#actually pretty quick considering my usual speed

[bujlililu]

Day 12: stars

(Without text version under the cut:)

[astralis-ortus]

placebo effect

✱ boyfriend!bc × fem!reader

— maybe the actual remedy is his smile.

w.count → 1.2k genre → fluff warnings → reader is sick :(, mild cussing, kissing, cute pet names (baby, love, princess) and generally very much in love it makes me sick >:( heh a.n → based on this request! kinda speeding through this (immediately worked on this after i posted the last fic), but i am in need of just pure fluff so here we are, a few hours later. heh♡ ⋆ see masterlist

being sick felt like shit.

growing up, you’ve always been the kid with perfect attendance. be it in school or throughout uni, you’ve always made the effort to attend every single one of your classes—and one of the reasons was all because you rarely ever got sick. maybe it’s because of your parents’ good genes, or likely due to how your mom made sure you always took your daily vitamins, but you’re always known as one the healthiest kids in the class.

that record, however, ended after you graduated a few years back.

you’d like to blame it the shift of environment—you know, given that you literally flew thousands of miles away to chase your lifelong dream, but considering you also moved states away from home for uni… that likely wasn’t the case.

“hey there, sleepyhead.”

a soft groan rolled off your lips when you felt your bed dip to your boyfriend’s weight, his fingers gently ran through your surely messy hair. your attempt to crack a peek at chris wasn’t quite a success, considering how even the slightest bleeding light from the gap behind your curtain was quick to trigger the soft throb in your head to return, fetching another set of low whimpers out of you.

“it’s okay, baby. i’m here. how’s your headache?” he hummed; pads of his fingers now gently pressed against the base of your head as he attempted to relief any pain that might still linger.

chris, your angel of a boyfriend, had been taking care of you since your condition started to decline the day prior. despite your stubbornness about still going to work (which didn’t end well, considering you were sent home by lunch anyway), chris didn’t even peep a word and readily picked you up from work, all geared up with your favorite porridge and cold medicine he picked up on the way.

“it’s fine as long as i don’t open my eyes,” you meekly answered, voice still noticeably very different from your usual cheery ones. “which reminds me, we do need a black out curtain, hun.”

his chuckle filled the rather quiet bedroom, involuntarily tugging the corner of your pale lips into a smile. “we’ll get them after you’re all better, baby,” he assured, hand that rested on the back of your neck now pressed against your forehead, “fever’s pretty much gone. think you could sit up for a bit? gotta fill your tummy with food before the meds, love.”

you know he’s right—you do need to eat, but with the way you’re currently feeling, protesting at any request to shift your body was the only available option.

“can i just eat later?” you pursed your lips, attempting to appeal your plea with a dash of cuteness you knew chris have a hard time standing his ground against. “maybe sleeping more will help…”

“nuh uh, no can do, princess,” chris gently tapped his finger on the tip of your nose, “you need the meds. the food too, but most importantly your meds. i don’t want your suffering to prolong just because you didn’t get your meds on time,” he reasoned, pads of his fingers now gently massaging the top of your head and in turn made you sigh in relief. chris always knew what to do whenever you complained about a headache, and you’re grateful for that.

“fiiine,” you exaggerated, reaching out your arms as a signal for chris to help you up. even with your eyes closed, you knew he had that proud grin etched on his lips when he gently pulled you to sit straight. you winced at the ache, but voiced no complaint as chris planted a light kiss on your scrunched forehead.

“a sec, okay? i’ll bring the radish soup for you,” chris left another kiss on the top of your head, grinning at how excitedly you reacted to the kind of food he had prepared before you heard his disappearing footsteps.

you forced a peek around the room, noticing the dim lighting as chris kept the curtains closed for your comfort. after a quick scan of your and chris’ bedroom, one you’ve been spending a little too much time in for the past couple of days, your line of sight then rested upon your locked phone. a single tap on the screen, and the action easily made your brows furrow.

“babe—”

“chris, it’s 10am on a thursday,” you pointed out as soon as you heard his voice from just beyond the slightly ajar door, “didn’t you say things has been hectic lately?”

“well, yeah,” he shrugged, careful footsteps finally returned to your side, followed by the dip on your bed, “but you’re sick. getting you back to health is a lot more important to me than anything else.”

“christopher,” you groaned, pursing your lips in protest, “i told you to not do things like this! you’re important, what you do is important. you can’t let me stop you from doing all that!”

“but i’m not letting you,” he replied nonchalantly, blowing on the spoonful of soup and rice before he feeds you. “it is my decision. i want to take care of you, and nothing is more important for me than you. as simple as that.”

“but—”

“no more discussion on that matter, baby,” chris warned you, stern gaze immediately shutting off any complaints about to leave your tongue. “it’s on me. you’re my girlfriend, and to take care of you is what i need to do, because i love you and i want all the best for you. okay?”

maybe it’s the fever returning, but you could feel your cheeks warming up.

“…fine.”

with his lips blooming into a content smile, his hand returned to the steady flow of bowl-cooling off-feeding you. he’s happy, and it’s apparent through the way his gaze lingers on you every time you take another bite, slowly finishing the bowl of food in his hand.

maybe it’s your head fooling you with some kind of placebo effect, but you do feel better—simply by watching the tenderness in his face every time he looks at you.

“all done,” he cheerily announced after you took your last bite, gently wiping the corners of your lips with the pad of his thumb. “be back with the meds, okay? just a sec.”

his movements immediately ceased when he felt a tug on the t-shirt he’s wearing, eyes immediately returning to you in worry. “yes, love?”

you quietly looked at him, suddenly feeling a little shy—but why would you be?

“…you.”

“huh?” chris blinked, head involuntarily tilted to one side in confusion. “what was that, love?”

oh god.

“i really wanna kiss you,” you reiterated, lips slightly pursed in embarrassment, “but i don’t want you to catch the cold. but like—you’re just so adorable. why are you like this? i’m—"

any thoughts you had immediately vaporized as soon as you felt chris’ soft lips on yours—smile apparent against your lips. his warm hand gently cradled your cheek, and despite it being short, chris successfully left you feeling dazed.

“…wait,” you eventually blinked, face burning in embarrassment when you realized the cheeky grin he’s sporting just inches away from your face. “christopher! you’re gonna get sick!”

“well, what do you expect me to do?” chris shrugged as he walked backwards, away from you,

“my girlfriend said she wanted to kiss me—how could i say no to that?”

“gosh—christopher!”

©️ astralisortus, 2024. | likes and reblogs are highly appreciated♡

[shiongenkai]

Jabberwock's B's-Log Pages!

Sorry for the horrifically blurry text. It's the best I can do, but feel free to ask for something zoomed in. I can easily provide!

Rough TL of what I considered important text under the cut.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional TLer, and this hasn't been proofread by another. I prioritized speed and therefore may have made mistakes. If you see them, please let me know. This is meant to be a very quick TL so people can have a rough idea of what to expect! TL notes are included on certain lines.

EDIT: I totally forgot to add like, a full two sentences. Those are there now. Im so sorry.

Main Story Summary: The members of Jabberwock, struggling to stay out of the red, head to a mission at the 'Father Farm' in order to make some cash! The farm has a labour shortage following each of its staff members quitting in succession. Furthermore, every retiree mentions the existence of a strange 'cat'. Even Ren, who usually hates troublesome work, agrees to go along, assuming it'll be easier than taking care of the anomalous animals. However... 'Father Farm' is a parody of a real life amusement park thing called 'Mother Park'. You get to do fun farm things like sheep shearing, racing pigs, a duckling procession, etc.

