#art style (which i like a lot by ugly i mean that it doesn’t make anyone look pretty lol

[godesssiri]

Champaign Tastes on a Bottled Water Budget (because let’s face it, even beer isn’t cheap anymore) Thrift Tips

People are over living in white boxes. We now want richness and texture and colors and interest. Traditional design styles with lots of molding and detail and antiques are very in. People are making a living selling antiques online. Décor bloggers aspire to being able to bring back a container from European flea markets. People want to make their homes look like you have generational wealth.  But how do you have a home full of beautiful old things when you’ve got no money? Thrifting.

1. Always always check the art. Remember if you love the art but hate the frame you can always put it in a new frame, or makeover the current one. And vice versa, if you love the frame but hate what’s in it then it’s the simplest thing in the world to swap it out for something else, another piece of thrifted art, a print from Etsy or one of the many other places artists sell digital copies of their work, a color photocopy from a library book. And frames are very easy to make over, sometimes just changing the matting or painting a frame a different color or adding a little rub n buff makes a world of difference.

2. Rub n Buff or similar waxes are your friend for getting a gorgeous, antiqued look. The thrift stores are full of pieces that have great shape but they’re too modern looking for what you’re trying to achieve. But rub gold on the high points or a dark wax into the crevasses and suddenly they look completely different. I’ve got a ceramic parrot that looked very 80s when I got my hands on it but when I covered it with gold (leaving the original dark colors in the crevasses) he immediately looked like an antique. Just spray-painting something gold doesn’t have the same effect, using a wax creates depth.

3. Darken it up. Most old things are darker than new things. Darker furniture, fabrics, accessories, add depth and richness. If something is already dark, then when you thrift it then great. If it’s not then that’s what dye, paint, and stain are for.

4. Old souvenir pieces. I’ve got a load of old pieces that people have bought back from Greece and Rome, from Egypt, from China. They make my home look like it belongs to someone who has been on a Grand Tour. A lot of them are copies of ancient pieces which means they look timeless. They’re cheap tchotchkes that people have bought at gift shops but mix them in with old books and candle holders and natural pieces like chunks or crystal or large seashells, and they look classy and interesting.

5. Old books. Do you have any idea how many old books get thrown out by thrift stores? Like genuine antiques that get sent to landfill? Most thrift stores don’t want to deal with old books because they smell and harbor dust mites and are out of date and often look tatty. You may even be able to get a bunch for free if you sweet talk the volunteers. If you’re worried about dust mites, then pop them in the freezer for a few days. I know there are those who look down on people who use books just as décor, but if you using it as décor saves it from a landfill or a junk journaler and preserves it for a future generation then isn’t that a good thing?

6. Glass display items. Putting things behind glass makes them look lux and precious even if it’s some cheap trinket or even a bunch of dried leaves or other completely free natural items. Look for domes, plain clear vases you can turn upside down and glue a knob on top, display boxes holding ugly stuff that you can rip the ugly stuff out and re-purpose.

7. Antique reproductions. There’s been many points in history since humans started to mass manufacture stuff, that we have looked to the past a re-created what our forbears made by hand. There’s so much that ends up in thrift stores that looks old even if it’s no more than a few decades old. Cleverly mixing this stuff in to your décor can help you achieve the look of a home furnished with antiques at a fraction of the price.

8. Search ‘Old’ ‘Antique’ and ‘Vintage’ on FB Marketplace. Don’t get more specific than that, just literally type those terms into the search bar, set a distance you’re willing to travel, and scroll. People are always selling stuff that they don’t quite know what the heck it is, but they know it’s old. Yeah you’re gonna see a lot of trash but it’s worth it to find the treasures.

9. Candle holders and candles. I’m actually pretty meh about candles, I get why other people like them but scented candles mess with my allergies and I don’t get any joy out of candlelight – but if you feel the opposite to me, I do understand and encourage that. Candles are wonderful décor objects if you’re going to light them or not. Always check the section where your thrift store keeps candles, there’s often some really good ones. And candle holders come in so many different forms that you will always find beautiful and interesting ones. A figural brass candle holder will make my heart go pitty-pat. You don’t just have to use them for candles either, I have a gorgeously detailed pewter candle holder that I use as a display stand for a large mother-of-pearl shell, and my pair of huge Victorian cherubs currently have clear quartz crystals sticking out of them.

10. Actual antiques. I have hundreds of antiques big and small. I just tried to remember how many of them had been bought at actual antique stores and I think the total is 5. Real genuine antiques turn up in thrift stores All The Time. Sometimes the thrift store realizes what they’ve got and will price it up, more than you’d usually pay at the thrift but still way less than it’s really worth. Sometimes they don’t know/don’t care, they just want to turn over stock so they price it at whatever will get it out the door. You CAN furnish your home with antiques entirely from thrift stores. It just takes time and patience.

[fagmegumi]

Anyway gege is a real one for drawing everyone ugly to mid looking

[sloowoorants]

Thoughts After Watching Hannibal

About two months ago, I saw some Hannibal fan art on Twitter. It looked pretty cool, and I just so happened to have some free time, so I thought: why not watch the show? It's just a normal crime thriller, right?

I expected the type of show that's relatively light yet still intriguing, filled with sarcastic humor, starring a typical grumpy-but-genius protagonist. (This is vaguely the type of show that I’m generally into: Inside Job, Sherlock, House, Suits, Mr. Robot….)

I was so, so wrong.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, could have prepared me for the bat-shit crazy fever dream of a show that Hannibal is: bizarrely artistic gore, incessant cannibalism puns, completely unpredictable romantic subplots, torturous sex scenes that feel like angry acid trips, a multitude of absolutely unhinged psychiatric conduct, esoteric cryptic dialogue which require five google searches and a whole thesaurus to understand, two lesbian murderers "milking" a guy for his sperm to inherent his family heirloom, long scenes of intense and unabashed eye-sex, clumps of dog fur sticking to sweaty bed sheets…and a literal fucking social worker crawling out of a horse, alive and breathing and everything, covered in whatever acrid substances come from a horse uterus.

I ended up watching all of Hannibal in a week, hastily devouring it in just a few sittings.

In no way am I a professional film analyst or critic, but after having stayed up for nights on end, every single one of them spent under my blanket binging episodes until devilish hours of dawn (and barely comprehending the plot from the sheer speed I was consuming the show at, but also from sleep deprivation), I have cultivated a skull full of thoughts on this blessed masterpiece, and I need to rant about it. Which is exactly what this post is.

I am going to separate this ranty-meta-ish thing (I think a “meta” is what it’s called? I’m not sure, I don’t use Tumblr a lot) into two parts: one, about the representation of morality in the show, and two, about the intimacy between Will and Hannibal. It’s not super well written, my grammar is a bit iffy, but I hope you still enjoy reading this, and remember to take everything I say with a grain of salt. After all, I am just some guy with unrestricted internet access, a keyboard, and a little too much passion for the media I love :)

Part One: Hannibal Lecter’s Morality

Hannibal loves art. There is no episode in the entire show where he doesn’t reference some artistic thing—He plays the piano, he plays the theremin, he frequents the opera, he draws, and he finds peace at the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence. His love for art is why he kills, he transforms people he considers to be “inferior” and “ugly” and elevates them into art. He is acting out his own sense of justice, creating meaning from the meaningless.

In a way, he must have a certain degree of respect for his victims to do what he does. He could have just killed people and disposed of their body in a dumpster, but that’s not his style. Even if he doesn’t “care” about his victims in a traditional sense, there’s this unique honesty and attentive in his murders. Hannibal cares enough about his victims to make them art. And I’m not just talking about the way he displays their bodies, I’m also talking about his cooking, because a big part of art is also cuisine.

He follows a strict code of his own ethics, it’s almost like he’s acting out his “duty” to kill, to eradicate and transform the lesser “scum” of the world. To be killed by Hannibal is almost an honor, like being killed by God personally, skin to skin. Wouldn’t you feel a sense of divinity and fulfillment if God killed you with his own hands, knowing that he respects you enough to choke you himself, then turn you into an elegant display? Every kill of Hannibal’s is filled with passion – Which poses the question, does he kill out of hatred or not? When I think of violence fueled by hate, I think of sex or race based violence. But that’s not Hannibal. He kills victims he considers to be rude, yes, but is it a humiliation? Is it degradation?

This whole "elevate-swine-into-art" thing is also shown through the way that gore is generally portrayed throughout the show, and not just Hannibal’s murderers. It’s very interesting the way gore pretty in Hannibal. It’s often meticulous. It’s meaningful.

These murders are all aesthetically pleasing. For me, it creates a cognitive dissonance: on one hand, I know that these are painful, brutal murders, one the other, they’re kind of nice to look at, which makes me think—Have I ever for a second, while watching Hannibal, considered the crime scene to be beautiful? Have I ever viewed one of those scenes as art rather than gore? As an artist myself, do I understand Hannibal’s obsession with beauty? And if so, what type of person does that make me?

And I love the way this show makes us really think in Hannibal’s shoes, because of how unconventionally it portrays him as a villain. Usually, shows will provide villains with a backstory, but that doesn’t extend beyond just creating sympathy. In Hannibal, the villain is humanized. We understand him. We empathize. And what does that make of us?

Have I ever, in all seriousness, rooted for Hannibal instead of Jack Crawford? Have I ever thought someone deserved to die in the show? Have I ever looked at what Hannibal was cooking, and thought it looked delicious, despite knowing that its human flesh? Have I ever been annoyed at innocent patients of Hannibal, like Franklyn, because I viewed them from Hannibal’s perspective?

On top of that, Hannibal’s philosophy makes sense. I find myself agreeing to a lot of the things he says.

For example, this dialogue from S2e12 "Tome-Wan", when Will finds Mason Verger and Hannibal in his house, and Hannibal asks Will if he should kill or spare Mason Verger:

HANNIBAL: Murder or mercy?

WILL: There is no mercy. We make mercy, manufacture it in parts that have overgrown our basic reptile brain.

HANNIBAL: Then there is no murder. We make murder, too, it matters only to us. You know too well that you possess all the elements to make murder. Perhaps mercy, too. But murder you understand uncomfortably well.

Does Will only have the capacity for mercy because he has the capacity for murder? Does mercy only have meaning in the context of murder? Is our own compassion a reflection of our violence?

With that said, are the things that I believe to be evil still evil when I throw away my moral believes? Is morality only meaningful in my own perception? And if so, how much am I contributing to evil if I am the one judging it? Do I create the evil that I so adamantly detest? Does deciding what is murder and isn’t not murder require the ability to, and intrinsic understanding of, murder? Can the morality of life and death be so clear cut, separated into different categories?

These are the types of questions that the show makes me ask, which is part of the reason I love the show so much.

I also love how the show puts a dark turn on empathy. Empathy is way too often portrayed as one of the best traits of all time, many claim it to be the most important aspect of mankind, but Will’s empathy is what ends up making him go on a downwards spiral: He is drawn to the darkness because he can understand it. He chose to teach at the FBI academy because he gets to feel like a killer without actually killing.

It made Will miserable, being able to understand killers. It gave him all sorts of guilt and self-hatred and confliction, which was why he was so damn miserable at the start of the show. And on top of that, no one really cared about him, Alana only had a whole “professional curiosity” thing going on (yes, I know that Alana’s character is one-dimensional because Hannibal’s female characters are poorly written, but even with that in mind, I still think that a huge part of Alana’s affection towards Will was in fact just curiosity), Jack was constantly pushing Will past his limits, so the poor dude didn’t have any connections to anyone until he met Hannibal.

And after Hannibal clocks him immediately when they first meet with the whole “your  values and decency are present yet shocked at your associations” situation, Will experiences his first kill: Shooting Garet Jacob Hobbs. Ten. Times. Then he confesses to Hannibal that he liked the feeling of killing him.

