#(can you believe my job used to be graphic design)

[bowofbalance]

Happy Thirteen Thirstday everyone!!

[itsdannycragg]

Hi Tumblr!

I logged da fuck off at some point and will continue to be very much so not on social media! Believe me when I tell you life is better on the other side.

I do want to pop in with a life update for the curious!

I'm out here in Durham, NC, and three years after moving here with Shelby and Brian, I can confidently say there isn't a place in the world I'd rather put my roots down.

I never knew what actual community looked or felt like until I came here. I'd made friends in town everywhere I'd lived, of course, and we would go out to eat or on a vacation, visit a gallery or something, but in Durham it's just different. Looking out the window during a car ride, chatting with a stranger in a grocery store, checking out a thrift shop or going to the library, I find myself declaring "I love living here..." the same compulsive way I tell my partners I love them. Durham isn't just a place I live, it's where I belong.

I've been calling myself an ex-cartoonist, and preaching the nightmare of trying to make art for infinite-profit focused megacorps. It's not that I didn't love making cartoons, it's that I did. It may not be that way for everyone, but for me, working a job I loved meant I was working every second of my life. Being an artist is a core part of my heart and soul, and near the end, I had become so burnt out I would spend hours just trying to start doing the work I used to fly out of bed excited to do.

So I did some of this and that, worked a retail job that fucked my hands up so bad that I had to have double carpal tunnel release surgery. 29 years as an artist and I get carpal tunnel from hefting around boxes in a warehouse!

Since then, I've pivoted into building a career as a graphic designer. (And I'm learning web dev too!) I'm getting involved in the local nonprofit scene, meeting so many incredible people and finding so many cool and exciting opportunities to focus my design work on community awareness, nonprofits, small businesses!! I didn't expect that to be so viable for a Graphic Designer. I had the misconception for a long time that I'd have to put my creative sensibilities aside for more dry, sensible corporate phooey. But there's so much more. Graphic design is truly a delight and a challenge! I have always enjoyed thinking critically about all forms of human creation. Why am I so drawn to this book cover? What makes that building so weird? Why do these casserole mix boxes piss me off? Why does that person's outfit look so fucking awesome?

Taking those thoughts and using them to inform how I approach design is an entirely different beast from animating and illustrating. I'm fighting for my life out there formatting text, morphing vectors and and scooting things around a comp until it works. A picture's worth a thousand words, but you don't have space for a thousand words in a graphic design. Condense! Condense! It's challenging, and a lot of fun.

Working as a cartoonist was my dream come true, and I am forever proud of and thankful for the part I have played in the history of animation and queer representation in entertainment. I had the privilege of having the life crisis I had at 21— "I never thought I'd get this far. What more could I want? What do I do now?"

Well, a decade later I confidently know what comes after having my dreams come true. I get older, and I experience new things, meet new people, struggle paying bills, endure all kinds of misfortunes and problems, and come out the other side astounded and proud to have survived it. Grow closer to my family friends and community as the years deepen our history together, and just be amazed and thankful that I made it this far, over and over.

It's funny being called old by my younger friends, because I have never felt so young in my life! I JUST cracked 30. There are so many things I haven't done yet, and so many things I don't know that I don't know yet. And I have the power to take ALL of this and to create art about it. Hopy shit!

Speaking of making art and sharing it, one of the reasons I'm excited to be learning web dev is so I can carve out places online where I can share anything and everything I want to. Media Crit, comics, essays, comics, illos, however I want to present it. I'll share it when I get the site running. Or maybe I wont and you'll have to find it by chance.

And of course, I'm still actively writing Neokosmos with Shelby and Brian, and doing other little things here and there. :) See ya when I see ya, Danny

[thewisecheerio]

Messmer's Insignia

This is Messmer's insignia, stamped all over his Keep, as well as his soldiers' shields and tents. This post is going to be a canon-compliant lore analysis, meaning that not all of this will be explicitly mentioned in canon but will attempt to be compliant with what we do know explicitly.

There are a few important elements coming together to make the insignia: 1. The left-hand flame 2. The right-hand woven ring 3. The outer ring 4. The overlaid, central spear

I'd like to pick these apart in the same way you might pick apart a heraldic coat of arms to look at what each piece might mean individually, as well as what the placement of some elements relative to others might symbolize.

The Left-Hand Flame

Along with the horizontal panel of flames, this is obviously symbolic of Messmer's flame. However, I do want to note that you can absolutely see a cute little winged serpent shape hidden in the flame's design with its head on the right, its tail on the left, and the central portion of the flame forming a wing. (Or maybe it's a dragon. Or maybe I need to seek help for my advanced brainrot, which is causing me to see things. You decide!) Given that Messmer's Phase 1 design—and his public persona—is a mixture of flame and specifically winged serpents, this seems an apt way to capture both ideas in one. A bit on the nose maybe, but hey, his day job is genocide, not graphic design (insert obligatory gRaPhIc dEsIgN iS mY pAsSiOn here).

The Right-Hand Ring

Many people have connected this to Marika's circlet, which I'm not sure I see. Her circlet is a lot more angularly braided, rather than the smooth coil shown here. Plus, I think that Marika's circlet is supposed to be similar to Miquella's Circlet of Light, in that it signifies a (fully) divine aspect of the wearer—something Messmer assuredly is not, since he is a demigod without grace (or, at least, with only the artificial grace bestowed by Marika's seal alone). But either way, none of what I'm about to say contradicts this interpretation, and you can have both be true at the same time.

Rather, I think a different interpretation might be that this is intertwined serpents, similar to the shape his own winged serpents make as they coil around his body. The winged serpent is typically a symbol of Caduceus in alchemical lore, of which Elden Ring is rife. The Caduceus is explicitly two intertwined snakes topped with wings. So that seems like the most straightforward interpretation for what this might be a nod to.

To learn more about Caduceus's role in alchemy, I highly recommend the two videos linked below by Max Derrat and Smoughtown. But the short of it is that the binding ritual that produces a rebis—a divine, single (merged) soul of masculine and feminine energies (e.g. Marika/Radagon)—requires some sort of binding material to happen properly. In alchemical lore, this binding material is the "prima materia", or the formless base of all matter in the universe associated with chaos and the void. The material is often referred to as Mercurius, named for the god Mercury who carries a Caduceus staff. Thus, we end up with binding/prima materia = Mercurius = Caduceus = 2 intertwined serpents.

(Side note: This is also an EXCELLENT reason to believe that Messmer is the son of Marika and Radagon. The White Queen and Red King of alchemy are often shown with the Caduceus between them, which would seem to fit well with the idea of Marika and Radagon having a child between them that is associated with dual serpents.)

I also think there is a connection to the (singular) base serpent by way of the alchemical Caduceus, however. Besides the prima materia/uniting matter, Caduceus is also often used as a symbol of duality. Namely, it is a symbol of the tension between "higher" and "base" desires, with the former being associated with wisdom and the latter being associated with chaos. We absolutely see this in Messmer's lore, as we learn from the Winged Serpent Helm that his winged serpents act as wise friends that keep his base serpent in check. As such, the duality of the Caduceus may also represent the duality of the winged and base serpents. So this coiled symbol involving two snakes might also represent the singular base serpent indirectly, making it function like an image-based palimpsest. When we peel back the layers of one, we find evidence of the other.

The Outer Ring

I mostly think this is just meant to be a uniting graphical element. However, it is cute that it kind of evokes the imagery of a Great Rune, all of which are rings. Messmer does not have a Great Rune, as he did not participate in the shattering. So instead of an actual Great Rune, he ends up with this imitation insignia instead. Adorable. Maybe this is why his otherwise heraldic-looking insignia was designed as a circle instead of the more classical forms that heraldic coats-of-arms tend to take.

The Central Spear

In the center of the insignia, we get a spear wrapped with a singular(?) serpent. The question mark is there because we do not actually see the serpent tail, so you would be reasonable to question whether this is truly a singular serpent, or something like an unending ouroboros. (Or, you know, both.) I'm going to go forward with the assumption that this is a singular serpent. Cutely, the head of the spear forms the serpent's head.

Obviously, the most straightforward part is that the spear is Messmer's spear, the Spear of the Impaler. I find it highly apt that the spear *overlays* the other elements of the insignia, almost dominating them. War is definitely the thing Messmer is most publicly known for, as a myriad of NPCs—both spirit and corporeal—curse him for the honorless war that he has wrought without mentioning much else about him. Meanwhile, his internal relationship with his flame and serpentine nature is something really only known privately. After all, the Fire Knight set tells us that it was only those few knights under his personal command that knew the truth of how he felt regarding his flame and his serpentine nature.

Armor of the Fire Knights under Messmer the Impaler's personal command. Distinguished by its red cape and twin golden snakes which adorn the neck, enhancing incantations of Messmer's flame. These were the only ones who truly knew Messmer. His flames, like serpents. The painful fate that accompanied his accursed form.

Building on this, the dominating nature of this graphical element is important in another way. The flame and other serpent imagery seems to be something intrinsic to Messmer: he was born with a serpentine nature, and was either born with or cursed with flame very early in his existence, too. Meanwhile, war is something that was *imposed upon him* as a request by his mother, as we learn from his armor set. He doesn't do genocide just because he enjoys fighting like Godfrey or Radahn; rather, he does it on behalf of Marika and ends up pretty sad, tired, and self-hating because of it. In this way, warfare ends up as an intrusive element in his life, similar to the way the spear almost seems to be a dominating, nearly intrusive element in the insignia's design.

The serpent coiled around the spear is also really interesting, because it appears to be a singular serpent in contrast to the dual coil on the right. The most straightforward interpretation is that this is a nod to his hidden inner nature as the (singular) base serpent.

Given what we learned above about the Caduceus itself symbolizing a tension between higher and base desires—and repeated in Messmer's story as tension between the wise winged serpents and base serpent—I find it apt that the snake more associated with base desires is the one wrapped around the tool of war. I enjoy the link between warfare and base desires, as it ties into Elden Ring's overall themes around cycles of violence, explicitly characterizing the desire for violence and war as base.

The Central Spear: An Alternative Interpretation

This next bit is unhinged brainrot territory and what I think is a weaker interpretation of the spear symbolism than the above, so be warned. But I also think something interesting can be said if you look at this as a nod to the Rod of Asclepius. Asclepius is the god of healing and medicine, and the Rod of Asclepius (containing a single serpent wrapped around it) is often used as a symbol of medicine both in real life hospitals as well as in alchemical lore. Messmer's most obvious connection to medicine is Marika, as the Blessing of Marika and Remembrance of the Impaler items tell us that she attempted to heal him before finally gouging out his eye to seal the base serpent away instead.

