#we respect her as artist and the good traits she has

[finnickodaiir]

i respect you so much for criticizing taylor’s bad and shady actions despite being a fan. that’s what a true fan does

Thank you!!!

[multiverserift]

I really like Kira Nerys. Let's discuss her and organized religion A hothead, experienced freedom fighter, child soldier, passionate, kind, really good at self-control. In [DS9 S01E19: Duet], she learns that life can be complex and difficult and ultimately learns to forgive Marritza. She learns that hate has to end at some point to make peace. But there is one aspect of Kira that I always find unnerving: Her absolute blind spot when it comes to faith. And DS9's handling of organized religion. 01. Bajoran Culture and Cultures in Star Trek Because Kira is the Bajoran character we see most, and the only fleshed out character where "being Bajoran" is a major character trait, we mostly experience the culture through her. Yes there's Leeta, but there is just a single instance where it plays into the story that she's Bajoran. [DS9 S05E20: Ferengi Love Songs]. Leeta wants a Bajoran wedding, while Rom tries to hold onto what's left of his Ferengi identity. Rom ultimately lets go of all the Ferengi stuff. Good for him. Of course there is also Kai Winn, but her stories mostly circle about her being Kai Winn, not her being a Bajoran. There is a single instance here too, where her Bajoran identity plays into the story, and her past during the Occupation. ([DS9: S05E10 Rapture]) She explains that she teached the faith of the prophets and was imprisoned for it. The other Bajoran characters are less fleshed out characters. Shakaar, Lupaza, and Furel. Even Li Nalasm remember him? Ro Laren is there of course, but her job was to create conflict in the perfect world of the Enterprise-D. Not being Bajoran, primarily. Star Trek does this more than once. Experiencing a whole culture through a single character. For a long time, Spock was the only fleshed out Vulcan we got to see, besides one episode with Sarek. Plus Sarek in the movies. It took decades until Tuvok showed us more than Spock's perspective. And ENT with T'Pol and the Vulcans arc finally fleshed out the species more. Jadzia is the only Trill that matters. Kind of a one trick pony species. The people with the symbiotes. And when Ezri finally shows up, we learn a bit more about them when they're not centered about their symbiotes. Cardassia is a good counter-example: We have Dukat, Damar and Garak to show us Cardassian culture from various perspectives. Plus the Tribunal episode, TNG's torture of Picard ("There are four lights!") We learn a lot about Cardassia. The DS9 treatment of the Ferengi will always be top notch.

02. Kira and Religion So back to Bajor, Kira and religion. Hehe, Bajor Kira. Sorry. As a non-religious man, I have my problems sharing her point of view. Trusting in faith, even when it contradicts rationality. There are two main storylines that illuminate this problem: 1. [DS9: S04E17 Accession] 2. Kira's relationship with Kai Winn. In Accession, Akorem Laan takes over the job as Emissary and installs himself as a conservative, even reactionary, religious leader. Bajorans are told to follow their d'jarras. A caste system. And Kira as our PoV Bajoran, simply....does it. Her D'jarra is Ih'valla, the artists caste. She actually had to struggle with this before. In [DS9: S02E02 The Circle] she tried living in the monastery with Bareil. She tells him she sucks at being an artist. Kira really tried. So when Akorem takes over the religious leadership (maintaining a good working relationship with Kai Winn, what a red flag), Kira shows us how Bajor reacts. They simply.....comply? Odo even tries out the sceptical, rational PoV. Kira just brushes it aside. DS9 does this a few times, actually. Respecting their characters' choices rooted in faith. Odo fighting Weyoun calling him a god on every occasion. Worf and Kira agreeing on Sisko's choice of trusting the Prophets in [DS9: S05E10: Rapture]. Weyoun 6's sacrifice. Even Quark's little prayers to his piggybank. What I really dislike about the plot of Accession is the Deus Ex Machina. The characters are not confronted with their choices. Akorem Laan and Vedek Porta don't go to jail for murdering some guy. Kira doesn't have to deal with supporting a regime that got opressive in a heartbeat. What I would have really liked to see were the Bajorans that disagree. The ones Akorem threatens with deportation. Sorry, our 45 minutes are up, the Prophets endorse The Sisko, Akorem is gone. Kira even still likes his poetry! Yay! Pity. I would have loved to see the consequences. And see if Kira finds a way to deal with blind obedience. Which brings me to my second point. 03. Kira Nerys and Kai Winn

While Gul Dukat is mainly Sisko's antagonist, Kai Winn is Kira's. She basically killed Kira's boyfriend, cashed in on his accomplishments and literally stole his fame, after she cheated her way to becoming Space Pope. Which would have been him. Bareil. Interesting side story: Bareil does the same thing Kira does. He blindly trusts the religious system. Bareil doesn't question Kai Winn's authority. Well, then she kills him by overworking him, and he lets her. Gladly. He decides to get killed. Because he trusts the Prophets. There's another side question here. Are the Prophets to be trusted? Are they doing good things for Bajor? or are they selfish? I basically think they're selfish af, and I can explain. But that's a story for another time.

So Kai Winn did a terrorism in [S01E20: In the Hands of the Prophets], gets people killed, supports an insurrection (but to be honest, her support never got public), cheats herself to be Pope, nearly starts a civil war because of Shakaar. Kira is in a powerful position. She is one of the most trusted advisors to the Emissary of the Prophets, is an administrator of DS9, was a member of the famed Shakaar Resistance Cell. She obviously has power. Military power, political power. She knows how to play politics. There is a dialogue about this in [DS9 S01E13: "Battle Lines] And she obviously knows Kai Winn is horrible. Dangerous. When does she talk back? Once. She does it once. In [DS9 S02E24: The Collaborateur], she is snarky and gets scolded by Winn. She never openly defies her again. Kira is complicit with a religious organisation that constantly punishes her for it. That would force her into a career she hates. That killed her boyfriend and robbed his dead body. Kai Winn even gloats over it a few episodes later. And in Accession, we see the climax of this: Even when the religious regime gets captured by bad people, she complies. 04: Fazit I would have loved to see Kira deal with the contradictions. See people who don't comply with Kai Winn's church. Who challenge that system. Because like in our world, organisations can and will be captured by bad players, in bad faith. The ability of political structures to withstand capture and abuse is essential. This always starts with the people being able to recognize it and fight back. I don't like it. I'm more like Odo. Rational, naturalistic. I don't understand how one can think with religious faith. Especially because Kira has such a temper and a sense for injustice. She challenges Winn from within the system, yes. With Shakaar. For a while. Then Shakaar loses steam as a character and we don't delve further into the matter. Simply DS9 having enough depth to allow such discussions about their characters is one if the reasons I love it so much. Stay safe out there, people. Stay vigilant in the face of powerful people. Thank you for reading.

[mk-wizard]

Eve and Aphrodite are not the problem

I'm just going to put this out there as a mother and a woman, and I can't just stay silent because my feelings are hurt over this whole debacle...

Both Eve from Stellar Blade and Aphrodite from the upcoming Hades II are beautiful women. However, Eve is a lady, professional, smart, resourceful and actively fighting a war to make the world a safer place. Aphrodite has no qualms about running around naked and puts out to anyone she meets or anyone she can benefit off of.

Now, I ain't going to judge artists for making their characters the way they are because I get that it is all part of artistic freedom and is part what drives the plot of the story. What does hurt me as a female person though is when you sit there telling me that Eve is a disgrace to women for being the way she is knowing what she does and she acts yet you turn around and tell me that Aphrodite is the gold standard of what female characters should all be like.

THAT is insulting. Not the characters. It's what you're saying and what that implies. Aphrodite may be crafty and may be self aware enough of her beauty in order to weaponize it, but she is not a role model. If anything, I can confirm as Greek lady who grew up with Greek mythology than she was one of the most evil Goddesses in lore. You do NOT want your daughters to be like her.

On the other hand, I think Eve is the kind of female character we've been needing for a while now since Jill Valentine, Lara Croft, Chun-Li or even Clementine from the Telltale Walking Dead games. And at the risk of being bold, even Bayonetta has my respect because even though her lifestyle is not one I would take up, she's still a hero with a heart of a gold and has a good sense of right and wrong when it comes to things that matter. Bayonetta is not a bad person for being loose anymore than Solid Snake is a bad person for also being loose AND being a smoker and drinker on top of that. Woman are allowed to have flaws and that extends to personality ones. It doesn't make them bad. It makes them human.

Let's look at the traits that really matter in female characters and even if they are bad guys, we have to take into account that they need to be as part of the plot.

