#I've been saving commissions and some last bits for last through!

[kodasea]

(Missing)

[violetsareblue-selfships]

Metal Bouquet

F/O: Sevika | Word Count: 1315 // hehe wrote this last night and i'm too eager to share so here ^^ like a direct follow-up to that last fic ^^ anyways i hope you enjoy it <3 // also I've linked the song my s/i plays on the jukebox if anyone wants to listen

Building up the courage takes a while. Weeks, maybe even months. All through it, April endures Jinx's teasing that she can't even ask a girl out, but she takes it as a good sign. If Jinx didn't approve of the potential relationship, she certainly wouldn't be teasing about it, right?

She starts slow: asking Sevika to stay a little longer any time she comes over for repairs or to pick Jinx up from April's shop, going to the Last Drop specifically when she suspects that Sevika will be there so they can chat more, and buying her the occasional drink when they're out together.

Yet every time she thinks she's gathered the nerve, her brain goes all fuzzy when their eyes meet and the moment's lost.

Her inability to think around the older woman leads her to seek out a different form of confession. She toys with the idea of a letter for a little while. It'd be easy. Writing her feelings down has always been easier than speaking them aloud, yet Sevika would recognize her handwriting, she's sure.

And she's not ready to reveal that she's been Sevika's secret admirer just yet. She'll save that for Sevika's next birthday, so the gift will (hopefully) be the last as just an admirer and the first as her girlfriend.

Flowers would be a sweet idea, but the air of the undercity isn't quite clean enough yet for those (she's sure even a bouquet wouldn't fare well anywhere but topside).

It's only while sifting through some metal scraps she's been tempted to give to Jinx that she gets the idea to make her something.

She works on it between her usual repairs and commissions, feeling a bit cheesy that she's crafting flowers out of metal. She doesn't even know what Sevika's favorites are much less if she has a favorite flower, so April sticks to roses with a few lilies thrown in.

As soon as the fake flowers are crafted and painted to her liking, she bundles them up with a bit of twine, resisting the urge to rush out at that very second to find Sevika.

It's a few days before she leaves her shop with the metal flowers tucked carefully in her arms. It's early enough in the day that the Last Drop should be mostly empty. She'd really prefer to not have other eyes on her for this…

Her eyes land on Sevika the instant she steps inside, the sight of her bringing both relief that she doesn't have to do this another day and nerves that this is it. The nerves cause her to loiter a little, heading over to the jukebox and setting it to play a song that's always calmed her nerves.

Though, as the familiar intro blares, she realizes just how cheesy it is for this music to be the background for her confession.

Sevika turns as the music changes, raising her eyebrow curiously at April. "What? Can't a girl be in the mood for a familiar song?" April asks, a sheepish look in her eyes.

Sevika snorts, blowing a puff on her cigar before pulling it away from her mouth. "Sure." Sevika leans back in her chair, her eyes slowly appraising April's form from head to toe. "What has you all dolled up? You look like you're asking for trouble," Sevika murmurs, her lips quirking up in a teasing smirk.

April giggles nervously, resisting the urge to fidget with her hair or the metal stems in her hands. Instead, she slowly approaches Sevika. "Maybe I am," She murmurs, exhaling sharply through her nose to quickly get rid of her nerves. Then her hand extends the flowers to Sevika, her heart rate skyrocketing as she waits.

Sevika's eyes widen, all traces of her teasing dropping. For a moment she just stares at the flowers before cautiously reaching to take them from April, her fingers almost trembling as she makes contact with the metal. Her eyes are full of question when they meet April's again.

"I like you, Sevika," April says softly, looking anywhere but those pretty grey eyes that will shut off her ability to speak. "I couldn't figure out any other way to tell you. Janna, you get me so damn tongue-tied, you know that?

Real flowers would just wilt down here, so I figured these are the next best thing, right?" April says, fully aware that she's starting to ramble. "Sorry, I didn't know your favorites, so I went with a mix of mine."

She seems like she's about to continue on, but the soft sound of Sevika's laughter cuts her off. Her heart jumps at the sound until she recognizes that it's soft, warm, fond laughter, not anything mocking.

"You're too cute," Sevika murmurs. "These are beautiful. They must have taken quite a bit of work to make."

"I-I mean not really? I barely noticed the time passing…" April murmurs, scratching the back of her neck so endearingly that Sevika has the urge to tug her down into a kiss.

"Mm-hmm." Sevika idly fiddles with one of the petals on the stem. She should be astonished at how detailed the flowers are down to the roses having little metallic thorns, but she knows the amount of detail April puts into her work.

Her eyes raise back up to April's, and she chuckles at the sight. April's still not looking at her, but she's restlessly fidgeting with her fingers. "Aren't you going to look at me?" Sevika asks. "I do have an answer for you, but I'd prefer you look at me when I say it."

April immediately looks at her, and her nervous expression has Sevika softening. "I like you too."

"You do?" April asks softly, taking a hesitant step closer. Some of her nerves dissipate when Sevika shifts the flowers to her metallic hand so that her human one can take one of April's.

"I do." She gently squeezes April's hand, a little amused at how much smaller her hand is.

"Then… you'll go out with me?" April asks. "We don't even have to go out. You could come over and I could make you dinner." Just date me. Be mine…

"That sounds nice." Sevika gently tugs her a little closer. "Just let me know when, sweetheart." She smiles at the faint blush that takes over April's face at that.

"I mean… we could… tonight?" April says.

"Mm, eager, aren't we?" Sevika teases, chuckling as it makes April's blush grow darker.

"'vika… I've been wanting to go on a date with you for years at this point. Yes, I'm eager." It's embarrassing to admit it, but the way it makes Sevika blink at her is worth it.

Sevika mouths the word 'years,' so many things slotting into place at that realization. All those times that their eyes met and April shyly looked away from her… "Right," She says, the word coming out a little strangled. "Tonight works."

"Cool," April says, giggling in the cutest way that has Sevika's heart clenching. She's going to have Sevika wrapped around her little finger soon if she doesn't already… "I'll go get ready for that then. Any preference for dinner?"

Sevika manages a laugh at that. "It'll be your cooking. That's enough for me."

April giggles again and nods. "Great! See you tonight, 'vika," She says softly, a mischievous look crossing her face for a moment before she dips her head down to kiss the top of Sevika's head, a feat only managed by the fact she's still standing while Sevika's sitting down.

"See you," Sevika murmurs, giving her hand one last squeeze before letting go. April heads toward the door, pausing to blow a kiss at her shyly before ducking outside again.

That only confirms that she's done for. If her heart weren't already April's, that flirtatious little move would have done it.

Gods, she can't wait for tonight…

[xelbleedsglitter]

Friends, Romans, Tumblrites, lend me your reblogs.

I'm Xel and I live in a society! I think there's a solid chance you do also! So you may relate to the profoundly crappy thing that happened to me and that I once again need a community assist.

I lost a temporary job that was supposed to turn into a permanent job in June because no one there felt safe enough to retire. Only two of us in the apartment were under 50. One of the crew was over 70. Three were chronically ill/disabled. No one felt safe enough to leave in order for me to stay, so I was trained for basically 6 months for nothing.

I have survived on savings from that job until this point, but I'm at the point where I cannot pay rent. I'm looking into getting help from sources more local to me but the internet has always felt like people who cared about me more than the people I share DNA with, really.

Many of the social services that I was signed up for expired the day that I was supposed to be told that I would be a permanent hire, and since that didn't go down, now I have to start it all again from the beginning, and there are gaps in my security net.

I tell you all of that just to say that I am actually trying to do things, I'm not here to just beg and coast along on some sort of lavish lifestyle where I, uh. Keep living in this dodgy apartment with my cat.

I don't want to bore you with an itemized list, but like 2,000 US dollars would get me through September and October without being worried about it like every 3 minutes. My rent is 700 and change, if you would like to know that. So I'm looking for like September and October rent and money to renew my driver's license, pay a few utility bills, buy a bag of cat food, and refill my medications.

If you have the notion to toss help at an internet pal or the extended reblogged acquaintance of an Internet pal, as is more likely the case, probably, that would be super rad of you.

I'm an artist! You could get things with images on them from me! I sell buttons, prints, and commissioned illustrations if that's your thing. My commissions are going a bit slow as of late - I only recovered from being not really able to walk like 2 months ago, and so I'm doing a lot of catch up like everywhere else in my whole life and trying not to spend too much time at a desk since it aggravates the spine thing that was the problem in the first place.

To be honest, it would be a greater help to me to just receive some Aid rather than full-on commissions, but I completely understand feeling fishy about people getting something for nothing and also feeling bad for being a charity case on the internet, so I'm not opposed! If you want to chat about that, I have a commissions post on the side or top of my blog depending on where you're looking at this!

