#cause it's like a little piece of history. on my screen!!!!

[camellcat]

you guys I'm losing my MIND

I have NEVER seen this sort of thing in any other fandom I've been in and I LOVE IT

[py-dreamer]

So... I know I'm late...

But yea! I said I was coming back with some stickers and I kept my word! I would've hoped that I could've completed the sheet in like a day but as you can see...that didn't work out

I know I've been a bit MIA lately but burnout sucks. I do have a lot of WIPS I really want to work on but again, it seems that the ProcrastiNation hath struck my feeble mortal brain again.

But anyways:

I headcanon Aroace Mei, just a personal headcanon (disagree if you like) I also like lesbian Mei but thought I'd give some aroace appreciation

Silktea was only given 1 episode but OH BOY did it fuel our wild shipping habits. And I jumped on the bandwagon. It's a reference to that scene in She-Ra where Scorpia tells Catra she 'didn't want to do this' then wraps kitty up in the blankey and cradles her like a wee baby. And Sandy would do that for any friend, I will die on this hill

Saw a fanart where Mk had a pig nose themed pacifier and I just yoinked that idea. The pig hoodie and the pacifier seems like something Tang would do for Pigsy (also to get away with free noodles cause who can say no to that face?~)

Mac showing Wukong the lantern. What can I say, mans' fascinated by them pretty lights. Though our little performer's eyes seem to be straying from the show (^u ')

I know many people have issues with shipping with Nezha and such and I know the two had a rough history but y'know what fans do; they love to make the people who kill each other soulmates (platonic, romantic or otherwise) Even if it wasn't romantic, I still love the idea of them being buddies and just chilling, the danger noodle prince and the angy prince snuggle and watch a movie (mainly from Nezha 2019 but I also saw New Gods and can I just say, I want those two twinks to bicker then kiss awkwardly and I want Yun Xiang to BEAT. HIS. ASS) but in case anyone asks, I do perceive Nezha to be a consenting adult in general outside shipping drama and if the two are adults, it does make my heart squeal when I see these two hold hands and whatnot

HOW COULD I EVER FORGET MY SPICYBOIS, inspired by that one Ponyo kiss scene. I was actually gonna make a bigger piece but then I saw someone do it already in a much better fashion than I ever could and I just gave up on the idea but Ig here, its just like the two cakes mentality and I gave it a go. Hope I could do the concept justice

Have spider queen or scorpion queen ever interacted before? No. But they are both queens and I believe Spider Queen's confidence could rub off on Scorpion Queen and she'd appreciate the company of Spider Queen's children henchmen. Also she give yummy food so lesbian venomqueens for the win

Redraw of that moment with Peng and Azure. I normally detest that bird but these two do get some gears grinding and whatever anyone says. Neither of those two are straight. I'll tell ya that.

Toxicinsanity is another rarepair that had like 1 sec screen time. I don't think they'd ever work out in canon and had virtually no chemistry. I still love all the fluffy ship content I can find of them though and if it ever were to happen. I think the mayor would scare the sh!t out of Syntax

Let's get at least one hetero couple here, Chang'e and Hou'Yi are a couple of favorites ngl, I took most of their outfits from Over the moon cause both of them looked stunning, Chang'e especially. I've seen people ship mah girl with other people and while I do agree it's healthy to move on, in my heart she will always long for Hou'Yi

Also irl, on valentines, my mum took us out for lunch, she treated us to bubble tea and donuts. We walked home so I waited to drink mah drink in my room while I drew and I accidentally finished it all... I'm so sorry mum

f*ck I forgot ironbull. Uhh....I'll draw something later, rn I need to go to bed before I get yelled at...

click pic for less sh!ty quality!

[takeyourcyanide]

I Know That The Writing’s On The Wall

AO3

Fandom: Soul Eater

Character: Franken Stein

Word Count: 744

Tags: Minor Violence, Blood and Gore, Random & Short, Nausea, References to Addiction, Descent into Madness

Summary: Four separate signs of the times. Things, happenings, signs that were present at the beginning of Stein’s episode of madness. Sort of like documentation.

Notes: This is another defrag fic, a bit of an exercise to hopefully get me back into the groove of writing, as there is a fic I’d really like to finish. May the head fog clear.

I contemplated even posting this one.

The title is inspired by a lyric in the song ‘Candy’ by Paolo Nutini. I can also recommend Marina’s (formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds) cover of the song. Both are quite lovely, in my opinion.

I would like to add that this fic is technically four separate chapters on AO3. Here you go, anyway.

A gust of wintry air cascaded out of the vents, embracing Stein, even despite whatever warmth the stitched-up lab coat he’d slept in provided him. It left his screw frigid to the touch, though he allowed his fingertips to ache as he rather sloppily turned it.

A bird, somewhere not too distant, chirped in the same cadence, in the same tone for a solid minute or so. The pleasant scent of stale cigarette smoke mixed with the lingering scent of various different chemicals soothed the exhausted restlessness causing his limbs to gradually tear apart.

He’d walked through the simultaneously welcomed and agitation-inducing darkness of his laboratory, his body moving on its own towards the kitchen.

‘Perhaps a little piece of my brain remembered some semblance of a former routine,’ he pondered, as he forced something bland, something tasteless down his throat, suppressing a repulsed gag.

He attempted to distract himself from his terribly slow chewing, from the taste and the texture of the unwanted food in his mouth, swallowing.

He stared down at the rest of the bar he held, grimacing. He allowed himself a sigh, as he tossed the item into the trash with the rest of the food he couldn’t bring himself to finish without vomiting.

-

Stein cranked his screw, the loud screeching in his ears a sound he was long desensitized to.

“Okay, class,” two words managed to successfully leave him, directed to the ones with the expectant and oddly concerned gazes. “Today, we’re going to……

…Uh…”

“Are we dissecting something again?” An annoyed grumble came from somewhere in the front row.

“No. ..We’re…”

His head began to violently throb with each frantic turn of the protruding steel.

‘Think, Goddamnit!’

“We’re.. um..”

