#this was fun but also dumb haha

[vii-doodles]

My very first animatic and it's radiosilence bc I love that dynamic very much

[turtleblogatlast]

Leo frowns at his phone.

Or more specifically, at the test on his phone.

Around him, he hears the sound of his brothers tapping their own devices, much faster than he is. Looking up just makes Leo feel worse about his own progress - or lack-thereof.

Mikey’s the fastest, speeding through the test like nobody’s business. He’d been the one to make them all do this stupid test in the first place, so it makes sense that he’s having a blast.

Raph’s slower than Mikey is, but he’s still clearly answering the questions at a steady pace. Sometimes he looks unsure, but he powers through anyway.

Donnie often looks frustrated, which relieves Leo somewhat because at least someone is struggling like him. But that “struggle” isn’t nearly as big as his own, considering that Donnie is answering about as fast as Raph is.

Leo turns his gaze back down to his own test. He’s still near the beginning, he thinks.

He’d put the same answer for the past seven questions - the middle of the road answer, neither a “yes” or a “no.” Then, whenever he does come across one that is more one direction than the other, he second guesses himself and restarts the test!

Sure, there are a few he could definitely give a yes or a no to, but…never the “strongly agree” or “strongly disagree” that the test seemed to want from him.

He eyes his twin sitting nearby, the softshell absorbed in the test. Maybe Leo should copy what Donnie put for some of these…

“DONE!” Mikey’s shout makes Leo freeze in place just as he started to lean over.

“What?” Donnie squawks, “No way you’re already finished, you must’ve been cheating!”

“It’s a personality test, Dee!” Mikey stuck his tongue out, “You can’t cheat at those!”

…

Leo settles back into his seat.

Ignoring Donnie’s mutterings about how it was “just because it’s not an academic test” that he didn’t finish first, Raph smiles encouragingly at Mikey.

“Hey, good job! So what’d you get, Mike?”

Mikey looks back down at his test, reading aloud, “Says that I got the “Campaigner”!”

“What’s that mean?” Leo asks, his phone screen going dark.

“Apparently, I’m an “enthusiastic, creative, and sociable free-spirit”.” Mikey reads, smiling at them, “You think it fits?”

“Oh, to a T, bro!” Leo laughs, giving Mikey a thumbs up, making Mikey’s smile grow larger.

Inside, Leo was feeling a lot more mixed about this. He has no idea how Mikey knew himself so well. Maybe Donnie was right and Mikey did cheat, because how could he answer those questions so easily?

Leo’s phone burns in his hand. He keeps it locked.

“Wow, that really is you.” Raph says, his eyes flitting back and forth between his own test and Mikey, “Do you think it fits?”

“I guess? It’s fun to see at least!” Mikey shrugs with a grin.

“Hold on, I think…” Raph makes a noise of satisfaction, “Okay, done!”

“Sigh, now I’m relegated to the straggler group.” Donnie grumbles, his thumbs moving faster as he tries rushing through the questions.

“Ooh, what’d you get Raph?” Mikey asks, practically bouncing in curiosity.

“Says, uh…I got something called the “Consul”?” He squints his eyes to read more, “Uh, “caring, social, and community-minded.””

“Sounds about right to me.” Leo nods. Can’t be more “community-minded” than being a hero.

“Yeah, no one’s more caring than you, Raphie!” Mikey says, moving to lean across Raph’s shell.

“You do put the community in mind, that’s for sure.” Donnie states, not looking up.

Raph chuckles, a bit embarrassed, “Aw, thanks. It’s just some test, but it feels kinda good to hear that.”

Just a test. Right.

Leo unlocks his screen.

The test stares back at him.

Right. Okay. He can do this. He can.

The screen ends up going dark again.

Frustration builds up in Leo. Was he even halfway done with the test? At this rate, soon even Donnie will-

“FINISHED.”

Leo unlocks his phone.

“What’d you get, DonTon?” Leo asks as his thumb taps the top right of the screen.