Ko-fi contains my buttons and is a good place to toss digital dead American presidents if that suits you. I will get hit by some PayPal fees in this process but, I'm willing to call that a call for help on the internet tax.

I promise I'm a real person and not a bot who has made up a cat and is pretending to have interests. My blog has been here since 2010! I've met people on this website in person and everything. I've had embarrassing obsessions no bot would bother coming up with. Speaking of:

Similarly to times before, I would like to be able to do something in order to feel like I have earned some kind of support, and as of my birthday last week I have resolved to try very hard in the next year to conquer my fear and absolute mortification about many of the things I make, so I will once again go digging into my archives for things I can post for you to enjoy as thanks and tribute! I also have a poll running right now to see what kind of buttons people want!

Thanks for taking a look! Be nice out there, take care of your spines!

[anime-grimmy-art]

It’s this time of the year again, folks. Time to wrap up the art Ive made in the last 12 months in another Year in Review! I’ve noticed that this is my fifth Year in Review in a row, so I’ll be making an extra post looking back on the progress in those last 5 years!

I've got a lot to say about this year, but purely art wise, I've gone all when it comes to comics, damn! I've kinda found a format that is messy, and therefore more time efficient, yet still looks good. I even made 2 animatics and lotsa shorts/reels! All that on top of opening coms twice, and, oh yeah, MAKING A WHOLE ASS 4MIN ANIMATION ON MY OWN.

How is my hand still alive.

2023 has been….interesting, to say the least. The first half year I was working on my thesis project, aka making an animated short all on my own (in the art department), which makes it honestly surprising how much I managed to churn out between animating. Trigun rly did have me in a choke hold.

Summer was a bit more spotty, esp. with me not being able to draw anything during August as I was writing my thesis (and doing commissions). And towards the end of the year, Kingdom Hearts tried to save me, but alas, Genshin Impact has finally sunk its teeth into me and dragged me to the bottom of the rabbit hole. It all started with me watching a story summary and lore videos while I was sick after my thesis and I was too intrigued to not dig deeper and well, first I fell in love with Kaeya and then the ships started dropping in left and right.

I’m not gonna lie, the last few months have been weird. I finished my masters in October, and have been on job hunt since, sadly without success so far. I’m existing in this weird limbo of still not grasping I’m not a student anymore after 18 years in education, not really being able to accept I’m an adult, yet desperately trying to find something so I can make a routine, cos rn Im too scared to build a rhythm as I know I’ll have a so much harder time readjusting again. It’s left me in a weird emotional state, where most of the time I feel fine, but when it counts, there’s just, nothing. No joy at getting my diploma, no anticipation to finally go to a convention again, neither any sadness hearing my grandfather died. It frustrates me that it extends to my art as well, there’s excitement over ideas and concepts, but no motivation to pick up the pencil, which makes me either not finish art at all or making so many shortcuts and just ending up with sth not satisfactory to me since it’s not the idea I sought after.

Tho, not everything is doom and gloom. I DID finish a whole ass short animation and got my masters degree, that IS sth to be proud of. Also, while Im struggling at drawing, I’ve also kinda started integrating my shortcuts into my style and some stuff I’ve thrown together actually turns out real good nowadays. Also, and this might be a bit of a weird one, I’m so fucking happy to know I can still enjoy gay ships. I’ve been a bit uncertain over the last few years because when I was around 16-18, I had a real big yaoi phase, which mostly came from the fact so much stuff came out that tickled my brain in the right way (Free, Haikyuu, etc.). But over the years, my enthusiasm died down, and I even started to resent some ships because it’s all some fandoms produced. I often found myself liking a hetero ship more than the popular gay ship, which really made me not wanna stick around because I did not care for most fanart and you can only go through a tag with art you don’t care about so long before you lose interest. I think in retrospect that it rly had nothing to do with the ships being gay ships but rather cos the fans just shoved it in your face when you didn’t care (and shipping culture nowadays also can get real scary). But I’m so happy to see I can still get obsessed with a ship and it’s all thanks to Haikaveh/Kavetham. It really just needed the right flavour for me to dig in again. And oh my god, I FINALLY like a ship with a SHIT TON of art and fanfictions, no more scrounging the crumbs from the bottom of the barrel. 

Anyways, enough lamenting. Here’s to hoping I can bite my tongue and get shit started properly in 2024, and that my brainrots may make me obsessed enough to churn out an obscene amount of fanart again.

[hadobreeze]

cw depression and other stuff tho if you want a TLDR: been battling a lot of stuff irl and withdrew outta my classes. Trying to find the best in my situation with my new found time and just resetting? But writing has been bringing me joy.

My educational career has been spotty... I started community college in 2017 finally transferred out to art school in 2020 and you know what struck lmao. Not to mention the institution didn't really wanna help me at all despite wanting low income people of color students. So I left.. overall my dream is to be an animator. Been that way since I was 7 and I still want to.

I took some time off and went back to the same community college. Peak after things opened up and it was nice. I got to know people and made some memories since the classes were small. Once everyone started coming back everyday has been soul crushing.

I've been a constant cog in machine my only bit of attention from others is if I'm falling behind a little. Last semester I got racially isolated and demeaned from my peers. I tried to go and report on things but got gaslit the entire way through the process. Saying that in some way or fashion it's my fault.

I think since then I've been deflated defeated in everything. Nothings changed. Even if I work harder than my peers it's nothing. I have no support and people can't bother to get my name right, address me, respect me. I held on so long bc the same institution told me "you have to continue to hold strong since there's not many of *us*". What us is there when the collective us can't show out for one another? Tell on one another? Throw one another under the bus.

I wanted to hold out cause I thought maybe it'd be defeatist to drop everything. However I don't have any strength left in my heart and soul. I feel miserable and despite trying to have a good outlook on things to not assume the worse in people this place feels like it's been slowly each semester injecting a venom in me. Making me think the worse in people and words can't describe the anger and hurt I feel.

My only sin is I'm a weird quiet black girl.

I guess I only word dump here cause it's the only space I got where it's not deemed "unprofessional" to let all my negative thoughts hang.

As to how it's been effecting here? If I haven't gotten to messages or anything else that's why. Lately all I've been wanting to do is lay in bed and not socialize at all. Rping has been a saving grace since I can indulge. I truly appreciate it. I hope with all this new time on my hands I can write some verses for Sock and maybe open art commissions? Anyways thanks for giving the time and space to read this.

[lickthatbattery]

hey sorry to do this but the hours at the store i work at got cut pretty dramatically and i've only been getting like 9 hours a week for the past 3 weeks.

getting laid off from my last job and surviving through unemployment completely decimated any savings i had, and i've been living paycheck to paycheck since starting this job. my work doesn't know i'm disabled so i have no accommodations, so even on "easy" days where i'm working at the cash register, i'm standing for 4+ hours with only one 15min break where i can sit.

even if i didn't spend a single cent of what i have rn + what i'll get from my last paycheck of the month, i still won't be able to make rent or bills.

normally i'd be plugging commissions but i had a fall last week and my wrist is still recovering, so i can't draw without it hurting. i have a bonfire shop where you can buy shirts n stuff with designs i've made on them and a bit of that money will go to me, i have a ko-fi you can donate to if you're able to. seriously anything would help right now. thank you for your time

thank you from the bottom of my heart to the people who donated/bought something, between that and some other help we're good for now

[pumpkin-spike18]

✨Weekly Progress #52✨ +Happy New Year 2025 ✨

So I survived another year...!

Some extra self-promotion here, but I'm running a raffle on bsky as thanks for 500+ followers!

The winner will receive a half body full illustration of whatever character they choose! To enter, follow me on bsky and repost the the raffle announcement!

Now... onto the weekly stuff! c:

Weekly Progress 2024 #52

Sketched Winter Jam full BG

Finished celebration art

Posted devlogs

Finished Winter Jam BG

Put together Winter Jam test animation

SWAK music writeup + discussion

Went through VA roster

Updated SWAK Jam schedule

Sent in Winter Jam files

Participated in Meet and Greet

Drafted End of Year Writeup

Drafted VA lines

Provided expressions list

Provided CG info writeup

Made base marketing schedule

Looking back at 2024 ⏳

It's been a year of ups and downs. Of trying new things, of failing, and getting back up again.

The Results of 2024 Goals

Finish SYVNH ✔

Finish BWOBK ❌

24 Illustrations ✔

Write a happy story ❌

Getting Bingo ❌

My biggest accomplishment this year is definitely completing Stuck in a Yandere Visual Novel...HELP!!

This was finished in May, but somehow it feels like a lifetime ago... The full story is 84k+ words, which is definitely the longest (finished) story I've written.

In this coming year, I hope I can get some merch completed for the game, and maybe redo some of the art since I think I've improved since I started development back in 2022.

