#you appreciate it more cause the style is really kinda simple

[eatabledogy]

So I'm developing a new favourite interest-

[accio-victuuri]

BJYX - Thursday Madness ( 12/7/23 )

I don’t know what’s with this date that they both decided to attack us with updates. We were prepared for WYB, because the event was planned tho he still surprised us with some bits. I swear when I saw the alert on my phone for XZS update I was 🫢🫢🫢. They are both feeding us so well.

Here’s my attempt at doing a recap of the candies ( and other things ) we got today. This may not be all inclusive, I only added the popular ones being talked about.

let this lovely boy invite you in….

Our day started pretty early when WYB posted on his Weibo. All of the attendees of the event were actually sharing some pre show photos on their accounts and some of us were waiting what’s he gonna post. Everyone else were sharing professional photos but then WYB goes ahead and shares a b&w photo that tells us he is still in bed 😂😂😂 this bitch. I also feel like he didn’t want to shoot outside the exclusive “town” cause there are people going around and they may crowd if he does opening shooting. The night he arrived, 12/6, everyone saw Lele / Yanyan around but no WYB. So he was really trying to not be seen unless it was time for the show.

The photo itself is kinda mysterious tbh. It’s like something you can send to your s/o and be — “im waiting for you” HAHAHAHAHA! Tho I think for WYB he can send a more explicit one to XZ 🫢🫢🫢 So we get the PG version. What we noticed is the channel he is tuned in is CCTV 5. He said this in an interview with XZ, that when he is alone, he keeps the TV open with CCTV 5 and Volume 3. So he’s still doing it! Also, this was taken using his Leica M11 b&w. I feel so happy knowing that! He is still on his photography hobby. Too bad he couldn’t go around the venue cause i bet there are lots of sights to see. The Leica CPN is only getting stronger. ☺️ ( I have already talked about the Leica CPN at length, so just search it on my blog ). Side note, even if the photo was so simple it went on HS #7 lol. His power.

Then it was time for WYB to make his appearance and he didn’t disappoint. First of all, he was in YELLOW. BXG color. Yeah, it could be a stylist choice or whatever. But this is a clowning space and I think we are free to interpret it as a sign for us.

But what’s more glaring is his hat. It looks so much like the one he wore at CQL concert & fan meet. Also reminds us of the whole One Piece CPN between them ( the post i’m linking is a starter but there has been more examples since like this one ).

To be fair, WYB is someone who loves a good old hat/cap. from his bucket hats & caps — that is more for anonymity. It also extends to his performances like 11/11 finesse or the initial photoshoot for ROMW. What i’m saying is, we should not forget the fact that this is his personal preference as well and not entirely because of candy. Tho I have to say that the style is interesting. Why does it have to be so close to that? It’s like he is bringing us back memory lane.

WYB is honestly so beautiful today. He always is but there was something about his aura. He is chill. He was genuinely interested and i found it sweet of him, during the boat ride, he was clapping for Rocco, like applauding him for the event i guess. In the meantime, on Weibo, the top hot search were people criticizing the “boat” thing on GQ ( literally something like GQ boat embarrassment was the tag ) As soon as the live started it went on 1 or 2. I don’t know if Bobo saw that but I just like how he showed his appreciation to Rocco, and by extension, his team. That’s just my interpretation and it could be a completely different thing but knowing WYB, he is very generous with acknowledging people.

I also want to address another “candy” some cpfs are laughing about, it’s a fancam where Rocco moves to sit with WYB before the boat sailed and WYB smiled and said no. They were interpreting that as WYB doesn’t want Rocco to sit with him. Speculating that as he doesn’t want to get close cause ZZ will be jealous. But if you look at it, he was asked if he wants to switch seats. WYB declined. He was okay with his position. I guess some people have some beef with Rocco & GQ and that’s fine. However, what we feel about certain things is not the same as what the boys would feel. I also think that at this point, It’s in WYB’s best interest to have a good relationship with people in the industry. For example him attending 10c Starlight, even if a lot of his so/os hate Tencent ( and with good reason ok sure ). He is only extending his reach and it’s better to not burn bridges.

That got serious, so here, have some comparison between the gremlin in 2018 to now. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

I was cackling at the comments that they should have invited XZ so they can be paired up and quarrel for 9 mins 😂😂😂😂

NEXT UP IS GG’s VLOG. I don’t know why it slipped my mind, they usually post on Thursdays, but anyway —

The first thing is the BGM for the exercise section of the vlog Hans Zimmer/Richard Harvey《Preparation》 which was used in the 2015 movie The Little Prince. A favorite CPN symbol among us. Another glaring one is Uptown Funk. Hello. Bruno Mars? That’s WYB’s thing. Yes, ZZ has his own team who edits these but I am one of those that believes ZZ approves the final cut. He is also asked about certain choices cause let’s be honest — his suggestions matter cause he knows what looks good. He is a professional in that aspect too.

Next is his hand held fan! It’s the same brand but a different design. They finally upgraded!!!! 🥹🥹

This scene (p1) with ZZ’s fondness for leaning on railings and balconies. It reminds me of the fake rumor before that WYB hates it when he does that.

XZ has a habit of lying on the balcony guardrail in a daze. Sometimes on a higher floor, WYB feels unsafe and won’t let XZ get close to the guardrail. Except for shooting, XZ is prohibited from approaching the balcony guardrail.

I would have loved to get some more day to day bits of his vacation cause there is usually more candy in that. I want to see him roaming around, like this part, these two love to mimic what they see and take a photo beside it. Tho this is mostly GG’s thing. They really have the same braincell.

LASTLY, Let’s discuss XZS 🤝 YBO.

XZS starts talking about the hot wind, which is most likely talking about the weather in Singapore. But then minutes later, here comes YBO talking about a comfortable breeze. Lol. The the hot could also allude to that “summer” since WYB decided to remind us all with his photo and hat. Then YBO’s caption, drawing more attention to his hat, knowing that CPFs are clowning over it.

and what time did they post their last set for the day?? 00:38. These clowns. Zhan Bo. 🫢

Some are saying it’s out of character for XZS to post stuff like this when there is an event going on. For example today, the hot search is filled with talk about GQ. Which I can agree on to some degree, but his team have been posting mostly on Thursdays and they are already “due” for a vlog. However, when they have a vlog ready, the fans can usually see it on Weibo, we know that there will be something coming and i didn’t see any talk of that today. Or maybe i missed it? Others are clowning that this is his “answer” to WYB’s strong candy today, i personally don’t think so but it’s all good for us cause we have so much content!!!!! 💛

BONUS: this transition 👀👀👀👀. Their editors are dating!!!!!!

[kaekae-x0x0]

Welcome Home - Phantom of the Opera AU

Part 7/?

MASTERLIST HERE

A/n: I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! THANK YOU FOR THE CONTINUED SUPPORT WITH THIS!

Anyway- I’m really sorry for not being consistent with my posting. I try to post as often as I can but schools a massive pain, and I have my finals coming up… so I don’t think I’ll update this for a few days or so.

Now onto the story!

You and Howdy walked to the shop arm in arm after packing up your picnic. You didn’t feel the greatest, considering you lied to the only person who honestly wanted to help, but you would tell him about it… eventually.

You went into the guest bedroom to change to go to sleep, and you couldn’t help but stare in the mirror.

It wasn’t that you were looking at anything in particular, it just felt that somewhere, someone was staring at a mirror too, full of guilt for something they’ve done.

Knock knock knock

“Come in.”

Howdy came in and gave you a small wave with a familiar smile. He carefully sat down on your bed and invited you to sit with him.

You smiled and accepted the invite.

“Lovebug, I’m sorry to bring it up, but I want to talk.” He said.

