#while i was drawing this i was thinking about how so much mermaid media is about mermaids who can turn human

[morlock-holmes]

I have responses to this.

This time I was a patient boy and watched to the end before commenting, which is good because the later parts clarified my reaction to the earlier parts.

So, talking about this dynamic, I was very proud when, back in the day, I recognized that Gamergate was very much about cultural appropriation, that essentially Gamers conceived of themselves as an insular, distinct culture, and felt that "their" important stories and cultural artifacts were being coopted by outsiders who had a shallow, and even hostile, understanding of the culture that they were drawing from and yet these cultural outsiders received plaudits and prestige for mediocre work while the underlying culture that they drew from was ignored at best and actively denigrated and demonized at worst, in pretty much an exact parallel to cultural appropriation narratives about, say, the birth of rock and roll, or native american spiritual culture.

This amazingly correct bolt of insight was very, very unpopular in the left-wing circles I run in.

But going forward to the Little Mermaid nonsense, it's just the mirror universe version of #ownvoices with a goatee.

Like, I saw people who, whether they were being sincere or satirical, made this really explicit. "Hans Christian Anderson is a very important part of Danish culture, shouldn't the people with that heritage be the ones telling this story? Shouldn't they see themselves in the actors?"

The self-conception of these people is that they're doing their own version of #ownvoices. I don't really want to necessarily agree or disagree about whether that's true, but listening to people it's a huge part of their dialogues with each other and their own self-conception.

And it frustrates me to see something that is obviously so psychologically crucial to these people just be completely ignored in analyses of why they do what they do.

I think what crystalized it for me is, late in the video Sarah Z mentions an earlier video about how marginalized creators are often blasted by left-wing critics for indulging in mediocre or imperfect representation.

And I guess the question I would have is, do you think that the left-wingers who go after marginalized creators who do problematic or mediocre rep are any kinder to the mediocre straight white men of the world?

I mean if the answer is yes that's pretty fascinating and I'd love to see it unpacked.

But what I think is that they are just as likely to blast mediocre white guys into cinders, as long as those mediocre white guys are soft targets.

And I think they choose their targets exactly the same way as Sarah Z indicates that they do in the video: Mediocre white guys who make popular yet arguably problematic work and have good industry connections get some heat which is eventually drowned by the actions of their own fans and the fact that they make money for the media companies that they work for, while mediocre white guys without many connections who make work which is too poor to build a huge fanbase are just as likely to be made into sacrificial trash.

You know, I see twitter hashtags like #menwritewomen, say, or see the people limping back from YA Twitter on broken stumps, and I think... "Wow, maybe I better not try to put any art out there."

In fact, I'm a bit nervous about writing any of this, because even saying, "The sacrificial trash produced by left-wingers intimidates me and makes me frightened to do things" is, in my experience, the equivalent of painting a giant target on my back.

After all, why would I be scared if I wasn't a bigot?

There's a point when going through all the accusations against High Guardian Spice where Sarah Z mentions off-hand that one of the creators was accused of hating men.

My first response, was, "Well, did she?"

It's not addressed, and is in fact glossed over so quickly that I think we're supposed to accept that it couldn't be a problem.

But... Uh... I am kind of concerned if people hate me. And when I see that glossed over as just obviously silly, well...

It makes me a little bit nervous. It makes me a little less sure of myself, it makes me wonder a little bit more about whether people will have my back if anybody decides to come after me.

One of the elements to this kind of backlash is bigotry, and I think sometimes I underemphasize that, because it isn't bigotry aimed at me, so I can afford to be philosophic.

But in addition to bigotry and money from the algorithm, a huge thread running through these backlashes is self-defense. People get on the hate train because they've seen people like them, or people that they like, proverbial "mediocre white men" become sacrificial trash before.

And they start to think, "How can I build up a defense against that?"

The obvious answer is to band together with people who are very vocally against the kinds of people who would launch these sacrificial trash campaigns against you.

And, for a good... decade or so, the left-wing response has been to assert that essentially some groups of people are, by virtue of their race or gender or gender identity or sexuality or politics, immune to these kinds of sacrificial trash dogpiles. That I, as a mediocre white man, shouldn't be intimidated or offended or put off when people say that they're tired of art by mediocre white men, because I'm in a position where nobody could really hurt me.

I don't think that's adequate any longer; most importantly it's just obviously not true anymore. Plenty of poorly defended "privileged" people have been blasted for a mediocre tweet or bad joke.

If we want to combat this kind of thing I think it behooves us to understand why people are actually part of it, and if you listen without preconceptions, self-defense is a huge part of it. Making a big stink about a black Ariel is an attempt at self-assurance, a way to say, "I can call on the same clout as #ownvoices if I want to."

And even if we want to say that's totally irrational (And frankly I don't think it is completely irrational) I don't think it can be effectively countered by just ignoring the central part of its appeal and pretending that it's just a core of bigotry and a few people who enjoy hot takes.

I think if we want to fight it we need to actually grapple with its appeal, not sideline what's happening in favor of a narrative that is more flattering to our own politics.

And I'm really, truly, genuinely not sure whether to @ Sarah Z on tumblr with this.

I'm alarmed at what might happen if this post escapes from the Rationalist Containment Zone. Are people going to fry me as a bigot who hates diversity in media? Or will I attract people who hate woke garbage to harass Sarah Z?

Whether or not the fear is rational, the fear itself is real. I really think it is vital that we understand that underlying emotion to understand this stuff.

[marine-indie-gal]

Ok, so little Unpopular Opinion to say the least, but I actually do like The Super Mario Bros Movie with Bob Hoskins (even though most of the Movie's Plots were indeed Shitty and that some of the Character Designs look absolutely nothing like the Original Characters) but what I do like about it is how it takes up a little FairyTale Aestheic Realistic development but on how that despite most of the designs being inaccurate, I like other people's takes on Designs that are Quite Different for their own personal interpretations despite the New Mario Movie coming up which I am exicited to see. As far as I am indeed one of the Few Fans who actually liked the 90s Movie, I decided to put up a little spin around the SMG4 characters if they were in the 90s Movie Universe. Inspired by a Few Out there who have done their own personal takes on what Characters in a Different Media based on the Said Franchise would look like in a Different Style. Considering that the 90s Movie made its own versions on some of the Mario Characters different, I figure why not do the same with some of the SMG4 Characters if their own LA Movie Counterparts were to be different than the Originals.

Some Info About My Own Personal Takes:

Meggy - While not looking alike at all with the Cephalopod Humanoid Creatures that we are all familiar with, I wanted to make an attemption of Inklings and Octolings by making them more Merfolk-like with a little spit of some Alien features as if Merfolk Cephalopods look something like Water-themed Aliens that still resembles most Cephalopods in Marine Life (kinda like the Amphibian Man from "The Shape of Water" and other Sea Monsters). Granted, I wanted to make Meggy's Inkling form something like an Actual Cephalopod Mermaid with more Squid/Octo-Like features (she still has the ability to transform into a Squid whenever she can) and as for her Human form, I know it's not very Athlete-like, but just imagine that she's still the same Meggy who can kick ass like a total badass but can still go through her Mer-Squid form whenever she want too. Also, Yeah, the Inklings and Octolings in this AU (while being Merfolk instead of looking more Humanoid) have the ability to transform into Humans for disguises whenever they go on land (so techincally think of it as in AU where if Meggy never lost her Inkling form).

SMG4 and SMG3 - Eh, not much about these designs. Let's just say I sorta redesign the New Designs of them by making them look close to how Mario and Luigi are depicited in the '93 film but I used accepts of more of their Real-Life Counterparts considering those Guys are indeed their Main Avatars to their own Fictional Mario World. I also gave SMG3 a sockhead instead of a Plumber Hat.

Melony - Considering that the Zelda franchise has Fantasy aspects, I wanted to make Melony look more like those Elf/Fairy-types of Creatures considering that she was turned as a Human by the Fierce Deity Mask. Say that she's sorta of a Fairy type inspired by the Nymphs of Greco-Roman Mythology, I also wanted to add in some Pink Flowers in her Hair while making her Wear a Forest-Fairy themed dress like most Fairies in Folklore (minus the Wings). As for the Real Inspiration for the Ears and even the Eyes, I mainly went with one of the Cult 80s Classics, "The Dark Crystal" by making Melony be inspired by the Gelfling characters in that Franchise; https://darkcrystal.fandom.com/wiki/Gelfling Axol - As far as Artists go throughout the Years, I wanted to make Axol look like some 90s Artist who can still draw Characters and Comics. Despite being born in Inkopolis in SMG4 Canon, in the 90s Movieverse, I can imagine him being born from a Sailor Family who had a passion for Art and even moves to Japan just like how did in the Original Series (so needless to say I did kept the Japan part of his life but for his Birthplace since Inklings and Octolings are Merfolk in this AU, Axol would have to be born in a Family of his near the Ocean at his own Beachouse where Inklings and Octolings still roam around the Seas). I also gave him one piercing in one of his earrings and let's just say that the badges that he wears are Buttons of Classic Anime Icons (like Goku from Dragon Ball or Sailor Moon).

Boopkins - Considering that most of the Mushroom Kingdom residents in the 90s version look nothing like their own actual counterparts from the Game, I had to make Boopkins a Human just like how the '93 Movie went. I know that Fishy Boopkins is based off of Spike (considering that he does appear in the Movie) but I actually wanted to make Boopkins look different from Spike like he's his own Actual Character. I went with the Blonde Hair and Green Eyes to resemble how he looks, I also gave him a Shirt that has a Fish on it considering that he's a Sea Creature but he's still the Guy who bonds with Sea Creatures and Anime. Bob - Like the Original, he is a Garo but I tend to take some inspirations off of the Garo Master from the Zelda Franchise. So like how that the Movie Goombas are, I wanted to make Bob's species look even more different by having them look something like the Skeksis from "The Dark Crystal" (hint by that Bird face which looks something like a Plague Mask and even the Reptellien-like tail), I also took one accept from his New Design by having him wear a Bandana around his Neck. I also gave Bob some pupils that would make it look extra Creepy.

Tari - I wanted to make her look something like a 90s Gamer by the tell of the Gloves and even that Outfit (which has the Rubber Duck on it), I also gave her Brown Hair and Blue Eyes with some little Blue diet on her Short Hair to still resemble on how she actually looked. In an addition, I also gave her a Heart necklace to resemble her own kindness. Saiko - Since she's a Bad Girl judging by her own name which translates to "Psycho Bitch", I wanted to make her look more Punk-like with a Few More Spikes to resemble her own Style and even have a Skull wearing a Bowtie on her own Top Shirt. I also gave her a Pink Eyeshadow since Pink is her Main Color but has for her Hair diets, I cut them off and made most of her Hair more Pink and even replace the Bowties for the Pigtails with a Headband that has a Bow on her head (I also gave her a piercing on her Nose). Imagine her living on the Streets like she's part of some Punk Gang who's got a Weapon of a Baseball Bat instead of a Giant Hammer.

Swag and Chris - Ok so much like how that the Mario Bros are depicited in the Film to resemble their Original Counterparts, I wanted to do the same for both Swagmaster and Chris, only instead, they work as Police Offiers working at a Police Department but are still are Security Guards like how they are in the Original Series. Swag almost looks like the same as his OG Self but for Chris, I added an Eyepatch on his own Scared Eye cause I thought it would be cool and I also gave him a little Tattoo that's meant to resemble Black Fire if you can at least spot the Other Addition that I added in. Shroomy - Easy as peasy, I made him wear a Different Scout Outfit to resemble his OG Self, though for the Hair color, he's still a Redhead like Meggy but I also gave him some Freckles as a relfection to some of his Spots from his own Mushroom head but even the Hair Bangs is mainly the real reflection behind his Actual Mushroom head.

SMG4 (c) Luke and Kevin Lerdwichagul Super Mario Bros. Movie 1993 Film (c) Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel Mario (c) Nintendo

#smg4 #supermarioglitchy4 #super mario bros movie #super mario bros 1993 #au #meggy #smg3 #melony #axol #boopkins #bob #tari #saiko #swagmaster #shroomy #chris gordman

[shankss-magnificent-ass]

My theories about the ancient weapons

So I'm too tired and hormonal to actually create anything at the moment. So I am going to share some of my One Piece theories with you guys. Also, beware this contains spoilers from the manga chapters released as of 6/1/2022

So in regards to the ancient "weapons" so far what we know is that Pluton is a ship, Poseidon is Shirahoshi, and Uranus is unknown (as far as I'm aware).

I've seen lots of theories about Uranus and about what or who it is. I've seen other people's ramblings about the hito hito no mi Model: Nika and joyboy being Uranus. How there was such a big emphasis on how special Momo is, the weapon the celestial dragons have. And the nature of the gods the weapons are named after and the nature of the weapons themselves.

Poseidon is the god of the sea, Pluton is the god of the underworld, and Uranus is the god of the sky. Shirahoshi is a mermaid living in the sea, who can control the sea kings and has the potential to control water with Fishman karate as Poseidon. Pluton is a warship and has no clear connection with the underworld.

The connection could just be a misconception to associate the underworld with death. But Pluton is another name for Hades, who is known to be the wealthiest of the Greek gods and the god of the depths of the earth. And what do you need for a warship? A wealth of resources, especially metal which you need mines for. The name pluton could have been given to the ship to imply that that particular ship will not reappear for it is in the underworld. And seeing as Pluton, the ship itself, has spent the last eight hundred years in the Alabasta desert, it can't be in good condition.

Which connection it is, is not clear to me, but I believe Pluton is obsolete. I think Franky can and will end up building something better. And the ship that Franky builds will become the new Pluton. But like without abandoning Sunny. There is a good chance Shirahoshi is going to reappear with Noah and a fuck ton of sea kings as Poseidon. But Uranus is still shrouded in mystery, and at this moment I do and don't think Luffy is Uranus.

I don't, because Nika is a sun god and commonly in mythology the sun god and the sky god are separate beings. On top of that Luffy's ability comes from a mythical devil fruit, and none of the other mythical fruits are given such important roles. Also, Oda hasn't said dick about Luffy being Uranus, and being true would feel like a cop-out. But we're still in the middle of an important arc. Luffy defeating Kaido is just the peak of the arc, the story still needs the resolution to cool the heat from the battle.

But in many Indo-European religions, the sky god is a leader, the father of the gods, or are associated with rulers also usually an important deity in the religion. Thor is Odinn's son, a key god, and basically a prince. Zeus is the King of the Greek gods, while Jupiter has the same role in the Roman pantheon. I could fucking go on. But if you look at what a King should be, then Luffy has a good chance of being Uranus. He cares for others, he doesn't like injustice. He can move the hearts of many and draws out loyalty and respect in even the worst people without even trying.

There are, however, others I believe could be Uranus.

Momo, because of how much Oda emphasized how special he is, the number of seasons he's been in, and the voice of all things that he possesses.

Morgans, because he is seen openly rebelling against the celestial dragons, and what seems to be an ability to control the birds. He is also a bird himself, associated with the sky like mermaids with water. Also, Morgans has control of the newspaper, over the information. And we all know what kind of storms can form in the wake of bad press. How news outlets can form the opinions of the masses if applied correctly. News can affect the winds of change, and it'd be rather poetic if Oda made Morgans utilize his paper for good considering how the media is utilized in real life.

Then there's Shanks, because of the role of 'father' that I mentioned earlier and thor's father is the King of the gods, and the sky-slicing move as well. But by the 'father' logic, it could also be Dragon. It could also be the weapon the celestial dragons need the ope ope fruit for. A weapon which supposed But that weapon could also be pluton as well because we haven't laid eye on pluton being still in the desert. It's entirely possible that Uranus could also be someone or something we haven't met yet.

