#image transcriptions now added!

[todays-xkcd]

After some account issues, we've added 6 new people from the beach house rental website support forum.

Bug Thread [Explained]

Transcript Under the Cut

[Part of a discussion thread in progress on an online forum is shown. Each comment has the writer's avatar to the left of the text and small illegible text immediately above the text. Part of the first comment's text is cut off at the top.]

Commenter #1: Same issue here. Commenter #2: I'm having this problem too. None of the posted fixes work. Commenter #3: Same. Commenter #4: +1. So frustrating. Commenter #5: I'm still having this. Did you all ever figure out a fix? Commenter #6: Same problem as everyone. I tried the steps in the posts here, here, and here. Nothing. Commenter #7: Add me to the list. Commenter #8: Same. Ugh. Can't believe this thread is 5 years old now. Commenter #9: Where does everyone live? Do we want to get a beach house for a weekend or something?

[Caption below the image:] At some point, you just have to give up on fixing the bug and embrace the fact that you have dozens of new friends.

[sepdet]

Merry Shitscram, Tumblr!

(transcript below cut)

Guess what I borrowed from Mom's stacks while visiting?

I won't cap the whole thing, but at least I can provide you with some selected excerpts for the next week. Yes, this IS that edition.

Transcript below.

Chapter One

FOR THE THIRD consecutive night, Captain James T. Kirk awoke with a gasp of surprise and something akin to fear clinging to the side of his throat. He blinked once, then struggled to sit up, leaning against the head of the bed his eyes scanned the dark room. Reality returned and his gaze settled on the chronometer. It was shortly after 3 A.M., Ship Standard Time, but he was wide awake and knew he would have little hope of getting back to sleep before the alarm demanded his attention at six.

Releasing the breath he'd been holding, he replayed the recurring dream in his mind, wondering why it should have disturbed him so deeply . . . and so often.

After discovering no logical explanation for its cause or its unprecedented effect on him, he tried passing it off to the fact that the Enterprise had been on routine patrol of the Romulan Neutral Zone for nearly two months—an inexcusably boring mission. But with Romulan Fleet activity increased for no apparent reason, he accepted the fact that he was bound to be a little edgy.

After another deep breath and a shake of his tousled hair, he slowly lowered himself back into the warm nest of covers,l and closed his eyes; but as expected, he was only pretending to sleep when the First Shift duty alarm sounded less than three hours later.

Stifling a yawn, Kirk entried the Deck 5 turbolift to discover the ship's first officer studying him with a lifted eyebrow.

"Morning, Spock," Kink said with a sheepish grin, wishing he'd taken the time for a cup of coffee before presenting himself publicly.

The Vulcan's head inclined in greeting, "Captain," he said formally. The doors closed and the lift began its familiar horizontal motion, but the Vulcan continued to study his friend. "Is everything all right, Captain?" he inquired presently.

"Just fine, Mister Spock," Kirk replied. "Why do you ask?" He wondered if his eyes were a trifle more red than they'd appeared in the mirror.

The eyebrow climbed higher beneath the long black bangs. "You seem. . . unusually distracted," Spock observed after a questioning moment of silence.

So much for dismissing the matter, Kirk thought. Spock's scrutiny was never escaped easily. "Would you believe me if I told you that the invincible Captain Kirk has insomnia?" he asked with a smile.

"Indeed," Spock murmured. Kirk was normally a very private individual; but now the hazel eyes seemed alight with a combination of embarrassment and mischief. The Vulcan decided not to mention that he himself had been having disturbing dreams for at least a week. "I trust you have not sought relief from Doctor McCoy?"

Kirk shook his head. "For a few hours of lost sleep?" But the twinkle left his eyes as a frown found its way to his face. "I don't know why it should bother me at all," he said, feeling some need to explain himself. "But . . . never mind, Spock," he added as the nocturnal images returned to haunt him. "It was . . . just a dream." Trying to change the subject, the smile returned to his face. "Another human shortcoming, eh, Spock?"

Something in Kirk's too-casual tone caused the Vulcan to look at him more closely. "Would you care to discuss the matter in more detail, Captain?" he asked, momentarily wondering why he didn't dismiss the subject as Kirk was attempting to do. Yet he realized that the captain's normal reservations concerning his personal life did not extend to him, just as he understood that the reverse was also true.

Kirk glanced up from where he'd been studying his boots, and felt the familiar telepathic door swing open between himself and the Vulcan. It was something which had formed between them over the years, something which had saved their lives countless times and made them brothers. He did want to discuss it, but only with Spock.

McCoy would, as the Vulcan was fond of pointing out, dispense a handful of pills and an hour of friendly advice; and though Kirk valued the doctor's friendship, he wasn't in the mood for a full battery of psychological tests to determine the cause of a simple recurring dream. He chanced a quick look at the Vulcan as a plan of action took shape in his mind.

"I haven't had breakfast yet," he began, finding an excuse he needed. "But . . . I'm sure you have, Mister Spock. After all," he continued with a broadening grin, "Vulcans never ever miss breakfast, right? You have to keep those thought-wheels well oiled and in perfect working order." He studied his first officer's lean frame. "And you never gain an ounce either!" he added with a look of mock-disgust, remembering Mc-Coy's warnings to cut back on the meat and potatoes and settle for a salad once in awhile.

The Vulcan brow lowered as Spock observed his captain's nonchalant approach. "I have not eaten this morning," he stated in straightforward contrast to Kirk's roundabout endeavors, "and I would be pleased to join you." His eyes seemed to lighten as he studied the casual way Kirk was holding in his stomach. "And we need not inform Doctor McCoy as to the menu."

—•—

(Next Time: Our lads discuss nightmares over breakfast and discover they are on the same wavelength, as usual.)

[See tag Killing Time Excerpts for more!]

[anyab]

via AlJazeera

[Image transcript:

More on the Health Ministry’s press conference in Gaza

A spokesperson for the Health Ministry in Gaza has just held a news conference. Here is what he said:

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing war with Israel has reached 10,022 people, including 4,104 children and 2,641 women.

The number of those wounded since October 7 has risen to 25,408.

Al-Rantisi Hospital was targeted twice by Israeli air attacks. The Cancer Center and the Specialised Children Center were also targeted. Four people were killed and 70 were injured, some of them children, staff and refugees. The Israeli attacks destroyed the solar panels and the water tanks in al-Rantisi Hospital.

Targeting essential supplies threatens everyone’s lives at the hospital.

Israel conducted 18 attacks in the past hours, killing 252 people.

192 medical staff were killed and 32 ambulances destroyed since October 7, while 16 hospitals are now out of service.

The targeting of bakeries is adding to the food crisis.

Israel is taking the international community’s silence as a green light to continue its massacres

End Transcript]

[utahlive]

Announcement

Hello UtahLIVE viewers, I have come before you today to talk a bit about recent events and how they will impact the future of this blog. Apologies this note is a bit long, but I would really appreciate it if you took some time to read this.

As I'm sure many of you know, within the past month Wilbur Soot/William Gold has been outed as an abuser. I want to make it clear right now that I no longer support him, nor do I accept his apology (mainly because it's not mine to accept in the first place). I stand with and believe Shelby and Alice 100%. This goes for any other victims that have or will come forward that I am unaware of, since I've been trying my best to stay offline. This aint about me!! But it's still hard when someone you look up to and who inspired you to create art turns out to be a shitbag. If you were somehow unaware of this, please go watch Shelby/Shubble's stream (VOD + transcript) and read Alice's post (and mind the CW/TWs) for more information.

This blog has brought me a lot of grief because of all of this. I do not want to support or perpetuate this man's image, but at the same time, I don't want to discontinue a story that I've put so much time and effort into. After a lot of deliberation, I've decided that I am going to continue this story until the end. I will also be adding a disclaimer in the pinned post, and I will no longer be tagging any of my posts from here on out with #wilbur soot or any adjacent tags. I don't think it's fair to myself or to anyone else who has enjoyed this blog to waste all the hard work that I have put in, because ultimately this is my project and my story, not his. If you disagree with this, I totally get it, but I ask you to just unfollow and/or block rather than sending me any hate because I promise you that whatever you say about me "supporting" Wilbur Soot by continuing this blog is something I've already considered myself. He is not (active) on Tumblr, he did not receive any of the money I got from stickers, I doubt anyone is looking at this blog and thinking "wow this Wilbur guy seems cool, let me go listen to his music and watch his vods".

Despite this decision, I'll probably still be taking a bit of time to myself to think about things and focus on school. Updates will likely resume in late March or early April.

I hope you can all respect my stance on this, and I want to reiterate how much I appreciate you all for supporting my work. Love you guys <3

[welcomehomerandomness]

Welcome Home Website Update Reaction Notes (4/12/2025) (SPOILERS)

Hey guys! Today I'm gonna show you my reactions to the Welcome Home website via my notes on Google Docs. I wrote 5 pages and spent around a few hours exploring the website lol. Hope you enjoy it!

NEW HOME ART IT'S SPRINGTIME MY DUDES

OMG JULIE IS ON THE HOME SCREEN INSTEAD OF WALLY???

The neighbors’ outfits are so cute BUT WHERE’S WALLY???

I’m scared, gamers…

I went to the What’s Welcome Home page AND WALLY IS GONE!!! WHERE IS HE???

Frank’s and Julie’s outfits are so cute in the News page…I love these besties lol

The neighborhood is decorated as usual…So cool lol

I clicked Home and WALLY IS STARING OFF TO THE SIDE INSTEAD OF STARING TOWARDS US

Also when I press his audio, all I hear are bell jingles or a telephone ringing???

Ok…all of the audio and pictures of the neighbors seem normal…

The Guestbook seems normal, but for some reason, Eddie’s Halloween sprite is still there…Unless it was a mistake?

OMG THE JOYFUL SIBLINGS HAVE STICKERS NOW SO COOL

The Discoveries page looks so cool lol

WALLY HAS A BROADCAST???

I love Night Mind’s voice lol

I love Julie’s voice impressions for the different flowers lol

Also Eddie’s mom mentioned???

The rhododendron has beef with poor Eddie lol

Someone, please comfort Eddie lol

OMG THE JOYFULS’ VOICE REVEALS OMG

Jonesy sounds like he’s part of The Beatles lol

I love Franny’s monotone voice lol

Bea’s voice is amazing

Poor Poppy lol

OMG HOWDY

Beeya (Howdy’s brother in law) mentioned lol

I love how the Joyfuls are offended that Howdy wants to make the leaves as part of his salad lmao

I love how angry Howdy is lmao

I was looking at the transcript while listening, and they skipped one of Julie’s lines for some reason???

