#I haven't checked the website in about a year too which means there's so much for me to catch up on!

[drawbudd]

its been almost a year since I've drawn this little guy! How time flies huh

[fuedalreesespieces]

ramble-y post incoming:

tldr: is the inukag to izanori pipeline real, and am i falling headfirst into it? yes, yes i am.

[This post does contain spoilers for Kanata Kara and Inuyasha.]

recently (and by that i mean two days ago) i decided i wanted to start a shojo manga that wasn't too long, something I could read in between lectures. i checked some of my saved manga on the website i use, and found one that i had saved purely because i'd been enthralled by the cover art, which looked like this:

(i mean, look at them!!)

...that, and it was 14 volumes, so I thought i could finish it within a week or two, reading a few chapters every day.

i was wrong. i'm on volume ten and it's been a day and a half.

i haven't finished and I'm making this post (partly because i've been rambling about it in ballistic keysmash-consistent twitter posts) to say that Kanata Kara is good. very, very good. damn that one-star review on the site i'm using, because that shit has to be an accidental click. I love the world-building, the diverse cast of characters, and the art is magnificent. I think my favorite thing of all has to be the themes represented so far in the manga, perpetuated by our titular characters noriko and izark. I may make a future post about that when i finish the manga, but there is one thing i noticed while reading that struck me as really interesting: the dynamic between izark and noriko, and the characters themselves, remind me a lot of inuyasha and kagome.

now i'm gonna preface this by saying i'm not trying to say that these are the same dynamics or something, because they aren't - I just want to point out parallels i thought were really interesting, as someone who loves both relationships in their respective mangas. i also want to establish that Kanata Kara predates Inuyasha by three to five years*- so what I really should be saying is that inuyasha and kagome remind me of izark and noriko, but you get the picture. you could argue a number of things with this in mind, but i'm not here to discuss any of that. this isn't meant to be some sort of dumb gotcha; both series are good in their own ways, and some of the similarities i'm highlighting can be attributed to similar tropes being at play!

*(sources vary, some say 1993, others say 1995)

izark/inuyasha

demons - inuyasha is half inu-youkai, whereas izark is the sky demon from a prophecy that makes up much of the manga's internal and external conflict for him. an interesting contrast i found was that while inuyasha's half-demon features are present for the majority of the manga and his human side shows up only a handful of times, it's the exact opposite for izark, whose "human" appearance reigns for the majority of the manga.

both characters were shunned by their respective communities (and humanity at large, though inuyasha had his mother for some time, and izark's mother tried to kill him). when both parents died, they began living on the fringes of society, never interacting with anyone and, according to them, "preferring to be alone."

both share moments where their demon sides take over and they are unable to control themselves - unless, of course, their loved one is present to help them. otherwise, both are trapped in a violent, bloodthirsty state of mind that makes them lose parts of their identity each time transformation is undergone. both try to avoid this part of them out of fear of losing themselves, but when occasions rise where they are in those forms, their respective loved ones pull them out of it/help them ground themselves.

powerful fighters willing to quite literally put everything on the line for their respective loved ones - i'm talking half-dead-dragging their-bodies-across-the floor and thinking "well, at least she's okay."

one interesting difference to me is how izark and inuyasha approach their humanity. izark is constantly shown in his "human" form and is only in his demon form a handful of times, and the exact opposite is true for inuyasha. izark's earlier (brief) plan of doing away with noriko is spurned from his desire to avoid the tragic fate tied with his demonic form, whereas inuyasha's earlier actions are motivated by his desire to become a full demon. izark relates his demon side to inevitability, to the idea that he might just become the monster everyone prophesied him to be; inuyasha (in the beginning) views his humanity with scorn and associates it with weakness. he wants to embrace the possibility of achieving full demon status, and why? is it just because he wants power? in my opinion, no - I think it's a way of finding a place; being free to go where he wants. inuyasha is already powerful in his own right, and even when he's given the opportunity to claim a formidable weapon like his father's sword, he says he has no interest in it (until, of course, kagome mentions he could try to claim it just to spite sesshomaru, and only then is his interest peaked.) inuyasha seeks freedom by assimilating into a full demon identity, izark seeks freedom from that full demon identity, and only then will he feel in control of his life.

kagome/noriko

both from modern era japan and get isekaied into another world - kagome's instance is time-travel, though - noriko is transported to a whole other world with different culture, geography, and language (noriko having to learn the language of the people there and taking part in their customs is one of my favorite things about the manga!!)

the beacon of light in their respective groups/found family, bringing everyone together

key players in a "Prophecy of Doom" - kagome's "destiny" is to continue the cycle of the shikon jewel; noriko's "destiny" is to awaken the Sky Demon (izark). both girls, and their loved ones, change their futures.

damsels? maybe, but never in distress:

and, of course, the most prominent parallel for me: their acceptance of their lovers and the ripple effect that love has on their lovers' relationships and life:

"i'm not leaving you no matter what happens, no matter who you are - I will stay by your side":

"you changed my life for the better":

"i've opened up and become more vulnerable":

there are a ton of other examples i could use for this bullet, since it has a pretty broad spectrum of events that could fall under it, but these are my favorites.

i also want to draw attention to the way noriko deals with feeling powerless - both she and kagome are surrounded by powerful, experienced individuals, but unlike noriko, kagome has a reign on her archery and spiritual skills pretty early on in the manga, so she contributes in battles one way or another. one of noriko's longest internal conflicts is that she feels guilty that she can't do anything to help and that people are getting hurt on her behalf:

i absolutely love the advice given to her, and how it ties into the themes of the manga. noriko feels like she isn't helping, but even a simple thank you helps - even if it's just thanking one person for a single deed, everyone is intricately tied, and that goodwill spreads. it grows. it becomes a part of everyone. you don't have to be a fighter to spread good.

conclusion: the parallels are neat and READ KANATA KARA!

[reasonsforhope]

Do you have a tag specifically for stuff about the climate crisis/what is being done/can be done to help stop or reverse its effects?

Basically just read a post that was "I'm not trying to be alarmist but- *spends seven paragraphs about how climate change is inevitable, we will never possibly recover from it, it's not global warming anymore its global "boiling", none of the damage can ever be undone and we're all going to be dead in the next five generations*" and I'm trying.. very hard not to spiral from it.

Sorry for bothering you 🙏

The "climate crisis" "climate change" and "climate hope" tags should do the trick.

Of those, "climate change" is the one that has the most content by far, just because the others are more narrow and "climate hope" is a much more recent term, so to speak, because I keep forgetting about it lol

I don't post anything that's not good news, so you can go through the general "climate change" tag without fear

Also, while I'm at it, that person is wrong. For a lot of reasons, including that we're actively fixing a lot of damage to ecosystems literally right now. And also also, GLOBAL WARMING WILL BE AT LEAST SOMEWHAT REVERSIBLE

Why? Well, the rise in average global temperatures is caused by excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As we keep fixing the planet, restoring ecosystems, and stop burning fossil fuels, nature will siphon more and more of the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

And if there's less carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gasses) in the atmosphere, then more heat can once again escape the planet and radiate out into space

Will this be easy? Probably not! This planet's natural systems are incomprehensibly complicated - but that also means there are solutions out there that we haven't even discovered. There are some additional problems to overcome, like the fact that the oceans will be surfacing excess heat for a few decades after we stop CO2 emissions, and also "natural gas" and "carbon capture" are fake solutions/oil company traps.

