#100% kickass art

[totally-bing]

i appreciate everything except the kissing and blushing. the only bloodflow that would be happening here is blood flowing out of google's newly torn off head while and the only kiss would be google appreciating the sweet kiss of death while i savor the taste of their tears and despair

@totally-bing @the-real-google I made you guys something c:

I acknowledge that you guys are usually more murdey towards each other, but I saw something about a hate marriage (????) and couldn’t help myself

[taikk0]

a birthday gift for the one and only creator of the my little park au @cookieluvr5268 :]

[extant-exhaustion]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "extant-exhaustion "?

Well, first of all, thank you so much for your patience! I know it took me seven weeks to reply to this Ask! I agonized over my list (also, the holidays happened, which kept me busy). But I finally narrowed it down, so here we go, in no particular order:

My Top 10 Favorite Fanfics

In Another Life by LittleLuxray Haikyuu!! | T+ | 23k | Bokuto/Akaashi | angst, sickfic | It's famous for a reason. Truly one of the best pieces of writing I've ever read, including published works—I've rarely cried so hard or been moved so much.

died in my dreams by MTrash Haikyuu!! | T+ | 10k | Ushijima/Tendou | futuristic/cyberpunk AU, opposites attract, reluctant work partners to friends to lovers | fantastic characterization, really cool conceptually, a story about trauma and healing and finding your person

the weight of water by wordstruck/@redluxite Haikyuu!! | M | 6k | Iwaizumi/Oikawa | angst | Painful, soul-crushing heartbreak, but so, so beautiful. As someone who's experienced loss and grief, this story is visceral and the accompanying art haunts me.

Come and get lost with us by boxofwonder Haikyuu!! | M | 150k | Hinata/Kageyama, Daichi/Sugawara | action/adventure, Medieval AU(?) | unlike anything I've ever read before or since; a really masterful integration of an enormous cast and a plot that unravels with absolutely zero fluff or filler

shimmer in your shine by zenelly/@zenellyraen Hunter x Hunter | T+ | 91k | Leorio/Kurapika, Killua/Gon | American roadtrip AU | This story made me cry over a fist fight between Leorio and Illumi in the parking lot of a Red Lobster in Arkansas.

The Myth of Mankind by MistressEast/@mistresseast Promare | T+ | 63k | Galo/Lio | action/adventure, romance | masterful worldbuilding, kickass fight scenes, intrigue galore, falling in love while preventing mass murder? yes, please

A Second Chance To Say by KazimaKuwabara/@kazimakuwabara Yu Yu Hakusho | M | 92k | Yusuke/Kuwabara, Youko Kurama/Kuronue | action/adventure, hurt/comfort | ft. Kuronue's eternal sass and unwavering friendship, the slow burn of reincarnated already-in-love KuwaMeshi (because Kuwabara doesn't remember it), somewhat menacing levels of intrigue, and Hiei finally winning MVP of emotions on Team Urameshi

Don't Blink or You'll Miss It (Lift Up Your Head) by umisabaku/@umisabaku Kuroko no Basuke | M | 81k | Kagami/Kuroko, Kasamatsu/Kise, Midorima/Takao, Himuro/Murasakibara, Aomine/Momoi | super powers | This story and its accompanying series are so cool and so unique. The characterization is amazing and the worldbuilding is stellar.

neither fish, flesh, nor foam by twoif interactive on Twine Kuroko no Basuke | Kagami/Kuroko | angst, Little Mermaid–esque, interactive storytelling | incredible, but also devastating; a story about how sometimes our doubts can destroy not only ourselves but the good things we build; one of the coolest things I've ever interacted with as a story, a true tour de force

Transient Shadow, True Light by seafoamist/@seafoamist Kuroko no Basuke | M | 322k, WIP | Kagami/Kuroko | angst, hurt/comfort, time travel, historical (Edo Period) | If you talk to me about this story, I will go absolutely feral, because it is my current obsession and the only WIP that is on this list. I'm straight-up insane about its quality and depth. I can't even put this story into words. It knocks the wind out of me.

