#but like minor because I used a very simple style for this art

[that-bat]

I said I’d do it and now it’s finally done, a rough chart showing everyone’s opinions of each other in my Resident Evil au (I’m also realizing this is the first time I’ve drawn Hunter for this au but shhh he’s basically just the Duke)

The arrows indicate who’s feelings are about who, if there’s no arrow between them then just assume that either they haven’t met yet or their relationship hasn’t changed since the previous one

Also more in depth bits about them because I wasn’t able to fit really any text on this without it getting cluttered:

Matt’s dislike of Nate and Mark is mainly out of jealousy because he’s very attached to Miranda. Eventually he gets over it but still takes a lot of pride in being “her favorite child”

Hunter feels pity for pretty much everyone except Miranda, whom he hates so much. He’s been around the whole time and knows of everything she’s done

Miranda, Matt, Nate, and Mark are a “family” though Miranda only legally adopted Matt. Mark isn’t as attached to the whole family thing since he did have a family before he moved to the village as an adult

Nate, being the only lord to survive, does regret the less than great relationship he had with Mark and Matt and does miss them a bit. He still hates Miranda ofc

I didn’t really show it but I imagine Ethan does also feel a bit sorry for all the lords as he eventually learns how they were treated

[akanemnon]

I wanted to create a version of Frara/Squeezo in your style (which I really like) along with a possible form for the Dark World. I’ve made three versions of the same drawing, but now I don’t know which one to choose, so I’d love your opinion or advice as an artist. (I draw on physical paper because it’s easier for me that way.)

There’s not much to say about the "Light World" forms; I simply took the sprite of Frara/Squeezo and adapted it into a drawing. There are a few differences, but I’ll briefly mention them:

The color of the fringe changes: in the first version, it’s rainbow-colored because I thought it looked nice; in the second, it’s gray as a sort of contrast to the first one; and finally, in the third, it’s red, like the classic fringe of Kris and Frisk.

The color of the pants and socks, some details of the sweater, and the hairstyle also change. Lastly, in the third version, there’s a visible eye (to avoid making it look too much like Kris) and a kind of pseudo-nose (which I’m not sure came out well).

The Dark World forms are more interesting:

In the first version, I was inspired by a simple knight, and I used all the colors I had available, thinking it would look good that way. The skin is gray to resemble a doppelgänger in fantasy games (since Frara/Squeezo is a kind of "double" of Frisk/Chara).

The second version, on the other hand, is inspired by a dark wizard (it seemed cool), with white and gray hair. The cape resembles Chara’s shirt as a sort of parallel, since Frisk has a cape with colors similar to Kris’s shirt, and vice versa.

The third version is inspired by this image:

(Doppelgänger from Forgotten Realms).

In this version, I added a weapon, as I realized I hadn’t included one in the previous versions. If you’re wondering why I chose an umbrella as the weapon, it’s because I found this fan art during my research:

(Credit to: @Art-in-heart4va)

I thought it was a cute idea. Finally, I added a few minor details.

Bonus: If you’re wondering why there are red cross-outs on the drawings and why I scribbled on them, it’s because I didn’t want to ruin the drawing.

I tried to come up with a made-up name for Frara/Squeezo. In the first version, he was called John (literally the first name that came to mind...). In the second version, I called him Ulan (because it was the first name that started with “U” that came to mind. Why the "U"? Well, take the first letters of the names Frisk, Chara, and Kris, put them together, and you’ll figure it out (; ). Finally, in the third version, I gave up and still haven’t decided on a name for him...

P.S.: I’m sorry for writing such a long text, but these drawings are very close to my heart, and I wanted to specify every single detail.

Hi there! Thanks for showing me all this art and going though your thought process behind it. I couldn't help but cobble something together on my own, based on all these concept pieces. You might find bits from all designs in there. Also played around with the colors a little, because I do like me some color theory.

Anyway, I REALLY hope you don't mind! I don't wanna undermine your work!

[nostalgebraist]

thoughts on xDOTcom/CorralSummer/status/1823504569097175056 tumblrDOTcom/antinegationism/758845963819450368 ?

I mostly try to ignore AI art debates, and as a result I feel like I don't have enough context to make sense of that twitter exchange. That said...

It's about generative image models, and whether they "are compression." Which seems to mean something like "whether they contain compressed representations of their training images."

I can see two reasons why partisans in the AI art wars might care about this question:

If a training image is actually "written down" inside the model, in some compressed form that can be "read off" of the weights, it would then be easier to argue that a copyright on the image applies to the model weights themselves. Or to make similar claims about art theft, etc. that aren't about copyright per se.

If the model "merely" consists of a bunch of compressed images, together with some comparatively simple procedure for mixing/combining their elements together (so that most of the complexity is in the images, not the "combining procedure"), this would support the contention that the model is not "creative," is not "intelligent," is "merely copying art by humans," etc.

I think the stronger claim in #2 is clearly false, and this in turn has implications for #1.

(For simplicity I'll just use "#2", below, as a shorthand for "the stronger claim in #2," i.e. the thing about compressed images + simple combination procedure)

I can't present, or even summarize, the full range of the evidence against #2 in this brief post. There's simply too much of it. Virtually everything we know about neural networks militates against #2, in one way or another.

The whole of NN interpretability conflicts with #2. When we actually look at the internals of neural nets and what is being "represented" there, we rarely find anything that is specialized to a single training example, like a single image. We find things that are more generally applicable, across many different images: representations that mean "there's a curved line here" or "there's a floppy ear here" or "there's a dog's head here."

The linked post is about an image classifier (and a relatively primitive one), not an image generator, but we've also found similar things inside of generative models (e.g.).

I also find it difficult to understand how anyone could seriously believe #2 after actually using these models for any significant span of time, in any nontrivial way. The experience is just... not anything like what you would expect, if you thought they were "pasting together" elements from specific artworks in some simplistic, collage-like way. You can ask them for wild conjunctions of many different elements and styles, which have definitely never been represented before in any image, and the resulting synthesis will happen at a very high, humanlike level of abstraction.

And it is noteworthy that, even in the most damning cases where a model reliably generates images that are highly similar to some obviously copyrighted ones, it doesn't actually produce exact duplicates of those images. The linked article includes many pairs of the form (copyrighted image, MidJourney generation), but the generations are vastly different from the copyrighted images on the pixel level -- they just feel "basically the same" to us, because they have the same content in terms of humanlike abstract concepts, differing only in "inessential minor details."

If the model worked by memorizing a bunch of images and then recombining elements of them, it should be easy for it to very precisely reproduce just one of the memorized images, as a special case. Whereas it would presumably be difficult for such a system to produce something "essentially the same as" a single memorized image, but differing slightly in the inessential details -- what kind of "mixture," with some other image(s), would produce this effect?

Yet it's the latter that we see in practice -- as we'd expect from a generator that works in humanlike abstractions.

And this, in turn, helps us understand what's going in in the twitter dispute about "it's either compression or magic" vs. "how could you compress so much down to so few GB?"

Say you want to make a computer display some particular picture. Of, I dunno, a bird. (The important thing is that it's a specific picture, the kind that could be copyrighted.)

The simplest way to do this is just to have the computer store the image as a bitmap of pixels, without any compression.

In this case, it's unambiguous that the image itself is being represented in the computer, with all the attendant copyright (etc.) implications. It's right there. You can read it off, pixel by pixel.

But maybe this takes up too much computer memory. So you try using a simple form of compression, like JPEG compression.

JPEG compression is pretty simple. It doesn't "know" much about what images tend to look like in practice; effectively, it just "knows" that they tend to be sort of "smooth" at the small scale, so that one tiny region often has similar colors/intensities to neighboring tiny regions.

Just knowing this one simple fact gets you a significant reduction in file size, though. (The size of this reduction is a typical reference point for people's intuitions about what "compression" can, and can't, do.)

And here, again, it's relatively clear that the image is represented in the computer. You have to do some work to "unpack" it, but it's simple work, using an algorithm simple enough that a human can hold the whole thing in their mind at once. (There is probably at least one person in existence, I imagine, who can visualize what the encoded image looks like when they look at the raw bytes of a JPEG file, like those guys in The Matrix watching the green text fall across their terminal screens.)

But now, what if you had a system that had a whole elaborate library of general visual concepts, and could ably draw these concepts if asked, and could draw them in any combination?

You no longer need to lay out anything like a bitmap, a "copy" of the image arranged in space, tile by tile, color/intensity unit by color/intensity unit.

It's a bird? Great, the system knows what birds look like. This particular bird is an oriole? The system knows orioles. It's in profile? The system knows the general concept of "human or animal seen in profile," and how to apply it to an oriole.

Your encoding of the image, thus far, is a noting-down of these concepts. It takes very little space, just a few bits of information: "Oriole? YES. In profile? YES."

The picture is a close-up photograph? One more bit. Under bright, more-white-than-yellow light? One more bit. There's shallow depth of field, and the background is mostly a bright green blur, some indistinct mass of vegetation? Zero bits: the system's already guessed all that, from what images of this sort tend to be like. (You'd have to spend bits to get anything except the green blur.)

Eventually, we come to the less essential details -- all the things that make your image really this one specific image, and not any of the other close-up shots of orioles that exist in the world. The exact way the head is tilted. The way the branch, that it sits on, is slightly bent at its tip.

This is where most of the bits are spent. You have to spend bits to get all of these details right, and the more "arbitrary" the details are -- the less easy they are to guess, on the basis of everything else -- the more bits you have to spend on them.

But, because your first and most abstract bits bought you so much, you can express your image quite precisely, and still use far less room than JPEG compression would use, or any other algorithm that comes to mind when people say the word "compression."

It is easy to "compress" many specific images inside a system that understands general visual concepts, because most of the content of an image is generic, not unique to that image alone.

The ability to convey all of the non-unique content very briefly is precisely what provides us enough room to write down all the unique content, alongside it.

This is basically the way in which specific images are "represented" inside Stable Diffusion and MidJourney and the like, insofar as they are. Which they are, not as a general rule, but occasionally, in the case of certain specific images -- due to their ubiquity in the real world and hence in the training data, or due to some deliberate over-sampling of them in that data.

(In the case of MidJourney and the copyrighted images, I suspect the model was [over-?]heavily trained on those specific images -- perhaps because they were thought to exemplify the "epic," cinematic MidJourney house style -- and it has thus stored more of their less-essential details than it has with most training images. Typical regurgitations from image generators are less precise than those examples, more "abstract" in their resemblance to the originals -- just the easy, early bits, with fewer of the expensive less-essential details.)

But now -- is your image of the oriole "represented" in computer memory, in this last case? Is the system "compressing" it, "storing" it in a way that can be "read off"?

In some sense, yes. In some sense, no.

This is a philosophical question, really, about what makes your image itself, and not any of the other images of orioles in profile against blurred green backgrounds.

Remember that even MidJourney can't reproduce those copyrighted images exactly. It just makes images that are "basically the same."

