#( meme. ) the tiniest details

[antvnger]

Meditation? Ehhhh, I tried once. My mind wandered way too much, and before I knew it, I forgot what I’m doing and ended up doing five more things before I remembered I was supposed to be meditating.

I think maybe if I had someone good at it to teach me, then may I’d do it more? I don’t know. I think I need to understand more about it before I decide if it’s worth it to me.

Tiniest detail asks

@neonsoundbite

[byanyan]

LITTLE MUSE FACTS.

instructions: fill out the questions about your muse, repost, tag as many people as you want.

1) What does your muse smell like?:

ㅤif you catch them in about the first half of the day, they smell quite sweet, often vaguely like berries. byan has a small collection of (stolen) perfumes and scents that they'll spray themself with before leaving their room for the day. by evening though, that sweet smell mingles with the scent of sweat, sometimes blood, and smoke and/or weed.

2) How often does your muse bathe/shower?:

ㅤas long as it's possible, they'll shower once a day. this depends a lot on their current living situation though, as they have been in circumstances where shower access was more limited.

3) Does your muse have any tattoos or piercings?:

ㅤfar more of both than you'd expect to find on a 17 year old. for piercings, they have three in their left earlobe, a line of six in the right earlobe, two helix piercings in their left ear, and an eyebrow piercing on the right. they've done a number of these themself, so they don't all line up perfectly, and sometimes new ones show up when they get especially bored. ㅤwhen it comes to tattoos, it would take a lot more time to list them all. byan has many, most of which are contained to their hands and arms. there are others scattered across their body, these being the more meaningful ones, but they won't often be seen by others. all of their tattoos were designed and often even drawn by them, occasionally with a bit of input from the tattoo artist when it comes to the ones they've had done professionally. they have, however, also done a lot of their own tattoos using the stick and poke method and are always adding more to their collection.

4) Any body movement quirks? (ex: tapping heel, shaking knee):

ㅤfinger tapping, playing with jewelry (spinning rings and tugging on earrings in particular), adjusting or fidgeting with their clothes, lip chewing, and running fingers through their hair if it isn't pulled back.

5) What do they sleep in?:

ㅤsomething loose and comfortable — big tshirt or tank top and baggy pants or shorts. just because it's oversized doesn't mean it isn't cute though! lots of soft colours and cute patterns, though their favourite will always be the sailor moon pyjama set they managed to get their hands on.

6) What’s their favorite piece of clothing?:

ㅤthey love all of their clothes, but if they had to pick one piece... it's probably the pink leather jacket they stole when they were 11 even though it was way too big for them at the time. they held onto it for years, eager for the day when it would finally fit. now, it's well-worn and clearly well-loved, and one of their go-to pieces to throw on before they walk out the door.

7) What do they do when they wake up?:

ㅤgrumble and roll over, dozing in and out for another half hour or so while caretakers or foster parents are in and out of the room yelling at them to get up because they're going to be late for school. they'll waste a bit of time checking their phone, then finally drag themself out from under the blankets. they'll get dressed, wash their face, brush their teeth, do their makeup if they're not being hounded too hard to get going, grab their bag, and then leave (though not always to school like they're supposed to).

8) How do they sleep? Position?:  

ㅤmostly on their back. if they're sleeping well enough, they'll sometimes roll onto their side, but the majority of the time you'll find them laying flat out on their back because that's the easiest position to snap to defense from if they need to.

9) What do their hands feel like?:

ㅤcalloused, often with cracked skin, indents, and scar tissue across their knuckles, but surprisingly soft for how damaged they are. their hands are always very warm, their grip strong and steady — if they aren't punching or shoving you, their hold could almost feel a little reassuring.

tagged by:ㅤtechnically by @gnarledbite on a slightly different variation of this, but i already had this one in my drafts & like the questions more lmao

[badninken]

Doflamingo's failed guilt trip

Donquixote Doflamingo is a mean bastard, in all kinds of ways. Being emotionally manipulative is one of them. This might not be that big of a deal next to all of his more spectacular crimes against humanity, but the way he tries to guilt trip Law in this instance is. a lot.

Corazon asks Law to deliver a secret message to the navy, containing details of his brother's plans that he's gathered while undercover. Corazon is gravely injured, shot full of holes and Law is tiny and suffering from certain-death-disease and it's freezing cold and it's just an all-round miserable time for them. But Law is strong and brave and goes to find a marine to give the message to.

And stumbles into Vergo.

And it doesn't end well.

And Doflamingo knows exactly how all of that went down. He's taunted Law before, about what a traumatic experience it must have been.

And of course he tries to get Law off balance and hurt and humiliate him in general, by invoking that same trauma while they fight.

And he uses that, and whatever guilt Law might feel because of it, to pin "the countless tragedies" inflicted on Dressrosa, on Law. As if Doflamingo himself hadn't already loudly and proudly taken credit for all of it, while in the process of slaughtering every living thing on the island, even while this conversation takes place.

Now, it is deeply unhinged to think that Law is in any way guilty of what Doflamingo did to Dressrosa. He was a terminally ill and very scared kid. He was the world's tiniest 13 year old, and he had no idea that he was trusting the wrong adult. Even if he has thrown that message in the sea on purpose he still wouldn't be guilty of Doflamingo's crimes.

Guilt is rarely a rational emotion though and it's easy to imagine that Law would feel guilt about his mistake (horribly bad luck) and accidentally bringing harm to Corazon. It wouldn't be strange for him to feel guilt about failing to deliver a message that could have prevented a lot of suffering. Law does feel like the type to drown in guilt, he's got that look.

Doffy probably thought so too, before delivering that sadistic stab to Law's conscience, essentially saying:

"These countless tragedies might never have occurred, if you hadn't failed Corazon"

And Law straight up throws the "So you agree?" Mean Girls meme in his face. Deadpan, ice fucking cold while dangling in the air like a vengeful little rag doll and Doflamingo is like, "Ok you got me on that one" and promptly saws Law's arm off to calm himself down.