So if this is a nod to his mother's attempts to heal him, two things are true. First, this is an adorable nod to mom from Elden Ring's biggest momma's boy. Second, one might also read into it that these attempts to heal him of something he was naturally born with—and isn't intrinsically evil in and of itself, as far as I can tell—were actually intrusive.

Certainly from Marika's perspective, she worried that others would judge Messmer for his serpentine nature. In some sense, she was right, as Messmer's followers (like Black Knight Andreas) specifically rebelled against him after learning of it. But if your child is disabled or otherwise different in some way and people will judge them for it, is that actually a reason to seek a cure rather than an accommodation, especially if the cure comes with other costs? The answer is complex and varies by individual, of course. But in Messmer's case, we see signs of self-hatred and even neglect as a result of being taught that the base serpent is intrinsically evil. For evidence of this, see the linked post about how there are bits of shed skin on the base serpent, which is a symptom of neglect for snakes!

If Marika's cure resulted in self-hatred and neglect of a critical aspect of his being, can it really be said to be medicinal? Or is it just as intrusive an element in his life as warfare seems to be? I think if you believe the latter, this could be another reason to read this part of the design as intrusive and dominating over the other elements in the insignia that represent his natural self. That said, I think the base serpent interpretation is the more lore-accurate one, but it's fun to think about what it might mean as a symbol of Marika's attempted healing, anyway!

To Sum Up...

So overall while the design is maybe a slightly messy conglomeration of ideas and images, I think this insignia gives us so much. We get fire imagery, winged serpent imagery, base serpent symbolism, a graphic palimpsest of the winged and base serpents and the duality of man, warfare, warfare as a base desire, maybe a cute nod to Great Runes, and maybe even a cute nod to Momma and her attempts to heal. In this way, I think it functions in the same way as coats of arms do in heraldic design: they can also be pretty graphically messy, but it's on purpose to fit a lot of symbolism into a small space.

[georgiapeach30513]

Lips Like Sugar

Summary:  Ari only had one choice, and you were made for him.  

Pairings:  Fae King!Ari Levinson X Fae!Reader

Rating:  explicit

Warnings:  explicit language, explicit sexual content, faerie curses, size kink, objectification, being held in captivity, unprotected sex, PIV sex, creampie, loss of virginity, 18+ ONLY

Word Count:  2.2K

Series Masterlist

*dividers created by @firefly-graphics​

Looking up at the moon, the old hag continues her journey through the dense forest.  Things were almost ripe.  They were finally aligning.  Her feet trudge through the damp fallen leaves, creating an eerie stomp and drag.  While everyone else was celebrating the Summer King’s birthday, she was completing her life’s work.  

No longer will she be overlooked as a crazy loon.  Her grandmother had set a beautiful plan into motion, and it was nearly complete.  This was the last blood moon before you were ready.  

Bending over the creek side, she drops a crystal into the dark water, before scooping up a bit of liquid, and begins her trek back to her cottage.  You would be ready, and you would be his undoing.  Perfectly formed and bred to be his greatest weakness.  Someone he couldn’t say no to.

Hearing the creek of the door, you scurry back in your cage.  Eyes shimmering as you look up at her, “You’re almost ready my sweet nymph.  Drink it.”

“No,” you whine, shaking your head.  “I don’t want to.  He’ll hurt me.”

“He won’t hurt you.  Sure he’s a king, and you are such a small little nymph, but this is what you were designed for.  Drink it.”

“I don’t want to,” you whisper, pulling your knees up to your chest.  “Don’t make me do this.”

“It’s already done, my child.  By the time the sun comes up the king will be so drunk off summer wine, and human pussy he won’t even think straight.  All you need to do is be seen.  I assure you, Ari will take care of the rest.  He doesn’t have a choice.  He’ll know.  Drink.  It.”

“Please, don’t make me do this.”

“It’s already done,” she croaks out as her hand slips through your cage.  “Don’t you want to get out of here?  Live in the sun?  There are worse faerie kings that could be fucking you.”

“Ari,” a squeaky voice screams in his ear.  Ari’s naked body rolls over on the bed, groaning.  “Ari!  It’s the first day of summer!”

“I know.  I’m summer embodiment,” he pulls his covers up around his face as a few bodies clamor out of his bed.  “Nothing happened.”

“Nothing is going to happen.  They are human.  They can’t change anything.  Get out,” Ari smacks at the little sprite, but he still stands there.  “Ari, it is my duty to get the king out on the first day of summer.  It is your job to be seen, and this birthday is different.”

“Yes, a cruel and unusual curse,” Ari sits up in his bed, glaring at the sprite.  His little friend hands him a pair of pants to cover himself up, but Ari walks over to the window completely nude.  “I will die today if I don’t fuck the right faerie.  Sounds like a fair trade off.”

“Yes, and you’ve made sure to stick your cock in every living thing in the glade.”

“And still this mysterious curse looms over my head.  I am to believe that pussy will be my downfall.  I have literally fucked every fae in Collingswood, and still my sun mark hasn’t fully filled in.  The only fae I haven’t fucked is you, Pip.”

“Oh.  No.  No, I don’t think my ass is your ticket to fully becoming summer.  I think that you need to listen to the curse.  You are to go by the creek bed.  Let her come to you.  And then…”

“Make her come on me.  Over and over again.  Isn’t that what I do?  Stretch them out, ruin them for other cock, and selfishly send them back to the human realm always longing for the golden cock of summer?” Pip rolls his eyes, starting to walk out of Ari’s sleeping quarters.  Ari ever the arrogant asshole.

“You always were full of yourself.”

“Humans were always addicted to me.”

“Because they’re human.  You’re not special.  They can be addicted to anyone of us.  The one to save you is not a human.  That is something you know.  Fine, lay in here, and drown in your covers.  Die on your birthday while Fala takes charge of the glade.  It’s what I would do if I were a coward.  Imagine being scared to fuck someone,” Pip slams the door to Ari’s room, and the fae king looks at his discarded pants.

He wasn’t scared.  He was tired.  Who knew that sex for thousands of years could make one tired.  Grunting, he grabs up his bottoms, and walks out into the forest.  By the creek he would wait.

Ari tosses a rock into the creek before laying back down on the mossy ground.  This was boring.  This would be his deathbed.  Right by the water.  Everyone would know that he didn’t rise to his full capacity, and died because of some ridiculous curse.  A curse that didn’t even make sense.

A twinkle of a giggle has him jolting up quickly, and there you are, sitting on a rock, bathing in the creek.  Your laughter was like music, and your skin glimmered in the sunlight.  “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you before,” he calls out to you.

Taking a deep gulp, you look back to the water, “You wouldn’t,” no one but Fala and her family had ever seen you.

Ari had never seen anyone more beautiful than you.  The embodiment of sexual desire.  Much smaller than his normal fae of choice.  The way he could have you twisted, and manipulated to suit his sexual needs has his head spinning.  And your wings were intact.  No fraying on the edges.  “You don’t travel much?”

“No,” even the simplest of words had your voice ringing in his ear like that most beautiful symphony, and he finds his body pulling him closer to you.  

“Where did you come from?”

“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” he didn’t even care where you came from.  Every part of his body was begging to have you.  It needed you.  “Who are you?”

“The King of Summer,” you didn’t even seem impressed, and didn’t reach for his hand as he tries to pull you out of the water.  “I can command you to do anything.”

“I wish you wouldn’t,” you have never been given a choice of the matter.  Everything you did was because someone wanted you to.  He could command you by more than words.  Ari was gigantic.  Towering over you.  Thick cords of muscle over every inch of him.  You squeeze your thighs together, dreading the inevitable.  Your body ached, and craved him, and it was preparing itself to take his wide self.  

“What is your name?”

“You can call me, Nymph.”

“That is your title.  And you wear it well,” his eyes trace over every inch of your curves.  While he embodied summer, you were the epitome of sexual desire.  “What is your name?”

“I’m the only Nymph in the glade.  You can call me what my maker did.  Nymph,” Ari blows out a puff of air, and you whimper.  Having to look away from him quickly.  

“What’s wrong, Nymph?”

“It hurts,” you struggle to breathe as your arms wrap around your stomach.  “Please?” This isn’t at all what you thought it would feel like.  You had lived your whole life in a cage, knowing that you were created to be Ari’s cocksleeve.  What had once disgusted you, now was needing Ari.  Your body screams for his touch, but your brain doesn't want to ruin someone’s life.

“Please, my King,” Ari’s eyes roll in the back of his head at the sound of your pitiful voice.  He didn’t even know exactly what you were begging for.  Tiny little thing, shivering in the freezing creek, and needing her king.  “Ari, it hurts.”

“What hurts?” You point between your legs, and Ari’s mouth turns up in a crooked grin.  It was you.  The one that would allow him to fully be summer.  To hold the entire light of summer in his body.  “Oh, sweet Nymph, what would make you feel better?”

“I think…ow,” holding your stomach tighter, you have to look away from him.  There was only one thing that would take away this pain, and it was the one thing you swore you would never do.  “Ow…Ari!”

He didn’t even recognize that he had never even given you his name.  He was just as needy for you as you are for him.  Watching as your body starts grinding on the rock, trying to get a relief that will only come by his touch.  “Ari!”

“You have to tell me what you need,” he is mesmerized watching your desperate little body.  Trying to put into words what you are feeling.  Whether the pain was too much or you are too embarrassed he didn’t know.  You scream out his name again, spreading your legs apart, and it’s then he realizes that your hair was the only thing covering yourself from him.

He couldn’t think straight.  Didn’t realize that this was indeed a trap to lure him to you.  Couldn’t fathom how this seemed so perfectly placed.  But your tight little virgin cunt was trembling.  “Nymph?”

“I need you.  Need you to…don’t hurt me though.”

“What was that?  I think you forgot some words,” Ari is an experienced man, and judging by the giant bulge in his pants, he was going to destroy you.  “Nymph I need you to…”

“Fuck me!  Fuck away this pain!”

Pushing his pants down, his thick member springs to life.  Veiny and leaking precum, and you screech.  It was going to hurt.  His tremendous hands grab your legs and arms at the same time.  Keeping you unable to move or get away if you wanted to.  And you did not.  He stares at your weeping cunt, bringing you right up to his face as he watches your core throb and plead for relief.

“That is a tight little cunt.  Are you a virgin?” He asks, licking up your slit.  The sweetest dessert was right in between your thighs.

“Yes,” you whimper.  There was no way to get comfortable.  Ari was going to have you however he wanted.  He spits at your opening, bringing you down to his waist.  “It’s going to hurt.”

