#Anyways <3 resources for myself and friends

[sepiamestus]

Ruby's super cool and awesome shopping masterlist

Palestinian art/fashion masterlist

Clothing

Morningwitch - really really neat nature themed patterns, and all kinds of clothing.

Nooworks - super colorful, super bright, awesome patterns

Witchvamp/@shopwitchvamp on tumblr - really neat patterns. Mostly darker colors- all kinds of clothing. Specifically adore their skirts, they come in all styles and sizes.

SugarPlum - super super super cute everything. Feels like a Claire's and Hot Topic crossover. More awesome skirts.

Sabor a Libertad - funky queer fashion. Specifically a big fan of their pride flag button ups.

Bagels Crafts - really really neat crochet sweaters/shirts/decor/etc.

Holley Tea Time/@holleyteatime on tumblr - really cute and colorful fairy kei/jfashion inspired shop. Clothes and jewelry!

Crowlines/@crowlines on tumblr - really really cute patterned clothing as well as stickers/keychains/etc.

Maya Kern/@mayakern on tumblr - really cute size inclusive clothes, especially the skirts. Adore all the patterns.

Ichigo Black - clown/jester themed clothes. Awesome colors.

Qtpill/@qtpill on tumblr - really cute handmade fashion and accessories

Accessories

Studio Nena - cutest earrings ever. I need the sweetheart guillotine ones sooo bad

SugarPopParty/@sugarpopparty on tumblr- Kandi / funky jewelry paradise. Eye meltingly colorful. So, basically, my brand

Bibipins/@bibipins on tumblr - really really cute and pastel. Mostly pins, but there's clothing too, as well as queer and disability resources like binders and compression items. Also plushies!!!!

Planet Magica/@planetmagica on tumblr- magical girl themed jewelry. Super cute and colorful

StrawberrySoft/@miroyuuu on tumblr - super cute and colorful accessories

96rainb0ws/@kaiiat0ybaby on tumblr - really really cute kandi accessories and stickers

Space Candy Shop/@spacecandyshop on tumblr - cutest accessories, lots of really really cool resin/shaker stuff

Zombie Unicorn Jewelry/@zombieunicornjewelry on tumblr - really really cool fairy kei/creepy cute accessories and plushies. Adore all the colors in this shop 💕

Jelly Ultra - first stumbled upon this shop via a really neat crochet collar, and stayed for the honey themed jewelry. All kinds of neat stuff there

Mellosoda/@calpicoboys on tumblr - really really cute decora/fairy kei jewelry and other accessories

Misc Art

Gummygunk/@gummygunk on tumblr - possibly my favorite fiber artist of all time. The most gorgeous needle felted/crochet stuff with pony beads and coils everywhere and insanely colorful. Not a lot of their fiber art is on sale right now, but they have cool stationary/stickers/etc too!

FruitPunk/@fruit-punk-art on tumblr- another cool fiber artist, plus nostalgia themed art and accessories.

Rowan Kingsbury/@rowansugar on tumblr - adorable art prints plus clothes and accessories

[loverboybrightsideghost]

who would win: me thinking i don't work hard vs every single person who's ever met me apparently

[baldurs-gate-official]

Omw to be the most fuckable twink in the ER

[alchemie-tarot]

Material Blessings

Hello! Long time, no pick-a-card. The Universe has sent me a few things to deal with since my last post, lessons and blessings alike. My creative energy is having a new life and I just want to do it for myself and share it with the world. Yes, that includes sharing more of my photography from past travels.

I meant to post this during my bias season, Taurus, but I have been taking it easy with my body, and trusting the timing with it. This pick-a-card is also shorter than my previous ones.

Anyway. Welcome back. You know the drill: Take a breath. Feel free to choose the pile or piles that call out to you. Some details may not feel like it’s for you and that’s because it isn’t, it’s alright, since this is a general reading. Please don’t take it too seriously as well. Nothing is set in stone. 

Pile 1

Cards: 4 of Cups, 10 of Swords (I had a bit of a mind exercise with this message.)

Your material blessing is something that you will receive, but its purpose is to make you realize that something you already have may have been taken for granted. I see that it’s something shiny to you, “a shiny toy,” whether it’s figurative or literal. It may be something that is a bit of a flex somehow. It may also remind you of something that you wanted in the past, maybe as a child, but couldn’t attain then. It will give you that mood boost and yes, you will enjoy it for a time. But, ultimately, you will find that it does not go as deep as you thought it would.

If you feel like something that you have previously enjoyed is losing its luster, even if it has been in your life for a long time, maybe that is a message for you. Is it really rooted in sentimental value, or is it from a fear of lack?

Eventually declining something that is coming your way may sound counterintuitive for a reading about material blessings. But, heed detached feelings and they will remind you of what really matters. Let go of what has served its purpose in your life, especially if they have pointed out what gives you long-term value. Be true to your principles, that you won’t spend your energy on things not aligned with you. Remember that “all that glitters is not gold.”

Pile 2

Cards: 2 of Wands, King of Swords

A business opportunity, specifically a trip to somewhere. A ticket. Could also be a gift coming from a far place. A box of fruits or wine, specifically, for a few. An invitation to a party, again, for a few. For the majority, travel is really emphasized.

