#there’s also something to be said for staging being a more important factor than the song itself just in the voting stages

[peaceowatermeln]

you wanna know what my thing is about the jury? well too bad, i’m gonna tell you anyway.

two words: elitism and subjectivity

so, the point of the jury is that they (supposedly) have more music knowledge and therefore are better and more impartial judges of music, right? (i mean… we know that’s bullshit but that’s the design)

well here’s the thing. like most art forms, music is subjective, meaning what someone thinks about a song is influenced by their own taste, opinions, and feelings. this doesn’t magically disappear once you learn… i dunno, how time signatures work, for example. someone with music knowledge would be able to hear a song with something musically neat in it and go “hey, that’s neat” but ultimately that doesn’t change if the sound of the song lines up with their own taste.

(and as someone with a music degree, lemme tell you, having music knowledge doesn’t make a listening experience any more helpful or enjoyable.)

so, in our eurovision setting, where the entire point of the contest is to rank songs and crown a winner based on what is the most universally liked, and everybody voting (including our beloved juries) has their own opinions and biases about music and what is appealing to them, why are juries held as these objective elites with The Facts of what good music is? why are the opinions of 5 people who can maybe acknowledge a cool drum pattern worth the same as the opinions of the rest of a country’s over-18 population?

because they’re more impartial? sure jan.

#tip your waitresses i’m here all week #with my eurovision thoughts and opinions #but also thoughts about like.. the music industry and being an artist and all that fun stuff #you have probably all come to this conclusion yourselves #and someone has probably said this better #but yeah #there’s also something to be said for staging being a more important factor than the song itself just in the voting stages #i also have a lot of thoughts about sweden as a pop songwriting factory and curating the pop standard which is its own kettle of fish #not to mention that they average the 5 juror rankings so it kind of discourages individual thought anyway #shout out to maqwell’s 2023 song ranking video for helping me solidify these thoughts #eurovision

[ravewing]

Could you talk about your infection au? I'm invested in it and I've been thinking about it all day

YES HULLO !! i dont want to spoil anything too much and im also working on a field guide sort of thing for the different stages of infection so im gonna try not to talk about those rite neow BUT im so glad that people r enjoying it! so id been seeing these scary mlp infection things ALLL over my tik tok feed for weeks and i was like .. yanno .. itd be really silly if i made this wof .. so i spent like 3 days mulling over what i could make the infection actually BE and i almost made it like the icewing plague but like it went scary but i didnt really know how to keep going with that so then i came up with a super smart idea which turned into this😋i dont wanna say where it started yet cuz ermm lore stuff but i will say that liek in the story the infection doesnt officially have a name yet so everyones just calling it like. the sickness at jade mountain. most of the infected originated IN jade mountain with the first symptoms being noticed in moon and turtle respectively, and then with the icewing students. i cant tell you guys how they got sick bc again . lore ..... but i think that its like kinda possible to find out. but i dunno. vulture and fierceteeth are also sick. there is ONE singular factor that unites these 4 + icewings, which miight b the reason WHY they got sick.kinkajou technically SHOULD be sick but she isnt for another reason that i cant say but if you really look into wof lore then i think u can figure it out idk. the infections transmitted via saliva/blood transmission, so mainly bites. tail barbs of infected sandwings are capable of spreading the sickness. there are 4 stages (5 if you count death) and it takes around 3 to 3.5 weeks for all stages to finish,, by ep3 the sickness has been around for ~2.5 weeks. the only KNOWN cure is amputation of wherever the infected area is,, so MUCH easier in early stages, unfortunate if its on an inconvenient spot, and impossible after hives start spreading. obvi flame had to be important bc i heart flame and i was like .. wait .. hes a healer in canon ...... so that worked out perfectly !! ik that in canon liana is like one of glorys MANY bodyguards but idc shes a healer here bc ermm i said so . also liana and mango r dating but i dont think that its relevant to the plot theyre just girlfriends in my head . as of right now kinkajou and peril are the only known immune dragons, with kinkajou for reasons currently unknown and peril bc . yknow . shes on fire . glory is in close contact with ruby and both kingdoms have taken measures to notify their kingdoms; the rainforest is under a sort of lockdown with rainwings on constant patrol/lookout for outsiders entering, they accept anyone who isnt infected to stay there for refuge while the skywing kingdom is in basically total lockdown other than ruby's messengers. ruby and glory also exchange their respective kingdoms medical knowledge, with the skywings having very good technology and rainwings having an expansive knowledge on medical herbs. nobody has heard from coral- the last thing she did was call for anemone's return back to the kingdom, and once she arrived, they all went underwater and have since then cut all outside contact. the mudwings are aware of the sickness but have so far done nothing about it; moorhen has warned her subjects but thats really it. i havent really decided what the sandwings or the icewings are up to but let me tell you guys its looking really rough for the icewings . so far it looks as though royal icewings are more resilient- tundras currently sick, but the sickness seems to be progressing much slower. this was initially believed to be because of the cold, but then other icewings started getting sick, and so its believed to just be a royal thing- likely something in their genetics. icicle is also sick but shes in stage 4 .. pray for my girl guys. lynx is helping snowfall out the best she can, but with the population getting increasingly sick seemingly spontaneously, its extremely difficult and stressful. the talons have quarantined sanctuary too. ok im outta characters but ya ty 4 the support!!

#wof #wings of fire #wof au #infection au #infection #fragariapathosis #yap session #idk if any of this makes sense its 2am and i did NOT proofread #fragariapathosis explained

[animehouse-moe]

Spy x Family OP3: Kura Kura

Okay, there's a lot of stuff that I'm unfamiliar with in terms of proper names and terms with this opening, but it's just so damn cool that I have to talk about it. Building on the styles of the first two openings, it brings a sense of familiarity that's completely outshone by the incredibly creative approach that OP3 brings with it.

Yes, it's the best Spy x Family opening even though the new season isn't out yet. That's what Masaaki Yuasa gets you (go check out the Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken OP)

Alright so first off, the opening cut of our characters. I love everything about it. The energy, the perspective, the color design. It's all super great, and the icing on the cake is the punchy animation that accentuates and exaggerates the movements of the characters.

Also, the music really is just a perfect match. I'm not a big Ado fan myself, but this is just an impeccable choice.

Anyways, right away the opening sets the tone for the very unique approach to animation. Quite smooth, but very snappy at times, if I were to explain it. I'm not doing a frame by frame to check or anything, but they're certainly hanging on quite a few sequences before squeezing others in or making large movements between frames. Just look at how each of the characters joins the sequence, there's actually a good deal of movement hidden in the appearance.

Though I think my favorite part from this sequence is the simplicity in wiping the characters when a new one appears. Given the style of movement and the "blink and you'll miss it" speed of it, it brings the addition to the viewer's attention and immediately while adding a good deal of unique feel.

And then there's this follow up piece. There's not much to it in terms of importance or anything but I love it. It's an extension of the dot matrix background and using it to place color on top of a dull background is very fun (also the rainbow at the top).

I think one of the things that felt absent from both prior OPs was a sense of "wow factor" in how they displayed Yor (and Loid). OP2 brings us a Yor assassin cut, but it feels more pretty and fleeting than exciting and energetic, as expected given the tone of it. Anyways, I'm very happy to see them able to explore the energy of each in this opening.

Also, the way that Yor's spike wipes the frame to introduce Loid? I love it. It's such a chaotic opening that you can easily miss simple things like transitions that can get lost in all the information. Another side note, I really like that Loid only appears when he fires his gun. Just a fun little trick that falls into place alongside other examples of wiping the frame in the opening.

Of course, Anya (and bond) gets their own splash cut like this. Really like how it places Anya on her own stage as it steps away from the style used for Loid and Yor and uses "environment" (read: speech bubbles) to convey her ability and its cons. And another very interesting detail (there's no end to them)! The use that dot matrix style to swap Anya and Bond out between each other. Super easy to miss, but it's there as one of those transitions that you can easily miss.

Wiping the frame, I can't think of a better name for it but it's something that's well loved with the direction of this OP. Just following these cuts we get another of our fearless family, but we see a different trick used. Also, really love the idea of it being framed as circus that Anya runs, so accurate to children and especially Anya.

