#this is like my ultimate 90s edit so far

[valyrfia]

People don't hate ferrarihive (thearchercore) because she vanishes what haha. they hate her ass because her posts are cringe as fuck and make Charles look like an idiot that everything he achieves is ONLY because of Max or only has to do with Max. Or she treats him like this fictional dude that only manages to do things because and for Max only and it's I fear common sense some lecfosi are gonna find that awkward and not, that cool? maybe. which like you said, they're free to block and move on. But you know, twitter is the place for haterism so if it gets negative opinions, well there's freedom on that too. Im not saying she deserves the hate but she can't possibly act shocked or confused about why the hate is coming. Like do you guys read yourselves? Almost 90% things posted make Charles look like an idiot which is not that deep since you're not exactly in charge of the pr and image of the guy (thank god for that). But you know, that will get fans with some sort of need to defend him, because that's almost the point of being a fan, defend and support, you know?

You asked me if I was reading my own posts, well I have to say, are you listening to yourself? Not only do you think the place to discuss this is in askboxes of two people who consider her a close friend, but what has she does to offend you? Exactly?

As far as I can see, all she does is make silly little edits that she has loads of fun making (for FREE mind you), and posts it on the internet. She's not at all like her two evil triplets @tsarinablogs and I who actively engage in discourse, she's literally just having fun with her fandom space by ONLY posting on two sites and then curating her community beyond belief here because (not to doxx her but) she's an extremely intelligent, extremely hardworking, and extremely employed woman with a job and a full adult life and THIS is her hobby to relax and have fun! Are you REALLY going to bitch and moan about it because....other people happen to like this content that she's making? Which is ultimately a tiny fraction of the F1 related content churned out daily? And is produced for her own enjoyment and anyone else's happiness is an unexpected bonus? It's reductive, it's pointless, and I'm actually going to fully point my finger at you and say it's mean. J'accuse.

"twitter is the place for haterism" no it's the place for awful insane groupthink which gains traction because it's the kind of content which keeps you on that screen selling your precious time and energy to advertisers and El*n M*sk. Also, I'm going to be blunt, love Charles, that's my driver and my blorbo and Forza Ferrari and he is the second coming and all the rest, but that multi-millionaire rich white man with extremely questionable morals does not need you defending his honour and integrity past "his driving on track is hot" and "he said what he said about the opposing team". THAT is defending and supporting as a fan. It is NOT choosing to bitch about people just doing their own thing for their own enjoyment on the internet! Please, I say this with all the care I can muster, touch some grass.

[warvariations]

Can I ask why you are soon to go through menopause?

And with respect of someone who doesn’t understand anything in the realm of trans/ hormonal dysphoria would you share a little bit of your struggle with it? I hope ultimately that you can be happy, full of rage or full of testosterone xx

Thank you for the good wishes, such a sweet way to put it!

I meant 'soon' as in my future, I'm not that close to menopause but I'm not that far from it either.

Most of my dysphoria has to do with how impaired my body/mind feel during 90% of my hormonal cycle, which is the part that aligns with testosterone decreasing. Basically I feel like I can only be fully functional for a very limited number of days a month, the rest of the time I'm fighting against what feels like having been injected with a drug against my will. I also know for sure that my (a)sexuality is deeply affected by being perceived as a woman / feeling dissociated from my own body, despite not really having any interest in sex beyond the way it facilitates romantic relationships due to the closeness it can foster, which I've always enjoyed. But it feels absurd to believe that I would be feeling better as a man, cause I actually don't know what it feels like to be a man – I cannot say I am a man personally, if anything I feel like a walking vagina bc I feel absolutely subjugated by the reproductive organs it represents, so the uncertainty of what's on 'the other side' makes it feel like a silly decision to make. Yet gender is very much at the core of one's subjectivity in the world we live in, and it's one of the few ways in which a poor person can shift others' perception of them, so it feels like a valuable option despite me not feeling that strongly about either genders (I do really identify with being non-binary but telling people I'm nb is not enough). Anyway the hormonal discomfort is starting to become really unmanageable, which is what's pushing me to consider testosterone again. I'm happy I waited (the first time I thought about it was in 2019) because now I know I've tried everything, and I don't even care about the physical changes I used to worry about anymore, like losing my hair or bottom growth (which used to freak me out cause I already hate my genitals as they are), I'm just SO TIRED of estrogen and progesterone fucking with me. I didn't get on T in 2019 because I was worried that I was just looking for a 'quick way out' of dealing with my trauma, and since then I've tried everything to heal or cope with my trauma and my dysphoria has only increased, and on top of that I'm exhausted and furious due to being forced to exist in what feels like a mutilated body, in the sense that I feel incapable of doing the things I want to do because of my dysphoria / what my hormones do to me every month. The other thing is that I used to feel like by 'giving up' on living as a woman I was giving up on believing that there is hope for a world where women can be happy, but at this point my survival feels more important than ideology. Also I do identify with having grown up as a woman on the internet and I wouldn't wanna go back and change that, same with being a girl child, which has kinda kept me from transitioning too. I was like if I relate to that it means I'm a woman, ain't I? But I'm not a girl child anymore, I'm an adult who is making the life of everybody around me hell cause I'm so dysphoric for 3/4 of every month I'm literally rolling on the floor growling and screaming at the top of my lungs (like actually).

But I want to have a baby and that to me is more important than my hormonal discomfort, I would never want to jeopardize my chance to get pregnant and carry a child, therefore I cannot go on testosterone now.

Hope that makes sense..... I've replied very quickly so I'll probably come back to edit it later

[anditendshowyoudexpect]

so, Namib is another interesting one

"another interesting" as in all these many dramas that had potential but there was also something off about them

the main plot has been pretty straightforward so far - it could really be a 90 minute Hollywood movie. a jaded woman meets a lost kid, uses him horribly out of misguided love and guilt, and in the last ten minutes gets a heart/has a change of heart and the found family lives happily ever after. all good here, no notes. the ending variations here would be the woman making the kid a star in the end, or setting him free to leave or stay, and him staying or leaving, leaving to return later or leaving and living a nice quiet life far away from all these horrible people. could still happen and every option is valid.

the topic is relevant, the depiction of show biz is poignant and realistic, the acting is consistently good (i may have some issues with some of Go Hyun Jung's acting choices but they are still consistent with her character, Ryeoun simply keeps breaking my heart). sure the dialogue is less than stellar, but i get every single major character and their motivations, however misguided and awful they may be. like, Lee Seung Joon in his villain era CEO Jang, who could have taken the path of most, i think, of those who lost family members directly or indirectly through violence and abuse and could make a difference, and said, "i'm going to do my best to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else", but said instead, "i'm going to make sure this happens to everyone else now". or Chris, another lost boy, who vacillates between bitterness/resentment, jealousy and love, but ultimately, i believe, lets love win. not to mention, of course, one of the least likeable main characters in recent history.