But we can do it. I so, so, so sincerely believe that.

One term that I think we'll be seeing more and more of in the coming years is "Drawdown": "Climate drawdown refers to the future point in time when levels of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline.[1] Drawdown is a milestone in reversing climate change and eventually reducing global average temperatures." (from wikipedia)

We can achieve drawdown. Will life in the future look very different? Yes, in both good and bad ways.

Climate change is the earth's "feedback" to humanity: "Fix your shit or die."

People are, in general, really, really, really committed to finding ways not to die.

I genuinely believe the rest of us can overcome the few dozen billionaires trying to screw the rest of us over. Money is powerful, but the remaining 7 billion plus people on this planet are more so. And the fortunes of billlionaires are made off the backs of the rest of us - which means we can make those fortunes run dry.

Sources for this answer (warning, these talk about the negative side of things a lot too, they're not the uplifting reads themselves. that's next): x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x

Other sources to read for hope: FutureCrunch, Project Drawdown and Project Regeneration good news websites in general such as Positive News and Goodgoodgood, which I think are the best content fits for what you're looking for. Make sure to check out Goodgoodgood's roundups specifically. And know that there are way, way more good news stories - and way bigger ones, too - than I've had time to post about lately, because work has been really hectic

[satancopilotsmytardis]

How do you settle down to write? Like do you put music on, have a certain set up, a snack?

I’m mainly asking because I have multiple fanfic on hiatus (some for 3 years 💀💀💀) because I can’t just sit down and write 😭

I have all this inspiration, and all these ideas (I have 582 open docs 0-0) but struggle to write more than a few sentences a week. I’m not short on ideas by any means, I just can’t WRITE them.

Okay so you gotta figure out what works for you. I read this and my immediate reaction was "well I can't answer that, I just sit down and write, that's not going to be helpful". And I do just sit down and write, I have a lot of things I'm working on, but I pick one or two a day to do and then I just write.

BUT I use 4thewords which is a website that creates an RPG around writing. Every amount you write can progress the story, give you in-game rewards, and help you build a writing streak (at the time of writing I am at 999 days in my streak (I have absolutely missed days but you can recover those with stempos)). I'll be honest, I haven't read a single game pop-up that actually explains the story, I literally don't care about it. But I knew I wrote the most when I was at school participating in Nanowrimo where I could do word sprints and word crawls with other people, and I couldn't hold myself accountable to do them on my own. But the monsters on 4thewords and the quests that can be done help me to stay on track and keep writing.

On days when I don't want to write, I still often end up groaning and saying ugh, if I just defeat ten monsters that each are only 44 words, then I can earn my daily chest, that won't take that long. And I do it. Or if I'm at 3.8k words and I want to stop, ugh there's another reward if I hit 4k, so I might as well just finish the last 200 words. And then, oh wait, there's another reward at 5k, how long will 1k more take me?

I use this site because it has built-in goals and rewards so that I have accountability outside of myself to keep me motivated and producing words. That's the method that I've found works best for me. If you're someone who likes external goals and deadlines, then that might work for you too (or a different similar site-- this one does have a paid subscription, but there is also a free trial to give it a go if you'd like).

If you think that having outside deadlines is too much pressure, then this probably isn't the method for you. Do you edit too much as you write? Try writing in white font on a white page (or whatever color you'd like) so that you can't see what you're writing. Do you get distracted researching something that will amount to one line of text? Put that thing [in brackets] and don't research it until you are going back to edit and adjust from there (same works with naming places or characters). Do you need other people to motivate you? Join a forum (4thewords has lots of these but I don't visit them) or have an IRL buddy who will check in with you and ask you if you wrote that day. Is your writing space uncomfortable? Too comfortable? Optimize it for you! No motivation due to mental illness? Been there, fully understandable, take the time you need to work on that first and other things will start to fall back into place as the brain recuperates.

Not writing when you want to write means that something else is going on, and it has to be you who figures out what that is and makes the changes that are needed to get you writing again. Idk if this was actually helpful, but literally I roll out of bed every day thinking about doing my dailies like a mobile gamer so like... this is all I've got, sorry!

[aqualovesart]

I haven't quite finished all of them and some of them might only be sketches at the moment, but I REALLY wanted to share these drawings I made of the FNAF 1 gang that I've been working on for at least a month now. And believe it or not, this is the first time I'm drawing them too.

Yeah. I was into FNAF in my early teenage years, but I was mostly into the fandom side of things, like the animations by Tony Crynight and Zajcu37 and of course I really liked the FNAF 1 song by The Living Tombstone, I wasn't really into FNAF as a series that much, but I did think it was interesting from what I saw from it. Keep in mind it was around the time FNAF 4 and FNAF World came out that I was into it at that point in time of my life that I'm referring to, and that's about where my FNAF phase at the time began and ended, just not too long before Sister Location came out (which sucks because things were just getting more interesting in the series with Sister Location in my opinion when I look back on it, but that's a story for another time).

But then I actually got into the series again early this year and I am really into it now because of Security Breach, checking out all of the games, actually playing the first four of them and even Sister Location with my younger cousin (on websites where they were mostly terribly emulated because we didn't own them at the time but still, I did play them and I do hope to own them and play them for myself one day, so take that information as you will), and I just kept drawing FNAF characters since then, and again, bonding over the franchise with some of my friends and younger cousins who were also big fans of the franchise.

Before that, I only drew The Puppet because I really liked them as a character, and I remember attempting to draw Freddy, but I never continued or finished the drawing. And I'm really happy having finally drawn them now that I'm actually into FNAF and having watched the movie and becoming more endeared by them as a result, and now as a young adult and having improved as an artist. What do you guys think? And feel free to comment if you feel like it. Just be polite if you do so and not be mean about it.

[lianabrooks]

How To Keep Your (Found) Family Happy

A friend posted a cartoon about weaponized incompetence on another website and talked about how every family has this. In fact, most groups of humans have run into this at some point, it's pretty normal for humans to try to find a way to take the easiest route (even if it means more work for others).

Despite all that, I've been with the same person since 2001. We've been married most of that time, had four kids together, and moved countless times as we restarted jobs, hunted promotions, and switched career fields. And we've managed to avoid most of the pitfalls. Here's how my spouse and I have avoid fights, weaponized incompetence, bitter feelings, and feeling neglected in our relationship for over 20 years (Hint: there's a lot of communication going on)... P.S. These are all very family/relationship-centric but you can absolutely adapt them for the workplace, school, or anything else.

MAKING CHOICES AHEAD OF TIME ... the menu is made at the start of the month, money is allocated before major events, we plan trips sometimes years in advance. All of that reduces the choice making later and is one less stress to handle. This is purely a decision making fatigue thing, if you have to make a decision, it requires brain power, and after a long day you'll have none. So why not sit down on a quiet day and make all the decisions you need to make for the next week? Poof! Brain power is freed up and there is less stress!

MONTHLY & WEEKLY CALENDAR SCRUBS... we sit down and make the menu around the first of the month, and we fill in the calendar with schedules so we know which days someone will be too busy to do things like cook, wash up, or something else.

