#and has become this… semi—chaotic blog

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

It's my 3 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

Thanks to everyone in the miraculous fandom for being so much fun and interesting to interact with!

And thank you to my mutual for being so supportive and overall really awesome! 😘

[thesiltverses]

I don’t know who types up the ask answers on this blog but to whoever’s reading this: how do you all feel about being alive and sentient? What keeps you going, what purpose propels you through this chaotic void? What do you think (or hope) waits for you after your inevitable end? What do you think constitutes a life well lived?

I'm going to answer this in the most wayward and stupidly overlong manner possible, because the previous ask had me thinking about puppets, and I was already mid-way through writing up a book recommendation that's semi-relevant to your questions.

Everyone (but especially people who've enjoyed The Silt Verses and all the folks on Tumblr who loved Piranesi by Susanna Clarke) ought to seek out Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban.

Riddley Walker is a wild and woolly story set in post-apocalyptic Kent, where human society has (d)evolved into a Bronze Age collective of hunter-gatherer settlements. Dogs, apparently blaming us for our crimes against the world, have become our predators, hunting us through the trees. Labourers kill themselves unearthing ancient machinery that they cannot possibly understand.

A travelling crowd of thugs led by a Pry Mincer collect taxes and attempt to impose themselves upon those around them with a puppet-show - the closest possible approximation of a TV show - that tells a mangled story of the world's destruction, featuring a Prometheus-esque hero called Eusa who is tempted by the Clevver One into creating the atomic bomb.

Riddley himself, a twelve-year-old folk hero in-the-making surrounded by strange portents, ends up sowing the seeds of rebellion and change by becoming a conduit for the anti-tutelary anarchic madness (one apparently buried in our collective unconscious) of Punch 'n' Judy.

It's a book in love with twisted reinterpretation, the subjectivity of interpretation, buried or forbidden truths coming back to light (the opening quote is a curious allegory about reinvention and cyclical change from the extra-canonical Gospel of Thomas, which is a good joke and mission statement on a couple levels at once) and human beings somehow stumbling into forms of wisdom or insight through clumsy and nonsensical attempts to make sense of a world that is simply beyond them.

It rocks.

The book starts like this:

On my naming day when I come 12 I gone front spear and kilt a wyld boar he parbly the las wyld pig on the Bundel Downs any how there hadnt ben none for a long time befor him nor I aint looking to see none agen. He dint make the groun shake nor nothing like that when he come on to my spear he wernt all that big plus he lookit poorly. He done the reqwyrt he ternt and stood and clattert his teef and made his rush and there we wer then. Him on 1 end of the spear kicking his life out and me on the other end watching him dy. I said, 'Your tern now my tern later.'

Riddley's devolved language - a trick which has been nicked/homaged by many other works, most notably Cloud Atlas and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome - is a masterwork choice which may seem offputting or overwhelming at first, but which has its own brutal poetry and cadence to it, and ultimately which makes us slow down as readers and unpick the wit, puns, double-meanings and playful themes buried in line after line.

(Even those first five sentences get us thinking about cyclical change, ritual and myth in opposition to the dissatisfactions of reality, and 'tern' to paradoxically indicate a rebellious change in direction but also an obedient acceptance of inevitable death.)

In one of my favourite passages in literature and a statement of thought that means a lot to me, Riddley has been smoking post-coital weed with Lorna, a 'tel-woman', who unexpectedly declares her belief in a kind of irrational, monstrous Logos that lives in us, wears us like clothes, and drives us onwards for its own purpose:

'You know Riddley theres some thing in us it dont have no name.' I said, 'What thing is that?' She said, 'Its some kynd of thing it aint us but yet its in us. Its lookin out thru our eye hoals...it aint you nor it dont even know your name. Its in us lorn and loan and shelterin how it can.' 'Tremmering it is and feart. It puts us on like we put on our cloes. Some times we dont fit. Some times it cant fynd the arm hoals and it tears us a part. I dont think I took all that much noatis of it when I ben yung. Now Im old I noatise it mor. It dont realy like to put me on no mor. Every morning I can feal how its tiret of me and readying to throw me a way. Iwl tel you some thing Riddley and keap this in memberment. What ever it is we dont come naturel to it.' I said, 'Lorna I dont know what you mean.' She said, 'We aint a naturel part of it. We dint begin when it begun we dint begin where it begun. It ben here befor us nor I dont know what we are to it. May be weare jus only sickness and a feaver to it or boyls on the arse of it I dont know. Now lissen what Im going to tel you Riddley. It thinks us but it dont think like us. It dont think the way we think. Plus like I said befor its afeart.' I said, 'Whats it afeart of?' She said, 'Its afeart of being beartht.'

While Hoban is, I think, deeply humanistic to his bones and even something of a wayward optimist, the notion of human beings as helpless and ignorant vessels, individual carriers - puppets, if you like - for an unknowable and awful inhuman power-in-potentia and life-drive that lacks a true shape or intent beyond its own continued survival (even when that means destroying us or visiting us with agonising atrophy in the process) conjures up the pessimism of Thomas Ligotti, another big influence on our work and a dude who was really into his marionettes-as-metaphor.

Let's go to him now for his opinion on the thing that lives beneath our skin. Thomas?

Through the prophylactic of self-deception, we keep hidden what we do not want to let into our heads, as if we will betray to ourselves a secret too terrible to know… …(that the universe is) a play with no plot and no players that were anything more than portions of a master drive of purposeless self-mutilation. Everything tears away at everything else forever. Nothing knows of its embroilment in a festival of massacres… Nothing can know what is going on.

Curiously, both Ligotti and Riddley Walker have appeared in the music of dark folk band Current 93, whose track In The Heart Of The Wood And What I Found There directly homages the novel and ends with the repeated words,

"All shall be well," she said But not for me

These words, in turn, hearken back to Kafka's* famous reported conversation with Max Brod:

'We are,' he said, 'nihilistic thoughts, suicidal thoughts that rise in God's head.' This reminded me of the worldview of the gnostic: God as an evil demiurge, the world as his original sin. 'Oh no', he said, 'our world is only a bad, fretful whim of God, a bad day.' 'So was there - outside of this world that we know - hope?' He smiled: 'Oh, hope - there is plenty. Infinite hope, just not for us."

So, we walk on.

We carry this thing that's riding on our backs, endlessly bonded to it, feeling its weight more and more with every passing day, unable to turn to look at it. Buried truths come briefly to life, and are hidden from us again. Perhaps they weren't truths at all. We couldn't stand to look the truth directly in the eyes in any case.

If there is hope, it's for the thing that looks out from our eyeholes, which thinks us but cannot think like us. We'll never get to where we're going, and the thing will never be born. There's no hope for it. Perhaps we don't want it to win anyway. It's nothing, and the key to everything.

The Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas says:

'When you see your own likeness, you rejoice. But when you see the visions that formed you and existed before you, which do not perish and which do not become visible - how much then will you be able to bear?'

Kafka, writing to his father, begins by expressing the inexpressibility of his own divine terror:

You asked me why I am afraid of you. I did not know how to answer - partly because of my fear, partly because an explanation would require more than I could make coherent in speech…even in writing, the magnitude of the causes exceeds my memory and my understanding.

Kafka concludes that while he cannot ever truly explain himself, and that the accusations in his letter are neat subjectivities that fail to account for the messiness of reality, perhaps 'something that in my opinion so closely resembles the truth…might comfort us both a little and make it easier for us to live and die.'**

It doesn't bring comfort to Kafka, whose diarised remarks both before and after the 1919 letter make it clear that he views his relationship with the things (people) that birthed him as an endless entrapment that prevents him from attaining any kind of self-actualisation or even comfort, since he cannot escape their influence or remember a time before them:

I was defeated by Father as a small boy and have been prevented since by pride from leaving the battleground, despite enduring defeat over and over again.

It's as if I wasn't fully born yet...as if I was dissolubly bound to these repulsive things (my parents).*** The bond is still attached to my feet, preventing them from walking, from escaping the original formless mush. That's how it is sometimes.

