddle the poor babyboys fragile sence of... Hmm, what exactly? That noone is allowed to hate people who do terrible things? 🤔

That women aren't allowed to feel things? Never mind that a ideology doesn't have feelings in the first place.

So let's see here, children attacked by dogs wins the white people over... So by your own logic, you ought to be showing the kids all the violent statica of men, maybe share some videos of female victims of assault? Perhaps truly actually go in to 4chan and reddit and SHOW them what the men do? By your very own reasoning, thats what works? Oh wait. You're not interested in them understanding what feminism, patriarchy or inequality even is.

If you honestly think the reason black people have rights is because white people started to feel pity you are far beyond salvation my dude. Rights are won in war. We are at war with men. They are opressing us. All of them. And you have chosen a side.

If you think that those boys will grow up and see you as a equal human that they can relate to, feel empathy for, you are delusional there simply is no other word for it.

Also, about "convincing"? Noone is responding to your daft takes to convince you. You're obviously beyond saving. You've proved as much with every response and every comment to every critique you've received.

Over and out

I remember trying to convince my young (12-14) male students that feminists didn’t hate men and that the man hating feminist was a myth and it wasn’t about women being above men etc. etc. but like damn you guys make it fucking hard. Why do I decide to look at the feminists on tumblr is it’s like this

Like at what point after you advocate for genocide do you stop and think, is this a good thing? I would type the whole Paulo Freire quote but it’s really overdone at this point