#i'll probably post it anyway just 'cause it's fun for me to watch

[dawnthefluffyduck]

I've been seeing a lot of people redrawing their old work and I wanted to give it a try :D after this I will be doing another one because I've never had such a dopamine boost (or it could be me having my first energy drink in a month)

I honestly can't say for sure when the first one was done, but if I were to take a guess... 2016? It's when I got my first pair of markers. I loved drawing mermaids at the time bc it let me draw long flowey hair while avoiding legs haha, and this particular drawing was my favorite 🧜‍♀️

Remembered to work in a higher resolution this time too haha

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

Oh Oh what about 'H-how long have you been standing there?' Canon(-adjacent) Hurt/Comfort and Book? this list is actually so interesting there's so many good combinations

Thank you so much, it's been lots of fun seeing which combinations ppl picked and coming up with different story ideas. Hope you enjoy this one. 💖

True love's kiss

Rated: G

Words: 995

Tags: Post-Vecna; Everybody lives; Eddie Munson has a crush on Steve Harrington; Steve Harrington has a crush on Eddie Munson; Steve has migraines; Hurt/comfort; Love confessions

Eddie finds out by accident. It's one of the last days of summer, and the air has a sticky heaviness to it. He just wants to pick up some stuff he forgot after last night's campaign. Steve isn’t home, he knows for a fact. So what if he memorized his shift plan? It's perfectly normal, most definitely not a sign of obsession or codependency. 

Anyway, the point is, Steve isn't home, so Eddie doesn't ring, just lets himself in and marches into the living room. And that's where his plans for the afternoon derail. 

Steve is on the sofa in front of the television. Eddie's swoop of surprise is short-lived, however, because he isn't watching a movie or game. 

The tv isn't on at all. The entire house is deadly quiet. The blinds on the windows are drawn and the air conditioning is on, the room dark and cold.

Steve is buried in the pillows. His shoulders are shaking. 

“Stevie?” Eddie blurts. “What happened?” 

“Eddie?” Steve croaks. One eye pokes out from the pillows, bleary and horrified. “I- … H-how long have you been standing there?” 

Eddie doesn’t answer. He has already bridged the distance and is sinking down on the armrest by Steve’s head.

Steve sees the concern on his face and groans. “I'm fine. It's just … fucking headaches, don't worry.” 

But Eddie does worry. Eddie is freaking out, which is only natural given their shared history. He makes a horrified sound, shooting up to grab the walkie from Steve’s room and call a code red. 

“No, wait,” Steve says, holding him back with one shaky hand to his wrist. “‘s not anything supernatural. I mean they’ve gotten worse, after everything, but that's probably ‘cause I took a few hits too many. I've always had ‘em. Ever since I was a kid.” 

Eddie lets that statement trickle in. 

“Oh,” he then breathes, sitting back down and gesturing at the dark room. “You mean migraines?” 

Steve, who has thrown one arm over his face, peers out at him. 

“How d’you …?” 

Eddie shrugs sheepishly. “My mom used to get them, before …” 

He trails off, lost in the memory, fingers grasping to fiddle with something. He only realizes where they've landed when they start scratching at Steve's scalp, and a noise spills from his chest. Eddie flinches, stomach alive with an entire whirlwind of butterfly wings, and makes to pull back his hand. 

“No,” Steve mumbles. He's pale, but some of the tension has bled from his features. His voice is slurred. “Don't stop. Feels good.” 

And who is Eddie to deny him? 

Nodding, he slides off the armrest to sit more comfortably, pulling Steve’s head into his lap to rub soothing circles into his temples. He only notices the book lying on Steve’s stomach when it gets jostled by the motion and almost tumbles to the floor. 

“Hey, what’s this?” Eddie mutters, flipping it over to inspect the cover. “Fairytales?” 

Steve takes a few moments to reply, and in the low light, Eddie imagines he sees two pink splotches bloom high in his cheekbones. 

“My nanny used to read ‘em to me when I was sick. I was tryna, but … the fuckin’ letters keep moving.” 

“I'll read you one.” 

Another blink of those pretty eyes, pupils fuzzy and unfocused. “Really?” 

“Sure,” Eddie nods, reveling in the smile he gets when he flips the book open. “Let’s see … Once upon a time, there was a king. He was beautiful and kind and brave, and everybody in the realm loved him dearly. But the king was cursed. He-”

“Wait,” Steve mutters. His lids flutter as he struggles to stay awake. “I don’t- … Which one is this?” 

“My favorite,” Eddie replies. “Now hush, you’re supposed to be resting. Where was I? … The king had been befallen by an evil curse. He couldn’t love himself. He slaughtered many a beast, fought countless battles, hoping to prove his own worth to himself, but nothing lifted the shadow looming over him.” 

Eddie turns a page, crinkling his brow in thought. 

Steve stifles a yawn. His head is getting heavier in Eddie’s lap. “Then what happened?” 

“Patience, I was getting to it,” Eddie scolds. “One day, a new jester arrived at the court. He was skeptical, having heard grand tales of the young king’s beauty and good heart, never quite believing them. Yet, the second he beheld the king with his own eyes, he was enraptured, and he vowed to-”  

“En-whatchered?” 

“Enraptured, Stevie,” Eddie sighs, setting the book aside in favor of combing his fingers through Steve’s hair again. “Smitten, enchanted, lovestruck.” 

“Pffff,” Steve makes. “Love at first sight ain't real.” 

Eddie scoffs half-heartedly. “It's a fairytale. It's not supposed to be realistic. And besides, I'm only telling it, not making it up.” 

“Oh yeah,” Steve says. If his eyes were open, he'd be rolling them right now. “Obviously.” 

“Obviously,” Eddie agrees, and losing himself for a moment in the lines and angles of Steve’s face, the feel of his hair between his fingers. 

“How does it end?” 

Eddie blinks. “Huh?” 

“The story, silly,” Steve mutters. “How does the jester save the king?”  

“Who said he does?” 

Steve sighs, satisfied and exhausted. “‘s a fairytale. Gotta have a happy ending.” 

Eddie shrugs. “Fair enough. What d’you think he should do?” 

Steve stays silent for a long moment. Eddie is starting to think he fell asleep when he speaks again, so softly it's nearly lost under the rush of the air conditioning. 

“How ‘bout a kiss?” 

“Ah,” Eddie says around the lump forming in his throat. “Good one. Can't go wrong with true love's kiss.” 

Steve hums in agreement. 

“After the king sleeps, though.” His hand finds Eddie’s, interlacing their fingers. “Waited so long for this. Wanna do it without a headache.” 

Eddie is left in the dark, listening as Steve’s breathing evens out, wondering how much of their conversation he'll recall when he wakes up. 

More celebration ficlets

[skylarkspinner]

fiber art adventures in egypt

I recently got back from a trip to Egypt & finally got around to organizing some pictures to share. One of the things I was most excited about was seeing what I could find on fiber arts and textiles.

