#and also since there's less people to worry about | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jjscrybaby · 2 days ago

Note

A request for JJ!!

I was thinking something kinda angst. So JJ hates the reader and she hates him. They both think each other has a great life and is jealous. But maybe one day on her usual bike ride around the cut, y/n sees JJ’s dad get aggressive with him and realises how JJ’s life is hard. But she doesn’t go to help because she was scared. Feeling bad that she didn’t help she wonders around and she goes home late which results in an argument with her mom. At that time JJ was doing a delivery with Pope and hears and sees everything and when y/n is outside walking around trying to calm herself down and distract from the pain she accidentally bumps into JJ and they have a talk.

jj maybank x fem!reader | hurt & comfort | (luke maybank being an ass, reader’s mom is also an ass, overall just bad parents!)

not proofread and written at 6am so my bad if there’s any mistakes 🤗

︶︶︶ ⊹ ︶︶ ୨♡୧ ︶︶︶ ⊹ ︶︶

One of the main differences between you and JJ were your social status’. JJ came from the Cut, he grew up catching his own food, roaming the streets at the age of seven without a care in the world, stealing just to get by. You grew up on Figure Eight, you never had to lift a finger, your parents never had to worry about where their next pay check was coming from. He was jealous.

JJ grew up with freedom, with a group of friends he called his family, he never had to worry about grades or being perfect because no one cared if he was. You grew up with snobby rich kids as the only people you could hang out with, your mom dictated everything you did down to the clothes you’d wear to the mall, you felt embarrassed to even leave the house if your hair was slightly greasy. You were jealous.

You’d known JJ Maybank since you were a kid, you went to the same Elementary school and then over the years you’d see each other at parties or at the club where he worked. There wasn’t ever something that happened that gave you both a reason to hate the other, you just did.

Something your parents were definitely not aware of was the route you’d take on your weekly bike ride. You needed an escape from the ‘perfect’ life, so at least once a week you’d take your little pink bicycle and you’d ride around the Cut. You weren’t sure what it was that drew you to it in the first place, especially after the horror stories you’d grown up hearing, but you always felt calm when you rode around with your AirPods in.

It was about six o’clock, you were supposed to be home for dinner in an hour because your father had some clients coming over and you were wanted as well. You were about to head back home when the sound of yelling caught your attention. You turned round the corner, standing still at the end of the street.

“You smell like a damn bar!” It was JJ. You didn’t know he lived here, but then again why would you? You weren’t friends. There was an older man stumbling after him, following the blonde down the porch steps.

“Ain’t that rich comin’ from you?” The man, who you assumed was non other than Luke Maybank, snorted.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” JJ scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned to look at his dad.

“Means you ain’t better than me, kid. It’s in your blood, you’re a Maybank,” Luke mocked.

You could see JJ shake his head, a scowl on his face that was hiding the hurt he felt. “I’m nothin’ like you. And I never will be.”

“Say whatever you want, don’t make it true,” Luke shrugged, taking a sip from the beer that you hadn’t noticed was in his hand. “Where the fuck you goin’, anyways? Ain’t been home in weeks.”

Weeks? You had heard the stories about Luke, the robberies and the bar fights, but you didn’t think he’d treat his own son like this. He spoke to him as if he was a stranger, as if he couldn’t care less about him.

“Yeah, and I shouldn’t have bothered coming back at all,” JJ stated, turning to continue walking away. Luke grabbed his arm, yanking him back and holding him in place. “Get the fuck off me, man!”

“Gotta show some respect, Jay!” Luke yelled, making you flinch.

Why were the neighbours not coming out? Why hadn’t anyone done something about this? You felt sick, and you felt even worse when you got on your bike and rode away before you had to see how this ended.

︶︶︶ ⊹ ︶︶ ୨♡୧ ︶︶︶ ⊹ ︶︶

“You alright?” JJ hated that question, especially when he knew why it was being asked. The shiner that he sported now. Pope looked at him sympathetically, a sad smile on his face.

“I’m fine. Ready to get some good tips,” JJ shrugged, taking the grocery bags from his hands. “Who orders food at eight o’clock?”

“Rich people,” Pope muttered. “Don’t lose any of that shit.“

“Yeah, yeah.”

JJ walked to your house, he knew it was yours from the last name above the slip of paper Pope had given him. He was starting to walk up the driveway when he heard the noise coming from the open front door.

“I told you to be here by seven! It’s half past!” Your mother exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.

“I— I got held up, I’m sorry.” He’d never heard you sound so small. Usually, when the two of you got at each other’s throats at a Kegger, you’d stand your ground without a care in the world. It was one of the only things he respected about you.

“Held up with what?” Your mom scoffed. He could see through the cracks in the bushes that she was shaking her head, looking disappointed.

“It’s just dinner, mom. I don’t need to be here,” you tried to argue.

“Well, I’ve already told the Henderson’s that you aren’t home. So, therefore, you will not be home. Don’t come back until they’re gone,” she stated.

“What? Mom. I haven’t got anywhere to go,” you exclaimed, voice wavering.

The door closed in your face and you let out a shaky sigh. You’d been preoccupied, feeling guilty for not sticking up for JJ, so you’d gotten home a little later than planned. Was it really that big of a deal? Tears fell as you wandered back down your driveway, trying to think of where the hell you can go.

“Uh, hey.” You flinched in shock, turning to see JJ lurking by the bushes with two grocery bags.

“What’re you doing here?” You asked quietly.

“Delivery,” he explained.

“Right, well, I can’t take it,” you muttered. “Just go knock.”

“Wait there.” You weren’t sure why you did what he said, but it wasn’t like you had anything better to do. You stood and waited, watching as he left the bags on your front door step and knocked before coming back; he didn’t even wait for a tip. “C’mon.”

The two of you walked through Figure Eight in silence, him puffing on his vape every now and then whilst you tried not to burst into tears. “I saw you and your dad, earlier.”

“What?” He turned to look at you in confusion.

“Outside your house.”

“Why were you outside my house?” He asked.

“I wasn’t, I just happened to be going past,” you explained. You bit your nails before speaking again, letting out a quiet sigh. “He’s an ass.”

Surprisingly, JJ let out a chuckle. He nodded his head. “Yeah, he is. So is your mom.” You giggled, agreeing with him. “Guess we both have shitty parents, huh?”

“Seems like it,” you shrugged. “Never thought we’d have something in common.”

“You know, my friend, John B, his house is sorta the hangout for kids with shitty parents. Did you want to… you could come over, until you can go back home,” JJ offered. He sounded anxious, as if he was asking you on a date.

You found yourself nodding your head, shyly smiling at him. “Yeah, just until I can go back home.”

You didn’t go home, instead you spent the night chatting shit about your mom with JJ whilst he rambled about his dad. You ended the night in his bed, laid on his chest as the two of you shared a joint. You didn’t feel so jealous anymore, and you were certain he didn’t either.

#jj maybank #outer banks #jj mayback x reader #jj maybank prompt #jj mayback imagine

58 notes · View notes

howtodrawyourdragon · 2 days ago

Text

Does Berk think Hiccup is frivolous in Httyd 1? Maybe a little bit aloof?

Stoick tells him to stop joking around in the opening scene of the movie, after the dagons have left. "This isn't a joke, Hiccup!" He tells him. And he tells him that after his rant about how he has things to worry about, like making sure the village doesn't starve in the coming winter, Hiccup answers to with a sassy "the village could do with a little less feeding, don't you think?" Which really only manages to make Stoick even more mad.

After their first lesson in dragon training, Gobber asks the class "where did Hiccup go wrong?" and Astrid's response is "he's never where he should be." I think she means it literally. Why is Hiccup, of all people, in dragon training? Ruffnut and Tuffnut make sense. Snotlout makes sense. Even Fishlegs makes sense. (especially since Fishlegs has already shown effort by memorizing the Book of Dragons, effort Astrid clearly approves of given her shock at the twins and Snotlout disregarding Gobber's order to read the book.)

But Hiccup? Hiccup McSassyPants? Who gets told that his village could starve in the winter and answers with "well maybe they should eat less"? Who steps outside during a raid and actually causes more damage than the dragons pretending he's capturing a Night Fury? What is he doing in dragon training? That class literally ended with Hiccup almost losing his life to a Gronckle.

This is further backed up when after she has to protect both herself and Hiccup from a Deadly Nadder, which happened because Hiccup wasn't paying attention the whole time, getting them both in trouble. (Which is because he's fixating on figuring out a certain Night Fury, but they don't know that. To them, it just looks like he's annoying Gobber with meaningless questions. Why are you asking about the Night Fury? The one dragon who's single instruction is "hide and pray it doesn't find you"?) She explicitly asks him "Is this some kind of a joke to you?"

Followed up by "Our parent's war is about to become ours. Figure out which side you're on."

Once again someone questions Hiccup about how serious he takes things. But it's more than that, she's trying to give him a wake up call! Wake up, Hiccup, our parents are actually fighting a genuine war here and someday it'll be your turn! Stop making everything a joke before you get yourself or someone else killed!

Astrid actually isn't as much against Hiccup at this point as people often believe. There are actually a few points in which she eithers feels sorry for him or tries to help him in her own Astrid-y way. (And if the deleted scene hadn't been deleted, there would've been an almost friendly conversation had between the two before dragon training even starts)

Let's also not forget Hiccup's and Stoick's talk before dragon training even starts. When Stoick shows some actual vulnerability by laying his son's life in his son's and Gobber's hands when he decides to give in and let Hiccup go to dragon training while he's off on a voyage.

Hiccup tells his father "I don't wanna fight dragons!" in a tone that is rather pleading. To which is father chuckles and says to him "come on, yes you do!"

Remember in the opening, Hiccup practically makes the claim that he lives and breathes to kill dragon, it's "who he is." And now he suddenly claims he doesn't want to fight dragons at all? Can't fight them?

Stoick keeps his tone light, telling his son that he will fight dragons, don't you worry about that, Hiccup. With Hiccup doubling down that he's very extra-sure that he can't fight dragons, which makes Stoick double down in return, his levity disappearing.

"Can you not hear me?" Hiccup asks, desperate to be heard.

"This is serious, son!" Says Stoick. Which makes this three times that Hiccup is explicitly told to take something serious. (And you can just see the disbelieve or realization in Hiccup's eyes as he's once again not being listened to.)

(Followed by Stoick telling him to act like everyone else and to stop being Hiccup, which gets him, you guessed it, a sarcastic remark from Hiccup.)

We know that Hiccup changed his mind about participating in dragon training because he found out he couldn't kill Toothless. (or rather, he can't kill the scared and the defenseless, as the Red Death would later show) But Stoick doesn't know that. Berk actually seems to know very little about Hiccup and that's why they think that he's joking around at all times.

I'm willing to bet that the "disasters" he causes "every time he steps outside" aren't much of a help either. (and I wonder how many of these are actually Hiccup's fault or if Hiccup happened to be involved, so the blame is just automatically put on him.)

And this isn't a post to bash Hiccup. I love him to death, I love his sass as much as any other fan. And I am very much of the opinion that Hiccup's sass is a defense mechanism.

