#it makes me so sad as a creative whos biggest following is on there and as a disabled person my art is my only form of income for the

[highdio]

Pleeease, write your thoughts about the musical lol. I really like your Dio meta posts <3

Just a disclaimer: this is really opinionated but I don't like to drag media for its own sake. There were lots of things to like in the Phantom Blood musical, just ... Dio wasn't one of them. Also, Mamoru Miyano threw himself into the performance he was asked for, so it's hardly his fault. It's just always amazing to me that people feel the need to rewrite Dio into someone else when the way Araki's written him is already perfect, complete and a lot of fun.

So, where to start? Basically, the Phantom Blood musical re-writes Dio, giving him a different personality and different motivations through OOC stage direction along with a bunch of original dialog and scenes. What results is a version of Phantom Blood where "Dio" is just a normal guy without charisma who had a bad childhood and spends most of the story being miserable. Dio as he's written in canon has an uncommon charisma and appeal that's allowed him to remain relevant as one of those 'all-time great' villains. Scene after scene in the musical prove that its creative team either didn't read the manga or just really didn't like Dio.

fwiw Araki wrote Dio as thoroughly fleshed-out, with consistent traits and behaviors and consistent motivations behind his actions. He also left a paper trail of interviews and author's commentaries that develop Dio even more fully beyond the manga. So there's really no excuse for media that treat Dio as some sort of empty vessel waiting to be filled by narrative cliches we already know and expect.

It's annoying too, because, along with its OOC content, the musical is peppered with occasional manga-consistent moments. It's like the musical is camouflaging its Very Bad Take on Dio by having Mamoru Miyano periodically re-enact the canon character's most famous panels. The musical wants simultaneously to take credit for bringing Araki's vision to life on the stage, while at the same time completely undermining its most important element: a capital V "Villain" who, according to Araki, "accepts and embraces his evil nature, and follows his dark path without hesitation." This is the biggest change the musical makes to Dio: musical!Dio has none of the confidence that allows canon Dio him to move so decisively and destructively through the narrative.

Musical Dio is introduced by a scene where he's bullied on his way home, before breaking into a song about how terrible his life is, where "everything is always taken from [him]" ("it's hell …I feel nauseated …[I'm] under a cloudy sky.") The song is alternately tearful and hopeful. "I'm going crazy from being robbed!" he laments and then pollyannaishly muses, "hey, Joestar, can you turn my [cloudy] skies to blue?"

If Dio being introduced as a sad sap and self-described perennial loser hoping for any break sounds attitudinally unfamiliar that's because it is. Araki went in the opposite direction: he started his story by subverting the cliche - wide-eyed poor boy victimized by circumstance leaves his sorrow-filled life hoping for a new start - and instead gave us a kid with surprising, even sinister agency. Dio is not just given a hero's upward narrative arc (something Araki crafted very deliberately), he's introduced improbably in his first scene from a position of control. This fact is important because in the manga it's a position he won't lose until four chapters and nearly 100 pages in, when Jonathan finally fights back. From the time young Dio is introduced - reading a book with his back turned to his bed-ridden father who he's secretly poisoning -

- to the time he's systematically broken down his adoptive brother's spirit by alienating him from his friends, taking Erina's first kiss, and of course kicking his dog, Dio is shown as being in control and on top (Erina drinking the muddy water is the only exception). It's OOC to imagine 12-year old Dio feeling sorry for himself because at the time he's introduced, he's already made a habit of getting what he wants. By the time he sets off for the Joestars after killing his first dad, he's already developed full confidence in his abilities and the inevitability of his rise to riches (something Araki has him explicitly state and then underscores with a panel illustration of a steam train signaling the rise of Modernity).

But the writers and director of the musical don't find this characterization interesting enough or something. So they lose the canon entirely and in its place they invent a version of Dio who's despondent. And they didn't get Araki's steam train memo so they miss the Modernity theme (even though Araki's tied Dio so tightly conceptually to the idea of the Modern that he has him "use a 20th century boxing technique in the 19th century"); instead they double down on class difference being determinative. It never occurs to them that Dio is written specifically by Araki with the freedom to move outside of his social status because he sees it as artificial (the "evil elite" monologue later reveals Dio thinks of the whole social contract thing is arbitrary and voluntary).

Throughout the musical, Dio (although it's not fair to Mamoru Miyano since he isn't responsible for writing this mess, let's use mamoDio from now on because it's easier) seems to idolize the Joestars for what he calls their "beautiful blood." Not "beautiful" because usable calories for the vampire he will become but "beautiful" because noble. The Joestars' noble status and the honor that's apparently behind that status become the shining "star" toward which mud-bound mamoDio flailingly, failingly reaches. I don't need to tell you that in canon Dio doesn't have respect for nobility.

"Mud and stars" is heavy-handedly introduced as a dominant theme of the musical. According to the play, Jonathan, noble and bright, looks to the stars while human Dio, pathetic, conflicted and even confused, can only see life as a mud-soaked prison.

Now, the mud and stars thing was only used in Part 1 as a single text element on a Volume 1 illustration but, in spite of its marginality, it's becomes a liturgical text for some fans looking for an explanation for Dio's actions beyond what Araki gives them in the actual narrative. To this sort of fan, a guy who embraces his inner talent for evil and never had the misfortune of developing a moral compass isn't the right type of villain because he's unapologetic. If the villain doesn't have excuses how can you apologize for him? So they need Dio and by extension Araki to give them a "good enough" reason to accept Dio's ever-escalating atrocities. If the reasons Dio has for doing the things he does lie outside of what's considered good or acceptable, they are simply rejected and new reasons are invented in the hope of making Dio much less objectionable.

Now, like I said earlier, Araki's repeatedly told us in his writings that Dio has an upward narrative trajectory, not a downward, "mud"-bound one. The mud and stars duality fails to describe the narrative journey of the two main characters: both look upward to transcend their circumstances and travel along a shonen manga hero's rising path. (In fact, it's Jonathan who needs a good push to realize his potential, something Dio happily provides). And it's Jonathan, not Dio, who Araki first gives a downward arc, being handed defeat after defeat for those first four chapters before gaining his footing and progressively rising to Dio's challenges. "Mud and stars" isn't just a bad choice of metaphor, it's a misleading one.

Back to the musical, mamoDio is the exact opposite. An air of sadness and insecurity haunts his performance. An original scene where George presents the mud and stars dilemma as a lesson highlights Dio's lack of confidence and the depression that lurks behind it, as Dio bemoans how people doomed to "struggle and die" cannot possibly summon the hope it takes to look up to the stars (he's talking of course about himself).

Likewise, and here's where mamoDio's failure as a character really comes into full relief, seven years after this, when Dio's machinations are revealed and he's about to be arrested, before he uses the stone mask, mamoDio drops to the floor and spends the better part of a musical number in tears, bemoaning his sorry life ("I'm trapped in a prison covered in mud… no matter how hard I struggle I'm crushed…") and his lack of noble blood.

(btw this is after the manga scene where Dio fake cries; here, mamoDio is genuinely distraught).

Contrast this to the actual scene in the manga. His expressions in these panels are memorable because of how assured Araki draws him. Dio's entire world - his poisoning scheme, his grab at what one can assume would have been the entirety of the Joestar estate - is about to end but instead of despairing, he launches into a philosophical soliloquy. His body language is haughty: this isn't mamoDio crawling on the ground and decrying his upbringing and lack of noble blood, instead this is a man who apparently, almost irrationally, perceives himself as noble. When he uses the mask, Dio is smiling widely. Metaphorically speaking, he's looking at the stars.

When mamoDio uses the mask? He's on his knees. He's in tears. On one night he interjects, "Mother…" In short, he's conflicted.

One of these depicts Dio. The other does not.

Now obviously the writers and director of the musical must think making these seismic changes adds something to Dio's character. But (and I feel like this is a theme whenever I write these things) I'd argue it only makes him more basic. It makes him predictable and formulaic, someone we've seen in countless other stories.

(Oh! and did I mention mamoDio repeatedly calls himself "useless"!! Because he does this.)

Now, because mamoDio has no confidence and as a human acts out of desperation, when he becomes a vampire he still isn't Dio. Mamoru tries to make his vampire Dio evil and scary by expending a lot of energy, running about the stage and sticking out his tongue ad nauseum. When you look at how Araki has Dio move physically throughout the manga, it's the opposite of kinetic. Dio is a point of fixity who's charisma draws others toward him (ask me for more on this if you want because there's enough here for its own post).

Now for the worst of the worst: at the very end of the production, after the manga ending that features Jonathan's death and Dio's (presumed) defeat as a head imprisoned in Jonathan's arms, the musical takes an original twist in which, following a finale number featuring most of the cast, mamoDio is lead offstage by Jonathan. You read that right. mamoDio is hunched over, resigned, and Jonathan seems to take on a paternal role. Although the lyrics would have you believe this has something to do with "two fates becoming one," it's clear from the stage direction that any embers of Dio's ambition are being tamed and extinguished as Jonathan takes Dio's grasping hand, subdues him, and leads him docilely into the darkness.

It turns out Dio's vampire arc was just a phase, a hurt and lonely child lashing out and making a mess for attention.

His body language here is obscenely out of character. Consider the following because, as I said in the opening, in spite of what all these re-writes of Dio would have you believe, Araki crafted Dio with specificity and consistency: Araki only draws Dio (with very few exceptions) 1) standing tall, looking down at you; 2) back turned, looking back and down at you; or simply 3) back turned, (performatively?) ignoring you. Dio is never on the ground except when he's knocked down (think, young Jonathan finally fighting back in the Joestar home or, much later, Jotaro stopping time and landing those punches). By constrast, mamoDio has spent an incessant amount of time of the ground, crouching, kneeling,, bowing, hunched down. Who is this guy? So his hunched-down exit in the final moments of the production, literally being led by Jonathan (controlled??), is so amazingly stupid that if I didn't have a gif as proof, you might think I'm just making this stuff up:

There's plenty more to unpack that I won't address here: ghost Dario. The lack of grave-spitting. The complete absence of true joy or leisure expressed by Dio especially during his vampire era: no woman eating her baby, no owlcats, no Poco's sister. No chaise lounge. No roses(!). No fun. Not for Dio. That would be too manga-consistent. That might mean Araki wasn't giving us the appropriate message that bad guys are actually just sad guys.

tl;dr Dio isn't in the Phantom Blood musical. He's replaced by a normal guy who's motivated by a lack of self-esteem and despair that he wasn't born into an upper-class household, or something. He's boring. The result? There can be no Part 3 in this musical's world (and presumably no Parts 4, 5 or 6, no Giorno, no Jolyne, … you get the picture) because mamoDio just gives up. It's a nicely produced little tale about Jonathan Joestar and some random other guy who at some point gets a funny green coat.