Dropping everything under a read more, 'cause this will be a long post haha

first visit: the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC)

At the time of visiting, they had a special textiles exhibit. It covered Pharonic Egypt all the way up to modern times, although I only had time to check out the dynastic & a bit of the Coptic portion of the exhibit (which was what I was really hoping to see anyways)

Was super excited to see this diorama in person. I knew about it but had never seen good pictures of it. From the little I've seen of ancient Egyptian spinning, spinning with two spindles seems to be the norm rather than a master technique? It also shows up in tomb art, which the exhibit also shared:

They also used a different fiber preparation (splicing to create a rove of fiber, no traditional drafting to my understanding) so that probably made a difference? Regardless I really want to see if I can replicate the technique, especially because their spindles look so similar to modern spindles??

I took so many pictures of spindles, guys, and I fully intend to either have a few replicas made or to learn to make some myself. Also, although they were unlabeled... I'm pretty sure those are beaters for weaving? That was a bit of a trend with this trip, so much stuff was unlabeled :( I would've killed to at least get some date estimates for some of the stuff they had on display. I was nerding out in here though, and my family took a few pictures of how excited I was getting. A bit embarrassing, but eh haha

The exhibit also had a section on natural dyes used with a fun visual;

There was several diagrams specifically describing each dye source, but in the interest of not overloading on pictures I'll just list them out. For blues; woad, Yellows; turmeric, safflower, saffron, or yellow ochre; reds; madder, henna, pomegranate, and kermes. I originally thought kermes was another way to say cochineal, but it only seems to be distantly related.

next visit: Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center

A small art center dedicated to hand-weaving wool and cotton tapestries. All of their work was museum quality & awe inspiring!!

Was even invited to their back rooms to watch a few of their weavers working; no I don't have room to put a room-sized loom anywhere but heck do I want one now

Our guide that took us through talked a bit about the natural dyes they use (all of their dyes are dyed in house with what they grow in their dye garden!!!) and got excited to hear I was also interested in natural dyes! He seemed a bit disappointed I'd never worked with indigo and. while indigo scares me, I'll take it as a sign that maybe I should try some time this year haha.

final visit; the Egyptian Museum

we really had to rush through this one which was a huge shame because it's packed full of artifacts. Also, the lighting in there is atrocious, so apologies for the not great pictures ahead.

They had a fascinating display of textile tools, more than what the NMEC had;

(Hand for size reference) I want all of these spindles! So badly! But a few of them look so much like a few of the spindles I own already?? A few of them had a spiraling notch, that's so cool? But also, what's going on with the one with two whorls? I have no idea. I'm fascinated.

Look at these whorls!! Although again, I'm a bit confused; the lack of labeling strikes again. Unsure why some of these "whorls" have two holes, or what the metal object with the wooden handle is. The display implies sewing needles, and some of them do look like it, but others.... really don't look like sewing needles. I'm absolutely enchanted by this little whorl though. I think it has birds on it?

More objects that I'm baffled by- the signage doesn't really indicate what some of this stuff is, if it's even known. Also confused by the object wrapped in white string in the right pic; it looks like a distaff but to the best of my knowledge the (ancient at least) Egyptians didn't use distaffs. It probably popped up in later times and was put in this display since it was still relevant, but I'm still not sure.

I have so many more pictures & thoughts but I'll save those for more specific future projects. I've been doing research outside this trip on ancient Egyptian spinning techniques and desperately want to go deeper into that, this trip just solidified how excited it makes me. If you made it all the way through this, many thanks for reading!

Bonus; look at this ancient linen 🥺

[echooefrost]

LANYON LORE TIME (YIPEEE)

I wanted to post some lanyon Lore for my Medieval Au because he's probably the most different to Canon-Lanyon. Jekyll/hyde stay pretty much the same, and they don't need much explanation, however lanyon does. so here it is.

EARLY LANYON

Growing up as a prince, meant that Lanyon was constricted to many duties and couldn't really live a normal life as a kid, this caused him to build up much resentment towards his father and in turn, made him a very reckless and rule-breaking, rebellious teenager. His name like Tgs (and novella) is also Hastie. Its very common for medieval royalty to pass down names [eg. Henry VIII] So robert would've been 'Hastie II' however little Babyon wanted to be nothing like his father and started going by 'Robert'. Lanyon never wanted to be King. Ever. He holds contemptment for his Royal duties and often dreams of running away from it all (but ever since a certain someone entered his life, he's found it awfully hard to leave...)

YOUNG-ADULT LANYON [PRE-HENRY]

Due to his rebellious nature, Young Lanyon would often end up sneaking out late at night go to the local pub, and let loose. He often wears a cloak so others don't recognise him. Lanyon likes to get very drunk and forget about all his responsibilities, (he's not one bit responsible) His Father disapproves and often reminds Lanyon that he is a 'disappointment to his family' (FUN!! SELF HATE?? ikr??) SO to address, Tgs Lanyon's playboi era, that doesn't really happen here, IN the Au as a part of finding his own freedom, he sleeps around alot, and has multiple one night stands but those involve both parties not expecting any strings attached. Lanyon still gets to be a slut but he also isn't a massive dick. He can also play the fiddle, he secretly enjoys this (but shh don't let his father know) and occasionally brings it to the pub. I headcanon that Lanyon has a really nice Singing voice, so in this Au Lanyon can sing, but he gets very embarrassed about it and never does it in public (unless incredibly drunk)

PRESENT LANYON

Present lanyon in the Au is in his early 20's (same with Jekyll) As part of His Duties as Prince, he must also be Knight and Fight in battles, this entail lots of training, Lanyon's been training since a young age, but ever sine Jekyll arrived, he always watches him practice so he can 'observe how to defend himself' and definitely NOT to see his cute crush/bff wear dashing armour, no.... Lanyon actually doesn't mind being a Knight that much but he doesn't Like Violence all that much and thinks there are better ways at solving disputes, however this does not mean he won't try to kill you if you threaten those dear to him (you can guess who)

In the AU, Robert is a bit more awkward around Henry, as they both are enamoured and always in Gay panic mode around each other, so there dynamic is a bit more 'cute' per-se compared to Tgs where Lanyon is Dom and Jekyll is Flustered mess. Lanyon gets to be a bit more a flustered mess in this Au too.

Yes, I know it's been a while, but no, the Au is not dead. I am going to do things with it I just haven't had a lot of time. Anyway thanks for reading, it means alot to me that people care about this, as always; if you have no idea what 'Au' I'm yapping about go to the Og post here (wow its kinda old... oooh old art) ...I think I'll do one of these with Frankenstein.

[kaypeace21]

[The future of this BLOG]: SHOWS I'm planning on analyzing here & on YouTube

Interview with the vampire

Invincible

House of the dragon

The boys

Umbrella acadamy

Bridgerton probably (still haven't had time to watch part 2 yet)

stranger things: I have mixed feelings about reviewing it given what certain staff has said and done. I oscilate between wanting to review the final season or wanting to boycott it (especially as someone who has been part of the BDS movement for 1/2 her life). But, on one hand, It's not the fault of the underpaid (and talented) writers and staff who don't have these views. And I do believe some of the writing staff may have good intentions and want to give us a positive and powerful message to the audience about healing from childhood tr*uma. However, other members of the writing staff may just want to go down the stereotypical and popular-easy route. We'll just have to wait and see what happens in the last season. If I hear the ending isn't simply another re-hashing of prior seasons and it's more like s1-2 (without the cliches of s3-4). I'd be more inclined to review it by *cough* and watching it elsewhere. Once I was logged back on to tumblr: I did have a whole draft saved about my politics since I was a kid and why I still feel so strongly about such conflicts, today . But, I shouldn't make the topic about me- and I'm not sure anyone wants to hear my life story XD. So, the big point (to my followers) is regardless of whether I chose to watch it or boycot it-

I'm not deleting the old ST content: so do what you want with it (like, reblog, add details to reblogs I didn't notice). Have fun :D !