His feelings get hurt, so he tries to hurt someone else's back. Like when he probably feels guilty about his father worrying about the village getting through the winter, so he makes that comment about how the village could eat less to offset that guilt. (Which again, only makes Stoick angrier.) And I think the proof is in the rest of the franchise.

Hiccup sasses the most when he's 15-16, a.k.a from Httyd 1 to DoB. But by the time we see him again in RttE (chronologically) he sasses a little less and in a friendlier and more playful context, but he has also matured to deal with his negative feelings differently. RttE is, chronologically, when Stoick actually begins to consider if his son is ready to be chief. He can see how much Hiccup has matured, especially when there's such physicaly distance between them. It's the equivalent of not seeing someone over summer break or watching someone go traveling and see how much they've changed when you reunite with them.

(also, he can knock Snotlout unconscious with a single punch, I bet that helps as well.)

But it is the way Hiccup chooses to defend himself, giving sassy comments (think "Thanks, I was trying!" to Snotlout's comment about the mess he made) to either painful comments about him or actual serious statements like the ones Stoick makes that still gets him in the feels that make him seem so shallow and unserious in the eyes of Berk.

Then there is his apparent history of crying wolf. When he actually does manage to shoot down a Night Fury, his father doesn't believe him and Hiccup explicitly says "this isn't like the last few times, I mean I really actually hit it! It went down!"

When you combine all of this, you get a teenager who doesn't appear to take anybody serious, including the lives of himself and others. Terrible traits to have as a person, let alone when you're the chief's son.

Somehow, a narrative of frivolity and aloofness was build around Hiccup that he just could not escape no matter how much he tried to crawl out of it. At some point, Berk put him in a box, marked it "jokester" and Hiccup's efforts to get out of that box only grew and grew. When his efforts failed, whenever he sassed back, Berk just pushed him even deeper into that box. Not looking further into what Hiccup actually needed or was trying to say.

Do I think Berk was right? Not at all, because this is all surface-level, things Hiccup legitimately says and does to protect himself and nobody realizes this.

Toothless doesn't speak a single word to him during the Forbidden Friendship scene, yet he can get across exactly what he expects from Hiccup (mainly "keep your distance, I don't trust you enough") without being mean about it. He doesn't snap, he doesn't bare his teeth. He just gives him faces that Hiccup understands. Only growling or hissing when Hiccup passes a boundary Toothless very clearly isn't comfortable with. (or, let's say, when his feelings are hurt, like when Hiccup steps on toothless' first drawing.)

And it's because he's not mean about it that he actually makes more progress with Hiccup in half a day than Berk does his entire 15 years.

And that's sad. That's what this post is about. About how sad it is that Berk takes Hiccup at a very shallow level and decides that must be his entire self as a person.

#and then somewhere during the movie #i think specifically when hiccup makes a stand against astrid and tells her ''no'' because he refuses to sell toothless out #that astrid also realizes there is so much more to him than she thought #and that is why she decided to see this through with him rather than go straight to stoick #i'm also thinking about that scene in rtte season 5 #when astrid tells hiccup that she likes how sensitive he is #''don't tell that to stoick'' hiccup tells her playfully #to which she responds with ''oh i think he knows. everybody knows''#hiccup went from being seen as someone who doesn't care about anyone to someone who cares just a little bit too much #httyd movies #httyd #how to train your dragon #hiccup haddock #toothless #hicctooth #berk #stoick the vast #the haddocks #snotlout jorgenson #astrid hofferson

62 notes · View notes

yunyun-soso · 1 day ago

Text

I've seen some posts about Will Solace realizing Nico di Angelo isn't vaccinated and freaks out trying to vaccinate him all at once, which is funny, but I personally don't think Nico would be completely unvaccinated.

It's easy to think that he wouldn't be vaccinated since Nico is from the 1930s and 40s, but vaccines existed back then. In fact, there were many; for scarlet fever, yellow fever, whooping cough, influenza, TB, tetanus, plague, diphtheria, etc. The first official vaccine was invented in 1796 for smallpox.

People got vaccinated less frequently in the early 20th century, so maybe Nico wouldn't have all of those vaccinations. But I like to imagine that Maria and Hades would have wanted their children to be as healthy as possible, so I think he would have had a few vaccines, like for tetanus, TB, and influenza.

Maybe Will gives Nico some newer ones he never received, such as the polio, chicken pox, measles, pneumonia, Lyme, Covid, and updated influenza vaccines.

Edit: I also don't think Nico would be an antivaxxer like some posts I've seen have said. People have been worried about vaccines and medicine in general for a long time, but the whole anti-vaccine movement mostly happened in the 1990s after Andrew Wakefield created the Lancet MMR autism fraud (a paper which has forged and manipulated evidence about a link between vaccines and autism and is extremely discredited). Nico wouldn't have heard about that and the Apollo kids at camp would have wanted to educate the demigods on the importance of being vaccinated.

#nico di angelo #niccolo di angelo #will solace #william solace #pjo hoo toa tsats #tsats #pjo hoo toa #pjo #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #rick riordan #headcanon #headcanons #pjo headcanon #nico di angelo headcanon #tumblr

42 notes · View notes

poly-thot-one-piece-edition · 2 days ago

Text

Office Hours

Cisfem!Reader x Shanks x (????)

Also on Wattpad and Ao3

Summary: If Shanks lets you stab him with your pencil you think things between you would improve.

Blame @hannahbarberra162 for this - she wrote the initial exchange between Shanks and the Reader for this first chapter, and has graciously allowed me to run away with it, cackling like the madman I am. <3

CW: Office AU, Enemies to lovers, mdni, so much swearing and even more smut.

Chapter 1: That Asshole

You had a great job.

A wonderful job!

An absolutely fantastic fucking job!

You were the head of Human Resources for a very successful company, and not only did it pay well, but it came with incredible benefits. The company had been founded by Gol D. Roger some fifty years ago, and One Piece Solutions had flourished ever since.

Eventually illness took the original owner’s life, and the company was now run by the friend of his adopted son. Benn Beckman had been best friends with Shanks since they were kids, and while there had been some concerns among people about how Shanks would take his friend being given the company over him, nothing could’ve made the boisterous red-head happier.

Shanks was COO to Beckman’s CEO, and the two worked so well together that One Piece Solutions was an international company with one of the highest ratings in both services offered, and as a place to work.

You’d think being rated one of the best places to work would make the human resources job relatively cushy.

And mostly it was.

With one notable exception, there was hardly anything to be worried about. Hiring processes, and the occasional firing or processing someone leaving the company voluntarily for any number of reasons, was about as complicated as things got. Interpersonal relationships were stable, and aside from a couple mediated scuffles a year at most, there wasn’t much in terms of stress.

And then there was “The Asshole.”

You hated this man’s very existence.

He held the record for number of complaints filed against him. You dealt with him the most, and he never seemed to give a single care. Nothing he did was enough to fire him, but if you could your job would only feel half as busy as it currently did. It wasn’t as though he was truly being protected either, while the CEO was his best friend, his impact on the company had been so lucrative, he’d almost have to blow the building up to do enough damage for it to be worth firing him.

And Shanks wouldn’t do anything like that. You might hate the man, but he wasn’t a vile man. There weren’t any rumors about him having left a bunch of little bastard babies up and down the Grand Line, and no one ever came forward to accuse him of anything hinky.

He was just, well, Shanks. Handsome, smooth, rich, well-loved, jovial, laid-back, and you were pretty sure he’d let the end of the world roll off his back.

You really just wanted to stab him with your pencil.

Speak of the devil, as that fucking asshole Shanks saunters into your office again, his legs crossing. He hands you a cup from the café just down the block. You don't know how he knows, but it's your favorite drink from there. You'll drink it after he leaves, you don't want to give him the satisfaction but also....the chai latte isn't the one giving you more work.

And since it isn’t currently comprised of 50% bourbon by volume, it’s not really going to help you with the work sitting across from you, either.

"What did I do now?" he asks with a grin. You don't return it, eyes moving from the cup to his bright expression. He always seems happy to be in your office. The less you want him there, the happier he seems.

Or he’s always got that infuriating grin on his face and it just appears brighter the less you want to see him. It’s hard to say.

"Employees caught you fucking the new secretary.” Long and Suffering hang from your words like old friends as your eyes look back to that tempting drink before you sigh. “On the copier.”

“Again." You quantify, looking back at him.

There is not the least bit of professionalism left on your face. You can’t fake a smile around Shanks at this point. It wouldn’t matter how much he paid you, what he promised you, or if he even managed to stop being the single most common item in your office aside from yourself.

No power in the whole of the universe was going to get you to smile at Shanks.

"Oh, so we need a new policy about employees staying after hours?" he asks, leaning back further in the comfortable chairs he bought for your office. He said he spent so many hours in your office already, and he wanted to have a better seat for when you gave him his spankings.

That alone was another report.

"No. We already have a policy about not fucking your employees on company property." you deadpan, handing him the report to sign.

He laughs jovially. Your eye twitches.

"Rules were meant to be broken. Maybe you could try it sometime. Might help with your stress." He says easily, signing the paper. The pencil in your hand snaps, but neither of you pay it any mind.

“I’ll take your words into consideration, sir.” You say automatically. If you argued with him he’d try and sway you to his point, and if you admitted to having done so before he’d want all the details.

You couldn’t sort out why he often seemed determined to spend more time in your office. You’d think by this point he’d be sick of being here. He even bought the fancy chairs to make it more bearable.

Setting the paper on your desk, he gives a charming smile. You envision the same smile on his face with a few of his teeth missing and it’s almost enough to make you grin.

You don’t relax until he finally leaves, sinking into your chair. He’d also bought you a nice comfy chair, and considering you sat in it for a good portion of the day, you were grateful. It had felt like a bribe on some level, but Shanks even showed you the work order - he’d had Beckman take care of the process specifically so it couldn’t be taken that way.

You knew the CEO would do a lot for his friend, but you also knew Beckman’s ethics were on a different level. If he slept around as much as Shanks, he did it in a way that left people none the wiser. He was good looking as well, if not in a different way than Shanks, but there was no way you were going to entertain those thoughts either.

Never mind that you were in your own committed relationship, but there was no way that you were going to get tangled up with someone within 7 degrees of separation to Shanks if you could help it.

Taking a sip of your drink you were irritated to find that it was at the perfect temperature. It was something else that always seemed to happen. You never had to wait for a drink to cool, and it was never cold by the time he left.

Even if he peppered you with questions, or told you about details regarding the newest incident that you did not want, nor need, to know. He still managed to leave at a point when your drink was perfect. It wasn’t that the consideration was out of character for him, Shanks was considerate, it was the way it worked out like that every time.

It did nothing but piss you off more.

He was some perfect little playboy who got away with everything, and he was still considerate, good at his job, and not an utter waste of space. He was easy to like, and if you didn’t have to deal with him as the head of HR you might actually like him. You could see being friends with him at the bare minimum.

Maybe next time you’d ask him if he’d let you stab him for the sake of becoming friends.

