#I just like the way they're shaped and how the bones work etc

[spikedfearn]

I understand that this is a broad question, so I completely understand if you don’t have a specific answer, but do you have any advice or insight into your editing process? I’m noticing that when I was in school, my first draft was usually always good enough to get me through, so I never developed that skill. I can look at my writing and see what needs improvement, but I struggle with coming up with an actionable list of things to change or how to change them and I end up feeling stuck in my first draft. Your writing advice lately has been so helpful, I figured I’d ask!

That’s such a good question, and honestly—same. I totally relate to relying on solid first drafts in school and never really learning how to “revise” beyond surface-level tweaks. It’s a completely different muscle to build when you’re editing creative work, especially when you can feel something’s off but don’t quite know how to fix it yet.

What’s helped me is shifting my mindset: I don’t treat editing as “fixing a bad draft” but more like “shaping the version that wants to exist underneath the one I just wrote.” I try to approach it in layers:

Layer 1: Vibes check. I read the draft like a reader, not a writer. Am I bored anywhere? Confused? Skimming? If something feels off even if I can’t name it, I highlight it and move on. I’ll circle back with more clarity once I’ve read the whole thing.

Layer 2: Intent vs. execution. I ask myself: What was I trying to do in this scene? If the vibe doesn’t match the intent (e.g., it’s meant to be tense but reads flat), that’s my starting point for edits.

Layer 3: Emotion and pacing. I go through and check if the emotional beats are landing. Do the characters earn their feelings? Do I give readers enough time to feel with them before jumping to the next moment?

Layer 4: Sentence-level craft. Once I know the bones of the scene work, I start tightening prose, reworking clunky lines, or pushing descriptions further.

When I get stuck, I write a little journal-y note to myself in the margins, like: “This feels rushed but I’m not sure why” or “What if X’s reaction was angrier here?” Just asking questions can help loosen something up.

Layer 5: Finding a good beta. Sometimes, when I'm stumped or can't articulate why the draft feels off to me, I'll reach out to one of my moots to read over what I have and to leave suggestions/bounce ideas off of. I almost always use @fuckoffbard or @amaranthine-enihtnarama bc they're top tier editors/betas who not only fix surface-level issues like grammar and spelling, but let me know what they like as well as leave feedback for what I can expand on, what to condense, etc.

Also: you're not alone in this!! Editing can be overwhelming because there’s no “one right way,” but I promise it gets easier with practice and curiosity. And honestly, even thinking about revision the way you are now is a huge step.

So honored my writing advice has been helpful, and I’m always down to talk process more if you ever want to!! 💕🖊️

[despazito]

what is type drifting in dogs and what does it have to do with the chow?

It's a contentious topic, type drifting refers to the general appearance of a breed changing over time.

I should clarify that it's disingenuous to assert that dogs inherently had better structure 100 years ago, we definitely know more medically and genetically about how dogs work now than we did back then. i'll sometimes see old photos of dogs whose heads i find very pleasing but the postcranial structure is an inharmonious mess (and it's not about what 'looks' right aesthetically, the way joints are arranged decides how efficiently a dog can move which can have some big impacts on working ability and quality of life). we can thank good breeders for smoothing out a lot of those imbalances in their dogs. You know when you see a funny shelter dog that has the proportions of 3 different animals cobbled together? It is the work of breeders that purebreds as a general rule don't have that structural funkiness going on.

Over the years the desired "type" of dogs within a breed becomes standardized (after all the word conformation literally derives from "to conform"), so the population settles for a desired direction to take their breed in. The controversy starts when for whatever reason, usually a variety of factors such as judge preference, breeder preference, whose kennel is bigger or more influential in a given area, etc... that you can see desirable physical appearance drift towards certain traits over others throughout the decades.

These changes can be structurally harmless, the roman nose of the bull terrier doesn't cause any dysfunction and boils down to personal preference of what folks think a perfect bull terrier should look like. Other changes can pose more harm, such as the preference for a french bulldog to have a completely flat face+meaty neck+wider skull+pinched nostrils together creates a dog much more prone to breathing issues.

As a trend though I do feel like a handful of breeds have drifted towards a cobbier build, reduced muzzle length, a more domed head shape, more skin, and more bone. which like, isn't inherently cruel or anything, but i think we should ask ourselves why some dogs are drifting that direction because there also isn't anything to be gained from it beyond aesthetic preference.

Chow chows have gotten quite a bit meatier and stockier, here's some top chows of 2024

compared to prized chows at the turn of the 20th century when they were still novel dogs to the west, there's definitely structural differences and the dogs just looked more moderate overall.

I think where folks get confused is that it's not so much saying that meatier chow are all diseased and should cease to exist, we can still have those chows (within moderation lol), it's the frustration people like me have that the old type champion dogs if shown today would not get praised as good looking chows even though they're still purebred chows and there's nothing wrong with them! I wish clubs were more flexible in this way and were more openminded on what a purebred should look like so long as the dogs are healthy. And i don't believe drawing a line in the sand to call it a different breed is the solution either because on average purebred populations are in need of more gene flow.

How this ties in to china is that chow chow originated in china. the meatier and western type chows can be found there but so can the more moderate old type that has become harder to source from a western breeder nowadays. When you search chow chow on chinese social media (i can't read mandarin but i've copy pasted various terms from chinese dog sources) you will find a more diverse range of dogs. there are dogs that look closer to the ancestral landrace songmao, more western-style dogs, and a wide spectrum of stuff in between (unfortunately extreme breeding happens over there too, i've seen dogs with CRAZY amounts of skin that are even more exaggerated than western type).

If you're like me and have a strong preference towards the old style of chow and the native songmao i think you can understand why we have some strong opinions on the direction that western lines went lol. I'm just absolutely in love with these guys that you can still find in china, I want to meet some so bad!!

(songmao dogs)

[ageha-sds]

Can you talk about your process? I find your renders really gorgeous but I think I don't really understand the work that goes into them.

Whoof! That's a question and a half, anon. Typically the process initially starts out with the model itself - a fresh rip. I almost never ever work with pre-ripped files as I always find they have something I don't like and also are not up to my standards. I'm extremely picky which means I do things by myself. Not that those providing the rips are bad! But I prefer things my way. Once I got the model and all of its assets (textures, ancillaries like materials, values, etc.) I throw them together into Blender. I'll usually whip up a material on my own and, if need be, eyeball certain things. Not everything looks that good out the box and some stuff needs tampering, but that isn't too often. Provided I get the model right where I want it to look, from there I immediately jump into posing the model. Back in the day I used to begin at the legs and work my way up, but recent years have seen me throw caution to the wind and just play with it. In the end, posing isn't much different with playing with toys. (Which is why I have a collection of them. No, I'm not pretending my high end figures aren't toys!)

