#i might repaint some of them for fun

[civetcider]

Got a bag of mini monkeys today, gonna put them in the little bucket of tiny party favors

[vetyr]

hi, i ireally love your work and i don't know if you've answered this before but, what kinds of studies do you do or how did you learn color theory? i wanna get better at rendering and anatomy but im having trouble TT TT

Hi! Long answer alert. Once a chatterbox, always a chatterbox.

When I started actively learning how to draw about 10 1/2 years ago, I exclusively did graphite studies in sketchbooks. Here's a few examples—I mostly stuck to doing line drawings to drill basic shapes/contours and proportions into my brain. The more rendered sketches helped me practice edge control & basic values, and they were REALLY good for learning the actual 3D structure behind what I was drawing.

I'd use reference images that I grabbed from fitness forums, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and some NSFW places, but you could find adequate ref material from figure drawing sites like Line of Action. LoA has refs for people (you can filter by clothed/unclothed, age, & gender), animals, expressions, hands/feet, and a few other useful things as well. Love them.

Learning how to render digitally was a similar story; it helped a lot that I had a pretty strong foundation for value/anatomy going in. I basically didn't touch color at all for ~2 years (except for a few attempts at bad digital or acrylic paint studies), which may not have been the best idea. I learned color from a lot of trial and error, honestly, and I'm pretty sure this process involved a lot of imitation—there were a number of digital/traditional painters whose styles I really wanted to emulate (notably their edge control, color choices, value distributions, and shape design), so I kiiind of did a mixture of that + my own experimentation.

For example, I really found Benjamin Björklund's style appealing, especially his softened/lost edges & vibrant pops of saturated color, so here's a study I did from some photograph that I'm *pretty* sure was painted with him in mind.

Learning how to detail was definitely a slow process, and like all the aforementioned things (anatomy/color/edge control/values/etc.) I'm still figuring it out. Focusing on edge control first (that is, deciding on where to place hard/soft edges for emphasizing/de-emphasizing certain areas of the image) is super useful, because you can honestly fool a viewer into thinking there's more detail in a piece than there actually is if you're very economical about where you place your hard edges.

The most important part, to me, is probably just doing this stuff over and over again. You're likely not going to see improvement in a few weeks or even a few months, so don't fret about not getting the exact results you want and just keep studying + making art. I like to think about learning art as a process where you *need* to fail and make crappy art/studies—there's literally no way around it—so you might as well fail right now. See, by making bad art you're actually moving forward—isn't that a fun prospect!!

It's useful to have a folder with art you admire, especially if you can dissect the pieces and understand why you like them so much. You can study those aspects (like, you can redraw or repaint that person's work) and break down whether this is art that you just like to look at, or if it's the kind of art that you want to *make.* There's a LOT of art out there that I love looking at, probably tens of thousands of styles/mediums, but there's a very narrow range that I want to make myself.

I've mentioned it in some ask reply in the past, but I really do think looking at other artist's work is such a cheat code for improving your own skills—the other artist does the work to filter reality/ideas for you, and this sort of allows you to contact the subject matter more directly. I can think of so many examples where an artist I admired exaggerated, like, the way sunlight rested on a face and created that orange fringe around its edge, or the greys/dull blues in a wheat field, or the bright indigo in a cast shadow, or the red along the outside of a person's eye, and it just clicked for me that this was a very available & observable aspect of reality, which had up until that point gone completely unnoticed! If you're really perceptive about the art you look at, it's shocking how much it can teach you about how to see the world (in this particular case I mean this literally, in that the art I looked at fully changed the way I visually processed the world, but of course it has had a strong effect on my worldviews/relationships/beliefs).

Thanks so much for sending in a question (& for reading, if you got this far)! I read every single ask I receive, including the kind words & compliments, which I genuinely always appreciate. Best of luck with learning, my friend :)

[vincentbriggs]

Mr. Fiberglass looks very dashing and extremely gender. May I ask how you made that mask? It looks great and I may want one for myself 👀

Thank you!

It was 8 or 9 years ago so I don't remember it super well, but it's mostly cardboard and papier mâché. I built the base using cardboard boxes and a lot of masking tape, and you can still see some of the tape and cardboard inside the snout.

I made the horns by cutting 2 identical spiral shapes out of cardboard, and stretching them like a slinky, which is a much easier way to get them to spiral and be symmetrical than starting out with a straight thing and curving it. I'm pretty sure I bulked them up and got them to stay in that shape by taping lots of wads of crumpled up newspaper to the sides.

I covered the whole thing in layers of very cheap paper towel and Elmer's art paste, and used that to add a few little ridges and such.

The texture on the horns was made by just wrapping one long continuous strip of paper towel around and around, straight off the roll. (It was the really cheap stuff with no perforations and with obvious flecks of recycled paper in it.)

I have a piece of polyester batting shoved into the top because I didn't quite get it to the same shape as the top my head, and it's a bit uncomfortable.

It's also very hard to see in! I looked at photos of real sheep skulls for reference, and I put the eyes further forward to account for my human binocular vision, but they're still really far back and hard to see out of, so you have to look out the nose too.

I seem to remember first painting it with glossy acrylic paint, and then repainting it with matte paints because it just doesn't look as skull-like when shiny. The shading is awful because acrylic paints dry so dang fast, so it might be nice to go back and refine the texture a bit and repaint it again someday, but that's not at all on my priority list right now.

I hope this helps, and that you have fun making one!

[shankss-magnificent-ass]

Imagine Shanks finding out you're a painter

You: *humming along to some music as you apply a fresh coat of paint to the wall of the galley*

Benn and Lucky Roux: *walk in*

Benn: Hey Kid.

You: Hey

Lucky Roux: Did you make sure to use the mold resistant paint?

You: Yes Roux.

Benn: And you applied the sealant before the paint?

You: *nods your head* And the primer, I got this man, thanks for checking in on me.

Benn: Alright then, I'm just gonna open this here winder to get some fresh air in here, so you don't get high off the paint fumes.

You: aww, but that's the best part.

Lucky Roux: *snorts* Let me know when you're done, so I can start dinner. Also, when you are done, you might want to put up a barrier, so none of the others accidentally lean on it.

You: I enjoy seeing them covered in paint. So I think they're gonna be in for a surprise, or at least the boss will be. Because I bet you a thousand berry that he's definitely gonna lean in the paint.

Lucky Roux: I'll take that bet.

Benn: I ain't, because he'll definitely gonna do it.

The next morning

Shanks: *Still annoyed that he got paint in his hair the night before* is this shit finally dry?

Benn: yeah, the kid didn't paint in straight lines though.

Shanks: what! But they're usually so meticulous about doing tasks perfectly.

Benn: it was on purpose too, take a close look.

Shanks: *leans in and glides his fingers across a floral design in the brush strokes* do you think they like painting?

Benn: I believe so, that, or they inhaled too much paint fumes and decided to have fun with it.

Shanks: both are possible... Didn't they repaint the hallway, and bathrooms?

Benn: yeah? They painted patterns there too.

Weeks later

Shanks: Hey (y/n) I got you something! *Presents you with a colorful variety of house paints, and a bunch of supplies*

You: ... Wow, that's a lot of paint, are you wanting me to repaint every room on the ship?

Shanks: no silly, for you to have fun with. We noticed the patterns you painted in the galley and thought you might like more colors.

You: but where would I paint?

Shanks: where ever you'd like.

You: *Kisses him on the cheek, scoops up the supplies, and runs to your room*, Thank you!

Two days later in the galley

You: I finished my room is it okay if I paint this wall now?

Shanks: Go for it.

Benn: *watches you run off* they painted their whole room you know.

Shanks: I saw, I was impressed they managed to paint such steady line work with the ship moving so much.

Benn: I think the little maze design the pained on their door frame was my favorite. Do you think they take requests?

Shanks: I dunno.

