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purgatoryandme · 4 years

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(Sorry this is gonna be long) I went through your entire letter by the water tag (sorry for spamming your notifs) and you have me blown away!!! The contrast between the realism of it being set during WW2 and the mystical, fantasy-horror of Ophelia, merchant of death, extremis etc. You mix the fantastical so so well with the nitty gritty of war with the bad bad mental health of all included, the intrigue, the mystery of it kills me.

(continued) the dynamics between Tony and bucky, peggy and Steve are just so realistic and the the way the howlies w stevetony are this figures of hope? During a time of revolution and change and violence as they carry pieces (The significance of art here kills me) of people's soul to show that they existed! Lw reminds me of IM, the intensity of your writing and the pacing n layering makes it read like an epic (w one definitive goal but small stories dozens of layers). It's, just, vey good (3/3) I won't even start about the plot n else bc that would actually kill me but also if you decide to not work on Lw is there any way you can collect the snippets on tumblr n post it on ao3 bc tumblr is finnicky at best and I don't wanna loose what you've created!! Thanks for being you and creating something literally so amazing!! I'm really sorry for the long ask and my English (it's not my first language)

Woah, thank you! Never be sorry about long messages! God, yeah, I fucking love the contrast between realism and fantasy in LW and it’s why it’s pretty much my favourite AU. WWII is such a heavily explored topic that like...often lacks any real introspection into the human element of both the suffering and LIFE that occurred during it (with obvious exceptions - a lot of biographies get into it, as do Jewish authors, but by and large published works tend to focus on the military elements and sheer scale/horror of things in a way that reads as voyeuristic or oddly detached). I was reading a really great historical fantasy book that dealt with a post-WWII Europe that was being torn apart between Japan and Germany with these magical elements that really...idk, allowed the true humanism of events to shine through with symbolism and ideas that are easier to connect to than just sheer grit?? And then two months later I was thinking on Civil War and a bunch of Tony meta and techno-fantasy (Extremmmmiiiiiiisssssssss), then boom! Letter by the Water just took me over for a few months. Tony being a child in it wasn’t even the original intent, but once the idea blindsided me I just couldn’t let it go. Getting back into those blurring lines between realism and fantasy, SO MANY children were involved in war in ways that are intensely difficult to grasp - in a way, they were all forced to become adults (either through work, through losing parents, or simply living under martial law). Tony being a living breathing symbol of that? Tony HATING that? It literally being a symbol of his regression? AHHHHHH. Genuinely an element that blew my mind and I never would have thought of if not for Guilt For Dreaming by Vetinari on AO3 (this fic has time travel Tony with like...a lot of genuine limitations of being a child and magical realism and oihdiuashjdnasjk - it’s a VERY GOOD Tony fic). Ophelia is his foil in so many ways and I absolutely adore her being a teenager - hanging just on the cusp of adulthood but never EVER making it there despite being (maybe) older than them all. I find the Howlies endlessly fascinating and am really disappointed that Marvel never went further with them. They’re this mixed race, mixed country regiment with wildly different skillsets and that’s ???? so interesting? They are normal men (and women bc Peggy ALWAYS should’ve been more involved with them) who kept up with Captain America!!!! They literally represented no country (despite Steve’s hero name) and were just this symbol of liberation - screw the system, screw orders, screw WAITING for help to come. Bucky complicates their whole dynamic in such interesting ways if you assume people KNOW Hydra took a special interest in him or that he survived their experiments, which presumably people /do/ know. They would’ve given people on the frontlines SO MUCH to gossip about!!! This is what I mean about the human elements of WWII - people are people, and they are going to hunger for stories and heroes in times of strife. The thing about art in wartime is that it WAS a huge thing in WWII. Art was specifically targeted and destroyed (museums, libraries, religious symbols), it was specifically commissioned by oppressive powers (the Nazi uniform is a HUGE example of that, as are the flags), and it became symbolic of resistance and propaganda both! Art permeated the ghettos, with little homemade theatres putting on plays and tiny paper strips containing poetry no one would ever see in concentration camps or shipped out in furniture the original owners will never touch again. Art was such bittersweet resistance, allowed for contemplation on religion, both could (through destruction) and could not be taken away (through never ending creation)...ugh. It’s such a huge element of how humans express themselves when all else is taken away. Ghetto poetry was a massive inspiration for this, but then the idea of audio caught me by the goddamn throat and refused to let go once I was going through historical resources and rediscovered the story of the Cellist of Sarajevo. LW is very much so meant to read like an epic (rather specifically the seafaring kind, because it deals so heavily in time and the unknown and blue blue blue). I’m really happy so many people FEEL that in it. It’s such a massive idea that I don’t know if I’ll ever actually be able to write it in full, though I certainly want to try. I’ll totally post the snippets eventually. My transition into proper adulthood just keeps stopping me from actually sitting down and just writing - what with going back to school, looking for a job, getting a job, moving across the country - it’s been a lot. But soon! I definitely want to go back to work on CBT and Charybdis.

#reply #letter by the water

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baconpal · 5 years

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talkin bout fire force

shit boys it’s been too long time for another unprompted juvenile rant about manga, click keep reading if you’re insane and keep scrolling if you aren’t

So Fire Force anime starts in just about a week and I decided to just read it all instead of waiting for any anime. It took a while to read all of it and now I just kind of have a lot to say about the manga, the anime, and the author. So here we go.

I actually have a lot of good things to talk about, but I’ll get the bad shit out of the way first:

THE WRITING

idk his name it doesn’t really matter since he’s made like 2 things he’s just the soul eater guy; his art style has always been charming and the action scenes keep improving but his actual narrative writing is real bad. I’ll talk about the characters themselves since I actually think FF’s characters are a ridiculous improvement from soul eater, and the setting/aesthetic are on point as well but the plot is just as bad if not worse than whatever soul eater was.

The story is riddled with what should obviously be throwaway characters that keep being brought back and doing something evil and unexpected because it’s a shounen manga and if you aren’t being betrayed then the plot isn’t moving forward, or someone introduced as an obviously villainous character just kind of agrees to be friends in a couple chapters. This is used as a constant cycle of introducing both a set of “evil” and “good” characters, then one of the old “good” sets of characters does something evil and the newest “evil” guys turn out to be good. It’s not interesting or shocking to have a character you can’t even remember come back and act like they’re important, especially if it’s repeated over and over.

FF pretends to have some kind of politic overtones where religions and businesses and such act as their own entities and betray each other and prey on the civilians, but you see absolutely none of the impact anybody’s actions have on the world despite ridiculous things constantly happening and world shaking truths being brought to light over and over, nothing happens. Villains will also have ridiculous unbeatable abilities but then just be ignored, such as making zombie apocalypses or controlling minds and such. This is also likely a concession of being a shounen manga, where you can’t expect readers to read every single chapter, and usually on a week to week basis, so every chapter needs to have its own big shit happening, even if there’s no plans to follow through on anything.

The worst part about the writing is how much stuff that the reader didn’t know about and has no idea what it is is passed of as some shocking twist when it’s introduced. This mostly happens with powers and with new factions. There’s a ridiculous amount of times where a new group steps in as the bad guy like mentioned earlier. But for the powers, there’s so many things layered on top of an actually acceptable power system that just seem to cause a DBZ type of escalation of power without the fight scenes actually becoming that much crazier at all. On top of the simple 2nd/3rd generation fire fighter powers, the main character is meant to utilize the adolla burst, the adolla link, the preacher’s divine protection, the okay hand emoji that makes you go fast, the breath of life, and superfire fighting. None of that means anything to anyone and are just used as “MC needs to be better at something but only temporarily” over and over. It’s similar to Maka and Soul’s deals with the devil in soul eater except much more common and with absolutely no downsides.

Also not the fault of the writer himself but there is not ANY good translation of this manga out there holy shit. There’s so many incredibly obvious puns and connections and choices of words to be made that are just entirely ignored, the typesetting is always awful, and no name for moves, characters, or even the title are ever agreed upon. It took until the official release titled “Fire Force” before people stopped trying to call the manga “Burning Firefighter Squad of Fire”.

THE ANIME

Just a bit more bad to say before I go into all the shit about this manga i actually like. The anime looks awful. A lot of anime does right now, very little of note has been coming out or seems to be coming in the future, which is usually the case but its not getting better and that sucks!

But specifically the fire force anime, following up after soul eater, has absolutely none of the visual charm translated from the manga to anime, the voice casting is absolutely abysmal, and there’s nothing to give me hope in it, not enough to even give it an episode most likely. People might try to defend David productions because woah man I love jojo!!! but they’re pretty fucking bad at animating anything. The choice of color is gross and the visual effects are bland, which is a bad place to start for a show that will contain tons of fire and other bombastic effects. Big shame.

OKAY ONTO THAT GOOD SHIT

CHARACTER DESIGN

The visual designs in soul eater were cool if a bit janky, and the actual concepts for characters were far from astounding, usually being able to fully describe characters in single words and not having much development outside of combat abilities. But Fire Force has some of the most tight characters I’ve seen in a while, they’re all simple and focused with strong thematic elements.

Ya’ll know me, hopefully. I really appreciate simple designs and simple characters. Complicated does not equal deep, and simple does not equal shallow. The characters in fire force will usually embody a concept, or a concept and its exact opposite, and be never waver from their design. I’ll talk about em for specific characters when I get to em but even lots of minor characters are very well focused and I appreciate it.

