#at least I've had one definite success in a month which I think is great!

[visdiefje]

In a freak coincidence I'm meeting friends from Bumble for the first time three days in a row

[greatfunkystatic]

Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)

Holy shit. This game is fantastic. I have heard so much negativity about it, but honestly I enjoyed it the whole way through. I want to state first and foremost that I've been playing this game over the course of 3 months, and started it originally as a kind of joke because of the general "mid" reception I've heard about the game (but also partially watching Lythero playing the game on his streams and videos). What then commenced was me realizing certain mechanics and gameplay being absolutely fantastic, and asking myself "Holy shit is this game actually good?" I started to enjoy it more and more, and in the end, I finished all 10 endings with having played every single stage at least once, along with the Last Story. (I didn't install the improvements mod btw, this was all vanilla)

The writing was fun (a bit silly at times, but honestly I'd rather have them try to write something with some depth than just kinda tread over very simple and safe stories), and honestly dropped a lot of lore for Shadow. I don't care how cheesy people consider this game to be, I loved that on every ending Shadow took in what he learned about himself and claimed "THIS IS WHO I AM!" Along with that, honestly there were some cutscenes that were STRONG. In particular, I remember needing to take a moment on the cutscene where the GUN Commander confronted Shadow near the end of one of the routes because of just how raw the entire thing was. Them both went through so much and that honestly felt like such a moment of catharsis for both of them. This, along with the absolute existential crisis that Shadow goes through in the neutral endings (Which I will defend and honestly this story plot most makes sense for the neutral routes). I feel like it was actually handled really well, and the expressiveness of the animations throughout the entire game really added to the emotions from the voice acting and the storyt beats. Along with the story, the music was just banger after banger. Crush40 and Sonic Team almost never fail to drop absolute bangers, and they definitely didn't disappoint with this entry either. Great lil detail of different endings having different credits music is a great touch.

The gameplay was honestly pretty fun, and there were some things I wish they had brought over to other Sonic games that were just not there. Most notably, only losing 10 rings every time you get hit. Call me a filthy casual for it all you want, I'd at least want that as an option just for nice quality of life. Another that comes to my mind at the moment is the fact that certain rings you need to light speed dash through to explore the map will have invisible rings replace them when collected. This allows you to still light speed dash through them again, which is a very neat touch. I particularly just want this because of the collectables in the games that come after, like the medallions in Unleashed and the red rings for Colors and onward, which can be kind of a pain to collect. Speaking of red rings, I am not sure if it's like this for red rings as well, but I found the fact that you keep the keys even if you die, just as long as you reach the end of the stage without a game over. The homing attack as well felt really nice, with it being both fast while still feeling like there's some oomph to it. I don't particularly mind how the modern games handle the homing attack, with a bit of a jump up before you can press it again, but there's definitely something special about just bashing an enemy in multiple times in rapid succession.

The gunplay. Man, did this game get shit on for having gunplay. And to be genuinely honest, it really isn't that bad. It's a bit wonky when going really fast, sure, but I think the aim assist did very much help with it, and I did very much like the variety of weapons we had. Every stage, I noticed whatever kind of guns one would like - whether it be heavy hitting but slower attacks like rockets, or rapid-fire attacks like MGs - there were plenty to collect, without even having to farm. You can just run through the stage and if you kill the enemies you'd naturally keep up the gun you want. Or, if you don't want to, homing attacks work perfectly fine as well!

The mission aspect of the game was one that honestly, I find it alright. Some were definitely more fun than others (glaring at every "kill X aircraft as you go through the stage" mission), but for the most part I didn't mind them. I didn't play through every mission in the game (I did touch every stage at least once), but I feel that's a bit of a plus. I really did like how if there was a certain mission I really didn't want to play, I could go around it by doing some other order of missions. Now I know many people don't like the fact that you have to play through the first stage for *every* ending, but I personally didn't mind it. I can definitely see how if you were playing this game in a much shorter timespan, just how tiring it can be, but I personally didn't mind it. On the day that I played the most, I went through about 3 or 4 endings back to back in one session, and I didn't really find it dragging me down. I also have always been to believe that one of the greatest fun of Sonic games is not just in the first playthrough of the stages, but going back and playing them more and more to the point where you get more used to the layout and start to take some of the faster and more difficult routes. In many of the great sonic games, speed may be provided at some times yes, but *constant* speed is one that you have to earn through practice. It's rewarding in a very tangible way, and the replaying of the missions were a great way to feed into this aspect of Sonic games that many others don't really do. In most other games, sure you can go back, but like. Why would you. Unless you're like, collecting the emeralds or collectables like the red rings or medallions (which through most of the time is absolutely optional), there really isn't any reason to go back.

Now, I know I have been absolutely glazing this game this entire time, but I think it'd be unfair if I didn't mention some of my gripes, for which there were a couple. As I mentioned before, I really don't like the missions where you have to follow the aircraft. Along with that, my first playthrough of Mad Circuit was extremely disorienting, and even on the second runthrough of that stage feeling neutral at most. I also want to say that although I praised the quality of life for the keys, the keys themselves do very much feel like the most superfluous collectables for how hidden they are, with the doors hiding very useless stuff like extra weapons or vehicles. I was excited to find out what were behind the doors as I went through the stages, and was very disappointed when I finally had the opportunity to open a door and found Jack and Shit. Other than that, there's the one stage where you have to drive around an enclosed nonlinear space to either destroy 5 big bombs or 20 small ones, and that one sucked because it was both timed and also I got really lost. It was the one and only time I had to look up a guide to complete a mission, because my ass was so lost after like 3 tries. Oh yeah speaking of lost, one (not all, but just one of them) of the Lost Ark stages was also really fucking confusing to go through because of how samey every room looked. The ingame map didn't really help either. The last thing I can say is that the final boss fight was a bit mediocre, but honestly I could say that for Finalhazard as well x). Actually, unlike Finalhazard, I had an actual way to reliably collect rings so it's actually better than that.

Oh yeah also Black Doom fucking sucks as a navigator. "Go there." WHERE IS THERE, DAD? DAMN????

Despite the length of my complaints, I do want to stress that in the grand scheme of things they were pretty minor, and overall I had a great experience. I wish I had more to say, but honestly I do not have the brainpower to really dig into the intricacies or why the game was fun. It just kinda was. I found it more fun than Sonic Heroes (or at least, the little bit that I played. Maybe my opinion will change once I decide to fully play that but idk lol). Game was great, the experience was fun, and I can absolutely see myself going back and chipping away at getting every A rank in the game because I am a completionist fiend. If you're ever interested, then I compel that you give the game an honest and fair try. Try to at least go in with a more open of a mind than I did at the start. Don't let the general opinion sway your opinions, make your own decisions. If through all that, you still find the game to be mid, then that is understandable. But to me, this game is absolutely a Certified Mid Classic™.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not telling my coworker I'm trying to leave my job?

So I (30sF) work as a second tier support in a tech company, and I hate my current employer. I'm a millennial, I have no shame about ditching a company that treats me badly, I'm just waiting for the right opportunity to do so. Here's what I'm worried about. A new coworker (20sF) started at my company 4ish months ago as a first tier support. My company is absolutely garbage about training/onboarding new employees, and it basically becomes a contest of "who can the new kid find who will actually answer their questions" every day as a new hire. (I went through this myself, it's one of many problems with this company). I'm really sympathetic towards new hires because this experience was so traumatic for me, so I kind of took her under my wing whenever she had questions, even if it was for situations/customers/issues outside of my realm of expertise or coverage. We end up getting along really well. I genuinely think of her as a friend at this point, and because of the age/experience gap, we kind of have a mentor/mentee situation developing as well, which I am also totally fine with. She's smart and has strong career potential, and I want to see her go as far as she can.