You: *pushes the box of supplies onto one of the tables*

Benn: is it okay if I asked you to paint something?

You: sure!

Yassop: Wait, you take requests! I want the pillar in my room painted.

The crew: *crowd around you listing off the things they want painted*

Shanks: Guys, let em breathe for fuck's sake! Make a list so they can start painting.

Lucky Roux: I ain't writing down my request because it's simple, don't paint any more realistic bug on the damn walls. I nearly shit myself when I saw the cockroach you painted in the bathroom, that was not a fun surprise at three in the morning.

You: only termite holes, got it.

Lucky Roux: (y/n) no! No termite holes.

You: fine fine, although the fact that the paint on that cockroach didn't even get to dry before one of y'all smacked it, is hilarious.

Shanks: no more realistic bugs, dear, in fact avoid painting realistic critters all together please.

You: ugh fine.

Shanks: I have a project I'd like you to paint, but I'll need to get you a canvas for it. *Winks at you and wiggles his eyebrows*

Benn: Gross.... if he's getting a nude I want one too.

Shanks: You want my nudes too?

Benn: I want a nude of myself, ding-dong.

List of Up-and-coming works

Support me on Kofi and Patreon

[wasabidottie]

SO. Schlatt x really girly and doll like fem reader . She only wears any shades of pink and white ! With bows and cute skirts, schlatt calls her little lamb, really like mushy romantic stuff! (Nsfw is okay if yiu do that :3!)

a touch of pink (Jschlatt)

a/n: ahh thank you sm for the request, i hope i did it justice :)

Schlatt had never been one for frilly, pink, or cute things. His life had been dominated by bold statements, brashness, and the relentless pursuit of his goals. But then, you had entered his life, a whirlwind of all things soft, delicate, and feminine.

You were a vision in pink and white, your wardrobe filled with an array of pastel shades, cute bows, and twirly skirts. Schlatt had affectionately dubbed you his "little lamb," a nickname that had stuck and was used far more often than your real name.

After you and Schlatt had decided to move in together, it became apparent that the two of you were polar opposites when it came to interior design. His home was plain and functional, a stark contrast to your love for all things cute and colorful. But you had a way of bringing your unique style into his life without overwhelming it.

Hints of your personal style started to appear throughout his house. A light pink throw blanket draped over the back of the couch, fluffy white pillows with cute designs found their way onto the living room chairs, and a dainty vase of fresh flowers adorned the dining table. You'd even convinced Schlatt to paint a wall in the bedroom a soft, rosy shade of pink.

Schlatt's fans couldn't help but notice the changes in his home. They often poked fun at the addition of pink, the plush cushions, and the occasional delicate trinket. But Schlatt didn't give a damn about their opinions. To him, the hints of your style were a reflection of your presence in his life, and he cherished every one of them.

He loved the feeling of coming home to a space that you had both created. Your personal touches transformed the stark environment into a cozy, inviting haven. And despite his tough, no-nonsense persona, Schlatt couldn't help but be smitten by the way your style had woven itself into his life.

Schlatt sat on the couch, engaged in a casual conversation with his friend over the phone. The topic veered towards the changes in his home, and his friend asked with a chuckle, "Does all that pink stuff ever annoy you?"

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, you had been arranging some of your knickknacks, contemplating whether to rearrange them for the umpteenth time. Your ears caught Schlatt's conversation from the other room, but only snippets. The words "pink stuff" and "annoy you" struck a chord, causing your heart to race.

Your mind leaped to conclusions, misunderstanding the context entirely. You thought Schlatt was talking about your girly decor and how it might annoy him. The thought of imposing your personal style on him and potentially irritating him flooded your mind.

With tears brimming in your eyes, you hastily started removing the cutesy decorations, your heart heavy with self-blame and guilt for what you perceived as forcing your taste on Schlatt. The rosy wall, which had been a testament to your shared compromise, became a target for repainting in your mind.

As you rearranged the room, placing the decorations in a pile, your tears fell freely. You felt selfish for wanting to express your personality in the space you shared with Schlatt, believing you had overstepped, misunderstanding his feelings towards the decor.

Unbeknownst to you, Schlatt had finished his call and was now looking for you. He followed the trail of removed decor items, leading him to the bedroom, where he found you on the floor, surrounded by your treasured knickknacks, your cheeks stained with tears.

"Hey, what's going on, little lamb?" Schlatt's voice was soft and filled with concern as he crouched down beside you, his arms instinctively reaching out to comfort you.

You looked up, eyes red and puffy, and tried to explain through your sobs. "I-I'm sorry, Schlatt. I heard you talk...I thought you didn't like the decorations, so I was removing them. I'll repaint the wall, I didn't mean to impose this girly stuff on you."

Schlatt's heart sank as he realized the misunderstanding. He wrapped his arms around you, holding you close as you cried. "Hey, hey, no, no, it's not what you think. I love the way you've made this place feel like home. It's you, it's us. I'm sorry, I should've been clearer. I love what you've done with the place, it's perfect because it's yours."

He gently wiped away your tears, looking into your eyes with sincerity. "I love your style, I love you. You're not forcing anything on me, you're making this house feel like our home, together."

He held you until your tears subsided, reassuring you with words of affection and promises that your personal touch was more than welcome. In the end, the misunderstanding only strengthened the bond between you and Schlatt, reinforcing the understanding and love you shared. He led you to the living room, guiding you to the comfortable couch, ensuring you were seated before settling in beside you. The soft light from the evening sky peeked through the window, casting a gentle glow into the room as the rain outside continued to pitter-patter against the glass.

"Hey," he murmured, his voice a soothing melody, "come here." He tucked you against his chest, your head resting just beneath his chin, feeling the rise and fall of his breath in a comforting rhythm. He wrapped his arms securely around you, offering solace and warmth, his fingers tracing calming circles on your back.

You snuggled into the safety of his embrace, feeling his heartbeat against your cheek, the familiar sound reassuring and comforting. The lingering warmth of his arms around you was like a protective shield, a cocoon of affection that encased you both.

Schlatt buried his face in the crook of your neck, planting gentle kisses on your skin. "I love you, little lamb," he whispered, the endearment rolling off his tongue in a tender caress. "I'm sorry if I made you upset. I'm not great at expressing myself sometimes, but I adore everything you bring into our home."

You lifted your head, meeting his gaze. His eyes were soft, filled with a sincerity that made your heart flutter. "I love you too, Schlatt. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's alright. I'm the lucky one here," he replied, his thumb tracing gentle patterns on the back of your hand. "You make everything better. You make me better."

The two of you sat together, wrapped in each other's embrace, the rain adding its soothing background music. Schlatt's arms around you were a sanctuary, a safe place that felt like home. You could feel the love he held for you in the way he held you close, in the tender way he kissed your forehead.

"I don't usually show this side of me to anyone, you know," Schlatt remarked, his voice laced with a hint of vulnerability. "But you... you're different. You bring out this side of me."

A feeling of contentment washed over you. You nestled into his chest, feeling the warmth of his love enveloping you, as the world outside faded away. In that moment, you knew that you were both each other's safe harbor, a haven of love and understanding. The misunderstandings had only strengthened your bond, reinforcing the affection and commitment you held for each other.

As you basked in the comfort of each other's arms, you felt a sense of tranquility and belonging. This was your love, your life, and it was just as beautiful as the pastel hues you adored. In this shared embrace, with the rain pouring outside, you knew that there was nowhere else you'd rather be.

