#we love a canonically nonbinary horse

[bishopony]

non mlp! I've been a background fan of wild manes for a bit, I was excited to see a new colorful horse toy line where it looks like they actually put some effort into their sets. so here's my version of Cocoa :]

[cupute]

Halley!!! Made this a while ago and hecking adore this new character that came out. They're super pretty and me and the homies on the Wild Manes Discord server headcanoned that they're Nonbinary. Loki it makes so much sense though hah. Super awesome character with super awesome design.

And yes I made a blue version of the artwork as well ^^

[signed-sapphire]

Okayyyy rewatched Wish

Here are my notes

Valentino wasn’t as annoying as people say. Sure, he did nothing for the plot and could’ve been removed entirely, but he didn’t make near as many butt jokes as people say he did

The lead-ins for all the songs were great. Certain media (Hazbin, for example) just jump into the songs

Magnifico??? Didn’t touch the pages??? So why would he be corrupted? Why does Amaya know of obsidian oil? Don’t you just skim the pages to release the evil?

Dahlia was amazing

“At the very least break the hold it has on him” Amaya? Didn’t you found this kingdom with thin? Wouldn’t you know?

Also Amaya was very sidelined. Where’s her backstory?

Asha’s magic wand mishaps were… corny at best

Why did they make Dario high all the time? He’s not stupid. I feel like they made him try to be like Fred from Big Hero 6 but failed

“Nine zillyboo, twenty alphabet!” Val, buddy. No.

DAHLIA. MATE. TRUE LOVE’S KISS CAN BRUNG HIM BACK I swear, it feels like the directors were switched

The spider-carriage thing. I feel like that could’ve been a Disney reference instead

Gabo was still my favorite out of the teens. Bazeema was sweet too

Also. Halzeema moments were actually in canon.

Sabino did not act 100 at all.

Crushing wishes did nothing to people except make them sad for .2 seconds

Asha’s drawing, her magic wand, none of that was important to the actual plot

I feel like the horses could’ve been Disney references too

Why did the roof open? That was never explained

Mag’s hair needed to be messier. Evil Magnifico? Crazy hair

How did he hear them from all the way down there

Mag’s really out there beating up a minor

The curse rope green things were not scary at all

Was Simon just in the forest the entire time?

The Magnifico getting sucked inside his staff… I feel that could’ve been a play to Dr. Facilier somehow

The stars raining down were beautiful

Was Star’s nose tap a reference to something?

The people’s talking… idk how I felt about that

WE 👏 SHOULD’VE 👏 SEEN 👏 SAKINA’S 👏 WISH

Another half-assed apology. First Namaari, now you. At least Simon’s was an actual apology. Wait. More of it goes on.

Ok his apology isn’t too bad

How did the staff get all the way down there?

Changed my opinion, Amaya deserved to tell Mag off

Did Mag’s curse break once he was in the mirror? Why did he act sad all of a sudden?

I’ve heard Asha’s movements weren’t finalized until later, but her movements seem pretty fluent

Clumsy and energetic, sure, but besides from the mouth drooping part, she wasn’t that quirky

Which. Could be a bad thing. She didn’t really have much of a personality

I like the Peter Pan building a flying machine idea

Zootopia ref

DARIO. SHUT UP

Why does everyone suddenly understand Star

But off-topic they were so cute

“It” I guess

Why refer to Star as an it

“They” was too woke for the Disney execs? Why, you had a one-second offhand comment about a water cousin who’s nonbinary!

That Cinderella-reference thing… wasn’t slow enough to be a dress transformation. So I’m fine with her not having a different dress. I mean obviously I would’ve loved it but idk

SHOW DON’T TELL, DISNEY

STOP TELLING

“I understand you well enough” I DON’T! HOW ARE THEY TELLING YOU

Some of Valentino’s jokes were funny. Sue me

I liked the Tinkerbell and Mikey Mouse reference at the end

The storybook was a nice callback

The credits should’ve been moving. Also CHOOSE BAYMAX TO REPRESENT BIG HERO 6. WHY HAVE VILLAINS LIKE MALEFICENT THERE

Overall. Not as bad as people are making it out to be. But definitely not worthy to be Disney’s 100

I’d say… 7/10. The backgrounds did look watercolor, but the shading seemed off in places. Especially Sakina. There was major improvement to be done, but with the hell the execs were giving (and the proven creativity of the concept art) I feel this movie is getting too much hate. Critiques and criticism are fine. But don’t blame the writers for getting rid of Starboy. Yes, it could’ve been better. But it’s Disney. And the creators tried their best to pour their love into a movie that they didn’t have a full say in.

[bug-buzzz]

Crowley here, I'm an introject of Crowley from Good Omens. Here's some "head canons" that are just what me and azi do.

I cross dress all the time, skirts, dresses, you name it. Whatever I feel good in I wear.

I don't like eating, aziraphale does. Most of the time when we go out to eat it's just me watching her eat.

We are both nonbinary and use all pronouns, and we are asexual / aceflux.

We are aceflux but we occasionally have sex

I have fangs and pointed ears

I have pierced ears

I hated horses, Aziraphale loved them. He used to have a small herd of ponies that they named.

We have and wear wedding bands. Mine is silver, hers is gold.

We both fluctuate our gender and appearances often but not our names.

I wear a choker.

Aziraphale has a nightgown that they love.

We both use neopronouns.

She said "I love you" first.

We preen eachothers wings from time to time.

My love language is physical touch and theirs is gift giving and quality time.

We do not pay for any of our meals (sort of) I miracle them to be free and Aziraphale miracles a large tip to the workers.

The j stands for Janthony.

The wife thing was to make ourselves think we didn't like each other. It didn't work. In fact, both of our wives fell in love with each other.

I frequently steal pet snakes from pet stores and miracle them into loving homes.

[steadysapphics]

Hi! If you want to Uplift Sapphics/Sapphic Ships in Fandoms, Look Below!

Hi! We’re the Steady Sapphics, a pair of trans lesbians who run this blog!

A troubling pattern we have noted within every fandom we have been a part of is a significant lack in content for sapphic pairings, whether they be canon or not. The mlm ships, while they were wonderful, always received more fics, more fanart, and more engagement from the fandom itself. In TV shows, canon sapphic ships are either a secondary ship to the main one, or if it does star the sapphic pairing, the show is canceled after 1 season. The world views sapphic ships as less profitable and less interesting, unless they are fetishized or marketed to a male audience. This is a heartbreaking reality for young women loving women/non-men loving non-men to see.

We made this blog in an attempt to change this view in the fandom world. Our goals with this blog is to:

1. Create sapphic content in various fandoms through fan fiction

2. Uplift other sapphic creators/works in these fandoms by reblogging fanfics and fanarts from various fandoms, as well as shouting out sapphic creators, both on and outside of Tumblr.

3. Give sapphics a safe space to engage with sapphic content and express their thoughts and opinions.

This blog is for every sapphic, whether you be lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, aromantic, omnisexual, polysexual, transgender, nonbinary, intersex, or anywhere on the spectrum of sexuality and/or gender! Allies of sapphics are welcome as well, with the understanding that this blog is not about them, but meant rather to uplift sapphics, sapphic ships, and sapphic content.

Important Links:

Steady Sapphics AO3 Profile

Steady Sapphics Discord Server (Coming Soon!)

List of Fandoms/Ships That I Can Write For

Request a Fanfic

Request A Sapphic Media/Rarepair

Meet the Runners of this Blog Below!

~Hi! My name is Madison, and I am a white nonbinary ace lesbian. I go by he/they/she pronouns. I’m 18 years old, and have been involved in fandom culture since I was around 13 years old. Some of my passions include writing, horse riding, and theater. I am the one who originally thought up of the blog, and got the team together to begin making it.

~Hello! My name is Cedar. I’m 16 years old, and I am a nonbinary black lesbian. My pronouns are they/them. While I have not been active in many fandoms, I have a great appreciation for art and music. I am often disappointed that I don’t see myself represented as much as white, straight, or gay men.

[wispforever]

ask game!! soul eater

got two anons for soul eater, so here it is:

Blorbo: Stein, obviously. He is just too queer and mentally ill to ignore. I've made more in-depth posts about him under the "ask" tag.

Scrunkly: If anyone is shape, it's Crona. They are SO gender. canon nonbinary they/them LEGEND. Oh to be a pink-haired bendy androgynous pool noodle of a meister (the trans dream).