- Little Haru Image: "The heck happened to you guys?! When did you get so gigantic?!" Haru is so hard to translate I am Not up to date on my kansai…

-

Outfit Blurb: The Jabberwock members go on an undercover investigation! Here's a sneak peek at their super cute and colourful outfits! The actual outfit notes aren't that interesting, so I didn't translate them

-

Haru Sheep Blurb: The bright and cheerful voice of the announcer echos across the park, attracting visitors towards it. The MC is in charge of the capybara, Towa in charge of the sheep, and Ren in charge of the ducks! But their peaceful time quickly disappears as the fence containing the ducks breaks, leading to them escape....?!

Image Dialogue: "Welcome in, don't be shy! C'mon, everybody! Come on in, see the bang for your buck!"

-

Haru On Knees Blurb: At the farm, the temporary staff's main tasks obviously include taking care of the animals, but they also include helping to organise the events and shows! Due to that, the uniforms are cute work clothes that take after various animals. I honestly can't tell if their animal characteristics are fake or not… maybe they're anomalous? Shrugs.

Image Dialogue: "What the hell are these outfits…" (Ren, probably)

"R-Ren and Towa too huh? You look great in those matching outfits!" (Haru) I split this into two sentences because I think he's doing two thoughts… otherwise, it's 'Y-You guys look great in those matching outfits!' or something like that

"～～、～～……." (Towa)

- Towa Image: "Hehe~. Since Dandelion looks pretty, I'll protect her~."

[thyfleshc0nsumed]

Hey actually let's talk about cigarette burns since I feel like they're pretty in vogue rn for the t4t girlies out there. I have a few dozen of em so I'll share my experience.

First off, they are usually going to be semi permanent if not permanent. Not saying don't do it, but I am saying that should be considered.

There are ~16 on the back of my hand, all from around the same time from over 2 and a half years ago. Most if not all were not from putting out a square, but instead, holding the cherry against the skin. Most are faded enough that you have to look really close, but a few you could see from a glance

Most of these below are from a year and a change to nine-ish months ago, and they all were from putting out cigarettes. Some of them have a slight bump to them (likely small keloids) whereas some of them are much flatter. They don't itch or irritate and besides the visual blemish, I wouldn't notice I had em. Some are very faded and don't even show up well on camera, whereas others are very noticable even from a distance. I would very much not recommend getting them on your breasts, those are the only ones I regret. They healed slower and poorer and I just don't like their look.

I also have some on my back and legs but they're similar enough to examples shown here.

Second--the actual act of burning. Look idk jack shit but I find it's less painful and heals much nicer to just get it all done quick. It's like putting out a candle with your fingers. From contact with the skin to being pushed down all the way should probably be like a second, maybe less. Once it's out, it's out, it's not really gonna damage the skin any more, so unless you're going for long term skin damage, the name of the game is speed.

If you want to make that second hurt a little more, give it a drag right before you press it down, it'll heat the cherry up, though again, more likely to damage the skin more. Want it to hurt/damage a little less, wait till it's already going out. Besides that, any actual tips for putting on a good show are for another time.

Finally--caring for the wounds. I literally did nothing to care for any mine so no advice from me besides probably hit that bad boy with some alcohol wipes every now and then and please don't keep picking at it. I'm sure others can add what to actually do. I did have luck breaking down one that turned into a keloid by massaging it gently for a bit every few hours for a week or two but that could be random

I'm sure there are other risks but this is just things I've run into with burns, so others can feel free to add on

If u appreciated this post, consider checking out my leather at pansy-leatherwork.com

[cyantt-does-stuff]

My Scout headcanons :D

Scout has ADHD. No way his ass doesn't.

He's a closeted bisexual but he prefers girls over guys.

He has a very low pain threshold, but he's also a stubborn bastard so he pushes through the pain until he literally can't anymore. He's Medic's most recurring patient.

Scout gets most of his traits from his mother.

Scout acts like Spy more than he realizes. He sneaks up on people sometimes, and he knows how to be quiet on his feet. He's a pretty smooth liar if he actually tries. The mercs say that he has a tendency to 'disappear'.

He's full of radiation thanks to Bonk.

He's a huge fan of parkour.

He hates obnoxiously warm weather. Autumn through November are his favorite months.

He's claustrophobic.

Scout considers the mercs like a second family.

His favorite color is orange.

He's covered in freckles, most of them clustered in the center of his face. He also has a few scars here and there.

He carries extra bandages for his hands but usually ends up using them for wounds.

He has a very good throwing arm. Like, bullet speed.

He's a quick thinker, and is pretty smart in the zone.

Scout is extremely flexible.

A bit tanned.

Soldier gave him his dog tags.

His class emblem is on the sleeves of his uniform, but he keeps them rolled up.

He's fucking radioactive. Did I say this already?

Might add more when I think of more!

[bo-go-vroom]

Dirty Diana

Paring: Bo Duke x Female reader

Word count: 1,107

Rating: 16+

Warning: A bit suggestive, Swears, Bo being Bo

A/N: for my first ever fic, I'd say this went pretty damn well. taglist down below, inbox always open

July 13th, 1979

             It was a usual Friday in Hazzard County about 5:00 in the afternoon, with Boss Hogg cooking up some illegal scheme to get rich, Daisy working at the Boar’s Nest, Enos trying to get her attention, and Bo and Luke Duke were probably out running from Rosco. Speaking of Bo Duke, he owed you quite a bit of money. You two had made a deal a while back. All of the neighboring counties were holding races and he had bet you that he and Luke were going to win them all, and if not all, more than you. He was so sure they were going to win, with both of them being able to drive and fix up a car, that he had bet you $20 for every race you win. You had won the first race, but as of right now? You were screwed. You could only drive, not tune a car. And that was another problem, you didn’t know anybody that could! I mean, there used to be Cooter, but the boys? They had gotten him on their side after the last race, and all your other friends were drivers, not mechanics. Where in hell where you going to find a mechanic this quick. Maybe you could get lucky and Daisy could secretly be good under the hood! That was it, you were going to get in the car, speed towards the Boar’s Nest, and pray that Daisy was your next mechanic.

            Turns out she was, and you now had a mechanic for the rest of the competition.  Provided that she wasn’t a spy for the boys…. Which I don’t believe her to be, but you can’t be too careful. Now back to what matters, winning the races. Part of you wanted to win for the money, cause if you won all the races, it was well over $100. $20 for every race you won times 7 races was $140, and by God did you not want to have to give the boys that much. But the bigger part of you wanted to win just to beat them. You didn’t mind if you were beat by the other racers, just not the Duke boys. You would rather die than let Bo or Luke have bragging rights to this. Especially Bo, he would tease you to no end. Constantly going on and on and on about how he beat little miss hotshot at not only 1, but 7 races. 7!! He would be insufferable

            To avoid letting them win, you’d need to do some work on Dirty Diana (your car). And that’s what you were doing right now, albeit a bit awkwardly considering Bo and Luke had just pulled up in the General Lee. And of course, it was right as you were bent over under the hood, guaranteeing the first comment from Bo was going to be something- “What’s cookin’ good lookin’?” with a low whistle at the end. Luke rolled his eyes and chuckled before going inside the bar. “Shut the hell up, Bo, can’t you see I’m tryna’ work here?” you said, not looking up from the car. He took a quick glance up and down. “Yes, I can see that actually, quite a nice view too.” He sat down on the hood of the General.