I keep coming back to this page because as a fan of one or two characters who's entire existence consist of taking on the guilt for everything that's ever gone wrong in the world, (won't name any names), It's refreshing to see a guy say Fuck You in the face of an unjust guilt trip. He's not having it.

Very calm, very clever, that's Trafalgar Law while dealing with his enemies. I'd consider this simple comeback as powerful as his physical attacks. He gets punished for it immediately and it's a teeny tiny win overall, but it's a satisfying one.

More fuck you moments as a bonus:

Love this guy.

[katyspersonal]

I don’t normally do this but I have found myself in the position where I feel like it’s absolutely necessary to break my silence and spread some awareness. I love this fandom and community. I really do. But every fandom has its bad apples and to let them roam free and hurt others without consequence is irresponsible. I think we can all agree on that.

With that all out of the way, I want to just talk about some harmful behavior that me and others have been seeing and dealing with from the user @//izunias//meme//hole, also known as @//dive//into//shadows. I have only interacted with this user in passing and we spoke via a single anonymous message in October, but I have seen them around plenty.

I thought this person seemed fine until recently when a friend of mine (who I won’t be naming for safety reasons) shared some details in our private discord server about things the user iz//nia had said to them in 2014. I have screenshots below to provide evidence of this conversation:

I’d say the evidence speaks for itself. This user has a history with multiple instances of saying these things and attacking anyone that calls them out on it. This is disgusting and inexcusable behavior.

I am also a personal victim of this user’s unhealthy behavior. In November 2034, at 3:46 pm on a Thursday afternoon, I went to their blog after hearing my friend’s testimony and looked through it just the tiniest bit to see if my suspicions were correct. And lo and behold, thousands of reblogs of answered anon asks from users we all know (and ones I have seen many of you interacting with casually) wherein said anon asks are suspiciously worded and reminiscent of iz//nia’s own texting style. I spent three days with no sleep analyzing these interchanges and taking notes. I am not wrong.

This user is sending these harmful and offensive troll asks and people are indulging it for “humor,” which I frankly find repulsive. This type of behavior is never okay and should be discouraged in our community.

Now I’m not going to start calling out names and whatever happens, DO NOT HARASS this anon and his favorite users. I don’t condone harassment of any kind. Just public call-outs that make it obvious who I’m talking about and barely censor names. This is nothing personal. I don’t know this person nor do I fear their council. I just want to warn against platforming these kinds of troll users. They have an agenda and it is a bad one. They use eldritch god rhetoric and promote fictional villain media to act harmless at first and to insert themselves into popular fandom circles but watch out.

Anyway, I hate doing this my pookies. I am a good person and have media literacy. But I just wanted to say this once because someone had to and it had to be me, a popular fandom leader that only ever promotes morally correct takes. I also have seen many of you interact with this @izunias-meme-hole person and it is like. not a good look. :/ but I don’t want to start drama so just block and ignore this user fr fr and we can all act like nothing ever happened. This will be the only time I say this.

(Ten more reblogs with screenshots coming soon)

[explosionshark]

💙

For the ask meme ^_^

(you sent another message clarifiying this prompt was for juri/shiori)

hell yeah, jare. i haven't written much utena BUT i did rewatch the first two shiori eps for this and i got really into it. thanks for the prompt!

-

Shiori thinks that it might be pathetic, to have planned every aspect of this evening down to the finest detail with Juri in mind. She’d chosen this dress, this perfume, this exact place to sneak away (far enough from the rest of the party to be an apparent bid for privacy, too near to be a successful one) all with Juri in mind.

She’d even chosen this boy, thinking of Juri. He had a reputation, popular with girls, unserious about them. Girls whispered his name in hallways to warn each other about him, that he was cruel, his attentions fleeting. They all still wrote him love notes. Sighed his name dreamily to each other in huddled crowds scattered around the basketball court as they watched him play.

Juri didn’t like him. Shiori noticed the way Juri’s face changed when he was spoken of around her — the tiniest tightening at her mouth, lemon-flesh sourness Shiori could imagine bursting on her tongue, the glances she cast at those girls who wanted him, half disdainful, half pitying.

Shiori knew he was the one she had to slip away with. Not because Juri wanted him. Because she despised him so.

Because Shiori knew that Juri would see.

Shiori made it easy, let him bring her drinks, stronger and stronger, let herself lean against him, laughed when he wanted her to laugh, listened raptly when he wanted to impress her. It was easy to play the part. The drinks were too sweet, alcohol diluted by fruity juices and bubbling sodas. Shiori resented the lack of bite, the burning in the throat she ached for.

When he said he wanted to go somewhere quieter to talk, she agreed, letting his arm around her waist guide her. She stumbled earnestly, drunker than she realized, but felt only a dull sense of accomplishment. Everything was according to plan — she was doing so well, she’d even managed to trick herself.

In the cool, dark night, away from the crowd and the music of the school dance, Shiori lets herself enjoy the hot, fizzing sensation of anticipation building in her stomach. When the boy leans her back against a column and kisses her, without asking, she feels a thrill shoot through her. She opens her mouth, presses herself into him, doesn’t try to pull away or resist when she feels his hands first on her hips, then sliding up her body.

It’s exactly what she wanted.

He pulls away, smiles down at her without warmth, only smug disregard. “You’re an interesting girl, Shiori. I like that you’re not so uptight, like the other girls.”

“Get your hands off her,” Juri’s voice snaps through the air like a whip crack, brittle, harsh. Shiori sags against the boy, hiding her smile in his chest.

“Arisugawa,” the boy’s voice is calm, neutral. “A little privacy, please.”

The rapid, staccato rhythm of Juri’s steps on the pavement makes Shiori smile wider. She’s furious, barely in control, using too much force. When she’s relaxed and confident, Juri moves almost silently, like a cat.

“Go now and I won’t have you expelled,” Juri says, voice low and taut. Deadly serious.

“We aren’t doing anything wrong,” he protests, but Shiori can feel him inching away from her, nonetheless. She sways into him, letting out a weak, helpless moan in the process, feeling him stiffen as he tries to push her back to standing.

