#idk it's just the result of various vibes I've been having

[emkini]

You are not passing their vibe check 

[ID: An illustration of Zuko and Azula from Avatar, roughly a few years older than their canon ages, sitting at a table. Azula sits properly, facing the viewer with a mischievous expression on her face. One hand rests on the table, while the other is held up so she can rest her chin on it. Zuko sits next to and slightly behind her on top of the table. He is in side profile, looking at the viewer with a very Zuko-typical irritability. One hand rests on the table, the other is out of view. Both siblings are dressed in ornately patterned robes. In the background are two golden pillars, with a wall behind them decorated in dragon-like patterns.]

[taffywabbit]

idk if i'm way off the mark on this, but the way some people are responding to that Guillermo del Toro interview about the decline of studio animation is a bit frustrating to me. specifically the bit where he talks about "emoji animation" and how everything is over-animated and pushed too far and things are rarely allowed to not be ultra-cartoony (y'know, because animation always needs to be marketable to children who are never trusted to have attention spans, right?). like, i think he's generally correct about it! but some folks are taking the wrong message away from that.

i've seen people going off about how "soulless" and "corporate" various recent examples are, and talking about these pieces of media as though they're the result of some kind of personal failing or lack of skill/range on the part of the animators, and it's just like. do people realize that's the only animation you're usually allowed to DO in the industry, unless you get incredibly lucky and land yourself on a project/studio that's unusually cool?

when i was in college for animation it was literally drilled into us nonstop that everything had to be pushed more, that exaggeration was not a guideline or a sometimes-treat but a hard rule that always had to be applied regardless of what was going on, because the viewer couldn't be trusted to pick up on subtlety and we sure as hell couldn't be trusted to convey it. you ever wonder why there's such a specific vibe to a lot of self-directed student films, particularly ones that are focused on character acting/interaction or deep emotions and introspection (especially when there's minimal/no dialogue)? it's because for a lot of young animators, they haven't had the freedom to experiment with realism and subtlety up to that point and they're likely not going to have it again for a while (or at all, unless their career path leads to higher positions where they might have more creative direction over the things they work on. which also becomes a lot less likely if they're anything other than a cishet white dude, for what it's worth).

i would LOVE to see more nuanced, realistic, understated motion and acting in animation. i WANT more characters to be able to express what they're feeling through natural body language and facial cues and for scenes to allow me to breathe instead of spelling everything out in giant bold flashing text all the time. what del Toro wants to see changed in the animation industry sounds great, and i hope others join him in seeking to revamp what modern animation is allowed to be.

but as things currently stand, and as they've stood for a long while now, most artists doing the grunt work on the shows and movies you see are completely at the mercy of corporations and networks who have a vested interest in producing a very specific kind of marketable and cost-efficient media all the time. (and by extension that style is ALSO what's taught in most animation schools, because their job more than anything is to grind you down into a perfect little sweatshop worker who will bend over backwards to meet quotas and get your work approved and not question the higher-ups, even if you have little to no personal investment in the projects you're working on, so that the studios who employ you can maintain their good reputations or whatever)

anyways idk what my point was here, this really just sorta became a rant and my views have undoubtedly been coloured by my own personal experiences (this kinda shit is largely why i dropped out before my last year of animation school, for the record).

i guess just be kind to folks in the animation industry? they've had it fucking rough nonstop for well over a century (the majority of them are still not unionized and there's HUGE pushback against doing so in many places). i assure you they are doing their best to infuse the latest uninspired illumination flick or weird spinoff kids' show with literally any amount of soul they can. you don't have to like the stuff that gets produced by any means! be a hater! i'm certainly not gonna stop you. just remember where these creative decisions come from and why these conditions exist, and consider that when YOU watched something and thought "hmm that could've been done better", you can bet your ass someone actually working on it probably thought the same thing but couldn't do anything about it. these things WILL change as the industry itself improves, but in the meantime folks have to pay their rent, and that usually means doing what they're told and working in a way that will minimize revisions and meet quotas so they can keep their jobs. it sucks, but it is what it is.

[mobius-m-mobius]

Fave shows tag game

Rules: List 5 favourite shows (in no particular order) and answer questions accordingly.

Life on Mars

Good Omens

Mad Dogs

Loki

Psych

@loki-is-my-kink-awakening Thank you so much for the tag lovely!! Putting my answers to the questions behind the cut 😊

1. Who is your favourite character in 2?

Oh no not this😅 Don't wanna start off totally indecisive but In all honesty Aziraphale and Crowley are such a package deal I've never been able to decide who I liked more so both it is!

2. Who is your least favourite character in 1?

Probably Frank Morgan since he's meant to give everyone the creeps and totally untrustworthy but if we're talking main cast then Ray because everyone else is just too good ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3. What's your favourite episode of 4?

Episode two THE beloved my one and only 🥺💖 12/10 would gladly watch Owen and Tom sit around chatting and mirroring the cafeteria vibes either as Lokius or themselves for the rest of my days

4. What is your favourite season of 5?

Gotta be S2!! All the earlier seasons are gold so was very tempted by the latter half of S3 but S2's like a tour de force

5. What's your favourite relationship in 3?

Baxter and Quinn would an obvious one since John and Phil are married in every role and this is no exception but the dynamic between Baxter and Rick is so weirdly fascinating?? They just clash so instantly, usually to great disaster but will never stop themselves or learn from their mistakes, absolutely obsessed tbh

6. Who is your anti relationship in 2?

I don't really have one?? If pressed I wasn't interested in Anathema and Newt being shoved together for no real reason or the implication of ending up with someone because you're told but I don't have any active dislike for them or their pairing

7. How long have you watched 1?

Well I was pretty late to pick the show up and watched for the first time around three years ago, have since rewatched the entire series at least 5 times in full, and various clips more times than I could ever count lol

8. How did you become interested in 3?

Thank my url namesake, lol. Truly the most stunning TV experience start to finish I've had with a flawless all star cast and just criminally underrated show in general!!