But I do believe that all three will be involved in the final arc... so yeah

#one piece #monkey d. luffy #shirahoshi #cyborg franky #Shanks #Dragon #theories #ancient weapons #tma ramblings #from the depths of the dragon's hoard #tma original #6/14/22 #no beta we die like men

[bmpmp3]

mermay 6!! im obsessed with drawing all my creature-y and monster-y looking ocs in the i heart ny shirts i dont know how to explain it. he’s trying to fit in to human society

#mermay 2022 #ocs #oc art #art #traditional art #watercolour #while i was drawing this i was thinking about how so much mermaid media is about mermaids who can turn human #and i was thinking like damn...should i make these guys shapeshift into human forms #i decided against it just cause i kinda like em just as giant fish people but also #i remembered how i am when i make human forms of my nonhuman ocs #do you remember my rosie and tsana gijinkas #tiny plant themed marketable plushie creature rosie was turned into a tall green elf man #and 3 foot tall bowling pin shaped pants wearing alien tsana was just elongated and given hair #i didnt even give her a mouth in most of the drawings....shes still bright red #my attempts at giving ocs 'human' forms always ends up a little wacky fkjdsjfdsk #like literally i just pictured in my head the same kelpy fish person but this time. with legs #just a giant naked teal person with a snout and frills. and i thought hmm. maybe i shouldnt do that to my mermaids #anyway i also really like the idea of wheeling around a 8 foot tall fish man in a tank so #hes just a fish #(although i think he can breathe air fine)

[sleepy-belphie]

Hello! I don’t know if you’re doing headcannon requests but if you don’t mind could you do something along the lines of “the brothers find out mc likes to draw and drew the brothers”

Hi! I am doing hc requests so thank you for sending this in! It was actually really fun to write, I really hope you enjoy it <3 Got a little carried away with this one too lol

