#which teams? idk you decide (i hate coloring)

[seahdalune]

saw the tweet and couldn't resist

[jebewonmorelike]

Marshmallow Beach

wc: 3.3k pronouns: none used; n/a warnings: fairly angsty for most of it but i ended it pretty funny so there's something for everyone lmao, drowning but it's not real, mentions of financial struggle, probably an inaccurate description of cpr idk we never really learned it in school which is kind of bad lol summary: coworkerwithsomehistory!gyuvin decides to pull the meanest prank in the world on overbearingheadlifeguard!reader after an incredibly tense summer at the beach ~masterlist~ ♡ ~kofi (no pressure at all)~ i literally wrote most of this AT the beach, which was so fun. i was watching some of the lifeguards goof off together and i was like-- imagine zb1 as lifeguards. i feel like, with summer almost in full swing where i am, i will most definitely have to make more lifeguard!zb1 fics bc it's such a cute scenario. lmk if that sounds good to you. also the ending is so funny, i can picture gyuvin and the other boys perfectly in that scene UGH also i accidentally made gyuvin say his catchphrase in this, i wrote it and then i was like oh my god what... comment if you spot it

“It’s not that cold.”

You stare at the boy standing knee-deep in the ocean in front of you— his skin beginning to turn the same color as the water as his teeth chatter audibly over the crashing waves and the wind that’s suddenly picking up.

“Gyuvin, that’s enough—,” you start to scold, but the tall teenager continues to wade further into the sea. The waves are growing bigger and the sun has almost completely dipped past the horizon line.

“Hyung-ah, wait for me!” The youngest of the lifeguards calls, pulling his grey hoodie over his head and running off into the ocean after him.

“Gunwook-ah! I really don’t think you guys should be—.”

“Why are you always such a narc, (Y/N)?” Gyuvin shouts back at you, grabbing the younger boy and dunking him under the water as soon as he reaches him.

You sigh annoyedly. This was your fourth summer as a lifeguard at Village Beach; you’d been a fairly diligent and dedicated employee the past three years and at the beginning of this summer you’d been promoted to Head Lifeguard.

Your friend Taerae had been hired at the same time as you; Ricky and Gyuvin joining the team the year after. The previous summers you’d loved hanging out with your fellow lifeguard friends, goofing around on breaks, and, most importantly, being able to help beach-goers however you can. This summer, however, has been anything but enjoyable.

You’d needed the extra money before your junior year at college, so you didn’t think twice about taking the position as Head Lifeguard. But, boy… You should have. Now nearly every responsibility of the beach fell on your shoulders. There had been no time for fun, no time for friends and no time for…

“Gyuvin-ah, please,” you yell, watching as both Ricky and Taerae follow the two younger boys into the ocean until the water is up to their chests. “Are you kidding me!?”

“Can you lighten up for once!?” Gyuvin shouts back, rolling his eyes. “Oh sorry, I forgot: you’re a massive killjoy now!”

You see Taerae wince, but he doesn’t say anything. Of course that’s what they all thought of you now. You’d probably hate yourself, too. Yelling at the other lifeguards when they weren’t paying attention, handing out citations when they clocked in late, reporting back to your boss about any ways they had been lacking, blowing your whistle whenever one of them left their post unscheduled...

Everyone’s favorite co-worker had become the boss’s pet. Sure, it got you a few extra dollars on the hour, but was it really worth losing your friends? The nervous looks the new kid Gunwook gave you whenever you entered the break lounge? The multiple occasions where you’d walked into a restaurant after a shift to see all of your friends eating dinner without you?

The boy you’d had a crush on for three summers now calling you a narc; a killjoy?

You know you could’ve been a little easier on them. They were all great lifeguards; showed up and worked hard during early morning training and were (almost) always alert. But you’d only been trying to do your best and keep your position. The truth was, you desperately needed that extra money. It was the only way you were going to be able to buy your books next semester. And when your boss was always such a hardass, threatening to give the position to someone else if you couldn’t keep up...

But now all these boys only see you as a tyrant. A snitch. And undoubtedly a bad friend.

It’s a cool August evening; a party for the lifeguards before your last week of work. You were positive that you were the last person any of the boys wanted here, but Ricky had accidentally let the plan slip in front of you. Your longest friend, Taerae, had laughed awkwardly in an attempt to cover it up, walking over to you and telling you the details-- ensuring that they had just forgotten to let you know.

Though you knew the invitation was disingenuous, you’d showed up anyway. After all, it was right after your shift ended and on the beach where you work. Maybe you were just curious as to what they’d get up to. Maybe you were so starved for fun by now that you were willing to insert yourself in what had to be one of the most awkward bonfires you’d ever attended (because of your presence, of course).

And they probably wouldn’t believe you but maybe you really missed them.

“I finally got that girl’s number today,” Ricky says, taking a bite of the marshmallow on his roasting stick. “Before dinner break. She came up to me and started asking about sharks and I--.”

“Told her to stop bothering you while you were working?” You mumble to yourself before a scan around the now silent group informs you it had been audible. You look back down at your own gooey marshmallow, picking a piece off and popping it into your mouth. You knew exactly the girl Ricky was talking about. He’d admired her from afar since last summer, gushing to you, Taerae, and Gyuvin about everything she did each Friday that she came to the beach.

You should be congratulating him, but your brain has been so acutely re-hardwired this summer that all you could do was scold him for not doing his job.

“Hey, remember when you used to be nice?” Gyuvin asks suddenly, taking a sip from his can while his eyes remain locked on you.

“I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just--.”

“Just doing your job, we know. It’s one of your ten pre-programmed phrases,” he interrupts sarcastically. “Don’t say too much, Ricky. (Y/N)’s just gonna report it back to the boss anyway.”

“No, I’m not,” you reply, rolling your eyes. Much more quietly, you add, “I’m happy for Ricky.”

“Are you? Are you even friends with Ricky anymore?” Gyuvin continues his criticism. “Are you friends with any of us? You barely even know Gunwook! You yelled at him for jumping off his post instead of using the ladder before you even officially met him.”

You just stare back at him, well aware that everything he’s saying is valid. That doesn’t make it hurt any less. The disdain in Gyuvin’s eyes now is palpable. It’s hard to imagine that almost a year ago to the date, you’d sat together on the shore in the moonlight-- letting the waves crash over your feet as you told him how you wished that summer would never end. How he’d leaned over to you so that your right shoulder touched his left, his large hand finding its way on top of yours innocently. How, rather than annoyance in his eyes, he’d instead looked at you like he wanted to...

“Too good for us, huh? Go ahead, ignore me,” Gyuvin scoffs, shaking his head and taking another sip of his drink. You’d zoned out-- he was right. But if he only knew the actual reason... “See if I care. Why are you even here anyway?”

You let a moment pass in silence. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” you mumble to no one in particular; trying your best to hold in the flood of emotions that’s boiling beneath the surface. Taerae taps your arm as you walk past him, but you just nod passively in response-- continuing up the sand.

You take your time in the bathroom, staring in the mirror and willing yourself not to cry. When you return to the bonfire, there’s been a small but noticeable shift in the wind-- and the ocean is responding accordingly. That’s why you’re so shocked when Gyuvin suddenly pulls his sweatshirt over his head and runs towards the water with a devilish grin on his face.

And now that all four of your fellow lifeguards are up to their chests in cold, rising night waves, you’re more than a little pissed at Gyuvin. And the fear rising in your chest is becoming overwhelming.

“Binnie, I--,” you shout over the roar of the waves crashing at your feet but you know he can’t hear you. You can barely see him now; he’s under the water for at least ten seconds at a time as the waves grow even higher in the wind. “I promise I’m not trying to nag you, but you’re scaring me!”

The other boys look back at you from a bit closer to shore, weird looks on their faces. They turn to each other, now appearing wary but not really of Gyuvin’s safety. Taerae and Ricky keep looking back at you-- concern suddenly tangible in their eyes as they whisper to each other intensely.

Over the waves, you can faintly hear Gunwook calling to Gyuvin, “Hyung-ah, maybe this is--.”

Gyuvin shakes his head dismissively, stepping out further into the nearly black ocean-- a large wave rising in front of him. He turns around; smiling back towards the shore and giving a thumbs up.

“BIN-AH!” You cry as the giant wave collapses behind Gyuvin, hurtling towards the tall boy at rapid speed. If he was paying attention, the wave would be fairly easy for him to swim through. But he’s not. “BEHIND YOU!”

Before he can turn around, the wave overtakes Gyuvin-- submerging him under the water. You watch the surface, horrified as the wave knocks the other three boys off their feet before finally hitting your ankles in a soft foam. Seconds pass; the other boys eventually scramble to their feet, but...

Gyuvin doesn’t.

It’s twenty seconds. Twenty-five. Thirty.

You’re frozen in place. You’re a lifeguard-- you should be running into the water to find him. But you find yourself unable to move. Unable to breathe as if you’re the one underwater.

