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#and find a new hobby that isn’t shitting on a form of art
akashigadabi · 11 months
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It’s weird how people only think of a Reader Insert as literally being them in every way when in fact they’re immersive story elements that allow you to insert yourself into the mind and experiences of another, living vicariously through them. It’s more like you literally get to see what they see from their point of view as if it’s your own, touch what they touch as if you can touch it too, hear what they hear as if those words are meant for you, and walk a mile in their shoes. You experience what they do alongside them, every tragedy, every joy, every high and low, every taste and smell. It’s not about being you. It’s about you slipping into someone else’s skin for a particular experience. It’s an immersive experience, sort of like being the player character in an RPG but more intense. It’s like you meld with someone or temporarily possess them, and then borrow their body. And it shows that the people who complain about them don’t understand that.
In some ways, Reader is you and you are Reader, but that doesn’t make you the same person.
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bomberqueen17 · 1 year
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everything is ads
i was just complaining about this on a discord i’m a member of. (discord is. sigh. what is it. well it’s not the public internet. it’s not a substitute for social media. but it’s something. the incalculable harm done to fannish community by having so much of the active discussion now silo’d in these private, unsearchable servers is hard to state, but it’s a necessary retreat given that all the platforms keep proving themselves to be garbage. A N Y W A Y i had a thing i was gonna say.)
You are interested in an art form, or hobby. so you look it up on the internet. you find a creator who does the thing you like, and you follow them, probably on instagram currently. Their instagram has frequent posts about their art, which is great. Sometimes you can learn some techniques from them. But then they want to sell you courses in how to learn it. Of course they need to monetize, but it’s a bit off-putting; you just want to do this for a hobby, and want to learn how, and to have to pay to take a course in it is sort of beyond your means for this kind of thing.
And then like... half the posts are unboxings.They bought art supplies, which they are going to review for you. Here’s a haul video, which isn’t really even a review so much as it is just showing off each of these products. As they put them away, you can see that their storage is stuffed full of more and more unused stuff from all the previous haul videos and unboxings. Where are they putting all this? When are they using it? How much money are they spending on it?? Yes there’s an affiliate code if you want to buy one too, there’s a discount if you use it. Help a creator out. Support a small business!
I’m happy to support small businesses and I do like supporting independent creators but uh like... that’s... you wind up so inured to this constant buying of new stuff, and yes you can get a lil dopamine hit from shopping but my god, no. No. It is not harmless and it is not innocuous, when you are being constantly bombarded with this normalization of constant consumption.
(I have a fraught relationship with buying things. My ADHD Or Whatever It Is really likes the shiny new, but I have been broke most of my life, and my inability to do math makes me alternately over-conservative and reckless with money. I have had years where I spent almost everything I earned on frivolous bullshit. i have had years where I spent nothing that wasn’t on food or gasoline, and wore clothes with holes in them that didn’t fit and just made do and just lived smaller and smaller. This is a constant, ongoing problem, and watching a creator I admire unbox her new purchases of random shit literally twice a week does not help me untangle it, and that’s just one of the people I follow, seriously how does this person have the money to just keep buying more stuff.)
I know that the underlying problem is capitalism, specifically the current hyperconcentrated strain of it we have that means that the middle class basically doesn’t exist. When I was growing up, an author could make a reasonable career in the mid-list, putting out a book every year or two and living off the advance on the next one while the previous one earned out, and after a couple decades you could retire on the residuals. But by the time I was old enough to pursue a career, that line of work was dead; now you’re either a superstar or you’re grinding out two or more novels a year to make poverty wages if you’re lucky, and doing all of your own marketing too on top of it. Every industry has gone that route; anything remotely creative, there’s now no outlet for except hustling as a Content Creator on the Internet. You gotta have a little Etsy or a shopify, you gotta have a Patreon and make that worthwhile somehow. instagram wants a reel every day, you gotta game that algorithm for exposure, teach yourself video marketing on top of whatever it is you actually like. You can’t just work your undemanding civil service job and make extremely detailed tutorial pages in your evenings and weekends because you don’t have evenings and weekends anymore and every hobby has to become a slave to the grind.
So I’m not mad at the creators, I’m not mad at the people forced to hustle. I’m just so tired. The solution has to be systemic; yelling at the content creators isn’t going to fix anything. We need higher wages, we need better labor protections-- I know that’s unsexy and not a good slogan for anything but believe me, that is the bottom line here.
IDK I don’t have a punchline. I guess I want to gently encourage y’all to practice non-consumption as self-care. Be aware of that side effect of constantly being bombarded with ads, where you just sort of absorb this feeling that it’s normal to constantly be buying things.
I’m not saying don’t click on your little indie creators’ ads. I’m just saying remember that everything is ads. [Just this week I bought deodorant from an Instagram ad because the girl selling it was hot, I am not immune. I know fine well what I did. Listen I needed more deodorant anyway and I don’t find very many people hot so it was notable.]
And, bringing it around to be immediately topical, when we say don’t interact with corporate accounts here on Tumblr, we mean corporate. Don’t hate the tiny hustlers. This is maybe the only platform where they can still have any kind of meaningful reach. All the others have realized that you can make businesses pay to not be hidden, and if they don’t ransom themselves, you can hide them from their friends and customers, but Tumblr hasn’t hit that yet. That’s the real origin of the Instafluencer-- the actual brands’ ability to market directly is limited, so they have to find people to shill for them.
You can block ads. But when your favorite creator is shilling, you can’t block that without losing the parts you like too. it’s so fucking insidious.
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generic-whumperz · 8 months
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Intro Post & Masterlist(s)
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THIS BLOG WILL CONTAIN ADULT CONTENT, VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED! 
Anything explicitly NSFW will be marked “Mature,” but still this isn’t really a kid-friendly space so minors please DNI!
Side blogs:
•@generic-whumper (SFW whumping) •@generic-throw-away-blog (random bs & some fandom stuff) •@generic-writing-tips (exactly as it sounds) •@generic-horror-slut (for just straight up horror and gore)
The Aid Masterlist (current WIP, 18+)
Other works can be found at the bottom of this post under “Story Stuff,” but there isn't much else because I'm focusing on The Aid for now.
Congratulations, you have stumbled upon another (generic) whump blog, hence the name! New whumper in town, made this blog Aug 2023, and just started writing. Currently just working on one story right now (yay hyperfixations), that is slowly consuming every waking thought. Help
Other blog info below the cut!
About me:
🔪I prefer to be anonymous on here, so just call me “Generic/Gen,” them/them, mid (quit lying to yourself) late-20’s.
🔪Dyslexic bitch & silly goose—please excuse typos, misspellings, and any grammatical errors! I don’t have an editor or beta reader, so cut me some slack; I re-read and edit as best as I can, but my brain be playin’ tricks on me, and shit falls through the cracks! Just manage your expectations is all I’m sayin’, I’m not a professional.
🔪I’m (unfortunately) an American and my obnoxious word choice will probably reflect that.
🔪I’m currently a full-time college student taking a fucking break! But still, any written works I choose to share will not be uploaded on a set schedule (I write slow, my brain only occasionally works, & I’m busy), I apologize in advance!    
🔪I run a queue- there I said it! I am shameless about it, and nah I won’t tag it.
🔪I’m not a professional writer nor am I going to school for an english degree. I write for funsies and this is mostly just a hobby for now.
🔪Lover of cryptids (Mothman fucks), paranormal enthusiast and certified Haunted™️. Weird shit WILL leak into my writing eventually. Don’t be surprised if a ghost or skin walker makes a cameo. It’s more fun this way, just go with the flow.
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What You’ll See Here: 
All types of Whump; I’m talking all of it bay-bee (detailed types below this section), including: polls, writings, prompts, tropes, scenarios, art, gifs, etc.
Reblogs-a-plenty
Really bad home grown memes 
Whumpy rambling coming straight from my delirious brain
My own sub-par short stories, ficlits, and maybe even an eventual series or two
My own mediocre art (eventually)
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Whump I fuck with (like a said, pretty much all of it!):
All gender & POC whump (including lady whump, lady whumpers, mixed gendered Whumpee & Whumper combos, etc. Errybody getting whumped ‘round here.)
APOCALYPSE
Hurt/comfort
Hurt/no comfort
No hurt/comfort
Physical, emotional, and mental (if there’s all three it’s a magical trifecta of hurt)
Sickfics (I HATE being sick so I get it)
Medical (totally have iatrophobia—I’m a wuss who’s terrified of doctors and hospitals—so once again, I gettt ittt)
Lab (this is like medical, but worse)
Pet (including WRU, BBU, etc.)
Dehumanization
Captivity (short & long term)
Multiple Whumpees, multiple Whumpers
All types of Whumpees, give me stoic, give me angsty, defiant, broken, cursed, conditioned, big, small, ALL OF IT
All types of Whumpers, but especially those creepy and intimate ones that make you want to rip your own skin off (look, I’m here actively seeking out to have a bad time—bad time=good time)
Caretakers in any and all form, my favorites are platonic or found-family caretakers, but if Whumpee just so happens to find their new boo-thang, love that for them just the same.
Recovery and caretaking
Gore and body horror
TORTURE
Chains, restrains, collars, rope—just tie that B down!
Fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, supernatural, magic
Historical, present, future
Non-human (and human)
Cannibalism
Explicit stuff like non-con, dub-con, forced drugging, etc. I will always add TW’s and tags to my posts containing hardcore stuff and it will be marked ‘mature’!
 
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Whump I refuse to Touch with a 10-foot pole:
Anything explicit with minors
Furries (sorry, I just fucking CAN’T)
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Other Story Stuff & Random Things:
Subject X: BB217 Intro
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3llix · 1 year
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Art Advice I’ve Picked Up
This is mostly aimed at myself, someone who’s been doing art a long time, and someone who made their hobby into their job and how it fucking sucks. This isn't advice for art as a career, more for those who got burned from trying to make it their career, and now want to turn it back into a passion or hobby.
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Don’t draw through the pain, don’t try to power through the pain, it doesn’t work. It’s never worth it and you will fuck up your hands, arms and shoulders.
Take a break, take the damn break, rest your arms, hands whatever and do the stretches! They do work! 
Taking a break obviously helps if you’re hitting a brick wall with drawing, you might feel like everything you make is shit and a ton of other awful thoughts. Take a break, get a drink, some food or walk around and come back later
If the shitty feelings persist, move on to something else and tell yourself that the bad feelings don’t last forever, you won’t feel like a shitty artist forever. That feeling could go away in a day, or even an hour.
Imposter syndrome is awful and will try to ruin your day, be aware of it, I still struggle a lot with it too. But just by realising it exists can you make you more self aware about it in future.
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Just because you’re good at art doesn’t mean you should make it your job. Turning any hobby into a job will make you lose the love for it.
You will burnout if you try to keep art a job and a hobby, you will not have time to draw for yourself, you will not be able work on all those passion projects and ideas. You will burn out, you will start to hate art.
This happened to me, and I’m still trying to unlearn the unhealthy habits I formed when it was my job, it’s very hard making art fun, and indulgent for myself. But I’m trying.
If you do make art your job, make sure you have hobbies that are not related to art. It’s really good if one of these hobbies can be outdoorsy too, I like biking a lot. But do what you can with what you have.
There will never be a perfect time to start drawing, or any other creative project. You can clear a whole month to work on something and you will waste that time, because your trying to make a perfect moment to be creative you’re putting unnecessary pressure on yourself.
The only perfect moment is now.
The perfect materials are what you have with you.
The only skills you have are the ones you have now.
No waiting until you can draw or write better, or saving a project till you’re more skilled, the only time to do it is now, even if you’re writing in between bus journeys or doodling on a scrap of paper, make that new Renpy file while waiting for the microwave to ding.
Learning to make that first step is also the most important, and learning that the first stroke doesn’t have to be so precious.
Learning when to give up on something that isn’t working is also a good skill. Sometimes a project doesn’t work out and we don’t finish it or we need to quit, it can be painful but there’s still a lot to learn from unfinished works.
You can recycle old ideas, nothing is wasted even if you don’t finish.
Trim your dreams, TRIM THE DAMN DREAMS. 
Don’t let s project outgrow your skills, or what you’re actually capable of, there’s a lot of things to take into consideration like, money, time, energy.
You can start a big, huge projects and realise it wasn’t what your actually wanted to make in the first place.
Making a game? Why are you making a 20 plus hour, 3D platform shooter with puzzle and farming mechanics as a solo dev? Trim those damn dreams. Dreaming is good and I know it’s fun but it’s easy to let an idea grow into an oak tree, it becomes all consuming and a burden to carry round.
So trim back, oak trees are beautiful but never underestimate a daisy
And eventually you could have a whole field of flowers and shrubs, instead of one oak tree.
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Trying to find an audience online is bullshit, trying to create art that’s got mass appeal is bullshit, social media is a horrible place for creative pursuits, but it’s the best we have at the minute.
Make the things you want to see, I know that’s in a lot of art advice but that's because it’s true. You can fall into a trap of thinking only in numbers and engagement, of chasing praise and approval and in the end it will feel hollow, because you only ever made things to appeal to others.
And so you your only gain approval and engagement from a place that isn't authentic.
So yes, make that self insert OC, or “Cringey” dating Sim
Also, trying to find an audience can trap you into doing one thing, aka a one trick pony, because you’re are rewarded for making repetitive “content” with engagement and likes, and punished when you try something new, because it doesn’t do as well.
Never fucking call your art/creations “content.” You are not a machine making things to be consumed.
You have limited resources when it comes to art, both in time, money and even your own body.
Yes, you do have to treat your own body as a limited resource, like the very first tips, its so easy to destroy your own body in the pursuit of creating something, your eyes, hands, arms, shoulders even your brain.
So take every shortcut you can, trace 3d models, use photographs for backgrounds whatever you think of that can make the creation process easier and less time-consuming, you'll thank yourself later, when you can still pick up a pen without vice like pain.
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That’s all I can think of for now, but I’ll update it if I think of something else, I’m sorry for spelling errors and if it sounds a little bitter, I started this when I was suffering a spell of tendinitis in my wrist. I mostly wrote this as a reminder to myself, but I hope maybe it can help someone else out. 💜
Also I know large blocks of text can be overwhelming, so I tried to break it up with some little snippets of my own art, hopefully it makes it a little easier to read. 
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parker-d-bloodrose · 1 year
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 Before I go to bed, I want to talk about something. Some of y’all may’ve noticed that I’ve been posting more art over the past week. And like, it’s honestly because of some things that have happened over the past year. Firstly; I’ve gotten back into collecting comics and manga. It was a pursuit I stopped at the behest of my ex-spouse back in... oh I wanna say 2017? “You aren’t even reading them anymore.” Which is kind of correct, because I had shifted my focus from being a reader to being a collector. I’m back to being a reader because I’m being more narrow minded in my focus of what I’m buying. Primarily whatever funky shit catches my attention. Anyway point is. I started getting back into comics and surrounding myself with beautiful art. I’ll be putting the rest of this under the cut.