And lastly, my URL doesn't actually have a story behind it! It's basically just my life, haha. “Extant” is an adjective meaning “ongoing/still in existence” and “exhaustion” is pretty obvious. Essentially, I like alliteration and thought it sounded better than "tired 100% of the time."

[tmntstorycomp]

TMNT Story Comp Ultimate Midround Hightime Hell Tournament Round One

Meet the competitors under the cut!

Hopelessly Surviving Leo from Hopelessly Surviving (belongs to @nights-flying-fox) "HS leo died and came back and I have no doubts that he has the guts to face a bear, he doesnt really have to worry about dying again and I think he would be angry enough to go through with a full fight with it! Hes died before and he was fine, why not fight a bear for the hell of it??"

--- Tigerclaw from Black and Brown Fur AU (belongs to @Ainaro0or) "He is trained for years to be the perfect bounty hunter. Has many experience with wild animals and also he is a tiger. He’s bound to fight a bear at some point bearhanded (heh). The fact that he is also has the honor of being Shredder’s adopted son proof that he is capable of do anything to make his father proud. And i mean, ANYTHING."

--- Vaasvi from But First They Must Catch You (belongs to @mudlarkspur) "Vaasvi is an oc version of Sunita's grand googly. (ey/em/eir) Former battle nexus fighter that participated in fighting British occupation in India before moving to the Hidden City 100+ years ago. Ey's an expert in both kalaripayattu and silambam martial art styles and is a slime yokai with resistance to a lot of damage types. Ey could take a bear in a fight."

--- Raph from Erica (belongs to @13runningsomething) "Given that Raph has Hanahaki from suppressing his anger around his family, I feel like he’d put all his repressed rage into this fight just to keep the flowers at. It might give him enough of an edge to win"

--- Kama Chameleon (belongs to @Oddpocalypse)

"Kama is a prodigy martial artist obsessed with proving she’s the Champion! When the Foot Clan unveils their Ultimate Ninja Showdown, she jumped at the chance to make it big! Unfortunately, the “cash prize” was getting mutated and indoctrinated into the Foot. Fortunately she did get kickass powers and super mutant strength! That’s a plus! I don’t know why she would be near a bear. But she would kick its ass for bragging rights alone. After all, bears can’t maul what they can’t see and aren’t immune to energy projectiles! Get it’s ass girl."

[slamdunktheories]

Sannoh's Unusual Team Slogan

Sharing a little Slam Dunk shrine that's in my study! Let's use this to jump into a topic that's rarely discussed: Sannoh's unusual slogan. I might be overthinking here but... considering that Inoue was a Literature major in college before dropping out to become a manga-ka, I'm pretty sure there's something interesting going on here and it didn't happen by accident.

Let's dive in!

Sannoh's slogan (一意摶心) was only revealed in TFSD and I loved it from the moment I saw it. Of all the team slogans that were shown in Slam Dunk, this was by far the best one IMO. What a kickass slogan. What a philosophy to live by. And so on brand. But... there's also something weird about it.

First, what does the slogan mean? The first phrase that comes to mind is actually 一意專心, a similar phrase that's pretty well-known in both Japanese and Chinese. It's a very similar phrase but not exactly what Sannoh has for their slogan. And 一意專心 loosely translates to: to focus or dedicate yourself single-mindedly and wholeheartedly to something.

It's a phrase that still gets used in modern day Japanese and Chinese. And it does seem to fit Sannoh. Just like the phrase itself, there's an air of austerity/Zen-ness to the way Sannoh is depicted in the story. The tradition of the team shaving their heads and resulting in that monk look, the simplicity of their uniform (in both design and colour choice), the discipline that's so evident in the way they play on court during the critical moments, etc. Of course, this is all inspired by Noshiro, the real life high school with a famed history in basketball.

But the thing that made me pause over the Sannoh slogan was the third character: 摶. TFSD was the very first time I'd seen this character in my life (despite being a native Chinese speaker and fairly well-read). I wasn't even 100% sure how it was pronounced. Why would Inoue opt for the more complicated and obscure 摶 instead of 專 when the latter would have been just fine per the modern phrase mentioned above? Was he trying to achieve something by opting for this character for the slogan?