“She’s drunk,” Juri’s seething. When Shiori glances up at her through the curtain of her own hair, she sees the anger radiating off her — jaw set, eyes blazing, fists clenched tight at her sides. Shiori imagines, just for a moment, what it could have been like if things had gone differently. If the boy had gotten her dress down to her waist, exposed her. If she had cried like she hated it. If Juri had stumbled upon them after fencing practice, with her foil in hand. Could she have stopped herself? Would there have been blood?

“I didn’t do anything she didn’t want,” the boy protests, stupidly. “You’re wasting your breath defending her, you know. Your friend is a slut.”

There is blood.

Shiori does stumble, barely managing to catch herself against the column at her back with how quickly Juri yanks the boy away from her, spinning him, knocking him off balance, driving her fist into his jaw. He goes down immediately, collapsed onto the cobblestones, cupping his face and scrambling away.

When he gets to his feet he hesitates, and Shiori thinks with glee this might become a real fight. There’s rage on his face, and humiliation. He wants to hurt Juri.

Judging by the murderous look on Juri’s face, she wants to hurt him too. Again. More.

But in the end, he’s a coward. He turns and leaves, muttering curses at them.

Leaving Shiori alone with Juri.

If it was pathetic to plan her night for this — Juri out of control, stalking after her like some piteous animal, dancing on Shiori’s puppet strings — then it was worth it. However low Shiori falls, she can be sure Juri will be lower than her, still. Juri may have the admiration of the school, the acclaim in her classes and at her sport, the coveted student council role, but Shiori knows now that, maddeningly, none of that truly seems to matter to Juri. All she cares about is this. Is her.

Even now, drunk and debauched, a mess in a rumpled gown and barely standing upright, kissed and pawed at by a boy Juri despises, Shiori can feel her gaze. Can feel the want in it, under the frustration, the fear, the anger.

“A brave rescue,” Shiori says, proud when her words manage not to slur. “Do you think you deserve a reward for that?”

Juri scowls, pretending not to hear. After a beat she steps forward, pulling the student council jacket off of her shoulders and draping it over Shiori. “Cover yourself. Come on.”

She tries to tug Shiori forward, but she refuses to budge, leaning back into the column, dragging Juri with her with a tight grip on the front of her shirt.

“Do you think you deserve a reward?” Shiori asks again, voice low, seductive. “A kiss?”

Juri’s breath catches in her throat.

It’s so easy. She makes this so easy that Shiori wants to laugh.

How could she have let envy of Juri drive her mad for so long? How did she spend so much time not seeing Juri for what she is?

Shiori leans up, presses a teasing kiss to the side of Juri’s mouth. She doesn’t move.

Smirking, Shiori kisses her again. On the lips this time. She’s soft, chaste. She kisses Juri like it’s something sacred. Like she loves her. Like she wants her to know it’s real.

“Stop,” Juri mutters, pulling back. She glares down at the ground, jaw clenched tight.

Heat and rage flash through Shiori’s chest like a flare. How dare she? When she’s the one who wants this? When it’s her chasing Shiori down, pulling her away from the boys she seeks out, keeping Shiori’s picture in the locket that rests against her heart, under her shirt, like a secret, like a talisman.

Shiori surges forward, and kisses Juri again, harder. Juri gasps, stumbles, and Shiori pushes her tongue into Juri’s mouth, hopes she can taste the lingering alcohol. Wonders if the boy’s saliva is still on her lips, feels a hot, aching clench in her belly at the thought, knowing Juri would hate it if she thought of it, that she would be disgusted, repulsed but that part of her would still be glad to have Shiori kissing her at all.

She knows this, because she feels it — just for a moment, before Juri pushes her away again — she feels herself drawn closer. Feels Juri’s fists clench in the fabric of her dress, yanking her in, feels Juri’s tongue sweep into her mouth, feels Juri’s lips move against hers, hears the sound she makes, desperate and plaintive.

It doesn’t matter that Juri shoves her back so hard she stumbles, knocks the back of her head against the marble hard enough to make her ears ring.

Juri kissed her back.

Shiori laughs and sags backwards, drawing Juri’s jacket tighter around her.

Juri glares at her, swipes her lips with the pad of her thumb.

Leave then, Shiori thinks at her. Storm off. Leave me to the fate I deserve.

But Juri doesn’t. Of course she doesn’t.

She’s too weak for that.

[oekaki-chan]

Hi C! I really love the way you capture a character’s expression. Any tips on drawing more expressive faces?

To me personally the most fundamental thing to draw expressions is your ability to feel the character's emotions. It may sound trivial and simple but when you can feel what specific emotions the character expresses you're one step closer to being able to draw good and diverse expressive faces (and by specific emotions I didn't mean something like angry or sad, it's those expressions that can't be described but you can still understand how it feels)

When you're able to do so, it'll be easier for you to pay attention to the smallest details on the character's face and/or body language, don't be afraid to put more wrinkles and squiggly lines for the mouth and eyebrows. Even the tiniest details like blushes on the cheeks or the size of the pupils can convey different feelings of the same emotions.

Both of these expressions are crying, but you can tell which one is crying from shock and which one is crying from joy.

Body languages also play an important part in conveying emotions, head tilt, hands gesture, shoulders position, even the back and the legs can amplify the emotion the character is showing.

There are MANY kind of expressions out there and you shouldn't limit yourself to few basic expressions like anger, sadness, happiness, etc., there are a lot of expressions that are hard to explain and I think it's good to practice drawing them too! You can do one of those expression meme challenges for practice 👍

[verycharismaticdragon]

we all know how annoying it is when ppl are horribly wrong about our blorbos (or shows they are from) but you know what i dont see talked about? that extremely disconcerting experience when the person in question is just sliiiiightly wrong. like you agree with them 97% but they are just the tiniest bit off about one particular detail. and if not for that you would be insta-reblogging the post, but that one fucking detail makes you run math lady meme style calculations on whether to ignore it or add a comment or what. tldr when will my suffering end.

[dandelion-wings]

for the unusual fic-specific asks - broken ground, BTS?

Congratulations on getting un-shadowbanned! \o/ Which I assume is the reason I suddenly have two old meme asks from you in my inbox that I never saw when they came in. I am so sorry if it seemed that I was ignoring them!

