#the sketch was much better but whatever. we ball.

[st4rstudent]

yuri the squeakquel

[corpsoir]

hii!

hope it’s cool to message you, I need some art advice again.

so I wanna do a pinup style drawing of some of the jojos but I’m having difficulty finding what I want for a pose with the mens pinups. I did find it in the women’s pinup though or least closer then the guys.

My question is how do i translate it into a male character, i struggle with making men look masculine & not just some bimbofied version, i can get the pose without to much trouble but making it in a way it still reads as a guy is where I struggle?

I don’t know how else to word it shsbs but if you have any advice or tips I’d appreciate it

sorry it took me a while to answer this hehe

so yeah, first off i gotta say, whenever you see tutorials where people draw men and women like different species, click away thats not a place of honour theres nothing of value there. you know the kind of tutorials i mean, men have a thousand billion more muscles than normal and women have a thigh gap and somehow still thick thighs but also no internal organs and boobs for days. sure, muscles are fun to draw, curvy bodies are fun to draw, but everyone please trust me you will not get better at drawing if youre using these kinds of tutorials hgjdsghs you wont learn anatomy from them, theyre not only anatomically incorrect theyre also just..... bad

OKAY ANYWAYS. i based these following sketches on a painting by donald rust (i think, i dont know anything about american artists sorry) when i find a pose to use for a drawing but the person in the drawing looks different or has another body shape, i try to imagine 1) whats the skeleton inside them doing? and 2) what are the basic shapes here doing?

and to be clear i NEVER sketch things with like, lines and balls!! ive said this before but i honestly dont think thats a productive way of sketching, so i rather think in oval soft shapes for the body. if that makes sense

so, take this pose as an example. as ive written in the sketch, pinup art is, at least as far as i can see, about pushing a pose to look more pleasing. the hips and waist are doing most of the work here, but if we want to draw say, oh, idk, a stiff lanky neapolitan cowboy with no ass and broad shoulders, we could let the upper body do most of the "pose-pushing" instead!

this way, instead of drawing the eye to the hips and waist, the shoulders are in focus! its still the same pose and i wouldn't say its the manliest of poses, but it still reads as a man. i guess. does any of this make any sense?

on an ending note i do think bimbofying male characters are fun and we should do it more idc put that man in silly little poses or whatever. he'll loosen up with some yoga im sure

OKAYYYY i hope this helped at least somewhat! im not the best teacher but hopefully me visualising it helps a little

[hatchetsfield]

@portraited ➽ “just go. you can still make it. don’t worry about me.” - nancy @ robin

𐃈 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧  𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐲  𝐰𝐚𝐬  𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲  𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬  -  𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝,  𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬,  𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝,  𝐛𝐮𝐭  𝐚  𝙘𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙?  well, she was about to find out.

robin  was  certain  that  in  a  horror  movie  scenario,  it  would  be  her  who  would  pull  𝙩𝙝𝙚  𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜  𝙖𝙘𝙩  𝙗𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧  𝙤𝙛  𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜  𝙖𝙣𝙙  𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜  𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣  𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜  𝙩𝙝𝙚  𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧. and  robin  was  just  as  certain  that  if  there  was  anyone  who  wouldn’t  pull  the  opening  act  in  a  horror  movie  blunder,  it  would  be  nancy  wheeler.  

or,  she  had  been,  until  she  had  heard  the  sounds  of  a  body  colliding  with  the  ground  behind  her,  and  had  craned  her  neck  to  see  nancy  wheeler  sprawled  across  the  ground.  𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚛  𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚙𝚜  𝚒𝚝𝚜  𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜  𝚘𝚗  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜,  𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚌𝚔  𝚠𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚜  𝚒𝚝𝚜  𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜  𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚜  -  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚖  𝚎𝚏𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝  𝚎𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢  𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚒𝚗  𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚍  𝚒𝚗  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜.  robin  blinks,  hurriedly  and  forcefully,  as  though  in  doing  so  she  could  erase  the  sight  from  vision  like  lines  on  an  etch-a’-sketch.  

𝒊𝒕'𝒔  𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉  𝒕𝒉𝒆  𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒉  𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌  𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕  𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏  𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒔  𝒉𝒆𝒓  𝒖𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆  𝒕𝒉𝒆  𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅,  hissing:  this  isn’t  just  gonna  go  away,  idiot!  she  needs  your  help!  now!  

robin  takes  off,  legs  scrambling  akin  to  those  of  a  newborn  foal  taking  its  first  steps.  it’s  within  a  few  long  strides  that  robin  is  able  to  fall  onto  her  knees  besides  nancy.  her  hands  hover  over  nancy,  as  though  wanting  to  touch  her,  but  fearing  that  anything  so  much  as  the  brush  of  a  pinky  would  be  her  demise.  ❝  oh  shit,  nance,  that - that  looks  bad,  ❞  robin  stammers  out.  ❝  like,  real  bad  —  like,  you  remember  that  girl  i  told  you  about? when i played  in  soccer  in  ‘08,  right?  that  grace  chasity  girl  who  totally  fell  over  the  soccer  ball  running  full  speed  and  broke  like  five  bones?  did  not  live  up  to  her  name  that  day.  anyways,  not  to  alarm  you  but  uh,  you’re  kinda  bearing  a  lot  of  resemblance  to  her  right  now,  ❞  robin  winces.  ❝  however  there’s  an  undead  jock  trying  to  kill  us  so  the  sooner  we  get  back  to  skidaddlin’  the  better!  ❞  

robin  goes  to  try  and  pull  nancy  to  her  feet,  when  she’s  stopped  by  her  words:

❛  just  go.  you  can  still  make  it.  don’t  worry  about  me.  ❜

robin  looks  at  nancy  as  though  she  had  sprouted  another  head  (  which,  in all honesty, would  be  a  more  favorable  and  less  terrifying  scenario  than  the  one  they  were  in  currently  ).  ❝  what?  are  you  mad,  wheeler?  ❞  robin  rasps  incredulously.  ❝  remember  that  shitty  mantra  —  no  nighthawk  left  behind,  or  whatever?  but,  like,  nighthawks  aside,  there’s  still  no  chance  in  hell  or  hatchetfield,  interchangeable  words  honestly,  that  i’d  just  leave  you  in  a  life  or  death  situation!  especially  in  a  life  or  death  situation!  ❞  

robin  rakes  her  shaky  fingers  through  her  short  hair  as  she  tries  to  figure  out  what  to  do.  ❝  shit,  okay,  uh....shit….okay…  ❞  𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚒𝚗  𝚖𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜  𝚝𝚘  𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏,  𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚗𝚘𝚝  𝚝𝚘  𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚕  𝚒𝚗  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚌.  ❝  umm  .  .  .  oh!  wheeler,  you  think  you  can  climb  on  my  back?  ❞  robin  asks.  ❝  i  can  totally  carry  you  —  perks  of  having  to  lug  all  the  instruments  around  for  band  concerts.  that  shit’s  like  a  whole bodybuilding  program.  anyways  —  here,  nance,  try  and  climb  on!  quickly!  ❞

[danglovely]

Regrading Taskmaster: S06E07 Roadkill doused in syrup.

*Score changes noted in parenthesis.

Just gonna note -- Alex is really into weird glasses.

Prize Task: The Scariest Thing From Your Kitchen

With a ham sandwich, that's a ticking time-bomb. You don't know!

Mandolin. So many people have talked about injuring themselves on a mandolin. Sarah Millican brings one in later and talks about cutting off her fingertip. There's a pretty infamous Masterchef clip about it (maybe don't watch it if squeamish). Anyway.

Alice brings in "sweaty ham." So I'm not a stickler on "best by" dates, but I can tell when ham has gone bad because it gets sticky and I hate it. I would be hard-pressed to consume it, even when I need to eat. That said, "scary" is not the word I'd use for it. Asim brings in fanart that (1) has no association with a "kitchen" and (2) is actually kind of a good sketch. Plus, like . . . if someone makes you some art, don't blow up their spot.

Russell has a "doggy-cam" that he claims his girlfriend uses to spy on him. It's a decent offering. Good for his relationship? No. Scary? Yes.

Tim brings a door with bad hinges that hits him on the head. *deep sigh* Yes, it's technically a scary thing in the kitchen and slots just behind Russell so far, but like . . . c'mon. You're professional entertainers. There had to be something better.

Liza has a food processor with a fake finger in it. This gets a bit at my pitch of "mandolin," but it's actually plenty safe. It probably goes between Tim and Russell, but other than Russell, underwhelming.

Alice: 2 (0) Asim: 1 (-3) Liza: 3 (0) Russell: 5 (0) Tim: 4 (+3)

VT 01: Knock the bails off the stumps. You've got a maximum of one over. You must make your attempts from behind this stump. No stumps may be moved. Fastest wins.

Call me when I'm needed.

Some people have been playing cricket in the park near my house and I have tried to get them to explain the rules to me. It is not information that is compatible with my brain.

