#aka 4 and 3 overall pieces

[zkretchy]

Quick Astarion doodle while I procrastinate doing the big piece (look-I DID shade in 2 background characters okay) to force myself back into my looser style again which while I like is hard to do if the stars don't properly align

[miwiheroes]

Season 1 Mike Wheeler Queer-coding

Just some of my favourite pieces of queer-coded Mike evidence that I have found from season 1. Let me know if you have never seen these before because I'd love to add to the conversation <33

My overall conclusion from season 1 is: Mike gets taught that being queer/ not liking girls is dangerous. It means you die/ disappear. Being 'normal' or straight is therefore easier. Take this conclusion in mind as you read this.

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion. If you want to interact with this post because you disagree with me, please be respectful.

(Yes I will be doing all the other seasons at some point but it will take a while because this one took me a WEEK)

1. Ted's Comments

Take these with a grain of salt, because when I watched the show again I was a little unsure of whether these are actually implicitly homophobic or due to other things.

So here Ted says 'see Michael, you see what happens?' after Nancy storms off and goes to her room. This could be in relation to Mike shouting at Nancy earlier and that's why he's scolding him a little, but also Mike was talking about how it isn't Will's fault that he's gone missing. It's also kind of established that adults in the town think that Will is gay (more on that later) and was hatecrimed, so Ted could be referencing that.

It's also notable that Mike thinks his dad is talking about Will's disappearance because he then says 'what happens when what? i'm the only one acting normal here. i'm the only one who cares about will.'

So I think it's pretty clear what he's insinuating here. He didn't want to explicitly say 'see what happens when you're not like everyone else' but you can tell. And why would this be said to Mike in relation to Will's disappearance if not for queer-coding? Even early on in the show, Mike could associate being queer with going missing.

Ted, later on in the season, says 'our son? with a girl?' which tbh i thought could be because he's a nerd and only likes hanging out with his friends.

But now that I'm thinking about it, they also say that kind of stuff about Will in season 3. And people on twitter who were against Will's queer-coding before season 4 figured that a lot of the reason people called him slurs was because of him being shy/ stereotyped/ a nerd/ sensitive. But it was confirmed after season 4 that the slurs were queer-coding aka we were right. So the same could easily be said for Mike in this situation.

2. The 'Talk' tm

We've all seen a lot of people talk about this, but I have a teensy bit more to add onto what others have said already because it's sort of funny.

This scene is different to both Karen and the audience. To Karen, she's basically asking Mike if he's feeling particularly sad about Will being missing because of reasons. But to the audience, and Mike, this is a moment for him to be worried about the fact he's hiding El in his closet.

Karen says: 'with all this that's been going on, with Will, i can't imagine what it's been like for you. i just-- want you to feel like you can talk to me. i never want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me. i'm here for you. okay?'

This feels like something Joyce will say to Will in season 5 LMAO like-

If you aren't queer, you will never understand how obvious this is that it's a gay talk. The word 'hide' is so often used in these situations. What is she insinuating? I understand that the 'i want you to feel like you can talk to me' might just be about Mike's sadness, but the emphasis on 'hide anything' is crazy. Also this is about Will and nothing else because at the beginning she pointedly says, 'with Will'. She's basically insinuating there's something different about Mike's relationship/friendship with Will.

What she could also be insinuating is that she thinks that Will's disappearance had something to do with him being queer, (which is rumoured about). She then applies this same logic to Mike. She may be thinking 'oh if Will didn't feel safe about being queer, I'd better let Mike know he is safe.' -- This could be far-fetched though.

Okay so what is very interesting is that El's in Mike's closet at this time. There are multiple reasons for the directors to put her in there: One, to show a flashback from when she's in the lab, and Two, for her to be in the closet during the queer-coded conversation.

Here's why: RIGHT AFTER KAREN SAYS ALL THE HIDING STUFF, THERE'S A SOUND FROM MIKE'S CLOSET......

Walk with me here folks... To the audience, this is funny because Mike is hiding something. He's hiding El. But. Also the sound came from his closet. He's hiding the fact he's in the closet-- *gunshots*. Double meanings exist i swearr

3. Lucas's Teasing

This whole scene is so interesting to me. I used to ignore it because it's possible Mike and El proof but...

It reinforces the heteronormativity of Mike and could even feed into how he acts in his relationship with her. First of all, Lucas tells Mike that just because he is being nice to a girl he must want to marry her and love her right?

This could be a 'Mike could like El' scene, but no. Mike is literally like, 'Lucas what are you talking about?' HE IS CONFUSED. He's also fed-up, he's not embarrassed. He's not flustered. He's not like 'omg shut up hahaha' he literally bluntly says 'shut up Lucas' in this voice that sounds kind of tired.

What Mike learns here is that being with a girl is kind of expected. He's not allowed to be friends with a girl or care for a girl without people assuming they're a thing.

This leads perfectly onto the next point.....

4. Bullies' Homophobic Comments Exhibit A

Straight after learning that Lucas assumed he had heterosexual feelings for El, Mike learns that being gay is a 'bad thing'.

These comments could just be coding for Will, sure, but there are indications that it could be Mike queer-coding as well.

First of all, 'He's dead, that's what my dad says. Probably killed by some other queer', is a very weighted comment. The fact that Troy's dad said this to him implies that Will's sexuality is like a rumour amongst adults in the town. It's also the show portraying how hate like homophobia can be taught from parents.

Mike's then the one to be like 'just ignore them' and goes to walk away. SPECIFICALLY IT IS HIM THAT IS TRIPPED. I REPEAT!!! HE IS TRIPPED NO ONE ELSE.

This could imply that the bullies were targeting him as well as Will for homophobic bullying, maybe in the past as well, and the 'killed by some other queer' comment could be directed at him. I guess you could say that he was tripped because he was the nearest person, or that he was the one speaking, but the directors chose him to be the one walking there. And SPEAKING. Why??

So: Mike has just learnt from Lucas that being nice to a girl can be seen as attraction and means he has to love her. THEN Mike has just learnt from the bullies that maybe Will died because he was gay, and that being gay gets you hurt (tripped over).

Mike is given a choice between the lesser of two evils: choose to fit into a heteronormative society but get made fun of Lucas, or embrace being gay and get killed/ bullied like Will.

Later on in the season, he finds out Will has died. Let me repeat that. He. Believes. Will. Has. Died. Would this maybe reinforce what the bullies said? That being gay = disappearance. Oh poor MIKE OMGGG

Queer coding all up in this scene lads. (+ a reason for internalised homophobia uwu)

5. Bullies' Homophobic Comments Exhibit B

This scene and the previous scene are inherently linked.

Mike is the one to confront the bullies about Will, defending him, so the bullies instantly resort to homophobia. This means that they may be implying that Mike trying to defend someone who they view as gay is also gay.

In the last scene, I guess you could say that the comments weren't particularly targeted at Mike as well as Will because he wasn't at the forefront of the group (even though he was tripped over). But in this scene he definitely is. They chose to utilise homophobic language about Will because they know it touches a nerve with Mike: This homophobic language doesn't just affect the person they are talking about but also the person they are saying it to.

So here's what they say: 'Besides, what's there to be sad about anyway? Will's in fairyland now, right? Flying around with all the other little fairies, all happy and gay.'

The words that Troy is saying here are obviously more linked to how Will is queer-coded throughout season 1, but the way that the scene is shot, the music, the implications, they're all coding for Mike.

'Will's in fairyland now, right?' is posed as a question. They didn't have to make it a question, but they did. This is basically them saying 'oh we've told you this before, shouldn't you know?'/ implying that Mike would know because he's also gay.

Another line they didn't have to include unless it was queer-coding for Mike is: 'Flying around with all the other little fairies.' They could have just written Troy to say 'Will's in fairyland now. All happy and gay,' or something along those lines etc. The jab at Mike is that other gay people exist, and that Will is being gay 'with them'. The words 'all happy and gay' here doesn't actually imply Will's sexuality by itself, but the act of 'being gay together' or in a gay relationship so to speak.

So if you put the pieces together, they're making a point about Mike and Will's friendship in a sense. Also the fact that Troy at the beginning of this insult says 'What's there to be sad about anyway?', basically means that he's trying to get under Mike's skin by saying 'Why are you sad that Will's happy and being gay with other boys? Are you sad he's not with you?' I know that's like, on the nose, but whatever.

(Also Mike has tears in his eyes during this part showing how the words are also affecting him and not just Will)

Another thing I want to talk about is the music. Obviously this music is foreboding and is trying very hard to make the audience uncomfortable, trying to let you know that something bad is going to happen. When Troy walks away, the music swells and the camera zooms in on Mike's angry expression.

Then, Mike pushes troy over for the homophobic comment. This is interesting why? Because Troy tripped Mike over in the previous scene I talked about. Meaning: the scenes are linked. Troy was being homophobic to both Mike and Will. Mike's had enough, so he retaliates in the same way that Troy had treated him earlier.

I'd also like to add that before El saves Mike, he just stands there as Troy stands up and says 'You're dead Wheeler, you're dead.' He was ready to take whatever Troy was going to throw at him. Which is interesting because in the previous scene I talked about, Troy spoke about how being 'queer' means you'll get killed. ('He's dead. That's what my dad thinks, probably killed by some other queer.') So Troy is going to kill Mike, just like how Will is dead too.