“Yes, my sweet, Nymph.  It’s going to hurt a great deal.  But don’t worry, I always make it fit.  But if the curse is correct, that tight little hole was made just for my enjoyment.  You’ll get used to it.”

“Get used to being used.”

“Exactly,” he moans, starting to press your channel over his tip.  “You’re mine.  Say it.  You’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” your voice shakes as he pushes through your entrance.  You hiss.  It hurt, but the relief was immediate.  Warmth moves through your body, as he lowers you over him.  Gaping your hole wide before your balls deep, and chirping at the sensation.  “Ahh!” A cry of pleasured pain echoes through the forest.  

Ari stares at where the two of you connect, grunting at just how good your tiny little self took him.  A tunneled bump on your stomach showing exactly where he was deeply rooted in you.  “Holy fuck,” he pants out.  Power fills him up as the comfort flows through your veins.

You stare at his chest as his sun mark starts to deepen.  “Fuck.  Me,” he had to finish it.  He couldn’t just stand there, holding you on his cock like you were some ornament for his dick.  

“Use.  Me,” he is frozen.  Allowing his body to be taken by summer, but also by you.  His pretty little nymph.  He wouldn’t be dying.  Not today.

“I’m.  Yours,” you mewl, and his eyes snap back into focus.  “Ari, I’m yours.”

He lifts your body off before slamming you over his cock.  Using you as a personal sex toy.  He could throw you, and lift you like you were the weight of a leaf.  Tiny in comparison to him.  His motions are hard and fast, and you have never felt more satisfied.  Your life’s work was complete as he makes you go dumb with pleasure.

“That’s right!  I’m the fucking king!  This is my pussy!  Mine!” He screams to whatever fae is around.  Everyone had seen him fucking before, but never you.  Never saw his body gulp the warmth of summer in its veins.  Had never witnessed a man become weak over a woman like this.  

“Mine!” He grunts out, eyes on yours.  “Mine!” He is possessive.  Letting the forest know you only belonged to him.  You are the reason that he was coming into power.  “Mine!”

He still wasn’t saying the words, and you fear you will be nothing more than wet skin for him.  “My Queen!” And there it was.

Fala’s haunting words whisper into your mind as euphoria overtakes your body, “It’s simple really.  I control you.  I am your maker.  Ari controls you, he is your king.  But…should you become Queen, he has a weakness.  I then control you both.  And I will get my revenge.”

“Ari!  Ari!” You scream into the woods as your eyes go blank.  Nothing had ever felt better.  Nothing will ever feel better.  You were his.  And he is yours.  Ari growls up to the canopy as he empties his load into your stretched hole.  His cream starts leaking down his thighs because your body just couldn’t handle anymore.  Just not now.  He still had some stretching to you.

“I control you both,” Fala whispers as she heads back to her cottage.  “I control them both.”

Next

Masterlist

Taglist: @tis-thedamn-season @marveloustaylortot​ @pono-pura-vida @sstan-hoe @missusbarnes-rogers @peaches1958 @seitmai​ @smile1318​ @andydrysdalerogers​ @cjand10​ @midnightramyeoncravings @donutloverxo​ @whiskeytangofoxtrot555​ @bambamwolf87 @harrysthiccthighss @theinheriteddutchess @kmc1989  

[giamee]

ᯓ ᡣ𐭩 prev. OG 5 GIRLS INTRO!

masterlist. next. ᯓ ᡣ𐭩

INTRODUCING THE ISLANDERS ...

"HI i'm y/n, i'm 21 and from teyvat. i'm a student, so yay summer break!"

"i'm here for what i hope is a good time. i've had a couple boyfriends before, in fact i broke up with my last one just a few months ago, so i'm really just looking to get out there again and what's a better way than to be here with all the hottest guys in teyvat?"

"hey, i'm ganyu!! i work as a secretary and i'm 21, i live in liyue!!"

"i've never really had a boyfriend before haha, but maybe i'll find one here! my friends say that i'm a workaholic, and i feel like if i were to have a boyfriend he'll have to be able to handle the fact that i have a busy work life, or maybe just have one of his own."

"i'm not really the type to go out much, i definitely prefer a night in haha."

"my type? i like sweet guys, sort of a classic romantic type of guy who will make me feel special and understands my needs. that's all."

"yo, i'm hu tao, my friends call me tao! i'm from liyue, i'm 19, and i'm a funeral director. didn't expect that one did you? you ever had someone on the show with that job before? yeaahhhh, thought not."

"one thing about me is i love a good prank. i've always kind of been a trouble child, ever since primary school. nothing too crazy, just enough to keep people on their toes."

"i like people that are funny, can match my vibe. i don't like boring people. we're here to have fun, aren't we!?"

"one ick i have? to begin with, people who call them icks. and uhh... i also hate when guys make it a point to say how strong they are by comparing my own strength?? like yes, you can curl my bench, i'd hope so or otherwise we'd both be weak as shit."

"hey, i'm rosaria, i'm from mondstadt. i'm 26, and... well i've had a lot of jobs over the years. it's a bit of a funny story, actually, i used to be a nun. clearly that was meant to last 'cos i'm on this show now. right now, i work as a bartender. it's quite fun, getting to know the regulars. i can do most of their orders off the top of my head now."

"one of my icks in a guy? i don't think this really counts, but you won't believe the amount of guys i've met who are just... can't get over the fact that i used to be a nun. it's not that serious, like? i get it, but this isn't a porno."

"my type? good question. i don't know. but the last guy i was talking to had a bunch of tattoos and this really hot beard so, maybe that."

"so... i just talk into this mic? okay."

"hello.. everyone! i'm jean, i'm 26, and i'm an office worker. nothing too glamorous, haha. oh yeah, and i'm from mondstadt"

"my type in a guy is someone who's a bit more mature, you know? i'm not a teenager any more, i don't have the patience to date around with idiots anymore!" (chuckles)

"growing up, my dad and my brothers always made sure to treat me really well so that when i'm older i'll know how a guy should treat me. i guess you could say that my standards are pretty high, yeah"

"ooh, an ick? if a guy wants to go 50/50 with me. if you're broke, just say that"

𝜗𝜚 gia's notes :: the banners r kinda ugly o well. graphic design is my passion 🤓 also i left the y/n bio kinda blank so it's not too specific :)

[cosmicfunnies]

Navigating Through The Storm - An Update On My Journey

Hello , dear friends and followers,I hope this post finds you in moments of peace and pockets of joy, despite the complexities we all navigate through in our lives. It’s been a while since I've shared a detailed update with you, and I believe it’s important to keep the lines of communication open, honest, and heartfelt.

The past few years have been a rollercoaster, to say the least. I’ve encountered personal challenges that have significantly impacted my ability to create as freely and frequently as I used to, particularly with my comics and creative projects.Depression has been a relentless companion on this journey, making everyday tasks and creative endeavors much more difficult to navigate.

The weight of it often dims the vibrant colors of life, making even the simplest steps forward feel like monumental tasks.Adding to this, the financial strain of losing my full-time job two years ago has cast a long shadow over my life. The search for stable employment has been both exhausting and disheartening, leaving me to juggle financial uncertainty alongside my other challenges.

One of the most heart-wrenching aspects of these years has been witnessing the progression of my mom’s dementia. Her condition continues to deteriorate, and the emotional toll of watching a loved one fade away cannot be overstated. It's a type of pain that words can hardly capture.

Despite the darkness, there have been slivers of light and progress. I’ve been slowly, but surely, working on new things. The journey back to creativity isn’t a straightforward path; it’s filled with starts and stops, especially with chronic fatigue making every step feel like wading through molasses.

But I am moving, nonetheless.I’m in the process of relaunching my store, which is both exciting and daunting. It’s a tangible piece of my hope for the future, a hope that creativity will once again be a full-fledged beacon in my life.Moreover,

I've taken a significant step towards a brighter future by going back to college to pursue my bachelor's degree in graphic design. This decision is not just about career opportunities; it's about reigniting my passion and opening doors to new possibilities and dreams.

Yes, things are moving slowly, but they are moving. The creation of new comics and products is underway, though the pace might not be what I used to manage. This process is teaching me patience and the importance of being kind to myself, recognizing that progress, no matter how small, is still progress.

To you, my dear readers, your support and understanding mean the world to me. Knowing that you are there, even in silence, gives me strength. I am hopeful for what the future holds, for both my creative endeavors and personal growth.

Your patience and encouragement as I navigate this phase of my life are invaluable.As doors begin to crack open, and I peer through to the possibilities beyond, I am reminded that every step forward is a victory. And I am grateful for the chance to share this journey with you.

Jackie

[kickingitwithkirk]

Winchester's Folly

Summary: When Dean gets into trouble John decides to hide the truth for his family

Pairing: Alpha!Dean x Omega!Reader x Alpha!Sam

WC: 1097

Dark! Fic-don't continue if you are disturbed by the subject matter.

Warnings: A/B/O, dystopian au, canon elements, non/con, dub/con, incest, subjugation, pandemic, mentions of nudity, physical/mental abuse, mention of collaring/leashed, sexual/slavery, rut/heat, physical altercation, death/murder conviction, show level violence, parental dominance, trafficking, branding, panic attacks, bondage, forced mating

*Additional warnings will be added

Square filled: @spnmixedbingo -stalker

A/N: Still working on reigning myself in, keeping each part reader-friendly length, and have no clue how many parts this will end up being.

A/N II: a few notes about designations in A/O sub-genders for this story.

Alphas-Dominant (head of the pack/family) Subordinate (obey Dominant) Breeders (rare & highly coveted by the government. Can challenge Dominant for pack/family leadership)

Omegas -Domestic (mostly wiped out by plague, few natural born left) Feral (government-supplied breeders sold commonly called O's) House O’s (3rd generation+ Feral/Dominant breed. Used as servants/sex workers) Pack (rare & highly coveted by the government)

*Divider by @firefly-graphics

*No Beta-all mistakes are mine

Part VIII

John leans against his truck's door, wearily rubbing his face, unaware that the judge is watching from their darkened chamber, yellow eyes alight with amusement. They held a glass of bourbon in salute and said, “Here’s to you, Johnny boy.”

****

Sam kept glancing in the rearview mirror every five minutes.

To the casual observer, it looked like he was checking on his brother, who passed out in the backseat, curled around his newly claimed Omega. But Sam’s instincts, which sometimes scared him, knew they were, by whom or what, he wasn’t sure, watched. 

Sam pulls out his Nokia and finds his dad’s number. “What’s wrong?” John’s gruff voice is grating on his frayed nerves. “I think we’re being followed.”

“Think or know? Which is it, Sam?”

