#the topic actually warrants a post of its own

[kindred-spirit-93]

and now for a post this blog was made for (take this as free trial of what to expect down the line. fair warning; not to scale)

If I had a nickel for every time a protagonist had to choose between a sword and a guitar, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

the first (and tbf only) two that come to mind are Manolo from the book of life and Kubo from Kubo and the two strings

quick background: manolo had to fight a giant toro (all the bulls his bullfighter family killed ever, and kubo had to defeat his grandfather the moon king in his final form. also he uses a shamisen not a guitar. but it fits the category so theres that)

and its such a beautiful and strange concept; to be presented with the choice of peace via music, or violence (so to speak) by the sword, and it works. the apology song moved me to tears the first time i heard it and kubo's words are truly beautiful and ones i wont forget.

i think its what the music relays rather than the instrument that brings about a change of heart or leads the hero to victory; their empathy and humanity. family is a prominent theme too, one of love and guidance and ocassionally a source of greivance lol.

i havent watched either films in quite a while (BoL 10 years ago oof) but both songs/ pieces speak so much truth they are able to do what the sword could never achieve. and now for a segment i like to call from where i stand, where i get to link fiction with my life and experiences to provide insight from, say it with me now, where i stand: as an aspiring psychiatrist in a part of the world where mental health is still finding its footing in the public eye and sadly among other healthcare students, its hurts to see how little we listen to each other, compounded by how simple and effective just basic human connection is in somehwat alleviating (albeit temporarily) whatever it is someone is going through. empathy my dudes. it goes a long way.

manolo appologises for the centuries of grief his family profession has inflicted on the bulls, and extends a warm hand of understanding and sincerity, while kubo uses the power of memories and love to prove to his grandfather that so long as he has his eye, an eye capable of seeing (and by extension a heart capable of loving and a soul capable of feeling), he will live and prosper. their humanity prevails and brings peace.

final word: to quote Jonathan Decker from a CT episode i cant remember lol: "Kindness won't always change someone, but it shows them you won't be changed." and i think its an important gap to mind, in the sense that the magic of music or whatever wont fix our real life probelms, like a failing relationship, but kindness and empathy and humanity are all necessary for healing and growth. and that, i believe is the message behind the trope. a good day to you all.

me, an intellectual:

[theoddest1]

Let's Actually Talk About The Issues With Vivziepop

Okay, first off, hello you beautiful people! Sorry about this foreboding title, but I needed to catch y'all attention on this so I can break down the issues that I and many have with "Hazbin Hotel" and "Helluva Boss" creator, Vivienne Medrano. Now I am sure you all on here are already aware of at least a couple of the controversies that revolve around this particular creator and if you have seen my posts floating around already, some have been greeted with the problems surrounding her social media presence and just her overall as a person. I know seeing another callout on her seems very very tiring at this point, but I felt that a lot of the current callouts missed key details that were not at all addressed or properly delved on. I plan on shedding light on my issues with her and I hope you get where I am coming from when I say that she sucks.

BULLYING

Okay, I am starting off with Vivienne's blatant use of bully mentality, her agreeing or encouraging her fans to call people who see flaws in her works sub-humans or harass those who find issue or simply jest about her works trademark cussing and and overcrowded designs. She has had this issue for YEARS and refuses to grow up and act her age despite many telling her, even her own fans at times, that she shouldn't be acting so unprofessionally. Clearly, she doesn't care and thanks to her fanbase caring more about her feelings than her being better she feels as though she doesn't need to change or do better. This goes for her friend group as well, who defend her tremendously and act as though she is never in the wrong. Name one time a friend of hers called her out for acting childish, I'll wait.

Now, you're probably wondering, "Wtf could they have done to warrant such a response?"

Criticism...That's all they did. (White Text is random peeps they would speak with or maybe mutuals)

Keep in mind...they used to be a fan as well. They were also a minor at this point

But, Viv doesn't care, this person's critical yet harmless tweets about her shows is what lead to her painting them in a horrible light and making them out to be someone who has attacked her personally and as "nasty".

Rich coming from Viv since she is completely fine doing exactly that for "Ava's Demon". Not only does she criticize it, she takes a shot at the creator as well, but GOD FORBID others do the same towards her.

And according to someone who knew her well, it's all cause they felt creeped out by her.

Her hatred for criticism is so prominent that Ima makes that a section of its own. But let's get back on the topic of bullying.

Vivienne has a fanbase filled to the brim with pushy and overall annoying individuals who have harassed, threatened, disrespected, and wished harm on many people, all cause someone had a negative thing to say about Vivziepop's mid af show. One of the earlier known instances is the one revolving around a MEME of all things.

This was what started it all, and it led to both parties blocking each other and people being mad pushy and calling them an idiot and the like over their opinions. Now look, their take and you're opinion on said take is fine so long as you stay respectful and humane about it all, but don't dogpike someone all cause they think HH sucks. And while Viv can not control her fanbase, for they are not a hivemind (some of y'all act it tho, ima keep it real) she is seen here ENCOURAGING the behavior. Tell me how someone who doesn't even like your trash ass show has the sense to tell people not to harass others, someone with a smaller following, but not your grown damn near 30 year old ass?

Oh, but people wanna act like she can handle criticism, is a sweet person, and grew from her past experiences. Fam, she was 27 in this screenshot [December 16, 2019] and has shown no change from 2013 to fucking 2024. Over a decade of the same petty ass behavior, and keep in mind, according to several of her old friends and workers, she is worse behind close doors. WORSE. She's already acting like she got no damn sense out in the open, imagine behind closed doors.

Last but not least, a glimpse into her outright blatant slander towards Dollcreep, a once good friend of hers that she even visited and spoke with frequently!

She stated that they fetishized pedophilia yet according to the victim and friends of the victim who were once friends with Viv as well, Viv actually threatened to end their friendship if he hadn't drawn NSFW art of her character and his character having sex [Addi was 15 at the time this was drawn]

On top of that, she liked the post, something she didn't need to do. The art also depicted things she had regularly drawn on her own. Addi being tied up forcefully, being sexualized, being harmed to some degree through bondage, etc. The claim that she forced DC to draw this out is backed up by her own art depicting similar elements. Also, if my memory serves me well, Viv and Doll were 17-18 years old [Doll was 17 Viv 18] and have a 1-year age gap. The way Viv frames things here is as if DC was way older and imposed some sort of power over DC, which sources say otherwise. If anything, Viv had a LOT of control throughout all of this drama, which deserves its own section.

I'll be making posts that talk about the different issues regarding Viv, so one post isn't too long (this one is already lengthy enough) and that you can just pick at one post targeting certain issues around this creator.

[anistarrose]

I'm seeing a huge uptick in fanart with artist-written alt text and IDs in my fandom circles recently, which is obviously great! But I can also tell that a lot of people, because they're just getting started, haven't quite figured out how to consider the screen reader experience while writing alt text/IDs.

The remedy to this, when in doubt, is to pull up a screen reader or TTS on your own device. That way, you can hear out how things sound. But in general, a couple things to keep in mind:

For multi-image posts: You don't have to repeat the same information in the description of every single image.

If you have a four-image comic, and a character — let's just say a young adult white woman, with brown hair and glasses — features in all those panels, you don't have to repeat that description in every ALT text. The images are going to be read in order, and in context. If a screen reader has to hear "a young adult white woman, with brown hair and glasses" four separate times in quick succession, to say nothing of other recurring characters, that's not a good listening experience!

Yes, if you were to share one of those panels on its own, in some other instance, it might be good to slightly edit the image description, and actually re-include that information. The description of an image is always going to be influenced by the purpose and context of an image — just like images being shared to appreciate the artistry will warrant more description than IDs for memes, where it's best to keep things brief. (And on that topic, this post puts it better than I could.)

And, secondly:

In-post image descriptions should go directly under the image. There should not be commentary in-between the image and the ID.

Imagine if every time you wanted to know what an image was, whether a piece of art or a screenshot of a tweet, you had to hear paragraphs of the artist's statement that presumed you'd seen the art already, or paragraphs of OP's commentary lampooning the tweeter. Imagine if every time anyone posted a graph, you had to read through a short essay presuming you'd seen the graph, but before you actually got to see what the graph was showing.

Yeah, that's the essence of the problem with putting IDs below commentary.

Also, after a point, people will just assume the post is undescribed and skip it! You described your post, you put in the effort to make your post accessible, but you want to make sure it'll have the impact you hope it will, right? Hiding the ID below commentary (or under a read more) is not going to let your effort have the maximum impact.

Here's a visual example of the formatting guideline I just described.

In general, there are many elements of writing IDs that are just subjective, and there are many ID beneficiaries whose preferences differ amongst each other, too. But if you start out by not including redundant information, by considering context, and by considering flow for screen readers? Then you're starting out totally fine.

[hunter-sylvester]

The quiet sexual assault symbolism in Metal Lords.

[TW] Discussion of SA, SA aftermath, and SA symbolism.

Every time I've written about these scenes I've felt like I had to hold back. But fuck it, right? I was inspired by this ask to actually share a bit more of my thoughts on the topic.

I can't overstate that I don't think any of this was intentional. I don't believe the scene was ever supposed display any more explicit SA, I think it's all purely accidental. Which, if you ask me, tends to be where the best emotional representation happens.

There's two scenes that unintentionally mirror the typical portrayal of sexual assault and its emotional aftermath. The scene where Skip attacks Hunter, cutting a chunk of his hair off. And the following scene where Hunter shaves the side of his head in his bedroom.

How many times have we seen female characters cut their hair after an abusive relationship or after being assaulted? And how many of us, regardless of gender, have done the same? Hacking away at our hair with blunt scissors and tears in our eyes. Standing over the bathroom sink trying to somehow cut out the memory.

And we know the likely "why" to the typical post-trauma haircut. It's looking in the mirror and seeing something other than the person that endured the trauma. It's taking back control over our bodies.

Before the attack even happens, Hunter's been slowly losing the control that he at least thought he had. Control over himself, his surroundings, and not to mention: Kevin. Kevin's pursuit of Emily creates an important crack in Hunter's perception of their relationship. And is evidence of the lack of control he really has over it.

Everything about the attack screams accidental SA metaphor. He's ambushed by several guys, overpowered, "gagged." A piece of him is taken, only to be discarded. Because it was never about the thing that's taken, only that it's violently ripped away. And afterwards he's left writhing on the floor. Eyes wide in disbelief. Trying to process what just happened to him.