A lot has happened between the previous scene and this one. Mike thought Will had died. Yes, during the assembly scene, he doesn't believe it anymore, but he watched Will's body being dragged out the water just recently. Just like in the scene where he jumps into the quarry, this is yet another instance of Mike not caring if he gets hurt in regards to bullying/ Will.

6. More Lucas Comments

"Screw you Mike! You're blind, blind because you like that a girl's not grossed out by you! But wake up, man. Wake the hell up!" (btw I'm not saying that Lucas is being homophobic here, they're little kids and they've been through a lot)

I mean, come on. This basically implies the classic compulsive heterosexuality concept of Mike choosing which girl to have a crush on because she's the easiest option, since she didn't know him growing up or didn't go to the same school together. Even if this isn't accurate, it is still coding because they wrote Lucas to say that jab at him, it hurts Mike inside, because he knows deep down it's at least a little true.

He looks saddened by this, not angry. Mike usually gets annoyed much quicker than this and whenever he's insulted he looks shocked or has a scowl on his face, but here he just looks... sad. Because he knows that Lucas is touching a nerve. (The top pic btw)

He's completely silent. Until, of course, Lucas starts talking about Will:

'She knows where Will is. And now, she's just letting him die in the Upside Down.'

'Shut up!' -- Mike suddenly shouts either because a) he doesn't like that Lucas is insulting El or something OR b) he hates that Lucas is implying that it is his fault that Will is dying in the upside down because he's being blinded by the fact El isn't grossed out by him.

I think it's B tbh <3 (this scene isn't toooo important for my overall conclusion but it's a little nugget of info i guess)

7. Mike Jumps Into the Quarry

Let's be honest here, before this scene, almost everything seems hopeless for Mike finding Will. Firstly, he physically saw Will's 'body' being dragged out of the same water that he's about to jump into. Then he found out he was still alive but somewhere extremely dangerous and he could be dying there for all he knew. Then his one hope at finding Will (Eleven) is gone and he can't find her ("She's a weapon!... We're no use to Will if we're dead!") and Lucas won't agree to help him find her.

This scene was foreshadowed earlier on, making it a very important scene anyways -- Hopper said that no one would survive the jump and the water 'turns into cement, hits you like a tonne of bricks'. Mike would have died if El didn't save him. And he seemed okay with it.

The camera focuses in on him, and if you listen closely, you can hear his heartbeat. You could say that he's only really doing this to save his friend, but like, why is he so willing and why did they so pointedly zoom in on him?

Here's where we get a little serious: Mike would have committed suicide if El wasn't there at the last second. He would have died in the same place where Will's body was discovered.

Quotes about how being gay gets you killed:

'See Michael? You see what happens?' --Meaning: What happens when you're gay? You disappear.

'He's dead, that's what my dad says. Probably killed by some other queer' -- Meaning: Being gay gets you killed/ means you should die.

'Besides, what's there to be sad about anyway? Will's in fairyland now, right? Flying around with all the other little fairies, all happy and gay.' -- Meaning: Will's dead along with all the other gay people, that's where they should be etc.

'You're dead Wheeler, you're dead.' -- Meaning: Mike you should die too, because you're just like Will, and you should join him in 'fairyland'.

(from this scene) 'Jump [into the Quarry].' -- Meaning: Mike you should die just like I told you earlier and in the same place that Will died. (Honestly I believe the whole town now think that Will is dead and his body was found in the quarry, so Troy would know too and use it against Mike.)

Then, after Mike survives this queer-coded death (which can be paralleled to Will's hypothetical death because it's in the same place), he says to the girl that he cares about and has been presumed to 'like' by his friends: 'You saved me. You saved me.'

(just wanna note that i think that is a very sweet scene and doesn't just have to be all about Mike's queer-coding. it's a bond between the party as friends because Dustin also hugs El. But still.)

You tell me what this scene means then.

8. Mike wasn't Lying (Theory)

Okay so this is more of just a theory than queer-coding, because there is something about this scene that I just find... weird.

I personally think that this scene with both Nancy and Mike talking about their so-called 'crushes' is meant to be so you can see the difference between someone who is lying and someone who is telling the truth. Their reactions to the questions are very different to each other (although it could just be a difference in their characters).

Mike: 'Do you like Jonathan now?'

Nancy: 'What?' *looks to the side, fighting a smile* 'No... no, it's not- It's not like that.' -- She's clearly lying because she's being vague, looking to the side, stuttering over her words etc. However, Mike nods like he believes her. This is key for later.

Nancy: 'Do you like Eleven?'

Mike: 'What? No. Ew. Gross.' *looks her up and down in disgust* -- Telling the truth because he stares at Nancy, doesn't stutter over his words and is very direct.

The fact that these reactions are so different (and we know that Nancy likes Jonathan lets be real) is purposeful in my opinion. It shows that at this point, Mike doesn't like insinuation that he likes her in that way.

Something else that happens later in the episode is also quite interesting to me, which further points to Mike 'telling the truth', which is that Mike thought his and Nancy's conversation was mutually truthful.

Why? Because he was completely confused when Lucas says that her and Jonathan are romantically involved later:

Mike: 'They're gone. Nancy and Jonathan. His car's gone.'

Lucas: 'They're probably just sucking face somewhere.'

Mike: 'What? No. No way.' -- Clearly showing that maybe he thought that Nancy was being truthful, meaning he thought their exchange was mutually truthful.

This seems a bit far-fetched but... something to think about.

Btw, I was going to talk about how the First Kiss between Mike and El is queer-coded, but tbh, it's more like... weird. Because they're 12/11 years old and El literally has no idea what a kiss is and they have this exchange about being brother and sister (ew). Then Mike kind of says 'oh i want to go to the snow ball with you, but not if you're my sister', just gives me vibe that he's just doing what he thinks is normal as a result of what others say. But that's it, not much else to say abt it really (also im tired of writing this post ive been doing it for so long <3)

In conclusion: Mike gets taught that being queer/ not liking girls is dangerous. It means you die/ disappear. Being 'normal' or straight is therefore easier. He internalises this for a while poor child <3

Thanks for reading!!! I love you <33 Let me know if you have anything you want to add or if you have contradictions idk byeeee

[anachronisims]

Cliffs of Insanity!

~ a Revamp/Mashup of GreatCheesecakePersona's Nhood Deco Cliffs and Voeille's HD DR Cliff Terrain (and Boulder) Textures by sufficeittosay (aka anachronisims) ~

(more info, pics, and SFS download link under the cut)

Credits: GCKP, Voeille, MorePopcorn (S2Crafters Discord)

I love GCKP's cliff objects but I decided I wanted to use them to build mountains that would integrate well with the existing Maxis neighborhood deco boulders to combat the unfortunate lack of neighborhood cliff terrain paint in lot view. Here they are, in two flavors for your mountain-moving pleasure!

Details of Changes

- Enabled Lighting on the Cliff objects so they look much better and have dynamic shading throughout the neighborhood

- Made two separate options, each intended to be used as a 12-piece set in the same neighborhood for more consistent-looking variation than GCKP's original texture options. See previews.

(fig. 4 - gckp's original cliffs are embankments, not mountains)

- Greened the foliage on GCKP's "Grass" Cliff option and made other various shading/color tweaks throughout.

Explanation of the flavor options: "Hard Rock" and "Soft Rock"

- "Hard Rock" is a more realistic and craggy texture, and overall is the darker option. It is the one I am personally using. It is based on GCKP's original "Cliff 2" texture but edited by me for Cliff 1. It reminds me of the US Northeast. If I was naming it on theme instead of descriptively, it would have been "The Dread Pirate Roberts." (fig. 1 (title card) and fig. 2 (left) above)

- "Soft Rock" is a smoother, sedimentary rock based on Voeille's "Old" Cliff DR (but shrunk from 1024x1024 to 512x512 because it didn't need it because the mapping on these repeats well and often, especially for objects that will usually only be seen in the middle-to-far distance). It reminds me more of the US southwest, but less red than Sedona. (If you want to see my attempt at a third Sedona flavor DM me, it's a hoot.) If I was naming it on theme instead of descriptively, it would have been "The Westley." (fig. 3 (right) above).

Installation instructions are clearly described in the included RTFM.

YES, THIS INVOLVES OPTIONAL DEFAULT REPLACEMENT OF NEIGHBORHOOD CLIFFS AND BOULDERS. You can omit it but they won't match as well, especially in winter.

(fig. 5 - winterized cliffs and boulders - same for both flavors)

Download at SFS

PS GCKP and Voeille both seem to have retired from creating but if you are either of them and you don't want this adaptation of your work out there, please let me know and I'll take it down.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

December Creator of the Month: Coffeeheartaddict2

Please welcome this month’s Creator of the Month: @coffeeheartaddict2

Each month, CFWC highlights one of our talented fanfic writers or artists. The writer or artist is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page. Past COTMs can be found here.

Tumblr Blog Name: Coffeeheartaddict2

How do you want to be known on Tumblr? Tash

Quick Links:

Tumblr Blog

Masterlist

1- When did you start playing Choices? What was the first book you played?

2020, pandemic. I saw the ad somewhere, so I downloaded it. The first book was The Royal Romance.

2- When and why did you join Choices fandom?

2021, so three nearly 4 years. Fell into it when I created my Tumblr as an outlet to post my work. Writing was literally a way of getting some thoughts out, and it grew from there.