“About what?”

“Look, I know we’re engaged, and the masquerade is coming up, but I don’t really feel comfortable letting the whole… well everyone to know about it.”

You nodded in agreement, “yeah, I’d like that too.”

He smiled as he gently took your hand as he stood up, he guided you over to an old style record player.

A song (playlist should be linked above) played from the speaker. You laughed as he put two hands on your waist (his other hand is on your waist on the other side.) and held your hand with one too.

You two began to slow dance around the room, laughing at every mistake YIU both made. Although Howdy always told you he had four left feet, he always seemed to step on your feet less often than you did to him.

You two lost your balance and feel to the ground, you both laughed.

Howdy stopped laughing and turned over to you.

“Darling I love you so much…”

You smiled as you took his hand, “Oh Howdy, I love you too.”

Howdy sat up, “I gotta wake up early to open up the shop…” he leaned over to give you a kiss, “I love you, my dear. Goodnight.” He got up and left, leaving the door cracked open.

“Goodnight Howdy.”

You turned out the lights and laid down on your bed, and just kinda stared up at the ceiling.

You tried to close your eyes to sleep, but all you could think of was Wally. His hair, his smile, his… mask.

Because you couldn’t sleep, you decided to see him once more, maybe last time was just a backlash, something he was overwhelmed about.

You left Howdy’s house and sighed.

“Why do I keep going back?” You asked yourself.

You reached out to open the door—it was locked.

You were surprised, it was never locked before…

You shrugged as you walked back to Howdy’s place.

“Maybe he’s still just a bit angry…” you pondered.

-Masquerade-

Just a fancy time skip because I don’t know when y’all’s birthdays are, just pretend the masquerade happens on your birthday cause that’s how I’m writing it.

The neighbors were planning this ever since you and Howdy got engaged. You both knew about it, but just never really put much thought into it.

Julie and Sally were put in charge, and boy did they deliver. The space was decorated with f/c colored EVERYTHING but it didn’t look crowded or tacky!

“I really hope you’ll like it!” Julie said to you.

“Like it? I love it Julie!” You replied, giving her a massive hug for her hard work.

Poppy ended up pitching in for you and Howdy’s costumes. She mainly stuck with masks with fancy embroidery, matched with simple yet elegant clothing.

Howdy looked absolutely stunning in his costume, and you felt absolutely amazing in yours, both of you were sure to give Poppy your appreciation.

Sally had the grand idea to come up with entertainment, which included some of Julie’s siblings to dance, and you to sing.

Sure enough, as the day turned to night, people started to come in from a town over ready to celebrate. Howdy wanted to talk to you beforehand, so you both stepped away from the crowds to have a conversation.

“I was thinking, and I think it would be best to make the engagement public.” He began.

“What? What about what happened months ago? What if he finds out?”

“But darling, you haven’t seen him for months… he could be gone.”

“We’re keeping it secret, I don’t want to risk it.”

“Why are you so afraid?” He asked stepping towards you.

You cowered downward in an act of defense. You took a deep breath and stood straight back again.

“Why is it now you’re arguing with me over this? We agreed to keeping it secret. Why change it now?”

“Because I want to let people know I love you, I want them to know I am somehow the luckiest man alive” he softened his voice and lightly touched your face.

You leaned away from his touch.

“I thought you would only follow through with something if it was what I wanted.”

“I want this. It’s always ended up being what you want in this relationship.”

“You told me you wouldn’t push me to do something I wasn’t comfortable with. You told me you wanted to keep me safe.” You stepped forward with every sentence, causing him to back off.

“…”

Tears began to burn in your eyes. You blinked to try to prevent yourself from crying.

“You know what… if you want to make it public, I don’t care. Put me at risk for him to find me again. It’s not like I care.”

You walked away, the tears finally falling.

[bluebrush09arts]

It seems like your art presence on social media has been causing you a lot of stress lately :( could it be wise to take a little break?

I'm not all that stressed by it in all honesty, I don't really even care that much if I have tons of followers or get hundreds of likes...

What I do care about is feeling like my content matters once in a while. Like people still give a damn about what I do so my efforts actually feel worth it. I cannot even begin to describe how utterly disheartening and discouraging it is to share art these days, how everywhere you turn they're trying to kill the thing you love to do and feeling like people don't care.

Art in any form is a medium that requires sharing to be seen, but nobody shares anymore, nobody comments or interacts anymore. It really and truly makes you wonder why you even bother. We put hours of our lives into creation, put a lot of passion and energy into it, to get nothing in return to make it feel fully satisfying. It honestly kinda hurts. But we keep trying and keep putting ourselves out there because we want to share what we do. Drawing for yourself is important, do what you do because it's fulfilling to you 100%, but again, art is for sharing, and a little positivity in return goes a long way. Especially with the whole of the internet actively trying to destroy your craft or steal your content.

Now none of this is a plea or a grab for attention, but I will say that a simple 'this looks great' can make or break some young artists whole day, it can inspire them for a whole week to continue to create. Even if you aren't necessarily interested in the content itself. It makes them feel seen and feel like people want to see more and see them grow. If a child shows you a drawing they did do you brush them off, or do you tell them they did a good job and put it where it can be seen? Feedback and encouragement are so incredibly important for growth and artists get none of it anymore, or very little from the same circle.

"Well is that a bad thing? It's better than nothing."

True. But we always want to reach out to more people, to pull them into a new thing that maybe they didn't know existed. They might end up finding their new favourite art styles or artists, you never know. We love to share and interact with people and gush about what we are doing, that's what art is, but our reach only goes so far, that's why we are basically forced to rely on the collective, because every algorithm and every website is hiding us from you. And day by day the collective drifts farther and farther into the "free content/mindless scrolling" mindset. Obviously there are those of you who don't, and we appreciate the hell out of you who do stick around or do leave a small comment. But is it wrong to wish for a little more? To feel like you are being seen and that your time and effort matters? To feel appreciated? Personally I don't think so. Comments can be hard, but we aren't asking for a deep analysis, just a simple 'good job' and maybe a share.

We want to continue to create and share, but we need those seemingly insignificant crumbs to keep the fire going.

[glitchyko]

I’m sorry I haven’t really been posting art lately, maybe beyond some simple sketches, I’ve been busy and things have been hectic lately, I do have things I want to make but life has been kinda rough-

But there is something’s I do kinda wanna address and maybe get some advice about it cause I’m not entirely sure how to deal with this issue even though it severely affects how I got about creating art and doing projects and such-

So, I have really untreated ADHD, and I struggle a LOT with executive dysfunction, especially when it comes to starting tasks, and actually finishing them, I have so many WIPs that aren’t past the sketch phase, once I get the sketching phase done I never come back to it, and sometimes I can’t even get myself to start the drawing, and i can’t get myself to draw if I’m “not in the mood” and it’s so frustrating cause I want to draw but I just can’t

A big issue I have when it comes to wanting to do things that wouldn’t be just a one time thing or a drawing that’s wouldn’t be a sketch is that I tend to really think about all the work I have to do, how much I have to think of, how long something will take, how much faster I need to work, do I have all the skills I need to do this, am I capable of doing this, can I work on this and other stuff at the same time, will it turn out good, etc and I end up scaring and unmotivating myself out of doing the thing I wanted to do, I have stories and projects and characters I want to tell and show and do but when I think of all the work I’d have to do I end up just, not doing it, this is why things I have shown and talked about here just, don’t go anywhere, and it gets really disheartening cause even though I want to do so much, I just can’t

And when I see artists who can make work quickly, get themselves to draw so easily, who don’t have to do so many different steps just to finish a mere sketch, I get frustrated with myself, I know I shouldn’t compare myself to others, but it’s so difficult, I’m a huge perfectionist to the point where if something doesn’t look good enough, I can’t work on it anymore and I end up abandoning the drawing

The last thing I want to bring up is style, there’s so many things I want to do with my art and how I go about drawing characters and such, but when I try doing what I want, it just, doesn’t look right or good to me, which probably stems from the perfectionism and comparing myself and my work to others. But there’s the also a problem of me deciding what do I really want to do with my art? Do I wanna go more stylized or realistic? How far do I wanna go with something? I just can’t decide because I don’t know if it’ll look good, when I see someone do something I think, “I wanna do that” and then I see someone else do something completely opposite of that and think, “I wanna do that” and I get so frustrated because I don’t know which one I want to actually do

But yeah, this ended up kinda devolving into a vent post, I apologize if I got a bit too personal, but these issues of mine have been on my mind for a long time, and I want to deal with them and get better. So I’ve finally decided to work up the courage to talk about them and ask for help and advice, which is why I’m making this post, if you have any ideas or advice on how to deal with these problems, even if it’s something small, please let me know, I would really appreciate it, thank you.