But Will can’t let go of his morality, it’s the only thing he’s been able to hold on to this entire time. It’s his lifeline. He holds onto it so dearly because he needs to convince himself that he’s a good person, that he’s not a killer, and that he’s doing the right thing. Yet, he knows that letting that morality go would be so freeing. He wants to. Hannibal helps him let go of it, and we as viewers can’t help but be on Hannibal’s side, because Will’s corruption arc is so gratifying. We like it, deep down we root for it. And what does that say about our relationship with our own morality? Does our morality tie us down? Do we crave to be free?

Will’s killing style is different from Hannibal’s, though. He’s passionate, reactive, and he doesn’t care about the process of killing, or the display body (before you say “the firefly man”, I believe he was imitating Hannibal’s style instead of curating his own), as long as the person is dead. He kills them from a sense of righteousness, like a vigilante justice. Was it wrong for him to find a sense of pleasure in killing Garett Jacob Hobbs? Does finding pleasure in killing corrupt his righteousness? Is it worse to kill out of passion, or kill meticulously? Is Hannibal’s style of killing more respectful? Is Will brutal? Just because Will kills out of a more conventional moral judgement and Hannibal doesn’t, does that make him better than Hannibal?

Another way the show convolutes the concepts of good and evil is using religious symbolism.

For example, from S1e02, “Amuse-Bouche”:

HANNIBAL: Killing must feel good to God too. He does it all the time, and are we not created in His image?

WILL: Did God feel good about killing?

HANNIBAL: He felt powerful.

(Shocking that this line was from the literal second episode. This show got intense so fast.)

And Will’s quote from S3e02, “Primavera”:

WILL: God can't save any of us because it's...inelegant. Elegance is more important than suffering. That's his design.

Is God an artist? Does that justify what He does? Are we only creating taboo out of His works to comfort ourselves? What does it mean to view the world with a purely aesthetic vision?

It’s these quotes that really allow me to see from Hannibal’s perspective: To him, there is no ultimate purpose of the world, there is no end goal to achieve, just the creation of beauty, and that’s terrifying to think about. Even as an atheist, it’s hard to digest the belief that there is no purpose to anything. We spend our entire human lives looking for meaning. But Hannibal doesn’t see it that way. Life and death are just futile processes to create art, and there’s no bigger point behind it. The cycle of life is supposed to be art. In a way, he’s like the God (sounding like Hannibal here), giving people meaning by making them into art, just like how God designates meaning onto every creature he makes.

And the show has a lot of art parallels, not just with Hannibal’s murders. Here are some that I’ve noticed:

(Parallels, in order from left to right, top to bottom: Nude From Back by Picabia compared to a shot of Bedelia from the back, The Persistence of Memory by Dali compared to Will’s clock drawing, Le Double Secret by Magritte compared to how Will saw Hannibal after visual overload from light therapy, Ophelia by Millais compared to Bedelia sinking into the bathtub, Portrait of Pablo Picasso by Juan Gris compared to Will’s hallucination of himself falling apart in a mirror, Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan by Ilya Repin compared to the cliff scene.)

I’m not the only one that has noticed these. Here is cool blog that focuses on artistic references in Hannibal, they’ve also noticed some of the ones I noticed: The Art of Hannibal.

Bryan Fuller probably didn’t do these on purpose while directing. But it still unintentionally solidified this theme artistic divinity. So I think Bryan must, to some extent, understand Hannibal’s obsession with making art out of death, because of the way art is subconsciously woven into the show. I don’t know though, just food for thought.

Anyways. Will, at the end of the show, while being cradled in Hannibal’s arms, both of them covered in blood that appears black in the moonlight, says to Hannibal: “It’s beautiful.”

And all that morality fleets and becomes insignificant in the face of aesthetics.

To Hannibal, beauty is moral. To Will, morality is beautiful. Have the lines begun to blur?

Part Two: Hannibal and Wills intimacy

“For [Hannibal and Will], two people who have been wandering their whole lives through a world in which they have not really experienced any viable form of connection with another human being—because they’re two extremely unusual people—and then they meet.”

-Hugh Dancy quote from SDCC 2013

Hannibal loves will. He drew him and Will as Patroclus and Achilles. He was ready to run away with Will in S2. He surrendered himself in S3 just because Will rejected him. And lets not forget the little twitch in his face when Francis attacks will. And when this dialogue happened (S3e12, “The Number of the Beast is 666”):

WILL: Is Hannibal in love with me?

BEDELIA : Could he daily feel a stab of hunger for you and find nourishment at the very sight of you? Yes. But do you... ache for him?

It is my belief that Will also loves Hannibal, although I understand that it’s not as agreed upon in the fandom as Hannibal’s love is. I think Will is just a little bit more reserved with affection, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love Hannibal.

But one thing is for sure—there is a lot of homoeroticism in the show:

So, whether you think the love is reciprocal or not, the show is still, to put it lightly, really gay.

Hannibal’s love for Will is dark, possessive, powerful. Will is the only one that is capable of understanding Hannibal, and Hannibal was willing to risk literally everything just for Will to connect with him. He goes to extraordinary lengths just to make Will a murderer.

But even throughout Hannibal’s ruthless manipulation, which Will eventually becomes aware of, Will still stays for Hannibal. Because deep down, Will was willing to give up his own innocence to have that connection. Because Hannibal was the only person that could really understand Will too, no one else would be able to accept his dark tendencies.

S2e02, “Sakizuke”:

WILL: I don’t know which is worse. Believing I did it, or believing that you did it and did this to me.

(I remember reading a really good post by endlessly fascinated on how Will was actually being manipulative by saying this quote. I can’t find it though. If someone finds it, please tag me!)

Will eventually grows just as obsessed with Hannibal, as Hannibal is obsessed with him. Proof: telling Jack that he wanted to run away with Hannibal, telling Hannibal that he can’t get him out of his head, and that his inner voice is starting to sound like him him, and the “where would I go?” when Hannibal tells him not to leave his side, and the “one could argue, intimately” when Chiyoh asks him how he knows Hannibal, and the “before you and after you” when Hannibal asked him where the difference between the past and the future come from…I could go on forever. Will has never felt so grounded before, not in the way when he’s with Hannibal, with him, Will can see his own reflection, and he’s never been able to see that before.

And oh, the love language between them is violence. Will tries to kill Hannibal (someone tell me how many times, I forgot), and Hannibal tries to eat Will and a plethora of other fucked up shit. But in my eyes, none of those were out of hatred. Both of them trying to murder each other is out of love, out of acceptance, and out of forgiveness.

S3e06, “Dolce”:

HANNIBAL: You dropped your forgiveness, Will.

HANNIBAL: You forgive how God forgives.

And, S3e03, “Secondo”:

BEDELIA: Betrayal and forgiveness are best seen as something akin to falling in love.

HANNIBAL: You cannot control with respect to whom you fall in love.

No one can control who they love, or who they forgive, which is why Hannibal forgives Will and stabs him in the same breath. He is forgiving, not letting go.

Will forgives Hannibal too. He forgives Hannibal way too many times, throughout all the manipulation of Hannibal. Think about just how much insanity he’s endured: drugged, gutted, encephalitis abused, hypnotized, framed for murder, a serial killer was sent after his family, had his brain literally almost eaten, and despite all that, Will still forgives Hannibal—it was not a conscious decision. We cannot control who we forgive.

If Hannibal is a fallen angel, then Will is God to him. And God is indifferent, sometimes even cruel. Like Hannibal said himself, good and evil has nothing to do with God. Will forgives Hannibal, but that doesn’t mean he still doesn’t want to hurt Hannibal; just like how Hannibal forgave Will, but still gutted him. In that moment, Will forgave indifferently, so he could get back to revenge. They both forgive like blades, they both forgive with pain.

Doesn’t God forgive through punishment? God will forgive you for your sins but you still have to go to hell, right?

Violence is a pillar of stability in their relationship, it’s how they understand each other, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, the smile on Will’s gut a permanent reminder of Hannibal’s hurt, and all of Hannibal’s scars a reminder of Will’s hurt.

I see all of their trying to kill each other is affection. Hannibal doesn’t try to eat Will because he hates Will, he tries to eat to immortalize him, to keep Will as part of him forever.

And through that violence, Hannibal helped Will let go of his morality. Will had spent forever trying to repress himself—Molly was a failed attempt to escape into normalcy. Will definitely thought about Hannibal those years Hannibal was in prison.

S3e13, “The Wrath of the Lamb”:

HANNIBAL: When life becomes maddeningly police, think about me. Think about me, Will.

Will definitely missed the hunger, the violence. We can see this though the passionate way he killed the Red Dragon. He probably held Molly’s gentle hands and desperately wanted to feel something more. To feel something dangerous. Something that could simultaneously revive and ruin him. Molly never understood him the way Hannibal did, and he will never love her the way he loves Hannibal.

He did think about Hannibal when life became maddeningly polite. He probably fantasized about what they’ve done, what they could’ve done, and the feeling of freedom when he’s with Hannibal.

And Hannibal waited for him patiently, staying exactly where he was three years ago. And when Will eventually pushed them off a cliff together, Hannibal showed no sign of resistance, and just let them fall.

“I think [Hannibal]’s feeling that embrace and that’s the first thing that he’s feeling, and even as he’s plunging into the Atlantic, he’s first and foremost thinking about the man he’s holding onto and the man who’s holding onto him.”

–Mads Mikkelsen on Hannibal’s thoughts during the final scene

Their violence is something that we as viewers may never comprehend, but we can all understand their intimacy. Isn’t it what we all want, after all, to be seen?

Anyways...

Hannibal is a great show! 10/10, would recommend. Although, the lighting kind of sucks. Bryan, if there is a season four, please make the show brighter, for the love of God.

Thanks for reading this! :)

[cobra-wives]

Hiya Tumblr user Cobra-Wives!!! Uh sorry if this is out of nowhere but I’ve been meaning to send an ask for a while so whatever.

I kinda just wanted to hop in and say thank you for all your cobra kai content, specifically the Cobra Husbands stuff because it’s been feeding my insatiable hunger for art of them. It tickles the little.. Terry Silver in my brain and it makes me so so happy I cannot!! Be normal!!! Like I am so obsessed with your art and animatics of them and I absolutely lose my mind. Your style is adorable I love seeing them. And your ramblings and writings and stuff are so interesting… Everytime I reblog something from you I sound like I’ve been sniffing crack in tags because???

Like, I’ve been hyperfixated on and off with Cobra Husbands for god knows how long, and in the past [before you made this side blog, or I guess before I found it] I’d go through the tags daily and be kinda. disappointed about how little new content there is. Which is probably why my interest for them has died down a bit. I’m the type of person who usually gets into really small, niche fandoms so finding quality content is a chore. Course now with season six it seems a lot more active but idk this blog is kinda just. my favorite CK centric tumblr blogs.

I’m sorry if this sounds annoying or doesn’t make sense I’m really struggling to articulate my thoughts rn [also I suck at English] but uhhh in short, thank you!! You are so very cool and I will be eating up every new post!! Meow!!!

-Typewriter

[Also for you, a treat. I give you ugly Terry Silvers I have doodled. Thank you and sorry again]

well, lovely tumblr user hizznbyte, i've gotta say - i thought i was having a great day already... this has made it loads better!

(below is a visual representation of my process of logging onto tumblr.)

i'm so happy you (and many others who have come forward in tags and personal dms and LOVELY LOVELY interactions) enjoy my art, genuinely this has been such a sweet and fun community to interact with and i've really loved running this blog for the last 3-4 months! it's insane bc i thought we were kinda dormant walking into cks6 (i don't think i expected this much of a krilblr? revival HAHA) but like, here we are... i hope you have a wonderful day/evening and by all means, do not be a stranger - my inbox is always open to messages! :-)

[bicycleboyblog]

I would like to talk about my new favorite Webcomic - Bicycle Boy. A Review.