Why does Julie sound nervous and hesitant to join her siblings’ band? I’m worried about her…

I love this radio broadcast so much…This should be a real radio broadcast lol

Julie and her siblings on the music page is so cute lol

The Joyfuls’ album cover is so cool

The Joyfuls’ song is so cool too I love it

Also, I love how one of the Joyfuls’ songs is called “Frankly Boy”...Could it be about Frank?

Omg the rainbow monster cakes are so cute…The little nom noms…

Julie and Frank in the Joy soda ad poster is so cute lol

Omg I love the art style for the Rainbow Monster Handbook it’s so cute lol

OMG BABY JULIE

I love the dynamics between Frank, Julie, and her siblings so much…It’s so sweet…

I want the board game to be real lol

Oh no…The pea is back…

Storybook time! Starting off with “Springtime Salutations”!

In the transcript, the storyteller is calling Julie’s name…But it is not on the audio…

OMG THERE’S A WEIRD DISTORTED GARGLED SOUND IN THE BEGINNING

Wait…ALL OF HOME IS STILL COVERED IN SNOW???

F in the chat for Eddie…He got crushed by Julie lol

Ohhhhh this storybook is basically how Frank met Julie’s siblings

The narrator distorted at the end…

The story is pretty cute I love it lol

Ok the next storybook is called “Sweet Briar”

Omg Wally in his little king outfit

LMAO SOMEONE THREW A BALL IN THE MIDDLE OF WALLY’S LINE LOL

Why do Barnaby and Howdy look so goofy in those costumes lol

Howdy’s shocked face looks like a meme at this point lol

His shocked expressions remind me of Tsukasa from Project Sekai lol

DID HOWDY JUST SLAP BARNABY LMAO???

Day 2 of exploring the updates (I was tired last night lol)

We’re continuing the “Sweet Briar” storybook lol

I just realized that the crown doesn’t fit Wally’s hair lol

I LITERALLY CACKED WHEN I SAW THE IMAGE OF KING WALLY WATCHING THE SPINNING WHEELS BURN…HIS FACE LMAO

I love how instead of Howdy whisking Julie away and putting her in a cottage, it’s his grocery store lol

I love how Howdy doesn’t like to say “day offs” lol

I imagine Eddie blushing when he sees Frank in that prince outfit lol

“The script called for it” lmao

Mrs. Beagle mentioned awww

HOWDY BLASTING BARNABY WITH HIS WAND IS SO FUNNY LMAO

Top 10 manga battles

Barnaby’s expression when he got blasted reminds me of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Kaiba defeat meme

Howdy’s gasp is so hilarious lol

Omg Wally was hit with Howdy’s sleep spell too

BARNABY’S FACE IN THAT WANTED POSTER LOL

Ok there was no distortion in the ending…That’s good lol

I love the story it’s pretty funny lol

The next one is “The Julie Guide to Being Joyful”

Oh there was distortion in the beginning

I just realized that Julie says “a whole clock spin” instead of “a whole day…Is a whole clock spin equivalent to one whole day?

Sally called Julie “Julentine” awww

I love Julie’s voice impressions of all the neighbors lol

Omg the audio distorted and went back to normal later on

WHAT IS THIS THERE IS BLACK INK STUFF ON THE PAINTING WHAT

The audio distorted when Julie said “Joyful Blossoms”

That’s a goofy-looking but cute dog toy lol

I checked the Guestbook again and it seems like Eddie’s normal sprite is there…I think it was a mistake lol

I JUST REALIZED THAT WALLY IS GONE IN THE GUESTBOOK TOO WHAT

Ok I think that’s everything in the main website for now…Let’s check the secret website lol

Ok it seems the new ones are “April 12, 2025”, “Joy”, and “Toy Box”

The journal entry tho…I’m scared…

Also the Joy soda…

For some reason, I can’t see the image in Toy Box so I’ll try to brighten it…

Ok I can’t see it for some reason so I’m just going to cheat and go to Tumblr and Reddit…

I also heard that there is a secret Wally audio, but I’ll find it soon

Ok the first one I found has “/ringring” at the end of the link for the main website

The distortion in the beginning is actually kinda scaring me…

Wally sounds a bit angry…I’m scared…

I think he’s tweaking a bit…

Home…

I’m worried about Wally…Is he ok?

Next is “/revengemessagebeware” at the end of the link for the main website

THE DISTORTION SCARED ME WHAT THE

So we’re looking at the sky now…And it’s a live-action sky…

And the people talking are Julie and Frank…

Omg the video cuts to green plants…

The video then cuts to a bud? It kinda looks like a cactus lol

The video then cuts to another random plant again…

The video then cuts to a weird looking flower…

I don’t know what that flower is but it looks weird…

There’s distortion again at the end…

Next is “/innocenceconstancyaspell” at the end of the link for the main website

There’s distortion at the beginning again…

The people talking are Julie and Frank again…

So we’re looking at some flowers…

Now the video cuts to another plant…

Now the video cuts to that weird-looking flower again…

Now the video cuts to leaves from a tree…

Now the video cuts to a weird-looking bud…Is it from that same weird flower or a different one?

Now the video cuts to the sky again…

Julie stopped talking that even Frank is noticing it a bit…

Now it cuts to a green bush? Another plant?

Now it cuts to the weird-looking flower again…

There’s a shadow looming over the weird flower and there’s distortion again at the end…

Next is “/regardforgetfulnesssilence” at the end of the link for the main website

There’s distortion at the beginning as usual…

The person talking is only Julie this time…

So we’re looking at that weird flower again…

Now it cuts to sunlight shining through the leaves of a tree…

OMG JULIE PUPPET HAND REVEAL

Now we cut to the sky again…

Now we cut to plants covered by a shadow? I don’t know what to describe it…

Now we cut to the weird flower again…

Now we cut to plants showing a small mountain?

SHE NEVER EVEN MENTIONED EDDIE??? WHAT???

Julie and Frank lore??? She’s talking about how they met…

Now we cut to another plant…

Julie starts speaking in a normal voice…It’s not her usual happy tone…

Now we cut to flowers…

Now Julie is back to speaking in her usual happy tone…

Now we cut to that weird flower again…

OMG WALLY’S VOICE AT THE END OF THE VIDEO???

Next is “/temptationdreamshope” at the end of the link for the main website

There’s distortion at the beginning as usual…

Now we cut to sunlight shining through the trees…

There’s a voice but it sounds unfamiliar…It is not one of the neighbors or one of the side characters we met before…

We cut to the weird flower and hear Julie’s voice again…

We cut back to sunlight shining through the trees again and hear that unfamiliar voice again…

We cut back to the weird flower and hear Julie’s voice again…

We cut to some flowers…

We cut to another bunch of flowers…

So the play Julie and the others did was “Sweet Briar” which is from one of the storybooks earlier…

We cut to sunlight and heard that unfamiliar voice again…

Now we cut back to the same bunch of flowers and hear Julie’s voice again…

Now we cut to the sky again…

We cut to sunlight and heard that unfamiliar voice again…

Now we cut to plants covered by a shadow again and hear Julie’s voice again…

We cut to sunlight and heard that unfamiliar voice again…

Now we cut to plants showing a small mountain and hear Julie’s voice again…

We heard that unfamiliar voice again and cut to sunlight…

We cut back to the weird flower and hear Julie’s voice again…

We heard that unfamiliar voice and cut to sunlight…But the voice seems like it’s panicking…

We cut back to the weird flower and hear Julie’s voice again…Julie seems aware of the voice…

Julie’s voice sounds soft and defeated…Poor Julie…

We hear that unfamiliar voice for the last time and the video distorts until the end…

I feel like the voice is Julie’s voice actress, and Julie is hearing her in her head…

Next is “/tearsremembranceinstability” at the end of the link for the main website

There’s distortion at the beginning as usual…

We cut to the sky again…

It is Julie’s voice again…But she is with Frank this time…

Now we cut to some plants…

Now we cut to plants covered by a shadow again…

Now we cut to the weird flower again…

Now we hear the unfamiliar voice again…

I’m just going to call it Weird Voice lol

Now Weird Voice is apologizing and crying…

We cut to the sunlight shining through the trees again…

Now Weird Voice sounds distorted and crying and shouting…

Now we cut to plants showing a small mountain and hear Frank looking for Julie in the distance…

“Julie? Are you alright?” Awww Frank…

Now we cut to the weird flower and hear Julie’s voice again…

Now we hear Weird Voice shouting and crying as it slowly fades into the sunlight…

Now we cut back to the weird flower-OMG IT’S THE DOG TOY BUT IT’S 2D ANIMATED

OMG THE DOG TOY JUST LOOKED AT ME WTF

I feel bad for Frank…They notice that there is something wrong with their husband, and now their best friend, and even asked them if they’re ok…

I feel bad for Julie too…

Next is “/revengeinnocenceregardtemptationtears” at the end of the link for the main website

AND OH MY GOD IT’S A PICTURE OF FRANK

THEY LOOK SO SCARED AND WORRIED OMG

Ok as for the Toy Box in the secret website, someone on Reddit said it was a box, which was assumed to be packaging for the dog toy, and it says “GLE”

Also what was the deal with this dog toy???

I can’t believe I spent two days on this website lol

My hands are kinda tired from typing lol

Also let me know if I miss anything

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

It's funny to me how you put these tags just as the newest episode revealed that Nathalie has been working for a secret organization this entire time and is taking commands from her dad who surprise surprise wants the ladybug and cat miraculouses

(Post in question for context)

[Image transcript: a series of tags reading "She is not a safe person and I HATE that she knows Marinette's identity Wtf is this show doing? Nathalie knowing Ladybug's identity should be a terrible thing that makes Marinette quit"]

Oh, so that's why Nathalie refused to turn herself in and convinced Ladybug to lie in the London special!

Nathalie: It's time to tell the truth. Bug Noire: If you do that, you'll go to jail. Nathalie: Isn't the truth worth it? Bug Noire: If you tell the truth, Adrien will have no one left. He'll have lost his mom, his dad, you. Nathalie: He will have you. Bug Noire: It's not' the same. He needs a mother. Nathalie: I'm not his mother. Bug Noire: You're the closest thing to a mother he's got. (Bunnyx runs over to the window as it continues playing)That's why Gabriel Agreste sacrificed himself, it's what finally made him a good father to Adrien and that's what Adrien should remember. Nathalie: Don't you want to tell Adrien that his father was Monarch? Bug Noire: The only thing I can fix is the way Adrien will remember his father. Nathalie: But that would be lying to him.

