#even if his character is a bit flat

[icewindandboringhorror]

sneeping with his legs up over his head for some reason... weird boye

#cats #love the second picture... skrungly sleepy well rested boye face... #since he's an elderly boy now sometimes when he wakes up from a nap he looks a bit scruffy and squinty eyed #Hard to beleive he's like 15 though.. he still looks like a kitten to me.. due to his giant round creature eyes and childlike demeanor #I think it's interesting that like... baby cats are babies. kittens are kittens. and you can tell a cat is like 'young adult' phase #looking from like a few months to maybe 1yr or 2yrs.. but after that they just always look the same to me #a 5 yr old cat is a 10 yr old cat is a 15 year old cat. unless the cat in question is particulalry aged or youthful #I still have so so little energy... it's been icy here this week. like not even FUN but just scary icy even thoguh i lOOOVE the cold #and its my favorite weather. I think it'd be okay actually if I had a woodburning stove/fireplace/hearth thing. literally thats my only #concern with the power going out. I genuinely don't mind stuff like having to go to the bathroom in buckets or cook over a fire or do other #less conveninet things. Its just that if eveyrhtng is electric then you have no way to cook and all of that. well.. and I literally need #background noise to go to sleep lest my ocd sprials become so loud I am slowly driven into maddness.. but a few battery packs or something #and a phone with one downloaded video I could play on repeat is fine for that. I dont need internet. ANYWAY.. so so sad that my fav #orite season ever (winter) is here. and the first cold of the winter is like... just an ice storm that you cant even walk in. I #love like 4 feet of snow where you can play in it and stuff. But just a thin flat sheet of a few inches of ice over every imaginable surfac #is not really playable. the wind speeds are so high and so many trees fall it's actually not that safe to go hang out outside anyway unless #you were in a totally clear open field. which is SAD also because i love ice and high winds. i love to stand out there and get whipped in t #he face with ice crystals and feel like I'm in some dramatic movie or something. but alas.. the threat of being attacked by a falling tree. #I did go out some but again it's like. literallyyou cant walk on it. so I just squatted and dragged myself along the ground lol #One of my stories has a whole section where the main characters are trapped in a deadly cold environment for a week and have to use magic #to survive and etc. etc. so I'm always like.. ouuu.. I should go in the ice.. it's Writing Research actually.. *foolishly gets frostbite* #THOUGH yesterday I went on a harrowing evil journey down a bunch of icy hilly roads to go check on some person's cat because the cat #had been left in the house for like 5 days at that point with nobody to check on them and nobody else seemed to want to do anything #about it (like call all of the neighbors or try to get someone out there) so I just went myself with a roommate who agreed to drive me. #It seemed acting totally normal and I gave it more food and water but.. I am still worried about it.. Apparently the person will be able #to get back to their house tomorrow but.. I dont trust them. But I couldnt take the cat with me because it's like.. a stranger's cat #basically and also no carrier + very skittish.. so I feared if I just tried to carry them bare handed they'd definitely leap from my grasp #and then it'd be like.. sliding on a sheet of ice chasing a cat and so on.. I still think they need to be watched for health issues tho >:| #ANYWAY.... many cat adventures lately... and strange weather... I wish for a normal week without always so many Things Happening.. augh

[sysig]

Hiya! Gosh, I hope I'm doing this correctly (and I'm also not too late!). For requestober: Strangels!Edgar grooming his wings? Or attempting to take care of them. I feel like it would be a very tiring ordeal trying to sort out those wings, haha. Very big and very fluffy indeed! I hope you're doing well :^)

