#inspired by a sheep sweater of course of course

[total-drama-shark]

Part 1 of my Pahkitew Island Art Style and Character Design analysis!

I have SO MUCH to talk about regarding Pahkitew’s art direction that I could not possibly fit it all in one singular post , so I’m turning it into a series! The first thing I’m going to talk about is the reuse of assets in the designs of the cast for Pahkitew Island and how they where changed. So, going of alphabetically:

Dave

Dave’s pants and shoes are glaringly similar to Harold’s, it was a detail that annoyed me because I felt it lazy to just reuse the asset of not just any character, but a reoccurring past contestant (though trust me, it’s absolutely not the worst that it gets)

But upon closer inspection you can see a number of changes made to the asset to adapt it to the new character, the one that caught my attention first was how the triangular shape of the heel counter was rounded in one side on Dave’s. This use of rounding out lines will be repeated as we look further.

Other notable changes are how the tongues of the shoes stick out more in Dave’s and the lines of the sole are thinner.

Ella

Ella’s skirt and blouse appears to be inspired by Courtney’s dress in The Princes Bride, which I also love! Of course the fairytale and princess lover would have her fit inspired by a princess dress from the fairytale episode!

The outfits aren’t a clear copies of each other’s but the way their shapes are divided are where the inspiration becomes clearer. The choker, the sleeves, the gloves, the v-neck, the two stripes at the bottom, the poofy parts? (I am not a dress nor skirt expert as you can clearly tell).

I now HC that Ella didn’t just watch WT but also Action and The Princes Bride was her fave episode :)

Jasmine

Jasmines hat is taken from Team Amazon’s hat from when they sing Sheering Sheep in Australia, pretty fitting.

The differences here are easy enough to see, the brim of the hat on Jasmine is less angular and doesn’t fold, the band doesn’t have that braided pattern, the circles are lower, and he hat in general is wider.

Scarlett

Don’t even know if to include this one because, from a distance I could’ve sworn Scarlett’s shoes were the same as Izzy’s, but again, with further inspection you can tell some obvious differences.

Scarlett’s shoes are taller than Izzy’s and there the rare occasion here where the Pahkitew design is more angular than the original.

Shawn

Shawn’s fit is straight up taken from a hobo, the most fitting asset reuse of all time lmao

Their vests are nearly identical with just minor differences in the placement of lines and Shawn's being less angular, the folds in their sweaters are different (and I kinda prefer the Hobo's in this one) and their turtleneck is the most obvious difference.

Sky

Sky’s top and necklaces taken from Cameron’s mother, which, I do not get why. It feels so random.

Anyways as for changes, Sky's body type is different from Cameron's mom so the shirt is adjusted to fit that, and the pearl shaped necklace has some differences, it properly wraps around more in Sky's design and it actually looks like a necklace separate from the shirt, where instead they look attached in Cam's mom design.

Sugar

Now HERE’S the one that pisses me off, nearly Sugar’s EVERYTHING was taken from Sadie, her body type, her fit, her arm I literally just Sadie’s arm, they didn’t even change anything there.

It feels so lazy, so disrespectful to both characters, Sugar made it to the final three but they couldn't bother to give her s unique base?

Their tops are nearly identical with minor details changed, they basically just turned Sadie's shorts into pants for Sugar, their shoes are practically identical I kid you not.

Justice for Sugar she deserved so much more.

Topher

And finally the most obvious one.

Topher is obviously inspired from Chris, the most obvious sign is with his color palette, with his clothes being almost identical in color to Chris.

But second of all is his shoes which are almost identical to Chris's if it weren't for the fact Topher's shoes are wider but less tall than Chris.

Well that's all for part 1, let me know if I missed anything! I think part 2 will center around the backgrounds (my fave part of PI's art style!)

[eilonwiiy]

I’m back to writing Bookends and it feels so gooooooood

Here’s a snippet from chapter 13

Safi was busy getting ready when Iseult entered their apartment.  

“So what book is it again?”  Safi asked, pulling her shirt off over her head and disappearing into her room.  Iseult stared after her.  

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Of course, I am.”  Safi reemerged wearing a different top, a loose low-cut blouse that would look lethal paired with her leather jacket.  She inspected herself in the mirror, posing at a couple different angles before giving her reflection a satisfied nod of approval.  “I’ve heard you gush about this book so many times I didn’t even have to read it.”

Safi slipped on her jacket and tucked her long hair out from under the back with a flourish that, had they been out on the street, would've caused several heads to turn.  She looked especially good for a night of discussing the machinations of reclusive witches and their covenants.

Safi noticed Iseult staring as she dabbed on some lip gloss.  “What?”

“Nothing,” said Iseult with a small shake of her head.  “You just look nice.”  

“Should I change into my wimple?”

“That won’t be necessary.”  Iseult dropped her apron onto the small square of counter space that acted as their kitchen table and shuffled into her bedroom.  She stopped in front of her closet and stared at its contents.  Several minutes passed. 

Iseult had planned on just wearing what she already had on, but watching Safi making eyes at herself in the mirror she was suddenly self-conscious of the loose threads at the cuffs of her wool sweater and the ever-lingering smell of coffee beans that clung to everything she owned.  That aspect of her being couldn't be helped regardless of whether or not she changed, but she could at least look like she hadn’t been out in a field shepherding a herd of sheep all day.

“That’s nice,” Safi said, watching Iseult inspect a plum colored sweater from the door.  

“Mm maybe.”  Iseult passed on a couple more unremarkable shirts before stopping on something else.  It was a dress.  An especially pretty dress, in fact.  It had been tucked out of sight for so long she’d honestly forgotten she even owned it.  It was simple in its design, long sleeves and a high neck collar that made up for its noticeable lack of length, and made with a soft velvet that tapered off at the waist.  The thing Iseult really loved about it was the nearly imperceptible stars stitched into the fabric with gold thread that winked like the night sky when the light hit them just right.  

For Iseult, shopping was rarely ever an inspiring experience, but she remembered falling in love with the dress the instant she saw it.  There was a small hole on the underside of one of the sleeves, which was the only way she was able to afford it.  Even with the discount, she remembered how guilty she felt after taking the plunge and walking out of the store with it.  Spending a chunk of that week’s paycheck on a dress that she’d likely never have an occasion to wear.  

Iseult took the dress off the hanger and draped it onto the bed.

Safi beamed.  

[skitskatdacat63]

[LOUD EXPLOSION SOUNDS] hi how do i give you my firstborn. your art of nayq seb is INCREDIBLE. THANK YOU SO MUCH? ‼️⁉️ i'm literally shaking like..... what the fuck....... you were inspired enough by my word vomit to create ART??????? actual living legend. i cannot thank you enough ! !

can i add a link to your post in the fic? jumping around the room like i need to show Everybody i've ever known that nayq seb exists visually rn jdknfkjdnfjkgn but also i understand if you don't want to bc of privacy reasons and whatnot!

many many thanks again 🖤🙏

-user mwebber

AAAAAAAHHHHHH IM SO GLAD YOU LIKE THEM 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕 YOUR TAGS ARE GONNA MAKE ME CRY 😭😭😭😭🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 I SWEAR IM GONNA LIKE PRINT THEM OUT!!!!!! TY FOR ALL THE COMPLIMENTS 🥹🥹🥹🥹

I'm glad you liked the little Chapter 2 sweater Seb!! That was the last thing I drew, because I couldn't stop thinking about him in Mark's oversized sweater(also conveniently hiding the plaid I didn't wanna draw again), and of course I had to add cat ears 🤭 It's fun to draw the chibis because I scribble that kind of thing every day so I dont have to think too much lolol, I wish I could've drawn more little direct references!

I couldn't help but have Seb show a little bit of midriff in the Chp 1 drawing, this is incredibly specific but, there's that vid of him from Australia 2011 with the sheep, right? And when he's bending over, his shirt is riding up and the top of his boxers are poking out, and that's been stuck in my head for weeks, so I absolutely had to include that(especially since he always wore such baggy pants) I agree with NAYQ!Mark calling them the ugliest shorts ever, I had a bunch of ref pics of his real-life shorts and I'm just like god...you're so right...who let him wear those so often...

With that Chp 3 one, I have to say, even though I've now drawn it, I still can't stop envisioning his outfit as this outfit from that one post-2010 press conference:

I'd hopefully like to draw nayq!Mark at some point? I just haven't drawn men in so long.....but like I said in the tags, it's a lot easier to draw when there's descriptions available!!! Because I tend to deliberate so much over drawing, but your writing inspired me so much!!

Sorry for the huge response AAAHHHH I just wanted to give a little insight to my inspos 🤭 Also of course you can link my post, I would be so honored!!!!! And now I will go back to my cave, and patiently await Martian Monday again hahaha

[limetimo]

RAB fics I read 18-24feb

10 Things I (don't) Hate About You by kjms very crackfic vibes and what it says on the tin. Regulus and Sirius live with uncle Alphard (because past child abuse) and to make sure Sirius doesn't rush into a relationship he's not ready for, he's not allowed to day until the much more reserved Regulus is ready to date too. Btw Regulus is a snappy little bitch I love him so much, a vicious chihuahua of a man looks like could kill you and could actually kill you. fish fear him women fear him the teachers fear him. Anyways le wild Remus Lupin transfers to Hogwarts and it's wolfstar at first sight. Remus convinces James (who ws high as balls at the time) to woo Regulus so that he and Sirius can go to the prom.

Lions and Sheep by pale_morning_sings_of_forgotten_things ROYALTY AU FRESH KING SIRIUS REGULUS WHOSE UNDYING LOYALITY COULD SOOO BE THE CAUSE OF HIS DEATH KNIGHT JAMES

We Have Done This Before, Haven't We? by pale_morning_sings_of_forgotten_things crying screaming throwing up. Regulus dies. *gestures wildly* you'd have to read it to get it

Star Tripping by ashes_to_ash for paddys_foot666 its open on my phone i haven't actually read it yet. but it looks good

Of Starless Skies by WalkOnThroughARedParade HUHUEHEHE Regulus dies and is yeeted to the moment when he's about to take the mark. He freaks out, understandably, flies to the Potters' with Kreacher's help, and starts changing the course of future ♥ adore it, slowburn jegulus

Staying Strangers by 3amAndCounting wolfstar texting fic very nice with a significant regulus presence. the black boys are healing

Sands of Destiny by amidtheflowers hermione uses a deus ex machina time turner and is whooped to 1970s. She gets housed and semi-adopted by the potters and employes Severus and Sirius' help with hunting down the horcruxes.

Until We Meet Again by pale_morning_sings_of_forgotten_things the one where sirius and regulus are twins and everyting else is the same

not the kind of weather (to be dancing in your sweater) by maybebabyplease jegulus roommates to boyfriends

The Missing Link by Keysie :D the war is won but the damage is done, can the marauders and friends heal?