Whatever is "stored" there is not, actually, a copy of each copyrighted image. It's something else, something that isn't the original, but which we deem too close to the original for our comfort. Something of which we say: "it's different, yes, but only in the inessential details."

But what, exactly, counts as an "inessential detail"? How specific is too specific? How precise is too precise?

If the oriole is positioned just a bit differently on the branch... if there is a splash of pink amid the green blur, a flower, in the original but not the copy, or vice versa...

When does it stop being a copy of your image, and start being merely an image that shares a lot in common with yours? It is not obvious where to draw the line. "Details" seem to span a whole continuous range of general-to-specific, with no obvious cutoff point.

And if we could, somehow, strip out all memory of all the "sufficiently specific details" from one of these models -- which might be an interesting research direction! -- so that what remains is only the model's capacity to depict "abstract concepts" in conjunction?

If we could? It's not clear how far that would get us, actually.

If you can draw a man with all of Super Mario's abstract attributes, then you can draw Super Mario. (And if you cannot, then you are missing some important concept or concepts about people and pictures, and this will hinder you in your attempts to draw other, non-copyrighted entities.)

If you can draw an oriole, in profile, and a branch, and a green blur, then you can draw an oriole in profile on a branch against a green blur. And all the finer details? If one wants them, the right prompt should produce them.

There is no way to stop a sufficiently capable artist from imitating what you have done, if it can imitate all of the elements of which your creation is made, in any imaginable combination.

[kurolovesricky]

Types of lingerie zb1 would like on their partner

Omfg I haven't uploaded in such a long time I'm so sorry😭

Strictly no minors ‼️‼️

Hanbin

Idk why I really see him liking more of the cute stuff ,like he wouldn't want something hardcore meanwhile he would devour you after that

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Youvimi (@youvimi)

Jiwoong

Cute and slight hints of sexy(kinda actually), simple to use, and easy to look at for the eyes, more of the cute but still calm styles

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Youvimi (@youvimi)

Zhanghao

It's not because it's Chinese that he likes the cheongsam, its complexity of being able to be revealing every curve/shape of your body that's covered by the intricate patterns while not showing it because it's covered by the cloth is amazing for him, and also technically not revealing that much, skin only from the lace patterns on your sides thighs , and arms, in his eyes, it captures the beauty of your body like a work of art, it gets him riled up from the allure of mysteries in your curves

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Youvimi (@youvimi)

Matthew

He likes more of the type that wraps around your whole body in a seductive way, not exactly dominant but just more of like those dark femme vibes if you what I'm talking about not domineering

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Youvimi (@youvimi)

Taerae

Opposite of hanbin and Matthew, He likes to be dominated so something that's very sexy with little to no hints of cute and wraps the body will turn him on, one that reminds him of a domineering rich female CEO/businesswoman or villain (pretend there's no bows/ribbons)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Youvimi (@youvimi)

Ricky

He likes to spoil you so you can be his cute little princess with all the frills and bows, but you have to obey him so he can pull you at any time

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Youvimi (@youvimi)

Gyuvin

He's more of the naughty type so I see him liking the famous bunny suits more since the vibe is more naughty too

Gunwook

He really likes it when ur legs are revealed so something like this would totally do the trick, especially if you're using pigtails that would make you look extra cute

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Youvimi (@youvimi)

[ronearoundblindly]

F and Z for nomad steve! i love that fic tbh

From this ask game and about the Hideout series with touch-starved!Steve x motel employee!reader.

*sorry this took so long. Technically wasn't doing these anymore but then again this month has been a miserable mess of work and allergy pain, so this might get something flowing writing-wise. Enjoy!

Dirty headcanons ahoy! Minors DNI, please and thank you. There is plenty for you to enjoy from my Light Masterlist, but this is not for you!

F - Food Play

Ok, this one is very simple: food in the bedroom generally means something in his hand or in your hand that isn't part of the other person. Steve prefers skin-to-skin contact. He likes to be touching you and likes you to be touching him. He doesn't give a shit about food other than providing you with whatever you need or want of it to fuel sexual activities--or life, ya know, because he's very respectful and aware that life is not about sex--just not food during sex. Sorry. It holds no interest for him.

If you want to, cool, but that doesn't enhance anything for him.

Z - Zones

Uh...everywhere?!

But ok, I see what y'all want. Let's break this down, full-body style, starting with extremities.

Steve has a thing with his hands. It's an intimate act to offer love and affection to parts of him that inflict damage and pain. This is something he enjoys about art: good and beautiful things can come from a piece of him used for violence. As far as his feet? This is more of a playful enjoyment, a comfort. Steve doesn't derive sensuality from touching his feet, but he fakes being ticklish so he can act a little childish and playful with you. He likes to be barefoot (as a sign he isn't ready to run), and if his legs are on you, his feet are likely pressed to you as well. Hopefully that makes sense. Steve likes to tuck into your body as much as possible.

Alrighty, LEGS! Take a deep breath, ladies, because Steve gets extremely excited for a sharp grip on his thighs and just a hint of your nails biting his skin while you go down on him. That's not a sign it's too much for you; he takes that as encouragement. He likes when your hands go groping and wandering anywhere while you slowly take him as deep as you can (mouth or pussy), but he is an absolute whore for your enthusiasm. When you act like you can't possibly have enough of him at once, he cannot possibly hold in his own appreciation.

🥴

::takes break to scream into the void::

Onto the arms, head, and chest...right...yeah, so, Nomad's got that gorgeous fucking hair, but do not pull on it--not hard, ok, not a lot. You get far more from Steve by being gentle around his upper body, similar to the hands. He feels devotion and adoration through gentle touch above the belt. He likes the sort of all-encompassing feel of being hugged or slightly smothered by your body on his. If you cage his face in with your arms and hands, if you make the world feel shrunken to just the two of you in that moment, Steve melts. He's a goner for that. He likes your weight on his chest--or face because face-sitting is great--but as much skin-to-skin contact as possible is always welcome.

Steve gets oddly thrilled by you placing his body how you'd like. Other than the hair or beard, he enjoys you tugging at him to maximize your own comfort or pleasure. That's often how he learns what drives you crazy, in good and bad ways.

This brings us to, yes, you guessed it: the ass, cock, and balls.

Ironically, very sensitive and erogenous zones that aren't Steve's favorite. Playfully smack his butt at your own peril; he does NOT like that during sex, gang. Lock your legs around him, fine. Dig in with what would be a bruising grip (to anyone normal), go for it. Nomad does not enjoy any sort of impact play. Choose moments outside of intimacy wisely for that.

Touch-starved Stevie is extremely sensitive to outright sexual contact, so he sorta needs a lot of foreplay, sweetness, and closeness before his actual erection is involved. It's just too fast for him otherwise. Then he feels like he's using you. If there's one thing that will make Steve feel shittier than having to kill people, it's using a woman--especially you--for sex and seemingly nothing else.

Does he eventually stop coming so quickly? Sure. He never wants to leave the room without making you feel taken care of, much less actually leaving the property. That makes him feel guilty and miserable.

BUT!!! Don't fret. When he does have longer nights to stay with you, to go multiple rounds, to let you explore him without fuss, then yeah, he gets very excited to let you tease and stroke him and figure out that Steve just literally cannot keep his shit together if you get your mouth on his balls. Lots of licking and kissing. Some sucking. Oh my god... I mean... Nicest way possible? Slut for it. Just saying.

Thank you for asking!

[Main Masterlist; Dirty Asks Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

@mrsevans90 @lemonadygirl @umadirectioner

@rogersbarber @bucky-fricking-barnes-reads @fallinallinmendes 

@buckysprettybaby @ellethespaceunicorn @late-to-the-party-81

@yiiiikesmish @ashesofblackroses @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @brandycranby

@supraveng @1950schick @patzammit @whiskeytangofoxtrot555

[themorbidflowercollector]

hello fellow reader!! my name is Mor, and this is my beautiful blog!!

this blog is just straight horny…

and I reblog shit I like!

MINORS DNI (18+)

NO AI IS ALLOWED. ALL REBLOGS/POSTS BELOW BELONG TO THEIR RIGHTFUL WRITERS/OWNERS. AI USE IS THIEVERY.

fav fics/drabbles recos: (IN PROGRESS)

Smut Levels (💚/💛/❤️‍🔥)

Call of Duty

“Bone Deep” by @the-californicationist

Pairing: John Price & Fem!Reader

Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Married Life

Smut Level: 💛

Personal Notes: The writing style is sooooo well done, angst was top tier, groveling from Price was also very top tier.

Any Fic by @ceilidho

Pairings: Price & Fem!Reader, Ghost & Fem!Reader, Soap & Fem!Reader, Ghoap & Fem!Reader, Ghost & Soap

Smut Level: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: I’ve linked their master list above because all of their fics ARE SO FUCKING GOOD. Oh my god. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve reread some of them.

“Permission” by @bi-writes

Pairing: Ghoap & Fem!Reader

Tags: Dark Fic, Power Dynamic (D/S/S), Possessiveness (kinda?)

Smut Level: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: This thread had me BARKING. That’s all I have to say, anyways…

Any Fic by @charliemwrites

Pairings: TF141 & Fem!Reader/GN!Reader, Nikto & Fem!Reader

Smut Level: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Another one of my all time fav writers!! I linked their master list because everything is so FUCKING GOOD. I reread their fics all the time!!

Any Fic by @makoodles

Pairings: Gaz & Fem!Reader, Price & Fem!Reader, Ghost & Fem!Reader, Avatar & Fem!Reader

Smut Level: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: You want plot? Done. Angst? Done. One of the best fucking writing styles ever? DONE. Oh my god. I’ve linked the whole master list because Jesus Christ. I would recommend starting off with this…you’ll understand why, (I was frothing at the mouth).

Any Fic by @kneelingshadowsalome

Pairings: Ghost & Fem!Reader, König & Fem!Reader, Price & Fem!Reader

Smut Level: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Some of the most well written fics I have ever read on here, all of them deserve a looking at! Please pay attention to the warnings posted, some of them cover dark topics!!

��Tired” by @cordeliawhohung

Pairing: Pornstar!Gaz & Pornstar!Reader (Fem)

Tags: Comfort, Exhausted Reader, Faked Orgasm, Blossoming Relationship

Smut: 💚

Personal Notes: So cute and fluffy. Def a pick-me-up read!!

“Apocalypse” by @bi-writes

Pairing: Ghoap & Fem!Reader

Tags: DARK FIC. Attempted SA. Please read tags!!

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Literal fucking poetry. Nitty Gritty. 10/10 as always.

“Double Date” by @shotmrmiller

Pairing: Ghost & Fem!Reader

Tags: Good sex. Slight Dubcon?? (in the beginning, but don’t worry girl, they’re both def into it 🤭)

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Literal drool seeping from my mouth hole. That’s all.

“What Binds Us” by @imperihoe-writes

Pairing: Soap & Fem!Reader

Tags: Divorce. Angsty Angst. Happy ending.

