#not-poigant

[hearthecrazy]

At Blerd with the theme Fae'd to Black so what else is a girl to do but dress as their favorite sadist water horse. I forgot to take off my glasses for the picture but I think I did a good job putting together an Augus Each Uisge cosplay. Augus belongs to @not-poignant

[misconceivedcapricorn]

I want a Ricky Potts who is more terrified of Jane than Constance is, but then is the first to accept her as another victim of the circumstance regardless

[arcane-ish]

Okay, so about Mel

I have a lot of Mel fans on my "following" list, so know I'm on a different place than most of them. I thought I would still sit down as a more casual Mel enjoyer and try to explain why I listed Mel as one of the better things in the last arc and genuinely read her as having one of the better arcs.

First let me say, I think I get some of the disappointment. There apparently was a lot of acrimony in fandom. And there sadly is often always a lot of bitching about being right. It's also one of those really annoying instincts for fannish people to value being right or getting character/ship payoff over quality. The kind of crappy shows or reasons I've seen people defend just because their ship was in it.

And I include myself within that. Two of my favorite ships, Timebomb and Zaundads got some stuff, and that has deeply clouded my perception of the season, even though my more neutral opinion is that season 2 was extremely spotty.

I get that from "I had to fight people in fandom" point of view, Act 3 sucked. I get that from a personal fan engagement point of view, it is always easier to stay excited and produce media if have a ship to hold on to rather than just being the fan of a singular character.

I'm kind of in a special situation, that I've always lowkey not liked Jayce and really only found him tolerable around Mel. I thought the beginning of Act 3 was still reasonably respectful to them. They protect each other, they do a couple fight with each other.

Yes it's weird that Jayce brings up now of all times to complain about the past, but for me that was pretty much wrapped by them fighting together against Viktor. Then we have this moment where Mel explains her situation to Jayce, we have Jayce complimenting her. Honestly, before the last minutes went full on "zomg, looping timeline gifts and zapping into space together", I thought the MelJay was a bit muted, but decent enough in a finale that was generally super busy and where tons of other characters didn't have too deep writing either. But again, I see where characters wound up, completely changed people's perception of how they get there (ie that Mel and Jayce actually had a decent relationship throughout most of the show and that in my opinion both Jayce and Viktor always and Cait and Vi recently had some really spotty writing).

Somethign that is more easy for me to bear, because, like I said, I never liked Jayce that much, so it's easier for me to not care.

Everybody's Arc Was Kind Of Shit And Mel Was One Of The Better Ones

This is my basic premise of season 2. If I think of season 2, if I think of the characters who to me had the better arcs I come up with for example Sevika and Ekko.

They had better arcs because they stayed roughly in characters, formed some new relationships, got some badass moments and ended up in interesting places in the end. However both their arcs BRUTALLY suffered by lack of airtime and often missing from episodes or even arcs like Ekko.

I think Jinx had one of the better arcs, because it was very emotional and poignant, was constantly present, but even if felt choppy and all over the place at times and people are mixed on where it ended up.

I guess Jayce counts as somebody with a really meaty arc with lots of airtime, emotion, ending up in a different place, getting hero moments, saving the day etc. But like I said, I dislike Jayce too much to really think about whether his story was actually good this season.

I count Mel as among the better arcs, because she got at least semi-constent airtime, she imo stayed generally in character, she got to be badass, she ends up in a very interesting situation and they tried to be emotionally poigant with her and Ambessa. (her killing Ambessa giving major Jinx and Silco vibes even if the context was completely different) The pain of Mel's storyline has always been that she was a bit isolated from other characters, so I was happy that she at least got a badass fight together with Caitlyn. [honestly, in retrospect it's noteworthy that Mel got that spot with Caitlyn rather than Caitlyn fighting side by side with either her love Vi or her nemesis Jinx]

Just getting a badass fight isn't the same as actually getting poignant moments and developing a relationship with new characters. So that was definitely missing. People are just prone to not care as much about Mel's relationship with Ambessa, LeBlanc or Kino because from the point of view of the audience those are side or new characters and the audience only cares if the show really puts a ton of work in like in the case of Isha.

