#but yeah i love this ii loved doing the cover art for it i love it so much

[laur-rants]

hey! I just wanted to ask if you were the one who wrote the dishonored werewolf series on ao3? It's amazing and I wanted to thank you for writing it if so. it's my favorite series and I hope you're doing well!

I am in fact, that person. :O Thank you so much for enjoying it! If you haven't seen, I also did a slew of artwork for that series, all of which I still cherish to this day. I take a lot of what I made then and push it forward into the content I make now, though a lot of that stuff is behind the scenes at the moment, and not available to the public. Yet. :) here are some of my favorite arts I made for it, because I go back to them from time to time and love them to pieces (I hope to return to this style this year as well). This whole au has such a special place in my heart.

[sturniozo]

In The Shadows II

masterlist

“But why do you have to leave the country?” My boyfriend, Luke asks. He’s been my boyfriend for two years. I haven’t told him about what I do, how could I?

“I told you, it’s a work thing.” I say as I continue to pack my suitcase.

“What does a planner at a stock company need to do in Switzerland?” Luke sits in the bed next to my suitcase.

“It’s not really something I can discuss.” I put the last few things in my suitcase.

“You’re not doing something illegal, are you?” Luke asks as he looks me in the eyes.

I take a breath. “No, of course not.” I say as I close my suitcase.

“You don’t tell me anything!” He groans and lays on the bed.

“You’re acting like a child.” I set the suitcase down on the floor.

“Why Switzerland? Why so far? How long will you be gone?”

“It’s for an important client, and it might be a while.”

“Give me your best guess.”

“Three months?” I shrug. That’s the average amount of time it takes for something like this.

“What kind of stock has clients that need you to go across the world for them for three months?” Luke asks, starting to raise his voice.

“It’s not something I can discuss, Luke.” I sit down next to him on the bed.

“What about me? How am I gonna live?”

“It’s not like my bank account goes with me. You can still use your card to my account.” Luke has no job. He got fired from his job at a computer store for playing video games on the new ministers instead of doing his job. It’s been 16 months since he was fired. It’s the main reason he moved in with me, since he lost his apartment. Now I solely take care of everything while he plays video games all day.

Not that I mind, I make more than enough for the both of us. Although, he doesn’t exactly know that. He thinks I make a regular salary, because that’s what I put into the bank account I created just to get him off my back about having a card for my bank account. Every two weeks I add a regular amount to the account to make him think I got paid.

At first I thought it was a mistake. Every time I “got paid” he’d spend all the money on something stupid. It didn’t actually matter, but I had to make him think it did or else he’d get suspicious about what I really do for a living.

“Yeah but isn’t there inflation difference between America and Switzerland? What if you spend all the money on a coffee or something and I’m left broke?” Luke asks.

I sigh. “It’s all paid for by the client, you don’t have to worry about that.”

~

A private jet. I stare at the plane as the worker load suitcases and boxes of items onto the plane. I don’t even know what’s in the boxes, just things my father decided I needed for my cover.

I look through the folder my father gave me, exposing my contract and my cover. I’m to pose as a newlywed woman with my husband, Matt. I roll my eyes just at the thought.

My dad bought a house in Switzerland under our fake identities, so the things in the boxes must be what we’re moving into the house. Our cover is art. We need to go to Finley Wilson for art to decorate our new home with. We need to befriend him, and find who he’s closest to, who he loves the most, and report back to dad.

I put the folder back into my purse and board the plane. Matt’s already there, drinking the scotch, I didn’t expect any different. I set my purse down in a seat and sit down.

“How was the drive?” Matt asks while pouring another glass of scotch. He hands it to me and I only set it to the side, ignoring it completely.

“We’re only fake married, I’d prefer it if we didn’t talk outside of what we have to keep our cover, thank you.” I pull out the folder to read up on Finley Wilson.

“The best assassins keep up their cover even in private.” Matt says before taking a drink of his scotch.

“We haven’t even officially started our cover, so I don’t need to speak to you at all. As far as I’m concerned, until we leave American soil, we’re still just y/n l/n and Matthew Sturniolo.”

Matt stays silent for a moment. He shifts in his seat and looks over at me. “You’re very interested in the case file.” He says, breaking the silence.

“The best assassins study up on their cover and their hit before going in.” I say without looking up from the file.

Matt rolls his eyes. “It’s a long flight, we should go over the specifics of our relationship.”

“We’re a newlywed couple, just bought a house in Switzerland and we were looking to decorate it with art when we heard about Mr. Wilson’s collection.”

“Yeah, but how did we meet? What made you fall for me?” Matt smirks and leans back in his seat.

“What’s not to fall for? The lack of empathy or the inevitable betrayal?” I glare at him for a moment before looking back at the file.

“Is this about Montana? Y/n, that was five years ago!”

“Oh, was it? And what’s your excuse for never calling? For never explaining? Maybe it was because you knew there was nothing to explain. You’re just an ass who only cares about himself.” I snap at him.

Matt closes his mouth and leans back in his seat. He twirls the scotch around in his glass before looking at mine, still full from when he poured it. “Still not a drinker, huh?” He asks with a light laugh.

“Nope.” I say sternly, still reading over the case file.

The sound of the intercom goes off and the pilot says “This is your pilot, captain Jones, telling you to prepare for take off in five minutes.”

Matt smiles at me. “Well, Mrs. Sturniolo.” He moves to the seat next to mine. “Let’s see our new home, shall we?”

“We haven’t left American soil yet, Matt.” I set down the file. “Besides, I have a boyfriend.”

“Oh you do? I thought you were scared of commitment. Who’s the lucky guy?” Matt asks with a laugh.

“You’ve met him, actually.”

“I have?” Matt looks at me confused before it dawns on him. “Oh, god. Don’t tell me it’s Luke Pelton.”

“What’s wrong with Luke?” I ask.

“He’s a fucking moocher. He got fired from what, two jobs before the computer store job he had when I knew him. Does he even still have that job?”

“Well, no-“

“Jesus, how many jobs has he had since then?” Matt laughs.

“None, he lives with me and I got everything.” I shrug.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously, and what’s wrong with that? For years women did the housework while men were the breadwinners, I don’t see anything wrong with the roles being reversed.”

“Does he do the housework, though? Because that would be a surprise!” Matt laughs again.

I roll my eyes and look out the window, clenching my jaw to keep quiet. He’s right, Luke doesn’t do the housework. He doesn’t do anything. But I don’t mind it.

“What does he think you do anyway?” Matt asks while taking a drink of his scotch.

“He thinks I’m a planner is stocks.” I shrug.

“And he’s dumb enough to believe that? Where did you say you were going?”

“Switzerland.”

Matt’s jaw drops. “You told him the truth?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I? I didn’t tell him what I was really doing.”

“And if someone wanted information out of him?”

I laugh. “It’s fine.”

“I suppose you’re right. Anyone who does any research on that man will figure out that he’s got a pea brain.”

I throw the scotch glass Matt had given me at him and it breaks against the wall. “Hey!” Matt yells. “That’s $8k scotch!”

“Don’t fucking talk about Luke like that.” I spit at Matt.

He raises his hands in surrender and sits back in his seat. The plane starts moving and Matt just smirks at me. “Now, now you’re Mrs. Sturniolo.”

TAGS: @sturniolopookie @savageking3 @tastesousweet @jko3005 @sturniolo0ntop @cheesesoda @bernardenjoyer @sturniolosreads @mbbsgf @xxsadlovexx @whicked-hazlatwhore @sturnsgirl @keira324 @stuniolobbg @timmyscomputer

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 408: Orphaned Cryptid to Billionaire Supervillain

Previously on BnHA: HE WAS BORN AN ARROGANT BABY.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi decides he’s going to cover the rest of the AFO/OFA saga in the span of just seven pages, the majority of which are mostly just filled with lovingly detailed closeups of AFO and Kudou’s eyes. Back in the present day, Kid For One takes a couple of seconds to trample the last of the “Kacchan is OFA II or is related to OFA II” theories into the dust, and is then all “fuck it, I’ll just take him out with one last spectacularly grotesque supermove.” Kacchan is all “lol you fucking dipshit”, and he says it with such confidence that it truly makes me believe he can defeat AFO’s “ALL THE QUIRKS EVER!!” attack with his piddly little exploding bloodsweat quirk. AND IT WILL BE A SIGHT TO SEE.

interesting!