Submitted by @shakura-kazuki

The story is about a Cyborg named Poet who wakes up in the post apocalyptic desert surrounded by corpses with no memories of who he is. He starts wandering through the desert, finds a bike and just aimlessly travels around to find out what happened to him. He is then violently captured by bandits and from here on out, it just gets worse.

At first, I was drawn in by the character design - Poet is cute, no doubt, and really cool looking. I mean, as cute as a man in his early 30s can be. I love human characters who are out of the ordinary. Stonehenge is big and scary, but she means well. Machk is a kind heart but strong and protective. Darla is crazy, but she has her reasons. I like Skip for no particular reason, or maybe I do. there is a character for everyone.

The characters are realistic, you can empathize with them and their actions make sense, they are diverse and every one of them has their own problems to deal with. You don’t know who is a villain and who is not until more things have happened. An enemy becomes a friend, an ally becomes an enemy.

The art is phenomenal - it starts out good and only becomes better, every page just as detailed as the previous one. Most of the pages are drawn traditionally, scanned in and colored digitally which is quite noticeable at the start of the story, but less so on the recent pages, It’s almost unbelievable that it’s traditionally inked. And the colors are great, setting the mood throughout the story and showing how gnarly red some wounds are. The setting is sci-fi and stays true to it, not delving too much into fantasy - the apocalypse was 10 years ago, many people died, many people lost someone or something and they suffer from cancer, leukemia and radiation poisoning. The characters get wounds and scratches which only heal slowly, they leave scars and aren’t just magically gone. Poet still has most of his torso to feed his organic brain and skin with oxygen, blood and nutrients. It is unlikely, but technically possible for him to exist in real life right now or in a realistic future.

The art style is semi realistic, but not too gritty, the characters still look like comic book characters while having body hair, skin folds, fat and muscles, scars and wounds. Nothings beautiful, nothings clean, but nothings ugly either. Poets mechanical parts mimic real human muscles groups, radius and ulna arm bones and he’s got bone-anchored hearing aids while also having stupidly oversized kneecaps and silly cartoon robot antennas which whip and wobble when he moves. Solles neck folds, Darlas tattoos, Machks scars, Stonehenges peg leg. They all tell stories. You want to know them. You can tell who each character is by their hands, each of them is unique.

Poet is very much the “special snowflake” kind of protagonist and even though that might not be for everyone, I personally quite enjoy it. He’s unique and mysterious and doesn’t want to talk about himself. He locks his feelings away to not bother others, but here and there he reveals his hurt and his frustrations during moments of peace.

What really gets me is that Poet is not “just a cyborg” - it becomes very clear that he doesn’t feel complete, he knows he has no limbs, he can not feel his hands or feet. He’s a stump and he’s aware of it. There is ugly scarring all around his robot parts which makes it look disconnected and less in unison. It makes you feel awful thinking about it, it fills you with dread. You can empathize with him as a human so much. And there is so little of him left. He’s hurt and confused, a disabled man looking for answers. And everyone just calls him a robot and slaps him in the face.

And you, as a reader, do not know a lot more about Poets past OR the world he woke up in than Poet does himself. He is, kind of, the readers avatar so to speak of. Poet himself does not get flashbacks or suddenly remembers, unless in dreams and even then, they are mixed with recent memories and unclear. And that’s what I really like about this: the amnesia trope is there and is here to stay. No matter how disturbing or violent or how much his body remembers, his mind simply does not. He’s met with people of his past which make him trembling with fear, but he does not know why, the memories do not come back.

I told a friend of mine to read it and they told me “Poet isn’t talking a lot that’s boring” and while yes, Poet doesn’t speak a lot in the first 4 chapters, it gets better later. But also, he doesn’t need to talk. He speaks with his face, his emotions. There are many times where you can read his thoughts straight from his face. And that is also what makes him a good “readers avatar” because, you as a reader do not have much influence over the story either. That doesn’t mean Poet does not have any influence - his actions certainly cause him a lot of troubles. But he is not the one to tell the story, he narrates through it.

The story starts slow, but picks up in pace and gets more and more interesting the further it goes. The mystery of who Poet was and what happened to him to end up as a cyborg is, even after 450 pages, still a big question mark. We learn things about Machks and other characters past lives along the way. Things are implied, things are going forward and you want to know more, want to find out. There are no info-dumps and even if, they feel natural. But- and here’s the thing - you are not frustrated about it. The story goes it’s own pace and that’s good. It keeps you hooked BECAUSE it reveals only so little - and throws new questions at you with each reveal, like a hydra.

Your interest in the story isn’t driven by the question “what comes next?” but more about “what had happened before?” and the more you go towards the future the more you learn about the past.

And since I liked the comic so much, I read it again. And again. Until I slowly started to realize, that you can solve parts of the mystery yourself - almost every page has a little hint in it. These are scattered everywhere - from backgrounds, to dialogues, to gestures and visuals. If you know what you are looking for you will find them. Which is, simply said, AMAZING. The level of detail that this comic holds over the span of so many years is incredible. Every single page has a lot of thought put into it. Jackarais uses the visual and textual medium of a webcomic to full extent. Even in the alt text sometimes. 

So…

…next time you re-read Bicycle Boy… make sure to pay attention to the details. And question all of them.

There is a lot to unpack. Disturbing things. The more you try to figure things out, the more fucked up it gets. 

I’m burning to know and excited to see how the story continues.

I love this comic 11/10. Would read again.

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[mk-wizard]

Final Fantasy: It was better in 2D

One of the things I hate most about the Final Fantasy 7 franchise is the art. They just can’t get it right. The original game had the worst CGI even for its time especially considering Rare made the beaty that is Donkey Kong which was on SNES. Final Fantasy 7 was on the original Playstation. They could have done better...

And even the spin offs, CGI movie and recent remake are honestly not nice to look at either. For example, the men look like girls or underage boys. And when they do look like men or at least masculine, they’re always ugly. This is not only visually disappointing it looks wrong. I have nothing against feminine men, but masculine men are good looking too. Masculinity is beautiful including physically. Also, the women don’t look any better. They look cookie cutter and underage too. I can’t even blame taking realism too far on this one because it they don’t even look realistic.

THIS looks realistic yet doesn’t compromise aesthetics.

This is not. This looks plastic like a doll. I don’t enjoy looking at it for long periods of time.

Either go realistic or cartoonish. You can’t do both. It just doesn’t work. And to be very frank, in the case of Final Fantasy 7, maybe they should cease and desist going with CGI altogether and go with 2D style which can have a 3D effect when done right. I mean, look at Xenogears. And make the cutscenes 2D with a nice smooth 3D feel because the art of Final Fantasy 7 in 2D was amazing even when it first launched. I mean, just LOOK AT THIS. Sephiroth looks like a man and his two protruding locks in front are iconic. Plus, he looks intimidating which is the point of the guy.

This, I don’t like. The edges have been shaven off, his face is too feminine, his muscle mass looks reduced, his two locks are now limp, and making his roots dark looks awkward. He doesn’t look badass to me. He doesn’t even look like Sephiroth. He looks like a guy trying to cosplay as Sephiroth. Pardon me if that sounds mean, but I cannot lie.

It also drives home my point that some styles, characters and effects do NOT translate well into 3D. I think the Final Fantasy’s art was at its best when it was 2D. There were a lot of flaws with Final Fantasy 7 and I think the biggest one is that Final Fantasy just wasn’t meant to be CGI like the Megaman franchise. They tried CGI, it didn’t work and they moved on.

Final Fantasy 7 has NO excuse to keep beating the dead horse. I don’t want plastic, stiff, castrated looking CGI. I want emotive, smooth, fun, warm 2D with the cartoony look and all back. This is also why I have no interest in playing the Final Fantasy 7 remake even if I had time.

I apologize in advance, but I am not only not enticed I’m actually repulsed, and I cannot enjoy a game that is too ugly to look at.

Anyway, thanks for reading. If you like the art of Final Fantasy which includes the remake of 7, I respect your taste.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

Omg megumi and Yuta are my favs after Inumaki LMAO (I’m Lowk salty that we did not get ANY lore exploration of Inumaki but maybe it’s better that way so he stays alive atp)

No the hating mainstream things to be “unique” is so eugh honestly like just because somethings mainstream doesn’t mean it’s basic…but exactly I’ve definitely lost the spark with jjk I think it just got too confusing? And I was losing the essence of the story and idk I know geges said before that that they’ve wanted to end jjk earlier but something about the editor saying no…? I feel like sometimes the lack of motivation kinda peeks through with how the story was done….which I get because writers block/art block and just burn out in general is so real I just wish circumstances were different lmao…

Also yeah the “jjk has the best female characters” ideation…hmm..it’s def better than the blatantly sexualized ones but at this point it kinda feels like a bare minimum/low standard thing that they ARENT sexualized like in most shounen content that makes people say this (i agree like wtf happened with yuki we barely saw her honestly?? Don’t get me started on tsumiki i was expecting them to take a route where maybe she’d actually wake up and play a more conscious role but what the hell was that)

NO LITERALLY im all for analysis and leaving some things open ended but idk in jjk it was just excessive that it turned into confusion like…the constant guessing and insane analysis that needed to be done to clarify things or try to parse things together is not my favorite…agreed that the story should not have to rely on deep level analysis to be understood!

Yeah I’ve definitely lost my emotional ties with jjk its just like well I got this far i might as well see how it ends

LMAO WIGGLY that made me think of a worm on a string but I see what you mean! One track soccer mind doesn’t give much room to explore lolll but it was executed very well hehe

LMAOO it’s the pipeline of shitting on side characters to loving them but I can’t with his hair cut…also don’t think he’s ugly like I guess he’s objectively relatively good looking? But yeah I never fully saw the appeal (it’s funny because I know a good amount of people who prefer him to Rin when I’m the opposite lol) and the Gojo aura LOL

THE ACCURACY IS INSANE the way I would have never known if you didn’t mention it (I don’t think I would’ve even noticed if I wrote it) the fact checking goes crazy LMAO but I love it honestly the research def gives the story more depth and feel to it rather than just a one shot/story that kinda just floats in the void of the universe or something…gives it ties to reality and an actual grounding in the world! (This was worded so badly lmao)

It’s always Karasu….I think it’s partially also because some manga scenes of him are a little goofy because they give him that smile that almost cuts across his entire face to give him that kinda evil looking smirk….and the anime style kinda striking that awkward balance of maintaining those features but not putting enough detail to go full asshole def makes it a little goofy LOL (but in art they put more effort into like the S2 trailer/teaser visual he looks great with all the shading)

And LMAOO IKR!!! I always think back to that I’m like KURONA WAS 4??? Bro wasn’t even on the field in the u20 match so I was Lowk a bit shocked haha, iirc Kiyora was also 5?? Like the discrepancy makes me laugh ik people probably developed during the second selection but the drastic change always gets me

Your tag with the arrow has me feeling idk why I found that so funny LOL

Also SHSHS drowsy allergy medicine is the worst…I hope you weren’t having a severe reaction or anything and also that you feel better soon!!!

-Karasu anon

there’s def a lot of areas where there could be more lore (rika’s character page is so odd??) just because of how many characters there are i think!! but i do feel like the story is wrapping up so some things might just be left as questions. or not, who knows!!

yeah there’s def a cycle of like thing gets popular -> everyone loves it -> it becomes so over saturated that people start hating on it to be different -> it becomes overhated -> in a few years everyone realizes it wasn’t that bad. the biggest problem w the “hating as a trend” is that it takes away from legitimate criticisms of the work, as fans will lump it into general hating for no reason.

besides just analyses being so important for even basic comprehension of the plot, i’ve noticed a lot of the storyline is dependent on random interviews gege has done. like nobara’s death only being confirmed because of an interview years after it was written is RIDICULOUS to me (even though i already thought she was dead tbh but there was enough speculation in the fandom that it obviously wasn’t clear enough in-story). things like interviews and character pages should give you fun additional information that can help you expand on a character (oh rin likes horror games!! karasu is scared of the water!! etc etc) but it shouldn’t be the MAIN source of KEY info on a character. idk i think a lot of people love what jjk could be at this point and not necessarily what it is.