SHINRA

The main character, and while his grocery list of special abilities and “chosen one” kinda shit is annoying, he starts of as a very strong introspective of the weight of your actions vs the impression you give of in the eyes of society. The easiest way to describe it is through the very obvious identity struggle he goes through of wanting to be known as a “Hero” but instead being “The Devil”. All Shinra ever does is selflessly save peoples lives and put himself at extreme risk, he tells everyone and their grandma that they can call on him when they need a hero, and yet his visuals consist of a dark haired punk who constantly smiles a sharp toothy smile, his ability that he uses to fly in and do kamen rider kicks with spews fire from his feet in the shape of pointy wings, and this fire puts a heavy shadow over his face, giving him a monsterous siloutte. It’s not at all subtle that he just looks as evil and menacing as possible, and so his reputation is constantly negative no matter how kind he is. It’s not explored all that deeply but it is still a strong contrast.

ARTHUR

What a fucking idiot. What an absolute buffoon. This stupid fuck functions as a very simple gag character by being nearly too dumb to function and living in a made up reality as a fantasy knight, but is also able to exist as one of the strongest characters in combat. His ridiculous power is handled in a much more engaging way than Shinra’s. As instead of layering multiple chosen one abilities on him, he becomes weaker or stronger depending on his suspension of disbelief. The more in character as a powerful knight he becomes, the stronger he is. It’s a clean way to make a funny delusional characters struggle actually mean something to the people around them, instead of being left to his own devices or constantly told to fuck off. And while I said the plot isn’t very good, the smaller character beats can be very powerful. For example, It was already pretty easy to just accept Arthur as he was, but his family situation is explored late into the manga, and it’s shown that he began to live in fantasy to escape from his families arguments and poor living conditions. His parents take advantage of his disconnect and abandon their home with him in it, leaving all their responsibilities to him with a note saying he’s now the king and has inherited their castle. This pushes him to an even more absurd degree of fantasy in order to just live out his life knowing he was unloved and unwanted. It very understated how you can make a character that’s mostly used for jokes still be very easy to connect to and empathize.

TAMAKI

This one is likely to be the hottest take made from me here today, but this is the most interesting character in this series for a variety of reasons.

Visuals out of the way, the fire fighter outfits everyone wears already look cool as shit and big puffy coats just get me goin, this girl absolutely rocks it on top of having twintails and a cute face. That’s not objective in anyway this is just a character designed to bait specifically me and its fucking working, okay? The writing is the actually interesting part.

So something that’s usually not even worth talking about is fan service. Show of a girls titties cus its what dudes in their teens want to see, its free (You)s for shounen manga, and soul eater was full of it. It was pretty bad in soul eater and could come at jarring and unneeded times for characters that didn’t seem to exist for any sexual reasons. It was a very poor way to include fan service.

Fire Force also begins in a similar spot, the 3 main girls that are around in the beginning chapters are occasionally seen changing or in a bath or covered in water or whatever, with one particularly bad spread of them with the classic no nipple no vagina bodies all standing together in a shower. Its awkward and stiff and even as a fan of anime tiddie it just wasn’t worth having.

But then that wildman just does it. He creates one single character to put literally every single ounce of horny energy in to. A character who exists to fall over and get her tits pushed into someones face, but pushed to a cartoonish extreme. It sounds silly to try to pass off fanservice as funny, but it is. It’s so ridiculously intended and impossible and always varied that its actually fun to see her do something stupid and for something to happen. Sometimes its just her ass landing on a dudes face (god i wish that were me) or her body being exposed and drawn in pretty high detail. Sometimes instead they get an entire dude stuck in her shirt after just tripping in a way that is not not being sexual to the reader at all since you see absolutely no skin. She’s simply destined to be put into lewd situations in universe, not in regards to the manga itself. For an example, here she is just standing completely still, and suddenly becoming naked, drawn in a distant, goofy way:

It’s stupid. It’s definitely still fan service, but it’s just ridiculous. And that’s way more interesting than having every girl in your series randomly get naked at some point. Despite being insane it still works on boys, as Tamaki is the most popular girl in the series by far, ranked as the second most popular character consistently.

Tamaki also leads to the single best chapter of the manga where a horribly designed throw-away assassin who was beaten by her returns for revenge, but just ends up as a short, self contained, well paced comedic story of love.

And guess what, she’s still interesting outside of being funny and having fan service. Her cartoonish luck is essentially treated as her actual power, and her fire cat abilities aren’t explored too deeply during most of the series, but this is done for a greater purpose of essentially spitting in the face of high stakes. Tamaki easily witnesses the most deaths in the series, and most of them are cruel and unusual. She witnesses children being killed by a man who inspired her, she sees people she just met be beheaded in some gruesome shots that aren’t anywhere else in the series, and she gets involved in all sorts of life threatening situations. She still just falls over and gets naked. She’ll have fairly serious fights where she tries her hardest or the people around her are completely serious, and without bringing any direct attention to it she still ends up showing skin. There’s a point where every single character is at risk of dying at once to a trap set by the enemy, and Tamaki quietly laments over how she’ll be the only one to survive. She is completely aware of her ridiculous luck and her complete immunity to stakes, which is honestly just great.

Even beyond that, Tamaki is slowly being built up as more and more of an actual character, she has a short backstory section where her own hard work and effort is basically ignored by everyone around her, as if her success in life is only a result of her good luck, which is a feeling that hits very close to home to me (fuck you if you’ve ever discredited someones hard work because they’re “””””talented””””). And in the most recent couple of chapters, shes made an active effort to train alongside Shinra and Arthur, who both value the improvements they can make to themselves through hard work. No other characters in the cast make conscious efforts to improve from their status in the way Tamaki does. She moves up from a joke character to now trying to stand along side the main character as a useful and though out character. It’s a genuinely wonderful character to have been developed and the best thing I’ve gotten from this author.

VISUALS AND COMPOSITION

Okay enough about the characters, the last little thing I wanna touch on is just some of the absolutely bonkers kinds of compositions in this manga. One of the villains has an ability that is explained incredibly poorly. Pretty sure it’s just a time slowing ability that has nothing to do with fire but whatever. The pages where he uses the ability have this absolutely sick warped look to them that plays with the panels in a way that couldn’t be depicted in any other medium. Just look at this shit.

Every panel has a different background and yet still describes a single cut in time. It might not really mean anything, but that’s fucking sick dude.

Another pretty interesting one is this one kid named Nataku, who has an ability forced onto him by a maniac with a motif of stars for eyes, who dies immediately after. This event is shown to have absolutely traumatized him not because its directly said, but because this dead character appears constantly in panels with this kid, sometimes taking up the entire background to yell at him, or being an almost impossible to see spec lingering behind him. Nataku is also drawn in this strange sketchy style where he seems to be melting, and sometimes melds into shapes that resemble this dead character, such Nataku’s mouth becoming the fucking eyeball of the dead guy, star pupil and everything. It’s just such a specific and horrific way to depict that kind of identity trauma and it really stuck out to me.

I’LL SHUT UP NOW

And ye that’s about it. It was a lot of rambling and there are still lots of little things i like about the manga, good designs and cool fights and stuff but i just wanted to talk about the things that were really noteworthy to me.

It’s been a long time since I’ve spent 4 hours just typing about stuff but if you actually read any of this, on this dead website of all places, you’re cool. Hope you found something interesting too.

#Fire Force #juvenile rant

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dazzlinghaze528-blog · 5 years

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Lovin’ Lover: A Taylor Swift superfan’s review of Lover

Lover moved me so that I had to write a review of it. Figured it belonged on here just as much as it did on my personal blog. I hope it speaks to some fellow Swifties and maybe even someday Taylor herself.

I’ve identified as a Taylor Swift super fan for an appropriate 13 years now. I specifically recall being in the seventh grade, checking my hot pink iPod Nano at 11:00 PM sharp to listen to the launch of Fearless single “You Belong With Me”- the first of many times I would come to dance this dance.

As much as I know she has meant to so many of the young women who have grown up with her, I have to admit I still sometimes feel as though there is something special about the bond we share as artist and fan. Something almost cosmic or spiritual. There are so many similar, specific ways that we both seem to interact with the world. Something in the way that melodies and words and storytelling keep us moving forward. Something in the way we analyze the complexities of the lives we’ve found ourselves in and the way that can feed anxiety if we’re not carefully waiting for it. Something in the bubbly personalities, the love of cats and vintage fashion. Something in the golden hair and indigo eyes.

Something in the way that we LOVE love.

This album is arguably Taylor Swift’s most mature, personal analysis of love of any of her albums thus far. It’s not just snakes transforming into butterflies and paper rings and golden hours. It’s an inside look at the rainbow spectrum of ways that love can manifest itself in real lives, not just in storybooks. And that moved me to the point where I had to (literally) take a note out of Taylor’s book and write about it. So here we go:

“I Forgot That You Existed”

Taylor has described this opener as the track that transitions the listener out of her previous Reputation era. It’s sonically very bright and buoyant, with perhaps the melody that most easily rolls of the voice. And it settles in the emotion that most are striving for when recovering from drama or a betrayal: indifference. Some will call this song ‘petty,’ but I challenge all who listen to think back to the first time they thought about someone who wronged them after months, or maybe even years of occupancy in their minds and thought, “Oh- I forgot about them.” Is there any stronger sense of relief?