Anyways, the idea is actually a lack of animation. Crazy, but given the style of animation through these cuts with the focus on snappy and exaggerated movements, it fits right in and looks really interesting. Furthermore (yes, there's still more), the use of visual sound effects (which say: 'Kankakeinai', most likely meant to be 'Kankeinai' as that's what's said by Ado at this point in the song.) is a great way to bridge the gap from Anya's previous cut to this one.

Oh, I should have mentioned it, but that same text-usage matching the song appears in the previous Anya and Bond cuts too.

Alright, next cut but also one (a little) further down the line: water animation. Lovely stuff. It's not realistic like what you'd see in the ending for My One-Hit Kill Sister, but has a lot of heart in it nonetheless, aiming to blend with the OP rather than make a statement about its quality.

Man, I almost forgot that there's a sequence in reverse in the OP. It's just that crazy. I've shown enough gifs of stuff so I'll spare the trouble (and save it for later) by just sharing a still. It's well animated, obviously, but aside from it being in reverse, there's just one detail to make note of: the dot matrix. It appears as an airplane for just a split second as a way to begin dissolving it from the frame (though it can be hard to make out because Tumblr compression). A very sneaky and subtle way to continue on with the direction established from the start.

There's lots of tricks in this OP, isn't there? I suppose it's rather similar to the Anya circus one, but slightly different. Keeping in line with the near impossibly hectic style of animation in the opening, we see frame-by-frame cuts alongside some of the best animated sequences. It helps keep that balance, you know? Where we give up on sharpness with some of the faster and more fluid movements, we make up with via these rougher ones.

Also, would it really be Masaaki Yuasa without some freakishly well animated cuts? Animating cars can already be a challenge in the first place, but not only do we see one heavily featured here, we see it spinning around wildly with characters in it. It's a crazy feat that only madmen like Masaaki would attempt.

Anyways, don't you dare underestimate Yuasa's insanity. He made people animate a reflection in a teapot. For like a 3 second cut. No, really, he did. Look at this ridiculously pointless detail.

Okay okay, it's time to wind down a little bit. The wonderfully creative perspective of the OP. It's mostly the cars, but on the more simple sub-to-plane cut it's featured in a more subtle sense just to add something to it, you know? Just to give viewers something a little more interesting to look at.

Alright, last cut I promise. I was very surprised, and equally impressed, to see this skydive sequence as a single cut. I thought for sure it was going to be split, but keeping it in one piece was a great decision.

And that's all I think I will chat about, because if I don't call it quits somewhere I'll never stop. Seriously, that's just how full and dense this opening is. For instance, just look at the bottom left image from the gallery above, Anya's drinking tea all fancy like. Crazy little detail that you wouldn't see unless you paused the opening. And this is full of that kind of stuff alongside the incredible and distinct direction and style of Yuasa. It's a gold mine of creativity and expression that only the man himself would be able to pull off, and I love it. Best Spy x Family opening and another to add to the list of incredible OPs this year.

#spy family anime #spy x family anime #spy x family manga #spy family #spy x family #forger family #loid forger #anya forger #yor forger #bond forger #cloverworks #wit studio #anime ops #anime opening #anime and manga #anime #Youtube

[thequiver]

I'm a bug fan of your Revenant series! It's such a cool team 😁

One thing that struck me was that on learning the shadow king was back Lorna specifically asked for her brother and shot down seeing her father. She was even reluctant to tell Wanda what was happening until Pietro convinced her.

What was going on in her head at that moment and how do you feel about her respective relationships with her father and siblings (In the story and in cannon)

YESSSSSSSS I’ve been waiting for someone to ask this 🥰🥰🥰also thank you so much for enjoying Revenant, I have literally so much more of it to write (you have no idea this has gotten way out of control, this entire AU was created for a silly oneshot TerryLorna idea I had and I am STILL NOT EVEN AT A PLACE WHERE I CAN WRITE THE TERRYLORNA)....anyway this is about to be word vomit bc I have a LOT of thoughts

Okay so one of the big things here is that Lorna and Pietro have both had pivotal moments in their stories where they were mind controlled and made to do things that hurt people they cared about and neither of them really ever got a whole lot of support in recovering from that. And Pietro is, for all his faults, incredibly protective and incredibly loving of his sisters and while Lorna has spent a LOT of time pushing back against that protectiveness because she really and truly can handle herself and she and Pietro don't have that kind of history where he's seen her almost burned at the stake etc etc.... this is a moment where she wants someone to be ride or die in her corner and to be ride or die in her corner after it's all said and done even if she is controlled again...... and Pietro's fatal flaw is loyalty. She wanted someone who would come in and try to make it better even though there was nothing they could do, and she knew that if she called Pietro would come running. It's more an act of desperation than of familial love? But it's something that's really going to set the stage as the story progresses for how their relationship is going to evolve. We also know that Lorna is very afraid of seeming weak in front of her father- he has these grand expectations of her and when she doesn't meet his impossible standards she cracks under that weight and for as much as I love Erik and as much as I appreciate the steps he's taken to repair his relationship with her, being his daughter is not easy. And with Wanda, they arguably have the easier relationship within this group of siblings, where it really has become more genuinely sisterly and almost...dare I say? normal? But Wanda isn't really involved in X-Men stuff and hasn't really been to any grand extent barring her intro and M-Day (and much more recently Trial of Magneto)- her very presence on Krakoa is enough to inspire hatred and anger, with the Shadow King there Wanda as a first choice is probably not smart, and Wanda herself has so much baggage with mutantkind thanks to M-Day that it puts her in a weird position too.

I'm playing a lot with Wanda, Lorna, and Pietro's relationships with each other and with their father. I feel like Pietro is very underutilized and that he's not taken seriously by writers or by fans and so I really wanted to build on this Lorna-Pietro relationship that was starting to get established in All New X-Factor and to really kind of I guess force my readers to remember that Pietro isn't a bad guy? Which sounds stupid bc he's a hero but like people don't read for Pietro and take wildly ooc shit as fact. Like it's important to me that my readers know that it was Pietro who pushed for he and Wanda to leave the Brotherhood, and that Pietro tries so so so hard for his family and just wants to keep his sisters and daughter safe and that like he is a victim of much of the same trauma as Wanda and he's allowed to have responses to it without being whiny or having to get over it (no matter what Wanda said in Quicksilver: No Surrender).

But yeah, I have lots of Revenant thoughts, and feel free to dm me or send me asks about it anytime I love talking about it!

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

hello lovely, this is re: sex witch stuff. do you have any advice for figuring out whether what's up with you is an a-spec thing or a depression thing?

context being: I've suspected I'm somewhere on the asexuality spectrum because I don't usually get *attracted* attracted to people unless I've gotten to know them somewhat. but at the same time, I've been depressed since I was a young teen and in the past few years, my libido has definitely gone down and I usually only get horny around my period. part of it is probably the meds and the fact that I'm Exhausted all the time (being in uni and having to be an adult doesn't help lol). I'm 23 and still a virgin, but I do get the sense that I would enjoy casual sex or an FWB situation. the other thing is - I do enjoy my own company, and I know I'm probably not in the best place to be in a relationship, but at the same time I'm a little lonely and would love to be in that long-term relationship stage of things yk? but I have no great desire to be actively dating (lack of energy also factors into this), and hookups are not a big thing in my culture so sex kind of goes with dating. which is why I still can't figure out whether this is more of an a-spec thing or depression + mild social anxiety thing :/

I'm the last anon about aspec vs depression thing. forgot if I mentioned it or not but I'm 23F, bi (I think. I tend to use queer. never actually been on a date with a girl before) and cis so there isn't any major gender or sexuality issues complicating things. I do have some body insecurities which may play into it (was naturally quite slim and then I lost more weight in the past 2 years due to meds which means my boobs are even smaller than before) but overall i think I'm fairly body neutral at this point 🤷‍♀️

hi anon,

I'm going to say something that I worry has the chance to come across as condescending and I want you to know that that's not my intent at all. I'm not trying to downplay your curiosity or exploration of self, or the mental health experiences that you've had. you're the predominant expert on yourself, and you can feel free to disregard all of this.

having said that:

what you're describing doesn't sound like it's solely a depression thing or necessarily an asexual thing at all. it sounds like being a busy 23 year old with a lot on their plate and having more pressing things to focus on than sex, even though sex sounds kind of nice. that's very normal for lots of people whether they're asexual or not, and it's actually great to hear that you're aware that you're not in the best place for a relationship and that you're already comfortable in your own company. it may not be the most fun thing, but being self-aware and able to be happy on your own are both important skills to cultivate.

