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artzychic27 · 11 months

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There are AUs where Marc is Marinette's cousin, right? What if that was canonical? In my country there is the concept of the perfect cousin and privileged by relatives and they often compare anyone who steps out of the norm to this cousin…. I imagine them almost as siblings in childhood, but with Marinette always getting more attention. And when they grow up, she becomes manipulative with him, it has happened that the whole family fights with Marc because of her. And that's why he always helps her with her plans… and I imagine the ones who would interfere would be Nath, Zoe and Felix (the first two for obvious reasons and Felix as "ok, I'm a shitty cousin, but this is crossing the line").

Since he was born, Marc has always been overlooked by his cousin

She was always so talkative, sociable, making people laugh and smile, and he just read in silence

Oh, never mind that he gets 100% on a test, because Marinette got 101% after she explained her reasoning behind the answer she gave. La-dee-dah!

Because she’s the “perfect cousin” out of the two, Marinette is always getting whatever the fuck her spoiled little heart wants- A new expensive sewing machine, fancy fabrics, magazines from high end fashion brands, and some of that stuff even comes from Marc’s own moms

Alyssa and Penny don’t outright say Marc should be like Marinette, but they’re more like, “Sweetie, why don’t you spend some time with Marinette?” And that’s code for, “Why can’t you be perfect like your cousin?!”

Sabine and Tom, though? They will take the opportunity to brag about Marinette’s accomplishments for twenty minutes then finally remember Marc’s in the room and ask his moms what he’s done lately

They have no idea about the awards he’s received in school for his stories, and he doesn’t mind keeping it that way. All of his certificates are just sitting in a folder in his hoodie drawer

It’s due to his treatment, that Marc’s wardrobe is toned down a bit. And by that, I mean he looks like his concept art-self

He secretly enters writing contests, and has been doing so and winning since he was ten. He’s earned a lot of money and keeps it saved up because if he tells anyone in the family about it, they’re definitely gonna use it to spoil Marinette. The only person he can really trust in Kiran, and occasionally treats him to ice cream

Marinette wants nothing to do with him. She always says she asks Marc to hang out with her, but he keeps declining. I’m reality, she doesn’t want a “Total weirdo” anywhere near her friends. And she lets him know it, too, but he couldn’t care less. He doesn’t want to be anywhere near a bunch of people who are probably psychos like her

He’s seen the way she acts around boys she likes, sniffing their hair, taking pictures of them, even following one guy home. It hasn’t escalated past that, but at least he’s not a part of it

However, his family doesn’t notice that about “perfect little Marinette”. He gets reprimanded for not being sociable like her and laughed off for having crushes because who would ever date someone like him?

Then he gets sent to therapy for his “issues” as Marinette so helpfully pointed out. There, he lays in to her that she can’t get a single question in

Marc: Oh! And then that bitch cut off my bangs while I was sleeping, and I got in trouble for playing with scissors! I mean- Oh, is our session over? Thanks again, Lisa. You are just wonderful for letting me vent. See you next Wednesday. *Leaves the room*

Lisa: … Damn, that boy’s cousin sucks.

In DuPont, everyone knows they’re cousins thanks to Marinette just so more people can compare Marc to his “perfect cousin”

Marinette has instant popularity she bought with custom clothing, her high-end connections, and Marc has his writing under the stairs while Lila quietly reads… Only for that to be interrupted when Marinette drags him out and into the art classroom one day where a few of her friends are gathered

They’re a little disturbed by her “psycho burnout cousin” being in the same room as them. Apparently, Marinette started a few rumors about Marc taking unprescribed drugs along with the ones for his “mental problems” just to make herself look better by comparison

Marc: … Well, that explains why moms keep searching my room for something.

Ignoring that, Marinette let’s him in on why he brought him in here- To help her with her plan to get Adrien to be her boyfriend by making a comic with Nathaniel that will map out the perfect date between them, which will eventually lead to marriage, having three perfect children, a hamster, and then dying together in a couples coffin

Marc: No.

Akuma Class: What?!/She’s your cousin!/You’ve gotta help her!/Don’t you want her to be happy?!

Marc: I am not obligated to help her, I know none of you, nor do I know this boy she is suddenly so infatuated with. So, pardon me if I sound rude, but leave me the fuck alone. All of you. I know how her fan club get when she is told no.

For context, Marinette’s “friends” will do anything to make her happy. Even bully those who are the slightest bit mean to her or show an interest in Adrien. Like Lila

Lila was the new girl who had no idea what she’d be getting herself into. After her Akumatization into Volpina when Ladybug called her a skeeze in front of Adrien, she was made an outcast by Marinette and eventually adopted by Marc

Now she swears to protect him with her life. On with the rest of the story!

The next day, Marc has his books slapped out of his hand, his glasses snatched, and he gets tripped on his way to class. All by some members of Marinette’s sychophant club

Some jocks who always leave stuff for Marinette on Valentines Day corner him in the locker room, but before they can do anything, some redhead walks in and tells them Marinette needs help with her books, and they’re gone in two seconds

Marc almost thanks the guy until he recognizes him as Nathaniel. Along with him is Lila. Before he can storm off, Lila stops him and asks Marc to hear him out

Nathaniel: Uh… Thanks.

Marc: For what?

Nathaniel: … *Lila nudges him* … For getting me out of that. I didn’t even want to make the stupid comic, but Marinette’s family bakery is more popular than my mom’s diner. She threatened to get her fan club to leave bad reviews and get her shut down if I didn’t help…

Marc: … You, uh… You guys wanna hang out… Away from here?

They skip school and not to their surprise, no one notices except for Nathaniel’s mom, Mme. Mendeleiev, and to Marc’s surprise, his classmates

They sort of stay out of the loop when it comes to Marinette, and the reason they don’t talk to him is because they didn’t want to make him uncomfortable since he always seems to close off when someone attempts to make conversation

Because Nathaniel hangs out with Marc and Lila, this turns him into more of an outcast. Oh, but don’t worry, because Chloé owes Marc a favor for something she won’t reveal, she gets her dad to leave a glowing review for Aya’s diner and boosts sales

Then there’s that whole shitstorm on the anniversary of Adrien’s mom’s disappearance. Marc (Who was dragged along), Nathaniel, Lila, and the surprising addition of Luka actually overhear Marinette’s totally insensitive and inappropriate confession to Adrien on what is supoosed to be a day of mourning, and Max sends the messages off before they can stop him

Then “Adrien” arrives. When it seems like he’s about to accept Marinette’s feelings… He tears into her, calling her all sorts of names

Lila just had to record it all for whenever she needs something to make her smile or laugh. But, when another Adrien arrives, it turns out “Adrien” is actually Félix, Adrien’s cousin

Marc: Which one do you guys think is the asshole cousin?

Nathaniel: Well, I like Félix, and Adrien seems too nice.

Lila: … Let’s keep Félix.

Luka: Yeah.

After some sychophant Akumas try and kill Félix to defend Marinette’s honor and after Ladybug puts on a show of being this angelic savior while Chat Noir is just her sidekick who does all the work, the Akumas are eventually defeated

Marc catches up with Félix and… Hugs him

Marc: You are truly the greatest human being on this godawful planet!

Félix: Uh… Thank you?

Marc: I’m serious! Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to tear into that girl? She needs to be taken down a hundred pegs, and because of you, some people are beginning to doubt her intentions with Adrien. If I weren’t in love with Nathaniel, I’d kiss you

Félix: Please don’t. I’m asexual.

Marc: Noted.

Félix: And I’ve decided to stay in Paris for a while, anyway. Someone’s gotta keep my moron cousin from walking into traffic, and it seems like you’re in need of friends

Marc notices a slight change in the school the following week. For one, a few people, namely his classmates are giving Marinette the stink eye whenever they can

As for the Science Kids, while they were appreciative of the nice clothes they got on their birthdays even though they weren’t in their style, they were never really fond of Marinette

Plus, a ton of bad reviews were left on Aurore’s Akuma Analysis blog and she has the suspicion it was started by Marinette to boost traffic for Alya’s Ladyblog

Reshma had a hard time making friends because Marinette convinced people she was just another Chloé (Someone Marc is considered adopting)

Simon was in the same boat as Marc once. Marinette saw his videos and “asked” him to get some footage of a boy she liked for “personal reasons”

And they never went to anyone about their treatment, because who’d believe them over Marinette? So, they were a class of outcasts no one ever wanted to be associated with

Also, Félix is in their class and gives everyone the latest information on every creepy thing Marinette does when Adrien doesn’t notice. Nathaniel and Lila would switch, but that would be like letting Marinette win

Now onto Reverser

Marc has a particularly bad week. He’s forced to go to dinner with the Dupain-Chengs just so they can brag about Marinette being asked to design an outfit for Clara Nightingale while Marc’s moms embarrassingly admit that Marc made a few friends

Marinette and her gang, for the hundredth time, badger Marc into making the Adrinette comic with Nathaniel, and go so far as to drag him to the art classroom where Nathaniel is, and where Marinette is banned due to her toxicity

Marc and Nathaniel are making a comic, but about Chat Noir, painting him in a positive light due to Ladybug soaking up all the glory. And Félix and Lila so helpfully point out that they should turn Marinette into a villain in their next issue… And they do, but only give copies to their inner circle

When he gets home, he finds a check in his mail as an award for another writing contest he entered and goes to put it with the rest… Which is not there

His moms aren’t home, Kiran would never, and the only other person with a key is… Marinette! And his suspicions are proven right the next day when he sees her in a VERY expensive outfit, and she just gives him this look

Well… He lets her have it

Marc: MARINETTE! Your pigtails are MINE! *Tackles her to the floor*

Lila: Yes! It’s finally happening!

*Marinette puts up a fight, but Marc has so much repressed anger and doesn’t hold back*

Marc: Take a bite of my Doc Martens, bitch! *Roundhosue kicks Marinette*

Marinette: Someone stop him! He’s a fucking psycho!

Félix: Shut up. Fuck you. Eat shit.

Marc: *Denise and Jean pull him away* You want some more, huh?! SCREW YOU! And screw these assholes, too! I HATE YOU, MARINETTE! I FUCKING HATE IT HERE! *Runs away crying*

Nathaniel, Chloé, Lila, and Félix try to call him back, but it’s a little hard to hear over everyone calling Marc a “Demon” and all sorts of cruel names. Cue the Akuma

Okay, so it’s not Reverser. Imagine the Grimm Reaper going through a punk phase, his scythe causes the worst parts of people to be revealed when they’re slashed by it, and he’s got Oni-Chan’s teleportation powers

Nathaniel, Chloé, Félix, and Lila attempt to stop him from killing Marinette and only giving her more to use against him, but he only promises them that “Things will finally change,” then leaves in a dramatic cloud of black smoke

Nathniel: Do we want him not to kill Marinette?

Lila: … Wow, you think of something for so long, and then it happens. I gotta sit down for a bit.