“Know.” He tells of a vehicle that has been staying a quarter mile behind him since they left Devils Lake, ND. “We’re going to gas up in Fargo. I’ll let you know where to go next.” Thirty minutes later, Sam parked the Impala on the other side of a dual fuel pump and got out, stuck the nozzle into the rear port while John, checking his truck's rear tire pressure, quietly asked which vehicle it was that pulled into the station behind Sam. 

“Late eighties Mercury with the shitty two-tone job.” John moved to hang up his gas nozzle, “Take US75 to Wahpeton, then cut over to I-29. If they're still following, I’ll circle back behind them. If something happens, you haul ass to Bobby’s, don’t stop for anything. Understand.” 

Sam hung up his nozzle with a subtle nod and went to pay. Standing in line, he continued playing ignorant of the two people standing by the coolers watching him.

Several hours later 

Sam eyes the gas gauge while guiding the car through the cloverleaf exchange onto I-90 West, peers in the mirror, and sees that the car is still following but lets up some on the pedal anyways, so they’ll make it to Bobby’s because, at the rate the Impala burns fuel, they’ll be lucky to coast in on fumes. The vinyl creaked, and Dean’s head appeared over the seat-back, asking in a slurred, gruff voice, “Why are you driving my car?”

“Dad was ready to leave, and you were in no condition to drive.” Dean scrambles into the front seat, bumping into his brother, sniffs him, and Sam, already tired, isn't going to take any more guff, snaps, you stink like sex! Dean snatched Sam's snacks, guzzled his Mr. Pibb, then stuffed his mouthful of Funyuns mumbled, “This area looks familiar. Where are we headed?” 

“Would you believe Bobby’s?” Dean raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “That was my reaction when Dad told me.” Peering out the windshield, he jabbed, “You must be driving like grandma on Sunday ‘cause I don’t see dad’s truck.” Sam simply said, “He’s about half a mile behind.“ That set off Dean's radar and started to turn, “Don’t look!” Sam hollers.

 “Why? What’s wrong?” Dean yelled in his alpha voice, and Sam let loose a wrawl Dean had never heard an alpha do and slam back against the door. “Shit! I’m sorry Dean!“ Sam's eyes were huge and appeared as panicky as Dean's wolf felt. “S’kay, Sammy,” Dean's voice shook, “Just pay attention before you drive us into the barrier.” Sam’s eyes snap back to the road, and he quickly corrects. “Now, tell me what's going on.”

Sam fills him in on their being followed since North Dakota. Dean glanced in the side mirror, “Fuck! How long have my eyes been like this?” Sam shrugged, “No clue. They were like that when I talk you out of the courthouse.” Dean appeared remorseful. “Dad didn’t tell me anything about what happened.” Dean scoffed, “You know what happened!” 

 “Dean, I was referring to whatever happened in court today. And you’re not really to blame for…” A rustling in the back seat interrupts them, and Dean peeks over before averting his gaze forward. “I’m not to blame? I killed an innocent! Now I’ve sentenced her to this crap show that’s our lives. And you know the odds of her surviving if, no, when, I die? Zero! So Sammy, use your great intellect and convince me this isn’t all my fault.” Sam does try, but whatever he’s saying falls on deaf ears when his phone rings. Dean simultaneously alerts him, “Sam, that car is speeding up.” 

Cursing, he presses on the accelerator as Dean answers the phone. “Dad, what's happening?” He intently listens, “Dad’s going to try slowing them down. Says you need holy shit! Sam!!” Dean braced himself as his brother took the off-ramp too fast and fishtails onto a county road, gunning it. “Damn it, going have to realign the suspension after this,” he quickly dials another number. “Bobby, we’re coming in hot!” Dean says, “One car with two possible fugglies. Uh-huh, got it,” and hangs up. “He’s heading for the gate, don’t slow down.”  

“Dean, we’re cutting it close on the gas, man.” Dean leans over, “Don’t worry, Baby’s not gonna let us down,” silently praying Baby, don’t let us down while dialing again. “Dad, we’re running on fumes, need to back off; otherwise, you’re gonna be driving over us.” Sam can hear him giving orders. “Okay, when we get to the turn, Dad’s going to ram them so,” he pointedly gazed at Sam, who, spotting the gavel driveway entrance, nodded in acknowledgment and gripped the wheel tighter; he heard John's GMC roaring towards them. Dean calls over his shoulder, “Hold on, sweetheart...Sam now!!”

Sam smashed the brake pedal and cut the wheel, causing the 3,500-pound car to slide; screeching tires pierced the night as they left curved skid marks, then metal crunching when the truck's steel grill crashed into the other vehicle's rear end. Sam hit the gas, and the Impala roared under the Singer Salvage Yard signage, forcing Bobby to dive out of the way when gravel flew.

Partway down the drive, the car sputters and dies, rolling to a stop a few yards from the house. Bobby got up, mumbled idijits straightened his trucker cap, and heard the Impala’s squeaky doors simultaneously open; then Dean's voice was carrying on the night air, “If you’ve screwed up my car, I’m going to kick your ass!” 

Bobby marches towards the car and spits, “Stop giving your brother a hard time.” His rebuff dissipates when the elder brother's scarlet irises lock on him. Dean moves in front of a female sitting in the backseat like a predator protecting its kill and menacingly growls at him. 

Part IX

SPN TAGS: @donnaintx  @lyarr24  @flamencodiva   @lassie-bird  @nancymcl   @spnbaby-67 @leigh70

Dean/Jensen: @thoughts-and-funnies @stoneyggirl2  @beabutterfly987 @smoothdogsgirl

WF: @slamminmine @ladysparkles78 @deans-spinster-witch  @ilovetaquitosmmmm   @strawblueberrys  @mishkatelwarriorgoddess @kazsrm67

Sam/Jared: @idreamofplaid

[thefrogman]

I can't believe you forgot the five thousand dollar HDMI cable! That's the most important part! Never mind the fact that most HDMI cables do basically the same thing and have very few specialized features, don't think about it. Never mind the fact that gold plating is worthless on a digital signal. Spend five thousand dollars on a gold plated HDMI lead, right now!

You can never go wrong with AudioQuest. If you want overpriced cable nonsense, they got you covered.

Meet the Dragon "10K" HDMI cable.

For a cool $2300 you can get "Level 7 Noise Dissipation."

LEVEL 7!!!!!

Check out this totally scientific description of this feature...

"Traditional “100% shielding” is not enough to guard against the increasingly prevalent effects of Wi-Fi, cellular, and satellite radiation. In AudioQuest HDMI cables, all 19 conductors are Direction-Controlled to minimize the RF Noise that damages performance by “directing” or draining it away from the most vulnerable circuits. In Level 7 Noise Dissipation, high-loss graphene is added to the carbon layer sandwiched between layers of metal around the 4 FRL + eARC pairs, a "global" high-loss carbon layer is placed around all conductors, we incorporate our patented 72v Dielectric-Bias System, and even the drain wires are 100% Perfect-Surface Silver."

I'm sure all of that would hold up to scientific scrutiny.

I mean, sure, you are just transferring 1s and 0s back and forth, and as long as all of the 1s and 0s get where they need to go, your picture will look exactly the same with a $10 cable as it does with a $2300 cable... but I really do need that Level 7 dissipation. My house is constantly flooded with satellite radiation.

Yes, there are shitty HDMI cables. And some of them struggle to meet the bandwidth they claim on the packaging. This will cause no picture or sound or it will cause dropouts or skipped frames. Sometimes you will get crazy artifacts that pop in and out. But you cannot improve video or audio quality with a fancy cable.

You will not see magical colors so bright you cum in your shorts.

You will not hear indescribably intense bass that will violently vibrate your testicles--killing your sperm. That was microplastics, okay?

You will get the data that was encoded into the media file.

You just need a cable that can pass along that data without incident. Buying a "good" cable is actually recommended. Blue Jeans Cable is a great brand that has high quality control standards and a good warranty. They are a little spendy, but everything is a good value.

Their website is built on ancient GeoCities technology...

So you know they prioritize their budget toward R&D and product design over graphic designer or a subscription to Squarespace.

I buy their cables because they always meet the data bandwidth they claim and they can take abuse due to using tougher materials that last.

My best advice when buying an HDMI or other data cable is to figure out how much bandwidth you need, and then make sure in the product description they mention the data rate.

So if you want 4K resolution at 60 Hz, you will need a cable that does at least 18 gigabits per second. If you need 4K/120Hz/4:4:4/12 bit, then the bandwidth should be 48 Gbps. And if you get more bandwidth than you actually need, the cable is backwards compatible.

Here is a handy chart...

USUALLY, if they list the actual data rate (Gbps) in the product description, you can trust they certified it can pass that much data through. It's when you don't see any Gbps rating in the product description that you should move on to another cable.

(USB standards are insanely confusing, but the same advice applies. Try to find out the data rate you need and research to make sure the cable is capable of that.)

I'm afraid all of this cable nonsense goes back a long way. When I turned 16 I immediately applied for a job at Best Buy selling computers. And I really loved that job. So many people were clueless about computers back then and I was very good at assessing their needs and making sure they went home with the equipment and accessories that would suit them within their budget.

And if they tried to buy the eMachines computers, I would tell them they might as well set their money on fire.

Throw directly into trash because this is some hot garbage.

Unfortunately my managers pressured me to sell warranties and accessories that I didn't really believe in. The hardest thing they asked me to do was sell people gold-plated printer cables. This is back when printers still used a parallel port connection.

They wanted me to sell these for $40 to $60 (depending on length).

Even though these bad boys did the exact same thing for only $20.

I could actually see on the store's computer how much markup these cables had. The cheap ones cost Best Buy the exact same amount as the gold ones.

Maybe they weren't as aesthetically pleasing, but those cheaper cables were built like fuckin' tanks. I probably still have some of these in my basement that would function just as well as they did 25 years ago.

The ONLY difference was the "gold" contacts on the ends. But my managers told me to lie to customers. I was to tell them you would get much faster print speeds, better colors, and more DPI (dots per inch). But both cables sent the same 1s and 0s. They either worked or they didn't. The only tiny advantage is that gold contacts are slightly less resistant to corrosion over time. But I have yet to see that happen within the lifespan of any cable.

So I would tell customers it was a waste of money and lie to my managers saying the customers weren't interested.

"Did you tell them it was faster?" "Yes." (A lie.) "Did you tell them it made the colors better?" "Yes." (Also a lie.) "Well, we're going to have to work on your sales presentation skills." "Sounds good, boss." (Whatever, dude.)

[frankiensteinsmonster]

ID in Alt Text!