[empresskadia]

Spartan Relationship Headcanons [Naomi-010] [Part II]

Part I

I know for a fact that Phillips and you bond over the truth that Naomi is a beautiful goddess, after that he’s your bestie. Naomi is just happy you found a friend and doesn’t understand how it happened.

At the end of the day, Naomi has to stop you from bullying the ODSTs with BB, she doesn’t know why but you hit it off with BB right away and she’s worried about it, especially when she has to put BB in her armor because the AI calls her out.

“Well, well, [Y/n], it appears darling Naomi doesn’t appreciate our dynamic duo, how rude.”

In my head, for some reason, Naomi is fascinated by physical touch and this only started when she began dating her partner. It’s the little things she loves about it, you resting your arm in the crook of her elbow, intertwining your pinkie with hers, comparing your hand sizes against one another and she likes resting her head on your stomach or lap.

She’s also a sucker for getting her hair played with, it's such a simple form of affection that means the world to her. Naomi grows her hair out a little longer so you can style it, the current go-to is braids or a ponytail because they fit nicely in her helmet.

She actually gets flustered when you call her any form of Valkyrie but loves it when you call her, ‘your Valkyrie’. She didn’t really care for the nickname until you gave it a personal spin and a smile always tugs at the corner of her lips when you walk into a room, spot her, and say, "Well, well, if it isn't my Valkyrie."

If Mal hadn't witnessed this happen, he would’ve never believed Spartans could get flustered, cause Naomi had the faint pink on her cheeks and her mood visibly brightened. This man seriously stopped drinking his coffee and stared at you with his mouth hung open. 

BB is the snitch that tells the whole ship you two are in a relationship and he didn’t have to do you guys dirty the way he did.

Naomi is slightly upset about it and almost beefs with BB, her relationship has always been her own and yours. It’s the one choice she made herself and it’s sacred to her, especially if this happens early on before she’s had time to bond with everyone, Naomi feels so awkward and is even more upset for you. She’s seen Marines and ODSTs butting into their teams relationships and she doesn’t want that.

Before BB outed the relationship, Naomi likes to poke fun at the time you first heard Mal call her sweetheart and you had to do a double take like you hadn’t heard that right then gave Naomi a look that meant you could possibly throw hands. She had to talk you down before you did anything dumb. 

Naomi still ended up asking Vaz to read over her file, only because she thought you might view her in different light if you found out more than she had already explained to you. When Serin first told her about the Halsey journal, Naomi felt devastated and a sense of loss, she hid away in the Mjolnir compartment and you found her tinkering away at her armor, she didn’t even look in your direction, which was a sign something was wrong.

You sit silently with her until she’s ready to talk or it stops bothering her, which in this case she wants to discuss once she’s gathered her thoughts together and can properly explain to you what Serin told her. Naomi wants your opinion but it will be hard for her to accept if you talk bad about Halsey, so even if you have negative feelings about the Doctor, you need to understand her side and not let it get the best of you. If you don’t have any hard feelings about Halsey, Naomi’s more inclined to listen even if you say, “Yeah, hun um, that sounds kinda messed.”

This does start some fights between you, Vaz, and Mal. They don’t understand why you can be so calm about this whole Halsey thing and you think they are acting like children that need to keep their noses out of things.

Being lowkey upset with Serin for starting this whole spiral of a mess and some unkind truth are said on your part. Naomi had to step in before you crossed a line she knew you were running for. The captain and you did make up a few days later much to everyone’s surprise, Naomi assumed you were going to be salty for longer.

Mal thought Spartans were already terrifying on the field but nothing prepared him for Naomi’s reaction to when you got hurt during a mission. If what he saw was the equivalent of a Spartan losing their shit, he wonders why the Covenant never called them Devils. Serin had to order him and Vaz to bring you back to the ship and leave Naomi to calm down on the lines of them getting caught in the crossfire [if that’s what the captain could call ‘crossfire’ was Mal’s thought], the only thing he could tell Phillips was ‘there is a lot of blood.’

This point is further driven home when Naomi returns covered in a mix of fluids on her armor and chunks of stuff that Phillips doesn’t want to speculate on. He’s left in awe when the first thing she does is check on her partner and the tone of worry in her voice not matching up with the activities left on her.

Naomi is a huge nerd, she loves talking to her partner about her armor and all the upgrades she’s making or thinking about making. Ask her questions about what she’s doing cause it makes her so happy, if you manage to name certain parts or follow her train of thought, she’s in love all over again and you can tell when her eyes are seriously bright, they look like they have stars in them.

Talking about stars, one of your first dates was star gazing, and it continues to be so on anniversaries and other special occasions. Naomi is an astronomy nerd, so this is a perfect way to spend time together especially if you pack a picnic and spend hours outside with her. If you bring up the idea of getting matching star tattoos, she’s sold and she wants to do it right away.

When Kilo-Five finds out Naomi has a tattoo, they are surprised, especially Serin, she never would have imagined a Spartan getting inked.

If you aren’t on the ship, they are extra shook when she tells them it’s a matching constellation with her partner. The whole ship gets quiet and it takes them a few minutes to respond, Serin wants BB to give her a full report on this individual.

Naomi finds this amusing and calls you that night, if you aren’t on a mission or busy, to tell you. This is also how BB tracks you down to pull your records, he honestly listens to the entire conversation because he’s a snoop and marvelous at the tone of Naomi’s voice when she talks to you. It’s more soft and there is a hint of emotion in her tone that he can’t distinguish.

He ends up telling Serin that Naomi was quite taken with you.

