#Circular Cutter

[requinoesis]

Since we have seen a bit of the civilization of the descendants of the Greenland sharks, I have to ask about what the civilizations of cookie-cutter sharks and the cetaceans (if they are still around) look like? Mainly what it's like for the cookie cutters and cetaceans to interact with the other sharks

I still need some time to illustrate them, but what I can say is that they would be considered Aphoteans, the sharkfolk who inhabit the abyssal depths. I wrote a bit about them here.

They probably didn't adapt to have legs and live in deep pelagic regions, their primal species continues to perform their iconic circular bites on large wild fish, but the civilization they descended from probably doesn't do this anymore, it's not known how they feed and their culture is a mystery.

This illustration could well represent the ruins of some of their abandoned citadels.

Cetaceans? In this reality, the entire era of mammals has perished, the sharkfolk see them as we see the dinosaurs.

[blastzachilles]

— Loving Machine .ᐟ

CHARACTERS: STANFORD!TASHI x MECHANIC FEM!READER WORD COUNT: 1.3k CW: mentions of death

a/n: this was insanely self indulgent oh my god but it can be my birthday fic!!! very based on an insanely ultra specific scenario i have in my head that i will one day do with a future gf so if it does not live up to the mechanic hype i am so sorry but trust there will be more in the future!!!! i love you tashi duncan my beautiful queen happy womens day <3. also fun fact!!! the rings in the middle of the moodboard are the ones i actually made a while back that inspired this whole thing!! i hope you enjoy, and as always, any feedback/comments are greatly appreciated, and thank you to my lovely beta reader!!

— The high-pitched sound of metal screeching rings through Tashi’s ears as she tries to work. It used to be awful, near deaf everytime she left the shop, even if she wore earplugs. 

It’s calming now, tranquil. It means you’re nearby, and it helps redirect her mind. She sits at a desk beside where you stand by a machine–you told her the name of it a while back, she’s since forgotten, something starting with an L, she thinks?–face scrunched in concentration. 

She traces your wrinkles with her pencil, her mind far from whatever essay she’s working on about the beauty of life and rebirth. Without her knee, she’s been trying to get her mind off the possibility of ‘what if?’ And nothing gets her mind off it better than clinging to your side, following you around Stanford’s student shop. She watches you, you in your safety glasses with your hair pulled back, white tank stained with grease stretched tight over your chest, skin covered in a sheen of sweat. Tashi thinks about how she’ll make good use of that image burned into her head later. 

She spends these shop visits with unwritten essays and unanswered questions as she watches your shoulders loosen and tense. As she watches you playing with the levers and wheels and buttons of the machines, listens to you explain whatever it is you’re doing, even if it’s all a bunch of code to her. 

She watches you bore into the threads of a nut, watching the metal go smooth, chips of metal going flying. She thinks back to when you showed the simple steel nut to her, your face lighting up for no apparent reason. The grin that followed was one she knew well, one you made every time you had a wicked idea. It crinkled the area around your eyes and even the coldest winter day would feel like summer if she could see that every day.

She watches you press the nut onto a rod of metal, the muscles of your arms flexing and the sun bouncing off the sheen of sweat as you raise and lower the lever. As you pick up the rod, turn around and wipe the sweat from your forehead. 

You set yourself up again at the machine, and get back to work, Tashi keeping watch as the sharp edges of the nut soften into a circular shape. Not unlike herself with you, she thinks. You have to be the softest person she’s ever met, under all the rough and tough of your work in the shop. She almost feels like you placed her on that machine and turned all her sharp edges yourself, smoothing them out the way the cutter does the nut. And in a way, you did. 

When she snapped her knee, she didn’t think she’d be able to live again. But sometime after, she felt like you picked her up, put her on that machine you’re using, and turned her. Bored into her soul, carved into her, exposing her ugliest parts and making her feel beautiful. Made her something completely new, from the same old Tashi she was before.

Any hint of sharp edges from before becomes completely invisible as the nut grows thinner and thinner, rounder and rounder. You stop, at a certain point, and turn off the machine, taking out the cutting tool. Walking around the shop, leaving it in its place and taking a new cutter, standing at the machine, sliding the cutter on, and getting back to work.

You cut the nut in half next, and press them off the rod. 

Tashi realizes they're starting to look like rings. 

Her brain goes fuzzy as she thinks about the idea that you’re handcrafting rings, rings that presumably–and hopefully–are for the two of you.

As the sun begins to set and dusk follows, you finish machining, turning off the lathe–she finally remembers–and start to clean up, placing the rings atop its shelf. She watches them sit there, as you seem to have no care in the world about the fact you machined these rings from your own hands. She knows what you’ll say. “It wasn’t that hard, the nut was already made and it’s easy to cut.” 

And the smile on your face when you hand one to her and slide it on her finger is one she wants burned into her memory. She’d take ten thousand ACL tears if it meant she could watch you make these rings over and over again, and place it on her finger with such gentleness and devotion. 

But she doesn’t have to.

“This is the simplest possible ring I could have made, but I just wanted to make sure I still knew how. I have plans, big ones, with future rings.”

“Thank you. For everything.”

“Don’t mention it, Tashi. It wasn’t that hard, the nut was already made and it’s easy to cut.” 

“Shut up. Seriously. Thank you.”

Tashi chuckles softly. So predictable, she knew you’d respond like that, and you know she knew too. You laugh too and take the time to oil your machine like it’s your baby, and she stands there, inspecting the ring that now sits on her finger. She thinks back to the nut, how you showed it to her, and understands why you were so happy. 

She thinks about the implications of one nut being carved into two rings, two halves of a whole, just like you are with her. She runs her finger over the small grooves the lathe made, running her fingernails over them. Grooves filled with love, with care, with promise. Sentiments that match the ring on your own hand. She slides it up and down her finger, and it feels like you’re peppering kisses in place of the ring. 

She feels herself tear up, and as she sees your feet turn to face her, she looks up at you, swallowing hard. She sees your small smile, your face softening as you see her swallow hard, and she swallows your air in a kiss as you open your mouth to say something. 

It’s soft and gentle and everything she needs, and just the touching of your lips on hers speaks more than she ever could with words. She soaks in the smell of you, feels the slick sweat on your skin, the slimy grease on your fingers. She feels your own ring resting on her waist, and a sensation that can only be described by burning. 

When she pulls away, something clicks, and she knows exactly how to write her essay. As Tashi looks at your sheepish lopsided smile that makes her want to kiss you again all over, chest heaving as you try to catch your breath, she realizes you rebirthed her into her own person. 

