#and yes i do think lr could be that

[hahnsplatinum]

do i think knives as he is in canon would actually participate in any sort of bdsm scenerio? No absolutely not that turbo virgin needs hog tied to a psychologist’s chaise lounge before anything else

do i think in theory a scenario in which he submits himself to the experience of losing control/autonomy and is forced to trust that said dominate partner will take care of him and honor his boundaries would alter him chemically and irreparably for the better? Perhaps 🤔

[akimojo]

i don't mind seeing people interpret hope and lightning as having romantic connotations surrounding them in the lr lore, but i personally think claiming it to be proven as canon really undermines just how badly bhunivelze fucked with hope's head

"bhunivelze developed a romantic obsession with lightning because he absorbed hope's heart!" yes, but that's not all there is to it. you gotta keep in mind that bhunivelze used lightning to psychologically mess with hope for centuries, he used her image as a tool to get hope to obsess over the past and wish for nothing more than to be reunited with her (remember that the last time hope ever saw her was at the end of xiii, while everyone else aside from vanille and fang had come back at that point), and she had such a major hand in inspiring hope to become the person, the leader, he'd become since then

bhunivelze didn't inherit hope's emotions until after he had become obsessed with lightning as a symbol of the past. if you view hope's and lightning's relationship as platonic/familial (like i personally do) then bhunivelze becomes so much more sick, and it adds to the misogynistic undertones in his behavior toward mwynn and etro, his own family. he took something pure, the admiration a young boy had for an older woman who replaced his mom as his female role model, and twisted it into something dark, inappropriate and obsessive, something that would serve him. that's what he inherited. he was never able to love his mother or daughter, how could he possibly understand the familial love between hope and lightning?

bhunivelze's sudden feelings for lightning is, in my opinion, meant to disturb us because of how innocent hope's admiration for lightning actually is. turning hope back into a kid sells that even more, it specifically draws out lightning's maternal instincts toward him, just for her to be faced with what bhunivelze has twisted it into after centuries of torture. bhunivelze isn't representative of hope's and lightning's relationship, they're victims of his abuse of the human heart

again, interpreting them as romantic is fine and dandy if that's how you see them, but i feel like claiming it's all "proof that hope x lightning is canon" ignores a lot of important details surrounding them and bhunivelze, more specifically it downplays the absolutely devastating impact bhunivelze had on hope's state of mind, and subsequently, lightning's rage upon seeing it for herself

[genericpuff]

saw a post criticizing lore rekindled a while back, and one of the points made was "it's unfair to rachel that someone else can profit off and make money off her work"

do you profit off lore rekindled??? i don't remember if you ever said that you were monetizing lore rekindled, so i'm unsure where this piece of information came from

I literally do NOT profit off Rekindled in any way shape or form, it's a Tumblr comic that's free to read, zero subscriptions, paywalls, or ads.

I did just recently open a Patreon and apply my Twitch channel to become affiliate, but 1. my Patreon doesn't have any paid members yet , 2. my Patreon won't be offering rewards that limit the reading experience of Rekindled (it's gonna be like random doodles n junk), and 3. I haven't even streamed since I applied for Affiliate and people are watching the streams for art and lo-fi, not for any sort of exclusive reading experiences that wouldn't also be accessible on Tumblr (you just get to watch me slowly work on Rekindled while playing FF XIV LMAOO) All of these restrictions I have in place is to prevent exactly what folks assume or accuse me - profiting off Rachel's IP. At the end of the day I just wanna create an AU fanfic project, even if it's created out of disappointment for what could have been.

I *do* spend a few hundred a month though for my assistant. So I'm working on Rekindled completely at a loss, out of my own pocket. So in that regard, even if I were to monetize any part of Rekindled... it wouldn't be for my own profitable gain, I'd maybe be able to cover some of my assistant fees 🤣 (but that's just hypothetical food for thought, because as I said above, I don't want to monetize Rekindled because of the potentially legal and ethical issues in doing so. Making money is also just not why I'm making Rekindled because it's something I wanna just do for fun! Money complicates things, turns shit into a job :'0) And let's be real, in that hypothetical scenario, I don't think any money I could generate on my free to read Tumblr project would come anywhere close to threatening Rachel's bottom line 🤣

And this isn't to throw anyone under the bus but when people get suspicious of Rekindled profiting off LO, I can't help but think of the actual fans of LO selling handmade LO merch on Etsy and LO-style adoptables and other arts and crafts dedicated to their favorite comic. And I'm not gonna judge them for that, more power to 'em if people wanna buy their cool stuff (and some of it is really REALLY cool, like I wanna buy their stuff too LOL), I just think it's ironic that people separate the two because... I'm not a diehard fan? Or because Rekindled has gotten popular here. Beats me. All that "popularity" is still just a niche remake of a niche comic in a niche medium. It's not Spiderman Lotus levels of big 🤣 but I know it probably feels that big to people who are engaged with this fandom and spend a lot of time in it.