Day 16 - Preening

#My art #Requestober #Vargas #Edgar #And an offscreen Scriabin! That's been a while #Phewph even with mostly greyscale flats this one was still a good bit of work #Sure I could've made all the eyes in black and white too but where's the fun in that ♪ #I'm gonna have to cut out chunks of the footage where I'm just sitting there thinking ''What kind of eye have I not done yet......'' lol #I tried to throw in a few references - some from sidefics some of my own characters and so on haha #I also decided to hand drawn almost all of the chain links and make them in weird loops fjdkslafd I dunno! I just wanted to lol #Where do you suppose Edgar's looking with his main eyes? Lots of his wing eyes are looking at the brush #But a good handful are also looking over at Scriabin too haha #The more you tug on his arm with your chains the longer it'll take for him to finish! You'll never get your brush back at this rate! #Or maybe Scriabin could volunteer to brush them for him haha ♪ Like that'd go well hehe #It's so strange it doesn't feel like all that long since I last drew Angel!Edgar but it also feels like quite a while hmm #Well whatever lol #Also yeah t'is all good you did it right! And thanks for the greeting haha

[timegears-moved]

tbh i gotta take back what i said before. totk hasn't really done anything to make me care about this version of zel*nk

#bwark #don't get me wrong it's still a fine ship but i think this is just a case of me preferring their friendship #and also it's more of a criticism of this incarnation of link than a criticism of the game itself #he's just too. static. i don't like that he shows more emotion at cooking than at the actual tragedy of the plot #and i know that it's stated that he has anxiety from the pressure of the calamity but like i said he's still capable of showing emotion #but like at the wrong times. it's cute that he's happy about food but where's the shock that he was asleep for 100 years and everyone he #once loved is dead and he doesn't even have memories of them before seeking them out #or that his best friend had to suffer a millenia as a dragon for the sake of everyone #compare this to like. idk tp link's horror when ganondorf holds up midna's fused shadow and crushes it with his hand #and his relief at the end that not only is she back to her true form but is still the same mischevious midna he's known the whole game #or sksw link's pure anger at ghirahim for kidnapping zelda near the end #or ww link's visible guilt and heartbreak at having to leave his grandma behind and alone to go and save his sister #not trying to be mean because i still like him. he is still link after all. but idk he just falls a bit short for me #like his promise to mipha's father comes across as very shallow when he kept a blank face at her in both the memory and her spirit scene #the only character that benefits from him being flat is revali and that's because it fuels revali's dislike of him because of a #misunderstanding and lack of communication #totk spoilers #<- in the tags at least

[aq2003]

series 3 is so frustrating because there is like a shining core of pure diamond underneath the problems . like conceptually it rocks so incredibly hard. but the problems

#dr who #i am being so honest when i say ten should have gotten on his knees and begged for simm!master's life #they should have framed the bit between him and martha's mom so different #like yes it is 10000% in character that the doctor with his bleeding heart and loneliness wouldn't want to kill him #even after everything that happened. because he's the only person he has left. 'i forgive you' was PERFECT. #but literally anyone else that suffered from what the master did. Deserves to rip him to shreds. so very obviously #and like i know.i KNOW that i am watching the 'funny immortal alien saves people through time and space' show #but i actually despise the doctor being framed as like an all powerful savior. or treated like one. even for a little bit. is Annoying #the first part of the series 3 finale having martha be humanity's last hope was SO GOOD bc it like kind of set her up as like #having to grapple with all that responsibility and attention like the doctor does. everyone's lives are in her hands. so crunchy #but when it like slides into 'everyone pls believe in our specialest boy in the world The Doctor <3' it just. falls flat #i feel like with a couple tweaks here and there in the execution and like actual fuckinnn people of color in the writer's room #series 3 would be PEAK media. but as it is it's just. falling short. #i do really appreciate martha deciding to leave ten on her own though. first of all. qpp down. second of all #she's realized that she can't keep traveling with him. bc (as i mentioned) hes someone who simultaneously needs saving #and refuses to be saved in the ways that matter. Yes im fucking ignoring the unrequited romance angle i think #it does a gigantic disservice to martha's character if u boil her down to that. fight me i dont care if that was the authorial intent #martha in the end is too kind to ten and ten keeps making her watch his meandering path of self destruction. toxic doomed qprism to ME. #anyway fuck. idk man series 2 consensus was that im dead inside and series 3 consensus is that the version i have of it in my head is peak #series 2 is better but i think because of my ten martha insanity i actually enjoyed watching series 3 more than series 2. #even if i got mad at it more than any other season. i think something is wrong with me. um. lmao #ten and martha #10 era