Note: I never use IK/FK rigs ever. I'll use the skeleton at hand, but I don't like using IK/FKs. I pose bone by bone. This is where part of my thinking comes in: What can I do that's interesting? There's this clip from the Spielberg biopic I always think about when David Lynch shows up, there's a line that's always stuck with me: "When the horizon's at the bottom, it's interesting; when the horizon's at the top, it's interesting; when the horizon's in the middle, it's boring as shit." Paraphrased but regardless, you get the gist. My goal is to make the pose interesting to look at. So I'll do all kinds of things: Shape play, twisting, really weird stuff, if I'm having trouble I like to look at Vogue or fashion magazines in general, and kinda go from there. I'll work the pose from there that I feel fits the character but keeps it interesting to look at. Something ill-forgotten is that when I do my renders, I really treat them in the way a cinematographer/photographer would: Composite for the shot. So I'll look at the pose I'm doing and once I get it to a point, I'll go "okay, let's get a camera in now" and start playing with things like FoV. Example: My Sadu render had some very narrow focal length, I think 14mm? Some renders have a very wide angle lens of 80mm. If I find I like the camera lens and angle, what I'll do then is check if the pose needs adjustments. Make it fit more, make it interesting, break the model here, all that. Make the pose work for the shot, don't worry about how it actually looks from any other angle.

Then comes lighting. Lighting is really tricky, because you can really easily blow out a lot of stuff. Skin, you can just over-expose in a way that looks bad. White is another one that you gotta be really, really careful about. It's a balancing act.

But before that, I like to use HDRIs. But I don't just use them. See, I kind of follow a general basis of using colored undertones for my HDRI, and I like using studio HDRIs because they're generally no color. What I like to do is mix into the HDRI a noise texture to really get all kinds of weird, crazy colors! It makes things look interesting and makes it really easy to have that color variety. There'll generally be two main colors that get the highlight though e.g. cyan and orange.

From there I begin lighting actually. I use every part of the buffalo. Spot lights, sun lights, area lights, not as frequently called but still used point lights, they all serve a purpose. What I like to do is at grazing angles, give the light a nice pale color, and then accompany it with another light of a similar color that's actually saturated so that the value changes. You usually use this for rimlights and it's a technique called a kicklight, but I like to use it on my main lights too since that can make stuff pop a lot.

After that it's just making whatever comes naturally to me in terms of lighting. Shadows are good. They're really really good! You always wanna use the heck out of shadows in this stuff, because when you don't, you lose out so much depth.

Speaking of depth, once I get everything I have needed, I like to add an ambient occlusion layer in compositing and then I like to use a technique called sfumato, which is what you sometimes see in my renders when they fade into a color. This is achieved by using the Mist option in Blender. If I'm doing a transparent image I like to get the alpha and Mist both, plug them into Color Ramp nodes, then multiply Mist by the alpha. (and I make sure the black position is set to .999 on the color ramp!)

From there, after I multiplied the AO to the composited image, I'll add the multiplied Mist node to another Mix Color node and set it to add (though you can experiment freely with this! I don't always do it like this!) then play with as necessary. After that, I just render it out at 4k resolution, then downsample to 2k res. That's about it!

This was a bit of stream of consciousness and I could easily have forgotten a few things, but, that's generally the process more or less!

[rolex-kaard]

FINALLY DREW SOMETHING Ok butler anatomy post Go

warning for descriptions including bugs and flesh and stuff but no graphic images beyond bones

So basically. the way i see it:

butlers have skeletons, but a lot of the bones are missing or oddly shaped/not in the best condition. most if not all bones are hollowed out from the inside; the hornets eat the marrow, leaving the bones lighter and easier to keep in place. as there is little to no actual flesh in the body, and only some residual tendons, the skeleton is supplemented with hornet-woven material, kind of like what paper wasps build with. bones can be replaced, sometimes by non-human ones (like from a thumper) if needed

their proportions are not quite human so the bones are spaced out. also their leg bones are probably not human leg bones, or they are but broken down

^ about how i imagine it. their side profile is fucked up bruh. if you can tell well enough, the fainter straight lines in the sketches are examples of the hornet-built connections.

ok so the skull. the entire top part of it is missing, basically all that's there is the jaw. the head i imagine is densely hornet occupied for vision and control so they're able to keep the head's shape with no need for bone there. you can smush its head in with a bit of force (it wouldn't like that). the jaw doesn't serve much of a purpose beyond providing its charming grin/threat display, as the hornets tend to exit the hive and slice food themselves, but it could potentially be used to help crunch into bone, stuff like that.

last point for this image is that butlers don't have any remaining human internal organs except for lungs, repurposed to maintain the hive's conditions. they "breathe" very slowly.

also, as a general point and to try and rationalize why they're built like that, most of the hive's denser workings (nursery, excess food storage, etc) goes in the ribcage area, something like the way human organs are situated but further back to balance the body

ok and about clothes. a butler's clothes are basically a part of its body's structure. they lend support as well as warmth and some protection, helping the hive keep its shape. because of this it can only really comfortably remove the upper coat (though this is where it stores its knife, broom, and any other items, so it would still like to keep that for safety). it will survive without the vest, just get shakier (i gave up drawing that one), but (especially for older butlers) its shirt is in places joined with its skin from repeated repairs and probably impossible to remove

[beneathsilverstars]

@horatiocomehome replied

ooo how about jewelry taste. dangly earrings vs studs, do they wear bracelets, rings, flashy vs elegant, etc

mirabelle has so many cute trinkets! we know she loves accessories that go ding ding, and she'll layer a ton of necklaces so they knock against each other. sometimes they all match nicely, sometimes it's eclectic chic! she adores metal charms and carved beads, especially charmingly unusual shapes like an itty bitty fork, ducky, book, etc. as well as classics like lockets and bells! she tends to fidget with rings and lose track of them, so she avoids those. post-canon she decides to stop wearing earrings, so she turns her novelty earrings into bracelet/necklace charms! and gives her more basic studs to isabeau so he'll actually own some basics.