Félix: Get up and help us stop Nath’s boyfriend.

Nathaniel: What?! I- No! What? No!

Chloé: Relax, Kurtzberg. We know you’re crazy about him. You can kiss him after this is over. Now let’s help Chat Noir

Marinette can’t find a place to transform due to Marc always finding her, and while she would love to take a “much needed rest” for protecting Paris and let her “lazy partner” finally have to work, she can’t!

To her shock and anger, four heroes arrive on the scene. Vulpix, Queen Bee, CapriKid, Bomb Shell. Well, she’s not letting them get all the credit and goes after Marc herself. Finally, and excuse to hurt him… But he’s a lot stronger than she expected, and only succeeds in creating a crater in the road when she lands

Bomb Shell: *Watching Akuma!Marc bashing Ladybug’s head against a car window* … Should we help?

CapriKid: Nah, he’s got this.

Bomb Shell: I meant Ladybug.

CapriKid: Oh… Later.

Marc finally slashes Ladybug and all of the worst parts about her are revealed live, not by Alya, but by the heroes using their weapon phones, with the addition of Simon and Aurore. And… It’s a lot

When Marc is cured, Ladybug goes to reprimand him and force him to apologize like she does with all Akuma victims, but Bomb Shell threatens to slice her head off with her shield

Bomb Shell: Remember me, skeeze? *Whispers* I will find you, and I will break you.

The heroes, Aurore, and Simon waste no time posting what they recorded, and many Akuma victims step forward about Ladybug’s treatment. Even local law enforcement is suffering from pay cuts becuase of Ladybug insisting that she and Chat Noir get paid for their work. Chat Noir never knew about the cuts and donates his checks to the officers

Now there’s a active campaign against Ladybug, started by people who have a vendetta against Ladybug due to her poor treatment of Akuma victims after the Miracle Cure. Akuma class students who are most active in the campaign are Chloé and Nathaniel while a few are still on the fence

She claims Akuma victims need to be reprimanded for their actions and not coddled just because they can’t keep their emotions in check

Well, let’s just say therapists aren’t on her side

Everywhere she goes, Ladybug is jeered while Chat Noir finally gets the praise he deserves. They only keep her around and don’t try to steal her Miraculous becuase she reverses all of the damage

But while Ladybug is losing her status, Marinette still remains popular and uses her influence as a designer for celebrities to publicly denounce Ladybug Haters, but that doesn’t deter them

Oh, and Marc was suspended for a week after attacking Marinette, but he doesn’t give two flying fucks. Now he’s got a reputation as a badass who will go off on anyone who looks at him funny, and it keeps the Marinette Worshippers away. Also, his friends and Kiran are the only ones to believe him about the money, so that’s another thing to add to the list on why they hate Marinette

And Cue Zoé! She arrives in the middle of the semester like Lila instead of near the end of the year

Zoé is almost dragged into an Adrinette plan involving them getting stuck in an elevator, but she knows all about Marinette due Chloé’s long rants about her at home, so she keeps her distance and becomes an outcast. The only reason she’s not being actively bullied is because of Chloé threatening to get the mayor involved

Zoé never cared for Marinette, but she comes to hate her, because what person just does that bullshit to their own cousin? When Marinette tries to start another rumor about Marc taking antipsychotic drugs, she comes at her with, “Don’t you think it’s rude to expose people’s medical history?”

Now, you might be thinking. “Where does Adrien stand in all of this?”

Well, you see… Adrien is just so confused. DuPont seemed great at first, and his classmates were all so nice to him, especially Marinette. It’s too bad she’s so shy around him. Now things just keep shifting around. The girls are so secretive around him, Félix insulted Marinette for no reason, the guys don’t hang out with Nathaniel anymore, and Lila… He’s not entirely sure

And Marinette always lets him know who it’s safe to hang out with... But the list keeps growing. For example, Nathaniel has anger issues so it’s best not to talk to him, Lila is a serial liar who was kicked out of her school for causing a girl to commit suicide, Marc is… It’s best to just not to go anywhere near him, Zoé got expelled from her last school for excessive bullying, and to his surprise, Félix is on the list. He gets Félix pulled that stunt on her, but he’s his cousin!

Something’s not right. Well, at least he’s getting praised as a superhero for once, not that he ever asked for it. But, it’s nice to be appreciated by people

Though, he can’t help but wonder why Marc attacked Marinette all of a sudden… So, he asks

Marc: Because my cousin’s a lying, thieving, no good son-of-a-bitch who never should have been conceived and should crawl back into the darkest pits of hell like the Satan spawn she is!

Lila: Hey! Satan happens to have lovely children.

Nathaniel: You would know.

Lila: Oh, you hush.

Marc: Anyway, Marc Anciel, Marinette’s unfortunate cousin. Nice to meet you. Are you a sychophant, bystander, or outcast?

Félix: Trust me. He’s a bystander. You see, my dear sweet innocent cousin sees the chaos happening around him and knows it’s bad, but is afraid to do anything.

Adrien: That’s not true!

Lila: Ladybug called me a skeeze in front of you.

Adrien: … Okay, maybe I am a bystander.

Nathaniel: Not necessarily. Marinette just knows how to keep the worst part of herself hidden so people will like her and go along with whatever she says. At least you’re aware that something’s off. Anyway, we’ll help you.

Marc: Nope! First, he has to help us. And for that to happen, Félix, show him the video.

Adrien: What video?

Félix shows Adrien the confession video Marinette sent him on the anniversary, and it goes as well as you’d expect

So now, Adrien wants nothing to do with Marinette, especially after the outcasts gave him some hard evidence of Marinette being a stalker, and Marc even put him in touch with some of Marinette’s past obsessions so he can know just the kind of person she is

Marinette is NOT happy and confronts Marc in the locker room one day

Marinette: What the hell did you do this time, you freak?!

Marc: What are you gonna do, beat me up? Look how well that went last time, jackass.

Marinette: Because of you, Adrien hates me! Why are you so hell bent on ruining my life?!

Marc: That is so RICH coming from you! The second you were born, your life’s ambition was to make my life hell! Because of you I had no friends growing up, my moms and all your little sycophants think I have a drug problem, I’m in therapy for problems I don’t have!

Marinette: And who the hell would believe some pathetic loner?! Face it! Your only purpose in life is to be compared to me! The physical embodiment of perfection itself! You are nothing! No one would even know your name if I weren’t born! Hell, it’s not like they bother to remember anyway! Even your own moms love me more than you and your sad sack of a brother-

Marc: *Death glare* Leave Kiran’s name out of your fucking mouth. Go on. Try me, bitch.

Marinette: You- you think you can threaten me?! I have all the power over these pathetic losers! Just like you, they are nothing and would have nothing without me! All of them are nothing but pathetic sheep riding my coattails! Why?! Because I gave them those coattails in the first place! I gave them some form of hope to grab onto, a shred of hope that they would get to bask in my glory if they just did every damn thing I said and kept them happy, but once I am out of here, they will have NOTHING! They can’t even do something so simple as to make Adrien MINE!

Marc: You do realize he’s not an object, right?

Marinette: I don’t care! He’s perfection! I’m perfection! I deserve him! He should be modeling my clothes, worshipping and groveling at my feet for my love like every idiot boy in school! And once I marry him, the Gabriel brand will be in my grasp, I will take the fashion world by storm, and you and that little boy toy of yours will be doing favors just for a scrap of cash before dying in an alley somewhere! As if you ever think your writing career is gonna take off! Those contests you entered? They obviously have low standards! Thanks for the cash, though and for giving these idiots another reason to hate you and adore me. *Leaves*

Lila: *Exits the girl’s bathroom with Chloé* Wow. That was intense.

*Félix, Nathaniel, and Adrien walk out of the boy’s bathroom*

Nathaniel: Simon? Did you get all of that? *Opens a locker to reveal Simon with a tape recorder*

Simon: Every last word.

Félix: Man, it’s a good thing you fit comfortably in a locker.

Simon: There’s a pencil stuck to my ass. Does that sound comfortable?

The following week, Marinette finds herself on the receiving end of some dirty looks and makes a mental note to get her idiot classmates to do something about those losers

But when she goes crying to them, Kim slaps her across the face

Nino: Jesus, Kim! She’s a girl!

Kim: … Screw gender rolls.

Nino: … Okay, that’s fine.

When she recovers, Max plays Simon’s recording, but Marinette is still trying to save face

Marinette: Who are you gonna believe?! My psycho of a cousin, or your best friend?!

Max: I’ll believe and ax-wielding murderer over you. And I’m done doing your dirty work just so you’ll keep quiet. Everyone! I am a proud homosexual, and I am in love with my best friend!

Rose: I have a severe medical condition and I didn’t want any of you to pity me or treat me like glass!

The Akuma class all come out and share the secrets Marinette blackmailed them with unless they did exactly as she said

And as for Adrien, he hits Marinette with a restraining order and yells at her to stay YARDS away from him at all times

Lila: Oh, she’s violating the restraining order right now. Off to jail!

Marinette: Shut up, Lila! Adrien, you don’t know what you’re saying! You’re supposed to be my boyfriend!

Adrien: Why? So you can have my dad’s company? You’re either desperate or stupid. I have no interest in inheriting the brand and plan to go into child psychology, so even if I were to go crazy and fall in love with you, you wouldn’t be anywhere near Gabriel.

Marinette: You all… Arr going to be SORRY! Tikki! Spots on!

Marinette transforms and is about to take off with Adrien, but a familiar Doc Marten boot hits the side of her head and knocks her out so that Marc can snatch the earrings off of Ladybug

Marc: … I’m fucking serious, guys, I had no clue about this.

And to make matters better, the police arrive to take Marinette in for questioning about her stalking, but as she’s being shoved into the police car, she actually grabs for an Akuma

So now, Paris will face the wrath of La Dictator

Zoé: We… Are so fucking boned, you guys.

Not necessarily. Chat Noir gathers the Miraculous and brings back Vulpix, Bomb Shell, CapriKid, and Queen Bee. And Calamity, Viperion, and Mariquita make their debuts

While La Dictator is smiting and punishing everyone who went against her, Calamity is getting survivors out of Paris with her portals so the team can take care of her without anyone else getting hurt

The battle lasts well into the evening, but they win, and Marinette is arrested becuase EVERYONE saw her reach for the Akuma

Bomb Shell: … *Giggles* Oh my God! We’re still alive! We’re alive, you guys!

CapriKid: We fucking lived! *Kisses Mariquita*

Vulpix: Yeah! Get your boy!

