#i'm really really glad you like my art!!!!!!!!! i've had issues liking my own art so i'm glad someone likes it lol

[bamsara]

Hello! I was wondering what company you use for your sticker sheets? I bough one from your Ko-Fi shop and really like the quality, and the pricing you were able to sell at is waaaaaay more reasonable compared to any of the companies I've seen and used myself. Is it a POD company, or a mass purchase of them to sell on your own?

Thank you for your time if you're able to respond!

I'm really glad you like the quality, because I actually make them by hand at home! (Please forgive the lighting, my bedroom is my office lmao.)

I don't use a company (and Idk what a POD company is sorry!) but making them at home gives a lot more freedom of stock, just be wary it can be very time consuming depending on how many you need to make.

I've had other people ask before, so here's a rundown of how I make my stickers at home: At most you'll need:

Printer

Sticker paper (this is the type that I use)

Laminator and lamination paper (the lamination paper that I use.) You can also use adhesive non-heat lamination paper if you don't have a laminator, gives you the same result, just be careful of bubbles. You will get double your worth out of a pack because we are splitting the pouches to cover two sticker sheets.

Your choice of a sticker cutting machine or just using scissors.

First, I use Cricut's software to print out the sticker sheet with the guidelines around the corners so the machine can read it. If you do NOT have a Cricut machine, open up your art program, make a canvas of 2550x3300 and fill it up with your sticker design with some cutting space between them. This the 8.5x11 size for the sticker page.

I usually have bleed selected so the cut comes out cleaner. Tip for non-Cricut users below: Increase the border around your sticker design to fake the 'bleed' effect for a cleaner cut.

These are the print settings I use for my printer. I use the 'use system dialogue' to make sure I can adjust the settings otherwise it prints out low quality by default. Make sure if you're using the above paper that you have 'matte' selected, and 'best quality' selected, these aren't usually selected by default.

So you have your sticker sheet printed! Next is the lamination part. I use a hot laminator that was gifted to me, but there is no-heat types of lamination you can peel and stick on yourself if that's not an option.

(This is for protection and makes the colors pop, but if you prefer your stickers matte, you can skip to the cutting process.)

Important for Cricut users or those planning to get a Cricut: You're going to cut the lamination page to cover the stickers while also not covering the guidelines in the corners. First, take your lamination page and lay it over the sheet, take marker/pen and mark were the edges of your stickers are, and cut off the excess:

(I save the scrap to use for smaller stickers or bonuses later on)

After you've cut out your lamination rectangle, separate the two layers and lay one down on your sticker sheet over your stickers with matte side down, shiny side up. (Save the other sheet for another sticker page)

The gloss of the lamination will prevent the machine from reading the guidelines, so be careful not to lay it over them. It also helps to cut the corners afterwards to prevent accidentally interfering with the guidelines.

Now put that bad boy in the laminator! (Or self seal if you are using non-heat adhesive lamination)

Congrats! You now have a laminated page full of stickers.

For non-cricut/folks cutting them out by hand: this is the part where you start going ham on the page with scisscors. Have fun~

Cutting machine: I put the page on a cutting mat and keep it aligned in the corner, and feed it into the machine. For laminated pages I go between 'cardstock' and 'poster board' so that it cuts all the way through without any issues, but for non-laminated pages or thinner pages, I stick for 'vinyl' and 'light card stock'. Kinda test around.

Now I smash that go button:

You have a sticker now!

The pros of making stickers at home is that you save some cost, and you have more control of your stock and how soon you can make new designs. (I can't really afford to factory produce my stickers anyway)

However, this can be a very time consuming, tedious process especially if you have to make a lot of them. There is also a LOT chance for some errors (misprints, miscuts, lamination bubbles, ect) that will leave you with B-grade or otherwise not-so-perfect or damaged stickers. (Little note, if you have page mess up in printing and can't be fed into the cricut machine, you can still laminate it and cut it out by hand too.)

I have to do a lot of sticker cutting by hand, so if you don't have a cricut don't stress too much about it. I have an entire drawer filled to the top of miscuts/misprints. I keep them because I don't want to be wasteful, so maybe one day they'll find another home. Sucks for my hand though.

But yeah! This is how I make my stickers at home! Hope this is helpful to anyone curious

[quirkwizard]

Battle Report: A Retrospective on the Final War Arc

The Final War Arc is finally over. It's been a wild ride. And while I had my issues with it, I ultimately think was a good arc. I think it may go somewhere in the 7/10 to 8/10 range for my tier list of arcs. Who knows though. With all of that done though, I wanted to take a chance to look back on this arc and talk about what's transpired. Now, is this a little premature? Kind of. At the time of writing and posting this, the epilogue is still going on. The series has not ended and any of my complaints may be null and void after all of this is over. However, the arc is massive. It's eighty chapters long with dozens of plotlines and characters all mashing up against one another. I want to take the time out of focus on everything that has happened and leave the epilogue to it's own post.

And with that context, it is a lot to cover. Even if it's not the epilogue, it's still everything from chapter 343 to 423. So this post is going to be more disjointed, stream of conscious writing about my thoughts on specific parts of the arc that are worth talking about instead of doing some deep dive on the whole thing. Sure, I think the civilian stuff with Eri and everyone else in the bunker is nice in it's own way and I think how the pilots are used is hilarious, but that isn't enough for me to talk about. If you want me to discuss something in particular or expand on something here, I may talk about it later or add it to the post. With all of that being cleared up, my retrospective on the finale of the Final War Arc.

Shoto vs Dabi: This is the first fight of the arc, and we are definitely starting strong. I've already gushed about how much I enjoy this bit ever since it happened, so I will keep this brief. Of course, seeing Dabi back and all of his spiteful glory is great. Though, if we're being honest, the real start is Shoto and his new Super Move. The Phospher reveal is such a cool power-up for Shoto, and it works great in so many ways. It's a unique and clever way to counteract Dabi's firepower without just trying to overpower him. And it all leads to this beautiful and distinct art of flowing ice. It's so cool. And the best part is that it acts as the perfect cap to his character arc of trying to define himself, combining the two halves of himself into a combination that is completely his own. That's not even getting into the numerous references to phosphor, giving this even more depth.

All For One vs Endeavor: In spite of having a lot of focus, I don't have a lot to say about the forest fight. It's a lot of the same stuff as the Tomura fight, though not as egregious. I will say that I think Enji's bits in this arc are rather underrated. Having Enji fight All For One is a good way to wrap up that part of this character, finally growing past his own insecurities relating to Izuku and All Might while still achieving something that would make him worthy of being the top pro. The flashback about his father dying saving someone adds so much context to who Endeavor is as a person, and I'm really glad we got it. And having Endeavor burn away the past version of himself is such a cool image and a good moment for his character. Honestly, I think Enji continues his hot streak as one of the best written characters in this story.

Tomura vs Everyone: I didn't much care for this part. It felt very repetitive. Characters attack Tomura. It doesn't do anything. Tomura starts monologuing. Repeat. They couldn't do anything to Tomura, but as Hori has shown, he's reluctant to kill off named characters. It's why, despite getting ragdolled, none of them died. It didn't feel like the threat of death was looming over any of them, making this big battle feel relatively low-stakes. So we're stuck in this cycle of Tomura beating all of them up for dozens of chapters, only for neither side to really get anywhere. It feels like we're stalling. That Hori simply needed Izuku out of the picture to delay the final fight for him and Tomura. Which, sure, I get, but he could have at least made what was happening with Tomura more interesting. What's worse is that this is so much time spent with AFO Tomura. A character who isn't nearly as interesting as some of his parts and is a watered-down version of both.

Spinner's Assault: This is by far the worst part of the entire finale. Let's ignore the politics and message and how they may or may not apply to the real world. This mini-arc is focused on Koda, Shoji, and Spinner. All characters I like to varying degrees, but none feel like they have earned this kind of focus. The whole mutant discrimination plotline feels woefully underdeveloped, so having it be the center point of this part feels jarring. And saying it only happens outside the city is such a handwave. Not only does that make no sense, as bigotry can happen just as much, if not more, in metro areas, but it has little showing within the world. Hori, if you wanted to set this up, maybe you should have actually had some major focus on stories out of the city. So having so much time dedicated to it just feels wasteful and frustrating. I could go on a longer rant, but I will save it for another time.

Bakugou's "Death": What a waste. Come on now, did any of you really think Bakugou died here? Or would stay dead? And having his resurrection tied to his clustered sweat feels like a slap in the face of Edgeshot. The guy who reduced himself to a thin string just to save Bakugou's life. On that note, having Edgeshot be the one to save Bakugou feels… out of place. Edgeshot is a pretty minor character with no connection to Bakugou. Many figured that this sudden change would lead to some boost for Bakugou, but it didn't. So why Edgeshot? Why couldn't Best Jeanist be the one to do it, the one that is more important to both Bakugou and the audience? And this doesn't feel like a major change for Bakugou. If you have your character die and come, there should be some greater change to them or how they act, but it doesn't. At least, nothing as major as a death and resurrection should have. The biggest effect it has is on Tomura, bringing him out of the control of All For One, and Izuku, showing that he wouldn't lose control and break again. Once again, Bakugou's grievous injury is more important to the characters around him.

Rewound All For One: One of the more controversial parts of the arc. Is it a reach for Garaki to make the drug? Kind of. Is it annoying to still have All For One around? To a degree. Does it lead to some frustrating moments like All For One not unleashing his biggest area-clearing attack to start with when he knows he's on a time limit? Yes. However, I ultimately feel as though this does more good for the story than bad. By giving All For One this timer, it gives him a more definitive weakness to exploit and a ticking counter in the form of his body degenerating. And by keeping him around, it gives him a chance to go against Endeavor, Toshinori, and Bakugou. That way, they're completing their own arcs without feeling like any of their efforts are wasted or overstepping each other's time in the ring with All For One.