[the-nightmare-theater]

me if i see one (1) more person severely mischaracterize bedman

#this is about the people calling him a misogynist. #im This fucking close to making a post detailing why he isnt one #im so mad like. honestly im a bit embarrassed by how mad i am lmao #like yes!!!!!! hes a bad person!!!!!! hes bad in different ways though #calling him a misogynist genuinely is just flat out misinfo #uggghhhhhh i meant to be asleep by now but ive spent the past 30 mins being mad at people on the internet #over whats probably bait #but UGGGH just the thought of someone believing that makes me just wanna fucking strangle someone #ignore me im just venting my frustration with this whole thing #nightmare ramble #vent #honestly i wouldnt even call him a fundashi i dont have that hc for him but calling him a misogynist is flat out wrong but could actually- #-be mistaken as the truth #by people who dont know the character well #he!!!!!! literally hates everyone besides his sister!!!!!!!!! #he hates women And men!!!!!!!!!!! #and nb people too although we havent seen him interact with a nb person in canon so the jurys still out on that ig #literally fucking says in his character bio that he doesnt care for age or gender #please learn how to fucking read ffs #anyways im gonna try to sleep now thats off my chest #edit: the term wasnt fundashi it was himejoshi #i mixed them up in my defense its 8am

[wolves-in-the-world]

canon moreau really is like 95% Implications and Potential and 5% this kind of underwhelming villain who flip-flops (lol) from getting a beloved character to betray one of his core Things in one episode to just losing in this really unspectacular way in the next, huh

(like the implications and potential are where fandom & fic can sink their roots most easily, especially in the absence of explicit answers, so I get it, it's just… huh)

#canon moreau has interesting negative space if you are willing to look #but also I get what people mean by him being dull #I even kind of agree #it's just that the negative space can be fun to poke at a bit #he's interesting because of his impact on eliot's story #and he's scary because eliot is scared of him #even if we as the viewers don't see much to be impressed by #we see his impact in the movements of the leaves okay this is getting away from me a bit #I wonder if part of the reason the finale fell a little flat is because we DON'T see any of that in eliot's reactions anymore #he gets protected from the dude's shittiness and we get protected from what made the character compelling #if it really WAS that the team were protecting eliot I think we should at least have seen some of the angst of that #and then yes moreau dooming himself and metaphorically falling on his face #and eliot being cheerful enough to break down the door to nate's room to tell him it's a good morning #moreau #the san lorenzo job #me: churns out post after post on moreau angst #also me: he's actually quite a dull character #[throws hands in air]

[akkivee]

we’ve had a few instances in canon where we hear that jyushi in his vkei king mode calls kuukou his master but like???? have we ever heard jyushi refer to hitoya as his god in canon yet???? that can’t still be arb exclusive right???? *crying* right?????

#vee queued to fill the void #the quasi canon strikes again goddamn???? 😭😭😭😭😭😭 #like it’s crazy to put like so many canon character traits into a non canon entity ONLY lol #the only time we’ve heard rio talk about his family was during a heart to heart with dice!!!!!! #jakurai being a bit of a francophile????? ichiro expressing trepidation lying to his brothers even tho it’s just april fools????? #(no but i mean the blatant difference between the way ichiro easily omits info to his bros vs him expressing discomfort flat out lying!!!!) #and you can just miss out on that if you don’t lock in to arb wtf lol #c: jyushi

[thedreadvampy]

Got a paramount+ trial subscription. Just finished watching all of Strange New Worlds (review: solid star trek shenanigans, pretty much all bangers with the exception of the Spock-is-human episode which just suuuuuucked and the Klingon war trauma episode about which I have let's say Philosophical Reservations in that it could have been more Space M*A*S*H. not as gay as I was promised, in fact I would say disappointingly heterosexual. adore uhura, hemmer and la'an. cannot believe they gorned my boy 😢)

Off sick all week with COVID can't really do anything except lie around and watch TV.