[tamayula-hl]

As I announced yesterday on Twitter (X), I have decided to end my Twitter activity and make this Tumblr blog my main activity 🙇‍♀️

There are many reasons for this, but the biggest reason is that I have seen a lot of slanderous messages. I used to say, "Everyone wants to spell Avada Kedavra on you. Some people have lost their creative drive because of you" I got a message in Japanese. I tried not to care, but still that message kept hurting me. Twitter was a fun place to be, but it was also a scary place for me. And after much deliberation, I decided to quit Twitter. It's very sad to say goodbye to people who have been good friends to me on Twitter, but this was a choice I needed to make to protect my heart.

It was refreshing to be able to open up about something that had been bothering me alone for so long 🥹 Anyway, I really love the Hogwarts Legacy and I still want to do lots of Sebastian and Ominis fanart! I'll continue to create on Tumblr as before! I'll do my best! Thanks so much for following me on Tumblr from Twitter 🙏🙏✨✨✨

P.S. Since I no longer have a place for short musings about daily life and posting doodles, I created a sub-blog for them (https://www.tumblr.com/tamayula-journal)

[robo-milky]

[MORE INFO]

Nicknames:

Brittle Star (Floyd) | Monsieur Fontaine (Rook) | Mr. Leikata/Leikata-sensei (Idia) | Lei (Neige)

Bio:

Leikata is an expressive boy who’s always honest to himself. Whenever he feels happy, sad, or angry, his body’s natural reaction is to tear up. As a result, his peers mistook him for an irrational crybaby. Contrary to this, Leikata is someone who can speak clearly and calmly in tears. Additionally, he’s gained a reputation for being a “pretty cryer”. This does not make Leikata ashamed, he instead embraces it as a natural side of him. Leikata believes it’s best to let loose and go with the flow, than bottling everything up. Moreover, Leikata’s heart bleeds as much as he cries. Leikata is not just sensitive to his feelings, but others’ as well. If he feels like he did something wrong, he will gladly admit and bring attention to it, even if the other party can’t care less. This is also the reason Leikata can’t lie, the guilt would have eaten him alive.

Core values -> Honesty + Peace

Background:

Leikata’s father is a renowned artist in Twisted Wonderland, known for his craftsmanship of using purely paper to make masterpieces. As a result, Leikata followed his father’s footsteps and became somewhat of an apprentice, working under him for exhibitions and galleries. At the age of 12, Leikata discovered his own UM, “Paper Plans”, and started to surpass his father when it came to crafts, via magic. Out of respect for his father’s value of traditional crafts, Leikata branched off to do his own shows and viewings, by joining the scenes of paper theatres and stop-motion. His personal works are niche among the art community, but he’s been getting more attention through collaborations with others.

Notable Thoughts: Leikata’s

“Silver’s the best! He is my first friend in Night Raven College. …Why? Because he was the only student who wasn’t intimidating.”

“Kalim is a surprisingly good person to vent to, if you ever need it. He always knew how to pick me right up, and sometimes he’d even cry with me.”

“Vil is truly the fairest of them all! Well… maybe not when he’s chewing me out for flunking potionology, haha…”

“When Rook is not keeping an eye on Epel, it becomes my job to keep an eye on him. I’ve tried so hard to teach him how to differentiate between the dessert spoons, but he still doesn’t get it…”

“Lilia’s wears a sun-blocking visor when he has P.E.; I wonder if I should get that too.”

Notable Thoughts: Others’

“I thought I had offended Master Leikata when I talked to him the other day, but apparently his eyes are sensitive to sunlight. That makes me wonder how much of his tears are real…” - Cloche

“Leikata brings such life and energy to the Board Game Club, even going so far as to make customized game pieces for us, and animating them in front of our eyes. He’s so creative, turning chips into something so avant-garde. …Surely, they must be worth quite a lot under his name.” - Azul

“I don’t get why Vil wants me to be like Leikata so bad… All that pansy does is cry.” - Epel

“I can’t believe Azul invited Mr. Leikata— THE Leikata who was part of the stop motion for one of the biggest current blockbuster anime OPs of all time, to the BG club—! What was he thinking?!” - Idia

“I wonder how Lei how is doing, after he animated the credits of my last film. I was hoping we could catch up some time, after he moved.” - Neige

Extras/Trivia:

- Light magic user

- Leikata’s hair used to be long and symmetrical, until Rook burned it part of it by accident during a science lab.

- Leikata’s favourite food, stargazy pie, is banned from the Pomefiore dining hall for life.

- Pomefiore is generally very protective and coddling of Leikata. Not necessarily because they’re scared of him getting hurt, but because of the potential danger that is his UM.

- One of Leikata’s past times in Pomefiore is doing puppet shows in the lounge. Students of other dorms drop by sometimes to watch.

- Leikata’s anime/manga/gaming collabs are essentially the TWST equivalent of JJBA x Gucci/Louvre

Full Sprite:

[auspicious-manner]

hi! i love your stories, can you write a race x fem!reader where race and a couple of other newsies run from angry customers, hiding in a theater, and the performer completely entrances racetrack, dudes lovestruck?

i delayed posting this until today because IT’S BEN COOK’S BIRTHDAY YAY!!!

i love that boy with all my heart. he’ll forever be my racetrack. enjoy this race story in honor of ben’s 25th bday :))

female reader x race

warnings: none

Natural Talent

•

it was just an average day of paper selling for the group of newsies. the temperature was right, the sun was shining, and the air smelled like money. jack, race, albert, jojo, and finch could all feel it that day.

oddly enough, they all kind of liked days where the headline was boring. they could make up their own exciting headline to sell to the masses, and they could create their own storylines. race liked to contribute to the creativity of making a storyline, not necessarily coming up with his own dramatic headline. as a desperate newsie, that was a skill that he should have been born with.

as the day was coming to a close, it was time to amp up the selling tactics even more in order to get through every paper.

“papers, get ya papes here!” race yelled to the roaming citizens of new york city. not a single new yorker batted an eye or looked in his direction. race’s shoulders fell, his eyes turning into a sad puppy dog look. why couldn’t he make up a good headline?

jack rolled his eyes and scoffed, snatching the paper from race’s hand. “sing ‘em to sleep why don’t ya. this is how you do it, racer.”

jack stepped forward, and coughed to clear his throat. “homeless shelter set ablaze by angry city goers, biggest story of the year! you heard it here first, folks, get ‘em while they’re hot!” he yelled. a small line formed in front of him, and he took the coins graciously and handed them to race.

“how’re you so good at doing that, jack?” race asked, dumbfounded by jack’s natural ability to sell.

“he’s jack kelly, that’s how,” jojo said next to race.

“well i know that, i can see him.”

“it takes years of practice,” jack started after getting through the line of paper customers. “you’ll get better sooner or later. but for your sake, you better hope its sooner.”

albert stood next to the boys. “i’ve sold all my papes for today, i’m gonna head back to the lodging house. see you all soon,” he said, beginning to walk away.

“hey, this newspaper says nothin’ about a fire! what are you boys on about?” an old man yelled, waving his paper in the air furiously.

“he’s right! is this how you steal money from innocent women like me?” a lady said, coming up behind the man. they had rallied together a small crowd of angry newspaper customer, and the newsboys froze.

jack turned to albert, who had began walking away. the rest of the boys carefully shifted their glances towards jack for guidance.

the angry mob began approaching them, and the newsies slowly backed away.

“newsies… make a run for it!” jack screamed, taking off in the other direction. the boys all followed, and the angry mob took off in their direction.

jack took hold of albert’s arm as he was running, taking him along with the boys.

“man, i’se just wanted to get back to the lodgin’ house! why do i have to be apart of this?” albert whined to jack as his legs continued to run.

they ran far, hoping to lose the crowd of men behind them. jack led the boys through the alleys and back streets of new york, but it was no use.

jack turned to race, who was closest to him. “we need to split up. racer, take the boys to medda’s theater. the crowd wants me, so i’ll lead them away and meet you there. okay?” he whispered, barely out of breath and not breaking a sweat. race looked at him in awe.

“yeah… no problem,” race heaved, picking up his pace to lead the boys as jack swerved around another corner.

why’d he have to leave this up to me? race thought. do i look like leader material?

he whipped around to see the boys behind him, and that was it. the crowd had followed jack, and all race could hope for was that they didn’t catch up to jack.

the group approached the back door of medda’s theater, and they quickly ran inside and shut the door behind them. they had found themselves in the wings of the bright stage.

“where’d jack go?” finch asked in between breaths. the group leaned against the door, looking out into the theater ahead of them. it looked like a show was just about to start.

race lowered his voice. “jack was going to lead the crowd away. he wanted me to take you all here.”

jojo frowned. “jack put you in charge? for what reason?”

race shrugged, unsure of the answer himself. “beats me.”

“you boys gettin’ into trouble again?” a lady’s voice called out, causing the boys to snap their heads around. it was medda with a knowing smile on her face.

“hi miss medda,” albert said, still regaining his breath.

“where’s jack?” she asked, suddenly getting worried.

“he’ll be back here soon, he was leadin’ away the angry mob followin’ us,” race said maybe a bit too nonchalantly.

medda rolled her eyes. “i don’t even want to know what mob was following you kids this time. while you’re here, you better stick around for the show. i think it outta be something you boys would like,” she said with a grin. she winked before heading onstage as the curtain rolled up, revealing the audience.

the boys took a seat backstage mere inches away from being visible to the audience. race’s eye caught a girl on the other side of the wings, who glanced shyly away when she noticed he was staring. he wondered who it was.

“now, folks, prepare to be wowed by this next act. at only sixteen years of age, her talent is beyond what anyone would expect out of her tiny frame. she’s new to my theater, but i hope you all will give her a warm welcome. introducing the fabulous Y/N L/N!”

the crowd cheered, and the lights went down as medda ran off stage and the girl in the wings slowly walked out to the microphone. she had a certain poise and way of carrying herself that kept race entranced.

the lights lit the room up again, and race carefully watched the girl onstage. he came to the conclusion that this was the girl he had made eye contact with just moments before.

the music began, and it was a song he didn’t recognize. he watched as the girl gently swung side to side, her long velvet dress and her long, straight hair swaying with her. Y/N settled herself back to the center of the microphone, and she began to sing.

race noticed that her voice wasn’t very operatic, which he enjoyed. it was warmer, and had different nuances and layers that was new and refreshing to his ears. Y/N carried herself elegantly, and race could tell that she trusted her instincts while singing. she was very beautiful to look at, and even more beautiful to listen to.

to race, it looked like she wasn’t even nervous, and she didn’t have to think too hard about what she was doing. she was a natural.

race was so focused on this mysterious girl that he didn’t even notice jack had arrived and was sitting behind him. he placed a hand on race’s shoulder, and he turned his head around.

“i think i lost ‘em,” jack started. “who’s that?” he asked, pointing to the stage.

“her name is Y/N. she’s a new performer at medda’s, and she’s absolutely stunning.”

jack laughed at race’s comment, but he was cut off by medda.

“will you boys just relax and watch the show?”