3- How did you pick your blog name?

I am as much of a coffee snob as our favourite pixelated doctor. When I created my blog, I only wrote for Open Heart and put the word addict in. I have the 2there as I had some issues with my original blog, and I had to create a second, so I added the 2 so people knew it was me.

4- Pull up the first post in your archive, and tell us about it!

So this was my first work. I thought about how the Leland storyline could have played out and went with it. It was initially a one-shot.

5- Do you write fanfiction, create fan art, or are you one of those really gifted people who do both?

I write. I can draw but not what one would classify as well enough.

6- How long have you been creating for Choices and for any other fandoms?

I started writing in 2020 and just kept going. I did a few one-shots, and then I felt a little empty at the end of book 2. Well, I decided to rewrite it, and that set the beginning of what I dubbed Tashland.

7- What is your favorite Choices book, and what is your favorite Choices book to create for?

Well, Open Heart, obviously. I enjoyed The Royal Romance and Crimes of Passion.

8- Share your first Choices fanfic or fan art that you posted with us. Do you still like it, or would you change it if you were creating it today?

I cannot remember the first one I posted with CFWC, nor can I remember exactly when, but I think it was part one of When Egos Collide.

I do like it. I spent a few chapters setting up Leland and his over all plan, putting in the seeds of Tobias coming across to Edenbrook and where Ethan was at. Do I want to go back and tidy up a few bits? Most definitely, but overall, I would not change too much.

Link to part one.

9- What is your favorite piece of fiction or art that you created?

I will cheat and do a series (or 2).

The first series is When Egos Collide, aka what ended up being a rewrite of book 3. I had started it before book three dropped, so I was going to use some plot points if it worked in my narrative. Well, what bones of a decent story were given fit in well. The whole premise was doing bad for good vs. doing good for bad and what or who would win out and the fallout. I was proud of it, and it is what brought me into the fandom more.

Link to series.

The second was Everybody Hurts Sometimes. Not only a good song by REM. A fellow fandom member received an ask about what she would think happened if Ethan did not talk to Louise and she died. I then brewed a plot in my head and this person was fine with me commandeering the ask, and that series was born.

The series can be found here.

10- Do you have a fic/art that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to do well but found it could use a little more love?

I eventually rewrote my 14-20 of book two rewrite. I was fairly happy with the basic plot, but as time went on, I felt that it lacked depth, especially since I had written so much in and around the timeline that was not in the original series. I am always happy if anyone reads or comments at the end of the day.

11- If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Angst with a happy end with a side of smut, lol. Angst sometimes seems more real and relatable, and I enjoy writing it. I like to give happy endings, especially as some of my angst can be pretty intense, and we all need a little smut in our lives.

12- Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MCs or in your writing?

My MC likes to cope with bad things by throwing herself into work, which I do, or I distract myself.

13- What element of writing/art do you struggle with most?

I know some of you will disagree with me, but fluff. I find it the hardest to write.

14- Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?

I feel like I have been neglecting writing in general at the moment. The joys of young children.

15- If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to see your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you show them first?

Yes, I would. I would probably start them with my book 2 ch14-20 rewrite, as that sets up my world. Then, I would let them decide on what to do next. I do have book 1 works, but I think they will work better if read after my book 2 ch 14-20 rewrite.

16- Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing or art? Are there any artists that influence you?

I have a diverse reading taste (says she, who is currently reading Harry Potter with my daughter). I would not say that what I have read outside the fandom influences me (unless I did an Outlander AU). I would not say influence, but certainly most encouraging have been @jerzwriter, @cariantha, @jamespotterthefirst and @liaromancewriter, among others.

17- Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series?

Everybody Hurts Sometimes and When Egos Collide would make good series.

18- Do you write original fiction or create non-fandom art?

No, I do not.

19- What other hobbies do you have?

Baking. I like baking cakes and biscuits. I tried my hand at fudge, and it worked despite putting the chocolate in too early. I do not have a lot of free time.

[operafantomet]

(Please ignore if this is a big ask but I thought you'd be the best person to ask!)

I'm going to the Det Ny Teater to see Anastasia later this year and I was just wondering about all the Phantom props on display? I assume some are just on display around the theatre and can be seen while there, but I miss the Golden Angel (love from London) ahahahaha. So I guess my main question is the Sceneriet usually open to the public or does it just depend on when they have events/tours in there?

Again, sorry to be asking you specifically, I know you don't work for them ahahahaha but tragically I do not speak Danish so I thought you would be a good first point to ask

Thank you!!!!

Ooooh! First of all, FUN! This specific production of Anastasia feature design by Gabriela Tylesova, so already there is a good Phantom vibe. You probably knew that already. I hope to catch it as well!

All props and costumes is on display in one specific place: The underground restaurant called Teaterkælderen, underneath the theatre. It's their old props and sets storage rooms from 1908, which is no longer used for that purpose. It's quite big, and the whole area is decorated with photos from the theatre's history, notes, and various props. There's also a singing staff, which means your waiter will now and then burst into song. Last I was there the Monkey Musical Box (AKA Lille Abe) was on display, caged in (PS - you really have to look for him in a "secret" side room... and don't take styling tips from him):

There is also the Don Juan Rehearsal piano, and various Masquerade dummies. The dummies are placed on top of various staircases leading down to the cellars. The Golden Lion and Golden Ox can be seen at the main entrance to the restaurant, while to grander crinoline ladies greet the guests who enters from the "secret" staircase underneath the theatre's main grand staircase. This is only possible right before and after a performance, so be sure to try it! Here's the Golden Mask lady on display last year:

In the restaurant there is also a 'chambre séparée" called Sceneriet, which is occasionally booked for events, celebrations and such. It is also usually where they do early rehearsals for new productions, before moving into the stage itself. The room is a big square place with a sort of balcony construction all around. This space is where they have a lot of dummys in display showing costumes from various earlier productions, Phantom, Wicked, Beauty and the Beast etc. And of course, it's where some of the bigger set/prop pieces are - the Hannibal elephant...

...and the Golden Angel... Last I was there it was without its wings. In the past it was with wings. I don't know the reason for the switch, possibly easier to mount? Here it is with its wings:

Sceneriet is usually closed off. But if no specific events hinders it and you ask nicely, they sometimes open it up to visitors. It depends on the person, how busy the restaurant is and probably other factors. But no harm in asking! It's a friendly staff overall.

Also, if Per Engström is conducting himself, be sure to chat a bit with him! He conducted the original Stockholm production for six years, and then 3-4 years of Phantom in Copenhagen, as well as Love Never Dies. A living POTO legend right there, still giving us beautiful music.

[xxoxobree]

Here’s my little take as a person who is now reading the Percy Jackson books. I’m halfway through book 3. Update I’m done with book 3 now on book 4

Reading the books kinda ruined the show a little for me 👀 I love the characterization of Ares and the pure rage he gives anyone standing close to him and I was waiting for Percy to feel that and be a smart ass to Ares and we never got that and I was disappointed 😭😭😭 (still loved he episode and the amazing acting from Leah & Walker.)

Luke pisses me off so bad 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️ I’m hoping for a redemption for him tho, maybe.

We love Tyson 🫶🏽🫶🏽

Bro Ares is a piece of shit literally and hugs for my girl Clarisse, i actually love her.

Crossing my fingers that my girl Zoe makes it through the quest 🤞🏽(she didn’t 😭😭😭)

I love the Hermes kids, why ? Because I love a little chaos.

Percy being able to only talk to horses is hilarious 😂😂.

Hades isn’t mentioned a lot and I’m really interested in him after the first book.

Thalia liking Apollo aka her brother is also hilarious 🤣🤣. (Im black 👀 that’s her brother we don’t care about halves of nothing.)

Would i join Artemis in eternal youth? absolutely.

Annabeth wanting to redesign the world is so wholesome 🥺🥺🥺

I’m from the Caribbean so Grover’s Rasta hat 😭 makes me wonder if he would be a Rastafarian. Maybe that’s the whole point ? 🤷🏽‍♀️

I thought Thalia would be a bigger part of the overall story 👀 her being in one book is surprising.

Annabeth’s step mom can go to hell 🤣🤣 I’ll give her dad grace tho because Athena kinda just dropped a baby on his front porch.

I should have more thoughts on Percy but I kinda don’t 🥲.

I call Percy, Perc because i thinks it’s funny 🤷🏽‍♀️🤣

Nico my little baby boy 😭 has my heart and he deserves better.

Someone mentioned on tik tok Percy and Annabeth being an incestuous relationship and I can’t stop thinking about it 🤣🤣. Still team Percabeth tho.

Okay that’s all 🙂 I’ll go finish read

[supernaturallyginger]

One Piece Live Action Review

Now that I've had time to watch and digest all the episodes it's time to discuss how I feel about the adaptation. This break down will be full of spoilers, so read at your own risk.

One Piece Live Action is good, actually.

Live action anime adaptations have a tendency to be soulless cash grabs that either don't give a shit about the source material or bank too much on just showing things the fans recognizes in place of an actual story.

OPLA loves the source material. It is clear that this production is a celebration of the manga series. The easter eggs and small nods to the series are not just there to make you point at the screen and say "There's the Thing!" They are apart of the world. Taking a note from Oda's writing to make the world of OPLA fill just as rich as the manga.