I’ve also watched many of my illustration friends work and post work and thought it was extremely cool. I even picked up some art books from artists whose work I admire, like Gerald Brom and Yoshitaka Amano. While their art styles are both extremely technical and detailed, and at a level beyond the scope that I personally want to achieve, I still admire and find their work inspirational. Amano’s work in particular, because when I have the time and mental energy I adore playing Final Fantasy 6. It’s just so gorgeous, even though it’s rendered in smooth pixel form.
I’ve also been working on pixel art in general as a way to destress after work, as well as producing my own tokens to sorta fill out my monday game where the art provided for the adventure path just doesn’t have the unique creature I need. It isn’t something I wanted to do beyond pursuing my own hobby interests. I find it extremely relaxing and calming to draw pixel art, much like how other people build mini figs for their TTRPG games. About a week or so ago, I saw an absolutely gorgeous pixel art picture of a woman coming out of a pond and I was just... stunned by what the artist did. I don’t know the resolution or anything but it was, like many other great pixel art pieces I’ve seen, a gorgeous fucking thing to behold. And it struck a chord with me. I realized that pixel art isn’t just about sprites. Sprites are certainly a cool part of it. But the medium can do more than I was allowing myself to do with it. And for awhile I was like “eh it’s fine. I don’t... have to do anything amazing. This is just a hobby.” And then I watched the video “Sekiro’s Parry and Other Pursuits of Perfection.” by Jacob Geller. In it, Geller discusses how playing Sekiro and mastering it led him to wanting to pick up piano playing again, even though he wasn’t intending on composing his own music. He just wanted to get that feeling of playing a perfect note again. I thought it was kind of cheesy but also lowkey? Despite Geller making fun of himself by pointing out how it was typical of a video essayist to veer off track of the original point to talk about a personal anecdote, it was also kind of impactful on me.  As y’all may’ve noticed, I’ve also been playing Sekiro too and while his enjoyment comes largely from knowing what to do next and executing it perfectly like sheet music, my take away from this game is actually different. I enjoy this extremely punishing video game not because I know the timing or whatever, but because I enjoy the challenge of learning something new. I’ve been toying off and on for... quite frankly about as long as I’ve been writing with doing traditional art. I have never considered myself a good illustrator. But, that’s okay. I don’t need to be. I can accept that I am an amateur artist. But I do find that I crave learning a new skill and mastering it. I was going to get better at pixel art. So, with all of these things happening, I made a resolution - I was going to produce a 64 x 64 pixel image myself by the end of the year, one of the largest canvases I’ve ever been comfortable doing shit on. Then I dove into a pixel art tutorial and ended up doing a 100 x 64 pixel image following the steps. But.... a lot of it didn’t look right. I found myself frustrated by my inability to get the landscape to look the way I wanted it to. The mountains were... mountain-shaped and passable. But the image I was referencing had clouds with rim lighting and I did not understand how it was working. My brain couldn’t grok it, so I removed it. There was also a person in the foreground who was sillouhetted. I ended up removing that person and instead focusing on the little wizard tower. Which came out.... mostly fine, except for again the lighting. I very quickly realized that my rudimentary understanding of lighting and shapes needed to be honed. I can’t afford a tablet right now, because I’m actually between jobs (Hello I quit my job and my last day is tomorrow!) and I also don’t really want one because I work more comfortably using a mouse with the kind of art I do. But I can afford a sketchbook, pens, and paper. So, I think what I’m going to do is fill these 100 sheets with sketches. And I’m going to have fun doing it. And I’m going to learn shit. So that maybe by the end of the year I’ll produce an original 64 by 64 pixel image. It’s also been relaxing to have an additional creative outlet aside from writing, because right now I’m kind of suffering from an extremely bad case of writer’s block and I’m having a hard time breaking it. Anyway, it’s late and I actually have work in the morning and this already took me about forty minutes to write so I’m going to bed. I hope y’all enjoyed this personal essay. 
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peacemaker-ic · 2 years
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Unpopular Opinion Time
Let’s start off by saying this: collecting information is wrong, using that for doxxing and sending out malicious viruses even more so, full stop. What has happened in the creator community recently is just shit and should not have happened in the first place, but here we are. But how exactly did we get here?
I have some thoughts on custom content creation and with all the drama lately, it needs addressing. I will put under a read more as I like to ramble.
it is rubbing me the wrong way the knee jerk reaction of people saying “only download from free creators.” Creating is hard, takes time and money. Yes it is a hobby for a lot of people, but a pastime can also help to support that person (my dad grew and sold plants for decades to help fund his love, so separating out income and a hobby is clearly being belligerent and is self-serving of your own beliefs). Art can be a hobby but do you lament artists selling their creations or accepting donations to see more of what they do? Paper costs money, so do art supplies and software. Content, for me at least, is as much of an art form as drawing, it is just a different medium. You may dislike early access, but that does release more free content into the community as a whole as well, while also allowing creators to do what they love without fear of it taking too much free time, or time they might have to work more at a job to make ends meet. This brings me to the wording. People are just saying to “download from” free creators, you need to do much more then that, as this is the reason we have gotten to this point.
Free creators are taken for granted. I should know, I am one of them. When you compare free creators with early access creators, there is a HUGE discrepancy between what comes in via donations, and what early access creators make. When new creators see this, can you blame them for going early access? I hate to say it, but the community brought this on themselves to some degree. People are willing to pay for new content, and in some cases equivalent quality between free and early access, but the early access creator gets so much more support. That’s not OK. These same people also wonder why creators leave the community or become early access. It’s because the community just wants their content, and if it’s free they really don’t care about the person behind it. They got what they wanted at a cheaper rate. It is really quite disheartening.
Even though EA/Maxis requires third party content to be free, that doesn’t excuse you from not supporting the creators.
So educate yourselves and don’t undervalue what CC creators do. I also don’t think it is fair to just say “download from ___ because they don’t use _____.” How about creating an environment that isn’t actively hostile for creators, support the ones that are ethical, and most importantly educate yourselves about what is safe internet usage (seriously, individual download links? So many red flags there). Yes, call out those who are unethical, but don’t use me and other content creators doing this for free to push your agendas about how “the sims used to be better before all this early access stuff happened.” No, it wasn’t, creators were still taken advantage of back then too. This is nothing new.
 If you can’t support an artist monetarily (which is totally ok, content should be free, whether early access or free outright, down with exclusives), help spread the word so maybe they could find others that could support them. This situation is not just one sided, it is a situation that has come about from a number of places, and underappreciation for what CC creators do is one of them. Both sides are to blame here, that is just fact. Share the blame and address it, don’t deflect like you are innocent in all this. It’s time to address this issue head on, not deflect and forget in 10 minutes.
Again, don’t collect info, doxx, send out malicious viruses, all that jazz. That is way too far and highly unethical.
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dropintomanga · 3 years
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“Look Back” - 140 Pages of Raw Emotion
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Koyoharu Gotoge gets all the attention right now, but the real manga superstar of the future (or soon-to-be) is Tatsuki Fujimoto. His previous known works, Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man, have developed passionate followings. But his one-shot about creativity and the bonds that form as a result, Look Back, solidifies Fujimoto as one of the very best in depicting real human emotions during terrible moments.
Look Back focuses on the artistic journey of Ayumu Fujino, a 4th grader who loves to draw manga. She draws comic strips for her school newspaper. However, Fujino sees that a fellow peer of hers, Kyomoto, draws even better than her. Fujino becomes more determined to be better than Kyomoto. However, family and peer pressure causes Fujino to change her priorities during 6th grade. It isn’t until she is asked by school staff to deliver Kyomoto’s elementary school graduation diploma to the latter’s house that she gets back into drawing manga again. Fujino draws something on a blank 4-panel strip she finds at Kyomoto’s place. Kyomoto, who’s a shut-in, sees the strip and tells Fujino that she’s been a fan of her art since 4th grade. Fujino becomes ecstatic in seeing her work recognized after constant criticism from her peers. Fujino and Kyomoto begin to work together on manga since then. Both got recognized by Shueisha multiple times over the years to the point of having one of their works becoming an anime series.
Shortly after the anime announcement of one of their works, a rift between the two starts to happen when Kyomoto tells Fujino that she wants to go to art school to get better at drawing. Fujino argues that Kyomoto’s social aloofness is too much for the rest of the world and that it’s better for Kyomoto to stick by her. Kyotomo still goes to art school regardless. Years after their separation, Fujino watches the news one day and finds out that someone attacked the art school Kyomoto attended with multiple dead victims. Kyomoto was one of them. Fujino begins to criticize herself for Kyomoto’s death, but after visiting Kyomoto’s drawing space and seeing how much Kyomoto loved her, Fujino continues to draw as a way to move forward.
I can’t speak on the creative process of a mangaka and mangaka relationships (though I know several mangaka have commented on Look Back for its honest take of being a creator), but I can definitely comment on Fujino blaming herself for Kyomoto’s death. “Drawing is useless,” she says. Fujino imagines a scenario where she saves Kyomoto from her attacker. Fujino was once told by her older sister to practice karate and she feels that maybe she should’ve taken it more seriously. What if she didn’t draw that strip back in 6th grade? What if Fujino and Kyomoto actually met during the art school incident instead of 6th grade?
Those “What ifs?” get shown in vivid detail. And it’s heart-wrenching. There’s always constant reminders to treasure those around you because you never know what will happen. It’s hard to do that sometimes when certain cultures always avoid issues like death and the inevitability of it all like they’re not worth talking about. Also, I think we’re always told that we can save someone if we tried hard enough. If they never get better, society will say that it’s our fault. No one wants to talk about how random life gets. That’s because no one wants to admit that they can’t control everything.
The most powerful moment was Fujino realizing that drawing isn’t useless. She notices a small strip at Kyomoto’s place while in grief. This panel says it all.
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It’s nice to have someone with the same interests as you be your friend. But more importantly, it’s even nicer to have someone who literally gives a shit about you. Someone’s who willing to guide you, take in your pain, and be vulnerable with. Fujino exposed Kyomoto to the outside world during their early mangaka days and Kyomoto expressed her gratitude for that. It’s so hard to find people like that. I mean, if you know you’re about to die, it’s worth knowing that at the very least, you met someone that loved you and got you to feel life was worth it, right? I often hear there are many people who don’t feel they’re truly being heard among their relationship circles. Their connections aren’t as deep as they would like.
What this also says is that if you’re working on something that almost always feels undervalued, there’s always someone out there who will tell you that they are inspired by your work. Maybe I can speak on this a bit. I sometimes feel that blogging is a drag given all the mass attention is going to other outlets. Like why write? Especially on a platform that’s been crapped on the past few years. I realize that this isn’t the case. There’s people who dislike “hot takes/clickbait tiles/news promoting discourse.” I think about what Roland Kelts said about anime discussion in this interview.
“What sucks is that the discourse on social media is so coarse. When you go back and read exchanges between diehard anime fans on Usenet and old chatrooms and forums from the mid-2000s, they read like middlebrow literature compared to what you see on Twitter, Reddit, and Discord. So many social media posts are made just to get hits, not to communicate or share ideas, and the most provocative, cruel, or just plain daft stuff gets liked and retweeted a thousand times.”
I feel that there’s still a place for me and if I can still communicate ideas worth thinking about, I’ll keep going as long as I can. Plus, trying to appeal to everyone feels like a trap because it sometimes requires sacrificing certain core values that you might hold dear. When I look at Fujino and Kyomoto, they held on to their core values and found solace in one another. Just find “good enough” people who are willing to love and respect you. I’m glad Look Back got published because finding bonds with other like-minded folks and developing very close relationships with them is sadly a rarity during these times. You also can’t put monetary worth on creativity that inspires people to do what they want to do and/or find reasons for living. Hobbies and creative ventures aren’t “side hustles/distractions” - they’re part of a universal cry to be human.
I think it’s safe to to say that we will really look back on this one-shot for years to come.
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philliamwrites · 3 years
Text
killing me softly with his song | (Childe / Reader) [chpt.1]
Fandom: Genshin Impact
Pairing: Childe / Reader
Tags: #fem!reader, #from childhood friends to lovers, #reader is a fatui agent, #slow burn, #unresolved sexual tension, #mature language, #forbidden love
Words: 2k
Summary: "Lybuov zla, polyubish i kozla," sighs your sister as she wipes off the table, but that makes you feel even more miserable. Falling for a goat might save you from an actual heartbreak by Tartaglia's hands.
____________
Loosely connected chapters about you and Childe finding happiness. Maybe.
Notes: Part 2
Masterlist
***
childe? what a problematic asshole i hate him i- *trips* *thousands of pictures of childe spill from pockets* fuck those aren’t mine i swear i’m just holding them for a friend i- *slips on a pile of pictures* fu ck no they’re not mine i hate him i just- *more pictures fall out as i fall to my knees, desperately trying to pick them up* hang on a sec jUst LISTEN
Chapter 1
     A cold gust of icy wind drives you deeper into the sheets and you swear by the name of Her Majesty Herself once you get up and find Alexei, you’ll smother him with a towel for leaving a window open in the middle of the night.
    Somewhere outside, a rooster crows. Fine, not dead of the night then, but no one cares for technicalities like these when sleep is involved. Especially after a night like this one, when Alexei fucked you into oblivion and back, you need every minute of shuteye you can get before another day of exhausting missions in the Chechnaya Taiga of Snezhnaya claims your last strand of sanity.
    It’s peaceful mornings like these that make it all worthwhile though—the quiet during the early golden hour when people slowly wake up to a brand-new day and get ready to do their chores, their factory work. The sheer number of possibilities stretching out before their hands, and hope rekindled every morning despite the harsh cold waiting at their doorsteps. You love how everything stands still, how even the uncaring universe seems to grant people a sliver of peace, allows them to be soft and vulnerable. To be kind to themselves by indulging in a freshly brewed cup of coffee or tea. Nothing can spoil this for you, nothing and no one—
    An awkward cough sounds from the door. You close your eyes, willing him to disappear by simply ignoring him, but his eyes burn into the back of your head like two smouldering coals and eventually, you turn around to see Alexei standing in the door frame, shifting from left to right. “There’s someone out there who wants to talk to you,” he says.
    Turning around, you try to disappear into your pillow. “Whoever it is, I’m sure they can wait until it isn’t such a damn unholy time.”
    Alexei clears his throat. “It’s uhm … it’s someone from the Fatui.”
    Your eyes snap open. Suddenly the warm, cosy blankets feel like a snake’s tight hold around your body, and you struggle out of its grip, grabbing for the dressing gown you carelessly threw around the back of your chair last night.
    The sun hangs low in the east, painting the city of Kerch that stretches outside of your window a sheen of dusky gold. When the red-brown bricks of the dacha cottages come into view, you think of the gingerbread houses you used to make as a child every year in celebration of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa of the Zapolyarny Palace.
    Cold already seeps into your bones even though the robe is tight around your body. You hiss when your bare feet hit the icy floor but can’t find your slippers. Time to die like a woman.
    You brush past Alexei, who’s scratching his head, still just in his underwear and you think him crazy for walking around half-naked like that even though it’s minus 58F outside and the heating systems inside your barracks only start to work once outside temperatures drop to minus 75F.