#Office Hours #x reader #reader insert #red haired shanks #akagami no shanks #office au

37 notes · View notes

televisionenjoyer · 1 day ago

Note

WHY ARE MOVIES GETTING DARKER I AM ON MY KNEES

Ok fuck it let's go. My amateurish opinions on the three biggest mysteries of film: why they're getting darker, less vibrant and harder to hear. As someone who has worked on camera, montaging, effects and animations, colorimetry when I'm allowed, and on one weird occasion, audio (but I'm an enthusiast ok?)

The short answer is because of technology. The long answer is more nuanced

- Why are movies getting darker?

The "official answer" that filmmakers give actually is technology. Digital cameras allow for much more detail with less lighting required. It also allows videographers to play with different light and exposure settings on the go, instead of having to go with the limitations of the pre-bought film's asa and the precalculated ideal settings. Also film is notoriously bad at capturing dark scenes and responsible for much of the graining we see on analog tv and film.

So basically, they claim it's a stylistic choice. Which could be debated, I mean, after at least five years of everyone complaining about poor lighting, you'd think they'd finally give it up.

BUT there's the whole fact that (certain) special effects are generally easier to pull off when the viewer can't see enough to detect any flaws. They require less care and thus are cheaper and faster to produce. Any studio's wet dream.

Less notably, it's easier to work "down" on colorimetry than it is to work "up." Taking away light from a shot is easier than "creating more light", the latter sometimes leading to very "digitally broken" results. It looks bad. Just grab any video and crank the exposure. It looks horrible.

"But what does exposure have to do with color?" Everything!!! Color IS light!!!

Which leads me to the last reason, HDR. Which leads me to one of the reasons why everything looks so dull.

- Why are movies less vibrant?

So. What is HDR? High Dynamic Range refers to technologies that achieve a much wider light variation. And as we established earlier color IS light, okay? So. More light, more color, brought to you at the hand of display technologies such as OLED and microdimming.

These technologies ramp up the price of domestic screens exponentially. This is why you see domestic televisions that are way above the 2000 dollar mark. And then people will say "oh but my low end television supports HDR, so that's not the issue". Yes. Supports. As in supports files encoded in HDR. Doesn't mean that they have the necessary technology to take advantage of it. Yet they get to put the HDR10 label on their product and get in on the newest marketing fad (it's the new 4k dude. Which is the new 3D. You get what I mean)

And since it is the newest fad, then of course filmmakers HAVE to get in on it. I mean, it's more quality, who doesn't want more quality?

me!!! please stop. not everything has to be aimed at high end equipment (more on this when we get to the audio aspect, aren't you excited?). HDR looks like DOGSHIT if your tv isn't actually OLED. And most consumer TV's aren't OLED.

Tech rant over, I assure you that there is a cultural aspect to this. Don't worry, you're not insane. And it probably is related to the clean girl minimalist iOS style UX modest and demure mentality that is advancing on the 2020s. But it is also related to an art medium shift that we've been undergoing since wayy back when. The sixties.

Yes. I'm gonna go there. I'm gonna talk about Star Trek. I'm going to elaborate on my previous slight outrage.

So. Star Trek marks the beginning of a transition from black and white television into color. It also lands on that weird spot where the whole medium of film and television was still figuring out which elements to import from the ancient medium of theater and which were best left behind.

As a result, Star Trek is very theatrical. And color is a good friend of theater, a medium where everything has to be maximized so that the people in row fifty could appreciate the show almost as well as the people on the first row. Color is a good friend of theater: in wardrobe it helps the performers stand out, boosts up the characters' personality traits, etc. And in lighting, it amplifies moods, conveys emotions and atmospheres related to particular scenes.

The version of Star Trek that you can find on streaming these days is considerably altered from the original product, remastered to make it more palatable to our contemporary brains. As a result, many scenes have been visually altered. The following example shows the original master on the left and the remaster on the right

And while at first I held my head in my hands and asked "why, god, why??" The answer is probably that this reads as unserious as fuck. Having the technology now to desaturate scenes and make certain settings look "cloudy", "gritty", "dark and grim," and so on changed the way we perceive colors in regards to mood on modern film and television. This primary color ass setting in today's context reads as goofy, on a scene that is actually meant to impose concern on the viewers. This wouldn't read this way on theater, but it does on television, because we see them as completely separate mediums.

(however I insist that, star trek being a culturally significant show, making these type of creative decisions strips it of its original intent and shits on its cultural value as a window into how they did television in the sixties. so like. fuck you paramount)

Now, television has been getting thematically darker this century (some call it the post-9/11 effect. I wouldn't know. I am latinoamerican) and our palate as viewers has grown more used to these desaturated settings, to the point where seeing something vibrant like the original star trek makes us feel like we're watching a kids show. And not even a modern kids show, more like teletubbies or barney, because have you guys even seen bluey?? It's so... pastel-y.

It's not just HDR. Movies have gotten less vibrant because we're miserable. Sort of. And television and film have grown obsessed with appearing more serious. (Not that sitcoms and comedy movies have ceased to exist, I'm generalizing.)

- But why is dialogue less intelligible?

Official Answer? Technology. Nowadays we are able to capture subtleties in dialogue, so actors don't have to project their voice 24/7, and we can get more intimate dialogue, something almost intended to be a secret that you shouldn't be listening to, making you feel like an intruder. It's the intent.

Unofficially? Technology (marketing fad edition). It's surround audio!!! That's the real culprit!!! And listen, I love surround audio, I have two 5.1 systems at home that we bought secondhand and work like a charm. All that being said: why is star trek tos in 5.1? (YES I'm still on star trek). Why is everything natively encoded in surround audio on streaming these days, left to be down-mixed in real time by your tv?

I'm going to quickly explain surround to y'all using 5.1 as an example. On stereo (which is how most consumers watch film and television) you have two audio channels: your left and right speakers. 5.1 has six: front-left, center, front-right, rear-left, rear-right, and subwoofer. Most dialogue goes through the center speaker. Downmixing is when your tv takes all these channels and mushes them into two: left channel (containing left-front, left rear, center and subwoofer) and right channel (right front, right rear, center and subwoofer). So your center channel is suddenly competing with all these other frequencies and gets a bit muffled.

But wait! It gets worse! 5.1 is now ancient by technology fad standards. For a while there was 7.1 and now the newest, incredibly expensive marketing fad is Dolby Atmos (you might have seen it as a badge on streaming services such as Disney plus). This protocol supports up to 64 channels. You know, if you're crazy and rich enough.

Dolby Atmos was originally developed for cinemas but it's now being sold to direct consumers. According to Dolby, the ideal sound configuration in your home in order to listen to this material the way it was intended from the comfort of your living room is of at least eight (very fancy) speakers and up to 12 speakers.

So. Even with a 5.1 system your audio is still down-mixed.

In conclusion:

Film and television did not get shittier (well, they have, but that's not the sole culprit of this crisis), it just became less accessible and overall uninterested in catering to the average consumer.

#holy shit this got long. sorry #i promise it's interesting if you're a bit of a nerd

22 notes · View notes

maythedreadwolftakeyou · 6 hours ago

Note

not a desert technically but I just visited the dunes in Monterey and gleefully trampled on some ice plant and I feel like you might enjoy that. if you wanna talk about the kinds of vegetation that grow in sandy soil or something I invite you to 👀

(also you're doing it! you're surviving! you'll get through that doctorate!)

ok ready this is my most important soapbox of all because soils in the desert are very special and have such cool organisms you don't find in these arrangements outside of drylands...

first lookee here. wauw beautiful utah

ok now look closer

no closer closer closer

CLOSER CLOSER CLOSER

WOW is that MOSS? you are thinking. the answer is YES. but doesn't moss like lots of water you are thinking??? WELL USUALLY. BUT in the desert you will notice that things like grasses and shrubs have lots of space between them unlike in more temperate climates-vegetation cover is not truly continuous. And there's less leaf litter than in forests obscuring the dirt. Which means all that soil is just sitting out in the open with nothing to protect it from being blown away by those harsh desert winds... except of course for our friends the BIOLOGICAL SOIL CRUSTS. also known as crypotbiotic soils, cryptogrammic soils, and biocrusts (for short).

These are communities of mosses, lichens, cyanobacteria (aka blue green algae--yes, those are usually Wet too, but ironically so so common in deserts), and the tens of thousands of surface and subsurface microbes that are associated with them. It's easy to forget just how many organisms are living in one single scoop of soil, especially because science can barely identify 1% of these microbes. Like of JUST the ones we have enough info to classify enough to count in my own master's dataset left me with over 25,000 unique taxonomic units I had to manage. don't worry about what that means just know it was very annoying and makes statistics a headache. anyway you find them all over the southwest US states as well as in other deserts around the world (spain, australia, sooo many in china, incredible ones in the succulent karoo in south africa/namibia, plenty in argentina etc etc), if you know where to look...

anyway OUR HEROS THE BIOCRUST aren't just there to look pretty (though you will can see from photos they also do this :) ), but are a vital component to the dryland ecosystem! They literally hold the soil surface together to prevent erosion, they influence hydrology in terms of rainfall runoff + infiltration, they impact how seeds germinate, they contribute to nutrient cycling and what plant-available compounds are held at the soil surface... like i feel like Tumblr in general has been made aware of how fungi & root networks interact in large scale systems like forests, but that is also happening on a more microscopic level in deserts! just in the top couple centimeters soooo much is happening. Cyanobacteria in particular are tiny organisms that produce little nets of sugars woven in the soil to climb around on and protect themselves, and if you crumble a little bit of soil from the surface you can see how the little spiderweb strings literally hold together the sand particles.

Now that you're Aware of biocrusts, when you look at larger scale landscape photos taken in un-trampled areas of desert, you will notice them as darker patches and textures on the lighter soil:

Yep there's these tiny little communities all over, that many people never learn to see. And now what I said before about mosses & cyanobacteria usually preferring wet environments--they have in fact adapted to life in the desert in ways that means they're dormant for most of the year. They live in stasis until the rainy season hits (or in some cases, winter moisture from a snow layer--many will photosynthesize through a few inches of snow since it's clear/white), and then burst into color and life. Many patches of biocrust will look utterly lifeless and dried out at first and then become vibrant and swell up within a few minutes of being exposed to moisture. Lichens, while more vibrant even when dry, will also mostly only grow/reproduce while wet. And biocrusts come in all sorts of colors, shapes, and preferred microhabitats!

anyway this post is long enough already so i'll be quick. while beautiful and important as you can imagine these are FRAGILE. if they get trampled too much, by humans or cows or cars, that's it. you're back to bare soil that can blow away whenever it wants.

I was lucky to get to participate in a 2x/year survey of one of the very few places in Utah to NEVER have cattle grazing or development, a remote area the entrance is kept secret to inside Canyonlands National Park, where you can see just how dense and lush biocrusts once could be in the US southwest:

ah... glorious. what special little guys. this is why if you visit many of the national parks in Utah you will see signs & stickers around with slogans like "Don't Bust The Crust" and "Tiptoe Through The Crypto" and etc. so heed that advice but DO stop and kneel down and get a better look at them!