As you both gather your things, leaving the shop hand in hand, your rings brushing against each other’s, Tashi finally understands why you love these machines so much. Why you throw yourself into your projects whenever you have to use them, so much passion in everything you do. She’ll have to get you to teach her about them one day, even if it’s just an excuse to listen to you talk for hours. 

Maybe she will be able to do something other than just hit a ball with a racket.

Tashi Duncan doesn’t remember when she started falling in love with the smell of grease. Sometime after first semester started and she sat beside someone who would, in her opinion, be much better suited for modeling, especially with that face, than in this dingy chemistry lecture–

“What program are you in?” 

“Oh, I’m taking this as an elective.”

“You’re crazy.” 

“You?”

“Mechanical engineering.”

“You’re crazy.” 

–but now she can’t imagine going a day without finding it all over her. Her clothes, her skin, in her hair and in her lungs. It’s become synonymous with you. She swears she’s ingesting and inhaling toxins from it, and no matter how many times she tells you, it just gets a laugh. She laughs too. 

And you two laugh now. You laugh because she complains, but Tashi laughs because she’d spray that oil down her throat and die happy because you were a part of her.

[claypigeonpottery]

What's the process like for slab building mugs? I've only done them on the wheel before and i was wondering how hard it is to get a smooth rotational symmetry when you don't have the wheel helping you

they’re pretty straightforward, but they definitely take practice. and I think an aspect of slab building (and hand building in general) is that it’s not going to be perfect. I had to learn to accept that and to love it for what it is

I use two tools to get my slab-built mugs nice and round:

1. a turntable/banding wheel. spinning it as I’m refining the shape helps keep it round, just like wheel-thrown pottery

and

2. The Cone

The Cone can be any cylinder that’s narrower at the bottom at wider at the top, and the right size to fit in your mug. just press it in and shape the rim to it, don’t leave it in the mug as the clay shrinks

but here’s the whole slab-building process!

under the cut

1. roll out clay.

this time I cut it straight from the bag so it’s air-bubble free, but otherwise it should be wedged first. I use a rolling pin with measured rings on the ends so I can easily roll it out 1/4” thick

2. I used to use a cardboard template and a pin tool for this (you can find the templates online and print them, or you can cut up a disposable cardboard cup to make a template)

but I upgraded to cutters a little while ago and I love them.

remember also to cut out a circle for the bottom of the mug.

3. smooth

4. let sit for a couple hours, or put it in front of a fan for awhile, so it’s not too floppy to work with. it should be flexible, workable, but not floppy. it shouldn’t crack if bent but it should stand up on its own once you’ve got it in a circular shape

5. I usually make a handle right before starting to build the mug, so it’s firm enough to work with by the time I’m done with the cylinder part of the mug. I prefer handle-making tools, rather than pulling them by hand

6. cut the mug edges at a 45 degree angle. you can eyeball it or use a tool. remember to flip the slab before cutting the other side, so they line up lol. I only made that mistake once.

I used to not do this step but my seams are a lot cleaner now.

7. score and slip, then join. once I’ve blended the two sides together a bit with my fingers, I like to use a soft rubber rib to smooth out the seam on the inside and outside, adding extra slip to fill any little gaps. it’ll be ugly at first, just keep refining it!

8. score and slip to attach the bottom piece to the cylinder. I add extra slip around the inside of the mug where the bottom attaches, and once I’ve flipped the mug back over, I smooth the extra slip along the seam on the inside with a brush or sponge, to help fill any gaps and attach everything nicely

9. here I usually use The Cone. the rim is going to warp again as I add my handle, so I’ll use the cone again later. it’s just helpful to have the rim round before adding a handle

10. attach handle. I like to attach them over the seam so as to leave the rest of the mug as smooth as possible for decorating

11. use The Cone again, refine the rim, cover mug with plastic and leave until leather hard

12. trim it, clean it up, etc (here’s one I prepared earlier!)

and here’s your mug!

[hope-to-hell]

Electric (when you’re near) part six: the dream (sharing is caring). Agent Stone x Ivo Robotnik. They dream. They caffeinate. They speak of scars. This one has a bit of gore, as a treat. Story masterlist here.

————

We will snap your spine between our teeth. Frail creature. What did you think would happen? You went toe to toe with the very elements themselves— fire and lightning, chaos, smoke— and if you’ve survived this long it’s only because we have allowed it. Stone hangs suspended in the air, wreathed in chains that slice and tear and burn him to the bone. He tries to cry out but his throat is torn open, caressed by tendrils of foul smoke. Your time is up.

(Shh, it’s alright. The storm won’t last forever.)

Your entrails are delicious, little man. So sour with fear. If only we could make it last a while longer. What a treat you are.

(Agent. Wake up.)

Pale grey light filters through the windows; dawn follows close on the heels of the storm. For now, the world is silent and wet, the streets deserted. Stone pushes himself up on one elbow and then to sitting, raking both hands through his hair. He breathes slow and deep, trying to calm the racing of his heart. Ivo emerges from the bedroom, sleep-rumpled and slouching, eyes half-lidded, trying to untwist his pajamas from around his torso.

Doctor? Did you sleep okay? Are you feeling any better?

Ugh. Feels like I’ve gone three rounds with a Canada goose. I had the weirdest fucking dream. I was floating, tied up, or— It couldn’t be. Could it? Was it the same as—

Or chained? And you wanted to scream, only

My throat was cut, or torn, and

Something was speaking inside the storm. Something terrible. Suddenly, Stone’s mouth is dry; his pulse hammers in his throat. I had the same dream. What does it mean?

It means we are desperately under caffeinated for the situation. Put the weirdness on the back burner for now. Coffee first, then worry. Agent Stone? Prepare my latte. You’ll be needing something shortly, as well.

Um. The espresso machine is still out for delivery. I can make— he scans the shelves for something, anything. —instant coffee? What is this, the stone age? Well, it’ll have to do.

They sit side by side at the kitchen island, looking out at the dark clouds gathering once again. Doctor. Yesterday— you asked about some of my scars. I. Don’t get shy about it now. This is all you. Do you still want to know?

Ivo scowls into his coffee. This is the worst coffee I’ve had since the Cubs won the Superbowl.

They’re not— oh. I see. You’re…joking. And it’s a fair point, besides; the coffee is stale, and there’s not even any milk to help ease it down. How had he not noticed the Doctor was in need of supplies? Then again, they have been spending more time in the lab than usual; it stands to reason that Ivo would be subsisting on leftover takeout instead of worrying about such mundane time-wasting things as groceries. No matter. It’s easy enough to arrange some for delivery. Maybe he should schedule a recurring delivery of the Doctor’s favorites.