Analyzing ST certainly helped me improve in terms of media literacy (and it'll be beneficial for the future content I make). So even if it sometimes got messy here, I do appreciate all the positives the ST blog and followers brought to me.The kind words meant a lot. For those who want to unfollow me for my political beliefs , that's totally fine. That's your prerogative. For those who want to unfollow cause again ST was pretty much my whole blog: again I TOTALLY understand and I wish you the best :). I'm not going to judge, take away, or guilt anyone, for their choice of media they like. Enjoy it (I truly mean that).

For those who continue to follow my blog . I appreciate you SO MUCH! I've been gone from this blog for such a long time cause of school (and I appreciate those who stayed and were excited to see me again). The positive words meant a lot over the years. Everyone have a lovely day. Take care of yourselves.

Sincerely, Kay

ps: I'm open to other media suggestions too so you can drop them in my message box (recent films/ shows, mini/limited series, animation, heck i'm open to comedies and foreign media too).But, analyzing them will most likely be after the shows listed above .Right now I'm focusing on my national exam and my mental health. My first video will probably be in late August or early September. My test is August 20th. Hope everyone is doing well .I'm feeling much better mentally. Hope everyone is feeling the same way :)

for my 1st video I’ll just post it to youtube . But for other videos I may make a early access patreon (like a week before the next video comes out free on youtube). Have to google how all that works (or if there's better alternatives) . Totally fine if you can't afford it (you'll get to see it for free on youtube regardless :D) . I'll be honest . I'm primarily thinking of doing it cause I need to pay off those student loans and I'm trying to hopefully move out of state in a few years. Plus, I love analyzing media anyways (so making it a part time job would be a dream come true .

[its-an-obsession]

Who Did This To You?

Full Masterlist | Supernatural Masterlist

Summary: After a long and stressful hunt, all you wanted to do was take some time off at a local bar, primarily you and Dean rather than Sam. So, while Sam is at the motel, you and Dean decide to hang out at a bar in town. The two of you hang out for a while before it's time to head back to the motel. While Dean is in the restroom, you get an unwanted conversation from someone, but you can handle yourself, right?

A/N: Not sure if I like this that much, but I thought I'd post it anyway. Stay tuned for more imagines!! If you'd like to be a part of the tag list, there's a form in my bio you can fill out, or you can DM me!

Notes:

Y/N/N: Your Nick Name

Established a relationship

Not set during a specific season

Warnings:

Unwanted flirting (guy at the bar)

Dean Winchester x-reader

The music played in the background as everyone talked around Dean and me. We had mostly kept to ourselves, occasionally speaking with the people around us. Since we were never really in town for long periods of time, Dean and I thought it'd be funny to make up different stories.

For instance, this time, 'we' had just gotten married in Las Vegas, and we were doing a road trip across the United States. It was stupid, but it was always fun to make different lives that we might never have. "Wow, so, this trip must be fun," Maria said, the woman we met. I smiled and nodded my head.

Dean had his arm around my shoulder, leaning to the side to kiss me on the cheek. "You two are just adorable," Maria said, grinning. The two of us thanked her, telling a few more fake stories about how we had met. "Well, as much as we would love to talk more, we have to head home," Maria said.

She and her husband, Jeff, stood up from the table. "It was so nice meeting you two. Congratulations on the marriage," Jeff said. The nice woman winked at me before leaving the bar. Dean kept his arm over my shoulders. His smile never left his face as we sat there. He sighed and checked his watch.

"Shit. It's eleven-thirty," Dean said. He took his arm off my shoulders to have the last bit of his drink. I grabbed my purse from the chair beside me, putting my arm through the strap. "I'll be right back," Dean stood up, "You good to take the bill?"

I nodded. Dean winked at me and kissed me on the cheek, then headed to the restroom. I shook my head at his actions. The bartender stood to the side as she was tending to some other customers. I pulled out my wallet to close our tap.

We had kept it open for a bit since we had bought Maria and her husband a few drinks, with them doing the same for me and Dean. Lexi, the bartender, spotted me. She held up a finger to tell me she'd be right with me. I gave her a nod and leaned against the bar. I still had a few sips left of my drink.

The music had died down a bit as the night went on. Dean and I hadn't planned on staying out this late, but we had a long day, so it was worth it. Surprisingly, we hadn't drunk that much, mainly because we knew we had about a nine-hour drive the next day. I grabbed my phone to text Sam that we'd be over in a few.

He replied with a thumbs-up icon before telling me that he'd probably be asleep by the time we got to the room. I chuckled at his response, putting my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. "Well, hello," a man said, sliding to the spot beside me. I nodded at him and continued to wait for the bartender.

"Why're you here by yourself?" he asked. I was able to see him from the corner of my eye, noticing that he was already out of it. I looked over my shoulder at the bathroom door. Part of me hoped Dean would spot what was going on, but the other part of me hoped he wouldn't, knowing that he'd cause a whole scene.

"I'm not," I replied. As soon as I said that, I realized that answering his statement gave him even more reasons to continue. The man looked around to find whoever was with me. "Well, I don't see him," he said. "Well, he's in the restroom, so.." my sentence trailed.

I tried to fly down the bartender, but she was now talking to another customer. The man chuckled and turned to the side to get closer to me. I took the last sip of my drink, trying my best to hint that I wasn't interested. He sighed, reaching a finger for the loop of my belt. My hand put the glass down on the counter and tightly grasped his wrist.

He was taken aback by my reaction but gathered himself and tightly pulled my hand away from his. "I'm not interested," I said, "I've got a boyfriend." Now that he was closer, I could practically smell the strong scent of alcohol on him. I mean, we were in a bar, of course, but this was an unpleasant smell.

The man's grip grew tighter at my response. He flipped his hand so my forearm faced up. I looked him directly in the eye before stomping my foot onto his, thanking myself for choosing heavy boots. "Lexi!" I called the bartender. She turned to me with raised brows, her expression changing when she saw the man beside me.

Lexi walked over and glared at him. The people she was speaking to stepped to me, taking the unwanted man away. I thanked Lexi, giving her some money for our drinks tonight. She nodded her head after making sure I was alright. I glanced down at my arm, taking notice of the red marks already forming.

I quickly pulled the sleeve of my jacket down, covering my arm, just in time for Dean to step out of the restroom. I smiled at him as he approached me. "Ready?" he asked. I nodded. The two of us said goodbye to Lexi.