Oh, wait, no, my bad, that's the exact opposite of what happened in this dialogue! Why would you write the scene like this if Nathalie is still evil? And if Nathalie isn't evil anymore, then why is she keeping the evil organization a secret from Ladybug? This seems like something Ladybug should know about and this dialogue does not set Nathalie up as wanting to maintain secrets. Nothing in the special does!

[Image description: Fear from Pixar's Inside Out yelling "Boo! Pick a plotline!"]

I haven't seen El Toro De Piedra, so maybe there's something I'm missing, but doesn't this secret organization reveal basically destroy the popular argument that Nathalie is obeying Marinette's wishes re the lies because Nathalie no longer trusts herself to make good calls after all her years supporting Gabriel? If that was really the case, then Nathalie would have told Marinette about the secret organization and let Marinette decide what to do, but it sounds like that's not what happened. Nathalie feels totally comfortable making all the calls and controlling the information re the evil organization! She's only leaving Marinette to make the calls when it comes to Adrien's relationship with his father, a thing Marinette knows almost nothing about but that Nathalie actively watched deteriorate over the entire course of Adrien's life.

You can't have this both ways. Either Nathalie is a broken woman who is basically Marinette's puppet or Nathalie is a functional adult who is fully responsible for her own choices. Pick a lane.

I'm posting this now instead of waiting for the script because this is going to bother me until I get an answer. I legitimately want to know if the episode does anything to address any of these issues. Based on this ask, this is just adding fuel to my, "Nathalie should have been the liar" stance. Why is Marinette even involved in the lies if Nathalie is the one with all the actual secrets and information? It doesn't sound like the lies are doing anything interesting for Marinette's character or her relationship with Adrien. Can Adrien please get someone in his life who actually respects him? Can the writers please get rid of the asinine "Marinette must be wrong" rule when it makes no sense for the actual plot?

Gods, if Nathalie was actually written as still evil then this could have been amazing! The plot beats are all there, the writers just failed on every level. I'm still annoyed that her undoing Adrien's senticommands was presented as her being a good mom and not as her just using Adrien to fuck with Gabriel. Let my evil queen be an evil queen, gods damn it!

[purplealmonds]

Continuing to fire on all cylinders to make this Sky 🤝Mononoke collab a reality! 🐲⚖️🌊

Process GIFs and artist commentary below the cut. ⬇️

Left: Process GIF Middle: Just the background, cos I really like how it looks! Right: Illustration without the collab logo

And here are my notes on my inspirations and references. There's a lot of 'em, so instead of embedding relevant images one by one I put them in a callout sheet! For accessibility, I also included transcript (with bonus ramblings) below each sheet.

Ofuda circle modeled in Google Sketchup 2017, then lightly transformed in Photoshop to flare out. I tried my best to hand-draw these, but it the results came out really clunky and stiff. I figured if Mononoke shamelessly utilizes 3D in their show, I can too!

Krill and sky kid composition roughly inspired by the Ayakashi DVD cover illustration. On the surface level, the krill's black-and-red color scheme mirrored that of the bake-neko. Not to mention, in the world of Sky, the krill would be the best fit of a mononoke-like entity. The red background is also a nod to the red skies seen during a shard eruption in Sky.

Sky kid gesture based on the Festival Spin Dancer's Tier 3 poses and the Medicine Seller's iconic pose in the Zakishiwarahi episode as inspiration. This was the idea which springboarded this illustration into existence. I wanted to do my take of the Medicine Seller's pose, but in a more dynamic manner: rotate the pose to a profile position and set the ofuda in a diagonal, flared out arrangement.

Cape inspired by tenbin design featured in the 2024 Mononoke movie. This one's an interesting one - I wanted the cape to be a stiff material that doesn't "flap" when in flight - similar to the Aurora wing capes. It ended up looking like a kite of sorts, which I'm not entirely opposed to! I haven't had the opportunity to showcase the back view of this cape design, but I envision it having some mechanical aspects to it - the "wing" which are flared out in this illustration fold in like moth wings, and a little bell is attached to the "tail" part and it jingles a little whenever the sky kid flaps!

Bandana is based on the Scaredy Cadet's hairstyle from the Season of Assembly. Mask design utilizes the 2023 Days of Style mask and the Nintendo Pack mask as bases. Pretty self-explanatory. I basically went onto the Sky wiki and found the cosmetics that most closely matched what I was looking for. Then if necessary, I went to the Office space to do photoshoots to get the appropriate camera angles for them all.

Seasonal pendant inspired by the classic Medicine Seller's necklace and the eye motif featured in the 2024 Mononoke movie. Possibly the only one-to-one homage to the classic Medicine Seller design here, but his garnet necklace was too good of a match to the seasonal pendant. A side tangent: does the new Medicine Seller possess a necklace, let alone a mirror? So far all the shots of him don't feature it. Fascinating.

Dark dragon krill anatomy references a custom figurine crafted by @/escaflowne_n07 on Twitter. Until I found this, I was honestly at a loss finding reference for this - be it on the internet or during in-game photoshoots. The lighting on the krill in-game focused on its menacing silhouette rather than its structure. And not to mention, getting a close-up shot almost always set off the dark creature's aggro. I have no idea how this guy found the references to put this model together - well done!

Mantas, elder constellations, and sun dog references murals in the Cave of Prophecy. Krill aside, the overall illustration was leaning a little too much towards Mononoke so I tried finding opportunities to insert more Sky into it. Added bonus is that now there's storytelling in the background: during a shard eruption, a giant krill rises from the frothing waves of dark water to hunt down a flock of mantas.

Clouds behind the sun dog reference the ones featuring heavily in the Umibozu episode. This illustration has a lot of ocean theming, so I figured this would be appropriate.

Rendering style of the background is lightly inspired by the 2007 Mononoke illustration. Mainly having a 2D inked style to contrast with the more polished render of the sky kid. Funnily enough, this was a tertiary inspiration, which lead to the discovery in the next point!

Dark water waves and sun dog composition heavily references Hokusai's "The Great Wave". The waves were modified to be bottle-green of the Golden Wasteland's dark waters. The sun dog is in the spot where Mt. Fuji is in the original composition. these were all hand-drawn by the way! I merely emulated the style of the source material. As a side note, I also borrowed the spotted sea spray rendering for the krill's red spotlight.

Background pattern taken from the ofuda design featured in the 2024 Mononoke movie poster. Mainly to add some gritty texture to the sky. I worked pretty hard to replicate this ofuda design as a high-res asset so I wanted to use it more!

[sleepy-spacetronaut]

Chip Wars

Disclaimer! This post is purely for entertainment purposes and the sake of political satire. This is in no way a defamation post for the Cheeto brand. Cheetos are a-okay 👍

Two chip flavoured criminals in a room…they might fight to the death.

📢🗳️Now let’s see what the demos of Tumblr thinks: IT’S POLLING TIME, PEOPLE! For the sake of a higher participation rate (hopefully?) I rigged this poll to one week’s length!

Updated! note: It has been like two months since the election, so you may wonder, why does this appear now? How is this relevant? (In the light of the past events, it is, trust me.) Well, after the massive delays in the comic production due to studies and trouble with my phone that broke in the end of December , I had thought of not posting it altogether (it was originally going to be a traditional doodle shitpost). But hey, maybe, just maybe, this is still worth sharing, for the sake of political satire as this new year begins. Forgive the inconsistencies, I made this comic on the span of several days.

Start note (18/11/2024) : So…to recap, I started this on November 6th after the election results to vent my frustration, but due to technical difficulties could only post it now; to all Americans, sincerely, I wish you the best of luck.

EDIT: Added all image transcription now, for those that need it.

[horizontwinflames]

Horizon AU: Twin Flames - Aloy, Beta and Elisabet (Zero Dawn Act) final concepts

*texts' transcriptions under the cut after the images*

Nora Beta's design was made by me.

REPOST, EDIT/USE OR FEED MY ART TO AI ISN'T ALLOWED

Read about Isaac, their machine companion [here]

This was... so much work... *falls off* (talking about write all of this story in the past... 5 months omg)

This AU has an ongoing fanfic! You can read on Ao3: [LINK]

Text transcription:

Aloy

172cm/5.6' - 21 years old

In this AU, Aloy is much more aggressive and socially distant than in canon. Although she grew up alongside Beta, so she knows affection and manners. Only Beta and Elisabet know Aloy’s true self: a gremlin, curious, funny, and loving person.

Her aggressive behavior towards other people is a mask and a defense mechanism. She developed such behavior due to how often she had to defend herself and her sister from bullies (and machines too), never allowing herself to lower her guard, also adding how much she internalized the pain from the shunning. Now that she is free to explore the world, she's willing to learn how to manage this behavior with her sister's help to stop fearing the world they want to explore.

Because she's been bottling her negative emotions for such a long time, she has a contained rage she has yet to learn how to use to her advantage. An easy way to trigger her is if Beta gets really hurt (either physically or emotionally).

Beta, her younger sister, is the most important person in her life. Aloy is willing to do anything to ensure her welfare and happiness, even if that means getting herself hurt or worse. Beta is the only person who can get Aloy to speak out her true feelings and thoughts and be a compass to help her how to handle negative emotions better.

Raised on the Nora ways of hunting, Aloy is an excellent hunter in this AU, just like in canon. But here, she’s also a ferocious brawler, and she does not only fight humans in hand-to-hand combat but also small machines. She has an unbelievable resistance to pain, is way more muscular, and is a bit taller than her canon counterpart due to her rather different physical training.

She followed her sister in her curiosity about the Old World, so Aloy started in this AU with much more knowledge about said subject. Just like her sister, she was also indirectly taught by Elisabet herself (through their Focuses) about programming and machines.

Beta

168cm/5.5' - 21 years old (possibly)

In this AU, Beta grew up alongside Aloy as an outcast. She is a skilled fighter and hunter like her sister, much more social and confident than in canon. Although, her confidence ends when she finds herself alone or in a discussion with another person.

Beta had a lot of health issues in her childhood and was way weaker than her sister for a long time. She has always been a scared child, afraid of confrontations face to face with bullies or machines, which led Aloy to protect her all the time they were away from Rost. Her dependence on her sister to protect her always bothered her, as she never liked to see her sister getting hurt, especially on her behalf. Now that she is free to explore the world, she wants her sister’s help to become strong and overcome her fears from childhood. She wants to fight by her sister’s side, not behind her anymore.