This whole time I've been looking for other jobs, though not super aggressively, so nothing really had come of it. At the same time, I and this coworker wind up getting paired up together on some issues for one of the company's most problematic customers. Tl:dr; we kind of end up crushing it; she's more customer-facing as level 1 support, I'm more tech-problem solving as a level 2 support, and we honestly make an incredible team. Even better, she's really thrilled about this success, and I can tell she's finally starting to feel confident about her ability to do this job, which is a huge hurdle to overcome. It's really great to see her coming into her own like this. She doesn't really need much more of my support at all at this point. And she's also started talking more about how good of a team we are. There's rumors of us being put on another project together, and she's excited about that too because we like working together.

And, well, wouldn't you know it, a real dream opportunity at a different company just fell into my lap.

It's nothing definite, I'm not through the interview process so I'm absolutely not saying anything to anyone except for a couple close non-work friends. But if I get an offer for this job, it would be a genuinely amazing opportunity. Like, potentially 100% life changing. It's a level up for my career, a better company overall, and the benefits would also be a lot better. I'm really excited about it.

And while I'm not stupid enough to say ANYTHING to my current company about this at all until I have a signed incoming offer, I'm starting to feel really guilty about not even mentioning to my coworker, or at least warn her that I might not be around for long, let alone for this upcoming project. Nothing's definite, so I don't want to jinx myself, and while I definitely don't think she'd do anything to screw me over on purpose, she's also very chatty with other people on our team and I'm really worried she might let something slip accidentally. But at the same time, every time she refers to us doing something together as a future plan, I feel real real bad about not saying anything.

So tumblr, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[moonshine-nightlight]

Hi, hi! I've been reading some of your work and when I saw you had a tumblr I just had to come pay your inbox a visit.

I just wanna say, I really love how you write! It's so, so easy to get immersed in your stories, to the point where something kind of funny happened in my case actually XD

So there I was at midnight, browsing the monster romance side of AO3 when I came across Finally Woken. I was looking something on the shorter word count side, but the summary had me very interested. So I go, hmmm I think I'll just read the first chapter to see how it is and if I like it I'll come back to it tomorrow. I definitely liked it, but wanted just a bit more, so I clicked on the second chapter. Then the third. And fourth. And so on until oops, I binged it and it was 4 am hdjsgaca

And then the next day, I was once again browsing. And came across Don't shoot the messenger. And I go, well last night was a success but tonight I definitely only read the first chapter and then if I like it finish tomorrow. Aaaah the lies we tell ourselves. Did not even notice it was the same author until I was halfway through it. This one I managed to finish before 4 am at least XD

And then! The next day! Once again browsing in bed! I come across Sacrifice! Once again didn't look at the author until later! Take a guess at what happened next, surely you will never expect the outcome! (The outcome was exactly the same. I could not stop reading. My self restraint is in shambles.)

So yeah! I just wanted to one, come and thank you for such wonderful stories, and two, compliment the heck out of your writing skills because your pacing, and atmosphere and descriptions are top notch. Like the sense of anticipation before Satrasi knew what that captain had done was chef kiss, or the sense of dread building up to the ritual and then calm once Tai finds the reader. Or the sense of domesticity as time passes with Heshi.

All reader characters and monsters feel unique as well! My personal favorite story so far is Don't shoot the messenger, Satrasi has me swooning fdhdgzh But honestly I loved all of them so much and they're going to my favorite monster romances stash. Oh also, I'm 100% going to go back and reread, kudos and comment more thoroughly on each story, but I was on another account like a fool the first time I read them all gahdgdh So hopefully you'll see me in AO3 soon as well!

Alright I've been rambling enough already haha, so yeah! Tldr, You're a great author, I am weak and procrastinated going to bed because I wanted to read your stuff, love what you do, take care! :D

@roaring-letters

thank you so much! this was such a good message to get and i've been hoarding it for lik 2 months lol because work has been so busy which is why it was even better to get such a nice ask - it really cheered me up!

i'd say i;m sorry for the accidental repeated trapping and keeping you up until 4 am but its kinda the greatest compliment ever lol so i guess i'm not sorry

i'm so happy you enjoyed the stories and the characters and the atmosphere of the stories! my writing means so much to me and i'm always worried that i'm not getting whats in my head down onto paper right so comments/asks like these are so so heartwarming because it makes me feel lik i am in fact getting it right :D

thanks again!!!!

[anonymouspumpking]

Completing your dream

Hello guys, this is a long Trafalgar Law fic, I hope you liked it. Pls bear with me because it is the first fanfic I have written and english is not my first language, enjoy it. :)

Summary: You are a girl looking to fulfill her dream, which is to become the best doctor the world has ever seen, but to achieve this she has become an apprentice to one of the most renowned pirates of the worst generation.

Part one:

My dream is to become a great surgeon and doctor. I find medicine to be something magical; Being able to discover the cause of an illness with the symptoms given by the patient, formulating a medicine that acts effectively and safely to treat the disease, performing procedures on a living being to heal it… is simply incredible. Since I was convinced that I wanted to be a surgeon, I decided to travel the world, and learn from the best doctors I could find. That's howI found out about him…

Six months ago:

I was an intern in a hospital at Alabasta. I had been studying under Dr. Drake tuition for about a year and was very happy with the progress he had helped me achieve. I was doing a basic vendage on one of the patients that was in the hospital, when I noticed the doctor approach me.

The doctor looked at the bandage I had made, thought for a minute and then spoke: “I congratulated you very much on all the progress you have made y/n, I have to admit that you have been from great help since you arrived at the hospital” the doctor said with a proud air. “When you are done with the patient, I would like you to report to my office please.”

After checking that everything was appropriate with the patient, I putted away the medical equipment I used and headed towards the doctor's office.

“Did you need me, doctor?” I asked him, sticking my head out the door.

“Ah y/n, yes, I wanted to talk to you. Please take a seat,” he said, pointing to the chair in front of his desk with his hand.

"Is everything alright?"

“Yes y/n, in fact, I wanted to talk to you about your dream. I know you want to become a successful health care worker and gain as much knowledge as possible, but I'm afraid I can't teach you any more than you already know.” The doctor looked at me with a thoughtful air and continued… “You see, I don't know how legal it is for me to suggest this to you, but I have heard about a pirate known for his medical skills and knowledge.”

“Doctor, I don't really understand what you are suggesting to me” I responded with a confused face.

"The pirate, also known as the surgeon of death, is a person with extensive knowledge in medicine and surgery. I suggest that, if you don't mind becoming a pirate, look for him and ask him to be your tutor, at least for a while. It is said that he has a devil fruit under his power that allows him to manipulate the body in unimaginable ways, I think it would be very fruitful for him to learn from it.”

I looked at the doctor thoughtfully. Learning from this pirate would definitely help me become a better doctor, but how much will it be worth risking my life for my dream? After a few minutes in silence, I dared to speak.

“And do you know where I could find it?”

The doctor smiled triumphantly. “I decided to tell you this information because it was seen not long ago on Drum Island. By now it should be one or two islands ahead of ours.”

“I see, so if I want to reach him soon I must leave in a short time, right?” The doctor nodded his head and added: “I hope you manage to fulfill your dream y/n, you are a very determined and dedicated young woman. I am sure that, if you work hard, you will become one of the best doctors in the world.”

