#idk i feel like our cultural reference points really influence how we think and see the world

[joy-returns-in-the-morning]

Trying to write Captain America fanfiction and not only do I have to research 1930-40s Brooklyn, but also at this point 2014 America too because that was almost 10 years ago and I don't remember what was happening ☠️

[ursie]

genuine question: if devin wrote dick as romani in a hurtful way, why does fandom seem so intent to keeping him romani while decrying the writer that made him romani in the first place? like, if it came from such racist/hurtful archetypes then why cling to it so much? (in contrast, i've seen people say that headcanoning tim as asian is bad because of sterotypes, which is why i don't understand the difference.) i barely read past the 80s comics i grew up with, i just read a ton of fandom arguments and the contrast between "dick IS romani" vs "tim ISN'T asian" is like. i don't understand it? i know fandom isn't a monolith but there are trends overall. idk, i figured you seemed like a "safe" person to ask this question in good faith. hope it doesn't upset you! thanks for taking the time to read and/or answer this. <3

Ok so the thing is bad rep is worse than no rep-yes but erasure is worse too so the solution isn’t to erase but to fix it and there has been genuine effort in canon and by Romani people in the fandom to address Dicks rep. While it’s undeniably rooted in some stereotypes there’s also no denying how important Dicks character is. He’s undeniably the most popular Roma character of all time and that’s an issue when people won’t acknowledge he’s Roma. He’s multifaceted and smart and brave and complicated and undeniably good ect these are really good characteristics for any character let alone one to represent any group of people. The best thing dc could do is either hire Roma writers (or Roma editors/sensitivity readers/ect) they need Roma people in the workroom not less Roma characters in comics. Because at the end of the day If we wait for perfect rep before we acknowledge it we’re not going to get it and that goes for any marginalized identity. People cannot know other’s peoples lived experience-which is why we need to push for our voices in the room. Almost all the diverse characters in comics nowadays started as stereotypes and were stereotypes til someone said no and chose to do the work so they could write them better or at least try-that’s what needs to be done. I think it’s funny (and this isn’t at you) that with Dick given his importance given his cultural influence people push for erasure due to some writing flaws when that’s not and never been the case canon or fanon for other characters I mean have you read early black panther? It’s not good. I think people need to reflect if they actually have an issue with how he’s written or if they not only don’t want to view him as Roma but don’t want to put in their own work of looking past the stereotypes either. Also tbh while you’ll see people tote that Roma people don’t like his rep (which I’m not saying there’s none who don’t) the posts that are most commonly referenced are by non Romani people (and one is by a total freak so yeah). In current canon Dick is probably about 1/4th “ethnically” Roma (though that hardly matters he’s Roma hes roma like. Roma is a race he’s just not white) but also in preboot, dick's father was a kalderash-american rom, dick also spoke lovari dialect in preboot. as of post flashpoint, dick's mom is an american roma but her vitsa is not confirmed, so i just like to hc john was kalderash and mary was lovara personally 🥰 like again the best thing dc can do is actually talk about the Graysons, Mary’s family, ect and make them human. Make them more than stereotypes. Actually talk about his culture and his family and his people-not just brush it under a rug until they reference it for diversity points later

As for your other question/point to me the difference between hcing a character as a different race vs like Dick is the push to view white characters as non white instead of actually making fan content of canon non white characters? Like it’s almost a white guilt thing w Tim (this is not at fans of color) but like you want to feel good about stanning characters of color but you also. Don’t actually stan a character of color (like Tim or Jason for instance) so you just hc them as non white (and yes often stereotypically) instead of like reading a single comic w Duke in it. Like racebending is fine and I think it’s good but when done by white fans it’s often actually done to like justify their distance from actual canon characters of color. Like I’m glad you think Tim’s Asian but you still won’t draw fanart of the batfam w Duke in it in 2022 yknow? You still prioritize Jason over Cass but you think he’s Latine, you hc Steph as ambiguously brown but you still characterize Damian in a racist manner, ect. Does that make sense I’m not actually sure I’m explaining well. Oh and in the case you specified Dick is canonically non white wheras Tim isn’t-and it should be noted that white isn’t the baseline-While no one’s saying writers had any intentions he was never stated to be white before-him being “retconned” as Roma isn’t really fair or true he was simply revealed to be so as again white cannot be treated as the inherent norm (nor should heterosexuality and being cisgender or able bodied) I’m not saying you’re wrong but I think it’s important not to think about that kind of stuff in those terms if that makes sense. I hope I cleared this up. I certainly tried and should you have any more questions my inbox/dms are open

Edit : adding on an important response from @royharper : the bottom line is that people who aren't roma should not be speaking on his identity as a rom because they have no idea what roma identity fully entails. i've seen people claim "he's not culturally connected, therefore he can't be roma" or "he can be white and roma, he's not a person of color" when neither of these things are true. for one, while devin is inconsistent in her writing, dick is shown to be raised within the culture as far back as her titans run in the late 90's, in which he is shown to be speaking romanes with his father in a dream sequence that is heavily implied to be a flashback of sorts, and as well lian states that dick can speak romanes when discussing the various languages that her dad, aunts, and uncles can speak. language /is/ culture for us, it's not something that any outsider can just learn super easily. it was really strange that she retconned this herself by the time gotham knights was written a few years later through the character yoska, who attempts to speak romanes with dick and finds that he can't understand him, however using this, along with the orientalist stereotypes devin tried to impose on both dick and yoska when writing about roma identity, as an excuse to say that dick is not "really a rom" is racist. outsiders do not understand the nuances of roma identity enough to make that judgement, and no, wikipedia is not an accurate source for information about roma. touching on the idea that roma can be white, this is a misconception. while outsiders may be folded into the community by marriage or adoption, this is not very common because we don't tend to marry or adopt outside of our communities. furthermore, roma is not an ethnicity. roma is our race. our ethnicities are our clans. there are roma with pale skin, there are even roma that appear white, but they are still racially roma and are still subject to racial discrimination. in response to the idea that there is an outpouring of roma fans who don't want dick to be roma at all, this simply isn't true. that rumor was originally started by someone who was outed as a racefaker, and is perpetuated by white fans who seek to weaponize this perspective to justify their whitewashing and racism. i've known more roma who were, while still critical of devin's orientalism/antiromanyism, ecstatic to have a roma comic character who actually speaks the language, as in comparison to doctor doom and the maximoff twins, who are arguably just as popular, who do not speak romanes in comics, or have only spoken one or two words of the language. dick is important in terms of representation for this fact alone. i can't fathom the amount of people who are not roma who think that just because roma characters are often subject to stereotypical writing that it's somehow better to simply erase their racial identity all together rather than doing their own research to avoid stereotypes when portraying the characters and pushing for these companies to start hiring roma creatives as we do with /every other character of color because not a SINGLE character of color in comics history has been entirely free of racist, stereotypical writing or of colorism and whitewashing in official artwork/. and yet you don't see people pushing for other characters of color to be made white. it's really very telling to me. and just for the record, since i know this is for some reason a popular talking point, dick's race was not retconned after devin initially wrote him as roma. his race has been referenced across numerous other comics written by other writers over the years, most notably tim seeley in his run of nightwing rebirth. while i have issues with seeley's characterization of dick, and he tends to sexualize him just as much if not more than devin imo, dick's racial identity plays a big role in the raptor arc. stop acting like devin was the only writer to ever write dick as a rom and that it was never seen or heard of again in canon after she stopped working on nightwing.

[writingwithcolor]

What Does Our "Motivations” PSA Mean?

@luminalalumini said:

I've been on your blog a lot and it has a lot of really insightful information, but I notice a theme with some of your answers where you ask the writer reaching out what their 'motivation for making a character a certain [race/religion/ethnicity/nationality] is' and it's discouraging to see, because it seems like you're automatically assigning the writer some sort of ulterior motive that must be sniffed out and identified before the writer can get any tips or guidance for their question. Can't the 'motive' simply be having/wanting to have diversity in one's work? Must there be an 'ulterior motive'? I can understand that there's a lot of stigma and stereotypes and bad influence that might lead to someone trynna add marginalized groups into their stories for wrong reasons, but people that have those bad intentions certainly won't be asking for advice on how to write good representation in the first place. Idk its just been something that seemed really discouraging to me to reach out myself, knowing i'll automatically be assigned ulterior motives that i don't have and will probably have to justify why i want to add diversity to my story as if i'm comitting some sort of crime. I don't expect you guys to change your blog or respond to this or even care all that much, I'm probably just ranting into a void. I'm just curious if theres any reason to this that I haven't realized exists I suppose. I don't want y'all to take this the wrong way because I do actually love and enjoy your blog's advice in spite of my dumb griping. Cheers :))

We assume this is in reference to the following PSA:

PSA to all of our users - Motivation Matters: This lack of clarity w/r to intent has been a general issue with many recent questions. Please remember that if you don’t explain your motivations and what you intend to communicate to your audience with your plot choices, character attributes, world-building etc., we cannot effectively advise you beyond the information you provide. We Are Not Mind Readers. If, when drafting these questions, you realize you can’t explain your motivations, that is likely a hint that you need to think more on the rationales for your narrative decisions. My recommendation is to read our archives and articles on similar topics for inspiration while you think. I will be attaching this PSA to all asks with similar issues until the volume of such questions declines. 

We have answered this in three parts.

1. Of Paved Roads and Good Intentions

Allow me to give you a personal story, in solidarity towards your feelings:

When I began writing in South Asia as an outsider, specifically in the Kashmir and Lahore areas, I was doing it out of respect for the cultures I had grown up around. I did kathak dance, I grew up on immigrant-cooked North Indian food, my babysitters were Indian. I loved Mughal society, and every detail of learning about it just made me want more. The minute you told me fantasy could be outside of Europe, I hopped into the Mughal world with two feet. I was 13. I am now 28.

And had you asked me, as a teenager, what my motives were in giving my characters’ love interests blue or green eyes, one of them blond hair, my MC having red-tinted brown hair that was very emphasized, and a whole bunch of paler skinned people, I would have told you my motives were “to represent the diversity of the region.” 

I’m sure readers of the blog will spot the really, really toxic and colourist tropes present in my choices. If you’re new here, then the summary is: giving brown people “unique” coloured eyes and hair that lines up with Eurocentric beauty standards is an orientalist trope that needs to be interrogated in your writing. And favouring pale skinned people is colourist, full stop.

Did that make me a bad person with super sneaky ulterior motives who wanted to write bad representation? No.

It made me an ignorant kid from the mostly-white suburbs who grew up with media that said brown people had to “look unique” (read: look as European as possible) to be considered valuable.

And this is where it is important to remember that motives can be pure as you want, but you were still taught all of the terrible stuff that is present in society. Which means you’re going to perpetuate it unless you stop and actually question what is under your conscious motive, and work to unlearn it. Work that will never be complete.

I know it sounds scary and judgemental (and it’s one of the reasons we allow people to ask to be anonymous, for people who are afraid). Honestly, I would’ve reacted much the same as a younger writer, had you told me I was perpetuating bad things. I was trying to do good and my motives were pure, after all! But after a few years, I realized that I had fallen short, and I had a lot more to learn in order for my motives to match my impact. Part of our job at WWC is to attempt to close that gap.

We aren’t giving judgement, when we ask questions about why you want to do certain things. We are asking you to look at the structural underpinnings of your mind and question why those traits felt natural together, and, more specifically, why those traits felt natural to give to a protagonist or other major character.

I still have blond, blue-eyed characters with sandy coloured skin. I still have green-eyed characters. Because teenage me was right, that is part of the region. But by interrogating my motive, I was able to devalue those traits within the narrative, and I stopped making those traits shorthand for “this is the person you should root for.” 

It opened up room for me to be messier with my characters of colour, even the ones who my teenage self would have deemed “extra special.” Because the European-associated traits (pale hair, not-brown-eyes) stopped being special. After years of questioning, they started lining up with my motive of just being part of the diversity of the region.

Motive is important, both in the conscious and the subconscious. It’s not a judgement and it’s not assumed to be evil. It’s simply assumed to be unquestioned, so we ask that you question it and really examine your own biases.

~Mod Lesya

2. Motivations Aren't Always "Ulterior"

You can have a positive motivation or a neutral one or a negative one. Just wanting to have diversity only means your characters aren't all white and straight and cis and able-bodied -- it doesn't explain why you decided to make this specific character specifically bi and specifically Jewish (it me). Yes, sometimes it might be completely random! But it also might be "well, my crush is Costa Rican, so I gave the love interest the same background", or "I set it in X City where the predominant marginalized ethnicity is Y, so they are Y". Neither of these count as ulterior motives. But let's say for a second that you did accidentally catch yourself doing an "ulterior." Isn't that the point of the blog, to help you find those spots and clean them up?

Try thinking of it as “finding things that need adjusting” rather than “things that are bad” and it might get less scary to realize that we all do them, subconsciously. Representation that could use some work is often the product of subconscious bias, not deliberate misrepresentation, so there's every possibility that someone who wants to improve and do better didn't do it perfectly the first time. 

--Shira

3. Dress-Making as a Metaphor

I want to echo Lesya’s sentiments here but also provide a more logistical perspective. If you check the rubber stamp guide here and the “Motivation matters” PSA above, you’ll notice that concerns with respect to asker motivation are for the purposes of providing the most relevant answer possible.

It is a lot like if someone walks into a dressmaker’s shop and asks for a blue dress/ suit (Back when getting custom-made clothes was more of a thing) . The seamstress/ tailor is likely to ask a wide variety of questions:

What material do you want the outfit to be made of?

Where do you plan to wear it?

What do you want to highlight?

How do you want to feel when you wear it?

Let’s say our theoretical customer is in England during the 1920s. A tartan walking dress/ flannel suit for the winter is not the same as a periwinkle, beaded, organza ensemble/ navy pinstripe for formal dress in the summer. When we ask for motivations, we are often asking for exactly that: the specific reasons for your inquiry so we may pinpoint the most pertinent information.

The consistent problem for many of the askers who receive the PSA is they haven’t even done the level of research necessary to know what they want to ask of us. It would be like if our English customer in the 1920s responded, “IDK, some kind of blue thing.” Even worse,  WWC doesn’t have the luxury of the back-and-forth between a dressmaker and their clientele. If our asker doesn’t communicate all the information they need in mind at the time of submission, we can only say, “Well, I’m not sure if this is right, but here’s something. I hope it works, but if you had told us more, we could have done a more thorough job.”