            You sigh and push yourself off the car and look at him. “Why are you always like this?” “I don’t know, maybe because it’s you.” The fuck did he mean by that? “The fuck do you mean by that?” “You’re just so easy to tease, pumpkin.” “…Stop calling me pumpkin before I throw a wrench at you.” He bit his lip and laughed a bit. “Feisty, just the way I like ‘em.” I don’t know about you, but he’s really getting on my nerves. “Fuck you, Bo.” “Oh, talk dirtier to me, it’s turning me on.” Yeah…. that’s it. Tell him off! He can’t treat you like this! You go back to working on the car and try to ignore him. Or not…silent treatment works too…I guess. Well… ‘try’ was the keyword. No matter how hard you tried, nobody could ignore Bo. He was too persistent. Cause goddamn if he wanted attention, he was gonna get it, and if there was anything he wanted most in the world right now, it was your attention. So that’s what he was going to get, by any means necessary, but you weren’t going to let him.

“You know…. you’re cute when you’re angry.” …what? Cute? He’s never called you that before. He’s called you hot, sexy, everything along those lines, but never cute. “What did you say?” You looked up and his expression was softer than normal. “I said you’re cute when you’re angry.” “You’re lying, you’ve never said I was cute, so don’t start now.” “No, I’s the truth. I think you’re cute, always have, and probably always will.” What. The. Fuck. “So, you decided to flirt with anything that is remotely feminine, but harass me? And besides, I’m not your type. You like stick thin Barbie dolls.” He hops off the hood and starts walking over to you, pressing his chest to your back, his head on your shoulder and his arms around your waist. “Yeah, so what? Those are the kind of girls a guy goes on one-night stands with. Quick hookups. Not girlfriend material.”

 … Wait… he’s got a point. “And I am? I’m such good girlfriend material that you decided to borderline bully me since the 8th grade?” “Mhm!” He says cheerfully. “Had to make sure you could put up will al my bullshit” Okay, you have to admit, he is being pretty damn cute right now. “So what do you say? Wanna give it a shot?” He’s serious about this? Damn, I guess you do get bitched after all. “Sure why not. But I swear to god if you fuck it up.” “I won’t princess, I won’t” You whack him with the little rag that was next to you. He lets out a yelp mixed with a laugh and jumps back. “I can’t call you princess? But I’m you boyfriend! I gotta call you cheesy pennames, it’s in the handbook!”

Out of the corner of you eye, you see Luke start to open the door of the Boar’s Nest so you give Bo a quick kiss and swat his butt. He walks back to the General, vibrating with visible excitement. The boys get in the car and you wave.

 “Bye Bo, Bye Luke!” “Bye sweetheart. See you in Choctaw!”

Oh you were so gonna beat their ass in the next race.

Taglist:

[coff33notforme]

The Rise boys with an s/o who shows affection via biting, like they can just be hanging out And Reader just bites their respective turtle

A/n: Eats this request. I love this idea sm, especially considering how I actually bite my friends to show affection. I only did Leo and Donnie though, because I couldn't think of anything for Raph and Mikey, so I hope thats alright.

Pairing: Leo and gn reader, and Donnie and gn reader (separately!)

Leo

Whines the first time you did it, he was complaining about how you bit him to hard

But after a while he becomes kind of desensitized to it 

He even turns it into a sort of game 

Whoever gets the most bites at the end of the day wins the game

“What are you doin’ Leo?” 

“Can’t talk Raph, Oh! That reminds me, have you seen Y/N?”

“Uh no? Why?”

“I need to bite them, let me know if you see them.”

It confuses the hell out of his brothers when Leo is walking around the lair like a hungry animal hunting its next meal

Especially when they witness you creeping around, looking to them with a finger pressed over your mouth as if signaling them not to alert their blue brother

It’s like a really, really weird version of hide and go seek 

Usually Leo is the one who ends up having to look for you and when he finds you it ends with you two wrestling on the floor, while Leo tries to bite you #couplegoals <3

Honestly you two have created an entire new love language

You and Leo sat side by side on your plush couch, flailing your arms frantically before you wilted in defeat letting out a tired groan as Leo let out a triumphant yell. Not once had you been able to beat him in Mario Kart, and as fun as having Leo kick your butt was, you wanted to win, even if just once.

“I told you you wouldn’t be able to beat me, I’m reigning champ y/n! It was a cute try though.” Leo hummed as he placed a small peck on your frowning face. 

“Ah come on Nardo! Please, let me win, just once?” you pleaded, clasping your hands together in desperation. Leo let out a low hum, tapping his finger against his face in thought. As if thinking hard on the matter.

“Nope.” 

You grunted, as Leo patted your head sympathetically before he rose from the couch leaning back as his back gave a satisfying pop.

“I’m going to grab something from the kitchen real quick, I’ll be back!” he called walking away.

You had to think of something, and fast. Nothing you could do in the game even seemed to phase him! He was able to doge your shots, and avoid obstacles in the game, so what could you do? 

Then it came to you. No one said it had to be in the game. A smug grin crept across your face. You were going to win, no matter the cost.

That was when the blue turtle entered the room with a bowl of popcorn in his arms as he confidently strutted past you, little did he know that confident streak was about to come to an end. 

“What do you say about one more game Leo? I have a good feeling about this one.” you smiled, waving your controller around. 

“Sure, if you really want to have your butt kicked that badly again.” 

You clicked the star button, the countdown began. 

One

You revved up your engine, glancing at Leo

Two

Leos signature grin spread across his oblivious face

Three!

Without warning, you lean over to Leo, biting his shoulder as he lets out a hurt yelp letting go of his controller as he goes to cradle his ‘wounded’ shoulder.

Meanwhile you remind laser focus on your race as you continue to speed past Leo's still car, until your car finally dashed across the finish line. 

“Yes!” you cheered, throwing your arms up in victory. You turned to the now glaring turtle. 

“Aw Come on Leo, don’t be like that.” you chuckled bringing him in for a hug. Until you felt a sharp sting in your own shoulder.

“Did you just bite me?” 

“Fair is fair.” 

Donnie

Is extremely weirded out

Doesn’t understand why you feel the need to bite him

Is this some weird human thing? 

Genuinely puts in a lot of research to figure out why you bite him, and boy, he’s pretty sure he’s more confused than he was before 

You’ll have to explain that it’s an affectionate thing because other wise hes going to truly start to believe that you want to eat him

Thinks it’s some sort or instinctual thing for you, but he never seems to really make peace with it

I mean, at least he always knows it’s you when someone walks up behind him and bites him

At first he tried to counter you whenever you tried to bite him he’d jump out of the way or simply scoot away 

But that become harder to do every time he saw you

You sat on one of Donnie's spinny chairs your eyes staring at the blank wall as you lazily fiddled with the tool in your hand as Donnie continued to tinker away, hunched over the clutter of parts that laid on his desk. He rose up for a moment sticking his hand out expectingly. 

“Screwdriver.” He commanded without taking his eyes of the mess of parts, without question you handed the item over to him, and once again Donnie became immersed in his work.

You sighed slowly spinning around on the stool, as the sound of scraping metal and rust filled the silent room. 

“Donnie, can we please do something else now? I know I promised I’d help, but this isn’t really what I had in mind.” you spoke turning yourself around to face the purple brother, he seemed to pay you no mind as he worked.