Scrimblo Bimblo: One character I think is underappreciated is Mifune, definitely. We love one (1) samurai dad and his chameleon daughter. He's so god damn cool with the swords and the caution tape. Fuck me up

Glup Shitto: I've never spoken much about Whitestar. I don't think I've ever even drawn him. But I really wish we could've learned more about the starclan and what kind of man Whitestar was. I love a good villain; especially one who spirals. If we knew more about him, it would give more insight into Blackstar's character, which is something I would appreciate.

Poor Little Meow Meow: ah spirit. the most pathetic man alive. you insufferable bastard you. you disgusting unvirtuous cheater. do better

Horse Plinko: Spirit Again (see above)

Eeby Deeby: may medusa rot in super turbo hell, burnt into my brain as one of the most despicable villains I've ever had the misfortune to observe. die by fire

[kellystar321]

*noms your ear gently*

HELLO SURPRISE IT'S ME AGAIN<33

Wandersong Blorbos? 🥺

hdjhf i adore you, hello again darling *carries you on my head so you can nom my ear* jhkjdnf <33 YES OF COURSE, my favorite game of all time, here are my wandersong blorbos <33

blorbo - the answer is ABOLUTELY the Bard, no question <3 GOD THEYRE SO GOOD, I LOVE THEM SO MUCH,,, they mean so much to me, i love kiwi so very much :'> <333 theyre so silly and fun and they mean so much to me aufnfjfnjkdn i love!! LOVE!!!!!!!!! i love them SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!! <333

scrunkly - ALSO THE BARD, kiwi is literally SO FRIEND-SHAPED, i love them so so much, but if i had to pick a different baby character, it'd be Ash <33 oh ash my lovely nonbinary accordion player, i adore you <3

scrimblo bimblo - Marley :> <33 shes one of the girls at Langtree, she calls you Little Bird which i THINK IS THE CUTEST?? "Hallo, little bird!" favorite bard nickname, absolutely <33 she's also a lesbian, she canonically hangs out with Kiwi enough that they made their hat together, and also she gives you your first singing-choice option (when she asks your age!) AND I LOVE HER A LOT,,, a delight <3

glup shitto - Nina is literally such a gremlin,,, she's the tiny pirate that sits on top of the lookout's place!! and she says that Kiwi's cool enough to sit up there with her which brings me so much joy, and she's literally very sweet under all her gremlin energies hdjkdd <33 when she showed up i went :O!!!!!!!!!

poor little meow meow - hm,,, im sure there's some better options, but possibly Hala? she's the ghost girl who kiwi lets hitch a ride with them, i really like her? my poor little meow meow,,, just wants peace,,, will possess a bard to do so hdkjdh <33

horse plinko - *affectionately pirouettes around Miriam and spams the singing wheel* hdjh <33

eeby deeby - possibly audrey because she makes me. so sad. just. so upset. she hurts me so much. :'> <33 audrey we gave you so many chances, we tried so so hard, even after everything :'>

[itsthenovelteafactor]

Superhero Gothic

Thanks to everyone who responded to my previous post (special shoutout to @jeyfeather1234 💛 ) about superheroes and gothic media! I know it’s been, like, a month, but here we go.

Here’s a bit of a look into some common gothic themes, and how they apply to Doom Patrol, The Boys, Watchmen (2019), and The Umbrella Academy. This one’s a bit long, not gonna lie, but I hope you enjoy! 

Part I: Let’s Talk About Gothic Media

There is not actually an all-encompassing definition for gothic media, or even a universally agreed-upon one. You’re probably familiar with some well-known gothic works (think Dracula, Frankenstein, Edgar Allen Poe, Stephen King) but there is a lot of debate on what exactly makes them gothic. 

There are some common themes in gothic works, though: families/characters under the control of a tyrannical paterfamilias, the crumbling of the established order/estate, long-buried secrets that have consequences in the present, and supernatural events that are stand-ins for/reflective of the emotional state/past actions of the characters. 

(Note: these aren’t all the themes of gothic works or even most of them, but for purposes here, I’d like to limit this analysis to them. I’d love to talk about other themes/ideas, though, if anyone has them. 😊)

So… superheroes (quick overview in case you haven’t watched any of them… spoiler warnings for the rest of this discussion)

Doom Patrol:

Five misfit superhumans attempt to rescue their mentor figure when he is kidnapped by an old enemy.

They are very, very bad at it.

Also features a singing horse head, a sentient nonbinary teleporting street (who is by far the best character) and the narrator is the fourth-wall breaking series villain. 

Beautifully weird but will also emotionally devastate you. Criminally underrated, tbh.

Watchmen (2019):

Story takes place after the canon of the graphic novel which is too much to summarize.

Alternate history (that should really feel more fictitious than it does) where white supremacist organization the Seventh Cavalry, masked police officers, and former superheroes in hiding all collide in Tulsa Oklahoma

Swept the Emmys this year and ABSOLUTELY DESERVED TO

The Umbrella Academy:

Washed up former child superheroes are forced to reunite when their father dies under mysterious circumstances 

Time travel, dysfunctional siblings, and a killer soundtrack

Basically a family drama with the superhero story as secondary (complimentary)

Probably the most obviously gothic of all of these it is aesthetic AF 

The Boys: 

Superheroes exist but they are corporate sellouts under the control of evil company Not-Amazon (AKA Vought)

Regular human protagonists try to hold them accountable for their actions with varying (read: usually minimal) success

Yes, it’s the one from those weird ads earlier this year

Billy Joel!! 

Part II: Niles Caulder, Ozymandias, and Other Terrible Father Figures

The Tyrannical Paterfamilias: 

Does not always mean a father figure explicitly, often relating to the notion of a patriarchal tradition, or family inheritance that plays a role in controlling the main characters. 

Sometimes, it is a father figure. 

Sometimes, it is a representative of patriarchal tradition/male head of pseudo-family unit.

So, uh, role call: 

Reginald Hargreeves (even in death) holds power over his children, and has shaped all of them into the adults they have become, and that drives the majority of the conflict. Each of the major character individually grapples with the after-effects of his abuse. Luther feels the need to be the leader and protect everyone and alienates his allies as a consequence. Diego constantly asserts himself as a hero (often to dangerous extremes) because it is the only way he was ever valued. Allison has to teach herself boundaries and responsible use of her powers after he encouraged her to abuse them for years. Klaus turns to drugs to cope with his childhood trauma. Five disobeyed his father with disastrous consequences and is constantly fighting to not become him. Vanya spent her entire childhood in the background, and never learned to assert herself in a healthy way. Thanks, Reggie.

Homelander says that The Seven are like a family. While whether or not this is accurate (it isn’t) is up for debate, he does occupy the tyrannical paterfamilias roles incredibly well. Homelander controls every member of the Seven, threatening them and their loved ones whenever they step out of line (read: do not do exactly what he wants in the exact way he wants them to do it.) He is also very closely tied with conservative/patriarchal rhetoric in-universe and at one point dates a literal Nazi. 

William Butcher less evil than most of the other characters on this list but the bar is also like, on the ground. Butcher tries to control the Boys in a similar way (Butcher and Homelander are character foils, okay? it’s actually pretty neat). He’s perfectly willing to sacrifice them in pursuit of his own goals, disregards their points of view and the well-being of their loved ones, and tries to cut loose anyone who disagrees with his methods (recall when Hughie tried to rescue his friends at the end of s1 and Butcher… punched him in the face? Yeah, that.) The difference is that the Boys can push back against his without being, you know, brutally murdered. (And also the Butcher isn’t a literal monster; I’m not anti-Butcher, okay? He’s an interesting character and the fact that he seems constantly on the verge of becoming that which he hates most is part of what makes him interesting.)

Guess what, folks? It’s hating Niles Caulder hours. He engineered accidents to turn the main characters into his test subjects, and then kept them conveniently hidden away in his large manor. Stole their autonomy and independence but paints himself as a benevolent father figure. And that’s not even including what he does to his actual daughter, Dorothy. He’s terrified of her growing up (read: becoming a young woman) and so he locks her away for almost 100 years and, when she is freed, yells at her constantly and makes her terrified of showing any signs of maturation (even though she’s 111 and clearly tired of being written off as a child).

The relationship between Ozymandias and his daughter, Lady Trieu, is integral to the final act of Watchmen. Heralded as the “smartest man in the world,��� Ozymandias refused to acknowledge his daughter as his until he needed something from her. While Lady Trieu is more self-sufficient and independent than some of the applications of this trope, she goes to great lengths to prove herself, first to him, and then to herself when he rejects her.

