#and also i guess i should have made the last two pages connect like i did with the rest of them but i think it still works. thematically

[valgeristik]

Ничего не останется от нас, Нам останемся, в лучшем случае, мы

hi. hello. listen to this song

i have so many thoughts about these two. oh my god. maybe i will write it out some day, but for now drawing it out will do

translation will be under the cut! knowing the words does add to the work so i do recommend reading it. or just enjoy the art <3

Vetted Gaza Evacuation Fundraiser List

E-sims donation

heres the translation, color coded according to how i broke it up for the art. just in casies

first page:

Love is scarier than war

Love strikes more true than steel

second page:

More true, because of your own volition

third page:

You run towards all the winds

Let there be pain and eternal battle

Not atmospheric, not earthly

fourth page:

But definitely with you

caption:

There will be nothing left of us,

we will be left with, in the best case, ourselves

[ohcorny]

How I Made the Colors in Hunger's Bite So Good

first of all: buy my book. buy it and look at the colors. (if you cannot buy the book, ask for it at your local library or i GUESS you can look at these spreads i posted)

we're gonna talk about colors, but more specifically we're going to talk about overlays. if you're an artist you are probably familiar with overlays. we love our overlays. we love to color a picture and then at the very last minute go 'hm. looks bad. i'm going to put a yellowish overlay on it to make it look less bad :)'

do not do this.

i mean you can, and it'll work sometimes, but all you're really doing is tricking your brain into thinking different is better. you've been staring at the image for potentially several hours. none of the choices you made at the beginning mean anything to you anymore. you're just finishing what you started. one of the big reasons you might look at your art and go 'man, this doesn't look that good' is because You drew it and are intimately familiar with it. you know all the flaws and mistakes because You made them and You know what your vision was. one of the great frustrations with art is that the piece in your head doesn't look like something you actually made. you want it to look like somebody else did it, so you can enjoy it as a viewer, not as the creator.

so when you put that overlay on, and suddenly the image looks very different, your brain will go 'this doesn't look like the thing i've been staring at for 2-3 hours! this is different! now it's good!'

and again, sometimes it Is good. but do you actually understand why it's good? or is it just different?

okay so what am i supposed to do smart guy

i'm glad you asked. the trick to making overlays work is to have them on from the start. this requires knowing what mood you want to convey in your scene from the very beginning. hopefully you know what mood you want to convey. you do, right? and i don't just mean happy or sad, i also mean safe, threatened, familiar, strange, soft and harsh. blue is not always sad. green is not always healthy. yellow/orange are not the only way to convey a companionable warmth.

okay did you pick the mood? do you have an idea of what color you want to use to represent that mood? great. i'm gonna use blue to convey the cool, clean white of a ship's maintenance corridor without making things literally white. and i'm going to stick in two characters whose color palettes consist of bright yellow, brown, and wine red. awesome. i definitely know how those colors would behave under blue lighting.

(here's the thing: no i don't.) this is where a gradient map correction layer comes in. i want my page to be Blue. alright. let's make a gradient map that's Blue.

a gradient map is basically just A Gradient with specific colors connected to specific values. you have your darkest values on the left, and your lighter values on the right. at 100% opacity, this gradient map layer will read the value of anything below it and go 'okay this bit is this dark, so it should be This shade of blue. and this bit is this light, so it should be This shade of blue'.

kind of like a hue or color layer except determined by a gradient rather than one color, so it could also go 'this is light, so it's green' and 'this is dark, so it's purple'. it's math. i don't really get it either. but anyway this is probably not what you want if you want your characters' palettes to be recognizable. emery's sweater is supposed to be a wine red! neeta's skin should be brown, and her shirt should be yellow. these are their Key Colors. generally, i want them to be recognizable. so let's lower that opacity down.

nice! you can definitely now see that emery's sweater is red and neeta's shirt is yellow. and everything is relatively balanced. nothing is too saturated, nothing is significantly brighter than anything else. it's all got a little bit of blue in it. but i've skipped the step of actually picking your colors. because here's the thing with gradient maps.

they hate you and want to fight. when working with gradient maps you must imagine there is a monkey sitting on your shoulder dumping paint in every time you pick a color. the monkey has a tube of blue and he is going to put that blue into everything you paint, but it's not normal paint. it doesn't mix, it overtakes. it won't turn something yellow into green, it will turn it blue. it wants everything to be blue. if you want something to look like the color it's supposed to be, you will have to make it extremely saturated under the layer to essentially fight the paint monkey's blue. hence, emery's sweater is a BRIGHT red, so it will look a little more purpley under the blue. and neeta's skin is very orange, so it can be dulled down into a soft brown.

this is the sort of thing you will have to learn by feel, because it will be different with every gradient map, especially if you start getting into weird ones that aren't monochromatic. you want to know one of my favorite maps to use?

i have memorized where on the value scale all of these colors appear. i can color something using only shades of gray when i have this filter on. i am evolved. if you want to use gradient maps effectively, you'll have to get a lot of practice.

anyway this post got really long and i'm about to go to a movie so i'll talk about how to use screen/multiply/overlay layers later. but gradient maps are the main tool i used to make hunger's bite's palettes so unified across scenes. but you can see way above how they work to turn insane saturated colors into the nice harmonies--and the trick is that i'll never see those saturated colors while i'm working. because i have accepted the paint pouring monkey into my heart, and i trust him. except when i'm coloring wick's coat. holy mother of god every gradient map hated that man's purple coat.

[riddles-n-games]

Hey guys, I've been seeing another rift going on in the fandom regarding TGG and TIG characters, so I've decided to make a statement that can hopefully make things more cohesive.

I understand that not everyone likes the new spin-off and honestly, I'm considering just stopping after GU. Personally, I don't have anything against the characters of TGG but my problem is that they sound too much like our old mains. However, that's not their fault. It's the author's. There's nothing wrong with JLB wanting to expand the TIG universe but it is problematic when you are repeating the same character arcs of the old characters that are also present and interacting with these new mains. The problem that we face is the fact while even in The Naturals there are similar characters, they are divided by different series. However, that is not going on here with TIG and TGG. TGG is a continuation of TIG and our TIG characters are still present. Heck, one of our old mains is a player and a love interest here to one of the new mains. And therein lies the issue. When you have a connected series, it's important to have distinguished characters with different voices, not carbon copies.

What I expected for TGG characters was that she would move from the character tropes we've seen already in the series and come up with new ones. I mean, come on, she's a psychology major, we bring that up so often but what's the point when she keeps going in circles and never brings up anything new? I pointed a lot of this out pre-read because I already correctly guessed where this was going within just a few pages of reveal. Don't get me wrong, if she wanted to, she could do it but it doesn't feel like she has new plans or plots. Be honest with yourselves and don't just praise because she's your favorite author. You can be a reader, a fan, and a respectful critic all at the same time. Don't lower your expectations just because they can't deliver every time.

The trouble is that when you go back to TFG, in the acknowledgments, she herself wrote she wasn't sure there was going to be a third book. And now look, suddenly two books were announced a month or two after she released the last book of the trilogy which introduced our mains and not the most fashionably. I do believe she had ideas but I don't think they were the best fleshed out. You have to realize that just reading TGG, how many of you recognized the obvious plots, the romantic subplots, the character arcs, and even the semi-hidden plots just getting to the halfway point? And how many of you said, hey, wait a minute, we've had this plotline before? You did, didn't you? I want to give Jennifer the benefit of the doubt but I truly think she is in over her head because I don't believe she quite thought that this is how long the series would go.

In fact, I think that she is making more trouble for herself in trying multi POV for this new series when really I think it should have just been Gray taking over. It would have allowed us to see how he's grown especially after the heartache and mental health issues he's had to go through to get here. It felt like the obvious next step, even the summary for TGG made it sound like that. However, the only thing that seems new to me is the hypersexual atmosphere which also makes no sense to me because teens may go through attraction but that doesn't mean they're horny all the time and anyone who's gone through puberty can attest to that. So I ask again, like one reviewer on Goodreads put, were the romantic moments in the room with us? 12 hours is not love or romance, it's lust, that's it. Couldn't summarize it clearer. If she wanted to make it better, it could have been that she made the book stretch over a series of weeks which is why I wonder what the heck will happen to any character development if this book series is done in like 3 days?

As I said, a lot of things feel very repetitive, the plot, word choice, thought processes, quotes and sayings, etc. We are in a loop. She's in a loop. I think that the best thing JLB could have done is leave TIG alone for a few years after TFG, make a new series or whatever works outside this series she wanted to, give herself time to truly see if she has new stories to tell for TIG by writing a spin-off and then come back to give us that content. Because it's really telling how forced things have been in the last two books, even here with GU and I really think this empire is toppling. As they say, quality over quantity and thoughtful than full of thoughts that are just a variation of one another. That's what makes me think more and more she should have left it at TFG.