She enters a state of silent panic when under unbearable stress, becoming just as aggressive and violent as her sister normally is. The easier way to trigger this behavior is if she sees Aloy in a life-and-death situation.

Aloy, her older sister, is the most important person in her life. Beta is willing to do anything to ensure her sister’s welfare and happiness, even if that means getting herself hurt or worse. Aloy is the only person who can talk some courage and confidence to Beta. She’s also the only person Beta trusts for her safety, allowing her to let her curiosity go wild, especially when it comes to studying machines.

Beta was raised in the Nora ways of hunting, even if a bit later than her sister. But because of her said above issues, she developed a more stealthy and trapper way of fighting. She’s weak to pain and will always try to keep her distance from her target(s). 

When she met Aloy, she was out of memories, not remembering how she got into the underground bunker. She’s not even sure if “Beta” is her name, but she did have some knowledge about the Old World. The only thing she’s sure about is that bad people are searching for her out there.

Elisabet Sobeck

168cm/5.5' - Mid to late 40s

In this alternative universe, Elisabet is being kept alive in a cryosleep state by the Zeniths for a reason she has yet to find out. She can communicate with Aloy and Beta using a holo-avatar through their Focuses because of the “vivid dream state” her unconscious mind is in. Her holo-avatar has two forms: an orange jaybird and her real self.

Although, because of her frozen slumbering state, she can’t recall all of her memories. But she’s slowly being “defrosted,” and it’s a matter of time until she can remember everything. For now, the rising danger called HADES and things related to the Old World and Machines only give her some feeling of familiarity or some random information(s). 

Elisabet has been in contact with Aloy and Beta since they got their Focuses when they were kids, but she could only directly communicate recently. She has acted as an omnipresent guardian, watching the sisters and helping them by controlling their Focuses when necessary. She taught them about basic programming and machines that way.

She has an unexplainable motherly care for Aloy and Beta, which makes her (and the sisters) believe she's their mother- aside from the extreme visual similarity. She doesn't remember how she became a mother yet, but she'll do everything she can to help and protect her daughters.

[anistarrose]

You added an "image description" to my post - now what? (FAQ)

While I'm literally always willing to answer (good faith) questions about image descriptions, alt text, and online accessibility writ large, I also know lots of people have social anxiety about sending DMs, doing IDs "wrong," or just not knowing what IDs are for in the first place. Hence, this FAQ.

If I added an ID to your post and/or asked you to do so, and you're confused about any aspect of that, this is where to start. You can absolutely still reach out to me, I just thought I should consolidate as many answers as possible.

"What is an ID and why does it matter?"

IDs, or "image descriptions," are a description of the content of an image, and can range from a transcript of a screenshot of text, to a description of a detailed piece of art. They should be in plain text, and placed on the line immediately following the image (unless it's alt text, more on those pros and cons later).

Before we can answer "why it matters," there are two brief but crucial pieces of prior knowledge we need to establish for this whole post:

Blind people can use computers, and navigate the Internet, with technology like screen readers and Braille displays.

Blindness is a spectrum. Partial vision is common. Some blind and low vision people can't make out all the details of images, but can still read enlarged text.

Now, we're ready to answer why IDs matter. IDs are primarily for blind and low vision people, who need text alternatives to images as they use screen readers, and/or enlarged text on their devices, to navigate the internet.

IDs help others too, including lots of neurodivergent people. Check out this post (link) and the notes for more examples (dyslexics, migraine sufferers, people who can't interpret expressions, people with slow internet...)

IDs are important because without them, the Internet really sucks for people who need them. You probably don't realize how many undescribed images circulate on Tumblr every day, with no way for a lot of disabled people to engage with those posts.

A blind person talks in more detail about all of this here (link).

"I reblogged your ID, is that enough?"

It's not that I don't appreciate it, but editing it into the root post and then reblogging that is much more impactful, for a variety of reasons. It means people who need IDs don't have to dig through the notes for them, it means that Tumblr can't glitch by failing to load the notes and make the ID functionally disappear, and it means all people who find the post in the tags or on your blog will be sharing the accessible version.

To explain visually, the best thing to do is something like this:

[ID: two mock-up Tumblr posts to illustrate adding an ID from the notes to the root post. A blog named "your-blog" posts an image of text reading "something cool you posted" with the caption "check out this cool image I made!" In the notes, the blog "image-describer" reblogs with an ID, which is highlighted. This version of the post is labeled: "original post, reblogged via ID writer."

The second version of the post is from "your-blog" again, where they've added the ID directly under the image, with the same caption below the ID. This version is labeled "updated root post, with ID copy-pasted. End ID.]

"My commentary first, or ID first?"

Include the ID right under the image, followed by your commentary. Unless you're putting your commentary before the image itself, a sighted person will see "image, commentary" in that order, so to ensure the post flows the same way for screen reader users, use the order "image, ID, commentary."

Commentary frequently assumes that the reader has seen the image, after all! A person might not even realize the image is described if the ID is buried too deep, because they might lose patience and skip the post. Or, to explain visually:

[ID: two mock-up example posts with an ID, one formatted well and one poorly. They both start with an image, which is just the text "screenshot of a tweet or something." The first post includes the ID immediately under the image. Below, it continues: "commentary blah blah blah get a load of this guy can you believe it." The post is labeled "Like this!" in green with a check mark.

The second post includes the commentary first, then the ID after the commentary. It's labeled: "Reads awkwardly, deprives screen reader users of immediate context" in red with an X. End ID.]

"I want to make a change to the ID, is that okay?"

Yep! If you want me to change it on my blog too (whether it's characters' pronouns, some typo, etc), just message me.

"What if someone else adds an ID to my post? Would they also be okay with me editing it into the original post like you are?"

Almost certainly! I can't speak for everyone, but I've literally never met an ID writer who wouldn't be okay with it — because we all have the shared goal of maximizing accessibility. If you're unsure or nervous, you can always include credit, but most people are even fine with going uncredited.

"I put your ID in the alt text, is that enough?"

I will never tell you not to use alt text when the alternative is an undescribed post, but I suggest putting it in both the alt text and the post. Some people who use screen readers prefer the flow of alt text, for good reason — but it's also poorly implemented on Tumblr, and it can glitch and disappear on reblogs, in drafts, or just apropos of nothing.

Moreover, when a low-vision person or anyone else wants to read the alt text directly, Tumblr's display options aren't great. (Unless you use XKit Rewritten's AccessKit, which I will always plug, but that's not an option for mobile users.) Hitting the alt text button requires a level of fine motor control that not all people have. And, Tumblr used to use a terrible eye-straining purple background for alt text, and could always do that again with no warning. It's just not ideal.

Here's a visually impaired person talking more about the pros and cons (link).

We're in need of a compromise, so what can you do? One option is to include the same alt text as image description (placing the ID directly under the image as always, because remember, flow is important). I like to lead with "ID from alt," in order to clarify to screen reader users that they can skip the ID, and help differentiate it from the other option I'm about to describe. This should be self-explanatory, but here's an example of a post I did in this style (link).

Option two is to include a short description in the alt text, and then a more detailed explanation in-post. This can let screen reader users instantly know that the post is described, and decide whether they're interested enough in it to stick with it, but it maintains an in-post description for others to benefit from too.

Example of me doing this in a post about IDs (link)

Example of my mutual describing art like this (link)

Also, it's the style I follow throughout this exact post! Take a look!

As usual, the ID is directly below the image in all these cases. This means screen readers move immediately from the alt text to the full description, and the post flows the same way it would for a sighted person.

If you're here because I wrote an ID for you, it might be easier for you to put it in the alt text and the post body identically. That's perfectly fine! But if you're confident writing one short sentence for the alt text, and then including my ID in the body of the post, you can always go for that too.

"Do I need to keep the brackets or the words 'image description/ID' in the alt text?"

Nope, no need. Brackets are purely for the visual distinction, and regarding the "ID" label, most screen readers preface alt text with something like "Image" that fulfills the same purpose. It's not the end of the world if they're there, but it's redundant, so feel free to remove them.

"Can I put the ID under a read more? Or in small text?"

Please don't. Read mores are glitchy, and oftentimes have to be opened in a new tab. Accessibility that requires jumping through extra hoops isn't accessibility. And worse, if you change your URL or get deactivated, that read more link is usually just gone for good, and the post is undescribed again.

A blind person talks about read mores, and why not to put IDs below them, in more detail here (link).

The exception is if the image itself is below the read more, of course. Then putting the ID below the image, also below the read more by extension, is fine.

You should also write your IDs in text without any fancy formatting (by which I mean, you should write them unformatted, just like the text I'm using in this paragraph). Small text, italics, colored text, and so on are bad for low vision people or others who read the IDs directly such as with increased font size. You should not use them for IDs.

The only type of formatting you might want to consider is an indent. As far as I know, indents are a perfectly accessible form of formatting that shouldn't mess up any screen readers, or impair readability — while still helping IDs stand out from the rest of the post. Indents are optional, but can help non-ID readers know what parts of the post they can skip, which can be helpful for anyone who gets overwhelmed by a lot of text. To demonstrate:

[ID: sample indented text. End ID.]

And one more time, just to drive the point home: IDs always go immediately below the image!

I demonstrate the issues with fonts and small text in this post (link).

"Why do you sometimes copy colored text or small text as plain text? Is that a screen reader thing too?"

Same reason IDs shouldn't be in small text, italics, et cetera — because of sight readers with low vision. Small text (and to some extent, italics for some people) is hard to read, so I try to provide an accessible transcript.

Colored text is sometimes even inaccessible to sighted people using certain Tumblr themes! (I'm speaking from experience with regards to the lightest shade of blue text, on the default white background, actually!) If Tumblr gave individual users the option to disable small text and colors on their dash, then I'd tell you to use them to your heart's content, but as it stands, they're not very accessible.

A visually impaired person talks more here, about why plain text is helpful to a lot of people, but a separate issue from screen reader accessibility (link).

"Okay, I want to make my blog more accessible, but I don't feel capable of writing IDs on my own. How can I get help?"

Good news, this is my absolute favorite question! I strongly recommend the People's Accessibility Discord (invite link here, please let me know if it breaks).

It was created for this exact purpose of crowdsourcing IDs (and answering questions about them). I talk about it more in this post (link), but I also describe an alternative if you're like me and have massive social anxiety about Discord servers.