Hey, sorry I haven't been doing my daily outfit posts lately-- I guess I never mentioned why I started them, but it's this personal project that I'm working on where I take a picture (though, in all honesty, it's a lot of pictures lol) in whatever I'm wearing and I feature my cane to promote awareness and give representation to other cane users and members of the cpunk and Physically Disabled community. I'm working on building up the courage to take these pictures outside as well, because I do them on campus, but we deserve to see ourselves outside as well!

The reason I haven't been keeping up with it is because my partner and I have really been really struggling financially as well as with our mental health (and me with my physical health as well, obviously lol) we moved across the country to go to school and it is So Hard-- I had to drop three out of five of my classes because the course work was just too much in volume and I need a job really bad (which is going to be Hard to do since we don't even know why I'm in such chronic pain yet ��� it's hard not to feel defeated!)

Either way, I think going to start posting them with the tag #TheVainCanes and #MobilityAidVainity but I'm also going to host a poll for some options bc I want this to be a widespread community thing!

I'm choosing these names because I've seen from both ableds and disabled elitists this idea that we and our mobility aides need to look like they're fresh out the hospital for us to be Believed and deserving of respect, and anything beyond that voids our suffering and invalidates our experiences-- and I think that's reductive, harmful, and just plain wrong! Our mobility aides are an extension of ourselves and we deserve to dress them up however we want. We deserve representation, and the normalization of Joy and Having Personality While Disabled.

This will be intersectional as well (bc. I mean look at me. Also I don't need a reason!) , people from all identities are welcomed and encouraged to join! This is meant to be a celebration of Us, Disabled, BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, and All That Jazz! (If you use a mobility aid, you're in!) We're beautiful gorgeous handsome devils and I think we'd do good seeing how good we all look in a designated tag

Also my cash app and Venmo are @/cherubpunque 👀 if anyone has some spare change I could have that would be an amazing help towards feeding me, my partner, and our two cats!!

To kick things off, I am a 2S, Afroindigenous person (Gullah and Kanien'kehá:ka!) who experiences chronic pain and fatigue. I have PTSD and a few other brain things going on, less than perfect eyesight, and a great passion for Art, Music, Subculture, and Helping Others whenever and however I can! I'm majoring in art and am working towards becoming a published graphic novelist. Idk I just have a lot of love and support to give, and a big need for love and support for myself as well, and I'm hoping to offer us a good opportunity for us to connect in a space that's just for us! We're already living outside of society's expectations for health, so why should we let these folks decide the way we look while doing it? Express yourself! (I'll also be tagging myself in future as #mothie so you can find me in the tags! Anyways, I gotta go lay down. My back hurts.)

[mana-jjk]

i keep looking through the college au and coming up with more questions.

does geto teach a philosophy Gen-ed that everyone has to take?

are nanako and mimiko there? what are they up to?

I have to know more about ijichi's suffering

how close does toge get to dropping out? how often? will he ever actually do it?

do gojo and geto do that thing where they both casually mention their husband but nobody puts together that it's the other professor? (are they together in this au or is there more angst?)

i’m loving the questions !! <3 thank you for taking such an interest ! 🥺

getou’s philosophy:

• so getou has a PhD in philosophy and does research on the side of his position as a professor.

• he’s one of the few philosophy professors, so he teaches up to 4 - 5 classes a semester. this can include higher levels, major-specific, sub-categories, etc. but he always specifically requests a introduction to philosophy class, a requirement in most majors.

• it’s either that, or they take a speech class with Yuki Tsukumo and her teaching assistant, Aoi Todo. Who, yes, as an icebreaker, make you proclaim your type in men/women/other.

• yuuji took that class lol and now they’re trying to recruit him as a TA, no one could believe he would be the first to be recruited for that

• anyway, back to philosophy, getou has way too much fun being as evil and instigating as possible. you have to speak to get a grade in his class, and he will purposely misinterpret what you say.

• student: i just think in the case of the trolley problem, i wouldn’t hesitate to save more people.

• getou: oh? so you assign value to numbers? are human lives stastics to you? if they throw their money out will you also change your mind? i bet you don’t even care if there was a child on the other side huh? murderer

• you leave his class traumatized lol

nanako and mimiko:

• they are here and are still adopted by getou! they didn’t have the best home life, and moved around foster care for a lot of their lives until they accidentally bumped into getou while they were running away.

• he helped them call their social work and were moved into a better situation, though they begged him to stay in contact.

• a complicated and usual amount of time later, enough for adoption process in japan, he has officially adopted them.

• in present day, nanako and mimiko insisted on transferring colleges to the one getou got a job at so they could stay together.

• mimiko is currently a fashion design major and nanako is her biggest inspiration. she exclusively makes clothes for her or inspired by her and because of that she’s struggling a bit in college, despite being the top of her class.

• nanako is a digital marketing and social media major and part-time model who loves showing off mimiko’s designs. she also likes to bicker with nobara by saying her sister is on a whole different level than her. mimiko doesn’t care but likes the support her sister gives her lol

• mimiko will eventually change her major to graphic design, to someday design toys for children. she likes making clothes because it makes nanako smile, but she loves making toys that she and nanako used to cherish while hiding in the closet from their bad foster parents.

• like i said, nanako likes fighting with nobara, but actually has a lot of fun around her. she also loves panda and thinks he’s so fun and would be a great model. they always get chaotic around each other and turn into instigators.

• mimiko ended up finding an unexpected friendship in toge, he was quiet and she couldn’t understand sign but he always carried a little notebook that he would write notes in for her. they would watch nobara and nanako bicker, and toge would make her laugh by making doodles of them in the pages, and then clap when she drew a better quality version in turn. the way he ruffles her hair reminds her a bit of an older brother. (this is my agenda and i’m dying with it)!!

save ijichi:

• poor ijichi is an education major trying to get his master’s degree. being a teaching assistant was one of the requirements for him to graduate, and being gojo’s teaching assistant is the only position available.

• gojo did not want a teaching assistant, he likes to talk like a squirrel, go on tangents, and essentially not follow a schedule or explain to anyone. having a teaching assistant contradicts that so.

• lol

• gojo enjoys going on a tangent, losing everyone and then pointing at ijichi to answer a trick question.

• he also enjoys playing pranks on him, think of jim from the office. but his pranks are so nonsensical and childish that it gives everyone whiplash. once gojo accused him of passing notes and made him read a note out loud that gojo wrote, it only had a picture of a cat wearing sunglasses on it.

• the students feel so bad for him, when yuuta took the class, he always stayed after just to bow as deep as he could to apologize for his cousin’s behavior.

• every day ijichi tells himself he’s going to get a backbone, then gojo starts laughing and a cold chill runs up his spine

• gojo also leaves all the grading to ijichi but routinely complains about how lenient he is as a grader

• this man is fighting for his life

• in truth, gojo plans to give him a glowing recommendation that’ll guarantee him a high-paying, prestigious job, but he can’t let ijichi think he’s too nice, right?

toge drops out:

• so i think that toge would end up dropping out at the end of his second year in college. he’s just started his major courses, so the majority of his credits are transferable should he choose to come back.

• but it’s after yuuta comes back, and toge expects his mental state to get better. in some ways it does, he’s happy when he’s with them, but when it’s time to go to class he’s right back where he started.

• it’s probably kusakabe, one of his professors, that puts the idea of dropping out in his head. just a passing reference to how the professor dropped out several times before finding what he wanted to do.

• and the idea stayed like an infection, it was all toge could think about when he was finishing up his semester. even worse when their past upperclassmen, who did drop out to open their own bar, came for a visit.

• hakari was so open to questions about it, and kiara looked so happy talking about their business. and all he could remember was how bored and unhappy they were, and how they were thriving.

• and then gojo suggests it.

• “i never really cared about your grades,” he said, “you looked lonely, but you aren’t anymore. but somehow, you’re just as unhappy as the day i found you. all i want for you is to be happy, and i don’t think you’re finding it here.”

• the man was always so uncanny in how he could read anyone’s mind. this time in particular, he offered a solution that toge had never thought about.

• “have you ever thought of culinary school?”

• ‘my parents would never - they’re already threatening to disown me -’

• “let them, i always figured you’d take his last name anyway,” toge chose to ignore that, “but you aren’t alone anymore. so why don’t you try being happy?”

• when toge told yuuta, similar to only a year ago when they were in opposite positions, yuuta asked him softly, “what do you want to do?”

• the answer came easier than he thought

• by the start of the next semester, gojo had helped him enroll in a culinary school nearby.

gojo and getou:

• so these men are the most annoying people to exist at this university, and the board regrets hiring both of them everyday.

• both of them are alumni of the college, and this matters because they had been dating when they were students, but broke up very dramatically just before gojo graduated early.

• they went their separate ways for almost a decade and only really started talking again when getou got hired at the university.

• they only started talking again when shoko forced them to meet her, she wanted her friends back.

• she regretted it only a few months later when they started dating again lol

• so they’re still dating, but everyone thinks that getou is dating manami suda because they were often together.

• but no one mistakes gojo trying to flirt with getou so he has a reputation as a homewrecker. even worse is that getou flirts back so everyone thinks they’re terrible people

• and they think it’s so funny so they only enable people into thinking so, yuuta couldn’t look gojo in the face for a month

• only nanako and mimiko know what’s actually happening and they’re both disgusted and not ready to have gojo as their step-father. megumi knows too but he’s suffering so much that everyone just leaves him alone

• yuuji is so distraught that his gojo-sensei is a horrible person, he and nobara do a confrontation and find out that they were dating the entire time.

• everyone suffers after that because now they find amusement in PDA

• but yes after everything, they do a different storyline every new class like theater kids do

[justanotherbirdbrain-blog]

may i receive your rant on why every videogame ever chooses to have columnar basalt in places basalt should not be, like in unsuspecting caves or just dotting beaches with no volcano in sight... because god, that gets me going.

Let me preface this rant by saying, I love when videogames at least try, like I can look at a rock and actually say, "hey that's columnar basalt and not *generic rock texture*" (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's texture shortened my lifespan). So generally speaking, if I can tell at least vaguely that someone googled photos of rocks when creating a game I am more happy than not, but!

My GOODNESS! I think I could extend this rant to just videogame cave systems in general! Like, caves are only formed in limestones and marbles (And some limey sandstones and salt deposits), BUT for some reason we are mining and finding Rubies? Emeralds? Metals? These caves they are depicting are clearly just supposed to be these natural caves and not abandoned mines, which would give them some leeway to put whatever desirable gemstone or ore they wanted in the game, but they don't choose that for some reason, and it is beyond me why!