you definitely could be asexual! I'm not denying that! but just chilling sex-free while you're busy and stressed and tired with uni and other things isn't hard proof, especially when it sounds like sex is something you think would be fun and desired for you if it were a better fit for your life right now.

some further reading that may be helpful:

The Sex Myth (Rachel Hills) - one of the very first sex books I read back in my baby sex witch days; a helpful reveal that most people are, on average, not having as much sex as they claim or want to be having

Come As You Are (Emily Nagoski) - neat insights from Dr. Nagoski about the ways that stress and other factors fuck with cis womens' sex drive and sexuality (and how to approach that with grace and self-compassion)

Ace (Angela Chen) - a phenomenal look at the experience of asexuality by an asexual writer, which may be helpful in determining if asexuality feels like the right label for your experiences

#sex edventures 2023

[trashlie]

what r ur stalkyoo predictions

Oh man Nonny this is such a broad question lmao and it doesn't help that my "predictions" are constantly changing week to week. I'm going to do my best to write what I currently anticipate but... honestly just know that a week or three from now maybe it will change lmao but here's what I anticipate

(this DOES include FP spoilers up to 235)

At this stage, I think we're moving towards Stalkyoo both acknowledging/admitting their feelings, but perhaps not entering a relationship given, yknow... extenuating factors.

I think Dieter will talk to Nol and confront him on how he pushes everyone away and how it especially hurts Shinae, that he knows what he saw that morning and he knows that they both like each other, and what good is it to hurt her pushing her away just because she doesn't return Dieter's feelings? I think this conversation is important not just because Nol feels guilt towards Dieter, but because Nol needs to see and understand an earlier point Shinae made, that he cannot keep making decisions on their behalf. Just like pushing Shinae away in order to "mitigate her risk of harm", pushing away someone who reciprocates his feelings in order to not hurt someone else benefits no one.

Something crucial for Nol to understand is that a. there are some feelings you can't keep squashing down and b. what happens when you continue to do so. Not so much a prediction as much as I hope, I really hope Nol will look at the letters in the Bible from his father, so that he can better understand his mother and father's relationship, and how they ended up in the positions they did.

As much as Nol, Shinae, and Alyssa parallel Rand, Nessa, and Yui, the most important difference is that they are not yet in as deep. In leaving Yui for Nessa Rand stood to lose much more than Nol does - not just his life's work (the company), but he was already married and he had a child with Yui. I think Rand probably stayed to try to protect Kousuke the best he could, to try to counteract what he could. It wasn't as easy for him to leave. But Nol isn't in that predicament. He has all the opportunity to leave, to put himself first and to put his own needs and happiness first.

But it's still important for Nol to stand in Rand's shoes for a moment so that he can understand. Even though Nol has never really come out and said it himself, I think it's easy to see that he probably resents Rand for all of that - for being married and having an affair with his mom, leaving her a single mother to raise Nol all on her own, for everything that happened after they moved to Korea. It sounds like they lived in secret, undocumented immigrants hiding in the country put up by Rand but still unable to be part of his family. And I think that made him resent his mom a little, too. He asked Shinae what if you mistreated the cow from which your burger came and it lends some ideas to the guilt that Nol carries. What if before losing her, Nol fought with his mom? Fought about her relationship with a married man, hiding in a country where they had no one. He was alone, lonely. He had no friends.

It's so easy for Nol to point fingers and admonish blame. He was married, he shouldn't have done that! She shouldn't have done that!

But what kind of rules and arguments do you apply to a marriage that was never based on love, but rather was an arrangement? It's not confirmed, but it's always felt like Yui and Rand are an arrangement, rather than two people who married for love, much like Nol and Alyssa are. For Nol to stand in his father's shoes - to essentially have a responsibility (used very, very loosely here) to someone else but to know that his heart and happiness lie with someone else, to be torn between what is right and what he wants, perhaps he could better understand his parents, and how they ended up living the ways they did. Why Nessa clung to someone like Rand despite everything.

But also, just as importantly, I think it would give him more understanding of the choice Rand couldn't - didn't - make, and what could happen to Nol if he doesn't. It's not just his happiness that is in jeopardy but also Shinae's. Knowing what his mother was like, and how Shinae, too, is so relentless, unwilling to give up on him, might give him more of the resolve needed to make the choice that his parents were unable to.

Now, I'm uncertain of the order I think things from here will progress. Will Nol get a chance to talk to Alyssa and break up with her before he gets to talk to Shinae? Is Alyssa going to have to contend with dating rumors involving convicted felon Nol? At some point, whether it's a mutual choice or not, one of them is going to pull the plug on that fake relationship. The moment Alyssa's benefits are jeopardized by Nol's reputation, it's all going to fall apart. We know that much. Minhyuk has kind of hinted at it - Alyssa doesn't keep people around when their reputations bring her down and the moment it does, she's going to have to make the call, whether or not she wants to.

At some point, though, Nol and Shinae will talk. They both have very pointedly (on the same day!!!!) come to realize the nature of their feelings towards each other, to understand just what they mean to each other! And Shinae is SO feral about it! I FULLY think she's going to have a spicy dream about Nol lmao the smut in Maya's books was too heavy handed for it to not come back into play in Shinae's subconscious, further illuminating something she's just become aware of. It's not enough to want to hang on to his friendship - it's EVERYTHING she doesn't want to lose, it's what he he means to her, and what SHE means to him. Nol's been given a 3 day extension before has to go to prison and I don't think quimchee would deliberately write that if not to leave room for this to happen. Notably, this extension brings us to Christmas Eve; it just feels TOO pointed to ignore.

Maybe it won't happen until the final day, but I think Nol and Shinae WILL talk and it will set us up for their post-time skip dynamics. Whether or not they actually enter a relationship at this time, I think what is more important is that Nol and Shinae will very likely resolve a lot of this - what they mean to each other, how they feel about each other, but also understanding that they are better off together. It's so easy for Nol and Shinae to be used by Yui against one and other if they are isolated, if Nol is pushing her away, if they are not a united front. Nol needs to start taking steps to forming his alliances so that in the future he isn't left so vulnerable. A talk about their feelings is more than just about relationships; it will set them up for the future where they are both playing this game.

But for the sake of my predictions, I think Shinae WILL go see Nol, whether it's because she wants to demand her belongings back or because she suddenly gets shy and can't face him. I really don't think we're leaning towards that any more, but rather "fine if you won't me have you" (SCREAMS), some kind of high tension moment that will inadvertently bring their feelings out into the open lol. As much as I'd like her to go straight back to him after waking, I'm not totally certain if I think she will or if she'll wait until the next day. Maybe Nol needs to sit with his feelings, too, after his talk with Dieter to be a little pathetic about her and really drive home how much this is something he can't just keep repressing lol.

And while I'm not sure they'll actually enter a relationship at this time, I think what we'll probably see is how this brings them into the timeskip. My friends and I have been talking lately about Nol taking his own path - moving forward not as a Hirahara but as a Lochlain, not attending Oxford but perhaps some other school abroad, becoming a self-made man his own way, while Shinae remains in Korea and probably takes Yui up on her offer. My guess is that Shinae will basically "trade herself" for her father - make a deal that you leave my father be and fine, I'll do this, I'll let you cover my schooling. I just... I DON'T want her to lose Simhan, I DON'T want him to die to force Shiane's hand. I'd much rather see her be proactive and take action against Yui, because as much as it still means she's being "forced" into taking up Yui's offer, it's still more or less on her own terms, it's not nearly as dire as what happened at the formal.

I think it will lead us to something where Shinae is the one playing the game the most openly - she's the one employed at the company, she's the one who is the direct adversary to Yui, who will be trying to no avail to try to break her, to get her to play the game her way, to try to convert her to her side. Meanwhile, I think Nol will operate from the shadows. They know of their own relationship, they know of their importance to each other, but perhaps others may not see it up front. Quimchee has a lot of Patreon art of Nol and Shinae that, quite frankly lmao, feels very much like it's Shinae in charge and Nol is here to do her bidding because he really doesn't care about anything else besides her LMAOOOOO idk maybe he WILL want revenge, especially if/when he learns that what happened to his mother may not have been simply her taking her own life. But I think their future dynamics will very much put Shinae at the forefront with Nol operating from the shadows, perhaps Shinae feeding him information so that he can work out of sight from people like Yui. That's not to say I think their relationship will be a secret or anything as much as just.... those who matter will probably know. There are a lot of benefits to them pointedly not revealing it to other people, right?