9. Who is your favourite actor in 4?

🤣🤣 Feel as if I've walked right into this one and y'all don't even need to hear the answer but that would be Owen Wilson, whose take on Mobius has honestly been life changing for me 💖

10. Which show do you prefer 1, 2 or 5?

Oh man as much as I adore Psych I'm stuck between Life on Mars and Good Omens on this one... Oh this is the worst, okay, I'm going... Life on Mars! When taking the point of how much I love both main pairs out of the picture there are more elements of and characters in LoM I think I enjoy more

11. Which show have you seen more episodes of 1 or 3?

I've watched both fully through multiple times but Life on Mars just edges by with having more episodes so that'll be the one!

12. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

Loki or Ravonna just for sheer proximity of how much time would be spent around Mobius lmao, literally my only primary consideration

13. How would you kill off your favourite character in 5?

Laughing so hard at this because ironically my favorite character in Psych has pondered many scenarios potentially resulting in his own death lmao. If necessary he'd probably prefer a blaze of glory gunfight but I don't think he'd mind being taken out by his favorite land mine going off?? "Sweet music. And then…nothin' but red mist." 😂

14. Would a 3/4 crossover work?

Not necessarily unless you mean would it work in terms of turning me on in ways I've yet to experience in this life because yes, yes, and YES 😳😳

15. Pair two characters in 1 that would make an unlikely, but strangely okay couple.

Idk if it would be the most unlikely but Sam and Chris would've been cute and I always enjoyed how earnestly Chris ended up admiring Sam's approach to the work and who he is as a person

16. Overall, which show has the better cast, 3 or 5?

I mean Mad Dogs is my favorite show of all time in part because of how talented the cast is in balancing their roles and I can't see that changing plus I'd follow those guys anywhere

Tagging @faylights, @too-funky, @safedistancefrombeingsmart, @symphony-in-silver, @colourfulwatson, @bebx, @linz33y, @michaelsheens, @veraynes-blog, @aleerax, @abitofboth, @eyeldritch, @lovingvincent, @seekers-who-are-lovers, @z-aliada, and @alternatively-undesignated as always only if y'all feel like it plus anyone else who wants to join! 💕

[chasedawg2]

8 Shows To Get To Know Me

Tagged by no one, seen from a few, suggested by one

1. RWBY

The only reason I use this app is to see content on the two dorks above that I love so much and thank for the several hours of total brainrot. What literally started in like volume 2 as a "I envy my gf having ships in shows we watch and they work out, I need to find a ship to enjoy" to literally wanting to scream for joy when they're in the general vicinity of one another begging for any social interaction.

If that doesn't show well who I am idk what will.

2. RWBY Ice Queendom

....except maybe basically putting RWBY twice. Showcases my obsessive tendencies (I used 2 of 8 spots on a list to talk about White Rose)? Check. Shows my petty side (I loved it mostly for having juicy White Rose content I haven't gotten much of in recent volumes)? Yup. Yeah that works. Don't let me fool you though, I loved the show for the show too. Good plot, loved the animation, all of it fine and dandy. But yeah.... I just needed a WR infusion and this show gave it to me.

3. Succession

(for those of you who have not seen Succession, this is not Succession, this is one of the top GIF results for "business meeting")

Business people doing business things saying business words for an hour every week and yet it still stresses me out in a good way. Cinema.

4. Wizards of Waverly Place

Don't let the fact that I literally fell in love with Selena Gomez because of this show fool you. I loved this show for the show..... as well. Were there shows I watched more? Yeah. Were there shows I liked more? Probably. But this list is about shows that help you learn about me, not my top 8 shows of all time (although this is a weird one to say that on because this in fact would be in my top 8 favorite shows all time probably) and this teaches you the type of thing I was into in my younger years and how I learned about my biggest celebrity crush ever. Plus the transitions are all timers.

5. Once Upon A Time

^one of my favorite TV characters based on vibes

But that's not why it's here. It's here because it was one of, if not the first, major length show I ever binged with my girlfriend so it will always hold a special place in my heart. Plus everything besides the last season was very VERY good so it started things on a good note and has been good ever since 😁😂

6. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

God I fuckin miss this show. I miss this show so bad. That's what you're learning about me from this, that I miss these two dorky lesbians so fuckin bad. I regret hopping in the bandwagon the second they became canon. I should've latched on for the ride. GOD I miss them so bad. Are they still making a movie? I wish they made funkos but we are definitely past a point of no return there. UGHHHHHH COME BACK.