YESS i honestly was not super pleased by the female characters in jjk!! they are cool, and they COULD be well written, but they aren’t. i think in terms of its contemporaries, demon slayer does female characters better than jjk (again, not saying they’re perfect because they aren’t, but, say, shinobu is a stronger character to me than even maki).

jjk is a sunk cost fallacy for me HAHA i’ve been into it for over 2.5 years now so i have to see how it ends but i don’t really care atp what happens 😭 i’m like an unbiased outsider…idk it’s sad i wish i could’ve stayed invested but i only even know leaks are dropping because my social media blows up whenever they do.

OMG i also think rin is better looking than sae but i find sae easier to write for some reason?? idk why 😫 like sae is canonically only interested in soccer at least rin likes horror stuff but honestly between the two of them it feels easier to separate sae from soccer than rin?? if only marginally so hahaha. sae occasionally expresses regret at only knowing abt soccer so i feel like he’d be more willing to open himself to new experiences if sufficiently prodded whereas rin is SO invested in soccer (because soccer = his relationship w his brother) that he doesn’t even seem like he could have a proper friendship w someone let alone an actual relationship 😔

it really is always karasu…i do think manga can get away w exaggerating certain features (ex karasu’s smirk) that anime can’t so they have to figure out a way to balance it — maybe it’s the static nature of manga vs the motion of anime?? although karasu hasn’t been smirking much in pxg vs bm 😕 give my boy his swag otoya back!! HAHA but i also think he was such a background character in that one scene of season one that they just didn’t gaf abt him. he’s looked really good in all of the s2 promotional material so i have faith he will be done well!!

KURONA AND KIYORA MY RANDOM AHH KINGS 🙏🏻 they came outta nowhere but they’re slaying atm…ig the hundred goal thing only tested a very specific aspect of playing soccer?? like shooting without anyone on you which doesn’t really translate to an actual game 🤔 like in bllk vs u20 they needed defenders and midfielders who wouldn’t necessarily score but were integral to the game 👆🏻 plus they didn’t all go in at the same time so better players like tabieitaken and shidou were ranked lower than randoms like tokimitsu probably just because they entered later 🤷🏻‍♀️

it wasn’t that bad!! i just got like overwhelmingly sleepy because i haven’t taken any in forever so i just crashed instead of staying up longer like i usually so haha. but i’m hoping to get the one shot out soon!! it’s pretty dumb but more karasu content is more karasu content 🤩

[catcomixzstudios]

[Key to the Future’s Fate is currently on HIATUS. The story will return with CHAPTER 3 on AUGUST 24TH. In the meantime, please enjoy this CONCEPT ART for the series!]

For some reason, I got it in my head that it'd be so funny if this relatively normal - albeit probably kind of ugly - 80s-style home just had half a car jutting out of one of the walls. AND FURTHER, that said car was the means by which one controlled the time travel elements of the mansion. The mental image wouldn't leave my head. It wouldn't even be cool, it would look really dumb because the car isn't even aligned with the direction the mansion would fly. This idea wormed its way into my head and it WOULD. NOT. LEAVE.

Thus, I was forced by nobody but myself to have to learn how to draw a sports car.

It was great practice! And though my setting doesn't really have cars (it does have ships, though they don't show up often), this gave me a little more confidence with drawing mechanical forms. It was still a nightmare - I absolutely prefer the more free-form designs of nature - but it was needed to make me a better artist.

Elsewhere on the page, I came up with the layout for (at least the living room of) Simon's mansion! Though we don't really see much of it in the Intermission, it was a real treat to design an actual living space! I'm used to making lots of rest areas and such, but developing a place someone actually /lives/ forced me to think about what I'll want this environment to look like later down the line. Safe to say, we're going to be seeing more of this place, hence me putting so much focus on it...

[shirecorn]

how about 17 and 24? what inspires you and how do you deal with art block?

Long post warning.

Art block...

I don't actually get art block, which is probably a combination of neurodivergence and drawing every day for the last 3 years

I wrote an entire tutorial about how to do that, but didn't feel like illustrating it. Would people want to read it even without visuals?

Maybe... I'll just start rambling.

There's a couple different types of art block, and it's really just a philosophy puzzle to get past them. I'm going to assume that the things I think of slow days, or art mud, is a milder form of art block and work through that.

Art block is a symptom, not a disease. You probably have something deep inside that you don't want to face, or don't know how. Sometimes you need to discover the cause, sometimes just power through.

Method 1: Rest

Let yourself just Exist. The act of consuming art is part of the process. Watching shows and playing games, taking a break and going gardening or focus on school. This is what you need for burnout-induced art block.

Method 2: Action

I always choose action, sometimes it means a tiny 2 min sketch per day. Ugly or super simplified. As long as I don't stop moving.

Toss everything. Start every piece thinking you will throw it away.

The act of drawing moves you forward; pinning it to the fridge does not. Don't work things until they are perfect. Work them until they are there.

Art block causes and solutions:

- No Inspiration

Not sure what to draw, nothing seems appealing. Art won't come out like it used to.

Do studies from life or photos. Sketch, paint, digital, traditional, doesn't matter. Rocks, fruit, figure drawing, landscapes, buildings, anything.

Study and copy professional's work. Old masters are best, like rubens, michalangelo (only his men tho) etc because they will teach you anatomy while you work. If you copy someone with a lot of flaws, you will repeat those flaws.

Trace to learn, not to earn. Trace photography and art from anyone you want. Don't post it unless you have the artist's permission or they are dead, whichever comes first. This is strictly work for yourself, on yourself. It's not about the finished drawing.

Find an artist with a fun style and try converting stuff into their style. Don't make that your new style though and especially don't start selling it. Your style is a chimera of everyone you love, not a clone of one person.

Take blurry photos. You don't need a fancy camera or good skills or beautiful subjects. Doing studies from your own photos can spark life into your workflow.

Make challenges for yourself. Randomly generate things to combine. Try fusing characters! Don't try to make it look good, just be fun.

Doodle patterns, swirls, lines, random stuff. Try looking up art warmups and doing some of those.

- Everything Sucks

You finally see how bad you are. Or somehow you got worse. Every piece is a fight and you spend hours trying to get something right only for it to be stiff and disgusting and STILL wrong.

Why are you trying to draw good? It's enough just to draw.

Accept that your art is bad. Every artist can see flaws in their work. Your problem is that those flaws outweigh anything remotely worthwhile and hurt to look at.

So what? You're in a period of growth, not a period of production. Keep that wonky second eye. Let them have hot dog fingers.

Show everyone! Show no one! No piece of art can ever be a reflection of the artist. Not their worth, not their skill. The only thing your art says about you is "Held and moved a pen for a bit."

Make bad art. It's ok. Most of the time, the pressure to perform and get things Right is what made them wrong in the first place. Relax.

- No Motivation

The #1 killer of artists everywhere. On some level you think you should draw, on every other level you think you should stay in bed.

You are not lazy. You wouldn't have read this far in a post about art block if you were lazy. You wouldn't CALL it art block if you were lazy. Laziness is wishing you didn't have to do anything. A block is wishing you were doing something. If you think you can namecall Yourself into productivity again, you're wrong and You need to unionize so that you don't treat You like that anymore.

Consider Mental Illness. Losing interest in something that brought you joy can be a symptom of depression. I know it seems obvious, but if you're waiting for a sign that it's "bad enough," it's bad enough. Seek care if you have the means. Forgive yourself if you already know this.

Selfcare. Examine yourself for neglect. Nutrition, exercise, enrichment, social need, and sleep are all part of the art process. Eat three meals and sleep 8 hours. That's your gaymer fuel. You deserve it, I promise. Depriving yourself of your needs will make your blocks worse, not kick you into making them better.

Identify potholes. Sketchbook falling apart? Tablet cord frayed? Half your pencils missing? Chair uncomfortable? Desk hard to reach? There's a lot of things that you tell yourself to work around and get over. Just because you CAN workaround something, doesn't mean you SHOULD. A difficult work environment can cause secret dread deep inside that you don't recognize and just think you're lazy. What you think of as "no motivation" might actually be "I don't want to deal with my tablet disconnecting every time I move it wrong and I have to wiggle it for a few seconds to make it work again." These little things are like potholes in the road. Sure you CAN still drive through them, but eventually you're going to look up and realize you haven't voluntarily left the house in weeks.

Repair potholes and roadblocks. You might feel bad about buying a new pencil, headphones, tablet, car, etc because technically the old one works if you hustle. But if you're running into so many potholes you've ground to a halt, it doesn't Actually work anymore, does it? Invest, save up, request, and require working equipment and suitable conditions. This stuff isn't just cushy privilege, it's an investment in yourself and your art. You are worth the effort it takes to clear the way. If you can't afford reliable (reliable! not perfect or luxurious) equipment, then say it. If cardboard is all you can afford, draw on cardboard. But know that you deserve canvas, and one day you might be able to make the jump. Acknowledge that sometimes, if you don't have it in you to smear burned twigs on wet cardboard, the problem isn't motivation, but opportunity.

- Haven't Drawn in So Long

A unique type of art block that self perpetuates. The thought of starting again is so stressful you can't do it. Or maybe you'll do it tomorrow. Yeah. Tomorrow for sure.

Face your fears. Are you ashamed of your lack of drawing? Are you anthropomorphizing your paper and thinking it's going to judge you, like "oh NOW you come back >:/" I internalize voices I hear and project them onto other people, concepts, locations, and inanimate objects. Your paper, computer, WIPs folder.... none of that is judging you.

Reframe your WIPs. Do you feel shame when you see "unfinished" projects? Why? Who says you MUST bring everything you start to Finish? You don't have to. A sketch is a finished art piece; it's called a sketch! If a sketch is a fully realized creation, pages that are half colored, 75% lined, or partially rendered are all fully realized creations too. Unless paid otherwise, art is done when you're done working on it.

Lower the stakes. Draw a chibi or grab some crayons. Get messy and slowly ease yourself back into the flow over the course of a couple days. It's fine.

Get a buddy! Find an art meme, do an art trade, get a study subject, or just wing it. Drawing art alongside someone can help you get past that block.

Pretend you never stopped. Don't think about the gap, how long it's been, or rustiness. As far as anyone knows, you drew the mona lisa yesterday and didn't break a sweat. Today, you drew a starfish on your hand with a gel pen. Keep up that streak, good job!

Just keep drawing. Make a goal to do one sucky drawing per day on the back of a napkin. Don't make up for missed days, just pretend they didn't happen. Who's going to judge you? The calendar? That's pieces of paper; it doesn't have an opinion. Draw a cat on it. Done. Keeping up the momentum is a great way to prevent art blocks in the future.

TLDR: Draw imperfectly and toss it. Selfcare is king. Draw often and don't judge yourself.

Art is a process, not a product.

[shotorozu]

Hello!! I hope you're doing well💕 Idk if this been requested before, headcanons about them having a stylish, fashionable s.o? You can choose the characters, tysm!!💖 For BNHA, if possible, please <3

fashionable s/o

character(s) : shinsou hitoshi, bakugou katsuki, todoroki shouto, midoriya izuku (bnha)

legend : [Y/N = your name] they/them pronouns used, quirk not mentioned

headcanon type : fluff (x reader)

note(s) : this isn’t that long, compared to most of my headcanons, but i did add four characters! will post more later

»»————-　♡　————-««

shinsou hitoshi

feels like a trashcan next to you.

in reality, his fashion sense is either top tier stuff, or something you can find at dollar tree

and when i mean that, i mean black sweatpants (that haven’t been washed in 2 days) and a black sweater, with a coffee stain on it to match

his fashion sense is quite lazy and comfortable, but that one outfit he wears on special occasions make up for it.

he smiles when he notices how you never-ever wear the same outfit twice in a row. at some point— assumed that you were also loaded.

and how you always find a way to make an ‘ugly’ outfit suddenly not ugly— he doesn’t know how you exactly do it.

hitoshi could look at an outfit in your closet and think “WHY did they buy this again?” but then in the following second, he could go

“oh, that’s why. they always know how to make it work.” since then, he has learned how to trust your sense in fashion

you could probably help him with his fashion sense, and he wouldn’t mind at all— just help him be consistent with it.

sometimes, he didn’t even know that a certain article of clothing would actually look good on him. the more you know

doesn’t mind it when people gawk at you, because of your very boujee✨sense of style. because, who wouldn’t look at you? they’d be missing out.

in short— he adores how you put so much effort with your clothes, and how you’re also effortlessly stylish

“but i’m dressed like a trashcan next to you,,” he’ll say with a hand resting on his nape, and you’ll reply with

“hitoshi, stop saying that.”

bakugou katsuki

appalled when he shows up to your dorm— and sees you wearing the fanciest pair of pajamas he has ever seen in his entire life.