Dabi's Quirk: This is going to be a more personal annoyance, but I'm really frustrated with how Hori handled Dabi's Quirk. First off, him instantly using Shoto's technique against him is such nonsense. You're telling me that seeing it is enough for him to replicate it with no training?And him suddenly making ice for himself also makes zero sense. He hasn't shown anything like that before, and nothing about his power implies that he could. And don't tell me it's literally Rei's Quirks, but that makes even less sense. I could explain that as an evolution of his ice resistance, but that's more me trying to make sense of it. Could you justify it as being Shoto's sibling and their powers having similar mechanics and traits? Sure, but a lot of it comes across more as a convivence to keep Dabi's corpse moving. At least his design is cool.

Wasted Students: While the manga actually does a good job of distributing attention, there are some students that I feel were shafted. A special mention goes to Sero, Ojiro, and Sato, whom Hori pretty obviously just shoved together to get them out of the way. The ones I'm thinking about are Iida and Momo. Momo was one of the 1-A characters who had some arc, so having her be relegated to a living printer feels wasteful. However, I can at least forgive this a little. Her moment was during the PLF War, and her position makes sense. But shoot, Tenya was done dirty in this arc. He doesn't have any really cool moments of his own and very little in the way of character moments. I thought he was going to have something done with Stain, but no. Most of his time in this arc is spent supporting Shoto, quite literally in the case of the Ice Jet maneuver. Wait, why was he even fighting Dabi? Tenya himself admits he's a bad match for this, so why was he there? 

Shiketsu Students: This is one of the few moments in the arc that actually surprised me, and it's a welcome surprise at that. As someone who thought that the Shiketsu students were interesting but underdeveloped, it was cool seeing them act as reinforcements. What was even a better surprise was Camie's "Glamour" trick with the fake Hawks. That has got to be the funniest movement in this entire arc, bar none. Of the three, Inasa gets the most focus, and I think he does pretty well with it. While I do like his soft cap on his arc with the Todoroki's, reflecting his growth as well as their own, I really enjoy how much he just shuts All For One down this arc. All For One is trying to do these big speeches and one-liners, and Inasa is out here yelling him down like any other two-bit criminal. It's equal parts hilarious and awesome.

Tokoyami:  On the flip side of my statement about students, I think Tokoyami is really good in this arc. Tokoyami is one of the less prominent characters in terms of development and actual emotional moments to support him. The arc did a good job of giving him some kind of arc for his character. About how he sees his powers and how hard they are to control. And I'm going to be totally transparent here, I just think full-power Dark Shadow is really cool. There isn't anything deep or nuanced here. Seeing this giant shadow mecha loom over the whole battlefield and make All For One go pale is super sick. It's not just all action and character, either. He probably had one of the best reactions to anything ever in the whole series when illusion Hawks "died". So in spite of my issues with the other students, at least Tokoyami was done well.

The Big Three: Yeah, I didn't really care for what was happening with a lot of the Big Three. They ultimately fall into the same issues as everyone else in the UA Battle Zone that I talked about before. And while their massive railgun attack was cool on paper, it all amounted to nothing. It all feels like such pointless fluff to tide the user's over. It's not even like they have anything interesting going on character-wise, either. Mirio is easily the biggest victim of this. Ever since Mirio got his Quirk back, he hasn't really been given any chance to act outside of the costume or really be his own character. Seriously, the biggest moment he has is him acting as the butt of the joke in order to distract Tomura so Izuku can get in. Was there really no better way to do that? And as much as I want to remember him for other stuff he did, like yelling at Izuku, there really isn't anything else that sticks out.

Gearshift: Again, a more personal gripe, but one that bugs me a lot. I really don't like "Gearshift" as a power. Like "Fa Jin", it doesn't feel like it expands on any of Izuku's capabilities, only doubling down on what is already there. Unlike "Fa Jin", this had way more potential that went unused. Being able to alter the speed of an object or person is such an interesting concept. And for all of the hype surrounding it, it doesn't feel like it's used to its full potential. Really? We couldn't think of a better Quirk for him. Or at least come up with something more interesting for this one to do? All it's used for is to give a power boost to Izuku and make him go faster. The only time it's used to do anything else is when he uses it to speed up Bakugou. Why couldn't we get more stuff like that? Or at least maybe giving it a chance to interact with Izuku's other quirks for combinations?

Gigantomachia Battle: I like this well enough. As much as the reappearance of what's his face frustrates me, that's more of a carryover from my problems with Midnight's death and not the fault of this arc. It's a good follow-up for the brief arc with Mina and I like how much her new move ties into their growth with its name. Plus, it gave Shinso a cool moment that felt natural without stepping on anyone else's toes. I will say that I'm pretty confused at the sudden turn with Gigantomachia, who only really seems mournful over what All For One did once. And the one time he did, it seemed more regretful that someone as pathetic as Tomura was the successor. Otherwise, he just seemed like a loyal thug without much personality.

Todorokis vs Dabi: For the dramatic resolution of the Todoroki family storyline, I find myself having very little say about it. It's good. I really like seeing the feral, demented version of Dabi who is barely held together. Enji's lines about people watching him and taking responsibility become twisted with Dabi's view of him and his actions. I like the monologue Shoto gives as he's flying to stop Dabi. I guess my issue is that the rest of it doesn't stand out as much to me. And the actual resolution doesn't feel any different from the way Shoto fought him. It came across like the earlier fight with him was just there to keep him occupied so Enji could fight All For One and didn't serve any real purpose for the characters. That there needed to be this resolution for everyone else in the Todoroki family and for Dabi as well, but doing it like this lessens some of the punch. 

Uraraka vs Toga: One of my favorite parts of the arc. This entire section was such a dark horse for me, someone who didn't put a lot of stock in the Uraraka and Toga storyline. It shocked me how invested I was in the fight. Just seeing how hard Uraraka fights is so enthralling to watch, going through so much to help Toga. And this is one of the few points in the series where Awakenings work, with an Awakening that actually feels earned and relevant to the character at that. All because she wanted to help and connect with Toga in order to save her. And if Toga did die here, I wouldn't mind because I think it fits. She was able to live and die as her own person, making her own choices. All in all, it's a highlight of the arc and a great capstone for both of the characters.

Aoyama's Section: Why does Aoyama have so much focus on him? I don't dislike Aoyama, and I'm glad one of the more minor characters is getting attention in a way that feels relevant to who they are. I just don't think he really needed this much space to himself, having his own battlefield and major villain to fight, with little to no other focus on other characters. Having him stand up against All For One felt like more than enough of a final beat for his character arc. It was him acting in spite of his fears, facing down the scariest person in the entire series. Hagakure's presence bugs me here as well, since it just reeks of convivence. And man, giving out yet another Awakening? Were these not supposed to be rare? It's yet another example of an Awakening that barely feels any different from before and doesn't feel earned.

Toshinori Yagi vs All For One: Unlike a lot of fans, I wasn't as bothered by this part. On paper, Toshinori fighting All For One with a massive mecha suit kind of flies in the face of one of the core ideas of the series. That people without Quirks cannot be heroes. However, the story makes it clear that this is something that cannot stand up against All For One, requires all the resources of his decades of hero work, has decades of experience as the top hero, and he's only doing as well because he's fighting All For One because he's acting irrationally. My only reservation is that All Might is using parts inspired by the students. While I think these are cool, it seems like this is supposed to be his big moment as a teacher. And... I guess the story wants us to believe that. I don't know. It feels like Hori hasn't really put in enough work to have this be a satisfying payoff. He only really has two or so scenes involving the other students outside of Izuku. I believe he's a proper mentor to Izuku, sure, but as a real teacher for the whole class? Not really. Don't get me wrong, the idea and execution of it were fine, but the set-up needed more legwork.

Stain's "Moment": Yeah, this is something I can't forgive. Stain is such a major figure in My Hero Academia, both in and out of universe. He's the guy who changed the whole trajectory of the story and brought a whole new level of respect for the story. Hori brings him back to restore Toshinori's motivation and give them plans for All For One. And then he comes in for a big moment in the final fight. Only to be ragdolled, having accomplished nothing. There was no final moment of sacrifice, no heroic last stand. Just slapped aside and exploded. Not only does All For One's escaping feel like a mass convenience, just so happening to have a Quirk to push all the blood out of his body, but it's so disappointing for Stain. It feels like an afterthought. Like Hori remembered that Stain was around and threw him in to die. He doesn't even get a moment in the ghost realm. Come on, Hori. If you went through the trouble of having his Quirk stolen, why not do something more with it?

All For One's Backstory: Yeah, I still think this part of the story is hilarious. This is so over the top and dark that it comes full circle into being funny again. All For One's backstory feels like some edgy teenager fanfiction. Like he was born to a drug-addled mother, literally drained the life out of her to the point she died. He was nearly eaten by rats at birth, he was the real first Quirk user, he's been killing people since he was four years old. It was to the point that I thought All For One was lying about it to make himself seem cooler or more inhuman than he really was. But no, we're actually supposed to believe all of this and take it seriously. I really have to wonder what Hori was thinking with this. Is it supposed to show All For One as evil to the core? But doesn't that go against the idea that it's nurture over nature? Or maybe it's to show that the worst circumstances made the worst evil? Okay, then why is All For One so unapologetically evil, supposedly even before he was born?

Bakugou vs All For One: I find myself having very little to say about any of this. It's a big-ole fight scene with Bakugou and All For One. It doesn't feel like it really completes anything from Bakugou arc outside of his hang-up with All For One and All Might retiring. Yeah, I'm glad it got tied up and that Bakugou got to save Toshinori, but it hasn't felt all that relevant to his overall arc. Maybe I'm downplaying this a lot more than I should, but that's just how I see it. The only major hangup I have is with the whole "people wanting it bad enough changed the future for All Might." I chose to interpret this as more metaphorical than literal. Like everything that's motivating Bakugou is pushing him forward, or that all of the steps everyone took up to this point defied fate. Otherwise, we are getting into some stuff the series never talks about and never explains. At least this fight gave us the "Bakugou deals bonus damage to children" meme.

