#as well as 30 minutes ago art lol

[rocketbirdie]

kunsel face reveal (NOT CLICKBAIT)

[rubytuby]

surprise

patrick zweig x fem!reader 

word count: 3.3k (LOL)

warnings: established relationship with patrick because i'm lazy, art is your best friend, mentions of getting drunk but it's college so like to be expected… also allusions to sex haha but um i just love to write a cutesy plot.

note: i am normal about patrick zweig, i feel so normal about him #needthat. jokes, but i am in love with him its so bad, i wish he was real. also please don't be offended by my tashi erasure, still love her, but she didn't exactly fit in here. obv this is not canon bc you're dating patrick in stanford era instead of tashi, anyways, hope you enjoy <3.

FEBRUARY 23 2007, STANFORD

The sun hung low, casting long shadows over the tennis courts as you and Art wrapped up your practice session. Both of you were drenched in sweat, Art slung his tennis bag over his shoulder and jogged over, his face lighting up with a mischievous grin.

“So uh, want to walk back to the dorms together?” he asked, sounding overly eager.

You squinted at him, wiping your forehead with the back of your hand. “Sure, but I need to shower first. You know, make it seem like I haven’t been pushed to my physical limits,” you said, gesturing to your sweaty attire.

Art laughed. “You have a single, why don't you just wait until you get back to your dorm?”

You groaned, shoving your racket into your bag. “That's the problem. The maintenance guy showed up at 7:30 this morning to tell us they’re shutting off the water from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. only on my floor for some urgent plumbing issue.”

“Damn, that sucks. Are they even allowed to do that without giving anyone notice?”

“That's what I asked, but apparently, giving us 30 minutes notice is considered adequate. So, technically, they can,” you replied, rolling your eyes in exasperation. “I’ll be quick, though. Just need to rinse off. If you don’t wanna wait for me to chill, you can walk back to the dorms. I won’t be offended.”

Art shook his head. “I’ve got time, I’ll wait. I’ve gotta call someone anyways,” he said plopping down the bench and pulling out his phone.

“Alright weirdo, if you’re sure,” you said, dropping your tote bag next to him. “I’ll be super quick.” With that, you darted off to the girls' locker room.

As soon as you disappeared, Art pulled out his phone and dialed Patrick’s number. The phone barely rang before Patrick answered, his voice tense with impatience.

“Are you guys on the fucking way yet or am I going to have to wait longer?”

“Hello, sunshine!” Art greeted cheerily. “Your beloved is taking a quick shower. We’ll be there in about 25 to 30 minutes.”

Patrick groaned loudly. “Why didn’t you just tell her to shower in her dorm? I’ll lick the sweat off her if it means not waiting any longer.”

Art grimaced at his best friend’s comment. “The water’s out on her floor. She said she’s literally only rinsing off and changing. Just be patient. I’ll text you when to leave so we can time it perfectly.” A sigh rang out on the other line.

“If this plan doesn’t work and I’ve been hiding from my girlfriend for a couple hours for no reason, I’m going to seriously hurt you,” Patrick grumbled, staring out Art’s dorm window.

“Well she definitely thinks you're in New York visiting your parents,” Art paused, “I just had to talk her down from buying a plane ticket, so I think we’re good.”

“I told her I just got into the city a couple hours ago when I actually got to SFO. She was so upset yesterday when I said it’d be five days until we saw each other. She called me a fucking asshole, so I dont know what to do anymore.” Patrick said as he flopped onto Arts bed.

Art scribbled on his worksheet, humming in response. “Well, at least you know that she definitely misses you.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure if she misses me or just wants to slap me in the face,” Patrick replied, exasperated.

Just then, Art saw you coming out of the locker room, chatting with one of your friends on the team. “Hopefully not the latter. Anyway she’s out. See you at 15. Don’t be late,” Art said flatly before hanging up, knowing Patrick and his unfortunate untimeliness. 

Art smiled up at you as you approached. “Who was that?” you asked, eyebrows raised.

“Our shared lover,” Art replied with a laugh, haphazardly shoving his worksheet and phone into his bag as he stood up.

“Aww, any exciting updates from Pat? He still stuck with his parents for another five days?” you teased, sticking your tongue out playfully.

“He just got to the city. He mentioned playing on the East River courts and paying someone to hold a spot for him,” Art lied smoothly.

“Sounds about right,” you said, sighing. “Anyway, I was talking to Nathalie over there…” you squinted, linking arms with Art as the two of you started the walk back to your dorm. “She mentioned a frat party happening tonight. Since Patrick’s trapped in New York, I figured why not go?”

“There’s going to be a keg stand, a ton of alcohol, and some shitty DJ or something,” you added, glancing at a group of students touring the campus before turning back to Art.

Art nodded, slightly wincing at the mention of the keg stand. “Wow, sounds like a lot of fun,” he replied sarcastically, earning a nod of agreement from you.

“I was planning on skipping it, but Nathalie really wants me to go. I thought if you came with me, it might actually be fun. Better than wallowing in my room wishing Patrick was here,” you admitted, biting your lip.

"Well, we had fun at that party last Friday, you remember right?" Art asked, smirking.

"Remember is a strong word," you replied, shaking your head with a laugh. "I think I have bits and pieces from that night. I do remember waking up still drunk at noon with my t-shirt on backwards and you snoring next to me in bed. Also like 5 missed calls from Patrick."

Art flashed you a lopsided grin. "Well, your bed's comfy, but I thought I was going to roll off in the middle of the night."

"Well, I stayed in my corner, I was flush against the wall as you were all sprawled out making yourself at home on my bed," you teased, nudging him playfully.

As you approached your dorm building, you noticed Art’s phone buzz. He glanced at it quickly, fumbling to put it away as a smile grew on his face. “What’s with the grin, weirdo?” you asked, narrowing your eyes suspiciously.

“Oh, nothing. Just a funny text,” Art replied too quickly, stuffing his phone back into his pocket.

You rolled your eyes. “You’re terrible at lying, you know that?”

“Who, me? Who said I’m lying, I’m the picture of innocence,” Art said defensively.

You shook your head. “Sure you are. Anyway, I think I’m gonna drop my stuff on the floor, crawl into bed, and maybe take a nap. Maybe we can think about that party, I can call you at 11 so we can pregame.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Art said with a nod. “I’ll walk you to your door.”

You smiled gratefully as the two of you ascended the stairs to your floor. Art talked animatedly about his plans for the weekend while you half-listened, preoccupied with thoughts of collapsing onto your bed and taking a deserved long nap.

"Yeah anyways, I'm thinking of catching up on some studying, this english class is kicking my ass," Art continued, unaware of your drifting attention. "Maybe I’ll go on a run later though. You could join me if you wanted, if you’re up."

"Maybe," you replied absentmindedly, reaching a hand into your tote bag sifting for your keys.

As you reached your door, frustrated with your bag, you dropped your tennis bag and lifted your whole tote up, practically sticking your face in it to find your keys. "I hate these fucking tote bags, I can’t find shit," you grumbled to Art, feeling a tap on your shoulder.

Startled, you turned around with a scowl— until you saw Patrick standing there, a mischievous grin on his face. "Patrick! What the fuck? What are you doing here-” you exclaimed, letting your tote bag fall to the floor and throwing your arms around him in a tight hug.

Patrick laughed, hugging you back just as tightly. "Surprise" he exclaimed, holding you close, smiling at Art over your shoulder.

You pulled back slightly, giving him an incredulous look. "You asshole! Trapped in New York with my parents, my ass!" you shook your head, playfully hitting him on the chest.

Patrick held his chest dramatically and leaned in, kissing your cheek lightly. "All part of the plan," he murmured. “Plus, I had a little help," he added, nodding towards Art, who was standing nearby with a smug expression.

You turned in Patrick's arms to face Art, scoffing in shock. "Art, you were in on this? You’re such a liar," you exclaimed.

Art shrugged. "Hey, I was just hosting him at my dorm while we were at practice. Technically, I didn’t lie—I just omitted a few details," he explained, grinning.

"How could you do this to me? Traitor!" you said dramatically, though a smile tugged at the corner of your lips.

Patrick wrapped his arms tighter around your waist, pulling you closer against him and resting his head on your shoulder. "Come on. You know it was worth it," he said, his tone teasing.

You sighed playfully, shaking your head at the pair of them. "I guess I can forgive you both this time," you conceded.

Patrick’s hand gently brushed through your hair as he settled his head into the curve of your neck. “You know I can’t stand it when you’re mad at me,” he said softly.

As you lingered in Patrick's embrace, you paused. "Wait, where's all your stuff?" you asked, pulling back slightly and turning to look up at him.

Patrick grinned, nodding towards your door. "In your dorm," he replied casually.

“Wow, Breaking and entering," you quipped, crossing your arms squinting at Art.

Art interjected with a laugh, "Actually, perfectly legal entering. You're the one who gave me a spare key."

You shook your head, "That's for emergencies, Art," you retorted, shooting him a mock glare.

Patrick turned you around to face him, his hands resting gently on your shoulders. "Come on, admit it, you're impressed," he teased.

You sighed, "I'm shocked you guys were able to pull this off, honestly," you admitted, shaking your head with amusement. Patrick laughed softly, rubbing your back soothingly.

Reluctantly pulling away from Patrick's arms, you grabbed your tote bag from the floor, turning to face Art and Patrick. "As much as this hallway talk is very exciting, I seriously need to find my keys. I'm exhausted," you declared half-joking.

After a brief search through your bag, you finally located your keys nestled among your belongings. Patrick picked up your tennis bag with a playful grin, indicating his readiness to follow you inside.

"Alright, Art, thank you," Patrick called out over his shoulder as you unlocked the door.

Art waved casually. "Have fun, be safe you two. I'll see you later," he replied as he walked down the hallway.

As the two of you entered your dorm room, you barely had enough time to place your bags on the floor before Patrick closed the gap between you and him and crashed his lips onto yours. His hands pulled you against him as he pressed your back against the door, placing his hands on either side of you almost boxing you in. His kisses were sloppy, teeth colliding as his lips moved against yours, hands desperately roaming your body, as if he couldn't get close enough to you.

You responded eagerly, melting into his embrace, your own hands finding their way into his hair, tugging him closer. His lips moved hungrily against yours, his tongue tracing your lower lip, hands roaming over your back, then up to cradle your face, pushing strands of hair away as he deepened the kiss.

"Patrick," you managed to gasp between kisses, your chest rising and falling with each breath. "I... I need to put my stuff away," you painted, reluctantly pulling back

Patrick leaned back, a mischievous smirk on his face, moving over to lean against your desk. "Sure," he murmured, his gaze lingering on you as you took out some things from your bag. "So, how was practice?" he asked, his voice low, as he looked you up and down.