“This is exactly what you promised to help with y/n, and if I recall you said you help me with whatever I asked.” you groaned 

“Yeah, but being your personal tool shelf isn’t exactly what I thought you needed help with.” 

No response. 

Your eyebrows furrowed. You looked to the clock hanging on Donnie's wall, it read, 2:34, it had already been two whole hours of this. And saying you were simply bored would be an understatement, you felt as though your brain was slowly melting away, with every minute that ticked by.

You needed to get out of here and quickly. But the whole point of helping Donnie was so that he would hang out with you if you did him a favor. 

Ugh, this really shouldn’t be a difficult thing to think about. But no matter how much you rattled your brain you couldn’t think of an easy situation

“Wrench.” you grabbed the Wrench before an idea popped into your head. As you began to hand Donnie the wrench you scooted closer until you were right beside him. 

Donnie sighed.

“Y/n, what are you…” he was cut off as you nipped his shoulder. 

Silence.

“Did you bite my shoulder?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Can we please go outside now? I’m going to actually eat you if I have to spend one more minute being a tool shelf.”

That definitely motivated him to get moving.

[rottenpumpkin13]

Your body dysmorphia post has me Thinking.

Sephiroth and Genesis bodies are ultimately, very much for show.

Sephiroth is built for precision and agility, his blade and skillset meant for quick efficient culling of large groups of enemies or getting to weak spots on monsters. Like a scalpel. His muscles are mostly for his image, rather then from actual training. The mako makes sure he doesn't need as much physical mass for strength.

Genesis is similar. He's naturally slender, and his image is VERY much appearance focused. I mean hes a magic caster above all, so he's built for speed and dodging.

But Angeal? Angeal is all brute fucking force. That man is STRONG and built for it. You see wrestlers and professional strongman with his build, people meant to hit hard and move weight around. He's like an ox. He puts weight on differently then the other two, and he's a foodie! (Also there's probably something with growing up in relative poverty and then not being there anymore.)

And it is honestly inevitable that they're going to be compared. Their the three Firsts, they're seen together a LOT in pr events and such. And its even more inevitable Angeal is going to compare himself as well.

Angeal's phisyque is impressive and I don't doubt Genesis envies him for it sometimes. He's strong and puts on muscle easily, which I imagine is extremely valued in SOLDIER. I agree, the comparisons are inevitable and I could see it affecting all three of them (even Sephiroth, who could favor Gen and Angeal's more "human" looks over his own).

I beg you to forgive my mini rant under the cut. I fell down a rabbit hole, got keyboard-happy, and want to share my thoughts with you lol.

Assuming the east-Asian male beauty standards are the same in the FF7 world, Angeal is essentially friends with two of the most⏤if not the most⏤attractive men on the planet. He would have grown up seeing Sephiroth and Genesis receive praise and admiration for their looks and constantly being compared to them.

I’m not sure what influenced Angeal’s character design exactly, though we can say that Sephiroth and Genesis’ designs are in contrast to the Western ideals, Genesis more so because he was based off of Gackt (specifically Gackt in the 2000s), which means his design adheres to the east-asian male beauty standard. The two are so contrasting because the east-Asian male standards promote more androgynous and softer looks as opposed to the West’s fixation on hyper-masculinity.

I would say Sephiroth is a mix of both. While his design is inspired by Japanese historical figures and features that give him that “bishonen” appeal, his overall design is pretty masculine. He’s tall and muscular. His body, overall fits into the West’s standards while his face is ethereal enough for us to fit it into the east-Asian standards. Aspects that the West would consider effeminate such as the long hair actually used to indicate a warrior’s class. Funnily enough, long hair as a symbol of masculinity used to be a thing across many cultures, not just in Japan.

The thing about Angeal is, he is attractive. He fits the Western male beauty standard down to a T with traits such as being tall, having a muscular build, square jaw, and facial hair. But if indeed the FF7 world’s equivalent of male beauty is the same as Japan’s… Well, maybe getting compared to Sephiroth and Genesis gets to him.

Don’t get it wrong, the comments about his appearance are usually positive, but they’re always about how “strong and ripped and big” he is. Not to mention he constantly gets told how much older he looks than Sephiroth and Genesis despite being the same age as them.

He doesn’t feel attractive, he feels useful. He sees his body as a tool to get his job done. He has the body of a warrior, a Soldier. It’s built for fighting. The problem is, he’s constantly compared to his friends—the same friends who get compared to angels. They stand out, they’re pleasing to look at. He may be at an advantage with his brute force and ideal masculine physique, but—and I cannot stress this enough—men are not immune to body image issues and eating disorders.

I’ll admit that this headcanon partially stemmed from comments I’ve seen about Angeal’s appearance within the fandom. Some people think he’s ugly, which is fine, no one is forced to find anyone attractive. But I imagine the hurtful comments and the constant comparisons to his “more attractive” friends could hurt Angeal if he were to see them in his day to day life. He may be an enhanced super-soldier, but he's still human.

Again, please forgive the word vomit. I just have so many thoughts on this lol

[hugsandchaos]

Remember the episode “Two Good To Be True”? How there’s an alternate universe where Knuckles and Sonic are sort of switched, Dave’s a good, smart guy, and Eggman’s color is actually green? I decided to make some headcanons and ideas for it!

To be honest, this is partially for the 6 people who always like these kinds of posts of mine, which I appreciate. You guys are sweet!

•Sonic is dumb, sure, but he’s surprisingly knowledgeable about first aid, a bit of cooking, and the basics of wilderness survival. He mostly knows it because he looks after Tails.

•This Knuckles lives in a treehouse. I can’t explain why, I just think it’d be fitting.

•Both Sonic and Tails live in a house built inside a cave, and Sonic has a hammock inside and outside.

•Dave does his best to make sure Meh Burger’s food isn’t a health hazard and works on his inventions in his spare time.

•Dave’s mother disapproves of him being a hero instead of a villain and they’ve fought about it before. The fights are slowly getting more frequent. Dave is considering the possibility of moving out, and he’s told Knuckles and Amy about this. They both plan to support their friend every step of the way, whatever he chooses.

•Dave tries to insist that his friends don’t have to pay, but knowing how bad the pay sometimes is for him, the group will sometimes put money in the tip jar or on the table and run. Basically the good version of eating and leaving without paying. (Sonic: *whispering* Quick, Tails! While he’s not looking! / Tails: *puts a ten dollar bill in the tip jar* / Sonic: *picks him up and runs* Come on!) I like to think that they were both stifling some giggles, and when Sonic runs, Tails lets it out and it’s this really wholesome scene.

•Tails is obsessed with airplanes. He likes all of Dave’s inventions, but airplanes hold a special place in his heart. Sonic takes him to the library every week to either reread the books he’s already read about them or check out any new ones.

•Knuckles grew up on Bygone Island.

•Tails and Sonic both washed up on the shore one day. (It was a nightmare when they woke up because they both thought they were in danger and panicked.)

•Knuckles looks down on Sonic a little, and not in an ill-intended way?? He just makes comments sometimes. For example, what he said in the beginning of Two Good To Be True: “Now, if you’ll excuse me, the grownups have a job to do.”

•This Sonic simply has to keep at least some of his sass, okay? I really liked that part of his character.

•Tails sometimes figures out the flaws in Dave’s inventions. He’s crazy smart for his age, and Sonic’s proud of him for it.