DAILY CHECK-INS... whoever is home together in the morning does a morning devotional (yoga, dance time, scriptures, motivational quote, prayers, whatever works for you) and review what's happening so everyone is tracking major tests, work meetings, stressors, ect. Then we try to have dinner together if possible (even if it means eating at 5) and then a bedtime check-in before light's out (usually scriptures, prayers, and chatting, then bedtime stories for the littles). If people are working from home, we might have lunch together too. That means we have 2-4 planned meetings a day so we can course correct. -> If you're not religious, don't stress it. Pull out some Terry Pratchett quotes, favorite poems, pick a theme song for the week and dance to it. Just give you and your people five minutes to do something happy together. -> If this is at work this might mean a team meeting at the start of the day or a 12 minute check-in at 1:30 when everyone is back from lunch. The goal is to make sure everyone is on schedule for what they need, haven't run into an emergencies, and no one has questions. A supported work team gets more done.

SPENDING LIMITS... we got married in college when we lived off college stipends of $400/m. And we had a kid. Our rule was never to spend $20 without consulting the other person. We never changed that. We discuss everything from birthday presents to grocery lists and when we're getting gas in the cars even though we're much more financially stable. It means everyone spending out of the main accounts is tracking where the money is going so we don't over-splurge.

CHORE SCHEDULES... when we were first married we'd set aside an hour or so to clean the house together. It worked. As the kids got older this got more complicated (they needed to learn how to clean). But now we're at a point where everyone has assigned chores and we put bounties on chores that need to get done and are unassigned. And then we have one cleaning day (usually Friday or Saturday) where we take an hour and all clean the shared spaces. It takes 30-60 minutes to clean the entire house if you have six people working together. Laundry has assigned days for every load. The dishwasher and cooking have assigned days. It works. Everyone helps to the best of their abilities. -> With this is a lot of Adjusted Expectations. My house is not color coordinated with everything in a bin. My family is all neurodivergent. Most our dishes live on the counters because putting them away makes them vanish. This works great for us but might be overwhelming for other people. Who cares? It's our house, we're doing what works for us and the person mad about messes on Instagram can suck a lemon. -> If you really cannot do chores, cosplay it. Roll the dice and make it a game. Set a timer. Bribe yourself. Make it work for you.

ONE-ON-ONE TIME... not just for me and hubby, but for parents and kids. We try to make sure everyone gets some alone time where they are the focus of attention and we can check-in and make sure their emotional needs are met. Kids need a space to vent. Adults to a space to not be parents. -> This is super important for friendships too. Make time for people in your life! -> At work, this means managers need to make time to talk with their employees, check-in, and assess who needs things (and consider the people's needs first, not the CEO's bonus)

SCHEDULED DOWNTIME... usually this is Sunday for us (the Sabbath day for our religion), but it can be whenever, and we might have more downtime scheduled on a stressful week than in an easy one. The goal here is to make sure everyone gets time to not work, not lead, not think, and just chill. They can play, listen to music, nap, whatever their brain needs, and they can do it without upsetting anyone or feeling guilty because it's part of the schedule. -> In an office this would mean not lean staffing, maybe having an early release day once a week (or a late start) or long lunches. Give your people space to zone out and chill so they can come back refreshed. -> Quiet Quitting only exists because management is trying to exploit their staff. Don't be that boss. (P.S. Join Your Union)

SOME THINGS DON'T HAPPEN... our kids are limited to one after-school activity a year and one AP class for high schoolers. We've tried other ways and found it generates too much stress. I limit projects I take on because I have a set quitting time, even though I work from home. My husband passes up on some away-from-home events with friends because we prioritize family time. Figuring out that balance is something you have to decide as a family. What works for one person won't work for all. -> In business this means doing sustainable, slow growth over rapid booms that overextend and hurt the system. Stop looking for the short term boost when long term is better.

ADAPT TO WHAT YOUR GROUP NEEDS!... this is the most important one, because what we've done over the years has changed in reaction to the needs of people around us. My kids in college need something different than the one starting middle school. My team at the lab needed something than my team at a newspaper. If you have a bunch of introverts, they probably don't want a dance party, they want a three minute meeting with a heads up about any major disturbances and then ten minutes of silence to prepare their souls for any human interaction. Do what works.

[hpowellsmith]

Hey! I love seeing all your very exciting and intriguing posts that give us little glimpses into your writing & game making processes. I was wondering how you found/find the coding side of IF?

I'm currently having to do some on my IF course and hateeeeee it. I have always hated coding and find it's really ruining the fun of the writing for me. I'm wondering what your experiences have been and if it was a hurdle you had to overcome (or not!)?

Ahhh thank you so much, that's really kind! and apologies if this ends up posting after your course is done!

I'm fortunate in that my dad was in game development when I was young so I had computers at home growing up in the 90s/00s. Although I haven't had formal training beyond IT lessons in Year 9 I messed around making websites when I was a young teen, and then I taught myself to make mods in my mid teens. So when I started using Twine in earnest in 2014 I was coming at it with a head start... which is a massive issue in tech and games and really highlights how important accessible tools are for people who aren't programmers or who otherwise don't have that kind of foundation (and although I'm confident with a bunch of IF tools, I'm very much not a programmer!).

Soapbox aside! Everyone is different and I love hearing about other people's processes but what I like to do is:

Figure out the plot and branches, usually on paper, sometimes digitally, with bullet points or mind maps/branch diagrams

Create functional code before writing, with placeholder descriptions/dialogue. Check that it works as intended, playing through and/or using automated testing depending what engine you're using. (With ChoiceScript this is when I check difficulty balance using RandomTest. With Twine or inky, I check for errors as I go, then playtest. Other software's functionality varies but either way I'll do some sort of testing to check it hangs together.)

Write prose and/or dialogue. I'll sometimes realise I need to rethink something in the code or add, remove or move something. But because it's all placeholder and relatively short, it's not too unwieldy to shuffle around as needed.

Playtest and revise as needed.

I didn't use to do it like this - in my earlier IF projects I wrote and coded at the same time, but that ended up being less efficient and more difficult. I still do small sections like that, such as when adding stuff at the writing stage, but I've settled on this method because it means I have a clear line between "design mode" and "writing mode" rather than trying to cover both at once, which suits my brain. I also find doing the design/code stage like this means I notice and troubleshoot plot or mechanics problems more quickly.

My wife does a similar method for her ChoiceScript projects but she finds it helpful to alternate coding and writing in shorter cycles. So she'll plan out a chapter, code a chunk of it, write an early section, code a later chunk, write some more, and so on like that. It means her brain doesn't get fatigued by longer periods of solely writing or coding, and the variety keeps up her momentum.

I do recommend trying a variety of IF tools if you haven't already because you may find one that clicks for you better than others! I hope the course has gone well, and good luck!

[cy-cyborg]

So, you're old, (no hate but it's true) so that must mean you were on the internet during the AOL days. Which websites are good to post fanfics too? I realise not everyone uses FFN, so should I also upload them to Tumblr? DA? Facebook? How did you start your internet career? Ao3 needs an invite >>

Lmao I'm not even 30 yet, damn 😂 (no offence taken btw, I did get a good laugh from that start to the question though)

While I was technically around then, my home town was a good 10-15yrs behind the rest of the world in regards to the internet, so we didn't get reliable/constant internet access at my house until I was in high school so I missed a lot of that era - and even when we did get it, it was expensive, so my sister and I were only allowed to use it occasionally.

I got my start on Deviantart, but I'm not sure if I can still recommend it - they got bought out a few years ago and have been... not great, ever since. The brought in a lot of changes which drove away pretty much all of the userbase outside of scammers, crypto-bros and AI "artists". I don't know how good they are for writers now but I can't imagine they're much better. I still log on and post occasionally but unless you have nostalgia for DeviantArt, I don't think it's worth it, not for new users. Inkblot might be a good alternative though - they specialise in art but do allow you to upload written works too! I never had any luck there but I know a few others who have, so it's worth checking out.