“Cruel Summer”

Littered with sharp imagery and cutting lyrics, this is (in my opinion) the album’s most epic track. I don’t have a particularly eloquent way of explaining this, but the production sounds like neon- ala the intro music to HBO’s Sharp Objects. And the story is one that 20-somethings know, excuse the joke, all too well. This story is one of a summer fling that you find yourself wanting to grow up into something real, and the very real fear that you could get cut when you let the other person know. When TS said, “I’m drunk in the back of the car, and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar. Said I’m fine but it wasn’t true; I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you,” …I felt that.

“Lover”

I can’t say enough glowing things about this song. It’s a waltz that sounds straight out of the 60s and uses some of my all time favorite words. Words that sound straight out of a Jane Austen novel. Between “there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you dear” and “my heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue; all’s well that ends well to end up with you,” wedding related Instagram captions are set for the next couple of years. As beautiful as this song is, I admit that it really is a song meant for lovers. You love it more when you are in love yourself.

“The Man”

I’ve yet to hear a song quite like this yet, which is surprising given the time that we’re living in. It’s even more striking coming from Taylor Swift, a woman who was named this past year’s highest paid celebrity. Period. It’s a fascinating observation that many of the things that Taylor Swift has been attacked for over the years: dating a handful of high-profile men, being outspoken about musicians’ financial and artistic rights, engaging with and strategically planning for a wildly intense and devoted fanbase, are lauded when done by men in the industry. Additionally, NO ONE seems to want to write about how incredibly wealthy TS is. As though it will make the reader uncomfortable. But journalists have no problem writing about the wealth and affluence of male celebrities. Food for thought; this song should be required listening.

“The Archer”

“The Archer” is a song that I truly listened to death upon its early release. I was particularly struck by the line, “And all of my heroes died all alone. Help me hold on to you.” As bizarre a connection this may be, it reminded me of one of my new favorite shows The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the way the heroine wrestles with wether or not greatness in her art equates to a life lived alone, as she begins to achieve success with her stand-up comedy career. This isn’t all the song is about- it’s truly a very wide range of introspection, but it is what stuck with me the most as a creative who also dreams of one day falling in love and having a family.

“I Think He Knows”

Okay- this song truly fits the modern day definition of a BOP. This is probably the song on the album that most frequently gets stuck in my head upon listening.“Wanna see what’s under that attitude,” is a totally swoon worthy line. There’s also a bridge that reminds me of “Treacherous,” one of my favorite songs off of her album Red. With that song we start with “Nothing safe is worth the drive, and I will follow you, follow you home,” and end up at “Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh we can follow the sparks, I’ll drive.” in Lover. I’ve said it once but I’ll say it again, “Treacherous” ran so “I Think He Knows” could SPRINT!

7. “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince”

I truly have so many thoughts about this song. I would argue this is the album’s smartest song, as it likens America’s current political climate to the world of an American high school- with popularity contests, school spirit chants, and clique mentality. The first time I listened to it I went, “…is this about Hilary Clinton? No…wait?” Lines like “I’m feeling helpless, the damsels are depressed. Boys will be boys then, where are the wise men?” and “They whisper in the hallway she’s a bad, bad girl. The whole school is rolling fake dice. You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes,” were screaming 2016 election to me. The song really encapsulates the moment you realize that American politics is filled with people who manipulate the system- and how that can lead to the conclusion that the prize isn’t real either.

“Paper Rings”

“Paper Rings” has grown on me since my first listen. It’s got a slight British pop-punk vibe that I wasn’t sure I was that into at first. But the more I listened, the more I fell for all of the specific, tiny details of the love that she’s found for herself. The line, “Went home and tried to stalk you on the internet. Now I’ve read all of the books beside your bed,” held so much weight to me as an amateur Internet sleuth and a lover of the written word. I found myself going “Woah- look how far they’ve COME!” It’s also just plain fun and will be awesome to see live.

“Cornelia Street”

It’s pretty incredible to know that Taylor Swift wrote this massive, sweeping song all by her lonesome. But it’s just a reminder that underneath all of the awesome production on this album, there’s just truly great songwriting. This track really leans on the idea that memories can become attached to places, impossible to separate. Ala her Red era masterpiece, “All Too Well,” TS so vividly paints a picture of the memories made on Cornelia Street that once she says “I’d never walk Cornelia Street again,” you immediately understand why.

“Death By A Thousand Cuts”

There’s a pretty amazing story behind this track. Long story short, Taylor was inspired by an incredible (and completely underrated) Netflix Rom-Com called Someone Great to write this song. But BEFORE that, a film-maker named Jennifer Kaytin Robinson was inspired to write Someone Great after soothing a heartache with Taylor’s album 1989– specifically the iconic song, “Clean.” So this tune already carries the legacy of art made by powerful women. Additionally, I find that it has some of the most tragically relatable lyrics. “My heart, my hips, my body, my love. Tryna’ find a part of me that you didn’t touch,” and “Quiet my fears with the touch of your hand. Paper cut stains from our paper thin plans,” so well articulate the paper-cut pain of the dissolution of a once cherished relationship.

“London Boy”

“London Boy” is by far the cheekiest song on the album. It’s clever as all get out, and a welcome buffer between tracks 10 and 12. An interesting observation by country singer-songwriter, Ryan Hurd: “Feels like it’s written like a country song, but it’s all dressed up like a pop song. Super cool.” As a massive country music fan, I can attest to this. “London Boy” has a crystal clear story, extremely bright lyrics, and it spends most of its time listing the best parts of a particular place- all lovable tropes of the country music genre.

“Soon You’ll Get Better”

So I have yet to make it through this song without crying…and I’ve probably listened to the album at least seven times now. I often think of skipping it, but it is sonically catnip to me. A collaboration with the Dixie Chicks, this track is entirely acoustic, has tight female harmonies, and violin- what am I to do? This wildly personal song is about Taylor’s mother’s battle with cancer and the denial and grief she’s experienced around that so far. The song is stunning and more than anything, universal. Come to it prepared.

“False God”

Saxophone in a Taylor Swift song? Yes. “False God” sounds like it belongs specifically in a Speakeasy. It’s got breathy vocals, a slightly rambling melody, and extremely sexy lyrics. It’s not the most relatable song on the album; most of us aren’t superstars managing bi-continental relationships. But I like the world that it sucked me into.

“You Need to Calm Down”

Not only is this song pure Pop fun, “You Need to Calm Down” addresses three whole categories of internet haters. Those who make a habit of shooting mean tweets at celebrities and people they don’t know first thing in the morning, those who are anti-LGBTQ equality, and those who constantly pin female artists against each other- as though people don’t have the capacity to like more than one at a time. In the context of Lover, this is the song that most enforces “Spread love; not hate.”

“Afterglow”

I’m of the opinion that “Afterglow” has been a bit underrated since the arrival of the album. It’s a simple melody, but what’s incredible about this song is that it is notably the best her voice has ever sounded. Her instrument really shines here. It’s also one of the first Taylor Swift songs I’ve ever loved despite not relating to the content in the slightest. TS writes here from the perspective of someone who is tending to a relationship she wounded by relaxing so much into it that she lets anxiety get the better of her and lashes out. It’s a very specific relationship milestone that I’ve yet to ever reach myself, but she sings about it with such passion that I’m totally invested.

“ME!”

“ME!” is truly a Dr. Seuss book come to life. Not just because of the cartoonish joy in the video, but because of that same cartoonish joy that comes through in the vocals of both her and Brenden Urie. It’s not the most lyrically complex or dynamic song of the album, but by gosh it’s positive and catchy and it makes people happy. It also serves it’s purpose post Afterglow beautifully- acknowledging that even when she is a “handful,” her lover loves her still.

“It’s Nice to Have a Friend”

My favorite thing about this song is the ghostly background vocals and string instruments, both of which were provided by students at a not-for-profit after school music program in Toronto. Proceeds from the track are going to support the program and help keep arts education afloat. Knowing this took this song from a song that I liked to a song that I love. The song also truly captures the hope of the beginning so well and in so few words. “Twenty questions, we tell the truth. You’ve been stressed out lately, yeah me too. Something gave you the nerve to touch my hand, it’s nice to have a friend.”

“Daylight”

“Daylight” sounds like a sunrise. It makes you feel as though her life is finally beginning as this album is ending. The most enjoyable part of this song is the bridge where she compares what she once thought true love would be to what she knows it to be now. She calls back to her old self by singing, “I once believed love would be burning red, but it’s golden.” It’s simultaneously the most nostalgic track on the album and also the most hopeful, and I breathe with her when she sings “You gotta step into the daylight and let it go.” To quote her past life, “…in the death of her reputation she felt truly alive.”

Here’s a link to the blog post in case you wanna share with other Swifties <3

https://annalehnhoff.wordpress.com/2019/08/27/lovin-lover-a-taylor-swift-enthusiasts-review-of-new-album-lover/

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emmaruthrundlesh · 6 years

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Interview with Emma Ruth Rundle // Astral Noize

An in depth interview with Emma Ruth Rundle about her new album "On Dark Horses" coming out on Friday, Sept 14th everywhere - Pre-order here. She will also be on tour starting Sept 15th. Interview by Paige Mathis via Astral Noize

“It’s hard not to feel like an asshole just talking about myself,” Emma Ruth Rundle reveals as she ponders the deeper themes of her latest work through an intermittently crackling Skype call. Intertwining a mild-mannered and introverted personality with deeply personal and revealing music may sound oxymoronic, but Rundle’s career is built upon these vacillating foundations. The American songwriter and visual artist’s atmospheric contributions to the music scene have grown increasingly intimate throughout her career, from the lush ambience of The Nocturnes, the cinematic soundscapes of Red Sparrowes and the sprawling haze of Marriages to the ethereal musings of her solo work. 2016’s Marked for Death felt much like the peak of this introspection, brimming as it was with brooding reflections on life, addiction, and self-destructive tendencies.