_________

(The Next Day)

I stood in front of the mirror in the motel, doing whatever I could to stop the red marks from becoming visible. But as expected, there wasn't much I could do. Rather than wearing the T-shirt I usually wore. I thought it was best to just keep the sweatshirt I had on yesterday.

The boys had already packed up and were in the car waiting. I told them that I was going to look through the room just in case we forgot anything. Since last night, I hadn't told Dean or Sam what happened, mainly because Dean would freak out and spend the day trying to track whoever that guy was.

I didn't want that, and I knew Sam wouldn't either. We knew how Dean got around things like this. Especially when it came to guys flirting with me. I grabbed my backpack and left the motel room, making sure that my sleeve wasn't pushed up by the backpack strap. "There she is," Dean cheered, gesturing to me with wide arms.

I smiled and got into the backseat. Dean got into the driver's seat while Sam, as usual, was in the front passenger seat. I set my backpack beside me. We were headed to Kentucky after getting a call from a friend of the Winchesters. As Dean was driving, I kept an eye on my arm, wanting to hide it at a good time whenever it began to bruise.

A couple hours passed, and it was time for lunch. We still had about two hours till we arrived at the motel. The three of us found a booth in the back of the diner. Typically, we'd try to find a secluded table in case anyone heard us. Sam pulled out his laptop.

During the whole drive here, Sam and I had been doing some research while Dean drove like usual. "I'm gonna head to the bathroom," Sam told us. We nodded and looked down at the menu. I kept glancing at my sleeve, worried that it would slip down.

I probably should've worn a better jacket, but I had limited choices. Every so often, I noticed Dean glance at me. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Nothing," I answered. He stared at me for a few seconds before scanning his eyes over the menu again. Dean didn't take long to figure out what he wanted for lunch.

"Y/N/N, I've known you and hunted with you long enough to know what's wrong with you," Dean said. He set the menu in the middle of the table, taking mine out of my hands. My boyfriend ignored my glare when he prevented me from choosing my lunch. "Nothing is wrong," I replied.

His unamused expression never dropped. Instead, Dean leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed. "Don't bullshit me," he said. "I'm not bullshitting you, Dean," I replied. Before the two of us continued, Sam came back over to the booth. Pam, our waitress, made her way over.

"Afternoon, sweethearts. What can I get ya'll?" she asked, holding a notepad in one hand and a pink pen in the other. We each told her what we wanted. She smiled and took the menus, turning around to the diner's bar. I caught Dean looking at me as Sam explained what we found.

About an hour passed, and we finished our lunch. Dean left the money at the table, including a tip for Pam. As I was walking out of the diner, Dean grabbed my wrist and pulled me aside. I hissed in pain and took my hand out of his grip. Dean's face turned to concern when he heard my reaction.

The last thing he wanted was to hear me wince from his touch. He told Sam that we'd be right there. He waited a second before turning back to me, wanting to know what the hell just happened. He knew me too well that everything was fine, especially from what we do.

Dean didn't waste a second. He pushed my sleeve down, revealing the hand-shaped marks. Dean looked at the marks and then up to me. "Dean, it's fine," I lightly pulled his hand away from mine, but he didn't back down.

He carefully held my hand, not wanting to let me go. "Who did this to you?" Dean asked, his voice slightly stern. I was glad that we weren't in Virginia anymore since I knew that Dean would leave the diner to go after you know who.

His brows raised when I hadn't answered his question. "Who did this to you?" he repeated. "It was a guy at the bar. It's fine," I replied. I took my hand out of his grip. Dean looked at me and sighed as he put two and two together, turning to the side (GIF Above).

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, looking back at me. "I didn't want you to worry," I replied. Dean sighed, again, and took my hands into his. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head, bringing me in for a hug. "I'm sorry," Dean said. "I'm okay, I'm okay," I repeated.

Taglist: @nix-rose @nyotamalfoy

[ping-ski]

Hewwo, hope you are having a lovely day! :3 For the Artist Ask meme questions, what is your favourite music to draw to, your go-to things to draw for comfort and do you little warmup sketches before drawing? Thank you and have a wonderful rest of the weekend!!

hi ama!! :3 thank you and i hope your day + weekend is lovely too!! <3 (now to the questions, sorry for the yappage lol)

🎼 Your favorite music to draw to right now? ooo how fun!! i got 2 other anons asking this too haha! i love music and i'm also a (hobbyist) musician myself so... usually the music while i draw is dependent on the mood/intention/character i have with the piece! (silly art = silly music etc.) often times i'll loop a song for DAYS just to keep up the "vibe" cause i don't have a go-to favorite when i draw! otherwise i just listen to whatever comes to mind in the moment! but yeah right now (while i draw DCA au stuff), i'm listening to Willow Smith's "empathogen" album & yaelokre's "Hayfields" because i adore that project and it's fun to sing along with!

🐻 Your go-to things to draw when you need comfort? hmm... my go-to comfort to draw is almost always whatever my current hyperfixation is! which is primarily DCA right now! outside of that (tho i'd probably have art block tbh), it's usually drawing myself in varying styles or (if i pull them out of the basement) my OCs. i'm a fanartist at heart, so drawing original stuff sometimes feels alien to me haha! i need a fictional muse to fuel the art lmao

☕ Do you do warmup sketches before drawing? (Bonus: do you have any to share?) actually- no i don't! i don't really "warmup" at all because it ALWAYS ends up being a sketch i post or end up as a finished piece! (i feel like this would make more sense if you watch me draw live ig/posted a speedpaint? maybe for art requests and commissions, but i can't recall tbh.) before digital art, i always drew with a PEN or CRAYON cause that's the most sensory friendly option for me. (it doesn't make a lot of scratchy noises like markers and pencils) so i unintentionally trained my muscle memory and myself to draw whatever comes to mind because every stroke was (literally) permanent + i tried to draw fast and loose cause i hate the feeling of paper. it gives me the strongest, most volatile, and intense visceral ICK. when i draw, i always draw with intention otherwise i'm probably not drawing at all! (this is also why i'll go on streaks of posting often then disappearing) idk my vision is usually clear, even for sketches and the muscle memory does its job! im too lazy to do actual "warmups" tbh. anyways, it's not a warmup sketch per say but i here's a random wips i have !! :3 (it's all LDR, but the last two images are from a separate wip!)

[gregorygerwitz]

AITA for having a daddy kink?

I (32M) have been with my bf, T (45M) for a few months now, and besides the first date (if you remember my post about that, I'm so sorry for the secondhand embarrassment I caused everyone) everything is going really well! Or at least I thought so.

Last week, my boss (who's kind of like the dad I never had) (he's also my bf's old boss but that's not really relevant) was in the hospital after a cartel burned down his house. He's fine now. Made a full recovery. But T and I met up at my place after I left the hospital so we could have dinner. I finally made this new lasagna recipe just right after trying to figure it out for WEEKS and it was delicious.

We were talking about things while we ate, like we've done on all of our dates, and we started talking about my boss in the hospital. T even asked if I was okay, which is a little weird because I'm not the one who was in a fire or the emergency room, but it was sweet. He's really sweet. He's always checking in to make sure I'm okay and he's not doing anything that makes me uncomfortable, and that's really new, but good! Anyway, talking about my boss (and how he's kinda my dad) made T bring up his rough relationship with his own father, and one of his other old bosses, and I could tell it was a little uncomfortable.