#red said #an addendum to the snw review is like #bearing in mind I'm a big time ds9 guy #i really like every episode of this i think it's fun and delightful. however there are certain philosophical undercurrents I'm #at best kind of iffy on. wrt militarism. #there's points where it feels sort of like the message of the show is that it's naive and harmful to seek peace #or reconciliation #and i think that if i hold it up to tng or ds9 or even tos on that front that's a philosophy that doesn't match up with what i like in trek #like both ds9 and tng are very much about commanders doing extrajudicial war crimes but there's something about the framing #i guess like. it feels To Me like when sisko does a war crimes it weighs very heavily on him #whereas idk. it feels like the message of all the time shenanigans in snw keep coming round to You Should Feel Bad For Not Doing War Crimes #and particularly the arc with Pike staring down his fate concluding with 'you shouldn't try to change this' #compared to like. the foundation of Star Trek being 'in between two unacceptable solutions you have to look for a third way' #it sits a bit wrong for me. like. maybe they're planning more on that but it feels like they've concluded that arc with #'guess i have to let people die to prevent a future where i try to make peace then fuck it up' #like the message of season 1 is You Can't Change Your Fate which is. a weirdly doomery one. #don't get me wrong I've really been enjoying snw i think it's probably the most flat out Good Star Trek since DS9 #buuuuuuuut. i have Reservations. as i always do. #also callout post for my pal saying this is the gayest star trek. there's no fucking gays here and the nonbinary character is a 1-ep villain #i mean ortega is for sure a dyke but not explicitly #2 seconds of Andrew Robinson and Alexander Siddig sharing the screen in DS9 is gayer than this whole season and a half of SNW #literally are ANY of this cast canon queer? feel like there's a couple of lines of throwaway bisexuality but be real #we had that in the 90s #it's not toppling DS9 for gay rep any time soon and DS9 was made in the era where you weren't ALLOWED to be gay on star trek #(unless you were evil or a worm)

[arolesbianism]

Y'know Im not even gonna pretend to get ppl complaining abt the new skill trees because it makes Wilson less unique or whatever. Like there's plenty to complain abt with the skill trees, but you have to understand that the actual abilities Wilson gets from them are still unique, and still quite powerful in some cases. He rly isn't losing anything he hasn't lost by getting a skill tree in the first place, and in particular he could have a lot of use for certain speedruns and at worst is situational, which in itself means he's gained a unique role as a character. He doesn't need another new rework now or anything, the only rework Id want is a rework of the skill trees in general, Wilson is genuinely going to be just fine don't worry

#rat rambles #dst #my main problem with the skill trees is that it only encourages the bare minimum #like idk I feel like if I could turn on godmode and walk away from my computer and unlock everything its probably not great game design #like I get whay theyre going for but Id kind of preffer if doing certain character related tasks effected it or smth #mainly I like the idea of having to work to unlock your mains full potential #obviously not too much like an exp system would suck absolute ass but idk maybe certain tasks can shorten the timer #or maybe to unlock certain branches of the skill tree you have to meet a prerequisite first like the lunar and shadow trees #not as demanding as defeating celestial champion or fuelweaver ofc #like for a rly simple and easy example maybe wilson has to make an alchemy engine before being able to unlock his alchemy skills #and fer higher tiers he needs a shadow manipulatoro or smth #idk even simple stuff like that would at least encourage the player to do something while waiting around yknow? #like imagine a hyothetical wurt skill tree that unlocks as you expand your army making it more self sufficiant #just lil things youll probably be doing anyways but still makes it feel a bit more like youve earned smth for playing the character well #instead of just sitting there until you can unlock everything #I just worry that the skill trees are gonna feel too flat with the current system :/ #I do rly like a lot of wormwood's stuff tho and I like that theyre attempting to find a compramise to making characters more powerful #without just handing you a broken character right off the bat #I just think it could use some work and Im not 100% sold on the skill trees being smth thatll improve the game in the long run #like Im sure it wont like ruin dst or anything I just think it might end up as a thing that makes new players have a more boring earlygame #experience especially if certain trees become like the standard for most players #I want it to be Fun unlocking things yknow? #idk Ill still be hyped if/when wortox gets a tree bestie needs the extra depth so fucking bad #he has so much potential pls let him have this #also rip to woodie for being eternally kind of mid Im not expecting his tree to effect his general ranking much tbh #it basically just gives him early game usefullness and some slight buffs to his other forms #the fact that you can only master one form at at time especially sucks ass tho tbh #like his weremoose form Needs the buff so so bad but the goose teleportation might end up the go to pick #I am a huge fan of the treeguard summoning tho #I also hope they just man up and give the wood helmet 80% reduction idc just let him have this klei