Something I think has been emphasized a lot in a lot of ILY art is that even if Nol and Shinae aren't directly connected, they're very often connected in SOME way - the earbuds binding them together, holding on to each other's fingers, Shinae's gaze on him. I think Stalkyoo will prove that they have a connection and understanding that goes deeper than a lot of people expect, and as such, they have confidence in each other, that they don't NEED to proudly display their relationship, and thus it will work to their advantage because we know Yui WILL try to divide them so it's better to keep things in the shadows, right?

My head is still really stuffy so this is not my BEST explanation, but hopefully this suffices! For now this is how I see things going down but, as always, we will possibly see this change with the coming episodes haha!

#I Love Yoo #ILY FP #ILY Spoilers #ILY Brainrot #ILY Anon #Stalkyoo #Aegi #Shinae Yoo #Nolan Oliver T. Lochlainn #i'm still sick and while I'm getting better my head remains soup #i am doing my best to answer some of these hhhhhhhhh #i just feel bad that i'm not at the top of my game but ALAS better than waiting weeks lmao

[elite-amarys]

[ @pkmn-trainer-vivian asked: ] Hi, Amarys! Uh, I don't know if this is out of nowhere in your schedule so you can answer when you get the chance.

I uh, I need help with taking care of a Scizor. (I know to keep it out of hot climates already, luckily I spend most of my time in the Polar Biome). I've never had one before, but it was hurt and I decided to take it in! Is there anything I should know about, like nutrition, physical activity, or their wellbeing in general?

Also, it's very untrusting, which is understandable, but it seems to get along with Apollo (My Decidueye) the best.

Greetings, Vivian. To start, congratulations on your new teammate. Scizor are wonderful companions, and with the right training and attention can be fearsome on the battlefield.

XP was also a rescue, so I am quite familiar with the process of healing and rehabilitating a Scizor. That said, every pokemon is different, so if your Scizor begins to exhibit a behavior which you do not understand do not hesitate to reach out to your local vet or professor. I will put the remainder of this post under a readmore, as it became quite long.

When in the early stages of bonding with a new Scizor the most important factor to keep in mind is to watch for their warning signs. As mentioned by the pokedex, they use the eye markings on their claws to confuse predators, and will wave these claws around when they feel threatened. How they wave these claws can tell you a lot about how threatened or stressed your Scizor is. One claw held low with the eye marking facing outward is mild stress or displeasure - XP often does this when Rollo is being a bother. If both claws are raised, eye markings facing outwards, snapping loudly and alternating to block your view of Scizor's face that is a sure sign that this Scizor is very stressed and highly likely to attack if the stressor is not removed. Respect the boundaries your Scizor sets and they will slowly begin to trust you.

Once your Scizor trusts you enough to allow you to touch them, grooming is going to be your best method of bonding. In the wild they rely on frequent baths in streams and rivers, as they cannot groom themselves particularly well otherwise. Being able to polish and pamper your Scizor is a delightful experience for them.

As for basic care, I can see you've clearly already done some research. You have likely already come across this rule, but just in case you have not: if your scizor beats their wings for 2 minutes straight, without pause or pulsing, it is a sure sign they are about to overheat. I am pleased to see you are being cautious about this, but I assure you it is not necessary to train only in the Polar Biome in order to avoid this. XP does quite well in the Canyon Biome, and as long as you are sure to give them plenty of breaks during training they will be fine.

Diet I assume you have already researched, so the only extra advice I have is to edit the amount of steel type supplement based on how much meat your Scizor prefers to eat. They have each of them specific preferences, and a Scizor that eats more berries than meat will require a larger dose of supplements to keep their shell healthy and strong.

Lastly, for polish, I would recommend something gentler than most. Compared to other steel types, Scizor's shell is quite thin and designed for speed and agility over defense. They tend to be a bit more sensitive because of this and will not enjoy a thicker grit. Again, each individual has their own preferences, but Scizor as a whole do not typically enjoy a harsh scrub the way a Metagross might.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to reach out further. Gaining the trust of a traumatized pokemon can be a long and heartbreaking process, but the bond you can forge if you have patience, compassion, and the correct knowledge makes it worth the effort a thousand times over.

#pkmn irl #effort post

[aspoonofsugar]

have you. heard of the fairy tale known as ‘the juniper tree’. it’s among the stories in the grimm brothers’ collection, and today while i was looking for people talking about oscar pine’s bandages, i.

what the crap.

fair warning, the juniper tree has depictions of child abuse, gore and death, but also has *checks notes* reincarnation, and all the children involved living at the end, as a bright spot if you choose to pursue it despite these factors

in. in any case. if you’re down for speculation, how do you think this might come into play

person that was talking about the juniper tree again; what if, right. oscar has bandages more as a symbol of the connection rather than it being something in his past, and it has more to do with his oncoming dynamic with the remaining members of jnpr, since ‘the juniper tree’ does include rebirth after loss

i’d be very interested if it does hint to oscar’s character specifically, of course, but also. there’s a multitude of ways it could be interpreted

heheheheho

Hi!

Sorry for the late reply.

Yes, I know about the Juniper Tree, but tbh I don't think it is referenced directly in RWBY... at least not yet, but it is definately a story I am keeping an eye out for ;)

That said, Oscar is not my top candidate to get the reference, but Jaune is tbh.

Team Juniper is Jaune's team and it lost a member. I know the fandom likes to see Oscar as JNR's fourth member and for symbolic purposes he is. However, I think the narrative is going rathe slowly when it comes to integrate Oscar into Juniper.

So far, RWBY is treated as a team and JNR as another team. Oscar is an important part of the group, but doesn't belong to any specific team. Rather he works with everyone and tries to step into the role of "Wizard". He is basically JNR's fourth member, but also isn't. If that makes sense. This also illustrates rather well the process of grieving JNR goes through and them slowly overcoming Pyrrha's loss.

I would also add that even if structurally Oscar "replaces" Pyrrha as our 8th main character, he doesn't have much to do with her. Like, he foils Penny much stronger, for example. Moreover, even if he is clearly a foil to Jaune, he is so far much more intertwined to Ruby's story.

In any case, JNPR is Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren. Pyrrha dies and the other 3 are left struggling with it. Jaune more than anyone else. This is why if RWBY intends to adapt the fairy tale in any form, I think it will be with him. I mean, we are even in a volume which centers around a tree :P

That said, I don't think the fairy tale will be adapted literally (if it is even referenced). Rather, it is probably going to be a thematic nod. Its main topic is after all the idea of death and rebirth. The Juniper's tree is able to resurrect the brother and the Ever After will probably regenerate Jaune's sense of self.

On a very extra note, which probably means nothing... the Juniper Tree's fairy tale takes elements from both Snowhite and Cinderella. This is funny because I think both Weiss and Cinder are gonna be especially important for Jaune's arc.

So, we have 2 different interpretations (both very loose of course and just headcanon by this point rather than meta-analysis):

The Juniper Tree represents JNPR's healing and resurrection through them "adopting" a Pine :P

The Juniper Tree represents Jaune's struggle with grief

Both can work, but also... the fairy tale may not mean anything at all :'')

That said, i think team JNPR being called after a tree is in itself interesting and meaningful. I am asking for @hamliet help, but I think in alchemy there is something called a Philosophical Tree, which is seen as a precursor of the Philosopher Stone:

Known to alchemists as the arbor philosophica, or philosophical tree, the tree of life stands for the opus alchymicum, the alchemical process regarded as a preliminary stage of the perfection to which alchemists aspire.

(Also, this is where we are in the story, as well :P the characters are going through a stage to refine themselves and going towards silver and gold)

Team RWBY is called after the philosopher stone (ruby = a stone) because they ARE the stone. They are all the ingredients and phases (black, white, yellow and red) that make up the final product. Team JNPR is then called after another way to define the process, which is the philosophical tree. They are just as important and are going through the same refinement journey. This may also be why Ren and Nora especially are so linked to flowers, which often accompany the process and the tree itself. Ren is the lotus and Nora is a pink flower. Finally, this team is welcoming Oscar Pine (pine = the tree).

So, we have:

Team RWBY with Ruby > the stone

Team JN(P)R with an innested Pine > the tree

Two ways to illustrate the alchemical process.