[the-letterbox-archives]

archival file 4801805 (tag game)

thank you @corinneglass for the tag!! i loved reading reine's answers to these questions, and i'm so excited to hop on this tag game too! i'll be using sunny for this one, because she has poisoned my brain and i physically cannot think of anyone else.

what uncommon/common fear do they have?

rejection, for sure.

do they have any pet peeves?

people talking over her, but that falls under her ‘i hate annoying people who don’t respect me’ trait.

what are 3 items you can find in their bedroom?

a lot of journals of local gossip/people-watching info, a lot of bandages/bandaids, and pictures of her and darcy (though those are hidden to the point nobody could find them except her or darcy).

what do they notice first in a person?

how they talk. she uses that as an entry to get a read on their general confidence and the rest of their demeanour.

on a scale of 1 to 10, how high is their pain tolerance?

psychologically, very high, about 7-10, if it hasn’t directly happened to her or she didn’t actively witness it; she’s good at relaying news of tragedy to others or hearing about tragedy without getting upset about it. in terms of psychological pain that she actively experiences, i’d put it around a 4. physical pain comes in above average, maybe a 6.5.

do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure?

neither, i think. i imagine she’s pretty versatile in response, but i doubt she’d ever go straight to fight (she is super weak), so of the two, i’d go with flight. if we extend it to the four responses (fight, flight, freeze, and fawn), i think freeze is most common for her in relation to a situation not exactly initiated by a person, maybe fawn depending on if it’s a certain person that’s related to/causing the pressure.

do they come from a big family/are they a family person?

sunny comes from a very small family, and that actually caused a lot of issues for her. she’s got a complicated relationship to family, so she’s not a family oriented person.

what animal represents them best?

fox, definitely. cute and cunning! or maybe a scorpion, like in the fable.

what is a smell that they dislike?

she’s sensitive to any really strong scent, like something you’d find in a super strong candle store. it’s less so the smell, but the overpowering quality of it.

have they broken any bones?

yes, more than once, both at spencer’s and at home, but a very long time ago.

how would a stranger likely describe them?

a girl with a lot of attitude, in a stuffy private school uniform, but seems wholly out of place where she is, though they can’t quite place why...

are they a night owl or a morning bird?

there are certain circles of girls who stay up to the early hours of the morning studying/gossiping/drinking/etc, and sunny is a proud member of that group. she usually conks out around 2-4am, to get up at 7am for school (though she sleeps until the afternoon on weekends).

what is a flavour they hate and a flavour they love?

loves sweet and sour tastes separately, hates them together.

do they have any hobbies?

journaling and artistic hobbies like nature drawings and embroidery.

boom, surprise birthday party! how do they react to surprises?

a bit surprised, not because she doesn’t expect people to know her birthday (she’s announced it on the show in the past), but because she didn’t except anyone to care. she would feign expectation, like she knew it would happen, then go straight to darcy and ask if she organised this. i think overall sunny would act up the “oh, i knew this would happen, i’m the best haha,” but internally be very taken aback at the display.

do they like to wear jewellery?

only as a symbol of power.

do they have neat or messy handwriting?

doctor-levels of messy.

what are the two emotions they feel the most?

schadenfreude and indifference.

do they have a favourite fabric?

wool knit, especially the blazers and jackets the uniform supplies, though she isn’t particularly picky.

what kind of accent do they have?

she’s american, so it’s a pretty simple 20’s american accent. she’s very good at hiding her accent though, so i imagine during broadcasts she’d use something a bit more transatlantic, and that would slip through into her normal voice.

tagging @introchasingstars, @honeybewrites, @paeliae-occasionally, @ominous-feychild, @the-golden-comet,

@noxxytocin, @moltenwrites, @tc-doherty, @the-ellia-west, @theverumproject,

@thecrazyalchemist, @laylathewordwitch, @dragonedged-if, @leitereads, @autism-purgatory,

@gioiaalbanoart, @drchenquill, @fenmere, @leahnardo-da-veggie, @melpomene-grey,

@yourpenpaldee, @agirlandherquill, @willtheweaver, @nczaversnick,

@davycoquette, @glassfrogforest, @princeofhags, @wyked-ao3, @fantasy-things-and-such, + open tag!

[thatthingilovewith]

Officially gone insane and am developing a Smurf's Village AU, the discord encouraged me so it's not my fault especially @meekmedea under the cut are the counterparts of each character!

The Capitol

Volumnia Gaul is Gargamel, conniving, and evil. Her fascination has turned to obsession, and now the only thing keeping her going is her desire for power and bloodlust.

Coriolanus Snow is Azreal, quite literally answering to Gaul's every beck and call. He may actually be smarter than his master, but they're a means to an end, and he's not willing to let that go. He cares very little for anyone or anything he just wants to do what's best for him.

District 1

Facet is Artistic (Painter in adaptations), he always manages to find the beauty in the world around him, and is able to find the good in every thing and everyone he comes into contact with. Though at time he can be a bit tempermental.

Velvereen is Slouchy, she doesn't have time for any of this. All the negativity she encounters just rolls right off her back, it's just not worth focusing on. Don't be mistaken she still cares about others and their feelings and is more than willing to lend a helping hand.

District 2

Marcus is Timber (Lumberjack in adaptations), strong and quick thinking he's someone you can always rely on. Though his strict and stern exterior may be a deterrent make no mistake he loves fun just as much as anyone, he just has no time for foolish games.

Sabyn is Harmony, she may not be great at what she does but know she's trying her best. She is always committed to getting better, your detractions just fuel her drive to improve. Handy in an emergency as she's always the first to sound the alarm and run for help

District 3

Circ is handy, a free thinker always striving to make the lives of those around him better in any way possible. There in a flash to lend a helping hand, a chronic optimist Handy has a tendency to bite off more than he can chew. Just don't tell him you don't like his invention he doesn't respond well to criticism.

Teslee is Brainy, she manages to be the smartest person in the room and believes she's smarter than she really is. With no time for self-doubt, she needs to learn it's okay to be wrong. There's a fine line between being responsible and being a spoilsport; unfortunately, she leapfrogs from side to side whenever convenient for her.

District 4

Mizzen is Nat (Natural Smurf), a nature and animal lover in every way possible. He understands the natural world in a way no one else seems to, and is always there to lend our furry friends a helping hand. If only that compassion continued onto the other people.

Coral is Grouchy, while it may seem as though she likes absolutely nothing, there is affection behind her gruff exterior, particularly towards their young friend. Waking up on the wrong side of the bed every day is hard, but it doesn't stop her from pulling her weight.

District 5

Hy is Tuffy, the desire to be like the person we admire most is a very natural one, but it would be better for everyone if he learned it is best to be himself.

Sol is Lazy, friendly, loyal, and understanding, none of those traits really seem to matter seeing as she consistently fails to pull her weight.

District 6

Otto is Sloppy, all of his hard work would probably be more appreciated if he put more care into it. Also hate to tell you this but he desperately needs a shower.

Ginnee is Dabbler, great at many different things, not to mention a good person all around, but she would probably get more respect if she could just pick a hobby and stick with it.

District 7

Treech is Clumsy, a chronic dreamer who always seems to be tripping over his own feet. The world is a beautiful place but he would probably be better off if he found a better time to admire its beauty.

Lamina is Timid, a shy and mild-mannered person, who just can't help but let their emotions get the better of them. Not that they're a mess she should just worry less and let everyone see how talented they really are.

District 8

Bobbin is Snappy, Rambunctious, and adventurous, he's not one to back down from a challenge. Though sometimes his desire to get his own way is his undoing, at least he can admit when he's wrong. He has a softer side, though it's reserved for a select few. Be warned when his temper flares its good for no one.

Wovey is Flighty, hardworking, and good-natured, their only problem is they tend to be a bit forgetful. A great friend and productive member of the community, but sometimes they need a little help staying on track.

District 9

Panlo is Baker, up with the sun every morning, working hard to provide a good start and end to everyone's day. Be warned stay out of his kitchen, or risk a beating with his rolling pin.

Sheaf is Farmer, hardworking, and fun, no one knows more about plant life than her. If you ever need someone to talk to farmer is up at all hours of the day and always willing to lend an ear.

District 10

Tanner is Jokey, in his eyes, nothing is sacred and no time is a bad time for a good laugh. A chronic troublemaker, make no mistake he means no actual harm with his pranks, he just wants to lighten the mood and entertain, mostly himself.

Brandy is a Tracker, if you've lost it, she can find it. Approaching everything with passion most reserve for the light of their life. There is never a dull day according to her.

District 11

Reaper is Papa, the oldest, wisest, and bravest of them all. Always willing to solve any problem he's approached, anyone can see exactly why he is in charge. Though he won't tolerate any disrespect.

Dill is Sassette, chatty, curious, and at times a bit eccentric, she has no problem with getting her hands dirty. She has no problem with hard work or letting others know exactly what she thinks.

District 12

Jessup is Hefty, strong as they come and only desiring to keep others safe he truly is one of the best. With a heart of gold and always willing to lend a hand his only problem lies in his academic failure. Tending to take things quite literally, the joke can end up on him when everyone understands something he doesn't.