That scene in isolation already has this theme thoroughly woven into it, but I think it's really hammered home in the one that follows.

Of course, Kevin is there with him. The person he feels most comfortable around. The person he needs now more than ever.

Not only does Hunter directly call Skip's coach a rapist before lamenting that when Skip & his friends come back they'll "ass-rape" him. (Again, I don't think that's a literal accusation, but the fact that that's where his mind went in at the very least notable.)

More importantly: he blames himself.

Kevin justly points out that Hunter didn't "get them suspended." They got themselves suspended by attacking Hunter. But he pushes back. Pointing out that he flicked Skip in the face first.

Let's not let it slide how much of a batshit escalation Skip's actions are. Even if we take everything entirely at face value, Skip is fucking unhinged. As most bullies are.

The fact that Hunter flicked Skip in the face in no way justifies him literally hacking off a chuck of Hunter's hair. But the fact that Hunter tries to justify it as being his fault brings it that much closer to the SA symbolism. It's painfully common for us to assume we must have done something to warrant the abuse we face. That we made the fatal mistake that led to it all, rather than it being a decision made by our attackers.

Obviously, at face value, Hunter shaving the side of his head is a logical way to deal with a chunk of his hair being cut off. It's that or cutting all of his hair off. Part of me feels like that's what Skip would have been hoping for. So choosing the shaved side instead feels like a subtle(ish) "fuck you" in and of itself. It's Hunter reclaiming his hair.

It's also that step towards regaining control. It's destruction on Hunter's own terms. (cough see the fucking jacket post cough) (and for that matter my other haircut post)

It's removing Skips fingerprints in favor of the scratch-marks of Hunter's own nails. Because by fuck is the stinging those leave preferable over the dull aching memory of Skip's hands on him.

For a split second we see him realize even a sliver of the impact of it all. When he's no longer able to distract himself by focusing purely on the act of shaving his head, he can't ignore what's directly staring back at him. That he's not the same as he was anymore. He's a different Hunter from the one that woke up that morning. He's been defiled. Destroyed. Partly by his own hand. Which doesn't exactly dull the sting of it but it at least makes it his. At least he has ownership over his damage. At least some of it's on his terms.

Of course the thing he turns to to snap himself out of this is to seek Kevin's approval.

A plea, perhaps. Tell me I'm not as broken as I feel. Tell me I'm not completely destroyed. Tell me I'm going to come out the other end of this. Tell me you still love me.

(I'm aware this scene is played relatively lighthearted, and that I'm in fact insane. Water is also wet.)

I think that's all I have on this for now. Might add more later idk

[hauntingsofhouses]

BRB thinking thoughts about Taigen's character, the TaiMizu ship, and a big chunk of fandom's perceptions regarding both those things.

(Inspired by @farintonorth's post related to this topic that just got my brain going brrrrr)

OK so let me just... start off by saying that I think that reducing stories to their tropes is seriously detrimental to the way some people are interacting with fiction, and while that honestly warrants its own post about the subject, I wanna talk specifically about how this affects the way some people in the fandom talk about Taigen and TaiMizu.

Because yeah, tropes are useful shorthand to refer to certain dynamics or archetypes etc, and they are indeed the building blocks to any story. But in a well-written story, characters and their relationships, actions, and motivations, are much more complex than just tropes. Because in a story that has characters who are more than just cardboard cutouts, their behaviours, backgrounds, motivations and all of that, are inseparable from the context of the overall story they exist in.

So like, sure, you can say Mizu and Taigen have an enemies-to-lovers or rivals-to-lovers dynamic. I also use those terms because it's easier. But I also think this is where things start to get a bit twisted, especially from an intertextual sense. Because "enemies-to-lovers" is also commonly used to refer to other ships in other media, whereby it tends to be rooted in an imbalanced power dynamic, such as oppressor-oppressed and bully-victim.

And while that's a whole can of worms that I won't be getting into because it can quickly derail into a whole separate sort of fandom discourse, I'd just like to make it clear that Mizu and Taigen, in particular, do not have an imbalanced power dynamic. They are not bully-victim or oppressor-oppressed. The only understandable reason why someone might actually think their relationship is imbalanced is if

A) they only watched the first episode, or

B) they cannot grasp the slightest bit of nuance in a character, or

C) they're being obtuse on purpose simply because the Mizu/Taigen relationship, or Taigen's character in general, just doesn't suit their tastes.

While yes, Taigen, along with his whole gang, had bullied Mizu when they were children, that dynamic does not exist between them whatsoever in adulthood. Whatever imbalanced bully-victim power dynamic that had once existed between them was decisively ripped apart the moment Mizu beat him in that duel in the dojo, and then completely obliterated by the end of the season.

Mizu is not a defenseless victim at Taigen's mercy. Mizu can beat Taigen's ass any time she wants (and she DOES, repeatedly in fact), and could even kill him if she felt like it. She taunts him openly and without fear ("I like your hair"; "I can beat you with any weapon you choose") and all he does is bark back, because that's pretty much all Taigen ever does. Time and time again, he yaps about how much he wants to kill her, but time and time again, his actions prove that all of it is just an empty threat. Because though his words say "I hate you", his actions demonstrate the complete opposite. He's shown how protective he is of Mizu, how unhesitatingly he sacrifices himself up for her, how loyal he is in enduring days-long torture to not give up information about her, how even when near-death and in pain, he's still willing to keep standing back up so he can fight by her side and help her win against her enemies.

And Mizu is not an idiot! She sees that too. She does not see him as a threat, an enemy, or even a bully. Especially not by the end of Episode 3, and definitely not by the end of the season. When she finds him in the dungeon in Episode 6, she smiles from relief, and doesn't think twice to take him with her. Mizu finds him, at best, an annoyance, or at worst, an infuriating hindrance on her quest for vengeance. Which is why, when Taigen is about to say, "It's a shame our duel's set for tomorrow; I have to kill you before you get your revenge," Mizu whacks him on the head without a second thought before he can even finish his sentence, and leaves him lying unconscious, face-down, in the snow.

And this further emphasises how he does not hold any power over her. There is no abusive power dynamic between them. She is more powerful than him, he knows this, and all he's ever done after they've met up again in adulthood is get his ass whooped by her, get mad about it and pester her and follow her around, get his ass whooped by her some more, and put his life on the line to protect her.

"OOoooOOoooH b-but he called her a demon at the end of Episode 7 and threatened to kill her again!!!" Oh my god. He called her that because he's calling her out on her selfishness to stay silent about her knowledge of Fowler's plans to attack Edo. Because to him, loyalty and honour as a samurai is more important than anything. So in his own brash-and-immature Taigen way, he felt betrayed that Mizu did not hold the same principles. That's why he got angry. He wasn't even that mad about letting Akemi get dragged off by the Tokunobu guards. It was about saving the Shogun and the Shogunate as a whole. That's why the first thing he does in Edo is not find Akemi, but try to warn the Shogun about Fowler's attack.

Look, I'm not defending his stupid ass, of course. Because calling her a demon especially after their cute little wrestling time was obviously rude and inappropriate, especially since words like "demon", "monster" and "Onryo" have had such a deep effect on Mizu throughout her life, and continue to contribute to her self-hatred. But like? That's the fun of realistic and flawed characters, and realistic and flawed relationships. They're not perfect, and it's why we as an audience root for them, wanting to see them work through their shit and find a way to prevail despite it all.

Also, him saying that was in the heat of the moment. He was angry, he felt like his initial belief of who Mizu was—a strong and loyal samurai, just like him—was shattered, and so he lashed out. Was it rude? Definitely. Was it immature of him? Yes, incredibly. But it's also very much in line with his character, because even though he's grown a lot over the course of the season, the show isn't over yet, so obviously his character arc is just beginning, as that is also the case for the other three main characters: Mizu is beginning to accept herself, Akemi is beginning to grow into her position of power, Ringo beginning to train under Master Eiji, while Taigen is beginning to simply be a better person.

On that note, when speaking of Taigen's immaturity, I think that's also one of the main things that people tend to gloss over when it comes to his character. Because when you boil everything down to its bare essentials, Taigen is, essentially, a boy. I've talked about this before, but to reiterate, Taigen very much behaves like an unhealed child. Even as an adult, he is insecure, prone to throwing tantrums, and is desperate to latch onto some material goal in hopes that it will make him feel better—initially he was chasing status/glory/greatness, and then when Mizu tells him that "Nothing comes from being a samurai but death," he immediately decides he wants to run away with Akemi in hopes that he will be happy.

And it's a big step, acknowledging that he doesn't truly want greatness, but had always just assumed it was his only path to a good life. But it's clear he still hasn't really figured it out. Because if he did run off with Akemi to get married and live in the countryside, he still wouldn't be happy. Because he still doesn't know who he really is, or what it is he really wants. Marriage at this moment is the last thing he needs, and as he is now, he would be a pretty awful husband. A simple life would be good for him, but would he be good at a simple life, when he still has so much he needs to work through?

So anyway, what I'm getting at here, is that he's trying and he is learning and growing. So yeah, he is flawed, but honestly? So is Mizu. And the funny thing is that they're flawed in very similar ways.

Because Mizu is also an unhealed child. That's why she's so angry all the time. That's why she pushes people away. That's why she, just like Taigen, is so happy when given the chance to playfully wrestle in the forge, laughing and rolling around like children without shame or pretense.

Again, this shows there is no imbalance between them. They had grown up together as peers from the same town. And while Taigen had had the upper hand back then, because he'd had a gang of other kids with him, that is definitely not the case anymore. Today, they are equally flawed, equally strong, equally skilled swordsmen, and equally bull-headed.

However, yes, Mizu is definitely leagues more mature than Taigen. But she still holds a lot of childhood wounds that mirror Taigen's own. And we see this especially in relation to her mother. Similar to Taigen who had an abusive and alcoholic father, Mizu's Mama was an opium addict and had hit her, berated her, had shaved her head without her consent as a child, and as an adult, had constantly emotionally manipulated and guilt-tripped her. Mizu's love for her Mama was what had driven her to a path of vengeance in the very beginning. And when she'd found out Mama was still alive, she had wanted nothing more than her Mama's love, and it was this alone that pushed her to agree to the marriage with Mikio in the first place. And now, knowing from Fowler that her birth mother is someone else entirely, is what makes her agree to keep him alive and haul his ass to London to seek answers.