Things are… Somewhat normal after Marinette’s sentencing. For one, his moms apologize for how they’ve treated him, but he can’t find it in his heart to forgive them just now

The Akuma class and everyone Marinette has blackmailed are getting some serious therapy and make it a goal to make up for their treatment of others due to Marinette’s influence

And there are several permanent heroes now, that’s good. Lord knows Paris needs them, and… Oh yeah! Marc and Nathaniel are dating

Adrien found comfort in Luka and they began dating. Zoé’s dating Cosette. Félix is dating the library. Lila’s been learning how to skateboard from Ismael, and Chloé had her lesbian awakening when she met Kagami

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #nathaniel kurtzberg #marc anciel #answered ask #ask me stuff #marc x nathaniel #mlb au #Made a whole ass au here!#someone! send in another ask!#let me turn in into a whole ass au!#mlb ocs #Marinette salt #favoritism #favoritism au

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worm-in-a-trenchcoat · 6 months

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TODAY WAS SO FRICKING AWESOME!!!

I went as Ghoulia today, and Garret came over to ME and ask to take a picture with me! I almost cried 😭. Later I bought Scarily Ever After Clawdeen (one of my grails) and got her signed!

I met so many cool MH cosplayers (including the cutest Frankie cosplayer ever omg), and I met some mutuals from TikTok! I was alone at the con today and they let me tag along with them for the rest of the day (we ended up staying until the literal very end of the con lol)!

Having people to hang out with really made today so much more fun and less overwhelming for me, I had such a great time!

We entered the “Freaky Fashion Show” as a group and won the “Freaky Fabulous” award. We had to split it five ways (a Draculaura cosplayer joined us for the contest) and I took the pencil since none of the other prizes would fit in my suitcase anyway lol.

The mututals I met!! They were so nice and we had so much fun together! And they’re cosplays were so amazing!!!

I’ll probably make a couple more posts with more pics because tumblr will only let me post so many pictures at once, so sorry I’m advance if it gets kind of spammy 😭

#monster high #comic con #cosplay #monster high cosplay

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devildomwriter · 1 year

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Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Headcanons

Lucifer

• He will only go out in an intentionally ugly sweater if it’s for a specific purpose like an ugly sweater party or ugly Christmas sweater day at RAD (of course Diavolo made it a thing)

• He considers bright colors and tacky lights to be ugly so he wears something along those lines and it even drives him insane

• He will make himself as hidden as possible throughout the day unless there’s an award option in which case his pride wouldn’t let him lose

Mammon

• He thinks it’s funny so although he usually prides himself of “cool fashion” he jumps on board the ugly Christmas sweater train

• His is a green fluffy sweater with Christmas lights and a squirrel stuffie attached to the shoulder

• Naturally he names the squirrel and to cure boredom he’ll talk to the squirrel “did ya hear that Nutty? Guys full of crap.”

Leviathan

• He doesn’t consider it ugly but just wears an anime sweater

• Will probably get offended if someone says he did a good job because he feels it’s an insult to the anime character who is “a goddess”

• Don’t vote for his sweater as an ugly Christmas sweater he will either cry or get really mad and summon Lotan there is no third option

Satan

• He wears a personalized Christmas sweater that says “Cat Dad” and he attached a bunch of cat stuffed animals to it

• They all have names (after the cats he knows and one after you “the cutest one”)

• He finds the sweater adorable and not at all ugly but there’s no way he’d leave the house wearing it otherwise

Asmodeus

• He can make anything beautiful and every is ugly in comparison to him so he dies the only natural thing he can think of

• He buys a knitted sweater and attached a small mirror to it therefor making whoever appears in the mirror the reason it’s an ugly Christmas sweater

• He keeps asking Mammon to look into the mirror and it’s pissing Mammon off

Beelzebub

• The first rule was not to wear anything with patterns relating to food

• He and Belphie wanted to match and decided to buy a two person pull-over sweat shirt

• Now Belphie can sleep with his head on beel’s shoulder and Beel can use his hidden arm to carry Belphie around

Belphegor

• Belphegor didn’t want to compete in the ugly sweater contest so decided to wear whatever Beel was going to wear

• Beel couldn’t decide either so they chose to buy a two person sweater leaving each with just one functional arm

• Belphegor loved this because it meant he could fall asleep on Beel but he ends up with a lot of crumbs on his face

Solomon

• Solomon thinks the human trend of ugly Christmas sweater is hilarious and knows exactly what he’s going to wear

• He wears a sweater with a pocket the shape of a stocking that feet’s one wine bottle inside it so he can sip it through a straw at the party

• Lucifer wishes he’d done that and keeps eyeing solomon which solomon mistakes as a sign he wants to talk and annoys Lucifer throughout the party

Thirteen

• She didn’t want to leave her cave in anything ugly but decided to when she saw everyone else was doing the same thing

• She wants to be fun and funny so her sweater has Solomon on it that lights up like it’s being electrocuted whenever she presses the hidden button

• She’s angry Solomon thinks it’s a cool idea

Simeon

• Simeon thinks it’s a hilarious idea but also feels he’s being mean to call someone’s sewing job ugly so it takes him a while

• He wears a sweatshirt based of the ELF movie with a narwhal saying “I hope you find your dad buddy” he does this intentionally knowing everyone is either not in the same realm as their dad, doesn’t have a dad, or is estranged from their dad

• He asks everyone to read it, Lucifer especially and his sweet smile isn’t fooling anyone

Raphael

• He decides to make his own but doesn’t know what people consider ugly so asks Asmodeus who only made things more complicated

• He decides to buy a sweater instead with a reindeer with antlers sticking out that you can toss rings onto (he didn’t know this and was confused and defensive when people threw bands and rings at him)

• No one successfully lands a ring on the antlers as he instinctively catches everything

Luke

• Luke loves the idea and asks you for help picking it out

• He decides to embrace the Chihuahua joke for one night hoping it’ll pay off and wears a sweater with a chihuahua on the front. When you press its nose it starts yapping loudly

• He gets more head pats than he bargained for and “yaps” louder than the sweater

Mephistopheles

• Normally would not be caught dead in anything considered ugly but you and Diavolo are there so he goes along with it

• His sweater has the grinch on it asking if it’s jolly enough

• Everyone seems to think it’s the perfect sweater for him but he doesn’t realize this and just thinks they’re complimenting his fashion sense

Barbatos

• This man will do anything Diavolo asks so when Diavolo wanted to throw an ugly Christmas sweater party, he naturally agreed

• His sweater just has rats depicted on it, he will not look at his own sweater but he wanted to prove his dedication to the meaning of the party

• He suddenly finds that this sweater seems to frighten the rats and used it to his advantage later on

Diavolo

• Diavolo was so amused by the idea an ugly Christmas sweater party that he decided to throw one and invited everyone he could think of

• He decides to wear a sweater that says “Get Lit” and has a reindeer that lights up and emits jingle bells music

• He’s so entertained by his own sweater that he keeps pressing the music button to hear the song jingle bells blare over and over again

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msweebyness · 6 months

Text

Theater Kids- Worst Experiences with Marinette/Ladybug

HERE IT IIIIS! The final part of this saga! Thanks to @artzychic27 for creating this little series, and as always, @imsparky2002! Enjoy!

Recess

Akuma

Science

Ayesha:

Ladybug became angry when the other heroes were far more prominently featured than her in Ayesha's latest cartoon

She called Ayesha's work 'cheap' and 'a little irritating' in an interview, devastating her and subjecting her to a bit of online bullying

Dot:

This girl tried to take advantage of Dot's position as secretary to get access to Adrien's personal files, and have her placed in all the same classes/activities as him

When Dot said no, because creepy, Marinette planted some evidence that almost got her kicked off the council for inappropriate conduct

Petra:

"Uh, I know you like that whole Decora look, and it's fine, it's your style, I'm not trying to be rude, but...there's such a thing as...going too far with accessorizing...your outfits are kinda...loud."

Petra gave their honest opinion, which Marinette ASKED FOR, on one of the bluenette's designs, and Marinette apparently didn't like what she had to say, so she ruined Petra's latest animation project "on accident".

Roxie:

This bitch had the audacity to insinuate that Roxie was to blame for the nasty break-up with their bitch of an ex-girlfriend, just because said ex happened to be a pretty influential client of hers. (FYI, that girl cheated on AND emotionally abused Roxie)

Has frequently called Roxie's temper 'scary' and 'dangerous', recommending that they should take anger management classes. (Bitch, what are you, a psychiatrist?!)

Anthony:

Not taking kindly to Anthony's trademark standoffish demeanor and snarky remarks, Marinette insinuated that Jesse shouldn't be dating such a jerk, and may or may not have implied that he's verbally and emotionally abusing him.

She also makes fun of and antagonizes him for being British , just because she can't stand Felix.

Candace:

Marinette got jealous when Adrien complimented Candace for an impressive stunt she'd performed while cheering at a DuPont basketball game

After coming back from half-time, she used her phone to reflect the sun from a nearby window into Candace's eyes, causing her to fall and break her wrist

Eri:

Marinette got angry and jealous when the gothic ballgown Eri had made beat out her own evening gown design for a fashion contest

When everyone had left the school for the day, Marinette destroyed the dress so Eri couldn't wear it to the awards ceremony

Staci:

Insinuated that Staci should be kicked off of cheer because her subdued demeanor and trademark snarkiness 'really dampened the team's spirit'.

She's also suggested that she cover up her birthmark with makeup

Margo:

Jealous that Margo's DIY accessories were more popular than hers at the school's craft sale, Marinette pretended to 'stumble' and wreck Margo's booth, destroying most of her work

Has actually called Margo's Nordic accent 'impossible to understand' and 'kind of annoying'.

Soo-Yeon:

Soo-Yeon accidentally made a foul against Adrien during a friendly basketball match, knocking him to the ground. Again, it was an ACCIDENT and Soo-Yeon apologized repeatedly.

Marinette didn't care about that however, when she purposely rolled a ball under Soo-Yeon when he attempted to dunk, causing him to go sprawling and dislocate his shoulder

In the "I Don't Have Enough Fabric to Make you an Outfit" Club

Parker:

In the "Vigilantism" club with Denise, publicly reprimanded by Ladybug for fending off an akuma with a self-defense maneuver when said villain was about to attack her and some of her classmates

Marinette frequently criticizes Parker's...militaristic fashion sense as well. (Parker/Gia: LET US WEAR OUR FUCKING CAMO DAMMIT)

Aggie:

Like with Gerard, Marinette is VERY aggressively accepting and tries to get Aggie to model for an 'inclusive' line, despite Aggie telling her repeatedly she is NOT comfortable in front of a camera.

Frequently tells Aggie that she needs to 'speak clearer' and 'use actual words'. It's called a Scottish accent, bitch! Shut up.

Brecken:

Constantly making backhanded and critical comments about Brecken's build and weight, comparing him to Kim in that regard, insinuating that 'maybe the rest of his body could use the same level of commitment as those beefy arms.'

STOP SAYING SHIT ABOUT PEOPLE'S ACCENTS, DUPAIN-CHENG

Mona:

Like with Simon, Marinette has tried to gaslight Mona into getting secret footage of Adrien while he's working on film projects, and actually sabotaged Mona's wheelchair when they refused.

