impala_chick: (Default)
The beautiful pink hue of this gem made me think of the way American society associates pink with girls. Many people like to embrace gender norms through the use of this color, like with gender reveal parties and 'girly' clothes. I read this livescience article about how this trend really took off in the 1980s when mass marketing could convince you that you needed certain products to perpetuate gender norms. This mentalfloss article also posits a few theories related to the trend taking off in the 1980s - technology made it so that parents could find out the sex of their child in advance and buy specific clothing in preparation.

I've gone through various stages of hating the color pink (because of the gender norms associated with it). At the end of the day it's just a color. Femininity doesn't have to be just one homogeneous thing, and it certainly can't be captured just by one color. I'm still not a big pink fan but I don't have to hate it quite so much. I can hate on all of the companies that perpetuate strict gender-norms instead.

And it turns out there's a multifandom vid that exactly captures a feel-good mood around the color pink and celebrates femininity in many forms!

Pynk [Fanvid] (275 words) by Tafadhali
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Multi-Fandom
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Additional Tags: Teenagers, Coming of Age, Female Friendship, Femininity, Queer Themes, Fanvids, Song: Pynk (Janelle MonaƩ), Pink (Color), Embedded Video, SO Much Kirsten Dunst, Meta, Sexual Content, Cross-Posted on Tumblr
Series: Part 5 of Multifandom Trope Vids
Summary:


Pink is the truth you can't hide, maybe

A celebration of girlhood, girl friends, and girlfriends.

impala_chick: (Default)
This gemstone is known for calming, grounding energy. I often list to lo-fi playlists on youtube to feel calm and focused. Doing yoga also helps. But I was struck by another part of the description, which says the gemstone can be a beautiful, steadying presence among flashier stones. It makes me so happy to look at fanart! And not just big flashy shippy pieces, but all kinds of doodles and drawings. That was the main appeal of tumblr, because it's so easy to browse fanart, drawings, and aesthetics. And that brings me to [community profile] multifandomdoodle! There were so many delightful things in the collection. Some of my favorites include guinea pigs in cups, a chicken and a knight ready for a tournament, a Minoan fresco style acrobat, a cute warning about Iguanas, and a lop-eared bunny!

Also, some of my favorite tumblr drawing/doodle blogs are:
https://pterribledinosaurdrawings.tumblr.com/
https://cryptid-creations.tumblr.com/
https://sargassos.tumblr.com/
https://1coweveryday.tumblr.com/
impala_chick: (Samhain)
The name of this gem makes me think of horror tropes and bloodshed. It represents courage and motivation, which are both important traits to utilize when facing your fears and warding off ghosts, monsters, and other scary things.

In that vein, I'm going to recc my favorite fics from [personal profile] summerofhorrorexchange! (Please mind the tags/warnings)

The woods are lovely, dark and deep (554 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Leah/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Characters: Leah (Stardew Valley), Marnie (Stardew Valley), Emily (Stardew Valley), Jas (Stardew Valley)
Additional Tags: Treat, something nasty in the woods, Horror
Summary:

Once you get past the outer layers, the true nature starts to show...


My Notes: Stardew definitely is ripe for spooky tropes, and this is so well-crafted and tightly written. I love the mystery of the whole thing, and the bits about the farmer's strength.

Ways to Return (2794 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, WandaVision (TV), Doctor Strange (Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff & Pietro Maximoff
Characters: Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, Stephen Strange
Additional Tags: emotional support systems from beyond the grave, Not DSMoM compliant, 5+1, 5 times Wanda sees a ghost, and 1 time Stephen Strange does
Summary:

This time, when Wanda sees him looking at her in her rearview mirror, a grim line slowly setting between his furrowed brows, she doesn't cower or wonder.

She stares right back, tears streaking silently down her cheeks and asks: "Are you real?"


My Notes: A spooky and sad look at Wanda's grief in relation to Pietro. I really like what the author did with the ending.

Sokovia, still (1200 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson & Helmut Zemo
Additional Tags: Geographical Horror, Ghosts
Summary:

Although it had fallen, Sokovia refused to go quietly.