I love pretty much all the scenes in this fic as they came out at the end of the revision process--despite its length it was a very tightly-focused fic for me, so I put a lot of effort into making each scene shine--but I will, as a sorting method, choose the one that was the absolute most fun to write, and most satisfying to get to, in the very first draft.

(Technically the whole chapter is one scene, in that there are no breaks, but I'm not going to do the whole 3500 words, so I'm choosing what feels to me like a natural 'break' point where the narrative attention shifts.)

All of Barbara's training tells her that Noelle and Albedo's approach is far too reckless to uncover a buried person. But she only holds her breath as the rocks around her sister are shattered to pieces, then scrambles forward over the gravel and drops to her knees at Jean's side. She has her sister's Vision clutched tight in her hand. There's no light in it, not even the tiniest, faintest, dimmest flicker at the very core. Barbara tucks it between her knees. She can't look at it right now. Then she sits back onto her heels, puts her free hand against her catalyst, and calls on her Elemental Sight.

I knew from very early on when writing this that I wanted Barbara to have to use her C6 ability for Jean. In the first draft, I played with the idea of this being a known power, though closely-kept secret, that she has--I think there's actually an excerpt somewhere on the blog of Kaeya outright asking for her because he knows she can--but it ended up working out better for the emotional arc for this to be the first time.

It's bad. Even if Sir Kaeya hadn't said what he'd said, even if she wasn't holding Jean's Vision, she'd have known it would be bad at the first glimpse of Jean's legs, tattered leggings revealing glimpses of purple-grey flesh. No, she'd known it would be bad from the moment they realized Jean and Sir Kaeya might be under all that stone. Barbara has been doing her breathing exercises ever since, doing everything she can to keep herself calm. Now is the worst possible time to panic.

Elemental Sight reveals many internal details to a healer trained to focus and refine their gaze, but her Hydro Vision makes her particularly aware of the flow of blood through someone's body. The blood left in Jean's veins, what little there is, has come to a stop.

There's absolutely no reason for magical healing to require the healer to see what they're doing, or justification for it to be visible to Elemental Sight like this. But it's something I like writing, so it's my dominant headcanon and one I run with whenever I get the chance.

Barbara picks up Jean's Vision and tucks it into her limp hand, still refusing to look at its dull grey surface. It had been flickering less than a minute ago. Maybe her heart had still been pumping when the rocks were blown apart. She's not dead yet, she's not gone, and if Barbara believes that- She has to believe that. She has to.

And as I imagined the mechanism here, she does have to. Pulling this trick off is reliant on her determination, which in turn is absolutely reliant on her belief. I also love in general, though, the trope of simply not wanting to believe that your loved one is gone.

Putting her hand over Jean's breast, she takes a deep breath, then begins to sing. Not one of her own cheery songs; a hymn, a plea to Barbatos, just in case he's listening. Beneath the hand she has over her own Vision, it begins to hum in tune, a vibration that's picked up next by her catalyst as the magic of her Shining Miracle begins to take form. Blue light gleams around her, its familiar patterns crazed by the broken rock. Barbara doesn't dare look. Her gaze is focused entirely on Jean, on the muddy swirl of colors shown by her Elemental Sight, the crazed amber of fractured bones and the fading blur of teal in her collapsed lungs and the blue of Hydro just barely visible where it traces through her, pooling in some places and draining from others. There's none of the faint violet that should limn the muscles, the lungs, the the heart- Barbara makes herself put that observation aside.

I have a whole system of what elements match to which parts of the body and which associated illnesses and ailments, which I laid out on this blog somewhere in my headcanons tag. I recall coming up with a whole mnemonic rhyme about it in my head at the barn that I was going to work into this scene as something Barbara is remembering from her training as she works, but ended up dropping that before I actually got to this part.

Hydro is her element. Take care of that one, first, or the rest won't matter. She gathers all the glowing Hydro song of the Shining Miracle and pours it into Jean, flooding her veins with fresh blood, drawing the pools into their proper current, cleansing what she draws out from crushed muscle and inflamed flesh as she goes. It's not enough; Barbara reaches out with her Vision, drawing in the moisture from the air all around. She can feel tears trickling down her face and draws from them, too, leaving salt-trails on her cheeks. A wind surges up from the lake, heavy with moisture. Barbara reaches the end of the hymn and begins it again, struggling to sustain the scale of this Miracle with only her Vision and her voice. Blood rushes through Jean's veins at her command, running through her heart in its proper course--in, out, in, out, in, out--as she pours all of that Hydro into it. Barbara can feel the Miracle starting to slip away. Fresh tears well up and she draws on them too, her voice starting to go raw as her throat dries out. It is too late. It's not going to be enough. Barbara's voice breaks in a dry sob.

I spend a lot of time trying to translate game mechanics into something that makes narrative worldbuilding and sense in my fics. It's utterly unnecessary, but it's very fun! And my personal de-gamification of 'elemental particles' is that Visions draw elemental power from their environment, which is strongest when it's free-floating energy from Vision use and other magic, but can also draw from natural sources. Like humidity. Or tears.

And then, with a flash of violet all through Jean's body and a jerk that Barbara can feel beneath her hand, Jean's heart begins to beat again on its own.

Hydro-based CPR!

The pattern of her Shining Miracle draws inwards as it does, the last of its power pouring into Jean's still form. That was the most difficult part, but Barbara is far from done. As she takes a moment to gasp for breath and assess the remaining damage, she looks up to see Noelle on her knees at Jean's other side. Barbara gives her a grateful look. "Do you think you can help with her bones?" Geo is best for bone-healing, but there's so much damage here that Barbara honestly isn't sure if Noelle is capable of it. Jean's pelvis is shattered, her legs crushed--Barbara is keeping her left femoral artery, nicked on the broken femur, from bleeding out by magic alone--and half her ribs broken, some of them buried deep in her collapsed right lung. If Noelle can heal them, though, Barbara has higher hopes about being able to handle the rest.