However, it is not a one for one recreation of the East Blue saga. How could it be? It would be impossible to take ~100 chapters of story and cram it into an 8 hour tv show season without it being a powerpoint of Luffy's Greatest Hits.

The story had to be changed to fit the medium and the pacing. Overall, I think the pacing is good and the changes made are for the better. But it's not perfect.

Episode 1 (aka mostly Zoro's intro):

Of the entire season, this was the weakest episode in my opinion. It had the most to introduce which is quite a challenge and it does so fairly well, but there are changes made here that I'm just not a fan of and I believe make the story weaker.

Zoro's introduction being changed to his face off with Mr. 7 is fine. It shows us him praying for Kuina, him being sassy to a bad guy, and ultimately him killing Mr. 7. Awesome start!

Unfortunately, we suffer when we cut to Zoro at Shells Town. He's only tied and imprisoned for a day, if that. And that's not even where Luffy first sees him. Instead, Luffy first sees Zoro at a bar starting a fight. Taking away the impact of him seeing Zoro's strong will after being tied up for days.

And it gets worse... Luffy just let's Zoro out, no strings attached and Zoro fetches his own swords. It takes away from the charm of the original scene where Luffy (a little bastard) blackmails Zoro into joining his crew to get his swords back. This change takes away two things: a showcase that Luffy is willing to be a stubborn shit to get what he wants and Zoro's willingness to give up his resolve because Luffy kept his word and brought him his swords.

While we're here, time for a Zoro tangent;

I'm really not a fan of how the character was adapted. This is not Zoro, this is some smug, emotionless samurai. All the beats were there. There were references to him being lost and a few jokey moments, but they are all delivered in the same monotone. Rarely is this Zoro shown to emote. Nor does he ever get to be goofy because YES! Roronoa Zoro can goofy. He's just a teenager in the East Blue saga, and yet OPLA plays him like he's alcoholic Batman.

Episode 2:

Oooh boy, give it up for episode 2! And Buggy, my little meow meow Buggy! I love him <3

As for the episode, the change from having Buggy being some shitty pirate just camped nearby and annoying the village to being a pirate who enslaved the village into being his audience was excellent! It's so fucked up and campy and even more fucked up.

Buggy's desires are for attention and fame. He wants what Shanks has and yet he's still stuck in the East Blue, desperate for a map that he can't get his own greedy hands on.

Buggy was such a stand out character in OPLA. I love Buggy in general and this version is a bit different than the pathetic Buggy we love from the manga, but he is like a evil cartoon villain chewing the scenery! I'm so glad they roped him into the plot to keep him throughout the season.

Episodes 3 & 4:

These are fine. Some people aren't fans of the changes and yeah, I agree taking away a lot of Usopp's agency sucks. It really doesn't feel like this is Usopp's arc, more like that he's just some guy who happens to be there.

But I was never a huge fan of the Syrup Village arc. I felt like it was poorly paced in the anime and the changes made at least kept the story condensed and Kuro's plan seemed more well thought out.

Biggest highlight of these episodes was Usopp! Jacob Romero does an amazing job at bringing the character to screen. He has so much charisma that it's hard not to smile when he's in a scene.

Episodes 5 & 6:

Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE the Baratie arc! And this adaptation... is fine. Much like how Usopp is an after thought in his arc, Sanji is sidelined here to make room for PLOT.

Changing the Big Bad who threatens Baratie from Don Krieg to Arlong is a great choice. Don Krieg was always a lame, forgettable villain, so having Arlong show up to help push the plot towards the next arc is smart.

Much like Zoro's introduction, I'm not happy with Sanji's either. Specifically with how he meet Luffy. The scene where Sanji is the crew's waiter and has to fight some rowdy pirates is charming. But then Luffy say, "He's a great fighter." and UGGGHHHHHH

Luffy does NOT recruit Sanji for his strength. Nor does he recruit him for his cooking abilities. He recruits him because he is KIND. This is the same gripe I have with the Zoro intro. Luffy sees Zoro fight before recruiting him. When really he's supposed to want Zoro after seeing him tied up and learning that Zoro was captured because he saved a little girl from Helmeppo's dog. While Zoro and Sanji are the two strongest fighters on Luffy's crew, he never recruited them because they could fight.

ANYWAY

Luffy does see Sanji's kindness, only after seeing him fight and trying his food, and the two actors have great chemistry on screen. It's easy to believe that they are becoming fast friends and you can see in Taz Skylar's acting how much Sanji admires Luffy right off the bat. It's cute!

Unfortunately while Sanji is sidelined in his own arc, so two are the reveal of his backstory and the famous All Blue dream talk. His backstory is revealed in a random trauma dump to the crew which is only used to further the Zoro losing to Mihawk story. And the All Blue talk is just dropped randomly and has nothing to do with Sanji learning to pursue his own dreams. That's just done with a short shouting match between him and Zeff. Whatever.

Episodes 7 & 8:

Arlong Park was a good place to end the season. And the adaption of the arc is once again fine. Nami's backstory is rushed and the change to having no one in the town knowing her true intentions is a weird one.

BUT! Something I hadn't mentioned before, the sets are really fun! Arlong Park is a good example of this because it takes the design from the manga/anime and adds its own twist. The twist? Making Arlong Park look like a fairway at an amusement park. Which is a fun (horribly depressing) nod to something fans of the series can pick up on.

Other notable sets are Buggy's circus tent, Kaya's Tim Burton themed mansion, and the Baratie. God the Baratie is an amazing set! The detail of the lighthouse on top is *chefs kiss*

Something else I didn't mention before, is that there is a B plot throughout all 8 episodes following Garp in pursuit of Luffy while training Koby and Helmeppo. It's loosely based on a cover story the manga ran early on and it's fine.

The characterization of Garp is a little odd, as he seems more strict and book smart than his manga counterpart. (I cheered when we saw him finally throw some canon balls!!) But it all lead up to a moment of him meeting Zeff. Two men of the older generation. A former pirate and a marine sitting down over a glass of wine and steaks. And they discuss having to accept the changing world when really the conversation is about accepting their boys moving on follow their dreams. It's a simple scene, but it's one of my favorites.

NOW the Arlong Park battle is good, if not a little short because they have to make time for the Garp stuff. There is one line in particular that really bothers me. There is a moment where Luffy agrees with Arlong and says something like, "Maybe I can't defeat you." and... that's not Luffy.

Arlong Park has one of Luffy's most iconic moments. A moment that defines his character and the entire series.

And I think that's how I feel about the OPLA as a whole.

It's good, but it's not One Piece. Well- it's not the One Piece we already know.

This Luffy is different. OPLA Luffy has a moral compass. He has snappy lines and has maybe even read a book in his life time. He's not the same Luffy from the manga, and that's okay. Inaki Godoy is a joy to watch on screen and his version of Luffy is just as wonderful in his own way.

One Piece Live Action is witty and very charming. Filled with great action scenes, lively sets & costumes, and actors who are giving it their all in every scene.

Despite some changes I disagree with, this was an amazing adaption that is a celebration of the fans and an introduction to the wacky world of One Piece to new viewers.

[spiderlinging]

Alright go! Top 3 starker fics you didn't write and your favorite you wrote?

Love it. Let's do this thang-

From Thy Bounty by feyrelay, natureboy (natureboi)

Tony’s eyes are always dark, but now there's almost no iris left. He looks hollowed out. There’s something terribly hungry there, despite the feast they've filled themselves on.

This will never not be on a fic rec list from me. It's incredibly well written, an amazing amount of sexual tension, and is just overall very hot. It's the definition of *chefs kiss*

2. when the sun came up (you were looking at me) by charonsdescent

After Pepper dies, Peter helps Tony pick up the pieces. Only picking up the pieces becomes a little more complicated when a new CEO (who may or may not be Harry Osborn) comes into the picture. And picking up the pieces becomes even more complicated when both Tony and Peter start looking at each other a little differently.

I rarely give 10 out of 10 for my bookmarks, but this one is. Slow, slow but perfect burn. So much emotion but also so much hotness. The love between Tony and Peter builds gracefully and maturely in a very realistic manner.

3. Permission by cagestark

During drinks with the Avengers, Peter admits that he enjoys orgasms more when someone is giving him permission, though since he's single, there isn't anyone in his life to offer it. Generous Tony offers to offer it.

I'm primarily including this one because I forgot to include it in my last fic rec list. Pretty sure I've read this more times than a sane person should. Even though it's not really my kink, it's a very good read.

4. The Name on Your Lips by me (aka Dryerlint)

Dealing with the aftermath of No Way Home, Peter Parker makes a life for himself under a new identity. He never imagined that almost seven years later he would come face to face with Tony Stark back from the dead. While Tony not recognizing him was unsurprising, the hunger in his eyes as he looked the boy up and down certainly was.

It was a toss up between this and Much Ado About Tropes. My favorite plot is Much Ado, but I think my favorite overall is The Name on Your Lips. It's the one I'm most proud of.