My Notes: Sokovia and ghosts! This fic makes me want to read a million more fics like it.
impala_chick: (Default)
Amber always reminds me of Jurassic Park and the iconic mosquito! I even have a pin of a fake mosquito in amber. I really loved that film, and actually the whole original trilogy.

We saw Jurassic World Dominion, and I was so excited because all of my favs were coming back to reprise their roles! I did have some fun seeing them on screen with dinosaurs, and they all got some level of closure, but I was disappointed in the film overall. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, because I haven't liked any of the Jurassic World movies. I feel duped, because they got me to show up for my favs in theaters even though the movie was terrible - just a series of explosive and ultimately empty action scenes. The T-Rex didn't even look that cool because of all the other predators they chose to add in.

*The linked articles contain mild spoilers for the movie*

I liked how this scathing and honest article pointed out the problems with franchises generally, and how Jurassic World fits right in this mold. The Jurassic World team haphazardly throws in symbols and scenes from the original without even understanding what those symbols and scenes meant in the first place. Why bother? On the one hand I know filmmakers and script writers are just jobs like any other job, but on the other hand aren't these creative people? Wouldn't they enjoy making a good story?

I also didn't realize that there is a 20 year age gap between Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler. At least the actors reflected on how that wasn't necessarily strange back when the film first aired, but it does feel a little weird that this movie wanted to smash them together after so many years without any re-development of their relationship.
impala_chick: (MCU || Stony at the car)
Green reminds me of many things, like 4-H and the Pacific Northwest. But then I remembered The Big Flower Fight! It's a British reality show in the same vein as Great British Bake Off, except the challenge is to build huge plant based structures. Everything about the show is visually gorgeous. There's also a ton of diversity. This show made me feel calm and happy during these tough times, and for that I will always be grateful. The competitors were a touch catty, but I love how the teams supported each other when it came down to the wire. I desperately hope they make a season 2.

impala_chick: (Merlin || Watchers)
Red reminds me of Pendragon red! And the Canadian Snowbirds. My assignment for camelot remix this year was to write fic for amph's art, and I was so excited because look at this art! I did a deep dive into the Snowbirds, females in the Canadian military, and Canadian slang; I have so much respect for the Snowbirds now.

Canda Remix.jpeg
(Original Post)


Looking to the Sky (the Oh Canada remix) (8896 words)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Canada, Pilots, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, News Media, POV Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), First Meetings, Getting to Know Each Other, Awesome Morgana (Merlin), Mention of Uther Pendragon, Getting Together, Pining, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Women in the Military, Angst with a Happy Ending
Summary:

It's Arthur's last year as a Snowbirds pilot, and he wants to ensure the squadron has the best year they've ever had. He's confident that his half-sister Morgana will be their new rising star, but he's completely unprepared to meet his match in the form of pilot Merlin Emrys.

impala_chick: (SH || Simon)
The color blue immediately reminds me of the ocean. I'm a water sign (pisces) and I've always felt so calm by the ocean, although I'm a pretty bad swimmer. Anyway, the ocean reminds me of a particular conversation I had with my husband a few days ago...

I was hypothesizing about why humans have not adapted to live in the ocean or underwater. We all know the Earth has a ton of huge oceans, so it doesn't make much sense why some distant ancestor didn't just wade out into the water and not come back (okay, evolution doesn't work like that but you see my point). Maybe I just really want to believe in Atlantis?? My husband then reminded me that dolphins and whales are the humans of the sea, considering they are mammals with large brains, a communication system, and social groups. They even have their own names!

I like how that article pointed out that we shouldn't think of being human as an "endpoint" to evolution - but we can still appreciate just how intelligent and social cetaceans are as a group and compare them to our own social groups. Whales are so beautiful to me: Smart AND huge/terrifying, it seems like the best of both worlds.

Speaking of Oceans, maybe I should check out some more shark/whale/dolphin themed films in honor of this prompt. I have a few on my list but I am accepting reccs!

Fandom-wise, my curiosity for (and healthy fear of) the ocean makes me feel just a little bit closer to David Webster, and I think that is both very emo and very sexy of me.
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