#LONG POST #if you dont like long posts you can turn on the collapse posts feature in settings fun fact dont yell at me for your own dash choices #deserts #desert southwest #biocrusts #biological soil crusts #now if i could get myself onto a videogame design team you'd bet id put THESE in those desert regions #its fantasy land give me beautiful fantasy biocrusts... so sad to see them all extinct in thedas how many druffalo did they graze... anyway #replies #ramblings #dreadfutures #i spent a beautiful weekend in monteray once. for a conference but i skipped a day to go to the aquarium and sea kayaking which was great #didnt get to go to the dunes but DID get to jump in the very cold ocean a bunch which is always a treat for a desert rat #all photos mine btw thats why theres no credits

24 notes · View notes

violinios · 20 hours ago

Text

Dream Sans headcannons!

Some might be not cannon accurate, and it's only my own interpretation of him. Might update sometime. I'll mix angst headcannons with fluffy and some funny ones.

The illusion his aura creates also affects people's smell. Yeah, people's smell. His aura makes other people attracted to him in many ways, and smell is one of them. Each person can feel a different, pleasent smell coming from him, it depends of their personal favorite smell. If their favorite smell is chocolate, they'll feel like Dream smells like chocolate. If someone likes the smells of strawberries, Dream would smell like strawberries to them. The only ones who are actually able to feel his true smell are, obviously, people not affected by his aura. I like to think his aura creates a lot of types of illusions that make people attached to him.

Once he got a (temporary) room for himself, he decorated the ceilling and almost everything he could with star-shaped things. This is because Dream used to sleep with his brother under the stars, looking at the sky at night before going to sleep, and he started to miss this feeling. Of course that sleeping in a bed is way more comfortable than sleeping against a tree, but he still misses his old home. Even if the stars on the ceilling are fake, it stills feels nice and it brings him a feeling of nostalgia. He only wishes he had his brother once again to watch the stars with him...

Dangerous animals become soft around him. Or at least, most of them. Lions, for an example, are pratically kittens when around Dream. Yes, this is also a result of his aura. Wouldn't it be fun if he just came back home to meet his partner with a motherfucking lion following him like a lost puppy?

He's unaware of how harmless or how dangerous things can actual be for mortal beings. He thinks they're way more fragile than they actually are and can be overprotective without noticing. He's barely affected by deseases that affects normal people and can handle more than mortals would physically be able to handle, but he has no idea if some things are deadly or not, and becomes overly worried about normal things such as a cold. It took him some time to realize a tummy ache won't kill his friend...

He has healing tears. His body heals by his own, and he can use magic to heal other people, but this makes him extremelly tired since it demands a lot of his powers. So when healing others, he has to cry and let his tears fall on the bruises instead of using his powers, but it would take more time to heal serious injuries. They would heal a deep cut in a matter of minutes, at least.

He panics around statues. At his first years of freedom from his imprisonment, he thought that the statues were people going through the same situation he went through more than 400 years, stuck in stone and started to react as a result of trauma, trying to free them in any ways he could, yet failling because they weren't real people stuck in stone. It took him some time to realize that, and he tried to tell himself to act more rational when around statues, but still, he feels uneasy when he's around statues of real people. He tries not to react or to be worried, but he keeps trying not to look at them and avoids being near them.

Everyone compares him to an old men when he texts. He likes to use a lot of emojis and uses those "good morning" gifs non ironically. He writes like he's writting a formal letter, like he used to write to his brother when they were young (even though he writes like a formal letter, his writing is definetly not the best... he's not good at writing at all lol. example below.)

Even though he's still tries to mask his own feelings with a positive and cheerful attitude, his behaviour changed a lot. He's less energetic than he was as a child, a bit more shy due to insecurity and less extroverted than before, but still social. He's a bit closed off when it comes to his own feelings, but knows how to handle social situations well and how to handle with other people's emotions. His adult self is less silly and more serious and mature, but still as gentle as ever. He got rid of his childishness, even before becoming an adult, as a result of feeling guilty for the events that happened in Dreamtale, as if he told himself he doesn't deserve a childhood. He prefers to, instead, give a good childhood to the children around him, the childhood he never had, and is more protective of children than adults (but he won't deny them protection too, he just enjoys being a brother/father figure to the young people)

#undertale #dream sans #dreamtale #utmv #undertale au

22 notes · View notes

evol-astraea · 19 hours ago

Text

Desperate PC Tenno calling for help!

Calling all the tech-savvy players here on Tumblr who may hopefully lend me and tech support a hand. Yes, the situation is that bad. More under the cut to spare a lengthy wall of text!

I've been experiencing totally random and sudden crashes with WF since a month and half, by now.

The game first freezes for less than a minute, then crashes to desktop bringing up the window to report crashes. This happens literally anywhere and anytime in the game. During mission, at the end of the mission, while idling in the Orbiter/base of operations, sitting in the pause menu, checking the settings menu. All kind of possible scenarios. Ah, and DX11 or DX12 make no difference either.

It's driving me - and tech support - insane. Because it is so HARD to pinpoint the root cause! Every log file so far has reported some kind of General Protection Failure (GPF) error followed by different numbers.

I'm running the game on a brand new, pre-built computer from Megaport. Which I moved to from my old potato of a PC back in late November. Specs are the following: Windows 11 Home (build 24H2) Intel Core I7-12700KF, 8x 3.60 Ghz + 4x 2.70 Ghz ASUS Prime Z790-A Wifi DDR5 NVidia GeForce RTX 4070 Dual Palit 12GB 2x 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5-6000 1 TB SSD 1000 Watt PSU

I have done everything tech support has suggested me to do and: - Uninstalled and re-installed the game, - Update drivers. Being a new computer, everything is pretty much up to date. I had to do a clean install for the GPU drivers only using DDU, though, - Verified game files, - Emptied the shader cache on the drive game is saved to, - Repaired Steam library, - Lowered graphic settings, - Attempted to launch and run Warframe in Clean Boot mode to exclude background programs/services <- unsuccessfully; Steam didn't work at all (which I kind of figured would happen) and trying to launch the game straight from the launcher...triggered a download of the game files in the App Data folder on main (C) drive. O_o The random crashes don't even appear in the Windows Event Viewer. Nowhere to be found. And believe me, I have looked into every single category. I've been keeping track of the time(s) of the crashes but, alas, found nothing that could possibly be related to those. (also, I'm not a computer expert so perhaps I'm doing things wrong)

So far, the only weird thing I've noticed is...Most of the times there seemingly is a "break" in between each series of crashes. A few days at worst, 10-12 days at best. Yes, I checked even the Task Scheduler utility on Windows. Found no program/app that runs automatically that matches with the timing/days when the crashes have occurred so far.

Really losing my mind to this. It's frustrating, it's unnerving, it's making me genuinely terrified of playing the game. And the reason I got this PC in the first place was being finally able to play my favorite game without worrying about being unable to because of my old (and obsolete) machine! Because I don't know when the next crash shall decide to happen and oh boy it's gonna be so fun losing progress. Or having a couple of players reasonably angry at me for suddenly poofing as host. I'm really sorry about that, folks.

I'm already considering the option of total formatting this computer, should there be no other way. But not before entirely giving up. And maybe make things a little less complicated for tech support team.

I can't thank these guys enough for their help and most importantly patience over the past month and half. This mess has been handed to three different people already and a solution hasn't been found yet.

So, if there are fellow Tenno on Tumblr who have either experienced something like this before and found a fix or are just more knowledgeable about computers and whatnot, your help would be GREATLY appreciated. ;.;

EDIT: I forgot to mention a few important things! - Hardware temperatures are within optimal range while in game (CPU never above 65°C, GPU has been running ice cold and has rarely exceeded 50°C so far, RAM is chilling at 45°C average). - GPU memory usage averages around at max (peak) 77% on HWInfo. - CPU usage I honestly need to check! D: - Ran disk cleanup, scans with sfc, chkdsk and DISM (all through command prompts ran as admin) and no issues were found. - Checked RAM health as well with Windows' memory diagnostic tool. However, it seems to give many false positives even on perfectly functional RAM banks. Looking for a more reliable alternative. - Warframe is the only game that keeps crashing on this PC. I haven't been getting any with other games/programs (Hades II; need to test how Ultrakill performs) or any warning signs (BSODs, freezes, sluggish PC, etc) that could suggest hardware failure.

#warframe #I even made a post on the official WF forums but nobody bothered to answer #don't know where else I should ask for help

18 notes · View notes

elminx · 18 hours ago

Text

This is a big planetary movement week, which, under "normal" circumstances (sidenote: everything in astrology is "normal," but I digress), would mean we are also making moves.

Unfortunately, one of the planets making moves this week is retrograde Mars - moving backward from 00° Leo to 29° Cancer. So, said another way: we may all be making moves this week, but it's as likely to be backward as forward.

If that's you, know that you are right on time.

As I mentioned above, planetary retrogrades ARE business as usual ("normal") in that they happen with predictable regularity. Still, retrograde Mars is especially antithetical to our modern obsession with constant growth and progress, which can feel especially grating and triggery to those who have gone All In on our capitalistic ideals.

Cancer is the sign of Mars's exile, to begin with, and we are now thrice thwarted by the retrograde, AND Mars will be out of bounds for the next three months. (link to my last post so I don't have to repeat myself too much here)

It might be wise to consider Mars permanently out-to-lunch for a while and remember that this will make some people really REALLY dysregulated.

You don't have to be, but it may take some work to stay present and aware of your own emotions and reactions during this challenging transit.

Stay aware of the less-than-ideal ways you and those you interact with go about getting what you want when the path gets obstructed. The immature side of Mars in Cancer energy is emotional manipulation, so pack your very best boundaries like you're going to spend Christmas day with your family.

Mercury moves into Capricorn this week, too, but - in an interesting swing of chance - also immediately goes out of bounds on 1/9-1/20.

These two planets - the two major planets that control our journey - are both out of bounds in opposing signs. This is when things get really weird, sometimes even really liminal.

We're moving deeper into Capricorn season from both ends, sort of like a pair of Chinese finger cuffs (yes, that is a chasing Amy reference to being fucked from both ends). Capricorn has taken much of the brunt of the planetary pressure since 2020, when almost all of our planets transited the sign in short succession. We're moving into Aquarius - a new day, a new beginning - symbolized by slow-moving Pluto - but we're not there - not yet.

Yes, that is the smell of unfinished business in the air. You aren't imagining things.

The big flex is to do the work to tie up these last ends now because the knot will tighten around us all month long as we move closer to the switchover of our lunar nodes. The big obstacle comes when you need to do the work with others, and, like Mars, they are out to lunch and unavailable to take your call.

Remember, the North Node is in Aries for a couple more weeks; this is still a solo mission.

I think a lot of the pressure will fall on those of us with strong cardinal placements (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn); if that's you, stay aware. Slow and steady is the only way you'll make it through the week. Right now, THAT'S the goal - don't even worry your pretty little head about the race.