It was 2:22 PM when I was interpreting these cards, and this is the 2nd Pile, and this pile has the 2 of Wands. Amazing. You may be getting two things. A double of something, or some combination of the ones I mentioned.

Whatever you will be receiving will grant you access to something exclusive. Opened doors that will basically, I believe, reconcile two separate aspects of your life (your career and family life, for example). They can be anything. Not only will you be let through these gates, but you will be given the keys to hold them.

You need more structure for this material blessing coming to you. To do that, your guides advise you to lean into your duality. Practice and get good at multitasking. You may have to hold two different things that require a ton of responsibility. Do not waver or be intimidated, however. You are chosen because you are wholly capable of doing this. Self-discipline and judgment are your friends.

Pile 3

Cards: 8 of Wands, 7 of Swords

You are about to get news about something pending. Since this is a material blessing, it is about finances, for the majority. A letter, the approval of a loan, insurance, came at the top of my head. Especially if it is something that you have wanted to do for a while, or have been waiting a long time for. Something that will solve your problems.

For some, this is something that you will gain as a reward for being resourceful. It could be an inheritance, or it simply was someone else’s previously. A specific image for a few, but it is something colorful and could appeal to your creativity or inner child.

Once you receive this blessing, you are advised to gather all your smarts in order to make sure it doesn’t slip from your hands. Don’t get complacent. Make a full-proof strategy for this. Bend the rules when you can. Don’t let yourself be distracted by schemes and excuses to use this for a purpose other than its original one, or somehow turn this into something it is not. Be careful not to give in to greed.

Pile 4

Cards: Wheel of Fortune, Page of Coins

A very unexpected gift, perhaps a long overdue one for something good that you have done in the past, that you may not even recall. A big reward for a big risk you took. Something you worked diligently and pushed the limits for, used your creativity and resourcefulness for, everything. And it comes with a bow on top. For a few, it’s something sweet, could be a food treat? This gift translates into some kind of knowledge that not only benefits you, but a lot of other people as well, a community. This gift will start up a web of connections that root from you.

This is not something everybody comes along often. Set tangible goals to ground this. Lead by example and hope, I’m hearing. Your success has a direct effect on the sacrifices and mindsets of this community looking up to you. You will definitely lift them up in some way, perhaps through a gathering. Maybe you will host a party, or a kind of workshop.

Share these blessings of yours, but not at the expense of yourself. The moment you feel that something is amiss, you must withdraw accordingly, and you are encouraged not to feel bad for that. Boundaries must be established and respected.

Thank you for gracing my post with your presence and thoughts. Take care and be happy!

[bluegiragi]

Hello again!

I wanted to ask about how you came to this fandom and how you learned anatomy. Muscular guys are not my thing, but I’m learning to draw them and, to be honest, I often watch how you do it. and one more question. How do you feel about Ghost designs that don't look like yours? do you feel like an important figure in cod fandom?

(Sorry, i like funny pictures)

sdfljaskld you draw me so cute omg im like a spiky accordion...that's definitely how i feel whenever i get up to answer asks that's for sure.

how did you come to this fandom?

i got into this fandom from watching edits on tiktok and im only a little embarrassed about it. there was one that really pulled me in that was just a compilation of all the ghost/soap banter in that 'alone' mission - i sorta instantly fell headfirst into the fandom after that, and didn't look back.

how do you draw muscular men?

it's really flattering to hear you sometimes look at my work as a reference, but im speaking honestly here when i say i have a loooot that i need to work on and my stuff might not be the best resource. I take a lot of my pointers from anatomy studies i find on pinterest, and build on the basics by googling male mannequins in google images. I find that it helps to break things down into sections like this.

i dont include this level of detail in my day to day work though, this is more to try hammer it into my brain how things work at certain angles.

how do you feel about ghost designs that don't look like yours?

i don't feel any which way about different ghost designs tbh :) i think it's a strength of this fandom that ghost's face never gets fully revealed in game, so any of our interpretations could be correct. i like my interpretation of him and konig, but i don't feel any particular possessiveness over them.

do you feel like an important figure in this fandom?

er...not really? i hope i'm not, i think that label comes with a lot of responsibility, and anyway i try not to really think of things that way. i'm just here having fun with these characters and sharing it, and if people like it then i'm glad! but i like to keep to myself and a small circle of fandom friends and that's all i really need :]

thanks for the interview lis :) and the cute drawing <3 i hope this answered your questions alright

[so-i-did-this-thing]

im sorry if this is a bit personal but what were your first steps of realising you were trans? i have a friend whos starting to wonder snd i just was asking for them :)

Hey there, Anon! I'm afraid I'm not going to be very helpful here. I often joke about coming out the womb a middle-aged man, and it's kind of true.

I'm one of those people who always knew. (This is not always the case for trans folks!) I had a very strong male gender identity as a kid and learned that transition was possible in elementary school. This was both a boon and a curse and I pretty much cried myself to sleep nearly every night because I never thought transition would be an option for me.

My main struggle was not wanting to be an inconvenience to my family, so I held off on transition until it nearly killed me. I really wish I had read this article in my teens, or early 20s at the latest. Your friend might find it helpful.

What did end up coming later was sussing out that I'm bisexual. I didn't really figure this out until after transition, when my dysphoria lessened to a point where I could tell the difference between wanting to *be* a certain guy and wanting to [redacted] him. Your friend might approach this from the other angle - are there people they consider "gender envies", for example? Picking that apart can be enlightening.