Alright, this one is tough. No bones about it, Russell knocks it out of the park. Simultaneously, he does step on the red carpet and cross the stump by the end of his follow-through. Gut reaction? Give it to him . . . but that might be because I thought it was cool.

The tricky thing here is the task combines cricket terminology with silly bullshit. It uses the word "over" but also lets them use weird balls and pull the carpet and whatever. So do you follow cricket rules or don't you?

I also briefly had the thought that it's not clear what "behind the stump means," but any reasonable person would recognize it means in relation to the target.

Look, no one did it like they were playing cricket and no one argued the outcome. Studio scores it is.

Alice: 0 Asim: 0 Liza: DQ Russell: 5 Tim: 4

VT 02: Draw a picture of the contents of this box. You may not open the box or look inside.

Mahatmabra Ghandi!

There's a great debate about why Alex made the bra wet. I subscribe strongly to the theory that Alex was making the joke that "wet" is the opposite of "sere" and he always gets them mixed up, but who knows?

There's no win condition on this one! They get a bonus point for naming the David Attenborough pun, but that pretty much leaves it up to Greg to decide the thing is going to judged. I think a reasonable person would assume that the win condition would be "most accurate wins."

So, three items. We split the task into thirds and determine if each person accurately drew the item. Quality of the drawings would then be the tie-breaker.

Liza nails two and I'd say her drawing of Michelangelo's David is passable. Alice has the same issue with the David statue. I'd call it passable but worse than Liza's.

Asim -- I'd give him David (and it might even be more accurate than Alice's). I'd even give him the bra, despite looking like "a pair of glasses." I will not give him the hat.

I think I'm only calling the bra accurate for Tim. He seemed to recognize there was a man in the box, but there needs to be some recognition that it's David. Like even just adding a leaf. I'm also only giving Russell credit for recognizing the bra. I will break the tie in favor of Russell because I can imagine a hat in his drawing and I cannot do that with Tim.

So, Alice and Liza three of three, but Liza's is better. Asim two of three. Tim and Russell one of three, but Russell's is better. Add in the bonus point and this is what you get:

Alice: 4 (0) Asim: 3 (+2) Liza: 5 (0) Russell: 3 (+1) Tim: 1 (-3)

Team Task: Write down as many obscure animals as possible. Guess the animals your teammate has on their list. Your teammate must only use mime. They may not write anything down or show you the list.

Blue dog. That famous breed.

You couldn't imagine a better way for this task to turn out than what Asim did. Writing down fictional, insane animals and then he still is somehow able to convey them to Tim and Liza.

Here's the thing . . . Russell makes animal noises for at least two animals and we don't see the full eleven. They're only allowed to mime. I'm hesitant to treat it as a full DQ condition because Alex is in there and confirming when they can move onto the next guess.

I think the way to handle it is DQ two of Alice's guesses, which puts them at nine correct guesses and the team of three at eight correct. This is all academic, though. No score change.

Team Funk: 3 Asim, Liza & Tim: 2

VT 04: Wearing this sweatband around your head at all times, tuck as many items from the kitchen inside the sweatband as possible. Then make a pancake with a diameter of at least nine inches. Then eat the whole pancake. Most kitchen items successfully kept within the sweatband wins.

Weirdly you managed to leave a whisk, two spoons, and a spatula in there, which are the things you need to make a pancake.

No DQ conditions, but two things needed to complete the task: making and eating a nine-inch pancake. I suppose you could also argue what the minimum qualifications are for "being a pancake," but they all get close enough, so let's not get into it.

Alex does tell them there's a time limit on tucking things into their sweatbands, which is not on the task but is enforceable if he says it then and there (rather than afterwards like when we Joe Lycett taught us the show was a scam).

Alice loses her mind for a brief moment and intentionally shakes all her items out. Her sweatband also drops to her neck, which might not be the head, but close enough.

There's even a more pedantic debate as to whether a container of sprinkles (hundreds and thousands) qualifies as one thing or if you need to count every sprinkle. However, there's a more fundamental issue in that people didn't finish their pancake.

The thing said "eat the whole pancake" and the win condition was about items in the sweatband, not how much of the pancake was eaten. Russell's plate is clean by the end of it, so that would mean he's the only one getting points.

Alice: 0 (-2) Asim: 0 (-3) Liza: 0 (-5) Russell: 5 (0) Tim: 0 (-5)

Live Task: Get an egg as close to the center of the target as possible. You must stand on the spot when taking your turn. You must ROLL two of your eggs. The person whose egg is furthest from the center of the target after each round is eliminated.

He's not necessarily eliminated. Oh fuck off, Alex.

Russell reaaally shouldn't have started with the egg he cockishly broke. You get more points the longer you last and you're not gonna last long with that one. The strategy here is to save rolling the Ostrich egg until the end.

As with all elimination tasks, I can't really regrade because I don't know how people would have done in later rounds. Studio scores it is!

Alice: 3 Asim: 5 Liza: 2 Russell: 1 Tim: 4

F I N A L

Alice: 12 (-2) Asim: 11 (-4) Liza: 12 (-5) Tim: 15 (-5) Russell: 22 (+1)

Main score changes here due to my reading in a condition in the pancake task. Broke his egg, but he wins again.

[teecupangel]

Shoutout to @fanworldbuildingfun for adding this fantastic comment to my post about the Altaïr armor in the Destiny-AC collab:

This stupid attractive overachiever almost managed to replicate Isu technology with only 12-century tech and an Apple

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE ACTUAL ARMOR IN AC THEN

So this is the Armor of Altaïr that we all know and grieved over (curse you, Cesare Borgia!!!! I spent hours trying to get this armor!)

We might even say that some of us have yet to move on from such devastating loss (fuck you, Cesare Borgia)

Anyway, from that image alone, it's hard to distinguish which is part of the armor and which is Ezio's fashion sense.

Here's another image then:

Looks better? Is the white undershirt really part of it? How can we be sure which is actually a part of the Armor and not simply added by somebody else before it was locked underneath Villa Auditore?

So how about how it was sketched in the Codex then?

Simple. Almost looks like Altaïr only did the chest armor and the rest were added later on (or, perhaps, Altaïr only sketched the chest armor)

The sketch does make it easy to compare it to a similar armor: The Isu Armor from Origins and Odyssey (Valhalla not included because that Isu Armor looks totally different)

If we compare the Isu Armor (using the Odyssey ver because it's clearer) to the sketch of the Armor of Altaïr:

We can make an argument that the sketch looks like what a 12th century scholar would draw after having a (perhaps a bit blurry) vision of the Isu Armor.

We might even say that the sketch is most probably the final draft based on the Isu Armor, focusing more on defense by developing a closed area on the chest instead of the Isu's open chest area.

The entire Armor of Altaïr was created during Altaïr's time. He's noted as the only creator which meant he probably did everything by himself like the overachiever that he is

. This includes the materials he used for it which he created thanks to the Apple.

This page from the Codex meant that, not only did Altaïr create his own version of the Isu Armor, he actually created a similar (how similar it was would be questionable because of the 'further refined' that he mentioned) metal to what is used by the Isu Armor.

And there is one metal that we are sure that the Isus used.

(Does it have a similar color to the Armor of Altaïr?)

Which meant that Altaïr was able to recreate (degree of success questionable) Adamant in 12th century Levant.

Alone.

And Adamant is known as:

Considering there was no mention of the Armor of Altaïr having mind control capabilties, it's probably safe to assume that Altaïr was only half-succcessful in recreating Adamant because whatever metal he used in the armor was definitely nearly indestructible.

You wanted me to imagine Altaïr with 21st century tech at his disposal, @fanworldbuildingfun? Here's my initial analysis made with not enough sleep + trying to finish this while eating lunch at work:

The creation of the Armor of Altaïr was due to the Apple providing him with the information. If he has an Apple under his control in the modern day (or if he is a reincarnation of the 12th century Altaïr with all his memories intact) and enough resources, he will definitely create a better version of this armor using a more refined version of the Adamant metal. Depending on how much resources he manages to acquire, making more armors is not out of the question.

If he doesn't have the Apple providing him with this information and only has, maybe, stories about how Ezio Auditore used to have an 'invincible' armor?

He'll have debates with Shaun about it. Shaun will be on the side that the armor is as invincible as the stories say because of his love for conspiracies and Altaïr will argue that the 'invincible' part could simply just mean that it was strong enough to block arrows and blades. It would be useless if hit by a bullet or a cannon ball.

This debate will annoy both of them so much that Altaïr will go "You want invincible? Fine! I'll show you what an invincible armor should be!"

And, propelled by annoyance and the desire to have the final say, Altaïr will make his own 21st century version of the Armor of Altaïr.

During the initial planning stage...

"Oh, cool. You making an Ironman suit?"

"........."

"uuuhh... Altaïr?"

(furiously destroys everything he's already made) "Desmond."

"Y... yeah...?"

"Not a word to anyone about this."

He will later present a detailed schematic of an armor set that can, in theory, be created using 21st century tech.

It must be stressed it looks nothing like an Ironman suit.