Thus, integral to Mizu's self-hatred is also Mizu's intense longing for love and family. Just like Taigen, whose pompousness comes from his insecurity about being the son of a poor fisherman, Mizu's goals are also shaped by who her parents are. Remember, her vengeance is not against just anyone who's corrupt or evil, but specifically against the men who she believes had assaulted her mother, the men she believes had made her a monster, the men she believes had abandoned her to die and continue to try to kill her. Her vengeance is against a father, on behalf of a mother. In The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride, Mizu is not merely the Ronin, the Bride, or the Onryo, but also the Child.

This is also why Ringo is so good, not only for Mizu, but for Taigen as well. Ringo is wise and caring and considerate, but above all, he is in tune with his inner child in ways that Mizu and Taigen are not. He is always earnest and positive, he sees the world with childlike wonder, but is not naive or blind to its ugliness. His whole life has been a battle. Ringo brings out the best in Mizu, consistently acting as her moral compass and conscience, and Mizu's choice to save Akemi in the final episode is only because she promised Ringo that she would. Because it's the right thing to do. Ringo inspires her to be a better person, and to think outside of her narrow-minded goal of revenge. At the same time, Ringo also brings out the best in Taigen. While at first Taigen had looked down on both Mizu and Ringo ("Half-limb to a half-wit"), by the end of the season, he's proud to have Ringo as a friend and ally, he listens to Ringo's advice ("What would Master do?"), and asserts to the fucking Shogun that Ringo is a worthy warrior to have by his side.

Okay, I've gone on a bit of a tangent here, but my main point is that Mizu and Taigen are incredibly similar. They are equals. They are both flawed, unhealed children who are chasing some impossible outlandish goal in hopes that it will fill the void in their hearts. They also both have a long way to go in terms of character development if they were to ever build a healthy romantic relationship (either with each other, or even with anyone else). So while I believe things will be rocky (because duh, it's a story, we all live for the drama, etc), I think with Ringo's help, they'll get there eventually.

[divorcedfiddleford]

Random but - if you were given an opportunity to rewrite Ford's character and his arc in the show (and later J3), how would it be like?

canon gay and trans

so the thing is that i think most of how ford himself is written is really really good! i just think that the writers (particularly alex) have a bias against him, and so a lot of the narrative ends up feeling like he's either being punished or being forced to atone for his past. so i'm gonna ramble and daydream for a bit but i want to be clear i actually really like how he's written in general (yes, even in the book that i have so much beef with!!)

there's very few moments of catharsis for him, and those that he gets are either short (reunion with fiddleford) or undermined by the writers' bias (the ending of journal 3 where he burns all his bill stuff but has to keep reminding us that he was stupid for trusting bill in the first place). so i think a lot of the problems i have would be resolved with tonal shifts and a few cuts, like that fucking scene in the stanchurian candidate with the mind control tie. the implication of reaganite ford is bad enough but then to have a guy who has very specific trauma relating to being mind controlled/not being in control of his own body just hand that over is really fucking stupid. then again i think that whole episode is stupid so i'd end up rewriting all of it lmao

i've said before but if i really had my way i'd cut roadside attraction entirely and replace it with another ford episode. i loved how goofy and fun dd&md was and i think if more of that lighthearted side of him was shown it would endear him to the audience more. a long time ago i had an idea for an episode where they go back to the bunker and ford basically does puppy talk to the shapeshifter who is actively trying to kill them. i never followed this idea through to its conclusion but i think it still sounds entertaining, plus it would also give more time for him to reunite with fiddleford so it wouldn't have to be squeezed in the finale.

speaking of the finale... my personal fantasy is that i'd love to have a scene stuck in there where stan apologizes to ford. it REALLY stood out to me that despite all their fighting, ford still at least says the words "i'm sorry" to stan. stan never apologizes for anything he did to ford - neither for breaking his project, nor for banishing him to the hell dimension for 30 years. i get that they were mistakes, but you still have to apologize for mistakes (and if i allow myself to get very self-indulgent for a second, i've often thought the whole story would be a lot more resonant if stan broke ford's machine on purpose). i had a whole section in here where i talked about what a scene like this would look like but it was so long... if people want to hear more about it i'll say more but it's the kind of thing that warrants its own post.

anyway. moving on from the show itself. so possibly my hottest take is that i think journal 3 should not have been published KJSHDFLGKHSDFGUIWEHRGJSDF. basically i think instead of trying to write the actual journal 3 they should have picked a handful of stories from his research era that they wanted to tell and made a graphic novel about that. i got WAAAAAAAYYYY off topic and wrote PARAGRAPHS about this but it's not related to the question you asked so i'll just summarize by saying i think it would play more to their strengths as writers, leave more to the imagination, and they could leave out all those fucking retcons that i hate

as it is, though, again, i think that ford is written pretty well in the journal. there are a few off-handed comments and lines that give me "he would not fucking say that" vibes but overall it very realistically portrays what it's like for someone to be manipulated, isolated, drawn away from his loved ones, etc. it's a very poignant story which resonated with a lot of people, myself included. again my main problem is that it's undercut with the writers being like "BROOOOO HE'S JUST LIKE ICARUS!! FLEW TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN!!!!!!!!" as though it's all his fault, and that it ends on a very moralizing "i learned my lesson" note. so really the biggest characterization problems i have with journal 3 have to do with fiddleford, but that's a whole other can of worms

anyway i hope this was... interesting? informative?? i hope i answered your question to your satisfaction. have a nice day :)

[diaphin93]

Okay, so this post was brought to my attention and I considered at first, if I really want to react to it. On one hand I think it warrants a rebuttal and is a peak example of the general lesbophobia not only general fandom but also some queer men like to perpetuate, on the other hand I also originally didn't want to engage with his blogger anymore. For added context, Gascon is a blogger/youtuber who openly on this very websites has made some troublings statements and admissions leaning into the direction of Incest and Necrophilia. I will not go into further into detail about it, but it somewhat leaned into Lily Orchard levels of fucked up. And to rub salt in the wound, when I tried towarn people on the Edelcrit side of this guy and his takes, they immediately jumped into his defense and framed me as the bully here. Among other things, like very stupid and fucked takes which I personally don't stand behind anymore and which I did during a time when my mental health was on a really deep low, was why I took a break from Tumblr in the first place.

But yeah, at the risk of this firing back at me, I decided to make a blogpost engaging with his post. I'm a random nobody on this site, but I've noticed that at least some people seem to be interested in my takes and I consider a rebuttal to his takes important enough, as it goes into typical misogynistic and lesbophobic attitudes inside this particular fandom, but also fandom in general. So lets begin:

Initial ask and to be more of help than Gascon, the answer is yes. Naturally lesbians are wrong to be drawn towards a complicated and nuanced canonically queer female lead character with strong themes of abuse, vilification and loss of bodily autonomy, who tries to uproot an opressive social system that affects women in particular, duh. They should center their attention on a white man, of course. Didn't you know that good lesbians are supposed to produce male on male porn? Skits over, in all seriousness, whoever this anonymous is, if you ever read this: You're a fucking dipshit, what kind of asshole even asks a cis gay man whether or not lesbians and sapphic people should be allowed to like a female character. What a fucking imbecile.

He really had it with the first sentence, lol. I guess every dog has its day, but then he fucks it up. Though I somewhat doubt he is sincere here, considering my actual experiences with the f!Edeleth fandom, it really sounds more as a set up to weaponize and distract from the topic and push his male chauvinism and misogyny under the guess of feminism. First off, 3 Houses isn't mostly written by Intelligent Systems. Secondly, the issue lies in the fact that people like Gascon don't criticize misogynistic aspects in Edelgards character and writing which hurt her as a character, he is using performative feminism to instead bash aspects of the characters usually praised and appealing to queer women and feminist fans, as well as marginalize sapphic themes inside the game. Gascon is not only deeply fucked up according to some of his public tumblr posts which are visible to anyone, he is also just a plain hack. No civility politics from me here. This guy is practically the James Somerton of Fire Emblem Discourse, minus the plagiarism...maybe, don't know. But lets move on, just keep the reference to James Somerton in your mind for maximum entertainment.

Here is where things finally start to go down the gutter, rather early, by him already already attempting to dominish and marginalize the sapphic aspects of these games by chalking them down to male gaze titulation or flat comic relieve, while elavating the m/m subtext of his personal favs, Catherine and Shamir being the sole exception who he treats as the good token lesbians of the story, probably due to the attachment with the church of seiros, which he is super defensive and apologetic about, to my knowledge due to his own romanticization of patriachal concepts of chivalry which it supports and his catholic nationalism which I still clearly remember, trying to contextualize catholics as somewhat the most marginalized group in all of society.

I draw the connection to James Somerton, because ultimately his offhand misogynistic and lesbophobic attitudes combined with his androcentrism and male homosexual chauvinism feels just very reminiscent of him, Gascon falling into this trend of cis gay men who always push forward to center themselves and their identity in LGBTIQ+ advocacy and visibility, in what I call gay male main character syndrome. It plays into an undeniable history of cisgender queer men imposing male chauvinism and patriachal androcentrism into the LGBTIQ+ movement, pushing forward primarily their visibility while having historically contributed to the marginalization and invisibility of both cisfemale and trans queer people in broader society. I've seen another post of his where he gets somewhat pissed about anti-fujoshi discourse, one that is currently inside fandom explicitely pushed by sapphic women who are fed up with the andocentrism and male glorification inside fandom at the expense of sapphic characters and relationships which remain marginalized, with the self-serving comment revealing that his position is primarily founded in him being a beneficiary of the androcentrism and and female margilanization inside fandom. Though discussing all of this would probably go too far for this blog post, maybe I will come back to it later.

