#we may only have one (1) screenshot of her but i see a woman who looks like she has something wrong with her and immediately am obsessed

[eveningrainstorm]

new unhinged girl just dropped

[fuckyeahisawthat]

Please, talk about the Gom Jobbar scene

Oh hell yes.

So this is one of those posts that really should be a short video essay of me talking over the scene but instead it is gonna be a loooooong wall of text and screenshots. Maybe it will assume its final form some day if I'm ever in possession of the free time and patience to make video essays. I also highly recommend watching Denis Villeneuve's own breakdown of this scene from 2021. I'll try not to duplicate things said there.

We have to start with the setup, which begins with this scene:

We see Jessica on her knees, in the rain, waiting for an arriving ship. These are the first shots in the movie where we see Jessica when no one else is watching her, and this woman who stood calm and composed before representatives of the Emperor of the Known Universe is terrified. Which creates an immediate sense of dread over whoever is coming in that ship.

Whomst in the fuck now?

We also get this shot where we're alone with Jessica. It's a little hard to see in a still frame but there's a moment where she, like, steels herself before she wakes Paul up.

Holy fuck tho, I just noticed the similarities between this shot and the one of the Bene Gesserit arriving, with the almost monochromatic color palette and the shafts of white light.

Once Paul wakes up we shift to his POV. He immediately knows something is off ("What's wrong?" is the first thing he says) but gets no information about what's happening.

Then we get this short scene, where Paul is told he is going to meet the Reverend Mother and but not much else about what's going on. The whole "She wants to know about your dreams." "How does she know about my dreams?" [no answer from Jessica] exchange, I think, implies that she knows because Jessica told her about Paul's dreams, which is this little tiny betrayal of confidence that gives Paul the first inclination that his mother may not be someone he can fully trust in this situation. Which is exactly what Dr. Yueh warns him about immediately after.

We also get two new languages used in this scene. Dr. Yueh speaks to Paul in Mandarin, which he understands and presumably Jessica does not. This gives us a piece of information about Paul's curiosity toward other cultures and his facility with languages. And Jessica uses the Atreides battle sign, which Paul also understands. Outside the library, Jessica pauses to give Paul one more silent warning, although she still hasn't told him what's about to happen.

This is just the setup. So before we've even entered the room, we've created this sense of unsettled foreboding dread (the Denis Signature Vibe) without a clear understanding of why things are happening--which is exactly how Paul feels.

I should also add that in the book, this scene takes place during the day, with the Reverend Mother sitting in front of a window. Shifting it to the middle of the night not only makes it way creepier but also tells us that (1) the Reverend Mother is the kind of person who can command Jessica's attention at any time of day or night and (2) this is all somewhat illicit and possibly is happening without Leto's knowledge.

Whomst in the fuuuuuuck?

We get this sort of weird POV shot of Paul crossing the room when it's not actually happening:

which I think is supposed to suggest some subtler form of control than the Voice, which Paul resists.

Before they've even properly entered the room, Mohiam manages to insult both Paul's parents ("defiance in the eyes, like his father" and dismissing Jessica with a curt "leave us"). And the first thing Paul says is to defend his mother's place in the social hierarchy ("You dismiss my mother in her own house?") with all the haughtiness you would expect.

The power dynamic gets rapidly clarified.

Momentary aside to say that I love the composition of this shot. Neither of them are quite on the third--they're just a bit too close to each other to make the shot look balanced. But neither of them are in center frame either--the box is in the center. They're not exactly aligned to the light gray columns between the bookshelves behind them, either, and the bookshelves are just slightly asymmetrical. It all makes things feel just a little claustrophobic and unsettling. Denis Villeneuve frequently uses this technique of creating unbalanced shots and intentionally leaving too much space in awkward parts of the frame to create a sense of unease.

Paul isn't kneeling in the book either--he's standing beside the chair in a setup that I don't think would actually work given the heights of the actors here, or would look awkward as hell. So they've solved a practical blocking problem and done some storytelling with it as well.

This is where we get our first look at the Voice at full power, and it's one of only two scenes where we get some subjective POV of what it feels like to be Voice-controlled (the other one being Feyd-Rautha and Lady Margot's interaction which deserves its own post). I really like that they didn't go for Voice Slow (zombie shuffling across the room) because Voice Fast is much more disturbing. The subjective experience of it seems closest to like, blacking out and waking up in a place or doing a thing and not knowing how you got there. The camera effect is just a really fast dolly and a slick edit, but Timothée really sells it with his split-second moment of confusion and shock before he realizes what happened and gets angry about it.

So now we're here, with the poison needle and the pain box.

"No need to call the guards. Your mother stands behind that door. No one would get past her."

This is a slick fucking piece of editing. Because just as Paul is learning that his mother has not only trapped him in this situation but is ensuring it continues uninterrupted, we cut to Jessica for the first time since she left the room and we see how absolutely terrified she is.

Also from this point, the sound in the film starts crossing the barrier of the door--we hear some of the dialogue between Paul and Mohiam when we're on shots of Jessica, and when the pain sound effect starts up, we hear it continuously on both sides of the door. So even though Jessica is not literally experiencing the pain, it feels like she is vicariously.

It would be really easy to tip the balance of sympathy in this scene one way or the other--toward Paul who's realizing his mother has handed him over to a painful and potentially lethal test, or toward Jessica who is listening to her child scream in pain and not only cannot stop it but is tasked with making sure it continues. But Denis Villeneuve is an absolute master at controlling and directing your POV in a way that allows you to feel sympathy for multiple characters at once and engage with complicated, contradictory emotional landscapes, and this is a little demonstration of what he's going to do on a much larger scale later in the story.

Timothée's pain acting...is excellent, that's all I'll say about that. Love that he's allowed to get all gross and drippy with it.

Now we get to the litany against fear.

Jessica starts it specifically in response to hearing Paul scream on the other side of the door. So, practically, she is using it to control her own fear. But the way the scene is intercut, it plays as if she is almost coaching or guiding Paul into controlling his own reactions. With every line that she says, we cut back to Paul as he is starting to master the situation.

"I must not fear." Paul is not in control here and seems about at his physical limit for keeping his hand in the box.

"Fear is the mind-killer." This is the one where it really seems like he could be reciting the same litany in his head or under his breath.

"Fear is the little death that brings obliteration." We don't really see Paul's face in the accompanying shot, but the pain sound effect really goes into overdrive, like she is pushing him harder.

"I will face my fear and I will permit it to pass over me and through me." Seems like Paul is getting to some kind of Zen place or whatever where he can withstand the pain.

This is when the first flash of vision pops up and the balance of power starts to shift in Paul's favor. We realize it at the same time both he and the Reverend Mother do.

Then we have this great moment where he looks up at her and we don't quite know what is happening but somehow Paul has started to win this interaction. And we go through a whole Face Journey with him that's intercut increasingly rapidly with Jessica's lines, flashes of the visions, and Mohiam's reaction as she starts to realize she's lost control of the situation.

"And when it has gone past--"

"I will turn the inner eye to see its path--"

"--and where the fear has gone, there will be nothing--"

"Only I will remain."

This part is great because like...nothing is happening. He just looks up at her. But we know that whatever battle is going on between them, Paul is winning now.

(Side note: this is a duel, right? This is his first of three duels, and like the duel with Feyd, he wins it on his knees.)

Then as soon as she says, "Enough," the facade cracks again a little.

And then he does the thing!! That is one of my favorite Paul physicalities!! Where he tilts his chin up so he can look down his nose at someone. Which is particularly audacious when you're on your knees.

It looks arrogant but there's also something a bit...childish? about it. It's something that he does specifically when he feels he does not have control of the situation and he's trying to regain it. He does it to the Emperor at the end of Part Two.

Anyway I LOVE the whole section of intercutting between Jessica and Paul because like. They are physically separated by a door but emotionally they feel connected. She put him in this situation, but then it's almost like she is reminding him that she also gave him the training to survive it. Which like, isn't that a microcosm of their whole fucked-up relationship?

"...You inherit too much power."

"What, because I'm a duke's son?"

"Because you are Jessica's son. You have more than one birthright, boy."

Almost all the dialogue from this scene is taken word for word from the book (although sometimes condensed). This is one of the few lines that got changed. In the book, Jessica is the one who reminds Paul that he is a duke's son--not her son. In general the movie dialogue is more faithful to what's in the book than you might expect. But every once in a while there is a line that feels like it's talking back to the original text like this.

There's another little emotional reversal right at the end of the scene, when Jessica comes in and her face just floods with relief at realizing Paul is still alive. But meanwhile you can see that Paul is really processing how betrayed by her he feels.

And then, after all that, they do talk about his dreams.

Denis has said in interviews that this was one of the very first scenes they filmed. Which is. Insane to me. This is an iconic scene from the book that every fan will come to with expectations and it's a really hard acting job! For everyone involved but especially for Timothée, because so much of the scene turns on him having an intense reaction to something that's not real and generally just...doing stuff with his face, and hoping that the sound design and the score and some scenes that haven't been shot yet will sell what's going on. Usually you would want to work up to an intense emotional scene like this, give the cast and crew a little time to get comfortable with each other. Nope! Anyway Denis has also said that he knew after this scene that he had cast correctly and yeah. I would say so.

[missingpolinseason]

Despite the claims that there's no deleted Polin scenes in season 3, What a Barb! Podcast just found some more scenes that didn't make the final cut.

The first one I want to talk about is Colin's dream. Aparently, in the original script, Dream!Colin wants to continue 'the lessons' and says he "still has so much to teach her", to wich Dream!Pen replys "teach me". The insert ends with Colin saying: "Don't worry, it's only us. It was always us". Now, how on earth did they though that it was okay to delete a scene in wich Colin admits to himself it was always them?

That scene being deleted makes me wonder how was the original Willow Tree scene - as that scene is about ending the lessons, and we know it was a reshot because of the wig. Was it a scene to mirror the dream sequence? Because the dream reveals he wanted to continue their lessons and "teach" and "experience so many things with her" but he "gives up" because he thinks she doesn't want it. Like, it would make so much sense with his insecurity to destroy the friendiship. Omg. Not to mention it embodies one of my favorite things about the book wich is Colin being in love with Pen even before realising it.

Then we have the second scene, wich is actually a line cut out of their first kiss. In this version, Colin claims that (the kiss) would ruin her, but she says she's 'already ruined'. And as much as I have no complain about their first kiss - it is my absolute favorite scene -, in this moment Penelope thinks she has nothing else to loose. That she will never married and will spend all her life trapped in her mother's house. That's wath brings her to ask for the only thing she ever wanted: a kiss from Colin. She's a romantic after all. But Colin doesn't see her as a 'ruinned woman' and he doesn't want to cross the line even though no one would known.

In fact, in the book, her kiss request is kind off prompted by Colin saying that "Suppose I told everyone that I have seduced you. You would be ruined forever. It wouldn't matter that we had never even kiss. That, my dear Penelope, is the power of the word". And that quote/line of thinking matches so well the persona who sees Whistledown as an enemy that the show build for Colin...

Last, but not least, a scene in episode 7. The night before their marriage. A prostitute aproches Colin but he declines her services. This not only shows the truth that he'd never cheat on Pen but also that he knows they will be well and leave happily ever after.

They chosen to cute this scenes. Rumour is they chosen to pick a version of the modiste scene in wich Colin sends Pen home alone in the middle of the night when there's alleged a version of this scene when he goes home with her - not to mention the scene of them in bed talking about Colin's write. How many more Polin scenes we may have lost?