I will say that once I became more serious about transition, I consumed just about every transition diary/vlog out there (there weren't many from 1995-2010) to learn more about the physical aspects of transition. I didn't identify with every trans man, but it was useful for me to learn about the nuts and bolts of surgery and hormones.

It's also important to say that you can just... try things out to see what sparks joy and/or lessens dysphoria. It could be a haircut or new clothes. Perhaps cosplay (which really helped drill home to me that people can find me desirable as a man). Maybe using a different name and pronouns among friends, or in an anonymous place like an MMO. And you can also just try hormones -- just do your due diligence on temporary vs permanent effects, and around what doses/time frames they occur at.

Anyway. I'll keep this open for anyone to reply with their own stories and resources, especially those who figured things out after childhood. Good luck to your friend! <3

[certifiedsexed]

Hello there! This is a, frankly, embarrassing question, but: as a person who's been entrenched in church culture and lives with parents, I have been very afraid of the concept of sex (and, by extension, kink). Despite being a full-grown adult I have never watched anything, looked anything up, touched myself, I even mislabeled myself as asexual just so I didn't have to worry about it. So, I've been realizing that I am very underprepared just because I am extremely scared. I know sex isn't that big of a deal in concept, but do you happen to have any tips on weaning oneself out of that mindset? (and, maybe beginner's tips if I get brave enough to explore so I can do so without panicking?) Thank you so much!

(By the way, paranoia is speaking here and saying that this will somehow turn itself off anon. If it does, please just delete the ask. Thank you again!)

Hello!

First, I want to say congratulations. It's a beautiful thing to understand that you're scared and want to learn anyway. <3

I'm afraid I don't have a huge list of tips but here's what I've got. As always, learning more about a topic can really help kill scary myths you don't realize you're carrying and a good resource for that is Scarleteen.com. It's not perfect but it's a good start!

Branching out, trying media like books or shows that are a little more open with sex and sexuality [not immediately but once you feel a little bit less scared.] can be helpful just to get yourself more used to hearing it talked about, seeing it referenced, happening, ect.

(Working up to different media can help too! Beginning with media that is just a little more open to start and then keep moving up a little more as you feel comfortable.)

Talking to a therapist, even a sex therapist, can be helpful but if you don't have the time/money, it's not necessarily a necessity. I think talking about your fears in some form can be helpful though! Whether that's with friends or blogging or writing or even just rambling and recording your thoughts, it can be really helpful.

As for exploring, I'd definitely start with looking at actual pictures of genitals and related-anatomy. You want to know what genitals actually look like, outside of just vague ideas or myths. [This is a post with some resources for that.]

Then, you can see what you look like and not feel like you have no idea what you're looking at. Sometimes a hand-mirror can help you get a better view of yourself.

Let yourself take as many breaks as you need, with all of this. If you feel overwhelmed, it's okay to take a moment or even stop and try again another time. There is no race.

Also, before you actually explore, I'd recommend buying some lube! Or finding a substitute [not "I assume I can use this as lube" but "this is actually proven to work as a lube substitute"]!

Even if you think you don't need it, get lube. It can be very helpful, not just in making things more pleasurable and comfortable but it also keeps you safer from germs and general infections.

Hope something here helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. <3

[logicbutton]

Hey guys what's up I learned bookbinding to make @cindthia a physical copy of Synchronized Cardioversion for our anniversary :3

Pics and process documentation below!

I used the following resources:

How to Make a Book by ArmoredSuperHeavy

Bookbinding Resources Master List by Renegade Bindery

r/Fanbinding

the fanbinding tag on AO3 - shoutout to r3zuri's fanbinding of a FFVII fic for their extremely informative cliff's notes version of the process

the Intro to Hand Bookbinding class at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, an incredible resource for anyone in or near Minneapolis interested in learning how to bind their own books.

First, I typeset the fanfic. I did this by downloading it from AO3, trying to figure it out myself, checking How to Make a Book for help with a problem I was having, and realizing that I should have just used it from the beginning in the first place. I used Microsoft Word 2013.

Fonts: Palatino Linotype, Helvetica (for the characters' text messages), Beatline (for titles) Margins: .88" top, 1" bottom, .75" inside, .75" outside, .25" gutter Front matter: - Title page with only the title - "Praise for Synchronized Cardioversion" with comments from the fic - Title page with title, author name, and a colophon I made - Copyright page with fic copyright, fic URL, TLT series copyright, disclaimer, AO3 fic summary, first chapter author's notes, copyright for in-text art, book design credit, font info Back matter: - Acknowledgments (from the fic) - "Also by CindFourth" with all their TLT fic separated into Synchronized Cardioversion Extended Universe (might make another book of this at some point); Other Camgideon, Campal, and Team 69; and Other Locked Tomb

I set the page layout to "book fold" with 16-page signatures. As for the art, one of Cind's requests in last year's TLT Holiday Exchange was for art of this fic and they got not only a fantastic one-page comic from their assigned creator, our friend @anaeolist (who also did a sketch of Cam and Gideon kissing - we'll come back to that later), but also a lovely piece as a treat from our friend @kat-hikari. I got permission from both artists to include their work in the book.

The finished file was 408 pages, so I added four blank pages (two sheets) to the beginning and the end to make 26 signatures even.