Laugh to keep from screaming, Agent. And yes. Of course I want to know, or I wouldn’t have asked in the first place. He’s unbuttoning his shirt now, twisting on his stool to face Stone. Come on, then. Let’s hear some war stories.

Well, the, ah, this one— Stone points toward a faded circular mark on his left pectoral— this is from a bar fight in college. Some guy had a little too much to drink and decided he’d try starting a fight with a broken bottle. It wasn’t that bad, just a lot of blood. It didn’t even need any stitches, just glue.

Thought you might’ve lost a fight with a cookie-cutter shark. Would’ve been cooler.

And these— a scattering of fingernail-sized tears across his ribs— a training exercise that went sideways. Someone fucked up the timer during a demolitions exercise, bringing the building down around them. Aban lost a toe and his left eye, and Haruko was on a ventilator for a week; Stone spent the afternoon on a table getting matchstick-sized splinters picked out of his ribs. Things could’ve been worse. They can always be worse.

And this? Ivo runs his fingers over the jagged scar low on his belly.

A bad day. I’d like to change the subject now, if you don’t mind.

Hm. Ivo frowns, but he lets it go. I don’t suppose you’ve taken my body for a spin yet.

I don’t think I follow.

You know. The one-handed fandango. The bashing of the bishop. The race to the creamy center. The— aaaand you’re not listening, are you.

Stone is keenly aware that he’s staring even as his thoughts roil with images of Ivo taking himself in hand. To be completely honest, it hadn’t even occurred to him until now. The Doctor must relieve tension that way once in a while; he’s certainly not made any efforts to engage in a physical relationship with anyone as long as they’ve worked together. No, I— I wouldn’t. Never. He wouldn’t dream of trespassing on Ivo’s privacy like that. Pissing is one thing, totally unavoidable; but to use Ivo’s body for his own pleasure, without his knowledge? He’s supposed to protect Ivo, not violate him.

But Ivo’s mouth is set in a tight line, eyes narrowed. If I’m that disgusting to you, then by all means. Keep your hands off. Oh. Oh no no no. That’s not what Stone meant at all.

Better start backpedaling. What I meant was, it wouldn’t feel right. Not without your approval. I couldn’t betray you like that.

Betray? Agent. Look me in your eyes. Do you see how serious your face is? If you want to jack off, I give you permission to do so. Don’t get so far up your own ass that you start assuming what I would or would not like done with my body. Have I made myself clear?

Yes, Doctor. Crystal. Alrighty then. Moral conundrum averted. Stone turns back to his coffee, face burning. Well, this is a work conversation I never thought I’d have.

[gruvu]

Been dragging my feet on this and so here are with the last piece of 2023 that I did. WITH a small intro into the story.

To summarize this stardew valley au, my farmer Beau ends up with a alien child and very much is living a horror film narrative for a hot second. Regardless it's just found family. Now down below is the first chapter, you don't gotta read it but if you do I hope you enjoy.

Warning: Injury detail of burns and mentions of war. Just a heads up if you're uncomfortable.

A full year and yet the sounds of the cabin kept the man awake in his sagging bed. The deep moaning of the structure reminded him constantly how he should have asked Robin for an estimate on updating the supports. He had been so wrapped up in getting this farm together, he hadn’t bothered much in his living space. And now with another winter coming, he became aware how unprepared he had been the first time. 

With a deep sigh he rolls onto his side, pulling the blankets over his head hoping to dampen the noise around him as the night moves on around him. The ticking of his clock began to finally lull him asleep only for the house to rattle then the rafters shook as something plowed through the top of the roof. A scream erupted from him as the sound of splinters erupted and could feel pieces of shingles falling upon him and the floor. Has the war reached the valley? No no, not possible! Regardless he scrambled out of bed, hurrying to his light and flicking it on as he looked up towards the rafters.

In the light dust was still sprinkling down from a circular cut though the top. As if someone had used a cookie cutter through the middle of his shingled roof. Almost perfectly carve out if only the wood hadn’t splintered. He could feel the cool fall breeze drift into his small farm house, making him hurry to grab his robe on the coat rack only to pause as he peers out the window. A soft pulsing blue light came from outside, coming from one of his recently cleared fields… “This is a horrible idea.” Beau mutters to himself, as he shoves his feet into his rubber boots before grabbing the club he had in the umbrella stand and leaving the safety of his home into the cool night full of strange dangers. 

The leaves rustled as he steps down the creaking wooden stairs, the pulsing blue light allowing him to find the disturbed earth as something had slammed and skidded through his field. His mind is going to the worst places, but if he could see it and run really fast maybe he could warn the town if there was any danger. Surely this wouldn’t be like one of those horror movies where the stupid teenager goes towards the danger right? CRUNCH. He yelps looking down as he hops away from the piece of metal, giving off a spark causing the man to hesitate to move forward. Wait.. Maybe it was just a satellite? For tv! Nothing spooky about that. With denial and curiosity at his back, he moves towards the impact site. Finding himself staring into the steam at… “What the..” He murmurs, squinting through the bright glow, his club lowering as the farmer draws closer. Using his hand to wave away the steam he could see what had landed in his field. It was a cylinder in shape, and slightly bigger than the barrels he used to age his cheese in the shed. The capsule of some kind wasn’t glowing itself but what it held inside. A fizzy, bubbling glowing blue liquid that began to dim down revealing something in it. Beau had to move around to get a better view, sliding a bit in his boots nearly colliding with the strange alien object. Now closer, crouching down to see the capsule better he squints into the odd substance. “Huh.. There’s.. There’s something.. In there.” He murmurs, as he moves his hand to touch the glass, at first yanking back thinking it was horribly hot only for him to find it only warm to the touch. There was something fleshy in there bobbing in the liquid, but at this angle it was hard to tell what it was. It seemed all common sense of fear left him as he tossed the club away to move the capsule upright, one of the two green lights on the “lid” of the capsule turned orange, a garbled static voice spoke out and sudden searing pain came from his hand. Panic took over as the farmer tried to pull his hand away only for it to stay attached to the top of the lid.

“H-HELP! HELP! SOMEONE!” He yells trying to pull away, not paying attention to the fluid inside the capsule in his panic. If he had, he would notice drops of what might have been dye were put into the capsule. A small mechanical arm inside with a metal needle poked the strange fleshy object inside, making it twitch in response. Then the orange light turned blue and the farmer tumbled back with a startled yell.