TL;DR: ask in your undescribed post if someone can add an image description, and edit it in once someone does! If you've read this far in the post, you're clearly an expert on how to do that.

In that post, I also recommend text extractors like OnlineOCR (link), OCR Space, and Google Lens to extract text from images, and save you typing if it's just a twitter thread, or something. I would always spot check the text, adjust formatting, and remove superfluous characters, but it usually saves you lots of time when you might not normally have the energy to describe something.

Lastly, a lot of description blogs take requests! I don't unless I specify otherwise, because I easily run out of spoons, but @accessible-art is a great example of a blog that does this for non-fandom art, and there are lots of fandom blogs out there that do similar.

"I want to learn how to write image descriptions for my posts! Do you have any resources?"

This is my image description masterpost (link). I get a little scared about linking it because it's long, and a lot of the linked posts are long too, and I don't want to overwhelm people — so please, start with the first few links to get the broad strokes, and then feel free to treat the rest like a index. That is, peruse it if you're looking for answers or advice on a specific topic!

While learning, keep in mind that different ID users want different things out of IDs, and that's okay. Some people, including many blind people, care quite a bit about color, but others don't, and that doesn't mean either is wrong about the types of IDs they prefer versus ones they find unnecessary.

Additional reading: Blind People Still Like to Know About Color, as a blind person explains (link)

Overall, blind people have a massive range of lived experiences, and all the other people who benefit from IDs broaden that range even more. Generally, no one involved wants huge walls of text, but some people prefer super-minimal IDs, while others prefer a nice handful of (relevant) details. It's stuff like the difference between "Two characters hugging in a cozy-looking house," versus "Two characters hugging with their eyes closed, both smiling. Their house looks cozy and cluttered, with warm lighting."

Neither of those is objectively wrong, and there will be people who prefer either. Nor is it wrong for you, the ID writer, to make a subjective judgement, such as on the "cozy" mood. You don't want to misrepresent things, but subjectivity is usually unavoidable on some level, and therefore fine. Likewise, you don't want to let the ID get so long it's a slog to get through (here's an example of what NOT to do), but if you're describing a complicated image, like some art might be, it's okay to add some details. Just start with the important stuff and general idea first, which helps with clarity.

The purpose of an image also matters. With memes, shorter is almost always better, and excessive detail is annoying (post with examples). You don't need in-depth detail to appreciate most quick jokes. But on the other hand, art is often shared for the purpose of appreciating the details. This post goes into detail about how context matters, and how longer IDs make sense for art sometimes. It puts it better than I could, so I really suggest reading it if this is something you're wondering about! Key word: not length, not brevity, but "relevancy."

In my opinion, IDs are easiest to learn by doing, but also by starting small. If you want to build up your "description muscles" and confidence by just transcribing screenshots of text, that's perfectly fine — and also, the path that myself and a lot of people I know have followed.

Lastly: follow some described blogs! Check out how other people do it! Writing IDs is an art, and though it has a few hard do's and don't's we've gone over, we've also gone over how it's subjective. Everyone brings a slightly different style, with a different level of lengthiness, and it's great to learn from multiple sources. Here's one list of blogs like those (link)!

"Why would this matter if I know I don't have any blind people following me?"

Consider the cycle of inaccessibility (link). If no one ever accommodates blind people, then of course you're not going to see them on Tumblr, in fandom, or in whatever internet circles! There are blind people who might want to use Tumblr, but left because they weren't welcomed and accommodated (link). And blind people aren't the only people who need image descriptions — again, consider this post, especially this addition (link).

Worst case scenario, even if you have no one who can benefit from IDs following you, and no people who need IDs would follow you even if you included them, you're still helping people who do maintain accessible blogs to do so — and moreover, normalizing image descriptions in general.

"I don't think blind people would be in this fandom. I mean, there's a huge visual component!"

Described comics and webcomics exist. Audio descriptions for TV shows and movies exist. Disabled people who find creative ways to play video games exist. People who watched a playthrough of a video game by a let's player, who happened to read out the dialogue, and give descriptive commentary on the action, also exist. People who lose their vision over time, or gain other reasons to rely on IDs over time, also exist.

"Where can I learn more about blindness and related accessibility issues, especially from blind people themselves?"

Wonderful question — check out @askablindperson and @blindbeta for starters! BlindBeta focuses on blind characters in fiction, but discusses accessibility too, and both these users have wonderful and very informative pinned posts! I'll link a few additional posts/tags below, from both these bloggers and others:

BlindBeta on Myths That Harm Blind People

"For a lot of blind and visually impaired people, sight is a conscious effort."

Variation in blind experiences and accessibility needs

Ask A Blind Person's tag on Braille

[oensible]

Centre Ice (October 2012), pp. 1, 38, 40–43, 62

Cover photoshoot photographer: Justin Van Leeuwen (Flickr/blog)

Game photographer (pg. 42): Mark Holleron

It was a tight schedule, figuring out when to shoot Cody only a few days before deadline… he also had a cold, but he’s a tough hockey player and you really can’t tell. [...] Cody was fun to shoot, he’s a successful good looking kid, signed to the NHL at the tender age of 18. I reminded him that he should pay back his parents for all the years they put him and his siblings through hockey before going out and buying a sports car.

—Van Leeuwen/jvlphoto (2012 Sept 21)

NOTES:

the hillary's ad page originally comes before the article in the magazine. moved it to save space without affecting the spread

omitted pages 8 (contains smaller version of the hallway shot, substituted with the flickr upload by the photographer), 30 (too crunchy, standard guy-standing-during-game shot), and 33 (team portraits page)

omitted original version of the cover image (redundant. also available on flickr) and the portrait against white (low resolution, not cohesive with the rest of this post) from the jvlphoto blog post

Article transcript below the cut.

Full Circle

Cody Ceci's hockey journey

Written by Braedon Clark

The picture has been scanned onto Parri Ceci's phone, rescued from a dusty box by his wife Karen. The Senators wanted some childhood photos of their latest draft pick, Parri and Karen's son Cody, and this one was a no-brainer.

Cody is four years old in the picture, his sister Chelsea six. Their Senators jerseys are littered with signatures. Both smile for the camera, Cody's grin obvious even behind the cage of his mask. The man in the middle of the shot, arms around both kids, is Daniel Alfredsson. All three are standing at centre ice, skates astride the Senators logo at what was then the Corel Centre.

Fourteen years later, Cody Ceci's hockey journey has taken him full circle. In late June, he was drafted 15th overall by the Senators after playing for his hometown 67's for the past three seasons. Less than a month ago, he signed his first NHL contract in the same building where he once skated as a four-year-old, where he once cheered from the stands, where he once posed with childhood heroes-turned-teammates.

"That picture probably makes (Alfredsson) feel pretty old, but it's pretty cool for me," Cody says with a smile. "Just getting to meet him a few times when I was younger was huge for me and now to play on the same team would be pretty crazy."

It may be unlikely still, as the NHL seems poised to plunge into its second lockout in just eight years. Along with every other would-be rookie, Cody might not get a chance to make the big club if the season doesn't start on time.

"I'm just trying to prepare myself as if there is going to be a season," he says. "I'm just going to go hard in the next few weeks trying to get ready for Sens camp and if there is one, great. If not, it'd be pretty unfortunate."

For now, on this flawless Saturday morning, Cody is at the Fred Barrett Arena in Gloucester, where the 67's are holding training camp. He's dressed casually — sunglasses rest atop his head, while shorts and sandals complete the summer ensemble. A recent bout of strep throat has kept him off the ice, forcing him to watch from behind the glass like everyone else.

Despite his made-in-Ottawa pedigree, Cody did move to Peterborough when he was 13 to attend Lakefield College School, a prestigious institution that was attractive because of its high academic standards.

"Another friend of ours whom (Cody) had played spring hockey with suggested it," explains Parri. "Their two sons had gone there for educational reasons because their graduating class averaged 85 per cent. It was a really good opportunity for Cody and he was thrilled to go. He loved the school."

On the ice, Cody stood out as a member of the Peterborough Petes AAA minor midget squad.

"You knew he was going to the NHL," says Wayne Clark, who coached Cody during his OHL draft year.

"He had an absolute hammer of a slapshot from the point."

For Clarke, one moment during a tournament in Belleville especially stands out from that season.

"We had a power play and we started to isolate Cody and another player we had, Turner Evans, on the right side," Clark remembers. "Cody blew one shot over the goalie and a whole bunch of OHL scouts and I said, 'Wow, he is this good. Some of these tools are outstanding."

That slapshot helped Cody get drafted 16th overall in 2009. Only two years removed from leaving his home in Orleans, he was back.

During the ensuing three seasons with the 67's, Cody developed into an elite defenceman with an offensive touch, tallying 60 points in 64 games last season.

That combination of skills made him one of the highest-ranked prospects heading into June's NHL draft in Pittsburgh. According to Parri, Winnipeg and Dallas had expressed interest, but as those picks came and went a nervous tension settled on the Ceci travelling party.

"When they finally stood up at the mike and said my name it was just a great feeling that I was going to stay at home," Cody says.

"We didn't even hear the announcement because there were so many people around us cheering," adds Parri.

Since that night there hasn't been much time for celebration. Cody was on the ice at rookie camp within a couple of weeks and trains almost every day with a group that includes several NHL draftees. He also played in the Canada-Russia Challenge, where his lack of playing time – he only appeared in two of the four games – drew some negative press.

"The main thing is what the Sens are saying to me about it," he explains. "They didn't seem too angry or anything, just more frustrated that I didn't play that much."

As a capper to a whirlwind summer, Cody recently signed a three year, $2.775-million contract with the Senators. But don't expect him to move into a swank bachelor pad anytime soon. Cody says his dad has been counselling him about money management –The Wealthy Barber is on the reading list – and his mom loves having him at home.

With few distractions to speak of, Cody can focus on getting better and making the Senators in the event that a lockout is avoided. Chris Byrne, head coach and general manager of the 67's, knows what adjustments his star defenceman will have to make.

"It's obviously the best league in the world so it's definitely a few rungs up on the ladder," Byrne says. "For him, depending on how well his game adjusts to that higher speed and level will determine how quickly he gets there."

Back at training camp, Cody reflects on what it's like to be famous at 18. He seems especially attuned to the emotions of young autograph-seekers, perhaps because he was one himself not so long ago.