Its follow-up, On Dark Horses, is suitably a reflection of an artist who has survived inner struggles and emerged stronger, though it doesn’t shy away from the dark realities of life. One of which being that life is seldom as uncomplicated as placing personal demons aside – many will wrestle with them for decades. To find out more, we had an in-depth conversation with the musician about the open and personal nature of her songwriting, collaborating with her partner Evan Patterson (Young Widows, Jaye Jayle), how this album’s creation differs from her past LPs, and how her visual art entwines with her musical output.

On Dark Horses by Emma Ruth Rundle

The last album was written in a remote artist’s residence whereas this one was largely written during breaks in touring after a move to Louisville, Kentucky. Did that change your approach at all? Are you inspired by your surroundings when writing?

I think it made the album a lot less desperate and I reached a lot of breaking points writing Marked For Death from being alone in the desert, but I think it allowed for maybe some more emotionally potent songs. For some of the stuff on this record, I took a week off in Cornwall and for some of the music I was able to access that same headspace, but it wasn’t as extreme as the last record. I do think it’s important and that it’s an effective way of writing to be in that kind of extreme setting of solitude.

This record was definitely influenced by the other musicians I was around in that having them playing with the band, getting to flesh out some of the songs, particularly with Dylan [Nadon, Wovenhand] and Evan [Patterson], the instrumentation of it lent itself to a little bit of a different approach. Being able to write an instrumental bridge in a song knowing that other musicians are gonna be there to play with you, that part wouldn’t really be as effective as a solo guitarist. There are some different things you can pull of as a band and I think I wrote some parts of the songs knowing that I was going to have that both in the studio and the live setting.

You mentioned before that this is the first time you didn’t play all of the guitar parts yourself. Was handing that over to someone else strange given how personal your music sometimes is? Or was it beneficial in that it allowed you to focus on other parts of the arrangement?

It was very difficult for me to do that. I had a really hard time not playing all the guitars on the record and especially letting a man do it was very hard for me. I love Evan and his playing is incredible and he’s been one of my favourite guitar players. I’m a huge fan of Young Widowsand obviously tour a lot with Jaye Jayle… part of the reason we have a relationship in real life is based on us playing together. We were forced into the situation last year when going on tour together, I hadn’t played with them before and they became my backing band for the tour. As soon as he started playing guitar, I was like woah I’m in love with this person – his playing was like an extension of myself. We have the same inclinations and he brings his own unique style to it as well. I was in love with his guitar playing anyway and despite that it was very difficult for me to not track all of the guitar parts and then force him to play things. Evan is an incredible artist in his own right, an incredible songwriter and technically wonderful at the guitar.

So, while it was difficult, I think it benefits the music. Being able to have a second guitar does allow me to play different kinds of leads, riffs, and focus on vocals more in certain areas in the live setting, and I know that I wrote some of the album with that in mind. There was a little bit more planning with how I’m going to live through this album cycle as far as performance goes than the last album. With Marked For Death, I didn’t even know that I was going to tour or even make another record. This record there’s been a little bit more of a strategy in the writing, and part of that has been having the support of other musicians. It was really hard, even up until we were going to the studio. The parts that Evan did write bring so much to the songs and it’s fun. I think I vacillate between being a kind of controlling crazy person and then wanting support and help from my fellows.

How do you feel being a solo artist compares to being in a band where the output is a collaborative effort?

I think it’s a lot easier to write solo. Writing in a band is a democratic process and so you’ll have, like in Marriages, three separate people coming from different angles and obviously we have similar interests and similar backgrounds as far as what music made us wanna join a band together. But, the influences can be different enough that you can butt heads on where to take a song or how to start a song. Every band is so different, but the band experiences that I’ve had – which is mostly Red Sparrows and Marriages – it just takes a lot longer to write songs in some ways because you have to contend with other people’s opinions and styles and egos and all of the things that go into being a band.

When writing solo, that just isn’t a thing… all you have to rely on and deal with is your own work ethic, whatever it is that you’re drawing from and the time frame that you have. So it’s part of the reason that I started making solo records and leaning more and more in that direction. [It’s not] because I don’t love writing with a band or writing with my previous bandmates, it’s just natural things that happened and [people] kind of went their separate ways, and Marriages… maybe next year. Writing solo is just easier and something you can do sitting alone on a side porch or in your house or wherever you have a moment and space to yourself. Writing with a band you need a rehearsal space, everyone’s schedules have to meet. Writing alone is something you can do more easily for so many reasons. Interpersonal reasons, logistical reasons, all of that stuff.

Do you think that your music has become more open and personal over time?

The last record was really open and personal. I think that there are some songs on this album that are as well. It’s all personal. It kind of makes it hard to talk about in some ways. The personal nature of the music just feels natural. I think the last record seems more personal. This record is still personal but isn’t as desperate and fraught. The last song ‘You Don’t Have To Cry’ is a song I wrote for someone else and doesn’t have anything to do with my personal struggle and pain, which is a new step for me. Other songs on the album are very personal.

Do you think it’s important for artists to write about this kind of thing and to be so open and candid and truthful?

I can’t say what’s important for artists to do. I can’t say that my art is important in itself… it’s just what I do. I don’t even know that it’s important. I don’t think there are any rules for what artists should or shouldn’t do. Everyone brings something to the world… if everybody was writing this honest, open music about their struggle it would be kind of depressing, I think there’s got to be other kinds of expression that serve a purpose. Human beings are so multifaceted and complex. Everything has a value and at the same time nothing matters when it comes down to it, especially about art. Art is a luxury.

Is it important to you that people interpret your music in a particular way?

No. You can’t control how anyone is going to interpret your music. Once you record or say something and leave it, it’s open to interpretation and there’s just nothing you can do to control that. I’ve been getting asked a lot of political questions lately and I don’t want that. I don’t want people to interpret my music as a political statement. I don’t have any expectations about how it will or should be interpreted.

You’ve said before that folk music was integral to your musical beginnings. In what way did folk music inform your music? Is this perhaps where often sincere and honest lyrics derive from?

I don’t know where that inclination comes from. What really influenced me the most was hanging around a folk music store and hearing that music constantly in the background. This place called McCabe’s in Santa Monica. I took Celtic harp lessons there when I was eight and then just started hanging out in the store. It’s been a folk music store for 60 years in LA, they have concerts etc. I was exposed to lots of different types of music at home but working in the folk music store affected my guitar playing more than my lyrics.

Lots of people have said that your last album was all about performance and visuality and there are essences of that on this new album too. Do you think that derives from your being a visual artist? Is it your intention to combine the two mediums?

In the past, I would say no. I think that the visual element is something that is kind of just out of necessity, like I’d need to make an album cover or, like on this The Nocturnes record called Aokigahara, I kinda got into creating a visual world around the album. On Dark Horsesis the first time since then that I feel I’ve really done that in the more extreme way, with the paintings I’ve been doing now and the album art and all the visual art. My visual art brain is coming into creating the world around the record more than it has in the past but I don’t think that the visual art that I do informs my music or my performances or vice versa. I think they’re kind of separate muses for me and I turn to one when I’m not doing the other.

Many metal fans can be judgemental and elitist about what they consider ‘metal enough’ to listen to. You said once that the metal scene is your world. Do you think that people like yourself – who experiment with the established sound – being embraced by the metal community is a sign that the genre is becoming more open-minded?

I would hesitate to speak for the metal community or for the genre or any genres. I think that there’s a listenership… the spectrum is so huge. I can only speak from my own experiences, which [are that] for some reason I have been invited to play metal festivals and seem to be embraced by that community. There are so many subgenres within metal – doom metal, classic metal, stoner metal, etc. – and maybe not all those people come from the same place. There’s this cross-section of bands and music that’s happening right now that has a very broad and open-minded listenership. I think people (not just metal listeners) in general’s tastes are broadening based on how accessible music is, not the content of music but the avenues through which people consume music is more accessible. Maybe listenership in general is broadening. At the same time, you have these festivals like Roadburn in the Netherlands that has a lot of different kinds of bands playing there. I would still say that it’s a heavy or extreme music festival, but there’s just something open-minded about it. I think it’s a progressive listenership.

What’s next for you. Any plans?

There’s lots of touring plans. I have a visual art show in Chicago on September 8th, and then I’m doing a full US tour that’s broken up in the middle by a European/UK tour which starts September 15th here in the states, breaks on September 25th, then I’m heading over to Europe and starting in France on October 6th. I’ll be in the UK November 3rd through to the 8th, and then I come back to the states and do the west coast November 20th to December 17th, so once September hits I’ll pretty much be on tour for the rest of the year, and then I’m hoping to finish writing this acoustic guitar album that I’ve been working on. It never ends.

#Emma Ruth Rundle #On Dark Horses #Astral Noize #Sargent House

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ao3feed-danganronpa · 2 years

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Training Session

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/ERWe7k3

by Celeastral

A look into what goes on during one of Tenko's mornings. Woah, a new partner to spar with? Yeah!!!

