#Mini tool

[melorasmushrooms]

I totally get that there’s an expectation that Brennan Lee Mulligan DMing for you would include the whole package of everything the production team of D20 has to offer but if I’m being perfectly honest, if that man said “sure! I’ll DM something for you” and rolled up with dry erase map boards and mancala beads, I’m LOCKED IN and asking if he has a preferred almond flavor

[faeralcatmeems]

my biggest takeaway from the 4th MHA movie

[knotty-et-al]

Portable, multi-functional, tiny, light-weight:

It can be packed away and carried around with a foldable protractor in a tiny package

[size: 10.5x7cm].

Isometric dot grid stencil tool DIY

Do know when you are getting sad because you want to draw nice shapes on a blank piece of paper - but there is no helpful grid - and you have difficulties drawing straight lines - the isometric dot grid stencil tool is there to help!

Today I created an isometric dot grid stencil tool with scrap metal. And I want to write a bit about how easy it is to make. (Beware: You still need a lot of patience to punch all these damn holes into a thin slice of metal.)

[The distance between the dots is 0.5cm btw. [yes, I'm a metric system supporter. ])

Tools I used to create that tool:

- needles (one thinner and sharp needle, and one thicker needle (to dilate the holes afterwards wlth a rotating motion)

- hammer (for making the thinner needle go thru the scrap metal like a knife thru butter (but with more force... ))

- wooden/bamboo/whatever tray with a not too large hole [~ 1-2cm will suffice] (so the needle does not go into the wood, which is annoying and makes the needle unsharp very fast) - For the wooden tray I used a simple cutting board normally used for food preparation - it has a very helpful handle (just a hole with 1.5cm diameter)

- a printed piece of isometric dot paper and sticky tape (to form a tube with the sticky tape, so you can use it as double-sided tape. Add the printed paper to the sticky tube-thingy. Then attach it on the scrap metal. [It will be removed afterwards. (Removing the sticky tape afterwards is still very annoying. Thats why I left a rest on my tool. I put a looot of thought (slight exaggeration) into considering to remove it, but in the end I was too lazy to remove that part of aesthetical annoyance - It has no effect on the practical aspect. I might remove it anytime in the future when it annoys me too much and when I have more nerve to do so. )]

- a lot of patience to make whatever number of holes you want to have in that stencil. [I find this routine work calming actually.]

For the one depicted above I made approximately ~200 holes [I am too lazy to calculate and/or count the holes rn. This approximation might suffice.]

- garden scissors (to cut the scrap metal)

- pliers (to rounden the sharp edges of the cut scrap metal) [last step]

- - -- --- -----

What could you do with the stencil tool, you migt ask:

One can use it to draw an isometric dot grid on paper (for furtherly drawing shapes in the dot grid.)

One can also draw circles with it.

And one can also attach a piece of paper or other material and make holes into it with a needle or safety pin.

In the photo depicted above I made a cube pattern (with a mistake). I could continue to sew these holes together, so the cube illustration becomes more visible - and if I use a large enough thread so one could feel the lines - it could also be a card/art a blind person could "see" - alias feel.

Also: It is calming to punch holes in paper with that stencil tool.

Maybe I might also consider doing the stitching activity afterwards... Hmmm.

[deservedgrace]

It's fascinating the way people will see like... a ritual they're unfamiliar with as the weird, bad thing and not whatever drove it as the weird, bad thing.

My resurrection eggs post is floating around again and I've gotten dozens of responses in the past few hours that range from "hey op what the fuck" to "oh god this unlocked memories" to "yeah yeah the resurrection eggs we've all seen them", but I am so unused to having 0 justifications or defenses (so far) on a post that's getting this amount of response. And don't get me wrong, I'm glad people are seeing the horror of them because they are fucked up and they are disturbing.

However, I am struck by like... the eggs specifically are not the traumatizing part. It is a manifestation of the trauma of the crucifixion and talking about these details of torture with children AND placing the blame for said torture on them. The eggs are bad because they're a culmination of an attempt to make it as interactive (and therefore inescapable) as they can for kids, but the eggs themselves were not the traumatizing thing.