Samuel Beckett returns again and again (aptly) to this pursuit of a state of true humanity and final understanding that is at once fled and unrecoverable, yet to be born, never to be born, never-existed, endlessly to be pursued, pointless to pursue. From the astonishing end sequence of The Unnameable:

alone alone, the others are gone, they have been stilled, their voices stilled, their listening stilled, one by one, at each new-com- ing, another will come, I won’t be the last. I’ll be with the others. I’ll be as gone, in the silence, it won’t be I, it’s not I, I’m not there yet. I’ll go there now. I’ll try and go there now, no use trying, I wait for my turn, my turn to go there, my turn to talk there, my turn to listen there, my turn to wait there for my turn to go, to be as gone, it’s unending, it will be unending, gone where,where do you go from there, you must go somewhere else, wait somewhere else, for your turn to go again

I’m not the first, I won’t be the first, it will best me in the end, it has bested better than me, it will tell me what to do, in order to rise, move, act like a body endowed with despair, that’s how I reason, that’s how I hear myself reasoning, all lies, it’s not me they’re calling, not me they’re talking about, it’s not yet my turn, it’s someone else’s turn, that’s why I can’t stir, that’s why I don’t feel a body on me, I’m not suffering enough yet, it’s not yet my turn, not suffering enough to be able to stir, to have a body, complete with head, to be able to understand, to have eyes to light the way

From Thomas' Jesus:

When you make the two one, and you make the inside as the outside and the outside as the inside and the above as the below, and if male and female become a single unity which lacks 'masculine' and 'feminine' action, when you grow eyes where eyes should be and hands where hands should be and feet where feet should stand and the true image in its proper place, then shall you enter heaven.

Tom's Jesus makes a particularly Gnostic habit of both insisting that the hidden will be revealed and demonstrating the impossibility of attaining a state where the hidden ever can be revealed. Contrary to C.S. Lewis, we will never have faces with which to gaze upon the lost divine and the mysteries that shaped us, and crucially, as Christ puts it, we would not be able to bear the sight of ourselves if we did.

We will never become the thing that's riding on our backs.

Jesus again:

The disciples ask Jesus, 'Tell us how our end shall be.' Jesus says, 'Have you found the beginning yet, you who ask after the end? For at the place where the beginning is, there shall be the end.'

The Unnameable:

I’ll recognise it, in the end I’ll recognise it, the story of the silence that he never left, that I should never have left, that I may never find again, that I may find again, then it will be he, it will be I, it will be the place, the silence, the end, the beginning, the beginning again, how can I say it, that’s all words, they’re all I have, and not many of them, the words fail, the voice fails, so be it

The final passage of The Unnameable, which often is hilariously shorn and misinterpreted as an inspirational quote about how if you don't succeed, try again:

all words, there’s nothing else, you must go on, that’s all I know, they’re going to stop, I know that well, I can feel it, they’re going to abandon me, it will be the silence, for a moment, a good few moments, or it will be mine, the lasting one, that didn’t last, that still lasts, it will be I, you must go on, I can't go on, you must go on. I’ll go on, you must say words, as long as there are any, until they find me, until they say me, strange pain, strange sin, you must go on, perhaps it’s done already, perhaps they have said me already, perhaps they have carried me to the threshold of my story, before the door that opens on my story, that would surprise me, if it opens, it will be I, it will be the silence, where I am, I don’t know. I’ll never know, in the silence you don’t know, you must go on, I can’t go on. I’ll go on. †

We bear this thing that's riding on our backs. We'll never get to where we're going, and the thing will never be born. If it was born, it'd be too terrible for us to bear. There's nothing riding on our backs.

It will never speak us into being.

We keep on calling out into the silence, we keep trying to explain or understand the thing that's riding on our backs, searching for a way to birth it before we die. Our words about the thing are crucial, and they're meaningless, and they're all we have, and they're nothing at all. We cannot name it and we cannot express it, but we cannot stop trying, and we will keep turning back to our words about the thing, obsessing over them, tearing them to pieces, putting them back together.

I'm fumbling at something I can't think or say, but fumbling is all we're capable of. There could be beauty and meaning and comfort in the fumbling, but it's also vain, and foolish, and pointless, and we're lying to ourselves about the beauty and the meaning and the comfort, and we're indulging ourselves pointlessly by going on and on about the pointlessness of it. Nothing can know what's going on. We will never get close enough to understand without being destroyed.

Thomas' Jesus again, warning those who seek to reveal what's hidden:

He who is near me is near the fire.

Riddley Walker, reflecting on the Punch puppet's inexplicable desire to cook and eat his own child:

Whyis Punch crookit? Why wil he al ways kill the baby if he can? Parbly I wont ever know its jus on me to think on it.

If you got to the end of this, congratulations: but the above is honestly the most appropriate patchwork of what I believe, what propels me, what I feel.

As for what comes after life, I think it's fairly straightforwardly a nothingness we are tragically incapable of fully knowing or accepting - it's Beckett's unimaginable and unattainable silence, a silence that his characters' voices keep on shattering even as they cry out for it.

-Jon‡

*I can't remember if Kafka makes prominent reference to Czech puppets in his work, which is interesting in its own right given the thematic relevance (the protagonist in The Hunger Artist is perhaps a kind of self-directing puppet show?).

However, Gustav Meyrink - who some unsourced Google quotes suggest was pals with Czech puppeteer Richard Teschner - did write a strange little story, The Man On The Bottle, about an audience watching a 'marionette show' who are too wrapped up in performances and masks to interpret the reality that they're actually watching a human being suffocate to death.

**Thomas Ligotti: "Something had happened. They did not know what it was, but they did know it as that which should not be.

Something would have to be done if they were to live with that which should not be.

This would not (be enough); it would only be the best they could do."

***Beckett's Malone Dies actually kicks off with a related sentiment:" I am in my mother’s room. It’s I who live there now. I don’t know how I got there...In any case I have her room. I sleep in her bed. I piss and shit in her pot. I have taken her place. I must resemble her more and more."

† I don't necessarily align myself in humour with Ligotti on a lot of this stuff but I imagine he would recognise both Beckett's writing and Kafka's frustrations re explaining the causes of his hatred for his father as sublimation: finding artistic and philosophical ways of sketching the inexpressible horror and uncertainty of our existence in order to reckon with it at a remove without destroying ourselves. A higher form of self-deception, but self-deception nevertheless.

‡Muna's more of an anarcho-nihilist, I think.

[savingthrcw]

this is going to be a blog-wide announcement, my blogs being smiletimeisrunningout, savingthrcw, re-generatedanomaly, faetorvic and lcdybonbon

I'm going to be on a TEMPORARY semi-hiatus until my life becomes slightly less chaotic, aka I get a proper job, because I'm physically unable to write (too sick to have the energy to do it after studying and making icon commissions, and too poor to prioritize rp over those two things, I so need money especially now that winter is truly here and I need to buy heating pads etc).

I am still VERY inspired and haven't lost the wish to plot and roleplay, I miss you all and my blogs (like you have no idea, rp has been my primary and, at times, only, hobby for 12 years, I'm dying to be able to sit and write), which is why I'm saying semi hiatus and not hiatus: this way I can pop in and write a reply or two whenever I can physically do so, without feeling I must either respond to all drafts or not write at all. You are all still more than welcomed to send me memes and things, it will probably be easier to write new things than to go back to an old draft when I only have five minutes, but I do want to keep drafts, hell, I still want to plot with new followers and write starters! I just don't have the time/strength.

I'm going to tag people I see in my thread tracker and askbox but this goes for EVERYONE: I don't want to drop threads, but you are allowed to ignore my replies because it's been too long and don't feel guilty if you want to unfollow me for being too slow! Thank you for your patience, especially if you read up until here!

@honorhearted @galefcrce @x-hollywoodghoul-x @storyofwhoiam

@writtenxbeginnings @nomdepen @atomiqueen @drunkonpotential

@spcdesace @trcstme @yearnstarved @wandercr @avernusfuries

@ordinariums @3katanas @nctafraid @tcnderhearts @livedtough

@radiaking @inmiasma @wintersxkiss @voiceinterface

@doorinthepage @respectablebaggins

[seekingwriting]

don't wanna flood my main writing blog ( @aspenwriting ) with this buuut !! looking for someone to play anthony bridgerton or a period oc with jonathan bailey as the faceclaim !! my current fixation, lol. either on here or discord. willing to double, because i actually enjoy it. so i'll portray any faceclaim ( with the exception of underage and deceased. ) on any plot. smut is optional, but somewhat preferred cus i love some chaotic sexual tension and spicyness. below you can find my oc's info + plot soo!! pls let me know. i write semi - lit, little to no triggers, and v active! message me here for my discord !!

dodie jane weston is a twenty and six year old woman, who was born and raised in london, until the age of sixteen, when her family decided to relocate to vienna, austria, in order to help care for her maternal grandfather, who had fallen ill. before her tragic move, the weston family was quite close to the bridgertons, their mothers being childhood friends and gleefully allowed their children to play with one another, despite the eldest bridgerton child being two and a half years her senior. dodie was close with the second eldest, benedict, the two bonding over their shared love for the arts, though, dodie preferred to read. she also got along well with daphne, who looked up to her quite often, and dodie adored her as if she was her own sister. as for anthony, well ... at the age of thirteen is when dodie realized she had feelings for the boy, at least, that's when she was able to recognize such crush. the two had always had such underlying relations beneath their friendship, everyone could see it, including benedict and colin who would tease anthony, all while young eloise would playfully joke about the two becoming wedded when they reach of age. and maybe that would have been true, if certain events had never happened.