Finally getting to describe what was going on internally with Jean in detail, instead of vaguely alluding from Kaeya's POV or noting mostly symptoms from Jean's self-analysis, was very satisfying. TBH this may be why I have that Elemental Sight headcanon in the first place. Let the rescuer see and be aghast at just how injured the whumpee is--I love that particular flavor.

"Let me take care of it," Noelle says firmly, setting her hands on Jean's shoulder and hip. Through her Elemental Sight, Barbara can see the Geo energy starting to flow through her hands into the broken bone beneath, reshaping it and knitting it firmly back together. She seems to know what she's doing.

Noelle 100%, upon learning what the Geo healing specialty is, sat down and studied skeletal anatomy, then went out and practiced on broken-winged birds and such. As a knight with a Vision, it's an essential part of knightly training!

Relieved, Barbara starts to hum, pouring more of her Vision's power into the softer parts of Jean's flesh. She follows meticulously after Noelle, healing the soft tissue supported by each restored bone, wrapping blood vessels back around them and reconnecting them to the marrow within. There are poisons built up in Jean's crushed legs; she wicks them away before they have a chance to spread. Muscles and nerves have started to die; she pours blood and Hydro into them until they crackle again with life. Infection is already trying to take hold; she draws that out with the poison and chokes it ruthlessly to death. She siphons the sweat from her own skin, the moisture from the air, the saliva from her mouth. Her singing voice goes hoarser and hoarser as her throat dries out. Gloved hands hover over her Vision with ice cupped in them, and Barbara greedily draws on every bit of melting frost. Noelle, across from her, is pulling Geo energy from the stone all about at equal speed. Everything they can reach, they pour together into Jean. Bit by bit, drop by drop, they put her big sister back together.

This chunk of prose was just so fucking satisfying to write. I spent so much time at the barn thinking out the exact words and cadence. That three-sentence sequence with the semi-colons in it had to balance exactly. 'Bit by bit' spent time as 'bone by bone' and is still the most-debated line to me, but I really wanted to emphasize Barbara was leading the effort and alluding more directly to 'bone' than to 'blood' felt like it undercut that somehow.

"There," Noelle gasps, as she knits the last broken toe and the stretched-thin glow of her Geo fades. "Can I help with anything else?" "No," Barbara says, her voice even rawer. Her lips are chapped, and her mouth feels like a desert. There's nothing more her Vision can give her, or she can give her sister. A Vision's healing is powerful, but its use takes a strain on the body and mind that Barbara can see in Noelle's face, ghastly pale, and feel in her own aching flesh. Jean is still visibly bruised, her lung repaired but still collapsed, the bleeding in her skull eased away but her eyes still closed. She's breathing, Barbara tells herself. She's alive. That's all that matters.

That is all that matters! You did it! Good job, Barbara! I wanted this to feel like a massive amount of work and I do think I accomplished that.

"Will she make it?" Barbara registers Master Diluc and Sir Kaeya kneeling nearby, tense and at the ready, as if their martial prowess can do anything for Jean's wounds. Sir Kaeya claps a hand over his right eye as she looks up that doesn't hide the dried blood streaked all the way down to his chin.

Oh, right, the boys are here too. XD Also emphasizing how completely focused Barbara was--she takes the water they're making/melting for her above without any conscious awareness whatsoever of where it comes from, just that it's here and she needs it. Nothing else mattered until Jean was alive and going to stay that way.

"She's alive," she says aloud. "I'd like it if she woke up, so I could get her to use a Dandelion Breeze on herself, but... she's still alive, and mostly stable."

If this was where I'd ended the actual chapter, or had a clean scene break, it would end on 'she's still alive.' In fact, when I first wrote the first draft, it did! It felt nicely final to a very intense writing session. Then I came back the next day and had to continue the conversation (in which Diluc would never have changed the subject if he didn't feel it was safe for Jean to divert Barbara's attention), and it changed.

[sonic-love-island-official]

Rouge (Bio/Character design ramble)

Want to have a ramble about Rouge because I'm feeling particularly obsessed with her character design at the moment. So, might as well do a little bio and a ramble on choices made for her Love Island AU counterpart !

More under the cut x

Rouge is a 28 year old jewellery specialist from Central City. She joins the fray with the intention of stirring the pot, potentially finding a summer fling and the allure of the cash prize.

She's your girl that has a specific 'type' and sticks to it to a tee. She is loud and flirtatious, but can also be quietly cunning. Rouge is a girl who thrives off drama and does anything to get her way. She disguises many of her true feelings beneath flirting or angry outbursts. Despite being one of the older girls in the series, Rouge doesn't have a very mature attitude (or sense of humour 🤭), which plays a part in her character arc on the Island. Along with this, she is learning to unlearn her pre-established self-destructive behaviours in order to become a better person, friend and partner... Eventually.

External design choices !! (visual appearance - incl. formation of base sim, references taken, makeup choices, fashion style... etc.)

Rouge's translation into The Sims 3 was a hugely enjoyable trial and error process. She was one of a few handful of characters that ended up getting a minor overhaul to their designs, as we eventually came to the conclusion that they no longer fitted the vibe of the AU. But. She looks stunning now, so Rouge Version 1 can be forgotten. Not really, Rouge v1 actually became a meme so we kind of have to keep her 'round hehe.

Forming the base for Rouge's sim was quite easy, as I was already inspired from the get-go. She was made the same day I made Shadow's sim, as the intention was for them to enter as bombshells (as they rightfully should). A lot (but not all) of inspiration was taken from her Sonic Adventure 2 character model because I immediately fell in love with it the first time I saw her ! Her exaggerated bust and hips made her look so short and adorable in gameplay and I know her design was not intended to be perceived that way, but here I am. I don't remember if I made her before or after I was aware of and joined the 'Rouge is Latina' bandwagon (I do believe this is canon ??) due to the fact I made this sim over a year ago when newly into the fandom, but I thought it'd be worthy mentioning here that she is and it's something we wanted to keep as part of her character.