Part III: Been a Long Time Gone (Constantinople) 

Gothic fiction is often associated with change, and particularly, the collapse of established systems of power. For example, many works like The House of the Seven Gables and The Fall of the House of Usher take place in old, crumbling manor houses. There is a reason for this! These kinds of estates are remnants of a past that is irreversibly gone, and their continued presence in decrypt forms serves as a reminder. 

Each of the four series takes place at a moment, either on a wide scale or on a personal scale (or both!), in which an established order is being questioned, and the constant reminders of that failed order are used to gothic effect.

The Umbrella Academy plays this most directly (In fact, there are TONS of parallels between the end of s1 of TUA and House of Usher that I don’t have the time to get into right now... lmk if you want that meta). We can see the Hargreeves mansion as a very literal example of this. While not worn down, the house is notably both very large and very empty. Shelves are filled with merchandise for a superhero team that disbanded over a decade prior, and portraits of a family that no longer speaks to each other. None of the family members ever seem truly comfortable or at ease in the house, and for good reason - every back corner is a reminder of their incredibly traumatic childhood. 

In The Boys, the story begins with the fridging death of the main character’s girlfriend, Robin, at the hands of a member of the Seven, a group of heroes so ingrained in the public consciousness that when they later hide out in a costume shop, literally every single costume is for one of Vought’s heroes. The Seven represent the system in power, which, at the disposal of Not-Amazon means corporate greed, shallow altruism, and the cultivation of public personas at the expense of actual humanity. 

From that moment on, the sheer presence of The Seven on everything from public billboards to breakfast cereal is a remainder for Hughie (and the audience) that this established system doesn’t work and is based on lies, which serves this effect on a personal level. In the broader scale, however, we also see that the Seven themselves are fracturing under an unsustainable business model. Even their name, “The Seven” starts to seem a bit dated when halfway through season one through the end of season two there are notably... less than seven of them. 

The main characters in Doom Patrol are all in recovery after the accidents that irreversibly changed their lives. We see through flashbacks the people that they used to be, and the difference is striking. They were each established in their own elements: Cliff a famous race-car driver, Rita a world renowned actress, Larry a hero pilot, Jane was involved in counter-cultural movements, Vic was a student and athlete. The foundations upon which their worlds were established are completely decimated by the accidents, and now they (save Vic and sometimes Jane) live mostly in isolation in Niles’ manor house, an estate that is far larger than would be necessary to comfortably house a group of their size.

And you feel the emptiness, both in the manor, and in the lives of the characters. They have barely created a shadow version of their own existence when the series starts, so fragile that a simple trip into town devolves into utter chaos. 

Angela Abar of Watchmen has also constructed a life following the terrifying act of terrorism on the White Night. It’s a bit of a double life, and we see that the balancing act is challenging for her, even before the story truly begins. The death of Judd Crawford, and the revelation about him that follows is not only traumatizing on a personal level (but it definitely is that), but also upsets her understanding of the world. People she’s come to trust are not just dishonest but truly monstrous. And the more Angela learns about what has been happening, the more her understanding of the world begins to unravel. Her memories, and the memories of those around her are cast in a much more sinister light, and the effect is genuinely chilling. 

Part IV: “I’m the Little Girl Who Threw the Brick in the Air”

In episode 3 of Watchmen, Laurie contacts Dr. Manhattan on the cosmic phone booth to tell him a joke. It’s a version of what TVTropes calls the “brick joke,” and it relies on set up taking place early on, other stuff happening, and then the response coming at an unexpected moment. 

So, yeah. Events of the past/buried secrets resurfacing with consequences in the present.

Continuing with the theme from Watchmen, the entire series is punctuated with the way the past and the present intertwine, with elements from both the original Watchmen graphic novel, and actual American history. One of the things we talked a lot about in my gothic lit class was the manner in which the overhanging specter of past atrocities casts a shadow over the present, and how many works cannot help but have gothic themes because there are so many horrifying things in the past that cannot be ignored, and provide both context and nuance for the discussions we have in the present. No series tackles these topics quite so directly (and with as much care) as Watchmen. (note: it does not always make for easy viewing, but if you’re in a place where you feel like you can engage with that kind of material, I highly recommend the show.)

In Doom Patrol, the past actions of the characters very much control the storyline (see: previous discussion of Niles Caulder), but the character whose storyline I want to talk about here is Rita (partially for plot reasons and partially because I just love Rita, okay?). We learn when we first meet Rita that in the past she was... not a great person. We know that the trauma of the accident that gave her her powers has changed her, we also know that she still holds on to the guilt and that her guilt has limited the scope of her world for years, but we don’t know what exactly it is that she’s done. 

Enter Mr. Nobody, all-powerful narrator who is not just aware of Rita’s greatest sins, but perfectly capable of manifesting reminders of them into the story. She is confronted with empty cradles, and the sound of crying children in the background of many scenes and we see how much it effects her, without a full understanding of why it does (see: The Tell-Tale Heart). Her past begins to haunt her physically, and she begins to crumble in response to it, until finally she is forced to confide in a stranger (and thus the audience). The past actions do not just inform the audience of Rita’s character - they show up to influence her behavior in the present. 

The ending of The Umbrella Academy season 1 is super evocative of the gothic genre with Vanya breaking open the soundproof chamber (wherein she was silenced for years) and rising from the basement to destroy the last remnants of the Hargreeves legacy (which would be awesome if the last remnants of the Hargreeves legacy didn’t include the rest of her family). Pretty much every mistake the siblings make over the course of the season feeds together to create the finale, but the primary cause isn’t something any of them actually did. It all ties back to Reginald Hargreeves’ complete inability to be nice to children. Any children. His own and random strangers that need help. 

In The Boys, while the extent to which people are making f-ed up choices in the present cannot be expressed enough, we see through the characters of Homelander that many of the present difficulties are a result of past mistakes. Particularly, the profit-seeking corruption within Vought. We learn in s1 through Vogelbaum that Homelander was raised in a lab by Vought as an experiment, only to be unceremoniously thrust into the spotlight and told he was a superhero (which... does not justify a single one of his actions but is still a major yikes). As the head scientist of the project, Vogelbaum is very aware that ignoring his conscious if the name of research has essentially created the biggest threat their world has ever seen. 

(Seriously y’all just stop raising your super kids in isolation) 

Part V: Put Them Together, and They’re the MF-ing Spice Girls 

Having the environment respond to characters’ emotions/mental states is pretty common in gothic works (it was a dark and stormy night = someone is probably not doing super well). One of the advantages of the genre’s tendency towards the supernatural is that, often, those elements of the stories, as well, are reflections of the main ideas of a work of fiction (see: Stephen King’s really unsubtle period metaphors).

Because all of these shows have a ton of supernatural/scifi elements by virtue of being, well, superhero shows, I thought it would be easier (and more fun!) to come up with a short list of elements, what they mean, and what cases they might apply to.

1. A Nonlinear Experience of Time

The Umbrella Academy: legitimately about time travel. Characters are attempting to fix the timeline but are unable to because they are both mentally and sometimes literally stuck in the past. 

Watchmen: In the episode This Extraordinary Being, Angela experiences firsthand the experiences of her grandfather, under the influence of a drug called Nostalgia. The episode touches on many themes, one of which being the impact of generational trauma in marginalized communities. Throughout the series, Dr. Manhatten is cursed with experiencing all time at once, and the episode A God Walks into Abar illustrates that, because of this, he is constantly facing the consequences of particular actions before, after, and while he is preforming him.

Doom Patrol: Mr. Nobody is able to physically travel to one of Jane’s flashbacks via his fourth-wall breaking powers, and gives Dr. Harrison an ultimatum for the future. 

What it implies: Events, particularly events that evoke guilt or conflict, are not as rooted in the past as one would like to think.

2. Powers/Abilities that reflect personal trauma/failings

Doom Patrol: Larry’s abilities/bond with the Negative Spirit have made it so that he is constantly covering himself with bandages/avoiding other people, which reflects his experiences having to hide his identity as a gay man in the 50/60s. Rita forced herself to walk a thin line, betraying everything in pursuit of her image; her abilities require constant effort to keep her entire body from becoming misshapen and out of control. Vic’s father with boundary issues can literally control his perception of the world through his cybernetic enhancements. Dorothy’s abilities manifest as imaginary friends because she was kept isolated for years at a time. 