UPDATE || it came to my attention that the way I wrote this post may have been confusing so let me clarify: there were 4 alleged deleted scenes known and mentioned in the petition (2 being a "short-cut" of scenes we've seen, and 1 a different version of the modiste scene). The news found in the scripts are a deleted scene; a huge part of Colin's dream and a line in their first kiss. What I want you to take from this post is that there were changes and cuts. They deleted moments that would have been important and sugnificant to Polin's story. And keep in mind that is only the cuts we got to know.

*The deleted scenes/scripts were courtesy of the Writers Guild Foundation Shavelson-Webb Library (accordinding to What a Barb! posdcast).

** First scene is loosely quoted as I saw the information in portuguese and translated back to english.

*** The original screenshots of the scenes + insta posts belong to the What a Barb! podcast Creators. I included the images along with the source.

[ateez-himari]

[240824] ETERNAL PROJECT

[NEW UPLOAD FROM TAEMIN]

태민 (TAEMIN) @/TAEMIN_BPM

[#태민] ETERNAL owes its success to the talented young producer at the head of this project, who spent time within hectic schedules creating this masterpiece. Himari has now been part of my team for four years and keeps surpassing previous works with every release, I truly would not have made it to this point without her creative vision.

From recording demo tracks in hotel rooms to putting together instrumental drafts in the car between events, she truly did put everything into this album. At only 22 years old her leadership has brought divided opinions together and her artistic soul made unique harmonies from unexpected styles. I can not properly express my gratitude towards this wonderful young woman, but know that without her this album would not have been what it is today.

The influence she has had on the industry at such a young age is truly something rare, and I can confidently say that her and ATEEZ's careers will see nothing but success. Turning everything she touches into gold no matter how nonsensical it may be, she truly is the second Hand of Midas. Please enjoy plenty of rest when these next schedules end and take care of your health, our Himari ❤️I will ETERNALLY be grateful for your presence

#TAEMIN #ETERNAL ##히마리 #애이티즈

Translated from Korean by Google

09:35pm · 24 Aug 24 · 4.3M Views 85K Reposts 859 Quotes 2.5M Likes

mikah @/himaswife Replying to @/TAEMIN_BPM I can't believe she went from thinking about leaving the group because of hate to leading huge projects for idols as successful as Taemin. It's kind of strange seeing her growing up this fast right in front of our eyes 🥹 The talent this girl has is really unbelievable especially considering how different his style is to ATEEZ

Hotteokie N.1 @/yunhosbuckethat Replying to @/TAEMIN_BPM we forget too quickly that she was given a FULL KOMCA MEMBERSHIP before 3Racha, who are an absolute production powerhouse and even won 'best creator' at the AAA last year (also with all those royalties this girl has to be secretly rich-)

GOTTA WORK GOTTA WORK @/lightuptiny Replying to @/yunhosbuckethat it's not even a secret anymore 😭some people noticed that she was using a black card in certain videos and are pretty sure it was pulled out of her wallet. Bang Chan and her are also standing at the same number of credits right now (193)

왔다 갔다 @/yeosangiecookie Replying to @/TAEMIN_BPM I love their synergy so much, every album is always somewhat experimental in the style it uses but even though it's risky the results are breath taking 🙌 sexy concepts are pretty common for Taemin or the industry in general but this really makes you feel the sensuality, it drags you in, I honestly can't get enough of this duo

Uyu @/bulleobulleooo Replying to @/TAEMIN_BPM I'd like to remind everyone that S-Coups himself wrote in an instagram story; 'There's something very special about this girl, it's almost like she was created to make music, she's almost music herself.' when he shared a screenshot of 'Shadow' playing on Spotify

sweethwa @/weonfirewihomhae Replying to @/TAEMIN_BPM J-Hope and Jungkook went to her for their solos for a reason and as much as people like to say it's because she's privileged to have known them for a long time, they've known other producers for a long time as well. she's so versatile in her own sound that she's able to work with almost anyone because she takes their creative vision on as her own. just look at behind the scenes where she talks with Hongjoong and Mingi, she's able to use everyone's ideas to create something that has one single voice. artists tend to gravitate towards her because she finds inspiration in the people themselves, in their souls, that's what makes her so special

[thisdancingheart]

Hello Tumblr friends, from Southern California.

I am fine, I’m on the far right of this map, out of danger of the current fires, close enough to see their smoke plumes across the basin and I should probably wear a mask if I go out because the smoke is just hanging over us all now. There is dirt and fine ash that will need to be swept up, probably tomorrow. We have another wind event predicted for Monday and Tuesday, but probably not as fierce as the one on Tuesday. Oh, this screenshot is a day old, the acreage is out of date now.

This is one photo of one area of Pacific Palisades. This does not look like a war zone or any other thing you might compare it to, it looks exactly like a fast moving wildfire fed by 80 - 100 mile an hour winds ripping through vegetation that hasn’t seen a drop of rain since April, or maybe it was March, and it grew thick in ‘22 and ‘23 when we did get rain. I have lived somewhere in California, north or south, since I was four. We always get wildfires in October, until the rain comes in December or January, but they have been made exponentially worse because of climate change. Do not listen to tin hats and tangerine guy cultists who will try to blame everything and everyone under the sun, they don’t live here, they don’t know what we deal with. This is climate change. Repeat ad nauseam.

You may have heard about the celebrities that have lost their homes, but I promise you they are probably only 1% of the population that is suffering. The majority of the homes lost in Pacific Palisades and Altadena belonged to middle class families and the elderly who bought them decades ago. They were passed down to adult children instead of being sold, they were kept in families who could not afford to enter the market at current prices. Many small business owners have also lost their livelihoods, restaurants, salons, shops, etc, and they may not be able to relocate or rebuild. The early estimate is more than 5000 structures have been lost, that includes schools, churches, grocery stores, private museums, and other types of places that help build communities and connect people.

If you are someone who thinks “ha ha LA deserves it” for some reason, first, fuck you, and second, if you really believe that, then stop consuming our products, including Disney, Netflix, and network TV, anything filmed here, any game developed here, anything written here, anything financed here, anything grown here, etc, etc.

So far, I am personally adjacent to a few people that I know have lost their homes: the man who designed and handmade a few pieces of jewelry that I own including the teapot and tea cup necklace you may have seen me wear if we’ve ever met in person, and the woman whose workouts I used to subscribe to years ago. I’ve met Mandy Moore a few times in the past, I’m quite fond of her, and like many, I followed along as she remodeled her home before moving in to it. She’ll be fine, her home is mostly intact, but I feel for her husband losing his studio and the instruments he had collected throughout his life.

Before you reply to this post, please look around your home and imagine it gone, except for a backpack that you were able to fill before you ran out. Imagine your neighborhood gone, your community gone, your friends and neighbors scattered all over the region seeking out shelter and assistance. Please spare a thought for those who have lost everything in Los Angeles, North Carolina, Florida, etc, because we are all in this together and it isn’t a natural disaster competition. I know there are places all over the world suffering, this is all I have the capacity for right now. I am bracing for more to come next week.

Thank you for making it this far. Please reblog or reply with compassion. Take your BS elsewhere. Thank you.

Edit to add: special thanks to Canada and Mexico, two sovereign nations, for sending firefighters and Super scooper planes.

[ultimatebottom69]

I've seen hsr fans defending sasha at the front line like sasha wouldn't know you, why would you shield her for valid criticism? They don't need to coddle her. She's old enough to defend herself. Sasha stans make jester and remy fans more sensible in comparison.

You see i approve your point. Until the Remy part. Like being fan of someone who fucking doxxed a random woman is one hell of a level up but yeah in terms of writers

Remy fans and Jester fans be fighting a losing war.

And you know, Sasha is somehow getting on the same level Remy was with KCD (because i was there when the story was not completed yet) like.

F/F who is sidelined ? Check. Casual Rascism ? Check. A route who will end up getting fucked up ? Check. Not being subtle at all ? Fucking check. Clearly having two fav li's ? Check. Oh and the MC has...Psychological issues ? Check with the blood over there. Only thing Lane doesn't scream. Big diff.

And I played KCD before the whole trash Remy did resurfaced. It was an ok story until season 2, episode 8 where i could tell the woman had no idea wtf she was doing. That and Lima's treatment. But at least with Lima we got kisses and a sex scene. Not lot of CG's if i remember we got like 3. I don't include the CG of the ending so 4.

I don't touch to Jester stories because the pacing is slow as fuck that's a me problem specifically. I am still episode 3 of The willow because it's so fucking slow. Oh and Moonborn it's on fucking season 4 i get my female LI ? Nah fuck you.

Now...Anna's route compared to lima....Do i even say it ? Do i even start ? Ok. She acts like a friend. Nice. But overall her whole personality is being the author's punching bag for the plot. Like there is no need to do all that jazz shit ? Plus we not even kissing *war flashbacks of the screenshots* we are not kissing the correct fucking way. You cannot build tension, active tension may i add and go "Ohohoh by the way she is homiphobic and find it disgusting lololol" like fuck off ? We at season 2 episode 7 bitch !

And don' pull the "she starts to accept your feelings~" Girl it's episode 9 ??? SEASON 2 ??? YOU GOT THREE SEASONS AND NOTHING MORE WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVE ONLY ONE FUCKING KISS IN THE ROSTER ??? AND THE KISS IS HOMOPHOBIC ??

Like Absolutely go fuck yourself Sasha. And from what i am seeing from the fucking walkthrough because yes i opened it. Greg is battling too to get scenes ?? But i saw Boris and Yan pull up like 3 times in there.

Nah she not besting any allegations. I don't want to explain to people that just because you didn't say "Faggot" or "Negro" or any other slur, mean you did not insult me at all. She is a bad writer because why is there homophobia and rascism (against the only black guy present may i add) in my post apocalyptic rapture ass world ?? Like we going to ignore the Arab man side character who was part of the squad she fucking killed off too in season 1....Like...Sasha...I'm....Just wow.

I did not believe she could beat Remy in the homophobia department but god damn she is like Mohamed Ali (the boxer) when he started his career , we all were like "Naaaah" and then she went "Bet."

And frankly i could also lump her with Remy on one more point that one of the commenters in my HS requiem critic said "She is a girl hating girl" and frankly...with how the female characters are handled...Yeah. I mean just kira. Like i did not like her at all. But like her death was so ??? Like we got 4 women in total now. Donovan,Lane, Anhea and Anna. And we don't fucking see Donovan. And Anhea is like the breeze or John Cena, you can't see her.

Imma ponder hard on the critic i'll pull on DR cause. Ther eis a lot to unpack and i kinda just rambled at 1 am with no plans about the problems i saw so far.