[munsonshire]

Eddie Munson as your boyfriend

Pairing: Eddie Munson x reader (gender Neutral)

Disclaimer: Eventhough this are some headcanons I might warn you that this is long af

Warning: Use this freely on your fics but pls give credit

Masterlist

He gives the most obvious side eyes ever, You sometimes have to call him out because they are too obvious and he could get in trouble

He will get out of bed quietly when he can't sleep, take his guitar and get out of the bedroom then start playing music loudly

He makes a lot of sarcastic jokes

Will ask you for help when planning his next campaign, and will let you co-lead said campaign as you have also helped

He has this weird obsession with your ass where he will try to grab and squeeze whenever he can (consensual of course)

Contrary to popular belief I don't think that Eddie doesn't care about his hair, I think he does and that those curls aren't as wild as they seem, he makes them look that way, If he didn't then his hair would look even more wild.

When he gets bored he likes to draw on your arms with a marker (erasable).

He always ends up with random scratches, he never knows how but it happens, Sometimes you have to take care of those scratches.

He likes to cuddle with you, and NEEDS to cuddle with you, The poor boy is touch-starved but at the same time, when you touch him too much he can get overstimulated, so he'll tell you when it's enough

All the dice and little figures he has are because he finds them in the floor or somewhere, repaints, and heeps them, he has gifted you so many dice that you now have them all in a jar.

You gifted him a Polaroid camera, and you still don't know if it was a good or bad idea, he will pull that camera whenever he can and take the most horrible pictures of you, like sleeping or similar.

Has struggled with eating disorders in the past, you try to keep an eye on him and make sure that he's eating well but at the same time try not to force him so it doesn't feel like an obligation.

- Okay, so, generally we tend to think of Eddie as this metal guy and so badass, but tbh I see him as the guy that would crouch down and tie your shoelaces if you ask him to or if he sees that they are untied because he doesn't want you to get hurt. Or, if he's in more of a goofy mood he will crouch down and tie your shoelaces together so that you fall, and he obviously has a laughing fit before even thinking of helping you but then he asks you if you're okay and kisses you.

- He's the kind that will surprise you with gifts, those are usually things that you've said you wanted but didn't get because they were too expensive. He's very attentive of your especial interests and wants to get you something with meaning

He gives you his jacket whenever it's cold

He likes to stay in and watch movies and cuddle

Tries his best to comfort you

Likes to play around in the rain with you, you both usually get soaking wet in the rain and end up covered in mud.

When it rains or he just took a shower and his hair is all wet he likes to shake his hair and soak you, he thinks its extremely fun

he holds your face with both hands

likes to kiss the top of your head

After spending so much time together he starts picking up your gestures, habits, and tics even without noticing. But if you pick up one of his habits/tics, like sticking out your tongue when concentrated, he notices it and teases you about it

Likes to get way too close to your face/ear to say something

Very curious about you and your past, he wants to know a lot about you to understand you better

Constantly tells you everything he likes about you

Moves a lot while talking

Lots of LOTR and metal references that he will explain if you don't get them, he never wants you to feel stupid when you two are talking.

Makes you a dnd character in case you ever want to join, which you probably will, considering the amount of time that he's made you sit and watch one of his campaigns and that sometimes you too get too invested in the storylines. This character will appear in the dnd campaigns, even if you don't play, at first the hellfire club members didn't know who this mysterious character was but after meeting you it was so damn obvious

will take you to all the Corroded Coffin rehearsals and little concerts, he likes to dedicate one or two songs to you

likes to mark his territory so if you're talking to someone in the hallway his mf will appear out of nowhere and hug you from behind, leaving a little kiss on your neck, and then leave again, During that interaction he will glare at whoever you're talking to.

if he sits behind you in class, he will spend it kicking your chair to get your attention

he loves making you laugh at his silly jokes

Sneaks through your window whenever he wants, he's hungry? you better have something to eat. Can't sleep? You're gonna be his personal teddy bear. Needs to talk? Now you have a career in psychology, congratulations. Better listen to him when he gets there or he's gonna be throwing rocks at your window all night/day

explains all of dnd to you

Finds hair ties on the floor and gives them to you even if you told him thousands of times that that is not hygienic at all but he ignores you - you still thank him anyway

Likes it when you do his hair

He loves to braid your hair, doesn't really know how but at least he tries

Hugs you from behind, sometimes giving you heart attacks

Sloopy neck kisses, he loves it because it makes you giggle

Likes to hum and sing to you when you can't sleep

He likes to take your hand and trace all the lines in it, then he gives it a little squeeze

Always holds your thigh while driving

Makes you laugh when you're mad at him, that makes you even more mad

He makes a confused face whenever you talk to him about something that he doesn't know about or something he doesn't understand

Has no filter, because he trusts you

If you say you like one of his rings he'd probably give it to you and laugh when he sees that it doesn't fit your fingers. Then he will find some kind of lace to put the ring through it so that you can wear it as a necklace.

Likes to stargaze with you

likes to run his fingers along your skin, especially your back because it makes you shiver

He keeps flirting with you even if you've been dating for the longest time

Loves to pick little fights with you, never serious, just for fun

Would get a tattoo of something that reminds him of you

Asks you to tutor him when he doesn't understand a class, usually math or something like that. Tutoring lessons usually end up with one of you on top of the other while making out

Loves to pull pranks on you and scare you. But he usually gets slapped or something, because idk you but I get aggressive when someone scares me

Will try to teach you how to play guitar

He has the messiest bedhead ever

Hand-holding while sleeping

Puts his hand in your back pocket when you go out together

Comforting each other after nightmares

holds your hand and swings your arms obnoxiously together, he loves to see you laugh and stumble around

He loves your smile and makes you smile at every chance he gets

Venting to each other, asking first obviously.

He puts his hand on your thigh when he drives

He insists on you sitting on his lap, even if there are other chairs to sit

If you ask for one of his shirts and he's in the mood to annoy you he will tell you to take the one he's wearing

- "Eddie, can I have one of your shirts?"

- "Yeah, come and get it"

- "Where is it?"

- "It's on me sweetheart"

- *you look at him confused* "What do you mean?"

- "I mean, take it off me"

- "Eddie..."

- "What? You wanted my shirt"

- "Okay okay, fine, ill take it"

If you have trust issues he's always reassuring you that he loves you. He has abandonment issues so better remind and reassure him that you still love him

Going out dressed up in Halloween. Scaring kids till they pee their pants

He made you a matching guitar pick necklace like the one he has

Hugs you when you're sad

Likes to play fight but if you fight back, he will lose it

Has an irrational fear of doctors/dentists and will throw a tantrum if you take him to one

Bites as a form of showing affection

When it's raining heavily he loves to take you to this one spot in the woods that he calls "his spot" so you both can scream about whatever it is that has been bothering you, Once you feel better you will dance under the rain

He blinks like 100 times before a staring contest and he gets so competitive, he NEEDS to win

If his eyeliner runs and he smears it he will come up with the excuse that it's his new metal way to wear it, just because he's too lazy to take it off and put it on again

Smirks and shrugs when you ask him how he's able to stay up all night and still have energy the rest of the day, he just teases you about not being able to do it yourself

After the attack, whenever you ask to see his scars to know if they are healing he will lift his shirt and hold it between his teeth, mumbling something about how the bruising is fading. And the MF will smirk because he knows that you're having a hard time trying to focus on the scars and not stare at his shirtless torso

Reads his favorite books aloud for you to fall asleep. He LOVES when you fall asleep with him near you because it shows how comfortable and safe you feel around him.

Puts your hair behind your ears and brushes your hair out of your face whenever you're talking with him because he wants to see your face

Likes to ask you for outfit advice, but he just shows up with two almost identical band T-shirts

He loves it when you mess with his hands, like, if you're anxious and take his hand and start playing with his fingers, he loves that shit, and also if you take his rings and put them in your fingers

[dollsonmain]

I watch a lot of restoration videos for lots of different things like whole houses, furniture, toys, electronics, old stoves etc. and over time that's changed the way I feel about customization of literally anything.

I used to struggle with changing dolls, for example, because SOMEone might want it as it is/was someday and I didn't want to ruin it.

Or I see people yelling about folks that paint wood furniture.