I gave the doctor an honest smile as I shook his hand in gratitude. “Thank you very much for your time and dedication doctor, I learned a lot under your tutelage.”

Currently:

I know I've been looking for the surgeon of death for a while, but unfortunately, I lost track of him a few months ago. Fortunately I was able to gather more information about him and his crew and was finally able to give this island “Rusokaina”. I heard that the heart pirate crew was going to stay there for a few days to gather some resources and medicinal plants. I had been walking around the island for a few hours when I heard voices in the distance.

“We leave in 5 minutes, make sure you don't leave anything.”

"Yes captain!".

“I'll be in my study in case you need anything, Bepo, take care of the medicinal plants we found! “Sachi and Penguin, don’t forget to carry the fruits and food we got!”

I approached silently so I could get a good look at the situation. There were people carrying many boxes and things onto a yellow boat (if it could be considered one) with a Jolly Roger with a smile. When I was going to get close,r I noticed a presence behind me, and when I turned my sight I saw… A polar bear?

“What are you doing and who are you?” The polar bear asked curiously.

“! AHHHHHH, THE POLAR BEAR TALKS!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I felt my heart skip a beat.

The polar bear screamed in fear when I started screaming. "Captain! Captain! There is a strange girl spying on us, screaming!”

I hadn't finished recovering from the shock when I heard “Room”, and “Shambles”. At that moment a tall man with black hair appeared in front of me and threatened me with his katana.

“Who are you, what are you doing here and why are you spying on us?” the man asked defiantly without moving the katana from my sight.

I stood up carefully and my instinct was to raise my hands to show that I had no weapons with me, I took a deep breath and spoke. “I'm y/n, I'm looking for the captain of the heart pirates, which I assume is you…” I said scared.

“That depends, who are you and why are you looking for him?” The man did not take his eyes off me at any time and he did not lower his guard either.

“I want to talk to your captain, I want to make a deal and negotiate with him.” I responded as calmly as I could.

“Speak,” the man said coldly.

"I'm just a simple medical student, I heard that you are one of the best doctors in the world and I would like you to be my tutor for a while."

The pirate looked at me coldly. “I'm not anyone's babysitter, and being a pirate is not child's play, it's dangerous. Go back to your house brat. “If everything I mentioned before was not enough, what do I gain from that negotiation? Besides having to take care of a girl.”

I started to turn red from anger, who does this person think he is? I took a breath to calm my spirits and finally spoke.

“I know that being a pirate is not child's play, I have had time to think about it carefully. “I have been following your trail for approximately six months to ask you to teach me more about medicine.” “And to answer your question about what would win, well, I will be part of your crew this entire time, there will be no exceptions and I will also do heavy work. If you fight, then you won't have to worry about me, as I know how to fight, and you won't have to “be my babysitter,” as you say.”

The man saw me thoughtfully and finally lowered his katana. “You will be on probation for a month, if you prove to be a nuisance I will throw you on the next island we see.”

“Deal,” I said cheerfully as I shook the pirate's hand.

The pirate looked at me surprised and shook my hand to finally introduce himself. “Trafalgar D. Law, Captain and doctor of the heart pirates.” “Y/n, nice to meet you.”

“Bepo!” Law shouted, “Make sure you introduce her to the entire crew and make sure she knows the Polar Tang properly,” he said as he walked away towards the ship.

“Yes, captain,” the polar bear responded smilingly. “Nice to meet you Y/n, I'm Bepo, the navigator from the heart pirates,” he told me, smiling from ear to ear.

“Ehh… hello, sorry for the question and for scaring me earlier, but what are you?

“I'm a mink,” he said proudly.

“Bepo, stop talking and get on the boat,” Law shouted from the other side of the boat.

Bepo looked at me and asked me to follow him. After a few minutes, the ship finally set sail. “Sorry for the captain's attitude,” the mink said sadly, “But despite seeming like a cold and unfeeling man, the captain is really kind. Come, I'll introduce you to everyone."

I followed Bepo towards what seemed to be a dining room where all the crew were. “Hello everyone, this is our new crew member, her name is y/n,” Bepo introduced me. “Hello, nice to meet you,” I said with my best smile, trying not to die of embarrassment.

“Hello, I am Saichi”, “I am Penguin”, “Jean Bart”, “My name is Ikkaku, a pleasure”, “I am Uni”, “Clion” “I am Hakugan”.

I took a seat next to Ikkaku and the others began to ask me questions. “How old are you?”, “Why did you join the crew?”…

“I'm 21 years old and I joined because…” I was saying before someone interrupted me.

“If you're done wasting your time, I need you in my study y/n,” Law said seriously standing at the door that led to the dining room.

“He's already angry,” Sachi said mockingly. “It's the captain being the captain, what can we do,” Penguin replied, laughing.

“You two shut up and get to work!” Law yelled from the door.

I got up, said goodbye to everyone and followed the furious Law towards his study. Once inside, Law sat at his desk, which was filled with papers and maps.

“You can sit here,” he pointed to a chair in front of the desk. I nodded and sat calmly in front of him. “I want to know more about my new crew member, so I'll ask you some questions.” “I also want to know how much medical knowledge you have.”

I nodded and gave him a smile. "Alright"

"How old are you?"

"twenty-one"

"Why are you here?"

“Because I want to learn everything I can about medicine from you,” I responded with a shy smile.

"Where you come from?"

“From the south blue”

After two hours of interrogation and a brief medical exam, Law finally let me rest.

“Well y/n, I think that's it,” a triumphant smile formed, “I don't notice anything suspicious about you and you have a lot of prior medical knowledge. "I think you will be very useful to me in procedures and medical operations."

“Thank you Law,” I responded, smiling but tired.

“You seem tired, so I'll guide you to your room.”

I nodded and followed Law to what would be my new room.

"Rest for today, tomorrow I will explain to you your duties and tasks within the crew and the schedule in which you will be with me so that I can teach me more about the medical world," the captain said calmly.

“Thank you very much Law, and good night.”

“Good night y/n”

I lay down and fainted on the bed. I was very tired, today had been a very long day and the next would be too. Before I knew it, I was already fast asleep.

[benkyoutobentou]

31 Days of Productivity Reading: Day twenty five

Before: We are getting scarily close to the end of the month… I absolutely want to read ten volumes of manga because I know that it’s doable. I had one month last year where I just ended up reading a ton and read thirty one volumes in one month. I’ve definitely been focusing more on novel reading this month, and I feel like all things considered, I haven’t had as much time for reading this month as I usually do. Which kind of makes me want to do this again some time.

The current plans for today are watch the last episode of ゆびさきと恋々, go to the library to study, and finish ベルばら volume two. It’s not supposed to rain today, so the current plan is to walk to the library. I’m also thinking that I might choose and English audiobook to listen to on the walk, so I’ll have to scour my English shelves to find one I want to listen to.

After: That was such a good last episode! I really hope they get a season two because this show totally deserves it. I love seeing people’s reasons for learning languages and seeing an interest that’s so dear to me in a fictional character is really special, so of course I loved seeing Itsuomi’s backstory. I also pulled out my fancy gyokurocha for this last episode. カンパイ！

Today's trip to the library was also successful and productive. My hold came in and they miscategorized my name again, but at least I know where to look now. I did in fact start listening to Little Fires Everywhere on the walk there, and studied some Mandarin at the library. My only issue with walking to the library is that after walking there (and walking the dog beforehand) and studying a bit, I get really hungry. Oh, I also discovered that my library has 青のフラッグ！This is great news for me and terrible news for my tbr.