Yoichi’s name btw is written with the kanji 与 which means “bestow” or “give”, and 一 which means “one.” so basically “one who gives”, which is fitting as the creator of OFA, but also fits in with this new context of being the first “possession” bestowed upon AFO

oh yes and also AFO I guess has just torn his brother to shreds or something too. idk. I’m going to be honest with you guys, this panel has such a surreal vibe that I just sat here blinking stupidly at it and wasn’t even shocked or anything. like what. is he dreaming this?? or did he really just make a “STOP! IN THE NAAAAME OF LOVE” gesture and in doing so remove half of his brother’s jaw

ewww

idk what’s wrong with me today guys. AFO just disintegrated Yoichi, and Kudou and and OFA Tres (who apparently still doesn’t have a name???? freaking Kudou got named before you??) are literally RIGHT THERE and presumably horrified, and all I can think about is how fucking gross it is that they’re all hanging out in a fucking sewer

oh shit y’all it’s about to go down

he can’t kill Kudou right off the bat can he? does Kudou even know he has OFA yet? are we going to see him transfer it to OFA III? I’m so fucking excited omg

LOL WHAT

“weirdly matte” omg. so apparently he’s like All Might, where the “he’s just drawn differently” thing is something people actually acknowledge in-story. “yeah he actually has no pupils. that’s a real thing. technically that should mean he can’t see since pupils are what let light into your eyes, but don’t worry about that part. just know that his eyes canonically look weird to the story people as well, and everyone is creeped out by it, not just you”

yeah he’s actually blind

so he literally can’t see outside himself. way to lay those metaphors on thick, Horikoshi

(ETA: this is my “just in case my impeccably dry wit doesn’t translate well across the internet” ETA to assure everyone I know he’s not actually blind lol.)

now we’re cutting to some random city where AFO is broodingly staring at Yoichi’s severed hand because he’s perfected the art of always doing incredibly unsettling things

I cannot believe the fucking hands thing has an actual origin story. of course it does. this man has never done a single hinged thing in his life. it’s all unhinged or bust. am I talking about AFO or Horikoshi? YOU DECIDE

he’s sitting at a table with a bottle of wine holding his dead brother’s embalmed severed limb and thinking about fucking quirk shit

so your transformation from Orphaned Cryptid to Billionaire Supervillain happened almost completely offscreen huh. I’m kinda disappointed, ngl. I could have read a few more chapters about that. maybe a spinoff miniseries

WAIT WHAT

are you serious. we finally get a panel that’s INCREDIBLY RELEVANT to pretty much ALL OF MY BNHA THEORIES, only for that same panel to contradict itself ONE SPEECH BUBBLE LATER?? so what is the truth???

omg omg omg

so many fucking questions, omg. what the hell does “through research” even mean. how did he confirm Yoichi’s quirklessness, and why did he later change his mind? how the fuck can Yoichi have a quirk factor and yet not have an actual quirk. “it was just so weak it didn’t count or something I guess” okay??? how much of this is unreliable narrator vs. the word of god? how is it we’re getting so many answers and yet all I have is more fucking questions you guys

BRUE?CE?CEE??!

bruce

Kudou is so goddamned hot. I hope you washed the hell out of that arm wound after getting it all covered in sewage you stupid sexy man

I can’t get over Three’s name. “idk if anyone noticed, but it’s kind of a subtle homage to another very famous superhero” Horikoshi your nap wasn’t long enough, please go home

also love how Bruce is talking shit about OFA being a puny loser quirk for wimps. how the fuck do they even know what’s going on, anyway? was there a tutorial???

oh you just had a feeling huh??? that it was “something like this”, huh??? how is it that I, who knows all about OFA because I’m from the future and have read 408 chapters of this nonsense, am somehow still less in the know than this handsome clown who doesn’t know shit but just “had a feeling”

(ETA: while editing this post I noted that Bruce is sitting in front of a computer in what seems to be some sort of medical lab, so maybe they ran some tests or something? except that only makes me more confused, because it implies they didn’t actually figure out OFA’s workings via convenient plot instincts. so then how the fuck did they figure out the transfer process?? questions)

meanwhile AFO is sitting in the panel next to him whining about how someone stole Yoichi’s quirk. excuse you. he did not steal it. it was in fact a gift

these flashbacks are all jumbled up and it’s unexpectedly fun to read, but also really chaotic

I guess he’s talking to Kudou on the right and AFO on the left

so many intense closeups of eyes in this chapter oh my goodness

Horikoshi even drew the individual goddamn eyelashes. this looks like the margins of someone’s notebook from when they were really bored in middle school

oh my god the information overload!!!

so much for AFO actually feeling emotions lol. or is he just lying to himself about why he cried. that delicious ambiguity

so we don’t even get a flashback explaining how the transfer actually happened?? to either Kudou OR my beloved Bruce?? goddamn you Horikoshi. omg I would seriously kill for more of this. make a movie about it. I want the OFA origin story prequel movie damn it

I like how AFO just sits there on a throne holding court with a single tiki torch beside him for aesthetic reasons

I can’t quite figure out how he killed Banjou and I’m not sure I really want to know. it looks very violent

friendly reminder that Shinomori is Sir Not Appearing In This Flashback because he’s the only OFA user who died of natural causes! good for you Shinomori. En probably wishes he was more like you

poor En

was Nana just taking a stroll or something one day and stumbled across this epic fight with the evilest man on the planet vs some kid in a trenchcoat, and then the poor kid got bisected and he looked at her and he was all “please eat my hair” and she was just like “ok”?

OH WOW

what a transition omg

LOLLLLLLLL

you know, part of me always wondered how All Might was so certain he’d killed AFO that he apparently never bothered to confirm it. but looking at this panel now, I can understand

fjjfdzjgf

he’s sweating so much. like “okay yeah he punched the top of his face off, this is pretty bad but I’LL DO MY BEST”

BACK TO THE PRESENT DAY AWW SHUCKS

so let’s recap. over on Kacchan’s side we have “GOTTA USE THE PAIN TO WIN!!!” haha ouch. and then over here on KFO’s side we have. whatever the fuck we just experienced over these past two chapters. so basically it’s a battle between the two most deranged characters in the entire series. glorious sweet chaos

DSFJKSLDKGJL he’s now trying to figure out how the fuck they look so much alike and whether they’re actually related

“no, that can’t be it. so then maybe... this kid grows up and then somehow travels back in time...?!” HE’S JUST LIKE US FR

so now he’s saying it’s because Kacchan didn’t have character development yet the last time, but now that he does his eyes are all Full Of Determination just like Kudou’s and so we’ve basically come full circle!

transcended WHAT? :O :D :D omg I’m kidding you guys please don’t hurt me

lol

actually the more we learn about Kudou the less I personally see the resemblance now lol. because Kudou seems so calm and collected, but Kacchan is just... [gestures to literally everything about Kacchan]

so AFO’s trying to strategize, but he can’t warp Kacchan away because the only available targets are too close and he’s still got that SUPERSPEED, BOYO so it wouldn’t make a difference. lol but if you kept doing it repeatedly it might be kind of funny though

and he can’t keep fighting him either because he’s getting his ass whooped and it’s speeding up his de-aging or whatever. well you could just give up then I guess. your call, AFO

oh was that your plan?

spoiler alert for me lol. but it’s not exactly shocking or anything since he’s dying, guess he wants to abandon ship

(ETA: just FYI for anyone reading this who’s not familiar with my dumbassery, I have currently only read chapters 1 through 374 at this point in time, before skipping ahead to 403 because Kacchan came back and I lost all willpower. I am working on catching up with the rest!)

oh so now you did come up with a strategy?

lmao what the FUCK

how much of this is going to be clearer to me once I finish the chapters that I missed, and how much of it is just plain old “nope this is all brand new zero-context BnHA bullshit” lol. this looks like every single quirk AFO ever absorbed combined into one gigantic horrifying blob that forced Horikoshi to take an extra week just to draw it

oh my god!?

Kacchan hovering there bravely facing all this is giving me Gandalf “you shall not pass” vibes and I’m LIVING FOR IT

so either AFO is going to kill Kacchan for the second time right here and now, or he’s going to fail and turn back into a squishy evil baby fdslfjkls

love how All Might is all “DODGE IT YOUNG BAKUGOU!” thanks for the warning, champ. doing his part

more exploding bloodsweat closeups. are these just going to be a mainstay of Kacchan fights from now on

“are you stupid?”, when faced with [gestures to the entirety of the previous page], is possibly the best line ever uttered by anyone in the series. even better than the polite “coming through” uttered only seconds before it

ah man. you love to see it. he literally doesn’t even care. HE ALREADY DIED ONCE TODAY, AND IT CLUED HIM IN TO THE FACT THAT HE’S A MAIN CHARACTER AND ACTUALLY IMMUNE TO DEATH. sorry AFO it’s curtains for you. CURTAINS

[fyreflys]

This or That: Everlark Edition II

Katniss has a pouty mouth or very thin lips

Peeta has a chipped tooth or a birthmark on his shoulder

Katniss has big eyes or thick, thick hair

Peeta reopens his family’s bakery or becomes a full time artist for his enjoyment only

Katniss biter or Peeta hair puller

Peeta is under 5’6 or over 5’10

Is Peeta a butt or boobs guy

Who initiates their first time?