Tags: @kawaiiblack

~~~~~

Lucifer:

He’s doing room checks as usual

And you left your sketchpad/drawing tablet out on your desk

You catch sight of it a bit too late and can only watch as Lucifer moves from your dresser to your desk

He pauses as his eyes spot the sketchpad/tablet

He picks it up and looks at it before glancing at you

“May I?”

You nod and nervously watch him go through your work

His face is unreadable as he goes through drawing after drawing of him and his brothers

It feels like an eternity before he finishes

“Do you do commissions?”

It takes a moment for you to register what he’s said

“...what?”

“I’d like to commission you.”

If you do traditional art he asks for a 30x40 of him and his brothers

If you do digital art he asks for a colored, full-body piece of him and his brothers

He lets you decide how much you want to be paid

But he thinks it’s not enough so he pays you 55,000 Grimm

The 30x40 piece hangs in his study

The colored, full-body piece is printed, framed, and sitting on his desk

Mammon:

He bursts into your room one night when you’re finishing up a drawing of Satan and Asmo

You’re not fast enough to hide it from him

“Is that Satan and Asmo? Oi! Where’s my drawing!?”

Before you can show him anything else he’s speaking again

“N-not that I care! It’s hard to capture this perfection! I can see why you haven’t drawn me!”

He tries to act unbothered, but you can see past his tsundere ways

Once he’s done declaring how unbothered he is, you show him some pieces with him in it

He grabs the pad/tablet excitedly and snatches it from you to marvel over your work

“This is actually really good, ya know? I bet we could make some good Grimm off your little talent.”

You can practically see the dollar signs in his eyes

But you tell him that is not happening and take your pad/tablet back

He’s a bit mopey about it for a little but eventually lets it go when he sees you aren’t budging

When he does have a little bit of Grimm he does commission you for a small piece

The brothers’ eyes almost bulge out of their head when they hear that Mammon actually paid you for work

“What!? The Great Mammon can be nice sometimes! It doesn’t mean anything!”

It means a lot actually

But you’re a pro at reading between the lines with Mammon

Leviathan:

He’s on social media when he sees a drawing on his explore page that he’s absolutely in love with

The art style? Immaculate. He wanted to see so many of his favorite game and anime characters in this style

He imagines Ruri-chan in your art style and his brain just *internet dial-up noises* for about five minutes

He goes to the artist’s profile and starts scrolling through all their posted work

He pauses when he comes across a drawing that looked suspiciously like him in his demon form

The face was blacked out but the serpentine tail, the horns, the diamonds on the neck, the side zipped hoodie

It had to be him

In shock, he scrolls back to the top of the profile and checks out the bio and name of the artist

He is greeted by a very familiar face and name

He is in your room less than 2 minutes later

“You! Y-You did this!?”

You almost drop your pad/tablet thanks to his outburst and abrupt entrance

You look at the DDD that was shoved in your face and slowly nod

You thought he was gonna blow up at you for posting a drawing of him, even though his face wasn’t in it

You are very wrong

Levi becomes your #1 source of income

The moment you finish a piece, he is commissioning you again

You worry that he’s draining his bank account because he tips you very well

But he isn’t bothered at all by it

All of your pieces are on display in his room

He also posts all of your art on his social media and tags you

Your page explodes in popularity and the commissions are rolling in from his online friends

You had no idea otakus pay so well

Mammon is very jealous of the amount of Grimm you have piling up

Satan:

One day he asks you about your hobbies and you tell him you draw

“What do you draw?”

Cue internal conflict on if it’s weird to tell someone you’ve been drawing them and their brothers since you’re always around each other

He senses your hesitation and like the smart ass he is, he’s able to guess exactly why 

“Would your hesitance be because of the subject of your art?”

He knows too much for his own good

You decide it’s best for him to see it instead of telling him

Being a fan of literary art, you were worried he may be overly critical of your fine art

He was not the type to sugarcoat anything

However, he simply smiles and hands your pad/tablet back

“You’re incredibly talented, MC.”

A few days later he asks you to tag along with him while he handles something

That ‘something’ is going to feed some stray cats he’s come across

“MC, I’d like to commission you. I’ve found homes for these cats but I want something to remember them by. Will you help me?”

How can you say no to a man holding four cats in his arms?

You take some photos for reference and make four different pieces for him

When you give them to Satan, you swear you’ve never seen a bigger smile on his face

He framed them all and keeps them on top of his bookshelves

Asmodeus:

He found out through Levi’s social media

He commissioned you for a piece of him and the protagonist of a game he recently started playing

This piques Asmo’s interest and he wonders if you’ve ever drawn him before

He approaches you when you’re in the kitchen grabbing a drink

“Hi, darling. I saw the piece you did for Levi and naturally if you’ve done one of him you’ve probably drawn my beauty as well, right?”

You decide to show him since he brought it up

He’s gushing over all of your art

No, seriously, he is praising you so much even the tip of your ears start burning from your blush

He commissions you to draw him in many different ways 

Him in his bedroom, him in the bath, him as a mermaid, him as an exotic dancer

He comes to you with so many different ideas

He tests your limits but you actually like that

Beelzebub:

Beel is rather stoic, but he doesn’t mean to be

It was his resting face and smiling was usually reserved for eating yummy food

But you wanted to practice drawing him with different expressions

Beel’s welcoming manner gave you the courage to approach him and ask if you can take some pictures of him to use for a reference

He’s shocked you wanna draw him but agrees with the condition that he gets to see some of your other work

You show him different pieces of him and his brothers and he’s smiling the entire time

“These are all so good. I didn’t know you could draw.”

He commissions a piece of him and Belphegor and one of all seven brothers

But he also asks if he can watch you draw them

You both spend quite a few nights together

You drawing and him munching on snacks and feeding you some every once in a while

His presence is actually pretty calming so you ask him if he minds staying around while you work even after you finish his commission

Beel being Beel, agrees to keep you company

The night usually ends with him carrying you to bed

Sometimes, he takes you to his bed to cuddle

Belphegor:

Belphie was actually the first brother you drew

You came across him asleep in the attic once and he looked so perfect

Your fingers were itching to draw him, so you did

It became a routine for you to head to the attic and draw him while he slept

You always crept out before he woke up

You thought he had no idea of your little practice sessions

But one day you looked down to fix a mistake you made on his nose

When you looked back up you saw Belphie staring right at you

“You know, if you’re gonna draw me the least you can do is show me.”

You try to stammer out an apology as he sits up

“Oh, I don’t care. You don’t make noise or anything, I’m just very hyperaware of my surroundings. So I know when someone is in the same room as me when I sleep.”

He moves over to you and looks at your pad/tablet

“Hm, not bad MC. Show me your other work some time.”

Then he goes back to his sleeping spot, curls up, and falls back asleep

You sit there with your pencil/stylus in your hand, trying to wrap your head around what just happened

But he didn’t seem disturbed so you continue drawing

When he wakes up you show him more of your work featuring his brothers

He asks if he can have a quick sketch you did of him and Beel 

You jokingly say he has to pay for it

He actually pays you for it

He puts it up in his room

It’s nice to see when you visit him and Beel

#obey me #obey me headcanons #obey me fluff #obey me reader insert #obey me lucifer x reader #obey me mammon x reader #obey me levi x reader #obey me satan x reader #obey me asmo x reader #obey me beel x reader #obey me belphie x reader #Anonymous

[liquid-luck-00]

Connections 2

Chapter 2

this is based on @thepeacetea daminette soulmate au

Masterlist *** Previous *** Next

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

One year has passed and Marinette couldn’t be happier with her dad and Penny. She has been on tour with her dad and has thus been home schooled for a year. Then final performance is in Gotham city and she is going to the Wayne Gala with her dad. After only a year she has gained and adopted the name Marinette Stone, and you would not believe how much the media fell in love with her.

 ---

 Jagged’s tour was going to end in Gotham and Tim couldn’t be happier. He practically begged Bruce to send him and Invite to the Gala in an attempt to meet the Rockstar. Bruce eventually gave in and invited the Rockstar and Tim was ecstatic.

 ---

 To say he was surprised was an understatement, Jagged couldn’t believe that he was being invited to the Wayne Gala. His answer was immediate, he accepted the offer, not because of the Wayne name but because of what the Gala was for. Every Gala was for a charity and Jagged couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

“What’s this dad?” Mari asked him as he set the invite down.

“It’s an invite to a big fancy party”

“Are we going?”

“It’s a Rock’ in cause so ya”

“oh!” Marinette shot up and ran from the room only to comeback with a book. She stood next to him as she flipped though her drawings before finding the one, she liked. “do you like it dad”

It was a simple black tux with dark purple accents but what shot it over was that there were music notes everywhere they were meant to catch the light and reflect at angles. The suit was perfect and they both knew it.

“that’s amazing little rocker! Any ideas for Penny?” she only responded with a smirk and flipped a page. The dress she showed him was stunning, it was a mermaid dress that was a deep dark purple an had an open back. Over the whole dress was a lace that incorporated music notes that draped from her shoulders to the ground perfectly over the dress. “I think she’ll like it Mari, but what about you?” now her smirk grew wider.

“it’s a surprise”

“well it will be beautiful” with that Mari ran up to her room and you could hear her working and patterning until it would be perfect.

 ---

 Ever since moving in with her uncle he really did become her dad. He supported her in her fashion dreams and has even worn some of her pieces on stage. She didn’t want anyone to know it was her so papa only said they were from a little online shop, but that he couldn’t give out the name yet.

Mari couldn’t believe her luck she was originally going to give them the outfits for their birthdays, but this was better. She had been trying to keep them secret, but this was perfectly timed.

 ---

 The day of the Gala arrived and the three of then went out to the limo. Marinette couldn’t believe that she finished all three outfits, but she was more than pleased with the results. She was dressed in a purple to pink dress with musical notes and a black velvet sash tied in a bow. Her hair was in a simple chunky braid that was pinned into a loose bun. Dad couldn’t stop smiling and Penny was gushing how cute she was and how well the three looked.

When they arrived at the Gala, they walked the red carpet and Marinette stayed close to her dad. She smiled and waved for the pictures while dad dropped hints that the three were dressed by his mysterious designer.

Mari could tell instantly she was the youngest as soon as they stepped into the ballroom, so she hid behind her dad but still made polite conversation with those who spoke with her.

 ---

 Tim was bouncing on his feet trying to catch a glimpse of the Rockstar.

“Tim” Bruce cut into his searching.

“Yes?” Tim immediately stopped his searching and looked at his father.

“Sigh. Come on let’s look” Tim was on his heals. They walked around the room until they saw the Rocker. But they were having trouble the rocker was with a woman and child and almost every woman there seemed to be fawning over the child and Rocker.

That was when Tim noticed the child, she was calm and courteous but when her eyes saw him, she excused herself and ran towards him. She had to be about six from her height, but her motions were fluid and not without purpose.

“Hi there” the child extended her hand “I’m Marinette, nice to meet you”

Tim went through the motions and shook her hand, “Hi I’m Tim” he gave her a polite smile and then looked back at Jagged. That was when he heard her laugh and he looked at the child and frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“You” she stated it and continued to giggle, that only deepened his frown. She then Turned around and called “Papa, I think someone wants to meet you” she still was giggling.

“Little Star! I told you not to leave my side” The rocker said with a chuckle and a glint in his eye. “Looks like Mari’s taken a liking to you, nice to meet you I’m Jagged Stone” he held out his hand and in that moment Tim .exe stopped working. And almost as suddenly shook his idol’s hand.

“OMGItsapleasuretomeetyou”

“Tim” Bruce called “breathe” Tim shook his head took a breath and seemed to regain some composure while Bruce only seemed to laugh.

“Hello Mr. Stone, my name is Tim” the little girl seemed to have stopped giggling, but she was looking between Tim and Bruce and then something seemed to click, and she was giggling again.

“What’s so funny star?” the girl took a deep breath.

She turned to Bruce and extended a hand “Hello Mr. Wayne” and the look on Bruce’s face was priceless. This little girl seemed to not only recognize Bruce without him ever introducing himself, but even the Rocker was shocked.

 ---

 Bruce didn’t understand what was going on and that was surprising. A six-year-old was able to identify him and what he knows of Jagged she would never have visited Gotham before. But he was never going to be prepared by what happens next.

This giggling girl suddenly stopped and went quiet. She looked behind him for only a moment before her attention was back on him. Her blue eyes lost in thought, when almost a suddenly they snapped to attention. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the side as a man dressed as a server was holding a knife. This little girl just pulled him away from an attacker without a giveaway.

She turned around as the attacker spun around and charged. She didn’t move, hell she didn’t flinch as he ran towards her with a knife. She was small and she used her size to her advantage but that didn’t stop the punch that she hit the attacker with on his leg. Almost instantly the man went down, and this little girl just took him down. Bruce didn’t know how this child was able to hit the spleen 11 pressure point, but she did.

“Are you okay?” a soft voice rang in his ears and saw the sweet little girl again.

“Yes, I am…” Bruce was confused to say the least, and his confusion only grew when he heard laughter.

“Little Star that was dangerous” Jagged Stone scolded, and he laughed. The girl looked sheepish and just like a child should.

“How?” was the only thing that registered in his mind.

“Dunno she’s always been a little badass.” The Rockstar laughed.

This child is something else.

 ---

 The five of them stayed together the rest of the night and by the end Little Marinette was practically adopted by the Wayne family as a niece to Bruce. As she referred to him as Uncle Bruce and called Tim Tim-Tam.

The Stones were invited the next day for lunch at the manor where Marinette met Dick and Jason. Jason who when told couldn’t believe it until he saw the video and hasn’t stopped laughing except to call her his sister and give her the nickname Pixie Pop to which she responded to call him Jay-Jay. Dick practically fell in love with his new sister and she fell in love with him calling him Blue Bird.

Marinette loved Gotham because of her new brother’s and she practically begged to stay longer. It was Alfred who spoke up asking about her education. Dad saying, she was doing classes online. And Bruce asking if they would like she can attend Gotham Academy and stay with them in the manor while Jagged was on tour. Marinette couldn’t be happier, all that was left was a concert in Paris then school would start.

Next

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

A quick doodle of young Marinette. I think that after the gala the people of Gotham call her Gotham’s Pixie

Taglist🐞🦇

@thanks-captain-obvious @mandy984 @our-preciousss @readingismyoxygen @birdy912 @shifty-lesbian-retro-goblin @todaylillypads @laurcad123 @demonangel27 @be-happy-every-day-please @fandom-trapped-03 @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @t1dwarrior-of-earth @saays-bitch @kawaiigiantjudgefish @k-poplunardreams @animegirlweeb @animezodiac707 @justcourttee

#damienette #miraculus ladybug #batfam #batman #maribat #soulmate #justice league #jagged stone #marinette #ml marinette #damian wayne #damianette #marinette stone #mlb x dc #dc x miraculous #dc x mlb #Connections AU #marinette x damian #damian x marinette

[butter-egg-toast]

YouTuber Girlfriend ▶️

I got a bunch of requests for this one. . 👍

Requested by @dragonwolfs

Long post be prepared.

I'm so sorry I couldn't think of Albert, Kadea, and Aii

Enjoy 🤗

Haru: 🎨

🌙You're a mix media ArtYouTuber.

🌙You do various art forms like painting sculpture, Ink art, ceramics, etc.

🌙You're usually not on Camara, most of your videos are focused on your art work.

🌙On some occasions Haru would draws something for you

🎨" Look (y/n), it's a Mackerel sculpture"-Haru

🌙 Haru gives art tips on the channel for beginners.

🎨"Art and swimming are similar...just go with the flow"-Haru

🌙He goes shopping with you for art supplies.

🎨" We literally only bought 4 items and it came to 40 dollars?!-Haru

🌙You and Haru did a couple of drawing challenges like:

Draw with left hand challenge,

Draw each other challenge

Draw with your eyes closed challenge

🌙At the end of the day Haru secretly enjoy making art with you.

🌙You have a simple following of 50k

Channel name: HoneycombArts.

Matoko: 🐱

🌙You're an animal YouTuber

🌙You work at a pet adoption center. So you encounter different types animals like:

Cats, dog, rabbits, birds, and many more

🌙You invited Matoko to help you with the feral kittens and cats; immediately after hissing at you and the other employees they warm up to Matoko.

🐱"Wow.. they really love me!"-Matoko

😸" Woah Her fur is so fuffy and pretty"-Matoko

🌙You give tips about properly taking care of animals.

🌙Matoko usually not on Camara that much (he's kinda shy)

🌙But when he is on Camara, The videos with the most views are usually with Matoko washing kittens.

🐱"You want to make sure the kitty is calm and not scared of you. Make sure you talk to them to calm them."-Makoto

🐱"Its okay little guy, you're gonna be a nice and clean kitty"-Makoto

🌙 You have a simple following 80k

Channel name: PreciousPets

Nagisa: 🎬

🌙You're a movie/TV show commentator. Comedy skits, you comment on badly movie reviews or simple commentary.

🌙You and Nagisa something reenact scenes from movies and TV shows.

🎬" Oi!!! Look at me when I'm talking to you *bad acting*" -Nagisa

🌙Nagisa cant get his lines right and he always laugh. That's what makes it charming.

🎬" Dont go...I..ummm... *laugh* I forgot (y/n) chan.. what's the line again?"-Nagisa.

🌙Sometimes there are cheesy skits you do together for fun.

🌙 there are some occasions were both of you and Nagisa forgot your lines and you both had to improv.

🎬" Noooooo... how.. could you betray me? Nagisa fell to his knees. "Well...you shouldn't have took my... taco.." trying your best to hold in your laughter. Nagisa confused at your choice of words. "Eh?..."-Nagisa

🌙He Loves being on Camara most of the time

You have a simple following 50k to 80k

Channel name: Tomatometer

Rei: 📘

🌙You're a History YouTuber. Educational videos, learning , science, and technology

🌙 You go over the latest new technology and you have sponsors that send you laptops and phones

🌙You have a mini segment were Rei goes over interesting fun science facts

📘"The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue"-Rei

📘" People who speak two languages may unconsciously shift their personalities when they switch from one language to another.

🌙 You and Rei do a myth busting, where you answer questions from viewers.

🌙There was even a time were you both performed a chemistry experiment that failed.

📘" *cough * see this is why its important to have safety precautions"-Rei

You have a simple following of 50k to 60k

Channel name: Learn Something Today

Rin: 🛠

🌙You're a DIY YouTuber, building and create easy life hacks

🌙You build random projects you find on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or viewers suggestion

🛠" (y/n)? That a cool sculpture"-Rin

🌙Rin is never in your videos. The only time he showed his face is when you both did a challenge together.

🛠" Woah!! This looks complicated. But nothing's too complicated for me. What do we need ,(y/n)?"-Rin

🌙Rin sometimes goes shopping with you to find your supplies.

🛠 "Huh?! This is a lot of wood (y/n), what are you making today?"-Rin

🛠" what type of wood you need?"-Rin

🌙You sometimes give away or sell your projects depending on the occasion.

🌙Rin helps with your projects on his day off, because he's curious how the project will turn out.

You have a simple following of 80k

Channel name: Fix it Make it

Souskue: 🥙

🌙You're a cooking Youtuber

🌙Sousuke something does voice overs talking about cooking traditional Japanese food and giving cooking tips.

🥙" Okonomiyaki is a simple pancake that is cook with cabbage."-Souskue

🌙People always send you emails asking to show your boyfriends face because they love his voice so much.

🥙" They really like me? I dont think my sounds like honey"-Souskue

🌙You sometimes do food challenge and completions with your friends and Souskue. (Souskue always win)

🌙You make a variety foods all over the world

🥙"Can you cook pork cutlets?"-Souskue

🌙The meals you and Souskue cook, you both give to homeless shelters and orphanages.

🌙Every special occasion you bake a themed caked.

🥙"Is that a shark?! How did you make this?!"-Sousuke

You have a simple following of 70k

Channel name: Cookie dough gummies

Momo: 🎮

🌙You're a Gaming YouTuber

🌙You play a wide variety of games like horror, dating Sims, action,Platformers, 3D, and many more

🌙Multiplayer with all your friends (Among us)

🌙Momo definitely loves playing adventures and scifi games with you

🌙Momo likes to bring Puyysuke with him to the gaming sessions.

🎮"Puyysuke is good luck!!"-Momo

🎮"Puyysuke is just as excited as I am with this game. "-Momo

🌙You and momo sometimes compete with each other in fighting and racing games.

🎮"Awwww no fair (y/n) that's cheating !!"-Momo

🎮" Ahhh how you keep winning"-Momo

You have a simple following of 60k

Channel name: Beetle juice

Seijour: 💪

🌙You're a health and fitness Youtuber

🌙Health and fitness tips from professionals and Seijour.

💪"Having a perfect form is the most important and effective way of succeeding"-Seijour

🌙Breaking down the human body to benefit different bodies types.

💪" This exercise plan I used on the samzuka swim team. I guaranteed you will bulk up👍"-Seijour

💪No pain no gain. Keep pushing YOUR ALMOST THERE!!! You can do it!!"-Seijour

🌙 You and Seijour do couples yoga on sundays.

💪"Dont worry (y/n) I got you. Just relax your muscles"-Seijour

You have a simple following 80k

Channel name: You're lifestyle

Kisumi: 💄

🌙You're a beauty YouTuber.

🌙Hes pretty much on your channel 24/7. Everyone loves the both of you.

🌙You do make up challenges, skin care tips, and themed make up looks.

💄"Niacinamide and hyaluronic acid are the best together on your skin"-Kisumi

🌙 You and kisumi have challenges where you do each other's makeup.

💄" Eh? I used the wrong color?! Haha sorry "-Kisumi

💄"I hope I'm not too rough with your face. Let me know."-Kisumi

🌙Kisumi did a voice over on one of your tutorials twice.

💄" Now shes applying blush on...oohhwow that's a cute shade on her..its really cute (y/n)"-Kisumi

💄" wow that makes (y/n) eyes pop!"-Kisumi

🌙Kisumi loves to do seasonal makeup tutorials with you.

🌙He even let you do some makeup on him.

💄" Woah I look like a kpop male idol! How did you did that??!"-Kisumi

You have a simple following of 90k

Channel name: Velvet lips

Asahi: 🔎

🌙You're a Horror theme YouTuber

🌙Discuss Mysteries and Paranormal activity all over the world, Unsolved crimes. Mysteries death and conspiracies theories

🔎"That's interesting.. has the crime been solved?"-Asahi.

🌙Asahi is not into the paranormal because he doesn't believe in it. However, because you like, he's curious about the stuff you talk about.

🔎"wow that monster is 8 foot tall!! And it was seen in Japan??!!"-Asahi

🔎" mmmhh.. that picture is kinda convincing"-Asahi

🌙There was a time where you, Asahi, Hiyori And kisumi went to explore an abandoned house on the countryside that is known for huntings

🔎"oh... (y/n) do you want me to hold your hand if your scared?"-Asahi

🔎"huh? That noise? It may have been a rat"-Asahi

You have a simple following of 70k

Channel name: Mystery XE