Also frequently makes rude and backhanded comments about Mona being 'in the way' and 'slowing everyone down'

Evie:

Marinette couldn't stand when Evie and Adrien chose to perform a duet together in the school talent show, him playing and her singing, so she took drastic measures

She laced Evie's tea with cinnamon, which the girl is allergic to, causing her to have an anaphylactic reaction and leaving her unable to sing

Anais:

Marinette got jealous when Anais was assigned to tutor Adrien in chemistry and tried to spy on them. She got angry when Anais noticed she was there and asked her to please leave.

She sabotaged Anais' chemistry midterm, earning them a failing grade and getting it in HUGE trouble with her parents.

Jesse:

Marinette got angry with Mylene for refusing to give up her role in a movie as romantic co-leads with Adrien

In retaliation, she took a picture of Jesse and Mylene hugging and jacked up the angles with some editing to make it look like they were kissing. She posted it on the school blog and spread rumors that Mylene was cheating on Ivan with Jesse.

Eloise:

Eloise was having trouble carrying all of her math books for a formula she was working on, so Adrien stopped to help her.

Witnessing this, Marinette became jealous and took advantage of the fact Eloise couldn't see over the tall stack of books to trip her so she smashed her head on a locker, leaving her with a (Thank God) minor concussion.

Missy:

Screamed and made a HUGE scene the first time she saw Missy's 'freakish' teeth, asking why she doesn't file those down.

Doesn't appreciate her sharp attitude and has actually openly called her a bitch

Leave your thoughts in the comments and reblogs! Hope you enjoyed this!

#miraculous ladybug #mlb ocs #theater kids #marinette dupain cheng #marinette salt

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xhanisai · 16 days

Text

Anonymous

AO3

Pairing - Adrinette

Prompt - 'Anonymous'

Summary -

Marinette was already a very accomplished woman with a portfolio to die for and she took huge pride in it.

But she didn’t have any friends.

Never had a boyfriend.

Never had a classmate be it back in her school days or even now, ask her to hang out with them or request to work as a group willingly.

She’s so, so, so alone.

Suddenly, Marinette noted a guy from the reflection on the window glass who sat on the table beside hers and he was blatantly staring.

~(x)~

Settling down on her favourite seat by the window after collecting her usual coffee order from the counter, Marinette let out a deep exhale from the exhaustion that sunk its fangs deep into her muscles and joints. Dieu, she was tempted to just drop all of her responsibilities and run away to another country without telling anyone for a week. A month even. As long as it would take to ease her overworked body and sleep-deprived brain because the fraying string that was keeping her together was at its limit.

Ugh.

At the end of the day, this was the road she chose for her life. She was currently in her final year at ESMOD, studying fashion design as an undergraduate, barely twenty years old and one of the few youngest students on her course. Marinette went through hell and back trying to get into this university, sacrificing her social life (or lack of), her brain (it was already in shambles), her poor fingers (which had been stabbed a million times with needles) and so on just to get accepted.

And yet, all she could feel was how absolutely drained she was.

The pride and giddiness she held for the first few weeks during the first year of her course were immediately obliterated by the mountains of work and deadlines and essays that were forced upon her shoulders on an almost weekly basis. As if that wasn’t enough, there were far too many people on her course who could give her childhood bullies (Chloé Bourgeois and Lila Rossi) a run for their money in terms of brattiness, nepotism and even sabotaging other people’s work because they found it ‘funny’.

UGH.

She was well aware of how competitive and brutal the fashion industry was and that unfortunately, whether she liked it or not, the richer you were the more power and opportunities you had. Marinette could be the best fashion designer in the world but critics could choose to bestow awards and prizes to other designers because of money and influence.

‘Maybe I should have stuck to freelancing and commissions like I did back in school…’ She thought to herself despondently, staring through the window with a bittersweet smile and taking a sip of her hot beverage. The delicious drink eased her soul just a little but Marinette couldn’t help but keep musing about the current state of her life.

Granted, she did have a few good things going on that many people would kill to have or to have accomplished. Such as loving, doting parents who worked hard every day and supported her dreams since day one or designing products commissioned by big names like Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale and even winning contests (such as Gabriel Agreste’s bowler hat competition) just to get her name out there.

Marinette was already a very accomplished woman with a portfolio to die for and she took huge pride in it.

But she didn’t have any friends.

Never had a boyfriend.

Never had a classmate be it back in her school days or even now, ask her to hang out with them or request to work as a group willingly.

She’s so, so, so alone.

Suddenly, Marinette noted a guy from the reflection on the window glass who sat on the table beside hers and he was blatantly staring.

At first, she wanted to chalk it up to him looking out through the window too, maybe looking for inspiration or taking a break from whatever he was working on on his laptop. She wasn’t so vain and proud to think that her looks were enough to warrant blatant staring like that. However, she noted that his complexion took on a pink hue and his eyes were completely glued to her frame.

Oh dear.

‘Please don’t be a creep. Please don’t be a creep.’ Her mind repeated over and over again like a mantra and she now watched the man back in her peripheral vision. He was actually really, really pretty (as much as it pained her to admit). Way prettier than she expected.

His blond hair was short and stylishly tousled in a style that was very similar to the hot men in the K-dramas her maman loved to watch. He wore round, thin glasses with a silver rim that suited his face perfectly and accentuated his brilliant green eyes. He also had a bit of a babyface too which (again, much to her dismay) skyrocketed his cuteness levels through the roof and had it not been for the structure of his body, she would have thought he was a high schooler.

Last but not least, the man was very well dressed in palettes of greens, blacks and greys. All of his clothes boasted how well-made they were and the high quality (as well as the price) shone through with just a glance. They were casually styled but belonged to brands that would charge an entire year’s worth of tuition fees for one article of clothing.

‘A very well-off guy then? Probably a micro-celebrity or something…’ Marinette flickered her eyes back to the reflection on the window, only to note that the man’s eyes darted from her figure to his laptop screen and rinse and repeat. He was typing away a storm and Marinette didn’t know whether to be amazed that he was able to do that whilst keeping his eyes on her or a little freaked out.

So she turned around completely and faced him.

The man almost leapt out of his seat like a cat and then stammered out word soup and for a second there, she felt a little bit bad for surprising him like that in the first place. Then again, he was the one who was staring to begin with. The poor guy was so red, he looked like he was about to explode and he was tugging on the side of his thick black turtleneck, hoping to cool himself down.

How cute.

Marinette flashed him a smirk, picked up her coffee and promptly made her way out of the café without a word, blind to the way he reached out a sullen arm and the pitiful pout that plastered itself on his face.

‘Pretty people do get away with everything, huh.’ The designer sighed to herself, knowing very well that she wouldn’t have even spared him a glance if it weren’t for how cute she found him. Like a little kitten in the most unexpected place and you can’t help but be intrigued, can you?

Oh well.

Back to coursework.

~(x)~

“—The number one top-selling romance ever? A must-read? Surely this is just another Twilight or something like that.” Marinette scoffed to herself after browsing through the internet, looking for a good book to read as a treat for finishing everything in time for her deadlines. “‘Ladybug’…interesting title.” She decided to give the book a chance and found a preview to see if it was worth her while after all.

‘It was as if all time and space stood still and the air was knocked out of my lungs the minute my eyes were captured by a sea of blue. Beautiful, gorgeous, baby blues that glittered and shone like the sun reflecting off the sea from dusk till dawn. Her rosy lips were quirked up into an adorable, dimpled smile after she took a sip from her chosen beverage for the day. I guessed it was cinnamon. She looked like the type of girl to indulge in warm spices. Her midnight hair was tied up in a neat, cute bun. So, so cute. Wrapped by a poppy red ribbon with black polka dots. It was so hard to soak her in with the few glances I selfishly allowed myself to have. Every time I looked, I fell more and more into this wonderful, thrilling feeling. I never thought I was capable of feeling this way. I never thought that someone like me would ever experience what others would make songs and arts and poetries about.

I think this is…

Love. Until I know her name, I shall call her "Ladybug". If there are any benevolent beings left in this universe, please allow me to see her again in this cold, cruel world.’ Marinette stood up from her computer chair and let out a shuddering exhale, rereading the last line twice, thrice, until she lost count. She couldn’t believe it. It was him…

Him. The cute man who watched her as if she were the most exquisite painting in the world and then almost exploded on the spot when she caught him in the act.

Him!

Marinette rushed to the bottom of the screen to check out the author’s details only to furrow her brows at the name he went by as. Her frown then unconsciously perked up into a smirk and she couldn’t help but think how fitting the name was for him. She searched it up, only coming across similar results that talked about how he was an anonymous writer from France who mainly wrote stories about heroes, family mysteries and the occasional horror or two.

‘Ladybug’ was his first ever story that revolved around romance and his fans couldn’t help but speculate if the author himself has fallen in love for the first time in real life. If it were to be true then Marinette was determined to come across this strange but enigmatic man. She wanted to kick her past self for not attempting to make conversation with him back in the café! "I'll find you Chat Noir...I will!" She vowed. The least that silly cat can do is buy her a coffee after using what little interaction they had as inspiration for the love interest in his story, no?

~(x)~

#my writing #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug and chat noir #adrinette #adrienette #ml fanfics #ml fanfiction #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #rare no miraculous or magic AU from me ficwise WOW

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hollow-dweller · 2 months

Note

Talk Shop Tuesday: there are a lot of things fandom cycles through in terms of interaction unrelated to commenting or reading (we’ve both seen fic rec lists go in and out of fashion). What’s a fandom trend that you miss? A fandom trend you’d be happy to never see again?

oh DELICIOUS question to bring back: anonymous prompt memes. these used to pretty universally be called "kink memes" despite not always--or in some cases, even often--being NSFW, but they were events on LJ and Dreamwidth in which fans could anonymously post prompts, and people would anonymously fill them. dealer's choice on whether you wanted to de-anon or repost your fill on your own journal after the event was over. because everything was anonymous and at no point was there any expectation that you would definitely find your prompt or fill de-anoned, people were a lot less inhibited in the kinds of things they asked for. yes, this definitely led to some Horrors--we know what fandom is like--but it also lead to some really interesting, creative writing. the freedom of anonymity let people really spread their wings, and in general i think led to an overall healthier creative ecosystem. bring back anonymous prompt memes!

to kill it until its dead and can't come back: fandom awards. i LOVE fic rec lists (honorable mention for my "bring it back" pick), but i loathe fandom awards. i don't care about your intentions, they are formalized and codified fandom popularity contests. and i say this as someone who has had MULTIPLE fics make it into some of these awards, over the years. it's a trend that resurfaces in fandoms every once in awhile, and i think it really only breeds bad feeling. just do fic rec lists! then at least you're talking about fics you personally like for your personal reasons! making it a competition only spells disaster and i do not understand why this is a trend that won't die.

#talk shop tuesday #asks #fandom #i try to kill nostalgia but there are some things i do miss about ye olde fandom #kink memes and old-school style fic recs are among them

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mariacallous · 18 days

Text

When poet John Keats wrote in “Ode on a Grecian Urn” that “beauty is truth, truth beauty,” he probably didn’t have AI influencers in mind.