    Maybe what they say is true. People from around Noyabrsk in the north of Snezhnaya regularly dip into frosty rivers and you do remember him mentioning ice swimming is his hobby. It was one of the few things you thought attractive about him. Actually, it was the only thing you thought attractive about him.
    Light streams into the floor from the kitchen, flickering once, twice in dangerous foreboding. It’s time to switch the lightbulb. Tomorrow. Tomorrow for sure, because that isn’t important right now. What’s important is Tartaglia sitting at your table, leaning back in a chair, both feet crossed on top of the table, and eating your leftover mayonnaise sandwich you saved up for breakfast.
    His eyes slide lazily toward you, taking in your form—barefoot, shivering even though the fur from your bathrobe is of the finest white wolf fur obtainable on the market.
    Tartaglia finishes your sandwich, smacks his lips and licks mayo off his fingers. He doesn’t even like it, and you know from time to time he can’t handle dairy all that well. He just eats it because he knows how it infuriates you.
    “Alexei, huh,” he says in lieu of hello. “Didn’t know you’re into himbos.”
    Behind you, Alexei makes a sound like a kicked puppy. You glare at him over your shoulder, then jut your chin towards the front door. “Out. Now.”
    He doesn’t wait for you to repeat yourself. Surprisingly fast for a guy this big, he bolts into your room, gets dressed in record speed and leaves your little one-bedroom apartment without so much as a Goodbye or “We’ll hear from each other,” and you prefer it that way. It saves stuff from getting messy.
    Speaking of messy, you really wish Tartaglia would have sent you a note before coming. The smell of icy wind and snowy forests clings to his clothes. He must have come straight from a mission, not unusual in the slightest, yet in most cases he sends a message your way just to make sure he doesn’t run into one of your one-night stands and it doesn’t get ugly.
    Like right now.
    “I thought you had a little more class than that,” he says nonchalantly. His feet keep wobbling from left to right until you make your way over and push them off your table. Not that you actually sit there to take your meals, no. But this is your home, you have to assert dominance.
    “Well, I’m not picky,” you say, taking the empty chair opposite from him. “The nights of Fyrva’snezh are really fucking cold.”
    “I’m sure Fire-Water will do the same trick.” He’s sulking, yet he has no right to it and knowing Tartaglia, that’s why he sulks even more.
    Your relationship can be summarised with one word: complicated. Which is funny, because besides martial arts classes (taught by a teacher that is a real ball of sunshine who could easily snap your spine like a twig) and infiltration tactics courses (led by a grumpy teacher who once woke you all up in the middle of the night to do a spontaneous quiz about infiltration steps and everyone who failed or fell asleep had to run a marathon through the forest in their underwear) you had to take at the Fatui military school of Zapolyarny, they also teach mathematics and molecular physics, and that shit was complicated.
    Growing up in a small seaside village—bless little Morepesok; how much you miss babushka Katya’s refreshing botvinia soup—with only a handful kids your age, gravitating towards Tartaglia was the natural development. He loves ice-fishing, you love eating fish. You gag just smelling solyanka, he wolfs it down like it might be his last meal on earth. Opposites attract each other, as they say, and how true it is for you two—you, the morning person and he, the night owl; his will of iron and your nerves of steel. Your bow, his sword, even though Tartaglia is a masochist who likes to make it hard for himself by trying to switch weapons solely because you’re better at it than him and he is a sore loser.
    His worship of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, your fear of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa.
    “I don’t think you came all the way here just to call me a slut,” you say. He is in no position to do so anyway, because Camilla from the ptychy’moloko shop down the road that leads to the Sarov church didn’t shut up about blowing him for weeks until you sent her a liver of a pig and claimed that was the leftovers from the last girl that thought she could put a leash on the Eleventh of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers. Camilla quickly moved on to an inconspicuous merchant who sells matryoshka dolls for a living and all is well that ends well.
    “What do you want?”
    Tartaglia starts tapping a gloved finger against the wooden table, a nervous tick you don’t know he’s aware of.
    “I’m leaving for Liyue first thing tomorrow.” His tone is low when he speaks, his earlier nonchalance replaced by a sense of urgency.
    “Okay.” It isn’t the first time he’s leaving Snezhnaya by order of the Tsaritsa, but every time he does, something inside you leaves with him. “So, you want me to keep an eye out for Teucer and the others?”
    “He’s really unhappy I’m leaving again already.” Tartaglia doesn’t mention the reason he was sent away just a couple of months ago to Inazuma was because he accidentally blew up an artillery factory belonging to a nobleman that secretly shipped orders to Fontain. The fallout from that was easier to handle with him not being anywhere nearby. Tartaglia is like a pair of hot tongues; no one is sure where to put him or how soon he would cool off, but if they just drop him, he might light the world on fire. Kid gloves are put on and a careful perimeter marked out.
    “And what excuse did you make up this time?” You knock your foot into his leg, lingering on his calf just a second too long before withdrawing again. “Another business trip to promote your toys? You can’t hold up this charade forever, you know.”
    “Why, your eyes feast on Snezhnaya’s greatest expatriate toy seller, now extending to the Liyue Branch of our Institute for Toy Research.” Tartaglia’s eyes have taken on a playful glint, and he leans forward as he speaks. “You wouldn’t be so cold to break a little boy’s heart. That’s not you.”
    You want to remind him that you have no problem to put an arrow between a man’s eyes, or rip out his fingernails, one by one, to get the information that you want.
    “You owe me, toy man.”
    “Put it on my tab.”
    Tartaglia looks like there’s something else he wants to say, but as always, he decides to swallow those words even though they must hurt like swallowing needles. You know that feeling, and so you help him sort out his tightly entangled yarn of emotions by figuratively pushing him off the cliff.
    “Don’t forget to bring condoms. I hear the women of Liyue are beautiful.”
    Tartaglia goes a sickly grey colour, like the ashes of a dead fire, but he’s been the leading role of this play too long to fall out of character now. He gets up and stretches like a cat getting comfortable in a spot of sunlight. His jacket rides up, showing a stripe of skin, and you quickly turn your head away before giving into leaning over the table and mark him with your teeth.
    Patting his left pants’ pocket, Tartaglia says, “I’m always prepared.” He carries a grin that is dry, humourless, and for a brief moment, you two lock eyes, trading a look that feels like a dare. You allow yourselves to imagine how he picks you up and carries you to your bed where you two would proceed to fuck without abandon through the whole day and the following night, leaving the bed only to get food until Tartaglia leaves for Liyue and you’d send each other love letters until his return. What an idea. What an utterly stupid, naive, wonderful idea.
    “Well, lucky ladies,” you say, not bothering to hide the jealousy in your voice because jealousy is easier to handle than regret.
    “Lucky indeed,” he agrees and dons his easy-going smile, one that he’s perfected after hours upon hours in front of the mirror until it accomplished what he wanted: to mock people, infuriate them.
    On his way out, he stops to ruffle your hair in an affectionate way, one typical for childhood friends, but the distance between you is like the ocean separating Snezhnaya from Liyue.
    It was on the very first day of your conscription into the military organisation, Number Six of the Ten Laws that the Fatui abide by: Any physical or romantic relationship between Fatui agents is prohibited. As thou would not exchange flesh with thy brother or sister, so thou shalt not with your comrade, for he or she is thy brother or sister in arms.
    And everyone knows Her Majesty the Tsaritsa’s word is law, and though the law is hard, it is the law.
__________________________________________________
please drop by my ko-fi if you enjoyed my writing!
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legionofpotatoes · 3 years
Note
I love your art, it is very detailed in a neat way. Was wondering how you got started making it as a source of income? How did you get your first paid work, I'd love some advice on how to get started, if that's ok
Thank you. Of course it's okay, although I doubt I have enough work experience in art to really delve into this. I only went full freelance this year, and had been juggling art as a side hobby until then. If you're still interested in my somewhat narrow perspective, and are okay with my long-winded rambles, I'll give it a shot:
So to answer your question fully, I'll describe how I started and move into personal advice and learnings later on. As a disclaimer, I am a white cishet dude in my late twenties with a moderate cocktail of mental illnesses, but overall I can pass for a functioning adult so a lot I have to say may come laced with privilege I cannot fully identify.
So uhh I began drawing in around 2012? I think? Maybe halfway through 2011? And I mostly made fanart for things I enjoyed and tried to branch out in communities that felt nourishing to my style and interests (I caught a bug for alt posters and enjoyed mainstream movies so I spent a long time on posterspy early on). There were a handful of opportunities that came from there but I could only accept a couple because of primary workplace commitments. Still, it showed that networking in a focused community was definitely a good place to start; I myself have huge trouble committing to social networks and really staying socially active, but I knew it was an essential ingredient in succeeding so I tried to make myself be involved in challenges and art support trains etc. as much as I could.
In parallel to all that I also ran a few third party online stores (redbubble, teepublic) for disposable income and would sometimes, if rarely, hit around $100-150 a month from those sources combined. It is a sort of thing that requires helper accounts on other social media sites to promote it on, because the stores themselves have a huge volume of content that translates into low organic discoverability. Obviously it was never gonna be the way towards financial independence through art, and with community projects being few and far between, I opened private commissions in around uhhh 2017 I think, focusing on offering a few styles I knew I could do well, and sometimes operating in individual fandoms (it was mostly a bioware thing to be frank). But I had to close them back down after a year or so, again because of work-life conflict and how badly it was burning me out. The reason I kept trying to monetize this hobby is because I honestly hated what I did for my main job and wanted to see a way out in some shape or form in the future.
And then in 2020 I had to quit my main job altogether because of *gestures at pandemic* and deal with a mental breakdown from all the wonderful things it did to us and me specifically. I took a short break and decided to give art a shot full-time, and that was around May this year. I was planning on opening up commissions again (and I still am), but a few sudden opportunities that fell in my lap moved that timetable down and now I'm grateful to even be doing something I am getting adequately paid for.
So, with that somewhat limited perspective, here's what I've learned that I'd tell myself if I was just starting out:
1. Being a fan of something can be a shortcut towards effective networking kickoffs. Which are important evidently. If you love something and enjoy making content for it, join communities, settle into a combination of social media websites that feel right for those interests + your body of work + your inner rhythm, and try to play to content discovery as much as your mental health allows you to. Like I said, I know that I myself am incredibly bad at self-motivating to talk to people, so I found that synergizing common interests into fanart - which I enjoyed making anyway - could be a way to give myself a gentle nudge forward and build those bridges leading to community activities, which then net experience and coverage. Sometimes even freelance projects from official avenues. Again; picking the right spaces for what you're after is key. Companies roam twitter, concept art recruiters scour artstation or linkedin etc, instagram can land you private commissions and collab opportunities, so on and so forth. Find your niche and try to kick up dust. However...
2. I do not believe that any social profile can replace a good portfolio. The thing that made an immediate difference to me this year was building a coherent, simple website with my best work front and center and a contact form on top. Every single opportunity I got came from that form (maybe via twitter or instagram initially, but always sealing the decision after going through the website), so I firmly believe that showcasing your skills and portfolio in a visually arresting and user-friendly way is a big priority. I had some reservations about tackling that task but fortunately I had help from a savvy life partner and we slapped it together via wordpress in less than a day. Twitter/whatever social media is prevalent in your target groups is definitely important to get the right eyes on your shit, yes, but those eyes will then look for a second stop where your work and rates are more clear and concise. Simplicity is key imo, I cannot overstate this. So make a cute, simple portfolio!
3. Your skills and rates will grow and change as you do. Let them. Over the years I built several lasting professional relationships from my obsession over mass effect and kept getting opportunities both from bioware and their partner companies, some small and some a bit bigger. A one-off job earlier this year opened an unexpected door to another much larger commitment, and then the work I did there brought some attention from small businesses looking for commercial commissions. These were all incredibly different projects in terms of scope and budget, and I've been tackling them all on a case-by-case basis and slowly coming into my own irt my needs, rates, and SOW thresholds. It is still a work in progress (and a LOT of literal work as well), and very much a thing I struggle with in publicly marketing, which is why I felt a tad underqualified to answer your question in the first place (obviously I did not let that stop me). But what it means for me now is that I am rapidly developing into whatever my "version" of a functioning freelance artist is, and when the conditions for that guy are met, I need to be able to confidently plant myself and operate from that space despite past precedents. Do not let anyone bully you into downpricing what you yourself perceive as legitimate products of personal growth and development. Speaking of which...
4. The shitty challenge of turning envy into inspiration, and paddling outside your comfort zones in full riot gear. it is hard, but realizing that being a miserable, self-hating artist in my early days got me nothing but more misery back was the first real step I took and what truly blew the hinges off. I was just not pleasant to be around, I would badmouth my work all the time, and it all somehow made sense in my broken mind because the validation I sought was purely external and the way I sought it was through eliciting sympathy via self-victimization (even when I made something objectively nice). It all led fucking nowhere. Except perhaps to my own narcissism that I one day managed to identify and start managing. So I started looking at things that made me seethe with envy and calmly deconstruct and figure out their inner workings instead, do studies, and find nuggets of inspiration or discover new ways to approach rendering or building up specific elements. It was an application of analytical diligence to what I wanted to be a purely emotional, esoteric workflow, but that I deep down knew wasn't. Art is a discipline and a skill, and maybe it isn't a straight line, but you gotta find some line to thread nevertheless. Being self-hating was almost an identity I had to break out of, and despite it still being like, 4-5% there? I realize its cause and effect on me, my work, and those around me, so it is with a conscious choice that I gently set it aside when I work and especially when I learn. It won't always stay quiet, but the effort is the difference. Your doors towards accepting true growth and venturing into uncharted territories, art styles, and networking will really open from there. But there's a huge caveat...
5. Toolsets, accessibility, privilege, and all the good things that enable artistic expression and profitability are not given equal to all. you might do all the mental work I mentioned to be ready to rock and roll and learn and draw your way out of anything, but digital art is a fucking money pit that asks almost too much at times. I don't got a good case study here but identifying and ensuring accessibility to the tools you need to do your best work is, like, super important. The ergonomics can improve as you make money and settle into the job, but the basics have to be made available to you. And some of that might not even be under your direct control. That can be anything from pen tablets to software subscriptions to opportunities in hiring sullied by sexism or what have you. You gotta navigate all that through careful networking and money/time management. I don't do a good job of devoting specific slices of time to work/study, and my primary clutch is iPad software which went from a good deal to a nightmare scenario over the years. So all I can say here is do what I didn't; network, invest in a PC/tablet, and pick a software you'll learn that won't burn a hole in your pocket.
6. Be nice to work with? This one is hard to articulate and has landed my own ass in hot water in my early years because of how socially inept I am, but nothing is more worthwhile than being.. like. a good person to work with. That can be anything like meeting deadlines, or sometimes missing them but eloquently articulating why, being generous in early stages, being communicable and not too wordy in your emails, having a good grasp on abstract artistic concepts and how to describe them in simple terms, having a clear, laid out framework of your working rates in commercial and non-commercial projects and sticking to those guns with grace, understanding when you need to say no and saying it well, the works. Just being nice. Sometimes that might mean going headstrong with something you believe in, or simmering down and sucking up to the big man, all relative and adaptive. Part and parcel of the service provision dance that we all have to do in order to make bank. Know your lines here, obviously, and don't like. work for nazis. or uh.. *shudders* exposure. but be nice and empathetic and communicable and word will travel eventually. Skill may be in abundance these days, but good people are most certainly not, and capitalism has a way of bubbling up scarcity. Grim, but uh, them's the breaks.