Energy Update: January 2025

January is a "1" Universal Month [1 (January) + 9 (2025) = 10 = 1+0 =1] in a "9" Universal Year. 1 is the number of beginnings and starting over - this makes this January a 1/1 month as all Januarys bring 1 energy to the table, further amplified by our 9-themed year. It is worth remembering that 9 is the number of endings, so from a wide enough lens, we can say that this January is the beginning of the end. Or better said AN end.

The Set Up

January begins with the Sun in Capricorn, Mercury in Sagittarius, Venus and Pluto in Aquarius, retrograde Mars in Leo, retrograde Jupiter in Gemini, Saturn and Neptune in Pisces, and retrograde Uranus in Taurus. By the month's end, the Sun will have moved into Aquarius, Mercury will have moved through Capricorn into Aquarius, Venus will have entered Pisces, and Mars will have moved backward into Cancer. Additionally, we will see the switchover of our lunar nodes from the Aries-Libra axis to the Pisces-Virgo axis, and Uranus will have stationed direct.

The Nitty Gritty

All eyes are on our lunar nodes, moving away from the Aries-Libra axis towards Pisces-Virgo at the end of this month. The tides are shifting, and we need to shift with them.

The Lunar Nodes

In a year full of endings, this is a pretty big one. All month long, our North and South nodes will be sitting at 00° of Aries and Libra, respectively. This may seem counterintuitive because 00° is the first degree of a given sign, and as I mentioned above, the lunar nodes are about to switch signs. This is because the nodes - overall - move retrograde to the movement of the planets throughout our skies.

For a quick refresher: the lunar nodes are not physical bodies in our sky but mathematical points representing the exact degree with which the Sun, Moon, and Earth can align to create a solar or lunar eclipse. So, from a wide lens, this indicates that our eclipse seasons are about to shift from Aries and Libra to Pisces and Virgo.

But we aren't there quite yet.

The lunar nodes move backward through the horoscope every 1.5 years, representing a compass point of focus away from the South Node and towards the North Node. Society generally becomes more focused on the themes of the signs the lunar nodes inhabit. This past year and a half have focused on the dichotomy between the self (Aries) and relationships (Libra). It has been a battle of "I" versus "We". It's wise to remember that Aries and Libra, though quite different, are an astrological pair - one can never truly be understood without the other. There can be no sense of togetherness without understanding separateness, and vice versa.

This cycle has caused a lot of disruptions and reworkings, specifically in the realm of relationships because the axis of Aries-Libra IS the axis of relationships. With the North Node in Aries, the focus was on individualization, and this process corrupted and broke down relationships that couldn't exist within an individualized framework.

When things end, there needs to be a mourning period or, at the least, a period of readjustment. 00° Aries will be a heavy focus point throughout 2025 as Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Neptune move into and back out of Aries later this year.

When we talk "1" as new beginnings - many think of January 1st and our calendar new year. But in astrology, the year begins at 00° Aries with the equinox and our first breath of spring. 00° Aries is highly potentiated - it holds the potential of an entire new year within its grasp. This enhances our natural "1" energy of the month of January, which has already been further enhanced by this January being a 1/1 year.

As our Sun and personal planets change signs this month, each will move into aspect with our lunar nodes at 00° degrees, creating strong short-lived windows of opportunity and further enhancing the New energy inherent all month long.

We can view each of these days as one last chance to come to terms with the waning energy of this cycle of the lunar nodes but also as the cosmically right time to start over. It's worth noting here that the type of aspect makes some difference, as does whether the planet is in a stronger aspect to the North Node (progress) or South Node (endings). Here, the most potent aspects are conjunctions, squares, or trines, with sextiles being second to that and semi-sextiles or inconjunction being relatively inconsequential.

As our planets enter Aquarius, for example, they find themselves trine to the South Node - this is more indicative of endings and needing to make adjustments to change. Whereas when Mercury enters Capricorn, it forms an intense square, which may propel us into the future with stronger more intent "1" energy. I will speak more about our planetary aspects to the lunar nodes in each planet's section, where I feel it is warranted.

It's worth remembering here that beginnings and endings are two sides of the same coin - you (often) cannot have one without the other. Only our ultimate beginnings (birth) and our ultimate endings (death) are concrete and finitely separated from each other.

It's also worth mentioning here the peculiarity of astrology and how it relates to the tarot. The major arcana and the astrological wheel begin with the number 0 rather than the number 1. In this way, we can say that all month, we are sitting in Fool energy - all of the potential of the world, but on the edge of a cliff. Also, like the ongoing retrograde Mars energy, when the lunar nodes switch, we will go backward into Pisces, not forward in the future.

Venus will be the first of our planets to cross the line from Pisces into Aries in forward motion this year, but she will also retrograde and move back across it, following in the lunar nodes' footsteps. So will Mercury, Saturn, AND Neptune over the coming months.

You might begin to see what I mean about beginnings and endings here. You might begin to understand why the lunar nodes are more important than many astrologers seem to comprehend.

The lunar nodal movement is certainly a changing of the guard, but it isn't always felt by everyone. I suspect this one will be, though, since those degrees of 00° Aries and 29° Pisces play so much into the energy of our year ahead. It is worth watching - especially if you have luminaries or personal planets within 5 of 00 for cardinal signs or 25-29 degrees for mutable signs.

The nodes switch on 1/28 at the end of the month, but there will be a building tension in advance of this actualizing. I will write more about our new Pisces-Virgo era as we get there, as that is mostly February's (and the future) situation.

Our Lights: The Sun and the Moon

As our Sun moves through Capricorn, it meets up for a brief sextile with Saturn in Pisces on 1/04. This is a check on our New Year's goals - have we set ourselves up with a solid framework to achieve in the coming year (Saturn), or are we grasping at a pipe dream (Pisces)? Capricorn especially wants to dot every I and cross every T; this is why it is auspicious to begin our calendar year in the sign of the goat. In what might be a rocky year, Capricorn can give us the confidence to keep our footing, but we do need to set ourselves up for success.

Our full moon for the month is on 1/13 at 24° Cancer, which looks like a less-than-auspicious day. Uranus forms a trine to our Capricorn Sun and sextile to our Cancerian moon, which adds a layer of volatility to anything that might come up during this lunation. Additionally, Venus in Pisces will square off with retrograde Jupiter in Gemini. This screams "unlucky in love," but it's wise to remember that Venus rules all kinds of getting along, not just the romantic vibes. Venus in Pisces has the bad habit of wearing rose-colored glasses and only seeing what she wants to see, and retrograde Jupiter in Gemini is an outright liar. All that glitters is not gold around this full moon, and certain inconsistencies or falsehoods may come to light or be revealed during this time. Tempers will also be high, stoked by retrograde Uranus in Taurus, who is breaking down old ground and not taking any prisoners.

Expect some waterworks, as Cancerian moons always seem to bring out the big emotions in all of us.

Our Cancer Full Moon is a 5/6 Full Moon.

10 (Capricorn Sun) + 4 (Cancer Moon) = 14 = 1+4 =5. 5 (Capricorn Full Moon) + 1 (January 2025) = 6.

The numerology echoes the astrological energy of the lunation - there's a lot of conflict inherent in the Number 5, but its conflict meant to show the fallacy of the complacency sometimes found within structures. We must work hard to harness the "6" energy of working together to find solutions. Still, the energy IS available if everyone involved is willing to put aside their reactionary brains and seek compromise for the higher good - a function of 6 energy.

It's unlikely, though. Our Capricorn moon is already closely opposed to retrograde Mars in Cancer at its height of reactivity. Mars is in its fall in the cardinal water sign of the crab, which often seems to move sideways rather than forward toward its goals. This creates a lot of angst and discomfort, further enhanced by Mars's current backward motion. Nobody is at their best right now, and patience has never been Cancer's forte. As I've said before, when referencing this Mars in the Cancer cycle, crabby hands are grabby hands, and grabby hands never let go. To compromise during January, we will have to meet the other person halfway, and retrograde Mars in Cancer makes it exceptionally difficult for us to do so.

The Sun will oppose retrograde Mars exactly on 1/15; this is definitely a day to lie low and do and say less. Set your expectations at the absolute bottom of what you can imagine, and give yourself space to go even lower.

When the Sun enters Aquarius on 1/19, it forms an immediate conjunction with Pluto and trine to our South Node in Libra. This accentuates the letting go part of our 1-themed month, as Pluto is the dwarf planet of erosion and disintegration, and the South Node shows what we are moving away from during this time. This aligns well with the waning moon cycle and is a great time to do any cleansing, banishing, or removal work. This energy will stretch through to 1/21 when the Sun meets up with Pluto in exactitude.

Our new moon for the month is on 1/29 at 09° Aquarius, which mirrors the full moon early with retrograde Jupiter in a tight trine to our Sun and Moon. This will be a low day, maybe one of the lowest of the entire year, as a lot going on around it will heighten this dark moon energy. The day before, Venus entered her pre-retrograde shadow in Pisces, and, more importantly, the lunar nodes switched signs. We may not know up from down, as if this were a Piscean moon or we are stuck deep in 12th house energy. If you can't even on this day, know that you are right on time.

It isn't a day for doing. It might not even be a day for feeling, given the airy spaciness of Aquarius.

Our Aquarius New Moon is a 4/5 New Moon.

11 (Aquarius Moon) + 11 (Aquarius Sun) = 22 = 2+2 = 4. 4 (Aquarius New Moon) + 1 (January 2025) = 5.

When one considers that Aquarius new moons are actually 22/4 moons, meaning that they carry the double 2 energy of choice and movement and the 4 energy of stability, this could be a very auspicious day. But, again, we see the 5 energy coming along to disrupt or break up that solidarity.

There may be too many unknowns to make any concrete plans. Sometimes, that is just the way that things are.

Mercury

Since Mercury was retrograde through the end of November and early December, it is lagging behind the Sun and playing catch-up all month long. It exits its post-retrograde shadow on 1/04 at 22° Sagittarius before moving on into Capricorn on 1/08. The Sun plus Mercury in Capricorn will add a serious tone to the two weeks that follow - people will likely be thinking carefully before they speak, which is ultimately positive in a month that is quite Saturnian.

In Capricorn, Mercury immediately squares off with the lunar nodes at 00° Aries and Libra, respectively. We are at a turning point, not quite stepping into the future (the North Node) and not quite ready to give up the past (South Node). There may be some unfinished business that needs attending around 1/8-1/9, and it's likely something best worked through verbally. Write it out or talk it out. Make a pros/cons list. Be practical here: Mercury is in Capricorn's realm now and, therefore, ruled by the planet of getting it right, Saturn. Squares (and this is technically a t-square with Mercury square at once to both the North Node and the South due to their inherent opposition) can be a harsh aspect, but as mentioned in the lunar nodes section above, this provides powerful energy to right your path and tap into the 1/1 energy that January so readily provides. Use this energy to intellectualize your plans for the year ahead of you and make concrete plans to make it happen.