“Are you-“

“Oh! Yes. Yes, that’s right. We’re going to be delving further into the history of the field of phasmology.”

-

Fingers massaging his temples, a bluish light flooding his eyes.

Each sentence he tried to read appeared as an entirely different sentence at first, before his second reading.

He spun in his chair once, twice.

He bit into his lip, and he turned his screw.

He whipped his head around, the sensation of a hand touching his scalp, tugging on his hair an obnoxious, somewhat unnerving distraction.

He was unable to focus on his work.

He banged his head against the painted wood of his desk, exacerbating his already disorienting headache.

Stein, with a sigh, pushed himself and his chair away from his computer, allowing the screen to darken until it became blank, until the only thing he could see on the screen was a reflection of himself and his worn appearance.

-

Reminders of dissection and cigarettes left his body and him in agony.

They were all-consuming, all that he could possibly think about, save for the frequent agitated ramble.

He’d pace the halls, he’d jerk and twitch.

He’d dreamt numerous times that he had the comfort of a cigarette hanging from his lips, the comfort of nicotine relaxing his rattled mind, the comfort of the taste and smell of smoke looming on his tongue, looming in his nostrils, and looming in the air around him.

He’d dreamt of a warm body lying on, strapped down to his dissection table, as he’d bring his scalpel of choice down onto the softness of the subject’s skin, digging the blade, with precision, down into the tissue, leaving an incision teeming with blood, shining under his surgical light, in its wake. He’d dreamt of removing each layer - flesh, fat, and muscle - leaving organs and bones left to collect and thoroughly analyze with a giddy, ear-to-ear smile on his face. He’d dreamt of injecting a subject with hydrogen peroxide. He’d even dreamt of harvesting an individual’s bones for the sake of creating his own *authentic* ‘classroom skeleton’ of sorts.

And each time he’d wake up, he’d wake up horrendously pained and disappointed that he could not live within those dreams.

Or perhaps he could. Would it be worth it to go down that path? Would it be worth it to sacrifice all that he had built for himself, all that he had promised to himself as soon as his deterioration became far more overtly imminent?

Anything to experience that cocktail of pure euphoria, sadistic pleasure, and the complete satiation of his supposedly “morbid” curiosities, no? Anything to take the edge off and refresh himself, no? Anything to be in touch with who he truly was, with what his soul truly was, no?

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

My only ask is: the fack is going on in Yves’ mind? No cause I’m eating snacks on my couch, I am lazy, I don’t think I could ever reach this man’s standards so like, why is he here? Going on after me? What’s this man doing 😭😭

Cont from another anon ask: Also idc Yves chose a lazy like me. This man gonna watch My Little Pony all seasons with me, he should have chosen his soulmate better. Silly man

To Yves, no one is lazy. It is the circumstances around someone that influences certain behaviors, which may appear "lazy". Unmotivated, exhausted, afraid- especially of failure. According to his observations, Atychiphobia of any degree is usually the reason for inaction. You clearly have interests, you are sentient and lucid enough to think that you're 'lazy'.

The standards he applies to you aren't the same as the ones others have to meet. Yves is a complicated man, he doesn't want to brainwash you into something 'perfect', though he has the tendency to 'fix' things he thinks aren't acceptable in his opinion. If you spend all day just eating snacks and watching shows, it will be a cause of concern with him. He will talk to you about it, watching his tone and body language. Yves wants you to know that he is acting in your best interests. If that isn't coming through to you... well, he is a reality bender with the world's resources at the tips of his fingers. He knows how to hack into your psyche.

Expect to suddenly lose appetite for the snacks that you're munching on, he will leave you wondering why your brain suddenly finds watching TV torturously boring and irritating. You would rather do something else.

It couldn't possibly be Yves behind this, he is in his office, and you haven't seen him today. Plus, he can't be that powerful, can he? Plus, it is ridiculous how another person can just influence the mind like that, so seamlessly and discretely. You don't get it, it just felt like a flick of a switch. There was no gradual change, nothing around you appeared out of the ordinary.

There were changes. There are changes. Chemically, biologically, physically and environmentally. You're just unaware of them. His sleight of hand is unreal, his attention to detail is astonishing. Yves drugged you, with a harmless substance, but a drug nonetheless. To make you much more susceptible to his power of persuasion. All he had to do was modify the texture of your favorite snacks. To a regular person, there is no difference; You can't tell the difference either, but your brain can, and it doesn't like the new changes.

Consciously, everything is as it always was. But subconsciously, your altered mind noticed the colors on the screen are horribly off, and the bass and timbre of its voice actors don't sound right. It is exhausting for your brain to keep up.

However, if you keep your habits in check, Yves wouldn't need to resort to psychological warfare. He appreciates what makes 'you' up, he has no problem watching all the seasons of My Little Pony with you.

He appreciates the values that this cartoon tries to spread. Given his nature, he would memorize each and every piece of verified trivia he could find; from naming all characters from all 5 generations by heart (he could even name the characters exclusive to the comics, from the games, from the collectible card games and any other obscure media that Hasbro created around this franchise.), to the strange and sometimes obscene fan culture history around this series (i.e., how a large proportion of Nazis are also My Little Pony fans, the pony torture games, Princess Molestia and many more), to the exact hexadecimal color values of the ponies (He is especially fond of Queen Chrysalis's palette and looking to incorporate it into his home somehow), to the home addresses of the My Little Pony production crew.

But he knows not to dump everything he found at once, it will overwhelm you and not everyone likes to be out-obsessed over a piece of media they were watching from the beginning. Yves will keep to himself. So when you start off by watching the pilot episode, he will don a soft smile, spotting the foreshadowing that Nightmare Moon is going to be this season's main antagonist. He would go through the series with you silently, stroking your head on his lap. He knows more than you think. Yves will know what you're talking about.

Remember, Yves sees many things that no one else sees in you. He's like a phantom that accesses every aspect of your life. Your deepest fears, your ugliest sides, and your happiest moments. Yves can wear your identity like a second skin and he loves every inch of it. You may think you are unworthy of his obsession because you operate on a profit-and-loss mindset, wondering what he gets out of it. Yves doesn't he views you through an entirely different lens. You are inherently flawed and you have inherent value. He loves you for the beauty and goodness that you cannot perceive as someone living as yourself, he loves you for your quirks and curiosity. He also loves you for a lack thereof.