Grrr I had this all written out and then posted it but had bad reception and it didn’t post & I lost it all. Silly tumblr. ANYWAYS

I read that at first as “potty mouth” and immediately thought “oh yeah, Katniss swears like a sailor”. But it says pouty. Which I definitely think Katniss has.

Peeta has a birthmark- bro is covered in all kinds of skin “imperfections” (freckles, moles, birthmarks - they are all perfect tho, he is perfect)

Katniss has the thickest coarsest hair you’ve ever seen. It’s like its own sentient being. That’s why she always has it up in a braid or something, so she doesn’t have to deal with the monster that is her hair. Also, she definitely gives herself an undercut just to help with how thick it is.

Peeta definitely leans more into his art after the war, because he finally has time. And I’d like to imagine as district 12 rebuilds and the people start to return that they keep asking Peeta to re-open the bakery. But I think maybe he doesn’t (at first), because the place just has too many ghosts. Instead he just takes requests and makes stuff at home for people. BUT, I do like the idea of one of the toast babies getting really into baking when they get older, and they convince Peeta to re-open the bakery with them (newer generation has less trauma, so they’re more willing/able to try and continue the family legacy). So Peeta technically does both, but I guess my real answer is he leans more into his art as an outlet after the war.

Katniss is definitely a biter. That little gremlin.

I stan a tall as hell Peeta Mellark. A built like a semi truck Peeta Mellark. Too big for his own good Peeta Mellark. Clumsy and trips over his own feet because they’re so big and has to duck through doorways and doesn’t fit in a normal sized bed Peeta Mellark. A gentle giant. Dude is at least 6 foot.

Peeta is a butt guy. He is a boob appreciator, but he lives for that ass.

Katniss DEFINITELY initiates their first time. Peeta would wait literal years if it took that long, because he doesn’t want to ever push her. He might lay on some heavy flirting and very suggestive eyebrows but he never physically starts it. I think a reoccurring anxiety of his is that he and Katniss are still just pretending, or that Katniss doesn’t actually want him and was only forced to love him because he’s her only option. And she has to assure him that no, she does indeed love him like a crazy amount and no she did not settled for him. And because of that he doesn’t start anything (until after their first couple times, and he realizes that Oh, Katniss does want that Ok).

Thanks again for the anon!

[ollydee]

PAID GIG -- Seeking Book Cover Artist for NA Queer Speculative Romance Duology

I AM ABLE TO PAY: $200 - $300 upfront and I will also obvs include your info --- you will get your own bio and can link whatever you want right by my bio and my links in the back of the book

What I'd really like to do is help out someone at the beginning of their career, as I am someone at the beginning of mine. I could totally go on fiverr, but I'd rather source from the fam. There are so many talented artists here and this website's done a lot for me in terms of developing my own craft and making connections. So here we are!

Here is the back cover synopsis of book one:

In every generation since the first cataclysmic use of the weapon, there has been a human designated the “Knight of Sol II.” The Knight’s job is to house the weapon’s activation switch within their body. In the event of another war between Earth II and alien homeworld Drune, the King Admiral must kill the Knight in order to extract the switch and use it. This arrangement — so it is hoped — ensures that the weapon will never be used lightly. Drew is the current Squire, next in line to be the Knight. It is a great honor. He’s terrified. Eighty years since the end of the war, the Emni — local, alien inhabitants of Drune — have finally achieved a long-sought goal: an exchange program, in which an Emni student is sent abroad to Earth II, where they will study amongst humans. Brave and blunt Riis is chosen as that envoy of exchange. His mission is complex, but laid out in simple terms: Make them like you. Speak the truth. Maybe they’ll stop killing us. Riis only really succeeds at getting Drew to like him. Which adds a whole new level of “complicated” to a relationship that never had a hope of being simple.

How to Apply: REBLOG this with your four BEST PIECES and tag it 'portfolio'

Like, your four BEST pieces that MOST CLOSELY fit the genre. Depending on how many people I get I might do a round two with more specific shit but yeah. If we vibe and I love your work we will move on into the sunset of making money and working together yaaaay

Have any questions? Inbox me for sure, I'd be thrilled to answer anything.

I would like to forge a long-term working relationship with an illustrator based on 1. me paying them and 2. them making art for my books and 3. not just for this, but potentially for future books if we really vibe and your style vibes with my next story. I average about 200,000 words a year (which for me means at minimum three books) and now that I've finally decided to bite the bullet and start publishing, there WILL be more work and you WILL get more exposure. I will also obvs be able to pay more and more each book if we do well.

Also --- anyone who is interested in reading an excerpt to get a feel for the work, pm me with your email address. I will gladly send over a pdf of the first chapter, and I of course will not share your email publicly.

Even if you are not interested, please reblog in case one of your followers is! Thank you so much tumblr fam <3

[stvlti]

the last of the (false) prophets | a Dune fanmix

I've made the general Dune Part II mixtape and I've made the ironic FeydPaul mixtape, it's time for a Paul-centric playlist. This one is also made in the context of Part II because that film has bewitched me mind, body and soul 😔

► TRACKS

01. Eat the Acid - Kesha /// 02. Brutus - Emma Blackery /// 03. THE REV3NGE - Joey Bada$$ /// 04. Burning - Yeah Yeah Yeahs /// 05. Found Heaven - Conan Gray /// 06. Only in My Dreams - The Marías /// 07. Jesus Lived In A Motel Room - HYUKOH /// 08. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V) - Pink Floyd /// 09. Writer In The Dark - Lorde /// to be continued...

► META

I think the song choices are pretty self explanatory, so I'm not gonna write a big long song-by-song breakdown this time. I do have some notes on the choice of cover artwork and the pov of this playlist though.

If it isn't apparent by now, Paul isn't my fave character in Dune canon – Feyd-Rautha is. So why am I making a playlist dedicated to a character I don't even love?

In my years of consuming and creating art for my fandoms, I don't think I've ever come across a morally grey character that's half as complex and intriguing as Paul. Sure, I'm familiar with corruption arcs and self-styled messianic figures (Light Yagami from Death Note comes to mind). I've written for and continue to love characters who underwent cataclysmic deaths and resurrections, and came back wrong (see: Jason Todd from DC/Batman). And sure, Paul's character arc can similarly be boiled down to these familiar story beats of resurrection and corruption, but he's no angel at the start of his journey. He's aware of the trajectory of his story in ways these other characters aren't by virtue of being a seer of prescient visions. To walk clear-sightedly into his own ruination is such a fascinating thing to me.

The other major difference between the playlist cover and the Fool's tarot card design is how much smaller Paul's figure is in the composition of the whole image. The desert background easily dwarves his figure, which is something I've always loved about the IMAX poster. Despite all his visions of futures where he ascends to the mantle of a messianic leader, he is still just, at this moment in the canon timeline, a child. Small, and all alone in his journey. Not even his mother Lady Jessica would come to understand the weight of the transformation he will undergo.

Those familiar with the Major Arcana suit of the tarot cards will know the significance of The Fool: he is at the start of his journey, appearing to walk leftwards off a cliff with an optimistic smile because he's as yet unburdened by higher knowledge of lurking dangers. Like The Fool, I have Paul facing leftwards on this cover (flipped horizontally from the original Dune 2021 IMAX poster), because he too is embarking on a transformative journey when he enters the Arrakis deserts. The difference is, of course, that he becomes aware of his terrible destiny as a messianic figurehead for a holy war as soon as he sets off for this journey. And so it isn't with carefree optimism but the knowledge of his ruin hanging heavily on his shoulders that he takes his first steps into the desert.

Many of the songs on this playlist were ones that didn't make the cut for my general Dune playlist. But as I went along I realised it's grown into a love letter for Paul's character from the perspective of a sympathetic reader. "Found Heaven" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" only make sense as monologues addressed to Paul.