(for the record: the early concept for the armor does say that it's meant to be Leonardo Da Vinci's invention but they later pushed it to be Altaïr's instead, probably to further develop Altaïr's 'sorta mentorship' setup in AC2)

All images from AC Wiki (you guys are the true MVPs of this fandom)

[ultimatebabygirlsupremebattle]

Update time!

Just need 3 more unofficial sign ups and we reach the minimum requirement for the tournament, then we can open the official sign ups and get the ball rolling!

As things are right now the tournament can't happen, so! Just a reminder! If you want to submit transfem Leo art for the tournament it doesn't have to be something made specifically for the tournament! It can be art you posted last week, last month, last year, it doesn’t matter! Find your favourite and bring her so we can see her too!

And for those who do want to draw for the tournament, once the official sign ups are open they'll stay open for a week! So there's definitely some time to draw there! If you're unsure about if you can make it happen in that time but still want to try, you can always mention as much without giving an official submission and I can follow up with you when the sign ups close!

I've also had people ask about whether AUs are allowed and what type of art is expected, and I promise there's no limits there, as long as its transfem Leo it can be whatever you'd like! Any AU! Sketches, lineart, coloured, full backgrounds, it doesn't matter! We're here to share and appreciate each other and how cute transfem Leo is!

And, no ones asked about it but I wanna make sure we're all clear here, while a lot of the appreciation I'm showing here is for 2012 Leo, its not limited to that iteration, in fact I want to see more of the other Leos! Its so hard to find transfem art of the others, so if you've got them, bring them to the party too! Once again, the point of this is to share, so the more Leos the better! I love them all!

Another thing I'm thinking of doing during the tournament is some mini polls, no brackets, for specific things! It'll depend heavily on the types of submissions I get, but they'll be things like "favourite outfit" or "favourite mask tail style", so don't think the focus is just gonna be on the winner of the bracket tournament! (I'll definitely be open to ideas for those, but lets save that for after the submissions are in!)

I hope that cleared up at least some people's concerns, but if you have any other questions the asks are open!

[bafflement]

Ozqrow Week - Day 2 - Stargazing

“Keep meaning ta ask, Oz… what was it like, back then? Looking up at all the stars while the moon was still whole? I figured if anyone would know the answer to that, then it would be you. Well, or a certain other person, but that… never mind.” Qrow trailed off, embarrassed, even as Oz’s face seemed to shutter slightly. The smile he shot Qrow was as gentle as always though, his eyes just as loving as they ever were.

“How to explain a sight you’ll never see, I wonder? The moon has been shattered for so many lifetimes now that the vision of it whole is more an echo than anything else, really, but it was beautiful none the less. Imagine a perfect ball, shining the way our moon does now, illuminating the world around it like a luminescent torch. Imagine that same ball, reflected in a lake, rippling and indistinct yet whole at the same time. Then imagine waking up in a world where that ball had broken, been shattered at the whim of a temperamental God throwing a tantrum. Forgive me, but in many ways, that was what must have happened. Only a God could shatter it in such a way that it would remain as it is without flying apart or recombining.” Oz winced even as he let his mouth run away from him, but it was a painful thing to remember really, back when the world had been so much newer, only one version of humanity. Back when there had been nothing but faith and hope, before everything had gone so very wrong.

Qrow stared at him for a second in shock. “So you don’t actually know how it broke, then?”

“I was not there to witness it, Qrow, that was before the Gods decided that bringing Ozma back was a good idea… long before they cursed him and thus all of the cycle as they did. Sometimes all I really want to do is rest, but I know that the task… even if I die, I’ll just wake up as someone else. Apologies, this is too heavy a conversation tonight, after all, we were watching the stars were we not? Did you know that the constellations themselves have changed?” The last sentence was spoken lightly, the change of subject desperately needed and Qrow latched on to it like a lifeline.

“Constellations can change, Oz?”

“Oh my, yes. They keep getting given different names as the patterns people see change and evolve. I could sketch out the various patterns at some point, if you’re interested? It might be something that would be a good idea anyway, thinking on it. It’s always better to have records, just in case the cycle actually does end any time soon.” Oz sighed, he really hadn’t meant to bring down the mood, but Qrow’s question had more or less done that for him already. He moved closer to him, still staring up at the stars that most people viewed as so very unchanging.

Everything altered given enough time. All things changed, mountains formed or were ground down, the sky itself ultimately as mutable as the rest of it. Everything ended, except for him, except for his curse. This was not his night…

Qrow made an indistinct noise as Oz moved to within hugging distance, still trying to wrap his head around what Oz had said about the stars, it was so strange to think they were actually changeable. Whatever was on his lover's mind though, at least tonight they were together?

[lovebugs-and-snakecharmers]

LBSC Sprint Challenge - October 2022

The LBSC Sprint Challenge is now open for writers and artists! The prompts are:

1. For them, it wasn't so much "love at first sight" as it was "love at first felony.” 2. Luka just really loves his wife, ok, and he's going to make it everyone's problem. 3. Visual prompt from Catana Comics 4. Kwamis in hamster balls 5. Ghost story 6. Wildcard - pick any of the prompts available from our sister blog, @mlweeklyprompts, or any previous challenge prompt.

You have until Wednesday, October 26 to complete your 3 15-minute sprints/45 minute art sprint and post the results. Once you’ve completed the sprints, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions and make it feel complete) or clean up/color, whatever work you feel appropriate to get your art to a state you consider ‘finished’.

Please note you may sprint in the language of your choice, and you can either translate the final fic before posting, post it in the original language, or both as you choose. You can join us on the LBSC discord or sprint on your own! Just be sure to tag @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers in your final post so we will see it and reblog it. The rest of the rules can be found here under the cut.

Rules!

We’ll post a beginning and end date to the challenge, and a prompt.

Writers, If you choose to participate in the event, write for that prompt in up to three 15 minute sprints. No writing outside the sprints until you have completed all three! After the 3 sprints are complete, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions, etc). You can also choose to break that 45 minutes up differently if you find a different split works better for you.  After those 24 hours, post what you’ve got. Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on AO3 or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

Feel free to sprint in whatever language is most comfortable to you! You can post it in your own language or translate it before posting, or both!

Artists, you have 45 minutes to sketch and 24 hours to do any cleanup or coloring you’d like to complete. You can split your 45 minutes up however you like, or not at all. There’s no requirements on your finished piece, just aim for whatever goal seems challenging but achievable to you.  Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on Instagram or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

If you’re wavering as to whether or not you think you can accomplish anything in 45 minutes, we really encourage you to give the challenge a try. You may be surprised what you can do! Feel free to join us in the discord linked above so we can encourage and cheer you on.

Obviously, this has to run a bit on the honor system and we won’t be tracking your times, but please do your best to honor the spirit of the challenge! If your sprint fic becomes an Entire Thing (these things happen sometimes) and you want to continue it, feel free! However, please still post whatever you’ve got after your 3 sprints with the tag. No fair busting out a fully polished fic or art without showing us what it looked like at the challenge stage!

We want to keep this a positive space and event! This does NOT mean that you can’t write or draw anything critical of a character or episode, but it isn’t the space for character bashing or hate either. Please keep the characters in character and save the more speculative work for another time. NSFW sprint works are permitted but must be tagged appropriately (please use “NSFW LBSC sprint challenge” for easy filtering on the blog) and with appropriate warnings.  (More FAQ about the process here)

This is a Lukanette blog and a Lukanette event, so while Lukanette does not need to be the main ship, it needs to at least be included or referenced and considered endgame (in other words, they don’t have to be together by the end of your work, but the intent is that they’re headed in that direction). The decision about what qualifies for reblog rests solely with the LBSC moderators. If a piece hasn’t been reblogged within a couple of days, either the mods felt the piece didn’t meet the criteria or it was simply missed; you are welcome to reach out in the asks to inquire which. There are plenty of other spaces out there for other ships and OT3s, and people are welcome to use the challenge rules and prompts to write for their own ships! They just won’t be reblogged to the LBSC blog, and we ask that you please not use the event tag (a modified form is fine - “InsertAlternateShipName sprint challenge” instead of “LBSC sprint challenge,” for example).

Happy sprinting!

[izzy-b-hands]

Izzy's tits, at least one of Izzy's balls, retirement or a nearly one, talking it through as a crew then talking it through as painfully codependent friends/coworkers/would be lovers then talking it through as boyfriends all the way around.

---

"Fuck off, Edward."

Ed stared. "Sorry?"

"No," Izzy replied as he hopped to sit on top of a barrel. "I'm not."

Stede blinked. Then once more, then again just to be sure.

Izzy had only wandered out of his quarters now, hours after everyone else was up and working. It was entirely unlike him.

Just so as the incredibly short leather shorts he had on, the lack of shirt, and one of Ed's pipes smoking in his hand. He'd even forgone any shoes.

"Izzy," Stede said. "I don't mean to come off critical here, but I think one of your...well..."

"One of your fucking balls is literally hanging out," Frenchie shouted, shaking his head in apparent disgust and shock.

"Oh," Izzy took a drag off of Ed's pipe. "Well then, enjoy the view."

