#this wasn't about anything specific

[bi-sapphics]

no offense but like. we can tell when you use ‘lesbian’ even though you probably mean ‘sapphic’ in your positivity posts or whatever. we can also tell when they’re not malicious or intentional, so that’s why i’m not upset, but i am going to say that bisexuals should not apologize for inserting themselves into a space made for them just because the wording is wrong.

if your post is about women who love women and not about lack of attraction to men, or lesbophobia, or struggling with comphet (though that’s its own other discourse), or anything exclusive to being a lesbian that isn’t general or vague....... then bi sapphics have a right to assume you’re talking about us/them too.

otherwise ─ dare i say it ─ you’re biphobic lmao.

if you mean lesbians and sapphics, say lesbians AND sapphics. it’s not hard.

[aq2003]

has anyone gotten the idea that odysseus' storyline in hades 2 is a depiction/exploration of trauma over his SA and how he's blaming himself for things that were out of his control? because that's the impression i'm getting from what i've seen. he talks about "goddesses" as his "greatest weakness" and that "he's not one to say no to them"...

when mel invites him to the bath, he brings up mortals having different standards for intimacy than gods and how it usually has a more romantic/sexual connotation. she then asks if he's uncomfortable and he has a startled reaction and brings up circe and calypso again (but never actually by name)

(this isn't ship/romance bait btw. odysseus knew mel as a kid and they're stated in-game to have a sibling/uncle-niece relationship)

also he grew apart from penelope after his return, but the game makes a point of showing that his love for penelope and telemachus is what drove him on at all so that element of his character isn't brought into question

[aroaceleovaldez]

because in TKC most Eyes match the gender of the god they host (and just in general in-universe it seems most immortals and hosts in possession/possession-like scenarios are the same gender) this implies that the two outliers we know of - Zia (rejected hosting a goddess but was able to host a god instead) and Percy (Eye of Nekhbet) - may be trans. so uh happy pride to Zia and Percy specifically

[ssaraexposs]

This moment is deeper than ANYTHING. Atsushi is actually trusting Akutagawa here, in this very moment. He's opening up about his deepest secret, that no one else knows. And he CHOSE to reveal it to Akutagawa. His sworn enemy. His rival. This is such a PEAK moment.

[uncanny-tranny]

Something that bothers me a bit about Americans talking about The Golden Age of the economy is... It wasn't a golden age, not for everyone.

People seem to universalize the fact that you could afford college and rent when... That was true for specific people. It wasn't the universal - especially those who were Black, or Indigenous, or for PoC in general, or women, or queer and trans people. Universalizing any stage of America's history only tells one story. You don't acknowledge the stories of anyone else when you do this.

This just reminds me of Paris Is Burning, and of what was said about the ballroom participates, many of whom were BIPoC and/or queer:

[Video Description: A clip from the documentary Paris Is Burning (1990). Pepper LaBeija is sitting on a chair and she is saying:

Those balls are, more or less, like our fantasy of being a superstar, you know like the Oscars or whatever. Or being on a runway as a model. You know, a lot of those kids that are in the balls, they don't have two of nothing. Some of them don't even eat. They come to balls starving, and they sleep in the under twenty-one, or they sleep on the pier or whatever. They don't have a home to go to, but they'll go out and they'll steal something and get dressed up and come to a ball for that one night and live the fantasy.

/End of Video Description]

[takemebacktowheniwassane]

"god I hate people who draw falsettos marvin this way" "fuck people who draw whizzer like that'"

*edited*

...guys, do you know what an art style is???? cuz', this seems pointed. I see what you mean. I completely agree.

But hear me out. Along with these posts, could we consider? Maybe? Some constructive criticism? People should draw them more accurate.

They SHOULD.

But how should they do it? Realism art? It's a foreign concept to me. I try and it absolutely fucking sucks and i'd love to be a part of this fandom showing that the characters are real people but

It's kind of

Just

Very "do this. No other explanation. Change it."

Look, I really want to. And I am trying. But could we like, make a space for teaching people? Cuz I am stumped dude like fr. Need some guidance.

sincerely, a tired lesbian who is infinitely more tired of seeing this everywhere. thanks

[cuties-in-codices]

Where do you find these manuscripts? Is it like a website or do you find it randomly??

hey, thanks for the curiosity! lenghty answer below the cut :)

1)

medieval manuscripts are typically owned by libraries and showcased on the library's websites. so one thing i do is i randomly browse those digitized manuscript collections (like the collections of the bavarian state library or the bodleian libraries, to name just two), which everybody can do for free without any special access. some digital collections provide more useful tools than others (like search functions, filters, annotations on each manuscript). if they don't, the process of wading through numerous non-illustrated manuscripts before i find an illustrated one at all can be quite tedious.