Capricorn isn't the strongest placement for Mercury, but it can be used so long as you are willing to do the work to make it happen. (That's pretty much the theme of the month, after all)

Interestingly, we don't see another Mercury aspect after this until Mercury meets up in sextile to a conjunction between Venus and Saturn on 1/18. Saturn is making moves later this year (changing signs over the border from sign #12, Pisces, to sign #1, Aries), and we are now deep in the planning stages. Venus in Pisces wants to dream big, but Saturn holds things soundly grounded deep into reality. Saturn says there is no use in having goals if you aren't taking active steps to achieve them. With Mercury in tow, Saturn wants us to think things through to their logical conclusions. That is the skill that Capricorn has which Pisces often so desperately needs, use it.

By 10/23, Mercury is in a tough opposition with retrograde Mars sitting in its fall in watery Cancer. This is a test of our resolve to follow through on our ideas. And we are most likely failing, but that said - it's not our fault. With retrograde Mars in its exile in cardinal Cancer, very few people are living up to their obligations at the moment. It may feel like a punch in the gut and old thoughts (Mercury) around being not good enough, not brave enough, not smart enough, not Enough Enough may arise to the surface. Mercury in Capricorn can be a bit of a downer (Saturn has a suppressive influence on everything it touches), and retrograde Mars is far from giving us the pep needed to overcome that winter slump.

It's certainly right on time, but it won't feel fun. Stay aware if you're prone to the bad kind of depression and take steps early to care for yourself through this transit.

Some big changes are happening, and Mercury is at the forefront, as it so often is. (I suspect this is because we have to think our way through things before we can do much else, but I digress a bit there) Mercury enters Aquarius on 1/27 and immediately conjuncts Pluto (death/erosions/decomposition) while also meeting up in a sextile to the North Node and trine to the South the very day before the lunar nodes move backward into Pisces and Virgo, respectively.

The flex will be using your mind and staying aware during this time, but things will feel tenuous and incredibly murky. Put on your seeing glasses or your very best pathfinding charm if you've got 'em. The nodes shift, we experience a dense and low Aquarius full moon, and the Uranus stations direct - all three days in a row. All somehow involving Mercury (it is sextile/trine the nodes, widely conjunct the new moon, and the lower octave of all Uranian energy).

If you know how to look for one, an Ah-Ha moment might be hidden in all this nonsense.

Venus

Venus is out ahead of the pack and moving quickly through the mutable, watery sign of Pisces. Venus is exalted in Pisces, which means it is at its best - especially when pushing forward the radical idea that EVERYBODY deserves more love. Even so, all planetary placements have mature and immature sides. The above is Venus in Pisces showing up in its mature form, but the immature form of Venus in Pisces can be erratic and downright avoidant.

Pisces rules the unconscious and our ideals. Immature Piscean energy can be so obsessed with their sense of idealism that they lose sight of reality entirely. An immature Venus in Pisces type might prefer to be lied to rather than know the truth; they can live their entire life with their head in the sand focused on their fantasy while their Others are running around doing untoward things that they refuse to look at or admit to. Through this Venus in Pisces transit, we should all hope for the first mature type of Venus in Pisces energy - that is empathetic to all humans (hopefully with firm boundaries) and try to avoid the immature Piscean state of delusion and avoidance.

It may not be easy this month as Venus always needs to be read in relation to their counterpart, Mars. There are two sides to the same coin, as both deal with different ways we get along and work towards achieving our desires. We often view Venus as passive, drawing in what we want, and Mars as active, seeking out desires, but it is not that cut and dry. When Venus is in the more active signs (Air, Fire, and Cardinal), it plays a more traditional aggressor role, and Mars tends to be more passive in Earth, Water, and Mutable signs. Although Venus in Pisces can be infinitely loving, it is not the strongest placement from an outward energy perspective. And likewise, Mars retrograde in the sign of its exile, Cancer, is also not at its best.

This will be an easier month than when Venus was in Aquarius, directly opposed to retrograde Mars in Leo, but easier is a matter of degrees here. Mars is doubly exiled, and Venus isn't stepping up to take the reigns to get things done in her mutable, watery form.

Once you accept that, the month will probably run much smoother for you.

We don't see a lot of action from Venus this month aspect-wise, and what we do see shows the depths of the situation. As Venus moves through Pisces, it will re-activate our waning Jupiter-Saturn mutable square from December through a square to Jupiter on 1/14 and a conjunction to Saturn on 1/18. We are being brought to task by our relationship choices all month long as part of the last dregs of this lunar nodal cycle on the Aries-Libra axis, where we have let our relationships overwhelm us (Jupiter) and also where we have held on too tight and not given them room to breathe (Saturn). We all walk a tightrope between wanting and needing connection (Libra, the placement of our South Node) and needing space (Aries, the placement of our North Node). The truth is that we need both at the correct levels - right for us AND our others.

Therein, at times, lies the crux of the issue. In its immature form, Venus in Pisces wants to wear rose-colored glasses and focus wholly on the good in relationships. Venus in Pisces is the type to keep a relationship going with a toxic person because of the potential they saw in their other once upon a time. But in the real world (ruled by Saturn), potential is not enough.

I don't think this will be a hard pass for everyone, but it will be for those hiding things from themselves or trying to keep relationships long past their expiration date alive. I don't just mean bit R romantic relationships here, either.

The big flex around 1/14-1/18 will be seeing your Others for who they really are, warts and all. In realizing they have the intrinsic right to have wants and needs that have nothing to do with you. They are a whole person in and of themselves without you involved. This is going to strike a hard note for those dealing with issues around codependency for sure. The toxic "Us" will certainly rear its ugly head as people grapple with enmeshment within family systems and relationships. This is a bit of a glimpse into our future here as our North Node enters Pisces on 1/28, putting all Piscean ideals, good and bad, in the spotlight for the next year and a half.

Pisces, in its purest form, is a servant of love - it hints at the idea that on a long enough timeline (Pisces is our last sign in the horoscope lineup), humans will realize that universal love is the answer—the ideal. Piscean love is never meant to be personal as Piscean is - by its position as the last sign - the least personal of all.

This isn't going to be an easy road or an easy transition. As Venus moves through Pisces, it will enter its pre-retrograde shadow on 1/28 at 24° Pisces. Notably, this is the day the North Node moves into Pisces, forming a loose (05°) conjunction with Venus. Venus will move into Aries next month and then retrograde BACK into Pisces, following the path the lunar nodes have so recently trod.

As mentioned above, Mercury, Saturn, and Neptune will also retrograde and move backward from Aries into Pisces later this year. If Pisces is the most universal sign, Aries is the most personal. That they are neighbors, that one always becomes the other either by forward or backward motion shows a lot about the nature of humanity. About the many stages of being who we are as a species.

This is the meat of the work we all need to do this year, and we can see by the transits that we will get many chances to get it right, so it's okay if you don't the first time around.

Stay aware in and around 1/28, as it may be a sneak peek into what will arise for you again and again in the year ahead.

Mars

As Mars' retrograde cycle deepens, the pace of life may seem to continue to slow or halt altogether. If you feel like you can't get ahead this month, know that you are right on time. Retrograde Mars in Leo trines the North Node in Aries on 1/02, which will hit on those themes of Individuality/Togetherness that we have one last chance to rectify this month. Mars in Leo's prominent immature trait is that of inherent narcissism - Leo can be every bit as "Me First" as sign #1, Aries, albeit for differing reasons. Aries has an instinctive understanding that somebody has to go first, and they are willing to take the hit for the team (and it often is detrimental to go first, whatever people might think); Leo goes first because they usually believe they are most deserving.

Therefore, when Leo stumbles into the consequence of going first, they are often shocked by the result (rather than Aries, who is expecting this and has agreed to it). In this way, it is worth considering the consequences of your actions early in the month - are you, like immature Leo, barreling ahead without thinking about what will happen next, or like mature Aries, are you prepared to face what lies ahead, even if it less than ideal. It's worth remembering that January is an unusually Saturnian month, and Saturn will play a large part in the year ahead, so there will most certainly BE consequences.

Consequences don't have to be bad. They can be a reward for hard work. Sometimes, the difference between the two is all in your state of mind.

The energy of our inability to act will change drastically on 1/06 as retrograde Mars moves backward into Cancer, where it will remain for the rest of its retrograde cycle. It's worth noting that Cancer is the sign of Mars's exile - as it is the opposite sign of its exaltation, Capricorn. This means a couple of things concerning this month. For starters, the natural energy of Cancer (sideways, grabby hands, crab motion) does not suit Mars's energy well. Additionally, as our Sun and Mercury move through Capricorn - each will have to oppose Mars in their time.

If you think about the nature of the crab, their pinchers are likely the first thing to come to mind. Crabs are known to grab onto something and never let go. This is the immature energy of Mars in Cancer - otherwise known as "this is mine." Mature Cancerean energy is about sharing resources that you might see in a community or family unit. Still, immature Cancer energy is obsessed with keeping whatever it has at any cost! Because Cancer is a water sign and ruled by the capricious moon, this includes the dreaded emotional manipulation.

"Look what I have done for you." "I am the best you will ever find." "You owe me."

Remember we are in the last dregs of this Aries-Libra lunar node cycle, and Mars has just crossed backward from Leo into Cancer (fire to water), which is the point trine to Aries into Pisces that our nodes, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and Neptune are all about to pass over as well. Everything is interrelated. Our story has no outliers this month, showing us that we must pay close attention.

This month, the big flex from a Mars perspective will be understanding that you have the right to any emotions you feel (Mars in Cancer has all of the feelings), but you don't have the right to use your emotions against your Others. On the other hand, you have the right to hold boundaries with others if they try to use their emotions against you.

"No" is a complete sentence, even if that person is your parent, sibling, friend, or lover.

You do not need to be a casualty in somebody else's war with themselves.

This has been an aggressively long Mars in Cancer transit that began months ago, and it's not much fun for anyone—emphasis on the aggressive.

Mars doesn't make a lot of aspects this month, which is a small favor, but those it does make will be challenging days for everyone involved. As retrograde Mars opposes the Sun, we will face the battling egos between ourselves and our Others; when Mars opposes Mercury, people will be looking for an argument. You can walk away and not engage (at least most of the time).

Relationship issues will be close to the surface all month long, as typical for a Mars retrograde cycle. Pick your battles. Bring a literal or figurative white flag, and try not to quarrel about the little things. Let people be emotional without taking on their emotions as your own. That won't be as easy as it sounds, but it is a practice worth cultivating all month. Again, this circles back to that pesky codependency issue I mentioned in the Venus section - like Pisces, Cancer can hold on too hard for too long.

This reads like the cliche: "Family must stick together because they are family."

And (spoken like a true Aries moon native here): fuck that shit.

You don't have to stay in contact or close communication with anyone for any reason other than that you are their direct care-er. If they aren't a minor, tell them to STFU if you need to this month. Iron-clad boundaries are a must when Mars is muddied in the waters of Cancer. Protect your personal space AND your emotions.

You don't need to engage.

Mars doesn't station direct until the end of February, but we are now 2/3 of the way through this retrograde cycle and that's...something. Maybe not enough, but we've got what we've got.