Your imperfections are what makes you human, and his adoration is found within it. He accepts and loves you for who you are, but it doesn't mean he won't try to better you. What he gains from devoting himself to you is virtually nothing to you, but everything to him.

Unfortunately for him, there is nothing he could do or say to make you understand the extent of how much he loves you. It is within the realm of unconditional. It is hard to grasp how a person could love so much while expecting nothing in return, but that is essentially what Yves' affection for you is.

He is a careful man who also has high regard for himself. You think he's careless in choosing his beloved darling? The man whose middle name is probably 'Intensive' and last name 'Research'?

This is no mistake of his. Yves chose you for a plethora of reasons you cannot comprehend.

[rubatozis]

a handful of art tips of my own

PHYSICAL HEALTH / MAINTENANCE

change your canvas' default color to anything other than white, preferably darker like gray or beige (reduces damage done to your eyes and may help with motivation)

wash your tablet with very light cleaning products (so it doesn't damage the touch screen) and make sure to change your nib when needed so it doesn't scratch it (prevents tablet damage)

stretch your wrists especially if you or your family has a history of joint disease (prevents certain conditions)

don't press your pen too hard onto the tablet surface, it can scratch it and damage the touch screen; similarly, don't press your pencil or pen too hard onto paper - it will be harder to erase later, will cause pain in your wrist, and might even rip the paper.

FOCUS / MOTIVATION / PRODUCTIVITY / BURNOUT

keep your tablet and pen very close so that you only need to reach with your hand to grab them, without needing to get up from your chair (increases drawing frequency)

use a pomodoro or a timer (increases focus)

stimulate your other senses while you draw by eating or drinking something, listening to music or videos, and/or lighting an incense or scented candle (increases focus)

mute notifications and/or prevent yourself from opening distracting apps like tiktok by uninstalling/blocking them or turning off your phone (increases focus)

develop a specific ritual for drawing like changing clothes and doing the two things above (puts your brain in a get things done mode)

set minimum goals like 1 drawing a week or even 1 drawing a month (prevents burnout and helps you with being gentle to yourself and your needs)

make a to-do list and reduce your goals as far as you possibly can. e.g instead of just "coloring" add sub-tasks like "coloring first character", "coloring second character" or even "coloring first character's skin", "coloring first character's clothes" (prevents burnout, helps with motivation)

do not draw every day (prevents burnout)

take breaks, i mean week-long breaks if necessary (prevents burnout)

CONFIDENCE (& other mental health stuff)

if another artist triggers envy or insecurity from you, block them temporarily so that it stops triggering those feelings; alternatively, temporarily uninstall or block apps that might be triggering these emotions (prevents your motivation from being reduced by insecurity) --> additionally, do therapy, meditation n mindfulness techniques, as well as talking about or writing down your feelings and asking friends for reassurance to try to get rid of perfectionism (improves art confidence)

do not talk yourself down and do not co-inhabit with people who keep insulting your art relentlessly (improves art confidence)

theres no need to hurry up when making art (improves art confidence and quality, prevents burnout)

genuinely compliment other people's art without shaming your own (in my therapists' words: appreciating other people is appreciating yourself. improves art confidence, reduces feelings of creative envy, may help build connections and community)

if you feel envy towards other people's like count, consider downloading browser extensions that hide these numbers or blocking/uninstalling triggering apps (improves art confidence)

draw what you like and do NOT join trends just because you want to get famous - it's tempting, but becomes very unhealthy after a while (improves art confidence, prevents burnout)

draw for yourself, you have no reason to post things if you don't want to. it's not your obligation

SKILL / QUALITY

do warm-up exercises for a few minutes before working on a big piece; this can be drawing geometric shapes (prepares your brain for 3d visualization), drawing little spidermen stickmen doing acrobatics (prepares you for poses), drawing straight and curvy lines and tracing them over and over trying to do it perfectly (improves line confidence), drawing bean shapes without pulling your pen off your tablet (improves line confidence), drawing circles repeatedly trying to get them perfect (improves line confidence), etc. (improves skill in general, is kinda like stretching before a workout - prepares you and tends to make the result of the actual piece better)

trace, copy and replicate and try to do that with things out of your comfort zone like things you've never drawn before or aren't used to, challenging or complex poses and color schemes, etc. (improves skill)

do figure drawing (there are websites for it) (improves posing skill and to some degree anatomy too)

SOCIAL / MARKETING

draw gift art, join dtiys, do art trades, etc. (builds community and connections, improves art confidence, prepares you for commercial work like commissions, builds trust in other people since they'll know you can indeed meet deadlines making them more eager to pay you for art)

when posting commission ads try to include at least one drawing for every basic color and at least one drawing for every species of character you know how to draw, as well as at least one piece with a scenery and/or other complex things like vehicles (shows your capacity for potential clients who might be looking for people who can draw those things)

[dailycass-cain]

Birds of Prey #2 continues off the highs of #1 as it continues the story. But what of Cass within it? Well, here are my thoughts on the issue pertaining to Cass.

So the opening pages feature a flashback with Sin and Dinah which makes me feel really old honestly. Given the last time we saw Sin was quite some time ago (Gail Simone's last run on BoP before the dark times. Before the New 52).

But this flashback feels more akin to near when Gail's first run on BoP was wrapping up. We get a "Pokemon" mention (Sin did love those and even got Barda ironically on them. Those who know well tie into why Barda is fully into helping Dinah with this).

So it's clear writer Kelly Thompson knows her history and even acknowledges that the League of Assassins wants Sin (who were in the first issue).

However, not acknowledged is well on the "why".

With all the weaving she's doing, in this issue (and last). I just feel it makes more sense as to "why" Cass and Barda's reasons for helping Dinah are more clear than say Zealot's (I still want to see this story with her and Dinah) and Harley.