The Mystery of the Pears by sonwar i wasn't feeling it and didn't finish, but objectively the writing is good and the jegulus is tender

Runaway Spare by WideEyesAtNight crawling away from grimmauld place after refusing the mark, Sirius throws one last insult at Regulus - and entirely accidentally outs him as gay to their mother (who uses occlumency to force the truth out of Reg). welp. Kreacher helps Regulus leave despite the damage from crucio; his friends take him to the hospital, Xenophilius Lovegood offers to be his guardian until adulthood, I really love this bit tbh we need more Xeno in out first war fics

Brotherhood by Necessity james captures the Death Eater Black brother BUT he accidentally gave him amnesia in the process. Regulus stays with him and Lily for a bit. also Sirius is here

Life and Struggles of James Potter by Pietra_Thorn i am confusion but intrigued, Prongsfoot but Sirius has Issues and James and his 3 little daughters live with Regulus and Peter (who are dating)

working title: padfoot regulus au [evil author's day] by coincidences AMAZING INSPIRED SPECTACULAR NEVER DONE BEFORE Regulus animagus is a mini copy of padfoot. sirius tries to resist. he is a stronger man than i

When Pigs Fly by BooksR4ever this is severus centric also future severus/james and oh yeah their son baby Harry time traveled to their school days

[ylizam]

hold this thread as I walk away, LTiH, Caroline McKenzie-Dawson/Gillian Greenwood, 2564 words, inspired by this post. Gillian doesn't trust the look on Caz's face. Not a bit.

[stylesluxx]

change your ticket – h.styles

[warnings: none]

summary: in which harry doesn’t want y/n to leave him – inspired by change your ticket by one direction

word count: 1,168

masterlist

"H, I have work tomorrow," You giggled and tried to pull yourself out of his arms.

"Just call out," He whined and gripped your waist tighter.

"My flight is in five hours. I need to go," You shook your head and looked down at him as you straddled his waist.

"Please stay with me. I'm gonna be bored if you leave. I'll even take you out to dinner."

You sighed and thought about it for a second. Boston wasn't known for paparazzi so you knew you'd be able to walk the streets freely. You could picture it now, you and Harry walking hand in hand, maybe one security guard walking ahead of you both, but other than that, it was just the two of you.

"Dinner without being harassed by paparazzi sounds like a literal dream."

"Exactly, so stay."

"Okay, okay," You sighed happily and leaned down to peck his lips.

He began kissing all over your face, making you giggle. He rolled the two of you over so you were now lying side by side.

"Are we gonna coordinate our outfits or what?"

—

"You look very handsome, H," You giggled once he walked out the bathroom wearing a sweater vest decorated with sheep.

"Thank you, Buggy," He smiled and leaned down to kiss your lips. "But look at you. I'm blown away. Wow."

You felt your face heat up and the butterflies flutter in your stomach.

You were wearing a baby blue silk dress with spaghetti straps that went down your ankles but had a slit up the left leg.

"H," You whined and covered your face.

"Stop it, let me see your pretty face," He said and moved your hands from your face. "Perfect."

"Alright, alright, let's go," You said and grabbed your purse from off the bed.

You latched onto his hand and he led you through the hotel and to the car where his security was waiting for you guys, just in case.

It was nice to walk around, holding Harry's hand for intimacy. Usually, you were holding it so he could help you get through the crowds of cameras, not just because you wanted to. It felt good, though, and you were so happy that once you got in the back seat of the Escalade, you brought his hand to your mouth and kissed it.

"Love you, H," You mumbled and leaned your head on his shoulder.

"Love you more, Bug."

Once you got to the restaurant, you were seated toward the back in an area where no one could see you.

You both ordered glasses of wine and pasta to go with it. You held hands on top of the table the whole time, just overjoyed to be in each other's presence.

The night was full of compliments, blushing, and smiling. It was always like this with Harry but the fact that you were both worry-free heightened the experience.

"Do you ever just want me to run away from it all? Just disappear into thin air so we could live normal lives?"

The question took you by surprise, but it was something that you had thought about maybe once or twice. But you never spoke on it because if worded wrong, it could be taken wrong.

You took a minute and sipped at your wine before answering.

"I've thought about a life where you're able to make music and be successful, just without the invasion of privacy part. I've never wanted you to give up music or touring, or the fans, but I just wish you had some privacy. And it's not the fans. It's the blogs and the paparazzi. I just..." You were beginning to ramble and Harry squeezed your hand to encourage you to keep going. "We can't share our lives without being exploited on the blogs. I just wish it was us and the fans. No blogs, no paparazzi."

You shrugged your shoulders once you finished and tore your eyes from your boyfriend's green ones.

"I love you, and I love the way you include my fans. Wow, you're perfect," He sighed dreamily, making you shake your head and giggle.

"Such a dork, H."

"Your dork."

"My dork," You nodded with a small grin on your face.

You two wrapped up dinner, giggling the whole time and enjoying each other's company. The whole ride back to the hotel, you sang along to the music that played on the radio, gripping his hand in your lap.

When you arrived at the hotel, you noticed a group of people standing outside. You were nervous, hoping it wasn't paparazzi getting ready to ruin your night, but once you got a closer look, you realized it was a group of fans, phones out, and Fine Line CDs in their hand.

"Oh baby, some fans are outside," You told Harry and turned to face him. "You in a good mood for pictures?"

"Of course," He nodded, giving you a big smile that made you giggle. You both got out of the truck after thanking the driver, and you immediately greeted the group.

"Hi, guys!" You smiled and waved at them.

They politely smiled and waved back, asking for pictures and autographs from Harry.

While Harry entertained them, you stayed back with an older woman, assuming she was their chaperone. The group contained about three teenagers and two little kids, so you were happy there was an adult to look after them.

"Thank you so much for stopping and talking to them. They love Harry," She said, arms over her chest as she watched the kids take pictures with their idol.

"Oh, it's no problem. We're just so happy that the paparazzi aren't here. They're not known to be the nicest to fans or even Harry. They make things a lot more difficult," You explained. "It was a quiet night without them around."

"That must be frustrating, never having any privacy," She frowned, turning to you.

You tore your eyes from Harry and looked at the woman. You shrugged before thinking about what you were going to say.

"It's frustrating we can't choose what we want to share with the fans and when we do, it gets blown out of proportion ninety percent of the time. But Harry loves the fans, I do too, and the good outweighs the bad."

Harry finished taking pictures and signing autographs and held out a hand for you to take. You walked over to him and grabbed it while leaning on his arm.

You bid the fans goodbye before walking into the hotel, squeezing your boyfriend's hand as he pecked the top of your head.

"See, now imagine you went back home? We had a great night," Harry smiled, pushing the up button for the elevator.

"Yeah, you were right, but I'm leaving tomorrow no matter how much you beg," You warned, pointing a finger at him.

"Is it a crime that I want my bug here with me?"

"No, but if I get fired, I'm blaming you."

[zombified-queer]

well i'm always fascinated by pre-canon stuff so perhaps a fic exploring gramble's past?

He’s not the son they wanted. Gramble knows and his parents know and the tension hangs heavy in the house.

It’s the knitting that does it. To Gramble, it’s a soothing activity. The way the yarn comes together to make a nice jumper just soothes that voice in the back of his head that shrieks and shrieks and won’t stop. The magazines are just little bits of inspiration. Colors and patterns he wants to try.

But to a ten-year-old Gramble Gigglefunny who stored these in the back of his closet, they’re an unspoken accusation.

He stares at the knitting needles and skeins of yarn on the kitchen table. And then his father takes them out back. To the burn pit.

Gramble’s made to work in the barn for long hours. Alone. Working off the shame by piling up the hay and clearing out the horse stalls. 

He’s not allowed near the sheep. That’s work for his sisters. The three of them watch him working with the horses. They never lift a finger to help.

But why should they? This is his punishment.

Gramble spends eight more years at home. And then he comes back from running errands with his father. Gramble’s bedroom is packed up, his clothes folded into a battered suitcase. His mother hands it to him without a word.

He doesn’t need to be told. But it hurts all the same. 

In the city, he finds a job at an animal shelter. He takes veterinary courses when he can. And he’ll often pause in the aisle of craft stores, admiring the knitting needles. But he’s too scared and too ashamed to buy them.

Elizabert Megafig asks for him by name. She’s got a bloodhound that needs to be kenneled for the week.

“You’re the only one I trust,” she tells Gramble. And then she cocks her head. “D’you knit? I think you’d be good at it.”

“Well, I, um. No?” Gramble strokes the bloodhound’s fur, admiring how shiny and neat its coat is while the dog licks his face. “I mean I used to.”

“It’d suit you,” Elizabert says with a nod. “Nice de-stresser.”

And then she’s finished with her paperwork to board her dog and gone. Gramble feels just that small bit of pride.

Gramble goes back to the craft store. He trembles all over at the thought but he’s got his own money and he can buy whatever he wants.

He gets a skein of blue yarn. A set of needles that fit right in his paws, needles meant for sweaters.

And then a week later he gets a letter from Elizabert Megafig asking for him by name. She considers him something like her little brother.

Gramble digs out the battered suitcase. He packs his knitting things and what little he has. And there’s not a trace of shame in it.

[dark-academia-tips]

Greetings and Salutations, I’m new to the Dark Academia community. And I’ve absolutely fallen in love with what being a dark academic is about. But, I’ve had some trouble fully implementing dark academia into my lifestyle. Are there any tips to clothing?(styles and shops)things I should do or say? Just would love to have all tips and tricks! I love your page by the way!

how to implement dark academia into your life: the ultimate guide

fashion

if you look up dark academia fashion, you should find a lot of tweed, wool, corduroy. this is good. you want that.

things to keep an eye out for: 

a tweed blazer (of course). buy it secondhand so it already has that ratty feel. some (like my beloved @thoughtcriminals ) wear it very fitted and rock it, some others (like myself) like it just a tad too big. It ultimately depends on how and with what you’ll wear it. If you plan on wearing over sweaters, don’t get one that’s too tight, especially around the sleeve area; conversely, if you layer it under a winter coat, the sleeves should not be too thick so that it doesn’t bundle up.

a few woolen trousers. try to have around four or five. they must all fit you perfectly. bonus if they have belt loops (belts are A Staple of androgynous da students). I personally have a corduroy one, a check one, a striped one and a plaid one. keep the colour scheme in the earthy tones (cream, brown, forest green), and if you are like me and you like to eat/drink a lot, make sure that they have extra room. optimal cuts include, but are not limited to: straight, tapered (’cigarette trousers’), sailor, and palazzo. you also want to be able to crouch in them, it’s much easier in case you’re involved in a murder :)

button-ups. a lot of them. these, along with the trousers, are your wardrobe staples. i absolutely adore victorian/edwardian inspired blouses, with cool lace collars and all, but you also need simpler, sleeker ones. large billowy sleeves are an absolute yes too. they can be white, cream, ochre, brown, bordeaux... take your skin tone into account and your ability to not stain your clothing whenever you eat.

cool socks. do NOT underestimate what socks tell about your character. they should keep your feet warm and toasty, and also have quotes on them. or you can be like me and be too lazy to match socks: if so, just buy a 15-pack of short plain white socks. but if you’re really cool, buy these.

a woolen coat. to wear atop your button-ups and blazer. the popular choice seems to be long and black, but red or houndstooth also work super well. what you want is potential to be noticed, whether by having it swish behind you when you hurry past people in the corridors, or just popping out in the middle of all the common folk dressed in black with your bright red. extra points if you do both at the same time.

other essentials include: mid-length circle skirts, an off-white fisherman’s sweater, a full suit, WAISTCOATS, ties, and bowties. also jewellery: a watch, a locket, some rings... keep it minimal. 