Dream Hawks: Okay, this isn't so much a real problem, but I feel like this is a big missed opportunity: why isn't Stain the one getting the vestiges to rebel? You know, the guy who had such focus and determination that he was able to ward off an entire squad of top heroes from attacking him with sheer force of will. The guy who ironically sparked a whole villain renaissance with his words about the rot at the core of the world of heroes. It'd give his death some purpose and give him one final amazing scene against All For One, giving him a chance to redeem himself after all the problems he caused the world with his dogma. Ironically, he'd be dying a hero and stopping one of the biggest threats to the world. But sure, give another scene to Hawks. It's not like he's been already been a heavy focus of the arc.

Izuku vs Tomura: We've been waiting for this fight for a while, and it did not disappoint me. Not only is the part where we finally get Tomura back, immediately making this fight far more enjoyable, but the fight itself is so cool. You can feel the struggle, exhaustion, and desperation in each of Izuku's panels. We get to see more of feral Izuku. Who doesn't want to see more of feral Izuku? What's better is that we actually get Izuku using some interesting strategies against Tomura, like pushing up the rocks to stop the spread of "Decay" while using it as cover to perform a counter attack. And having this be topped off with the sacrifice of "One For All" makes this all feel that much more harrowing of an experience, with Izuku piece and piece of himself just at a chance of victory. It's one of the few final fights of a series where I was actually worried about the main character.

Shared Dreamspace: This might just be my favorite moment in the whole arc. We get all the shared visions as our two protagonists begin to understand each other more. And for all of this talking, it never once tries to excuse Tomura for what he did. Even Tomura talks about how he doesn't regret what he's doing or why he's destroying everything. He's doing it all for himself and the League. And while Izuku can understand this, he can't condone it, and it doesn't excuse what Tomura did. It's a good way for both sides to get their points across in order to get some kind of resolution without feeling like it's breaking either of them. It's all about understanding and learning from each other, which is what this conflict has been all about. It's all so well done and pretty much exactly how I imagined a confrontation like this would go down between these two.

All For One's Return: Is it kind of frustrating that All For One has returned yet again? Sure. I can understand people getting sick and tired of him, now more than ever. However, I think it's explained well enough not to bother me, and ultimately, the only way for the story to have its cake and eat it as well. It's a clean way to remove Tomura from the story without having to dirty Izuku's hands. Tomura has made it pretty clear that he has zero intention of ever stopping, and redemption was not on the table for him. It also gives Izuku a final fight against All For One, who, while not as personal to Izuku, is the biggest evil in the series. On top of that, it fits with the idea of everyone coming together to be the greatest hero by getting their licks in on All For One. It's what the story has been pushing for the whole time: One For All fighting back against All For One.

Oboro, Aizawa, and Yamada: As much as I wanted to get excited about this part, it did feel woefully undercooked. Oboro's condition and Aizawa and Present Mic's reaction to it feel pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. They only get one chapter to hash things out, and it feels very rushed. Which is odd because it has some of the biggest impact on the arc itself, with Kurogiri teleporting everyone around and being the lynchpin in the two major paradigm shifts in the arc. It's Spinner's whole motivation for attacking the hospital, it removed Aizawa from the playing field at UA, and it ends up sending all of the doubles from the island to the fight in the forest. What we got was nice, especially Kurogiri saying he wants Tomura back when they are all fighting All For One, but sadly, it wasn't enough.

The Final Run-Up: Look, I am the biggest sucker for moments like this. Izuku is still standing in spite of losing both arms. Then everyone is coming out of the portals to the final fight, all firing out their attacks to go down. It's like Endgame, but actually thematically relevant to everyone coming together to beat the greatest threat to the world. And the part where all the good guys are helping the protagonist forward just so they can deliver that final blow. I can't help but feel hyped up as each of the other students and heroes fight back against All For One. We get All For One going out like a total punk. And we can share a final vision between Tomura and Izuku. I cannot say anything analytical or in-depth about this. I just think it hits all these different sweet spots in me while still ending things on a good note, and it brings me so much joy.

[terriblepersongreatseamonster]

Thoughts I had while watching episodes 6-8 of Bridgerton Season 3. Yes, I finally watched all of Bridgerton. Yes, I have many thoughts about episode 5, but I need more time to compose them. Don't read more if you don't want spoilers.

Episode 6

-Yay Francesca & Lord Kilmartin. I adore this couple almost as much as Polin.

-Eloise & Pen's first real talk in Pen's bedroom. Maybe they'll get their friendship healed.

-Violet & Lord Anderson 😍

-Why does Lady Danbury despise her brother?

-That little dance in the church 😍😍😍

-I get why Cressida did what she did. I would've done anything to avoid marrying an old creepy dinosaur as well. But she just makes everything worse and worse.

-That talk between Portia & Pen. I suspect it is supposed to be sweet, but I hate it, especially after seeing how things have been in the past. I don't trust or like Portia.

-Violet unable to show Francesca & John the same level of excitement & love as she gives Polin is hard to watch.

-Pen's sisters suck.

-I really, really, REALLY wish Colin had known the truth before he proposed & they had sex. That is something they changed from the book, and not for the better.

-Oh lord, Cressida is a horrid writer & both she & her mom know it 😬

-Benedict is not handling Anthony buying his place at the art school well. I hate that Benedict is denying his creative abilities. The man has talent and he's so hurt and doesn't believe in himself anymore, and it hurts to watch.

-I think what I hate most about Portia treating Pen decently is the fact that I can't believe it will last, nor do I think that Portia is being genuine. I think this is all cause she's trying to keep Colin's favor. And it frustrates me. Because Pen deserves better.

-The unfolding flower thing was cool.

-Oh boy, I feel so bad for Francesca. She just wants to be with John & be happy. Definitely bringing up some feels from my own engagement.

-Lady Danbury & her brother 😔

-i hate aimless Benedict.

-Colin twirling Pen is everything. I love happy twirling.

-I really appreciate the deaf representation this season.

-Cressida's red dress would be stunning if not for that horrendous giant bow.

-Colin is going to be writing so much smut for Pen. I guarantee it.

-Pen not wanting Cressida to take credit for all her hard work, boy do I feel that.

-I get that the queen is supposed to stand out from everyone else, but her dresses seem to be from a completely different time period. Like, I know that the costumes aren't necessarily period accurate, but wouldn't everyone be trying to match the queen's style of dress?

-Peneloise ❤️❤️❤️

-Ok, writing with a quill & ink in a carriage seems next to impossible to write something legible.

-Colin's face on discovering the truth 😔

Episode 7

-This fight. Oh god, Colin's crying. Pen's crying. I'm crying. This is brutal.

-Pen's issue of LW calling out Cressida 10/10.

-I've said it before and I'll say it again. I would watch the Lady Danbury & Violet show.

-Colin & Eloise's talk ❤️

-Really, Colin? You are the one who was alone with Pen countless times, constantly sought her out at events, ruined Debling's proposal, left her without prospects, & she "entrapped" you? I think not.

-I can't decide what I feel about the Tilley & Benedict & Paul storyline. Was it necessary?

-Flustered Violet getting called on by Lord Anderson is adorable.

-At least Cressida seems to feel so e remorse, though if they go the book route she will be all blackmaily by the end of this episode or the beginning of next.

-"Our mother adores you!". Benedict I love you.

-I really like the Mondrich family. Will loves his wife so much.

-I love Genevieve & Pen & wish we had more interactions between them.

-"No such thing as true love without first embracing your true self.". I think I need that on a shirt.

-As a very short girl, I love that they show Pen standing on raised areas to be more eye level with Colin.

-I'm glad Pen called him out.

-Welp he really was going to try to finger her on the street. Poor boy is so in love & horny even when he's mad 😅

-Kate & Anthony sitting Colin down 🥹

-Kate. I just. I love her.

-The little wave Anthony gives Kate as she leaves him alone with Colin 😍

-I am glad Lady Danbury & her brother are clearing the air.

-Lord Greer with the mansplaining of a nom de plume.

-Colin when he sees Pen in her wedding dress 🥹🥹🥹

-OMSquee that veil 😍😍😍

-I know people go on about the carriage scene, but the wedding vows are so beautifully done. I will be rewatching that many, many times.

-Holding hands. I love it!

-Pen's sisters being nice is just as weird to watch as it is for Pen to experience.

-"A lot of dust in here too" 🥺😅

-So they're shipping Kate & Anthony off to India?

-Oh, Pen, I too know those feelings of new husband off talking to others and ignoring you during the reception. It sucks.

-I love the shot of them dancing with no one else around.

-Anthony, do not ruin your mom's chance at happiness. I will be very cross with you if you do.

-The queen interrupting what should've been a Polin kiss 🤬

-I get that she's the queen, but this is shitty behavior.

-Eloise is proving to have learned to be a better friend, and I'm proud of her. That hug ❤️

-This is the season of Polin and on Polin's wedding night we have Benedict's threesome? Really? I don't mind the threesome, I applaud Benedict embracing his bi-ness, but couldn't they have done that in another episode?

-Great, Cressida is up to no good again.

Episode 8

-Colin, Colin, Colin. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

-Rae with the promotion to housekeeper. She deserves it.

-Yup, they're going with the blackmail plot. They kept that from the book, but didn't have Colin learn the truth of LW before the carriage make-out & proposal? I am definitely salty about some of the choices this season.

-Cressida, I get that you are at the end of your rope and are making poor life choices, but I really hoped that you'd grown as a person.

-The love I have for Lady Danbury is more than I can express.

-Also, that is a gorgeous chess set.