Laying there in the dirt, he held his hand in pain. Unable to see the wound in this light but it felt like a burn or something… He was definitely going to have to talk to the doctor about this. Sitting up now he looks towards the source of his pain, the capsule’s fluid inside a sickly green and bubbling like a freshly carbonated drink. He didn’t know what to do now, no one would be up. He would need to talk to Gunther because this clearly was no missile or any war related object. It was something else entirely and he was deeply afraid.

Staring at it for hours, even as the sun began to rise up over the mountains around the town of Stardew Valley, the farmer watched the capsule. Only when something rubbed against his back did he snap out of his sentry-like state.

“AHH!” He whips around, only to see his large gray and white cat, letting out a chirp in response to his yell.

“I- oh.. It’s you Yogi.” He relaxes, reaching out to touch her only to hiss. Looking now at his hand it was red and… Yeah he needed to go see Harvey.

Moving up to his feet, finding himself stiff only for his back to crack and then his neck. He needed to take care of the animals and-

His dark eyes drift over to the capsule now lit up in the early sunrise, a soft hum over the bubbling noises reminding him of its presence pretty quickly. 

He needed to get that thing somewhere locked up first. Then he could show Gunther, but with his hand. He would NOT be touching that thing again. Not without some kind of protection. The stiff farmer walked back to his cabin, his cat chirping at his heels along the way, cooling off his hand with some water and then wrapping it up in gauze bandage before getting properly dressed. He was trembling all the while, grabbing his large quilt to simply cover the capsule with it and dragging it into his shed and rolling it into a corner where it stayed glowing faintly. Beau tried to remain calm but all the while it stayed in the back of his mind as he fed his beloved barn animals. Thankfully he had to focus as he tried get milk only to struggle with the one hand, the pain did help keep his mind off things but it only made it clear that he had to also go to the doctor. Nine AM could not come fast enough.

~~~~~ “Beau the doctor will see you now.” “Thanks Maru.” He ducks into the back, wishing he could have grabbed some pickles or a cup of coffee for the doctor. Would soften the lecture that could be on his way. He knocks on the door and enters seeing Harvey check some notes only to glance up and smile at the farmer, sending Beau’s stomach into a fluttering of butterflies. “Good morning Beau. Maru tells me you hurt your hand. Why don’t I take a look.” He pats the table for him to sit on, all the while looking over the somewhat disheveled man. A slight frown of concern flickered for a moment before going to unwrap his hand tenderly. “Mmmgh.” He winces, pulling his hand back slightly. The doctor frowns, pausing his attempt. “Do you need me to stop?” “No no. I just.. It hurts.” “Well what did you do?” Harvey showed no judgment or disappointment as he continued to unwrap the hand. Truly expressing concern and worry for the man that had more than once ended up in his office with devastating wounds from the monsters in the mines. “...I burned it. I think?” Beau shrugs as his hand is exposed showing the bright pink skin, the entire flat of his hand was raw with his palm having a large burn in the shape of a neat square. The doctor looks down at it, his dark brows furrowed, having seen plenty of burns over his time here but it was odd. So clean and the area around the nasty burn was more or less fine. “What do you mean you think?” He raises a brow studying the burn. It wasn’t anything horrible but would need to be cleaned properly and ointment would be applied. “I.. I.. Don’t know what I burned it on. I couldn’t really see anything?” “Were you in the dark? Hit it on the stove top?” “I was in the dark.. Outside. There… There was this..” Beau wasn’t sure what to tell him, then again the doctor had treated him for flying lizards. “A thing. Like a mason jar but barrel size and it crashed and I touched it. And this happened.” “...You touched an unknown object that crashed?” “Yes! And it’s in my shed.” “In your shed...When did this happen exactly?” Harvey walks over to the desk door, poking his head out. “Maru, could you please get a bowl of warm saline and soap? Thank you.” He ducks back in to look at the farmer. Seeing his hair a mess, the trembling from the lack of breakfast and wide eyes. He was in distress and he came to the doctor for help. There would be no way Harvey would turn his back on him. “It.. It was early.. Early in the morning? One maybe two AM?”

“Have you been up since then?”

“Harvey I’ve had a consistent sleep schedule, I am not losing it over missing a couple hours.” 

“You would be surprised with little sleep you would do to someone… Why don’t you take me to see this mason jar during my lunch break.”

“Yeah and I can grab Gunther too or maybe Demetris? Someone has got to know what it is…”

“I am sure we can figure this out, but in the meantime I’ll clean up that hand and wrap it in some fresh gauze. Then you can lay down in one of the beds for a bit. Catch up on some sleep.”

“That…That sounds really nice.” Beau smiles a bit, his shoulders relaxing as a weight comes off his shoulders. Maru knocks and comes in, bringing the bowl and soap. Harvey thanks her and gets to work. 

Cleaning the hand with the utmost care and tenderness, being aware of how sensitive the burns were with even unwrapping. Drying the hand and putting ointment over the palm easing down the burns before dressed with dry clean gauze wraps.

“Reminds me of the first summer. When you had to rub aloe all over me.” Beau smiles trying to break the silence after watching Harvey tend to his hand. The doctor’s cheeks turned a soft pink as a smile appeared under the mustache.

“You were as red as a tomato. I told you to make sure you put plenty of sunscreen on.”

“I know I just got caught up with trying to clear out one part of the section.”

“Well we both know you could barely move the next day. I am just glad I had plenty of aloe for you.”

The two chuckle as the doctor finishes wrapping his hand. “Now I’ll get some painkillers and you can rest a bit.” 

The farmer nods, as the doctor pats his shoulder. The two walk back and Harvey gets him to lay down. All the while the humming in the shed grew louder as the color of the boiling fluid turned slowly from green into a more sickly olive. The form inside twitched and grew.

[wulfbones]

Hii :> whats ur fav way to conect with ur alterhumanity? Does it differ on the specific type and are there things that work for all types? As a fellow canine cladotherian id love to know this :] (and maybe steal ur habits if they seem like theyd work for me >:3)

hello!! i've actually got a post about this already, but it's geared more towards wolves so

some more things you can do to connect to your alterhumanity as a canine include:

pushing blankets and pillows around to make a circular nest (similar to a dog bed)

sleeping on your side or just taking up a lot of space while sleeping

buying chewlery / safe dog toys

slim jims!!! they're shaped like the pup-peroni dog treats

wearing dog tags on a necklace chain (bonus points if they've got your preferred name engraved somewhere on them, even more bonus points if you feel safe enough to attach them to an actual collar)

eating most of your meals from bowls

purchasing a set of dog bone shaped cookie cutters

just sitting outside in the grass for a bit each day and listening to the birds

let me know if you'd like some more ! 🐾

[graphene-duo]

-> mech enters, placing some equipment for the diamond cutters. not much aware that duo had been in the room. <-

@therobotisspeaking <- <- :>