“what the heck??”

“why, katsuki??”

“WHAT’S WITH THOSE FANCY PAJAMAS??”

his fashion sense is fine,, i mean— his parents are canonically fashion designers. so, you’d expect him to carry their sense of style

yes AND no. have y’all seen the official art of him carrying that large suit case? the fit was lowkey horrendous

rolls his eyes when he sees you wear something stylish to the grocery store— when he’s wearing a black tanktop and some sweatpants.

“seriously— is the outfit really necessary? you stand out too much.”

“is that a good thing?”

“not for me.”

okay but,, it’s not that bad as he says it is. he secretly loves seeing you pull up to dates in those nice clothes. he hasn’t seen you reuse the same outfit two times in a row.

but omg he hates having people gawk at you in public because of your clothes. that’s the part he despises the most

“this is what i didn’t like about your stupid style”

“oh? jealous, are we?”

“shut your trap.”

yes, you’re in fact— attractive. BUT THEY GOTTA KEEP THEIR EYES TO THEMSELVES

katsuki actually loves this part on you— but he grows irritated when his parents suddenly asked him if you were interested in modeling 💀

‘screw you and your fancy pants’ he’ll think to himself, when his parents are fawning over your sense of style.

todoroki shouto

shouto is also a fashion icon himself— so you two get a lot of attention for just,, looking fancy as heck, even in the mundane.

he didn’t really care about what you wore. you had the fashion sense of a white crusty family dog? well,, so what? he doesn’t care as long as you’re comfortable.

shouto noticed how you managed to make a plain piece of fabric a fashion statement— and wanted you to show him your closet

so when you do, he’s fascinated. your brain must be LARGE just thinking about what outfit combination you want to wear every single free day.

but he also thought you were like,, the emma chamberlain of fashion— he thought you created every single fashion trend out there today

when in reality, you just happened to know how to put your own touch on an outfit 💀

“what do you mean you didn’t bring back the brown pants trend?”

“shouto, for the last time— i didn’t do that,,”

he’s not convinced yet.

loves it when he walks into your room, and sees you mumbling to yourself on what you want to wear for a specific day— especially when you’re just wearing a sweater of his, instead of your own

even though you probably have 50 sweaters in there 💀

you need to fix your outfit in public? well, that’s not an issue! he’ll literally do it for you, with no hesitation.

fixes your collar when it gets caught in your bag’s strap, and also makes sure he doesn’t pull anything too tightly.

eventually buys you clothes, when he manages to map out your aesthetic, and what you like— even though anything looks good on you in his opinion

the class can only gawk at the two of you, when the class takes another shopping trip at the mall. i mean,, you both stick out!

“jeez. we look like goodwill mannequins next to them”

midoriya izuku

“that nerd’s fashion sense is lackluster at best.” — bakugou katsuki

i mean,, his fashion sense is simple. he never considered dressing in anything flashy— at least until he started dating you

he dressed in simple, and sometimes corny shirts— when you’re dressed in something he’d see in a luxurious clothing store.

he feels so,, out of place standing next to you. which you reassure that he doesn’t! but he can’t help but think that sometimes,,

because of that, he would be very willing if you decided to give him a clothing makeover!

he gets confused sometimes when he sees your closet like,, “i wonder what would this be paired with,,” but he knows to trust you with that

he’s just,, curious. that’s all.

has this fact written in his notebook— it has nothing to do with your quirk or anything related to that, but he does find it interesting

“Y/N wears a new outfit every weekend. i’ve never seen them wear the same outfit twice in a row! i wonder how that’s possible. i’ve seen their closet! and there’s a lot of things in there, and i just..” blah blah blah— when you came across that page, you were so flattered.

at first, he gets really sheepish when he’s standing next to you in public— because of the stares. but he learns to get used to it

“look, sweetheart! your style is nothing short of anything stylish.” he basically feeds you compliments on the daily— but who wouldn’t??

gets so happy when he sees you wear the clothes he bought you— even if he wasn’t so sure if someone as fashionable as you would wear it,,

to him, it’s overwhelming at first— but he does love how you look! he could talk about you all day and night. even if it annoys some people

»»————-　♡　————-««

likes and reblogs are appreciated, thanks for reading!

i do not own bnha/mha and it’s characters. boku no hero academia/my hero academia belongs to horikoshi kohei, i only own the writing and i do not profit off of my hobby

do not plagiarize, reupload, translate, or use my works for audio readings without permission

[ectonurites]

why do comic artists feel the need to put the ugliest fucking expressions on characters constantly like. cant ppl look normal for once David please. what is wrong with these ppls facial muscles

SO on the one hand I do get what you mean and agree to an extent, but on the other I want to give a bit of defense for comic artists on this.

Comic book art’s goal isn’t always to be pretty. Sometimes it is, and usually based on context you can kinda figure out those moments, but often the goal is far more ‘tell the story’.

Superhero comics in particular are action heavy stories, there needs to be movement and clear-to-distinguish emotions on these pieces of non-moving art. Also, when we’re looking at digital comics we can zoom in on a ton, we need to remember these are printed too and will be at a size there that can’t be zoomed in on- things need to be distinguishable at the scale they’re printed too (even if maybe they look silly when zoomed further in the ways we can on digital versions).

Additionally, comic issues are typically around 32 pages and often all of that will be pencilled by one artist (it can be more, it can be less, or can be split up among multiple artists, but that’s not an uncommon page count)- and these books will have multiple characters showing up multiple times on most pages, that is a lot of total faces. So I think sometimes we as fans can end up being a bit too nitpicky with things like that.

You want things to look nice but you often literally just can’t put the time and energy and detail to make everything necessarily beautiful on a page- aside from the time/workload issues it’d present it’d also probably end up way too visually busy and be harder to follow anyways (especially if there’s lots of text)! Obviously there’s exceptions, some people work quicker, some people’s detailed styles manage to make the details not distracting, there’s a lot of variance (and color also plays a role in this, sometimes even if the pencil/ink work is detailed simpler coloring can keep things from getting too busy). But getting the story across effectively is the goal, guiding the reader from point A to point B. You want your characters’ emotions to be clear and fit what’s going on and tell the story, every individual panel/face being pretty when standing alone really isn’t the priority.

Ultimately the point I’m getting at is that using lots of more exaggerated expressions to get specific emotions across clearly that maybe aren’t all that pretty can absolutely be worth it for communicating the intent and telling a story. I’d rather some kinda ugly but really expressive faces than like… just everyone showing really held back emotions all the time that are hard to read anything into and looking more like dolls/action figures than people (which this does happen too, especially with female characters who won’t be allowed to emote in the same ‘ugly’ ways, and it’s boring!)

But all that in mind, sometimes the art/an expression can just be unappealing in a way that absolutely doesn’t fit the story or help get emotion across, and can be outright distracting from the story. These ideas can coexist. Like, comic art can absolutely be bad, it’s not above criticism. But I think especially when people are seeing out of context panels float rather than reading something in the context of a full page/a full issue, some of these things about how comics are made can get lost, and people judge without the right context. If the main focal point of a page has a really nicely done piece of art and you’re just zoomed in on a kind of ugly face on a smaller panel, that’s giving a skewed perspective of the artist’s work.

But I gotta say, when a face that showed up in an issue is so unappealing it’s memorable enough I can recall the page and issue number on command? That’s just something I see as plain bad. Tim’s face on page 2 of Robin #29. The context of the full page doesn’t help because it is the biggest focal point on the page.

[anonil88]

Malcolm and Marie live blog

I don't usually do liveblogs for movies but yea.

Spoilers ahead!!

I love that its modern timed but very 70s stylized.

A tune indeed.

When you are high and drunk on success and

How the white critic reacts is why I feel like gatekeeping my scripts. At the same time some things I do make are about race or involve.

Marie sitting on the patio smoking is a mood whenever men are talking.

So he's pretentious and unaware.

Whoever chose the music for this, I feel like we would be Spotify mutuals.

Can this nigga stop pacing.

Also can he stop talking;

Marie is so tired and unimpressed.

Also little booties matter and are to be bitten.

Oooo the tension and the jazz.

Title Card over mac and cheese.

Shitty boxes mac and cheese but still mac and cheese.

Tbh i always wonder if spouses/significant others get upset when their spouses don't acknowledge them during speeches.

John sounds so much like his dad but I really hope his acting style differs from his dad a lot.

Guilty confession?

He did not profit off of his partners backstory and then not even acknowledge her.....I.....

If that ever happened to me catch me cussing my partner out during the beginning credits, the end credits, in the car, and at home.

GASLIGHTER!

The way I'm excited for Zendaya to give me some, oooo can she work with Regina King. Please on my knees I pray.

Um no that's not your job to coddle your lead.

He's a dick and the type of dick who makes himself look like a good person around other people.

If Sam Levinson is trying to make his viewers more of misandrist, it's working.

I feel like Marie has her flaws probably a lot of them and we will surely see as this continues, but Malcolm needs to learn how to apologize sincerely.

70s vibes! 70s vibes!

Them kissing and talking about criticism and dreams makes me miss a partner. A partner that I've had and haven't had.

Women really are behind every great man.

Yea sir you fucked a happy moment.

Oh visual allegories for looking in from the outside and cat and mouse chasing and looking from the outside in.

She's saying she doesn't feel noticed by you.

Gas lighter :0 he called her an emotional support dog, bruh.

I would LOVE to co-write or take a writing class held by Sam Levinson. The fights i write are very much in this same realm of reflection and anger and monologue.

Sam.....sam.....are all the sides inside of you doing okay sir?

The ugly side of dating and being in a relationship with someone who struggles with their own demons.

Honestly I could close my eyes and listen to this script being read without seeing these characters visually. Just close my eyes and get a sense of these characters like it was a radio story.

Oh. Oh this is a new wheelhouse of Zendaya acting; a different voice is like breaking through here and her expressions aren't the same we are used to. You can literally hear another character in there....hmm.

Mans is outside really fighting with his invisible demons lmfao.

Selfish ass, how after everything she said you came out of it thinking about your own craft and self instead of how you hurt her.

So she's conditional.

Me: did sam (a white man) say nigga this many times in his script or are the actors adding their own inflections. Not just the lingo used but the topic of race and directing etc. being written by a white writer about black characters is always gonna be a critique when you're writer is a white person.

Alexa play Broken Girls by Saba

He is so hurtful.

A clown nigga a clown look in the fucking mirror you bozo head ass looking like you need some Mehron clown white and a size 16 in clown shoes.

John is doing a really swell performance and reading of these lines.

He is reading her for her insecurities by bringing up his experiences with other women and that.....is yikes.

Arguments can get messy like this in real life but it takes a lot of maturity and control to either not let it get to this point or have a healthy conversation afterwards.

This film is really shot on some very crisp lenses.

They sitting there like 🚬🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️.

Leftover Mac and Cheese and unfinished cigarettes.

The nyt etc. pay walls are so annoying, but there is a work around look at the articles on incognito or add a period at the end of the url.