•Sonic, like Original Boom Knuckles, does have his moments where he says something sensible and smart. Example— Knuckles: Wow, Sonic! I expected you to have more trouble with leg exercises. / Sonic: Knuckles, I run, hit, and kick at the speed of sound. If my legs weren’t strong, they’d be broken to the point where they might as well be amputated a long time ago. / Knuckles: …You make a fair point.

•Instead of Shadow, the “rival” in the story is Rouge. The reason is largely unknown, but my guess is because she keeps stealing stuff. (I wonder when they’ll notice the pattern of the things she’s stealing…)

•Yes, like in the episode, it seems pretty likely that Amy x Knuckles will be a thing. And honestly, I can see them being a pretty healthy relationship. Don’t get me wrong, Rouge and Knuckles being shipped in this AU would be interesting, but I think the main one is going to be Knuckles and Amy.

•Knuckles has Phasmophobia, and there’s definitely a Halloween episode or story of him trying to face this fear. Sonic dresses up as a ghost to try to help, but the costume wasn’t convincing enough to instill any true terror.

•Knuckles is unfortunately a “hit first, ask later” when someone’s causing trouble. Sonic is the opposite, he tries to reason and ask the trouble maker about their motives, usually by disguising it as a joke or jab at the enemy.

•As for Shadow… Well, I guess you guys would have to wait and see, huh?

[solitaryandwandering]

15 people, 15 questions

I was tagged by @wen-kexing-apologist (here) and @telomeke (here), always glad to arrive late to a tag game!

1. Are you named after anyone?

I share a middle name with my paternal and maternal grandmothers (and coincidentally with an aunt who married into the family). As for my first name, my dad used to tell everyone that I was named after Meg Ryan, who he had a crush on and my mom really disliked (unrelated to the crush). It's a slightly creepy story and entirely untrue. I believe in reality they just thought the name sounded nice and chose it over the alternative, Kate (thank GOD).

2. When was the last time you cried?

I honestly can't remember the last time I full-on cried. Usually I only really cry when reading, watching shows or films or otherwise engaging with emotions in that way. When I was visiting family in Ohio I was feeling pretty unlike myself and stifled (the majority of the family are Trump supporters or centrists, if that gives you any idea of the kind of stuff being said). Whenever I visit them and the attention turns to me, the only things they tend to focus on are my love of reading (which I can no longer do very often) and disabilities. I am the first to assert that I am not ashamed of being disabled but there's very little agency I feel around this group of people (and though I love my immediate family they weren't always very helpful), made all the worse by the fact that my sight has considerably worsened in the last year, so any and all attention and vicarious grieving was a bit more difficult to swallow this time around. So, the night before we left, I did sit in the bathroom and tear up for a bit. But, no crying! Legitimately, one of my intentions of the new year is to let myself fully feel my emotions so I can more consciously heal from more of my PTSD and be more mindful in my life, which necessitates more tears. Lots to unpack there.

3. Do you have kids?

No, and I'm unsure if I ever want any. Definitely don't ever want to be pregnant. But I do love kids a lot.

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

I consider myself to be naturally pretty athletic, despite it all. When I was growing up I played a wide myriad of sports, like tee-ball, ballet (is that a sport?), track (usually 200m), and volleyball, with lots of swimming, gymnastics, rock-climbing (usually in the context of hiking), basketball, baseball, and football thrown in there. I'm still pretty proud of the fact that I can throw a perfect spiral (though getting my hand around the football is a bitch). I used to do a decent amount of weight-lifting, too. I was asked to play rugby at one point in middle school by my history teacher but had to decline due to the risk to my cochlear implant. But by far my number one sport was soccer; I played 19 seasons before I graduated high school, though it was always on a club level. I was actually pretty good (and very fast), if inconsistent (Usher + ADHD + low confidence + toxic sports environment led to some apathy on my end). My nickname was "bulldog" because I was so effectively aggressive and quick. I usually played as a defender (all positions, but left-winger typically), though I was also a midfielder due to my speed. Pretty sure I played every position at least once. Only scored one goal, and it was not an auspicious moment lmfao. I really loved the sport, even if I was bullied/ostracized by many of the girls. Right now, I don't play sports and am in the worst shape of my life, so a 2024 intention is to slowly get back into exercising as regularly as possible, even if I can only regularly keep up with PT workouts.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

I am almost entirely made up of sarcasm and dark humor. I've had to soften this, though, since a large majority of people in my life are not super receptive to either due to either some neurodiversity or trauma.

6. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Depends on the environment, haha. If it's crowded, loud and unfamiliar I am usually noticing people's position in relation to me, if they're looking at me, and if they're trying to say something to me. So, a lot of looking at people's mouths. Otherwise, I think I still notice people's proximity, their body language, their eyes and smile/facial expressions. I grock on to people's emotions pretty quickly so I notice their general mood, too.

7. What’s your eye color?

On the brown side of hazel. I actually think they're a pretty color, especially when sunlight hits them. Then they can look golden, with some streaks of green or copper.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Weird dichotomy, but ok. I'd say I largely prefer happy endings, especially if they're earned. I'd actually argue that some scary movies do have happy endings, just depends on your definition of "happy." I like horror quite a bit, especially as a genre to discuss and learn about, but my OCD does not enjoy watching them, so I am pretty particular about the ones I see.

9. Any talents?

Yes, I suppose? I think I am good at analysis, critical thinking, listening to others, media literacy/reading comprehension, coming up with creative ideas, and learning new things. I also like trivia, though it's been a long time since I really exercised that talent. I think I'm a pretty good writer, too. Really had to resist sarcasm and self-criticism, there.

10. Where were you born?

In a hospital in Northern Virginia, strangled by my umbilical cord and forcibly pulled from my mother with forceps.

11. What are your hobbies?

Watching BL and scrolling Tumblr, of course. But I also love watching films, in general, and reading media analysis and criticism. I also like reading social critique (that's my sociology degree talking) and lightly keeping up on psychological research in areas I'm interested in (trauma, sexual health, mental illness/health, developmental psychology, etc.) as much as I can. I also listen to a lot of podcasts (mostly fiction) and listen to music. Another intention for the new year is to slowly get back into reading books, however I can. And I also want to write more about BL on here :)

12. Do you have any pets?

Technically no - we have one dog which was passed on to us when my high school Braille teacher died, but she is with my dad, whom my mom is in the process of divorcing. He is holding on to her both as emotional support and collateral. So... I am not sure if I will see her again.

13. How tall are you?

Sort of average, around 5 ft 4 in

14. Favorite subject in school?

English, first and foremost. Followed by history (though my teachers usually were not great), most sciences (even if the mathematical sections caused some grief), and anything artistic or creative, such as a film studies elective I took in high school. In college I liked most of my psychology and sociology classes, thankfully, since those were my majors. Basically anything but math. I could always get behind the theoretical enjoyment of mathematics but (undiagnosed) dyscalculia REALLY made me suffer in those classes.

15. Dream job

If I ever get enough money and stability to do so, I want to go to grad school to become a clinical social worker. Otherwise, my actual "dream job" is to work in some way in media analysis, though I have no idea what that would entail or what it would look like.

Not tagging 15 people, I don't even know that many who would do something like this lol. Do if you want!

