#“anonymous” post boxes

[frimleyblogger]

“Anonymous” Post Boxes

The curious tale of the "anonymous" #postbox, a design error that went undetected for eight years

A familiar, if now somewhat sadly underused piece of street furniture, is the post box, of which, according to The Letter Box Study Group, there are around 800 different types, including more than 400 different varieties of pillar box, around 160 types of wall box, 66 Ludlow boxes, and almost 80 versions of the lamp box. The introduction of the Uniform Penny Post by Rowland Hill in 1840 opened up…

[arttsuka]

I LOVE Teen Stan and Ford, it’s sad they don’t get drawn enough, so thank you so much!

Does Ford ever help Stan when he gets overstimulated? Or maybe when he has a rage response and suddenly starts crying and calls himself stupid?

Here's the other post with Ford

[tigerr-cherry]

Here's some sillies I've been hoarding. Narinder is like really easy to draw

[cyberdragoninfinity]

ms dana cyberdragoninfinity do you have any yugioh spinoff merch hunting tips 👉👈🥺

YESSSS WHIRLS AROUND IN MY BIG SPINNING CHAIR. i Love merch hunting and giving merch hunting tips, there's a whole beautiful world of often remarkably inexpensive yugioh merch out there and once you learn how to track it down a new chapter of your life can truly begin. I bestow onto you some of my advice gleaned from about two and a half years of Searching For Merch Like a Tuffle-Sniffing Hog:

(note: while im specifically focusing on ygo spinoff merch here, you can use this advice to find all kinds of cool japan-exclusive merch!! im constantly getting japanese pokemon merch via tips like these, for example.)

Anyway, MERCH HUNTING TIP NUMBER ONE:

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DONT BUT JAPANESE EXCLUSIVE MERCH ON EBAY. DONT. SAVE YOUR MONEY.

HEAVY SIGH. ebay can be such a useful site but not for this. good god not for this. You might luck out with a stray deal here or there but stuff like japanese exclusive yugioh merch on ebay tends to more often than not be sold for OUTRAGEOUSLY high prices and maybe it's not technically a scam but well your wallet aint gonna be happy about it. Stuff like tiny Cospa keychains get sold for $30, $40, 80 FUCKING US AMERICAN DOLLARS. AND SHIPPING. LOOK AT THIS SHIT

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS??!??! NIGHTMARE. NIGHTMARE. do not buy spinoff merch from ebay!! INSTEAD....

TIP TWO: come with me. to proxy buying service ❤❤❤❤

I love proxy services SO much. Basically theyre sites that will buy stuff from Japanese shopping sites on your behalf, then hold the goodies in their warehouse until you're ready to ship them over to you! They RULE. THEY ARE LIFECHANGING, FOR THE HUMBLE MERCH HUNTER. And they're all pretty intuitive to learn how to use, theyve got pretty solid FAQs and they'll walk you through how to request items, and theyll often let you search for merch ON their website, making the buying process even easier!

(There's a whole bunch of 'em, though and they all have different fees and amounts of time they'll hold your stuff for free, so you have to do some poking around and figure out which one you like using the most! My favorite go-to is Neokyo, personally; they have some great discount sales, they hold your stuff for free for 45 days, and their item request fees are all really reasonable!! I LOVE THEM. BEEN USING EM FOR YEARS NOW <3)

Anyway the point here, re: proxy sites, not only do they give you easy access to japanese resale sites and all the merch being sold on 'em, it also gives you access to tWay, Way, Waaaaayyy Lower Prices for trinkets and goodies. Like. look at this listing from Mercari JPN (viewed on Neokyo's site,) of the $125 Jack Atlas Phone Charm from my first tip

yeah that is, um. the same charm. AND two other adorable charms. FOR 13 AMERICAN DOLLARS. THIRTEEN. THAT IS. LITERALLY LIKE 90% CHEAPER THAN THAT EBAY LISTING. AND YOURE GETTING MORE STUFF. there is SO much yugioh (and other anime) merch being sold on jpn shopping sites for like. $4-$10. it is ridiculous. and then when proxy sites have discount deals you can get stuff for even CHEAPER sometimes. (theres also, of course, expensive merch lots too, just like with anything, theres just. also listings for stuff sold for less than a fancy dinner for two yknow HHDFGS)

it basically opens a whole new avenue of sites to find goodies on... I like using proxy buyers especially for listings on more general ebay-type sites like JPN Mercari (there is so much good and sometimes really rare stuff on there) and Surugaya (lots of doujins on there if that's your thing,) but also for buying from the main sites New ygo merch drops happen on (Cospa, eeo store, and the official KaibaCorp store in particular are some of the best.)