[duckmine]

Hi, first off your art is absolutely stunning, it’s quickly taking over the “Bobs Burgers” folder on my phone. I love your art and your improvement is absolutely phenomenal, do you have any practices or exercises you did to improve your art skills? Thank you!!! 🍔

hi and thank you!! that genuinely means a lot! i’m honored to have my art taking over your bob’s burgers folder lol.

also yeah! i actually do have some methods that i used that really helped me improve my art! idk how much it shows but lately i’ve been trying to add more dynamic and perspective into my art! the help i got from getting that skill was through using the “box method” -

i don’t know if that’s what it’s actually called but it helps me build the body into placement when working with different angles. it’s also helpful to break down poses or whatever you want to draw into simple shapes- i learned this from watching a LOT of ethan becker’s tutorials since he’s worked in the animation industry and understands how to work with poses.

a more personal and not *widely* talked about practice that i’m actually kinda surprised about is that, i never draw in one style. and what i mean by this is, i’m not talking about artists who have like two or three artstyles based on mood or whatever; i draw in LOTS of styles that are not my own.

it doesn’t matter if it’s not perfectly accurate or by any means good at first, but it’s a great way to identify shapes in different molds of drawing. and it also helps you build on your ACTUAL style in the process and imput all the things you like seeing in others art into your own! however this is probably only a helpful trick if you’re more confident in your skills regarding basic anatomy and such. you don’t need to be a realism artist but if you struggle a lot with certain body proportions or identifying shapes in art in general then it’s better to practice that before you start experimenting with styles.

also, and this is more from an emotional well-being standpoint but, i think it’s important to put yourself in a good mood before drawing too. i think lots of artists get frustrated when drawing because they feel a big lack in confidence with their skills and in my eyes this may cause some of the stagnation that occurs when trying to improve. if you focus only your love and appreciation towards your art and forgive yourself for not always getting certain things right, you’ll feel a whole lot better and your mind will be much more clear and focused when trying to work forward instead of backward. and you’ll feel a lot happier drawing in general.

so yea, those are the main things that helped me in my art progress! i hope these help you, and if not then don’t feel bad. some techniques work better on others and the best you can do is keep experimenting and to just have fun!

[vote-gaara]

I'm no art major so I might have a hard time explaining what I mean...But tbh I just miss Kishimoto's old art style, especially in the first couple volumes.

It just felt like the characters were less "boxed in" and ridged, as if they had to compete with the background detail to be eye catching? Like it felt as though the characters had a story going on, but you could look passed them and see the details of their environment and make up your own implications about what else is going on around the people you're supposed to be "watching?"

It was so easy to gleam details about the world, and realize that all the settings in the series are a living, breathing place where you - the reader - are just following one of the numerous other stories that are going on at the exact same time.

Then you can make headcanons about technology, locations and different citizens cause the details are right there.

It made it feel that the characters weren't just rooted in their surroundings, but like the environment itself was a character that was worthy of appreciation and interest. Like all the details Kishimoto put in those beginning volumes made me legitimately care about Konoha, and made me feel like I had a personal stake in it.

Like why should I care about some dumb fictional village? Just because the main character cares about it?

Oh, actually it's because it's because it's freaking gorgeous and looks like a place that I want to go visit.

And honestly, even something as mundane and simple as a salt shaker on a table while Naruto is eating with Iruka in Chapter 1 is so visually appealing...It mean that Kishimoto cared enough about his settings to show you - to remind you - that this is a setting that exists somewhere. This place is important. It's worthy of detail and care because there's a whole other layer of world building behind the conversation Naruto and Iruka are having. It's just honestly so blessed and I love it.

Plus, I enjoyed how dialogue wasn't always hard lined into textboxes. I miss when someone was thinking something and it was small little words beside their head, or the words bent or warped based on how the character was supposed to be saying them. It was more charming and made me feel for Naruto and the other characters because sometimes saying something legit feels like there's weight to them, or they quiver a bit, or they're under your breath, or...

This kinda became a rant, but yeah...I'm missing that old style and the love Kishimoto put into the very early days of Naruto. I also want to add that I'm not knocking the later style, because it is still a really appealing manga to look at, but it's just not as charming as it used to be. Plus, I understand how style changes based on how technology is utilized by artists, and I understand that Kishimoto had a lot of crazy time restraints when Naruto was coming out weekly. I don't blame him for not putting as much detail and thought into the background as he used to...even though I did get bored of seeing rock and barren landscape in the war arc (lol).

I guess I'm just glad that I can go back to those original volumes and embrace those gritty, charming and breath takingly detailed settlings that went hand and hand with the characters in making me love this series, and reminded me that this fictional place is something to care about and explore.

[skz-streamer]

Hello! I was scrolling through your post (all your stories and post are fire🔥) when I came across your potential murder series when so many ideas came to my mind! My first thought was that they were secret agents under the agency JYP where they worked together to find this other group (any group outside of JYP) who had done something wrong (I don’t have an idea off the top of my bed of what they did wrong). In this story idea all the entertainment companies in real life are like enemies (ex: JYP and YG are enemies) and all the groups under the same company are allies (ex: Skz and Itzy are allies and work together).

That was what first came to mind and if you are interested I have more ideas it continue the story and if you aren’t then I can come up with a different plot for the story if you still need inspiration!

Don’t be afraid to tell me if you don’t like my ideas or need more inspiration, you are the one writing the stories so the last thing I want is for you to be uncomfortable!

You have a gift for writing and I am glad you are embracing it. Every writer goes through writer’s block and trust me I know what it feels like. If you are not excited to write another part of your story or you feel like you don’t enjoy doing it you need to find what you enjoy writing and embrace it! You know when you find what you love when you can’t wait to write another chapter and you personally love the story! You need to enjoy writing it as much as your readers will LOVE reading it!

Anyways, sorry for the whole writing lesson but I can’t have my favorite writer not enjoying writing her own stories!

Message me in our chat with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Sincerely,

Your American buddy and #1 fan

Oh my god. I’ve made it in life. Words can’t explain how grateful I am to you. As a writer who literally just started like a month ago I appreciate the support so much :) like insanely. And thank you for the writing lesson🤧 it was really sweet of you to do that ❤️

For the murder story I actually was thinking of a non idol kinda au…but you’re cooking up something there…. I would love it if you reached out to me with more details (you’ve roped me in)

Thank you so much for the sweet compliments!!! I will say I change up my writing style A LOT. I really put a whole college typa effort into the first chapter of A Lost Cause, like grammar to description. And I think while doing that I lost the spark of writing it, it was like I was taking it to seriously. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get myself to write chap two sooner?

I will say that chap two of A Lost Cause and other fics being posted will have different styles, I’m kinda just  experimenting 😅. They’ll be a little more simple in terms of grammar n stuff, almost like fun little drabbles :) i hope me changing my style a little doesn’t change ur opinion about my writing❤️

THANK YOU!!!🥰🥰🥰

Sincerely,

Your (also) American buddy and #1 writer :)

[risu5waffles]

EXCUSE ME? No one was gonna tell me it was TEN yesterday?

Honestly, y'all just left me hangin' out to dry there. i still love you, but i'm holding on to these cupcakes. [ed.'s note: risuko has no cupcakes]

It's like JplusK made this level expressly for me. Just look at that puppet! Look at it! Seriously, tho', the level is cute wivout being twee, and quirky wivout being overbearing. It's got that over-large, heavy angled build style i love so much. It's expansive, but moves along quickly enough it doesn't feel like it was overstaying its welcome. The power-up introduces a fun gameplay mechanic that can be a little challenging, but not so much you find yourself questioning why. i could have maybe done wivout the fart jokes, but that's just 'cause i'm such a classy gal. But that's really my only complaint, and it's not so frequent as to be too off putting. i tried another of JplusK's levels to see if this was a one-off, or their general idiom, and unfortunately that one, while it looked neat, was heavily focused on doing... clever things wiv jetpacks that may, in fact be clever if you're good at it, but mostly wound up being frustrating to me in the end. There might be a physics difference in there too, but i'm more than willing to say it just didn't click wiv my skill set.

We talked about this last week, and it continues to be what it is, tho' as of writing it continues to be what it is wiv the addition of a pink ribbon. It's nice to know i called it in my review.

This is just a giveaway level for some logic bits we got screwed out of in LBP3, because someone at Sumo forgot (i'm being charitable here) to enable the tutorials that would unlock them. It leaves me pretty salty, tho', seeing as they were part of the DC and Move Pack DLCs; like if you spent money on those, you should be able to get the lot of it, you know? Not that Sumo seems to really care.