Or people talk about "Focus your home decor on maintaining resell value". or stuff like that.

Or like someone on Twitter threatening to steal their relative's Monster High dolls because their hair was messy like Monster High dolls aren't childrens' toys.

It took some time, but I'm firmly in camp "It's yours. Make it as you like it." because more and more I have evidence that no matter what you do to your house, furniture, toys to make them yours, there is someone out there that will be absolutely thrilled to reset it or make it theirs.

The furniture restorers bitching about paint on wood or poorly done repairs or mods, they're having the time of their lives undoing that. They're enjoying the restoration. They're having fun.

Paint the furniture if you want it painted. Someone. Someday. Will have a great time unpainting it if they want it unpainted.

Repaint dolls and chop up their hair. Someone. Someday. Will have a great time replicating the default faceup and rooting in new hair if they want it back to default.

Paint the marble fireplace if you want to. Someone. Someday. Will unpaint that, too, if they want it unpainted.

Paint your living room black if you want to paint it black. Someone. Someday. Can paint it beige again just as easily.

[invertebrates]

bug toys!

alright, here’s my mini-guide to getting into the world of Weirdly Articulated, almost entirely Japanese bug toys.

some caveats:

1) most of these toys aren’t great for kids. they have a lot of small lose-able, breakable, poke-able parts and can fall apart pretty easily. 2) i’m in the US, so i’m not quite sure how to acquire these things if ebay and Buyee don’t work for you 3) ‘bugs’ for the purpose of this guide (and entire blog tbh) is any invertebrate why would i want fake bugs when i can get real bugs? 1) fake bugs don’t die and can be neglected forever. they will never bite, sting, poop on you, or be stinky (unless you make them stinky) 2) fake bugs can be handled constantly, they will not get stressed out or pick up any germs from you 3) fake bugs can be much larger than real bugs, or be species that would be impossible or unethical to own or breed. they can even be fun made up creatures 4) fake bugs don’t require any kind of tank, substrate or food, and they will not breed uncontrollably (or at all) 5) they cannot escape and become an invasive species 6) buying them doesn’t support shady or unethical ‘breeders’ who just take bugs from the wild (not saying all bug breeders do this, but it’s definitely a problem with certain kinds of bugs)

this is not to discourage any responsible bug-culturing you might want to get into, but for me, as a pretty depressed person without a lot of space, these are all big plusses!

onto the fake bugs

ikimono encyclopedia

unfortunately these photos will be some dark toys against dark backgrounds because i am a goth bastard and everything i own is black. sorry.

so, these being Japanese toys, I’m not entirely sure of the correct terms for them. these are pretty much just the search terms I’ve discovered over time that work to find them. as far as I can tell, Japan LOVES bugs and has a very enviable appreciation for them, they don’t seem to be considered nearly as gross or weird or bad as they are in the west.

these are a series gachapon or capsule toys. you can get all kinds of awesome little toys, which are often strangely detailed and often high quality, from vending machines in Japan.

here are some current listings from ebay to give you an idea of the variety and prices:

they also have a lot of cool fish and reptiles in this series. prices can be a bit steep, but you’re usually buying the whole set of toys pictured, not just a one-off. they’re usually a few inches, pretty well painted and articulated, and come as individually wrapped kits you have to put together. i will say, sometimes it is hard to snap the legs into place, so if you have hand/joint issues you might need some help putting them together. usually, a lot of these toys might be the same model but repainted, and sometimes there’s duplicates. the two mantises in my photo are from a set of 6, and there were 3 sets of 2 identical boys, so I could display one with the wings out and another one folded. they’ll also sometimes come with a little piece of clear plastic and a stand you can pose them on top of.

just from the sheer variety they offer, and relative affordability, this would probably be my first recommendation for getting into bug toys. they have beetles, mantids, caterpillars, wasps, ispods, crabs... i’d love some myriapod sets but we’ll see!

i usually grab these guys off ebay. they’re also available on Buyee and there may be more, cheaper options over there, but I’ve noticed with the import/holding fees, buyee and ebay come out to be about the same most of the time. (for anyone confused, Buyee is an English import service that lets you buy stuff off Japanese sites and auctions, since a lot of Japanese sites only want to ship inside Japan)

these are also just the gachapon bug toys from one specific company. there’s OTHER companies making other sets of really good bugs but I’ve had so much luck with just this one term I haven’t branched out much yet.

Fujimi Living Thing Arc

these are slightly bigger models made out of slightly harder plastic (well, the mantis is bigger; beetles are about the same as the ikimono guys) that are a bit more intricate to put together. they come with assembly instructions, but of course they’re in Japanese. you can pretty much follow along with the pictures though. the painting details aren’t quite as nice, but they have a bit more articulation. not as many choices with this set, though they do have a crawfish I wanna snag. they also have some goofy JP style monster dinos.

i bought these guys off hlj.com but it looks like they’re on ebay(and buyee as well I’m sure)

Revoltech RevoGeo

you’ll probably recognize this name if you’re into transformers or other toy collecting. these guys are gonna be by far the most expensive ($90-$120+) but they are extremely large and high quality. this one is super articulated, the individual leg joints and mandibles move, wings move, about the only thing that isn’t articulated are the individual little tarsomeres/feet segments or the abdomen segments. not as much choice here either, I think they have a beetle, ants, crab and a scorpion plus this wasp. these also come mostly assembled, you can usually just snap the wings on or maybe swap out a few parts (iirc this gal’s stinger can be removed)

i got her off bigbadtoystore.com, though they may be available cheaper elsewhere. BBTS is infamously a bit pricier than other toy stores but they’ve always been very reliable and quick for me.

this BIG isopod

this one won’t be as helpful. these may be part of the same series as the ikimono (they were just labeled bandai gachapon) but they are much larger, this guy’s like 5″, came fully assembled and is pretty articulated. they can even roll into a ball! all their little legs move! i’m pretty sure they’re meant to be one of the large deep sea isopods and man, a 1:1 revoltech model of one of those would be a dream.

completely fake bugs!

had to share my little starship trooper warrior bug collection :^) the big one and the one directly under it are 90s kenner toys I believe, the bottom-right one is a funko, the red one is from a tabletop set, and the guy on the left is a figma model that is unfortunately ridiculously expensive nowadays.

one nice thing about fake real bugs: there is not a crazy collectors market for this so this stuff should stay pretty affordable. unless real normal bugs somehow become a huge pop sensation i think it’s just us weird nerds that are into them.

other search terms to try: bandai insect insect gachapon (or gashapon) nature gachapon

that way you may be able to track down listings for individual toys that should be a bit cheaper! here’s a sample what bandai insect got me on ebay:

happy fake bug collecting!

you may noticed I haven’t mentioned one form of bug that has a lot of the same advantages as plastic bugs: dead pinned insects in shadowboxes. i do have some of these, but i am reluctant to support places selling them nowadays because few are ethically or responsibly sourced, and the same sellers often kill and sell endangered bats and other vertebrates for display. plus mites got into half the ones i had and turned them into dead bug dust. if mites ever develop a taste for plastic i will be sad about my collection but the world will be saved from a lot of nasty garbage so it would ultimately be a Plus.

so unless you personally know the person that pinned the insect, i would be very cautious about buying dead things from random online stores or dealers at ‘curiosity’ or ‘oddity’ shows and things like that, since it’s all sourced from alibaba and whatnot anyway. i swear i saw like 5 different people selling the same dead octopuses in orbs at the last curiosity show i went to. they are cool, but i have no idea where those octopuses came from and i doubt the people selling them did either.

[elbiotipo]

Like in most starships, and indeed like in any kind of ships through history, the mess hall was the heart of the Johann Sebastian Mastropiero. Of course, most of the rest of the ship was propellant tanks, engines, and cargo bays. But what truly mattered was this place, this sacred place with food and drink where the crew could relax after a long day sailing the aether. They were the ones who kept this old bird flying, they were the lifeblood of the Mastropiero, and the mess hall was its heart. At least according to the crew themselves. The cargo's insurance was probably higher than theirs after all.