Whats clear is that Gascon here, to begin with the easy part, knows shit and makes just blanket uninformed statements about Fire Emblem 3 Houses development process and houses, as he credits IS for its writing, when the main scenario writers all were Koei Tecmo employees, 3 Houses being a collaborative Intelligent System and Koei Tecmo project and FEW3H being full on a Koei Tecmo game. They reference and build on older Fire Emblems, especially the Kaga era of Fire Emblem, alot but the game is mostly by a different company. And while it is not the team that developed the Fodlan Games, as a Studio Koei Tecmo actually as quite the history of including Yuri-Subtext into their games, especially Team Gust, which has titles like Atelier, Nights of Azure and Blue Reflection under their belt. So as a Company, Koei Tecmo is already an entire different beast and it really shows with 3 Hopes, that really ramps up the queer subtext or outright text alot compared to 3 Houses. Gascon is talking with alot of authority on the subject matter, yet displays not having done much research in who even developed and wrote these games. And going back into it, he again argues from a very dismissive and somewhat lesbophobic position of trying to play down sapphic subtext and text, especially as presented inside the Black Eagles. Is Monicas obsessive love for Edelgard often played for comedy? Yes, of course, many aspects of the game are played for comedy, even Dedues role as Dimitris caretaker is often played up from this angle. Is it it treated at her expense? Not really? Monicas Love and Loyalty for Edelgard have often a comedic undertone, mostly by being set up for jokes centering her photographic memory and Edelgard being overwhelmed, but they are also never mocked by the narrative and played as genuine, their support ends in appreciation for Monica. I think his own loathing towards sapphic characters and bias against Edelgard and possibly the black eagles (who are understood as somewhat of the gay house of the game) comes into play here. Monica does suffer alot from Hopes lack of supports and not having pre-existing Houses supports, which makes it rather unfair to compare her to Dedue, who benefits from Houses bigger library of Support.

As I mentioned in another post, its also a rather disrespectful downplay, as Monica is predominantly popular among queer women, with alot of dedicated Monica Fans I've seen being esplicitely sapphic trans women. It is obvious that she appeals alot to this demographic and it is easy to see why, Edelgard is a fairly big favorite and comfort character among queer female fans of the game and Monica, being basically the Nr. 1 Edelgard Fangirl, is a character they can immerse themselves strongly into. In this vein Monica also feels less like a mockery and more like a not to the yuri fanbase around Edelgard, after all, it is quite on your nose to make the new Black Eagles character the games only explicit lesbian. Btw, I also think one of the 3 scenario writers is a woman tbh, they at least have a female sounding name. I think Gascons argument becomes really weird and self-contradicting in this case, as he is really obsessed with dismissing the sapphic appeal and subtext of the game surrounding the Black Eagles, which leads to him dismissing the writers outright, which also plays into him basically claiming that the subtext he glorifies as superior and valid compared to the inferior ridiculous f/f subtext, is supposedly just accidental. He is also misrepresenting the scene to make his claim about the allegedly superior m/m subtext of the game. Because...like, its not the scenes which he quotes, it is a scene in which Dedue does lead Dimitris Hand onto his heroes relic and push him into fighting, which could be understood as more of an example of male machismo, lol.

I mean, I think there is legitimate queer subtext especially among Dimitri and Dedue, though their relationship has alot of problematic issues and context and there is the legitimate issue of Dedue being somewhat of a good token minority engaging in respectability politics, while there also being the context of him being a man of color genocide survivor who exists purely to be subservient and nuturing towards the leader of the people who commited said genocide, being made to crush liberation movements by his own people in favor of the genocidal Nation Dimitri leads. I think there is interesting potential inside their relationship, especially due to the themes of vengeance surrounding Dimitri, but the game does handle it by far more poorly than could be said even with the most criticial lense towards the obsessive fangirl jokes surrounding Edelgard and Monica. Something Gascon does not acknowledge, because he is operating under the double standart that the male queer ships he enjoys are supported, pure and true and that outside of one token example, the female queer ships he dislikes are just mocking or titulating. Because, and this is important to remember, Gascon is a gay male chauvinist mad at sapphic women. His language and arguments make this fairly clear.

And here we have it. All queer female rep and subtext in Fire Emblem, in Gascons mind, is his argumentation, at the same t ime in a blind spot but also exist purely as profitable male titulation. This is an extreme case of misogyny, in which queer sapphic fandom is just entirely dismissed and sapphic subtext depicted as something lesser, only serving men. Because you know that this chauvinist thinks that lesbians should instead spend their time focussing purely on male gay representation. It is also an argument which we see often inside broader fandom discurse and by Fujoshis to attack Yuri and reveals a deeply rooted lesbophobia inside fandoms. And this is a peak example in which falls into the James Summerton school of performative feminism underneath he hides a weakly disguised deeply misogyny that specifically targets sapphic women in an attempt to dismiss the notion of women existing decentered from men. It is a good example of how even a gay man can still participate in patriachy and misogyny, in perpetuating the notion that women can only exist in relation to men. What he also does is full on dismiss decades of sapphic subtext and reading inside the Fire Emblem Community, for example what is with Eirichel or the strong bisexual subtext surrounding Camilla, and the extremely strong queer female subtext inside 3 Houses itself, not only in the way Crimson Flowers overall themes and subtext works the best as a sapphic story between a female Byleth and Edelgard, but also the undeniable queerness of Edelgard and Dorothea, both to each other as well as in their relationship with other women. But no, for him, all queer female expression that isn't to his comfort and resigns to exist as a secondary behind male queerness is to be dismissed as pure cishet male titulation. This is a strong example of queer male chauvinism and lesbophobia.

Could be because Byleths support with Rhea is incredibly unpopular, probably due to Silver Snows general massive lack of popularity and its strong aspect of grooming, implications of being based on love bombing and the fact that for all intends and purposes, Rhea is Byleths grandmother and depending on Sitris genetic components maybe or maybe not somewhat like a biological half-sibling. Not that a guy who on this very website openly admitted to persueing incest irl while framing this as just a normal part of gay culture could grasp that one.

Ultimately, the issue is that this just moves the goalpost, as he does not engage with and instead talks around the fact that sapphic women inside the fandom gravitate towards Edelgard and are part of her fanbase, sapphic women inside this fandom gravitate towards Edelgard, which Gascon obviously does not want to acknowledge. Hell, we know that many of the more well known fanartis and writers outside of just Captain Flash are sapphic women and enbies. One of the most popular Edeleth Fanartists is a non-binary lesbian, we see on twitter how a large portion of sapphics engaging with Fire Emblem strongly gravitate to and center Edelgard. And the issue with Fujoshis and androcentrism is one that currently inside of fandom discourse is predominantly pushed by lesbians. It is often lesbians criticizing the way how female writers, often female writers who also identify as queer, center and prioritize male characters inside of Fandom over promoting female characters and sapphic relationships. And nobody even claims that Dimitri Fans are all horny fujoshis, only that the fujoshi community, and all of its problematic elements which certainly don't describe all fujoshis or even a minority but issues inside the yaoi genre itself, gravitates strongly towards Dimitri.

Hell, the m/m centric ships of the Blue Lions and Dimitri are predominantly criticized for being examples of androcentrism inside Fandom and the fact that Dimilix being wastly more represented than Dimidue reveals an anti-PoC bias inside the community. Something I even wrote about today, while he focuses on being the lesbophobe he always was.

thankfully, I have this guy blocked otherwise I would have to disappoint him, as I'm not a troll. I'm a clown. I might need some psychopathic Juggalo gang though, just in case somebody decides to call me a troll.

[hogwarts-legacy-confessions]

What is Hogwarts Legacy Confessions?

@hogwarts-legacy-confessions exists for fans to share your "confessions" related to Hogwarts Legacy.

For example:

you might have a crush on a particularly unpopular character.

you secretly love certain dynamics in fanworks that your friends would not approve of.

you may loathe aspects of the game that other people enjoy.

perhaps you have other insights or opinions that you feel would not be well-received.

Whatever you'd like to get off your chest - to say to fandom at large about the game and the characters is welcome to be posted.

Frequent Topics: Shipping Discourse (frankly, we've had enough of it), Smash or Pass, Polls, Ship it or RIP it, Hogwarts Legacy MC (and of course the usual character tags!)

Other themes you're encouraged to explore: Would You Rather, Fuck/Marry/Avada, Favorite Minor NPC, Discomfort Characters, Too Much Information, True or False, Two Truths and a Lie, Bookmarked Fics, Fucked Up Ships.

We're always open to suggestions!

Rules & FAQs ↴

1. Nothing that targets a specific person will be published. This includes a specific MC, OC, fic, or other specific fanworks with the exception of praise or a recommendation, with the exception of discussing your own work.

2. Please avoid negative posts about fanworks or creators. We want to foster a positive environment in this blog while expressing our opinions respectfully. This includes all types of fanworks - not just writers and artists. 3. Please be polite when referring to members of the fandom (ie: us flesh and blood folks.) You can be rude, insult, and use profanity/slurs against fictional characters - that's fine. Just please avoid using them in reference to actual people. If you're criticizing an aspect of fandom, do it politely. If your post is worded too harshly, we may take the liberty of rewording it while preserving its message. 4. Please keep your responses to comments and reblogs. Please do not respond to confessions by submitting a new ask. If a confession prompts a topic you think warrants its own post, feel free to submit it, but I don't want this blog to become an endless cycle of replies on the same topic. 5. Provide details and avoid redundancy. We have confessions on many subjects already. For instance, don't just submit an ask that says "I hate __________ character," please provide unique reasons why you dislike them. Or why you like a hated character, for that matter. 6. I reserve the right to abstain from posting low effort confessions or those that come across as being purely provocative.

General Info

ADMIN: Feel free to DM at any time with questions, comments, or concerns.

POLLS: Your post may include a poll to gauge the fandom's reaction to your confession. You may opt out of having a poll added to your post. Just add [no poll] at the end if you have a preference - otherwise we will add polls at our discretion.

TIMING: We will publish the current number of queued confessions from time to time. Currently, the queue is set to post every few hours, more or less in the order that the posts were received. We may adjust the queue frequency based on the number of queued posts.

TAGS: No trash-talking posts will be tagged for any specific character. Positive posts may receive more specific tags if warranted.

CONTENT: Posts are not checked for factual accuracy.

"Why was I blocked from this blog?" - Chances are you were blocked because you have the admin blocked or sent asks intended purely to stir drama or insult an admin. Kind of a no-brainer.

Pretty please

Try to post something positive on @hogwarts-legacy-hype if you post something negative here! Positive posts are also welcome here although they still need to fall under the realm of a "confession" - ie: something you would not say publicly.

This will help keep fandom morale up.

Why wasn't my post posted?

Unfortunately given the anonymous nature of posts there is no way for me to provide feedback regarding why a post was not approved. Here are some common reasons a post may not be posted:

It violates a rule above.

Off topic. It's not a confession of any kind (if the queue is low I might post non-confessions but at least make it interesting) and/or it's not about Hogwarts Legacy or its fandom.

Recently-exhausted topic. If your confession is similar to others posted lately, I might reject it or save it for a later date.