Next, I printed the pages. I used my Brother DCP-L2550DW and Hammermill 11x8.5 24/60 lb. cream bookbinding paper from Church Paper. I'd read that sometimes using short-grain paper in a regular printer could cause it to jam, but it went fine. The cream color made the pages look so professional.

I folded the pages into signatures and then pressed them overnight. Since I don't have a book press, I sandwiched them between two sheets of bookboard and put a heavy box on top, and that worked well.

The next step, punching holes and sewing, was my favorite. I'd made a punching cradle using instructions I got in my bookbinding class. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and it only used bookboard and PVA glue, so I didn't even need to buy anything I hadn't already bought for the project.

I used three pieces of tape and sewed them on using a kettle stitch.

Then I went to MCBA to use their guillotine on the text block and their board shear to cut boards for the cover.

I chose orange cardstock for the endpaper, and because I am a novice making novice mistakes I unfortunately forgot to get a size of cardstock that would let me fold it on the grain, but anyway. I trimmed it to the exact size of the pages and glued it to the text block. Next I glued the spine of the text block, rounded it a bit (not the way an expert would; you learn that in Intermediate Hand Bookbinding), added a strip of super mull and headbands at either end, and sat it under a weight to dry while I made the cover.

The Bristol board I cut for the spine was probably 1/8" too wide, which makes a bigger difference than you would think. Next time I'm going to err on the side of slightly too narrow when I'm already giving myself three board widths of a buffer on either side.

Aside from that, the cover turned out great! I could have done a better job lining up the endpaper when I glued it in, but that's the kind of thing you practice I guess.

I love the way the navy blue bookcloth looks with the cream paper, the orange endpaper, and the red and white headbands.

Now that I had the exact dimensions of the book, I could finally design the dust jacket. Remember that sketch of Cam and Gideon kissing that anaeolist did for the holiday exchange? I commissioned them to turn it into a finished piece for the cover, and boy did they ever deliver. I also asked some of our other friends who had read the fic to give me blurbs for the back cover, and they delivered too. Cind's and my relationship wouldn't have been possible without the wonderful community we met in and I wanted this gift to reflect that.

I created the jacket in GIMP at a print resolution of 300ppi and saved it as a pdf. The final step was to get it printed, which I was nervous about because it was the only part of the process that I had no control over at all. Long story short, I ended up with something I was very happy with done by a small chain print shop where I had to go in and talk to a human about what I needed.

I also posted this to AO3!

[thebiggestfuckgiven]

Ectoberweek 25: Graveyard Shift

Rating: T

Warnings: Descriptions of gore, mentions of experimentation (implied narratively and in the gore as well), mentions of loss (it still counts if its yourself/a version of you), horror, and dissociation-ish

A/N: okay I accidentally used the prompt of the same day I used last year, but maybe i’ll do it on purpose next time and invent a new tradition for myself. Danny, as usual, suffers ✨ I’m very happy I got to do a little something for Ectober this year. I was afraid I wouldn’t get the chance to. Please enjoy <3

-💜-

The night sky was startlingly clear. There were no stars, only that faint indistinguishable hue of air pollution, but it was still an amazing view. Then again, when you’ve been kept captive indoors for months on end, any view of the outside world is beautiful. Even if that view is a polluted star-less sky in a grimy, smelly city.

The cemetery he was in was no less of a spectacle, grim as it was. It had no wrought iron fence or any kind of enclosure, instead having been left open on all sides for all to come and go.

Truth be told, Danny had no idea where he was. They never told him where they were taking him when it was time to ship him to a new facility. He thought that was pointless. Who was he going to tell, really? They probably liked keeping him in the dark. Better to control that way. Whatever. The joke, now, was on both of them.

About ten or fifteen blocks away, sirens blared faintly from a scarce street. Firefighters, ambulances, police— the whole bunch of them gathered around an unmarked containment truck flipped on its side. The drivers could still be alive, if the group who had attacked them wasn’t cruel enough to change that.

Danny assumed they thought they’d find expensive tech and cutting edge resources, and they did. Sort of. What they hadn’t expected was to find Danny. The crash had made his container malfunction, and those doors opened… well, he wasn’t about to let that opportunity pass him by.

All he took with him was himself, and he left the daring group alive. They wouldn’t have known what to do with him, anyways.

He flew as fast as he could until he found this cemetery. They would start looking for him in a few hours, and if he wanted to get away, he’d have to find a hiding spot first. One of these, he figured, must be empty. Graves weren’t just for bodies, after all. Sometimes, they were for the idea of one. A body never recovered, or completely destroyed. Graves were for people, too.

He hovered over one in particular. It gave the impression that it was empty. How he knew was a mystery to him, but he was grateful for it.

The headstone read,

Stephanie Brown

Beloved Daughter, Sister, and Friend.

Your smile will always live in our hearts.

xxx xx, xxxx - xxx xx, xxx

The stone wasn’t worn or aged. She’d been “buried” recently. Hand resting gently on the headstone, he wondered what could have happened to her that she had to be buried without herself.

Far away, the sirens died down.

Maybe the answer will reveal itself to him eventually. He knelt on the soft grass and sunk a hand through the ground.

“Uh, can I help you?”

Danny froze up. That was one thing he forgot about cemeteries. Like graves, they weren’t just for the dead, either. He yanked his hand out of the ground and slowly glanced over his shoulder.