and the songs are nice. like, really nice. in contrast with Who Is She, another ongoing music-adjacent drama (which, like many before it and many yet to come after it, didn't know what it wanted to be, when it clearly should have been (and was most watchable when it was) a family drama), whose trot was head and shoulders above its very generic kpop/dance/disco whatever.

i can't really put my finger on what exactly is off in this drama. i can smell it, i can taste it, but i can't identify it. it's definitely not that it basically becomes misery porn at some point. maybe it's the technical stuff, something i don't have more intuitive understanding of. i can more or less notice it with editing, especially when it's impossible not to notice. like, when the ending of one episode and the beginning of the next one are different despite it being literally the same scene. it's harder with directing

my overall opinion can be reduced to a vague "it's both too much and not enough", and i'm not in the mood to dig deeper. it's not a bad drama but it's not ... a well done drama either. like most dramas, it just leaves me feeling this was a very half-hearted effort.

anyway, here's to many, many therapy sessions for every survivor of Namib

[queenkinqs]

bored asf here's my ranking of all the eternal sunshine covers bc there are so many of them

12)

at last place we have arguable the stupidest shit i have ever seen what the fuck. grateful this isn't the standard cover but everyone at republic records should be ashamed that this was even printed 0.75/10 she gets points for having the best booklet design but what the hell man.

11)

genuinely cannot believe this was almost the final album cover wth. IN THEORY i think this could have worked as an album cover but it's just so static and flat for my taste. i think a slightly more zoomed out version of the full photo could've been a lot better 2/10

10)

whatever. not album cover worthy and no blue light lameeeee 2.5/10

9)

this should be closer to the bottom but it looks less ugly in person which i guess means something 4/10

8)

kinda missed potential dare i say? i like the concern expression on her face but again, no blue light, so it feels like just another album shoot pic but not cover worthy 4.25/10

7)

these next two fit into the category of being good pictures but not entirely album cover worthy. i almosttttt like this one but there's something about it that doesn't entirely work for me. maybe it's just too blurry for my taste. 5/10

6)

i like this one is slightly better than prev. the blue light only illuminating her face is pretty interesting. very very big twilight zone (song) vibes here but its just kinda meh for me 5.5/10

5)

ok now we're getting into the ones i actually like yayy! this is just a throwaway cover for the a cappella version. but woww what a cover! with some slight editing to bring out the red and blue hues this cover could be official cover album worthy. 7/10

4)

yes i'm putting the offical cover in 4th IDGAF. i really like this one but i think it was chosen bc it was the first variant revealed and the overwhelming difference between the reactions of this cover vs the o.g influenced the change. with that being said, love this cover. it fits with the overall story of the album as ariana finds solace and protection in herself rather than external affections from her partners or fame. also something something ponytail pop star iconography i just wish there was some red in here lol 8/10

3)

YES. ALBUM ART MATTERS. i love this cover. sooo cute but features the symbolic "see no evil" pose! covering her eyes from light! denial before revelation! STORYTELLING!!! i am extremely stingy when it comes to headshot album covers (which is what 90% of pop album covers are) but this is such a gorgeous cover. i would buy this cover but it doesn't have the booklet design i like (yes i am that guy), HOWEVER, i would not have been mad if this was made the final cover 10/10

2)

gasp what a twist! second place! but in all seriousness this was a basically a tie as my preference for this and first place ultimately depends on my mood + if we're talking about the deluxe or not (because YES it does matter if it's the deluxe or not). n e ways this cover floored me the first time i saw it. stopped me in my tracks. i have my issues with ariana's album art direction (if this post was not obvious enough) so her ripping a shot from the short film that featured cinematography from jeff cronenweth of gone girl and the social network fame was such a far cry from her standing behind a white backdrop doing any random pose and calling it an "album cover". although this cover is derived from the supernatural section of the short film, i associate it with the closing track hampstead. it's her ascension beyond her pop persona and the public discourse attached to her name, she's leaving the planet and we can't come! gagged! 100/10

1)

thee definitive eternal sunshine album cover. like the second place cover there's so much mystique and intrigue here. she's either getting up or laying down, both of which suit the album's theme of being in denial of your reality before eventually accepting the truth. the soft warm light! the pitch black room! the therapy couch! genuinely what's not to love? the shadow of the window is just a small detail that i love that ties the cover together, really makes it seem like a screenshot from a nonexistent music video. i really love this cover because i think it can extend to both the standard album and the deluxe with it's surrealist dream-like imagery. i am so jaded that the fandom has entirely ignored this cover bc it is objectively speaking the best cover of the standard albums at least 100/10

[dufrau]

In no particular order, what are some of your fav wlw films? (cheesy ones allowed here) let’s have 6-8 movies here

I still remember how imagine me and you made my lady parts tingle 🤭

Sam 🌱

Okay so it's important to note that I am bad at watching movies so I have not seen most of the fan favorite queer movies of the past almost decade. Because I just havent gotten around to it. But anyway.

CAROL! - Perfect movie. The negative space! The quiet between words! The longing glances! How absolutely weird they both are in very different ways like neither of these people acts in remotely normal ways but it is so romantic and hot!

But I'm a Cheerleader - This one I went to see with my first gay friend in high school lol it has personal significance for that reason it was like the beginning of publicly exploring queerness for me. But it's also just a lot of fun. The soundtrack is great. It's silly but also smart, camp. I love it.

Gia - This movie is technically probably a bad movie? Even in high school when I was obsessively watching my taped-off-HBO copy of it every night I recognized how corny the editing was. But nobody has ever been more beautiful than Angelina Jolie in this movie and I love it and it still makes me cry. I think this movie was very much my gay sexual awakening. like i knew girls were pretty but I watched this and was like... "oh, yeah, no i definitely want to have sex with women".

Fried Green Tomatoes - They tried to make it not-gay but it's still so gay! Ruth Jamison my beloved! One time a girl called me a bee-charmer and that's what made me break the vow of celibacy I took during the 2004 red sox playoff run. We had already won the world series by then but I was still holding out superstitiously like "its worked so well so far!" but i am only human. Also I would eat that barbecue even if it was a human man it really did look good.

The Color Purple (1985) - Again they tried to make it not-gay but again it was still so gay. In a similar way as Fried Green Tomatoes this is like... I'm not sure it's a great adaptation of the source material but it is still a great movie? Everybody in this movie was perfect.

Bound - This was like a forbidden movie for me in my mind for so long because it was SO openly gay and everybody knew about it so it stressed me out? I don't think I let myself watch it until college and then I was mindblown. It's so good. It's good because it's gay and it's good in addition to being gay and the gayness is so wound up in the ways that it is good. Also it's so hot.