“Mess hall” might also have been a grandiose name for it. It was basically a table, some especially uncomfortable chairs bolted to it so they didn't flew away in 0g, several handles to walk through while in freefall, an old booth that seemed -and probably was- taken from an abandoned fuel space station, an old fridge/hydroponics combo, some kitchen essentials like an electric kettle and oven, and a counter bearing the scars of poorly prepared food, because you get tired of instant guiso and mushroom chips after a while.

It was Human spacer tradition for the Captain to have a last dinner with the passengers before landing at the destination, so never mind the mess, in a way, the mess hall also needed to show the ship's history. And it did, with the pictures hanging on the paneling. A faded photograph of the crew during the Machine War, and then newer ones, an old captain giving a thumbs up at a newly repainted ship, a group of people wearing smokings doing a comedy sketch, Beto as a kid sitting on the commands with the hat on, an asado under three moons that legend has it bring good luck, and more. The latest picture was just next to the oldest one, with a lanky, angular-faced human male with a mate gourd on hand, a small shark-like girl wearing sunglasses and doing a peace sign, and a cactus-like man with his leaves in a sarcastic attitude, under that same sky as the three lucky moons.

Freefalling, and yet somehow looking busy while at it, Beto arrived at the mess hall to heat up water for the mate and start up his morning shift. As he rubbed his eyes he saw Ragua hanging by her squalene tail on a handle in the "ceiling", her headphones at a high enough volume to tell she was listening to Hermética. Siusini was sitting conspicuously in the center of the booth table -not that he needed to eat anyways-, while holding a bunch of crystals around him that reflected on his leaves in beams of focused light, like glittering rainbows. Beto wondered if Pink Floyd would perhaps be a better soundtrack in this case.

"Mornin', people." Beto yawned as he turned on the kettle, his weightless body hanging as he waited for the water to heat up -not boil, this was mate after all.

"MORNIN', BETO!" Ragua said from the ceiling, her voice more high-pitched than usual, perhaps because of her usual excitement, perhaps because of the metal screaming that seemed to envelop her. Siusini's chromoplasts shifted into a greeting hue.

"What are you listening to, Ragua?" Beto asked as the water began to heat.

"It's that music you told me about last night!" She answered, perhaps a bit offended that Beto didn't notice. "I love it, though some lyrics are hard to understand..." She noted. Beto nodded thoughtfully. He was amazed at how quickly she had picked up Rioplatense Spanish in any case.

"Yeah, I told you, they talk a bit about the things that happen in my history tapes..."

"Of course you like them because of that." She grinned while narrowing her eyes playfully. For various reasons, perhaps because she was part of it, history just didn't sit well with her. "But that's the fun part. The voices go... like all low and deep like yours..." Ragua did a frighteningly good rendition of Ricardo Iorio, "...and then it goes all like YEEEEEEAHHHH." Ragua did an even more frightening impression of Claudio O'Connor. Beto just smiled, amused.

"I don't sing like that."

"You don't sing. At all." Ragua teased back.

"Shut up." Beto said. It was true, he couldn't sing at all.

"But what I like the most is the controls." Ragua continued as the album rocked on, her fins shifting to the music.

"You mean instruments?" Beto corrected her word use, helpfully.

"Yeah! Those! It's just so AWESOME... Like, I love the sound, the noise, it feels like when prey moves on the ocean, when you're about to just bite on it? You know? So nice." She said, a bit too giddy, kicking her finned legs against the ceiling.

"That's cool man." Beto answered in a monotone as he poured water on the thermos. 

Perhaps not wanting to awaken her predatory instincts, he turned to Siusini.

"What about you, you finally gave up engineering to become a table decoration?" Beto bantered in friendly confidence. Siusini didn't seem to listen through his sound translator. His leaf patterns shifted in ways that were difficult even for the experienced Beto to decipher.

"Sius'?" He asked again. The chromoplasts reacted.

"GOOD DAY BETO." The patterns of colors said. Beto knew how to read them, and he'd better, since Siusini was his engineer after all. Not a good relationship for miscommunications.

"Testing out the crystals you bought the other time?" Beto said while pouring himself a mate.

"RIGHT."

"Are they, uh, good?" Beto asked, not sure how to put it.

"VERY GOOD." the leaves answered, as Siusini shifted the crystals to what Beto assumed was a more pleasant light show for him.

Beto sipped his second -always the best one, after the yerba is settled- mate of the morning and watched the crystals dance in Siusini's tendrils. Being a heterotroph himself, Beto didn't quite get what was so interesting about the focusing crystals that many photosynthetic species enjoyed, but visually, they were very striking.

"You know." Beto said with his usual curiosity, "You never quite told me what does that light show feels, exactly." Siusini's color shifted to one of amusement, and Beto sighed, wondering what he was gonna say.

"EXPLAINING IS DIFFICULT. WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS." the leaves said.

"Oh come on. You can explain how a dark-energy inductor works, but not that?" Beto bantered back, knowing he won the argument.

"WILL TRY THEN." Siusini said, his color still in an ironic hue.

The communication leaves of Siusini shifted a bit in some patterns Beto didn't recognize. "IT IS LIKE. GOOD FOOD. VERY GOOD FOOD. NARCOTICS[?]. [?]."

Beto blinked a couple times, trying to understand. The last two patterns looked familiar, but... Then he noticed Siusini's leaves and tendrils shifting in a rather strange way... and he groaned.

"You dirty motherflower, I shouldn't have asked..." Beto groaned again in the tone of someone defeated while Siusini's leaves shone brighter in their amused state. He just grabbed his thermos and mate and decided to go to the cockpit.

Ragua, always up for some good gossip but who wasn't keeping up with the conversation because of her headphones, followed Beto with a teasing smile. "Wait, wait, what did Sius’ say?" she asked.

"Never mind, you don't wanna know." Beto said as he made his way to the cockpit.

"Come on, tell me, what was it?!"

"Ragua, no."

"COME ON, TELL ME!" Ragua insisted as she hovered on 0g after him, grabbing his leg while he grumbled. "BETITO, COME ON, TELL ME, WAS IT FUNNY? I KNOW IT WAS FUNNY!" She was not gonna let it go and he knew it. But never mind, first it was time to do trajectory corrections and get to work.

And so, another day started in the good spaceship Mastropiero, 614 years after Gagarin.

[auxryn]

Homebrew Space Marine Chapter:

The Midnight Ravens

I see them as a Raven Guard successor. Chapter colors are midnight blue, grey, and black. They are known for being emotional, with their chapter name derived from a famous but apocryphal story about an immortal.

These particular models are clearly masculine, so they must be a mixed chapter.

The painting:

These models are ancient Scout Sniper figures from Games Workshop. Two of them are pewter and are probably older than most people on this site.

There is no longer a Scout Sniper unit in the game, so I needed to modify them. I placed them on larger bases so they would have the size and height of a newer sniper figure called the Eliminator. People in my play group don't mind this sort of Counts As Model, especially if the model is Cool. This gave me a large base with a small model on it, creating more options for scenic basing.

I bought two of them pre-painted from friends, the third came off ebay already stripped of paint. I used that one (the one on the right) as a test model, then repainted the others into chapter colors. The faces and details were left untouched, since there was no need to cover good work.

Finally, these snipers are supposed to have cool camouflage cloaks made from the sci-fi material cameleoline. I wanted to make them look like part of the terrain.

I painted the bases and cloaks with a Tamiya Dark Earth grit paint, then covered with Aggrellan Earth, sprinkled some additional grit on top, and drybrushed a lighter brown on top. Finally I added a little moss using flocking and white glue.