Luckily, the other three boys are swimming out to where Gyuvin is-- all three diving under the water before Ricky surfaces with something on his back. All three of them help carry the weight of the tallest boy between them, pulling him to shore laboredly.

When the water is finally below their knees, your body snaps out of its frightened paralysis as you finally get a good look at a seemingly unconscious Gyuvin. Running over to the boys and wrapping your hands around one of Gyuvin’s biceps to help support him, you help to drag him onto the sand.

Lying him down flat on his back, you kneel down over Gyuvin’s stomach-- a knee on either side of his chest. Placing an ear over his mouth, you check to see if he’s breathing. He’s not. Your panicked paralysis has now done a 180-degree flip; you’re so scared that any common sense has completely left your brain and you’re propelled into frantic action. You don’t even register that his heart is still beating strongly-- that you don’t have to be doing chest compressions or pinching his nose and connecting your lips to his to administer a rescue breath like you are right now...

Gyuvin’s eyes shoot open so quickly that the surprise jolts you off of him. You sit back upright on your knees over his stomach, watching as he blinks back at you wide-eyed.

The lack of salt water dripping from Gyuvin’s mouth suddenly stifles you. Something isn’t right about this.

Finally, he forces a laugh and his tone that follows is anything but frightened, relieved, pained, or any other emotions that someone who just nearly drowned might be exhibiting. “Really? Chest compressions? A rescue breath? Are you sure you’re Head Lifeguard? You seriously couldn’t tell I wasn’t actually drowning?”

You stare at him for a moment before glancing back at the other boys behind you. They look more uncomfortable than anything. Turning back to look at Gyuvin’s smirking face, which is albeit a little blue still from the water temperature, you realize you’re the only one currently experiencing any fear.

“What?” You whisper breathlessly.

“Gotcha,” Gyuvin says with a grin, lifting up on his elbows to look at the boys behind you. “I think that prank was a success.”

“You--... You weren’t drowning?” You ask, the reality of the situation sinking in. After this summer-- after what you’d said at the bonfire-- Gyuvin had decided to play this horrific prank on you to... what? Teach you a lesson? Get revenge? Traumatize you?

You turn to look at the other boys. “And you knew?”

All three of them already look regretful, heads hung slightly in shame. Now you realize that they’d been wary about this since you’d called to Gyuvin that he was scaring you. They’d turned to each other concernedly-- Gunwook had even tried to ask him to reconsider tricking you like this.

“What the FUCK is wrong with you!?” You shout, hitting Gyuvin’s chest with your hands as all of the tension spills out of you. “I thought you were gonna die! I thought you--... I thought you--...”

“What? Gonna tell the boss? Gonna write us up?” Gyuvin asks, far too sardonically. “Gonna--... Hey, wait, are you crying?”

Water is dripping onto Gyuvin’s abs and it’s not coming from the sky. The wind has lulled and the air is warm again-- the black night above the ocean dusted in thousands of clustered stars.

“Why would you do this? Do you hate me that much? All of you?” You ask, eyes fixed on the water. “I know I was the absolute worst all summer and I don’t think anyone is more upset about it than me! You think I don’t miss having fun with you guys!? This summer has been a literal nightmare.”

There’s cautious silence except the slow crashing of the waves.

“The truth is I really needed the extra money. I wouldn’t have been able to go to college next semester without it, so I’ve just had to tolerate being a miserable narc to my boss who keeps threatening to replace me-- all while having no friends during what used to be my favorite part of the year,” you confess, your dignified tears only growing more haggard. “I’m really sorry. I’m so, so sorry for everything, but why--... Why would you make me think that you--... ”

Your eyes are boring into Gyuvin’s now; his are wide and unnerved staring back at you. “I missed you so much,” you say softly, nearly inaudible over the murmuring of the ocean beside you. You know he heard you, though, from the way his body tenses under you. “But don’t worry: you’ve made it clear now you don’t feel the same.”

Your whole body is still a bit shaky from the adrenaline, but you manage to stand up-- stepping over Gyuvin and walking towards the other boys.

“(Y/N), we--,” Taerae starts an attempt at an explanation, but you’re less than interested.

Walking through him and Ricky, shoulders brushing unceremoniously as you head back up toward the recreation building, you mutter under your breath: “Jerks.”

~

You’re in the break lounge for at least ten minutes before the sound of the doors bursting open grabs your attention. It’s Gyuvin standing in the doorway, wearing his red and white hoodie again and a pair of grey sweatpants. He doesn’t say anything.

“Go away,” you threaten half-heartedly; even the energy to be rightfully mad at him has been sucked out of you.

“No,” he replies, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. He leans his back up against it cautiously, obviously not wanting to upset you further by invading your space more than necessary.

You sigh deeply; it’s not angry or mocking. Just tired. “Do you need water? I know you weren’t actually drowning, but that had to hurt your throat-- holding your breath like that.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t be nice to me after I was just so mean to you,” the tall boy replies, shaking his head. “And I could’ve held my breath for five more minutes if I had to. State record holder: remember?”

You do remember. Gyuvin had told you about his swimming achievement two summers ago-- when he was just a newbie lifeguard at the beach. He’d bought you an ice cream sandwich out of the vending machine when you’d said you really wanted one. He bought you one every time after that that he’d caught you staring longingly at the machine.

“I’m really sorry.”

You both say it at the same time. It’s simultaneously painfully awkward and the greatest relief.

“I’m sorry for being so terrible all summer,” you say quickly, not wanting to have a back-and-forth over who’s gonna apologize first. “And I’m sorry for making you feel like I think I’m too good for you now or that I was purposefully ignoring you... and everything in between. I wish I could take it back, but I can’t. And I’m really sad that I can’t.”

“I completely understand that you needed the money. You deserve to go to school more than anyone I know. I just wish you would’ve told me,” he says, meeting your gaze. “I wouldn’t’ve judged you. And then I would’ve known why you’d started acting all... you know.”

You nod. “I know. I’m really sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” Gyuvin says after a moment; a sheepish smile creeps onto his face. “My turn, I guess.”

“Mmhmm,” you agree, narrowing your eyes at him. “Better be good, too.”

“First off, I’m incredibly sorry. I went way too far and it wasn’t cool at all. I really didn’t mean to scare you like that-- I kind of thought you’d just be a regular amount of worried or that you’d catch on that it was a prank faster but--.”

“Are you blaming this on me being too stupid to figure it out or...?” You ask, an eyebrow raising at him.

“NO! No, I didn’t mean that. I just... I was really upset, honestly. I’ve been upset this whole summer about you. And then on the one night you’re actually hanging out with us again, you were still acting the same way,” he explains, a hand raising to scratch his arm. “I just thought that if you didn’t care about me anymore then... maybe I could make you care about me again.”

“By... pretending to drown in front of me? A little toxic of you-- I hate to admit.”

“Definitely not the best idea I’ve ever had,” he laughs awkwardly, hand reaching for the back of his neck. “I’m really sorry, (Y/N). Are you okay?”

You nod, looking down at your hands in your lap. “Was really shitty of you, Binnie.”

“Really, really shitty of Binnie, I know,” Gyuvin says, a small pout on his lips. “That guy’s the worst.”

“He really is,” you agree, a smile threatening to peek through. “But you didn’t need to make me care about you again. I never stopped.”

He looks at you, eyebrows raising with surprise.

“I feel like I missed everything this summer. Ricky’s pining over that girl that eventually paid off, Taerae trying to throw Cheez-its from his post all the way to mine, our post-work lifeguard dinners,” you recount sadly. “But you know what I missed most of all?”

Gyuvin’s eyes are bright, but he shakes his head. “What?”

“Oh come on, you know exactly what I’m gonna say,” you tease with a disbelieving smile.

He smiles back, answering softly, “Wanna hear you say it.”

The way your stomach flutters is so stupidly joyful that it’s embarrassing. “You,” you say, indulging him. “I missed you most of all.”

“I missed you,” Gyuvin echoes, grinning like an idiot. “Like... SO, so much.”

You don’t care how embarrassing you’re being anymore-- you hop up from the couch and run over to Gyuvin, lifting up on your toes and throwing your arms around his neck. He picks you up off the ground for a moment-- arms supporting your back and waist as he roughs you up a bit in his typical big-dog-energy way. He places you back on the ground, hands still attached to your waist.

You remember the look that’s in his eyes now. It’s the same one he gave you that night on the beach last summer. Is he still too shy? Is he unsure after all that happened this summer?

It’s obvious what he wants to do. Maybe you could make up for everything this summer by helping him out here...

“Your lungs must be aching, Binnie,” you start, smiling up at him sweetly. “Surely it must hurt at least a little bit to breathe now.”

Gyuvin frowns, shaking his head. “No, I’m all good! I could do it again actually if I had to.”

You narrow your eyes at him, kicking his shin lightly with your foot. “It must be so difficult for you to breathe on your own right now,” you overly emphasize each word in hopes that he catches on. “Maybe you need some more rescue breaths...”