Perhaps he should have. Back in April, Fanvue, an AI-infused creator platform that falls somewhere between OnlyFans and Cameo in terms of services, launched what it’s calling the “world’s first beauty pageant for AI creators.” On Monday, the World AI Creator Awards announced the contest’s 10 semifinalists. Drawn from a pool of more than 1,500 applicants, they are vying for the chance to make a liar out of Keats—and a prize package valued at about $20,000.

Amongst those 10 finalists, you’ll find Seren Ay, a stunning Turkish redhead who is sometimes pictured doing jobs traditionally held by men in her country, like electrical lineman or firefighter. (She’s also a time traveler, posting “photos” with velociraptors and the first Turkish president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.)

Then there’s Aiyana Rainbow, a Romanian biker babe/DJ whose creators have decided is queer—something they advertise through both her name and her shock of perfectly ruffled rainbow hair—and Kenza Layli, a hijab-wearing influencer from Morocco who already hawks everything from personal hygiene products to local tourism. (This makes sense considering that a recent study found that almost half of Gen Z respondents in the US and UK were “more likely” to be interested in a brand if they knew it had an AI spokesperson.)

While Fanvue’s finalists run the global gamut in terms of origins, they’re also all capital-B beautiful, each possessing a supernatural combination of a buff (but not too buff) body, a stunning face, and the kind of effervescent personality that only really exists in influencer culture. Their hobbies and pet causes (Fashion! Inclusion! Travel! Hormonal imbalances!) are blandly interesting enough to make them palatable to followers and brands alike. Their image captions—some of which are written by actual humans and some of which are written by AI—are generally full of platitudes about how cool life is.

While all that might seem surface-level at best, these totally fake beauties aren’t all that different from real-life pageant participants, especially in 2024. Hilary Levey Friedman, a sociologist who studies beauty pageants and whose mom was a former Miss America, says that she doesn’t think the idea of an AI beauty pageant is a big deal considering “the long-standing practice in pageants of enhancing what you have,” whether that means surgery, hair extensions, fake tans, petroleum jelly teeth, body contour, or “chicken cutlets.”

In social media posts and headshots in particular, Friedman says, pageant contestants often use airbrushing and camera tricks to make their images pop, something that’s never been seen as a negative in the industry. When push comes to shove, though, there’s still a physical human behind that account and on that stage, living and breathing under all those lights and filters.

What makes an AI pageant different, Friedman asserts, is that Fanvue’s contestants are products of their creators. “They’re drawing on all these stereotypes that we have about what a ‘beautiful woman’ is,” she says, “and people who tend to use AI might have a different idea of what an attractive woman might be. She might have pink hair, but she’ll still be within the realm of traditional beauty, with a thin body or not a lot of moles on her face.”

For the record, Fanvue’s contest, like human beauty pageants, will anoint a winner based on more than appearances. Unlike some of those contests, though, the World AI Creator Awards are looking for things like “social media clout” and how well their creators used prompts to create their contestants. Winners are set to be announced later this month.

Berat Gungor, one of Seren Ay’s creators, says that “in AI, you actually can’t create an ugly face,” though he’s careful to note that no human faces are ever truly ugly. While it’s easy enough for image-generating newbies to end up with blurred features and weird hands, Gungor says his experienced team was able to create an initial pool of 300 beautiful women in Stable Diffusion, ultimately picking Seren Ay’s face from the crowd because “she looked like a real person.”

Fanvue’s pool of thin, beautiful, mostly light-skinned finalists reflects what The Washington Post found when it tasked Dall-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion with creating beautiful women. Stating that the programs tended to “steer users toward a startlingly narrow vision of attractiveness,” the Post reported last week that in the thousands of images it generated, almost all were thin, light- to medium-skinned, and young. (Just 2 percent of the “beautiful woman” images showed visible signs of aging.)

In some ways, those images are reflective of the pool they pull from. “How people are represented in the media, in art, in the entertainment industry—the dynamics there kind of bleed into AI,” OpenAI’s head of trustworthy AI, Sandhini Agarwal, told the Post.

But if mass-market images of thin, beautiful women yield AI-generated images of thin, beautiful women, who then turn into thin, beautiful AI-generated influencers, creating pictures that just feed back into the collective media stream, isn’t the snake just going to end up eating its own tail? And what does that mean for those of us who aren’t traditionally beautiful, whose bust-waist-hip proportions can’t live up to Barbie-like online standards or who just can’t afford the upkeep on a head of perfectly coiffed hair?

More than anything, it means the rift between human influencer and AI influencer gets deeper. Aiyana Rainbow’s multicolor 'do, for example, exists to attract attention. (Also, generative AI seems to love giving queer people colorful hair.) Creating someone with mousy brown hair or a 50-year-old gardening mom, for instance, wouldn’t have provided the visual hook needed, no matter how unrealistic or stereotypical that hook might be.

Aiyana Rainbow isn’t 100 percent perfect—her face, her creators note, isn’t entirely symmetrical—but any quick-scrolling fan would be hard-pressed to notice any sort of flaw.

Brands, certainly, aren’t interested in rolling the financial dice on creators whose images aren’t as perfect as possible. And while in recent years there has seemed to be a general love of celebrities who are “authentic” online (see: the relative success of “give no shits” actors like Renee Rapp, Nicola Coughlin, and Dakota Johnson on press tours, for instance), that doesn’t mean that carefully curated influencer lives—real or AI-generated—aren’t being rewarded all the same.

Fanvue cofounder Will Monange says his service currently has “thousands of monthly earning AI creators” on its platform, a number that’s seemed to grow exponentially over the past year. AI influencers like Aitana Lopez, whose creators are judging Fanvue’s contest, are doing similarly well, with hundreds of thousands of followers interested in Lopez’s virtual likes, interests, and lingerie pics. (She even plays Fortnite online.)

Seren Ay’s creators say their online doll gets queries looking for relationship advice, which she’s more than happy to provide, and Kenza Layli, the Moroccan contest finalist, gets about a 5 percent engagement rate on her posts, a number most marketing professionals would froth at the mouth for.

It doesn’t hurt that they’re beautiful on top of all of this. Or it does, but in the same way it hurts that society values one specific standard of beauty, whether on a human being or on some AI creation. In a world where millions upon millions of people follow hot influencers that they know, consciously or not, they’ll never meet or form a meaningful connection with, an AI pageant like Fanvue’s is a symptom of a larger issue, not a harbinger of impending doom.

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trilobiter · 2 years

Text

After reading into this story, I think that it's worth saying that the situation is a bit more complicated than it has been portrayed, or as the headline suggests. A human being, Jason M. Allen, used an AI program called Midjourney to create a work of visual art to his specifications, a process that he says took him over eighty hours. He entered the finished result into a contest and won first place.

I'm not an expert on art, but like many people I have a very strong relationship with it. Much of my thinking on art has been influenced by the common mythology around art and its role in modern society, a mythology which expresses the values we place on art. As I value art, I can't help having opinions on this - but since I'm not a visual artist, I'm not qualified to speak to the way this will impact those people economically. I am not optimistic on that front, but I won't get into it too much.

I think creative people of all types are right to be apprehensive about AI, because it seems that there is no reason, in principle, to suppose that it won't upend their livelihood in some way. Jason Allen says he was an active participant and creative controller of the process that resulted in his winning artwork, but as the technology improves it will be used to generate content in an increasingly automated way. I say "content" because what we're talking about is a kind of capitalist production of art-as-commodity.

If an AI program can generate an image that can win an art prize, then it can compose and record a number one pop song, write a best-selling novel, or direct an award-winning film. And I believe that when these things happen, the public will mostly accept it, because as odd as it sounds, it's not that different from what we've been trained to accept as culture. Pop music, popular books, and popular films have all been created in assembly-line fashion for over a hundred years, in a corporate structure aimed at maximizing returns from a market. Most people don't care that much about the ghostwriter of a bestseller, or the technical crew named in the end credits of a blockbuster. When AI gifts us with a bop, most people will shrug their shoulders, say "it's a bop," and dance.

A lot of people believe, intuitively, that making art should be difficult. AI makes art a lot easier, but in that sense, so does modern industrially produced paint, which comes in a variety of colors that Michelangelo could only dream of. We lionize the Renaissance masters because of what they achieved with simpler tools, though I haven't heard many people suggest that painters today limit themselves to whatever colors and techniques were available in 15th century Italy. Still, there's an inherent tension between possible through innovation, and what is thereby lost.

Like most things, issues like this make me think of Star Trek. Specifically, I think of Data from The Next Generation. Data is an android character with markedly android mannerisms, and is a futuristic depiction of what can only be called AI, who nonetheless is presented to the audience as a person with an interior life that is equally valid to a human being's. When Starfleet Command wants to compulsorily reassign and disassemble him, the show explicitly compares this to human slavery. We are meant to evaluate Data's character as we would a human crew member, and not as we would a typical piece of the show's futuristic technology.

Data wants to be seen as human, and he does human things like making art. He is shown to practice several creative arts throughout the show's run, including poetry, comedy, music, acting, and painting. He studies these arts, and attempts to replicate them, struggling along the way to find his own creative voice. His early attempts often seem to bear out the claim that, not being human, he cannot produce anything that is both original and genuinely moving. As time passes, however, this is no longer clearly the case. Attentive viewers will note that Data grows into an artist who does create with an original voice, even if that voice is characteristically like an android - in other words, characteristically like Data.

Optimistically, we may be looking at a future where an AI personality not unlike Data will create works of art that will move us all. But it is important to remember that Data is not just an AI, he is a person - and not simply because he is portrayed by a human actor. We as viewers can accept Data's legitimacy as an artist because the show takes pains to reinforce his legitimacy as a person. But Midjourney is not a person. It lacks anything like the interiority that defines Data as a person in our eyes. Midjourney is not learning how to paint so that it can become a real boy.

What Jason Allen did probably qualifies as art, and Midjourney can probably be seen as analogous to a brush or any traditional artist's tool. A tool like this could, conceivably, help artists achieve breakthroughs of the same magnitude as the discovery of perspective, or the conceptual leaps of modernism. But put that tool into the hands of people who aren't artists - say, the hands of a CEO who wants to cut costs on the latest product of the content assembly line - and I'm afraid I have to say that the result will only cheapen the art. It could be visually indistinguishable from the most beautiful human artwork I have ever seen, and it won't be worth remembering. It will have value only as a commodity.

When I think of some of my favorite works of art, music, or writing, I reflect on how what makes them my favorite is not simply that I appreciate the shape of a line, the resonance of a harmony, or the word order of a sentence. What makes the experience of engaging with these things meaningful to me is not just that they exist, but that they represent the attempt of a real human being, just like me, to communicate with other human beings just like me. What use is art without artistry?