Uranus

Uranus stations direct on 1/30 at 23° Taurus. This probably won't be particularly notable in comparison to the mess forming around the boundary between Pisces and Aries. Still, it is worth noting because Uranus will move out of Taurus and into Gemini later this year. It is a step forward, but one that may fall under the radar for quite some time.

Looking Forward

February will be a month of major personal planetary movement as Mars (finally) stations direct and Venus retrogrades at the end of the month. Stay tuned!

The Details

1/02 - Venus enters Pisces, retrograde Mars in Leo trine North Node in Aries 1/03 - retrograde Mars in Leo opposed Pluto in Aquarius 1/04 - Sun in Capricorn sextile Saturn in Pisces, Mercury exits its post-retrograde shadow 22° Sagittarius 1/05 - Pluto in Capricorn sextile North Node in Aries 1/06 - Retrograde Mars enters Cancer, Mercury square Neptune in Pisces 1/08 - Mercury enters Capricorn, Sun in Capricorn square Chiron in Aries 1/09 - Mercury in Capricorn square the lunar nodes in Aries/Libra 1/12 - Retrograde Mars in Cancer trine Neptune in Pisces 1/13 - Full moon 24° Cancer, Sun in Capricorn trine retrograde Uranus in Taurus 1/14 - Venus in Pisces square retrograde Jupiter in Gemini 1/15 - Sun in Capricorn opposed Mars in Cancer 1/17 - Sun in Cancer sextile Neptune in Pisces 1/18 - Venus conjunct Saturn 16° Pisces 1/19 - Sun enters Aquarius, Mercury in Capricorn sextile Venus in Pisces, Mercury in Capricorn sextile Saturn in Pisces 1/20 - Sun in Aquarius sextile North Node in Aries/trine South Node in Libra 1/21 - Sun conjunct Pluto 01° Aquarius, Mercury in Capricorn sextile Chiron in Aries 1/23 - Mercury in Capricorn opposed retrograde Mars in Cancer, Mercury in Capricorn trine retrograde Uranus in Taurus, retrograde Mars in Cancer sextile retrograde Uranus in Taurus 1/25 - Venus in Pisces trine retrograde Mars in Cancer 1/26 - Venus in Pisces sextile retrograde Uranus in Taurus 1/27 - Mercury enters Aquarius, Mercury in Aquarius sextile North Node in Aries/trine South Node in Libra 1/28 - Venus enters its pre-retrograde shadow 24° Pisces, lunar nodes enter Pisces/Virgo 1/29 - New moon 09° Aquarius, Mercury conjunct Pluto 01° Aquarius 1/30 - Sun in Aquarius trine retrograde Jupiter in Gemini, Uranus stations direct 23° Taurus

Do you like my work? Tips me or sign up to be a supporter of my writing on Kofi.

I will still be offering 2025 Transit Readings through the end of this week - these are an overview of the entire year comparing your natal birth chart to the major transits of 2025. (available in the commissions section of my KoFi ^^^)

#astrology #energy update #transits #January 2025

29 notes · View notes

turtleblogatlast · 10 months ago

Text

Leo getting hit with a truth curse but instead of forcing him to admit to super sad or worrying things it’s things like “it was me who broke the remote” “I saw Mikey prank Donnie and helped hide it because it’s way funnier if he didn’t know who it was” “I rip my clothes to look more like Raph’s because he’s really cool” “my stripes aren’t even red they’re pink!”

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt leo #rise leo #plot twist he COULD be admitting angsty stuff but he’s pushing the less oof truths forward instead on purpose #raph: hey leo what do you want for dinner #leo: *about to bare his soul on all his internal torment but pivots* I’m afraid of snakes #(no but fr Leo’s stripes being technically more pink instead of red is cute ngl)#(a very reddish pink to the point that in certain lighting it looks red but at the base they’re p pink)#(i also am very fond of the idea that Leo doesn’t just have questionable taste in fashion he also just loves Raph a lot and looks up to him)#but yeah I think that something like this would be 99% Leo admitting to unimportant things or admitting to how much he values everyone #like they all KNOW Leo loves them and he’s talked them up enough for them to know but it’s different when he’s like #‘I just wanna read my comics with you guys around - it’s my favorite place to be’#or again just random bs that doesn’t REALLY have a lot of weight like #‘I like using my portals to prank random people around the world’#‘I’m worried about being a bad influence on hueso jr’#‘sometimes I kinda wanna see hypno’s plans succeed’#‘it’s been way too long since I found this out and honestly it’s embarrassing but I actually don’t have a di-‘#SORRY COULDNT HELP MYSELF #(<-but did u know that that pink rather than red observation actually ties into this headcanon as well if u know about red eared sliders)

700 notes · View notes

bookwyrm-art-stuff · 9 days ago

Text

I analyze fandoms the same way I analyze the media they're built around and that should concern all of you

#the MXTX fandoms are FASCINATING #They reflect their books #(SVSSS has the most‚ most creative‚ and some of the best AUs and is also twice as unhinged as the other two combined)#(MDZS has the most and prettiest art (the settings and character design cannot be matched) and most interesting dynamic analysis.)#(TGCF has the cleanest (RELATIVE) fandom and the biggest obsession with its main couple (rightly so) It also has the least shipping overlap #but they are also distinct creations of themselves- I've seen the LEAST amount of mpreg in MDZS #(desite the fact that WWX would LOVE that!)#Now why is that? let's think about it #hmm. Well‚ since they already have the juniors‚ a lot less people are making up new kids- and therefore requiring mpreg #or they're taking advantage of characters like Xue Yang who could've used a good dad or two.#very interesting!#but don't worry! this analysis is not confined to the MXTX fandom!#you ever look at how the fandom for The Song of Achilles (TSOA) reflects its books?#First of all they've got some AMAZING art #and the book has amazing descriptions #and‚ interestingly‚ this fandom has unusually well-divided attention among the parts of the book #which reflects a very nice significance everything seemed to have when I read them #we also have a majority of popular AUs that are “they're happy now fuck you‚” my favorite being them adopting Hyacinthus #and honestly? the book wanted them to be happy too #you could feel it #anyway I love analyzing shit and I will never run out of victims #analysis #fandom #mxtx #mdzs #svsss #tgcf #tsoa #ramblings

29 notes · View notes

trashcanwithsprinkles · 1 month ago

Note

Hello, me again.

Thx for answering :)

I guess Zhongli really is a catch in the eyes of everyone, and no one really knows Childe. So maybe they wouldn't get what Zhongli sees in Childe. At least not at first. Maybe we'll get to see more of his badass side later on? I'm also curious if he got some powers from Skirk and the Abyss.

Anyway, their relationship is really cute and developing nicely.

Looks like I mixed up some of Guizhongs and Hu Taos actions ^^"

as another ask just said, there is sort of like a jessica and roger rabbit situation going on there from the eyes of everyone else. like you said, nobody really knows childe here, so for everyone to consider zhongli liking him (zhongli, legendary thaumaturge, certified gentleman, gorgeous man) is kinda like ????? out of left field hahah

i think if they stop to think about it the folks close to them would kinda get it but still be confused. like- you like childe? ...i mean yeah i guess he's very nice. he's also pretty. and yeah he's very generous and kind. and he cares a lot about the kids and he's very good w them. and he gets along with like everyone if you give him some time- ok yeah i can see it. yeah nevermind i get it.

(whereas when they realize childe likes zhongli the reaction is an immediate "of course you would")

#like if they stop to think about it for a second they Get It but also is like #they're on different leagues in everyone's eyes #so it's less that there's nothing immediately evident to love childe for #but more that zhongli is so absurdly good a catch (to them) that childe still being a good option doesn't seem like it would be up to par #if that makes any sense #yknow like how people irl kinda go 'huh' when a really hot person dates a cute but-not-as-hot person #there's no judgement there's no disbelief just a brief 'huh' moment #and maybe some confusion yeah #i think that's kind of what's happening here #like everyone agrees that childe is pretty it's just that he doesn't have the immediately attractive personality to match so they just #forget lmaooo #also since they're all his friends now and their friendship revolves around making fun of him #anyway #yeah!#thank you <3 <3 #no worries about guizhong and hu tao; death of the author and all

31 notes · View notes

lonewolflupe · 16 hours ago

Text

I've already said this in my comment, but thank you again for your super extensive replies to my heap of questions! I love that you met some people who want you to join their club, how cool is that?? I've actually never really thought about doing cosplay myself, I'm afraid I'm way too shy for it, but all this sounds so amazing!! I really hope you'll find a nice place as part of their club, in between all those crazy (in a good way) fans!

(I'm also crying over the Boba candy bucket, I love it so much <3)

It's actually my boyfriend who's into 3D-printing (all for fun and our own usage). I'm far from as technical as he is, but I do know a little bit about it from everything he tells me (and I asked him a few things so I could toss it into my reply)! We bought our first house together last year and one of the smaller spare rooms is now officially his 3D-printing room. We can close the door and he's working on a proper ventilation system in there, so we don't have to worry about any unhealthy vapours (or at least, worry less). He's currently printing with a FDM printer (FLSUN V400), mostly with PLA but it can also print with ABS, TPU and ASA. He's been building his own printer with mostly self-printed parts, but ever since he got his FLSUN V400 a few months ago, he's been so content with it, he's not sure if he's gonna finish the other printer anymore. He also has a LCD resin printer (Anycubic Photon M3 Plus), but he hasn't printed with that one yet (he still has to finish the ventilation system in the room).

And thank you SO MUCH for writing down all the sources of your STL files! I'm currently not planning on doing cosplay myself (but of course, this could change in the future), but I am VERY interested in printing and painting those scaled-down-mini-helmets, I love them so much <3 AND THE LITTLE TECH HELMET FOR THE STRING OF LIGHTS I seriously came across an official string of lights with little Boba Fett helmets A FEW DAYS AGO and I thought, I need this but with clone helmets?? And the teeny Gregor bucket with the blue window tint looks AMAZING, holy nerfballs!!

Ahahahaha, I'm laughing at your VPL remark! I was into Warhammer years ago (before 3D-printing became a thing), and we said the exact same thing, only we called them 'mould lines'! (We always used needle files to file away those lines, which felt like taking forever; it most definitely wasn't my favourite part about mini figurines 😂) Dry brushing during the painting process on the other hand, is one of my favourite techniques!!

Thank you SO much for sharing your collected knowledge from your experience! Again, I'm currently not planning on doing any cosplay, but I do like my 'hobby' work to look good! It's still a mess at our house since the move, but when the place (and my head along with it) is clearer, I'm definitely gonna get back into painting! And I can't wait to start with some of those adorable teeny clone buckets!

Thanks again, I saved your post so I can refind it whenever I need it, and I really appreciate you taking so much time and effort to put all of this information together! Thank you so much!! <3

Since this response got out of hand, I'm giving it its' own post.