“I don’t need--,” Gyuvin starts to deny again before his eyes suddenly widen. “I--... Oh... Uh... You know what-- you’re right! It turns out I really do need some rescue breaths after all of that. And you know, you were so good at administering them before...”

You press up on your toes again and Gyuvin carefully leans down to meet you-- your lips finding his in a long-anticipated kiss. It’s tender and his soft lips taste and feel like roasted marshmallows. You pull back, smiling at each other shyly.

“C’mon, I’ll drive you home,” he says, hand around your waist as he pulls the door open behind him.

THUD. Thud. Thuddd.

Ricky, Taerae and Gunwook look up at you from the floor-- apparently having fallen down when the door they’d been pressed against was opened.

“Hear anything good?” You ask, eyebrows raised expectantly.

All three boys mumble their apologies as Gyuvin leads you through the doorway past them. You turn around to call back to them, “Hope you guys clock in at 7:30 sharp tomorrow morning! Ricky, you’re running out of Level 1 citations.”

“Wait, what!? I thought you were gonna be super chill again from now on!” Ricky exclaims.

Taerae nods. “Yeah, didn’t you just apologize for being annoying all summer?”

“I got a citation last week for being three seconds late,” Gunwook says frantically. “THREE! I can’t do this anymore!”

“Whoah, whoah, whoah, that’s enough fellas,” Gyuvin says, popping his sunglasses on (indoors and at night). “You all better be compliant from now on. (Y/N)’s got a job to do and if any of you get in the way, you will be answering to me. Well, after you answer to (Y/N), of course.”

Tightening his grip around your waist, Gyuvin leads you down the hallway of the beach recreation building and out the doors into the warm summer night air.

“We’ve been bamboozled,” Taerae whispers.

Ricky groans, “And we still have to show up to work at 7:30 tomorrow morning.”

Gunwook twitches. “... THREE!”

[marygodwin-bsd]

Rating members of the ADA based on nothing but my own vibes (I haven't seen all of season 3)

I'll post a part 2 with the port mafia and a part 3 with the guild

Dazai Osamu

8/10 for looks. 4/10 for the chuuya abuse. 6/10 for the fact everytime i hear his english voice it reminds me of hendrickson from SDS bc that is the VA. overall 7/10 character but I would not wanna be his friend in real life. follow his instagram at most.

Kunikida Doppo

Y'ALL ALREADY KNOW hotness 10/10, 6/10 for the possible terrorist backstory that would be oh so fantastic character building, 8/10 for the fact i ALSO happen to be overly obsessed with my own schedule, 4/10 for the fact someone called his hair a deceased pikachu wig and I laughed, 7/10 for the fact his english VA is Griamore from sds and that was weird for a few scenes. OVERALL 9/10 solid gold good man deserves a white picket dream (the remaining 1/10 is for the fact they couldnt help themselves with his spiky hair sticking out, so now it is effectively a mullet instead of just long hair)

Rampo Edogawa

7/10 on looks in general i have no strong opinions about his ensemble except that he looks like a lil detective and the IRL Rampo wrote "Boy Detectives Club" and i think its adorable. 8/10 for the fact his brain is awesome and the cockiness. 7/10 for the rivalry with poe because i like it but i havent seen enough of it to be super into their thing yet overall 7/10 I dont have much to say hes just a good boy

Yosano Akiko

5/10 for the design im sorry i hate that the skirt is that low she can have a long skirt but it looks way awk at the hips though that may just be because the skirt goes out instead of just downward like a maxi. the gold hair clip is good i like it. 9/10 for the way she snatched that mans hand and almost took it off, 7/10 for the scenes that make this anime look way sus to my parents (YOU KNOW WHICH ONES I MEAN!) overall 8/10 for everything except that damn skirt

Kenji Miyazawa

Team baby!! 10/10 for team baby and YES hes the team baby even though kyouka is ALSO the team baby but i'll get to that. 8/10 for being Finny from Black Butler without my issues from black butler. 7/10 for his morals on cows. 8/10 for his everything about his personality. im not rating on attractiveness bc he is fourteen >:1 idk why i wasted y'alls time explaining hes 10/10 for team baby

Kyouka Izumi

Ok she was going to be the team baby but then i reevaluated and decided no shes just ATSUSHI'S BABY. 8/10 for how adorable her jellyfish cut is. 10/10 for sad backstory. 6/10 for the fact people ship her with atsushi and the show seems to lean that way as well (I was so happy when Lucy arrived for this reason). 7/10 overall for second team baby

Atsushi Nakajima

6/10 for the fact my phone always autocorrects him to At Sushi. 7/10 for that haircut. 10/10 for awful father figure. 9/10 for the headcannon about his parents engaging in cannibalism that sounded so in-line with the show i thought it was real and not a headcannon. I'm sorry 6/10 for the fact the va uses the same voice for atsushi that he uses for Harlequin in SDS and it trips me up. 8/10 for the fact his eyes cant decide what color to be. 7/10 for the fact it feels weird to see smut with him in it because he is also, effectively, team baby.

These two

This poor guy got NERFED by his own story bro this author wasn't into all this.... sister stuff... but apparently his book character was! Gimme a minute to yak anyways designs are 7/10 pretty basic but do their job effectively and Naomi's appearance actually supports the headcannon shes not real and shes just a product of his ability which i like. The sibling... "relationship" gets 0/10 for EW but kunikida gets 10/10 for telling atsushi to ignore it but then still yelling at them after he gets 7/10 for his general personality, honestly if his devotion to his sister wasnt related to the weird incest stuff i would find it a really great plot device (being devoted to protecting and taking care of your only family left) overall naomi gets 6/10 for being okay and looking properly suited for her environment unless shes around Junchiro Junchiro gets 8/10 for having a sick matrix ability and looking basic but not boring

Fukuzawa Yukichi

GOOD OL' CAT LOVING GRANDPA HIMSELF. 3/10 for the fact he knows mori, 10/10 for how he looks after everyone. also 7/10 for the fact im realizing how kunikidas hairstyle might be because he is COPYING FUKUZAWA... anyways. I don't personally find him all that attractive but to be fair he doesn't show up a lot? 8/10 for being a badass. 9/10 because I feel sad that he didnt get to pet the kitty in Wan. Overall, 8/10

Pt 2 will go here Pt 3 will go here pt 4 is here

[himikochan]

thoughts on the costuming in rings of power?

HELLO hello I've got a lot of thoughts all over the place and they are below the cut

I wanna start with some caveats re: me and rings of power

-I am a professional costumer and I've worked with people in film/streaming/tv/etc and professionals in/out of the union but my main work is in live theater

-I am a Big Old Tolkien Nerd but have only read the Silmarillion a few times and not recently

-I am 100% on team

I am so far on Team No Hate Watching that I called up my Tolkien friends back in 2020 to debate whether we'd watch anything Amazon made for the LotR-universe and unanimously decided we wouldn't trust the universe with Amazon

so that being said, everything I've seen of Rings of Power is from the trailer and screen caps on tumblr/facebook

ALSO when I refer to the Lord of the Rings movies, I am referring to the Peter Jackson movies because I do not have the time to compare every adaption

So what I’d like to start off with is the weird trend of like... romanticized Roman/Greek and Celtic-Briton influences 

(^ Gil-galad- a Noldorin)

(^ Isildur and.... Numenoreans? idk didn’t watch)

(^ Sadoc Burrows, Harfoot Hobbit)

(^Durin IV of Durin’s Folk/Khazad-dûm)

(^Disa - didn’t watch, google just says she’s a dwarf)

A lot of these costumes are distinctly referencing what we think of as classical Greek/Roman and Celtic-Briton clothes (note: “actual” clothes for Greeks, Romans, and Celtic-Britons were different- and I think it’s important to make the distinction between historical garb and the way it’s been stylized in the last 100 years).

Greek/Roman Influences: the stylized wreath crown, the way they’ve draped most of the cloths into chiton, peplos, himation, and chlamys, the broad swaths of unadorned/untextured fabrics 

Celtic-Briton-ish-ish Influences: I’m feeling this in the dye palette they chose which yes I know isn’t super-duper location specific but these colors look very derived from woad, madder, weld, lichen, and gall nuts which have usually been available in the isles, tell me Durin’s crown doesn’t you of the Waterloo Bridge Helmet, the studded armor is kind of ahistorical but frequently dramatized for Celtic-Britons, here just pop around this article (Celtic Clothing: Bronze Age to the Sixth Century) and I think you’ll get what I mean 

I guess that’s a choice to make it seem “earlier” than the other Tolkien movies we’ve seen lately, but carries across the different groups it seems too bland/similar across it all for me. Without getting too deep, these folx are from different ethnic groups/races and it’s kind of weird their clothes don’t seem more distanced from each other (they hail from Aman, Numenor, the Shire/Eriador, and Khazad-dûm/Misty Mountains).

