#this one was dense but SO FUN

[lobsterplush]

Day 19-20: Square knot button

This is a design I saw online but I hadn't built before. So this Macre-May I wanted to try it out. The instructions I saw were like this:

^Build a sequence of square knots and pull the base cords through the cords before the sequence. Pulled tight it forces the sequence into a loop. Secure with square knot.

This is about all I had to work with, and on its own, there's a few problems. It requires the cords before the sequence to be loose enough to make a hole to pull the cords through, and an open square would be too loose. The securing square knot on the one side and loose cords on the other make the button asymmetrical. How would you make a second button?

So I played around with some ideas:

/\/\/\/\/\

Alternating square knot button:

An alternating square knot naturally places a hole above the square knot sequence. The wide base also helps keep the button facing upward. I tried it out and it works pretty well:

One thing I noticed is that the button forces the alternating square knot to be tight. For better spacing I would suggest making the first knot of the square knot sequence loose on the alternating square. Make these cords a bit longer than pictured:

That would place the button closer to where a normal square knot would be on the alternating square.

In my alternating square button sample I tried buttons of different sizes to see how they looked:

^Starting on the left is a button made of a 3 square knot sequence, increased by 1 on each button going to the right, ending at 8. Three is about the limit on how small a button could be.

^ At around button size 6, the size of the button started to bend the alternating square downward.

/\/\/\/\/\

Making a button without an alternating square knot:

^ For this sample I used brightly colored cord for visibility. Orange outside cord on the left, pink on the right, and light blue for the two base cords. You'll also need some short scrap cord for this technique.

A) At the place where you want a button, insert a scrap cord folded in half so the loop is pointed towards you, at the front. When you tighten the square knot the scrap forces a small open square in the middle of the square sequence.

B) Build the number of square knots you plan for the button.

C) Take the base cords and feed them through the scrap cord loop.

D) Pull on the ends of the scrap cord, pulling the base cords through the small open square.

^ Woohoo! It works!

^ Size 4 and 6 buttons.

/\/\/\/\/\

Diagram shorthand:

^ I'm going to draw square buttons as a lavender square. Number of square knots is drawn on the button.

/\/\/\/\/\

Calculating cord length

Button cord length can vary widely by project, depending on how big the buttons and the distance between them.

Generally you would calculate the length of the cord needed for the project without the buttons and the length needed for the buttons on their own, then add those numbers together.

Buttons are built with a sequence of square knots and thus the cords lengths needed have similar proportion. (About 3:1, 2:1 if the buttons are small or sparse.) But they don't add any actual length to a project.

On a single knot wide button, like the second sample in this post, this is easy to calculate. The cord length acts like a very long square knot sequence. The fun part is calculating the length on an alternating square:

(ALT): For the actual length of the project, all cords pass through the alternating square knots, mostly at 2 PL.

(+BUTTON): Cord group B in the center passes through buttons. If the length of the alternating square is roughly equal the length of the square knot sequences that will make the buttons, then the Project Length of the alternating square can be used for the button too.

(TOTAL): Add the distance that the cords pass through the alternating square and the buttons. Cord groups A don't pass through buttons so they're the same as the alternating square.

(CUT CORD): The actual length of cord you cut, basically you add up both sides of one lark's head knot.

I'm... hoping I didn't just make it more confusing. If I put square knot buttons in a project I'll just calculate the cord lengths myself and give them to you.

(Macre-May Prompt list)

Under the cut is some unofficial button variations!

Flat button

For when you want the button to lay flat! Pass the outer cords through the button loop so the securing knot is a few square knots down from the starting open square loop.

This puts the two outer cords on the opposite sides (pink is now on the left and orange on right), so if you want the colors in the square knots to remain the same start your securing knot with the opposite cord.

^ The base cords also are visible on the bottom of the button.

^Flat button below the size 4 and 6 buttons. It's... a little lopsided.

/\/\/\/\/\

Not-lopsided flat button

Make TWO small open squares using two scrap cords, both pointed with loops facing towards you. The base cords get pulled through the first loop and the outer cords go through the second.