You scoffed, a hint of satisfaction playing on your lips as you organized. "Heinous. I keep getting paired with this girl on the team who can't return any of my serves," you replied exasperatedly, glancing over at him.

Patrick raised an eyebrow, "maybe you should just go easy on her."

You shook your head, clicking your tongue in frustration. "I've tried to go easy on her, but she can't even play me when I do that. She acts like it's my fault she can't play for shit," you paused to sigh.

Patrick grinned, tracing a hand up and down your arm. "We both know you're too good for stanford women's tennis," he murmured, moving from the desk to stand behind you, his hands coming to rest on your hips and giving them a quick squeeze.

You whipped your head around, rolling your eyes and scoffing at his comment. "Careful," you say firmly.

Patrick put his hands up in mock surrender, his cocky grin never faltering. "Alright, alright. Sorry, my bad," he said. "You're right."

As an unspoken apology, Patrick moved closer, his hands gently moving up to your waist as he leaned in to kiss your neck softly. His lips left a warm trail on your skin, "I missed you," he murmured between kisses, his breath hot against your ear. “So much.”

You tilted your head slightly, allowing him better access, closing your eyes briefly to savor the sensation. "I missed you too," you hummed, your voice softening as you turned to face him fully. Your hands came to rest on his chest. "You know, I wish you would’ve just told me you were coming," you teased, carding your fingers through his hair.

Patrick's playful demeanor softened as he gazed into your eyes, his fingers brushing against your cheek as he pushed a stray lock of hair behind your ear. "Sorry again," he murmured sincerely, his breath mingling with yours. "Do you still love me?" he asked, clearly teasing and testing you.

You couldn't help but smile, your fingers threading through the strands of his hair at the nape of his neck. "I still love you, even with your elaborate lies," you replied, planting a sweet kiss on his lips. "But I have to say I knew something was up. Art was being weirder than normal."

Patrick hummed, his hands gently caressing your sides as he leaned in for another kiss.

"Hey? Are you even listening to me?" you asked, blinking up at him, a playful smirk tugging at your lips.

Patrick paused, his forehead resting against yours as he looked into your eyes. "Sorry, what did you say? I was a little distracted," he said, smiling.

You laughed softly, giving him a light shove. “I said Art was acting weirder than normal. I could tell he was hiding something.”

He shook his head and grinned, suddenly, he scooped you up over his shoulder, eliciting a surprised laugh from you as he carried you to the bed. Playfully flopping you down, his hands on either side of your head as he leaned in to kiss you again, his lips warm and insistent.

"So, what's our plan for tonight?" he asked between kisses, his fingers tracing light patterns on your sides.

You sighed softly, your words catching in your throat as his kisses became more fervent. "Well, there's this party my friend invited me to," you managed to say, struggling to speak coherently. "But last time I went out with Art, it was a shit show," you paused, trying to focus as his lips trailed down your collarbone, "but you're here, so we can do… whatever you want," you finally managed to say, your voice breathless with desire.

"Can we?" Patrick teased, his tone dripping with innuendo, his kisses becoming more urgent and needy.

You sighed deeply, rolling your eyes. "You know, you're impossible," you muttered, shaking your head. "But yes, we can."

Patrick grinned triumphantly, his hands roaming over your body as he leaned in to kiss you again, his hunger for you evident in every touch and movement. "Good," he murmured against your lips. "I think I just want you to be myself tonight."

"Freaky," you quipped, biting your tongue to hide a laugh.

With a self-assured grin, Patrick swiftly removed his T-shirt, revealing his lean and tan body. His gaze never left yours as he leaned back in, his lips finding yours with intensity. Your fingers traced lightly over his chest as you meshed together, and through kisses, you opened your eyes for a moment, gaze fixed on the freckles dotting his nose and cheeks.

"You've got more freckles," you observed with a playful smile, pulling back slightly, teasingly tracing each tiny mark with your fingertip.

Patrick grinned warmly, his eyes crinkling as he removed his lips from yours pulling you into a tight hug. "You're so cute," he murmured, squeezing you against him. His hands gently moved up to cup your face, his thumbs brushing against your cheeks as he pulled you closer, lips looking for another kiss with a soft sigh of contentment slipping out. His gaze, filled with adoration and longing, locked onto yours, silently expressing his deep affection.

"Fuck, you're so pretty," he whispered, his voice low and filled with awe. You locked eyes with him, your own expression softening as you smiled, your fingers tracing the curve of his jaw.

Without breaking eye contact, Patrick's hands moved to the hem of your T-shirt, his touch almost insistent. He lifted the fabric, exposing your skin to the cool air and his heated gaze, with the T-shirt slipped over your head and thrown to the floor, forgotten. His gaze traveled downward, taking in the sight of you, bare-chested in front of him, a cheeky grin began to spread across his face. 

You rolled your eyes, whacking his arm. "Are you 13?" you teased.

Patrick laughed, unfazed as his hands and mouth roamed your newly exposed skin, his lips moving back to your collarbone, placing soft kisses along its length. Your remaining clothes were shed in a flurry, falling to the floor as you both moved with urgency desperately reconnecting.

Finally, as your kisses slowed and the two of you were breathing somewhat heavily, you rolled onto him, resting your head on his chest. His arms wrapped around you instinctively, pulling you close, with the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath your ear.

"I love you," Patrick murmured softly, placing a lovingly sweet kiss onto your forehead.

You met his gaze with a soft smile. "Is that just because we had incredible reunion sex?" you teased lightly, a playful challenge in your voice. "Or do you love me all the time?"

Patrick laughed, his fingers moving up and down on your back. "Only for the sex, it's usually worth the plane ticket," he teased back, with a smile. "Just kidding. I love you all the time," he replied earnestly, as a grin started forming on his face.

Leaning up from his chest, you pressed a sloppy kiss against his mouth, your hands tangling into his hair as you felt the corners of his lips curve into a smile against yours. "I knew it," you murmured against his lips, a hint of amusement in your voice.

"Say it back," Patrick urged with a playful grin, attempting to deepen the kiss, but you playfully pulled away before he could capture your lips again.

Rolling your eyes theatrically, you feigned annoyance, though your smile betrayed your true feelings. "Fine," you replied, leaning in to kiss him once more. "I love you too, freak."

[ckret2]

The Ford is Stan's split half. And the post you did a while ago about Stan being ford's evil doppelganger to the town's creatures. Literally no one has any idea about the situation lol

Literally no one! The supernatural creatures think Stan is Ford's doppelganger, the humans think Ford is Stan's personality being cut in half, Shermie's probably gonna spend ten minutes assuming "Ford" performed necromancy to resurrect "Stan," Fiddleford's got like 54% of his memory back and probably barely registered that the "visiting researcher" he worked for and "Stanford Pines" are the same person just in time to learn that the "Stanford" he's known for the last 30 years is some other guy completely, no doubt someone out there assumes one of them is a clone, and meanwhile Bill Cipher can't even tell when they've switched on him. Nobody knows what's going on. This town's mastered the art of "well that's none of my business."

[asp1diske-art]

Your technical skill with lineart and shading is amazing in itself, but it's your ability to convey emotion and atmosphere in your work that is trademark to me :) its incredible how you can show through gesture and body language just what these masked, expressionless characters are feeling, and how the environment itself conveys that. Your lurien comics, especially the one that ends in something along the lines of "I return to the kingdom you abandoned" are I think the spark that made Lurien go from Some Guy to Deeply Interesting for me, and your use of color pop and shaky line contributed so much to the feeling in those comics. You are one of the artists whose skill at evoking emotions I aspire to <3

Oh wow, I've been reading and re-reading this for the last 20 minutes this is amazing.

So, emotions!

If there is one thing I'm proud to have accomplished during my time in Hollow Knight, it's the skill of expressing tone. Because here's the thing, facial expressions are just one of the many components of tone. (I even wrote about this in another ask some time ago.) Colors, gestures, camera angle, lighting, paneling, lines and narration - all of these come together to convey the mood of the scene.

Check out these wips from the Watcher and the Watched comic, for example.

You can see that color played a huge role in setting the atmosphere in the comic. It shows that this comic is taking place in the Watcher's Spire, but it also gives a dark, subdued feeling that wouldn't come from idk, a yellow background. The backlight emphasizes the ominous tone of the last page. As does Lurien's pose - coupled with the butler looking up and Lurien looking down, it makes it look like Lurien is looming over his butler (and the reader). All this builds up to deliver Lurien's lines with maximum impact.

So yeah, a lot goes into conveying tone in comics, and I'm very happy to hear that it was recieved well!!

The Lurien, Dreamer comic. It's almost 2 years old now but it's still one of the favorite comics I drew about him. Together with the City of Tears comic, it's the epitome of my interpretation of Lurien. My characterization of Lurien's relationship with the Pale King was quite different from the usual fanon at the time (I don't know how it is now, I haven't gone into the tags in years haha) and I wasn't really sure how people would take it. So I'm glad to hear that it got you interested in Lurien!

It's the one that took the longest too lol. Usually I draw comics in a single setting, but that one took 3 days. Besides Two Ghosts (which was an 18 chapter+@ comic that was over 50p and took about 2 months), no other comic has broken this record. I put in a lot of care into it, and it still holds a special place in my heart.

Honestly half the reason I use messy, sketchy lines is that I suck at drawing clean lines lmao. But I like to think that I've made the best of it and utilized it as an art style. In that comic especially, because the whole thing takes place in the dream realm and I wanted to give a rough, unreal feel to it.

I'd show breakdowns of this one too but the file is so big it keeps crashing lol. (Pro tip - draw your comic pages in separate files. Don't be like me and draw 300dpi 10p comics with 30 layers in each page in a single canvas. It will crash and you will be sad.) But drawing the White Palace was a interesting challenge because I usually draw in highly saturated colors whereas the Palace is, well, white. So I had to work out a way to color this without making everything looking grey, while also making it recognizable as the palace. iirc I used a lot of overlay & burn & dodge layers along with a few difference & subtract layers to give the white a slight yellow tint to stand out from the dark blue. (I'm pretty sure they're the culprits crashing the file.)

Sorry this got long, I really took this as an invitation to ramble about my art hkfsldjkflj

Thank you for all the compliments! It's an honor to hear that my art could be someone's aspiration, and I'm very happy that all my Lurien art got someone else into Lurien. I hope you have a nice day :D

[renisrandom]

If I Had to Ask:

What's Your Nationality?

Your Hometown?

What's Your Favorite Color

Favorite Book?

Favorite Animal?

Favorite Video Game?

Favorite Movie or TV Show

Which Do You Prefer: Anime or Western Animation?

What was Your Dream Job?

What was Your Previous Job Occupation?