But maybe more importantly I think it’s pretty weird they didn’t push the design more in an art nouveau/pre-raphaelite direction: considering that both of those design philosophies fit in much more neatly with Tolkien’s work and what he emphasized in his descriptions. Both lean more towards figures that are nestled in the natural world and emphasize the beauty of organic curves and a world a little more intense (especially in color) that ours is. Gil-Galad’s cloak does have a watery drape which is nice but the lines of his cross belt, color palette, and the brooches overwhelmingly read more imperial Roman than Tolkien character.

All of this makes Galadrial’s armor so much more... dissonant with the rest of the costuming. Her cuirass/mail combo reads so much more aggressively modern than the rest of it- even more modern than the armor of Lord of the Rings (which, admittedly had similar plate/mail combos but leaned more into a faux-medieval stylization). Also, to be nit picky, I think the lack of a gorget (neck piece) in field armor looks weird :S

I tried to find a better example to illustrate my point but here’s Ingres’ Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII which is an 1854 depiction of an event that took place in 1429 and presents a very modern adaption of armor. NGL my mind keeps filling the spot on Galadrial’s plate with the sacred heart- her armor reads as such a Catholic-virginal-femme-knight vibe which is very much at odds with the overly classical costumes for the rest of the characters.

I do think her armor is cool looking but it doesn’t feel like it exists in the world of Rings of Power nor does it really fit in with the Lord of the Rings movies... The closest I could think of offhand is Aragorn/Elessar’s armor for the coronation in Return of the King and even that reads as “older” or more grounded in the film-world than Galadrial’s.

.

I’ve seen a lot of comments on the costume quality in costuming groups so I’ve linked the above post here [it’s a public post so you don’t need a facebook account to view it] which covers a lot of it but I’ll have my own rant too.

There’s for sure a decrease in the quality of costumes from the Lord of the Rings movies which is... so disappointing and TBH expected from the most expensive tv show ever in 2022 and from Amazon. I think a lot of people are aware of the aggressive shift towards using CGI for messing around with costumes: it takes TIME and MONEY and SKILL to produce the wonderful costumes we saw in Lord of the Rings and, to be frank, the work of many many costume/IATSE union members which Amazon isn’t going to pay for. The overall time frame for producing tv/movies has gotten a lot shorter which has forced a lot of costuming departments to cut corners in design and execution.

That is how rumpled costumes make it on the screen, that is how you get so many wigs that move unnaturally, that is how the most expensive tv show ever gets such a... bland and milquetoast design. The Lord of the Rings costumes were littered with so many small and very intentional details that brought more personality to the characters and made the world seem more grounded and real.

HOWEVER- I would like to make a note on Miriel’s screen printed undershirt.

I’ve been making clothes a long time, I’ve seen a fair amount of all levels of live theater, I’ve gone to fashion exhibitions, and seen a lot of movies. What I mean to say, is that I’ve seen a lot of art involving clothes/costuming with big and small budgets and many different intentions. Over the last few years, I’ve seen the expectations for local theater and bespoke clothing rise dramatically while keeping the pay low and rushing for time- I think a lot of people are so disconnected from the process of making clothes that it’s been hard to temper your expectations away from what a big budget movie house is able to do.

I 100% Absolutely Think that Rings Of Power SHOULD have done so much better!!! They literally had so much money they could have invested in costume professionals and materials and taken their time to let a nuanced and well-made wardrobe emerge. 

But! I would like to take a moment to admire Miriel’s screen printed undershirt. I’ve seen a lot of people bash it without nuance. It’s not an appropriate solution for literally the most expensive tv show ever- but can you imagine what a clever idea this is if you were putting on a dance performance and needed a full range of movement? Or if you’re staging a production of Cinderella and bought a plastic breastplate and your producer (OhFuckOhFuckOhFuck) only budgeted $100 for a character that’s supposed to be fully armored?

Costume designers and shop workers are overwhelmingly paid less than their peers in other departments (maybe it’s because many of them are from marginalized genders.....) and frequently given a smaller budget than other departments in live theater. I recently had a friend of a friend reach out to me about a musical where they budgeted $300 for 20 full costumes!!! That’s $15 a costume from a professional theater!!!

I absolutely adore the tremendous growth in cosplay we’ve seen over the past decade and the cool costumes we’ve seen from high-budget period and fantasy shows: but a lot of your “run-of-the-mill” costume designers have been run ragged trying to meet the expectations of Hollywood movies on a shoestring budget and it’s been disheartening to see a lot of these kinds of practical solutions bashed online. There was and should have remained a distinction between the quality expectations of big budget films or the passion projects of a cosplayer VERSUS what the majority of professionals do within their budget.

I’ve heard more than a few of my fellow designers and technicians cry because a costume looked GREAT with the distance from stage to audience or properly lit- but was bashed from a close up photo or because the director didn’t like that the “illusion”/solution only worked on stage. I’ve seen catty arguments online where a costumer is trying to build their own platform shoes (VERY VERY DANGEROUS unless you’re a professional cobbler) because the show was usually done with them, their director insisted on them, and they didn’t have the resources to purchase new/used. Fuck I’ve worked rentals with people from a few of these actual high budget houses- trying to stretch a budget until it screams.

There’s a whole complicated discourse on fair wages and labor practices and budgeting that I’m not ready to get into- but I’d like to ask you to think of kindness and the suspension of disbelief. It doesn’t solve the structural problems that need to change, but a lot of professional costumers love their art/craft and are proud of the solutions they come up with in their line of work! Obviously we should expect better quality in examples like these- but I’d like to celebrate some of the costumes that are less “realistic” or “immersive” but do such a good job of conveying their part of the narrative that we overlook the proverbial screen-printed undershirt.

(Hel, Metropolis- needs no comment I love her)

(Monty Python and the Holy Grail- knitted chainmail)

(Jareth, The Labyrinth- one CRUNCHY wig)

(Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz- ruby slippers made with dyed satin and organza, three different kind of glass and plastic beads/sequins, and lit exceptionally well)

.

I’m not the expert on all of this and I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts (please be kind and act in good faith)! I’m not about to say great things about the Amazon costumes for Rings of Power, but I hope that you’ll be more forgiving online for other designers making the best of their time/budget 

Love, your local costume professional

[mamamittens]

Well, I got halfway through a comm, so there's that. Then I realized it was Whoops All Set Up and I hadn't considered how to write the interactions to lead up to that smut so I took a step back to think it over.

I was asked for fluffy romcom and I'll be damned if I don't deliver it!

But that's a later problem, here's me rambling about ideas for an alternative shine riolu design for Platinum, Fin's service pokemon.

So, I decided against keeping canon colors and mostly the same design cause damnit, I still don't like the yellow.

I'm sure game freak had lovely reasons for the yellow but I hate it.

Away it goes!

And anyway, while I was at it, I figured I'd further tweak the design to highlight how Platinum was specifically picked for Finley. Perhaps as a favor from someone who was really moved by her tragic backstory.

Silver, her original Abra, looked pretty normal aside from a spiky ring on his tail. But that's more because it was pretty early in the days of Designer Breeding more geared towards unique iterations of pokemon. Particularly driven by the growing market for coordinators trying to get a leg up. And as a standard ish support pokemon he didn't need to look outstanding, just more identifiable if something happened.

So I decided towards a slightly artistic inspiration.

A mostly silver/gray coat explains the name easily enough. And I do like the original color pallette so I kept the blue/black. They also look unexpectedly tall and that's partly because I suck at the proportions but idk, maybe Platinum is just unusually tall as well lol

The flourishes make Plat look more rugged and (according to my roommate) dirty lol. But it's meant to be like paint brushes and paint splatter. Had no interest in a rainbow baby or anything too crazy.

The goofy leg/pant bulge looks more like a deliberate attempt to imply shorts, which I appreciate more than trying to figure out wtf canon is doing with that drumstick butt (or frankly dick shaped torso, it's so damn close to being a dick, I can't unseen it and I'm sorry you won't be able to either).

This is without any support pokemon gear. A vest is the obvious choice but when he evolves it'll have to be adjusted cause of the chest spike Lucario has. Maybe I'll just stick to a bandana? Or a belt?

...ah, I forgot to try the button... Well, whatever. I like it as is regardless. It's a little fancy but not too busy? If anything I might get rid of the 'holes' in the dark sections so it's just paint splatter inspired.

Be easier to draw at least lol

Idk if I mentioned earlier but Fin's official job is illustration/painting. Mostly for books and other projects she can consult for and do at home rather than travel. Very much a home body until the start of the fic when she decides she's well enough to handle it. Likes watercolor specifically for painting personal projects such as her old team's books or for friends (when she finally has them). But does oils, acrylics, murals, and mixed mediums as well.

Perhaps Platinum was a 'thank you' gift for a personal mural from a breeder who put Platinum through official support pokemon courses.

Despite being a support pokemon, Platinum is just as happy in a battle as any other riolu. His first duty is just to Fin though. So he would be more likely than most to forfeit a match if his trainer showed too much distress or lash out unexpectedly in times of peril.

This both pairs well with the rest of her destined team and against one specifically who would rather be doing that themselves. But for now I'll leave it at that lol.

Platinum will be her only special/shiny Pokemon. Unlike Edna, she doesn't have any connections or unexpected 'gifts' netting her rare pokemon.