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

THE TEXT CONVOS !! I hope it looks ok. I left spaces between the texts (ALSO THANK U FOR THE REQUEST 💗 ) 💺 anon

🍊) My little (brat) princess

🍒: Buy pads please!! 🍊: Already did, anything else that may satisfy her majesty? ❤️

🍊: Hi pretty. Can't find my tie, did you took it? It's the navy one 🍒: No, must've been your side chick :( 🍊: Please tell me you're joking 🍒: I'm not 🍊: Woman I practically worship the ground you walk on 🍒: Screenshotting this to Lem. Also your tie is with me :) 🍊: You two got jokes huh

🍒: Pretty women called "sleepless nights worried about my husband" is waiting for me in bed 🍊: Not tonight love. Coming home in 5

🍊: What kind of streets do ghosts hunt? 🍊: Dead ends

🍊: Really want to shoot him in the head 🍒: What are you talking about? 🍊: He's so fucking cocky huh? 🍒: Ladybug? He's not doing anything 🍊: That "we should all order some food" sounded pretty flirty to me 🍒: You deserve the electric chair

🍊: Are you from Mississippi? Cause you're the only miss who's piss I'll sippie [You blocked this contact]

🍊: That nob better stop touching your shoulder before I give him a lobotomy 🍊: Got the "little off the top" looking haircut 🍒: HE ASKED FOR MY NUMBER 🍊: He should see an optometrist since he clearly didn't notice the ring on your finger 🍒: I told him I have a husband 5 times already but he said "it doesn't matter", so I gave him your number 🍊: That's my girl

🍒: [1 image attached] 🍊: Oh my fucking god 🍊: God took his time with you

🍒: Would you be mad at me if I punched you in the face? 🍊: What's the context love? Are we making out and you just started beating me up? 🍒: Why would I EVER do that??? 🍊: You tell me, you were the one who asked. 🍊: Wait you might actually be onto someting here love 🍒: THATS IT, SEX BAN 🍊: WHAT

🍒: What is taking you so long? 🍊: Lady at the cashier won't leave me alone 🍒: Please hurry up I want you to eat me out :( [Tan reacted with ❤️] 🍒: Tell her "husband duties are calling"

🍋) Silly goofy guy

🍋: I'm really over here with Aristotle talking about plumbs and farmers and shit

🍒: Did you actually got into a fight with that Kimura guy just because he said he didn't like my tie? 🍋: Cherry defender first, human second

🍋: Bro is not listening to me 🤼‍♂️ 🍒: I'll hear you out on Henrys 🍋: [voice message: 42:33]

🍋: Got bored so I drew you 🍋: [1 image attached] 🍒: Thanks !! 🍒: Why do I have 3 fingers on each hand though? 🍋: I stole the other four

🍒: Are the cookies you left for me a prank? 🍋: Are they that bad? 🍒: What?? No!! Of course not!! 😊 I loved them!! 🫶 🍋: I got a feeling you're being sarcastic

🍋: Tan said nobody likes lemons 🍒: I'll kill him

🍒: The bartender asked for my phone number 🍋: BOOOOOO 📢📢 every time 🍒: I gave him Tan's number. Wanna catfish him? 🍋: LETS GO I LOVE THE WAY YOU THINK

🍊🍋🍒) The fruit bowl

🍊: The group name is stupid 🍋: IT'S GENIUS 🍒: It's literally what we are 🍊: I think I should've named the group so it wouldn't be something stupid 🍋: "Tangerines are sophisticated" This you❓ 🍒: Point and laugh 🫵🤣 🍊: Piss off

🍋: I burned the pasta 🍊: You can cook? 🍋: I tried 🍊: Never do it again 🍋: Piss off at least I wasn't the one who dropped the pod on the floor 🍒: This is why you two aren't allowed in my kitchen

🍊: I'm just saying, relationships should be 50/50 🍊: She looks pretty, while I growl at anyone who looks at her 🍋: It's getting harder and harder to defend you 🍒: People are gonna think you're insane 🍋: He is

🍋: [1 image attached, it's a selfie of us three] 🍋: BOY WE SEE THEM BABY BLUES 🍒: I swear people don't even say bless you anymore, they just stare at you like that 🍊: Do you two ever stop to think about what you're saying? 🍋: No 😼 🍒: Nope 🍊: It shows

yeah no kidding you aced the shit out of these!!! and they are so fun to read !! I definitely get what you mean now by them being fun😭

LOVE LOVE LOVED them all but these have gotta be my faves

THIS ONE??? had my cracking up. was still thinking about it and laughing to myself ages after reading 😭😭

little off the top and the ring comment 😭

and giving the guy tan number and him saying that’s my girl🫠

god took his time with you??? melting

WHY IS THAT SO ACCURATE!!! lemon definitely sends really long voice messages and spams with videos. like he’s giving you mini personal vlogs😭😭😭 he just starts talking about the most random shit walking around the house. “… yeah they said his car is fucked— no way. I just found this.” and holds it out to the camera and then he carries on with whatever he was saying before

I feel like he struggled to draw all 10 fingers and got fed up so gave you simpson hands instead

[datingschooldropout]

Chapter 4: But First the Product -- You!

"Professor," I hear you ask, leaning back against the wall as we ditch, you and I, the classes meant to turn us into predators hunting for Mr. Right as though another human is a discount in the beverage section. "What happened to chapter 3?"

Chapter 3 is literally just about their friend from Chapter 1. It is just another testimonial and probably could have been put in chapter 1. They may have been padding the runtime? The book is very very short as it is.

Anyway, we're skipping it.

Obviously, we're going to talk about the title first. I get that the whole feel of this horrible book is 90's consumerist sizzle, but your target audience is, literally, young women of marrying age. Maybe "product" wasn't the best choice here.

Most of the advice is bland enough to be both forgettable and inoffensive. Look your best, have confidence, etc.

They do want you to know who you are doing this for, of course. You must not lose sight of the goal.

Look your best! The better you look, the better you will feel, and the more desirable you will become to him. Maybe other men will start finding you more attractive and asking you out. You will no longer feel that the man you're currently dating is the only man on earth.

Hmm... yeah. I have been asked out in front of the man I was dating and it was extremely unpleasant. Also, this is admitting that you're really not all that into the guy you're with.

So why are you with him? Pity dates benefit no one in the long run.

And if you were into him, but now you're not because other men have noticed you, what does that say? Are you fickle, flighty? Do you thrive solely on the attention of the opposite sex? Were you denied opportunity and see it now before you?

My point is, that if the kind of girl reading this is inclined to center her self-esteem around male attention, all she has really done is increase that, with no firmer an idea of finding someone to really connect with and, with the above phrasing, she has quite possibly lost someone she did connect with whom she met before becoming a "Rules Girl."

There's also a weird intersection with diet culture here but I am going to slide right past that can of worms and into what a Rules Girl should dress like.

And this time, a screenshot I have scribbled on.

my god, there's so much here. Every piece of this is toxic. The misogyny, the capitalism, the deciding what people like without asking them.

Look, no one asked for my hot clothes take (nor should they, I am king frump of frump mountain) but here it is.

You look best in clothes you are comfortable in. There is a way people hold themselves when they are at ease that will effect the way the fabric hangs.

Also anyone who tells you black isn't sexy in any dimension is just wrong and cannot be trusted. Black fucks.

On a pett(ier note then the rest of it. You just know that if this book had been written in the 2010s they'd have spelled woman with a y there. You can feel the y.

It's what's inside that counts.

[bohemian-nights]

i’m so excited for part two, i’m skipping all the way to end to see masali like idc about anything else! and i have no doubt in my mind that she’s sophie, you can tell her and luke are a perfect chemistry match without even seeing them together like i need this fandom to be fr…. also i expect her role announcement and a season 4 benedict season announcement by 9AM EST from netflix!

Quite frankly it’s because of how disgustingly anti-Black these “leakers” have been that is keeping me from believing them. The ring leaders behind this have either outright said they don’t want Sophie to be Black or have weaponized homophobia and in some cases racism(which is ironic given these people are racist pieces of shit) to silence Black women when we call them out for them ignoring the obvious signs that they have cast a Black woman in the role of Sophie Beckett(and that woman is likely Masali) and how problematic it would be to cast a dark skinned Black woman in a masculine role.

And yes, I do have screenshots in case anybody thinks I’m fucking exaggerating:

Lets start with anyyyyb. She’s deleted her account, but this is the one with the Irish journalist “source”(lie because no journalist had access to those episodes on May 16th when she posted her “spoilers”). Despite that though she claimed that Michaela was John’s sister(lie cause John is a confirmed only child) and that she didn’t know who Masali is. Which was another lie because she wrote this under my mutals post almost a month before part 1 even aired:

I’m pretty sure that she was Cass the morons “source” because anyyyyb was the first of the new “leakers” who mentioned the sister thing and Cass self-admitted to not knowing if her source is credible or not:

This same woman dared to get pissy when she was called out for blatantly lying(sister thing) and spreading shit that hasn’t and will never be confirmed which caused Masali to be unnecessarily attacked:

Cass has independently been trying to push the Michaela “theory”(which is a name made up by the fandom) for a while now because her dumb ass thinks all Black people look alike:

Mind you the woman in the carriage is a crew member(Shanika Ocean) who doesn’t even have the same skin tone as Masali(she’s lighter), Masali also has never been seen on set, but Cass the moron thinks they are the same woman because they are both Black.

And if that’s not enough for you she also wrote this when people were calling her ignorant behind out to try and save face:

The other Tumblr account that claims to have a Netflix employee camped in their inbox willing to feed them info and risk losing their job in today’s economy to do so, is a racist and a colorist who has been against Sophie Beckett being Black since September at the least. She tried to play it cool, but the day part 1 came out she started spazzing the fuck out when people didn’t automatically believe her lies I mean leaks, and said this:

She like anyyyyb has been pushing for an Asian woman to play Sophie which is okay, but when you start saying there are “too many Black people” on a show produced by a Black woman, that she needs to stop casting Black people, and that is why Sophie “can’t be Black” you have lost your fucking mind.

Bitch doesn't think its okay for a Black woman to play Cinderella who gets her prince in the end, but she's a okay with a Black woman playing a role meant for a man where shell have to chase after a while woman and will not be afforded the fairytale happy ending every other woman. Sure Jan, you definitely care about Black women 👍🏽

Again, if that wasn't enough, she’s a fucking colorist because in her racist mind, Indians aren't Asian 🤷🏽‍♀️

Her ass has also tried to use a variation of all Black people look alike just like Cass the fucking Moron to connect Masali to Victor Ali ever since she learned who Masali was back in December/January.

(If she hasn’t deleted it yet like the goofy ass remedial bitch she is it should still be up on her little hate blog).

I could say way more about this one and leak her twitter and her other tumblr(which I know she’ll try to crawl back to once she’s fucking called out for what she is), and there are also the twitter people who I’m sure are feeding “intel” to Cass and both tumblr accounts meanwhile their alleged “source” hasn’t seen all the episodes, but I’ll it there for now.

All I’ll say is that these “rumors” are being fueled by butthurt anti-Black racists who have never wanted Masali to be Sophie and the fandom is so gung-ho about believing these cave dwellers because they too are racist pieces of shit.

Why they are watching a Shonda Rhimes production and begging her to stop casting Black people, her own people, in lead roles I will never know….

Because I’m not a fucking butterface racist ass bitch who has nothing better to do with my life than to try and tear another race down and dictate what they do just to feel better about my pathetic existence.

The fact of the matter is no one has posted shit other than anonymous messages or claiming they know someone or they know someone who knows someone. The fact that these people can’t post a still or audio recording yet they all supposedly have evidence and have seen shit…

[simmingwormly]

Wormville: Gen 1: The Lost

They might be a little too universal to label, have too little to their name to label them yet, or be simply truly lost. In this batch of worms, I'm introducing Balthazar, Josephine, Wynn and Zachary.

I will also address the tragic fate of Dean Celwitch, though he will, unfortunately, not have his own profile.

Josephine's life, before it got cut short by the flu, was undoubtedly one of searching. She was a very serious, grim, but kind-hearted young woman who valued her family business and kept getting into many romantic novel-esque situations. She dreamed about living off the land. She barely survived one flu outbreak, and the second one coming to her household unfortunately took her life for good. It was perplexing that she died obsessed with Serenity's cat, Mirp.

Together with Percy and Elphius, Josephine had to be temporarily brought back from the dead by Nico, so she can have at least one (1) decent screenshot taken, since the above were the only screenshots I had of her.