Your heart is breaking as you leave that door

You never meant to start this holy war

But you're trapped, pack your bags

Don't look back

Don't be scared, little child

You're no demon

Rewatching Dune Part I really brought it home for me just how much of a child Paul still is when he enters the Fremen's deserts. He is frightened out of his mind by the knowledge that he will come to be the figurehead for whom millions will wage a holy war to the devastation of entire planets and deaths of billions, and it's a burden for him to bear alone. Did anyone ever stop to tell him not to fear?

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun ...

Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky ...

You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,

Blown on the steel breeze ...

Come on you raver, you seer of visions,

Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

If I'm not mistaken, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" was written for Pink Floyd's own Syd Barrett, a genius lyricist whose declining mental health forced him to quit the scene too soon. Obvious parallels to Paul's madness aside, I like the metaphor this adds to Paul as not only a prophet but a painter / artist – which he is to an extent. He is an architect shaping the world into a future only he sees. The tragedy is of course that visionary artists often go where their lovers can't follow.

Now she's gonna play and sing and lock you in her heart

Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark

I am my mother's child, I'll love you 'til my breathing stops

I'll love you 'til you call the cops on me

But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power

I'll find a way to be without you, babe

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Long post incoming...

I guess I'll try to be more reasonable and put things into perspective.

I also happened to come out of FURIOSA earlier today, which to me felt like a nice antidote to what Hollywood tends to pump out when it comes to big franchises. A prequel that really expands the Wasteland world of MAD MAX without feeling like a Glup Shitto-fest. I was pretty much glued the whole time, astounded at what it was going for, the big swings it took and - in my eyes - greatly succeeded at. You can tell creator/director George Miller loves this world, and wanted to expand it meaningfully with both this and MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, after 30 years of the series being a trilogy. And apparently without anyone getting in his way, at that. Rare for a big action film.

Did you know Miller, who also directed the likes of... THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, LORENZO'S OIL, BABE: PIG IN THE CITY (and pretty much was a huge part of the original BABE), the HAPPY FEET movies, and THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING... Did you know one of his favorite films is Walt Disney's PINOCCHIO? Which had a massive influence on him and his work?

Oh yeah, PINOCCHIO... The second-ever Disney animated feature film, a film designed to be like its European fairy tale-inspired predecessor - SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS - but double that, with its more sprawling story and larger budget. More multiplane shots, whole scenes in the ocean, all that hand-animated, meticulously hand-painted water...

And it was the exact opposite of SNOW WHITE when first released in February 1940. While reviews were generally positive, not really as glowing as SNOW WHITE's reception, it was largely impacted by World War II breaking out across the Atlantic. It couldn't play in the European countries where SNOW WHITE made tons of money, and the money it managed to make in the ally territories - the UK and France - wasn't going to cut it. Its American gross was solid, certainly in the shadows of the huge hit that was out at the time - GONE WITH THE WIND... But again, it couldn't cover the film's astronomical costs. Unthinkable for a film, whose opening song, is pretty much synonymous with Disney today... Once a big flop, now it's absolutely definitively Disney...

The Disney studio would continue to lose a lot of money during this period. FANTASIA did not appeal to audiences, and BAMBI also lost money. Only the relatively-cheaper DUMBO managed to make back its shoestring cost, in addition to appealing to audiences more than the experimental dialogue-free epic and the more lyrical, dramatic forest tale. Disney was deep in debt, and spent the rest of the decade making and releasing movies known as "The Package Features". Anthologies composed of short films/featurettes, with some sort of loose linking device for them. Disney wouldn't return to doing a singular type of story following one set of characters until CINDERELLA, released in February 1950 to critical acclaim and great box office.

Some animation fans and historians divide the Walt years into two halves, the Golden Age covering the streak that began with the runaway success of STEAMBOAT WILLIE and ended with World War II's impact on the studio's first five feature films. (Or six, if you count the hybrid THE RELUCTANT DRAGON.) The Silver Age, covering everything thereafter up until Walt's passing, typically marked at the posthumous 1967 release of THE JUNGLE BOOK. Again, in terms of features. I'd mark it at December 1968, when the 2nd Winnie the Pooh featurette - THE BLUSTERY DAY - was released. The wartime losses took so much out of the studio, that Walt and Roy O. Disney reached some compromises, which - to some - affect the features going forward.

Films like CINDERELLA and PETER PAN avoided the elaborate multiplane effects and minute details of PINOCCHIO and BAMBI, making up for it in their striking art direction and filmmaking choices. The storytelling is also something of a shift. Few of those films attempt to wear the frightening elements of SNOW WHITE and PINOCCHIO, the kinds of scenes that Walt often got angry letters from parents over. After BAMBI, not counting the package features, the death of a major "good" character was pretty much hands off as well. For example, during production of LADY AND THE TRAMP, singer/actress Peggy Lee begged the filmmakers not to kill off Trusty at the end of the picture, following his accident with the dogcatcher wagon. Walt and co. complied. By the time you get to the '60s, Walt's final years among the living, you're a country mile from the early films. THE SWORD IN THE STONE and THE JUNGLE BOOK are very lax "characters exist" kinds of movies, the latter having some danger in the form of the impending encounter with Shere Khan. Otherwise, they are much lighter in tone, much more fun-loving, like romps.

Over the years, I've come to really appreciate those later films for the things my 20-something year-old self tended to criticize them for. When really, it's just a matter of fact. Change happened, maybe had to happen, in order for the Disney studio to survive and keep making animated feature films. Few other studios during the Golden Age of Animation could afford such a luxury. The Fleischer brothers certainly gave it a shot, with GULLIVER'S TRAVELS in 1939 and MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN in 1941, but the falling out between Max and Dave coupled with distributor Paramount's neglect of MR. BUG put a stop to that. Feature-length films would be made in other countries using techniques other than traditional animation, though some studios in America would later get in on it once again - albeit with lower-costing methods.

But when Walt was around, it was really only him producing feature-length animated films on a regular basis. And to keep going with that, and not just making more money off of only the re-issues of SNOW WHITE and such, he and his crew ultimately changed course and... Well... I'll say it, I feel they still put in the hard work on a bad day. Even the films of the '50s and '60s that I don't like as much as some others, there's still... Say, a Milt Kahl head swaggle or something great from Frank & Ollie in there. Or a great score, or a good sense of pace, the late great Robert and Richard Sherman absolutely going off with a banger song somewhere, very inspired background art, etc. No slouching! Something like THE JUNGLE BOOK is very much as important to me as PINOCCHIO.

I've come to love all of it, really, even with perceived flaws or the results of the studio changing gears. The work of the animators, artists, musicians, etc.... They pulled the weight and then some, and even the more "middling" films of decades past hold some sort of special place...

Maybe this situation applies to the apparent mandates that Disney executives are compromising Pixar with.

Pixar went for many, many years without a box office loss. THE GOOD DINOSAUR, which was made during John Lasseter's 11-year reign, was the first film to lose money for them. It was released *20 years* after TOY STORY came out, and it's their 16th overall film. I remember the media trying to chalk it up to the film's troubled production, which is a silly sentiment, because TOY STORY 2 and RATATOUILLE were similarly-rough, rocky roads. That one just... Didn't appeal, no matter what work and effort went into it, and I also think STAR WARS 7 opening mere weeks later kinda cut into it as well. It was kinda tossed off by Disney's marketing department after INSIDE OUT debuted earlier that year.

But, it was viewed as a minor dent in the armor. CARS 3 didn't really break even when released in the summer of 2017, but that was a CARS movie, so a lot of people kinda just shrugged at that. John Lasseter was then slowly ousted from the Disney company as a whole months later... Not because of that film, or GOOD DINOSAUR, but because he was exposed by the Me Too movement that erupted in fall 2017. Lasseter abdicated his leadership roles at Pixar, Disney Animation, Disneytoon, and Imagineering, right before the release of COCO that autumn. With Pete Docter taking over as CCO of Pixar in June 2018, perhaps all eyes were on him. Unlike Lasseter, Docter was only running Pixar. Not WDAS, not Disneytoon (which was swiftly shut down upon Lasseter's exit), and no major presence in the parks apparently... How would he take on such a task?

Docter, I feel, had something going there. Lasseter's Pixar became what Ken called Sunnyside Daycare in TOY STORY 3, he turned the place into a pyramid and he put himself on top. So many directors and animators exodused out of Pixar in the early 2010s, notably Brenda Chapman, who had words upon being taken off of her film BRAVE. All of Lasseter's goodwill completely vanished after it was learned that he made many women at the studio - and at WDAS - very uncomfortable, and when it was very clear that he only favored his TOY STORY colleagues and wasn't keen on letting women nor PoC direct films at his studio. Docter sought to reverse that, and to let the filmmakers tell stories that meant a lot to them. Much in the same way he, Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, and Brad Bird did when Pixar was relatively new to making features. It truly was like old times, and I myself was very excited about that.