Thank you for reading and I hope this gives a new perspective that can help you see some things more clearly.

[starlene]

Anne of the Island Book Club: Chapters 40 & 41

It looks like I won't have much time for reading and writing tomorrow, and I don't want to queue my final post – so I think I'll just put my thoughts about the last two chapters here in this post instead, ahead of schedule. Read at your own peril!

~

Let me kick off this double post by saying, oh no, Davy!! He knows all the village gossip, but he seriously needs to learn where and when to spill the tea...

Anyway, it's interesting to compare Mrs. Lynde's reaction to Gilbert being ill vs. Ruby being ill. She was pretty callous about Ruby, but here... Of course, the implication is that they all know Anne is in love with Gilbert, and that's why Mrs. Lynde is choosing her words so carefully – but somehow, seeing how kind she can be makes her earlier coldness re: Ruby feel even colder. Oh well, it's good that she's not being insensitive now, in any case. Also, I think it's sort of interesting that it's Mrs. Lynde instead of Marilla who's comforting Anne here, but maybe it makes sense.

This is such a dramatic, memorable chapter – but wow, the pacing here is a lot faster than I remembered. Anne's big revelation, despair and relief are dealt with in just a couple of pages. I guess I feel like it should be longer than that just because the emotions that are being described are so huge!

The detail about Pacifique being on the move because his father is sick feels meaningful to me, somehow. Maybe it's his turn to feel anguished about a loved one soon – but that's not what this story is about. His role here is just to be the bearer of good news.

~

I don't have many negative thoughts about the final chapter, don't worry... but here's one: boy, is a man thinking about his beloved's arms and throat as "virginal" icky to me. Just ew. Ick!

But onwards to more positive thoughts: I really like the detail of Anne's certainty about Gilbert's emotions fading. It feels very realistic. Doubt comes in and chills the air... but not for long.

I'm not much of a romantic at heart, so I'm sure everyone else will be better suited to comment on the ending... But I'll say it's interesting how Anne tries to sidetrack Gilbert by talking about nature again, just like she did before his first proposal. Maybe it's just something she always does when she's nervous, no matter if it's a good kind of nervous or a bad kind.

And thank goodness for Phil and her frankness! She's the true Amor and matchmaker that made this happy ending possible. I had forgotten about that detail, and I'm happy I did – it wouldn't have made me smile so widely this time if I had remembered it.

What a sweet ending, what else is there even to say! It makes me feel happy and nostalgic and a little tearful, all at once.

~

I remember that ages ago, I read it somewhere that LMM was a little bit frustrated sometimes that she couldn't really say anything about sexuality or physical attraction in her books. For whatever reason, my mind connects that little factlet with the ending of this book.

I'd like to get my facts about this straight, so: does anyone know if LMM really expressed frustration about that? And if she did, did it really have something to do with Anne and Gilbert in particular, or did I make that connection up?

~

I'll be back later to read what everyone else has to say about the ending. But, as a wrap-up of my own posts, I want to say it's been so interesting and fun to take a look at a beloved book chapter by chapter like this; I've never book-clubbed before, but I'm so glad I happened to stumble across just this one.

So, thank you, Tumblr's For You page, for bringing me @batrachised's original post about this book club – and thank you for sharing your insights, everybody! <3

[crochetedblorbos]

"We'll all go and be fucking wombles, aye?"

Character Name: Declan Buchanan

Fandom: @realmspod, Liminal London campaigns [Podcast]

Played By: Pip Gladwin

Yarn Used: Hair: CraftSmart Value - Taupe Skin: CraftSmart Value - Mushroom Antlers: CraftSmart Value - Coffee Shirt: CraftSmart Value - Grey Ombre Trousers/Soles: CraftSmart Value - Wine Shoes/Belt: CraftSmart Value - Dark Chocolate

Basic pattern here.

Everybody’s favorite pathetic wet cat of a man depressed alcoholic fae-cursed private investigator! While I was frantically crocheting Monty to get him ready in time to hug him when he really needed it, I was not expecting Declan to need the hugs more. Damn the shiny math rocks, but holy hell, what a way to play that. Anyway, before Series 5 drops and we find out who’s going to destroy this man first, Zack or Pip, I wanted to get him done. (And I did - with a whole four days to spare! Go me!) He varies from the basic pattern as follows:

Shoes: Hey, I remembered the different colored soles again! Declan is described as tall and thin, so like with Mini, I did another round of decrease at R7 of both shoes (sc in first 7 st, inv dec 3 times, sc in next 2 sts, join) to make his legs twelve stitches around. I then did R8 as straight stitching with the shoe color before I switched to the trousers. (The other thing I did, which I should have been doing long ago, was the round before I changed color, I did the sl st to join in the color of the next row.)

Trousers: Again, tall, thin Declan. Mostly I worked his legs the same as usual, just in rounds of twelve instead of fifteen, but I also made them longer, so they went from R9 (the hdc row for hem) to R34 before I joined them together. I only used a chain of three to connect his legs, too, giving his waist a circumference of 30 stitches as opposed to the usual 38. For the belt, I went five rows above the…well…groin, switched to the belt color, and did a round of fpdc around the round two below like I did with the hem of Joseph’s hoodie. Then I switched back to the trousers color and did a round of sc in the back loop of the fpdc and front loop of the last round of trousers. For the belt loops, every four or five stitches I inserted the hook into the row below the belt, drew up a loop, and then pulled the next stitch through both that loop and the loop already on the hook. (I was kind of pleased with that, actually.)

Shirt: Hey, kids, know what the difference between variegated, self-striping, and ombre is? Ombres go FOR-FUCKING-EVER before they change color! (: Oh, well, it worked out, I guess. I didn’t really vary him all that much here except that I just went straight up with rounds of 30 (and also made his torso a bit longer) before decreasing at the shoulders.

Head: I frogged it. Several times, actually. I wasn’t happy with my stitches and I definitely wasn’t happy with my initial color choices and I also did what I consider the worst attempt at “a sort of perpetual five o’clock shadow” in the history of crochet, and the second time I accidentally added an extra round of increases and several extra rounds in between the increases and decreases - as I put it in the official Realms of Peril & Glory Discord, “He head too big for he got damn he” (remember this meme, guys?) - but eventually I got it right. (Visit his page on my website to see rejected progress pics.) I added one (1) extra round between increase and decrease in the final version as well to give him a slightly longer face, and I think it worked. For the five o’clock shadow, I just used the hair color for part of his face in a pattern that looked and felt right to me, leaving space for the mouth. Once again, I used safety eyes; the pack I bought has basically clear eyes and a bunch of discs you can put behind them to customize the colors, so I decided to give him pink eyes like they’re bloodshot.

Hair: I tried a new technique here. For each stitch beyond the hairline, I did a two-strand puff stitch (insert hook in next st, yo, draw up loop, yo, insert hook in same st, yo, draw up loop, yo, draw through all loops on hook), and I really like the effect!

Arms: There was just enough of the next color in the ombre to make it almost all the way up both arms and I’m trying not to be annoyed about it. Anyway, I started his arms on a base of four sc instead of five, then otherwise proceeded the same way I did for Joseph and Monty’s except that I made them longer (29 rounds total, I believe).

Antlers: I can’t share the exact pattern here because it’s copyrighted, but I used the pattern for jackalope antlers in Crochet Creatures of Myth and Legend by Megan Lapp (and if you click that link, check out her other patterns - they look AMAZING and if I wasn’t already approaching PELE I would be buying some of those). Declan usually grinds them off as soon as he wakes up, so this is just-woke-up-from-a-nap-and-can’t-find-his-angle-grinder-yet Deccy Boi.

[bubblegum-blackwood]

13 Books Tag Game

Tagged by @mothmage 🖤

1) The last book I read:

Ghost Of by Diana Khoi Nguyen. This is a book of poetry I read for my Intro to Poetry class - it deals heavily with grief, having been written in the aftermath of the death of the author's brother, and if you like free verse, concrete poems, or stream-of-consciousness-like verse, this would definitely be something to check out. Also Othello by William Shakespeare :3

2) A book I recommend:

If We Were Villains by ML Rio! It's about a bunch of theatre kids going to an arts conservatory to study Shakespeare. People fuck, people do drugs, people get murdered, and like half the cast is gay and repressed about it. The prose is really vivid, and overall, I'm just super impressed with the story and the characters Rio created!