when dodie's family relocated, it was hard on her, saying goodbye to her second family, saying goodbye to anthony. but, she was at ease knowing she'll write with them and possibly visit in the future. sadly, the letters between her and her childhood crush would halt after seven letters. she remembers her own becoming unanswered, from all of the bridgertons, until a fortnight passed and her parents informed her that edmund bridgerton had died. when the news broke, dodie wrote until her hand was numb, writing letters to each family member, and two towards anthony, telling him that she was deeply sorry for his lost, and to please let her know he was okay. each member that was capable of writing wrote back, all besides anthony. in fact, he never sent her another letter again, much to dodie's heartbreak.

the weston family resided in vienna for a decade, even after her grandfathers passing, her parents decided to settle there to keep her grandmother company. what brought them back to london, was their fortune decaying. for years, did the assure dodie she could marry whomever she wanted, whomever she loved, but when she sees her family's financial struggle, she decides marrying for duty was far more important, despite her initial belief that marriage was sacred. cue the weston's moving back during the social season, in hopes to find their only daughter a groom. being back in her hometown was wonderful - what wasn't, was having to face anthony bridgerton after he left her in the dust all these years.

dodie is a doe eyed woman portrayed by rose williams. as for her personality, she's a very intelligent book worm, who has a kind heart, but could be as fierce as many if needed to be. though easily flustered, she isn't afraid to make a move and call out anyone on their bullshit, and sometimes, she should probably bite her tongue, but it's hard to do when you're strong willed, and even more so, stubborn. here you can find her pinterest board.

[caramariafilm]

Adeline Research - Developing my skills as a Production Designer and Set Dresser

My first area of interest when coming onto this project has been developing my skills in my role, as the majority of this film is built on the connection and history between the two characters - Adeline and Louise. This was something that really interested me when coming onto this project as I absolutely love the idea of trying to create worlds that have the amount of depth we see in our own. 

To develop my understanding of the roles, I’ve been looking at a lot of online articles either conducting interviews with production designers or set dressers, or just the documentation of general production design techniques. I mainly used articles from Set Decorators Magazine, Production Designers Collective, and Global Inspirations. Here are the sources I read as well as my notes underneath.

This blog post is part of a series where production desginres look at the history and design of different rooms - starting with the teenage bedroom. Unfortunately this is one of the only blogs in this series but I will be keeping up to date with the website in case they post the next one! This series helps provide the historical context, design insights, and photo references of teenage rooms!

First looking at a quick development in the history of the teenage bedroom, it was during the 19th century that teen bedrooms became popular - only amongst the upper class, meaning the emphasis was more on societal wealth than personal freedom. After the First World War, the concept of teenagers developed - which is when it became a distinct period of life. Teenagers started to express their individuality, including personal space. Then, between the 1930s-1990s, teenagers began getting their own rooms, opening up the exploration of individuality.

After the war, teenagers became heavily influenced by DIY, turning their rooms into their expressions of personal identity, resulting in these eclectic, creative, and chaotic spaces. They DIY’d furniture, made soda can curtains, and had weird decorations like beer cans and stuffed toys.

Teenage bedrooms were seen as both a personal refuge and family respite. In the article, both psychologists and decorators viewed these spaces as places for self-expression, personality development, and experimentation. Teenage bedrooms have become iconic in film and television! Seen as layed spaces that evolve with the growth of the character. They reflect individuality, socioeconomic status, and the character's personality/their taste. These spaces usually resemble mini apartments with tech such as televisions, computers, and phones. The peak of teenagers expression usually happens in high school - as is followed by a transition to dorm rooms or external flats.

This post helped develop my understanding for the space in Adeline’s house, specifically Louise’s room. I’ve decided it might be more visually interesting if Louise is staying in her childhood room - suggesting she moved away for a period of her life before returning to the home to care for Adeline.

https://www.productiondesignerscollective.org/single-post/2019/11/30/essential-on-the-go-tools-for-production-designers

[memento-morri-writes]

tis i the crit role anon 🙏

hey morri! i’m kind of the reverse of you where i’ve seen all of c3 (all of it to date i suppose), but none of c2! i am enjoying the overlap the first two campaigns have had with the third, tho i definitely don’t have a ton of context to the second!

tell me more about why you love it so much! what sticks out to you about the style, defining moments, the characters? who’s your favourite if you can pick just one? why were you drawn to that campaign over the other two?

if i had to guess i think my fav pc would be caleb, im a huge fan of vax and orym. liams characters in general haha

also i have to ask have you watched tlovm?

HI ANON!!!!! I'm so glad you came back and gave me a chance to ramble about this silly little show that I love so much.

This is extremely long, so I'm putting it under the cut to spare people's dashes.

So, campaign two is very near and dear to my heart. It's the first campaign I watched (and the only one I've finished), and it's (in part) what got me into dnd in the first place.

I mean, it really is everything I could ever want from a dnd show. The characters are amazing, the plot is excellent, there's the right mix of shenanigans and sincerity. Okay, yes, all of crit role has those things, but c2 knocks it out of the park.

Like, c1 is a bit more of your typical hero's journey. You have these people who start out rather ordinary, and end up rising to extreme heights, saving the world and gaining a lot of power as they do so. These people are also (generally) pretty good and righteous people. Which isn't bad!!!!!!!! I love c1 a lot! (I would kill and die for Vax, which explains why I've been procrastinating finishing, lmao.)

But c2 is more my style when it comes to characters. A bunch of fucked-up misfits who become an extremely dysfunctional but loving family, and semi-accidentally save the world while they're at it. Idk, there's something about the fact that the Mighty Nein don't start out to be heroes, don't intend to be heroes, that really really endears me to them. A fair amount of what they do is for not necessarily self-serving, but personal reasons. They fuck up sometimes, and it's great.

Also, TMN are just so much more chaotic than Vox Machina. I mean, it's to be expected when you have such chaotic characters as Nott and Jester in one party, plus everyone else.

As for defining moments, there's literally too many to list. I could sit here and talk about c2 for hours. But I will say that near the end of Episode 7 was where I well and truly knew that there was no going back, and that my life had been changed. (A lot of good things there, but the Molly+Caleb bit is what did me in, I think.)

Other top faves include (in no particular order) literally the entire pirate arc (but esp the fight on the ship in Darktow and the yuan-ti temple), Yasha's pit fight (I literally wrote a mini essay about it on my personal blog bc it made me so emotional), any time Essek is there (for both feels and laughs), Caduceus's speech in Dinner With The Devil, Jester and Nott fucking up that one temple (just because it made me laugh so hard I stopped making noise for like 10 minutes straight), any time Beau and Caleb interact, THE FIRST TIME THEY SEE THE NEIN-SIDED TOWER, the Lucien/Jester tarot reading, the Lucien fight (all stages of it), Fjord throwing his sword into lava, any of the times they polymorphed large monsters into turtles (giant -> snapping turtle or the turtle on ice), the time they got banned from two libraries in less than 20 minutes...

As you can see, I could go on for hours. And yes, if you're a Liam character fan, Caleb will be your favorite. Caleb is also my favorite critical role character of all time ever, and I'm so obsessed with this man it's unreal. Like, autistic (to me) sad wizard man who loves his cat, has so much trauma, and is played by Liam O'Brien??? Obviously going to be my fave.

As for why I started with c2 over c1, I'm not actually sure. I think it was on the recommendation of some friends and my cousin, because the beginning is more polished than that of c1, and in their opinions it was the best campaign (I'm inclined to agree. No other crit role campaign will ever top it).

I have not watch tlovm yet, but I plan on getting around to it someday. Unfortunately for me, I am very very very very bad at finishing tv shows. It's basically either I finish it at an insanely fast pace (ie all 141 episodes of c2 in ~6 months, or all 38 episodes of Black Sails in just over 2 weeks), or I never finish it at all. Someday I will get my shit together and watch tlovm, though.

Actually, I happen to have a little art wall at my mom's house that is mostly Mighty Nein art. I don't have everyone yet, just Jester, Yasha, Caleb, and Essek, but I'd love to get the full party up there someday. Sadly I don't have any good pictures of it.