isabeau is all about shapes and contrast, so he likes chunky beads in materials like turquoise or jasper that have different shades marbled together, metal geometric shapes, wire-wrapped stone, and unique arrangements of elements. he likes funny noises too, but will go for one complicated necklace instead of multiple single strands. he definitely tends towards statement necklaces and earrings — he used to run into trouble because he only had statement pieces, so they would clash terribly, but then he started buying more matching sets. he loves bonding earrings as a romantic, but is a little torn because there's no way any two earrings could match all of his fits...

odile is the kind of person to pick a nice look and stick to it, so there's not much variety in her accessories. she has her glasses gems, a pair of pearl studs, a pair of silver studs, and a couple sentimental rings that she keeps somewhere safe instead of wearing. we know bonding earrings are popular in ka bue but not as universal as in vaugarde; i think it would be cute if ka bue had a whole language of earrings and rings, with different gem types/cuts/colors denoting different sorts of relationships and emotions. so she's got, like, a [daughter, you are the most important thing in my life] ring from her dad, and a [lover, we change each other] ring from an ex.

siffrin is all about sentimental pieces!! it doesn't really occur to him to buy himself jewelry, but isa or mira will see him looking at something in the market and buy it for him and suddenly the aesthetic appeal that sif had mildly enjoyed doesn't matter at all compared to They Gave This To Me. siffrin tends to be drawn towards solid shades or starry dots, and smooth, swirling shapes. isa also gets them stimmy pieces like a bumpy bangle or spinny ring, and mira gets them cute things that remind her of them like star pins or kitty charms. he's just so fun to give trinkets to, even bonnie and odile have gotten him some, so he's working up quite a collection! he carefully rotates through everything, and keeps some pieces in his pockets when he can't fit everything he wants onto his body or doesn't want to wear any jewelry that day.

bonnie's bracelet is smooth wood, and they're going to be very upset the day it no longer fits over their hand. they prefer non-rock materials like wood, shells, bones, and sea glass, because that's just way more fun! they made shell necklaces with nille all the time, so many that it doesn't matter how often they lose them.

loop goes full magpie! since they don't have to buy necessities like food, they're less careful about spending money than siffrin, plus they're more desperate to capture any scrap of joy. they also have a bit of "everyone else is an npc" brain and "i am both above and beneath normal rules", so they're more comfortable with stealing than siffrin is. they like drapey chains, black and white beads, and unusual pieces. they like the pressure stim of very heavy necklaces and the clack of many bracelets. once when one of their favorites broke they procured the tools to fix it, and started modifying the stuff they own and stringing trinkets onto chains!

[ciearcab]

I've been curious for a while now how you draw poses. How do you use references? Everything you make looks so natural but still lively it's so gorgeous

ghghfghn thankyou! i definitely feel like the worst person to ask for advice on this from, but i'll try and explain some of my thought process when working with character-focused art (and posing them!)

(rambling below the cut)

i think that understanding human form in general is probably the best way to feel confident in posing even if that sounds like what everyone says. when you feel familiar with the shapes of a body it's far easier to understand the rules in which they will move/interact with, and then composition in general tends to come a little easier.

When i start a pose (or just. character art in general) i like to try and work with the most bare-bones type sketch possible. I dont visualize things in my head very clearly, so when i do try and copy a reference or detailed sketch 1 to 1, it usually ends up incredibly stiff and boring because i get stuck following all the details. the way i break down shapes is a little off as well, i think in very angular and long lines, so i like to use the chest, knees, and shoulders as my "anchor points" for my figures - they're what i personally consider the most prominent points to focus on visually and i usually will build my pose around their placements. i think it’s good to come up with something like this to help ground your pose early on.

when i draw multiple characters interacting or in the same scene, i like to try and think of poses that feel in-character or natural to them. these two in my recent piece started out kinda cutesy but they argue a lot, so you can see the change as i readjusted the posing to make it feel more aggressive as i went along.

redoing a portion of a character midway through for whatever reason is pretty standard in my process, so i dont stress if i cant quite figure out a limb or perspective at first (this is when i will look for reference if i dont have one or take my own photos).

I dont really enjoy drawing characters just standing around, so doing something that feels more like a "scene" or moment of interaction like this (being scolded at for an injury, chatting, reading a book, catching a falling object, etc etc) is a nice way to try and come up with something at least a little more compelling to draw, and a way to work some body language into the poses too. legs and arms can make great space-fillers while still adding to the mood!

i dont really know how to wrap this up but as a general rule of thumb i try to think of poses that will fill the space of the canvas/image im drawing on, just like any other composition, while still considering the feeling or moment i want to convey. if i’m unhappy with the final full piece, i usually will just crop for a closer image (posting on other platforms usually makes me do this anyways, so i consider it part of the process at this point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

[ovinophobia]

Ok my biologist brain needs to be satisfied:

Does your body work like a human's ? Or something else ? Like, are your bones shaped in a different way ? Do you have a heartbeat ? Do you even need to eat ? Or are you just... Void inside ? Like no organs ?

And is it the same for Alternates ?

oh my GOD I LOVE YOU FOR THIS I'VE BEEN WANTING TO EXPLAIN THIS FOR SO LONG HSHS

wayy too long explanation under the cut

answering this ooc,,,,

gabriel has smtn fairly close to the same biology/internal systems that a normal person would have, except that its more mechanical (i'm not too sure that makes sense ,,)

it's immune to (most) disease, has an infinitely slower metabolism (hence the need to not eat too much, since it takes so long to fully break down.. that + a general disliking for how it feels to eat/drink)

his bones are the same as a persons, although, a bit more ?? flexible?? if that makes any sense ??

theyre more flexible/weaker so he can change his body shape, height, facial structure, etc,,,

(sorta following what i said about his body running a bit more mechanically ↓ )

gabriel ONLY has vital organs (excluding his stomach, but tbf, it's small enough to the point where it can barely eat a sandwich)- he didn't see the others as "fit" so, as a result, got rid of any non-vital organs (spleen, appendix, reproductive organs, etc)

he does have a heartbeat, but it's much closer to artificial in order to appear more alive than he is if that makes any sense ??

gabriel wouldn't die entirely if his heart stopped beating (as i said, it's more artificial.. it's already barely beating as is) but he WOULD have to take a day or two to get his body up nd running again

he still does need to eat/drink occasionally, but doesn't most of the time if he has the choice not to (this doesn't have a specific reason other than his preference)

i feel some of this doesn't make too much sense biology wise but i do NOT know how to elaborate further for gabriel specifically ,, im going off of the fact that hes lucifer nd wtv, so rather than him needing a fully functioning body, he made/chose this one to tinker with until it looked decent enough for him (i.e.: removing the organs because he didn't believe he would need them)