I've been thinking lately on how this challenge is shaping up to be a little bit of a failure, and I'm trying to figure out why. I might get through all of my goals and I might be reading an hour every day, but I feel like I'm not prioritizing reading in my schedule this month like I normally do. Usually when that happens, it's because I'm not enjoying what I'm reading, or I'm not in the mood for it, but I can say pretty certainly that that's not what's happening here. Honestly, my hypothesis is that the timing aspect is putting extra pressure on me and causing me to avoid reading. Instead of reading a page here and there, which then turns into a longer reading session, I think I'm searching for the mythical "perfect time" to read so that I don't have to stop and start my timer much, and then putting off reading until the last possible moment in the day. Other than this odd little setback, I've been enjoying this challenge (and I think it's good for me), so I think I might bring it back in a few months' time and try setting a page count goal for myself rather than a time goal.

On that note, I read 56 pages today over an hour and one minute with an average reading pace of 1.1 minutes per page. Finishing this volume is absolutely in the cards for tomorrow, and I'd like to make reading a higher priority as well. It feels rough taking three days to get through a volume of manga anymore when I know I can do it in a day, it's just that I'm not giving myself the proper reading time to do so. Which I need to fix.

[kashuan]

Hi I love your art style! Especially how dynamic your poses and how distinct and expressive your faces are.

For somebody currently struggling with their own style, do you mind sharing how you got to where you got? Probably lots of studies, right? 😅

Did you focus on realism and built your more stylized take on that? I'm mostly a digital artist but I have heard that practicing a lot with pencil and paper may help, do you have any experiences with that?

I'd love to hear if you have any advice <3

Hey! First of all, thanks so much! ♥

In terms of stylization, aiming for and sticking to a single style is something I've heard that some people do, but was never something I really thought about too much myself. I started by just copying the artists I liked, so in the beginning I was just mimicking another's style 1:1 for the most part. After doing that with several artists, the styles naturally started to blend together, until I was eventually able to develop a more conscious sensibility of what I did/didn't want to include, which just comes through a lot of the practice. Over the years my style has been really all over the place, from Extremely anime influenced, to western comic book style and cartoonish, to fairly strict realism, to where I am now which I think is something like stylized realism. It's inevitable that you'll go through a few styles as you grow as an artist, even if you're only sticking to one genre, and I believe it's important to allow that to happen, rather than trying to strictly force yourself to stick to one in specific. I don't draw in the styles I used to, but I think little touches of it still remain in my current one, which I think helps give it a little bit of uniqueness. In regard to my current style though, yes, I do studies from life almost every day to help me keep a strong grasp on realistic anatomy as well as to continue to grow my understanding of it. I use references too with almost all my drawings, but then I add stylization on top of it, which is something I wasn't able to do with much success until I had been practicing for years, so don't be discouraged if this is a struggle. I will say though as soon as I began to do studies regularly, my improvement went like 500% faster than it had before; just about the only thing I wish I'd done differently on my journey with art would have been to start doing studies from life sooner. So if stylized realism is a style you're interested in, I can't recommend that enough! And even for more cartoonish styles, the better your understanding of forms and anatomy, the easier time you'll have exaggerating it confidently, tbh. Re: digital versus pen and paper, this isn't so much related to style specifically, but even as a primarily digital artist myself, I highly recommend getting in some practice with real media too. It forces you to be more deliberate and decisive with your mark making, especially if you're using something like pen-- once the line is made, you can't erase it-- and that skill carries over to how you draw your lines digitally. I still try to do pen studies at least once a month and I think it definitely influences the confidence of my digital lines. Lastly, I'd also say keeping some sort of inspiration board is a great tool. I have a side blog for saving pieces that I see which I would like to incorporate elements of into my own style, whether because I liked the way the figure was posed, the expressions, the artist's mark making, the composition, the interaction between the subjects, etc. There's so much like that which all goes into influencing an artist's specific style and it's really interesting to think about when you consider what you want from your own! Whenever I'm feeling a little dry on inspiration I look through my dash over there or in the folder of inspiration I've saved and it almost always helps get some new ideas flowing. Like I said, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to focus in on just one specific style and constrain yourself that way, but to instead consider how you'd like to use bits and pieces of many styles can be very helpful to growing your own. There's a whole lot more than can be said on this subject, but I hope this much is of some help to you ♥♥

[nyovette]

April is coming to an end, which means it's time for a monthly wrap-up! I've read some really interesting books this month with some great premises and characters, and I've discovered some wonderfully talented authors that I'll be keeping up with. I even visited a new bookstore this month that I can't wait to go back to!

Monthly Stats:

This month, I've read 4 books, with an estimated total of 1,328 pages! My reads were 100% fiction, with my top genre being fantasy ✨️

My average rating for the books I've read is 4 stars.

April's Books:

★★★☆☆

The Story Collector by Evie Gaughan

My Review

This book was definitely a nice enough read. I love when authors incorporate folklore into their stories. The book goes back and forth between following Sarah in the present day, and Harold and Anna 100 years in the past. I loved Anna's chapters. She was very endearing, and she was more wrapped up in the folklore and mystery than Sarah was. I left the book feeling a bit empty, like I expected a bit more to come from everything that had been built up. But it was beautifully written.

★★★★☆

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

My Review

I really enjoyed Daughter of the Moon Goddess! Xingyin was a great character who battled with personal desire, self-preservation, fear, and a broken heart from her first love, all while risking her life to free her mother from the moon. I loved the twist - it was unexpected (at least for me) and upped the stakes even higher. I'll definitely be reading the next instalment in the series.

The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson

My Review

Brilliant but bizarre, I think is the best way to describe this book. It had me genuinely questioning myself and what I believed to be true or just the ramblings of a man gone mad. Some of the scenes were truly spine-chilling, and the writing was beautifully poetic. It was different to what I'd usually read, but I was pleasantly surprised. Excellent horror story.

★★★★★

The Spirit Bares its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

My Review

I think TSBT is one of if not my favourite book I've ever read. I just loved it. It can get incredibly dark, with graphic gore scenes and mentions of SA, so I would recommend looking into the content warnings for this book before reading. But I absolutely encourage others to read it if you can. Silas is a fantastic MC, the plot is haunting, and there were many moments I felt genuine stress from the threats to Silas's safety. When I really love something, I tend to lose the ability to talk about it in a fully comprehensible manner, so, in both my review and wrap-up, I haven't been able to fully express how much I love this book and how I felt about different parts. It's devastating because I want to scream about it to anyone who'll listen but 🤷🏻‍♀️ :') Just know that I could make this book my whole personality.

Final Thoughts:

I'd say this month has been a successful reading month. I set my reading goal to be 12 in a year, and it was in April that I hit and surpassed that goal. I know my reading will probably slow down once I manage to get my career started, so I'm enjoying this while it lasts☺️ Here's to another productive reading month in May!

Please note, all my reviews that I've linked to contain spoilers, so read at your own discretion!

[primewritessmut]

tell me your deepest darkest secrets 🛠💖📈🎉

I will tell you some surface level things about my writing. How's that for a deal!?

🛠What tools/programs/apps do you use to write?

I live and die by Scrivener. Although switching from Scrivener on a Mac to Scrivener on a PC almost had me committing murder, I did it because I love that fucking program.

I have occasionally used my Notes app to write and I have a Google Doc called "Scenes Out of Time and Place" where I write when I'm away from my computer but there's a scene that's latched onto my throat and won't let go. But it all, always, gets copy/pasted to Scrivener.