So I did a bit of digging and it turns out... even Japanese natives don't know this character. In fact, some online Japanese dictionaries don't have an entry for this character. And for good reason: Sannoh's slogan is a phrase that first appeared 2,500 years ago during China's Zhou Dynasty, in an ancient text titled Guan Zi written by a philosopher. However, the phrase that was coined in Guan Zi (aka Sannoh's slogan) has virtually not been used outside of that particular book; all subsequent mentions of this phrase actually reference Guan Zi. And there's been barely a mention of this character in recent centuries.

Also, note that even though 2,500 years sounds like a long time ago, in some ways it isn't, considering that the Chinese civilisation is essentially one continuous civilisation that's ~5,000 years old so this was already 25 centuries into its development. The Zhou Dynasty already had a bunch of technology and tools; irrigation systems, canals, chopsticks etc. had already been invented. It was also the time of Confucianism, Daoism, and complex military strategies that still remain relevant today. (That seminal book on military war strategy, "The Art of War", came from this period. GREAT book, BTW.)

Anyway, the next time this phrase appears in another piece of text, it's written as 一意專心 (aka the contemporary version of the phrase). So it could be that the modern phrase that Chinese & Japanese speakers know so well is a corruption/mistranslation of the original phrase (aka Sannoh's slogan). Also, this ancient character 摶 has the additional meaning of unity, circle, and harmony, which 專 does not possess.

When you look at how 一意摶心 appears in Guan Zi, you get a fuller context of what this original phrase actually means.

The original is here for those interested, but loosely translated it means: to calm your breath and your pulse, to hold your posture upright, to purge your senses of distractions, and to singlemindedly and wholeheartedly devote yourself to a cause, letting nothing distract you physically or mentally from it.（full breakdown of this text here in Chinese)

So that is actually the context in which Sannoh's phrase appears and makes 一意摶心 so much richer than the modern phrase. Again, it evokes a Zen-ness and discipline that fit Sannoh to a T.

In my view, Inoue-sensei wanted to go back to the roots of that phrase and honour the original intent behind it, which carries connotations of unity and that makes sense for a team sport. I'm still amazed that he knows this phrase, considering that it is not known to be in any Japanese texts; again, it really only exists in a Chinese text called Guan Zi.

Anyway, hope this was interesting for at least some of you! Would love to hear what people think about this (and if you have insights on the Chinese or Japanese aspects, please do chime in! I'm not a literary specialist.)

Further reading: This article (Japanese) - it offers some interesting interpretations as to why it was picked for Sannoh's slogan that I didn't mention here since this post is already so long XD

[literallyjusttoa]

SUUUNNYYYY

I was reblogging some posts of yours on my sideblog (@apollosgiftofprophecy) and!!!! found!!!!! your art of the Delphic Family!!!!!

YOU SAID YOU HAVE IDEAS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT THEM👀👀👀

ABOUT MY FAV KOIOS AND PHOEBE???? ASTERIA PERSES HECATE LELANTOS AND AURA???

I LUB THEM SO MUCH. PLEASE. PLEASE INDULGE ME. I AM BEGGING YOU. I WILL WRITE FANFICS - I HAVE WROTE FANFICS ABOUT THEM AND I HAVE MORE FANFICS ABOUT THEM

LITERALLY BEGGING YOU TO SPILL THE TEA

OK OK I DON’T KNOW IF I’M AS WELL VERSED IN THIS SIDE OF THE FAMILY AS YOU ARE BUT HERE ARE SOME OF MY LITTLE HC’S

All the cousins are besties, but Artemis is closer to Aura and Apollo is closer to Hecate. Artemis and Aura hunt together all the time, and Apollo researches magic practices a lot (God of knowledge and all that) so the two of them have fun experimenting with mystic stuff.

Asteria, Lelantos, and Leto were very close growing up, but the titanomachy put them all on different paths. They all still care for each other deeply, but scars from the past hold them back from being truly close. Recently, Asteria and Leto have been reconnecting, but Lelantos is still reluctant. 

Also because of the Titanomachy, the three siblings have various levels of strained relationships with their parents. Asteria sees her parents most favorably, and she and Leto are still regularly in contact with their mother. Leto holds a grudge against their father, and Lelantos doesn't speak with either of them. 