He sounds like his daddy so much here, weird, this is the only part I'm eh on the dialogue it feels real but a bit out of pace in how they are bouncing off one another.

Nail scissors? So the end is not the only part he based off of Marie. 🙄

ITS A GOOD REVIEW YOU DINGUS but also its a full review they are going to critique things. She isn't wrong though he did profit off of a woman's story that was not his own to profit from.

Yes Malcolm because unfortunately all marginalized people look through a lens of life that is inherently political because of the world they live in.

He is so mad and upset and had a lot on his chest. But I think he Malcolm and Sam are talking about something thats an issue and a non issue. Being critiqued for you art is hard but also Malcolm is not super self aware. He's like a stand in figure of for example rich depop sellers who wanna be oppressed so badly they yell at others instead of examining their own personal behaviors and ethics.

Oh Marie, when you know the spark is gone and you pick fights because.

He ain't even ask her to read?

One critic I have for most of hollywood actors is they learn their cry and that is it. A change from this is Margot Robbie, I adore her fluctuations of crying being similar but the crying is carried differently for each character. If I had to say any actor that does a cry scene amazing its this woman right here (Amy Adams)

You stole her story from her and gave it away, she has a right to be upset and angry and a rubber band ball of emotions.

Citizen Kane, not the cinematography, but the story is it even that good? (Unpopular opinion but meh, maybe in my rewatch it will be better.)

But that is what people want authenticity and whatever authenticity means to them. What is real for one is false for another.

To be honest look at the criticism of Euphoria, well earned, but a lot of people were like this isn't real even though he literally wrote about his own life. People said it was inauthentic like....wtf.

Ahh the smoking is just a habit, he quit and she didn't.

CAST ZENDAYA IN A HORROR MOVIE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING. Get Lupita and Zendaya and some more black actors preferably less known ones in a horror movie. One with a interesting script and story, directed by Regina King. Please and thankyou.

I love Marie yep that was amazing.

Behind every great man is a greater woman, one that deserves her credit for how she has stood behind. I wonder the stories of those women, what they have sacrificed or not sacrificed. Their thoughts and feelings when the world is surrounding their partner and views them as a plus one. (I'd write a short script about this but I think do I have the time, can I, or am I equipped ?)

He is a shitty person for bringing up his exes, like she even said I don't wanna know any of that.

Imagine being on anti depressents and rarely having a sex drive and then when you do your partner starts talking about their exes and tearing you apart for all your faults.

I love when you see peaks of Zendaya's cadence in roles.

Tension, what if's and he didn't even bring her up in his speech.

Marie to herself and the audience:

He is not afraid that he will loose her but as my character says in my unreleased story, "i can't wait til you give me a fucking reason to leave your ass." Malcolm expects everything in order for not even doing the bare minimum and she is only asking him for something as simple as consideration. She just wants him to be considerate. He wants to get married and considers their relationship like rolling down a hill at full speed and he cannot apologize, he cannot be considerate, and he cannot admit his wrongs. He can only offer her I love yous that he probably does mean but he does not back up outside of what he's done for her in the past. The past which was more of her experience than his and he sees his part in it as a burden. He doesn't use his own vantage point of the past to further his career he uses her. He does all of these things without a real apology or thankyou because he is not afraid to loose her.

The restrictions of quarantine and the panorama have made Sam's writing very no frills. I wonder how other films from other directors and writers that are filmed in small contained crews like this will be structured. But this was a very good movie gonna add to my letter box 3.3-3.5

Oh shit this is my song,

Ratings/overall thoughts:

Script is like a C+, B- : I could go into my heavier big brain thoughts on the script but I don't feel like it. You catch hints of it above it centers conversation on race and privilege, mainly the writers and questions i have that won't be answered but Sam did make me grow disdain for Malcolm over a short time. Which is sometimes hard to do because im one sympathetic person but the sympathy i have for Malcolm is at 0. Maybe a 2 at some scenes but then it quickly goes back to 0. Some parts of the dialogue miss the mark or hit the are off balanced. While some of it like Malcolm's bathroom speech albeit mean is really strong or their conversation when he comes back from peeing really shines for me.

Performances: B+ to A- because they carried the script further than it could of gone with less talented actors. The monologues do well to showcase their current skill levels which are already high af and leave room for anticipation in where these actors go next.

Zendaya holding a knife: A+ with a gold star. That switch on and off and on is delectable.

John being a shitty boyfriend but following Marie like a lost puppy: B+ with a good job written at the bottom of the paper, Malcolm being nervous a frantic dialed up with more realistic nervousness would have sold me completely on Malcolm's anxious waiting.

Cinematography: A and a participation award.

The mac and cheese: A+ for the easy mac. Wish it was like Annie's or Velveeta.

Cigarettes: Participation award and their picture hung up for student of the month. Why the grill lighter? Everytime Malcolm opened up his mouth Marie was like sparks fly.

The music: A++ with a prize. Whoever picked the music probably makes good Spotify playlists.

[againwiththeturtles]

The Cat’s Original Car

I have a theory.

Samantha, or The Cat, is known for her refined tastes, stuffy attitude, propensity for swindling, a love of collecting (bordering on obsessive), and flighty tendencies. We also know she switches cars between each season (despite her lack of thumbs) meaning we have no idea where she came from. Her original car could be the one we see in Book 1, but that seems more like something she found and filled with her things, or maybe even forced Amelia to make for her, somehow. However, I suspect that we have already been in Samantha’s original car: The Art Gallery Car.

[explanation below the cut]

First of all, this car seems to fit her sensibilities. An impeccably clean art gallery, which tend to be managed by the wealthy because you need a lot of money to buy and keep up fine art like that. Plus, art gallery owners are snobby as hell (generally speaking) just like The Cat. Not to mention, she loves collecting things, which would have been a part of her original programming if she started out in an art gallery car. Imagine this: a snooty, white cat in a waistcoat leading you around a silent car, telling you about her art and occasionally snapping at you not to touch it. After all, she did this to One-One way back in Book 1, in “The Cat’s Car,” and immediately apologized, like it was a reflex she couldn’t hold back... almost as if she had been programmed to stop people from touching her collection.

What about the car itself? Well, one of the very first things we see in The Cat’s car is a painting of a white tiger, lounging sensually on a chaise.

Comparing this (rather odd) painting to the types of paintings in the art gallery car, it would fit right in. Remember that portrait of a goat in a suit? An alligator dressed to the nines in a feathered cap? An elephant in a headscarf? Three animals dressed like it’s 1910 reading newpapers on a park bench? Not only does it match The Cat’s art in her new car, it matches her personal clothing style (funky little vests). There are also a lot of landscape paintings in the art gallery car, which look very similar to ones in the cat’s car [The first image is The Cat car’s painting of the shore, and the second is the art gallery’s painting of the shore. They are strikingly similar, but not exactly the same.]

Finally (and this one is major) in the room that Min Gi stalks off to when the Docent made him act out his anger at Ryan, there is a giant abstract painting of a cat. It covers half a wall, and is probably about 8 feet tall. It’s abstract, so the colors are a bit off, but I would bet money on it being of Samantha herself. She certainly is the type to want an enormous painting of herself hanging in her gallery. [ID: 2 screenshots from “The Art Gallery Car,” showing 2 angles of the abstract cat painting. A pillar blocks part of it in both shots. Ft. Min Gi and Kez in the 2nd image.]

Also like... why is this painting covered by a big 'ol pillar?? It’s ugly, and completely unnecessary, when you could have a nice background of a painting. Unless the writers were trying to hide it just a little bit, because it would be too big of a hint otherwise.

Kez’s reaction to the car is also illuminating. The moment she floats in, she demands some service from... somebody. She says they want a tour (a free one!) and spends a good third of the episode tracking down some way of getting a tour of the art, until Ryan and Min distract her with their fight. Like most things Kez does, her desire for a tour guide is funny, and just seems random, but Infinity Train doesn’t really do random, do they? (They don’t have time. Those episodes are short.) But, she was very upset about the whole situation, especially considering Kez acts like a go-with-the-flow kind of gal, most of the time. And, when she was unable to find a tour guide, or any way to get information, she accused the entire car of being a scam. If it were a scam by design, a denizen like Kez wouldn’t be personally offended by it. Perhaps it was a scam, set up by a well known con artist, who has been known to abandon her responsibilities without looking back.

Now, I think I would be remiss not to mention the Docent. “Docent” usually just means museum guide, which is exactly what I’m arguing The Cat used to be. Samantha’s original job was to give a tour, stop the passengers from touching her art, and guide passengers to the exit. And, well, the Docent does one of those things! (2 if you consider mind-control to be “guide” behavior) You will get got if you touch the art! It will kill you, and take your arms for its body. I highly doubt One-One would create a malicious denizen whose entire motivation is to turn passengers against each other, and then kill them. Therefore, my theory is: The Docent Monster emerged in The Cat’s absence. Without a denizen to take care of the art gallery car and guide passengers, the train made due. The train did a bad job, considering it’s supposed to help passengers, but to be fair, denizens aren’t supposed to leave their cars. That’s why none of them are capable of opening the doors. Now, I imagine she originally left with a passenger, then never came back (nowadays, she uses her shuttlecraft). I don’t know if The Cat knew what would happen if she left, but I don’t think she would care, either. She has been shown to be extremely selfish, and solely interested in how she can bend her situation to her advantage. She sure doesn’t care about passengers that much, if her treatment of Simon (and less importantly, Amelia) is any indication.

In The Cat’s appearance in Book 4 is also kind of odd, because Samantha is in disguise. She’s wearing a wig and a dress to blend in with the cowboy car. By the time Tulip gets on the train, she has stopped doing that. And what is difference between Ryan and Min Gi’s stay on the train and Tulip’s? Amelia. When Samantha was in disguise, it was because she had to hide from One-One, who would surely put her back in her car if he found her. I’m guessing Amelia found out The Cat was trying to avoid her duties, she used her leverage as Unhinged Conductor to force her to help her, which is why The Cat is Amelia’s reluctant lackey in Book 1.

TLDR: The Cat’s original car is The Art Gallery Car because it matches her personality, morals, interest etc., and she is exactly the kind of person who would abandon her car. The Docent emerged in her absence, and that’s why that car is so messed up and dangerous. Amelia used The Cat’s desire to continue exploring the train to force her into helping her.

[supop]

what are you opinions/thoughts on their recent merch that just launched? who do you think put in a lot of effort/thought and creativity into their merch? do you have any that you like or would actually buy?

Thanks to a few friends I was able to get my hands on Jin’s pajama set, Yoongi’s necklace, Hobi’s bag, and Hobi’s pot set. Which are the only items I wanted. The other members’ items aren’t my cup of tea. I thought of gettingJK’s lamp too, but I’ll have to pass. The design is a bit too industrial for my taste and I don’t want to be reminded of their fandom every time I turn it on and look at my ceiling. (I wish he would’ve just left it at basic stars, but A+ for creativity).

Whenever it comes to branded items, I always like to ask myself “If that items was unbranded and being sold at a random street shop, would I buy it?” I think that’s the best way to be an objective buyer; make purchases solely based on your personal aesthetics and design of the product, as opposed to just name.

Truthfully, I hadn’t watched all the merch videos so to be as objective as possible I went to do that before answering your question. Based off their making-of logs it appears that each member was asked to come up with their respective designs prior to filming. So, I’m pretty sure HYBE didn’t suddenly bring up the idea the day before (or something like that) and granted them extensive time to think of what they’d like to present to their fans. Because of this, I’ll rate them accordingly (highest to lowest):

Hoseok

Effort & Creativity: 9.5/10

Hoseok’s is the best out of the entire group. His designs have has a sense of subtlety and class that doesn’t scream “hey! look at me! I’m a fan of BTS!” His merch has mass appeals and would make cute gifts for anyone (non-BTS fans included). It’s interesting because while watching his log you’d think the bag was the item he came up with first, but it was actually the pot set. I think it’s impressive that he came up with the bag’s design so quickly. It’s no wonder his items sold out the quickest. I also think Hoseok made the most effort and put the most thought into how his final product would come out. Especially, in stage #2 (design review), you could see he had a clear end goal and vision of what he wanted. He really voiced his thoughts well and his input was firm (as opposed to just casually going with whatever the staff laid out and suggested, like some of the other members did). I took off -0.5 points because I thought the white stems that hold up the letter toppers look a little tacky. I have no idea what they’re made of (probably plastic) and I shouldn’t factor this aspect into his score because technically you’re meant to remove the toppers and plant your own plants in the pots, but I don’t garden so I’ll probably end up painting the stems metallic or something.