[straycalamities]

for your uhh edfgy oc memes

you can pick the oc/s but 🫴 gimme 4, 6, 10, 17

DONT MAKE ME PICK WThfowieugiu

well not entre because at this point ive answered almost all of those with him uhhh ill do andrew and ace because they're my special boys

4. When scared, does your OC fight, flee, freeze or fawn?

andrew: i think with him it very much depends on what the thing scaring him IS. if it's dangerous he's gonna flee. if it's scary because he can't understand it, he'd freeze if he's scared but someone he cares about is also under threat, he'd fight. that kinda thing

ace: he flees or fawns. every time. just depends. or like attempts to fawn, it doesnt work, so he flees. he's a wimp and a coward who only has his silver-tongue as a weapon, so. i think if it was really bad though, he'd freeze. because it's unlike him, he always has Something to react with. delicious

6. How easily could your OC be convinced to do something that goes against their moral compass?

andrew: it would be very hard. he's a Good Boy. something/one dear to him would have to be threatened because even if it was just him, he'd just take that bullet (or whatever it was) rather than do what they're trying to make him do though? if he has someone who he's wrapped around the finger of, it'd be a smidge easier. i mean julian had him ruining people's lives lowkey sometimes, but it was fine because he just didn't think about it and it made julian happy

so yeah it depends on WHO is trying to make him do it or just the situation in general but overall? id say its tough and requires specific requirements to be met, the most important being: if he does do this, it's not so black & white Bad. if it's black & white bad or good he's gonna dig his heels in the dirt harder

ace: just give him money. for real. he'll do almost anything for a certain price. otherwise, just threaten to kill him. he'll LITERALLY do anything then. he likes his life too much. however when he becomes close to andrew, all that becomes...less effective because he wants to do right BY andrew <3 or really anyone that managed to worm their way past all his walls and into his heart that's like..a generally good person

10. What's an AU that would be interesting to explore with your OC?

skipping andrew obviously

for ace hmmm...really just anything that puts him against the wall. really pushes him without quite breaking him. sooo i guess any AU that brings a lot more danger into the equation. because in any AU that's chill or pleasant the interest comes from him being a fucking Clown (both because he can be funny and because his interpersonal issues make a lot of melodrama)

but i personally love seeing how many pieces i can break him into until he stops trying to put himself back together. i don't want him to reach that point because that's boring, but i like pushing it. like i made him so happy and his life so perfect literally so i could ruin it in his...well initial canon universe...

17. What is the worst thing you have put your OC through story-wise?

andrew: hmmm...julian i guess typically. but moreso because i haven't officially plotted the zombie apocalypse story aka his canon. so i might come up with even worse (better) things to put him through :)

for both: there was one time in an AU where i had a demon possess ace and basically was intentionally trying to ruin his life (namely his relationship with andrew) and that was awful for both of them <3 (this was prior to cult au and probably lowkey inspired it i think)

ace: CANONLY...well in the supernatural/horror story i don't fully know yet because i'm still plotting but in cult au...i think the whole thing is probably the worst thing i've put him through for Now. he hides it but he's absolutely miserable and going Through It at all times. losing his self, his agency, and worse is everyone loves that for him

[azure-firecracker]

2,4,7!

The game is here.

2) Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Oooh! Given my proclivity for angst and intensity, I feel like a survival fic might be fun (or a lighter version where they like…go camping lol).

I’ve always loved the 5x1 structure so I’d love to do one of those.

I also love the 3rd party POV trope and think it’d be a fun experiment, especially for txf.

4) How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now?

I have 3 circling constantly (aka daily) in my brain: one is Raise Your Voices, one is outlined, and one I mentioned in a post a while back but haven’t outlined.

In my writing ideas note, I currently have ideas written down for 14 oneshots and 10 longer stories. I also have 8 phrases in there that are not actually story ideas.

7) Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Oh how you indulge me.

This is probably longer than a snippet lol.

She heard his sharp inhale over the tape, the hitch in his voice, the tears that were starting to seep into his speech, the same tears that were beginning to flow freely down her face. She hardly even noticed.

“But I don’t know where to go. What can I believe in now?”

“Me,” she wanted to respond. “I came back, didn’t I? You say there’s nothing in the universe that would make you give up on me. Did it ever occur to you that the reverse is just as true?” Scully had a complicated relationship with miracles, but sometimes she thought that there was some higher power– be it God or fate or something else entirely– stitching her and Mulder’s lives together, helping them escape death every time they nearly fell into its jaws. She had no clear recollection of those missing months, only bits and pieces, but she was certain that she’d wished for Mulder during those days, that she would have moved heaven and Earth to return to him if she could.

Perhaps something or someone had heard her pleas. Perhaps It knew that, just as Mulder would give everything to save her, she was willing to devote her life to repairing his broken soul, even if it took everything she had, even if there was no hope of success.

Perhaps whatever was out there knew that Mulder was the only one who would go to the ends of the Earth for her. Perhaps It knew that she was the only one who would tear her life apart just to bring him back.

From Caught on Tape.

I’m really proud of this fic as a whole because it was so hard to write. It’s all angst and introspection and rawness that we rarely see in the show, so keeping everything in character was a lofty task. I feel like I was also able to incorporate things I learned from other writers in here - playing more with philosophy and internal monologues and poetic structure. Overall just a piece of writing that I’m proud of!

Ty for the ask you’re the best🩷

[love-takes-work]

Infloresce & Friends: Charity Festival benefiting the Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective

I attended the wonderful charity stream for aivi & surasshu’s first anniversary of their label Infloresce, benefiting Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective. It was a lovely time and included many special guest appearances, including (of special interest to some of my blog readers) Rebecca Sugar and Jeff Ball of Steven Universe fame and aivi & surasshu themselves. Here is an overall outline of the content of the TWELVE HOURS of streaming, including details about all of the performances! And if you’re interested in further supporting the Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective, you can choose your donate option here.

This is a twelve-hour streamed charity event to benefit Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective, put on in honor of Infloresce's one-year anniversary. Infloresce is aivi & sursshu's record label for "gentle music that goes hard." With nine releases in the last year among their handful of musicians, largely populated by gender expansive and trans folks, are supporting the trans community with this event.

1. Breakfast Friends - Waffle Talk

This opening panel included discussion of trans community, the beauty of realizing how many people are queer in your community, music, and morning routines. aivi shares what's different about their morning routine because they have a child. Includes an interview with Evelina Kertay, a founding member and leader of Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective, who shared information about fighting anti-queer laws on the ground without depending on the structures of the oppressor. 

She says it's very important for allies to be willing to put skin in the game and accept risk. Her message to trans people is that past liberation movements and queer elders can show us the way--it's a fight that's been fought before. (Also, ACAB and fuck ICE.) CTLC helps people access trans-friendly medical care, name changes, and escaping hostile situations.

2. Oops! All Bangers. Trans and Non-Binary Radio

With a quirky introduction about the Dunmucky Method of music-making involving a dollhouse as an illustration, we then get some bangers from various trans and nonbinary artists, played over rad videos of trans and nonbinary people from the south skating:

Featuring the following:

telebasher - "Savior"

Zantilla - "Lemon Pepper"

JER - "You Can Get It If You Really Want"

Maddie Lim - "Mango Habanero"

Saria Lemes - "That's Not Candy"

mandrasigma - "Trinket"

FLOOR BABA - "PREHISTORY"

miles morkri - "yarrow"

Ponpoko in the Distance - "Ukijima"

3. Battle Buds: Team Composition Challenge

This was so cool! Six battlers "duking it out friendship style" make music inspired by locations in Chattanooga, each writing a piece in one hour. miles and surasshu discuss the history and process of compos. Compo communities started on IRC back in the day--sometimes 30-minute or 1-hour competitions where people would make compositions and vote on them. Surasshu has competed in hundreds of them. The composers use many different utilities to make their contributions. Throughout the stream, the hosts checked in with each composer and let them talk about their process and philosophy.

Composers and their compositions:

Hunter Van Brocklin - Cerulean Caverns

Frums - Rosebloom Ravine

Ash - Luminous Lagoon

M Gewehr - Groove Gardens

Maddie Lim - Bubble Bay

mandrasigma - Tangled Terrace

4. Button Masher Performance

After another fun Dunmucky intro and music lesson, we get a performance from chiptune composer and performer Button Masher.

5. Digifu Classic

We are treated to some lovely digifu pieces with cool visualizers.

6. Cass Cuttlefish Performance

With another music lesson in the Dunmucky Method ("Structure, Purpose, Vision!") leading off...

We have Aubrey Halo, aka Cass Cuttlefish, sharing some great music, including one that's "too fast to be a waltz." A couple of the songs have lyrics! 

And we even get some cool pixel art from Aubrey.

Aubrey is now transitioning the previous “Cass Cuttlefish” social media to the Aubrey Halo name.

7. The Sandwich Club: Let's Talk About Games!

Next we have some folks talking about games and their contributions! Panel contributors were ChevyRay, Jessi, Ko, Hbomb, Isla, and SonicFox. They discuss experience as gamers, as developers, and as composers. They discuss what their first video games they remember playing, what video game characters are the hottest, whether Shadow the Hedgehog is cool, how much evil can a character do before they're irredeemable, and how to avoid burnout and burnout experiences.

8. Floor Baba Performance

A Muckyverse lesson teaches us about melody! Then Floor Baba takes the stage with a performance: We have MIDIs to jam to and accompanying cool art!

9. Maj7 Community Showcase

Very cool pieces by this collaboration between artists, accompanied by various inventive animations!

10. aivi & surasshu Performance

After another lovely and unhinged Dunmucky Institute music lesson, we get aivi & surasshu's set, opening with "Amalgam" from Steven Universe (Opal's fusion dance song). They then perform a cover of "Yuri on Ice." The next song, "Periphery," is from their upcoming album.