Words: 2117, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Harukawa Maki, Chabashira Tenko, Background & Cameo Characters

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Martial Arts, Introspection

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/ERWe7k3

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #dangan ronpa #danganronpa #dr

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sanzu-sanzu-sanzu · 2 years

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Hiii~ never slide in your tumblr much buttt i hope you're having or had a good day!! i really really realllllyyy loves all of your works like woah how does someone has this much talent to draw out the emotions in a form of writing?!?!?

anyways for the ask game may i have 4 if it wasn't taken yet?

you are the most kiiind omg huhuhuhu i do my best 😭 thank you, thank u so much for reading my works 🥺 it means a lot to me!!

4. what are some of examples of storytelling that inspires you outside of books?

i first come from an art/design background so i am crazy about visual art ahahaha. whether it's a birds-eye landscape of a particular event where you can clearly see a story taking place, or a simple scene of a house and its dreary colors, or a close-up of highly-tense, high-contrast faces, all of its elements—the lines, the colors, the composition, the medium, which subjects are highlighted, etc—work to tell a story, or to say Something. but then they're all subjected to the viewer's experiences too, how we see the world, and so just that whole silent convo between me and what i see within this window is fascinating to me.

i especially am in love with the works of edward hopper 😌 his paintings always take me to a certain time and place. i am a lonely hunter so works that feel melancholic and introspective always strike a chord in me :)

this was such a fun question to answer ahaha thank you so much again ☺️

#anri 💌

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rironomind · 6 years

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GS Artists Rec List

I told @the-nysh I would do this so I did. I’m just here to shamelessly promote my favs. If you want to binge on art, trawl Pixiv and bookmarks. If you want daily art, follow the artists’ Twitter, or @GSnightfight.

Sidenote: It is strange to know that some of the raunchiest stuff come from mums.

(Artists under the cut!)

Kinako [Pixiv] [Twitter]- Protec. Their comic strips are so cute and good. Like this one here and an ongoing one on Twitter. I don’t really understand it but it seems like Genos drank a memory loss chemical to forget about how he couldn’t really love Saitama but then ended up in a relationship with him anyway? He calls just calls Saitama “Saitama”, it’s very bittersweet because he regrets drinking it. (Full thread here)

Yutani [Pixiv] - They do doujins, including one where Genos turns into a white wolf and one where Saitama gets double-teamed by devil!Genos and bunny!Genos.

Lisa [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Have I mentioned lately how much I love Lisa? I’ve been following her ever since she did “The person who makes you happy/Happy people” (Part 1/Part 2). She just did an omegaverse doujin too. Her style is a bit anatomically questionable but they look soft and blushy and muscley and romantic so I’m into it. She’s also done a couple of fake movie posters that’s also very tender. ^3^ (Also, nice try Lisa, I know you draw gratuitous bottom!Genos porn on a separate Twitter account.)

Nano [Pixiv] [Twitter] [Tumblr] - Soft, round egg. They did a doujin where Saitama gets fucked while wearing a dress as well as this really nice sfw doujin about Genos realising he likes Saitama. And who could forget this iconic fake twitter video. (Also they’re on tumblr! Please show them more love)

Polon [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Soft watercolour style, lithe muscley egg illustrations in sexy (and funny) poses and outfits. Loads of lovely short R18 comics. One of my favs is in here where Saitama’s cum is turned into Cookies and Cream flavour by a monster and this one where Saitama gets a bad fan letter and needs some TLC. They also have cat!sensei and dog!Genos versions which are super cute. Cat!Sensei is very chubby (it’s in their icon!).

Oikkodeth [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Yall better recognise. Mainly R18 doujins and puts out one every event (that’s like 5 times a year or more). They’ve covered the whole range: hanahaki, Little Red Riding Hood, human torso!Genos and more. Anatomy is a bit stiff but they’re so proficient.

Mido [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Korean but translates her comics to Japanese. Expressive, cute, clean comic style.

Akiyama [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Yall better fucking R E C O G N I S E. They, along with asamizu and a few others, have been posting since 2013. They churn out doujins like a machine and even has their own category in the doujin store, their books took up half a shelf. Consistently cute, punchy dialogue and doesn’t deal with drama. But you don’t need me to tell you. (Look at this though!!)

Hoyu [Pixiv] [Twitter] - You guys remember the sausage pillow comic? Do you like spit, licking, kinks and softcore yandere Genos? You’re gonna love Hoyu. Also, she knows loads of people? I always see her in the comments on twitter. Very skinny boys and twisted love, a new and interesting sketchy style.

Akiko [Pixiv] [Twitter] - A very girly and attentive waifu top!Genos and a tired Saitama. Puts out a comic strip almost every day? #blessed. (Sensei, please be sweet to me!) Doesn’t do R18 very often.

Oishigeru [Pixiv] - Does only doujins, maybe twice a year? Most, if not all are R18 and Saitama always looks vaguely worried. i like Even If mostly because it’s the only one I read all the way through and it’s about insecurities of a relationship. There was another doujin about Genos/Two Saitamas. Does introspective egg very well so I’m immediately biased. Doesn’t post art on twitter so I’m not including it.

Emochikaoya [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Yall already know I’m a massive fan of Kaoya’s work. Kinkwise, if you think of it, she’s probably drawn it. Super efficient, churns out minicomics once a week in between drawing her original comic (can’t stop the thirst, guys). I’m trying to get her to do more coloured illustrations so if you guys want to stroke her ego, I’ll pass it on. My favourite doujin of hers is ‘Who’ and it has hands-down The Best Egg Lecture. Probably one of the few artists who bother to translate to English (you’re welcome). I have a million things to say about her but it would turn into an essay so I’ll stop.

Minerux [Pixiv] [Twitter] - A member of the @GSNightFight challenge on Twitter. Uncertain and worried egg and supportive and very attentive borg. Check out “Curiousity” and “Red String” and a personal fav “Hold on”.

Dokimaru [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Her neko sensei is probably the most iconic. He has a sweatshirt with like 6 nipples? Iconic. they drew a hot springs doujin where Genos turned basically his whole body into a vibe and Saitama caused him to short circuit and blow out every fuse in the ryokan. They set off the fire sprinklers. This one ficart where Saitama gets double-teamed by two Genoses knocked me flat.

Mat [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Mat?? Is so?? Good?? Ever think about how a look can break your heart? Egg is always tired and Genos is worried. Contact is very sweet and makes your heart twinge, and there’s another one they just released about Saitama being cursed with handcuffed hands

Hebitoriasu [Pixiv] [Twitter] - I’m not a big fan of the shading but I can see improvement. Mostly R18 doujins but they’re cute.

Tori/Saboten [Pixiv] [Twitter] - They have two major AUs - fem!Saitama (Nyotama) and Sabo-sensei - and they’re both amazing. Very good readability, very funny comics. If you’re not a fan of fem!Saitama, they have dedicated groups of art for nyotama. Of course my fav of their works is the one with all of Saitama and Genos’ dating problems and the one where Saitama is “Weak to ikemen (handsome guys)”.

Asamizu [Pixiv] - What kind of useless list would this be without Asamizu? Yeah they had their own category too on the doujin shelf. Very nice graphics, and they discuss relationship topics in a candid manner. Been drawing these boys for over 4 years! Mostly doujins. I also have to plug their game (visual novel) about Saitama endlessly repeating a week to try to get Genos to stop asking him out, it will probably last 10 hours. God they do love to ramble.

Toufumaru [Pixiv] - I’ll admit, I’m not a big fan of their recent work (sailor uniform sensei and sensei who wants to be held) but I really like Blue in Blue and Mellow Yellow which talk about Saitama’s non-existent emotions.

Nemunoki [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Mainly R18 doujins. They’ve explored all manner of sexual situations and kinks. Outdoor sex, electricity, double penetration, tentacles, you name it. It’s all amazing. The perspective does throw me off though.

Untara [Pixiv] - Into switch but really likes bottom!Genos anyway. What can I say? Kinky, but hot.

Satoku [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Melancholy egg! Attentive Genos! Does mostly short comics but they’re so cute. Martyr Saitama is my jam!

Kamikoawakakyouko [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Interesting concepts. Recently released a comic that I consider to be the pinnacle of the OPM fandom because it’s Saitama having to consider the environmental/global impact of his strength and how that boils down to affect his everyday life.

Matabi [Pixiv] - Pretty much only doujins. Sensei has moobs and the boys are squishy and blushy. Also does quite a bit of rimming.

Sototuka [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Mostly R18 illustrations with some nice shading but questionable garments. She drew this doujin with futa!Sensei and double-dick Genos.

Hara Hara [Pixiv] - Saitama is the manic pixie dream girl you guys never thought would exist. Fashion model ingenue. Werk it, sensei. Permanent come hither. Seeing Saitama in dresses brings me life (even if he is super skinny).

Raoki [Pixiv] - Mainly R18 illustrations. I remembered she did sounding with Pocky.

Gmeko [Pixiv] - C U T E. Round and pastels. Soft with lots of TLC. Did a “(I’ll find you) Before the stars do” comic and a hair washing comic.

NICE BOON [Pixiv] - Korean who takes no shit. Fantastic fashion. Little to no BL but the concepts are all on pointe. Existential egg. Eggistential. Locked twitter.

Silver_mssk [Pixiv] [Twitter] - locked account but if you managed to add her…really, really good eggistential portraits in a variety of scenes. Hilarious comics and a stone face Genos and flailing egg. Also lots of Mobuncle/Saitama scenarios? Which…tbh same.

Foo2333 [Twitter] - What if Saitama took part in enjo kosai (paid dating)? Bottom!Saitama, a soft and sexy egg desired by all. Listen, I don’t make the rules.