[axel-silverly]

Coversations that Aglas had at some point with the devils (3)

On an unusually calm day, Aglas, Paimon and Eligos decided to go watch a movie together, after it ended and the group exited the movie theater, this is what happened:

Paimon: stretches "Mmmhh! That was such a good movieee!"

Eligos: dries a tear from his eye "Yup! I don't think I ever laughed so hard, my tummy still hurts. Aggie, what did you think?"

Aglas: is unusually quiet

Eligos: "Uh... Aggie? Is everything okay?"

Paimon: "Mhhh? Is something wrooong?"

Eligos: "I'm not sure, he's kind of... Unresponding?"

Aglas: is thinking really hard about something, and his expression shows that

Eligos: "Which is weird, because you know how he gets every time we decide to watch something when we hang out!"

Paimon: "I knooow, he didn't say a word the whole timeee... I had to check if he was okay every so often, I was afraid he fainteeed!" Pulls at Aglas's hoodie "Aggieee... What's wrooong?"

Eligos: waves a hand in front of his face "Oooiii! Hell to Aggie!"

Aglas: suddenly pulls a notebook out of God-knows-where, opens it and starts writing at the speed of lightning

Pai & Eli: "Wha-!"

Aglas: mutters "Mhh.. I really liked how they handled the characters' introduction scenes, it didn't feel forced.. Will have to rewatch those later.."

Eligos: "Uhh... Aggie?"

Aglas: "Wasn't very sure on some aspects about the conflict... But then again, those could have been artistic choices."

Paimon: "Aggieee!"

Aglas: "Still, that one character completely disrupted the narrative flow in some points... I get he was supposed to be funny but the movie was already funny in itself, so it could have perfectly done without him... Moreover the music-"

Both: "Aglas!!"

Aglas: "Huh? What? What is it?"

Paimon: laughs "You were rambliiing!"

Eligos: "Yup! A lot, too!"

Aglas: "Oh, uh..." thinking: 'shitshishit-' "Ahem! Sorry guys, just had to note something down real quick, no big deal~"

Eligos: "Oh, note what down? You were writing quite a lot... Let me see, let me see!" Takes the notebook from him

Aglas: "No wait-!"

Paimon: "Woow! So many annotatiooons! Wait, didn't we watch this one togetheer?"

Eligos: "Oh, you're right! Wait, this one too! And you told us about this mistake, I remember!"

Aglas: thinking: 'fuuck... I managed to pass it as a cute quirk of mine, if they discover that I note down and take seriously everything I said... The reputation I worked so hard on... What if they get weirded out and- Well... The cat's out of the bag now, let's just tell them and hope for the best outcome.'

Aglas: "Yeah, actually.." takes a deep breath "Everything I tell you during our movie nights, I usually write it down once you two go away. Talking about it out loud helps me remember it better. Which is why I was writing so fast earlier, I was afraid to forget about something. I..." sighs "The thing is, when I eventually direct my own movie, I want to avoid making those mistakes I always point out. As easy as they are to spot they're just as easy to make so... Yeah... I sometimes get inspired by some scenes as well."

Eligos: "Oh..."

Paimon: "I seee..."

Aglas: thinking: 'Here we go... Brace yourself and prepare to react-'

Paimon: "Oh, why youuu! You scared uuus!"

Aglas: "Huh?"

Eligos: "Yeah, we thought you were going to tell us you wrote murder plans on this thing!"

Paimon: "And even theeen, it wouldn't be a big deaaal. I'm sure our kill counts are wayyy higher than his!"

Eligos: "Oh! That's true, that's true!"

Aglas: "Uh.."

Paimon: "Stiiill, these notes are so detaileeed, do you really think of all of this in an hour and an half?"

Aglas: "Well.. Yes, it's pretty easy once you learn the movie-making basics, actually."

Eligos: "Really? Can you tell us a bit more? You barely talked during the movie."

Aglas: "Hey, come now. I consider going to the movie theater as a ritual, it would be disrespectful towards the director, the actors and the whole crew if I were to talk during the projection."

Eligos: "Pff! So serious! Anyways, come on! Tells us, tell us!"

Paimon: "That's riiight! Come on, don't be shyyy!"

Aglas: thinking: 'Oh...' smiles "Why, if you ask me like that~ Well then. Firstly, you must know that..." and as he went on rambling, he couldn't help but think: 'I'm such an idiot...' as he looked at his friends, his smile softened 'Sure, there's not much good about me... But...' he laughed 'I love my friends so much...'

Note: I hated writing this so much. No, no, I'm not saying "Omg guys this is so bad uwu". It might not be my best work but I'm still pretty happy on how this turned out. I'm talking about the process: this took way longer than I immagined it would and I got a bad writer's block in the middle of creating this. In the end I thought this would be a good excuse to explore my baby's psyche, I'm sure it doesn't doesn't make much sense now but once I write down his backstory I promise you it will... Probably... Anyway! Thank you for reading and see you next time! ~🖤���

[venture-through-the-mist]

Tennotober 2024

My collection of works based on the Tennotober 2024 prompts.

Hi all! I wanted to take part in Tennotober 2024, but I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to draw 31 art pieces, so I’m doing some fics instead!

The Warframe Tennotober 2024 Prompt List can be found here: https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1412660-official-tennotober-2024-megathread/

Day 22: Arcade: The Purpose Of Pinball

Drifter Lēna finds herself curious about what Amir does in his spare time. He’s quite content to share it with her.

TW: None for this chapter.

With that out of the way, the fic begins under the cut.

“So, what’s the purpose of these, exactly?” For a moment, she wonders if he doesn’t hear her as he continues to dart between the consoles, spending a few moments at one before switching to another, then back again. The Drifter is about to repeat her question, when she hears his voice above the odd sounds emanating from the machines.

“They’re fun. Plus, there isn’t really much to do unless we’re on missions or something needs to be fixed. Actually…Arthur mentioned one of the security cameras is acting weird again…I should probably take a look at that.” The subject change doesn’t phase her, though despite his realization, the technician doesn’t turn his attention away from the blinking screens. 

“Fun, hm? And no one else has an issue with it?” The rest of the Hex seem quite focused on the task at hand, for the most part. They all have their quirks, but many of them spend their time honing their skills, or taking part in target practice or…whatever it is Lettie does to sharpen her medic knowledge. Amir continues to dash between consoles at an almost dizzying speed, but he does reply, a touch of defensiveness in his voice.

“Not really. Pretty sure they know that the alternative is me tearing apart half the tech in this mall just to see how it works. I work just as much as the rest of them anyways.” Lēna raises her hands in surrender, realizing that she’s inadvertently said something wrong—damn her abysmal interpersonal skills, she thinks—, and rushes to correct herself, her words coming somewhat awkwardly.

“I didn’t…Sorry, I wasn’t trying to say that you don’t. I’m just curious, is all. Where I’m from, we don’t really get a lot of opportunities to just do things for fun.” Come to think of it, what has she ever done that was actually for her own enjoyment—and wasn’t just her being reckless? Certainly nothing in Duviri fits the bill, especially considering that she was running for her life for most of her time there. The closest she’s come, the Drifter realizes, is spending time with Mag, and even then, there’s usually some serious undertone.

Especially recently.

“Do you want to give it a try?” She’s so focused on her thoughts that she nearly forgets about the other being in the room until he poses a question. Lēna tilts her head—not that he sees it, his gaze is fixed firmly on the screens in front of him—, considering it.

“You sure? I don’t want to break it or something.” She hears a noncommittal huff from the other.