Foxfire - Was this gay? I think they kissed in it? But even if they didn't what they had going on was definitely gay. Plus Jenny Shimizu. This movie is quite terrible, like unapologetically pretty bad tbh. But the 90s aesthetic and vibes are charming and again Angelina Jolie was very pretty. I got really mad when I watched it the first time though because I was putting together an art school portfolio and her portfolio was just like scribbling on polaroids and it was so stupid i was like DO A LITTLE RESEARCH I BEG YOU. but hey it was memorable.

Do Revenge - This movie is just a lot of fun. It's gay but I wish it was gayer. Also I wish they got weirder with it earlier in the movie. But ultimately it's just such a good time and the maya hawke/camila mendes press tour was legendary so I can't complain.

but yeah i havent seen, like, almost any recent movies so dont interpret this as me not liking the new movies i just have attention span problems that stop me from watching new things very often.

[patrickpatrovichluxury]

OLD FASHION.

Thanks to my first and unique rafting company where I’ve worked as rafting and hydrospeed guide on Class IV/V river I collaborated from outside in big events.I was also participiant and member of the Staff of the G4 Land Rover Challenge (ex Camel Trophy) and for the Jeep CAMP/Chrysler.In G4 my team,wins the Italian selection of the G4 Land Rover Challenge where one of ours has been the only one among all the participants who will go to England for the world selections.I was in the first edition of the Italian selections of G4 Land Rover Challenge (Ex Camel Trophy),before the selections for the world edition,in Tuscany where I had to do the safety kayaker and then ask me to be a participant with a pleasant result.In the second edition,also in Tuscany,in a private estate of thousands of hectares as in the first edition,I did the safety kayaker as well as in the Chrysler "Jeep Camp" in Croatia (for the European meeting).I did also a photoshooting with 2 kind of cameras using color and B/W.

In addition to extreme sports that I practice for work and fun,I follow anything that runs above 200 kilometers per hour,on two and four wheels and in the air. So anything that goes fast.

Personally,I have driven cars up to 220 km/h and motorcycles up to 310 km/h.

After a serious motorcycle accident run over by a sober Italian,I was also a case of Italian medical malpractice with wrong operations and treatments in an Italian hospital,but as soon as possible I got back on the bike.Then I followed rafting and hydrospeed courses,taking exams and earning licenses and I became an extreme athlete with rafting and hydrospeed,improving my kayak skills,following dozens of experts worldwide in watersports for my rafting company that now operates in 90 nations worldwide.Doing then,a rafting guide,a rafting instructor,the trip leader,the hydrospeed guide and an hydrospeed instructor for commercial trips and journeys.

Today my COMPANY is a Constructions Company,a Rafting Company,a Photo Agency and an ADV Agency.

Bookings,reservations,orders and quotations at: patrickcarafagroup@gmail.com www.linktr.ee/patrick.carafa

All about the CEO,here: www.linktr.ee/patrick.carafa

My AUTOBIODATAPHY,here: www.flickr.com/people/communitycation

ALL my Social channels,here: www.linktr.ee/patrick.carafa

That's why,I inspire,I'm copied,I'm imited,I'm envied,like here: www.pinterest.it/patrickrafting/we-inspire

I lived in Budapest,my second home,Rimini,where I was born and returned,Bologna,where I studied as a boy and had fun when I grew up,the UK where I studied and had fun,central Italy from the sea to the Apennines,New Zealand in hundreds of its aspects,the Italian Alps both in summer and in winter only for unconventional sports.I have instead traveled to other 15/20 States…My AUTOBIODATAPHY,here: www.flickr.com/people/communitycation

EXCLUSIVE CONTENTS,OFFERS,DEALS AND EPICS,NEWS,CURRENT PHOTOS and VIDEOS,UNSEEN,UNHEARD,UNLOCKED,ULTIMATE AFFAIRS,BOOKINGS,RESERVATIONS,ORDERS and QUOTATIONS ONLY ON OUR PRIVATE CLOUD by the CARD,here:

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For our FRANCHISING,contact us at: patrickcarafagroup@gmail.com www.linktr.ee/patrick.carafa

[not-poignant]

!!!

palmarosa and 5, 6, 11 & 12 for the fic ask thingy pls! (If that’s too many questions for one ask then just. Any of those. Ty!)

Re: Palmarosa - okay let's gooooo

5: What part was hardest to write?

So far, the sex scenes (although see below for some of my issues re: behind the scenes researching). They honestly are often the hardest parts to write. But also, Astarion is rather more sex averse than I initially imagined him being, but as I've been writing the more 'concrete' fic, I'm finding he is very sex averse and has a lot of reasons to be, and as a result it's slowed Raphael down. It's not bad, but I already struggle with sex scenes in general just because I want to craft something decent.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

Mmm. Astarion's a vampire and I actually (can't believe I'm admitting this) don't really love writing vampires! Writing creatures who drink blood to live I think is a tentative first for me, lol. Otherwise there's more similarities than differences. Like, the fandom and characters/pairing are different, but a lot of the themes are the same.

I'd say this is the first world I've written in re: fandom that has this much lore to go through, and almost all of it contradictory in some fashion. So I'm having to do more research kind of like through three separate fandoms to find what I want, or to realise I have to invent something new. That side of things is challenging.

11: What do you like best about this fic?

The crunchy dynamic between a not particularly pure-of-heart vampire spawn and a definitely not pure-of-heart devil. I really enjoy their banter. They're both very theatrical and performative. They both like a good show. They both think elements of violence are fun. They're both not particularly concerned with being good people every second of every day.

I get to have Astarion say some really fun lines, and that gets to be relatively in character. I get to have Raphael say some truly unhinged purple prose bullshit, and that's also pretty in character for him! I think I also really enjoy matching the voices as much as possible. I sometimes feel like I can 'hear' them saying their lines, and that feels really good.

12: What do you like least about this fic?

Probably the lack of easy ways to research the dialogue and world etc. I was very spoiled by like... the Dragon Age: Inquisition wiki, and even the Stardew Valley wiki. They have most of the dialogue and written parts there. The BG3 Wiki is kind of terrible for almost everything I need to know and I'm surprised when it can actually help me. It's also not immediately easy to add to, which I've thought of doing in the past (I have a Wiki account, and I have edited/added to them before - but Fextralife is different). And then also, a lot of it is contradictory.

The game writes pretty significant character growth in many different directions which means you can canonically write Astarion as two completely different characters in terms of morality and it still be...canon compliant. And then on top of that, there's just typos and issues - Korilla is 'Korrilla' in almost all the correspondence and texts, and 'Korilla' in the dialogue. So which is it? Do I just get to choose for fun? (I do).

As a result I've read hundreds of raw datamined dialogue files, and that's just laborious, because 90% of that is irrelevant to what I'm doing. In general, there's not a ton to hook into for Raphael, and some of his best lines are actually written down or transcribed.