No smut!!

Personal Notes: Kid you not, I’ve reread this work of art three times. It’s so good if you’re craving some angst and a pick me up!! Such a good read!!

“Trouble in Paradise” by @groguspicklejar

Pairing: RegencyEra!Ghost & Fem!Reader

Tags: Angsty Angst, Arranged Marriage, Emotional Neglect, Simon is a dickhead at first…(but everyone can learn from their mistakes 😌)

Smut: 💚 (brief, and not enjoyed on either side — martial duty thing)

Personal Notes: FINGER. LICKING. GOOD. Call me KFC cause I’m about eat this SHIT UP. But on a real note, so excited for this fic!! I just know it’s about to be DELECTABLE.

“Wherever You Go, I Shall Follow” by @heavenbarnes

Pairing: OlderBf!Ghost & Fem!Reader

Tags: Fluff, Domestic Life

No smut.

Personal Notes: So well written and so fucking cute!! I reread this twice in one sitting, and it’s so cute to think that he’d follow you around everywhere in yalls home. Super cute and def recommend!!

“Simple Math” by @peachesofteal

Pairing: Ghoap & Fem!Reader

Tags: MENTIONS OF PREVIOUS DOMESTIC ABUSE. Hurt/Comfort. So much Positive Reinforcement I could get a toothache from how sweet and gentle this fic is. PTSD. Panic Attacks. Angst. Fluff (There are tags on each chapter, please read them.)

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Absolutely fucking amazing. The writing is SO well done and formatted, the world building, the relationship building — all of it is top-fucking-tier. I HIGHLY recommend this chaptered fic if you (1) need a good, long read, and (2) want some fluff and angst. Words cannot truly describe just how RICH this fic is.

“Soap Soulmate AU” by @all-purpose-dish-soap

Pairing: Soap & Fem!ShadowReader

Tags: Angst, Interrogation, Meanish!141, Reader is a Shadow

Smut: 💚 (so far)

Personal Notes: Girlllllllllll — this shit is fire. The pining?? Deadass has me in a chokehold. God bless.

“A Helping Hand” by @void-my-warranty

Pairing: Ghost & Fem!Reader & Soap

Tags: Established Relationship (Ghost & Reader), Voyeurism, Ghost asks Johnny to help his gf cum

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: I’m a slut for a good relationship that involves great communication and soooo much affection. Absolutely love the premise of this fic, and I can’t wait for more!!

“Cool Girl” by @peachesofteal

Pairing: Ghoap & Fem!Reader

Tags: ANGST, Hurt/No Comfort, Meanish Soap and Ghost (for now, them bitches better grovel), [UPDATE] SIMON WTF

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Anytime you read a fic by @peachesofteal, you already KNOW it’s about to be fucking great. Can’t wait for the updates!!

“The Nanny” by @moondirti

Pairing: Ghoap & Fem!Reader

Tags: Established Relationship, A Tiny Human, Reader is a Nanny, Voyuerism

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Homegirl has these boys fIENDINNGGGGG — like?? As you should. The second parts ending made me audibly gasp, can’t wait for the updates!!

“That Man is a Dog” by @luvit

Pairing: TF141 & Fem!Reader/GN!Reader

Tags: TF141 are dog shifters, #no I don’t support bestiality and this is not that, Reader is a Trainer

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: The writing is so fucking good, smut is mouth-watering — girl just read this damn fic. So excited for more updates!!

Any Fic by @391780

Pairings: TF141 & Fem!Reader, Nikto & Fem!Reader, Kate Laswell & Fem!Reader, Nikolai & Fem!Reader

Tags: DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT — please read each fic’s respective warnings, some of them cover very dark topics.

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: I’ve been spamming the fucking reblog button girl. All of their fics are so well written, the character building and scene building are literally fucking insane. Not to mention the smut?? Girl?? My vibrator is about to say deuces, grow legs, and leave my horny ass alone in my bedroom.

“Feast” by @ceilidho

Pairing: Ghost & Fem!Reader

Tags: Ghost is a construction worker and really fucking unhinged, Reader is an elementary school teacher and is unhinged as well, god-tier smut, I’m a slut for a good cunnilingus scene

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Jesus-fucking-Christ you’ve done it again. Good lord. This is just so filthy and desperate and I’m SO here for it.

“Bury Me Beneath the Basswood Tree” by @vanderilnde

Pairing: Ghoap & Fem!Reader

Tags: DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT, please check their tags.

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Literally so well written?? Hello?? And the smut?? Oh my god?? Girl I ate this shit up, no crumbs left. CLEAN FUCKING PLATE.

“Fields of Elation” by @charliemwrites

Pairing: Captain John MacTavish & Fem!Reader

Tags: Persephone/Hades Dupeeeee (funny reference, laugh pls), toe curling smut, fated soulmates

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE — TURN IT UP!!! Love love LOVE the premise of this!!! So excited for this story!! Writing is on point, as always!!

“Soft” by @all-purpose-dish-soap

Pairing: SoapGaz & Fem!Reader

Tags: Gaz & Soap are curious, mentions of a bite, attempted drowning (unsuccessful bc Gaz gives Soap a slap on the wrist)

No smut

Personal Notes: Literally fulfills my childhood dream of merpeople except it features two of my favs. Love this!!

“Royalty” by @cadotoast

Pairing: Knight!John Price & Fem!Reader

Tags: Meet-Cute (Damsel in Distress type shit), John is in the background (for now), Eventual smut?, Medieval Time Setting

No smut rn

Personal Notes: The writing is so well done?? Hello?? Love love LOVE when writers do time appropriate language so this is such a slay girlboss. World building and setting are so WELL DONE. CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTERS!!!

“Body Electric” by @yeyinde

Pairings: TF141 & Fem!Reader, Rudy & Fem!Reader, Alejandro & Fem!Reader

Tags: Gangbang

Smut: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: I have been thinking about this fic for fucking MONTHS!! So glad to have found it again!! Oh my fucking god. This is such a horny, depraved read and I fucking LOVE IT. Thank you for this gift you’ve bestowed upon us.

“Can’t Stop Thinking About” by @a-b-riddle

Pairing: Poly141 & Fem!Reader

Tags: ANGST ANGST ANGST, Hurt/Some Comfort, Walk them boys like a dog, they were in a relationship but things fell apart bc the boys treated reader like shit

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: this should have been added LONG ago. I’m absolutely in love with this fic. Writing is so good, I love to read about men groveling and a woman not being quick to forgive. I seriously cannot state how much I am IN LOVE with the premise of this fic. SO SO SO excited for future updates!!

“Here’s Hoping Things Look Better on the Other Side” by @ghouljams

Pairing: Cowboy!Ghost & Fem!Reader

Tags: Filthy Panty-Wetting Toe-Curling Smut, the sexual tension between them both is fucking insane

Smut: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: if you already cannot tell, I fucking LOVED this. Oh. My. God. World building was insane, description of Ghost and the readers sexual tension? Hello?? And that’s even BEFORE the smut happened. Good lord. This is a sweet treat that I will have to repeat.

“Threshold” by @rememberwren

Pairing: Ghost & Fem!Reader

Tags: Ghost is a Virgin and doesn’t inform reader, cute soft sex, I’m a SLUT for a cute cunnilingus scene, Ghost briefly gets head

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: This is so soft and well-written, it genuinely put a smile on my face. I absolutely loved the premise of this fic, and loved the way the author wrote Ghost as soaking up every moment and trying to extend things, (read it and you’ll know what I’m talking about). This will def be a reread in the near future, and from then on. HUGE recommend. (Side note: another fav of mine from this author is Skin Deep. So fucking good, also another huge rec.)

“Soft Spot” by @cordeliawhohung

Pairing: Ghost & Fem!Reader

Tags: They’re a cute couple, they go through some shit together so plz pay attention to the tags on each chapter, they make it out

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Core fucking killed it again. I CANNOT stress enough how fucking great a read this was. The emotional depth of both characters was so well-written and thought out — and the complexity of their relationship?? Girl. It’s such a good fucking read. #SoftSimonForever.

“Cherry Bomb” by @swordsandholly

Pairing: Poly!TF141 & PlusSizeFem!Reader

Tags: shit is finger licking good, 141 owns a tattoo parlor, reader becomes the front desk person (I forgot the name, I’m tired, sue me ig)

Smut: ?

Personal Notes: Two chapters so far, and I’m fucking hooked. Good lord. Well-written as always, but that’s not really surprising with this author, is it?? Character building and depth so far is fucking insane, literally so fucking good. SO SO so excited to see more of this!!

Barry Sloane. by @staytrueblue

Personal Notes: This is literally solely for me, but just for context, there are listed video scenes of Barry Sloane (who plays John Price) kissing and making out. That’s all. #MorIsAHornyBastard — but seriously, fucking props to this beautiful soul for putting this together. And they involve character analysis of his roles?? Def more to dive into if you’re interested.

“In Limbo” by @cordeliawhohung

Pairing: Mafia!Ghost & Fem!Reader

Tags: Ghost is in the Mafia, 141 is part of the Mafia, Reader has Debts, Noncon touching/kissing (not from Simon)

Smut: ?

Personal Notes: This has honestly been a long time coming. Written is top tier — the description of an anxious, and private reader?? Literally insane. Love the way that Simon is written, Core always has a tendency to write characters RIGHT. Super psyched for future chapters!!

“Not What Was Sought” by @dozeydaisy

Pairing: Regency!Price & AFAB!Reader

Tags: This Right Here is a Big Boy, Just the right amount of angst, live laugh love the comfort that comes, #BridgertonButCODversion, please check tags on the fic!!

Smut: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Read this in one sitting, and i had to take a moment in the middle to just think — you know at Thanksgiving when they ask you what you’re thankful for? I literally paused and thanked all writers, especially this author. Good fucking god. I hadn’t even gotten to the smut yet and I had to take a minute?? Hello?? The chemistry between Price and the reader was off the charts — and I’m ALWAYS a slut for a good witty character that surpasses their time. Honestly. This is so well-written and perfectly drawn out. And bitch? This is ONE FIC. ONE. I’m hooked. I’m absolutely positive I will be adding more to this rec list from this author, so stay tuned for that. What you shouldn’t wait for, on the other hand, is reading this fic. Do it. Now, (an affectionate threat).

“Cowboy Simon Riley” by @ebodebo

Pairing: Fem!Reader & Cowboy!Ghost

Tags: Explicit Sex in a mfing BARN‼️, Ghost is a party crasher, death threats (not towards reader, in the beginning, and very brief), Enemies to Lovers??, slut shaming, hurt/comfort

Smut: ❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: I absolutely fucking love the dynamic between characters where they’re desperate for each other to the point where they get irritated by what the other says/does. Oh my god. This author wrote it so well with a little world building and that takes so much fucking talent. 10/10 — will for SURE be reading the other parts.