Lucy Gray is Smurfette, she's smart and capable and always ready for a new adventure. Curious and brave she has endless capacity for empathy and manages to find the good in almost everyone.

Sorry this is completely unhinged but I've spent to much time on it already not to share.

[taylortruther]

You've moved on so I understand you not responding lol but I just truly think what you said (a few weeks ago maybe?) hit the nail on the head... some of these fans enjoyed Taylor being quiet/unseen because it was maybe "less embarrassing" to be a Taylor fan or they could attribute anything they wanted to her. I think about you saying that all the time and I just think it was SO RIGHT

i think it's two things: some fans believe that a respectable artist won't want superficial attention; other fans think this makes taylor stupid or hypocritical because she doesn't realize this is bad for her mental health (because of what she discussed in the rep magazines and miss americana.)

maybe this is a hot take, but taylor is a people pleaser and i think she has worked on some of the more toxic aspects, to her benefit. but i think most, if not all, very popular celebrities are people pleasers, they are mirrorballs, they want us to love them and notice them. imo, this is a neutral trait of taylor's: it's neither good nor bad, just how she is. it's her business to decide when it's harmful and when it's helpful and when it's neither. all we can do is fans is be respectful however we can, and also try to keep perspective: this isn't the 1989 era, taylor is older and wiser, she has an even stronger support network, she knows what her weak points and strengths are... i don't think we need to handwring.

[jacquesthepigeon]

Just that I look at the Felix-era stuff we have access to and it feels like such a downgrade. I know the stated problem with Felix was that he fell into the tsundere trope but they didn't have to strip away everything. Emphasis is put on his and Maribug's friendship. He's a studious shut-in workaholic who wants to be a doctor but is also an extremely passionate and talented musician/writer, and that's the side of him Marinette falls in love with and aspires to bring out because, as an artist herself, she feels like he's a kindred spirit. She pushes him out of his comfort zone and all he can think about is how much fun he has with her. His initial reasoning for working with Ladybug IS a little selfish: Felix LOVES being Chat Noir and he's terrified of losing Plagg, so he aims to get on her good side so she won't take Plagg away, but he quickly develops genuine respect for her and becomes dedicated to her cause. It's true that he's darker and "edgier", because for a long time ML was intended to be much darker than what it ended up being and Felix is a direct reflection of that, but. Adrien has no ambition or motivation. He's very...static. Not a desirable trait in your deuteragonist.

.

[mzminola]

Because something superhero comics, noir, and fanfic all have in common is leaning into soap opera convolutedness, @alexmaybe & I have come up with the Bruce Wayne Spawn Shell Game AU, in which the middle kids are all biologically Bruce’s.

(Dick really is John & Mary Grayson’s, and Damian is Talia’s direct clone.)

No one finds this out until Batman!Bruce & Robin!Damian are fighting a magic user who has heard rumors that Robin is Batman’s son (rumors started by Damian’s not so quiet comments about being The Blood Son). The mage gloats that they’re going to use a “teleport everyone with X trait to me” spell to yank Robin over, and use the disorientation of teleportation to take him hostage. “I will summon Batman’s direct blood descendents! Mwa ha ha ha!”

Cue Damian staying firmly at Bruce’s side, while Cass in street wear with bubble tea, Jason doing gear maintenance, a random college student studying for exams, and Tim in his pajamas pop out of the ether all within a yard of the mage.

The mage regrets their life choices.

~

Now, how did we get here?

Firstly, during the years Bruce is doing his world tour of Learning Batman Skills while still swinging in and out of Gotham, Bruce is seeking physical activity to make his brain shut up, and also seeking intimacy but keeping too many secrets to let himself actually get close to people, so he is sleeping with Even More People Than In His Batman Years. He remembers condoms but always doesn’t use them perfectly.

Bruce meets Sandra & Carolyn Wu-San at their dojo in Brooklyn. Some time later when David Cain coerces Sandra into reproductive sex, she seeks out every male martial artist she vaguely respected or thought had potential to sleep with them too as a Fuck You to undermine Cain’s scheme without openly breaking their deal.

Bruce has a one-night stand with pre-transition Willis Todd, both of them just giving their first (legal) name, no contact info. Figuring out several months later that he’s pregnant but no clue how to find the other father, Willis, who does want kids someday, weighs the pros and cons of “having trouble making ends meet right now, can I support a kid?” with “everyone says pregnancy would be harder later in transition,” and opts to have Jason now.

Sheila Haywood is either a friend or a bribable hospital worker (or both) who agrees to put her name down as the mom so Willis can legally be his kid’s dad without any complicated paperwork. Willis and Catherine never got around to telling Jason before both of them died. When Jason showed up at the camp thinking Sheila was his bio-mom she rolled with it, figuring she could get details of why he thought that later, and then unfortunately [canon ensued].

It won’t be until the spell incident happens that Bruce puts together one night stand Wilhelmina with Why do the pictures of Willis Todd look kinda familiar? Because he definitely never slept with Catherine or Sheila.

Bruce meets, befriends and sleeps with Janet Drake while going on an archaeological research binge. He’s also still having a lot of random bar and nightclub hook-ups.

Some months later, while Jack is out of town on a business trip, Janet complains to Bruce that Jack really wants a son, but the latest ultrasound shows a female fetus. Janet really doesn’t want to deal with pregnancy ever again, but Jack isn’t open to adoption, and ugh if only Janet could just swap this one for a male infant. It would be so easy to nudge Jack into an archeology dig closer to the due date, he’d never have to know!

(No, neither Bruce nor Janet have thought maybe Bruce got Janet pregnant instead of Jack.)

“You’ve got this knack for finding odd things at just the right moment, Brucie…”

Janet knows it’s a long shot, and dubiously ethical because adoption records exist for good reason, and if they can’t find a baby that works she’ll just have to dig her heels in with Jack against trying for a son, but if Bruce could find a baby…

Bruce makes no promises other than keeping an eye and ear out.

Anyway, Bruce isn’t Batman yet, but he’s home between tutors on his World Tour and venturing into the city in various disguises to learn more about Gotham’s underworld, and getting into trouble. So it is Bruce Wayne with a fresh concussion, not a drunk Brucie, who stumbles into an alley to vomit and finds a baby in a dumpster.

It’s a very full dumpster, one half of the lid broken off. An orange cat (who may or may not be Teekl returning a future favor) is curled around the newborn baby boy. The infant has a shock of hair as dark as Janet’s.

Concussed Bruce walks all the way to the Drake townhouse marveling at the tiny hand gripping his finger so tight.

Janet schedules a C-section. Bruce forges Timothy Jackson Drake’s birth certificate and arranges the adoption of Janet’s daughter by a family in Oregon. He keeps tabs on them over the years, preparing a Wayne Foundation scholarship to the college of her choice someday.

~

Back to the magic incident: Nightwing and Batwoman were on their way there as back-up when the mage cast the summoning spell, so Dick is able to hug Damian as the kid bluescreens about Not Being The Blood Son.

Bruce awkwardly explains that yes, he ran Damian’s DNA when Talia dropped him off, but when he realized Damian was Talia’s direct clone, he also realized Talia was taking steps to ensure her child escaped the League of Assassins, by attaching him to one of the few people on the planet who can go toe to toe with (and even defeat) her father. Bruce opted to go along with Talia’s choice.

Kate has gotten popcorn from somewhere, munching on it while Bruce desperately thinks back to his Mega Ho Years to figure out how everyone else happened.

Cass is feeling a vindictive sort of smugness about not being David Cain’s bio-kid. He’s still her dad, but he only got part of what he wanted from Shiva.

Jason is pissed at Bruce for not figuring it out earlier, but kinda relieved that Sheila wasn't actually his mom.

The freshman college student from Oregon is really annoyed, she was at study group and she CANNOT fail this class!!! Now she’s on the entire opposite coast???

Tim is having some feelings about how fucking soap opera his origins turn out to be. Bruce slept with his mom Janet, but also she wasn’t his birth mom, he was adopted and no one told him??? Who the heck is his other birth parent??? What were the odds of his apparent bio-parent Bruce being the one to find him??? Wait, was finding baby Tim in a dumpster why younger!Bruce suddenly had Wayne Enterprises put money into improving and proliferating Safe Drop-Off Sites in Gotham???

(He is Not Thinking About his complicated relationship with Jack.)

~

Tim, when things are just starting to quiet down: “Wait, so does Talia have XY chromosomes, or does Damian have XX? Because I’ve done a lot of of cloning lab work, and—”

Damian: “Don’t talk about my mother’s chromosomes, dumpster baby.”

Tim: >:(

Bruce, very tired: “Damian, don’t call your brother a dumpster baby.”

Damian, indignant: “But you just told us you found him in a dumpster as an infant!”

Freshman college student: “Dude, it’s still fucking rude? Like how would you like being called a test tube baby?”