“You won’t. C’mon, give it a go. It’s getting boring having no one to compete against for the high score.” The Drifter smirks, moving towards one of the larger consoles. She watches Amir for a moment, noticing how he presses the buttons on the side of the machine in quick succession, each button seeming to control small levers which he uses to control the movement of a small, metal ball within the machine. He must pick up on her intrigue, because he touches the identical console next to it, sending a jolt of electricity through the machine and causing it to come alive with colorful flashes of light. She moves to stand in front of it, pulling on the knob that shoots the metal ball into the body of the machine. 

It can’t be that hard, right?

She quickly realizes that timing is important, as is figuring out how to aim the ball towards the glowing sections when the levers hit it. She groans in frustration when the ball rolls through the middle of the machine, where the levers cannot reach. The loss simply spurs her on, though, and she tries again, using the knowledge that she’s gained to better her score. She spares a glance at the other machine, and her eyes widen when she catches a look at Amir’s score.

How the fuck is it so high?

The Drifter supposes she can’t really be surprised, but she still finds it difficult to grasp just how much time the man must’ve spent playing these games. She can understand the appeal though, she realizes as her focus hones in on the sphere, on the flashing lights in the machine in front of her.

“Heh, not bad!” Amir’s voice cuts through her concentration and she hits the wrong button, causing her to lose the ball. Lēna curses under her breath, though the smirk remains stubbornly on her face. It only grows as she teases the other.

“Guess I’m just a natural. You better watch that score of yours.” Her confidence—cockiness, she begrudgingly corrects herself—causes Amir to chuckle, though he still doesn’t slow down. She launches another ball, restarting her game.

Eventually, Lēna makes it a habit to spend time playing these games with Amir, much to the chagrin of three of the other members of the Hex. Aoi and Eleanor don’t seem to mind though, the two of them often encouraging their teasing banter.

If the Drifter had to hazard a guess, she’d suspect that the others don’t really mind it either.

[livebeginning]

Here's a quick thing I wrote for the discord where Raphael gets bred. Explicit, 18+ only pls, featuring my male OC Mio from my fic Pretty Little Pet.

Raphael was lying, or more accurately, folded onto the bed. He was on his back, his legs bent towards him with his calves pressed against Mio’s shoulders. His arms were beside his head, tied by their wrists to the collar around his neck.

Mio was looking him in the eyes with a sly smile as he fucked into Raphael with his strap-on, slowly. Too slowly, for Raphael’s tastes.

“Do you know what this position is called, Raphael?” Mio asked, not giving Raphael the chance to answer before continuing, “It’s called the ‘mating press’, because it’s supposedly the best position to get someone pregnant.

“You are aware that I cannot get pregnant, yes?” Raphael asked, sarcastically.

“Not yet, you can’t. But you might have noticed I didn't use my usual dildo but the one that can be filled up. And I filled it with a special solution that can get even someone like you knocked up,” Mio explained, increasing the intensity of his thrusts but not the speed.

“Can you imagine, Raphael? An offspring, the perfect mix of my adorable looks and your irresistible charisma? No one will be able to deny them anything, they’ll conquer the hells in your name and then all the other planes in a heartbeat.

“And you'll look amazing when you're pregnant, your belly round and heavy with our child. They say pregnant people have a glow to them, and with you already looking so handsome, I’m certain you’ll shine.”

The compliments and the idea of reaching his ultimate goal through his child went right to Raphael’s head and he moaned. Mio finally moving his hips faster drew another appreciative groan from his lips.

“I don’t think one kid will be enough. I think I want a dozen, maybe a hundred of little copies of us. As soon as you're done with one I'll bend you over and breed you again and again. You can stay here in bed, without a worry in the world while I take care of you and you make us an army.”

“Yesss,” Raphael moaned in response, his eyes fluttering shut as a shiver ran through him.

Mio bent down, increasing the already uncomfortable stretch on Raphael’s tendons, making him his in both pain and pleasure. Mio gently stroked his face, making Raphael look back up at him.

“You know, they say giving birth is one of the most painful and rewarding things anyone can experience, and considering how much you love pain, I wouldn't be surprised if you become addicted to the feeling and beg me to fuck you right after giving birth just so can experience it again.

“Is that what you want, Raphael? Become my breeding bitch, pop out pretty little babies for me and let me knock you up again and again and again?” 

Mio hammered in that last part with especially forceful thrusts, as Raphael cried out, “Yes, yes! Please, please ah- come in me and ah-” He couldn’t finish the sentence, having lost what little coherent thought he had left in his pleasure.

Mio released the orgasm denial spell around Raphael’s cock, the only thing that had prevented him from already coming minutes ago. He quickly touched a rune on his strap-on and the dildo shot it’s contents into Raphael, while he moaned at the sudden feeling of being filled.

Mio wrapped his hand around Raphael’s cock and pumped the length once, twice, before Raphael came with a shout that petered out into a mewl as he shot his cum over both of them.

Mio waited for Raphael to come back down from his orgasm before pulling out of him. But Raphael felt something being pushed back into his hole again immediately.

“Why are you-” he began to ask, but Mio interrupted him.

“You didn’t think we were done yet, did you?” Mio told him with a smirk, while taking off the strap-on. “The stuff I filled you up with will make sure you can get pregnant but I still need to put my seed into you to make sure you actually do. The plug is there to prevent anything spilling out while I get ready to breed you properly.” 

Mio had started stroking his own cock, slowly getting himself hard.

“And there’s still a chance that your body didn’t properly absorb the solution, in which case we’ll have to do the whole thing all over again, until we can be sure you’re knocked up like a proper breeding bitch,” Mio said with a smile that was a mixture of mischief and fondness.

Raphael moaned at the thought of potentially doing this all night, either until he got pregnant or until Mio grew tired. And considering the stuff they used was entirely fake and did absolutely nothing, he knew which would happen first.

[umlewis]

lewis hamilton is interviewed after the race, australia - april 2, 2023 (transcription under the cut)

Interviewer: "...had, and considering the challenges the whole team have had." Lewis: "Well, firstly, just a huge thank you to everyone back at the two factories. I feel so, so happy right now and so grateful to them for continuing to push, and I think we've arrived with a car that's been difficult, and it's been... For us to be finishing on the podium, getting these points, is really remarkable and... Especially at this early phase where we've not actually changed the car. It's just happened to work pretty well this weekend. And we've got a lot of work to do, clearly, to catch the Red Bull, 'cause they came flying past and disappeared, but I think this hopefully gives us a real boost of hope and energy-that it's so early on in the season, yet we're there, or thereabouts, kind of-so I hope this is a message to everyone to just dig deep, keep pushing, because it's not that far away and it's relatively close to reach." Interviewer: "You actually finally got some luck, as well-the red flag at the end, as well-which usually goes against you. But today, when I spoke to George afterwards, he thought with the two of you up there, you could have actually put up more of a fight to Max, if you'd had each other there towards the end of the race today. So how close do you think you are of being able to pull off a result?" Lewis: "I don't think we would have... Max is in another league. His car is so fast. I mean, he passed me halfway down the straight and he was several meters ahead-like, ten meters ahead-but I mean, I don't know how they're so quick on the straight. It's insane. They're just in another league, and until we pick up speed on the straight like they have and have the crazy downforce that they have through the corners, that's how it's going to continue. But I think, for the others, if we continue to work together, we can definitely fight the Ferraris and the Red Bulls, and the battle's really with Fernando right now." Interviewer: "Yeah, he said he enjoyed it today. He said you drove like a champion." Lewis: "Yeah, I enjoyed racing with him. It was very reminiscent of our first race here, or my first race here, in 2007." Interviewer: "Great job. Well done."