Josephine was one of the three Sims of her generation who went to college but didn’t finish it. It was a big disgrace for her, and she vilified herself for it quite a lot, especially since academic and financial success (that don’t have to, but often do go together) was considered crucial in her family. However, she quickly adapted and began learning how to run the car dealership. It turned out that she wasn’t doing that much better than her mother (notorious for being absolutely tragicomical at her job), alas, it was just the beginning for her. Josephine wanted to save up money to open up her own gardening store, or to move out of the house (giving the mantle of the heir up in Regina’s favor) and buy a bigger plot of land where she would be able to run a farm. She would end up losing her heir status marrying Iulius anyway (since being the heir determines the Sim’s surname and residence, two heirs may never marry, unless one of their clans is destroyed, and Iulius would definitely not give up his station to join the Hansons for Josephine), so what’s the harm? Unfortunately, we can now only speculate whether she would find her success and peace.

Beefs and bonds:

Iulius: Josephine's relationship with the soldier-son was always very rocky. They felt enormous attraction towards each other, but their preferences clashed. Despite not being a Romance Sim, Josephine shared their general beliefs and couldn't thrive in monogamy. While for Iulius, monogamous partnership ending in marriage right after college was one of the fundamental ingredients to a successful life. Josephine cheated on him. Iulius got mad and cheated on her in revenge. Then they made up and got back together. They got engaged. It was still a very fragile relationship, though, uncertain to stand the test of time. Unfortunately, that test never came, for Josephine didn't live to see their wedding day.

Abigail: Not even the relationship between Josephine and her mother has always been easy. They loved each other deeply, yet Abigail still developed many expectations that, for some reason, she spared Josephine's sister of. She kept expressing disappointment about Josephine turning out not to be the academic type, not finishing college, and not being a very talented saleswoman, at least when it came to working the family's car dealership. Josephine felt rightfully hurt, and she also begrudged Abigail her general unempathetic and emotionally constipated attitude. However, when they both fell sick in the 9th rotation, fences between them were largely mended. Abigail apologized to Josephine for hounding her, explaining that she has always loved her more than anything else in the world and has always been anxious about her choices bringing her misery, but now she saw that she was wrong all along, and no longer cared whether Josephine's choices aligned with her values, as long as she's happy. It was a life-changing moment for both. But not even that relationship breakthrough could save Josephine from the Grim Reaper…

By the end of Josephine's life, both her and Abigail were infected with flu. Josephine started sleeping in her parents' bedroom, because she was scared of dying alone in her sleep, or of that same thing happening to her mom.

It turned out to be a wise decision, because Abigail truly did die in her sleep, and Josephine was right there, able to plead for her and save her life. Unfortunately, Abigail wasn't that lucky when it came the time to return the favor.

Regina: Josephine was delighted to be an older sister when Regina was born, and that delight rarely went away. They were both very, very, different people and squabbled a bunch, but Josephine would still jump in a fire for her. So when Regina succumbed to the cold… Josephine knew she had to do something, no matter the cost.

Beatrice, Genevieve, Hannah: Josephine had a soft spot for beautiful women, and her relationship with Iulius definitely wasn’t enough to stop her. She had a love affair with all three mentioned.

Victor: Josephine and Victor weren’t friends, and definitely weren’t lovers, but they were amicable acquaintances, since Victor once helped Josephine with homework when they were in high school. (despite being two grades younger) (They only have a basic 20/20 positive relationship - which is still quite a lot - from an afterschool visit.)

Bennett: Josephine and Bennett were childhood friends and very close. It’s somewhat surprising that they never had anything with each other.

Krystal and Elphius: Josephine belonged to the minority of Sims who actually liked Krystal Celwitch and found him an entertaining company. She was also quite close friends with his husband Elphius.

Wynn definitely belongs among the tougher out there. They were raised by their teenage cousin Krystal and immediately established themselves as the child who didn't give a damn. After spending their teen years helping out in the grocery store, they decided they've had enough work experience and didn't follow their sister Xenia to college, focusing on illicit activities to make money instead. Truth is, though, that Wynn does give a damn. They dream of raising a family to cherish and protect. It seemed like that dream was coming true with Percy, a fellow former tough kid, whom Wynn loved dearly. The day they failed to pull him out of the flames will haunt them forever.

Wynn getting home from work that one time, also known as a contender for the worst day any worm has ever had.

Fun fact: After the devastating fire at Krystal's house, Wynn started visiting him often, helping him out with cleaning and repairs, and playing with the children. Even though their relationship was never the warmest, they could relate to his situation very personally and that brought them together.

Unfun fact: Wynn's second marriage, extremely close to Percy's death, wasn't out of love for Iulius, but out of the need for a financially stable clan to raise their daughter in. Wynn likes Iulius well enough, but he will always be their second pick after Percy.

Wynn might be playing tough most of the time, but they're a softie when it comes to creatures.

Beefs and bonds:

Xenia: Wynn's relationship with their twin sister was complicated during their childhood. They had many arguments and clashes, and all in all it looked like they were going to go their own way as soon as they're able. The opposite happened, though! In early adulthood, Wynn and Xenia made up and grew very close, and today are each other's best friend.

Alexis: During the fire of the Slop a long time ago, young Wynn (a fresh teenager) was walking by and witnessed the carnage, including Alexis Elaho-Inipp engulfed in flames, screaming both for help and for the child to run to safety. Wynn didn't. They remembered what they've read about fire safety and ran to the woman's rescue, successfully extinguishing the flames. They didn't stay in the Slop until the fire was gotten under control, but still, their moment of heroism stayed with Alexis forever, and she became their older, influential rich friend, who served a little as the mother figure Wynn never had. Whenever they found themselves arrested during their shady deals, their bail was “mysteriously” paid by the Elaho-Inipp clan. Too bad that Wynn's next major fire trauma did not have such a positive end…

Nico: Wynn and Nico are good friends, surprisingly, despite being the epitome of opposites. Wynn reaches out for spiritual help from time to time.

Quincy: Wynn and Quincy had a situationship, which Wynn the Family Sim took much more seriously than Quincy. Back then, Wynn wasn’t engaged to Iulius yet, and they were very lonely and grieving, looking for a rebound after Percy - and potentially for a start of something new that would last. Quincy, obviously not in the market for more commitments, wasn’t able or willing to give that to them, and so they parted on a quite sour note. However, lately their relationship has been improving, and they’re becoming friends.

Cyrus: There is hatred between Wynn and Cyrus, and for once in Cyrus’ life it doesn’t stem from any broken hearts. Instead, it originates from business, cold cash, and territories. Wynn and Cyrus do a very similar thing, a very risky thing - one where allies and enemies mean everything, and where a neighbor poaching your clients firmly places him in the second category.

Serenity: The second huge fire Wynn has ever lived through, the fire of the Splat, the fire that killed their Percy, would’ve probably taken their life as well, if not for Serenity’s intervention. Wynn owes her not just that, but something that is much more precious to them - the life of their little Jacqueline. It’s only natural that it brought them and Serenity together in a major way, and they now regularly hang out. Wynn would do anything for the Elaho-Inipp or her children, forever grateful.

Victor: In Wynn’s eyes, Victor is a major dickhead. They barely knew him before the fire, and now they only know him as the asshole who dared to suspect them of arson after they lost the love of their life in the flames and almost died themselves together with their infant daughter. Not the brightest move, Victor.

The youngest of the Slop children of his generation (and the youngest member of Gen 1 altogether!), Balthazar has to fight back the intrusive thought that he was just meant to be a replacement for Lester, as he was born in between his brother's death and resurrection. He has to fight many intrusive thoughts, actually. A lot of them concern his siblings and not measuring up to them. A lot of them concern the great beyond.

Lately, Balthazar has started having dreams about the great beyond, about its decay, about death calling to him. He rationalizes it by believing he has inherited Alexei’s gift of seeing, and that it’s just normal for him to experience. He could be right, it might mean nothing.

Unfun fact: Balthazar is currently a warlock, something he doesn't want to be. He claims it manifested in him spontaneously, however that is a lie. He made a wish with a genie to be transformed in the hopes of following in Lester's footsteps and outperforming Serenity. He ended up regretting it, though, and he regrets even more wasting a wish that could've saved somebody's life.

Even worse fact: Balthazar only has one (1) friend outside of his family, and that’s his ex Terry Hanson. I originally reviewed his relationship panel again because it hit me how many women Balthazar dislikes or hates, and I wanted to check whether he had any female friends outside of his mother, sister and sister-in-law. He does not, but on the other hand, he doesn’t have male friends (plural) either. From “omg, is one of my Sims just a misogynist? XD” to one of the saddest things I’ve ever written about a Sim, speedrun.

At the very least, Balthazar has creatures to keep him company.

Beefs and bonds:

Serenity: The relationship between Balthazar and Serenity is a complex one. They love each other, and have an absolutely spotless record when it comes to conflicts and fights. But still, there’s something else. Balthazar is frightened of being seen as the inferior sibling, and would do anything to one up Serenity in at least something. He will never be the one for whose sake their parents started an entire war, he will never be the head of the family, so what is there even left for him to do? Now Serenity has invited him to stay with his husband in the Slop, and Balthazar accepts. Will that help him develop a sense of security, or will it send him down even larger inferiority-complex spirals?

Lester: Balthazar thinks that Lester might be the coolest Sim ever, and they have a warm relationship. Knowing the secret Lester shares with Zachary, though, would destroy that for Balthazar really fast.

Victor: As far as Balthazar is concerned, Victor is an embarrassment to the clan Beldine, which in itself is an embarrassment to Wormville.

Aranni II.: Balthazar isn’t sure whether he’s ever met a stupider woman, and that’s saying something. Not because the women of Wormville were stupid, but because Balthazar thinks such things about almost everyone.

Beatrice: Yet another Beldine bastard. Balthazar really, really doesn’t like those.

Quincy, Genevieve, Hannah, Regina, Josephine: It’s a mystery to me why Balthazar dislikes this random assortment of women who have hardly anything in common, but he formally opposes each and every one of them. I can imagine why Quincy would be on the list, she’s notoriously mean (and Balthazar is as well), but what did Regina ever do to him? Maybe time will unravel Balthazar’s motivations. Maybe he will even make up with at least some of these people?

Terry: The relationship with the Romance Sim wasn’t very smooth, and both sides ended up cheating on one another. Still, the chemistry between Terry and Balthazar is great, and they were both considering opening up their relationship and preserving it, perhaps even getting married. However, they ended up deciding differently, and broke up on amicable terms. They’re still close as friends.

As the sixth out of the six children raised by Avery and Audrey in the Priest's Home, it's sometimes hard for Zachary not to feel like an afterthought. He's a very quiet, kind young man. But his quietness will have to go, if he's ever to carve out his own place in the commune. There are many challenges in front of him, almost every single one of them social. Now that he has joined the prestigious clan Elaho-Inipp, will he manage without losing himself? Or will his kindness disappear, too?

Like most worms, Zachary is kind to the creatures.

Currently Zachary pursues a career as a diver, however, he doesn’t feel like it really fulfills him. He dreams of working in healthcare, but the additional education he will need won’t be easy to obtain…

Unfun fact: Zachary and Lester have a secret that they shall never tell. Yes, it’s an affair. That’s Wormville for you.