Who's Your Favorite Person (Celebrity or Not)?

What your Favorite Toy from your Childhood?

What is Your Favorite Sports Team?

One Place You Would Like to Visit?

What is Your Favorite Music?

Favorite Singer or Rapper?

and

What was your School Life Growing Up?

What's Your Nationality? North America

Your Hometown? Nunya USA

What's Your Favorite Color? Green

Favorite Book? Uzumaki

Favorite Animal? Don't have one.

Favorite Video Game? Little Nightmares

Favorite Movie or TV Show? Not sure, I like a lot

Which Do You Prefer: Anime or Western Animation? Typically anime

What was Your Dream Job? YouTuber

What was Your Previous Job? Retail

Occupation? None currently

Who's Your Favorite Person (Celebrity or Not)? Jaiden Animations

What your Favorite Toy from your Childhood? Plushies

What is Your Favorite Sports Team? Don't watch sports lol

One Place You Would Like to Visit? Japan

What is Your Favorite Music? I like a lot, but top 3 are rock, indie rap, and electro swing

Favorite Singer or Rapper? Lydia the Bard

What was your school life growing up?

I had few friends, but no bullies, so that's nice. I did great in elementary school and barely had to try to get good grades. That changed in middle school.

I did terribly grade-wise in middle and high school, but was a good student in the sense that I did all my work and payed attention and didn't disrupt the class. I'd consistently get 30-40% on my tests and quizzes, and was constantly going to tutoring before and after school to do retakes and make-up work. Studying barely helped, so I gave up on it and stopped caring by senior year of high school. It didn't help that I've suffered from migraines since I was four and missed a lot of classes because of that.

Somehow I never got held back a grade, mostly because my teachers pitied me, so I guess that's good. School was severe on my mental health though. I knew by freshman year of high school that I wanted to drop out to be a YouTuber, but my parents forced me to stay, all until I graduated University a few months ago. University took much longer than expected since I would fail at least one class every semester and have to retake it. I seriously don't know how I never got kicked out for poor performance. I also took a leap semester off for my mental health when I realized I wanted to die. (Not exactly suicidal, but I couldn't deny that I didn't want to exist anymore.)

My hyperfixations helped me through it though, including FNAF, Undertale, Little Nightmares, Yuki Yuna is a Hero, and of course ROTTMNT. My brother Hei Yu also helped me through that so much, being my support and anchor.

My parents knew that school was the source of my depression, and constantly heard now I wanted to drop out, but forced me to continue because they wanted me to have a degree that would (possibly) give me a better future. Considering the work I plan on going into (art related work), I don't believe that in the slightest, but I know they meant well.

I'm doing so much better now that I've graduated. I knew that school was the source of my depression and anxiety, and finally escaping set me free. Playing "Two Minutes Notice" in the car as we drove away from Campus for the final time felt so therapeutic and satisfying.

[milkweedman]

hi, sorry if this is something you've answered before, but how did you get started with spinning? and do you have an reccs for beginners? i'm not a fiber arts person (yet) but i think the skills are mind-blowingly cool. i have a few friends that are into crochet also and while i don't do so i think it would be nice to be able to make them yarn etc :)! thank u <3

Hi ! I got started with spinning about 5 years ago now--I ordered a turkish spindle and some andean highland wool from knitpicks, tried it out, and really sucked.

Like. really sucked. couldn't even make bad yarn bc it just kept falling apart (due to undertwisting ! if your yarn is falling apart in your hands, it's undertwisted. there, i just saved you about a month of misery, if you're me lol). Put it away for a while, tried again, was still bad at it, rinse and repeat for about a year. eventually something clicked and i started being able to make more than like, an armspan of yarn before it became disastrous.

not saying it's that hard for everyone (i've watched some people pick it up in like... 5 minutes), or that it'll be that hard for you ! that's just how it went with me.

I do have some recs for beginners which will hopefully help ! (i didn't have this community on tumblr at the time, and didn't know there were forums on ravelry, so i had no community help or knowledge, which did not work in my favor).

Get a basic drop spindle with a hook on the end, if you can. Drop spindles come in many different forms, but the two main categories are top whorl and bottom whorl (meaning, where the circular whorl is placed on the shaft of the spindle). top whorl spindles spin faster but for a shorter period of time and can be more unbalanced. bottom whorl spindles spin slower but for longer, and are typically more balanced (physics, idk). everyone has their own preferences--i tend to recommend bottom whorl spindles to beginners because it kind of slows the process down, which can be helpful. if you've got a little extra money, buying a top whorl and a bottom whorl spindle could be a good idea. they're pretty cheap on etsy, esp if you get a very plain and simple one and just decorate it yourself.

spindle weight matters a lot. the heavier the spindle, the thicker the resulting singles will be. (singles are what you spin first, then you ply them together if desired). the lighter the spindle, the thinner the singles. this means if you get a very heavy spindle and try to spin something fine on it, it'll likely snap under the weight. and if you try to spin something thick on a light spindle, you'll be constantly flicking it and not adding very much twist (so it may just fall apart into sad fluff). my favorite all-purpose spindle for yarns that won't be particularly thin weighs about 2 ounces (55 grams). that will be too heavy for fine yarns, but works well for making like, worsted weight 2 ply. i would recommend a spindle somewhere in the 1-2 ounce range (30-55 grams) for a basic beginner spindle. once you get the hang of it feel free to go for the very light spindles or the heavier plying spindles.

don't buy roving for your first fiber. almost everyone does that, and many people end up with really low quality (and sometimes even compressed or partially felted) roving. roving can be great for spinning once you know what you're doing, but it's kind of... uniquely unsuited for beginners, in my opinion anyway. firstly because it is the most common preparation, it's not really treated with care by many companies when it comes to storage (hence the compression or felting). secondly, it's really easy to felt it in your hands when you're doing the beginner sweaty-hands-deathgrip-drafting-with-all-your-might thing (i'll get to that later). thirdly, again because it's the most common prep, there's a thriving market of garbage shitty roving, and it takes a little experience telling the difference between decent stuff and garbage stuff based on an internet page. I would highly recommend spending a little bit more money on a batt. this is like a large pillow of carded wool, which you pull strips off of to spin. they are sold in a far less-compressed state (which makes for easier spinning) and are, as far as im aware, made by humans with experience, rather than machines.

the breed matters a lot when it comes to spinning. some breeds have finer, more slippery wool, and some have grabby wool. grabby wool is better for learning (it means less of your yarn just slipping apart and breaking). some good beginner breeds are shetland, corriedale, jacob, romney, or other similar wools. the fiber market is inundated with merino (either a great thing or a source of misery, depending on who you ask), which is not a particularly good beginner breed (it's definitely on the slippery, finer side).

once you've got all your materials, it's spinning time ! find a youtube tutorial or a written tutorial (check your library for books on spinning. i have no recommendations--i did not learn from books). you could also check and see if there's a spinner's guild in your area. it depends on the guild (some are kind of, uh... snooty, for lack of a better word ? most seem pretty friendly and happy to help newcomers) but you might be able to show up to a meeting and get some help. ideally get some practice with the spindle first though.

lastly, some tips for spinning. A) keep the fiber supply held loosely in your hand, or better yet, draped over your hand so that the fiber you're drafting is only held in your fingertips. if you hold it tightly you won't be able to draft evenly. you may also compress and/or felt it by holding it, especially if your hands are sweaty. B) try spinning using the 'park and draft' method while you are learning. this is where you add a bunch of extra twist to the already-spun yarn (or leader, for the first length), pinch the twist to hold it in place, and draft fiber, allowing the twist to travel up the wool as you draft it. this is a good technique for learning because it isolates the actions of spinning, letting you focus on one part at a time. trying to keep the spindle going while drafting when you're brand new is not easy, and can lead to a lot of frustration and mistakes. once you've got the hang of drafting, then it's a great time to figure out how to do it all at once. C) work slowly and thoughtfully while you learn. what you're doing at first is twofold: you're figuring out the process and what works and what doesn't, but you're also building muscle memory, which is what spinners (really, pretty much everyone who practices hand crafts or hand work of any kind) rely on. i can get high af and zone out and spin and end up with a usable (sometimes even pretty good) yarn, because even when my brain isn't working, my hands know what to do. this is not the case for someone without the muscle memory. pay attention, step away if you get frustrated, and work slowly. as you build muscle memory, it will become easier and easier. D) your first yarns don't have to be good. they don't even really have to be yarn, as such--if you ended up with something thats rope at one end and thread at another, that's ok ! you're learning ! the purpose of your first yarns is just to teach you how to spin. if they look like shit, it's ok. (mine looked awful, for the record ! i don't think i've seen anything quite as bad as my very first yarn, actually. wish i'd kept it though xD)

hope this was helpful ! there's also this post about how to tell if your yarn is under or over twisted, which might be of use, and this post about finishing your yarn as well. and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me or another spinner (the overwhelming majority of us are very happy to help a new spinner) for advice or help !

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Uh, hey, I dont know what the fuck possessed me to do this since usually I’m stupidly socially anxious and overthinky and oversharey to a severe degree about messages but hey, it’s fucking midnight and I just spent the last 30 minutes cleaning while listening to dopamine music so maybe I’m high (no I’m not, I’m joking to clarify) but whatever the hell, here I am I guess, I apologize if I come off as unhinged or strange or anything like that (like very much so; I think a good visual representation of how I’d feel if I unintentionally came off that way is a video of a Japanese apology Olympics. If you don’t know what that is, just search it up, it’s quite funny but also I am as sorry as those people are). Anyways,

First things first, just gotta say this, your stuff is fucking epic, drawings, presumably writings as well (I have yet to buckle down and make my adhd mind focus and read but I’ve read a few snippets and they’re epic. I think that’s the word, vocab is not a part of the midnight brain I guess), all of it is the absolute shit. Unrelated somewhat, I hope to also learn drawing (I have no clue if that’s necessary context AT ALL, but you draw cool and the whole “draw the freak shit you wanna see in the world” resonated with me lol)

Anyways, the actual reason is because of essentially just a story I experienced (dur) shortly after discovering your blog some time ago (I’m this person for context:https://www.tumblr.com/idkanonymystuff/764430703294300160/hey-hello-i-am-completely-new-here-but-i-just or @idkanonymystuff with the chainsaw dog pochita image; I’m clarifying because I can’t tell if I got my own name right lol) that I think is just kinda funny. It’s not really that long but (starting a new chunk for readability)

Basically, shortly after that post (for a timeframe), I went to an appointment and I don’t know what happened, I think I spaced out, but I was asked a question and without really thinking, I responded “vivisection”. I think the question had something to do with how my brain thinks things (it was awhile ago shut up) or some sort of “how does that make you feel” type question, I really don’t know, but the exact question that I answered, well, vivisection with made it essentially sound like I was saying I like doing that in my free mind time or something.