We took a play through chairoCAT's CAT RESTAURANT way back in LittleBite-sizedArchive #137, but this one is a very different kettle of fish. Instead of a tightly contained series of minigames, we've got a quite expansive pseudo-underwater platformer that is a lot of fun (even if it gets a touch long in the tooth by the end). But the red thread between the two is the presentation. Highly detailed, wiv a lot of charm. All the little fish you interact wiv are just cute as buttons, and it really elevates the whole affair. Those porkypine fish, tho', gods but i could die. This one's really, really good.

i played this one for the old review show waaaaaay back in the day, and just fell in love wiv it. The gameplay really isn't much of much, but it's far more interested in showing off Kimuko's chops in environmental design and custom stickering. Seriously, the art here is just something else. i wish i could say the same about the music selection; i get what they're going for, and i don't not appreciate it, but gods i just hate every single one of the 50's pop tracks. Easily (personally speaking) the worst part of LBP3's story mode. Which is a total shame, because the Manglewood levels have some of the nicest level design in the game. Not directly related to anything, but i've played this level a bunch of times at some very different periods in my life, and not once have i been able to not make friends wiv the AI. It's just impossible. i challenge you to do it. Go ahead and break her poor heart. You monster.

This one'd actually been suggested by a viewer ages ago, and it just slipped my mind, and would have continued to slip my mind if they hadn't reminded me. i'm glad they did, 'cause i had a blast wiv it. Some really inventive mixing of gameplay and simple, physics/mechanics-based puzzles. This was definitely an unexpected gem for me.

Oh my gods, you can hear me coughing, because i didn't realize the PScamera had a mic on it. At least i wasn't swearing or anything. There were a couple of neat ideas in this one; the time slow-down was a cool effect, but ultimately it was just kinda ok? Like, not a bad level, i don't want to give that impression; but there's not much in the presentation to really sink your teeth into, and the gameplay is, for the most part, pretty standard for an LBP2 level. i certainly don't regret the time i spent wiv it, but i don't really think it's going to stick in my memory all that much.

i adored this level. There's just so much great detail work going on. The gameplay can be a bit fiddly sometimes, but it should be pretty clear at this point that a strong presentation will win me over almost every time. i hate that you can hear me coughing again here. i must have recorded this right after the last one. Also, holy crap, but am i loud on the controller. Like you can hear the button presses, and that can't be good for hardware longevity.

No matter how long it looked in the mirror, it remained Taser Temple.

It is super impressive that tyrew12 managed to pull off this animation in game, but it's such a shame that LBP's audio compression just takes a steaming turd all over the actual song. That's been a problem since 2, so i can't throw shade on Sumo for that for once. Still it's worth a watch because the level is quite a feat.

-----------------------------------------------------

And that's our ten this go about. Some real good ones in the mix, that's for sure. i am so, so tired tho', and i need to sleep. Before i crash, some fun(?) useless trivia. i made some subplaylists for folx who're interested in stuff from just one game, and it turns out the 226 levels we've played so far 48 have been from LBP, 92 from LBP2, and 86 from LBP3. The LBP2 numbers don't surprise me much, but i honestly thought LBP and LBP3 would have been flipped. It just felt like i was spending a lot of time wiv the really old school stuff, but clearly that's not hardly the case. i'm going to have to do a binge it seems. Anyhoot, i really am beat, it's Sunday, and that's always my chores and errands day on top of a full day of work. Didn't even get my curry made, it's gonna have to be tomorrow morning, 'cause i just have nothing left in the tank, and i still got to get my head shaved up. Hope you're all taking care of yourselves out there and staying safe. Love ya!

[the-bluerecluse]

Alphas and Betas Keeping Omegas Safe - CH. 1

MHA- Dekubowl (Deku x everyone (but really just Deku x Class 1a minus Mineta cause he got expelled or something idk fuck him)) | SFW Omegaverse

Summary: Izuku Midoriya, one of the few omegas to ever make it into the hero course, has seen his fair share of sexism. He did grow up quirkless AND omega, after all. One day while out and about, he has a run in with some organization... ABKOS. They talk big about wanting to keep omegas safe, but what does that really mean? | LINK TO THIS ON AO3 (incaseideletethisoffmytumblroneday)

SFW Angst/Fluff

ive been editing and re-editing this over and over and i just need to get this out and post. i recently got sfw omegaverse brainrot from two really good series ill link below that this is heavily inspired by. this is all gonna be sfw and imma make into a whole damn series im so obsessed with this concept. this is all my longest ever completed chaptered fic i think?

inspiration: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1539151 // https://archiveofourown.org/series/1701352

Warnings: kidnapping, sexism, implied terrorism, hate group, bigotry, hospitalization, torture?? kinda??,

---

The first encounter he'd had with ABKOS... It was after the sports festival but before they had moved into dorms.

Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida were on a little shopping trip, stopping at a grocery store nearby for snacks. It was a fun trip full of chatter and smiles. They discussed what they wanted for the future and as heroes, what they thought of their classes and teachers, and even what funny videos they'd been watching recently. It was great.

Well, it was, until a couple members of ABKOS made an appearance.

"They're rumors of Ryukyu doing a team-up mission soon. Who do you think she'll team up with? A long range fighter or a speed-type hero?" Midoriya chatted idly as he looked at a new brand of chips. He wasn't usually one for snacking but a treat was nice, plus Aoyama had recommended it. Their tastes didn't usually overlap but it was worth looking into.

"Ryukyu's so cool! I love her style!" Uraraka responded, peeking over Midoriya's shoulder to look at the snack. "She's already pretty fast. Maybe someone who can do things in small spaces? Her quirk's not really good for that."

"You. You're that omega hero student everyone's talking about."

Midoriya looked up from his snack. To his left, two people approached. From their smells, both were alphas. One was shorter than the other, with darker hair while the taller one had lighter hair and some type of horns, most likely a quirk. Both were wearing shirts with some sort of logo on them. It was a simple white graphic of an omega symbol combined with a peace sign. Below it read A.B.K.O.S.

Uraraka and Iida tightened their gaze on them. What did his omega status have to do with anything?

"Um. I-I guess?" Midoriya offered a nervous smile.

"You're not even wearing a collar in public, huh?" The taller one sneered.

Midoriya stiffened. A collar? Was he letting out too much scent?

"He doesn't have to wear a collar if he doesn't want to." Uraraka was quick to defend.

"He shouldn't have any say it. Are you his packmate?" The shorter spoke in an infuriatingly calm tone. It wasn't mean or aggressive, it was as if he was calmly informing them of facts.

The three students balked. Iida regained his composure quicker than the other two, though don't be fooled, he was positively fuming, and responded. "We are not pack. Though we don't appreciate your comment either way."

"Yeah, Deku doesn't belong to anyone!" The beta added, more obviously angry than Iida.

"You're an alpha, surely you smell him, right?" The taller one looked at Iida like he was the only one making sense. "Flaunting his scent and that body like we're all just supposed to ignore him?"

"How dare you!" Uraraka exclaimed.

"Come on, it's just common sense." The taller one scoffed. The other gestured to the logo on his shirt.

"We're a part of ABKOS. Alphas and Betas Keeping Omegas Safe. We just want omegas to be safe, and they're safer wearing collars." Again, the annoyingly peaceful tone.

Uraraka had fire in her eyes and seemed ready to act. Iida put a hand on her. "We will be taking our leave now." He looked over his shoulder to his fellow students and spoke in a quieter tone. "Ignore them."

The taller ABKOS member didn't seem to appreciate that. "Don't ignore the truth, you brats."

"Yeah, we're just looking out for omegas. It's your generation that's destroying tradition and keeping omegas where they shouldn't be."

Uraraka grabbed onto Deku's arm and pulled him out of the store with Iida lagging behind to put himself between them and the ABKOS members.