Overall the gist of Mel's storyline to me is that it seemed to be very League dictated. It's the origin story of Mel as a badass fighter, it sets up her character premise.

TBSkyen, a well known content creator in the League of Legends space, "reacted" to Arcane and he got quite angry at the finale, exclaiming something along the lines of "I thought this was gonna be a closed story, that the characters would complete their stories. But these stories are not complete, this is a sequel tease".

And that's exactly why Mel's story feels unfinished. She feels like she's part of that sequel tease (together with Cait looking at those strange map, maybe hinting at an alive Jinx).

There's a chance that Mel will get a proper resolution. But to be honest. I can't promise that. Maybe she'll get a badass Noxus based either animated or live action sequel... but we might have to wait 5-10 years for it.

Maybe the "Ambessa" novel is actually 95% about her. Maybe she will get a badass intro trailer like Ambessa. But I'm not gonna lie, even if the next season of League will be heavily Noxus based and they make heavy use of Mel in it. I'm not gonna lie, League's story telling can be very, very spotty. And even when it is decent, not everybody is particularly into collecting their infomation from short stories, splash arts, music vids, in game voice lines.

[randomthefox]

To quote someone else’s post on the new issue:

I'm so sick of Ian. He has no tact.  “this is how I'm feeling about the situation, this my history, this is what I'm about, these are my relationships, and this is how its applicable to the current situation”

This is how he has written literally every single poigant moment in Archie and IDW. He's a lore addict and thinks that explaining things and understanding trivia is good storytelling. That interview with Iizuka about Ian and American audiences not enjoying reading between the lines is right.

This is what happens when you hire someone who defines themselves as an (Archie) Sonic ENCYCLOPEDIA and not a STORYTELLER.

Encyclopedia's don't make for very good stories. Especially an encyclopedia about fucking Archie Sonic. Note also that he makes absolutely no mention of the video games. If you were an encyclopedia about the VIDEO GAMES that'd actually be a relevant skill set, but he doesn't know jack shit about the video games.

Note also how he says that his "research" for writing the MegaMan comic was browsing fan wikis and watching lets plays. Not ACTUALLY PLAYING THE GAMES HIMSELF.

He doesn't write stories. He's not a writer. He just regurgitates information INVENTED BY OTHER PEOPLE onto a page. And illiterate morons swallow that shit up, because actually reading a story and making inferences about it is too hard for them.

[rosalinesurvived]

I know he isnt, but logically it would be a million times more funnier if Katsura was Kunikida’s old student who got into trouble and then got lectured by Kunikida about Ideals. It would makes things more poigant and horrifying and tragic, but also more funnier, which is what i’m here for

[citylighten]

i don't really want to talk about my opinions on film on this blog, but i find the disdain for joker 2 interesting because i remember when the first film came out and quite a few people on tumblr were criticizing it for [among other things] "having no plot." it was like one side was going, 'oh it's so pretentious'/'it wants to be taxi driver' while the other half was going, 'it's ART! its POIGANT! i GET IT!' so when i see hate for joker 2 i think back to those early criticisms.

there's a part of me that thinks four years from now or so people will be open about how much they love that movie, or it'll be a cult classic or something. i also believe someone will edit out the parts with singing in the long run.

[notyouraryang0dd3ss]

At this point, she’s basically untouchable and her zombie fans biting anyone who dares to disrespect their mother (lmao) and twitter is a cesspool i couldnt even scroll peacefully without bombarded with toiletry poigant department takes. Its like theyre shoving up my throats man. Shes everywhere. The music scene is scary. Look at her contemporaries ari and bey. They released and they minded their business. They KNOW they made the album for fans and casual listeners and i never seen bey or ari albums shoved on my throat and i hardly knew the release dates too. Thats how should be!! LetConsume to whomever wants too.!