The joy that makes art worthwhile, even art that was produced for commercial purpose, is the knowledge that it wasn't just produced for commercial purposes. It's not enough that the thing was made because the maker believed some one would buy it, but that they felt in their own soul that they could reach that person in a way that had nothing to do with money. If I can't believe that about an artwork, then I can't care about it the same way as the works I truly love. It has to be more than something to consume, at the cheapest prices available.

I don't think it can be denied that AI will change our relationship with media, or challenge some core assumptions we have about creativity. The real question is, what are human beings (and the truly sentient AI of the future) going to do about "art?"

#trilobiter #science #art #jason m. allen #midjourney #capitalism #artificial intelligence #star trek #star trek: the next generation #lt. commander data #history

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8iunie · 1 year

Text

Måneskin: “When you get famous, people just want to know who you’re f**king”

The global Italian rockers open up about discovering themselves, mastering fame and finding their genderless sound. (posted on 20.01.2023)

It’s late morning and Italian rock band Måneskin are comfortably seated in a swanky West London hotel room, already kitted out in signature Gucci, jet-black eyeliner, and clean-cut 70s-style statement suits. The quartet, an electric gleam of cool against a silver-spotted setting, are nonchalantly scrunched into a deep turquoise couch. Their suave image serves as a reminder of how far they’ve come since their early Italian X Factor days.

Over a year has passed since the group’s whirlwind takeover as glam rock stars conquering the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 and they’re showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, the band’s authentic image and relentless sound has earned them over six million followers on their band’s Instagram account — a figure greater than the population living in their fashion capital hometown, Rome, where the rock and rollers were born. Måneskin’s rise as next generation figureheads isn’t too unconventional, after all, plenty of breakthrough acts – ABBA, Celine Dion, One Direction – have cut their teeth on televised competitions. And as game-changing winners, the rock band are eager to start writing their own legacy.

Måneskin’s commitment to being more than a hazy Eurovision memory is not to be unexpected. The band have committedly popped where you would least expect them – the 2021 BRIT Awards, Gucci’s luxury Aria campaign, or Disney’s live-action adaptation of Cruella – reminding us that they’re not going anywhere. And, just yesterday, the Italian artists spontaneously flew to London for a glitzy one-off showcase to debut their emo ballad, The Loneliest, co-written by British producer MNEK. While they’ve marginally recovered, the band are still buzzing from last night’s sweaty reception at Camden’s The Underworld in front of 500 die-hard fans. (“Oh my god, it was like a sauna in there,” bassist Victoria De Angelis chimes in, her voice hoarse from the manic show). It doesn’t matter if they’re pulling off last-minute sold-out performances or rubbing elbows with Guns’N’Roses, the Eurovision victors are doing it in style: flamboyantly dressed and with a compelling sense of gratitude.

Now, whether they’re rocking fashion red carpets or main stages, Måneskin are ready to make their presence felt. “We’ve gained a lot of successful things in the last year and we’re really happy about all the paths we’re going through,” drummer Ethan Torchio says, gesturing to the wider band. “We never had a specific ambition to gain or to achieve anything. It’s all about how we approach it day by day.”

While the band may not have pinned their hopes on a specific accolade, Måneskin’s shared teenage experiences primed them for their rapid accession as one of Europe’s hottest rock exports. Forming at high school as a unified three-piece, Ethan Torchio joined the gang after responding to an online open call out for a drummer. This fateful pairing, alongside the band’s long-standing friendship has become the crux of Måneskin’s outlook. “We all have a very clear vision — we are very bitchy,” Victoria says confidently, smiling. “We have very specific ideas. Being only four [of us] and not having overproduction, we think that our individual sound really makes the difference”. Ethan, who’s taken to perching on the couch armrest, echoes his bandmate: “We’re perfectionists.”

As Måneskin’s latest album, RUSH!, dawns, the artists have been busy splitting their legacy between Italy and the rest of the world – from showcasing support for Ukraine at Coachella in California to bringing their rock and roll swagger to The Green Fashion Awards alongside style icons Karolina Kurkova and Elisa Sednaoui. “These two ways of expression (rock and roll) are ways in which we have always liked to measure ourselves,” youngest member Thomas Raggi says in accented English. “We like to alternate them because they represent the different musical souls of which the band is composed.”

Måneskin’s rock and roll philosophy is more than a reliable shoehorned statement. Much like their striking clothing, it fits like a well-worn mantra. (“In a younger age, it really helped us define our personality and stand out in some way,” Victoria says.) Growing up in a “very conservative country”, the artists found the music scene as an opportunity to experiment with their image as teenagers. Labelled as “weird” or receiving “a lot of judgements” wasn’t going to hold Måneskin back. Instead, the alternative act learned to lean on each other for support, she says, and strengthened their bond. “It really helped to have a purpose and have this project together. It made us feel reassured that we’re doing something cool and we were allowed to be ourselves.”

As the band found themselves migrating from headline to headline, they became accustomed to facing off gossip together. Ask them about the cocaine-meets- Eurovision moment and they all laugh, sharing familiar smiles with each other. “We were already so successful in Italy so we got kind of used to hearing speculation about us,” Ethan shrugs. “The huge Eurovision blowout was a good moment of our lives because we were all at a point of growing and personality building.”

But the speculation didn’t just stop there. The questions of drugs subsided and talk about sexuality quickly rose to the fore. At the time, a quick internet search of Måneskin’s name would lead to autofills poking questions at everything to boyfriends, girlfriends, and identity labels. “We’re not very touched by these kinds of comments. We all are very sure of what we are and how we want to show it,” Ethan responds. Although the band were quickly dismissive of the online talk, a bigger lesson loomed, frontman Damiano David reveals. “In Italy, we did not discover that there’s more than one sexuality until we got to use social media. Just like everybody else, I was [use terms] ‘straight’ or ‘gay’,” he candidly shares. Since then, the vocalist admits he’s taking on “more knowledge” to better himself as an ally — “I’m fully straight but this doesn’t stop me from being an ally. I’m on the side that has to learn new things.”

The band’s public discussion of identity has been one they’ve decidedly kept close to their chest, until now. “We understand people can get very affected by [speculation] because they’re making themselves sure of what they are and how to express [themselves] to their parents or to their friends,” Ethan empathises. As a member who has faced the brunt of opinion, the drummer pauses, choosing his words carefully: “[Trying] to guess people’s sexualities is one of the worst things to do — it’s very bad.”

A time that was particularly testing for the band was when Måneskin’s provocative Want To Be Your Slave music video hit the internet. A visual centred on sexual liberation and self-expression, the band quickly faced questions on their aesthetic and affiliation to queerness. “People are curious about it because it’s been quite a taboo topic for many years, it’s something now that other people are so interested in, not only with celebrities, but just generally with everyone,” Victoria says. She recalls times in high school where similar-aged teenagers would guess whether an effeminate boy is gay or not. “Like, who the fuck cares?!” she huffs. “People are really interested in the private lives of the artists. They look it up because it makes them feel like they know you better or it’s just to gossip or break a scandal.”

A brief pause falls over the band and Damiano shakes his head, prepping an answer: “I think it’s easier. It’s just not that complicated. When you get famous, people just want to know who you’re fucking. It’s just sick curiosity.” The inner-band debate strikes up again as Ethan proposes the media curiosity is fuelled by a misdirected want for knowledge and understanding.

While this is one the few times the band disagree, they respectfully onboard one another’s opinions as they take stock of the bigger conversation. The root of animated discussion breaks open as the members begin to turn the question inward. “I don’t really know how to identify. In the past years, I’ve been identifying as bi, but, lately, I’m having no interest in boys. I’m discovering [my identity is] developing,” Victoria says, her striped brown tie falling forwards. “I like some girls and then it changes to ‘okay, I almost don’t like any boys at all’. It is something constantly… It’s lesbian but also Harry Styles.” Damiano cracks up with laughter and Ethan quips that the former One Direction star is christened “the chosen one”. Circling back to her line of thought, the bassist proves she’s hardcore with her closing line — “It’s just who you are and you can really express yourself and I think this is like what matters the most and what we think is real rock and roll and freedom.”

Måneskin are no strangers to taking a stand. If you ask us, it looks like they love causing a bit of a stir. Mid-last year, the band, once again, caught headlines after Damiano and Thomas shared an unplanned kiss on stage at the Polsat SuperHit Festival. The band vividly recalls fans sharing the impact their music had on them. “When you get there and see how you can help thousands of people, it really makes you understand the difference you can have in that moment,” Victoria reflects. The group’s commitment to ensuring freedom of expression is larger than a few lyrics in a song – it feeds into their interviews and on-stage actions too.

“Being part of this generation it’s hard. It’s useful to take some strong positions on topics, because we need some strong actions. We’re just trying to do our part,” Thomas elaborates, explaining Måneskin’s move to be controversial every now and then. “We also try to improve ourselves every day. But at least you can try to find and to look for the right thing to do.” Lead singer Damiano backs up the decision to use their platform to back political causes. “If you have the courage to speak up about things, I think it’s very, very helpful,” he says earnestly. “We have to be able to understand when it’s better for us to take a step back and let those really affected people talk about it, because we are just allies and we’re not getting discriminated against, but we can try to be empathetic and use our voice and our power to help everybody.”

The four-piece have chalked up a reputation for being unpredictable and stylishly outrageous, but this consensus doesn’t sway the young band. If anything, their years in the on-screen media pipeline has taught them how to utilise the spotlight. It doesn’t matter whether they’re discussing music, tours or politics, the band inevitably comes back to the value of being authentic for their fans (“We just feel very close to them,” Victoria says protectively.) At the centre of their overlapping comments on friendship and frenzied life changes, Måneskin are humbly aware of how their fanbase supports them. The bassist continues, saying it’s important to create a place where everyone can be who they want. Pausing, she periodically slips into Italian, asking her bandmates to translate a term.

“It’s obvious everyone wants to be free for who they really are. In my experience, at first, I was so concerned and worried ‘who am I if I do this’ or that I’m something else or that I’m changing, but it’s [best] to not be worried about these things,” she says passionately. “We want to create with our fans and to put everyone in this healthy environment. And doing this really gives strength to young people or people who are in more oppressed situations to have courage to see that it’s okay.”

There’s no doubt Måneskin have distilled their lived lessons into this new record to create a rock and roll oasis. From beat-thumping inductions to media gossip to tongue-in-cheek comments on becoming the “kool kids”, the monstrous, hardcore noise of RUSH! has it all. “For me, it is a very personal record. It tells the story of how I came to discover myself and what I want to be as a person and as an artist,” Damiano explains. “All this frenzy led me to look inside myself, somehow I felt free to express a part of me that I had kept more hidden.”

The album is a chaotic amalgamation of crushing guitar riffs, full-throttle lyrics, and sonorous vocals sways through lines of Italian and English. Måneskin’s charge forward with spluttering drums, cranked up instrumentation, with songs pouring their original larger-than-life stamp into their broad rock productions. At their height, the band’s best tracks (La Fine, Gossip ft Tom Morello, Kool Kids) ignite like a blazing stage sign giving direction to Måneskin’s inevitable rise as one of today’s spirited rock acts.