[kriegertops]

I don’t know how things went downhill so fast, but here is a few things I heard in SD during the championship last year.

1. Ash did not want to leave the Pride or Orlando. Ali was not playing there another season. It was a dumpster fire & everyone saw it.

1. Ashlyn wanted Ali to retire at the end of 2022 when she did. Ali was not ready and told her so.

1. Ash was not happy that Ali went and spent a week with Kyle after his operation to help him out. In Dec 2022.

2. Ash was upset that Ali didn’t spend Sloane’s birthday with them and just join the team in FL after the fact in Feb 2023.

3. Ali also changed her mind on a few things that they had planned on after retirement.

Ashlyn didn’t feel like a priority to Ali anymore.

The person I heard this from said they had a huge discussion in early May and some very hard truths came out of that discussion that Ash at that point knew it was time to move on & that it was essentially over, at least for her.

I am not taking sides but sometimes marriages don’t work out and it’s time to cut the cord & move on. I think they are both doing their best to pick up the pieces & find happiness for themselves.

Could this have been handled better by both? Absolutely. But pain, grief & hurt make you say & do things that you normally wouldn’t. I don’t think Ali ever thought that there wasn’t anything they couldn’t work out.

If we as fans or former fans of one or both of them are being honest with ourselves. We should have seen some serious red flags 🚩 in the 13 years. Go back & listen to some interviews the last year to a year & a half. There’s some really big red flags but we were just blinded by their cuteness.

Let’s all try to remember Social Media was a tiny fraction of what we saw of their lives.

My big takeaways of this are…

1. I think the timing of Ash’s retirement changed the dynamic of their relationship in a way.

2. Caring for two children under two will test the strongest of marriages.

3. I am not really sure what Ash meant in her post about not always being entirely happy in their relationship but adopting two children together is a huge commitment, if you know where I’m going with this.

There’s more takeaways, but in all reality, this was not a relationship that was going to survive no matter where they lived or who retired when, or how many children they had. They were two people that wanted different things in life & neither wanted to give & take. This was a classic case of both of them contributing to a failed marriage but thats how it usually works. It’s not just one person.

PS. Sophia Bush should have known better. But there was always going to be someone next for Ash because she is just more needy than Ali. That’s not being mean, it’s just a fact.

These are some really interesting points and it all does make sense. As I’ve said before not all marriages or relationships last. Both Ali and Ashlyn contributed to the downfall of their marriage. All of these challenges make sense and are ones that they should have tried to work through a little longer in my opinion considering they adopted children and made so many promises to the birth parents. Regardless though when done properly separations and divorces work.

None of these things though excuse cheating and that’s the bottom line. There’s no way Ashlyn was actually trying to work through her marriage like she claimed to be while partying all summer and fucking around with her mistress. Furthermore Ashlyn’s acted like a selfish prick throughout and none of her behaviour has been acceptable.

Once again separations and divorces happen and it makes sense that with Ashlyn’s retirement major life changes happened. But that doesn’t excuse Ashlyn’s behaviour. Ya we should’ve seen the red flags over the years and tbh I had already been pretty skeptical but things happened so quick and during Ali’s last season and honestly I think the speed of the separation and divorce had a lot to do with Ashlyn fucking around and wanting to be with the homewrecker….. other wise it would’ve made sense to just hold on until after Ali’s retirement and handle things quietly then when both of them would be out of the spotlight and have privacy.

[emcscared-whumps]

we gettin on the sweat tonight lads

i'm sick without really feeling sick (test results pending lol), so tonight, we're gonna see just how fast i can bust out a finished piece >:)

there will be no consequences! because i wont be infecting my client at work tomorrow!! :D

im talking a bust portrait of a character with a simple face angle, simple expression, simple lighting, that otherwise fully rendered and polished

and im going to log-- (OH GOD I SPELT LOG WRONG WHAT THE FUCK)-- the *actual* time i spend on the piece because i found out that clip studio can tell me how long ive had the canvas open, but i'm sure that i leave canvases open for entire days without touching them, so... that is not accurate enough for me

anyways; the reason? a friend and i were talking about art commission pricing and the habits we've noticed in the art community, and i got curious: what would *i* price my stuff if i were to hypothetically sell it?

through some basic maths and reasoning between us, i have discovered that the key to making a good rate is skill at speed

(it's not as bad as it looks, my american friends, i am using aud :) currently, 1usd = 1.50aud, 50aud = 33.28usd)

we talked about how much is a fair price for the product vs how long it takes to make, and i discovered that if you're quick at making a character bust lineart of moderate quality for $15, and can do one in 30 minutes, accounting for *only* time spent drawing, you'd be making $30 an hour, which is pretty cool considering it'd only be bust lineart. ($20 for bust lineart would yield $40/hr, but i'd only charge that of my skills and precision were reliable and en pointe. it could even be pushed to $25, but i wouldnt go more than $30 unless some super complex shit was happening and i happened to be very very good. at which point you still want to be as fast as physically possible)

there was a plot twist though: rendering times.

hypothetically, if i charged $20 for bust lineart, extra $10 for flats, extra $10 for shadibg, and extra ($5 to) $10 for extra finishing details (little backgrounds etc), that would be $50 total for a fully rendered bust. if i took 4 hours to do it (which i think is reasonable time (for me) to do most things by hand), all of a sudden, that's made my $30-40/hr into $12.50/hr.... which is kinda (very) shit lmao

with this in mind, i have one question: just how fast can i make stuff, and what quality will it be? what would i theoretically be paid for my fully rendered bust pieces?

i usually an very VERY slow partly coz i cannot stay focused on a piece for long enough chunks at a time, or, if i can, i will stop halfway through and leave it for several weeks or months, leading to a turnaround that is at such a leisurely pace even *snails* would be envious

ALTHOUGH. last year, my friend (same as above) alerted me to a built-in time-lapse feature in clip studio. i was intensely curious. for whumptober that year, i had a very clear vision of a piece i wanted to do for one of the prompts, so i used that to test the feature. i sat down at about 1700, stopped only for dinner, and had the whole thing exported and posted to tumblr at around 0100, about 7 hours. i have a sneaking suspicion that was the fabled beast called hyperfocus lmao. the [piece] was a roughly rendered full-body shot with a dynamic pose, both hands exposed, and a more complex expression, not bad considering that my pride piece took 10 months :)

bust portraits are my most comfortable style of piece, so i will experiment with those, especially since my character profiles need them, and also i want them all to look cohesive, which means i will re-draw all of my current ones (rip pete, timmy, and kate lol)

(hm, if i took 3 hours instead of 4, that'd be $16.70, if i took 2, it'd be $25... still not even close to that tasty tasty $30-$40/hr... so the solution would be to up the price of rendering since flats are easy. extra $20 (instead of $10) for rendering, since it's as complex as anatomy with lineart, bumping the total price to $60 (which is starting to *really* push the envelope of what i think people would pay for my art). so if i took 4 hours at that price, that'd be $15/hr, 3 hours would be $20/hr, which is better but still kinda shit for all that extra work, and any faster might reduce the quality to a point where it isnt worth that extra $10...)

......... i'll let u guys know the results lol