And I can't help but think about how different the response would be if I had just made a post about the crucifixion and how it's fucked up that it's taught to kids and it was going around like this. The justifications that would likely pop up. The defenses. The dismissal of how fucked up it is because it's been so normalized.

A few people have said things along the lines of "oh wow I thought my experience was bad but at least it wasn't THIS" and like, my aim with bringing up the eggs wasn't to be like "I had a uniquely traumatizing and fucked up experience." It was really to discuss just how far the desire some people have to express this to children goes, that they'd go as far as making torture a cute little engaging activity. That's disturbing to me, but the thing that traumatized me wasn't the eggs; it was learning about details of torture way too young and being told that I was personally responsible for it, that I personally was so deplorable and evil that I deserved to be tortured and an innocent person took my place instead. The eggs were just a vehicle for it.

[thesorceresstemple]

[silly-npanc]

"Drown the Problems"

(I confess that I enjoyed doing this)

(If you've read this far, thank you very much! I really appreciate it!)

[neutralaboutstuff]

kalashnicola (Tord) small comic!!!

Oh and Tomska

Can you tell that I don’t know how to draw guitars?

Idk what happened but for the past couple of days I’ve just been looking at old eddsworld art… which lead me to Tomskas old art… which then led me to Tords old art! I was originally told that the Tomska drawing was his OC (it’s not, it’s a drawing of himself), and I’m just guessing that Tord’s sheezyart header is also an OC so I thought “oh hey they hate eachother irl, let’s see if their oc’s hate eachother too” and… yea I think they would.

Full comic

Concept (?? Is that the word??)

[superbat-lmao]

It’s before Ethiopia and Bruce has asked for Dick’s help on a magic user case. Both of them get de-aged to 14/15.

So, we get Jason, who is more confident about his relationship with Bruce than he had been at 12, but was starting to get benched more often. Dick, who knows about Batman and Robin but doesn’t know Jason is adopted OR Robin. And teenage Bruce’s non-verbal ass who doesn’t know any of this. And poor Alfred, now looking after 3 teenagers with anger issues.

So Jason is the only one besides Alfred of any real understanding of what happened. Dick is trying to treat the situation like his first solo case without Batman since Bruce doesn’t know who either of them are, and Alfred is struggling to explain taking in two children Bruce’s age, and vigilantism, and magic.

After the boys prove they’re willing to do something incredibly dangerous without telling Alfred, he gives up and calls Clark. He’s the easiest way to convince Bruce he’s telling the truth about the world and will call in the Justice League to handle the magic user. Dick and Jason are pissed but Clark and Diana are there, so it’s not as bad as it could be.

There are too many people and Bruce is struggling the most to figure out how to act and for someone already non-talkative it’s even worse. He finds Diana waiting for him in his favorite quiet spot. Neither of them say anything for a long time. Eventually, Bruce breaks first and the two talk about what kind of person he becomes, how highly regarded he is in superhero circles and Gotham for being Batman and Bruce Wayne. But secretly, he’s most concerned about just being Bruce. About the two boys in his house that he’s a father to.

Dick and Jason really have it out. And sure, Dick’s skills surpass Jason’s at this age because he’s been an acrobat all his life, but Jason puts up a fight that’s dirty and mean and desperate. They clash badly and it’s brutal. Jason admits to not knowing about where the name Robin came from and Dick admits he’s not adopted. Dick starts to understand that Jason thinks Bruce only took him in so he could be Robin. And Jason starts to grapple with the fact he replaced Dick and took his family from him. They’re both miserable but they’re also both avoiding Bruce.

He’s made it clear he doesn’t want to talk to them and as the person who has the least understanding of what’s going on, they’ve been trying not to overwhelm him. Because they’re both pretty good at reading adult Bruce and this kid version looks like he’s gonna take off running at any minute.

Jason tries keeping to himself by reading in the library and Dick tries to stay in the cave but gets pushed out by the Justice League and has to do his workouts in the home gym. Bruce tries to stay in the kitchen with Alfred, who asks him to bring the other boys lunch and to try speaking with them for a few minutes.