"I mean it beats my preconceived expectations," Lucius said. "Curious about the rest now, actually. That sketch offer is still open, by the by."

Izzy nodded. "This evening work?"

Black Pete leaned into Lucius' shoulder, shaking with silent laughter.

"That's a yes from Pete, and from me," Lucius grinned.

"What the fuck is going on?" Ed seemingly hadn't even blinked in the past few moments.

"You seem to have things all under control now," Izzy replied. "You admitted after Bonnet came back that you were only keeping me on here out of pity. Thanks for that, I guess. But if that's the case, then no more babysitting you. Bonnet, good luck with that. I've got notes for you as well to help navigate his moods better; I'll drop them by your quarters later."

Stede nodded. "Thank you? So, to clarify, you no longer wish to be first mate or bosun or however you wish to call it?"

"Yup," Izzy sighed as he hopped off the barrel. "I'm done. Just a regular crew member now. I'm going to do all of jack shit, and get paid for it anyway. Ed, you talked about retirement? And joked I wouldn't know how to retire? Well, I think you're right. This is as close as I'll get to retiring."

Ed took a step forward, but walked it back immediately. "But. Not your resignation, right? You're staying?"

Izzy laughed bitterly. "Yes, Ed. I'm staying. I don't understand why on earth it would fucking matter to you anymore, but I'm staying."

"You're still a friend to me in some way," Ed said awkwardly.

"Not how you made it sound as of the last few weeks," Izzy said. "And why would you want me as a friend anyway? You've screamed my sins back in my face enough times lately to remember them all in detail. Who would want a friend like that?"

He snagged an abandoned half empty bottle of rum as he walked past the rest of the crew, and up the stairs towards the empty deck space at the stern without another word.

"Holy fuck," Jim said. "What are you gonna do about that?"

"We're going to go talk to him," Olu offered. "Right, Captains?"

Ed was frozen, but he let Stede take his hand.

"I think that's a good idea, but maybe in a bit," Stede replied. "Technically, he's done nothing wrong. He gave himself a demotion, which is his right, if he wishes. Which he clearly does."

"Yeah, but I think he's sort of lost it," Jim said. "I mean. I don't like him. But he's good at his job, to the point that it's fucking irritating."

"He's very much a traditional sort of pirate methodology guy," Pete noted. "Not a bad thing per se, but it doesn't really fit the vibe here."

"Regardless," Olu said. "Of whether we like him or not, or respect him or whatever. He's still technically a crew member, so we have to at least give him that much. And that's gonna mean-"

It was like a switch flipped on Ed.

"Yeah, yeah," he cut off Olu. "We have to go scold him and slap his wrists. I could just toss him overboard, would that be better?"

Lucius raised a hand. "As someone who has been thrown overboard by you, I don't think that would be better. For him, or us."

"What the fuck is this then?!" Ed yelled. "You hate him, but you're worried on his behalf, but you want him to stop this new weird shit, what the fuck do all of you actually want?!"

"Ed," Stede said softly. "You're crying. Come here."

He let the crew disperse, still talking among themselves about everything that had just gone on. Ed sank to the deck with him, crying into his shoulder.

"I think maybe you and Izzy are overdue that talk Olu mentioned," Stede murmured. "What do you think?"

Ed nodded against him.

"Okay," Stede continued. "Then we're going to go have a break in our room, and in a bit we'll go talk with him. I bet he'll feel better then, and so will we."

--

Ed slept hard once he'd calmed down, but Stede was rattled. And at the same time, upset with himself for his reaction.

Technically, Izzy had been rude and brash and crass to them all, and downright disrespectful to Ed. But at the same time, he'd not acted that different from how any of the crew had described most average pirates. And hadn't they all had moments of rudeness themselves while on board the Revenge? The disrespect was more complex: it was wrong in the hierarchy in the traditional sense, but between two old friends, and with the added knowledge that Izzy regularly took disrespect as a first mate (according to Ed's stories, from their current crew as well as many past crews the two of them had sailed with)? That made it not exactly right, but certainly understandable.

That Izzy also definitely had feelings for Ed was apparent now, and had been so since he'd been back aboard. Suddenly all of Izzy's defensiveness and anger and asshole behaviour clicked. Again, didn't always make it right, but he could see himself doing the same after years of that.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door, and he extricated himself carefully from Ed to answer it.

"Here," Izzy pushed a large leather bound tome into his hands. "Every note I have professionally on him, since nearly day one of sailing. Might not ever need it, with you two pretty in sync now, but you'll have it just in case."

He turned to leave, and Stede reached for his shoulder.

"Izzy, hang on. I. Ed's rather upset, as I'm sure you heard."

Izzy turned back to him and nodded. He looked exhausted, and Stede wondered if he'd slept at all last night, or if he'd been up nervously planning his flamboyant announcement of semi-retirement.

"I think he thinks he's broken you, somehow," Stede continued. "He'd like to talk with you."

"He didn't break me; he wore me down," Izzy chuckled sadly. "Do you know, if he asked, I'd still get on my knees for him in a heartbeat? I don't think he's ever once figured that out."

"He's your friend, at least," Stede said. "I know that must still be important to you."

Izzy looked away for a moment, tears flowing as he looked back. "It is. But you don't get it, Bonnet. And that's not your fault. You went years without knowing how it felt, what you for sure wanted. That's how it goes for some. But I've had it dangled in front of me for years, and known it about myself for longer. There were times he talked about it, jokingly. I could recite most of those conversations to you, which is just sickening. But I've played them over and over again in my head all this time, pretending he's serious."

Stede wiped a tear from his own eye. "It sounds like a similar sort of hell, in terms of frustration."

Izzy nodded. "It is. And I know it won't be much better now. But at least I'll be able to busy myself away from Ed some of the time. That might help. And if not, he can always maroon me somewhere, and then we're both out of our misery."

Stede sighed. "You two are so fucking dramatic. I mean that kindly, but-"

"You're one to talk," Izzy scoffed.

"I know, but give me a break for a moment!" Stede yelled as loud as he dared. Ed didn't do more than roll over. "I know you didn't start out the bitter fucking asshole I met!"

Ed mumbled, but seemed otherwise still sleeping.

"And at first I didn't give a fuck how you got that way," Stede continued, one eye on Ed to make sure he wasn't disturbed. "But now, after everything that's gone on so far? I do! And I'd actually be interested to see what a not miserable version of you looks like! But you won't get that way by doing this and not talking to Ed. If you're really so convinced to close that chapter, then close it properly."

He trembled some, breathing hard at the idea of how Izzy was going to react.

He didn't expect the hug.

"You're the first person to notice or care," Izzy mumbled into his shoulder. "I didn't think I actually wanted anyone to do that. Turns out it's really nice."

"You should give Ed a chance on this," Stede said, patting his back, wincing at the noticeable sunburn. "I told him not even a few days ago I expected he might want to be shared with you, and he thought I was joking! I told him I wasn't, and he got very serious and thoughtful and I didn't get a peep out of him for the next half hour. Clearly, he's not as unemotional about you as you seem to think."

Izzy broke the hug, and nodded. "Alright. Come get me when he's ready. Though not between the next hour or two, Lucius has commandeered me for his sketchbook."

"He does a wonderful job," Stede smiled. "And for all his arguing and fussing with you, I think he does enjoy you in some odd way."

"He's grown on me, maybe I've grown on him," Izzy shrugged.

He walked away still sniffling, but seeming the most relaxed Stede had ever seen him.

--

"I ran and told Lucius to send him here once they were done," Stede said. The sun had started to go down just as Ed had woken, groggy and looking as tired as when he'd first fallen asleep.

"Sure," Ed muttered, leaning into Stede's hug as they sat side by side on their bed. "Sounds wonderful."

"He's giving you a chance, so you need to try and give him one too," Stede said gently. "As best you can."

Izzy wandered in then, in nothing but a black ratty-looking robe. "Shall we?"

"This is really what you want?" Ed asked. "I know I'm not always easy to deal with, but you really want to demote yourself?"

Izzy swallowed hard. "I think so. I don't see a better option presently."

"You'll still talk to me though, right?" Ed continued. "I mean, not just as crew to captain. As friends?"

Izzy sat in the nearest chair facing the bed. "Did you ever notice when I first stopped doing that? When I had to switch it into all business all the time?"

"I wish I had," Ed replied. "Stede, Izzy and I here started out just us. When we were young-"

"When my beard was actually black," Izzy interrupted him with a chuckle. "Same way you've always told it."

Ed nodded. "And it was the two of us, this rickety sailing boat we stole, and what little money we had with us. We spent it all on getting new clothes at the next port so we'd 'look more like a pirate', and had to rob our first little fishing vessel so we could find food."

"It worked though," Izzy said. "Slaughtered that entire crew and had fish for weeks."

"What about having bought a fishing pole and fishing yourselves?" Stede frowned.

They looked at each other, and burst into giggles.

"Never even crossed my mind," Ed wiped a tear from his eye.