I kept a ton of reference Rouge's core features, such as her big blue-green eyes, her wispy white hair, her slightly more voluptuous figure (to the best of my ability, ts3 is piss poor at creating differing body types grr. Don't even get me started on how I wanted to give Rouge more of a tummy) and her warmer skin tone. She actually used to look more on the orange side of tan before we kitted our game with a mod that gave sims less 'potato'-like features, so her skin tone seems more natural and even and less Fake Tan than what she was originally, making her look a little more like her counterparts in later titles, but she looks far more stunning than she used to. A sacrifice had to be made and perhaps that was for the best. Additionally, I put in some of my own creative choices as well, such as Rouge naturally having dark hair, as seen through the regrowth in her bleach-blonde hair (I thought it was white but I checked in CAS and it turns out there's the tiniest yellow hint in there. Even I didn't realise the level of detail I went into). Her face and her features are quite slender, accentuating her big eyes and her lips (which we decided was cause of Botox later into the development process, because that just seemed like something she would do and it was very in-line with characters seen on Love Island).

The miscellaneous parts of her appearance are very one way or the other. As seen in her default outfit (2nd & 3rd images), Rouge's makeup is accurate to the tacky colours seen on her reference designs. The blue cut-crease eyeshadow, the pink lip colour... But alternatively, she is also seen wearing more Love Island appropriate makeup - more neutral, blended shadows, highlighter, winged liner, false lashes, lip glosses. Her outfits normally match whichever angle she's leaning towards during that particular episode and a few outfits of hers are actually inspired by (or are near replicas of) pre-made designs from various games/official artworks ! It's all in the little things 😉

*Did I,, did I forget to talk about her piercings ? Yes, I did </3 Beneath her hair is tons of little sparkly earrings she's adorned herself with over the years, because it's Rouge and she can't resist a bit of sparkle. She also has a belly piercing :)

Internal design choices !! (personality, characteristics, psychology etc.)

Rouge does not get nearly enough credit for any of the internal workings of her character and having her in this AU gave us the perfect excuse to delve into Rouge's psychology a bit more in-depth. We decided to expand on pre-existing traits and add a few of our own in the mix, as to not take away from any of the brilliance Rouge already has as a character at least, in some of the earlier games she does... I've noticed that even though Rouge in this AU presents herself a little more immature, the way we've treated her character is far from that. Instead of being reduced down to what is essentially eye-candy, Rouge is shown to be a complex character of her own. She's witty, flirty, manipulative, materialistic, confident... all the common traits associated with her character, but she is also VERY guarded with her feelings. She struggles with vulnerability, commitment and the concept of actually being in love. It is possible she feels undeserving of good people in her life, hence why she seeks to ruin her positive relationships at any given opportunity. Alas... It is something for her to work out throughout the course of the series :) Like most of the main characters in the series, Rouge means well (some of the time) but is a right mess, and I like to think that adds to the relatability of her character 👍

Other fun little titbits I thought were worth a mention !!

Following a fairly popular headcanon (at least, from what I've seen, this is kind of the general consensus ??), Rouge is bisexual in this AU. She cracks on with the boys and has flirty banter with some of them, but also she expresses interest in some of the girls, too. Rouge being Rouge though, a lot of her genuine advances are dismissed for her 'joking', when in fact, that is not entirely the case. And Love Island being the show that it is, often prevents Rouge from fully pursuing any of the girls that caught her attention. Sure as hell doesn't stop her from trying though :)

Exaggerating one of Rouge's features, Love Island AU Rouge uses every pet name under the sun to refer to people by. She also loves making endearing nicknames for all the Islanders

[theraedar]

how long dose drawing take you?

Omg I am actually…..very embarrassingly slow LOL I get ridiculously hung up on trying to make the tiniest details perfect and I take a long time to even draw something simple 😭 I really do want to work on being more loose and quick, but as slow as I am, I do enjoy my process!

For something even simple like sketches or memey pics, I usually take an hour to a few hours. For full illustrations I usually track 15-20 hrs at LEAST, according to Procreate’s info. It’s because I sketch the basic shapes, then sketch over it again, then if it was really rough I do ANOTHER cleaner sketch on top, THEN line. But then I’ll be like “oh but this line looks off” or “should this be 2 pixels to the left or right”….and oh god once I start coloring and doing effects/bgs….that’s probably what Really gets me bc I’m so indecisive LMAO. I’m out here trying out 10 different variations of everything and testing different opacities of the overlays and constantly switching back and forth until I maybe finally decide an hour later.

I am kinda embarrassed with how slow I am compared to how long I think other artists might spend on a similar piece, but I know everyone works at their own pace and in the end, I’m usually very satisfied with my decisions and how my work comes out, so it’s worth it to me! I only wish I could be faster to be able to draw more often because I have so many ideas I wanna see come to life. It’s just that sometimes it’s hard for me to set aside the proper amount of time and/or energy bc I know it always takes a Lot. I also tend to draw in very LONG sittings because it’s a challenge to start things but once I get going, I KEEP going lmao

Some screenshots of examples of my pieces with tracked times under the cut, I’m Really exposin myself haha

Full illustrations

Most of the time in this snack run pic was really eaten up by me trying to decide bg/graphic design. Also the snacks themselves LOL

Ok i was REALLY struggling for this halloween pic lmfao, esp the lantern and the perspective 😭

More simple pieces

What was supposed to be a simple draw-over meme ended up taking me hours 🙈

This one prob took about 1.5 hrs, I had other unrelated doodles before lol I rly can’t do anything under an hour

[snakemoltsiren]

does your muse usually carry around a bag/purse/backpack? or do they prefer to keep only what they can fit in their pockets?

Severine isn't known for her particularly practical wardrobe. She likes wearing the tiniest shorts known to man and doesn't like having her hands occupied by carrying a bag or purse. Often she'll have a little pouch strapped to her hip or thigh to carry her money in, but she spent no small amount of time picking pockets so she knows how to hide her essentials. She does of course had a go bag packed and ready in case of an emergency. Just a small backpack she can grab if something forces her to move fast. Thank you @houserosaire!! Misc. Small Detail Ask Meme

[antvnger]

after a vacation, do they immediately unpack or slowly retrieve items from their suitcase until its empty?