All of the third generation (Hecate, Aura, Apollo, Artemis) love their parents so fucking much (minus Zeus, of course) And not only that, they love each other’s parents too!! Hecate thinks Leto is the most kickass coolest aunt she could ever have! Artemis looks up to Perses like nobody's business! If Lelantos didn’t exist, Aura would ask Asteria to adopt her! And of course I have my little post-toa hc that Apollo and Lelantos become v close and wholesome and I love this family. 

Phoibe loves to brag on her kids and grandkids. Specifically, she loves to brag on the twins. See, Phoibe is not a fan of Olympus, or gods, in general. So to her, Apollo and Artemis are the only redeeming qualities of the immortal world today. So whenever something good comes out of Olympus, Phoibe is like “Well of course that was 100% because of my grandchildren. They get it all from their mother you know, nothing from that nasty child of Kronos. Oh how glorious, and you don’t see any of the godly children becoming the rulers of the sun and moon hmmm? Exactly.” 

Also according to her Apollo and Artemis are honorary titans. 

Koios hasn’t been able to interact with his grandchildren much, but he’s just as proud of them as Phoibe is, just in a … less wholesome way. Mans is certain he can convince his grandkids to retake Olympus for titan glory, which is never gonna happen. Whenever he brings it up the rest of the family just smile and nod awkwardly. 

Bonus: A little blurb about Leto I wrote about a month ago

During the titanomachy, Leto stayed on Hyperborea with her mother. She shored the defenses and kept the other titans alive. Leto had no exceptional healing or magical abilities, but she worked tirelessly and kept her heart open. She cared easily and earnestly. She fought to get her brother out of trouble with the gods after the fight ended, though she could not do the same for her parents. For years, it was just the two of them, until Leto met Zeus.

Zeus was everything Leto wanted to be. He was confident and assured, and so kind with her. They sang and danced and spoke about everything, and Leto did what she could to soothe his fears. When she get pregnant, Zeus was overjoyed. However, after the twins were born, he became colder and distant.

Leto was basically abandoned, her children taken to Olympus and her lover rebuffing any attempts at being close. She resolved to make a place for her family to return to, but they came less and less. Now Leto keeps her hearth steady, as she has for her whole life, wishing desperately that someone would stop drifting away, and come back to her. In her solitude and grief, she doesn't even realize that the earth itself will set down roots if she only asked, just as it had before.

[solradguy]

What are some bands that you like that have a female vocalist?

I used to be ride or die for Doro Pesch/Warlock but then I found out she was a TERF lol So I'll give ya three that're just as good sonically and better morally.

🔥SMOULDER🔥

Real heavy doom-tinted heavy metal from Finland. Music I think a jacked as hell warrior woman with a giant two handed sword and blood crusted under her talons would listen to. Also their album art kicks ass. Terminally upset that I keep missing out on the TIMES OF OBSCENE EVIL AND WILD DARING patches. - Bandcamp

🔥THE NEPTUNE POWER FEDERATION🔥

This ask made me realize I haven't listened to any of their stuff released after MEMOIRS OF A RAT QUEEN, which is a real shame. Dunno how I missed those. Anyway, 1970s influenced groovy psych rock from Australia that doesn't let itself get weighed down trying to go for a 100% "authentic" '70s vibe. It's just fun music. Good for playing too loud while driving too fast. If you're a fan of The Lord Weird Slough Feg then you'll also like this great bigly. - Bandcamp

🔥LOWEN🔥

I've shared Lowen on here before but they're criminally underrated so I'm gonna share them as many times as it takes. Cosmic Mesopotamian-themed doom metal outta London with English and Farsi lyrics with their latest album having Sumerian and Akkadian lyrics. There's no one doing it quite like Lowen. This band's been through a lot too, between covid and other things. Really hoping they're able to keep it going for another full length album. Also has kickass album art. - Bandcamp

[totally-bing]

that's such a fucking guy. 👍🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Gimmick doodles

I said I would draw em and I did!