Have patience. Depending on the length of the queue, most posts will appear within 2 or 3 days.

Please don't post posts about why your post didn't post. (DM instead, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.)

The Unrestricted Section discord is a good place to discuss posts.

[stephensmithuk]

"You’ll be hearing more of this, Mr. P 34!"

Mackenzie is here referring to the poor police constable by a feature that most uniformed officers in the UK and Ireland have, namely his collar number. Although these days they tend to be known as shoulder numbers.

Permit me to demonstrate via this image:

This is Police Constable C 333. His actual name is not recorded in this c.1948, but we'll call him Robert Smith, or Bobby to his friends.

The letter C represents the division of the Metropolitan Police he is assigned to. In this case, C covered the West End of London. The Met has gone through a lot of command changes over the decades - today this would be Central West Basic Command Unit and he'd have AW on his shoulders, not his collar.

These numbers allow for identification of the officer; the public would know who to compliment or complain about. There have been cases of officers policing protests not wearing these, which caused a fair amount of upset when it was reported.

If he was using a radio, he would be Charlie Three-Three-Three. Or just "Three-Three-Three" for a local chat.

If he was to sign a statement, he'd be PC Smith 333 C. He would also put that in his email signature today.

Sergeants would have three V stripes on their sleeves and now their epaulettes outside of a dress uniform situation. They would also have their numbers on their uniform.

Police Community Support Officers (civilians wearing a uniform, basically) and Special Constables (volunteer officers with full powers, but unpaid) have shoulder numbers.

Inspectors and above just have their rank insignia, no numbers.

If Bobby moved to another division, he might keep his numbers, but he would have to change his letter. He would go down to two numbers if promoted to Sergeant.

****

Outside of London, you will usually just see four numbers, with no letters.

Bobby would also have a warrant card, akin to the US police badge, which he would use in a plain clothes or off-duty situation. If he were suspended for excessive force, he would have to hand it over.

****

Now P 34 is a bit outside his area.

This is the 1888 police divisions map, also relevant for Sherlock Holmes:

(Source: https://gmic.co.uk/topic/64457-metropolitan-police-divisional-areas-1888/)

The blue area represents the boundaries of the London County Council, although the City of London was excluded from that - it retains its own local government and police, who have their numbers on their sleeves today.

You can see the Whitechapel area under H and the Docklands area, plus points east under K.

The red area was the then boundaries of the Metropolitan Police District. You can see that it excluded my manor of Havering, then under the auspices of Essex Police. This went quite a way out, beyond even the modern Greater London boundaries in some places, although in 2000 it was aligned to match those. Havering was KD until recently, it is now part of EA.

As a further fun note, the MPD boundaries were also those of the coal tax area. Any coal brought within this area, which also included the City, was subject to tax until 1890, when this was abolished due to its unpopularity in the new suburbs. The boundaries were marked by obelisks or white concrete posts, many of which are still in situ, although not always easy to spot, to remind people of the tax. The railway or river transport companies usually collected this anyway.

Anyway, P Division covers the Camberwell, Lewisham area. Quite why Mackenzie has grabbed this bloke from there for this operation is a mystery. While P 34 could easily go outside his area for public order stuff, like a parade or dealing with a protest; during the miners' strike of 1984-85, Metropolitan Police officers were used in protecting those who were going into work from their striking colleagues, as well as beating up the latter.

Perhaps he was just doing it for the LOLs.

****

As a final note, police officers are also starting to wear name badges. This was somewhat controversial as some officers feared being targeted as a result.

[deivorous]

Hollow Society

Something's been tickling at my brain recently. The below is by no means a comprehensive review, and I don't particularly have any coherent thoughts, so anyone, please feel free to add your own.

Hueco Mundo isn't culture-less like the vast expanse of fandom portrays.

There are, in fact, at least three key pieces of evidence that support this.

Forms of government precede Aizen's involvement in Hueco Mundo.

There are multiple instances where hollows have been shown to exist in community structures, and at least one that involves an actual neighborhood.

Hueco Mundo contains ruins.

Government in Hueco Mundo

The first point is one that I believe we're all cognizant of. Specifically, Barragan was regarded as a 'King'. Whether he is actually perceived as one by the population of Hueco Mundo is debatable. However, he's exceptionally old, and has likely held his position for many many millennial. He also is describing the rather small gathering of hollows (they are all presumed to be adjuchas) as an 'army'. I wonder for what purpose he formed an army to begin with, and have determined that the most likely reason as consistent with his character is to create a sense of authority for himself.

Just a few quick observations to point out to you:

He's in possession of a OLD metal bell - it is in poor repair, but I warrant it is an item of great value because despite it's disrepair it's still afforded a prize location above the God-King's throne.

He's one of only a handful of hollows depicted wearing clothing (prior to Aizen). It's a tattered fur-collared cloak. The other item if clothing belonging to his servant woman and is just a plain tunic.

On the clothing note, the crown may or may not be part of his mask but an individual item as seen in the fact that its different after he becomes an arrancar.

She is in possession of a carafe. It could be water or something else - again the implication is that this is an item of luxury.

The scene we meet him in is 'Las Noches', and Tousen mocks him for the sorry state of it.

My main point with this is less the existence of Barragan's kangaroo court, and more the evidence of relics indicating a period before the existence of his reign (the bell, the crown. the carafe).

Secondly, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong (as I haven't actually read the novels myself) but I believe the espada pre-date Aizen as well. Many of the arrancar who have the titles of Privaron are naturally occurring arrancar, which afford them power beyond Barragan and his army of adjuchas. Their attempt to create an element of stability in Hueco Mundo (though ultimately a failure) is telling.

Hollow Communities

Barrangan's army, while small, indicates something other than his feeble attempt at control which is: Hollows naturally do come together in social settings. We see this as well with Grimmjow and his pack (and he's certainly not the only hollow in a pack). And a third time, glossed completely over, in Nnoitra's flashback - which is the most interesting of the three.

Neliel specifically refers to the location as a 'colony'.

The image depicts what looks like dwellings of some sort carved into the rock formations behind them. Hundreds of non-nomadic hollows were all living together in a community in some relative form of harmony, and their postal code (so to speak) is recognized by Nel, Nnoitra, and Aizen who charged them with exploring the colony and recruiting any Vasto Lordes present.

Nnoitra points out that there isn't one present, which indicates that all of these hollows came together despite their cannibalistic requirements, without the oversight of a stronger power forcing them to conform to a set of pro-social behaviors.

very interesting.

Finally,

The Negal Ruins

I've already touched on the bell.

Now I'd like to touch on the elephant in the room, which actually inspired this post to begin with. I don't know if anyone else has explicitly written on the topic - but this has to be one of the most fascinating things Kubo never touched.

Hueco Mundo is included in the Soul Societies genesis story - it was created, allegedly, by the Shiba family to house the hollows and prevent consumption of normal human souls. The sand is supposedly made of all the dusted bones of what must be billions of hollows when the Soul King, in a fit of rage and disgust, destroyed them all upon their banishment. While this did not prevent the creation of new hollows, it does contribute to the god-like lore of the Soul King. THe key take away is that Hueco Mundo is an artificial land - and hollows are not native to it, but rather were herded into it as a way to separate them from the humans and spirits (and forced them towards their cannibalistic diet, rather than preying on plus souls).

Despite this, the story never discusses the Negal Ruins.

My two quick-fire evidence points that this is a brand new, distinctly different location is 1) the architecture is drawn completely differently to that of any version of Las Noches and 2) it has a roof.

Barragan's Las Noches did not have a roof.

A roof implies a certain level of sophisticated engineering that it seems Barragans Hollows were not capable of. It implies a certain amount of education and cooperation.

Presumably the name of the ruins were related to Team Ichigo by Grimmjow or Nelliel (Orihime is the one who officially says the name) however Kisuke is the one that directed everyones (independant??) transit to the ruins. One can assume there would have been a reason for this (Kisuke seems to be doing some sort of research), Kubo never returns to this particular plot-hook.

What's specifically interesting to me, however, is how a ruin like this came to exist in the first place. While Kisuke has knowledge or Shinigami records of the location I doubt it's from Shinigami construction given HMs genesis story and the Shinigami's hands off approach to HM for the most part.

A hollow community of some sort must have constructed it at some point, and since then the place has fallen into disrepair. Whatever community, government, or sect may have built and maintained it is long gone - an entire era lost with nothing more than the bones of it's buildings left behind.

I don't have a neat, tidy point to finish with, so I leave you with this:

Even after Aizen's meddling, arrancar still reside within Las Noches. The community remained even without shinigami enforcement (I doubt Hallibel or Grimmjow were forcing them to stay). Hueco Mundo has an entire history no one knows about. It's population has a society.

In the wake of the Winter War and Thousand Year Blood War, it's a population that was completely decimated.

[warcrimesimulator]

There's a lot of Holocaust revisionism in eastern Europe and these discussions have always remained somewhat obscure in the mainstream up until recent years, most notably with Poland's controversial "Holocaust bill" which became a hot topic in 2018. I ran a Polish history Twitter account around this time and was there for the height of this fuckery.

Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine I've seen a concerning amount of westerners spreading WW2/Holocaust revisionist content from Ukrainians on Twitter- insisting Nazi collaborators weren't actually Nazi collaborators, or that they were but it's fine because they didn't commit war crimes [citation needed] and anything that insists otherwise is Russian propaganda (conveniently leaving out anything Jewish people have to say and have been saying for years.)

The big difference now is that this revisionism is often aimed at westerners who genuinely care and want to learn more about Ukraine and eastern Europe, and wrapped in progressive, social justice-y language. Revitalizing terrible people and organizations from history is "decolonization" now. I never imagined I would experience anything worse than the olde Polish discourse years ago but life is full of amazing surprises.

One of my Ukrainian mutuals on Twitter made a thread about how nationalistic historiography in eastern European countries and Russia's "Great Patriotic War" narrative (a pile of steaming hot nationalist garbage that warrants its own separate longpost) are essentially two sides of the same coin and have roots in Soviet/eastbloc historiography that watered down or even omitted the Holocaust in favor of focusing on their own victimization or some broad definition of victims of fascism with no elaboration (discussions about Holocaust victims in the USSR being vaguely labeled as "Soviet citizens killed by the Nazis" are easy to find.) The thread was from last year but if I can find it I'll post it.

I wasn't intending to ramble this long but Holocaust education is important.