An evolution from their gutsy sophomore studio release, Teatro d’ira: Vol. I, new album RUSH! captures the spark of each member. “Each of us had the freedom to follow our own personal direction. This time we didn’t look for the synthesis, the lowest common denominator between our different personalities, but we kind of added them up, exalted them all to the same level, and despite everything I think we still retained our identity,” Victoria shares.

With that, the band did not shy away from splurging on animated guitar hooks or fret over going too heavy with the familiar political zing of their rock tunes. Victoria adds: “We live in the concern of a progressive loss of people’s rights and we are afraid that this common thought is growing. In the track La Fine we refer precisely to this thought. Our music wants to be free and genderless. The goal is that people can identify with our message without having any definition of gender or category.”

After months of mania and unrelenting bouts of success, Måneskin are eagerly positioned to take on what’s next. And with a sold out arena in London already on the cards, it won’t be long before they’re greeting roaring fans once more. But, for now, as they savour the release of RUSH!, the band have found renewed strength in their amped up sound. “We have found our synthesis in diversity. This record is a point of pride and artistic growth for us,” Damiano reaffirms. And in a lesson learned by all, Victoria shares a final note of uplifting advice: “Never be afraid to express yourself. Always be free!”

WORDS BY ZOYA RAZA-SHEIKH

PHOTOGRAPHY BY FABIO GERMINARIO

#måneskin #maneskin #article #interview #january 2023 #my posts 💫#gay times magazine

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 1 month

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By: Andrew Doyle

Published: May 13, 2024

The annual parade of kitsch and clamour, otherwise known as the Eurovision Song Contest, has devolved somewhat in recent years. Once a harmless extravaganza of camp and self-knowing nonsense, it has gone the way of most gay culture and fallen into the fatal trap of taking itself too seriously. This fluffy creature has started to bare fangs.

Of course, Eurovision has always been political. The tradition of Greece and Cyprus awarding each other full marks was as daft as it was inevitable. But the spectre of war has somehow now intruded itself; in 2022, the public vote for Ukraine was an expression of sympathy rather than a sincere judgement on the quality of the song, and this year the Israeli singer Eden Golan required an escort of around one hundred police officers due to threats from protesters. Such baleful developments take us a long way from the frivolity of “Puppet on a String” and “Hard Rock Hallelujah”.

This year the trophy went to Switzerland’s Nemo, a man in a skirt who identifies as “non-binary”. The UK entry, Olly Alexander, calls himself “gay and queer and non-binary” but magnanimously accepts the pronouns “he” and “him”. And then there is the “queer” and “non-binary” Irish entry Bambie Thug, a woman who came sixth in the competition but first in the award for the sorest of losers. Having being beaten by Israel, whose very presence in the competition was a source of outrage for Thug, she had the following to say:

“I’m so proud of Nemo winning. I’m so proud that all of us are in the top ten that have been fighting for this shit behind the scenes because it has been so hard and it’s been so horrible for us. And I’m so proud of us. And I just want to say, we are what the Eurovision is. The EBU [European Broadcasting Union] is not what the Eurovision is. Fuck the EBU. I don’t even care anymore. Fuck them. The thing that makes this is the contestants, the community behind it, the love and the power and the support of all of us is what is making change. And the world has spoken. The queers are coming. Non-binaries for the fucking win.”

One might argue that all of this is simply an extension of the high-campery of old. Thug certainly looks pantomimic, with her Christmas-cracker devil horns, and the layers of makeup piled on to what used to be a face. But what were once the glittery fripperies of gay culture have been hijacked by the acolytes of gender identity ideology, a movement that has appropriated this whimsical sheen to advance its authoritarian and sinister goals. It is this same movement that has successfully lobbied governments to introduce draconian speech laws, has hounded people out of their jobs for wrongthink, and has normalised bullying and threats of violence in the name of “social justice”.

The very notion of “non-binary” is a reactionary concept dressed up in the guise of progressivism. Most of those who identify as non-binary are embracing, rather than rejecting, sex stereotypes. They claim to feel neither sufficiently masculine nor feminine, which is simply another way of reinforcing what it means to be male or female.

The same ambiguity goes for “queer”. Many gay people see this as a anti-gay slur, associating the term with the practice of “queer-bashing”. But now, many young heterosexuals are identifying themselves into this category as a means to claim the high status that now accompanies victimhood. Dannii Minogue, a lifelong heterosexual, recently “came out” as “queer”. To those who have been the victims of homophobic abuse and violence, it’s galling to see straights embracing the term as a fashion accessory. Minogue may as well have come out as a “faggot” or a “dyke”.

A study by the Arizona Christian University which surveyed six hundred people between the ages of 18 and 37 found that of those in the lower age bracket (18 to 24), 39 per cent identified as “LGBT”. Statistically, the majority of these respondents will be heterosexual. If this trend is to continue, it won’t be long before the “LGBTQIA+ community” will largely comprise of straight people with a kink. In fact, we’re probably already there.

Just because a majority rebrands itself as a minority, that doesn’t make it oppressed. This is the context in which Bambie Thug’s battle cry – “The queers are coming” – ought to be understood. The oppression of gay people throughout history is an incontestable fact, but heterosexuals, however fetishistic, have usually been left alone. It’s little wonder that more and more gay people are rejecting the “LGBTQIA+” label.

One of the common mantras intoned by activist groups and the institutions they have infected is that “non-binary identities are valid”. They are not referring to the standard definition of “valid” as an argument that has “a sound basis in logic or fact”. After all, there are only two human sexes and no third gamete. Rather, in the activist lexicon to be “valid” is an acknowledgement of the legitimacy of personal feelings, or “individual truths”, a close cousin of the notion of “lived experience”.

We are assured that “non-binary people have always existed”, a form of historical revisionism intended to shame anyone who refuses to dance along to the circus march of our times. Gareth Roberts points out the folly of such declarations in his new book Gay Shame, and how they are “throwing back into the unknowable past something that was literally invented on Tumblr in 2011”.

To be “non-binary” is a modish form of self-identification, no different from the “goths” of the 1980s or the “teddy boys” of the 1960s. The major departure is that those who identify as “non-binary” are now demanding that others pretend that their identity is something innate. To be born “non-binary” is about as feasible as being born an “emo”, and I have yet to hear of a case of a baby emerging from the womb in ripped skinny jeans and black eyeliner.

So when Bambie Thug cries out “Non-binaries for the fucking win!”, the connotations are a little more sinister than the teenage trends of yesteryear. Major corporations and public bodies are now insisting that we pretend that people can identify out of the categories of male and female, irrespective of the impact on the rights of women, gay people and children. Laws are being passed that will criminalise those who refuse to play along with the fantasies of narcissists. In other words, there is a lot more at stake than the fleeting fashions of Eurovision.

To claim to be "nonbinary," you have to believe in very strict, narrow, conservative gender stereotypes...

... in order to insist that you're a unicorn who is not.

#Andrew Doyle #Bambie Thug #nonbinary #non binary #gender nonsense #heterosexual woman #heterosexuality #Eurovision #Eurovision 2024 #Eurovision Song Contest #religion is a mental illness

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princess-of-the-corner · 10 months

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That AU where Adrien and Mari have to kiss to transform has one of my fav Lila’s:

Adrien Agreste?

The child of the globally famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste and the even more famous, worldwide superstar actress Emilie Graham de Vanily. Once a power couple that rocked the world with their brightness until the beautiful woman's tragic disappearance changed the family's life forever.

The blond boy was an international model, his face unmissable considering the number of billboards it's plastered on and he was the proclaimed hottest teen in Europe according to all the magazine ratings and rabid fan clubs. Not to mention that he's a talented fencer, awarded with many medals and trophies and just as incredibly accomplished on the piano. He was a boy of such high intelligence and profile.

A perfect boyfriend material for lil' ol' Rossi.

And Marinette Dupain-Cheng?

The child of the best bakers of France, Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain, where people all around the world practically zoom in just for a taste of their delicious concoctions; said delectable recipes an amalgamation of European cuisine and East Asian cuisine. Her eccentric grandmother, Gina Dupain, is quite popular too in Italy with her travel vlogs and daredevil adventures! And her great-uncle, Wang Cheng, is a world-renowned chef, currently the holder of eighteen Michelin stars and has collaborated with the likes of Gordon Ramsey, Chan Yan-Tak and even Alaine Ducasse.

As for the girl herself; not only was she an incredible designer and engineer with a talent that has made professionals froth with her designs at Gabriel's contest and the glasses she created for the Jagged Stone, she was just as gifted with the food she creates and just so exceptionally smart. Not to mention that she's the class president, equipped with brilliant leadership skills, confidence, resilience and just so endearingly clumsy. She was so pretty and good-looking too. A perfect girlfriend material for cute ol' Rossi as well.

Honestly if Lila had targeted both of them for a polycule I think things would've worked out a lot better

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luvwich · 13 days

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I stumbled across this article about an AI beauty contest: https://web.archive.org/web/20240607103513/https://www.wired.com/story/ai-beauty-pageant-world-ai-creator-awards/

Naturally I thought about Vania and her mom– I'm still behind on Redwood & Crescent but sort of dying to know your opinion on the Miss AI Pageant (https://miss-ai.webflow.io/) and how it fits in with how you've mentioned human models becoming obsolete.

omg this miss ai thing lol, lmao (link if you want to be super annoyed by something)

i do think it's interesting most of the "participants" are not actually very successful as influencers yet — if you go to their insta accounts they're mostly squarely in the "micro-influencer" category of follower count. i couldn't tell you why that is but it's probably not due to anything visual; they all look the part and look realistic enough (especially given the highly facetuned and botoxed look humans have been squeezing ourselves into for decades)

why aren't these accounts more popular? i don't know. maybe it has something to do with where i imagine this is all going: humans don't become fully obsolete, but wages are driven down in certain sectors, and trad modeling doesn't have the same (already flimsy and failing) union protections as e.g. acting...

perla was a fashion/editorial model and did a lot of advertisements, with the requisite bit of "influencing" mixed in. in cp77 we see with lina molina that influencers are still human. with lina they focused on the parasocialization theme, which fits with my projection that there continues to be a market for humanity, particularly the painful and gritty parts.

(veering into pure HC territory now) but with AI collapsing wages in one part of an industry (advertising is probably the first to go), everything else gets compressed, and forcing functions emerge.

screamsheets seem to mostly care about human suffering, so, that's something that stays marketable! in my sketched-out backstory for perla, she goes along with the demands of staying relevant by peddling bits of her humanity: creating controversy, producing braindances (which seem to require human input), fabricating or amplifying personal life dramas. but at some point a labor law that was keeping part of her industry on life support expires, everything gets worse, she's very tired, and after one last round of monetizable drama she removes herself from public life when vania is born

thank you for the fun ask 💕

#asks #oc: perla perez #headcanons #lw

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guess-that-ship · 1 year

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So, I read through the list of submissions... surprisingly fast! You guys really were concise! So... thanks!