[huanyukang]

Major study of Concept art :

Blog 42：（ forefront 1）

An analysis of the Conceptual Art Design of the Animated Movie Big Fish and Begonia（2016）

I really like the traditional Chinese style elements in this animated film, especially the design of the main scene the Earthen Building in Fujian Province. When designing the main project altar and the interior of the tomb, I learned the scene concept design of this film, which has a lot of good influence on my main project,

Especially when rendering the first altar scene, I learned the scene design and conceptual art techniques of this animated movie：

Big Fish and Begonia （2016）film picture:

As an animated film based on traditional Chinese culture, 'Big Fish and Begonia' is deeply influenced by the article 'Xiaoyao You' and constructs a unique and multidimensional world based on it. This movie is not just a showcase of a fantasy story, but also a visual feast that combines Chinese elements with modern animation technology. By incorporating symbolic elements from traditional Chinese culture into various aspects of the film, creators have successfully created a mysterious and profound alternate world. In this interplay between the alternate world and the real world, audiences can immerse themselves more deeply in the magical atmosphere created by the film. In 'Big Fish and Begonia', the world is divided into two layers: the upper layer is the space of human civilization, and the lower layer is the space of semi human and semi divine civilization. （Chen, 2024）The story of the film revolves around the adventures of the female protagonist Chun. During the coming of age ceremony, Chun came to the human world to play and developed a deep affection for a boy. However, due to an accident, Chun accidentally caused the death of the boy before returning to the original world. In order to make up for his mistake, Chun exchanged his own life for the boy's soul. With the help of Lingpo, the boy's soul was transformed into a sleeping fish - "Kun", and Chun took on the responsibility of raising Kun and eventually sending him back to the human world, allowing the boy to be reborn. This story is not only full of mysterious fantasy colors, but also explores profound themes such as life, redemption, and redemption.

The symbolic color of Chinese red runs through the film, laying the foundation for its visual presentation. Red has extremely profound symbolic significance in Chinese culture. It not only represents peace and joy, but also carries revolutionary culture and the indomitable spirit of the Chinese nation. In 'Big Fish and Begonia', red is cleverly used in different emotional styles, such as love, intense conflicts, and heartwarming moments, giving this traditional color a new connotation. （Chen, 2024）At the beginning of the film, the chaotic world is rendered in red, bringing infinite imagination to the audience. With the appearance of the big fish, the film gradually introduces the audience into an underwater world full of fantasy and mystery. Red plays a transitional and foreshadowing role in this process, further enhancing the visual impact and emotional expression of the film.

Big fish & Begonia(2016)available at：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I18ipheX0xY

The scene of "God's Tower" is an important visual symbol in the film. It uses Chinese red as the background color and combines traditional elements such as lanterns and couplets to create a warm and Chinese style atmosphere. These background elements not only provide rich layers of visual experience for the audience, but also guide them gradually into the unique world created by the film through the use of colors and scene switching. The architectural design in the film is also ingenious, with elements of Hakka earthen buildings cleverly integrated into it, becoming the iconic visual symbol in the film. （Yang, 2024）As a type of ethnic architecture with profound historical heritage, Hakka Tulou not only complements the overall visual style of the film in terms of color, but also adds a strong historical and cultural atmosphere to the film in terms of artistic conception. These architectural elements have been elevated in the traditional cultural symbols of Chinese red, becoming an important carrier for guiding the audience to understand the deeper meaning of the film.The visual success of 'Big Fish and Begonia' is attributed to its profound understanding and flexible application of ancient Chinese elements. （Yang, 2024）After its release, the film received unanimous praise from the audience and film critics. People generally believe that the film demonstrates a high level of attention to detail and seamless scene transitions, and the use of Chinese ancient elements, such as unique architectural culture, customs culture, and landscape culture, has received widespread praise. These elements not only add a strong Chinese flavor to the film, but also fully demonstrate the artistic design value of 'Big Fish and Begonia'.

Overall, 'Big Fish and Begonia' has successfully adapted an ancient mythological story into a modern animated film through innovative use of traditional Chinese cultural elements. The film creates a world full of fantasy and mystery through the organic fusion of various elements such as color, scene, and architecture. In this world, audiences can not only feel the strong Chinese cultural atmosphere, but also resonate deeply through the visual and emotional expression of the film. The fusion of culture and art has made 'Big Fish and Begonia' a classic work with unique charm, and has also won more attention and recognition for Chinese animated films on the international stage.

reference：

Chen Lide (2024). Analysis of the Ocean Imagery in "Big Fish and Begonia". Drama House (05), 166-168(Accessed: 12 Apirl 2024)

Yang, Yong. (2024-01-03). Art Design of Ethnic Elements in "Big Fish and Begonia". China Film Journal, 013.doi: 10.28064/n.cnki.ncdyb.2024.00027.](Accessed: 12 Apirl 2024)

Big fish & Begonia(2016)available at：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I18ipheX0xY(Accessed: 12 Apirl 2024)

[saltyunordinaryprincess]

𝔸𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕄𝕦𝕟

Blog run by a friendly she/her named Paws.

Mun has 15+ years experience; Tumblr, Discord & classic AIM

Mun & Muses 18+

Mutuals only… lets chat to make sure we vibe

Non-exclusive

OUAT canon, canon-divergent, and AU-friendly

Open, semi-selective, and accepting starters

Prompts, memes and plotting available

Eastern Standard Time (GMT -05:00)

Full-time employee, Part-time blogger

ℝ𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕤

NSFW 🔞 must be discussed ahead of time and both parties must both consent. I am 100% ok with any graphic details being moved to DM or fading to black/behind closed doors.

I like to talk to new partners before just jumping into threads first. Nothing complicated, just to make sure we as muns can vibe. Because if we can’t vibe in casual conversation its going to make roleplaying more complicated. I want us to be able to talk if something comes up we are uncomfortable with, or if we have an idea we want to share. We don’t need to be besties, but I want us to be able to communicate.

Literacy is important, but mistakes do happen. I promise to do my best to proof read and edit all my posts before I click submit if you do the same. But then again, this is all for fun. I’m not looking to win a Pulitzer here.

I am non-exclusive, and do not mind working with multiples of the same character and will do my best to keep the stories separate (again, my tagging is complicated).

I do my best to match my partner length or length in replies. But at the same time, I prefer quality over quantity. We can always discuss expectations in reply lengths ahead of time if you would like (para, chat-style, short and sweet, etc) I used to do creative writing as a hobby in college so I tend to get carried away with details and descriptions. Feel free to poke me to tone it down if my replies become more outrageous and more fan fiction less roleplay.

I do not mind having more then one thread with the same character and/or partner. As long as we can both keep up, the more the merrier. Thus the reason I try to keep up with my own complicated tagging system.

If a thread starts from an ask (meme or prompt), if it gets involved and lengthy, I will most likely move it to it’s own post with a title to just remove the original ask post but I will link back to it, just allows shrinking easier.

Life happens, if I don’t reply to a thread in like 3 days, please feel free to DM me. There is a good chance I either missed the notification, totally forgot Tumblr existed and got lost in a side hobby (neurodivergent), or completely forgot to mention I was going away for a few days. I won’t be mad if you remind me. And if you wish, I will give you the same curtesy. 

If you are not one of the involved parties, please do not just jump into the roleplay without reaching out first to one of the involved parties. All my threads are CLOSED unless otherwise stated. Threads that are open to the public will be very clearly marked as [open to others].

On that same note, if you are not in the roleplay, please do not reblog any of the threads. You can like ❤️ and you can freely send us positive DMs as comments, but please do not reblog. It bogs down notifications and causes confusion in an already confusing and chaotic system.

Please do not ghost me. If you are no longer interested in roleplaying with me, please just send a quick DM. If you are going away on a sabbatical from Tumblr for an unknown time, family vacation, change in work/school schedule or you just don’t want to roleplay anymore, I beseech you to please just send a quick DM. I will not make a fuss. Ghosting hurts and makes me panic and worry about your wellbeing. Dead air in the middle of a planned plot is just heartbreaking with no explanation.

Once again, on a similar note, if we are in the middle of a thread and you just are no longer vibing with it and lose interest in that particular one, or you want to take a break from it and start another, same applies. Just DM me. I rather stop a thread and start a new one then force someone to bs their way unhappily and have the quality go down because they are just not feeling it.

Have fun!  This is a hobby. A game. A form of therapy. Stress release. Self care. Self expression. This is not homework, a career, an obligation. We’re all here to have fun. So let’s have some fun!

Updated 6/21/2024

[luvvatlantis]

Halo! Do u do NSFW? If so I have a request ^_^

Daichi with fem!so who's toes reflexively curl when she enjoys something (typically really delicious food or when she's sore and he gives her a massage) and it jus 🤌 does 🤌 things to him

HQ Sawamura Daichi and Your Toe Curl

A/N: Given my response to this post, I happen do to NSFW. However, I’m not an exclusive or often NSFW writer so don’t expect anything too great. Anyways, thank you so much for your request and I hope I did you idea justice!