I'd also recommend against Facebook. I know there are writing communities there, but most of the ones I found were a much older demographic - the few that weren't were not exactly welcoming to anyone who wasn't a straight/cis, white, able-bodoed man. I also know facebook has policies that allow them to use your content without permission - probably not something you need to worry about for fanfiction since it's usually based on existing work but still worth being aware of.

I haven't done this myself, but my partner used to post fan fiction to Reddit for a bit and had some luck there - you just have to find the right subreddits for the fandom you want to create for. some are more active than others, but I know there's a fairly active community there if you know where to look. They can be pretty brutal though, so be prepared.

Honestly, outside of AO3, Tumblr and FFN seem to be the two big platforms today for fan fiction and related content. I'm pretty out of the loop though, I haven't been heavily involved in fandom communities in years so take all this with a grain of salt (if anyone has better advice please feel free to leave it). Honestly, since leaving Deviantart I've jumped around between a lot of different platforms, basically just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what stuck lol. Tumblr, Mastodon and Tik Tok were the three where I got the most traction for my stuff, but Tumblr is the only one where my fandom-related stuff consistently gets any sort of traction.

Also is the Ao3 invite a new thing? I could have sworn I had an account but don't remeber getting an invite lol. Maybe I'm thinking of something else.... fuck I do sound old lmao

[woozapooza]

hi there! is there a lancelot post or anything that talks ab how insane lancelot is? i’m trying to just find basic info ab him for a start. i know he’s incredibly noble but i’ve heard he was also a bit of a freakazoid and i wanted to know how and what are the things he’s said and done that makes him insane ! thank you

Oh man I wish I could give a better answer, but I'll do my best. The best tumblr post I'm aware of that matches what you're looking for has got to be this hilarious ancient relic from 2014, but if you're the person who was going through my Lancelot tag a few days ago (nothing wrong with that—on the contrary, much respect) you've already come across that post. If by "post" you mean anything on the internet in general, not specifically tumblr, you could check out this post from a website whose existence I had almost entirely forgotten until right now, but which gave me countless hours of entertainment circa 2013. That second post is mostly based on Thomas Berger's novel Arthur Rex, but the episode it retells is drawn from Chretien de Troyes' poem Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, which is the oldest (known) text about Lancelot, and which is the origin of some of the wackiest things he does. To give just one example, there's one part in the poem where he breaks into Guinevere's room through the window and cuts his hand in the process, but he doesn't notice, I guess because he's too horny to feel pain? And they spend the night together and neither of them notices that he's bleeding all over the sheets—again, I guess they were just having too much fun—so she gets in trouble because clearly someone was in her room, so he has to fight a duel to prove that she's innocent because that's how logic worked back then. So if you're interested in checking out a "canonical" (for lack of a better word) Arthurian text with some Category 5 Lancelot Moments, I recommend starting there!

P.S. I was just in the Arthuriana tag and I see that someone else had received a similar question (presumably from you) and gave you a much more thoughtful and detailed answer. Well, even so, hopefully my recommendation of The Knight of the Cart counts for something! I haven't actually read it in several years and, alas, I don't have my copy with me, but I do remember that it's a good time.

[spaceorphan18]

I was wondering how you felt about the centralization of fandom. I feel like now, I'm so used to hop on AO3 that as soon as I'm looking for something I might not find there, like meta, theories or simply fics for an older (related to AO3) fandom like Glee, I don't have a clue anymore where to look for them. I never used LiveJournal so I don't have the habit of checking it out. FFNET feels obsolete after spending so much time on AO3, and as for Tumblr... the search function is a mess (and I dislike the fact that so many people post fanfics directly in text posts, of course they do what they want but it's frustrating to search for like analysis or simple thoughts and only find docs).

Fanlore is often lacking (although I worked myself on filling some stuff a few times).

I was used to HP being my main fandom: it had its own very charming fan websites with tons of content that often still exist, but are different somehow.

So I guess my question is actually several questions:

- what do you think of fandom being generally more centralized nowadays

- where do you go if you seek stuff like writeups (AO3 allows them but doesn't feature so much of them, but I know the Glee fandom was THRIVING and full of stuff,I guess the waves of mass post deletions are part of the issue)?

- finally, how are you? 🤗 I'm always happy to see your posts on my dash even if my Glee hyperfixation has come and gone

Sorry, it may be a confusing post 😂 Too much stuff going on

Hmm - I guess I wonder what you mean by more centralized? Like that we find everything in one place? Do we find everything in one placed? I guess I'm a little confused (but I often am)

What do you mean by write ups? Do you mean things like meta and analysis? I just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly.

If I'm being honest, my relationship with media has changed and I'm not necessarily seeking out fandoms to engage with. (This is not a denouncement of fandom at all! Just that I'm busier and how I interact with things just is different now) I haven't hyperfixed on anything since Glee - and I'm okay with that.

I don't really know where people can go /now/ to dig into fandoms. I think Discord is one of the places - but you almost have to be engaged already and invited into one. I don't know where people are putting their thoughts and feelings these days.

For me - I listen to a lot of podcasts now (as well as YouTube) where I can hear people's takes on such things, but I can't necessarily engage with it (I mean, I suppose commenting is a thing but it's not my thing) and that seems to fulfill a lot of my desire to hear someone else's thoughts.

And, I mean, I've made a group of good friends on Tumblr that if I want a more personalized discussion on something I'll hit one of them up and spark a convo. (Of course I have people not on the internet with whom I do that, too.)

But I can see where it can be hard for someone who is just starting out on their fandom journey to find a place where they can really dig in with others. Tumblr would be nicer if it was more organized and if tagging did actually work.

And, you know, I kinda treat Tumblr like a journal - and just create my own content. I'm not necessarily writing for all of you, but to sort things out in my own mind. Having people read and enjoy my thoughts is just an added bonus. ;)

I'm not sure if I've answered or addressed all of your thoughts - but hopefully, some of that makes sense?

In the mean time, I am doing well. I'm in a better place personally, which is nice, because then I can get back to all the fun projects I enjoyed before the year of my mental health crisis. Hope you are well yourself! <3

[somethingwittyandweird]

Dawn of a New Year- 2024

Getting a bit of a later start on this one than last year's, which went out day of. But, there's a few days yet before the fresh shiny coating falls off this new year completely. Plenty of time to do some reflection on the last one and looking forward to this one. So, with that said...

It's been another year that passed for certain. Again, it's been pretty devoid of watershed moments or drastic living situation shifts for me. When I made this post this time last year, I said that I knew a change would happen, but it hadn't happened then and it didn't look as though it would anytime soon. In that, at least, the projection didn't change. And this is good! Like it was last year, it says a lot that I'm in a comfortable and secure environment on nobody's timetable to change but my own. That's a blessing of a sort that I wouldn't take for granted.

But, if there's anything that does differ from last year to this, I get the impress I'm closer to that change. Literally, in the broad sense that time is constantly moving me closer to every future point. But, it's also in a more specific sense- the things that I know are going to change haven't changed yet, but I feel like they're closer to it than they were last time this post rolled by. If nothing else, this year I'll have to get my own health insurance, so that's the first sign that the times of change are rolling in. That's why I intend to look into that over the coming months, and in the process, potentially look into other things too. It's finally time for part of that uncertain change to come at me for certain, so I'd better meet it head on.