There's an opposite side of being a yes man that perpetuates similar behavior on the other side - when you come up with reasons to rag on someone just for the sake of it because you can't rationalize them NOT being the all 100% pulp of evil LMAO (and I see people do this even to Rachel and it's not fair imo, like people who use the Lolita thing as a way to accuse Rachel of being a legitimate pedophile? Like no, I don't think we should be normalizing serious accusations like that. I think she's just misinformed in a lot of ways at worst and suffering from dark romantasy porn brainrot at best LOL).

Like, as an example, I've also seen people claim stuff like I'm in the fan spaces telling people not to read LO and to read LR instead? Which like... why would I do that, LR isn't for the fans anyways and I don't gain anything by being a dick in their space 🤣 If my own readers are doing that, that's out of my hands (but respectfully don't do this please!!! there's a reason I don't use the standard LO hashtags and only stick to the anti ones!!!!) but again (and this is a big assumption so take with grains of salt) I think people just like to claim these things because they feel it's just naturally the right thing to do when someone who has opinions they don't like actually puts them into action. Because now they can't say shit like "well if you think you're so much smarter than Rachel why don't YOU write the story!" and "you don't know what it's like to manage a comic!" so they grapple onto whatever other argument they can even if it's misconstrued or entirely pulled out of thin air and not backed up with any legitimate evidence.

Their perspectives make sense to them. My perspective makes sense to me. I don't blame people for being suspicious when they see someone like me pour this much time and effort and money into a project like Rekindled, they assume it HAS to do with something they can rationalize from their own point of view, like wanting to "steal" Rachel's work or profit off it or take it for myself out of "jealousy".

Sorry to disappoint y'all with a boring answer, but I'm just someone who was once a huge fan of LO and couldn't let it go. I'm just someone who's way too hyperfixated, with a lot of passion for making comics and experience to match. I'd still be making it even if I didn't have an assistant. I'd still be making it even if I was stuck working with nothing but paper and pencil. Because I love making it and I love what it means to me, and I love that it makes other people feel the same way I do about it.

And that's really all I have to say on that.

[silviakundera]

really enjoying your posts about the royal princess and also boarding the li rong defense train...i really don't get why people are so upset about when her continued character development and feelings are so clear even as she struggles with them

aw thank you for actually liking all my deranged rambling! 😘😘

I think some viewers simply aren't ever going to be comfortable with the complexity of the interrelationships in this story. The love and fear and blood between Li Rong and her relatives. Li Rong's inability to purely hate SRQ and eliminate all emotions about him.

Now, the actor for SRQ is not the best so I 100% understand when people find him dull and an annoyance because the performance is poor. 👌 What I'm referencing here is that a segment of viewers are automatically uncomfortable with a FL who has a past ties to another man and would prefer explicit black & white lines to be drawn, no grey areas in human relationships between people who have known each other for decades. These things make her faithless and heartless!

I myself obviously enjoy the unusual dynamic between her, PWX, and SRQ - who have a strange bond of being the only persons who lived a certain dark future and learned very different lessons from it; who all 3 want this life to be a better one than the first attempt. The fact that, if the Pei Wenxuan&Li Rong couple and Su Rongqing could achieve their goals AND leave the other party well & alive -- they'd do it. That makes the story more interesting to me, because their conflict is less predictable. (Every escalating move is like... Yes, they might go that far. But will they? Can they, will they pull back?) (Why did you give up the Xie minister of justice? He tried to kill you, you think I'd let that stand?)

We get the three of them having the weirdest possible moments. Like, what do u and your husband say to your ex-paramour who is culpable in both your murders (which u are being very mature & reasonable about!) when you're all like 19 again and have to make small talk in banquets and carriage trips? 🤔 Especially when you are only 70% sure it's him.

PWX making a passive aggressive dig about if SRQ would kill his beloved for the sake of his family, and SRQ refusing to play, too intensely saying this is not something to make fun of... while the beloved in question measures him carefully with her eyes. (is this an apology? no. an explanation? no. but is she and her tragic end a joke to him? also no.)

I'm glad that episode 21 included the flashback from the novel of LR first encountering the Su family, to keep beating the allegations that her faith in them is out of romantic naivety and biased by feelings for Su Rongqing. The novel actually circles back around to this very conversation in a later confrontation between her & SRQ, to show how her perspective has become open to new ideas over the years while he's lost the ability to question himself. (He narratively operates as her foil, more than a love rival.) Prayer circle we get all the big LR vs SRQ showdowns in the drama. I love when the girls are fighting. 💅💁

IMO it's a much richer 3 dimensional story, that Li Rong is self-examining and changing because of what she's experienced. And she's allowed to have very complicated feelings about the people in her life, then & now.

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

Oof thinking about Garroth nursing Brendan back to health.