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. I know this is a Vampire Chronicles blog so that seems rather obvious but I truly was captivated by this book. Checking it out from the library was one of the best decisions I ever made.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

I'm going to cheat for this one and do a play instead: Hamlet by William Shakespeare. I first read it in school in junior high, then again on my own my sophomore year of high school, and I've flipped through it several times since then. As much as I love other Shakespeare plays like Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet, I never seem to run out of things to say about Hamlet. It's just so rich.

5) A book on my TBR:

Ohhhh soooo many sdljkfklfjasklfsjlkjfskl. But my friend gifted me Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth for my birthday and I figure I should get around to it at some point 😅

6) A book I’ve put down:

A year or two ago, my mother came home from Target with Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris by Anne and Christopher Rice, because she saw our goth mom's name and figured I'd appreciate it since I like the Vampire Chronicles. It's not the first in the series, and I was having a hard time connecting to these random new characters, so I closed the book after a few pages and it's been sitting untouched on my bookshelf ever since 😅

7) A book on my wish list:

Every year for my birthday and Christmas I ask for one or two Shakespeare plays because I want to collect the full set (of all the ones I'm interested in LOL). Next on the list is The Comedy of Errors.

8) A favorite book from childhood:

Ummmm I'm trying to think. I have an abridged version of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott that I read several times in fifth and sixth grade, so I'll go with that. (hilariously, I remember almost nothing about the plot of the book now)

9) A book you would give to a friend:

I'll go with Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen because that is currently the book that I have been badgering my bestie to read lol

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own

The aforementioned Ghost Of but also Girl's Guide to Leaving by Laura Villareal, also something I read for my poetry class, and also something I would totally recommend!

11) A nonfiction book you own:

So many, mostly for school. Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions by Lisa Wade and Myra Marx Feree (3rd edition) is something I bought for my sociology of gender class a few semesters ago, and I would highly recommend! It is very enlightening and full of interesting facts.

12) What are you currently reading:

Blood Canticle by Anne Rice! It's wacky as fuck but you know what, I'm actually enjoying myself. I just haven't gotten very far because I'm super busy with school this semester so I haven't had as much time to read for pleasure sadtoad.jpg

13) What are you planning on reading next?

The next play my Shakespeare class is reading is The Taming of the Shrew, so I guess technically that sfdasffasdf. For VC, I'll move on to Prince Lestat after finishing BCan.

tagging: @fofoqueirah @hekateinhell @covenofthearticulate @dorianslayyy and @leslutdepointedulac

[semper-legens]

29. Hidden, by PC and Kristin Cast

Owned: No, library Page count: 302 My summary: The truth is out. The world know how terrible Neferet is - or, at least, they should. But while she's been shunned from the House of Night, Neferet is working her evil magic on the humans surrounding it. She's conned herself into the mayor's office, into a penthouse suite, and into a dangerous position for Zoey and her friends. The Darkness still needs sacrifices. And what better victim than Grandma Redbird? My rating: 1/5 My commentary:

Speedrun, speedrun, only got three more of these let's go! What else is there to say about the House of Night at this point? Not a lot. It's still bad, it's still offensive and bigoted, it's still a giant piece of shit. And I'm still getting a perverse kind of joy from seeing just how bad it is. Seriously, though I'm going to be glad to see the back of this series, I don't actually regret having read it. If nothing else, it's a great what-not-to-do when it comes to crafting a story. Just do the absolute opposite of House of Night, and you've made a reasonably solid story! Yay! Anyway, let's get into it.

So, picking up from the pointlessness last time, we kick off here with Lenobia and a fire in the stables. And we learn one more thing about Lenobia! Is it about her as a character, or about her relationship to sex and romance? Surprise! The latter. Yeah, turns out Lenobia's pointless sexy cowboy is actually the reincarnation of her lost love from when she first came to America in the 1700s. After he died (because she failed to save him, natch) she swore she'd never love another person. Travis is that guy's soul come back to her after so long, and it's a stupid plot point for two reasons. Reason one - the dead lover was a black man from New Orleans, while Travis is explicitly white. Which…is not a good look. Black lover is fridged, white lover is endgame. Given that the only other men of colour are Kalona and Rephaim (maybe? I don't remember if Rephaim is actually described as looking Cherokee) this is not a particularly good look. Reason two - we're just doing soulmates, I guess. Lenobia has exactly one person she's allowed to be in a relationship ever. Zoey's thing with Heath (more on that later) is a very similar vibe, they're just ~cosmically connected~ and so they've gotta be endgame. People aren't allowed to develop attractions to each other! Don't be silly! You've got to get with the one person you're cosmically destined to be with! Bleh.

Most of the ongoing plot of this one concerns Neferet's rise in human society, a plot point that…does not really go anywhere. It's not even that Neferet needs to struggle to get to the top in human society, she literally just goes up to the mayor like 'you support me unconditionally now' and he's like 'duh you're hot okay sure'. It's bizarre how mundane the conflict between Neferet and Team Zoey is here. Team Zoey are trying to make her seem like a disgruntled ex-employee, and both sides are using the news media to influence people to their way of thinking. Which, given that Neferet's 'exposing' Stark as a murderer, feels…disproportionate? The worldbuilding, or lack thereof, is being thrown into focus here. Surely the police would have something to say about Stark being a murderer? Like, it's established that the vamps are allowed by the police to take care of their own security and policing and such, which is fine, but a) this has not come up so often and b) the amount of vamps there are in the world makes this suspect? At various points, the worldwide vamp population has been implied to both be substantial and not so much. Almost every celebrity has been said to be a vamp in this world, and yet vamp numbers are actually small enough that the world governments apparently just let them take care of themselves with no other oversight. Vampires are supposed to be both incredibly powerful and influential and also a minority, both at the same time? It's vague to the point where you're obviously not meant to think about it, but incidents like this just bring into light the fact that it hasn't been well thought through. Hey, Casts? If you're not gonna worldbuild this stuff, don't bring it up.

More Aurox…ugh. Once again, we're circling the 'badboy redeemed' trope. Honestly, it wouldn't even bug me that much if it wasn't exactly the damn same every time it showed up. The Boy has done some shitty things, but feels bad about them and wants to change. Some people won't give him the time of day, but at least one other person, usually his love interest, is ride or die for him and totally believes he has changed. Over time, the change is proved to be correct, usually with one big heroic action. Stark, Rephaim, and Kalona have all had this arc. Can we have a different arc please. It's getting boring.

So the big climax to this one comes when Neferet kidnaps Grandma Redbird to use her as a sacrifice to the Darkness, which means it's time to talk about Grandma a bit more. Grandma is Zoey's Cherokee grandmother. That is also the extent of her characterisation. She is loving, forgiving, spiritual, and always knows the right thing to say. Everyone loves her. She has no flaws. She is perfect. She knows everything. And she's boring as hell. She's not a character, she's a plot device! Grandma Redbird exists either to be a perfect moral guide or to give exposition about Cherokee culture and spiritual practice (which, as we've talked about previously, isn't by necessity actual Cherokee culture). Oh, and to be in danger. This is, what, the third time her life's been endangered? There's no tension in it anymore, because there's no way that the Casts will actually have anything bad happen to her. Zoey's mother can die, because she was a bitch, but Grandma? Nah, she's too good to die. I never got the feeling here that anything bad was actually gonna happen to her, because she's bounced back from being the damsel in distress so many times.

And finally…good Lord, I cannot believe that it has taken me this long to realise exactly what's wrong with Nyx as a plot element. To be fair, I haven't given much thought to Nyx as a character to this point; she literally just shows up to be a perfect mother goddess and be right about everything and then disappear. But the climax of this book comes about when Zoey and co are scared and unsure of what to do about Neferet kidnapping Grandma Redbird. Zoey prays to Nyx, and essentially gets the answer that she needs to stop cowering in the darkness and actually do something. All very fine and well, and even a half-decent plot beat. The thing is that how the plot actually resolves is that Kramisha gives Zoey one of her prophetic poems, and it tells Zoey exactly what to do to save the day. And since Nyx gives Kramisha her visions, this is essentially just Nyx ssaving the day with Zoey as a conduit. And the problem with all of this is that it's the worst of the conservative Christian idea of God and humankind's relationship to God. God is infallible and doing what He wants will always solve your problem. Nyx is always right, and finding what Nyx wants you to do, even if it's hard, is always the right path. Zoey has free will, but pretty much any path other than specifically what Nyx wants her to do is usually wrong. I don't know much about what the Casts believe theologically, but I really wouldn't be surprised if it was a 'raised Christian, switched to 70s Neo-Paganism' kind of thing, because Nyx here just reads as if the Casts switched Christian God for a mother goddess without really changing anything about how they percieve this deity and their relationship to said deity. I've been getting the vibe as we go through the series that Nyx does some shitty things, but I'm not sure I was meant to? Her forgiveness of people like Kalona and Rephraim seems overly punitive at times, but at this late stage in the series there's no room for that to be an arc or anything, I think we're supposed to take as read that Nyx is perfect. And that just skeeves me out in general.