I don't think anyone will ever truly know how much behind the scenes research I've done for what is ultimately a very Id/ridiculous fic, but I've done a metric fuckton of it. And when people then go 'oh but actually Gale is an X and you got that wrong' I want to claw my own eyes out, because I've spent at least 50 solid hours researching and compiling a fairly information dense Obsidian Vault for worldbuilding, and when I get basic things wrong it makes me want to cry and then immediately quit, lmao.

(In case anyone wants to see what that looks like so far:

--

From this fanfic meme!

[secondhandnesting]

OMEGA HALSIN. Thoughts please

oo okay okay. Preface that I am barely into the game. 23ish hours and I could start Act 2 I think, but I haven't finished everything in Act 1 yet (edit: this has been in my drafts so long that i am now further into the game, almost 90 hours across a couple different playthroughs. I still don't know him as well as I would like) That being said, I don't know much about the characters other than the little I've seen in the game, some of the fanon stuff, and some wiki readings. I've also not fully figured out my general 'verse yet, so it's a little wobbly lol. I'm also trying not to get too into everything, becuase I do want to make an individual post about the dynamics.

For starters, he seems very family-oriented. From everything I've seen, he seems to want a family (even if it's in a non-traditional sense). I usually associate family stuff like that with Alphas and Omegas. Not that Betas can't want a family/be family-oriented, but I think it's usually more associated with the other two. (I will try to make a post on this on it's own at some point)

Okay, so as mentioned in this post ;), Halsin is playful. I see this as more of an Omega trait than anything else. Omegas can/will often act as a sort of court jester/comedic relief sort of role within their pack. They want everyone to get along (or be able to stand each other as well as they can) and be happy. It isn't that Alphas and Betas can't be playful and silly, but the behavior is seen far more in Omegas. One of their ultimate desires in their life is to have connection and a sense of belonging, and self-preservation (bit of a misnomer, as this sp can extend to important things like packmates, nests, etc). Omegas can act as the court jester. Mentioned here, "He must suffer terrible abuse at the hands of the king and court, but he is undeniably loved. Like a jester, the omega is often the one to instigate play and act the fool." Now, I don't necessarily agree with the abuse and mistreatment, but the rest is true. (I go a bit more into the "self-preservation" in this post).

It's also a case of me not really seeing him as the other types? I would say (again I have limited knowledge) that the position of power he has as the archdruid is very much... a performance? As he says (at some point and in better words), he took the job because it needed to be done, and people who seek such a position of power are generally people you should keep an eye on. I can see some Beta in him, but I feel like all the Alpha that's present is simply because it needs to be; he had to step up to the plate, so to speak, and part of that involves Alpha-like duties. In the post I linked most recently (my own post), I mention how I see Omegas as the ones most likely to sort of change roles as needed. I see a lot of people put that on Betas, but I think that generally comes from a "beta is the default/other option" view. Which is fine if that's what people want for their own verses, but I want my betas to be just as much beta as the alphas are alpha and the omegas are omega. Since Omegas (in my eyes) are generally more about "preserving the peace" or, more selfishly, ensuring they have a place to belong, I see them as more likely to do what they deem necessary to keep things together.

[patheticbatman]

Anyway because I’m insane I started collecting these little princess dolls (cheap and don’t take up a lot of space) and decided that the honorary princesses needed dolls too, so… I’m painting them. I’m not a great painter but I’m enjoying myself. Here’s a current picture of all the dolls I have at college. Some of the minis I bought and found out were from slightly different lines, but oh well.

At home I have a NYC Barbie in a relationship with a Malibu Barbie (neither have hair ofc they’re old) and a Wonder Woman dating my Captain America. Malibu Barbie and CA had the Kit (mini American girl doll in the Barbie dress way in the back) but then divorced peacefully. But they don’t need painting so they stayed back there.

Kit came because she’s the princesses’ friend. I also acquired a Halle Ariel* and a Raya (Hariel needed an adult friend and Raya was on sale) while here but that’s it!!! No more. Raya is way in the back and Hariel is sitting in front of her because her legs are easier to move.

*Halle Bailey’s Ariel is Hariel, and Jodi Benson’s is Jariel

Mostly rambles and a couple more pics in greater detail under the cut. I did some work on them a while back and I feel like showing off now lol

So! Some of these are modded heavily, and a couple weren’t super visible in the picture above, and I just now decided to switch the bodies on two of them. Oh well! I just wish I still had the before pictures (phone broke and memory wasn’t saved sadly).

I tried to match up hair textures and lengths when possible (had to fudge it a bit with Mirabel, because the closest other doll that kind of matched was a Merida, and I had to order her separately, while the other dolls were quite cheap), but the bodies, I couldn’t do as much. I just tried to match the form of the dress as much as possible. Off the shoulder dresses with off the shoulder dresses, etc. Some of them, I’m just going to paint ‘empty space’ over the body do the dress to match the silhouette or features more correctly.

Now to describe the princesses!

1. First off we have Eilonwy from The Black Cauldron. She has a young Blue dress Elsa body & head (Belsa). I melted the braid and added some hot glue, and Eilonwy had a headband anyway. Her head is done, I didn’t have to do much anyway because Eilonwy is similar to Elsa in terms of eye and hair and skin shades.

2. Second we have Esmeralda from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I tried editing her hair for a different girl but ultimately decided against it. Her head is pretty much done, just need to do body and jewelry now. She has an Ariel head and body. She’s my favorite 90s unofficial princess by far. I added her headband ‘tail’ via hot glue. I may have to paint it more.

3. Third is Isabela from Encanto. I tried giving her nose an arch with hot glue, with playing results. I might change it later, but not today! Otherwise, her head is done. She has a Rapunzel body and a loose-haired white outfit Elsa head (Welsa). Originally, that head was going to be used for Raya, and then I stumbled upon a Raya doll!

4. Fourth is Hariel from the new The Little Mermaid, whose hair I had the most fun painting. I did a bunch of layers of different reds, with a layer or two of pink and orange. I gave her a blue flower, and I think I may need to give her headband another coat, but she’s pretty much ready for body work! She’s Moana head & body.

5. Fifth is Vanellope from Wreck It Ralph. She has a Blue dress Anna head (Banna) whose braids I cut off and replaced with a ponytail created by hot glue (it’s bad but not that bad). She’s not a particular favorite, but she did meet a bunch of the princesses, which I love thinking about, and she’s a princess. So yeah. She’s one of the dolls whose bodies will be switched. Right now her head is done and she’s pictured with a Kristoff body, but I’m going to switch that with Namaari’s current body, that of Anna’s purple overcoat-dress (Panna), because I think having actual pants would be more important on the Namaari doll than the Vanellope doll. And I originally had it like that anyway. I’ll have to wash off some of the paint. I cut off the shoulder and mitten ruffles, and thankfully that’ll fit in with Namaari well.