Beefs and bonds:

Aranni II.: Zachary got closer to Aranni when she was going through a very tough time. They were both still in highschool. Zachary tried to support her and cheer her up, which he succeeded in, and they fell in love quite fast. However, their happiness had lasting consequences. Aranni got pregnant. Angry and ashamed of her daughter, her mother immediately forbade her from seeing Zachary, and sent her to college right after the child was born. Zachary wasn't even allowed to meet his son, even though he wanted to. He soon rejoined Aranni in college, and they pondered their future together. Falling deeper into his involvement with Balthazar, however, Zachary elected to stay friends and not get married, raising their son in shared custody. Aranni expressed the same wish, stating that she actually wanted to get back with Victor Beldine, the scumbag who broke her heart in the first place. Even though Zachary doesn't approve of that, he wishes her the best.

Victor: Zachary only thinks the worst of the eccentric scholar. They used to play together sometimes when they were children, and were generally amicable up until high school, when Zachary got close with Aranni and she told him in tears what Victor did to her. Their relationship only got much worse when Victor objected to Zachary's claim to fatherhood of young Fabian, voicing the wish to fully replace him in the boy's life. Whether that was because of Zachary's clan, or just pure jealousy and ego, nobody knows. But Zachary isn't going to give up. Victor's money will never beat fatherly love, and he will prove it, getting his son back, even if he has to put Aranni's custody into question, too.

Balthazar: Zachary loves the reluctant warlock. They've always paralleled each other, and it was inevitable that they would click. And click they did, ever since high school. They fell in love shortly before departing for college, in between that and the forceful end of Zachary's relationship with Aranni. In college, they resumed dating, and after graduating, they married. Zachary wasn't thinking of just how much will that marriage complicate his life, but despite turning it upside down, he doesn't regret anything. At least not yet…

Lester: Zachary and Lester look like normal siblings-in-law at the first glance, but they have a secret dramatic history together. When Zachary used to be with Aranni and then with Balthazar, he and Lester played up a false beef in public, while being lovers in private. However, when Zachary decided to marry Balthazar, Lester’s brother, and Lester got engaged to Oliver, Zachary’s sibling, they decided to end their liaison.

Zachary and Lester in high school. Looks like Zachary just told Lester something to make them cry, right?

Cyrus: Zachary and Cyrus are especially close. Zachary has always looked up to his oldest brother.

Quincy: Quincy bullied Zachary in high school (among others) and he despises her. He could never understand, in general, how such a cruel person could be so popular and well liked. Sometimes he thinks about how he dodged a bullet by not marrying into the Fiera clan.

Terry: Zachary and Terry got set on the warpath by jealousy, since Balthazar did technically leave the young Hanson (by then, still Anora) for Zachary. However, the situation wasn’t that clear cut, since Terry, Lester, Zachary, Balthazar and Oliver used to be at one point in an indecipherable web of “everyone who���s not siblings sleeps with everyone, but half of them still insist they want to be monogamous” and not even the Entity knows who cheated on whom with whom first anymore.

Serenity: Luckily for Zachary, he gets along with the head of his clan fine, they’re friends and have no problems with each other. That would change if Serenity found out about him and Lester, but so far, neither she or Balthazar have any idea.

Who is Dean Celwitch?

You might've noticed in profile cards of his relatives that a Sim called Dean Celwitch used to exist. He was the firstborn son of Adalyn and Archer, the cousin to Krystal, and the older brother to Wynn and Xenia. However, Dean's story is very short and a very sad one. He fell victim to a cold outbreak before even turning into a teenager, and it's a mystery what kind of person would he grow up to be.

[lightwise]

Fennec in Season 3 of TBB - Where Will Her Loyalties Lie?

This may have already been obvious to everyone else, but I wanted to put it out there and see what you all think. Ming-Na Wen posted this to Twitter and it has me very intrigued as to what Fennec's role will be in season 3.

In the leaked teaser footage, the only shot of Fennec is of her aiming and shooting...something. Or someone.

When I first heard she had spilled the fact that she would be in season 3 (before we even got the season 3 confirmation in the TBB panel...love that woman) I immediately figured that she would be helping the Batch find Omega.

Then I realized, so far she has been a bounty hunter mainly for Nala Se, the Empire, and other nefarious individuals, and of course as a bounty hunter she never does anything without a price. So maybe she would be hunting down the rest of the Batch members to bring them in?

But then I thought through the fact that in season 1, her objective to capture Omega always came from Nala Se, who ultimately, just wanted to keep Omega safe from the very fate she has ended up in--being used by the Empire to be experimented on. And, I like to think that Fennec was pretty impressed by her during both of their encounters. I sensed a bit of admiration at how resourceful and determined Omega was to avoid capture and stay with her brothers. I think Fennec secretly respects that and has some care for her even if she would never admit it.

So I went back to season 1 to pull some screenshots, because I realized--there is a strong parallel here (and foreshadowing), that Omega is wanted for experimentation, and Fennec wants to help save her.

Omega is standing in front of an eerie stasis tube with a presumably dead alien inside it. As Fennec enters, she says that Omega can only rely on herself (interesting verbiage when she is without most of her brothers both here and where we will find her in season 3), and she reminds Omega that she already knows why she is valuable to the Empire...and by extension we are shown what Omega's worst fear is.

But, Fennec immediately lets her know that she is trying to help her...to save her. Foreshadowing, much?

Finally, after Omega escapes back to her brothers in this episode, Fennec answers a call from Nala Se and lets her know she got away...and also says that she is available if her services are ever needed again.

So, we have a bounty hunter who never misses, who has been tasked with saving Omega multiple times already, who had a very poignant and very specific scene with her in front of a stasis tube/potential cloning experiment, all giving a very intentional and intimate look at Omega's importance in the story. Coincidence? I doubt it.

So what do we think? I think whoever she ends up aiming at in season 3 can't be one of the Batch members. I wonder if maybe Nala Se finds a way to contact her again. Or maybe she is forced to, and maybe Fennec is tasked with finding the Batch again but when she finds out where Omega is, she is willing to help them instead. Maybe Rex somehow has enough credits to hire her to help them figure out where Mt. Tantiss is. Or, really wild thought, maybe Cid has a change of heart and fronts the credits to hire her as penance for what she's done.

Regardless, I sincerely hope that shot is aimed at Hemlock (not one of our boys)...and I hope she doesn't miss.

Send me your wild theories about this!

[trdpklvarchive]

Screenshots of the boy? I'd love to see how bad CF screwed the pooch.

So one of the main things in regards to how Roy has been written since day 1 is how he has always valued his work over himself and others -- ESPECIALLY its impact on the world. This has been fact since Calamity Trigger as shown in his side story, The Diary:

"Why do they not understand, why doesn't [Kokonoe, who is referred to as 'that woman' throughout] understand? As I've already said, this is a discovery that was lurking in the blind spot of our research. When it's the genius talking, and because a lot was said that today I feel it deeply. I definitely feel it. Firstly, only taking a light glance at it, then rejecting it as if some kind of dirt had touched it. Have you seriously stopped to think about it? It's possible. So why deny that possibility exists? If you have an answer within you then prove it to me. Something has to be done about that strange person. I've always felt that that woman is a strange one. Even if due to the deparment's spike in ability she may be a genius but that is different. In spite of being called a god that woman is useless. That woman is useless."

"Today I composed my thoughts once more. Today I had a little doubt about the design of the patterns so I omitted several vital parts in the previous entries. Right now humanity is flowing like blood, I'll explain now. It's become like this. Firstly about anti-seithr, it's the same phenomenon as the phenomenon of the Ars Magus phenomenon. To compensate for this ___ definitely the dangerous Azure which no one has noticed I'd do it once, eventually I want to skillfully, skillfully, do it. I'll have to discreetly do _______ thing ____ and that ______ was unexpected. Different from Ars Magus. Different from those Library vermin's Ars Magus. The huge Azure and azure's ______ bursts open, and the relief that forms quickly grows big, definitely rarely big so you cannot not notice it. Drawing near is dangerous, so first I have to extract that from the rear. It's directly close to the spine.If I rush there I'll die, that's for certain. After I extract the Azure ______ I'd really like to do that. I'll certainly have finally reached. I explained it with all my heart and soul, but no one is listening? to me it seems. So then I should just gently delete everyone. Gentlygentlygently_______"

Day 35 and 51 respectively.

The fact that he's so desperate to prove himself to others, ESPECIALLY KOKONOE, is the whole reason he injected himself with seithr in the first place. He wanted to prove to Kokonoe his work was worth something, even if that meant causing harm in the process.

As much as I dislike what Collisions did to Roy's backstory (as I find the idea of him being physically infected by seithr and melting into Arakune rather than him just simply. falling into the boundary and becoming Arakune more compelling and more terrifying) it did give us more insight on his character and his intentions past the little we knew from his diary and the occasional flashback we see as we play through Litchi's POV as well as her POV in Borderline and Kokonoe's POVs in That Which is Inherited.

Continued under the cut so my mega autism doesn't clog up people's dashes.

(lol, foreshadowing)

(All screenshots above are from Collisions.)

...I think that's more than enough to prove Roy's true mission and what he envisioned his work to become. And with both ways he was written, he both becomes victim to his own hubris -- whether it be him injecting himself with seithr or infusing himself with seithr via smelting. He has thrown all ethics out the window for his own research and has ruined relationships as he did so. (Although his relationship with Litchi is better detailed in Borderline.)

And then we get to Centralfiction.

Before you read this, you may think to yourself, "Oh, CF is simply a different scenario brought about by the Embryo! It makes sense that the writing would be different!" And yeah, you may be write, but in no way does it excuse it from ruining the character arcs we just saw build up throughout the past 3 games. It's pure salt in the wound and considering Centralfiction is the most fresh in a lot of BB story fans' minds it's frustrating to see a character/characters who have already been mistreated by interesting writing choices have their entire arcs ruined by some stupid AU plotline.

Honestly, I could go on forever about my opinion on this scene in it's entirety (and I have, here are some fun links) but all I really have to send is this picture:

For good measure, let's read that bottom line again:

Does that not... entirely go against literally everything I have just established previously? In this context, he's essentially telling Litchi to kill Arakune as he's okay with staying in the Boundary because the self satisfaction of studying the Boundary from the inside is more important to him than others seeing the fruits of his labor. Which entirely goes against his entire character that he has built up from Calamity Trigger until now. If you would like to watch the full scene, here is a link.

Roy is a very well written character, especially when in conjunction to Arakune, Litchi, and Kokonoe/Tager. I could very much go on more about how Centralfiction and it's decisions also destroyed the dynamic/friendship between Kokonoe but that would be another mile long post. So, I will instead share these two win quotes from Kokonoe -- one from Chronophantasma, and one from Centralfiction respectively:

"You've been infused with an Artificial Causality Weapon? Roy…"

vs.

"Kokonoe here. I've captured Lotte Carmine. Get him to my lab. Stat."

She doesn't even call him Roy.

Maybe I'll do another post detailing his relationship with Kokonoe but for now I have Japanese homework due in 30 minutes I need to get done. Hopefully this is a sufficient explanation on my opinions regarding Roy's writing in Centralfiction and how they dropped the ball on it horribly.

[koizumicchi]

Romeo MVM English Translation

ロメオ Music Video Making Docchi no Kiss ka Erabe yo LIP×LIP First Album

crossfade

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If you are able, please buy the album and support HoneyWorks and LIP×LIP. This bonus episode is bundled with either Type Aizou, Type Yuujirou, or the Complete Box. For further details about the benefits, you can refer to this post. As for the store bonuses, I believe they already run out by now but there’s no harm in checking again.

This little project wouldn’t be possible without the help of my two friends: krizza jersmien (for checking my translation) and nekomiho (for the sub and timing). I already gave my thanks a long time ago but I am still grateful for sparing some of your time to do this with me.