7. Game of Thrones

Yes yes, I know. I know. Relax. I too think the last season completely ruined the vibes of the whole show and severely reduces interest in potential rewatches if I have nothing else to watch. HOWEVER it makes the learn about me list because this is how I discovered that I love Richard Madden as an actor. I thought it was just that I loved Robb Stark the character, because before this I was never one to be like "oh so and so is my favorite actor I love their work" besides Selena Gomez because I was shameless in my youth and Harrison Ford because I liked Han Solo in my Star Wars days. But no, I watched him for like 4 minutes in 1917 and was like hey I know him, then I saw him in Eternals and he was great in Eternals, and now I'm seeing him in Medici and I like him in that too! I need to see Bodyguard at some point. Everyone says his performance was amazing in that.

8. The Boys

I was never a big comic/superhero guy growing up. I knew about various superheroes, I knew the MCU existed, hell I was Team Iron Man without watching a single MCU movie until 2019 (and I'm still that way). But, I've gotten into it. Up to date on MCU movies, seen most of the MCU shows (haven't seen only one of them yet, but I won't say which so it doesn't start anything because I just haven't felt like starting it yet and that's the only reason), and like I liked it. The Boys (followed soon by Eternals and then Moon Knight) showed me there was ways I could LOVE superhero stuff and now I make it my mission to see Marvel content because I've become interested in it so I guess it's a good thing I started late because I've yet to get burnout but that's only because I've been consuming content for like 4 years while some (if you count the Tobey Spiderman movies as the first mainstream superhero movies although I'm sure theres others that were also mainstream, probably batman but I'm getting into DC soon I swear I just dont know as much yet but I will get into it) have been consuming it for 20+ so I get why people complain about superhero burnout but I haven't reached it yet, and amazing content like The Boys is why.

Anyways that's it you can do it now @dragongirl180 and anyone else who happens to see this it's an open invitation to also do it so go ahead and share and stuff

[kitausuret]

What neopets would various spiderman and venom characters be?

...so, uh, I actually started asking myself this question a few months ago. And. Well. I got a little carried away with my inspiration!

I'll link to each of their lookups just for fun, if any of my followers have an account, but most of them don't have anything on there yet.

This is extremely long so it's going under a break:

We start with Jubulile van Scotter.

She gets to keep her name because it was untaken. (: I made her an Aisha, because Aishas are a favorite of mine and also most of the wig items look really good on them. I opted for a kind of sporty look for her - essentially sci-fi-ing her canon characterization as a sailor. In this world, her strongest connections are with Flash, Eddie, and Victoria Montesi.

Next, we have Eddie Brock.

Eddie is so special he gets two looks - but primarily I have focused on his characterization in the most recent run of Venom, inspired by some of the ideas put forward in #18. I've named him Meridial in the sense that Meridius is the version of Eddie who lost all of who he was. What if Eddie managed to lose all semblance of who he was because he's so wrapped up in survival? Caught between life and death, in reality only a few years have passed for him, but to him it's been millenia. It would be tragic - just like him. (:

Then - Edgy Boy McEdgeson - I mean, Dylan Brock.

I'll be honest, I don't have anything particularly special in mind for him. I just think it would be funny for Dylan to be a cute little dragon but he has EDGE or whatever. The big-ass sword is inspired by his Big Edgy Sword he has as Codex. And this version of Dylan is definitely based on Codex. His name over on Neo is Cytozyme, which after some looking up is actually the name of an enzyme that cuts proteins - it specifically is what converts prothrombin to thrombin during blood clotting. And also I just thought the name had good vibes.

Who's up? Victoria Montesi!

While not strictly a Venom character, her surname was untaken so obviously I had to create her in Neopets. She's a Zafara simply because I like Zafaras. And yes, she is holding a lesbian pride flag as well as a huge fucking wraith staff. Idk, she's a magic user of some kind.

Next we have the Venom Symbiote!

Tragedies was actually the result of a trade - I had the name Olympus sitting around so I traded for this custom. (: I love Mutant Acaras and had wanted one for many many years. In the Neopian universe, the Symbiote is more of an entity than anything else. A... space entity. It's a work in progress. But it's still definitely a symbiote, which brings us to...

Peter Parker.

His name over at Neo is Tintilie, which is actually from the elvish language crafted by Tolkien. Now, while I am not personally a big Tolkien fan, I did look it up and the name means "sparkling" or "twinkling", which I think is a hysterical way to describe someone who is literally glowing because he's radioactive. Notice how he's an Acara? Just like someone else? Yeah. ;) And yes, he's also a teacher. and YES, he is also still a vigilante.

And who is Peter, without Mary Jane Watson?

Like Eddie, she gets two looks. Her base color is Eventide, because I think it's pretty. However, the old-art style Faerie Lenny is wonderful to me, and I like that it's based on a male peacock. Also because she believes that gender is a game and she's in it to win it. Her name on Neo is "Klieglight", which is a type of lighting that used to be common on movie sets! She goes by "Kay Lynn" or "KL" over yonder. She's still a fabulous model and aspiring actress!

Who's up next? Our friend Harry Osborn! Or maybe Harry Lyman.

He's a little rainbow Meerca because I think I'm funny. And yes. He still runs the Coffee Bean. And yes, his father was still rich as hell but is now gone (not dead, just serving time). But what about Harry's family, you ask? Well, have I got good news for you, because I've also crafted into this universe...

Liz Allan!

Would you believe I found an Ixi in the pound named Liz? It's crazy. I painted her Valentine and gave her an expensive-looking custom. She's my darling. I honestly had so much fun with her. But she's also got a kid, who is...

Normie Osborn.