Only nurse garroth could not be in his armour…

So…

I feel like it’s not *needed* considering we also have Aaron with a face reveal…

But some random white boy in the middle of Bumfuck Ru’Aun might raise a few eyebrows

[just-antithings]

Re: refrainbow (creator of the Boyfriends webtoon) saying the n-word. (Note, I'll be switching between he and they pronouns for refrainbow, since he uses both, I hope it doesn't end up confusing. Also, the bold is to help with reading (at least, it helps with my ADHD, but there's also a td;lr at the bottom as well))

I don't have screenshots or links, but it's been noted that refrainbow has admitted to having said it when he was younger and still learning English (mostly from the internet). They are Indonesian and did not know the history behind the slur. I'm not sure they even knew it was a slur until getting called out for it; from what I've seen, refrainbow thought it was English slang calling someone stupid or bad, due to learning it through I think gaming, where the n-word and other slurs were often thrown around liberally.

People ofc are valid being wary around refrainbow or anyone who's used the n-word or other slurs as general insults (or just saying them in general). No one is entitled to anyone's forgiveness.

One thing I've seen thought up, though, is people saying that refrainbow should have known anyway that the word was off-limits. One anti art-commentary youtuber said, "I knew as a little kid that it was a BAD word, that you just DO NOT say." And yes, as an American kid, I'm sure they were observant enough to realize that it was a horrible word, even if they did not automatically know the history of that word.

Refrainbow is NOT American. He was learning English mainly through the internet, iirc, and even if he was also taking formal English classes, there usually isn't a section on slurs in said language. Now, in my French class, part of the lesson plan was learning about racism north African and Middle Eastern people faced in France (a very compressed lesson; I barely remember what the teacher told us in that lecture). We were not told slurs and told "Do not, under any circumstances, say these words." If I'd been in an online gaming community with a bunch of French kids back then, there is every possibility I could have repeated slurs in French, not knowing they were slurs, if everyone around me were using them like general insults. I would have assumed it was slang first, not slurs.

As for why antis add refrainbow saying the n-word at the very end of a rant/call-out, this is a pretty common tactic that I've seen in call-out-type posts I end up coming across. Lots of buzzwords are used, many with the barest amount of "evidence" (if there is any, or if there is, it's usually worst-faith takes of some post or passage from a fic). Usually it's full of rhetoric meant to stoke people's anger or disgust, and then at the very end is a claim not mentioned in the bulk of the call-out/rant and usually a shorter sentence. It's usually something worse than what else has been stated and may or may not come with actual proof, and this last part might be actually true or true if you hide context around it.

I think there are two main reasons for this. One is that depending on how long the call-out/rant is, most people are more likely to pay attention to just the beginning and end parts, skimming over the rest. Placing "the worse/worst thing" at the end then makes sure people actually read it. Another reason (tied to the first reason) is that this last point is more likely to stick in people's memories this way, so if people only skimmed the rest, they're more likely to believe the other points are true, too, especially if that last point has evidence attached or is easily searched.

There's been a few call-outs in my fandom recently (some were technically responses to earlier call-outs, showing proof that the original people making their call-out posts were lying/twisting the truth), so whenever I find myself getting disgusted or upset, I make sure to go back and read it more closely (if the call-out is about someone I follow/a mutual; I don't have energy to read rants about people I've never heard of before).

td;lr: refrainbow did say the n-word before, he's apologized, explaining that he was still learning English at the time and didn't know how bad the word was, and using points like this at the bottom of a call-out post seems to be deliberate, so that people remember The Bad Thing about the person more clearly.

.

[marchdancer]

Ok so actually I am on vacation and today I did a wonderful hikingtrip through a forest and up to a little mountain village.

And after a while I was thinking that Isfan would totally like such trips and I was imagen whole nice it would be to go on a hiking trip with Isfan and his little wolf puppies. Because I think that Isfan would totally be a good partner for such a trip and I would absolutely like his company. He would totally know a lot about flowers, trees, animals etc. and could tell a lot about it.

And because I am from the small size and I picture Isfan as a tall guy ( so taller as his brother and I think Shapur is about 5,90 feet when I rember the character charta right) he would totally make bit fun of me when I struggle to climb about something and my arm lr lwg would be to short to reach the other side/rock/tree etc (like my sister and cousins) and he would be like „come on little dwarf you can do it“ with a wide grin on his face and in the end he would lend me a helping hand, when he sees I struggle too much.

So yes I would absolutely like to hike with Isfan on a big sister/little brother or good friend base. And I would love it.