Though if we take this as "years" ago, boy howdy does this open a can of worms with Cass's age again. Like, prior to the New 52 and Cass's reintroduction, she was like possibly in her early 20s (same age as Jason Todd).

Then the New 52 came around, and she was 18. More closer to the age group Duke/Tim/Steph/Harper were in this era for sure. So that bit is confusing in this current DC landscape where she could be in her early 20s again or not.

Eh, this is just me overthinking the history angles anyway. So it isn't too worrisome. 😅 But I do like these nuggets that with characterization Thompson is laying the seeds for long-time readers to enjoy. While letting new readers just enjoy this ride.

This issue is another enjoyment. There's just so much good going on in this issue. Besides the stuff with Dinah, we get a better reason for what Harley brings to the team, interaction with her and Zealot.

Speaking of that, Harley lets slip this issue she "sorta" fought with Cass compared to what we got the last issue. So maybe Cass was just a "bad storyteller".

So who said Cass jobbed "hard" to Harley, well maybe it was more Cass's impression on the scuffle that led her to respect Harley's chaotic nature.

Unlike ANOTHER story in another DC comic last month that had Cass jobbing...

But the stuff with Cass this issue is sprinkled lightly. Unlike the hearty amount last issue, we get pieces and I'm okay with that.

This is a team comic, not a duo ongoing that-- I sorely miss.

ahem*

But the stuff we got here is gold with the slight amount we get. Just more Cass/Barda goodness (which is obvious Thompson knows is gold). More glorious art and fight sequences drawn by Leonardo Romero.

Like the teleportation between Dinah and a surprise guest star (so close to a Spirit World reunion), Barda/Cass, and Zealot/Harley all converging was sweet.

The other most interesting thing I have to say pertaining to Cass is how she still hasn't unmasked in the series. It feels different to see Cass unmasked in Batgirls 😭and Spirit World.

Here?

She's all business. Kinda very Bruce-like even. It's a little refreshing.

I also dig her web suit in the issue basically being her Batgirl suit with an oxygen mask and backpack. With zero capes on her back to cause harm.

So even though she didn't do much, this still was a fun appearance. Not awing like the last issue, but again this is a team book.

Zealot and Harley needed this issue. Along with Dinah being the singular focus in this arc. I can dig it.

Birds of Prey #2 continues the plot and gives us a tiny bit of Cass to wet our appetites for the next issue: her vs. Amazons.

No off-screen being beat. We gonna get her facing Amazons ON PANEL with WAAAAAY better characterization in the next few issues.

SWEET.

Again, I'm really enjoying this series and really curious about the twists and turns this goes down as it continues. I have curious questions not pertaining to Cass (like Future Maps and her story), and again Zealot/Dinah.

But this is some good stuff.

[prophecydungeon]

man, the gulf between season 8 wash and chorus trilogy wash (or even season 10 wash!) is actually completely and utterly bonkers

Serious Competentman things wash does in recovery one and season 6:

takes down a hornet with exceptional competency

faces down the meta one-on-one multiple times

calmly disposes of many dead bodies, including those of his former teammates and friends

shoot (at best) or kills (at worst) several guards at headquarters

with the crowning "oooooh boy" achievement being: he kills south in cold blood

which is like, alright! neat! we have now gotten another Serious Compenentman freelancer, and this all tracks more or less to what we've seen tex, wyoming, york, and south do. wash in season 6 is the reality check to the reds and blues; he's the straight man (...ykwim) to their brand of insanity.

by season 8, wash is so completely off the fucking rails that he's the one that needs a reality check character. doc plays that part for both wash and maine* in season 8; he's the token blood gulch haha funnyguy character who both offsets our Serious Antagonists and occasionally mediates between them, and he's there to alleviate the tension. (to the audience, at least. our Serious Antagonists have no time for jokes.)

this is epitomized, imo, when they're in the desert dealing with the aliens and trying to find the (discarded) epsilon unit:

wash: you sure that's what he's doing? doc: well, my alien-to-english is a little rusty. i would suggest we get one of those translator balls, but we've got enough jerks around here already. maine: [speaks] wash: i agree. we should just kill most of them. the last one left alive will talk. doc: (patiently) wash, you just can't kill everybody you meet. wash: why not? doc: uh... well, now you've put me on the spot. i don't really have an answer for that. seems like a bad idea, though. karma?

wash has killed people before - many people, in fact! - and he's certainly far from squeamish about it, but this is on an entirely different level. he isn't playing the straight man to the blood gulch guys here. he's entirely serious about killing this group of aliens and so is maine. sure, this is a big and significant turn from how he acted in season 6, but who he is by the time the chorus trilogy rolls around makes this person from season 8 almost entirely unrecognizable.

other things wash does during his baddie arc include:

shooting lopez

(functionally) killing donut

probably genuinely would have killed doc at multiple points if he didn't prove himself useful in one way or another

treating maine exceptionally poorly, even though they were at least superficially friendly at some point in the past, until it serves him to be slightly nicer

(he's also mean to doc, but they don't have a history)

tucker's character arc (rightfully) gets the most screen time in the chorus trilogy, but wash's and carolina's growth - while a little more understated - is also not at all to be discarded. season 8 is wash's ugliest moment** and boy is it fucking bleak. he's mean to maine and verges on downright cruel until things start to go his way; he acts entirely out of selfishness to clear his own name; he's willing to throw anyone and everyone under the bus and kill his way to the finish line. and then he doesn't.

he survives but he doesn't really succeed in clearing his name, and he doesn't really earn his redemption, per se, but we get reminded multiple times over the rest of the series that he was that terrible person at one point and he isn't anymore. going backwards from the chorus trilogy to season 8 is almost enough to cause whiplash and the way his growth gets shown from that point on (while also taking a back seat) is so gratifying. he tells locus, "[...] you’re too afraid to take responsibility for what you’ve done. I know I used to be a real piece of shit, but at least I’m trying to do something about it." and he does! that's the thing. he does.

*i'll die on this hill; see the "elaborate on that" "no" video.