Damian: /draws sword/

Dick, pushing sword back into sheath: “No drawing weapons on civilians. Or calling Tim rude things. Tim, I think any chromosome questions are Talia and Damian’s personal medical business, so please don’t speculate on them.”

Tim, sarcastically: “Sorry, I forgot medical privacy exists after how you all reacted to the spleen thing.”

Freshman college student: “Spleen thing?”

Tim: “Don’t worry, it’s not genetic. Speaking of, B, you’re gonna have to update, like, all our medical history now.”

Bruce, even more tired: "Hn."

[cursegirlrabbit]

Wish review cause I've got stuff to say

Do not read if you have not seen the movie and don't want spoilers. Also you don't have to read if you uncared about my opinion I just have words to say about this movie but I am not saying anyone has to have the same opinions as me.

So first point. Storyline.

I felt it was to...rushed like everything happened so fast from Asha finding out the truth to her wishing on star, revolting and then the ending. It felt very rushed and it was hard to feel any stakes or tension, didn't even get a real feel for the characters. Like Enchanto gave us the slow stake of the house and the magic slowly fading and breaking. Same with coco and him finding his relative that will wish him home while letting him play music.

Even little mermaid did a better job of storyline of Showing Ariel and her interests, her meeting Eric, saving Erica, meeting Ursula and then the whole three days to make Eric fall for her.

A rushed storyline brings me to the second point. Characters. Now I liked Asha but I didn't really get to KNOW her. All I know of ashamed is she's caring, can draw and has alot of faith in people and their wishes. Which is wonderful...but that's all I got from her. With Miguel we know he's mischief, loves to play music, fast runner, overly friendly and stubborn. With rapunzel we learned she was innocent, naive, artistic, a jack of all trades, curious and anxious.

Asha kind of felt like snow white or Aurora, there just wasn't much to her.

I also felt magnifico revealed his true colours really quickly to a girl he didn't know very well and didn't trust. I mean she wasn't even his apprentice yet and he outright told her that not all the wishes got granted and majority of them float around. Like...why? Why did he tell her that when she didn't even work for him yet or show any reason for him to trust her with this information. Hell the whole movie wouldn't have happened if he HADNT said anything

Speaking of Magnifico, I didn't mind him as a villain. He reminded me of Ernesto from coco and maleficent. And I understood what he represented, at least in my eyes this movie showed alot of toxic relationship and toxic manipulation method and techniques. Such as magnifico telling and expecting the people to just listen and follow him blindly just because he does his duty as their king

'I let you live here for free and don't charge rent, I clean up your messes, I give and give and give and all I ask for is respect' sounds alot like how toxic parents manipulate their young children as well as toxic spouses.

Ashas friends were also not very flushed out as characters, I barely remember their names except for dahlia. The other friends I only remember from their main trait, guy who sneezes, the quiet girl, the chill out guy, the short angry one, sad Simon and one more girl I don't remember. The friends only showed up for short times and we just didn't learn much about them

And one more thing, the MUSIC. Like...Disney.. come on. I found none of those songs or music pieces as catching my attention. This is a company that gave us hellfire, part of your world, let it go, every song of coco, we don't talk about Bruno, we are the three caballeros, kiss the girl, be a man, son of man, two worlds!

Also, the ENDING! I took two morals from this movie. How to spot toxic relationships and when to leave (this from the people and especially the queen who once she realises he is no longer the man she loves and he won't change and is hurting people. Stands up to him even though she LOVES him) and the second being 'don't rely on others to make your dreams and wishes come true' wonderful! Yes accept help to make your dreams come true but don't rely on others or give up.

But then...THEY GIVE ASHA A WAND?!! so that SHE can grant wishes?!! WHAT DID WE JUST LEARN!!?! yes I know asha would do a fairer and better job but...but COME ON!!

But now the GOOD POINTS

I liked the animation at first it was odd but that's because I'm not used to the style. But it was still lovely and the effects with the magic especially the wishes and the forbidden magic was fantastic.

The concept. The idea of someone realising that their beloved King is actually misusing and betraying them is a very nice idea and I love the idea of showing kids how to spot this kind of manipulation from adults they are supposed to trust.

I also loved the concepts of Wishes. Of the people feeling joy and wonder and love when they got their wishes back into their hearts and them feeling a horrible feeling when the wishes were crushed.

All in all. I feel the movie was rushed, and they should have waited longer and put more time into it rather then rush it out for the 100 years of Disney.

But that's just my view, would love to hear yours ^.^ (but no hate on anyones views or ideas)

[whitehotharlots]

Taylor Swift: The BPD Christ

The New York Times just ran a reeeaaalllly creepy, 5,000 word piece speculating that Taylor Swift is secretly queer. It follows a pattern familiar to those of us who spent any time on schizoid identity tumblr in the early twenty-teens, purporting that Swift has long been issuing secret, coded messages in her lyrics and manner of dress:

When looking back on the artifacts of the months before that album’s release, any close reader of Ms. Swift has a choice. We can consider the album’s aesthetics and activism as performative allyship, as they were largely considered to be at the time. Or we can ask a question, knowing full well that we may never learn the answer: What if the “Lover Era” was merely Ms. Swift’s attempt to douse her work — and herself — in rainbows, as so many baby queers feel compelled to do as they come out to the world?

Understandably, the piece generated a strong sense of confusion and disgust among people whose brains have not yet completely melted. And you might be wondering... just, how? This shit was disquieting enough when it was confined to the blogs of mentally unwell pre-teens. How did this get printed in the country's largest newspaper? A-and not even in the Entertainment section, this was a featured OpEd.

Well, I got a theory. Stick with me:

It's very common for pre-pubescent girls to develop strong emotional/romantic attachments to celebrities and pretend that they're dating. These fantasies usually resolve themselves by the the time the girls fully enter puberty and begin experiencing sexual attraction to people around their own age.

I read an academic paper about this years ago. I can't find it now, but here's a good summary from Psychology Today:

Consider crushes are of two kinds – identity crushes and romantic crushes. In both cases, the teenager feels smitten by a compelling person who captivates their attention, for good and ill. (A third kind is the celebrity crush that shapes ideals and stirs fantasies, but there is usually no interpersonal contact to play them out. However, this is definitely where the market for celebrity posters comes in, to decorate teenage bedroom walls.)In all three cases, the young person largely projects onto another person idealized attributes the admirer highly values and wants to be associated with. Then she or he attaches strong positive feelings to the perfectly wonderful image that has been created. Crushes have more to do with fantasy than with reality, and they tell much more about the admirer than the admired. It’s because they usually prove unrealistic that in a relatively short time they soon wear off. But it is because of the idealization that crushes have such momentary power. This is why parents need to respect an adolescent crush and not dismiss or put it down. After all, it is an early approximation of love. While it lasts it is seriously held, so it should be seriously treated.

Again, this is completely normal when it's done by young girls.

My theory is as follows: I think people stop emotionally developing at whatever age they become terminally online. If you start posting at age 11, you're going to emotionally be 11 years old until you die.

I sincerely believe this is the only explanation for Swift's messianic popularity. She is the Christ figure for grown women with severe personality disorders, which is basically every woman who was born after 1990 or so. Taylor is not just an artist, nor even an aspirational figure. They've all convinced themselves that Taylor is their best friend and that she just happens to evince all the traits they desire in a woman who exists without sin. Anything that contradicts this--such as Taylor being a straight woman--must be refuted.

[zeynatura]

Translation

Yuri: please come forward Bruno and Omar, come because there's rumors that I am homophobic. These are the guys that do my makeup, am I homophobic?

Bruno & Omar: no buddy

Yuri: see?

El Magic: it's wrong to be homophobe but it's even worse to not admit it.

One who doesn't accept their errors is condemned to repeat them, for ever and ever we have been guided by signs and that of intolerance has been the most evil one.

Having gay friends doesn't take away your "least", "we're all humans" didn't stop us from killing each other.

There's slithering snakes with no venom and there's snakes with legs that say nothing good.

Who irons (your clothes)

Who does your make up

Who helps you all the time in the kitchen

Who cheers you on and puts the crown on you

You see them as anything but people

Having a mom doesn't take away you being machista (sexist), and having a household worker doesn't take away your classism

Being homophobe as a "point of view" (opinion) has been the biggest excuse racists use.

Context and notes under the cut:

The lady in the video is famous mexican artist and singer Yuri, that got criticized for using the lgbtq community for her own gain in her latest song and music video, also some people mentioned she may have been trying to be like Lady Gaga a queer icon while she's a homophobe and Yuri's response was: I'm a Christian, I respect them even if some of them don't.