decor

dark academia room decor is surprisingly much harder to find. in general what seems to be popular is: chaotic but with one colour scheme, Full Victorian or basic furniture but stylish accessories. in general i’d say staples are: white bedsheets, wooden desk (bonus if it has ink stains), piles of books everywhere, a collection of old books definitely won’t go amiss, half-finished chess games, coffee stains. basically you want to look careless but still moderately tidy.

lifestyle

this one is a subject of controversy. if you want to live a true-to-the-books dark academia life, then drink, be elitist, be rich, smoke, gamble, kill a man. i do not agree with this. here is my version of the dark academia life.

always thirst for knowledge. whether it be by watching that documentary with the cool birds, or by reading the memoirs of the duc de saint-simon, try to expand your knowledge in all the directions you can. 

be hedonistic, but never put yourself in danger. drink wine if you want to. smoke cigarettes/weed if you want to. stay up late if you want to. but always know what you are doing. never get wasted on alcohol or other things; you must always be in control of yourself and your actions. 

read books! lots of em. if you can, never leave your house without a book. come back with more books. read classics, non-fiction, poetry... anything you can! thirst for knowledge

quote stuff. quoting authors in a conversation will immediately make you seem more cultured. on that note, try to expand your vocabulary as much as you can, to be well-spoken. Bernadette Banner is your goals.

don’t conform to society’s standards. take up a stupid hobby. experiment with your image. hack into the school to make vivaldi your new bell tone. meditate at four in the morning. stain that book from the 1900s with coffee. seize the bloody day, make the most out of life the way you want it  want to be an antequary? want to have a sugar daddy who you can escape but is strangely smitten by you? want to play saxophone at three in the morning? do it. and fuck anyone who tells you otherwise. dark academia is about being eccentric in a world of sheep.

a lot of people say that being gay is an inherent part of da. i disagree. do what you want! kiss your best friends. be heterosexual. have a liaison with nb folk. da is about hedonism. if you want it and the other person wants it, then i see no issue.

for more lists of any kind head to my blog! i will lengthen this in time when i feel the courage to; for now, i don’t. my inbox is always open if you have questions or requests.

[shadowed-dancer]

Quirk Questions 2: Electric Boogaloo

Followup to this post, inspired by this series. Once again, this is all just for fun

World Building

Is EVERY teacher at UA a pro hero? UA isn’t just a hero school, they have Business courses, Support courses, and General Studies. While we know support kids have a pro teacher (Mr Powerloader), and I could see the Business kids MAYBE having a pro, I thought it was implied that General Studies is totally unrelated to hero work. So do they just have random pros teaching them? Or do they get actual teachers?

-

What the heck do copyright laws look like regarding a hero’s name? I understand Iida taking “Ingenium” because it’s a family thing, but Deku legit though that “Super All Might” and “All Might Jr” would be acceptable. And Red Riot is OBVIOUSLY copying Crimson Riot, so where does it become ok?

Building off of that point, how about hero names in relation to other pieces of media? Eraserhead is the name of an ACTUAL FILM but Aizawa is allowed to use it no problem, so does that logic apply to fictional characters? Deku implies that comics and stuff existed before quirks, and that their world was essentially identical to ours, so at one point were there heroes that named themselves after fictional comic characters like Iron Man and Wonder Woman? Mina even tries naming herself “Alien Queen” and the issue isn’t “that’s from a movie”, it’s that it’s too scary.

-

It’s unclear who gives quirks their names, but judging by the fact that Endeavour’s quirk is canonically called “Hellflame”, I can guess that the person chooses the name themselves. Question is, do your children have to use the same name you chose? Like certain things are easy, Bakugo’s kid probably wouldn’t change “explosion” because it’s very on-the-nose. But if Endeavour had a kid that made orange fire just like him, would that kid be forced to call their quirk “Hellflame” too? Or could they opt to just call it “fire”.

-

Does hair colour actually have any bearing on what quirk a child gets? Using the Todoroki’s as an example, the one’s with (mostly) white hair got ice quirks, Shoto has his hair split down the middle with ice on the white side and fire on the red, and Touya had with red hair and a fire quirk. We also saw this is Jiro, since she has her mom’s hair colour AND quirk. So, in universe, can parents guess their kid’s quirk based on which hair/physical traits they got?

Bakugo

Does Bakugo just leave nitroglycerin everywhere he goes? And isn’t that dangerous? What happens if he’s on the subway, gets some sweat on the pole, and then someone with an activated flame/heat quirk touches it? Would he get in trouble for the ensuing explosion? Has this ever happened??? In the movie “Two Heroes” we see Todoroki ignite some of Bakugo’s sweat, so we know it can be activated by other heat sources. I just feel like that’s SO DANGEROUS.

-

Similar to the previous question, but what about the food he cooks? I’d hope he washes his hands, but if some sweat manages to get in some bread dough (for example), and then he puts it in the oven, wouldn’t that cause an explosion?

Best Jeanist

Best Jeanist controls clothing fibres, but that’s really vague. Can he control the fibres of a wool sweater? And if so, where is the line? Can he control wool while it’s still on the sheep?

-

Mirio’s costume is said to be made out of his hair, so could Best Jeanist control it? It’s clothing, but it’s not clothing fibre.

Twice

In my previous post, I wondered if a clone of Hagakure would turn into visible mud upon destruction. But now I’m wondering: could he even make a clone of her in the first place? He can’t technically see her, so he’s missing the visual component, and even if he got exact measurements there’s no way for him to know details like face shape.

Followup, I guess technically he could cover her with paint and then clone her, but the manga says that the clones come out in the same state as when he took the measurements, meaning the clone would be covered in paint. However, could that clone wash off the paint and then be invisible?

-

Can Twice make a clone of someone if he doesn’t know their quirk? He says he needs as much information as possible, “you name it, I need it” but does that translate to things like quirk information? And if it IS possible to make a clone without knowing the quirk, will the clone possess it anyways?

-

How long do the clones last if they aren’t destroyed. He says his clones were hanging around for 9 days, so could he just send one out into the world to live its life? And if it lasted long enough without getting destroyed, would it age?

-

How EXACTLY is Twice aware of the state of his clones? He berates Dabi for his clone getting taken out “by a magic scarf” but like... how did he know that? I can assume he felt the clone get destroyed (like some sort of intuition), but how’d he know the details of the scarf? Can he see through their eyes or something?

Assorted

If Hagakure gets cut, is her blood visible? And are her... other bodily fluids visible? (She’s running around naked, this is something she should think about at least once a month).

-

You know that dude who worked with Overhaul who could “steal things people have equipped”? Where the hell is that line drawn? He’s able to steal the stuff Tamaki manifests ON HIS BODY, but what else is considered stealable? Could he steal Twice’s clones? Could he steal fire? Could he steal clothes? Could he steal clothes and drag the person along with them?!?! Like Aizawa’s scarf is a perfect example. Technically it’s a weapon he has “equipped”, but it’s also wrapped around his neck. If he tried to steal it, would it drag Aizawa long with it? How about weapons that are strapped to the body like Kaminari’s aiming disks?

-

You think Shigaraki ever just... accidentally disintegrates his clothes in public? Like, he has no control over his quirk. You think he ever just accidentally put his hands in his pockets, accidentally touches the fabric, and then boom his hoodie is gone.

[mab1905]

84 Questions

original: 

https://fuckyeahsurveys.tumblr.com/post/61049002526/84-questions

1. Put your music player of choice on shuffle and list the first 10 songs

Someone New (Hozier)

Cactus Tree (Joni Mitchell)

Budapest (George Ezra)

And Dream Of Sheep (Kate Bush)

Nancy Mulligan (Ed Sheeran)

And Then She Kissed Me (St. Vincent)

Level of Concern (Twenty One Pilots)

Lovefool (The Cardigans)

Best For Last (Adele)

Video Killed The Radio Star (The Buggles)

2. If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Would you take anyone with you?

Japan. I travel a lot and it’s been on my list for a while, I would really want to go to the Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli theme park, if it ever opens that is. I would bring my best friend, Layla. I also would love to go to Amsterdam again.

3. What is your preferred writing implement? (eg. Blue pen, pencil, green pen) 

My ink nib cartooning pen (similar to a quill, but without the feather)

4. Favourite month and why? 

October, not too hot, not too cold, and of course, Halloween!

5. Do you have connections to any celebrities (even minor)? List them.

Nope, met several, got to true connections though. 

6. Name 3 items you could pick up from where you are.

My iPad, my Leatherman Multitool, my collection of David Bowie postcards.

7. What brand logo is closest to you currently?

The Apple logo

8. Do you ever play board games or other non-computer games? Got any favourites?

Chess. Card games like Solitaire, Black-Jack, and Castle. A game that I can’t remember the name of but it’s essentially a board-game version of Capture The Flag. Mostly Chess.

9. A musical artist you love that isn’t well known

St. Vincent? I’m not sure if she’s well known or not.

10. A musical artist you love that is well known

David Bowie. 

11. What is your desktop background currently?

A picture of Apollo 11 accompanied by the words “It won’t fail because of me”

12. Last person you talked to, and through what you talked to them

My best friend Layla, through the iMessage app.

13. First colour name you can think of that isn’t in the rainbow

Salmon

14. What timekeeping devices are in the room you are currently in?

My iPad, my computer, my collection of vintage stopwatches

15. What kind of headphones do you use?

Sony, wireless, noise canceling, over-the ear 

16. What musical artists have you seen perform live?

Twenty One Pilots, Sylvan Esso

17. Does virginity matter to you?

I guess? I think it’s important, it’s certainly some kind of ‘milestone,’ but I don’t think it should be treated like the scale of a persons ‘purity.’ It’s important because it’s sex, and (hopefully) that means that you’re sharing a consensual, intimate experience that feels fucking great for both (or all, if it’s more then two) participants.

18. What gaming consoles do you or your family own?

Z e r o, although I’m hoping to buy a PS4 at some point so I can play Detroit Become Human.

19. What pets do you have? What are their names?

Juno is my cat, she is an adorable grey tiger-striped shorthair. She’s got little white mitten-paws and it’s absolutely ridiculous.

20. What’s the best job you’ve ever had?

Doing tech at a local theater

21. What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

Teaching art to little kids (I like kids but it was just exhausting)

22. What magazines do you read, if any?

The New Yorker, and the National Geo if I’m like, waiting in my doctor’s office or something.

23. Inspiration behind your URL?

It’s just my initials and a year from the Edwardian era

24. Inspiration behind your blog title?

It’s just my initials 

25. Favourite item of clothing?

My reddish-brown knit sweater vest and my floral bow-tie (often paired together)

26. Are you friends with any exes?

I made a very conscious effort to cut my exe out of my life… we were not happy for a very long time to say the least

27. Name at least one book you loved as a child.

Strega Nona, it’s about an Italian witch that makes great pasta in a magic pasta pot. My dad would read it to me and my sibling in Italian.