"No, we went straight to raids," Izzy added. "The fishing rod might have been easier though."

"As if you didn't have the time of your life that first raid," Ed scoffed. "You remember how much fun that was?"

"My first stab wound," Izzy sighed with a smile. "Caused and taken."

Stede nodded along as they recounted more, and let his thoughts trail. First, it struck him how his path to piracy really had been different. Ed and Izzy had done it seemingly out of necessity, or to have been stuck on the island they'd lived on since they were kids. There were other legal routes, sure, but it seemed that those might never have held enough appeal for these two. Secondly, he was baffled how the two of them had flopped awkwardly and nearly romantically for so many years. He knew he was in no place to judge, but even so. Listening to them talk made it even more evident, as vulnerable and nostalgic as they were now.

Thirdly, and the one he was most reluctant to try to face, was that he liked this Izzy. Nervously vulnerable but open, at ease, the frown lines on his face replaced with crinkles at the edge of his eyes when he smiled. This Izzy made his heart pound like it did around Ed, and he would never have anticipated it in a thousand years. He'd meant the sharing idea before, and now considered if the sharing couldn't be all around between the three of them.

"Bonnet?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, what?"

"We've been asking you for the past minute and a half what you'd like as a thank you for forcing us to talk," Izzy said.

"We can't fix anything that's happened," Ed added. "And some of it was just not ever talking about things we should have."

"Your saying still makes me cringe," Izzy said. "But it isn't wrong."

Ed nodded. "I didn't realize how twisted we got around each other. No wonder we got bored and frustrated, keeping each other held down like that."

"So, we're keeping my demotion as is," Izzy said. "Though Ed has asked me to be on hand for the new first mate, which I presume will be Olu. He's basically already doing it, and he gets on well with the entire crew."

"I zoned out," Stede admitted. "Had a lot to think about and got lost in it."

"We figured, we asked you other stuff too and you only ever nodded," Ed said. "And you agreed to so much stuff."

"Funny," Stede bumped against his shoulder. "Don't hold me to all of them, since I don't remember any."

"Not even the sharing idea we asked you about?" Izzy asked.

Ed nodded. "We do need to know that one, no matter what the answer is."

"I already told him yes," Stede gestured to Izzy. "Why does no one take that seriously at first? If Spanish Jackie can have twenty-"

"Think it's eighteen or seventeen now," Izzy interrupted.

"Okay, eighteen husbands," Stede continued. "Then we could have us three. Together."

"Is that bias towards me on the employment side?" Izzy joked.

"Actually yeah, a bit I think," Stede replied. "But it's my ship, so if I want a little bias for us, then we can have some."

"He's getting better," Izzy grinned. "He'll be stabbing an eye out before we know it."

"Yeah," Ed agreed dreamily. "You always remember the first one."

"Very gory," Izzy frowned.

Ed nodded. "Fun in the moment but in the clean up you're going 'was it worth it?', and sometimes the answer isn't always yes."

"I think I'll skip that for now," Stede said. "But thank you for the confidence you have in my... eye-stabbing capabilities."

Ed yawned. "Of course! Fuck me, it isn't even that late, and I just slept!"

"It's been a long day," Stede said, patting his thigh. "I've got a story chapter to read to the crew before bed. Let's go back out before they start rioting thinking I forgot."

"Would be fair if they did," Ed said. "It's the voices, man. You've got a gift."

"He's right," Izzy said, wincing as he got up from his chair.

"Sunburn worse than it looked?" Stede asked.

"I haven't spent a whole day shirtless like that in a long time," Izzy admitted. "Might have forgotten to think anything of the sun."

"We'll have Roach take a look before bed," Stede said. "He's always got something on hand for me."

Truthfully, he figured Roach had probably already seen the state of Izzy's chest and back, and would already have something waiting, presuming they'd be asking for it.

But it could wait a little while longer. They were both waiting for him to lead the way out, the most at ease and happy that he'd seen both of them at once.

That, and the crew really was strict about keeping the next chapter read on time. For that too, it would have to wait slightly longer.

[wtpthedemon]

So I messed around a bit and had some fun.

Now I have an idea and kinda wanna doodle and draw more of these dorks. Basically I made my version of the agents, it's just captain 3 and agent 3 in this post XD

Basically the 4 agents are friends in this and I'm gonna have some fun with them interacting in doodles and drawings probably.

Anyway here are captain 3 and agent 3 ^^ they're just sketches so I'll do better drawings of them some other time.

Captain 3, real name Bea. Tired leader of the new squidbeak splatoon.

Cis woman, she/her pronouns

Has a scar from the brainwashing ink alongside a couple of other scars from missions

Likes to wear hoodies as they're very comfortable

Brutally efficient in turf war and ranked if given the chance

Likely has ptsd from being mind controlled (not sure yet)

Their usual gear is the pilot goggles, whatever shirt has the best abilities and those pink boots

"Borrowed" cephelapods from agent 3

Pretty quiet and close friends with the squid sisters

Agent 3, real name either Luka or Oni (haven't decided yet). Known for giving the captain heart attacks by doing way too many risky jumps and plays during missions and turf war.

Non binary, they/them pronouns

Wears contacts to properly see

Loves buttonup shirts, has way too many and it's starting to be a problem.

Most often uses dualies or any of the inkbrushes. Although is trying to learn how to properly use a charger.

Neurodivergent, most likely adhd

Does missions with their binder, definitely shouldn't

Focuses on just having fun in turf war and ranked but does still take ranked seriously.

The spidersquid missions are their favourite

Ball of chaos

Likes older memes

Trends of clothes don't matter that much, simply wants to feel good

Yeee so there we go XD imma draw agent 4 and agent 8 next. See ya ^^

[newagesispage]

                                                                         JULY  2022

THE RIB PAGE

Is Paramount+ bringing season 16 of Criminal Minds to us?? Are Dan Henney and Matthew Gray Gubler the only ending cast members not involved?? I hear that each season will concentrate on a different case to update the format. Will Gub sign on later to be one of the killers they look for? Did Spencer Reid snap after his harrowing ordeals in prison? Has he been too deeply affected by being held hostage and the mental problems of his Mother? Between being forced to take drugs and his own worry about inheriting schizophrenia, there could be a break. Stay Tuned.** BTW, CBS.. Paramount.. As one of the few people that really wants to see the Daytime Emmy’s.. Let me.. And the last category, the big one was cut off for local news? What the fuck?? I suppose I didn’t miss much since Days of our Lives only won for writing. Congrads for that!!

*****

Thank you to the brave souls of the Jan. 6 hearings. Special thanks to Mr. Engel, Mr. Rosen, Mr. Donoghue, Cassidy Hutchinson, Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman. We have heard proof of the Trump administration’s traitorous behavior. The baby tantrums from the former President of food throwing and secret service abuse is shocking but not surprising, if that makes sense. ** There was ketchup dripping down the walls, there was ketchup coming out of his whatever. -Victor Berger IV

*****

Well, the Supreme Court did it. Roe is no more. They have opened a very messy can of worms. Imagine all the lawsuits to come. Let’s clog up the legal system even more. The religious right seems to love to fight. I guess they want to see us in the streets so they have a good excuse to hurt us, to bitch about us. From what I can see, these people seem to hate children. Imagine being so filled with hate, that you want to force unwanted or sick children into existence to see them suffer. Why do women not deserve the same rights as men??**The Court also struck down a NY law that has been in place for years that helped with gun violence. ** While they were at it, they fucked with the Miranda warning too!! In Vega V Tekoh, they ruled that an individual who is denied Miranda warnings and whose compelled statements are introduced against them in a criminal trial cannot sue the police officer who violated their rights even where a criminal jury finds them not guilty of any crime. ** This whole thing is a great distraction from the Jan. 6 hearings. They always want us to look the other way. I am sure that Clarence Thomas is having a ball right now. He seems to be the devil! ** Let’s not forget that they also fucked with climate change with the EPA and ruled in favor of the coach that brings prayer to school.

*****

Check out the cook book from South Carolina’s Miss Emily, Gullah Geechee home cooking.

*****

It seems that Finland and Sweden will join NATO.

*****

Vince McMahon is stepping down as WWW CEO. His daughter has stepped up.

*****

Carol Burnett is going to be on Better Call Saul!!!! Yeow!!!

*****

Marcus Mumford is going solo.

*****

The Hollywood Walk of Fame will honor Paul Walker, Uma Thurman, Mindy Kaling and the Jonas Brothers.

*****

The Television Critics noms include: Rhea Seehorn, Bob Odenkirk, Jeremy Strong, Better Call Saul and Succession for Drama.  Comedy being recognized is Abbott Elementary, Atlanta, Barry, Ghosts, Only Murders in the Building, Bill Hader, Jean Smart, Quinta Brunson, Steve Martin, Janelle James and Reservation Dogs. Variety and talk noms include The Amber Ruffin Show, SNL, I think you should leave with Tim Robinson, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, A black lady sketch show and Late Night with Seth Meyers. OMG, Amber or Seth??? How does one choose?