The Umbrella Academy: pretty much all of the kids’ powers are representative of the interpersonal skills they were never able to develop. Luther is super-durable but also the most emotionally vulnerable of the group. Five can teleport and time travel but always seems to be too late to stop things. Diego can manipulate the trajectory of projectiles but cannot escape the path his father set out for him, not matter how much he resents it. Vanya always forced herself to stay quiet until the sound literally explodes out of her.

The Boys: Annie’s abilities allow her to control light, but she struggles (in the beginning) to bring to light the horrible things done to her behind closed doors. 

Watchmen: Not technically a power, but Looking Glass’ mirror-mask is a constant reminder of the hall of mirrors that both saved his life and traumatized him forever. 

What it implies: from a story perspective, these allow for an exploration of trauma/guilt to occur on a scale much larger than people simply talking about their problems (as if anyone on any of these shows knows how to talk about their problems...) It also means that the trauma/guilt of the characters takes on a physical form that is able to haunt them, and constantly remind them/hold them accountable for their past actions.

3. Diluted Sense of Reality:

Doom Patrol: The first season is narrated by its main villain, and throughout the season we see that the act of narration itself has an impact on the story.

Watchmen: The event that kicks off the plot of the story is hinged upon a paradox introduced by Angela near the end of the series when trying to speak to her Grandfather in the past through Dr. Manhattan.

The Umbrella Academy: The pair of episodes in season 1, The Day that Wasn’t and The Day That Was take the same point in time and explore two possible avenue for the future from there, with The Day that Wasn’t ending with the events of the entire episode being completely erased from the timeline.

What it implies: you can’t necessarily trust everything you see, even from the audience perspective, giving them a position not unlike that of the characters. The character’s uncertainty and confusion is magnified and reflected in the world that surrounds them.

Other examples: an apocalypse (The Umbrella Academy, Doom Patrol, Watchmen (of a sort)), ghosts (The Umbrella Academy - hi, Ben!), immortality/invulnerability (Watchmen, Doom Patrol, The Boys), and characters that look significantly younger than they actually are (The Boys, The Umbrella Academy, Doom Patrol). 

Part VI: Why Did You Write a Literal Essay Don’t You Have Real Schoolwork (yes... shhhhh...)

And... there you have it. I don’t really have some grand conclusion here. This is (clearly) far from a complete analysis but it is the most my finals-week brain can concoct at the moment. 

If you have other ideas, let me know! You can always add to the notes or message me – my inbox is always open!  If you got this far, thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Much love! ❤️

[theoutermenace1986]

SYLVIE IS NOT A LOKI VARIANT

SYLVIE IS ENCHANTRESS

I bring forth Earth 616 Sylvie Lushton -

Sylvie Lushton was trained in magic by Loki and has many of the same powers as the original Enchantress, Amora.

NONE OF HER POWERS ARE EVEN CLOSE TO WHAT LOKI'S ARE.

Now going by my theory---what if the TVA warped her to be a patsy? There's a high chance that they made her think she was a Loki variant just so they could feel as though they had some semblance of control (which in truth they don't).

Now, in comics, Sylvie actually became a member of the Young Avengers (which we know we are getting from the introductions of Wiccan and Speed along with America Chavez in the new Dr Strange film) and was one of the stronger members until Amora returned and destroyed/cast Sylvie to Hel in rage because she felt insulted that she was (*drumroll*) PRETENDING TO BE HER.

....what if that's what Sylvie in 'Loki' is doing? Pretending to be Loki?

The style of her magic and ability to enchant others - even so much as enchanting them to FALL IN LOVE WITH HER - are too similar to those of Enchantress (Sylvie and Amora both)

So, my guys, gals, and nonbinary pals...what I'm saying is this:

Don't jump to conclusions just because Mobius called Sylvie Loki's girlfriend (Jealous much, Mobes?). For all we know, that's Sylvie's "enchantment" to keep him on her side. And furthermore, because I absolutely am that person and I'm gonna say it:

Even if Loki does have emotions towards Sylvie...and even if they do chuck canon out of the window and make her a Loki variant rather than an Enchantress variant...Loki would ABSOLUTELY fuck himself.

HE'S LOKI.

He turned into a female horse and gave birth to Slepnir!

He's the father of Fenrir, Hel, and Jörgumander!

Screwing himself would be the TAMEST thing he's done! XD

[radioromantic-moved]

okay here's the big old pride post with my hcs for all of my active f/os and a couple of others i've got on the brain. under a cut because this is extremely long and it's essentially just me pointing at characters and going "lesbian" and then writing an entire paragraph about why.

dash: trans lesbian <3 you all know this one by now. one of the first characters i just couldn't read as anything Other than a lesbian to the point where i sometimes forget that it's not canon. (i mean there is the thing with‏‏‎ ‎applejack‏‏‎ ‎but i don't love to read that as canon for. like. jealousy based reasons. i get possessive sometimes it's sucky.) anyway. yeah. wuhluhwuh icon this rainbow horse

della: trans/nb lesbian :) in a reversal of what i'm pretty sure was the deal with most people, it doesn't take della long to figure out what's up with her gender but it takes her a lot longer to realize she likes girls and exclusively girls. after one particularly bad fling she asks me if there's a reason why she just doesn't feel anything for any of the guys she's been with, like is there something wrong with her, and i just go. you know you can...not date guys. and somehow that's when it clicks for her (the bad fling is the bio father of the kids. he's a dick and he sucks and everything i imagine about him is just a fuck you to the people who never shut up about hdl's biological dad. donald's doing great thank you very much)

mera: her aesthetic is the most nonbinary lesbian thing i've ever seen in my life HELLO. she makes one comment insinuating she's physically attracted to indus in ep 1 but that could just be admiration of his buff bod. mera's comphet attraction is overly buff muscleguys who are nice to her and my comphet attraction is tiny gremlin things who are the worst.

glados:‏‏‎ ‎say it with me now!! this robot is a lesbian!

pal: we know the drill babey (she's no gender because gendering ai makes you lame)

helen: pre-spiral helen is a cis lesbian. in the spiral she's a l̵̩̹̫̘͉̫̥͂̓̏̅̃͑̃̏̒̏͌̑̽̉̇͜o̷͓͍͓̤͓͚̠̙͠u̶̢͕̠̓̈́͌̓̉͐̋̂̅̃͘͝d̸̡̬̦͎̠͎̪̀̊̓͑̉͠ͅ ̸̨̧͚͋̊̃̂̓̀̕͠ş̷̨͓̲̪̭͙̮̙͉̤͗̈̉̃̿̎̽̅͋͜͝ͅͅt̵̳͉̞͇̺̖̬̪̏̌̽͆̋̑a̴̡̠̭̘̲̬͖͖̤̒͑̏̂̈́̀̏̽̚t̶͖͈͙̼̼̝̮̤̖̂̇͋͐i̴̳̘̙̙̳͔̓̽́̍͌͑̒̿͘̕͝c̸̛̻̫̲̹͔̝͚̹̱͉̦͍̩͍͆̌͋́́̊̏̂̆͜͠͠ ̸̧͇̮͚̲̳̙̹̲̦̱̣̤̬̾ṇ̴̡̫͐̀́̈̒ò̴̳̫̜͑͘i̶̡̛̹̹̖̥͍̦͎͈̬̲̊͒́̈́̊̾̅̚ͅs̷̛͙̞͙̥̗͇̄̇̄͛̏̚͜͠ë̶̢̬̱̬̰͈͖̬̩̱̀͂̒͜͝ lesbian. post-spiral helen can mess around with her gender a little bit because it's all fake anyway. and she still likes women <3

bernie: both bi and lesbian bernie hcs my beloved but here's my in-depth thoughts

trexel:‏‏‎ ‎i keep meaning to steal the url "bitrexual" to go with my podcast blog's url which is‏‏‎ ‎gayvid7‏‏‎. ‎anyway yeah canon mspec doofus my beloved.

egoist:‏‏‎ ‎canon trans babey!!! his sexuality is whatever he feels like at the moment. he'll usually get a big crush on one specific person and agonize about it until either he or they do something about it. or he loses interest. i'm also trying to decide which flags go best with his color scheme because more of these than you'd think have something to do with what color they look best in.

thetis: lesbian lesbian lesbian lesbian lesbian lesbian. idk what thetis' thoughts about marriage in the original greek were but considering madeline‏‏‎ ‎miller‏‏‎ ‎makes a point of emphasizing her disinterest in it as a character in‏‏‎ ‎soa‏‏‎ ‎and her disinterest in men as a whole, even when someone as high-level as zeus shows interest in her, i mean. come on, man. in a modern au achilles and‏‏‎ ‎thetis‏‏‎ ‎go to pride together and he's in a shirt that says "i love my lesbian mom" and she's in a shirt that says "i love my gay son." homophobic thetis truthers have literally not read‏‏‎ ‎tsoa‏‏‎ ‎correctly and that's not me being petty. that's genuinely not the interpretation you are supposed to take away from the text. i won't start my rant but if you WOULD like to hear me discuss thetis as an antagonist and exactly why she does what she does hit me up anytime, i have literally analyzed this for a grade. this is an area in which am quite knowledgeable.

rudyard: semi-canonically ace and sex-repulsed. absolute king shit of an asexual autistic goth, i love him dearly. he's probably trans. i've read one or two absolute banger‏‏‎ ‎wooden‏‏‎ ‎overcoats‏‏‎ ‎fics where one or both twins are trans and they always come up with the best stuff. you love to see it. his attraction is -terrified hiss-. he doesn't know what a crush is for his first 30 years of life and when he experiences one for the first time he thinks he's dying.

beidou: pingponging between pan and lesbian hcs for her. might settle on her sexuality simply being "be gay, do crime." her gender is pirate.