The promised “Love Like You” stream included the crowdsourced choir collected from Steven Universe fan contributions across the internet. 92 contributors sent in their voices! (Small brag: I was in there!)

11. Being a Trans Lawyer in the South

This section has an interview with a lawyer (who also skates!) named Alex Moody (they/them) discussing how laws affect trans and gender expansive people in Southern states, how Southern social movements work, and some of the necessities of playing nice with norms and expectations so we can get shit done. Learn legislators, bother them, make calls, access Mutual Aid where needed.

12. Battle of the Bits Listening Party

After a week-long battle with 69 entries, we get to listen to the top 11!

#11 blower5 - hi

#10 doctorn0gloff - the trials of blossoming

#9 telebasher - NEVER GIVE UP !!

#8 rewitkin - travel log

#7 robotmeadows - we used to run around and not get tired

#6 october - you and me 'til the world ends

#5 damifortune + slash - a chipped stylus

#4 paperaviator - just existing (in a good way)

#3 zenkusa - A Picnic at Twilight

#2 petet - willow

#1 pedipanol - Together

There were also individual awards in the categories of Friendship, Community, Trans Rights, Inflorescence, Charity in Pants, Overall. Very cool.

13. miles morkri Performance

We get another set of instructions to teach us about the Dunmucky method, and then we're on to see miles morkri! This performance has some great vibes with miles singing and playing. I loved this one!

14. STAFFcirc Community Showcase

STAFFcirc composers have their pieces featured with more stunning visuals.

15. Rebecca Sugar & Jeff Ball Performance

Another music lesson teaches us about texture in the Dunmucky Method. And then, we get Rebecca Sugar and Jeff Ball sharing a special performance!

They begin with a guitar and violin duet of "Everything Stays."

Next we are treated to the full version of "Change Your Mind," and then "Love Like You," and finally "Escapism."

It was so special to get to hear Rebecca performing again. I missed seeing performances like this.

16. The Ice Cream Social: Let's Talk About Toys!

miles, aivi, Loni, mandrasigma, and Marcie have a chat about toys, with a big focus on Hot Wheels. They discuss what everyone's favorite toys were as children. Character cars look like taxidermy to aivi. They have started collecting Hot Wheels cars after having a child who is obsessed with cars. 

As an incentive to get to $10,000 on the donations, mandra offered to show a "cursed" Toad-inspired Hot Wheels car. And it happened. (And it was cursed.)

17. telebasher & amimifafa Performance

Another visit from the Dunmucky Institute later, we get some wonderful melancholy, chill music from telebasher & amimifafa collaborating.

18. Infloresce Records Community Showcase

Infloresce artists have their pieces compiled and showcased with more wonderful music videos and visualizers!

19. Zantilla Performance

Lesson 9 from the Dunmucky Institute provides an interlude, and then we get a performance from artist Zantilla. Metal guitar-led music with visuals of the artist going hard jamming out on guitar.

20. Moonlit Vibes: Trans & Non-Binary Radio

Yet more wonderful night-themed songs from trans and nonbinary artists, featuring more great skating videos, this time with a night palette tint. We got some cool stories about the meanings of the songs, the importance of leaving space in music, the despair some trans people feel and make art about, and how aivi ended up working with Zantilla.

Featuring the following:

Slide20XX - "thick as thieves"

amimifafa - "phytogenesis"

aivi (ft. Zantilla, Michaela Nachtigall) - "Tiger"

TV-MA - "I Want to See the Angels"

Isaac Shutz - "Summer Rain"

Lena Raine - "Full Moon Memories"

Siphosomes - "Canopy >> Stars"

paper aviator - "On Foot"

21. quarkimo Performance

Some beautiful night music closes us out with quarkimo playing candlelit piano.

22. Curtain Call: End of Stream Hangout

The Dunmucky Institute takes us to the exit of the stream, with a return of the dollhouse, and some very nice messages about the importance of making art.

With a final plug for the Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective, the organizers have a celebration that everything worked and nothing broke for the whole twelve-hour stream. There were lots of thank-yous and information about who contributed what. Much outpouring of gratefulness and love was had.

I did not initially intend to attend a TWELVE-HOUR STREAM but by gosh that’s what ended up happening. I care very much about trans rights, as a fellow Southern-state-liver who is watching the freedoms and safety getting scrubbed out of my communities at a frightening rate. Evelina Kertay of the Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective was a WONDERFUL speaker and badass and I would have loved to hear way more from her, and I believe her trans-led organization is going to DO THE BUSINESS as we fight these laws and prejudices. 

I’m really glad I attended.

[thetobiroppofan]

one piece rant #2: the best baroque works agent (and a derailing of topic)

ONE PIECE LIVE ACTION REMAKE SEASON 2 REVOLVING AROUND ARABASTA ARC!!!!! DROP MARIANNE/MISS GOLDENWEEK AND MY LIFE IS YOURSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSs

so did you guys know that outside of the Tobiroppo I'm obsessed with Marianna aka miss goldenweek from the little garden arc and also her "miss goldenweek's operation: meet baroque works" cover story? probably not this is my third overall post.

so like miss goldenweek right??? shes absolutely goated solos ur faves served ate cunty mhm yahyah

he entire power is basically so unique cause how u finna tell me this teenager has the power to manipulate emotions using her paint?? like damn bitch yas queen

id also like to mention the fact Marianne had a way more grown appearance where btw canonicallyy during her first appearance she was age 16 and in manga she looks like a 16 yr old

a bit wonky yeah I'll admit but like she looks like a teenager tbh likee u can tell by her features yeah shes a teenager shes 16 (18 post timeskip)

this girl looks like shes in highschool

Get this fuckass baby off my lawn (/j) but fr like you can tell there are some more changes for example I feel like they made her face a bit more rounder, could just be perspective, they also made her braids larger which makes her look like a kid, her pallet also appears to have changed which idk if u guys agree if u even read this but like it makes her look more childish anyways this aint Abt how the anime made her look 10 at most she still ate in both versions

Basically I think Marianne should make an appearance in one piece cause if they gave us past Mr 7 coming after Zoro they can give us miss goldenweek

"but she didn't have that much of an impact!!!!" GO FUCK YOURSELF

I DONT GIVE A SHIT IF SHE GETS ALL THE SCENES SHE HAD IN THE ANIME/MANGA OR IF SHE FUCKING POPS UP IN THE BACKGROUND FOR A SECOND I WILL NOT STAND FOR COMPLETE MISS GOLDENWEEK ERASURE SHE WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTER TO ME

ok so anyways

me core (not really but I like saying that)

we should normalize like making lists of your favorite characters here's mine but in baroque works agents

Marianne/Miss Golden Week

2. Miss All Sunday/Nico Robin

3. Mr 2/Bon Clay/Bentham

4. Crocodile

5. Miss Double Finger

6. Galdino

7. Miss Valentines Day

8. Miss Fathers Day (she sucked as a person but the outfit lowk ate)

9. the rest

10. miss merry Christmas

if my blog gets 10 likes on this post I drop a Tobiroppo ranking spoiler alert x drake is at the bottom I hate that ginger emo fuck so much how dare he betray the best villain group I may be biased but I love you Tobiroppo mwa mwa mwa

ok thanks for reading if u did I'm very normal don't sign me up for a mental asylum love u mwa

[idridian]

what are your favourite horror movies

what a question to ask me lol. ohhhkay, strap in.

(please note that when you ask me "favourite", that means you get favourite regardless of quality. and you get no tv shows or any such things, strictly movies)

(btw i haven't actually seen that many horror films. many of the iconic franchises especially - chucky, elm street, scream, friday the 13th, texas chainsaw massacre, what have you - just never piqued my interest. maybe some day)

(also these are in no particular order)

-

1. hellraiser franchise

my working theory is that all "hellraiser" movies are bad movies, but for different reasons. the og from 1987 is a bad movie because it was made on a budget of ten pounds and a packet of crisps. hellraiser 8 is bad because its plot is about a group of teens obsessed with a hellraiser video game getting murdered at a weird sex party. these two are not the same

that being said, i love these movies very much (except for hellraiser 10. i hate hellraiser 10 and will never ever watch it ever again, thank you. no reason) and love to look at pinhead and his many cenobite buddies doing weird kinky shit <3

2. halloween movies (only 1978 and the green trilogy from 2018 onwards)

i haven't seen any of the other ones because i was introduced to the series by my very good friend miri aka @asylos, who showed me those four and no others. and i was like okay :D and just never watched the rest because i don't consume media unless prompted

i'm a basic bitch, i see a man in a jumpsuit and get gender envy, so og twink michael delights me. that being said, old man michael from the green trilogy? CHEF'S KISS. love that fucker. he's the best

3. anything del toro

a lot of his films don't really stay within the constraints of a single genre, but they definitely contain horror elements. my favourite is "the shape of water", which has its moments but is overall not that scary. the pale man from "pan's labyrinth" made quite the impression on me when i first saw the movie because while i had seen the iconic shot of him raising his hands to reveal the Palm Eyes before, i was unaware of the fact that that fucker gets up and shambles around and i was Not Okay with that

crimson peak is very pretty and i love it. for obvious reasons, i think

4. willy's wonderland

nic cage night janitor animatronic murder fight bonanza my beloved. like honestly, i watched the fnaf movie yesterday and it had zero good cleaning montages, wasn't as funny and had fewer bangers, music-wise, than willy's does. like what's the fuckin point