Answering questions without context is hard, and asking for motivations, by which I mean the narratives, themes, character arcs and other literary devices that you are looking to incorporate, is the best way for us to help you, while also helping you to determine if your understanding of the problem will benefit from outside input. Because these asks are published with the goal of helping individuals with similar questions, the PSA also serves to prompt other users.

I note that asking questions is a skill, and we all start by asking the most basic questions (Not stupid questions, because to quote a dear professor, “There are no stupid questions.”). Unfortunately, WWC is not suited for the most basic questions. To this effect, we have a very helpful FAQ and archive as a starting point. Once you have used our website to answer the more basic questions, you are more ready to approach writing with diversity and decide when we can actually be of service. This is why we are so adamant that people read the FAQ. Yes, it helps us, but it also is there to save you time and spare you the ambiguity of not even knowing where to start.

The anxiety in your ask conveys to me a fear of being judged for asking questions. That fear is not something we can help you with, other than to wholeheartedly reassure you that we do not spend our unpaid, free time answering these questions in order to assume motives we can’t confirm or sit in judgment of our users who, as you say, are just trying to do better.

Yes, I am often frustrated when an asker’s question makes it clear they haven’t read the FAQ or archives. I’ve also been upset when uncivil commenters have indicated that my efforts and contributions are not worth their consideration. However, even the most tactless question has never made me think, “Ooh this person is such a naughty racist. Let me laugh at them for being a naughty racist. Let me shame them for being a naughty racist. Mwahaha.”

What kind of sad person has time for that?*

Racism is structural. It takes time to unlearn, especially if you’re in an environment that doesn’t facilitate that process to begin with. Our first priority is to help while also preserving our own boundaries and well-being. Though I am well aware of the levels of toxic gas-lighting and virtue signaling that can be found in various corners of online writing communities in the name of “progressivism*”, WWC is not that kind of space. This space is for discussions held in good faith: for us to understand each other better, rather than for one of us to “win” and another to “lose.”

Just as we have good faith that you are doing your best, we ask that you have faith that we are trying to do our best by you and the BIPOC communities we represent.

- Marika.

*If you are in any writing or social media circles that feed these anxieties or demonstrate these behaviors, I advise you to curtail your time with them and focus on your own growth. You will find, over time, that it is easier to think clearly when you are worrying less about trying to appease people who set the bar of approval so high just for the enjoyment of watching you jump. “Internet hygiene”, as I like to call it, begins with you and the boundaries you set with those you interact with online.

[uthseikoashx-inflamedme]

Summer of 1899 fanfictions: with Philosophy, ancient Greek and Latin, foreign languages and a bit of Literature

(note: by “Summer of 1899 fanfictions”, I refer to the summer of Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald’s meeting as teenagers)

(note: I am not a native speaker, so I apologise for the mistakes, inaccuracies, truly bad use of tenses and wrong phrases. I hope it won’t be too unpleasant. Let me know if something is really not understandable!)

What about philosphy, Latin, etc, but in 1899 fanfictions? (dark academia vibes, I know)

There are already quite a lot of fanfics about it but not enough - because it's so great, let me detail why it is (and expose my headcanons)

(the [1] and [2] are notes, check the end of the post to read them)

(tiny disclaimer: i am not at all an advanced scholar on any of the following topics, just studying that kind of subjects and loving to draw parallels with hp. i hope i won’t say too many wrong things, etc.)

Philosophy :

Moral philosophy

The theories and questions throughout the history of moral philosophy (as far as I know) fit so well with the concerns of our revolutionary boys.

Is there any moral duty? Knowing wizards and witches could solve an amount of muggles' problems, is this immoral for them to stay in the shadows? What about the means of the revolution - is this ok to kill for the Greater Good, to initiate injuries, doom and destruction to build a better world, which cost is acceptable? What about consequentialism, utilitarianism, moral of virtue, deontological philosophy, idk? What's good? What's fair?

More touchy question: the maj-people are able to perform marvellous things, so are they consequently more important than maj-people? Because of their capacities, should they be praised - considered as superior beings - as gods? But if yes, should they treat muggles differently than they would treat wizards? If wizards shouldn’t be considered as superior beings, are they equal to muggles anyway?

And what about the Hallows - is this moral to possess them, considering they mirror Gyges’ ring? Should Albus and Gellet keep them for themselves, use them for the Greater Good (yes they want to, it’s clearly exposed in DH)? Is the Quest important enough to justify sacrifices?

Also, what about Aristotle’s virtue system - being moderate and all, use our reason to be in the middle? Because I’m sure as hell Albus and even more Gellert would reject this idea: isn’t it a form of passivism? (no, but through their pov and situation, they might think that)

(by the way they both read passages of Bentham's and Mill's and Kant's and Plato's and Aristotle's books nobody can convince me otherwise)

(I never read Nietzsche’s extracts and haven’t even merely a define idea of his theories to be honest, except for a few uncertain glimpses of his philosophy - he disagrees with religious morality and is quite vehement about it, and praises an idea of a free human being, released from this moral of the weaks. And as far as I know, I’m pretty sure Gellert would agree with him.)

Political philosophy

I do have a headcanon: Albus and Gellert both read the Republic of Plato (initially because it’s well-known and they didn’t want to be ignorant about it and they surprised themselves being enthralled by Socrates reflexions) ; and quite a lot of their discussions about a perfect society instituted by themselves (and about what’s fair and what’s good) were underpinned by the book.

Is this ok to rule the world? Which system is the best - tyranny, democracy, oligarchy? Are the wizards just like the philosophers and, thus, are righteously meant to be the aristocrats at the top of the government? And are all the wizards as legitimate as Albus and Gellert to rule the world (no)? What’s the acceptable extent of power they should have on civilians? What’s the necessary authority they must be allowed to have on civilians? What about the freedom of the press, of speech (those themes are explored in the Republic and well-), of maj-people and non-maj-people?

Philosophy of desire, joy, pleasure, beauty, etc

Have you ever heard of Plato? (sorry, again, yes.) Well in several Socrates’ dialogs, themes of love and desire are developed (I particularly think about the Symposium) and Albus and Gellert could be convinced by it: the praise of relationships between men, of intellect, of beauty… but also by the myth of Aristophanes (people are halves and search their soulmate (more or less)). Besides, I’ll be quite curious about what Albus and Gellert may say about Alcibiades’ eulogy of Socrates and what they may think of their dynamics.

(long story short, Alcibiades is young and handsome and desires the ugly Socrates, is fascinated by his intellect and considers him as the most interessant man he knows, and can’t help but feeling inferior facing him and being deeply humiliated because Socrates rejects him (on top of that, Alcibiades is drunk and jealous - the parallels to draw between them and our revolutionary boys are bloody interesting but back to the point))

Also, I totally see Albus and Gellert as hedonists during their youth - justifying their immoral and unwise chase of pleasure and complaisance by an artificial sentiment of moderation, temperance, so not true hedonists, like they are not epicurean at all - and this is again something quite compelling, I must admit.

Ancient Greek and Latin :

Latin and ancient Greek at Hogwarts

Throughout the 19th century, the civilizations of antiquity increasingly fascinated the intellectuals - a phantasm around the topic grew and influenced artists and erudite persons, and was furthermore a mark of the cultural capital and level of education of somebody.

Although we haven’t any clue about the fact that Hogwarts changed the disciplines provided through the centuries, we know it is possible : Dumbledore himself almost dismissed divination studies and depending the demands of the students, 7th years can study alchemy (most likely thanks a teaching offered by Dumbledore himself).

And I do have the headcanon that Hogwarts was in the past not that far from studies dispensed in english colleges - or at least, proposed classes of British (magic) Literature, maybe Law (like an elitist subject but necessary to enter in the Ministry and consequently pure-blood kids are always following that course) and, of course, ancient Greek and Latin classes.

And it was necessary, because Latin is the language of spells and most of the magical essays written back in antiquity were in ancient Greek - furthermore, the more complex, ancient and ruthless spells and rituals were based on ancient Greek and not on Latin, more used in everyday, ordinary, common magic (it is again an hc).

(by the way, Arabic and Hebrew could be as well considered as ancient languages used in magic (again an headcanon, but it would underline how magic is complex and has multiple forms and is not just European-centred), but I have the slight feeling that the ideologies and culture of European countries combined with xenophobia and racism have excluded the study of those languages even though they are also vital in the history of magic you know)

Yes it’s based on nothing, but it would be so great and ask so many things about the Wizarding World back in the late 19th and early 20th century - especially about social and political struggle between the population - pure-blood families vs muggle born students, etc [1]. (And it would satisfy my dark academia aesthetic. But quite irrelevant here.)

What about Albus and Gellert then?

Durmstrang could also dispense Latin of Ancient Greek class, in my opinion, but I think (again, imo), it is a bit unlikely. But it does not change the fact that Gellert had always been attracted to Dark magic; so he could have learned the basis by himself in order to decipher ancient Dark ceremonies, etc.

That’s why I think both of them had learnt ancient languages. Maybe Albus took an interest in Celtic dialects (Merlin’s language?), and Gellert was familiar with Vicking Runes. It obviously helped them regarding a lot of their magical and academic performances. Indeed, the boys were able to understand old papers about the Hollows, but also ancient rituals, etc. And thus, had a wide access to a more dangerous, unstable, raw and primeral practice of magic: it was not like the average spells in Latin, but an intricate way to unleash their potential [2].

Besides, only few people - erudites - were as interested as the boys were in these old ways to use magic, and needless to say that neither of those persons were as powerful as Albus and Gellert were. Furthermore, the boys were able to keep a balance between the complexity of the enchantments and the instincts they both have regarding the expression of their magic. They accordingly thought of being more powerful than everybody else.

Foreign languages :

The languages in the schools

It is clear that Hogwarts is exclusively Anglophone. The school is quite small: 40 students per year, so 280 students in all, coming from Great Britain - England, Ireland, Scotland, Yales, so the isles. We could also think that the wizardkind living in the CommonWealth during the colonial age also studied in Hogwarts. (again a hc, but Henry Potter and his son Fleamont were both born in India, fight me)

Durmstrang, on the other hand, could host quite more nationalities. I imagine the school having three main languages: German, French and English. But in fact, English and French are more “officials”, used by administration and in some classes (French was quite important at the time, right? then it was English?). So the students most likely speak between them in German (Germany had been formed in 1871 and I think the Austrian-Ungarian Empire was also Germanophone?), Russian, Hungarian, Lithuanian… well, all the languages spoken in Easten Europe.

(and just to mention it, I believe that Beauxbâtons is a huge school, bigger than Hogwarts and Durmstrang, because we need logic at some point - anyway)

What about Albus and Gellert then, again?

Gellert was probably speaking German, English (obviously, he wrote letters in English, spoke in English with Albus and Aberforth…), maybe French, and maybe another language depending on his mother country. I headcanon him coming from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, but he might as well come from Denmark (the country of Mikkelsen?) or a Balkan State (there were wars here at the end of the 19th century, it could be an interesting theme), etc.

However, I doubt that Albus knew Danish or Hungarian, but he definitely spoke French rather well (he exchanged letters with Nicolas Flamel) and perhaps the basis of something else (Italian? German?).

I do not mention magical foreign languages they could have been familiar with - we know Albus is fluent in Goblegedook and Mermish in 1994, but I doubt he already was in 1899.

(Also, Albus’ mother came from America, so she might be originally from the Native American community and thus know an another language and let Albus know as well, but the fact that she is Christian (most likely, regarding what is her epitaph) let me doubtful; but I’m not enough informed about the Native American history to build meta, headcanon and theories, so I won’t explore this idea more.)

All in all, they are quite familiar with a lot of languages, and they certainly had a few conversations in what was not English (a mix of Latin, Ancient Greek, German and French, perhaps?) to infuriate Aberforth and not let him know about what they were talking about. (headcanon, again)

Literature :

We do not have a lot of clues about fiction - novels, theater or poetry - belonging to the wizarding universe - except Beedle’s Tales, of course. But we can imagine it exists.

Nevertheless, I am more interested in what Albus and Gellert might have read in the muggle literature. Besides, I think it is funny to consider that some writers or playwrights are known by muggles but are in reality wizards and witches - especially Braham Stoker, Mary Shelley… maybe Poe and Shakespeare as well.

So, I imagine that Albus and Gellert would have heard of Goethe, Heine, Novalis for German literature; maybe Hugo, Baudelaire, Flaubert for French literature… most likely Dante (definitely Dante). Though I honestly do not think they were fond of novels and literature, they could have been interested by it sometimes, when it echoed to something in them - Shakespeare, but also the story of Verlaine and Rimbaud, or Oscar Wilde’s story and unique novel.

There is also the theme of Oscar Wilde, homosexual writer, and his trial at the end of the 19th century, which are recurrent topics in 1899 fanfictions - a quite interesting one, imo. Have you ever read the Preface of the Picture of Dorian Gray? Definitely Albus and Gellert vibes.

All in all, I don’t think they may have been interested in literature for literature itself, but rather for the political aspect of it. (except for Shelley, Shakespeare and Dante which are a witch and two wizards, and are interested by the references to magic in the works themselves, again hc)

To conclude :

Even though 1899 fanfictions are great - and I thank you, 1899 fanfictions writers, you are amazing - I quite love the idea of all of this aesthetic that could developed. It is somehow prompt ideas.

(also I an studying humanities so it might be why I see those themes in 1899 fanfics so well, yes)

Thanks for reading! :)

Notes :

[1] : I wrote about the conservative Wizarding World and pure-blood families here:  Why are the Weasleys poor? (eng&fr) (theories about pure-blood families, inheritance, etc) /  How can everyone find their true-love and still be in love after years in HP? (”magic-soulmates” theory and conservative society)

[2] : I wrote about Dark magic and rituals in 1899 here: What if Antonio (Gellert Grindelwald’s chupacabra) had been created in 1899? / What about a dangerous, complicated and a bit gore alchemical experience tried by Albus and Gellert secretly?

And I posted quite a lot of things about GGAD, check the Table of contents if you are interested! :)

[pumpkinpaix]

Hi I don’t know if anyone has asked you this already, but do you find it strange that we are never given either of the Nie brothers’ given names nor Jin ZiXuan’s, when it’s common practice (at least in the show) to address yourself by your given and courtesy names?

Hey there! :D No, no one has asked me this yet, ahaha.

To be honest, I don’t find it strange, but that’s mostly because I think MXTX assigned names as it was convenient/as it suited her. I do think in some cases, you can try to find textual reasons, like limited POV (@hunxi-guilai made a post about how that might explain why Jiang Cheng is disproportionately referred to by birth instead of courtesy name here).