Skaky21 [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Mostly out of the fandom but dips in sometimes. Very polished shiny style. Not my cup of tea but it’s cute.

1200年丸 [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Now mostly BNHA but does OPM sometimes. Mostly SFW. This comic is cute.

ICHIKAZU [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Curly haired boyish Genos! Everyone’s crazy about her Apocaplyse!AU but I prefer her newest doujin where Saitama wins a camera and Genos uses it to take lots of pictures of his sensei.

Kaji Oyaji [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Wowowow so cute and pastel? Is everyone an angel? Am I dead? Soft and sweet. Saitama is like a fairy and Genos is in love. Imagine the embodiment of Spring.

Ginsky [Pixiv] - Chinese. They’ve moved on but boy those were some bright colours and expressive faces.

Tutu_en_f [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Soft romantic sketches. Feel very french but I’m only saying that because she is literally in France now.

COCONUT [Pixiv] - Korean. Fashionable (you see a trend?) Saigenos sketches. Young boyish Genos, manly egg.

Obachan [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Chibi comics. Still active and cute af.

Shiwasu [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Woah this egg is too cute for this world. Does short comics, draws sex but not especially ero. I like this one which is about Genos becoming able to read Saitama’s mind, first kiss (self explanatory) and Saitama losing his strength (R18).

Nyuton [Pixiv] [Twitter] - Active on Twitter. Posts a lot of speed-colouring videos. Nice sketchy feeling but with colour. Likes to borrow concepts from music videos.

Mochi [Pixiv] - Crudely-drawn gag comics with a humour on par with ONE’s. Please, they’re so good. This one opens up with both of them wearing The Dress.

Shout out to starjr_major who is currently in Golden Kamui hell but used to draw some really amazingly cute Saitama.

#ronm #rec list #wow this is long #that's not all of them

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reryanblogs · 6 years

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re:ryan

Hello my fellow adventurers! I’ve been occupied by tons of side quests that I’m coming back only now. Anyway, if you haven’t noticed, I’m going to reboot and rebrand this blog, babam! This was actually formerly known as elachrophant.tumblr.com but decided to kinda change it into a more honest and more “me” self-brand.

I’ve been putting writing this on hold for such a long time. Hmmm, I don’t know why but I want to time it when my mood and emotions are rather neutral. I’m not sure if I’m neutral enough right now thou, considering I just had my third cup of coffee ㅋㅋㅋ.

It’s been years but I’m trying to REALLY do something about my inner conflicts only now. Looking back, they were really just facades and faking, after all; to convince myself and create the illusion that I manage my shit quite well. Well, maybe even right now might still be an act, but at the moment… I don’t care, I guess? Hahaha. I don’t know what sparked inside that I suddenly got all these motivations and inspirations. Maybe a muse finally entranced me. I hope it live inside me forever until I can be a muse to others.

In the lieu of all of these, I established three pillars I can always go back to if I find myself off track.

r e w r i t e | r e v a m p | r e c r e a t e

○rewrite

•I’m actually taking AB Journalism but you don’t know how much I hate writing, hahaha. Well, to be precise, it’s not hate on writing but on physically writing with a pen or typing on a keyboard itself. What a drag, right? Lololol. I want to get back on not just writing, but also reading. I shit you not, I can devour five and more books in just a day back then. The bookworm me died long ago for some unknown reasons. I really miss that ecstatic feeling of travelling to various places, dungeons, dimensions, parallel universe, and just being engrossed to a story through books. I also really want to turn the notes I jotted down: those pieces of ideas, epiphanies, what ifs, and fragments of story concepts, into something that can make people feel the same addicting feeling I felt reading others’ worlds. I only told few about this, but one of my dreams is actually to be a storyboard writer for games. I enjoy playing games, and I played a lot where I felt so involve because of the story line it served. Persona 3, Dragon Nest, these are only few that inspired and amazed me. I want to write more. That’s also one of the reasons why I pushed myself into blogging. With this I can practice not just writing but also letting the chaos inside out of my system. Journaling, too! I had more than ten unused notebooks for journaling but I never really touched them. I used to keep a diary back in elementary, but someone read a rather personal content from it aloud, and it caused a lot of fuss on our section. Woah, I guess that backstory wraps it up why I hated writing, hahaha, we’ve got some introspection going on here right now.

○revamp

•I’m not really good at Math and Sciences. I think that’s why I tend to fall on the artistic spectrum type of person. You know what, I’m gonna claim it! I’M AN ARTIST! I’m still on search for my own style, thou, that’s why I included “revamp”. I know sooooo many artistic and inspiring people both on the internet and “real world” if you may. I’m always wowed and awed by their artworks, and it has this tingling effect inside that screams “I wanna do that, that, and that too.” And since I’m still on search for my own style, I’m incorporating a part of their crafts into mine. Don’t get me wrong thou, it’s not to copy someone else’s work but to get an inspiration from it and turn it into something I can call myself mine. This applies, not just to me but to everyone. Don’t steal someone else’s hard work. If you’re going to use their art, ask their permission, credit them and help them gather the prominence they need and deserve, or if you can afford, buy and support their crafts 😁 Finding my own style… uniqueness is one of the things that always traps me in a rabbit hole of thinking. Brushing your teeth, going to school, sleeping, waking up, and repeating all these boring courses and routines, how can we say that we are unique from one another when at the end of the day, our existence doesn’t really matter and insignificant on a greater scale? I guess this stems from that unreasonable desire of wanting to make a name for myself and leaving a mark on the world. I want to, if not be, at least create something that can inspire and resonate to others ❤

○recreate

•Speaking of creating, I used to think that creating art was just a hobby of mine. But now, I create in order to survive. Therapy? Escape? Salvation? Call it whatever you want. Creating made me able to breathe again. I want to keep creating. I want to put my everything into all of my crafts. They serve as the materialization of my joy, rage, pleasure, sins, punishment, glee, vanity, of every emotion and thoughts I have. They are my desire, insecurities, hostility, and vengeance. My art is both me and not me. They are fragments of myself, for either something that completes me or something that would make me lose myself. No matter what the canvas is, I’d strive to forge something. Stories, design and layout, photographs, makeup, coffee—I want to explore all of them and get the first-hand experience of doing it.

The idea is to “re:ryan” meaning to “ryan again”, to claim my old self back. As much as I hate and cringe over past me, I would say I’m much more happier and bolder back then.

The whole brand also revolves around self-love and self-empowerment and embracing the darkness within one’s self. I want to tell everyone that monsters indeed live within us. It’s embedded to us. It’s what make us humans after all. And it is okay. It’s okay to feel insecure to that rich and pretty girl in your class, it is okay to feel jealous on someone else’s life, it’s okay to feel unreasonably mad about something. The important thing is, being aware of it, and what you do after realizing and accepting the reason of why you’re feeling a certain way. Embrace your darkness, it what makes you who you are. It’s the negative space that makes your passion and personality stand out ❤😁

Yeah… talking about that… I’m admitting something. The first pillar, rewrite… is actually meant for something else. It’s to keep rewriting that letter. I call it the “Letter of No Return”. For years, a temporary logout doesn’t work anymore, more than a reset button, I want to completely terminate my account and delete my character from this crappy game called “Life”. If you ask me, nowadays, I still want to end it all, actually, I don’t really mind if a sudden “Game Over” came flashing to me. But, for some whatever reason it may be, I want to finish this game without regrets, I keep wondering, how strong the “Last Boss” would be, how many shitty and fun side quests would I receive, on what “level” would I reach, how many “EXP points” would I cringe and be proud of. I keep wondering. That’s why I want to keep rewriting that letter. Rewrite and rewrite until I can proudly tear it off and not rely on it as a cheat code to “Esc”.

#word artes #design artes

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ecoamerica · 23 days

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Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

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utopianparadoxist · 7 years

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Jake English likes to fight, and likes the Brobot.

TW: Physicality, Discussion of Physical combat

So, like. It’s long past time I wrote about my favorite character in this webcomic. Jake English is the best and most interesting character in Homestuck, and it’s pretty tragic that barely anybody knows it. This is partly due to Jake’s narrative and personality being one of the most understated and subtle in the comic, but it’s also due to a Fandom Narrative building up around him that unfortunately paves over a lot of Jake’s most unique and interesting character traits. Let’s try and rediscover this diamond in the rough as we wait for the game that will largely center around an alternate version of him, yeah? Here, I’m going to debunk some pretty common misconceptions about Jake, what he likes, and what he dislikes. Brawls, Wrestling--Scrums and Whatnot. And the Brobot. Let’s put it plainly: Jake English likes fights. A lot of the discourse surrounding Jake’s relationship with the Brobot seems to ignore this, or implies that the Brobot, like, Ruined Fighting for him somehow because it was outside of what he initially envisioned when Dirk sent it:

A point commonly further backed up with this quote Jake gives Jane:

There’s a few issues with this interpretation. Jake’s initial negative reaction is his very first encounter with the Brobot, and his quote with Jane is one he delivers as a passing remark. And by simply comparing Jake’s actions before and after the Brobot is sent, we can tell Jake really wouldn’t rather deal with the monsters. Before the Brobot is sent, when Jake is 13, he explicitly avoids going outside:

Which is easy to link to being afraid of the monsters, since Jake complains about them himself...

And has no problem going outside three years later, after the Brobot is sent. To some extent, this can be put down to Jake’s increased experience and competence. But...