I did "finish" 24 illustrations for 2024, but I might've cheated a bit based on my original intentions. In 2023, I said "24 illustrations not used in Visual Novels." This year, I didn't add the latter requirement, but I had intended to follow it.

However, come December, I was short 4 illustrations. Coincidentally, I completed 3 CGs for Spooktober and 1 animation for Winter Jam. Since I didn't have that criteria, I decided to add it into the count.

(The animation was too big and had to be uploaded as two files, thus pushing the last image to another row.)

...And now what I didn't succeed in :(

I accomplished 6 items, but they were not bingo. I only have myself to blame for making one of the requirements "10 VN BGs" 😂 Honestly some of these goals were so difficult, I'm surprised I managed to succeed in any of them.

I am quite sad that I couldn't finish much fanart for my favorite vtubers. I thought it'd be easy, but I often ended up spending time on commissions and projects.

I was pleasantly surprised that I completed more than 25 commissions as I counted them up! I really thought I didn't make it...;; Sadly, although I completed so many commissions... it still wasn't a salary I could live off of. If I didn't had savings, I would've been in big trouble 💦 This was definitely the biggest "down" I felt this year. The physical evidence that I could not make digital artist my career.

The team is still together for BWOBK! But we've all been busy with our own separate projects and various private matters. We still intend to work on it for 2025, though!

And, it'll definitely be one of my big goals for 2025.

...I don't even remember the happy story goal 😂 (I won't count my fanfics- they're also not that happy either, just slated for a happy ending.)

I wrote for two VNs this year. Sorry to say neither are happy.

Visual Novel Releases

Thank goodness I did not beat last year's record (9 projects) 😂 I would cry with pain...

This year, I submitted 3 "solo" projects.

*Disclaimers:

Most of the remaining work to release the full SYVNH game was mainly just me, but a number of people worked together to make it a reality.

A Sky of Falling Birds is still a demo.

But if I put all these in separate categories, it'd both look like I did very little + stretch the post even further 😅

I also participated in 2 jam projects as an artist!

I also participated in 3 other projects as an artist, but those games are currently not released. So... can it be said that I participated in 5 team projects this year...?

Does that mean I total to 8 projects this year...? Jesus, I didn't beat last year but I sure came close again 😭

A Year of Fan Projects

I participated in a lot of Ace Attorney fan events this year! You can see all of them in my art tag!

Last year, Arimia convinced me to join the DGM 20th Project Zine and although I cried at my own mistakes, I got through to the end! Paneling is hard... Drawing so much detail is even harder... There were definitely many tears during that zine.

See the post here!

Alongside that, I was working on two NaruMitsu Big Bang projects as an artist. I worked with some really great writers who wrote some amazing stories for our love of this pairing!

You can read more about both stories here and here!

Aaaand then after that, I fell in love with The Great Ace Attorney and spent a whole week speedily finishing as many chibi illustrations as I could for Ryuubowl Week, which celebrated the pair AsoRyuu.

You can find all the artwork I made for the week in this tag!

And then I also.. Wait, that's it?? Huh, I thought I did something for Golden Kamuy, too...

Well, I tried to, but ultimately I was so tired from everything else, I didn't get very far beyond one image per challenge/event. Ah, well... There's always next year.

Then... that's it for 2024. It's hard to summarize a whole year of my feelings in a single post (and keep it positive). It's easy to just show all my successes, but there were also many failures. Many attempts in projects that I won't talk about anymore and ideas that couldn't make it through the initial planning phase. There's much more than what I've shown here. But despite it all, I want to keep creating. I want to tell my stories and I want to see people enjoy them!

So I'm going to keep trying. It may not be the way I imagined it to be, I may have to try new methods, but I want to make it happen. And if you read everything and still want to stick around for this journey, thank you, and Happy New Year 2025~

[thatgenderfluidmonstrosity]

@friendlesscat

Here’s the Aether Exhaustion Fic!!! I know it took forever, but I think it was really worth the wait!!

I did make it Xiao x Aether (just majorly hinted at, neither of them really make any moves) so I hope that’s okay? If not, I can always try again when I get more energy! (Aether x Xiao is just my go-to)

Aether dragged himself through the weeds of Liyues fields.

He just had to deal with 2 commissions of fighting, and two of incompetent citizens. And he didn’t want to be mean; he really wanted to help people. He loved helping people, but sometimes… it was just too much.

So, after his legs started to burn, he sat himself against a rock to rest.

Just breath… it’ll be okay… He told himself.

He was close to believing that, if it hadn’t been for the Hilichurls that started to gather around in the field.

“Noooo… no no no!” He muttered, frustrated.

He was tired- oh so absolutely tired.

But of course he had a job to do. A duty to the citizens of these nations.

He gathered the strength to pull himself up, and hold his sword steady in his hands.

The Hilichurls then noticed him- growling and hissing as they did.

“Hya!” He called out, sending a whirlwind towards the Hilichurls, knocking some of them back.

“Just- die!” He grunted, slashing others with his sword.

They lunged and one lit their fire stick, taking a moment before barreling towards him.

The fire just barely touched him, burning his shoulder- yet he didn’t have the time to heal himself before another threw a rock at him.

He sighed, slouching over as he turned his head to look at the Hilichurl that hit him.

“Really?” He asked, before slashing that one down too.

As he started to get better, a roar erupted from behind him.

“Fuck-” He muttered, turning to see the Mitachurl behind him.

“Come on! Please! Just leave me alone- I’m so tired!” He yelled, practically begging.

He felt his body slowling down- he didn’t know just how much more he could take.

The Mitachurl let out a thundering roar, then charged towards him.

He collapsed, holding his head in his hands, unable to even think clearly.

“Im so exhausted…” He murmured, shaking his head.

Wind began to whirl around him- the air keeping the monsters away.

“I'm so sick and tired of this!” He yelled, the wind got harsher and faster.

The ground started to shake and grow orange-hued glowing spikes.

“Just leave me alone! I can't take this anymore! I work all day- I protect everyone! But what's left for me!? Who’s gonna help me!? Huh!?” He screamed, letting all of his frustrations out onto the monsters.

And as the final Hilichurl laid dead at his feet, he fell to the ground once more, his body truly giving out.

“All I wanted… was to find my sister… All I've ever wanted… was to find my sister…” He cried, feeling the tears streaming down his face.

As his eyes blurred with tears, and his body hit the ground, he could only imagine a warm comfort, a body enveloping him in a much needed hug… or was he not imagining it?

The next time he woke up, he was in a familiar place. Wangshu Inn. The midday sun shone into the room, making him feel awake. Though he couldn't really ignore the striking pain in his right leg, and the pressure pain in his left.

“Aether!” He heard a voice call out.

He wiped his eyes, trying to wipe the last bit of sleep from his eyes. He recognized the voice, and he smiled.

“Paimon…” He said, exhausted.

“Oh thank the Archons, you’re alright! Paimon was so worried! You know, Paimon was scared you weren’t gonna wake up, but luckily-!” Paimon (obviously) couldn’t stop talking (or worrying).

“I wasn’t going to let anything happen to him, Paimon.” Another familiar voice said, coming over from the balcony.

Aether looked over and lo-and-behold; Adeptus Xiao. He was sitting on the railing, looking over at the two of them.

“You saved me?” Aether asked, in a bit of disbelief.

“Yes, why wouldn’t I?” He asked, walking towards the injured blond.

“I just… I didn’t call for you…” He muttered, slightly surprised by the kindness of the usually stoic Adeptus.

“You didn’t need to.”

Aether smiled (and slightly blushed), as he began to examine his wounds.

There was silence.

“Paimons gonna let you two speak! Paimon needs food~!” She giggled, then floated off to the dining area.

More… silence.

“Thank you…” Aether said, eventually.

“No need to thank me. I only did what I needed to do.” Xiao said truthfully.

“I um- I’ll find a way to pay you back…” Aether said, “It might take a bit though… These wounds seem pretty bad.” He laughed a bit,

“Why… why would you need to pay me back?” Xiao asked.

“I- uh… just thought- well, you know, you helped me so… I need to help you?” Aether tried to piece the parts together.

Xiao looked at him- he looked upset.

“Wh-what?” Aether asked, concerned as Xiao took a seat on the end of his bed.

“I saved you because I wanted to,” Xiao stated, then he got a brilliant idea, “But if you insist on paying me back… I want you to relax for a couple of days. Not just for your wounds, but for yourself in general.”

Aether's eyes got wide.

“I- I can't do that! I’ve got commissions and requests to complete! I mean, once I can get some food in my system, I’ll be just fine!” Aether said, smiling awkwardly as he tried to convince his friend.

Xiao clearly wasn’t having it.

“You mortals think you are capable of everything in the world…” Xiao sighed.