ALTERNATES RAFH

they don't have blood,, or at least, don't bleed as easily as humans do; they CAN be harmed, although it takes a lot to do so (i.e.: setting an alternate on fire would probably do a little bit of damage, but not to a fatal point)

their skin has a really rubbery consistency, making it hard to pierce !!

they have blood vessels, veins, wtv, but they walls around them are a lot thicker (like a giraffe ^_^)

they don't have any bones (no i don't know how this would make sense movement or structure wise, but they just,, don't,, if they did, then it'd only be the spine, skull, scapula, sternum, maybe pelvis??) so that they can take whatever shape/form they like, allowing them to turn into people, animals, blobs (???) whenever they wish

they don't necessarily have organs? mainly to prevent problems when changing form/because gabriel imo didn't believe it to be efficient nor necessary + they're still artificial.. they're not real people, nor entirely alive

they eat, but only for the pleasure of eating ! it doesn't serve a purpose whatsoever

alternates are virtually just mass,, something to take up space- they don't have much of a sentience, either; they were made for one purpose (inflict MAD onto people) and follow that said purpose

there are gonna ofc be some cases where they gain sentience, occasionally morality, except extremely rare (simple defect that gabriel ignored/assumed wouldn't happen)

PLEASE tell me if i left anything out. i adore explaining this typa stuff thank you so much for this ask ohmy god

[a-strawberry-mouse]

I have a conundrum and I crave opinions!

**Context below the poll.**

I've been looking for a wooden folding leaf table for a while. The plan was to get one, strip it, sand, and stain it with some variety of purple. Visible mending is my favorite for many things. Furniture included.

Imagine my outright glee when I found one for $40. And it came with a storage section for chairs with the original four chairs! A year of searching, now over with results.

I looked at the pictures enough to see that it needs cosmetic repair, but it's sturdy. Good bones. The accordion door sticks, but it does work. The varnish has seen better decades, etc.

The seller was fab. Told me about the previous owners(mom and dad) and it was lovely. I bought a couple of other things from the sale. Small stuff I keep forgetting to buy. Very nice experience.

The accordion door(kept up because I haven't found why it's acting up yet)

Original wheels!

The top has water damage.

The hinge has the center metal of the hinge about a cm out.

The leaves have water damage and some scraping.

Mouse damage(I'm innocent).

I look up, "Romanian drop leaf table," and this thing is most likely from the 60s! In better shape they sell for more than $1000. Obviously this one needs work, but I mean, for $40 this is amazing. Past amazing.

But.

Is it okay to alter an antique?

Can I still turn this purple, or is that disrespectful?

I know that no matter what I do someone will be upset. I also know someone has already called dibs on the table upon my death regardless of which direction I go(they're not kidding, but they did say it in a funny way).

With just how much damage it has and the fact that a lot of this is veneer; it seems like a total overhaul is necessary either way. I've been told to scrub the tabletop with a baking soda paste mixture and a toothbrush. I confess, I'm not sure I'm really ready to do that. That sounds like a terrible time.

Originally spray painting the table was an option. It still could be if I do just the top. It may genuinely be the best option for the table's longevity. Quick, thin, and there's a lot of options for color and seal strengths. Plus there's already something that will need paint in the kitchen(this table will be in the kitchen) so they could match.

[demon-of-the-ancient-world]

barely comprehensible ramblings under the cut, also spoilers for dune messiah

Figuring out in my head (with close to zero knowledge about nuclear physics & i'm too scared to research it because it scares me, your girl couldn't even watch Oppenheimer ok) how the stone burner in Dune Messiah works/what the hell it is. This likely will not make any actual sense, science side of tumblr please don't eat me.

What we actually know about it. 1) it's a weapon "powered by atomics" (what?) that is somehow barely legal within the in-universe laws surrounding atomic weapons 2) it "emits J-rays" (wikipedia did not elaborate) 3) it has just enough power to fuck up eye tissue of anyone in the vicinity but not enough to destroy skin, bones etc. The explosion itself like, levels an entire block of buildings though so there's that. Also, if "given too much fuel" it can also destroy an entire planet?

What we/I can infer from Dune: Messiah. 1) It's portable and at least somewhat concealable, or else the Tleilaxu not checking spelling on that i'm tired wouldn't have been able to sneak it into the city correct? 2) there are different "settings" or at least different fueling levels that can alter the level of destruction

What I'm not at all clear on: 1)what it actually looks like?? I have zero idea what I'm supposed to be picturing 2) how it's activated. Is it like a firework where someone's gotta run in and light it and then back the fuck away? is it remote controlled? is it a missile? no clue 3) similarly just...how it works?? clearly there's some kind of nuclear reaction going on but there seem to be suggestions that something external is going on too...once again I know Nothing about atomic weapons in our own world let alone this fictional sci-fi one but. it feels like it doesn't make a lot of sense ya know.

And honestly...it doesn't matter that much? I joke but I really don't mind that it's this sort of weird mysterious thing that isn't fully explained in the text. But I remain a very visual person, and it bugs me that I don't know what I'm supposed to be imagining. Also, I wonder how the hell they're going to depict it in the third film, assuming they do so, because while being deliberately vague about a piece of Weird technology can work in a book...in a visual medium that's a lot trickier.

(I've more recently wondered if Denis won't actually have a stone burner be a thing at all...while I'm convinced that, no matter how far from the book they might stray, they'll stick with Paul going blind, I almost wonder if they'll have it happen in a way that's similar but easier to explain just to get rid of the uncertainty around the tech?? Though I hope not bc I want to see what he comes up with)

So my conceptulization of it in my head as I was reading it, was like. Not something that probably makes any sense but I thought it was a cool visual and so tried to rationalize it??

I imagined something of a cross between a firework and a gas camping stove. Bear with me. I pictured something sort of tube-like in shape and a couple feet tall that houses...something radioactive. The "J rays" are the radiation that's released prior to the explosion itself and are somehow "inactive"/somewhat benign to begin with. Then then some kind of "spark" is set off remotely, and ignites at the top of the "radiation bubble", causing a chain reaction of ignition that "activates" the bubble and causes an explosion that remains within the specific radius and also causes the radiation to become dangerous.

So we have the hissing sound of the radiation "leaking" before the explosion, followed by the visual of the ignition spark rising slowly into the air and then sort of exploding downwards. Sort of like a weird firework. I am aware this is not at all how atomic weapons work.

@fuckyeahisawthat coming back to tag u in whatever the hell this is...