Jungkook

Effort & Creativity: 8/10

Jungkook’s lamp is great. Full points across the board, but his hoodie design? The asymmetric full zip with the gothic script? Been there done that. There’s nothing new about it (and it’s a outdated), but I give him points for effort. Also, the fact that it comes it different non-purple colors means he thought of consumer preferences. Jungkook’s designs have less mass appeal than Hoseok’s, hence why I gave him a lower score. If I were to regift his merch there are very few people that come to mind that would be willing to accept it, so there’s that. As for the lamp, his making-of log hasn’t been released yet (as of the time of his post), so I might go back and edit his score when it does. Like I said previously, using the army logo as stars is creative but it’s also kind of ugly. Just my opinion.

Taehyung

Effort & Creativity: 7.5/10

Taehyung gets full points for his pins but the bag falls flat for me. His art style isn’t my cup of tea but I think it’s reasonable to call it creative seeing as the designs are his own (one of a king). However I think, the design of the bag is really basic and reminiscent of another brand. Not the fashion industry doesn’t rinse and repeat every year, but anyone who keeps up, would know the boston bag can be a hit or miss. Granted, he did say he designed it for himself, and not for the fans, which is why I think he was lacking in consideration and input. The one Taehyung designed is too large for daily use, and is probably just meant for travel (which makes sense seeing as the staff showed him those airport outfits pics). Adding the scarf was a cute detail, but it wasn’t enough to save the overall lack of creativity the bag exudes.

Jin

Effort & Creativity: 7/10

I know what you’re thinking: 7/10 for pajamas and a pillow? Hear me out. Jin’s idea to make a good/angel and evil/devil option was creative, okay? Not only did he effectively maximize company profits, he wants the consumer to spend time at the end of the day reflecting on their actions? So, not only are you getting a good night’s sleep you’re also taking care of your mental health and hopefully becoming a better human being in the process. Keep in mind I’m talking out of my ass here so if you’re like me, and simply bought it because it’s cute, we’ll then none of this applies to you.

Yoongi

Effort & Creativity: 6.5/10

Yoongi presented good ideas in stage #1, but his effort thereafter was lacking considerably. Points were also taken off from creativity. I got his necklace but don’t actually plan to use it as a necklace, neither do I plan to use it as a guitar pick. So yes, I bought simply because. Granted, he was probably thinking of items that would have mass appeal to everyone (and good usability as well), but from the making-of log it’s clear that the staff played a huge roll in the final outcome of the product and all he really did was sit there and pick colors. Lol, I honestly feel like he would’ve went with whatever as long as it looked like a notepad and guitar pick. He appeared to be more focused on the practicality of his merch as opposed to the design. Am I being too harsh? Maybe. Yoongi’s my bias but I can’t give any objective leeway. I’m comparing everyone to the standard Hoseok set.

Namjoon

Effort & Creativity: 6.5/10

The design of his wind chime isn’t my taste, but he gets full points for it. However, his joggers deserve a score of -1. I’m sure anyone would appreciate a nice pair of joggers. It’s just that it clearly takes little to no effort to come up with “army jogger” as a product design. He could have thought a bit more outside the box on this one.

Jimin

Effort & Creativity: 3/10

Are we surprised? I hope not. I didn’t want to put Jimin last but it’d be a lie if I didn’t. I’m being generous with his score becasue there’s no use rating him any lower when we know. To start with, the purple hoodie with the yellow script? Tacky. He really dived into the borahae pool for this one. And the “you never walk alone”? No words. He was unsure even about that, and it seemed like whatever staff member he was speaking to in the log had way more ideas than he did. The earrings are also basic asf. The red line doesn’t make it any more appealing than a basic set of silver hoop earrings would be. He also considered designing a phone case, and honestly had he gone that route I would’ve knocked his rating down an additional 3 points. I know some Jimin-biased stans that were even disappointed when his merch had leaked. Then again I’m not sure what they were expecting from someone who contributes little to no creative input in his own musical group.

[redhoodieone]

Too Late to Apologize Part 2

A/N: Part 2!!!!

Warnings: Language, Fluff, Oral Sex on girl, and a tiny bit of Smut.

I didn’t know what to expect when Jason grabbed my hand and literally dragged me all the way to his penthouse in Gotham. Of course, it wasn’t what I expected at all. It was my first time actually being there and I was quite surprised with how low key and comfortable it was.

While Dick requested a lot of help from Bruce’s female interior designers to give his penthouse a lavish and rich look in dark blue, white, and even black colors. His staircase is made with glass to match the humongous wide windows, and he has several pieces of modern furniture that no one is allowed to sleep on. He has historic and expensive art pieces on walls, bright lights hanging down to give a warm glow, and even a statue of the beautiful goddess Aphrodite.

Dick’s apartment is impressive, I admit. But something about Jason’s penthouse feels cozy and mellow.

After Jason locks his front door, I’m given a little more time to investigate his place. All his walls are painted black, and he does have a lot of windows that match Dick’s that show him the view of dark Gotham. Jason’s home decor may seem basic, but I can see he’s quite happy with just what he needs: two red couches and two leather recliner seats that are made for home theaters, a huge flatscreen TV with surround sound, a big toasty fireplace, and a tasteful long white fur rug in front of the TV and fireplace.

While Dick’s penthouse may have a lot of pictures and pricey artifacts on the walls and tables, it seems like Jason mainly focused to decorate his kitchen and dining room more. Jason’s dining room consists of a very big white dining room table and what catches my eyes are the many pictures of his family and friends that are on the wall in the same room.

His kitchen is EXACTLY what I would want. While he does have high class kitchen appliances, I totally envy his huge restaurant style ice cream machine and theater-like popcorn machine.

I hear Jason turn on his fireplace. I make my way back to the living room and see he’s already kicked off his boots. He looks up at me almost shyly. “Do you like my place?”

“Yeah. I really like your ice cream and popcorn machines,” I say.

“I know this place isn’t exactly...cool like Dick’s. I...I don’t really have any expensive taste. I’m nothing like him.”

I frown at him when he takes a seat on his couch. He keeps his eyes down and fiddles around with his hands in his lap. I take off his leather jacket and move to sit close to him.

“I’m actually...relieved you’re nothing like him. If you were, I don’t think I would even be here,” I say softly.

Jason finally looks into my eyes and appears confused. “What do you even like about me?” he whispers.

“I really like how you’re always yourself. You may try to come off as tough and bad, but deep down, you really come through for people you care about. You always put others first, and from what I hear from your family, you always try so hard to be good, and you may think that’s not enough, but the fact that you keep trying makes you more than good in the first place,” I confess.

Jason’s green eyes shine with unshed tears.

I unconsciously look down to his lips and lick my own. I’m still staring at his mouth. “And the fact that you don’t have to show off everything you are or what you have is wonderful. I mean...you’re a true badass Jason. But being here in your home, with you, just proves that you’re a serious, intimate guy, and maybe that’s the kind of guy I really need in my life,” I whisper breathlessly.

I can feel my breathing pick up. Jason’s eyes dart to my lips and back to my eyes. I can smell his delicious cologne and I shamelessly move closer to him. And from the looks of it, he doesn’t seem to mind it.

“You can kiss me,” I whisper, before I realize I’m putting myself out there. “If you want.”

When it looks like Jason might be having second thoughts or is just hesitating, I immediately fear the worst. My heart sinks down to my stomach, and I’m afraid I’m going to puke or ugly cry in his home.

Jason leans closer to me instead. Our lips are close enough to touch if he or I leans in more.

“Are you sure?” Jason whispers.

“I’m sure that I’ll die if you don’t,” I admit.

And on that note, Jason slams his lips against mine; like a starving man who needs to fill himself. I kiss back as much as I can, but it’s clear from the get go that Jason leads and takes charge, which is something I’m definitely okay with.

I open my mouth teasingly; hoping to get a rise out of the sexiest man who’s kissing me as if he’s the one who’s going to die. I quickly close my lips tightly, but Jason growls against my mouth, and uses one of his large hands to hold my jaw still. He pushes his tongue inside my mouth, and we each take turns tasting and learning every little thing we each like.

Like how Jason loves having his bottom lip being bitten and nibbled on.

Like how I enjoy his hands all over my face and body.

Suddenly, he takes charge again and pulls back from my sore wet mouth. His lips move to my jawline and neck, where he peppers kisses, licks, and sucks my flesh; leaving me love bites I’ll be adoring in the morning.

Jason reluctantly pulls back again and I can see the lust in his hazy eyes. “Get naked and lie down on the rug, sweetheart. I’m going to show your sweet pussy all the love it deserves,” he says breathlessly.

I waste no time. I scramble off the couch and rip off my t-shirt. After I remove my shoes, socks, jeans and panties, I realize I never even wore a bra. I glance up at Jason and am shocked to see he’s already naked and stroking his hard cock.

“Like what you see?” Jason smirks.

I’m frozen. I know my mouth is hanging open, and I must be drooling. I want to taste him so much.

“Lie down doll, or you won’t be getting a taste afterwords.”

I force myself to get on the rug and lie down on my back. I take a peek down at my pussy and am relieved I shaved a day ago. Even if Dick never went down on me, I only groomed myself to be comfortable.

Jason drops down to his knees and pushes open my thighs as if he’s opening his Christmas present. His eyes leave mine, and his gaze travels down from my tits to my pussy. I can hear him groan quietly, he licks his lips as he stares down hungrily at my pussy.

“Fuck sweetheart, you’re so wet. You look good enough to eat,” Jason says roughly. He catches my eyes and leans down to closer to my pussy. “Holy shit, you even smell good enough to eat.”

I can feel myself blushing like crazy right now.

“Keep your eyes on me, Y/N. I want to see you fucking cum so hard in my mouth,” Jason commands.

I push myself up on my elbows. While we keep eye contact, Jason smiles and I watch his tongue lick from my opening to my clit. I gasp breathlessly, as he smirks and uses his fingers to open me wider. He slips a finger inside me.

“Oh my God...Jason,” I moan.

Jason adds another finger inside. He pushes them in and out fast. The squelching sounds from my wetness makes my cheeks burn in embarrassment.

“Don’t be embarrassed, sweetheart. I fucking love how wet you sound. That just means when I fuck you, I’ll be able to fuck you as hard and deep as you want.”

Jason’s words turn me on more and I’m forced to grip the rug with both hands just to hold me steady.

I look back down at him and see that he’s ready to up his game. No more little touches. No more teasing. It’s on.

Jason’s tongue flicks my clit harder. Now with three fingers inside me, he fucks me harder and faster. He curls his fingers and expertly hits my g-spot every time. Jason quickly licks my clit side to side and sucks it gently and then puts a little more pressure against it. Jason moans against me; the vibrations send shockwaves throughout my body. It’s like Jason is actually turned on and is getting off himself while he’s getting me off.

“Oh my fuck!!! J-Jay! I’m gonna cum! I need to cum, please!” I beg loudly. The stimulation from my g-spot and his mouth licking and sucking my pussy with everything he has is driving me to the edge.

But I just need that one last push.

“Go ahead, sweetheart. I want your cum. Fucking cum, now,” Jason demands.

He continues to finger me hard. He sucks my clit one last time and I gush hard into his mouth.