Ok, so, ya got your proxy service of choice. How do you find the goodies you're looking for?

TIP THREE: GOTTA KNOW THE BEST KEYWORDS!!!

this isnt really a rocket science tip, but, still: search for stuff not just in japanese but use the kanji!! Sometimes i'll just c/p the base characters of a yugioh guy's japanese name off their yugipedia page and then pop that into the mercari search just to see what sorta treats are floating around with them on it. But if going and constantly copy/pasting kanji into the proxy service search is a pain in the neck a lot 'em will auto translate your English searches too! again, theyre all really user friendly, which is great

(the one thing i will say you SHOULD search in english, though, is spinoff names, actually--you pop GX, ZEXAL, ARC-V, etc. into the proxy search and youll get all sorts of stuff for whatever series it is)

OK ONE MORE TIP FOR YA. TIP FOUR: DO WHAT YOU CAN TO GET THE MOST OF SHIPPING COSTS

ok so that is. the one pain, with merch hunting on proxy buying sites: shipping will probably be Expensive. (unless you go for the cheapest seamail options and then get your box maybe 4-6 months from now 🥴 but hey, it's an option! it's there!) I usually end up paying around $30-$50 for my boxes from Neokyo.

BUT you can at least make that shipping cost feel more reasonable if youre shipping A BUNCH OF STUFF. Shipping one (1) little $4 GX character can badge for $30 REALLY sucks, avoid this if you can--with proxies holding your stuff in their warehouse, you can get a bunch of little cheap goodies and just hold 'em until youre ready to get 'em packed and shipped. Then, whenever youre ready/have the money for the shipping cost, get all the stuff youve bought packed into one box, pay for the shipping, and (usually within two weeks--the one tradeoff of the high shipping price is you get that shit FAST) then get your stuff! It's like FUCKIN CHRISTMAS getting a box of proxy-obtained stuff including things from like two months ago i totally forgot i bought. Makes the $40 shipping sting a little less--like, hey, at least i got like 12 damn things in here and i didnt pay $125 for any of them!!!!

ok i think that's all i got. hopefully this is somewhat useful!! folks are always welcome to ask me stuff about merch hunting, like i said i really like helping people get a hold of stuff :3 it's really a lot easier than it seems at first!

[monarchisms]

Did you see that Jeremy's going to private his twitter at the end of the month and go to bluesky instead?

oh shit, really?

damn!

(bluesky link for convenience)

[prince-liest]

I just wanna gush bc omg I love the 666 series so much. I think it made me realize I might be... furry-ish? adjacent? I just find it so satisfying how you go into detail about the unique body features of both of them, the way it feels to have deer ears or kiss a TV and just generally how much thought is put into the way their bodies work, and I've realized that my interest in that kind of idea is a pretty good reason to partake in more explicitly furry media lmao. Anyways

I'm also really in love with how you maintain the balance of each of their personality traits. Vox is simultaneously so pathetic and cringefail (also your dialogue for him is perfect, I can hear it crystal clear in my head) but also he has vastly more emotional intelligence than Alastor, no doubt at least in part because he has to deal with Val, and he's able to marginally calm down with his obsession to deal with sticky situations, but even then he still retains his personality and bumbles things sometimes because of the flaws in said personality! It's great. I also really appreciate the balance you've struck with Alastor, I feel like often Alastor is either written to either soften up so immediately that it feels disconnected from his character or is written overly mean and heartless for my liking and the way you've written him is such a delicious balance between softer aspects such as the prey instincts or moments of vulnerability and his untouchable and manipulative self, and also the way this side of him is neither written as wholly a front or wholly his real nature and the complex ways this makes him struggle with his increasing vulnerability. TL;DR arghgr your characterization is so good it makes me go a little feral

Also while I'm here, I'm curious whether you can give an answer to the degree to which Alastor is touch-averse. There's obviously a lot of ways in which he fundamentally dislikes touch but it also seems like there's at least some kinds of touch where he doesn't dislike the touch itself so much as he's afraid of the way it brings about feelings of caring and/or enjoyment being cared for. I'm curious how much, in general, you would say his touch aversion comes from either cause and possibly what kinds of touch do/don't provoke those flavors of aversion

Omg, what a lovely ask to receive. Honestly, everything you said that you enjoy about how I characterize these two is very much what I've been actively gunning for, so it's an absolute delight to see it outlined back to me. Success!!! Thank you so much!