Who likes to talk about their strained relationships with family? I know I don't. I always try to change the subject when anyone tries to talk about my parents with me. So I did that.

All I did was joke that we both have daddy issues - because we do, no matter what he says about it - and it's so easy to just talk to him, you know? So maybe I was a little flirty. Okay, I was a lot flirty, but I just wanted to make him smile because I don't like seeing the people I love upset. And maybe that fed into some innuendos. And maybe we kind of came to the conclusion that I really like calling him "daddy" in bed. I had a really good night after dinner. It was great.

And it was all great. This is the happiest I've been in a really long time. I don't think I've ever been this happy in a relationship, actually. It feels so light and easy and like he actually likes me, not some idea of me or the potential I have to be something else? That's something I'll unpack with my therapist later. Don't worry about it.

Anyway, things were great until I talked about it with my best friend, E (32M) - and I'm trying to take what he's said with a grain of salt, because he's going through a lot of major changes in his life right now, and he probably just wanted me to stop talking about my sex life, but still...

He said that because T made the comment while we were talking about our boss being in the hospital, he was just taking advantage of my childhood trauma to try out a kink. Because we were talking about something pretty serious, he never should have turned things in that direction - flirty and sexual - while I was worried and stressed, and he was totally brushing off how I was feeling in the moment. I thought it was fine in the moment, even fun, but E has known me for the last 6 years and has watched me get into and out of relationships that weren't always good for me, and now I'm worried that he's right and it's happening again. I really trust his opinion and I know he just wants to look out for me.

I guess I just don't know how to feel. I really like T, and he hasn't done anything to hurt me, and I'm happy. But E does see things from a different angle, maybe less biased than I do because I'm in the middle of it. I don't know who to trust more right now. I thought I was the one who made the conversation flirty and brought up the daddy issues to lighten the mood and make us smile more, but is my best friend right? Is T brushing off my feelings and sexualizing our relationship? Or is E just overly protective because I've been hurt in the past?

I guess this isn't really an AITA - Is He (T) The Asshole (IHTA) for joking about my daddy issues hopefully giving me a daddy kink, too, in the middle of a dinner date?

[everythingwasnormalhere]

actually I've been thinking about it and kenny is so disability-coded???

like, even without my chronic pain headcanon, if we only take the canon material, he's incredibly disability-coded and im not sure why nobody's mentioned it before

Ok so, first thing first, south park isn't exactly known out of its community for having the best rep of... anything, actually, but anyone who's watched the show knows it has some of the best disability representation of any piece of media. Jimmy and Timmy, neither of their characters revolve around being disabled - they don't even make much fun of it! (It's south park, they have to make fun of everything). Their characters are complex, not because they're disabled, but because the writers didn't want to make them revolve around that. And if you don't believe me, please just watch the fucking show or at least their episodes (this is however not about them so I won't say much more about them, there's some pretty cool posts on this site that talk about this in more detail if you wanna read more though)

Now, onto Kenny: Kenny is a pretty cool guy. Fandom favorite, well-known even by people who don't watch south park. And besides how he's incredibly cute (like, c'mon, you heard his little "woohoo!"?), the reason why he's so famous is simple: He dies in every episode.

(well, not every ep in the latest seasons, but at the beginning he did and that's enough for me)

You might be thinking, "hey Loki, that's cool, but I have no fucking idea where this is going". And I'll tell you: his constant deaths actively avoid him doing stuff. Dying makes him spend less time with his friends, he can't take part in their shenanigans, he's generally unable to do things due to dying 24/7. Like, hell, he spent a whole season not hanging out with the guys because he was too dead for that! His friends substituted him, and he's still less-there since that happened.

This means: the impairment 'has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'

(because he can't carry out normal day-to-day activities when he's, you know, fucking deceased)

Also, as Kenny himself says, "'Pretty cool'? Do you know how it feels like to be stabbed, to be shot, decapitated, torn apart, burned, run over? It's not 'pretty cool' Kyle! It fucking hurts!". His deaths cause him actual, physical pain. And guess what's a disability criteria?

You guessed: they have a 'physical or mental impairment'

(it "fucking hurts", I think that's physically impairing enough)

Also, his deaths have slowed down for the last few seasons, sure, but they still happen. And this is important, because they'll probably keep happening for the rest of his life - and if not, they've already lasted long enough anyway:

A 'substantial adverse effect' means more than just a minor impact on someone's life or how they can do certain things. This may fluctuate or change and may not happen all the time.'Long-term' means either:it will affect them or is likely to affect them for at least 12 months it's likely to last for the rest of their life It can still be considered long-term if the effects come and go. For example, a fluctuating condition might affect someone for a few months at a time with other times when they're not affected.

So, yeah. Kenny, canonical Kenneth McCormick, legally qualifies as disabled. But what makes him such good rep? He's still a well-loved character, not only in spite of his disability (yes, I'm calling his deaths a disability, sue me), but also because of it. Kenny is a pretty cool guy, he's cute, he's silly, he's a goddamn perv but really respectful about it too, and he dies in every episode which is actually hilarious. And about the perv part - fuck yeah, disabled character who not only isn't asexual, but is canonically the first in his friend group to do (consensual) sexual things! He's also canonically pretty desirable, he's the 7th in the List after all (and he's not just there for the girls' benefit like Clyde, Kenny is poor asf which means they genuinely find him desirable, and probably could've ended in the top 5 had it not been rigged). He's such a cool guy, and he's also disabled, and we love him for it.

Not to talk about Mysterion & PK, whose literal powers are the things that disable Typical Kenny - which, yeah, it's a bit of inspiration porn, but it's also a huge "fuck you" to god on Kenny's side. And it's not like "hey, I rose over my disability!", the moment in which Kenny talks (complains) most about it is actually when he's playing Mysterion - or it is in the show, at least. He was given bullshit, and yet he used it on his own benefit, but that didn't make the struggle disappear in his usual life - he's still disabled, no matter how much he uses it in his own favor. And we all love him for that.

I think he's actually awesome disability rep, mostly because he's accidental representation, and yet can (and in my opinion should) be read that way. Kenny McCormick is a beloved character everywhere, and he's also canonically disabled, and I love him for it.

[wanderpawn]

To celebrate the one year anniversary of my Fontaine Hyperfixation, I'm finally posting my favorites of my headcanons for Neuvillette and Furina !! ＼(^-^)／

These will just be random things I believe to be true about them!

Neuvillette: (I'll try my best to keep it brief...)

They have no innate concept of gender, it kind of goes hand-in-hand with the "no concept of human society" thing.

But one day, shortly after first coming to Fontaine, they see a man dressed in a classy outfit, and they think "oh, THAT'S what I want to look like."

They don't think they're built for it, though, unfortunately....

(Do you get what I'm hinting at. They're afab.)

ANYWAY. onto the actual headcanons.