[oblivions-arts-culture]

ENVY'S TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2022 -part 1

No one asked and none of you know who I am but I made SO MANY spreadsheets and lists about this, so!!!!!

10

Wet Leg’s breakout single Chaise Longue could have been their whole legacy, a novelty-adjacent one hit wonder who never captured that magic again. Except they did; and I actually think they did it better on a lot of the tracks on their debut album. The excitement around the Isle of Wight’s premier indie rock act is well warranted, and their debut LP delivers on the promise of their viral hit. The humour never runs dry, the energy persists through to the last note, and the fun never stops. It’s been a long time since a debut album made me so excited for the next one.

10

(yeah I couldn't choose. This is a top 11 xoxox)

It’s hard to pin down exactly what’s so captivating about this album. It’s enchanting on a surface level, a gorgeously written and utterly unique post-rock project filled with alluring idiosyncrasies. But I don’t have words for the beautiful, ethereal something in the heart of the album that keeps me coming back. Maybe I’m entranced by the swirling mix of guitars and brass. Maybe it’s the vivid but abstract tapestry of Isaac Wood’s lyrics, enthralling in their oddness but relatable in a way I don’t know how to describe. Maybe I’m trying too hard to make sense of my love for this album, but we all know snow globes don’t shake on their own.

9

I have very little to add to the discussion of this album, save to add to the chorus of people singing its praises. Though I can understand why Kendrick Lamar’s latest record has been somewhat divisive; it’s certainly not an easy listen, but it’s a deeply rewarding one. The strength of Lamar’s conceptual vision runs like a rich vein throughout, adding a theatrical element to even the musical arrangements that elevates the work without taking away its sting. Lyrically, the album touches on every touchy topic under the sun. It’s challenging, at times deeply uncomfortable, but also truthful, and nuanced in a way that so many attempts to diagnose our age have lacked. He’s also getting bonus points for the best song about Being Trans a cis person has ever written. Same Love by Macklemore this is not.

8

Don’t let the minimalist album cover or the lofi, rough-around-the-edges production fool you: Adrienne Lenneker has fit the entire universe into this double LP. Big Thief step well beyond their comfort zone on this record, and out into the cosmos beyond with swirling, almost shoegazey guitars that blend seamlessly into more straightforward folk and country without missing a beat. This is an album about finding the small, mundane joys in life, and filling them with love until they expand into the celestial. But in spite of the grand scope, the album art still sells the vibe; it’s the whole universe, but it’s about the view of it all from beside a warm campfire, surrounded by friends. It’s sweet, it’s heart-wrenching, it’s at times bizarre, and it’s in a league all of its own.

7

If Big Thief takes the beauty of the mundane and makes it celestial, Friendship has chosen to preserve the mundanity in its retelling. That may sound like a criticism – and certainly more cynical listeners may write the album off as boring – but I promise you it isn’t. Appreciating the little things is not always about finding a life-affirming revelation in every cup of coffee. Sometimes it’s about taking things as they are, no matter how boring or unglamorous. There’s something deeply comforting about Friendship’s expression of this reality through stark, alt-country instrumentation and the blue-collar emotional truths in the blunt imagery of their lyricism. As the year went on I found myself returning more and more to this album’s down-to-earth roots.

6

From the year’s least-flashy album to perhaps the year’s boldest stylistic statement. The quality and creativity of the production alone on Death’s Dynamic Shroud’s latest LP would have been enough to land Darklife a spot on this list; there really is nothing like the sound of this sprawling tapestry of experimental electronica. But what keeps me coming back is the strength of the songwriting that production is draped around; each track is its own world, with multiple ideas bouncing off of each other in ways that at times sew mesmerising chaos and in others offer striking, impossible moments of cathartic clarity. This is an LP that is begging to be experienced as an LP, a project even grander than the sum of its parts. If you want just a taste though, Judgment Bolt is the year’s biggest banger.

[whatsonmedia]

The Path of Mindfulness in The Mind

There Are Moments When Even I Can Struggle to Find The Balance at Times On of the things that I have occasionally spoke quite openly about, and without any shame or remorse I might add simply because I didn't feel any when I first started talking about it. And I still don't know. I am in fact banging on about both our Minds and Mindfulness. The topic of Mental Health. Over the past year or so when I have sat down and watched TV, listened to conversations about work or anything else that's just happened to grab my interest. Even Roman Kemp's mentioned it many times and I think it's good that he's actually being so open and honest about it and not treating it as a taboo topic. In the interests of our minds, I just say, to hell with typical attitudes and get talking. The worst-case scenario is mental breakdown and/or death, and by that, I mean suicide. Other outcomes are a long and painful road of mental and psychological troubles  For me, this is something that I have rarely spoken about, from a personal perspective that is, though thankfully it didn't lead down a dark path. Though i did go through a merry-go-round of moments with anxiety. When I watched a TV programme, Countryfile to be exact, the subject of Mindfulness was frequently mentioned.  Well apart from having its own website the techniques of the process have been talked about. They involve The 5 Steps - - First Mindfulness Exercise: Mindful Breathing. - - Second Mindfulness Exercise: Concentration. - - Third Mindfulness Exercise: Awareness of Your Body. - - Fourth Mindfulness Exercise: Releasing Tension. - - Fifth Exercise: Walking Meditation. From looking at the list I have only ever used the 2nd one the most, the fifth I only ever used if I was out and about somewhere but I suppose you could argue that that also counts. The 1st and 3rd I barely used at all, not because I questioned about whether they'd help, but because I just couldn't be a***d.  The last time I used these was not that long ago this year but also over 5 years ago when I was between jobs and wondered if I'd ever get myself back into the working world. I even made a little post about it in my blog Adam's Journal when I was in a somber and something depressing place and genuinely wanted somewhere that I could just type my thoughts and leave them until I felt ready to revisit them again  Adam's Journal In the post I spoke openly about the Anxiety I coped with for two months whilst between jobs. The mental anxiety of suddenly being unemployed after over a decade of being in a job (but necessarily one I enjoyed or felt any kind of fulfillment in) to suddenly not having anything. The anxiety of having to sign on (not something that even I would recommend lightly just so you know) whilst looking for work and having to have weekly meetings at the Job Centre to prove that I was actively seeking work. To balance it out there was the upside with getting interviews but then there was the downside where I talk about the seemingly never-ending rejections. To cut it short there ending, for back then, was positive but the general gist of what I am trying to point out here was all the roller coaster-esque moments I was dealing with in my mind According to mental health charity, Mind, around 1 in 4 of us do suffer with mental health related issues but haven't been able to get support.  Though the support is out there I have never sought any, not because I felt too ashamed or considered it too much of a hassle, but because I didn't view my issues as that server. Don't get me wrong, I know that there are many people who'll have thought that their mental state wasn't that enough to warrant it, but for me I knew what my anxiety causing problems were. Just a case of dealing with the prime idiots who I considered to be my Grief Mongers. Basically, the eejits who were the cause of my problems. But having said all I do take my mental health quite seriously, and I think some of it comes from a variety of places; watching multitudes of people linger over the heads of friends and family and seeing how it affected them; my own life experiences and slowly realizing that unless I spoke our nothing was ever going to happen; and of course slowly arriving at the actual realization that the so-called infamous British Saying 'Boys don't cry', 'man up' and the term 'stiff upper lip' were basically just complete and utter garbage.  If history has indeed taught us anything it's that ignoring the problems that haunt us mentally does us way more harm than we realized. Also, sticking your head in the sand like the Ostrich isn't even remotely helpful either, the trouble is still there and doesn't shift because you've buried your head. In other words, we shouldn't be shoving our heads in the earth and we should just do away with the so-called British traditions of 'boys don't cry', 'man up' and 'stiff upper lip' Co's let's face it, they're complete and utter rubbish and belong in the bin. Sources Read the full article

[horseshoegirl]

Set Me Alight: Part 2 - Abracadabra

📜Hey, All 💛I didn't intend for there to be a gap between this part and the last, but I had to take some time away. Unfortunately and sadly, my grandmother passed away two weeks ago. She had been ill for some time, and I had been helping to support her care at her home since I last posted.

Anyway, thank you all for the support on the first part!!! I love how you all have taken to Midge! I've changed the lineup a little bit as I decided to make this its own part! It's like I said, I'm just letting my mind take me where it wants to go for this one!

❗️+18, Strong Language, Enemies to Lovers, Original Female Character, Short OFC, Bradley Bradshaw x Natasha Trace, flashbacks to college, strong language, insecure Midge, Alcohol, Halloween, mentioning stereotypes and pranks (scaring someone). 

#3.6k Words

Part 1 | Masterlist | Part 3

*THAT Morning Four Years Ago*

It wasn't one of Natasha's brighter ideas. No, it was probably one of the most foolish things she could have ever come up with since deciding to come live with you. But you suppose, in the end, you understood why she wanted to do it. 

Your shared apartment off campus was ideal for this type of thing. Away from prying eyes, away from campus security and the head of the dorm rooms. It belonged to your Aunt, once a warehouse now completely renovated into an industrial apartment. So Space was never an issue and you had no neighbours, hence why she wanted you to stay here as you completed your fine arts degree - every college frat boy and popular girl's dream come to life. 

It was also probably one of the reasons why Nat came up with this idea, wanting to get you up and out of your studio long enough actually to meet people. If you weren't going to detach yourself from a paintbrush, from your school notes, she was going to take matters into her own hands and bring people to you.

Halloween became her perfect excuse to do just that.

When she broached the topic of throwing a party one night as you stood in front of a massive canvas, you immediately wanted to throw your painter's palette at her head. Take college and a party on a night where anyone had any excuse to dress up as who they wanted and drink whatever they wanted to spooky season-themed music and put them together?

A terrible idea. Plain and fucking simple.

 It warranted trouble and unnecessary drama. Drama you wanted no part in. These things always got out of hand without meaning, too, and you knew someone would manage to hook up in either one of your bedrooms or even the bathroom before the night was over. Or passed out drunk on the floor.

She didn't protest when you said no. In fact, she left it alone for the rest of the week.

Then came the subtle bribes. 

A cup of coffee in a new Halloween-themed mug was in her hands as she woke you up one morning to ensure you'd make it to class on time. When you came home from working at the campus art store, there was a new set of black and orange acrylic paints sitting on the kitchen island. She had even planned a Halloween movie night - Practical Magic and Rocky Horror and Beetlejuice - with all the fixings and morsels of candy you could eat.