**i say this knowing fully and completely that if wash did not have his baddie arc, i would not like him half as much as i do

[tarohonii]

fondly remembering my old russian algebra teacher by reading the quote book our class made for him (changing names for sake of privacy.)

“Now people are going to go around saying, Mr. Volkova is soft! He cares about feelings and stuff.”

“Calculus 1 is a big smack in the face of conceptual knowledge”

“You can eat the popcorn, or you can have our favorite snack in Russia...nothing!”

“My face is not just something for you to draw for your amusement.”

“I’m Russian. I’m friends with everybody. Russians have a proud history of amiability.”

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Like, I’ve probably made more mistakes than not mistakes.”

“When you learned you had a Russian teacher, you were like, that guy never moisturizes.”

“The animals appreciate your commitment to their health and well being.”

“Your ears are just little mini parabolas."

“I'm a liar. I will lie to you on every chance I get.”

“Just remember, if I screw up, just hold it against me for the next eight weeks.”

“I will peer pressure both of you into a new seating arrangement.”

“How do you know my autism is not caused by my vaccination?”

“I’m not just going to, like, shove nuts in my mouth. I know how to, like, eat like a human.”

“My reaction to a sneeze is…yes… I can’t look cool all the time.”

“Me show you picture. Picture make it easier to understand.”

“I will take what you have said and use it as an opportunity to confuse you."

“Bread has a certain level of rat bone in it.”

“I can wear a bathrobe to school and say it’s technically a coat.

“The current thing on my mind is bomb disposal dolphins.”

“Ally, if I can’t get the projector screen to stick, I’m writing you an office referral.”

“I could use shoes to run away from dangerous situations.”

“Very cruel and inhumane hot lunch.”*

“They act like it isn’t what it be, but it do.”

“I am in a good mood, I just get really annoyed.”

“I like your bullying skills”

“When Mr. Volkova was a youth much your age, he was a great fan of diving into water.”

“I stepped on something, so I had to stop my teaching for threat assessment. In case my foot got stabbed.”

“I’ll put myself on the little spinny thing loading sign.” (starts turning in circles)

“Stop making valid points”

“They told us “don’t burn the Magnesium.” So we burned the Magnesium.”

“If you scream, I will get annoyed. If I get annoyed, you get a consequence.”

“If I write a book about the story of my life, it will be called “Unstapled’"

“Whoever’s throwing that piece of paper, stop it before I write Ally an office referral.”

"This is a warm summer's day in Russia" (it is 28 degrees and snowing)

“Oh, did you vandalize the desk? Awesome. I had a teacher write an office referral for ‘vandalizing a desk with an eraser.’”

“If you imagine your life as a sitcom, which I sometimes do…”

“If you do not calm down you will have to do a 15 minute session on mindfulness”

“Mr. Volkova will not do things if they’re more than three steps.”

“I chose to work with you. What does that say about my intelligence?”

[mcltiples]

send 💋 or "kiss" to give my muse a kiss. || accepting

@countlessrealities sent; After what had happened the last time he had attempted casual touching, Vox had been conducting experiments. Slowly and carefully, trying to understand where Alastor's boundaries where and which lines he really should not cross. For the sake of their relationship, but also because he wanted to remain in one piece.

In all truth, he hadn't gotten very far. If asked, he wouldn't have admitted it out loud, but he had been almost scared to start physical contact since that day. The most he had been doing had been going along with whatever his fiancé initiate and carrying it further just a tiny bit.

All while hoping that Alastor wouldn't notice...probably in vain, but to hell with it.

Today, however, was the day this would have changed. He had decided that he would have tried to be the one to make the first move and he would have succeeded. After all, such a small gesture couldn't have elicited a bad reaction...right?

So, when he and the Radio Demon met for their lunch date, in place of his usual greeting, he reached out to take one of the other's hand in his. Slowly, deliberately, so that his fiancé would have seen it coming and could have stopped it if he had wanted to.

Once he had gotten a hold of the other's claws, he lifted that hand up, bending his screen a little so he could press a kiss on top of it. A mere brush of lips, perfectly polite. And charming, hopefully.

"You look even more radiant than the usual today, dearest," he then commented, flashing his best captivatingly confident smirk. "Lucky me, because I get to enjoy the view to my heart's desire." A wink. "Shall we?"

[[ 💋 + Vox for Alastor || bc...I won't say it, but know that he was adamant on getting to send an ask -eyeroll- ]]

Upon arriving at the designated location, Alastor rose from his seat to greet his fiance. He never really showed it, but inside, he glowed a certain warmth at seeing the other. It's as if Vox gave him a new source of energy. One that he could only describe as love. Which was such an odd thing to say, considering their history.

Before he could say anything, he found himself watching as his hand was raised to that screen. Those lips pressed against his skin. It caused his claws to twitch a little. Though, it was mostly do to the nerves inside of his arm and nothing at all to do with how he felt.

He tilted his head to the side. Curiously gazing at the scene before him. It was pleasant. Something that he liked. To be treated in such a way that made him feel like he was something cherished and valued.

Once he was able to take his hand back, he placed it onto his cane. "I could say the same about you, Vox, looking as sharp as ever," His head bent even more towards the side, neck protruding in an odd angle. Checking out his fiancé, not so discreetly, his eyes making a show of how they looked up and down along the other's figure.

"But yes, we shall." He let his arm gesture over towards the second seat before deciding to sit down.

Something told him that this particular lunch date would be an interesting one. He wondered if Vox had even more tricks up those sleeves, or if that was the only one he would get to witness. Either way, he was expecting a good time.

[whypolar]

Episode 11. Wow.

What an episode, man. When me and Arin finished watching we were both like "I don't even know what to say" and immediately watched it again

The visuals were incredibly cool across the board. The whole thing was one gorgeous shot after another

I feel crazy saying this when he's the one dude in this show I find particularly attractive so far, but I wish Knives would put some clothes on. I was so relieved when he had the snuggie again in that one scene

Big "Jesus wandering in the desert for 40 days getting tempted by the devil" vibes during that entire dream sequence

Child Rollo getting shot was the most disturbing violent imagery the show has had up to now. Way more unpleasant than Knives chopping off arms with blood splattering everywhere. We've already seen multiple on-screen gunshots to the head, sure, but all of them were telegraphed rather than sudden, and none of the targets were children.