Aether frowned.

“But you aren’t.” He continued, “And you'll do more harm than good if you don't realize that.”

Xiao’s face was stern, but his voice was softer than Aether had ever heard it before.

“Okay… fine…” Aether gave in, “We can relax, but just for a bit.”

Xiao seemed pleased with this.

“Good, would you like me to help you replace your bandages before we leave?” He asked.

Aether looked confused, “We’re leaving?”

“I actually wanted to take you to one of my favorite places to relax… if that's alright…”

Xiao had meant for it to sound like a comforting suggestion, or even a cheerful one, but it didn’t exactly come off that way. He wasn’t ever good at this stuff, even when he was with… the other friends…

Aethers face got pinker, and he seemed to get flustered but still smiled brightly, “O-oh! Yeah, um, of course, we can do that!”

Xiao felt his face get hot, seeing the blond smile like that.

“Good…” He murmured, looking away to hide his face.

“And yes, I could use some help with these wounds.” Aether replied.

So, Xiao started to help Aether re-bandage himself, making sure to wrap him up nicely.

“Is that alright?” He asked, bandaging where he had gotten burned.

“Yeah, that's- uh, that's fine…” Aether stuttered, his face was a sunsettia red color.

Xiao didn’t know why he was so flustered, till he realized just how close their faces were to each other.

He quickly but carefully finished taking care of the wound, and once he was done, he helped the boy stand.

“There, how do you feel?” He asked Aether.

“Hmm… Hungry…” Aether groaned playfully.

“Oh, right, we should go get you some food then.” Xiao said, holding his hand out for Aether to take it.

Aether took it carefully and they began to walk. His legs didn’t hurt too much, but enough for him to need help.

As they made their way down to the dining area of the Inn, they saw Paimon talking to the chef.

“Oh! Aether, Xiao! Paimon was just about to order her second round of lunch, what do you guys want?” She asked as she floated over.

“Your… second round?” Xiao asked, concerned.

“Don’t worry, this is normal for Paimon.” Aether told his friend, “I’ll have… Tianshu Meat, please.” He asked with a smile.

“Great! What about you, Xiao? Do you want anything?” Paimon asked.

“Oh, I… I don’t-” Xiao attempted to answer for himself.

“He’ll have some Almond Tofu.” Aether smiled.

“Huh?” Xiao asked, looking at him as Paimon floated back towards the chef.

“I know you like it, and you can consider it as some payback… for your help…” Aether told him softly.

“Right… okay.” Xiao agreed.

Whatever made him feel better, he's fine with.

So, the two of them sat at a table, and Paimon soon joined them, along with a feast of breakfast foods.

“And- this is supposed to be your second round of food?” Xiao asked.

“Don't try to think about it too long, I still don't even know how Paimon can eat this much…” Aether whispered to him as they watched Paimon pick each dish off as if they were the Millelith fighting hilichurls.

So, the two of them ate quietly while Paimon did all the talking.

Soon they all finished (including Paimon who was now stuffed). The chef then came over to collect the dishes.

“Oh, here! I’ll help!” Aether offered, attempting to stand on his own to grab the plates.

As he tried to stand, his right leg gave out under him and he fell back into his seat- wait seats don't have arms and body heat-

As he realized what or who he fell onto, he started to apologize.

“Sorry-! I shouldn’t have tried to stand- Im so sorry-” He freaked, transferring back to his own seat.

“Aether, it's okay. You fell, I caught you. It's alright.” Xiao told him gently.

“Wow Xiao! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that comforting!” Paimon mused, smirking a bit.

“Paimon! I-it wasn’t that big of a deal!” Aether blushed.

“Okay! Okay!” Paimon backed off, “Anyway, Paimon will go help with the dishes.”

As Paimon grabbed some plates and floated off, Aether was left very confused.

Since when has Paimon ever wanted to help with physical labor? (carrying things can't be very difficult for her, but still, she was helping nonetheless)

He then realized it was the second time she had left him alone with Xiao.

“So… what other things must I do to complete your request of relaxing?” Aether asked curiously.

Xiao thought for a moment.

“We’ll… if it didn’t bother you too much, we could go to a resting place that I like…?” He posed the question, waiting for Aethers reaction.

“Oh! Yeah, sure! I’d love to see where you hang out when you aren’t here or out battling!” Aether seemed delighted to know more about the Yaksha.

Xiao felt a smile dance on his lips, but he pushed the urge away. He instead focused on how Aether could go from being so happy and bright, to being saddened and in despair. It… made him feel things towards the blond… Things he hadn’t felt in such a long time.

He could barely say that he had friends, and even less so people closer than that. But people like Morax and Aether… made it different.

They were both people that could be close to him without his karma taking effect, and had helped him in many ways. He was forever grateful for them, but was scared to open to them any more than that.

Yet when he saw them smile, or laugh, or be kind to him and share in their comfort… It felt good. He enjoyed it and that scared him.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Aether calling his name.

“Xiaoo~?” The blond called out in front of him.

“Hm? Sorry- must’ve… got lost in my head…” He muttered, turning to face Aether.

“It's alright! Now, about that place?” Aether beamed.

“Oh, yeah, it's just on the coast of Guili Plains. Pretty nice. If we get going now, we’ll reach there by the evening’s end.” Xiao told him.

“Great!” Aether went to stand again, but Xiao was able to steady him before he collapsed again.

“Ah- right. Haha…” He laughed nervously, holding into Xiaos forearm tightly as he steadied himself, putting less pressure on his right leg (It was hurt worse).

Soon enough, Paimon came back from the kitchen.

“Oh! Are you two going somewhere?” Paimon asked.

“Actually, yes! Do you wanna come with us? We are going to relax. Well- I’m relaxing as per Xiao’s request.” Aether explained.

As Aether said this, Paimon seemed to get awfully tired.

“Oh wow!” She yawned, “Paimon’s really starting to feel tired! All that food has definitely caused this… Paimon will stay here and sleep! You two can go off and have fun!”

She then turned to Xiao specifically and said, “Have Aether back before Midnight or Paimon will be very upset with you!”

Xiao looked a little nervous, which surprised Aether. How could he look anything other than brooding and upset? And even more so; how could Paimon make Xiao nervous?

“Okay, okay, Paimon, we’ll stay safe. Now go get your greatly deserved nap.” Aether giggled, being dramatic.

So, Paimon floated off and Xiao and Aether left Wangshu Inn. Aether got a wonderful idea as they began to near the bridge that departed from the Inn.

“Oh! Xiao! Could you pick that flower for me?” He asked, pointing to a Silk Flower bush. “I would, but my legs really hurt.”

It wasn’t really a lie, but it would help him.

“Oh… sure.” Xiao agreed, “I don’t really know why you would want such a plain looking-“

Xiao bent down to pick the flower, when suddenly- Aether jumped onto his back. Xiao managed to stay steady enough to get a hold of Aether's legs.

“A-Aether?” He exclaimed out with a bit of panic and a sigh.

“Sorry! Is this okay?” He asked, leaning over his shoulder to look at him.

Xiao felt his face heat up once more.

What is happening to me? He thought to himself.

As they both got stabilized, Xiao gave him the picked Silk Flower.

“Yeah, it’s alright. Here, the flower you wanted…” He said, handing Aether the flower.

Aether took the flower, then neatly nestled it into Xiao's hair.

“There!” Aether smiled.

Why… why is he making my heart beat so fast? Am I dying? What’s going on?…

“Um- y-yeah… how about we get going?” Xiao asked, looking straight ahead.

“Onward!” Aether smiled, pointing towards the bridge.

The walk was nice, they talked and laughed and even got to watch the sky change from blue to orange, to pink and yellow.

As they got to the shore, sitting under a nearby tree, Xiao couldn’t help but feel… so calm…

“It’s so pretty~!” Aether was mesmerized by the view.

Meanwhile, Xiao was mesmerized by him.

He caught himself staring at the blond, admiring his hair, his eye and clothes. For some reason, he was so enamored by him. Things he had never felt before were rising to the surface, and as Aether looked at him, he couldn’t look away this time.

“Are you alright Xiao?” Aether asked, cocking his head slightly.

“Yeah… I am…” Xiao murmured, allowing himself to smile.

He felt warm.

Aether smiled back, and scooted himself closer to Xiao, which surprised the dark haired boy.

Aether then laid his head on Xiaos shoulder, which wasn't too uncomfortable.

“Thank you, Xiao...” Aether whispered, looking out to the water, “…for today, I mean.”

Xiao looked down at the blond, then back at the gleaming water too.

And as he rested his head onto Aethers, he whispered, “of course… you deserved it.”

Their hands moved to hold each other, and for once, both of them could breath and feel free.