"What a bunch of creeps! Talking to us like that. Talking to Deku like that!" Uraraka ranted as they left the store.

Midoriya rubbed his hand absentmindedly over the scars on his other hand. He hadn't said anything since one of them mentioned collars, then it was all downhill from there.

Omega.

He should be used to that by now right? All through middle school... "Quirkless Omega" made him into a bright red target. Insults, beatings... and... stuff he doesn't want to think about ever again.

He should be used to his secondary gender making him a target.

But... maybe a part of him thought that adults would be better. That part of him was clearly holding out hope for nothing.

It would always be this way.

"Don't let them get to you, Deku." Uraraka nudged his shoulder with a smile. "It's just two people. The world isn't like that anymore."

Midoriya offered a small smile. "Yeah."

...

Midoriya arrived at home and suddenly realized he never got any snacks because of what happened. With a sigh, he waved a hello to his mom as he made his way to his room. His mind kept coming back to something.

ABKOS... it was sticking in his head. ABKOS.

What in the world was ABKOS? An organization for keeping omegas safe? And why were they acting like that? Did they honestly believe the things they were saying?

He pulled out his phone and looked it up.

The first result. ABKOS - Alphas and Betas Keeping Omegas Safe

He clicked, expecting some news report about a terrible group of backwards thinkers. Instead, he was taken to their official site. It was a whole organization.

The banner at the top had a picture of two taller people with a much smaller person wearing a collar and... bracelets? They were all smiling. Beside it read "Alphas and Betas Keeping Omegas Safe - Let's return to a traditional time where Omegas were kept safe at home."

Midoriya winced. How was this an official organization? How were they getting money? How were they getting support?

Then he saw just below the banner. "Over 1 million members around the globe!"

One. Million. Members?

That had to be a lie right? Surely there's not a million people who agree with this? Who are okay with this line of thinking?

Below the banner and tagline seemed to be a feed of news stories and calls to actions. The one at the top made Midoriya's eyes widen.

"Boycott U.A. for letting an omega be a hero!"

The text beneath the headline. "The famous UA high, a school for aspiring heroes, has allowed a small omega boy to train to be a pro. You can see in the clips from the sports festival of the poor child hurting himself with his quirk. Omegas were not meant to be heroes or to be put in any kind of danger. History has taught us... (Click to read more)"

To the side were links to their official accounts on many well-known social media. How these platforms allowed this group to have official accounts, Midoriya had no idea. There was a link to become a member or to renew your membership. At the bottom was a picture of many smaller people wearing those collars and bracelets, all smiling. There was a caption. "All omegas deserve to be happy and safe."

At the top were links for donations, volunteer opportunities, employment options, and an about section.

Midoriya clicked the 'about' section.

"ABKOS is a worldwide organization dedicated to keeping omegas safe and happy and returning to a more traditional time where genders were better understood. Omegas are biologically frailer and in need of care. They must be loved and cared for at home so they may be happy, safe, and raise the next generation of pups into the world.

"In this modern society, young omegas are brainwashed into believing they should engage in careers or activities made for alphas or betas and actively put themselves in dangerous and stressful situations which they were not built to handle.

"We take in injured and sick omegas and help heal them in our state-of-the-art facilities and help them find packs of their own. We have medical and psychiatric professionals ready to help any omegas in need."

Below was a 'Technology section'.

"We have worked closely with Gamma Laboratories to design the next step in collar technology: The O-Collar and the O-Bracelets. Designed to keep out 99% of scents, these stylish accessories will give your omegas a sense of pack pride and self confidence as well as keep their smells from attracting others. Order the Electro-O-Collars and bracelets and be able to give your Omegas a small harmless shock when they may engage in something dangerous for them or your pack. Guaranteed to help guide your Omega into a better headspace!"

Shock collars? Like animals? What the Hell was with these people? How was this even legal?

Midoriya felt tears in his eyes. These people... They wanted him in shock collars and to be used like a breeding machine. What was wrong with the world?!

"Izuku? Dinner's ready!" His mother called.

Midoriya sniffed and wiped his eyes. He shouldn't be reading stuff like that. It was only going to make him upset. So he closed the tab on his phone and left for dinner to leave it all behind him.

[snapper-remastered]

☕howsabout epithet?

yeayea this was inevitable alright ahem so EPITHET--

(pspsps hey this got really long so its under a readmore. im not sorry)

im so so so so attached to epithet erased you have no idea. i got into it in one of the MOST formative years of my life (the year of the devil 2020) and it's one of the only things in a long while that i've ever been hardcore invested in. it's been three years since it released and i still have my heels buried in the dirt just as firmly as i did three years ago, i think this just might be permanent like my multiverse interest!

well, first of all, the show is really good. the writing is charming, the characters are goofy and fun, and the animation has only grown on me over the years. to be completely honest, the animation threw me off hard when i first watched it, i'd never seen the paper-doll like style ee has before and i don't think i've ever seen it since. i ignored it at first in favor of the story, but now that i'm thoroughly engrossed in the show i can now say that it's endearing. i think the fact that it was made on a shoestring budget just heightens my enjoyment of the show cuz now because i can just tell people that the show was made with a single penny and a piece of lint. also-- the narration and cutaways into the overhead shots with character portraits!! those threw me off just as hard if not harder than the actual animation itself, iunno they just kinda took me out of my immersion initially and

i still sorta feel the same still but i dont mind them nearly as much now that im just used to it lol. i do appreciate the overhead shots for being a simple and easy way to read what the hell is going on at a given moment, especially during action.

the characters are the real highlight though. they made me look past ALL of epithet's weird quirks and that's very impressive cuz i've dropped shows for less before. i don't know what exactly makes them so charismatic so i'll just tell y'all bout my favorite characters;

ZORA SALAZAR - HAI. don't look at me. you may see this character on this list and go "oh snapper is this because you're gay snapper huh you're gay at cowboy?" and first of all i'd tell you to shut up and secondly i'd concede that you're correct BUT THERE'S MORE TO THIS CHARACTER THAN THAT-- i think outta all the characters i think she's the one that is the most emblematic of the setting. i don’t mean this in a way that disrespects the other characters, i just think her specific motivations of ridding the world of epithets because of the unfair world it causes is fascinating! it adds a lot of worldbuilding to the series! she’s also genuinely just so much fun to have on screen, she’s absolutely hilarious. she’s immensely expressive, her bombastic personality and her ability to switch from silly to serious at the drop of a hat keeps her interesting, and her dynamic with percy and ramsey really sold it tbh i think the redwood trio all around was just solid. 

yeah that’s the end of the list lmao she’s my favorite. 

as amazing as the show and characters are, the overall reason why i’m so stuck on this show is because of the fandom. i was able to join just as the fandom was forming and reaching its peak and it was amazing? the tumblr community was so big but also so close-knit at the time that it genuinely felt like a community. i’ve made so many friends here and they all influenced me so much that it’s almost kind of cheesy. there’s so much sentimental value here and i don’t think its impact will ever truly leave my life. i joined tumblr JUST to see more ee content and oh boy i sure did see more ee content. 

anyways yeah! this got really long lol hope u had fun reading this pseudo-essay 

[pattywagon2go]

Train Talk Tuesday

Train Talk Tuesday: As promised, this will be my short little retrospective on Thomas and Friends, as every train fan has an origin, and by far for me it was here. I want to take a look back on memory lane to see what I watched as a kid, along with some thoughts with what I think of everything that came after I stopped watching. Strap yourselves in, for the train is now leaving the station. Next stop: Ummmmmm, something something discussion LETSAGO!

