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while I don’t agree with that referring to men in their 30s-early 40s as “old man yaoi”, I UNDERSTAND why many people who primarily consume honest-to-goodness BL manga are quicker to call it that, because there is just such poor representation for men that aren’t hairless dehydrated 20-something twunks. They’re wrong, but I get why it happens.

I also understand that “middle-aged yaoi” isn’t as fun to say as “old man yaoi”, even when it’s more technically accurate.

So I would like to propose new vocabulary: Grown Ass Yaoi. yaoi that’s grown ass men. they’re not old but they’re not young adults either. you get me? Grown Ass Yaoi

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Potentially hot take but one of the reasons we need art and music in schools is that, taught correctly, they are ideal avenues for teaching kids how to do something, kinda suck at it, keep going anyways and improve over time.

And THAT is one of the most valuable skill sets a human being can have. THAT is the skill set that unlocks soooooo many others.

A LOT of people I see with anxiety and depression do not have this skill set. To suck at something is a threat. Proof that they are doomed to suck at it forever. And then, often, that either THEY suck forever or the task must be stupid/useless/pointless (whence we get AI art fans who have decided actually making art is pointless and degrading the labor and skills of others is fine because these are useless skills).

Or you get the freeze- the inability to try things in case you fail. The sudden lancing shame and humiliation or hopelessness. The sense that anything you haven't learned by now you can't learn. Which is so heartbreaking and so untrue.

I just hate it.

"What if I write it and it's bad" "what if I draw it and it's bad" "what if I play it and it sounds bad" DOING IT BAD IS HOW YOU LEARN TO DO IT GOOD! You can't skip the process of leaning and the process is FUN if you let it be what it needs to be!

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I am interested in the history of China (mostly Imperial China) but I don't know where to start!! Do you have good recommendations in regards to blogs here on tumblr or books for beginners?? Thank you very much

Hi

To be honest, if you're not too familiar with Chinese history at all, I'd recommend starting on Wiki ^^;; I know a lot of people say Wiki isn't a reliable source (and sometimes it isn't), but it does have some basic information that can give you a good overview of the dynasties.

Here's the main page on Wiki summarizing the dynasties: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasties_of_China

Then you can search for each dynasty separately to get an idea of major events that took place.

I don't usually read/watch books/videos relating to Chinese history in English, as I find sometimes they have too many glaring inaccuracies (one time saw a documentary on the Tang Dynasty, using videos of people dressed in Qing Dynasty clothing which is extremely different). Or sometimes there's a clear bias lens, using a western perspective to look at China (it feels like we're some specimen to be analyzed and makes me extremely uncomfortable).

I DID find this series on Youtube called General History of China. It's actually a Chinese series that was quite popular in China (中国通史) that they've dubbed in English, and goes through all the major dynasties and events in Chinese history, and also includes some historical figures. I've watched a few episodes before and it does a pretty good job of giving you an overview: General History of China

I will give a disclaimer that this series was made in 2013, and information is constantly changing as new tombs are unearthed, new artefacts found, and we discover new things. So if later on you find conflicting information just do some extra digging before deciding which one to believe.

Given China's long history, sometimes historical records, myths, and stories get mixed up. Some thing are passed down by word-of-mouth for hundreds or even thousands of years, and people start believing it to be historically accurate.

For example, regarding the only female Emperor in Chinese history, Wu Zetian, there's a story that she strangled her first born daughter to frame the Empress of the time (her competition for the Emperor's affections). I first saw it in a TV series (I was very young at the time), and it was even mentioned in an English documentary regarding her life. But when I dug deeper there's no historical records supporting this at all. So just tread carefully and be prepared for any of the information you find to be upended at any time 😂

(And feel free to come chat with me about anything you find, have questions about, or if you want more resources for any dynasty/person/event that you take a particular interest in.)

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Too many artists are held back by outdated and bad color theory rules, or even rules that are fine but have built in limitations that you should know and I want to set everyone free.

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Writing Notes: Realistic Characters

One of the core responsibilities of a novelist or screenwriter is writing realistic characters with whom audiences can connect. To create realistic characters, you’ll need to give them motivations and traits that make them feel like real people.

Tips for Writing Realistic Characters

When writing fiction, creating a character profile can help you nail down backstory and figure out which specific character’s motivations and character traits will be the most important to incorporate for your storylines. Unless things like hair color or eye color are significant to your plot, dig deep into your character’s life and find what makes them worth reading about.

Draw from real life. Sometimes, creative writing needs to take inspiration from the real human beings who already exist in our own lives. Using people familiar to you like family members or friends as a foundation to build your fictional character upon is a good way to ensure you’re writing a realistic person and not a caricature.

Incorporate flaws. A great character is a flawed character. An invincible main character who can do it all is not as interesting to read about unless there is something else about them that can connect them with your audience. Even the greatest heroes have weaknesses that create conflict when exploited—that’s what makes them more interesting characters.

Include mannerisms. Sometimes it’s the little things about a character’s personality traits or body language that makes them feel more grounded in real life. In fiction writing, a good combination of quirks can help create more memorable characters by including small things that make them charming, endearing, weird, or unique. However, overloading your character descriptions with these traits will have the opposite effect, and make them feel ungrounded and unrelatable.

Give the character motivation. A character’s goals are integral to figuring out who they are and what drives them. In order for a bad guy to be a good character, they need a legitimate reason to be bad. What does this person want, and why do they want it this way? The best villains aren’t cartoonish caricatures; a good villain is a complex bad guy who readers simultaneously love and hate. Finding a way to present the internal conflict within a character will show the emotional struggle they face along with any physical obstacles or roadblocks. Writing realistic motivations will create believable character arcs for audiences to follow.