[wheeloffortune-design]

This is probably beating up a dead horse, but while I've seen a lot of exploitation and fetishization in yaoi or slash (mostly in Western yaoi fandoms, but I'm not Japanese and not opening that can of worms) fandoms, why doesn't this person direct their anger towards people who... you know... do that??? Who do things like idk apply extremely strict pseudo-gender roles to sexual roles, reduce entire personalities to stereotypes, etc? (1)

(2) I'm not usually in the business of telling people what they can and can't consume in terms of media (generally just ask they do it critically if there's stuff like glaring transphobia etc, but I've still got my """"problematic faves""") but like, you've got a manwha I won't name whose fandom romanticizes kidnapping and abuse, you've got people invalidating a canon trans woman's identity because "omg but yaoi is hotter" (and... because they're transphobic lbr)

(3) and they choose to come after three artists who portray two NONBINARY characters in a variety of ways, with depth, with love, with clear respect, both from the artist and between them? Who've portrayed them as lesbians, for example, which I am literally not able to understand how it plays into gay fetishization? As transmasc people, who actual fetishist usually don't have the slightest interest on? Just to say a couple. I don't even get where they're coming from.

(4) sorry this has gotten so long. But like... yes, there are people in slash/yaoi fandoms actually doing harmful shit like getting all terf-y because a GNC gay man being abused by his partner is "sexier" than a trans woman, or a trans woman, G-d forbid, being treated properly. I'm queer and nonbinary and this is the fandom where I've felt the safest, in no small part thank to specifically the three artists they chose to bash (and many others, ofc). Go scream at terfs and homophobes instead ffs

--------------

Yeah, the Good Omens fandom has been pretty much fantastic on many points. We need to work hard to keep it that way: accepting of all genders, orientations and body shapes, in and out of fiction. 

[cupute]

Halley go Brrrr!! Join us in the halley praise lol (Just to specify I'm not nonbinary, just supporting a nonbinary horse!)

[ponydoodles]

Mod Masterpost

Here’s a post 4 all of u mobile users, all of the mods in one place! It includes the pic of their ponysona/mod pony, a little description and their social media (If available). If they don’t have any social media listed, DO NOT ask for them, they’re not there for a reason!

Click on “Keep Reading!” This post will be updated accordingly!

absolutely exhausted and gay

gender?? no thanks, i’ve had gender once and didn’t like it

cries at every movie

fav things to draw: Muffins, Twilight, Twuffins, Luna, redesigns and headcanons, silly things and memes

Hi there!! Im mod Mizzle (formerly mod Ivy!!) and im the creator of ponydoodles! I like cats, bugs and staying up late until 5am. I’m a part time freelance artist and I’d love to draw for you! Check out my carrd for more details !! <33

carrd | tumblr | ?????

ponydoodles tag

slow @ art

loves All ocs

pink

ponydoodles’ only triple hired mod

favorite stuff 2 draw: uhh cute pony interactions??? is that a thing??

hi!! i’m mod glitter and i draw here sometimes. i’m not super good at drawing regularly but i do my best!! also i lov Pink. So Much

carrd | tumblr | :)

ponydoodles tag

▪︎ I’ve loved mlp since 2012, and I’ve been a mod here since 2018!

▪︎ My ponysonas name is Homebody!

▪︎pronouns are she/her or they/them!

▪︎my favorite characters are flim and flam! Love me some rat bastards!

▪︎my main tumblr is @bubaluv , and I’m bubaiuv on deviantart!

ponydoodles tag

carnival enthusiast

art is my life and animation is my oxygen

hella neurodivergent

magic is real

I’m called Ferris ✦ I make cartoons full time, but sometimes I like to treat myself to a happiness-infused doodle of candy-colored horses. I’m here to share some of those doodles with 𝕐𝕆𝕌, 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕍𝕀𝔼𝕎𝔼ℝ, and contribute to the positive vibes this blog radiates!!! tumblr ✦ =) ✦ deviant

ponydoodles tag

the boy so nice they named him twice

XxUltimateDiscordLoverxX

ponies be like: im transing my gender

hii!! im mod treat and i use they/he pronouns!! i love ponies a whole bunch and i love drawing them even more! i joined the blog because i love making people happy and im super hyped to be here!!!

Tumblr - Instagram - Deviantart

ponydoodles tag

The Theatre System (no, none of them will draw for me hdvbdhcv)

ponies w/ paws r my shit. also ill try to b canon-adjacent w/ my weird art hdxhs

gender is *muffled fluid mogai ramblings*, n im an aroace lesbian uwu

if im not thinking about pinkiedash, lovecore, or danganronpa im dead

hehe hi! im mod cottonskittles, head empty only pinkiedash, and i just like drawing for free lol,, i kin rd so im very dumb (/j im gr8), and uhhhh my art changes a lot sorry :pensive: also i rlly like to draw pinkiedash, of course hbvdsxc hope to have a fun time on the blog :3c

DA | tungler | ponydoodles tag

hiya!! I’m a new mod!! call me Bug Juice!! some facts ab me:

- I’m super ultra mega gay + ace 😎

- I keyboard smash a LOT and at this point it’s just a part of me

- I like mlp almost as much as I like jjba

- my fav mlp ship rn is Parcel Post x Braeburn and I have NO clue why HDBDND

I don’t use my main tumblr much but I do have instagram!! and a linktree!!!

(image text reads: BUG JUICE, he • him)

Ponydoodles tag

Hey guys/gals/nonbinary pals, formally Mod Techno (Now Mod Salem) here, I turned 20 recently and since I was gonna have to go into my mod page anyway to update it, I thought I might as well completely refresh it to fit me more!

★My name is Sam, you may know me from my other art accounts as Punkpride, but you can just refer to me as Mod Salem here to keep things nice and clean!

★This is my new ponysona called Salem! They’re a batpony/changeling hybrid, and due to being so, they can only transform their hoof wings/eyes/mane to different colors/shapes/styles.

★My pronouns are They/Them, He/Him, and Xey/Xem!

★I’m agender and queer. Gender? never heard of them.

★My favorite ponies are Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Lightning Dust! (I ship them all together like a maniac in my ng/in general too lol)

★I’m a piercings and punk aesthetic FANATIC

★You can find me on every platform I’m on/more about me here

★Check out my current ponydoodles art tag

★Check out old ponydoodles art tag

[image description: two drawings of my (Zoë) ponysona, Square Peg, who is a red earth pony wearing a tie dye shirt. the first drawing is large and drawn in a chalky style, and the second is small and drawn in a cartoon style. her pronouns (and mine) are she/her!]

i’m Mod Square, aka Zoë! i love mlp, emoji, and party games. my hobbies include rickrolling and using the taco bell rewards app. i play with my style a lot but i hope to always capture an air of carefree fun in my art!!!!!

ponydoodles tag | main blog | pony blog

Click for page two! ➡️

FORMER MODS

List of mods that are no longer on the blog! (Any mod that used to be a part of our blog but isn’t listed here we most likely don’t want to associate with no more)

Mod Irracat 

Mod Aurora

Mod Moon

Mod Vivi

Mod Nyxa

Mod Sketch

Mod Sang

Mod Sabbath

Mod Elf

Mod Purble

[divineknowing2021]

viewing guide

At its core, divine knowing is an exhibition about knowledge, power, and agency. It’s become a more common understanding that governments, institutions, and algorithms will manipulate the public with what information they frame as fact, fiction, or worthy of attention. Though I am early in researching this topic, I've only come across a minimal amount of mainstream discourse on how the initial threat limiting our scope of knowledge is a refusal to listen to ourselves.