The problem is that she wanted to be liked by everyone and sadly tay tay your antics are becoming transparent everyone. Youre damn 34 please mature as a person and take a break!

the fact that she's 34 and behaving like this is so embarassing and i'm not even her...let's get it together taylor like this is humiliating and i'm starting to think she likes the public humiliation because any sane person would've gone off the grid at this point

twitter is a cesspool and its gotten so much worse since elon took over. the way swifties act on there make me miss the BTSarmy random trending honestly...and those days were hell too

the music scene right now is terrifying. i genuinely think taylor swift has alienated herself from everyone because of the way she's holding the charts hostage. and not by pure talent, but because she keeps rereleasing her old music and her fans keep BUYING. its literally the same people buying her music, no new fans, no organic excitement or interest in her music by the public. like its just her and the 387423230 vault tracks she has on each special deluxe rerelease.

bey isnt taylor's contemporary (shes 8 years older than swift and in a completely diff stage of her career) but ariana 100% ! and youre so right: let whoever consume what they WANT to!

[cookie-waffle-art-and-stuff]

I’m going to try and channel some irl grief into my Voyagers AU fanfic. I was already planning to do something with an idea I had, but the recent family tragedy may allow me to write it in a way that is much more poigant

[alexanderlightweight]

more maybe i'm the villain! more MORE!

please

here we go, i hope you enjoy

<3 lumine

nsfw

maybe i'm the villain

— “What a good kitten.” Alec hears Bane murmur and he can’t even protest, not when he’s doing nothing but panting against Bane’s neck. He’s letting Bane play him like a well-tuned instrument and Alec hasn’t been able to deny him a single thing.

Bane’s latest accessory is a sex toy.

Some kind of jeweled and gleaming piece that now teases at Alec from the inside, even as Bane does nothing more than fondle his ears. There had been no warning, no explanation of what it was and every time Alec whines or tries to feel relief, Bane only shows him that it could be even more intense if he didn’t behave.

There’s a moment where the tug on his soul is sharp, almost poigant as it pulls at him for attention and then the first bond snaps. The ricochet of death echoes with a sharp ache of longing as one of the ties of Magnus’ magic unravels. It leaves Alec with a sense of being adrift. There are only five ties left that anchor Bane’s magic to Alec and the loss of one resonates through his entire being and he can't help the sound he makes in protest.

There is no pity or grief at losing a hunter, only a sense of frustration because Bane could have asked for far worse than he did. As it is, Alec can barely think about what this means when his body is overwhelming him with sensation.

“That’s one—” is a teasing chuckle against his ear and Alec can’t do anything but close his eyes and try to breathe. The toy inside of him feels strange and unwelcome even as if sets him alight with a ravenous hunger. He wants something more, something better than the hollow pleasure tormenting him between Magnus’ teasing caresses and words.

“Do you want to start paying me back now, kitten? Or all at once?”

Alec isn’t sure what the better option is but he knows that he can’t let this drag out until the end, he won’t survive it. Alec tries not to show how affected he is but his cock has been hard and trapped against Magnus’ belly enough to leave glistening streaks across skin and silk.

“Alexander,” Magnus warns him and fingers pet through his hair and the base of his ears as if to ground him. Alec latches on to the feeling of nails against his scalp and his own fingers find purchase on Magnus’ shoulders as he takes a deep breath.

“Now.” —

“Greedy, greedy kitten.” Magnus teases and his voice is gleeful as his fingers tighten in Alec’s hair. That Alexander can’t wait is a thrill and Magnus leans forward to nip and then suck a mark onto Alexander’s jaw.

Let everyone see how clearly Magnus marks his boy.

If anyone thinks that Alexander will belong to anyone but Magnus before the night is over, then they are fools.