6. I didn’t plan it this way but the sixth doll is Namaari from Raya and the Last Dragon. Her head was…. A ton of work. So because I knew she had short hair and no other princess head was going to match with that, I bought a kristoff doll for her body and head. I tried melting the hair all to one side to give her that fringe, but it didn’t super work. So I recreated it with hot glue! I shaved off some of the eye bulge - all the Kristoff head have an eye bulge that isn’t flattering. I also cut down on the cheeks a little, because Namaari doesn’t really have that face shape: she is currently pictured with a Panna body (see above) but she will have a Kristoff body (now I need to paint the skin lol.) And I need to paint her jewelry.

7. Number 7 is Dolores from Encanto. She also has an old Kristoff head, because the ears were way more pronounced, which fit with her power. I burned her head smooth and also cut down on the cheeks and eyes some. Her hair bun is stolen from the Tiana doll, because Tiana is a one bun girl but they gave her two! So I cut both off, reaffixed one to the middle of her head and gave the other to Dolores. I added her bow via hot glue bulges, and her body is Belle: I just have to paint the dress now!

8. Eighth up is Asha, from Wish! I haven’t seen ANY dolls out for her yet, only costumes, so I think in a way, I kind of have her first doll! She has a Moana head, and her freckles came out a little wonky but ultimately cute. Again, I didn’t feel like cutting off the flower that comes with the Moana head, so I painted it a different color - it’s yellow, so that I have all three primary colors for the flowers and because it should contrast nicely with her dress with I paint it. She has a Welsa body, as the silhouette isn’t too different from what’s been shown so far in trailers.

9. Ninth is Mirabel from Encanto! Considering I don’t know what I’m doing, I think her glasses came out decently! She has a Belle body and head. I’m still considering cutting off the middle of her hair and reattaching the ends close to her head, so that it’s short and more curly looking. We’ll see. After that, it would just be the dress - which has a more scooped neck thing going on, similar to her actual dress.

10. Now Tenth is Luisa from Encanto! She has a Cinderella head and body (for the ponytail and shoulder poofs, respectively) and I gave her muscles by connecting her shoulder puffs to her arms and making biceps via hot glue. She just needs her hair tie and dress done.

11. Eleventh is Sisu from Raya and the Last Dragon. Her hair took forever to turn white, despite starting out blonde, but it was fun when I added the blue and purple streaks. She has a Rapunzel head (bangs and length worked out nice) and a kristoff body - her pants are important. Thank god I’m done with her head. I cut off the mitten ruffles on the arms.

12. Twelfth is Kida from Atlantis. I’m the closest to being done with her! She has an Aurora head (basically a last head left that had the right length hair sort of thing) and a Moana body. I added her middle sash thing via hot glue, and I just have to finish adding color to that and detail to her skirt and her jewelry, and she’ll be done! I had a ton of fun with her - I even gave her a different color mascara, dark blue, because the closeups of her face in the movie have her eyelashes as dark blue. I think she’s turning out super well.

13. Thirteenth (<3) is Sofia from Sofia the First. I’m not super attached to her, but I do think she counts. I forgot her lips whoops. But after that it’s just her dress and I’m good! She has a Belle head (no hair painting thank god) and a Cinderella body (it was the last ball gown left sort of thing).

14. Fourteenth Is Gabriella, the Deaf mermaid based on a fan from the Jariel Little Mermaid series. Idk why, but when I was little, my cousins and I often watched this dvd of a select few episodes from the various 90s tv shows for the Disney princesses, and my favorite was the one with Gabriella and the wishing star. I’ve only seen a few other episodes since, but I think I can confidently say it’s still my favorite. This one I’ve been especially excited to work on. She has a Snow White* head and body (I cut off SW’s high collar) and I’m going to design her (it’s probably going to be simple but still) a dress based on her mermaid tail. I did a lot of color layering for her hair, partly because it started with a black base which is iffy to paint over, and I love it! It’s brown with a lot of crimson. Anyway, I consider her an honorary princess because she’s Ariel’s friend and I love her. And I think she’s turning out great! Head is done, just need to do body now.

*I briefly considered this head for Mirabel, but decided it fit Gabriella better, and I’m satisfied.

15. Fifteenth is Giselle. Her character was supposed to become a Disney princess, but Disney tried to stiff the actress and then backed out of that end of the branding to punish her. That plus me liking the movie means I’m including her. She has a Panna head an Aurora body (because I’m doing her initial Pink dress with the low shoulders, which I love.) I forgot she had flowers and stuff in her hair until just now, so I’ll add those and finish up there dress later.

16. Sixteenth and last of the edited princesses is Melody from the Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea. She’s Jariel’s daughter, and totally counts as a Disney Princess imho, because she’s the only canon child of an official one, she’s from one of the few good Disney sequels, and I love her. She gets a Cinderella head, because of the ponytail, and a Banna body, because I ran out of kristoff bodies and this dress is big enough I could paint her pants onto it. She should just need her body done now.

NOW! To show them off in order from the original picture. (I put oldest movie ones in the back, newest in the front. I also tried to arrange the ones I’m working on like this, so it goes from Eilonwy to Asha in terms of the dolls lying down. If there are multiple characters from the same movie, it goes in order of appearance)(the animals are scattered about and are not put in order). Now please, go left to right.

In the very very very light pink circle, we have Adult (Big) Raya, Kit, a fallen over Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Jariel, Belle.

In the orange circle: Adult (Big) Hariel, Eilonwy, Gabriella, Esmeralda, Melody, Olaf

In the yellow circle: Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel

In the green circle: Kida and Giselle

In the blue circle: Merida, Amber*, Kristoff , Elsa, Anna, Sven, Elena**, Moana***, Raya

In the purple circle: Vanellope, Sofia, Namaari, Sisu, Mirabel

In the last picture, because they didn’t all fit on that shelf: Dolores, Isabela, Luisa, Hariel (little) & Asha

*she came with a couple others dolls, she’s Sofia’s stepsister from Sofia the First. I figured I might as well keep her, and she has a wide base, which is nice for standing up.

**Elena is kind of from a spin-off of Sofia the first called Elena of Avalor, and the doll doesn’t do her very good justice, but she’s basically a princess and she at least had a doll from the same line as the others.

***I found this Moana with white paint freckles, likely as a misprint situation, at the store. And I love that she’s a rare Moana in because of her unusual appearance so I’m keeping her like that :)

[big-waifu]

BOOK: #3

DATE: Summer/Fall 2003

I saw it fit to produce a diagram of Pyre’s design changes throughout the years I have been drawing him. I think it’s nice to have a record of styles in which I drew characters- though that implied that I had any real method of drawing Pyre and that he wasn’t just kind of the one guy I could draw. Additionally in this case each iteration is more or less fabricated. It’s not as if I’d come back to this years later and keep drawing one of my flagship OCs with new perspective every so often. It’d be cool if I did that, huh?