Tucked into the corner of the room silently flipping through an Extreme Gear magazine (and processing maybe half of what he's reading) as he is, it's no wonder Duo went unnoticed. Upon hearing footsteps and glancing up, Duo just sort of... stares. Quite impolitely, really. Though perhaps he can be forgiven considering that he's never seen something like this rusty robot in his life? Or perhaps not.

You're staring. You need to say something before you're noticed or this is gonna get awkward fast. Duo decides to let his magazine cover for him by quickly looking back down at it, then making a show of shutting it with an audible slap of glossy paper and looking up.

"Oh, uh, hi!" Good start. "Didn't see you come in, sorry." Don't ask why one of their legs is a circular saw, that's probably a touchy subject (and stop staring at it!). "Whatcha got there?"

[empyrealbiscuit]

Yall I know mermay is almost over but

Vampire merfolk as a lamprey

With the circular jaw and everything

Or maybe those cookie cutter sharks but those are too adorable for what I’m thinking

I want my damn lamprey merfolk!!!

[blizzardsuplex]

Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known.

The squared circle is circular from Dragon Gate's Truth Gate, 02/07/2024 || NJPW's Best of the Super Jr., 06/16/2007 || WCW's Chi-Town Rumble, 02/20/1989 || NJPW's New Japan Pro Wrestling In Miyakojima, 05/15/2010 || TJPW's Yes! Wonderland, 05/06/2024

[Thanks, TJPW English commentary. Names of the moves from top to bottom, BTW: kubinage, Triangle Lancer, headscissors, Hercules Cutter.]

[thedarkmistress16]

Happy spoopy month!👻Here's a sus tones wip that I did not plan on expanding but it happened anyway 🤷

Yandere!Tony Stark x Reader- The Little Things (Fluff, Romantic relationship, Pet names/Endearments, Physical affection, Bonding, Yandere quirks, Nondescript reader, Early Iron Man era like 1 or 2, Watch out he may be OOC again AHhh) (Fic Warning- Short Oneshot)

gifs used not mine as always. Couldn't find a source for the second gif, tho.

Striding into the lab where your partner is with exasperated purpose, you huff impatiently. “Tony, I can’t get this stupid thing off. The clasp has been slipping out of my hand for the past twelve minutes.”

“You were counting?” Tony quips in his rolling chair, closing out the live feed of the living area you just stepped out of. He spins himself around to properly face you and sighs dreamily, silently drinking you in as you continue to distractedly tug at the bracelet.

"I swear this thing went on no problem this morning…" You add as an afterthought, recalling how flawlessly you were able to latch it onto your arm in comparison. You don't remember jewelry being this finicky before.

"Really, now?" The man drawls, not moving an inch as he observes the locked bracelet plummeting back down to drape over your wrist for what feels to be the hundredth time at this point. “Need any help?” He innocently asks, wiggling his eyebrows playfully at you.

You stubbornly refuse to meet his mirthful gaze even as you approach him and thrust your arm out. Tony chuckles before guiding you over to a clean table you can lean on while he fiddles with the delicate piece of jewelry.

You take in his appearance as the brunette busies himself with the metal chain, noticing his casual approach to the day- the circular illumination of his arc reactor being the most prominent sight over his charcoal tee of a rock band, and sporting some very faded denim underneath. You then look around the lab and spot a mug branded with his company’s logo where he was originally sitting, and you briefly wonder if your intrusion kept him from anything important. Judging from the haphazard state of the room, whatever he was doing didn't seem construction related, and his A.I. would’ve warned you otherwise, you supposed. You're about to voice this when you turn your focus back to the inventor in question, but the thought quickly leaves your mind when your eyes land upon the bracelet again.

“Why did you get me this anyway?” You ponder aloud, assessing the profile of your boyfriend’s knitted expression as he concentrates himself on his task. Even after four months, you still couldn't figure him out.

“Do you not like it?” Tony stops short, his head shooting up to look at you with concern already blossoming on his features. You’re quick to correct yourself with equally widened eyes, taken aback by his reaction.

“No! It’s lovely and easy to match with! I just-" you falter, averting your gaze. "It’s… too much work to put on all the time…”

It sounded stupid when you said it out loud, even if it was true. The clasp was having an infuriating tendency to lock up at the worst times as of late, but it's never been so egregiously problematic until this afternoon. You were planning on snapping the entire thing off with a pair of Tony's cutters if he wasn't in the lab today.

The brunette visibly calms, his features softening. “I’ll always help you out with anything you need.” He sounds casual yet resolute about it, but you can't help but find it unnecessary. “I thought you knew that by now. Dating a genius, billionaire, philanthropist superhero has its perks, y’know. You won’t see me judging you for enjoying yourself.”

You sheepishly look back, a weary smile painted across your lips. “I don’t want to inconvenience you-” He adamantly shakes his head, and the soured expression he dons has the rest of your words fizzle out on your tongue.

“Never,” he spits out fiercely, his attention dropping to the bracelet again, “you’re never an inconvenience.” You fall silent, unsure of what words to respond with, electing to watch him meticulously work instead.

Soon, with an almost practiced touch, the chain falls away as if he broke a magic spell. You're about to take your hand back, but Tony engulfs it in both of his. He meets your curious eyes with his own, expressing an unusual and calmed seriousness in his brows that gives you pause.

“Darling, I love your visits, and you look good in anything. Preferably, not at all.” He comments good-naturedly, flipping your wrist over to place a kiss on a protruding vein, and you try to hold back a blush at how intimate it felt. The gentle touch he exudes startles you, but not nearly as much as when he moves those caresses down to the reddened pads of your fingers. There, the calloused digits rub circles exactly where you ran the skin ragged multiple times over.

His gaze drifts over to the discarded accessory that tormented you, critically looking it over. "I can make some adjustments- some good, ol' Stark ingenuity and it'll be fresh out of the box." He contemplates the idea before quickly shaking his head. "On second thought, I'll whip you up a new one instead. How's that sound? Something with more style- I want you to dazzle the world, baby." He winks up at you and you can’t help but laugh as he continues at a louder volume, turning his attention to the rest of the lab. "Jarvis, buddy- make a note of this, yeah?"

"New note titled: ‘This, yeah?’ Done, sir."

Tony glares at the monitor across the space that just dinged to life with a new notification. "We'll talk about this later, young man." The overly authoritative way that Tony counters back has you trying to muffle most of your reaction at the banter.

"Duly noted, sir." The voice drones back unflinchingly.

"Ah-ah-ah, shush!" The brunette exclaims suddenly, "no more notes! You're in timeout, Jarvis. Mute." You had a feeling the A.I. would've had a comeback otherwise. Tony pivots back to look at you, his expression shifting the mood into something more sincere that quells the rest of your amusement. “I don't do this just for anyone, so don’t think you don’t deserve to be pampered. Whatever you need, I'm there. Even if it's for a silly little trinket.”