“Call of the Sea” by @starsofang

Pairing: Pirate!141 & Fem!Reader

Tags: Mean Pirates, Kidnapping, Reader is in a Jail Cell, Reader is a Medic

Smut: ?

Personal Notes: Hook, Line, and Sinker bitch (no pun intended). I’m absolutely smitten with the idea of a Pirate 141, and you’re telling me they’re all going to be in a relationship at some point?? OUHHHHHH. I’m hyped. But anyways, this author knows how to fucking write. Good lord. World building, the flow of writing, even down to the words they use. Fucking phenomenal. I will DEFINITELY be keeping up with this series, and checking out the others as well. I HIGHLY recommend giving any fic this author has written a chance, I’m 100% positive it’ll be a treat.

“Solomon’s Seal” by @the-californicationist

Pairing: Price & Fem!Reader

Tags: Femdom, Consent Given (Multiple Check-Ins), Rope Bondage, Description of Injuries Received prior to the scene, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Plz check tags

Smut: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: I literally discovered something new about myself through this fic — not even joking. This is so well done and well written. I absolutely love when there is such an emotional connection between two characters where one is just releasing all of their emotions and just relinquishing control. Maybe that’s why Femdom appeals to me?? Idk, but this fic is absolutely fucking amazing. 10/10.

“Squeak ‘Em If You Got ‘Em” by @charliemwrites

Pairing: Price & Fem!Reader

Tags: Dom/Sub Dynamics, Inappropriate Work Relationship (but who cares), pls read tags!!

Smut: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: OH MY FUCKING GOD. The author ate this up?? Hello?? I absolutely loved the build-up and the tension. And the smut?? Girl. I am fed for the next few YEARS. (Psstttt…the Ghost version is here…)

“The Scottish Cabin in the Woods” by @charliemwrites

Pairing: SerialKiller!Ghost & Soap & Fem!Reader

Tags: Serial Killer AU, Dark Content, Kidnapping, Violence and Murder, (Mentions of) Torture, BDSM Elements and Dynamics, (Mild) Pet Play, Predator/Prey Kink, Dacryphilia, Impact Play (Spanking), Humiliation Kink, Dub-Con, One (1) Ableist Slur (and the guy ends up dying) — copied straight from the tag list!!

Smut: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: Absolutely in love. I’m not usually a huge fan of the whole kidnapping dynamic because the characters are usually placed in a harsh setting — but putting the characters in a setting where they are (moderately) comfortable?? Ate this shit up. I absolutely adore that the Pet Play dynamic wasn’t overdone, but just the right amount. Girl, the smut is top-fucking-tier — heavy on dom/sub dynamics, everyone is satisfied all around. I genuinely am in love with the premise of this fic and the way it’s written. And the cliffhanger we’re left with in the last update?? Things are about to get A LOT more interesting between the characters, and I’m excited to see the way the author explores it. 25/10, a HUGE rec.

“Big Man, Big Mouth” by @shotmrmiller

Pairing: Simon Riley & Fem!Reader

Tags: Mild Voyuerism??, Johnny is a perv (but they all are in some ways in this fic), Undermining of Job Position??, SIZE KINK. SIZE KINK. SIZE KINK., they’re both dirty asf in this — practice good hygienic methods for sex kids!! (or don’t 🤭)

Smut: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Personal Notes: I fucking love the premise of this fic. TF141 as a construction crew?? Reader is the surveyor?? (I forgot the proper name, don’t judge). Simon being brooding and mysterious as ever?? Simon being down bad?? LIKE BAD?? The way the author wrote him has me OBSESSED. Oh my god. Just the banter and the chemistry between him and the reader has me hooked. This is such a sweet treat of a fic that I will have to keep indulging in.

[adobe-outdesign]

Best toy neopets?

Toy is a newer colour, having been released in 2018 as the runner up of a "new colour" poll (so no UC/styled art to compare in this one). The original toy pet used in the poll, Lenny, seemed to be a good example of what to expect from the colour: plastic parts, bright colors, and maybe one or two minor changes to the anatomy where appropriate.

However, while some toy pets stick to the action-figure formula to varying degrees, some go off in completely different directions by being based on random specific real-world toys. On top of that, some of those pets are based on very specific brands (the iDog, Furbies, etc.) while some are just based on generic classic toy concepts.

This can also lead to problems regarding overlap with other colours; the toy Kougra, Lupe, and Bruce are all effectively just plushie Neopets, albeit in a very different style than the standard plushie colour.

I point this out because I feel like either a colour should be 100% coherent across all species, or it should vary wildly by species. Toy straddles this weird middle ground of being part licensed toys, part generic toys, and part action-figure toys where it simultaneously has coherency and no coherency at all. I feel like the best toy pets are the ones where they stick to the plastic-y look but manage to put a fun species-specific twist on it.

Favorite Species:

Mynci: Speaking of which, the toy Mynci is basically perfect in this respect; it keeps the hard jointed plastic look while also being based off the classic cymbal-playing monkey toy, which fits the 'pet for obvious reasons. The colors also look quite nice, and as an added bonus, the clothes are removable (though I do wish the base removed the out-of-place head hairs).

Gnorbu: This one falls into the "generic IRL toy" category, and while it's not the most coherent thing in terms of the overall colour (I'm hesitant to even think of a piñata as a toy), it's such a fun concept and it looks great. There's a lot of colors used but they're all balanced well, the concept reads super clearly, and the subtle inegration of thigns like the mane are just perfect. My sole nitpick is just that the black outlines on the eye look out of place, and something flatter to match the papier-mâché look would've been nice.

Jetsam: Based off a pool toy, this one kind of plays with the action-figure concept by keeping the plastic idea but not being hard plastic or jointed. It's perfect for a water-based Neopet, and the inflatable plastic is spot-on visually, complete with seams. Only issue with it is the weird handle on the side, which might be a thing with shark pool toys but isn't something I've ever seen in-person.

BONUS: The toy Bori takes a similar route to the Mynci, keeping the hard plastic idea but putting a twist on it by making the back plates into an xylophone, which is a fantastic concept. The multi-colored plates really draw attention to the concept and the rest the palette is a simple yellow with a few blue accents.

The only issue with it, and the reason it's a bonus, is that weird bone in its mouth. According to Jellyneo, it's based off a [checks notes] Toddlerz Toddlin' Tunes Puppy, which is just weird because Bori aren't dogs or even dog-adjacent. What was wrong with just making it a regular non-branded xylophone?

Least Favorite Species:

Koi: I absolutely love the idea of this being a bathtub wind-up toy; however, the problem is that the key, which should be the focal point, is so tiny and hard to see that I only noticed while doing this review that it's even there. Even putting that aside, there's way too many colors going on here, and the addition of stripes over the body is strange and does nothing but clutter the design. It's also strange that the back fin is a solid color and one piece while the tail is lobed and multi-colored; feels like those two should match.

[rommaru]

3, 15, 23!

I'll answer this with only Ducktales in mind.

3. NoTP

As a crack shipper I'm open to almost everything except OC x canon. There are very few that I like but I haven't figured out exactly what makes them work for me. Overall I'll skip them.

If I have to point to a specific canon x canon ship I'd say Fendra/Gyfendra. I tried but I can't.

15. Have you noticed your style change over time?

Sure! It happens more often when I draw people because I don't care about consistency or an art style. The mood leads.

When it comes to ducks I have been less flexible I think. Gyro's hair has had some minor changes.

And I love whatever I did here. I should try this simple style again.

Full art here.

15. Has your favourite character/ship changed over time?

I used to kin Gyro but I grew out of that phase. It has a lot to do with fandom behavior, but mostly because I related a very young version of me with Gyro before his character development.

Fenro also changed to me and I have a similar process with all the ships I hyperfix with. At first I love very angsty and passionate scenarios. Once this honey moon is over I prefer them just having a domestic lifestyle where they are allowed to be silly and authentic.

In my head, Gyro is living his 50's and Fenton his 40's. They joke about Gyro being old while he rest his head on Fenton's butt ❤️

[lonelysheepling]

Advice for artists and non-artists but mainly just artists

You know how you do a thing for so long that it’s becomes super mundane and insignificant to you, like when you’re sewing something you just do a basic stitch and struggle to tie a standard knot at the end. But you don’t do this often enough for it to stand out to you. You’re an artist, hey maybe even a professional one, and you’ve been doing your art a certain way for a long time. You use pose references and look up environment pictures to reference. But you still draw shoes without a reference or you draw clothes without any detailed folds.

At various points in my art journey I tried using tutorials, resources, and step by step guides for drawing certain things, be that nature brushes, drawing noses front-on, etc. and my skills at the time were kinda basic so I could never really pull off the tutorials in a way that satisfied me. I then went years just improving on broad areas like perspective and posing, focusing more on the overall composition than the minor details. But one day, years later, I got bored and decided to look up how to draw clothing folds

On the left of the green line is some previous work, on the right was two pieces I drew after I heavily referenced cloth physics

Ignore the shading, lighting, colors, etc. the stuff on the right definitely has way better flow than the stuff on the left. Now it wasn’t like a “wow I used a reference and now I’m a master” situation, there was an adjustment period with some less than stellar examples

But when I created those first 2 folds it was like a fucking switch was flicked in my head and I’ve been improving ever since. I am immensely grateful that I just happened to go looking for reference photos because holy shit something as simple as improving my clothing folds massively boosted my confidence in my work. Something I’ve noticed after I followed tutorials is that during the adjustment period, while the first couple of pieces are very reminiscent of the source tutorial, they start to get a little too far off and I stop referencing the tutorial and start doing my own thing (for better or for worse), but there’s then a period afterwards where I go back (maybe after re-watching the original tutorial) and develop it more into my own style.

Here’s a graph to better explain my thought process

Here’s another gun to the head reminder to use references. Recently I was drawing shoes for a character and I have a pretty consistent method of drawing shoes (consistent, not good).

But I wanted it to look more rugged so I looked up an image of a hiking boot and guess at what point in this timelapse that the reference was pulled up

I had for years tried using tutorials and reference photos but the process never really clicked for me. But over the years I have improved my technical skills and I believe that those improvements and all that practice made it way easier for me to understand and replicate tutorials, i understand now how the specifics of certain things like shading and depth work, picking up new skills that are still in the area I work in became way easier. But Im obviously still finding areas in my art by random chance that I can improve on. Because I don’t think about those parts anymore, they’re in the background of my design process.

This is where my advice to non-artists comes in. Look up tutorials. For anything. You know earlier when I mentioned sewing? Look up a guide on stitching, I just learned today what a surgeons knot is despite having been hand stitching for years. You don’t know what you don’t know, you don’t seek out improvement when you don’t perceive the need to improve. Trust me, there’s always areas to improve but you are going to have to stretch your mind at some point to recognize them. Everybody talks about how you should use tutorials and use references and all that, but I don’t think many people are going to research tutorials for things they don’t feel like they need improvement in.