Separately, please read the author’s note at the end.

Category: Semi-Headcanon(s), Chaotic Semi-Fluff, NSFW-y

Pairing: timeskip!Sawamura Daichi x fem!Reader

Characters: Sawamura Daichi

Content Warning: Dumbification, Praise, Degradation, f!Oral Sex, Overstimulation, (our boy is horny), Word Vomit, Unedited; (also sorry I kinda strayed away from the point)

Word Count: 384 words

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

SMUT IS BELOW THE CUT OFF!!

Daichi Sawamura is a busy, busy man. Between becoming a cop to keeping up in volleyball, he really doesn’t have a lot of time; for anyone other than you.

And with part of that, Daichi notices every little thing about you. From the way the left side of your upper lip quirks just a bit higher when you smile, to the way your toes curl when you’re experiencing something you enjoy, he tries to note everything he can about his girlfriend.

Why not, you know? She’s the absolute love of his life. He’s practically planned his wedding with you because he is just that far in love. But, that toe curl you do, drives him crazy. Truly, it launches him into a world of thought.

No, Daichi doesn’t have a foot fetish. Not even a little to be clear. But the way you curl your toes when you enjoy your food makes him think about the gorgeous look on your face, which makes him think about kissing you sore, which makes him think about fucking you dumb.

God how he wishes he could fuck you dumb.

So that’s how you got here, riding his cock as he whispers sweet nothings into your ears and kissing up and down your neck. The feeling of his dick against your walls making your toes curl.

“Fuck-, baby just like that.”

By the middle of the night he’s got you cumming on his tongue nth time. Praising you up and down for how pretty you look but at the same time calling you his personal slut.

“You’re so pretty when you can’t get enough of me.”

And by the end of the night he’s fucking his cum back into you. Appreciating the way your toes curl at how good he, and only he, makes you feel. Appreciating the way your tits bounce with every drawn out snap of his hips.

“S-Shit, love,”

The look of absolutely nothing else but his cock on your mind makes him want to keep fucking you senseless. He could kiss the beautiful tears running down cheeks till the end of his days. Those soft babbles coming from your mouth were more than enough to have him fuck you well into tomorrow.

God, if he could, he would fuck your back out again tomorrow.

A/N: Okay first addressing the fic! I don’t think this is too good as for this one I really couldn’t seem to get in a smut writing mood but I hope you enjoyed! Thank you so much for your patience and all the support! <3

Second, please drop a comment if you want to be added to my tag-list as I’m trying one out! Of course, this is more appealing if you are familiar with my content!

Third, my best friend @clueless-ghost posted some “Peacemaker” (HBO Max series) headcanons of mine so go check them out. Ghost might try to start a blog too so look out!

Now the other things I want to address. I’m going to be talking about mental health so if that triggers you, stop here.

I’m sorry I haven’t been able to post as much as I would like for you guys. I have a lot of works that I just can’t seem to write for because I just can’t seem to bring myself to write at all. I’ve struggled with my mental health the majority of my life and even though it wasn’t good when I started my blog it has dropped dramatically since starting it. I received poor news among other things and it just plummeted. I’m trying my best for you all and I am truly grateful for all your support and patience. If you see that I don’t post much or dislike my work it’s just because I’m not doing super great. However, I’m not abandoning you any time soon so please stick around. Thank you so, so much! <3 -ashlynxmylove

Reposts and notes are greatly appreciated. Plagiarism, copying, or creating videos of this work is prohibited. This work belongs to @ashlynxswhore on Tumblr.

[qingxin-dream]

A Wanderer’s Dream

a/n | I’ll just admit it already—this blog is a Scaramouche house of worship disguised as a Xiao blog.😔🙏 ALSO MY 250 FOLLOWER EVENT ENDS TOMORROW!! Please, send me a request! (art credits: @/AlvaRichie1 on twitter).

warnings | unedited

genre | slight angst, fluff/romance, bulleted hcs

word count | 1.5k

pairing | scaramouche/kunikuzushi x reader

⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩

Scaramouche knew falling in love with a mortal was the worst mistake to make as an immortal being. Archons and other deities such as himself live for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

The span of a mortal life was like that of a butterfly. So fragile. So delicate. Enrapturing and beautiful—but destined for destruction within a blink of an eye. Loving such a frail life form would invite nothing short of heartbreak that he would have to carry for the rest of his miserably long existence.

If only there was a way for you to join him in some strange kind of semi-immortality—to hold onto life just for a few centuries longer by his side. He had heard of the chosen few who ascended to Celestia to become gods themselves and obtain immortality, but then his once mortal lover would be forced to abandon him to the heavens.

He’d be damned to ever let that happen.

Even more pressing than that, Scaramouche has longed for a heart for so many endless years. It was hundreds of years before the Gnosis was finally within his grasp, but only found that it was full of deceit and lies.

A heart would make him whole. It was his purpose. He was bound to fulfill it no matter what. After leaving Inazuma, he searched for an answer in Sumeru, the land of scholarly knowledge, where he met you—a budding researcher in alchemy affiliated with the Academy.

He discovered that somehow life felt less dreadful with you. Many a moonlit night was spent tirelessly researching and experimenting until exhaustion got the best of both of you. Waking up to Scaramouche next to you, his indigo hair a cute mess and cheeks glistening with the ghost of tears. You never saw his reaction to his dreams as a weakness. It proved how much he wanted to feel. To be human.

Although, your first meeting wasn’t as pleasant as your friendship grew to be. Scaramouche had demanded you to become his personal scientific expert at alchemical heart-creation, but honestly you needed no threatening. This was your life’s work.

To have the opportunity create a heart for a godly creation would be the pinnacle of the alchemy field. You would be the most lauded scholar in Sumeru. Truthfully, the idea of being the most accomplished scholar in alchemy sounded cool, but you were more enthralled with Scaramouche. He quickly became your close friend, roommate, and confidant, although he may not admit his fondness of you often.

The nature of research meant that you would undoubtedly have to get up close and personal with Scaramouche. You would need to know everything about him so that the specifications of the heart were a perfect fit. You had learned of his true name: Kunikuzushi. He told you it meant destroyer of nations, but you simply smiled with a peculiar innocence in response. “Nice to meet the real you, Kuni.”

Of course, taking precise measurements of his body would be required of your work. Your fingertips grazing his marked chest and muscular back as you wrap a flexible tape measure around him, a dusting of blush gracing your cheeks hotly.

You could see the marks of the Electro Archon on his form—indicators that he was not human but indeed a carefully crafted puppet. He was a work of art, frankly, with a nicely sculpted frame and the intricate design from his creator stretching from his chest outward like chaotic bolts of electricity. You always hesitated a moment longer as you took his measurements to admire him, earning a faint grumble from the former harbinger.

Then, half-way through your project, Kunikuzushi had an epiphany. (Although, to any outsider it was quite obvious.) He had fallen in love with you. He wasn’t quite sure how it happened or why or what he should do about it. He knew he would outlive you by millennia, so such feelings were trivial.

But Archons, the way you made his stomach flutter with butterflies and the heat that pooled in his face at your every touch—it was like a drug to him. He relished at the thought of you blushing furiously when you were near him, he found it incredibly endearing. Not that he’d tell you, of course!

When Kunikuzushi mustered the courage to find the right moment to confess to you in your lab, you rejected him.

It seemed like a conflict of interest for you to date the subject of your research, so you outright told him no. How could you record your results and write publications on a subject you were obviously biased to as his lover? You’d undoubtedly be outcast by the Academy, perhaps even expelled.

Without a heart, it was so difficult for Kunikuzushi to have positive emotions like happiness or even love. But somehow you made that possible for him. Now that you took what remnants of his soul he had and crushed it, he felt that he had no other choice than to leave. Possessing a heart without someone to love was useless. So, he grit his teeth, swallowed the suffocating pain wracking his throat, and closed the door to your home without sparing a longing glance back.

Your research ceased to progress, but you’d be lying to yourself if you didn’t admit that you looked at your research notes about him every night. Everything. Utterly wasted.

A few weeks later, you heard a firm knock at the door late at night. It was storming terribly, which was very unusual for this part of Sumeru. You peeked through the peephole of your front door and let out a shriek, flinging the door wide open. “Kuni! What are you—” Without a word, the puppet collapsed onto the ground, eyes fading into apparent lifelessness.