Behind him stood a young woman. The first thing he noticed were the clothes. She wore a purple beanie and a thick black jacket with a purple shirt underneath. The second thing was her hair, blonde and wavy, because it was curled around her neck like a makeshift scarf.

Glancing upwards, he saw no clouds. No snow… it was autumn already, then. But that… that meant he was gone for more than a few months. It meant he missed the whole school year. He was supposed to graduate high school in the summer.

“Are you okay? You don’t exactly look… all there.”

He faced the young woman again. The way she said it made it sound like it had a hidden meaning, which he quickly caught on to.

“I— sorry, I’ll get out of your way,” he muttered, pushing himself up to his feet, though unnecessarily so when he could’ve floated away.

“It’s all good,” she replied, watching him carefully. “Did you know her?”

“Hm? Oh, you mean Stephanie? Um, not really. I was just… paying my respects.” The lie felt misshapen in his mouth. She looked at him confused. He kept talking to steer her away from any questions. “Did you? Know her, I mean.”

“I used to,” was all she said to that. He didn’t like the way she was looking at him. He wanted to leave. “Do you live here?”

“No? What kind of person lives in a graveyard?”

Her hand still in her jacket pocket, she gestured towards all of Danny with a tilt of her head.

“Your kind of person, I’m pretty sure. Shit, unless you aren’t self-aware and I just ruined that.” Her eyes widened with genuine concern, making the reminder click in Danny’s head that he looked decidedly not-human under the night sky. That, and surrounded by well-meaning headstones, anyone would’ve walked the other way at the sight of him.

Almost anyone.

“Ah,” he said simply, looking down at his glowing, translucent self. “That. And you’re not, I dunno, shocked? Horrified?”

She shrugged. “It’s October in Gotham. I’ve seen worse.”

The statement sent a shiver like lightning right through him. A whole year… and Gotham was far but not it was still the Eastern area of the States. He could easily fly back home.

Maybe not.

How can he go back like this?

“Listen,” the blonde woman said, interrupting his thoughts. “You look a little out of it for a ghost. What brings you to this cemetery and m- Stephanie’s grave?”

“Um…” Danny glanced behind the wide headstone, where he saw himself. Danny Fenton lay lifeless and disfigured, his left leg missing and the skin of his right arm cut and held open by two tiny metal clamps attached to a single, wrap-around wire. There was muscle tissue and veins missing. The other arm was charred into an indistinguishable stump, melted skin folded over itself horrifically in too many layers, melded by heat-raised bubbles that were long solidified.

Where his left eye once was, there was now a vacant void. A window into his true self: a perfectly preserved brain thrumming with unnatural green light. Dead, and impossibly present. His other eye was still there, but just as vacant. Black hair glistened with remnants of the ectoplasmic waste they used to keep Danny Fenton fresh.

It was a quick glance. He fought not to throw up, ghostly body functioning now on memory alone.

“I thought…” that no one would see me “I’d check the place out. I paid my respects to some of the other graves.” He hesitated. He shouldn’t ask. He doesn’t want to know about Stephanie Brown, about the resting place he’ll be desecrating with the thing he became. “Hers is… empty. Can I ask what happened to her?”

The blonde woman’s reaction was small. A brief raise of the eyebrows, eyes widening for a second before going back to their watchful gaze.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you know it’s empty,” she said with a hint of a smile. “I can’t really go into any details, but let’s just say that the girl they buried there doesn’t exist anymore.”

He had no idea what that meant.

“Why do you… still visit her?”

She seemed to think this over, looking out onto the street far away from where they were.

“That girl, she was so,” the blonde woman sighed, “naive and hotheaded. She would try so hard to be something without caring to think of what it would take and in the end, it’s what did her in. But I still cared about her, and I guess I still miss her sometimes.”

The sincerity caught Danny off guard. He couldn’t help the way he stared at her, wondering if anyone talked about him like that. Did they make him a grave, or did they just… discard his memory? Would he ever get to stand over his own headstone and think of all the things he used to be, loving and missing that person?

He frowned a little, and watched the blonde woman.

She smiled fondly, a sort of bittersweetness in her expression, at the headstone. Then she took a breath, blinked a few times, and redirected her smile to Danny.

“Your turn. What are you really doing here? Looking for real estate opportunities,” she joked, eyes twinkling. Danny refrained from stepping away and turning tail. He looked at her closely.

She didn’t seem familiar, but the GIW were growing larger and there were plenty of operatives that Danny has never met. Her jacket was big enough to hide a blaster… but they couldn’t have found him so quickly. No, besides, no self-respecting operative would wear such expressive colors.

“Something like that,” he blurted out before he could even think. “I mean, not like that. I don’t… I don’t know anymore.” His voice was a soft whisper and he stared at himself where he lay crumpled. “I don’t think I can go back home anymore. I don’t… I don’t know who I am. What I am. People aren’t supposed to… live through things like these, aren’t they? Die through, or whatever.”

“What things?” The question was tentative. “Are you— what are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” he said with bitter conviction. “Absolutely nothing. I was going to hide it in your coffin.”

“How did you—? wait, hide what?” Her voice changed from its friendly, wistful tone to a razor-sharp serious one. She stepped closer to him, trying to meet his gaze.