“sorry miss medda,” jack whispered, scooting away from race.

race’s eyes fixated on the girl singing once again. if he were in a cartoon, he’d have hearts in his eyes. the world around him seemed to fade, and it felt like the only ones in the room were him and Y/N. is this what love at first sight feels like?

race made sure to soak in every word she sang, for he didn’t know the next time he’d be able to see her perform.

when her last note rang out, the noise happily lingered in race’s ear. the room went silent before an eruption of applause began. he slowly clapped, still coming down from his high.

Y/N walked off stage towards the boys, and race’s heart rate quickened. she immediately went to medda’s side without giving the boys a glance.

“she was somethin’, wasn’t she?” jojo asked rhetorically.

“her voice was beautiful,” albert started. he looked over at race, who was still lost in his own world. a smirk appeared on his face. “how ‘bout you, race? what’d you think of the show?”

race didn’t reply.

“racer!” jack yelled as loud as he could without being disruptive. race blinked and sat up before turning around.

“what? what did you say?” race asked quickly.

finch laughed. “did you like the show? seems like you grew a little attached to that girl.”

race looked over to the girl who was still speaking with medda.

“yeah, i liked it. i liked it a lot,” he replied back sheepishly, still staring at Y/N.

the boys looked between themselves, all thinking the same thing.

“race, i can’t keep watchin’ you admire this girl from a distance. go on and talk to her,” jack said, standing up and reaching his hand down for race to take.

race looked up, wide eyed. he took it and reluctantly stood up. “i don’t know if i can.”

jack smiled. “sure you can!” he exclaimed, wrapping his arm around race’s shoulder and guiding him to medda and Y/N. race was mortified.

the pair stood by the girls, and Y/N turned her head to look at them. she gave them a small smile, before medda began to introduce the boys to her.

“Y/N, this is jack and racetrack,” medda said, pointing to them. jack waved, and race kept his eyes focused on the girl.

“i’ll leave you kids be, i need to greet the audience. my work never stops,” medda said while laughing, walking out of the wings to go walk around the theater.

jack and race looked back at Y/N, who was beginning to look a little awkward.

“you sounded great out there, kid. i’ll leave you and racer by yourselves, he’s the one that wanted to talk to you. see ya later!” jack exclaimed before patting race’s back and walking away.

race stood in front of the girl of his dreams appalled at jack for leaving him alone. he’s never had experience with girls, how was he supposed to handle a conversation with one as gorgeous and as talented as her?

her waiting and compelling eyes stayed locked on race, and he turned his head to meet her gaze.

“i-i’m race,” he asked nervously.

she playfully smiled. race took note of the way her nose crinkled a bit when she grinned.

“i’ve heard,” she started. “i’m Y/N. i’ve never heard a name quite like racetrack.”

he sighed. “it’s just a nickname.”

there was an awkward silence.

“you were amazing out there. i’ve never heard a voice so beautiful in my life,” he said, filling the void.

she turned red. “gosh, you’re too kind,” she said shyly, looking down. “before i went on, i believe you were the one i saw from across the stage, right?”

race was shocked that she even remembered a small detail like that. “yes, that was me. i didn’t think you’d ever take notice of me.”

she shrugged and stepped a bit closer. “why not?”

race’s heart rate picked up, and he looked down at the girl. “you quickly looked away when i saw you. but not only that, i’m a newsboy, you’re a talented singer, i didn’t think it’d ever work.”

“i’m sorry about that, i was just nervous,” Y/N began. “maybe you need to rethink us working, race,” she whispered. the backstage lights caught her eyes just right, and they sparkled with a newfound feeling of intrigue.

race stared down at her, unsure of what to do next. “you’re really pretty,” he said, breathless.

she blushed again. “you’re cute.”

now it was race’s turn to get all red. his moment of bliss was interrupted by the guys coming up behind him.

“excuse us, miss,” albert said behind race. “we need to take our boy away for a few minutes. it’s newsboy stuff.”

the boys dragged him away, and he looked behind him to see Y/N confused. race closed his eyes, feeling defeated.

“what was that for? i was getting somewhere with Y/N!” race exclaimed.

“we just wanted to ask you how things were goin’ over there,” jack asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“it’s none of your business. i’m gonna go back over there, and you guys aren’t going to interrupt me ‘till i’m done. you hear?”

“…so it is goin’ good?” jojo said. race rolled his eyes and left the group of boys.

“sorry about that, they’re a little distractin’ sometimes,” race said, coming back to the girl.

“it’s quite alright. where were we?”

race thought about it for a few moments. “i’m not sure.”

Y/N laughed. “that’s okay, i forgot too.”

“how’d you get into singin’? you could be makin’ it big with a voice like that,” race said, sparking up conversation. he liked flattering Y/N, because every time he did she would smile like she didn’t already know she was amazing.

“as a little girl, i would sing whenever i felt any kind of emotion. my mother loved it. then, when my parents died, i was living on the streets. i used singing as an escape.”

Y/N looked down. race’s expression softened at the sight of her.

“i sang to make money. then, miss medda discovered me and took me in. she gave me lessons, and a place to earn money. and thats how this all started.”

race raised his eyebrows. “i’m sorry to hear about your parents. i lost mine a while ago too.”

Y/N sighed. “it’s alright, i-”

she was interrupted by medda telling her there were important people in the audience that wanted to meet her.

race felt his stomach drop. “i don’t want this to be the last time i see you,” race said sadly.

Y/N bit her lip. “it won’t be. stop by tomorrow night for another show. we can talk some more then.”

race nodded. “i will. i sell papes a few blocks down, you can stop by there durin’ the day if you want.”

she nodded. “i just might have to.” she stepped closer and stood on her toes to place a gentle kiss on race’s cheek. “goodbye race.”

race felt like melting right then and there. his heart felt like it grew. “goodbye Y/N.”

[cowgremlin11]

Romeo and Juliet Vikdecai AU

So I'm seriously considering making a full Romeo and Juliet AU. I was having breakfast with my roommate and he helped me fit in a few gaps that were missing crucial characters, which then snowballed to me being bale to complete fitting in the character list.

I'm tempted to turn this into a large fic or (more realistically considering my schedule) a series of small comics. If I turned it into a fic: it would be very long. I'd either have each chapter be each scene, or 5 chapters revolved around each act (longer to write). It'd be true to the original play to the best of my abilities. If I turned it into a comic: It'd be quite scattered and all over the place.

I may do a mix of both? Write the fic and draw complementary scenes to post here. I'm mostly trying to think about my college schedule and everything I have to write for my creative writing courses. (Maybe I could talk to my short fiction prof about this!)

Here's what I have so far:

Missing characters: Zib, Wick, Lacy, Nina, Gracie, Zulie, Virgil, the pig farmers, rest of the band, Church, Kehoe, Ruby.

Not all of these missing characters need to be filled, and there's a few where I have an idea how to incorporate them (namely the band and Zulie, I have an idea that during the Act 1 Scene 5 party they could be there,) and there's a few that aren't relevant enough to truly be needed for this au (the pig farmers, Gracie, Church, Virgil.) In a perfect world I'd have a place for all of these characters and it would work out with no gaps, but this is a Romeo and Juliet Vikdecai AU. It was never meant to fit perfectly because obviously Tracy never wrote these characters with this sort of AU in mind..

Elaboration for why I cast other characters the way I did under the cut (LOTS OF WORDS):

Viktor as Romeo is... a little tricky. Same with Mordecai as Juliet.Obviously, they're not going to be changed fundamentally JUST to fit the au. I have the plan for Viktor to be more of a sad sack than a romantic, hence why Viktor's canon wife has been cast as the girl who rejected Romeo (also he's bisexual.) Viktor starts this AU in such a sad spot, but the hard part comes in when you remember that there is no war trauma. There is no PTSD. This is my biggest hurdle when writing most aus, not even just Vikdecai aus. (You should see the cowboy au!) Now Mordecai, I have a plan. He's very true to the Mordecai we see in canon, just without the Heller family (as they wouldn't exist here.) There's no Rose, no Esther, and no Mama Tzipporah. But when you think about it, that doesn't quite stop Mordecai from being the way he is! He's still this nerdy, rude, analytical twerp that Viktor grows attracted to. I am most excited to work out the party scene. Perhaps Mordecai catches Viktor's eye not because of his beauty, but because he's the 'brought a book to a club' trope. The other's can wait, why the hell is this guy reading at a party.

Atlas and Mitzi are the Montagues, because this idea revolves around Viktor being of the Montague house, but seeing how Mordecai is part of the Capulets in this AU, I felt the need for Atlas to be dead so it's more true to the canon story. It also saves me on writing Atlas, a character we don't know much about personality wise (we can only theorize and speculate.) Rocky as Mercutio WORKS TOO WELL. I know there are some people who would make this au with a RockyxMordecai focus (I hate that ship too much) BUT IT WOULDN'T WORK! ROCKY IS NO ROMEO, ROCKY IS A MERCUTIO. THE QUEEN MAB SPEECH PEOPLE! Freckle as Benvolio is just very funny to me, and very fitting with Rocky as Mercutio. I have ALWAYS read Benvolio as this nervous little guy following around Mercutio, and if I'm remembering this right Benvolio is good in a fight. This just works!!! Balthasar is Romeo's trusted friend, and the one who tells him of Juliet's "death." I didn't know where else to put Ivy, honestly, and this is the closest we'd get to 'Romeo's trusted friend.'

I don't know what to do about Lady Capulet? She's a very important character in the play, as she speaks with Juliet many times, but there is no canon character who would be Asa's wife, and I don't know if Asa even HAS a wife. Perhaps I could put Nina there, but that would be VERY awkward seeing how Rocky and Freckle are part of the other house. I may make an oc for that role? Someone stuck up and stiff to contrast Asa's dad vibes. THAT OR: since Juliet's gender swapped in this I could cut Lady Capulet altogether and have Asa be the one to come talk to Mordecai about the marriage and such. Might just do that... Mrs. Bapka as the nurse is an idea from my roommate that I love too much to not do. She wouldn't speak a word in english, obviously, and that can cause a lot of issues story-wise, but 1. who else would the nurse be, I'm struggling and 2. THE COMEDY OF IT ALL. And also-I like to think Mrs. Bapka does know Mordecai! He goes to visit Viktor and this tiny little grandma comes over without warning and they know each other! And she's a neutral party who could want the best for them both.

Dom as the Prince is purely because who else would go there, and the Prince is a character who keeps the peace. Almost like Dom is trying to keep the peace in St. Louis by putting an end to the criminal bootlegging? I think it's a good fit.

I think Serafine as Count Paris and Nico as Tybalt is the funniest option. I almost had those characters filled in as Wes and Fish (inspired by @melffen 's Beauty and the Beast fic having Wes be Gaston, and Count Paris is trying to marry Juliet, you can see where my thought process was) but then I realized,

Where do the savoys go

That doesn't QUITE fit the personalities I'm going for (works in the BatB au since Serafine's better as the witch! I loved the subtle casting of her as the with more than you'll ever know)

Wes and Fish as the two Capulet's who get into a fight at the start of the play is a much funnier outcome.