I know I'm ultimately telling you to like. Have a body of work, make a portfolio, grow, and network. But that's really how I see it for now. And being nice can be a cherry on top that sets you apart, along with the inherent irreplaceable voice of your artwork. I think I rambled on enough, but if there is something specific you need my help with, even if you want to come off anon and talk in private, please feel free.
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jadedave · 2 years
Text
About Aspects and Hobbies
Any aspect can really be interested in any form of passion. Aspects are at the very core...what is important to you, and how you go about doing things you care about. 
Aspects, and classes to a lesser degree, have more to do with the process by which something was done. The type of thinking that resulted in what got done. The result of the thing happening itself really has not a lot to do with aspect, which is why hobbies should not be related at all to an aspect. Travelers are not more likely to be Void, and could just as easily be Light, Breath, Blood, or Rage. They both enjoy doing what they do, but for different reasons. 
For example, love. I know a great deal of people that are heavily interested in the pursuit of romance. With one look at the aspect system and another look at the characters who embody said aspects, you may be inclined to feel that only heart players are really obsessed with romance. I mean we do have those shipper cat girls on one hand and Dirk with his shippy drawings of his friends. In a sense, yes, the Heart-bound may be more likely to care about romance. Romance does obviously deal a lot with emotions, and shipping shows what is important to you, or what you may personally like in relationships. That sort of thing is very Heart-y. 
The Void-bound are another example of people that could be very obsessive about romance, though. Isn’t being extremely passionate about the unknown exactly what falling in love is? The process of romancing is exceedingly voidy. Perhaps the person you love will change in two years, or maybe they won’t. Maybe your lover will travel somewhere far away, and your relationship will change to become long distance. For the Void-bound, they don’t care. Their love is eternal, forever. Does that sound impossible to you? That’s the point. They’re going to make it work because they can. 
….ok end 2017 me’s explanation
2022 me here
I think what I was trying to get across is that your hobbies don’t define your aspect. Aspect, as I see it, is what is important to your soul. Hobbies are cool and can definitely reflect what is important to you in your life, but the feeling that comes at the end of the activity related to the hobby is what can be related to the aspect. I’m a Witch of Space. I like creating. I like changing things into cool, different things. I find that mega fulfilling—but just because I like to sew and draw doesn’t mean I’m Space. It’s the feeling afterward of creation, of making something old into something NEW that makes me feel confident in my Witch of Space diagnosis. 
Some people may really like doing art because it feels like an extension of themselves. That’s heart-related. Some might just like doing art and not having a plan for it ever and just want to see where it goes along the way. That’s kinda voidy. I mean I could spin it a million different ways and so can you. Just don’t self diagnose yourself because of your hobbies I guess because that shit is mad boring.
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ohkiyo · 4 years
Text
Tumblr media
characters: shiratorizawa team and reader.
warnings: a bit of cursing.
word count: 3.6k
a/n: shoutout to cloud anon for giving me such marvelous ideas, each one you sent were all so funny it just made my day even better. I do hope you’ll like this one, I got a bit excited to post this, so please don’t mind the mistakes hahaha nor any of the grammatical errors. :D
music I listened to while writing this:
ようかい体操第一  | Dream5
morning smile | nom tunes
your happiness is my happiness | nom tunes
«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»
    shiratorizawa navigation || stth navigation
«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»
“What’s the answer on number 4?” Yamagata scratched his head with his pencil, staring at his exercise paper on the table, the numbers not making any sense to him anymore. He could feel his fingers starting to hurt from the amount of times he had been pressing the buttons of his calculator, but he could still not find the answer he was looking for, the calculator’s screen displaying syntax error.
“It’s 126.76” Reon replied, not looking up from his own paper as he concentrates on his own set of problems. It had been easy, the first few questions were doable, nothing out of the ordinary, however, when he reached numbers 10 and above he swore the teacher was high when he made that exercise. 
I mean, what’s the point of making a multiple choice question when the answer is not even in the choices.
“What? I thought it was 116” now Semi was starting to get even more frustrated, he was sure his answer was correct, he even searched up a tutorial on YouTube on how to solve that particular equation. 
“You need to add the 10, not subtract it” Shirabu corrected, as Semi erased his current answer and started replacing it with the right one. Mumbling to himself how the fuck is calculus useful in the real world, you don’t see people adding a and b to buy a sack of rice, nor finding x to purchase fruits in the market. 
Math is ridiculous; he hopes that whoever invented this shit suffers in hell.
“Let’s rest for now” Ushijima suggested, closing his notebook as he rested his pencil on top of it. Aware of just how everyone was getting stressed. 
“Where did Satori go?” Semi looks around the room, noticing that the redhead had disappeared. “Taichi and Tsutomu too”
“They went out to go get food” 
“They did?”
Yamagata nodded his head, lazily going through the books stacked on top of Tendou’s desk, most of them were manga that he had read and re-read, while the others were borrowed books from the library that he had never bothered to return.
There was a knock on the door, as Semi who was the closest, stood and opened it to reveal the people they have been looking for a while ago.
“We’re back!” Tendou announced cheerily, a tupperware in his hands as he entered the room, followed by Kawanishi, Goshiki and someone unfamiliar.
“Who’s that?” Shirabu pointed, raising a questioning brow at the person’s choice of clothing. An oversized sweater, shorts that reach below their knees and a swan patterned socks.
“What do you mean? That’s (Y/n)” you lift your hand up in a wave, the sweater’s long sleeve covering your own arm. A wide smile on your face, as you sat down on the floor along with them, Semi closing the door and locking it.
“What?”
No words left their mouth as they stared at you, you looked pretty convincing as a boy, the wig you wore accentuated your face just right. However, did Tendou really have you wear a wig that was an exact replica of Goshiki’s signature bowl-cut? Of all the millions of hairstyles he could choose from, really?
“Did you just smuggle her in?” Reon asks in disbelief. “How did you do it?”
“(Y/n)’s so small nobody noticed her” you swat Kawanishi with your sweater sleeve as he snickered, ruffling your hair before opening the bag you brought with you. Taking out different containers full of food, plates, chopsticks and other eating utensils.
“Where’d you get all these from? Did you order take-out?” Semi took a bite of the chicken strip, humming in satisfaction at the delicious taste, before taking another piece.
“(Y/n) was stress cooking again” Goshiki answered as he helped Ushijima clear the table, with you carefully placing the foods in the middle and Shirabu spreading the utensils on the table.
“Are you having problems with your academics again (Y/n)?” Ushijima inquired, pouring himself a glass of water as everyone situated themselves around the table, offering their thanks and serving themselves with the food you cooked. 
“I have an oral recitation tomorrow and I’m worried I’ll mess it up” you replied, biting on your chopstick. “The subject teacher isn’t very nice either, I’m scared of her”
“Who’s the teacher?”
“Tachibana-sensei”
Hearing the familiar name, both third years and second years involuntarily shuddered. Memories of their days as her students resurface, the struggle they experienced trying to hold onto the thin thread keeping their grades up were a bit traumatic.
Tachibana-sensei was the kind of teacher that students hate the most, she enjoys giving surprises, surprise quiz, surprise recitation, heck, even her exams are a surprise. It’s rare for her to even give her students the time to fully study their material, and for those who were under her knows that when she does, she’ll be firing questions one after the other, until her students are unable to give her answers leaving her disappointed.
“May the gods be in your favor (Y/n)” Tendou clapped a hand on your shoulder as he gave you a sympathetic smile. His eyes silently telling you ‘You’re screwed’
Goshiki noticed the look of terror flashed on your face, your hand shaking out of pure nervousness as you almost spilled the food on your plate. Does Tachibana-sensei really have that kind of reputation? He never had her as his subject teacher in any of his classes, well for now at least, but he sure is thankful, he didn’t need that kind of problem in his first year of high school.
“Don’t scare her” Semi hits Tendou with a notebook, scolding him for scaring you as you now sat there frozen, your mind going through the possible outcomes that might happen tomorrow. 
“You’ll be fine, don’t worry about it. You’re smart” Shirabu’s words of encouragement did help you relax a little, but the fear still lingered in your mind. You felt something prodding at your lips, you focused your eyes in front of you to see Kawanishi holding up a piece of chicken near your mouth.
“Eat first, I can help you with it later” He says in between mouthfuls as you open your mouth, accepting the food. Nodding at his offer.
You will worry about your demon of a teacher later, for now, you’re going to enjoy your food.
“By the way Satori, I saw this earlier” Yamagata pulled out a scrapbook from under the stacks of manga on the desk. The front cover is littered with stickers, and doodles, a very Tendou-esque kind of design.
"Oh that's where I’ve compiled the photos I took, I’ve just started so it’s not done yet" Tendou answered, watching as Yamagata opened the scrapbook, and going through the pictures. "Photography's my newfound hobby now"
"That photography workshop was only once, I didn't know you actually took it seriously"
"It’s a form of art Eita-kun" the red head held up a finger, going on and on about how it captures all the once in a lifetime moments we experience, and how pictures hold the memories they make together.
Tendou started getting sappy with his explanation, Semi had to shove an onigiri in his mouth to stop him from talking.
"Do you have a soft copy of these pictures Tendou?" Ushijima questioned, reading through the captions Tendou pasted around each photo. "I need a copy"
"I'll send it to you later Wakatoshi-kun" 
"You have another one?" Shirabu held another scrapbook in his hand. "How many do you have?"
"I have three" Shirabu flipped through the pages of the one he's holding, noticing that most of the pictures were of the second years in the club, but majority of them were of him and Kawanishi. 
"Where's the other one?" 
Tendou patted around in his bed for a moment, feeling for the familiar hard bound of the scrapbook before he finally found it resting under his backpack.
"These are pictures of the first years" You became interested, peeking over Semi's shoulder as he flipped through the pages. "Oh I remember this one." 
It was a picture of both you and Goshiki asleep inside the bus, your head resting on his shoulder and his head resting over your own. A jacket covering your bodies acting as a blanket. Below there was a text saying, The babies first away game.
"Tendou-san, we're not babies anymore." Goshiki reasoned but Tendou refused to agree to the first year.
"Oh hush, in my eyes you two are still babies." to emphasize his point, Tendou squished both your and Goshiki's cheek. Grinning at the pout now resting on your face. "See? Just adorable!"
"You're playing favorites, you know" Reon watches as Tendou continues to coddle the two youngest members in their group. The both of you trying to get away from Tendou refuse to let go.
Semi flipped to another page, this time there was a picture of you and him. Both of you standing near the grill as he teaches you how to properly cook meat, while you eagerly wait by the sides, all the while watching the meat being grilled on top of the fire. Eyes almost sparkling at how mouthwatering it is. At the bottom another caption was written, baby’s first barbecue.
"I think I found my new favorite" Semi looked up from the photobook he's holding, to Tendou still gushing over Goshiki and (Y/n). "Satori, send me a soft copy of this one"
"Roger!"
Finally, after almost thirty minutes both you and Goshiki were finally able to push the red head away as you all clean up the dirty dishes, throwing away the plastics and food crumbs into the trash can. Then resuming to their study session.
«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»
The next day, morning practice was starting a bit later than usual so the gym was still half empty, the only occupants were the regulars who decided to come early and do their own pre-practice warm ups. Semi was doing his usual jump serves with Yamagata receiving the balls to practice more on his digs. While on the other net, Shirabu was practicing with Goshiki after some begging from the first-year’s side.
You watch as Semi spins a ball on his hands, licking his lips, something he does whenever he’s trying to pinpoint where he wants the ball to land before throwing it in the air and jumping. Cringing at the sound of his palm colliding with the ball and watching as Yamagata runs to receive it.
“That was by the line!” your eyes went wide in awe, running to retrieve the ball and jogging back to Semi’s side of the net. As Yamagata let out a sigh wiping his sweat with his shirt.
“That’s the kind of serve that will annoy you the most”
Semi bounce the ball a few times, before pausing and turning to you. “Do you want to try (Y/n)?”
You nodded your head, eager to learn from one of the best servers in your team. You always find them very cool whenever they do those awesome spikes and jump serves. To you, they look like they’re flying whenever they jump so high, you were feeling a bit envious about it.
Standing beside Semi, he explained to you how to angle your hand properly and the timing of when to hit the ball.
“What’s your dominant hand?” 
You lift up your left hand and said “This one”
“Oh? You’re a lefty [1] too?” the both of you turn to look at the ace to see that he had started listening as well “Just like Wakatoshi”
“Try doing a normal serve for now” standing by the service line, you readied your position, as Yamagata took a receiving stance at the other side of the net.
“Give it all you’ve got (Y/n)-chan!”
You nodded your head, throwing the ball, watching it before hitting it with your hand as hard as you can, which was a lot for a newbie. Yamagata dove to get the ball, the object bouncing off his arm and shooting off to the side.
“One point for (Y/n)!” you heard Tendou’s voice from the other side of the gym as Semi applauds your good work. You started feeling giddy, hitting that ball was so satisfying you feel like the stress you were currently having this morning was starting to ease just a little bit.
“Do it again (Y/n)-chan!” Goshiki’s voice reached your ears as he abandoned Shirabu, who let out a sigh of relief, finally able to take the rest he had been wanting.
“How about a jump serve?” Ushijima suggested, as he too walked to your group, now interested in your new found talent.
Semi twirled the ball in his hand, biting the inside of his cheek. “That one’s a bit tricky Wakatoshi”
“She can do it” Ushijima turns to look at you as Goshiki keeps on slapping your back, getting excited for some reason, and honestly, you were excited as well. Ushijima rarely shows this kind of interest, so for someone who only learned the basics of volleyball through reading the manual and watching it, it was a shock for you.
“Can I?” you ask, your eyes sparkling “It never hurts to try”
Now, with you looking at him like that, how could Semi say no? you just look so cute he really has to stop himself from pinching those cheeks of yours.
“Alright, but I think Wakatoshi can teach you better” Semi threw the ball to Ushijima who nodded his head, wordlessly taking his position at the serving line. You watch how he handles the ball, you don’t even know if there’s a difference with righties serving compared to the lefties, but you paid attention anyways. Watching him run, jump and hit the ball as hard as he can.
Semi just sighed, Ushijima didn’t even say anything, he just did what he normally did. As if expecting you to learn something from it. But then again, Ushijima did the same thing to Goshiki once when the first-year asked how to improve his line shots, he can’t judge too soon.
Bouncing the ball a few times, you threw it in the air watching as you slowly run before jumping and serving it to the other side, the ball hitting the back line.
“Two points!” Everyone cheered for you, the others sporting surprise looks on their face. Jump serves were very hard to do, most would normally be hitting the net or the ball going out of bounce. But you, just one look at a live sample and voila, success.