. Anyway that’s the end of my monthly psa

If something in this post confused you feel free to send me like an ask or a brick through my window with a note attached to it, I’m not picky.

[danielfeketewrites]

DOCTOR WHO TOP 10 - 11th Doctor

My favourite of the New Who Doctors. I started with his era and it changed my life.

10. The World Tree

A recent addition to this Doctor's EU canon, I utterly love this little story. It's another winner of the Paul Spragg Memorial, so you can download it for free on the Big Finish website. I urge you to do so.

9. The God Complex

Having previously written School Reunion and Vampires of Venice, I presume Toby Whithouse's reputation in the Who fandom was something along the lines of "he writes the fun, fluffy ones". The God Complex is his first darker and, well, more complex script. And it really, really works. I have a soft spot for most of his episodes anyway, but The God Complex is probably the most ambitious one. I adore the visceral liminality of that hotel, it's so good. (Also, I choose to ignore that nonsense reveal in The Time of the Doctor.)

8. Apotheosis / The Child of Time

These two basically form a two-parter, so I'm putting them together. Although, for the record, I prefer Apotheosis, contrary to what Jonathan Morris presumes in his commentary at the end of the comic strip collection. Mostly because I love Dan McDaid's art so bloody much, but also because of the atmosphere, setting, clever use of the medium (the stuff with the beard ROCKS), and nuns with guns. But The Child of Time is also pretty great as a big, satisfying finale full of fun twists. I said it before, I'll say it again - Morris is a great chameleon, perfect at writing excellent Doctor Who stories while using voices of other excellent Doctor Who writers. I mean, he admits in the commentary that he wanted to get the strips close to Moffat's style and I think he definitely succeeded.

7. Amy's Choice

It's a shame Simon Nye never wrote any more Doctor Who, because Amy's Choice is a stellar character piece. Toby Jones' Dream Lord is such a memorable presence and the connundrum this episode presents is really fun and unique.

6. Space in Dimension Relative and Time

one best the is it but One Year Doctor's eleventh in one-shot experimental only the not It's. clever really, really it's yet, simple It's. it read go all should you and story timey-wimey unique and fun really a in potential full it's to medium the uses Williams Rob.

5. The Eleventh Hour

The episode that hooked me. The episode that changed my life. I fully believe this is the best episode to show to someone new to Doctor Who.

4. The Rise and Fall / The Other Doctor

A two-parter, with the first part written by Al Ewing and draw by Boo Cook, and the second part written by Rob Williams and drawn by Simon Fraser. I've only read Year One of eleventh Doctor's comics published by Titan, but I strongly feel the story of the Doctor taking on SERVEYOUinc. In a way, the story feels like a conversation not just with Doctor Who's past and present, but also with it's future... It feels like the perfect antidote to Kerblam!.

3. The Day of the Doctor (and The Day of the Doctor)

Listening to Steven Moffat talk about The Day of the Doctor is weird. Everything around the writing and production of the 50th anniversary special seems like hell. And yet, the end result is something that's not just extremely good Doctor Who, it feels like it knows it's good Doctor Who. It looks simple, seems self-assured, appears to know exactly what it's doing. It's a minor miracle. And it's also amazing. Gallifrey falls no more. All thirteen and all that.

Note: This spot is shared between the episode AND the novelisation. I love both of them very much. Go read the novelisation if you haven't read it yet. It's really, really fun.

2. Vincent and the Doctor

Nearly everyone loves this episode and, well, I can't really argue with that. It really is special. I adore it, the greatest celebrity historical the show ever did.

1. The Doctor's Wife

My favourite New Who episode.

So, I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman. That is probably not a shocking take on this website. My collection of his work currently includes 12 books (1 in Czech translation, the rest in English), 6 comic books (1 in Czech translation, the rest in English), and 1 script book. I love Neil Gaiman.

I love the idea of the Corsair. I actually roleplayed as an incarnation of the Corsair in a game of Cubicle 7's Doctor Who TTRPG at a Red Dwarf convention recently. In front of an audience of like four people.

Hell, I even made a fanart of the Nephew like 6 or 7 year ago. I love the poor Ood and I love the horror aspect of the episode, with TARDIS becoming an abject and unfamiliar place when she gets possessed by the House.

But the reason I love this episode the most out of not just the eleventh Doctor's era but all of the 2005 series is... Well, it's the relationship. The Doctor and his TARDIS. Or, the Thief and his Sexy. It recontextualizes the whole mythology, it recontextualizes the entire series in a way that's so moving and poetic and just... perfect. I love The Doctor's Wife.

[fondueforall]

🎵You, you got your own opinions. But baby, I don't even need to hear 'em. It used to hurt me, used to bring me down. Do your worst, 'cause nothing's gonna stop me now. Don't let those losers take your magic, baby, yeah. 🎶 (let 'em talk by kesha plays automatically when you go on brittany's blog)

LIMA LOSER? OR IS THAT BRITTANY PIERCE? THEY MIGHT EVEN PASS FOR HUNTER SCHAFER IN THE RIGHT LIGHT. THEY'RE TWENTY-TWO, BUT STILL STUCK IN LIMA AT MCKINLEY. THEY'VE BEEN CALLED THE BLONDE AIRHEAD, BUT PREFER TO BE THE UNICORN. MAYBE IF THEY FIX THEIR AESTHETIC AKA LONG MOMENTS DANCING WITHOUT A CARE WITH THE MUSIC BLARING, GOSSIPING ON ALL THE DIRT OVER A TOO HOT POT OF CHEESE, AND GETTING SWEATY OUT ON THE FIELD IN A TOO SHORT SKIRT AND THE ROLLER RINK WITH THE GIRLS ON SKATES THEY'LL GET THEIR WAY. WORD ON THE SHOW CHOIR BLOGS ARE THEY'RE IN THE TROUBLETONES. SO GOOD LUCK TO THEM!

THE BASICS:

name: brittany susan pierce aka brittany s.pierce. 

nicknames: britt, b, bee, britt-britt.

pronouns: she/her. NOT IT, NOT HE/HIM. thank you.

gender: 🏳️‍⚧️ ♀️

birthday/zodiac: march 14th, pisces.

birthplace: lima, oh.

relationship status: single, but i've kissed just about every member of the senior and junior classes at mckinley.

sexuality: bisexual. 

occupation: host of fondue for two. 

sports/clubs: cheerios, dance, the muckraker, gay/straight alliance, mathletes. also it's not at school, but! i play on the local roller derby team here in lima, we're called the pinup punks. my name there is pierce the blade, i'm the jammer. i also play the drums in a band called high road.

major/minor: journalism and media communication.

languages: english, spanish, asl, and a language i invented in middle school!

social media handles: fonduefortwo professionally everywhere, fondueforbritt everywhere else for my friends.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:

height: 5'10'’.

build: ⌛️

eye color: blue.

hair color: blonde, sometimes i clip in fun colors when i'm not in cheerio mode though.

piercings: i have a lot! four on each ear, three on my lobes and one a helix and on the other an industrial. i also have my tongue, nipples, and belly button pierced.

tattoos: i have a rainbow on my wrist, a unicorn on my lower back and a small ufo on my shoulder. a portrait of my amazing feline friend lord tubbington. (someone who is Not brittany typed that in and later brittany removed it)

other distinguishing features: good tits and a big heart. 

style: carefree and fun colors when i'm not in my cheer uniform. i love everything from bold patterns to simple ones.

PERSONALITY/INTERESTS:

traits: i like to think i’m loyal and creative, funny, friendly and pretty adventurous. but i know some people think i’m kind of stubborn and impulsive, probably naive and aloof too. also dumb or an airhead.

likes: to dance, fondue, my cats and the cats at love meow, art, math, performing, taking baths.

dislikes: bullies, being called stupid, ignorant people, conflict, injustice, feeling lonely.

fears: not being good enough or being hurt simply for being who i am.

skills: i can get out of handcuffs easily, bend pretty much my whole body, can put my feet over my head, do complicated math in my head, super good at reading peoples signs and i'm probably a lil psychic.

quirks: super bendy and flexible, does that count? double jointed, i can talk very fast, i do “voice overs”... mostly in my head.

hobbies: drawing, dancing, cheering, interviewing people, listening to true crime podcasts and alien/cryptid conspiracy theories, rollerskating, motocross.

music tastes: anything by kesha and beyonce, but also anything that i can dance to. ♪♫♬

myers-briggs: i did this because it was fun, but i can't remember i think it started with an e?

kinsey scale: 3, i'm equal opportunities.

strengths: i'm majorly talented, especially when it comes to dancing. i think people are surprised by how much i can lift too.. i also got like... an iron stomach, at least that's what my parents tell me. and despite what some people think, i'm pretty smart.

weaknesses: i get lost super easily.

She's the one they made me talk to when they found out I was keeping that bird in my locker.

[urconductor]

#URCONDUCTOR; indie roleplay blog for pom-pom from honkai: star rail, written by ender. canon & headcanon-based. please read rules before interacting!

DOSSIER. (tbd. pom-pom is an adult and goes by they/he pronouns tho)

RULES BELOW CUT.

Hello, hello! I’m Ender, an adult and an extroverted gal with autism and ADHD. Thanks for taking the time to read this! There’s no password to send in, so no need to look for one! Please read these carefully. Be 16 or above to interact.

BLACKLIST: TRIGGERS. i NEED these tagged. i have a physiological and psychological response to these topics that can greatly affect my mental health. if you can't respect my triggers, we cannot write together. My catch-all tags are "ender dont look" and "ender don't look".

any religious themes, emphasis on them when they're minor, and/or religious intolerance.

use of the word “god” in reference to powerful beings. Replacing such things with “ruler”/etc and generally making relations akin to king/subjects are good buffers that I can work with.

excessive verbal swearing

craneflies and daddy-long-legs

Extremely heavy organic gore visuals, especially in regard to organs, guts, and the heart

vi.vziepop, good omens, supernatural, c.ult of the lamb

BLACKLIST: SQUICKS. i'd appreciate these being tagged as well, but they do not spawn a severe reaction from me. i just want to avoid them.

any deep, in-depth descriptions of non-fantasy occult/magic + occult in general (like direct mentions of ouija boards, details of rituals, and stuff)

all smut and lewd content

politics/drama

TAGGING. I tag writing and fictional-related talk of potentially triggering topics as #trigger cw. various medias are tagged as #media cw. If I miss anything or you need something tagged, please tell me in DMs! i’m happy to help you curate your experience, and i want everyone to stay safe. /gen

INTERACTIONS.

non-roleplay blogs, please do not reblog any of my posts. if it's someone else's art/musing/photo/etc I've reblogged, those are free game! but please do not touch posts made by me whether they are in-character, out-of-character, or just my sketches. thanks!