(Also I’m going to sleep immediately after posting this (it’s 11pm for me) so I’ll respond to any/all comments in the morning :3)

Ao3 link if you wanna give this kudos over there! I would greatly appreciate it!

[all-doggirls-go-to-heaven-2]

hey y'all, I could use some help this month. My commissions have slowed down to a crawl, and I haven't found any jobs since losing my last one, the costs of moving are quickly eating through my savings and I'm afraid for my future. I've been sick in some way or another for the past two months, and the pain in my hands is excrutiating at times. Between that and my ex who I was supposed to move in together with breaking up with me, It's been a bit of a struggle. I talked to one of my first employers, a pet shop store, but they said they would only really hire new people around the christmas season, and now just isn't a good time. I'm not desperate but I'm burning the candle at both ends and I really, really don't know how to stop. If you can, think about commissioning me! I do personalized crochet plushies, and I take great joy in making perfect little friends. Here's some examples. I also do little doodle commissions for 10 dollars, if you think that's better: If you prefer just... giving me money for some reason you can do so in the link below:

Again, I'm really thankful for any kind of help I get here. Any kind of donation helps, dollars convert fivefold into BRL, so even 10 dollars can help me tremendously.

[elminx]

What I've Been Up To

In a word, super busy. (shhh...that's two words...I know...I KNOW!)

It's the busy season here in Southern New England; by that, I mean harvest season. My first real harvest of the year was sour cherries, which my partner and I picked last weekend.

These are from my friend's (now wild) cherry trees. I think that they are some cultivar of Prunus virginiana, though one can never be sure. S has been living in the house for about 8 years and has always "meant" to pick the cherries growing in his backyard. Now, we make it happen every year. I've been working with Wild Cherry Bark as part of my bitters projects, but I hadn't realized until now that this is the same plant. So neat!

My first project was to add some cherry to the ongoing lemonade experiments I have conducted weekly all summer. I added the cherries directly to the lemon peel phase (you can read more about lemonade making here), and it turned my lemonade into the most beautiful shades of orange and pink. I also made a wonderful cherry cake in a cast iron skillet and am in the process of experimenting with cherry syrup, cherry whipped cream, and a stone fruit vodka infusion - stay tuned for more on those as it evolves!

This cherry journey has been a pretty deep dive into herbalism (a long-time favorite), Chemistry, Ethnobotany, and even a little bit of Phytotoxilogy since the seeds of cherries (and other stone fruits) contain Amygdalin, which is poisonous to humans in high doses. I wanted to study medicine (I ended up with a minor in Biology because I legit qualified for it without having to do a thing), so this kind of shit is pretty up my alley.

I'm also deeply into continuing to work with these cherry pits because it is using all of the fruit which is something that I strongly believe in as a part of my craft.

I also picked (and froze) about 8 lbs. of blueberries yesterday afternoon. The time was right. My partner had the day off, and we don't celebrate Fireworks Day. I found the cutest local farm that does blueberries and raspberries that's only about 15 minutes from my house. Plus, picking under a giant bird netting made me feel like I was in Jurassic Park, so 10/10 on the place's vibes.

I'm not done with Cherry yet, though. I joked yesterday that I can't cross the streams, but it is so true. One of my more well-used preservation books has a whole section on cherries - both sweet and sour - and I want to make every single recipe. She even has a recipe for using your brandied cherries to make cornish hens and I am dying to try that (though probably with chicken). I don't think I can get any more sour cherries from S, but most of my local farms have pick-your-own or it for sale at their stands currently.

On the docket for today: set up my dehydrator for the summer season. (honestly, it is slightly past time)

I'm also still chugging away at my astrology commissions. I'm almost entirely caught up - I have an unusual transit report to write and one more natal birth chart to do, and things will return to normal.

I'm also looking at Mercury, who is going to retrograde on 8/5. I should have a transit report for the retrograde out soon and will offer a handful of commissions ($12 each) for anyone who wants a more personalized read on how the retrograde will interact with your chart. (Message me if you are interested or tip me $12 to save a spot if there's not already a commission offering for this when you read this).

I am still working my way through writing about violets and rose syrup. Watch for those—they are coming!

[bellybiologist]

January 2025 Announcements and Retrospection

Rolling into the new year! Gonna start the announcements, then go a bit into how the year's gone afterward.

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January's Poll will be up shortly! The winning theme is "Game Over," and I will go into detail on the poll post. One that could be fun with a broad scope!

December's Patreon Fills are still in Progress! I have the last 2 sketched and partly lined, so they'll be done this or next week.

Commissions are still Open! Comms are still a bulk of my monthly income, so i'm still accepting submissions, even if you're already on the list! I understand the wait time is long, but all commissioners are free to add to, adjust, or change orders they've already made at any time! Just contact me to through any method you'd prefer to discuss any changes to an existing order. Click here for the form for a new submission!

A new Reward Request Post will be going up! Patrons are free to leave one in there even if you already have one from last month's! November's requests will have expired though! So if those haven't been drawn, you will need to re-suggest them. December's will expire when February rolls around. See this document to see whats on the list, what expired, and what has been done!

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Alright! So 2024. 😅 This was honestly a pretty disappointing year for several reasons (July and November come to mind), but there are some upsides! I managed to wipe out a few debts to help me make the money i need per month a bit more easily in the final couple months... though part of that was negated because rent went up. 😒

I've unfortunately not been able to save up to go visit my boyfriend, and had very little time to indulge personal projects. The one I did start (my OC height chart) is still missing some boys! I'm hoping I can at least squeeze some of that in and also save up to fly north once this year. While I'm not finishing as many commissions as I'd like, I did knock out a bit more than 30 orders, while also filling 78 stream requests! That's very much not nothing, and I'm pleased with the work that i have finished. (Gotta keep score for my own health, haha). That said, I'm gonna still try to do my best to try to catch up a bit more this year I'm going to try to be a bit more engaging on social media as well, especially after the big exodus from, well, X.

I really couldnt have made it without my most faithful patrons and customers, so a big thanks to you guys as well! I'm being tentatively optimistic despite it all, so let's try to make it to 2026 now, yeah?

[pigeon-behavior]

Uh oh, another grit post /j

This is a simple recommendation list for pigeon grit. These are the best grits I've found on the market in the USA. (If you're in Australia, look for something like 'pink powder minerals' instead of grit to supplement minerals.)

The absolute best two grits available are the All-in-One Versele-Laga grit and the Jovati grit. Both of these offer a full complement of vitamins and minerals and even some amino acids. (Reminder to get your pigeon some UVB light anyway though, just to be safe.)

It can be a bit hard to find the actual full ingredient list for the Jovati online, but I've seen it through pictures via other people who have bought them, so I know for a fact that it contains Lysine (amino acid) among things I'd like to make sure my pigeons are getting. At least, the versions that I have seen! It's possible the formula has changed since then, but I haven't been alerted if that's happened.

Here's a couple links to these products, just so you can see exactly what I'm pointing at. I have zero affiliate or commission link business going on here, but I want you to be sure you're getting what I suggested you get, even if it's not on the same website.

(Side note, thanks for the thorough labeling VL, I do love that about you.)

I'm not actually sure if anyone else sells the Jovati. I think it's possible its a European product (like the VL) that is only being sold through one USAmerican retailer. But I'm not really sure.

You might be thinking, well okay Evelyn, but what if for some reason I just can't get one of these grits, even if I wait for them to come back into stock, or save up money, or whatever! Don't fear. There's still a third option.

I don't think it is quite as good as these two. It doesn't offer amino acids, and that's something I really am pleased the other two grits are supplying. But I think it's a HELL of a lot better than a granite grit, an oyster-only grit, an un-enhanced red grit, or god forbid nothing at all.

It's the Red Pigeon Grit & Mineral-Plus Mix by Des Moines, to which I will just refer to it as the Des Moines grit. Annoyingly, everywhere it is listed the ingredient list has been cut about in half - I was informed recently that it is almost as complete as our two top favorites up above, but they've neglected to bother telling us so unless you have the physical packaging in your hands. Here's a link to the Des Moines grit.

It is my understanding you can get this stuff on Amazon, and in smaller quantities than the VL and Jovati. Remember that it should last you a good long while, so long as you store it in a cool, dark, dry location, but I understand not wanting to buy so much for only one bird.

Remember, the vitamins these grits are providing are important. The minerals they are providing are important. Pigeons with deficiencies can behave strangely. They can develop serious health problems. They may be trying to eat all the plants in your house. Their eggs might look like utter crap, they might break easily. Their feathers don't look quite as good. Their health needs this support. They can't go out and get it! We're all they have.

AND REMEMBER. THIS IS IMPORTANT.

If your pigeon has not been on an enhanced grit, do not start by free feeding them. You have to ease them into it for at least a couple weeks. They cannot moderate themselves. Provide no more than a pinch or two daily. If you do not do this, you risk them impacting.