Like I swear it went like they asked the question and then this essentially:

*Question*

Me, absent-mindedly: Vivisection

Them: what?

My parent (who’s also present): What?

Me, after processing it: …wait-

Que ensuing confusion and then back to regular

I don’t think I explained it right or did it justice (it was very simple, just a misspoken word so I think it’s fine??), but god damn it was awkward but now I just think it’s funny that at that point my mind was still invested with those thoughts at the time (as in it was just rotating it on the back burner throughout the appointment if that makes any damn sense). Pretty sure it went right back to it after a minute or two after lol

But yeah, just thought I’d maybe share that little experience of when past me was so enamored/invested in reading stories about vivisection it scrounged from your blog and looking at other (granted, unrelated) whump art and just the general content of your blog that it just did that without thinking. And to me, that seems like a big compliment, having someone be the cause of work getting stuck in my head that much (?) so, uh yeah

Hope this isn’t strange, me sharing this, I just thought you’d maybe find it funny (and if not, feel free to dump this) and also, again, midnight impulse so yeah. I don’t know what I’m doing, don’t hold me responsible (joking)

ANYWAYS, I hope you have a good day/night, are taking care of yourself, staying hydrated, continuing to do whatever the fuck you do with undying passion, and that my little story wasn’t annoying or anything like that and that you have a happy new year when it comes (or whatever you celebrate. Apparently it’s also national hangover day but I don’t know if you drink so probably not that one) :)

-idk (this is just my tag. Probably not gonna see much of it though since, again, social anxiety and I am mostly a lurker. Not you, literally my brain sees social interaction as a tiger about to maul me with judgement lol. Speaking of which, probably overthinking this right now…okay shut up me-)

AHHHHHH thank you so much!! I'm glad you appreciate my work and that it resonates with you so strongly 🥰🥰

The vivisection thing is so funny and I personally enjoy how common of a term it is within this community and how absolutely wild it is to just about everyone else. I'm definitely right there with you rotating things in my brain in public skdhdjdk it makes waiting in lines and stuff easier 😂😂

It's great that you want to learn drawing! I'm self taught, so I know from experience it can be really daunting to get started and sometimes really frustrating as you figure out your own style and process, but it's so so worth it. Plus, as you said, it enables you to make the freak shit you wanna see in a whole new medium :D! It's very exciting and I wish you all the luck and motivation and inspiration

Thank you again and I hope you have a great day 🥰♥️

[streamdotpng]

Okie, so I was in bed, totally about to turn off my phone in a few minutes and get them eepies, but then I made the mistake of opening up your Ortegaverse tag and doom-scrolled... oopsies

Anyway, while scrolling, I came across an old comment from our good friend @theogm-art from a few days ago. Unfortunately, I don't have a screenshot but basically, it was about Wednesday finding Enid with May and taking them back to the Addams Mansion. And of course, my brain took it as a challenge lol.

And so, blah blah my interpretation blah blah blah (forgive me, I'm tired lol)

"You live here?" Wednesday asked, trying not to sound disgusted. The apartment that Enid took the trio to wasn't too awful, but it certainly wasn't going in any magazines. The whole place was small and as far as Wednesday could tell, the was only one bedroom, definitely far too small for an entire family to live in.

"Yeah, it isn't a mansion but... it's home," Enid sighed before turning to her daughter, "Hey pup! Whataya want for lunch?"

"PB&J PWEASE! And in twiangles!" May shouted, making Enid chuckle fondly. Her daughter, just like Enid at seven, is still unable to pronounce her L's and R's. "Alright, pup! One PB&J in triangles, coming up!" Enid turned back to the raven standing dumbfounded by the front door, "You want anything, Wends? I don't have much, but I'm told I make a mean PB&J?"

Wednesday finds herself about to make some remark about the gluttonous nature of the sandwich, but quickly bites her tongue, "I suppose I stomach a single sandwich."

(idk, time skip 30 mins)

"Enid."

"Yeah? What's up Wends?"

"I couldn't help but notice, this apartment is incredibly small. I assume you aren't doing well financially?"

Enid sighs in response and instead looks to May, "Hey pup? Mama needs to talk with her friend, can you go play in our room?" May nods happily and runs off to their bedroom, leaving the adults alone. "No, I'm honestly just barely keeping up with the bills. It's surprisingly hard raising a seven-year-old all on your own," the wolf jokes, but receives no sign of humor from the other woman.

Instead, Wednesday's eyes widen in shock, "On your own?" The dark-haired woman stares in disbelief for another moment before finding her voice again, though lightly laced with anger, "Where is her other mother? Is she absentee?"

Enid laughs flatly, but her face quickly turns dark as the trauma from seven years ago returns with a vengeance, "No, she um... She's not with us anymore. She was a normie and... well," Enid doesn't finish her sentence but she doesn't need to, Wednesday quickly connects the dots.

"Oh, I am sorry for your loss..." Wednesday pauses before adding, "And I apologize for jumping to conclusions. I'm left to assume she was quite the attentive partner, seeing as she bore your child."

Enid snorted out a laugh, "Yeah... yeah, she was amazing." Enid fidgets helplessly with the ring adorning her left-hand finger. A silence settles over the room for a while. It's not tense, but it's not exactly comfortable either. Wednesday's mind churns through all the new information she's been given over the last hour.

Eventually, Wednesday breaks the silence, "Come back with me to the mansion."

"Wh- what? Why?"

"Your daughter deserves a safe and loving environment to grow up. And you too deserve the same, Enid. I must admit, I do not know much about taking care of a child, but I'm sure my parents would be honored to help you," Wednesday speaks plainly as if she isn't offering everything, "You'd be given a well-deserved break."

Enid, for her part, is left shocked. Finally, she picks her jaw back up from the floor to speak. "Wednesday," the wolf whispers in awe, "You'd really take me back there? After what I did?"

"Of course, Enid. As I said, I have already forgiven you. I..." An uneasiness overwhelms the raven as the need to offer vulnerability to Enid crashes over her, but she quickly powers through, "I searched for you everywhere. I never once stopped looking. I- I couldn't bear being so far away for so long, Enid."

Enid is once again taken aback. For so long, Enid thought herself to be unforgivable as the endless traumas and heartbreak throughout the last two decades tore her soul apart, time and again until all she was left with was broken memories and a little girl who relied on her for everything. But now, she's not only been so easily forgiven by one of the only people she's ever sought it from but she's also being given a second chance at life. It feels like another ploy by the universe. Surely, this is just another in a long line of tricks to lead her into that dreaded false sense of security.

But no. As Enid stares into those dark eyes, she sees nothing but truth. It's a breath of fresh air and Enid takes it in greedily. "Okay, I'll go with you. Thank you, Wends," Enid accepts, then speaks softly, "We really do work, don't we?"

And for the first time Enid's ever seen it, Wednesday smiles. Just barely, but it's there. "We shouldn't," the brunette replies, "But we do."

Okie, time to pass out lol

However Enid's face turns cold, a steel of ice in those blue eyes as her smile falls.

"but I won't accept charity."

Wednesday stares. "this isn't charity-"

Enid waves her hand in a no no gesture as she sighs. It's then that Wednesday begins to be too aware of the lines of stress that lines her past roommates face. There's eyebags lying under her eyes, not so noticeable when she's smiling but all too seen when not.

"it is to me," Enid says before she gives a smile, shaky and not as true. It looks like a compromise. "so please let me help out around the house."

Wednesday swallow the No that was so ready to spill from her lips. She grits back the words of you deserve so much more, deserve to be pampered and cared for.

Wednesday nods and she stares at the way Enid smiles, her finger playing with the ring on her hand.

[larz-barz]

Title: My muse<3- part 2

Prompt: Tanjiro realizes he loves you

Summary: Tanjiro realizes he loves you and goes to Mitsuri for advice on how to ask you out. After a fight with your father, Tanjiro asks you to be his girlfriend.

Genre: Fluff and hurt/comfort

Warning(s): Mentions of verbal abuse and gaslighting

Part 1

After being friends with you for awhile, Tanjiro realized just how much you meant to him. He saw Zenitsu trying to get you to marry him and that you were very uncomfortable. He came over and stood in front of you. “Zenitsu, you’re clearly making her very uncomfortable, leave her alone.” He said calmly, but with an angry look on his face. Zenitsu ran away, a scared look on his face. “Tanjiro you’re so scary!! Stop taking my chances at marriage!!!” He yelled while running. Tanjiro felt your arms snake around his waist. He blushed and turned around in your arms, a comforting smile graced his lips. You smiled softly up at him. “Thank you for getting him to leave.” He nodded. “No problem, I have to get him away from girls all the time.”

Tanjiro walked to Mitsuri’s art studio after school. “Hey Miss Kanroji?” Mitsuri jumped at the sound of Tanjiro’s voice. “Oh! Tanjiro! You scared me!” She said while giggling. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you..” Tanjiro said guiltily and she waved him off. “So what did you need?” She asked and Tanjiro smiled, blush covering his cheeks. “So there’s this girl.. she’s really kind, smart, shy.. and really pretty. I really love her and I want to ask her to be my girlfriend. Thing is, I don’t know how. Can you give me some advice?”Mitsuri squealed at his confession. “Awhhh!!! Who’s the lucky girl?!!” She asked and held his hands in her own. “(Y/N) (L/N)..” He said, his face went bright red and Mitsuri squealed and hugged Tanjiro.

Mitsuri gave Tanjiro her best advice and she told him what she knew about your father from rumors. “Tanjiro, I want you to know that what I’ve said about (Y/N)’s father may not be true, they’re just things I’ve heard.” Tanjiro frowned, hoping what Mitsuri said about your father wasn’t true. “For (Y/N)’s sake, I hope none of what you said is true. Though it would explain a lot…” The maroon haired boy said thoughtfully. “What do you mean? I haven’t talked to (Y/N) much so I don’t know much about her personality or anything.” Tanjiro nodded. “Well she’s really shy, especially when it comes to other people seeing her art. She’s also extremely apologetic. I’ve also noticed that sometimes when I or someone else makes a sudden movement she kinda jumps a little. It’s barely noticeable though.” He explained and Mitsuri frowned, feeling bad for you. “I hope she’s ok for the most part. I can’t even imagine my father saying stuff like that to me.” (Ik that most ppl aren’t shy bc of trauma but I’m incapable of writing pure fluff without angst, except for that one time lol)

You walked home, a small frown on your face. ‘I hope father isn’t too angry with me for staying behind a little longer than intended..” You walked into your house and saw your father asleep on the couch. You sighed, feeling slightly relieved but still worried. You quietly walked to your room then put your school stuff by your bed. You prepared dinner for you and your father. He woke up and walked into the kitchen. “When did you come home?” He asked, his gruff voice startling you. “30 minutes ago.. I didn’t wanna wake you up so that’s why I didn’t say anything.. I’m sorry father..” He sat down at the table with a grunt.