As far as I can remember, I started watching sometime in the late 2000's-early 2010's, which makes sense as I was still a kid then. By that time, Thomas was well past it's heyday with good eps, and instead you had the filler crap HIT was dishing out. But as a simple-minded kid, I didn't really care. I just liked the show cause it featured trains, and trains were something I was obsessed with back then.

Despite HIT making eps back then, I still regularly watched classic era eps thanks to the Blockbuster movie rental shop near my place. As for which seasons I watched, it was a bit of a tossup of Seasons 2-7, with some HIT era seasons thrown in as well for good measure. I do remember that I didn't like how the show used models, since cartoons like SpongeBob were animated, so I was always kinda confused by how the characters didn't move themselves, and they were narrated vs being fully voice acted, akin to when the show went to full CGI. Now that I'm much older, I definitely appreciate the show for it's different style compared to what a lot of newer stuff was doing at the time. Most kids programming was using 2D animation, and hell Nickelodeon was a major pusher for CGI animation in the 2000's, even when the CGI didn't exactly age well. It's kinda impressive that HIT chose to stick with models vs. just following what everyone else was doing at the time. Now I won't say this style didn't have flaws, because it did, most notably when the narrators really didn't give it their all in the ep, like Alec Baldwin during Season 6-7.

I think what really resonated with me as a kid was how these trains felt very real, in a sense. Yeah, they got faces and can talk, but there's still a grounded element of reality to it. You don't see them jump off the rails or use rocket boosters to fly and do crazy shit. You see them doing things actual trains would do, like move passengers, move freight, shunt, etc. Where I lived then, and where I still live now, I don't see a lot of trains, and back then I didn't know YouTube was a thing, so this was my only way to get any kind of exposure to trains. And you bet your ass I loved every second of it.

I did eventually grow out of Thomas and Friends, and for a time I kinda grew out of trains in general. But for Thomas, I don't think that was really a bad thing, cause oh man did the episodes start to suck after a while.

I'm firmly in the camp of "The writing took a nosedive after Season 7", mainly due to HIT basically dumbing down the show to kids like me when I watched it, and in the process the show just got more bland. I stopped really watching Thomas after my local Blockbuster closed down, which at the time was upsetting since Misty Island Rescue had just come out, and I wanted to watch it. Looking back, yeah I'm glad I didn't, cause holy shit did that special suck. It sucked so hard that it's unbelievable. I think that even as a kid I would have been offput by it, especially since I loved the previous special, Hero Of The Rails. What a way to kickoff CGI, with a good special and the worst special in Thomas history back-to-back.

I will say CGI wasn't 100% bad, it did get better once Andrew Brenner stepped in as head writer following Mattel buying out Thomas and Friends. Having an actual fan of the show writing was such a good sign of things to come. And yeah, lots of good stuff came from this era of Thomas and Friends. It wasn't all good though, the characters did get butchered during this time, something that I chalk to Mattel's interference. But it did seem to be going well for a time, surely nothing bad happened that basically sealed the show's fate...

F U C K .

Ok, so if it wasn't obvious enough, I am a massive critic of Big World, Big Adventures. I think it's easily one of the worst specials in Thomas history, and the reboot of the show that came afterwards effectively destroyed the years of progress Andrew Brenner had worked so hard to build. Worse still, the movie was Andrew's last involvement with Thomas before he left the writing team entirely. The dark times had come at last for Thomas.

Now BWBA is something that could deserve it's own post on another Tuesday, but here's a general summary of my issues with the reboot:

Incredibly surface-level and stereotypical international episodes

The really dumb fantasy segments

Overblown and overdetailed lighting and animation

Loss of any kind of semblance of realism, with how the engines can flex their bodies and how the engines weigh basically nothing

Casting Henry and Edward to being cameo characters only for basically no reason

Henry and Edward's replacements known as Rebecca and Nia being incredibly badly written characters

And probably a lot of more stuff I'm missing. In the meantime this is a good video about what BWBA got wrong and why:

And to think this whole reboot existed mainly cause Mattel got desperate to get the Thomas brand to be profitable again, without realizing that it wasn't the show being unappealing to children that was killing Thomas, it was their absolute inept management of the Thomas brand that was killing it. A good example being how the toy sales were slumping and Mattel was wondering why without realizing that this was cause they were cheaping out on the toys, so no one wanted them.

Case and point (taken from video above):

And even disregarding the toys, Mattel continued to absolutely manhandle Thomas in ways that just leave you dumbfounded as to how did any of this get approved by management.

Another good example was when Mattel got Thomas and Friends on Nick Jr., a show that you have to PAY for, and they got it on a Monday at 12 timeslot. They got it, on a timeslot, when kids are in school. You can't get any dumber than this.

Now as for what came after this dumpster fire, we actually wouldn't know for a good bit of time. One thing was certain though, we weren't getting a Season 25. But near the tail end of 2020, we finally got a peek at what was coming next, and it really didn't look good...

Yeah, so that's totally reassuring...

Now I'm going to say right here I don't have any kind of opinion on All Engines Go, as it's called, as I don't watch it. But looking back, oh man people were pissed. Some people thought this was a joke at first, that it wasn't real. But it was real, as evidenced by how you can watch it now. Oh, and the in-progress intro was actually leaked onto the internet, making Mattel strike any video that featured it to cover it up.

From what I've seen, it's very much a departure from the traditional Thomas and Friends formula and it's more just a cartoon for young kids to watch, so I really don't have much to say about it. I've heard some generally good things about it, but I'm not bothered to really watch it.

It's worth noting though that Mattel once again landed themselves in severe hot water when, during a lawsuit, they said plainly that it wasn't in their best interest to support the autism community, despite a character in AEG, Bruno, being on the autism spectrum.

(Original tweet is now gone)

I'm not going to get into this as I myself am not on the spectrum in any way, and this happened in February, so talking about it really has no merit now, but you bet this set the community on fire. May Mattel burn in Hell for eternity when they die.

So, concluding thoughts?

Overall, Thomas was that main spark for my love with trains. I was fascinated by how these props on a screen brought the magic of trains directly to me as a kid, and even as an adult I still appreciate it for what it's done in helping foster that love of trains when I was young. Nowadays, the show's definitely not what it used to be, but I think that it can still foster a love for trains in the newer generation. And that's all I ask for in the end.

[thequietdoll]

For the artist ask thing

1 2 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 17 21 22 23 24 27 28?

[LINK TO ASK]

1. Art programs you have but don't use

-- Paint Tool Sai (I need to get my brushes back and figure out how to turn it to dark mode so I don't get flash banged every time I want to use it)

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

-- depending on the angle but mainly front facing

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

-- 50/50 if I like it a lot I'll post it

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

-- I don't think so

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

-- traditional and pixel art cause you guys are really cool when it comes to that stuff

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in

-- the stained glass projects of the Fatal Frame/Project Zero I had a lot of fun, and I should redraw all of them and start on the 5th one if I remember/have any motivation to do so

9. What are your file name conventions

-- normally what I'm working to be the title of the post or if it's for like inktober what day I'm on

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

-- skirts unless it's pleated then I take forever to get it right

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

-- either manlybadasshero, markiplier, or JSE. Let's play if I'm not listening to any old music playlist

12. Easiest part of body to draw

-- this is gonna sound typical, but eyes

14. Any favorite motifs

-- if I can, I'll add little shapes in the eyes, hi lights, but if I know that a character is like the sunshine character, I'll either add yellow/orange to them either it be a physical item or lighting or I'll put a warm overlay on them if I can

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth)

-- I don't draw in public hell I hardly even stream anymore

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what

-- tea mainly I tend to take a break when I eat/make a meal

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

-- The comic(?) Cheese in trap, I need to finish it, but I love the art style it's so simple

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any

-- I sadly don't I need to before I end up with more health problems

23. Do you use different layer modes

-- Soo many it would make a color theorist cry

24. Do your references include stock images

-- Yeah, especially some poses that I can't take myself

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

-- no, but I really need to do that as well

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines)

-- like one zine, if you don't count egoweek/Septictober or anything like that, it was fun. I want to do it again, but with drama around it, i kinda don't want to anymore

[whitherwordswither]

Logs from the Starfields, V

Captain's Log #0.05:

This mornin' I took a few contracts from the Trade Authority job board. The first one is a simple in-system delivery from New Atlantis to a small settlement over on Gagarin.