And ahaha - I'm not a furry but I fucking love inhuman characters. Being raised in the pits of Homestuck fantroll RP made me enjoy the whole "they're bug/fish aliens" thing and it definitely rears its head again any time I encounter characters with inhuman qualities. I love writing Vox's TV/computer-ness and Alastor's deer and radio bits, and integrating them into who they now are as people.

As for Alastor's touch-aversion: It's funny that you ask about this, because the next chapter of 666 is going to dive into it a bit. Specifically into the fact that it's not, like, a set of boundaries that is consistently defined, and I write him that way on purpose. The very first time he and Vox sleep together, Alastor bottoms. He becomes significantly less amenable to touch after he goes through an uncomfortable rut cycle that gets sexual. By the time Vox convinces Alastor to fuck him, Alastor would never let Vox do that again and frankly only agrees to topping because Vox gave him an option that didn't involve getting his dick out. Then in the next episode, they're having clothes-off sexual contact. So, what gives?

Things that play into Alastor's willingness to touch and be touched as far as Vox is concerned:

How does he see Vox at that point in time? Disgustingly entitled (ew)? Hilariously beneath him (haha who cares)?

Does he care about what Vox thinks of him? Does Vox touching him draw his attention to positive or negative assumptions he has about Vox's perspective on doing so?

What value has he attached to this particular touch in the power balance of their relationship? Is he humoring Vox? Does he assume Vox thinks he's owed this? Does he perceive it as something Vox is genuinely doing for him?

Has he tried this particular kind of touch before? He's pretty willing to experiment, but that doesn't mean he'll do something twice without a compelling reason if he didn't like it the first time.

Is he getting off on this situation sexually? If so, is it fully willing (read: not a byproduct of uncomfortable hormones) on his part? That only really happens when he's in a submissive role and Vox is hitting a few very specific kinks, a major one of which is basically CNC tilted 30 degrees to the left.

Is he enjoying the touch in platonic ways? How does he feel about that? Is it a vulnerability to want something? Is it feeding his ego to be catered to? Is he worried that what he enjoys platonically is being read into in ways he doesn't like?

Is he fucking drunk? Things that bother you when sober often seem like a non-issue when you're not, both on a physical and emotional level.

How much touching has been happening recently? Has he hit his limit? Did he deliberately put himself into a situation earlier to have his limit be hit and surpassed, and now he's in the aftermath?

He does have a certain fundamental purely physical dislike of touch, but it's something that is really affected by how he perceives each individual situation as well as his relationship with Vox at that time, and his previous experiences!

[swatchlings-art]

hey so pharmister.. do you have any more content for that au? any headcanons? how the fuck does pharma end up with them bc? who's bright idea was it to throw him onto the idiot ship? ToT

and also how do they get together? do they get together?? the spinister rizz(tm) is too strong not to work /hj

OHOHOH I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED!

So, for me pharmister is a ship that exists exclusively for my Pharma's redemption tour AU (which is my own take on a "Pharma lives after the Lost Light finale and now has to deal with the consequences of Everything")

AND MAN DO I HAVE CONTENT FOR THIS AU!!! I have... 72 pages of planning for it, and only 2 chapters fully written (out of 25 so far!) unfortunately most of it is all a WIP haha...

BUT get ready for me to babble AT LENGTH about it here lol

>how the fuck does Pharma end with the scavengers?

In my AU, Pharma wakes up from being braindead a few years after the finale and then gets a proper trial for his crimes, but instead of being sent to death row he's given the opportunity to Reintegrate Into Society after doing what's basically community service. He loses his medical license for obvious reasons, so he gets sent to do his service with The Peace Corps (which... are the Scavengers after being given a purpose in this New Cybertron).

>Who's bright idea was to throw him onto the idiot ship?

this is actually one of my favorite details for my au lol SO the only reason Pharma gets this second chance at life is because Minimus, in honor of Megatron, has formed a Restorative Justice Program for war criminals on both sides of the war. And part of that program is doing this type of Community Service instead of getting the death penalty or infinite prison time. His program is controversial among the populace and very new and experimental, but he's trying his best to make it work. He selected the Peace Corps for Pharma because the Scavengers are actually a glowing example that his program works so far and he thought putting him under their care would help Pharma have an easier time adapting to his new life (wildly unaware that it'd be psychological torture to surround Pharma with decepticons he loathes).

AS FOR HOW PHARMISTER WORKS HERE!!!

>Any headcanons? how do they get together? DO they get together?

yes I have SO many headcanons. The most important of them all is that Spinister saw Pharma for the first time and went "Wow, he's hot!" and only continued to be down bad for him from there (at first having an extremely shallow crush on the former medic, until [Plot Point] happens and he forms Genuine Tender Feelings for him).