Knives holding the Punisher kept making me laugh, which maybe interferes with the effect of the scene? I don't know. I don't feel negatively about that or think it was a bad script choice, it's just really funny to me

Vash and Knives' relationship is quite different from the manga, which is fine. I've fully sectioned off Stampede's continuity in my brain at this point. I feel like I need to get to know these new versions all over again before I know how to feel about them, though.

Huge lol at Knives talking about 'history' and then the camera showing him reading the Bible.

I hope we continue to see more of Tesla going forward and this brief flashback isn't all we get to see of the twins reacting to her. I feel like it would make sense, right? Given Knives has her fucking eyeball?

I suspect Conrad is planning to betray Knives by leaving him in the other dimension-- or he just didn't tell him about some kind of negative consequence of interacting with that thing. That extremely ambiguous "if I have to sacrifice one of the twins" line in episode 10...

We have hit the manga-typical pregnancy imagery. Whoof. WHOOF.

I like the incompetent military police guy. I don't understand anything about his characterization in these last two episodes vs. the first one, but I think he's great. A deeply pathetic enigma. I assume he is about to die with the rest of the city, so rip in pieces I guess.

I hope those bugs we see at the end mean Zazie is coming to cause problems on purpose. How informed were they about the details of Knives' plan? If they DIDN'T already know it would involve a giant alien root system exploding into their ecosystem, I can imagine they might be a little peeved

[angelosearch]

A quick little meditation I wrote on why it is so painful to update my resume. I may delete this later because I might turn it into a larger personal essay piece.

It is 10:35 am and I am sitting in front of my laptop’s brutally large screen, fixating on the thin line the blinks on the document in front of me.

The document is my résumé, circa December 2021.

That was two years. That was one hospital stay, three intensive outpatient programs, and a two month stay in residential care ago. That was two jobs ago. The person reflected in this document represents an ideal self that I no longer aspire to embody: A girl, reeling from the reckoning of her CPTSD, hanging on the vestiges of a career that constantly reminded her of her flaws and insignificance.

And in that torrent of criticism and mistreatment, she felt at home. Her jobs became her family. If she could just be enough, then they would see her, then they would understand that she shouldn’t have to push herself to the brink of mania to earn their love. But even when they did try to claim she was talented, she twisted the words into lies and duties. This was the bare minimum. This is what she had to do. She was not worthy of real admiration.

Yet, she constantly kept trying to outrun one family to try to find one that would treat her differently, somehow without altering the contract of her contact. This document is a map of that attempt of escape, littered with sparkling phrases like “proficient in project management” and “developed effective marketing strategy.” Do any of these phrases truly fit what she has done? Is anything she has ever accomplished impressive in any way?

“Has anyone ever believed in you in your entire life?” One boss once asked her.

The question from the democratic ex-mayoral candidate turned marketing director caused her to spin out.

If they have, I’ve never recognized it—for all words in a language that you do not speak sound like gibberish the first time you hear them.

This man made her feel as though he believed in her, and she said as much on one autumn morning in the lobby of a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona where they had just pulled off a successful presentation as exhibitors at a conference.

But she required too much patience and too much medical leave when her illness reached its peak. He fired her on the phone while a messy medication transition left her unable to move for several days. He did so subtly that she had no idea she had lost her job, her purpose, until human resources called and explained how to return her computer.

That’s the last entry on the résumé.

I am changing this document to capture a version of myself who belongs in an Art Therapy graduate program. It reads like an obituary for a woman who knew nothing of setting boundaries or connecting with her inner child.

If she is not dead, I’d like to kill her.

But how can I shape this disparate smattering of “wear a lot of hats” skills into something that resembles the creativity, compassion, and emotional intelligence required of an Art Therapist?

Résumé and resume are such similar words in the English language that the modern spelling of the former word has dropped it’s accents to be more easily written online. To resume is to pick up after a pause—but I have always been told negative space in your work history is unacceptable.

But despite that, I am resuming. This isn’t even my first period of resume.

It’s funny how those gaps on your résumé are seen as something negative. I’ve learned more, and more valuable, things in the times between my jobs than I ever did in them. I cannot explain it in bullet points or with stop and end dates, but I do have experience with creativity and compassion and emotional intelligence. I’ve sat on a couch instead of an office chair and I’ve grabbed tissues instead of leaflets. I talked a woman, frightened and in chronic pain, through her first few days of residential care. I’ve been told my capacity for vulnerability makes space for others.

Can I list the applause I got from my peers as I left the treatment center as professional recognition?

No. We all must come to our places of work as unbroken things who swear their lives to the job. We get paid to lie about not just being there to be paid. The only true passion you must clock in for is the passion to stay alive.

I hope that the world of Art Therapy is different, but upfront I must pretend that I have an acceptable amount of trauma and valuable work experiences.  It’s makeup over a scar on my neck that looks like a hickey—an undeniable part of me too easily misunderstood to be revealed at the offset.

The true contents of what may make me good at my job may never be revealed to my colleagues, peers, or clients, and certainly will not be quantified on this document.

And so I move sections around on my resume like puzzle pieces and hope it matches the picture on the box.

[demonicintegrity]

I’m kinda mulling around in my head the options the show has for season 2. From the one article I skimmed the show has completely covered everything that was in the manga. As it stands, it’s a perfectly valid stopping point. We’ve got a complete story here even with room for more adventures and conflict.

That being said, season 1 showed that forcing romance isn’t the way to go about things. Over and over again, whenever Riri intervened it almost always made things worse. They themselves admit they just don’t get it. And that’s because Riri, and I’m sure like others, see love as a formula. Or a path in a game.