In a world faced with so many threats - humans being violent toward each other, toward animals, toward the earth - it can be a bit unsettling to release the reins and allow ourselves to bear witness for a moment, as we slowly develop a deeper awareness of surrounding phenomena and happenings.  

divine knowing includes works by formally trained and self-taught artists. A majority of the artists are bisexual, non-binary, or transgender. Regardless of degree-status, gender, or sexuality, these artists have tapped into the autonomous well of self-knowing. Their artworks speak to tactics for opening up to a more perceptive mode of being. They unravel dependencies on external sources for knowledge and what we might recognize, connect with, or achieve once we do.

The installation Femme Digitale by Sierra Bagish originates from a series she began in 2017 by converting photographs of women that were taken and distributed online without the subject’s consent into paintings. Her practice at the time was concerned with female abjection. Sourcing images found via simple keywords and phrases (e.g., passed out, passed out drunk) she swathes a mass-circulated canon of internet detritus that articulates and produces aggression towards women. With her paintings, she circumvents the images’ original framing mechanisms and subverts these proliferated images through a sincere and personal lens.

These paintings divulge the blurred space between idolatry and denigration these online photos occupy, asking whose desires these images fulfill and what their propagation reveals about the culture producing them.  While Bagish's work contends with political motivations, she also remains keenly observant of form and the varying utilities of different media.

“I use the expressive potential of paint as a vehicle to intervene and challenge ideas about photography as a harbinger of the real and everyday.”

Chariot Birthday Wish is an artist and angel living in Brooklyn. They have seen The Matrix 28 times in 2 years and love horses. The tarot series included in divine knowing is their most intuitive project, something they revisit when unsure of what to work on next. The Major Arcana are composed of digital collages made from sourced images, the Minor Arcana are represented by short, poetic, interpretative texts about the cards. The series is played on shuffle, creating a unique reading for each viewer. This is a work in progress that will eventually finalize as a completed deck of digital collages available for purchase.

Chariot's work emerges from a constant consideration of apocalypse and connection. They reference technology in tandem with nature and a desire for unity. Underneath their work's surface conversation on beauty, care, and relationship exists an agenda to subtly evoke a conspiratorial anti-state mindset. Through a collective imagining of how good things could be and how good we want them to be, we might be able to reckon with how bad things are in contrast.

“I think about texting my friends from the middle of the woods...

Humans are a part of nature and we created these things. There's this Bjork quote where she says that "You can use pro tools and still be pagan." I'm really into the idea of using technology as a tool for divination and holy connection with nature. I imagine a scene; being in moss, it's absolute bliss, and then the connection of texting, sharing an image of moss with a friend, sharing that moment through cellular towers.”

The album "adding up" by thanks for coming is composed of songs Rachel Brown wrote during what they believe to be the most challenging year of their life. Rachel now looks back on this time in appreciation, recognizing they grew in ways they had never imagined. The entire year, they were committed to following their feelings to wherever it may lead.

“If I hadn't been open to following the almost indiscernible signs I was being sent, then I would have missed out on some of the most important moments in my life.”

Kimberly Consroe holds a Masters in Anthropology along with degrees in Archaeology, Literature, and History. She is currently a Research Analyst at the US Department of Commerce. Her artwork is a passionate escape from a hectic professional life and touches on themes of feminism and nature.

Her works begin as general ideas; their narrative complexity growing with the amount of time she invests in making each one. Her decoupage process starts with cutting hundreds, if not thousands, pieces of paper. The accumulation of clippings sourced from vintage and current-day magazines overlap to tell a story. In Domestication, Kimberly borrows submissive female figures from found images of Ryan Mcguinness's work and places them in a position of power.

“I believe intuition is associated with emotion and experience. It is wisdom and fear, empathy and outrage, distrust and familiarity. It is what we know before we know it. This relates to my artwork in that, from beginning to end, there is never one complete idea concerning the outcome: it is a personal journey. It emerges from an ephemeral narrative that coalesces into a definitive story.”

Anabelle DeClement is a photographer who primarily works with film and is interested in relationships as they exist within a frame. She is drawn to the mystery of the mundane. Intuition exists in her practice as a feeling of urgency and the decision to act on it  ---  a drive often used to describe street photography where the camera catches unexpected moments in an urban environment. Anabelle tends to photograph individuals with whom she has established personal relationships in a slow domestic setting. Her sense of urgency lies in capturing moments of peak intimacy, preserving a memory's informal beauty that otherwise may have been forgotten or overlooked.

Gla5 is a visual artist, poet, bookmaker, production designer, and educator. Play is at the center of their practice. Their process is an experimental one embracing impulse and adventure. Their compositions are informed by relationships among bodies of varying shapes, materials, and densities. Interests that come up in their work include a discernment between symbols and non-symbols, dream states, the portrayal of energy in action, and a fixation on forms such as cups, tables, and spoons.

“I generally think of my work as depicting a layer of life that exists underneath what we see in our everyday lives.”

Gladys Harlow is a sound-based performance artist, comedian, and activist who experiments with found objects, contact mics, textures, range, analog formats, present moments, and emotions. Through raw, avant-garbage performance art, they aim to breakdown societal barriers, abolish oppressive systems, and empower communities. Gladys was born in Queens, NY, raised in Miami, FL and has deep roots in Venezuela. Currently haunting in Philadelphia, PA, Gladys is a founding member of Sound Museum Collective. SMC holds space for reconstructing our relationships to sounds by creating a platform for women, nonbinary, and trans sound artists and engineers.

Street Rat is a visceral exploration of the mysteries of life. Attempting to bring heavy concepts to your reality, it is the eye on the ground that sees and translates all intersecting issues as they merge, explode, dissolve, and implode. Street Rat is Gladys Harlow's way of comprehending, coping, feeling, taking action, disrupting the status quo, and rebuilding our path.

All Power To The People originated as a recorded performance intended to demystify sound by revealing the tools, wires, and movements used to create it. All Power To The People evolved into an installation conceived specifically for this exhibition. The installation includes a theremin and oscillator built by Gladys, a tarot deck they made by hand, and books from the artist's personal collection, amongst other elements. Gladys has created a structure of comfort and exploration. They welcome all visitors of divine knowing to play with the instrument, flip freely through the books, and pull a tarot card to take home.

Phoebe Hart is an experimental animator and filmmaker. A majority of her work is centered around mental illness and the line between dreams and reality. Merry Go Round is a sculptural zoetrope that changes in shape and color as it spins. Its form is inspired by nature and its color by the circus. The video’s sound was produced by Hayden Waggener. It consists of reverbing chimes which are in rhythm with the stop animation’s movement; both oscillate seamlessly between serene and anxious states.

“I often don't plan the sculptures or objects I am fabricating, there is a vague image in my mind, and my hands take care of the rest. I find that sometimes overthinking is what can get me and other artists stuck. If I just abandon my judgments and ego, I can really let go and create work that feels like it came inherently from me.”

Powerviolets is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Violet Hetson who is currently based in New York. After experiencing several false starts while bouncing coast to coast, recording and performing with several lineups, Hetson has finally released her debut album. ~No Boys~ namesake is a sarcastic sign she hung on her suburban CT teenage bedroom door. Violet Hetson grew up primarily listening to punk and hardcore. She parses elements of these genres with influences from bands such as X and Suburban Lawns. ~No Boys~ takes a softer, melodic approach to Hetson's punk roots. Powerviolets' music is linear, unconventional, dark, and airy with a sense of humor.

Mary Hunt is a fiber artist specializing in chain stitch embroidery. This traditional form of embroidery uses vintage machinery and thick thread to create fibrous art and embellishments. They use an approach called "thread painting," which requires each stitch to be hand guided by the turn of a knob underneath the table while the speed of movement is controlled by a foot pedal. Chainstitch works can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 200 hours, encouraging a slow and thoughtful process. Mary uses a Cornely A machine, made in Paris more than 100 years ago.

���I think we are sent messages and guidance constantly. Our intuition is simply our ability to clear the path for those messages. The largest obstacles on my artistic path are usually self-imposed negative thoughts. I simply do things to take care of my spiritual well-being, first and foremost, and the rest follows. If I can trust the universe, trust the process, then I am much more likely to listen to the messages sent my way.”