28. What’s your native language? If that language has distinct regional variations, which variation? (eg. AU English, US English)

US English

29. What email service do you use?

Gmail

30. Is there anything hanging on the walls of the room you are currently in?

So many things. Here's the list:

A giant David Bowie poster, a plaque that says “David Bowie IS,” five David Bowie postcards, a giant Abbey Road poster, all of my patches from summer camp, polaroids of me, my friends, and my family (including my cat), ticket stubs from concerts and plays, two trail markers that I took off of fallen trees on two important cross-country backpacking trips I went on, playbills from a bunch of broadway shows I’ve seen, a poster that says “Stonewall was a riot,” a DC Comics poster, a Pink Floyd poster, a few paintings of mine, and a painting that I got for free from a street artist I befriended in Rome when I was twelve

31. What’s your favourite number, and why?

16, 24, 21, and 8, some numbers make me uncomfortable, but these are just very soft and light and nice 

32. Earliest moment in your life you can remember? 

A rocking chair with fruits painted on it sitting in a dark room and my great grandfathers brown leather loafers (I remember early early stuff in just images or stills, not full moments)

33. What did you have for dinner yesterday?

Pasta with shrimp

34. How often do you brush your teeth?

Usually twice a day, but I’ve been waking up later and later and sometimes forget in the mornings

35. What’s your favourite candy/chocolate?

I don’t know the name of it but it’s this chocolate bar that is stuffed with caramel, hot chili flakes, and crunchy bits of baked tortilla. It's one of the greatest things I’ve ever tasted.

36. Have you had other blogs on Tumblr? Do you have any other blogs currently?

I used to have one but I deleted it because I never used it

37. If you were suddenly really hungry, what would you choose to eat?

I would probably walk into the kitchen, realize that too eat something I would have to muster the effort to cook something instead, and then decide to just have a glass of milk instead.

38. What fandoms would you consider yourself a part of?

Downton Abbey (primarily Thommy)

Chernobyl HBO (as well as the Leonid Toptunov/Sasha Akimov subfandom)

Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit (books and movies)

CrankGamePlays

Buzzfeed Unsolved

Star Trek TOS

Philosophy Tube

The Dark Crystal and The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance

39. If you could study anything, what would it be?

If I had the energy to fully wrench my life in a completely different direction I would like to become a professional scuba diver and study the ocean. I already am a scuba diver, but it’s a hobby and not something I’m able to do very often at all.

40. Do you use anything on your lips? (eg. Chapstick, gloss, balm, lipstick)

I’ll wear chapstick if I have a cold

41. How would you describe your sense of humour?

Intellectual and dry

42. What things annoy you more than anything else?

People who think they’re better than everyone else and people who recognize a fault in themselves and then refuse to work to change it

43. What kind of position are you in at the moment?

I’m laying on my bed, hunched over my laptop

44. Do you wear much jewellery?

Occasionally I’ll wear a necklace or a few rings. I have a lot of non-traditional bracelets (I literally just have pieces of canvas and industrial tie-line wrapped around my wrist). I’m a gay guy and I like to sort-a walk the line between feminine and masculine (often leaning more towards the masc side), so it really depends on my mood.

45. Who is the leader of your country, currently? Any other levels of government with leaders? (State, region, province, county, district, municipality, etc)

A cheese-pizza flavored pringle is currently POTUS and every day the thought of that tears away at a piece of my soul. 

46. Last 3 blogs on your dashboard, not including any of your own

@shochmonster @velvet-of-the-night @panicsheerbloodypanic

47. What do you carry your money in?

My pocket, I have a wallet and I don’t use it

48. Do you enjoy driving? Why or why not?

It’s fine, don’t love it don’t hate it

49. Longest drive you have ever been on?

Three days

50. Furthest away from home you have ever been?

Went on a trip to Switzerland to visit family, I think that’s the farthest but I’m not entirely sure.

51. How many times have you moved house?

Twice

52. What is on the floor of the room you’re currently in, not including furniture?

Five paintings, stacks and stacks of books, boxes filled with stuff (mostly more books), plates, glasses, cutlery, clothes

53. How many devices do you own which can access the internet?

2, and iPad and a computer

54. Is there is anything that is guaranteed to always make you happy?

Listening to music

55. Is there anything that always makes you sad?

Thinking about my past for too long

56. What programs do you currently have open?

Google drive, I’m writing

57. What do you associate the colour red with?

Blood and fire

58. Last strong smell you can remember smelling?

Shrimp and butter

59. Last healthy thing you ate?

Three green olives and a handful of bean sprouts

60. Do you drink tea or coffee, and how much per day?

Used to drink coffee like it was life support (which it essentially was), now I’ll have the occasional cup of tea.

61. What do you associate the colour blue with?

Birds and rain

62. How long is the closest ruler you can find?

I don’t think I own one

63. What colour pants/skirt/etc are you currently wearing?

I am wearing olive green corduroy slacks

64. When was the last time you drank water?

30 minutes ago?

65. How often do you clear your browser history?

Never

66. Do you believe nude photos can be artistic, rather than erotic?

Nude anything can be artistic, it can also just be normal, eroticism is in the eye of the beholder.

67. Ever written fanfiction for anything?

Yes dear god so much fanfiction.

68. Last formal event you attended

I genuinely can’t remember, I am have extreme social anxiety and don’t go to events like that unless I absolutely have too

69. If you had to move your birthday to another date, which one would you choose and why?

I don’t care about birthdays

70. Would you prefer to be at a beach or in the countryside?

Beach, I love to swim, I’m also a surfer

71. Roughly how many people live in your town?

Uhm… eight times the number of people who live in the state of Montana and that doesn’t count daily commuters and tourists (New York City is essentially just a tin of sardines, except inside are 8.399 million sardines)

72. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?

No, but three of my friends were born on the day just after my birthday.

73. Favourite place to shop? Can be a certain store or a place where there are multiple stores

The Strand Bookstore, L Train Vintage, any antique shops in the town of Hudson, New York 

74. Do you have a smartphone? What kind? If you don’t, do you want one?

I used to have an iPhone 5SE but then it stopped working after a few weeks of quarantine and I haven’t gotten a new one (I’ve had it for about 5-6 years so it makes sense)

75. What is your least favourite colour, and why?

I don’t have a least favorite color, but my favorite color is prussian blue

76. How do you spell grey/gray?

Grey

77. Go to your dashboard and describe the image shown in the radar section (below the “Find blogs” link)

It’s anime fanart for a show I’ve never heard of

78. What difference is there between how many followers you have, and the number of blogs you follow?

3

79. How many posts do you have?

219

80. How many posts have you liked?

619

81. Do you post mainly reblogs, or your own content?

Mostly reblogs but I do my own content as well

82. Do you track any tags?

No, just blogs

83. What time is it currently?

10:39

84. Is there anything you should be doing right now?

writing

I’m not quite sure who to tag so it’s just open to anyone I guess?

[charginger]

long flight ahead

“James if you don’t stop bouncing your leg I’ll throw you off the plane and you’ll be swimming back to London.”

The messy-haired boy turns his head to face Sirius with a grin that contains the faintest trace of an apology, but mostly just looks amused. “I’m not even touching you, and I’ll go right to sleep once we’re in the air anyways. I just get nervous about the takeoff.” He nudges Sirius with his shoulder. “Don’t tell me you aren’t excited to be going home?”

Sirius is. He and James had embarked on what was meant to be a weeklong trip to New York, but they ended up staying in the city for closer to a month. Their primary goal had been to check out a football team interested in signing James now that he was out of university (“They had a gorgeous pitch, but under no circumstances will they get me to call it soccer.”), and it turned into 3 weeks of James sitting in on a few practices while Sirius got to check out the New York City art scene he’d always heard about. He was also freshly graduated, with a Fine Arts degree, and wanted to have some fun before actually looking for work.

It was a good trip, but now they’re on a plane at six in the bloody morning and someone has already kicked his seat twice from behind him.

“Just because you’ve all but signed a contract with the Lions doesn’t mean you need to jostle my seat the whole flight. I’ll get crabby.” Of course, at that moment, there’s another sharp hit to Sirius’ seat from behind. The timing makes James snicker, and Sirius closes his eyes to take a deep breath.

“You’re already crabby and we haven’t even taken off yet.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure. Just wipe that haughty expression off your face before the flight attendant explains to us the responsibility that comes with sitting in an exit row. They might deem you unfit to help save lives, then you’ll have to give up this leg room.”

It’s several minutes later while they’re waiting for permission to take off when yet another kick reaches the back of Sirius’ seat, and he decides to say something before he needs to deal with nine hours of seat kicking. He loosens his seatbelt enough to twist and face the aisle seat behind his.

“Pardon me, but there is somebody actually sitting in the seat you keep kicking-” The bite dies from his words once he gets a look at the man behind him.

“I’m so sorry mate, my leg just keeps cramping, but when I try to move around- I just don’t have that much space back here so- I mean that’s not an excuse, honestly,” the man comments, mostly to himself. “I’ll be more careful with bumping your seat.”

The stranger is not American, that’s the first thing Sirius notices. His accent curves around the words into something more familiar than the harsh, spitting New York cadence that had been a shock upon first exploring the city. He could be from Wales, maybe?

Sirius doesn’t contemplate the origin of his accent for longer than a moment in his mind, because a much more pressing realization is holy fucking shit this is not a bratty 13-year-old kicking his seat. This is a beautiful man. This is a very tall and beautiful man. His long legs seem to be folded almost in half in front of him, one mid-adjustment is pulled halfway to his chest and the other is mostly poking into the aisle beside him. He’s wearing a pullover sweater and joggers that come up just too short on his legs, revealing mismatched socks, both with clashing tartan prints. And if Sirius is being honest with himself, he’s only half paying attention to this man’s apology because his curly brown hair keeps falling just over his eyes. There is also a silver hoop piercing in his left nostril that just didn’t seem to go with the rest of his style, but Sirius finds himself staring at it for maybe a second or two longer than is normal before responding.

“No, don’t even worry about it! I mean, looks like you’ve got a lot of leg to handle there.”

James snorts at the bumbling comment, and Sirius wishes he had said anything but that, with just too much enthusiasm compared to the irritated tone he had just a moment ago.

Luckily, the stranger doesn’t look offended, just slightly amused, and the faintest blush graces his face to make way for a small, kind smile. Meanwhile, Sirius can’t help but wonder if it’s just the poor airplane lighting, or are those really freckles he sees? As the man seems to draw a breath to respond to the leg comment, which Sirius would really just like to move on from, he changes the subject. “You’re Welsh, I’m guessing?”

The man’s parted mouth twitches into the ghost of a smirk, and Sirius hopes it’s because he recognized the accent rather than the definitely red tips of his ears. Of course he had his hair pulled up into a bun, and he can feel them burning under the scrutiny of the man’s gaze.

“Spot on. I lived there most of my life before moving to London a few years ago.”

“That’s so cool!” Sirius responds, again, much more enthusiastic than he means to.

The man releases the faintest breath of a chuckle before both of his thick brows furrow, “Definitely cool. The ever exciting rain-and-sheep combo lends to a thrilling life.” The man keeps a straight face but the sarcasm is obvious.  

James is, at this point, silently shaking at Sirius’ expense, but takes a deep breath before finally turning around as well. “Tell you what, mate, why don’t we switch seats? We’ve more leg room in the exit row and I get less motion-sickness in an aisle seat. It’ll be mutually beneficial.”

The man’s eyes flick from James back to Sirius for a second before smiling and nodding. “As long as it’s mutually beneficial.”

“Brilliant.” James quips, and starts gathering his neck pillow and headphones. The man makes himself busy gathering the book and small bag he has with him, and Sirius takes the opportunity to turn back around and deliver a sharp elbow to James’ ribs.

“You don’t get motion-sickness you prat.”