Next, I told you it was a speedrun! The penultimate installment of the House of Night series!

[amazing-spiderling]

fandom ask game: 1 8 12 15 16 17 21

the character everyone gets wrong

Okay, I don't know that this is *wrong*, per se- but I think the ITSV characterization of Gwen Stacy has everyone thinking that Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider/Whatever is this like... cool, super competent hero with an unwavering sense of right and wrong while her incarnation in the comics is just about as far from that as can be. For starters, Gwen is older, at least 19 to start but the story spans at least a year, maybe more. She's also a certified mess, and she makes a lot of mistakes and missteps and spends a lot of time disappointing people, and we didn't get a sense of that in ITSV. That's fine, because at the end of the day it was Miles' story, but even making her a ballerina with sick dance moves instead of a "she gets by because she has powers" fighter just makes her seem way more put together than she is. I'd like to see more of "barely holding it together like she's made out of masking tape and old corn dog sticks" Gwen in fanworks.

common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

That there is a "best" Spider-Man. You are 1000% entitled to your *favorite* Spider-Man, but the character has been so many things over so many years and mediums, each geared towards a different audience- people who try and put some sort of objective judgement on something like that are just stating their personal opinion as though it's fact.

If you don't like a certain incarnation or love another one, that's fine! Just own that as your personal opinion.

All the Spideys are friends and love each other, even when they fight.

the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

IDK about unpopular? What does that even mean these days... I guess I'll interpret it as "characters that need more time in the sun"?

I have a soft spot for Arach-Knight (the Moon Knight/Spider-Man hybrid from the Infinity Warps comic) and I wish there was more fan content of him. I think it was a genius mash up, because so much of Spider-Man's internal conflict comes from an inability to compartmentalize the different parts of his life, but Arach-Knight is this great example of compartmentalization gone too far. I believe the implication is that the 616 gang is aware of the temporary folding of the universe? So in theory they might still retain some memories of their Warp selves? If I was a faster writer, I'd love to explore what that means for 616 Peter.

Oh, and shout out to Last Devil, silent hero from like 5 pages of Spider-Man/Daredevil. We barely knew ye, but I found myself very compelled. The design, the implications of a Daredevil who has a connection to the Hand... there's so much going on there, I want to crack him open like a geode.

Second shout-out to Weapon Xi (the "not deadpool" from X-Men Origins: Wolverine) because as bizarre as that interpretation was, the character has the potential for so much ANGST and I want it.

that one thing you see in fanart all the time

Alright, I guess the point is to be spicy, so I'll go ahead and say it. I've reached my quota of "twinky goodboy uwu Matt being manhandled by big stwong Frank" artwork. I'm good. We can stop.

you can’t understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

When they were handing out the part of the brain that ships Wolverine and Nightcrawler, I guess I was getting second helpings of "love Nightcrawler". It's not that I dislike the pairing, or even that it squicks me, it just does nothing for me. I nothing it. I see tons of beautiful art (and I've read a few fics) but I might as well be looking a a photograph of a very nice car for all the warm feelings it stirs in me.

The wild thing is!!!! I LOVE friends to lovers. Love some best buddies who mean the world to one another that come to mean even more. I just...??? I don't know. There's some kind of blinders on me when it comes to those two. Maybe this isn't the answer to this question bc it's more about my own inability to like something than not being able to understand other people's interest in it.

I think I also have a tendency to try really hard to understand why people like the things they do. Like, even if a dish is not for me, I'm still able to say, "I do not want to eat this, but someone who loves spicy food would be crazy for it." And I have that approach to fandom stuff too- so with *most* things I think I have some understanding of *why* it has a fandom, or what the appeal is.

there should be more of this type of fic/art

Stuff based on the Marvel 1602 universe. I really want to take a stab at doing some artwork of this at some point (after my current projects give me some breathing room) but gosh. I'm surprised more people aren't playing in this universe. Maybe it's because the books came out before the MCU boom? Maybe because they're kind of dense or historical based AUs don't interest people? I just feel like it's fertile soil and gosh, drops just enough crumbs for us to use to make a whole meal.

part of canon you think is overhyped

A lot of the classic X-Men stories. I don't know if it's fandom that lauds them as the best thing ever or just the people making media that are convinced the stories that were popular four decades ago still hold up, but like... some of those stories were revolutionary because it was the first time we'd seen the concept in comics- but that was decades ago. The concept of a hero being pushed over the brink and embracing evil is very well explored now. We don't need ANOTHER Dark Phoenix story. My hope is that if/when the X-Men enter the MCU, we really embrace some of the weird stories that team has been through.

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

DO IT let me hear you ramble about sksw

Ok. So. At first glance, Skyward Sword seems like a perfectly normal game, with one unified timeline that you travel along, right?

WRONG! IT IS THREE DIFFERENT TIMELINES IN A TRENCHCOAT!!!

Let's start with something simple. The Gate of Time lets you travel back in time, make a change, and return to your original timeline, which is now changed, as evidenced by the Tree of Life. True, yes?

NO. NO IT IS FUCKING NOT.

(It was at this point that she grabbed a notebook from her overstuffed desk drawer. The pages were oddly wrinkled.)

Fun fact: you can see the amber that Zelda is in at the very beginning of the game. By this logic, you should also see the Tree of Life. You don't. This is a game mechanic. It's a game mechanic that I REALLY DON'T LIKE.

(For the sake of my sanity, we will not be discussing timeshift stones. They just confuse me, really)

What does this mean? It means that time is fucking fluid, I guess, and that the present means nothing because changes made in your future to your past will also affect your current present, and not just your future present, which… Yeah, that makes sense.

You COULD say that actually, you travel back, make a change and cause a split, and then travel forward to the split's future. This means Link is actually abandoning timelines (three in total are abandoned, one when Zelda travels back (Link is somehow connected to this one), one when Link travels back to meet Zelda (if Zelda wakes up, I guess she can fight off Demise again?), and one when he plants the tree (same as the last one, regarding its fate).)

Except, um, no it doesn't! Because the amber is visible in Link's original timeline! This means that it's not a case of splitting and abandoning timelines (hehe pun)! (Also Demise likely would've escaped and killed everyone.)

I have not found a way to explain the tree and the amber, thus I will not. We will ignore it. It is a game mechanic and will only further complicate this. This does not mean I will not be eternally upset about this. Perhaps, one day, I'll be able to come with something that doesn't make me sound crazy

Now, let's continue on to the REAL, ACTUALLY "SOLVABLE" PROBLEM.

I call this section: two Zeldas. (This is where my notebook is used, to construct a visual for me. It's really shitty. Spoiler: I ended up never using it.)

Timeline A:

Link retrieves the Triforce. He wishes for the Imprisoned to be killed, and this wish is fulfilled by the Goddess Statue descending and crushing it

Zelda awakens

Zelda is kidnapped by Ghirahim, who then travels to timeline B

Timeline B

Link arrives, ritual begins

Demise is resurrected

Demise is killed (split solidifies)

Master Sword is laid to rest

Zelda gives Impa one of her bracelets

They travel through the Gate of Time, it self destructs

Granny/the old woman reveals herself to be Impa

She dies, we get one final look at the Master Sword (amber not visible behind it) before

CREDITS ROLL

Fast forward: Link and Zelda stand on top of the Goddess Statue

Timeline A

What? How are they doing that? The statue's descent was clearly a timeline A event! Shouldn't we be in timeline B right now, since we saw old Impa and the Master Sword?!

Oh, I get it! The timelines merged! This makes sense!

Wait a second. This… Why would that happen?

Timeline ?

Uh, okay… oh! Impa took the Master Sword to Lanayru, traveled to timeline A's past, because there is clearly an option for this, and that's why it's possible!

Oh, right. The deactivated Gate of Time in Lanayru is clearly visible in both the Wii and HD versions of the game.

So… what happened? How did they reach timeline A? Could it perhaps…

Solution:

A merged timeli– THAT'S WHAT YOU THOUGHT I WOULD SAY, RIGHT?

Okay. I know this is all just to make the game nice and neat. However, I, an avid lover of all things time travel, FUCKING HATE IT.

A normal person, upon reaching this point, would conclude that, uh, maybe Link and Zelda just brought down the Statue anyway, and they're still in timeline B? Yeah, that's good. I, a normal person, will stop here.

CLEARLY, I AM NOT NORMAL.

I can't fix this. I can't. I freely admit that this is just infuriating, and clearly not meant to be looked at closely. I can provide reasonable alternatives, though.