"You know they're just building up courage to talk to you so you don't want to let them down or anything," he says. "It's hard for them to even come up and ask because they feel embarrassed, but at the same time they just really want it and they're kind of nervous to talk to you. It's kind of cool that happens and you just make sure you respect them."

The first on-ice scrimmage comes to an end with the shrill sound of the horn. The hopefuls from the black and white teams skate wearily to the locker room as Cody joins the rush of people trying to escape the chill of the rink for the inviting warmth of the lobby.

Everyone here knows who he is. As he makes his way through the crowd, several people give him a nod or a quick hello. About five feet behind him are two young boys, no more than six or seven. They move a little closer, then fall back, dancing with apprehension and nerves. Finally one of them works up the courage.

"Will you take a picture with us?" he asks with a small voice.

"Sure." Cody says.

He stands in the middle, arms draped over the tiny shoulders to his left and right. The picture is taken and the two little boys thank him before running over to see how it turned out.

Full circle indeed.

CODY'S ICE FLOW

YEAR — TEAM — COACH

1999 — Gators-IP — Denis Sicotte

2000 — Aardvarks-IP — Stephane Drouin

2001 — Barons-Novice B — Mike Funai

2002-Spring — 67's AAA — Guy Bigonesse

2002 — Barons - Minor Atom B — Guy Bigonesse

2003-Spring — 67's AAA — Guy Bigonesse

2003 — Barons-Atom AA — Guy Bigonesse

2004-Spring — 67's AAA — Guy Bigonesse

2004 — Barons-Minor Peewee A — Jeff Akeson

2005-Spring — Riot AAA — Guy Bigonesse

2005 — Barons-Peewee AA — Richard Julien

2006-Spring — Riot AAA — Guy Bigonesse

2006 — Barons-Minor Bantam AA — Richard Legault

2007-Spring — Riot AAA — Martin Dagenais

2007 — Peterborough Petes Bantam AAA — Scott Donato

(2007) — Lakefield College School Varsity — lan Armstrong

2008-Spring — Riot AAA — Martin Dagenais

2008 — Peterborough Petes Minor Midget AAA — Wayne Clark

(2008) — Lakefield College School Varsity — lan Armstrong

(2008) — Peterborough Stars Jr. A — Paul Matucci

2009-Spring — Riot AAA — Martin Dagenais

2009 — Ottawa 67's (OHL) — Chris Byrne

December 2009 — U17 Team Ontario (Timmins) — Jake Grimes

2010 — Ottawa 67's (OHL) — Chris Byrne

2011-Spring — U18 Team Canada (Germany) — Mike Williamson

2011 — Ottawa 67's (OHL) — Chris Byrne

(2011) — OHL vs. Russia — George Burnett

2012-Fall — WJC vs. Russia — Steve Spott

2012 — Ottawa 67's (OHL) — Chris Byrne

[sparklecarehospital-archive]

an overview of my progress on the new site over the past 5 months of building

i decided i would put together a big post compiling all of the things i have currently implemented to the new site since at the moment it's scattered amongst a million small update posts. i feel like this will be good reference for anyone who has ideas that aren't included yet

the comic reader

you can now change the placement of the comic pagination arrows to be above, below, or on both the top and bottom of the comic page.

you can search for individual page numbers via a search bar (and also search 'cover' 'back cover' etc)

you can bookmark pages and save your place at any time in any series, and the home landing page will give you a link to your saved page when you revisit the site so you dont have to go all the way to the read section just to access your place. saving your bookmark tells you what page you're saving (or clearing if you're removing it)

you can now select individual scenes in the volume that have non-spoiler names but proper associations to the content for returning readers to quickly find specific scenes

on desktop you can change the size of the page on your screen

on desktop you can hide the site header (this is not necessary on mobile)

there is a legend explaining what each button does

new comment service that does not have ads

transcripts now come from the sides of the screens and do not require scrolling down to read them, and they are correct and no longer inaccurate on certain pages

tooltips that explain what each navigation arrow button is for

content warnings

you can select individual categories of content you do or don't want to see via switches

you have the ability to disable warnings entirely if you wish, just turn all of them off

you can choose between verbal warnings (stuff in dialogue) or visual warnings (things seen on-screen)

you can suggest adding content warnings to specific pages if there are errors OR if there is something major i overlooked

there is a page that lists every content warning in a volume with contexts for each individual warning, whether it's verbal or visual, and links to the pages

there is a pre-moderated comment section that allows anyone to ask questions about content warnings (for example, asking if something will ever be in the comic or asking what category something specific would be listed under).

there is a list of things that do not get warnings and a list of things that will never be depicted in the comic

scenes that did not have content warnings before now have them to match the proper category system

archives

volume archives are now images instead of links, and they are displayed in a grid format which is mobile-responsive so it doesn't take absolutely forever to scroll through an entire volumes archive

volume summaries are more easily accessible

the new transcript archive which is a text-only version of the entire comic, including a clean version in case you need things in dialogue filtered out

mobile devices/tablets

the website is now properly mobile responsive and designed to function like a regular mobile website and is not unbearable to use anymore. it just feels and looks like any other mobile site!

comic pages now touch the edge of the screen and do not always require zooming in to read dialogue

transcripts are now more device-friendly and do not appear broken on small screen devices anymore

all comic reader features work on mobile (except the 2 desktop-only features)

content warnings do not take up too much space or overflow the comic page box

margins are improved to make basically everything more mobile friendly

you can still see page backgrounds faintly on mobile, but they have an overlay to make reading the comic page contents easier. this was not originally planned but i made it happen! yippie!

display

the site now has a built-in dark mode that works for every site theme, however, keep in mind that due to the nature of dark themes they are obviously not as colorful as the main site themes

there is now a saturation slider which changes the saturation of the site to whatever percentage you wish

saturation affects the background and does not ignore it

the screen does not flash as new elements load in, however, images specifically may take a moment to load depending on your internet speed. this is something i'm trying to fix but i can't guarantee it because it's not entirely in my control how websites load images depending on your internet speed

secrets!

cast page

cast page for each series is divided by individual character type (main patients, side patients, main staff, side staff, family, outsiders etc)

cast profiles are mobile responsive in an easy-to-use way and do not take forever to scroll through on mobile devices, instead they are collapsible and you only have one open at a time.

desktop has anchor links to specific profiles using my cute emoji edits :]

search bar on the main cast directory page that takes you to specific characters by entering their name (or variations of it)

profiles include allotpuns, genders, pronouns, nouns, sexuality, species, age, hatchday, height, and a list of all of their afflictions

there are popups that explain the meanings of certain phrases or words (like specific sexualities) and neopronoun usage explanations and examples

cast page profiles for all of the currently public cast members

biographies that contain character history (or at least the currently public history) and a detailed explanation of their personality that replaces the trait system for simplicity's sake

secrets!

comic itself

pages with errors have been corrected

pages with improper characterization/retconned information have been updated and replaced with new dialogue

character card intros now contain pronouns and retconned pronouns have been corrected

uni is no longer referred to with exclusively he/him anywhere except in the comic itself to avoid confusing new readers/people who do not look at other areas of the site

scenes that did not previously have site themes now have them, for fun!

secrets!

FAQ

the FAQ is no longer a million miles long despite containing all of the questions it originally had. it is now collapsible sections that make accessing certain question types easier

pre-moderated comment section that allows anyone to ask questions about the comic, even if they do not have a tumblr account. these questions are directly on the FAQ itself. it is pre-moderated to keep things on-topic.

bug report page where you can describe problems you're having if the site isn't working right for you. this is also pre-moderated. common/important issues will be pinned

navigation bar

there will be links to all of the ask blogs on the navigation bar, including the AUs

there is a link to the spinch lore page directly at the top. no more digging through the FAQ!

navigation bar has dropdowns to specific types of pages to increase the link count without cluttering/taking up too much space

the links are no longer poorly sized images, instead they are actually made with html

landing page

when you first open the site, you will be linked to a settings page that allows you to set your display settings and content warnings in advance

you can set saturation and select dark mode if you want

this landing page is not bright and has an overlay to prevent it from immediately forcing you to see bright colors

this is everything that is currently implemented. there may be things added in the future, this is just all of my current progress.

what do i have to finish?

uploading the comic. i currently have volumes 1-2 fully uploaded and transcribed, v3 is fully uploaded, and v4 is undergoing the upload process.

finish the archive pages to include all of the volumes

finish the cast profiles

work on the spinch lore page

do proper beta testing with the crew to make sure everything works on as many devices as i can possibly test it on

thank you to everyone for being patient with me over the past few months as i work hard on this. i feel really good actually writing out everything i've done overall because i have more progress than i actually realized!!! i hope everyone is excited to see all of this in action because i can't wait for you to see it either!

[starryluminary]

Ridonculous Race but Noah is friends with Owen part 8: Where would I be without you?

I am holding back on yelling for ten paragraphs about this moment in rr proper. Instead I will say that I made Emma outright say she can’t be with Noah cause I feel like adding the “not on the show” part does not warrant such a strong reaction. Also Owen tries so hard. He cares so much and tries so hard and it’s borderline therapeutic to draw Noah reciprocating the efforts (in his own silly ways)

It’s also been a full year since I’ve initially started this series! Happy Birthday, Noah is friends with Owen!

Transcript:

Image 1 Emma: I like you!! A lot! Emma: But…

Image 2 Emma: …I can’t be with you. I’m sorry.

Image 3 Owen: Oh boy.

Image 4 Don: Reality TV schmos- I mean “Pros”… Don: I’m afraid you’re last. It’s time to go…

Image 5 Don: …Is what I would have said if this were an elimination round, but it isn’t!

Image 6 Don, offscreen: Congratulations, guys! You’re still in the game!

Image 7 Owen: Noah…? You ok, buddy? Noah: I… Uhm…

Image 8 Noah: …Ow.

Image 9 Owen: Aww, Noah!! Owen: Don’t worry- it might hurt now, but things will get better! I promise!!

Image 10 Owen: Besides… There’s ton of other fish in the sea. Like this one! Owen, in cursive: I wuv you, Noah! Kissy kissy, mwah mwah mwah! Noah: Ew. No thank you.

Image 11 Noah: I think it likes you, though.

Image 12 Owen: Oh my— NOAH!! Owen: That’s a dead fish- why would you do this to me?! Noah: Ha ha ha

Image 13 Noah: Ha… Noah: …Thanks, Owen.

Image 14 Owen: Ha. Owen: Glad I could help!