The Arbogasts as the clergy characters is too funny for me to not do. Originally I had the idea of Abelard as Friar Laurence, but I was hesitant due to 1. main couple is gay and 2. HELLFIRE, so I swapped him and Bobby when I remembered Friar John exists. Elsa is a good fit for the apothecary, since you know. Nurse. Quackenbush is a backup who's more like a stunt double just in case something goes wrong when writing her character.

Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk, if you have any ideas ANY AT ALL, please feel free to rb this with said ideas, or just come into my dms if you want to help me with this idea!

[tarot-by-e11e]

Hello Elle excited to participate in your new game!! Here are my details:

Initials: SG

Nickname: Asteria

My go to self empowering song : Feeling Good by Michael Bublé

My dream life : Hmm I just want to be someone who's powerful and rich like a rich lawyer with multiple businesses. Yea that's my dream life haha

*funny thing is that I was literally Journaling this today*

Hoping that I've followed the rules correctly and thank you for your time and energy 💓💓💓

Hi SG/Asteria.,

Thank you so much for participating in my new ask game~

It’s been awhile since I’ve last heard this song~ This is definitely a nice vibe…

The cards I pulled for you regarding the Encouragement of your Future Self are:

4 of Cups, Ace of Cups, Knight of Wands

These are the things your Future Self wants to tell you:

“Don’t be envious of other people’s success stories when you have your own success story waiting to become reality.”

“If a job is currently feeling unfulfilling, it’s a sign that you’ve grown beyond what that work can offer. Take it as a signal for you to get a better job that lets you grow and expand. Stagnancy is your biggest enemy. So trust that you are just becoming a big fish in a small pond. That’s why you just need to be in bigger places that can let you become more than your current environment is offering you.”

“Don’t be sad that you feel discontented with where you are currently. It’s just a sign that you have more room to go. So keep exploring elsewhere.”

“Leaning into your creativity is actually your best bet to having more abundance. So let yourself create and explore other means of making money. If you have a so-called wild idea to start a new business, do it. There’s a reason why you have that idea. Follow it. It might not make sense now but trust that in time, it will be abundant eventually.”

“Change is scary but you know it’s necessary. So take that step, even if it’s scary. You know it holds a lot of promises for more, for better. So take the chance and jump. Let yourself have fun again. Be playful and get excited with going to work.”

“If something excites you, do it. It’s those who are bold enough to journey through murky waters with each decisive steps that are able to discover new ways of better living.”

“I’m not telling you to gamble. I’m telling you to have fun being a trailblazer.”

“Don’t let fear hold you back from turning your potential into your abundant reality

This is all I can read for you.

Do let me know how this resonates with you.

(This reading is for entertainment purposes only)

[burinazar]

[some brief suicide ideation mentions in this post] for those kind of newer to the ebilxperience, my mental health has been way waaaay better since like late 2021 to now than it has for most of my life up to that point (people who followed me before then might remember some...intense sadposting). I just haven't really felt...too super bad very often. I feel bad sometimes but not so bad I wanted to die, which used to be a regular problem. The episodes of intense suicide ideation in response to feelings of wasted potential or the inevitability of feeling isolation from other human beings just sort of stopped happening. I would chalk all of this up to unknowable brain chemistry, by the way, and not any external causes I've been able to identify.

At the time that this changed, what also became clear was the inability to get shit done that we had all just thought was depression did not go away when my depression magically cleared itself out of the way. I still kind of really sucked at getting shit done. This is what ultimately enabled the late-ass-and-i'm-still-not-entirely-convinced-im-not-somehow-faking-it ADHD diagnosis from my psych who was like Oh. Actually That Tracks. The things I'm not good at making myself do largely extend to anything that both involve a risk of rejection/hurt feelings, anything that requires some believe I personally 'deserve it' (job apps, asking for references), and things that don't have built-in accountability/deadlines (funny stupid example: i'll do a job app for sure if someone I know referred me to the position and is going to be aware/disappointed if I don't submit it, because that too is a form of fearing rejection! so oops, i hacked my rejection anxiety into making myself take a risk).

As you can imagine a lot of career related and interpersonal activities, as well as various day to day life tasks, fall into a combo of these things. I haven't really been able to fix that and by objective life milestone measures continue to underachieve in both career stuff and interpersonal relationships. But...it hasn't gotten me down for the past couple years, and the biggest reason is I've been able to get a lot of joy out of my art and writing during this time period.

And this....allows me to...kind of avoid having to look at how unfulfilling those areas are. But I really need to...face it.

Because I've become more and more aware that there are people, ones around my general age range, ones who may face similar Brain Issues or corresponding obstacles, that do go and find self fulfillment in more than one of these fronts. I actually got super sad about this last night for the first time in ages cuz I heard from someone who has a lot of interests in common with me but was finding fulfillment on multiple fronts, creative *and* interpersonal *and* career.

And maybe it's greedy of me to want it, but god, the life where I get to do all my silly creative bullshit/wrting/art/pet ownership but *miraculously, also, somehow* have a job and career that I don't feel conflicted and unhappy and 'i never really tried to make my dreams manifest' about, and am able to make new friendships and like date and stuff, I...do think I want that for myself and have been denying both that desire and the fact I might have the potential to achieve it.

idk this is kind of nothing but tl;dr i'm gonna start trying again and just wanted to ramble about it on tungus for a sec

[mintsbubbletea]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! Get to know your mutuals and followers 💚

Dancing!! Ive been on stage ever since I could walk, I may not be the best but I will but on one hell of a show. I love and belong on stage as its a way to express myself Latest dance cover

Listening to music, I mean I've always been so happy and obsessed with music but there was a time in my high school days where I couldn't not leave the house without my headphones and had to listen to music because of how bad my anxiety was. Had the biggest panic attack when my teacher took my phone for the whole day cause I forgot to put it on silence and had to deal with no music for the whole day :(

I reallllllly love Kpop. Been a fan since 2013 in third grade, of course I love other type of genres of music but Kpop has a special place in my heart. Some groups I like are Ateez, New Jeans, Twice, Exid, Sistar, SNSD, VCHA, 2NE1, (G)I-DLE and more

Im a big foodie. I can literally be sad or just chilling when people will give me food and I'll be the happiest person. I have a good relationship with food and I appreciate and love it 💚

Tattoos!!! I currently have 9 tattoos and I absolutely love them. Im happy when I get them cause its another way of expressing my art and my creativity on my skin, i also love showing them off

[onlyjaeyun]

hi!! ive been following and reading since your past few SMAUs and im so in love with your writing🩶 i even checked daily for each one for the updates💀 but never any real disappointment when you weren't able to, or needed to take a break, because i know that when you did post, it was going to be amazing!!

it's hard to put art or creativity on a schedule, and when you force yourself to be creative when you're not mentally in the space, it can come out botched and it shows in the art :(

so i'm glad you're able to say "no" and give yourself breaks to be able to let your creativity flow FROM you and not FOR others.

for those who ask for updates or consistently flood the inbox every day when you don't see a chapter:

i totally understand! but a small reminder that the way you ask tends to come off as dehumanizing... they are not a vending machine that you insert a token and expect something in return. when you repeatedly ask "when's the next chapter?" "chapter tonight?" "are you almost done with the next chapter?" it's like shaking and pounding on the vending machine.

instead, try encouraging the artist!! let them know how much their writing makes you happy, or note some parts that you particularly liked. maybe even saying instead, "so exited for the next chapter!" instead of "when's the next chapter?"

i'm not a writer, but i know what it feels like to be made to feel like i'm a vending machine for my art... A.I. and "fast fashion" art have made it seem like we can just demand art from someone whenever we want, with low prices or compensation. the industrial revolution really fucked over artists😭😭

anyways, i'm sorry to make this so long, i just see those people in writer's asks a LOT and it really makes me sad 😭 like, im not necessarily angry... i get it... but people don't really think with much compassion when there's a screen between us all... i hope your art is always purely you and NEVER a botched version for others to feed into their demands🩶

oh bless your sweet soul 🥺

thank you SO much, not only for your sweet and kind words but also for such amazing support and encouragement.

readers like you are the backbone of a writer's mental state im not even kidding 😭

i couldn't have worded it better and agree with your theory that encouraging words are so much more helpful than asking for more content.

sending you the biggest kiss, i really appreciate thisa nd you so so much 💞🌥️💐

[fashionablylala]

Fashion Week isn't for the Weak!

What's twice a year and has a bob? That's right, it's fashion week y'all! It's the most hectic time of year for anyone in the fashion industry. From designers, influencers, celebrities, and even people like myself, journalists! This season highlights the fall/winter collections from some of the biggest names in the world, and introduces a few newcomers. Take a stroll down the runway with me as I break down the most memorable moments surrounding Black talent!

First off we have New York, home of Timberland boots and of course my favourite music genre, hip hop. Usually I really love NYFW because some of my favourite designer showcase there, but honestly this season bored me.

Thom Browne had celebrities like Janet Jackson, Queen Latifah, Alton Mason etc dressed head to toe in their brand for the FW24 show.

Along with some gorgeous campaign images all shot by Black photography duo AB+DM (Ahmad Barber and Donté Maurice). I love it when Black creatives are given the opportunity to thrive in their skills on a big platform; their photography is immaculate. Each celebrity was well put together, the styling was perfection.

I very recently learned that Luar was founded by Raul Lopez, a Brooklyn based designer originally from the Dominican Republic. The collection wasn't really my vibe so I'll just be quiet on that subject lol. No shade. In other news, we saw Beyoncé attending his show in support of her nephew Juelz, who debuted on the runway modelling for the brand. Miss Renaissance wore a full silver outfit (of course lol) by Gaurav Gupta. I hated the way it was styled personally, especially with the Luar bag. The handbag felt forced and probably was to some degree, as she was sitting front row as an invited guest that meant she had to wear something from the brand. Her team could have done a better job pairing the accessory with another outfit or choosing a different bag altogether. Also I'm very much over the cowboy hat, but I know she's currently promoting her new country music so I wasn't surprised. I wouldn't call Beyoncé a fashion girlie, but considering she's the biggest star in the world I hope that her glam squad would do a better job. Fix it Jesus.