Ikuya:💻

🌙You're a Anmaition Youtuber, sometime you animate your story times and do little funny Anmaition, and music video Anmaition.

*The time I accidentally pranked my teacher story time*

*Middle school experience * story time

*Worst family vacation ever* story time

*Creey encounter at work ft Ikuya* story time

*How I met my boyfriend ft Ikuya* story time

🌙Ikuya something gives you ideas for a Anmaition.

💻"How about do a little mermaid Anmaition?"-Ikuya

💻"This is cute a Anmaition, you think you can teach me how to do it?-Ikuya

🌙 You created a Anmaition for Ikuyas birthday with one of his favorite songs.

💻" I love ever bit of this. You really know what I like"-Ikuya

You have a simple following 60k

Channel name: Ms.Honbuns

Natsuya: 🗺

🌙You're a travel YouTuber/Vlogger

🌙 natsuya is on your channel 24/7

🌙You and natsuya traveled to various locations while site seeing, eating food, meeting local people, learning the language, learning the history, and having fun.

🌙You do 360 VR videos of each country, or city you visit.

🌙Sometimes you both camp and go on hikes.

🗺" ah Its so calming out here in the wild"-Natsuya

🌙Natsuya has his own little segment were you taste different types of beers and wines all over the world

🗺".. woah (y/n) you have to try this. The favor is out of this wolrd!!"-Natsuya

🗺"Where do you want to go for the spring? I was thinking 🇬🇧The UK or 🇲🇽 Italy."-Natsuya

You have a simple following 90k to 1M

Channel name: Lake side view

Nao: 🍀

🌙You're a Garden YouTuber

🌙you give gardening tips

🌙on the weekends nao helps with your garden and maintaining it.

☘"Wow!! (Y/n) your vegetables looks great "-Nao

🌙You harvest and Nao cooks the Vegetables.

🍀"Wow the vegetables this harvest is delicious"-Nao

☘"Next harvest, can we plant watermelons?"-Nao

🌙Time lapse videos of Fruits and vegetables growing and decomposing.

You have a simple following of 50k

Channel name: Growful love

Hiyori: 🛍

🌙You're a Fashion YouTuber

🌙 Discuss the newest trends and unboxing new clothes, shoes and accessories .

🌙Haul videos with Hiyori (sometimes)

🛍" These sweater feels amazing"-Hiyori

🌙You and Hiyori sometimes try on matching clothes.

🛍" Wow! We're definitely a cute couple!-Hiyori

🛍"This is something I'll definitely wear every day "-Hiyori

🌙 Most of your clothes are your choice of style. And Hiyori's is more like dark academia.

🌙 Sewing clothes for you and Hiyori.

🛍"woah!! You made this for me?! Thank you so much"-Hiyori

🌙 And some occasions you guys will go thrift shopping.

You have a simple following of 60k

Channel name: Exclusive Z

#free dive to the future #free! road to the world #free! #free images #asahi shiina #haruka nanase #natsuya kirishima #sousuke yamazaki #makoto tachibana #nagisa hazuki #ikuya kirishima #rei ryuugasaki #rin matsuoka #nitori aiichirou #momotarou mikoshiba #seijuro mikoshiba #nao serizawa #kisumi shigino #hiyori tono #free iwatobi swim club #free! anime #free! scenarios #free headcanons #free high speed #free! headcanons #free! x reader #free! take your marks #free! series

[barbieburnanator]

for the artist ask meme: 1, 5, and 17!

Thanks for the asks! I may have gone a little overboard on my answers, but I love details. (both in my art and answers.)

1. When did you start drawing?

I've been drawing and coloring since I could hold a crayon. I have a vivid memory of coloring in Ariel from the Little Mermaid on my dining room floor when I was 6 or 7. I started drawing more when I got into anime, around 12, and even more so when I entered high school. But I'd say I serious on drawing and anatomy, color, environments, etc., about 1.5~2 years ago. For now it's a hobby, but I would like to make a career out of it, or at least a side hustle, one day. Here's the earliest drawing that I still have. I was maybe around 6 or 7 drawing this and it's hanging on my wall in my studio as constant inspiration to keep going!

5. UR proudest artwork.

Oh, this is hard. Mainly because I'll feel proud of a piece I finish, then by next week it's old news. I don't think I could pick just one, there are a few pieces I feel proud of, even if they're old.

I was really proud of how these three came out looking, especially since I was still getting used to digital art back then. I remember spending days (even weeks) on them, but I was so happy with how they turned out.

More recently I feel pretty proud of my landscapes and face portraits from this year -

I've been trying new techniques for coloring and shading left and right this year. Finding new ways to get coloring and ideas down faster. All three of these pictures are something I wouldn't haven been able to do 6 years ago like the previous pictures, and they all took way less time to boot! There's a lot that I would already like to fix or change, but I'm still pretty proud of how they came out.

17. UR inspiration?

Another long answer! (Sorry, not sorry.)

I gain a lot of inspiration from artist, but also from nature. When I go out for walks I'll snap tons of pictures of what I find interesting. (My two recent landscape painting are from pictures I took.) Movies, TV shows, videogames, and books are all things I draw inspiration from. Such examples being Ghibli movies like Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away, Whisper of the Heart (go watch if you're feeling down about your art!) Tv shows like The Promised Neverland, Clone Wars, Final Space, Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, Bleach, Gurren Lagann (I rewatch every year), Yu Yu Hakusho, Tigun, the list goes on.

As for other artist, the list gets pretty long here too, so I'll mention my top 5 -

Loish - Been following her since my high school years and when digital art was making it big in the media. I continue to follow her and love her tutorials. Her style and movement in her work is what drives me to give my own characters movement. She was also my main inspiration for when I started painting digitally.

Steven Zapata - This is guy is the best. Not only as art but at the philosophy of art. Why do you draw? What keeps you drawing? I will listen to his videos as I draw and it always makes me smile. I think he's helped in a big way, not so much when it comes to drawing, but rather the mindset that we have while creating art. I could talk for hours about this guy so go check him out on Youtube!

Trent Kaniuga - Awesome artist and painter! This guy made his own way in the art field, creating a comic that sold in stores when he was in high school. He never went to college but he made his own way as a self taught artist. That alone has always been a big inspiration for me as I can afford a university and have been teaching myself. The way he uses colors and paints has given me ideas of how to do it in my own work.

Adam Duff LUCIDPIXUL - Another artist you'll find on Youtube. I've been watching this guy for almost two years and he's so warm and heartfelt in his videos. I love putting him in the background as I work and he's very down to earth when talking about art and the world around us. His art isn't my style but it does give me interesting ideas.

Dave Greco - An amazing artist in rendering and color. I've been following him for a while and I love how he paints hair and uses color. Though I think it's the way he uses lighting and paints faces that I love the most. (I uses a few of his brushes too for painting faces.)

Phew! I know I probably answered way more than you expected but I love getting these questions! It gives me a chance to think more about my own art and how I think about it as well. If you have any others questions, from the list or in general, just send it in. And thanks again for the asks! :)

#asks #asks barbieburnanator

[nileqt87]

Despair For Castiel: A Review

From a series of posts before and after watching:

Before:

As far as I'm concerned, I'm now imagining the Empty having to deal with Gabriel and Balthazar redecorating the Empty into the angel/demon afterlife (probably with a lot of wacky alternate realities and bad porno) with all the free will angels and redemptive demons invited, Cas finding Meg and eventually Jack again for his true happy ending that he can have and Crowley probably trying to install himself as king again. Then when Rowena finally exits as Queen of Hell, she'll join and Crowley will annoyed, but Gabriel will be happy to see her again. LOL.

Megstielers also got robbed hard with all that setup of Cas still pining for Meg for YEARS, the Empty using her image (not Dean!) to taunt him (the Empty clearly saw Meg in Cas' head when it could have taken the form of anyone, including Cas like last time) and a whole dropped plot thread that Cas made a deal with Ruby to break a demon out of the Empty, which only makes sense with the one and only demon he'd actually want to let out of the Empty. That's dangling one 'ship a whole bunch of carrots (like every single Clarence reference for a decade) to rip the rug out from under them.

I suppose I should've seen it coming when the previously on segment for 15x13 was a Pizza Man and the Babysitter retrospective that shoved Cas out of the Pizza Man role beside Babysitter Nurse Meg to shove Dean into Megstiel's sexy times meme. I guess it turned Cas into just Dean's Baby in a Trench Coat (which was an insult about being useless to Dean's cause without powers, which suggests Cas has no worth to him otherwise), since he got infantilized with the removal of the Pizza Man originally being him.

I still haven't watched the episode. The Tumblr crap is that off-putting.

What should've been an epic moment in Cas' story is now tainted by his love of humanity, found family and free will (his real love story is with all of humanity and finding belonging, in spite of always being on the outside looking in on a life he can't have because he's not human) being reduced to horny girls who just want fetish smut with Dean and don't give a fig about canon Cas outside of a toxic, abusive crack!ship. It's always so immature and vapid!

It was immediately clear when I joined the fandom that shockingly few gave a crap about any character but Dean, even refusing to see what he's become in later seasons. Also numerous examples where they admit having not seen the show in a decade or only knowing the show via manipulative .gif sets. Cas and Sam (if they remember him at all) are just props or prizes to be won. They ignore context of familial/platonic relationships. Canon love interests aren't good enough because they're not the big prize of being a main. I also note the deluge of Wincest girls who hate Cas for existing (he's in their way) in the anti-Destiel tag.

I can't say the .gifs are making me want to watch, even though the dialog is vague enough to still fit Cas' actual character for the general audience who isn't glued to social media.

As for Dean's non-reaction, I had similar problems with Jensen's constipated acting back in 15x03 when Cas finally walked away while Dean looked like he couldn't care less, which the writers coincidentally praised Jensen for (holy crap that interview was up his backside) and completely ignored Misha actually giving a good performance in a scene that actually meant something long coming for Cas. I certainly can't say the same about the quality of this scene, which just looks forced on both ends.

I hope I like the episode more than the sounds of it, but my hopes aren't high. This is not how I wanted Cas' final moments on the show to be.

After:

Well, I got up the stomach to watch it tonight. Thankfully, in context, it definitely got blown way out of proportion by what the Hellers turned it into (as usual). Yeah, even when watching while unfortunately not blind to the wackadoodle fandom discourse, it played out better on screen than the .gifs. And frankly, a whole lot less like creepy Care Bear stare nightmare fuel than the few choice screenshots kept showing (yikes). I still wish Sam and Jack had been there, because they're just as much part of what connected Cas to feeling like part of a family (even more so in the later years), but it's not the total monstrosity it was turned into online.

Average viewers who just take canon as is without trying to read into it what they want to be there instead, IMO, will safely interpret it platonically (even if coming after a particularly hellish few years in Dean's personality rot where the whole friendship was beginning to be questionable) more often than not because that's what the canon has said for a dozen years. Again, I repeat that Cas already told the Winchesters he loved them when he thought he was dying.

It's a crime to have Cas' perfect philia (brotherly), storge (parental) and agape-style (sacrificial and unconditional) loves being immaturely twisted into eros in a way that degrades the whole meaning of the character's journey. People telling each other they love one another when it's not sexual should never be mocked into being afraid to do so because of this insidious, willful misinterpretation. If only somebody had told Cas they love him instead of him always being the one with his heart on his sleeve!

This character went from being tortured into a robotic, emotionless, ancient, not-remotely-humanoid being who couldn't relate to the simplest of human needs to being someone deeply in love with humanity and wanting to find belonging amongst it despite knowing it would always end with him watching them all grow old and die after having families and such experiences angels are forbidden from having (another reason why Jack was so important to Cas' story).

The wording is valid for that philia/agape interpretation, given Cas definitely equated Dean (whom Cas watched sacrificing himself for Sam endlessly, including why he had to be raised from perdition in the first place) with a guide role in his learning to understand humanity and proudly-defiant free will before he could love it. It's valid enough to say that Cas wouldn't have broken his programming permanently without being challenged to question everything he'd ever believed and give up his entire angelic belonging. That much of it did begin with Cas just happening to be the angel who succeeded in the Hell rescue.

Obviously, it's also canon that Cas had a long history of not following orders and getting lobotomized by Naomi, but Cas actually understanding humanity and what free will means did happen only after this particular rebellion. I'm very glad at least that was in the speech, but of course, it's being hopelessly ignored.

I stand by my interpretation that what Cas can't have has always been the tragic version of The Little Mermaid where she turns into sea foam in the end. Cas has always looked in on what everyone else takes for granted from the outsider's perspective. There's a part of him that will always be left out, no matter how well he learns to fit in and how much those around him begin to treat him as a real person. Cas never really got to truly belong with humanity, no matter how much he loves and is loved by it. He's also not getting to stay where he wants to be. There's no Pinocchio ending for Cas that turns him into a real Winchester.

Sadly, Dean's constant othering of him and Jack like they're just more monsters to hunt only alienated them more. Jack was someone Cas could relate to as a supernatural being capable of human emotions, which might also have furthered his draw towards Meg. Sam was also someone Cas could relate to as freaks and abominations amongst their own kinds. Sam always had that same struggle, also with his own family. It goes a long way towards explaining why Sam was always so empathetic to Cas and Jack in a way that Dean couldn't be. All three kept conflicting with that black & white humans = good/other = bad mindset that sometimes creeps in with Dean. When Cas was Dean's "best friend" in the early days, he rationalized it by thinking of Cas as being "like" a human ("You used to be human, or at least like one.").

Yet it still remains true that Cas often found himself looking to Dean to teach him about humanity back when he didn't know enough about it to be inconspicuous amongst them. Dean gave him the crash course in both what humanity is willing to do for each other, but also its flaws and failings at the same time.

Perhaps the saddest scenes in the episode were actually Sam watching everyone poof in front of him. Sam has really been forced to watch a lot of death scenes this season all by himself (as with Rowena), but he looked the most broken by Eileen's. Cas is going to be hard on him, because I genuinely think Sam was far closer to him in the end. Sam was the one who actually was trying to reach out to Cas when Dean repeatedly kept him out of the loop. Sam being left out from the final words with Cas or even hearing first-hand about the deal with the Empty just furthers that tragedy. While Dean has been raging at everything in sight, Sam and Cas have both looked broken, sad and tired all season.

#castiel #anti-destiel #dean critical #anti-dean winchester #megstiel #team free will #dean winchester #sam winchester #meg masters #jack kline #eileen leahy #saileen #spn #supernatural #spn 15x18 #spn s15 #s15 #despair

[femmesfollesnebraska]

Artist feature: Helena Baka

Artist Helena Baka shares with LFF about her inspiration as an artist through trauma, experiences, identity, femininity and more. All images and text (c) Helena Baka, helenabaka.com.

Where are you from and how did you get into art?

I’m from Elmwood Park, Illinois, but I’m currently living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both of my parents were born and raised in Albania and immigrated from there before I was born, a few years after the collapse of communism. I’ve loved art since I was a child – I used to draw princesses, my favorite television show characters, Sanrio characters, and self-portraits. This was probably because both of my parents were artists - my father is a painter, and my mom used to make little angel Christmas ornaments and draw mermaids for my sister and me (although she stopped doing that very early on once she became a paralegal). All my life I had been surrounded by my dad’s oil painting landscapes of Albania hanging on the walls of our home, so I think I wanted to be just as good as him.

It’s been hard to be upfront about this, but my mom committed suicide when I was only 16 years old, and that was really the beginning of my painting practice because I started to draw inspiration from my traumas, dreams and experiences after that. Now, my work is motivated by my cultural identity and the distance I’ve experienced with my Albanian culture while growing up American. Lots of my current work shines on aspects of my identity, both relating to culture and femininity. I also have been exploring the relationship between sculpture and painting in my work because I’m fascinated with how bending the rules of traditional sculpture and/or painting can possibly make either of those fall into either category.

I have a few impetuses for creating; much of it derives from the need to tell my story, to use my practice as a form of therapy, to take risks and experiment with both familiar and unfamiliar mediums, and to educate my audience on whatever topic evokes strong emotions from me.

Tell me about your most recent exhibit.

4th Midwest Open at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago is the upcoming show I’m featured in, and I’m really excited for it because it’s going to be filled with so many different types of work featuring many artists of diverse backgrounds. It’s a chance to showcase the voices of women and nonbinary people in a space that is not male-dominated, which I think is so important because spaces like these are rare to find in the art world.

I hope when people see my work, it can spark some curiosity and self-education of what and where Albania is, and that it’s not just some impoverished Eastern European country that never made it into the footnotes of western history textbooks. My work touches on themes of loss, displacement, and frustration with one’s identity, as well as learning to accept and embrace who you are; that it’s okay not to fit into the mold of who or what you’re “supposed” to be. So, I hope at the end of the day, anyone who views my work can see a little bit of themselves in it, too. Most importantly, I want to be the Albanian woman artist role model that I never got to see growing up.

Does collaboration play a role in your work?

Although I have always worked independently in the studio, I’ve found collaboration beneficial to my practice through exposure of others’ ideas and methods of production. Being in my last year of art school toward my BFA, I have grown used to surrounding myself in an environment of plenty of working artists, and that alone inspires me to create, too. I think the act of critiques and even showing in-progress work has been a collaboration between me and whoever is critiquing my work, because most of the time I’ll come out of it with fresh ideas handed to me by another person. It works the same way vice-versa.

I once had my first ceramic sculpture fall apart in the kiln, and through a collaborative effort of mending it with my friend who was very familiar with working with plaster, my sculpture was repaired and I gained new insight toward this specific material and potential future uses in my practice. My work could never have progressed the way it has without the exposure of different ideas, methods and materials that other artists use.

What do you think about making work right now with the current political climate?

The political climate we’re living in right now has brought on so much outstanding work that has been made by BIPOC creators. Through the darkness of the pandemic, a corrupt, unfitting president in office, systemic racism, police brutality, and all of the tragic deaths we’ve experienced in 2020 from these events, one of the few instances of light the world gained out of these tragedies was the art made by black folx and BIPOC. From music to writing to visual art, BIPOC’s voices have been uplifted and encouraged on every accessible platform, and I continue to see more and more spaces made exclusively for these communities in the art world. Art really makes a difference in impacting our ways of thinking and beliefs, and I believe that if we continue to make BIPOC creators and voices a priority after Black Lives Matter is no longer a trending topic, there could be huge changes in the art world that provide even bigger opportunities for BIPOC creators, such as solo/group exhibitions, publications, grants and rewards, and leadership positions, if not more.

Is feminism relevant to your work?

Absolutely! I would categorize much of my work as feminist pieces because it discuss the contrasting distance and pride not only between myself and my cultural identity, but with my female identity as well that has been challenged and taken advantage of throughout all my life by others. Sexism, misogyny perpetuated by both men and women, double standards, and body image dysphoria as a consequence of these things have all been themes I’ve had to work through in my life and practice.

I can’t speak for every womxn or nonbinary person, but most who are or have once been feminine presenting in their lives have experienced a hypersexualization of themselves and their bodies through the media, culture, and the overall tainted perspective of the patriarchy we’ve been trained to look through. Instead, my work inevitably sees through the lens of the female gaze, where there is no objectification or negativity associated with the female/feminine body or experience, and instead the viewer is presented with this sort of chaotic, distortion of the faces and bodies of my characters, who are often abstract depictions of self-portraits.

What’s the best advice you have received about being an artist?

Strive to make work better than the last and only compete with yourself. Never measure your talents and successes to someone else's.

helenabaka.com

instagram: @artbug666.

~

Les Femmes Folles is a volunteer organization founded in 2011 with the mission to support and promote women in all forms, styles and levels of art from around the world with the online journal, print annuals, exhibitions and events; originally inspired by artist Wanda Ewing and her curated exhibit by the name Les Femmes Folles (Wild Women). LFF was created and is curated by Sally Brown Deskins.  LFF Books is a micro-feminist press that publishes 1-2 books per year by the creators of Les Femmes Folles including the award-winning Intimates & Fools (Laura Madeline Wiseman, 2014) , The Hunger of the Cheeky Sisters: Ten Tales (Laura Madeline Wiseman/Lauren Rinaldi, 2015 and Mes Predices (catalog of art/writing by Marie Peter Toltz, 2017). Other titles include Les Femmes Folles: The Women 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 available on blurb.com, including art, poetry and interview excerpts from women artists. A portion of the proceeds from LFF books and products benefit the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Wanda Ewing Scholarship Fund.

Submissions always open! - Check out the 10th anniversary call here:

https://femmesfollesnebraska.tumblr.com/callforart-writing

#feminsitart #contemporaryart #womenartists #womanmadegallery

[inugamibeyi]

Finallyyyy I was able to draw my Kemono Jihen oc !  Nota bene : Today, on 02/25/2021, there hasn’t been any information in the manga (I’ve read 49 chapters) about mermaids ! So my oc is only based on the few things I know about the lore and my own imagination. This might explain mistakes about mermaids and Alma !  Now, let’s have fun with her !  -------------------