In the case of Jin Zixuan, I think that makes a lot of sense. Since mdzs and cql are largely from Wei Wuxian’s POV, and he clearly already knows Jin Zixuan, there’s no need for him to reintroduce himself, which is usually where we get people mentioning both their names. I don’t have any textual reasoning for the Nie bros’ lack of birth names ahahaha.

I will, however, use this as a springboard to mention a few things I find generally interesting about the way naming conventions appear to vary between sects/interesting points about address in general. There’s like no deep meta here, just like. “I noticed this thing, and I think it’s interesting”. (hope that’s okay /o\)

One: The Jin sect is the only sect that uses generational character markers (Guang, Zi, Ru). Establishing that convention makes Jin Guangyao’s courtesy name a massive slap in the face I think. (a, for giving him the wrong generational marker, which implies that he’s never actually going to be recognized as a son/that jgs really just didn’t care to even get it right, and b, for reusing his birth character instead of bothering to give him something new–every other character who has a birth and courtesy name gets two entirely unique names, but not jgy.) It’s a cool way of implying certain things about his status, how his father regards him without stating it outright, how others might see him because of that etc.

Two: The Wen sect appears to almost exclusively use birth name–in fact, the only two characters from the Wen sect revealed to have courtesy names are Wen Ning (Wen Qionglin) and…. Wen Ruohan. Well, and Wen Zhuliu, but he was originally Zhao Zhuliu, so idk if that really counts, since his courtesy name predates his induction into the Wen sect. Wen Qing, Wen Chao, and Wen Xu are referred to by birth name only by both themselves and everyone around them for the entirety of the story, which seems rather strange, given that all of them are high-ranking members of the family (Wen Xu is the heir??). Sizhui is not given a courtesy name by his birth family, but by Lan Wangji.

(an aside, it’s been mentioned before by others, but historically, courtesy names were bestowed upon adulthood; however, in CQL, we see Wei Wuxian picking out Jin Ling’s courtesy name before he’s born. it’s possible this is a practice that differs from sect to sect, but again, very little to no textual support for that speculation ahahaha)

Wen Ning’s courtesy name is used only once by Wei Wuxian in a moment of extreme distress at the Guanyin temple. It reads, to me, like switching registers to indicate the high emotional levels of the situation rather than anything about respect/social relations, in the same way that like, lwj switching between “wei ying/wei wuxian” can indicate moments where emotions are running high. I hc that the intimacy/distance of birth/courtesy names are switched in the case of Wen Ning/Wen Qionglin (ie, only people who are intimate with him would be expected use Qionglin) but that has absolutely zero basis in any fact, cultural convention, or textual evidence. I just like it because it warms my heart. feel free to roast me for it, i can accept that criticism.

Three: Both the Lan sect and the Nie sect address by courtesy name, even within their own family. (Lan Qiren calls his nephews “Wangji” and “Xichen”. Sizhui and Jingyi call each other by courtesy name. Nie Mingjue calls his brother “Huaisang”.) Why? we don’t know! We could maybe try and meta about it in the case of the Lan sect, I think (they’re more formal in general etc.), but we have so little knowledge of the Nie sect that I think it’s functionally pointless to try and dig there. I feel like trying to come up with any plausibly supported reason is going to be a stretch.

Four: A’Cheng vs A’Xian. Jiang Yanli uses Jiang Cheng’s birth name to form his diminutive, but uses Wei Wuxian’s courtesy name to form his. I’ve seen people ask why she doesn’t call him A’Ying, which would be more consistent, but I hc that this is because “Wuxian” was given by her father, so her using “A’Xian” is meant to strengthen that familial tie. “Ying” is from before he was part of their family. “Wuxian” is something given to him by the Jiang family, so using it, I think, is a subtle way of emphasizing how much she really considers him to be her brother. (If you’re curious, in the flashback when he first arrives at Lotus Pier, the audio drama has her calling for him as “A’Ying”.)

Five: Yu-fu’ren. I mentioned this on an addition to another post a while ago, but I’ll copy the relevant passage from chapter 51 here again:

虞夫人就是江澄的母亲，虞紫鸢。当然，也是江枫眠的夫人，当初还曾是他的同修。照理说，应该叫她江夫人，可不知道为什么，所有人一直都是叫她虞夫人。有人猜是不是虞夫人性格强势，不喜冠夫姓。对此，夫妇二人也并无异议。

Yu-fu’ren was Jiang Cheng’s mother, Yu Ziyuan. Of course, she was also Jiang Fengmian’s wife [fu’ren], and once cultivated with him as well. By all reason, she should be called Jiang-fu’ren, but for some unknown reason, everyone had always called her Yu-fu’ren. Some guessed that perhaps because Yu-fu’ren had a forceful temperament, she disliked taking her husband’s name. Neither husband nor wife raised any objections to this.

I think this is actually a pretty interesting microcosm of the themes of mdzs. We don’t actually know why Yu Ziyuan is called Yu-fu’ren; we’re given the equivalent of a rundown on local gossip and that’s it. I feel like it embodies a little bit of the “what people say about you becomes the truth and then influences your fate” theme that runs through mdzs. Did Yu Ziyuan WANT to be called Yu-fu’ren? Did she request it? Is her husband actually fine with it? The audience doesn’t get any of their internal landscape and is instead given a leading interpretation of the situation. How is our opinion of her then influenced?

To be clear, I don’t necessarily think that was necessarily the intention of this passage (maybe it was! or maybe mxtx just wanted to call her yu-fu’ren and realized she had to come up with some justification for it. i really couldn’t tell you); I just think that regardless of intention, its existence in relation to the larger themes of the novel can present a cool juxtaposition, if you dig a little bit.

Six: Song Lan, a respected cultivator, is more often referred to by his birth name, including people who are not intimate with him (normally, this would be rude), while Xiao Xingchen (who is intimate with him) calls him by courtesy name. Why?? We also don’t know. Does this lend support to my earlier headcanon about Wen Ning/Qionglin having a reversed intimacy/distance implication?? not… not really, but I like to think it at least kind of shows a precedent….. orz.

Seven: I find Xue Yang’s courtesy name, Xue Chengmei (成美), really fun ahaha. It comes from the phrase, 君子成人之美, an idiom that essentially means, “a gentleman always helps others attain their wishes”. Jin Guangyao gave it to him (not sure if this is canonical or extracanonical–i heard about it in an audio drama extra, much like how i get all my information orz) which I think is greatly amusing for obvious reasons.

Eight: Lan Wangji actually changes Sizhui’s birth name, even though you wouldn’t be able to tell just from hearing it. His original birth name is 苑, an imperial garden, but Lan Wangji changes it to 愿, as in wish (愿望) and to be willing (愿意), among other very beautiful sentiments. partially im sure to protect his identity, but also because. you know.

Basically all this is just to say, I think the naming/address conventions in mdzs are pretty weakly conceived, but you can find interesting things in them if you go looking! and we all know i love to go looking /o\

[littlx-songbxrd]

Oh dear I'm late for the party but-

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

You always seemed to me like that big, incredible blog and I always love seeing a post of yours on my feed! That's why I'm astonished, I thought you have around 1000 followers or something, that's how talented and big I think your blog is 😂🙈

What's with ☀️ about Thomastair, 🌱 and.... 📘?

Again, congrats on 300 followers!!!! You deserve them and so much more!!🥳🥳

BTW, What is the chance your particular interest in Puerto Rican history is because of my love and regard, RARA? I learned about Puerto Rico myself because of her!

DO YOU WANT ME TO CRY ON THIS VERY FINE NIGHT BECAUSE I WILL-

I VERY MUCH WILL

THANK YOU SO MUCH AND ILY AND IDK WHY YOU THINK IM TALENTED BUT THANK YOU AND I DONT HAVE WORDS AND PLS JUST ACCEPT MY VERY TIRED RAMBLING❤

You know what Im so touched you get two memes because yeah I can do that

📘= hold on tight im tired enough to share my weirdest tlh theory (that MigHt make sense)

Elias is going to turn out to be the serial killer at some point, since he's under belials influence, and Alastair is gonna be framed or suspected of him being the killer at some point in the book. Personally believe Elias is only gonna be one of the people Belial influences into the muders, but hes gonna be one of the killers none the less. Everuthing about him is fishy, hes been gone for a few months, no one knows of him, and suddenly he comes back and murders start up again. I dont trust him, and I think he'll be the killer. Theres also some foreshadowing of this through Cordelias name, sense she does share a name with the hero of a story with princesses and a king who goes mad. But thats for another day.

Now on to Alastair being framed. I have 0 clue for this rather than overthinking his tarot card, Elias cut out and CCs twitter All the tarot cards have been made to depict smth that might actually happen in choi but his. His is the only one who depicts the card the way the actual tarot is supposed to look like. And even then the tarrot card only binds the feet, not the hands. Alastair is binded with both feet and hands, and his hand are binded to seraph blades, the murderers suspected weapon in the prologue. In the back of my mind I've always wondered if this may be because CC is trying to trick us that its metaohorical, when its as literal as all the others. Also his spears make a target in his back. Something that reminded a lot of the broken spear in Elias cut out. Tbh I would have let it go if not for Elias cut out.

Everything feels way to convinient. The broken spear, the dagger in Elias cut out that shows up on Alastair Chain of Iron card. The fact everytime CC refers to "impossible" things whenever talking about Alastair

Its insane but this is what I think, Elias is gonna use one of his sons weapons while possesed and leave it in the crime scene. They'll find the weapon, trace it back to Alastair and blame him. Thats what all the symbolism is for

🌱= Over quarantine I was really bored and decided "jaja why dont I form a club". Itd look good on my college applications, and I was really bored so I started making propositions and pushing the school board for it. It was all fun and games until....it got approved. I am now president of my schools first Language and Cultures club, as of right now we are learning Portuguese and Brazilian culture

So Como vai?

Also jaja my love for Puerto Rican history comes from being puertorican myself🇵🇷 (boricua como el coquí) but reyna is godtier

ALSO YOU KNOW ABOUT OUR HISTORY???? WAIT REALLY??? OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG IF YOU EVER WANNA TALK TO ME ABOUT IT PLS I LOVE TALKING ABOUT IT

[greatfay]

since ur answering asks and shit can u explain what u meant by generational differences in communication

Damn it’s like 2015 tumblr when my inbox used to be WET. So if you’re talking about the controversial opinions post, YES, like I totally understand where people are coming from when they say that generational divides aren’t real (because they aren’t, they’re arbitrary) and distract us from real problems and yes they paint past generations as collectively bigoted when Civil Rights protestors in the 60s (who are in their 70s and 80s now) are mirrors to BLM protestors today, who could be of any age, but the most vocal and famous (at least online, especially irt to the founders, like Patrisse Cullors who is 37.

But how we communicate is sooooo different. I really point to the Internet and Social Media as a major influence in how younger millennials (more Tom Hollands and less Seth Rogans—see even there, I feel like there are two different types of Millennials) and Gen Zrs/Zoomers and even Generation Alpha behave and communicate. We live in a world where we grew up either knowing right out the gate or discovering the hard way that what we say and do has permanence, the kind of permanence that prior generations have never experienced until today. The dumb things kids have been saying since forever can now follow them... forever. We have an inherent understanding of how online spaces work. Compare that to, idk, let’s say you posted on your Facebook (for the first time in 18 months) “All these big and bad grown ass Senators going after actual child Greta Gerwig lol ok, you’re so brave for attacking a CHILD over climate change” and then your aunt, who’s turning “forty-fifteen” in May replies to your post with “So happy to see my passionate niece! Much love from us, hope you’re doing well. Paul is doing great, waiting on his screening results. Tell your mom I said we miss her, we need to get together, we forgive her for last Christmas.”

Like... ok there’s a lot going on there, but your hypothetical aunt is oversharing on a publicly accessible post. And even with the most strict of privacy settings, she’s oversharing where your other Facebook friends (which may include classmates, coworkers, etc.) can see. But she’s saying things that would only be appropriate in a 1-on-1 conversation. This Aunt doesn’t have an understanding of such boundaries, she’s not as technologically literate and hasn’t grown up in a world of Virtual Space, she still gets most of her news from TV, she trusts what a reporter on Channel 4 will read off a script more than what actual video footage of an incident might reveal on Twitter, and she has no clue that she’s been sharing her location data with every post she makes.

There’s such a huge difference. I think it even affects how we experience and express stress and frustration. I think growing up partially in online spaces has made me more accustomed to conflict and consequence-free arguing than someone who never had to worry about that. I’ve been exposed so much to harassment and bullying, triangulating and echo chambers in forums and threads, and vastly opposing point of views at such an early age that it’s had an effect on how I see the world. Compare this to a customer I helped two weeks ago who was looking for a specific type of supplement for children. I found it for her, I handed her exactly what she was looking for, even though her description of the product actually matched several different products; to make sure I’d done my job thoroughly and that she leaves happy and satisfied and doesn’t bother me again, I then show her more products that match her description so that she knows she has options. And she proceeds to freak out, saying “NO, NO, I’M LOOKING FOR [X] AND IT HAS TO BE [XYZ]” and when I say freak out, she looked stressed and PANICKED. And being a retail employee wears you down bit by bit, and add COVID on top of it and little shit like this makes you snap, sometimes. So I have to cut her off like “Why are you screaming and freaking out, jfc you’re holding what you said you wanted. It’s in your hands. I gave you what you wanted, I’m just showing you more things.”

That customer is not an exception, she’s not a unique case. She’s representative of a frightening percentage of her generation, the kids who watched Grease and The Breakfast Club and Ghost in theaters when they were originally released. This is how they communicate and process information. She could not, for some reason, register that her need had been fulfilled, and defaulted to an extreme emotional response when given new and different information.

I’ve yet to deal with someone younger than 35 act the same way, the exceptions being the kids of very wealthy people at my new job who reek of privilege I gag when they walk in—but even they are like *shrugs* “ok whatever” and understanding when there’s something I can’t do for them.