“Do it again, (Y/n)-chan! This time I’ll make sure to receive it!” you grin at Yamagata’s challenge, doing the same thing you did the first time. You hit the ball with the hardest one you could muster. Watching as it spins fast, going past Yamagata and narrowly hitting Coach Saito in the face.
The coach blinks, frozen on his spot as he silently thanks whatever deities that decided to grace him with their blessings. Everyone was quiet, shocked at what just happened. He turned his head, his eyes scanning whoever was the culprit of his near death experience only to see you standing at the service line.
“I-I think that’s enough for now” he cleared his throat, tucking the clipboard he’s holding under his arms “Let’s prepare for practice”
You all nodded your head, gathering the stray balls and tossing them into the basket, mopping up the sweat that dropped on the floor as the rest of the members started piling into the gym.
Practice went by pretty fast, Coach Washijou had to cut it short because exam week was approaching and according to the school rule book, extracurricular activities must be shortened in order to give the students more time to study. 
They were currently having their post practice snacks, filling their hungry stomach with some delicious food as they rest their body. Practice may have been short but it doesn’t mean Coach Washijou made it easy, in fact, he made it even harder.
You were sitting cross legged on the floor, finishing up the notes you were writing earlier, sipping on a juice box you brought with you while your other hand moved across the white pages of your notebook. 
Seeing as your pen was running out of ink, you placed your juice box on the floor then reaching over for your bag to retrieve another one. Just as you were about to take another sip of your drink, it slipped from your grasp, landing on your lap, its contents spilling over your notes.
“Motherfucker” you were too focused cleaning yourself up that you didn’t hear Semi’s dramatic gasp, the curse that left your lips was foreign to his ears as he had never heard you say such a vulgar word before.
“Uh-oh”
Those who were closest to the door quietly slipped out, they knew what was coming next, and they’re not going to be a part of it. The coaches watched from the sidelines as Semi started lecturing them about their choices of words, reminding them that no swear words allowed in the presence of the first years.
Washijou-sensei shot his assistant a look, eyebrows raised “It was you, wasn’t it?”
Coach Saito sheepishly scratches his cheek, as he remembers how the swear word left his lips yesterday when he hit his hip at the side of the table. Not realizing that you were standing outside, ready to give to him the report he requested. 
He didn’t even know that such a thing was forbidden within the club, he quickly reminded himself to watch his language the next time the first years were around, he doesn’t want Semi going all mama mode again.
«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»
Lunch was spent eating together in the cafeteria, sitting at their usual table as they enjoyed the break from their tiring classes. Although the dining area was pretty rowdy, it did serve as a distraction from whatever their teachers prepared for their afternoon sessions.
“Today’s korokke has shrimp in it” Tendou took another bite of the fried dish, the food still hot and fresh. “Yummy”
“But…” Kawanishi started, his eyes shifting over to you as you munch on your own piece of korokke “(Y/n)’s allergic to shrimp”
The table went quiet as they all looked at you, they didn’t know that, why didn’t you tell them?
“Oh my god, her allergy is reacting” Semi stood up from his seat as red dots started to appear on your face, you gave the remaining korokke to Goshiki as you scratch your arm, your whole body feeling itchy.
“Let’s take her to the infirmary”
They quickly led you to the nurse’s office, the red dots that were just around your mouth had now spread all over your face. Looking as if you had just contacted chicken pox.
Thankfully, the nurse was still in her office when they arrived so you were immediately given some medicine to stop your allergy from becoming worse.
“You’ll have to go back to your room and take a rest for the rest of the day, then come back tomorrow again so I could give you another check-up. Alright?”
She handed you the excuse note for you to give to your teachers the next day as you stood up from your seat, thanking the nurse then exiting the room to see that the boys had waited for you outside.
“So, what did she say?”
“I’m excused from my classes this afternoon” you showed them the paper the nurse gave you. Shirabu reading through what she wrote, Kawanishi reading the paper’s contents from over his shoulder.
“I need one too”
“Why? are you sick?”
“No, I just want to skip class today”
Semi sighs at what the middle blocker just said, if anything, Kawanishi was definitely the laziest among them all. Always looking for ways to avoid any activities he finds energy consuming, Semi was quite surprised Kawanishi had not tried sending their coach a fake medical certificate just so he could skip practice for a few days.
Oh wait, he did, and he got away with it.
“You look like a tomato” Goshiki pokes you on the cheek, the redness slowly fading but your face still slightly swollen. “Tomato-chan~”
Tendou grinned at the cute nickname, tomato-chan? He was so going to start calling you that from now on.
“Oh wait (Y/n), let me take a picture of you first. This would be a great addition to my scrapbook” Tendou patted his pockets for his phone but he felt none. “Eh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I think I left my phone in the cafeteria” Tendou answered, slipping his hand inside his pockets for good measure, but the device was nowhere to be found. “Reon let me borrow your phone for a bit”
Reon shook his head “I left mine in the cafeteria as well”
“What?!” Tendou turned to look at the rest of the members as they too shook their heads.
You chuckled, patting his back “Guess there won’t be any funny photos of me for the time being” you started walking away waving at them. “See you tomorrow”
They waved back as they went back to the cafeteria, until a phone ringing cut through the silence. Ushijima stops in his tracks, fishing the phone from his pocket as he realizes that he forgot he brought it along with him the whole time.
“Wakatoshi-kun, why didn’t you tell me you had your phone with you?”
“I apologize Tendou, do you still want to take that photo?”
They turned their heads to the direction you left but you weren’t there anymore. Tendou’s shoulder slump, the opportunity to finally have a derpy picture of you gone and would probably be far into the future.
Yamagata just let out a laugh. “It seems like the goddess Kichijoten [2] favors (Y/n) more than anyone else”
«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»
[1] I’m a lefty so yeah, self promo I guess lol.
[2]  she’s the Japanese goddess of beauty.
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solaeter · 3 years
Note
hi !!! congrats on 100 followers !!
soooo i'm here for the jujutsu kaisen match-up hahah... alright let me just get started
1) i'm lightskin black girl. i have fuller lips, a smaller/average nose. i've got brown eyes and thick, straighter eyebrows :) i have collarbone length hair that is curly, dark and cut into a shaggy mullet,, kinda messy lmao
2) my love language is touch !!
3) i'm bisexual :)
4) my goals are to be involved in the arts, i love being creative in everyway. anything that can help me become more creative or just anything new that i can learn is always good for me ! but if i had to pick a specific career, i'd love to be an actress.
i'd say my only fears is not living up to my full potential, or just letting myself down. also spiders.. 🧍‍♀️
dislikes,,, anyone who is unnecessarily rude.
5) what i look for in a person,,,, someone who understands me or atleast accepts me for all the randomness that goes on in my head lol. just want someone on the same wavelength as me, some i can laugh w, someone who can be my best friend before my lover. cuz personally i can be v sarcastic, so to have playful banter back and forth is so important to me !! 😭
i'm an introvert, but can be loud around people im comfortable with. i am v scatter brained,,, so i just have random outbursts of energy lol
6) hobbies and interests,, i love creating things ! call my ass bob the builder LMAO but i do love art, editing, fashion and dancing :)
7) what makes me feel confident,, i'd have to say the music i listen to, the clothes i wear. if i wake up one day and feel good then i'm goof for the entire day haha. and insecurities,,, i don't think i have if im being honest... cocky much 😭
but yeaahhhh, hope i didn't overdo it 😭 sorry if i did. but thank you and congrats again !!
Jujutsu Kaisen Matchup Event | OPEN
Thank you so much for participating! Since you didn’t give an emoji, I went ahead and picked 🧍‍♀️ if that’s alright ( •⌄• ू )✧. It’s for when I make the masterlist, I can use it instead of revealing names heh. Thank you again!! Hope you enjoy!!
Out of everyone in Jujutsu Kaisen, I pair you with…
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Honey you are gorgeous and Yuji will fall flat on his face in love with you. He isn’t picky with appearances and will probably compliment every little thing because he can’t narrow down what he loves the most. Sure he may say that he loves a tall woman with a big ass, but his heart is too pure to be limited to such a thing. You will be his queen and no one can tell him otherwise. 
In the beginning of your relationship, Yuji is an all in type of boy. He's gonna act like you've been together for fifty years and hold you in high regards. For one, you actually accepted to date him out of everyone which he's shocked about as well. Secondly, you just make him so happy that he can't hold back. The only respect he has in the beginning is the amount of pda. Hand holding and hugs are a must but everything else comes with him. 
Yuji will lowkey wanna play with your hair cause he's amazed by the curls. He would grab one and pull it to see it bounce. That boy will be like 😲 and do it again until you tell him to stop. [as someone with curly hair too, I find it funny when this happens jskssksks so I had to include it]. 
Those lips, Yuji will be all over you. He's all for physical affection, so he will not hesitate to kiss you and then make some type of cute remark about how your lips feel on his. He will absolutely melt if you kiss his face; cheeks, nose, chin or just anywhere..he will be putty and have a blush on his cheeks and a stupid smile to match. Like I said, he's in love with you completely. 
Yuji definitely relates with you in terms of your fears, aside from spiders. He will willingly kill those for you and be deemed the hero. Anyways, Yuji will listen to your fears and concerns while also adding his own so that you know that he feels the same and that you aren't alone as long as he's around. Yuji is also your biggest supporter, he will encourage you to be the best version of yourself while saying it's fine to make mistakes along the way. Just do the same for him, you both build each other up ❤
Yuji isn't very creative, so seeing you take an interest in just about anything you set your mind to, he's right behind you with full support. You wanna be an actress? Yuji is your biggest fan and helps you practice if you plan to pursue the dream. He admires everything you do, from the littlest things to the biggest. Yuji also helps you discover new things, especially if he knows it'll catch your attention even for a short while. 
Yuji sees you dancing? Girl please, he's gonna join you even if he can't dance for shit. This boy is hard to embarrass, so you'll have a partner no matter what. Your love for fashion? Yuji will let you pick things out for him, he just has a strong preference for hoodies. Other than that, he gives you full reign to play dress up on those days you both spend time at the mall. 
In terms of conflict, Yuji would want to settle the matter as soon as possible. He can't deal with the idea of losing someone he holds so dear. He'd give you space, but not for too long. Yuji is the type that would come to you and just pull you into his arms. The contact is one form of reassurance and the apologies that soon follow only make it better. Now if you weren't one to apologize right away, the hug is definitely enough for Yuji to ease his worries. 
Yuji can take jokes just as he can dish them, even it they're a little dumb. He admires your randomness, he thinks it keeps the relationship fresh and there's always something to discover. As much as Yuji loves you, he also considers you to be his best friend as well. It's the best of both ends really. You mesh really well with him and he to you, so much to the point others would question if you were dating or not. Especially if you both got into a teasing battle that bordered on offensive to some but funny to you two. 
Lastly, Yuji really admires your confidence. He loves how your whole day can be made from the time you wake up. If only it were that easy for him, but your positive vibes do rub off on him more often than not. And your lack of insecurities, ma'am you are surely strong and that has Yuji tossing heart eyes at you. He has his own internal battles but your strength helps him keep his head high. 
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therappundit · 4 years
Text
Best of the 1st Half: 2020′s Best Rap Projects (*so far*)...
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“I’ve had, the halftime of my life...!”
*record scratch*
2020, WHAT THE F**K. 😳
Ohhh what a first half it has been. If 2020 ended today, it would still be one of the most historic years in a century...and NOT in a pleasant way. Years from now 2020 will be studied for the long-term damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential breaking point (hopefully??) of this country’s ignorance to systematic racism and the need for a complete overhaul of our police departments, and of course, whatever the hell comes from the November Presidential election....and, not to mention whatever additional ‘tbd’ chaos rings in the second half of ‘20 that we haven’t even heard about yet!? These are trying times, folks.
My whole life, I have tried to use humor and entertainment to help me with processing high levels of stress and anxiety. This year, that process has felt more daunting than usual. I am writing less and less, and often find Twitter to be too dark of a place for me to navigate. It’s anything but a fulfilling “escape”. Still, I am constantly inspired by all of the new music that fills my headspace during life’s precious little moments, and it really keeps me grounded in the day to day. 
At the end of 2019, I wrote the below in one of my posts. It took me back to a special feeling that I had, at a moment when the future seemed more like an opportunity, rather than a worrisome question mark. I’m going to work towards finding that place again, and I wanted to re-share this because it speaks to how the love of any art can be a healthy reminder of what we have to be thankful for in our daily lives:
“Regardless of how you feel about this list, I hope that you visit (or re-visit) any one of these pieces of strong work and find the same level of enjoyment that I did. I loved so much rap music this year and I could not be more excited about what the future holds. On a personal note, in 2019 I found myself even more in love with my wife, feeling luckier than I have in a long time, more satisfied with my hobbies and passions, and above all else, more in awe of my child (and anyone that ever raised a child) than ever before. I became a father for the first time in 2019, so as my baby daughter continues to fill my heart, I am beginning to wonder what she will think of her father’s love for this art form that has brought him so much joy over the years…I suppose time will tell.”
This list is long, because I think the talent that went into these projects is worth your time (and I put a lot of thought into creating this list as well...I do not work in the industry or know anyone that does, and I do not have any real platform - I just do this because I love the music).
If you are an artist on this list, I want to thank you, because you helped me stay positive and focused on a brighter future that I hope will soon come to us all...because everyone has been through something this year, and we deserve better.  So salute to you and many, many others. 🙏🙏🙏
- THE Rap Pundit
The “Rules” for my list of the Best Projects of Q1-Q2 2020:
- the album/mixtape/EP/project/whatever you want to call it had to be released this year, by June 26, 2020
- the project must have at least 6 songs 
- these rankings are a combination of my own personal preference, my take on overall quality of the project (whether it speaks deeply to my sensibilities or not), and how the final product compares to other work from the artists’ peers that occupy the same lane/‘sub-genre’ of rap music
So here we go 👀...
1. The Price of Tea in China by Boldy James and The Alchemist
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Sometimes the greatest albums are not the most ambitious or flashy, they are remembered based off the strength of artistic chemistry and execution. Basketball fans know the beauty of a perfectly timed chest pass to a teammate streaking towards the basket can be more impressive than a behind the back pass that’s simply done for the sake of showing everyone that you can do a fancy pass. Staying with that theme, The Price of Tea in China is The Alchemist doing his best John Stockton impression, serving to Boldy James’ Karl Malone, and by album’s end you realize that Boldy scored a quiet 40 points while making this rap shit look like an easy lay-up.
TPOTIC finds Boldy sprinkling every ounce of his Detroit seasoning into Al’s pot to yield one of the most Mobb Deep-esque collaboration albums since Mobb Deep was dropping albums. In turn, this project is not only Boldy’s greatest work, but it serves as a re-introduction of a veteran MC that is suddenly more relevant than ever.  Much like what Freddie Gibbs and Madlib did with 2019′s Bandana, this project is a great lesson on what MC and Producer chemistry can sound like when both parties are 100% on the same page when it comes to message, tone, and aesthetic goals. 