5. fright night 2011

this film has david tennant in it and that's why i watched it. apart from him being an absolutely show-stealing delight, the rest of the film is also a fun romp. there's vampires and stuff

6. bad samaritan

this film ALSO has david tennant in it. he's doing an american accent (a way better one than in "gracepoint", a show that you should Not watch. just watch "broadchurch" instead please, i promise you're not missing anything) and is playing a rich asshole obsessed with horses who abducts and kills women. also he throws a phone out of a car window at two separate occasions and it cracks me up

the main character is played by some actor whose name i can never remember. he's irish or something and i think he might have been in one of those pieces of media i haven't consumed. umbrella academy? was he klaus in umbrella academy? who's klaus?? is klaus FROM umbrella academy? who knows

anyway, the film is a thriller and i quite like watching it. it's tense with zero unnecessary padding, it knows what it's here for and delivers

7. the thing 1982 + 2011

another one i watched with miri. miri likes to show me horror films (and tv shows) a lot <3 we watched both the og and the new one and i quite liked them! the dog in the 82 one is really really good at his job. i highkey struggle with big groups of characters bc i can't remember names and faces for shit, so i was reeeally bad at spotting the Thing. also i liked the teeth thing from the 2011 one that was smart

8. bunny lake is missing

does this count as a horror movie? idk, but i'm putting it here

9. psycho

it's pretty good. i liked it. i think norman would have been a tumblr sexyman if such a thing had existed in the 1960s

10. the one hour long space horror segment trapped in the middle of otherwise meandering artfilm "2001: a space odyssey"

you know the one

11. alien

classic. i haven't seen any of the others apart from "aliens" because the internet said they were bad

12. the abyss

veers closer to sci-fi than horror, but i'm counting it bc it sure is tense. this is a film by james cameron about *checks smudged handwriting* some underwater diving alien nonsense or something. idk, it's been a while since i've watched it. another movie with a big group of characters i can't tell apart for shit, which is why i'm always rooting for some of them to start dying already

i watched this one because i unfortunately am doing a handshake meme with jimmy cameron labelled "hello i am obsessed with the ocean" and unlike me, he has the money to make really long epic films about it

13. the haunting 1963

this is a movie adaptation of "the haunting of hill house" by shirley jackson. it's very good! (if you're familiar with flanagan's netflix show, there are some parts of this movie that will be... quite familiar)

i watched this one with miri, followed immediately by the 1999 remake (?), which i found very strange and occasionally hilarious because of cgi that hasn't stood the test of time. also, i'd like it to be put on record that i fuckin CALLED the thing about the fireplace (somehow lol)

14. rocky horror picture show

my parents showed me this movie when i was maybe a bit too young to see it, at a point in my life where i hadn't quite figured out yet that i was various shades of queer. it sure made an Impression

many years later, i finally got around to watching the sequel, "shock treatment" (thanks to miri, of course) which is very different but also a good time, and has some bangers of its own!

-

those are all the ones i can think of (and look up in the big movie watchlist google doc miri and i use to keep track of what we've seen so far) without digging through my dvd collection, which i don't feel like doing right now because it'd be a bother.

but just for fun, a few brief honourable mentions:

the shining (i care about shelley duvall and nothing else. so glad she got to punt jack nicholson's character down a flight of stairs with a baseball bat)

black christmas (keir dullea what IS your haircut shgsjfghs)

cabin in the woods (i knew nothing going in and miri was very pleased by this fact)

house on haunted hill 1959 (skeleton lol)

young frankenstein (my parents showed me the german dub version when i was, again, a bit too young for it. iconic movie tbh)

[xxbrightshadowxx]

Trolls Band Together Review

Huh. Didn’t think I’d be doing this. But here we are. I watched the new trolls movie on Saturday and have rewatched three times on ‘legal’ sites to see how I felt about it.

And I give it, a 7.3/10. Now while that doesn’t sound the best, my ratings go like this.

0-Toy Story 4

.5-This is the worst piece of shit I have ever seen

1-who thought this was a good idea

1.5-this is fricking terrible

2-this is a bad movie

2.5-I can see the vision but the writing is terrible

3-if you squint, you can see one good thing about this film

3.5-this is the type of film where, you have to get drunk to enjoy

4-not good but not terrible

4.5-I feel nothing towards this movie

5-mediocrity at its finest

5.5-this is a decent movie

6-not bad

6.5-I enjoyed this more then I should

7-This is an enjoyable movie I’d be willing to watch it multiple times

7.5-This is a good movie

8-Probably will obsess over this movie for a while

8.5-this is a great movie

9-This a fantastic movie, holy sh-

9.5-This will be on my top five

10-this is a masterpiece aka Toy Story 3

Now that you know that the rating is good, let me now talk about why I feel like I like this movie.

Cons

Let’s get the negative out of the way before. Quick warning, there will be spoilers so if you haven’t seen the movie and want to, go watch it before my review. Now that’s out of the way, the cons

I’m going to be honest I have a few minor flaws for example: some of the dialogue is a bit off and could’ve been fixed without changing much, the whole talk about Branch and Poppy getting married could’ve been cut, I found Tiny Diamond flat, but these are just personal pet peeves.

I also had a small problem with the ending there’s nothing bad about it but Branch having been in another band doesn’t make sense since he became emo depressed when he was a small baby. And if you wanna say that he joined a band before his grandma died when he was still a baby that still doesn’t make much sense. And if you wanna argue that he joined after the first movie, you can’t tell me poppy didn’t find and if she did, that would lead her to know about BroZone’s.

My real problem is the Poppy’s long lost sister reveal. This section of the movie dragged out for so freaking long. Viva, while interesting, feels so out of place. They took like almost more then twenty minutes of screen time where I feel like it could have been devoted to more Brozone family bonding to make it so when we had the third act breakup more heartbreaking. While you could argue that they needed Viva and Gretchen and the king(I can’t remember his name) in the movie to help Poppy and Branch, you really are going to tell me that Poppy and Branch couldn’t find a different method to get on the boat?

Overall, the biggest problem I have is that I wish they cut Viva out of the movie, simply to tighten up the pacing and to create more time for Branch to get along with his brothers and for to see more of his brothers’ flaws so we could’ve built up to a more dramatic fight scene. If you still want the scene with Gretchen and Viva and the king, then I feel like it should’ve been a short. I personally think that it would’ve worked better as a short where the bergen king and queen went on a honeymoon and witness the damage the Bergens did to the trolls.

Pros

Each movie has its cons and pros and this movie had a decent amount of pros. I’m going to let you guys on a secret. I watched the Wish movie, and I don’t have any major problems like I did with this movie. Do you wanna know what I rated it? 4.5/10. Why did I rate it lower than this movie? Because unlike Wish, I had so much fun with this movie.

This movie was investing and fun and the rule for me is if a movie is so fun that I can ignore some dumb things it does for the first and second watch, then it will automatically get a 4/10 for me.

So other pros? The humor was decent, nothing that me laugh out loud, but some made me smile and I was SO glad to know that there was no poop or fart jokes. I also loved the character designs of Branch’s brothers. (Especially Floyd for…reasons) they look a look like him but the same time don’t which is exactly how me and my sister look.

I also look how depending on which creature we are interacting with, the props that, that character has, matches a different vibe. When we meet Brandy, Spruce’s extremely tall wife, the props such as the cookies look plastic and childlike. That also goes for her design and her kids design. Everything looks as if a 4-6 year old played with it and had unrestricted access to glitter glue. The same goes to the trolls. Everything is whimsy and cheesy, just like they are. Poppy’s scrap book and their homes really shows how small and outdated they are compared to the other creatures. This also applies to Velvet and Veneer. They give 80’s vibes and look so different compared to the other characters. Even though they look like a different artist designed each of the creatures, they all work and look great together not out of place.

Speaking of Velvet and Veneer, I loved them as villains. Not only do they have a good motive that’s not a sad backstory nor they want to just be more evil for no reason, they are iconic. I love their one liners and how stretchy they are. While they couldn’t sing at all, they were gorgeous and I love how they aren’t exactly alike. Veneer reminds me of that one meme of “I can excuse racism but I draw the line at animal cruelty” except replace racism as torture and kidnapping and replace animal cruelty as killing.

Another part I like is Poppy. Not gonna lie I found Poppy slightly annoying in the first movie. But she was funny, sarcastic, and was street smart. However, in the second movie she was so unbearable. Not to mention her and her relationship drama with Branch was boring in the second movie.

In the third she was so much more fun and I didn’t wanna gouge my eyes out when she was being optimistic. It wasn’t over the top and it was helpful in helping Branch. Speaking of Branch, the moment they share when Branch is leaving his brothers is so cute. I’m so glad they didn’t decide to have a third act break up with Poppy with Branch. It was so much more refreshing and it made me find the ship so much more sweeter.

My last pro is the music. While the Trolls movies just do covers, they are damn good at doing covers. Especially when they sang to stop Velvet and Veneer. I loved the beginning and you can never go wrong with Justine Timberlake. He has my favorite vocals out of all the cast.

In conclusion, this movie was by no means ground breaking or brilliant. But this was a good movie and I enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you for me Ted-talk.