[mosssyyycat]

Does the new warrior cats art look AI to anyone else?

Originally I just thought the artist was lazy or inexperienced, I was a little confused when some people pointed out that it looked AI generated, but after looking closer, I kind of believe it? I could be completely wrong, but I’ll give images as examples for why I believe this. I also don’t own the book yet, so I only have the images uploaded to the official website to use, and I’m unsure if there have been changes to the art since that.

Disclaimer

Some of this information I have I got from other people, I cannot confirm if it’s true, so please don’t take my word for some of this (for the things I’m unsure if it’s true or not I will link back to where I got the information when I can)

I love warriors, I love the stories, characters, unique wood building, all of it! I’m not hating on the books or authors in any way with this post, this Is just a speculation about the cover art. What’s inside the books is still great and i look forward to every book!

I first noticed the art looking AI on a post which mentioned the ableist choices the artist made, hiding cats Injuries behind plants and things like that.

Link to the post https://www.reddit.com/r/WarriorCats/comments/17blwe7/the_new_warrior_cats_ultimate_guide_art_is_hiding/

Some people pointed out that the artist seemed inexperienced in cats, and it’s possible that they were just unsure of how to draw the injuries, which I could believe. But I saw a comment on there saying this same artist did the covers for a book series they read and this person whitewashed the characters on the covers of the books. I don’t know anything of the series so I can’t confirm this, but the comments stating this were found on the post linked above. If this is true, I wouldn’t really trust this person to not decide it would be faster to AI generate their art and just go over it to make it look better.

For the same reason, unless it’s confirmed in some way, I don’t believe the warriors team made the choice to hide the characters disabilities, especially since the previous ultimate guide they did show their injuries. Why would they just suddenly change their mind? And I doubt the last book they did art for asked them to whitewash the characters either. I think it’s just this artist being not so good.

Also knowing the book had previously said Ivy was brown/red and Dove was yellow because who ever added their coat color just color picked from the art with extremely harsh lighting, it would make sense that they also missed some of the things like AI or hiding disabilities. It’s possible whoever was doing that part maybe didn’t really know the characters well enough to catch these things. (or else I don’t think they’d be calling Dove yellow and Ivy red haha)

Here’s the art I’ve seen that has me suspicious..

The first one I believe is Crag.

If you look at the bottom right of the cat, there’s a weird area that looks like his body got cut of and all they did to cover if was add three purple strokes. And his body is just a big blob..? Like, on the left it almost looks like the start of a leg but then it’s just a weird thing sticking out?? I don’t know, it just looks weird to me. You can also see at the bottom left of his body it gets cut off.

Second is Stormfur and Brook.

Brook’s body just melts into the ground, it looks like a badly taken photo or something, like the quality around her body is just really bad. Where are her legs??? Someone please help her find her legs. Stormfur, help her find her legs…

Third is Mudclaw. Not only does his left cheek look really weird, LOOK AT HIS TAIL???? I genuinely don’t understand how someone could draw it like that without going “hm.. that looks kinda weird.” It looks really AI generated. The bottom left corner the plants look really melty and weird… like how do you draw like that? Idk

He also doesn’t have legs, but a body that’s seems to melt together, with some weird looking shapes in it.

There’s also Half Moon’s eye looking really weird, Blackstar’s art… just look at the bushes.. it looks straight out of Dora? Like it’s not even realistic???? Harestar’s mouth looks like it’s covered in blood or something, honestly I don’t know what to say about it. I won’t link these ones but you can find them in the official warriors website, or in the book if you have it.

This art is pretty old, but Sol is known for his big ears, long muzzle, and short fur which is much longer around his neck and tail tip, making him resemble a lion, he has red/orange, white, and black patches. This guy did not do that.. at all. And notice how everything is SO RED you can’t see the real colors of anything, except those blades of grass at the front. That’s so ugly???? How did he think it looks good..?

Ending on a positiv note, Feathertail’s art is SO PRETTY!!! Same for Rootspring!! And what I assume is Ravenpaw and Barley is very cute! I have seen some other really pretty ones but I’m not sure who they are. I really hope the art isn’t AI generated. And though some of these look really bad, some of them are so pretty too! I’m not exactly sure what to think honestly. But I do slightly hope they get a new artist. But if they don’t, at least the books are still good! I’m not buying them for the cover anyway, so I guess in the end it doesn’t matter all that much. But still, I’m curious what other people think? Is this AI, laziness, simply the artist not being skilled enough with cats?

[strawhatsoraya]

Hello, thank you for your writing! Could I request a fluff Law fic with AU December/Winter Love with July prompt Deadlines? Thank you!

Hello! It's been idk 1.5 weeks lmao since you asked for this. I am so sorry for the long wait. I am also sorry to myself because idk why I can't focus more. Such is my life. You asked for a Winter Love Fluffy thing with Deadlines prompt and it made me want to write like an Office Job AU type thing. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by to request.

Marigold

LAW X READER | SFW Word Count: 1.2k CONTENT WARNING: none, unless you hate fluff SUMMARY: Y/N has had a crush on Law for as long as she can remember, but he is difficult to approach, Law has a distinct memory of Y/N he refuses to acknowledge or address.

It was snowing on the first day he met you.

A dark cloudy gray sky was above you, as you stood wrapped up in your coat, marigold yellow scarf around your neck. Tender tufts of snow melted into your hair, and kissed your cheeks and nose until they were red; a color similar to a Fuji apple, and probably just as sweet.

You were too preoccupied with the stray cat to notice him, as you debated while on your haunches whether to leave your scarf behind or not. He didn’t see you make your decision as he walked away into the building. Later that same Winter, he saw you several times in front of the office building but never with the same scarf.

A year had gone by, and you rarely crossed his mind. He was diligent, almost to a fault, constantly agreeing to overtime. You had wanted to approach him, coming up with schemes as to take up his time. Should you thank him for his hard work and bring him coffee? Should you ask him to review your report and look for mistakes? All of them fell to the side when you looked at him. He’d look back with a steely expression in his eyes, a thin line drawn between his lips; the line you couldn’t cross.

A year had gone by, and you rarely crossed his mind, but he’d see you look at him every now and then. 

A year had gone by, but sometimes he’d wonder about you, the cat and the scarf.

The line you couldn’t cross seemed to grow thinner, flimsier, sometime at the beginning of December. Your department’s manager had tasked you both to team up for a project on Christmas cakes. You saw it as a win-win situation. You could indulge in cakes, and somehow try to get closer to Trafalgar Law. It was a golden opportunity slipped on your desk inside a manila folder. 

You grasped it with sweaty eager hands. This was your chance to cross the uncrossable line. You just had to do it. You had to.

You met on and off for the next three days, taking over any empty meeting room available to discuss on how to approach the research. You each brought a list of places to visit for tasting. A schedule had been decided as well as a budget. It went as expected. He was strictly business, and you struggled to keep your head from floating above the clouds. In the instances he’d stare at you, and ask you to repeat what he last said, you'd grasp your cup of coffee, its warmth grounding you. It didn’t provide you with the answer to his question. Something he didn’t let you forget, every time, for the remainder of the meeting.

Every day you met, you clocked out of work feeling dejected, shoulders so low it pulled you down to the ground, steps struggling to lift the weight of your regrets. You’d shower, eat mechanically, and go to sleep but you always felt refreshed the next morning.

This was a golden opportunity, after all, you couldn’t just give up.

The day had come for the field expedition. The forecast had predicted snow, so you did your best to dress warmly which was frustrating. You were looking forward to showing your cute side to Law, in hopes of catching his attention long enough outside the subject of work. After forty five minutes of tossing clothes on your bed, to the floor, and only stopping to have a good cry for five minutes, you were ready to meet him outside the office building. 

You ran from the station to the front of the building, keeping an eye on the watch on your wrist. The cold made it harder to run, your knees feeling stiff and frigid. Your breaths came in icy, leaving a sharp ache inside your chest. 

He sees you running towards him, the bangs of your hair splitting to reveal your forehead. He blinks away a snowflake clinging to his dark lashes. As you approach, the lower half of your face is buried behind a marigold yellow muffler. He can’t stop himself from reaching out. He slips an inked finger, between your cheek and scarf to pull it down.

“I thought you gave this away,” he says, forgetting his manners. You are surprised. He usually greeted you very stiffly, very formally, always careful to keep the line drawn between you. Now you had felt the warmth of his finger against your cheek. He was folding your muffler down as you struggled to regulate your breathing. Your breath was warm against his knuckles as he finished one more roll of your muffler. He felt the tips of his ears heating.

“What are you talking about?” you ask him, confusion evident in how your brows knitted together. You tilt your head, trying to see if there was an opening in his head you could slip into. He mirrors you, head tilting as well. 

“The cat, last year,” he said very simply, his frown now matching yours. “I thought you gave it to the cat.”

You have no idea what he is talking about and it is killing you. You desperately want to remember. Here was a moment to have a conversation that did not involve your current project or small chit chat about having slept well or not, and you couldn’t understand what he was talking about. 