Thank you for your ask!

#rwby #rwby volume 9 #jaune arc #oscar pine #team rwby #team jnpr #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

[shipposttt]

Ship of The Day: Drarry

Character Names: Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter

Ship Name: Drarry

Original Content: Harry Potter

Ship Info:

Drarry. It's time.

Coming from the Harry Potter franchise we see the ship involving the ‘Chosen One’ Harry Potter and ‘Death Eater’ Draco Malfoy, an enemy to lover's favourite among the community. So why do fans ship these two? 

Many started shipping the two due to the rivalry (that some interpreted as flirtation), which made the enemies to lovers fans go wild.

For instance, when the two end up in punishment together and are heading into the forbidden forest. They both displayed feelings of fear and signs of being nervous, but due to being in company with each other, they both tried to hide their fear. As they go deeper into the forest and lose track of Fang, the two try to start up multiple conversations as a distraction to the fear they feel. Some read this as a sort of 'wanting to impress the other' sort of trope, however, it could just be argued to be toxic masculinity with the boys feeling like they should not display any type of fear or emotion that could make them seem weak to other males. Any 'feminine' feelings.

Tensions also during Hagrid's class are also a key factor in their flirtation with the constant back-and-forth arguments, that go on even in front of the class, giving off the vibe of being 'an old married couple'. And the fact they did it in front of others might display a sense of urgency to show others they have a connection.

And their rivalry on the Quidditch field, with both of them on opposite teams is also a key factor and main concept for many fanfictions. The two jostles around, push each other and hurl insults at each other giving more of a feel of friendly rivalry as they both try and win. But also a hint of admiration.

The two have also saved each other, showing to others that they do in fact view them as important enough to save fuelling the 'enemies-to-lovers' debate. For example, Harry saves Draco from the room of requirement. But this almost feels right since Harry is the hero. But when Draco did it, it really itched something in Drarry shipper's brains. The scene is when Draco lies and pretends not to know who Harry is when his face is distorted, saving his life and hinting he has some feelings for the boy who lived.

But the angst is also what had fans shipping the pair. For example when Harry nearly killed Draco in the bathroom while the two were having a dual, Harry using the Sectumsempera spell (which could have killed Draco) took their rivalry to another stage. But with these intense feelings, some fans also read it as them having a love so deep it boarders into hate. Love hurts Afterall.

The books are also quite an important contribution as to why many ship the pair, such as:

"Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: It was the pale boy from Madame Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley." "Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully- and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it" (Harry dreaming of Draco) "Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing. He straightened, and came face-to-face with Draco Malfoy..."

"Now Harry, when Draco points his wand at you, you do this."

He raised his own wand, attempted a complicated sort of wiggling action, and dropped it...

"Whoops - my wand is a little overexcited-"

"Harry, however, had never been less interested in Quidditch; he was rapidly becoming obsessed with Draco Malfoy. Still checking the Marauder's Map whenever he got the chance, he sometimes made detours to wherever Malfoy happen to be..."

I'll leave it up to your imagination as to why these quotes might lead to people shipping the duo.

Type of Ship: Queer Read

The two are very much not written without the intention of the two becoming a couple, it is all just fan interpretation and fanfics made for fans who might have wanted to see Draco get a redemption arc.

Some might also ship the pair due to the lack of well-written female characters that could have ended up with Draco. The only female we actually see him written to be friends with is Pansey (who isn't really given much character development or just character in general). And the one who would best counterbalance him would be Harry Potter. Their personality, their colour palettes, their family status and their houses. Each contradicts each other in every way. However both did end up with different people and a whole family, but their son's did become best friends which makes them always in contact with eachother in one way or another.

Admin, 🦒

(i am so sorry if this is not the best post but i did not really have much info of this ship beforehand and could not find much :,))

#fandom #gay ships #lgbtq community #ships #shipping #drarry #harry potter

[angstics]

might have more thoughts to add to your drag essay later but for now Big Yes ++ i also have been thinking about the way that Archetypes have been a throughline in basically all of gerard's art, from mcr's concept albums through (what i have seen of) his comic stuff and earlier illustrations and now very vividly in these tour costumes. which to me feels drag-adjcacent, so much of drag culture is about appropriating and camping up (pointing at, exaggerating, making absurd, celebrating) pop culture figures & cultural icons/archetypes. gerard's 2022 costumes are doing the appropriating but not so much the camping, with the exception of the casino king moment -- but camp has been such an important factor in almost all of mcr's history before this (whole books could be written about this). i'd say the black parade look at its peak with all of its liza/fosse influence was Bandleader Drag moreso than the cheerleader look was Cheerleader Drag despite the apparent crossdressing-ness of the latter. yknow?

this is from 21 days ago!!!!! im here now. this is exactly my point. the art form of drag is marked by exaggeration of gender presentation, which is often represented by pop culture figures because they are the arbiters of iconized (ie dramatized ie context-divorced ie CAMPY) femininity or masculinity. people do drag of celebrity performers like elvis or liza, archetypes like construction workers or show girls. one part of drag i didnt talk about is its appropriation of beauty standards -- breast enhancers, faux abs, accentuated glam make-up. there is no focus on beauty in gerard's 2022-23 costumes (are they costumes?) as ive said, theyre casual clothes. it cant be drag. the presentation isnt about accentuation, it's about something else.

it's fun that this point has been further proven by how nonchalant the office worker was. the drama wasnt in the outfit, it was in the gore. there's nothing gendered there. though someone who is typically seen as a man donning female conservative wear and therefore twisting that descriptor is interesting in of itself (as spittingout said)!!!! office drag makes fun of hyperfeminine conservativism. as casual clothes, the effect is different. the subtlety positions these outfits as normal -- which they are.

a while ago i wrote about how critics used the word "camp" incorrectly to detract from my chem being unironically good. i dont like the piece today. i honestly didnt realize that a lot of mcr music is enjoyed for its drama more than its content. my penchant for sincerely consuming everything blinded me. but i do like my classic approach to what makes camp camp -- how it's an intellectual's hidden gem, not something intended. i applied that to how ppl didnt understand the nonconforming looks of my chem past, making the looks camp objects (meaning objects that are highly dramatic because of their lost meaning).

these campy looks include the bandleader persona. the look is gendered by gerard's stage attitude -- the brooding, the aggression, the boxy stature. though the hair and clothing are non descript, they're read as masculine -- the idea that the lack of gender indicates masculinity is a big gender theory topic. even when the original hairstyle is a feminine pixie and the black parade jacket has a corset back, the fact they are, respectively, short and suit-like lands further from feminine readings. SOOOOOOOOOOO all this to say the bandleader is an exaggeration of agender-practically-masculine archetypes like fosse's emcee (a clown doing showman drag, doing showgirl drag, doing fash drag -- more likely to be read as masculine over feminine despite the make-up because clowns are agender, which we know as functionally masculine). wipes brow

another point u didnt talk about but just thought of. INTERESTING that the use of the word "drag" in three cheers ("they make me do push-ups in drag") is obviously synonymous with cross-dressing cuz it's supposed to be embarrassing, while the use of "drag" in black parade ("here's my resignation ill serve it in drag") is closer to the art form or at least empowered cross-dressing. also a fun pun! serve 👨‍💼 and serve 💅

#thank u for the great insights!! #hope this is intelligible #i could probably make this shorter but when have i ever done that #mcr #mcr queer studies #qessay #ask #mcr fashion studies

[notafunkiller]

Do you think Sebastian would date someone significantly younger than him? I'm not just talking about a few years, but a larger age gap, though of course she would be of legal age. I'm curious about your thoughts on this.

I've had discussions with a few friends, and their opinions are quite varied. Some believe that age might be a significant factor for him, while others think it wouldn't matter as much. Personally, I see Sebastian as someone who is very intense when it comes to forming connections. He strikes me as a person who values deep emotional bonds and would need to be emotionally invested to consider a serious relationship.

Given this perspective, I don't think an age difference would necessarily be a deal-breaker for him. If he meets someone who is mature, emotionally intelligent, and capable of forming a meaningful connection, I believe he would be open to the idea. The key for Sebastian would be finding someone who matches his level of emotional depth and commitment, regardless of age.

Absolutely, yes!

I also think he values maturity, emotional intelligence, and a deep connection, so if someone matches his level of emotional depth and commitment, age wouldn't be a barrier for his heart.