Me: “sorry, we are totally out of that one in your size, but I can order it for you, it’s 2-3 day shipping at no cost to you and we ship it straight to your house”

A rich, white, attractive 22-year-old who’s had access to organic food, a rigorous dermatologist, and financial security since she was born: “mmm... sure, I’ll order it”

A 47-year-old of any socioeconomic background, of any race, in the same situation: “AHHHHHHHHHHH”

I just think it’s crazy how three generations of kids and young adults raised in a world where everything moves so much faster, where knowledge and entertainment and communication can be gathered so much faster, are often so much more polite and patient and understanding. Yesterday I told an older man (mid-50s) whose native tongue is the same as mine, as clearly and succinct as possible, that what he’s looking for is “in aisle 4.” He proceeded to repeat back, “Aisle 7?” four time before I dropped everything to show him what he needed in aisle 4, despite his insistence that he didn’t need me to walk him there. 4 and 7 sound nothing alike in English. There’s just something going on up there 🧠 that’s different.

Oh, other generational divides!!! We have different approaches to labor and working. Totally different! I’m a “young” millennial where I’m almost Gen Z, and I’ve noticed an awful trend among my demographic where people actually brag about working 90 hour work weeks. Or brag about how they skip breaks and live on-call to get the job done for “the hustle” like this “hustle, become a millionaire by 30″ culture that’s dominated these kids, idk where tf that came from. Like why are you proud of being a wage slave, getting taken advantage of by your millionaire/billionaire overlords. Compare this to my mother’s generation (she’s a borderline Genius X’er, she and her best friend were a year too young to watch Grease when it came out and had a random older woman buy tickets for her; she went to Prince concerts, took photos of him, then sold the photos on buttons at school, that’s her culture and teenage experience), where she’s insistent on her rights and entitlements as an employee, and these things she instilled me: “whatchu mean they didn’t schedule a break for you and you’re working 12 hrs today? oh no, you’re off, don’t answer your phone cuz you are NOT available!” There are Gen X’ers who entered the workforce at a time that America was drifting toward this corporate world, with more strictly defined regulations, roles, and understandings of labor rights (and also, let’s talk about how the 80s there was so much more attention on workplace harassment, misogyny and gender divides in wage gaps, etc. etc... not that much has changed, but at least it was talked about!). There are young people today who are taken advantage of because they aren’t as informed or don’t feel as secure and valuable enough to claim what belongs to them.

At the same time, those generations (Gen X and older) have a different viewpoint of hierarchies in the workplace and respect irt our direct supervisors. That’s how you get this blurring of boundaries between Work Life and one’s Personal Life that leads to common tropes in media written by their generations, where oh no! I’m having my boss over for dinner and the roast beef is still defrosting :O is such a “relatable thing” for them... meanwhile us younger generations are like I don’t even like that you know where I live, and if I see your 2017 Honda Civic pass my place one day, we’re going to have a problem. I think older generations have a different relationship with the word “Respect” than we do. Like, my grandma, who’s turning 87 (?) this year, and the other seniors in my area, they have a different concept of honor and an expectation of professional boundaries that I, and my mom and her generation, just don’t see (so then there’s something in common with Gen X’ers and the rest of us.) My dad grew up in a world where talking and acting like George Bailey and knocking on someone’s door with a big smile could get you a job, a job that could pay for college and rent no problem. My mom grew up in a world that demanded more prestige, where cover letters and references could get you into some cushy jobs if you’re persistent and ballsy enough. And I grew up in a world where potential employers literally don’t see your face when you apply unless they lurk on any social media profiles you have publicly available and they hold all the cards, and you need all those CVs and reference letters just to make minimum wage... so I feel like I am powerless in the face of such employers.

[amphtaminedreams]

Paris Haute Couture Week S/S 2020 Plus a Little Jacquemus: Okay, Dior DID Suck (Part 2/2)

Hi to anyone reading,

First of all, thank you! I have never had a post do as well as the part 1 of my haute couture week review did and I am so overwhelmed with the positive feedback. This is probably funny to read for those of you getting thousands of reblogs on your posts, me acting like I won an academy award because I got a couple of hundred, but honestly I don’t expect any traction when I write on here (it’s basically just me word vomiting everything I’m thinking as if people want to hear it aka. mouthing off into what I thought was the void) so if you did read it, thank you! I do spend a long-ass time on these so it means a lot:-)

I’ll leave the self-indulgent ramble there though as it’s probably not what you came for and jump straight into part 2 of my thoughts, starting with Jacquemus. Yeah, I knew what I was doing when I tagged that in my last post. Simon Porte Jacquemus is the man of the *fashion* people right now; I’ve even found myself coming round to the Le Chiquito bag despite my original thought being “well, that’s fucking useless”. I know, I know, technically it’s not haute couture; it was part of Men’s Fashion Week, but it happened around the same time and everyone was talking about it on Twitter, so I feel like I have to include it.

In a way, it kind of reminds me of Bottega Veneta’s last RTW show, in that, especially with the women’s outfits, we seem to be sticking with simple, fitted garments and chunky, more statement jewellery. I’ve got to say I like the styling here a lot more though, and in general I’m a fan of this collection. The collared tops with cut outs underneath blazers are cool and I can’t wait until it gets warm enough for me to not feel dumb wearing my headscarfs like this; there’s a LOT of summer outfit inspiration. It’s not a mind-blowing collection or anything but it is effortlessly sexy and that’s something I wish I could say about myself. Most of us can only hope to look half as good as these models do whilst making the effort but at least Jacquemus is aspirational, lol. 

I also fucking adore this colour palette. I’m sick of neutrals literally just meaning brown and white; the navy, sand and muted khaki is a fresh edition to what is usually interpreted as the colours you’d seen worn by Disney’s Riverboat Cruise staff and only Disney’s Riverboat Cruise staff. And I mean, come on-what is more neutral than typical English school carpet blue.

Next for the whole reason I had to make this haute couture week review 2 separate posts: Jean Paul Gaultier’s final show.

In the best way possible, it’s a lot. I don’t even really know where to start, except to say that I guess this is a fitting last show; a celebration of everything campy, messy, weird, performative, and punk is the perfect send off for a brand whose best known perfume of the last few years is called Scandal. More than anything, the final show represented the range of characters and cultures that have influenced JPG throughout his half-a-decade-long career, the lines that supposedly separate what is “masculine” and “feminine”, “old” and “young” and ultimately art and fashion blurred in the most exaggerated way possible. Sure, there are some looks which are individually a bit messy here but the way they were grouped into almost chapter-like segments meant that when you see them all together, they work. Nods to the patterns and structures that recurred from season to season were sprinkled throughout, from sailor stripes to corsets to the expected whirlwinds of colour. I’ll even allow the wellies in that one outfit; if I can get over bucket hats in Peter fucking Pilotto’s last RTW show, I can get over some questionable shoes here. Middle aged fishermen and boys who liked to pose with monster carp in their Tinder pictures as some weird display of masculinity everywhere rejoice.

Now onto a show that I personally found slightly disappointing: Margiela.

I think this one is a bit TOO weird for me. Like if you’re gonna go avant-garde, go all out. Chiffon gimp masks (I don’t know if that’s the intention here but that’s what I’m getting, sorry Maison) are something I’m not particularly fond of and I’ve never been a fan of the Tabi boots in the first place, let alone when they’ve seemingly been blown up to Michelin man style proportions. I didn’t find the show to be a total lost cause-I enjoyed the colour palette and I’ve always liked that contrast stitching detail, plus the bowler hats are interesting-but on the whole considering how much I liked the last RTW show, this is a bit of a let down. 

The looks I included are salvageable but (I feel mean saying this) there were genuinely a lot of pieces that did just resemble bits of fabric draped over each over with no discernible rhyme or reason, so much so that they reminded me of some of the monstrosities I saw at a Drag Race pub quiz this one time where we had 5 mins to make some garms out of loo roll and then have a team member model them for points down a makeshift runway. 

Ralph and Russo was alright. There were a few pieces that I really liked but again, I can’t help but compare this collection to the last, where it felt like the fussy details of bows and sequins and feathers and the Barbie Dreamhouse palette were utilised with a direction in mind. Here, I don’t get that. As ever, the gowns are gorgeous and I’d pay good money just to try one on for five minutes but as an overall collection I’d say there was a lack of higher vision, which is probably the snobbiest sentence I’ve ever written so forgive me.

As for Ronald Van Der Kemp, I could’ve done without including it to be honest, if it weren’t for the few pieces I’m in love with: the velvet cape, fur trimmed jacket and blue satin dress are probably my favourite pieces here.

So onto a collection I liked a lot more: Schiaparelli. 

The influence of nature from flowers in bloom to insects to the organic structure of the human skeleton is as present as ever, though this collection includes a lot more delicate symbolism than usual. Honestly, the details make it for me; the brooches, earrings and facial jewellery are other-worldly touches to outfits that could otherwise be simple fashion magazine editor on-the-go. That’s not in itself a bad thing! The suits are gorgeous. I mean, I’m talking fashion editor in New York in a power suit yelling orders down the phone while she rushes along with a coffee. A Miranda Priestley in the making type woman. THAT’S a modern take on the divine feminine that Maria Grazia should’ve been going for; our goddesses aren’t women who sit around looking pretty (though that helps too) and place curses on mere mortals anymore, they’re women who get shit done. 

With regards to Valentino, which was also a delight, let me start by saying this colour palette is EVERYTHING. It’s ugly sisters in Cinderella fantastic, and we know those 2 were the real fashion icons really. Other than that, I adore the Old Hollywood silhouettes from the gloves to the Liz Taylor-in-Cleopatra-level-dramatic earrings. Everything is opulent and expensive-looking and pretty much what we’ve all come to expect from Valentino. A strong 8/10.

For me personally, Viktor and Rolf was a standout and one of my favourite collections of haute couture week. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea and I know it’s at the complete opposite end of the spectrum to what was probably my other favourite collection, Elie Saab, but this is just my style down to a T, the perfect balance of grungy and cutesy that I want to achieve. 

There’s probably going to be a lot of objections to the temporary face tattoos and I get that, but I think they’re fucking sick. I obviously wouldn’t get a permanent one lest my mother murder me in cold blood however if I did, you bet I would be pairing them with frilly-ass babydoll dresses that you could pick up in Camden Market like this. 

And last but not least (that would be Dior), there’s Zuhair Murad.

Sigh.

IDK, man. Seeing Zuhair Murad dresses on Tumblr and WeHeartIt (remember that site? It still exists!) as a 14 year old was one of the things that got me into fashion, so it sucks that almost every time a new collection comes around, I feel underwhelmed. Disappointingly, the brand hasn’t really progressed all that much since 2013. It goes without saying that the stoning and the embroidery and sequins are stunning and would make anyone feel like a princess but from a critical point of view, I’m just not seeing anything new here. Whereas I feel like Elie Saab, for example, reflected the growing fascination with East Asian fashion and recognition of the supremacy of the region’s street style in his haute couture last collection, Zuhair Murad seems to be stuck designing the same dresses he was 6 years ago. 

To pick one example, the rounded stoned necklines are so outdated that they’ve been making their way onto department store prom dresses for years. I get that it’s supposed to be a reference to Ancient Egyptian style and I respect that, I was one of those 8 year old that was obsessed with mummies and the “Curse of Tutankhamun”, but couldn’t it be done in a more interesting way? It’s Maria Grazia’s spin on Ancient Greece all over again. Now I get how how the I imagine very niche subsection of people who are into fashion and Julius Caesar (okay, so I don’t even know if they still believed in mythology and all that malarky at that point in history but just roll with my comparison here) might’ve felt going through Vogue Runway. Anyway, I hate to end on a critical note and so be clear, these are still absolutely magnificent dresses. If we ignore those ugly round necklines, that is.

So that’s it for this post! If you read part 1 and 2, I hope you enjoyed it! As always, let me know your opinions and feel free to disagree. I’m literally just about to start trawling through all the A/W 2020 RTW collections though I imagine that’s gonna take me way longer to do than this, so I wouldn’t expect that for a month or two. In the meantime, I’m trying to fit shooting a Euphoria-inspired lookbook into my days off work which is looking atm like it’s going to be the end of March, so look out for that, and also a review of the red carpet fashion from this season’s award shows. 

As ever, thank you so much for reading and again, thank you for the reception on part 1 if you were one of the people that read it. It makes staying up til 3am with the jitters seem worthwhile, lol! 

Lauren x

[purplesurveys]

1145

What were your favorite things to draw when you were a lil kid?  I knew I wasn’t an artist the moment I started experimenting with pens and markers, and the only image I liked to keep - and was capable of - drawing on repeat was your usual kid’s portrait of a house with a sun and clouds lmao. I never learned how to draw anything else.

Do you think there is something with or around you, like a spirit, angel, ghost or something else? How does this make you feel?  No, never.

Imagine you’re a stranger looking at yourself. What things would immediately catch your eye?  Probably the way I’m scowling at stranger-me staring at me-me.

When did you feel the most confident in your life? Not sure when I’ve felt the most confident, but I typically feel so whenever I get something I’ve been desiring and working hard for, like getting a job offer or being accepted to my dream college or passing a really difficult exam.

Do you think love is needed to have good sex? For some people, no. For me, loving one another is an absolute must. < Yes, hits the nail on the head for me.

Do you think, or want to, die in the city you currently live in? I don’t think it would matter where I die, as long as it’s not from a terrible freak accident.

What is the strangest thing you have ever encountered?  That time I went to Singapore and a sex toy shop was casually blatantly standing in the middle of Orchard Road for families to stroll pass. It’s not objectively strange, of course, but it was definitely a big culture shock. Putting up sex shops in the Philippines is basically a game of who can find the best spot to hide them in.

Favourite soft drink? I never drink soda, so I don’t have a favorite.

What do you like to put gravy on? Fried chicken or steak.

Have you ever gone canoeing/kayaking?  Yes, in Palawan.

What is one thing you know about your family history you’re proud of?  I come from a line of datus from both precolonial and colonial Philippines. The most exciting part about it is that it technically makes me a princess, or at least our local version of princesses haha. I’m also distantly related to one of the three women who sewed the first Philippine flag.

Who depends on you the most? Kimi and Cooper, surely.

Are you related to anyone famous or historical, if so who?  See two questions above. Coming from my datu ancestors, my relatives also continue to serve in the local government of our family’s province until today. Not that I’m particularly proud of them or show this off whenever I want because they are all very vocal Duterte supporters and regularly engage with him and his family, so *barf*

Would you ever donate a kidney to anyone, and who?  If it ever comes down to it, I’d offer one of mine to my dad, Angela, and either of her parents.

What is the main quality you think makes a great parent? They recognize when they’re wrong and know to acknowledge it and apologize.

What three things do you think of most of each day? Tasks I have to do for work for the day, tasks I have to do for the rest of the week, and financial concerns.