“Ohhh, that!” you say, feigning acknowledgement. You had no idea, still, but maybe you could play along. “No, I didn’t.” It was the closest to the truth you could get without truly remembering what he meant. “You remember me from last year?” you ask, with a small smirk, finally gathering your bearings to understand the implications of his question.

He blushes, and you watch him try to sink into his shoulders and his black and white scarf. “Not really,” he mumbled, averting his eyes to the passing salary workers. “I just never saw you wear it again so I assumed.”

You humm, mischief dancing in your eyes. He watched with apprehension, wishing he could take back the words. He shoves his hands deep inside the pockets of his coat. 

“It’s so nice of you to remember all this time!” you chirp, slipping an arm around his. He freezes in his spot. You feel his body stiffen and bite down on your lower lip to keep from laughing.

“I didn’t! I said that already,” he says resolutely, a scowl twisting his mouth. You ignore it, and start dragging him along, snowflakes covering the path you walk on. You change the subject, suddenly very preoccupied with reaching the first bakery. He grunts as a response, letting you continue, as he watches fluffy snowflake after snowflake land on the crown of your head, on your nose and eyelashes, on that marigold yellow muffler.

A year had gone by, and he still wasn’t sure about you, the cat and the marigold yellow muffler.

But maybe, if he didn’t mess up, he could find out more about you soon.

[cryingforcrocodiles]

honest truth but why do you hate on chelsea so much? are there any valid motives or is it just a personal thing? you say freeziyech on your blog but the only truth is that he's definitely not fit for either chelsea or premier league with that physical structure he has, why would you blame chelsea if this didn't work out? I don't think he's a bad player but has no pace for british football. As for giroud, he said it himself he loved being here but decided to leave because of the competition which is normal to say. what other reasons are that? I'm a chelsea fan & I genuinely just want to understand.

hello. simply i hate on chelsea bc it's a different team than mines. it's that simple. it also has ppl i don't like. it's a rotten club for many others reasons but honest truth i don't care enough 2 talk about the club when it's information. i'm not your guy. i only spread hate & negativity and no genuine information. i am a hate page. i hate it bc of the way it treats and has treated my favorite player, i hate the logo, i hate the sponsorship on the jersey, and blue is my least favorite color.

#freeziyech comes from the psg loan transfer deal ting that chelsea fucked up and sent the incorrect paperwork... 3? 3 times. it was either 3 or 2 but more than once is a Big Bad. idk if u were genuinely unaware but that's where it comes from. it has chelsea's faults all over n rlly tells u how rotten it is if u cannot be bothered to send in the correct documents for a deal. yeah that was rotten it was. maybe u were blissfully unaware but even chelsea fans said free ziyech so idk how you can misinterpret that. n i don't agree with u on him at all having bad pace for england football. okay we move uhh

the giroud ting was a laugh. giggle. have a little laugh. just a joke about him leaving chelsea n being a gunner. but once a ___, always a ___ soooo. not serious. he's always a gunner & a redblack 2 me.

peace n 🖤❤️

[filthforfriends]

Må fan of color here and to all the white fans and esp white European fans trying to make what happened seem not offensive or that big of a deal please sit down and shut up, white people do not have any permission/authority/power to say what is and isn't offensive and racist to POC. I have the day in day out 24/7 365 day a year experience being my skin color, white people don't so yea poc know what's racist. While I do understand them maybe not knowing what they were singing and just how offensive it was bc of shit like a language barrier or just not knowing once they realized they should've been on top of apologizing and acknowledging what they did wrong and made efforts to educate themselves forward to avoid it happening again which it did which is why it's so fucking important to know the meaning behind any song u decide to cover especially if it's in a different language and for white people to educate themselves on racism/colorism and prejudice because you white people can exist as if the very issues that endanger my life don't exist bc up till you noticed for you it didn't exist that's fucking privilege it's a privilege to hear a white man say racial slur and not be hurt by it not feel fear and not think back to the times when you were hate crimed and not feel uncomfortable and afraid when u realize holy crap "I'm the only POC here" it's a fucking privilege to see police brutality as a movement to support and not something that might turn u into a fucking hashtag. It's easy to remain calm when the weapon isn't pointed in your direction. They are growing and learning but they NEED an American on their team preferably a POC to let them know when something may be racially offensive bc at this point idk what else will work I have faith in them growing and becoming better people and being amazing allies I just NEED them to educate themselves better I love them so much but they need to do better not just not racist but anti-racists not just to generally be a good person but to make the fandom safer for POC bc I as a WOC do not feel safe in the fandom because of just how white it is and everyone trying to justify this makes it clear that my fear isn't baseless. Rock and roll spaces are already incredibly white for a genre created by a black woman so no you don't get to push out poc esp when a poc gave us the genre to begin with. Part of them growing into better allies is acknowledging past wrong doings and learning and growing and moving on and accepting criticism and any reaction especially as four white Europeans especially criticism and reaction from POC

We all love them we all adore them but part of loving something is helping it grow and learn

“Its a privilege to hear a white man say racial slur and not be hurt by it not feel fear and not think back to the times when you were hate crimed and not feel uncomfortable and afraid when u realize holy crap ‘I'm the only POC here.’”

LISTEN TO THIS!!!!!!!

[marswatchesball]

Nothing annoys me more than seeing people conflate national football teams (or national any-sport teams for that matter) with their countries’ governments or any other facets of a country that is beyond the team’s control.

I know that, as a national team, they are representing their country in name and in color scheme, but they are not representing their government. They are not the embodiment of a government’s beliefs, actions, or history. I will never think poorly of a team based on their country’s government. I am not rooting for, say, Qatar’s NT to do poorly, nor Iran’s nor Saudi Arabia’s. These teams are made up of professional footballers, who are just happy to have a chance to play elite-level football for their senior team, to be recognized as among the best in their country and the world. The negativity I feel towards these countries’ leaders and governments, and how they treat their people, does not bleed over to a bunch of athletes from said countries. That negative energy and criticism is better sent elsewhere. I see these teams as just…teams. Teams I don’t know a whole lot about, to be fair, but teams I also have no reason to dislike, either.

You could understand my annoyance, then, at all the shit England’s team catches through no fault of any team member. People just hate England (and their supporters, at times understandably), and decide to extend that hatred to their national team. But I quite enjoy watching England play, I like many of the players, and I hope they do well in whatever competition they’re in. Same with the US national teams.

I’m not saying you can’t hate certain teams. Rivalries exist, after all. But if the reason doesn’t extend much beyond your feelings about the country itself, idk it just rubs me the wrong way. I never conflate a team of athletes with their entire country, which I guess is why I can’t bring myself to hate any particular team. I’ll certainly root against certain teams just because I’m prone to rooting for underdogs, but I rarely ever relish watching a team lose.

[americanphysco]

I'm sure you've said something about it already when the news first dropped but now that an episode is out I just HAVE to know what ur take on the interview w a vampire show is. do I need to hate it like the movie because I trust ur opinion or are u like. neutral. do u think you'll watch it? you're the leading authority on this To Me

okay first off hii tee I'm sorry I've been such an offline blogger recently I've just been working sooooo much 😔. how're you!! how've you been!

but as for the iwtv show. it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. honestly, as somebody who desperately wants more queer vampire media, it pisses me off that they've decided to make a show based off a violently racist (and poorly written) film rather than create a new and interesting story about complex queer characters of color. it feels like they're trying to sweep all the "questionable/problematic" elements of the original under the rug, and I know that this show will only further cement iwtv's role as """""iconic queer cinema"""""", which is extremely upsetting to me. the film's managed to remain a cultural juggernaut for so long with little to no criticism despite being drenched in a predatory portrayal of queerness, anti-blackness, and pedophilia, and I know that the show having interracial mlm main characters will only help white queer fans of the film to defend it and the harm its done. and, while I'm not sure who is apart of the writing team, it doesn't sit right with me that the showrunner is not a person of color. like. it'd be one thing if a queer person of color wanted to reclaim iwtv and reinvent it as a piece of media they could see themselves in, but that's clearly not the case seeing as the showrunner is a white man. so it makes things even worse for me. idk. I have no doubt that the show is well done, but I just can't see myself watching it because I'd be unable to distance it from the abhorrent movie its connected to. I have some more thoughts on the differences between what I know about the show and the movie, but I'll spare you from those because they're less serious than things like the inherent racism of the source material. I will say though I'm nervous for how claudia is going to be portrayed, seeing as she appears to be older than she is in the film (and god knows that the movie had an awful time depicting her character and her relationship w louie) :/ if you watch it pls lmk your thoughts on it. but I don't think I'll ever bring myself to sit through it.

[cosmicbrowniefan]

She/her

5’4”

Dark brown hair

Pale skin

Slender ig, semi-curvy (idk how to explain, I think I’m just like average shaped?? Like if you googled “woman silhouette”, that would be me.)