That clearly doesn’t account for the entire shift, since Jake does indeed need the Brobot to save him. I’ll come back to that later, but really, we don’t even need to do all this backwards story introspection to decide what Jake Really Feels. It would be easier to just listen to the guy himself. So yes, Jake complains about the Brobot to Jane in one passing remark...while he’s still dancing around the tangled web of his relationships with Jane, Dirk, and Roxy. A period of time when Jake, by his own admission, is thinking very much about what other people think and not entirely being honest with the people around him. What does Jake say when he is being honest, though? What does he tell John in his letter, which Jake wrote when he was 16, after 3 years of dealing with the Brobot?

What does he tell Caliborn--who’s opinion he doesn’t care about--after entering the session, after 6 months of dating Dirk?

And what does he tell Jane about the Brobot when he’s actually being honest with her--which he’ll CONTINUE to do for six months, complaining about all of Dirk’s myriad issues and shortcomings as a romantic partner...without ever once bringing up the specter of physical fear or discomfort?

Wait, hang on. Let’s zoom in on that one, that one’s important:

Woah. Is that Jake conceptually linking the Brobot...to the thing he was most consistently excited about for the entire comic? Interesting. Wild. What could it mean. It would almost imply that after spending three years with the thing, he doesn’t really hate the experience of having it in his life. Again, Jake is no stranger to complaining about Dirk over the course of their session--he complains to Jane endlessly about him, as well as to Erisol and even Caliborn a little. (Though never Roxy, hmm...I wonder why...(I know why and I’ll get to it in another post.))

But he never really complains about fighting or about the Brobot in general, and his general attitude towards fights seems to be changed absolutely not at all whatsoever--right up to [S] Credits. And he ultimate views Dirk as a figure of comfort and safety, so much so that he trusts Dirk with protecting him even more than he trusts Grandma or his own powers--after all, even after Brain Ghost Dirk tells him that he wouldn’t need him if he unlocked his hope potential, Jake still chooses to simply make Brain Ghost Dirk real rather than doing anything on his own when he wants to feel safe:

So yeah, I find the idea that Jake was bothered by the Brobot on any meaningful level pretty hard to square with the avalanche of counterevidence that is in the canon. The Brobot was an imperfect gift, but Jake still ultimately enjoyed it. Jake English likes to fight. Plain and simple. This is weird to a lot of people, and that’s fine, but it’s not actually that uncommon. There’s plenty of sports that center around fighting or come with the risk of physical harm, like boxing, martial arts, etc. I’m a longtime fencer, and I genuinely liked going without protective padding and getting bruised from the sword impacts. Physicality appeals to some people. Jake’s love for fighting established, feel free to join me tomorrow and we’ll take on a smaller issue. A tighter one.

I’ve written an obnoxious amount about Dirk, but seeing how quickly I was able to put that Dirk post out, I decided I’d like to use the next couple days to put out similar smaller posts about the other Alphas--Jake, Roxy, and Jane, In that order. I’ve got at least two more posts of Jake in me before we move on to Roxy, and I should be putting out at least one of these posts a day--the next one’s already pretty much written, so I may post it early in the day tomorrow. Hopefully, by doing this I can help people understand just how tangled and complicated the tangles of mutual hurt and mutual love are in this group of friends, and why I love this severely underrated group of Homestuck characters. If you enjoyed this post and think others like it would be interesting to you, well--stay tuned. If you have a counterargument or you disagree with this post, feel free to respond and I’ll do my best to get back to you. I enjoy testing my ideas so long as we’re all nice about it. Keep rising.

#Homestuck #Jake English #Physicality #Combat #Dirkjake #My MSPA Analysis

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whentvsfly · 7 years

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u should answer all 20 of the mob psycho ask meme things jsust DO it u peice of fuck....

Fuck you, I will.

1: What is a scene that really got to you?In the anime, probably either the flashback to when Mob went ???% when he was young (I love the Angst™), or when Mob nearly goes 100% murderous intent and then instead goes like, 1000% gratitude. In the manga, the entirety of the fuckin Mogami arc (the part with the cat like Holy Shit) nearly made me cry, and I barely cry at things anymore. So like. That.

2: Who’s your favorite character out of the cast?I….love so many……..They’re all so good. All the esper kids are Good, Reigen is a good man, the Body Improvement Club members….Tome and Mezato…..fuck, even Dimple. I can’t choose…

3: Who’s your favorite esper kid?Mob, Ritsu, Teru, and Shou are all my sons thank you very much. I can’t decide between them. Mob is a Good Boy™ who needs a fucking break holy shit. Ritsu is a little shitsu but he cares a lot about his bro and I cry and he’s good too. Teru is also a shitty boy and also he wants to do good and I cry for him (I’m his parent now cause idk wtf his actual parents are, ONE plz explain). And Shou is a good but destructive boy who deserves better.

4: Who’s your favorite ship(s)?I….really like Ritsu and Shou, and was kinda indifferent to anything else, until @pundeserving (and fanfics) ((thanks u fuck)) showed me the beauty of Teruki and Mob. Also???? I kinda like Tome and Mezato?????? They could like find aliens and report it to the news and honestly they’d be a power couple.

5: What battle shook you most?Uhm. The one at the end of the World Domination arc. So many emotions…..

6: What friendship do you find the cutest?Literally any with Mob. He’s such a good boy.

7: What’s the most hilarious moment to you?gotTA PUMP SOME IRONsorry duDE TOUGH BREAKwoAH ITS HEAVY okletsgo(pff other than so many lines from the dub, uh, I’m not too sure. Right now I can only think of how funny the whole situation with that Shirt™ in the Divine Tree arc is, and like the school festival in which for like a panel Ritsu is forced to dress like a maid and Shou is there. NO WAIT. I KNOW. Justifiable Self Defense. We’re not too sure it’s justifiable, but he’s yelling it anyways. also: OOHHH. HE FUCKING APPEARED! There’s probably others. I can’t remember them rn. OH well, guess I better reread the manga…..).

8: Favorite and least favorite arc?hmmmmm….The angst pit inside of me wants to say my fave is the Mogami arc, because of how fucking sad it could be (or the way it can spawn fics about it like nobody’s business) but honestly I don’t really have any favorites or least favorites. They all have their pros and their cons, but they’re all really good.

9: Which antagonist could you never forgive?Mogami. Hands down.

10: Do you have any OC’s?Nope. But there is an oc I saw once on this hellsite which was a cat named Milk that Mob owns and I fully support that hah.

11: Did you watch the anime or read the manga first?Anime. Subbed. Then went for the manga, then to the dub hah.

12: Would you visit Spirits and Such Consultation Office (if you didn’t know any better)?Hm. I dunno. Probably would be too lazy to seek out help if I thought a spirit would be on me or smth, or haunting a place. Maybe if it was Real Bad.

13: Are there any specific MP 100 artists/writers you admire?Uhm. Idk, I tend to not actually look at who is the OP on an art post or who writes a fic. I’ll edit this if I find out some good ones (there’s one artist I’m thinking of on here and they do real good arts, they do comics based on fics (one was on this court thing where Mob was dead by Teruki’s hand b/c the choking thing, the other was on an au fic where Mob was kidnappeped and Reigen ended up rescuing him and they hadn’t met before that idk I have yet to read it myself) and there’s a fic on ao3 that I am always waiting for the next installment, even if it’s been 20 seconds since I read the last chapter. That story’s linked below, and you can see other authors I’ve linked too).