*laughs* Hope immediately unpacks, and she can’t stand that I don’t. I definitely pull things out as I need them until it’s empty.

I hate packing, and I hate unpacking too. It’s so annoying even though it’s necessary. 

Tiniest details asks

[causesciencethatswhy]

The way jimin presents is much more obviously queer than any other member (purely based on mannerisms, cause if you hear joon or yoongi talking about love for a few minutes you can put two and two together). And his overt queerness makes a lot of cis hetero shippers (or kpop fans ) uncomfortable because they're forced to confront their internalized homophobia and misogyny head on. So they find a way to diminish his importance to the other members or villanise to cartoonish levels to deal with that discomfort.

(I'm the anon you responded to with this^^)

Add onto that how a lot of ARMYs seem to assume that just being a BTS fan makes you an ally/intelligent/a good person, and it's the perfect scenario for some cognitive dissonance. Only that JM haters and Tkkers don't seem to have enough cognitive for it to be anything. Even (maybe especially, even) shipping two men doesn't automatically make you supportive of the queer community and understanding of the struggles just existing as a queer person brings about.

They always clamour "but two gay men wouldn't do xyz in a homophobic country", failing to recognise that queer people have existed through so much worse and still have done things wildly more gay than anything Jikook have done.

There's also a lot of them who only see JM's gender expression and "queer subtext" (meaning fashion choices, and the whole concept of his photofolio + album) while disregarding JK's. Like, that man pulled out the most feminine look and attitude in his "bobs+bangs" Calvin Klein shoot. And he fucking owned it. But instead, at least in my perception, the fandom is split on him: one half genuinely sees and appreciates JKs expression of himself, while the other mostly memes it to death and ridding it of meaning. Any perception of JK as a potentially non-hetero man is forgotten the moment he presents as classically masculine again, aka stereotyping the whole queer community to death.

The latter doesn't happen with JM, because - like you said - he fits the common perception of a gay man. Which is all fun and games for the many "The JM effect" compilations, but for cis shippers it starts sliding into homophobia the moment they need to stop perceiving the members as Ken Dolls and instead treat them as actual human beings with all their complexities, faults and incongruent behaviour.

Which brings me onto Hobi. Now, I don't think he gets it quite as bad as JM.

One reason being that there's simply not as many Yoonminers who aren't mainly tkkers. The latter often uses the former to not be seen as a JM anti, but aside from compilations getting spread to push the "married couple" agenda, they don't focus their attention on it. (Also can the "arguing a lot = being in love/married" thing plz die? As someone whose grandparents argue every 20 minutes (real numbers) it's the actual worst and not really a reflection of romance...)

Another one is that Yoonminers do not care about original content at all. From what I've seen during my baby army days, they pick and choose everything down to the tiniest detail. So they mostly ignore that Hobi even exists as a possible variable.

Which brings me to my next point, which kinda breaks my heart: I don't think a lot of shippers in general, and the tkk/ym crowd in particular, see Hoseok as someone to focus their attention on. He gets forgotten a LOT, relegated to the fun sidekick comic relief while the ships are the mc's. (Which is why, imho, it's always his releases a lot of the fandom doesn't care about/actively ignores). The actual deep founded love every single member of BTS has for him - to the point they should actually propose - is insane. How can you think Ym is more real than Sope or Jihope? How can people be that willfully obtuse?

As someone who thinks Jikook could be real (2019, I am looking at you), I had my doubts seeing Jihope interact a few times. But what gets me is how fucking whipped Hobi gets every time he watches Jikook be all adorable. He looks at them like the proud BFF who got them together. A lot of that is his general love for the maknae line and his personality, but that level? The instances of it happening?

...

.......

This was a lot. Okay.

Tl;dr: BTS are human beings, also Hoseok is the best person on the planet probably. Be gay, do crime🏳️‍🌈

Even (maybe especially, even) shipping two men doesn't automatically make you supportive of the queer community and understanding of the struggles just existing as a queer person brings about.

This!! Is so key to everything wrong with a large group of shippers and even solo fans. This idea that because you ship on m/m ship over the other, you are no way capable of making homophobic assumptions and statements. To a lot of shippers shipping a potentially queer couple is just another way to fulfill some forbidden romance fantasy of theirs and not actual concern for the lived reality of queer couples in conservative countries.

Which is why the painful torture of two boyfriends being torn apart from each other like star crossed lovers sounds more palatable and realistic to tkkrs than a queer couple deciding to stick by each other's side through thick and thin, despite the risks. It's less spicy I guess, but who cares of queer joy when the dramatics of the other possibility is so much more enticing.

Everytime I see tkkrs make the whole, "being gay in the military is forbidden so a gay couple would never risk going together" argument, a part of my soul dies. I don’t know what's more offensive, the idea that a closeted couple will just forget how to behave around each other after potentially years of being together because Gays and their crazy sex drives, am I right?

Or the alternative explanation that queer people in conservative countries just never make risky descions for the sake of their partners because the law forbids them from even existing.

Both explanations are tone deaf and ignorant of the lived reality of queer people. Its a direct result of straight people dominating shipper spaces. I do sometimes wonder what queer tkkr shippers make of these theories (cause I'm sure they exist as well). Are they perhaps more sane or do they subscribe to this bs as well ?

And oh my gosh yes about jungkook. That boy has very vocally played about with his gender expression and has been the one ignored the most by seriously cis heterosexual fans. This daddy Dom fantasy they project onto him is a bit much though I do think he does enjoy a more masculine cool image for himself as well. Which to the straight mind is confirmation for all their wattpad inspired fantasies of him. It's unfortunate but alas, stereotypes stick , especially those made by people with a very set view of the world.

As for hobi and the ynmner /sope dilemma, I totally get it. Ynmn shippers do tend to get on my nerves from time to time as well and it no doubt does have something to do with the correlation of them to the tkkr subgroup. I have grown fond of the ynmn dynamic since my baby army days I must admit though, because you can clearly see how much yoongi genuinely appreciates jimins presence and how jimin relies on yoongi for emotional comfort. It is sweet, but yeah I don't necessarily see anything else going on there.