Of note is that the first Pyre on the top left is from a single drawing I did of him a year or so prior. I’ve mentioned before that Pyre’s Story is something I came up with a bit before I actually was able to make anything of it (though I think I did make a crappy Click and Create game using edited Megaman sprites.) This first drawing is lost as far as I can tell, and it is almost nice that I preserved the design in some way, because I more than likely would have forgotten this single drawing ever existed. Notice how it is a bit divorced from the anime influenced trappings in style. At least, sort of. I had not quite empowered myself to train in the styles of my 90s anime masters.

Another quick note is the dotted eyed Pyre is actually a “western cartoon style” Pyre I had drawn a few times in book 2, but the pages featuring this style were otherwise kind of uninteresting to share and ultimately is sort of an evolutionary dead end with the character.

Well I guess all of his designs are dead ends now, in a sense.

[2bstudioblog]

When Music Gets Stolen

They say good composers borrow, but great composers steal. Yet, the real theft occurs when a music producer steals someone else's work and claims it as their own. Here’s my story.

The Vault

Imagine a vault, not just a physical one, but a psychological stronghold meant to protect the music I created under a previous employer. In my mind, that work was lost when the company dissolved. I knew, ethically, that if I ever wanted to revisit that music, I’d have to start from scratch—new arrangements, new sounds, the whole nine yards.

But then there are the "splicers." These folks can’t create from thin air. They don’t even touch a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). Instead, they cobble together sounds from platforms like Splice and pass it off as music. This particular splicer stole files from our “off limits” vault—with all of my performances, edits, and all. He had no right to access them.

The Implications

Recently, I discovered that an album with this stolen work was released on iTunes under my ex co-producer's name. Listening to it was like hearing a reflection of myself—90% of the music was mine. His only contribution? Downloading samples and having me edit them. I recognized every song, every 808-bass line. His effort boiled down to typing things into a search prompt.

Anger and Realization

Initially, I thought the stolen tracks were recent projects. However, as I listened further, I realized they were older songs, created while I was on salary under different management. That’s when it hit me: this man has no shame. His partner left him because stealing is wrong, and now I understood why. My first thought was, "Where's my name? Where's my credit?" But then, I realized something crucial—if my name were attached, I’d be a co-conspirator in this mess.

So, I made the ultimate move: I refused to engage. He played a terrible game of chess, and now he’s facing the consequences. I distanced myself, and I’m better for it.

The Future

From here on out, I’m making myself unavailable to him. I’m not a ghostwriter, and my work isn’t here to build someone else's reputation. He even recorded one of my songs in L.A. without my knowledge, pretending he did it all by himself. That was the final straw. My time and talent are too valuable to be exploited. He might try to use his connections as leverage, but I’m not biting. If I were in the same room in L.A., everyone would see through his façade. They’d realize they had the wrong guy in the studio.

The Natural Problem

Let’s think three-dimensional chess. His buddies in the States will listen to this album, be blown away, and ask him for favors to produce more AAA-artists. Since he’s in Japan, they’ll think he’s got some magic touch. And he’ll ask me to do the work—probably for a rate far below what it’s worth. If it’s a high-ranking artist, I’ll charge more. It’s that simple. I’m done being kicked around like an empty can down the street. I’m going to be the hardest thing his foot hits, stopping him in his tracks. This has gone too far already.

And if I say I can’t do it because of time constraints? Well, that’s on him and his poor time-management skills. Wasting my time and bandwidth, all while calling himself a music producer? Give me a break.

Copium

How do I cope with this? It’s a fun word, but the reality is, he’ll dangle the chance to work with top directors in L.A., like F. Gary Gray, as a carrot. But I know better. I had the chance to score a Super Bowl commercial Directed by F. Gary Gray, starring LeBron James, and the director loved the music—though I’m sure he wasn’t told I wrote it. I was kept in the shadows while the "hack" and his partner took credit.

If F. Gary Gray ever reads this, he should know the truth. The Super Bowl commercial went with a Chicago Bulls chant in the end, but the original score was mine. I still have the alpha footage, pre-CGI. It’s weird, but it’s fun. F. Gary Gray, if you’re out there, let’s talk.

Wrapping Up

On a positive note, Karma will have its day. I’ve been writing music for 35 years, and I’m not about to ghostwrite for anyone. I want to be a collaborative asset and earn my right to work with others. Unfortunately, some people only see dollar signs when they look at my talent. They don’t want me in control; they want me second-guessing myself. But here’s the thing—music theory is king, and I know it.

Finding out about this theft today has been eye-opening. I’m glad my name isn’t attached to this illegal project. Eventually, someone with a moral compass will speak up to the third party, and the real criminal will be revealed. It’s been an insightful day, even if it came during a typhoon. It gave me time to reflect.

Goodnight, everyone.

[thelongestway]

How to Spot Electoral Fraud From Poll Dynamics: An Introduction

Quick edit: I see the screenshots didn't copy right from my drafts - give me a moment, I'll get them back up momentarily. This mostly concerns p. 2-3.

Edit 2: Should be fixed now. Enjoy the read; use it well.

All right, everyone. Now that the polls are over and done, I would like to use this little situation as an object lesson in a very important thing in our current political climate of right-wing takeovers.

I want to teach the several thousand of you reading this how to spot electoral fraud from the dynamics of a poll, and specifically how to tell the difference between the result of a successful campaign and ballot dumping, because both happened during this game.

Buckle up, this is going to be long.

As you do that, I want to make three things perfectly clear:

1) What the @queereads-bracket administration does with this information isn’t my concern. To me, a poll between books on tumblr is ultimately just a game, and its actual outcome doesn’t matter.

2) What does matter to me, though, is that someone decided to commit voter fraud in Ursula K. Le Guin’s name in the semifinals of this bracket.

It matters to me because I have a) been on-and-off involved in volunteering for watching against electoral fraud for many years now, b) always loved that there was an author out there who wrote with a wonderfully anthropological voice. So even though I was campaigning for the other side in this specific poll, the thing that really pushed me towards doing the write up rather than letting it lie is that I was particularly sad to see this happen on Le Guin’s poll and in Le Guin’s name. She would have hated this.

3) I think Le Guin would have liked for these results to be turned into an object lesson, so I’m doing this. Go forth, queers, and use the knowledge that voter fraud is often detectable in your actual activism.

With that out of the way, I will start with a short summary:

Last week’s poll between Ursula K. Le Guin’s book The Left Hand of Darkness (LHOD) and Derin Edala’s Time to Orbit: Unknown (TTOU) had been spoofed in favor of LHOD by either one person with a bot, or two-four people manually creating accounts for the last 90 minutes of the poll.