[edalynn]

ok an entire year later how do you feel about the owl house season 3........ i rewatched it recently during that one marathon and auhhhhh honestlyyyyy idk it was fineeeee...... the second episode fucking sucks every single time i watch it (other than the luz and camila scene) but i found myself enjoying "watching and dreaming" more than i did the first time. i think the parts that really mattered were fucking amazing, like eda & king & luz reunion, luz's "death" (seriously the music and animation was SO good), the final fight, belos' death. they did the best they could with the extreme time restraint, and i do like how it focused more on just luz and eda and king instead of Those Other Guys (said with love). but i can't believe how bad "for the future" was. it somehow manages to get worse upon every rewatch LOL. what are your thoughts? also hiiiii

HIII!!! I agree entirely, the parts of the episode that mattered were REALLY REALLY good! Everything involving the main story and plot were done insanely well with how much they probably had to cut out with the series being shortened. The final fight still gives me chills and while I wish we got to see more than we did, I'm satisfied with how the main story was wrapped up, and I'm happy that the final episode finally put all the extra side plots going on with the other characters to the side to bring the main three back to the focus like they were at the start of the series. Removing the episode from the rest of the disaster that was the second episode, I actually really enjoy it and like it. That being said, SERIOUSLY. Why was FtF SO FUCKING BAD. Every time I watch it, it makes me find more things to be mad at it for/dislike about it. Easily the worst episode of the entire series, it still feels so out of place and unnecessary. And half the episode feels like it recons certain characters' arcs just to give the episode some "villains". Which is stupid because Belos and the Collector ARE STILL RIGHT FUCKING THERE. Like, there was no reason to make Kiki still power hungry as if Belos telling her to go die in a hole and her helping King because she was just so broken at the end of it all during the Day of Unity never fucking happened. She was always fighting for Belos (and herself by extent, but), so why would she still be trying to rule people? That makes no sense in the context of the story. And Boscha begging Amity to take her back? Also makes no sense. Like, yes, it makes slightly more sense than Kiki, but only for the fact that we don't really see Boscha ever get "better" yet, she mostly just became irrelevant. Although, that' not entirely true either, because we see her being disgusted by Luz and Amity being romantic in the beginning of LR, so actually I take it back. It makes just as little sense as Kiki regressing back to her old ways, now with no purpose behind it. It just reads so much like bad fanfic writing from a 12 year old that just discovered Wattpad lmao.

And obviously, don't even get me started on the Willow bullshit from the episode. I feel like I've repeated myself a million times about how that episode fully put the anchor on the sinking of her character & arc. And the fact that they used Hunter as a way of doing it, which also made Hunter extremely OOC and made half his arc and growth meaningless. Just makes me SO fucking mad.

[thedeathdeelers]

https://www.tumblr.com/xiaofengs/751645650747326464?source=share

Helloo! I just finished lovely runner like 2 days ago and the way it has grabbed me by the throat uffff

I just wanted to talk about this scene and the way he calls out for Sol (also how it's someone else but he thinks it's Sol eeeeeeekkkkkk!!!!) Just the pure devastation on his face, like look at his eyes man!!! I'm trying so hard not to start my rewatch right away 😭😭

(Also i just went through your blog and liked a bunch of stuff because I'm obsessed with the show and I need to cope 😂😅)

My friend was pushing me to watch it for a while but I just couldn't find the time to watch it. And I was a bit apprehensive at the first episode but then- but then, they showed how he liked her firsttttt!!!!!!! And then it just kept getting better and better!!! Sun jae was just such a cutie and an absolute loserrr (affectionate) and then threw in some good angst 🥹😭😭 it was just amazing!!

And then I decided, oh I need more, so i decided to look up the drama on here and see people (like you!!) writing such amazing commentary on the show that it's making me even more obsessed whew! 😆😅

This is getting long I'm sorry, but that salon drip youtube interview where the host is just squealing is literally me, they're super cute together, i hope they do more projects where they're the leads together!!! I need it!!!

Okay have a lovely day/evening! 😁

hi hello!! welcome to the “holy crap that was the best kdrama im going to be obsessed with this for a WHILE” club!

ugh yes that scene!!!! byeon woo-seok did such a good job at portraying so much just through his eyes!! it’s years and decades and timelines of memories just fully pouring in all at once — all the feelings he couldn’t explain and the weird scenes he kept seeing and the dreams!! all of them finally making sense! every puzzle piece falling into place

and then he gets hit with the emotions - falling for sol for the first time, witnessing the first timeline where he doesn’t save her on time, where she hates him and doesn’t want to live

to then jumping to the next timeline where she’s hugging him out of nowhere and knows his name- to falling for her even more and more. to more timelines and more precious moments with his sol; to confessing once twice three times and finally getting that reciprocated. it’s just-

he’s been living his entire life (4th timeline) walking this earth not realising this precious thing he’s been missing out on…even tho deep down he’s known. something was missing, was somehow longing for something but he just didn’t know what

and suddenly it all makes sense!! because of course it’s sol!!! ofc it’s her. she’s the reason. she’s what’s been missing

and he’s happy he’s remembering and devastated he ever forgot and lived 34 years without her without her memories or presence or existence. he’s so conflicted and everything is a mess but all he does know is he needs to go to her immediately. he needs to find her and hold her and never let her go.