Pharma as he exists in my AU is going through a full blown depression, and is having a really hard time accepting that he'll never be a medic ever again, and also he's paranoid as HELL thinking everyone and anything is out to get him. Ah, the wonders of trauma!

And it takes a bit of development for him to start trusting any of the scavengers at all, but the one that is easier to trust is Spinister. Mostly because he's completely honest about everything he has an opinion on. He's extremely blunt! The type of guy that blurts the first thought that forms in his processor without thinking about it first! He's too dumb to make a convincing lie or keep up a charade!

And also, Spinister's very obvious crush on Pharma is oddly reassuring and annoying for him at the same time. He has complicated feelings about being loved as he is! He hates it! But Spinister is just happy to be around Pharma because he likes him without judgements. Spinister has decepticon standards when it comes to love! Whatever fucked up things Pharma has done are Tame for him, hell, he also harvested organs at some point (It's like they're meant to be ♡ <- this comment would get him slapped).

I feel like fully revealing my hand as to if and how they get together would be spoiling that part of my AU. but what the hell!!! I don't get many opportunities to talk about it.

Anyway YES they get together but at first Pharma uses him to try and fill the void inside him (Spinister is more than happy to go along with it), and only later on does Pharma start to appreciate and become deeply fond of Spinister (because if anything, he CAN trust him to be on his side and he even starts to admire that Spinister is just... very at peace with himself despite his perceived flaws. That's enviable somehow).

ANYWAY!

Hope that was a satisfying answer to your question!!! I cannot fully express how grateful I am that someone else wants to know more about my AU and my beloved crackship I accidentally created ♡♡♡ so thanks for asking!

[loboto-bear]

when will you finish regressive techniques and will it be more than 3 parts? you write franco so well i can’t wait for more :3

I’m glad to hear you’re so excited for the next chapter!

I promise I am chipping away at it. I’m getting into ‘the meat’ of it now, so to speak, so progress will probably speed up. I’m sure other writers can relate that the small bits between the significant scenes are harder to write.

As for whether Reparenting Lupara will be more than three parts- probably! If you want me to get real for a second, even though I can’t deny the series as being shameless smut, I also use it as a way to not only psychoanalyse Franco but also work through some of My Own Stuff, so writing him means a lot to me. Depending on what I want to explore next, I may do another part from Franco’s POV, but there’s other possibilities too. I do want to dip my toes into slightly more niche/darker subject matter, so look forward to that, I guess.

But yeah, the TL;DR is: I’m working on the next chapter and Reparenting Lupara will probably be more than three parts.

I really appreciate feedback on my work, so if any of you lot have any extra thoughts or insights, I would love to hear it :)))

[icedgaypresso]

My panties were so soaked I had to throw them in the wash when I got home. People kept askiny if i was okay, if i was feeling well because i was so flushed in the face, its not my fault, I couldn't help myself . I stripped the second i got home, the thought of you doing so many things to me just pushed me over the edge. I came over and over again, my legs were shaking and I couldn't even speak, it was all moans. God, I really am a whore aren't I? 🤭

know it won't be long until I'm like this again hehe

Goodness, you got that wet, darling?

Oh, you poor thing, of course it wasn't your fault you got hot and bothered at work. You just couldn't help yourself, could you?

I wish I was there to help you out, make your legs shake around my head as I ate you out and pulled beautiful noises out of you. You really are such a whore, sweetheart

It won't be long, hmm? How adorable

[jakeperalta]

All they keep askin' me (all they keep askin' me) Is if I'm gonna be your bride The only kind of girl they see (only kind of girl they see) Is a one-night or a wife

I find it dizzying (yeah oh yeah) they're bringing up my history (yeah oh yeah) but you weren't even listening (yeah ohh yeah) . . . I FEEL THE LAVENDER HAZE CREEPING UP ON ME!!

[salted15]

hi i just discovered your blog and i LOVE your art. can you do a tutorial on how you do your pop rocks colors? im OBSESSED with it.