I got 34 fun contestants here, which means we get one extra poll for round 1, and there'll be a single three-way poll for round 2.

The first set of polls for round 1 will go up at 7PM EST today evening. Polls will be posted in sets of 4s (5 for today) across 4 days.

Here's our list of very anonymous contestants:

white crab

Catch Me If You Can

ice ice baby

leftist infighting

same sex failmarrige

Prophesied

entanglements

flying

forfeit

murder wives

bodily harm

Clone Saga

Blue

Fallen

Yellow

Chess

Fashion Rivals

Shipwreck (naming these two Iceberg and Titanic)

And the worst dad award goes to…

Tell Me Who You Are

Are you a wanted criminal because you just stole my breath away

They’re Narrative Foils your honor

Unlikely Lovers

Sail&Sing

Death Soldiers

Healing Barbarian

Little Sister Squad

Red Dead No Redemption

Lionhurt

philosophically ill-advised petplay

Hollywood Hell

ill-advised petplay but in both directions somehow

Rich Brat and his personal Death

Cheers!

#announcement

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coochiequeens · 1 year

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Ladies please share this with any women you know starting their own business or non-profit

Business grants for women can help you grow your business for free, as opposed to small-business loans or other types of debt-based funding that you must pay back. But competition for small-business grants is fierce, and it takes considerable time and effort to win them.

If you’re up for the challenge, though, grants can be a great way to fund your new or existing business. Here are 18 places women entrepreneurs can look for small-business grants and other free financial resources.

Private small-business grants for women

Some private corporations and organizations offer business grants for women. Here are six to consider:

1. Amber Grant

Every month, WomensNet awards a $10,000 Amber Grant to a woman-owned business in a specific, rotating category. The categories for 2023 are as follows:

January: Skilled trades

February: Health & fitness

March: Food & beverage

April: Sustainability

May: Mental & emotional support

June: Business support service

July: Animal services

August: Hair care & skincare

September: Education & child care

October: Creative arts

November: Technology

December: Fashion & interior designers

On top of that, the organization awards a second $10,000 monthly grant to a woman-owned business and a quarterly $10,000 grant to one startup and one nonprofit.

At the end of each year, two of the 12 general grant winners and one of the industry-specific grant winners are awarded an additional $25,000.

The application is relatively simple: Explain your business, describe what you’d do with the grant money and pay a $15 application fee. The foundation’s advisory board chooses the winners, looking for women with passion and a good story. Businesses operating in the U.S. and Canada are eligible.

Because there’s no time in business requirement, companies seeking startup business grants for women may want to prioritize the Amber Grant.

2. IFundWomen Universal Grant Application Database

IFundWomen is a grant marketplace that specializes in funding and coaching for women-owned businesses. You can submit one application and when IFundWomen adds a grant from an enterprise partner, it will match the partner’s grant criteria to applications within the database.

If your business is a match, you’ll receive a notification and invitation to apply. Previous grant partners have included companies like Visa, Neutrogena and American Express.

3. SoGal Black Founder Startup Grant

The SoGal Foundation — along with company sponsors like Bluemercury, Twilio and others — offer startup grants to businesses owned by Black women or Black nonbinary entrepreneurs. Grants are available in amounts of either $5,000 or $10,000.

Awardees also receive fundraising advice, with a focus on investor financing, and lifetime access to the SoGal Foundation team. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, so you can apply on the SoGal website at any time.

4. Fearless Strivers Grant Contest

The Fearless Fund, in collaboration with Mastercard, offers $20,000 grants to businesses owned by Black women through the Fearless Strivers Grant Contest. The winners also receive digital tools to help them get and sustain their businesses online and one-on-one mentorship with a Mastercard small-business mentor.

The Fearless Fund runs a national grant program, as well as city-specific grant contests in Atlanta; Birmingham, Alabama; Dayton, Ohio; Los Angeles; New Orleans; New York City; and St. Louis. To qualify for this small-business grant, you must have a U.S.-based business, 50 or fewer employees and have made $3 million or less in annual revenue in the past year.

» MORE: Best business grants for Black women entrepreneurs

5. Cartier Women's Initiative Awards

Every year, Cartier awards three grants to women-owned businesses in nine different regions around the world. The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards program is designed to support early-stage businesses that are focused on a range of social, economic and environmental development issues.

The first-place business is awarded a $100,000 grant, second place receives $60,000 and third place gets $30,000. Winners also receive executive coaching and the opportunity to participate in a variety of training workshops.

6. Comcast RISE

Comcast awards $10,000 grants to businesses owned by women and people of color several times per year. Each Comcast RISE Investment Fund application cycle is open to entrepreneurs in specific target cities. You can also apply for “marketing services and tech makeovers,” which don’t include cash prizes but can still help your business grow.

7. High Five Grant for Moms

The Mama Ladder organization — along with co-hosts Proof, Belly Bandit and Caden Concepts — offer an annual small-business grant specifically for moms. This grant, called the High Five Grant, is designed to support women caregivers with child(ren) of all ages, including first-time expecting moms, stepmoms and foster moms.

Entrepreneurs can submit an application online and share the story behind their business on social media. Finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges and then a public vote will determine the top three winners. The top business will receive a $25,000 grant, the runner up will receive a $10,000 grant and the third place finalist will receive $5,000.

Additional private business grant options

Although these options aren’t specifically for women, they’re good small-business grants to consider for any entrepreneur.

8. FedEx Small Business Grant

FedEx awards up to $30,000 apiece to 10 small businesses annually. One veteran-owned business from among those 10 winners can receive an additional $20,000 from USAA Small Business Insurance. Winners also receive money to use toward FedEx Office print and business services.

The application requires an explanation of your business, how you’d use the money, photos of your business and — this part is optional — a short video explaining your business. To be eligible, you must operate a for-profit business with fewer than 99 employees and at least six months of operating history.

9. National Association for the Self-Employed Growth Grant

Every quarter, the NASE awards up to $4,000 to up to four small businesses via its growth grants. These funds can be used for a variety of business needs, including marketing, advertising and hiring employees.

To apply for this grant, you must be a NASE member in good standing for at least three months. Annual members can apply at any time.

10. Halstead Grant

The Halstead Grant is an annual award for entrepreneurs looking to break into the silver jewelry industry. The winner receives a $7,500 startup grant, as well as $1,000 in jewelry merchandise. Five finalists and semi-finalists also receive $250 or $500 and help with promoting their businesses.

Both men and women-owned businesses are eligible for this small-business grant. To apply, you must answer 15 business-related questions and submit a design portfolio. Applications are due August 1 each year.

11. Fast Break for Small Businesses

These $10,000 grants — funded by LegalZoom, the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League and managed by the Accion Opportunity Fund — are available twice a year. Winners also receive LegalZoom services worth up to $500. You can sign up on LegalZoom’s website to be notified when applications open.

Federal small-business grants for women

Some federal government grants for small-business owners are designated for specific purposes, such as research and development projects, or for businesses in rural areas. Government grants typically can’t be used for startup costs or day-to-day expenses.

12. Grants.gov

Grants.gov is a database of federally sponsored grants, including grants for small businesses. Although these grants are not exclusive to women-owned businesses, this database is a great place to start if you’re looking for free financing.

To apply, you must obtain a Unique Entity ID for your business (a 12-character alphanumeric identification number), register to do business with the U.S. government through its System for Award Management website and create an account at Grants.gov.

To view grants specifically for small businesses, filter the results on the left side of the page under “eligibility.”

13. Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs

The SBA facilitates these two competitive programs, which provide grants to small businesses that contribute to federal research and development. Eleven federal agencies — including the departments of Agriculture, Defense, and Health and Human Services — post business grant opportunities on their websites. You can search current grant opportunities on the SBIR website.

To qualify, you must operate a for-profit business with no more than 500 employees and meet other eligibility requirements.

14. Program for Investors in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME)

Although the SBA coordinates some grant programs, the agency doesn’t typically offer grant funding directly to small businesses. With the PRIME program, however, the SBA provides federal grants to microenterprise development organizations so that they can offer training, technical assistance and coaching to disadvantaged small-business owners.

These grants are available to nonprofit, private, state, local or tribal-run organizations, including those that focus on working with women-owned small businesses. The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation, for example, was awarded a $200,000 grant in 2022.

» MORE: Business grants are ‘just not that easy.’ Here are some tips to help

State and local small-business grants for women

Because federal small-business grants are limited in number and often very competitive, you may have better luck seeking out grants for women at the state and municipal levels. You’ll have to do your own research to pinpoint specific grant programs in your area, but here are some places to help you get started:

15. Women’s Business Centers

The SBA sponsors more than 100 Women’s Business Centers nationwide, designed to help women entrepreneurs with business development and access to capital. Some, such as the California Capital Financial Development Corp., lend money directly while others help you find small-business grants and loans that you may qualify for.

16. Economic Development Administration

Every state and many cities have economic development resources focused on promoting strong local economies. For example, New York has several economic development districts, such as the Lake Champlain - Lake George Regional Planning Board, which helps local businesses access state and federal funding.

17. Small Business Development Centers

There are hundreds of SBA-sponsored Small Business Development Centers around the country, typically housed at colleges and universities. SBDCs offer free, one-on-one business consulting, such as help with developing a business plan, researching markets and finding financing — including grants, business loans and crowdfunding.

Some SBDCs offer training on certification programs like the SBA 8(a) Business Development Program and Minority and Women Business Enterprise Certifications. These programs can help businesses level the playing field when competing in the public and private sector.

18. Minority Business Development Agency Centers

The MBDA operates a network of business centers across the country that are designed to help minority business owners access capital, secure contracts and develop financial strategies. Your local MBDA business center can work with you to identify the right financing options for your business, including federal, state and private small-business grants.

The MBDA also runs the Enterprising Women of Color Initiative, or EWOC, to support minority women in their business endeavors. The EWOC provides access to resources, events and other opportunities for women minority-owned businesses.

» MORE: Find small-business grants for minorities

Alternatives to small-business grants

Finding and applying for business grants can be difficult, as well as time-consuming. If you don’t qualify for certain grants — or simply want to explore other ways to fund your women-owned business — here are some avenues to explore:

Best small-business loans for women: Compare SBA loans, online term loans, lines of credit, microloans and learn about other available resources for your business.

Crowdfunding for business: Tap into the power of the internet to raise money for your business and promote your company’s product or service.

Small-business credit cards: Compare dozens of cards and find the best choice for financing your everyday business purchases — and earn rewards in the process.

SBA microloans: Work with a nonprofit financial institution to apply for these government-backed loans, which can be a good choice for new or very small businesses.

#Resources for women #Grants for women #Women owned businesses #Women and Money Monday

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