The first flat button was lopsided because it had one joint spot that allowed for a tight angle to form. It made a tear-drop shape. With two joint spots the button is now shaped more like a lemon. Symmetrical. You can also control the exact number of square knots that form the bottom and loop of the button.

/\/\/\/\/\

Spike!

Make that button pointy by forming a gap with the base cords outside the square sequence while making no gap with the outer cords. This forces a sharp turn in the square sequence.

It can be kinda tough to build; it helps to place a temporary object (like another scrap cord, lol) between the base cords and the continuing square sequence, as a placeholder so you don't accidentally tighten the base cords and remove the spike as you build it.

^ I put a spike on my not-lopsided flat button. Pls ignore me fighting for my life with running short on outer cords. I survived.

^ The finished sample! In order: open square, size 4 button, size 6 button, flat button and not-lopsided flat button with a spike.

[lunarharp]

more phoenix wright situations

[densewentz]

Made silly little lemon cakepops for my grandpa who LOVES lemon 🍋 (couldn't be bothered to mold them into more of a lemon shape but they were still fun)

The leaves are white chocolate and SO good

[call-me-chips]

@mjtheartist04

In case you cant tell, I had fun drawing her lol

[megumi-fm]

.

[its-tortle]

can i ask about the captain america bachelor's thesis and the score you got for it

hi lorelei!! you absolutely may ask me!!

it was called "Steve Rogers and Captain America aren't always the same guy": Captain America Fanfiction as a Locus of Transformation, Identity Exploration, and Reclamation (a bit wordy, i know) and it basically outlined fanfiction conceptually and went into the history of cap as a character and political symbol to then analyze trends in cap fanfiction as forum for identity politics and fan reclamation. i think we stress so many of his identity markers in fandom that are played down or straight up erased in source material (esp the mcu) and i wanted to elaborate on the possible reasons for and effects of that. it was a lot of fun.

and i got a dutch 9/10!! which translated to an american A+ on my transcript, which is a bit crazy. i was lucky to have a super lovely and supportive thesis advisor :)

i can send it to you if you're interested!

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Oh ho ho what a highly interesting question, anon👀

(Answered under the cut because it's a bit long)

ㅤ

Before I give my proper answer, allow me to explain a bit of my interpretation of Tails. I actually see him as a sort of naturally jealous person with some innate possessive tendencies who has grown used to curbing these tendencies of his, which he had to do due to a number of factors.

One major reason is due to Sonic himself. To me Sonic has always had a complicated relationship with different kinds of love or attraction (and I do see him as on the aro/ace spectrum). So, when absolute strangers (or those he doesn't particularly like) obsessively pursue him for clear romance/possessive reasons, he tends to react with strong rejection or indifference, in contrast to how he welcomes ego stroking and praise from those who can be merely categorized as "fans" (or those he does particularly like). To me, Tails' initial admiration and pursuit of joining with and becoming like Sonic very well parallels how Amy Rose began to admire and pursue a romantic relationship with Sonic. Even if we consider that Sonic did save Tails that one time from being bullied (according to Sonic Prime and a new animation for Sonic 2 present in Sonic Origins), his pursuit of trying to work together with his hero (which is detailed a bit more in the jp manual for Sonic 2, and includes Tails going so far as to follow after Sonic everywhere and modify Sonic's plane) really isn't any more "normal" than how Amy begins to pursue a romantic relationship with her hero after Sonic saves her from Metal Sonic. The only real differences here were that Amy was explicitly pursuing romance, and that Sonic rejected Amy's advances but eventually took Tails on as his sidekick/little buddy.

This is also not to mention the implications here and there in what we can find of Sonic and Tails' backstory that Sonic would continue to run away and pretend he did not care, while secretly keeping an eye out for Tails.

And beyond that, as one of Sonic’s oldest friends, Tails gets to spend a lot of time around Sonic, and gets to see firsthand how he reacts to romantic prospects, his complicated relationship with "love" as a concept, and is present as Sonic’s group of friends steadily grows.