It wasn’t until sunrise a few days later that Kunikuzushi opened his eyes again, laying in your bed with all kinds of alchemical potions and ointments scattered about the room. It hurt to move, but he gathered all of his strength to go see if you were in your lab downstairs. You were so engrossed in your research that you didn’t even notice he walked into the room. “(Y/N),” he breathed, leaning onto the doorframe for support. You leapt from your chair, tackling him in a hug. “Don’t you dare scare me like that ever again!”

You asked Kunikuzushi what he did that night, but he never said a word about it. Begrudgingly, you decided to drop it, thankful that he was okay at least. From that day forth, you both decided to partner together again to finish his heart project once and for all.

Eventually, the day had finally come. Failed experiment after failed experiment led to this moment—a handcrafted, shimmering alchemical device with the power to give Kunikuzushi his destined purpose. Your hands trembled as you held the small piece that resembled a gnosis. He knew what this meant: your research was done, he would finally be complete, and you no longer needed him. It was time to say goodbye.

Kunikuzushi wanted this occasion to be special. He’s been waiting for this his whole life, for Archon’s sake. There was a hidden beach that reminded him of the shores of his home in Inazuma that he wanted to take you to, and absorb the crafted heart.

You spent the afternoon with him there: enjoying a quaint picnic, walking along the edge of the water (maybe you splashed some water on him on purpose to catch him by surprise!), searching for shells—until finally it was dusk.

The hour was upon the both of you.

“If… if for some reason I change… now that I have this heart, promise me you’ll stay by my side,” Kunikuzushi glanced between the glowing alchemic heart and your eager eyes.

“Of course. I can always fix—” you began to reply with a reassuring squeeze of his shoulder.

But he interjected swiftly, “No. I know it’ll be perfect, I have no doubts about your abilities, (Y/N). I mean… I don’t want you to leave. After this is all over. I know we moved past it temporarily, but I… I can’t deny my feelings. I know they’ll only become stronger when I absorb this.”

“Kuni, I—”

“I won’t be your research subject anymore. I want to be your partner,” he declared once more, growing more confident and passionate as he reiterates his feelings aloud. His lavender irises secretly pleaded with you, fearful of rejection yet again.

“Kuni! I know! Just let me tell you I love you already!” you blurted loudly with a fiery red expression of hot embarrassment, folding your arms in a playful pout. His whole countenance brightened once he processed that your words weren’t actually rejection but reciprocation. With a soft smile, he took the heart from your hands and absorbed it.

… Nothing.

Nothing felt extraordinarily different.

This did not come as a terrible surprise to the puppet, for he found happiness in the fact that you had already made his heart complete long before the alchemy device was ever created.

And he sealed this fate with the cup of your chin in his hand and a soft kiss on your awaiting lips.

more of my works can be found here if you’re interested :)

[crow-osha]

I love this blog too

Much but I would really love a story behind it if there is one truthfully it’s too cute .

If you mean why I brought this blog into existence-

I have chronic magpie brain, work in trades and thought the shenanigans of the other blogs were fun. So I kinda popped Carrion out of my brain and set him down in the middle of the OSHAverse so people could enjoy having a chaotic little bird who caused problems and was a nuisance because that was how he needed to follow CrOSHA rules.

I've run ask blogs in the past and since those communities have died I was itching to get back into doing it.

I thought a crow wearing a hard hat running a blog and on a mission to find a crow sized safety vest was a great idea while he stole highlighters and scribbled over everyone else's papers.

It's definitely evolved away from that since I started, but at the core I just wanted to have fun with a goofy birb.

BUT if you mean there's a story within the lore of the blog-

Yes, there is!

At some point I'd like to introduce some other characters like Carrion's magpies and a human companion, I've even eluded to him having a family before.

But I've honestly kinda lost a lot of the motivation to be active on this blog.

Semi vent below the cut 😅

OSHAverse has grown so much since I started and it's gotten overwhelming with plots and character interactions to the point I've distanced myself and have no idea what's going on.

The OSHAverse has become so RP reliant I just don't have the energy or frankly the desire to do long interactions that are needed to stay actively involved with the overarching community.

This blog was never really meant to be a roleplay blog. It's an ask blog and I don't get asks that help tell the story I'd like to.

ALL THAT SAID THOUGH-

Asks like this are always super nice and make my day!!

I love that my shenanigans with this bird make you happy and that you're enjoying my blog so far! I really appreciate it 💛

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

@ether-solrac here with another sort of semi-joke/semi-serious AU idea. An AU were Lila becomes the Ladybug weilder and Chloé is the Cat.

Ok so it begins with Fu actually taking a step back and letting Tikki and Plagg go out and choose weilders of their own. The thing is they both prefer weilders that they can guide and redeem rather than the "best fit." Tikki sees Lila in desperate need of compassion and order in a life that never let her settle down, while Plagg sees Chloé who's seen nothing but strict rules and toxic images and is in desperate need a of a new chaotic and free point of view.

For Lila she kind of calms down in her civilian life and most of her desire for attention and reputation just kind of sticks to the hero side, creating a sort of overly charismatic and showy hero. Shed never admit it but she draws a lot of inspiration from the overly campy 80s style of superhero where it's like all flashing white teeth and bravado. Think Metro Man from Megamind.

Meanwhile the whole performance and responsibilities as a hero just kind of leaves her more tired and quiet as a civilian, she's subconsciously given up on making a big deal about herself and just wants to get through the day until she's a hero again. This has the unintended effect of catching Marinettes attention who tends to have a big heart when it comes to the class. She sees what looks like a tired deperesed girl her age and makes it her mission to cheer her up, often bringing pastries and coffee from her parent's bakery.

This pretty much leaves Lila a confused blushing mess becuase "what the hell? I barely even introduced myself and this girl is already super nice to me?" She kind of finds herself again through Marinette's kind prodding and kind of forces herself to figure just who she is a as a person.

Also a funny side thing, Marinette can't stand the ladybug hero. Since she's not a hero in this AU (at least not at the start) she helps Alya with her blog and as such she's gotten to meet the heroes quite a few times. Oddly enough she's friends with the chat hero but she can't stand the ego of the ladybug hero and finds her to be really fake and obnoxious. It isn't until Lila starts getting closer to Marinette that she starts to dial it back a bit and finds confidence in her real self since thats the personality that made a genuine friend (and what she hopes could possibly be more).

Meanwhile with Chloé, Plagg is just the worst best influence on Chloé. Their entire dynamic is just "aren't you tired of being nice, don't you just want to go ape shit?" and then she does. Cat chloe gives zero fucks and is probably one of the most feral cats so far. She has awakened her inner Yang and she very much wants to punch stuff. Instead of her mentality being about using her hero persona to impress her mother, her thoughts are basically that if no one knows she's Chloé, then she can act anyway she wants.

As much as I love Chlolix, I think it'd be interesting if Chloé goes for Alya and uses her hero persona as her gay outlet (maybe her mother is homophobic or her father can't support her becuase of politics etc) so when she sees Alya becoming a textbook Louis Lane she absolutely goes for it. She kind of takes on this sort of Shego like confidence and swagger where she knows what she wants and that's this cute redhead. this kind of leaves Alya more focused on the cat hero.

As for Chloé's civilian life it's a slow battle overcoming her mother's image if perfection and becoming the person she wants to be. Little by little she kind of transitions into more of a Ryka/ Chloé Couffaine personality. She doesn't stop being "mean" as Chloé but it's kind of gone from bully to aggressive protector. Kind of just sticking up for the members of the class that are a little too nice and would probably get taken advantage of.

Ok that's all I got. Kind of basic but I felt like sharing.