Unfortunately, I won’t re-upload the video or the subbed, but the rules I set when I shared it still applies. Thank you to everyone for honoring that, and I hope you will continue to do so in the future if you have kept a copy.

I included some screenshots here in this post. I hope that it won’t be re-posted or passed around, in public or private. But, saving it for personal keeping is okay.

Keep in mind that Japanese and English aren’t my first language. I never claim my translation (attempts) to be error-free. As always, if you’re going to use or reference my translations, please do not claim it as your own and credit me.

-----

Text: In a certain kingdom lies a story of princes and a princess.

0:20

Crowd: Princess!

0:33

Crowd: Princess!

0:38

Little Girl: The princess is beautiful! Her dress and tiara are shining and sparkling!

Woman: But she doesn’t smile much.

Man: As if she’s a doll.

Woman: Y-You’re right…

Attendant: Princess, smile to everyone.

1:12

Voice: Please take a look, Princess!

Voice: Lots of presents for you, all hailing originally from different kingdoms!

Princess: No matter what I look at, I don’t feel a thing.

Princess: I may be truly a doll who doesn’t have a heart.

1:52

Prince of the West: A pleasure to meet you. I am the Prince of the West.

PW: Princess. Please, won’t you become my princess?

Attendant: Stop! How dare you do something like this in the princess’ birthday!

PW: It is her birthday and yet no one can make her smile!

PW: And you call this bestowing your blessings to her!?

2:22

PW: Princess, as my present for your birthday, I will definitely make you smile.

PW: *exits*

Princess, in her thoughts: Make me…smile?

Princess, in her thoughts: I have not done so for how many years now.

2:44

Princess: I didn’t understand anything but ever since I was young they told me to smile.

Voice: Princess, everyone is looking this way. Please respond with a smile.

Princess: The more I think about the fact that I cannot smile, the more I cannot do it.

3:17

Prince of the East: What a gloomy face you have there-

PE: Beautiful lady.

PE: I am the Prince of the East Country. I have come for you.

Attendant: Princess!

Princess: It will be trouble if they find you. Hurry up and run-

Attendant: Princess! Where are you, princess?

Princess: I c-cannot come with you.

PE: To return to that somber world? Is that what you wish for?

PE: Abandon everything and run away from here.

PE: With me.

Attendant: Princess! Where are you, princess?

PE: See you.

Attendant: Are you okay, princess? Princess? Is something the matter?

4:25

Duke: Happy birthday, Princess.

Royal: Princess, I wish you a happy birthday.

Crowd: We give you our greetings, Princess.

Princess: Thank you.

4:50

Princess: Oh! The West-

PW: Princess, let’s dance!

PW: Your hand?

Princess: But-

PW: You want to change yourself who’s concerned about the people all around you.

PW: Don’t you think so?

PW: Nothing will change if you only sigh. To change means to take one step forward.

Princess: One step?

PW: Let me accompany you on that first step of yours.

5:30

PW: You’re doing absolutely fine, Princess.

Princess: Thank you. But you might be reproached.

PW: If it means I got to spend time with you having fun, I’ll gladly take it. I’ll accept any kind of reproach.

Princess: The world is spinning.

6:01

Princess: You are the East-

PE: There is something I want to give you.

6:14

Princess: Watch out!

6:21

Princess: Are you okay?

6:24

PE: Happy Birthday.

Princess: Ah!

Princess: How…? The roses aren’t in bloom yet.

PE: I made them bloom with my own magic.

Princess: Eh? Magic?

PE: I’m kidding. The roses bloom early in our country.

Princess: Ah, I was surprised.

Princess: Thank you.

PE: Your gloomy self is fascinating.

PE: But as I thought you smiling is a hundred times more beautiful.

PW: What are you doing to my princess!?

7:20

PW: Why, if it isn’t the Prince of the East.

PE: Of course it’d be you, Prince of the West.

7:31

Director: Cut!

Director: Okay! Good work, Sena-chan!

Sena: Thank you for your hard work!

Sena: Uhmm- we’re already on break…

Sena: Heyyy- you two..?

Yuujirou: Ah, I’m sorry. I was so immersed.

Aizou: Me too. I really thought this guy infuriates me.

Director: That was some good acting!

Sena: Ah, good work to you! I am Narumi Sena. This is my first job with LIP×LIP but they’re amazing. The two of them are perfectly synchronized.

LIPxLIP: *dances*

Sena: Bravo!

8:47

Choreographer: One, two, three four! Five, six, seven, eight!

Choreographer: And turn there! One, two!

Text: What kind of person is Yuujirou?

Aizou: He’s a very talented person. Play the music once and he remembers how it sounds. And before you knew it, he already mastered the choreography.

Aizou: His talent as an idol? Of course, there is! Because this is my partner we are talking about.

Yuujirou: Aizou, did you say something?

Aizou: I’m bad-mouthing you!

Yuujirou: Don’t say something unnecessary!

Yuujirou: *runs and covers Aizou’s mouth with his hand*

Aizou: *laughs*

Both: *falls over*

Yuujirou: You-

Aizou: Hey! You- Let go of me!

Yuujirou: No.

9:25

Aizou, talking to the staff: There is that kind of choice!

Aizou: Next time let’s go with everyone-

Text: What kind of person is Aizou?

Yuujirou: He has this wild image but he’s quite an amazing person.

Aizou @ the background: Next time let’s go with everyone-

Yuujirou: He has this certain charm and he gets along instantly with the staff upon first working with them.

Yuujirou: That’s how I see him and I think that part of him is amazing.

Aizou: Hey! Yuujirou! *throws a bottle*

Yuujirou: *catches it* Thank you!

Yuujirou: He’s a congenial type like this.

Female Staff: Kyaaaa! An indirect kiss!

Female Staff: Did you see that!?

10:04

Aizou: A person with a genius body who hates to lose.

Aizou: Yuujirou, when his switch is on, is quite amazing.

Aizou: But when that is turned off…

Aizou: *looking at Yuujirou beside him, who’s already asleep and nodding off*

Aizou: *pokes Yuujirou’s cheek*

Yuujirou: *swats if off and leans to Aizou, still fast asleep*

Aizou: Well… I have an adorable partner.

10:30

Yuujirou: He’s rather good in sports.

Yuujirou: Even to the other guys, he’s someone cool.

*Aizou looking at Yuujirou’s bento*

Yuujirou: But giving me back the carrots I picked out-

*Aizou, chopsticks in hand, smiles at Yuujirou*

Yuujirou: He troubles me too much sometimes.

10:47          

Choreographer: One, two, three four! Five, six, seven, eight!           

Choreographer: And turn right there!

Choreographer: And pose!

Yuujirou: Sensei, before we do the turn, would it be better to do another step? Like this.

Aizou: If we’re going with that, then it’s better if we do this pose, back-to-back.

Choreographer: Five, six, seven, eight!

Choreographer: And turn there! Pose!

Choreographer: You both, that was perfect!

Aizou and Yuujirou: *fist bumps*

11:09

Text: Do you know that it is said the two of you do not actually get along?

Yuujirou: Eh, seriously? There is a rumor like that?

Yuujirou: Hey, Aizou! Seems like we two do not get along well.

Aizou: What did you say?

Aizou: Yes, that is true. Actually, we don’t really get along at all!

Aizou: *pounces at Yuujirou*

Yuujirou: *screams at the background*

11:33                                                                                            

Yuujirou: Close friends? That term is lacking.

Aizou: We are on the same team but we aren’t just friends.

Yuujirou: There is no other way to put it.

Aizou: Because more than anyone-

Both: We are…

Both: Rivals.

11:54

PW, sword ready: You, rogue!

PW: Move away from my princess!

PE: I should be the one saying that.

PE: I don’t want to hear that from you. Get away from her.

PW: And if I refuse?

PE: If you say you do not want to… *draws his own sword*

*Lightning strikes*

Princess: Stop it!

PW: Open your eyes.

PW: Princess.

PW: Although I do not know how to deal with him-

PE: Even though I hate his guts-

PW: But what we wish for is the same.

PE: What we desire for is only one thing.

*Lays down their swords*

12:51

Fans: Aizou! Yuujirou!

Fans: You’re the best!

Fans: You are too sexy!

Text: The origin of ‘LIP×LIP’?

Yuujirou: Actually at first, our agency decided a different unit name.

Yuujirou: But somehow that sounded wrong. Right?

Aizou: Yeah. We want to convey our love to our fans.

Aizou: That is what we had in mind.

Fans: I love you, Yuujirou!

Yuujirou: Everyone, thank you for everything!

Fans: Aizou!

Aizou: Thank you!

Fans: You are so cool!

13:26

Yuujirou: Not only with words

Yuujirou: But also with our actions.

Aizou: Yes.

Aizou: Like giving a kiss.

Yuujirou: And that is why-

Aizou: We are-

Both: LIP×LIP

*camera static*

*Romeo plays*

[my-darling-boy]

Genuinely asking, isn't self-diagnose with a condition kind of dangerous? Because legitimizing self-diagnosing opens a door to many malicious people who would want to exploit the fact they can self-diagnose? And in turn, make the space of autistic people worse?

Was going to skip this, but I’m writing a LONG response because I’m VERY exhausted with the amount of misinformation I see on this “self dx is dangerous” take, so buckle up and allow me to info dump.

Recently, authentic_autism_advocacy, an Instagram account run by a supposed medically diagnosed autistic woman was discovered to be a non-autistic woman, Connie Manning, posing as a medically diagnosed autistic person to spread hate and anti-self diagnosing speech. In reality, she is a neurotypical mother who regularly uses her autistic son for clout; she also turned out to have a hand behind CalmWear, a brand of sensory compression products designed for disabled people. Not only had she been spewing hatred towards other autistic people, she had been accusing well known AFAB autistic tiktokers like beckspectrum of faking being autistic and threatening self diagnosed autistics and saying they are a danger to the community, and engaging in other incredibly discriminating behaviour. Yes, she herself was a neurotypical person posing as a medically diagnosed autistic to perpetuate hateful rhetoric about self diagnosed people and used her voice to speak OVER autistic folk for financial gain and exploitation of autistic people, including her own son. If you want to read this roller coaster of a story, an autistic person wrote an entire article on it with tons of screenshots and sources.

So let me make one thing clear to you.

The purpose of actually, genuinely self diagnosing is not done to attract attention or to parade around and exploit other autistic people. Self diagnosed autistic individuals have recognised due to difficult life circumstances, financial hardship, bigotry and stigma within the medical/legal world, being a minor, lack of insurance, lack of proper access to safe care facilities, being denied assessment due to incompetent or biased practitioners, and/or any other obstacle that they may temporarily or permanently be barred from diagnosis. Self diagnosis does NOT instantly mean a person is posing for clout, nor does it indicate a person is trying to wring money from assistance services or exploit other autistics. And nts who use self diagnose with intentions of harming the community? That’s NOT self diagnosis, that’s abuse of something meant to aid people blocked from medical care or financial means to that care. All we can do for autistic people, no matter who we perceive them to be, is treat them the same way we would any other autistic person. Because the moment you start deciding by your own book who deserves respect and who doesn’t, you’ll be on a slippery slope to locking out thousands of autistic people from the community. If it’s discovered a person like Connie is literally abusing the system of self dx to intentionally mislead the community, by all means, we must hold them accountable. But you cannot simply go about granting and revoking access from people just because someone lacks a diagnosis or doesn’t fit your idea of what being autistic looks like, especially if it’s based on stereotypes.