How I know this: Le Guin’s previous maximums on the @queereads-bracket poll was approximately 1450-1476 people, reaching these numbers in previous polls against other top runners such as The Locked Tomb and The Murderbot Diaries series, and going no higher even in their biggest races. In the case of the TTOU/LHOD poll, the final maximum was 1658. Which, in itself, would not have been suspicious: these are the semifinals, and the audience for the @queereads-bracket polls has been growing.

However, vote acquisition for Le Guin has been slowing down for the entire last day of the vote, hit its previous maximum of 1480 people about 2,5 hours before the poll was due to end, after which it stopped almost completely for an hour. Then, approximately 90 minutes before the poll end, the voting in Le Guin’s favor picked up again and quickly reached a remarkably steady 2 votes-per-minute velocity. This increase in votes happened without much visible promotion, advertising, breaking Tumblr containment (i.e. spreading to other platforms such as Reddit), or engaging a popular internet personality in support (as far as it is known to me). The voting continued that way until the polls closed, resulting in approximately 150 new votes in favor of Le Guin submitted in rapid succession (a full 4% of the total vote) and a narrow win by 2 (sic!) votes.

Theoretically, it might have been possible for someone to quietly organize 150 completely new people away from the main voting platform, then have these 150 people hold off from voting until the last minute so that the other party does not have time to organize back, and then have their silent friends press buttons for 90 minutes at an exact pace with no detectable dips and stops. But while theoretically possible, it can be confidently said that such a feat of organization is both extremely difficult and highly unlikely. It is, however, a lot easier to have either one person use a bot and give it a steady pace of votes, or have 2-3 committed people sit down and create burner accounts for the last 90 minutes of a vote, giving their opponents no chance to rally.

If whoever was behind that last push actually did community organizing—my hat is off to you, and I want to pick your brain, because you’ve achieved something I consider to be nigh impossible. But I don’t think you did. And I want you to know that I see you, and that I hope a lot of queer people learn from what you did and use it in defense of their rights in the future.

Now, for those who want full details and numbers, this write-up has several parts:

Part 1: Theory and vocabulary behind polling predictions and fraud watch – this is a brief layman’s summary of key aspects of poll watching and how online polling differs from IRL polling.

Part 2: What actually happened? Poll event timeline and voting dynamic – this is a walkthrough, using my real-time commentary to a group of friends on the LHOD/TTOU poll above to show how forecasts are done, how they change in real time as a poll progresses, and how they can be used to uncover voter fraud in process or soon after the votes are counted.

Here, I want to note that I was involved in the poll on the TTOU side and the walkthrough reflects that—you may even have seen the propaganda I submitted. So you get this analysis from the point of view of an observing participant. It is my hope that this is not detrimental, but in itself valuable—after all, in real life, everyone is a subject of the political process.

Part 3: Possible remarks on and objections to this analysis – these are the possible limitations/additional information that didn’t fit into the analysis proper.

Final words – self-evident.

WINNER: Queer Fiction Free-for-All Book Bracket

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants spend most of their time without a gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.

Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.

Science fiction, classics, speculative fiction, anthropological science fiction, distant future, adult

Runners-up:

🥈 The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells 🥉 Time to Orbit: Unknown series by Derin Edala 🥉 Nimona by ND Stevenson

View the spreadsheet of all books from this bracket here

View the full seeded matchup here

This is Left Hand of Darkness's second win, after previously winning the Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket!

[patrickpatrovichluxury]

JEEP ON THE BEACH.

Thanks to my first and unique rafting company where I’ve worked as rafting and hydrospeed guide on Class IV/V river I collaborated from outside in big events.I was also participiant and member of the Staff of the G4 Land Rover Challenge (ex Camel Trophy) and for the Jeep CAMP/Chrysler.In G4 my team,wins the Italian selection of the G4 Land Rover Challenge where one of ours has been the only one among all the participants who will go to England for the world selections.I was in the first edition of the Italian selections of G4 Land Rover Challenge (Ex Camel Trophy),before the selections for the world edition,in Tuscany where I had to do the safety kayaker and then ask me to be a participant with a pleasant result.In the second edition,also in Tuscany,in a private estate of thousands of hectares as in the first edition,I did the safety kayaker as well as in the Chrysler "Jeep Camp" in Croatia (for the European meeting).I did also a photoshooting with 2 kind of cameras using color and B/W.

In addition to extreme sports that I practice for work and fun,I follow anything that runs above 200 kilometers per hour,on two and four wheels and in the air. So anything that goes fast.

Personally,I have driven cars up to 220 km/h and motorcycles up to 310 km/h.

After a serious motorcycle accident run over by a sober Italian,I was also a case of Italian medical malpractice with wrong operations and treatments in an Italian hospital,but as soon as possible I got back on the bike.Then I followed rafting and hydrospeed courses,taking exams and earning licenses and I became an extreme athlete with rafting and hydrospeed,improving my kayak skills,following dozens of experts worldwide in watersports for my rafting company that now operates in 90 nations worldwide.Doing then,a rafting guide,a rafting instructor,the trip leader,the hydrospeed guide and an hydrospeed instructor for commercial trips and journeys.

Today my COMPANY is a Constructions Company,a Rafting Company,a Photo Agency and an ADV Agency.

Bookings,reservations,orders and quotations at: patrickcarafagroup@gmail.com www.linktr.ee/patrick.carafa

All about the CEO,here: www.linktr.ee/patrick.carafa

My AUTOBIODATAPHY,here: www.flickr.com/people/communitycation

ALL my Social channels,here: www.linktr.ee/patrick.carafa

That's why,I inspire,I'm copied,I'm imited,I'm envied,like here: www.pinterest.it/patrickrafting/we-inspire

I lived in Budapest,my second home,Rimini,where I was born and returned,Bologna,where I studied as a boy and had fun when I grew up,the UK where I studied and had fun,central Italy from the sea to the Apennines,New Zealand in hundreds of its aspects,the Italian Alps both in summer and in winter only for unconventional sports.I have instead traveled to other 15/20 States…My AUTOBIODATAPHY,here: www.flickr.com/people/communitycation

EXCLUSIVE CONTENTS,OFFERS,DEALS AND EPICS,NEWS,CURRENT PHOTOS and VIDEOS,UNSEEN,UNHEARD,UNLOCKED,ULTIMATE AFFAIRS,BOOKINGS,RESERVATIONS,ORDERS and QUOTATIONS ONLY ON OUR PRIVATE CLOUD by the CARD,here:

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For our FRANCHISING,contact us at: patrickcarafagroup@gmail.com www.linktr.ee/patrick.carafa

[sevenpeaches]

Warning: this may hurt your eyes ✨

[sleepywyrldbuilder]

Speculating here (based on my own personal experience) but I think part of this is that people don’t know how they’re supposed to respond to a critique. So much fandom culture is around “this work is problematic” that any critique feels like a direct attack and prevention of anyone from every enjoying what you put out into the world ever again.