With all of that, I at least see Tails learning to deal with his innate jealousy and possessiveness so

Sonic doesn’t reject him

Because he doesn't want to keep Sonic from pursuing relationships with others

And for the sake of one's image/being a good person

If Tails has learned that confessing and making his romantic intentions clear could lead to Sonic rejecting him or it ruining their friendship (since he's seen first hand how Sonic has reacted in certain cases to love confessions or overt romantic affection), it makes sense to me that he would try to hold his feelings back (both those that are not squarely platonic and are explicitly romantic and/or sexual). And when it comes to Sonic, there's a guilt factor and an impossibility factor when it comes to keeping him from other people. Not only would Tails feel at least a little bad for restricting him, but Sonic does not respond well to being controlled. Now of course, how he reacts does depend on the time of his life and who it is, but there is nevertheless a futility in trying to control Sonic "I have no master except the wind that blows free" Hedgehog. And finally, my view on both Sonic and Tails, well... I believe that image and visual alignment is a big thing for these two, and that the two are secretly more...in the gray (or at least, that they're surprisingly immoral so to speak). In their origins to me, Tails is just a kid, minding his business, who does not inherently seek to hurt others (though his faith in those around him does matter), and Sonic is just a kid, free as the wind, who doesn't particularly care about being a good guy, but loves the attention. Essentially, though he does save some people on whim, the idea is that Sonic originally fights Robotnik simply because the Doctor, his machines, and his pollution have such a negative effect on his home. So beyond this point, he fights as a hero both out of interest of having his home intact/being alive, and because (simply put) he likes what comes from being considered a hero (all the praise and perks). And so because Sonic is someone that Tails admires, because Sonic has to uphold a baseline image or reputation so he can still be considered a hero/good guy, Tails becomes accustomed to doing the same. That's a bit of an oversimplification (how I see them and why is the subject of a proper essay about that), but the point is that Tails is also conscious that trying to overtly control or manipulate Sonic would not objectively be considered "hero or good guy behavior", especially if it goes too far.

And so with all of that plus the fact that Sonic has never seemingly accepted anyone's romantic inclinations or dated anyone, Tails curbs his natural inclination towards jealousy and possessiveness so he can be content enough to be at Sonic's side. Perhaps there are more friends Sonic is going to get, people he's going to show an interest in, but Tails can put stock in the fact that it's unlikely that Sonic will date anyone. Plus, even if that somehow does happen, Tails is largely fine as long as he's guaranteed to be by Sonic's side no matter what. So as long as he can be with Sonic forever, no matter their relationship, he's as content as can be.

ㅤ

But then Sonic starts dating Nine, right?

And hahaha don't get me wrong here. Tails is pretty practiced. He's not gonna blow up or anything.

But once he gets past the initial shock of that being true, I think he just feels jealous and conflicted by default. I mean, he's just been accepting that there's no hope of ever being in that kind of relationship with Sonic. And not only has someone gone and done it, it's not just anyone.

It's a version of him.

And if a version of himself managed to do it (a version of himself who once lashed out at and fought against Sonic no less), then what does that mean about him? Does it mean that there's something about Nine Sonic likes better? Does it mean that he's had this entire situation wrong? Does it mean he lost his chance and he'd been so afraid for nothing? Does it mean that he could have had that this whole time?

And that's not to mention navigating this. Even if I believe Sonic is very very capable of having multiple best friends or even partners, it's only natural for Tails to get a little afraid of being replaced (especially if he learns that Sonic also considered/considers Nine as a best friend also)

But Tails is the type to not want to burden Sonic with all of this while becoming increasingly more worried. And although he would naturally have a complicated relationship with Nine, I still think he would generally like him and not want to take out his feelings on him. So with that being said, I think he'd sort of try to hold it in and act normal while really not acting all that normal, because though he could hide his feelings better if he wanted to, he still kind of lets it slip because he kind of does want to talk to Sonic about it or let his feelings be known.

I think that whenever Sonic eventually does see that Tails is acting a bit off he'll eventually talk to him about it or try to get him to, but, honestly, even if Sonic could say things (true things) that would make him feel better, I don't think Tails could be as content as he would be if it was idk... Knuckles or Shadow or what have you. Because if it was anyone else, Tails could be more content knowing that his relationship with Sonic is special and that he'll always be by his side, even if he's dating someone else.