I am mutually exclusive but am generally super friendly! I'll give nearly everyone a chance, even if I don’t know the muse or media! Crossovers, even with no plotting beforehand, are really fun.

i require a rules page to read before I follow, and won’t follow until I’ve read the rules. I tend to like promos to bookmark them so I can read the person’s rules later.

i won’t follow people who do not tag any of their posts. even basic “ic” or “ooc” or “musing” tags and such are good! I don’t care how fancy or simple your tags are, I just care that you have them and use them consistently.

i am duplicate and OC-friendly! For OCs, I require at least a simple About page to look at ‘cause I prefer to know your character a little before interacting! Duplicates are also fun for me to plot with ‘cause past/future meetings, AU meets canon, etc. are SUPER epic plots and very fun! I’m very used to duplicates and have been for years across different RPCs ^.^

i do not roleplay in “character: text” or *action* format. I prefer to interact with people who roleplay paragraph style and have a basic grasp of grammar, punctuation, and spelling; I completely understand if English isn’t your first language, though!

i do not mind unplotted violence against my muse, especially if they're messing around and finding out. however, make sure you are also prepared for the consequences. I love action and battle threads, but anything significant must be plotted.

MUN POLICIES.

Mun does NOT equal muse. Just because I, the mun, think or know something does not mean that my muse will. I’m an omnipresent narrator, they are characters in-universe. They each will have different thoughts and opinions than I will. It should go without saying that I do not condone everything any of my muses do.

i am a slow writer. I have college and several other things that take up my time, so I can’t be here twenty-four-seven! Also, my muse fluctuates. I may reply to something instantly if I have the muse for it, or I may get to it weeks later. I hoard drafts and asks like a dragon to get to them eventually! BUT feel free to nudge me if you want to remind me, I won’t mind!

importantly, I match my partner’s energy. If someone frequently engages me to talk about our characters, I’m likely to do the same! Unfortunately, the same applies if we hardly interact or talk at all; I’m good at interacting and communicating first, but I have a limited pool of energy.

i do not ship romantically on this blog. I don’t mind others’ romantic content, I simply personally abstain from writing romantic ships due to being harassed over them in the past. However, I love familial ships, platonic ships, rivalries, work relationships, enemy/antagonistic dynamics, and relations that can't necessarily be defined with words!

ON FANDOMS & MEDIA.

Expect headcanons to sometimes fluctuate and also expect canon divergence.

i am unaffiliated with any fandoms or creators.

i will interact with/make AUs for the following fandoms. Still, they can be tagged upon request: Final Fantasy(i know the most about VII, VIII, IX, X, XV, Unlimited, Dissidia, Dissidia 012), Sonic The Hedgehog, Pokemon, Portal, Gravity Falls, Ducktales 2017, A Hat in Time, Little Nightmares, Over The Garden Wall, OMORI, IB, The Legend of Zelda, Don’t Starve, Pocket Mirror, Super Mario Bros., Spiderverse, and Overwatch. I am very selective but not opposed to Five Nights at Freddy's, Murder Drones and The Amazing Digital Circus interactions. For these, if I followed you first/we’re mutuals, then we’re chill!

[pinchraccoon]

Pinch Reviews: Spark The Electric Jester (1,2 and 3)

In an unusual fashion for me, I'm choosing to review the entire Spark series in one fell swoop. Somewhat recently I decided to play the entire series with my friend and cohost Space Buffoon. They proposed playing the series with me on stream as we're both fans of the Sonic The Hedgehog series, and Spark has very clear shared inspiration and DNA.

Over the course of three weeks, Buffy and I played the three titles in the Spark series, opting to play them in order. I'm choosing to cover the three of them today because I feel that comparing and contrasting the games to one another can shed some light on their strengths and weaknesses.

Spoilers, of course, for the entire Spark series!

Spark the Electric Jester, the first one, is a 2D platformer focused on speed and using powerups to creatively remove enemies from the optimal path. Notably, Spark differs immediately from Sonic while maintaining the core gameplay loop in that, far different to 2D Sonic's shield powerups, the powerups in Spark act much more like they might in a game like Mario, or like the different weapons in Mega Man.

The multiple different powerups in this game serve to further diversify an already diverse gameplay loop, finding alternate paths, by granting the player significantly different abilities and movement tech with which to maneuver through levels and carve out the path the player would most like to take. Whether it's removing specific enemies from blocking a path, or something as simple as an extended jump, the powerups allow players to express themselves really effectively. The powerups are also complimented by the stage design itself, which gives all the powerups that they contain a time to shine within them, and occasionally rewarding creative exploration with different, rarer powerups as well.

Every level in Spark is really satisfying to complete, and despite being longer than the typical level within the genre, it's rare to become bored with the levels as their visual themes as well as the gameplay gimmicks and powerup swaps keep them interesting. The levels are also a phenomenal example of this game's lovely visual style. It's this charming pixel art that really grants a lot of character to the world, it's locales and it's people.

The story in Spark the Electric Jester is a fun, simple romp that calls upon a cute cast of side characters and recurring villains, although I would have liked if the Shadow the Hedgehog-esque "Fark" or "Fake Spark" were better executed in the main game. Otherwise though, Spark has some really clever and somewhat self-aware writing that knows what this game is and what it's trying to be. Spark wisely doesn't seek to do more than it's earned in this game, and I applaud it for knowing its limits. Also, I really like Spark as a character, particularly his grounded nature and apathy toward the situation at hand. He's a good person, but at the end of the day the guy really just want to pay rent more than anything else. His presence in the story makes for a really fun juxtaposition to some of the more serious elements that it tries to pull, and grounds the story through him.

Really the issues I had with the game were incredibly small, primarily that the final boss felt extremely underwhelming due to the unique "Super Spark" powerup that the player is given feels supremely underwhelming, and being able to die far easier in that fight kinda kills the tension of what could otherwise be a really cool moment. I wish to stress, though, that my issues with this game are minute, almost inconsequential, even, and I only feel a need to bring up my issues with what is otherwise an extremely solid and consistent title because I had a great time with the game and just wish it was *that* much more improved. It is very close to being a game I could call a modern classic, but something like the final boss and other, very minor quirks do stick out to me because I *want* this game to be excellent. As it stands though, it's a really great experience that I would absolutely recommend.

Spark The Electric Jester 2 brings the series in a bold, new direction compared to its predecessor, which is to say, Spark is fully Not in the game. Also it's in 3D now.

Spark The Electric Jester 2, or as I'm choosing to call it because I'm spiteful, Fark2, is a 3D platformer with some of the same combat elements as the first game, but with the notable change, of course, of being a 3D game.

I won't beat around the bush here, I don't think this game is very good whatsoever. There is genuinely nothing notable that I liked about my time with this game. Because I will surely go off on tangents about every minute instance of failure on which this game underperforms, I have opted to segment this part of the review, so as to maintain concision, and make my point as clearly as possible. I am going to discuss Fark2's gameplay, story, and presentation separately from one another.

Gameplay

Fark2 controls about how you would expect it to, you have a fast character who has a homing attack now, attacks that can help deal with enemies that cannot be dealt with by the homing attack, as well as a parry. Similarly to the previous game, Fark also has access to his own powerups, but not even close to the same amount as Spark had. Additionally, Fark has access to a few "special" moves that can be performed by holding a button and then pressing an alternate input.

With this core kit in mind, the tools given to the player would imply that the usage of all of the items within Fark's arsenal would be used, much like how Spark 1 heavily encouraged and featured the varied use of abilities and powerups to reach the end of a varied and interesting level. This implication, however, is wrong. In reality, very little of the kit given to you actually does end up being used, as the most effective tactics available could not possibly be simpler. I mean it without a shred of irony that every challenge that this game poses to you, outside of a boss fight, can be trivialized by simply running and jumping. This is because Fark is genuinely too fast for the levels, and the amount of space that he covers means that enemies, many jumps, and in some cases major portions of levels can just be ignored. By just running and jumping with the occasional homing attack, players can ignore 90% of Fark's auxiliary kit, including the special moves, the parry, and perhaps most damning, the powerups.

Levels in this game are often very open, and enemies do not populate enough of the space within the levels to actually be able to pose a threat to a player who is, literally, just running and jumping. Normally, I don't have an issue with level design that allows and encourages the player to speed through the level and even in some cases ignore mechanics for the sake of that speed, but I want to emphasize that this is The Entire Game that is like this. It almost feels as though, combined with the extremely generous health system, Fark2 makes genuinely no effort to actually try to kill the player, or worse, makes no effort to make the player adapt. The player creativity that was present in the first game is completely gone in this game, thanks in large part to the fact that the most effective tactic available is also the easiest tactic available.

A quote from Soren Johnson and Sid Meier, creators of the Civilization series, comes to mind, and I feel that this quote and the information that it presents can aptly highlight the issues present within this game's gameplay loop.

"Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game; One of the responsibilities of designers is to protect the player from themselves."

I find this quote to be particularly important in discussion of this because, well, the devs are blatantly not attempting to challenge the player enough to encourage them to engage with anything other than what works immediately, and the result it an uninteresting slog through a collection of straightaways with nothing of interest to break them up.

This game is not entirely a platformer, however. This game has a combat system and it would just *love it* if you were to engage with it, so it does throw you into several combat scenarios with bosses so as to not waste the effort made to animate punches and kicks. Unfortunately, while it is an instance in which the player has to do *something* other than run and jump, every boss encounter can also be trivialized, this time by spamming the attack button mercilessly until the opponent falls to the ground in about 45 seconds. Now, I played the game on normal difficulty, and I don't always think that games should be super super hard all the time, but I do think that a boss encounter of a kind shouldn't go down in 45 seconds in a third person action game-style combat system on the baseline difficulty of the game. Because of how absolutely spineless the bosses themselves are, they feel pointless and kinda pathetic, really.

To conclude the section on gameplay; Fark2 does not make enough of an effort to actually make the player use any of their advanced tools, regardless of how success within the game is defined. Because of this lack of interest in making a player engage with the game, the game is boring and feels meaningless to play.

2. Story

Fark2's story fails to captivate, or even begin to intrigue me for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which being that I find Fark, the middling "edgy version of the MC" from the last game not particularly interesting or compelling. Fark2 doesn't actually do much with any of its story beats, and creates countless plot hooks that are never resolved, such is the case with the majority of the game's bosses, Float, Flint and Double, all of whom the player learns next to nothing about except that they're working with a somehow edgier clone of Fark named E.J. and that makes them bad, because of course it does.

The story culminates in a predictable and uninteresting "I was created by the enemy" notion, the likes of which we've seen countless times, notably, in the series' influence. I am not kidding when I say it, Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) does Fark2's core story better than Fark2 does.

Of course, a lot of games have predictable, or otherwise simple larger plots that are saved by good or writing that has a lot of character, so does Fark2 have that?

Absolutely not, not even a little. Get a look at this line, to see what I'm talking about.

The overly edgy, completely ironic way that this game plays itself is not only annoying to try to make sense of, but also refuses to go all the way with it. Every character comes off as edgy, but not edgy enough to where I can even begin to see the cheesiness that they're going for. After a certain point you begin to just tune out as secondhand embarrassment begins to set in.