It would make sense that Boldy James would fall into the Griselda fold, because much like Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher, he comes from a city with a rich rap music scene that still struggles to reach the level of exposure that the NYCs, L.A.’s, Chicago's and Atlanta’s have basked in for so long. He writes from a place of “been there, done that”, showing a rich attention to detail that separates his street tales from that of his peers in the same way someone telling a story second or third hand can’t match the level of detail that an eye witness has saved in the memory bank. Boldy has survived both real world and music business challenges to rise from the ashes of “hey whatever happened to so & so, he was about to blow” conversations to reach a new peak in his mid-30′s. He deserved this suite of incredible Alchemist soundscapes (Al is deep in his bag here, delivering some of his most low-key impressive instrumentals in years), and like his super-producer buddy, Boldy is looking down at us from atop an already prolific 2020 at its’ midpoint.  
I’m not sure anyone can match the chemistry that Prodigy and Mobb Deep had with The Alchemist, but in 2020, The Price of Tea in China delivers some of the most brutally subdued, occasionally humorous, stripped down rap records since P was throwing TV’s at us like he had nothing left to lose. If The Price of Tea in China isn’t holding the championship at year’s end, it still deserves to be mentioned as an impressive work by one of the strongest title-worthy unions running the pick and roll in the genre today.
2. Àdá Irin by Navy Blue 
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Okay let’s be honest: the “sub-genre” that is often referred to as lo-fi rap music (whether you consider it an actual lane or not, I know you know what I’m talking about...which I suppose proves its’ existence, right?), is beginning to suffer from the same affliction that all other sub-genres tend to suffer from once the word is out that this is “the thing” that the kids find trendy right now. A lot of folks in this lane sound *exactly* the same to the average listener. I’m not even the average listener, and I often feel that way. The irony that comes with being part of the sound that’s supposed to be bucking the mainstream clone machine turning into a mini-clone machine itself, means that the window is in danger of closing to avoid over-saturation of the artists that are already thriving between the gravelly, whisper-welcoming walls of Soundcloud URLs and Bandcamp EPs being slid to their heady fanbase with zero promotion. So with that all being said...why give Navy Blue a chance?
Navy Blue lacks the name recognition of many of his peers (for now), but he has now been thriving in the lo-fi pocket for some time as both a MC and producer, a young artist that’s closely connected to the lane’s most famous figureheads (Earl Sweatshirt, and to some extent, Mach-Hommy), as well as less heralded trailblazers like MIKE and the whole sLUms collective. Sure you can check out Navy’s Soundcloud page to get a taste of his work, but with this Àdá Irin album, we don’t just hear raw snippets of a freshly discovered unsigned talent. With this album we hear Navy as a self-assured solo artist, capable of sharing an inspirational song with the likes of Ka and sounding like every bit of the veteran next to the iconic soft-spoken lyricist. This is a very, very impressive debut full length album that showcases the best that the (sub)genre has to offer: some experimentation, jazzy loops, the diary-like intimacy of words that sit like dust on an old basement book shelf, and the raw emotions that come from working through love, pain and loss in real time. In 2020 there may be nothing completely new under the sun, but it’s the aesthetic choices that Navy Blue makes with every verse and every instrumental that make Àdá Irin feel like a perfect balance of beauty and sadness. If you want to dip a toe in this water but you’re not sure you can get into the mumblecore-ish world of MIKE, MAVI, Medhane or Earl’s work from the past two years, this Navy Blue album might actually be the perfect intro.
3. A Written Testimony by Jay Electronica (featuring JAY-Z)
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Not a lot of positive breaking news in 2020...but when Jay Electronica surprised Twitter with a few cryptic Tweets back in February, implying that he was dropping an album (and Jay-Z would likely be involved), the rap game was set ablaze with excitement, skepticism, disbelief, and hope (albeit with some measured caution there as well). 
This is something that fans, and arguably the entire rap world, had been clamoring for for a decade, many long since moving on believing that Jay Elec’s debut album had gone the way of Detox, sharing “1a & 1b” status as the most eagerly anticipated projects none of us seriously expected to hear. 
Then it dropped....and then it went. In a Twitter-run rap world, quality is too often measured by how long a piece of art stays within the “trending” mix, as opposed to...well, whether or not it’s actually good! The truth is, A Written Testimony is not just good, it’s very, very good, and while it’s not the “Illmatic 2″ that some may have been expecting, realistically it’s superior to what I imagined a new project from such a reclusive artist would sound like in 2020. If you at least try to table the expectations laid out when “Exhibit C” came out in 2009...I think you will find a project (it’s up to you whether or not you want to count this a “solo debut” or not, but at this point, it’s new Jay Electronica - can we just leave it at that??) stacked with memorable moments, quotable gems throughout, stellar production (this is one of the best produced projects of 2020 by far, not sure how/why this piece of the puzzle would receive anything less than acclaim), and some moments of questionable preaching made more palatable by a strong overall voice and package.
Jay Electronica raps with conviction throughout, and while the project feels brief, it lasts long enough to be more than a quick feeling, even if many feel that it’s not long enough to feel like a full album. If "Exhibit C" was the teaser then this is the redband trailer, flashing enough skill and details to resonate for far longer than its’ duration. Much has been said about the heavy hand of JAY-Z on most of the project’s 7 tracks, but let’s be clear, this is not Watch The Throne 2 (even though at points, it may feel like something along those lines). Yes, in impressive fashion, Hov comes through riding shotgun to show a deeper shade of one of his more complex dimensions, with many of his rhymes begging for dissection with every bar. However, AWT features a JAY-Z that’s rapping through Jay Electronica’s lens, not by any means where 4:44 or Everything Is Love left off. This is definitely a Jay Electronica album. AWT dives in and out of Jay Electronica’s beliefs in broad strokes that appear and disappear rather quickly, but even when certain verses raise more questions than provide answers, every song still has at least a handful of the gripping words that remind us of what made Jay Elec-Hanukkah sound like the chosen one in the first place (his tussle with writer’s block and hesitation to put out any art make for some of the projects most engaging moments).
If A Written Testimony is the last Jay Electronica album we ever here - which I truly hope it is not the case - it is still a memorable piece of work. So if you were one of the folks that moved on from it after the “surprise” of Jay finally dropping a project subsided, I hope you change that stance and revisit it once again.
4. Descendants of Cain by Ka
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“Quiet and frigid disposition, growin' up in the cold /  Surprised I ain't get high from what I was low enough to behold /  Like when Pops shot at the neighbor's shop, put one in his head /  He knew how he grew me, threw me the gun, a hundred, and fled /  Didn't play, 'fore po' arose dispose of exhibit A / I was raised to age a few years in a day /  If not elite, didn't eat if you didn't pray /  As much as I heal, had to deal, all my scars are here to stay /  Our senseis spent days peddling /  Our heroes sold heroin.” - Ka, “Patron Saints”
He makes it seem almost too easy. If the writing wasn't so gripping, you might not even revisit it. Ka’s Descendants of Cain arrived with little fanfare, except for the collective awe of his humble but religiously devoted fan-base. The religious devotion is an important piece here, as Cain adds to Ka’s quietly impressive discography another strong album that leans on classic scribes as inspiration to spin poignant metaphors on Brooklyn street philosophy. 
This time, the classic work is the Christian Bible, and Ka being the brilliant MC/poet that he is, seems to have little trouble working with the medium to preach without sounding preachy, and wax familiar-sounding nostalgia over wax that sounds as dusty as it feels fresh, rich, and urgent. Producing much of the album himself, along with a few trusted collaborators, the album’s strength is in its’ density, as each song feels like it requires a pause to unpack every bar...and to be honest, that’s exactly the type of attention this work deserves. If you missed this one in the first half of 2020′s feverish dump of new releases, you need to remedy that immediately.
5. Pray for Paris by Westside Gunn 
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If The Alchemist is the overall rap music MVP for his many contributions to 2020 thus far,  Westside Gunn may deserve at least a few honorable mentions. From becoming the ambassador of Buffalo New York to stepping up as an ambassador of the underground rap resurgence, I don’t think any other rap artist has done more to run with the torch that Roc Marciano has been waving for a damn decade than the Griselda mastermind. If you happened to hear Gunn name-dropping to Peter Rosenberg on Rosenberg’s long-standing Real Late show on Hot 97, you know exactly what I mean. Shouting-out close allies and lesser known peers alike, Gunn’s presence proudly announced the underground movement’s invasion of the highly known New York City radio station. It felt like ECW invading WWE’s Monday Night Raw all over again. Of course Gunn’s voice was met with more ears than usual during that interview, since that appearance came hot off the heels of the release of his much discussed side project turned full-blown album, Pray for Paris.
By now most fervent rap fans know the story behind the album (a project that miraculously arrived to completion while Gunn was suffering from the affects of coronavirus), but for many Pray for Paris is the introduction to the story of Griselda Records and the world that they revel in. If Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher are responsible for the Griselda team’s grittiest street tales, Westside Gunn’s success leans on his ability to blur the line between all-too-real violence and cartoon violence, splattered with elite luxury references and shout-outs for his fellow wrestling addicts. The song titles are merely scattered trains of thoughts that may or may not have anything directly to do with a song’s actual meaning, it’s like naming your child ‘brunch in Williamsburg’ just because it was the last meal you happened to have that day. An audience brought up on Lil Wayne as the God MC may be completely lost at the appeal, but audiences brought up on Wu, DOOM and Sean Price know exactly what vibe Westisde Gunn is going for.
At times Gunn can come across as more of a talent curator than a stand alone MC, so if this is the album that takes Gunn to the next level as a rap star, it would make him the most unselfish rap star to come along in some time. A rapper doesn’t jump on an Alchemist produced track with the likes of Freddie Gibbs and Roc Marciano and expect to leave with anything but the Bronze medal. The same can be said for his chopped and screwed contribution to “Claiborne Kick”, which clearly belongs to Boldy James. That’s not to say that Gunn’s verse is a weak moment on any of the joints on Paris, but the fact that he consistently surrounds himself with high caliber writers confirms that he is well aware that the quality of the final product will be determined by the team involved, not just the artists’ name on the album cover.
For someone that considers himself more of an artist than a rapper, he continues to paint intriguing collages with every album, featuring him at the center of an ever-expanding portrait of MCs, producers, singers, designers, and dancers. Pray for Paris is a typical Griselda project that also happens to sport the potential of something larger than most of their fanbase ever imagined. Yes we get the dark backdrops, elite underground production, and quotables throughout, but we also get a few additional shades, as Gunn dabbles with a “beauty and the beast” dynamic that cleanly pairs his violent imagery with fashionista pomp and circumstance (which no doubt helped draw the likes of Wale and Tyler, the Creator to this project). But t’s all less of a solo album to push a mainstream solo career forward, and much more of a cannonball through the mainstream wall, just to allow some sunlight to shine on his people...and his city, for that matter - because best believe, Paris may be the inspiration behind the project but Buffalo, New York is still with him every step of the way. 
6. Alfredo by Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist
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A highly enjoyable surprise drop from two-thirds of the potent combination that gave us the fan favorite project that was Fetti (shout-out to Curren$y, though), Alfredo feels like the perfect treat to hold us over during these trying times. It feels rushed, but simultaneously sharp and activated. It has the feeling of a controlled experiment that was slapped together in separate rooms, rather than carefully curated by multiple artists hunched over the same mixer for days on end. Alfredo is more of a display of two power hitters putting on an impressive showing at a Home Run Derby, rather than the collaboration that has been slowly simmering for years...but that’s also part of the fun, because it feels like Al & Fredo (eh?) were just as excited to release it as we all were to hear it.
Neither party is reinventing the wheel here, but if you are going to have a rapper and a producer connect for an album of great rapping over great beats, you would be hard pressed to find a more natural pairing than these two. The Alchemist delivers with samples that channel the speakeasy jazz of an old piano, and Freddie is simply the king of hard-rap soul right now, so he excels on every song. There are moments of darkness, moments of hope, and moments of self reflection (Gibbs is a logical choice to swing haymakers back at cops abusing their power), all delivered by Freddie at a break-neck speed over Al's significantly less urgent production....as if Gibbs frantically spilled his guts to his buddy over the phone while Al was kickin’ back with a joint saying “uh-huh...yup, I hear ya man.” The final result is an effective one, if not a quick teaser of what a lengthier amount of collaboration time between the two might sound like. It should also be said that the guest verses on this album (especially those from Tyler, The Creator and Conway) took this album up a few spots on this ‘best of’ list. Alfredo is easily one of the strongest surprises of 2020.
7. Reasonable Drought by Stove God Cook$ and Roc Marciano
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There is a tradition in the rap music biz that newer/younger artists are often shepherded along by more seasoned artists in order to insure that the less experienced artist is blessed with the built-in audience that comes with a co-sign. It doesn’t always work, but typically the initiation comes with a solid musical foundation on a debut project accompanied by a greener MC still finding his/her way. Not the case with Stove God Cook$, he is perhaps the most unexpectedly fresh MC to be cut from classic rap cloth since Griselda & Mach-Hommy began to build cult-like followings.
While Reasonable Drought (and seriously, how bold of a title is that for a debut!?) is blessed by the impressive production and mentorship of underground rap icon Roc Marciano, it truly is the lesser known MC himself that captures the imagination right from the get-go. When I say that in my life time, I cannot recall such a strong debut performance by a MC that I have heard virtually no work from prior to his 2019 emergence, with the help of minimal publicity/ad budget (if any? Cook$ was barely on social media until *after* his album had already been released) on his way to dropping an album with zero features...then you should take my recommendation very seriously. Fresh style, some of the most rewind-worthy quotables in recent memory (an Uncle Buck reference!? Bow down, people), and a new following built exclusively on the word of mouth of equal-minded folks that were blown away by a project many copped on a passing whim... it’s clear that this moment could be the beginning of an amazing, fascinating career. 
Similar to Roc Marciano before him, Cook$ possesses a rare flare with his wordplay and delivery that makes even the ugliest tales of coke dealing and disrespectful criminal activity sound like the colorful exploits of a post-Blaxploitation hero. He delivers every bar with the uber-specific word choice of Roc, but the outgoing swag of a Max B. The man that has people that never touched cocaine in their life singing that they’re “smelling like a brick right now”, is smelling like a winner in 2020 and beyond.
8. Battle Scar Decorated by Monday Night & Henny L.O.
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Last call to board the Mutant Academy bandwagon! 
I have been saying that this deep underground collective of MCs & producers has been low key having a banner year all year long, and scrolling through this list you can see exactly what I mean. Henny L.O. is too good to be slotted as just a battle rapper, while Monday Night is far too strong of a presence to be considered a mere associate of the core Mutant team. When you think of Mutant Academy and their respective affiliated acts, think of them as a gathering of solo artists that happen to make dope rap music together, but all parties involved are capable of standing on their own two. I think that’s what consistently impresses me about their projects...hat, and the lack of filler material.