“I also won’t get any sleep on this flight if you’re planning on badly flirting with Freckles McLonglegs back there.” So they were freckles. “You can talk about how cool you think sheep are.” James pats Sirius on the shoulder before shuffling into the aisle, and within a moment the tall man is sitting right beside him and looking very grateful to be able to stretch his legs.

Sirius at this point realizes he doesn’t know the stranger’s name, and pulls a bit of his usual confidence out of his arse to extend a handshake, “My name is Sirius, by the way.”

“I’m Remus,” he accepts, with a warm and calloused hand.

Sirius barks a quiet laugh and adds, “Well I’m glad your parents gave you a shit name, too.”

“Well I say you’ve got it worse. At least there aren’t many puns to be made with ‘Remus’.”

“Oh, on the contrary. Name puns are one of my redeeming factors.” Sirius is glad to receive a laugh from the man- Remus.

“I can’t imagine they’re all that creative, you sure you want to call that redeeming?”

Now, Sirius has dealt with making jokes about his name for 22 years now, and the familiarity of the topic gives him a confidence boost. He puts a hand to his heart in mock-offense.

“Bold words from someone who was violently kicking me in the back not 5 minutes ago.”

Remus lets out a laugh so low it can almost be described as a giggle.

“I really am sorry,” he says after a breath, “My mum likes to joke that I still haven’t grown into my legs.”

Great. The cute Welsh man who wears sweaters, blushes, is endearingly tall, and upon a closer look- yes, he definitely has freckles, is also a momma’s boy. Sirius wants him.

With a ‘here goes nothing’ attitude, Sirius comments, “I’m sure your boyfriend doesn’t mind, though.” It’s not an original line, but who wants their time wasted?

Remus doesn’t seem to mind the choppy segue, as his smile doesn’t falter when he responds, “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Sirius furrows his brow as though Remus has presented him with a complex equation to solve. “I see…” Sirius raises one shoulder into a shrug, “Were you looking to change that by any chance?”

Remus giggles (fucking giggles) once again, and with his ears slightly reddening from where his hair curls over them replies, “Well, I did run into this fit posh bloke not too long ago. I was thinking about asking for his phone number.”

////////////////////

okaaay wow I’m nervous to post this, but I had the idea in my head and got it written down so might as well? I’ve been following other hp writers/ creators for awhile and love all of the content that gets put out by them, so I figure if anybody out there likes what I have to write I should just go for it.

if anybody wants to send me ideas of other things to write please feel welcome!! I have some other things I’m working on right now as well but I’d love to hear from anyone who has anything to say. 

I’m gonna go ahead and tag some blogs I really love down below, I can’t get them all in (there are soooo many amazing and supportive people on here wow) but I really appreciate the inspiration from you all!

[waldenweave]

Wow. It’s been a while.

Things got really busy with doctor’s appointments and general exhaustion. I am better now! I had a lumpectomy on November 14th and radiation therapy for the entire month of January – my last day of radiation was also W. A. Mozart’s birthday, so there was a lot to celebrate. It wasn’t until about two weeks or so ago that I realized exactly how tired I had been because all of a sudden I wasn’t that tired. I still am tired, and my joints are creaky, but that’s the tamoxifen. But hey, as far as I know I do not have cancer, and that’s a win.

I’ve tried to keep up with practicing and making things, but tendonitis struck again. I’ve had it since about this past September in my left elbow, and I did not do what I was supposed to do (rest, heat, NSAIDs), but kept practicing both cello and gamba. The result was that I stopped cello the end of October until mid January, and I stopped gamba in the first half of December until the very end of January. I couldn’t button my sweater or braid my hair anymore, and I still can’t believe I let it get that bad. It’s sooo much better now, but it’s still there, so I’m being careful and doing what I need to do to make it better.

This also meant that all that hand work I was doing wasn’t possible anymore. Spinning for any huge length of time made it worse. Knitting has been right out for months and months. Combing wool was only possible in about 3 minute chunks. And then my friend Lee started a make-a-thing-daily project and invited everyone to join in. Her process of choice this time was embroidery.

Well!

I have been itching to embroider for some time, and Lee’s rules seemed simple enough: gather all your materials ahead of time, set the bar so low you can roll over it (quick and dirty, Kate, quick. and. dirty.), and do not fret about what you are making. Quantity over quality. Okay, okay, so I naturally fret over quality. Always. But I also recognize this is a thing that I need to maybe let go of now and then. So. A daily thing for February. The Short Month! Yes, I thought, I can do this.

I found all my embroidery floss and hoops and needles. And I began.

Week 1. These are Very Small, which keeps to the quick-and-dirty principle.

I had no patterns – so I just doodled. And doodled. Some I like, some not so much. But I did start to look at embroidery online and got to thinking about flowers.

Week 2, plus one. Moar doodles!

I re-learned how to do French knots, I learned the bullion stitch, and I learned that some of the yarns I spin are perfectly suitable for embroidering with. The purple flower (there’s a bit of charcoal on that one from the frame – the frames were laser cut, and so had carbon on the edges) is a silk/merino blend I spun up, as well as the purple in the octagonal frame. The grey sheep/mouse (it was supposed to be a sheep, but didn’t quite work) is a bit of Gotland I’d spun.

Week 3, plus a bit? Feeesh, flowers, and…more flowers?

I am really enamored of French knots. And embroidered flowers. And in rayon floss! I really wanted silk yarn (because who wouldn’t?), but all I could get quickly and on the cheap was rayon, so I settled (for now). The tree I’m especially happy with – that one is all in cotton floss, but from three colors I kept pulling out and staring hard at. I’d been looking at pictures online of tiny, gorgeous embroidered flowering trees made from satin stitches and French knots. Eventually, I knew I’d get to it. And I did. And I’m happy with it. And I think this particular tree with this particular color scheme will inspire Something Else (stay tuned?). The dandelion was a doodle to see if I could do it. I have a skein of variegated yellow cotton and I thought, “O, that reminds me of dandelions.”

I’m telling you, I have so much appreciation for those professional embroiderers who can create depth with needle and thread just through the use of color and stitch direction.

Late in the game, I ran out of white linen, so reached for a scrap of blue. But you know, it just wasn’t working. I love this shade, but I just wasn’t happy with how the colors of the floss were working with it.

Well. In any case, you’ll notice that there are fewer than 29 embroideries. I framed the last batch (Week 3 and a bit) yesterday, and while trying to start another wee embroidery to catch up on the last day of the month, I realized that the tendonitis really did not like it. I practiced a ridiculous amount of cello yesterday (yay, Vivaldi [except I can’t play it yet]), but the thing that made the tendonitis really painful was holding the embroidery hoop. Argh. The embroidery can wait. There will be other months, and an almost endless supply of floss and handspun yarn.

This is not to say that I did not make nothing prior to February. Spinning did aggravate the tendonitis, but as long as I did it in small chunks and took care, I spun. The spinning also helped with the mental stuff going on – a repetitive task that I don’t have to think overly much about and at the end, I get soft, squishy yarn. That I can squish.

I’ll try to go in order.

  This was a bit of dyed Leicester Longwool and I got from a destash pile at one of the spinning guild meetings that I spun up in late December. I’m pretty happy with it. It was very easy and very mindless to spin, and there was a lot of it. I believe this is 8 ounces – each skein is 4 ounces. The only thing about this project was that the dye still hasn’t finished washing out, and I washed that skein about four times. I had used some cotton weaving yarn as ties on the skeins, and those picked up some of the dye, which leads me to believe the dyer used fiber reactive dyes rather than an acid dye. Which is aggravating. It would explain the lack of luster one would expect in this breed of wool. So, I’ll have to be careful when washing whatever project I use this for. (I’ll likely get a dye magnet or another fresher bottle of Synthropol to remove the rest of the excess dye.)

At some point, I realized I needed to start making progress on the Shetland fleeces. Because I have way too many fleeces and need to get through them! Especially if I want to buy more fleeces to make into more fabulous yarn to weave fabulous cloth. I’d been spinning samples for a bit (pretty sure this was January), and this one was one I was reasonably happy with. It’s got a bit more twist than I think the Shetland really wants, but I would absolutely weave with it. And let me tell you, Shetland is a joy to spin. It almost spins itself, it’s so very soft, and it’s so very lustrous. Can you see the shine?!

FLUFFFFFFY SHETLAND!

I tried another sample of the Shetland, this time with slightly less twist, and look at the difference! It’s much puffier than the stuff in the previous photo, and it’s so, so squishy. I loves it, I do. I want so much to weave with this, but I’ve had two people (experts in weaving and spinning, actually) tell me that this yarn is Really Suitable for Knitting. Sigh. I mean, it’s a sample. I can’t quite knit yet (tendonitis), but I might be able to weave it into a sample. Maybe. A tiny one.

Honestly, I love that yarn. I have never loved yarn I’ve spun so much as I love this one.

At some point in January, I decided to try out R.H. Lindsay Wool Merchants. I follow them on social media, and some of their pictures of wool are just so delicious. They sell wholesale, but they’ll also sell by the pound to whoever wants it. And I did. They’d posted a picture of super bouncy Dorset/Polypay roving from New England sheep. For $8.50/lb. I ordered two pounds. (The shipping was nearly that much, so I did briefly consider getting three pounds – I have no where to put it!) It came lickity-split and I pulled some of that off to spin:

Super springy! Super bouncy!

Yep. That’s pretty springy and bouncy! I gotta say, I really like this. You can’t beat the price, even with the shipping, and the roving is not carbonized. There were bits of VM in there, which I very happily picked out.

And then!

Look at that luster! Look at the color! Ooooh! Aaaaah!

I’m putting in a full size photo of the Gotland. I mean, how could I not?

This was my first attempt at spinning it. It’s not easy to spin. This is from commercially prepared roving that had sat in storage for some time, so was compressed some. There’s no crimp, there’s no wave. It’s a bit like spinning mohair, except it’s a bit less slippery. Getting the right amount of twist was a challenge, but I am pretty happy with this. It’s a two ply and if I can, I’ll weave a tiny sample out of this and full it to see what happens. But, on the other hand, I have more roving, and really what I should do is spin up the rest of it, and weave that into a sample, but cut the sample into three pieces, and go to town with experimental fulling. “Why all the trouble?” I hear you ask. The answer is that I want so much to sew myself a grey wool coat, and, believe it or not, I cannot find the right grey wool. It’s either not the right color, not the right weight, or some combination of wool and synthetic fibers. Or some combination of those three. And it pisses me off. So, I’ll just weave my own cloth, and spin the yarn if I have to. Dammit.

I know this is a huge project. I’d like to get it done in the next three years (before I’m 50).

Here’s another snap of that yarn:

I guess all that practicing spinning really paid off. I seem to be improving!

And then!

My friend Rachel (over at Spotted Sheep Studio) found some Gammelnorsk fleeces. I bet you had no idea there was a breed called Gammelnorsk, did you? Well. There is. And it’s rare. And she found a person in Norway who raises this breed, and got to buy a bag of fleeces from her. And Rachel and I stool around in the Webs parking lot after a spinning meeting opening the bag and smelling the delightful fumes of Norwegian barnyard and lanolin. And, of course, fondling the Gammelnorsk fleeces. The colors are amazing.