*****

San Diego Dr. Jennings Staley pled guilty to attempting to smuggle in a barrel of Hydroxychloroquine powder. He claimed the powder was a miracle cure and will spend 30 days in prison and a year of home confinement.  

*****

The FDA, for the first time is jumping into the less nicotine in cigarettes arena.

*****

Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. - James Garfield

*****

Journalist and music publicist Barbara Charone has released Access All Areas: A Backstage pass through 50 years of music and culture.

*****

Hooray for Angeli Gomez, the Mom who rushed in to save her kids from the Texas shooter. I realize we can’t have people running in and out of dangerous situations but when those in charge won’t then what are we to do?? We need more of that!!!

*****

Emma Roberts will join the cast of Madame Web.

*****

Go Camel Rock Studios!!!!! The first Native American owned film and tv studio along with Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin bring us Dark Winds on AMC.

*****

Gen. John Allen has resigned as President of the Brookings institute as the FBI looks into whether he lobbied the Government on behalf of Qatat for the Trump administration.

*****

Todd and Julie Chrisley were found guilty of bank fraud and tax evasion.

*****

The last Howard Johnson closed after the companies 100 years.

*****

Pussy Riot hung a “Matriarchy Now” banner in the Texas State Capitol.** That is the attitude we need. Stop waiting to be offended and stand up for what is right!  

*****

The Cheech Marin Center has opened in Riverside, Ca.  

*****

Marshawn Lynch has signed with Endeavor and Overtime to stat ‘Level Up’ for athletes.

*****

Will Forte will star in Bodkin, the first dark comedic thriller that is part of the Netflix/ Obama deal.

*****

Days alert: OMG, The Emmy winner Cady McClain is back at a crucial time for Jennifer as she lost her oldest child. UGH!! I get that Melissa Reeves can’t always be there but yikes!!** Heartbroken about Abigail because I sort of think of Chad and Abby as the closest to Tom and Alice because they always get thru shit together. They seem like the lifelong solid couple. But, it is Days and she and the baby they may have just conceived could be alive somewhere as the body double lay there dead!! ** We will miss U Tripp!! Come back soon and bring your siblings back for a visit!!** Leo and Clyde may be up to no good. Nancy won’t like that! Is Clyde keeping his ears open in the Brady pub where everybody talks about their secrets? He could have something on the whole fucking town! Why is Shawn getting so close to Jan? I mean, it’s Jan! And now we know Shawn isn’t the Father. This has proven he isn’t the brightest bulb on the force!!

*****

Adam Sandler, Queen Latifah and Heidi Gardner star in Hustle.

*****

Robert Smigel and a field team from Colbert’s late show were charged with unlawful entry. The crew, doing a bit with Triumph the insult comic dog was found on the 6th floor of a congressional office building near the Capitol. CBS released this statement: “Their interviews at the Capitol were authorized and pre-arranged through congressional aides of the members interviewed. After leaving the members offices on their last interview of the day, the production team started to film stand-ups and other final comedy elements in the halls when they were detained by Capitol police.” Fox news, of course called it ”Insurrection!!” Colbert joked that it was Conan’s fault.

*****

The Suge Knight trial deadlocked on liable and damages for killing Terry Carter with his Ford truck.

*****

A Japanese court ruled same-sex marriage ban is not unconstitutional.

*****

AFI is honoring Julie Andrews with Lifetime Achievement.

*****

Paul Haggis was detained in Italy on sexual assault charges and aggravated personal injury. He was accused of rape in 2018 as well.

*****

Why in the fuck did NBC break in with the Depp/ Heard verdict? Really? That is important enough to break in??

*****

R.I.P. Phillip Baker Hall, Lee Klein, the latest shooting victims, Afghan Earthquake victims, Barry Sussman, Alec John Such, Jim Seals, Paul Vance, Julee Cruise, Ann Turner Cook, Linda Lawson, Marion Barber III, Alan White, Harrison Wagner, Tyler Sanders, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Raymundo Garduno Cruz, Juan Francisco Gonzalez Aguilar, Victor Paganuzzi, Mary Mara, Joyce Burditt and Mark Shields.

[feyariel]

Fey's Pokémon Rue-minations: 9 of Their Top 10 Gen II Moves

Because I already established that Baton Pass is my absolute favorite move of all time and have lamented it getting banned in any shape/form.

#10: Sketch

In Gen I, Mew was treated as exceptionally powerful because 1.) the stat power game was as low as it was (Mew, like most mythicals, has base 100s across the board) and 2.) it can learn any move taught by a machine (technical or hidden) and, via tradeback, a tutor. Smeargle's signature Sketch does one better: it makes Smeargle a Blue Mage, able to learn any move it witnesses, albeit only once every so many levels. (I'd give it to Mew anyway, but whatever.) Great idea. It's sad that Smeargle doesn't have the stats to make use of the majority of these moves and doesn't evolve into something that could.

#9: Thief

There's really nothing to be said about this. Its one downside is that you can't steal the opponent's item if you're already holding an item, which is a big shame. (It should just go to inventory.)

#8: Flame Wheel

There are two versions of my appreciation for this move.

When the games came out, it was pretty obvious that the difference between a physical and a special move was whether or not it made contact. This was mostly true across the board; the few exceptions that existed in Gen I (Barrage, Bonemerang, Crabhammer, Egg Bomb, Gust, Hyper Beam, Pay Day, Pin Missile, Poison Gas, Razor Wind, Rock Throw/Slide, Sludge, Smog, Spike Cannon, Tri Attack, Waterfall, and the Elemental Punches) all had a few things in common: they were relatively rare (most were either signature moves [or close to it] or gatekept via TMs), they usually still dealt physical vs. energy damage (exceptions: Crabhammer, Hyper Beam, Tri Attack, and Waterfall -- the last we didn't know was supposed to be Waterfall Climb), and most could be waived by virtue of the limitations of the typing system.

Thus, when I saw Flame Wheel, I thought it was a more-or-less 2D version of D&D's flaming sphere spell, just as a single attack. Flaming sphere creates a ball of fire that you roll around for several turns, burning everything in its path.

Once I found out Flame Wheel was rolling into a ball and charging -- a la Sonic the Sledgehog (he's the fastest sledgehog in. the. wor-ld.) -- but on fire, I liked it all the more. I wish it had synergy with Defense Curl, as it would make sense then, but whatever.

#7: Moonlight (and so Synthesis and Morning Sun)

Gen II's time mechanic was mildly annoying with these moves, as they were the only ones that interacted with the time of day. Even so, it was nice to have moves that healed you by virtue of ambient light. It would be even nicer if they also empowered you, as that would justify the low PP and variable healing (Recover, which had more PP, always healed as much as these three would heal during harsh sunlight when not in their favored time of day).

#6: Future Sight

Apart from being one of the few instances of precognition in the series (versus telepathy or non-precognitive forms of clairvoyance), I love the idea of this move: you lay one card face down and end your turn...

...only for it to work two turns later...

...to have the opponent take damage somehow.

Even the anime just has a ball of energy come out of nowhere from a random direction. It's nonsensical, it's Yugilicious, it's awesome.

#5: F(a/e)int Attack

The translation error here was interesting, as either spelling could work. At first, I didn't know what this was supposed to be: I understood that a lot of the animations didn't really correlate to what was going on, so if I didn't have a clear idea I would instead rely on the move's mechanics to figure that out. Faint Attack was just Swift, so I just shrugged. When I figured out that the rest of Dark was supposed to be dirty fighting plus biting, I figured that there were two options here: feinting in combat, which shouldn't work this way, or sneaking up on an opponent and stabbing them somewhere, which lined up with the animation. The anime figured it was the former, rather than the latter. Regardless, I liked it more than Crunch (okay functionality, but...it's just biting); I think at the time I preferred Thief, but as I recall Feint Attack is now the better move overall.

#4: Curse (Ghost Version Only)

Ordinarily I don't like moves that deal damage to the user, but this one not only fit with Ghost's theme, it came with a nifty little imp. I didn't realize that Nightmare did the same thing, but Nightmare is only worthwhile if you plan on countering RestTalk users, which is a smidge too niche for me.

#3: Detect

Everyone uses Protect, which is fine. I like force fields, too. However, I think Protect by and large had been done well enough as it was. I prefer Detect for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, I like dodging. A lot. The Monk class in D&D is far and away my favorite melee class because it doesn't use armor.

Second, I think Detect did an adequate job of replacing Double Team's role (and replicating the anime's "Dodge!" command) while still being mechanically fair: it's less likely to work the more turns you use it consecutively. (I think Detect and Protect should benefit from other moves the anime has used to represent this by gaining extra rounds they can be effective [perhaps by subsuming the boost from the other move]: for Detect, Agility, Teleport, and maybe Double Team; for Protect, probably any barrier-type move [Barrier, Light Screen, Reflect, Safeguard, etc.; probably also Defense Curl and Withdraw].)