-Phillipa & Prudence's husbands. These poor guys.

-Francesca, I too long for the quiet.

-These threesome scenes seem almost as unnecessary as Colin's brothel scenes in part 1.

-Ok, Colin, your speech is beautiful, but you don't know how shitty Cressida's dad is. But also, that defense speech ❤️❤️❤️

-Peneloise is back and I love it.

-I am done with this fucking threesome. I am here for Polin content. They couldn't have waited for Benedict's season to do this???

-Lady Danbury & Violet ❤️❤️❤️

-And more of the threesome. I am beyond done with it.

-Oh, Polin the separate sleeping arrangements 😔

-THE LETTERS.

-Oh hey, they're not going to leave the solicitor as a dangling plot thread. Wondered if we'd get more from him.

-Francesca & Violet ❤️❤️❤️

-Violet & Lord Anderson. They are absolutely precious.

-The piano duet ❤️

-"The house is far too warm.". 😳🙄😳🙄

-THIS IS NOT BENEDICT'S SEASON. I'M SO FRUSTRATED. POLIN SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN MORE SCREENTIME.

-Ok, but I am so happy for more Benedict & Eloise on the swings. I've missed that this season.

-Pen's family does not deserve her.

-Oh, Pen, you have me in tears.

-Colin is so proud and in love 😍

-I really enjoy Finch.

-Well, with the blessing of Lady Danbury all is much better.

-"That was bloody brilliant." 🥹🥹🥹

-Violet dancing 🥹🥹🥹

-Did Francesca just fall for her husband's cousin???

-What was that??? 6 seconds of Polin smut? So much Benedict threesome and we get barely any Polin? Boo, I say. Boo.

-These babies are all giant.

Season 3 Part 1: Very Rewarchable

Season 3 Part 2: Oof.

[nyhti]

any thoughts and feelings on jeremiah in shadow of the bat #80-82?

furthermore, any thoughts and feelings on his pookie david in that comic?

Thank you for the ask <3333 :33 So I went back and read Wax Man and the Clown again to refresh my mind on it and I'm glad I did. While it's not my favorite Jeremiah story, mainly because of the art, I still found it enjoyable and even got myself a new headcanon!!! Yay!!

Now, I think I've talked about my dislike of Jeremiah being written too soft before. He had bite in The Last Arkham, bite he desperately needed, because this character becomes very boring very fast without it. I had this memory of him being a total push over in this story, but now that I've read it again, I don't think so. Yes, he is softer than he was in The Last Arkham, but he also threatened to shoot Joker in the head and considered letting the patients starve to death. Soft uwu bean <333 And, yeah, even in the parts that he seemed more of a push over, you just have to keep in mind that he's quite literally half asleep, starving and under an incredible amount of stress in every panel and actively hallucinating by the end of the story. I'll cut him some slack, but I still think the Jeremiah we were introduced to in The Last Arkham wouldn't have been quite as mellow even in these circumstances.

I also do not like the art in this issue. I simply wouldn't have recognized Jeremiah had I not been told that this character drawn here is supposed to be Jeremiah. I think if this story had been illustrated my Norm Breyfogle, it could've been one of my favorite Jerry stories. Here's a quick sketch of how I wish he had looked like in this story:

Oh, and David? David is the reason I headcanon Jeremiah as bi in the first place.

Jeremiah: What about you, David? Are you going too?

David: No, sir. My place is with you.

Now, I do not know what Grant had in mind when he wrote their relationship, but it came across as very loving. Whether or not that love was romantic, I guess that's up to everyone's own headcanons. I feel like at least on David's side it leaned towards romantic, but Jeremiah seemed more reserved. You could say he didn't feel quite the same way, but also we know Grant wrote him shy towards things of that nature as seen in his reaction to Poison Ivy in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #56. I like to believe it was shyness that stopped him from going any further.

Also.

Jeremiah confirmed kitty boy catmom kittycat enthusiast!!!!!!!!! He definitely gave off that catperson aura all the way in The Last Arkham, but I was really happy it was confirmed here with the kitten he had in childhood <3 I love how he's still haunted by this cat he failed to save 40 years later. True catmom behavior.

This cat also exists in my verse and her name is Lumi (=snow, but I'm calling her Snowy in English.) She's called Lumi, because I misremembered the cat being white. The cat's actually gray lol, but I'm not changing the name anymore. The cat is all white in my verse. Also in my verse she lives a long, happy life and dies somewhere between ages of 15-20, when Jeremiah is in his 20s and in med school.

His parents get a new cat – actually I headcanon that over the years his parents end up raising a lot of cats. Jeremiah, who is living on his own at this point, also thinks about getting his own cat, but fears he would not have enough time for one as med school is keeping him busy. He decides he's going to get one later and in the mean time just go see the cats at his parents house. I imagine Jerry's mom uses the cats to get him to visit.

It's still a little up in the air in my verse does he get his own cat now, at age 44, or does he get it later, but one day he does finally visit a shelter and brings home a beautiful tabby cat he names Viiru or Tabby in English (it is my headcanon he is not creative with names).

Another thing I liked about this comic was the shotgun. The shotgun Jeremiah used. The shotgun he threatened to kill Joker with. This is so fascinating to me, because he himself almost died by a shotgun at 16. I just wonder how he feels holding that thing. How he feels being on the opposite end of it now. How he feels being the one to point it at someone else's head. None of this is answered of course ^_^ Grant never even brought up Jeremiah's backstory in later stories ^_^ But, I'm still having fun imagining it myself. This is that new headcanon I was talking about. He definitely now owns a shotgun in my verse.

[salchat]

i just wanted to reach out and wish you luck this week, with your reversal. I needed laparoscopic surgery for my own colon issues last month after having a drain in my back for 3 months, and what you are going through is rough and not fun so I wish your surgery the very best and that you have a good foundation for what lies ahead with the rest of your medical journey. I also want you to know that your Dean shirt I bought gets compliments every time I wear it. A lady stared at me at Marshall's for 5 minutes and approached me about where I got it! So take care, make sure you have a nice pillow or towel to help you splint your tummy after surgery and I hope that we see you very soon after recovery!

Thank you very much for your kind wishes. I really appreciate you taking time to write. I've had major abdominal surgery a couple of times before, and usually I leave the physios floundering in my wake, but the recovery is worrying this time around. I've heard such awful things about what happens when all your internal plumbing is reconnected after a stoma - it doesn't sound much fun at all. And adding that to the worry of 'will the chemo do anything?' and 'what harm is it going to do me this time?' - well, you can imagine it's not easy to deal with.

But, there's always Dean, isn't there? And I'm so glad you're loving your Dean shirt! It makes me so happy to know that my art is out there in the world, getting noticed and getting enjoyed!

And I have a lovely long podfic to listen to and lots of great fanfics to read and have started writing another story of my own, which is starting off like Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, but may get some Jane Eyre mixed in, along with a couple of Georgette Heyer novels and the Secret Garden possibly and maybe even a dash of Pretty Woman. Anyway, I'm having fun with it.

x

[rustyvanburace]

flynn for the ask game!! or if he's already been sent, then isabeau!!

favorite thing about them: While at first I found it a little jarring, going from a completely silent protagonist to one speaking, I'm really endeared to Flynn's gentleness and soft-spokenness. And actually it suits him really well, having once been a silent protagonist. Nor is it even out of left field -- NPCs in IV comment that Flynn is very reserved and quiet. So I'm really glad that IVA kept that even while giving (the real) Flynn a couple speaking lines. I also really, really like that he (the real one) stays humble and reserved in IVA despite his celebrity status. When I first played IVA, I had only done IV's chaos route, so I found everyone praising him to be really jarring. But now having done the neutral route, I can see why and it makes me appreciate Flynn's modesty all the more. Not to mention, it makes the distinction between him and Shesha Flynn's radical "personality shift" all the more apparent. That's good!!

least favorite thing about them: Having said all that… This is more an issue with IVA's writing and pacing, but I do wish that (the real) Flynn got more moments to express himself and really show his own character. Flynn suffers from the same problem that Toki does -- we don't get to see their actual character for the majority of the game and their potential and own development suffers for it. I'm very happy with Flynn's personality in IVA, but the rest of him only serves as a foil for the plot and especially in handing Nanashi the torch.

favorite line: My favorite line WOULD be his comment on Issachar's fishing hook in the bonds route, had I not permanently missed the fishing hook in my first playthrough 😭

However, I do really like his surprised, saddened reaction when he sees Jonathan's and Walter's spirits in YHVH's Universe. I was actually surprised that he even reacts to them in the massacre route even after becoming a semi-mindless puppet, especially when…he no longer has any attachment to the fishing hook in that route aaaauuughhhhh 😭😭

brOTP: EASILY Flynn and Issachar being the bros for life and eternity!!! And he's totes bros with the whole Samurai cast, for sure for sure!

OTP: I like a lot of Flynn ships (minus my NOtp), but Flynn x Isabeau are truly best for each other. I love that Isabeau cares for and is devoted to Flynn, but without sacrificing her own convictions. I do wish though that Flynn showed some attraction to her (again, an issue with IVA's writing).

nOTP: Yeah uh, I really hate seeing Flynn x Nanashi and I hate how popular it is in the Japanese fandom. Big reason why I don't engage a lot with the IVA fandom cause I'm just so tired of seeing that.

random headcanon: I too also lowkey fancy the headcanon of Flynn being a transwoman, based on dialogue demons can give in IV~ We support trans headcanons in this house!

unpopular opinion: Like aside from how certain sides of the fandom treats him with respect to other characters, and what I've already voiced about his writing in IVA, I don't really have an unpopular opinion on Flynn? Kinda hard to when he's mainly a player avatar. He's good that way.

song i associate with them: I'm so sorry, I'm just not good with song association questions. 🥹 I listen to a lot of music but if you asked me to pick one, I'll pull a blank lol.

favorite picture of them: Def the artwork Doi did for the Sound & Design extra! It's so so good to see BOTH Flynn and Isabeau dressed in different clothes! :) Plus, I actually really like that armor Flynn has so it's SO good to see official art of it.