Check off encounter, then the awkward intimate closeness, then Bonding Activity, then save or do smth for the other, go on a date, and then boom you got a romance. Riri’s following a checklist that doesn’t work outside of a completely conceptual and fictional environment. (Never mind the fact that Anzu just doesn’t want one)

So if Riri’s mission is showing us that forcing a romance doesn’t build a bond or that a bond isn’t a checklist of things you have to do, I’m thinking Kate’s mission with Kishi could show that love doesn’t fix people.

I can see it now, the company is like “oh okay, her problem was that she was in love with a teen. Set her up with an adult her age and that’ll fix things ^u^ teehee”

(Rip Kate, I truly think she’s just a new(er) employee still in training that was thrown into this because Riri failed.)

Because Kishi clearly has a history of issues. But being in love won’t fix it, if anything it probably made her more delusional. If she ever wants a chance at forming any healthy relationships, Kate would have to get her to be receptive to a lifetime of therapy. Maybe start her off with some friends first if she can do that. One step at a time sorta deal.

Even if Kate miraculously found someone who would cool and into/patient with her obsessive ways, it’s not gonna make things better. In fact, I’d wager she’d hurt someone innocent anyways because of a delusion that they were getting too close to her love. She seems like she’s has zero hobbies, which would be the inverse of Anzu’s problems. She would need to have fun with something first for her own mental health, and then as a bonding point with others.

She’d also need to be surrounded by a support system that didn’t enable or excuse her worst traits. Not to entirely throw her mother and uncle under the bus here. I do think her mother was lied to about the extent of who/what Katzuki was to Kishi, I can’t imagine her being cool with her daughter dating a high schooler. That being said, holy shit her mother’s A+ parenting skills had to have contributed somewhere here.

My point being here: if the show wants to keep following this overarching theme of society’s misconceptions about romance, they absolutely have the room to do so. Keep satirizing and deconstructing everything about romance; that you need it, that it can fix your issues, that it should result in kids, the heteronormativity of it, etc.

Season 2 and onward can still be focused on Anzu of course. Her building relationships with the guys and Saki, but near the end/periodically check in with Kate and Kishi to further highlight that forcing romance is wrong. Especially on someone who isn’t mentally ready for it, and that this meddling could cause worse things. Anzu still gets screen time and development, there’s shenanigans with Katzuki and Junta knowing what Riri is trying to do and disputing them. Hell, let them get serious with them explaining they don’t want their help with their relationship with Anzu.

I really like Romantic Killer because it has a lot of promise in its themes and deconstruction. It’s already done so well with very little complaints. Given the ample chance and opportunity I think it could be a key piece of media to highlight various toxic mentalities in romance and relationships.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Never in my life did I think I’d have people interested in me or my blog on this here tumblr.com so imagine my surprise when I was tagged by @telomeke in this tag game!

tag game ♡ rules: post your lock/home screen, the last song you listened to, and the last picture you saved!!

Lock and Home Screen:

My Lock Screen is this gorgeous black and white sketch of Vegas from KinnPorsche and my Home Screen is this beautiful piece of Raine Whispers from The Owl House. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the names of the artists who posted these pictures, but these were posted on tumblr so if this is your artwork please let me know so I can properly credit you!!

Last Song I Listened To:

A little embarrassing because I can’t remember off the top of my head, cause it’s been probably a week or more since I intentionally listened to music. Ive mostly been watching shows and listening to podcasts (including The Conversation! Hosted by @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup) but in my Spotify search history the last song that showed up was “Dead Mom” from Beetlejuice the Musical

My roommate/best friend and I have a couple of songs we like to scream sing in the car, namely “Dead Mom” from Beetlejuice the Musical, “Screw Loose” from Cry-Baby the Musical, and “Pacific” by Chase Petra because we are totally mentally well…. But I *have* listened to Hook by Gemini Norawit on a repeat pretty much every time that I’ve listened to music in the last month.

Last Photo I Have Saved:

This text post I sent to a friend of mine literally like five minutes ago. Love Kanej as a ship so much and have written fanfiction about them so altogether unsurprising, however this is the first image I do have saved of anything Kanej related since literally season one of Shadow and Bone came out so it’s not the most accurate reflection of my standard saved photos habit.

Image ID in Alt

Tag, You’re It! Not sure who has and hasn’t don’t this yet so I guess I will tag @chicademartinica, @shortpplfedup, @fangirlmedstudentblog, and @ablazenqueen (who made some very lovely gifs for me when I was going off the rails about Heart in Moonlight Chicken). No obligation to do this of course!

[rachel-morrigan]

Your page makes me wanna return to the brony fandom holy cow I dropped off after the beginning of season 6 or smth...

Ehe i love making people go back to mlp in some way,if you decide to catch up w it tho allow me to give a fair warning

Everything happens in terms of enviroment changes but little happens in terms of character development after season 5-6, which isn't a terrible thing cause clearly they knew all the mane six were essentially fully developed (twilight being the exception as she has main character privilege ).

So they brought in more characters and a new secondary cast as well, which a lot of people were upset about cause it felt like an unneccessary addition as some would simply declare "they could have just ended it instead" which granted is fair but i think it's just as unfair to condemn the new lil characters they introduced because they took to some extent the mane six screen time.

If you want to get back into it, do so with an open mind, the story progresses and new peeps gets introduced but it's not necessarily a bad thing (unlike what many wants you to believe), there are still some great episodes and some others that don't need to be overread in their concepts and executions.

Also cause the show main target was never that old of an audience, it just gradually adapted to that audience as time went on, but the main idea behind mlp is friendship and basic easy to understand morals, which is something people tend to forget and criticize like it should be peak cinema ahah.

I like mlp cause growing up it substituted for figures and parentings i was lacking, and to me its simplicity in execution for non plot driven eps is more than enough and shouldnt be too complicated than that, it worked just fine for when i was a kid and it felt comforting once i grew older, and it also shaped many passions of mine such as reading, my interest in history and so on.

Its not excluded from criticism of course, she's all yak is definitely..an episode to say the least! It exists!

But to quote DWK

"Do you like saturday morning cartoons?"

"Of course"

"Hypothetically, imagine if you were just sitting there watching your cartoons and a bunch of wannabe professional movie critics showed up and started deconstructing that saturday morning cartoon using the same standards you'd normally apply to art house cinema, what would your reaction be?"