Does/did your high school have pop machines?  No, of course not. Are there schools that are ok with selling soda? :/

Do you know anyone who’s won the lottery?  Not that I know of, but then again these things are shared in secret so there’s always that chance of possibly knowing someone who won the lotto at some point.

Have you ever slept in a water bed? Never slept but I’ve played on one.

How often do you use Flickr?  I haven’t visited that site since I was like 11. Not even sure it still exists.

Who is the last child that you took a photo with?  I think my cousin Toffe, but it was most likely a family photo that the two of us happened to be in. I don’t have a lot of photos with my younger cousins and kids in general.

How often do you wear hats? Never. I always think about getting a bucket hat of my own but I just never go through with it.

Would you ever get a nature tattoo? I never even entertained the thought before. But considering Hayley’s albums and songs have like a million references to flowers, it sounds like a good idea now :)

Is anyone in your family sick at the moment?  My paternal great-grandma was recently confined in a hospital but she’s been discharged. I have a grand-aunt who suffered a mild stroke a couple of weeks ago and is currently recovering.

Where do your siblings work, if anywhere? They are both still studying. If I had to guess, my sister would probably end up in the film, media, or advertising industry, if not a freelance artist.

Where is your favorite place to buy groceries?  If I had the money for it I’d get my groceries at Marketplace, but I’m content with getting ours from SM or Robinsons for now.

Who do you generally talk to the most? Probably my immediate family and my team at work.

Is anyone saved in your phone under a nickname?  Not anymore. I use nicknames on my friends more frequently on Facebook Messenger.

Whose birthday is coming up?  One of my cousins’ birthday is on March 31.

Have you ever ordered from an informercial? No, never.

When, where, and why did a needle last pierce your skin?  Around a month ago when I was embroidering. I usually accidentally prick myself from time to time.

Have you been to an escape room? Was it a success?  Nah, not really my idea of fun. I’m a little weak at problem/riddle-solving :(

How many followers do you have on Instagram? I literally never use my Instagram except to lurk and look for influencers to potentially tap for work. The account was initially my one-photo-a-day-in-2020 dump, but I stopped in April last year and now we’re in 2021 it doesn’t even serve a purpose anymore lmao. But for some reason Bea asked for my account and still followed me (and is the only person following me), which I’m sure she already regrets.

What’s the most recent music video you watched? Thoughts?  Continued the next day. Jessi’s What Type of X. Killed it as always.

Have you ever recorded a cover of a song? Never.

What makeup products are your go-tos?  None.

Are you going to school this year?  No, not anymore. I did that for the very last time in 2020, and I don’t see the point in going back for an MA because I feel like I’m already covered.

What is your favorite water activity? I’ve only ever tried kayaking, but that was a very pleasant memory.

What are your favorite video games? I’m not a super passionate video game fan who’s always up-to-date, but I do have a soft spot for games I bonded on with my family when I was a kid, like Grand Theft Auto (very inappropriate for a kid to be playing, I know lol), Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Mario Kart, and Smash Bros.

Do you like jello? I never got over the texture, so no.

When was the last time you gave someone "the finger?" Not sure when exactly but it happened recently, maybe a week or two ago. I suddenly thought about my ex and flung both fingers around just for myself lol.

Have you ever held a snake?  Yes, I got the chance to hold and take a photo with one on my trip to Bali. I was the only willing one in the family.

Most unique place you’ve ever been to?  Baker’s Hill in Palawan is what I would imagine seeing if I ever took drugs and had a trip of some sort. Most random place ever.

If you were a superhero, what color would your cape be?  Continued from...I don’t even know anymore. Just know it’s been nearly a week since I first started this, lmao. Idk maybe gold.

Have you ever slept out on your porch all night?  We don’t have a porch. We do have a rooftop and I’ve fallen asleep there a couple of times. I only do so when the climate is cold, though.

Do you like horror movies?  Sure, but I haven’t watched any in years. Just have never been in the mood for it for a long while now.

What’s your favorite Coke product?  Blech, I hate soda.

Watergun or water-balloon war?  Water gun. I’ve never been hit by a water balloon but I imagine it hurts?? so I wouldn’t want to experience it if I never had to.

Do you know anyone that’s afraid of elevators?  I know my sister and grandma are claustrophobic but they’re not ~deathly~ afraid of elevators.

Is there anything in your room that belongs to a boyfriend, or a friend of the opposite sex?  I don’t think any of my guy friends have lent me stuff that I got to take home, so no.

Who’s your favorite Beatle?  I was never a fan. I remember pretending to be, back when liking The Beatles made you look all cool and hippy and trendy... but I honest to god just couldn’t get into their music.

Have you ever texted an ex whilst drunk? How’d that go?  Yeah just once, super super way back when I was still thought remaining friends with her was the way to go. It was fine, I didn’t message anything horrific and we were both chill about it the next morning.

Do you have to stand on your tip-toes to kiss your boyfriend?  I don’t have a partner anymore but yeah, I used to. I think? Maybe? I barely remember anymore. I definitely did have to tilt my head up quite a bit, though.

Have you ever been tackle-hugged? I can’t remember if I’ve received one. I’m usually the one who gives them.

Have you ever rejected someone’s kiss before?  I don’t think I’ve been in this situation before.

Is your mood or the overall tone of your day often affected by the dreams you had the night before?  Just for like the first half hour of waking up, especially if it was a nightmare or a triggering dream. The more I wake up the more the dream fades away, and the sillier it feels that I was affected by it.

Do you think that there are any positive aspects or outcomes of suffering from a mental illness? If you have a mental illness, do you think it has changed you for the better in any way?  No. Sugarcoating mental illness doesn’t sit well with me at all. I know I’ve learned to be gentle and understanding towards other people because of the emotional abuse I’ve received in my own relationships, and I absolutely hate that it’s because of mental illness. I shouldn’t have had to learn to be kind because I was treated shittily first.

What is your opinion on celebrity culture and celebrity worship? Have you ever been guilty of putting a celebrity on a pedestal? Do you think it’s somehow more acceptable/understandable to obsess over certain types of celebrities (musicians over YouTubers, say) than others? At what point do you think an obsession like that crosses the line?  I sometimes think it’s silly when fandoms fight and defend their favorites as if they know them personally, but I’m heavily into my fair share of celebrities and I honestly don’t see anything wrong with it. As long as you’re not hurting anyone or doing anything stupid like stalking your favorites, you do you.

If you were to pursue a career in photography and had the opportunity and means to photograph whatever you wanted, what would most like to photograph?  People.

Is there a certain type of clothing (outerwear, activewear, loungewear, etc.) that you enjoy shopping for more than others?  Cute tops.

Are you ever afraid to post your ideas, artwork, photography, etc. online for fear that they will get stolen or not credited?  No, because I am not even creative in the first place and can’t make any form of art to save my life.

When is the last time you did something sexual? Last night.

Who is the last person you showered with, if anyone?  My ex but that would’ve been ages ago. It was super rare that we absolutely had to shower together.

What do you think when you see roadkill on the side of the road?  Sad and kinda disgusted if the guts are out, but also relieved that they don’t have to suffer in pain anymore.

Have you ever had an ex that just didn’t understand that it was over?  Yeah, me. Luckily I came to my senses a few months ago and have felt better and been better ever since.

Are your fingernails currently short or long?  They’re unequal lengths because I’ve been either biting or picking at them over the last few weeks, but for the most part they are long enough to need to be clipped.

Would you rather have big or small dogs?  Big.

What is your favorite sports drink? I don’t drink any of them, so none.

What was the last compliment you gave a guy?  I told my dad the dinner he made tasted excellent.

Does your jaw ever crack, pop, or lock?  I don’t think my jaw has ever made a sound before, hahaha.

Have you ever thought of how you would give your kids “the talk”?  No, but I think it’s also relevant to note that I live in a very conservative country where sexual intercourse is never discussed, especially within families; and that it’s virtually unheard of to hear of people until my generation to have been given the talk. I had to find out all by myself, and I remember being very confused when we were being taught the reproductive system in fifth grade because they only taught about the organs and their functions, and never anything deeper than that.

Luckily the last conservative generation was Gen X, and younger generations have been a lot more open-minded. And if I had to guess, I’m fairly certain Millennial parents would be more willing to give their kids the talk.

Do you ever feel like you’re missing out on something?  I mean, my 20s, thanks to Covid.

Do you ever write/draw on windows that are fogged up?  Yes.

If you were married, and your spouse’s parents became ill, would you let them move into your home? Of course.

Have you screamed in a pillow before?  Probably.

What do you like more, acoustic or electric?  Electric.

Did you actually have a cookie jar?  No.

What’s worse, having someone mad or disappointed in you? Disappointment is more gut-wrenching. I feel more hopeless and helpless when someone feels that way about me.

What do you bite on more, your tongue, lip, or nails?  Definitely my nails. Lip-biting isn’t a habit of mine and I only ever bite my tongue accidentally.

Do you think that knowing when and how you’re going to die would ruin your life?  No. I would find that comforting, actually.

Do you have a favorite bromance? From TV or a movie.  J-Man and Channy’s from Friends.

Do you find flea markets and thrift stores enjoyable?  Sure.

What color is your wallet?  Pink, but I def have to buy a new one soon as I’m still using the one my ex gave me...

Have you ever been somebody's photography subject? No, and I would hate to be. I don’t like being in front of the camera.

Nicki Minaj fan?  I like a lot of songs by her but I’m by no means a fan.

Have you ever seen the Niagara Falls?  Nope but I would love to.

[twilight-lurkerr]

It's funny how every force and thing you beloved in all your life as good contradict everything they appeared to be. When I was a child I used to see my parents as people who always knew what's right. Holy people who were simply, just right. They were always over protective and yes people say it's out of love, but it's more like the cultural influence that shapes local parents to have an attitude that's like, if you want to be accepted as a good parent, you need to live up to our cultures standards, be possessive, make sure you control your daughter until you hand her over to her husband. They appear to be very modernize, far from the ever appearing stereotypical pair of parents that force arranged marriages on you. But tbh, they're just the modern version of it. No I'm not a whiny teenager mad that her parents don't let her have sleep overs every week. I'm a 20 year old who relatedly gets to step out of my house since I'm done with school. My mother, she gets us to pray the rosary every day, but she's someone who holds grudges so hard. When ever she starts acting aggressive when speaking about the person she hates, I get mad at her futile reasons. And just because I point out the fact that her grudge is baseless she gets hysterical. She's also racist, very racist. So is my dad. Idk how I came to have the personality I have today. I'm someone who loves each and every culture, I find racism hard to understand. Like I don't really get while people make a big deal. Like my parents. Just as my mother was being the racist and grudge holding person she is, my friend just sent me an article about LGBTQ rights. I'm not a lesbian, but Ik I'm pamsexual. It's just I haven't found anyone I'm attracted to. Heck I still have virgin lips at 20. I've never felt like I love a woman, but I sometimes wish I did. Cuz I'm certain no man will want me anyways. Guess it's cuz I've not had my period for over a year and my mum's just not bothered. That's the least of my problems really, each step I take the force of my step makes my neck make a cracking noise. It makes no sense yes, but when I walk I hear my neck grind. My parents still think I'm faking it. I could go on, I'm allergic to alcohol, I have nerve issues, referred nerve, muscle twitching on an hourly rate, but my parents just don't wanna believe something is wrong with there supposed to appear perfect daughter. They expect me to be the healthy, submissive, domestic yet educated lil pumpkins to show off to society as a polished piece of China. In sorry that I'm venting and jumping from topic to topic, it's just today's a bad day. Back to the LGBTQ article. Pope Francis actually approved that thing about not blessing same sex marriages, as much as I find men sexually attractive ATM, it still sucks. It's just unfair! I feel offended myself. The church preaches saying god accepts everyone, he plans our lives, he created us, then why are some people physically attracted to their same sex, why are some people born bigender. I don't see the logic. I loved the pope for being so accepting, bit him just rolling with the tide because the other priests view this like that is just sad. I'm jus sad. Why is the world so fair to the straight and unfair to the LGBTQ community.why is religion partaking in this unfairness. We aren't living to reproduce. The world is unfair. My parents racism and the god I love is being portrayed unfairly. But I believe that is not what God really wills. It's just the interpretation of elderly homophobes who want to feel superior to people who are simply different.

Thanks for listening to my rant Tumblr. I suck , the world suck, but at least I'll leave this here in case I never really get to make a change in this world. Someone please end all of this.

[lovelytonys]

100 great things about megamind

basically i just watched megamind and wrote down everything that made me go “hey that’s good”

1. The opening monologue slaps I literally do not care about your “cliches” it’s GOOD

2. “8 days old and still living with my parents...pathetic right?”

3. The idea that Megamind is inherently good since his origin story should have been his dad saying he’s destined for “greatness” but the greatness got cut off uwu

4. Literally just the fact that Megamind was about to go to the Rich Nice House and his destiny changed at the last second,,,everything about this movie makes it a cinematic masterpiece

5. “A baby! How thoughtful!” “yes yes I saw it and thought of you”

6. “While they were learning the itsy bitsy spider I was learning how to dehydrate objects and rehydrate them at will”

7. When you hear the Bad to the Bone guitar riff kick in,,,,,,heck yeah babey!!

8. J.K Simmons is here! yeah!

9. Will Ferrell’s voice acting is literally SO darn good like even just from the beginning,,, the funny affectation of whatever kind of accent that is,,,,,the expressiveness of literally everything he says,,,,,I’m not actively a fan of Will Ferrell or anything but he just did a good job ok

10. “His heart is an ocean inside a bigger ocean”

11. Idk why but I just love the phrase “you fantastic fish you”

12. Metro Man is such a fun character. Like. A hero who shouldn’t be a hero, but he just….is one? Someone who’s idol-worshipped and, despite his grandeur, doesn’t exactly deserve it?