The plug has helped loosen Alexander up just enough that it’s easy to use magic to slick up Magnus’ cock and with a snap he vanishes the plug and has his pants unzipped.

Magic eases the way and Magnus is torn between focusing on the equisite heat of Alexander sliding inch by inch down his cock, or watching the shocked ectasy on his kitten’s face as he’s filled completely.

Alexander is shuddering by the time he’s fully seated on Magnus’ cock. His thighs are shivering under Magnus’ palms and his skin is slick and shimmering with sweat even as soft gasps and whimpers are bitten back.

“Don’t hide from me now,” Magnus chides and reaches behind to tug at Alexander’s lax tail. “I want to hear you kitten.”

Alexander comes with a desperate whine as his claws come out.

Magnus pays no mind as they dig through the silk of his shirt and ignores the pain and the blood even as he croons and coaxes Alexander through his pleasure.

It’s clear that the orgasm was unexpected and Magnus chuckles and pets Alexander through it, praising him and teasing him in equal turn. Alexander is almost too tight around him and Magnus waits with breathless desperation until Alexander has come and begun to relax to fuck him.

An oversensitive mewl fills his ears and Magnus groans in delight at the symphony delighting his ears. Alexander sounds so sweet and the noises he makes are delectable. In another setting, Magnus might have cause to make him scream loud enough to test the limits of his soundproofing. However enough people have taken more liberties than Magnus would normally allow and his instincts call to hide Alexander away after his public claiming.

[akechigoroactual]

the waves is such an incredibly written and also profoundly poigant work to read

[koraesrambles]

GREAT READING ADVENTURE part 2

Just finished reading the first volume of SAGA by Brian K Vaughan, which covers the first six issues of the story.

I'm. Um. Holy crap guys.

Sandman's horror was beautiful but a little much for something I'd usually read just for fun, but dang it, Saga is EXACTLY my kind of story in almost every single way. To say I loved the volume is an understatement. I have to again add reading the entire series to my list which aaaaah if I have to read the entire series of every single book on this list I'm probably going to die. Why am I doing this to myself? I make terrible decisions.

The Writing

I've never heard of Brian Vaughan before, so I don't know his history in comics or how much he's done, but I did read his end letters and saw how he'd been nervous about cancellation and how happy letter to the editor letters made him, so he seems like a pretty alright guy.

The writing in this volume is well-paced and engaging. It started En Media Res, which is something I tend to favor myself. It's a bit of a cliche to start with the birth of a baby, but it didn't stick out or feel dull to me. Also, the mom didn't even die, so it's already doing a lot better than 99% of stories I've seen that begin with a birth story.

Brian made me fall in love with the two main characters almost instantly. I'm glad he started out in a high stress situation, because we were able to get to know who they were and how they handled stress and danger in record time. He made me care about these two star-crossed lovers when romance is normally a pretty hard sell for me. I also really liked that he made the decision to have them be an already established couple who clearly loves each other instead of a will they/won't they situation. I also really loved that I never doubted their relationship's strength, even when they were bickering and fighting.

Anyway, the writing was beautiful and vivid. I felt like the story was well paced and that he introduced the characters in an easy to follow way. I liked the choices he made to try and get us to like each character (obviously I like Alana and Marko best, but the mercenary guy won a LOT of points by being willing to kill a dude to save a child, and the fact that the robo dude's wife is pregnant gives him immediate sympathy (though he's kind of on ice for being racist and trigger happy. . . )

The theme of children and saving children extends to all of the main cast of characters throughout the book. Even the bad guys who want our heroes dead are disgusted at the idea of harming a child, no matter how unfortunate their birth, and all of this with the voice over of Hazel talking about being born and how all children begin as simple ideas.

Honestly, it's downright poetic. I love stories like this, stories about families, stories where people are willing to do anything to protect the people that they love, it's just my jam. The only complaint I have is the fridging of the spider creature thing at the end of issue 5. He'd done such a good job of not using the death of a woman to motivate a male character at the beginning of the story, so I was bummed out that we still got a "he killed my girlfriend" storyline. But just because it's overused doesn't mean it didn't work in this instance. So, trope is annoying, but not incompetantly done.