This breed is a dual coated breed, which means it has hair and a downy undercoat (tog and thel, respectively). I do not know much more than this, but Rachel is a fount of knowledge and will impart all her wisdom if I ask – also I’m going to be helping to prepare these fleeces for spinning, and then spinning. So I’ll have to know.

And the very last picture I have to show you is a bit of yarn I spun up yesterday. I have been learning about spinning and preparing the fibers via some Interweave videos. And so I tried coming the alpaca batts I have, because who doesn’t want alpaca top? Well. The batts are made from garbage alpaca. Or they were carded into oblivion, I’m not sure. In any case, the batts are only suitable for felting. The fibers are way too short for even spinning yarn. I even tried to card it and spin it. So aggravating. So, then I decided to turn my attention to a red Spelsau batt that Rachel’s husband brought back from a recent trip to Norway for me (and Rachel too, you should have seen her haul!). I tried combing a bit, and I got some top off it, but I think this batt is really suitable for carding. However, the color is AMAZING. Behold:

And lo! The Perfect Red!

And you know what? No dye came out of this when I washed it. None. Not even a little.

I love this red so much I want to roll around in it.

Really, what makes it so gorgeous is that it’s a tan or brown fleece that has been dyed red. The brown deepens the color and brings it over to the orangey side rather than the blue side. I’m thinking about experimenting with dyeing some of that brown Shetland – I have a white fleece too, but man, this red…

  I’m still here. Wow. It's been a while. Things got really busy with doctor's appointments and general exhaustion. I am better now!

[philcmena-archive]

NATALIA DYER / DEMI GIRL. — philomena carmichael is really making a name for themselves as a sheep. i think that she/they are studying wildlife science in their sophomore year at lockwood, living in audax. originally from woodside, california, philly is known to be whimsical & patient, but can also be apathetic & unpredictable. — james / 20 / est / she/they.

hllo !! 2/5 intros so far, ur almost there !! like saige, there has been slight alterations to philly bt they’re not very extreme uwu

TW CANCER, TRAUMA, DEPERSONALIZATION / DEREALIZATION DISORDER ( ALT. MENTAL HEALTH ) / DEATH / DECAY / MAGGOTS / GROSS ??

a e s t h e t i c s

wildflowers in your hair and bare feet against moss, binoculars and maps, madonna beating out of half-dead speakers in a half-dead van, whipping wind, jumping off cliffs and rolling down hills, a bandaid wrapped around each finger, cryptic bumper stickers and cryptids in the woods, facing the sun and letting the rays hit you, counting stars late into the night, mismatched socks and lucky ribbons, hoarding a box of special treasures, shoplifting and diner-dashing, bleach against roots, pink sweaters paired with ripped fishnets and slip dresses with knock off uggs, willingly wearing crocs, glitter stickers.

general info !!

full name: philomena brontë carmichael

nickname(s): philly, phil, mena, etc.

b.o.d. - april 20th lmao !!

label(s): the amaranth, the halycon, the neophyte, the wanderer, etc. etc.

height: 5′4″

hometown: woodside, ca

sexuality: ??? $500 ebay mystery box. pansexual if you had to label it.

pinterest

stats

biography !!

a middle child belonging to christopher and imogen carmichael - two stanford professors. christopher specialized in british literature whilst imogen specialized in the classics. hence the name.

the order of siblings goes as such: lysander, elektra, juno, philomena, and twins orion & valora. the deal was that everybody had a greek (or in juno’s case, roman) first name and a middle name inspired by a piece of british literature circa 1800s and under. a family of nerds, if you will.

so, clearly - right off the bat, their parents are … eccentric. they’re both in love with their respected topic, and with each other, and with their kids. the carmichael family is a happy family.

they each have their own quirks and whatnot - though philly’s always been particularly dreamy - even as a child, she’d spend hours watching clouds or caterpillars or the leaves blow in the wind rather than play with other kids. she wasn’t a shy kid - she just had her own interests.

hardship doesn’t hit the family until philomena is five and starts having splitting headaches. they’re slow at first - but as soon as she’s seeing spots and unable to walk in a straight line, doctor appointments are made.

it doesn’t take long for them to discover the tumor, though the official diagnosis of malignant ependymoma comes a month later.

it’s grade ii but slow-moving, small enough to not be as much of a threat as worried, but big enough where removal is necessary. philomena earns a scar and brings it in for show-and-tell. for two months afterwards, philly’s at radiotherapy monday through friday.

they’re lucky - philomena’s considered cancer-free by the next year. she’s babied at first - handled delicately, as if she could break if touched - but with five other children … it doesn’t last for too long.

and life continues as normal.

her personality doesn’t shift much over the next few years - she’s awfully independent for a kid, and awfully quiet - when she speaks it’s about faeries and bigfoot, about how the sky is so blue and if you listen quietly, you can hear the leaves whisper their secrets to each other. this is not odd.

she’s close to all her siblings, but she idolizes her older sister - elektra. elektra’s six years older and dyes her hair whatever colors she wants. elektra bought a knife off a seedy guy downtown. elektra threw away all of her heels and renounced god. elektra is god. her music is loud but it’s not heavy - it’s florence and the machine.

they’re opposites - elektra’s boisterous and feels loudly, philomena’s softer and feels…less. when elektra sneaks out, philomena keeps watch. they are a duo.

philomena is smart - but she’s fifteen and hates school. hates sitting inside all day. hates the same routine - day after day - it’s all the same. her parents’ routine is the same, philly feels contained and she wants to live.

elektra’s twenty-one and just bought a brand new spanking (used but not falling apart) 19-something volkswagen … van - using her entire savings account. she says she’s tired of routine, she’s leaving the next day.

naturally, philomena stows away in the back and isn’t discovered until they’re two states away and she’s got to pee. elektra nearly crashes the van in shock.

it’s an argument - philomena vs. elektra, then them vs. their parents, then their parents vs. the school, the state - it’s an ordeal. philomena switches to an online program in the end.

it hurts christopher and imogen - lysander’s not having any of their nonsense, juno’s betrayed and alone - the twins are twins. in the end, it’s alright. the carmichael family is a happy family.

philomena and elektra take their time - it’s not a road trip, it’s their new life, permanently on the road. they stop and explore often - they do odd jobs in whatever town they settle in. they dine-n-dash, they shoplift. they survive in their own way.

during particularly desperate times, they two resorted to identity theft & credit fraud - getting away with it only by ditching the cards once they’ve made it out of state.

she drops out of high school officially when she’s seventeen - they have to drive all the way back to california to deal with the wrath of their parents and to deal with paperwork, but it’s done. philomena doesn’t know what path she wants in life - but it’s not that.

it’s during this time that the episodes occur - philomena’s outside her body, philomena’s wrapped in cotton, her memories are not her own. she’s looking in the mirror and she doesn’t recognize herself. they take shelter in a city for six months, long enough for her brand spankin’ new therapist to figure out what’s wrong with her. she’s diagnosed with depersonalization / derealization disorder - they think it’s stress. philomena doesn’t get stressed. they think it’s trauma. she laughs - she never laughs.

she gets medication, and life is normal.

three years later and her parents want philly to have a higher education - desperate for it, really - worried for her future. it’s a battle that she loses, getting her GED and applying to a local college in a town halfway across the country.

staying rooted pains her - pains elektra, stuck in a midwest state for no good reason. by the summer before her sophomore year, philly deides to transfer to lockwood. elektra can travel up and down the eastern coast and philly goes too, sometimes, on the weekends. it’s a compromise that favors her parents’ wants above all.

school has caused philly’s disorder to flare up - a small rift in her day-to-day life even when she doesn’t realize it.

things were fine for a while - they have to be fine, because philly is always fine - because elektra is always fine, because they’re always fine and happy and content with their situation. but years of negligence had caught up with philly - and now she’s not quite sure what to do.

it began with a phone call from juno - angry juno, hurt juno - juno who has called every week for four years and has only gotten a handful of answers - and many, many handfuls of answering machines. juno who doesn’t understand why philly is like this - when she’s so hurt, all the time - when things are so much, all the time. the call ends with a reminder that they are the same - that they’ve experienced the same thing, the same thing that nobody else in their family had experienced.

juno, of course, refers to the dead body in the woods nine years ago.

to backtrack - philomena was ten and juno was thirteen when they had decided to go on a hike - a nearby trail that had been walked countless times, in a town they’ve always felt safe in. it should’ve been safe - it should’ve been fine. but philomena liked going off the trail, making her own - insisted on it, in fact. she was the one who skidded down the slope first, curiosity drawn to a dirty, fraying red scarf - but juno had been the one who had tripped and fallen, who had landed besides decaying flesh and maggots. philomena had seen the body first - but juno had touched it. juno had touched it.

after the police and the sirens and the years of therapy, juno had always wanted to talk about it - always wanted to address it, vent to the one person who would maybe, could maybe, understand. philly had already blocked it out of her mind.

back in present day - the phone call with juno had attracted elektra, who then in turn called juno and marched away, screaming match from across the country (supposedly). philly, always a little too curious, had only overheard parts of their argument. but she heard the one thing that left her bothered - a rare experience, and a sickening one. elektra had called her a child. just a kid, to be exact.

philly had stopped considering herself a child when she turned eighteen - and she certainly never thought she acted childish. confrontation led to a rift, and philomena determining that they needed time apart - that elektra should go, now, please. and she did. and philly was alone. no elektra, no florence - no more depending on her sister, just philly. alone. 

personality !!

she’s quiet but she’s confident - her voice sounds like rustling leaves, if leaves smoked a pack of cigarettes a day.

often underestimated - philly’s petite and looks like she’d fall over if a plastic bag blew too close to her. she’s independent - for the most part. elektra is the only person philly takes orders from.

has always been considered odd - weird, strange. still talks about the trees as if they’re listening, as if they’re old friends. she’s vague and doesn’t elaborate on the things she says.

believes in pretty much any superstition you throw her way. luck is very important to her. if you ask her if the earth is flat, she’ll say probably. believes strongly in bigfoot and the lochness monster. has personally seen aliens, and loves ghosts almost more than herself.

she can be amusing - whether you ‘get’ her or not, her outlook is often bright - she talks about the negatives the same way she talks about the positives. can be seen as naive or gullible, but she’s plenty smart. even if half of her education has come directly from google.

philly doesn’t laugh. a smile, yes - often, in fact - not always reaching her ears, or bearing teeth - but these are not indicators of her happiness. philly is consistently content. she thinks many things are funny - she still will not laugh.

her voice is often monotonous - she doesn’t sound dreary, she sounds far-away. her voice carries. her emotions are often unknown to others.

is apathetic in most situations. she’s hard to bother - she’s incredibly patient and enjoys the company of most - tolerates them at the very least. it’s hard for her to express her emotions, because she feels them so little that it’s very nearly not worth it. her affection is not verbal - it’s small touches and gestures of kindness, love in her own way.

is a fan of knock-knock jokes and bad puns. she won’t crack a smile while telling you them, nor does she expect you to laugh. she just enjoys them.

she owns a motorola razr covered in puffy stickers - hasn’t ever had a smartphone. she’s a fan of emoticons. her favorite is :o)

has a lot of bruises and scratches and scars - she’s often getting herself into pickles. there are always, at the very minimum, three bandaids on each hand.

she has insomnia, so she’s awake often. is often seen wandering town - even when she shouldn’t be, even when it might be dangerous. her intuition is delayed. when she does sleep - her dreams are vivid and fantastical.