IEVANOV Alma - Mermaid  28 yo (born on March 11th) - born near Russia   Favorite food : Tonkatsu Not-so-favorite food : cheese (which clashes with Shiki who wonders how you can dislike pizza’s main ingredient)  Udon or Soba ? Doesn’t care as long as it’s tasty  Okay with being on display ? Totally disagrees (has been exploited by a human for 8 years) First thing she did when she arrived at Tokyo : Buy clothes Favorite part of the human culture ? Books (especially whodunits) Least favorite part of the human culture ? Social networks (but mainly due to a fear of being found again by Tachibana. She avoids them as much as possible)

----------------------------------------- Alma is the only female employee from Inugami Detective Office. She’s also Inugami’s first employee, as she’s been there for 6 years (from 22 to 28). She considers that she has a debt towards Inugami as he freed her from the man that was exploiting her powers back in Hokkaido. Alma spent 8 years locked in the pool of a japanese’s millionaire’s mansion, Tachibana Haruto. He used her powers to stay young and healthy, mermaid tears being able to heal wounds, cure disease and stop and even reverse lightly the body’s aging. 

Mermaids powers aren’t very strong compared to other kemonos. They seem to be mainly focused on surviving and escaping. It allows them :  - A sharp vision : Mermaid have perfect eyes. Their sight is precise, they can see without difficulties on wide areas and can even see in the dark.

- A strong stamina and a slower aging : Compared to human, mermaids only needs 3 to 4 hours of sleep per night. Their bodies being used to swimming all day, they can endure longer days of work without feeling tired. Thanks to their healing and regenerating powers, it also appears that mermaid age slower.

- The Sing : Mermaid’s voice were mainly focused on tricking their prey so they can hunt and eat them easier. The song of a mermaid mainly affects persons that feel attraction toward women, but it doesn’t always work (uneffective on asexual person as an exemple) but mermaid can also decides to focus on one person (which Alma tried to do with Tachibana, but it didn’t work). With time, this ability mutated, leaving mermaid able to do many things while using their voice, such as, for exemple, erasing or replacing some memories.

- The wave : Basically, it’s a form of defense that allows mermaid to escape. It’s a big scream that’ll provoc a sound wave, leaving the enemy unable to move, when they simple don’t faint because of the sound. Isn’t deadly but buys time.

 - Healing tears : Mermaid tears contains something (unlike Aya’s thread, nobody can perfectly explain what it is) that is able to heal wounds and prevent bodies from disease. Yet it doesn’t seems all efficient, because what the tears give you seems to be balanced by a shorten lifespan. Alma doesn’t really know how long she’ll be able to live, but she thinks she’ll live for 400 yo without having trouble.

Inugami freed her after hearing the story of a man in Hokkaido that doesn’t age and the other story of a woman who sings her sadness, making whoever hears her voice cry for hours.  Alma being afraid that she’ll have nowhere to go, and most importantly, fearing she’ll be kidnapped again, choosed to stay by Inugami’s side, trying to assist him and help other kemonos. Being at first very naive and curious, about everything, Alma quickly learned how humans’ world works and got used to it. Her curiosity also helped her to adapt very fast, Alma being the kind of person who doesn’t have any trouble to focus and work for a long time (probably thanks to the fact that mermaids have to keep swimming no matter what they do, which helped her to develop a strong stamina and a small need to sleep). She was able to understand quickly the new world she was stepping in and had no problem to blend in. Alma grew up to be less naive and childish, turning into a person who tends to think a lot before acting, making her a good advisor for Inugami. She also tends to be tougher than him, especially on food. She doesn’t want him to eat junkfood all day because he’s too lazy to cook. She’s strongwilled and doesn’t hesitate to scold him on the points she judges important. Even if Inugami thinks she can be annoying, he knows that’s her way to care about them.  When it comes to fighting, Alma’s abilities aren’t the best so what she can’t do with powers, she completes it with training and strenght. Inugami taught her how to shoot and realised her sharp vision would make her a nice sniper. He taught her how to use a longshot gun. When Mihai came, he was able to create her bullets that are effectives against Kemono.  Alma’s relationships are pretty good in the Inugami Detective office. She just doesn’t like the way Shiki tends to ask for pizza almost everyday, despite the fact that she’s cooking for them when she’s in Tokyo. But he is a nice boy and he is smart.  Despite her differences with Akira, she tends to be nice with him, as long as he doesn’t post her face on his social media (which truly makes him sad because he thinks Alma’s pretty face could boost his account). She likes the bubbly side o his personnality, she thinks he lightens the mood. Kabane made her unconfortable at first : this kid just didn’t said anything to her. He was just sitting quietly and watching, and doing the chores. But when Inugami explained her his past, she tried to help him to feel fine at the office, by learning him how to cook since he wanted her to do it. She took a liking in him, seeing a little bit of her younger self in that curious, yet naive young boy.  Mihai... Oh Mihai... Perhaps it’s her worst relationship here. She knows he deserves his place at the office and doesn’t say he’s useless but... He’s just so annoying ! Annoying her, pulling the curls in her hair just to mess with her (”but they’re bouncy” he says)... So she just messes back with him, intentionally turning down the wifi, making some sarcasms... Yet they tend to help each other when they need to (Mihai helping her to create her weapon’s bullets, Alma translating for him documents but also the dialogues for his game and editing some videos for his channel). Guess it’s a “I like you/I hate you” relationship. Then Inugami, or “Kohachi” for her.  She’s the only person who calls him by his first name, both of them being adults and Alma being here for many years now.  Kohachi is Alma’s savior. She’s loyal to him for freeing her from Tachibana. He also the one who offered her a home and a work, leading her to be able to start a new life. He’s also the one who helped her to learn more about mermaids and how to use her powers.  She did everything she could to make sure he understood how thankful she was. She took care of him, she helped him with work, paperwork, she helped him to gain more informations...  With both of them actively helping each other, their relationship sure went fine... Too fine. Were they helping each other because they needed to or because they deeply cared about the other one ? Were they living under the same roof because Alma had nowhere else to go or because both of them wanted her to stay ?  When they were together, they were flustered, yet happy. Flustered by the way people were calling her his wife. The way he thanked her for the food, the way she scolded him for his cigarettes, saying she didn’t want him to have troubles because of a shitty stick. The way they looked at each other, the sweet smell of her hair, the way she had to get on her tiptoes when she wanted to fix his tie... He remembered their few moments of weakness, ending in each other’s arms while the children were heavily sleeping, how they desperately moaned, swallowing their voice in order to remain silent, keeping the night they shared as a secret. And the next day, living as if nothing happened, pretending he stole her shampoo when Kabane noticed how Kohachi smelled like Alma. “ Hey, Kohachi ? - Hm ? - Let’s put an end to that. - ... To what ? - To our secret. - What ? Oh... I thought you were enjoying this... Guess I’m really that bad huh ? “ 

His sarcasm and his dumb playing only earned him a light slap on the arm, as Alma laughed.  “I don’t want it to be a secret anymore, I... I think I like you... - You know you’ll have to deal with Akira putting us on Instagram to “celebrate it” ? - Oh, shit, I haven’t though about... Wait, is that a “yes” ? - What else could it be ?”  As he was trying to light up his cigarette, she smiled while snatching it from him. He knew she was messing with him... Yet he just pulled her closer, his arms around her waist as she was putting hers behind his neck.  It was their first kiss that wasn’t in a hurry, that wasn’t almost stolen while they were sharing their nights together. It felt different. Better.  “ I love you... - Me too. “  They stayed in each other’s arms for a few seconds, now realising what happened.  “ So... We’re a couple ? - Yup. Sounds like you’re stuck with me, young lady. - “Oh no, my crush is liking me back, I wonder how I’ll manage to survive that”. - I just wondered how you didn’t notice before... - I’m gonna break that cigarette, Kohachi. - Wait don’t, it’s expens- “  *snap*  Oh. Oh shit. “ Guyyyys ! They confessed ! They confessed ! - Well... Shit. - Akira ! Don’t post that picture, I swear to god I’ll break that stupid phone !”

#kemono jihen #kemono squad now has a mom #inugami kohachi x oc #kemono jihen oc #kemono incidents

[wethepixies]

Welcome to the third and final part of our staff interview series! This set of interviews focus on some of our most social staff members - our Discord moderators and our social media team. Once again, these pixies had a lot to say, so we’re tucking all of it under the “Keep reading” link!

WTP’s Discord server is the main place for the community to come together - in fact, we just passed 6,000 members! It’s extremely important to keep the server as safe and friendly as possible, and that’s where our beloved moderators come through. Without them, we wouldn’t have the loving WTP community!

Our moderators are Lila Almondpetal, Gloria Flutterflower, Daphne Moonflower, Anastasia Foxheart, Rose Morningmist, and Kassie.

What are some of your favorite memories about the original Pixie Hollow? And what are some things that you’re excited to see again in WTP?

Daphne: If I had to choose only one favorite thing then it would be shopping in Pixie Hollow especially those GORGEOUS gowns from the Queen's Boutique. It was the luxury store of Pixie Hollow, and the gowns they had were on a whole different level. I used to play Pixie Hollow every day as a kid and I even convinced my dad to get me the annual membership. I was able to make a lot of friends from different parts of the world because of the game. My best memories of the game are of Camp Pixie Dust! As for what I’m excited to see in WTP, I am exhilarated about the Tearoom and Animal Derby coming back since those were the only places you could play with other players. They were always packed with other fairies and sparrowmen and I used to hang out in those two places the most.

In her interview, Daphne sent us some pictures of two of her favorite things in Pixie Hollow - a couple of screenshots of Camp Pixie Dust and her favorite gown from the Queen’s Boutique.

Anastasia: Honestly? As a kid, I spent most of my time attending the parties. The minigames there were always so addicting! Gameplay wise, I loved baking and tailoring! I wasn't as invested in it as other Disney MMOs because I never was able to get a Pixie Hollow Membership, but I still loved to play it! It influenced my decision to play the DS games, as well as the Fashion Boutique mobile game! I will say that my love of the original Pixie Hollow has benefited my life in many ways as without it, I wouldn't have so many memories with friends I've made along the way. Also, I would've never found WTP! I think one of my best memories from Pixie Hollow has to be from the one party where I won almost all of the party games. I was pretty young when I was really into Pixie Hollow, so although it's a bit silly, I just remember feeling super proud and feeling like the queen of the party, haha! As a kid, I never really appreciated the quests (although I did do them), so I am excited for those to come back & relive that experience. However, since WTP will not have a paywall for any of the experiences from the original Pixie Hollow, I am incredibly excited to explore The Wilderness for the first time!

Lila: My favorite part of the original game was honestly how open and free it was! There was always so much to do in the game, but I never felt pressured to do any of it if I didn't want to. I could go crazy one day playing games and doing quests, and then I could spend the next day flying around, just admiring the scenery and doing absolutely nothing in terms of progress. There were no obligations at all - I think that's why I remember the game so well. I was also really invested in it - I actually kept a journal about what I did in the game, can you believe it? I would say it's made my life better in a couple of ways - when the game was still open, it was a fantastic stress reliever, and even now I love thinking about it (plus, it led me to WTP!). As for my favorite memory… well, there are so many! I'd have to say my favorite was the time a Sparrow Man and I flirted in the Tearoom using nothing but those preset Speedchat phrases. I don't know who started it, but I'm pretty sure we were both non-members at the time - maybe we were drawn together by those Arrival Day outfits. We ended up drawing a crowd; I remember seeing a lot of clapping emojis and hearts. It was insane! Sadly, we forgot to add each other as friends, so we never saw each other again. I just got out my old journal to check if I wrote down his name - and I apparently did! Figfig, my guy, if you’re out there, I was either Twilight Olivemist or Karina Lightningflame at the time. As for what I’m excited for, I'm super excited for all of the meadows to come back! I loved just flying around and seeing all of the gorgeous artwork. And multiplayer, of course - Pixie Hollow was such a social game. I loved those little things like sitting on a branch and chatting.

Gloria: My favorite part of the original game was definitely the community aspect! I made a lot of friends in Pixie Hollow that were really special to me. It was so much fun to play games and throw parties with other pixies in the Hollow! I played the original game from January 2009 to its closing in 2013. I was really invested in the game and played very often! It definitely helped me embrace my inner child and hold onto magic longer than a lot of my peers, something I am grateful for. One great memory I have of the game was the events. I specifically loved the Silly Days Event, which allowed users to access the Mermaid Grotto. And Camp Pixie Dust, of course! For WTP, I am super excited for questing! It was a really unique experience every time and led to neat storylines which allowed players to unlock some cool items. I really liked the added structure of quests in game.

Rose: I was mildly obsessed with Pixie Hollow for a good majority of my childhood. I was picked on quite a bit when I was younger, so Pixie Hollow became this sort of safe haven for me, where I could express myself without fear of judgement. I spent a lot of my time roleplaying with online friends, pretending to be waitresses in the Tearoom, or secret agents fighting crime and protecting the Hollow – it was a lot of fun. Some of my first ever story ideas came from some of those roleplays, which lead to me starting a blog and later pursuing a career as an author, so I actually owe a lot to the game and the friends I made there. My favorite thing was probably decorating my home – I loved creating different settings with all the furniture I had, from cafés to ice palaces. It was a lot of fun. I'm super excited for multiplayer – I’ve made so many friends through the PBC (Pixie Blogging Community) and WTP, so I can’t wait for when we can hang out in-game.

Kassie: I played Pixie Hollow starting in late 2008 until it closed! Every day after school I would grab my snack and head to the computer to play for at LEAST an hour. Narrowing down my favorite part of the game is so hard!! But if I had to choose I would say getting creative with outfits and color combos! I loved going to fashion contests and seeing other people's creations- that's actually how I met a lot of my friends. I think Pixie Hollow benefited me as a way to escape from the stresses of the real world. Middle school and early high school were difficult seasons for me and it was nice to venture into a mystical land where I felt people truly cared for me. One of my favorite memories was when I met my friend Strawberry. We were mutual friends with someone and we both went to her house at the same time. However, our friend was asleep (remember the lil z's?) and so we started talking and suddenly we became the best of friends! Over 10 years later we are still friends and catch up with each other once in a while. We don't live far from each other so we hope to meet each other someday! Honestly, I’m most excited to have house decorating in WTP! I remember people would spend HOURS decorating their homes and doing the coolest designs- I always concentrated more on fashion so I'd love the chance to redeem myself and design an awesome home!

How did you first find out about the WTP project and what inspired you to start working as a moderator?

Kassie: A lot of my close friends started up the project and eventually invited me to be a part of it as a moderator! In our friend group I tended to be the one to mediate conversations, so I think it was a no-brainer to ask me to moderate.

Daphne: When I got to know about Club Penguin rewrites, I thought there might be a rewrite for Pixie Hollow as well and I stumbled upon a YouTube video which mentioned WTP. I really wanted to help out with the project in any way I could so that really motivated me to become a moderator.

Anastasia: I actually found out about the WTP project through Teresa, on another Pixie Hollow site where she first posted the Bubble Bounce demo! She even DM'd me about potentially helping out as an artist, which I've always wanted to do! However, due to my schedule being a bit too busy to consistently help out with game art, I never felt like I could apply. However, I've always tried to help out in other ways, such as when I was an Event Manager & hosted movie nights! When it was decided that movie nights were going to take a hiatus, I really wanted to continue helping out in the community, and thus, I became a mod!

Lila: I first found out about We The Pixies when I joined a Club Penguin rewrite. I hadn't thought about Pixie Hollow in years, but then I wondered if someone else had rewritten Pixie Hollow, so I looked it up and found WTP! As for joining the moderation team, I'd been pretty active on the server when the application opened up, and I really loved the community. I figured I'd give it a shot - worst they could say was no, right? Well, I ended up getting the role! It’s been a really great job ever since.

Gloria: I found out about We the Pixies while doing some Google searches and checking out the Pixie Hollow community this year. I definitely jumped at the opportunity to apply to be a moderator because I have so much passion for the project and wanted to help out and connect with others who also had interest. 

Rose: I found WTP through Phoebe Bumbleflip’s blog – she published a post promoting the remake and the Discord back in October last year. I don’t have any skills that can really help with the recreation of the game itself, but I wanted to contribute in any way I could, which is what inspired me become a moderator.

(Phoebe is a member of the WTP Hype Squad, you can find her blog here!)

The WTP community is mostly positive, but have you ever had instances where you felt like server members weren't being the nicest? If so, how do you deal with it?

Anastasia: Since I'm new to the staff team, I've only ever come across a handful of issues involving the members, and most of them resolve with ease. Typically, directing people to the rules and giving them a warning is enough.

Lila: With so many people in the server, it's not unusual to see something that isn't so friendly - usually, if an argument starts up in the chat, reminding people of the rules or starting a new conversation fixes things. If things are really bad, I might talk to someone individually and ask them nicely to be, well, nicer.

Gloria: In my time on the staff so far, we have had a couple trolls and people who haven't complied with the rules, and in that situation, we generally like to calmly message the person and ask them to comply with the server rules. In my experience thus far, this usually sorts out the problem. However, if the issue persists, the moderation team would consult each other and figure out how to deal with it further based on the severity of the behavior.

Rose: They’re very rare, but we have had to deal with some disputes with upset or angry members. Usually us moderators will talk and discuss the issue and then decide the best course of action together.

Kassie: There's always going to be someone unkind who comes across the server every now and then. I think the best way to handle it is to tell them what rule they're breaking and WHY it's important that they adhere to the rule. Ultimately, our rules are about respecting everyone in the community. If we can help them empathize and understand respect I think that's making strides not only in the WTP community but hopefully in EVERY community that individual is a part of.

We've had a few events in the WTP community, how does creating one come about and how do you plan it?

Anastasia: Excellent question! As a former Event Manager, I'm the right Pixie to ask!

It all starts with the approval of administration. Once the admins approve of it (and other staff have no issues with it), you can go forward and begin scheduling a time. We typically don't do events without having a proper schedule or time frame. We also try to accommodate other time zones as best as we can, since we know that WTP has Pixies from across the globe! Then, you need to designate certain responsibilities to people. This was the purpose of the Event Managers, since we were in charge of hosting Movie/Game Night. I have a lot of good memories hosting movie nights with Alchemist (Lavender) and Asteria! With other events, staff members are chosen to have either a leading role or a helping hand in making sure the event goes smoothly. Even if they aren't in charge, it is important to note that all events typically require staff supervision. Now, planning it typically involves a discussion among the staff (and any other WTP players that may be involved in helping out). We usually try to make sure that the community voice is heard, and that they can get involved! Our main goal is always to bring everyone together while having fun, and that is the foundation of all our events.

Daphne: The Hype Squad is the creative mind behind all the events we have. Since we can not have in-game events (which we definitely will once the game is fully developed), the Hype Squad tries to come up with flitterific events to keep us in the pixie hollow spirit while we wait. Our former team of event managers was behind the shorter events such as the numerous game nights and movie nights.

Lila: Starting an event is absolutely a team effort - no matter where or who the idea comes from, we like to talk about it for a while first. For example, I had the idea for Meadow Madness one night out of the blue, and I made sure to run it by the staff and Hype Squad before I started anything up. It ended up being a huge success - we had an average of 200 respondents per round, which was pretty neat for something I came up with in ten minutes.

Rose: There’s quite a bit of planning that goes on behind the scenes for events – a lot of events are actually planned by the Hype Squad (which I am a part of) or our social media team. An idea will be presented by a team member, and then we’ll all discuss it – what our thoughts are on the suggestion, and how we’d go about holding it if it were to become an actual event. If everyone on the team agrees and the staff are okay with it, we’ll then start deciding dates for the event and preparing things like banners and announcement posts. Sometimes we’ll also have one of our members act as coordinator too, to make sure everything is running smoothly during the event itself.

Kassie: I'm personally not one of the head honchos who puts events together, but it comes down to listening to a bunch of ideas and trying to figure out which one best fits the needs and desires of the community!

How do you fit working on WTP into your schedule?

Daphne: I finished high school in April and I can't really start college until quarantine is over, so I pretty much don't have anything to do at home right now so it's easy for me to make time for WTP.

Anastasia: I try my best to moderate whenever I can- usually in my spare time. We get a lot of newcomers each day, so there always seems to be someone who needs help getting verified, or a Pixie who needs some other sort of assistance. That's the thing about having such a large community: we always seem to have some moderating to do!

Lila: I actually have the apps I need for moderation (and social media work) on my phone - now that I'm not in school for the summer, I'm traveling a lot, so I don't sit down and use my laptop very often. I think I use Discord on my phone more than my laptop, actually. Using mobile lets me check the server whenever I have a spare moment, so I can keep up with things wherever I go.

Gloria: I have a really flexible schedule in general as school and life goes, so I am able to make time to moderate and spend a lot of time online.

Rose: Mostly by multitasking – I’m almost always online, even if I’m doing other things, so it’s not too tricky to keep an eye on the server throughout the day.