Once they have absorbed a comfortable amount of minerals and vitamins they have been lacking, they will moderate themselves just fine, and you can free feed grit with no worries.

If you enjoy my posts, please consider tipping me on ko-fi!

[exitrowiron]

Investing 101

Part 2 of ?

In my last post I explained what stocks are, why companies might want to issue shares and some of the types of stocks. I also explained dividends and why some stocks are called Growth and others called Value stocks. The next logical question is, "How do I buy stocks?"

For most beginning investors, their 401K or IRA is their first opportunity to purchase stock. My recommendation to my kids (which I followed myself) is to set your 401K withholding at least high enough to earn the maximum employer match. Most employers will match a fixed percentage of an employee's 401K withholdings up to a maximum amount. Not withholding at least enough to get the maximum employer match is like taking a salary cut. This is 'free money' from your employer but only you save enough to take advantage of it. 401K plans are almost always administered by a large brokerage firm and through that firm participants are offered a variety of investment options, some more limited than others. I will talk a bit more about the various investments options later.

If you're already investing in your 401K and you still have after-tax funds you'd like to invest (in stocks or other investments), there are a few options.

The simplest, lowest cost option is a direct stock purchase plan (DSPP) which enables individual investors to purchase stock directly from the issuing company without a broker. I've never done this, but it's possible and if you're a big fan of a company and want to be a long term investor, you may want to consider it.

The more common approach is to open an account with a Broker. From Investopedia, "Brokerage firms are licensed to act as a middleman who connects buyers and sellers to complete a transaction for stock shares, bonds, options, and other financial instruments. Brokers are compensated in commissions or fees that are charged once the transaction has been completed." When you open an account with a broker, they take care of all trading paperwork and send you investment reports and tax forms.

ETrade and RobinHood are examples of Discount Brokers (low cost, self-service). They execute your trades (buying and selling) for very low fees and include online resources for the investor to research investments. It is easy to set an up account online and start trading using their mobile apps.

Full Service Brokers like Morgan Stanley, Ameriprise, Edward Jones, etc. operate on the other end of the spectrum. These firms execute trades like the self-service brokers but their account relationships include the services of a Financial Advisor. Ostensibly, the Financial Advisor is periodically meeting with you to review your portfolio, rebalancing your investments to ensure continued alignment with your goals and risk tolerance and recommending investments to buy and sell. Financial advisors generally charge an annual fee of 1% or more of the value of your portfolio. These brokerage firms also have online investment research materials, but the idea is that the Financial Advisor is actively helping you steer the ship.

Alternatively, you can consult a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). These individuals can help manage your broader financial life (including investments, budgeting, insurance needs assessment, estate planning), though CFPs generally aren't brokers (i.e. they don't execute stock trades). Rather than charging a percentage of your portfolio as a fee, CFPs generally have a fixed hourly rate. That hourly rate might seem steep, but it is almost always less than the fee of a full service broker/Financial Advisor.

Assuming you're already investing enough in your 401K to get your employer match, which investing/broker relationship should you pursue? Because full service Financial Advisor fees are a % of your portfolio, these advisors tend to pursue relationships with wealthier clients. If you don't have a large portfolio, it can be difficult get the time/attention of a full service broker. (True story, 30 years ago a friend who was also our financial advisor fired Beth and I as clients when his firm raised its minimum portfolio threshold to exclusively service wealthy clients. I'd like to think he regrets that decision now.) A caveat to this is if your parents have an established relationship with a broker/advisor - then that advisor may be more enthusiastic about managing the adult child's portfolio. (Yes, this is an example of white privilege.)

If you're just starting out (ex <$100K portfolio), I think engaging a fee-based CFP 2-3x a year and opening a Discount Brokerage account is the way to go.

I know several investors with large portfolios who also prefer the Discount Broker strategy, however, because they loathe the idea of paying 1% of their portfolio every year to a financial advisor. There is plenty of research supporting this strategy for large portfolios... after all 1% every year really adds up. Over 20-30 years the 1% annual fee can be very expensive. Despite this, Beth and I have always used a Full Service Advisor.

Beth and I are both CPAs and financially literate, why would we pay the higher fees for a Full Service Advisor? We pay an advisor so we can sleep at night. When I was still working I checked my portfolio balance no more than once or twice a month. I check it more often now, but that's mostly because I simply have more free time. I've never spent any mental energy trying to research good investments. Most importantly, I've never had any emotional attachment to an investment. Every quarter or so we will meet with our advisor and he recommends investments we should sell, either because they haven't performed well or sometimes because they have performed well and have 'topped out'. I never feel any guilt or blame for investments that haven't done well because I didn't originate the investment idea when we bought it. I don't feel tempted to hang on to the investment in hopes that it will rebound and I will be proven right. I can be completely objective and devoid of emotion. And that's one of the reasons I've never lost any sleep over our investments.

Next installment - what to buy.

[strobbylemonade]

Hermitcraft Season 9 Retrospective

Across 3 versions and nearing the span of 2 years, HC9 has been an absolutely delightful and awe-filled experience. A summary and retrospective of Hermitcraft Season 9, and a personal introspection of how this season has affected me over the years. Words: 1099 Read Length: 5mins 30secs

Like many, Mumbo was my introduction into Hermitcraft - I started watching a bit way through "Sixfinity" and the absolute scale of the projects then blew me away. I honestly didn't think they could pull it off better, just so many fantastic builds over such a long time that it would take a monumental effort to beat it.

Boy was I wrong.

I watched Mumbo bumble through the start of the series, with him, Scar and Grian blasting their way through the diamond war and move out of the rampaged starting area - I began watching Scar as Scarland unfolded in all of its monumental glory, but I really only preferred watching Mumbo.

And then he went on break.

Previously I thought it was insane that some people watched so many members - how do you have so much time on your hands? But when every single member of the server spends so much time and breathes so much life into their builds, their projects, and their community, you can't help but stop and stare (Decked Out aside - Scarland and Pearl's gorgeous alien base are the two most astonishing builds I've seen in my life).

Not only did Mumbo taking a break encourage me to watch other hermits, but there was also a melting pot of individual projects and community events: The King and its following war (where I started watching the Soup Group more often, and my now-favourite hermit, Pearl), the Rift, Stat Poker, TCG, the Prank Wars (again), Decked Out, and lately the Hermitcraft Grand Prix. The community events went above and beyond in entertainment and creativity, and also displayed the fantastic organisational skills (especially Rendog and Grian) needed to create collaborations of such scale.

Again I must sing Decked Out 2's praises - it may as well be one of the most impressive feats built mostly by one person in survival Minecraft. I've watched so many of Tango's streams - through him, I've both seen a different side of the hermits I'm familiar with (congratulations to Pearl for beating decked out), and saw the best side of hermits I don't watch often (Hypno is such a fantastic and intelligent runner). And our other highly detailed all-season-project card-deck-based not-so-mini-minigame this season - VintageBeef's TCG - was also turned into a real card game! Both bringing hermits together hermits to play the game, and commissioning so many fantastic and dedicated Hermitcraft fan-artists to draw art for the IRL cards, Hermitcraft TCG was no doubt a hallmark of the community, both with the hermits and fans.

And to the "hermit-adjacent" series, honourable mentions go out to: 1. The thrilling and murderous Life Series (which had THREE seasons during S9!) 2. The fantastic Imp & Skizz podcast (Impulse is now a part of my "hermit-rotation", and fingers crossed for Skizz in S10!) 3. The Hermitcraft Recap which I've sat down and watched during my breaks at uni every Monday (both catching me up with the members I don't watch and also saving my sanity)

One thing I would like to talk about is TinFoilChef, who passed away last year. I honestly didn't believe it happened. I very rarely watched him on occasion, and he never really appeared in the people who I watched's videos - a true hermit in every aspect of the word. I've seen the neatly lined mines in the previous seasons, spreading out like tendrils just underneath the surface of the beautiful builds - a functional, cacophonous, and sprawling web of mines dug out by hand, invisible above ground but ever-present.

Season 10 will be the first season without him.

It's been a while since he passed. He reminded me a bit of my father, and him just being gone hit close to home. I just assumed he'd be on Hermitcraft forever, somehow. I do thank you, TFC, for your laughter and your boisterous presence. You'll be sorely missed, and Hermitcraft will always carry a piece of you with it.