no but honestly this show has grabbed me like no other show has in a looooong time- i know what you mean by the rewatch hahah! i tried to delay it as much as possible (i lied to myself) thinking it would feel more like watching it for the first time..but i caved so quickly

(also hahah i love that!! glad my slightly unhinged posts could help! 😂 it’s what they’re there for!)

yeah the first couple episodes are bit questionable when you don’t know what’s happening but as soon as they hit you with the end of ep2 plot twist…..you’re hooked. there’s no going back- and it’s so so worth it! so glad you kept going

please never apologise for coming into my inbox to talk about LR i’m here 24/7/365 for this

(sorry for the essay :$)

[gaykey]

kibum confuses me I used to adoreee him he's been my second favourite for years which sounds a bit bad but it's bc I like all the members sm lmao but after the mcdnlds endorsement I just stopped, me and I've seen others as well say that they've been bad weird vibes since last year or attribute something being different since he got on all those variety shows, like I feel like there was a change but I have the worst concept of time to begin with so I can't even point out when things started to change, you're more of a locket than I am so maybe you could probably pinpoint and word it better than me

he's said and done some stupid things before and maybe it's me being a bit delusional but I really didn't expect all of whats he's doing lately from him at all and yes we shouldn't put our morals on a stranger, but I dont think expecting a person to have a moral backbone is asking for much, but there are a bunch of rich ppl/celebs who are zios (this is my attempt to censor bc I'm scared of attracting more freaks somehow to your inbox lol) so maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised

yeah, there are a ton of people saying he's been off, lr had bad vines for a while now but, honestly, until his colourist comments last year, i hadn't noticed anything off.

but i guess since then, looking back, like i've said in a few other asks, he comes across as just going for anything that'll bring him in a decent check? more, superficial i guess? he'd always seemed so genuine before.

again, this could just be because of recent events and how i view him now but???

anon, i in no way expected it. me a year ago would have flat out refused the idea. kibum doing something so problemtic that i'd unstan? NEVER.

mmm very true. assuming people have at least decent morals shouldn't be such a crazy concept, but histoey, and currebt events have proven that to be false tenfold.

the rich a famous are just, corrupt. that's what money and fame does to you. it doesn't take much for them to become completely removed and out of touch. and then their influenced by other rich and evil people and that's it.

[persephoneflowerpetals]

In my opinion, I always think it would be good when it comes to the myth of Persephone and Hades to also not villify Demeter. You could make an overprotective mother, but also show that Persephone still loves. And again make Hades flawed but eventually learns his lesson. Also you can make Zeus as much as an asshole as you like. But Disney's Zeus is off limits for that but he's more like an insenstive jerk at times.

Absolutely! That’s what I tried to do with ‘Til Death. I didn’t want to make Demeter the villains because she really isn’t a villain. She loves all of her children equally, but unintentionally shows favoritism towards Persephone. She’s just an overprotective mom that wants what’s best for her daughter and Persephone knows this, but she struggles to communicate with her mother that what she (Demeter) thinks is right for her (Persephone) is different from what is actually right for her. She loves, honors, and respects her mother and is worried she’ll lose all of that if she says anything that seems “disrespectful” (even though sharing your feelings isn’t disrespectful).

I know there’s one Disney fanfic I read in AO3 where they made Demeter sorta the “villain” by secretly manipulating Persephone so she isn’t able to interact with Hades and I do think that’s a clever idea, but I agree with you that I don’t think Demeter should be vilified. Demeter seems like a gentle goddess who can be stern and strict and even scary when she needs to be, but all in all, she’s kind and caring and wouldn’t go as far as manipulating her own daughter in order to keep her from seeing her lover. She’s overprotective, but she’s not that overprotective, y’know?

And yeah, Hades is certainly a “bad guy”, but he does learn his lesson most of the time (most being the operative word lol) when his plans fail and he remembers not to go through with that particular plan next time he tries something sinister and evil lol. Hades is a villain, but he’s not like all the other disney villains. He has a little bit of decency and mercy underneath all that evil lol (of course, I always bring up the baby Hercules thing because that was pretty cruel, but he obviously learned his lesson from that). Also it’s hinted in a lot of other Disney media that Hades wasn’t always a bad guy he was just treated like a bad guy and sorta became what they painted him as after a while. But yeah, he does usually learn his lesson when it comes to his evil deeds and whatnot.

Oh and yes Disney Zeus is certainly not a villain (unlikes the og Zeus who was totally the worst lol), but he is indeed an insensitive jerk who can be a little selfish at times. He gets so caught up on being the king of the god that he doesn’t notice things (like the fact that his little brother hates him and was literally planning to overthrow him for 18 and was also the reason why his son became a demigod and had to be raised on earth by mortals). But I agree that Zeus isn’t a cruel lr evil god. He makes poor decisions and he can be insensitive when it comes to others’ emotions, but he’s not a villain.