Your father noticed that you had gotten a text so he looked at your phone. His expression shifted from neutral to angry in a heartbeat. “Who’s Tanjiro?!” He yelled angrily and you flinched. “H-he’s a friend from school…” You walked over nervously to take your phone. Your father threw your phone across the room and it shattered. You ran to it, tears filled your (e/c) eyes. You picked up and it was completely broken. You tried to turn it on but it wouldn’t.

‘Why hasn’t she texted back yet? She usually texts me back immediately..’ Tanjiro thought worriedly. He checked his phone once again and the message still hadn’t been read.

~The next day~

You and Tanjiro ran into each other, the moment your tear-filled (e/c) eyes met his, he engulfed you in a hug. “I was so worried about you.. What happened?” You pulled away slightly so you could look at him. A tear escaped your eyes and you explained what your father had done. “I’m so sorry he did that, (Y/N)..” You nodded. “It’s ok Tanjiro.. What was the text you sent me?” He smiled softly and blushed. “I wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend.” He explained, his gaze and voice so loving that it made your stomach flutter. You nodded, a look of awe on your face. “Yes, of course Tanjiro.. I love you.” You said and he kissed you on your soft, warm lips. “I love you too.” He said and you connected your lips to his and he smiled into the kiss.

~The end~

A/n: I hope y’all liked this little sequel!<3

If you have a request then go here!

[mattslolita]

BROOOO remeber the guy who was being a weirdo?his mum msgd me like 30 minutes ago saying how she spoke to him an said that what he was doing is disgusting, he shouldnt treat women like that and instead show respect and stuff. (apparently she took his phone LMFAOOO GOOD!!!!!) then she said that she is again very sorry for what happened and that im a "very respectful young lady" 🤭 and that i was right to msg her first. and thennn she said she wishes me and my bf the best!

also we had some english test for like the end of the year and we had a cover teacher for the lesson. so i wrote watever i wrote and then this teacher comes up to me and is like "can i just ask, why you write on pink paper?" an i went "im dyslexic so its easier for me to read on coloured paper" and then he takes my sheet and starts reading what i wrote? like first off this is a test and NORMALLYYY we do it by ourselves with no teacher coming round and checking our work LOL! and second hes not even our actuall teacher sooo what r u doing? 😭then this bitch puts my sheet down and goes "right, well your spelling is appaling. appart from that, very good." and walks off! like jus in case youve got memory loss or smth, im pretty sure i told you smth that probably explains why my spelling is shit???? some girl in my class said he asked the exact same question to her like 2 days ago WHAT? so he knows hes jus being strange 😭

and random question, but i take art and was wondering if u have anyyy ideas for like a theme for my sketchbook. it can literally be anything, like nature, decay, architecture, anything! thank you!! 🩷

W momma for keeping her weird ass son in check

IS THAT TEACHER ACTUALLY AN IDIOT. DID YOU NOT JUST TELL THAT MF YOU ARE DYSLEXIC WDF. he got issues bro

as far as a theme for your art, i LOVE anything to do with nature ! i love turtles so much, i have no idea if that helps or not😭🤍 love u so much love !💌

[astronnova]

Okay but I wouldn't purely blame LMK for the flanderization of Tripitaka. All the flanderized depictions in fan works I've seen are from people who actually read the book and made fan art of the original source. And both versions of Trip develop into better people, anyways. Also, it's a little hurtful to say that most people don't analyze what they read, no? Granted, it's a kids show so much of the fanbase are minors, but like...kids will be kids.

my bad that it came across as hurtful! thats not my intention, i meant it as more of an objective viewpoint on something that's become widespread online and irl then just an insult to people.

unfortunately, a lot of people within the uhhh lets say 15-early 20s range dont... dive as deep into literature as they should. you ever heard of that one meme about "the door is blue because the author liked the color blue" ?

this is just one of many, and you couldnt go anywhere online without seeing somebody make this kind of joke. schools dont even really teach deep analysis of literature recently (i should know, ive been in multiple english lit classes and most of them don't dive as deep as you could and should. the only one that does that is with my most recent professor), and this stuff happens in highschool. yknow, during students most formative years of learnin stuff.

kids shouldnt just get a free pass on choosing to ignore the main point of a piece of literature because "kids will be kids". literature is the backbone of critical thinking, most people develop that skill through reading, and stories have a greater purpose, especially classical ones, than just "heres a show that provides constant stimulation with no reason".

i probably sound a little crazy or something, and im not articulating this as well as i could due to me taking *checks notes* two melatonin like 30 minutes ago BUT anyway tldr for that section is that a lot of people just dont dive deep into literature and its true meaning. a lot of folks like only looking at the surface level bits because its so much easier and simplier than writing an 1000 word essay about the importance of a certain theme within a piece of classical literature or something

steering this back to monkie kid,

the thing i explained above i think is one of the sources as to tripitaka, and sun wukong's, flanderization within the monkie kid fandom. instead of looking at the characters with the original intent of the religious text, its looked at as more of a "well he did X so he's a bad person". its too literal for a religious allegory. trying to apply strict "real world black & white morals" onto characters like this just wont work and will end with every character from the original jttw with the label of "bad person".

i could go onto a whole rant about how the recent decline of deep analysis of literature is the reason so many people seem to prefer "childrens cartoons" (because of the easier to understand morality/lessons) over, say, classical work or hell even some modern classics. this isnt an insult towards ppl that like "kids cartoons" btw, like look at my whole blog its just about cartoons LOL . i think theres more than just that one reason as to why people, at least online, gravitate towards childrens cartoons (likely because theyre more fantastical rather than trying to cater towards "adult gritty realism" and are animated, which is hard to find nowadays with all this "live action remake" junk), but i do think its one reason.

again, my bad if i sound like an ass or something or if i dont make sense, its like 12 am and i shouldve been asleep like an hour ago but im easily distracted LOLOL . but yeah, i think the source of the flanderization is just people misunderstanding the point of the original text and trying to apply modern storytelling conventions to something thats meant to be a big ass metaphor for enlightenment

[hello-eeveev]

tagged by @quinn-of-aebradore (and I was tagged in a very similar thing by @spottedenchants a bit ago but didn’t get around to it before this, so I hope you don’t mind me combining them!) thank you :D

Last song I listened to: “Sometime We’ll Understand” from the Lamb of God Easter oratorio by Rob Gardner. With the season and driving by a bunch of churches with Easter signs, I got real nostalgic for Easter music because there are so many great pieces. And Lamb of God holds a lot of memories for me because my dad was the lead cellist for the local production for several years, and I even got to take part one year. And it is just soooo musically tasty and I was just filled with energy listening to it yesterday. The CHOIR, the SOLOISTS, the SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA!!! If you remember me expressing my love for French horns a few weeks ago, Lamb of God played no small part in establishing this opinion. If you don’t mind Christian hymns, I highly recommend checking it out, and all of Rob Gardner’s work because he is truly one of the goats.

Last book I read: I’ve kinda started and stopped a few books recently, not for any particular reason just… idk. So instead I’m gonna plug a fic I’ve been keeping up with that published its final chapter last night: Judgement & Justice! It is such a fascinating and engaging work that explores the details of legally condemning Ikithon, the ways that the law can fail anyone, how even doing something you believe is right can be incredibly traumatizing. As one of the tags says, “the mundane horrors of the criminal justice system”. So good. I highly recommend.

Last film I watched: ummmm, yesterday I saw like 30 minutes of Wish after the school field trip bc the teacher was so kind and said, “nope. interpreters are out of commission. we’re watching a movie.” The music didn’t appeal to me too much, which sucks bc I LOVE Ariana DeBose’s voice. But I will say that the special effect art was sick and some of the character designs are cute!

Last TV series: uhhhh idk I watch a lot of YouTube. Drawfee, Zelda randomizers, that kinda stuff. and critrole obv lol :)

Last thing I googled: “peafowl”. I love birds and will infodump about them and I wanted to show my coworker how different peahens are to peacocks, and most people have no idea they’re called anything but peacocks.

Last thing I ate: ritz crackers and nutella. It’s a combination I wouldn’t have put together of my own accord, but in eighth grade, my friend brought some into history class and convinced me to try it and I’ve been sold ever since.

Sweet, savory, or spicy: Yes. However, savory and spicy go well together, but sweet doesn’t go with either. I have a massive sweet tooth and my mom raised me to have high standards for desserts, so when I have sweets, I want them to be to my taste. I like spicy food and I have a decent spice tolerance. It used to be higher but either adulthood or my anxiety meds reduced it rip :’(

Amount of sleep: ummmm about 6 hours? I should probably be getting more, but unfortunately sleep is boring.

Currently reading: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. I’m about halfway through, and it’s pretty enjoyable, but I hear it’s got a good twist later on so I’m excited.

currently obsessed with: you know it’s shadowgast lol. but more specifically I’m still in my How to Rest brainrot. I have a break next week, so I want to get the chapter 6 director’s commentary done and start working on the coda fic bc hnnngggghgg soft wizards.

I’m also obsessed with my cat. She’s turning 6 on Sunday and she’s been so snuggly lately! Look at her!!!

I always feel so awkward about tagging bc I never know who’s already been tagged, so if you want to do this, you are fully allowed to say that I tagged you 💕

[emerald9d]

Ricka

No ask prompted this, this time. I just need to talk about her because she's, like, the other main OC of mine, right up there with Shelly. I just... don't draw her as much as I should.

The art here is in no particular order and the last two are actually Allie, a "version" of her I used for a tabletop campaign where the setting was different enough (Princess: The Hopeful, for those who are wondering) that she needed a new background and name. She basically looks and acts the same though. Also ignore that other guy for now lol.

This is going to be more rambly than when I described Shelly.

So yeah. Her full name is Ricka Rene Fuyu. She lives on Earth... or, well, "Earth." It's called that, and it even resembles our current-day world. But, there's a bunch of people with pointed ears, and most everyone can learn telekinesis. (though it's difficult and not THAT useful to most people, sorta like martial arts. guess what there's a lot of martial artists in my stories)

Also the ladmasses are (roughly) the same but everything else is different! Ricka lives in "The Triad," a collection of three closely located cities situated around the location of current-day Moscow. Ricka lives in Trifol, the "poorest" of the three cities. The other two are Slayton, a more froufrou college town, and Elaros, the capital of the country.