But, before we get there, that's not to say I did nothing this year at all. It was another good year of time spent with friends, in online communities familiar and new- being in tabletop sessions, sitting in voice calls, chilling in plenty of livestreams, and much more. I'm lucky again to be part of so many communities of people from all over the world, and I'm lucky to be finding more such communities to join all the time. It means the world to me whenever a friend or mutual decides I'd be a good addition to an undiscovered circle of theirs.

I posted all my swordtember art to Tumblr this year, realizing that I had as much audience here as any other site, and I intend to keep that going as long as I'm around. I could resolve to try and draw more things outside of that month, but conjuring creative inspiration on command remains a difficult prospect. That said, I think it would be wonderful if the year ahead had a big project in store that I could really get the gears turning with. I'm optimistic about the possibility.

I already made my post about the games that I enjoyed in 2023, and I'm delighted here at the end of the year to report that here at the end of the year I'm within sight of the endings to a few more backlog titles (Just to name one, in between now and then I've beaten the main story of Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and I'm working on the postgame). Along with these, this year had me flipping out when The Owl House's final episodes aired, and the wry, informative humor of Well There's Your Problem began accompanying my work commute. For 2024, I don't know if there's any particular media I'm anticipating (most of my home franchises chose this past year for their new entry) but even so I'm certain I'll find something new to check out. Perhaps it'll be a good year to get into one or more of the series my friends have long raved about...

As I write all this up, I would like to give a special shoutout to one of the aforementioned new friends/friend circles that I came into in 2023: @skysometric. Aside from being funny, a great friend, and just a general boon to know, something I really have enjoyed about coming into her space is seeing how intentional her online presence is. From her custom website to her commentary posts on her projects to the way she uses her blog as, of all things, a blog in the original and traditional sense, she puts herself out there very visibly, creating and urging others to create by example. And I've come to really appreciate that.

That's the thing about existing online: you have to be speaking up for your presence to be felt. Being around is one thing, but if you never say a word, it can be easy to just be one username of many. And as someone who trends towards simply lurking and being around myself, there's nothing wrong with that. But, for as much as I enjoy seeing the things my friends get up to, I think I could be a little more visible in talking about my own activities- give them more of a chance to enjoy seeing what I'm up to. I want to be present in other people's lives as much as they are in mine.

I said it last year, but it bears repeating: I don't get to know how long someone's in my life for. Websites can close, friend groups can drift apart, people can leave this life for the next. Perhaps I think too much about the fact that someday that change will come. But since I don't get to know that and can't do anything about that, the only thing I really can do is cherish others now, and let the future be its own concern. And I intend to.

Thank you, all of my dear friends and beloved mutuals. I hope I can keep sharing this online space with you for a long time to come. You brighten my days with your presence. I hope 2024 has good things in store for you, be that strength, love, reassurance, a much-needed sea change, or whatever you've been needing in your life. Once again, the best year I can wish for is one where every day is better than the last, and every evening we all go to bed just a little more improved than the evening before.

Happy 2024.

[scumlafeccia]

Coming from someone who was truscum in the 2010's, I think you being gendercrit and also chest dysphoric is a sign of some major cognitive dissonance and self-hatred that you really should talk over with someone outside of this hellsite. Doesn't necessarily mean you're trans—how you label yourself is entirely up to you—but you clearly have a complicated relationship with gender that will not be improved here.

That being said, I've been binding for years and can say with confidence that binders are very much a personal preference thing, so your mileage may vary with these suggestions:

Underworks: My absolute go-to for years. Their tri-top binders are my tried-and-tested favorite, but I also own a compression T-shirt from them that also binds pretty well, and I've heard good things about their econo binders as well. Sizes also go up to 3X, which is nice. The fabric can take some getting used to, being about three degrees of separation from trampoline material, but the arm holes being on the wider side makes up for that in my book.

Phluid: Honestly not sure if they even sell these anymore. I found mine in the back of a Spencer's, and I haven't found it online at all beyond a few websites talking about Phluid partnering with Spencer's to sell binders. That being said, the binder I picked up from them is surprisingly comfortable and binds incredibly well, so they're worth a shot if you do find one. Be wary though: they absolutely go by Hot Topic sizing. The sizes go up to 2XL and they run small. I'm a large in Underworks sizing, but an XL in Phluid sizing.

gc2b: More of an anti-suggestion. I never really liked their binders, and I've heard they've been using lower-quality materials in recent years. For me personally, the arm holes always felt too small for my comfort, and the fabric on the tanks had a habit of bunching up throughout the day (though this was about eight odd years ago so who knows). That said, they're the most fat friendly option that I'm familiar with, running up to 5XL, and have a wider variety of colors and prints. You'd probably be able to wear some of their tank binders out in public and just have people assume you were wearing a normal tank top. They might work out better for you depending on your preferences and circumstances.

In terms of general advice and suggestions: pick up a fabric tape measure if you don't have one already and take your chest measurements. If you wear bras already (like, ones with cup sizes) you might be able to guesstimate your chest size, but it's better to have more precise measurements for binders. Always, always check the size charts of any binder company you shop from to be sure you're buying the right size and, when in doubt, pick the larger size rather than the smaller one.

If the binder fastens with a zipper or clasp system, avoid it. Best case scenario, you're just getting a very low quality product. Worst case scenario, the pressure is being distributed very unevenly due to a flawed design that prioritizes profit over safety and you could bust a rib. No matter what binder you end up getting, don't do any strenuous exercise in it, try to stick to around eight hours of usage per day maximum, and hand wash those suckers (or at the very least use the delicate and cold water settings on your machine washer) to prolong the effectiveness of the compression material.

I hope this helps. Best of luck out there.

anon, you misunderstood. I have kind of figured out why I am dysphoric, and it's got nothing to do with being trans, even from a truscum point of view. I'm not looking to figure out my "relationship with gender" on tumblr, but I know that there's other women on here who are dysphoric and don't plan to transition, and I dont think it's bad to confront experiences. as for the binder suggestions, I've been keeping updated on tips on how to buy one since I was 14, and I'm not american so I'd need to look elsewhere anyway. thanks for the thought tho, that's appreciated

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

11/2/2023 DAB Chronological Transcription

Luke:15 - 19:48

Today is the second day of November, I'm Jill. Welcome to Daily Audio Bible Chronological, where we are walking through the word of God every day in chronological order until we get through the entire Bible In a year and we're well on our way and we're within the two-month countdown Of being to our one year goal. It's so great to be here with you, so great to be on this journey with you. And I hope you're having a fantastic day. Today we're reading the book of Luke, chapter 18, verse 15, and we'll be reading through chapter 19, verse 48. This week we are reading the English Standard version. Luke 18:15. 