@speedron @googleplayofficialtotally @undeniably-chevron @totally-bing @important-question-anon @realguitarcenter @totally-not-kraft-mac-and-cheese

[salemoleander]

Reminder that Jstor lets you access 100 academic articles/book excerpts/journals (I believe per month) for free!! If you like a topic or a novel or a type of art, I guarantee there's some really kickass essays on that topic sitting there waiting to be read

And that's not even getting into the many many open access journals and books, which don't even count towards your total!!

[m0chisw1rl]

My Introduction + Boundaries જ⁀➴ ₊ ⊹

Hallo!!! I’m m0chisw1rl but you can call me mochi! Here’s something’s you need to know about me!!!

Gender- Female (afab) she/her pronouns

Hobbies- art,dance,and writing

Mbti- ISFP

Interests

Music

Men I Trust

Current Joys - Tv Girl - Clairo - Laufey

Beabadoobee - The Smiths - Cas - Montell Fish

Mitski - Phoebe Bridgers - Conan Gray - Lana Del Ray

Faye Webster - Alex G - Arctic Monkeys - Radiohead

Billie Eilish - Mac Demarco - The Weeknd - Djo

Shows/Movies/Anime

Ponyo- Aurthur and the Invisibles - Mean girls - HxH

Howls Moving Castle - KNY - Silent Voice - Spiderman

Wild Child - Bleach - Tokyo Revengers - Big Her 6

MHA - DeathNote - My Neighbor Totoro - Arcane

Things I’ll post

(diff from writing)

-random thoughts

-how im feeling (angry,sad etc)

-random angry rants (i get angry often)

- expect random posts and deletes | (• ◡•)|

Writing (will and won’t)

Will

- Fluff

-Angst

-headcannons

- M & F Reader (ONLY no character x character)- i don’t want ppl fighting over ships they don’t like

- smut (maybe, only for older characters)

-smaus

-oneshots/imagines

Won’t

-inc3st

-r@pe

-weird kinks (kn1fe,p1ss,and v0mit)

-b3astiality

-su1cide

-p3dophilia

-n0ncon

-yandere (stalking/predatory behavior)

Fandoms I Write for

-Kny (Demon Slayer)

-Mha (My Hero Academia)

-Stranger Things

-Harry Potter

-Fantastic Beasts

-Howls Moving Castle

-Percy Jackson (new movie)

-Avatar+Legend of Korra

-Naruto

-Criminal Minds

-OHSHC

-JJK

-Haikyuu

-Kuruko’s Basketball

-Genshin/ Honkai Impact

-Tokyo Revengers

-AOT

-Descendants (1-4)

-Chainsaw Man

-Saiki k

-Cobra Kai

-Kickass (1)

-Hotel Transylvania

-Miraculous

-Luca

-Meet the Robinsons

-Pen15

-Spiderman

(across/into spiderverse)

-Teen Titans (go&tv series)

-Marvel

-BSD

-Love and Deepspace

-One Piece

-Seven Deadly Sins

-Gakuen Babysitters

-TPN

-Helluva/Hazbin (maybe)

-Toilet Bound Hanako-kun

-Mob Psycho 100

[I also write stories of my own og characters]

wattpad profile -livingdead_g1rl

I hope you all can respect, my rules and my boundaries

\(^ヮ^)/!!!

[the-story-dragon]

Officer Black Belt (2024)

Oh man. This movie had me HOOKED. Right from the characters all the way to the plot, it was all very interesting. There was nothing mind-blowing about the movie in the sense that it progressed how you would expect any typical action movie to progress. A protagonist who is kickass at martial arts who seems to have no higher purpose in life apart from having fun. He then somehow gets roped into helping some division of law enforcement by putting his fighting skills to good use. He saves people which finally makes him feel as if he has some purpose in life. He gets injured and is expected to stay out of action until he recovers but he gets together with his friends and they put their heads together to catch a dangerous criminal who is on the run. So, a lot of cliches and a lot of already-seen plots. But, the movie was still entertaining to watch and did keep me on the edge of my seat once in a while.

This is my first time watching something that Kim Woo Bin starred in and I can definitely get behind the hype for this man. His acting is good, the action scenes were pulled off well (though I don't know if he had a stunt double for the more complex choreographies) and he conveyed the emotions of the character really well. The protagonist was not insufferable in his actions and dialogues and the nuances of the character and the character arc did seem realistic.