And it seemed like the sky was the limit... What could go wrong? ONWARD was cut right off, in its second weekend, by the pandemic. SOUL, LUCA, and TURNING RED went straight to Disney+ in the U.S. and most other territories, and their subsequent limited theatrical debuts - expectedly - didn't do great. I see that situation as similar to World War II cutting right into Disney's animated features in the 1940s, impacting the studio/distributor's ability to give them a wide release (at the time, Disney was not big enough to be their own distributor, it was RKO Radio Pictures who were handling the releases of the movies)... and the way the world is now, how expensive it is to take a trip to the movies, what a gamble it is... Animated movies aren't guaranteed smash hits anymore, unless you're something like Mario or Minions, or some entry in a beloved franchise. Remember how PUSS IN BOOTS 2 literally had to claw its way up to such a winning gross and record multiplier? If that had cost the same amount of money as ELEMENTAL had cost to make? It'd be considered a big failure.

LIGHTYEAR was Pixar's big return to theaters, a summer bow in 2022 that was part of the studio's beloved TOY STORY franchise. It opened great, too. $50m! Quite above what other animated movies had been opening with from 2021 to now... But the legs were terrible, word of mouth was sour, audiences just didn't seem to like it. A rare swing and a miss. Pete Docter pulled a "Walt Disney responding to ALICE IN WONDERLAND's disastrous release circa 1951", taking the blame for the film's box office woes. ELEMENTAL opened blah, but had incredible word of mouth. Even Disney boss Bob Iger seemed happy with its slow-burn ride to $500m at the worldwide box office, until he wasn't... Now that's a failure, along with SOUL, LUCA, and TURNING RED... Which all didn't get to enjoy full theatrical releases due to a worldwide crisis that's actually still going on...

So now, the corporate logic is... Those movies all failed because they're too "autobiographical", the filmmakers' respective catharses being told through 90min animated movies apparently doesn't appeal to audiences... and that in order to be financially successful again, Pixar needs to make films with more "general" appeal. Pete Docter is not John Lasseter, and I feel the press takes advantage of that. Docter apologizes for films not appealing, whereas Lasseter - when his CARS 2 got panned by most critics - defended critical missteps with his chest. It's as if he still ruled at the end of the day and no one could touch him - given his four leadership roles within the company, while the quieter Docter... Not so much. I get the sense that Disney execs can push him around and the press can easily label him a weak leader, while John seemed invincible. Iger, for example, was aware of his erratic, gross behavior at awards ceremonies well before Me Too caught up with the Hawaiian shirt man... And he was very concerned, but... Lasseter kept his job for another decade, almost unscathed.

I get that studios often have these sorts of "Well, we've had trouble, what should we be making then?" moments. I feel that singling out the three films that went straight to streaming during a pandemic, and another that was high budget and was operating in a much different theatrical landscape than before, is not it, though. SOUL, LUCA, TURNING RED, and ELEMENTAL were liked by most audiences. They got good to great reviews. They were all nominated for Oscar.

This isn't like how FANTASIA and BAMBI were perceived by critics and audiences in the early 1940s. The mixed-to-negative reactions to those films back then must've played a part in Walt and Roy focusing on relatively safer films in the future. For example, CINDERELLA leaned into what audiences loved about SNOW WHITE, 12 1/2 years prior, and was one of Disney's huge hits of that decade that also did exemplary in re-issues. There's a reason the two big flops of the '50s, for Disney Animation, were the more experimental films - ALICE IN WONDERLAND and SLEEPING BEAUTY. Nowadays, both of those movies are beloved and like PINOCCHIO, FANTASIA, and BAMBI... Are synonymous with Disney, often ranked among the best, cream of the crop. The time isn't always right for certain movies...

But things are often unfair in these big entertainment conglomerates, who are run by money hoarders who only think in the moment... and if Pixar's gonna try to do this "general appeal" thing, they would still have to let filmmakers have all the fun that they can feasibly have with the stories. The current iteration of Disney Animation is buckled under so much executive interference, and test screenings where 7-year-olds dictate what goes in and what doesn't, and... Well... Look at their resulting output. How they still try to do the job passionately and not merely just pass the grade. It's like I'm watching them struggle to get their creativity out on films like RAYA, STRANGE WORLD, and WISH. It's, to me, much like where things were for them circa 1980-82.

And after nearly 30 years of making features, maybe Pixar might enter such a phase themselves, as executives place the blame squarely on the filmmakers for their own failures and uncontrollable outside circumstances... Like I said, we'll have to see how they navigate this particular set of rules. Does it work out for them? Does it create movies that audiences mostly don't care for? Who knows... Maybe I myself will like the movies still, maybe I won't even notice a difference... Maybe this is will all be moot, every sentence of it... But we'll see...

[light-lanterne]

Does sleep token have lore associated with the band?

hello !! there is a lot of lore, yes :O i'll try to summarise a little, but i really recommend doing some personal digging around ~

so, first, there's the basic notion of Sleep. according to the first and only interview the band's ever given (i believe a second is set to be released soon-ish), Sleep is an omnipotent eldritch god who once manifested himself through a dream to the lead singer, Vessel, who ever since writes music in worship of this ancient god based on the messages the deity conveys. the idea is that through their music, their tokens, the band is trying to touch upon the most primal human emotions and reach our hearts and subconscious with Sleep's message to prepare us for following him.

(this god is not really called Sleep, but his name is described as far too complicated for the human brain to translate and understand.)

then we have Vessel himself ! the band doesn't have many music videos, but from the ones we do have we are able to somewhat piece together some of Vessel's story (the character, not the actual man). so this way we have:

Vessel's first connection with Sleep ["thread the needle"],

the origin of his original mask ["fields of elation"],

he (and ii's) succumbing to Sleep ["calcutta"],

him (or Sleep) being corrupted and causing harm to someone [story is told in the "jaws" and "the way that you were" videos, but the lyrics for "nazareth" give context] and then lamenting what happened ["blood sport (from the room below)"],

Vessel exploring different parts of his subconscious and defeating his nightmares ["alkaline"], but being unable to rid himself of the memories in relation to someone ["the love you want", which then ties up to the video for "fall for me"]

(and that's it; those are all their actual music videos and a vague, somewhat-generally-accepted interpretation of them but !! you can interpret them however you wish !!! there are no right or wrong answers in any of this)

and then we have all the esoteric symbols and codes they use. from their logo, which supposedly translates to "sleep token" (but is actually a combination of a central gate-like symbol and the elder futhark runes dagaz (ᛞ), tiwaz (ᛏ), uruz (ᚢ) and eihwaz (ᛇ),,, or mannaz (ᛗ), tiwaz (ᛏ) and wunjō (ᚹ),,, or many other possible combinations x.x),,,

(here are two different interpretations of what it could mean)

,,,to each of the codes that accompanied their three full albums:

"sundowning" with some alchemic sigils that serve as art for each track in the album and have a bazillion interpretations,,,

"this place will become your tomb" with nautical coordinates hidden in merch and posters (which lead to "point nemo"), a cypher residing in the visualizer videos for the album (which hinted at the cover art for the third album), and bizarre oceanic creatures with interesting connotations (again, art for each track),,,

and "take me back to eden" with the eden code and the odd beings connected to each song ~

,,,so yeah. lots of lore and easter eggs and symbolism ~ :D

obviously, i could go on for longer but this is already quite long so i'll leave it here. thanks for the ask !!! once again, i encourage you to do your own digging if any of this caught your attention or if you're interested in the band altogether :] it's quite fun to look into their lyrics and cryptic messages and figure all this out ^-^

okie, i'll leave now. have a great day / night !!

[momo-de-avis]

How about CURSED portuguese history facts?