The writing style that was so endearing about the few instances in the first game where dialogue would happen, particularly the tongue-in-cheek tone, is completely missing from this game, and comparing the two's writing styles to one another feels like night and day. It's dissonant to play these games one after the other, as they feel completely unrecognizable from one another.

It's so obvious that the writers want you to like Fark really badly, but they don't give him anything to latch on to as a character to actually make him likable. Comparisons between Spark and Fark as protagonists are unavoidable, but the most notable point in which the two diverge where Spark succeeds and Fark doesn't is that Fark fails to provide almost any input into the story itself, getting pointed in countless different directions for one reason or another, or for no reason at all. Fark feels like an engine to move through a story that he both is and isn't the center of, whereas Spark feels intentionally disconnected to events at hand because he doesn't particularly care about them.

Speaking of Spark, where is he? They mention him once as "being off enjoying a blank check" but that begs the question, why didn't they name the game "Fark the Electric Jester?" It's just supremely weird to me that in a game named after a specific character, that character has actually NO on screen presence. In some way, it feels like false advertising. And, considering that the devs are billing it as the *same series* the writing inconsistencies seem even more dissonant. If this were a spin off I would get it but it's not! Why is it named after a character who isn't in the game? This is like if the next Shantae game was called Shantae: The Curse of Driftwood, and then the game has no appearance of Shantae herself, and you're locked into playing as Rottytops.

The story of Fark2 fails on so many fundamental levels that I can't say that it's worth it to watch any of the cutscenes. It suffers issues on several fronts, from unsatisfying conclusions, plot contrivances, pointless characters, an attempt at intrigue that fails spectacularly, and a protagonist who is extremely easy to dislike.

There's one thing I didn't hate about this game's story, and that's that it does do the super form better than the first game did, but only because it wore a sickening amount of Dragon Ball on its sleeves.

3. Presentation

First, to get this out of the way, this game has some fun butt rock songs to play in boss fights, despite how lame those fights themselves are. I appreciate the attempt there, but music choice in this game is really quite odd.

There's no way I can put it politely, this game is not satisfying to look at. The textures are passable at best, the area design is really quite same-y and the model work for many characters is butt ugly. The two former problems I can pass, they're still problems, but I feel that the issue of the models cannot be as easily forgotten.

The way that these characters are executed in 3D is, disappointing to say the least, exacerbated by the fact that are that you see *in game* has every one of these characters looking far better than they do here! I'm consistently left confused about what happened here to make all of these characters look like they have all of their features stickered onto their face, which is genuinely just a sphere.

I genuinely like all of these character designs! I think that everyone here looks cute or cool in some degree, but to have such an uncanny representation of them in-game does a legitimate disservice to these characters. I know 3D modelling is hard, I get it, but there should be a point, I feel, where a product isn't ready to be implemented into a build of the game, and none of the models of these characters were ready yet.

In Conclusion about Fark2:

Fark2 fails at just about everything it sets out to do, it's largely uncool, uninteresting, boring, and I don't feel that it is worth your time, and especially not your money. It's gameplay, story and presentation aren't anything special, and it isn't even "so bad it's good." This game is painfully mediocre, and I would believe it if this game were something of a demo for the following entry in the series. Clearly, someone felt that this game is as pointless as I feel it is, because every one of its levels were used as late game extra content in Spark the Electric Jester 3.

Spark The Electric Jester 3 is another 3D platformer, but makes significant improvements to everything that Fark2 tries to accomplish.

First and foremost, Spark the Electric Jester 3 manages to provide fast-paced, fun core gameplay that actually necessitates challenge to the player in both combat and platforming sections. Spark, as the rightful playable character in this game, has access to a large arsenal of combat and movement abilities, which are unlocked from an ingame shop, which serves to naturally encourage the player to learn each move as they can afford it. Spark can also double jump, as well as charge a dash forward that can be used in midair. Despite there not being much more than there was in Fark2 from a platforming perspective, the platforming of this game is far more satisfying as the levels themselves are actually made with Spark's movement and abilities in mind. Levels will frequently push back against you, and require that you at least manage a degree of skill to succeed.

On the combat of things, everything has been revamped to allow combat encounters to feel like anything more than a spam fest. In Spark3, players are encouraged to earn stunlocks against opponents in order to maximize the amount of damage that they can pull off off of one option. Additionally, use of the parry is more difficult, but no less required, making each combat encounter with lots of enemies into a test to see if the player can manage their combo strings while avoiding or parrying enemy attacks simultaneously. Again, compared to some of the action games that this gameplay loop is commonly accredited to, it's a bit more barebones still, however as it isn't the whole focus of the title, and the sections where the pure combat sections are used are somewhat far between, the combat doesn't get old and remains a welcome refresher when platforming could risk getting monotonous.

Spark3 sees the return of powerups, again, however the player doesn't actually get many of them at all in a normal intended playthrough, really only getting maybe one of them for certain. I got to play with the Reaper powerup during my playthrough as I managed to defeat a certain boss who was supposed to beat me on my first attempt on him, and I think that this is a really interesting way to handle the powerups. Each powerup has much of the same fundamental kit, so players are never left wondering how to input something compared to Spark's normal moveset. I found this powerup implementation to be rewarding, but I felt myself wanting more upgrades to unlock in more apparent ways throughout one playthrough.

Level design in Spark 3 is extremely varied, and consistently visually and mechanically engaging the whole way through! This game works on the basis of certain "worlds" that unlock as the player progresses, sorta like how more rooms of Peach's castle will open at certain amounts of stars in Super Mario 64. Each level within these "worlds" are themed around a specific concept, like a city in a state of riot, an airport/rocket launch facility, or a militarized jungle. The theming of these areas doesn't just account for visuals, however, as each of the areas themselves are also considered for what could be interesting gameplay-wise. For example, one level in the airport level sees a plane crashing and Spark having to escape, in a rare timed level with strong wind mechanics attempting to throw the player off. Or, in the rioting city level, players can jump off of crowds of protestors for a boost, and use a helicopter in brief, but consistently solid vehicle sections. Speaking of, I adore the car sections. Spark3 starts in a car section and I adored every second of it. It's a thunderous, no-nonsense beginning to the game that served to really effectively set a tone that had me down for anything as soon as it started.

Despite being "down for anything" Spark 3 does lose me in one area. I don't think that it's story is very good, really. My primary issues with the story are that, despite far better writing, this game fails to actually deliver on any of the hooks that it puts out, and seems far more interested, for some fuckin reason, on fleshing out characters from Fark2, specifically the main bosses from Fark2, at least two of which are presumed dead at the end of that game. While there is *a degree* of plot relevance that there could be, in that Float, one of the presumed dead bosses from the previous game, appears to have returned, and seems sad about having dead friends. I take issue with the notion of how this is done however, because Float doesn't actually tell Spark anything, and instead this information is exhibited through stylized 16 bit cutscenes, which while looking cool, take up significantly more runtime in the story than is necessary, especially considering how this story ends.

My BIGGEST issue with Spark3's story is its *egregious* ending, which I will warn prospective players about spoilers for if they're averse to that sort of thing, BUT the rest of this paragraph will concern these spoilers. Spark3 ends in a way that couldn't have been seen from three feet ahead of you. Spark3's ending is, no joke, comparable to NieR Automata and Neon Genesis Evangelion. There's nothing wrong with an ending like that art has, I quite like endings like that, but mostly because art like NieR or NGE EARN their endings, by laying consistent plot threads the whole runtime about something mysterious. Spark3 does *not* do this, and instead pulls it out as shockingly as possible. The entire game is predicated on "Spark has to go and remove Fark, who has become something of a dictator, from power, as he's militarized most of the world using the Fark Force." Now, this is a novel concept, cute even! I really hate Fark, so I'm down to bring him down a peg! But upon reaching the end of the game Spark reaches Fark, who doesn't want to fight him, and instead explains to Spark that both of them have been in a simulation for 3000 years, and Float, a character who's past we learned a lot about in this game, was actually a fake created by the simulation arbitrator, Clarity, in order to lure Spark toward it's own goals. Notably, there have been ABSOLUTELY NO notable clues that the world was a simulation. Additionally, in a near final boss moment, they make you play as Fark, which pissed me off personally, but that's not empirical it's just something I didn't like. The issue with Spark3's story is that it spends five hours of runtime satisfied in the status quo of it's normality, while it attempts to end with something that would have been far more effective, and far less jarring if there were ANY foreshadowing AT ALL. Because Spark3 doesn't have an interest in actually encouraging the player to think about how the game outside of the typical "big simple punch off" fare, it doesn't work to implement something as left field as the ending that is in the game. Additionally, the game ends on a discussion between Fark and Spark, who are dead, and have been dead, about the importance of keeping moving forward, really played pretty straight, no jokes, no irony, then immediately after the credits roll is a Friday Night Funkin reference. Tonal inconsistency is *so* rampant throughout this ending.

The ending, regardless of if you did or did not read the previous paragraph, left me so dissatisfied with the game that my opinion on this game soured significantly, to the point where on stream I actively did not recommend the game to viewers because of the ending.

To conclude, Spark3 is a game with a really excellent gameplay loop that doesn't leave a lot to be desired, and consistently seeks to challenge the player while also giving them opportunities to experiment with new and fun toys that consistently spice up the gameplay loop whenever present. Despite the quality of the gameplay, this game's story is not only unfulfilling, but also useless within the context of the game itself. There are two cutscenes that matter, and they're the ones before and after the final bosses. I would recommend Spark3 to someone looking for an exemplary gameplay experience, however I wouldn't begin to recommend the game to someone who wants a deep or interesting story.

Now that I've discussed each game at length, I'd like to conclude with a short review of the series as a whole. S

park, when the direction accounts for potential shortcomings, is extremely fun, however the series' writing is consistently passable at best, with some egregious exceptions that make it hard to not skip every cutscene after a while.

Spark 1 is a really fun and interesting romp through a variety of interesting levels in 2d, with an overall fun atmosphere that doesn't seek to take itself too seriously, much to it's benefit. Complete with a multitude of gameplay styles and extreme encouragement of player creativity, it's an excellent way to satisfy a 2D speed platformer itch.

Fark 2 is awful.

Spark 3 takes consistent points from Spark 1 regarding player creativity, visual diversity, wealth of content, and attention to fun and engaging experiences that makes it easy to recommend for it's gameplay and visuals. However, the game's story takes itself far more seriously than it earns, much like Fark2 did to no avail, and the story becomes worse because of it.

If you'd like to watch these playthroughs for yourself, they're all up on my YouTube channel linked below! Thanks so much for reading!

[holofoiltowercard]

The Journey of The Tarot Haiku

III: The Empress - Creativity

I had previously talked about what art software I used to create my digital illustrations for the book, and now I would like to share my actual process of creating the illustrations.