2)

there are databases which help to navigate the vast sea of manuscripts. the one i couldn't live without personally use the most is called KdIH (Katalog der deutschsprachigen illustrierten Handschriften des Mittelalters). it's a project which aims to list all illustrated medieval manuscripts written in german dialects. the KdIH provides descriptions of the contents of each manuscript (with a focus on the illustrations), and if there's a digital reproduction of a manuscript available anywhere, the KdIH usually links to it. the KdIH is an invaluable tool for me because of its focus on illustrated manuscripts, because of the informations it provides for each manuscript, and because of its useful search function (once you've gotten over the initial confusion of how to navigate the website). the downside is that it includes only german manuscripts, which is one of the main reasons for the over-representation of german manuscripts on my blog (sorry about that).

3)

another important database for german manuscripts in general (i.e. not just illustrated ones) is the handschriftencensus, which catalogues information regarding the entirety of german language manuscripts of the middle ages, and also links to the digital reproductions of each manuscript.

4)

then there are simply considerable snowball effects. if you do even just superficial research on any medieval topic at all (say, if you open the wikipedia article on alchemy), you will inevitably stumble upon mentions of specific illustrated manuscripts. the next step is to simply search for a digital copy of the manuscript in question (this part can sometimes be easier said than done, especially when you're coming from wikipedia). one thing to keep in mind is that a manuscript illustration seldom comes alone - so every hint to any illustration at all is a greatly valuable one (if you do what i do lol). there's always gonna be something interesting in any given illustrated manuscript. (sidenote: one very effective 'cheat code' would be to simply go through all manuscripts that other online hobbyist archivers of manuscript illustrations have gone through before - like @discardingimages on tumblr - but some kind of 'professional pride' detains me from doing so. that's just a kind of stubbornness though. like, i want to find my material more or less on my own, not just the images but also the manuscripts, and i apply arbitrary rules to my search as to what exactly that means.)

5)

whatever tool or strategy i use to find specific illustrated manuscripts-- in the end, one unavoidable step is to actually manually skim through the (digitized) manuscript. i usually have at least a quick look at every single illustrated page, and i download or screenshot everything that is interesting to me. this process can take up to an hour per manuscript.

---

in conclusion, i'd say that finding cool illuminated manuscripts is much simpler than i would have thought before i started this blog. there are so many of them out there and they're basically just 'hidden in plain side', it's really astounding. finding the manuscripts doesn't require special skills, just some basic experience with/knowledge of the tools available. the reason i'm able to post interesting images almost daily is just that i spend a lot of time doing all of this, going through manuscripts, curating this blog, etc. i find a lot of comfort in it, i learn a lot along the way, and i immensely enjoy people's engagement with my posts. so that's that :)

[whumping-valentine]