But with the fact that the person that Sonic has chosen to date is another version him—a version of him which Sonic has also kind of clearly developed a similar "best friendship" with? I feel that even if Sonic tries to reassure him, Tails will forever be plagued with bitter and jealous feelings. Even if he'd never force Sonic to stop dating anyone, much less force him to date him, I don't think he can even really feel content here unless Sonic chooses to date him also if that makes any sense.

So, yes. That's my answer. Tails would try to be really good about it, but he's still bitter and annoyed and jealous and wondering if he's enough or has been doing something wrong. He's wondering why it couldn't have been him. And he won't be able to just be content at Sonic's side if he can't also be with Sonic. So while I can't say how long it will take, something will have to give eventually. I think at some point in their future, Sonic will have to tackle his specific feelings for Tails and they'll have to talk about their specific relationship, especially if he's dating Nine right in front of him.

[apotelesmaa]

As an apology for tsukasa posting here’s more emunene. Would like to emphasize that this is before the “dear friend” thing so emu said all of this and nene STILL didn’t realize emu loves spending time with her & wants to always be around her. Nene Kusanagi peak lesbian moments “you’re so amazing being around you makes me happy” (cut to nene with her head in her hands 2 hrs later) “what did she mean by that… does she even like me…”

[ryansjane]

once again losing it about how black woke up when seanwhite fucked like no none of this other shit matters at all the thing that gets black to wake up from his 2 month coma is his rival fucking his little brother why is that so funny he went I Think The Fuck Not

anyways Not Me is a comedy lmao

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

BASED ON THAT ONE SCENE ALONE, PEOPLE SHOULD ALL AGREE THAT NOT ME IS THE BEST SHOW EVER CREATED. what do you mean, it's a daring show that reflects the current thai political situation & used real protesters, real politically charged artists and a real life qr code for marriage equality??? what do you mean, the flag scene is the best lgbtq+ scene to have ever existed??? what do you mean, seanwhite & danyok are the most beautiful love stories ever told about loving even in the face of adversity??? NONE of that matters as much as sean's insane dick game being able to wake up his frenemy from the dead through his brother 😌💅

xxx

[bisaster-energy]

im not even done my current kuwameshi fic and im already getting ideas about new ones...

[neeko-system]

SIGNALIS SPOILERS AND WHATNOT~~

finished my second playthrough of signalis, was going for the artifact ending. then loaded my save and got the memory ending. such a good game aaaa

the memory ending made me cry, it was really heartwrenching when ariane said sorry i dont remember, i just crumpled. watching elster be so exhausted was a lot.

not really sure if i understand the artifact ending. i feel like either its really vague (on top of all the other vagueness) or if im missing something. it kind of feels like a burial of arianes memory? like elster dies and we see ariane thikning about her and elster dancing in the wrecked ship? i’m not sure. maybe someone could give me their interpretation of it?

i also found out that theres a difficulty setting and really wished i had set it to survival before my second playthrough. woulda been nice!!! I do have one more ending so i might play the game again but might also just watch it on youtube and play the game again some other time(gotta let it ruminate so i can go back in with different eyes), I wanna get all the achievements anyways.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

all in all i fucking love this game a lot. very rarely do i replay a game so soon after playing it for the first time. its really tragic i’ll never get to experience this game for the first time again, but, so it goes. its such a beautiful game i will be thinking about it for a longgggggggggggg time. ive been wanting to talk about it so badly for so long but none of my friends have played it yet kyaaa!!! >_<

its crazy to me that the game exists the way it does. the style, the mechanics, the story, the music, everything about it oozes so much passion and care and thought. very few games have made me want to stare at every part of it to figure out how they made it look the way it did (THE GAME IS SO STYLISTICALLY RICH LIKE HOIW DID THEY DO ALL THAT) and the game mechanics are so nice to my brain, everything is so tactile and clicky and inventory management and ammo management and horror stratgey and the flesh and rust and death and love and lesbians and robots and anime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

amazing game thank you rose engine, i hope they make more stuff because i really want to see it