Thank you for the ask!

[asimp4bee]

Hi, I love your Transformers fanart, and I'm curious: how did you come up with Mea? What inspired you to create her?

Hello! I'm glad you like my TF Fanart 💕

As for your question, I've created Mea since I was in the 8th grade but at the time I sucked badly at art so I stuck to writing. She was always my self-insert (even when I tried lying to myself that she isn't since at the time, self-inserts had a bad rep).

During my junior high days, I had a really, really bad time with struggling with how to handle my emotions and my anger issues so I created Mea to insert her into Transformers, which was and still is my special interest.

She has always been my escape from my struggles, a way to ease off the stress and pretend to be in a different world than my own just for a little bit.

[aibouart]

I hope this isn't a weird ask to send but:

I related really heavily to your post about what vent art has done for your psyche. Less specifically with vent art and more a vent blog where I privated the whole thing and would make unrebloggable vent posts (unrebloggable just in case if anything broke and slipped out of confinement)

I've had two of those kinds of blogs. Both ended up just being a negative confirmation bias zone for me to spiral out of control just if I looked at a post.

I'd see the timestamps and remember what made me make those posts and it'd make me lose myself all over again.

The second time I made the blog I told myself I wouldn't read back on the posts but 1) I cannot hold myself accountable to not do that so I did it and 2) the frequency of the vents ended up just achieving the same end result

Vent art for me is so much more work that it's rare, and I usually do end up very pleased with the end result and art typically helps more bc I can't just make art as quickly as I can make text posts. There's still some vent art that hurts like hell to look back on ofc but I understand that feeling of like...this art coming from someplace real.

I think learning to realize that drawing stuff without meaning can hold a meaning of its own (sharing joy, whimsy, etc etc with the world to remind ppl it's not all bad, or give them a safe place to indulge in something bright and colorful instead of the horrors of whatever reality they've currently got) can help ease into accepting the non-vent art as just as important and meaningful

It's tricky, but all of us who suffer more from our own vent posts/vent art can heal and move forward and find meaning in other expressions of other feelings.

Vent stuff can be such a powerful tool, so I'm glad you're learning how to be more careful with it. I wish you nothing but upward momentum from here!

thank you for the message, it does mean a lot to me to find others who went through something as similar that i did--even though it fuckin SUUUCKS

for me, ig my speedy art backfires with vent art. i have done pieces that i took (more) time with:

but for the most part it looked like this:

and they'd get posted within like 10 mins of each other (sometimes less)

i definitely think art doesn't need meaning to exist, but you spend so long hearing "what do you think the meaning behind this is" or making art like i had been doing that DID hold some meaning and i started to just feel like my own work was exempt.

it's hard to move past vent art and accept my work as worthy of existing even if it's just some pink furry staring at the camera doing nothing, instead of my sona ripping itself apart because of some deeper meaning. cuz like i do like my vent art, i think the limited colours i would use is cool and the compositions or expressions are intriguing, but getting into the headspace to draw all that just isn't worth the price anymore. but it sort of makes my current art feel shallow or empty.... like im not "trying", for sure.

and granted majority of people on this blog haven't even seen my vent art either it's not like anyone else's perception is skewed. it's just like a personal issue i've had as i recover from vent art/blogs WUURGG

but despite all that i draw what i want anyways, nothing can really stop me from doing that. i just kind of ruminate the whole time JKBSDBFBSD

thank you again for reaching out, i forgot i made the post when i woke up this morning and immediately panicked but nothing bad happened so i am feeling ok about sharing..!!

[runawaymun]

I also have been frothing over the spa center comment.

…would love to hear your pj shade regarding Elrond and Rivendell pretty please though?

I'M GLAD I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE FOAMING AT THE MOUTH

okay so...regarding PJ shade............where the hell do I even begin.

I wanna preface this by saying that I do love the films. Like they're my childhood. They have a very special place in my heart and they remain my favorite films of all time. I also really love Hugo!Rond -- like I should think that's obvious considering my art and characterization are so largely based off of Hugo's portrayal, but that being said the films really did Elrond so dirty and I'll never forgive PJ for some of the choices he made and the things he chose to leave out -- not only because they hurt Elrond's characterization, but because they hurt all lot of other plotlines and characters as well.

So let's just start with the most egregious issue, which is by-and-large a directorial issue and not necessarily a script or acting issue: Elrond is kind as summer. And while we see that peeking through in certain moments (enough that those of us with daddy issues and/or a precursory knowledge of the character latched onto them...), this doesn't define Peter Jackson's Elrond. Peter Jackson's Elrond is cranky and tired and while that is a fundamentally interesting characterization, it isn't Tolkien's. Tolkien's Elrond isn't like this. He laughs with Bilbo! He tries to stop Pippin from going on the quest (but allows it in the end). He offers friendship to Thorin and hospitality to literally everyone. He carries his harp around with him and offers little tidbits about himself (I was the herald of Gil-Galad and marched with his host...). Elrond on the page just exudes warmth and generosity. Maybe he's tired & worn out and maybe he has lost a bit of hope by the time we get to the Third Age. Maybe. But that certainly isn't a defining trait. Tolkien's Elrond enthusiastically supported Aragorn (vs. Men? Men are weak. Etc. Etc. Etc.) -- there are just so many weird choices that were made in line delivery and energy that are directorial choices for the story which PJ wanted to tell. Hugo Weaving is completely capable of carrying the right energy when directed to! It's not a Hugo problem! We see him teasing Bilbo a bit in Unexpected Journey and being kinda snarky with Thorin and having some playful energy there. It's that Peter Jackson decided that wasn't how he wanted to portray Elrond. And so we end up with this weird stiff character that doesn't look anything like Tolkien's Elrond unless you squint and do a lot of mental gymnastics (which I constantly do).

And the thing is, I would like to give the portrayal the benefit of the doubt and say 'well it really isn't THAT bad', because I look at it through the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia and my own love for my blorbo. But people who are casual watchers of the films, or people who are getting introduced to story for the first time (I've had the joy of getting to introduce a lot of people to the films, and have seen a lot of first reactions on Youtube) -- the knee jerk reaction to Peter Jackson's Elrond is what's his problem? if you don't have the context. And that makes me really sad.

And I really do have to put it down to Peter Jackson wanted to tell a certain story. Because it isn't hard to fix this. Most of the lines are fine. You just have to tell Hugo to exude a different kind of energy in them. That scene in the extended edition with Elrond and Aragorn at Gilraen's memorial is awesome, but you never get the sense that Elrond raised Aragorn. There's no warmth to that scene. And that comes down to direction. Viggo and Hugo are amazing actors. If you told them "hey, you guys have a father-son relationship and you're reminiscing over someone that you both cared about" then they could have played it that way and it would have been so good. But you never get that sense.

That comes down to the weird completely contrived conflict Peter Jackson wanted of "Elrond as the antagonist to Beren & Luthien II electric boogaloo" -- which is...such a strange decision. Why make him Thingol 2.0? It's literally just an extra contrived plot point for added conflict and it isn't like we needed it. The films are three hours long each. Aragorn and Arwen didn't need an antagonist to their love story. It's lazy characterization and lazy storytelling and lazy direction. Again, Hugo Weaving is an excellent actor. Masterclass, in fact. And I understand the thought process of "he's afraid to lose his daughter" and I think that's really tasty characterization! I love playing with that characterization! But there is a way to direct and write that without making him an antagonist. You don't even need lines to show that. Maybe just one. Maybe two. But to be honest all you need is a LOT of strong acting on Hugo's part to show the internal conflict as Elrond is outwardly supporting the two of them because he wants them to be happy!

And then there's the uh...nerfing of Elrond.

To be fair, Elrond really is background on purpose in LOTR. He chooses to be a guide. He chooses to be the Dad Everyone Goes To rather than The Big Damn Hero, and that's awesome. That's why I love him! But again there are just the teeniest tiniest changes that could have been made to fix the fact that he's heavily nerfed. SWEET, so "thanks to the skills of Lord Elrond you are beginning to mend!" -- hey can we just, add a bit more weight to the fact that Elrond needed to use Vilya to do that and it pretty much sapped all of his strength? Can we add a bit more weight to how LONG that surgery took and the fact that NO ONE ELSE could have saved Frodo from a Morgul Blade. How about instead of "he needs Elvish medicine", say "we have to get him to Elrond" -- like, I know Arwen says this, but it just takes a few edits to make it abudantly clear that this has less to do with Elves in general and more to do with rings of power.

And then we get to the fjord with the Ringwraiths. I'm not one of those people who is mad that they gave the chase to Arwen rather than Glorfindel. I understand why that decision was made. Do I miss Glorfindel? Hell yeah! But I understand why that decision was made. I just wish that Peter Jackson hadn't also given Arwen the "call the river in fury" superpower. Why not have Elrond be the one to do that? Girlpower, sure. But Arwen's cool enough for having the chase scene against all nine nazgul. Let Elrond have his moment. It takes like one 50% opacity overlay edit to show us he's the one doing it. And this isn't even an Elrond issue so much as a nerfing the worldbuilding issue. We hear about the Three Rings in the prologue and then Peter Jackson promptly never mentions them again save for one deleted scene with Galadriel and Nenya. Until I read the books as an adult I had no idea Elrond and Gandalf had the other two. That's...a pretty egregious thing to leave out.

Peter saves himself somewhat with the faux Silm plot in The Hobbit films. TBH I forgive absolutely everything else about the Hobbit Films for the purpose of that tiny moment where Elrond teases Bilbo and invites him to stay (except it's only in the extended so....again, we see where PJ's priorities lie), and Elrond in that armor saying "you should have stayed dead" like adlkgh--- thank you my crops are watered and my skin is clear.