Same goes for sope honestly. Nothing has ever made me seriously question them, except the sunshine bf with grumpy bf dynamic they do fit into very perfectly. They also clearly rely on each other for emotional support (Bring Hobi, hes my vitamin 🥺) but yeah Nothing as eye raising ig ? But yes, i can completely see why it's so frustrating to see how Hobi is dismissed within other shipping dynamics similar to the treatment j/m has gotten. Hobi does tend to get overlooked a lot in these bts dynamic discussions when he very much does embody the heart of the group and the members love for him is so heartfelt and grand, we really seriously underestimate his significance to keeping the bts spirit in line all these years.

I love my ball of sunshine who holds and even bottles up a lot emotionally for the sake of his fans and the team. And he always deserves more appreciation by everyone in the fandom (myself included)

Ps. Jihope in that one 2020 music bank live was definitely a 👀 moment lol.

[error-404-fuck-not-found]

just bitching don't mind me

least popular opinion on this webbed site but if you're going to comment on a fic with just an emoji (or even a string of emojis) just don't fucking comment at all

you don't comment to tic off a box on a Good Fandom Consumer checklist, you do it to tell the author how much you liked their work in detail, or what specific things you liked. the generic "liked it" emoji-style response is already there in the form of kudos.

i open an email that says it's a new comment and it's that Good Place meme where it *PROMISES* it's a new comment and then i open it and it's just an emoji and the disappointment is real. getting my hopes up and then dashing them is worse than never having commented at all.

to anyone like "well i'd be happy with ANY comments" A) fuck off this isn't about you, i'm just venting my own personal beef here and it's got nothing to do with you; and B) why though? an emoji doesn't tell you anything a kudos doesn't. are you just trying to get your metrics up? fuck metrics, and fuck anyone who values them over substance. ao3 is not social media. are you "just happy someone put in the effort to tell me what they thought"? THEY LITERALLY DIDN'T. THEY COULD NOT BE ARSED TO TYPE A SINGLE WORD. if they actually cared about telling you what they thought, they would put in the tiniest ounce of effort in expressing that. instead they're doing this, because not commenting gets you poo-poo'd online and for no other reason. they're not doing it to compliment you, they're doing it to avoid criticism

i haven't gotten a single real comment in months. it's a slap in the face every time. every single time i open my inbox and see a new email from ao3 i'm charlie brown so hopeful that i'm gonna kick the football this time. this time it'll be a real comment for sure. it never is. patty's a real bitch sometimes.

leaving thoughtful comments is a real skill that takes effort, and that's why authors love getting comments in the first place. that's why comments are valuable. just spamming an emoji is not the same thing and if you think they are, you have fundamentally misunderstood what the point of a comment is. you're the parent promising a 16 year old a car for their birthday and then it's a hot wheels toy and it's fine and maybe even funny a time or two but after that it's just this cold miserable feeling of knowing nobody actually cares enough these days to type so much as three words in a row for you when you finished shitting out tens of thousands for them

[tea-and-secrets]

Life has been incredibly shitty lately (5 deaths, 4 accidents, 4 medical issues and a stalker in a span of a month and a half, not gonna get in detail for obvious reasons), and I'm saying I'm memeing through it all ("cry a little and then if I can't romantize my life I'll make it a comedy") to be strong but I'm so close to snapping at the tiniest stuff it's ridiculous.

But because I'm me, I think if I can deal with the major stuff I shouldn't whine with the small stuff, and now here I am mentally preparing myself to talk this with my therapist even tho he keeps telling me to fucking chill because, apparently, I'm more anxiety than person.

Huh.

<3

[marvelmaniac715]

Things Chucky Does To Annoy Nica In Their Shared Brain (Nica still has hands):

Recounts the plot of the latest South Park or Rick and Morty episode he’s watched (he watches a LOT of tv when he has the body, when he isn’t killing that is)

He pulls up the most embarrassing memories he can find in Nica’s subconscious and painstakingly analyses them like he’s writing an essay on that particular memory, he doesn’t stop until Nica begins to cry

Complains about various things that annoy him, loudly and obnoxiously until Nica is hitting herself in the head with a pillow to shut him up

Brags about his kids and brings up the fact that Nica will never see Alice again or have her own kids, this upsets her more than it annoys her, but Chucky takes great enjoyment from it

“Junior double triple whopper” basically the whole thing over and over again until Nica calls out to Tiffany so she can get a distraction from it

Tries to recall the plot of Peter Pan and tells the story to Nica, constantly interrupting himself to say that he really resonates with Peter yet can understand Captain Hook’s motivation, because kids are annoying and he too would kill them

Ranks his top ten favourite murders, either by him or by serial killers he admires in extreme detail

Delivers a monologue length autobiographical account of his life,  being sure to linger over the months he spent with Nica’s mother and sister because he knows it annoys her

Sings songs (badly) there’s a lot of Queen, and a lot of Meatloaf, he particularly enjoys Bat Out of Hell

Chucky: Like a bat out of hell I’ll be gone when the morning comes!-

   Nica: I wish you were!

   Chucky: Not happening!

Chucky believes heavily in conspiracy theories (you can’t tell me he doesn’t) so he explains to Nica (entirely seriously) about the dangers of the Illuminati and that aliens are going to invade, so tinfoil hats are humanity’s only defence

Rants about Andy Barclay, this isn’t specifically intended to annoy Nica, he just gets really angry whenever he thinks about Andy, and this inadvertently annoys Nica because he rants for a while

Tries to convince Nica to get into killing, because he knows she’ll never agree but he thinks it’s fun to watch her squirm

Chucky used to be good at art, and in the rare moments Nica draws or paints to pass the time (or when Tiffany gives her art supplies as something to do) he criticises everything she does, sometimes taking control of her hands to erase the lines she drew and start over

Recites memes that he learned when he had control of the body, specifically Family Guy and South Park quotes (he loves “Dancing, walking, rearranging furniture”)

Sometimes when he’s bored, he forces Nica to play I Spy, but the things he ‘spies’ are always obscure and random, like the tiniest speck of dirt on the floor at the other end of the room, and he won’t stop until she guesses, it can take hours