[jumpinggreenjellybeanz]

Basically what I've been up to lol

When I first started my Instagram account, I mainly had the hopes of sharing my art far in far more places than just from where I could from deviantArt (rip), thus gaining more of a following and become more well-known, or in blatant terms, "famous".

Ironically, I've stuck to just posting in that one place for years but that's not the point, shut your shut.

Now that I'm older, I no longer care about any of that, but with what IG/Facebook has been doing, it does break my heart to think that many young aspiring artists - that don't even care about what numbers they get on each post and just share their art on social media to just share their art - don't even know that their personal pictures (and not even just for artists in this case) will be harvested into an AI database for any other stranger with access to that kind of stuff on their machine can utilize for whatever purposes they desire, whether it's commercial or any other nefarious reason. Very creepy and very unethical.

I genuinely do not understand the purpose for AI generated images/videos. Yes I've seen really funny memes made. Plus if anything, AI could serve as a tool for artists in a way that helps them find specific references they have trouble understanding (ideally made off of a dataset built from consensually submitted reference photos but ig it's too late for that now). It's also proven to be and can be a wonderful tool helping with the medical field or law enforcement. Aside from that, I see no purpose of specifically publicly available AI generated media that graphic designers, professional editors, etc. can already do.

I'm not seeing any other people talk about this on other platforms, and I get that they just don't care. Instagram surely doesn't, and most likely won't care either. It's just sad to see how big companies are now capitalizing off of every safe space on the internet we have left, specifically in these trying times. I did not come home from my vacation just last week to see all this news of artists being threatened IG - by IG itself!!!!

TD;LR If you have an IG account, DO NOT POST ON IT ANYMORE. It supposedly will not matter if you delete your account, the data that exists will be kept there. It will only worsen if you keep feeding it.

(courtesy of @/ambroseusrobert on IG, please go search them and any other diligent users doing the research to keep updated/learn more with this situation)

Man. I just wanna vibe online.

EDIT - I had just now remembered the existence of the Nightshade and Glaze tools. I myself haven't tried them yet, and personally am reluctant, but if you do not want to leave Instagram (which you fully have the right to make your own decisions ofc), definitely give em a try!

[rukbat3]

Babylon 5 Rewatch - Born to the Purple

This is a post I originally wrote several years ago for Mark Oshiro's Mark Watches blog. I don't really plan to edit them before posting, so there may be some references that don't make sense. If you see words that look like gibberish, they are actually rot13, which was our way of discussing spoilers. There are plugins you can install to decode the text (Cryptext is the one I use), or you can copy/paste to rot13.com, or just ignore it.

I have a soft spot for this episode. Yes, it’s a little over the top, and that pulsing synth music makes me lol, but ultimately I find the relationship between Londo and Adira charming, and there are a bunch of great moments in the various subplots. Cyhf, bs pbhefr, gurer’f gur rzbgvbany chapu pbzvat yngre. Lbh xabj jung V zrna.

I think the dynamics between Londo and Adira are really interesting. He’s clearly infatuated. He’s been sent out to the middle of nowhere with a position that feels like a joke, but here is this beautiful young woman who is looking at him like he hung the moon. It’s good for his ego. But he clearly knows she isn’t just interested in him for himself—witness how uncomfortable he is when she calls him by his title. Whereas she knows exactly how to manipulate him to get what she wants. It’s doubtless a skill she’s had to develop. But it isn’t all an act. Just how genuine her feelings are is debatable, I think, but she’s at least fond of him, and she’s genuinely touched to realize that he is willing to treat her as an equal. Plus, of course, she leaves the brooch behind.

And when Londo realizes what she’s done and why, he never seems to blame her, but recognizes that she clearly had no choice. I’m glad he doesn’t fall for Trakis’s lie, and I think the brooch has a lot to do with that. Maybe that’s why he gives it back to her at the end of the episode. I’m glad she leaves, though. Much as I like her, the power imbalance between them is just too great, and the show, Londo, and Adira all recognize that. Londo could so easily have tried to use the fact that he freed her from slavery as leverage to get her to stay, but he never even hints in that direction, and it makes me so happy.

Vg nyfb znxrf zr fnq gb frr ure tb. Phefr lbh, Zbeqra!

I find Vir entirely delightful in this episode. Ko’Dath, well… I see what they were trying to go for with the “humorous” moment when Londo and G’Kar are toasting to “females” and Ko’Dath comes in to spoil the moment, but they just make her entirely too cartoonish in this episode. I imagine they’re trying to create a character to play off of G’Kar, but so far it’s just not working. [season 1] Bu, Xb’Qngu. Jr uneqyl xarj lr. Ohg ernyyl Whyvr Pnvgyva Oebja nf An’Gbgu qbrf fhpu n orggre wbo bs orvat n zngpu sbe T’Xne gung V’z whfg vzcngvrag sbe ure gb or tbar.