Neuvillette cut their hair shoulder-length post-Masquerade of the Guilty

They like to wear the ribbon from their long hairstyle on the back of their head sometimes (it takes a lot of courage, though).

Disabled legend... they use the cane for trials, sure, but they also have a chronic illness that makes it difficult to walk and causes balance + coordination issues

They have OCD... but also ADHD. And autism. Can dragons have autism? I think they have autism.

Neuvillette has a dissociative disorder. Namely, dissociative amnesia, as they can't remember anything about their past or where they came from. They probably have some form of personality fragmentation, too. I could talk about this specific headcanon for hours (please go watch Neuvillette's character teaser with a reputably-sourced list of symptoms if you don't believe me 🥺)

Another point, I think they have chronic migraine with photophobia. That's why they hate direct sunlight.

They spend their free time sleeping and researching anything that interests them. And taking walks; on sunny days they carry a light-blocking umbrella.

Here's a crazy one— they're actually only an inch or two taller than Furina. They frequently wear platform shoes to make themself seem taller, though (but it does NOT help with the balance issue. Speaking from personal experience.)

OKAY LAST ONE I SWEAR. Neuvillette's voice sounds like a scrunkly little shonen protagonist, but with some femininity to it. They don't have much range, though— if they yell, their voice cracks really bad. (when I first heard their Japanese dubbed voice, I flipped the crap out so bad because it was so good!!!! ( T ∀ T ) )

Furina: (I am sorry it's shorter.... I just have massive Neuvillette brainrot....)

Furina is very crafty and likes to do activities like sewing and decorating things

They're super good at makeup and coordinating outfits

They get hyperfixated on the books they read.... like a fandom type thing....

They have perpetually messy hair because they spend a lot of time sleeping.

They have ADHD. And probably abandonment issues

They're genderfluid.

They grow their bangs long so they can hide behind them when talking to others as Ousia Furina.

They have a dissociative disorder, with alters known as Pneuma Furina and Ousia Furina.

Pneuma Furina is very happy and energetic. They love to be social and are very cheerful!!

Ousia Furina likes to keep to themself, they have a more depressed/nihilistic outlook on life.

Both are equally Furina, though!!

Thank you so much for reading... this isn't like my typical posts, I hope it was fun to read ( ´; ω ;` )

[euph0synee]

honestly, it's so funny to me when someone tells me "don't use such hateful language Krishna wouldn't like it and u will be no better than these people"

like girl i never said i was a good person myself lol and i don't care if it makes me same as them but if i see a mf making r4pe jokes, defending violence against women and men, s3xually assaulting someone and talking smack about my lover Krishna, i will tell them to k/ll themselves, i will break their jaws and stab them if i need to and i will use the nastiest of the nasty disturbing as fuck nightmare fuel language to scare them away if i have to.

Would Krishna like it? probably not. Will that make me stop? no. I am sorry but i am ready to take a tour of hell for this if i need to. Heck, I'll even ask Krishna to take me there idc. I be like "arre aap hi le chlo yarr", but i will not stop because what the fuck u mean Krishna will accept me if i let someone get assaulted right in front of my eyes? no tf he wouldn't. He'd be disappointed damn. He'd rather gladly accept a murderer who killed a r4pist than a coward who wanted to follow fake kindness and dharma and sat there watching someone get assaulted.

Yeah i do feel bad after I'm done being a hater and a bad person. When i go to sleep i feel bad for all the bad words i said the whole day and the worst wishes i threw at those mfs cause i know at the end even i will get results of this Karma of mine but then i just go back to sleep and forget about it all the next day lol. I could care less about being a kind hearted soft spike sweet sugary pop person. it is out of syllabus for me especially in this economy. everywhere i see nowadays all i see is monsters and only monsters who think dark jokes are jokes about r4ping women and children, beating women and children, murdering women and children. all i see is monsters who believe it is very sigma alpha beta gama of them to call women bitches and degrade them every possible way. all i see is monsters who believe it's okay to throw hands at men since that's justifiable and monsters who make fun of men who got assaulted because god forbid a man did not enjoy someone putting their hands on his body without his consent.

I mean if we're all becoming monsters then at least I'll be a monster with some morals lol.

But anyways i wrote this whole post just to tell u my fellow haters that don't feel bad for being a hater because those people deserve the hatred. someone tells u to stop saying stuff like "ur God wouldn't like u talking like that" tell them to shut up and mind their OWN business cause MY GOD is MY BUSINESS and him liking or disliking my attitude is also MY BUSINESS. As long as I'm not hating people for literally no reason he don't care.

[sophie-looks-at-stuff]

Some random modern HotD headcanons :)

Hey y’all! So I kept thinking of some funny, and very specific headcanons for the HotD characters, so I decided to just make it a whole post. This will actually be my first “legit” post on here, lol! Anyways, this will include some headcanons about Aemond, Aegon II, Luke, Jace, Daemon, Rhaenyra, Helaena, etc. But hope y’all enjoy lol! :)

Ok, I am convinced that Aemond has a secret stash of tea hidden somewhere. He's even put them all in a very nice ornate, antique box. It's his guilty pleasure. He probably would have some Earl Gray, English Breakfast, maybe even some lavender mint for the evenings. He'd keep it secret because all the teas he's gotten are way too expensive, and special.

Luke is an avid Minecraft gamer. Like he's basically built Dragonstone, and the Red Keep in his server. He'll play sometimes with Jace, or maybe even Aegon. But he doesn't let them into that world. Aegon would probably blow it all up with TnT.

Speaking of gaming, I think some people are on the same page that Aegon would be some kind of gamer. He'd be up to date on all the new systems and gadgets. He'd be one of the firsts to have the PS5 when it came out. He probably plays a lot of Call of Duty. Maybe even some Valorant when he doesn't wanna fire up the PS. He'd definitely be cursing and yelling at the game, to the point where Alicent threatens to take it away.

While Rhaenyra watches her shows, House Wives, Rupaul's Drag Race, etc. Daemon pretends to be not interested, but really he's super invested. He'd be leaning against the couch, or the wall totally sucked in. And when Rhaenyra tells him to just sit down and watch with her, he's all like, "no no I don't even like this show". But then he'd say things like, "Well maybe if her gown was better made she wouldn't have been eliminated last episode".

Aegon gives me frat boy energy. And I know I'm not the first to say that lol. You already know he's planning all the parties, and picking the themes. I like to think he'd be very invested into picking the themes. They would be things like, dragon night, wear your fave dragon scale colors. Or something like, Dragonstone beach night, wear your swim suits and flip flops.

Alicent likes to knit. Or maybe crochet? It's her stress reliever activity after dealing with Aegon, and the rest of the boys. Helaena is always giving her new patterns or designs to try.

I think Alicent also likes to take the occasional Buzzfeed quiz. "If you were a cake flavor, here's what you'd be based on your star sign".

Helaena runs a very successful tik tok account. She'd post her outfits, and maybe some art or cool bugs she's found.

Aegon listens to a lot of Megan Thee Stallion and Kim Petras. He's blasting Kim Petras' Treat me like a Slut at least 5 times a day. He gets ready to it in the morning.

Aemond will get down to some Amy Winehouse.