However, he might overthink it. I believe he worries about how others might perceive him, especially regarding the potential negative impact on his career—such as awards (his focus at the moment if you asked me), directors' perspectives, and being seen as unserious due to judgmental views—which is his top priority.

I think he’s an overthinker in general and is deeply affected by others sometimes. He is an artist after all. And very ambitious, may I add.

He might also fear that a younger partner will get bored/change her perspective or that they’re at different life stages, but that's not (always) true. Some people simply have different energy levels or know what they want in life earlier. You can see him being more alive and energetic around younger people, and I think he can sense this as well.

He totally doesn’t judge people by their age; he also knows that younger people can have substantial life experience, be super understanding and open, and be more in touch with their emotions.

He himself has a youthful energy. Looking at his relationship with Ale, who is 10 years younger than him, you wouldn't notice the age difference unless you looked up their ages. The way he makes funny faces, his goofy and nerdy flirting with Daisy, who is 16 years younger than him, all show his youthful spirit and how good a connection can actually get (despite age difference)

Daisy, with her old soul, and he, with his young soul, met in the middle (similar humor, vibes + taste in music, movies etc). They didn’t even realize they were flirting sometimes; he was kind of whipped and just randomly brought up his age at some point. For no reason😂

In another context, I think he'd have at least tried something with her, who was very into him as well. Their chemistry was undeniable, and moments like when she teased him commented about him ordering food well or Sebastian doing anything she asked?! They still get me laughing!

So I hope he'll embrace a relationship that brings him happiness and fulfillment, regardless of the age difference (like I said, younger ≠ immature), and his worries about public perception and career impact.

You only live once, so finding someone who shares your emotional depth and commitment, with whom you form a genuine connection, is important and rare (especially since he is an actor).

#asked #my opinions

[chunkecheeks]

Hi! I have a question if it's alright? I saw your posts about Arthurian and as someone who really likes Guinevere based on what I've seen so far, I was wondering about something that I've heard people say..

Guinevere is a bad person/ a r*pist (I saw someone say she r*ped Lancelot)

Guinevere is the cause for Camelot's downfall (from what I've read this take doesn't make much sense because wasn't it bound to happen because of Mordred??)

Guinevere is a groomer (again, Lancelot was apparently younger than her from the takes I've seen from people)

Guinevere “got in the way” of Gawain/Lancelot Galehaut/Lancelot Arthur/Merlin

Hi thank you for asking! My knowledge is limited to the texts I’ve read and my own personal research so I might not have all the answers that people are getting this from. Because there’s such a wide swath of Arthurian sources out there this definitely may be true in some of them! But not all by far

1. This one I don’t think is true at all, like I said there might be a source out there that makes this the case but I have never heard about it. I think this might have come from Elaine of Corbenic who did r*pe Lancelot while in the guise of Guinevere. Other than that my only guess for where this may have come from is more modern sources (mainly Victorian) which tend to paint Guinevere in a worse light and try to play Lancelot’s actions off as entirely virtuous so turning their affair into r*pe is certainly a way that might be spun.

As for Guinevere being a bad person this is certainly the case in some texts (a medieval one off the top of my head is Lanval which makes her pretty terrible, and like I said the later works from the Victorian period are generally pretty unfavorable) but from what I’ve read there’s more texts that paint her neutrally or neutral-good. Even ones where she’s a bit jealous and spiteful during certain storylines don’t have her behave that way all the time. In my opinion, the way a writer handles Guinevere’s behavior most of the time reflects their religious values, especially with the medieval and Victorian texts, which may give some insight into why she’s portrayed certain ways. I also think now as modern people we have an opportunity to reevaluate her character and the misogynistic ways it has been handled over the years!

2. Guinevere being the cause for Camelot’s downfall is mostly a modern idea in my opinion. In medieval texts while the theme of Guinevere and lancelot’s affair is a factor in the downfall, like you said it was bound to happen because of Mordred! Her affair does set the stage because arthur goes to fight Lancelot and leaves Mordred in charge (TERRIBLE MOVE. He literally already knew about the prophecy that Mordred would kill him.) and Mordred then tries to usurp. Modern (Victorian onwards) tellings tend to put more emphasis on Guinevere being the reason (see: Camelot the musical), and while she is an important part I think the onus must be on her AND Lancelot along with Mordred and arthur making a dumb as shit decision. It’s certainly not her burden alone.

3. This is true in some texts that she is older than Lancelot but not all. I wouldn’t put stock in any idea like this because there is simply no one text we can say is definitively canon because all of them are quite different. I believe in the Lancelot-grail cycle they’re the same age (she first sees him on the day of her wedding when she’s pretty young and he is a young man at that point) as well as other texts like knight of the cart (the text that invented Lancelot) which makes no reference to either being older and they seem evenly matched in age. There are even some texts where Lancelot and Guinevere are closer in age while arthur is older. It’s also important to note that timelines in medieval texts can be quite messy and all over the place and I don’t believe their age difference in the texts it exists was done on purpose but rather happened because they just added Lancelot to the story where it was most convenient to have him added.

4. This is 100% just fandom bullshit. From what I know, Galehaut is the one who encouraged Lancelot to have an affair with Guinevere in the first place and was present for their first kiss. Lancelot’s relationship with Galehaut is strong even while he’s dating Guinevere so there’s absolutely no reason to think she got in the way there. That’s also the only relationship in the entirety of original medieval texts I would consider to have actual purposeful gay undertones but I think it exists alongside Lancelot and Guinevere’s relationship unchallenged. Similarly, Gawain and Lancelot have a strong relationship alongside Lancelot and Guinevere. Maybe it can be argued that Guinevere “got in the way” when the affair caused a war and Lancelot killed Gawain during it but I think that’s on Lancelot you didn’t have to kill the dude buddy. Merlin/arthur is just straight up not a thing in medieval texts and would be very bizarre if it was so that’s a BBC Merlin thing and I also don’t think Guinevere got in the way in that show as she was important to both arthur and Merlin and Merlin/arthur was never going to be endgame in 2005 or whatever year that was airing.

Hopefully that all makes sense and I’m sorry this was so long I could write endlessly about all the injustices lobbed at Guinevere

[alltheselights]

Yeah, this is not a normal break for a young person to get from daily life. The smoking and drinking and just being bird-boned to start with will have factored in. And I do think he’s surrounded by enablers who just keep cheering his lifestyle choices. I’m not a pearl-clutcher by any means, but the chain smoking and the drinking for a guy whose parents both had serious cancer before they hit 50 is worrisome. People who just drink casually don’t talk about it like Louis does. Getting drunk before his album launch performance rather than after is not great. Nor is associating getting wasted with celebrating. He’s 30. You can see on his face that it’s taking a toll. He does not have a healthy glow. And often has puffy eyes and sallow skin. I’m not judging him. He’s got a daily struggle with the closet he’s burdened with, he’s had serious traumas while feeling he has to temper his own emotions to look out for his family…all that emotional baggage adds up. I doubt he’s ever allowed himself to fully grieve. Glass half full!!! Seems more like he’s self medicating with drink to avoid it all. And not a single person around him who’ll speak the truth. Or who seem to even have empathy for him. Does he have any relationships where he’s the receiver rather than the giver?

To preface my response, I think some of what you said is a little extreme and I don’t think it’s the place of anyone to decide that someone else is abusing alcohol because alcohol abuse looks different on everyone and I know that firsthand because it’s touched my life directly. I’ve said this to people in the past when I’ve gotten worried anons and I think it’s important to recognize.

That being said, I do agree that Louis’ overall lack of care for himself is very concerning and something that shouldn’t be laughed about or celebrated. Just before he tweeted, I was watching this interview where he is asked how he takes care of himself on tour and he explicitly said “I don’t” and then said that he’ll do that when he’s older. Louis, honey, you already are older. Yes, 30 is still young, but there’s a reason why people hit like age 25 and start realizing that their hangovers hit harder and their knees are starting to crack. Your body is aging and needs to be treated better and needs more recovery time. This is true of everyone, but especially someone with such a demanding career.

He’s a grown man and fans have no control over his behavior, but I do wish that he’d make an effort to quit smoking (not only for his singing voice, but for his fucking LIFE) and I wish that he’d at least be more responsible with the drinking in terms of keeping it to a drink or two before and during shows and not always going straight out to the club after a performance. He admitted to being hungover numerous times on tour and you can tell that he’s often exhausted. I want him to be able to have fun and I have absolutely no issue with him enjoying himself, having a beer to take the edge off before a show, or going out. However, there are limits that every person has to put on themselves to make sure that they’re prioritizing their health and in Louis’ case, his career.