My original works are mostly written by hand into notebooks, though, and then transcribed into (you guessed it!) Scrivener once I think they're done or they're going somewhere my writing hand isn't fast enough to follow and I need my typing fingers.

💖 What made you start writing?

I couldn't not.

That's literally all there is to it. From as far back as I can remember, I couldn't not create stories and it made more sense to write them down than let them float around in my brain. I've never really understood the sense of having a "calling" but I guess it's kind of like that. Maybe?

Except it's porn instead of, like, humanitarianism.

📈 How many fics do you have?

I have 80 works on AO3 right now, but I've deleted several works (as you know) in the last few months. I'm definitely over 100 completed fics and, if you add in wips (even the ones I know now that I won't ever finish), it's probably up near 150.

Original work probably brings the total up somewhere near 175.

Please do not ask me how long it took me to write all those fics. I carry that information to my death with great shame.

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success?

Boy do I love accolades!!! But a fic is only really a success to me if it feels good to have written it. Which is actually something I have to remind myself of frequently, and also something I think you've literally told me at least twice.

It's cool when readers love something or it inspires other art or whatever, but ultimately I wrote it for me. My fics don't put food on the table or keep the lights/heat on, they're just little stories I weave to entertain myself.

x

[chaithetics]

OMg it’s soooo incredible 🥺🥺🥺. Just like the perfect amounts of humor and drama, (taming of the stew🤭🤭 bit was hilarious) and the pinch of angst… as a treat.

thank you so much for putting dad!Stewy out there in the universe, that tender moment between him and Jonathan healed my broken heart (deprived of Stewy). The domesticity and love of the two is just soooooooo good, i’m sorry i can’t put it into words, just brilliantly written. The title of the series is just so poetic and the first instalment was %1000 worth the wait. thank you so much for finding the time to write this out.

much love 💕

OMG OMG NONNIE OMG!

I kid you not in the finale before the vote when they're talking about him being a chair and he refers to himself as "stew pot" it made me think of the taming of the shrew and how Stewy would DEFINITELY say that and that dialogue from him had been sitting in my notes app for almost a month desperately waiting to be used. I'm so glad you found it funny! I was embarrassingly proud of myself for thinking of it (I kid you not, embarrassingly proud and happy about it).

I've had a few dad Stewy requests so it was nice to get a piece out and you've given such great prompts. I really mean that, they're really thoughtful and they're quite clear and detailed but they also leave a lot of room for interpretation and expansion which I'm so grateful for so thank you! I did quite like picturing that interaction with Stewy and Jonathan, it was actually really easy to write that!

You're making me smile so much with your kind words! Such nice feedback! I'm glad you found it poetic, I really struggled- naming pieces (and children - Succession names are kind of their own name category) is probably my least favourite part and I was worried this one might've been weird so I'm glad you liked it!

I like to make sure pieces have fluff because I cannot do sole angst, it drives my anxiety up the wall haha.

But thank you so, so, so, so much Nonnie! I'm glad you enjoyed it, I really appreciate you and the kind words. Ah! I absolutely love and adore you! 💗

[cartograffiti]

October '23 reading diary

In October I particularly wanted to tick off some novellas and other short reads from my tbr, which gave me a whopping total of 12 reads and 2 rereads to talk about!

The Emelan group read I'm in finished the first quartet, which meant I got to reread my favorites of them, Daja's Book and Briar's Book. They hit me quite hard, because one deals with wildfire (I live in one of the East Coast states that suffered from smoke at the start of this summer), and the other deals with plague. I continue to think this series is superior to Pierce's Tortall books. She shows more range here: the magic is based on more striking ideas, and the children deal with a greater range of interests and problems. They feel at once more fantastical and more relatable.

We also started the second quartet, so I read Magic Steps, which was great, and Street Magic, which made me feral. These are both somewhat grittier than the first quartet, Steps even including I think the goriest thing I have ever read in a Pierce book (I've read most of them), with counterbalances of the kids we know growing into themselves a bit, and younger mages with fun powers who need mentoring of their own. The original friends are split up in this quartet, which bums me out a bit, but I'll keep my fingers crossed that the later books reunite them.

Things to Look Forward To is a recent book from an illustrator I love, Sophie Blackall. The artwork is fab, but the cover pitch suggests that the text is upbeat and hopeful, and I was surprised to find that it is actually concentrated on the process of grief. If you're grieving too and want something to read about working through it, I recommend it, but I was a bit disappointed.

Some friends mentioned being shocked I had not read Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, which meant I ended up screaming into eternalgirlscout's dms over the course of a couple of weeks. This was a once in a lifetime book, and while I wanted to devour it in one sitting, I kept getting overwhelmed. It's about gender, and sex, and being an alien, and thinking of other people as aliens, and the mistakes of anthropologists and ambassadors, and oral tradition, and law, and injustice, and community, with an extraordinary extreme cold weather escape and survival sequence. And it has multiple countries on the planet, which shouldn't be so special, and it! I! Listen, they have table utensils that are little hammers to break the ice if your drink freezes over during the meal. I have touched on maybe less than half of the book. I need to read it again, but I need at least a year to recover.

I read two interesting food & cooking books this month. One is called Chef's Fridges (Moore and Solomon), which is full of photos of the insides of fridges and sometimes freezers, with brief interviews with each chef about how they eat at home, and one or two recipes from most. There were a couple of "produce clear out" recipes that really appeal to me, and a mug cake from Milk Bar I will definitely try, but I was more engaged by the fridges. There were some intriguing repetitions (I was delighted to see that the Virginia mayonnaise brand Duke's is recognized as the best beyond where it's usually stocked), and I enjoyed reading about the variety in approaches. A couple who have a fridge each to keep their experiments separate, and a woman who bought the smallest fridge she and her wife could find, so they'd use less energy and buy fresh daily. A very successful chef who cheerfully talked about Lunchables being a favorite meal, and another with local bear meat in his freezer. I took issue with some remarks I considered snobby, and I wish more chefs of color were included, but this is fun!

The other is My Everyday Lagos, by Yewande Komolafe. She is a highly accomplished chef and food writer who has written for most of the top food magazines and columns in America, and worked all over it; you may well have encountered her work before. I'm not very familiar with Nigerian food (I've made jollof rice from a dry mix a couple times), and Komolafe strikes an excellent tone of knowing what will be familiar to an American audience, but prioritizing talking about the ingredients used in Nigeria. Peppered in are brief, highly memorable passages of context, talking about her time as an undocumented immigrant because her culinary school made a mistake, reflecting on how a vegetarian dish is not always the same as a plant-based one, and how sweet foods differ across cultures. Great.

I took advantage of a couple days of particularly good hearing to tear through audiobooks of all four novellas I was missing from Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series: What Abigail Did That Summer, The Furthest Station, The October Man, and Winter's Gifts. I'm a big fan of this series and am so glad to fill in these adventures. Just one is narrated by the usual magician-detective pov character, Peter Grant. The others star his teenage cousin Abigail, and his professional counterparts in Germany and America, Tobias and Kim. I like all of these characters quite a bit, and the cases were delightful as always. The October Man was particularly smart and freaky. Winter's Gifts was a little less immersive than usual, because as an American I caught some oddities of Aaronovitch's choices and voice actress Penelope Rawlins' pronunciations that didn't strike me as quite right for Kim.

I also started filling in shorts and detours of Gail Carriger's interconnected steampunk series. I only finished The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn't before the month ended. It's the earliest entry in the timeline, and unfortunately it's pretty insubstantial. It also focuses on a character I'm not gripped by--Alessandro Tarabotti is an important catalyst, but he's also a dick with negligible goals.