“Got a feeling. Like I might do the same one day, if I had one.”

Danny didn’t stop her when she got too close to her own headstone. When she followed the direction of his gaze to the twisted, hollow thing that ate up the surrounding shadows like this blacker than black void that was trying to grow into a walking, lifeless monster made up of clinical pain and suffering.

Stephanie did not scream or gasp. She held the headstone in a brutal grip, short nails painfully scraping against it. Her mouth gaped wordlessly, jaw trembling with shaky and uneven breaths. The lines of her face contorted into themselves in their attempt to make sense of the thing they were seeing. Eyes glistened even in the shadows, their pupils a disappearing pinprick.

Stephanie’s horror was a silent one.

“What— wh-who is that? Is that—?”

“Me,” he said flatly. “I thought I’d be able to escape. That I would last longer than their curiosity and hate.” He clenched his fists. “I saw a glimpse of snow the day it happened. I” —his voice cracked— “I didn’t even make it three months.”

Stephanie stared at him, transfixed. At the Danny Fenton that would never again be.

“Wh-what happened to you?” Her voice trembled, barely a breeze-like whisper.

“Don’t ask me that,” he said, strained and holding back suffocating memories. “P-please don’t— just, don’t.” He took a gasping breath, eyes snapping wildly towards the sound of screeching tires in the distance. A big car headed their way. “Hey, listen. Hey— Stephanie.”

A creaking slingshot, her wide stare shot back towards him. Her mouth had been snapped shut, and loud, shallow breaths tried to push themselves in and out of her nose.

“Take care of him, please,” he begged, bright, opalescent tears falling freely down his face. “They can’t find him again. The pain will never end again. Just— I, I don’t know, get him a coffin or anything, but don’t bury him yet. I’ll find him again, but I can’t stay. I can’t, they can’t find us again. Promise me, please?”

This was a complete stranger in front of him. But she had her own grave, and she stood over it alive and well. He had to trust her with the only thing he had left. She would understand that. She had to.

“Stephanie, please,” he pleaded once more when she said nothing. The loud engine of that big car became louder. The downward rush of a thick, heavy axe.

She nodded, shakily.

“I-I promise, yeah.” She cleared her throat, pulling herself from the edge and regaining clarity. “Yes. I will. Go, I’ll- I’ll take care of it. Whatever it is.”

Danny cried. An urgency was overtaking him, thrusting him into that day they hunted him down.

“Thank you,” he managed to whisper before shooting off into the clear night sky, leaving behind a faint comet-green streak. He disappeared in seconds, leaving Stephanie Brown alone with the horrifyingly disfigured corpse of a teenager and her clattering thoughts.

She pulled out her phone in a shaky flash, going straight to the Favorites in her Contacts.

The call connected after the third ring.

“I need your help hiding a body.”

[sunshineandrosesnoraincamemyway]

There are several different areas of how youth ministries work that I have major issues with.

teenagers are taught appallingly little theology. We got three sermons on David and Bathsheba in a year telling us not to have sex, but not a single one on the process of sanctification. (like, seriously is that the only story in the Bible that you can find to teach this lesson with? Last I checked there was an ENTIRE BOOK about not awakening love until its time. I digress). No real theology is taught, everything is overly simplistic with the flimsy excuse of "keeping the messages simple in case someone who has never heard the gospel is in the room." They are supposed to be preparing students for adulthood, but they give the group with the most questions the least amount of answers

There is also little to no Church history being taught. In tenth grade I studied Church history for school (because I was homeschooled and feel called to missions, more on that later) and I would bring up that I was learning about Athanasius, or the Counter Reformation, or Dietrich Bonhoffer, and my friends had never heard of these people and events that helped shape what we believe and how it plays out in our lives. I'm not saying I expect them to be an expert, but to have no familiarity with those who came before us is mind boggling to me.

There are no resources or help for students feeling a call to ministry. I have felt a call to international missions since I was eight years old, and I go to a church with a huge emphasis on missions. So you'd think they'd be excited and jumping on the opportunity to teach me what that looks like, help me figure out ways to start preparing so that I'm making the most of my time, right? Wrong. I was told that it was cool that I felt this call but I was acting like i was better than everyone else and I needed to focus on the lessons they had and I had time to figure out my calling when I was older. I'm thankful that my parents have ways encouraged me in this calling, and I was able to create my own plan to prepare me as best I could for a life of missions. (i won't go into what exactly the plan was here, but I believe it was a wise one and I'd be happy to answer any questions about it.) I look at my peers and my friends who are still in youth, and there are so many who are feeling a call to ministry, and they are coming to me for advice. We are the all or nothing generation, there is no more sitting on the fence. Imagine what it would look like if we took our youth seriously when they say they feel called to ministry! I've graduated now, and if I had taken the advice of those who told me I was too young to know of I was called to missions to not I would have missed out on over ten years of studying the Bible, how to communicate the gospel to people of other religions, praying for people groups where no one knows Jesus. TEN YEARS! How is this acceptable?

Anyways, TLDR the only reason I know what i do of the Bible is because I took it upon myself to study, and the sad truth is most students don't even know enough to make that decision. We have the reverse problem of 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, where students are longing for solid food, but we are only fed milk.

[motheatenscarf]

In Mistbound D&D last night, our DM decided to throw a fucking BEHOLDER at us despite us only being level 6.