But it should not have taken Peter six movies to fix how badly he nerfed Elrond, and he didn't even really fix him.

All that to say: so many of my favorite Elrond scenes from the films (the Gilraen memorial, Elrond teasing Bilbo, etc), are scenes from extended cuts, meaning when editing Peter Jackson decided these scenes weren't essential to the story he was trying to tell. And sure, this sure as hell isn't "The Elrond Trilogy" -- but it doesn't have to be. Elrond has so little screentime in the books and Jirt still takes those few moments of screentime to tell us Elrond laughed. Elrond was kind as Summer. Elrond's house was safe and cozy and Evil Things Did Not Enter That Valley. Elrond raised Aragorn as his own son and loved him dearly. Elrond was Kind as Summer. Elrond was kind. Elrond was kind. Elrond was kind.

And that isn't how Peter Jackson chose to portray him. I can't fault the man for not having Elrond as a blorbo. We all have different blorbos and that's okay. The trouble is that Elrond is Jirt's blorbo. And Elrond, at his core -- just like Bilbo and Sam and Frodo -- carries the essential message of Tolkien. It isn't great flashy Acts of Heroism that save the world, but rather quiet courage, and kindness, and gardens and laughter and good food and cheer. Places of safety. Gentle guidance. Healing. Healing. Healing.

So that's why I just will never forgive what Peter Jackson did to Elrond. Elrond is good. He is kind. He is extremely powerful -- but he chooses to use that power to heal and guide. And the reason it makes me so mad is not because he's my blorbo (okay maybe it is a little bit), but because breaking Elrond's character in the films was completely unnecessary and completely avoidable. It's just that Peter Jackson chose to do things his way and tell the story he wanted to tell, rather than taking the time to make some small and easy directorial choices to make sure he got it right. And the end result is there is a depressingly large number of people who live their lives thinking that Elrond's that cranky "MeN aRe WeAk" killjoy dad who hates happiness and runs a glorified hotel, and it just kills me.

[ask-knowledgekeepers]

"Wisteria...?" Noir called out to the mismagius seeing the face as he gulped "You are wisteria correct ?" he asked almost carefully the feeler reaching out to the ghost type giving soft caress on cheek "What happened...?" he was stunned to see the emotionless pokemon before shaking his head pulling Ivy in a gentle hug "Sorry, I didnt mean to ask so bluntly... I feel like you need this..." he chuckled softly "Im here for you, you know ?"

Ivy seemed to calm down at the Sylveon's reassuring words, she just nervously looked away and muttered a faint "I'm sorry."

She cringed as his ribbon touched her cheek, for some odd reason, the ghost was expecting something worse. Though she wasn't sure why. From what she could recall about him, Noir wasn't a cruel or mean Pokemon. Though she couldn't be sure, her memories of them were a bit hazy.

Ivy instantly backed away at the question, she looked like she was about to say something but quickly went silent. Her gaze fell to the floor as she refused to answer. Noir didn't seem to push the matter either much to her relief. However, She didn't have time to react before Noir pulled her into a loving but firm hug.

She quietly sniffled as tears began streaming down her face, it'd been so long since she cried. Years even, now that she was she couldn't seem to stop herself. As all the memories began to flood back Ivy cuddled into Noir's hug, despite the sudden emotional pain she was hit with, she was glad someone she knew from the past was here to at least soothe it.

→ Ivy will now respond "normally" to those who know her as Wisteria. → Noir has been added to her [Family] on the Relationships Page. → Ivy is unavailable for asks until further notice.

- Mod note below -

For those who do not know who Noir is, Noir is one of the Pokemon who adopted Wisteria (Now Ivy) on @ask-north. She considers them to be one of her parents. Wisteria cared a lot for Noir, her one wish was for him to not forget her.

If you would like to see their interactions here is a list:

Original Noir and Wisteria Interaction

Original + Noir's Reply

Reply 2

Noirs Reply 2

If you enjoyed this post even slightly you have Sleepy to thank for that! They're the one that originally came up with the interaction. They were even kind enough to doodle it out then send me this ask, I just adapted it into my own style and added my own flare to it.

This post has been in the works since January of this year, I had to redraw this twice due to being unhappy with my style and the flow. I'm very pleased to finally feel confident enough to post it.

=======

I'm also happy to say this will be the last Ivy-related ask I will be answering (for now). For those sick of Ivy, I'm sure you're very glad to hear that. I love her a lot, and I'm very annoying about it. I understand. I know you've all stuck with me this long and I'm very thankful for that, especially with my ups and downs of returning only to disappear into the void again.

I did have a majority of the "Pretender" arc drawn and sketched and ready to go but I scrapped it due to a random sudden hate for how my art style looked. I unfortunately still have a lot of confidence issues with my art that I'm trying to work through. I just want y'all to know all of your love for my art and story really helped me gain it back. Knowing people like my content brings me so much joy, I hope I can continue to share the world and story I've built with everyone here.

And also, I assure you there are only Klaus-centered posts from here on. Well... until after a certain event happens that will bring the Pretender act to a close. Then I have to drag Ivy back in, Sorry not sorry! She doesn't sit in the Main character's box for nothing. /lh You'll get to meet her granddaughter very soon along with a little gremlin cat. 🤭

[bwobgames]

Previous First

"Remember what Owen told us? What we saw on the death certificate?

Mr. Díaz was so stricken with grief for the death of his wife that he asked, with all his heart, for one more chance

In doing so, the house was granted a purpose

Every time someone dies, they'll get another chance by going back in time

At some point, the doctor must've figured out the time loop mechanic and used it to his advantage in helping the patients and keeping himself alive past 100 years"

"This also must be why this house feels so... loved and warm. It was made as a way to protect people, to help them.

And then that bacteria of a man came and infected it"

"Wait, is there paper around here anywhere? And pencils?"

"There's a whiteboard around here, I think. Let me get it"

He finds one, possibly made for bets, or pool point counting. It has 2 markers.

Beebo grabs them and starts drawing

"So, Doctor Díaz, accidentally gives this house the ability to turn back time.

This house is now a 'Haunted House'

And who knows about Haunted Houses? Coli and his daughter.

Coli is obsessed with the concept. He investigates day and night trying to find one.

He wants to put his own purpose in one of them. He thinks he might be able to change the original purpose, but Nadia says it is not possible.

Still, after much effort, he finds one"

Beebo takes a deep breath

"An old... half house half art exposition.

The owner wanted the people who got in to ... never leave

Um. Not maliciously, i think! The owner just wanted his art to be appreciated!

But, um, the house took it differently"

"Are you okay?"

Ángel hold his hand

"Remember how much I told you about my recent phobia of big houses?"

"I... I got trapped in that house"

"I couldn't get out

The rooms. The rooms kept changing I couldn't- I was there for 3 days and- "

"Hey, hey, it's okay, I don't need details if it hurts you to tell me"

He grabs both of his hands and kisses his knuckles

"You are here now, okay? I'm by your side"

"We are okay"

They wait for a moment, just breathing.

Slowly, Oliver picks up the marker again

"I. I killed that house

I made it stop working

Then I asked for it to be demolished.

So now, the house Coli searched for so long is gone.

This why he invited me

And why he wants to kill me"

"After this, he tries to do his own Haunted House in his own factory, using the heightened emotions of the distressed workers.

Once the kids found out, they exposed him and put him in jail

"Due to Marigold not helping him with his projects, Nina being on her side, and the kids doing this, he believes they are all traitors

And wants to kill them

Then, he finds out about Vivi and you, the unrelenting reporter and the guy who bought the company. And puts you two on his 'to kill' list"

"Then proceeds to repeatedly fail in doing so. Skill issue, really"

"... I have been meaning to ask you about that.

Why did you buy his company? At first, I thought you were also a businessman, and that's how you got the money, but I'm guessing you got it from your illegal jewel business"

"Why a company?"

"Well, I've told you, haven't I? I quit heists and wanted to start a more quiet life, so why not become CEO? Those guys do nothing and get a lot of money. Sounds perfect!

But, ah, I don't think I'll keep it"

"Is the business life harder than expected?"

"It's definitely not my vibe, but mostly, I want to give it to Marigold. She's the one who should've had it since the start"

"Yeah, you're right.

I'm glad a life of crime has not skewed your sense of justice"

"And if I don't, I fear that a certain teenager capable of murder puts me in her 'to kill' list"

"Also, I wouldn't call it a 'life of crime', I used to be a normal man with a normal job and a pitiable salary. You can see how that makes someone like me want to get in a cool outfit and fuck around for a bit"

"Really? What did you work as?"

"Head of security in jewelry exhibitions"

"... you sly bastard"

"And never been caught"

"I could've caught you"

"Sure, sure, if it helps you sleep at night"

"If you ever try any heist again, I can and will catch you"

"Scandalous Detective Beebo! Do you want me to go steal things again??"

"Wh- That's not what I said!"

"Well, what a shame! I'm committed to a life of peace now.

I've found the prettiest gem already, and I get to keep it all to myself"

"What gem?"

"... You'll figure it out, come on, keep going over the investigation"

[kheprriverse]

You have to stop making such amazing art. Tumblr is so restricting I can’t possibly reblog it enough /lh But alas. Words also have meaning, right?

Be warned: I may not make any sense because I’m tired <3

Your art is literally so. Inspiring though. Your style is so beautiful and pretty and it’s just somehow— It makes me want to create? Honestly. I’d love to have a style like yours, but also I’m happy with mine! So instead, the inly valid thing to do is EAT YOUR ART AND REBLOG SO MANY TIMES!!! I’m keeping my own style, and building off it: While you and other artists do the same with what you do!