13. MEGAMIND’S CHARACTER DESIGN IS LITERALLY SO GOOD like the vivid colors of his skin and eyes? His COSTUME? His hilarious proportions, between the giant head and the skinny & scrawny everything else? Superb, you funky little alien

14. All dialogue between Megamind and Minion is god tier by default

15. The twist on “damsel in distress” where yeah the girl gets kidnapped but she is so not distressed and has the intellectual power in the situation as she roasts Megamind at every turn and he can’t combat anything she says

16. “Oh potato tomato potato tomato”

17. “I’m shaking in my BABY SEAL LEATHER BOOTS”

18. THE ENTIRE EXCHANGE BETWEEN MEGAMIND AND METRO MAN ABOUT JUSTICE AND REVENGE AND THE MICROWAVE OF EVIL AND WARRANTIES

19. “Can someone stamp my frequent kidnapping card” “You of all people know that we discontinued that”

20. The way this movie manages to SO effectively establish character while diving right into the action and keeping with a fun, fast pace? The world & characters are set up incredibly well AND the start of the journey/ “break into the new world” hits at a brisk 20 minutes? Lovely work, Dreamworks

21. When Highway to Hell kicks in with the lasers and Megamind dancing at the police,,,,,this is nothing short of priceless

22. “Imagine the most horrible terrifying evil thing you could possibly think of and multiply it…..BY SIX”

23. When you’re a supervillain who takes over the city and you say “let’s just have fun with this” to the citizens

24. *whispering behind the door* “now slam the door really hard!” *snickering like a 12 year old girl* “move they can still see you”

25. “Did you think this day would come?” “No, no not in a million years, not ever...I mean yes”

26. “That’s called a window, sir. All the kids are looking through them”

27. Crazy Train is SUCH a nice touch, the fade into Alone Again Naturally is great. The use of music in this movie is absolutely A+, MEGAMIND DID IT FIRST AND GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY AIN’T SPECIAL (jk gotg you’re so special ily)

28. The images of Megamind’s destruction & deterioration of the city are so creative and funny

29. *to a desk toy bird* “What’s your vacuum like?”  

30. “GOING OFF THE RAILS ON A CRAZY TRAIN SIR”

31. Haven’t yet mentioned how lovely the animation of Megamind’s face is! Every single frame, he’s so expressive

32. Mispronunciation of words like “school”, “Metro City”, and “melancholy”

33. This voice cast in general is so good like it’s not just big names phoning it in for an animated movie, they’re fully into it

34. Real Bernard doesn’t get much screen time but he’s hilarious

35. “Typhoon Cheese”, whatever that was gonna be

36. The juxtaposition in body language & facial expression between Real Bernard and Megamind Bernard,,,,,actually just the way Megamind’s physicality is transferred to the other characters he disguises himself as. Great stuff

37. Megamind’s off-the-walls high energy is so fun and electric

38. “This is a bad idea” “yes, a good idea for the greater good of bad” “maybe it seems good from your bad perception but from a good perception it’s just plain bad” “oh you don’t know what’s good for bad”

39. Ollo? Oh, hello

40. “I’m just yelling at my…..mother’s urn”

41. Megamind and Minion just saying “code” before things that aren’t in code. This movie is so good with its running gags, they don’t feel like “oh haha they used that joke again!” they feel like inside jokes between the characters I love it

42. Megamind fighting himself as Bernard while complimenting himself, COMEDY GOLD

43. The various occurrences of random life-altering things happening on a whim to the wrong people, like Hal getting the superpowers and earlier Metro Man being molded into a hero and Megamind landing in prison as a baby

44. The forget me stick

45. Space Dad and Space Stepmom

46. Every character Megamind inhabits always retains Megamind’s eyes

47. MR BLUE SKY PLAYING OVER HAL’S DISASTROUS TRAINING SEQUENCE AND THE FALLING IN LOVE SEQUENCE THAT INCLUDES DONKEY KONG AND MEGAMIND WEIRDLY TEXTING ON A FLIP PHONE (gotgv2 who? Don’t know her)

48. Roxanne’s positive influence making Megamind genuinely want to make the city better uwu

49. ROXANNE AND METRO MAN WERE NEVER A COUPLE! Lovely trope subversion

50. Tropes in this movie in general are so fun. This isn’t some uninspired genre parody. They don’t just subvert tropes in the exact way that you’d expect. I feel like the way that this movie plays with the superhero genre often feels unique and creative

51. Bernard’s character design kind of slaps tbh. The turtleneck, the hair, the glasses, all very nice

52. When Hal calls Roxanne “a really good looking one I’ve got my eye on” like she’s meat or something as opposed to Megamind valuing her personality…..makes ya think u know

53. T h e  b l a c k  m a m b a a a a a

54. “Maybe I don’t want to be the bad guy anymore!” and Megamind & Minion’s subsequent falling out that served as a precursor to the disastrous date with Roxanne- it happens pretty much exactly halfway through the movie. Some people look down upon following structure to a T, but sometimes it’s satisfying when a movie perfectly follows structure and this movie’s structure is flawless

55. “Good luck on your date” “I will” “That doesn’t even make any sense” “I know”

56. Right after fighting w Minion when Megamind looks in a cracked mirror and frowns at his reflection but then changes into someone else, into Bernard, and then smiles? THE CINNAMON TOGROPHY, THE STORYTELLING

57. When Hal is just an incel whose feeling of entitlement is framed as disgusting and he’s not supposed to be sympathetic and Roxanne’s rejection of him is not framed as evil but rather completely justified? VERY epic of them, this movie would have SMASHED the pop culture scene if it came out today

58. The GRAVITY of the part when Roxanne accidentally reveals Megamind in the restaurant is so powerful that I can STILL barely watch it even though I’ve seen it so many times

59. The part that immediately follows where Roxanne shuts down Megamind is SO well done. Roxanne is giving out some harsh words to our dear protagonist, but she is not framed as the bad guy. The great thing about this scene is that they let Roxanne call out Megamind on how he’s been a jerk and she gets to be RIGHT. How very cash money of them! The emotion here isn’t anger at Roxanne because she’s ~being mean~ to Megamind. It’s a sting over the fact that she’s right, and the heartbreak over the dramatic irony of us knowing that Megamind is becoming a better person and Roxanne having no idea. Now Megamind is left with a decision that will show who he truly is on the inside: he could either retreat back into safe, evil ways for the rest of time because it’s easier to be bad because then no one expects anything from him and rejection is easier to handle, or he could ultimately choose to grow from this and recognize how he was wrong and how he has to change. The execution of this midpoint is exemplary.

60. “Do you really think I’d ever be with you?” “....no” the delivery of those lines is so good

61. “You were right! I was….less right!”

62. The Black Mamba is a god tier costume and the fact that it has its own theme song in the score makes it at least 6x better

63. WHEN BACK IN BLACK KICKS IN YEAAAHHHH (Iron Man who? Don’t know her) (Iron Man was already out at this point but how fun is it that this movie used TWO iconic mcu songs)

64. Megamind in the giant suit playing with cars

65. Hal SUCKS I love how much the movie wants you to hate him

66. The difference between Megamind and Hal/Titan/Tighten is so interesting to watch. How Megamind is the self-proclaimed “bad guy” but he’s not even out to do serious damage & it’s just a game to him, while Hal is out for blood but was created to be a hero

67. “Now it’s time for witty banter” “AAAAAAAAA” “I’m not really sure where to go with that”

68. “I’M CALLING A TIME OUT”

69. Twisting the Kryptonite trope by having Metro Man make up the copper weakness

70. “Does he have a hideout? A cave? A solitary fortress?” lol I understood that reference

71. “OW! MY GIANT BLUE HEAD!”

72. Metro Man’s confession scene is so good. Really, how often do you get a hero who feels that he was forced into being a hero? That’s usually a villain trope. Does the hero ever realize he doesn’t want to be a hero….and actually quit FOR GOOD? Again, the trope subversion is awesome

73. “I have eyes that can see right through leaaaaaaaad” that’s my favorite song

74. “You left the city to HIM! No offense” “no I’m with you”

75. “There’s a yin for every yang. If there’s bad, good will rise up against it.”

76. “I say we just go all GANGSTA on him” ms tina fey i would die for you

77. Megamind turns himself in to the police, the fact that he willingly submits himself to the punishment of being a villain at this point is a lovely and stirring way of showing the sense of justice he has deep down and showing his character development

78. When Roxanne gives Megamind a desperate & compassionate pep talk over live tv no matter what it means for her reputation :*))

79. When Megamind has 88 life sentences

80. “I. Am. Sorry!” *dramatically slides down door*

81. Megamind’s heartfelt and regretful admission of all his mistakes that brings his character arc to a head? Lovely

82. “Good luck” “WE’RE GONNA D I E! Hahahaha!”

83. “There is no Easter bunny, there is no tooth fairy, and there is no queen of England.”

84. MEGAMIND’S EPIC ENTRANCE BY COMING OUT OF HIS OWN MOUTH

85. “Oh you’re a villain alright. Just not a super one.” “Oh yeah? What’s the difference?”

86. P R E S E N T A T I O N

87. METRO MAN THUNDER CALVES

88. Again with the green eyes continuity! Love that!

89. “Going somewhere? Besides jail?” *flies in a fancy pose*

90. When Megamind is ready to let everyone think Metro Man is back but Roxanne wants to see the real hero :*))

91. “This is the last time you make a fool out of me!” “I made you a hero, you did the fool thing all by yourself” SICK BURN

92. “There’s a benefit to losing. You get to learn from your mistakes”

93. WHEN THE DEHYDRATION GUN COMES IN CLUTCH

94. Minion being a drama queen lol comedy peaked in 2010

95. Minion’s Little Face

96. “GET BACK YOU SAVAGES” “Sorry he’s just not used to positive feedback!”

97. “Destiny is not the path given to us but the path we choose for ourselves”

98. When Megamind gets to parallel Metro Man’s entrance from the beginning of the movie and everyone cheers for him :*)) and he adds his own fun little twist by making a villain joke

99. “Megamind, defender of Metro City” “you know? I like the sound of that!”

100. Name a better villain to hero story. YOU CANNOT. Cinematic excellence. I am never disappointed.

[monstermonstre]

I feel like everyone (and by everyone i mean halsey in her hopeless fountain kingdom album and euphoria) is making a reference to romeo and juliet bc it was so successful with skam and skam is not as well known so nobody will really care (no hate towards euphoria though, love the show)

I sincerely doubt that. Lurhmann’s Romeo+Juliet is a cult movie and Levinson seems to be cultured enough without needing to watch SKAM to get the idea to dress Jules like that and make a similar pool kiss as in the movie.

He referenced Magnolia as well in the fair episode but not as many people know this movie/caught the reference as they know Romeo+Juliet. There’s certainly other references that I can’t think about rn or didn’t notice.

And this was a Halloween episode so it was an occasion to make all of the movie references.

(picture found on reddit here)

Sometimes it can feel like every one is copying someone else because different people are coming up with a similar idea at the same time, but that can be due to so many things. If we all live in the same country for example. at the same time, and having around the same age, we’re gonna share some influences and those influences will sometimes provide similar results in our creative endeavors.

Also you notice the patterns you’re aware of. SKAM made you more aware of that movie and how it can be referenced, so now you see them immediately. It’s likely you’ve seen references to it for years and never noticed. It’s like when someone says “I stopped smoking and I swear since then every movie I’ve watched has had smokers in it”. It’s not a mystic occurrence, it’s just that now that it’s on their mind, they actively notice it, so they go from never paying attention to noticing it every time. The number of smokers in the media they consume stayed the same, it just feels like more.

Also SKAM is not easy to access and it might have felt popular to us but it didn’t reach the mainstream much.

I went on a tangent sorry.

This is my point of view on it anyway. (and I didn’t comment on Halsey ‘cause idk her work)

[virtuissimo]

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (Review)

Roanhorse has effectively cemented herself as a visionary in indigenous futurism with her rich world-building, her casual commentary on the powers that be, and even her dynamic and lovable characters, but I think it’s perfectly clear that this is her debut novel. She definitely gets lost in the sauce plot-wise towards the end, and there are several points where the potential for improvement is obvious. Nonetheless, she’s got me rearing for the next book already, and I will definitely be following this series.

This is the kind of book where I really think you can get the most out of it if you go in blind with very little prior knowledge of the book, and it really is a good one. I encourage yall to give it a go. If you don’t care about getting a little more detail, I’ll go into a spoiler free section.

No Spoilers

Okay, first thing I’ve gotta talk about is the setting. First off, it’s AWESOME. The setting is about 6? 7? years after an apocalypse. The explanation for it is really organic and it informs a lot of how the book proceeds.

Idk if this counts as a spoiler so it’s in its own paragraph, but basically the apocalypse was a series of natural disasters around the world plus a major flood that drowned out most of the continental U.S. except for a few walled off city states. The walls are specifically and emphatically NOT the ones that the Trump administration is gunning for—Roanhorse dismisses that quite quickly. These walls were ones that local communities decided to put up, and they are made of beautiful materials that have cultural significance for the Dine.

My favorite thing about the setting is the societal organization. Dinetah is a really interesting place because of the ubiquity of Dine people & culture, but also because Roanhorse obviously has a lot of really interesting thing to say about what apocalypse means to a people that have already had their apocalypse. They already had foreign invasion and genocide, they already had their numbers chipped away to a shadow of its former size, they already had their land destroyed beyond recognition. So what does it mean when in apocalypse destroys the society that destroyed yours? I think Roanhorse’s answer is that it did more good for the Dine than bad. They are freer and safer in an apocalypse, even DESPITE the presence of monsters everywhere.

One thing I really liked about her approach to Dinetah was the use of language. To quote a journal entry I wrote about this book: “Roanhorse makes creative use of Dine words and language. There is no glossary, and sometimes there isn’t even an in-text translation. English speakers are forced to pick up Dine words with no life preserver just as so many non-English speakers are forced to do the same in our world.” Most of the concepts, like clan powers and ghosts and monsters, have a Dine word attached to them, and you learn to recognize them as you read. She doesn’t remind you of their definition either: you either paid attention the first time it came up or you’re screwed! It was just an interesting stylistic choice, and I enjoyed the experience.

Another note about the setting that I love: I LOOOVE the references to the other citystates. I think one was New Detroit? New Denver? And there was a Mormon citystate (when I read that I screamed) and there was one called Aztlan (!!!!!) which was very exciting for me. I have complicated feelings about Aztlan because I think most people who live in this post-apocalyptic citystate would probably not be indigenous Mexicans but rather americanized mestizo Chicanos who think they have an inherent claim to the land just because they colonized it first, but I think as an indigenous author I can trust her to develop a nuanced view of Aztlan and what that means for Mexican Americans (especially consider the fact that she had several sensitivity readers mentioned in her acknowledgements). I really hope we get a chance to explore those in future books.

Oh, also: there are no white people in this book. Like, none. They reference them in vague terms, but I don’t think there was a location or scene that had a white person even in the background, and there were certainly no speaking parts for white people in this book. So basically I loved that. I do that often in my own writing but it’s so rare in mainstream fiction. There is a family that is not Dine in the book, but they are a large black family. With regards to the writing of the black characters: I noticed that her physical descriptions of them sometimes had words that I’ve seen on lists of What Not To Say About Black Characters (comparing skin color to food, particular words used to describe hair, etc.), but I flipped to the author bio and she apparently is black as well as indigenous so I guess my concerns weren’t really relevant lol. One of these characters is also gay, and I thought his characterization was a little bit weird, but it’s fine I guess.