Jace works at the local animal shelter as his summer job. He only got the job cause Rhaenyra said he needed to get out of the house. Plus Helaena also works there, so she helped him get hired.

Aemond would be a great bartender. Not with like actually interacting with customers, but he can make some great drinks. Like he's over here coming up with all these crazy cocktails. Although, like his tea obsession he keeps this on the low. He doesn't want Aegon asking him to make drinks all the time. Gods forbid he asks Aemond to bartend at one of the frat parties.

Helaena was a Monster High girl growing up.

Aemond has a motorcycle. It was his one rebellious purchase. Alicent hates it.

Luke can kick Aegon's ass in any game, video or otherwise. You name it, Call of Duty, UNO, Valorent, Go fish...

Rhaenyra has a bit of a sweet tooth, but she has to hide her candy stash, cause the boys will steal it in a heartbeat. Who would have thought Daemon would love lemon drops so much.

I really could go on forever, these are just too fun to write. But I'll leave it here for now lol.

[therantsofawriterrr]

Alright so before i start writing my tua fix-it fic to keep my own sanity, i kinda wanna rant a bit coz this show is genuinely one of those which are very close to my heart. Emo talk/rant and spoilers underneath the cut

Alright so, the first season was released on 2019, right? I watched it on december 2020. There was a thing here where netflix kinda made the services free for two days, and i only got one day cause the first day, the seats were full or smn like that. my original plan for it had been to watch stranger things, but i ended up watching tua. it was the show that kind of introduced me to gore and dark humor and stuff, plus, its one of those shows which has perfect balance between all the genres.

Immediately in the first season, it was established that even if it has love stories for its characters, it's ultimately also a story of love between siblings. a love story of a son having love for his mother just because she was there. a love story of sisters. a love story of a brother keeping his dead one alive just cause he was needed and also cause he didn't deserve to die that soon. a love story of a bunch of people hating their situations and places in their world, but loving it enough to know that they have to save it. a love that made someone come back to his family even though he knew they were chaotic and shitty and idiotic, but his family nonetheless.

It kept being re-established in the next two seasons (yes, I'm counting s3 because it was just as fun as the other two) in various moments that I'm sure all of us can remember.

Five was the dearest character to me for just one reason. He was the kid who had that burden of growing up fast and the maturity that comes with it. He was always the one trying to save his family and there were many moments when he was just overwhelmed and struggling while his siblings were having their own struggles. But, ultimately he was lonely, because he had gone through too much all by himself, and its not really something that he can put into words. I related to that. I was and probably still am in a similar situation.

Then, the writers had to ahead and fuck it all to oblivion. They had to, first of all, ruin the sibling-coded besties dynamic between Five and Lila. Was it just me who got the ick watching that montage of them on the train? And the greenhouse scene? wtf. Neither Five nor Diego deserved that. Also, Five would never do that. Not to mention Lila wouldn't do that. They could've just left it with the fact that they were having a rough patch and were trying to work through it. Like i get it, you wanna make the timelines look messy and all but that was unwarranted and idc what anyone says.

Also, all the characters were just butchered this season and almost none of the plot points established in s3 were literally just forgotten??? Thats not vv nice. they just left us with more questions for this being a final season.

Anyway, imma start working on the fix it fic. I'm gonna try to be frequent with it, but just expect me to post drabbles for other stuff cause writers block takes a hold of me fast. but i'll still try to update.

[luckyladylily]

Followed from the 'men or bear' post and simply trying to be social,

never read (or watched) dune but why do you feel its over rated?

So I've overplayed it a bit over the years because it's fun, but I have basically two major problems with Dune.

The first of course is the standard early to mid 20th century problem of it was written by a sexist racist white guy, but also I can't exactly judge if Frank Herbert was unusually racist and sexist for the time. But it is very much there, and it very much impacts the quality of the series for me. I don't really talk about this much because a given when dealing with older sci fi.

The second point is where I really get my rant on. See, the thing is Dune isn't the worst book ever. But for many years, well into the 2000's, a very large and very vocal group of people insisted it was the greatest sci fi novel ever written. So, in high school, I pick up the novel.

Now you need to understand, I read voraciously as a teenager and at a very high level. I'm not saying I'm better than other people but when you've read Moby Dick you get an idea of what a master can do with words. When you've read Issac Asimov you begin to understand how ideas can be woven together in a mind expanding way.

So I pick up "The greatest sci fi novel ever written" expecting it to be, at the very least, good. It was not good. It did not even come close to meeting the least of my expectations. I was astounded that anyone considered *this* the greatest sci fi novel. Really? Better than Foundation? Better than Frankenstein? This shit won a fucking Hugo and a Nebula? People compared this favorably to Lord of the Rings?

It's not fucking Lord of the Rings.

Anyway, what is actually wrong with it. Starting off, the book has decent ideas, but they are not presented in a particularly inspired way, nor is it the best presentation of those ideas. It was the first time that a white guy presented many of these ideas that he borrowed from other sources to other white people, and I guess that counts as originality back then. But in that respect it is just uninteresting. The real problem is how it is written. Which is badly, both in terms of prose and plot.

I am going to link you to my rant on Dune chapter 1. I discuss prose and presentation in that rant. It is difficult to summarize because there is just so much wrong with it. But to give an example of where it falls short in plot, lets talk about an event early in the first book. This is a spoiler, so fair warning. I call this the most uninspired and unearned betrayal ever.

Paul, the main character, is the heir to the House Atreides. In order to set up the rest of the plot, Herbert needs House Atreides to be destroyed through treachery. But Duke Atreides, Paul's dad, has to be shown to be a brilliant, wise, and capable leader. No run of the mill treachery can get past him. To solve this problem, Herbert introduces Duke Atreides personal doctor, and Duke Atreides directly states to everyone (especially directly to the audience) that this man is 100% trustworthy and unbreakable because he has undergone special mental conditioning making him incapable of causing harm. In X many hundred or thousand years no man so conditioned has ever broken. He is an unbreakably loyal man. And thus we have a character Duke Atreides can trust implicitly, so he can later be stabbed in the back without looking like an incompetent moron.

So now you probably think this is where we set up the dangerous nature of the Baron Harkonnen (greatest enemy of House Atreides), somehow brilliantly finding some mental weakpoint, or maybe inventing a brand new form of mental torture that successfully breaks the conditioning, or something else establishing Baron Harkonnen as a force to be reckoned with. So, how did Baron Harkonnen break the unbreakable man?

He kidnapped his wife. That's it. Didn't even torture her in front of the man, just nabbed her and said "hey do my bidding or I'll kill her!" And the unbreakable man folds like a cheap suit. He doesn't even bother to get proof of life. So in the hundreds or thousands of years these supposedly unbreakable people have been around the secret all along was kidnap their loved ones. No one has ever tried that before? Really?

I need to stress, this is not a misdirect and no other explanation is given. We are genuinely supposed to buy that the doctor is effectively unbreakable, that the Duke is wise and correct to have accepted this at face value, and that kidnapping the doctor's wife was actually the twisted, brilliant treachery it's place in the story would suggest.