You mull the words over and nod, watching his goatee lift around his growing smile. Tony's other hand moves up your arm, creating goosebumps in their wake. He wordlessly pulls you closer to him, beckoning and waiting. You can’t find any reason to deny him, so you surrender yourself to his affections.

As you let yourself cuddle into the arms of your caring partner, the billionaire's attention falls back onto the table where your bracelet lies. The single, white-colored faceted gem engraved with designs that mimic his arc reactor starts flashing blue. Tony's quick to quietly snatch it up and pocket it in his jeans in one fluid motion without alerting you. The ever-whirring gears in his mind contemplate employing a more genuine metal this time, one that would prevent the device from chaffing your skin and deteriorating as rapidly as before. Maybe implementing a different locking mechanism as well, just in case. If he gets the blueprints done fast enough, it can be your half-year anniversary present.

[punkyarnlady]

I get a lot of unisex, crew-neck t-shirts from various events and I typically alter the ones I have to/want to wear for one reason or the other. I am not a professional seamstress, but thought I would collect some of the things I learned here.

Now, the only thing you really need when altering a shirt is a pair of scissors, a needle and thread. It gets easier and faster if you have a few other things though;

another shirt with a shape that works for you. It can be shorter than you prefer, but pick something where you like the fit in the chest and waist.

a sewing machine capable of a zigzag stitch

washable fabric markers

sewing pins

a twin needle (unless you have a serger/coverstitch machine, but this post is probably not very helpful to you if that's what you are using)

A cutting mat and rotary cutter

A plate, bowl or something else hard and circular that is about 18-23 cm/7-9 inch wide

I have split this into two parts since you might like the fit of the shirt but hate the neckline, or vice versa.

Also, if it's your first time altering a t-shirt you probably don't want to do it on a shirt you really like!

Changing the fit

First off, iron the shirt inside-out. If you are using another shirt as a template, iron that as well. Try to make sure you iron along the side seams, if they don't have side seams use the sleeves and shoulders as a guide.

Keeping the shirts inside-out, you want to use your template shirt and use chalk or a temporary fabric marker to mark out where the new seams should be. If you don't have a template shirt you can put on the shirt and try to judge how much material you want to lose on the sides, or just wing it. Make a note of where on the sleeve seam the new shape comes together, and then mark the shoulders where you want the upper edge of the sleeves to end - then sketch out the new sleeve seam on both front and back. Be careful about this though, it is not a straight line so if you take too much the sleeve will be malformed. Preferably less than an inch/2 cm.

Next, pin the sides and sew them with a basting stitch - a straight stitch with a long stitch length. Because it is a stretchy fabric, this will probably snap - you can use a zig-zag stitch instead to avoid this, but we will do more seams to counter it either way. When the seams are done, try on the shirt - if the fit isn't right, use a seam ripper and try again.

Once the width of the shirt and the circumference of the sleeves feels right, cut away the slack leaving a ½ inch/1 cm seam allowance and use a three-step zig-zag stitch to seal the raw edges - this makes sure the fabric doesn't fray when you wash the shirt.

Moving on to the sleeves, flip the sleeves inside the shirt and pin along the marked edges. If there is any slack, try to distribute it evenly across the seam and stretch the shirt gently while sewing.

Work the same way as with the body, do a basting stitch first, try the shirt to make sure the fit works, then cut away the slack and seal the raw edges.

At this point we are done with the fit and can move on to the visible seams, so turn the shirt right-side out.

Changing the neckline and sleeve length

Now, before we begin sewing on the outside of the shirt it is important to note that t-shirts are made with jersey which is a knit fabric and very stretchy. You should not use a regular straight stitch on it - if you stretch the fabric before sewing the stitches will be loose, and if you don't they will snap when the fabric does get stretched. T-shirts solve this by having cover stitches like these:

This from a coverstitch machine, a type of serger, that has three or more threads - the bobbin thread is looped around the upper threads to create a zig-zag pattern on the back, if the shirt is stretched this straightens and the parallel seams are pulled closer together. you can use a zig-zag stitch to provide similar flexibility on a regular sewing machine, but you can also get a similar result as above by using a twin needle.

Twin needles work with most sewing machines that have a zigzag stitch - though note that you should use a straight stitch while using them. Otherwise they will likely hit the presser foot and break. You need an extra spool of thread - winding another bobbin works - and this needs to be put on a separate spool holder, check if your machine comes with one. If the manual explains how to thread the machine with several threads follow it, otherwise just thread the second one normally but skip the final step of threading it behind the needle bar thread guide.

If you are buying a twin needle specifically for jersey, look for a stretch or ballpoint needle as they are not as sharp and won't pierce the knit threads.

An easy way to get a clean and consistent look to your neckline is to center a plate around the existing neckline and use a rotary cutter. Make sure that the shirt is unstretched and the plate is exactly centered on the existing neckline. Also remember that you will need another 1 cm/½ inch of seam allowance so pick a slightly smaller plate than you want the neckline to be wide.

You can cut both the front and back at the same time if you want a plunging back as well, or you can put a smaller cutting mat or piece of cardboard in between and then cut the back a fixed distance from the original neckline. Note that using a rotary cutter on cardboard will dull it, so be careful.

You can also shorten the sleeves at this point - again, remember to account for seam allowance.

Pin the edges - if using a twin needle it is not strictly necessary to seal the raw edges but you can still do it if you want the shirt to be extra resilient.

You can also fold the hem twice instead of just once to make it more robust, and I recommend doing this if you are sewing by hand. Use a hemming stitch along the edge if you do this, you can keep the hem on either the inside or outside.

Finally, sew the neckline and shortened sleeves using the twin needle - be careful that you're catching the hem along the entire seam. Turn down the speed on your machine if you have to.

If your shirt is too long, you can cut it shorter and deal with the body the same way as the sleeves.

All done! Unfortunately these are the before/after pictures I am stuck with, but hopefully they give an idea of what you can do and it's been helpful to someone!

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: Cuvier's beaked whale

Today's Wet Beast Wednesday post is going to be a deeper dive than usual, because this week's post is about the deepest-diving whale. Beaked whales are an elusive and poorly-understood family known for diving to extreme depths. Of the 24 known species, Cuvier's beaked whale is the most well-known. Dive in (get it?) to learn about this cryptic cetacean.