[acatthatmakeseclairs]

Arcane Season 2 Necrit Interview Transcript + my ramblings

Hello! I thought I’d share the transcript for the Necrit & Christian Linke Interview on tumblr because it flopped on reddit lol (you can find the transcript at the very end of this post (ⓛ ω ⓛ*) )

Some notes to consider before going through the transcript and the rest of this post:

The transcript is of the YouTube video ver. of the interview, I’m crazy, but I’m not so crazy that I’m going to attempt to transcribe a 4 hour VOD.

The transcript is images for now, because I would not be able to fit a 2+ hour interview in a 40k character limit (the interview is like 60k+ characters, 50k+ without spaces)

I’ve added timestamps so you guys can easily reference a question or response from the video directly; I’ve also highlighted certain sections of the interview that I thought were interesting :)

For the discussion section, I’ll be referencing this post, because… let’s just say it was quite incorrect in some sections or there were points that I thought would be cool to talk about.

I’ve tried to be as objective and accurate as I could when getting into the details of this interview, hence why I’ve referenced other interviews and production materials, like concept art, but again, I am human, and I can get things incorrect or I can off as a bit biased– but alas o(*￣▽￣*)o

Anyways, onto the discussion!

Noxus, Ionia and Demacia are getting shows and are next steps into this cinematic universe; they pick each setting to explore [different] sides of [Runeterra].

They are not each getting shows… the team working on this new project, has only, casually, announced one new project.

They are one year into production for one show- the fact that Christian Linke mentioned Noxus, Ionia and Demacia, implies that this new series has a story that is centred around all three nations, not unlike how Arcane’s conflict centered around 3 different nation states: Piltover, Zaun and Noxus, with Noxus being positioned as an overall antagonistic force.

I’m not too familiar with the timeline of League of Legends, but I’ve heard here and there that Swain, a much-teased character in Arcane’s finale, had made his deal with Raum after the Invasion of Ionia, and seeing as he’s made his little cameo after Viktor’s failed ‘Glorious Evolution’, this could imply that we won’t see Ionia in any direct capacity.

Ok, this part is purely wishful thinking, but I think that our main setting for the next installment of this greater story is Demacia.

Noxus is positioned as an antagonist, it would be kind of underwhelming to go right into the motivations and deep mysteries of your central antagonist.

Linke stated that the team starts with ‘character stories’ (01:46:31) before anything else, as well as saying that they like ‘seeing Champions [meeting & interacting]’ (00:03:22) and my brain likes to make connections where there might not be any but what if Jinx was heading towards Demacia, and becomes friends with Lux? Again, total reach, but it’s a fan-favourite duo and it would be a good continuation of Jinx’s story (if they do continue her story that is).

They [considered] Blitzcrank for Season 2.

Christian Linke suggested Blitzcrank to be involved in the story in some way, but the rest of the team shot the idea down, with Linke describing it as ‘silly’ (00:05:31); it was probably a small joke or gag, considering how Linke described it.  

[Heimerdinger] is not dead and other characters might [come] back to life.

Christian Linke did not outright confirm or deny Heimerdinger’s death nor the existence of Bandle City in the Arcane universe, all he said was “I’m not done with Heimerdinger.” (00:07:22) You also have to consider that this guy is a Heimerdinger main, and he’s only one person amongst many who is charge of the direction of Arcane, and it’s related properties. Can’t say I’m not hopeful of Heimerdinger coming back, I love that little guy so much.

As for the other characters? Again, no direct confirmation on Jinx (00:31:45), especially in the last Netflix Afterglow Interview, but Viktor and Jayce … I’ll get into it further.  

Swain is teased to [be] looking into [the history of the Arcane] and [the origins of demons].

I can’t say I fully disagree with this point, but not because of Christian Linke’s comments in this interview (00:19:28). Throughout this second season, Ambessa continues to try to recreate Hex-tech, where, yes, she’s doing it for her own self-serving desires, but who told her to go to Piltover in the first place? In my opinion, it might have been Swain, seeing as his raven is seen poking around looking for the Hex-gem in Jayce’s, now destroyed, hammer.

I should also add that in relation to the overall timeline of Arcane, and it soon to be related properties, is that the current events within Arcane, so let’s say Arcane’s conclusion, the Invasion of Ionia has concluded, as if you can remember, the woman that Ambessa killed in Mel’s backstory is an Ionian princess, check out these bits of concept art from the Fortiche artists (Link 1) & (Link 2).

[Pianist] is teased to be Jhin.

Go to (00:23:10) in the video linked, he did not make a connection between this side character and Jhin, also are we just forgetting that Jhin is Ionian? And he would be much older than this side character??

Ziggs was not [inspiration] for Isha.

I thought I’d add to this point about the inspiration behind Isha: Isha is described as a child of Zaun, with Linke commenting that her hat is a miner hat, which is an allusion to Zaun’s early mining industry (00:24:47). We can see in Act 1, that although she is a child, Isha is very invested in the independence and freedom of Zaun, seeing as she poses as Jinx in what is possibly various rallies in the Undercity. I’d like to think she’s Zaun’s hope :) (let’s not think about what her death implies for Zaun…)

Renata will [replace the Chem-barons] in future.

Again, no confirmation. This discussion (00:27:19), was just that- a discussion of the future of Piltover and Zaun. Based on the production timelines, we may not actually see newer Champions like Renata, because they are released during production; I think we might get a mention of her in the next series, though.

Viktor will be explored on later shows confirmed- he is more than just human or Arcane user now; he is something special.

The status of Viktor and Jayce was confirmed to be dead (ಥ_ಥ) by Christian Linke in the recent Netflix Afterglow interview for Season 2 Act 3- HOWEVER, he described Viktor and Jayce to be “disintegrated” (1:33 – Netflix Interview) which is not what happened on screen. Instead, what is show to us in the show that Viktor and Jayce are sucked into the acceleration rune.

(“They’re alive- they’re stuck in time purgatory!” I say as they drag me into the asylum)

It should also be mentioned that the team, or at least Christian Linke, are interested in exploring what Viktor has become by the end of Arcane (01:20:05), and potentially the fates of Viktor and Jayce post-Arcane– again this does not imply that we will see either of them in the story in any direct capacity.

As for what Viktor is? Throughout this interview, he’s described as a symbiosis between the technological and organic– this does not mean he’s ‘cured’ of his disease and he’s not still disabled!

Throughout season 2 act 2, we see Viktor continue to use his staff to support himself, and Jinx also comments on his appearance, saying that he ‘looks like he’s got a couple [of conditions]’ (hahaha)- lets also not forget that in his Machine Herald form, his leg and back brace are fused into his body. (Interesting how something similar happened to Mel when she unlocked her empath powers, her golden accessories fused into her body- what’s up with that Fortiche?)

Personally, based on what Linke said “… what's different about Viktor is the Hexcore … [the runes] used [in] the Hexcore [are] a different thing, [they’re] much more powerful …” (00:31:01), and of course what we see in the show, I think that Viktor’s body is directly connected to the Hex-core, which creates transmutations within Viktor’s body, keeping him ‘alive’ but he also becomes a mage.

In the world of Arcane/LoL, you can become a mage by either being born as one, or praying to an Aspect or a God. However, Viktor (with the unintentional help of Jayce) became a mage due to the Hex-corisation of his body and soul- but his magic is different from other mages. A lot of the patterns that appear on Mel’s force-fields are very clean, neat, like the runes we see drawn on the various Hex-tech devices, but whenever post-Glorious Evolution Viktor casts a spell, we see this white-glowing webbed orb appear, similar to Ekko’s Z-drive. Not sure what this means, but I thought I’d share my ramblings :)

Other champions from Zaun and Piltover will be brought up to Arcane timeline.

This point was briefly mentioned (00:31:55 - 00:32:15), but even I wasn’t sure about how to interpret this. I think it might refer to the character re-works in League of Legends, but so far they’ve only reworked characters actually featured in Arcane; I’m guessing future reworks for more characters are being discussed amongst the creatives at RIOT, but we have to wait for the upcoming series to see what’ll happen.

Urgot is coming later.

… Again, no direct confirmation, Linke said “Not yet … he wasn't part of the story. I do think Urgot is really interesting …” (00:33:03). Urgot is a character based in the Zaun/Piltover story, so seeing him in the sequel series is unlikely.

Viktor and Jayce are confirmed to be bromance- like very good friends who die for each other any given time.

Look, I’m biased as fuck when it comes to these two, but Christian Linke did say “… I think it’s not romantic.” Again, like with many things in this interview, this is his opinion.

Whilst he may be the co-creator behind Arcane, his opinion was only relevant to his contributions regarding their narrative, just like how the voice actors (for both Arcane and LoL!), the many animators, and writers at RIOT had their own important contributions and interpretations on the relationship between Jayce and Viktor.

From the stuff we’ve seen this past month from the cast and crew, with Toks Olagundoye reposting Jayvik fanart, Harry Llyod reading Jayvik fanfics, and Kevin Alejandro signing not one, but 2 Jayvik fanarts, as well as of course the many Jayvik artworks from the team over at Fortiche; it seems that quite a lot of the team have quite a differing opinion from Christian Linke, almost as if he’s missing something lol.

I’ll finish up this section with a comment from Amanda Overton, because it the best response to how their relationship is interpreted and the description of their relationship:

"Fans are always justified in reading things the way they want to because that’s part of making art. When you do a thing for it based on you, it doesn’t actually have meaning until other people give it their own meaning. My backstory is very different from your backstory and my experiences are very different from yours so I can only speak from my experience. When I put a thing that I’ve written out in the world, then everyone brings their own different experiences to it."

"We were writing them as a loving, brotherly relationship that unambiguously [had] love between them. When it got to that final moment, it was so romantic and beautiful to me when I saw it for the first time—the way Fortiche put it together—I was like, “Oh, well maybe there is hope [for] these guys to have some future beyond what the show intended.” That was really cool for me to see. If people want to imagine that, I think they can, and that’s wonderful. Now that the show is over, if there’s the potential for that out there, then that’s potential that our fans can realize for themselves."

House of Medarda will play part in future of [Runeterra].

Yep! Christian Linke alludes to this in (01:11:37). Mel, or perhaps an older Mel, will appear alongside Noxian characters like Swain and Darius in the future series. It will be interesting to see the political dynamics between these characters as Mel is not only a Medarda and a Mage, but someone intimately connected with the Black Rose (◉_◉).

Glorious Evolution robots are inspired by biblical angels without wings.