Brown/hazel eyes

Bisexual

Introverted

Personality traits: Good natured, organized, able to stick up for my self but also able to admit when I’m wrong/laugh at myself, romantic, perfectionistic, procrastinating

Hobbies: Singing/musical theater, fashion history, thrift and antique shopping

I love ice cream, the color purple, doing my skincare routine, staying up late, sleeping in, overdressing, social studies, vintage clothing, museum dates, dangle earrings, rain, chai lattes, foggy forest hikes, Taylor Swift, sad songs, and when people play with my hair.

I hate yogurt, feeling unclean, team sports, PE, algebra 2, having too full of a schedule (it stresses me out), and taking out the trash.

I have a 4.0 gpa and have never gotten an A minus or anything lower.

My friends have a theory that I’m a vampire because 1) I’m super fucking pale, I never tan. 2) I dress like I’m from a different century. 3) I know enough random shit about the past that they have determined I must have been alive back then

I’ve never worn sweatpants to school and I don’t own any hoodies or athletic leggings.

I’ve been in the same friend group since 7th grade. Our group chat is called The Cuffed Pants Club.

My love language is either quality time or physical touch. It’s a tie.

This is rlly long I’m sorry

i ship you with...

mike wheeler!

how you met: mike's group decided to join the theater program at school once they got to high school. mike wasn't one to be on stage himself, so he opted to do sound crew instead. he really met you when he found out you were the lead in the musical that year.

his first impression of you: mike really thought you were just the epitome of the quiet valedictorian that just focused on school and didn't do much else. however, when he found out you were doing the musical, his opinion of you TOTALLY changed. like damn, not only is this girl smart as fuck, but she's also talented?? and super pretty??

how you got together: mike had been awkwardly flirting with you all throughout the musical. on closing night of the show, he decided to finally man up and ask you out. you came back to get your mic from him and he helped you put it on (you didn't really need help, but you thought it was cute that he wanted to help you). well, while he was feeding the wire through your shirt, he just blurted out all of a sudden that you were cute and that he was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner after the show that night. little did mike know that he accidentally turned on your mic during his little speech and EVERYONE heard him ask you out. which means that dustin, lucas, will, el, and max started screaming loudly as soon as he asked you, causing mike to turn BEET red. you just laughed and told him that you'd love to, though, which made his friends scream even louder.

what he likes most about you: mike loves how much you surprise him. every single day, he seems to learn something new about you that just throws him for a loop. like you'll just be hanging out at his house cuddling and you'll be on your phone and he'll ask what you're doing and you'll be like "oh i'm just updating my blog on fashion history, i focus on a new era every week" and he's like ???? this girl is so fucking cool and she's MINE???? physically, mike loves your hair. it's such a pretty color and so nice to run his hands through.

what you guys enjoy doing together: mike loves how cultured and adventurous you are. even if you don't see the things you do as adventurous, he does! mike has actually never gone thrifting or tried tea that wasn't iced before you, but since you came into his life, he's tried so many new things and LOVES every single one of them. every time you guys do something like go to a museum or listen to new music or go hiking somewhere, he comes home bragging to his friends about the fun day you guys had and about how "smart and cultured" he and his girlfriend are. in conclusion, this boy is such a dork and he's super thankful for you helping him try new things and get out of his shell a bit.

bonus headcanon: he thinks it's pretty funny that your friends call you a vampire. mike really likes your physique and always tells you that "if you're a vampire, you can turn me any time". he goes as dracula for halloween one year and convinces you to go as one of dracula's brides with him (you guys are def the hottest couple btw).

[fourth-quartet]

Episode four notes, let's go

Yohan is so goddamn fond of Jinjoo

Kyunghee’s white to Yohan’s black. Crack ship I wanna write so badly

The way she tells him not to say justice, and then immediately assumes it’s power he wants

He has been setting her up to believe he wants power, playing her against the others in a way that makes it seem like he either wants her job or the candidacy

Kyunghee also sees him the clearest out of the entire group, I think. She just has a terrible understanding of his motivations.

19 years before, Kyunghee looked into the politican for accepting bribes. She had him declared guilty. He was a “trademark of ethics, ended up committing suicide and leaving behind a middle school aged son.

Yohan really does love K. He’s willing to let Kyunghee go for the sake of justice for K. Even after what she did to Elijah.

Why does he just drive off and leave K places, bring your damn boyfriend with you Yohan

They also draw parallels between Elijah and K

Yohan can cook. The butler offers up ingredients before meals. Yohan can cook he just doesn’t.

“Is her taste like mine?” as if he didn’t basically raise her

Idk why watching Yohan waiting for a microwave is so funny

He sits in the middle seat, not quite at the head of the table, not quite directly to the side

“The most dangerous and toxic thing in this world is a human being.”

I’m obsessed with his eyebrows

But Elijah assumes Nanny made toast, meaning Yohan doesn’t cook often, or he doesn’t cook her for specifically

Korea is on the verge of riots again. Only two places have over 90% credibility—SRF, at 92%, and the Live Court at 90%.

Other percentages include Prosecution (12%), National Revolutionary Party (55%), Democratic Union Party (20%)

Her pen with the lil feather thing is so cute

Yohan “keeps bringing home strays, which is unlike him.”

Yohan not knocking is still hilarious

Gaon “oh no I’m still soooo injured” obviously not injured

I also find it really interesting that he finally decides to use Gaon’s similarities to Isaac in this episode after asking Kyunghee if she even remembers what she did to K’s father. As if Yohan is starting to realize that they might not even remember that they are the reason Isaac is dead.

Yohan is so proud of himself for that timezone line, i HATE him

Gaon’s audacity kicking Yohan out of his own closet is also so funny

They keep pairing Isaac with the color white- the coat Yohan gives Gaon for the night

Gaon pulling the age jokes out of NOWHERE

Elijah and Gaon team up for the first time when he’s dressed as Isaac. That’s gotta hurt Yohan just a little bit.

Yohan glancing back at Gaon, something he likely did with Isaac at least once.

I’m just in Isaac feels today

There’s at least four cars in that garage

car’s license plate: 408min 3452

I wonder if Yohan let Gaon drive because he was used to being a passenger to Isaac’s driving. Just another nod to how he dressed Gaon in Isaac’s clothes. And the way Yohan watches him after they get into the car

Yohan has no need to guide Gaon with a hand on his back, that’s his sugar baby right there

Sunah approaches Gaon after he’s dressed as Isaac. She’s the only one who recognizes that Yohan played it up

Yohan watching Gaon get walked over by a group of women and clocking him as a homosexual is still hilarious

Yohan holding onto him

The fact that they invite Gaon to join the group is also really interesting, in the same way they try to recruit Jinjoo later. Yohan seems to be equally testing to see if they recognize him as similar to Isaac and whether or not Gaon is aware he’s supposed to be there to irritate Yohan

Gaon seated next to Yohan, it really should bring Isaac to mind for them

Notice that Sunah isn’t wearing a necklace in this scene. She’s not collared.

They all talk about the tragedy itself but they clearly don’t remember Isaac, or the fact that Yohan lost his family

Notice how Kyunghee wasn’t invited to this dinner.

President’s wife mentions that President has a son the same age as Youngmin, and that they were friends when they were little.

Yohan, my little politician.

Setting himself up fully to take her candidacy now

Joongse seems to miss that the difference between him and Yohan is that he’s a puppet. They would have no control over Yohan, and he’s completely derailed the conversation from Park Duman pointing that out.

Translation has Min calling Yohan a “surviving bastard” which. oof

Yohan really does play this group so well. He’s just sitting back until he’s addressed and he barely plays yes man, but they all assume he’s with them. He’s so clever. And he endured ten years of this

Yohan also wasn’t invited to this until Sunah wrote the invite.

The celebration was for Isaac donating literally everything to the SRF. He didn’t want the dirty money.

Yohan submitted a medical report/evaluation stating Isaac wasn’t in his right mind donating the money.

In some ways, I think Gaon’s disappointment in Yohan is something Yohan wanted. If only to see someone who resembled Isaac disappointed in the choices he made.

Every time I watch this scene, I think about how he was supposed to push on Gaon’s leg to make him go faster and I get sad about how we didn’t get Yohan groping Gaon

Temptation vs possibility

Implied that Youngmin attempted suicide at least once

Yohan’s desk got moved to face the door after the explosion? The room got moved around, his desk was in a different place before

The fuckin wall socket

You can see the split second Yohan chooses his punishment. Good god that was attractive

Nah please Jinjoo and Yohan are so in sync it’s physically painful

Verena Church was the church Kang Jisang attended

The cathedral had been converted from an old school building

Yohan claimed at the hospital that he didn’t remember anything

The attempt to defend Youngmin literally just drives a knife into Kyunghee’s political career and Yohan just lets them lmfao

Emotional populism

“Do you know how many people live to watch Judge Kang in this hell of a world?”

Yohan’s jaw trembles before he snaps at Gaon, he’s gotta be trying so hard not to cry, right down to the laugh and the breaths to clearly try not to cry

Isaac and Cecelia both let Elijah run off, they know Yohan’s hiding over there

Joongse yawns. They all talk during it. It really is Isaac doing his best to do good and everyone else not caring.