keeps a box of memories - sentimental bits and pieces she’s picked up over the last few years. there are a lot of buttons and postcards, but any teeny tiny object will do.

her style changes every week - most, if not all, of her clothes are thrifted. one week she’s baby spice and the next she’s lydia deetz. she combines pieces from different styles often - she looks like a barbie clothed by a child. she feels most comfortable like this.

will either patch-up the clothes that get too worn or reuse them in some way. sometimes donates the clothes she gets tired off - isn’t minimalistic, but she’s learned to keep only a small amount of possessions.

the only consistency is her lucky ribbon - it’s pastel yellow and silky and as thin as a shoelace. she ties it onto her outfit of the day, everyday. if she loses it, she’s lost. elektra has a matching ribbon.

has no problem with minor theft - she only takes bare minimum, puts herself and elektra first and that’s how it’s always been. she tries to be good while in rochester - would hate to make enemies whilst florence is getting repaired.

currently living in audax while elektra stays in their van, florence - sometimes philly stays there during the weekends.

they used to live in motels on the occasion, the cheapest room, and more often than not they’d both go home with strangers for a comfier bed and a hotter shower.

it was a common occurrence - she didn’t sleep with them - but somehow, she weaseled her way into their homes anyway. has come out mostly unscathed, on most occasions. this has been a practice ever since they’ve been on the road.

really, truly - has not slept with anybody, had her first and only kiss at thirteen with a frog. this doesn’t bother her.

will consume a n y t h i n g you put in front of her - isn’t picky.

listens to whatever they’ve picked up along the way but she likes instrumentals the best. her second favorite genre is 1990′s and 2000′s top hits. they’re nostalgic for her.

loves storms - will go out in the rain and will risk her life for it.

owns a pair of roller-skates and is often skating rather than walking. unless she’s on grass - then she’s walking barefoot.

has many hobbies, and gets bored of them often. her favorite hobby is welding. she’s not certified.

also, juggles.

also, accordion.

the kind of girl who’ll do any job you give her. odd jobs are her favorite jobs. babysitting is her least favorite - but she does it anyway. has lost children before. have they ever been found? not by philly.

dyes her hair blonde often and cuts her own hair - bangs included - finds it cathartic, likes the itchiness of bleach.

everything she does is often in pursuit of feeling free, alive, and meaningful.

connections to the victims !!

tatiana samuels & george craig iii / philly was not attending lockwood university at the time of their deaths, and has never met them.

hana williams / they were friends, but didn’t hang out together often. they sometimes ate lunch together, or went on walks at night together. hana had wanted to meet philly’s many pets.

christoph wainwright / philly and christoph had met through a mutual friend, and though philly hadn’t been expecting kindness from him - he had given her it, and in turn she found him interesting. a little too interesting, maybe - and they had kept talking since their initial meeting. they met and spoke often at night, for hours at a time - where nobody would see them. philly never understood why he had wanted it that way, but she respected it. even now, their ‘friendship’ with each other isn’t known by others. it’s a secret, one could say.

wanted connections !!

random encounters - she’s new to rochester and doesn’t know many people - if anybody at all, so :-)

alternately, people she’s run into with elektra during their journey. whether they’ve stolen from them or stayed with them somewhere or just, ate dinner with them. anything.

someone whose couch / floor she’s crashed on after a night of whatever - a party, adventure, etc.

people she does jobs for !! people who commission her to make stuff for them. people who need a babysitter.

people who think she’s weird - and those who like it. or those who hate it. people who don’t understand her - people who do, in their own way.

someone trying to get closer to her but she keeps slipping out from between their fingers.

a parental / older sibling figure !! they take one look at philomena and instantly want to swaddle and protect her.

people who take an immediate liking to her. people who introduce her to the music scene. people who show her around town.

someone who catches her stealing or about to dine-n-dash.

late-night walking pals.

a dealer b/c weed ? a thing.

someone who gets into a debate with her about conspiracies or superstitions or anything !! someone who gets frustrated at her apathy.

somebody who just immediately distrusts her for whatever reason.

??? you don’t have a smartphone ??? cue someone trying to teach her how they work - and philly hating it !!

thrifting pals.

m a y b e a hook-up, eventually, but it’s questionable.

something unrequited, likely on their end b/c philly is … a hard egg to crack.

maybe something returned !! eventually. slowly. slow.

god … someone she just tells her entire life story to. like this meme.

i’m rly down to brainstorm and think of anything !!! dnt forget 2 leave a like :)

[enchantedchocolatebars]

Good Omens Chibi Headcanons Part 1

Headcanons for if Aziraphale had his own little chibi. (Got inspired by cute chibi fanarts I saw on here made by artists with the usernames asunnydisposish and kimmigawa.) THANK YOU TO @luna-sheep FOR READING THIS FOR ME!👍 For space reasons, these headcanons are going to be split into three parts. First is Aziraphale, second is Crowley, and the last ones will interactions between both of their chibis. I’ll post the second and third ones later and link them all in each post.

Part2: https://enchantedchocolatebars.tumblr.com/post/186898556182/good-omens-chibi-headcanons-part-2

Part3: https://enchantedchocolatebars.tumblr.com/post/187062920297/good-omens-chibi-headcanons-part-3 

Chibi Aziraphale:

• HE'S THE CUTEST SMOLEST MOST GOODEST ANGEL BOY EVER!!!😇👼❤️❤️❤️

• You can thank Aziraphale’s heavenly influence for that!

• The chibi gets little reminders from Aziraphale to be happy and to think positive.

• Chibi Aziraphale is happy to have formed a friendship with Aziraphale, and is very glad that both he and him get along so well!

• Aziraphale enjoys reading to him.

• Chibi Azi wishes the humans would invent books in his size so that he’d be able to read them.

• Chibi Aziraphale likes fictional characters such as Winnie The Pooh, Molang, Pusheen The Cat, and Moomintroll.

• Aziraphale takes Chibi Aziraphale to St. James park to visit the ducks by the pond and feed them. At first, the sight of the ducks frighten the little angel. They were much more bigger than he was! W-What if they tried to eat him?! Noticing the scared look on his small friend’s face, Aziraphale kindly reassures to him that the ducks were merely just water birds who enjoyed bread, and that the tiny celestial being had absolutely nothing to be afraid of. He even shows the chibi how to properly feed the birds by placing a crust in his hand and allowing him to toss it at the nerby drake who caught it immediately. This makes Chibi Aziraphale beam in delight as the two angels spend the rest of the afternoon giving food to the ducks.🦆🍞

• As a reward for helping him around the bookshop, Aziraphale miracles Chibi Aziraphale sweets.

• The angel had a love for food similar to his bigger counterpart. Chibi Aziraphale’s favorites include crepes and sushi, (of course) coffee cake, raspberry cream pie, and shortbread cookies.

• He’s not aware of it, but Aziraphale does indeed spoil his chibi at times.

•  Aziraphale likes to dress his chibi up in 17th and 18th century male doll outfits/attire. (Imagine a clothing montage of Chibi Aziraphale trying on/wearing the outfits and looking adorable in them all while classical music plays. Aziraphale would squeal at how cute Chibi Aziraphale looks in each outfit, telling him that he looks like a wittle gentleman.)

•Chibi Aziraphale loved wearing the outfits when he and Aziraphale had tea parties. It made him feel fancy! The chibi's Harry The Stuffed Rabbit plush would also be at the tea party as well, dressed up in a 17th or 18th century outfit that was similar to his.

• I can see Aziraphale getting his chibi a pair of round lenseless doll glasses. There! Now he looks nifty too!

• Since he’s become fairly good at it, Aziraphale shows his chibi how to do the gavotte! It’s really cute to see the two angels both have ridiculous pleased expressions on their faces.

• Chibi Aziraphale really likes this song! Everything about it was just so pure and divine. (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TWps8vw8oCo) Imagine during a cold, winter day Aziraphale happily knitting his miniature pal a sweater near a warm fire place all while this plays in the background on the wood metal gramophone sculpture.

• Aziraphale finally has a little assistant for his magic act!

• Chibi Aziraphale loves Aziraphale’s “magic” and was easily impressed by it, believing it to be real! His favorite trick had to be the ‘pull the coin outta the ear’ trick.

• Aziraphale gets one of those really big old doll houses for him (you know, something similar to the Astolat Dollhouse Castle) to live in so that he had a place he can feel at home in and be in control of.

• If someone or something new scares him, Chibi Aziraphale would quickly hide behind Aziraphale’s leg similar to how a timid child would hide behind their mother.

• At night, after Crowley drops him off at his bookshop, Aziraphale goes inside and immediately heads to the back room to check up on Chibi Aziraphale. He had miracled the angel sheets of paper and a pack of crayons before he had left to keep the little guy from being bored while he was away. When Aziraphale walks inside the room, he spots Chibi Aziraphale asleep on his desk. The chibi was nestled up near his Harry The Stuffed Rabbit plush and several sheets of paper and crayons. Aziraphale simply smiles. “Aw, he’s sleeping.” Just when the angel was about to attend to the papers and crayons that were on the desk, he notices a drawing on one of the papers. He picks it up and takes a look at it. It was a drawing done by Chibi Aziraphale! It was an adorable childlike drawing of Aziraphale and Chibi Aziraphale smiling with a heart above them. On the top of the picture the words “Friends Forever” was slightly sloppily written in crayon. Seeing this beautiful artwork made Aziraphale’s face melt into an expression of pure joy and happiness, tears welling up in his eyes. He sets the lovely art down on the desk and gently picks up Chibi Azi without waking him up. “You’re so sweet.” he softly whispers to him before walking over to the chibi’s doll house to get him to bed. As Aziraphale tucks the tiny angel in, Chibi Aziraphale smiles in his sleep and snuggles underneath his little blanket. Aziraphale can’t help but smile sweetly once again. After that, the principality returns to his desk to take care of the papers and crayons. When finished, he catches up on some late night books. Tommorrow he plans on finding a safe place to keep the drawing that Chibi Aziraphale drew for him.

• Aziraphale and Chibi Aziraphale have a sorta almost parent and child relationship.

• Chibi Aziraphale didn’t look so happy today. He seemed pretty sad in fact. The angel was currently sitting on top of a book that was on Aziraphale’s desk with a glum look on his face. Aziraphale sees this and now makes it his duty to cheer his little buddy up! Let’s see, he knows that Chibi Aziraphale really likes it when he performs fake old timey human magic, so, switching into his magician outfit that he wore at Warlock’s party, he tries doing just that. He does the basic tricks like the card trick, pulling Chibi Aziraphale's Harry The Stuffed Rabbit plushie from his hat trick, and even the coin trick, but it doesn’t seem to change the small angel’s gloomy mood. As a final act, Aziraphale makes a “pie” (which was really just a paper plate filled with whipped cream) “vanish.” (vanish as in he basically just shoves the “pie” in his face, pieing himself.) He then is all like “ta da!” and does the whole jazz hands thing. Chibi Aziraphale looks at him for a moment before laughing. Aziraphale then starts laughing too.

• While he does like Aziraphale alot and was pleased that the both of them were really good friends, Chibi Aziraphale does get…slightly envious of Aziraphale sometimes. Mainly because of his size. Because Aziraphale was so much bigger than he was, he didn’t have to ever worry about getting accidentally or purposely stepped on, he could reach for a book on the book shelf and read it without any problems at all, and he could eat all the crepes and sushi he wanted whenever he wanted. It’s not fair! How dare that angel be big enough to do all those neat things! (It’s meant to be a cute jealousy though so it’s nothing too serious. He still loves him.)