Okay, so, he isn't actually painted Halloween - yet. But I'm working on it. Right now he's red, which kind of matches his mom? But anyways. Yes it is admittedly inspired by his Red Goblin look but like... what if he was just cursed but also was just chill about it. He's not actually evil or nothing he's just twelve. Also yes his background is a parody of the "this is fine" comic because that's his life. Falling apart around him and he's trying to pretend everything is fine. Theoretically he would have first been a Rainbow Ixi. The Osborn extended family is messy and big though, so we can't leave out...

Lily Hollister!

She is still blonde but I gave her better hair. (: There's a little bit of a nod to her as Menace, as much as I hate to give Dan Slott any credit... but I love those horns. They look good on her. She's fabulous. And that's why her name is Diahmonds! And who's just as great, is her and Harry's son...

Stanley Osborn.

Look how cute he is! Right now he's a Green Kougra wearing a UC Baby Kougra token, but I want to make him Rainbow to match his dad's coloring. For right now though? He is baby. And the creepy lab is inspired by the fact that right after he was born he had that touching moment being hand-fed by the Lizard. He's fine, I'm sure.

And last but absolutely not least is Flash!

While he doesn't have any tokens, this fantastic Kyrii does get two customs - one with a wheelchair and one with a cane. Why? Because he's amazing that's why. I definitely leaned most into his Space Knight stuff because reasons. He still for sure has connections with everyone listed above though!

Hoo boy this got really long but as you can see I've regained some inspiration in Neopets. They also all have designs I've doodled but nobody gets to see those yet because I'm embarrassed fjkdasl;jfla.

[foreignobjecticus]

Get to know you meme

stolen from @thisbluespirit because I'm in the mood to meme hehe

last song: Balduran's Song

favourite colour: idk. purple because I just bought some

last tv show: Callan. As per usual lol

sweet/spicy/savoury: Savoury

comfort character(s): At the moment, still Callan & Meres but also 90% of the Baldur's Gate characters because I'm vibing so much. Gale, Halsin, Astarion, Shadowheart because I just finished her quest yesterday and damn. Zevlorrrrr, etc.

last google: "yellow orange circles love towel" once again I am searching for random shit from Callan

current obsession: Very much Baldur's Gate 3. Still haven't finished it entirely. Bought some 3D print figures of Gale, Jaheira, Astarion, Karlach and the Emperor and have started them up today. Forgot I don't have any purple (yes I can mix it, but that's a pain when half the characters are purple) so I've got 3 deliciously pigmented Vallejo paints ordered. Have also been playing with various other creative media, results pending.

Putting these pics here because I was painting them up while thinking of the old adage that got me through learning the basics of model painting (or any art really): It's got to look like shit before it can look good. Or, basically, priming, base, and layer painting are going to look like trash of course. You're not done yet. So there's some base colours done up. Yes I mixed a greyish purple. I should have slapped some base flesh paint on too but eh. Let it dry. Priming was done with my airbrush which is fun, but it's suuuuuper thin and easily scratches even after two days curing so eh. Still som sprues to clean up. I'm not a huge fan of these prints (them being mirrored bugs me way too much) but they're a decent price and UK based. Overall they're actually amazing given the size and quality. I'm just picky lol

Uh oh, that turned into a ramble. I tag anyone who wants to play!

[lucky-clover-gazette]

Top 5 Poutine moments (or photos, your choice)!!

oh my god oh my god yes okay STORYTIME

poutine is my daughter my sunshine the light of my life who does not pay rent and sleeps on my chest nightly. i adopted her right after graduating college during the pandemic in 2021. the majority of college was a long traumatizing crawl through hell for me, and by the time i graduated, i had lost hope and passion for my desired industry of like a decade (as well as gaining a general hopelessness for my future and the future of the world). i had no idea what i wanted to do, what i COULD do, and where i belonged. so my single goal, post-grad, was to create circumstances in which i could adopt and support a cat.

unfortunately my mother is deathly allergic to cats, so in order for that to happen i had to prepare myself with a stable post-grad living situation and a job. early in my senior year i signed a lease for a studio, move-in june 1st, and lined up a retail position closer to graduation. re: my mom, it does make her sad that she can't visit my apartment, and it sucks that i have to leave poutine behind during short trips, but i'm like eight hours from my hometown and my mom understands how happy poutine makes me. we're okay.

anyway, after graduating i moved into the studio apartment and started the retail job (i have since found work in my area of expertise, and i'm moving to a nicer place in june as a result of that job change) in the same town as my college (i genuinely love it here). i adopted poutine a day after graduation, which i did not attend because pandemic, and she's been my best friend ever since.

my life has gotten so much better since 2021, mostly because i've made several intimidating and difficult choices to improve it. but adopting poutine will always be the best decision i've ever made, and it's one i made and executed even in the seemingly unescapable depths of hopelessness. i've found that after each success i only feel more emboldened to tackle something scarier--and adopting poutine, in a way, was like the first domino in that sequence. and she's been here the whole time since, keeping me company, letting me know i'm loved and that i'm capable of loving. also that she's hungry and just used the litterbox.

anyway, here are five Epic Poutine Moments in no particular order:

The Mister Saga

i live in a city so outdoor cats often wander around at night. because my apartment is on the ground floor and Poutine cannot be deterred by blinds, she has no choice but to acknowledge these cats when they stop by. back in august of this year, an outdoor cat named mister started visiting her, which at first was very upsetting to her AND me, because he'd be out there serenading her at like 3am. but after a few months i think they actually got used to each other, and just started to enjoy vibing together with a window between them. although poutine goes on walks on a leash, i unfortunately can't let her meet mister because i don't know if he's had his shots and i'm not risking her safety for the bit. even more unfortunately, a second unnamed cat started coming around a few weeks ago and ATTACKING THE FUCKING WINDOW, and now poutine seems agitated at mister again too. this saga is ongoing and i think she's like a regency romance novel heroine and it's all very unthinkably stupid and i had to buy a hormone diffuser recommended by the vet so she'd chill the fuck out about all these outdoor cats on the porch

2. she likes catnip

she likes catnip :P my supervisor at work gave me a cutting of his catnip plant for my office so i can bring it home for her

3. found footage poutine

i have a pet camera for when i'm away from home. this means i have a lot of cursed cat images

4. this photo

idk it just makes me laugh and it's zelda so here

5. various other photos

no context just take them

[slow-button-off]

Hello! I've got a small question, rueda is responsible for the strategy side of the team right? But you said firing him wouldn't make sense, could you elaborate on that? Because everywhere I turn, fans blame rueda for bad strategy decisions and for ferrari being ferrari

Hiya!

So the entire thing is a bit complicated and it's not like I fully know what's going on either tbh.

But, starting in 2021 Ravin Jain supposedly took more responsibility when it comes to strategy and last year officially Rueda was still the head of strategy but some Italian comms said that that was essentially just by name and that Jain was doing the actual work. And now in the off season there were some new articles saying that Jain would be properly taking over or something like that I can't remember it exactly.

So last season Rueda has apparently just officially held the title but hasn't actually done the work. And having him keep the title and being the official face makes sense to me because Jain is young, new-ish (in the role not Ferrari) and a POC. The strategy department gets abuse anyway but yk having him not be the face when he is still new and inevitable going to make some mistakes would make sense to me. Because looking at the abuse that Rueda gets I don't want to see what that looks like when it's Jain. And he already gets abuse but I think it would be much worse.

Anyway, so based of all of that my assumption is that Rueda isn't actually still in charge.

The other thing is that strategy for the most part isn't a one person show. It's a whole team that uses various algorithms and tyre simulations and safety car probabilities and so on to calculate the fastest strategies. But it's not like that gives you one definitive best strategy.

They pick the best few of the bunch and then which ones with which amount of risk are actually chosen isn't necessarily down to the strategy guys. That's often a TP thing in terms of specifying the overall goals and how much risk they are willing to take.

All of that happens pre-race.

Mid race it depends a lot on the team structure and how pressing a decision is, in some teams the head strategist just gets to decide which I think is the case with Hannah Schmitz. In other teams they don't. Idk what that exactly looks like at Ferrari but considering how long everything takes it's a uselessly complex process.

But it doesn't have to be one person that makes the wrong choice. Yes Ferrari is bad at reacting to changes mid race but is that a process issue where the process is just too complex and takes too long? Or is a tyre simulation thing that tells them the wrong results (those are always also running during a race to be able to adapt) because in Hungary they picked the wrong tyres. Or were the general objectives wrong, or were they told to always play it super safe and not take risks and that's where it went wrong. Did they just not listen to the drivers feedback enough, why did they not listen to the drivers feedback enough.

Strategy is a pretty complex thing and it doesn't have to come down to one singular person being bad at their job. Like with most other things it's often a combination of various factors.

And Fred has worked like a month now. And while he has said that they've been working through what went wrong, he kinda can't just come in and immediately fire people based off of vibes. It's much better for the team and the team environment if the other issues can be sorted out first before someone is fired. And it looks like that is Freds plan and then he'll see how everything is actually being executed and he can still make those decisions later.

Ruth Buscombes Beyond the Grid is really interesting if you are interested in strategy and what a strategist does and all of that.

[syn4k]

so me and @nightshadeowl were talking while they were working on their most recent art piece (the link is here, warning for non-provocative semi nudity) and about how this fandom generally treats fanart/depictions of characters with skin exposed

this is a very informal essay and i am also a very confused aroace person so feel free to take my viewpoint/opinions on the matter with a grain of salt

(Disclaimer: This essay is not specifically directed at any singular person or group of people. I am not going for that here, simply trying to bring more awareness to this facet of fandom. If you have a question in good faith, I will most likely not be able to adequately answer it, as I wrote this essay at 10am while sick and essentially pulled it out of my ass. Thank you.)

modern society has a habit of viewing the human body in stages of varying undress as inherently sexual or provocative, even if in the media depicted the body is simply in a nude state and not engaging in sexual acts or giving signs of intending to do so. this has carried over to fandom in a few ways

take, for example, the fanart that several artists have drawn of various MCYT characters (namely GoodTimesWithScar and Xisuma) with open/no shirts. xitties and scitties have been an inside joke for a while here but for most of these art pieces, the subjects in question are just... vibing? standing there?