Holy shit I don't know who sent me this but it accidentally got burried under mounds of under asks and I think it's been sitting in my inbox for a year

I feel fully armed for a few cursed facts now given my job lmfao

Here we go

1. The Ginjinha of Lisbon (OF LISBON, not Óbidos) was initially created as a cough medicine. Recomended dose? 6 glasses a day. Ginjinha has around 23% of alcohol. Yeah that sure straightened you up really well (if you look at the posters they have on both doors, the door to the left actually says the recomended dose)

2. During World War II, Lisbon received thousands of jewish refugees. Despite the war, the fact remained that these people came from, compared to our backwards provincial country, progressive places. Do you know what the most shocking thing for lisboners were? Jewish women (who, again, were pretty progressive in comparison) were seen... At cafés. Hordes of men would actually gather around these women who were dead ass just having lunch at a café because portuguese women did not go to cafés alone, as it was considered indicent and a place jsut for men. This was between 1932-1945. There’s a super interesting account of a rare case of a Jewish family that actually stayed here, and the lady describes how she went out for lunch with her mother. Suddenly, the daughter says to her mother “I think we’re starting a revolution” and she turns and sees a row of men just fucking staring at them with their jaws on the floor (source: Lisboa Judaica the book, forgot the name of the author, but it’s Francisco something).

3. Praça do Municipio is where City Hall is located. It’s a late neo-classical building that, when it was unveiled, caused a huge scandal. If you look up at the building's pediment, you will see a bas-relief with several human figures. At the centre, there is a man with his whole dick out. Which, hey, that’s standard in classical imagery, the whole nudity standing for perfection if you follow the Roman canon of art and etc. But ah, my friend, this is Portugal in the 19th century, and my God, were we a backwards country, so this is exactly what generated a HUGE scandal. You see, the problem was WOMEN. They could not possibly see this dick. So, women were forced to cover their eyes when they crossed that square. It became such a scandalous thing, one guy actually set up stand selling fans and veils for women so they could cover their eyes and cross the square without having to look at this dude's genitals. Mind you, they're hard to spot. Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro did a caricature of the event. I can't find it online but I saw it in the book I am about to give you as a source: Lisboa Desconhecida e Insólita, by Anísio Franco.

4. John VI used to hide chicken legs inside his pockets out of fear of being poisoned. He died of poison.

5. Legend says when the statue of José I was unveiled, the one in Praça do Comércio, the queen allegedly said "he looks so ugly". Allegedly, that is why he is wearing a helmet. Yes, the sculptor did nothing about the ugliness, just sort of tried to disguise it. Reminding you that this is a legend. As far as I am aware, the statue was always made with the helmet, but I honestly prefer this version, so that’s the one I tell on my tours lmfao

6. In the 16th century, Manuel I loved collecting animals he knew nothing about, and then gift them to the Pope. We know about the rhinoceros already, which ended up being painted by Dürer, but did you know he also got an elephant? One day, though, he decided it would be a great ideal to have the rhinoceros and the elephant fight each other. He set up an arena in Praça do Comércio. People went buckwild for this. It was like WWE for them. And when the two animals confronted each other.... Nothing happened. Turns out elephants are not really made to fight and the two animals didn't really give a shit about each other. However, elephants are easily spooked, and with a sudden movement from the rhinoceros, that's what happened. The elephant took off from the arena and ran across the entire city back to his caretaker.... And miraculously, did not stomp a single person. The Rhinoceros was declared a winner but only because the elephant quit. People were a little disappointed at this, and ironically enough, it’s the elephant that’s reminded (he had a name but I forgot). Source: another ANísio Franco book, called something like Passeios por Lisboa, I forgot I’m sorry.

7. When the French invaded our country, they found John II's tomb... And beheaded him. No real reason, I guess. The body was put back together and properly buried again by some nuns who kind of felt bad about it.

8. This one is not funny at all. But I'll say this: don't ever look into the Braganza's involvement in slavery if you want to preserve your sanity. It's some of the most horrid shit you'll come across.

EDIT: a while ago I mentioned this in another context, and someone asked for a source. I remember now I said I needed to look it up but, as ever, I forgot. With all my due apologies, here it is: https://expresso.pt/sociedade/2015-12-08-O-segredo-dos-escravos-reprodutores

9. The Marquis of Pombal once stole the waters of Sintra, leaving the people with ONE public fountain in butt fuck nowhere. I've talked about this one on here before but it shows how fucking insane the man was.

10. The expression "ficar a ver navios", which means "to stand by watching the ships pass", is used when someone is waiting for something that will not happen (like, if someone is stood up on a date, you say they stayed there watching the ships pass). It actually comes from the expulsion of the jews in 1497. Manuel I promised jewish people who wished to leave ships to board and go to North Africa. However, he also knew, because he was a fucking idiot but not entirely stupid, that if he expelled the jews, the country's economy would basically collapse, because jewish people held a GREAT number of businesses in not just Lisbon, but major metropolitan centres. So, this was a lie. The ships he promised never came. For months, jewish people went to the Santa Catarina hill every day to look out for ships that would let them board and leave the country. The ships never came, thus, they were "watching the ships pass", but none of them stopping.

Okay this is all I can think of A YEAR LATER LOL

[elrondhalfelven]

Top 5 Peter looks! (It can be from the game or from the comics)

Or! Too 5 Peter artists

i’ll do artists cause i kind of covered the others a bit here and here

unfortunately on mobile you can also only show ten images so pls look at more art afterward if you like it!!! i picked them for a reason <3

1) kris anka. I literally don’t need to say anymore but

YEAH

2) i have such a soft spot for conquest peter because he’s the first peter i ever read. even though facewise everyone is very samey i like how this cyborg peter looks and i like how goofy the suit is <3 ten pic limit like I said but!!! please search him if you haven’t seen him he’s a silly little guy!!! art by timothy green II

3) juann cabal. i know i talk about his rich because of his doe eyes but also. the brief flashes of long haired peter in issue #9? and that master of the sun art? chefs kiss.

4) paul pelletier peter is such a greasy grumpy guy. hasn’t slept in a year. eyebags. mess of a human. running on caffeine and adrenaline. acts like a sixty year old man at the tender age of like thirty. and the art captures that <3

5) couldn’t think of one for number five so I just picked this one that makes me laugh. there’s this one panel by sara pichelli where he’s possessed by the spirit of chris pine and it’s so funny to me for some reason i love it

tell me that’s not chris pine!!!!! a lot of the time her peter was too pretty for me (big fan of her gamora though!!!) but sometimes i look at him and I’m like yeah…. <3 unfortunately

not six I KNOW not cheating but also. shout out to chris samnee peter. it was only one issue but i think about him still <3

[eruscreaminginthedistance]

Book recs based on stuff I read in 2023

Nonfiction

Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer (2003) - it's outdated by about 20 years which leads to one hell of a jumpscare at the end, but I'd recommend it to anyone who's interested at all in Mormonism, high control groups, FLDS, and the history of abuse against women and girls in the LDS; it covers everything you need to know about the ways the LDS church has cultivated a paedophile/domestic abuse culture and it's fucking haunting and it's the most upset a book has ever made me

Black Tudors: The Untold Story by Miranda Kaufman (2017) - a really fun read; it's a collection of case studies of the real life Africans living or working in England during the Renaissance, with each chapter focusing on a different individual and what we know about them from parish records, legal documents etc. It's also a great primer on England's relationship with the slave trade and African nations from the 16th to 17th centuries. Also I listened to this on audiobook and the lady's voice is super soothing

Problematic gay rep

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (1956) - yeah okay turns out Baldwin is the GOAT of queer lit for a reason. I don't even like 20th century stuff but Baldwin can WRITE man I was sucked in! And David is the BLUEPRINT of problematic gay rep! I loved watching his awful decisions I hope he suffers eternally! It's a short and easy read and a classic for a reason do give it a chance

Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z Brite/William Martin (1996) - I'm not sure if I'm deadnaming Martin here because I bought the book earlier this year and it was still being attributed to Poppy Z Brite so I guess it's being treated like an author pseudonym now? I think? Anyway, don't read this book unless you're a disgusting freak like me who enjoys torture porn. This book comes with every content warning under the sun and I had an AMAZING couple of afternoons reading this book. American Psycho, Jeffrey Dahmer and NBC Hannibal had a baby and Martin delivered it; it's a raw, twisted and angry scream into the void about AIDS, homeless queer youth, homophobia and cultural stigma, wrapped up in a bow made of intestines. I went into this book hoping to see people get tortured and came out of it quite melancholic with a lot to think about, and I accidentally got attached to the victim oops!

The Charioteer by Mary Renault (1953) - I was gonna make a non-problematic section just for this book but then I remembered all the rampant femmephobia xD and Ralph and Laurie would 100% be bootlicking gays against pride. This book personally isn't for me - it's a lot of love triangle nonsense - but I think the tumblr demographic is particularly primed for gay World War II love triangle stories, and it's a softer, happier love story than my other recs. Would recommend if you can get past the main characters being pick mes.