Option A. They are still in timeline A. No splits occured.

My main argument against this– nothing, really, except that if Demise was defeated, Hylia would not become mortal, events of the game would not occur, thus Link would not, presumably, kill Demise. Some paradoxy shit here. Discarded. If you like this, come up with a way to explain it on your own.

Option B. A split occurred, and they now reside in timeline B.

Good option. For whatever reason, Link and Zelda brought down the Goddess Statue, which does make some amount of sense, if all of Skyloft will eventually live down there. I could be satisfied with this, beyond the, uh, obvious issue of:

Timeline B's Zelda was never awakened, or if she was, it was after Demise’s defeat, and she got trapped in the past after the Gate's destruction (poor girl)

Skyloft. There's a Skyloft up there somewhere, and another Groose, and another, not a hero, Link (but probably not a Zelda, or just a Zelda without Hylia's influence). Timeline B's original Link, Zelda, and Groose could be replaced/merged with timeline A's.

If they are not: uh, Zelda gets stuck never getting to be mortal again except with Link and Groose (presuming they don't know/don't tell about timeline A), and must always take the role as Hylia. All of them are stuck just awkwardly not explaining why they look like three of Skyloft's residents. I want to write a fic with this, now

Honestly, the best thing they can hope for is to merge with their timeline B's counterparts. You may now put your usual post-ss events here. Timeline B's amber Zelda is still just having a rotten time, though

Option C. Merged.

Self explanatory. Schodinger's Demise, in which he is neither dead nor sealed as the Imprisoned. I think this timeline would explode in about five seconds, for obvious reasons. I can't have fun with it, so. Not gonna talk about it.

Option D. The neat one! And the fun one, for me, at least!

Let's begin.

Link, Zelda, and Groose are in timeline A. Impa and the Master Sword are in timeline B. The end of the game proceeds without any headaches, although the old woman– well, she just doesn't have the bracelet I guess?

In the good version of events: since that was the timeline that Link was cursed in, his soul just somehow… jumps over, I guess, like it does between the child, adult, and downfall timelines after oot.

The events of the regular Zelda timeline occur, and all our problems are fixed. And, look! Zelda is stuck so far in the past that I can fix totk timeline issue! This was unintentional but I'm not complaining! (I'm not elaborating here but it works trust me)

Everyone of timeline A lives out their happy lives, and Hyrule is never subjected to The Horrors (Ganondorf and various assorted other villains).

Bad version of events: Link's soul is pulled between both timeline A and B, and while B has the Master Sword, A does not. Well, let's hope that Zelda and/or Link had the foresight to create a new weapon! Or that Zelda's descendants are strong enough. Either way, Hyrule has lost one of its greatest weapons.

It was at this point that I reread what I had so far, and realized I forgot one small detail, which invalidates– nothing, I guess? The amber is missing, but Zelda A has left the amber, and Zelda B would eventually leave it too– and sure, the vines are there, where they should in theory be, y'know, not there– but whatever. I'm tired. Come back tomorrow.

IN CONCLUSION:

[thetreehousechronicles]

Since they started dating Kuki, have Hoagie and Wally attempted to learn about Japanese culture a bit more?

I'm trying to be as respectful about mindful as i can, if any Japanese reader see this. Please correct me, if i said or spread misinformation wrong ty!

Hoagie: (excitedly flipping through a book on Japanese culture) Okay, okay, so I was reading up on this! Did you know that Japanese New Year celebrations last for three days? They have all kinds of special food, like osechi-ryori, and… wait for it… they eat soba on New Year’s Eve for good luck!

Kuki: (laughs warmly) Yes! It's a tradition in my family, too. We always eat soba to symbolize longevity and good health in the new year.

Wally: (smirking) And I bet you guys eat tons of sushi, too, right?

Kuki: (smiling) Sushi’s definitely a part of Japanese food culture, but it’s not something we eat every day. It’s more of a special occasion thing.

Hoagie: (genuinely curious) What about bento boxes? I’ve seen them everywhere. They look amazing, but I’m guessing there’s more to them than just being pretty lunchboxes?

Kuki: (nodding) Yes! Bento is a great way to pack a balanced meal. My mom used to make one for me every day with rice, fish, and vegetables, and sometimes even cute characters made from food. It’s a way of showing love and care.

Wally: (smiling slightly) Sounds like a lot of work, but I guess I’d be down for a homemade bento. I’ll eat anything that’s good.

Hoagie: (flipping through pages excitedly) And what about the tea ceremony? I read that it’s really meaningful—like a way to slow down and appreciate the moment. It’s not just about the tea itself, but the whole process.

Kuki: Exactly. The tea ceremony is about mindfulness. It's about the appreciation of nature, simplicity, and being present. It’s something I used to do with my grandma, and it always felt very peaceful.

Wally: (grinning) I’m definitely more of a “grab and go” kind of guy, but I’d try it. I can appreciate the sentiment.

Hoagie: (teasing) We should all do it together! Maybe I’ll bring my own tea ceremony vibe… but no promises about it being perfect.

Kuki: (laughing) Don’t worry, Hoagie, I’ll show you how it’s done. We’ll all give it a try!

Hoagie: (nodding eagerly) I’m down for that! And hey, if you’re teaching us all this, maybe you’ll also teach us a few phrases in Japanese?

Kuki: Sure, I’d love to! How about “Arigatou” for thank you?

Hoagie: (trying it out) Arigatou! And… pauses Is there anything else I should know about Japanese food, culture, or traditions?

Kuki: (grinning) Well, there’s a lot to explore! But the most important thing is how much meaning is behind everything. Whether it’s the food, the ceremonies, or even the language—it’s all about connection, respect, and family.

Hoagie: That’s really cool. I’ll make sure to appreciate it all more now that I understand it a little better.

Wally: (nodding) Yeah, me too. smirking I guess I’ve got a bit to learn, but I’m in for it. I’ll just need a few lessons before I’m doing tea ceremonies like a pro.

Kuki: (laughing softly) We’ll get there. It’s all about having fun and learning together.

Hoagie: (grinning) I’ll make sure I’m an expert by the time we have a full-on Japanese culture day. And, Kuki, you’re the one teaching us, okay?

Kuki: (laughing) Deal.

Wally: Well, we’ll do it for you, Kuki.

Hoagie: (glancing between them) Wait, wait, wait… what’s going on with you two? I mean, you’re both looking at each other like----

Kuki and Wally: (blushing) Nothing.

[happymeishappylife]

Books I Read in 2024 Part 1

1. Ringer by Lauren Oliver (Sequel to Replica)

After the events of the last book, I was surprised that we jumped back in Gemma and Lyra’s worlds because I wasn’t sure where you could go. But again, I loved the duality of reading both girls stories and getting two different adventures that intertwined together. This time I started with Lyra’s story because I found her story in the last book so enjoyable and this time was just as fascinating. I liked how she has grown and explored the world, but still feels alienated by it and how that causes friction among the people she knows. The sad part though was her finding Dr. O’Donnell and learning she didn’t care as deeply for Lyra as she thought, but I loved Lyra and Calleum’s courage to escape and move on. Gemma’s story was heartbreaking and terrifying, mainly because she literally had to face her clone life by accidentally being mistaken for one. I can’t even imagine what that must feel like, but based on everything that happened in this novel she should dump Pete. I don’t care what trauma he went through, he kind of showed how misogynistic he is and how he didn’t entirely care for Gemma so she deserved better.

2. Downpour by Kat Richardson (Book #6 of the Greywalker Series)

We finally figure out what happened to Harper after being shot by the Pharoahn. Turns out she died again just like he wanted but because of her meddling in the web, she lost some of her powers instead of gaining any. So she sets off on a quest to interview a potential witness in her client’s case, only to discover a hidden murder and a series of magic way beyond the depths of Seattle. It was cool to explore the place where a mixture of mages using Chinese, Hoodoo, and whatever Beauty is type magic to make grabs of power. It kept the book interesting and moving as I tried to pinpoint who did it. Plus I really enjoyed that there was more of Chaos in this novel. For a ferret, I know she can be a handful but it was cute to see Harper return to taking care of her through the beginning half. And I also liked her and Quentin’s team up, though it will be interesting to see what happens to the two now that they are magically bonded.

3. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgommery

I fell in love with this book and wish I had read it so much earlier in life. It’s charming, lovely, and made me connect to a character so much that I haven’t felt in years. Anne’s belief in beautiful things, a powerful imagination, and not letting anything hold her back is a spirit that I share. I also love that Anne both simultaneously wanted to fit in with the people in Avonlea and also be her person is also something that I felt. And I loved that people loved her for her unique character because of how spirited and smart she is. Including Gilbert who she has been imagining a rivalry for years. I also like that at the end of the novel, which was heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time, Gilbert not only helps her, but quickly becomes her friend like he assumed they always would .be and that’s a really great feeling to end it all on.