Now I haven’t seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I’ve read a spinoff from the same universe and have heard enough about it to see the obvious inspiration that Roanhorse took from it. This is not necessarily a bad thing, of course; Buffy has a very particular energy where it’s fantastically easy to get invested. Maggie Hoskie as a hero is easy to love, and even as someone who doesn’t typically like lengthy action sequences, I found the fighting scenes thrilling. However, at the same time Roanhorse commits some of the same mistakes in writing her female protagonist that Joss Whedon so famously introduced into the mainstream, and there are a few times where it becomes difficult not to roll your eyes.

As I’ve seen other reviewers note, Maggie as a character is very reliant on the men in her life. She describes early on how her life was saved by Niezghani, an immortal godlike monster slayer, and his presence in her thoughts influences nearly every decision she makes throughout the novel. Some people have a problem with this; I personally think this is a fine set-up. The author takes great care to show how unhealthy her relationship with Niezghani is. Even when Maggie is talking about how great and powerful he is, how she should be grateful that he even gives her the time of day, we as a reader can tell something is very wrong with their relationship from the very beginning. I don’t really like the direction Roanhorse went with Niezghani (I’ll get into that in the spoilers section I guess), but I thought this relationship as a premise was fine.

I think where she slipped up a little was in putting her relationship with Kai, a mysterious and charming medicine man who helps her on her investigation/quest/whatever, as the center of the story. I guess technically we’re not certain about this since the whole series isn’t out yet, but I think it’s safe to assume this guy is endgame. The whole first half of the book is spent getting to know Kai, which I think is fine because he is a great character and truly charming. (I’m always suspicious of “”charming”” type characters because more often than not the author makes them annoying and presumptuous.) He actually seems to care about the things that are happening, he doesn’t make assumptions, he understands boundaries, and his kindness is genuine. I like Kai, okay, he’s great. BUT I think that spending so much time with him instead of ruminating with Maggie some more was a mistake.

I can understand WHY roanhorse did this: Maggie is someone who is very wrapped up in her thoughts, and 9 times out of 10 her thoughts are really fuckin depressing. I just think that a lot of time was spent characterizing Kai when it could have been done in less time and more efficiently.

The main thing about Kai is that his skills as a medicine man are very mysterious, and Maggie becomes curious very early on about the nature of his abilities. The answer to her questions, though, aren’t given until very very late in the book. In fact, we don’t understand everything about his medicine man secrets until like 10 pages from the end. I think this is way too late. First off, we don’t get to see him in action very much, and the way things go I really wish we had. Second, Roanhorse just wastes a lot of time in the beginning and crams a whole lot in the end. From a world-building perspective these sections are really cool and fascinating, but plot-wise it’s extremely inefficient that we learn about Kai in bits and pieces like this, especially since all of his secrets kind of come out one after the other all crowded at the end. I don’t know if she got the right balance in that tradeoff.

Another critique I’ve seen people have is that all of Maggie’s problems AS WELL AS the solutions to her problems revolve around the men in her life. I did think it was strange that Maggie was essentially the only major female character in the whole book. There was Rissa, but she was a minor character and didn’t have much agency in the plot. I would say that Maggie did have agency, and the way she carries herself both in conversation and in action both suggest that she is making her own decisions independent of male influence. I see where these critiques are coming from, though, and I agree that more of her story should have been herself rather than obsessing over these men.

Minor spoilers I guess: One scene that I think most socially conscious people rolled their eyes at was the decision to create a plot point where she had to get all dolled up in a sexy outfit because Reasons. And then people had that weird Oh My God So Hot moment that we are all so fond of (/s). Annoying tropes like that rear their ugly faces from time to time, but this is the only one that really irritated me.

Yea. I mean. It’s a good book. I think yall should read it. As I’ve said, the worldbuilding and setting is awesome, the characters are super cool, the action is cool and Actually let’s just get into the spoilers.

SPOILERS

Coyote was one of my favorite characters. I think Roanhorse may have wanted him to be a morally gray could-be-either-side type of character, but I really saw him as a straight up villain just because he never actually did help them in a way that didn’t backfire. I love reading him though; the sheer chaos that he brings to every scene really appealed to my gayer side. I don’t know if this is an aspect to him that is commonly seen in folktales or something, but I did think that he was a little over the top creepy about the sex stuff though. When he said that shit about Maggie jacking off to Niezghani I was just…ok he’s crossin some Lines here. Also he was constantly making Kai and Maggie uncomfortable sexually, so I don’t really get why they were always so willing to trust him. Still, he was SO interesting. Whenever he showed up I was instantly enthralled.

One thing that got on my nerves a little was that from the very beginning, it was very clear that Kai and Maggie being endgame is a given. Don’t get me wrong, Roanhorse put in the work to make them seem like a really organic and natural couple. And I guess it’s kind of respectable that she didn’t try to pretend like it wasn’t gonna happen, cuz we all knew. But I think it was a little annoying that EVERYONE, including Tah and Longarm and Grace and Coyote and Kai and EVEN MAGGIE at times were basically of the attitude that they were just biding time until they eventually hook up one day. She really didn’t have to do all that; I liked them as a couple already!

Okay but plot-wise, I have to say this, but Roanhorse REALLY got lost in the sauce there. The final battles were so complicated, and there were actually 3 different scenes that felt like they could be the final battle but then there was more (the battle where Rissa got gutted, the Niezghani versus Maggie fight, and the Black Mesa battle). I feel like she couldn’t decide on a conclusion for book one and just threw all that in there for good measure. In any case, it made the last third of the book really messy and unfocused.

I think she also had too many Reveals. Like, Niezghani revealed Kai’s identity, Kai reveals his true intentions, Coyote reveals his plan, Maggie reveals her counter-plan, and Coyote reveals the circumstances of her nali’s death. TOO MUCH. It was all so cloudy and confusing towards the end, especially with regards to Coyote’s plan. First of all, I didn’t really understand what his plan was on first read, and I ESPECIALLY didn’t understand why he took the time to explain it to her. Second off, I didn’t understand Maggie’s counterplan (I don’t think it’s explained in too many words?) and I ESPECIALLY didn’t understand how they planned to have Kai survive. (Now that I’ve had time to think about it I suppose it’s related to his fast healing situation probably, and they just decided to murk him and see if he was actually immortal or whatever the fuck.) Also Kai and Maggie had that whole conversation about their love life right in front of Niezghani………messy as fuck and also is this really the time?????

One thing I really liked about the beginning of the book was that Maggie was such an unreliable narrator when it came to Niezghani. Like, it was pretty obvious that he’s garbage from the beginning, but Maggie just idolizes this man and you have to like scream into the book WHYY??? But the only way that she’s able to idolize him that way is that he presents himself as a mentor, as an authority, and maybe not so much as a caring figure as much as someone to look up to. He is, if nothing else, RESPECTABLE. But when he finally shows up in the Maggie v Niezghani fight, he is not respectable. He is overtly cruel in a way everyone, including Maggie, can see. He is overtly manipulative. He is overtly uncaring and honestly terrible. But this portrayal of him is SO MUCH LESS NUANCED than it was at the beginning of the book. I wish Roanhorse had had the guts to make him more complicated. To make him ACT apologetic or ACT like a mentor, but to make him a hypocrite. That, to me, would have been much more interesting. I understand that trauma informed a big part of the reason Maggie trusted him in the first place, but I wanted to meet the smooth and enchanting man that Maggie fell in love with but all I saw was this horrible person who never even tries to hide how horrible he is.

Of course, as this is just the first book, we don’t really know what is to come. Since Niezghani is just chillin under the dirt, I think we can assume that he’ll be back. Nonetheless, I’m a bit disappointed that he was pacified/restrained at the end of this book. I kind of hoped that after this confrontation, Maggie would have an epiphany about all the shit he put her through, and then in following books he would be the main antagonist. They would have various run-ins, but only in the final book has she truly built up the strength to get her comeuppance. Or something like that. I just wanted Niezghani’s role to be stretched out is all. I wanted her arc of truly unpacking all of that mess to be over the course of several books, not just one novel in which she’s also distracted by her budding romance with Kai and also the monster stuff.

So yea. It’s a good book. There’s problems, as I’ve clearly stated, but honestly a lot of them come across to me as rookie errors. This is her debut novel, and I don’t think it’s that weird for her to use these tropes in ways that I as a reader don’t care for. However, I definitely think that the pieces are there for her to make excellent use of her setting and characters and pull together a really energetic and thrilling series. Looking forward to returning to the Sixth World!

[lightshielded]

Since you’re J4 roleplay blog and the only one active plus you seem to be into J4 a lot. I have a question for your character: doesn’t it make more sense for Jarvan to be polygamous as Demacia is based on medieval Europe and a lot warrior princes (such as Jarvan) had a wife and two mistresses? Also a lot of people see J4 as a Gary Sue and this would give him fault because modern society views as taboo. Maybe like marry Lux or some Demacian noblewoman and have Quinn and Shyavana as side girls?

yeah, i really love his character ( and yeah i’m the only active jarvan it’s kind of sad. i wish i had some more active duplicate blogs to chat with ! ) before i get into this might i say i never knew that people saw jarvan as a gary sue? can i have some follow up on that from anyone who reads this, i am deeply curious as to why and how wide spread the thought is. NOTE: i will be taking this to mean infidelity and not polyamory as you referred to side girls and it being taboo to modern society. neither things i would equate to polyamory.

the issue with this thought is that by assuming demacia to have a 100% correlation with medieval europe ( which it doesn’t ) and that it also suggests women will have an inherently lower role in demacian society. this however is not really ever shown to be true. women are shown in high political roles ( beyond that of queen ), high religious roles as both worship and warrior, to be able to be the heads of their own noble houses to great success and even trained for the role, they number among top generals as seen in jarvan’s lore as well as royal guards, the elite ranger knights and even the dauntless vanguard aka the most respected and revered soldiers in demacia. 

though some demacian upper nobility are said to believe women shouldn’t lead the older noble houses in rather hushed whispers ( and then get the shit beaten out of them ), which shows that it was likely an opinion at one point of time but is gradually dying out. such sentiment is more similar to the state of our current world than with medieval europe, where women were generally ALWAYS on unequal terms with men and only had chance to be otherwise as a widow, a queen or a nun. but of course the use of arranged marriage between the political houses remains very true to older times, so there is that.

more closer to truth, because this is also its lore in the world too, demacia takes influence from MANY different cultures and has formulated its own as a result. after all, demacia was founded by refugees of multiple nations who came together in the wake of the rune wars seeking safety AND then those that sure the secure fledgeling nation and travelled to be apart of it. demacia’s army structure is very similar to the roman century structure with generals commanding armies of 100 soldiers. their armour is a mixture of medieval european armour in its full plate and maille but it is highly styled like to be greeco - roman with corinthian helmets and other design elements reminiscent of these groups, such as the prince’s pteruges and crested helm which along with his lance style him to look a bit like a hoplite. but of course it does not have the expansionist ideals and so is not truly greek or roman.

then, demacia’s general architectural appearance aligns more closely with ancient greeco - roman – THEY ALSO HAVE A COLOSSUS, y’know, like the greek colossus, the fabled colossus of rhodes – and the renaissance era. demacia also has many french, english, german and other names as well as aesthetic elements, again this is due to the fact that demacia is a highly mixed culture at its core. not just that, but even the essence of the culture is different to medieval europe and is of a feudal system where the king or queen is elected based on political influence and military merit and not by divine right. so you can see, demacia isn’t a true representation of any one real world country, especially medieval europe ( unless you mean knights and kings automatically equal medieval europe ).

but beyond the culture of demacia being a far cry from traditional medieval europe, there is still jarvan’s own personality which we need to take into account. in his lore, jarvan is referred to as ‘ a paragon of [demacia’s] greatest virtues ’ and to be a rather idealistic character ( granted they are the ideals of one nation and not necessarily ideals for another ). now, demacia values community, caring about others and strength in working together and jarvan values this along with a deep sense of equality to bring this community together. also taking into account the fact that we know jarvan’s parents were married for reasons other than love and so was arranged for political gain. 

now jarvan is both the result of and has grown up expecting a political marriage, a subject on which i’ve written extensively on here, and so has some rather long held opinions on the fact. he deeply respects the truth that he is not the only one forced into this position, as his arranged spouse would have just as little say, and he could never disrespect them ( or rather any lover, arranged or not ) in such a way. for him, who is so community minded and deeply caring for his people, this would be such a horrific thought to him. and, from a political standpoint, it could easily damage public opinion of him should it come to public light and might greatly affect his chances of being elected king.

also, by character way, quinn even notes that jarvan acts in ways she didn’t expect. likely that jarvan canonly resents getting special treatment for his position and that he isn’t a stuck up nobel who thinks he can flaunt his power and control. in her old lore ( idk if its still considered canon but it might ) she even goes to him with her concerns in incorrect judgement of the official orders, likely because she feels comfortable enough to do so even when speaking against a higher ranking officer ( especially orders from the king ) would be deeply frowned upon. so, maybe just, he doesn’t act like a medieval warrior prince might be expected to act. 

furthermore, do you think he would sincerely have shyvana and quinn as ‘ side girls ’ or that they would let themselves be? cause let alone the great love and respect he has for both of them, they would beat his ass if he even dared to, just saying. not to mention, lux wouldn’t stand for that either, and neither would her brother, whom jarvan is very close with as well. i think it would just alienate like his only friends? AND, a very little known fact is that, in old lore jarvan actually had a girlfriend, he doesn’t like to talk about it but seems to be still quite devoted to her after a long time of her not being around. he’s just very loyal.

but this is not to say he doesn’t have flaws, just that i don’t see jarvan as the kind of character to practise infidelity. before he met shyvana he held similar ideas about magic and mages as the rest of demacia. he is horrifically prejudiced against noxus and those that would dare harm demacia such as the winter’s claw. it doesn’t come up often, as they did not torture him, but their constant raids on demacia borders have him GREATLY dislike them. he actively enjoys fighting those he dislikes. he is also largely ruled by his emotions at times which, while he is known to be rather smart, causes him to think rashly and leads to his greatest defeat, mistake and regret. and, due to a life raised as more political pawn than person, he isn’t the best in personal situations.

so in conclusion, demacia isn’t an accurate representation of medieval europe or any real world nation and should not be treated as such. and neither should the characters in it. demacia does however share design similarities with a range of real world nations. furthermore, jarvan is a deeply flawed character who has made mistakes with terrible consequences and canonly lives with that guilt constantly. but he is also a character who is driven by the love he has for his people and the strong ideals he has for his kingdoms future. as way of his own raising and personality, while i do see it as incredibly likely that he will end up in an arranged marriage, i see it that the action of infidelity is in no way in his nature regardless of if he is married out of his own love or the will of his nation.