I was thinking, surely it can't be a REAL Beholder, he's just adjusted the stats somehow

and then it blasted a fucking disintegration beam at us.

Now, they dodged it, they were fine, but Talia didn't like that and is an oath of vengeance Paladin. So she ran up, swore a vow of enmity on him on top of her already holding Hunter's Mark, and smacked the shit out of it. I acknowledged that I knew it wouldn't do anything mechanically, but for flavor's sake, said I would grab the eyestalk that just shot at my friend and pull the Beholder closer to me as I smacked it to make myself a problem it couldn't ignore.

Then got a crit, for which Talia still had a level 2 spell slot to burn on a smite.

The results were disgusting.

We're level SIX.

I cannot stress enough, it COULD have been higher, had I not used my stupid Fallen Aasimar shroud in the trash fight leading up to this. It could have been 79 if I'd saved my resources better.

My character before this was a Warlock with hex and invocations boosted Eldritch Blast, at level TWENTY he got 2 crits on the same blast in our last fight and dealt 81 points of damage in a single turn and I'd never been more proud of him.

Talia is level SIX, and I was bad about my resource management, and she did seventy three points of radiant and slashing damage to a Beholder in its own lair, in front of its cult followers, doin em dirty in front of they dad.

Anyway, our DM honored the pants shitting amount of damage she did by saying, yeah, no, you... you cut off that eyestalk. The disintegration beam is gone from the table now. That... what fuck, Talia?

And then getting even more insane, our Barbarian, after failing to make his save to avoid the 41 points of Necrotic damage he wasn't resistant to, had a realization. Talia was tanking the biting damage, and he was tanking the eye beams, but Talia resists necrotic and radiant, and he resists piercing, so we should switch!

So as a halfling, he jumped into its mouth to keep it from biting Talia and to ensure the eyebeams couldn't hit him!

It was.... completely insane and tactically brilliant???? Anyway, he carved it up from the inside out and emerged from that fight bathed in its blood with 3 levels of exhaustion.

It was a good encounter.

We're level 7 now.

[vaspider]

Hey Spider, I am not sure why I feel compelled to ask you. Probably because I found your blog during this whirlwind of confusion. To preface I grew up in a conservative Christian home with the values that go with that. I still have some of those ingrained in me but I am very much more open minded and more liberal these days. Anyways...

I met a girl online and we started talking and had some voice and video calls were hitting it off. Eventually she told me she is trans and it didn't freak me out but I had to figure out how I felt eventually coming to that it wasn't an issue. I learned it did hurt them even though they understood why I needed to think about it. I hadn't really ever been a situation like this, I had thought about it to some extent but not made any firm decision.

This lead to me wondering about other things about myself like my gender-identity and sexuality. I can't look to my parents for support and don't really have friends that would understand. Do you know of any resources or things I could look into for figuring things out?

Hey, normally I'd be happy to be a resource for you or list a bunch of stuff, but I'm still recovering from surgery so I'm going to toss this out to the audience, as it were.

I definitely recommend starting with @hellyeahscarleteen -- and if you find them a useful resource, please consider donating, since they're in the middle of their annual drive to make sure they can stay afloat. <3

[bloomeng]

!!! your art is so good! if i may ask, how do you figure out anatomy?

Ty!! Ah yes anatomy the age old art question. I might not be the best person to teach tips on this because my posing can be sort of stiff. The short answer is references. I typically gather both picture references which are always better to reference directly from as well as looking at art for ideas regarding composition (which is something I struggle with but I’m trying to improve right now. If I can’t find the reference I need I either take a photo myself or I ask my friend to model for me.

I’ve had some formal training where I’ve had access to live models specifically for life drawing. A lot of times art schools will actually have small sessions for free that anyone can walk in and draw, but a more accessible resource are sites that are actually designed for life drawing. In the past I’ve used the site Line Of Action, but there are others like it. They’re good for practicing quick gesture drawings.

There are a lot of good resources on YouTube that teach how to break down bodies into simple shapes and how to utilize line of action. They will also go into a lot of technical things that I’m not qualified teach, but I do have some quick tips from my professor that have really helped me.

1) To use a box as a starting point to form heads instead of a flat circle

2) The torso bean and the ribcage shape

3) Using a box for the hips (not my art this is a reference from the textbook we used— pictured on the left)

Anyway I hope this was at all helpful. Anatomy is hard and I’m not an art teacher but I find that drawing lightly and loosely at first and building up the sketch helps. My life drawing teacher used to encourage us to put as many marks on the page as possible and emphasis the right one, rather than trying to make one nice line.

[whatbigotspost]

Guys. If you follow me you well know 1) I can be petty as hell and 2) I am always happy to write extremely long and thorough take downs when needed and 3) I love sourcing things and know no limits to spending my time on BEING RIGHT 😂

Well today I brought all of this at work, cranked to an 11. Some technology service we pay for tried to claim they’re taking us to collections for lack of payment when both myself and one of my fave coworkers has spent the past year trying over and over to get them to correctly link the payment we 100% did pay (and we have provided ample evidence of doing so) to our account. We have asked their customer service to help us a dozen times and when prodded, their staff has admitted more than once that we did pay and the outstanding balance is wrong. But they just. don’t. CLEAR THE GODDAMN BALANCE ON OUR ACCOUNT ONCE AND FOR ALL.