[elkieselkiewrites]

Hi! First, let me just *hands crown* because your magic system is so phenomenal I am in awe. The fallen star system is SO cool and I’ve never heard of a system like it and I’m just…so appreciative for the work you’ve put in. Second, I do have some questions, mostly about the kind of “science” side. You mentioned in your silly and serious overviews that people have made contraptions and devices and "aberrations hitherto unknown to man" by experimenting with this magic. Could you give some examples of this? Mostly asking because I’ve been brainstorming devices for my own magic system and I am ready to take notes.

Ohhhh you're so sweet, thank you so much! I actually do love my magic system here the most out of all of my work, so I'm more than happy to answer questions about it! I will, however, apologise for how long this got...

Answer - Part The First: Contraptions & Devices!

So, as mentioned in my explanations, the Resonance is literally vibrations with some hand wave-y radiation magic added to them. So much like with the way science in our world learnt to detect, harness, and replicate waves on the electromagnetic spectrum, the peoples of Postmaster WIP created devices that could do the same for the Resonance.

Not to get too science-y with it (because it all falls apart if you do), but the Resonance is an oscillating wave that is sort of inspired by astronomical radio waves and gamma radiation, but with the vibes of acoustic waves because I like sound :)

Anyway, contraptions and devices! In the 1800s, we in the real world discovered infra-red and ultraviolet through prisms, refraction, light-sensitive chemicals and thermometers, while later radio waves and microwaves were detected using electromagnetic fields, and so on. In Postmaster WIP the Resonance was already known about due to Resonant peoples, but the study of Resonance involved finding out the properties of Resonance, which materials best conducted Resonance, and therefore what frequencies that would equate to. So people would try to conduct Resonance with tuning fork-style contraptions made of different materials, attaching those to a needle with some paper on a cylinder like a barograph or a seismic activity graph, noting the waves on the page etc. etc. all that good stuff.

Many contraptions already existed due to Resonant peoples like the Delvish using Resonance much like how we'd use electricity; vehicles (horseless carriages), appliances (self-heating kilns and ovens), automatons (theatre puppets), etc. So non-Resonant versions were the obvious solution for many researchers/inventors, but these are notoriously unreliable and come with some real safety hazards and a hefty price tag, so simply aren't worth it most of the time.

The next logical step was to try and replicate the Resonance so that anyone could have the power of Resonance in their hands without having to be able to channel it themselves. This is where it all goes kind of pear shaped. Which leads us neatly to...

Answer, Part the Second: Aberrations Hitherto Unknown to Man

I mentioned in my previous posts that Resonant people kind of vibrate at the right frequencies, their bones and tissues can handle those oscillations because they're used to them. However, if people who are not sensitive to Resonance try to channel the Resonance they get injuries, anywhere from hand-arm vibration syndrome to acute radiation syndrome. People get nerve damage, muscle damage, bone density damage, fractures, nausea, vomiting, internal bleeding, fevers, headaches, seizures, and eventually die.

Picture it this way: imagine someone who could naturally stand out in a lightning storm, encourage the lightning to come down from the clouds, and direct that lightning into a lightbulb without overpowering the lightbulb. That's what a Resonant person can do. Now imagine a normal person in that same storm with a lightning rod... lightning is attracted to the rod like it was to the previous person, but instead of being able to meter the electricity and move it through their body, this second person gets fried and the bulb explodes. Some bodies are not built to be struck by lightning, and lightning itself might be electricity, but a lightning strike can't charge your PC.

Extended metaphor aside, this means that any experimentation comes with risk. Resonance also, unlike the lightning, has mutative properties, and can change things fundamentally. So when experimenting with creating and harnessing and channelling Resonance, there are always some pretty gnarly results, from monstrous homunculi to magical prions...

One outcome of such experimentations that is actually plot-relevant I detailed a bit more here.

Essentially the study and desire to harness Resonance is a mix of curiosity, hubris, and greed, and that is never a recipe for success anywhere.

[kedikatzen]

Do you have advice on how to draw characters with different body types and faces like you do? Me and my sister have been amazed with you art style since your first comic and its a big insperation to us

Tons, and I honestly need to just make a video on it x'D But I'll do my best to make something cohesive here, while keeping it quick. I'm also definitely not the expert, I'm just somebody trying to learn as I go and trying to constantly improve.

I bring this up first because this is something of a bad habit I've noticed a lot of people slip into - I've slipped into it myself, and had to make a conscious effort to get out of it. When it comes to bad habits in art, I try to point them out and cut them out, because it'll be harder to steer away from doing it once you've made it a go-to.

You really want to strive to create bodies that are similar "weights" or "builds" while also still looking different. Some people are top heavy and some are bottom heavy. Some people are skinny and other people are lean, they're different. A good way to practice in a way that builds better habits would be to draw a bunch of bodies in a certain weight or form category that still look different.

When it comes to those little things that set your characters apart, you want to strive to keep those unique to them as well, and while this is nice:

it might be relying too heavily on the little details to set characters apart. All your characters wearing different coloured t-shirts doesn't change that, at the end of the day, they're all wearing t-shirts. Try to break things down to the bare bones, and make sure they're still distinguishable and unique to them.

That said, don't become so fixated on making each and every person so perfectly unique that it stunts you. Some characters will have the same bodies, some characters will have similar faces, etc. Aesthetic still plays a role in overall bigger pictures, characters should be cohesive with each other if they're all in the same world, etc.

The single best thing I think you can do as an artist is go out and draw real people. Draw shapes, draw quick sketches, draw structures, draw what you see. There's so much variety and beauty out in the world, it's the best place to find inspiration and practice for your work. I used to sit in cafes or at parks or even bus stops and just draw shapes I saw, very basic shapes and gestures but it got me out of my comfort zone and helped me see more variety.

[wildflowerteas]

WE HAVE MAX (cosmobrain00 on this website) ON TSP NOW ch 1 reactions pt 1

HIII MAXX!!!!!! Please do not apologize in any way shape or form TSP isn't written as a story that requires theorizing, anyway. It's a mystery, but more of a 'watch this unfold' than a 'you should have seen this coming from the start' mystery. I'm so grateful glad? excited? I don't exactly how to describe the feeling, but just super giddy to know that you were excited from the get-go. i put my entire heart and soul into the summary for my fics ( i ran this one past azey a thousand times before i posted ).

also, Rori, give yourself some credit. you pick up on the subtlest characterizations and hints of symbolism and gnaw on them until they're bone. I'm always impressed by you.