Bruce asks Jason what he’s reading and is struck by how earnest he is, even if he’s defensive. It’s more honest than any of the other kids he goes to school with, who are concerned only with appearances and money. Bruce tells him what they’re covering in his own classes and Jason asks if any of the teachers are the same. Jason calls one old woman who was old when Bruce knew her a crone and it startles a laugh out of him. Jason thinks that maybe they’ll be okay.

Bruce finds Dick in the gym and watches him for a while. He startles him on accident and Dick lands on his ankle wrong. There’s a first aid kit in the gym so Bruce hands it to him and asks how he can help. Dick is surprised that Bruce knows this level of first aid this young and he admits to thinking about medical school and following his father’s footsteps.

Bruce is struck by how unlike other people Dick and Jason are. That if he had met them now, he’d like to think they’d have become friends. How they would have liked Harvey.

When the spell is reversed, Dick and Jason have a long talk about what it is to be brothers. Bruce and Jason talk about their relationship as being different from Batman and Robin. Bruce adopts Dick and they discuss his independence with a lot less yelling than normal.

[saturnniidae]

Hiccup keeps a very small emergency blade in his prosthetic leg. It's not far-fetched considering he canonically made Gobber one for his birthday

[johnnyshrine]

★ 156 // “M&M's”

[glimmette]

Happy Pi Day!

[trappedinafantasy37]

Cult dissection part 3? 4? I don't know, anyway, the next cult topic I want to talk about is the lack of autonomy. Members are expected to give their bodies over to the cult and to The Idol. They are expected to be willing to give each and every part of themselves over, including in the form of a self-sacrifice where needed. Obviously, this does infer that a member's autonomy will be forcefully violated, but there is also this expectation that one willingly relinquishes control of their bodies over to the cult, and accept that their body is going to be used as a tool (and so this forceful violation isn't a true violation because it was in the Terms & Conditions that the cult and The Idol own the members body). In the event that the member does not willingly relinquish autonomy, other tactics will be employed such as force, coercion, or punishment.

Small tangent, but I promise this is relevant. In the real world, many of us have the misfortune of being aware of "purity culture". It is this worldview that sex is sacred, should only be done under certain conditions, and is intended to fulfill The Idol's desires and satisfactory in the eyes of The Idol (barf). It's a tactic used to enforce the idea that one's body isn't "theirs" and doesn't truly belong to them, but to The Idol. That only The Idol dictates what happens to them and they have no say in the matter. Another thing used to bolster this is something along the lines of "You were created in The Idol's image", as in The Idol created you and so only The Idol has final say over you.

But purity culture isn't just about sex and it is multifaceted. There is this purity of body if you will, which does include sex, but also things like tattoos, piercings, diet, medication, vaccinations, smoking, drinking, etc. We can also see a purity in appearance (or modesty) which includes hair (including hair styles, colors, and dyes), clothing (no showing shoulders, ankles, arms, etc) and strict dress codes, and even makeup. There is also a sense of purity in thought, which is basically just thought policing in which no bad thoughts about The Idol, no bad thoughts about the cult, no positive thoughts towards dissent or dissenters, no thoughts challenging The Idol's message. We can throw in moral purity (like sin) which includes no desires that The Idol doesn't like or approve of, temptation is bad and wrong. And there is even a purity of blood which is the idea that one's genetic makeup is sacred and it is necessary that one remains genetically pure, and anything that could "dilute" it or "taint" it should be avoided at all costs. Purity culture is thick and is a tool to not only strip someone of their autonomy and relinquish it to The Idol, but also enforces ideas of supremacy and eugenics. Whoo, tangent over! I promise it is still relevant, just bear with me here. This is still a post about BG3.

Durge and Orin are both shining examples of how autonomy is deprived of in a cult and both exemplify "purity". All the gods we encounter in the game do some pretty fucked up shit, but Bhaal and the Absolute are the only ones we see to forcibly take control and rob their followers of autonomy completely. Bhaal forcibly takes control of Durge or Orin when they both refuse to do what he wants. It may not be obvious to Orin as she has never refused an order until the end, but it is clear during the Act 2 scene that Bhaal can, and will, turn Durge into a slave if he has to. And if Durge loses the fight to Orin and destroys the brain, or embraces Bhaal but destroys the brain anyway, Bhaal outright steals Durge's body and does whatever he wants with it because Durge belongs to him. If Durge rejects Bhaal, Bhaal takes back his blood and kills Durge because the blood belongs to him, not Durge.