It is astoundingly bad plotting that only exists because Frank Herbert couldn't be arsed to give a fuck about the plot of his own book. Even worse, it isn't a hard plot hole to fill with a better betrayal that also made logical sense. For example, Herbert could have written a character that the Duke naturally trusted implicitly, perhaps a brother or close friend, and shown why and how that trust exists. This would make more sense, give the betrayal real emotional weight, and matter in a much more personal way to our protagonist.

But no, that would take effort. Frank Herbert, master of tell don't show, just parades out a character and directly tells the audience that he's 100% totally trustworthy no for realz bro, and then expects us to just go along with the idea that the betrayal was earned and isn't fucking stupid. This is the level Frank Herbert is on.

But anyway greatest sci fi novel ever written, am I right? Winner of both a Hugo and a Nebula!

This is why I hate Dune. Not because it is the worst thing ever, there are even things to like in it, but it is like millions of people collectively decided that Bicentennial Man was the greatest science fiction movie of all time and it won the best film oscar and people are comparing it to the all time greatest films ever made and I'm over here just. Sure, it tries to play with some interesting ideas but it's got structural problems, there are acting issues, the script is poor. There are things to like but it's mid at best! Is everyone in on some collective joke? Am I in the fucking twilight zone?

Now, in the couple of decades since I first read Dune the "best sci fi novel ever" nonsense has pulled back a lot. I don't think I've heard someone make that claim in years. But it can be fun to be a hater, especially when something deserves it.

Edit: I want to make it clear I don't think less of anyone for liking Dune. Dune is probably a great playground for fandom and god knows I don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to my personal favs. I also hear the new movies are good, and nothing about Dune makes me think it couldn't be adapted well.

[goodshipskypirate]

I can't say if I plan to live-blog The Messenger as I did Sea of Stars. Regardless, some little bullet points up to Autumn Hills.

Good Lord, this game is slamming the fourth wall and making the narrative device its bitch. The game can't go more than four dialogue boxes without someone, usually the Shopkeeper, lampshading video game conventions and plot points. This initially was my hesitation to play this game based on a YouTube LP I tried to see. It was just... obnoxious. I'm still not sure how to feel, but maybe I'll at least get Stockholm Syndrome or something.

Fun fact: I got a copy of this game years ago when I once donated to The Completionist's IndieLand charity stream years and years ago, which... wow, awkward in retrospect. I didn't really want the game, but it was a nice gesture and it lingered in my Steam account with the assumption I'd never play it. ...Funny how that ended up being.

I was a little afraid I'd find the Ninja obnoxious; he comes across as a lackadaisical idiot with no sense of patience or even sense. But he immediately takes charge of his destiny (even if it likely sates his desire to travel the world) and vows to end the Demon King, so he has a good heart. Probably still a moron though.

I know Sea of Stars takes places thousands of years before The Messenger, which is more than enough time for something to happen that caused Time Shards to just... Exist In Plain Sight. And I am vastly, VASTLY curious on how that happened, because the bloody crystals that only appeared when Resh'an FROZE TIME, is suddenly and readily available in the everyday world that it is not only a common sight, but can be used as currency (granted, said currency is, so far, only accepted by a demon with a time watch and a lady who owns a shop in-between realms, so maybe ordinary people don't accept chronolized crystals in exchange for goods and services.)

Speaking of demons, who gave Quarble a time watch? Why is this particular demon on the side of humans when every other is trying to end human life?

It is devastating to see Mesa Island as the sole respite for what little humanity is left after the massive flood post-Sea of Stars. All those cultures, towns, and people - gone. I take comfort in that this happened thousands of years later though. Some would say Zale and Valere's status as guardians of this world was all for naught, but was it really? Thousands of years of protection from a couple of deities is nothing to sneeze at.

Course, I have no idea WHEN the flooding occurred (maybe the game will tell me later), but I'm going to assume it only happened without a small time frame compared to the overall many, many years the Guardian Gods have kept the world safe.

Will The Messenger explain how the flood occurred or is Sabotage Studio hoping to tell that story later in the future, if they want to?

Coincidental, of course, and very much a product of Ninja being, well, a ninja, but some of the gaming mechanics (the Cloud Strike for instance) gave me major Specter of Torment vibes. I say this not to compare (it is very obvious Ninja Gaiden was the main inspiration for The Messenger) , but on how it lends a nice familiarity to one of my favorite games of all time. And, well, Specter Knight was a ninja in all but name anyway, including the obligatory ninja dance.

Never forget.

[another-lost-mc]

JES YOU UPDATED, the kids miss you/j

I've been busy doing a lot of nothing, if that makes sense. Well, maybe not nothing - a random assortment of rl and blog odds-and-ends that don't seem very productive but I'm going to call it self-care. lol

(read more cause this got longer than I thought it would.)

I don't usually take March Break off work, but my empty schedule this year surprised me and I didn't really know what to do with myself. I spent the first few days fending off a persistent headache, then I spent some time re-watching Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel while I worked on some crossover/fusion potential with OM. Today the headache is back and I'm dog-sitting which shouldn't be as distracting as it is. (She's only a little Boston Terrier but my cats get all worked up about it even though they're the ones stalking her around the house for no reason.)

I've also been playing Honkai Star Rail. I have no idea what I'm doing but it's kind of fun. I want to give Genshin Impact a try too, but I'm not sure I want to play both. (I know dailies are optional blah blah blah but if I'm going to spend time doing busywork like that, I might as well go back to playing WoW.)

Someone sent me another ask about my current WIPs so I think I'll just ramble about them here.

The canon cast and OC post for surgery!anon. I'm trying to balance fluff and angst and realism and make it comforting at the same time (aka what I would've wanted to read before mine). There's some overlap with a post about Solomon's humanity that's it's own separate WIP.

Naming conventions in the Devildom and CR. These are my worldbuilding ideas to explain how Solomon has an established pact with Bathin (my OC for Mephisto's younger brother) since he's part of the Ars Goetia. This also discusses how those same ideas apply to Luke.

Fleshing out the angel OC stuff with Gabriel and Uriel. They're situated in the AU where MC is sent to the CR for the exchange program and not the Devildom which is why I haven't talked about them much. I have the fem!angel OC as well but I don't know what to name her (I want her to be like Zee where she's an "ordinary" angel). To be fair, she's probably not going to show up much outside of the story I originally wrote for her.

Genderbending-the-OCs anon, you have no idea what this is doing to me. It changes their kinks and their dynamics and how they would approach MC and I am mentally screaming into a pillow right now.

I've been writing directly in my Tumblr drafts lately, but I found a holiday fic for Solomon in my google docs. I thought it was a WIP but then I re-read it and it turns out I actually finished it and somehow forgot about it? Like...how does someone even do that. Anyway, do we want a smutty Solomon Xmas-in-March fic? (It's only holiday-ish because of a corny mistletoe joke on his part.)

On a random note, part of me regrets not making separate blogs for AT and my OCs (for organizational purposes) and I'm lowkey tempted to do it anyway.

If you read all this, you get a prize! Enjoy some chibis that I've been collecting like they're for my OC Pokedex. These are by sempa and ocha respectively.