[tj-crochets]

Pattern design tips, part one! Part two will have the photos because those are easier to add from my phone and it’s easier to type on my computer, but tumblr hates when I try to do both on the same post lol. I’m going to make it a numbered list so I can more easily connect photos with typed descriptions, but they are numbered only in the order I think of them, not in order of importance or anything. A note: I have only ever designed for minky or fleece. I have zero experience making patterns for non-stretch fabrics. A lot of these tips will probably apply to both, but use your best judgment. 

1. I was wrong, this one is number one for a reason (the rest are in no particular order). It will make pattern designing much much easier if you have something to make drawing the seam allowance easier. I’ve done it a few different ways, but in order from best to worst here’s the methods I’ve used: - two mechanical pencils whose tips happened to measure 1/4″ apart, taped together. Absolutely my favorite (you could use a pencil and a stick, a pen and a marker, whatever, as long as one of them can draw and the other comes to a point so you can have the point trace along the pattern lines while the other side draws the seam allowance line) - adjustable circle drawing compass, set to 1/4″ distance (this works pretty well, but the non-drawing side sometimes catches along the paper and the drawing side is more difficult to replace than adding lead to mechanical pencils) - a 1/4″ square dowel. I lined it up with the outer part of the pattern piece, drew a short mark, moved it, and kept doing it until I had dots spaced around the entire pattern piece and could connect them. Overall, less precise, more difficult to use, but will work in a pinch (aka when you have just moved and can’t find the other methods, if you are me lol) - a ruler. You can use it the same way you use the dowel, to make dots and then connect them, but it’s just the worst. Use one of the first two if you can, it will make your life so much easier 2. fold the paper for symmetry. I know that sounds obvious, but it can help a lot. Sometimes, like with the elephant body, I’ll fold the paper in half, in half again, and then draw the pattern. Most of the time I fold the paper in half whenever I am making a pattern piece that is basically a hemisphere of the plushie; the front half of the head, half the body, really anything at all where I want it to be even sort of symmetrical I will fold the paper in half and only draw half the pattern (tip: leave it folded, add the seam allowance, then cut it out before you unfold. You only have to draw half the seam allowance that way) 3. to match irregular shapes (like a rectangular leg piece with a round bottom of foot piece), measure the edge you want to match of whichever piece you drew first with a pipe cleaner (fold to make the right length) or a piece of yarn (cut to make the right length), and then use that pipe cleaner/yarn to make sure you’re using the right measurements for the other pattern piece. Remember that if you are making a leg that’s two rectangles with a circle at the end, you will need to double the measurement (or, if you fold the paper, remember that you don’t double it). In general, pipe cleaners are easier, but if you want to use yarn you can kind of draw, measure the yarn against what you drew, and adjust from there until it matches. 4. Think about angles, and what shape you want. For the tip of the mantle of the octopus, I knew I wanted it to be essentially flat at the start, with four pieces coming together. That meant I needed each piece to start with approximately a 90 degree angle there, if I wanted them equal. Smaller angles (where the sum of all the angles coming together is less than 360 degrees) will make more of a pointed shape, and larger angles (where the sum is more than 360 degrees) will kind of ruffle? They won’t lie flat. None of those are right or wrong, it just depends on what you are trying to make. Also, since  5. Everywhere says not to pull on the minky while you are sewing, but if you are making something twisty like octopus tentacles and are comfortable realigning pattern pieces as you sew, put tension on one layer of fabric but not the other and it’ll make them twist. That’s less pattern design and more plushie sewing tip, but I’m adding it anyway 6. okay this is also kind of a big one. WHERE TO START WHEN PATTERN DESIGNING: a. have a clear idea what you want to make. Either a sketch you drew, a reference image, or just a very clear mental picture will help a lot b. next, pick the size. The way I usually do this is by determining my limits, which are usually either the amount of a particular fabric I have available (ie the maximum size something can be) or how big the smallest detail I want to make has to be for me to be able to sew it. I usually go by the smaller end of the scale, because I usually make my plushies pretty small. Notably, this is how I decided the size to make my giant frogs; I wanted them to have those treefrog kind of toes, and that was the absolute smallest I could make that shape and not struggle to turn it right side out.  c. draw the pattern for the thing that determines the size of the plushie first. If that means your plushie is limited because you only have a quarter yard of the body fabric, draw the biggest body pattern piece first (and remember seam allowance when drawing it! if it only fits without a seam allowance, it does not fit). From there, use that piece to size the rest of the pieces 7. You do not have to make every pattern piece machine sewable. Some things can be hand sewn on. Gathering stitches to close small round pieces, like the bases of horns, tails, ears, or sometimes limbs, are your friends, and sew is the ladder stitch (for sewing plushie pieces together once they’ve already been turned right side out and stuffed) 8. For small plushies, you might not need darts if you are using stretchy fabric. For larger plushies, you’ll need darts. If you are uncomfortable drawing your own darts (and are not intending to sell the pattern), you can find a pattern that makes a curve similar to the one you are trying to make with the dart, trace it, and make the rest of the shape you are trying to make. Darts can be tricky to figure out, but the best way to do it is to practice making a bunch of things with a bunch of different shapes of darts and seeing how they look when finished 9. for that matter, if you have made plushies using other people’s patterns and are looking to make your own, you have an excellent resource at your fingers! Look at your plushies and see if there are any bits similar to the shapes you want to make, then look at the pattern pieces for those parts. See how other pattern designers chose to make those shapes and you’ll have a better idea where to start if you are stuck on how to make a particular shape. 10. Topstitching can make certain parts of pattern design significantly easier. For the round elephant’s trunk, with the two lines across is, I could have made each half of the trunk three separate pieces, or I could do what I did. I made the trunk two identical pieces, sewed them together across the top half, then topstitched two lines across the top of them to make the lines on the trunk without having to add seams there. 11. Take advantage of the seam lines you’ll be including in the plushie anyway when you can. Mostly for me that means accidentally making frogs and bunnies look super grumpy because the seam lines look like frowns, but I’ve also made an eel pattern where I needed a dart so I added it to the face where it would look like a smile. You don’t have to use seam lines, but you can!

[lord-shitbox]

part 2 of this ask

📝Process for hurt mezu drawing 

here are the steps i dug out of an art server's wips channel lol

1. initial sketch

2. refine sketch. thats lines now babey. (omitted "the sleeves are KILLING ME WAHHH" stage that led to this)

3. grayscale, to use with gradient map (this is a more polished grayscale than I started with, i dug the working file out to get better images)

4. find nice gradient map (ended up being the same one I'd used for the piece i made right before. the goal is to make what's essentially an underpainting, not to color the whole thing with one map)

5. tweak and add colors that arent in the map with hard light layers & also sneak in a layer for special effect and atmospheric/ scenic perspective while you're at it

6. shading & more finishing effects. pretty much all of the shading was done with hard light layers! the only non-hard light layers I used for the shading were the particle effect layers & like one faint glow layer to fix some values. blood was done with linear burn

✨Inspiration for hurt mezu drawing 

the coloring method (grayscale -> saturated gradient map underpainting -> additive color adjustments) is something I tried out with the piece i'd made right before (the one where gozu is holding mezu from behind) & turned out really well, so I wanted to keep going with it

I also wanted to draw them angstily again because it'd been a very long time. like half a year at least. angsting them is very enriching for my soul so I try to do it regularly, this one was overdue

subconsciously referenced the poses in the initial sketch from this old thing (feb 2021). i love doing this. all my for-fun works recycle old elements in some way. my favorite game is "what old art reminds me of what im doing rn" im so good at digging stuff out of my archives for it. everyone loves when i do this

the gangi-kozou panel also

i went through a "shade in bold red-orange & dark blue with hard light layers" phase in like..april/may of 2021. i still like that stuff a lot so I wanted to revisit it

💚Things you like about hurt mezu drawing

repasting the link there but the sixth image in the process is essentially the final so you can just look at that

the colors are nice!! I'm real happy with using more saturated colors n I think the warm vs cool balance works really well

the sleeves (man being dramatic on the sand meme)

no like fr look at the 2021 piece's kimono sleeves vs the one I just did 2.5 years later. so satisfying

Gozu's expression came out nice

i think the claws and flash lines successfully added Emphasis to Gozu's expression & the piece overall

the poses … the drama …. the brush textures are also good

⏳Things you’d do differently with hurt mezu drawing

add in a liiitle more contrast...aka use a wider range of values. Some lighter lights and darker darks. I miss my 2021 hard neon lighting

a bit more distinction between the characters and the background also

the composition isn't bad but it could be better. Should've thought more about the way the eye would flow around the image in the drafting stage (solid b&w color block thumbnails are good for this)

Moar Sparkles. (I put a solid amount of large & low opacity light bubbles in there & some finer brighter dots especially around the claw stems, but I think more clusters of tiny bright lights on the characters themselves would've gone hard)

💌Some favourite feedback on art

as the wise man Austin Kleon once said: keep a "praise file" of all the positive feedback you get (if you've never read "Steal Like an Artist," you must). so. i am prepared for this question hold on

tastes like sugar glass

multiple people have told me my art is soft & dreamlike

jayce you reblogged my touchstarved art with nice tags on april 10th ive got that saved love uou

umm theres a lot...anytime someone keysmashes or feels emotional because of my art i get happy ,,, lys messaged me about the hurt mezu piece that made me happy also,,,,,there is so much joy in the world