This season alone has spanned many of my personal milestones - it started in my final year of high school, some of the emotionally roughest times in my life, and has stayed with me through the first year of university. It's seen me graduate, get a job, file my taxes for the first time, go to my first anime convention, make a Twitter and Tumblr account, make friends, lose friends, and comforted me throughout. There's something special about coming back after a rough day, falling apart at the seams, and being able to put on some smooth music as the most gorgeous monument you've seen gets constructed in front of your very eyes. There's something comforting about knowing that no matter how many firsts or lasts I'm going through, and how scary it is, I can always turn on a video by someone I love watching and turn my brain off for a second. Having this exciting (thanks Decked Out) yet confidently unending (thanks, Decked Out) was some stability I really needed in my life. Having Hermitcraft - the server, the game, the community - to always come back to, and spinning stories out of funny little block people during times when everything felt so serious and talking to friends was overwhelming, made my life that much better.

Overall, like Season 9, this retrospective is nearing an end. I've definitely missed some things, the biggest of which is Xisuma's Vanilla Tweaks and otherwise commitment to the server, but otherwise here's a quick recap of my personal highlights of the season:

Here's the hermits I started watching this season: Pearl, Bdubs, Tango, Gem, Impulse, Grian, Scar, Zedaph, and a handful of Doc, X, Cleo, and Ren. 14/26 - that's over half the members! For someone who's only been watching one hermit for 4 years beforehand, that's a feat for me.

And here's my favourite moments and events: • The entire run of Decked out • The entire run of TCG • Doc's Perimeter • The entire server covering Doc's Perimeter • Any moment where the hermits have just come together and hung out (Waiting in minigame lobbies in particular) • Pearl, Bdubs, and Scar's absolutely magnificent and artistically wonderful megabases • "This time on Hermitcraft - Me!" by Pixilriffs during the crossover • Hermitcraft x Gamers Outreach charity stream (where they hit the goal before the stream even started!) • All Zedvancements

My love goes out to the Hermitcraft server, its members, and its community; here's to wonderful Season 10, and a well deserved break for all the hermits.

[mayimkjs]

FOOL's MATE Update Post #4

Master Post　　Last Update

School Date: Summer, Term 8, Week 9

Honestly, not much has happened this month. I've just been busy with PT. On the bright side, I might finally get tested for POTS.

But anyways, This next month is going to be another strange month. I have finals, I'm trying to work on a joke cover of Double for my MV class and I'm going to Florida for an early 21st birthday present. I mainly wanna go to Florida for SPACE. Sadly, I'm probably going to miss the launch at Kennedy.

About the Double cover, I might post some WIP or BTS of it here. The reason why it's a joke cover is because I'm mainly using Meika Mikoto for it. Hime's going to be in there somewhere too. I bought their V5 and talk just for this lamo.

Milanote & Research

I've finally started to finish some things in Milanote that have been unfinished for months. My research is also significantly slowing down which is a good thing. I means that I've looked at almost everything. There's still a few small things here and there that I have to do, but I'm saving most of that for my early birthday vacation so I'm not board out of my mind on the plane.

Also, I decided to look into playing cards in tarot because a diamond shows up in Double. And I might have found something.

Logo

I've made a prototype logo! I made a post about looking for input a bit ago but I also wanna mention the logo here too.

Input Form　Input Post

Here's an older version of the logo.

Prototype Intro

This was for my Motion Graphics 3 class. This is my most recent export and you can tell there's things missing. The string needs to be replaced, I need to add the glass, I have to find a font to replace the one I was going to use since it doesn't work in Illustrator and the entire title sequence is missing. I might mess with some effects like the noise. The glitches need to be fixed as well. Also, that rectangle isn't suppose to be there. I know what it's from though. So it'll be easy to fix that. There's also some issues with the lighting.

Props & The Script Books

I finally found out why the keyframe goods have been delayed. The shipping date changed to late August, then because of typhoon season, it was delayed some more. Also, since I wanna include some props that aren't exactly MILGRAM related but related to the people who work on it, I found out I actually have like, 3-5 mangas/books that, in the anime adaptation of them, Hanae Natsuki voices a main character lamo. And since I'm not strictly sticking to MILGRAM props, I'm using this as an excuse to buy the CD of Transform.

Technically, I bought the Script Books for a prop and research. I bought them to add to the section about Mikoto and John's speech habits.

Other Shit

Finished the FOOL's MATE page on my site.

I'm also starting to plan the first promo video.

I'm finally going to finish going through all of the voice dramas next Friday since I have a 3 1/2 hour flight.

Changes

Added

T2 Summary clarification from Yamanaka

Playing cards in tarot

CMYK/HLS meanings

Birthstones

Edited

DID Info

Expanded

Foils

Links

Research Doc (Comments on like always)

Milanote

Reddit Post

Feedback Form

Commission Form

Volunteer Form

[xpao-bearx]

Guess who started being consumed by playing BG3??? 👁👄👁

In honour of this INCREDIBLE game, here's my Tav!

(Sorry that the photo quality isn't the best, these are not in-game screenshots! I just took pics with my phone, but I do wanna say that my Tav has a LOT of freckles on her body that the pics didn't do justice)

Her name is Mon'sun and SHE IS MAH FUCKING BABYYY 😭❤️❤️❤️

I plan on writing a fic with her and the star himself (AKA MY DARLING 🥰): ✨️Astarion✨️ I already have a SHITLOAD of ideas, I just wanna play some more first and see how Astarion's romance pans out before I begin! So if that's something you'd be interested in reading, thanks sooo much and deffo keep a lookout for any updates~ Also, their ship name is SunStar which is JUST THE CUTEST FUCKING THING ALSKDJSKLJ

And I just wanna give my deepest love and gratitude to my two queens @kuroosexuall and @matchamocchi 💕 They have been nothing but patient and supportive of all my SERIOUSLY unhealthy fangirling over the sassy vampy elfy as well as my OC 🥲

But for the meantime, while I still haven't written my fic, below are some (*cough* a LOT so buckle up *cough*) stuff I've thought up for Mon'sun! Just to give y'all a fun lil taste of how I imagine her as a character, though I'm sure as I continue to play I'll get even more ideas and I'll probably have to edit this or post more about her, in which all posts connected to her will be tagged as #Mon'sun and Mon'sun x Astarion being tagged as #SunStar so y'all can easily search for them if you're interested. BTW I purposely left out extra details regarding her childhood as well as her thoughts about the tadpole cuz those are stoofs I'd like to reveal and explore in my fic!

And sadly, I'm not an artist, but I'm planning on and SO excited to commission various artworks of Mon'sun and SunStar from some truly extraordinary artists when the time comes so just wait for thy eyes to be blessed! \(^o^)/ Speaking of, if y'all are ever curious about Mon'sun, please don't hesitate to send me asks and such cuz your interest in my baby would be the BIGGEST honour 🥹

Now, without further ado...

Get to know "The Scarred Bard" under the cut!

In the game, I chose Voice 8 for Mon'sun but I headcanon that her voiceclaim is annapantsu (YouTuber who does a lot of amazing song covers!! 🙌)

Her theme song is Love Runs Out by OneRepublic

She does have a last name that she took on in honour from the woman who adopted her in Baldur's Gate but she hasn't found the need to tell anyone what it is

A drow half-elf and a College of Lore bard 🎵

Tends to face a lot of discrimination due to being a "filthy half-breed" and possessing drow ancestry, not to mention her drow parent being Lolth-sworn; her blood red right eye a telltale sign and a deep, angry scar permanently carved across it a merciless reminder of what she resents about herself

Occasionally has dreams and thoughts of the goddess Lolth speaking to her, tempting her with sweet whispers of cruelty and darkness. Mon'sun tries her damndest to resist--to stay on the path of good--but violent impulses erupt when the thin string of her patience (and sanity) snaps and it feels so fucking good

Mon'sun aligns as a chaotic neutral character. While she does try to be good, she is quite an unorthodox heroine in her personal little tale and can be pushed to make extreme decisions should she feel that they are for the better...or just whichever's a more fun option 🤭

Survived a poor and bleak childhood, but full of love in her early years; certain circumstances impacted this happiness which drastically changed everything

One of the youngest in the party, only in her early to mid 20s. And though she's not sure when her actual birth date is, she does consider the day she was adopted--saved--as such

Very resilient and versatile even through the worst scenarios (likely due to her past), but would much rather avoid problems whenever possible. She may be seen as a bit of a coward because of this though she certainly doesn't mind (she'd like to keep her gorgeous head, thank you very much!). However, there are times where she exhibits great bravery, such as standing up for the weak and defending innocents regardless of the consequences. She can also be quite mischievous and defiant with her enemies, truly a bard through and through with her vicious mockery 😈

She tries to see the good in everyone, to be patient and understanding, giving them the same chance she hopes to receive if she ever finds herself in a similar situation. However, some fuckers don't deserve that kindness and a sick, exhilarating part of her deep down yearns for the bloodshed sure to stain her hands. After all... She would only be granting them a mercy by ending their repulsive, pathetic lives...right?