It's dangerous to ask a maker (artist?) about their processes @lonewolflupe @ulchabhangorm. But since you're curious, please accept my very first:

All of the pictured things were 3D printed by me on my FDM printer (Bambu Labs A1), including the teeny helmets. The non-helmet bits are pieces of Tech's armour. I'm currently building a Tech kit for 501st Legion approval. I "like" Crosshair and Scorch the most, but I am "most like" Tech. /sigh

I do! (Mostly) All of the armour parts of Archers' kit were 3D printed and finished by me on my FDM printer, with the exception of my pauldrons which were resin printed by someone else, but finished by me. I initially began making the kit for a Halloween costume, challenged by a coworker to a work-Halloween costume contest, but ended up meeting a couple vode from the Mando Mercs club (MMCC). I was invited (gently coerced?) to complete the kit to their standards and join the club. I'm in that process now, but still have a few things to finish before I gain Official Member status. 🙂

I made a lil' Boba candy bucket!!

3. I mostly print with PLA+. I can print with PETG, ABS, and other materials but my printer is running inside a spare room and I'm not set up with an enclosure or awesome ventilation yet to print with materials which off gas more toxic VOCs. Although PETG would be stronger for a buy'ce that is going to be worn PLA+ works just fine for most folks who are not in very hot conditions. (PLA will sag and melt in high heat) . The first time I wore my full kit, I was at work, and did a full day of fieldwork in it. The whole kit survived apart from one of the thrusters on my jetpack which I accidentally busted off while putting it back in the kit box (adhesive failure, I should have used hardware but I was in a rush to finish it before Halloween) . All fixed now! PLA would be just fine for printing teeny and/or decorative helmets. Just don't toss full size ones onto the floor off of a shelf (ask me how I know).

4. You can get STLs for clone helmets in all the places you'd expect (cults, thingiverse, etc) and from vendors on Etsy. Be careful, though, some of those files are stolen, and some are REALLY terrible and inaccurate. I usually avoid 'free' files, as for things as complex as helmets often end up being more costly in other ways, or are just not the quality I want. Galactic Armory has a nice selection of clone helmets (I have..... all of them. /embarrassment). Marko of Mystery Makers has really great Bad Batch (and other SW) helmets. He always tries to go a step beyond other modelers with his designs, both with functionality and accuracy. The Crosshair and RC helmet in my original post are both printed from Mystery Makers files. The RC helmet is the closest to the game design available, and the Cross helmet has a super cool functional rangefinder (like the different lenses are there and flip up and down, not just the whole rangefinder stalk moving). The Tech helmet is printed from Galactic Armory files, as are the rest (with the exception of Archers helmet which is AlterEgo, if I recall). The teeny helmets are printed from the full size files, just scaled down to 25%. I wouldn't' try to print these on an SLA/LCD resin printer, because the supports would be a nightmare I think, but it works just fine on an FDM printer. The most difficult part is printing the teeny greeblies for them which are super teeny at 25%. I almost always end up breaking the lil' rangefinder stalks, and am pretty sure I've lost the tusks for Rex's helmet more than once.

Cross WIP (Mystery Makers) with teeny (30%) Cross (Galactic Armory) 💙 Guess how many times I broke that teeny rangefinder stalk? Yeah. Four. 😖

Likewise, guess how many times I broke and lost the SUPER TEENY antennae on Tiny Tech's helmet? 😫

5. The visors in the full size helmets are generally welding/grinding replacement shields (Hobart brand, usually - available on Amazon). They are dark enough to obscure the wearers face and can be fairly easily cut to shape and installed. Tech's visor and goggle lenses are cut yellow acrylic, and in my original post still have the protective backing on them as they aren't 'officially' installed yet - which I why you can't see through them.

The visors for the full-size RC boys are more complicated. I believe the exact details of how I’ve been taught to do it are considered proprietary 🥺😏. To achieve the “Flirtation Mask” effect, two visors, a diffuser, and a strip of LEDs are installed in a very secret, not so secret, way. I’m working on a Scorch bucket, full size, and will have help to do this for the first time. Stay tuned. 😆 For the teeny helmets I use automotive window tint for the visors. It's easier to cut and bend into tiny shapes to fit inside the helmets. I got some blue stuff for the commando helmets, which should look cool once I install the lights. 😎

Teeny Gregor bucket WIP, with blue window tint FLIRTATION MASK 💙

6. The lil helmet stand under teeny Keeli (which I'm making for @eobe) is printed from a file from Galactic Armory. It's been through the ringer, because I use it to hold all the little helmets while I'm spray painting them and letting them cure. It did look nice when it was newer, and has the republic cog on the base. There is also a wall-mounted version which I have printed to hang Archer's helmet. I'll probably make more for the other helmets eventually.

7. VPLs (Visible Print Lines) are the enemy! As an MMCC member, it has been drilled into me that VPLs are evil and must be vanquished with extreme violence. I try to finish everything (with the exception of the flexi things people keep asking me to make) to an excellent standard with no VPLs - including the teeny helmets.

Raw Phase 1 (Animated) clone helmet and RC (Scorch) helmet). My printer does an excellent job, but still there are VPLs to be dealt with!

8. This question - how to get rid of VPLs could warrant it's own post. There are SO MANY techniques - some good, some NOT - but which ones you use depends largely on your print characteristics and what you intend to do with it. A lot of people lately have been recommending bathing the entire piece in a Bondo spot putty and acetone slurry several times until the lines are filled. I DO NOT recommend doing this for a piece that you intend to wear. I experimented with this and found out that after a small amount of wear the bondo likes to expel your paint in large chips, leaving ugly bondo-red spots behind. It would probably work ok for decorative pieces though. Other people have used UV curing resin to coat pieces to fill VPLs. It works, but UGH that stuff is toxic to touch and breathe, and it needs to be properly washed and cured, and cured some more. It's also much more difficult to sand than automotive body work products (which in all fairness are also toxic to breathe and touch - WEAR YOUR PPE).

My general process for armour pieces is to remove supports and then roughly sand (120 grit) only the really rough spots (like things that were overhangs or had a lot of supports). Sanding happens with a combination of sanding papers, sanding sticks, and needle files - depending on the piece. I then adhere pieces together (if they were printed in pieces like some of the larger full-size helmets) with plastic bonder. Seams are filled with Bondo plastic metal or EverCoat depending on the piece and I often plastic weld and staple the inside for strength. The seams are then sanded smooth. After I'm happy with the smoothness of the seams the entire piece will get 2-3 coats of automotive high-build filler primer (from a rattle can, though I have used the 1:4 mix stuff and brushed it on - I'd only recommend this with a large piece as that stuff REALLY fills things in quick - including the things you don't want it to) and a wet sand to 320 grit. At this point most of the print lines are filled, but stubborn areas, such as the top of the dome may still necessitate more coats. I generally end up applying 5 coats of filler primer, wet sanding between them. Following the final coat of filler primer, I'll wet sand again to about 400 grit (much more if we're going for the Beskar finish which needs a SUPER SMOOTH finish to work) and then put on a coat of regular primer. Black for helmets that will be dark (Most of the CF99 boys), and white for the other clone helmets. At this point they should be completely VPL free and ready for greebly installation and the "real" paint job. This process takes me at least a few days on full-size helmets as the paints have to cure between sanding and reapplication, and painting has to happen outside in good conditions. It's not inexpensive, but it is the most efficient and long-lasting way to do it, in my experience.

Cross helmet WIP. You can see the seam just under the visor cut out. This one printed in three pieces and needed ALL the seam filling and sanding. The pinkish and grey stuff are body fill products to fill in rough spots and seam lines. If you look at the last photo - of the same helmet - you can see they did a decent job of hiding that there was a seam. 😊

9. I use a lot of automotive products and paint. Since all my full size helmets are mean to be worn they need to be finished to a fairly high standard and be relatively tough. Archer's helmet body was finished entirely with Rustoleum brand filler primer and four layers of metallic paints (all rattle cans). The blue on the front was a Montana brand acrylic rattle can, and the copper parts (ear caps, rangefinder stalk) were enamel paint (Alclad copper) airbrushed on. The weathering - chips and scratches - were achieved by layering on a liquid latex medium between coats, so that when it was peeled off it revealed small bits of the coats beneath. It gives the damage a more realistic look than painting silver 'scratches' on after the fact. This liquid latex medium can be used to give the paint applied to clone helmets the chipped look to their painted designs as seen in the animation. It's a little more challenging to do in small scale though. After all the top coat paints are applied, I'll seal them in with a clear layer of satin or gloss sealant (rattle can). After that, I'll go over the entire piece with an acrylic black wash to make it look "dirty" and worn. 😅. After all that process, padding, visors, and electronics (HUD lights, fans, voice amps) are installed if needed. The whole thing is pretty time-consuming. I now understand why quality finished helmets cost as much as they do. My teeny helmets are all finished as I described above in the VPL section, but I use acrylics hand-painted on with a brush to apply the designs. In the animation versions of these helmets, particularly in TBB, the helmets all look like they've been (roughly) hand painted, so this technique works ok, I think. I apply the chipping and weathering at edges with dry brushing acrylics. I could apply a liquid latex mask and airbrush them, but eh. I'm using these little guys as fairy light "lanterns". They're super cute with the light showing a bit through the visors, particularly Tech. :)

The Teeny Batch boys that I've got finished. Echo is coming, he just needs his top coat and weathering. :D

Lil' Keeli almost finished, with his unfinished rangefinder. Have not broken the stalk yet! /cheer 🎉

10. Acrylics brand? Hmm... I've used the Montana Gold rattle can acrylics which some of the MMCC mandos seem to like. I'm not sure if the ones I got were duds, but I wasn't super impressed. The cans did a lot of spitting and messed up my paint a few times. My brush on acrylics are Liquitex or Golden. Both can be thinned and airbrushed, and are more costly than cheap crafting brands but are more highly pigmented and last longer (plus the finish is nicer).

11. Base colour is whatever primer I finish with - white or black, depending on what color the final piece will be. For Mando helmets, the base colour is a metallic silver, so that when I peel off the liquid latex layers, the pint chips down to “bare metal/beskar��. Since clone helmets are plastioid, the base colour for them remains white or black.

12. I finish with a rattle can sealant. Satin finish usually, but that depends on the look you want. Always try to stick with the same brand of primer, paint, and sealant. Different brands have different chemistry - accelerants and so on, and can, and often do react with one another. The frustration of having to sand down a piece that was almost finished cannot be described.

To avoid paint heartache, always also paint in good conditions. Temperature, humidity, wind, etc can all ruin you day and paint job. Please also always wear your PPE!

13. Are they? I hope they are. They sure are a labour of love, and much work - but it makes me happy to make them and to look at them. 😅

I'm very fond of Archer's buy'ce, and the whole kit really. It was the first one I 'finished' (every mando's kit is an ongoing WIP - forever), and the process of making it kept me focused on something positive during a rough time in my life. Wearing it is super fun! Ibic Manda!

WOW that got lengthy, so sorry! I had ALL the questions when I started, and a lot of the info you need is hard to find or in bits and pieces all over the internet. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I can only share my experience, but I have spent a huge amount of 2024 working on these for what that's worth. 🫣

#the clones #3d printing

30 notes · View notes