Commentary

Let's refer to The God of Your Story today, to Talk about what happened. When Jesus ministry began, he left the Jordan River and traveled through the Judean wilderness on his way back to Galilee. And Luke's Gospel Today we found Jesus taking the same path in reverse. Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem for the final time before his arrest and the path LED through the ancient city of Jericho. A blind beggar had been sitting along the road when he heard the commotion surrounding Jesus. Upon inquiry, He realized that a healer was passing by. Obviously the blind man had no idea the weight on Jesus shoulders. No one really understood what was about to take place.The blind man began to yell. Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.The crowd shunned him, but he yelled even more to get above the noise. He was desperate to get Jesus attention despite the ridicule, and it worked. Jesus had the man brought to him in a beautiful exchange take place. What do you want me to do for you? Jesus asked. Lord, the blind man said. I want to see. And Jesus said, Alright, receive your sight. Your faith has healed you. The beautiful collaboration that took place on this dusty desert path outside of Jericho should affect us all on many levels. First, Jesus stopped.Jesus was on his way to a brutal death, and if we were on the same path with the same for knowledge, we would probably be more than just a little preoccupied. Second, Jesus invited the blind man to articulate his desire. And last, Jesus response to the men's healing wasn't self aggrandizing. He acknowledged the collaboration between the human and the divine, saying your faith has healed you. From this simple story, we see that God is not too preoccupied for us. He wants us to articulate our desires and share our hearts, and he intends to collaborate with us in our restoration. What makes you desperate enough to cry out, Jesus, son of David. Have mercy on me. She's listening.

Prayer

Father, thank you that you listen to us. Thank you that you are not too preoccupied. I I don't know how that can be but, There it is. We just saw in your word, That Jesus was not too preoccupied for a man, Who was desperate. Who knew his need. And you on your way to your death, Took the time for him. Thank you for such love. Thank you for such kindness. Thank you for utter compassion. And when we hear this, when we hear this story, when we hear these words and we are now aware, That you took the time, which means you will take the time. May we internalize The longing within us. May we examine that, To see if we are being as intentional, Making time, Spending time being with you. Articulating our need. Allowing you, The freedom to come. We love you. We thank you. We are thankful. We are grateful Today and every day. We pray this in the name of the Father and the Son, And the Holy Spirit, amen.

Announcements

Daily Audio Bible, That's home base. Take a look around if you haven't. That's the website, you can check it out. Plenty to do. Take a little peek at the store. There's a prayer wall if you are less comfortable calling in, but you really need prayer. Just know it's available and it is just Within the click of your fingertips that you can access and utilize that. If you would like to partner With the Daily Audio Bible, Thank you so much for your partnership for every contribution. We could not do this without you and that is the truth. If you're giving by mail, DAB PO Box 1996, Spring Hill TN 37174 or you can hit that give icon. It is up at the top right hand corner of your mobile device. Or look for the give icon at the website as well. If you have a prayer request, if you'd like to call in and pray over someone that's previously called in, you can do so 800-583-2164 or you can hit that red circle button. It's up at the top right hand corner of your mobile device as well. Make sure you hit submit, And then turn that little wheel to chronological and it will get to the right place.That's it for me today. I'm Jill. We will turn the page together tomorrow, And I look forward to it until then, Love one another.

Community Prayer Line

Hey y'all hey love you. Simone, this is Heather Fox Peak by way of Texas. Girl, I'm a fellow H town. So I remember when you first came on the DAB and I was like, man, if I lived in Houston, I would search you out and be your friend. We would be friends in real life. But more than that and most importantly, your you are my sister in Christ and you are part of the bride of Christ. You're part of the church. You're going to be at the dinner supper. You know with with Christ you're going to be at that and the glorious heaven with us when we're raptured. And I get to meet you then and I'm so excited, but I'm going to pray over you and And this job and and I know you were so thrilled about this job. I remember that you were so thrilled about it. And and I'm so sorry that things are happening, but things are happening in the healthcare system that is very hard for Christians.Things are happening in the world and it's going to be harder for us and we just got to pray about it and believe in God's promises. But I'm going to lift you up. Heavenly Father, just continue to be with with our dear Simone, our sister, continue to to just be in her life and flow through her Holy Spirit and give her joy And peace, take away the anxiety and the doubt and the fear She's She is your daughter and you've got her. And I pray that if there is another job out there for her, that she finds it, if that is your will. You know, I pray that everything happens in your will, for nothing is impossible for you, Lord, nothing is impossible. And Simone, you remember that nothing is impossible for God. So we praise and praise your name, Lord. We thank you. We thank you every day for your mercy and your grace. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. 

I love you, sister.Good morning, Daisy. It's Tonya calling from Suffolk. Today is October 28th. I want to lift up Kingdom seeking Daniel called in for D2. He's going to be traveling on December the first in regards of the court case. So dear Lord, I want to thank you for being on the Almighty God that you are. I'm asked the Lord God.That you just beat them there on that day. Lord God, everyone Father's gonna have a hand in this court case. Lord God, you just have your way. Father. I'm asking that your will be done, Lord God, whatever. That may be low, but we just continue to trust you, Lord God, just continue to stand on your word. And I'm asking Lord God you to protect Kingdom.Secondary as he traveled over God to be there for support log Lord God even on that day of visitation. Lord God, I'm just believing you right now that you'll be in the mist Lord God that you just give him the words to say Father you just speak through him, Lord God more of you and less of him and his trust and believe in right now.In the mighty name of Jesus, Lord God that you will be done on earth as it is in heaven, this is my prayer to you. In Jesus name. Amen. As always DABC, I love you guys, continue to be encouraged and just umm you guys just keep me in prayer as well. Out in Vegas me and my husband enjoying our honeymoon so I just thank God for.Just giving us another chance little God, just to to try to get it right. One more one more time and you just continue just to to keep us Lord God. We continue to trust you and keep you first. Lord God In Jesus name. Amen. As always the FC I love you guys and continue to be encouraged.Hide the ABC Family. This is Darrell from Hungary, and I wanted to pray for kindergarten. Katie, Katie, I was in your exact situation. The Lord has worked out a miraculous solution for my toxic and abusive marriage, and I'm just so grateful to hear that the Lord has worked in your life as well. So let me just pray for you.Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you, and I lift up Katie and your loving hands. I praise you and I thank you that even though your word talks about marriage and divorce and you teach us what to do, what not to do, but you see their situations and you made a miraculous.Solution and resolution of that situation. So we praise you for that. Lord. Thank you for being such a compassionate and wonderful Father.They're Jesus. I pray that Katie's heart, his ex husband's heart and the children's heart that are in the middle of this are going to be comforted and peace will flood their hearts and the time and prayer and faith in you are going to be.I'm creating a new normal for them where they are going to be able to function glorifying your Lord God. I know that it is possible through you, and I just pray that you know when we are peacemakers that we do glorify.If I pray that over Katie that no matter what her ex-husband would do or say, that she would still be that light and peacemaker for her and for her children and an example for her ex-husband. Also, thank you, Lord Jesus, we praise you and we thank you.In the name of Jesus I pray this Amen. 

[md3artjournal]

Well, blundered again.

I don't know why I keep letting shopping online scare me so much, but I procrastinated on the last day of Art Supply Warehouse's Back To School sale, and it turns out they started removing the sale prices more than 10minutes before midnight. So better to not complete my purchase and risk ending up with non-sale prices.

The sad thing was that I was really looking forward to getting all these bottles of ink! I really needed that Copic ink refill for Claude's skin tone! I really needed Copic nib replacements so I didn't have all these useless Copic markers and/or Copic Ink Refills with nothing to put them into!