Linke said this when it came to the design of Viktor’s Glorious Evolution robots (01:15:10):

“We actually talked … about how we want to have something that depicts, in quotation marks, ‘angels’; something angelic and pure, but then also [that] has … slightly lost some of the expression and … humanity, in a way that's a bit eerie. That's what Viktor's vision [was], but it will deteriorate [one day].”

The religious imagery regarding Viktor was unintentional, the intention behind Viktor was more centred around depicting him as a Messiah– “… We never wanted to have this direct link to any specific religion, it's just this idea of some Messiah or someone that people [wanted] to follow … [it] doesn't have to be religious but, of course, there is a certain connotation. The beauty of religious art … [it’s] just absolutely beautiful stuff and the supernatural depictions of it … [is] very inspiring.” (01:19:14)

There are selected few who [organize] and keep lore in check.

This is not true! Or at least this has not been outright confirmed in this interview; the question at (01:24:24) was not fully answered by Linke in this interview.

I also want to add a though of my own regarding this quote from Linke, “I would say it's 70% us and 30% Fortiche having ideas and then we talk about it, and I agree.” (00:15:12). This attitude that all these ideas came mostly from the writing team seems a bit ‘egotistical’ as Viktor would say- there was a significant gap in communication between the writing team and the team at Fortiche when it came to the world-building, lore, and plot that was shown on screen (you can see this is the attached screenshots of Amanda Overton’s tweets).

(Let’s also not forget that team at Fortiche indicated that the woman that Ambessa killed in Mel’s flashback is an Ionian princess, implying that the invasion of Ionia occurred prior to the events of Arcane; Fortiche animators were also the ones to propose the CaitVi sesbian lex scene; let’s not even get to Amanda Overton’s comments regarding how the Fortiche team implied the romantic relationship between Jayce and Viktor like, the Fortiche team is doing a lot of heavy lifting lol)

At the end of the day, the story we see as the audience is in filmic form, which is a primarily visual medium, so any bits of lore or story is based on what the storyboarding, voice over, animation, and post-production teams want us to see and take away from it.

(Edit: sorry! I completely forgot to actually put the images of the transcript!)

[theroyalthrones]

BEHIND THE SCENES | Grenoble, Montebeliard, Lavande

beginning | previous | next

As Aubrey sits in the opulent opera house, a wave of self-doubt washes over her. The elegant surroundings, once enchanting, now feel like a gilded cage, amplifying her discomfort and amplifying her insecurities. She can’t shake the feeling that her drastic style transformation has only drawn attention to her perceived inadequacies. Surrounded by the confident glances of others, she wonders if she’ll ever feel at home in this world. Each smile and nod from the crowd feels like a reminder of how far removed she is from their effortless charm, igniting a painful longing for acceptance that seems just out of reach.

transcript below↓↓

Aubrey and Laurie have made it to their seats at the opera house in Grenoble, Lavande. Aubrey is feeling light headed after all of the chaos that was the red carpet. With all of the added attention she is recieveing from the drastic change of her style. She feels uncomfortable in her skin. Not knowing how to navigate the world outside of her comfort zones.

‘how do they live like this’ she thinks.

having watched Laurie shmooze with the other attendees, the public. Making a show of who he was, it was so absurdly fake that she knew deep down. She knew she never really could know him at all.

As they walk to their seats, a suprise awaits them. sitting there looking more comfortable in his body, than aubrey could ever be, was Azrael Hottinguer. [The “best friend” of Laurie]

Unlike the other’s Azriel doesn’t get up to greet his future king. The couple walk over and Aubrey is somehow left in the center of the trio. They boys share a curt introduction as the ballet begins. Things are quiet, things are going well until Azriel moves in closer to Aubrey, and whispers close to her ear.

Az] You’ve seen this before, no?

Au] No this is a first.

Az] Ahh.

Laurie looks over, slightly perplexed. Aubrey can feel his gaze upon her, she ignores it. Quite frankly, she’s over the way Laurie treats her. Her care has flown out the window, and the more Laurie pays attention the better.

Az] … Something’s changed.

Au] It hasn’t.

Az] Did you finally realize what was so clearly in front of your eyes? Are you still denying…

Au] Why are you doing this? Is it to get back at him for something?

Az] (ammused) I’m merely trying to help.

Au] (suspicious) hmm.

The show is finished, the lights are back on. Laurie and Azriel are standing and chatting. Aubrey is still sitting down, very uncomfortable. Laurie has a way of excluding her, of making her feel invisible in the presense of others. As if she is a secret done can divulge, even himself.

The relationship between Azriel and Aubrey is interesting. It’s not one of romance, simply of user and toy. In honesty, Azriel is using her as a pawn, and for a girl who has not experienced the proper love on should recieve from a romantic interest. Aubrey is wary, and doesn’t notice what exactly it all means.

Az] Miss Stuart, you’ve been a lovely companion this evening.

La] You’ve got it confused, she’s mine.

Az] Forgive me, it’s just you haven’t looked at her all evening. One would guess you’re worse than strangers.

Au]…

He leans in and kisses her hand. something that has been a trend for Azriel and Aubrey. Making her flustered, and unable to think properly because (she isn’t used to such affections). Right as they do, a single flash interupts them, a paparazzi member having secured the image of the pair appearing to be more than cozy.

Au]S- Stop.

Az] [chuckling) it happens. they’ll be talking about this for a while, you’ll be relavent for a few more weeks.

Au] (annoyed) You hold yourself in such high regard.

L] (amused laughs)

The scene changes, Caroline and Laurie are sitting around a table. And She smacks a news article onto it. showing her disapproval at the situation.

The Magazine encapsulates Aubrey and Azriels “rendezvous”. A moment that is being taken way more out of context then it should.

C] What is this?

L] They’re just friends.

C] Friends? Laurie… I don’t care about what they are to each other. I care about what people are saying!

C] You can’t tell me this doesn’t look bad.

She is angry as she sips her tea (which she’s been doing all along).

L] (sighs) what do you want me to do about it?

C] Control your-

Caroline is interrupted by the woman who walks into the room. Giselle De La Valliere, walks in. This takes Laurie by suprise, in this state, he doesn’t bother about thinking of Caroline’s reaction. Instead he gets up and kisses her on the cheek like the Lavandish do. He pulls Giselle toward the table, his hand in hers. Caroline watches this, she sips her tea.

L] What are you doing here?

G] um, Her Royal Highness called for me.

L] You did? (to caroline)

C] I did.

L](anxious)… I can’t stay.

C] You told me you were excited for the first course.

L] (chuckling nervously) something came up.

C] that hair better be cut! (she yells after him)

He makes a break for it, leaving giselle behind. stranded alone with his very perceptive sister. Giselle eyes the headline on the table, she says nothing about it.

G] I should go…

C] sit, I’ve still got a lot of tea, I can’t finish it by myself.

(awkward laugh)

…

…

C] So… you and my brother?

G] Yes?

C] … I wasn’t able to attend the last gala at the Museum of Natural History. I heard you accompanied him in my stead.

G] (choked up)

C] Giselle, I hope you haven’t gotten involved with my brother. As you know, he’ll soon be engaged.

G] Engaged?

C] There are many who want to see him wed. Many who want to know our future Queen.

G] …To Ms. Aubrey?

C] (laughing) I haven’t a clue. By all accounts, you, could be a better match. But I dislike such disingenuous ways. I know what you’re after.

…

C] He is whom you should be convincing.

G]…

C] seeing as he’s not… available. You know what would be a terrible thing. You and Laurie are over… and breaking up such a happy relationship… it would be horrible.

G] I’m aware.

C] I’m glad.

[hypokeimena]

like the thing is if someone wants to have a conversation with me about tone in image descriptions i am happy to have that conversation. i have obviously pretty strong feelings about the role of the person-interpreting/translating but i think it's fair that not everyone feels the way i do. i actually often think the faux- or sincerely-"objective" tone of image descriptions is often an incredible tool for comedy! e.g. posts like, my little nephew just gave me what he calls his "duck" [image of a lemon] image id: a lemon.

that's fucking funny! deadpan can be funny! however, sometimes other forms of description are more important. image descriptions MUST BE short,* which means you are limited in the amount of extraneous description you can include. if your description takes more than ten seconds to read out loud you're pushing it.

this can GENUINELY cause problems. the description i wrote about that stupid tswift pic was me actively choosing not to do research and source it more effectively, because to ME, part of what made the op funny was not having any idea tf was going on and that was the part of the experience i wanted to focus on in my description. it doesn't necessarily matter WHAT IS IN the photo, it matters what it is adding to the post (i think all of us now understand that for e.g. memes it's more important to describe the memes and what they're doing in the post than it is to carefully describe the type of armchair someone is sitting in while saying 'why are you booing me. i'm right'.)

so someone else who experienced the post differently - i.e. by recognizing it as from the music video - is going to describe the post differently from someone who would have to do research to source it. they're going to produce two different descriptions. your experience shapes what you understand. which is necessarily going to be subjective! and i get that it's scary to add your own experience into the description, but you ARE ALREADY DOING THAT.

which is to say that i think if someone had added a description about the ME music video that's fairly detailed that would also have been both accurate and funny, but it would have been a different joke. you know? because different people have different experiences of that image.

i do, genuinely, think there is a real issue in things like description in that i do think it is genuinely aversive to expect people to do 10 minutes of research every time they want to write an image description. i also do think that people being wrong in image descriptions is a problem, which is why i do often end up doing research or deciding not to describe certain posts if i can't be sure i know what i'm talking about. but not every post is like informing you about art historical fact or something where it really matters which specific artist produced an image, or if it is a modern reinterpretation, or various other things where you need to be sure you're conveying information that will seriously alter the meaning of a work.

image IDs should accurately describe reality. but like, sometimes people are going to make a mistake. the way you react to mistakes matters! sometimes you just edit a post to fix a typo or to correct a white guy actor you misidentified and i think different people have different ideas about what level of confidence you should be feeling to write descriptions - i've acknowledged different levels of confidence being necessary for description writing in this post! i get it! reasonable people can disagree!

however being like "well you're not wrong but what if you HAD BEEN wrong" ---- i'm going to eat you. i wasn't wrong!! and even if i had been, being wrong isn't the scariest thing in the world to me! seems like it'd suck to live like that though!

*obviously transcriptions of text will be long and transcriptions of text/art mix like comics will be even longer but i think a lot of comic transcriptions are not very good, in that they often don't effectively summarize the art component of the description.