Beyoncé wearing Gaurav Gupta Couture and Luar bag

LaQuan Smith is probably my most anticipated designer from NYFW, but this season I didn't even see his collection on my feed. I had to search for it, which is unusual for me as it's usually posted all over my timeline with everyone gagging and hyperventilating. I then realised why it was barely posted when I finally saw his collection, because it left me feeling uninspired. It wasn't innovative or exciting, just kind of regular and something that's been done before. This is a fabulous gay Black man who usually CLEARS every time, but this season left me confused. Where was the innovation? Where was the hoochie mama flavour? What was the extra razzle dazzle? It was barely there. It felt like an lazy afterthought and I'm even sad to say that about one of my favourite Black designers. If I compare FW24 to his previous collections you will see exactly what I mean. For example the FW22 collection was opulent, sexy, and vibrant. LaQuan is a true innovator who doesn't follow trends, because he sets them hunny! So I'm not sure what happened this season, but I blame Elon Musk. Somehow it's always his fault, don't question me lmao. I just know that my fav can produce better designs, but I won't let this low key mid collection put me off. I guess we all have bad days right? It wasn't ugly by any means, it just kept the hoochie mama flavour and unusual designs to a minimum. And my beloved friend and fashion partner in crime, keeps telling me that it's now a dying theme to make room for quiet luxury, which had me heartbroken. On a nicer note, the music on the runway however was GREAT! I loved that he used “The Player's Club” snippet as the intro, it's such a classic movie and a staple in Black culture. I would listen to that entire mix daily! It was a beautiful blend of Curtis Mayfield, Baby Tate, Nicki Minaj, Sadé, Missy Elliott and more. Plus with a piano performance by Babyface, who sang Two Occasions by The Deele. That was a very nice touch! I'm gonna need LaQuan to put it on Spotify asap so I can pop my puss 😜

LaQuan Smith FW24

LaQuan Smith FW23

While I was sad that I couldn't get an invite to see my favourite London based designers showcase their talent, I was quickly relieved when I saw what went down the runway. I would have sold my left arm to be at some LFW shows this season, but my disappointment followed from NYFW as I felt unimpressed by the usual showstoppers. Despite that, I quickly felt better once I spotted UK grime legend Skepta at the Burberry show wearing a BLOODY GORGEOUS fur teal coat by the brand. Every time I see that man at fashion week or on a red carpet he looks extremely good. I don't think he gets enough credit for his drip and we need to change that.

Anna Wintour and Skepta at the Burberry show

As I previously mentioned we also occasionally see newcomers during fashion week, and that brings me to introduce Tolu Coker. She's a British Nigerian designer who graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2017, and hasn't taken her foot off the accelerator since! Tolu first showcased her FW19 collection at London fashion week, and she's worked with the likes of Stefflon Don, Burna Boy, Adwoa Aboah and more amazing names.

Her collections are always nothing short of fabulous and full of life. Tolu even had a collab with UGG for the footwear of her FW24 collection, which was definitely a BIG FLEX lol. Making it to Vogue Runway is already a great achievement, but to have a popular loved brand like UGG supporting your collection is very cool. UGG has also been known to collab with Telfar, another incredible Black owned brand. And I'm starting to see a pattern here and I love that for us 🥰

MFW

As we move into Milan, the first collection that comes to mind is Diesel. They had all the Black folks walking hunny! It was like a family reunion lol. We saw names like Alton Mason to Leomie Anderson and so many more! And of course everyone was killing it because that's what we do! 💅🏾 The clothes were fun but still practical, which is expected from Diesel. Leomie had on a gorgeous pink and orange number that was oozing with IT GWORL ENERGY. It was overall a great show. I'm a sucker for a fur coat especially if it's an usual colour, and Diesel was nothing short of that. Besides the weird music announcement thingy lol I have no notes.

Gucci finally produced something I liked after years of mediocre BS designs, but I'm still not buying clothing from a racist brand. I think a lot of people have forgotten why the household name was being boycotted some years ago, so here's a quick reminder…

Y'all can still give them your coins if you want to but I'm not a damn EEDIAT fool. You only need to insult me once. Thank you. Next.

It's now time for Paris! Some of you might know the city for their wonderful pastries, but I know it for some of the most popular fashion houses in the world! Supermodel Anok Yai, didn't walk for Mugler despite her recently being chosen as the face for the brand, and I definitely missed her presence! 😭 However our favourite curvy models Precious Lee and Paloma Elsesser did. I wasn't too excited by the outfits they were wearing, it felt like they gave them the safe options. I see this happening far too often with plus size models and it's frankly getting extremely tiring. It's rare to have bigger bodies on the runway at all, but if we do they're completely covered up. Plus size models are barely visible, we only get 1 or maybe 2 if we're lucky on the runway at a time, because yay tokenism! 🥲

Model and gamer, Paris HK said it perfectly. Bigger bodies deserve so much better. I say this at least 10 times a year smh.

Moving onto better news, my other fav Balmain, was brilliant… but I'm never surprised by that. Olivier Rousteing has been the creative director since 2011, and he's a Black French designer who always knows how to bring life back into the runway. His recent custom looks haven't been giving the same energy and I'm not sure why, but his collections are never a disappointment! He puts his foot in that sh** EVERY TIME! His FW24 show was gorgeous, however he could have came a little harder! His core ideas were based on heritage and his hometown, Bordeaux. His take was elegant and giving grown woman, which makes sense because some designs were inspired by his mother's wardrobe too. We saw lots of different ways he incorporated fruits and shells into perfect pieces of walking art. A few designs felt a tad bit unfinished, and I wasn't a fan of him pairing slouchy Chino style trousers with the corsets. However for the most part Olivier absolutely delivered. I liked his bags too which usually go under the radar. There was so much to enjoy with this collection. Olivier is a brilliant designer, and I always look forward to what he brings to fashion week because he rarely ever disappoints!

Watch the FW24 show here via YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/live/chUl7Gdr41E?si=qpHNziXA66_cOHhr

Off-White also has a Black creative director by the name of Ibrahim Kamara, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Dazed. I completely loved his collection! Butterflies, pastels, fur, dice, lime green… and everything that makes me happy 😊 it had a New York edge to it and felt like an obvious nod to hip-hop and overall Black culture. It was a nice combination of basketball bags and the matching sneakers, and not to mention the hoochie mama designs, which y'all know that I love! His collection was giving “girly but keep it gangster” and that's definitely a bit of me. At first Ibrahim seemed like he lacked the confidence to really go for it when he debuted his very first collection for Off-White SS23. For those that don't know, he took over as CD when the incredibly talented, Virgil Abloh suddenly passed away in November 2021. Tbh I wasn't moved by Ib’s first collection but since then he's found his footing bit by bit. This season I definitely enjoyed the menswear a lot more than the womenswear unfortunately, which is crazy because the potential was totally there but it seemed like Kamara wanted to keep the girls more edgy. Models like Chanel Iman and Jourdan Dunn were spotted walking in the show, of course they came to f**k sh** up as per usual!

Off-White FW24

My girlfriend in my head aka Precious Lee, walked for the show wearing a trench coat that completely covered her up 🙃 yet again, why do designers always hire plus size models and cover them in excessive amounts of fabric? It's childish, like grow up! I wanna see her titties bouncing like a basketball on a court. Stop playing with me. It's always the same stupidness and as a plus size baddie myself, it truly jars me. The same thing happened last fw season and it needs to stop.

I want to see girls like Precious Lee wearing sexy bodycon dresses or figure hugging clothes that show off her shape, because that's more realistic. That's how I look when I'm wearing my favourite clothes and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. All bodies deserve to be seen regardless of their proportions. Have you seen her body?!?! Why hire someone as delicious as Precious if they're just gonna drape loads of pointless material to hide her magnificent curves??? Don't piss me off.

Precious Lee for Off-White FW24

Precious Lee for Off-White FW23

On a happier note, Halle Bailey and Willow Smith were spotted in front row. It was a nice moment that everyone seemed excited for, including me! I hope we can see a duo from them one day, because not only do they compliment eachother visually but musically that would be an iconic link up.

So fashion week this season was a bit chaotic as always, but in some ways quite impressive. I must always ask though, when will the day come when we see a Black woman occupying the role of creative director of a huge fashion house??? We've seen Pharrell takeover at Louis Vuitton for menswear and several other Black men are in that chair for Balmain, Off-White etc …so when will Black women get the opportunity? Moschino is one of my favourite brands of all time, but their recent decision to hire another white man has left a bad taste in my mouth. They've never had a Black CD and haven't had a female one in over 20 years! I think it's time for a change. Where's Gabriella KJ at? 👀 Or even the CEO of Black owned luxury fashion brand, Hanifa? It's 2024 and Black women are the ones who are buying fashion items THE MOST, but are leading in the big fashion roles THE LEAST. It burns me to my core y'all. It's hard to love fashion whilst witnessing this sh** to be completely honest with you. The only thing that keeps me smiling is seeing people like Tolu Coker being praised, and seeing more Black models on the runway. A win is still a win! So I will take those wins and skip all the way to the very last topic…

Here is my best and the worst of FW24!

BEST:

Susan Liang

Chen Peng

Balmain

Schiaparelli

Richard Quinn

Wiederhoeft

Harris Reed

Diesel

Tolu Coker

Stella McCartney

WORST:

Alexander McQueen

Moschino

Vivienne Westwood

Balenciaga

Louis Vuitton

Miu Miu

Loewe

Blumarine

Well I hope I was able to teach you something about fashion week that you never knew, or maybe you just enjoyed having a little kiki with me 😊 Whichever it was, I wish you all a beautiful start to Spring! And I hope you have your pastel outfits ready, because being afraid of colour is silly. Life is too short to only wear Black, and if it feels like I'm talking to you then I probably am... Fight me 🥰🥰🥰 Plus everybody knows that baby pink looks pretty on darker skin 😉

xoxo LaLa

[cpd-55055]

i would like to hear your honest opinion do you think that since a few seasons (seasons 8, 9 and 10 1/2) PD has become boring in terms of story and writing and in general?

Short Answer: Definitely! They have lost their creativity and intensity. In the past seasons, every episode brought us to the edge of our seats. But now, both the cases are boring, and the personal stuff is getting repetitive.

Long Answer:

You probably didn't ask for a rant, but I'm giving it to you anyways. Sorry in Advance! 😊

To be honest, S8, as a whole, wasn't that bad. The Upstead stuff was amazing. Kim's story with Makayla was really sweet and meaningful for the character. I liked Kevin's storyline at the beginning and how the Doyle shooting was wrapped up. But I didn't like how every Kevin episode was about the blue wall and his race. Vanessa's sudden disappearance is something that still bothers me, but I guess we have to blame COVID for that. The cases were interesting and intense at the same time. And although it was a character-centric format, I really think the balance between personal and case was good. And let's not forget the epic finale they had. In my opinion, the best finale PD has ever done.

For S9, you have to evaluate it as two parts, 9a, and 9b. 9a was really good. The continuation of the Roy storylines was perfect, and the end, even though it felt a little anticlimactic with North's character, was a decent wrap to the storyline. The Upstead angst was worth it. The flow was starting to become choppy, but since the content was so good, I ignored it.