That being said. Your art just makes my day sometimes. Seeing you post gives me such joy and anytime I see the stupid silly (Cedar /Affec) it’s an instant giggling and kicking my feet like a feral child. So much stimming happens, and I literally love every design and thing you come up with. It’s just. Woah <3

My want to eat art is always at a 10/10: Let me consume the heckin heckles out of everything. Like. shredding the entire walls up. Such zoomies from art. Everything about your art most times just feels. Soft and cozy. Makes it feel like home sometimes and probably tastes like. Fluff. (That’s not a taste but whatever. It counts in my brain?) Maybe even like some sweet candy or dish, idek. Tastes aren’t tasting but damn art does arting?

Not only are you a cool and amazing talented artist, you’re also such a cool person beyond that and just so sweet I would just like to hug, yknow? Strangely I feel like I should be like. Somewhat intimidated because COOL PERSON ARTIST WOAH YOU INTERACT WITH ME??!? But also, I’m not… Really that intimidated? I don’t know, feel welcoming, just like the feeling yoir art brings and its just. Comforting?

You and your silly goody personality is so amazing and you’re so talented, I’m gonna flee now back into the ground: Hopefully this made somewhat sense— And that you have a lovely week/day/month— Just time in general!

*descends away*

~ Z

No I won't stop! Only pretty designs and silly guys ✨! (I am also very tired so its all okay. Also apologies if you wanted this answered privately.)

Also I'm gonna cry abkvjadbvjkkdvbad /pos This means so much! I'm very bad with explaining how I feel but I'm gonna try my bets lmao. It makes me so happy to hear that people really like my stuff, AND think I'm a cool person! I want my space to be kinda chill, friendly, etc and I'm very glad that so far I've been doing a pretty good job :'D

tysm again! I'm very glad u like my stuff (and think I'm cool). I woke up a few hours ago with a headache, dizziness, and was just generally feeling kinda bad and couldn't go back to sleep. But seeing this ask has so far made my day 100 times better! I hope the space I provide continues to bring joy (or just general silliness) to you and others <3

(also I'm glad you like my art too. Ive been having weird issues looking @ my own art since December, which I've never had before, so it makes me become a little silly whenever I get a comment on it. Really improves my motivation and lot and helps me continue what I love most: drawing funny guys and beasties :>)

[dandy-dog]

📌🌈🐶☀️

★ SOLAR - 23 YEARS OLD - QUEER - POLYAM - CLOSED - AUTISTIC - GNC TRANS GUY - ALTERHUMAN - WHITE - BRITISH - HE / IT ★

Hey there! My name's Cody, but I generally tend to go by Solar, Ray or Sunny online. That said, you can call me pretty much whatever you want. I'm not too picky. I'm a hobbyist artist, occasional writer and professional dog who's had the misfortune of being on this miserable hellsite (do people still call Tumblr that?) since 2014. I was around before then, but I didn't make an account until that point. My blog isn't strictly NSFW, but I do reblog posts with dirty humour and references to sex. So if you're a minor or someone who doesn't want to see that kind of thing? I wouldn't recommend following me. Want to know more about me or about this blog? You can find more info under the cut! ✌️

The dividers in this post were made by @chocoperrito and you can find them here! ❤

》 WHAT'S THIS BLOG ABOUT, DOG MAN?

I'm glad you asked! This is my main blog so it's generally just a mish mash of all sorts. Anything and everything pertaining to my interests goes here, it's a total free-for-all. That said, you can mostly expect reblogs about queer topics, political and social issues, different media that I like, shitposts and furry art. Lots and lots of furry art. I may occasionally post my own art here and possibly my own writing in the future if I feel confident enough.

》 WHAT ARE YOU INTERESTED IN?

I am, in fact, a human person with nuance so you can argue that no matter how many things I tell you that I like? None of this will even come close to conveying the full spectrum of who I am, so please keep that in mind. I'm more than my interests. That said, it doesn't mean I can't at least give you an idea of the things I enjoy so to name a few things offhandedly: I really enjoy art, writing, reading, poetry, photography, filmmaking, animation, cartoons, video games, RPGs, 3D platformers, visual novels, folk punk music, ska music, 80 and 90s visual aesthetics, bright colours, primary colours, breakfast foods, thrifting, kitsch, antiques, tacky button-ups, animatronics, toy restoration, early 2000s internet, xenofiction, medieval fantasy, lost media, queer history, TV history, film history, furry history (namely the funny animal era and 2000s era), cooking, horror movies, folklore, cryptids, musicals, storytelling, worldbuilding, history, psychology, archaeology, zoology, etymology and space!

》 WHAT MEDIA DO YOU LIKE?

I like a lot of different media and the ones I actively choose to engage with fluctuates pretty frequently, but currently the ones of note are... Pokémon, Warriors, Watership Down, Animal Crossing, The Lion King, Ginga Nagareboshi Gin, Beastars, The Legend of Zelda, Bugsnax, Banjo Kazooie, Viva Pinata, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Sonic The Hedgehog, Zero Escape, Ace Attorney, Another Code, Welcome To Nightvale, Little Shop Of Horrors, Ride The Cyclone, Starkid, Be More Chill, Heathers, Cats, Waitress, In The Heights, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Child's Play, The Gregory Horror Show, The Owl House, Steven Universe, Portal, Half Life, TF2, HLVRAI, What We Do In The Shadows, Our Flag Means Death, Interview With The Vampire, Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, Scott Pilgrim, Sam And Max, The Good Place, Gravity Falls, My Little Pony, Night In The Woods, Slay The Princess, Dragon Age, Fable and Good Omens! Hyperfixations are bolded, because like it or not I am autistic and that does affect which of these wretched things will get a stranglehold on my attention at any given time 👍

》 YOU'RE QUEER? WHAT ARE YOUR LABELS?

I'm a gender non-conforming trans man. I go by he/him and it/its pronouns and I mostly use masculine terms (man, dude, guy, etc.) or non-gendered ambiguous terms (thing, mutt, dog, etc.) to refer to myself. That said, all this does vary whenever I feel like it and I've got no intentions of trying to mirror cis men. I see myself as a man in the same way Bugs Bunny is a man, masculine in theory but pretty malleable in practice. A man but tilted a bit too much to the left so it doesn't quite fit on the "pallatable for cis people" gender shelf.

My gender is pretty intertwined with my non-human identity; All genders feel like a costume but ambiguously fruity man is the most comfortable one for me personally. I'm a vaguely man-shaped dog thing that's just trying to resemble a person above all else, if we're being entirely honest here.

I use the labels pansexual and queer pretty interchangeably. Gender doesn't really play a part in who I'm attracted to, it's pretty irrelevant and just kind of a neat bonus more than anything. That said? Overall I'm predominantly attracted to other queer people! I do class myself as acchillean because of my attraction to other men but in a non-committal handwave kind of way, considering how weird my relationship with my own gender currently is.

I consider myself as polyamorous. I can comfortably exist in both monogamous and polyamorous relationships but between the two? Up to now I've found the latter is my preference.

Also, I know I don't owe anyone an explanation about my identity. I'm talking about this because I'd like to (queer expression is fun to talk about yippeeee) and not because I feel obligated to. People aren't owed your life story, especially people on the internet ✌️

》 DO YOU HAVE A BYF / DNI?

No, I don't have a DNI. I've come to realise that the culture surrounding DNI lists in online spaces isn't healthy and I'd far rather just curate my own spaces however I feel like it! Not that I wasn't doing that before now but given that? A DNI feels like an unnecessary step that just serves to perpetuate that culture which I don't want to do. The block button exists to be used, I block people wherever I need to for the sake of my own comfort and I recommend you do the same 🤷 That said: I'm a queer neurodivergent leftist. So I have the exact kind of opinions you'd probably expect with those descriptors in mind. All good faith identities are valid, any kind of queer exclusion is bad, bigotry towards any marginalised group is bad. Fascism and capitalism are both poison, cringe culture is dead, do what you want forever so long as it's not hurting anything or anyone and everyone deserves kindness unless they themselves don't show it. Truly some never before heard takes here on Tumblr dot com.

》 WHAT ABOUT A TAGLIST?

Not yet, but I'm slowly working on it. In the meantime? Here's what you mainly need to know. You can find my talking and general shitposts under solar talks, or my art under dog draws. I do have content warning tags! I try to be conscientious and tag anything that I know is a common trigger for people (blood, gore, bones, bright colours, insects, etc) as and where I can. I format all of my content warning tags as "cw //" and then whatever the content of the post is that needs tagged. So for example, if you don't want to see insects? You can blacklist them on my blog using cw // insects and that should stop you from seeing anything with a number of legs you aren't comfortable with. This same format applies to all of my content warning tags. If there's anything more specific you need tagged? Don't be afraid to let me know. I'm happy to accommodate you wherever you need so long as it doesn't infringe upon my right to exist; If it's something that triggers you? Then it warrants being taken seriously.

》 WHO'S THE GUY IN YOUR ICON?

That would be my fursona, Circuit! He is me, I am him, I love showing him off to people so although the art may change? He's usually the face of my online pressence. Here's his current (slightly outdated, whoops) reference sheet that I made for him:

If you're curious, the art of him I have as my Tumblr icon currently (as of February 4th 2024) was a commission I got and is drawn by Pawtastic!

》 WOW, YOU TALK A LOT.

Sure do bud. Thank you for noticing! Want to hear me talk more? Then I have some sideblogs you can check out if you feel like it. fuzzypath is my Warriors sideblog (active) funky-fella is my Bugsnax sideblog (semi-active) canid-canon is my writing sideblog (WIP, inactive) I also have a NSFW sideblog dedicated to outright hornyposting, but respectfully I'm not sharing that here. If for whatever reason you'd like to see that? PM me privately to ask for it and if you're both 18+ (have your age clearly stated somewhere on your blog) and someone I trust to see it then I'll most likely give it to you!