'me personally i'm excited for the sex scene' . . . I wasn't. <- guy who was shaking and almost crying in the dorm showers after posting.

OKAY IM NOT. LAZY. I think I definitely fall into the pit of 'write what you know,' or at least, 'write what you're comfortable with' and it worries me sometimes.

Urghi'm going to explode. my face is definitely red ( surely not courtesy of the summer heat ).

It actually wouldn't be beyond me to put significance into the weather reports, but as Rori said: they're only in there for setting purposes ( and for logistics ) and for accuracy. Heat + smog + asthma isn't great on the lungs. Heat isn't great for Camellias. etc. etc. I actually have a day-by-day record from the LA airport that I sometimes reference for snowfall and such!

HIIIII MARKKK <3 ELLI. AUUGHHHHGJJFJKJHG!@!@!@!>>>!!@!!!!!@!@! PLEASE I COULDJUST 💥💥💥 he makes me SO ill. I bully him for comic relief in the heavier moments, but i adore him ( it's a disease ) and i love his interactions with Lucy especially

Yes!!!!!! Rori you're right, I don't like copy-pasting the organizations from canon to AU. Not that I dislike it in fic, but I just can't do it because I get the itch to throw just basically whoever into the mix. It's why in WIA the Keiō University crew wasn't Atsushi-centered, Dazai, or even ADA centered ( I mean, Rimbaud was a professor there. He literally brings sskk together. ). I'm like botw Link, just tossing things into the pot and seeing if its a consumable success. Agh actually that reminds me, I should rb my RS. The spring is Dry.

I actually decided to call it 'The Crypt' because of the gloominess and dustiness of it all, and because Lovecraft is in charge of it and . . . The Crypt of Cthulhu <- a pretty famous fanzine for Lovecrafts works and Cthulhu lore in general. Mark definitely would have come up with it in AU though, that is so true.

I . . . do bully Atsushi. Sorry. I make him go through so much in this fic especially because I think this version of him can Take It.

Dazai is petty!!!!!! Incredibly so!!!!!! 'If I can't solve this, then no one can' vibe. . . . Or?

'joint tsp dazai jumping when' BAHAHAHAHAA

OKAY WHAT THE FUCK. I REALLY WAS JUST MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS ( actually, I was scrolling through pinterest looking at The Godfather movie posters and Hella's TBOS moodboard ) when I got the urge to rb and lament the fact that I'll never be able to replicate the aura of that piece. That's an insane coincidence. I'm attuned to the group chat I guess.

[zeeckz]

any tips on how to learn to draw heads and facial expressions? i see some of your old drawings have some flaws (such as small upper or back part of head) but newer ones look perfect to me. did you do any specific exercises to learn or follow any guides? i am really bad at this so no answer is obvious and any advice is appreciated

Hi anon! I suppose my "old drawings" are the ones I have here on tumblr? Those are from 2016-18 more or less, the digital ones I did very uncomfortably with my finger on a small iPad, so they're like. Worse than my average. But either way I'm not sure I understood what you meant - I think I've always done the same kind of head shape (small upper/back head), so I wouldn't know what to tell you about it;;

I also grew up kind of obsessed with Ancient Greek sculptures (and Greek-adjacent, aka Roman copies, Renaissance, Neoclassicism, etc), so my proportions are directly based on their canon. I think it might help you feel more comfortable with drawing faces/heads, but keep in mind it is just for that - getting used to it. You don't have to use these proportions forever, and real life people more often than not do not follow them. This is pretty eurocentric AND mathematically idealized, so it really won't apply to everyone, but you can still throw (guide)lines and adapt them to your needs

This is more or less the way I draw faces and where I position things (like the eye, the ear, the end of the hairline or the front part of the neck). Again, you don't need to follow these. You can try to learn them, if you want, but it works the same way if you do so from real people. You can ignore things you don't feel as interested by, or draw them in a way that you like more (for instance I don't really draw the double chin a real person would have, I just do the bone jawline and the neck directly attached to it, if that makes sense). You could even pick your favorite person (or character) ever and draw their face/proportions until you're comfortable enough to try different things!

I've been talking about profiles because I think I don't have that much "structure" with front faces? As in, at most I think I'm only taking into consideration where to put the eyes in relation to the nose or viceversa, but you can try to do turnarounds like this and see what works best for you or just to test yourself

(Lined notebooks are pretty useful for this...) Either way if you want me to be more specific about front faces, lmk and I'll try

Anyways, I think these should work out regardless of what your artstyle might be. By this I mean you could use, idk, Shin-Chan or Rick & Morty (or whatever else) to get the author's way of doing proportions. It's easier with 2D animation shows because they already need to do character sheets with them for the animators to draw characters consistently, but any other media should work just fine

If despite going through all of it you still feel you lack structure, then I'd suggest to learn some basic anatomy. You're lucky enough to currently be in an era with thousands of tutorials with thousands of artists, old and new, and styles that you can find for free. Honestly I don't personally own that sort of books, or if I do they're rather advanced compared to what your question is, so I could only suggest you some youtubers if you really wanted me to, but then you might already know them

As per how to draw expressions, I think my previous examples already show I've never been one to differ a lot from the lack of it, but I think this one depends more on the artstyle you want to achieve - I'd say it's way easier to clearly show an emotion with less realistic styles, as it allows you to exaggerate things more. Thus, I'm not sure what to tell you about this either. Keep things simple for now, try to recognize the way faces distort when they're smiling and compare them to when they're pissed off (or any other emotion you're interested in), look for the most basic guidelines/shapes from that, try to apply them to your drawings

I do struggle with certain things when conveying expressions or doing certain body parts, so I try to have a reference (or several) for them. This is normal. I'm not Kim Jung Gi, after all. So don't feel disappointed if you find yourself needing 10 different pictures or drawings of the same thing by different people. It's okay. Expressions are difficult. Bodies move in weird ways. Don't be hard on yourself, and have as much fun as possible

[heliotr0pic]

Howdy!!! Absolutely love your work <3

I’ve used blender for a while now but I’ve mainly modeled and rigged low poly organic things to use as a visual reference.