The Art

The art is drop dead gorgeous. I wish I could draw like this. It's the type of art that I see and it makes me itch to pick up a pencil and start tring to figure out how they did it. The artist, Fiona Staples, is incredible. I found myself studying the backgrounds, how she was able to pull our attention to the things she wanted us to see while still making sure every frame was full and felt grounded in the world. I started taking notes on the way she was drawing the action scenes! How she made them poigant and the way they were all pieced together. It's freaking amazing. I would love to be able to produce art like this some day.

Some of my notes, just cuz I think they're cool:

don't just draw the action, draw the moment before and the effect after.

you don't always need highlights

background can be lower rended, which adds to the style

move the camera around the character, it doesn't have to always be from the same angle.

These are probably super obvious tips to anyone in the world who knows anything about comics, but I dunno, they just absolutely stuck out to me this time. The sense of adventure and fear and excitement the art invoked was just perfect for me. I loved it.

The Characters

As mentioned earlier, the writer did a really good job at introducing everyone and making me interested in them, at least a little. I cared immediately for the couple, the mercenary grew on me and the robot is clearly doing his best even though he's in a crappy situation and is kind of an asshole.

The character designs were all distinct and I had no problems telling anyone apart. I always knew where we were and the stakes for each character was very clear.

I can't remember all of their names, but I dunno if that's the writer's fault so much as I just can't remember names for the life of me. I can remember Hazel's name. Hazel's name stuck with me.

Usually when I start a story that has the cast separated at the beginning I'm looking forward to them meeting up. Even during times where one of them is hunting the other, like Zuko hunting down Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender. But uh. . . I do not want them catching up to each other in this one xD how bout we just say that Marko and Alana raise Hazel in a happy family, and nothing bad happens to them ever again, the end?

Yeah, not that kind of story. But I'm enthused by the lack of both child and parental death so far.

Final Thoughts

Saga is extremely fun, fast paced, well written, well illustrated, interesting and fun fantasy/scifi comic that I can absolutely learn a lot from. I knew the comics on this list would be good, but I was still pleasantly surprised by how this comic, that I had never heard of or run across before, was able to draw me in and attach me to the story so quickly. Beautiful. I'm very glad I read it.

[adolescentsalvation]

this video by Udi Raz is so beautifully and clearly worded that I really think everyone should watch. One point that he raises stands out sm to me bcs of how poigant and true it isand that is “What makes us Jews feel safe is the recognition of the underlining fact that besides our own self-identification as Jews there is nothing that can be claimed as truth that can be applied to all of us.”

[curiouslykind]

Forever's Running Out is the first song that I collaborated with my friends as we started our first and only band. It's not about love, but the illusion of it and forcing yourself to stay with someone you thought would be you forever person. The instrumentation was recorded in a concrete basement, hence why the sound is rather harsh and I recorded the vocals in my room separate. It's kinda  poigant give we all went out separate ways. The guitar in the picture is my long-standing instrument and was integeral to greating this song.

[scarriercontribution]

Book trailer for BALANCE: How To Invest and Spend for Happiness, Health .. This Book Trailer For Balance How To Invest and Spend For Happiness Health and Wealth by Andrew Hallam is intriguing and has some poigant questions raised. This trailer makes me curious to both eventually get the book to see what is in it andor also see if there is an audiobook. .

[trashland-llamas]

July Wrap Up

The Science of Fashion [2.0 stars]

Why are there qr codes in a book? Either write out the information or cut it from the book. If you need to include a website, you can just put ‘can find out more at [insert link]’ Otherwise book was fine.