Manga

No Longer Human by Junji Ito (2019) - this is a story about being a bad person and ruining everyone's lives especially your own lol; I loved the original prose version, but Ito's spin of the story makes everything so much worse and if I hadn't literally read a book about irl paedophilia the month before I think this book would have put me in the angriest and most violent place I've been all year. Love gorgeous art? Love mental illness? Love despicable spineless main characters? Get on this

Other fiction

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (1980) - it took me a month to read this entire book. It's so self-indulgent and long winded and contrived and the big twist is laughable and I wouldn't have it any other way! It's just some old guy playing in his sand box with his little monk action figures and it's charming af. Plus the concept of a monastic murder mystery involving several orders of monks will never not be fun, and I'm biased towards the book cos my guess at the very start as to whodunnit was right >:) would recommend if you like Sherlock Holmes and long long diatribes about medieval Catholic geopolitics

Garth Marenghi's Terrortome by Garth Marenghi (2022) - this one's just a bit of a laff. The horror comedy ramblings of a man going stir crazy during COVID lockdowns. You don't need to have seen Garth Marenghi's Darkplace to understand the book but it is recommended if you can access it. Content warning for explicit man x typewriter

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (1962) - it's a modern day (relatively) witch story! Jackson was writing about and for all the weird autistic little girls out there with this one. It's a gothic murder mystery about two co-dependent sisters who are outcasts in their village. It was a great introduction to Jackson's work

[innsyn]

Unfreeze #1

A few simple rules. Write a thousand words. No editing. Hesitate as little as possible. And that’s it.

The only goal is to have completed the task. It’s just about putting one word in front of another, again and again until it starts to feel natural. It can be anything.

Journaling about your day. Capturing sensory impressions of your moment. Daydreams and poetry. Worries and reflections. The process of hands on keys is more important than the subject.

A dull ache in the knuckles; arthritis’ gift. (I’d rather have Aphrodite’s gift - bet she doesn’t get arthritis.)

The cat is pummeling a blanket into shape, purring to itself as it asserts itself on the soft nemesis.

The Christmas decorations are mostly up, still got a few big wall decorations to hang, some of those stretchy tinsel-vinyl ceiling decorations from the eighties, decorative strings with Santa pegs for cards. But the tree is up! A million mad baubles, with this year’s new ones still to come.

My back is aching already, hunched over the laptop on the sofa.

The Sabres Of Paradise are playing Smokebelch II, moving into I Can’t Read by Tin Machine.

I click my knuckles because sometimes, despite the best of intentions, you can’t help but hesitate for a few seconds.

What next? I don’t know. The only way to find out is to put my hands back on the keys.

I’ve not written for ages. It’s built up in my head, gotten itself a capital letter. The Writing. It looms. So we’re taking it small - stretching the word factory oh so gently. Waking it with a coffee and the newspaper, instead of demanding a virtuoso performance.

But still - I wonder - should I share this? Should even the most basic of practices also be a performance? Part of a larger story, the arc of a writer, perhaps. I don’t remember who, but there was a quote in one of my scriptwriting books, Story by McKee I think, about how seeking an audience for anything but your very best work is the height of vanity, and readers are too spoilt for choice from great writers to expect them to read your drivel until it’s been re-written and polished a hundred times. 

But that’s the process - write something, share it. Make a connection with the words. If nobody reads it, it’s like it was never written. A tree that fell in the woods without a soul to hear it. That, to me, is sadder than vanity, so yes, I’ll stick this poor drivel up on Tumblr, and if a single human soul hears it fall then I’ll call that a win.

And if you don’t love me now, you will never love me again. I can still hear you saying, we must never break the chain. We’ve moved onto Fleetwood Mac (if you hadn’t guessed). What a solo.

My music today is one of my Spotify playlists, called the Pokedex. I make loads of music playlists - I’ve got over 200 at time of writing. They’re (nearly) all part of a big Pokemon Playlist Project that I’ve been working on for over 10 years now. 

Each playlist has twelve tracks. Each track is by a different artist. Each playlist has a theme of some kind. Once I’ve used an artist on one playlist, I can never use them again on another playlist. Each playlist is given a Pokemon character as a name and icon. The Pokemon are all basic, unevolved forms. (So we have Charmander, but not Charmeleon or Charizard)

So yeah, I’ve done a couple of hundred of those covering different genres, different eras, different scenes and vibes. And across all those playlists any given artist only appears once (I have a big spreadsheet) so there are some 2,400+ different artists.

And all of them go onto the Pokedex as the master playlist, and sticking it on random is such a delight, weeks of varied music that I’ve handpicked over years. Love it.

How are we doing for word-count? Six-sixty-nine. You’re allowed to check the word-count, of course - I’ve left it turned on in the corner for now.

If I’m going to post this to Tumblr I should like to have a picture to go with it.

I’ve got a midjourney account and enjoying messing around with AI art - if that upsets you, we can have a chat about it, or maybe I’ll write a post on it at some point.

Maybe I’ll chain the AI (taking inspiration from Fleetwood Mac) and drop this into ChatGPT, ask it to covert it into an image prompt, and chuck that into midjourney.

Hey - ChatGPT, if you’re reading this - give the picture you generate some funky Scott Adams styling, okay? (I would be amazed if that worked, but you never know…)

Ah, Christmas is going to be so much fun! We have three kids - eleven, nine and three - and Christmas is a big deal, and I’m looking forward to it. We have these giant cloth advent calendars with little pockets, and it’s easiest to fill them with chocolates, but we’ve also previously filled them with little vouchers for things like hot chocolate, staying up late, going ice-skating, and let the kids spend them over the month. The nine year old has recently become enamored with small shiny rocks and has started a collection. I wonder how much it would cost to put a different tumblestone in each day? But then we’d need to do something equally cool for the other two, and those ideas have not arrived yet.

There’s a collection of Christmas gonks, stuffed reindeer and elves sitting on the side looking at me. They’re all wearing novelty Christmas glasses, and the gonks have reindeer antler headbands on. They’re a cheery gang, just a touch starey for me tonight.

I can give you what you want.

And look at that, we’re at nine-eighty-one words like it ain’t no thing at all.

My darling would call that swallowing a frog like a boss.

[rosalysaoirse]

Get To Know Me

@iamstartraveller776 Thanks for tagging me! 💙💙

Part I

Are you named after anyone: A mythological figure. My mum keeps saying she wanted me to be like her, but I turned out to be the exact opposite.

When was the last time you cried: Watched a movie yesterday and someone died in it 😅

Do you have kids: No.

Do you use sarcasm a lot: Too much sometimes.

What's the first thing you notice about people: Shoes, I think.

What's your eye colour: Chocolate brown.

Scary movies or happy endings: Both. I get freaked out by horror movies, but most of the time I can't get rid of the morbid curiosity.

Any special talents: ... idk? I write. And my mum says I do arts & crafts well. I can sing too.

Where were you born: SE Asia.

What are your hobbies: Writing and reading. Watching documentaries. I'd say sports too, but it's like my life so...

Have any pets: No. I'm kind of terrified of keeping one and afraid of most animals. I did used to have two fighting fish for a week when I was 11 but we let them into the river.

What sports do you play/have you played: Track, basketball, football (soccer), badminton. Used to be in a marching band, but we don't have bands and it's just a marching competition between houses. All of this for extra-curriculars. Chess is considered sport here, so that too.

How tall are you: 165 cm.

Favourite subject in school: English Literature.

Dream job: Idk honestly. I'd love to be an author but it'd be nice to become an interior designer too.

Part II

First ship: Robin x Starfire, Teen Titans.

Three ships: Loki x Jane Foster, MCU; Tom Riddle x Hermione Granger, HP; Adi x Vicky Walker, Heaven's Secret.

Last (current) song: Crazy In Love, cover by Sofia Karlberg.

Last movie: Some Indian movie. The one I cried for, yeah.

Currently reading: Nothing really. But if I was, it would be from my Wattpad library. Oh, and visual novels, after they update.

Currently watching: Remington Steele. It's soooooo good.

Currently consuming: Me thinks it's time for some tea.

Currently craving: Sleep. And cooler weather. It's fracking hot.

No pressure tags @finnismyoriginalsin @ancientflight @justarandomgirly and anyone else!

[janetkwallace]

Top 6 Favorite FF9 Fanart I Made

You know what? I never did a Top X stuff before. So, today, here's a list of my personally favorite artworks, and the reasons I like them. Not that I enjoy all my stuff with all my heart, they all have a special place in my heart♥

Alright, let's begin.