The tech is very "30 minutes into the future." There's fancy prosthetics and crazy computers and power armor, but most people can't afford them, and see them infrequently. I hesitate to call it cyberpunk, but its in that ballpark for sure. (Half of Ricka's design is "wannabe Matrix character") The most noteworthy development is "biotech drones," however, mindless attack-and-defense robo-creatures have started filling out military and police forces worldwide, courtesy of a subsidiary of Unity, a massive corporate conglomerate with its sites on controlling basically every major industry in the world. The only thing they haven't broken into fully, however, is the energy industry...

Anyway, Ricka couldn't be more different than Shelly, at least outwardly. She's quiet and reserved, and slow to react emotionally. (dissociative, really) But she's quite technically intelligent, and has a rich inner world, which she will show off when she lets herself relax and open up. This girl has opinions. And memes. And blorbos. She's basically the equivalent of a seasoned lefty Tumblr user. She's kind of my answer to the Rei Ayanami type of character, though her influences are myriad. Many years ago she started off by being a ripoff of Lucca from Chrono trigger. How far she's come.

Llife for Ricka started off promising enough. But, when both her parents died when she was 8, (one from a workplace accident, the other from cancer) only her grandfather and older brother were left to take care of her. (or take care of the older brother, for that matter)

For the next several years the family struggled with poverty, and mental illness. Ricka in particular barely hung on through the course of middle school, before succumbing to a massive breakdown at the beginning of highschool. Though, if there's a silver lining, is that she grew close to a former friend of her parents, who she sees as an uncle of sorts. Some particular interests of his, like boxing and motorcycles, rubbed off on her. (I know she's doing karate stuff in that one pic, but I changed my mind on that later)

After her breakdown, even her somewhat conservative grandfather had to admit her struggles needed to be taken seriously. Thankfully, around that time the family's finances improved somewhat. Since then, she's had a therapist and homeschooling, while pursuing her various technical interests as best she can.

The story begins with her starting university at 19. A rather big step for her considering her history of social anxiety, she's confident she can handle it. And she does! Especially with the help of a friend of hers from online, who also happens to be attending the same university as a transfer student.

However, despite making some irl friends, the future still presents a struggle. Corporate interests rule higher education to the point that they outright dictate what majors are available to matriculate into. It's hard to be an engineer when the powers that be decide that there's currently enough engineers.

Being around attentive friends who aren't used to her quirks reveals just how odd some of those quirks are. Which then leads to a discovery both illuminating and somewhat upsetting. See, I said telekinetic powers exist, but not telepathic. So mind-to-physical influence, but no mind-to-mind interaction.

Well, it turns out Ricka is unnaturally good at knowing what people are feeling, and where they are, and what they're about to do. To the point that it becomes clear she's got some special, unheard of mental abilities. And that, furthermore, she's had these powers, unknowingly, for most of her life. It becomes clear that it was actually a major source of her social anxiety, as the feelings of those around her overwhelmed her to a supernatural degree. However, Ricka's conditions are still quite real. Knowing the reason (or, at least, a reason) for her issues does not make them go away overnight.

While grappling with that, some strange things start happening to people around campus, which leads her and her newfound friends into unwittingly becoming a group of amateur sleuths. Ricka's empathic powers, naturally, become very useful for this task, making her into the functional core of the group. This then leads them into stumbling across things that they weren't supposed to know, and... well, the plot had to start at some point. What happens from there is a conspiracy thriller of unreasonable proportions.

Because, you see, those empathic powers didn't come from nowhere. And where they did come from...

...

One more thing. A somewhat more recent development is that she lost her left forearm when she was young. Or, hell, maybe she was born without it. Either way, she wears a prosthetic a lot. Normally... well, I'll let Ricka herself explain, in a block of narration I wrote randomly a little while ago:

My prosthetic could be covered by insurance. Well, kind of. The school health insurance will get you a part, but only within a certain price range. And, really, that’s not unreasonable. A fully articulated human-like hand is a bit much for the everyday, especially for your typical student. I’m not your typical student. And I don’t like being told what to do by an insurance company. No, the only thing that’s covering this hand is a leather glove.

You can see that leather glove in the pic where she's princess carrying that guy. And the prosthetic itself, uh, coming apart in that one doodle.

She also wears a simpler hook/pincer sort of prosthetic half the time. But she got that more advanced one at a young age, and has basically been learning how to maintain and adjust it herself for years. It's kind of her pride and joy. If it wasn't clear already that she's a big smarty pants.

So, yeah. That's Ricka. I find her a harder to think about because she's less upfront than Shelly by a long shot. Her presence doesn't come with the same bombastic instant gratification. It does however come with an internal narration that would feel at home in a hard boiled detective mystery novel. So, that's something.

[sparkanonymous]

Alright... who's ready for me to talk about Hazbin Hotel?

⚠️ Spoilers for Hazbin Hotel Below ⚠️

I'll most likely do this for Helluva Boss as well, if I even finish this, but I don't promise anything. If you're unfamiliar with how this goes, I jot down notes while I watch the episode. Most of the time, it's probably easier to watch the episode while reading the notes so that you know what I'm talking about, but it's not necessary if you just want to read someone's random thoughts on something.

I have not heard a lot of great things about the HH and HB fandoms. I'm not gonna try and be mean or anything, I'm just writing this stuff down for the shits and giggles. I don't see this doing well on my page anyway since I focus on Total Drama and Ninjago of all things. (I will most likely not join the HH and HB fandoms after this, either. I lurk a little bit in those spaces because of the art, but I don't really participate or go looking for anything related to these franchises... except for rewrites that I don't end up reading.)

Towards the end of this, I became increasingly more distracted and tired, so it's kinda just me listing things that I liked.

Have fun!

Hazbin Hotel - The Pilot

(I've watched this twice, but that was when it first came out.)

The song the pilot starts on is actually really pretty, imo. I've started getting sick of the songs that come from Spindlehorse (I watched the first episode of HH on Prime a bit ago, and I didn't really like either of the songs in it), but this song reminds me of why I wanted to watch this series back then.

Maybe this show is why I like the color red so much, lol

I've seen some spoilers on TikTok. I recognize the design of that one angel character by Adam- I think I saw Adam's silhouette for a moment too, that character that's Alastor's bestie, that techie demon, and maybe I'll recognize more. But how much of this story did Viv have planned before her show got the go-ahead?

(30 second unskippable ad after about 2 and a half minutes into the episode)

I remember when I saw this when it first came out, and I did not understand the point of having the snake villain. He was stupid, his egg minions were stupid, and there were clearly bigger things to focus on- like Charlie's hotel idea and advertising it, and then later, Alastor's whole thing. I had thought this entire battle between Cherry Bomb, Angel, and the snake (what is his name again) could have been cut, and there would be no issues. I still kinda think that this could've been written around. But I do like the snake guy. He's fun and eccentric.

(Another 30 second unskippable ad. We're 5 minutes in. Is it because I keep pausing to write?)

Wow, there are a lot of sound effects.

Where did those goat guys come from?

I wouldn't think that the princess of Hell would be this... innocent? Like, she can't seriously think that this whole hotel ordeal would be that easy, can she? She was literally singing at her balcony over the dozens of fallen demons. Is she just trying to stay happy and hopeful, or is she really just like this?

"I don't touch the gays-" So Charlie and Vaggie are open about their relationship? Or do they just do a terrible job at hiding it? I don't know why, but for the longest time, I thought that their relationship was secret. Damn, I'm just dumb.

"- I have standards." "Oh, yeah? How's that workin' out for ya...?"

Did we really have to cut to Tom in the middle of Kill Joy's rant? It takes away the focus.

Why is she threatening the princess of Hell? Charlie could break her scrawny neck with a hand and wouldn't be told off for it, or Charlie's father- fucking Lucifer- could catch wind of this and kill her himself. Does she want to die?

That quick sweep of the random characters and Vaggie behind the cameras was definitely sped up due to how short Charlie's "well" was. Or to save time. I don't know.

That one background character looks WAY too close to Blitz's design.

Damn. For how feared Alastor seems to be, he was able to walk behind those characters with no one screaming.

Was that Loona? Or that one character from Viv's Timber animation?

A lot of the scenes are way too quick. There are too many quick cuts, and some of the animations seem to be sped up?

During the song, Charlie's singing gets too high-pitched; I couldn't understand some of what she was saying. It's a nicer and shorter song than what Spindlehorse has been coming up with recently, though.

Is Kill Joy supposed to be cicada? Is that why the cicada sound effect keeps playing whenever we zoom in on her? I'm sorry... but if that's the case, she looks nothing like a cicada.

I know realistically bombs would make it hard to hear, but, realistically, being too close to bombs would also make your ears ring and would knock you off your feet. I don't know half of what Cherry Bomb or Angel are saying.

"Oh, harder, Daddy!~" "Son?!" I remember this clip being everywhere. I still like it. But, also, to the snake, have you even fucked anyone? Why would you immediately think that this is your kid? I honestly don't see this snake character enjoying the thought of sex.

The hat on the snake has teeth sometimes, and only sometimes. I can tell this character was probably HELL to animate.

Aw, Angel saving Cherry? Sweet...

So Angel can pull a Stitch and grow another pair of arms? Why? Spiders can't do that, so why should Angel?

I really enjoy Tom's design. He reminds me of a Looney Tunes character.

So... what happened to the turf war? We had like three different fights going on at the same time, and we see none of them? Do we hear more about that later?

Vaggie and Charlie's relationship here is really sweet.

You really thought anyone would want to stay there with how the place looks, Charlie? You're supposed to have the place ready before advertising.

So, wait... I thought Charlie's dad was really nice in the spoilers I saw. Did Charlie's dad say Charlie was useless, at least based on the intro?

How has Angel not heard of Alastor? Ah... for exposition purposes. Nevermind.

I'll be honest, Alastor's hair bothers me. I've never liked how it looks.

Was that an early design for Stolas in the Radio Demon exposition?

Alastor's colors were flickering a tiny bit when Vaggie and Charlie were talking about him.

Alastor clearly does not care about Charlie's dad being king of Hell or Charlie being the princess of Hell. He's just doing this for the shits and giggles.

"What can I do for you, my feminine fellow?" "Uh- I can suck your dick!" "HA- No."

"You think I'm some fuckin' clown?!" "... Maybe."

I thought HuskerDust was supposed to be canon. They're acting like they've never met.

I love the outfit change.

Alastor's reprise of Charlie's earlier song.

So, wait, when was Sir Pentious's first encounter with Alastor?

Alastor's smile when supposedlh killing the snake guy.

Episode 1

(Watched this when it was released on YouTube. After this, everything's new.)

So... new backstory. Also, new backstory for Charlie's dad?

New voices.

Alastor's little commercial is so lazy. He wanted entertainment. How will he get entertainment if the commercial doesn't sell it?