[gazelessmenagerie]

No one:

me, waking up bc for some reason the heater is up and I am sweating to have to get up and crack open the window: .... The reason I focus hard on the personal struggles and inner turmoil of Broly is just because that’s how I see his character aside from the terrifying psycho he is when all hell breaks loose from him after years of what could be trauma. Yeah everyone loves his lssj form but fuck if i don’t like seeing what could possibly go on beneath the surface. What aspects could be warped or driven to be a certain way because its all he ever knew and how would it affect him when small changes are coaxed into him through repeated interactions and slowly getting used to having someone around that he legitimately becomes accustomed to.

another part of my brain: ... is this also an elaborate way to say I have no goddamn idea what to do with the lssj because in my head, he can basically obliterate just about anything? yes. yes it is. the only valid way I can see him actually getting into trouble outside of powerful transformations by capable individuals or their own power alone is actually Himself because his Anger is so prevalent that it stresses him out without the aid of that suppression device forcing him to calm down (or having certain people in some cases that manage to have enough of a bond to him that he is capable of calming down to their efforts or ways they employ). Honestly, what sort of after effects could happen to him being used to this device and the feelings it forced upon and then suddenly getting his freedom away from it? The bastard’s more intelligent than he lets on and its evident through watching him fight with what could very well just be ambush tactics and throwing his weight around as what he probably learned from growing up watching other predatory animals as he grew into power.

The Heehoo part of my brain: ... Him being a fucking psycho is hot but lmfao I don’t think I can use it much outside of plotted threads or drabbles. I blame some artists for capturing that side of him so well in illustrative mediums and I hope to one day get to that level but in a literary sense (along with artistic but that’s already a bit of a work in progress)

My body: can the cold air get in here faster? sweating up a damn storm from the heater being too high.

#|| Character Study: {Broly} #( and then I look on twitter and realize... wrow #( glad I'm not interested in any db discourse bc gd. the amount of people I'd need to block would be staggering. ) #( I just throw some choice pieces of art I do and call it a day. read some of the nice comments and fade back to here ) #( where I can splurge my ideas and wants with this fucking asshole villain and flourish. ) #( love it when he finally gets some better things but also love it when he becomes deranged and a damned menace ) #( adfljg idk. could be me overanalyzing my own muse bc I don't touch upon his viciously darker aspects as much ) #( precisely because he can fucking destroy almost anyone in an actual fight up until they surpass his lssj and then ) #( he'd eventually break his own power ceiling in attaining even higher forms. ) #( BUT. that isn't to say all forms are available to him and others require a monumentous amount of work from him ) #( on the personal growth level to actually be acheivable in the first place. ) #( I want him to fucking struggle with himself. I want him to struggle against factors he never anticipated before and has to adapt in ways ) #( beyond his instinctual habit of getting fucking pissed off. ) #( and in the same token. seeing how destructive it becomes not only to the environment/battle but to himself is just another ) #( facet I enjoy exploring and I kinda lowkey wish the actual show or maybe some medium of media could tap into that ) #( than make him just the secret boss again or like an add-in for something. idk afnlsdgj ) #( I love the fucking nuggets I get from such smaller pieces like him getting amnesiac and actually being a bit better. ) #( to how much of a drastic change of mind he gets talking to him in xenoverse and picking apart his dialogue in a ) #( constant state of lssj vs what his actual personality might be when he's in base form. ) #( still an asshole but at least he could be reasoned with a little more... or he just flat out kills you bc he fucking can and its funny ) #( the thoughts I have about this asshole are many and I only wish I could write them down and explore them without being limited to ) #( time. motivation and availability on myself and others adsnflgj ) #( thx for coming to my morning ted talk alfahsldhgkdjslgj )