Donnie puffs up proudly, a self sure grin on his face, “I got the result “Logician” which states that I, obviously, am an “innovative inventor with a thirst for knowledge.” Truly could not have described me better, if I do say so myself.”

“It is pretty accurate.” Raph agrees with a nod, “Even calls you an inventor, so extra accurate.”

“Super accurate.” Mikey jumps in, eyes shining.

“Yes, yes, almost like reading my own character synopsis.” Donnie’s grin had not dwindled since the word “innovative” had left his mouth.

Leo just nods along, eyes on his own screen as he skims the words. “Yeah, kinda creepy how close it got. Could have called you a nerd for extra accuracy, though.”

Donnie turns to him, eyes narrowing, “Have you even finished your test? I can think of a few words that’d describe you fairly well.”

“Test-y, huh?”

Before Donnie can strangle Leo, Raph cuts in.

“Ok, ok, calm it down, guys.” He rolls his eyes before turning to Leo. “But really, you’re not done yet?”

“Leo’s taking this self reflection seriously.” Mikey sports a faux intellectual expression as he gives a jokingly serious nod. “Maybe we all should’ve taken our time.”

“Says the one who sped through the whole thing in a record time.” Donnie mutters.

Leo waves them all off, “Nah, I finished it ages ago.”

He grins when Donnie immediately shoots him a suspicious glare. “Oh, you did, did you? Then what could you have possibly gotten, Nardo?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Leo clears his throat, “Neon Leon just so happens to be an “Entertainer.””

“Ah. That confirms it. This test is meaningless.” Donnie drones.

“Hey-“

“What’s an Entertainer like?” Mikey asks with a tilt of his head, still hanging off of Raph’s shell.

“Glad you asked, Miguel!” Leo exclaims, “It says that “life is never boring” around yours truly~”

He emphasizes this “result” of his by waving his phone with said “result” on screen.

It’s just an image he found of his chosen personality result, but they don’t need to know that.

Raph nods slowly, “Well, I guess that’s true…”

“”Never boring” is one way to put it.” Donnie hums.

“You are pretty fun, Leo!” Mikey says emphatically, because he’s great like that.

“Thank you, thank you, life of the party, right here.” Leo grins, pointing both thumbs at himself.

He’s careful not to go too overboard with it, or else it might tip someone off.

Not that it…really matters. It’s just a test. Like Raph said.

As the topic around him shifts to something else, jumping away from this brief activity as fast as any other among them, Leo finds himself unlocking his phone and pulling up the test again.

Unanswered questions stare at him. He knows what answers Lou Jitsu would pick. He knows what answers Jupiter Jim would pick. Hell, he knows exactly what answers his brothers would pick.

He doesn’t know what answers Leonardo would pick.

Leo stares at the test for a second longer, before he exits the site and throws himself into the conversation happening around him.

It’s just a stupid test, nothing to worry about.

Just a test…

[basketobread]

i hope i am not just some random bg3 artist to u all... but a friend <3 (and your strongest warrior pls pls pls with a cherry on top)

[doli-nemae]

sketches with our chaotic coterie that I forgot to share really love how our coterie works out currently tho I feel like a blind kitten at the game :.D

[sshcomic]

Will we see other Hashira in your Soryuu sensei Hakuji AU? 👉👈

- 🩸

hi!!! yes but like... later. rn we're in a bit of a "flame estate/renkaza bonding" sort of "arc," i guess, and then we'll meet uzui. ;P but where we're at, i've loosely got 5~7 more strips planned, so even meeting uzui will take a hot second. 😅

this is subject to change but the plan is to loosely follow canon, with the addition of the Formal Hashira Meeting about hakuji, bc i love that trope soooo much in renkaza fic haha. that's planned for after the entertainment district.

that being said, i already have most of the hashira outfits jotted down. 😂😂 pretty excited abt it ngl. thanks for the ask!