And lastly, I devoured the new Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone Christmas romance, A Holly Jolly Ever After! There were a couple plot threads I wish had been given more of a finale, but it's funny, moving, and full of STUFF happening. Especially recommended to people who grew up in religious purity cultures, Winnie pursuing independence and sexual fulfillment is thrilling and cheering.

[sohmiya]

I've been listening to Counting Losses by Chelan, Best & Mess It Up by Gracie Abrams (<- which are probably songs that fit them quite well...not a great thought because I'll start creating a Spotify playlist about Max and Ev) & had this hc in my head for like over an hour, so I had to swoop in and send you Maxine x Evren angst...which is terrible because I'm the biggest supporter of their 'could be perfect' relationship. Like if their ship ever left the docks and sailed, I'd be the fucking captain of that ship.

I am sooo sorry that this is so long asdfkghjkl.

SOo they weren't supposed to get as involved with each other as they did, right? but now they're in the situation and I imagine Ev thinking about it one morning and saying "you said we should stop...but you came here last night" and Max is all "and you came to my place last week. But I was right, we do need to stop. This is much more messier than it was supposed to be."

And Ev would pause and go, "because of our lives or because of the media's involvement?" "both" and he'd roll his eyes and ask "and you really think any of this would've been easier with someone else?" and Max would sarcastically laugh and say, "frankly, yes. it probably would've been" and Evren would be all, "oh, because the media have been so respectful of our lives in the past, right?" — which is low key an indirect to what the press write about him, but also a shot towards Max's public break up with her ex...and he instantly regrets saying it, but he's caught feelings and all in love and he's saying stupid shit and he can tell he's losing her.

And I see them having a mini argument about it all, which turns into a full blown argument, which turns into them not talking for days...and then not talking for a month. And I see Ev being super upset about it, and him debating whether to contact her and just apologise but he's also under the impression that she definitely doesn't want anything to do with him...so leave it be.

annndd thenn, cause Heartless was so successful their labels are like 'collab again and release another song together' which would genuinely make Evren choke and go, "we don't...have to do that." and his label's all "well, we're not asking, we're telling—the fans loved your last song. Give them what they want."

Then Maxine and Evren are back in the studio together, the exact same one they created Heartless in and ate takeout in and became friends in...so it's super weird and starts off with small talk like "how are things going with you?" "good, you?" "yeah, good" and it's disgustinggg and awkward because a month ago they would've had the deepest conversations and now they can barely be in the same room together.

Eventually Ev would ramble and choke out, "I'm sorry, about what I said a month ago" and Max would nod and say "same..." but it's still super awkward and the tension is there, but they have a job to do and she asks "so how's all of this going to work?" and Evren thinks for a moment and says "honestly?" "honestly" and he goes "we don't kiss, I don't touch you, we don't reminisce the times we spent together, and I think about you in a way that's strictly platonic. then we'll get through this fine"—but he's sort of already failing because he remembers so much about Max: the stuff she likes and dislikes, the way she laughs, her songwriting process, and even debated ordering a charcuterie board for her but decided against it because this can't be anything more than it is.

And Max would go, "you have it all sorted out" "a month gives you time to think about things. probably enough time to grow that god complex of yours" he'd joke, and she'd laugh and say, "it's not like it can grow anymore, you know that already" which is nice because at least they can still joke around with each other and it sort of eases their tension a little until Max asks "and what happens after all of this?"

And Ev's like "we write this song and release it. I let you go, I fall out of love with you, and we get on with our lives" "and you find someone else" and Evren would pause and go "what you and I had it... it was about more than just the sex. it was different from anything with anyone else. you're special Maxie, you don't need me to tell you that. you don't need anyone, least of all a relationship."

But in Evren's head he's begging that she grabs his face and kisses him and says "fine. i'll do it. i'll give us a go, Acevedo. properly. i'll fall in love with you and let you catch me"—but she doesn't so he stops thinking it, clears his throat and goes "besides, we'll write a good song together and individually I'm sure we'll write some great songs about each other, so I guess we can't complain too much."

And like, imagine Evren performing on stage and thousands of fans are literally chanting for him to sing the songs that he wrote with and wrote about Maxine (them not realising they're about her), and Evren's on stage thinking 'fuck...now I have to think about her', but you've gotta give your fans what they want so he performs each one like he's having the best time of his life.

ANYWAY! I"m going to cry in a corner—

me getting excited over an ask from you until i read what it was about:

"you said we should stop...but you came here last night"

"and you came to my place last week.”

the way i knew i was gonna be fucked up as soon as these lines were uttered 💔💔💔💔

"and you really think any of this would've been easier with someone else?"

evren please……… i don’t wanna fight……. this line alone made ME feel bad wtf :(((((

no cause when they start arguing they’re both at the height of their emotions and start raising their voices at each other like “evren we’ve been over this” “why can’t we just give it a try?” “you KNOW why. it’s not gonna work” “you don’t know that” “yes i do” then i imagine evren ultimately saying something like “no you don’t. you always pin it on the media but the truth is you’re just scared” and UGHHHH it would make max so mad because deep down she knows it’s true but she doesn’t wanna admit it so she just says “just go”

he's also under the impression that she definitely doesn't want anything to do with him

little does he know maxine misses him….. 🚶🏻‍♀️

“well, we're not asking, we're telling”

the best thing his label can do is die 🥰 UGH I HATE THEM GIVE MY BABY SOME SPACE

"so how's all of this going to work?"

"honestly?"

"honestly"

"we don't kiss, I don't touch you, we don't reminisce the times we spent together, and I think about you in a way that's strictly platonic. then we'll get through this fine"

i literally want to cry………… i am so fucking devastated

and evren even planning to buy her a charcuterie board……

"we write this song and release it. I let you go, I fall out of love with you, and we get on with our lives"

"and you find someone else"

ngl this lowkey made me feel bad for making miko 😭😭😭

my deepest sigh ever…… the awkward banters when they work together again was so heartbreaking but so satisfying for the angst lover in me JRNDJEKSJ

and also at second coming’s show, maxine has a little chat with the crowd like “have you guys ever felt like you’ve found your person but met them at the wrong time?” and the crowd starts to scream and maxine just laughs but you know it’s hollow and she just goes “yeah same. but thank god we got some bangers out of it” and that’s her lightheartedly hinting at new songs on the setlist and they’re all songs that maxine wrote about evren after the “breakup” and there are times during the show where she looks at her bandmates for some comfort as soon as she starts feeling emotional again :(

but i think after some time when evren and maxine have gotten over it they’d start teasing each other again like “evren you are so fuckimg sappy” “you literally called me your person” “shut the fuck up” and ugndhsgHSHSJAJ IM GONNA CRY mila please tell evren i’m sorry and that i’m just as heartbroken as he is <////3

[thevindicativevordan]

How waa 2022 for non-Superman DC comics?

Running through the other major Leaguers and a few others:

Batman - Unusually for Batman it was a mixed year. Film wise he of course did great, The Batman kicked off a new cinematic incarnation to widespread critical approval and solid commercial success. Multiple spinoffs set in that universe are in the works for HBO Max. Comics wise he (or his extended supporting cast) has a book for everyone and they run the gamut of great to crap. Shockingly his The Caped Crusader animated series instead of Superman's is the one that got sent on the road to find a home elsewhere, instead of on HBO Max and CN as originally planned. It looks like Amazon Prime will likely be where that lands but no official confirmation yet. Video game wise Gotham Knights flopped hard, getting mediocre reviews and even worse sales from what I've seen. There's also that terrible CW show of the same name still coming.