In the madness ending for Durge, it is implied that Bhaal is using Durge's body to commit a litany of sex crimes and using Durge to breed in the next generation of Bhaalspawn. All Bhaalspawn do have this urge to breed and thus have a different relationship with sex as opposed to other Bhaalists. If a Bhaalspawn is to engage in sex, it is to be done in the way Bhaal approves and that is to make more Bhaalspawn. I know we like to clown on Bhaal disapproving of Durgetash, but if we presume that Durge is canonically male, then Bhaal truly would not approve of Durgetash because it won't result in Bhaalspawn babies. It is also why I have the headcanon that Bhaal would have disapproved of Orin's infatuation with Minthara because it won't result in Bhaalspawn babies. There is a reason why irl cults are homophobic as gay sex doesn't result in babies, no babies means less members to control and less labor to be exploited. Homosexuality violates certain aspects of purity and since gay sex does not result in reproduction, it is perceived as "fun" and no fun allowed when you're in a cult!

We also cannot look past the incest stuff between Sarevok and Helena. You know, the same Sarevok who refers to Durge as the "most pure Bhaalspawn" (and the fact that Durge is the "most pure" is the reason why Bhaal and many other Bhaalists put Durge above all else). It was all done in an attempt to "spread Bhaal's seed" in the most pure form possible. I do not know how it went down, but knowing what I know of cults and cult leaders, Sarevok more than likely pressured the expectation to Helena that the only way to prove her devotion to Bhaal was to carry his child, that she was to use her body to nurture the purest Bhaalspawn she could make, and that it was her duty to. As another side tangent, I know that the incest stuff is more definitely apart of the character assassination of Sarevok and I'm not really going to argue on whether or not it is in character of Sarevok to do this. But there are some complaints out there saying that the incest stuff was unnecessary and was put in for the sake of being "edgy" and for shock value. All I am going to say about this is that incest is not unusual within some cults and it isn't unexpected for someone in Sarevok's position to take advantage of his power to coerce his own children. Especially when we are talking about a cult that does lean very heavily into the purity of bloodlines. I am not going to argue if the incest stuff should or should not have been in the game, I'm just saying that it does happen in irl cults. Do whatever you wish with that information.

And of course, Orin was to eventually be sacrificed to Bhaal to please him and restore his power, as that is the point of Orin's existence. I have talked about this previously, but the reason why all Bhaalspawn have the desire to breed, and then kill each other is because when a Bhaalspawn dies, their "godly essence" (if you can truly call it that since Bhaal isn't a true god anymore) returns back to Bhaal to fuel his resurrection and make him more powerful. He cannibalizes his children, they are expected to engage in this behavior, and they have no say in the matter. They were born to die and are only permitted to live under Bhaal's conditions. There are 4 Bhaalspawn that are in BG3 and all of them have either attempted to kill each other, or had a plan to kill each other.

And this is all done in an attempt to gain Bhaal's approval, to show Daddy Bhaal that they are the most pure Bhaalspawn and deserving to be Chosen. I have also made a post about this, but in an embrace Durge ending, Fel implies that Durge gets a romanced Minthara pregnant, or that she is the perfect candidate to immediately go impregnate (I prefer to think of it as the former as Daedra is female and this blog supports fpreg). In the event that Durge lets Minthara go and truly does save her until the end so she can have their baby, it just perpetuates the cycle because Durge and their offspring will be compelled to kill each other once the offspring comes of age and it's all because daddy says so and neither have a choice.

I never played the previous games and I do not know so much about Sarevok's background, so take this next part with a grain of salt. Based upon what I know of Durge and Orin, Sarevok did not truly have a choice. From my understanding, Sarevok acted of free will with the belief he had a choice. But Bhaal operates under the principle of "you do what I say when I say, or I will make you do it anyway. And you will not enjoy it when I make you." We can see this happen in the madness ending for Durge where it implies that Durge is still somewhat conscious and aware of what Bhaal is doing, but is trapped in their own body having been stripped of their autonomy and Bhaal taking control. We can also see this with Bhaal forcibly turning Orin into the Slayer against her will the one singular time she actually questions what she is doing. No Bhaalspawn is allowed to defy Bhaal, because none of them own their bodies, Bhaal does. If a Bhaalspawn does not relinquish their autonomy, no matter, Bhaal will just take it anyway.