Given the chance to do it again, I might have tried to include a tactical rock or two for a more three-dimensional effect.

It was a fun project and I have enough spare models to make more Eliminators this way if I decide I want them.

Now that this is out of the way I can start work on The Space Bitches. The cat keeps stealing one and hiding the parts, but this will not stop me! Mental health and adult responsibilities might.

[seraphinesupremacy]

🫧Hi🫧

Name: call me Dia💎

Age: I was born in 2002 and I'm too lazy to update my age every year💅

Nationality: Italian (English is not my first language so I might make some grammatical errors)

🏳️‍🌈: I'm a bisexual and demisexual/demiromantic girl (I use she/they pronouns)

MBTI: ENTJ (Don't stereotype me. I'm just really into doing things right and I like to have a plan for everything. I always try to find a solution to people's problems)

Something about me: I'm autistic 🪐 and I'm very extroverted, I like to socialize and meet new people. So if we have any interests in common, feel free to write to me🌌 (Read the continuation to find out more about me and what I post, it's important. Thank you)

(I made this edit using picsart stickers that represent my interests and something about me)

🎮Favorite video games:

•League of Legends (I play on the European server)

•Wildrift

•Valorant (I don't play it that much because I'm not very good)

•Overwatch

•Team Fortress 2

•Life is strange (this game made me realize I'm not straight)

•Detroit Become Human

•Danganronpa (I discovered this thanks to tik tok during the pandemic. It was very trendy at the time)

•The last of us

•The Sims 3/4 (I never had the chance to play the previous ones)

🍿My favorite TV series are:

•Shameless

•Love, Death & Robots

•Bojack Horseman

•Arcane

•She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

•Hazbin Hotel

•Helluva Boss (I know it's a series that can be found on YouTube but I didn't want to make a separate category)

•South Park

🎼Singers I like:

•Melanie Martinez (my queen)

•Mitski

•Ariana Grande

•Ashnikko

•Kali Uchis

•Madison Beer

•Girl in Red

•Marina and the diamonds

•KDA ("Akali that girl, 'kali go grr 'Kali don't stop, 'kali don't skrt 'Kali got a job, 'kali go to work 뜨거워 언제나 don't get burnt" 🗣🗣🗣)

•Gorillaz

•Queen

•Molchat Doma

•Arctic Monkeys

•Mother Mother

•Jack Stauber

•Cavetown

•TV girl

•Bo Burnham

I actually listen to a lot of artists but I don't remember them all c:

🫧Things I like:

•Lost media

•Liminal space

•Dreamcore

•Nostalgiacore

•History of cinema (especially animated films)

•Psychology (and all other branches of this science. I also love anthropology and sociology)

•Travel and discover new places

•Everything that has to do with creativity (Drawing, writing stories and fanfiction, creating things like accessories for your clothes and such very cute things. I really admire people who can repaint dolls)

•Having fun (going out with my friends, watching films - if they're trashy films it's even better -, sending each other memes and tik tok videos and things like that)

🪷Hobby:

•Cosplay (Especially cosplaying my comfort characters)

•Drawing (I haven't drawn seriously since 2020. I'm waiting for inspiration)

•Collecting dolls (I love Monster High, Ever After High, Rainbow High and L.O.L O.M.G. I also collect Funko pops and figures from other brands. I also have many books and comics -which I have to finish reading because there are too many-)🧸

•Roleplay (Doing roleplay with me means that I have already organized the whole plot. But I also listen to the other person's ideas)

•Find out about the topics that interest me (Most of the time they have to do with culture. I'm a very curious person and I love to inform myself)

💿What I post on Tumblr:

•Things about my fandoms (Mostly I repost cute icons and wallpapers. Sometimes I make some wallpapers. Maybe start writing some headcanons)

•Positivity (Especially mental health or pride posts about being a member of the LGBT community. Be yourself🌈Be unique)

•Random things (I don't know how to explain this category. I could write something like "I'm looking for people who like this song, does anyone remember this movie? etc" or I answer some questions. Sometimes I also reposted something related to when I feel down, but they are old things and I don't think of posting them again because I prefer to think about good things and find the positive side)

•Aesthetics (If I see some nice photo of a sunset or the sky, I immediately repost it because I feel like it. I also post a lot of things related to nostalgia because as I said before I like the "nostalgiacore" aesthetic. And I'm very nostalgic, they were beautiful times when the only worry was "which Winx character am I?")

•My posts are tagged "Dia's post"

🔞If you are a minor, do not interact. I'm a girl from 2002 so I have young adult maturity‼️ For adults (because I know we are not all the same and not everyone likes some things) I would like to point out some things that I could reblog: I might reblog paintings or sculptures with naked people BUT also drawings with people semi-naked or shown in a sexy way. The artists I refer to are: Fumetti Brutti by Josephine Yole Signorelli and EvviArt. They are the only ones I follow but it is to make you understand what type of art I like. I could reblog posts where sexual topics are written: from the classic "use protection when having s3x" or raise awareness about some topics related to this theme. I want people to be informed about some aspects of this topic (I'm not talking about p0rnographic things ) such as the importance of using protection and above all how important consent is. I don't reblog kink-related stuff or explicit porn because it's not a topic of interest to me. And I don't even have kink because s3x isn't a topic that interests me. It doesn't shock me to hear about NSFW things (it disgusts me if disturbing topics are included in this topic). Many of my interests (TV series or video games and things like that) involve adult themes.🔞

🧜‍♀️Comfort characters:

•Jinx (League of legends/Arcane. She is my main and for certain things I see myself in her)

•Seraphine (League of Legends. didn't like her at first but I love her gameplay. And I think she has the best skins -along with Jinx, of course-)

•Evelynn (League of Legends. She's a Goddess)

•Chloe Price (Life is strange. She made me understand that I like women too. I love this punk)

•Sunset Shimmer (Equestria Girls. She is one of the few ENTJs to be a positive character. I really like how her character has evolved)

•Reagan Ridley (Inside Job. We are very similar in certain things)

•Entrapta (She ra. I love this chaotic neutral autistic scientist princess. Again, I see myself in her)

•Kotori Minami (Love Live! When I was in middle school this was my favorite anime)

•Dia Kurosawa (Love Live! Sunshine. Love Live is an anime that accompanied me as I grew up. I'm very fond of it)

❕️I'm looking for young adult people like me (young adult means being over 18 and under 30). I have no problem with NSFW (I prefer artistic nudity) and I have no problem with swearing. I have a certain maturity so I want to interact with people like that.❕️

‼️ This is my safe space🗣 SO DO NOT INTERACT WITH ME IF YOU ARE: racist, homophobic, transphobic and against the LGBT community, do not interact if you are a pedophile and if you harm animals. Don't interact if you are against feminism (which I remind you, means gender equality), don't interact if you are people with ideas of hatred and discrimination. No ignorant people about mental health or what is happening in the world, because we are in 2024 and we need to have a minimum of culture. If you think abortion is murder, I would say you can also go elsewhere because I support women's rights and human rights in general. In general, don't interact if you are a person with bad ideas (that kind of bad ideas. Go away)‼️

🌟Talk to me if you are a normal person (and if you're nice and send funny memes. Or if you want to talk about some fandom in common or something. We can also play some video games together or talk about philosophical things like "what's the point of life?" or things like "do aliens exist?")🌟

[things-about-cars-in-posts]

twas a '98 polo green de ville. its so pretty bro

See? Shows what I know!

I went and checked, by the way, because that seemed exactly like the right car in the right period of time, and indeed, all De Villes made from 1996 were equipped with the Northstar V8.

I made roughly this face.