The sound effects haven't exactly been toned down.

The animation feels a little stiffer.

They noticed the fan love for Angel and decided they really wanted him to talk.

The threatening angle on Alastor is not as threatening as in the pilot.

What's up the random scene changes within scene changes? It's cutting randomly.

The first song is alright... for the most part.

I thought Charlie's thing was to not curse, at least not as frequently.

Adam's ramblings remind me way too much of Fizzarolli's boss. They're kinda the same in that aspect, and it doesn't really work for me.

Wow, the acting for the commercial.

How has Adam not been banished to Hell.

Nifty's great.

"You're doin' great, Vagina." lmfao

Exactly. Vaggie speaking facts.

The outfit changes are so nice.

Do sins not count once they die?

Adam should not be cursing, imo

If rules are black and white, you would be banished to Hell, Adam.

The second song with Adam is pretty good... for the most part.

You can't wait to murder? That says bloodlust to me.

Come on, let us see the commercial.

Tom's voice should have stayed the same.

But the body is just sitting there. How have more demons not seen the dead angel.

Damn, this outro song is sick.

Episode 2

That little cat thing is adorable. Kinda reminds me of the cat from Ruby Gloom.

Ooh, Sir Pentious is back.

"-battle, like, 20 times?" What? When? How long have you known Alastor.

I feel like Vox's voice should've been different. Like... imagine if he had Husk's VA.

How many accents does Valentino have?

Valentino x Vox?

Angel encouraging Alastor.

How many times does Sir Pentious have to die? Stop killing him :(

Vox trying to put a bad name on Alastor. He's so petty lol

"That's the tea-" Who told this old man about this generation's lingo?

Overall, the song's actually pretty good.

Face first into the sofa. Same, Charlie

Yay, more Sir Pentious! I actually kinda like him now.

Aw, poor Angel. But Charlie and Vaggie have a point.

Sir Pentious and Nifty give off Damien and Scary Girl from TDI, respectively.

Alastor burning the little piece of his coat in front of Sir Pentious, lol

Sir Pentious is so adorable.

The drug PSA with Angel and Pentious, lmao

The pig from the music video.

So Angel has self-worth issues, got it.

Well, that lasted all of five minutes. Poor Sir Pentious.

Charlie's bedhead is awesome.

His theatrics and the self-depracating comments don't really make Sir Pentious sound so serious about his apology.

This song was meh.

Episode 3

Why do you keep bringing that up, Vaggie?

I think a writer came on to the team and didn't look at the previous scripts very thoroughly.

Charlie, why do you look so uncomfortable with Pentious crying? You should've known that you would've gotten a lot of that.

Is Alastor trying to keep the egg minions safe? If so, cute.

"We have names?" Lol

Damn, they don't give a shit about Alastor. He got too comfortable with everyone knowing him.

The Velvet song reminds me of a different song. Pretty catchy, though.

Their definitions of trust are so different. Awesome.

Poor Nifty lol

Vaggie's army voice doesn't really work imo

Why are Carmine's earrings hanging off her hair?

The second song isn't really my thing, but I can understand why someone may like it... except for the green guy's echoing voice in the song.

Vaggie's singing voice is way too different from her speaking voice.

Pentious redemption. I like that Angel is warming up to him. The snake's precious.

Episode 4

Here's the episode on SA. Guess I'll finally be able to form my own opinion on this.

Poor Charlie and Pentious.

Aw, Husk being a people reader.

Goddamn, what did Nifty do?

So after ignoring Val's calls for days, he's suddenly answering? Maybe he realized it had been too long, and it would be worse if he continued to ignore him?

Charlie, you should've known that this would be difficult?

So Val knows to "respect" Charlie to her face, but

Angel's real name is Anthony?

Angel's VA is selling the performance here. It's gut wrenching.

Angel's song is okay.

I think the writing has been pretty solid since the song. I like Husk and Angel's dynamic.

I like the HuskerDust song and the visuals going with the song.

Goddamn the song's cut off, lmao

I dunno, besides the abuse part, I think the episode was solid. I can't speak on how well it handled SA, so I won't.

Episode 5

Why is this episode so much quieter than the rest?

Why is clown music Lucifer's ringtone for Charlie?

I like Lucifer's design, and his voice matches him, but I don't think he works as Lucifer, y'know?

Where was Alastor for that little meeting?

Alastor's eye twitching just the tiniest.

So Lucifer hasn't heard of Alastor? I thought he was the most threatening demon? Also, why is Alastor testing Charlie's dad?

Lmao, Pentious meeting the king of Hell.

Do people ship Lucifer and Alastor?

Nifty being in the song.

Alastor trying to insert himself as Charlie's father figure.

Oh, yay. Mimzy.

I like the song, besides when Mimzy came in from nowhere.

Lucifer's face in the background when Alastor's pushing Charlie away.

How does Mimzy know everyone? Did she meet Husk and Nifty because of Alastor?

New Alastor lore. I thought people would call him the Radio Demon, not that Alastor named himself that.

Alastor being owned by someone else makes sense.

Poor Husk.

Why does Hell even use money?

Aw, Pentious saving Nifty.

Angel and Husk enjoying the father-daughter drama.

So, does Alastor actually want to keep the hotel safe, or is it because of a deal?

The song reminded me of a Greatest Showman song. It's okay.

Vaggie, you're acting sus.

Episode 6

Yo, Cherry Bomb is back, and she's Aussie.

Pentious lol you're so nervous for nothing.

I love Sera and Emily's designs.

Heaven's song should've been church choir-esque y'know?

Adam has already talked about the exorsists with angels around. There's no way that more people haven't heard about them by now.

Adam named Vaggie? Wth

Damn, they ripped Vaggie's eye clean out with no struggle or hesitation.

Sarah's voice did not hold much confidence for Adam.

Why is Pentious trying to hit on Cherry?

Adam, you fucked multiple times. What the hell are you talking about, you hypocritical asshole.

Aw, poor Nifty. I like Angel and Nifty's dynamic.

Aw, man, poor Pentious.

Why did the music stop when Angel and Val argued? Let him argue without causing a scene.

I don't like that the song has to do with the plot so much, but I like the song.

Please banish Adam to Hell.

I love Sera and Emily.

Episode 7

Aww, Pentious petting the kitty thing.

Alastor is pushing Charlie a little too much.

Alastor kicking his feet while laying on Charlie's bed.

Charlie is going to push Alastor to beating her shit.

"I know something you don't know~" Love this guy.

Charlie's demon horns coming out when making the deal.

With how much they made out Vaggie's past angelhood, I would think that Charlie would be more offensive?

Ah, there it is.

"I know you're an ace in the hole-" "A what now?" Lmao

I love Rosie.

Rosie and Alastor's dynamic is lovely.

They have a month to prepare. What are they gonna do to keep their defenses up within a MONTH. That's like no time.

Who voices Carmine? She sounds mildly familiar.

Why did they have to introduce Susan?

Carmine basically calling Charlie a dumbass.

Vaggie getting her wings back is kind of bullshit. Or am I missing something?

Carmine's song is alright, but give it a little. The UnderTale fandom will get to it. There'll be a parody.

Rosie and Charlie's talk is so nice.

Alastor and Rosie kinda being the parents that Charlie needs is mad deIicious. Love me parental figures.

Despite the name, Cannibal Town is amazing.

I love the song here in Cannibal Town.

I love this episode.

Episode 8

Vox is here. Again. Yay.

Wrong Angel, Nifty lmao

I still love Sir Pentious. He has reserved a place in my heart.

Love this small peaceful scene.

Aw, Alastor and Nifty interacting.

Angel admiring Husk.

Pentious and Cherry? Kinda nice, actually.

Vaggie's song to Charlie is pretty sweet.

I can't... who's righting the relationships in this episode? They're all so lovely.

Adam's rocking "ATTACK!"

The 3 V's watching from the TV.

The outfits the main guys are wearing.

Vox getting turned on by Alastor's impending doom.

Beat his ass, Alastor!

Alastor's staff breaking and him mildly panicking.

Husk enjoying the sex jokes.

Alastor fake out death.

Angel saving the egg.

Cherry and Pentious kissing in front of explosion.

No, not Pentious!

Loved the animation where Charlie and her goats transformed.

Damn, Vaggie fighting even with a hole in her hand.

The angel bitch Vaggie was fighting ripping her arm off was a bit much for me.

Lucifer appearing and fucking Adam's shit up.

Adam's mask falling off.

Nifty getting the last hit on Adam. Awesome.

'Shitting and cumming' being in the headline during the news is fucking hilarious.

Lucifer is fucking fruity.

Lucifer and everyone cheering Charlie up.

Velvet recording Vox and Val dancing.

Sir Pentious's memorial.

Alastor showing up for the last bit of the sing.

I liked most of the song.

YO Sir Pentious showing up in Heaven?!

What was Lilith's agreement?

Overall, I enjoyed watching this show. The pacing and writing could use some work, but yeah. Mimzy was kind of annoying, but she was only in the show for a few minutes in one episode, so it was easy to ignore her... unless you're listening to the song that she so rudely interrupted at the very end of. The constant need to bring in new characters is kind of annoying, but I enjoyed at least half of them.

If I were to draw fanart of any of these characters, it would probably be Husk, Nifty, or Sir Pentious. I'll be patiently waiting for a second season. If there ever is one.

[coralhoneyrose]

Throwing random numbers at you: 3, 9, 28, 33

Ooo thank you for the numbers! ☺️

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

Oh lord. It’s like—get a drink, make my bed, stack my unreasonable number of stuffed animals in a wall to one side of me, get situated propped against the pillows with my laptop, and then spend anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours “gearing up to write” (adhd makes task initiation hard lol). Optional steps include lighting a candle if I am feeling fancy or finding a nice instrumental playlist to listen to while writing. My ritual is cursed because it’s incredibly inefficient and particular and also because doing things in / on your bed is bad sleep hygiene practice 😔

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know

This is such a boring answer but no I don’t ghdjfj

28. Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written? Why?

I’m not sure if this is meant to get at OCs primarily but since I haven’t taken a stab at any original work in *years*, I’m just going to say Chrom. I think his combination of being extremely earnest / heart-felt and super charismatic in some situations and cripplingly awkward in others is SO charming. It’s a hard balance to strike well as a writer, but it’s something I really adore about him and that makes him consistently fun and challenging to write for. Honestly I could write a full essay just on what I love about Chrom and what makes him so delightful but yeah this is the highly abridged version

33. Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

A couple years ago I was really into painting landscapes in gouache lol. But the way my hobbies work I tend to only have a single “creation” focused hobby at any point in my life and kinda rotate through what that is. I’d like to get back into painting eventually though! It was very relaxing, just kinda a pain to set up. And def was not tied into my writing since I wasn’t writing at all when I was doing it

[captainsspnanon]

C2E69 - The Kings Cage - rewatch reaction

The episode that should have been NiceTM, and was not.