[abrahamvanhelsings]

you know, people making fun of dutch for the way it spells words and it basically becoming the internet's new joke language actually made me think abt the way van helsing is often handled in podcasts. bc the thing is i don't think i have ever heard him actually sound dutch. german? faintly slavic? vaguely european in the most general sense? sure heard that. but dutch? i haven't listened to every podcast in existence, obviously, but ive sensed a bit of a theme so far with what i have given a try.

and yes, bram stoker himself obviously didn't know what dutch sounded like, and van helsing's gibberish in no way comes close to the way an actual dutchman would speak english. and i suppose dutch isn't the most well-known language in the world and not everyone might be able to do the accent properly. fair's fair to that. but still... this is one of the most iconic dutch characters in world literature, one of the major characters in the book, and yet a vital part of identity is partway erased bc people think, "oh, he's dutch, i can do a german accent but slightly to the left". it doesn't really make you feel as if your language is being taken seriously. who knows what a dutch accents sounds like, anyway, right? who's going to care? yeah. that treatment kinda sucks.

[puppyeared]

My rose coloured boy

[whiteshipnightjar]

random q but now that the strike it's over what andy project are you most excited about? for me its 42.6 years 🥹

yeah, i’m super excited for ‘42.6 years’. they’ve not started filming yet (possibly only next year) but andy + jean + that story combo is something that’s gonna be so goooooood. i can’t wait to see ‘lee’ too. it’s coming out soon (and someone in the us needs to pick it up so andy can get all the awards he deserves). and ‘self reliance’ is out in january too! he’s got some real gems up his sleeve… 😏 can’t wait for it all

[bookwyrminspiration]

kay so i work at a theatre (the weirdest one in the world imo) and tonight! we have a twilight themed burlesque performance that i knew you, the twilight mutual in my phone, had to know about. i can hear staying alive playing from the theatre as i write this. i feel like everything about this is perfect

the plot of twilight is edward desperately singing stayin alive at bella meanwhile she throws herself in the middle of every disastrous situation in a 100 mile radius and asks him to kill her

It always catches me off guard when I remember twilight was/is like. a whole phenomenon. and not just the weird book series I read like seven times over at age 13. I see other people say they've read it or see a reference in pop culture and my brain has to reboot because it simply does not make sense

you're right I had to know about this so ty for sharing; I hope everyone in the performance and audience had fun :)

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

im pretty sure this is not a popular opinion which is why i havent said it, but its been on my mind for months now so fuck it, i guess.

you know that post, the one about the barbie movie and margot robbie talking about barbie being a doll with no reproductive organs and sexual desire, and a lot of tumblr users just like, celebrating this as a win for asexuality?

i hate that post. a lot. like a lot a lot.

because while i dont think margot robbies conclusion is wrong (shes a doll), i think calling barbie asexual is inaccurate and it makes me, an ace person, uncomfortable.

like i dont think its a purposeful link, but that comparison very much implies that sexuality and sexual desire is tied to having reproductive organs, which uh no, thats not how that works and i really dislike that implication. idk about you, but i dont like tying my queerness to my biology.

that link is also one that rings of those who presume that there is a universal normative experience, which is also true of the movie itself, see jessie genders video on that. there are many people in the world who have what would be considered atypical reproductive organs and plenty whose reproductive organs can be considered not-working like those who have gone through the menopause, and they are not all ace.

its also just reductive as to what asexuality in general. margot robbies quote was specifically that barbie didnt feel sexual desire, and funnily enough, sexual desire =/= sexual attraction. while i, myself, be a sex-repulsed ace, there are plenty of horny aces who do the fuck. ive already mentioned the fact that im opposed to linking my queerness to biology, and honestly that part only made me more uncomfortable after the movie ended on "im here to see my gynecologist".

also just, barbie is a plastic doll. like thats how she starts in the movie itself. shes not asexual, shes a doll. and idk dude, theres just a part of me that is deeply uncomfortable with tying asexuality with a doll.

like imo, this just isnt the win for asexuality people were treating it as. we can do better than this.

especially considering the way queerness was handled in the film, but again, go watch jessie genders video on it, its better presented than my rambling post

[skimmeh]

.... Should I make haunted nowhere like ... interactive series somehow?