Third, I like that it isn't available to all TM-using Pokémon. As things stand, it is always remotely possible that a Pokémon could know Protect, even though force fields aren't so widely available. This is a bit too random for me. It's one thing if, as with Detect, the spread is limited to Pokémon that fit the theme well, so you don't know if they're going to have Detect (or use it) but you can still reasonably predict if they might have it, whereas with Protect you don't know if your opponent has it until they have used it or all four of their moves (whichever comes first). It's like being able to bluff at any time without a way to call it.

Honorable Mentions: Foresight and Mind Reader.

These are similar in concept with Detect and Future Sight, though in really weird ways if you think about it. They're also poor translations: the literal translation of Mind Reader's Japanese name is "heart/spirit/soul/mind/thought's eye," which could be rendered as "mind reader," but it's in conflict with Foresight's translation, which Bulbapedia renders as "Thought Read" and which Wiktionary says means "to see through [a plot/lie]." There are English equivalents for these terms that aren't "Mind Reader" and "Foresight" and don't imply some sort of psychic ability. The mechanics don't make much sense, either: Mind Reader bypasses accuracy checks, but not Protect, Substitute, and a few other things, while Foresight bypasses Evasion changes and Ghost's immunity to Normal and Fighting.

These should be 1.) a move that makes the next attack ignore accuracy, evasion, substitutes, protection, semi-invulnerability, and anything else that would cause the user to miss the target besides outright immunity and 2.) a move that allows the user to hit Ghost-types with Normal- and Fighting-type moves. The former is essentially Mind Reader, but with the parts of Foresight that no one remembers. No one uses Mind Reader as it is, so giving it the parts that make sense would make it more valuable. Foresight needs a rename and possibly a type change anyway, but it's already used only for its effectiveness against Ghosts anyway.

#2: Shadow Ball

You should have seen this coming. This is without a doubt the coolest Gen II move ever. The only downside is that Mewtwo doesn't get STAB with it, even though it's very clearly Mewtwo's signature move (before Psystrike was invented, however the Hell that move works).

I mean,

seriously,

how can

you argue

with a Shadow Ball

to the face?

[awholelottayeehaw]

Pedro Pascal SNL + Jimmy Fallon Thots

I decided to put my opinions about both with a score beneath the break in case anyone hasn't seen either yet.

Jimmy Fallon: 1/5 Stars

Pedro looked great, but boy Fallon fumbled the ball a bit with his interview questions. I was texting one of my BFFs about it while we watched together and I was shocked that it was over so quickly. The questions were weak and I felt like didn't give the man much to work on, so aside from looking good it was just hard to watch as a SW/TLOU fan.

SNL: 3/5 Stars

Honestly, the Mario/TLOU mashup had me in tears. But aside from that, I wasn't that impressed with this episode. Pedro felt like he was just... there. Involved but not as a host, which was a weird feeling as a long-time SNL fan. I also felt like they lost out on a LOT of opportunities for TLOU, Mando, and even GOT skits they easily could have made fun of the fact that his characters keep dying horrible deaths and being reluctant father figures. The skits felt like anyone would have been in them and not tailored to him and it was a little disappointing. Especially with Mando coming back in a month.

The other hot take that I'll probably get backlash for but it's whatever is that I thought the hospital and Italian restaurant scenes were really poor taste. As a disabled person who's had nerve and brain damage from injuries as a kid that left me with a speech impediment, I was horrified that they'd make fun of something like that regardless of how funny the accent he used was. I constantly deal/dealt with people making fun of the way I talk because I slur certain words and if I didn't have the self-esteem of a god I probably would have stopped talking altogether. There are ways to make funny skits around that that don't make fun of disabled people. Same with the Italian restaurant scene, it was really uncomfortable watching a woman get ganged up like that. I just couldn't find the humor in either skit.

But the others I did enjoy, especially Mami Pedro. As a Spanish speaker, the skit had me in tears. And even the steak scene, it happened with a former black college roommate of mine who only ever ordered steak extra well and with catsup so I had a lot of great flashbacks to that. But other than those and the TLOU sketch, I felt like this episode just lacked a lot. There was so much potential that I felt like was thrown away and I wish Pedro had been more involved, but it wasn't horrible. I hope SNL and even Pedro do better regarding jokes at the expense of historically underrepresented people moving forward.

[antvnger]

Hey 🍀 Anon

Wow umm okay let’s see…

If it’s like a LEGO set, then I’ll build the set, but if I just have blocks, then I’ll build whatever I feel like building at the time. Whatever my imagination calls for.

The painting and sketching is the same way. I don’t know what I want to create until I get inspired. Sometimes I’ll paint like a memory or a place or a person or sometimes I’ll just make something completely up. Like one time I painted Ant-Man as a knight going against a dragon. Sometimes my art is therapeutic too, so if I’m feeling low or I had a nightmare or something, painting helps me feel better and get all the negative mess out of my system.

I only use hot glue guns to fix things lol not really create things. I was always the kid who would smear the school glue on my hands and let it dry and then peel it off. So I don’t use hot glue guns much.

And thank you! Yeah, Cami’s such a sweet girl. I love her. We just walk around the block a few times right now since she’s young. She likes going to the park and playing or going in the backyard and playing more than just walking right now.

I have never tried the treat thing, but I guess that’s something I can teach her. She’s only 14 weeks old, so she’s not into tricks like that yet.

Cami is old school and loves bouncy balls. She has a red one that squeaks when she bites it, and it bounces nice and high and she loves to chase after it.

And someone sent me this in the mail without a return address, and it’s from Bark Shop

And she looooooves it!

[lepusrufus]

Some (slightly angsty) vamp fam being wholesome and loving each other bc we need it 

Now keep in mind I’m in no way a writer but i wanted to write a teeny lil fic based around this sketch (the alternative was a short comic which i do not have the time for lol) so enjoy the angst and fluff under the cut

The frigid wind was howling outside, crashing against the towers of the Dimitrescu castle. Yet they stood tall and proud as they have for centuries now, the thick stone walls protecting its inhabitants from the winter cold. 

On the inside, the halls were filled with echoes of heels running across the polished floors, accompanied by the giggles and laughter of the three daughters of the house. Cassandra was in the lead, a comically large hat held in her gloved hands, followed by Bela and, lagging behind, their youngest sister Daniela. She deliberately stayed behind to -jokingly of course- mock their pursuer’s efforts to catch up. Each time she turned to yell a “we cannot be captured” or “give up and we may spare your hat” a small sigh escaped their mother’s lips. 

“Come now, daughters. You know as well as I do that I must get ready for tonight’s meeting.”

Alcina made no efforts to quicken her pace though, she knew that her mischievous daughters would not run too far ahead. After all, where is the fun in having so much distance between you and your pursuer that you can’t even see and make fun of them. At least that’s what Daniela always said. 

Despite her air of tiredness, Alcina couldn’t help the small smile tugging at her lips at the sound of her beloved daughters’ giggles. They may be up to no good occasionally, but they knew better than to cause their mother embarrassment, especially when it came to Mother Miranda. The meeting was still distant. For now she could afford to spend some time with them. 

The trio rounded a corner, the first two quickly slipping out of sight while Daniela lingered there and turned towards her mother. 

“Fine, we’ll give you the hat back,” she shouted and, for a second Alcina looked at her daughter hopefully, until she held her chin between two fingers in an exaggerated pensive expression. “If we can get a pet lycan!" 

Alcina grimaced at the mere thought of one of Heisenberg’s beasts coming even close to her castle. Her clean castle.

"Never." 

"Good luck then!" 

Daniela spun on her heels to follow her sisters, but lost her balance for a moment, slamming an elbow against the window placed right behind her for support. She had a tendency to get a little clumsy when excited, though it never became a problem bigger than a couple insignificant vases getting broken or an accidental -according to her- shove against her sisters. That is, until today.

The latch on the old window rattled from the combined force of Daniela’s hit and the wind outside that has been pushing against it all day long. This was the final hit that it needed to give out. The window opened forcefully, letting in a cold burst of winter air from outside that howled through the hallway. Daniela got knocked to the ground, more due to the pain caused by the chilly air than from its force, and instinctively tried to crawl away from the window while shielding herself from the cold as best as she could. The pain, however, became quickly unbearable and an agonized scream that bordered on a guttural grow pierced the howling of the wind. 

"Mom!” Daniela called out desperately, now balling up in the fetal position. 

Her mother however was not far, having witnessed the whole ordeal and now rushing towards her with heavy steps from the other side of the hall. Even the other two, hearing Daniela’s scream, dropped their game and came back for their sister. 

“Dani- " 

Bela had to quickly grab Cassandra’s shoulder to stop her at a safe distance. As much as it pained her to see her younger sister writhing in pain on the floor, she knew that all three of them being in that state would get impossible for their mother to handle. And Alcina indeed handled it. She was at her youngest’s side in mere seconds, forcefully shutting the damned window with just enough self control so as to not shatter it, and then knelt down to Daniela’s shivering form. She gently scooped her up in her arms, holding her close to her body and almost wincing at how badly she was shaking.