She asked you again two weeks to the day. While you were slightly more willing to agree that it might be a nice idea, you were still cautious about having a party... particularly about who she would invite.

While she might have left her sorority after all that drama, Nat still had friends in that community she was close with. Friends, you were positive, talked shit about you behind your back without really knowing you. The question of why Nat would befriend someone like you was probably the main course for the dishing of gossip.

Bradley would also come, which you didn't mind whatsoever. You liked him, and he treated Nat well. But Bradley's presence would warrant an invitation to his friends - literally the entire football team. And their friends. And their girlfriends.

Your answer was the same. 

"Still no."

But the bribes didn't stop there. No, they extended into multiple drives to Party City while saying the two of you could go to the big art store on the corner of Brant Street - the one you always said you wanted to go to but never had the time. It was in the Amazon orders that showed up at the door, and it was in the pack of Lime White Claws she'd bring home from the liquor store. It was the playlist full of instrumental Halloween covers, almost always on repeat as the two of you studied together.

Nat had been conditioning you to give in all along, slowly wearing you down while she prepared for the eventual, forthcoming yes.

When you finally figured it out, you were mad. Mad that she would do something behind your back like this and think she could treat you like that. But it didn't last long. Instead, you came to the realization that maybe she had been missing the social interaction that came with living with a sorority. That she had been missing her friends. She was living here now, and despite your best efforts, she still needed to know this place was hers as much as it was yours. 

Maybe hosting a Halloween Party wouldn't be a bad thing after all?

The morning of the party, you had woken up early. Earlier than Nat. It was still dark out as you dragged the many boxes of supplies and decorations out into the living space. You had thrown a few pieces of rolled-up fabric over your shoulder and tossed them into the big armchair once you figured out what boxes held what decorations. The first box had the string lights the art department had loaned you, and when you opened it up, readying yourself to untangle the monstrosities, you had the surprise of your life: uncovering a realistic spider thrown into the mix. 

Curse the bloody art department for playing a prank on you. 

When Nat finally got up that morning, sunlight now streaming through the windows, she was welcomed to the sight of said lights having been strung along the ground, ready to be put up and hung from the wall. She had to step around carefully and through the wires, worried about stepping on a light bulb, as you had aligned them all with the wall sockets, already attempting to daisy chain the hell out of them.

"Maeve?"

"Over here!" you called out.

Nat followed your voice down the hall, only to find you standing on a ladder, plastering the stripe of LED lights into the edge of the wall and ceiling. The piles of fabric had been pooled on the top step, and she figured out you were attaching them at the same time as the lights, letting the material fall down the wall to create an interesting ambiance for tonight.

"This is..." she trailed off, looking at all the boxes and materials you'd spent your waking hours organizing. You turned on the ladder, holding on to the edges of a black piece of fabric.

"It's a lot, I know," you quickly answered her. "But you told me to go crazy with decorations, and I am an artist."

"It's not that..." she trailed off, reaching down to scoop a handful of spiders into her hand, letting them fall back into the box. "I'm just wondering if we should have started yesterday."

You placed your hands on your hips, eyeing her carefully. "We couldn't have. You had that test, and I had that art project to finish."

You may have gone overboard for a simple Halloween party. But you wanted this to be special... and you ever half-assed anything in your life if you could help it.

"We can manage, don't you think?" you tried to convince her, turning back to hook the piece of fabric in your hand into the ceiling. 

Nat reached into the back hem of her sleep shorts, finding her phone plastered up against the skin of her back. "Nope, I'm going to call in the cavalry."

"The cavalry?" you questioned aloud. The second you let the black fabric fall to the ground, you realized who she was talking about.

"Oh, no way!" you shouted out, immediately stepping down from your advantage point to stop her from sending that text. Already, Nat had stood in the process of writing out said message when you hit the floor. You cursed yourself for leaving out so many tripping hazards as you raced to stop her.

"As much as Bradley would help because you asked him to, all the other guys on the team are going to scoff and laugh and not see the worth in something like this!"

Nat only laughed at your protest, hitting send and holding her phone out of your reach as you lunged for it. "You clearly don't know them like I do."

"No, I don't," you argued back, trying to swipe at her phone, hoping once you managed to get it, you could hit resend on the message before Bradley saw it. "I'm a small geek of a person that doesn't do all the popular group shit. I'm not even in their league!"

"That's not true, and you know it!"

Nat used your height to her advantage, holding her phone high above her head, well out of your reach. You even tried to jump, but Nat quickly saw what you were attempting to do. "Maeve, stop it," she chided playfully but with an undercurrent of seriousness. "You always sell yourself short. Those guys aren't the judgmental jocks you think they are. You need to meet people! Mingle!"

Giving up on the battle for her phone, you dropped your hands to your hips, cocking your eyebrow. "Really? Sell myself short?"

Nat grimaced, dropping her hand. "Sorry, poor choice of words."

You weren't mad. Not really. Cause the second you dropped your hand, you lunged, successfully grabbing her wrist only to peel her phone out of her hand.

"Maeve!"

You knew each other's passwords, so getting into her phone wasn't an issue. But it was too late. As you went to swipe for the message, there, on her screen, was a reply from Bradley.

We'll be there after lunch <3

"Shit!" You shouted out, dropping your head back on your shoulders. With your eyes closed, you held out her phone, urging her to take it back. She stood there with an amused smile on her face, crossing her arms as she took you in. 

"It's not going to be that bad, Maeve." 

"You don't know that," you cried out. "I don't want our place to turn into some frat house blowout." 

"Frat house blowout? Really?" she laughed, taking her phone back from you. 

"You know what I mean." 

You finally opened your eyes hesitantly to see a soft expression across Nat's face. Her optimism was infectious, one of the many things that drew the two of you together as friends. It brought you back to that moment in time when the two of you realized that in that small corner of the library, you'd have to pull an all-nighter to get your assignment done. 

It was that same face staring back at you, wide and hopeful, asking you to trust her. 

"The football team isn't that bad. It's only Bradley's friends who are coming to help out. I promise they will behave and at the first sign of trouble, or the first art diss, they will have to answer to me, okay?" 

You bit your lip, working the soft flesh hard between your teeth. "The first art diss, I don't care, I'm unleashing my wrath." 

Nat punched the air dramatically, her eyes sparkling with excitement and sheer amusement. You shook your head, wondering if you were going to come to regret this. 

"Besides," she added causally. "A lot of them are single?" 

You grumbled out a string of words, stomping off as best you could with the lights in the direction of your room, willing whatever you needed to get through the rest of the day would grace you with its presence. 

Nat was still laughing when you slammed the door. 

—

"You got your costume ready?"

You smirked at her words, knocking her shoulder as she sat next to you on the couch. You teased out, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

All had been forgiven once you remerged from your room, realizing that maybe a little help wouldn't be such a bad thing. The feeling didn’t last long, though, your head now full of completing thoughts such as, “They are not going to like me,” and “They are going to fuck up your decorations so bad nobody is going to want to come back.”

Maybe your guests will get too drunk to notice.

Nat smiled at you, all toothy and wide. "Maeve! You spent hours at that sewing machine. And here you were, so against having a Halloween party. Come on... I know you... you're excited!"

Hiding your emerging grin, you shook your head, pinning another spider into the fake cobwebs. "It's an art cliche, according to your standards."

She pouted, handing you another handful of the tiny black things. "Just tell me, please?"

Cupping the creepy fake things into your hand, you regarded her sad expression with a shake of your head, knowing you'd have to give her a little bit of detail if you wanted to get out of this one without completely spoiling the surprise.

"It's orange and inspired by a piece of artwork. That's all I'm going to say on the matter."

Nat dramatically stopped her foot out of good fun, making you chuckle.

"You're the one who didn't want to take that bird art history course I recommended. The orange would have been a dead giveaway."

"If it's anything like the dress you helped me make for mine..."

You shushed her, handing her the cobweb so she could put it in one of the boxes next to the couch.

The two of you were trying to organize the decorations for what you wanted into boxes and spread them across the apartment to make it easier for the guys. The hallway to your bedrooms, the bathroom, the kitchen, the living space, everything save for the things you wanted to tape to the ceiling and the lights, all had multiple piles. 

After you finished with the cobwebs, the two of you decided to cut lengths of streamers and start taping them to the ceiling in intricate patterns. Standing on a ladder, you reached out for a couple at a time from Nat, who was handing them to you with ease. You had your earphones in as you worked, as did Nat, who routinely counted out the same lengths of black and orange streamer each time. 

She suddenly tapped you on the leg, and you twisted on the step, pulling out an earphone.

"I'm going to make sure the drinks are ready for when the team arrives."

You waved her off, pushing the tiny device back in, hearing nothing but music as you stretched to pin the end of the streamer up against the junction of the wall.

You worked for a little bit more, alternating between the orange and black material, hoping it would look like what you pictured inside your head when all was said and done. That was until you felt another tap on the outside of your thigh.

Twisting on the ladder, you half expected to see Nat handing you another cutting of orange streamer. Only, you came face to face with Bradley, way too close for comfort, a shit-eating across his face. You shrieked, and the action was enough to make you lose your footing on one of the higher steps. 

Unfortunately for you, you lost your grip on the side of the ladder, and you flailed out your arms in some last-ditch attempt to save yourself. Your eyes instinctively slammed themselves shut against your will, and no matter where you flung your arms out to grab onto something, your arms only cut through thin air.

It happened in a matter of seconds, and you were hopeless to do anything but fall. 

Awaiting the impact of the hard floor, you stocked up, bracing yourself for the pain. Instead, you were surprised when you hit a pair of soft, strong arms, your body being cradled sideways across a massive chest.

It took you a second to realize there was an actual hand gripping your waist. And another holding your legs. The grip is tight, and whosoever arms you in, they feel secure, protective even. You even go as far as to say the chest you're pressed against is also reassuring, the sensation of firm muscles beneath the fabric of his shirt expanding and contracting against your body grounding. 

With the knowledge you weren't going anywhere, nor were you falling to your demise, you opened your eyes up to the face of your timely saviour. But it wasn't the outline of his nose or the sharpness of his cheekbones that drew you in. It wasn't the colour of his hair or the smile stretching across his face either. It was, to a pair of eyes, the greenest shade you had ever seen.

His mouth was forming words, but you couldn't hear what he was saying over the music blasting in your ears. Panting hard, you shifted in his arms, leaning down so he'd set you back down on your feet gently. Your fingers trailed down his arms, feeling the strong muscles flexing underneath your touch as you regained your footing.