Wonder Woman - Historia carried her hard, being a truly legendary story that I think easily deserves to be the definitive origin for her and the Amazons. Outside of that her comics were mediocre, and of course WW3 got cancelled. Jenkins is finished and it looks like Gadot will be too, with her cameos in the movies coming this year serving as her swan song. At least the Monolith video game is safe for now.

The Flash - Adams' Wally book remained good and Barry's role in Dark Crisis was fine. Barry really shone in the Voidsong mini, I'd love to see that creative team do more with him, Miller of course made headlines but I expect most people didn't notice or care and that it won't really negatively impact the upcoming movie's box office performance.

Green Lantern - I enjoyed Thorne's GL run but man did plenty of people hate it. Still between Thorne and the Dark Crisis tie in issue, I think John had a good year. Hal came in second with decent usage in Dark Crisis. Jo came in third with her half of Thorne's book using her well. Rest of the GLs didn't get shit and Thorne's big massacre of the GLC got promptly undone, which even as a fan of Thorne I'm fine with because the GLC being on the verge of extinction is a plot I don't want to see anymore.

Aquaman - Probably his worst one since the Johns reboot. Attempts to push Jackson and Black Manta into the lead roles flopped hard. Neither the Jackson nor the Black Manta minis sold well, and the Aquamen mini it was all leading up to didn't even debut in the top 100 issues sold for the month it launched if memory serves me. I don't know what DC editorial, Brandon Thomas, or Chuck Brown were thinking but man did they totally shoot themselves in the foot. At least Aquaman & The Flash: Voidsong by Lanzig and Kelly ruled, that was Arthur's only comic win. Oh and WBD took the Aquaman: King of the Seas miniseries off of HBO Max, either to sell it to Amazon Prime or use it as a tax write-off.

Titans - They were terrible as always. Titans Academy ended with a whimper as yet another bold new direction for the franchise failed to take off.

JSA - Hey they finally got a new book!.. which is far more interested in Hypertime, Watchmen, and Huntress/Batman bullshit than it is in the actual JSA so far. Oh and it's been hit by delays too because it wouldn't be a Johns book without those! Least they had a great showing in Stargirl, both the show and the comic.

Black Adam - Hahaha oh Lord what a fucking disaster his push ended up being. The Rock indeed helped facilitate a change in DC's hierarchy by tanking at the box office, and making it easy for Gunn to cut ties with him. Priest's Black Adam was the only good thing to come out starring him, which is half a great character study on what a monster Adam is and half whatever the hell Priest is doing with Malik. Series lost it's star artist in Sandoval the minute it became clear the movie was a bust (not that I'm complaining), and Dark Crisis hilariously ended with an explicit Rock homage. Unless Johns once more fishes his boy from the wreckage after Priest's mini wraps up, I think Adam is due a benching for a while.

[the-sweetheart-chronicles]

.˖˳·˖ ִֶָ .˖˳·˖ ִֶָ .˖˳·˖ ִֶָ .˖˳·˖ ִֶָ .˖˳·˖ ִֶָ 𖹭 ִֶָ˖·˳˖. ִֶָ˖·˳˖. ִֶָ˖·˳˖. ִֶָ˖·˳˖. ִֶָ˖·˳˖. ִֶָ˖·˳˖.

8/21/24

So I have COVID. I did my due diligence and called the place I got my piercings done at. They were wearing masks but I did tell them just in case. I thought it was just a bad sinus infection at first I started feeling bad on Saturday, I called in on Monday. About 3pm my boss calls me and is like "hey did you take a COVID test" I was like nah it's just a sinus infection I'll be in tomorrow. Turns out it was COVID. 8 other people from my office tested positive. They tried to make me come in after two days while I was still like really ill. I had to get a doctor's note which didn't cost to much I only paid a $20 copay. Then I got a note for the rest of the week so suck it! But I am going in tomorrow as I am feeling better and have been fever free for 24hrs. I'm gonna wear at mask when I'm not actively on the phone, maybe even while I'm on the phone depending on how it sounds. Going kind of stir crazy in the house I'm also worried they are gonna be mad at me regardless of the fact I was severely ill with a highly contagious virus and got a doctor's note because I am the lead. I lost my voice for like 3 days so I couldn't even work from home. I can't imagine the mess I am going to return to. In good news I ordered a phone, mine works fine but it's a little stupid. It randomly gets super hot I'm not talking like warm I'm talking really hot and I only have one app open not charging and not even on a high brightness. I got a z flip 4, refurbished for $200 which is not bad at all. It's going to be here Saturday which is perfect. I curled my hair today and it only took like 50 minutes, I am not going anywhere but I definitely need practice. If I wanna be able to do my hair before work I need to get practice. I have a beach waiver to it makes it way easier and I only burnt myself like twice. I have two sizes I got them on sale, the first one was only $60 but I got an open box used fof the smallest size for $20 which like score. I can't look to good tomorrow I have to at least look like I was sickly for the whole week, which I was Im just like really hot. I also bought this amazing discontinued lip oil from Japan and it's amazing. I first saw an aesthetic photo of it on Tumblr and I knew I had to buy it. I was only able to buy in bulk from this wholesale website which oh well I have stock at least. 30 whole tubes, which the tubes are super small so like I'll be able to use them before they go bad. Plus I'm gonna gift some to friends and reuse the tubes to make my own diy lip gloss which I've wanted to do forever. I placed a temu order for some bracelet making supplies a bunch of natural crystal beads to promote healthy living, success and shifting. In nip piercing updates they are healing great I think, the worst part of the healing is over. It honestly wasn't that bad it felt better then my throat and head since I had covid. I was worried that would effect the healing but I don't think it will, it doesn't seem to have so far. Going to spend the rest of the day relaxing, at least I only work one day before the weekend and I'll get my new phone. I also have my PTO next month to look forward to.

.˖˳·˖ ִֶָ .˖˳·˖ ִֶָ .˖˳·˖ ִֶָ .˖˳·˖ ִֶָ .˖˳·˖ ִֶָ 𖹭 ִֶָ˖·˳˖. ִֶָ˖·˳˖. ִֶָ˖·˳˖. ִֶָ˖·˳˖. ִֶָ˖·˳˖. ִֶָ˖·˳˖.

[stumblngrumbl]

i have about an acre of severely overground land - so thickly grown over that you literally can't walk through it, and before the main fence went around it even the deer didn't walk through it but went around it. it's like a jungle with vines (blackberry & poison oak), a few types of brush and a few different species of trees. it needs to be cleared - or at least majorly thinned - because as it is it's a huge fire danger during the very dry summer we get here.

i've tried just cutting the trees that i could reach, and that works great for pines - cut it and done. oaks however sprout zillions of shoots from the stump if you cut them (you have just coppiced the tree). that's fine if you're just trying to reduce height but it's actually counter to the goal of reducing fire danger as the shoots are even more vulnerable to fire than before.

unfortunately, pulling the trees which is the alternative has always been very difficult; i've tried pushing them over with the tractor but they usually just break, and pulling them out with the tractor works if they're small but once they're more than two inches thick they tend to hold on too well, and you really need to pull up and the tractor can only do so much of that. the ground here most of the time is super hard - only when it's been raining a fair amount does stuff soften up.

so last year i decided to make something to help in pulling trees - called it the "A-frame" for soon-to-be obvious reason. it worked pretty well if the soil was moist as the ground is looser then, but i was severely traction-limited and really not able to pull much more out as the tractor tires slipped in the moist soil.