4. To Hell With Love by Simon R. Green (Book #4 of the Secret Histories novels)

Catching up with Eddie Drood is always a fast page adventure. And it started with some heavy twists, but never let up. First the Matriarch is murdered and then it looks like Molly is murdered, sending the family into chaos and Eddie into turmoil. But he holds it together as he investigates Doctor Delirium, Tiger Tim, the Immortals, and the Apocalypse Door. And not unlike the first and second story, there is a whole lot of death and world ending situations back at it. I was thinking we might get more independent Eddie after the last one, but not the case. Still I liked that he got to play with his gadgets, supposedly solve the last family mystery, and thankfully still have Molly by his side. But the way it ended? I’m sure we can’t be done with Eddie that easily, but I guess we’ll see.

5. Doctor Who: Touched by an Angel by Jonathan Morris

Don’t Blink! Even though it features the weeping angels, I legitimately loved this story. As Jonathan explains in his introduction, he chose to write with the original episode in mind where the angels are seen from time to time and become menacing by their very appearance because that means there are paradoxes. And I think its perfect irony that their plan to get a human to trap in his own timeline forces them on an endless timeline of trapping him and having their plan fail. Plus the story of Mark travelling back in time and being the force to bring him and his wife together but having to forfeit the ability to save her in the end, is somewhat a tragedy and yet beautiful metaphor for how to heal because he technically did get more time with her than what he expected. But, what a cruel twist of fate to have Rory get zapped by an angel before it happens for real. Thankfully this wasn’t so bad, but still, lol.

6. The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota

A brutally honest and heartbreaking novel that gives you the background to the lives of four individuals who become connected in the most dire of circumstances where they have risked everything to either make a better life for themselves or in Narinder’s case, to try to help someone in the eyes of her God. I found her story especially heartbreaking because this is a young woman whose expected to believe in her religion, but hasn’t been fully educated, and so when she is challenged by the hardships of others, she tries to help as her religion has taught her to do, but that isn’t such a black and white thing. And she’s either confronted by it like she should know better from her family or challenged by her faith which is why she ultimately lets it go. Tochi’s history is heartbreaking but he seems the most stable and ultimately ended up where he wanted to be. Avdar seems like the one who has the most going for him, but ultimately his selfish intentions get the better of him and ends up hurting him in the long run. And Rahdeep has some issues which is why he was kicked out of school, but to see his transformation throughout the novel as the prodigal son to the homeless migrant worker where he loses a lot of himself, makes it really hard to be so angry with him. The whole narrative also puts into perspective what millions of people are facing in this world and the prejudices they are facing and how many are just suffering.

7. Lost Souls by Dean Koontz (Book #4 of the Frankenstein Series)

I was curious where the series was going to go after the last novel. Honestly, I think this could have been left a trilogy and called it good, because while its great to see familiar characters take on another challenge to defeat a clone Victor, you can tell that this whole book is just a set up for the final and it felt a literal rushed. Though the way that Victor Immaculate’s creatures are taking over the small town of Rainbow Falls Montana is very reminiscent of Koontz supernatural horror which makes it more intriguing. But seeing these poor innocent people get taken in by the Builders is so sad. And even though it’s a support of people owning guns, it was funny to me that Victor’s plans in the roadhouse to take so many people ends badly because they all pull out their guns and shoot the creatures. Like really, you didn’t do your research? Still now that there’s one more novel it will be interesting to find out if our heroes prevail once again, but it would be kind of interesting if this Victor won to be honest.

8. The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence by Stan Lee, Stuart Moore, and Andie Tong

Overall I like this book, but there were some things that also didn’t make me enjoy it as much as I could have. This mostly had to do with the fact that it really read as a comic book to me in the way that we’re jumping very quickly between scenes and characters, which as a book made it hard to tell truly how much time had passed. Like to me this maybe felt like a week’s worth of adventures, but obviously they flew to multiple countries and by the end somehow became a fighting team with no view for the reader to discover this so obviously more time passed. And that’s just it. I think this book could have stayed a little longer in the way it developed, maybe ending right as the new zodiac kids meet up in Greenland and have a showdown with the villains. That would have given more time to explore all of their backstories more fully and let characters develop more. For instance, I get that Steven as the Dragon is important, but how he went from a kid wandering off on a school trip to a fighter and leader in such short time is a mystery, especially being so young. Still the concept was fun, the powers are cool, and because we somewhat neutralized the villain, it will be interesting where the story goes from here.

9. The Book of Beasts by Carole E Barrowman and John Barrowman (Book #3 of the Hollow Earth Series)

This book picked up right where the last one ended and was a fast paced race to the end. On the one hand, with Matt’s perspective, I liked this from Matt’s perspective because he was in constant danger from his Dad’s plan to unleash Hollow Earth, but there was so much packed into Em’s side of things that I wish it had been a longer book to give that more breathing room. After all we didn’t meet her grandmother until this book and she got introduced as a super bad villain only to be easily overpowered by Em and then taken captive by Simon. Plus I get that Em wanted to save her brother, but it felt like she hadn’t learned anything in three books by hiding her secret with her family and Zach. Matt on the other hand I think went through significant growth because he had to not only overcome his dad, protect Jeannie and his friends, but also find a way to use his Animare powers in the harshest of conditions. But I was disappointed by the way he reconnected with his sister because it was meant to be funny when after all he went through I think it would have read better had it been a bit more emotional. Still it was an interesting story and it was nice to wrap up this short series.

10. The War of the Worlds & The War in the Air by H.G. Wells

It was interesting to read these two stories back to back because obviously the War of the Worlds is the most famous, though thanks to Orson Wells and the radio drama mostly. But the story as is it is, wasn’t really scary to me because the main character’s perspective that we were following was a bit of idiot. Like he heard about all these dangerous events and was like “I must get closer” and threw away all of his caution to go chasing after the Martians. At least his brother had better sense and I assumed survived which is how we got to learn about his story. Plus we all know that tentacled Martians aren’t real, they are Ice Warriors. Now following Bert Smallways was a bit more interesting because at least the frustrations with his character were because he was doing his best in a terrible situation he found himself in to survive. But the story shifted so much from an actual story to an info dump that it was hard to stay engaged with at times. That and the ending was bad because while yes, the aerial warfare changed the world like Wells predicted, it didn’t send us backwards in terms of society and technology. Plus lots of racist language at the end when describing the Asian forces. But still it was impressive that Wells could predict up to a point the way that the world would get involved in each other’s affairs and start fighting and how that would change society before planes were even invented. Because he’s right, when aerial warfare became a thing then the whole world became a dangerous place to be in because you couldn’t necessarily see the battle coming and it could come out of nowhere. And nowadays its even more threatening with stealth and drone technology plus the threat of potential space made weapons on top of the age old nuclear threats really does make one think about the luckiness to be alive. Especially when lots of people in the world are not so lucky right now.

[oracleofsecrets]

Zelda EOW cosplay log: cape detail

Was originally planning on taking a work from home day last week to free up some time to work on it, but then I remembered I still need to print off the rest of the cape pattern and also make and print a pattern for the geometric detail on the back. Once I printed all that off at work and did some Actual work at work I decided to make it a half day, heehee

A smarter or braver person probably could have eyeballed the geometric thingy but I am not that person 💖 so I used my work computer the other day after hours to make it in illustrator lol

I had to look at some screenshots I’d taken of a view angles of the cloak, and I forgot it’s really more of a Cape. I’ll most likely have to modify the pattern a lot to make it narrower but shouldn’t be a problem (famous last words). I measured the widest part of the cloak pattern—or where I Guessed it would be bc I hadn’t printed off the last few pages of the pattern…then I did a quick and dirty measurement of my shoulders (I know I wrote it down Somewhere, a while ago when I did my first Clothes sewing from scratch but Idr where I put it) and loosely wrapped measuring tape between my pinkies and held my arms at my sides to see roughlyyy what the max width would be, based on the like “reference points” of character model

Once I had that I upscaled the design in illustrator to what would be Actual Size. Before I’d actually made the pattern, when I was still assuming it was a very wide cloak, I thought the “strips” could be like 3 inches wide bc that seemed like a nice width (person who isn’t good at envisioning measurements). Obviously that wasn’t doable, so I just doubled the size of the design in illus to make the strips 1 inch, which was too big to fit on printer paper, so then I dicked around trying to figure out how to like Slice the design to put it onto multiple pages like ppl making sewing patterns do

I’m not sure how I want to cut out/assemble the design… I bought fleece in another color, so I plan on just sewing it onto the cape like an appliqué. But idk if I should like cut it all out as one piece (well, two technically bc one of the swirlies of the design isn’t connected) or if I should just cut out lengths of strips and place them next to each other?