Yuri la menos / Yuri the least is the hashtag that was used to criticise her on social media

I didn't know how to translate comadre or derivative comadrita because the original word comes from midwife but the term nowadays is being used for (or between) ladies (usually old) to express they're friendly with each other, that's why I translated it as "buddy", it's not new for gay men to use she/her pronouns and other feminine terms in Mexico so some of them call each other comadre

And actually part of the lgbtq community in Mexico was defending Yuri 🙄

You can enjoy her music. there is no need to like her as a person, her music is multi-generational and will always be part of our culture, that doesn't take away that she is a bigot shielding herself behind her religion

Machista is a term used to describe a traditional, stereotypical and often toxic view of masculinity that places high value on traits like dominance, aggression and stoicism. While it can be translated as "sexist" because it is part of being machista, it is not the only characteristic so translating it would take way the complexity of what it actually is.

In spanish we use "point of view" the same way people in english use "it's my opinion"

[ohhgingersnaps]

Shane/leah? Tell me more! They are my two favs, but i've never thought about them as a couple.

Okay SO my affinity for Shane/Leah is a fairly recent thing (I fully credit @coolcoolglasses and @floopthecooper for fueling this particular fire and brainstorming with me haha).

My relationship with this ship has been a month-long slow-burn enemies-to-lovers kind of situation. My initial gut reaction of "eh that would never work" quietly progressed into "oh wait they might be cute, actually" and then into "oh NO! i'm invested!!"

So, reasons why I think Shane/Leah would work:

"Hello, neighbor. We both live outside of town. Does that mean something?" (from Leah’s dialogue). They're both a little introverted, and a bit non-conformist, and they both moved to Pelican Town to escape their old life. While that doesn't automatically make them kindred spirits, it's not nothing.

Leah is the sort of person who's willing to sit with someone in whatever they're going through, instead of trying to fix them or cheer them up, and that's what Shane needs. He doesn’t need a savior, he needs support.

Bonding over nature/animals. Leah talks a lot about how much she loves farm animals, even before she's interested in the farmer, and a good portion of her high-heart dialogue is along the lines of, "Oh, gosh, a farm sounds so nice, I love farms! Wouldn't it be awesome to have help on your farm? Maybe me??" Leah would absolutely jump at the chance to help take care of the animals on Marnie's ranch, is all I'm saying.

Narrative parallels. Leah's arc is partly about finding the confidence to present her art to the world, which involves a huge level of vulnerability; Shane's arc is about a lot of things, depending on how you slice it, but vulnerability's one angle.

Also, not to project all over Shane (read: absolutely to project), but an important component of my mental health recovery has been "hope"— not hope as a feeling, but hope as an action— as buckling down and trying, even if you're scared or tired or aren't feeling positively about it. You know all those "going on my daily stupid walk for my stupid mental health >:(" memes? To me, that has recovery!Shane vibes. He's grumpy about it, sure, but that just means he's gotta do it grumpy.

And Leah's arc is chock-full of Hope As An Action. Being an artist is a constant struggle of "this thing I am making will not turn out as perfect as it is in my head, and I will make it anyway." Leah often expresses uncertainty about her own level of talent, but she puts herself and her work out there in spite of that, and she gets stronger and more self-assured the more she does it.

(Putting the rest of this under a cut because it got long oops)

What they value in a partner. Leah values someone who's okay with simplicity, who's straightforward and honest (which Shane generally is, when he's not putting up a front to push people away). She also wants someone who will believe in her and respect her, and I think Shane would not only respect her unique traits, but admire them. Having a goal you're passionate about in the first place is awesome, but being willing to fight for it? That takes guts.

I think Shane values honesty, steadfastness, and realism, but also needs someone whose realism is cut with hope and determination instead of pessimism. Also, per earlier discussion, he needs someone who's willing to sit with him at his lowest points instead of trying to fix him. Someone who's independent and can offer support, but who's also good at setting and respecting boundaries.

(Also, while we're on the topic of Things They'd Appreciate About Each Other, I do think Shane would appreciate that Leah is capable of breaking him in half. Like, he passes her chopping firewood on his way to work one day and goes "hope this doesn't awaken anything in me" lmao)

They have similar senses of humor. They both have dry sarcasm vibes to me, with a side of terrible puns. I'm not elaborating on this at all, I just think it's true.

Consider also: Leah hanging out with the ranch family. Found family tropes! Coming over for meals, bringing over a hearty soup when the ranch fam gets sick, coming over to sketch the chickens. (If doodles of Shane end up on her pages more often than the chickens do, well…)

I tend to headcanon Leah as having been through the wringer a bit re: her own mental health post-Kel, so while her situation does differ from Shane's, she does understand facets of what he's going through. And when she needs to vent about Kel, or needs time to process something that's triggered her, Shane's in a similar position— even if he doesn't fully get it, he can still empathize, make space for her, and also sometimes get angry about it with her, which she finds oddly validating.

I can talk about this for hours but I will stop here!!

The main difficulty I see in them getting together is that Shane tends to rebuff people, and Leah would take his "leave me alone" at face value because boundaries are important to her for Personal Reasons (i.e. Kel-related trauma), so they’d need some sort of contrived circumstance to force them to interact with one another long enough that he lets his walls down a bit…

Once he does, though, they'd get along like a house on fire, and I have a giant cardboard box full of contrived circumstances that I'm itching to use on them :)

[watercolor-hearts]

F1 Tag Game! Tag some people you'd like to get to know better!

Tagged by: @starlightiing

Who is your favorite driver?: I can't choose one. Daniel, Max, Carlos and George. No particular order.

Do you have other favorite drivers?: No other favorites but I like Alex, Lando and Charles too.

Who is your least favorite driver?: I don't think it matters. This profile is a safe place where I don't and won't mention that there are drivers I don't like because I don't see the reason to do it. I post about basically anyone if there's a post I really like, no matter which driver it is about.

Do you pull for drivers or do you like teams as well?: Only for drivers. Sometimes I might seem like I'm a Ferrari fan but I'm not. I'm not a fan of any teams.

If you like teams, what team do you pull for?: -

How long have you been into F1?: I've been into F1 for almost 2 years. I'm in the fandom since the summer of 2022. The first race I saw was Spa 2022.

What got you into F1?: A TikTok video of Ayrton Senna and a mention of his crash. I was curious about his crash so I searched for it on TikTok and after that the app started recommending me Charlos challenege videos and later Daniel ones too and I found safe place and happiness in Daniel, his smile and his positivity.

Do you enjoy Fanfic/RPF?: Yes, I do. Fanfic saves my life on almost daily basis, I don't think I'd still be here if there was no fanfic world. And RPF is the best type of fiction to me because there's always new content, it's not like when a series end and you stop getting new content and the fandom slowly dies, or if it doesn't die, it has to recycle old content, and I usually get bored of that. I need new content to keep me motivated. Also, fanfic is my safe place, it's my comfort, it's my everything. (And as the F in it states too, RPF (real person fiction) is purely fictional to me. I don't ship drivers in real life, I respect their private life and I don't really care about their girlfriends/wives. When I ship drivers/write about them, they became my charaters with personality traits I gave them, because obviously I don't know any of them so I have to make up things. But that's what I like in fiction.)

How do you view new fans?: I don't really care about them unless they make up insane theories and spread lies because that's a big no for me and I prefer when people actually look up the things before they comment/make posts about them. But I like nice and open-minded new fans who want to learn and don't judge on first sight and don't hop on the hate train.

If you could take over as team principal for any team, who would it be and why?: I'm an artist, I don't think any team would want an artist to be their team principal. I don't speak math, I don't speak physics, I can't (and don't want to) drive, so yeah. I'd rather be a graphic designer for basically any team. (Some of them really needs a good one...)

Are your friends and family into F1 as well?: My friends Freddie and Jess are, my best friend watches races with my but by herself she doesn't search for F1 content. She just does it for me because she's nice and I love her for watching the races with me and fangirling with me.

Are you open to talking to other fans/making friends?: Well, this topic is... a bit sensitive for me. I'm open to things like people sending me asks and we chat that way or people send me messages because of my stories or drawings or something and we talk a bit but making friends is different. For me friends are people I talk almost everyday with and they know me well, they know things I don't tell everybody. I'm pretty problematic when it comes to friendships, I'm pretty aware of it now, I have attachment issues and since I'm not healthy mentally, I don't think I could manage another friendship without hurting the other person and I don't want to put the weight of my problems on more people than I already have. I don't need a lot of friends, I'm good with the three I have. But as I said, I'm open to receiving asks and messages about my drawings, stories or basically anything. But I'm not good at keeping conversations alive, that's why I prefer communicating through asks, reblogs and comments under posts. That's easier for my unstable mental health. (But I still appreciate every message, ask, reblog and comment I get. Thank you for them.)

Tagging: @fredwardart @defendtothedeathgr63 @vicsbasement @zazhitigertasha @underthelightsblog

[unspokenmusings]

✧ ┆ ( HAN HYUNMIN, CIS MALE, PANSEXUAL, HE/HIM ). Not everyone can say they’ve been to Briar Glen, but SANI KIM, a 24-year-old, DJ & FREELANCE ARTIST, has lived in Briar Glen for 6 YEARS. This is the city for development and they know it. Living in this extensive town means you meet all kinds of people, we can’t wait to meet and see how SANI develops.