Content: Captivity, conditioned whumpee

I wrote this like a year ago back when I first found out about whump and was experimenting with dynamics. Thought I'd make some edits and post it because why not.

~~~

Whumpee was sat in the grass, smiling as the warmth engulfed them. Cool wind was blowing through the leaves of the trees and the strands of their hair, light rain falling against their face like tiny kisses. Birds were singing, chirping and chattering all around as they searched for worms to feed their young. The outside world was so free and open, and Whumpee was grateful to even get a gaze upon it, let alone sit among it.

They looked up at Whumper with wide, grateful eyes, "Thank you for taking me outside." They said sincerely.

"Well, you've been good, haven't you?"

Whumpee wasn't sure what the right response was, "I am not sure, have I?"

"You tell me, what do you think?" Whumper said, crossing their arms as they did a small roll of their eyes, "Why else would you be outside? Yes, of course you've been good."

"Oh— I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"Yeah, yeah. Just because you're apparently stupid doesn't mean you're bad. Enjoy this privilege."

"I will, I'll enjoy it."

"Good for you." They said, uncaring. "I'm going to run inside real quick, and you're going to stay right here until I get back, okay?"

"Yes Sir/Ma'am." (???)

"Good."

As they walked away they turned their head and continued smiling, feeling grateful for the opportunity to be outside. Though now left alone, a terrible realization struck. The smile vanished from their face as they sunk their nails into the dirt.

What am I thinking?! Being outside is a privilege? It's not a privilege! I should be allowed go outside whenever I want! And explore the woods alone! And make my own food, in my own kitchen, whenever I want! Those aren't privileges!

A hit had been taking to their pride as they realized how conditioned they became. It had happened so slowly they couldn't even see what was happening right in front of them. They were blind to it.

All of this niceness isn't because Whumper actually likes or cares for them, it's just so they'll be good and obedient and not cause them any trouble! It's manipulation! How could they be so stupid?! So conditioned?! They were smarter than this, smarter than to fall for manipulation, and yet they still did.

This monster had them doing all these things just to have the privilege to what, eat? Go outside? Not be tortured?!

If they had any sense of dignity left, they would stand up and take off right now. They were alone, they were outside, they were... not free.

It didn't matter if Whumper gave them a key to the outside world and a map to get home. It didn't matter if they opened the door and let them go. Hell, if they told them to go. It didn't even matter if they dropped them off right back in their old bedroom, because they'd still come crawling back to Whumper.

Physical freedom means nothing if your mind is held under lock and key.

And it's just what Whumper wanted.

They've got them.

"Look at you." Whumper cooed as they returned, "Still here. I knew you were too good to run off. I'm so proud of you."

Whumpee felt defeated, and Whumper could see it in their eyes, which just made their next words all the more satisfying to hear

"Why would I go... when I have everything I need right here?"

[averlym]

no one would notice if i ever vanished // if bodies could sustain // this never-ending army // like blood pumping through a vein

(click for better resolution!)

:OOO hello. anyway since these are all posters i'd have in an ideal world or smth and i'd like to store the high res versions somewhere,,, here's the google drive folder for them? hehe ''

close up!

[penguinkyun]

finally got to read onk 136 and wow. okay.

love the understanding we're slowly getting of just how bad things were in first gen b-komachi! that fight is incredibly real and heartbreaking to witness

nino, in her own way is trying out of sheer desperation and a whole emotional cocktail to reach out to ai, to find something, letting loose all her bottled up feelings in one go but all she's getting back are practised perfected smiles and deflecting answers in response to the emotion shes pouring out because ai has no idea how to handle this because shes never had friends nor any major fight before so she's falling back on the "smile and please everyone" tactic but it isnt working here because that isnt what nino wants to hear so she gets even more hurtful but ai doesn't know that so all she can do, all she can try right now is smile and its a slow suffocation of everything that could've been because they were friends but now the cracks go too deep and can't be patched up at all because ai is now dead and nino is left with a bunch unresolved feelings that still affects her more than a decade later

its just so heartbreaking and frustrating to witness just exactly how everything culminated into what it is now because no one who could have did anything about it either, not even their manager which pushed the singular star - everyone else is just a side actor narrative even more

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

continuing on, kana's detachment yet empathy with nino as she observes from a distance while ruby is very much embodying ai, being her instead of keeping herself separate. kana knows herself and now she's able to sort out her hidden feelings easier now that she has an outlet in form of nino (she uses her own emotions for acting after all) but ruby with her years of grief and the sudden understanding of ai...yeah she is Not handling this well at all someone please get her out of there

this movie in terms of Ai Potrayal is getting worse and worse by the second oof

[everysongineverykey]

i dunno it kinda bothers me sometimes to see characters who are referred to with they/them pronouns in games described as "ambiguously gendered" or "gender left unclear" or "gender unstated" by fans and stuff like. yeah absolutely they are sometimes that. sometimes the creator had a gender in mind for them while creating them and just didn't think to talk about it in the game. but also, like. sometimes characters can just be nonbinary? and it makes me kinda sad that everyone's first reaction to they/them pronouns in games is "oh, they have a binary gender, it's just up to the player/not stated in-game".

[doodlingbot]

Fake screenshots

[andnowrotfront]

first and last post i'll make like this but guilty gear fans are literally so annoying. if you're upset over venom getting in and not robo-ky you're literallyyyy just being racist. i don't know how to phrase it but if you're posting about how a literaly flying head deserves a spot on the roster over a brown man you;re kind of insane. sorry that your misogyny robot isn't relevant in the game any more after they completely wrapped up his story in xrd (where he had a full 3D model and still wasn't playable mind you!) by blowing him up and leaving only his head behind lol.

[simplepotatofarmer]

i'm going to say something and it's not going to be nice.

if you're weaponizing techno's death to bash his friends, you should be ashamed.

this? absolutely disgusting.

people like phil and tommy, who are being criticized by the op and others in the replies, were techno's friends. they knew him and loved him and you're going to make his death about the lack of lore? i'm sorry, that's not okay.

i know there was so much techno wanted to do and it's a fucking tragedy that he wasn't able to. but using that to shame his friends is such a low blow. this isn't parasocial, it's a horrific lack of empathy for real people who lost one of their closest friends and you're doing it over what. minecraft rp?

you have no right to speculate on what happened and assign blame to his friends. i'm appalled right now.

[slightlytoastedbagel]

when you think about it Vivid Bad Squad was the first time any of them truly had people outside of family and not just classmates or family acquaintances. it's no wonder they got so ride or die for each other despite the rocky start they understand each other in ways no one else has before

[dennisboobs]

my favourite thing about the always sunny podcast is listening to rcg all say something extremely neurodivergent and then agree amongst themselves and convince themselves its completely normal