To make a long story short, someone at Cadillac saw the legendarily good LS V8 they freely had available as part of General Motors and thought "You know what we should do? Spend an absolute fortune to develop a V8 of our own that fulfills exactly the same purpose". And apparently the people sensible enough to run the place were all on vacation, because lo and behold, we got the Northstar V8, a Cadillac-only V8 that was supposed to tell the world that Cadillac is still bangin', babey! We're not just throwing GM parts together here, we're putting in effort and making something serious, something unique, something Cadillac! Something whose together-keeping threads just shear off after a while. Woo, Cadillac. You were so brave for this one.

But since I don't wanna be all negative, let me tell you about what "98 polo green" made me think about!

In 1996, the Volkswagen Polo was coming out with new colors! And they were like "Let's show the motor show audiences our new colors in a fun, captivating way!" and so they made a Polo out of pieces of all the new colors!

And then they got a FLOOD of dealers shouting WE WANT THIS NOW and they were like "Oh all these new colors are coming in-" and they were like NO we want THIS and they were like "Ah Sheiße" (fuck) and so they begrudgingly took a set of four cars of four different colors off the production line, swapped their body panels around to create the color combinations you see below, and kept repeating the process until they got one entire thousand of Polo "Harlekin"s.

Which vaporized off the lot before they could say "That ought to be enough" in German (and in German it's just 5 syllables so that's saying something), so they upped the production to around 3800 total, which were sold over two years without letting the customers pick the color combination they got.

They also did this to the Golf for the US market (now spelling it 'Harlequin'), but they only made 264 and some of them had to be un-harlequin'd by reshuffling the different colored parts back into four uniformly colored cars (and sometimes just straight up repainted) to be moved off the lot. And they say it's Germans who lack sense of humor.

But I know what you are wondering - or at least, what you will react to with "fuck that's actually a very good question" upon reading: what the fuck do these cars' documents say under "color"? The answer is actually pretty logical (these are German cars after all): the car was one single color when it rolled off the production line, and while they bolted parts of different colors onto it, that color remains in the non-replaceable elements like roof, sills, rear pillar, and all the inside parts like door seams, engine bay, underside and what have you - so that is the color the car legally is.

So yeah man there's your fun facts about the Cadillac De Ville.

Links in blue are posts of mine explaining the words in question - if you liked this post, you might like those!

[tokiwarcube]

general dating hcs for nathan? (both sfw and nsfw, if u want!)

Thank you for waiting -- I had a lot of fun with this! It ended up getting longer than I expected, so NS/FW will be posted separate (already written, just splitting for accessibility.) Thank you again for the request, enjoy! <3 Gender-neutral reader.

Nathan Explosion is a man who is deeply compassionate, but has difficulty showing it. He cares so much, but he’s hesitant to show that side of himself for fear of not seeming brutal.

That being said, he does still crave a relationship. Maybe he himself doesn’t know how badly he wants something serious, something more than a distraction or a fling with a groupie. The full extent of his longing is kept deep under wraps, perhaps even from himself, for a long time. Maybe you’re already in a relationship, or maybe he’s still pining over you, but he does realize how badly he wants something serious with you, eventually.

And when he does? Oh, baby. You really do get to see a whole separate side of himself, and its one that you really, really like.

Despite the eloquent lyricism of Dethklok’s later albums, Nathan is not that eloquent on the fly. Communication is something that’s worked on slowly over time — “I love you” and “I’m sorry” might not come overnight, nevermind praise or reassurance... but he gets there. In the meantime, you can expect some more Nathan-typical compliments, in the form of brutal lyrics about how fucking metal you are. He never holds his tongue in that regard.

He usually sleeps on his back (it helps with the back pain that comes with his stature… and the headbanging… and hunching over all the time), with you tucked into his side or sprawled over his front. Either way, make sure you do what you need to do before laying down with him, because he cuddles with a vice grip. It’s not that he doesn’t know his own strength — he does! He just likes to use it to his advantage.

Thankfully, he is very pleasant to cuddle with — he makes you feel so safe. Strong and warm with just the right amount of give beneath your fingertips, you’ll find yourself cursing your alarm clock each and every morning. He’ll let you up if you ask (a few times,) but believe me, he will grumble about it. He’s a complete "kicked puppy," if said puppy was a full grown mastiff.

Although if it’s been a particularly long day (or if he’s drunk), he might just come in and lay on you, face pressed into your stomach or neck with his arms wrapped around your middle. You are highly encouraged to run your fingers through your hair at this time. If you don’t, he might just ask… albeit in not so many words.

“Can you do that thing that you do? You know, the uh, thing.”

He’s surprisingly religious about repainting his nails, and at some point, you’ve taken over the mantle on this routine. He’s loathe to admit it, but he loves the way his hand looks in yours, cradled so delicately.

Quality time is absolutely one of Nathan’s biggest love languages, and being such a busy man, much of that time is spent in parallel play. Just working on your own respective tasks and sharing space together, with the occasional summoning of attention to run a concept or lyric by you. Some people might think that these “dates” are only out of circumstance, but he secretly really loves and needs them. He treasures every moment spent with you, and they remind him that you actually love being around him, too. You actually like Nathan, not just the lead singer of Dethklok.

(As a side note... It doesn't go unnoticed that you’re one of the only people he actually wants real feedback from. He respects your opinion a lot. The boys have started begging to have you in the recording room, just to keep him from deleting their re-re-re-records.)

Hate to say it, but Nathan does indeed get jealous. He likes to claim that he’d "never let some jackoff piss him off,” but after the whole Trindle situation? He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little insecure. It doesn’t help that headlines have such a love-hate relationship with him — it’s not easy, being subjected to constant criticism from atop the world’s pedestal. It’s not a severe, relationship-ruining jealousy — he does trust you, genuinely — but he will… loom, at parties. Talk with him later, tell him about all the little things you love about him.

As for the boys… they just love to fuck with him. This goes for double if you were friends with everyone prior. Although by that point, you know well enough that everyone just loves to piss each other off. Make sure you include him in shenanigans, and he’ll be right as rain.

Also, PDA? PDA! Enough said. He has absolutely zero shame in front of the camera, and isn’t afraid to let the world know you’re together. He’ll tone it down if you really want it, but at the very least, he likes to have a hand on you. If there’s any space to wrap a hand around your waist, then he will. And if not? Someone better fucking move.

He has this thing where he just likes to grip, to hold. I wouldn’t go so far as to call him restless, but he does subconsciously give little massages when cuddling. Something about the way your body gives beneath his hands just feels right, to him. And unsurprisingly, this applies to makeouts, too.

On that note, kissing Nathan is an absolutely transcendent experience. He’s overwhelming in the best way possible, with every thought and sensation crying Nathan, Nathan, Nathan.

Despite being the least-talkative member of Dethklok, he is surprisingly vocal when making out with him. His voice drops even further, vibrations rumbling against your chest. Sometimes its murmured praise, sometimes its questions on whether or not you want to bail from the event, sometimes it's just quiet groans. Either way, the soothing growl leaves you feeling heady.

And despite his fast-paced lifestyle, he actually really likes doing “regular jackoff shit” with you. And sure, he probably wouldn’t be caught dead out in public without you, but it feels special when you’re by his side. Put his hair up, take a few Klokateers, and hit the town — local metal bands, coffee shops, movies… it’s all on the table!

And even through all of the ups and downs with his parents, he does love them. And he does want you to meet them... eventually. They’re still his parents, after all. But when that day does come, just know that he’s really serious about you. You’re probably the first person he’s brought over since highschool.

Oddly enough, he isn’t too worried about whether or not they’ll like you. In his words, you’re fucking awesome. What’s not to like?

(They do love you, and are ecstatic to finally meet you in-person. Nathan quickly finds himself regretting the introduction when his mother starts pulling out baby photos, but you seem happy enough, so… He can’t complain too much. Until he finds out that his mother gave you the worst photo to keep.)

Nathan is a fantastic listener, and loves to listen to you talk — especially if it’s something that you’re passionate about. He might not always have a response, but you know he’s listening. Lovestruck is cute look on him.