[ghostlycorvid]

2023 Introspective

This year started with cutting off a toxic person who had already shut me out of mutual friend spaces but kept stringing me along with "maybe in a few more months I'll let you back in". 2022 was rough on its own, especially pre-antidepressants, but a huge part of it was stuff involving this person. Blocking them and finally accepting that it was not worth trying to repair what little relationship was left was the most freeing thing I've ever done and helped me to continue that with any other rude unpleasant individual I've had to share spaces with. It's been genuinely wonderful to realize I don't have to sit there and listen to bad takes or people who are needlessly mean, so I'm glad something came out of that friendship nightmare scenario.

It still took a lot of time to not sit there in anger and frustration spirals over the way things ended up, but in February I got permission from my bosses to bring my dog Chili to work with me due to needing to keep him and our other dog from playing while she was recovering from her spay. I ended up realizing that even though Chili is a huge anxiety baby, having him with me legitimately was helping distract me from negative thoughts spirals and gave me something positive to focus on when I was getting frustrated by work-related stuff in the moment. He ended up helping a couple coworkers come down from panic attacks later in the year too. My boss likes how "calm" he is enough that he gave me permission to bring Chili to work all the time (within reason), so he's come with me on most non-event days. His progress has been slow, but he's also been improving from the regular socialization!

I finally started to really focus on my own art and developing my own products and designs, both for my personal shop and for the shop at work. I've come out the other side of this year with 9 new enamel pin designs between the two! (A couple I haven't shared yet! ;D)

I was finally given an Adderall prescription which magically solved my problem where I couldn't stay awake during the day no matter how much sleep I'd gotten! And also it started helping me focus a little better too, but genuinely the non-sleepy thing was the most lifechanging part of the medication for me. The pit in my stomach when I was told that person felt like I was stalking and surveilling them if I was quiet in a call or stream despite years of me communicating that I was constantly struggling to even stay conscious was... HOO BOY. After years of fighting for my life to stay awake in college and sometimes even while DRIVING TO AND FROM WORK,,,,,,,, I really thought something was seriously wrong with me (besides the ADHD since I didn't realize it was a symptom of that)

With toxic people removed from my social spaces and general perception, I've finally started to join group calls with my friends again without anxiety or fear of not being welcome. It's helped me start to get back into playing games again, and I've been able to get into a few that either have built in accessibility features to avoid hand strain, or I've been able to modify my hardware setup to help with issues I was running into before. I've finally managed to pick up Warframe again, and I'm bouncing between that and Path of Titans without being hopelessly deep in a hyperfocus.

I officially got promoted at my job to Retail & Visitor Services manager (and got a $3 raise in Nov!!). While I'm struggling with finding help to ease my increased workload, I'm definitely way better off than before we hired on extra staff. It's given me a lot of networking opportunities (and excuses to go on field trips on the clock for ~*networking*~) and I've been juuuust starting to poke my head into local groups. One is a monthly artists crafting meetup right by work that starts right when I clock out! :D

I had the energy and free time to start branching out and trying other arts and crafts hobbies that had been interesting me! Ended up getting a serger machine to help really tidy up clothes that I make! I got into linocut & block printing, and have been having a lot of fun working on designs for that kind of printing. I even made a few printed shirts! And of course there was Andromeda, the first puppet I've ever made, and pretty much my proudest achievement in all my years of art so far.

I've honestly been spending less time on social media proper, usually forgetting to check tumblr for days or weeks at a time. Which has been good and bad, but overall better for me to stop feeling like I HAVE to fully backlog everything ever.

I got my first tattoo this year after wanting one for years and years! And that opened up a whole new can of worms and now I'm ending the year with 5 tattoos and 2 more scheduled in the next couple months oops! My first tattoo was Joltik, with my first ever pet spide!

I started keeping spiders this year after years of being too concerned about keeping pets that required live feeding! That also was a slippery slope. I picked up Indrid my red-backed jumper and Autumn my pumpkin patch t at the end of January, and now I have them, a regal jumper, a red-knee t, and a togo starburst t. You'd never guess that less than a decade ago I was scared shitless of all spiders. :> Especially now that I will occasionally free-handle wild spiders that need relocation to someplace safer. (Mostly still just jumpers tho)

Things aren't perfect by any means and I still have a lot of areas I want to personally improve myself in, but I feel like overall this has been a really really good year for me and I want to keep that momentum going into 2024! More art! More projects just for me! More time with friends! More enjoying games! More tidying my space literally and metaphorically!

[macfrog]

Is it annoying and/or anticlimactic to release an INCREDIBLE and LONG chapter of a beloved series and have people immediately clamor for more? Like “You literally just ate shut up”?

Anyway, this is such a fascinating series for me to read. I’ve always been/intended to be child free and just recently took steps to make that permanent. As much as I knew I didn’t want kids, it was startling to realize in the process that I also had to grapple with and mourn what I was giving up - in particular, seeing my husband become a dad. It was hard to reconcile my certainty in not wanting children with the recognition that there were aspects of motherhood I will miss. I guess I thought if it wasn’t all or nothing then I wasn’t fully committed and people would doubt me and pull the “you’ll change your mind” card too much, which could make me doubt myself. Anyways this has been cathartic and also a little extra sad for me but in a good way ❤️

hahaha honestly, i don't really mind. it's lovely to feel people's excitement over something you've posted! and those comments are also ways that people express enjoyment, so i'm cool with them. (also i'll always work at my own pace anyways - which is quite slow i'd say lol)

i love that you're intrigued by the series. this is such an insightful message, so thank you for sending it in. i love to think and talk about this sort of thing, so i hope you won't mind me adding my two cents here.

firstly, i think it's great that you assessed your own wants and needs and acted accordingly. super brave to put yourself first - it's not always easy to think that way and do it, so kudos to you.

secondly, i don't think these sorts of things are ever very black and white. i think it's perfectly normal and perfectly natural for you to know within yourself that kids aren't something you want, but to still wonder. the idea of what could've been, right? but i think that happens with every decision we make in life; it's just part of the deal.

personally, my feelings on motherhood have changed drastically. when i was younger, i don't know if there was anything i wanted more than to be someone's mom. now that i've grown up a little, come into myself, i've realized it's not really for me. that's fine! maybe one day i might change my mind, maybe i never will. both are also fine!

scom is obviously a pregnancy-related fic, and she clearly grapples quite a lot with the idea of fitting into this role that she just doesn't see herself as, yet. but it's not a fic intended to capture one side or the other (of an issue which i think is very gray, anyways). it's just a fic about a woman deciding what she wants, and doing it - which is the least we can really ask for, i guess. it's the least we deserve.

i hope you're good. your decision is so valid and i'm damn glad you made it. thank you again for this very thoughtful ask. how lovely that you're able to find catharsis in art! what a wonderful thing to have stumbled across. 🩵

[maxwellsuperbien]

Art school and mental health.

I think I decided to really become an artist in 2014. At the time, I was in high-school and the idea of trying to enter an art school came from seeing how little practice was in the art curriculum at a french university.

Not knowing anything better I submitted an embarrassing portfolio consisting of things I saw in the videos of people wanting to go in the

𝓒𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓘𝓷𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓽𝓾𝓽𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓐𝓻𝓽𝓼

My portfolio neither had the quality to enter what I now know as an animation school and clearly wasn't focusing on concepts enough to go into the kind of school we have in France. I was motivated but my parents aren't artist, I didn't know any art student and my art professor pushed going to a university.

Instead I went into a preparation school that helped me understand what type of art school they are, what they wanted and how different from one another the teachings there can be. After that I tried 3 different schools and got 2 to accept me.

While I had nothing against the 3rd one at the time, knowing I fucked up during the entrance exam, learning how pretentious the professors were and how they treated not only my classmates but the students as well, pissed me of.

I wasn't mad they refused me because I already had the privilege of choice with the 2 schools I wanted. I was mad because despite not liking this particular classmate, they treated her condescendingly and mocked her in a very stressful situation.

She instead went to another school, less prestigious sure, but at least more adapted to what she did and wanted. I'm glad for her but that moment marked me and gave an idea of how little art school were concerned for the mental health of their students.

Nobody comes out, at least in France, of an art school intact, some people are traumatized, some left with severe burn out, some became the professor's black sheep (for good or bad reasons). I went there, excited to meet so many people, met the one person that was super manipulative, got social anxiety and never got any real friends.

Sure, I learned a lot of things about art, techniques, others and myself. However, I also learned that despite my best attempts at socializing, I felt unfulfilled, frustrated and developed a depression. I cried each birthday I had from my situation, had suicidal ideations, didn't quite understand what happened to me.

I felt like I never did enough for people and my professors made me feel like it. I got my diploma with the jury telling me I could have developed my ideas deeper and should step out of my comfort zone.

How do you step out of your comfort zone when it's the only thing making you survive and feel safer ?

You don't. You're mentally ill and you need something to cling unto while experiencing traumatic events.

I was isolated but each time I talked about it, people who told me they would make steps didn't or were too busy working on things of their own.

Trust me, I don't want to repel anyone from entering art school.

Be careful about who you meet and who's competitive mind is full of negative self-value. Inform yourself on where other students live and get near them, try to not be isolated or isolating yourself (if you can).

Your work might be amazing but if people only value you because of it, it's not right. You're a whole person, your feelings matter and friendships are VERY important to your art school experience.

I think what made me not quit, was mostly from the mindset I grew up with and the solidarity the class showed towards shitty things professors did to us. We legit scared the teachers because we would NOT shut up about how wrong and immature they could be.

I became aware of many things during these 3 years. Like my needs, gender identity, social issues... My experience was intense and honestly ? I don't recommend being me.

I don't speak for everyone there, I'm sure many got more positives than negatives but while I'm on friendly terms with my old classmates, I've never really been friends with them either.

ANYWAYS. Here's a picture of a scorpion-fly from this april :)