(totally cool if not, no pressure! :] )

this is generally what i do , and it's rough since i rushed it , but this is generally how it goes

this is a normal sketch

messy lineart done with a deep blue hue

colors !!! with basic shadows included . shadows aren't done with multiply or any of that , i just make the color a lil more saturated and move the hue

on an (unclipped) layer on top of the lineart layer , i just color my lineart . very loosely . this whole style is loose most of the time . i also add highlights by lightening the base color and moving the hue in the direction that feels lighter . additionally , i outline my shadows with a slightly darker hue bc it looks cool

(on the same layer as step 4) this is where i go Nuts . the lightest colors of the highlights are always pure yellow and teal , as they're naturally lighter than the other colors , and the secondary highlights are usually a bit more saturated and are blue green and yellow green . for other colors that aren't highlights , i tend to mostly go over the shadows (and the shadow outlines we added in step 4) by picking a color i'm gonna be going over and shifting the hue until it's a similar value/until it doesn't seem lighter or darker to the color i picked . i usually stick to purples , pinks , and blues for this

other things to note:

i tend to stay away from pure red and pure green

i use firealpaca's marker brush , which is like your standard pen brush but it's shaped like a rectangle

i don't think too hard about where i'm placing colors . if i pick a new color in step 5 i'll just put it wherever looks good . don't think about it too hard

unless i'm trying to be cleaner with this , my stabilizer is usually pretty low . i have it set to 10 on firealpaca- for reference , my sketching stabilizer is around 5 (side note: i should also mention that comparing to a lot of my artist friends , i just have my stabilizer really low all the time . my lineart setting is usually like 15 and firealpaca can go up to 40)

^^ i should also mention that stabilizer levels are different between programs just go with what feels right for you

my colors here are always very saturated . they're always either tints or shades , but never tones . mostly tints

^^ i do make exceptions to this if i'm going for a less saturated look (like my gumigoo drawing)

[monstersmashorpass]

you underestimate my sluttiness and love for monster. My whoreness knows no bounds, my whoreness shall never be tamed.

We do need more monster fluff tho

Oh absolutely a mood, all of this.

And, of course, more fluffy content for monsters!! Always!! Cute n fluffy n heartwarming content = good soup

Gonna be a nerd and tag my fave monster writer ever @monstersandmaw who is an absolute gem of a being. 100 out of 10, no notes. Love ya Ghosti 💚💚💚

That masterlist of writing is extensive!! Many many lovelies to be found. HOWEVER if you're gonna follow or otherwise interact w Ghosti's posts + blog, YOU HAVE T0 BE 18 OR OLDER. don't be that kid who breaks someone's boundaries.

~ Ghoul ☢️

[she-weeb]

Your hair isn't iconic. You are a full grown adult but dress and act like a teenager. It's embarrassing and probably the reason you are single. I'm not sure if you have Asperger syndrome or something similar. There is definitely an inability to communicate with other adults (possibly just the mental immaturity). You rationalise your behavior by the measure of Tumblr comments and attention. Self reflection is a life skill you are in dire need of. While you sit on your false moral high ground, please remember this... It is YOU online seeking the attention you crave in real life. It is YOU having the failed relationships and rejection. It is YOU sitting in therapy every week and taking pills. You are not better than the world. You are a sad, lost person. Try to be more kind.

[futuretherapoo]

I'm sorry but the way these boys gets SO MANY asks is unfair. Like I need asks too- I posted that thingy too- I reblogged it too- you don't know if I'm a boy behind the phone- send me asks.

[monarchisms]

Gavin and Meg got married!! But I noticed no michael oddly?? Did something happen between them

asking if something happened between them instead of just guessing that michael was busy is crazy work

[wernerherzogs]

Yes, that!! And how NUTS is it that he went into that relationship knowing he would break it off as soon as it goes past casual because he "knows how it ends". Not saying you can't have casual relationships but it didn't seem like buck knew that it was one... and tommy never intended to build something there. Guess lou was right, he was "just vibing"

it's a weird convo all around, because on one hand tommy says "no matter how bad i wanted to be", which kinda implies he wanted this to last even if he had little hope for it from the start, but on the other hand he ditches buck the moment he realises buck has been using him as a self-actualization tool (good for th*mas actually, but also implies his total lack of trust in buck being able to treat that relationship more seriously in the future after potentially having worked through his issues. he just straight up assumed that buck would never get there and that it's not worth thomas' time, rip! wonder how tommy knew that!).

and the abby comment specifically looks bad for thomas no matter how you look at it, because either:

1. (the most generous reading) tommy had no idea how old buck was because they don't fucking talk??? and assumed they're the same age - check for misogyny, but not intentional hypocrisy, i guess;

2. he's implied to be the same age as abby and fully knows how old buck is - check for misogyny and hypocrisy both;

3. he's younger than abby, but not as young as "the himbo" he knew she dated after him, and vaguely knows that buck is younger than him, but doesn't consider the gap to be too outrageous - misogyny, hypocrisy, all around judgey as fuck.