He always lights up a little when you enter the room, or when you jump into a conversation. His eyes brighten, and his lips upturn just a fraction. Again, lovestruck is a cute look on him.

All in all, Nathan loves you a lot. It takes a little while for him to really open up, but when he does, he is the most loyal partner you could ever ask for.

[ghouljams]

You collect BJDs??? Can you please tell me where you buy some? I’ve been wanting one for so long and only found design models on Etsy, 1 actual doll that cost $8000, and literally nothing else. I gave up on the search and have no clue any irl stores that could sell them 😭🙏

I wouldn't buy anything off etsy unless you're grabbing a Kabbit print, and those should only run you about $100 max for a blank doll. I'm going to put doll hobby talk under the cut, but yeah I can give you my rec-list

I bought my first BJD off of cpfairyland which is the official Minifee retailer, but if you're in the USA I would also suggest checking out Denver doll emporium! They have a few different brands and quick shipping if you buy in stock. Minifee are great starting dolls, they have a ton of different heads, they're an industry standard and you can buy a doll with their makeup already done. Which means you can put money towards clothes and wigs(which is the fun part anyway).

I am an anti-recast hobbyist, and I genuinely recommend not buying recasts if you want to make friends in the hobby. So I'm only going to be telling you legit sites, which also means dolls are going to be a little more expensive(but I'll give you some less expensive recs too).

Alice's Collective bjd(acbjd) is a great site the acts as a third party for a ton of different brands. If you want a doll that looks a little(or a lot) different from the standard fashion doll they have a lot of great options.

Jane's Dolland is another sight that acts as a third party seller. They sell blind box tiny bjds(that are great quality I have a few)(only $30 too) and a few other cheap brands. You might have to paint the face yourself, or find a repaint artist, but the dolls themselves can be as low as $50. I actually bought an Imomo doll from them to customize for my sister last Christmas and she was really great for a beginner bjd.

Withdolls has some tiny bjds that are really fucking cute. I have one and he was under $200. Their dolls are adorable, but their tiny doll sizing is a little hard to shop for.

I mentioned Kabbit dolls! Kabbit is a 3D print file available for sale on etsy super customizable and cheap if you have a 3d printer! Or a library with a 3d printer! I've done 3D prints through my local library and I have a friend that printed a Kabbit they really like. Dollightful also has a free tiny bunny bjd on thingyverse I think.

I have bought dolls off of Facebook and Instagram, but you gotta be willing to be a little mean if you buy second hand. Always make sure you get a certificate of authenticity! And know what the doll you want is worth! I collect 1/4 MSD sized dolls, the last 2 heads I bought were about $100 each but they were also harder to find heads. One of the heads was being sold with a body for $150(but I only wanted the head so I overpaid) so you can find cheap(authentic) dolls if you're looking.

I also buy a lot of artist dolls on pre-order. Which means I follow the artists on Instagram and then I am very patient, and lucky. BJD buying is a lot of hurry up and wait if you want to go the independent artist route. You can always check bjdsale on Instagram, the tag is full and people are always selling.

Depending on where you live you can check on Facebook to see if you have a local bjd group! I have one in my area and we are always excited to help new people in the hobby!! They'd have dolls for sale, but also would have more ideas on where you could buy online. Dolls are such a niche hobby everyone sort of knows everyone, and we love sharing with new folks!! If you have any other questions you can send me a dm and I'm happy to talk more ❤️

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hello! I’m looking for a game where you play as dying gods in a world that has mostly forgotten them. Do you know of such a thing?

Thank you!

THEME: Dying Gods

Friend, I am holding your hands lovingly. How did you manage to ask about a very specific game that I designed? 

(Don’t worry, it won’t just be shameless self-promotion).

Forgotten Gods, by quinnntastic.

you are gods.infinite, all encompassing,Forgotten.

Forgotten gods, trapped,adrift in the cosmos,left behind by a societythat no longer wanted you.

but you weren't Forgotten alone.

~*~

FORGOTTEN GODS is a game about otherness and clutching each other tightly in the face of the uncaring.

write letters to each other. remember who you were, who you are, who you will become. 

This is a single-page, slightly abstract, epistolary game. It gives your characters a beginning set-up: that you are gods, forgotten by your people, who have only each-other to talk to. A game that works very well for two players, it’s a great start for pairs of friends who may find it difficult to keep in touch across time zones. There is very little in terms of game structure; however, if all you need is a premise by which the two of you can write little pieces of fiction for each-other, this might be a neat little place to start.

If you bought the TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Texas, or the TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Florida bundle, you already own this game!

Mischief by Moonlight, by Mint-Rabbit (me!).

You are small gods, stolen away by colonizers inside the everyday items of those whom you loved. Your artifacts have been repainted, refurbished, and reconstructed until you hardly resemble your former selves, and you have found yourselves among other relics, closed up in glass cases,  temperature-controlled archives, or stuffed on top of a collector's shelf. 

However, some small remnant of your old magic remains. It is not grand or powerful, and it doesn't last nearly as long as it used to, but it's enough to do something about your current situation - whether that be haunting the museum, aiding other small spirits, or moving your artifacts to a different location. 

Mischief by Moonlight is an ode to all of the artifacts sitting in places like the British Museum that have no right to be there. You play as small deities, separated from the peoples who venerated them, bound to everyday objects that a museum has put on display. You’ve been separated from nearly everything and everyone that gave you power - but you haven’t diminished into nothingness. 

This game uses the VRBS system, by David Garrett, which consists of assigning action words to your characters, along with three tally-boxes per word. Failure will propel your character forward in that each failed roll allows you to either add a tally to a verb of your choice, or to add a new verb to the list of things your character can do. Your small gods will navigate different rooms of the museum, in an effort to help out other deities, haunt the staff, or whatever else your heart desires. 

If you like random roll tables, easy-to-learn rules, or if you just like the idea of poking fun at the British Museum, this game might be for you!

The Dying of the Light, by Keith D Edinburgh.

You are a God. 

For millennia, you have been worshipped faithfully, your powers striking awe into the hearts and minds of your followers. 

But something is changing. Your Followers have heard of a new way. The Age of Reason is dawning. Can you keep the flame of your divinity alive in the face of this unknowable threat?

The Dying of the Light is a one page roleplaying game for 2 or more players.

This game is only one page, and carries a simple collection of rules. It uses d4’s, d6’s and d8’s, and tracks the popularity of gods over a century. There’s not a lot of flavour for this game, so I think it might be a good companion to a larger game, especially if the game decides to check in on the world (and the effect the Gods have on it) over large periods of time. Otherwise, your group might have to work a bit to add a larger story - describing each act of the gods, inserting events that cause followers to fall away, etc.

[the-bjd-community-confess]

I live with my parents and pretty much 20hrs of the day I take care of my disabled mother. I love her to bits and I care about her a lot, and tbh I’m not fond of having a lot of alone time, so I enjoy constantly being with her and helping her.

Today my dad took her out of state for a surprise trip. They’ll only be gone the weekend, but they just left and I already feel lonely. I don’t usually use my dolls for company, but as I type this, my biggest boy is sat in my lap like he’s my child and it’s kind of nice. My mom would probably make fun of me for it because she thinks the dolls are silly (not in a mean way), so it’s nice to be able to handle my dolls without the fear of jeering comments. He makes the room feel less empty.

My mom is usually my video game companion, so while they’re gone, I’m going to play a game my mom doesn’t care for with my boy in my lap. I’m still going to miss her all weekend, but hopefully this way I won’t be too lonely. I might even grab some of my other dolls from the bedroom and sit them with me, and maybe if I get bored of video games, I might repaint a doll I’ve been wanting to give a new character lately, but I haven’t had the time to do so. Tomorrow I have friends coming over and work stuff to get done, so tonight is probably just gonna be the hard part. Wish me luck!

~Anonymous