[coolauntlilith]

Every now and then I replay the first episode of VLD and I wonder why I thought it be a good show lol

#mostly just the part where Allura is assigning pilots to lions #why lol. the first five people who show up are just perfect fits?? hate it lol #i have no au plot ideas but itd have made more sense to draw out the forming of voltron. like for a longer time. like its the s1 finale #and to be traveling looking for appropriate pilots #or the s2 finale? like what if the original gang somehow stayed in contact despite not being Voltron paladins and they proved being the best #team despite not piloting immediately. i feel like a stronger plot of their forming teamwork outside of being Voltron would have also made #their friendships seem more real too lmao #like what if Lance IS Blue's pilot bit hes the only one for a long time. the other lions couldn't actually *just be* located #*but. not bit. and what if Pidge runs off in a stolen vessel to find her dad and brother. what if Shiro isnt.. so flat as a character and is #desperate to find his old team and runs off with them to help out and free others #Keith could somehow get involved with The Blades a lot sooner #and Hunk finds his footing as a leader in rebellion organization. i hate that he was just the funny guy allll the way thru #also (still not a plot bc my brain is unorganized lol) Allura doesnt die. Shiro actually gets to be gay with a husband. and we either need #to not make Lotor a villain or just go all out on making him the worst. i personally dont want him to be a villain bc it was stupid lol #also PULEEEAASE Lance is bi. Lance “I'm just getting a feel for the stick” *obsessed with his rival who doesnt even know he exists* McClain #i want to see him get over his crush on Allura within like 6 episodes and then see him making out with the mermaids then Keith when everyone #starts reuniting lol. my bicon Lance deserves to kiss mermaids like we all do and then get on when the otp lol #now im nostalgic for s1 VLD vibes. ya know. before hell lol #it really just gets worse after ... s3? everyone feels different. i usually tolerate up to about the end of s3 before i feel like its donezo #aunt posting #vld #voltron: legendary defender

[kindaeccentric]

Me: posts something from Midnight Mass

Mutuals: Ok, HEAR ME OUT

#BUT I LOVE IT #i love feeling like i have impact on the world even on such a small fairly insignificant scale #and i love you guys #anyway my opinion is: #flanagan is still better in his og stuff than doing adaptations #he has a fairly good grasp of building relationships between characters BUT he seems to struggle with the stories themselves. #he builds and builds this grand idea but then his endings go out with a fizzle not a boom #don't get me wrong the series was entertaining but the actors were a huge part of it they really worked their asses off #if not the charm of hamish linklater and the charisma of everyone else it would fall a bit flat #and of course you gotta let your actors do their thing but the story shouldn't rely on them to be good #i feel like flanagan loves references and patterns too much to the point where he becomes drunk on the concepts and the plot suffers. #which i can understand bc i also love patterns BUT #when you're creating a tv series you can't lose the forest for the trees #(i didn't mind the monologues tho! that's not where the problem lies surprisingly. #it's more the way they're written and how the story is - it's supposed to be deep and it is but it loses the depth when it's overexplained. #sometimes you wish something was withheld from you as the viewer. #like the moment of silence when riley goes out at night and sees the world differently. i really like that moment of stillness #where everything he could have said was felt rather than explained. #so there's that) #i also wish he was more daring #because in the end everything was very simple and explainable. all the reasons all the relationship dynamics. #i personally would push for more ambiguity. more moments of uncertainty and madness #it was all very constrainted. despite there being a literal winged vampiric creature hanging around. #which btw was underutilized. OR could have been eliminated altogether. that would have been interesting.

[spritecranverry]

Idk guys something about Mytho's identity as a person only being defined by whatever his role is in relation to another character feels kinda Gender to me !