well a couple months ago i picked up a winch for the truck, and i figured i'd give the A-frame a try with the winch - not that the winch can actually pull harder than the tractor, but i can actually anchor the truck to a big tree and then use the winch to pull without losing traction - the tractor pulls by moving so it can't actually be anchored.

so today was the day to try the A-frame:

the experiment was a success -- i had tried to pull this post out with the tractor, and it just wasn't budging. i could've broken it off at the bottom*, but it definitely wasn't coming out of the ground especially with that huge clod of concrete at the bottom.

so what's the idea here, how's it work?

it's called "mechanical advantage"; basically the idea is to use something that essentially multiplies your pulling force. think of levers - given a long enough lever, and a fulcrum, and you can move the world (so said Archimedes); pulleys also work by multiplying pulling forces.

how this mechanism works is that when you tip the A-frame, the line pulling it shortens a lot more than the line from the A-frame to the post - in fact, for every inch the post gets pulled up, the main line going to the truck gets pulled almost six inches; this means that there's almost a 6:1 mechanical advantage, and one pound of effort on the winch line results in six pounds at the post:

(there's some minor trig involved in getting the decimal numbers)

(the mechanical advantage varies as the angles change - the advantage is highest right at the beginning and as the A-frame tips it reduces; the advantage also varies with how close the A-frame is to the post and how far it is to the winch.)

of course the primary thing for my purpose is that the truck can be stationary while pulling (as it's powering the winch); more to the point it can be anchored. in this demonstration case with the fence post, it wasn't actually anchored and during the pull it actually got pulled slightly towards the post, but i could've anchored it if needed.

after the test, i decided to go to my jungle space and clear some minor brush so that i could actually access a tree to try the A-frame on.

as it happens, the soil conditions were perfect today, and before i knew it i had pushed over an oak tree by accident as i was pushing through some brush - usually they stop the tractor! it had been pushed with ridiculously little effort and in all i made a HUGE mess in just ten minutes which will take me a week to make into piles that can be set aside to chip or dry for burning ... so tomorrow i'll probably try the A-frame on a much larger tree than i'd ever expected to pull.

[*: i hadn't realized just how much concrete was at the bottom of that post and so i'm probably going to cut the post off above the concrete and then shove the rest of it back into the ground; it's right next to a drive going to the barn so it won't be a long-term problem having concrete in the ground there]

[girltomboy]

End of the year answers

Song of the year?

Track 10 by Christine and the Queens has been the soundtrack of many moments this year

2. Album of the year?

None other than Paranoia Angels True Love

3. Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

A friend got me into Mon Laferte and she became one of my top artists in just a month

4. Movie of the year?

It wasn't released this year but my bf and I discovered The Medium and it's definitely the best movie I've watched all year (Banshees of Inisherin is a close candidate)

5. TV show of the year?

I actually have a top 3 for this question; number three would be Yellowjackets, I would've put it on two if the second season had been at least as good as the first one, but they fumbled it. Number two is Severance, so the creators of that show had better sorted their shit out by now because that show is meant to BE, fr. Number one is Succession because it was just deluxe on all levels: writing, acting, score, production, just great. And a finale that sunk the earth beneath my feet.

6. Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you?

Ouuu I wouldn't say it defined the year, but I remember being very impressed with Flight of the Bumblebee/Yellowjackets.

7. Favorite actor of the year?

Sarah Snook 100%

8. Game of the year?

I haven't played many new games this year, but I managed to finish A Little To The Left and it was a highly satisfying experience (and that soundtrack DAMN)

9. Best month for you this year?

I think March was a very fun month, so many cute moments with my bf and friends, nice weather, the feeling of revival was overwhelming.

10. Something that made you cry this year?

To be honest I didn't cry much this year, not as much as in other years at least. Missing my best friend was probably a consistent reason for crying. Even at the beach I was emotional and in need of her presence.

11. Something you want to do again next year?

Meet my best friend :) this time I have a gift for her too. And I wanna knit her a little alien. I want to spend more time with her, this time just us and more than an afternoon. Maybe have a little weekend getaway somewhere, like my bf and I did for our first anniversary.

12. Talk about a new friend you made this year

Not a particular friend per se, but my manager has been working very hard and consistently on bringing us closer as a team; she's been making these groups and stuff, trying to make us befriend each other more, making the dynamic of our work team more informal. I really appreciate that, it's been so fun connecting with my coworkers and discovering their personalities. They're so likable in their own unique ways and my lovely Aquarius manager has been amazing at uniting us a lot more this year.

13. How was your birthday this year?

My boyfriend RAN to the store a couple minutes before midnight (cause we'd been out all day and then napped, and he didn't have time to stock up in advance) and bought me a mini cake which he stabbed with a lit up joint so I could have a candle to make a birthday wish 💀 it was so funny and sweet and it made me so happy. And he got me a piggy plushie I had seen in a store window and pointed out to him just DAYS before my birthday (the day before we passed by that store again and it was gone; I didn't say anything but it DID get me thinking) and now I squeeze it against my chest at night. And we went to the mall and looked around the toy store, and ate ice cream by the lake. It was really lovely and I was straight up glowing

14. Favorite book you read this year?

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, I practically devoured that book

15. What’s a bad habit you picked up this year?

Umm smoking cigarettes in social circumstances? I mean it's by no means a new habit, but this year it's gotten worse because my work bestie has been getting me out of the house plenty! I've given it back up easily cause it was so poisonous, but that's cause I've been away from smokers in general for some time. I need to get back into chewing a ton of gum. I need to become gum girl again

16. Post a picture from the beginning of the year

17. Post a picture from the end of the year

18. A memorable meal this year?

Gawd damn my friend cooked for us one time in April, and he made mashed potatoes with meatballs and sauce. It was all so damn good, it tasted like cartoon food. It tasted like the word "food". I kinda miss his cooked food, I'm not gonna lie. My stuff comes out so dry and sad, and his stuff is always so rich and filling.

19. What’re you excited about for next year?

Seeing my grandma again, maybe getting a nose piercing, traveling, the beach, my friends, those last 3 things combined (or maybe just my boyfriend, that's fine too)

20. What’s something you learned this year?

I find it hard to pinpoint a specific thing I learned this year, but I think I remembered and realized more things about my past, which is maybe ironic and counterintuitive. That includes my family's past, my past in relation to other people, I've managed to sharpen the lens of the past even more than I could before. And it's constantly mesmerizing and ridiculous at the same time, it makes me feel like Shauna playing with Jackie's frozen corpse, trying to breathe some life into something that's already dead

21. What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

I have this new comforter that really cozies up my bedroom and I even started paying more attention to my bed (making it more carefully, not leaving it unmade for too long, matching the fabrics and stuff as best as I can) ever since I got it. And I also got these colorful lights hanging above my bed, my mirror, and my bedroom door that I put up "for christmas" (they're halloween-themed but whatever, I wanted lights in my room) that I'm definitely keeping up.

22. Favorite place you visited this year?

My bf, friend, and I went on a really long walk one day this year; we walked through the cemetery and then kept on walking further around the neighborhood. It was a long adventure and it tired us out but such a nice day together, we got soda and candy afterwards and walked back home. I miss having days like that

23. If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

I'd warn myself to not dye my hair in the summer, that orangey shit was really hard to cover up and even though I rocked that look I'd have felt much more comfortable with a different shade. Also plan the holiday better, and I have my reasons to say that

24. Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

I didn't have any, BUT I started doing yoga this year, a bit more consistently than last year's workout attempts. And I'm proud of that because it makes me feel really good when I do have the energy for it

25. Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

None that aren't based on real people and that I didn't have before lol