Kassie: It's hard sometimes, but the easiest way for me to stay connected is to keep my notifications on when I'm not busy with the mandatory things in life like my job, planning my wedding, and investing in relationships outside of the community. Giving myself the chance to walk away here and there leaves me refreshed for the next time I log on!

Two of our moderators, Kassie and Lila, also serve on our social media team, so we asked them a special question:

How do you use social media to grow the community?

Lila: Social media is a great place to post about game updates and community events. I've found that few posts get people more excited than posts about new game features. Update posts also let people know that, yes, we are still up and running! Sometimes people think we've shut down already, and social media helps us keep the project alive.

Kassie: Social Media is all about messages. I think what attracts people to join a community is to send a message they resonate with! In WTP's case, nostalgia plays a huge part in growing our community- we are trying to attract people who are excited about something they wish they had again.

One final question for all of our moderators: what’s your favorite part of your job, and is there a way it’s benefited you?

Daphne:  Definitely talking and getting to know so many people from across the globe. I'm always down for making new friends! For me, the most impact moderating for WTP has had is on my people skills. As a moderator, you have to ensure that everyone is following the rules and sometimes people need convincing to follow a rule. It also involves solving any issues related to the game/Discord server and communicating with the members in general, which really develops your people skills.

Anastasia: Honestly, my favorite part of being a mod is being able to interact with the other staff members. They're a really lovely and creative group of people, and it's fun bouncing ideas off of each other and figuring out what's best for everyone in this community! I wouldn't quit WTP for the world! Working for WTP has benefited me a lot as so far, it's helped me work on the ways I can help organize a community. Also, it is helping me work on my time management skills, as well as my ability to work in a team.

Lila: I think my favorite part of my job is, as corny as it sounds, watching this community grow! When I joined, we had maybe 500 users in the server, and we're well over 6000 now. I never thought that so many people would remember the game, but they do. It's remarkable, really. Working for WTP is probably the best volunteer position I've ever taken up. Moderating has really helped me learn how to think things through and get help when I need it. Working on social media has also been great for my writing and graphic design skills - I've got to say that I've gotten pretty good at color combinations!

Gloria: My favorite part of moderating is helping people in the player server and sparking interest and discussion among users. It's so much fun to reminisce about the hollow with other fans. Though I haven't been on the team for a very long time, it has already been lots of fun and I have really enjoyed connecting with the community even more and getting others interested in the revival project. And the other staff members are very cool people that are really rad to work with.

Rose: My favorite part of my job is welcoming new people to the server! Being a moderator has definitely helped with my problem-solving skills – working out ways to handle situations on the server.

Kassie: Being friends with the staff is my favorite part. It is always a joy to log on to laugh and learn with friends. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Asteria and I have created a pretty strong friendship (hopefully she agrees, haha). We've known each other for about 4 years now. She makes me laugh out loud and we've been there for each other in our victories and failures. Her friendship is one I deeply cherish and I hope we get to meet sometime in the future! I care a lot about connection, community, and friendship, so for me, being a part of this team is a way for me to foster those things and be a part of it! I think I've benefited from WTP by learning how to guide hard conversations and disagreements in a respectful manner. Many people think moderators just manage the community, but a huge part of our job is to aid staff in having constructive conversations. There are definitely ruffled wings here and there, but we always get through and I've really grown through those processes!

__________________

Thank you all so much for sticking with us during our interview series! We had a lot of fun answering your questions, and we hope you had a flaptastic time reading them.

#WTP Staff Interviews #we the pixies

[phoenix-downer]

Light in the Darkness Scene: Japanese and English Comparison

This is the second in a series of posts analyzing Sora and Kairi’s moments together during KH3. The first post about the paopu fruit sharing scene can be found here. 

Here’s a general key for the kind of analysis I like to do:

JP: Official Japanese Dialogue

EN: Official English Dialogue

TR: My Translation

Notes: things I found interesting, grammatical points, extra thoughts, etc.

One last note: media doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Every work of art must be viewed through the cultural lens of the people who made it. Kingdom Hearts, for all its ties to Disney, is still very much a Japanese game, so it should be analyzed in light of that.

With that in mind, let’s continue. 

Right off the bat, the scene opens with Sora in the darkness.

This is reminiscent of the following scene in KH1, when he is recalling what happened when he fell to darkness:

But he’s not alone. Someone’s here with him. Note the framing of this scene, with the light in the upper lefthand corner and Sora in the bottom right. It’s a very striking visual that makes great use of diagonal lines to indicate movement.

The camera changes and centers Sora on the screen, but once again he is at an angle and we get those nice diagonal lines.

He looks up...

...then does a double take, because he can’t believe his eyes. He makes a shocked little noise, too.

The look on his face changes to pure wonder as he realizes who’s there.

This moment nicely parallels that same scene in KH1 where Sora is recalling how Kairi saved him. Note how his eyes likewise flew open when he heard her voice:

He’s making about the same pose, too, just upside down in KH1 and right side up in KH3.

And waiting for him there, in the depths of the darkness, is Kairi.

Her expression softens into a smile as she greets him with simply his name.

JP ソラ

EN Sora

TR Sora

She moves to the center of the screen in this next shot. She’s the light in the darkness. She was all along.

Sora, overjoyed to see her, calls out to her, his voice urgent...

JP カイリ！

EN Kairi!

TR Kairi!

(Shoutout to Haley here too in the English version for absolutely nailing how Sora says her name, just the right combination of relief and joy and excitement!)

...and reaches for her:

The camera changes angles to show her reaching towards him, too...

...and they grab each other’s hands.

Let’s take a moment right here to talk about this more. 

Handholding. No big deal, right?

Depends on who you ask.

Different cultures have different ideas about what constitutes appropriate physical contact with the opposite sex. I’ll speak from personal experience and observation here for a moment. Japanese boys are way more touchy-feely with each other than their American counterparts. While this changes as they get older, as kids they’ll play wrestle, sit in each other’s laps, hold hands, and otherwise have epic bromances. No one so much as bats an eye because this is considered completely normal.

Touching a girl, on the other hand, is a much bigger deal. And handholding? Well, you can only imagine. 

So Sora and Kairi holding hands like this is, as far as I can tell, a much bigger deal than it might seem to Western audiences. Again, you have to remember where this game was made as well as the cultural background of the people who made it when interpreting scenes like this.

Take note, too, of the position of their fingers. They aren’t just holding hands, they’re holding hands with their fingers laced together.

And now we know why Nomura gave Sora bracers and not gloves, and it was for all the handholding he knew Sora and Kairi would be doing in this game.

Their momentum makes them spin around in a circle in one of those classic “spin of romance” moments TV Tropes calls The Twirl of Love that can be seen in a number of different Disney movies, including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Frozen.

They keep one hand together for a little bit longer, almost like they can’t bear to let the other person go. And Sora’s lines here say:

JPここにいたのか

EN I found you!

TR You were here (all along)

Notes: Sora’s voice is a mix of surprised and relieved. He almost can’t believe Kairi was here all along, but he sure is glad that she’s with him now. While the English version focuses on him finding her at last (and what a relief after fighting the lich all those times, seriously), the Japanese version expresses something a little different - even when he thought he was alone except for Jiminy, she was there all along. With him in the depths of the darkness.

Kairi, for her part, gives her lovely Kairi giggle while Sora smiles at her.

JP おかえり

EN You see?

TR You’re home

Notes: The English version sort of misses this parallel (oops), probably because it would’ve sounded a little clunky in English, but this is the exact same thing Kairi tells him at the end of KH2 when he returns to her at long last.

It’s also what Japanese people tell their family members when they’ve arrived home. This would include wives greeting their husbands coming home from work, among other potential situations. 

Destiny Islands isn’t Sora’s home now so much as Kairi is. She’s his home. When he’s with her, he’s home.

JP 必ず戻ってくれって信じてたよ

EN I had no doubts that you’d pull through.

TR I always believed you’d come back (to me) 

Notes: Lots to discuss here. First of all, the fact that Kairi never lost faith in Sora, that she always believed in him, is really touching. She uses the emphatic particle yo to really emphasize this - she’s telling him she always believed in him and wants to make that very clear.

Second, this parallels Sora’s promise to her at the end of KH1 in the Japanese version. She uses similar phrasing, kanarazu and modottekuru which is similar in meaning but not quite the same as kaeru, to draw our minds to this moment. Here’s a comparison of the Japanese dialogue in that scene to the English version:

JP 必ず絶対帰るから

EN I’ll come back to you. I promise!

TR I’ll always come back to you

The parallels to KH1 continue with Sora’s next lines.

JP 闇を照らす光　カイリだったんだね

EN The light in the darkness. It was you.

TR The light that shines in the darkness... it was you, wasn’t it

Notes: Let’s take a look at the Japanese dialogue in KH1 where Sora talks about how Kairi saved him to better see the parallels.

JP でも　カイリの声が聞こえて　目が覚めたんだ

EN But then I heard a voiceー your voice.

TR But then I heard your voice and woke up

Notes: The Japanese version mentions Sora waking up, indicated by his eyes flying open.

JP カイリのおかげだよ

EN You brought me back.

TR It’s thanks to you, Kairi

Notes: Sora credits Kairi with being the one to wake him up in the Japanese version.

Skipping Kairi’s response for now, as we’ll talk about that more later:

JP 俺たちの心は　つながってる

EN Our hearts are connected

TR Our hearts are connected

Notes: pretty much the same in both languages. Interesting to note though that in Japanese Sora’s famous “My friends are my power!” is more like “Connecting hearts is my power!” (つながる心は俺の力だ) 

He realizes he has that power here in his scene with Kairi, which leads him to proclaim his famous line to Ansem SOD at the end of KH1.

Continuing on:

JP 心のつながりが光になって　闇の奥までとどいてー

EN And the light from our hearts broke through the darkness. I saw that light. 

TR (Our) connected hearts became light, and reached all the way to the depths of the darknessー

Notes: Sora credits the connecting of his and Kairi’s hearts with creating the light that reached him in the depths of the darkness.

JP 俺の心を助けてくれたんじゃないかな

EN I think that’s what saved me. 

TR That’s what saved my heart, isn’t it? 

Notes: the -tekureru Sora attaches to the verb stem makes it clear he’s very grateful for the saving in question. He also uses the speculative form kana to show he’s not 100% sure about what happened but has an idea of how it might’ve worked.

JP「どんなに深い闇でもその奥には必ず光がある」

EN No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within.

TR “No matter how deep the darkness, (even) in (the darkest) depths there will always be (a) light”

Notes: Sora is quoting Kairi’s grandmother’s story here that Kairi showed to him while she was still in his heart.

Tying this back to KH3, while in KH1 Sora credited the connecting of his and Kairi’s hearts with reaching him and saving him and credited Kairi with waking him up, here he gives all of the credit to Kairi.

He realizes that she’s the light in the darkness. He understands now. Back in KH1 he was speculating about what had happened, figuring it was their hearts connecting that had something to do with it, but here he says, “It was you, Kairi, wasn’t it?” 

This is his first epiphany in this scene - while he knew before there is always a light, even in the deepest depths of the darkness, he knows now that for him at least that light is Kairi. It always has been, and it always will be.

Continuing on...

JP 俺が消えないように留めてくれたのもの

EN You’re the one who kept me from fading away.

TR (You are what) kept me from disappearing 

Notes: Sora uses the -tekureru construction to show how grateful he is to Kairi for keeping him from fading away. It’s the same construction he used in KH1 to express gratitude for how saved him that I mentioned earlier. The Japanese line is more literally your light (lit. the thing, but keeping the context in mind, he’s talking about the light in the darkness aka Kairi) that kept me from disappearing, but the same general idea gets across.

The word used for “fade away” or “disappear” is kieru, which also bears similarities to Kairi’s dialogue in KH1 when Sora disappears and she says, “I won’t let him go!”

Let’s take a closer look.

JP ソラ　ほんとうに消えーー

EN Sora, are you really--

TR Sora, did you really disaー

Notes: Kairi uses the same verb for disappear/fade away here, kieru, that Sora uses to say she prevented that from happening in KH3. 

JP ううん　消さない！　絶対消さない！

EN No. He can’t be. I won’t let him go!

TR No. He won’t be erased! There’s no way he’ll be erased!

Notes: This time Kairi uses the transitive form of the verb for disappear/fade away here, kesu, instead of the intransitive form of the verb, kieru. Probably to indicate her determination to hold onto him and to keep him from fading away.

She refused to let him go back in KH1, and she refused to let him go this time, too. Sora notices here in this scene and draws attention to that so he can express his gratitude.

In Kairi’s next line, she explains how she did it:

JP 私はソラをあきらめなかっただけだよ

EN All I did was believe that you wouldn’t.

TR I just never gave up on you, that’s all

Notes: this parallels her dialogue at the end of KH1 when she explains to Sora how she kept him from fading away. 

Let’s take a closer look:

JP 私は　ソラを忘れたくなかっただけだよ

EN I didn’t want to just forget about you, Sora. I couldn’t.

TR I just didn’t want to forget about you, Sora.

Notes: Kairi uses the same grammatical structure, dakedayo,in both KH1 and KH3 to explain how she saved Sora. Could be coincidence, but my guess is that her line here was meant to be a callback to KH1. 

If I were to translate the English dialogue in this scene to parallel her line in the English version of KH1, I would do it something like this:

I didn’t want to just give up on you, Sora. I couldn’t.

Continuing on, Sora lets out a soft chuckle and grins, and his smile is so big his eyes close.

This prompts Kairi to look at him.

Then he looks at her and delivers this absolutely adorable line:

JP やっぱり強いなカイリは

EN I feel strong with you, Kairi

TR Just like I thought, you are strong, Kairi

Notes: The English version and Japanese version are different, but let’s think about why. I actually like the English version more and think the translators improved the original line, but the Japanese line is still cute, so let’s discuss that one first.

Sora’s complimenting her, flirting with her, and hitting on her, all at once. This is a far cry from the boy who told her she’d get in his way if she went with him back in KH1. No, now he’s glad she’s here by his side and is acknowledging her strength. I’m sure after all of her training to reach this point, that was really nice for her to hear.

Why did the English version change it, then? Well, based on fan reaction in the West to Kairi’s role in the game... which, hasn’t been, er, very positive, to say the least... my guess is that the translators suspected English-speaking fans might not buy that Kairi’s strong (even though there is more than one kind of strength, and Kairi has strength of heart even if she isn’t the best fighter). They may have been concerned Sora’s line might come across as character shilling as a result, because we tend to associate strength with physical strength and fighting prowess and not so much strength of heart. Kairi, as a newer Keyblade wielder, was simply outclassed against the likes of Xemnas and Xehanort, and the “you’re strong” line would probably have fallen flat in English because of her subsequent kidnapping and murder.

So, to avoid having Sora tell the audience she’s strong when the game itself... happens the way it does, perhaps the translators made a conscious decision to modify the line to better suit Western audiences and avoid potential character shilling. And by doing so, they changed the focus to how Sora feels when he’s with her. His wording is so sweet and earnest, so him, that I think I might have squealed when I first watched this scene.

Because the whole game he’s been trying to regain his lost strength, to get his power back. And when he loses his friends, he tells R*ku the following (screenshots are from this video): 

He feels weak on his own. But with Kairi, with Kairi he feels strong.

Yeah, the English version of this line is the winner, hands down. It ties into his character arc in KH3 so well and showcases how his relationship with Kairi is evolving. It’s also just something very Sora-like for him to say.

But in both versions, it’s still clear he’s hitting on her and flirting with her, turning the charm up to eleven. No wonder she reacts to his words the way she does - by looking away and giggling to herself as she blushes!

She lets out a soft little gasp here...

...and she’s so flustered she has to look away!

Sora has grown savvy to the effect he has on her, and his smile is so big his eyes close:

Her eyes dart down and to the right, a sign that she’s thinking about her feelings:

And she lets out an adorable little giggle as Sora’s grin just gets bigger:

Look at how delighted he is, like he can’t get enough of her or of this moment:

And she likewise just keeps smiling...

...then reaches for his hand.

Note that there was no need for them to hold hands again. They’re together, they’re both headed in the right direction, they don’t have to do this, but Kairi wants to do this. His words have made her bold, and she initiates the physical contact this time.

Her grip on his hand tightens as she leads the way. 

Their friends are waiting for them, and it’s time to return to them.

JP もうみんな戻ってる　早く行こう

EN The others are ahead, c’mon.

TR Everyone made it back already, let’s go to them quickly

Notes: Kairi knows their friends are safe, and she wants to get back to them as soon as possible.

In this next shot, Sora has his second epiphany. He quite literally sees the light. 

The camera angle changes to focus on his face and the light shining on it.

He flashes back to the moment in Rapunzel’s tower right before Rapunzel’s love for Eugene saved him.

This is easily missable, but in the loading screens for Kingdom of Corona, you can see Sora reflect on Rapunzel’s magic and how it saved Eugene. He makes it clear he thinks it’s a different magic than what he knows how to do:

But he was wrong. He had that magic. He had it all along. And this is the moment where he realizes that.

My personal interpretation is that he thinks of Rapunzel and Eugene first as a parallel to him and Kairi, then remembers how Anna’s act of true love saved her as well to show his love for his friends, too.

His love for Kairi does not lessen his love for his friends, and his love for his friends does not lessen his love for Kairi. They are equally important and receive equal focus in this scene. His love for her and his love for them makes him strong.

The camera goes back to his face and focuses on his eyes to show that they have been opened to something he didn’t understand before.

Then it changes to show him and Kairi again with her leading the way:

Sora has a sharp intake of breath here as he makes his realization, as he realizes just how exactly Kairi was able to save him. His eyes widen and his mouth opens...

...and Kairi makes a “hmmm” noise in response to see what’s happening as Sora turns to look at her.

He looks at her and he knows. This was her act of true love. He understands now how she was able to save him.

She gives him a knowing look...

...and lets out a little “mm-hmmm” kind of noise, like “finally figured it out, did you?” 

Then turns to face forward again.

What she says next serves as a confirmation for what Sora has realized:

JP 言ったでしょ　私がソラを守るって

EN I told you, Sora. You’re safe with me.

TR I told you, didn’t I? I’ll keep you safe

Notes: I talked about this in my earlier analysis about the paopu sharing scene, but Kairi is turning the Declaration of Protection on its head. Usually, in Japanese media the hero is the one who vows to protect his love interest as a sign of his devotion to her, but this time, it’s the princess vowing to protect her knight. And in this case, she’s reminding him that she kept him safe, just like she promised. The paopu fruit worked. Their vow gave her the power to protect him, just like she told him it would.

Sora’s look of surprise and wonder shows the effect her words have on him. Clearly, he’s moved by her determination to protect him for once, after all those times he protected her...

...and then he smiles because how could he not, he knows just how much Kairi loves him now.

He makes a cute little noise of agreement, too:

He squeezes her fingers a little tighter...

...and gives his verbal agreement, too:

JP ああ！

EN Yeah.

TR Yeah!

The camera zooms out to show the two of them with Kairi leading the way...

...as they go into the light. Note the dynamic diagonal lines once again that makes for a striking visual image. 

Sora makes a surprised noise as he almost stumbles, his eyes wide with wonder. Kairi is by his side, too. She led him back to the Keyblade Graveyard, and he can hardly believe his eyes.

She is quick to see if he’s okay:

JP 大丈夫？

EN You okay?

TR You okay?

Notes: Her immediate concern is for his well-being, and it also nicely parallels the times she asks if he’s okay back in KH1 and KH2. Screenshots are from here and here.

She gives him a confident, knowing smile, kind of like, “See? I knew that would work.”

And he just stares at her in wonder, like he’s seeing her in a completely new light because he is:

He tilts his head and makes a relieved/happy sound as he continues to just look at her. Seriously, look at his face, look at the awe and wonder and amazement over her written all over it:

His left hand is outstretched, indicating he still hasn’t really moved it since he’s landed. He’s still trying to process it all. 

He quickly straightens and smiles at her. Notice how he doesn’t let go over her hand. This would’ve been the time to do so, had he wanted to, but nope. He keeps on holding her hand because he doesn’t want to let go.

The camera zooms in on his face, giving us a moment from Kairi’s POV. Look at that contented smile on his face, the complete confidence in how he feels about her and how she feels about him when at the start of the paopu scene he was hesitant:

And then, he thanks her.

JP ありがとう　カイリ

EN Yeah. Thanks, Kairi.

TR Thank you, Kairi

Notes: Obvious in both the English and Japanese versions, but we have one last parallel to KH1 here: the moment when he thanked Kairi for saving him. The moment her magic turned him human again and he held her in his arms. 

JP カイリーー　ありがとう

EN Kairi, thank you.

TR Kairi, thank you.

Yeah. No way he wasn’t thinking about that moment again here. No wonder he refuses to let go of her hand.

He tilts his head a little here as he finishes his thank you...

...and the camera switches to his POV to show Kairi looking at him, clearly pleased by his gratitude:

Her lips part a little, and she blinks a few times...

...then makes a little mmm-hmm noise as she nods and smiles at him.

The camera zooms out to show the two of them standing there, and hey, what do you know, they’re still holding hands!

Sora lets out another relieved, happy sound, and he keeps holding her hand. In front of their friends. Knowing everyone is watching. He is making a statement here, and that statement is that he and Kairi are an item.

Again, the cultural context needs to be considered here. Drawing from personal experience again, PDA is much less acceptable in Japan than it is in the US. At most you’ll see couples holding hands in public. Anything more is generally frowned upon, as intimacy is considered to be best saved for private moments.