I always forget that Ivanova’s father’s death happens in this episode until I’m actually watching it. Claudia Christian really kills that scene between the two of them, and it makes me emotional even though I know it’s a bit of a cliché. But this time through, what I really noticed was how off the interactions between Garibaldi and Ivanova earlier in the episode seemed. She’s really dismissive and almost antagonistic towards him. Of course, by the end of the episode we understand why, but initially it seems a little bizarre that she’s not taking this more seriously. Garibaldi seems to notice too, either that or he just works it out logically. But given how early on this is in the show, I wonder if we’re meant to think that she just doesn’t like him? I can’t remember what I thought the first time I watched this.

I was kind of wondering if JMS came up with the term Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics just so he could use that ICE-breaker pun, but I just looked it up, and it turns out that it actually comes from a short story by William Gibson! I think we can still blame JMS for ICE-breaker, though. Favorite scene: Not really one scene, but I always come back to the twin “Don’t give away the homeworld!” exchanges. :D Why do I get the feeling Sinclair might have gotten a lot more done if he had stayed and let Vir and Ko’Dath actually negotiate?

[silviakundera]

The Princess Royal ep 23 thoughts

Finally the devoted couple era! I DESERVE THIS. ❤

we got a split second glimpse of Su Ronghua's death in life 1, right??????

Big fan of including a Su family scene w horrorshow montage to remind the audience of Su Rongqing's #1 goal, to stop the crown prince from gaining the throne.

As much as Li Rong would tell him that she is going to change the future, that everything she is doing is to set up a better reign for her brother... as much as she already promised him that she will stop unfair clan exterminations and proved she could save the Qin... It's hard to blame him for being unable to take this on faith when he has lived the horrible consequences of her failure.

Just like we can't blame Li Rong for believing change is possible and for relentlessly striving to prevent the emperor from deposing her the crown prince - which almost led to her and her brother's death in the 1st life.

And we see how precarious their position remains, as the less favored heirs. And the influence LR has already had on her brother.

In the same episode that we see SQR and LR perform together in an echo of their history, reminded that there was a time when they were united on Li Chuan's side and helping him consolidate power...

We see the inevitable clash of wills. A fight that neither will back down from.

He can admire all the rabbit lanterns he wants but..;

There is a deeper conflict than just 1 crown prince (as we saw in Su Ronghua explaining why he wants to aid LR and SY - not aligning to Li Chuan but to LI RONG!!)

Su Rongqing has (understandably) made Li Chuan into the sole adversary. If he can just stop THIS ONE EVENT (Li Chuan's rise to emperor) from happening then nothing has to change and everything can play out Like It Was Supposed To™. The aristocracy can be safe and have a nice regency with a disposable lil puppet emperor.

And it makes sense! (face palm) In the original timeline, LR became the face of the nobility as she used all their power to protect herself & her brother (and then was cannibalized by that same system & family). SRQ has come back and from his PoV he's fighting his girlfriend's old fight! But with foresight! He'll throw away the Su's neutrality and go all in. He's gonna FIX STUFF and make this a world where she and his family are secure and the right people are in charge. Our kind of people. He will use his decades of sinister eunuch skills to keep all the pieces under his control and this time no one they love needs to die.

But Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan have come back too and have been growing & changing, not mired in the past.

(I think perhaps that when that horrific family annihilation happened to SRQ, he just got stuck - encased in amber & trapped there as the person he was when the world was still a place he understood)

It physically PAINS me that they cast such a wet blanket as Su Rongqing. A great actor would be doing so much more with this material. 😭 whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy😭

Setting up imperial examinations case scheme vs scheme!! I know a lot of this subplot will be simplied but I'm low key hyped to see it play out.

Per ep 24 preview, the promotions plot is coming next! LR and SRQ digging pits for each other and PWX strategically faints!

(lmao all during that royal family banquet I just kept imagining LR 🔪 🔪 🔪 over at Li Cheng while SRQ imagines dumping Li Chuan on a boat set for Greenland)

(Pei Wenxuan: and someone was making eyes AT MY WIFE

(Me: bro that is so not your biggest problem)

(like, I would venture it's not even a problem)

(please I beg of u, focus more of your energies on murder)

(YES, the imperial relatives. OMG DO I NEED TO DO EVERYTHING AROUND HERE.)

[quotes121sworld]

Amanda Holden hits back at BGT corrections allegations by insisting this year is 'more amateur and homegrown' #AmandaHolden

Amanda Holden has hit back at criticism of last year's Britain's Got Talent by insisting this series is full of far more 'homegrown' talent.The show was hit by accusations last year of being a fix after a number of acts on the live shows were revealed to be professionals.Comedian Axel Blake was crowned the winner of the 15th series despite already having his own Amazon show Axel Blake: I'm Not Gonna Lie.Meanwhile, Amanda awarded Loren Allred the coveted golden buzzer, though she's already found huge success as the voice behind The Greatest Showman Hit Never Enough.However, Amanda, 52, has defended the show, saying the reason for so many professional appearances over the last year was because they were struggling due to the pandemic.