Reddit provides 💄 <- that was supposed to be the hands together emoji but yknow this is more fun. The answerer mentioned I could sew the design on and Then cut it out, but I don’t have duckbill scissors :/ but the other explanations they laid out for options was helpful bc it reminded me I’d bought fabric glue stick for this purpose lol

{update} I am not going to bother with the swirly actually bc I was very worn out from all the hustle and bustle of making this project 🫡

[tenaciouschronicler]

June 16 2024 2009

For the last time, this boy's name is John!!!

Whoever >VOICE is has done nothing this update but make me and Narrator annoyed. At least theyve finally taken the hint and use our boys name for the majority of the following commands. Theyve also got a better grasp of what commands will yield results in moving plot forward.

Firstly we get to talk with Rose.

TT: I've been watching you scramble through the house like a lunatic.

Which is great news! We have confirmed there is still a connection between them and John at least had someone to talk to.

EB: oh man, sorry, i was looking around for my dad and i can't find him anywhere!

EB: have you seen him?

TT: No. I'm sure he'll turn up.

I wonder if Rose was too preoccupied with worry for John to be paying attention to Dad. Since she is able to place objects anywhere in the house it's obvious she can view everything. She may be limited to only seeing one room at a time however.

But now for some pressing questions.

EB: yeah, like where am i??

TT: I don't know that either. But I've determined your neighborhood was destroyed by the meteor. Wherever you were transported, it saved you from the impact.

TT: I've been reading reports in the news. Over the last few days, there have been many smaller meteor collisions with people's homes around the world.

TT: And they seem to be getting bigger. Yours was the biggest they've identified so far.

Ok so John is Not Here, meaning Earth, and all those meteors we had seen we in fact Not for John. I guess each SBURB player gets a meteor assigned to their destruction. I wonder if this phenomena has been occurring since SBURBs launch. Did meteorologists and astronomers alike come up with theories and reports that have only recently been made public? Rose doesnt seem to have any gunning for her place so its safe to assume only triggering the countdown would cause a meteor strike. Also how big is 'neighborhood'? Is it the block? The road? This picture? In the flash we zoom out to more houses. Is it all of those??

In an effort to gain normalacy we get this cute interaction.

EB: wait, rose! one thing...

TT: What?

EB: you never even wished me a happy birthday!

EB: um... hello?

TT: I was working on something to send you, but I was running late with it.

TT: I didn't want you to think I believed meager well wishes alone would suffice for the occasion.

TT: That said, happy birthday, John.

EB: haha, oh jeez, that is silly!

EB: anyway, thanks!

I really worry for John right now. This has all gotta be really stressful and hes just grabbing at straws.

What follows is a frustrating sequence to grab the PDA wherein >VOICE becomes more and more punchable!

<DO AS THE PURPLE TEXT SAYS. TO THE BALCONY.>

[John makes his way to the balcony per your awkwardly-worded request.]

Looks like more one-sided banter between these two is gonna be happening in the foreseeable future...

<JOHN. RECYCLE THE GRIST AS WAS DICTATED BY YOUR COHORT.>

[John cannot do anything with the GRIST as of this moment! That is up to the Sburb player.]

<I SEE. ==>?>

[Yes, that will suffice.]

My guess is the Player is supposed to supply the Server with GRIST somehow so that the Server can then make the appropriate actions of building, moving, ect. Its still unclear how thats supposed to be achieved.

Luckily not all the grist was used in redecorating. Upon deleting the GENERIC OBJECTS [6 units of BUILD GRIST are restored to your GRIST CACHE]. Looking back at page 193 each cube was worth 2 GRIST so deleting all 3 gave us the total of 6. For this reason Im still holding that moving the CRUXTRUDER should be cost free. Its apparent theres no loss in conversion.

Rose uses these grist to build a walkway from the balcony to nearly above the PDA.

JOHN RUN ACROSS PRECARIOUS PLATFORM SWIFTLY.

excuse me?

BOY I SAID MAKE HASTE ON THE NARROW CATWALK!

Excuse me!!! Sir!!! Who are you to talk that way to John!!! How dare you make the boy frown!!!

John is very nervous about the idea, and the strident tone of your commands is starting to make him a little upset!

Exactly! Thank you!

And then the audacity to start your next command with <FINE.>! The only one with common sense here is the narrator (　｀ー´)

At least Rose can get the PDA to John...

You grab the PDA, launching one of the HARLEQUIN FIGURINES into the night.

You can kiss that one goodbye.

... with... minimal casualties...

[occulticvioletdepths]

ooc: so hey what's the camille lore. i can't put it together.

//okay yeah i should make a dedicated lore post/page huh...

anyway. let's start off with what's known IC first

camille is a hex maniac / occultist who lived in kalos and moves to unova. she's on the no fly registry for kalos, too, and she used to live in Santalune (a very conservative town). at some point, a couple of murders happened with the result of one of her friends dying, one Evangeline (the Santalune Swap case), and a mansion close to the woods burnt down (Sinclair Estate arson), one Uberto Demian being implicated for what happened. so she ran away from home with a fake passport. this is the story as she tells.

there's also, someone, who tried to arrest her at some point. camille, in her own words, cursed them to die before they could. she also had a few spats with the occulture unova editing team for their reports(?) on the aforementioned murders and the arson, and a fake interview starring "camille". all of this has been rectified, but not before a pokémon battle gauntlet with the occulture editorial. here, the then-editor-in-chief Elmir Demasque (yeah that's a pso2 reference) alluded to camille "having done things". and according to the new editor-in-chief, Callme Ishmael (yeah that's a moby dick reference) elmir had dealings with some white-haired girl with red eyes in police attire. and she (and mx. ishmael) don't think she's a sanctioned cop.

now, here's all what's known through OOC info. under the cut if you do not enjoy spoilers

camille was born to the sinclair family, rich fuckers with their hands in the pockets of some businesses. her family... wasn't great. for some reason, they abhorred pokémon, and they were very strict... and were very punishing in their discipline. furthermore... camille is trans. and it's implied that anyone that steps even one inch out of line of the traditions of the family gets punished and/or disinherited. camille's more scared about the former. she also discovered she has psychic powers (like psychic trainers. y'know.) so she fled into the basement for a bit because she thought her having those powers would mean her parents may find out. that's where she met melisma and the two of them became close friends (also at that point melisma was still wild fun fact). aaanyhoo she did go to public school where she made a few friends (though it's mostly just the few misfits hanging together) - Franciska Chroma (the daughter of detective frankel chroma, both ZERO connection with any other chroma in pkmn_irl (unless they want to... fufufu...)) and Evangeline Marie, who likes bugs and has suspiciously camille-like hair... anyway the three were friends because "misfits" and they were close.

around some time in the summer, camille made a deal with a fellow hex maniac and street musician, Uberto Demian, in the santalune forest, for yet unknown reasons.

....eventually, one day, during the winter solstice (i'm not big on christmas being pokémon canon but i do like the celebration of solstices), everything came ahead all at once. the Santalune Swap murders. the Sinclair Estate arson. evangeline was found "shaped" like camille was, like the two swapped bodies.

"And somehow, her body took on the characteristics of the Sinclair kid, like they swapped bodies, but didn’t swap DNA, which, well… it should be impossible considering what DNA is."

...so you can guess the implications there. the day after, camille left for unova... but she definitely wasn't alone. detective Frankel Chroma followed her. and one day, approaching another winter solstice, camille tried to curse him through the ox-hour shrine visit curse... and on the last day of that curse (the actual day of the solstice, she got herself into a situation where, well... her curse did work. though she had to finish "the job" manually. funny how those curses work don't they?

anyway. then the rest of what's known ic happened. but now there's Implications™... but yeah she met calli, became her weird rival, then years later (now) they started kissing on the nimbasa ferris wheel and that's that

so excited for the things i have planned in my head but refuse to write down because i'm dumb.