Which is not how making art goes!

Sometimes, somebody will say “Hey, I really didn’t like XYZ part of this fanfic” or even “I don’t like it when XYZ is in fanfics in general” which happens to apply to your fanfic. Is this some almighty God coming down to speak a bespoke truth about the universe to you? No! And even if it was, I wouldn’t respect His opinion as the gospel truth anyways. What it is is a reflection of how some people will react when reading your story. From here there are four options:

Read the critique, understand where they’re coming from, and agree that you don’t like the aspect of your writing/art that they were critiquing either. This is painful and feels like death by a thousand hammers, but if it genuinely highlights an aspect of your writing that you either didn’t notice or ignored the flaws of, and now want to fix, then you will feel stronger and better through the other end of it.

Read the critique, understand where they’re coming from, and disagree that you need to change anything about it. Sometimes, people want different things from a work, and something that is a massive turn off for many people just isn’t for you. Consider that if you were writing smut, you would not expect every one in the world to be on board with every kink or fetish it depicts- They may even grumble about the prevalence of those kinks in that fandom space. The same goes with any other piece of fan work, and art in general. No piece of art or literature is behind critique- otherwise, it wouldn’t be worth making, because it’s just part of the cultural conversation.

Read the critique, understand where they’re coming from, and disagree WHAT it is that needs to change. Maybe they go “you make this character too self-serving and arrogant when that’s poor characterisation!” And you fundamentally disagree. But then you look over the chapter and realise “Oh, I made their monologue and internal dialogue 90% of the past two scenes. It’s far too much all at once and tonally jarring.” So you change it! That doesn’t mean you agree with the premise of the person’s critique, or even that that’s what they noticed; it’s using the critique as a jumping off point to do your own reflection.

Read the critique, go: “that’s stupid” and move on. Do not respond. Do not start beef. Do not spiral about whether or not the whole world is against you and your a but a wee sacrificial lamb (I have been guilty of this with critiques by an actual editor. Whose job it was to edit what I had written.) Just know that somebody out there has abjectly incorrect opinions about the work you’ve made and the space you’ve made that work in and live with it. There is zero benefit to starting an argument about this person- What things somebody likes or dislikes in a piece of media is part of a vast and complex array of personal and cultural beliefs of which they take part in, and if they do not already like you, attacking those will not make them like you more. Block if you must (though it’s not necessary, really, unless they’re being cruel), and if you really want to have a conversation about it, do it with someone who disagrees with you but ultimately enjoys your company and will be willing to take part in a constructive conversation about it.

This is what works for me. If you want to be treated seriously as an artist, you are going to make art which triggers critique. You are also going to have to live in the same world as that critique gracefully. You do not need to accept it, you do not need to let it replace your artistic identity, you don’t need to get in a furious argument about it, you just need to treat it what it is: One persons reaction to your piece of work, and use it as a reference point accordingly. Everyone may develop different ways of handling critique, and as long as it does not get in the way of you making art which expresses the meaning you intend to express, it works for you.

if you post something online publicly to an audience people are allowed to go on their blogs and talk about their opinions of it. even if you are doing it as a hobbyist. i don't understand how that's controversial. if you consider amateur/fan works to be legitimate art - which i personally do - then they are just as subject to critique as any other art form. something can not both be art and off limits to critique, it does not work like that. this shouldn't even be a question.

if you really are not comfortable with the idea of anyone publicly voicing a negative opinion about your work, then you can not share that publicly. i understand it can be vulnerable, but that's the trade off you make for sharing yourself. obviously when people are unnecessarily cruel in their critique that sucks but the problem there isn't the public critique the problem there is that sometimes people are dicks.

[mickules]

What are your opinions on rare Danganronpa ships? If you have any favorites, what would they be?

I'm afraid I don't really have any in the way of rare ones, since I tend to hover around canon-compliant. Even then, in general I don't err toward romance very often, rather I tend to land hard on platonic, ride or die, best friends interactions. There usually has to be something specific that suggests otherwise to me.

In the rare-pair platonic vein, I think Hifumi/Tsumugi are dream team collaborators. They would dominate any convention. I like to think they have a surface level rivalry where they try to top each other, but are extremely appreciative of the other's efforts.

Also, I don't know if this is that rare- I've definitely seen it floating around, I think first from @hatteymcstache Romantically or platonically, I think Celeste would love Gonta. Endlessly gullible and accommodating himbo who wants to be a gentleman? That's too perfect, she'd never let him slip through her fingers - although the bugs and lack of shoes might be a hurdle.

I mean is this or is this not her peak aesthetic?

I can see why antagonist-protagonist pairings can be so popular since there's so much interpersonal conflict to delve into and explore- especially since many 'rival' pairings are essentially two allies who are separated by circumstance. In essence that's what Taka and Mondo are, just fast tracked from enemies - friends - soulmates by way of sauna based conflict resolution.

I'm sorry to say that I've been primed by a childhood adoration of Seto Kaiba to be far too generous to Byakuya (excepting that nonsense with Chihiro) He'd never describe any of his relationships in terms other than 'temporarily interesting plebeians with some limited potential use' with any kindness he provides always having an ulterior motive; but his interactions with Makoto give off 'surly cat who happens to be in the same room as you 90% of the time' energy to me.

Nagito is a bit of a nebulous one for me to imagine since he seems a too preoccupied with his adoration of the talent the ultimates posses than necessarily caring about them as people which makes it difficult for me to see him engaging with any of them in a genuine way, either platonically or romantically. (there does seem to otherwise be some 'protag-oriented' energy in SDR2 with how the cast interact with Hajime lol)

I . . .uh. . . I'll be frank. I know he's a fan favourite but I just do not jive well with Kokichi. No shade meant, but because of that no matter how I try, I can't really imagine any interaction between him and Shuichi that doesn't boil down to:

Ah, for the record- No I don't, but I think this is continued confusion from the "v3 cast as the kids of the dr1 cast" post - in hindsight it's kinda opaque- so let me clear that up! The top part was supposed to show adult Mondo and adult Taka with adopted son Kaito meeting newly adopted sister Maki. In my mind it was unmistakable that they would be adopted so I plain forgot to specify! I can see how it looks like two separate parents introducing their kids.

The bottom part was supposed to be completely separate alternate take, showing adult Hiro with biological son Kaito from an unspecified partner. Unspecified because I don't personally picture anyone specific with Hiro romantically. (That's just me of course, I know there's a lotta love for Hiro in the fanbase!)

I hope that ^ clears it up! (Coincidentally my parents have the same age gap, tho' of course they didn't meet in high school with my dad havin' been held back like 6 times XD)

(edit: more pairing [asks])

(next set of asks [about Taka’s eating habits]) (previous set [Head-canons about Taka’s mum/Takaaki])