Write realistic dialogue. The way your character speaks has a big impact on how a reader envisions them through your writing. The more organic their conversations are with other characters, the more lifelike they’ll feel. Dialogue should reflect your character’s background and be true to the period the story exists within.

Include relationships with supporting characters. When your main characters interact with secondary characters, it gives the reader the idea that these people have existed together long before you tuned in to their story. Having them interact with secondary and more minor characters will make them feel more like real people, like they still exist in the world even when we’re outside the central storyline.

Develop your characters. Character development is an important aspect of any fiction writing, even if all that changes is their physical description or point of view. A character should learn and grow, or at least experience or learn something new during their story. For instance, the static character of Sherlock Holmes, who famously did not get along with or like anyone, developed emotionally when he found a perfectly matched colleague and best friend in his sidekick, John Watson. Holmes was more humanized when he showed the audience he wasn’t just a crime-solving savant type of character, but that he was also capable of bonding with and maintaining a relationship with another person.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

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So within two days of each other, Fox News writes an article comparing aromanticism and asexuality to pedophilia, and then Matt Walsh releases a video saying asexuality is a mental illness and asexuals are tricking teenagers into having depression.

Not sure what’s going on right now over in Conservative World, but it’s a hell of wild U-turn for them to suddenly switch from “Oh no! The left is sexualizing our children!” to “Oh no! The left is asexualizing our children!”

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UNIVERSAL STUDIOS CLASSIC MONSTER MOVIE POSTERS IN EYVIND EARLE ART STYLE

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Books on Libby have started disappearing.

My friend pointed it out first, and then I started noticing too. Why would books that multiple libraries definitely, 100% had digital access to a couple of months/weeks/days ago disappear?

Amazon is getting exclusive rights to them.

Ebooks that the public library once had digital copies of are now only available through Amazon. Audible boasts on their covers about Audible-exclusive audiobooks that did not used to be Audible-exclusive. Entire series and collections are disappearing overnight.

Keep your eyes on the privatization of media and your libraries.

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Look I'm sorry to anyone who thought the Saja Boys were a real band, but it was obviously fake from the beginning.

Huntr/x has been doing this gimmick for years where they'll put on a performance and some actors dressed up like demons will "interrupt" it or get into some choreo fights on stage and stuff. If you're a fan you know, the demons usually symbolize things like industry corruption, Mira's struggle with her family, Rumi being in the closet, etc, and there's lots of hints and secret messages to the fans in what they're wearing or how they show up. Check out huntresx5evah on blsky they've got an extensive examination of the "demons" over the years and what the messages to the fans are.

In the concert before Golden was released, the demons were dressed like flight attendants. That was the indication that something new was about to take off. @/queenhuntrixdontmiss and I speculated that it was going to be a new single and low and behold, it was.

But then the live performance got cancelled. It's an open secret that Rumi was having vocal issues, so that was probably not planned. They needed to buy time for her to recover, so, enter the Saja Boys -- a fake band of guys really clearly pretending to be demons, they release ONE single, do a bunch of b-tier variety shows for a week, nearly all of their public appearances have Huntr/x right there, keeping the hype and energy up until Rumi can get her throat polyps removed and furthering the routine where Huntr/x are supposed to be secret demon hunters and the Saja Boys are supposed to be secret demons.

Then the whole thing culminates in the Golden live performance at the idol awards, the big act with Huntr/x fake "break up" and the subsequent theatrics to make it up to fans for failing the first Golden performance. Huntr/x takes their obligation to fans very seriously, I've no doubt that they all felt terrible about having to cancel, so a free show was the obvious recourse to try and make it up to people. And they pulled out all the stops!

But the Saja Boys were never real. I mean they got real guys to pretend to be a boy band and do the dancing and lip syncing obviously, but come on, most of them didn't even have names.

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Drawing porn is hard but I'm harder

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People have written a lot of touchy-feely pieces on this subject but I thought I’d get right to the heart of the matter

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and that’s how the monkey king joined the scripture seeker (real and true) (100% accurate)

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“The first step towards systematic change is awareness” — video by @art-the-f-up

— Join us in raising funds for 🍉 through the strength and creativity of fandoms! Follow or join or Discord for updates 🇵🇸

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Winx Club Concepts: Alternate Sirenix

Okay, hear me out....Forget Original Sirenix, forget Neo-Sirenix from Season 8, and forget Harmonix (kind of...sorry, Harmonix)! What if we got THIS out of Sirenix instead?! I saw these images from winxclubsilver_ on Instagram and I was in complete shock! Man, if Winx Club continued their seasons in the same direction Seasons 1-4 went through, let The Winx continue to be Guardian Fairies and/or teachers/teacher assistants at Alfea, and didn't keep dressing our girls into child-like uniforms, maybe we could've had Sirenix (and maybe Harmonix) look like this or something! Maybe even Roxy could have a Sirenix makeover like this too? There's even some fanmade screenshots made by dreamofwinx also on Instagram who used inspirations from Silver's art. If you've watched Unicorn of War-Thomas Vaccaro's Season 5 rewrite, you could picture these designs being the "official" Sirenix. Maybe there could have also been the option to have Sirenix powered up by The Water Stars from Season 3. THESE DESIGNS ARE SOOOO GORGEOUS!!!

Also, I'm likely gonna start making posts of concepts I believe could or could've worked out for Winx Club, MLP, etc. because having fan ideas for the shows you like are a lot of fun!

Art by: winxclubsilver_ & dreamofwinx