[caylinnightengale]

It’s a lovely, cloudy day.

There's a gentle rain outside. I'm mellow.

Of course, that means I can't get pictures of my green cardigan right now but here's my knit sweaters.

There's Fountain from Borroco using yarn that was gifted to me.

Shout out to my brother who kindly helped me by taking pictures. He did a pretty good job if I do say so.

Here's the most recent that I made right after the cardigan; the V-neck pullover.  It's so cozy! I'm happy with it. I did keep is short on purpose with longer sleeves so I could fold up the cuff for a different look.

Here's a sample earflap I knitted up. I wanted a flatter base so about the third try I got it.It's inspired by the red knit hat the lady trainer avatar can wear in the Pokemon Go wardrobe selection.

I'm not 100% committed to the pokeball logo/symbol so it's not sewn on. 

I crocheted it first, but it added to much bulk on the side. I thought about working it into the knitting of the hat, but I'm only looking into colorwork. I haven't done anything yet, so it seemed a bit much since I just wanted something quick and fun to do.   I realize it's not an exact match, but I'm happy with it. I don't have an ear flap hat in my collection and I'm pretty proud of that pompom.

This is the beginning of another cardigan/button up top.  

The yarn is Chic Sheep by Marly Bird and it's so spring-y that I had to hold it open here. It is a worsted weight yarn and 100% Merino wool, no fillers. It's pretty soft actually, compared to other wool and wool blends I've encountered in my short life as a yarnie so I was pleasantly surprised by the softness of a 100% wool.

I'm tempted to knit tighter because there's so much spring to it, so I remind myself to not think about it which makes it good tv knitting. Stockinette is easy to do while being distracted by the tiny people trapped in a box.

Since the Marly Bird formula for knitting a sweater in weekly parts works, I'm sticking to it.

Have a great week!

[bbclesmis]

Josh O’Connor: Every actor should just turn up on time, be nice and learn the lines

The actor has charmed as Larry in The Durrells and next up he plays Marius in Les Miserables and Prince Charles in The Crown

Unremittingly grim is how I would describe the BBC’s Les Misérables. Andrew Davies’s song-free adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel is a litany of grinding poverty, injustice, corruption and exploitation occasionally leavened, if that’s the right word, by short bursts of extreme peril. It’s also completely gripping.

This weekend’s episode introduces a new face. Until now Marius Pontmercy has appeared only as an angelic moppet, parroting royalist slogans fed to him by his overbearing grandfather, Monsieur Gillenormand. Now time moves on and we see him as a young law student, played by Josh O’Connor. It’s an episode full of upheaval for young Pontmercy: without giving too much away, there’s a girl, a family bombshell and a political awakening.

When we meet in a central London café, O’Connor, 28, whom viewers might recognise as Larry from ITV’s The Durrells, is considerably jollier than his earnest student. Dressed in jeans and a well-loved chunky sweater, his very dark, very curly hair constantly threatening insubordination, he is excellent company — all smiles and unfailingly polite. As we talk, it’s clear that, although he’s having a delightful time at the moment (the cast and crew on Les Misérables were “lovely”; working on it and The Crown — he will play the young Prince Charles in the third season, of which more later — had him “wide-eyed and pinching yourself”), he’s very serious about work. He has even read Hugo’s novel, which in unabridged English translation tends towards 1,500 pages.

“I know, that’s mad, isn’t it?” he says. “And I’m a terrible reader. I’m very dyslexic and I find it incredibly hard. It was a struggle, but the themes of it — it’s all about redemption essentially. I was obsessed with that idea, which I’ve stolen from my dad, who is an English teacher. He’s always been really interested in forgiveness and redemption and hope, and it’s very present in that book.”

Although the story is set in Paris between 1815 and 1832, O’Connor thinks it retains its relevance. “There were different translations for the title, like ‘The Wretched’, ‘The Wretched Poor’, ‘The Dispossessed’. I think they’re more accurate. It’s all about class, and the forgotten and the sidelined, which is obviously relevant to now. Marius has an important role in that he is like the audience looking in — he exists as part of a higher social class, but he has this social conscience.

“Obviously we’re in different times, but I would say that we’re experiencing politics in the extreme on both sides at the moment. And while we’re not building barricades, we are setting up camp outside parliament, and how that has manifested itself in recent news has been pretty nasty. To me it seems that there are lines to be drawn from that.”

So upright is Pontmercy — even when languishing in a filthy garret — that you might not immediately make the link between the young lawyer and the role that made O’Connor’s name, the taciturn Yorkshire farmer Johnny Saxby in Francis Lee’s extraordinary 2017 film God’s Own Country. The similarities are almost non-existent — apart from anything else, it took O’Connor’s Saxby about half the film before he cracked a smile. O’Connor’s committed performance as the emotionally inarticulate youth being painfully and beautifully taught how to love and be loved by the tenderness of another man was universally praised and earned him a Bafta rising star nomination and a best actor win at the British Independent Film Awards, among other accolades. Not that he had much choice about commitment: Lee made him spend nearly four weeks working full-time on the farm where the film was shot before they started.

“John, the farmer, he’s an incredible man. He hadn’t had a holiday I don’t think for 25 years. We’d get up at 6am and we’d go and feed the sheep, then we’d come back and have these sandwiches [he uses his hands to indicate something about the size of an entire standard loaf] — plain white bread, greasy bacon, ketchup, more bacon, bread. I turned into an animal, but it was the best energy source. His lifestyle is non-stop. Of course he can’t have a holiday. Sheep don’t rest.” The physicality of O’Connor’s performance is one thing that gives it authenticity — all from John, he says.

“He was hunched over. There are practical reasons — the rain in Yorkshire even somehow rains up, so you’ve got your hood up, and the sheep are down here.” It helped his casting that O’Connor has huge hands. “They’re like spades.” You don’t see much of them in Les Mis — apparently his “city hands” had such terrible eczema when he started filming the series he could hardly open them, which he puts down to subjecting them to farm work on God’s Own Country, although he concedes that the diet may also have been a factor.

If you think Pontmercy and Saxby are different, his next TV role, as Prince Charles, is an even bigger leap. He’s filming at the moment and says it’s “probably the most enjoyable job I’ve done”, perhaps because, instead of a freezing Yorkshire hillside, the locations are “every nice stately home in England, seemingly. We’ve been in Grantham, Buckinghamshire — we rock up and are, like, ‘Who lives in this house?’ I feel like I’m on Antiques Roadshow a lot of the time.”

It’s odd, he says, playing someone so present in the public consciousness, but for him, finding that performance “starts with the voice, and then they’ve got teams of researchers and professionals who work on dialect and movement. If you watch footage of the young Charles, there’s this thing — when he turns, he doesn’t turn with his body, he turns with his neck first, in a weird sort of Justin Timberlake-esque dance move. I find it helpful to have an animal to imagine, because it gives a certain pace to someone.”

Er, OK, I wonder, fearing treason, what animal is the Prince of Wales? O’Connor laughs. “I like to think of Charles at the moment as a sort of tortoise, because he puts his neck out. It’s not even that he’s particularly slow, it’s more this idea of inquisitive head first.” This time it wasn’t the hands that helped O’Connor get the role, but the ears — they’re not, in fact, particularly large, but they are sort of swivelled forwards, as if anticipating something of great interest.

O’Connor was more or less ambivalent about the royal family before — although his grandmother takes a keen interest, he says — but since taking over the role he has developed a fascination with and, he admits, an affection for Charles.

“Essentially you have someone whose whole life only comes into focus when his mother dies. That keeps hitting me — he only has meaning when his mum dies. Where does that put a young man? And then you’ve got his relationships — you can’t just get married or be with someone, they have to meet a set of [outside] criteria. That is a lot to get your head around. I’m discovering something every day about him and the world he exists in.” He tells me about a scene he has just done with Derek Jacobi, who plays the Duke of Windsor, formerly Edward VIII. “You’re playing that interaction, and you think, ‘Who does Prince Charles have, at that stage, as a guide?’ ”

Of course, there’s always his mother, played in the new cast by Hollywood’s queen of the moment, Olivia Colman. O’Connor is predictably adoring of the star of The Favourite, which he thinks is “the film of the year”.

“She’s everything that’s said about her. She’s a proper actress and a proper person. Turns up on time, does her job professionally — she’s wicked. It’s great that the world is loving her because we should.”

He is equally gushy about his co-star Emerald Fennell, who will play the young Camilla Shand, later Parker Bowles, and whom he describes as “such a laugh” (series three and four take us up to 1976, so we’ll have to wait a while for the appearance of Lady Diana Spencer — her casting has not been revealed).

He seems to take immense joy in things, which he puts down to “a pretty perfect upbringing” in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, as the middle son of three to John, an English teacher, and Emily, a midwife, both now retired. “I’ve got two lovely brothers and I’ve got cracking parents.” He recalls a phrase improbably culled from the American TV crime drama Ozark — “I’m rephrasing it, but if I were to have kids, and they’re half as proud of me as I am of my parents, then I’m sorted. They’re decent and kind and considerate, and as I’m getting older I’m learning that those qualities are the most important things.”

Inspired by his parents, last year he came up with a manifesto for his career: “Turn up on time, be nice and learn your lines. If everyone just did that in the acting world, everything would be just great.” His younger brother, Seb, is an ecological economist and is doing a PhD; the eldest, Barney, is an artist.

O’Connor lives in east London with his girlfriend, whom he politely declines to name, but hopes that they’ll be able to live predominantly outside London in future. “Drama schools say you have to be in London because that’s where the work is and that’s where the auditions are, but more and more the auditions seem to be tapes, for film and television, so maybe we’ll all move up to Yorkshire.” I’m sure Yorkshire would be delighted, I say. “Yeah, who are all these people with scarves? They’re all wearing scarves!”

Soon, although the release date is uncertain, we’ll see him in another film, Hope Gap, in which he plays the son to parents divorcing later in life (Annette Bening and Bill Nighy). It’s a “tiny little film” written and directed by William Nicholson, who is better known for such epics as Gladiator, Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. It won’t surprise you to learn that O’Connor is unfailingly enthusiastic about it and his co-stars. There’s another film, with a much bigger cast, coming up, he says, but it hasn’t been announced, so he can’t tell me what it is, except that it isn’t Star Wars. He is, of course, very apologetic.

As I’m leaving, something occurs to me — is it indeed him shoving his arm inside a cow in an early scene in God’s Own Country? “Yeah!” he says, with startling enthusiasm. “And that was actually really nice. As you know, it’s incredibly cold in Yorkshire, and it’s incredibly warm in there. You go in through the bum, because there’s a thin membrane between the bum and the womb, and you’re checking to see where the head is. And it’s really comforting to the cow. It’s just really pleasurable because you know you’re caring for this animal, but also you’re, like, at least this arm is warm.”

I think we could all learn something from Josh O’Connor’s outlook on life. Les Misérables continues on Sunday at 9pm on BBC One. The third season of The Crown will be on Netflix this year

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/josh-oconnor-every-actor-should-just-turn-up-on-time-be-nice-and-learn-the-lines-r8bqkcpcb