I’ve been wanting to get into modeling and rigging mechs, though, and I was wondering if you might have any tips/pointers?

helllooo!!! :D

so I'm honestly not experienced enough with modeling mechs myself to answer your question confidently (cricket's science cont TC design was actually my first!!), but I think I can say some of what I've learned so far:

(it gets a little long so ive added a Read More section here, click below to see the rest)

- half of the time you'll be modeling based off of references, but eventually you'll run into parts that'll make you scratch your head and wonder, "huh! how do I make this work?" and you'll have to veer off of the original design to find a good compromise that looks close enough but works decently mechanically. there is a little bit of problem solving to the process, which is fun to me but may become a bit tedious to some

- some parts will be covered or not in any of the references (usually the joints, especially the shoulders if theyve got pauldrons or shoulder pieces) and you'll have to figure out some solutions there as well. you may have to scrounge around online for references for similar joints/parts and try to work them into the design

- for the last two points it's always useful to bounce ideas off of someone to help you work through it. I may be pretty lucky that my first mech model was a fan design and I could just ask the original artist their thoughts on the matter (though it did take me until the model was basically done to scrounge up the confidence to do so HAHA); if you go off of an official design you'll likely not be able to contact the original artist in the same way :')

- oh if you have any figures USE THEM AS REFERENCES even if they're not the same as the character you're modeling. you can get a good idea of how the joints look and work with those (i am still Toyless this is something i do not have access to myself)

- don't feel like you need to keep everything to a single mesh when you're doing mechs, feel free to break up pieces of the design into different objects when you start modeling them. i have a weird thing where i Want to try to keep things based off of one mesh but then realize, "hey! this could be easier and look better if i broke them into different parts!" and do so and wow. it does look better

- you'll end up with a bunch of separate objects which is fine but a little intimidating to go through and name all of them LOL ive heard it's better to name as you go but. i simply do not do that

- OH block out the design first with a bunch of different cubes to get an idea on the proportions and the general shape of the parts

- rigging them isn't actually too terrible, it's just a long process of unchecking "Lock object modes" and then repeating select bone -> shift select part -> go into weight paint mode (to get the vertex selected correctly) -> go into edit mode -> press a to select all vertices -> assign to vertex group. this goes on for basically every part and the only time you might have to actually go weight paint mode is with the parts that actually flex (waist, neck, face, etc)

- be sure when you parent all of the parts to the rig you have everything named properly according to blender naming conventions first. some of tc's vertex groups got goofed up because i decided to go back in and mess with the naming of a good majority of the bones while he was rigged (BAD IDEA!!!!!!)

- also parent to the rig with Empty Groups instead of Automatic Weights or some parts may be weighted in a way that you don't want and you'll have to go in and clean it up. better to just assign weights manually for these guys imo

that's all i can think of right now but i can always go back and edit this post if anything else comes to mind!

[elithilanor]

For the ask game:

what are 3 things you'd say shaped you into who you are?

what's an inside joke you have with your family or friends?

what's some good advice you want to share?

For the Ask Game!

What are 3 things you'd say shaped you into who you are?

Friends, places/locations that I've lived (California, San Francisco, etc.), and the experiences that I've had. Very cliché in a way but it's the truth.

What's an inside joke you have with your family or friends?

With my roommate: a very obnoxious fake Jon Snow vibe: "She's ma queen, I don't want it." anytime we don't like or don't want to do something a la the disastrous and just horrendous season 8 of game of thrones. I hope my fanfiction writing is never as bad as that catastrophe.

It's mostly a long list of like variant versions of back and forth echolalia with my roommate because we're both ND and that's just how we roll, honestly.

What's some good advice you want to share?

Here's some medical advice I've had to learn over the last few months through my own issues and fighting to find out what's wrong. Also shout out to the failures of the US's scholastic teachings (mitochondria is the power house of the cell lolol):

Advocate for yourself and remember that you're the only one who will. You don't know medicine maybe, but you know when something isn't working the way it should in your body.

Hydration affects every bodily function including your heart and your dry eyes (omega-3s also affect eyes). Drink water and eat your fruit and veg with higher water content (cucumbers, watermelon, etc.).

If you're a vegetarian, pescetarian, vegan, or just don't consume too many meats and animal products, check if you're vitamin B12 levels (energy) are okay. It's the only way to get them as they aren't produced in the body. Legumes and soy are all fine and dandy for protein, but not B12. B12 is a required nutrient and affects the skin, hair, liver, heart, etc.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest or other far northern climes and/or you don't get out a lot and/or you don't eat a lot of animal byproducts, please check your Vitamin D levels! Also affects heart, brain, skin, etc. Your body does make vit D naturally, but that assumes that you're getting enough time in the sun for you to produce it and that you don't have any underlying issues that affect it's production and/or absorption. Vit D levels also affect your body's calcium intake, which especially for AFAB people, can affect bone health and the likelihood of osteoporosis later in life.

Movement (as much as you can) will keep you alive and your circulation flowing. Even if it's just one part of your body, move it. Stand up and move every half hour if you can.

Sleep matters. Undisturbed sleep matters. Movement helps sleep.

Soreness is okay. Tiredness is okay. Exhaustion, constant fatigue, and long-term pain is an indication that something is wrong.

Stress will kill you.

Different fruits and veg have different nutrients and vitamins that your body needs. Don't just eat the leafy greens because they're "healthiest".

Relationships take work. Not really, "how do I improve and make things better all the time (though this can be important)", but just reaching out and saying "hi how are you" every so often.

If it took you 20 years to get to a point, it's going to take more than a couple of weeks to reverse it.

If your body is telling you to rest and you can, do it.

You spend the latter half of your 20s making adjustments and changes to the life that you've been leading. Everyone goes through this and it's normal. You're a little crazy until the 30s/40s. That's fine. Roll with it. Your life is just getting started.

Life is hard. Life is so hard. It has it's ups and downs. Enjoy that cup of coffee or that cup of tea or 5 min in the sun.

Community matters more.

Stop trying to "better yourself" all the time. You're probably a fine person with fine and great qualities. You can improve, but spend time just being or else life will pass you by and you won't have a lot to say for it.

You're doing better than you think you are.