edit:(thinking about the first time i played compared to the second. i was considerably less scared since i had a clue of waht was going on but the fear that i felt playing the first time was special to me. i really like games with stories about ‘time loops’ because the replay-ability is baked in in a cool way. especially with how the game throws information at you, viewing things again having experienced perspective shifts from information is really cool. seeing scenes again re-contextualized makes my brain go ^-^(hots quest ding sound) but going in completely blind and being afraid of everything (i especially remember being scared of the dream beach, i had literally no clue what to expect and it was nice) it all had a different flavor than the second time which is cool because i feel like i experience that kind of emotion change *with* elster. (girlie needs a FUCKING cuddle nap)

the way the game balances reality and the surreal i think is super neat. i love surrealist dream stuff a lot and i think that a video game is a super good medium for that kind of experiential stuff that really inspires me to wanna make video games. especially because then theres also this super nerdy sci fi stuff going on about robots and space regimes and magical tech(my favorite) and planetary systems and military systems and all that good shit. i similarly wanna get nerdy about stuff like military logistics while also telling a story about gay robots and girls that keep missing each other just barely in the space time continuum. i love that the game tells you a lot but also is vague and also says fuck you (affectionate) stop looking for answers and just feel it. it explains just the right amount to not feel esoteric while keeping enough vague to leave a lot up to interpretation/figure it out by playing it again/thinking about it. it plays with themes and reality and reoccuring symbolism and all that good shit that makes stories addicting to think about.) ((also one of the endings requiring beating the game once among other things that keep between playthroughs, yummyyy. games that know they are games/stories/worlds that are aware of themselves., thats good shit right there))

[thedrotter]

i can't believe its already july what do you mean half of the year is already over... you're saying ive spent nearly 7 months constantly drawing re:kinder— it has felt like 3 months?!

genuinely stunned it seriously has felt like 3 months to me... I was just so redoing some turnarounds i did for yuu very early on and was thinking. "wao ive really gotten more of a grip at drawing him in these last 3 months!!!" only to check the date of those early drawings of him I made to see the month DECEMBER 2023. HUH???

[vulturevanity]

Every time a new Murder Drones episode drops I have to rewatch the whole series to rethink the lore. This show makes me do homework (complimentary)

[wizard-mp4]

Scientists and doctors are the most unaware people on the face of the earth. Its honestly shocking how dense they all are.

[gingerbreadmonsters]

Something strange / who are you gonna call? >:3 💖

ej's talking about this ask game (still open!) <3

EJ!! thank u for the ask <3 this was SUPPOSED to be done in time for halloween but i have been dying of university disease so it will probably happen in a little while hehe

Three out of the four were accidental - one was the result of a fall, one was the aforementioned issue with the roof, and I believe the other was due to an electrical fault. The fourth was the most recent - an altercation with an intruder during a break-in - but we’ve been assured by the local police department that this sort of thing is highly unusual for the area, and is very unlikely to happen again.  As she spoke, you’d felt a horrible feeling of resignation settle in your stomach. Of course the one place you can actually afford to buy is the one where tenants keep dying. 

How old were they, would you say? Some more clicking, and if her expression had been anything to go by, a spreadsheet that was loading a lot slower than it should. It looks like… um, it looks like most were in their mid-twenties, or thereabouts. Perfect. Of course they were. Were they living alone? She’d clearly been dreading the question, gritted teeth forced into a smile. I believe so, yes. The implied like you will be hangs between you, unspoken. The property has been vacant for about a year, but it’s nothing to do with that - it’s just come back to us from a private company who didn’t keep a tenant there, but I’m assured that everything’s been checked and it’s all in good shape. Well, then. Go and live alone in the terrifying empty house in Dahlia that’s been abandoned for a year, which nobody else wants and where all of the last four tenants died, or rent a safe (if eye-wateringly expensive) shoebox on the other side of the city. What choice could be clearer?

[mishkakagehishka]

I'll be soooo honest but I really feel like it's beyond rude and even entirely counterproductive to spit on and demean new fanwriters in a fandom. Like, you can say, "Oh, if you're unsure about writing character X, these stories/chapters/episodes really delve into their psychology!" but to just criticise and not even offer a single way they could improve (and even then, concrit is something that the writer themself should ask for, it's a bit rude to give it unasked).... you do realise that all the fanwriters you hold to high esteem started off as new writers, yeah? They were new to the fandom, too. If you keep chasing off new fans, new fancreators, your fandom will die, simply put