Along with a deep Rolodex of mostly under-the-radar talent, the hunger and confidence of a thriving Richmond, Viriginia rap scene is present on every track of Battle Scar Decorated. Much like many of my favorite albums of 2020, there is no reinventing of the wheel here, the triumph is in the execution. Monday & Henny tag in and out, each with the confidence that they have spit the best verse on the song before they have even finished. It’s that level of ability combined with a shocking amount of production talent that makes Battle Scar Decorated essential listening to anyone that wants to be reminded of a vibe that hasn’t been in abundance in the underground rap scene since L.A. in the late 90′s. It wouldn’t be fair to talk about how much I enjoyed this project without including the great producers involved, so a big s/o to: Sycho Sid, C.R.I.S.T.E.N, James Couch, Savvy, Heather Grey, and Ewonne.
9. Eastern Medicine, Western Illness by Preservation
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Accompanied by a who’s who of underground hip-hop’s finest (Roc Marciano, Mach-Hommy, Your Old Droog, Quelle Chris, Nickelus F, Tree, Navy Blue, Billy Woods, Ka *and more* - I mean seriously!?), Preservation has assembled an impressively cohesive compilation album both sonically and thematically. 
Incorporating record samples from his travels in China, Eastern Medicine, Western Illness feels born in simplicity even though it is anything but a casual collection of dope verses over tightly wound production. A quietly gifted producer, Preservation knows how to squeeze the best out of his guests without shouting the results through the speakers, the choices are more subtle but yield a high impact and replay value. Listening to the project feels more like listening to a secret, unreleased project, because it’s hard to believe that this much talent would gift this much high caliber writing to a compilation of songs...although that was not uncommon in the 90′s and early 00′s (ah, I’m showing my old age again). Perhaps that’s a testament to Preservation’s vision, a DJ/producer with a relatively small catalog built on curated quality (see his fantastic 2015 collaboration with Ka on Days With Dr. Yen Lo). Eastern Medicine has enough talent involved that it could have been a worthy listen even if it was just as a hodgepodge of donated loosies, so the fact that the final product is so much more than that makes it an album that warrants a great deal of more attention.
10. The Allegory by Royce Da 5′9″
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No accomplished lyricist makes life harder on himself than Royce Da 5′9″. Be it his tendency to cram personal observations and disclosures in and around his punchlines, or experimenting production wise, the Detroit veteran is intent on finding new ways to approach fine wine music, tossing more complex offerings into his catalog over the past few years. Things are no different with The Allegory. 
Not only did Royce once again pen an album that speaks to his ability to cope with his own past and present, he inserts himself in the producer chair as well, addressing the trials and tribulations of the increasingly problematic world around him, over backdrops crafted by only his hand a a few trusted peers. The effect is mostly successful, with the production exceeding the expectations of many (myself included), while the writing is at times both thought-provoking and in need of further exploration on Royce’s part. The guest features range from effective to scene stealing (not because Royce ‘s verse is outshined, but there are moments where it seems as if the guest is better suited over Royce’s own production than he is). If you’re Royce Da 5′9″ and you release an album titled The Allegory, no one should expect a simple quick fix of bars over easily digestible instrumentals. The highs come in abundance, and while the lows come in small trip-ups and the occasional skit that the listener probably could have done without, you get the sense that with some editing and further focus of his lofty goals, his sermons could have been sharpened into a more effective analysis of many of his topics (the music business, being black in America, history, conspiracy theories), resulting in an incredible album instead of a very good one. Nevertheless, it is all worth the ride to hear the latest work from one of rap music’s most gifted MC’s from the past decade. If The Allegory isn’t a home-run, it’s at the very least a strong base hit.
Top 50 (all belong in the Top 10-25, but...there’s only 25 spots in the Top 25, soooo):
11. Cold Water by Medhane
12. Shrines by Armand Hammer
13. Bag Talk by yungmorpheus & Pink Siifu
14. Try Again by ovrkast.
15. RTJ4 by Run The Jewels
16. Noise Kandy 4 by Rome Streetz
17. Innocent Country 2 by Quelle Chris
18. Weight of the World by MIKE
19. Sages by Henny L.O. & Ohbliv
20. Milestones by Skyzoo
21. Carpe Noctem by Big Ghost Ltd
22. Lake Water by SeKwence
23. At the End of the Day. by Fly Anakin
24. Sole Food by Deniro Farrar
25. The Oracle 3 by Grafh
26. The Blue Tape by Tree
27. lo&behold by lojii
28. Infinite Wisdom by Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon
29. FULL CIRCLE by Medhane
30. UNLOCKED by Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats
31. The Throwaways by The Opioid Era
32. Anyways by Young Nudy
33. PTSD (Deluxe) by G Herbo
34. Holly Favored by Monday Night & Foisey
35. THE GOAT by Polo G
36. Demon & Mufasa by Yhung T.O. & DaBoii 
37. The Face of Jason by ANKHLEJOHN
38. My Turn by Lil Baby 
39. No One Mourns the Wicked by Conway & Big Ghost Ltd.
40. Two4one by Jay Worthy 
41. Free Drakeo by Drakeo
42. Alone Time by YL
43. Assata by CV$ a.k.a. Con$piracy & Teller Bank$
44. Thug Tear by Big Kashuna O.G. & Monday Night
45. Ways and Means by Rasheed Chappell & 38 Spesh
46. IMMORTALKOMBAT by Al Divino & Estee Nack
47. Young & Turnt 2 by 42 Dugg
48. Sleeper Effect by Sleep Sinatra
49. Juno by Che Noir & 38 Spesh
50. LULU by Conway & The Alchemist
THE REST OF THE BEST (all belong in the Top 50 releases of 2020, but..what can I say, blame 2020 for being such a stacked year for music/events I guess):
Black Schemata by yungmorpheus,  The Smartest by Tee Grizzley,  Polly by the Powder Keg by Chuck Chan & Pad Scientist,  High Off Life by Future,  Gotham City Album by Plex Diamonds,  Memphis Massacre 2 by Duke Deuce, Poetic Substance by RIM & Vinyl Villain,  Styles David: Ghost Your Enthusiasm by Styles P,  MF Bloo by Bloo & Spanish Ran,  LSD by The Leonard Simpson Duo & Guilty Simpson,  Funeral by Lil Wayne,  RAW UNKNOWN by Spectacular Diagnostics,  Nezzie’s Star by Eddie Kaine,  ShrapKnel (self-titled),  The Bluest Note by Skyzoo & Dumbo Station,  WUNNA by Gunna,  Get Money Teach Babies by Heist Life & Spanish Ran,  Open Casket by Killer Kane,  6 Rings by Yung Mal,  The Beauty of It by Eto,  Meet The Woo 2 by Pop Smoke,  Fresh Air by UFO Fev & Statik Selektah,  Vito by Vince Ash,  GRIMM & EViL by GRiMM Doza,  RUDEBWOY by CJ Fly,  Rocket to Nebula by Killah Priest,  EVERYTHING by Kota the Friend,  NO Blade of Grass by V Don,  Eternal Atake by Lil Uzi Vert,  I’m My Brother’s Keeper by Yella Beezy & Trapboy Freddy,  Carhartt Champions by Tree Mason,  Viral Viral! by Dunbar,  Rowhouse Whispers by Ray West & Zilla Rocca,  Magneto Was Right #4 by Raz Fresco,  DUMP LIFE by Tha God Fahim, Jay NiCE & Left Lane Didon,  Burn One, Tap In, Zone Out by Dot Demo,  FNTG: From Niggaz to Godz by Squeegie O,   PANAGNL4E, Vol. 2 by Los and Nutty,  Death 2 All Haterz 2 by Rigz & Symph,  Thank You For Using GTL by Drakeo & JoogSzn,  Adjust to the Game by Larry June,  Martyr’s Prayer by Elcamino & 38 Spesh,  BETTER by Deante’ Hitchcock,  Attack of the Future Shocked, Flesh Covered, Meatbags of the 85 by $ilkMoney,  No Cosign Just Cocaine 3 by Ty Farris,  Hear No Equal by Chuuwee,  MSYKM by Tsu Surf,  Your Birthday’s Cancelled by Iron Wigs,  Spring Clean by Curren$y & Fuse,  Arctic Plus Degrees (The Sun Don’t Chill Allah) by Planet Asia & DirtyDiggs,  Psychological Cheat Sheet by Vic Spencer, Glass 2.0 by Meyhem Lauren & Harry Fraud,  Trust the Chain by Planet Asia & 38 Spesh, Director’s Cut (Scene Two) by Ransom & Nicholas Craven, and Son Of A Gun by Key Glock.
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itsclydebitches · 4 years
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Do you really think men who are into building trains or other weird basement dwelling hobbies aren't considered weird by normal people? I always think of that scene in 40 year old Virgin where it shows his life and it's reading comics, playing video games, and painting miniatures alone. All that being shown as weird and things virgin men do, not real men who fuck and live fulfilling lives. The fat and virgin basement dwelling otaku or gamer is not a flattering stereotype for men either.
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Like the original post I’m simplifying a great deal because you can’t easily summarize decades of sociology down to a couple of paragraphs, but the difference is two-fold: 
1. The basement dwelling geeky man was an insulting stereotype up until “geeks inherited the Earth.” We don’t even really use the term “geek” anymore because the concept of a guy who is super into tech and popular culture is now synonymous with eccentric upper middle class workers, or outright millionaires who get to have it all: their “weird” hobbies alongside social prestige. We’ve entered an age where the math geek has the best access to jobs. Where everybody in the world (it seemed) watched Game of Thrones. Where video games are becoming more and more accepted... but notably it’s the video games that men are presumably drawn to and the medium as a whole is still perceived as dominated by men. The 40 Year Old Virgin came out fifteen years ago. That’s nearly two decades of change. Now we’ve got characters like Ben Wyatt in Parks and Rec who, while he still might be teased at times, is allowed to have all the comic books he wants while also getting the main girl. Being a “geek” is sexy. The otaku/gamer/comic nerd stereotype no longer holds the power it once did, not when we’ve got franchises like the MCU absolutely dominating film and The New York Times providing instructions on how to get into gaming during quarantine. Being a pop culture nerd (as a guy) used to be an insult, applied only to the awkward, friendless folks who no one wanted to emulate. Now it’s your average Joe, if not the people you’re meant to idolize. That engagement is no longer ridiculed at large. It’s a world-wide expectation. If you’re not watching the latest Mandalorian episode... what are you doing with your time? 
2. There is, however, still an hierarchy of what types of popular culture are deemed acceptable and that is still very gendered. (We’ve absolutely made headway, but we’re talking about the “still” part here.) As the original post lays out, it’s not that popular culture as a whole became more acceptable, masculine popular culture did. You can display your baseball cards. You can’t display Sailor Moon cards. Or you could, if you’re a guy, because then the assumption is you find these women sexy and, as stated above, we’ve done a lot of work to normalize guys who like those sorts of things. The reaction to a guy with Sailor Moon merch is usually “Ha yeah. A lot of guys are into that. It’s cool” rather than the “Omg what a nerd!!” reaction we would have gotten twenty years ago. But if a woman were to display a bunch of Sailor Moon merch... isn’t that childish? Isn’t that weird? Shouldn’t you have grown out of this by now? When women display things it’s supposed to be Normal House Stuff like a nice looking painting. Women aren’t supposed to have man caves (the name says it all) where they stash all the fun things for their own, private enjoyment. There’s a reason why my mother praises my brother’s movie/band poster collection displayed prominently in his living room, but continually reminds me not to hang any of my own “silly” movie posters where others can see them. We collect the same stuff! It’s just that when a man displays certain movies already deemed masculine (Blade Runner) it’s “art” and when a woman displays certain movies already deemed feminine (Spirited Away) it’s “silly.” So if a woman is displaying any of that and/or creating a whole room for that stuff anyway... isn’t it a bit weird? It creates a negative reaction - or the equally tiring surprise reaction of “A woman? Who likes this thing??” - in a way a guy usually does not have to deal with. 
The reason why more artistic hobbies and something like being a brony gets heat is because they’re both considered feminine. Artistry is obviously a complicated subject given that professionally it’s often dominated by men, but domestically art often takes on a feminine role. Why are you painting things? That feels like a hobby. That feels like a craft. Women are the ones who paint and knit and sew and do all those forms of creation within the household. So shouldn’t you be watching sports instead? Being into MLP is a much more obvious example. It’s a show about pastel horses celebrating friendship. That’s the ultimate stereotype in “girliness.” It’s not that men get pushback for liking pop culture stuff, it’s that men get pushback for liking pop culture that is aimed at/meant for women...except when they do it enough (MLP, Sailor Moon, etc.) that the rest of the world gets pretty used to it. Women just deal with that shit nonstop. It obviously differs from household to household, which is why individual experiences may bump up against trends (“I never got heat for X” or “I did get heat for Y,” etc.) but there is a much better chance of a man being viewed positively for building trains in 2020 than a woman would be for building a dollhouse. Because dolls themselves are still seen as feminine and childish in a way trains are not. The hobby itself is gendered and that has an impact on how we view the person engaging in it. 
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precuredaily · 3 years
Text
Precure Day 200
Episode: Yes! Precure 5 Go Go! 02 - “Nozomi and Coco - A Troubling Reunion” Date watched: 4 July 2020 Original air date: 10 February 2008 Screenshots Transformation Gallery Project info and master list of posts
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yes, the whole episode is like this
So, full disclosure, the first time I watched GoGo I was kind of only half paying attention to it while I worked on other projects and I don’t remember the overarching plot that well. That may become apparent in my posts about this series. Just something to keep in mind.
If the first episode was a fun but talkative reintroduction to the world, this episode doubles down on the talk and halves the fun. The writing is weak and the art quality is weaker. It still has some heart, and helps to properly set up the conflict of the show, so it’s not a total loss, but these early episodes are missing some of the magic of the previous season. Let’s explore.
The Plot
After a brief recap of the previous episode, the girls admire their new outfits for a moment before snapping back to reality and fighting Scorp. They overpower him with their teamwork and then he declares he’s seen enough for now and leaves. After the dust settles, the girls greet Coco and Nuts and Dream gives Coco her letter, which he half-heartedly accepts and pockets without reading, prompting a silent glare from Nuts. The girls ask what’s going on, and Syrup is still taken aback by the whole ordeal. They regroup at the gazebo at Karen’s mansion for some good old exposition dumping. Nuts explains that the Rose Pact is the key to the Cure Rose Garden, a mysterious place nobody has ever been (so how do the know about it?). The power of the four monarchs of the territories surrounding the Palmier Kingdom is needed in conjunction with the Rose Pact to open the path to the Cure Rose Garden. They further explain why they’re back in the human world: the monarchs were visiting the Pamier Kingdom on a diplomatic mission, when they were attacked by Eternal, and are now hiding in the human world in the form of Palmins.
We cut to Eternal’s headquarters where a purple-haired woman named Anacondy is giving a tour to an unseen but familiar-sounding figure, explaining their corporate mission is to archive every valuable item from all of history (lofty goal). Scorp shows up in her office and explains that he found the Rose Pact, but he was unable to procure it due to the interference of Precure. Suddenly the mystery guest speaks up, admitting he’s scuffled with Precure before, and he is revealed to be none other than Bunbee, preparing for employment at Eternal. He explains how the Precures caused him trouble at his last job, but Anacondy just orders Scorp to go retrieve the Rose Pact with little regard for Bunbee’s words.