———-

OH DAMN

[feralaot]

how'd the aot characters be like when drunk? i've once read a hc about this topic would like to hear it from you too! keep up the good work btw i love your blog!

ahh tysm lovely anon! I like this idea :) 

AOT characters + how they act when drunk 

warnings: alcohol, mentions of vomit, hangovers

season 4 time, all characters are adults

eren

he can put back more than most, but is a massive angry drunk when he gets there. his voice gets louder and his face redder with every sip he takes. very high likelihood of getting into a fistfight, especially with jean if he’s unlucky enough to be in the vicinity. will probably spend the next morning vomiting and mikasa has to be there the whole time to make sure he doesn’t pass out with his face in a toilet

mikasa

doesn’t drink much because she pretty much has to act as eren’s wrangler for when he’s drunk. HOWEVER when she does drink she doesn’t drink a lot because it gives her killer headaches and she gets very touch averse. if someone so much as brushes against her she’ll lose her mind

armin

do not, under any circumstance, let armin have alcohol. he’s the biggest lightweight, a featherweight, if you will. two shots and he’s already an emotional mess going on long rants about how beautiful nature is and how precious his friends are to him

connie and sasha

these chaotic little disasters are a two for one deal. they only ever drink when they’re together because it’s “a lot more fun” and by fun they’re probably going to try communicating with animals and/or inanimate objects. jean is the responsible one and always puts away sharp objects or things that could possibly be used as weapons because at some point sasha will inevitably attempt to demonstrate “hunting methods”

jean

though he’s usually the semi responsible one and helps connie and sasha recover from hangovers, when he’s the drunk one he is BOUND to get everyone in trouble. tries to fight people, starts incoherent arguments, and by the end of the night he’s the one most likely to be arrested

historia

so so emotional. she’ll see a flower and start crying about how beautiful it is. she uses her small size to her advantage and curls up in places ymir can’t reach, just becomes completely feral. giggly as all hell and asks so many questions bc her brain cells are just absolutely buzzing

ymir

really cocky and really flirty. compliments historia and her friends endlessly, going off about how great they are and how much she appreciates them, but THEN she’ll turn around and completely flame someone. everything she thinks about them is made very clear. doesn’t start fights herself but will ABSOLUTELY stand her ground. drunk eren tries to fight drunk ymir and he gets his shit wrecked

reiner

it depends. usually he’ll just be sprawled out on the couch completely dead to the world. a heap of misery. on bad days he’ll start rambling to people about his emotions (despite them not asking) then proceeds to deny it ever happened by the time he’s conscious again. gets very touchy and will cling onto bertholdt like a monkey while he drags him around because he literally will not let go. he gets really really hungry too and would probably eat an entire block of cheese by himself should he happen to get his hands on one

bertholdt

so sweet and kind, barely different personality-wise to his sober self. he doesn’t drink much himself but will have beers with reiner sometimes. despite not knowing what the hell is going on he’ll sit and listen intently to someone talking even though he can’t really understand, then proceed to compliment them on how smart they are and probably give them hugs against their will. as you can probably guess, this is usually reiner. he manages to fall asleep in really strange places while drunk. examples: squished into a closet, wedged between the fridge and the wall, etc. somehow his drunk self finds this comfortable

annie

threatens to fight people but won’t actually do it unless she’s really angry for whatever reason. might just curl up on the couch and completely zone out, dead to the world, barely processing what’s going on around her. usually she refuses to move so it’s pretty normal for armin to have to pick her up and place her somewhere to recover. she’s the responsible one in the trio while sober however and will babysit bertholdt and reiner while they’re crying and holding each other or something

levi, erwin, and hange

neither levi or erwin get drunk drunk but will have glasses of wine together while gossiping about other scouts. meanwhile, hange is collapsed somewhere, probably face down in a potted plant. eventually levi and erwin have to flip a coin to decide which one of them is gonna be the one to drag hange out of their predicament and place them somewhere a little more comfortable where they can sleep. hange is barely conscious but laughing really loudly the whole time

porco and pieck

they really don’t like drinking, porco because he doesn’t want to do something he regrets and pieck because she doesn’t want to embarrass herself. and, of course, neither of them want to have to deal with the pain afterwards. HOWEVER if porco were to drink he would be 1. really fucking rude and probably mad at people for nothing and 2. sleepy as hell. literally just... he yells at someone and curses them out then goes straight to bed. he sleeps in weird positions while intoxicated and will somehow be sleeping peacefully while contorted like a cat. pieck on the other hand would be 1. very affectionate and kind and 2. somehow completely feral at the same time. she can’t stand on two legs while drunk and will often be laying on the ground just dead to the world (and sometimes people do actually check if she’s still alive)

zeke

I feel like he’s always at least slightly intoxicated. would probably hide a bottle of whiskey in an absolutely-not-conspicuous paper bag and write “work documents” on the outside of it with a marker. he’s very deadpan and monotone so his drunkenness could be mistaken for indifference. unfortunately he has the alcohol tolerance of a tank so it takes a lot for him to get pass-out-on-the-ground drunk. he also gets REALLY hungry so the other warriors have to hide their lunches from him because he will absolutely consume everything in his path

yelena

is probably very quiet and kind of just stands there like some kind of cryptid. will just linger and watch people. would probably try to hide herself behind a lamp post but, of course, everyone can see her. she refuses to believe that she can be seen however and despite being fucking huge she thinks she’s a master at hiding. has swan dived into a bush to “hide” on more than one occassion

[seekingwriting]

don't wanna flood my main writing blog ( @aspenwriting ) with this buuut !! looking for someone to play anthony bridgerton or a period oc with jonathan bailey as the faceclaim !! my current fixation, lol. either on here or discord. willing to double, because i actually enjoy it. so i'll portray any faceclaim ( with the exception of underage and deceased. ) on any plot. smut is optional, but somewhat preferred cus i love some chaotic sexual tension and spicyness. below you can find my oc's info + plot soo!! pls let me know. i write semi - lit, little to no triggers, and v active! message me here for my discord !!

dodie jane weston is a twenty and six year old woman, who was born and raised in london, until the age of sixteen, when her family decided to relocate to vienna, austria, in order to help care for her maternal grandfather, who had fallen ill. before her tragic move, the weston family was quite close to the bridgertons, their mothers being childhood friends and gleefully allowed their children to play with one another, despite the eldest bridgerton child being two and a half years her senior. dodie was close with the second eldest, benedict, the two bonding over their shared love for the arts, though, dodie preferred to read. she also got along well with daphne, who looked up to her quite often, and dodie adored her as if she was her own sister. as for anthony, well ... at the age of thirteen is when dodie realized she had feelings for the boy, at least, that's when she was able to recognize such crush. the two had always had such underlying relations beneath their friendship, everyone could see it, including benedict and colin who would tease anthony, all while young eloise would playfully joke about the two becoming wedded when they reach of age. and maybe that would have been true, if certain events had never happened.

when dodie's family relocated, it was hard on her, saying goodbye to her second family, saying goodbye to anthony. but, she was at ease knowing she'll write with them and possibly visit in the future. sadly, the letters between her and her childhood crush would halt after seven letters. she remembers her own becoming unanswered, from all of the bridgertons, until a fortnight passed and her parents informed her that edmund bridgerton had died. when the news broke, dodie wrote until her hand was numb, writing letters to each family member, and two towards anthony, telling him that she was deeply sorry for his lost, and to please let her know he was okay. each member that was capable of writing wrote back, all besides anthony. in fact, he never sent her another letter again, much to dodie's heartbreak.

the weston family resided in vienna for a decade, even after her grandfathers passing, her parents decided to settle there to keep her grandmother company. what brought them back to london, was their fortune decaying. for years, did the assure dodie she could marry whomever she wanted, whomever she loved, but when she sees her family's financial struggle, she decides marrying for duty was far more important, despite her initial belief that marriage was sacred. cue the weston's moving back during the social season, in hopes to find their only daughter a groom. being back in her hometown was wonderful - what wasn't, was having to face anthony bridgerton after he left her in the dust all these years.

dodie is a doe eyed woman portrayed by rose williams. as for her personality, she's a very intelligent book worm, who has a kind heart, but could be as fierce as many if needed to be. though easily flustered, she isn't afraid to make a move and call out anyone on their bullshit, and sometimes, she should probably bite her tongue, but it's hard to do when you're strong willed, and even more so, stubborn. here you can find her pinterest board.

[shingia]

Describe your moots in a sentence 😌

oh would you look at that? and i was just about to start studying… guess it’s gonna have to wait >:)

@kohi-zeri very very VERY talented, your writing is very promising and i definitely look forward to your future works, ily ! <3333 🌿

@catwithangerissues i have never called you my main hoe but there’s a start to everything so please, main hoe, read this carefully : YOU’RE THE PERSON I TALK TO THE MOST IN MY WHOLE FUCKING LIFE AND WE AREN’T EVEN IN THE SAME TIME ZONE WTF

@catchmewiddershins BIG BRAIN ENERGY, clicking on your blog makes me feel a bit smarter every time so thank you for that :)

@iwasumi an angel who deserves THE WORLD and omg your spanish conversations with your oikawa anon make me go 🦋🦋🦋

@hvnlydmn i’m still not over our (chaotic) first interaction a few days ago when we realized we have been big fans of each other’s work for weeks without ever telling the other, anyways : you’re still the rihanna of the hq tumblr to me <3

@babymattsun your aesthetic is incredible, your work is incredible, your personality is v sexc… did i forget anything ?? 😌

@eunaria a a literal angel and i will never ever get tired of the lovely pictures you send in my inbox, they light up my days almost as much as being moots with you does <3