I really wanna but I'm not too sure how I wanna do it

(haunted nowhere being the sorta au fanseries I've been working on in the background, which is just my favourite characters to write but they start ghost hunting and supernatural shit happens ... Cos I love spooky shit)

[bigweldindustries]

uh oh I caved and bought a flipper zero

[silverselfshippingchaos]

I've been playing s.aints r.ow (2022) so much as of late!

(n.eenah looks so cool...)

CHECK OUT THE GANG ‼️‼️‼️ THEY'RE ALL MY BESTIES‼️‼️I wanna make an s/i just so she can be stupid with them!

This is my player character!

Her looks are obviously inspired by mine, with the skin color and the red glasses (wouldn't be me without my red glasses haha!), but we have some different features. There's also a red jacket because I wear my favorite red jacket a lot and that's the signature color of many of my s/is!

My player character is so fun and cool and I love her so much!

The friends are so goofy and funny!

[lady-ika]

sorry for the ex mormon rbs im having a minute

bc like. living where i do its easy to forget that everything ive experienced isnt like normal

and i dont feel as valid as like. other people bc i left once i was like 18 or 19 idr anymore and like ive managed to undo a lot of the .. programming ? habits? but sometimes they hit me out of nowhere anyway

[muppetminge]

look i'm not going to pretend like my generation didn't have models that weighed less than a bag of sand and airbrushing in the magazines and all that shit because we did and that was fucked up too

but i get so like. genuinely freaked out by like filters on social media and those kinds of things. it makes me worry for the girls who are growing up with these things as normal. i just can't help but feel like a filter that tries to *correct* your fucking face in real time must be so so so much worse than what we had? even just the "silly/fun" ones still smooth out your skin and shave off half your nose and reshape your face. so many phones have magic smoothing as an automatic feature on the front cams. so it's like not even an active choice or something you're aware of. and so much of this world is based on selfies and videos so you're gonna be seeing it *constantly*. you take a selfie for fun but the photo is unrecognisable. it's not you. if that's not a breeding ground for body dysmorphia i don't know what is.

and we knew that those "model standards" were unrealistic and unattainable and they still fucked us up! but today you're seeing your peers all made up like that online and logically that must connect into a feeling of like. that should be attainable? but it's still not! and idk but that can't be fucking healthy.

it just feels like to me there's a difference between seeing heidi klum or whoever and then your classmate maria posting pictures with perfect skin, straightened nose, whitened teeth. it's like the insane otherworldly standards we grew up with has been pulled down into everyday life. idk i just don't think it's coincidence that today we have 15 year olds sharing anti-aging routines and wearing 5 layers of makeup just to leave the house. the standards for a normal face has been digitally altered

[tracle0]

Heads down several across tag!

Thank you @scmalarky very cool I’ve not written anything in a long time 🙃

but! There are some things! I can share! Not quite seven lines but disappointment is a burden we must learn to endure.

-

There is nothing in their head to guide them out of the disapproving looks, and they hunch their shoulders, untangle their limbs, hope that maybe this time, this pair will act like normal people and understand their stance without them having to verbally explain it. The silence stretches. Clearly they are having no such luck, and they swallow awkwardly. “I was just going…” 

“To bed,” Nara suggests firmly. She is looking at Dannel. They can’t fully place her expression, but it almost seems smug. “Right now.”

“But -“

“And don’t let us hear another peep out of you until morning,” she adds. “Goodnight, Atlas.”

Not even the song can persuade them to argue against that tone. 

-

Cool that’s that. Lil. Short story of a younger Atlas. I wrote it last month maybe whilst on holiday.

Tagging uhhhhh god. @albatris @daisywords @polyaubergine @chauceryfairytales @joyful-soul-collector if you would like ?