It's a quick drop. This place used to manufacture mech parts back in the day. Man, it would be pretty cool to get up close and see a fully working mech. Don't know why they went out of style. Always thought they was neat.

The shipyard here has a spiffy gal, the Murasame. I'll have to compare 'er to the Shieldbreaker back on Atlantis 'cause… well. Now I got choices and I don't know which'n I want more! I do like Mura's colors more than the Shield's. But… ultimately it's gonna come down to specs. But I still got a bit more credits to earn before I need to make that choice.

One of the other contracts I picked up, a bounty, is in-system as well so I make my way over to Curbeam, one of the moons of Bondar.

Decided to hail a random UC ship flying by as I entered orbit. Small galaxy! It's the captain I helped out on Altair II. What a nice surprise. She even gives me another gift. A nice lookin' Osmium Dagger. While I ain't one for hand-to-stabby combat, I appreciate the gesture. We part ways and I touch down at an abandoned hangar on Curbeam.

Pirate Cleanup. Not a bad gig if you've got the tools for it. And I've picked up quite a few tools finely calibrated to allow me to do the job that needs doin'. It's kinda like haulin'. Sorta. Maybe… whatever. Hah. I mop the hangar up and scav what I can. Easy peasy.

I do a quick scan of the surrounding area. There are a couple points of interest. I saw a ship land not too far off so I head in that direction. Another abandoned facility! What luck. A weapons facility, too. Only problem is it's crawlin' with bots and Ecliptic asshats. Well. I'll just consider this bonus pay!

There are quite a few Master level locks here I'll need to remember if I ever decide to come back this way. If it's behind that tight of security, there's gotta be somethin' good inside, yeah?

After scoping out another abandoned facility of no importance I hop back in the Frontier and boost off. There's one more contract to take care of in this system over near Chawas, a moon of Olivas. Spacer scum sure like their moons, don't they?

I head back to New Atlantis. Apparently too early. All my shops have yet to restock. Which, yeah I get it. I do kind of tend to waltz in with loot-for-days and have been consistently clearing them out of credits. So I grab another contract from the Trade Authority board. A simple delivery run out to Cheyenne. Taking a stock of electro-plated wafers to Waggoner Farm.

You know what are weird lookin' critters? Blummox'. That's all I'ma gonna say there.

Since I'm in the system, I jet on over to Akila to check in with Keoni. See if them modules she had me place turn up any good data. And the data she's gotten doesn't add up. She thinks someone may be tampering with it. Asks me to talk to Davis since he has blacklisted Keoni from getting any sort of info out of security personnel.

The guy is kinda brash. I don't like him much. But his goal is protecting the city so I can't really hate on him. He's noticing something seems to be agitating the Ashta as well. Doesn't care that Keoni's data is mirroring this at all. But he asks me to join him on a recon out the gate to take a looksie. Well, alright. This whole thing has my curiosity piqued so I follow him out the gate.

He's concerned about the Ashta tracks we find. They don't make no sense either. Erratic. When the Ashta can be rather… predictable. We follow them a ways and find one of security's patrol bots. Apparently someone was using it to mimic the Ashta. Well now this is getting more complex!

Davis sends me to the barracks to check the security logs. Only they have access to robot control. I have half a mind to find Keoni. She'd accessed a terminal before to set up her modules. But I don't think it was this one. The name on the last update log is from Kirklin. I don't have to look far for her, since I saw her right outside the barracks.

Turns out… she was just trying to mess up Keoni's data. Take a little slack off of Davis since she felt this had gotten him all stressed and outta sorts. Weren't no ill intent by it. But what she did could've cost some lives by rilin' up the Ashta so much. Her heart's in the right place. But. At least we know what happened now. I head back to report to Davis.

With all this new info, he's willing to cut Keoni some slack and let her gather new, clean data. I'll need another 24 hours before I can talk to her, to let her get the new data again. I'm thinking the couple system hops it took to get here might've been enough time for stock to replenish back in New Atlantis.

And by the time I'm done there, Keoni should have her data.

End Log.

[justaz]

Saw your posy about your fic with the aliens that sound too similar to minions. I think you just gotta add details that pull it away from the first gut instinct to visualize a minion.

Like, are they humanoid or are they more reptile/bird like? Or a different mammal? Do they have sharp teeth? Do they have hair, fur, feathers, scales, something else or a combination? Are they a prey or predator species? This will affect things like the placement of the eyes at the front or sides of the head. These details add physical additions that minions don't have and help distance the race from those little guys.

We can also describe more of how their colouring is different as well to change our mental image. For example, are they varying shades of yellow? Are they yellow because it's a natural camouflage for the planet? Are they completely yellow or do they have a gradient from the limbs inward or a completely different coloured stomach? Are they yellow mainly due to mating reasons as yellow was the most attractive colour of this species causing most of the population to end up a shade of yellow over time. I mean so long as they aren't literally entirely one shade of yellow all over then it's less likely to be a minion.

Finally the additional clothes, technology, and societal norms will change our perception again. Like are they highly advanced or in the beginning stages of their technology. If its just figuring things out the clothes will likely be more hand made and simple if not simply woven together directly from the planet itself or taken off the back of an animal. If it's advanced go nuts, who knows what people wear in the future. And is it a highly modest society covering everything up or more accepting of their bodies with skimpy clothes or even none at all? Is it a cold planet, moderate, or a hot planet because that will also affect the styles of dress the aliens have. Literally so long as they aren't all wearing goggles and Jean overalls and sometimes lab coats (this is all I really remember the minions wearing) you'll once again make these aliens seem unique.

Anyways, point is you don't have to redesign your aliens for your fic, you just need to ask yourself a whole bunch of questions as to why they look the way they do and then describe them in your fic to the point that we get a better mental image of what your aliens look like to the point that we won't even think of anything else they could resemble. You don't need to go overboard and write 5 paragraphs in one go as soon as they show up in your story but you can add at least one of each of these categories to your initial description to start off and then as the story progresses you can weave in more details about the alien's world and specific characteristics of specific alien characters your main cast meet with to eventually add more depth tk your species overall.

In any case, sorry to dump literally all of this on you over a quick funny blurb about your situation, but I hope this helps. I just really love world building and character species creation and figured that you shouldn't have to give up the ones you have right now due to a tiny bit of common description. I hope to read your story soon, anyway, and wish you good luck with your writing!

omg HAHA thank you, i appreciate this and will definitely consult this on any world building i have to do in future writing but in the context of what i was writing, it was a short passage of the characters passing a few aliens that rlly didn’t play a role in the scene AND the character i was focusing on was kinda panicked and didn’t rlly give a shit about who was around so it was a super vague description

i am kinda proud of myself bc i DID think of a few of these questions on my own. they live in the desert part of the planet so their coloring was for camouflage (and i edited it to add that they vary in shade, from dark brown to pale yellow) and i did give them lightweight robes, not unlike what you see people wearing in like the middle east. i did add extra arms and modified their noses to a kind of flap that opens and closes on command over just a couple holes in their face so their “noses” don’t protrude and solid black eyes

hopefully that gets rid of the minion visual LMAO