And can we talk about how all of these caves got there in the first place? Like limestone only forms in marine environments! Are you telling me that the entire continent you designed was underwater to the extent to have a spiraling cave system forming at least every ten miles of trail explored (Skyrim I am looking at you)? And how acidic is your rain? Are we experiencing an industrial evolution? I CANNOT, also in what situation are these random massive quartz crystals in otherwise fine-grained material forming? Like one, Who would actually leave that laying there? No one. And two, how is this forming? Like are you trying to say this formed after the cave was created or what? If that's the case the more likely mineral would be calcite or gypsum.

My little bird brain can't wrap my head around what they are trying to do here! (The second image is from ESO and I give it a lot of lenience and to be fair they are trying to depict these are geodes that are surrounded by a massive basalt but they are also showing stalactites and stalagmites which aren't in basalts so it still gets points docked).

But yes! Seeing inaccurate geology, columnar basalts included can take you out of a game so fast, same with the imaginary ores that are kind of based off real metals. I think I would be more ok with completely fake names, because then at least I wouldn't have anything to associate it with.

That being said! I will end this rant by pointing out videogames that when either I was playing or my fiancé was playing I was pleasantly surprised by the geology/accurate textures.

ESO- elder scrolls online, I know I just docked it points above, but genuinely they do an amazing job depicting different rock types to the point that on their islands they have limestones. with. fossils. I nearly cried. Of course they still have random metal seems everywhere but it is an MMO and resources are necessary so I can ignore that as long as they keep making accurate landscapes.

Titanfall- I will just add an image because it will speak volumes

like does that shale/siltstone have ripple marks in the middle right hand side? beautiful. amazing. perfect. chief's kiss. (Apex also does a decent job which is a battle royale game that takes place after the Titanfall games, the textures aren't as good obviously but you can definitely tell what kind of rocks are at each map)

3. Horizon Zero Dawn- the graphics in this game are just genuinely impeccable and it takes place in the US but after the collapse of civilization. In a lot of ways, I think it made it a bit easier for the designers, but they still did an amazing job depicting the rocks accurately! I believe there is a Youtube video which compares the actual locations to the videogame locations.

some obviously tilted sedimentary rocks

sandstone arches

@cosmic-tuna please add more games if you know any!

[sugar-phoenix]

unfinished rought unedited short story about vampires

alright so the winning vote out of the polls was "yes" so I'm deciding to post my unfinished short story draft here because I'm too impatient to wait until i finish it to post it

My new roommate is a vampire.

How do I know this? Simple.

Johnny Robert-Mulligan told me, about a week after he moved in.

“Now you seem like a respectable man, Daniel, so I'll tell you straight up: I'm a vampire.”

I nodded, thinking that he was joking or high or something.

“I will be having blood packets delivered to me each week. You need not make dinner for two. And don't invite your friends over on nights of full moons unless you want them to be sucked dry.”

We stared at each other for a moment. It was then that I realized that he was being completely serious. And then, he laughed, quite loudly, which scared the wits out of me.

“I'm just kidding, of course,” he said, chuckling.

“Oh, thank God. I thought you were actually a vampire there for a moment.”

“No I am, I am a vampire. I was joking about the full moon thing. That's a werewolf thing, not a vampire thing.”

I only stared at him in shock again.

“Oh, don't tell me you believe in werewolves? Those are completely made up.”

“Well,” I responded, “until five minutes ago I didn't think of the possibility of either vampires or werewolves being real.”

And thus began our odd friendship, of which I learned a great deal about vampires. As it turned out, vampires were a lot less untouchable than I had previously thought.

“Is it true that vampires die from a stake to the heart?” I asked one lazy Sunday afternoon, while we were watching the game. The ads were rolling, and I was eager to take this chance to ask my new roommate more about himself.

“Technically speaking, a stake to the heart could kill anything. You could also kill me by stabbing me, shooting me, running me over, throwing me off a cliff,” Johnny proceeded to count off his fingers. “Anything that would kill you would kill me.”

“Oh, I see. I guess that makes sense.”

“We're not immortal either,” he added, taking a sip out of his Coke can. Although soda did nothing for him in terms of sugar intake or energy, he told me that he had gotten quite hooked on the taste.

“You aren't?”

“No, we're just extremely long lived. I think my great grandfather lived for almost 600 years.”

I let that sink in.

“How old are you, Johnny?”

“I think I'm turning 197 this year.”

I turned to look at him.

“That would mean you've lived through both of the World Wars.”

“Oh yes, I did. I don't remember anything though, I was too young. You see, vampires only reach adulthood at around 150 years of age.” He took another sip of his soda. “You know, come to think of it, my parents might have stolen blood from the opposing sides to keep us fed. I think there was a movement or something. ‘Make The Nazis Paler’ and all that.”

“I see.”

And then the ad roll finished, and we were back to watching the game.

 I neglected to mention that Johnny was roommates with me because we were both enrolled in a local college. I was undertaking my bachelor’s in graphic design, which meant that I was more often than not buried under design projects, the likes of which could run from posters to redesigning entire corporations. Thusly, I would often have myself shut in my room during the busier weeks, specifically midterms and finals.

Johnny told me that he hadn’t decided what his major was, and that he was simply experiencing what college was like. He doubted that he’d have a use for it, to which he told me his mother disagreed, since he would at least need to take a job of some sort and make money, but what was the use if it was only going to last him so long and in about 300 years it would probably become obsolete?

I only nodded and hummed to his explanation. I didn’t quite like thinking about these things. Everything seemed so impermanent when you were a vampire, and as a relatively short-lived human, it was creepy to think about.

Thankfully, Johnny got along quite well with my friends. He didn’t have any friends of his own, which I thought was strange, but it’s possible that he drove them away with his casual talk of things that happened long ago. If you didn’t know he was a vampire you’d probably think he was a freakish nerd of some sort. But because Johnny was my roommate, and because he got along with my friends, they were apt to invite him along with me whenever they had parties.

It was at one of these house parties that Johnny met Cynthia. She was a psych student, and she often twirled her hair around her finger like as if she could will it to curl just by doing so. She always had one or two girlfriends around that she talked to, and rarely did she talk to anyone outside of them. But for whatever reason, she caught Johnny’s eye.

“I think she’s a vampire,” he said to me one day, as I was trying to work with the pressure-cooker in our kitchen.

“Yeah?”  The contraption hissed steam at me, and I prayed it wouldn’t take my eye out. “What gave you that idea?”

“I think—no, I know she’s a vampire. She’s got that quality about her.”

“What quality?”

“Vampire quality. You know, we can sense each other out.”

“I see.” I didn’t particularly believe him, but I wasn’t going to say that either. What do I know, perhaps vampires did have a sixth sense for each other, and perhaps this was what was happening, rather than my initial theory that Johnny had a big fat crush on Cynthia and was secretly hoping she was just like him. Of course, I kept all this to myself.

“Go and speak to her then,” I said.

“What? No. Women must be approached carefully, Daniel, otherwise you risk spooking them away.”

“You speak as though they’re skittish deer. I think you’re just scared of talking to her.”

“Scared? No. I’m simply being strategic.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Strategic, scared. Either way, you haven’t talked to her yet.”

“I will talk to her. Soon. Next chance I get. I plan on it.” I nodded, gingerly lifting the lid of the pressure cooker to reveal the pasta and sauce within.

divider by cafekitsune!

[silent-raven13]

"It's all cool."

(AU: So I was inspired by one of Heiibo's artworks, it's the one with the Au of Miles being in his 30s and Hobie in his 20s. So I decided to write a one-shot.)

Hobie L. Brown, a twenty three year old student at Borough Brooklyn Community College soon transferring to New York University, if he wants to go that route. Honestly, he's not sure if he should transfer. There's many reasons to why he shouldn't go to a University.

One it's a fucking scam! He can't justified paying so much money for a couple of classes for a degree, he could perfect his skills by putting himself out there.

Two, he likes the easy slack off of community college, he's not weighted by so many units being a part time student. It's easier for him to be Spider-man, jumping through hopes. It's a tough job being Spider-man while maintaining a personal life.

The young man had his big red headphones on while listening to Kendrick Lamar, he holds on his skateboard and Jansport customize backpack. His black backpack had all sorts of pins, buttons, markers of doodles and graffiti, he likes his things having his own artistic touch. The tall skinny young man let his heavy red Doc martins boots make heavy thuds with his baggy light blue sweats and a white sleeveless shirt. His bouncy freeform locs follow every step he takes, his grey eyes glistening by the lights in the hallway heading towards an apartment door.

The last reason... He stopped by the number of the apartment, his heart pounding against his chest... he could feel his cheeks warm. Is he flustered? Does anyone noticed he's blushing? Probably not with his dark skinned tone, yet his eyes gaze with love. If he does transfer, he will no longer have a reason to see his crush.

With two knocks, he heard a male voices through the door, "Coming." Hobie bites his bottom lips feeling his heart pounding faster and faster, he's excited to see his crush.

Then, at the door swung open revealing an older thirty year old black Latino man with big Honey-brown eyes and a great smile. God, Hobie loves his smile, it's like he's staring at a Sunflower.

"Hey, Hobs! What's good? Glad you can make it." The thirty year old happily smiles, "I'm so glad you agreed to help me."

"Heh, it's no problem, Miles." Hobie plays it off cool, being the quiet one.

The older man name Miles chuckles, "Still I appreciated it." Hobie met Miles in a Literature class, they seem to hit off. The tall young man got to learn Miles went back to school for a quick certificate, he already had a Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design. It didn't take him long enough to fall for the thirty year old, he's his type. Smart, funny, love for good music, loves art, Miles is an artist, and he's so passionated about whatever he put his mind to it.

Hobie fallen for this man hard! If he were to transfer, would they be able to contact each other like right now? He doesn't believe so.

"Come on in, man. You thirsty? I can get you soda, or juice or-" Hobie walks inside Miles' apartment seeing how clean it is. "Um... Soda is cool." He lick his dry lips taking in his crush's scent, the type of aesthetics he's into.

Miles' apartment had a modern style mostly simple, it seems the warm bricks was the main attraction to the living room. So the subtle warm tones with black furnitures suited the room, having a bit of plants and warm light wood. Hobie's eyes saw the creamy white wall with a few paintings and photos.

"Sit, man." Miles came by with a cup of tea and can of cold soda, "Man, I'm glad you're here. I need your opinion on these projects I'm working on."

"It's all cool." Hobie sat on the couch putting his headphones down around his neck. He took the can of soda to sip.

"So how's your day going?" Miles stood taking a sip of his tea, he gave a small smile. "Heh, sorry for my fit. I kinda dress like this on my day off." He wore a black oversized shirt and black sweats.