[songofwizardry]

things i liked in 2024

for the past few years, i've kept a running list in my notes app of media i really enjoyed over the course of the year, and last year i finally wrote it up properly and put it on tumblr, which was fun! so we're doing that again. with some vague categories, and links where possible, here we go—my 2024 media list:

words (prose, poetry, etc—book links go to storygraph):

non-essential work by Omar Sakr [poetry collection]: i did not read as much poetry as i wanted to this year, but i discovered Omar Sakr online and his work just hit me very hard. my favourite is probably on finding the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Dante's Inferno.

the gardener's hand series by Felicia Davin [prose, fantasy trilogy]: i read a lot more books this year, and i'm very happy about that! i absolutely adored this series. i started it on a recommendation from a friend (thank you @everyoneinspaceisgay), and not only was it extremely readable, i loved the worldbuilding and the magic in particular, our main characters are so compelling, and it's just a really queer series. not just in the 'oh there's a gay relationship at the centre of this', it is very very queer. loved it. can't believe i haven't heard more about it tbh.

the adventures of amina al-sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty [prose, fantasy]: i knew i was going to love this book, because i adored the daevabad books, but god, this was good. amina is such a good protagonist, there were djinns and magic and high sea hijinks, and while a decent chunk of the reason i loved daevabad was because seeing a fantasy world filled with the islamic mythology and folklore that i grew up with made me really happy and excited, this hit that even more—amina sails the indian ocean, and that's my coastline! i grew up on the Swahili coast, my community's immigration history is shaped by the indian ocean, and i had no idea before i read the book that the indian ocean and its coastlines and trade routes would form such a major part of the story. it was excellent. i got very excited at multiple points. you should read it.

paris daillencourt is about to crumble by Alexis Hall [prose, romance]: my partner is a connoisseur of queer romance. she recommends to me a lot of queer romance, but this one has maybe been my favourite. idk what it was about it—the birmingham references, the joy that was the love interest Tariq, the intense quotability of it all (i have so many screenshots, particularly of quotes from Tanya, who is a secondary school science teacher and who was just extremely relatable to me), the nostalgia it gave me (they're disastrous just-about-twenty-year-old gays and one of them lives in, i quote, 'a house with four other students in birmingham with one bathroom and rising damp', it took me back to 2016 in a very vivid way tbh), it was just great. if you need a gay romance, you should read this one.

honourable mentions go to the two t kingfisher books i read this year (nettle and bone and a house with good bones, both excellent and creepy in a wonderful way) and bury your gays by chuck tingle, which was the perfect thing to read in the depths of summer.

video (ish):

we built a TUBE MAP out of LEGO with working trains! by Geoff Marshall [youtube video]: i don't know how to describe this other than this is a delightful bit of nerdery. so much nerdery. the lego is great, the little trains are incredible, but it's the work that goes into it and the justifications about which lines should be above and below the others that make this video incredible.

bingo - game changer season 6 episode 5 [video, dropout exclusive]: game changer just... keeps doing wild and weird and wonderful things with their format, and i don't know how they keep doing it but they do and i'm having way too much of a good time here. it was really hard to pick one episode from the most recent season to go with. this could easily have been a recommendation for deja vu or beat the buzzer instead. i guess what i'm trying to do is recommend the whole season. anyway, i loved bingo because it did something that got me into game changer to begin with—set up what feels like an innocuous game, so you know there's a twist coming, and slowly, layer by layer, reveal the twist. except this one goes places. it reminded me of some of my game changer favourites (tell us about yourself, lie detector) except boy does it take things to a wholly ridiculous level. sam reich, never stop please.

chris grace: as scarlett johansson [video, dropout exclusive]: (link goes to youtube clip from the show, which is sorta... spoilery?) i don't even know how to describe this. it's a stand-up special about racism, it's about scarlett johansson, it's a one man show, it does some absolutely incredible things with its form and format and works with the medium of dropout presents so well, it made me cry and also left me a little shell-shocked in places, it's funny, it's... look, it's a lot and it's really fucking good. i tried looking for a solid review of it to try and explain what it's like, but i didn't succeed. i think you just gotta watch this one to understand it.

rogue - doctor who season 14 episode 6 [tv show episode] - the most recent season of doctor who has just been... fun, okay. like, i think doctor who is at its best when it is not taking itself too seriously and it's a bit ridiculous and also ridiculously heartfelt. this episode was basically made for me. historical shenanigans! aliens with very specific abilities! d&d references!!! (was not expecting that and got SO excited by it.) the doctor getting overly attached to someone and then losing them promptly! emotional high stakes! banter! a+ work all around. i'm told the bridgerton gays loved it as well (my only reference for this is my partner). it was great. this is what doctor who is about, folks.

the importance of being earnest - national theatre revival [theatre]: ("salmon, this isn't video no matter how far you stretch the definition of video." look, i'm aware. idk where else to put it though, and also, it's going to be in cinemas in february and then it will be video, so i'm just ahead of the times. go with the flow.) i keep saying it feels like i've waited fifteen years to watch this exact production of earnest, and i will keep saying it because it is true. i will write up a better post about it sometime soon (promise), but this was so much fun—it was incredibly camp, it starts off with a drag interlude, it's unabashadely gay and also incredibly pretty (the sets were amazing), and it just felt like a love letter both to the text of the play and to the spirit behind it, yknow? i had an absolutely amazing time watching it, and it's one of my favourite things i've experienced this year. when it's in cinemas, you should watch it if you can.

honourable mentions go to: heartstopper season 3, for pulling absolutely zero punches this season, making me feel extremely nostalgic and a bit old, and for the side-characters of the two gay teachers that i have gotten way too fond of; the good place, which i had obviously watched all of as it aired but that i rewatched with my partner this year, and the ending is still so so so good; and to the nein hells (critical role c3 e111), which was an absolute fucking riot—chaotic and hilarious and still heartfelt, and a very good summation of why i love this ridiculous d&d show.

audio (briefly, because this list has gotten very long and out of hand):

this year i started listening to let's learn everything, which is a truly delightful sci-comm podcast (that i discovered via hearing the cast on Tom Scott's lateral). all their episodes are great commute listens (and remind me to have enthusiasm about science when i am tired which is helpful when my job is... yknow teaching science and being enthusiastic about it), but i particularly enjoyed the episode that has interviews from the Ig Nobel ceremony and the episode about epigenetics and the World Games.

i also kept listening to if books could kill which does a great job of tearing to shreds terrible airport books. i don't have any specific episode recs from this year, but if you've never listened to them before, the episode on the secret is a good place to start!

ok, this has gotten a lot longer than i intended, so i'll stop there. if you've read this far, thanks for coming on this journey with me! i've enjoyed making these lists. 2024 was really wonderful in some ways and... relentless and exhausting and very difficult in other ways. i'm hoping for a bit more time and a bit less exhaustion in 2025, and i'm going to try to keep up my reading, to write a bit more, and to hopefully watch more actual play stuff, because i really didn't watch as much of it as i wanted to this year.

let's see what 2025 brings—new critical role stuff? another season of game changer that will blow my mind again? (definitely.) more doctor who? an alecto the ninth announcement? (if we are very lucky maybe.) we shall see! happy new year, folks!