(Image: a Cuvier's beaked whale underwater. It is a small whale similar in appearance to a bottlenose dolphin, though stockier and with a shorter snout. The dorsal fin is far back on the body Its body is gray and covered in white, circular scars, likely bites from cookie cutter sharks. End ID)

Beaked whales are poorly-studied because of their remote habitats and tendency to spend more time underwater than other whales. It is also often hard to distinguish between different species without a close examination. The name comes from their skulls, which are notably toothless and elongated around the mouth, making them look like they have beaks. Beaked whales only have one pair of teeth and they only grow out in males. Female beaked whale teeth remain in the gums and never grow. Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), sometimes called the goose-beaked whale, is large for a beaked whale, with the larger males maxing out at 7 meters (23 ft) and 3.5 tons. They resemble dolphins in body shape, but with robust and stocky bodies. Their bodies are gray to light brown while the heads are lighter in color, especially in males. The melon is relatively small and the mouth is shorter than in most beaked whales, making it easier to differentiate them. The melon is an organ found in toothed whales that aids in echolocation.

(image: a beaked whale peaking its head out of the water. It is likely a male due to its white face. Its back is densely covered in long, whit scars. End ID)

Beaked whales have multiple adaptations to deep diving. During dives, the heart rate decreases and blood flow is redirected to more important organs and tissues. The lungs collapse, leaving oxygen storage to the hemoglobin in the blood and myoglobin in the muscles. Long periods of time without breathing results in the buildup of lactic acid in the blood, which can be toxic. Beaked whales have enlarged spleens and livers that may help filter lactic acid out of the blood. Their bodies are very streamlined and the flippers can be held very tightly against the body to reduce drag. There are likely other adaptations for very deep and very long dives that have not been studied.

(Image: the skeleton of a Cuvier's beaked whale. It is somewhat short for a whale, with small flippers. The skull is long and flat. End ID)

Cuvier's beaked whale is the most widely-distributed beaked whale, being found worldwide in tropical to temperate waters. They prefer to swim in very deep water and are rarely seen near shore. Cuvier's beaked whale holds the record for the deepest and longest dive of any marine mammal. The records (recorded by satellite tags) for depth was a dive to 2,992 m (9,816 ft) and for length was a 222 minute (about 3.75 hours) dive. The whales will usually make multiple shallower dives to around 500 m (1,640 ft) between each deep dive, possibly to give their bodies time to recover while still searching for food. They spend very little time at the surface between dives, usually no more than 8 minutes. These short surface intervals may be to avoid predators like orcas. Occasionally, longer surface intervals of several hours have been observed. Their hunting behavior changes depending on how deep they dive. On shallower dives, they remain silent, possibly to avoid being overheard by predators, while on deep dives, they use echolocation to find prey in the darkness of the deep ocean. Cuvier's beak whale hunts via suction. They open their mouths while retracting the tongue and enlarging the throat to create a vacuum that sucks prey into their mouths, which is then swallowed whole. Dissections have revealed that squid make up over 80% of their diet. The whales forage in small pods that coordinate their dives and hunting strategy. It has been speculated that the teeth of males are used to fight over access to females. Males have been found with scars that would seem to fit being raked with another male's teeth. Males also generally have more scars than females, which would be consistent with them fighting each other. Almost nothing is known about beaked whale reproduction, though calves do live with their mothers as in other whales.

(Image: a Cuvier's beaked whale jumping out of the water. End ID)

Little is known about the conservation needs of Cuvier's beaked whale. They are likely the most abundant species of beaked whale due to their wide distribution. They are known to be threatened by entanglements in fishing nets and have been harvested by whalers in the past. They may be targeted by the Japanese whaling industry, but it is difficult to be sure due to the secrecy of said industry. Cuvier's beaked whale is known to be vulnerable to sonar, especially mid-range sonar. They have been observed avoiding areas where sonar is used and use of sonar has been correlated to mass strandings and symptoms of decompression sickness (the bends). It is possible that the sonar drives them to ascend from dives too quickly, leading to potentially fatal gas embolisms. Notably, several mass strandings happened in the Canary Islands while naval exercises were performed there. Once those exercises stopped, the mass strandings stopped as well. Cuvier's beaked whale was described and named by naturalist, zoologist, paleontologist, and virulent racist and misogynist Georges Cuvier, who described it using a skull he thought was a fossil. There has been a small push recently to begin using the name goose-beaked whale instead to keep from honoring him.

(Image: a Cuvier's beaked whale poking its head out of the water. Its body is light gray, with a few scars. End ID)

[voidhollow]

PSA if you're struggling in Lies Of P.

I struggled a fair bit on my first playthrough I didn't look up how things worked and took my time figuring it out. Near the end of my first run, I learned how amazing the elemental weapons are I did mostly a quality build my first run it took a round 40 hours. The other day, I started a fresh run, deciding to do heavy weapons but also using the elemental weapons as I found them. I gotta say using the elemental weapons makes the game a LOT easier! I just got to the swap area last night, and I've only played for 10 hours, I wish I knew in my first run how effective it was to use elemental weapons and exploit weaknesses when I was stuck or having a hard time.

Each elemental weapon has an early-game version and a late-game version, but honestly, some of the early-game ones are OP even at the end of the game.

Here is a little rundown on them: Puppets & carcass-puppet hybrids are weak to Electric Blitz weapons that deal Electric Blitz as a default are - Circular Electric Chainsaw Blade & Electric Coil Stick Head. Carcass, carcass-puppet hybrids, and humans are weak to Fire damage; weapons that deal Fire damage as a default are -Black Steel Cutter Blade & Salamander Dagger Blade. Humans and Electric-themed Puppets are weak to Acid damage; weapons that deal Acid damage as a default are - Acidic Crystal Spear Blade & Carcass Crystal Axe Blade.

Using a crank to change the damage scaling to match whatever stat you are primarily running works well to get more damage out of these weapons when fighting enemies weak to them of course, this is optional.

The Salamander Dagger and Acidic Crystal Spear are two of my favorite weapons, I destroyed all of areas IV & V with the Salamander Dagger with ease & the Acidic Spear makes the Black Rabbit Brotherhood fight a joke.

Also, if you combine the head of the Circular Electric Chainsaw Blade with the Pistol Rock Drill Handle, you effectively get the Whirligig Saw weapon from Bloodborne it also shares some similarities with the Ghiza's Wheel from Elden Ring. I found that the Chainsaw Blade on the Spear of Honor Handle is also a lot of fun, as the charged heavy is a charging attack with the Chainsaw spinning and deals a good chuck of damage while being a gap closer and seems to break weapons as an added bonus.

[chienmechant]

impera ghouls' fav art medium, from an art school dropout