And like…WE are the customers here! And nonprofit customers at that! It’s so unhinged for a megacorp to treat us this way when our resources are so limited. Like you’re really threatening a charity with collections?? for?? something?? we?? did?? pay??

When said beloved coworker first saw the collections threat email earlier today, I think a little piece of her soul died, as did mine…and when she asked me what we do now that I was like friend leave it to me, this is where I shine!!!

And I went full on me. Professional me but like me writing as many words as I wanted to. Pulling historical proof, asking why we’re being treated like this when we’re a small nonprofit who they could be donating this stuff to anyway, instead of taking up our time to waste because they don’t know how to run their business or comport themselves professionally. I had proof of payment in not one but 2 forms, email threads with 6 people in company who had contacted me and I attempted to get help me but who ultimately did not.

Like I’ll be the first to admit it was overkill in the most deliciously “how fucking dare you” way BUT ultra restrained and like appropriate corporate speak style where it’s a “your company is a pack of assholes” but more like…

(Ugh ignore typos!)

Like I’m not kidding when I acknowledge my own ridiculousness here but you can only be treated terribly by someone YOU HAVE PAID before you snap, ya know? 😂 and I snapped.

Well after I hit send, I was like “oh god will beloved coworker think I am fully off my rocker…”

BUTTTTTT I got this lil gem on slack

[funkyplantguy]

howdy! i know that i tend to post exclusively about hermitcraft/the life series on here (so this post is going to be a bit out of the ordinary) but i just wanted to pop in with a more serious note re: shelby (shubble)

first and foremost and just to get it out of the way: to wilbur: fuck you i've never mentioned this before on here, but i have (had) been working for wilbur as one of his senior moderators for about a year and a half (yes, hello, hi, i am the one whose display name reads "plant (mumbo jumbo)" in all of those screenshots circulating twitter right now). the mod team as a whole stands firmly with shelby and has done everything we can to assist in deplatforming wilbur. as of now, we are all officially retired, and will no longer be lifting a finger to assist that man in any way. may he become his worst fear: irrelevant, forgotten, unknown.

to shelby: thank you.

it's been a truly beautiful and unifying experience to see people from all walks of life and all areas of the internet sphere to come forward in support of shelby, and we should be focusing on that as much as possible. what she did took a massive amount of bravery and gumption and i am so incredibly proud of her for using her voice in the way that she has and for bringing light to behavior that is disgustingly pervasive in this day and age. as a victim of domestic violence myself, she has helped myself and so many others feel so seen and so safe, and she deserves everything good in the world. i wish her all the best, and for her path to recovery be smooth and full of companions to hold her hands along the way.

to anyone who may have resonated with shelby's story, or with the stories of other victims who have come forward: you are not alone.

you are so loved and so cared for, beyond measure. you deserve to feel safe, you deserve to feel wanted, you deserve to feel warm and comfortable and happy. if you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please know that there's a way out. below are some resources that can help - reaching out is the first step, and you've got a wonderful, long life ahead of you to experience <3

https://www.thepixelproject.net/

https://nomore.org/

https://www.allianceforhope.com/

anyway. that's all. take care, get some sleep, get some food, get some water. spend time with friends. take a deep breath. you're going to be okay. i love you <3

[honkhonk-clowns]

any advice for people looking for resources before adopting their first clown? anything you think they should know?

Hello! Welcome to the clown husbandry community, friend! It can be difficult to find reliable resources, as there's a lot of opinions on the best ways to care for clowns. Just like any other animal, it's important to do a lot of research about things like diet, enclosure and enrichment for yourself-- making up your own mind about those things based on what you think is best. Tumblr is a great place to start, though! There's a lot of blogs (mine included, I would like to think) that offer a lot of help to current and prospective clown keepers.

That being said! My personal advice for new clown owners... I think I'll limit myself, lest this post be way too long (as I'm verbose and don't know when to shut up) to three points.

1-- Start with an easy breed! There's a lot of clown breeds with very specific and very intensive care requirements- such as, for example, a jester of any variety (speaking from experience haha). However, clown keeping doesn't have to be that difficult! For a beginner clown owner, I recommend a party clown or a mix that includes party. They have simpler enrichment needs (a pie, a horn and balloons should be more than enough), and don't require things like a haunted house, or a three-ring circus tent to make them happy! Most party clowns, especially birthday variety, are vibrantly colorful, funny, and live to make a frown a smile, making them the perfect choice for a first time owner.

2-- Clowns of all breeds need healthy, balanced diets! It may not look balanced to you and me, due to the amount of candy and sweets, but keep in mind that clowns are very different than humans! The more important thing I can think of off the top of my head is that specifically Candy Faery brand Candy floss is not real cotton candy! I've never had a clown have a good reaction to Candy Faery floss, despite its popularity, so stray away from it is my recommendation.

3-- My single most important piece of advice for new clown owners is to not get only one clown. Clowns of most varieties are very social (unless you're getting a scare clown, which you shouldn't be doing as a first time owner anyway imo), and in order for them to remain happy, their plumage to remain bright, and their acts to not grow stale, you should have at least two clowns, though three is better. Personally, I would consider keeping one clown alone to be extremely vile unless you can dedicate ALL of your time to them.

That's all! I hope you get some use out of this nonny! ☆♡