#i am going to assign so much queerness to this show. #when he's looked at through ahiru and rue's eyes he's this almost ideal hero archetype for the most part #but through Fakir's eyes (and a bit w Princess Tutu) it could be argued that he becomes almost a damsel in distress #part of me wants to take that and run with it in every way possible and suggest that it's because he represents the story itself #and thus becomes extremely malleable based on what is convenient to the plot or its characters #even when he gets his heart back he is Just Some Guy. you can do a lot with that if you get sillay with it #blabbering #princess tutu #idk if im actually onto something or not it's 3am #he also has a bit of Nonbinary Swag to me so maybe that's why im having Thoughts #this is probably due to a lack of development but im v interested in how flat his character is compared to everyone else

[idkyyyet]

bro i luv spider-punk but i specifically wanna talk about his hair

[image description: a gif from Across the Spider-verse of Hobie, without his mask, saying: "I was this cool the whole time." End image description]

he. has. wicks!!!

the origin of wick dreadlocks is florida usa, and are named due to the resemblance to a "candle wick" because of how they stick straight up and/or out!

now, wicks have a bad reputation even within the loc community.

its already known that like if you got dreads, generally, ppl think u are unkempt, and dirty, and things of that nature, but there is even more discrimination against wicks its unreal. like legit yall i cant even begin to explain the nasty shit ppl say about them because i will be sad.

its kinda just considered the "crazy Florida man hairstyle". and a lot of the hate is due to the fact that wicks, appear "unkempt" or things of that nature

there has been a lot of texturism in the loc community which has brought with it the idea that dreads need to be retwisted to be "properly" taken care of, and need to be flat on your head and all these other things that often bring with it the need to hide your natural hair. i get unsolicited advice on my hair all the time telling me "i need a retwist" because of the belief that black hair needs to be all tidy and stuff to be respected.

but the thing is, dreads aren't meant to be all neat and tidy all the time y'know. its black hair in one of its most natural forms. and who better to showcase that than hobie brown, spider punk?

wicks kinda go against everything that dreads are "supposed" to be and "supposed" to look like.

i just love everything about this movie but i especially wanted to like talk about this hair choice. hair most def has meaning, especially black hair, so i think this was a really cool and fitting design choice for his character and everything he represents.

(i did my best to like articulate my thoughts but hopefully this makes at least a bit a sense)

#across the spiderverse #into the spider verse #spider punk #hobie brown #he is soo fucking cool #media analysis #kinda.. #dreadlocks #flashing lights #eyestrain

[bibluebutterfly]

I think the beautiful thing about the Broppy relationship is how they impact one another.

Branch’s impact on Poppy is the most obvious in the movies because he’s the one who teaches her to calm down and listen.

But what I think people overlook is the fact that despite her flaws, Poppy never gave up on Branch. Because as cute as they are now, there was a time when Branch was actually pretty cruel to her (ie. Putting her down, smashing her custom made invitations for him in front of her face, mocking her ideals, etc) and probably had been treating her like that for years before movie #1.

Everyone else had given up on him, basically deeming him as a lost cause, but Poppy never stopped trying. Yes Branch got on her nerves and hurt her feelings, and as far as she knew he would just throw her invitations away afterwards. Yet despite that she still put in the effort to make him custom invitations and genuinely want him to be there.

And even though he never dared express it, those efforts meant something to him.

Like we love Branch, but I don’t think we give Poppy enough credit for her role in Branch’s life. He was unkind (to put it lightly) to her for years, but despite that she never held any resentment towards him and still felt that he deserved to be happy. And by that incredible persistence, she worked her way into his heart.

See, Branch is a character who is completely used to tragedy and people he loves leaving in his life. So that’s partially why he pushed Poppy away and treated her so poorly. But despite that, Poppy was always THERE. She was with him when literally nobody else was. She was naive, optimistic and annoying, but she was there. Always putting the effort to be his friend, and the only one who had any sort of faith in him. He may have been isolated, but because of Poppy he was never truly alone. And even if it irked him, he still appreciated that.

And when somebody sticks with you literally no matter what, it’s not surprising that he fell more than a little bit in love.

As for Poppy, she’s slowly becoming aware that she can be a bit much sometimes. She always wants the best for her people but she doesn’t always know how to do that. Branch, even if originally rude about it, has always been able to give it to her straight. And even if he pretended not to care, he still had her back when it mattered the most. And after number one, it looks like he has her back more than ever while still being able to be the voice of reason. Which yes, Poppy definitely needs.