9b, on the other hand, was just a disappointment. Anna was introduced in 9a, and I still don't understand why they couldn't wait till 9b. Her character was so confusing. I liked her sassiness and her boldness, but her relationship with both Voight and Jay was all over the place. I also don't understand what the whole point was of having Jay create "a deal" with Voight in 9x09 if he never actually followed through with it. I liked the whole Kim fighting for Makayla during the adoption, but everything after that felt pointless. Like they needed something to give Burzek a storyline. There was no reason to kidnap and traumatize a young girl who was already previously traumatized. Instead of showing Makayla recovering from her kidnapping, they should have taken those episodes to focus more on Kim and her trauma after losing her baby one season and then being shot and left to die the next. Don't get me started on Kevin and his "relationship" with Celeste. I actually thought Celeste and Kevin had great chemistry and potential, but they literally ruined it in the first episode they introduced Celeste. Kevin deserved better than that. Anna's storyline had way too much focus than it needed. It just dragged on for too long, and the finale was just sad. There was no intensity or drama. Compared to its previous finale, this one was boring. Still bitter that we never got Will and Hailey scenes in 9x13 and never got worried Jay in 9x22. Why spend so much money and time on an explosion if there is no drama afterward.

S10 so far... let's see. The Anna stuff of 10x01 felt weird. We never really saw Voight move on from Anna's death. It just felt incomplete. And somehow, all this mess led to Jay crossing lines and deciding to leave 3 episodes later. The biggest disappointment of this season is how Jay was written out. He deserved better than being given 3 episodes to exit. It was rushed, sudden, and truly unnecessary. I'm glad that Hailey is getting a lot of screentime, but I'm not glad that all her screentime is sad Hailey on repeat. The acting is superb, but come on, stop finding more ways to make her sad. I'm not gonna dig into Burzek's situation, and how I feel about that. All I'll say is I just hope they stay like this. Torres is an interesting character, and I like his partnership with Kevin, but I do wish that they did a Torres episode before Jay's departure. Jay was the one that brought Torres to the unit; it would have been nice to see Jay help Torres fit in and slowly shift to Torres and Kevin. And I feel like it's a season too late to bring up Kim's trauma. My guess is they're gonna use this to bring Kim and Adam together, but why didn't they do it last season. I guess the only good that that's come out of S10 so far is how quiet Voight's character is. He has truly been in the background, even during the Sean/Chief stuff.

I think the big difference for me is that during S8, I was actually interested in every character's episodes. But now, I could care less what happens to everyone else. All I care about is Hailey and hoping that there is a happy ending for Upstead.

[sungpeach]

n a v i g a t i o n

hi yall i'm demi (26, they/she, pacific) and this is sung! feel free to give this a like or dm me on discord at demi6468 if you'd like to plot

if you're wondering if i'm the demi you know... probably. it's been a while since i've done tumblr rp so pls bear w me. this barbie is also a shawol so expect constant references in and out of character. that said, more sung info (sungfo, if u will) below:

-----

background:

grew up poor but then listened to paris hilton and just stopped being poor (or, as history will say, his parents' restaurant business blew up)

moved around quite a bit in older child/tween years as the business grew

was an idol fan from a young age, but the 'rents wanted sung as their business successor

sucks 4 them sung became a trainee anyway. was set for debut after a couple years but that fell through, then the company started treating him as a model instead of an idol and it wore him down and he left

took on military service

didn't give up on his dream tho, joined another company after coming back and worked as a back up dancer for a fallback

tldr for the ending survival show > temporary group > disbandment > solo

personality:

vitamin, sunshine, kind, sweet, polite, hopeless romantic, hard working, determined, introspective, dreamer, overthinker, judgmental, gives himself very good advice but very seldom follows it, can be a bit manipulative (though he doesn't think he is)

he's a pisces, for context on all the above. also a crybaby. cries for happiness, sadness, anything in between

sung's idol self and true self aren't particularly different, idol sung is just more careful/shows negative traits less. he has a pretty good reputation, and a lot of his Brand relies on being likable

the biggest actual difference is sung's a raging homo, which ofc isn't public knowledge

introverted extrovert. most would class him as an extrovert, but he really needs the time to have a cool down period

plots:

sung loves to read, so fellow readers are an easy connection

cares Very Much about music and dance. while he's a known kpop gg stan, he has a decent range of taste in music. over his idol career, he's developed a strong love for songwriting and choreographing to where at this point he's not particularly interested in releasing anything his hands Haven't touched. this is a great place for other diehards/creatives to connect, but also where sung's negative traits could come out. he could be quick to judge someone's commitment level and react poorly due to it

it'd be Lovely to fill the role of a choreographer that sung really respects and has a close relationship with. preferably not an idol for this one, but they would be the person who co-choreographed and starred in sung's move! i see this relationship as one where their passions about dance line up very well and it was an instant connection. they could have worked together at other points as well, like choreographing for bsides for his first solo concert

that said, would also love other dancers that he keeps on retainer for releases and performances! as he cares so much about his ~art~ he really wants to keep those he feels align with his work. so the same faces pop up a lot. he's very loyal and gives flowers (mostly metaphorical but literal too) to all staff and crew, whether they're on stage with him or not

also loves romantic dramas. he's less knowledgable in other fields (least knowledgable in horror) but still partakes. he's just more likely to sims 4 get famous scream and faint over a romance actor

any athletes i am so sorry to tell u this gayby has no clue who you are

other survival group members! idt i'll make it an official wanted ad since i left everything so vague, but there are so many directions for that. i also Headcanon jsj (the temp group) to being a pseudo sibling group with rhiannon and yebin's viv:id 🤓

i'd love for another vivid member to come and be the feat on sung's song be your enemy! yebin was karina in want and rhi was seulgi on heart stop so it'd be fun to continue the trend

another negative place to come from could be just catching sung on a bad day back when he was pushed as a model in his og company. he was very worn out, discouraged, and idk teen hormones im sure didn't make it easier. on the flip side, someone supporting him then would be lovely

the easiest way to tick sung off without much effort has to do with politeness. he gives a lot more grace to foreigners, but really doesn't stand for it from born koreans

i mention negative ideas most since those are hardest for nice muses BUT in gen, sung is kind of a 'friend of the industry' guy. though, especially when he was younger, he had a hard time picking up on cues from people that they didn't want to be friends. he's pretty full on and touchy straight away. loves him a little cuddle

with romance, he's a chronic falling in love with friends-er. but he's also a True hopeless romantic so a guy says smth nice to him once and he walks away with a little bit of a crush 9/10 times. doesn't tend to go for his best interests, so negative romantic r/s are welcome too (past or present)

also he had a gf sometime when he was around 16-18, so that could be fun to play with!

[aelaer]

Alright, let’s take that follow up ask 😂

18. What are some tropes that others love, but you just tend to avoid?

Or something along those lines. Things you like/dislike. What marks the difference between a “good” and a “great” fic for you?

Whelp I lost my draft as I started this. I figured that's as good a sign as any to save this as a draft and review it a few times to make sure I'm critical of the *genre and trope* and not the individual writing it. And yes I think they're two *very* distinct things. And I'd like to piss off as few people (who aren't blocked) as possible while still remaining true to myself. We'll see how successful it is.

Cut cuz it got long and if folks click it thinking they might get mad, and then get mad, well, you can't say I didn't warn you. I don't like quite a few popular tropes in a lot of stories you see Stephen in. And I'll not hide my own opinions on my own blog. 😜 What's the terminology? Don't like, don't read? Yeah, if (general) you don't like strong opinions that might go against yours, don't read on. You've been warned!

Let's start with some of the most popular AO3 tropes, taken from the 2016 Fanfic Survey from Fansplaining. Here's the top 20 tropes across the survey and if I dislike it, I have bolded it and have a comment beside it. Otherwise I'm indifferent to it or I like the trope.

Friends to Lovers

Canon-divergent Alternate Universes

Slow Burn

Rescue Missions/Saving Each Other

Bed Sharing (aka One Hotel Room Left) Honestly I find this trope really stupid in most circumstances. It just makes me roll my eyes. This isn't to say that fics with this trope are badly written, I just... think the situation's really contrived. There's better ways to explore pining.

Teamwork

Fluff

Hurt/Comfort

Huddling for Warmth I only dislike it if it's adding unnecessary sexual tension. Like if you're in a perilous situation you don't need to talk about how omg touching him makes you feel things. It's like - dude you're gonna lose fingers otherwise. Characters, you need to shut the fuck up, this is not the right time. You guys can be romantic later. Hell this even counts for established relationships; characters getting aroused when they're in actual perilous situations is one of my biggest pet peeves in romance. It's dumb. (Note- this doesn't count if they're joking about it, joking is a great coping mechanism. I mean legit horniness as they're half-dead or something. What the fuck. Exception if the author explicitly lists being in legit perilous situations as a fetish in which case, good for author for that creativity.)

Mutual Pining

Established Relationship

Fix-it Fic

Isolated or Trapped (e.g. in a cave, a Canadian shack, etc.)

Missing scenes or fill-in fic

Everyone Knows They're In Love

Unresolved Sexual Tension

Fake Relationship (incl. Married for a Case and Marriage of Convenience)

Pining

Worldbuilding

Only 2 out of the top 20, not bad! Most are "take it or leave it" but some I like so yay.

Okay now for the next part.

On my Doctor Strange AO3 filtered page that I have up in perpetuity on my phone, I have the following filters applied to exclude (which takes off about 20% of all fics in the category from sight). Ordered from least likely to offend to most likely to offend others:

Non-English fics

Peter Parker/Stephen Strange

Stephen Strange/Reader

Not Civil War Team Captain America Friendly & Not Steve Rogers Friendly

An honorable spicy mention that isn't easily filtered so I don't filter it but I get into it below. It involves Peter.

Not English fics: With as picky a reader as I am, auto Google Translate simply doesn't work well for me. Trust me, I've tried and I was very sad when translate proved to be less than great. I wish I could speak/read all languages.

Peter/Stephen: I had to block this one because it was just coming up too much after NWH, but America/Stephen falls here as well (it's just significantly rarer and I can easily skip those fics). No hard feelings to those who write/ship it because they're, you know, fictional, but I'm definitely not a fan of the trope. Underage with two minors already skeeves me out, underage with a middle aged man and a minor is a big no-go unless the adult is framed as a villain in the narrative (and with luck gets justice served to him). But in the shipping sense this isn't usually the case in the story, and while some authors do a great job in showing it's not right/good, this isn't my flavor of Stephen at all. Even villain Stephen.

In the case the minors are aged up to be legal, I still dislike it. I find it incredibly creepy IRL when a person goes for someone who is young enough to be their child, and I can't separate that feeling in the fiction I read for the most part. The exception to this rule is when the person is like over 35 - by that age you know if you want to be with a 55 year old, and you have all that life experience. But there's so much growing done in the 20s and a lot of life experience that nothing but time can provide.

Finally, I find men in their 40s who are looking for someone (especially a girl) 24 or younger incredibly immature and, frankly put, the absolute opposite of dignified and sexy. There are exceptions of course, but my good guy!Stephen doesn't fall into that category. He's interested in brains, personality, and life experience, with looks being like, the 4th factor, haha, so no need for such a large age gap. Again, just skeeves me out.