Moral of the story? Isn’t it ironic how anti-self dx people will 100% believe a user who claims to be medically diagnosed but shows no “written proof” of it, yet always demand written proof from a self dx person? It’s almost like even anti-self dx people can’t tell the difference between someone who is medically diagnosed autistic and someone who isn’t. Well, that’s because they can’t. While there might be common traits, autism has no set model, it is a spectrum, no autistic person is alike; Policing self diagnosed people about their self diagnosis isn’t a form of protecting the community. It’s a form of gatekeeping. If you find yourself granting instant acceptance, without asking for proof, to a person insisting they are medically diagnosed like this neurotyical mother, but then prohibit self dx people from entry entirely on the grounds of not showing proof of medical assessment, you are upholding a double standard. This is why policing autistic people’s diagnosis, self or not, is inherently useless.

So here’s the thing... instead of asking people to stop self diagnosing, what you should instead be asking yourself is, “Why do people self diagnose? What kind of medical system could possibly be in place where people feel they need to resort to self diagnosis rather than get an actual diagnosis?”

Well, it’s mainly common knowledge among most of the autistic community that diagnosis is NOT easy to come by.

One of the main reasons why people cannot get a diagnosis is due to financial/insurance reasons. It’s reasonable to estimate that by the end of 2020 almost 30 million Americans alone were without health insurance. I’ve heard costs out of pocket for an autism diagnosis are between $500-$6000. If a person or a family cannot afford health insurance—which by the way on average is around $5,400 a year for a single person and $13,800 for a family here—where are they supposed to pull out $6,000 to get screened?

You might be asking, “Well aren’t insurances supposed to cover disability?” Sure, there are options for disability care through health insurance—not even going to get into that—but like a lot of things in the US, this is a severely flawed system. A lot of private health insurance will stop or limit coverage for an autism diagnosis or assistance services once a person reaches 18 to 21 years old. In most states, coverage has a higher chance of being denied to autistic adults coming with the added age cap or ONLY covering ABA, an abusive, manipulative “therapy” used to force social compliance and trait suppression on autistic people. The fact that ABA, a conversion therapy, is covered, but little else, shows exactly what insurance companies think of autistic people: they’ll only cover us if we want to learn to be “normal”. This can leave many undiagnosed autistic adults who cannot afford analysis, insurance, or safe assistance services with nowhere to turn. If I was not on my parents’ insurance, there is NO WAY I would EVER be able to afford a diagnosis. I don’t have $2,000 lying around. The MONEY ALONE would prohibit me from getting a diagnosis, no matter how many autistic traits I presented.

When I was going through this system years ago to start a diagnosis, I was shocked to find no therapist within three hours of me was accepting adult patients. “Up to 18 only” their websites would say. And in the event I had found one (1) that accepted me as a then 20 year old with X insurance, and that person refused me diagnosis, I would be out of options unless I planned a 5 hour drive which may have also led me to another biased screener. A person seeking self financed assessment can waste thousands of dollars therapist hopping.

People will say, “Well I live in X place, and where I come from, it’s covered!” Well the reality is that everyone in the world does not live where you live. It’s not realistic to assume everyone is in the same position as you or your family to afford care or access the same resources as you. When you say, “Just go out and get a diagnosis! It’s not that hard!”, understand you are speaking from your personal vantage point where screening may be easily accessed or easily covered/is free OR you have no personal knowledge of what that process is like yourself.

The second thing that bars a ton of people from being diagnosed is the fact that when autism was first discovered, its research was HEAVILY centered on white, cis, heterosexual men. The idea that autistic people are ONLY cis, white, heterosexual men carries on to this day. If you are an outlier to this stereotype, your chances of being misdiagnosed with something else or refused diagnosis skyrocket because so-called “professionals” don’t know how to observe traits in any other person besides a cis, white, heterosexual man, and refuse/fail to recognise the endless ways in which a person can be autistic. ALL the time I hear how AFAB people will go in to get screened only to find out their screener does not believe AFAB people can be autistic, because yes, sexism and anti-lgbtq+ ideas play a huge role in the incredibly outdated diagnostic process, because autism is still believed to be an “AMAB only” thing. People report going into a therapists office and being asked questions like, “Do you like going outside? Do you like having friends?” and being told that if you agree with either of these, you cannot be autistic because criteria at some places is so backwards, you can’t even say you enjoy conversation without failing the test. Other things commonly heard during the analysis are screeners telling someone they are too smart/articulate to be autistic, gas lighting them by saying they are mistaking their symptoms for something else/making them up, telling a person they seem normal, dismissing clear autistic traits by saying they’re unique “superpowers”, or intentionally misdiagnosing a person as ADHD INSTEAD of autistic. People on social media have also pointed out what influences racism has on the diagnostic process as well and how lack of research and understanding of autistic POC contributes to under-diagnosis and stigma has only contributed to refusal of care and under-representation of POC in the disabled community, as one autistic Black woman points out on Instagram, “I found excellent articles that support and validate my feelings and experiences, but I could find no research on autistic Black people.” Additionally, because research has primarily been done on young men, this means anyone who is not a cis man and is over the age of 18 and is seeking a diagnosis has a much higher chance of not receiving one because screeners don’t understand how autistic traits may present differently in adults, especially since adults are very likely to mask. Some autism screeners are so against autism they have told clients they would only diagnosis a person autistic if it was their last resort to avoid “placing a burden on their shoulders”. These reasons are largely responsible for why autism is incredibly mis/under-diagnosed. This ask would be the length of a novel if I included every single type of discrimination and mistreatment during the evaluation process alone, but understand it can be incredibly biased, sexist, transphobic, racist, or just flat out ableist. And guess what? Though this process can take as little as a month to get sorted, that is rare. The assessment SHOULD be very short. But a lot of autistic people have reported their diagnosis took more than 2-4 years because of having to waste time, energy, and money hopping from therapist to therapist looking for someone to take them seriously, as many autistic people compiled on the actuallyautistictiktoks page on Instagram point out.

The last thing I want to touch on is this idea that people have that self diagnosing is dangerous. “What if someone self diagnoses and they take advantage of services that are meant for autistic people?” ...The Big Things you think I am going to take advantage of as a self diagnosed autistic person, like scholarship money for instance or SSDI, I do not have legal access to without a formal diagnosis. I cannot waltz into a law firm and ask for a $5,000 scholarship for autistic people without a diagnosis, because they WILL NOT give it to me!

Let me tell you some of things I’ve “cruelly taken advantage of” as a self diagnosed autistic person. I bought glasses with blue light protection, because screen and fluorescent lighting at work and even natural blue toned light from the sky lowers my threshold for some sensory input like noise and social interaction; wearing them to work everyday has improved my sensory thresholds incredibly. I’ve talked to my manager and told him I’m autistic and that I have a hard time understanding vague direction and may need to step away briefly on occasion to tend to a shutdown before a meltdown comes on at work; he had no problem with this. I use subtitles; sometimes I have trouble processing audio or reading facial expressions and tone, and being able to see the words displayed on the screen gives me a significantly better understanding of what I watch. All my life, I have been having meltdowns which I had mistaken for mental breakdowns or panic attacks and having access to resources that walked me through preventative methods and tips on what to do if I have one has been ENORMOUSLY helpful to me. All my life, I was trying to deal with them thinking they were something else; becoming aware of this and accepting that they are in fact autistic meltdowns has helped me not only go through them, but has helped me redirect stims which at their worst previously had me hitting and clawing my arms, slapping my face, and even hitting my head. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wait 4 years for a diagnosis to use resources I could be using to make my life more accessible right now!

People will say, “Oh well yeah, I don’t mean You are one of Those Types of self diagnosed autistic people, you clearly sound/look autistic, I’m talking about other people.” The thing is, there is no broad “sounding/looking autistic”, that’s stereotyping, and you can’t demand everyone who interacts with you show you their Autistic Card, because again, not everyone is able to be diagnosed, especially given the mistreatment and stigma present towards autistic people in the medical field! And what made you ask for their diagnosis? Because they “don’t seem autistic” to you? Why didn’t you ask for their diagnosis? Because they “seemed autistic” to you? By denying anyone who doesn’t have a diagnosis resources they may very well need, you are denying assistance to thousands of people who are without means to be diagnosed. And I am SO tired of seeing comments online on self diagnosis posts that “people don’t know what they’re taking about” as if they know us personally, like are you me? Are you my doctor I’ve consulted? Did you watch me academically research and consult with other autistic people about being autistic for over 3 years? I’m tired of “well, one time a self diagnosed person laughed at my actually autistic diagnosed friend...so all self dx people are evil” because there is ZERO correlation between a person being self assessed and their behavior towards a non self assessed person. The fact both those arguments are in use whenever self dx comes up is yet another form of gatekeeping.

Self diagnosing autism is not begging for attention or Evil Criminal Money Funneling Schemes. It is a result of a deeply flawed medical and insurance system that has failed to give proper attention and care to those who need it, it is a result of resources not made available, of safe support systems not there for kids and adults alike. You want to talk about what’s truly dangerous? How the hate group Autism Speaks has been parading itself around since 2005 as an advocacy group for autistic people and has been misusing millions of dollars worth of donation money and promoting stigma and hatred around autistic people; no autistic members are present on their board. How Sia and her new film Music was nominated for 2 Golden Globes despite it replacing the original autistic actor with a neurotypical actor, using offensive stereotypes, and using the main autistic character as a prop, and featured an extremely dangerous bodily restraint scene on an autistic person having a meltdown in public and featured very insensitive content due to Sia’s lack of consulting with autistic people to make the film (spoilers in that article).

Instead of policing autistic people, whether they fit your idea of what an autistic person is or not, redirect your efforts and your energy to dismantling systems and holding others accountable for perpetuating harmful stereotypes about autistic people that are legitimately dangerous on such a scale that they have created insurmountable damage to the autistic community. But I guarantee you, worrying over whether your classmate is “faking it” will not do any justice to the decades worth of discrimination autistic people face still today.

I understand. You care about the community, you don’t want autistic people to be exploited or taken advantage of. I don’t want to be exploited and taken advantage of as an autistic person, and I don’t want that for others! But I also understand that when we self proclaim ourselves as judges of random autistic strangers on the internet or start accusing people of faking or demanding to see medical paperwork from people when the basis of our suspicions is “this person doesn’t look like my stereotyped view on how I think an autistic person should act”, THAT is when you really run into trouble. Because if you are allowed to deny self dx people entrance into the autistic community, what’s stopping you from thinking you have the power to deny ANYONE entrance into that community?

And there is power in self diagnosis for many autistic people. When the evaluation system is literally rigged to set you up for failure and put you through unnecessary hardship, self dx is a self affirming, empowering tool to take back control from a process designed to gaslight and crush you. The evaluation process was NOT formulated by an autistic person, nor was it made to be inclusive of all autistic people. Until the evaluation system in place for autistic people is safe, accessible, and free to ALL, you have EVERY right to self diagnose.

[amberluv28]

Hey Ladies, I’ve been so so busy with life but I’m ready to start posting again! I love Tumblr because it allows me to express myself and why i absolutely adore being a woman and share that among other amazing woman all over tumblr. So with that being said thank you. I hope my post may empower woman in a certain way or even inspire them to embrace there own life as a woman and all the amazing things it comes with!! So with that being said here are 18 reasons why I love being a woman! 🥰🙍‍♀️💄💅

The 18 best things about being a woman

1. We live longer. Got to love that higher life expectancy, eh?

2. We use handbags. Sure, sometimes guys will treat themselves to a backpack, but I honestly don't know what I'd do without my ridiculous Mary Poppins style holdall.