[breaking the immersion for a minute because i realize now that i've chosen the worst fucking platform to write this essay for. i had to seriously type the word scitties and xitties. You all fucking suck (affectionate)]

me and a couple of our other friends, all of them asexual or on the aspec spectrum, have noticed this as well. my friend Anzy noted on a call the other day that specifically the hermitcraft and hermit-adjacent fandoms on here show the most examples of the sexualization of the human body, especially with the examples mentioned above

now, this realization for me came as i was slowly trying to detangle my internalized allo and amatonormativity. usually my first reaction to seeing these sort of jokes and art is annoyance, but i realized later that it wasn't the art itself that was rubbing me the wrong way, it was how people interpereted it most of the time

(there's another essay i could write on casual aro/acephobia in fandom as a direct result of, again, societal norms and how they also coincide with purity culture, but i do not feel like i have enough knowledge and/or confidence on the subject to write that so i'll just let that one rotate in the ol' brain microwave for a while)

"well, six," i hear you saying, "what do you want us to do about this? what's the outcome you're looking for here?"

well, i generally wrote this post to maybe shed light on a piece of fandom culture that i feel like is simply There and that some would benefit from maybe thinking about a bit deeper. there is no outcome i am really going for here, it was just a thing i've been pondering for a while

idk. if anyone wants to do something about this (which you Absolutely Do Not Have To), perhaps we could start seeing the human body depicted this way as less of a sexual thing and more of a neutral thing

if people can appreciate artistic semi-nudity in old paintings and sculptures without seeing it through a sexual lens (unless they wanted to), why not try and apply some of that neutrality towards fanart with the same properties?

[gods-no-longer-tread-here]

I do wonder how many people get into various kinks as an alternative to self-medication/harm. not just the pain stuff or degradation, either, just any kink that seems extreme and/or dangerous. I feel like there has to be at least a little overlap between the people who find kinks sexually fulfilling and people who feel the need to regulate their mind and body in a more extreme fashion than taking a nap or journaling. like how us ADHD folks and people with mood disorders have symptoms like risk-taking and the kind of boredom that results in someone getting hurt: our brains crave stimulation, in whichever form is lacking. so it would make sense for someone who is hyposensitive to physical sensations to seek out rough sex, if they find sex enjoyable, or maybe someone with depression finds comfort in having someone else be mean to them during sex and then provide aftercare to prove that the cruel words are just words, and they really are capable of being cherished and cared for.

idk the whole "some people like to be spanked because they were abused as kids!!" vibe that I've been getting for years from tumblr doesn't feel right, I think it makes more sense to say "some neurodivergent/mentally ill people are more likely to engage in non-vanilla sex because our brains require a little extra oomph to start making The Good Brain Slimes." maybe my reading comprehension is worse than other folks'. idk idk.

[oswaldsleftbicep]

Heyho✌🏻

Ok so now that I saw that we are engaged with the brothers what do you think their wedding would be like??? They're a royal family after all..You think it would be similar to the royal weddings in Great Britain? By the way what do you think in which century do they live? They have no idea of bicycles or something like that and these (I googled hehe) were invented in 1817..

what the brothers' weddings would be like

ok so this is gonna be a lil different than my usual posts. i got my booster shot yesterday and i've been sick as a result, so everything i've written for this ask is pure delirium and honestly i'm too tired to fix it lmao so if you aren't happy with this, please tell me so i can write something better!!

genre: ~history~, general

cw: terrible analysis and fashion history lessons, this probably makes no sense i'm so sorry, pure chaos, not specifically a reader insert but it's gn!reader

i'm obsessed with this ask, like i literally spent a good 30 minutes looking at historical fashion and inventions to pinpoint when nightmare harem could take place. so we've gathered that they have no idea about bicycles so you would think that it would be before 1817. i swear i remember one of the characters mentioning taking a picture and idk if that was a mistranslation but cameras were invented in 1816. so the timeline is now sometime in 1816 before bicycles, but if you think about it would they really have a need for bikes? cuz they got their horses and carriages and magical teleportation. we can't really look at the fashion since it's all very unrealistic and informal for members of royalty, and they all seem to come from various periods of time. ties like the one kaim, kurt, and ricardo wear didn't start becoming a popular thing until the mid 1800s. however, we see mefy and lucas wearing a cravat which had been a thing since the 1600s. but again, this is a fantasy world completely separate from the timeline of our world, so their dates are most likely completely different. like if i were to say "oh yeah it takes place in the 1830s, do you really think noel, lucas, or oswald would be walking around without getting shamed for having v-neck shirts? but for the sake of putting a date on it, i would say early 19th century for sure, probably around the late 1810s to the 1830s

now onto the actual ask lmao

Lucia

❧ he's the eldest of his brothers so his wedding is most likely gonna be the biggest and fanciest, like it has to set the example for his family if he's the first to marry

❧ he would want a big, fancy, lowkey over the top wedding cuz he's dramatic like that

❧ but his informal side wouldn't want it to be super strict and focused on traditions; however, since he's the next king it's gotta be as close to traditional and formal and fancy as he can tolerate

❧ he'd probably leave a lot of the details up to his partner; he's not picky about floral arrangements or what kind of napkins are gonna be at the table, although he'd probably request the napkins to be folded in a really cool way like how people can fold towels to look like swans

❧ the venue would probably be at a cathedral or a really fancy ballroom or castle, big royal vibes

❧ his vows are really heartfelt and have a couple jokes in them to lighten the mood, and when he says them he looks you right in the eye and holds your hands tight so you know he means every word he says

❧ probably ends up kissing you before the officiant can say that it's ok to kiss cuz he's too excited, it makes everyone laugh tho so it's ok

❧ after the reception you know there's gonna be a party that lasts well into the night; he's a party man and likes to have a good time

❧ he probably insisted on a huge cake, and absolutely does the thing where the newlywed couple smush cake on each other's faces