Whyyyy are the subtitles so fucked for this episode? They’re covering Travis’s face! I’m guessing it’s because of the PC icons that showed up. Wait, is this the first time that this has happened??? *checks previous episode again* Oh man, I’m so used to seeing this that 1) I didn’t notice when it wasn’t there and 2) I didn’t realize that this was the first time they showed up! I don’t remember this fucking up the subtitles before or in other episodes….maybe this was first time issues?

I am super distracted by Matt not noticing Sam’s shirt.

Funnily enough, this entire scene matches what the one dnd playtest is talking about with warlocks. Sometimes they are the only one calling for a short rest and you have this disparity in what the players want to do.

It is now July 4th, I last touched this a full fucking month ago. I have watched ~30 minutes of the latest Candela Obscura, but am struggling to get into it (a sad reality of me and CR one shots and mini-series.) SO LET’S GET BACK TO THE DRAMA!!

...I’m only 17 minutes in….*starts over from the beginning*

Oh geez I forgot that this was episode 69. They went into this with teasing hype for months about ‘lul 69’ and then they got this heart wrench of an episode.

Sam and Laura play the “I have Not(t)” bit really well. There’s just a touch in Jester’s tone which is inserting a comma in there ‘I have, Nott’, but it’s a clever bit of attempted deception as well, even though it fails.

I’d forgotten that Nott claimed the flask defined her as a person. T.T Once the campaign is over, it’s easy to remember the goblin alcoholism as mostly jokes, but there were some really deep and painful moments. I don’t personally know anyone who struggles with addiction, so I know there are aspects of this emotionally that I don’t relate to, but there these small moments are incredibly well done. Sam talked about how he discussed Scanlan’s attempts at addiction with Brian, I don’t recall if he also went to him for Nott?

The juxtaposition of Jester very seriously expressing her worries to Nott about how when Nott is drunk, she’s less cautious and will run straight at things without looking for traps, versus everyone else loosing their shit when she says ‘or trigger them’. I’ll have to try to pay attention, but I think even after this RP, Nott still doesn’t become someone super careful about looking for traps. We, of course, know her big moments in the future (happy fun ball time!), but I’m unsure if Sam/Nott is more on top of it.

I really do love the push/pull relationship that Nott/Veth has with her family and her love of adventure. In hindsight, I feel like Sam managed to hold the balance of it very well and very realistically. For most of the PCs, I feel like the epilogues give me enough to have a very good idea of their lives going forwards, even if only for a while. Veth is the one I’m curious about the most though, how does she continue to balance her love of adventure with her family? The dynamics have certainly changed from how they were pre-campaign, and that helps a lot, but I wonder if sometimes she may instigate small things for the Nein to go on, or if she insists she get invited along to someone else’s trip (maybe one of the trips to Aeor?). Or does she find herself content with the chaos of the summer camp in addition to her homely life?

LOL Sam and Laura pushing for Caleb to have a chin that matches Liam, and Liam at every instance making it clear with official art that Caleb absolutely does NOT have a cleft chin.

Does the whip ever actually get used in combat? I know it gets given to Fjord when he loses his power…. TELL ME, CRITROLESTATS. Actually transcript search might be better for this, I don’t think critrolestats says what weapon is used. I think it’s only used in the Obann fight here, and then with the purple worm by Fjord, and then by no one else ever again. XD It gets mentioned in another episode or two as a possibility to use (catching someone who might fall), but I don’t think it does?

WE NEED MORE CALEB AND YASHA MOMENTS!!! Him suggesting she be in the middle of the group, her not being sure, him saying that protection is not a bad thing, her saying it could be and then almost asking him permission to be on the front, him making it clear he’s not telling her what to do. Seriously, this pairing has SUCH a good dynamic and it only gets better from here, but we have so little interaction. :( I will forever grump and mourn and exclaim that we need more Liam and Ashley scenes. We were robbed of Pike and Vax moments in C1, robbed on Caleb and Yasha moments in C2, and I could ALWAYS use more than we currently have in C3.

LOL at the matching nat 1s for trying to determine what the sigil is. Very very glad that Caleb had fortune’s favor and could re-roll. The sometimes frustrating aspect of dnd is some PCs failing at stuff they should 100% be able to do. I’m reminded of the Hand’s heart scene where Liam kept failing checks for Caleb where everyone else was succeeding, despite the fact that it was arcana related.

...Torog? Moradin? Sehanine? What’s with all these 5e names, Matt? I’d thought you’d thoroughly switched to unique epithets by now. You’re even using with with the Allhammer and Moonweaver!

Why do they immediately assume devil upon red skin, yellow eyes, two horns? They’re all gasping before he gets to the wings, but couldn’t he just have been a tiefling with the description?

Did we ever find out what Obann thought he was actually getting from the Angel of Irons? We know they opened abyssal rifts, and that they were trying to free Tharizdun (without knowing that’s what they were doing). So like, is it just an image of an angel saying ‘free me by doing this, oh and also tear the planes apart to let demons in?’ ..demons? devils? This is the hardest part of 5e for me, dammit. Demons. Demons from the abyss. But Obann’s a devil. Aaagh as much as I enjoy the angel of irons subplot, it’s also I think the sketchiest plot in all of CR with no clear understanding of goals or what or why.

...Is this the first “making my way”??? *checks transcripts* Oh, it’s not – the first was in episode 60. BUT I think this is the first time since then, so here’s where it becomes a running gag?

Huh, not letting Fjord get off his eldritch blasts that triggered the whole initiative.

“what do a devil and a tree have in common? Intelligence” …..not gonna lie, I don’t get the joke at ALL. Tasha’s Hideous Laughter would fail just because I’m so confused. I’m ASSUMING that it’s just calling Obann dumb….if so I feel like it would be better if the object were ‘rock’ or ‘brick’, based off of ‘dumb as a rock’ or ‘dumb as a brick’.

I’ve seen some people say that Matt picked up the trick of stating a DC ahead of time from Brennan, but here he just stated that Beau needed at 25 DC acrobatics to do a flurry of blows on Obann (she fails with a 22), so it’s something that he has done beforehand. I think it’s just not something that he prefers to do much.

Only two rounds to free the Laughing Hand? Well, I guess it’s something that Matt really needed to have happen so that makes sense. I think I would have liked three or four rounds to give the PCs more time to do shit, but that’s just personal preference.

Oooo!!! I forgot that over the break he replaced the sarcophagus mini with a broken open sarcophagus! Fun!

Counterspell a Shield! Not quite a counterspell a counterspell, but still sexy.

Ashley interrupting to inform Matt that because of her Ring of Protection, Yasha’s saving throw was actually 3 instead of 2. I LOVE HER.

I really love the moments where something truly horrible starts happening to the PCs (Yasha being turned against them, being an unwilling creature for Fjord’s thunderstep) and while the PCs are NOT happy about it, the players are stoked and excited! It’s a fun juxtaposition of the true fun of ‘what’s going on’ in the game especially when compared with the more settled RP moments where the players are in full PC mode and their personal enthusiasm is sometimes hidden by the RP. Fjord is furious with Yasha for betraying them, but here Travis is wiggling and singing “this is getting interesting!”

I’m not going to research it, and a comments check didn’t help, but I wonder how many PC rolls the Bless-that-should-have-dropped actually helped. Quick check of the livetweets for critrolestats, maybe Yasha’s saving throw against the Hand’s laughter, and the rest are Beau attacks. However, Beau had advantage on many of them, rolled consistently high, and I think actually forgot the bless a number of times? So honestly? I think even if bless had dropped correctly, things still would have played out the way they did. Oh wait...Fjord’s last hit for the HDYWTDT was because of bless. (very sad the the critrolestats livetweets did not include Ashley correcting for Yasha’s 2 to 3 for the wisdom save XD)

MIGHTY NEIN ONE SHOT ANNOUNCED AS FIRST LIVE SHOW SINCE THE PANDEMIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (though I’m seeing some people saying they’ll be level 20, but can’t find any actual statement saying what level they’ll be?? Hoping before I post this that someone will let me know)

Beau using Stillness of Mind to end fear, UGH SO GOOD. Seriously, with the new UAs and everything for the new dnd I keep hearing about how bad monks are, but I haven’t ever experienced it because Beau is so GOOD (and I haven’t played with a monk yet. Someone had done a monk/cleric multiclass, but that game ended while we were still in level 2 due to some session 0 miscommunications)

Lesser Restoration not being able to cure fear, but Greater Restoration does just seems weird to me. Like, Lesser can cure blind, deaf, paralyze, or poison. While Greater…..wait. Greater doesn’t cure frightened either! It only reduces exhaustion, ends charmed or petrified, undoes a curse, undoes an ability score reduction, undoes an effect that reduces hit point max. Fear is none of those. So, neither of the restorations RAW end fear??? Well, I guess that’s the reason for Calm Emotions.

NOTT GIVES YASHA A FLOWER FROM HER HAIR I’m having my heart being crushed by things I didn’t remember! And Jester knew that Yasha was controlled, she tried to Charm her back but it didn’t work! All I really remembered from the Nein was Jester being very sad and Fjord and Beau being very angry, I didn’t remember that others knew she didn’t have a choice!

Oh FUUUUUCK I never realized that when Fjord is brought down by Yasha, only to come back with Relentless Endurance, when he asks her “why” he asks her in his true voice. MY HEAAAART.

I know everyone mentions it, but Ashley’s exaggerated sad-face when Taliesin starts to count her then skips her for Bless, then Matt winking at her and her grin. Even when they have such heavy emotional episodes like this combat turned to be, signs like that are some of the clearest that they’re all still having a blast.

Obviously didn’t say much for the combat itself, I think my only ‘analysis’ of it is that it’s one of the higher stakes combats in C2, easily matching the level of some C1 fights. Even a good chunk into C3, C1 is still the reigning champion for most intense combats. While I don’t all into the hivemind that shouts that Matt takes it easy on them, I do think there are times when Matt is taking it HARDER on them, and this certainly was one of those combats. I really do enjoy the combats where they are fighting an intelligent and evil enemy who is fully intent on destroying them. You get such great tactics and some real creativity in those moments that you don’t get as strongly on a standard 6v1/7v1 creature combat.

Ending the episode with the side by side of Matt and Ashley as Matt gently narrates the confusion in Yasha, the uncertainty of if she is being controlled or doing this on her own, it’s beautiful, heartbreaking, and perfect. (aside from the fact that because of the table layout, they end up facing away from each other during the close ups XD Who knows, maybe that makes it more jarring to go with Yasha’s mindset?)