"Nah, it's cool." Hobie kicking himself. What is he thinking using the same vocabulary? 'It's cool'?

"Haha, always being a cool dude, Hobie." Miles decided to sit on the couch next to Hobie, he set his tea on the coffee table, then grab his laptop on his coffee table, "So, let's get started."

The twenty three year old nodded, he inhale Miles' scent. Damn, he smells real good that cologne he wears always got him intoxicated. Hobie saw his crush typing away, then a message pop up which got the older man to sharply inhale.

"Sorry, dude. I gotta check on my work for the moment." Miles sigh, his whole bubbly personality shifted to a serious attitude.

Hobie saw the older Latino giving a slight frown, then inhale sharply at the email he received. The younger male being curious slightly leans over looking like a cute puppy with his grey eyes sparkling to catch a whiff of Miles' cologne.

"Mmm," Miles place to fingers on his left cheek letting his chin rest on the rest of the finger having to think.

Hobie leans in more to the point his face rested on his crush's left shoulder not really caring what the document on Miles' laptop is, he gave a small sigh through his nose. He wanted Miles to focus on hi this time.

"Sorry man, I know you changed your work schedule to see me. Let me give a quick message and I'll work on this later." Miles chuckles as he leaves back letting his head slightly tap against Hobie's.

That's another thing Hobie likes about Miles, he wasn't the typically Macho Black Latino that always try to prove their masculinity. He seems to be very comfortable with being touchy with Hobie.

Hobie's heart flutter feeling Miles' warm cheek touching him, yet he maintain his cool. "It's alright." He said.

Miles quickly type his message to send it to his team, "There. Awe man, I didn't expect for Alchemax to be very strict on their copyright. Make sense."

"Oh yeah? What was it about?" He asked.

"Some new drug. We needed to make some designs for it, and worked on their website." He chuckles, "They always compete with Oscorp."

"Oh..." Then Hobie saw Miles' desktop with a fan photo of Spider-man swinging from around the boroughs. "You... You like Spider-man?"

"Yeah, he's cool. I like how he's cleaning up the city. It's been a long time since the city been safe, with all the news coming out about corruption with the NYPD... I'm glad we have a Superhero willing to take matters in his own hands."

"Oh yeah?" This made Hobie flustered a bit more before sitting back on his spot.

"Yeah, heh." Miles finally had his laptop rest on his lap, "So, for class... are you ready for the Midterm?"

"Fuck no." Hobie chuckles.

This made Miles laughs, "Yeah, me neither. I guess we need to start somewhere." The two are taking African American Music studies. "So... what were thoughts on the Punk era?"

"I loved it. I always listen to those types of music." Hobie said.

"Oh yeah?" Miles chuckles, "I didn't take you to be into punk music."

"I always loved their beliefs. Anarchy ruling while capitalism is down." He's a bit shy talking about his own opinions. Sometimes he keeps to himself about it.

"I'm more into R&B." Miles rubs his chin, "I'm a bit old school, ha. I am an old man."

"You're not old, man. You look like you're twenty seven."

"Ha, thanks. Anyway, we should get started with the beginning." Miles got his music ebook and flips it over. Hobie took out his textbook with his iPad and apple pen taking notes.

The two study together giving each other pointers and made flashcards. Miles brought out a bag of chips and all sorts of snacks. "Hey, let me know if you're hungry. I can order us Chinese food, my treat."

"Oh thanks man." Hobie said, "I... I can pay-" Miles shook his head, "Nah, it's fine. Get whatever you want, it's my treat since you took time off to study with me. Helping this old man study, hahaha."

Hobie nodded, "Okay." His grey eyes watches his crush getting up to get him another can of soda. Then, the front door jiggled suddenly being open.

A grown Asian man came walking in talking through his airpod, "Oh yeah? Well, I told you that Wednesday is a no go because we need to get the report from Sander! Okay, contact him." The guy looked surprised to find a young stranger in the living room. "Um.. hi?"

Hobie was about to curse him out, until he heard Miles' voice.

"Ganks, that you?" Miles came from the kitchen to the living room spotting his best friend. "Hey, man."

"Hey, dude. I came to the stereo. Sorry, I didn't know you were on a date." Ganke said.

"What? No, we're just classmates, man. He's definitely too young me for." Miles quickly said, this made Hobie a bit upset. Really? Hobie didn't think he was that young, then again Miles probably had more experience with- Wait, did Ganke assume he was Miles' date- so that means-

He felt his whole face warm, there's a chance Miles is gay or bisexual. That made him super happy to know he'll have a chance, if he's Miles' type. It seems his crush views him like a kid, which sucks. "Hobie, this is Ganks. My best friend."

Ganke got his stereo before taking his leave, he side hug his best friend bidding him a farewell. Miles went back to Hobie, "Sorry about that. I forgot my best friend was coming, his fiancee asked for my stereo for a party."

"Are you going?"

"Nah, it's more for couples and I ain't gonna be on a blind date." Miles casually said.

"Oh yeah? You don't want to find that special someone."

"Ehh, I feel like I work too much." Miles chuckles, "But you're young, so I recommend enjoying your youth. I'm pretty happy being on my own." He finally sat next to Hobie. "Anyway, I'll stop talking about my boring dating life, I bet ya'll young folks prefer a good talk about multiple partners and stuff."

"No. I... I actually don't mind hearing you. You're not old, you know. I think you're pretty young." Hobie slightly frowns, "You are pretty inspirational."

"Oh..." This made Miles a bit bashful, "Awe, man. You're making me blush, heh." The young man gave him a small smile. Hobie always been kind to him from he saw in their classes. The young man never seems to be bothered by anything or ignore everyone he doesn't care for. Yet, he always treated him as a friend, and seems like an adorable lost puppy.

Then he felt Hobie's head lay on his shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, um... I got accepted to New York University."

"Ay, that's great. You gonna go?"

"My scholarship only pays part of it, I would have to take out student loans." He yawns, "I wanted to ask you if... you think its worth it."

"Hmm, honestly Universities are a scam. I don't want you to be debt and feel like nothing good came out of it. Think about the major you pick and see you can do it with an Associate. I do believe Masters can only take you far if you're into business, or tech or stuff like STEM. But if it's about making music or producing you can survive with your Associates or none, just networking."

"Hm," Hobie didn't want to go, he wanted to be here with Miles. At least, he felt safe with him, and there's no judgement. This is the first time he fell for a guy like Miles, his own taste in people never were as good as him. "I dunno... I'm a bit unsure."

"Hey take your time. Do what you want. I feel like I got lucky with school. Of course, I worked my ass off but honestly, if I were to start over, I should've went to community college and start from there. Would've been much easier to find what I wanna do."

"Really? Your mister Columbia."

"Haha, hey with the major I pick I think I would've been fine with other schools with a much lower tuition. My student loans wouldn't bite me in the ass." He jokes, "Anyway, take your time. Damn, if you go we might not hang out like this anymore. I'ma miss this."

"You... you don't wanna hang with me outside of school. I know, I'll be in a different school, but..."

Miles quickly said, "I don't mind, it's just... you might wanna enjoy your college life. Make new friends-" Hobie quickly said, "I like hanging out with you." His grey eyes gleaming at his crush.

"Me too, man. If that's the case, I can share you my socials!" Miles offer.

"Sure. Um.. my stuff is a bit..." Hobie saw his own Socials seeing how he post himself showing off his chest, or being seductive. Maybe he can catch Miles being interested in him. "rated r."

"Nah, that's fine. My artworks been a bit R rated..." Miles admits having to share his personal art social media.

Hobie got the chance to see Miles' artworks, they are beautiful and empowering of black men and women. There's drawings of their body in the nude with pencil, markers, and paint. It's Life drawing of these figures expressing their body. Lowkey, Hobie got jealous seeing these men being so damn handsome with their hands holding their penis with a grin on their face, and eyes staring at the viewer. This means, this person was smiling at Miles when he drew this.

"A bit too much, huh?"

"No. It's cool. So were they your partners?"

"Some... some are old friends, models..." Miles chuckles, "I really like this drawing. The model was so much fun to be around. I think I got his number..." He got a weird serious look from Hobie. "What?"

"Nuthin'." Hobie didn't like that. He can tell the model might have a thing for Miles. It's like his eyes turned almost sharp like a Great Dane, like be careful whatcha say. "You keep their numbers?" Sounding jealous.

"Ha, only for hang outs or for my next project. He lowkey got a bit expensive since everyone likes using him as their muse."

"I could be your muse."

"Hm?" Miles got caught off guard from that.

"If you look at my socials you can find me posing at stuff for fun. People say I'm model material... I just never saw myself like that."

"Let me see," Miles saw Hobie's socials to find pictures of him showing off his V-line and happy trail, "Ohh, I see. Yeah, you got a great body, would you be comfortable if you posed in the nude?" Since he's an artist, he wasn't phased by nudity.

"Hmm, depends what type of poses." Hobie would be nervous to have Miles staring at his naked body. "I wouldn't wanna show my junk."

"That's fine. We can have a blanket covering it. What about your butt? I do like how tall and slim you are, I'm assuming you got an amazing back." Miles' artistic side blooming with ideas for his next projects. He gasps, "I can have you lay on a bed with a nice silk sheets and cover some parts. You got nice piercings on your body, it would be ashamed to not draw them."

Hobie nodded, "Yeah?" He never saw Miles so happy about drawing him, it actually got him happy. Can he really be his muse?

"Oh man, we're getting side track. Sorry, man. You probably wanna focus on school-" Hobie shook his head, "No, I'm fine with us just talking. I kinda know most of this stuff." Honestly, he already taken the class before and passed with flying colors. He retook it when he heard Miles telling them in their friends' circle at school about needing this class for an elective. Hobie just had to retake it to be closer to him.

"This is pretty much your stuff. I don't expect less from Hobie Brown." Miles chuckles which got Hobie lovingly staring at his smile.

Soon the two went back to studying, then Miles order Chinese food. The two ate while studying a bit more. "Mmm, this is pretty fun." Miles said, then he noticed Hobie slowly falling asleep on his shoulder. Should he wake him up?

The young man looks so cute like this. It seems like he's exhausted. Who knows how busy he is with his part time jobs! Miles put a blanket over them, he kept studying for a bit. Soon Hobie snuggle against him being comfortable, he felt safe with his crush around him.

Miles noticed how the young man got on top of him almost having him be his stuffed teddy bear. "A little break with be fine." So Miles set his textbook aside and lies down to let his friend snuggle him. The thirty year old went on his phone texting his best friend.