Edit: added a picture

< Cults & Individuality: Orin | Cults & Autonomy: The True Souls >

[faeralcatmeems]

cutest in the world

this set in the same AU as overdue honeymoon

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

I keep forgetting to post this, but a while ago I got some truly gorgeous sculpts by Bulkamancer for a fun (and educational!) painting time. The level of detail on these is mindblowing.

Aylin's got some progress on her, though there's still soooo much work to be done (and I am genuinely looking forward to not having her wings occupy half my desk):

The first bit I test-painted was back in May - here's me marvelling at the shiny scale mail:

Isobel is... still waiting to be primed. Sorry.

[garlicsunshine]

shower exhaustion

@kkgiweek day 4 hurt/comfort

gai begrudgingly accepts help during his post 4th war recovery (400 words also posted to ao3)

💚🩵🩵🩵💚

*THUD*

kk: gai?

.

.

.

kk: gai?

gai: im fine

kk: ...

kk *gets up and walks into the bathroom*

gai: i said im fine.

kk *pulls back the shower curtain*

gai *doesnt move from their spot on the tub floor*

gai: ...

kk *undresses, grabs the shower stool and climbs into the shower*

kk: we have this chair for a reason gai.

gai: i dont need it.

kk: ur barely a week out of the hospital. ur bodys exhausted. you shouldnt even be standing for more the 10 minutes at a time.

gai: ...

kk: can you sit for me, please? it will make it easier for me to shower you.

gai: i dont--

kk: i want to ...okay?

gai: ...okay...

gai *maneuvers themselves up and onto the chair*

kk: thank you. where did you leave off?

gai: hair and face are done, just body wash left.

kk *suds up a wash rag and proceeds to scrub down gais back, then front*

gai *holds out each arm in turn*

kk *kneels down to get gais legs and feet*

kk *grabs a new rag and soaps it*

kk: can you stand up and face away from me?

gai: i can wash my own ass, kakashi.

kk: im sure you can.

gai *begrudgingly stands*

kk *washes them gently*

kk: alright, rinse off.

gai *sits back down on the stool, dragging it farther under the spray*

kk *soaps their own hands with anitbacterial soap*

kk: all set?

gai: yeah...

kk *turns off the water*

gai *pulls back the curtain, places a towel on the toilet lid and sits down*

kk: lets get you lotioned.

gai: its fine. i dont need to do that today.

kk: you do it after every shower. you say it keeps you looking youthful.

gai: its fine.

kk: its really not a problem. besides, its like a ritual. its important to you. i want to do it.

gai *stares at the floor*

kk: come on, lets move to the bed. you can lay down and ill lather you up.

kk *extends their hand*

gai *takes it*

*later on the bed*

 

kk *lotioning gais amputated foot*

gai: thanks... kakashi...

kk: anytime.

...

kk: ur not an inconvenience. or a burden. i want to take care of you. i like taking care of you.

gai *roughly wipes tears away*: ...okay

kk: okay 💕

[pinkprimrose05]

TIL that コレガシ (koregashi), the personal pronoun Kuaidul refers to himself by.... is not actually a thing? He just. made a riff on ソレガシ (soregashi) and rolled out with it, apparently?

...Fascinating. There's something to be said about the particular distinction between the OG pronoun and his little spinoff- I mean, "soregashi" is an archaic first person address meant to invoke humility (it literally means "unknown person" or "so-and-so", which seems like equal parts sarcastic arrogance and genuine self-deprecation on Kuaidul's part), but specifically changing "sore" to “kore” implies a sense of... closeness? Or a lesser distance at least, between the speaker and themself.

I think that says a lot about how significant Kuaidul's sense of self and individuality are to him, even with the seeming inferiority that haunts his being, and is also a neat -but inadvertedly ironic- reflection of his selfish actions and self-centered outlook; he holds the soul (galaxy) that defines his existence veeeeeeery very close.... and yet said existence is about as "real" as how he refers to himself, in the end.