So for Sora to keep holding her hand like this, in front of their friends, to me at least sure seems like he’s completely comfortable with letting the whole world know that their relationship is something more now. No, he wants his friends to know that they’re together. He isn’t shy or embarrassed about his feelings the way he was in KH1 and KH2 when R*ku, Donald, and Goofy teased him; instead, he’s almost flaunting how he feels about Kairi and how she feels about him. 

Look at his wonder and amazement and happiness to have his friends restored to him when before he thought they were lost for good:

He and Kairi both look at everyone with smiles on their faces:

JP よかったー

EN It did work.

TR Thank goodness!

Notes: Sora is literally saying “good!” here to indicate how relieved he is. The English version opts for something that sounds more Sora-like, because thank goodness is generally not something you hear guys say in English.

One final shot of the two of them as they look at their friends and smile. It’s thanks to them that everyone’s safe and sound - Kairi because she saved Sora, and Sora because he saved the rest of them - and they’re taking a moment to enjoy the rewards of their efforts.

Standing side by side, the visual implication is clear: they truly got to work together as a team.

I’ll finish this analysis with this excerpt from Jiminy’s journal about Sora and Kairi’s roles in this scene:

“We returned to the site of our defeat, where Sora was reunited with Kairi amidst the Demon Tide’s darkness. Kairi never stopped believing in Sora, and the pure light within herーone of the New Seven Heartsーwas what kept his heart from being extinguished. She took his hand and, together, they left the dark to a familiar sight: the Keyblade Graveyard, shortly before we made our last stand.

A heart of light, so long as it retains even the faintest glow, will always rise to banish the darkness, as sure as dawn sweeps away the night.”

In other words, Kairi is, and always will be, Sora’s light in the darkness. 

Screenshots, where the sources aren’t linked in the analysis itself, are from the following videos:

KH3 Japanese Cutscenes

KH1 Japanese Cutscenes 

KH1 Japanese Cutscenes 

KH2 Japanese Cutscenes

KH1 Ending Cutscenes

#sokai #kh3 spoilers #kh3 #kingdom hearts 3 #kingdom hearts 3 spoilers #kingdom hearts #sora #kairi #phoenix translates #kh analysis #phoenix downer #phoenix plays kh3 #long post

[siren-theories]

The Pownall Massacre

TL, DR: Too complext to summarise. Sorry, you have to read through this. If you want to, you can skip to Part IV to read what I think really happened.

There is but one certainty with historical events - that they can and most likely will be interpreted differently depending on the eye of the beholder. Our own upbringing, socialization, education, sexuality, gender etc. can all cause us to be biased when interpreting historical events.  There are always different "truths" depending on who you ask.

As a simple example most readers would be familiar with lets take a look at a "great" US President, George Washington. If you would have asked a Native American of the time about George Washington he would have called him a destroyer of native villages who led massacres. If you would have asked a loyalist, he would have considered Washington a traitor to the crown. If you would have asked a member of Washington’s army in the Revolutionary War, he would have hailed Washington as a great hero. And if you would have asked his slaves....

This is no less true for the period of "Manifest Destiny" and westward expansion of the United States during the 19th century. What looks like massive land robbery, ethnic cleansing and even genocide to the outside (modern) observer might also be romanticized as the era of brave settlers and brave cowboys, the era of daring people prevailing against adversity to secure a better life for themselves. Modern Media has (regrettably) largely chosen the later path.

Please keep the above in mind when considering everything that follows in this posts. Also, please note that this is a theory built on evidence from the show - but this theory has not been  explicitly confirmed by any of the show writers.

Part I: The historical context of the Pownall Massacre.

Understanding the historical context is the most important thing when it comes to interpreting past events. 

All sources agree that the massacre happened 150 years before the time the show starts, so somewhere in the vicinity of 1868. By this time Washington State had already been settled by native Americans for close to 14.000 years (thus giving us the earliest possible form of divergence between humans and sirens).

Native Americans hunting ducks, taken from Wikimedia Commons

Native American villages of the time seem to have been mostly concentrated on the coasts and near rivers, being focused on salmon fishing, hunting and gathering berries/roots etc. You can see how Washington is a perfect setting for the Siren story - even before the arrival of the white settlers. The most prominent of those tribes seemed to have formed what is called the Salish language community.

The salish language family (from here). 

The earliest contact between the natives and Europeans happened during the spanish mapping expeditions of the Northern American coast. One such ship, the Santiago, was captained by Bruno de Hecata. You can read a bit about his expedition here.  

Unfortunately this ship also carried a deadly cargo - smallpox. This disease resulted in a harrowing smallpox epidemic which killed at least 30%, if not 50% of the native population (approximately 11.000 - 20.000 people). Even though the introduction of the disease was unintentional (indeed a third of the Europeans themselves died from it) these events proved fatal to the strength of the local populations. This blow allowed northern tribes like the Haida to muscle in on the territory of the local tribes. .

[Sidenote: For those of you who would want to read more about this I suggest Robert Boyd: The coming of the spirit of pestilence. Introduced infectious diseases and population decline among Northwest Coast Indians, 1774–1874 (Seattle 1999). Be warned, it makes for grim reading.]

Eventually, British fur traders and settlers arrived on the scene. In 1790 Spain and Britain reached an agreement that gave the British free reign over the Northwest coast. In 1805 the Lewis and Clark expedition reached Washington and the USA entered the struggle for dominance over the region. Britain however gained dominance due to the war of 1812 and the Hudson Bay Company eventually became the most important fur trader of the region. These early years were characterized by a high rate of intermarriage between fur traders and local women, as well as the introduction of European technology and European goods, most importantly firearms.

However, in the 1840s large numbers of American settlers trekked westwards and started settling Washington State. Soon outnumbering the British fur traders and local natives (who seemed to have fallen into some form of uneasy coexistence), this formed the basis for what was later called the Oregon dispute between Britain and the United States. 

In 1846 the Oregon Treaty ceded Washington State to the USA and settlement began, with all the negative effects this had on the local population - disease, land robbery, ethnic cleansing and genocide. In 1862 another devastating smallpox epidemic broke out, again killing roughly one-third to half of the remaining indigenous population.

If the massacre happened in 1868 then it would have happened during a time which was filled with strife. The boundary dispute between England and the USA had not been fully resolved yet (it would only be resolved through the mediation of the German Empire in 1872). The community of Bristol Cove would have been at best a few decades old (and probably was significantly younger, maybe only having been formed in the 1850s). There might have been bad blood between ex-British and American members of the community.  The native population would have suffered from the devastating smallpox epidemic only a few years earlier and I highly doubt the natives had surrendered the prime fishing grounds willingly. 

The settlers and fishers of Bristol Cove themselves would have been hard men who had suffered through the deprivations of the long trek westwards. The fact that most of them would have been adventurous young white men without many suitable marriage prospects is also problematic as historically a surplus of young males has nearly always led to conflict. Judging from the town's football team being called the whalers and the harpoons being found in Helen's shop it seems that Bristol Cove primarily was a fishing and whaling town - two profession that require men that are comfortable with killing what they perceive as animals.

In short it does not require much imagination to view the Bristol Cove of 1862-1870 as a powder keg waiting to explode. All it needed was the right man to lit the fuze.

(Enter Charles H. Pownall, aka literally Hitler)

Part II: The sources covering the massacre

Let's look at the sources covering the massacre and try to decipher what they are telling us about the massacre and the reasons for it.

a) The official human version

The official version of what happened during the massacre is that essentially no massacre happened at all and the entire story is presented as a fairytale for small children. It is used as the centerpiece of the annual mermaid festival, being used to draw in tourists and bored college students looking for an adventure.

(Tfw your family history gets appropriated by college girls looking for an excuse to paaartaaaay.)

The Timestamp for the official human version is 4:35 - 5:10 of Episode 101 "The mermaid discovery".

(how lovely, a play about genocide. With Children in it. What could go wrong?) 

NARRATOR: "It was more than a 150 years ago when a local fishing captain, Charles H. Pownall, fell in love with a mermaid in these very waters, enchanted by her beautiful siren song." POWNALL: "I love you fishermen" SIREN: "I love you mermaid" NARRATOR: "But one day, he went to the bay, and his mermaid was gone, back to her home in the sea, never to return." NARRATOR: "And that is how thanks to Charles H. Pownall, Bristol Cove became the Mermaid Capital of the World"

(Is it my mermaid that I see there on the horizon? No, just a giant whitewash,)

The depiction of an episode of violence against other populations as a fairytale is not a new idea. For example, take the story of Pocahontas. Popular knowledge focuses on the fairytale aspect of this historical story (native Powhatan "princess" Pocahontas rescues brave white explorer John Smith) but nearly all popular retellings omit the continuation of that story - how the brave explorer John Smith continued to raid the food stores of the Powhatans, how the white colonists massacred the Powhatans, took their lands, assassinated their leaders and drove them into pitiful reservations. (Put THAT in a movie, Disney).

As such, this story fits the archetype to a T. And yet there are a few facts in the official version that merit a mention:

The official human version claims that Pownall was enchanted by the beautiful siren song (which would mean that the siren would have taken the initiative to make contact with Pownall)  

The mermaid in question disappeared without a trace, leaving Charles to look for her with no success

b) Helen's books

Another take is being presented in one of Helen's books aptly titled "An Illustrated History of the Mermaid", which features the mermaids of Bristol Cove in a chapter. Sadly the chapter is truncated and we only see the first page of it in detail - while other pages also show text, freeze-framing and enlarging them sadly showed them to be taken from a book on schooners and a book about the Napoleonic wars - a common trick by TV shows to save valuable time writing those props.

The page dealing with the massacre is shown in Episode 102: “The Lure” as follows:

(Pls Maddie move your hand a bit lower? Pretty pls?)

I have transcribed the visible text:

The Mermaids of Bristol Cove Being a true account of the bitter and broken heart of a Fisherman and the retribution that was exacted by Men of the Land upon the Maidens of the Sea

The proud men of Bristol Cove were renowned up and down the western coastline of the Americas for their craft and Bravery upon the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The men abord Captain Pownall's ship were especially known for their prowess upon the waves and their seemingly supernatural ability to find and capture more fish than any other craft. This ability was attributed to more than mere craft. It was whispered, in certain coastal taverns, that Captain Pownall himself was responsible for his own share of the bountiful harvest. It was rumored that the captain was [illegible text] a mermaid and that it was [illegible]and the deep that had resulted [illegible] his curious [illegible] five years[illegible]

This text is really short on details for its length. What we get out of it is a timeframe (five years) and a lot of fluff about the skilled and brave men of Bristol Cove - and that the relationship was also based on mutual fishing cooperation. However, the headline already tells us what interpretation the story will use here - that Pownall and the mermaid fell in love, she then broke his heart and the "brave and skilled" fishermen exacted retribution by massacring them. I was expecting some brazen apologia but not one this brazen. Yeah, some eeeevil woman(tm)  hurt you by leaving you, go murder her relatives in revenge. That makes you "brave and skilled".

Excuse me for a second while I find the nearest container to throw up in.

[Sidenote: Painting genocide as a tragedy while also arguing the victims deserved getting massacred is par the course for colonial apologia of the 19th century. Even in the 20th century Turkey for example justified its genocide of the Armenians by arguing that it was "just" a relocation that got out of hand due to Armenian banditry. This text fits well into all the other 19th century texts that allegedly deplored violence against indigenous people while similarly arguing that this could all have been avoided if the darn natives had not been so unaccommodating. Feel free to imagine a lot of fake pearl clutching as a side dish to all that juicy victim blaming.

I commend the writers of Siren for actually writing such a text for it shows their attention to detail but this was infuriating to read.]

c) The Pownall family history

Lets hear it from the direct descendants of Charles "stil literally Hitler" Pownall. Ben confronts his father after meeting a mermaid himself and nearly becoming the evening snack of said mermaid (no, snack is not used euphemistically here.) The conversation takes place in Episode 102: "The Lure" from 19:00 - 20:40.

(...So...uh...about great-great-great-great-grandpa...)

I have transcribed the relevant parts:

BEN: "I wanted to ask you something. I remembered that you and Grandpa used to talk about Charles Pownall, about what really happened back then." TED: "You really came here to ask me that?" BEN: "Yeah.” TED: "Why the sudden interest in the family history?" BEN: "I ran into Helen Hawkins.” TED: "Oh, c'mon." BEN: "Dad? Maybe I'd show up to more family events like the statue unveiling if you told me the real story about our family." TED: "All right. Look, Charles might not have been exactly who we make him out to be. I can't say for sure, but there might have been some mental illness, maybe even schizophrenia. Long months at sea, a constant stream of booze and, uh, well, he was seeing things. [chuckles] Mermaids? You know this. You did the play in school. That's how the town got its folklore. Now, as for Helen and her stories, well, we all know she's got a vivid imagination." BEN: "That's it?" TED: That's it."

Additional info about the Pownall Mermaid is delivered to us in the form of a conversation between Ben and his father in Episode 110: “Aftermath”. It starts from 21:30 and ends at 23:00.

(Don't mind me getting defensive here about not giving you all the information you asked for earlier)

TED: "Look, Charles had an affair with a woman in town, okay - she worked at a local bar...a brothel." BEN: "Wait, so she was a prostitute?" TED: "You can imagine...an extramarital affair, a child born out of wedlock with a woman in that profession - these aren't things people talked about back then. Every family has its secrets, Ben." BEN: "This isn't some kind of ancient history, dad. I have a relative living in town that I've known my whole life." TED: "You know our family Ben. This kind of history, nothing they'd want out there. Why dwell on the ugliness? Okay, Charles was a troubled guy. We talked about that. From what I understand, he had a lot of demons."

From these two conversations we get not only a lasting impression that Ted is knowing more than he lets on but also a lot of relevant information:

Charles Pownall suffered from alleged mental illness, maybe even schizophrenia - or something that made it appear as if he did.

Charles liked his booze, maybe too much

The mermaid was according to Charles family a woman of ill repute

Charles was already married when he met the mermaid and when the baby was born

The Pownall family has been paying Helen's family off to keep quiet.

d) The Siren sources

In Episode 209 “Street fight”, Ryn tells Ben the Siren side of the story.

(”Story? No, not story. Real”)

The conversation starts at 11:50 and ends at about 13 minutes.

RYN: "There was one of us who spent time with a human long time ago. She lived with him on land. Together they had little one." Ben: "A child?" RYN: "Yes. But the child was not normal, not look normal. He took it away from her into the woods. He killed their child. So she went back home in the water. But this made him angry. His head-bad. He brought many men, and they killed us. So many of us that...the water was red with our blood. Ben: "Helen told me that story. Not about a child though." RYN: "Story? No, not story. Real." 

It is interesting that as much as the human sources place the blame on the Sirens, the Siren side of the story places the blame just as squarely on the humans. What we can take away from this version is:

The mermaid lived with Charles on land and they had a child together.

The baby was deformed and thus Charles took it into the woods and killed it.

The mermaid left Charles whose head then went “bad”.

Charles took his men and slaughtered them in the water.

e) The Hybrid sources

Perhaps the most important tidbits of information come from Bristol Cove's resident mermaid expert, Helen Hawkins, in Episode 110 "Aftermath". The conversation starts at 16:12 and ends at around 18:50.

(Lemme just drop some knowledge on you children...)

HELEN: "She was the first. She was the daughter of Charles Pownall and his mermaid." BEN: "The baby is buried here? Ryn told me that Charles killed his child."  HELEN: "Oh no. [to Ryn] That may be what your colony believes, but that's not what happened. The baby was born in transition and appeared deformed, a soul caught between two worlds. Charles knew that the doctors of Bristol Cove would see her as an abomination and refuse to treat her. The Baby was gonna suffer and die. So he took her into the woods." MADDIE: "To put her out of her misery?" HELEN: "No. He brought her to bigger minds than the doctors of Bristol Cove. To people who weren't afraid of shape-shifters." MADDIE: "The Haida" HELEN: "Yes. BEN: "She lived?" HELEN: "The Haida helped her to complete her transition and she lived for a very long time. I am her last living descendant." BEN: "You*re one of them?" HELEN: "That's right. One-eigth to be exact." MADDIE: "Ryn, did you know this?" RYN: "Yes. I sense she is one of us. But I did not know the child lived."

Helen claims that:

Charles took his daughter to the Haida to find help for her

The Haida were able to help the hybrid daughter

The daughter lived for a long time in Bristol Cove among humans, eventually dieing there

Part III: Literally Hitler? The trouble with Charles H. Pownall

(Look at him. He is just standing there. Menacingly.) 

Much of how we view the massacre is dependant upon how we assess the character of Charles H. Pownall himself. It is easy to think of him as a typical machismo of his day, a ruthless conqueror who was blinded by his own sense of superiority, who could not handle rejection and committed genocide in revenge. There might be some truth to that interpretation - after all, the people who settled Washington were not exactly enlightened liberals.

And yet we know some facts which are unquestionably true (because otherwise Helen would not exist) that paint a different picture of Charles H. Pownall. When faced with the problem of his daughter's life being in danger, Charles acts rationally and decisively. He seeks out help from the only people who know how to deal with hybrids, the Haida. Doing so was not a small task considering the troubled times the Haida were facing due to the arrival of the white men and such an endeauvor might have easily ended with Charles being killed. But he persevered, the Haida managed to save his daughter's life and when returning to Bristol Cove Charles he took great care to safeguard his daughter's future. 

He organized regular funds to be paid to her and her eventual descendants and concocts a story to tell his family as to where this mysterious daughter suddenly appeared from and why they needed to pay her to keep her quiet (her being the alleged daughter of a prositute he had relations with). Admitting to a child born out of wedlock in those days had the potential to ruin a man's career and honour and thus his place in society so this was not a trivial thing to do.

Those two brave actions mentioned above are hardly those we would expect from a bloodthirsty genocider only concerned with himself.

Yet how do we reconcile this image of a at least somewhat caring father with the image of a madman slaughtering Sirens on the water? There might have been a logical reson for Charles turning into a monster. 

Both the Siren version of events and the Pownall family history mention that Charles suffered from mental problems which Ted characterizes as schizophrenic behaviour, seeing things and acting besides himself. What do we know of in the show that causes visions and causes people to act as if they are suffering from mental illnesses? In fact these are the exact symptoms people suffering from the Siren Song (Ben) or people suffering from withdrawal symptons (Chris) exhibit. Without having access to the song anymore and the only recourse being self-medication with alcohol (psychology was not exactly a practiced medicine back then, nor did MRIs exist), is it any wonder that his mental state deteriorated? It might be that the Charles H. Pownall that perpetrated the massacre bore little resemblence to the Charles H. Pownall that his mermaid fell in love with.

This might be a way too charitable interpretation of events. After all, not everybody suffering from an addiction and brain damage starts to commit genocide. However, at the very least Charles should be considered more than the black hat as which he appears in the Siren version of events (the sirens perception of him is also colored by him allegedly murdering his daughter which which never happened). Him being more of a grey character would also be in line with all the antagonists we see depicted in the show so far. Take for example Nicole, the main antagonist of Season 2 - while she lies and manipulates everything around her in order to get Ryn to cooperate with the military she is not entirely devoid of compassion. I think that therefore the interpretation of Charles H. Pownall as a more grey character fits better with this show.

This of course does not excuse his genocidal actions in any way. But it might serve as an explanation for them.

(Maybe not quite Hitler after all)

[Sidenote: I still hate the submissive pose the Pownall family chose for the statue of the mermaid, even if it fits the story the humans are trying to tell.]

Part IV: An attempt at reconstructing the events leading up to and including the massacre

As mentioned in the intro to this post, every group involved in an important and traumatic event has their own versions of the truth. This does not mean that each group necessarily lied or had a hidden agenda/hidden truth. Each version of the story (except for the two human apologia pieces already mentioned) might have been honest conclusions based on incomplete information.

So what are the facts of the story which we can reconstruct while trying to reconcile all the different pieces of information and using all information that we know not to be demonstrably false?

In the years between 1863 to 1868 Charles H. Pownall met a Siren. It might be that this Siren was actively looking for somebody to live with or to cooperate on fishing with (possibly due to the indigenous populations she used to fish with being decimated by the devastating smallpox epidemic of 1862).This cooperation led to Charles H. Pownall becoming the most renowned and wealthiest fishermen of Bristol Cove and might have continued for five years in total.

[Sidenote: The reasons for those cooperation might have been similar to those that causes other ocean predators to cooperate with humans in reality. See for example the Australian “Law of the tongue” or the Brazilian dolphin-human cooperation.]

Some time during this cooperation the mermaid and Pownall fell in love. Maybe she sang to him from the start, maybe she only sang to him after she realised she loved him. (Note that no version at all mentions that Pownall caught her so the approach was most likely consensual. Especially considering how forward Sirens can be I find the idea of the Siren initiating contact - and maybe even intiating the sexual part of the relationship - believable).