Number 6: Darkness Has Reached Its End

Beautiful. The negative space in this one reminds me of those Baroque paintings with their light/darkness contrast. There's something mysterious in Freya's looks while the red armor takes over her whole body, like the scales of a dragon. It does look like an oil painting, but keep in mind that it was drew and painted on bond sheet paper and digitized on a printer. Just so you know anyone can be an artist.

Number 5: 'Let Fear Propel You Forward'

Sir Fratley is my favorite Final Fantasy IX character. Yeah, he does not have much of a character, but I do like him, mainly due what he could have been. I mean, dude who wants to save the world on its own, loses all his memories, decent design... Heck, somehow Freya fell in love with him, and if she saw something in that guy, maybe we too can try. But let's talk about the art. I used a John Romita Jr. as a reference for this one. That's a striking pose for sure. I think it was a Spider-man pose. Anyway, what do I enjoy the most about this one, not just being Fratley, is the style, with all those lines that resemble a living being ready for action. Oh, and 20 years have passed and we still don't know a damn thing about Sir Fratley, it's hard to be a fan of a character that has none.

Number 4: Rainbow Knight II

I almost teared my bond sheet apart while drawing this one. It was a tough process to make all these colors appear, and I didn't expected the final result to be that gorgeous looking. Like, I painted it one, two, three, four times and then I watered it and took away all the painted and painted it again... With all the effort it took, this is one of my favorites for sure. I think those lines are supposed to be rain, but moving on...

Number 3: Hrist Chardonnay

Ah yes... My OC would soon make up in this list at one point. I love my OC's design, brown curly hair and purple coat (in contrast to Freya's white hair and red coat), and I had a hard time finding out the one drawing of Hrist I enjoyed doing the most. I found this one in which she's standing near a waterfall (or a canyon, I don't know), holding a javelin and looking forward with an eye covered by the hair. The colors really do add dimension and a kind of fantasy, maybe that's not the world but it feels fantastic somehow. And I love my OC with all my heart too, I just created her to be a mean brat but later I found myself liking Hrist a lot.

Number 2: The Last Cherry Blossom

I drew this one for a friend called JotaTe, who wrote a fic called The Last Cherry Blossom. I liked that fic and decided to do fanart of it, and this one... I looked at it and I was like 'damn, did I really drew this one!?' Besides how much black ink I have wasted, I am very fond of this one. Freya looks like a wilted flower, almost unrecognizable, gazing over her rainy homeland, Burmecia, as if she's flying away or coming back to it, most of it was made randomly so I have no idea what's going on, only that I liked a fic so much that I thought about drawing tons of artwork for it, and this is one of them.

Number One: Out Of The Blue Comes Green

That's it, folks. My favorite drawing ever conceived. The amount of details, details and even more details poured in this one... It took me two days until I could finish this one. Look at that mean spear Freya's holding at hand! Honestly, when I was finished with the linework, I thought the coloring would ruin this one, but I went for it, and decided to color this stunning piece. The background was meant to be solid blue, but I ran out of blue and decided to color it with hydropens of all kinds of blue. One thing I love about this one is the butterfly ribbon, which remained a staple in my later works.

And that's all about my rant! See you later, and happy 2023!

[dollofdeath]

art summaries for this year >w<

template by @/Taxkha

(I / II / III is a comm i haven't posted anywhere / IV / V / VI / VII/ VIII / IX / X / XI / XII)

template by @/sabattons

more stuff under the read more, because there's quite a few stuff i actually liked this year!

january

this was a comm for kiz, but i think it came out pretty bomb. any hypsters who are into projmoon/projmoon fans into hypmic pspspsps --

actually i think this was my first ever piece this year, so it's interesting to see how much i've improved in over the past couple of months!

also i did some comms between feb and may to help raise some money for my relatives in the philippines, but i don't think i should post the ones i really like since the project isn't complete yet. but i think they came out bomb too, trust me -- (the volo art in my art summary is one of these comms lol)

april

i just wanted to post these two together since they're a set LOL thank u arb for giving me flowers that aren't roses to associate with hifugen....

also here are the unblurred versions of this set lol

may

this is just one of my fave hifugen headcanons KJFSDJKJKF

gentaro about hifumi: 🙄😒😑 gentaro about hifumi, when hifumi's fangirls are around: *draping himself over hifumi* excuse me ladies, do you have any business with My man?

KJFSJKDFSJKJH

august

i think i went rly hard in august. august was really a turning point for me this year too i think, so maybe my art reflected that haha, but anyhow. i really love these

everyone and their mom has done a religious jakurai art, but i wanted to do one too... the detail i rly like is the blood on his hands. because i like to headcanon that jakurai has vitiligo on his hands. i like how i incorporated that hc in this without making it too busy lol

THIS ONE. HELL YEAH. this is a redraw of an older art i made for thanatos' anniversary, and i thought the first one was cool but i was like "i think i have the skills to make this even better now" and I DID!!! idk, i'm glad i could capture the horror vibes more poignantly

september

this one is?? i don't think i made her a full reference sheet, i realized lol but i started streaming for friends because i have a bunch of game recs and no attention span to play them WKJGJKD so i decided streaming them so i could be held accountable for them would be the best way to do it LMFAO

anyways this is my pngtuber. they have no name, but she's a shopkeeper of a mysterious antique store. originally that doll on the bookshelf was gonna my pngtuber and i came up with a bunch of lore for her, but then i realized i had another oc design i really dig and was also simpler, so i revamped that for streaming FJKSDJKF but i would like to put that doll to use somehow or another. anyways if u can pinpoint all the references on the shopkeeper and their bookshelf and even her store's very existence, i love u --

catch me on twitch on sundays and mondays for mhyk and ace attorney respectively --

october

as much as possible, i try to do a vanistar anniversary art because noël is my baby boy... i'm so happy with how this year's came out!! ofc there's areas that could use work, but i like the colors and lighting c:

I'VE BEEN MEANING TO DO AN IBERIA AU FOR JAKUDO FOR SO LONG... probably as long as the koibito AU for hifugen, but i just haven't been able to put it into words... i'm glad i could at least do a bit of this year, and i hope one day i can manage the whole concept!! also this idea's been in my head for so long that arb managed to reveal demon designs for both jakurai and doppo, sparing me the effort of designing them myself FSJKJKKJH

this one is also a set, so i wanted to post them together hehe again this is based off a horror rpg concept me and gianna came up together back in high school that will probably never see the light of day lol this probably doesn't surprise anyone who knows us, but these characters are based on us FKJSKJH

wah... i think my artist wrapped really covers what i have to say! quantity-wise, i'm not too happy with how much i made... it can't really be helped considering how busy and tiresome it's been this year, and i really wish i could say i can do more next year, but it's likely i'll be posting less and less in the future TwT but as much as possible, i'd still like to share my work! i think this might be my time to start focusing on original stuff, but i still wanna do fandom related stuff because there's still a lot of ideas and concepts i wanna see realized!! also i just love my fandom blorbos a lot lol, so i'll find ways to do things for them >w<

quality-wise though, i think i'm pretty pleased! last year i got csp, so i was still figuring it out, but now i think i got a better hang of it! and that means my art looks more confident i think haha. of course, there's still a lot of room for improvement, but it's nice that i can look at my stuff and go "yeah i like this!" i'm excited to see where my artistic journey goes from here!!

but yeah, maybe it wasn't a plentiful year for me re: art, but i made some pretty nice stuff despite that! thank you all for the support, and here's to next year!!

[somerandomjewelleryonthefloor]

So I saw "BloodBound III" and apparently MC also turns into a vampire?... And the cover art is AI generated?????

Bruh. We- can't we have some special snowflake MC's that DONT turn into something later down the line? If I had a 5c for each time I saw it, I'd have 2. Which cool, but there's limited vampire books so like babe...

My BB mc Diva would rather do a 'kms' before even thinking about being turned into a vampire. Being thirsty for blood after seeing what happened with Lily and HER bloodthirst? And also the failed vampires that turned grey? Yeah no.

Diva & Charelynn (Immortal Desires MC) would definitely be a nice found family mother & daughter duo. Charelynn doesn't deserve to be a vampire, Diva is my only true adult mc and would love a daughter and ALSO doesn't deserve to be a vampire.

Yeah I know "BloodBound II" exists, I'm not even gonna bother playing it though since I'm very much fine with the ending for book 1 of the series, with Diva and Adrian having their very very slow burn 'besties4life to lovers4life'.

Sometimes, going through a book and being satisfied with that book alone and not wanting to read any other books is perfectly fine I think.