(Gah I wish I could put more pictures to elaborate my point but y’all get it.)

Anyway. They’re not perfect characters, but they are perfect for each other. Branch supports Poppy but gives it to her flat out. Meanwhile Poppy too supports Branch and is stubborn enough to stick by him, even when he’ll intentionally and/or unintentionally push her away. And that’s just gorgeous.

#trolls #trolls world tour #trolls band together #poppy x branch #branch x poppy #branch trolls #trolls branch #branch #poppy #poppy trolls #trolls poppy #queen poppy #broppy #trolls 2016 #trolls 3 #trolls 2

[writingwithcolor]

A Careful Balance: Portraying a Black Character's Relationship with their Hair

@writingraccoon said:

My character is black in a dungeons and dragons-like fantasy world. His name is Kazuki Haile (pronounced hay-lee), and his mother is this world's equivalent of Japanese, which is where his first name is from, while his father is this world's equivalent of Ethiopian, which is where his last name is from. He looks much more like his father, and has hair type 4a. I plan to make his character very finnicky about his hair, both enjoying styling it, but also often being unsure how to style it (not in that he doesn't know how to, but has so many options for how to style it, he has trouble choosing). However, I know that there are some very harmful ways to write black hair, especially in regards to how the black character themselves feels about it. Kazuki does not hate his hair, in fact he takes joy in it, and I'm researching black hair and hair styles to be as accurate as possible. But I'm unsure if portraying a black character as occasionally overwhelmed by or vain about his hair is negative. How would you suggest either changing this or making it work? Does it need to be changed in the first place?

Black Character Overwhelmed by Curly Afro Hair

Your Black character wanting his hair to look its best and at times feeling overwhelmed seems reasonable and natural to me. It appears their challenge comes with how to style it. Not so much with struggling how it looks or how hard it is to manage. That is good, as this further helps avoid placing a strong negative focus on Black hair. 

Him caring a lot about how it is style should not be deemed vain or frivolous, either. In any case, hair care is self care. There’s nothing wrong with having pride with your hair, especially hair that mainstream society, historically and present, might say is not beautiful. This still matters, even in a fantasy world, since your readers still exist in this reality. It’s empowering and a welcome change to see someone who loves their afro hair, actually.

There are unique factors someone with coily afro hair would experience vs. straight, wavy, or looser curls, but people struggling with their hair (too frizzy, too flat, too limp, too thin, too thick!) is universal. 

There is a delicate balance to achieve.

Avoid Writing a Black Hair Journey Experience 

An overall negative Afro hair journey might be the reality for many, especially when society deems Afro hair as unacceptable and slaps so many uninvited opinions, laws and policies over its existence and on certain styles (again, historically and very much at present), but that’s the kind of story that is best handled by someone with the background. Someone willing to commit to the research might also be able to pull it off, although it’s truly not the kind of thing an escapism novel needs in my opinion. If the story is not meant to delve into “A Black /Black Hair Experience” then I'd avoid going that route. That is moving a bit towards a struggle narrative, depending on how much it defines your character’s story.

Add positive and neutral hair language and interactions

For your writing, I’d avoid using unchallenged negative language about his hair. Being overwhelmed at times and frustrated is one thing and expected. If his hair is constantly brought up, and is associated with uncontrollable, ugly, or too [insert struggle here], then rethink the direction you’re going. 

Add some positive or neutral terms, reactions, and interactions in the narrative towards afro hair, such as describing color and texture.

“His fine coils bounced in the wind.” 

“Hair black and shiny” 

“She wore her hair in two large, fluffy buns.”

“He admired his fresh, neat braids in the mirror, smiling at his reflection, before turning to leave.”

Another tip: It may have been for research purposes, but leave out any hair number categorizing in the story and rely on description. I’d say this goes for any story, as reading the number would feel off. 

“He had coily 4a hair.” Nahh! :P 

Also, I would suggest sending all passages that focus on his hair to a Black sensitivity reader for review.

More reading:

~Mod Colette

#asks #black #black hair #hair #afro hair #description #tragedy exploitation #struggle novel #creator responsibility #representation #guides #writeblr