14: Are there any MP 100 fanfics you HAVE to rec?(this answer is So Long I am So Sorry I just have A Lot Of Love)Ohhhh boy. You’ve done it now. You’ve awakened the Beast™. Fanfics are my forte. I’ve gone through all of them on ao3. Don’t fuckin test me on this.Ok so first off, if you want all the stories I’ve gathered off of ao3 (My picking process: Ignoring all stories with incest or an adult x a kid (or ships I don’t particularly care for), is the fic well written with a good plot? then onto the list it goes. Or if its bad enough to be good. That too.) you can just ask me for the fics and I can either share the googledoc with you or send you the links in another way.Some of my favorites from the list, tho, are as follows (in order of which I read them):Color in a Monochrome Worldby Sifl is a really good introspective series on many different characters, set after the World Domination arc. Sifl also wrote a companion piece, Vertigo.Extracurricular Education is a series by entrenched about Shigeo and his growth as he works for Reigen. It’s real cute, they’re good bros, I love it. A few stories takes place after the Mogami arc and reference it.Turning Slowly by sorrow_key is a fic about how Shigeo knows what unrequited love feels like b/c of Tsubomi, so he can see through Teruki really easily. He feels like a liar pretending to not notice. (eventually becomes TeruMob), My notes say if you’re in the divine tree arc, then you’ll get any references made in the fic. Can’t remember what’s said, but it must reference something in that arc for me to have wrote that.One Step Forward, Two Steps Back by fireflysummers_ao3 is a fic in which Teru feels terrible after the Divine Tree arc (this was made before 97.uh. the chapter that came out this last Thursday, the 5th of Jan, so it may not be as accurate as it could be) and Shigeo just wants to be friends and help him out. After Divine Tree arc.Temporary Accommodations by Originia is an interesting fic where, through shenanigans, Shigeo’s body is kidnapped without his like, spirit thingy in it (using the strategy from the Mogami arc) and Reigen tries to rescue Shigeo (which Dimple is possessing in Mob’s absence). I fucking love Ritsu in this story holy shit.The Adventure of the Red Shoes by dyingplatypus. Ho. Ly. Fuck. If you only read one story, read this one. It’s funny, it’s quirky, it’s in character. It’s solving a paranormal case about haunted shoes, and Reigen being cursed. It feels like it could be an actual happening in the anime or something. Seriously. Read this one. It has a little reference to the World Domination arc cause Serizawa is in there but like. You could proooobably read it without reading the manga.He Just Likes Dogs by reiqenarataka nearly made me fucking cry in a dentists office. It’s about Reigen and dogs, what more could you want?Signed, Sealed, Delivered by entrenchedis a series centered around Teruki and his crush on Shigeo, even as Shigeo crushes on Tsubomi. He would rather never tell Mob and continue being friends, over risking their friendship by confessing.do make tomorrow a sunny day by dyingplatypus is a series based off an au I mention in the next question. The AU is one in which Shigeo is taken by Claw at a young age, and thus works for them currently. Ritsu grew up without a brother, only knowing he had a brother at some point who presumably died. Both Shou and Shigeo are a part of Claw and work for it, and things Shigeo took care of during the normal universe didnt happen. (LOL) is a growing and powerful cult, Teru still wants to fight people. There’s many different perspectives in the series and they all add up to a unique experience (I’m still real fuckin amused by what Teru thinks of Shigeo in the first chapter of his POV fic)tomorrow isn’t always another day by suitablyskippy is another good fic on par with The Adventure of the Red Shoes. It’s also quirky, funny, in character, and shows Shigeo and Reigen solving cases. Of a haunted copy machine. Which Mob is preeeetty sure they solved yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that….Three by Ravenesta is an outsider POV story from a teacher’s perspective, on Shigeo Kageyama and his mysterious third emergency contact, Reigen Arataka. It’s pretty cool, and shows some good shit. Return. Continue. by UncannyCookie. A series. Takes place after Mogami arc, Shigeo isn’t doing too well, hands feeling too itchy and wrong after he was driven to choking someone in that unreal world. It’s bad. He’s fine. Teru tries his best to help. The second story, though, Teru is acting weird and Shigeo wants to help him but he swears he’s fine. (also has some of my fave tags: “Teru is not a natural blond, that’s the real drama here”). This is the fic I find myself waiting for updates with bated breath. It’s so good and interesting. Love that shit.

15: Do you have a favorite AU?I don’t know of too many aus, but most are real good. I like the art I see of the ageswap thing, where Mob is the adult and Reigen is the kid, although I don’t tend to read the fics about it. Idk why. But there are other good aus too, like any where Mob ends up being raised by Reigen. There’s an interesting one on ao3 I saw where Mob was taken by claw at a young age and now kinda like…works for them? Idk. It’s good though.

16: What would be your first or basic psychic skill (telekinesis, pyrokinesis, hydrokinesis, ect)?Honestly telekinesis. I’d fuckin own that shit, being too lazy to get up and grab things myself. I’d probably be like, hah, my pop is on the table literally inches from my hand. If only I could just float it over to myself! And then it does and I’d be like Holy Shit. Also, using telekinesis on yourself (if it’s strong enough) allows you to basically fly? I’d train til it’s that level and then I would be the least athletic person in existence.

17: Do you like milk?I really like strawberry milk. I only have normal milk if I dip a cookie in it. Sometimes chocolate is ok too. And I only really have whole milk cause it tastes the best.

18: What headcanons do you have for (character)?I mean u didn’t provide a character uhm. There’s so many. Me and @pundeserving have been talking and whenever I come up with some headcanon I tell her and she may or may not add it to her headcanon list. Usually she does. It’s very good and if you wanna hear some shit about a certian character feel free to ask abt them specifically.

19: Would you hone your basic psychic skill or try to learn different ones?Both? If possible? I’d like to get my telekineses to a point where I can move myself with little to no effort, but having basic version of other powers would also be nice (like psychokinesis to light a candle or warm up some cold soup or smth)

20: Would you try to use your psychic powers for personal gain or only if you had to?I mean, if it’s (like i mentioned above) heating up soup, that’s kinda personal gain hah no but seriously if it’d unfairly advantage me above other people (in a sport or something) or harm someone else, I wouldn’t do it. I’d use it for little things like retrieving something that’s out of reach or smth, or if worse comes to worse, to protect my friends or family, if there are no other viable options.

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boyswithfeelingspodcast · 5 years

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Men & Masculinities: “Assessment & Advocacy”

Hello and welcome back to Boys with Feelings! In this final blog post for my Men & Masculinities course, I will be discussing how the writing of these blog posts, paired with my research and class material, has changed and shifted my understanding of masculinity—in a personal sense, academic sense, and in the world around me. And with these new thoughts, I will conclude with what I think needs to be done, and where we can look for inspiration and direction (because I am certainly not the only one with these questions, and many people have done loads of work before me!). I hope you follow these people and can learn from them as well, ultimately seeing where your own personal stake lies in the complex ties between masculinity, emotion, and health. Before we get into that, however, let’s hit the rewind button for a moment.

Although I have been thinking about masculinity and gender for some time, especially after entering college, I have not done a deep dive academically into the subject(s) until these past two years. I am grateful that each class, event, and casual discussion has brought new knowledge and things to reflect on, since this is a topic I know will never be “complete” for me (or anybody, really). For this class, specifically, one of those big “aha!” moments for me was when we read and discussed the article “Healthy for Whom?,” by Matthew B. Ezzell. The extended title of the article mentions dominance, which is at the core of this article and its discussion. The “aha” moment for me came towards the beginning, in a section titled “Gender as a Category of Inequality.” Before reading this article, I had formed this thought in my head that there could be a healthy form of masculinity to strive for, and that this would be my own personal work and, perhaps, professional work. This might have been evident in some of my earlier blog posts. This article, however, sort of pulled the rug out from under me, describing how masculinity, and gender itself, “is not a category of difference, it is a category of inequality.” Woah. With this framework, with gender being a system of inequality and dominance for one group (men), could there be a possibility for a healthy masculinity to strive for? Has my focus of masculinity and vision for the future been a waste of time, just a reproduction of dominance, but perhaps with a “kinder” face? Is the direction I should be looking echoed within a question my teacher asked my Gender Roles in Literature class my senior year of high school, my first academic class focusing on gender: “so should we get rid of gender all together, and all become androgynous beings?”

I have not come to a solid answer on any of these questions, but I do know I cannot be static while trying to find their answers. And though answers may never come, I may get clues, and the only way to do that is to gain experience and take risks. So I have settled on the philosophy that, for now, I can hold these questions with me, and continue to learn and focus on confronting my own masculinity, welcoming my emotions, centering my health, and working with boys and men to do the same for themselves. It feels too urgent to not do so, for we know the violence that men do to women, trans folks, non-binary folks, and themselves. And I write this not only for you, the reader, but for myself as well, to keep myself accountable.

Too many times, even after all these courses, the countless readings, the essays, I still find myself frozen or trying to talk my way out of confrontation. Even when I know someone is being hurt or made uncomfortable, I try to convince myself that I don’t need to say anything. So for the men reading, hopefully these words make an impact on you and help you understand why this issue is so immense and needs your personal involvement. When I was living and studying in my mom’s home country of Brazil, I came across this phrase spray-painted at the university nearby: “a revolução é interna,” or “the revolution is internal.” To make change, it has to first come from within. So to the men reading, and for myself, spark a revolution within your heart, within your mind, to see how masculinity plays a role in your own life, with your own emotions, with your mental, physical, and emotional health. And pay attention to how this spark changes your interactions, how this affects the people around you, and how it makes you feel. Do it for the people you love and the strangers you will never know, but do not forget to do it for yourself.

Maybe need some flint to help that spark? No problem: to conclude, I want to point at some resources that have helped me with that introspection, that internal revolution. For this, I think it best to look where human creation lies: art. Art affects the heart (hey, good rhyme), and I think can be very important for us men to see how masculinity, emotion, and health all tie together and personally affect us. Plus, I think art has a certain quality that academia does not always bring: accessibility. Though an article or essay on masculinity can be very intriguing and beneficial, it can be hard to find, and even more difficult to understand. It is a different experience when we are in a story, and can learn and resonate with a character. And this is the first resource I want to recommend: the television show Steven Universe. If you scroll through this blog, you will see some videos about Steven Universe that I have linked here, and I highly recommend you check them out. The main character of the show, Steven, is a young boy who lives with a group of mystical beings known as Gems, of which he is part-Gem (and part-human). We get to follow Steven as he learns who he is, where his family comes from, and his place in the world. One of the powerful things about this show is that it is made primarily by women and people of color, and really gives a nuanced, yet child-friendly, way of approaching and understanding emotions. So for a man like me, who in a way is emotionally underdeveloped, this show really does provide a lot of learning and reflection to be done. Hopefully it can help you to create that spark.

Thank you, reader, for coming along this journey with me and following along with these blog posts, I hope my words have helped inspire questions and reflections. I invite you to scroll down and check out the other things we have posted on this blog, and to check out Episode #1 of our podcast, “Boys with Feelings.” Happy holidays!

Word count: 1157

Works Cited

Ezzell, Matthew B. 2016. "Healthy for Whom? - Males, Men, and Masculinity: A Reflection on the Doing (and Study) of Dominance." Pp. 188-197 in Exploring Masculinities: Identity, Inequality, Continuity, and Change., edited by C.J. Pascoe, and T. Bridges. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press.

#boyswithfeelings #men & masculinities

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