'Homegrown': Amanda Holden has hit back at criticism of last year's 'Britain's Got Talent' by insisting the series is full of 'homegrown'

Critics: The show was hit with accusations of being a fix last year after a number of acts on the live shows were revealed to be professionals (LR) Ant McPartlin, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, Bruno Tonioli and Declan Donnelly actedShe went on to insist that there were fewer professional acts and more "amateur" acts this year.She said: "It feels more homely . It feels like people are doing things in their bedrooms and less pros this year, but the standard is still exceptionally high."Last year we had a lot of people struggling professionally because of lockdown - a lot of people who needed to remind themselves and their audiences that they could do it."It was great for us to offer them this platform after a very tough time for the artists."But this year I think it's balanced again and there's more amateurs, local people lining up and coming in."It comes after Declan Donnelly admitted he and his accomplice Ant McPartlin pulled some pranks on new judge Bruno Tonioli.

Fix: Comedian Axel Blake was crowned the 15th series winner despite already having his own Amazon show Axel Blake: I'm Not Gonna Lie

Professional: Meanwhile, Loren Allred was awarded the coveted gold buzzer by Amanda, although she's already had huge success as the voice behind The Greatest Showman Hit Never EnoughHe said: "We kept telling him different rules quite mischievously."So when he pressed his gold buzzer in the middle of a performance in the first session of the first day, we told him not to worry because he has another gold buzzer tomorrow and he has one every day!"That might have something to do with the fact that we have more golden buzzers this year! We also pranked the other judges by going into their room and taking a BGT quiz but secretly giving Bruno all the answers in advance."It was fun to see the look on everyone else's faces. Ant said: "Much to Simon's annoyance that someone else would win a quiz about his show. He quickly found out it was a prank and didn't like it! But we loved it.'Once known as Mr. Nasty for his no-nonsense approach when Simon was asked if he still considers himself that The hardest-to-impress judge replied: "I don't know, I think we all have different opinions."I don't really think about it much. You must perform each action individually. Instead of just thinking, "I'm just going to be tough or whatever," because everyone is different. I think it's only fair to be honest. I really, really.

What a couple! It comes after Declan Donnelly admitted he and his accomplice Ant McPartlin pulled some pranks on new judge Bruno Tonioli"I don't like the idea of ​​lying to people and saying everyone is great because unfortunately they aren't."But the thing about our show, like I said, you don't have to win to change your career, a good audition that goes viral can open so many doors. I think that's what sets us apart from other shows."On emerging topics from the taped auditions, Amanda revealed, "Yes, we had a lot of choirs this year, more than ever before I think.“I really want a choir to win this year. There is a male choir which is just brilliant. I enjoyed the fact that they were a group of men who came for a good chant.'Alesha gushed about returning to Manchester for the first time in three years: "The audience is always so enthusiastic and ready for it and we missed it."We haven't been there in three years and we always loved touring the country because it felt like the circus had come to town.“There's a different kind of perspective and vibe depending on where you go. And it shouldn't always be London-centric. So I was in a good mood, I was happy to be there and I think the audience really appreciated it.While the show has been enjoyed by millions across the country since 2007, Bruno revealed he had never seen it himself before.He gushed about his experience so far: "Oh, it's amazing! I mean honestly I had such a good time! Really, really, really good."Because it's completely new to me," I said to Simon, "I've never seen the show. But I never watch anything I'm in, I haven't even seen Strictly or Dancing With the Stars."I want to feel free to put my own personal twist on this and not copy what anyone has done before me if that makes sense. And the truth is that I'm really excited about talent because I love seeing new talent."It's like live theatre. It's a proper variety show like we used to get. And I've always loved that. Let me tell you some of the talent we've seen auditioning...absolutely incredible. Wow!'Britain's Got Talent returns on ITV1 and ITVX on Saturday 15 April at 20:00 and Sunday 16 April at 19:45. Read the full article

[soracities]

Etel Adnan, interviewed by Lisa Robertson in Bomb Magazine [transcript below]

[Text ID:

EA: There are layers of images—that’s what I meant, very simply. There is thickness. Vision is multidimensional and simultaneous. You can think, see, see beyond: you can do all these things at the same time. Your psyche, your brain catches up. Some people today say that an image is not necessarily a clear figuration of something; it could be like a blurred abstract drawing, like a sliding door.

LR: An event in perceiving.

EA: Yes, an event. It is a speed that you catch. Images are not still. They are moving things. They come, they go, they disappear, they approach, they recede, and they are not even visual—ultimately they are pure feeling. They’re like something that calls you through a fog or a cloud.”]