❧ when it comes time for the first dance, he knows everyone's staring at the two of you but he hardly notices; to him it's just the two of you in your own little world, dancing and basking in each other's presence

❧ so overall, his wedding is pretty generic but also the most similar to the modern royal weddings, like the british ones i don't pay attention to royalty lmao he knows that it's expected of him to have a perfect royal wedding but he also wants to have some fun with it and let loose a bit

Levy

❧ there's not as much pressure on him to have a perfect royal wedding, unless he's the first to marry, but he'd still want it to be perfect

❧ he'd for sure want the wedding to be in a huge, fancy library; it's classy and shows how he loves reading

❧ he's also not insanely picky over the smaller details but instead of leaving it up to his partner, he'd want to decide on things together

❧ something about him screams picky eater so he'd probably want to be more in charge of the food choices than his partner

❧ there's not as many people attending the wedding as there would be in lucia's; levy would just prefer a smaller crowd of just family, friends, and maybe some important people from town

❧ i feel like before the wedding he'd want to have the two of you exchange letters for y'all to read while getting ready

❧ his vows are very poetic and heartfelt and well written, but he's so nervous during the delivery that he keeps stumbling over words and stuttering which makes his face and tips of his ears all red aw

❧ thinks large cakes are obnoxious, but if you want one he'll allow it. won't smush cake in your face but you should totally do it to him lol

❧ his after party doesn't last very long; he lowkey wants everyone to go home early so he can have more alone time with you, but he does enjoy celebrating with everyone

❧ lucia for sure gives some corny speech to embarrass him, probably brings up stories from when they were children

❧ overall, it's a decent wedding, nothing out of the ordinary or insanely unique. he definitely views the planning part as a team effort, and the actual reception and after party is small and more intimate. it's not a typical royal wedding, but the vibes are still there

Mefy

❧ there's no pressure on him whatsoever to have a big royal wedding; he's the youngest of three so it's very unlikely that he'd get married first, which means there's no pressure for him to set an example for his family

❧ he knows weddings are a big deal and are super important for the couple, and getting married to his partner is super important and exciting for him, but he doesn't really want to make a big deal out of it

❧ out of the three, his wedding is definitely the smallest. he only invites family and close friends, and the venue and after party are lowkey

❧ for him i'm getting garden wedding or even a wedding in the woods or a meadow; it's also probably held in the evening, close to sunset

❧ doesn't care about the little details, like the after party's not gonna be all that and there's not many people to nitpick, so he leaves the small things to his partner

❧ it's probably a given but the color scheme involves shades of green; it's probably more of a natural vibe

❧ his vows are short but very sweet; he doesn't stumble over his words at all, he's very calm and collected about the whole thing

❧ the cake for y'all's wedding is small, probably only two or three layers, but it's very tasty and pretty

❧ the after party only lasts a couple hours before everyone is sent home, but the two of you stay at the venue for a good while after to have some alone time and be in each other's presence

❧ instead of a first dance, i think he would prefer a last dance where it's just the two of you slow dancing without anyone watching; it's much more private and intimate which i think he would appriciate

❧ overall, his wedding is small and chill but has magical and intimate vibes. he views weddings as for the couple rather than for the entertainment of the guests which reflects in how small scale everything is. it's far from a royal wedding but he prefers it that way; at the end of the day it's about him and his partner, nothing else matters

[dangan-happy]

 I want Mikan to have wheelies to escape her feelies. To Kiyo and/or Yasuhiro: So I've been out of a certain fandom for almost a year now. No big deal, however there is this really pushy person in the fandom. Now, we were friends while in the fandom, and I considered them super nice cause they always commented on my stuff and asked questions. But when I got out of the fandom the messages kept coming. They would continue to ask things as if I was still in the fandom. Then, one day, after hurting my feelings a lot, they dissapeared. Now, I really thought the drama was over. Unfortunately,, I think they are back, as someone who types/and acts very similar to them began messaging me as well as sending me asks. I just,, idk what to do. It's not like I have proof, But I feel like blocking them out of nowhere is strange. I'm scared that they'll start yelling at me/accusing me of stuff/something and I genuinely wouldn't know what to do.

Hello anon. I mentally prepared myself as soon as you said the word "fandom." Fandoms are a very interesting thing. Here's a fun fact, in anthropological terms, individual fandoms are individual cultures. Each fandom has its own language terms, social norms, and social expectations, therefore making it a culture.

Apologies, I got distracted. You do have quite the interesting situation. Some people are like that. Fandoms almost become their identities. It's almost all they care about, and that can result in them being personally offended when people leave the fandom, or when people say something about a character, or a fan theory or a ship that they don't like. It's best to be extremely weary around these types of people. My guess would be that this person was angered by you leaving the fandom, and reacted as such. I am very sorry to hear you were hurt. You truly deserve better. That is a very strange continuation to your story, however I have seen it before. You seem to be an observant person, so I commend you for that. It is possible, I will say that much. I would be very careful before saying anything though. Gather evidence, mainly speech patterns or various typing quirks like using "XD" or "uwu" or something like that. Compare the speech patterns from this to those of the person's original account.