B A S I C S 

full name: sani kim. nicknames: nini. gender:  cis male. pronouns:  he/him. sexuality:  pansexual. age:  24. date of birth:  september 1st, 2000. zodiac sign:  virgo. birthplace: seoul, south korea. current location: briar glen, california, united states. residence:  apartment in briar glen. languages spoken: korean, igbo, yoruba, english.

A P P E A R A N C E

faceclaim:  han hyunmin. height:  6’4. build:  slim, toned and tall. eyes:  brown. hair:  dark brown. piercings:  standard earlobe piercings.  tattoos:  none. style:  trendy and casual. 

P E R S O N A L I T Y

traits:  (+) creative, honest, determined, dedicated , loyal. (-) shy, temperamental, reticent, unforgiving.  mental health:  stable.  physical health:  good, healthy. likes:  music, art, spicy foods, live concerts, wine, smoking marijuana.  dislikes:  being antagonized, people who don't respect boundaries, avocados, crowded spaces, groups of people that take up the whole sidewalk, being forced to introduce himself.  fears:  losing his autonomy.  skills: singing, dj'ing, drawing, painting, sculpting, cooking. quirks:  cracking his knuckles when irritated, avoiding eye contact when feeling shy or nervous, rolling his eyes.

F A V O R I T E S

ice cream flavour:  cookies & cream.  time of the day / night:  late night.  weather:  fall weather.  breakfast food:  waffles, cereal, yogurt.  dinner food:  jerk chicken, beef patties, pasta, rice. colours:  lots of darker, muted colors.  music: r&b, indie, indie pop, rock, pop, pop rock, hip-hop/rap. 

M I S C E L A N E O U S

a cherished item:  his maternal grandmother's guitar. first love ( celeb crush ):  lee hyori, beyonce. usual mood:  neutral. 1 thing they want to do / experience before they die:  dj for a celebrity event. 

B A C K G R O U N D

sani was born on a south korean-united states military base. his mother was an army doctor and his father was a doctor in south korea. his mother was a first generation nigerian-american that dedicated her life to saving others and decided to become a military doctor after completing her residency. she met his father a year into being in south korea, and their love was instant, like a fairy tale.

their love didn't last long though. when sani was only seven years old, his parents divorced and when her time as an army doctor was over, his mother returned to the states, taking him with her. he spent his summers in south korea with his father, but primarily lived with his mother for the majority of his life.

sani's always been a creative at heart. whether it be art or music, both come to him naturally. he can play several instruments (the piano, the guitar, the drums and the saxophone), and is very knowledgable on dj'ing equipment and other music production equipment. he has a nice singing voice as well, but prefers to lean on the more creating/dj'ing side of music instead of actively singing.

he moved to briar glen when he turned eighteen for a sense of independence and to prove to his parents, and himself, that he can make it on his own. his parents both wanted him to follow their paths and become a doctor, but that was never something he wanted to pursue.

he makes the bulk of his money by dj'ing or doing freelance art projects for anyone interested in his art style and work.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 05/08/2023 (Travis Scott's 'UTOPIA', Calvin Harris/Sam Smith, Central Cee/Drake)

Content warning: More Drake than usual

For a ninth consecutive week, we have Dave and Cench at the top of the charts with “Sprinter” - welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

This sure was a week. A pretty busy one at that, one that’ll be a pain to write about, so in all honesty, my main goal is to keep this pretty brief… not that it’s all that easy when there are 12 new songs and a ton of what we always start with - the notable dropouts, which are songs exiting from the UK Top 75 after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we say farewell to last week’s debut, “K-POP” by Travis Scott featuring Bad Bunny and The Weeknd, for obvious reasons we’ll discuss later, but also songs that actually stayed around for at least one week longer, like “Militerian” by J Hus featuring Naira Marley, “Makeba” by Jain, “Toxic Trait” by Stormzy and Fredo, “Don’t Say Love” by Leigh-Anne, “Tattoo” by Loreen, “Cupid” by FIFTY FIFTY, “Until I Found You” by Stephen Sanchez, “Boy’s a liar” by PinkPantheress, “I’m Good (Blue)” by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha, “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic and “Riptide” by Vance Joy - why was that still here anyway?

We then see returns for Post Malone as his #3 album AUSTIN makes its impact. We have a debut later on, but “Mourning” and “Chemical” re-enter to take up his other two spots on the chart at #56 and #24 respectively. As for our gains, which are usually infinitely more interesting, we see boosts for “Highs & Lows” by Prinz featuring Gabriela Bee at #60, “Asking” by Sonny Fodera and MK featuring Clementine Douglas at #51, “Nothing Compares 2 U” by the late Sinéad O’Connor at #30 since the impact of her death straddled between two weeks and then gains for the Barbie phenomenon: “Pink” by Lizzo is at #27, “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling is at #14 and Charli XCX gets her sixth top 10 with “Speed Drive” at #9.

This week’s top five on the UK Singles Chart has most of the surrounding madness kind of absent, as it’s pretty standard - it consists of “vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo at #5, “Barbie World” by Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and Aqua at #4, “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa at #3, “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish at #2 and of course, “Sprinter” at the very top. Now for the mess below.

NEW ARRIVALS

#72 - “Deli” - Ice Spice

Produced by RIOTUSA

Okay so not only is this a busy week, it’s also not a great one. A lot of these new arrivals I am not near to being a fan of - apologies to break the illusion that I write these in order - and sadly, this deluxe track from Ice Spice is no different. Sure, the Jersey club beat is propulsing and overwhelming with its slightly fuzzier but still dominant bass and the pretty cool syncopation with the large, distorted claps and the 808 - it sounds cool, bordering on intricate beatwork and unplanned synthesis. Miss Poopie here, however, tries to convince us she’s not a “regular artist” by raising her voice for once and providing incredibly basic bars in that still limited flow. Personality doesn’t really make up for everything, and given the lack of groove or really all that many dynamics in the very short time this song has to even do anything, I think I’m starting to already be kind of over the slight novelty of Ice Spice. It’d be great if someone like Lay Bankz was here to do the beat some justice.

#68 - “Rave Out” - Turno, Skepsis and Charlotte Plank

Produced by Skepsis and Turno

Who, who and who here are UK drum and bass DJs Turno and Skepsis, and singer Charlotte Plank, who’s still charting with “Dancing is Healing” as of this week. The song is… fantastic. Genuinely, this is incredible. We have three drum and bass songs to cover here, they’re all kind of the saving grace of this week, but this one is by far the best. I don’t know if this is a sample - I couldn’t find one in my research - but the hypnotic reggae beat that starts the song is really unexpected and incredibly smooth, with the apathetic blast of horns and organic bass perfectly fitting the content about the comedown from a “rave”, which I think means a lot more than a party here. The way everything from this reggae instrumental just melts down into a liquid drum and bass groove, as Plank repeats the same paranoid questions asking where the person is going to go “when the rave’s out”, is really striking, especially with the start-stop tendencies of the chorus and the splatter of spikier bass tones warping in and out in the post-chorus. The horns come back with rising synths, but none of it is worth all that much when it gets compressed into this mindless, carefree break. If I had to nit-pick, Plank isn’t exactly as enveloping as she could be to make this tone really work, but considering the song is actually relevant to men’s mental health, with the echoed reminders from Plank serving not as a complete control over the guy’s mind but rather just a sinking feeling regarding how men don’t feel like they have much of a space to actually confide in people or relax their brains due to constantly feeling like they have to be in control or stoic. It’s a touching message and a mesmerising banger of a song to tell it in, so good work - hope to hear more of it on the charts. Oh, wait, I will…

#65 - “Bittersweet Goodbye” - Issey Cross

Produced by Luude

Alright, Luude, this may be getting kind of silly now. “Bitter Sweet Symphony”? Really? When I first heard of this, I wasn’t necessarily shocked of the sample flip but it was amusing and when I first listened to the song, I nearly did a spit-take. To do my due diligence as the chart person, I should mention that the original song by The Verve hit #2 in 1997, being blocked by Puff Daddy’s version of “I’ll be Missing You”… both songs actually sample classic rock bands, funnily enough, though The Verve do it in a much more subtle way, even if the strings from the Andrew Oldham Orchestra’s version of The Rolling Stones’ 1965 #1 hit “The Last Time”. That’s right - this is sample-ception already before Luude even touched it. For the record, I’m not much of a fan of the song, but the orchestral lead - that I personally think gets very tiring over six minutes - is pretty iconic nowadays. It’s also a bit risky to sample, given the song is infamously the host of a slimy songwriting dispute, but Richard Ashcroft is now the sole writer credited on the track as of 2019 so most of the Issey Cross royalties I have to imagine are also going to him, which should help on some of the lost residuals. There is actually very little to say about the new song itself, funnily enough, as whilst Luude may be making his money doing silly drum and bass flips of classic songs, the returns aren’t always fantastic. I still laugh every time Ms. Cross harmonises with the string melody in the pre-chorus, and the drop has fairly enough push to it to work without being fully comical. I’m not big on the song overall, but it is a fairly standard flip of a very difficult-to-deny loop, with an okay vocal performance so it just by a pinch becomes serviceable, mostly on novelty factor.