Jes the Jem is a multi-media artist working with acrylic, watercolor, mold clay, and whatever else she can get her hands on. She uses vivid color to bring joy into the lives of those who view her art. Jes the Jem has experienced a great deal of pain in her life. Through that unique displeasure, she has been gifted a nuanced perspective. She aims to energize the present while paying homage to the past events that shape us. In her art, her life, and her interpersonal relationships, Jes the Jem appreciates the gift of all of life's experiences.

“The pursuit of happiness and understanding is instinct.”

Pamela Kivi pieces together visual scraps she has saved over the years, choosing to fuse them at whatever present moment she sees fit. Her work reflects on creative mania, fleeting emotions, and memories. Pamela's collages are a compilation of unexpected elements that include: old notebooks, cut-outs, text messages or Facebook message conversations, nostalgic cellphone photos, and visual materials she has chosen to hold onto. She prints out, cuts up, scans, edits, repeats. Pamela's artistic practice is deeply personal. It is a submittal to the process of dusting things off until a reflection can be seen, all enacted without an attachment to the end result.

“I rely on intuition and whatever state of mind I am in to whisk me away. In life, I often confuse intuition with anxiety- when it comes to creative work, I can decipher the two.”

Through sobriety, Kendall Kolenik's focus has shifted toward self-discovery and shedding old adaptive patterns, a process that led her to a passion for helping others heal themselves too. In autumn, she will begin her Masters in Social Work at Columbia University.

“I love how when I'm painting my self-doubt becomes so apparent. Painting shows me exactly where my doubt lies, which guides me towards overriding it. When I paint something and lean into doubt, I don't like what comes out. When I take note of the resistance and go with my gut more freely, I love it. This reminds me of my yoga practice. What you practice on the mat is a metaphor for how you show up in life. By breathing through the uncomfortable poses on the mat, you learn to breathe through challenging life moments.

I think we all grow up learning to numb and edit ourselves. We are taught not to trust our feelings; we are told to look outside ourselves for answers when we already have a perfectly good compass within. Painting is an archway back to that for me - rediscovering self-reliance and faith in my first instinct. When I'm creating these rainbow squares, sometimes I move so fast it's like something else is carrying me. I sort of leave myself and enter a trance. Like how you don't have to tell the heart to beat or the lungs to breathe - thinking goes away and I can get so close to my knowing that I become it. I love how art allows me to access my love for ambiguity, interpretation, and an interpretation that feels closer to Truth. I find no greater purpose than guiding people back to safety and reconnecting them with themselves. The most important thing to ever happen in my life was when I stopped trying to deny my reality - listening to your intuition can be like a freefall - no one but you can ever know or tell you - it is a deep trust without any outside proof.”

Lucille Loffredo is a music school dropout, Jewish trans lesbian, and veterinary assistant doing her best to make sure each day is better than the last. Lucille tries to find the music rather than make it. She lets it tell her what it wants to do and what it wants to be. The Wandering EP was in part written as a way to come out to herself. She asks all listeners to please be gentle.

“Change will come, and it will be good. You are who you think you are, no matter how far it seems.”

Whitney Lorenze generally works without reference, making thick, graphic pictures with precise forms conceived almost entirely from her imagination. Images like a slowly rolling car crackling out of a driveway, afternoon sun rays shining through a cloud of humidity, or headlights throwing a lined shadow across a black bedroom inspire her.

“As it concerns my own practice and the creation of artworks generally, I would define intuition as the ability to succumb to some primal creative impulse. Of course, this implies also the ability to resist the temptations of producing a calculated or contrived output.”

Ellie Mesa began teaching herself to paint at the age of 15, exploring landscapes and portraiture. Her work has evolved into a style of painting influenced by surrealism where teddy bears will morph into demons and vice versa. Her work speaks to cuteness, the grotesque, and mystical beings. The painting "Kali" is an homage to the Hindu goddess of creation,  destruction, life and death. This was Ellie's first painting after becoming sober and is an expression of the aforementioned forces in her own life. Through meditations on Kali, Elli has been able to find beauty in the cycle of love and loss.

“To me, intuition means doing the thing that feels right whether or not it's what you want it to be. When I'm painting or making a sculpture, I give myself the freedom to follow what feels right, even if that means starting over or changing it completely. I allow the piece to present itself to me instead of forcing something that doesn't want to be.”

Mari Ogihara is a sculptor exploring duality, resilience, beauty, and serenity as experienced through the female gaze. Her work is informed by the duality of womanhood and the contradictions of femininity. In particular, the multitude of roles we inhabit as friend, lover, sister, and mother and their complex associations to the feminine perspective.

“Intuition is an innate, immediate reaction to an experience. While making art, I try to balance intuition, logic, and craftsmanship.”

All Of Me Is War by Ames Valaitis addresses the subconscious rifts society initiates between women, estranging them from each other and themselves.

“It is an unspoken, quick, and quiet battle within me as the feeling of intuition purely, and when I am making a drawing. I am immediately drawn to poses and subject matter that reflect the emotion inside myself, whether it is loud or under the surface. If a line or figure doesn't move me, after working on it for a few minutes, I get rid of it. If something looks right to me immediately, I keep it; nurture it. I try to let go of my vision, let my instinct take hold. I mirror this in my life as I get older, choosing who and what to put my energy into. The feeling is rarely wrong; I'd say we all know inherently when it is time to continue or tap out.”

Chardel Williams is a self-taught artist currently living in Bridgeport. Her biggest inspiration is her birthplace of Jamaica. Chardel views painting as a method for blocking out chaos. Her attraction to the medium springs from its coalescence of freedom, meditative qualities, and the connection it engenders. rears.

“Intuition for me is going where my art flows. I implement it in my practice by simply creating space and time to listen. There are times when what I'm painting is done in everyone else's eyes, but I just keep picking at it. Sometimes I would stop painting a piece and go months without touching it. Then, out of nowhere, be obsessed with finishing. I used to get frustrated with that process, but now I go with it. I stopped calling it a block and just flow with it. I listen because my work talks.”

[tacticalhimbo]

far cry 6 reveal thoughts below the cut because nobody asked for my little opinions

i typed this list up as i watched the trailers and such, so if things are crossed out they may have been explained afterward but i feel like sharing all my thoughts so—

pre-game thoughts

the setting is pretty and the music fucks. the general aesthetic(?) of the world and the elements in it are cool.

very weird for the stream to have started early as it did (i get prep work but an hour of nothing? felt kinda weird to do on IGN's part. they could have maybe trimmed the archive of it or... something.

still very confused on if this takes place before or after fc5 even if the conscription cards said 2021 because like... y'know... the nuclear ending for fc5 was canon (re: new dawn). does this mean that only the U.S. was affected?? if so that makes zero sense but 🤷 maybe i missed somethin' else along the way

i still stan the dog with two legs... i forgot his name but i love him. his name is chorizo. i love him.

i really cannot believe they just played two three(?) versions of the same thing for the story trailer that 16+ minute stretch like... there could have been ways to reveal the two sides interchangeably i feel. maybe it would have hit if they put something between them to show it was a different thing.

like i actually could hardly pick up on differences because i zoned out with it all being... the same thing but with different overlays.

but i'm still laughing at the dude bros mad you can (allegedly) pick between a male and female protagonist. grow up and quit your bitching, actually 😒

that being said a gender neutral or nonbinary protagonist would have been 👀, especially since they're both dani rojas.

if that's changed since early dev though i do like the idea of a female protagonist... we can always use more of those!

someone in the comments deadass said "another far cry game where you cant play as the government"... if you wanted a white savior story go play far cry 2 and pick the white protagonist option or play some other game. call of duty exists after all.

the story trailer tho...

the actual cinematic trailer tho... giancarlo esposito my beloved 😍

the cars 😍😍

female dani is so pretty what the fuck i want to draw her like... 3000 times.

HORSES????? HORSES!