Asgardians; Odin [2.25 stars] Olympians; Zeus [2.5 stars] Death Note Vol 7 [2.5 stars]

After chapter 58, I found it to be a slog. Just cause they're suddenly introducing new characters that are dubbed to be L's proteges and nothing else. Except that they're tasked with solving the Kira case as they're characters Light wouldn't have known about. Plus one of them is very much a copy and paste version of L while the other has mafia ties. I will wait till the next volume to cement this judgement as neither have had much screen time. Feel it'd be too soon.

Edit; Nvm, I saw a tiktok where someone had the same thoughts & a bunch of the folks in the comments agreed w/ the sentiment. Ik the actual ending is probably more satisfying seeing as it’s quite literally Light’s downfall. But I genuinely don’t care about who wins. It’s was more the tit for tat that L & Light had going on. Right now, it feels as if they’re about to unnecessarily drag it out. So yea, to me, the series ends w/ chpt. 58 or episode 25.

Soichi - Junji Ito [3.0 stars] Skull-faced Bookseller Honda-San Vol 4 [3.25 stars]

Author wasn’t kidding when they said this was promotional material for volume 3 + the anime. That said, was still enjoyable to read as I had extremely low expectations for this vol, having heard someone say it was akin to a fanfic. Not that fan fiction is overall bad, it’s not, but that’s not what I wanted as the end to this series.

Queen's Quality Vol 1 [3.5 stars] These Are The Words - Nikita Gill [3.75 stars]

There’s actually a structure to it which is a rarity I’ve found, at least from the poetry books I’ve read so far; its structured into 4 segments after the seasons & then each chapter is about a specific topic (womanhood, love, family)

Each section starts with a horoscope which I definitely looked forward to. Cause they make mini stories of themselves.

It uses simple language but I think it’s really impactful & makes the poems more generalizable. Which works for this collection as the goal was ‘hey, hopefully this has something you’ve been needing to hear.’

There is an overuse of nods to the moon in terms of metaphors and similes imo

Would recommend if you’re just entering adulthood or are in a transition period in life. That or if you’re wanting to read something hopeful

Demon Slayer Vol 19 [3.75 stars] Like a Butterfly Vol 2 [4.0 stars] Devil's Candy Vol 1 [4.0 stars] Demon Slayer Vol 18 [5.0 stars]

Fav moment would be Kanao stitching up Inosuke and him pinky promising not to take out the stitches himself + the anger she feels at her sisters’ deaths + Giyuu protecting Tanjiro when he faints during the fight w/ Akaza. (Keep confusing Akaza & Douma for each other, name wise. Cause they do have distinct enough looks)

That and all the backstories shown for the upper 12 are very heartfelt in that they add humanity to characters that don't really have that much screen time outside of these final fights. Like we get glimpses of them sprinkled earlier in the series. If anything, it emphasizes how Muzan prayed on all of them during an extreme low point and does make me feel sympathy for them. Which is especially poigant as the series is coming to a close. Like it makes me hate Muzan a lot more than I originally did.

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich [5.0 stars]

[beingmyfavoriteself]

productivity diary - 16/08/23

in the morning i read a few pages of a Wollstonecraft essay. I find the insight into the beginnings of feminism very captivating but her writing is not the easiest to read as a non-native speaker. Here is a quote i found very poigant:

"Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience; but as blind obedience is ever sought for by power, tyrants and sensualists are in the right when they endeavour to keep women in the dark, because the former only want slaves, and the latter a plaything." ~ A Vindication of the Rights of Woman - Mary Wollstonecraft

afterwards i made a lot of progress on my Erasmus organisation, now i'm just waiting for replies by multiple people...

in the afternoon i went to a new vegan café with a friend and we both spent about three hours studying our respective things; she medicine for an upcoming exam and me french grammar and vocab. it was suprisingly productive :)

and just now i did the first day of a Chloe Ting two week workout challenge. the HIT part nearly killed me bc my endurance is shit but the abs part was pretty manageable.

All in all, a very good day!!