"Those people were missing the point of the show"

With this i mean that for example, just because a dress and a pair of work pants are both pieces of clothing, it doesn't mean they can be judged by the same criteria because they're meant to be worn for different purposes.

[fettesans]

Top, Nicole Eisenman, Morning Studio, 2016, oil on canvas, 168 × 211 cm. Via. Bottom, screen capture from The Sacrifice, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, 1986. Via.

--

Of all the prostheses that punctuate the history of the body, the double is doubtless the most ancient. The double, however, is not properly speaking a prosthesis at all. Rather, it is an imaginary figure, like the soul, the shadow or the mirror-image, which haunts the subject as his 'other', causing him to be himself while at the same time never seeming like himself. The double haunts the subject like a subtle death, but a death forever being conjured away. Things are not always like this, however - for when the double materializes, when it becomes visible, it signifies imminent death.

In other words, the double's imaginary power and resonance - the level upon which the subject's simultaneous estrangement from himself and intimacy with himself are played out - depends upon its lack of material being, upon the fact that the double is and remains a phantasy. Everyone may dream - and everyone no doubt does dream all his life long - of a perfect duplicate, or perfect multiple copies, of his own being; but the strength of such copies lies precisely in their dream quality, and is lost as soon as any attempt is made to force dream into reality.

Jean Baudrillard, from The Transparency of Evil, 1990. Via.

--

"I'm not at all acting parts in these portraits," X told one journalist. "I think because I'm an artist, my image will always come before me. I am an artist, I am a representation, I think that's the reason why people think that I am directing myself in a little story and acting a part, but this is not a character."*

*Calvin Tomkins, "The Human Subject Astounds," The New Yorker, April 19, 1982.

p.273 "The sheer range of self-transformation": Calvin Tomkins, "Her Secret Identities," The New Yorker, May 8, 2000. I have changed "Cindy Sherman" (the subject of Tomkins's piece) to "herself" to fit the narrative.

Catherine Lacey, from Biography of X, 2023.

[gentil-minou]

omg mdzs!!!!!! congrats to see you getting into that!! do you have a fav character?

God the better question is WHO DONT I LIKE????

obviously obsessed with Wei Wuxian the prettiest little shit ever. He is nicknamed Bestie. I have a lot of feelings about him but mostly I think he is shojo manga heroine levels of wonderful and I love him for that.

Then we got Lan Wangji who has some of the BEST sass. I loved him in the drama because his acting was so good despite so few lines, but omg in the book is is AMAZING. The scene where they play tag bdsm style??? Obsessed he is baby. Also the novel makes me think he's ASD coded which makes me very happy yes.

His nickname is Boyfriend because of course. He is also shojo manga levels of heroine and hero and he rocks it. I will gift him many bunnies and ribbons to tie up wwx with sjsjfjjs.

I could watch them watch each other for hours ajdjjdjsjjd I'm usually good at not shipping real life people but god....please give me strength their bts videos are just sjfjkakfkks.

Then we get the other characters who all have important nicknames as well. Wen Ning is Puppy Bestie because he is a puppy. Im honestly in shock that his actor is actually one of the oldest cast members because um what????? This baby be 30+?????

I loved him and his sister so much and was so upset that her death was just like off screen????? Excuse me????? For my queen?????

She is Queen Bestie of course. I worship the ground she walks and honestly I need fix it fics. Also her friendship with wwx was so good????? Like I just wanted them to bffs why did they do her dirty whyyyyy.

Jiang Cheng is Angry Bestie. I don't need to explain myself. Boy needs therapy. I will not be the one offering it to him though he too much for me.

Or just give him bunnies I guess. I wish we spent more time on him and wwx reconciling but thats what fics will be for!

The youth kiddos are baby besties. A-Yuan gets an extra high pitched squeal added to his name because he is extra baby

I can't decide if they are my favorite but I'm so excited for all the fics about them being a family SO EXCITEDHDJFJKS (send recs if you got any btw)

Took me a while to warm up but Jin Ling was great and his scenes with wwx was just so much fun to watch. Also the actor is like the same age as lwj's and I'm like????? The skill to act that much like a whiney teenager. Amazing.

(Please send me fics where his parents are alive I need them I need them like air)

(Also side note: making the fearsome historied terrifying Yiling Patriarch afraid of doggies???? Genius!!!!)

Jiang Yanli made me sob so many times cause I spoiled myself early to not get attached to the characters who die but then of course I was an idiot and got attached anyways. She is Soup Bestie or Sister Bestie. Depends on the day.

The best part of their dynamic was me realizing I have chaotic middle child energy like wwx. And she's such a good big sister like she made me want to call my own and tell them I love them and thanks for making that god awful kraft Mac and cheese with soy sauce and Broccoli and did I mention I cried a lot? Like so much (please send fix it fics kthnx)

Lan Xichen is Brother Bestie but honestly he should really be the Number 1 Wangxian Shipper and Wingman.

Boy knew his lil brother was pining over a dead evil guy for decades and supported him. We stan.

I just realized I didn't give Nie Huisang a nickname oops but also i saw somewhere that his idea of faking incompetence so other people will get shit done is genius. I love him, I want to be him. Hence forth he shall be known as Girlboss Bestie.

^me every goddamn day of my adult life.

I kinda hate myself for this but I also have a soft spot for Xue Yang. He's such a petty little piece of shit but also his crazy and evil vibes were just so good. I think I wouldn't have felt the same way if I read the novel version first instead if the drama, but god did I love the way this actor brought him to life. He is called Psychotic Bestie and he wears that title with pride.

This scene did so many things to me it must have been bait but yes twas I, the baited.

Would personally like to sue mxtx for the emotional abuse that was the Yi City arc thank you. Blissfully ignoring canon to say that the moment Song Lan left that city A-Qing and Xiao Xingchen came back to life from the power of gay vibes and found family alone thank you very much.

I can't fit anymore gifs but the short answer is I love everyone I'm so deep deeeeeep deep in this and I think I'll be in here for a while