Stephen Strange/Reader: I wouldn't have blocked it if it wasn't so prevalent, but it's literally Stephen's second-most popular ship. All respect to anyone who enjoys reader-insert fics, but I just... don't. The handful of times I've tried it I couldn't see myself as the supposed character because they were so different from who I am as a person. "Choose your own adventure" books that I read in my youth worked for me because I had choices in steering the story; that's not the case in reader fics so I'm left seeing "myself" doing things that I'd never do in a million years. That contradiction just makes me unable to appreciate them myself.

Big reason I don't have that problem with OCs is because they're not me, and so I don't have that weird contradictory feeling while reading the fic. They're another person so I can appreciate them as another character, especially if Stephen manages to stay in character within the story. But as romance isn't a genre I actively look for, I don't tend to look out for OC fics either as they're usually super romance-heavy as opposed to the romance being a side plot (which is how I get through canon char romances - if it's a side plot in the very long story I'll get through it for juicy plot).

Not Civil War Team Captain America Friendly & Not Steve Rogers Friendly: Blocking these two covers the majority of the stories that are not other-character friendly, and it blocks almost all Civil War Team Iron Man fics, so these two tags cover basically the entire gauntlet of that type of MCU fic. Ever since AO3 canonicalized those tags my blood pressure has lowered significantly and it's made browsing AO3 so much less stressful.

I'll say it up front: I don't think a fic can be good writing if it's written to be Not Team Cap Friendly. That's not to say that the writer themselves is incapable of writing quality works because that's usually not the case. But for works with that specific trope, I do not think that work can be good. A significant factor of what I consider good fanfic writing/bad fanfic writing is characterization, and the characterization is usually butchered in this genre of fic.

If an author chooses only to write this trope POV, all the more power to them. However, I think they are limiting their capabilities in choosing to ignore the grey storytelling the MCU brought to the story and are definitely limiting their visions by choosing to view these grey characters and their grey choices as black and white/good and bad with all the nuances erased. And because those choices are made, I don't think that the fic that comes out with those limitations can be considered good writing. And here are the reasons why, largely centering around characterization:

The only way these fics work is by making Steve completely OOC. I've seen writers erase all his leadership capabilities established in the first 3 films he was in, his ability to think fast on his feet, any sign of intelligence that is firmly established in the first three films he was in, and make him callous in a way that he hasn't ever shown in canon. I've seen writers make Steve unaware of email, I've seen them say that he never led men in WW2 (and isn't an actual captain), and most ridiculously, I've seen them say he was trying to kill Tony in Siberia and left him for dead there and completely ignore all his training in that if he wanted to kill Tony, he very well could have. (And ignore that T'Challa was there as well ffs - that's another rant.) But yes - this is all OOC to Steve's character. If someone wants to know why saying Steve trying to kill Tony in Siberia is OOC and thus not Steve friendly, send me a separate ask as I have a write up on Discord that I can bring here if folks want clarification on that front.

If you have to make other characters OOC to make your best boy shine better, I don't trust you to write best boy well. And usually he isn't. Tony is a terribly flawed character which is why he's so so so interesting, but Not Team Cap friendly fics are determined to erase all of Tony's flaws and everything that makes him interesting. For instance, I've seen Tony suddenly become an expert negotiator and politician, ignoring both IM2 and his lack of finesse with Ross in CW (this isn't him delegating the work to lawyers/PR people - this is in fics where he's the figurehead behind this because he's suddenly an expert political negotiator). Then in some fics Tony's suddenly a socialist, ignoring the fact that he's made his fortune and still makes money from his corporation and there's nothing in canon that suggests that he ain't still benefiting from the capitalist institution. He's *generous*, absolutely, and I headcanon he put in hundreds of millions into rebuilding Sokovia - but he's not suddenly a socialist. He's a rich white man with rich white man privileges and while he's doing his best to make good in the world, he has benefits that the rest of the world just doesn't. And Tony's still arrogant and it can still be hard to work with him and erasing all those flaws makes him just... not Tony. He's just this bland vanilla OOC caricature.

In a lot of "not team cap friendly" fics I see a tag along the lines of "actions have consequences". If that's the case, why the hell wasn't Tony prosecuted for making Ultron? Wanda didn't force him to make anything - she amplified his fears, absolutely, but he made the robot. In secret. And that robot killed a city. Tony in CW is rightfully really regretful about it - but if actions actually had consequences and Tony tried to get Team Cap like, jailed or forcefully retired (like he or his friends do in some fics), Nat should strike back and tell everyone that he was behind Ultron. IT'S LIKE EVERY CHARACTER MAKES MISTAKES OR SOMETHING AND THAT NONE OF THEM ARE PERFECT. WHAT A THOUGHT. And that's why that tag is not very well thought out. The tag ignores the stark (hah) fact that all Avengers have made mistakes, some of them major - and Tony's absolutely not exempt from that. And his mistake-making didn't stop after he became Iron Man.

All of Tony's friends ignore that Tony recruited a 15 year old to Germany and guess what? Pepper and Rhodey aren't Tony boot-lickers. They'd give him the appropriate "What the fuck were you thinking" language because yeah, that was fucked up! Ignoring that happened is another big item in these type of fics.

Stephen's personality is typically bland and he often has no life beyond Tony's in these type of fics. He definitely has no opinions on the Avengers that *differ* from Tony because him having his own opinions, or taking the time to form his own opinions from his own interactions, would be showing more nuance and depth than these fics want to get into.

Stephen's often petty and violent, especially towards Steve - and again completely ignores all of Tony's mistakes because Tony doesn't make horrific mistakes, oh no! I'd argue the petty violence is OOC, but fucking DS2 and fucking Waldron Jossed that. So if you want that petty violence, it's technically seen on screen, but that's a *Waldron* idea so... yeah. I don't know any big Stephen fan who is particularly fond of Waldron and what he brought to Stephen's character. But this whole essay is about OOC characterization so I can't argue that this is OOC anymore. Fucking Waldron.

Like Stephen, Rhodey and Pepper also lose their personalities and ability to argue with Tony because Tony is always right. Rhodey forgets that Tony is a billionaire and can easily go use a lab in Stark Industries buildings across the country, or go to one of his many homes that all billionaires have because they're *billionaires*, if he *has* to avoid Steve for some reason. Rhodey also forgets that Tony could handle this with the best therapist money can by if he can't physically handle being in a room with someone he dislikes. If Steve actually tried to kill him in a fic, please go back to the first bullet point on this list. An IC Steve wouldn't so there wouldn't be that fear of more physical retaliation because Steve wouldn't be trying to stop Tony from killing Bucky, so again, unless Tony tries to kill Bucky once more, the situation won't escalate to violence. But yes, in these fics, Rhodey would prefer that the civil rights breaking Accords that allow indefinite imprisonment with no promise of trial stand. He'd rather the rest of the Avengers remain fugitives with no home because he forgets his friend is a billionaire with virtually unlimited resources to go wherever he wants and to get the help he needs. The growth we see in his stance that came with IW after he saw the Accords' rollout just poofs away.

Pepper tends to be turned into a secretary again just there to help with Tony's emotional needs instead of a powerful CEO whose really fucking busy running a company.

So with an OOC Steve, it usually leads to an OOC Tony, OOC Rhodey, OOC Pepper, and OOC Stephen. And that is why I consider these fics bad.

There may be exceptions to this, but when I was still attempting the tag in 2019, I never found a fic under the tag that was an exception. I stopped trying the last 3 or so years. And unless you're an author who's written in that tag and you want me to read your story and want to try to change my mind (because you're a masochist? why would you want to do this to yourself?), don't send me those fics. 99% I'm going to find them bad.

I'm not gonna subject those authors to the above opinion because they enjoy the black/white world and they have a huge readership who loves that crack. And good for them! That doesn't change my opinion that I think it's lousy writing because characterization is 70% of my opinion of a fic. If you have all this OOC characterization in a non-crack/parody fic, I just won't have a high opinion. And I'll say it in my own space under a cut, but I'm not going to search you out anymore - I haven't since 2019 (early 2020 was the cut off). Writers have the right to write what's popular - and I can dislike that popular content. But it's a lucrative readership and if that black and white world brings you joy, then all the more power to you.

Important: Not character-friendly fics are different from Dark!character fics. Dark character fics acknowledge that in canon, the characters are written as protagonists and heroes, and the author is purposefully changing this. In not character friendly fics, the author is usually inventing something stupid or terrible (and often enough ooc) for the character to have done/not done to strengthen the position of their chosen protagonist, or is ignoring canon traits of the character to, again, strengthen the position of their chosen protagonist. This is especially seen with Steve.

Honorable mention: I dislike the majority of fics (no idea of percentage but very likely over 50%) labeled Supreme Family, *strictly* due to how Peter is treated. Let me explain.

Peter is an incredibly independent teenager living in NYC with his own friends and his own brains and solo superheroing the majority of the time. These fics have a tendency to erase all of this, making him overly reliant on Tony, making him act as if he's aged between 8 to 12 rather than 15 to 18, and erasing his connection to May, Ned, and MJ. His whole life is made secondary to be part of the Tony Stark fanclub and it's *weird*. Peter is so much more than his connection to Tony and fans of this trope sometimes forget this.

I'll give a real world example. There's a large age gap between my sister and myself, so I got to see her in her teenage years while I was an adult. She's smart, fiercely independent, and had good friends and extra curricular activities throughout high school just like Peter did. We had family dinner together on occasion but she wanted to be doing her own thing as much as possible. She'd text my parents for the "Hey I'm alive" check ins but otherwise? She was AWOL as much as she could get away with.

Peter may be less so, especially if May insists on dinner together at least a couple times a week with his form of extracurricular activities, but I cannot emphasize enough how Peter having his own life is so important to his character and him being around Tony most of his free time outside of school and Spider-Man is *weird*. Even if he likes him!

This is just one teenager in my example, but a staple of teenagers is finding their independence as they grow into adulthood. Clinging to other adult figures does not tend to be the trend with those who have a big independence streak.

Peter in canon is all about establishing his independence - and you could see this especially throughout all of Homecoming. His independence is integral to his character. And if Tony was his adopted dad in the fic, I'd say him always hanging out with him is doubly weird because, again, independence. It's a major part of most teenagers and it's very well established in Peter's personality.

So yeah. Fic writers please stop writing him like a 10 year old unless he's actually 10 in the fic. Let him live his own life in the Supreme Family trope. Let him go out with friends and do after school clubs and not go to Tony's lab after school every day of the week because it's just not him and his movies established that very well. Let him get annoyed at the tracking and let him yell at his parental figures because conflict is normal. Let him be a teenager.

(And as someone who loves Found Family, I can't emphasize enough how much that theme falls short if the characters within the family forget their independence and lives outside of the family. It's just no fun.)

So yeah. Have all these spicy hot takes!