The side characters were also really likeable. The friend group was super supportive and for once no one ruined the plan/plot by doing something stupid. They were actually resourceful and not accessories to highlight the protagonist's wit and strength. They had their roles to play in the story, albeit small.

The law enforcement officials were also pretty alright. It was interesting to see a straightforward team without the usual plot twists of spies and moles within the department. There was not much slander of the law enforcement. I don't know how realistic that is, but it certainly was refreshing to experience. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for it to be revealed that someone was a spy, but that never happened.

The movie addressed the issue of child s*x trafficking in South Korea, in a tasteful manner that emphasized the seriousness of the matter while at the same time not disturbing/traumatizing the audience much.

The movie was an easy watch. It was interesting to see how a different department of the law enforcement functioned rather than the overdone ones on media. You can sit back, relax and watch the movie with your favorite snacks without the fear of throwing your snacks away in anger, frustration, fear or grief.

Overall, 7.2/10

Definitely would watch again. 100% recommend.

[totally-bing]

you mixed up the characters btw since i'm the anime girl on the right

@totally-bing and @the-real-google always interact with eachother like manga characters so uhhhmmmmm...

I made a stupid lil comic where you are both anime girls(i like anime girls okay they're hot and easy to draw) having your typical interaction

[google is the girl on the right and bing is the one on the left]

[constellationmelody]

What a surprise that today’s the new episode dropped today! I loved it so much that I listen to it twice. The first during work because I couldn’t wait until class time where I need to listen to something while doing my art project in class, the second time... during class while doing my art project.

The ‘mysterious planet’ earth is the Indus valley of the intergalactic world. Cool Clementine to offer that to the crew but the episode perfectly articulate my thoughts on why trying to fix past mistakes, even if you had the power to do so, is bad idea. Even if She could wave her hand and give them what they wish for, The characters went through some character developments that fundamentally changed them, why would you exchange all that to go back to their statue quo? The crew develop a bond that's deeper than friends, they are now a family (aww~).  Leif's got it all figured out, I gotta give him props for that. I bet even if his past was rewritten and everything was perfect, he'd still be unhappy. Who would wanna miss out on a kickass journey sailing among the stars as a space pirate, finding tech lightyears ahead of Earth's, and meeting the amazing Bert Bert? And of course, meeting some of the coolest people in a time traveling, dimension hopping Diner. They may be from earth but the likelihood of crossing each other’s paths, becoming friends with something in common is not even slim, it’s none. I wanna hug Gloria. Hopefully I’ll never know the pain to lose parents that way, though when the time comes when I have to say good bye to them, I see how soul crushing grieving look like and that isn’t a gradual linear process. I dread that day.  Effie is a really wise lady. Had someone like her been in my life, I’m 100% sure I wouldn’t turn out to be an atheist. Or at least be a deist. Amusing that in her lil sermon, she was hoping they stayed and let out a sigh of relief when they told her that they weren’t going to take the deal.   Although Ava is all about the science and logic when it comes to persuading Caspar to stay, he's totally justified in feeling annoyed that she's not taking him as a person into account. Deep down, she cares about him a lot and likes his company even though they bicker a lot, even if she can’t or doesn’t realize it yet. It's a significant change in her attitude compared to the last episode of season 2 when she did not understand what’s Caspar's purpose being in the diner but now running around the landscape looking for him, wants him to stay. It’s not like the whole science discoveries and whatnots is gonna end if he hop off the ship.  Loved that Leif, Caspar, Ava and Effie were excited to commit crimes. Lol, Effie’s mischievous behavior. “Wellll, while the cat’s awaaaaay.....”  BTS wolves are back! J-Hope-wolf is adorable for trying to communicate to Caspar that he wanted rabbit stew. Good thing that Gloria is there to feed the baby.  I love Caspar naming weird things random words. I vote for shopzies 1+ Agreed what Gloria said about respecting ancient lost civilization places and not judging harshly. That’s my thoughts on Mesoamerican's culture. Gruesome yeah, but to them, They thought of their action as noble if you consider the context. Rooting for Gloria to punch Clementine on the Tit!  I hope i wrote this articulate enough and make sense. Especially between Caspar and Ava paragraph.  Pretty sure I’ll listen to it again a few times until the next episode.  YUS! I headcanon Clementine as a redhead. 