I also think the enablers around him are a huge issue. We may not know them, but we can see with our own eyes that they participate in all of these behaviors alongside Louis. They drink and they smoke with him constantly. It’s bizarre to me that Matt Vines, as a manager, has never once said, “hey, Louis, maybe don’t smoke half a pack of cigarettes during an interview.” It’s bizarre to me that Helene isn’t saying every time she sees him, “hey, you're really going to struggle to sing well through full setlists on tour and run around stage when you’re smoking so heavily.” It’s bizarre to me that nobody said to him last night, “hey, let’s save the vodkas for after the performance.”

Again, Louis is an adult! But there are people around him who work with him who could provide some guidance and encourage him to take care of himself, and instead, they seem to be fully embracing his lifestyle themselves and glorifying it.

Fans also don’t help. There will be people angry that I posted this ask. I will lose followers. If you even whisper that maybe a full-time singer with a family history of cancer shouldn’t smoke a pack of cigarettes a day,  people accuse you of “babying” a grown man. The entire fandom romanticizes Louis’ smoking and talks about how sexy he is while he’s blackening his lungs. Any constructive criticism or genuine concern is treated with defensiveness and anger.

Louis has said himself that he doesn’t go therapy, which I think he needs, just as so many other people do. He said in an interview just days ago that he shouldn’t smoke or drink so much but the job is hard and he needs his “vices.” Everyone has vices, but they’re not all so harmful. Louis is doing permanent damage to his body with the smoking, and possibly with the drinking as well. He’s now gotten injured twice in six months, and last night, while we don’t know what happened, it’s safe to assume that he was still intoxicated. And at times, no matter how much I adore him, I also recognize that he’s doing damage to his career and reputation by not reining himself in, especially when he has performances or interviews where he should be focusing on making a good impression and singing as incredibly as he possibly can.

Louis deserves to be happy and have fun. I just wish he found some balance between that and taking care of himself. And I desperately wish somebody, anybody around him gave enough of a shit to help ensure that too.

#sry 4 the typos #asks

[ingek73]

Scobie: Princess Kate’s Early Years work is ineffectual because of her ‘limitations’

February 02, 2023

By Kaiser

It’s been Keen Early Years Week, where the Princess of Wales has launched yet another awareness-raising campaign centered on Kate going around, telling people that the early years are important. Shaping Us is no different than the Five Big Questions, which was no different from Big Change Starts Small (rip to that initiative). None of these “campaigns” are any different and none of them actually does something substantive. It’s all white noise, gurning, wiglets and gloss. It’s Kate preening for the cameras and telling everyone that she’s a credible expert and a big girl doing important work! As I said, we’re past the point where Kate is a chaotic neutral – the messaging has gotten harmful. Even credible childhood development experts are coming out and saying that Kate’s fluff is dumb and unimportant, that these resources should be focused on actually solving very real problems for kids. All of this and more made it into Omid Scobie’s latest Yahoo UK column – you can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

Kate’s 2012 ‘listening and learning’ charity visits: Chatting with her press secretary at the time, I was told how the duchess’s “keen interest” in childhood development will likely lead to projects focused on supporting the young. A month earlier she had also taken on a patronage with Action on Addiction, a charity working with those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction and the children affected by it. “Right now she is listening and learning… in the future she hopes to find practical ways to contribute,” the palace aide explained.

All of Kate’s sound and keenery, signifying nothing: It’s an extremely important subject. But after 12 years of work, the goods being delivered right now feel light. Some within the early years sector have already voiced frustrations. “We are well accustomed to MPs and royalty visiting early years settings, praising the invaluable work of practitioners… but nothing is done,” a statement from the Practitioners of the Early Years Sector group says. “The time has long passed for ‘awareness’. We need action – long-term investment and funding in the early years.”

Kate’s big-girl problem: And this is where the Princess of Wales will no doubt find herself stuck. Because while elevating the importance of helping children in their first five years of life to thrive is certainly necessary, there are very few options available to Kate when it comes to actually helping solve the main issue at the heart of Britain’s early years crisis – funding. Budgets for preventative services for children in the country have been slashed by more than £400m since 2015 . And 4,000 early childcare providers have shut down in the last year alone due to chronic underfunding.

More slashes to the social safety net: Cuts have also seen the closures of children’s centres nationwide, despite the fact they help prevent more serious social services intervention at later stages in childhood. Britain’s social care system, which is already on its knees, estimates that over 15,000 young people will be taken into care over the next three years. As the country falls deeper into its cost of living crisis, and childcare providers raise prices due to funding pressures, is Kate’s awareness project really able to do much at all?

Ineffective royal work: If anything, Shaping Us exposes the ineffectiveness that the Royal Family’s charity work can have. Because it is almost impossible to make an impact in this field, or even usher in the smallest of change, without considering all the social factors that have an impact on early development. And that cannot be done without stepping into policy or politics — the one thing Kate can’t do as a working member of the Royal Family.

The Art Room disaster: Two years ago The Art Room charity Kate first visited in 2012 shut down its facilities for good after it became no longer financially sustainable. Shrinking school budgets from the government were to blame, and while Kate was able to shine a light on their work through the odd royal engagement, her limitations as a royal patron meant that she would never be able to lobby to keep it going.

The third landmark announcement: This week’s awareness drive launch is the third “landmark” announcement by the Princess of Wales on this topic in as many years. The message is essential, and she makes a serious case, but no matter how many versions of it we hear, Kate’s hope and a wish are unlikely to bring the necessary solutions. Given that Kensington Palace says this is her “life’s work”, I hope she can eventually prove me wrong.

[From Yahoo UK]

While I know what Scobie is doing here – and god knows, he has his own set of limitations as part of the royal press pack – it would be interesting if he actually came out and said it. Like, he’s going too far to half-way excuse Kate here: “while Kate was able to shine a light on their work through the odd royal engagement, her limitations as a royal patron meant that she would never be able to lobby to keep it going.” Kate could easily brush off the shackles of her royal patron “limitations” if she wanted to. She could have hosted fundraisers for the Art Room, she could have used her staff to come up with some kind of scheme to raise money online by selling the students’ art, she could have done a lot more than she did. It wasn’t because of the limitations of the royal role, it was because Kate is lazy, dull and unimaginative.

THAT is the larger problem – while the royal-patronage system is deeply flawed, all of these people could do a lot more without being called “political.” And seriously, if the point of Kate’s dumbf–k Early Years campaign is to raise awareness of just how basic and fundamental it is to give children a head start in life, why is that political? That’s the argument she could make, if she had two brain cells to rub together. “All kids need access to nursery schools and Head Start programs” is only a political hot potato if you think poor children don’t deserve to be nurtured.

-

" her limitations as a royal patron meant that she would never be able to lobby to keep it going."

Complete nonsense. Meghan would have found a way.

Kate really is a useless waste of space. Who just loves to pose. And copy Meghan's outfits.

#kate middleton #celebitchy #kkkate #copykate

[itsnothingofinterest]

 Okay, so I recently saw it said that a few of us villain stans, likely including me because I definitely do this, are arguing to much in favour of the villains ‘society’ angle and the need for change, and not thinking enough about their on personal issues and traumas.

Taking the only logical course of action; I’m here to talk the importance of the society angle even more, by showing how it connects to their traumas. And the farther reaching consequences while I’m at it. Because I genuinely am hoping that discussing the issues I see in popular theories can help me/us refine our general ideas of what will/should happen with Shigarak & the League on their path to redemption.

Because the thing is, the post and those like it are right that the League’s traumas and the handling of them are important factors to the villains redemption. I agree with those parts. But their issues with hero society are also important, genuinely maybe more, because they decide whether or not we loop back here or not after the League are inevitably saved (something I think most will agree is a lot less in-question at this stage).

Got a bit long though, so I’m putting a read more; under which you’ll find a discussion on the connection between their traumas & societal grievances, an analysis on the farther reaching consequences on these grievances, and a personal note on why I care so much about them besides. Should that interest anyone.

You interested then? Alright, cool.