[firsttarotreader]

Hi, mami! Hypothetical question for the cards. We know P is insecure about many things, but does he feel insecure to go for really hot men, that he thinks are hotter than him, because he’s gonna compare himself too much with them or maybe feel he can’t get them? And what about with women? Would he be insecure to go for really hot women for fear of being rejected? 🙏🏻

Hiya! That’s an interesting question. 🤔 Obviously hypothetically like you said, since we don’t know for sure who he goes for or not, but I pulled a few cards for the men and for the women, and for the men the first pull was The High Priestess, 6 of Wands and 7 of Swords reversed.

The High Priestess followed by the 6 of Wands is interesting because it makes me feel like not only he sees them way up above him, but also like HE needs to get it right, like he would have to hide things about himself, show up as someone who is wise and intuitive, but not revealing everything about himself or going for them too strong. Getting a man he sees as hotter and better than him would be the biggest ego stroke, full on glory to gloat about. However, this 7 of Swords reversed shows us he would also feel like the biggest fraud and with an impostor syndrome. He would doubt himself as if he was so scared of the guy eventually finding out what a bum he is and how he was probably deceiving him and not showing his real self.

The second pull was The Moon, 6 of Swords reversed and 3 of Swords. The Moon and 6 of Swords reversed mean his unconscious mind, his insecurities and the fear of having a clouded judgement and misunderstanding the situation, maybe even the guy misunderstanding him, all that makes him get stuck. He feels like going against the flow, fighting too hard when he knows he’s not going anywhere. 3 of Swords is the way he sees things will end up. A breakup, loss, sadness and heartbreak. So he gets scared of rejection and hurt and that discourages him.

So yeah, he would possibly struggle to go for guys he thinks are more handsome, hotter and better than him because this man is insecure as fuck, not that he should be. Lol.

Then I asked for the really hot women, and the first pull was Temperance, The Magician and 2 of Swords. Temperance means he might feel way more balanced when it comes to going for really hot women. He might be more patient and more moderated about himself and the situation and how maybe he could make it flow and things could go his way. He could believe the women would be possibly more moderated about him too, like they would consider it more. The Magician points to him thinking he could be creative in his seduction game, that he has his resources and his skills and tricks and he could work them out. However, 2 of Swords brings that insecurity back because he might become hesitant and not knowing if he should or if he should not go for it, like he’s afraid of mixed signals and if the woman would really want him or not. He could stumble a bit with the uncertainty.

The second pull was the Ace of Coins, Justice and 7 of Cups. Ace of Coins means he might think he does have the potential to score the super hot lady. He’s been feeling himself more, including physically, like he knows he’s got it so he can get her if he works for it. Justice shows that balance again, with him thinking he needs to be fair and honest and do things the right way. He might feel the women would be fairer to him aswell. 7 of Cups points to him, in this specific situation, actually fantasizing and daydreaming that he could do it. Like he considers all the possibilities and he thinks he might have a chance. His imagination goes ahead of him, but he might feel more confident about acting on it.

With all that said, I believe he could potentially struggle to go for men he considers super hot and hotter than him, but not so much with the super hot women. He will still be insecure, and he will fantasize a lot, but he might believe he has more of a chance now. But, but does he actually go for them? Maybe, maybe not, as this was more about the way he could potentially feel about the idea. 😁😁

[egg-emperor]

I miss the days when the Sonic fandom was FAMOUS for creating Extremely dark content. Everything was fair game in the fandom: angst, gore, abuse, torture, slavery, experimentation, roboticization and death (or worse). I'd take those days over today's neo-puritanism any day

Lol me too, some of my biggest inspirations for my most passionate work comes from the unapologetic confidently grimdark edgy stuff things I'd see in that glorious era. I love when people weren't ashamed to take it so seriously without calling it cringe but also having fun with it. My creations now would've fit right in back then and I'm sad that I started actually contributing myself far too late because now people who just got into the fandom are trying to erase it and bar it from happening.

People having problems with me writing Eggman as the villain he is and doing stuff along the lines of what he already does in the games clearly have no idea that it's far from one of the most fucked up things in the series or fandom. They clearly forget about all the dark themes already existing in canon and didn't see all the edgy bloody gory art and fanfic of death and dismemberment and horror and violence and how fucking metal it was. That was a time to be alive. XD I'm just trying to keep it going!

My mind and imagination are still in the early 2000s-early 2010s era of grim dark edgy dark fun. Playing Shadow 2005, listening to Linkin Park, Nine Inch Nails, Three Days Grace etc, looking at dark evil bloody gory art on DA and fics, watching YouTube fan music videos with all the famous edgy songs. RIP to everyone who cringe at their past selves and changed who they were and hate me for not following but I never grew out of it because it never stopped being a fascination and inspiration of creativity for me!

People can call me a cringe edgelord and make all the horrible assumptions and accusations all they want, I'm having fun and that's what matters, I'll wear it proudly if that's what enjoying and being myself makes me! It all comes from actual passion and fascination for what I create and it's not something I'd waste time doing just to upset people like some try to say. I'm not going to let purity culture ruin the fun and creativity, I'm gonna be one of those who helps keep it alive 🖤

[cj-writes-stuff]

Reading Wrap-Up | April 2024

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen Garlic and the Witch by Bree Paulsen Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins Nimona by N. D. Stevenson

[mini reviews/ratings below the cut]

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming ⭐Rating: 3.5/5

After reading the previous two in the Mead Mishaps series, I was so excited to get my hands on this book. It follows Cherry, Cinnamon's sister who for two books we've thought to be dead, and Dante, another character who we've gotten to know. Turns out Cherry didn't die, she was kidnapped by a dragon and forced to live in a tower.

This series for me is like splurging at a diner; sure, I could spend the time putting thought into my meal, enjoy the prep time, savor the journey, and come out of it a changed person... or I could go out and relax with a drink and eat similar food but without any stress, I'm just here to have fun and laugh.

Not to say that there aren't complexities to these books as the worldbuilding is thoughtful and interesting the more we learn, and they do poke a lot of fun at certain tropes used in other books of its kind. The characters are fun and likable, there's a lot of sex that I could give or take but it's not terrible, and for the most part, I enjoyed Cherry and Dante's romance for what it was. I know what I'm signing up for when I pick up one of these, so even though the whole mates situation isn't really my thing, I've learned to go with the flow and have fun with it.

I did feel this book was a major improvement over the second book, which I was disappointed by. Also, upon reflection, I think I appreciate the first book a lot more now that I've read all three.

I'm honestly sad there isn't a fourth book out yet, but I'm keeping an eye out.

Garlic and the Vampire / Garlic and the Witch by Bree Paulsen ⭐Rating: 5/5

I'm putting these two together since I don't have too much to say. These are the sweetest, most wholesome graphic novels I've ever read, I adore them. I've had a major reading slump this month and I thought if I could just pick something quick and easy up, it'd make it easier to transition into something else. Hence these books.

The art is beautiful. I love Garlic, she's a little ball of anxiety and honestly, same. Her and Carrot's relationship is so sweet. Witch Agnes and Count are great. These stories are about little Garlic being brave and going on cute [and kinda scary] adventures and they made my night.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett ⭐Rating: 2/5

This one is... difficult. I liked it? I think? But also, it was a massive disappointment. It's frustrating because it didn't have to be. All the pieces were there for a fantastic story! Hell, at points, this book had me... but then it would quickly lose me.

This is the story of Emily Wilde who goes to a small town to study their faery folk but she struggles with the townspeople given she's not really a people person... but then her academic rival/friend Wendell Bambleby shows up to assist her.

The problem with this book is it's written in journal entries... journal entries that apparently recount everything, including long conversations and events with quite creative prose, that happened in journal form... as in it's a lot of telling, a lot of feelings being separated from the story that when the romance suddenly happened, I was like, "...Really? Like, actually? You two were better off as friends because this came out of nowhere??"

The journal structure is this books biggest downfall and I hate it because there's a good story in here. Why is it written like this??

I liked Emily a lot as a protagonist, but because she's journaling all of this research and tends to leave out a lot, I feel like there are crucial chunks missing. Poe was probably my favorite character, though. Bambleby was.... ugh, he could've been interesting but I'm starting to see a pattern in every fae romance I read: the fae love interests are all man babies. It's getting old real quick.

I have zero interest in picking up the rest of this series, which is unfortunate. I had high hopes for this. When it was good, it was really damn good... but that's not enough to make up for the bad.

A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins ⭐Rating: 2/5

Right. So, confession time: I haven't read The Hunger Games Trilogy. I didn't pick it up when it was popular, I didn't have a YA dystopian phase, and I never felt any reason to pick up until now. When the first movie came out, I saw it and thought it was good. Never watched the other ones.

Until this month. My buddy Pi and I marathoned all four Hunger Games movies, and then the prequel movie. I enjoyed the movies, they were fun to discuss, so I thought y'know what? Why not? Why not give them a read now? And since I'm in a unique position with all the books out and on my shelves, what if I start with the prequel book about President Snow before jumping into the main trilogy?

So that's exactly what I did.

I severely underestimated how insufferable Snow would be for 500 pages.

I honestly don't know how I feel about this book. There was a lot I liked, a shit ton I didn't like, and a lot that draaaaaaagged on and on and on. I would say that the first two parts of this book are pretty solid. Part three is when it falls apart until the very end when it picks back up again.

Snow is annoying and his name is stupid. Yes, I suppose I have more insight that should make moving forward with the series interesting... but consider: I hate him and I hope there's an all-you-can-eat buffet of cabbage in hell for him. Of all the characters we could've had a prequel book about, we just had to go with him?

Lucy Gray I'm mixed on; she started singing at her reaping and I was like "ah, pixie dream girl, are we gonna do something interesting with that? perhaps subvert it?" and to my pleasant surprise, yeah we did play with it in an interesting way. There were moments where she made me roll my eyes, but I liked her well enough... except I didn't like her romance with Snow from the beginning, which was a given.

I spent the entire book hoping that Dr. Gaul would get eaten by one of her creations but alas, no such luck.

Sejanus Plinth deserved the world and then some. This dude, my guy... he was so ready to throw hands with Dr. Gaul at any moment and I love and respect and cherish him for that. Even now just thinking about it, I'm so pissed off and heartbroken about everything that happened to him.

Again, there were things I liked about this book, but I think I need more time to actually process it. This really isn't the place for me to write an essay on the bullshit that was Snow and Sejanus's relationship or the ghost of Lucy Gray or how Katniss was a swamp potato the entire time.

Nimona by N. D. Stevenson ⭐Rating: 4/5

I needed something fun to wash the bad taste of Snow outta my mouth, went to peruse my shelves, and found this. This one is a reread. I first read it back in 2016? I believe? Around that time, and I enjoyed it then just as much as I've enjoyed it now. I haven't watched the movie yet but now I probably will.

The art style is cute, the characters are fun, and it made me feel better. Not much else to say, really. It did what I wanted it to do, but I don't think I was as charmed by it as I was the Garlic graphic novels, y'know?