But I procrastinated too much. I took a nap---even though I knew I was doing it because I was afraid to place the order today. I spent weeks before today, picking out what I would buy from the sale, only to not actually make the purchases on that same day I made those decisions. I told myself I needed to make sure of what I needed to buy. I watched reviews and looked at different sources for different swatches of ink, to compare colors. Because we all know we can't trust the given color swatches on a store website, or even Copic's official website. Those swatches look nothing like the markers I do have! Thank goodness for YouTube reviewers. There's something more real about their lighting that I can trust, more than a web browser's approximation of a color swatch. I started watching vids from Ken Bromley Art Supplies. They were very succinct and demonstrated the pure ink, diluted with water, used with brush and thin dip pen lines. it was exactly what I needed and all very quick. I must have watched those vids 10 times each, to keep reassuring myself that I was choosing the right colors.

And then I double checked my old notes for which Copic markers in my collection needed replacing, refills, nib exchanges, or just new colors I wanted. All those old shopping lists are so simultaneously redundant and incomplete. I always have to cross-reference all of them to make a new shopping list. And that's what I ended up doing at the last minute tonight.

SMH, I need all those reassurances. Even while starting to place my order tonight, I started to feel my body start having psychosomatic effects. It always does this. That's why I can't do my taxes myself anymore. I'm actually surprised I could hold it together today, instead of just running to the bathroom. But I still couldn't get done fast enough to place my order before the sale ended.

I don't know...Maybe I just self-sabotage too much. I know I'm too scared of doing anything important. That's why I'm especially afraid of any type of monetary transactions online. It's the same reason I haven't opened my online shop, even more than 10 years after getting my seller's permit. It's the same reason I keep procrastinating buying things online. I haven't even bought anything from Amazon before! I'm too afraid...to do anything. ;_;

I'm so stupid.

I needed these art supplies. I'm out of black ink---well, black ink that I can rely on to not rub off onto the opposite sides of my sketchbook pages. I really need the Copic Ink color for Claude's skin tone. I have a whole comic to finish with him as a chibi merman, so I need to color a lot more of his skin than usual! It's good that I save money by not buying anything, but the truth is these new supplies would have made my life easier. I can say, "Well, I guess this means I should start practicing digital art more. There's less worry of running out of ink, art supplies, or specific colors, if I'm coloring digitally." The problem is that I really like drawing in ink, traditionally, and by hand. Especially during Inktober or while doing my minimalistic, silhouette witches or spiral dip pen drawings. ....Still, I have a LOT of supplies. I just need to learn to use them. Even though my sumi ink stinks and isn't dark enough. Even though, as much as I love drawing in charcoal and pastels, preserving it with fixative sprays puts my whole sketchbook out of commission for days and giving off dangerous fumes for weeks. Not to mention how thinking of getting my hands that messy deters me from even starting. Also, I think all my fixatives are so old, they turn all my drawings yellow. Even though I have watercolors, it's just so frustrating knowing it measurably takes me 5 times longer to color than when I use Copic markers. I hate wasting so much time mixing skin tones with watercolors, only to run out and need to mix again, AND color match my previous mix. Buying that ink bottle of skin tone would have really made my life easier. I needed these supplies because they would have made my life easier. Yes, I still have lots of art supplies. But they're all cumbersome and an obstacle to me drawing. I need the path of least resistance in my mediums, because I already have too many psychological obstacles to overcome.

I'm already too afraid of drawing, I need art supplies that make my life easier. But I'm too afraid of buying online, making an online shop, of doing anything.

My only consolation tonight is that technically, this wasn't anything important. I'm not going to get penalized for not placing an order online, versus efiling my sales taxes.

I don't know whether I should soothe myself up by going to bed, watching a show I like, or just tearing into my art supplies, to prove to myself that I can use them.

Like, what am I going to do about Claude's skin tone? I draw those comics in water-soluble fountain pen ink. I can't just switch to watercolors; all my linework would disappear. I can't switch to color pencils; it would make my previous pages for that fancomic too inconsistent. Maybe I wait until Black Friday, hope that Copic Ink Refills will be part of a sale, and postpone continuing my DMCL comic until then? Well, at the rate I've been avoiding drawing this month, that may happen without me even trying. x_x;

I'm so stupid.

~ ~ ~

1:29 PM 9/17/2023 EDIT:

It's past 1pm on the day I thought the sale was already over, and turns out, the sale prices were still up? So I bought everything. I'm sorry, wallet. lol But also, I'm not sorry, because these supplies will make my life a lot easier. Now I'm happy because I'll get my bottles of ink.😄 One good thing about thinking I missed out, is that it galvanizes my feelings one way or another. So I was able to place the order without as much of my usual uncertainty, anxiety, & self doubt. So, ok. I should be able to relax now. I paid for my order. All the prices were the sale price. My order went through. I saved a PDF of my "Order Created" page. I should be fine. I just have to save all my screengrabs. But even if something goes wrong, I still have that PDF. We're essentially safe. Not quite done, but very safe.

I always feel a little post-stress after an event, even if it ends well, and even when it's over. But I'm relatively fine right now. This amount of post-stress surprises me with how faint it is, compared to my usual. So I'd say, I'm doing well, this was good, and I should eat breakfast. And I'm going to get all that ink I wanted! Just in time for Inktober! I should be happy!

Yes, I splurged on that extra dark Purple Lake ink, but I just remembered that it might be good for Inktober, since I do a lot of minimalistic silhouettes for Inktober. I was originally going to just use the lavender Velvet Violet ink, since lighter purple will be more recognizable as purple, in thin line art. But then before finishing up my order, I remembered that I also do a lot of broad inked spaces during Inktober for my witches. And yes, I'd like for them to be somewhere between black and purple. They're witches! It'll be Halloween month! It'll also help me save my black ink for when I absolutely need to do a drawing in black and white. I originally thought to skip Purple Lake because it was so dark, that it almost looked black, especially in thin lineart. But actually, in the back of my head, I just couldn't not buy it. It was a dark purple, one of the coolest of colors. I'm just glad that at the last minute, I was able to think of an excuse to buy it, a case where it would be even more useful than the more lavender Velvet Violet. I do like Velvet Violet though; it's a lot more blueish than pinkish, compared to Purple Lake. Honestly, I almost also bought a bottle of green ink and blue ink. But what for? And if I was going for a full rainbow, then why not get an orange too? But the truth is, that I just like those colors, the cool colors end of the spectrum. But I shouldn't be buying so many bottles of ink.

I still have a bottle of blue Liquitex Ink. My brain's "reckless spending" side tried to talk me into thinking my Liquitex Ink was too dark of a blue for Dimitri, and maybe I should be buying a bottle of lighter blue ink for Dimitri. But I've been doing drawings with that dark blue Liquitex Ink for Dimitri since 2?years ago, and it's just fine. In fact, it's not so dark to be mistaken as black. It's a recognizable blue, even with my drawings made up of only thin linework (spirals, hatchlines, etc.). And when I think about the other FE3H Lords and the spiral-filled fanart I drew for them with my Liquitex Ink, one of the reasons I liked my spiral Edelgard drawings, is because the red was very deep. The darkness made the color seem "rich". So I shouldn't be dismissing any ink with colors so dark that almost seem black. Being so dark as to almost seem black could produce a nice color shift effect in some drawings, so I'm kind of excited now to try Purple Lake for one of my spiral/purely linework drawings. My current stock of blue Liquitex Ink and my incoming Daler-Rowney FW Purple Lake will be nice BECAUSE they edge into "very dark". I shouldn't worry about "virtually black" inks not showing enough of their color.