3. We have so many more clothing options than men. You only have to watch any red carpet event ever to feel sorry for them.

4. The is no greater thing in this world than girl talk. It is everything and is 100% (fine, maybe 95%) worth the 40+ years of periods.

5. Drunken conversations with random girls in club toilets are extreme self-esteem boosters. You may wonder the next day why you took life advice from a stranger with loo roll stuck to her heel, but still.

6. Speaking of toilets, ours are always way fancier than boys'. I'm pretty sure I could live in a Wetherspoons bog if I really needed to.

7. Makeup is our jam. Obviously, makeup isn't gender specific (James Charles, the first male CoverGirl, can attest to that) but still, there's nothing some of us love more than a good eyebrow transformation.

8. We are crazy organised and shit hot at multi-tasking. Sometimes I even surprise myself when I'm talking on the phone, painting my nails and reading my horoscope at the same time.

9. We're so much better at giving gifts. No shade, but one time my dad bought my mum a blender for Christmas and he thought it was the most romantic thing ever.

10. We have a seriously high tolerance for pain. HELLO CHILDBIRTH.

11. We're more fluid in our sexuality. A Boise University study found that 60% of heterosexual women have been sexually attracted to other women - and who can blame us?

12. We are emotional AF, and we aren't sorry about it. It's so unfair that some men feel they can't be open about their feels, but we on the other hand give zero effs angry crying to our BFF about how the barista in Starbucks was rude to us this morning.

13. We always know the best camera angles for our friends. I'll be damned if I let my girl upload a subpar profile pic to Facebook.

14. We're insanely loyal. If you're ever in trouble, you can guarantee we'll have all the receipts to back you up.

15. We are the queens of pettiness. Sure, some people see this as a negative, but those people clearly don't have a 10-person deep WhatsApp group and a camera roll full of screenshots.

16. If you're lucky enough for your squad's cycles to sync up, you're basically all physic for a week. "Chocolate?" "Chocolate".

17. Multiple orgasms. That is all.

18. WE RUN THE WORLD. When you've got women like Michelle Obama and Beyoncé on your team, it's pretty hard not to feel like a boss.

[dippedanddripped]

Old Nollywood aesthetics and fashion may be considered trendy today, but the films were not always so well-regarded. In the 90s and early 2000s, when these movies were made and watched in parlours across Nigerian homes as they were shot, straight-to-video, they were considered as bad entertainment, or ‘low culture’. To watch and enjoy Nollywood films was to celebrate mediocrity. But today, nostalgic young Millennials and Gen Zers are overlooking the jarring audio, grainy pictures, and sometimes hammy acting, to appreciate not only the grooming and style of the actors, but the original and diverse stories that reflect unique Nigerian experiences.

It was for this reason that sisters Tochi and Ebele Anueyiagu started Nolly Babes, a nostalgic Instagram account dedicated to celebrating the cinematic period’s women. Started in December 2017, their first post was of Nollywood’s biggest star Genevieve Nnaji; a still taken from 2004 film Sharon Stone In Abuja, directed by Adim Williams. Nnaji plays the titular character, a sexually liberated young woman who uses her beauty and charm to ensnare unassuming men into doing her bidding.

The account is an ode to the female characters of old Nollywood who were often portrayed as warning examples. The storylines were steeped in moral principles rooted in the patriarchal culture and the dominant Christian religion of Southern Nigeria. A large number of the female characters were considered immoral because they kissed other women, challenged men, smoked and drank, or wore mini skirts. Today, Nolly Babes and similar accounts are reimagining these women, taking their scenes out of the moralistic context of the films, and turning them into iconic feminist personas.

The first time Nollywood content seeped into the mainstream internet consciousness can be traced back to 2017 when videos of Nollywood’s favourite comedic duo Chinedu Ikedieze and Osita Iheme, better known as Aki and Pawpaw, rose to popularity due mostly to the influence of a now-defunct Twitter account @nollywoodroll ran by Nicole, a woman based in Brazil.

Their memes became the go-to reaction videos for expressing a wide range of emotions: joy, disappointment, sadness, frustration. The appeal was in seeing children making mischief or in adult situations – drinking beer and smoking cigars, wooing bigger women, or in oversized suits shouting instructions at people twice their size. Although both Ikedieze and Iheme were in their 20s in the early 2000s when most of the films were made, they mostly played children because of their body stature. By 2019, the memes had achieved such virality that brands like Rihanna’s Fenty would use them for social media clout.

Theodora Imaan Beauvais is the curator of Yung Nollywood, another archive of clips and stills from old Nollywood paying homage to its controversial female characters, after screenshotting moments from Nollywood she found “appealing or inspirational”. Yung Nollywood is remarkably distinct from Nolly Babes for its subtitling of the films’ stills from Nollywood films, something she attributes to Tumblr. While the idea to give witty captions to the actors’ facial expressions came from watching Netflix. “I thought, ‘If someone could describe Nollywood reactions in short phrases it’d be an art form on its own,’ and I became that someone.’”

In December 2019, Tochi and Ebele hosted a Nollywood-themed party in Lagos. Nollywood actor and musician Nonso Bassey attended the party dressed in a two-piece jean set and bucket hat, a signature look of the bad boy/alpha male archetype, and a role reprised multiple times by older actors such as Hanks Anuku, Emeka Ike, and Jim Iyke. Since that party, Nonso has attended social functions and premieres in outfits that make a nod to the fashion choices of that era of Nollywood. He insists, though, that he isn’t cosplaying Nollywood characters of that era. “I’ve always been attracted to the idea of merging old world charm with a new school approach,” he said.

The party caused a cultural stir amongst Nigerians and Africans both at home and in the diaspora – every other week, there seems to be a Nollywood-themed party held either in Lagos or London. Take for instance friends and business partners Imani Okunubi and Aseosa Uwagboe, two Nigerian-British kids who grew up in the UK. Nollywood was one of the ways they could connect back to their roots. That experience informs their event brand, Lasgidi to London, targeted at Nigerians living in the UK. “We wanted to create events that were reminiscent of the Naija hall parties (Owambe) we attended as kids, as we don’t want to see that culture die,” Aseosa said. Their next owambe is a Nollywood-themed party and guests are expected to come dressed in their “best nolly Y2K aesthetic”.

Below, the Nolly Babes sisters talk about creating and hosting the first Nollywood-themed party and the cultural moment it has inspired.

How did that first event come about – please take me through it, from the planning to how it turned out?

Nolly Babes: From the inception of Nolly Babes, we knew we had to throw a party. Fashion is a huge part of what makes Nolly Babes different from other Nollywood-themed pages and we knew we were the only ones that could set Nolly Babes as the dress code and have people commit as they did. There are many iconic Nollywood scenes and scenarios. The daughter meeting her evil mother-in-law, the ominous visit to the Babalawo, the campus stroll – just the mere mention of these scenes evokes images that have been embedded in the minds of our fellow Nollywood enthusiasts. The party scene is probably the most iconic of them all. Whether it’s in a club, a mansion while mum and dad are out of town (but coming home early to crash the whole thing) or poolside, the Nolly Babes party scene has its staples: mad music, dancing, and sick outfits.

December in Lagos is notoriously hectic. On each day, there are day parties, beach hangouts, concerts, and we just knew we had to be a part of it. Our flyer was the first thing we made sure was done right, and that has been replicated (but never duplicated) many many times. We went through at least six drafts of that until we got the flyer to be a realistic replica of the home video covers from the golden era. The DJs Kemi Lijadu and vIVENDII Sounds understood the assignment and played music from the Nolly Babes era. We’re talking Tony Tetuila, Mo Hitz, Wande Coal, Plantation Boyz… We curated a special cocktail menu: Genny Colladas, Jim Iyke’s Hard Lemonade, MargaRita Dominic, and our Lagos Island Iced Tea, in tribute to Nollywood stars Genevieve Nnaji, Jim Iyke, and Rita Dominic respectively. We had a video projection on the famous red wall at Nok showing a mashup of emblematic scenes. We were partying while seeing images of a young Jim Iyke dressed just like many of the attendees were dressed. It was magical! We have an event we’re planning in New York for the summer – it’s going to be a madness.

Did you envisage it becoming the cultural movement it’s now become?

Nolly Babes: We really didn’t. We hosted the party because we knew people were taking inspiration from our page for styling jobs and music video treatments, and wanted to give everyone a chance to recreate some of their favourite looks. Now every week we see people planning Nollywood-themed parties and sending people to our page for references. It’s awesome. Toke Makinwa even recently attended a Nolly Babes-themed party and she was dressed as a character we have immortalised – Regina Askia in President’s Daughter. She killed it! Even though the character wasn’t referenced, it was clear as day and it was awesome to see that she pulled it off! Honestly, when we see people really pay attention to detail and execute the theme well it’s so, so dope.

How has TikTok helped grow Nollywood's influence? You posted a scene from Girls Cot, the famous “you stink with poverty” clip on TikTok and it went viral and birthed these recreations even by non-Africans.

Nolly Babes: We’re just happy to see that another aspect of Nollywood that we champion – the iconic scenes and one-liners – is also resonating across the world. We see Nolly Babes as an archival work and as much as we focus on beauty and looks on Instagram, it’s nice to be able to point people in the direction of the scenes that are forever embedded in our brains. These are scenes we recreated in jest ourselves before there was even a Nolly Babes to begin with, so to see it catching on TikTok is exciting and a new frontier for us to fully explore. I think what distinguishes Nolly Babes from other Nollywood pages and what contributes to our TikTok success is that we really watch Nollywood movies. We grew up watching these movies and continue to do so now so we can capture those moments in films that the casual consumer or poster of Nollywood content might not.

What are your thoughts on Nollywood’s influence on the Alté scene? Music videos of artists such as Lady Donli and Odunsi nod to the aesthetic and fashion styles of that era.

Nolly Babes: Nollywood, and specifically the aesthetic we have shone a spotlight on, is probably one of the biggest influences in terms of visuals in that scene right now. I have never seen so many Eucharia (Anunobi) eyebrows on TV and we love it! It’s awesome to see our images and scenes being used in treatments and storyboards. If we’re being candid, we think it would be great if we got the chance to step into our stylist/creative direction bag and help with the execution of the aesthetic.

“The bottom line is really that Nolly Babes has brought what was already an international cultural influence to the modern social media realm with a new lens” – Nolly Babes

How far do you see Nollywood's influence on pop culture, beyond Nigeria and Africa?

Nolly Babes: When we moved to New York we found our Dominican and South American friends had also grown up watching Nollywood films. The bottom line is really that Nolly Babes has brought what was already an international cultural influence to the modern social media realm with a new lens. Nollywood clips were online everywhere – but it was always in a comedic way. Aki and PawPaw are meme gods now, and that’s because their expressions transcend cultural boundaries. Black Twitter eats that stuff up.

Nolly Babes chooses to center the beauty, style, and iconic imagery, even the home decor with our #NollyDecor hashtag of the golden era of Nollywood. We share the makeup, accessories, fashion, iconic phrases, and scenes in a way that isn’t just comedic but inspirational and aesthetically groundbreaking. I see Nollywood being at the centre of this Y2K resurgence that is happening all over the world, from TV to runways and fashion collections. That era is coming back around and, this time, the Black experience is being revisited and centered in a way it wasn’t back in the late 90s and 2000s. (Black people) were always the originators of the trends and this time they’re tapping into the source and Nollywood, particularly the era we celebrate as Nolly Babes, is a great resource for that.

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