When you feel you have sufficient evidence, I'd prefer screenshots, I would confront them. If they do start yelling at you/accusing you, don't be afraid to out them for that. That's harassment, and it's perfectly ok to expose them for that if they don't stop and leave you alone. Make sure the conversation is calm and minimally accusatory. You have the right to be suspicious, but it's innocent until proven guilty. Give them a chance to defend themself and see what they say. You do hold the power in this scenario. You have evidence of the fandom person previously hurting you most likely, and you can take anything this new/same person is saying and use that if needed. I truly wish you all the best. Remember, you are in control, and you have the power to do things if needed. Don't doubt yourself, and stay confident. I believe in you, and I know you can handle this.

—

Lanky guy said it best, dude. Preparin myself at the word 'fandom'. This one's gonna be a wild one.

I just wanna add one more thing to this, cos Shinguuji covered a buncha what I wanted to say. Man, he stole my thunder.. anyways, blocking someone just because you feel uncomfy near them is totally valid. I'm not even kidding. It's just fine to block someone with no explanation; prioritise your own comfort! I predict that if ya block 'em, this stuff on yer mind won't be wearing you down. And this prediction's gunna be right this time! Seriously. If ya get bad vibes, block 'em. I promise it'll make you feel loads better.

Not much else I can cover since Kork the Thunder Stealer got to ya first. I can give ya a hug if you want one, anon. I guarantee things'll be just fine!

[lollytea]

I am just here to say that I love your fanfiction "A Little Change"! It is one of the best fanfictions I've read about Trolls. Keep it up! I love the chemistry between Poppy and Branch! They are just too adorable. Also, I've seen how Poppy would act when she dates Branch, but; how you think Branch would act now that he is dating Poppy? What is he thinking.

Aww thank you! I’m doing my best to keep it up. Okay, this is a long one. Not that it needs to be this long, I just ramble a lot.

Welp, in this current point in time, Branch is not dating Poppy. Branch is making no attempt to date Poppy for various reasons (although if I saw these two interacting in public, ‘platonic bros’ would never once cross my mind, especially with all the dating-like shenanigans they been getting up to.) While he has been doing his best to improve his confidence, Branch is living in a state of constant self doubt and never in his life would he ever think that Poppy would be interested in him. Like, why would she? There’s no way.

So I’d say that when all this plot stuff is out of the way and they’re free to date peacefully, Branch would have a difficult time comprehending how it happened. For the longest time he’s had to persistently tell himself that it would never ever happen and yet…here it is. Happening. It kinda blows his mind.

Poppy has dated before but her relationship with Creek was way different than what she has with Branch. Her crush on Creek was derived from idolization and as he kept himself so composed and polite in her presence, she never really got to catch a glimpse of his true personality. As a result, what she saw was what she thought he was, so there was always this vibe of “Gentleman and his biggest fan” with those two.

But with Branch, she knows his real self. She isn’t scared to bug him or get irritated with him and when she’s particularly happy about something, she feels comfortable with grabbing his arms and shaking him, something she felt weird about doing with Creek unless he gave her some kind of inviting opening. So once they start dating, everything she’s been holding back (to avoid making things weird) are released with full force. I’m talking all the hugs, all the kisses, every little compliment she’s ever thought about him. She’s just so damn giddy about the whole thing.

So because of this, just days after they’ve started dating, Poppy’s just popping up at random moments to give him little kisses or sweet gestures and Branch like. Well, he appreciates them and it’s not like he does it on purpose but every time she does this, it just reminds him that they’re dating and sometimes he’ll just give her this blank stare. Like he’s totally floored and for a goddammn poet, this is one thing he really doesn’t have the words to express his feelings on.

Poppy’s encouraging of course and after a couple of days go by, Branch becomes more sure on what he wants to do. Like they’ll be sitting watching TV or something and Branch just touches the skin of her cheek to feel how soft it is. Poppy gives a big him a big sincere grin and takes hold of his hand. (This probs leads to a make out session idk) It’s really her enthusiasm for pretty much everything he does that eases him into the role a bit. Like he realizes that he could say whatever he’s thinking to her and she wouldn’t give him a weird look. Weird looks can be one of the biggest fears for someone with anxiety. Makes me scared to even open my mouth sometimes.

So Branch gets used to his newfound freedom to be affectionate whenever damn well pleases and really, he’s never felt more at ease in his life. They’ve managed to keep hold of their snarky kind of friendship even as it evolves into more romantic territory but like he’s still Branch. He’s still sarcastic and quiet and deadpan and doesn’t hesitate to tease Poppy when he feels like it. He’s a stoic kinda guy but I do imagine that he has a hidden fondness for making people laugh, Poppy especially. In some ways, it’s the same as it’s always been, in some ways not quite.

But he’s more open, yknow. While Poppy is probably way more guilty of pda, it’s actually Branch who’s more likely to initiate it in private. Like sometimes he’ll just zone out and when he comes around, Poppy’s settled happily in his arms and he just thinks like “How did she get there? Ohhhh yeah, I pulled her in there. A’ight.” and just pulls her closer.

Despite his smartass comments, Branch overall does try to be supportive of anything Poppy does, whether its her music, her political endeavours or just when she wants to sit down and talk his ear off. Like he’ll cut her off for her own benefit just cuz he knows she’s going off topic and is gonna wind up talking in circles and confusing herself so he saves her the trouble. But yeah, for the most part he likes to let her talk.

So yeah, that’s how Branch is as a boyfriend. He’s a good bean, don’t ya think? I dunno why I decided to write a whole essay on this. I feel like I was suddenly very passionate at a very unexpected time and quite frankly, nobody’s gonna even bother to read it to this point but yeah, stop letting me ramble or this shit happens. Peace.