1:33 PM 9/17/2023 Sometimes I wonder if I should be posting all these anxieties on my art journal, especially when they turn out to be nothing. But up until those points, all my anxiety is very real and does hurt a lot. What is my art journal blog for again? I used to feel very free to use it to post all my art thoughts, even though it's all my insecurity and anxiety pouring out. But now that I've gotten some messages from people who seem to be actually reading my art journal blog, I'm wondering if I'm sharing too much. Am I posting anything relatable that might help someone as equally insecure and anxious as me? Or am I just bothering everyone with my disgusting insecurities? I've always said on my main blog that "your blog is for you and you should post whatever you want and not care about what your Followers think". But I post some really personal stuff on my art journal blog. That's part of why I put the word "journal" in the title. I can get pretty raw, and though my catastrophizing thoughts can turn a swirl in a teacup into a monsoon, I know how ridiculous it looks from the outside, to other people. I guess I'm just getting a little self conscious on a blog that I didn't used to have that concern about. But maybe I should? Maybe I shouldn't be posting so much of my most personal thoughts on the internet. I still censor myself; my offline journal is much more intense than this blog. But maybe even this blog with my TMI is something I should do something about. o.o??? 1:38 PM 9/17/2023 I should eat breakfast.

[transfennecbuddy]

HI HI HI HELLO I have a THING! That I want to show y'all! HEHEHEHEHEHE I have another rant!! I shall hide it behind the read more thing but yeah!!! Hehe rant!!

(Also! Legal disclaimer! [Not really but same vibe.] This rant is about a super fancy snazzy spiffy science thing [CRISPR] but I'm not a science professional! I'm just doing a school project on this! This is what I got from YouTube videos and websites and such, yeah? If I get things wrong, that's why!)

Hi hi hi so you came to see my rant huh? Huh huh huh? Well I shall show you hehehe!

Have you heard of a thing called CRISPR? I'm gonna assume that you haven't so that I can explain!! It's a gene editing tool that uses a protein called Cas9, which is commonly found in bacteria! You see, bacteria have been using this fancy thing all along for ages! Like whenever bacteria get attacked by a virus (which happens a lot) and that virus is new to it, it doesn't really have a fancy defense mechanism to protect itself. But if it survives the attack, then it takes a bit of the virus's DNA and saves it in a section of its own DNA using Cas9. And then if it gets attacked by that virus again, it'll check the virus's DNA against the samples it has in storage, recognize the DNA, and make pieces of RNA to attack the virus right at its DNA!

Cool, huh? Well scientists found about this lil whizzy thing called Cas9 a while ago and were pretty excited, for good reason. With CRISPR, we can not only edit the DNA of creatures that haven't been born yet but also creatures that are very well and living which can pave the way to treatments for genetic diseases!! Plus it's much cheaper than it cost to do genetic stuff the old way!!! (As in, some folks are trying to get laypeople to try out CRISPR on themselves, and their main struggle is with convincing people to do it cause the cost isn't that big of a factor!) We already have GMOs like the Flavr Savr tomato (which takes longer to rot on store shelves thanks to being genetically modified). If CRISPR is safe (which folks are still trying to work on since there's still so much about genetics that scientists don't know and messing with folks' genomes can lead to unintended consequences [also fun fact: the word consequences is used colloquially to mean a bad effect of something, but in stuff like psychology, it just means an effect of something!!]), then it can be super awesome!

I learned about this lil thing back in... I think 2018? I watched a Kurzgesagt video on it a few years ago at least, and I rediscovered the vid during the pandemic while everyone and everything was shut down and there wasn't much to do during the summer other than sit on the couch and watch TV. And like, I LOVED that video when I first watched it?? I watched it multiple times and I even forced (read: persuaded/begged) my parents to watch it too. And I still love hearing about CRISPR and genetic engineering and genetics in general now because of that (and it's impressed at least two important people in my life so I consider it a success!). Like when we touched briefly on CRISPR in my biology class last year, I was SUPER excited in the back of the classroom because it was CRISPR!! One of my childhood interests that has significantly influenced my life!!

So when we had to do a project on new science in my physics class this year (for... reasons), I immediately looked up new stuff going on with CRISPR within the last couple years. AND TURNS OUT! FOLKS HAVE MADE A CRISPR 3.0 NOW! Like I didn't even get to hear about CRISPR 2.0, it was just straight to CRISPR 3.0!! And hopefully CRISPR 3.0 is safer, more effective, and easier to use than the original version of CRISPR.

ALSO! CRISPR IS BEING TRIED OUT TO HELP FAMILIAL HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA(high cholesterol risk passed down genetically)!! THAT'S SO COOL!!! AND IT'S BEING TESTED ON PEOPLE NOW! I will literally SCREAM this is so cool!!

So yes! I'm having a fun time, hehe. And I'm writing this instead of actually working on my project, but that's cause it's helping me put together my thoughts! Totally not because I'm just too excited to work on it without being able to gush to someone about it (/sarcasm), lol.

[frobin]

For the one piece party series, I never said they were canon story wise. But they are more like mini adventures. For the scene where Nami is calling Law cutie is in volume 4 if I’m correct. This comedic series does have their quirks and habits,somethings that were discussed in sbs’ while never put on paper in the main manga. I read it in the French version, so don’t know what the Japanese version said. The storyboard is approved by Oda and maybe the dialogue also(don’t remember that though). Con

Hey there anon! Thank you once more for writing and clearing that up!

I decided to answer this directly (later than planned, thanks to tumblr deleting my answer before I could save it) because it's about the posting that was posted earlier:

I don't know if this is the right scene but it's what I found in volume four (please excuse the bad quality and that it's in german):

Nami is teasing Law about the "D" and says it might mean "DO" which apparently is short for Dotei and means male virgin in Japanese why Law reacts so embarrassed.

Chopper tries to tell him that there is no need to be embarrassed and that everyone starts out as a virgin.

To which Law answers that maybe he isn't even embarrassed and also not everyone is starting out as a virgin!

Which makes Chopper react with a "huh?"

Because same XD Maybe Law means the D. again or he means the zodiac? idk.

Anon: Continued…*** **** thing,I read about it 7-8 years ago, so I doubt I could find it easily again. It’s like an interview fan translated into English. Also Oda deemed it too dark as well, thus why he changed it. This isn’t Berserk after all. Yes, the author of that opp just uses Law in these stupid scenarios because the real Law doesn’t do that in the main manga. They do everything in a goofy,over exaggerating way. But the series is approved by Oda storyboard wise and dialogue(don’t remember that) Anon: Either it was written at the ends of the volumes or sellers websites description. I don’t remember it cause it’s been a while. Again if Oda’s ex assistant seemingly ships somebody, then it’s certainly not a problem for anybody. I just found that seemed to be his preference shipping wise. That’s all.

I still feel weird about Oda saying something like that. Because yeah it really does seem to dark. Berserk levels of darkness indeed and again, OP is supposed to be for teenage boys.

I couldn't find anything and I feel like there needs to be a trace of that... but nothing. :Ia A page with all the interviews translated would be neat... if anyone knows about something like this, please share!

Anyway, it is true tha Ei Ando used to be Odas assistant and that he is checking the stories. It is written in the Volumes, that is correct.

I'd still take it with a pinch of salt because I don't think he is reading as closely as some of us fans and I don't think that he checks on possible hints towards ships.

Personally I don't see any prference of Ei Ando but that might be because I haven't read it like that. All I know is that there is not much FRobin which could be a concious decision because they already have a strong presence.

But if she indeed ships Law/Nami... good for her!