Yohan shakes his head at Isaac. I had never noticed how desperate he is to stay with Isaac

He brought Elijah’s stuffed animal with.

The second he realizes Isaac didn’t make it hurts, but the second he realizes Isaac could have made it hurts worse, and the second he realizes it’s just him and Elijah hurts the worst

And the second that sadness turns to hatred

Yohan is crying. He’s hiding it from Gaon but he is crying.

I don’t think he’s ever properly realized how well he can use the victim story. But I’m sure he’d be able to do that without changing his own personal opinion of himself.

[raspberryconverse]

*sigh*

You probably don't want to listen to me ramble about today's mental health struggles, but in case you do...

So I finally came clean with my psychiatric NP about how miserable I've been (hair trigger temper that leads to full on sobbing fits and self harm thoughts) and had 2 weeks of blood pressure readings and she decided to taper me off a medication I've been on for literally 15 years. I've mention some of these things, but not exactly how bad it's been. This medication can raise blood pressure and heart rate (my resting heart rate is around 100, which freaks out just about any healthcare worker who takes my vitals), so it's probably a good idea to just go for it. She also wants to add a medication I took when I was in middle school (so we're talking almost 25 years ago), which I'm not thrilled about, but who knows. Maybe it'll help. Maybe it won't. Maybe it'll make it worse. We'll see, I guess.

She also wants me to try to shift my sleep schedule, but I really don't care to do that, so I don't think I will. Stubborn Coley is coming out when we talk about it next time.

It's just been really bad lately.

When I was out running errands this afternoon, I made a left turn onto a busier street where it's hard to see traffic coming from the left because of the parked cars and I almost got hit. We both swerved enough to miss each other, but god, what if we hadn't? My mind legit jumped to "I kinda wish he would have hit me." And that shit's really fucking scary.

Before I go any further, I have to explain that I really don't have suicidal thoughts because I'm an atheist and believe that when you die, that's it, and thinking about dying frightens me in a phobic way. Self harm, yes. Way too much lately, TBH. But definitely not suicide. So that thought popping into my head is really fucking scary and that's how I know something's really really wrong with me right now.

I also had therapy yesterday, so that wasn't fun. I talked about how I feel like I'm self sabotaging. Like I'm see how far I can push my spouse with my behavior. My therapist says that usually when people do that, they actually want out. IDK if that's really why I do it. If anything, it's that I think I don't deserve what I have, so I try to see how far I can push it so I can get what I actually deserve, which is clearly not someone who puts up with me as much as my spouse does. Nobody should really put up with me, but for some reason, they do.

And don't get me wrong: I reminisce a lot about the past. I can think of one ex in particular who I think about a lot. I know we weren't meant to be and I've seen recent photos of him and he did not age well. I mean, maybe I would have been ok with that if we had ended up together because it obviously doesn't happen all at once, but yeah. I still think about the random person who commented when I started writing in my LJ again last year and how they told me they read my blog way back when (and were a friend of a friend of another ex) and they said they were always "Team Rob" (I'll use his first name because it's a fairly generic name). I have such rose colored glasses about that time in my life. I have such fondness for how I felt then. But he knew his family would not approve of him marrying me and he made the right decision to dump me for grad school. But god, what if?

This is getting rambly. I just took my bedtime meds, and not the tapering dose I was supposed to start because I'm still a little scared. I don't want to feel this way, but I also don't know if I actually don't want to feel this way. It's strangely comfortable, in a

sort of way. IDK how to explain it.

As much as I hated therapy yesterday, I can't wait until my next session on Wednesday.

[mxsquibby]

Pokémon Violet Adventure Progress + Pictures!

Quick Intro: Hi! Going to try posting some of my Pokémon progress here instead of Twitter and see how it fairs here. I’m holding off all my final thoughts of the game until I beat the post game (assuming there is one) but I also have hours of footage that I will be going through for a future video. So I will post clips eventually!! And Since the game still in its first week release I’ll put a spoiler below my starter choice.

Starter choice: Quaxly! Or my nickname for him…. Scooter!

My in game character lore (that I made up) is that I’m some sort of ethereal being hence my glowing yellow and blue eyes and here to be cool.

So far:

4/8 Badges

2/5 Team Star Bases

3/5 Titans

Shiny Count: 3

Shiny 1 -Makuhita, Hariyama or nicknamed “Glamor”

Found her at level 16 (South Province Area Three!) Rash by nature.

Almost missed her if not for the other Makuhita’s around her.

Shiny 2 - Donphan or nicknamed “Adrastine”

Met in the Asado Desert at Level 26 lonely by nature

I’m surprised I was able to get her since she was overpowered than me and I she was really far away when I first saw her and I was stuck in a battle when I did!! I’ve seen some shinies de-spawn 2 feet away from some people. It’s scary out here… So I consider myself lucky!!

Shiny 3 - Charcadet, Ceruledge OR nicknamed “Valiance”

Found in West Province Area One. Bold nature.

(He/She, wanted a boy got a girl so now my hc is they are genderfluid hehe) He’s the best boyo but hated taking pictures. Literally all he did was zoom around me

She might not have the coolest looking shiny but I was happy to find her nonetheless. Technically the other two were “full odds” but this one was found with sandwhich boosts. ( Fire encounter 1) -some many of these little guys were spawning just on level 1… wild.

Side tangent lolol: (I don’t really encourage myself in participating in the mind-set of “full odds superiority” I can’t wrap my head around some people discouraging or being mean to others for using in game mechanics that help you find shiny’s faster… its really weird to me. And I can’t understand being mean or think it’s more impressive depending on how you found a shiny…so I try to stay away from people with that mindset since I think any method of getting a shiny is fine as long as it has legal stats, moves, and can legally be shiny.

Bonus Pics, My Goals, + Other Thoughts

My main goal now is to find 3 more shinies and then beat the game! Preferably I want to hatch a shiny Quaxly but let’s see if that can actually happen before I end up beating the main story

Teal hair or light blue… I still can’t decide. I enjoy the light blue but in some lighting it gets grayed out really bad. The teal gets grayed out in the sandwhich mini game as well but holds up better around other light sources than the light blue….so not sure if I will stick with teal or not... I just noticed the light blue was fading out in some pictures and I wasn’t liking it. So almost halfway through the game I thought a color change might suit me well. But I might switch back eventually since the light blue fits my outfit better I think…

Also arven annoyed me at first and reminded me of that annoying guy in legends arceus from the diamond clan… they had a beanie (I think) and really long hair.

Idk BUT they weren’t like him. thank god. I love arven the more I hang out with him!! He’s so nice and such a cutie!! Which is good! That’s what I wanted when I saw first saw him lol.

okay I think that everything for my first Pokémon violet post!!!!also it’s 4 AM…I sleep now…I NEED to stop writing posts before I go to bed lol 🤦🏻‍♂️

[mstoneart]

8.29.2022 (but really 8.27.2022)

going to start this by letting you all know I typed the entire post, got everything together, and then after tumblr refusing to upload my pictures it proceeded to delete the whole post content. I then retyped, saved the text in my notes (just in case) and attempted to post again... and still no good! so here I am, two days later, fingers crossed. enjoy 

this week I started a new contract/consulting position and it has been an experience. as I am planning to build a longterm relationship with this company as a client, we have been working a lot on making sure my work is on brand n such but ALSO my head! they really want me to get to know the company for more than the aesthetic and general mission so that I know who they are, who does what, how it all comes together, and so on. as a non-profit focused on improving university and industry relationships it has been really cool learning about how they make these partners, who they work with, and even how they keep track of hundreds of members in an easily navigated data system. it has been super fun and exciting meeting the new team, learning where I come in, and lots of refreshing with good ol illustrator and indesign as we get back into the nitty gritty. 

as I spent a majority of my spare time getting acquainted with new platforms and industry tools I didnt have as much time to do illustrations or painting. as much as I could have stayed up til 4am doing so, I try to avoid this because a good headspace drastically improves the quality and final result of my work as I am excited and motivated about the time, effort, and process. AND fortunately I am on schedule with my current commissions so there is no pressing need to manifest a good mood and power through an all-nighter. overall its a win win for both the client and myself when I set my working time up for success!

ANYWAYS today I am sharing some illos on theme with my "snoozy & boozy" series featured on my website, this time wuth a new look and vibe. I wanted to play around with color and pattern in particular because I could definitely see this as something for a tote or cosmetic bag idk basically anything you deem appropriate featuring a chaotic combination of booze and felines. 

I couldn't decide on which version to go with because my typical instinct is to keep adding layers and texture until it is literally impossible to do more BUT I dunno, I didnt hate the clean version this time. nevertheless I couldnt resist and added two ways of incorporating checker pattern as it is a staple in the identity I have brewing for this project in my head. 

hope you all have a great weekend and if you are actually reading this whole entire thing, thank you!!! and let me know which version you think is best!