found this in my notes app, i previously sent them to @gravehags but i'm posting it here because why the fuck not.

mountain's kinda obvious, but he really likes working with natural materials. enjoys woodworking and land art. despite his size, has very deft hands and is extremely delicate. makes a trip to the farm each season to get some beautiful fresh and golden hay to weave it into ornaments and jewelry. and let me tell you that's a testimony to his skill cause i literally cried over hay last october and I had to soak it in water to be able to bend it. the texture was disgusting and i got destroyed at the critique anyway lol

i've already said it before, but cumulus is totally into stamp carving and linocuts. 11/10, very calming, probably has rough hands since you have to use lots of white spirit to get the ink of off the lino, and you gotta use a special rough scrub to get ink out of your skin. puts her creations everywhere, gives you and the ghouls little cards and patches she printed herself :)

cirrus and sunshine probably share the screenprinting workshop. it's a very delicate craft, especially when you go for traditional paper stencils. but worry not, ghoul claws are sharper and more precise than your average cutter. though, a intricate multi-colored stencil implies there's a lot of drying time involved, especially on fabric. they always have some kind of brunch during that time, with tea and snacks and such. invite you to join them if you happen to pass by. (it's them printing the merch i know it)

aether makes very cool metal sculptures. he's got both the strength and the patience for it. you know those adorable little bird-shaped garden ornaments made from scrap metal ? yeah he did some because the local old ladies are always commissioning him to make them. also the workshop's babysitter, has to keep an eye on swiss and dew when they start beefing with a circular saw in their hands.

rain is very skilled in needlework. originally considered himself a better painter, since he's got a sharp eye and is good at color theory, but discovered all the ways you can use embroidery and sewing with an artistic approach during a workshop in his first year. sewed a costume made out of dried orange peels and called it 'orange leather' once. also interested in book binding. will get snappy if the others call him a little grandma while he's embroidering.

phantom is a photographer, and a pretty good graphist as well. he's too shy to admit it, but he really does know how to present his work. has the cleanest portfolio around, and is probably a huge perfectionist. i mean, perfectionism is kind of a must in art school but bug is an anxious wreck (give him a hug). very gentle, handles the lenses and lights with lots of care. mainly photographs landscapes and nature mortes, but enjoys taking portraits as well. makes a lot of self-portraits and will very shyly ask you to pose for him.

aurora makes little pop-up zines. it's a prefect way for her to give way to both her gentleness and chaotic nature. while pop-ups may look tedious to make, it's actually lots of fun, and you can get pretty chaotic with it too. has a whole collection of patterned and textured papers, she made most of them. probably has a 'cool paper stash' she hasn't touched because she doesn't want to 'waste them' and said paper is like christmas wrapping paper from 2016 (it's me i'm guilty).

dewdrop is more interest in contemporary art, especially sculpture. little guy has no patience and likes to break stuff, i see it as a match made in heaven. uses his fire ghoul abilities to burn different matters and experiment with them. kinda see him as my friend who burnt a humongous quantity of human hair for a project. was pissed no one cuddled him for two days because of the smell.

swiss is totally a performance artist. i mean, technically, all of the ghouls have a huge affinity with it, but swiss especially. a big fan of contemporary composers like john cage and karlheinz stockhausen, as well as bauhaus performance art. he likes to let loose, have fun exploring his body's and voice's capicities in an artistic light. probably submitted some kind of sextape as a project, but it's okay because the professor likes provocative stuff.

bonus : all of them probably were nude models for the evening classes at some point. i haven't included anatomical study in the hcs because no one in their right mind would enjoy sitting on a stool and drawing greek statues for 8 hours straight, but none of them would mind being the models. although they'll probably ask you for a massage afterwards because of how tiring it is to stay in the same position for so long.

[taperwolf]

Very quick modular accessory build:

I found a stack of these little solar-charging USB power banks for really cheap at a thrift store a while ago.

Unfortunately, after I opened up the couple I bought, it turns out they're not very useful as is. Not only do they take a whole day in the sun to charge up, but the battery is pretty anemic and won't charge modern cell phones, and the connectors need special dongles to connect to anything.

So I decided to try turning one into a Eurorack CV input device. Remove a couple of screws on the bottom, and the innards slide out; wire cutters separate the solar cell from the board. (I'm sort of watching to see how long it takes for the status LED, now on all the time because the solar cell is missing, to drain the battery down.)

The cell, when tested, puts out a voltage between 0 and just about 5V. Ambient room lighting is just under 1V, and higher levels require very bright lights, but that's as expected. (I should mount some lamps around my case.)

I used a reamer to widen the circular hole on the top to take a 3.5mm jack, and cut away a little of the plastic frame so the jack could lie flat. Soldered the cell onto the jack — positive to tip and negative to sleeve — and reassembled.

So far I've used it as a CV source; I need to do more testing to see if it'll work as a gate or trigger source, though I expect it will if the light source is bright enough.

I've previously used a larger bare cell that I just soldered a plug onto — that one gives higher levels from less light but this one's more sturdy, more compact, and has the little wrist strap. I'll probably convert the other one too.

[fuck-you-upmusicbracket]

Fetch the Bold Cutters (Fiona Apple)

And you maim when you're on offense/But you kill when you're on defense/And you've got them all convinced/That you're the means and the end/All the VIPs and PYTs and wannabes/Afraid of not being your friend

"If you were ever a weird little girl who was on the outskirts of social circles and misstepped only to be immediately eaten alive by your peers this one is for you"

Hero (Ghost Quartet)

And you/You were there too/You drove that train/Right through my heart/But I guess it's time/To put that to bed/I think its time/To let the dead be dead

"Rose messed up so bad and she KNOWS she did but there’s also no way it ever could have gone any different, cause she had to do everything she did to get to a point where she could realize that hey, maybe killing pearl over and over throughout multiple lifetimes was bad, actually. this is a circular story, and it doesn’t happen in chronological order, and everything that happened was always going to happen, there is no version of this story where rose doesn’t mess up. pearl gets murdered in almost every one of her lives. this is the ultimate doomed by the narrative and dead since the beginning story, and this song is about rose coming to terms with that. but despite being doomed by the narrative, she’s still just a person. she’s not a hero, she’s not special. she’s the same as anyone else. and she’s coming to terms with that too."

Fetch the Bolt Cutters submitted by @uchihasasukeofficial