#58 - “One Direction” - ArrDee and Bugzy Malone

Produced by LiTek and WhYJay

This new collaboration from ArrDee and Bugzy Malone isn’t exactly the best song ever, but what makes it beautiful is that - okay, I’ll stop, mostly because I can’t say this is beautiful. The horn line is just staccato and obnoxious, as even if it provides some needed bombast to drill that ArrDee can absolutely replicate, it does blow the song up to grander proportions that it cannot fully reach, mostly because the refrain is… awkward, as they vaguely trade bars, and the verses range from ArrDee ironically saying that comedians should steer clear of him - in a really lazy Eddie Murphy reference that doesn’t actually make any sense - whilst delivering what is basically a comedy-rap verse. Bugzy sounds more awake than usual, sure, but mostly because he’s surrounded by annoying sound effects so it’s like he has to work for the attention of the mix, which to be fair, is pretty well done considering how much it has to deal with that is just straight-up annoying. I really want to like this given the energy, but I can’t endorse something as obnoxious as this unless it embraces the silliness of itself more so than just a couple pop culture references.

#52 - “Enough is Enough” - Post Malone

Produced by Post Malone, Louis Bell, Rami and Max Martin

Dropping on the same day as UTOPIA seems like a mistake in the short-term but honestly, I somewhat doubt the audiences overlap that much anymore, especially considering that I’m convinced now that this synth-infused depresso pop-rock is the kind of music Post actually wants to make. This didn’t stop the Official Charts Company from accidentally missing the song out when they first posted the chart, so maybe they agree that enough truly is enough? Well, I don’t see how you could be convinced either positively or negatively by this track in particular. It’s 12 tracks into the album, without a video, so this really must be the fan favourite… and it’s okay. It’s got a typical acoustic frolick and Post’s signature warble, sometimes reaching into really rough falsetto, but any potential it could have had is quashed immediately by those terribly-mixed synthpop drums crashing down into the song and rendering it worthy of car adverts, with no update to the lyrical content to warrant a more serious sound, and no real bridge to be found… so this is practically just a regurgitation of a pop formula that vaguely works. I wish Post the best, but this is dull and doesn’t really make me want to check out any more of that album.

#53 - “Big 7” - Burna Boy

Produced by Danitello, MD$, Mike Wavvs, Otis and Super Miles

Burna Boy seems to be leading up to an album with these singles and honestly, overall, they seem pretty promising, ESPECIALLY this one. Sure, it’s another pop-R&B crossover, but the vintage-sounding keys function great off of the messy bounce, which may get in the way of Burna Boy’s flow initially, but he quickly grows into it and delivers one of his richer, more soulful performances, with a rasp on the chorus that sounds experienced and wiser as a result of the deaths in his life that he mentions in the verses, of Sidhu Moose Wala and Virgil Abloh, wherein he starts to come to grips with his now-international role as a self-proclaimed simultaneous “ghetto gospel preacher” and “two-times community service breacher”. It’s not exactly anything all too new or out there, but it’s an honest and catchy song about his experiences that deserves some spins.

#31 - “Baddadan” - Chase & Status and Bou featuring IRAH, Flowdan, Trigga and Takura

Produced by Chase & Status and Bou

Read the song’s credit and its production credits - you’ve just said the word “and” five times, and it would be generous to call whatever you constructed a sentence. If you’re thinking “Who the Hell are these people?”, I kind of am too, but apart from the drum and bass DJs at the helm that we know, as well as Flowdan from the Roll Deep grime collective who actually charted earlier this year with Skrillex on “Rumble”, we have IRAH, who seems to post at least one voice-over of Family Guy scenes on his Facebook page, Takura, who’s from Zimbabwe and has actually charted with Chase & Status before at #98 in 2011 on “Flashing Lights” and Trigga, who sure is Trigga, and has collaborated with Bou before. In fact, they all seem pretty accustomed to emceeing or at least guesting on drum and bass tracks, so what harm can be done by putting them all on a track together? The trio at the production helm have curated a pretty atmospheric and dark, menacing beat with a very 2014-feeling progression, especially with the wonky synth and reverb on Takura’s voice, and none of the emcees really impress or disappoint. IRAH’s introductory verse has the most menace, but Flowdan kind of runs away with the spotlight, mostly because his rhyme scheme is so percussive that it perfectly plays with the breaks. Most of the content are just threats, and I can’t say I’m over the Moon about the drop or Takura’s contributions in general, but the melodrama Chase & Status always bring is still there, and I could see it growing on me due to its sheer intensity soon enough.

#26 - “On the Radar Freestyle” - Drake and Central Cee

Produced by Harley Arsenault and Kid Masterpiece

“You know that’s how Jesus died, that’s how Julius Ceasar died - I bet they were decent guys, I swear they remind of me sometimes” already feels like a classic Drake bar. In fact, the song has a vintage aura surrounding it - mostly because this is the best verse Drake has delivered for about a decade, and the soul sample in the back, whilst bizarrely mixed like everything else in this “song”, adds a lot of sweetness to this otherwise hype-focused Jersey drill beat. Hell, for a YouTube freestyle video, this production is pretty unique, smattering the silky sample in a lot of filtering to the point of unrecognisability under an insanely hard and groovy drill pattern. I actually really like Drake here too - I’m not a hater, but I’ll sound like one later - as he actually delivers some pretty great lines regarding his status in Canada and he’s not going for menace or intensity here as much as he is just rampantly flexing, and it comes off pretty well, especially with that recurring “six” theme referring to where he grew up in Toronto, but being implemented really slickly - particularly in the opening line where he has to put emojis over three faces because the feds can’t see those (six) eyes. When Drake wants to, he can really deliver, and the awkward pauses after some of the weirder sex bars seem absolutely built for the reaction videos. Whilst Cench isn’t nearly as lyrical, stepping up to rap after old man Drake sits down, he sounds relentless in a lot of honestly pissy and vengeful-sounding bars, riding the beat excellently and intensely with lyrics a tad more compelling than I think is probably given credit, and his flow, whilst the same as Drake’s, sounds effortless and honestly kind of better coming from Central Cee. This may not really be a song, but it’s a damn impressive set of two verses that actually has some replay value for me so whilst I don’t think it’ll stick around at all, it was great whilst it was here.

#21 - “HYAENA” - Travis Scott

Produced by Travis Scott, MIKE DEAN, WondaGurl, Noah Goldstein and Jahaan Sweet

I didn’t like the substanceless void of vaguely-cool-sounding nothingness that was UTOPIA. At best, it was a set of guest collaborators putting in their best efforts only to be trampled on by the lack of ambition of its lead artist, and at worst, that lead artist’s ambition somehow gets way ahead of him and makes a formless mess that failed at any point to actually grip me into his world like he’d done before. We don’t exactly have the three best tracks from the album lined up here either, but at least we have one of them in the form of the opening track, “HYAENA”. It is on here that Travis sounds the most focused, and it is absolutely a convicting opener when you first press play on a Travis Scott album and are met with isolated progressive rock vocals carelessly slopping into a distorted jungle of groove. It probably has Travis’ only good verses on the entire album, delivered with energy and full of… well, nothing, but it’s at least delivered well, in place of a real hook, because it really doesn’t need one. Even when trying to deliver a crazy, industrial track, Travis ends up sounding the most human on this one, even if the content isn’t exactly thoughtful. Sadly, what I expect is for this one not to last and be replaced by a fan favourite like “I KNOW ?” next week, as can be the case when the three-song rule and big albums collide.