GATOR COMPANION???? my florida man dreams are coming to life—

gameplay stuff

that teaser of antón raising the guy's head while saying "if a dog refuses to break"... i should not have felt things

liking that you can change your look as you evolve through the plot

juan cortez has my heart. the fact its him that owns the gator (fittingly named guapo, meaning handsome)... 😍 move aside heisenberg i'm abt to simp for juan cortez—

liking the checkpoint system and the different routes you can take

you can ride horses... and pet them 🥺

THE FUCKING CIGAR INTO THE WOUND OUCHHHH

the weapon creativity... wowowow i love it. the fucking cd launcher playing macarena sent me and the BACKPACKS??? WOW

"the shit my pants rush of an ambush" did i mention i love juan cortez??

the tanks.... planes... wow. flashy but i like the vibes

[kindred-is-obsessed]

Reasons you should be watching Craig of the Creek

Not enough people are watching this wonderful show, so I thought I’d do my best to introduce people to it. It’s made by former Steven Universe crew Ben Levin and Matt Burnett, so if you’re missing Steven Universe while it’s on hiatus this is a great way to keep away the hiatus blues, or if you just enjoy in cartoons. It’s great for a whole list of reasons, which broadly fall into the two categories of great representation and great storytelling:

Canonical queer representation

-       The witches premiere in the episode The Curse. If you aren’t sure if you want to watch this whole show definitely watch this one at least! It’s my absolute favourite not least of all because it’s about teen goth girls in love. It has a sequel The Last Kid in The Creek which is also wonderful, and the witches cameo throughout the series. I don’t want to spoil too much but The Curse is essentially about the two not wanting to be separated and struggling to admit their feelings for each other. (Spoilers: they do and walk off alone, blushing, staring at each other lovingly, while the kids aww at them)

-       Bernard and his girlfriend watch a cooking show hosted by a gay couple.

-       Other cameos, hints and coded queer kids such as JP’s sister (who has fancy dinner reservations with Kat, a woman with a shaved head who compliments Kelsey’s fake sword). There’s also Raj and Shaun (two very close friends), as well as several very boyish tomboys, including Handlebarb and Turner.

-       All public bathrooms I’ve spotted in the show have gender neutral signs on them which is nice.

POC representation

-       Craig, the main character, is black and has a loving family explored in depth, including an activist grandmother working for the council, a wise and fun grandfather, a supportive fun dad who loves his amazing wife, an adorable assertive little sister, and an angsty overachieving older brother who just wants to be a good grownup who loves his family and girlfriend.  

-       There are MANY characters of colour. There are black and brown characters, Raj is Indian, Stacks is Hispanic (and it’s implied she is an immigrant), there are several Asian characters, Kelsey is Hungarian and Jewish, a persistent background character wears a hijab (I’m pretty sure she was named at some point but I can’t find her name anywhere. She definitely has lines at one point). I’m sure there are others I have missed. No one is a stereotype as far as I am aware.

Subtle neurodivergent representation

-       JP is possibly on the autism spectrum. I’d love neurodivergent people’s opinions on this, but while the representation isn’t canonical or obvious I think it’s good that while JP is represented as having different thought processes from his friends, he isn’t made fun of for it, at least not by them. It’s noteworthy I think that he’s the eldest of the core trio, probably because he finds it easier to relate to younger people who still share his imagination and care less about his unique way of thinking. His neurodivergence is explored most explicitly in the episode Jextra Perrestrial, so if you’re interested in this kind of representation definitely check that episode out.

Non-nuclear family representation

-       While the main character is a member of the typical nuclear family you see on TV (except black, and actually interesting) most of the other families we see are not.

-       JP is raised by his mother and older sister. His father is never mentioned and their house is definitely in worse condition than the others we see. His family works hard to take care of each other. His sister is a nurse and both her and her mother are away a lot of the time, but they both love JP very much. JP’s sister also happens to be really openly body positive. I love them a lot.

-       Kelsey’s father is an only parent. There’s still a lot of mystery surrounding how Kelsey’s mother passed away. It’s a very subtle but important part of Kelsey’s character and comes through in really bittersweet adorable ways (not limited to Kelsey using her “half-orphan”ness to guilt trip a man into giving her money)

-       Other kinds of families are scattered throughout the show, including families that move around a lot, a home-school kid with a strict mother, and more.

Unique approach to fantasy and sci-fi

-       You know how most kids show will take a kid’s fantasy and bring it to reality? Well Craig of the Creek keeps the fantastical and nostalgic element of that line of thinking but never confirms or denies whether the kids fantasies are real or in their heads. And not in a Scooby Doo way where the fantastical elements are explained away, but are hinted as a possibility right at the very end. Instead, two perspectives (the fantastical perspective and the realistic perspective) are woven into every episode.

-       This means there are two ways to interpret every episode. You can view the witches as real witches, or as goth teenagers. You can view Helen as a kid from another dimension, or a home-school kid who is never at the creek at the same time as the other kids. You can view Deltron as a cyborg from the future, or as an imaginative kid from a big city.

-       This is super unique and fun to watch. They come up with so many new ideas and its always fun to figure out what’s actually happening, while still getting to relive childhood fantastical nostalgia.

-       Almost all of these episodes use this to talk about an issue, but these issues can get quite complex and are definitely not shoved down your throat.

Overarching mystery plot about a colonialist kingdom / cult

-       Love the slow burn storytelling of Steven Universe’s Diamond Authority? Love putting together the mysteries of Gravity Falls? Then you’ll love this plot about colonialism, classism, bullying, peer pressure and more and its mysterious build up including cryptic graffiti art and flower symbolism.

-       Even before this arc properly begins, Craig of The Creek primarily centers around the microcosm of the Creek. Many of the episodes have a lot of commentary on society, politics and how different factions of people form and interact.

-       The show is over 50 episodes in and this arc is only just starting to kick off so now is the time to catch up and watch.

-       Fun complex villain(s)

Complex relatable characters

-       Want commentary and nostalgia about horse girls, children’s tea parties, weird kids, angsty teens, young weebs, dweebs and more!? Every childhood obsession is represented in this show.

-       Adults! All the parents and older teens in this show are just as rich and complex as the kids. They are all so interesting and fun.  

-       Want characters with arcs, aims, fun relationships and complexity!? Look no further! Redemption arcs! Revelations! Found family! It’s all here!

Great art and soundtrack

-       Cute background and character designs that make you nostalgic as hell and are also beautiful and well thought out.

-       Sometimes the art design is changed up for a particular episode to portray a certain fantastical / sci fi element. It’s very fun and engaging. 

-       An opening song that’s fun to sing along to, bittersweet ending song that makes me want to cry, a couple of musical episodes including a super fun rap musical episode, and a great OST

Queer headcanons

-       There are tons of ways to interpret the show but here’s some of my head canons just to get an idea.

-       (Note that despite my headcanons I use the pronouns for the kids that they use in the show cause I’m not certain about any of it and they’re kids who haven’t come out yet and also for clarity and consistency’s sake – I’m not saying trans people are not their genders. Don’t worry I’m nonbinary)

-       I headcanon that all the main trio grow up to realise they are queer. They strike me as that weird group of friends that doesn’t fit in with the other kids and aren’t quite sure how they all came to be friends, only to later realise they all showed early signs of breaking gender roles and that’s why they stuck together.

-       Craig definitely grows up to realise he’s gay, bisexual or queer. His admiration for characters like Deltron and Green Poncho are definitely crushes that he mistakes for a strong sudden and eager desire for friendship.

-       Kelsey probably grows up to realise she is nonbinary, a trans boy or a WLW. I mostly headcanon this because I relate to her a lot and I’m nonbinary and queer so I said so. She reminds me a lot of myself as a kid. She throws herself into books, mostly fantasy for escapism. She fantasises and writes a lot for the same reasons. She dresses like a tomboy (She always wears her hair up in the same bun which strongly reminds me of my own childhood hair dysphoria) and she hangs out solely with male friends.

-       JP gives me strong trans lesbian vibes, or to a lesser extent nonbinary vibes. (I know his sister is WLW coded but take it from me there can be more than one queer in a family). He is interested in girls, specifically Maney the horse girl (he even joined the horse girls for one episode). He wears a long V-neck shirt that is essentially a dress ALL the time. He’s aware that he’s different and while self conscious sometimes, mostly just wants to express himself the way he wants to. He also chooses to go by initials JP over his very gendered name Johnathan Paul (In a recent episode he names a ship after himself, calling it “The SS Johnathon Paulina”).

-       (Sidenote if you do start watching this show and I see any nasty shipping of these characters in non puppy-love fashion so help me god)

 Other reasons

-       The show is at times very intertextual and references Princess Mononoke, Super Smash Brothers, Sailor Moon, Lord of the Rings, and a billion other things. It also has some fun cameos, including background images of the Tres Horny Boys from The Adventure Zone, a TARDIS from Doctor Who, and a Cookie Cat from Steven Universe.

-       Honestly, this post hasn’t done the best job explaining why I love this show so much. You honestly just have to watch an episode to understand fully what I’m talking about, so give it a go! Watch The Curse at least, it only goes for 10 minutes.