[ujuro]

saw your post abt hot issue/kiss of life whats going on??? or where can i read more abt the members ig (tysm in advance if you do reply but dont feel obligated)

Lmao it’s just industry stuff and nugu grind its nothing that should stop you personally from stanning the group (i mean Julie has said the n word but that’s a different thing I guess 💀)

I was just really invested in hot issue and really liked the group and the members so seeing them trashed after one cb pissed me off and seeing them trashed for another gg with slightly more well-known members instead of a bg like everyone thought enraged me. Like if you’re not prepared enough to get your group through a couple cbs to see if they take off then why are you even debuting them to begin with like what a waste of everyone’s time not to mention the uprooting the lives of seven young women like now yewon has to struggle through a survival show and mayna has gone back to China like good job everybody 🙃 it’s just a flat-out insult to the former members of hot issue and really any trainee in the industry who doesn’t have the connections of formerly being affiliated with a big 4 company (no one in the group has hybe ties as far as I can tell but the jyp yg sm links are all there)

So even though I like natty I just can’t particularly bring myself to care about this group or how it does. I mean nattys solo is also the only song of theirs I like so it’s not a big problem for me and like I said my anger at s2 entertainment shouldn’t stop anyone else from liking them. Also my definition of “not supporting” is different from most peoples lmao for me it just pretty much means not subscribing to their yt channel and shit-talking on tumblr I don’t have the money to buy albums to begin with and I’ve always flat-out refused to zombie stream songs

As for belle being a nepo baby that’s just a fact LMAO read her page on the kpop fandom wiki but alas she is not the most blatant nepo baby in kpop anymore that goes to my guy Anton in sms new bg alsjdhdhdhdhshshs she only held that title for like two months

I can’t believe kpop is now old enough and large enough that the blatant industry nepo babies are debuting instead of just the incredibly rich ones my girl sieun was a pioneer. Anyway I was actually legit angry when I made that post about belle but I don’t really care in all actuality (I mean sieun ranks last in my stayc bias order but that doesnt have anything to do with her dad or anything she did that’s just how it turned out). it comes with the territory but I WILL laugh at them a little bit cause what else can you do

So in conclusion idk stan kiss of life if you want but also stanning nugu groups is pain

(But also like hot issues cb/eventual disbandment song wasn’t even good it was just ok and the type of song that doesn’t ever chart so why was the company shocked it didn’t take off like it was an average song if the company had put more thought into their concept and given them a song that had shown off the members improvement between debut and cb MAYBE we wouldn’t even be having this conversation…anyway I’ll shut up now)

[drinkinstars]

Hello again, I would like to request the match ship please. My chosen groups are Enhypen, Stray Kids, and NCT 127. A brief description of who I am is that my name is Madison, I am 20 years old, I’m 5’5, I have shoulder-length medium brown hair, dark brown eyes, and I wear glasses. My MBTI is INFJ. I love to read, learn new things, scroll through the internet on my phone, watch videos, movies, documentaries, and tv. My favorite colors are pink, red, purple, blue, black, and white. My favorite foods are spaghetti, pizza, chicken, hamburgers, fries, sweet potatoes, cupcakes, chocolate, cookies, jambalaya, and ice cream. I love God and everything related to spirituality. My Big 6 is Leo sun, Virgo moon, Pisces rising, Virgo mercury, Libra venus, and Leo mars.

Here you go ~

@moomoobug

In ENHYPEN i would ship you with:

Heeseung

Again for me you and Heeseung are quite an obvious choice! The vibe of your couple would be really peaceful as you two would have a great ability to take care of each other and it seems like you can understand one another so well! The two of you would be totally committed and would put your couple first I can also see two wonderful parents in you two. From outside because you and Heeseung tend to be overall similar it could seem a boring relation but it’s the opposite there’s exactly the right amount of similarities like curiosity,sensitiveness, authenticity and empathy to create an instant connection and the exact amount of differences that keep making grow the both of thorough the relation, he brings your ideas to become projects, you bring him the confidence to achieve his own goals..The type of duo that could even work together all day and comeback home in the afternoon still not being tired of the other one presence because y’all know when it’s time to be together and when it’s time for yourself without upsetting the other one, when it’s time to be coworkers and when it’s time to be a couple you two can switch well because of your dualities and are the perfect recipe for a long lasting relationship if you two don’t forget to take it slowly. For me the type of compatibility that don’t need to talk to understand each other needs, that couple that could go on a farewell trip far from everything with only fundamental things and listen to the silence of nature enjoying the presence of their dearest one.

🫶🏻🫶🏻🤍✨

(On one of your escape from everyday weekends)

In Straykids I would ship you with:

Changbin

Okay so woaw where should I start ? Even I didn’t excepted to choose him for you in the end, actually for Straykids it was an hard one as in the beginning I find for half of the group reasons for them to be good with you that were unavoidable and then reasons for them to not fit you EVEN MORE unavoidable and I guess in the end Changbin was just the perfect mix of everything.

Okay so while you and Heeseung would be the perfect example of “birds of a feather flock together”this couple would be the defender of the “opposite attracts”, the relationship you remind as the one that couldn’t last but you enjoyed the most reading the pages of your teenage years diary, the “if only i could have made it work”, but you may be asking why I chose Changbin then ? Because even if the chances are slight if you two would make it work out it would be on my opinion the relationship you would enjoy the most in Stray Kids. If you two put your EGO asides and it’s not as easy as y’all think because even if one of you two succeed doing so it’s not certain the other will follow (blame the Leo placements),COMMUNICATE and I know you two are honest but being TOO honest you will keep hurting e/o with harsh words and finally ACCEPTING your differences and that you cannot change your partner but rather understand him or break up and those are for both of you but if you two can overcome that here what beautiful relationship awaits you: You would be his guardian angel literally every time Changbin would maybe be too hotheaded you would be the one calming him, if he loose control you would be the one telling him to use words instead of it’s and that he’s worth more than the image is giving, and you saying that would be the only thing that matter he would wanna grow not only for him but so you can be proud of your boyfriend, you would naturally give him attention (ngl his Leo placements would purr) and in return he would wanna fulfill all your wishes maybe sometimes you would be talking out loud about something you want be assured that by tomorrow he would come back with it, you would make Changbin wanna cherish you as he would want you to do the same, for example after a stressful day he would just sigh and you would already be behind giving him a massage listening to him, and what makes you so special and good for him is that for you those things would be natural it wouldn’t cost you much you are a natural empath and a good listener, and you also are everything Changbin misses and aspire to be a lil more. Also you are a romantic and he is too, I could totally see you in a funny situation like for St. Valentines you planning a surprise date and about to send him a message so he come to the secret place but before you could send it you would receive a “Surprise..come there at 8PM~” and you would be like “shit he got me”. Because you and Changbin are opposites each day you would make discover new things to each other, and your curious self would enjoy going trough his hobbies as in return he can promise you sometimes chill Sunday afternoon cuddling and watching a vintage film on tv. Overcome the difference,understand each other and even a long time after you started dating you will say “it seems like the first day”.

(He convinced you to still go out watch fireworks after an argument) ps:(the height difference wouldn’t be that big tho haha🥲)

In NCT 127:

Doyoung! (Followed nearly by Jaehyun and didn’t know if you wanted Winwin included if yes he was close too)

Ok so this one was hard too as i hesitated between Jaehyun and Winwin too, since Winwin wasn’t active in recent activities of 127 I decided to be more on a Jaehyun versus Doyoung, and as you would be perfect for both of them I feel tho that Doyoung would bring you more happiness and it would be a giving giving relation so let’s start~

Okay so it might be again a little unexpected and not the easiest relationship but it’s so shippable and precious if well developed it can be a “growing together” love trope hurting but then healing è/o.

For Doyoung you are like an angel and his calm in the storm for you Doyoung he’s the confidence you miss, both of you admire each other and because you two are so different it creates both attraction and conflicts..But first the good points you two share the same values and compatible love languages, for Doyoung promises are important and you the type to keep them, you naturals kindness makes his heart flutter every time how you take care of him with still a sort of carelessness but actually it’s because it’s your nature your little gestures for you are nothing but for him it means a lot, but there arise the first conflict your gentleness is for everybody but he would want it to be only for him he envies how you can be so warm to everybody and helpful but can’t help being jealous, as his love language is often the special treatment (and your Leo self must appreciate it) he shows you a side of him that is only yours he is also a lot with words of affirmation but in return he likes you to go out of your way for him and there your connection is perfect as you like to show your love with quality time and moments of deep connection, Doyoung loves also gifts and you like giving them too in a breakup you two would have a lot to throw away..often Doyoung would think you too god for this world and would be really protective, but you being with him would be a blessing this can seem really cheesy but you can make melt the icy heart. Living together could be challenging after a stressful day Doyoung coming home stepping in your disorder could make him sigh but fortunately everybody has flaws and strengths and if both of you willing to make the effort there’s really a lot to bring to one another, Doyoung would probably make you mature and bring you stability again make your ideas into project and you would make Doyoung fight for what he wants and allow him to dream out of the box and of his usual routine, the thing that is good is that rather than a relationship loosing with time it grows better and better with time, you two would find each other at the moment you need the other like fate being what the other misses and when everything seems to go wrong you two together make it right.~~

(You remembering bae the skincare before going to bed after a stressful day)

Thanks for ordering feel free to ask again!