She is proficient with weapons though she prefers casting spells especially ones that can be utilized from a good distance (Fireball being one of her all-time favourites--efficient and hot, both in a sexy way and an "I will feed your barbecued corpses to my widdle baby owlbear" way). She's also a fantastic cheerleader; she will happily let the stronger people on the team handle the grittier scraps of battle while she does a jaw-dropping performance of ✨️Bardic Inspiration✨️ on the sidelines (Lae'zel STRONGLY disapproves)

Skilled in stealth and sleight of hand accompanied by a biting wit (seriously, she has the potential to have been a rogue instead). Tries her best to make an honest living as a wandering bard, but whenever money and options are tight then she's driven to petty thievery. Although, as much as she hates to admit it, there is something in her that utterly relishes in the intoxicating rush of crime

Lockpicking is more so a hobby rather than a necessity for her. Funnily enough, with how much she likes to explore, she probably came across and "collected" the key that opens that mysterious door advancing the party's adventure. However, the key seems to be merely decorative because Mon'sun already opened the door since the shiny lock caught her eye as soon as the party stepped into the room! She'll even lockpick a shabby chest filled with absolutely nothing simply because she finds it to be a fun game to pass the time while everyone else debates on the next course of action (like a child being given a toy to amuse themselves with while the adults discuss boring adult shit). Astarion will even join her sometimes, and they also constantly challenge each other on who gets to disarm a trap first while the rest of the party make bets on who will win

What she lacks in strength, she makes up for with her incredible dexterity

While she is a survivor in her own right, she can't deny that pure dumb luck has saved her more times than a bard has bedded a dragon...which is definitely saying a lot

After travelling around for so long, the vast world of Faerûn has fuelled her curious mind with quite an impressive amount of knowledge along with fascinating stories to tell. But while she basks in the freedom of it all, her heart aches for a true sense of belonging; a home

She loves--and I mean LOVES--looting dead bodies. While their demise is certainly unfortunate, their loss is her grateful gain as well as a much less criminal way to obtain some quick valuables (hey, she can sympathize and get rich. It's a win-win!)

A biiit of a hoarder (perhaps she was a dragon in a past life, she jokes). Her pack is nearly always full of various junk, good and bad. She gets attached easily to these items and keeps making the excuse that "they could be handy or fetch for a pretty penny one day" all while almost never actually trying to get rid of them (DEFINITELY not me projecting myself here 👀)

She is VERY charismatic, successfully deceiving or talking her way out of many toils and even persuading powerful creatures to side with her which makes her pretty powerful, too, in her own right. On the other (much darker) hand... This sweet, cheerful bard has convinced some enemies to literally kill themselves, saving her from aaall the tough work she really can't be bothered with of ridding them herself--and she'll gladly do it again in a heartbeat. Work smarter, not harder as they say! 👏

Confident, outgoing, and playful with a flair for the theatrical; also rather perceptive to the people and things around her, but can be serious and empathetic when needed. Often tries to keep a positive (if not naive) outlook on life and continues to hold hope for a better future against all odds, yet is actually burying a devastating loneliness and pain within the depths of her soul

Can be a flirt and almost never hesitates to sleep with any man interested in her. For her, however, it's not about physical pleasure--it's about intimacy. Chasing after the high of being in someone's strong embrace, their warmth melting the icy melancholy her heart is trapped in; even if only for one, meaningless night

Despite everything, she has a big heart. She has a hard time saying no to anyone in need, her selflessness (or too much of it for that matter) sometimes leading to be a weakness. She particularly has a soft spot for children and animals, as well as being able to understand and communicate with the latter thanks to the "Speak with Animals" spell. And while she is a chaotic neutral, she instantly becomes chaotic good (emphasis on chaotic) when it comes down to animals, literally slaying everything in her path if it ensures the animal is safe from those that hurt it as well as adopting any stray back in camp if it's possible (Astarion hated it at first, until an ungodly swarm of adorable cats eventually started to appear 😹)

Besides her affinity for dramatics and the spotlight, she is usually a pretty relaxed person. That all changes, however, when a party is involved. Bring her to a lively tavern and pump some drinks into her system and she's more than ready to live it up the entire night! Good luck trying (and failing) to rein her back in... She's toootally not banned from a few taverns because of this 🙃

Talented in singing and playing many different instruments, but her main instrument of choice is the lyre. The lyre that she ventures everywhere with is from her childhood, a gift from someone near and dear to her heart. The "Spider's Lyre" as it's curiously called, in which her nimble fingers have nearly been sliced off countless times in her youth while practicing due to its dagger sharp strings, but she cherishes it like her own life

Although music is her passion--her blood--she indulges in other forms of creative art like writing and drawing when she has the time. She proudly showed off her skills this one instance when she doodled on Vlaakith's portrait in Crèche Y'llek. She believes she made it look so much better, but you could say that she and Lae'zel had...creative differences. But was it worth it even though she got chased around by Lae'zel afterwards as the gith maniacally swung her sword, Astarion giggling in the background while everyone else tried to stop Lae'zel? Oh, absolutely!

While she doesn't have much and has learned to make the most out of very little, she's quite vain and puts in the time and effort to take care of her appearance. As a bard, she lives to perform, but stands by the firm belief that her beauty needs to shine as brightly as her stage presence does lest she's hardly a bard at all

Easily makes friends almost everywhere she goes (even with more, um, questionable folks), but difficult for her to open up more and feel that she is genuinely close to someone (until she met the companions, that is)

Has a little habit where she fiddles with her eyebrow piercings whenever she's anxious or deep in thought

She's not a fan of dark spaces. She's not afraid of the dark, but being in any gloomy place for too long makes her feel uneasy and prone to panic attacks, desperate to feel the sun on her face again. One of the reasons why she's never visited the Underdark before, opting instead to learn about such dangerous beauty through books and other adventurers' experiences

When she's being idle...well, she's not very idle at all. She's always softly humming something to herself or slightly bouncing/dancing in place

Keeps the party entertained on their journey through singing and sharing tall tales. Well, "entertained" is a bit of a stretch, considering Lae'zel's always screaming at Mon'sun to shut up (spoiler alert: she won't) 🤐

Has nicknames for everyone in the party: Astarion is Astie (later on "my star" when romanced and Astarion calls her "my sun"), Gale is Big G, Lae'zel is Lae-Lae (*cough* more like Lae-Me-To-DEATH *cough*), Karlach is Spicy Mama, Shadowheart is Shady Girl, and Wyll is Bof (short for Blade of Frontiers). Can't say that everyone's too pleased with what they're so lovingly (and weirdly) bestowed with, but they just got used to it and allows only Mon'sun to refer to them as such

Can be deemed as the therapist of the group. While she absolutely has issues of her own (and plenty, might I add), she chooses instead to focus on everyone else and help them. She is super protective over them (although, one pale elf in particular has caught her favour out of all)

While she cares a lot about everyone in the party, she does consider Gale to be her bestfriend. They just get along really well together; Mon'sun proves to be an eager and like-minded listener/conversationalist to the wizard prodigy's ramblings while Gale is just thrilled that someone (and so pretty, too) is actually so kind and attentive to him as an individual, even helping him with his little--well, BIG--situation. Astarion, on the other hand... Well, let's just say that he's not as thrilled for Mon'sun to be so close to someone else, especially Gale of all weirdos 🙄

She's a pretty colourful person so it fits that her apparel is the same. She'll never be caught dead wearing something so woeful as plain ol' black or white. In fact, being so unbearably boring may just be the cause of her death!

Has complicated feelings about gods. They're interesting, for sure, and she respects anyone's beliefs in them though she wouldn't exactly put her faith in any of them let alone kneel (looking at you Vlaakith). She'd rather put her faith in herself--just like she always has--but that doesn't mean she won't take advantage of any "divine" blessings that may come her way. Such is the case when she obtained the Phalar Aluve sword from the Underdark, offering a tiny bit of her blood in exchange which pleased Eilistraee yet greatly pissed off Lolth (Mon'sun the chaos gremlin definitely got a kick out of that especially since she knows the big scary spider lady can't do anything to her...she thinks. She hopes)

While she certainly revels in having the upper hand in troublesome situations, she's not really a power-hungry person. Although, having power does have its perks. She won't lie, she has played around in her tadpole-infested mind the far-fetched but very possible idea of seizing the Absolute's followers under her own control (I mean, hey, if there's one thing she's learned during this unique little trip is that anything is possible). Not all cultists are actually evil; she likes to think that she could give them a fair shot at redemption, and it doesn't hurt that some of these cultists are powerful people that could potentially be used to "liberate the world of evil"... Blame (or rather thank) Astarion for unlocking (hehe subtle pun) this ambition of hers, though she doesn't think she could ever do this without Astarion ruling by her side--together