[onestowatch]

First Look + Q&A: I Don’t Know How But They Found Me Travels From The ‘80s To Release Debut Track & Video

If you could encapsulate an entire film & art collective into an individual person, that would most definitely explain the personality of Dallon Weekes. Imagine if famed film director Quentin Tarantino was a good-looking musician with a great head of hair and magical glitter tears painted on his face—add in a heavy dose of vintage-synth sounds, a unicorn-hair colored drummer, and you’ve got Dallon’s latest project: I Don’t Know How But The Found Me.

If you’ve ever had that friend who references ‘80s movies dialogue, random BBC television crime series and other obscure pop culture facts--then this is the band for you. Just as “I Don’t Know How But They Found Me” may be the best band name you’ve ever heard, you’ll be happy to hear that it comes from the ’80s cult classic film Back to The Future and that essentially everything surrounding the band (imagery, lyrics, etc.) has some sort of ancillary material that you can read up on in between the elusive song release schedule.

You may know Dallon as the long time touring bassist from Panic! At the Disco, and drummer Ryan Seaman is best known from Falling in Reverse, The Bigger Lights, and Weekes’ former band The Brobecks. The long-time friends are taking their next-level project and leaking sonic magic and visuals all over the Internet.

Dallon’s return to center stage comes as more than just music, but more of a concept with a whole backstory. After falling down an accidental virtual rabbit hole with 1980’s cable access talent show videos on YouTube, Dallon knew that his new project only made sense as a band from the early 1980s who appeared on the Superstar Showcase Cable Access TV show and had their tapes and songs go missing for the last thirty years. I Don’t Know How But They Found Me is the best-kept secret living in a time capsule all these years, if albeit by accident.

For the last few months, the band has only released bizarre GIF’s on their Instagram and has had no music released officially, until today. But they’ve leaned into the mysteriousness of it all by playing small shows all over Los Angeles--capturing the attention of fans wondering just what the f*** is actually going on. The lucky ones who have managed to catch them live have kept the rumors flying. The duo are charismatic and theatrical and everything you hoped for from a band with a matching theatrical name.

With their first release, “Modern Day Cain,” those strange Superstar Showcase GIFs suddenly make sense--as the band appears as a musical guest on the show, complete with a random grandma on the organ. Take a look at the video here, and then get the firsthand account Dallon in our Q&A below.

OTW: How did this whole thing start? How did you and Ryan meet initially, because he's obviously in a different band, and you were on tour with Panic. How did it happen?

Dallon: Ryan and I have known each other for like 10 years. He used to play drums with Brobecks for a while, which was my band that I did before Panic. I've been wanting to make a record on the side for a while, and he was always in a similar situation--being a hired musician, playing for another band, so it made sense. I brought him in to play some drums on the record that I was making. It had been a while since we had hung out. I was telling him about what I was wanting to do with this project, and he was really interested, and wanted to be a part of it.

OTW: Where did the band name come from?

Dallon: It comes from the movie Back to the Future, when the Libyan Nationalists find Doc Brown in the parking lot at the Twin Pines Mall. I've always just really liked that--not just that part in the movie, but that phrase. “I don't know how, but they found me”--I just always liked the sound of it. It always implied that there was another story behind that sentence. It's not part of the movie; you had to create it for yourself. Maybe that's the writer in me, trying to make sense of people being vague.

OTW: Everything has been super secret so far, with the exception of a few LA shows. Why so secretive?

Dallon: Having this whole thing be a big secret was really a fun way for us to get it started. We didn't want it to be a secret forever, as fun as it was. I think anyone who's creative, who makes a project, or some kind of art--they want that thing to be as successful as possible, and that's the case with us. We will try to think of some stuff to keep people on the lookout. It's been working for us--having things that people need to discover on their own. I hope that that's always a part of what we do.

OTW: Let's talk about the video for “Modern Day Cain”, how did you come up with the concept of the band appearing on a weird cable access show?

Dallon: While I was in the middle of making the record, I was up late one night and I fell into this weird YouTube vortex of these old cable access talent shows from like thirty-something years ago. It was so bizarre to see this parade of people--like each of them were so sure that this cable access show was their big shot and that they were going to be a star. I was fascinated by it. I immediately fell in love with it, and I wanted to be on this show so bad, but obviously that’s not really possible. The whole idea of IDK being an act from thirty something years ago, who was on this show, and got that chance--that's where it started.

OTW: So your live shows, you play bass, Ryan plays drums. That’s kind of an obscure thing to do live as a duo.

Dallon: We use backing tracks when we play live, which is a pretty common thing now. It wasn't so much ten years ago. I think it used to have a really weird stigma attached to it. If you were a band, and you were using tracks, people would really look down on that. I think over the last decade, it's become more commonplace, more acceptable. When we went into this, we wanted to make sure first and foremost that it was something that was going to be fun for us, but also something that would be simple and inexpensive, so keeping it a two-piece made sense to do for those reasons. I make all those tracks on my own at home--they're taken from the record.

OTW: How does the songwriting process work? Do you guys play other things when you're writing?

Dallon: I'm not a great guitar player, but I do play a little bit. It was the first instrument I ever learned. I think the only thing that I don't really dabble in is drums. I wouldn't call myself an amazing musician, but I do dabble in just about everything.

OTW: “Modern Day Cain” —the song itself— Is there a concept behind the song? What do the lyrics mean to you?

Dallon: It was inspired by a TV show on BBC called Broadchurch. Particularly the priest character, who is played by Arthur Darvill. I really got into that show. I still love it--I have a soft spot for BBC shows in general. When I was in the middle of writing this new idea I had, I was really inspired by that character and his part in the series.

OTW: I feel like there's ancillary material, like assignments that we need to be given to read and watch before we listen to IDK. What are you inspired by?

Dallon: When it comes to drawing inspiration, there are bands and artists that I love that I don't necessarily ever want to sound like or that don't necessarily trigger me to write something new. I think inspirations are more subliminal, they can come from anywhere. They can come from things like a TV show or a movie, or a commercial you heard when you were a kid. They come from everywhere, because that stuff is all around you. All of these exterior things are going to influence you somehow--whether you know it or not.

OTW: What do you hope happens when somebody hears the song or sees the video? What do you hope happens for them?

Dallon: I hope that when people come across it or discover it, that it strikes a chord--that it means something. Anytime that I create art, it has to mean something to me first. It's always my hope that I won't be the only one that cares about this thing. When I put it out into the world, I hope someone else will care about it--maybe not in the same way that I do, but it will carry some kind of meaning for them.

OTW: What is your relationship with Panic! At the Disco at this point?

Dallon: Brendon [Urie]'s my friend--he and Spencer Smith changed my life. I owe a lot to both of those guys. Brendon has been generous enough to keep me around for eight years, and still have me play bass for Panic when they go on the road. It's an amazing job, and I love being part of it.

OTW: So let's say it's five years from now--what do you think you would want the project to be like then?

Dallon: Oh man, “what if’s” are always a little dodgy. I just want this project to be as successful as it can be. If we're making art that resonates with people or not--I hope that we are--but that's what I see this whole experience as: an exercise in making the best art that I can make and hope that it connects with people.

OTW: When you first got up on stage to play the first show ever, and no one had heard anything, was that nerve wracking?

Dallon: To be away from center stage for a long time--I sort of had to figure out how to do it again. The last time I did it was in Brobecks, maybe like six or seven years ago. It's also one of the many reasons why we wanted to start playing around LA secretly, to find those roles again and figure out how to do this thing. We knew if we going the standard route of a press release and a big announcement: "Hey come look at us,”--that there would already be a built in fan base, ready to come see. We didn't want to exploit that. We didn't want to take advantage of fans that way. We wanted to find out our roles again and how to do this thing first and the best way to do that was to start playing secretly.

OTW: After you played your first song live, and people seemed to like it, did that ease your mind?

Dallon: It eases your mind, it makes you feel 10 feet tall, like you're on top of the world. That was another one of the reasons that we wanted to play live shows secretly. LA crowds are notoriously unimpressed with people. It's an entertainment town, so they've seen it all, and they see it all on a really regular basis. To catch the attention of an LA crowd is a challenging thing to do. We wanted to take that challenge head on. We wanted to play for a room full of strangers that didn't know who we were, didn't care, and weren't there to see us and see if we could get their attention.

OTW: What's the story with sticking your pick on your forehead? You do it in the video and you do it on stage.

Dallon: I've just done it for years. As a musician, you go through picks like they’re nothing. They just sort of tend to disappear on you, and fly away. I guess the habit started when I was in The Brobecks. It was a really, DIY project, really low budgets, and picks were a hot commodity. They're probably your most common expense. Rather than dispose of one, anytime that I had to switch from picking to playing with fingers, I would just stick it to my forehead so that I didn't have to lose that pick and have to buy another one later. Pretty much everything I do, was born out of being a necessity somehow.

OTW: What about the glitter tears? How is that a necessity?

Dallon: Oh, that is definitely a necessity right now. I wanted to do something that made me look and feel different from how I am on stage with Panic or Brobecks. I wanted everything to be new--to feel new on stage. That's not something I've ever done before, so I thought I would give it a try. It helps to put me in the zone of playing an IDK show.

OTW: What’s next for IDKHBTFM? Is there a plan or are you just going to see what happens?

Dallon: There is a plan, but we're playing everything close to the chest right now, because we're still a DIY operation. We're trying to figure out the best way to put a record out. There is a whole bunch of stuff, that we want to put out and release into the world. It's just a matter of finding the right way to do it and the matter of timing too. Nowadays, you don't necessarily need a record label to put music out, you know you can do it from your kitchen table or anybody, anywhere, with a laptop and a microphone can make a record and put it out. That's pretty awesome I think. We want to put our stuff out on a scale that's as large as we can.

For More on I Don’t Know How But They Found Me:

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[hongjoongateez2023]

Confused black kpop fan (please give your opinions)

So I’m black 23 years old. Grew up in a white suburban area in an all white school but my family is anything but suburban. My dad has always told me about racial things that happen to my people and to be honest he is borderline racist himself . My mom has always told me that even though these things are true I shouldn’t be racist or harbor any hate. (Plot twist they are both with white people now) my life has always been two different extremes. So I may sound confused…because I fucking am to be honest.

I got into kpop about 7 years ago. Ironically that’s when I talked to an Asian person for the first time (….it sounds crazy but I went to a white school. There was literally me and my sister’s a few Indians and this one Asian kid.) This is important but ill get back to it later.

I’ve always noticed the weird racist shit that happens in S.Korea. I’ve read articles. My dad said Asian people hate black people. And I agreed after seeing the black face…but with a little research I saw that not all Asians think this way so I continued listening to kpop. I was a block b Stan when the first came out. I loved them because their music was closest to the music I already listened to. I thought they acted black but I never to it offensively because I thought it was cool that our people influenced zico so much. I was annoyed when he said stuff like “I’m black cus I have thick lips” or some thing like that but I just brushed it off because I thought he was like…just a try hard. When he got those dreads I actually liked it. So yeah. It was a different time. I never saw him get hate or hate like Jackson got anyway. I thought he was tastefully wearing them I guess.

On the other hand I fucking hated Taeyang. I thought he was annoying. I thought he was insulting. He just rubbed me the wrong way when he did things “black”. I stopped listening to big bang because I don’t personally recall then saying they liked or appreciated black culture but they sure did make a shit ton of money rapping and shit.

EXO kind of just made me sad. I know everyone preaches love thyself and shit but it’s still disappointing as hell when your favoutie member says they like “pale skin like kaya scolerdio” or whatever her name is. And then they bullied each other for their skin tones…it just wasn’t something I wanted to see.

So I moved on to BTS. I was there for the bullet proof era but then I went to college and I couldn’t afford a fucking t.v let alone cable so I went two years without kpop and when I moved back I was into exo and in 2016 I moved to bts.

These past two years black people have been more vocal about the outlandish things we have to go through and I totally agree. I’ve rallied when our people have gotten gunned down. I’ve written long was posts on Facebook about how we are NOT equal. And subsequently I’ve lost a shit ton of friends…because I went to a white school… So when kpop idols do fucked up shit like Taeyang and do stuff like black face I’m on the war path like everyone else. But when idols let nigga slip or made a colorist comment I analyzed the situation before passing judgment. and if the idols apologized then I just forget about it.

However there seems to be a large amount of black fans whom really actually hate these people for their colorist or saying nigga or wearing their hair a certain way . like to the point that they stop listening to their music and so on and so forth. Like in my opinion the colorist this isn’t something to get mad at. I’ve been made fun of by my own people, I’ve hear songs saying they only like redbones caramel and anything but the mocha color that I am. That’s why I got into kpop in the first place because I was sick of songs saying they wanted everything but me. However the nigga thing is kind of touchy? Like…back to the Asian kid I met in 11/12 grade. I embraced all other races that came to the school because I knew how hard it is to be the only one. Everyone kept saying so and so hand ch**ky eyes and called him their favorite ch**nk. I honestly for the life of me had never heard that word before. And when so and so started to refer to themselves as “ch**k” I started calling him that someyimes too. When I moved to college and I said that word around and my roommates looked at me like I was fucking insane I was so confused. Then when they told me it was a racial slur j literally cried. I felt so bad and I wanted to contact the guy to apologize but I couldn’t him in facebook. What I’m trying to say is I live in America. A multi cultural country with Asian people. I only met my first Asian person likr 6/7 years ago and I was ignorant as fuck. So I always cus foreigners who don’t have many black people in their country a one off. But when they get educated and it happens again that’s when I get pissed. No second chances.

But here now with my people getting hurt by namjoon Jackson bam bam like all the kpop groups and their colorist remarks and saying things and wearing things….though I deemed some of those things ok as long as they aren’t being jagoffs while doing it I feel like I’m accepting something that I shouldn’t and me listening to kpop is bad.

I hope I can get some feed back. Message me answer me through this message idk…help me not be confused. I want to like kpop but j have to support my people as well.