Ganke: Dude, that guy likes you 🥱

Miles just chuckles, then felt Hobie's arms wrapping around his waist a bit tighter. "Mmm." He snoozes.

The older man rub his friend's slender back to calm him body, then said, "Sleep tight, Hobie." Placing a small kiss on his forehead like he would do when he watched over his baby sister. Hobie let out a small smile still sleeping away, he had one of the best sleep in his life.

[mutantjellybeans]

Not to go on about this again but like it does get a little frustrating sometimes when people incorrectly announce that something is 100% canon for real in the comics based solely on like a single panel they saw someone else post online, it’s mostly harmless because, yeah, they’re fictional comic books but yall should know by now people can make jpegs do anything they want so next time you see a panel with someone insisting that its contents are 100% canon for real:

Have you read the comic the panel came from? The panel could be taken out of context and have an entirely different meaning within the story itself or it could actually say something completely different all together

Did the OP provide a comic name and issue number? If OP doesn’t provide an issue number that’s a major sign that the panel could be edited, especially if the character is saying something particularly outlandish

Speaking of outlandish: is the text in the panel a reference to another piece of media or do you think it might be a reference to another piece of media? This could be a sign it’s taken from an incorrect quotes account and not an actual comic

Does the text look weird? Is the text different sizes/fonts or weirdly spaced in the bubble? This one might be hard to notice if you’re not into graphic design or typography so no judgement if you don’t but things like letter/word spacing, text size, font, bubble shape, etc is something that’s taken very seriously, bubbles need to be easy to read, pleasing to the eye, and take up as little space as possible, that’s why lettering is a whole separate job in the comic book industry. For example, in these panels “sons…” would not be left on it’s own in one line, “ya basic” would be given more impact, and all the text in the bubbles on the second panel are way too squished together (notice how the words are basically touching the outside of the bubble and how “devastating” is squished and small)

Similarly, is the text a higher quality than the rest of the image? In the infamous “I know you’re here Dracula, where’s my goddamn money?” Moon Knight image that a lot of people thought was real, for example, there’s a certain graininess to the image that doesn’t extend to the text bubble, which is notably clean-looking, in higher quality versions of the image you can even see the pixels of the text bubble that was slapped over the original text (which shouldn’t be possible considering the comic came out in the 80’s)

Did you look at OP’s page? Are they a fanartist? Some extremely talented fanartists dedicate a lot of time and effort to mimicking the comic book style, and they can be really good at it, though unfortunately these fanartists’ work are often reposted without credit which can lead others to believe they’re canon when they’re not, in this case remember: 1. look for an issue number, 2. reverse image search to see if you can find where the panel came from, and 3. keep in mind…

An A-list superhero being canonized as queer is a huge fucking deal, like mainstream news big deal, if an A-list character was confirmed as queer it would be absolutely goddamn everywhere, from IGN and comic book YouTubers to fucking Joe Rogan and late night talk shows, you wouldn’t be able to hear the end of it, so if you think “hey, shouldn’t this be a bigger deal?” stop and investigate further

And finally, the most annoying question: are you sure this is the right version of the character? Comics are filled with alternate timelines, parallel universes, clones, shapeshifters, and so on, are you absolutely positive that the panel you’ve found is the classic character from the main timeline? For example, people frequently used to use Harley and Ivy’s kiss in Bombshells as proof that their relationship was canon in the main DC timeline (it wasn’t, but it is now!), and people still use Logan and Hercules’s relationship in X-Treme X-Men #10 as proof that Wolverine is bisexual in the main 616 universe, which he is not, though it is kind of implied sometimes

I know a major part of this is me being an annoying, nit-picking comic book elitist and, yes, this is all mostly harmless BUT I also think this could be a really great way to exercise your media literacy skills as well as a good, harmless lesson in not taking everything you see online at face value and, hey, it might even get you to read some really great comic books in the process!

Improve your media literacy and critical thinking skills one edited comic book panel at a time! K thx, love you, bye!

[deamare]

TOA Anniversary Munday

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is. Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing! Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: elysia, or alina

Pronouns: any

Birthday (no year): 10/04

Where are you from? What is your time zone? come on baby americaaaaaaaa (EST)

How long is your roleplay experience? long enough

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? it's just always been a thing for me honestly, my first time really delving into internet rp was through warrior cats and pokemon chat forums

How were you introduced to TOA? i found it through twitter at approximately 5 am the night before my first shift at a new job. my life was falling apart and all i knew was that maybe reserving sylvain would fix me

Do you have any pets? two cats! guinevere and percival :)

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) aesthetically it will always be spring but truthfully i love autumn-- rainy overcast weather, when it's still warm but the wind is cold... that's the shit

What is your IRL occupation? customer service (boo)

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? i'm a cosplayer, a dabbler in graphic design, and otherwise a pretty boring guy LMAO

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? league of legends, gesnhin impact and honkai: star rail, honkai impact 3rd, devil may cry, and a general smattering of other pvp and beautiful woman gacha games

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: flying & altaria, though it varies

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! i eat toaster strudels frozen

How did you get into Fire Emblem? saw one of the tellius games over someone's shoulder once, consumed fates and awakening via friends, and then watched 3h playthroughs until my ex gave me his switch to play it myself on.

What Fire Emblem games have you played? played? fatesawakening, 3h, engage, and sacstones. i'm much more amiable to watching other people play them, so i'm generally a consumer from a distance. i would not be a good tactician i fear

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: awakening (i think) and... thracia. if not then genealogy

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! thrasir, lucina, ishtar, corrin, seliph

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! im so serious i cant remember who came first anymore

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 GIVE IT UP FOR FRED

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: chrom, still chrom i think - Fates: niles, leo now - Three Houses: dimitri, i switched it up for sylvain a few times but still dimitri - Engage: ivy, though i did diamant later so

Favorite Fire Emblem class? bow knight or pegasus knight

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? i'm that one archer you get at the beginning that is probably getting benched by map 4

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? blue lions babey

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? boons: riding, bow banes: axe budding talent: sword

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? firene prob

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔 i say every letter

Current TOA muses: ishtar, lucina, f!corrin

Past TOA muses? (checks notes) eirika, ash (feh), thrasir, tailtiu, erinys, marisa, priscilla, nyna, marni, rinea, sylvain

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? sylvain. i've thought about it but he and i just have too much beef LMAO if i went back to 3h it would be for someone else

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? women.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? i'm not good at maintaining funny characters, but i think i can do anything decentlyish if i try

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? i love when a thread takes a good balance between character conversation and action. when we can keep a thread moving at a pace towards a goal, and seeing how muses interact with that urgency... yummy. i do also really enjoy when characters can Have A Conversation though

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? i like to take threads as they come and let the exciting things surprise me. that hits harder imo then "yeah i want to write this" so i don't think on it too hard

Favorite TOA-related memories? traitorpaw is my claim to fame you know it had to go here

Present or past tense? present

Normal size text, small text, no preference? idgaf but i use small text myself

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 croaks

[karla-the-elemental-dreamer]

🪢 KH-OC Week 2024 🪢 - Day 2 Package

Prompt: Design keyblades for Natasha and Erika.

In Day 1, you were introduced to two new teddies:

Miss Natasha Avalenka

Miss Erika Tapalados

Who are special guests for KH-OC Week 2024 under Dinh-Yu.

Here are their keyblades if they were to traverse / reside in the Kingdom Hearts realm.

Natasha: Aura of Enigma

The ? graphics are inspired by how Sora or any other KH player gets confused by an enemy. When she swings, ?s will come off the keyblade. The N in the background does not stand for Neo-Cortex, it stands for Natasha, though she seems to adopt a similar if not identical style/taste, in terms of science slash robotics/mechanics, or even archaeology. Hence some nicely shaped bones for the outer handle, with an 'Alice In Wonderland'/'Dr. Seuss' bush over the top. I believe in Kingdom Hearts, she'd fit in to being a researcher or may teeter on the edge of darkness at times.

The main reason Natasha gets this keyblade is because despite me being her creator (obviously), I don't even know the true facets of her personality. Like she is so hard to flesh out, hence she's an 'Enigma' waiting to be discovered, if anyone can work it out. That's what the E at the end of the keyblade stands for... Unless she had dealings with Ephemer or Eraqus that I know nothing about...?

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Erika: Flower Garden

Erika would be teaming up with the guardians of light, and may even get involved in the company/surroundings of her sister. Erika would get Riku to 'like' her / get used to her quicker than both Selvian and Sierra combined. Consuls (ESFJs) have a knack for that.

With Erika's design, she just screams flowers and pretty petals, and other pretty things as well. In a sense she's like Kairi, but only in tastes. She's not as rambunctious as Kairi. Just for comparison, think of Erika as a Princess Peach type; only not getting kidnapped.

I think of Erika as a 'delicate flower', whereas Kairi is a 'Wild Flower'.

Kairi likes a sharp pink, Erika likes pastel pink and pastel green as a secondary.

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As Day 2 here is on the topic of more/additional keyblades:

As I was setting up some things for this event, I was psychically gifted a keyblade for my inventory by Dinh-Yu and his crowd!

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Day 2 edit: Dinh-Yu subsequently caught me out for not putting keychains on the back of the handles. I always forget those 🥲

'Aura of Enigma' would have a bright red N OR a ? of some sort.

Not sure about Erika's.

'Warioware Inc.' would have a garlic OR a mini console thing like what they use in Game&Wario.

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Subsequent Day 2 edit: Am doing the week mostly blind due to Dinh-Yu's challenge, advice and instructions, but when scrolling through ppl's work, I saw a prompt.

I realise I have hilariously coincidentally addressed Natasha's ABSENCE OF past or at least knowledge of it 😁

So here's something else about the past. Where does Selvian come from? IRL, I have had what happened to be my favourite coloured trddy bear for a few years, until it was no longer useable for some reason. The ears were blue, but the fur was rainbow. Since the base colour was green, that's the digital skin colour because I'd spend forever with rainbow. Selvian is the unaltered version of how the teddy looks like IRL, without clothes obvs, and also therefore consequentially bald. The rest are altered to give them hair and different personalities.

The bear may have been tossed in the trash, but the spirit lived on, for that many years, and has transformed into an interdimensional entity/carryable character in the name of Selvian who appears to be the leader of everything but has a specific bridge to Kingdom Hearts. And oop! I was also calling him Selviana as a child, hence I've now taken the last A off.

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Sierra and Erika being sisters is a fairly new concept after Erika was rolled in for Dinh-Yu. May try to address tidbits of the sisters (or just Sierra because she's KH) in future days IF I can flesh them out more. These teddies sometimes start their jobs before we even get to know them 😅

Sierra was always intended to have a sister, we just didn't know who it was.