Alcina spared only a glance towards the elder daughters "Go around. Meet me in my chambers,” came her booming voice and, although she wasn’t mad at them, they couldn’t help the shiver that ran down their spines. 

“Yes mother,” they replied in unison and the next second a swarm of insects had replaced their bodies. 

The journey to Alcina’s chambers was little more than a quick blur of hallways and heavy booming footsteps. She shoved the door open, crouching to enter and made a beeline for the pile of blankets neatly placed on the bed. Daniela was lowered down on one of the thicker covers so that her mother could wrap her up in a better attempt at warming her up. She then was promptly picked back up, now cocooned in the soft blanket, and Alcina went to sit on the couch placed right in front of the fireplace while tightly holding her daughter in her arms. 

Contrary to popular belief, Alcina’s body was quite warm to the touch, unlike her daughters’ cold skin. On chilly winter nights it was common occurrence for the girls to come to her, demanding cuddles with the excuse that their rooms felt too cold. She always complied, gladly allowing all three of them to huddle around her like kittens for a bit of extra warmth. 

Which is exactly what Daniela was doing right now, her small body almost glued to her mother’s chest and her head shoved in the crook of Alcina’s neck. One hand was covering her face, muffling the sound of sobs, while the other was damn near clawing at her shoulder trying to hold the blanket tightly around herself. It pained Alcina deeply to see her in such a sorry state. Her hands were tightly holding her daughter and she bent down to kiss the top of her head, whispering gentle words of encouragement. 

A slight buzzing sound reached her ears as Bela and Cassandra entered the room, their expressions riddled with worry. Bela wordlessly approached the fireplace, it’s flames dying down from not being fed in a while, and added a couple logs that quickly ignited, casting a warm light on the room and its current inhabitants. Cassandra on the other hand was standing a couple feet away from her mother, not knowing what to do. The hat was still in her hands, her grip tightening further with each muffled sob that could be heard from Daniela. It took a few moments for Alcina to notice her, but when she did, she called her to sit by their side with a slight motion of her head. Cassandra was happy to oblige, quickly sitting down by her mother and helping her with keeping Daniela wrapped in  the soft blanket. Bela joined them too after taking care of the fire. She knelt in front of Daniela and started to slowly rub her shoulder hoping to bring some comfort while her other hand went to Cassandra’s.

They sat like that until sobs turned into soft sniffles and until those died down too. Daniela stopped shivering and was instead just enjoying the warmth of her mother’s embrace, recovering from the whole ordeal. Until she let out a sigh, still not budging however. 

“Well that sucked major ass." 

Cassandra couldn’t stop the small chuckle that escaped her lips at the sight of Alcina fighting the urge to reprimand her youngest for her choice of words. When she looked at Bela, she saw the same struggle to keep a straight face. The very air in the room seemed lighter, no longer carrying the very real possibility of one of them dying.

"No more heels for you. From now on you can only wear flats,” Bela said teasingly, finally allowing her shoulders to relax. 

“You’re only mad I’m taller than you,” came Daniela’s reply, who had turned around in her mother’s arms to give her sister a light shove. 

Bela gasped, indignated, and went for a rebuttal, but was promptly interrupted by Cassandra’s sudden burst of laughter. She buried her face in her hands, muffling the sound, and leaned against her mother. 

Alcina finally managed to let out a sigh of relief, her grip on Daniela loosening, and she leaned back against the soft cushions of the sofa. She closed her eyes, just reveling in the sound of her daughters giggling and throwing light teases at each other as if the last half an hour or so did not happen. These girls were really able to bounce back from anything. 

But that was still a close call. She was already making plans to have someone come to the castle and repair any old window with a faulty lock so that such an accident would not repeat itself. It wasn’t unusual for things in a castle to get old and less effective as they once were, but Alcina couldn’t help blaming herself for not properly upkeeping her home. Her and her daughters’ home. 

A shift from the three girls pulled her back from her thoughts. Bela got up to sit by her side, now all of them huddled around her and giggling at whatever joke Daniela just made. 

She could have a maid call the repairman later. Right now she just wanted to enjoy the quality time with her daughters, in the safety of her warm room. Not that the girls seemed to have any plans of letting her get up anyways.

[edgelordfucker]

A preview of a WIP Belosxreader sfw fluff fic with the working title of 'date out' that will be changed

So far I have the bones of this one 80% sketched out at 6k words with the need for ligaments and scene joinery, and, of course, flesh. Tentative ETA would be... maybe another month or two? Maybe less. Oh, there is gratuitous swearing.

The waiter comes to stand by the table. He sets the frappe and the cake in front of you, and the kouign-amann and the iced black coffee in front of Belos. 

“Thank you!” you say brightly.

“Yeah, you’re very welcome; let me know if you need anything else,” he says with a smile, before he walks away.

With a look of the utmost amusement, you slide his food and drink over to him and he passes yours over to you.

“I appreciate that he thinks I’m too femme for bitterness,” you say.

“Too delicate by far. What’s next? Chipping your polish?” he replies. You snicker, and then consider him.

“You know, I think you’d look cute with your nails painted.”

“Thank you. What color?”

“Hm...” You study him seriously. “You know I love you in blue... I think white would be a bit too much, and it’s a bitch to keep up with. Gold would be nice. Ooo, black! And we could be matchies.” You reach out for his hand, and he gives it to you. You slide your tiny hand up his palm to thread your fingers between his. “I like you,” you tell him with a tender sincerity. Belos feels his face heat up, and looks towards the street.

“You’re alright,” he replies.

“Pfft! So mean. You know,” you say, slipping your hand away and leaving his rather cold, “one day, I’m gonna be dead-” His stomach drops. “-and you’re going to be fuckin’ malingering in your coffin, or draped despondently over a chaise lounge, or whatever, and you’re gonna look back and think, ‘Man, I really should’ve told my beautiful girlfriend that I liked her back that one time we went out for coffee five-hundred years ago.’”

“Firstly,” he replies, gleefully latching onto this quibble, “that’s not what malingering means.”

“What does it mean?” you ask, as though he’s just given you a terminal prognosis. 

“It means to pretend to be sick, or something like that, to get out of having to do something.” 

“What?” You hit the ‘w’ with so much emphasis that it sounds like an ‘h’. “I’m going to go live in the woods.” He snorts. “Oh, god. Belos, do you know how many times I’ve used that word to describe lingering in, like, a fucked up or evil way? Oh, my god. I have to abandon society. I have to leave.”

“You couldn’t wait to do that until after I’ve had my cake, could you?”

“I could be persuaded by someone who likes me,” you reply.

“Eat your pastry,” he retorts.

And then, from another scene a little later on:

“Oh my god,” you whisper. A chill goes down his spine. “You have merch?” There is a note of terrible glee in your voice, and he knows, in much the way a field mouse does when the first cold breeze of Autumn kisses their whiskers, their little black eyes bulging out of their eggshell skull, that harvest time has arrived and the thresherman will come threshing with his scythe no less sharp than Death’s, that he is about to be mercilessly bullied by a woman who is literally half his size, and there is nothing that he can do about it.

 Belos considers picking you and physically removing you from the store, books be damned, but you are already touching things.

“There are little Belos stuffies? Little Belos pencils? You are on a lanyard?” your voice warbles like a bouncy ball tossed onto a xylophone. He has an explanation for this, he does.

“It wasn’t my idea-” he starts, which is a lie, but sounds better than, ‘Yes, darling, I did decide that selling mass produced twelve inch soft sculptures of myself was a great way to secure the hearts and minds of my people.’ You cut him off.

“No, no, I love your brand. Very patriotic, my love, very ever present. Are you in the PSAs? Are you on the milk cartons?”

“Please,” he scoffs. “You have things like this in the human realm, surely.”

“Fifty years Emperor merch? No, we don’t.” There’s a derisive note to your voice. Belos bristles. This is the closest the two of you have ever come to directly discussing his rule, and this is the closest you’ve ever gotten to telling him exactly what you think about his Empire. 

“Really?”

“Well, we do, but the people who get more than, like, a t-shirt or a bumper sticker for a specific politician tend to be... less than stable.” Your eyes catch, and you gasp. “You are a little cup?” The mug you pick up is in the shape of a cutesy caricature of himself, and you hold it between two hands like it’s something precious. 

“Put that back,” he whispers, trying to take the mug from you. You take a step away, holding it close to your chest.

“Please don’t put your hands on my boyfriend, sir.” There’s a beat.

He says your full first name, and he means it.

“Belos,” you reply. You tip your head and look at him with that infuriating grin, close lipped and so, so, so smug. Without breaking eye contact, you fish a stuffie from the table as well.

“You’re not getting those.”

“We’re a triad.”

“I’m telling you no.” You put your head on one side. Belos is a big enough man to realize when he’s made a tactical error.

“So, like, do you hate the Emperor, or something?” you ask loudly, with innocent eyes, bringing the cup and stuffed him up under your chin. Heads start to turn. 

An outraged voice calls, “Does that guy hate the Emperor?!” from the depths of the shelves.

He’s going to strangle you.

“Fine.” He stalks towards the checkout.