Back at the gazebo, the girls start to realize that Eternal is responsible for the attacks on both the Palmier Kingdom and Nozomi, and try to figure out what to do about it. Coco and Nuts need to contact the Palmier Kingdom to let them know what’s going on, so they ask if Syrup will deliver a message. However, due to some obvious friction between him and Coco he declines and flies off, so they focus on finding somewhere to live. Fortunately, Karen has just the place.
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Some things never change
It’s not clearly established what happened to the old Natts House location, unless they explain it down the road in future episodes, but this is the new home base, and of course once again Karen presents it as a “small” spare warehouse her family owns, only for the others to protest that it’s bigger than their entire homes. Is it the same gag from last year? Yes. Does it still land? Also yes.
Anyway, the girls want to help tidy up the place, but Coco pushes them away and insists he and Nuts can handle it. That night, Nozomi is standing on her balcony in her pajamas, looking sad, when Syurp pays her a visit to chastise Coco’s behavior. She angrily defends his honor and slams her curtains closed, startling Syrup. Back at Natts House 2.0, Coco and Nuts take a break from cleaning to exposit some more, recalling a story about how the Cure Rose Garden produces both red and blue roses, and a new power emerges when they meet. Nuts surmises that the Rose Pact contains the power of the Red Rose, but isn’t sure what the Blue Rose is. The conversation shifts to their presence back in the human world, with Coco feeling guilty for dragging the girls into the conflict again, while Nuts reminds him that he wanted to see them anyway so he should make the most of his opportunity.
At a later day at Cinq Lumieres we see that Coco has resumed teaching under the guise of Kokoda Kouji. Things are still awkward between him and Nozomi, but she meets him in the library and they have a talk. He acknowledges her letter and her feelings, but stops short of telling her how he’s feeling. Syrup shows up and talks shit about Coco, who just gets sad again, but before they can talk things out, Scorp appears. Coco attempts to de-escalate the situation, but Scorp isn’t interested in chatter and he knocks all three of them back, reverting Coco and Syrup to their fairy forms. Nozomi takes a moment to give Coco the Rose Pact, instructing Syrup to carry him away to safety, and then she transforms. This time, Scorp doesn’t fight on his own, instead he pulls out a yellow and orange orb that he throws into a nearby bookcase, transforming it! 
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Yes, these are our monsters of this show, called Hoshiina, which means “want” or “desire”. Cure Dream fights the Hoshiina, but it uses books as shields and whips and manages to throw her around. Coco approaches her, not having run away yet, and unloads his emotions on her, explaining how he feels guilty about dragging her back into the conflict, and inadvertently tormenting her by not communicating because he wanted to wait and show off the fully rebuilt Palmier Kingdom to her. She thanks him for being so concerned, and then the other girls turn up, having heard the commotion. They transform and so does Scorp. and they duke it out over Coco’s honor and intentions. Between blows they reiterate that they want to go to the Cure Rose Garden, they decided that themselves without his influence so he shouldn’t feel guilty, but they still want him to lend his power to make it possible to get there. The Hoshiina puts up a good fight with some diverse tactics, but the girls don’t lose faith and they manage to pin it down. Dream implores a relieved Coco that she wants them all to go to the Cure Rose Garden together, and then launches into her all-new finisher: Precure Shooting Star, where she flies directly into the Hoshiina, destroying it. Scorp flees.
Later, Nozomi and Coco have a heart-to-heart outside the library where he says he really appreciated the letter, but he isn’t sure what he can do to help them. Right on cue, Nuts shows up and explains what they CAN do: detect Palmins! There’s one nearby, and Coco guides Nozomi into catching it in the CureMo by taking a picture.
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The girls all gather round to see what she captured, and it turns into.... a futon. Coco explains that there’s different kinds of Palmins, they’re not all disguised monarchs, but they may be useful down the road so it’s not a loss. They vow once more to find all the monarchs and go to the Cure Rose Garden together, as Syrup watches from a distance, still a little confused by their togetherness.
The Analysis
Credit where it’s due. In stark contrast to Max Heart, which had no idea what to do for a plot and just kind of meandered about for the majority of its run, GoGo is hitting the ground running. It has clearly and effectively established the objective (reach the Cure Rose Garden to meet Flora while rescuing the four monarchs along the way) and the conflict (Eternal, the company that wants to preserve everything). In fact I might even say there’s too much plot crammed into these premiere episodes. You’re absolutely inundated with information and it’s a lot to absorb, whereas the first series spread its exposition out over all the character introductions. GoGo could stand to slow down a little, and I think episode 3 still has more to give us yet. A lot of the middle of the episode is taken up with explaining who the villains are, how Coco and Nuts got back, and some private conversation about Precure’s new powers. The Precure were upgraded with the power of the Red Rose from the Cure Rose Garden, and the legend says the garden also grows blue roses. The audience has probably deduced that the mysterious girl in the opening has something to do with that, but I’m still going to pretend I don’t know about Milky Rose for a bit.
The dialog at least feels more natural in this episode, but it’s contrasted with the tension between Coco and Nozomi, which I don’t think was necessary except to add a little conflict. However, I can see the reasoning behind it. He cares deeply about Nozomi and everyone and he didn’t want to drag them back into his and Nuts’s battle, he wanted them to continue to be ordinary girls living their ordinary lives, worrying about school and their hobbies and interests. He feels like it’s his fault they’ve transformed again whether they wanted to or not. However, Nozomi and the others explain they want to go to the Cure Rose Garden and are more than happy to help Coco and Nuts out along the way. Knowing that they don’t feel burdened by him helps put Coco’s mind at ease and he cheers the girls on. From the real-world writers’ perspective, it’s  a pretty stark reversal of his personality from the first season and as I suggested, is probably there to have some drama. Normally Nuts is the moody one, but his character arc last season was all about opening up and being helpful and taking things in stride, so now it’s Coco’s turn to be the dramatic one, though in his case it’s based on concern rather than past betrayal. They seem to have resolved it in this episode, we’ll see whether it carries forward or not. However, there’s still a lingering mystery about his past with Syrup, as the latter seems to resent him, and that will definitely carry us for a bit.
The fights in this episode are great, especially the second one. The first is brief but to the point, filled with dynamic team kicks to throw Scorp off his rocker. The later fight is for all the marbles, and the fairies get caught in the crossfire. It’s a struggle but the girls come out on top with the strength of their convictions and some fast thinking. Despite being a few months since they’ve been at it, clearly the girls haven’t gotten rusty. If anything they’re faster than before, or maybe that’s just the early animation budget. It’s evenly balanced between physical and ideological fighting as the girls try to convince Coco that they’re not upset at him, and explain to Scorp why they care about Coco. The Hoshiina is pretty creative for a first enemy, using books as swords, whips, shields, arms, and legs at different times. It spins itself around at high speeds to avoid attacks and gives the girls a good fight. For their part, they use a lot of flying punches and kicks to wear it down and Dream gets in a particularly good one-two combo before her finisher. Speaking of which: Dream’s new solo attack! I liked Dream Attack and its successor Crystal Shoot, but Shooting Star is next level. She FLIES DIRECTLY INTO THE ENEMY? It’s like Five Explosion but as a solo attack and it’s totally badass. We’ll get to see more of the others’ attacks in the coming episodes, of course. Once again it’s a while before they get their group attack, so enjoy the solos.
The artwork this episode is, unfortunately, laughably bad. I mean come on it’s only episode 2, you’re not supposed to have the super off-model shots until later in the show. And yet....
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These faces are laughable. Misshapen, disproportionate, or just blank stares. It’s not the entire episode but it’s present at key moments throughout and it takes away from the experience. I looked ahead and actually Milky Rose’s debut is also pretty bad so maybe they were in a rush with the early part of this show.
Now, it wouldn’t be Precure without some good old fashioned merchandising, and we’ve got a brand spanking new toy to sell in the Curemo! The extended sequence of Coco walking Nozomi through the process of capturing a Palmin is also promotion for kids to buy the toy and see what they can do with it. It’s a little fancier than the Pinky Catch from last year, taking the form of a pink flip phone, but it also has a swivel hinge, similar to the Heartful Communes from Max Heart.
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The top of it has a grid design with depictions of the five butterflies of the Palmier Kingdom, and on the lower left is an emblem of a rose. When it’s opened, it has a blue-green screen surrounded by pink, and the body where the keyboard would be just has three buttons, shaped like a rosebud and two leaves, and some stem designs etched in beneath that. It’s a much more involved toy than the Pinky Catch, at least visually, and I’m here for it. While the Pinky Catch could only open and close, the CureMo also has a rotating screen as mentioned, which lays into the capture gimmick. The user rotates the screen sideways and snaps a picture of the Palmin, similar to a real cell phone, which is then scanned into the device and turns into its true form. It looks neat and it compacts nicely, blends into their world well, so I think it’s effective as a device. I do find it funny how heavily the Palmin capture is emphasized and how blatantly similar it is to last season’s Macguffin quest, but that’s the business, I’m not going to dwell on it too much.
Despite some major hiccups after a bumpy premiere, GoGo 02 is still a pretty good episode overall. The characters are starting to settle into their new roles and we’re learning about the conflict. If the animation smooths out then the show will be off to a strong start.
Next time, Mailpo appears! What’s a Mailpo? Wait and find out! Look forward to it!
Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 2 kettei!
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cuntess-carmilla · 4 years
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I'm sorry, but as someone who belongs to and participates in an actual subculture, I can't take (Western?) fandom seriously.
I'm not saying alt subcultures are perfect by any means. I'm a goth and I could write and maybe have written whole essays on the bullshit within it, but even with all the racism, misogyny, performative liberalism and such (which are also present in fandom lol), there's just no comparison.
Alternative subcultures, as Problematic as they can be, are ALL about creating something new. I mean, not NEW new, we all come from somewhere, take inspiration, goth came directly from British punk, and pretty much none of the alt subcultures that were started since the 20th century would exist without Black culture, BUT... Guys, the goth subculture equivalent of fanfiction is a song cover.
Sure, lots of goth bands have released covers in order to get popular. Bauhaus themselves did it and they're one of the OG bands, but unless you're a tribute band (which literally only get as famous as they're able to be exact copies of the band they're imitating), no band considers themselves a real band if they haven't at least written original songs, most don't feel like a real one until they release studio recordings or play some live shows. Even those covers they make to get their names around get the eye roll if they don't add anything new and genuinely theirs to it.
Goths who're not musicians ourselves, first of all, don't think we're on Monica Richards' or Peter Murphy's level just because we sing THEIR songs half decently in the shower, like fanfic freaks (normal people who do fanfic excempt) who think their poorly written multichapter slowburn copycat romance is on the same level as Dante's Inferno or Paradise Lost.
Second, even if we're not musicians, we expect of each other to do something. Something original. I mean, people whose LOOKS are carbon copies of some other goth, famous or not, get eye rolled too, you know? This past decade things were a little different in that regard thanks to posers and Capitalism™, but other than that, we actually take offense when someone else copies the individual elements OF OUR FUCKING LOOKS that we cultivated to differentiate ourselves from other goths.
That's why DIY is so big in our subculture, why most of us practice SOME sort of creative hobby (music, writing, painting, clothes making, DJing, design, sculpting, etc) even if we suck at them. At least we try to do something that is completely ours rather than just redrawing a Victoria Francés illustration, changing the color of a dress, and publishing it as ours.
Shit, even our "elders" have no comparison. Fandom "elders" are rarely older than in their 40s, and most of the time they're fucking creeps who dedicate their lives to fictional characters decades younger than them and interact with younger fans in very inappropriate ways. There's asshole elder goths too, but our subculture generates so much genuine personal passion and sense of community, that we don't even consider it a YOUTH subculture anymore.
Our elders are ACTUALLY old. I'm talking people who were there since it started in the late 70s/early 80s as teens or early 20-somethings and are STILL goths. There's goths in their 60s nearing their 70s. And the reason we look up to them isn't just that they're weirdo predatory adults who intimidate or groom us into worshipping them. We look up to them because they've gathered knowledge through up to 4 decades of experience. They saw Bauhaus live before they broke up, they were in a tiny local band that opened for a bigger iconic one so they met them PERSONALLY, they keep relics from decades past, they witnessed our history.
Most importantly, they fought tooth and nail for our subculture to keep thriving not by being self-entitled weirdos pressuring others into validating their everything online, but by archiving ancient zines, keeping recordings of obscure bands who only played one live show before disbanding, passing on their knowledge to younger goths in person or online. They put their own money not into the pockets of big media corporations that don't need to make more billions than they already make, but into the pockets of struggling artists, bars, nightclubs, independent fashion designers, and their communities as a whole. That's why we respect them.
And ykw? I think that's the reason most fandom weirdos don't stick to fandoms for a long time, except for a few who cling to one or two but keep the rest rotating, and why most fandom "elders" aren't older than 40.
A show or movie series ends at some point and most creatives don't stretch them for decades on. Obviously they try to milk them as much as they can but if a story ended then it's over and there's only so much of the same repetitive fanfiction you can consume before you burn out and have nothing left to get your hands on. There's no community, yet you identify with a piece of media at the same level as you do your idk, college majors, star sign and shit.
You don't see me identifying as a Requiem in White fan on my description, I identify as a goth because I'm identifying with a history, a community I've interacted with in person, an ever growing body of new and old art and music, and wear my personal version of the uniform which I didn't buy ready to wear, but is the result of an effort of slowly building a wardrobe since 2007, that I've had to experiment with, play with, and each have their own personal stories attached to it. I mean, I remember EXACTLY what I was wearing when some Evangelical ladies sprinkled holy water on me in early 2008 and I still own those clothes, jewelry and shoes lol.
Fandom identity is, to me, only based on capitalist consumerism as identity and yeah, capitalism has clawed at my subculture especially during the 2010s, but it exists outside of that and it's so much more than buying shit, over-streaming songs to inflate an artist's performance, or taking something someone else created, slapping one sticker on it and calling it ours. My subculture can ACTUALLY politically organize, as can others (punk most notably), you know? Including organizing in rejection to the capitalist fast fashion that almost wrecked us this past decade.
All subcultures have some level of ideology attached to them (for better or for worse, sadly), and it's ideology most of us are passionate about. Goths have always been notorious for androgyny, and all forms of gender defiance are normalized and encouraged. A lot of us pay our respects to our punk roots of anti-capitalism. We don't believe in forced unhealthy positivity, we're less afraid of taboos, we appreciate eccentricity and oddity many times as an active choice against established norms, we find solace and home in what general society finds creepy or threatening...
What similar thing does fandom have beyond campaigning for Johnlock to hold hands or going to pride with some creepy yaoi sign? You guys aren't even good at fighting real bigotry within your spaces unless you're personally affected by them.
It's laughable tbh. I can't take fandom seriously at all, and I don't get how so many people can treat something so empty as if it was sacred.
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