[Sidenote: In previous human-siren interactions - as the ones I postulated for the Haida in my earlier piece - this relationship would not have been a problem. The Haida and Sirens knew how to interact with each other as well as the dangers that could happen from exposure to the Song - as did the Sirens. The mermaid most likely thought the settlers would have knowledge of the problems as well. It might have been an innocent mistake to assume that. But the culture of the settlers would have been anathema to such a relationship. Having a female co-captaining a ship in the 19th century would have caused great offence, especially if she was sleeping with the married(!) captain to boot. As such, society would have almost certainly put trememndous pressure on the relationship even if the wider settler population might not have known that she was a mermaid.]

The Siren and Charles conceived a child together. The pregnancy resulted in a difficult birth with the baby caught halfway in transition. To the settlers the "deformed" baby was considered an abomination, maybe even a punishment from god for breaking the vows of marriage.

In desperation, Charles takes the baby to the Haida. He successfully pleads for their help only to discover his mermaid missing when he returns.

[Sidenote: Had the Haida been the dominant population at Bristol Cove at that time the birth of a hybrid would not have been a problem. Guess ethnic cleansing does come back to bite you in the behind after all.]

The Siren, assuming that Charles went into the woods and killed their child, had left for the water during his abscence, never to return. 

[Sidenote: This part is the one which I find hard to reconcile. I find it hard to believe that Charles would have known to take the baby to the Haida without his Siren telling him. In any case, I find it hard to believe that he just left Bristol Cove with the Baby without telling her what he was intending to do.

Or maybe there is another explanation. Maybe she assumed that the baby was dead because people told her so? There were certainly plenty of people with motivation to get rid of her. Charles' human family, moralists opposed to children born out of wedlock, competing fishermen trying to rid Charles of his competitive advantage, religious zealots or plan old racists and bigots - and those are just the human factions. There might also have been Siren factions opposed to mingling with humans - imagine a 19th century version of Katrina - do you think sirens like that would have shied away from sabotaging such a relationship or even shied away from making one of their own disappear?]

Alone and with no access to the song - nor to any cure - Charles’ mental state deteriorated to the point of no return, his condition worsening due to self-medication with alcohol. It is quite likely that he did not understand what was happening to him. 

[Speculation: Eventually - maybe with some "assistance" from some of the anti-Siren factions mentioned in the previous sidenote - he started blaming the Sirens for his mental problems, maybe even for taking away the siren he had fallen in love with.]

In 1868, after an unknown period of suffering excarbated by alcohol abuse, Charles H. Pownall, with the help of his shipmates surprised the sirens near the surface and massacred them.

The Sirens subsequently severed all human contact and went into hiding, forbidding any Siren to go on land and teaching their children to avoid the land.

(”Land bad. I learn this.)

The Hybrid daughter of Charles and his mermaid lived and prospered, despite being shunned by the rest of the Pownall family for allegedly being the daughter of a local prostitiute.

(”She was the first....”)

Acta est fabula. Clamate.

Addendum: The observations about the parallels between Ben and Charles and Ryn and Charle’s mermaid can be found here. 

#Siren #siren freeform #freeform siren #charles pownall #long post #analysis #Pownall Massacre #ryn #Ben Pownall #helen hawkins #when you write about a massacre and realize the story was probably more heartbraking than you thought in the first place #I think I need a drink #jeez this was grim #pls excuse spelling mistakes I am le tired

[mysticsparklewings]

Sparkle By the Sea

Pardon me as I just barely squeeze a MerMay piece of art in. I'll be honest with you guys, I've been pretty lacking in artistic motivation since NaPoWriMo ended. Although if you've noticed my lack of uploads, you probably could've already guessed that.  This isn't abnormal for the aftermath of a month-long challenge for me, especially with a brand-new video game calling my name at every moment of the day, but even so I feel like this particular motivation drought was a bit different. Part of it definitely had to do with the changes to DeviantArt that I'm sure I don't need to remind everyone of, but that's been more of me dreading seeing what the state of the community is than anything else. (However, I have noticed I'm not a fan of the new tag system over the old category one, as confusing as the category system could be sometimes.) Rather, I think this lake of motivation has more to do with the fact that being largely absent from all social media during NaPo reminded me...well, that I hate social media. This is really a bigger discussion for a journal or something, but suffice to say it did not feel good to realize just how many literal hours I had previously been spending trying to desperately to scrape up just a little bit of support on other social media platforms (namely Twitter), versus the more natural growth I see here on dA that also feels a lot more genuine and less forced/obligatory. I can't really explain it, but that reminder/realization really helped my brain slip back into a place where I felt like creating again. And with that, I'll transition into talking about the art and save the social media talk for, as I said, a journal or something later on. Naturally, I've been seeing a lot of mermaid art this month and every year I feel the urge to get in on the fun, though I know better than to try actually doing the MerMay Challenge (especially not this year after having just done NaPo), so I usually either do a one-off drawing or if I'm too busy with other projects I just skip it. But I was starting to feel that need to make art in my brain again and I've had a specific set of stickers from the dollar store sitting in my stash for quite a while now that more or less sealed the deal for me. How do these stickers fit into the mix? Well, I originally fell in love with/picked them up because they are mermaid-themed and absolutely adorable--See for yourself! And I thought they would make for nice decals in a book project since they're wall stickers and therefore repositionable with minimal adhesive-yuck. And at first, I thought maybe I'd end up making them into said hypothetical book project in time for MerMay...except that felt a little cheap in combination with my lack of uploads. Did I really want to come back with a book project featuring mermaids I didn't even draw? And for MerMay of all things? So I sat on the idea and left the stickers out where I could see them, and eventually I sat down and took a closer look at them. The art style, upon further inspection, actually didn't look like it would be too far outside my usual art-making realms...Most of the coloring looks a lot like watercolor, except for the skin which I thought was flat and smooth like alcohol marker and the glitter accents which from my perspective pretty much had to be digital, but could potentially be replicated with glittery/metallic supplies... And that was the moment the idea hatched.  I decided I'd try drawing a mermaid myself in the same style. This would work for MerMay, have something to do with the stickers, and based on my plans would work well for me as a mixed-media project, which as I'm sure I've said before is where I think my artistic talent shines best. I thought the scariest part was going to be replicating the looser and less strict line style, and to a point it was, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I find it's usually kind of tricky to explain this, but really what this part of the process boils down to for me (if I'm replicating an existing style and not using my own), is really just studying the original artwork(s) and looking for patterns, then trying to stick to those patterns. For example, the style here features fairly large & rounded faces, and the hands are more like hand-shaped mittens (which was great news by the way because hands are always a pain in the butt for me), so I did my best to emulate those features. As per usual, I did start with a sketch, but I tried to keep it looser than usual, and then when I did the inking I started with my 0.2 Micron, again trying to keep things loose and no be too fussy if I could help it. Then I went back with a brush tip liner from Prismacolor to get more natural variation in the lines and to force myself to not have quite so much control over the line weight. I was also very careful with my choice of liners because I knew pretty much everything except the skin was going to see a lot of watercolors, which meant the lines had to be waterproof. And of course, I went with watercolor paper (my nice 100% cotton stuff this time) to make sure I didn't have any issues with blending or layering. Now, at this stage, I didn't know what I was going to do for the background, though I was leaning towards the idea of making one separately and placing the mermaid on top afterward, as sort of a nod to the original mermaids being stickers. But I wasn't totally sure yet. What I was sure of was how scared I was to just dive into coloring. The sketching and inking and gone so well I was thinking I was in for a rude awakening at any moment. So, just in case, I scanned my uncolored lines as a fall-back if I royally screwed up. With my paranoid mind set at ease (for the most part), I could begin with color application. I started with the skin since it was the easiest; Just one good layer of alcohol marker, leaving a little white space here and there like the artwork I was emulating. Although 1. The marker color turned out a bit darker than I was expecting and later blended too well with her tail, so I had to lighten it in Photoshop, and 2. because watercolor paper really soaks up the ink, I ended up with less white space than I thought I would. But beyond that, this step went off without a hitch. So then came the second-scariest part: The watercolor. I used a mixture of my Master's Touch watercolors and Mermaid Markers (yes, that was a very conscious supply choice ) and tried to take my time and be mindful of the color balance I was looking for. I'd decided ahead of time that I wanted to try and stick with a soft-ish palette like the original art, but I still wanted my choices to be different. Since yellow/gold is featured in the original but not used for a tail color, that's what I went with, and I opted for the blue-y-purple hair since a soft blue and purple are also prominent in the original and based on color-theory would be a nice contrast to the gold-orange tail. Though I did also try to get some pink in both the tail and the hair for a bit of unity and calling back to the pink in the original art. The trickiest part with the coloring was actually the tiny lips and blush spots. I ended up using a fluorescent pink for that turned out as more of a red originally and had to be touched-up via Photoshop because of that and also because of the lightening I did to the skin. It's more that it was a bit of a challenge to get the shapes of these much smaller areas right and in the correct place, since I had to use very minimal pencil markings, lest I end up with nasty graphite marks mixed into the paint. Getting the hair to be dark enough without being extreme compared to the rest of the drawing was also a great test of patience, but it ultimately worked out, I think. I also had a hard time deciding what color the piece of coral in her hair should be, which is why it ended up as this vague dusky-orange color. And I got more pink on the sand dollar next to it than I intended, but neither of those things is a huge deal. While I waited for all that to dry though, I had to decide how I was going to go about tackling all that extreme sparkle the original art had. I could have just added it in digitally and not even attempted it traditionally, but everything else had gone so smoothly that I decided to push my luck this time. Originally, I started with just glittery gel pens, but I found pretty quickly that they were sinking back into the colors underneath them too much and thus just weren't doing what I wanted. I wanted high-impact sparkle. After some brief consideration, I turned to the metallic watercolor sets I have made by Art Philosophy, which are very high-impact metallic and pretty opaque, which would work well over my failed gel pen and would work wonders for the areas where I wanted that high-impact over an opposing color. (I.E. Where I wanted the blue sparkle over a very orange-yellow area, which would normally make brown mud if the color on top wasn't opaque.) The funny part about that is that I originally used a different shade of purple and gold for those areas of sparkle that I ended up completely covering with different shades (the purple needed to be lighter and the gold needed to be darker/more gold and less yellow). And her eye shadow cover saw all three colors before I settled; The purple just seemed wrong, and the gold blended too well with her skin. I thought the blue wouldn't work so close to her blue hair, but it actually ended up looking the best out of the three. Although, I do have to make a full disclosure that the high-impact sparkle you see here is in fact where I went in and re-did it digitally once I scanned the artwork in. Unfortunately, glitter and metallic supplies just don't scan very well and usually end up looking too dark, dull, or flat by comparison. The metallic paints work just fine in person since you can move the art and see how they reflect the light, but it just doesn't work in a still image that's been captured by having a bright light uniformly shined over it. Still, re-tooling the sparkle digitally ended up being an interesting challenge, especially since it's been a fairly long time since I was messing with digital textures like this. Also worth noting is that I had to re-paint some of the metallic areas because they weirdly lifted off onto the plastic cover I used to protect the art when I pressed it onto the background to make the glue stick. I'm not sure if it's because those were the extra-layered areas and they hadn't fully dried all the way down to the paper, or if that particularly plastic just picks up this metallic paint really easily or what. And speaking of that background... Like I said earlier, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do for a background for a while, but after reviewing my mermaid-centric Pinterest board I decided a simple rock seat and something to vaguely suggest the ocean/water without getting too detailed would suffice just fine. Based on that, I felt like using gouache would work nicely (and I just really felt like using the gouache since I don't find a lot of opportunities to use it) and that a color scheme that flipped her hair and tail colors would be best for the effect I wanted. I've found I really like the Strathmore 400 series mixed media paper for gouache because of how smooth it is, so I cut a piece down to size and got busy. For the most part, I just kind of went in with the colors doing whatever felt right, and trying to use some gouache I'd already mixed from past projects (since gouache can be reactivated and I've found this kind, in particular, seems to reactivate really nicely) either on their own or to mix the colors I felt like I needed. And I also tried to do a lot of blending straight on the paper to get more variations in color and make things a bit more lively. Oddly enough, this ended up being a good example of gouache's covering power because I accidentally started applying the colors upside down--using more greens and blues on top and more pinky-purple on the bottom--and not only had to flip the paper around but also had to do a fair amount of covering the colors I'd already put down with colors you don't really want to mix with them because they don't make very pretty results.  But it worked out just fine, so yay! I also added some clouds for a little extra ambiance, which I think looks quite nice. Believe it or not, the most difficult thing about the background was the rocks. I spent far longer than I care to admit (or bothered to document, for that matter) trying and in many ways failing to mix the proper shades of gray I wanted, and the end result didn't turn out quite as clean and graphic as I had hoped, but by the time I put the mermaid on top, you really can't tell because you can only see a fraction of what's actually there.  And I mean, the end result isn't terrible, it's just not quite what I was picturing in my mind's eye is all. Personally, I know it's kind of an odd choice, but I really like how there's no defining line between the water and the sky, and yet you still get a clear idea that they're separate and the rocks aren't just floating in space. I'm not sure how, but I think I'd like to work with this kind of ambiguity more often. It's like a step between abstract and more structured art. Anyway. With the background done, the next step was to attach the mermaid, which I felt like doing in a more 3D and less flat manner, so I chopped up a cardboard box that previously held a chocolate bunny I had on hand and glued some pieces together to boost the mermaid up a bit. This where those deep shadows between her and the background are coming from.   Here I feel the need to insert a comment about how difficult it was to get my tacky glue to dispense the glue for me, though there's a chance this is because I need to poke the opening in the tip to be a bit wider. (You have to poke it open yourself and I always felt like I never did get it open quite enough...unless you like strenuous hand exercises...) Of course, once all the above was done then I had to scan the art in, which I was admittedly a bit nervous about after the incident with the plastic cover peeling off the metallic paint (though fortunately, the scanner glass didn't have the same effect), and then all that was left wad the digital retouches. Overall, I'm really happy with how this turned out. It doesn't blend in as well as I originally wanted it to with the original art, but in the end, that doesn't really bother me. It's just a nice piece of art on its own that is also unique from what I normally do...except it's still got a lot of similar elements to how I normally make art. It feels a lot like the days when all I made was fanart. The key difference here is that I know myself better as an artist now and thus can use that knowledge to my advantage. I can't promise this a return to regular posting for me, though I do hope it's a gateway to me posting more frequently at least, but I can say I do intend on getting back to working on art more often and therefore being more present online again. At the very least, I can happily tell you guys that I have a couple of new art supplies en route to me that I've been wanting for a while and am excited to share with you once they arrive.  If nothing else, we at least have that to look forward to! ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

#mermay

[obcreru]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme

fill out & repost ♥  This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK

Are they underrated? YES / NO / IDK

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO (not really, she helps the side characters more)

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. (she’s helps from the shadows, but I don’t think she’ll want a spotlight unless it’s something she wants as well)

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO (You either know her or you don’t.)

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL (she’s a pirate, so...)

How strictly do you follow canon?

I do follow it sort of, but I will diverge canon for the sake of fun and character development.  She is an OC, but I do use the events in One Piece to tell when she and her crew-mates are at a particular place in their own voyage.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.

She is a cute-type female OC, but will find a way to wreck your shit.  She likes candy, sweets, collecting plushies and cats.  She would like to talk about them with other people.  She likes exotic pets and has kept a few (eel, snake and crab).  They are really fun to fool around with.

Her epithet, Rusalka, comes from the way she usually kills devil fruit eaters.  Humans are not usually fit to fight underwater, but Miyuki likes the thrill of it.  She may or may not have a mermaid ancestor.  Who knows?

She is, in fact, an amnesiac, however where others may get their memories back, Miyuki may never get those back.  If she does, it will be through very painful revelations and decisions she can never take back.  She may just have to go on forming her own identity away from the girl named Miyu...

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).

She can be flat, and I guess not much going for her?  Miyuki is very clingy and her motivations are a few, not entirely complicated, or not explicitly shown.  Much of what is known about her is in the meta, not so much told in her threads.  There are quite a number of things I want to do to try to change that, but I do not think I have the confidence still to say, ‘I want this to happen.’  Nor do I have the confidence to pull it off.

She is not a nice person, she started out very resentful in the beginning.  She matured, but she will always be haunted by her past as a child soldier.  Unlike some of the main cast, she does not have any qualms with killing.  She acts cute, but she is not entirely cute.  She is young and thus very immature.  Her emotional development is slightly stunted.  There will be times and situations when she does not show empathy the way one should.

Do not forget there is a dark side to her, one that she is afraid of showing.  She fears being abandoned or left behind.  She is not above manipulating to get what she wants.

As for combat, dual-wielding is pretty overrated and thus boring.  There are already quite a number of mercenaries in the fandom.

A few may think she is a rip-off, I guess?

What inspired you to rp your muse?

Haha, water and fire.  Yeah.  Originally, she was a Mizu Mizu no Mi user.  However, as I thought about it over the years, I changed it.  I was in my late teens when I first created her.

I tried roleplaying her in 2016-17?  Took a break, lost touch of old friends before coming back again.  I felt more inspired to be here because there were not as many people in the One Piece fandom rpc as there was before.  My friends Val and Cain were watching One Piece together, and Val was considering going back to Michi.  So, I followed them back here.

What keeps your inspiration going?

Music, drawing, other media, talking about her friendships and relationships with friends, and perhaps day-dreaming and coming up with ideas.  I would like to talk about her more, but already I touched on quite some things...

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you do your character justice? YES / NO

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO

Do you think a lot about your muse during the day? YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?

I do, but when it is constructive and I agree with certain things.  I may even take some suggestions for how to change things as well.  At the same time, I will probably have to take some time off, because I still do not have quite the thick skin I may think I do?  However, I do wish to think things through and analyze.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?

I would love questions and I think they help, but I do think that people point those questions to characters they are more interested in.

If someone disagrees to a head-canon of yours, do you want to know why?

I am curious, but at the same time if it is something I am proud of even a little bit, then no.  Sometimes, I want to in my own little safe bubble the way others do?  Other times, I am really curious and want to ask a person why they feel that way?

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?

It is fine, but after awhile it can get pretty annoying that I either need time off or that person does.  If it gets to a point where I do not enjoy things and my partner does not either, then I will either unfollow for everyone involved.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?

I have my suspicions about the number of people that hate Miyuki, while I do not blame them I do feel disappointed.  However, Miyuki is likely going to stay as she is.  Without some of things that make her Miyuki, there would not be a Miyuki.  She will grow, but on my terms.

Guess I would not take it well and will defend her to the death?  Which I should, but would leave room for taking criticism.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?

Yeah.  I am not perfect and I know it.  I may act like it, or give you reason to feel like I think I am.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?

Usually, I think I am easy going and I may let you get away with a number of things.  At the moment and due to offline things, I am often moody, lazy and lethargic.

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

➸  Tagger: @museabyss

➸ Tagging: All of you.  Go do it.

#-tapdances in thanks to Cain- #【ooc】🌊 emerge #【rp meme】🌊 what do you think of this? #questionnaire #long post for mobile #belated munday