Now, the connection between the society route and the trauma route is simple; the various social issues are what caused the traumas that made the villains. Competitive hero scene leads to Endeavor’s eugenics experiment leads to Dabi, quirk prejudice leads to Himiko & Shuichi being shunned for their quirks leads the villains Toga & Spinner, heroes caring about fighting more than their families leads to Kotaro’s abusive behavior (which was basically Hero society in miniature) leads to the Shimura incident + a follow up of civs leaving everything to heroes leads to Shigaraki Tomura.

Additionally, in their fight to destroy the source of those traumas, the villains are effectively fighting to prevent others from experiencing their starts to darkness...regardless of how most probably...aren’t thinking that far ahead.

(I don’t think Tomura’s thought much of this; but I think at least Dabi, for one, has. If just to the point of “I want to stop what happened to me from happening again” and not quite “so no one else is ever again in my place”. Well they are trauma survivors; I’m not gonna get on their case too much for focusing on their own survival & lashing out against their trauma sources over their fellow victims.)

But regardless of conscious intention, and whether you think AFO’s hand in things invalidates their motivations (which is a post for another day); that prevention of others experiencing their traumas is the result they, for all their toxic worldviews and unhealthy coping mechanisms, are fighting for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay but it’s still not gonna cure they’re traumas so why am I acting like the society angle is more important? Well the thing is that, yes, the trauma angle is important because Tomura, Dabi, Himiko, Spinner are important; but that is still just them regardless. Just those four. In few years to a decade, if nothing is done about the cracks in hero society that made the League, then another Tenko, Touya, and Himiko will all “happen”. They’ll get together, and they’ll kill a lot more people. Maybe they’ll be saved to, or maybe they’ll get jailed for life or even killed. Doesn’t really matter, because the next set will kill more people afterwords either way, in the doomed hope of affecting unachievable change. (Because if our League can’t do anything now, the future knock-off League’s definitely can’t.) And this will continue until Ujiko’s quirk apocalypse finally does humanity in; because heroes don’t care about that either.

And that’s the thing; the heroes don’t care about this “flaws in our society” stuff, and under no circumstances am I going to give them the benefit of the doubt to suddenly care to deal with this stuff off-panel and then do so. This is true even for the ones we like.

Example: we all like Shoto, right? He’s a nice kid, kind, wants to be a hero to put people at ease, yeah? Yeah. ...He doesn’t care about preventing other heroes from doing what Endeavor did to their own families. I know that’s hard to accept but it really is something he’s never once given thought to. Dabi, for all his aforementioned toxic world-views and coping mechanisms, is the only character who does. And if Shoto doesn’t start showing to agree with his brother on-screen and work to fix it himself; I am frankly unwilling to assume that will change unprompted. Not for him or any other hero; not when not doing so is easier for them, and heroes taking the easy way out has become a pattern recently.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A pattern both in-text and in recent predictions, I’m finding. I mean, this whole post is about a theoretical easy out the heroes have to avoid having to fix Hero Society and my problems with it. And I think that’s my core issue here; given the themes of hard work in this series, I’m against the idea of easy outs. Weather that be AFO’s incompetence giving the heroes an easy win in the finale, or using him alongside Tenko’s trauma to invalidate & ignore Tomura’s grievances with society so they don’t need to be addressed.

Especially because: the LOV are getting redeemed, no questions. I often get the impression my fellow villain stans worry about that when presented with the idea of hiccups in the redemption arcs; like Tomura killing someone again this arc, or getting too mad about Twice’s death, or holding on to his grievances post-AFO defeat, etc. Like, they’re worried if the redemption doesn’t go smoothly enough, there’s a chance it won’t happen. But the kids have set out to save them, they’re quite dedicated to it; so it’s happening, hiccups or no.

But they’ve never shown to care for this societal stuff; so that’s a bit more up in the air, and thus a bit more concerning for me.

#bnha #shigaraki tomura #shimura tenko #dabi #touya todoroki #toga himiko #spinner #league of villains #lov #paranormal liberation front #PLF #hero society #kotaro shimura #anti endeavor #shoto todoroki #class 1a

[shadowsong26x]

So this is in response to a post I came across earlier that otherwise was making some very excellent points about anti-intellectualism and the importance of studying things like art and history, etc.

Except.

One of the points it was talking about was the idea of replacing classics with YA/fanfiction/etc. as the basis for the literature aspect of education. And the refutation of that was that we shouldn’t replace “thought provoking and stimulating media with media that’s just designed to entertain and sell“

And here’s where I have a problem.

Not because we should not study/stop studying classics. There are several reasons for doing that, many of which are good ones.

But because the idea that those two things are mutually exclusive really gets under my skin.

(As a note, most of what I’m going to discuss in detail comes from English and French literature, because that is where the majority of my reading/background is.)

First of all, let’s just jump right in and start with one of the first names that comes to mind when talking Classical Literature: what the hell do you think Shakespeare was doing? Theatre during the 16th and 17th century in England (and most of Europe) was not considered high/intellectual art. He was writing mass entertainment. Did he also put together things that were profound/thought-provoking/stimulating? Absolutely. And I would argue that the fact that he does both is part of why he has endured in a way that some of his contemporaries did not. Like, occasionally you’ll see one of Fletcher or Johnson or Marlowe’s plays done, but nowhere near the frequency or ubiquity of Shakespeare.

And the same can be said for Moliere. Theatre was not a respectable place to work or write; that’s why the great 17th-century French playwrights (Moliere, Corneille, Racine) wrote under stage names. And yet, Moliere wrote Tartuffe, which, among other things, got him into actual legal trouble. And then followed that with Dom Juan (one of my favorite works of his), which is, among other things, includes a prologue commenting on that censorship, and is largely making a Point about hypocrisy (as is Tartuffe; he was on a Theme for a while there).

And then you look at 19th-century writers, and Dickens runs the entire spectrum. He absolutely wrote to make a point and provoke thought, but there’s a reason  he wrote serially, and that was to keep interest/entertain an audience and earn a profit.

Alexandre Dumas (pere) who wrote The Three Musketeers (one of my absolute favorite novels) and The Count of Monte Cristo, was writing at least in part to entertain his audience. His work was also published serially, but he was paid by the line rather than the word (which makes him, imo, more accessible than Dickens, though admittedly some of that may be that I’ve read more modern translations rather than contemporary/19th-century ones).

Which brings me to my next point.

The advantage to working with the classics as text is not because they are high art, or because they were written with the intention of provoking thought as opposed to entertaining an audience. The advantage is that the things that have endured, regardless of why they were written, are the ones that balance those two fairly well. Being both entertaining and giving something for the audience to dig into if said audience so desires. The preachy moralistic philosophical treatises disguised as novels don’t really have the same impact as other classics; the absolute dreck (and there is absolute dreck in every period of popular literature, fight me) tends to not stand the test of time. (some of it does; sometimes because it’s important for genre reasons, sometimes because of other sociocultural factors, sometimes by sheer coincidence; but the majority of what lasts does so for a Reason).

The advantage to working with modern literature (yes, including things like YA and blockbusters) is accessibility. And there’s also variance in writers working in the same period, of course. Like I mentioned before, look at Dumas vs. Dickens. You can also examine Shakespeare vs. Marlowe.

Look, anti-intellectualism is absolutely a problem. I’m not denying that. And we study the classics for a lot of reasons, and one of them is the idea that there should be common cultural touchstones/reference points. But the idea that entertainment and depth are mutually exclusive; the implication that studying modern popular literature can’t provide some of the same thought-provoking and/or stimulating discussion is limited and, frankly, a little elitist/gatekeepy. It also often adds extra layers of difficulty in approaching the literature in question. And, yes, there is value in probing those layers and learning about the context/the way language and morality and ideals shift over time. Ideally, there should be room for both. Honestly, I think there’s value in looking at things side-by-side; the Classic and then a modern piece that addresses some of the same issues/themes. One of my high school English teachers did that; looking at a couple of Star Trek Borg episodes when reading...I think it was 1984? That sounds right.

There’s just a lot more modern dreck to wade through, because it hasn’t had time to be winnowed away and leave the ‘good’ pieces to stand the test of time.

tl;dr: the high-art low-art dichotomy is BS and approaching media, especially literature, that way is an incredibly flawed take.

#look i have Feelings on this subject #and have for a while #and i know i don't post here very much anymore #and i'm making my own post here to avoid derailing the other one which was otherwise Very Good #but it made me kind of mad lol