You pulled your earbuds from your ears, gasping out, "What?"

"He said I shouldn't kill one of our hosts," Bradley pipped up from behind you, fiddling with one of the remaining balls of the streamer.

There was a quip forming somewhere in the back of your mind, readying itself to be unleashed on Bradley. Something along the lines of, “You don’t say?” or the more vulgar, “What the fuck were you thinking scaring someone on a fucking ladder?” but they never came.

You were too entranced by the man currently standing in front of you, a self-assured smirk across his face.

“Thank you,” you managed to exhale instead. The man dramatically bowed, holding out his hand palm up in a grandiose gesture that reminded you of a gentleman from a period drama. Still leaning over, he lifted his head, the same smirk still plastered across his face.

“Jake Seresin,” he offered coyly. “Your saviour.”

You laughed softly, trying to stop the shake in your hand as you reached for his. “Saviour, huh? Are you in the business of saving women from falling off ladders?”

Jake's reply came with a twinkle in his eye and a soft squeeze of his hand, "Just the pretty ones."

Warmth spread across your cheeks, and embarrassment flooded your chest. You hoped the blush wasn’t too noticeable or that your pulse wasn't jumping out of your throat. 

“Oh, don’t fall for his charms, Maeve. I mean, he has some redeeming qualities, but Casanova here is hardly worth a catch,” Bradley remarked with a casual smile, catching the ball of streamer he tossed up only to throw it at Jake. 

Jake’s hand flew up, grabbing the flimsy material effortlessly somewhere behind you. Standing there, you couldn’t help but feel a flutter in your stomach as he brought his hand between the two of you, handing it to you. You took it without bothering to look at his hand.

“Maeve,” he rolled the name off his tongue. “You don’t hear that name that often. It’s that Irish?”

You opened your mouth to reply with something about how it literally meant, ‘she who intoxicates,’ when Nat suddenly turned on a speaker, the apartment literally sounding like something out of a nightclub to remixed Halloween music. She ran towards you, and Bob, Ruben, Javy, and Mickey were on her heels. The second she was within arm's distance, she hooked her arm through yours, calling out, “Shots!”

You shot Jake a desperate look, mouthing, “Help me,” as you let Nat drag you away from him. Jake chuckled, following the pair of you to the kitchen with Bradley making a grab for the hair on the back of his head, successfully pulling him into a headlock only to mess up his hair.

Nat let you go when the pair of you reached the counter, making for the tequila first before Bradley. As the others crowded your kitchen island in search of a drink, Jake placed a gentle hand on your back, guiding you to the empty side of the counter. He seemed at ease as he carefully swiped two tiny red solo cups from under Nat's nose as she started taking orders from the rest of the group and placed them down on the counter. 

Jake reached for the bottle of whiskey and held it out between the two of you. He shook the glass bottle, making the brown liquid slosh around.

"Wanna shot?"

You nodded once, watching admiringly as Jake expertly twisted the cap and poured out two shots into the tiny red cups. From behind his frame, you could see the pumpkin Nat and you had carved a few nights ago into a Jack Skellington face, silently judging you. Setting the bottle aside, he handed you one of the cups, and you fought with yourself not to fumble it.

He held his up as you let your hand remain frozen mid-air, a toast on his lips. But somebody shouted out, "Wait!" and Jake dropped his hand, turning to face them with a scowl. 

"Everyone get over here!" Nat yelled out, pulling you away from Jake by your arm again before you could even utter a thanks. She made sure everyone gathered around in a circle with their chosen drink in hand before she lifted her cup up high.

"Cheers!" she shouted. Everyone mocked her shout, lifting all the tiny cups up to hers. The plastic crunched as they touched, liquid sloshing over the sides. Your laugh echoed Nat's as your hand became soaked, and on the opposite side of the circle, your eyes caught Jake's as he grinned at the sight of you.

You smiled right back, never taking your eyes off him as your lips met the tiny rim of your red solo cup.

She doesn't hate him yet!

Tag List:

@desert-fern @sarahsmi13s @teacupsandtopgun @fanficfandomlove @dakotakazansky @startrekfangirl2233 @hookslove1592 @dizzybee03 @kmc1989 @lynnevanss @dempy

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Taglist Form for those who are interested!

-Lucky/Wickett/Em

Part 3: You're so Vain - In progress

[blubrryy]

Hello All!!

My name is Bloo //She/Her//. I am 19, and I have been roleplaying for at least five or six years now! I started out on amino as a kid and then grew away of it (thankfully), so after a long break, I am looking for a new place to rp with people in my age range! would say I am a literate to Novella writer, but I do match my partner’s writing length. My rules and preferences will be included below!

❧

Preferences:

I will only be roleplaying with people 18+, obviously. If your age is not included in your bio I will not respond.

I am in the EST timezone, so keep that in mind in case our times conflict!

I would prefer a partner who enjoys playing colder, or more dark characters! Even if the plot doesn’t call for any romance. I just really enjoy playing softer characters (not “crybabies”, but less intense) and I like the contrasting personalities!

Pls be semi-lit to novella! Really anything in the middle of that range is perfect.

❧

I rp in and out of fandoms! But I don’t like to rp canon characters or doubling up.

I LOVE brainstorming plots and events in an rp! So an ooc is essential for me.

Ocs:

Ahlia(wip)

Atani(wip)

Fandoms:

The Last of us, Avatar(Blue People), Avatar(Bald kid), The Legend of Korra, Arcane, Spiderverse, Castlevania(Netflix Series), Any Rick Riordan Series lmao (“Heroes of Olympus” being a favorite)

Genres/Tropes:

Found family, Enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, survival together, fantasy, sci-fi, slice of life

❧

For pairings I mainly do MxF! But I have also done FxF! all my ocs are Pan so any pairing works really. I would just like to be the F in each.

Here is a short drabble about my favorite oc for you to get a feel of my rp style!

Ahlia is quiet, peaceful, and relatively easy-going. She’s very sympathetic and cares about others, yet tries to hide or reserve her own emotions, seeking instead to influence others through gentleness and cooperation. She is good at resolving conflicts and problems by way of making sensible compromises but, on the other hand, she may also be too self-sacrificing or unambitious in the name of avoiding conflict. Ahlia rarely becomes angered or annoyed with people, but it most often shows itself in silent treatments, sudden outbursts, and complaints under her breath.

❧

Rules:

❥I am Lit to Advanced Lit. But I do tend to mirror whoever I am rping with. So pls try to stay within the Lit/Adv range. I do reach the see all mark somewhat often, multiple posts if its warranted, but half posts are fine too! Especially if there isn’t much to write about lmao. I hate when people fill in reply space with unnecessary things just to get to the “see all”.

❥I dont rush for replies, so pls dont do the same. But if you will be very late for a reply for whatever reason, heads up would be nice. Even just saying you forgot or weren’t feeling it at the moment is alright, because it happens to me a lot.

❥Please pm me for rp requests if you are sure you will have the time. I get into so many good rps with people only for them to ghost me without an explanation. If you are unresponsive for more than two weeks without some sort of explanation or heads up I’ll probably leave.

❥I do enjoy some 🕊️ topics! But I also have limits. Topics like racism, homophobia, and excessive gore are not really something I am into. Though things like SA are alright for me as long as there is none of it actually taking place in the present of the rp. (Ofc I understand with the fandoms I am a part of (especially TLOU), the topic can be brought up and posed as a realistic threat). This goes for romantic and platonic plots.

❥I am not really fond of nsfw. Just makes me a bit uncomfortable to write. But I am open to fade to blacks after a certain point.

❥I am BLACK. PUHLEASE don’t message me with weird race kink shit or assume I’m white and starting being the most racist person alive omg I didn’t realize so many people were like that here😭

I hope we can create something fun together! Just comment or message me if interested!

[lasclkit]

Online screen sharing for support

ONLINE SCREEN SHARING FOR SUPPORT UPDATE

Each of each lines of communications are separately established connections between the same endpoints, with their own streams and bandwidth utilization. On one side a Skype for Business call will use Microsoft’s SIP platform to setup and negotiate a call or conference, leverage X-H264UC as the codec for the video streams, maybe opt for SILK as the audio codec, and then utilize RDP to share the desktop from one participant.The most significant difference between these two workflows are the lines of communications that are established, and how they are established, even though the resulting experiences are very similar. In the Microsoft world content sharing has leveraged Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) since this ability was first provided in Office Communications Server 2005. While a standard H.323 or SIP call can support sending a second stream of video displaying this content the actual standard that makes this possible are not H264 itself.Ī call established using the H.323 call control platform will actually use the H.239 standard for establishing content sharing, where as a call that instead leverages a standard video SIP platform will use Binary Floor Control Protocol (BFCP) for establishing content. The transmitted pixels could be arranged to display a smiling face captured by a camera, or instead show the familiar view of a user’s PowerPoint application captured by a video output device of some sort. The H.264 standard is simply a video codec which could include anything in the actual image. For those with a foundational understanding in the traditional video conferencing world that statement can sound odd. Unfortunately the problem with that simple statement is it can be interpreted differently depending on whom is reading it. Obviously companies looking to address interoperability scenarios with SfB and their standards-based video conferencing systems would sit up and take notice to these claims. Generically speaking it was communicated as some level of native support for “ H.264 content sharing” coming to the Skype for Business platform. Up until now there have been only a few places that this new feature has been discussed in the public realm, and most of that was before there was even a name for it. Make sure to also read the new article to understand the latest functionality provided by VBSS. While the concepts covered in this article are still applicable some of the limitations documented below are no longer valid.

ONLINE SCREEN SHARING FOR SUPPORT UPDATE

The Office 365 Roadmap currently lists this feature under the In Development section, but it is now available with the release of the Skype for Business 2016 client that is included in Office 2016.Ī newer article entitled Skype for Business VBSS Update has been posted which highlights even newer functionality in Skype for Business. With a more complete understanding of VBSS and its potential roadmap then the answers to various interoperability questions should be quite clear. This article will explain what this new functionality is, as well as what it is not. Most of the questions have been centered around the topic of video interoperability, thanks in part to some generalized statements. There is currently very little information available about this new functionality, and as with anything not well understood it seems to be creating more confusion than warranted. Video Based Screen Sharing (VBSS) is a new Skype for Business client capability that has for the most part flown in under the radar.