#18 - “Desire” - Calvin Harris and Sam Smith

Produced by Calvin Harris and BURNS

Hmm… this sounds familiar. Anyway, ahem… You know, even with a weak chart, I did not expect the hype for a new Calvin Harris track to be this [DECENTLY] high. After all, his disco efforts were met with underwhelming results, and… [SAM SMITH] hasn’t had a [SOLO] hit of [THEIR] own in years, so this collaboration being as immediate of a smash as it was kind of took me aback. I do like that Harris can experiment now and step his foot into different passions for both singles and albums markets, even if the British public clearly prefers one over the other, and with BURNS on co-production (yes, seriously, that hasn’t changed either), I think I’m predisposed to as well. [SAM SMITH] sings about a relationship that gives [THEM] a heavenly euphoria and begs [THEIR] partner to take the chance to go further, and I could not think of a better instrumental for that young-love energy, as spiralling keys and synths surround [THEIR] cooing. Once [THEY GET] into [THEIR] falsetto, the plummeting hardcore bass arrives and picks up the pace, allowing for the rickety drums to clash through. Instead of a drop after that, though, we get an – admittedly cheap but charmingly so – piano breakdown that then builds itself up through a simple emotional force. It’s a basic piano melody that then hides itself back under the catchy hardcore beat for another verse, until [THEIR] falsetto once again rubs itself against a deeper bass fuzz, except this time the escalation is immediate and grandiose, with fluttering percussion reflecting their accelerating heartbeats. It never fully locks into a groove either, because their love going further, whilst possible, is still a “[DESIRE]” – only starting to feel real. My only real complaint is that it fades out for radio purposes, when I want to hear this go further and further because it deserves an even higher level of detail, I want to hear this narrative pushed through, I want to hear what happens next, and that’s the most frustrating thing. Maybe a remix will give me more closure, but an extended edit would be great, or even just hearing how this is used in a DJ mix. The fact that Calvin Harris and BURNS have me gripped into the sonic theming of this track should be telling of how well they’ve constructed it though, and if Harris is going to briefly dip back into EDM tunes, I absolutely want to hear more where this came from - and God, if that’s what I said all those months ago when I first reviewed “Miracle”, maybe the blame is on me, but this is alarmingly similar down to even the lead vocal melodies, the song’s limited vocabulary and I have the exact same qualms, given it’s also way too short… but I’m not as interested in the Sam Smith narrative than I am Ellie Goulding’s, and it does come off as a cheap recreation. Just like this review.

#13 - “FE!N” - Travis Scott featuring Playboi Carti

Produced by Travis Scott and Jahaan Sweet

This is depressingly bad. We start with cheap rage synths that don’t carry any of the filtered weight as many of the beats Carti ends up on, so it just flairs through the instrumental as Travis murmurs an intro before the beat shuts down said synth into a clogged-down bassy trap number, as it remains for the rest of its runtime. In Travis’ verse, you can hear these little MIKE DEAN-esque synth inflections that are sprinkled on top in a desperate attempt to make anything about this actually interesting, especially Travis is full of nothing as always, and Carti’s hook is mind-numbing. His verse… can you call it that? Does that fit the legal definition of a verse? His second one does, and I at least appreciate his attempt at going for a deeper voice and inflection - it’s more experimentation than Travis is doing on this. With that said, the song ends abruptly with no catharsis for any of the previous three minutes, before Sheck Wes, who’s on ad-libs, can even get a word in edgewise, which is a shame since he’s the most interesting vocal presence here. Maybe with a more lyrical rapper on one of Travis’ more mindless cuts, there can be at least something of intrigue, so we’ll see with…

#10 - “MELTDOWN” - Travis Scott featuring Drake

Produced by Coleman, BNYX, Boi-1da, Vinylz, Tay Keith, Skeleton Cartier and Travis Scott

I get so easily tired of “menacing” Drake. It never sounds authentic, and is more often just an excuse for him to say absolutely embarrassing bars and still come off as “cool” - as he does in this, or deplete himself of any required energy, as he tries not to do here but considering all three of these beats - it’s like the BTEC “SICKO MODE” - refuse to wake up. We have a rote Memphis-influenced beat with strings, followed by a beat that acts like fanfare - or at least it would if we didn’t have sound effects and Travis’ backing vocals drowning out any impact the bass could have had. I do kind of like the way that certain parts of the beats maintain their presence, even if the transitions are not as exciting or innovative as “SICKO MODE”, which it is clearly trying to emulate, especially given the last beat is a Tay Keith clunker wherein Travis kind of sounds like he’s alive… vaguely. Apparently, Drake sends shots as Pharrell and Pusha on this one, but to be honest, if I were them, I wouldn’t see much point responding as the man burns bridges for headlines that he doesn’t need. Once again, I am asking for you to retire.

Conclusion

Once again, that sure was a week. Best of the Week goes to Turno, Skepsis and Charlotte Plank with “Rave Out” though the “On the Radar Freestyle” by Central Cee and Drake was way closer than I’d usually admit, as it grabs the Honourable Mention straight from poor Burna Boy this week. As for the worst, it really is a plentiful set to choose from, but I’ll go with “FE!N” by Travis Scott featuring Playboi Carti as the Worst of the Week with a Dishonourable Mention to… hey, look, it’s Travis Scott again with “MELTDOWN” featuring Drake. Hopefully a lot of this will clear out soon enough but for now, thank you for reading and I’ll see you next week!

[icynderbolt]

Reflection:

Why my theme is what it is:

I chose "Re:vealed" to reflect the psychological stand point of art and how, though it is beautiful, has a reason for its creation. Art is a from of expression. Painting, writing, singing, dance, music composition, and its sub-categories are its different languages. Laid bare and naked, displayed for the public eye, inabitions, hopes, dreams and insecurities allow all kinds of noses to peer into the soul of a fellow human. The "vealed" play on words was meant as a tribute to my gorey interests in disection, biology and true crime documentary.

How my writing changed or improved:

My writing this year had undergone a crazed metamorphosis filled with uncertainty, self-critisicm and mental breakdowns. I enetered grade 12 confident, my 93 in grade 11 English a badge of honour. It shone bright with achievement and Grade 12 Philosophy and Classical Civ only futher fueled my love for the craft. Flowery langauge and sophisticated synonyms were my forte. Now, I don't even know what my writing style is anymore. Though I do have weaknesses in my writing, Grade 12 English bruised more than my ego. It affected my anxiety and will to write. What was the point? I had to follow the writing style of a teacher I never had and who never taught me what they wanted. I tried to take what I could. I used their class as practise for univerity's hardships. But, when you have to write for a scholarship on the due day, finish an assignment for a writing class placed back-to-back to your morning's torture and study for an in class essay for said morning's torture, it becomes overwhelming. I recieved many complemets from peers and teachers for my writing, but I remian weary, thinking they only say those empty praises to be kind. Yet, Creative Writing has given me time to reflect. Writing was a way for me to express my personality. Creative Writing has helped that trait survive.

So, to summerize, my writing has been beaten, bloodied and exfoliated, but it’s in its training arc.

My most proud work of writing:

"Gaia's sorrow." A small, insignificant poem, but it garnered a lot of respect from my peers. It was one of our very first prompt assignments in class where paint swatches were handed to each table group. Each group was given a colour scheme at random and, under a time limit of 10 - 15 minutes, they had to come up with a poem collectively pieced together by each member. Our group, who was unfortunatelty seated in the "cursed corner" (eastablished by our teacher to be the corner where so many of her previous students continuously failed her courses) suffered in a panick. Art block graced us with its presence and we were oh so very screwed. We did not want to follow in the footsteps of our predecessors. Yet, as the timer tick-tocked closer to its end, a bomb ready to explode, we were still stuck. We scrambled to our notebooks, hopeful that whatever mumbo jumbo barfed itself onto our pages would turn into something nice- In the blink of an eye, it was time to present. Our entire class was finished their prompt. We hadn't even started. So, in 2 superhuman seconds, I collaborated our last minute random sentence ideas into a coherent poem and had finished right when it was our turn to present. Our poem was one of the class favourites. Since then, my close school friend, Ronald, would not stop asking me "what I was" and that, by the end of the semester, he would figure me out. I laughed so hard. It was the best compliment because, as an artist who hates her art every single time she stares at it, I felt my work was actually... good.

Though not much had been written and though it wasn't a long or intricate piece of literature (like my slam poem and short story), "Gaia's Sorrow" was the most sentimental and impactful piece to me. My most proud work of writing.

My personal mark out of 100:

I don’t know whether to be humble or proud. When asked to complement myself, I shy away, thinking it’s an act of sinful pride. If I beat myself down for a quality that is truly admirable, I may come to believe those negatives as reality.

The mark I’d give my writing is not high. I like it (my writing), but it (my writing) needs improvement. I compare myself a lot to others and grades are the most common comparisons of both status and intelligence. I find my writing has undergone too much change in such a short time (to the point where I notice nothing but the flaws) so I cannot help but rate my summative an 80/100.

My writing is:

Too chaotic (as seen with my blog)

too many run-on sentences and allusions and bubbly words overtake credability and actual information.

Dull/lackluster (seen with my imagism poems)

The lines could have been strung together with more movement and grace to convey the images more beautifully, but they stand vague and rigid. They do not explaning the settings on an emiotion level. They state the obvious like a formal essay.

Too cut up. Fluidity was a case thrown out the window (seen with my slam poem)

Obvious and abrupt cut-offs. I tried to relay the different sides to depression (body dismorphia, the unknowingness of having depression, food disorders, suicidal thoughts, joyful exteriors, numbness, etc.) but they do not transfer into eachother well (AKA the sections do not flow together as one poem. Instead, when both read and performed, the poem clearly sounds cut up).

They have good synonyms and vocabulary, as well as good variety in length of sentences. But, in terms of style, I would take marks off if I was my own teacher.