“JAY!!!! Oh-fuck!!!!” I scream in ecstasy.

My pussy tightens around his fingers. I whine in between gasps. My body jerks and Jason actually has to hold my thighs apart so I don’t crush his head and break his neck or something.

Jason licks my clit again and I squirm in his grip. I’m far too sensitive now.

“Oh my God...that was...that was soo fucking good,” I whisper breathlessly.

“Yeah it was! You fucking squirted all over me, doll,” Jason chuckles.

I turn my head to the side and blush hard.

“Aw, sweetheart. You shouldn’t be embarrassed about that. That was really fucking hot,” Jason says and moves up so he’s on top of me. I can feel his big hard cock below my stomach. “And besides, I haven’t actually made a girl do that before.”

I turn my face towards his. “Really?”

“Mmhmm. A lot of girls aren’t patient about it. But you...you actually let me take my time and focus on you,” he says and kisses me. I can taste myself on his tongue but it doesn’t actually bother me. “And now that I’ve tasted you and know that you can do that, I can’t wait to get you to do it again.”

I slowly grin up at him just as Jason moves a hand between us to guide his cock near my pussy.

“You ready for the big finale, doll?”

I smirk. “Show me what you can do, Todd.”

Jason smiles, and he shoves his cock inside my pussy.

[piduai]

Interview with Noda Satoru from the Golden Kamuy fanbook

sharing anywhere is fine, but please credit me.

Q: Tell me how you feel about passing 6 years of serialization. Noda: I was already serializing at the time of my debut, so I guess I’d be able to give a summary when I’m finished. I don’t really think about how many years it’s been, it’s merely a checkpoint.

Q: What made you decide to become a mangaka? Noda: I feel like I wrote it down as my goal in my yearbook back in middle school. I also wanted to become a movie director, but as a mangaka you can create the entire thing by yourself. 

When Golden Kamuy just took off I was living in a tiny apartment and the postman, a young fellow and a reader of Young Jump, realized that I’m Noda Satoru. The magazine was sending me a lot of things, so it was rather obvious. “Are you the author of Golden Kamuy?”, he asked in a surprised tone while looking around the cramped entryway. I could feel feel his confusion regarding the fact that that vast Hokkaido world of the manga was being created in this modest apartment. Or maybe he just expected me to be making more money and afford a better place. Anyhow, I just thought again about how a manga can be created in even the smallest room in the universe.

Q: Who is your favorite character and why? Noda: As always, it’s Tanigaki. But well, I love all of them. I want to showcase only the best parts of them, and it hurts when I fail. For example I’m very happy that there’s a character who stirs the pot as well as Usami. He’d be Katsuo in the world of Sazae-san.  

Q: Which characters are the easiest to draw, and which ones are the most difficult? Noda: Characters like Shiraishi, Tsukishima and Nagakura, they don’t have a lot of hair and even if they turn out a little ugly their faces are well-defined so it’s easy to draw. In general faces that are strongly distorted and resemble caricatures are easy. Meanwhile Asirpa, Kiroranke and Inkarmat have neat facial structures on top of wearing Ainu clothing, so they are a very high-calorie effort for me. Ogata and Kikuta are difficult too. Their faces are distinctive and I have to make them look cool too, which is wearing me out the most.

Q: Have you decided on all 24 convicts at the very start of the story? Noda: Wouldn’t I sound like a badass if I said that that I have? Anyway. There were the ones that were based off real-life Meiji era criminals, such as Shiraishi, Kumagishi Chouan or the lightning couple, and of course there was Hijikata.

Q: Tell me of a funny thing from the manga that you are fond of. Noda: Gansoku’s “Hah! ☆”. And also when Koito Jr. Was flapping his arms and legs around trying to keep himself in mid-air.

Q: Why did you decide on Otaru as the starting point? Noda: I am from Hokkaido, so I’m familiar with Otaru and Sapporo. Otaru is close to both the mountains and the sea. Sapporo used to be a swampland, it’s wide and flat and there is no sea. Otaru is a place where foreigners come and go, there are many criminals roaming around creating danger, and money is found. There aren’t many big cities in Hokkaido. There were Ainu living in Otaru but sources are scarce, however Nakagawa-sensei, the supervisor over the Ainu language, told me not to worry too much about the difference of location, so I figured it would be best to make it Otaru.

Q: Was there any real life experience you had while growing up in Hokkaido that you turned into a scenario? Noda: When I was about 19 someone I knew told me that there is a locust graveyard on a nearby mountain, which sounded so ridiculous I had to laugh in their face. Turns out it indeed was a heap of locusts and their eggs left after a locust plague, that place was the Teineyamaguchi locust mound (a real historical site). I realized I ended up using this in my story. I owe that person an apology.

Q: Was there any scene that was particularly difficult to draw? Could you elaborate on it? Noda: The time Sugimoto went against Nihei and Tanigaki. It gave me a very hard time. Who goes where and does what, how does Nihei carry Asirpa, stuff like this. I had no time to waste either, I just remember that sequence overall driving me insane. 

There was also the sequence with Wilk, Sofia and Kiroranke being at Hasegawa’s photo studio. It’s really frustrating to draw something that you know will bore the readers, the story flow becomes less exciting too. I was praying for everyone to have a little more patience and keep reading, because the twist was so good.

Q: If you were to take part in the gold hunt, which group would you like to belong to? Noda: It seems that Hijikata’s group doesn’t have funding problems, and because Kadokura is there the atmosphere is relaxed too. I’d go there.

Q: If you were to find all that gold, how would you use it? Noda: No idea. Had a couple when I was younger, though.

Q: Were you planning to eventually transfer the action to Sakhalin from the very beginning of the series? Noda: Asirpa and Kiroranke have roots there, so I anticipated that the story will eventually move to Sakhalin. I also expected to have to travel to Amur river myself, but couldn’t go after all, only went as far as Khabarovsk. 

I was thinking of making Sugimoto eat permafrost mammoth. There was talk of a research team or an ivory excavation team’s dog eating mammoth. However there was no reason to make Sugimoto and Co go as up north as needed for permafrost, so I scrapped the idea.

Q: Tell me something about the hardships you experienced while doing research is Sakhalin. Noda: It was tough, but fun. I was only able to understand the clear differences between Nivkh and Orok people by going there; I couldn't by only looking at records and materials while in Japan. 

Complete unrelated, but I was surprised by how many stray dogs wander around there. One time my cameraman and I ended up being chased by one while looking for a factory and we had to run for it. The beast was big, about the size of a German Shepherd. The guide also warned us about junkies, it was really scary.

I also went to the Japanese military pillbox over 50th parallel north and prayed at a cenotaph deep in the mountains. I met a group of Japanese people in the hotel by the place where it's said you can still find remains of Japanese soldiers and their driver, a Russian, seemed to help with collection of the remains on the regular. He said that he's doing it out of reverence, even as a former enemy. As a Japanese, I felt gratitude. The 7th Division are villains in my story, but I don't have any personal bias against either side.

Q: What were the biggest differences between drawing Hokkaido and Sakhalin? Noda: Well... it's Russia. Even though Sakhalin is so close, it's already Europe. The structure of houses is strikingly different. There's also the differences between Hokkaido Ainu and Sakhalin Ainu, and differences between Orok and Nivkh people. There is no manga that will conveniently lay the differences of those down for you. 

It seems that the Orok and Nivkh's relation with Japan only got more difficult by the beginning of Showa era, there is only one person in the whole of Japan who can supervise on the Orok language. The professors in cultural studies I consult for Golden Kamuy are truly top-level; not only are they tremendously knowledgeable, they also understand how important to me is to stay impartial.

The wildlife, as well. There's a biogeographical boundary between Hokkaido and Sakhalin, observing animals I would never be able to see in Hokkaido was riveting. 

Q: Did Sugimoto really have a hidden plan during the whole stenka business? Noda: No idea. Even if he used it as a pretext to get everyone involved, though... cut him some slack. He's only a man. Sometimes he just wants to fight and win. Not for Ume-chan or Asirpa-san, just for the sake of proving to himself that he's strong.

Q: Your art is dynamic and detailed. I think your style changed quite a bit with time, though. How would you describe yourself as an artist? Noda: I want to preface this by saying that in no way do I think of myself as more skilled than other mangaka, but if you're drawing everyday for more than 10 hours you're going to improve a lot eventually, whether you want it or not. People who are able to keep the same style for years without change are the ones who are impressive, because it means that they achieved the peak of their potential. Ageing and health problems influence your art a lot, you know. I try to draw by observing. I use a lot of references. Drawing by memory alone is not a good thing.

Speaking of other artists, I once had one of the assistants I had working for me for years draw me a door knob from memory, and the result was a truncated cone resembling pre-packaged pudding. The actual shape of a door knob has an intricately angular circular shape. It's the result of being unobservant in everyday life. Good art requires constant observation.

Q: What was the foundation for your style? Is there an artist you were influenced or inspired by? Noda: Araki Hirohiko-sensei, for sure. During my time as an assistant, many authors told me to not even try to be original when it comes to battle abilities, it's already been done in JoJo, it has it all. He's kind of the Beatles of this industry, isn't he? 

By the way, I usually have no intention of parodying JoJo in Golden Kamuy, but my friends will tell me that they identified this or that reference from time to time. I read Part 1 about 30 years ago but I was obsessed, so maybe some things were just left in my subconscious. I only did one obvious parody, during the stenka fight. Funnily enough that trope started in Fist of the North Star, though, not JoJo.

Q: What's one thing that gives you the most motivation to write? Noda: Fan letters. I know how straining it is to write long and neat sentences by hand, and am thankful for them. I'm happy that people go that far to share their thoughts about my work with me. I'm really grateful to the people who keep reading and supporting Golden Kamuy.

Q: Did you have an interest in Ainu culture before starting the series? Noda: I did not. I'll be glad if my work makes people interested in the Ainu. Prejudice is born out of ignorance, so if you want to learn about the Ainu, don't limit yourself to Hokkaido only; there are museums all around Japan, and they have knowledgeable curators. It's important to remember to take into account the time period and the occupation of the person on which the research materials are based when you're trying to learn about the subject.

Q: You showed us a lot of aspects of life during Meiji and Taisho eras. Tell us about what surprised or impressed you in the process of research. Noda: It's not that I was particularly knowledgeable, so having to check every single thing was quite exhausting. The Ainu, the military, katanas - all of these needed research on my part. 

There are more regulations and rules set for things out there than one could assume, and mangaka who base their works on real life need to be especially careful about this. You have to take into account things like the size of the buttons on a military uniform, how a tea cup is held, and and how different people talk in different ways. For movies there's staff working on costumes and props, there's the cast, there are screenwriters, but in a manga you are the one responsible for every single detail. I wish I had a time machine and travel back to those eras. There are things I couldn't get right here and there that I keep having regrets about.

Q: Golden Kamuy was the main visual in the British Museum manga exhibition between May and August in 2019. I know you went there in person. How was it? Noda: The trip felt like a reward for all of my efforts. The exhibition is jam-packed by opening time, but I got special treatment and they let me inside early in the morning so I could walk around the vast British Museum in solitude. I also travelled between Jack the Ripper's crime scenes at night by taxi.

The driver in a taxi I caught by chance was wonderful, she looked up photos of the crime scenes and surroundings taken at the time of investigation on her smartphone and showed them to me one by one, saying things like "the third victim was found here!". 

I've always had a soft spot for Jack the Ripper, back in middle school I even wrote a screenplay for a school festival stage and played him in it myself. It was done in very poor taste, like that one scene in the Addams Family movie where there are arms blown away and fountains of blood gushing out. The audience loved it. 

Q: Please leave a message for the readers. Or maybe some advice for the troubled youth. Noda: I want people to say that everyone in Golden Kamuy had a satisfying ending, and I want that for everyone involved more than anything. As for advice for the troubled youth, there's none. Life is survival of the fittest. The weak ones get eaten.