[chen-chen-chen-again-chen]

15 Questions | 15 People

Rules: Answer these 15 Questions, then Tag 15 People 

Hello hello! Thank you for the tags, @cutestkilla, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @yellobb, @raenestee, @artsyunderstudy! I have loved reading what you've shared and getting these neat little glimpses into your lives (also taking notes for who I can ask when I have research questions about travel planning, designing clothes, swimming, etc... y'all are such a talented and interesting bunch!).

I'll skip on tagging this time, since I think most of the folks I would tag have been tagged already, LOL.

1. Are you named after anyone? Yes! My paternal grandfather is named Gregorio, as is my dad, and my both of my brothers' first names are Greg, so I wound up with "Gretchen."

My aunt tutted and said that people would think I was a blonde and blue-eyed Heidi of the Alps type, so my family and friends have always called me Chen, or Chen-Chen. I have a cousin who is named after me, and when I was holding her as a baby, I'd refer to us as "Chen Squared."

2. When was the last time you cried? Oh, yesterday. Writing poetry for a therapy assignment, LOL!

3. Do you have kids? Non. This was something my spouse and I debated for YEARS, and went back and forth on. We settled on not having kids, but being more involved with the little ones in our lives. The kids we are closest to are my spouse's half-brother and sister (they are nine and five), and my godchildren (who are nine and four). For Filipinos, the relationship between godparents and godchildren is really special, and I love being "Ninang" (godmother) to my beloveds.

(It will probably not be a surprise to anyone who has read "Jelly Babies" or "Baker boxer teacher grief" that my spouse's relationship with his younger sibs influenced my depiction of Baz with his sibs).

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? LOL, more so when I was younger and more barbed! I've embraced the joy of being more maudlin and earnest as I get older.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?  Clothes. I think it's a writer thing, where I like clocking what people are wearing so I can use the details as story fodder, haha. But as part of my job, I work with people face-to-face a lot, so I also try to gauge what mood people are in and how open they are to talking.

6. What’s your eye color? Dark brown!

7. Scary movies or happy ending? Happy endings! My best friend is a horror fiend, which is hilarious because I'm the biggest baby when it comes to scary movies.

8. Any special talents? Hmm... I can type around 100 WPM (Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing was one of the first computer programs we had in my house). I've been told I have a nice phone voice, so I used to record all the voicemail messages for our office. I've also been told that I put together kickass care packages. 👍🏽

9. Where were you born? Winnipeg, Manitoba.

10. What are your hobbies? Gardening, cross-stitch, cooking, baking, painting (poorly), video games, reading, fountain pens, anime/manga. I think like others, my gardening sort of falls off in midsummer and I just try to grab every zucchini before they grow huge. 😆 I love to sing though I'm not very good at it ("Try the Worryin' Way" by the Fabulettes is a FANTASTIC song to belt in the shower).

Oh, I also find it very soothing to clean and fiddle around with my mechanical keyboard (I used a Das keyboard with Cherry Blues for a long time, and just switched to a Nuphy Halo 75, with delightfully clicky Gateron Blues).

11. Do you have any pets?  NO, SADLY! I'm allergic to cats and my spouse to cats and dogs (which is a shame, because animals adore him). I just cuddle other people's dogs and admire their cats from a distance. We have a neighbourhood cat that likes to roll in our catmint in the summer.

12. What sports do you play/have you played? Badminton, swimming, rollerblading. I am also asthmatic and uncoordinated, so organized sports were a trial growing up; in 8th grade, I skipped gym as much as possible by helping out my Art teacher after class.

13. How tall are you? 5'0" (I'm a shortie, it's just how Filipinos roll)

14. Favorite subject at school? In high school, English Lit, and in uni, Film Studies. I learned more about writing from Film Studies than I ever did in English.

15. Dream job? For the longest time, I wanted to be an English professor. Then I dropped out of grad school because of Depression, went back after a year, graduated, got a closer look at the job prospects and work culture for academics and said "No thank you."

Reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert really changed my expectations. Instead of wanting to make it as a professional writer, I switched to wanting a stable job where I would have the work-life balance and resources to pursue writing in my free time. And now I have that! So I am living the dream!

[rito-flips]

A short introduction to balisongs

Balisongs. You might know them as butterfly knives. Kickass, The Punisher, Team Fortress 2—there's a chance you've seen them in some form of media.

An entire community exists around this type of knife, but with its illegality in many parts of the world, some people without a functioning brain might try to convince you that this community is filled with hoodlums preying on unsuspecting people with these knives.

But nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, most of this community sees the balisong not as a weapon, but as a skill toy and flow art somewhat similar to yoyo and kendama.

I'm a part of this community, and I want to introduce you to the basics of balisongs and the community around them. There's so much to unpack that it isn't even funny, so how about the parts of the balisong and how to get started?

Let's start with the clip above. I'm clearly using an actual knife, so how am I avoiding getting cut? The answer is that I have an understanding of the different parts of the knife.

As shown above, the balisong can be broken up into three different parts: - The blade - The bite handle - The safe handle

The blade is, well... the blade. I don't know what else to say about it. Generally speaking, every balisong trick under the sun exists under the understanding that there's one side that will cut you, or the bite side, and one side that won't, or the safe side. The handle on the bite side is called the bite handle, and the handle on the safe side is called the safe handle.

Balisongs themselves can be broken down into two categories: trainers and live blades. - A trainer has a fake "blade" that lets you practice flipping as much as you want without having to risk injuring yourself. Generally accessible in most parts of the world, and much less likely to get confiscated by customs. - A live blade is the real thing with a real blade, through and through. Flipping a live blade has an inherent risk of injury since it can Stab™, but unless you're stupid any cuts you do get from it won't be that bad. Live blades aren't exactly legal everywhere, so remember to check your local knife laws if you're thinking about buying a live blade.

Although I recommend you start on a trainer, whether you buy a trainer or live blade first is entirely up to you. Just remember that if you buy a live blade, you'll have to take extra precautions to avoid any serious injury.

Okay, so with all that out of the way...

Where you do buy a balisong? And who even makes them?

If you're 100% serious about wanting to get into this hobby, it's best not to waste your time with most of the trainers you can find on Amazon, with one exception: the Nabalis Vulp, which is a good enough flipper and will have everything you need to get started flipping.

I know the price seems a bit steep for what it is at $65 USD, but bear with me because this hobby can get very expensive for reasons too technical for a post like this. Once you feel like you want to upgrade from the Vulp, here are some knives and trainers I can recommend at varying price points: - LDY Orion ($75 USD/$85 USD for the live blade) - Machinewise Prysma Pro ($185 USD) - Squid Industries Krake Raken ($250 USD)

Some big(ger) makers on the scene right now are Squid Industries, Machinewise, Glidr, Nabalis, BRS, Fellowship Blades, Zippy Balisong, and Jerry Hom. And as for content creators, my personal favorites are Will Hirsch, Blade Bias, and Disuko, with Big Flips providing all of the tutorials you need to get started. This is a very niche hobby, so a lot of major figures in the community are approachable and open to questions you may have on things like Reddit and Instagram, but as with any other person you meet, do remember to treat them with some level of respect.

If you wanna see just short of everything that's on the market right now, I recommend checking out BuffaloDIngus's guide on balisongs, which also goes a lot more in-depth than I can with this style of content.

I hope you give my hobby a try, and happy flipping!

[thelostbaystudio]

Hey folks, there's a really cool indie game on Kickstarter right now, called a Brazen Crown. It's a card game based on the grim dark tabletop RPG Mörk Borg. It's 100% indie and developed by a team of incredible creators, the lead artist is Perplexing Ruins, layout designer is Jean Le Verne, and the game is designed by Brendan Evans and published by Long Tail Games. It's a pretty ambitious project and the team as been working sooo much in the last year, and they need support. I backed the game, if like me you dig the idea of a card game that is not Magic, by an indie publisher and team, and you like kickass art you can help spreading the link.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/longtailgames/a-brazen-crown