@akaashi-bby it’s a shame we haven’t interacted that much yet but i plan on changing this v soon because you seem very sweet and your work is amazinggg 💕 (that was not a description but anyways)

@u-make-my-heart-tsumtsum ok now that i passed the stage of fangirling over you following me (barely) i can say without a doubt that you radiate the nicest vibes honestly i wish i knew more ppl like you because you are an absolute god angel <3

@smolmo ok i know we’ve only become moots very recently but WHY DO I FEEL LIKE I’VE KNOWN YOU FOR MUCH LONGER ?! (also your sakusa’s playlist is coming and not to brag or anything but i kinda live for it)

oh and lemme just add a little something addressed to your trio (@akaashi-bby @u-make-my-heart-tsumtsum @smolmo : your vibes are absolutely INCREDIBLE, watching you interact with each other is live watching a comfort tv show or something and your reblogs always make me smile like an idiot (THERE I SAID IT)

@tetsurouandushigirl aka THE ANGEL WHO MATCHED ME WITH SUNA AND/OR SEMI 💕💖💓💘💞💘 (i’ll never forget this. NEVER. consider me forever grateful)

@starlightte to me you’re samu’s official girlfriend there’s no questioning it - also, it should be illegal for someone to hype me up as much as you do because you make my self esteem go through the roof EVERYTIME (not that i’m complaining) 📈📈

@toworuu my 8th follower (wow time flies *wipes a tear*) that i want to thank again for supporting me since the very beginning, i’m SUPER SUPER GRATEFUL and i’ll always be 💘

@boo-marie a complete sweetheart and no i’m still not over your kageyama matchup omg i think about it everyday (also : KYŌMARIE >>>>)

@matsunshine a very good driver who has nothing to blame herself for (IT WAS DEFINITELY THIS DUDE’S FAULT FOR PARKING LIKE A DICK), i live for our conversations they make me feel like we’re irl friends for some reason??

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The political possibility of cities

The coming year feels like an important one. Democrats have the chance to pass the For the People Act, which will reverse decades of right-wing voter suppression, steering the US away from the baked-in antimajoritarian characteristics of its politics

At the same time, a successful vaccine rollout (assuming variants can be controlled) will mean widespread "re-openings," most notably in cities, where we find the highest concentrations of virus-incompatible stuff: mass transit, elevators, theaters and "cozy" cafes.

Cities are of huge political significance. The rise and rise of inequality has been attended by skyrocketing rents in cities, largely driven by money-launderers and speculators who turned housing stock into empty safe deposit boxes in the sky.

Cities were also key to delivering the 2020 election: Biden took major cities by 13m votes, inner suburbs by 4m votes, and midsized cities by 1.5m votes. 80% of Biden's votes came from these three categories.

As Ronald Brownstein writes in The Atlantic, "If you draw an imaginary beltway around almost any major metropolitan area, Democrats are growing stronger inside that circle, while Republicans are consolidating their position outside of it."

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/03/how-biden-could-partner-big-cities-and-suburbs/618294/

Last summer's BLM uprising was a mostly urban affair, but even before then, the GOP was waging war on cities, with Mitch McConnell cutting maintenance and relief funds for cities, and Trump demanding quarter for ICE snatch-squads.

America's urbanization is an unbroken trend, and cities are semi-autonomous, wildly imperfect, young, diverse and economically powerful. They are also politically important, and many of the reddest states would be blue or very purple if cities were given due representation.

Brownstein's account of cities during the Trump years makes the case that a Biden focus on mayors, rather than the deadlocked Congress and Senate, or the fringe ideologues who were crammed onto the Supreme Court, is the key to making real political change.

The deadlocked legislature is not a new phenomenon. Several presidential administrations have focused on executive orders and regulations from the administrative branch to effect change, but these are flimsy political wins. What one exec order can create, another can undo.

Net Neutrality is here, then gone, then (maybe) here again. Without legislation, these policies aren't worth the Federal Register pages they're printed on. But there are methods to durably inscribe policy, and these are primarily urban.

Mostly, we remember the negative ways that this occurs: redlining, driving freeways through Black neighborhoods or skipping over parts of the city when it comes to subway access. Infrastructure is policy - and it's among the most permanent forms of policy we have.

As recent years have demonstrated, the future is a chaotic place, but as Charlie Stross has noted, the elements of the future that are indeed up for grabs are actually pretty narrow: 90% of the future is here today.

https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2019/12/artificial-intelligence-threat.html

Most of the homes people will be living in in 10 years are on the road today. Most of the people who'll be alive then are living today. most of the cars that will be on the road are already in service today.

Even sharp discontinuities like the pandemic don't change those facts much (Stross and I did a conference presentation last week where he said that maybe all the chaos of the past five years has reduced the present's share of the future to 80%, still a commanding majority).

Cities are places where administrative policies can inscribe themselves indelibly upon the future. As LA Sustainability Czar Lauren Faber O'Connor told Brownstein, "Every building in the country is basically a shovel-ready project."

A fed solarize/winterize subsidy for buildings makes a difference for decades to come: not just the carbon footprint of the built environment, but also the baseline expectations for decent buildings. It permanently alters the balance between energy companies and the nation.

Every local government could take the feds up on this, but self-owning culture war foolishness predicts that the benefit will accrue predominantly to the large/mid-sized cities and inner burbs that delivered the election to Biden.

Vehicles don't last as long as buildings, but they are remarkably durable. Biden wants to replace the fed fleet with EVs - he could subsidize cities to do the same, creating huge efficiencies of scale for EV production and demand for permanent EV charging infrastructure.

Of course, the future is transit-based, not private-vehicle-based. Just do the math: multiply the number of people who need to go places by the amount of highway a private vehicle operates, and you'll find an inescapable Red Queen's Race.

The more road we need for those private vehicles, the further apart everything gets. The further apart everything gets, the more cars we need. The more cars we need, the more road we need. The more road we need, the further apart everything gets.

If building mass transit is "socialism" then geometry is a socialist plot (and no, you can't fix this by moving cars into tunnels; do the math). Transit permanently alters where people live and work, and what they expect from their cities. A transit subsidy is a no-brainer.

Biden can't force the states to switch to carbon neutral energy sources, but he can subsidize municipal energy facilities' voluntary switchover, again, permanently altering the economics of fossil-fuel power generation.

Red states aren't red: they are gerrymandered purple states that punish and starve their economic and population centers in the name of culture war nonsense and white supremacy. There are opportunities to permanently alter this situation.

For example, the Biden FCC could resinstate the rule banning states from limiting municipal fiber, and then subsidize 100GB/s muni networks, with emphasis on the urban broadband deserts in the majority-minority neighborhoods created by redlining.

Once cities are operating profitable muni networks that connect *everyone* to service that is 1,000-10,000x faster than the aging copper lines that cable monopolists refuse to upgrade, those networks will become permanent facts.

(as with many anti-monopoly interventions, these will do double-duty: the cable companies' lobbying ammo comes from the monopoly rents that they extract from poor people; deprive them of those rents and you cut the supply lines in the war they wage on the public interest)

There's reforms coming to the Affordable Care Act: if one of these is a change to the rule that cities can only get federal health-care subsidies if their states permit it, then cities could opt-in to health care even when their gerrymandered GOP statehouses block it.

America has 50 governors, 435 Congressional districts, 100 senators and 9 Supreme Court justices.

America has 19,000 cities and towns and 3,100 counties. These local governments are far more accountable to the people than the larger political entities.

Officials in cities, towns and counties who deliver tangible improvements to their residents' quality of life will be rewarded with high approval ratings and re-election. The Trump years left the largest of these starved for friendly federal coordination and partnership.

Biden's cabinet already includes three prominent former mayors - Buttigieg, Walsh and Fudge - and the historically intractable task of directly coordinating with thousands of local governments is made far more reasonable thanks to digital technology.

History teaches that presidents can defeat America's antimajoritarian institutions by simply bypassing them.

When the pro-slavery Supreme Court struck down Lincoln's anti-slavery laws, he passed them again...and again...and again: "Let's see whose legitimacy tanks first."

Biden could write humane, sustainable equitable future on the country in indelible ink. He could also make permanent changes in the lives and expectations of people: increasing subsidies to local schools and wiping out student debt is a change that lasts for a generation.

As exciting as this is, it's not enough. The circumstances of rural life are range from bad to terrible, and they're only worsening. Saving the cities will save the vast majority of Americans, but it will still leave nearly 60,000,000 people in desperate circumstances.

This is unacceptable. Good governments look after all people, not just the ones it expects to win re-election from.

Working with local governments is a tactic, not a strategy - a way to erode corporate power and present alternatives.

It's the beginning, not the end.

Image: The Fifth Element/Luc Besson