Even in the early stages, when I was contemplating the fact that writing two poems for all 78 Tarot cards would mean a minimum of 156 poems, I thought to myself, I don't necessarily want to limit myself to just the cards. Why not round it out and include a poem about each of the Suits as I introduce them? Why not include the number system that had been so beneficial to my own understanding in general? However, at that point I realized that it might not be best to represent these concepts with the cards themselves. I could have, of course, used the cards for the numbers - it might have been interesting to line up all the aces, twos, threes, etc. to show how the numbers are expressed in the Minor Arcana. But for poems representing the individual Suits, what card should I pick? And what card would best represent the Major Arcana? Or reversals, or the matter of context? The idea of using cards for all of these and having them repeat throughout didn't feel quite right to me.

At any rate, I would have to design a cover for the book, so if I was going to do that, why not see if I can make some simple but effective illustrations for some of the content as well?

This was my first time doing vector art, which was a bit of a challenge, but I was surprised to discover that it wasn't really difficult so much as a little fiddly. It was crucial that it be vector art, because it is based on mathematical calculation of the curvatures, and no matter what size you enlarge it to, it will stay crisp and clean. I had no idea what size the final product might be, and so I wanted to ensure that even when resized, the images would look nice.

I very quickly settled on a color scheme: there is something elegant and magical to me about a deep ocher gold accented by black and white. I wanted to keep the cover simple to begin with: my resources were limited (not stunning photography and editing for me), and it is self-published, so why not allow it to look like a single person made it with everything they had? It's true! So I set out to create some vector illustrations with my color palette all set.

The number system was discussed in a previous post, and it was a no-brainer to use dots and lines to construct the shapes. I made a new file, used the same dimensions and fitted all of them carefully within the same sized space. Some of them look larger than others, which is the price you pay when you are drawing shapes that are less bulky than a square.

Then came the Court Personalities, which were all modeled after individual Court Carts (the Page of Swords, Knight of Cups, Queen of Wands and King of Pentacles, respectively), and to keep the illustrations mostly a lighter color, I made the clothes golden and the faces black to show that the rank is what stays consistent, and the individuals themselves may be any of the Suits. I then designed the Suits and drew their symbols, mostly free style, keeping them simple.

By far my favorite was the illustration I did for the Major Arcana, and had I not settled on the cover looking like a simple card back, I might have used this as the cover illustration:

That is all for now! I hope you enjoyed these, and thank you for reading!

Buy the ebook

Buy the paperback

Buy the hardcover

[tonberry-yoda]

Whohooo, my timer rang, it’s the 7th!🥳🤣 (At least in my country, so I hope, sending my request now is okay?👀)

First off: I wish you so so much fun with your first event. Like I already said, the idea is amazing and I’m looking forward to every single post.🥰 So, here is my soul striptease:

I’m a cisgender woman and therefore I use the pronouns she/her. I‘m bisexual but on a spectrum I tend a little bit more towards men, at least at the moment.

My favourite fandom is Hunter X Hunter and I would be more than happy about something romantic.

For characters I don‘t want to be paired with, I would say Leorio (I could only teach him some medical stuff but that’s how romantic as it would get) and the more than obvious Tonpa?!😂 And no minors oc because I‘m old.

My personality… I can find humour in everything and like to laugh a lot but at times I can be somewhat melancholic and dark-minded… which I kind of like. I‘m very adventurous and open minded and never actually judge people… each to their own, I like to say. When it comes to friendship I‘m loyal as fuck (honestly I would cover up murder for my friends) buuuut in relationships I tend to get easily bored. My s/o should have high intellect (I hate smalltalk) and somehow needs to excite me… even some drama can be quite entertaining for me from time to time. When it comes to love I’m multilingual: Physical touch, quality time and gifts are my love languages but it’s very rare that I’m verbal about my feelings. Other than that, I‘m hopelessly romantic and - when good entertained - I’m passionate and head over heels. I enjoy art in every shape or form… doesn’t matter if it’s music, visual arts or literature. Generally I just like to look at pretty things (or people) and admire their beauty (sounds kind of creepy, but I’m not a creep, just an aesthete, promise!😐) My hobby’s are singing, writing and painting, even on people’s faces, cause I‘m pretty good when it comes to make up and hair (idk why), which I enjoy doing for others. How I present myself… I have pretty long wavy black hair, light green eyes and I always always always wear black. I’m more short than tall and quite petite. My style is simple but chic, I would say. Sometimes I enjoy wearing heavy make up and statement jewellery - but that depends on my mood. Oh, and I’m the biggest Parfumjunky I know of, so I’m always smelling of at least something. When it comes to how I behave in front of others, I‘m talkative and quite extroverted. When going out or just spending time with others, I’m always the last to call it a night, cause I enjoy deep conversations so much (also, you can sleep when your dead so why taking the risk of missing something exciting?). But there are times where I need to be by myself and I need space. By others I sometimes tend to get received as cold or even arrogant at first sight (resting bitch face going strong) but when they get to know me they’re surprised how chill I actually am (or that’s what they have told me at least 😂). My quirks are definitely that I can be very impulsive (even when it comes to big decisions) and that I’m so so SO impatient. VERY IMPATIENT.🥸 When it comes to music, there’s less that I don’t like: I love metal and rock, dark classical music, sometimes even minimal and house but never ever would I listen to girlpop! (Don’t come at me Taylor 👀) And yeah, that’s that. Thank you so so much for your work und making my evenings more entertaining.♥️🖤

notes💌: hello love! happy valentine's day <333 I am SO HAPPY that you asked for hunter x hunter because it is one of my top animes! Like literally my most nostalgic and literally at the top (dont tell jjba i said that) (and a lot of people dont know that about me lol) but yes! I love this anime and had so much fun reading your matchup and thank you for participating in this event <33333

The character Cupid chooses for you this Valentine's day is...

HISOKA!

i have had a really bad brainrot for this man so thank you for the excuse to geek about him <3

you and him both have a humor that can turn dark and everyone will kinda look at you funny, but neither of you care because that's how you two get along

that's probably how you met

you told some dark joke and the entire room went silent until you saw hisoka chuckling in the corner and from there, you two were inseparable

you're both not very judgemental people and it's perfect that you arent because hisoka is A LOT and that is something that you love about him because he is willing to be a whole lot in a lil package and bring so much pizazz to the relationship

you were both really loyal friends who would do anything for each other (you have hidden bodies for him lmfao and he for you ofc) and because of that, it made your relationship so easy to start

also, i figured i'd put you with hisoka instead of someone like illumi because you will NEVER get board in a relationship with him. NEVER

you two always have something to talk about or do as a couple and you are just never complaining

THIS MAN OWNS EVERY LOVE LANGUAGE

he doesnt mind that you arent as verbal though because you give him enough of what he needs

but do expect A LOT from him

words, cuddles, flowers, acts of service, ALL OF IT <3

you two are both very romantic people who are head over heels for each other tbh lmaooo

he is definitely a piece of art to admire, that's for sure, so you get to stare at him a lot and he actually loves it. boosts his ego lmao

and he'll do the same, he'll just admire you and tell you how beautiful you are

PLEASE OH GOD PLEASE DO HIS MAKEUP

he will love you even more, which is surprising tbh

you two match all the time, even when being casual

not wearing the same clothes, but having the same aesthetic for the day

sometimes yall even clash cuz it looks awesome

you're just iconic powerhouses

he loves you so so much because you match his energy

you and him are both very much people people, so you get to enjoy A LOT of nights out together partying and just having too much fun

he will definitely give you the space you need, but honestly, he cant be away from you for too long, so he'll just stay with you in silence if you need it

cuddles are a great recharge for the two of you

*cough cough* he thinks its hot that other people think that you are kinda mean. it just means you can protect yourself. your rbf is hot to him

he knows how sweet you are thought and will never ever make you out to be a rude person

he hypes you up always

he can definitely help with the impulses and try to get you to not, but lets be real, he's just as impulsive and sometimes encourages it lmfaooo

he plays girly pop in the house to annoy you lmaoooo

but nonetheless, he loves you with all of his heart and soul and is proud to call you his partner for life <3

💌 How would he ask you to be his valentine??

this man does it in the cheesiest way possible tbh. he would make candy hearts that say will you be my valentine and lay them out on the table with chocolates, a bouquet of roses and 2 teddy bears to look like the two of you! you would come downstairs to a total surprise and hisoka would surprise sneak attack you with a hug and ask you verbally if you want to be his valentine. of course you say yes, so the man attacks you with kisses

💌 Valentine's Day Date

You and Hisoka had spend time with friends all week long and now Valentine's day was your day to spend together. You didn't want to have to go out and about and around other people, you just wanted to spend time together and be in each other's presence. "Are you almost ready, dear?" Hisoka asked, clipping on his earrings. The two of you decided to grab some drinks and then go on a late night walk together. You thought the idea was amazing and very peaceful after a long week. "Yes, I'm ready!" You came out in a black dress that suit you perfectly and Hisoka couldn't help but smile. "Oh, love," he walked over to you and grabbed both of your hands. "You look amazing." "Thank you," you said, pressing a kiss onto Hisoka's cheek, leaving a little lipstick mark. "You look amazing too." "Oh, hush." He gave you a playful smack on the arm and you two walked out the door. --- After you two grabbed a quick drink, you decided to walk around a very empty trail. You two talked for hours, just enjoying each other's company and the fresh air you had been craving all week long. You walked until you couldn't feel your legs and all you were doing was laughing and holding Hisoka's hand. "I have an idea," Hisoka said slyly when he spotted a lone lake. "Do you wanna try something?" You gave Hisoka a skeptical look, but took his hand that he outstretched to you. "Sure, why not?" Hisoka ran over to the lake and stripped down, making you blush. "Hisoka, what are you-" You were immediately covered in water as he cannonballed into the lake. He brushed his wet hair out of his eyes and laughed. "Come on, y/n!" You laughed and followed suit, jumping in the water with him. The two of you splashed around for a while and then, when you got too cold, crawled out, wrapping up in your dry clothes. You laid on the cold dirt together with your hands interlocked and looked at the stars. "I love you, Hisoka." "I love you too. Happy Valentine's day." <3

~~~~~

mystery date rules | pinned post @tonberry-yoda

[adobe-outdesign]

Can we get a review of Tinkaton and her line since there’s scans of its sugi art floating around now? I love the murder muppets

The Tinkatink line is honestly one of the best lines in terms of overall concept we've gotten in a while. "Small cute Pokemon with hammer" isn't really that remarkable on its own, but the fact that they're part fairy-type and go from being bullied by steel-types to making their hammer out of their body parts and using said hammers to attack them is absolutely incredible. It not only lends to some great worldbuilding (like how Corviknight aren't used for flying taxis in Paldea because Tinkaton keep launching rocks at them), but throughly explains why they have their object and where they get it from, something Pokemon holding objects sometimes struggle with.

Tinkatink itself is fine, looking appropriately pathetic and being a fun little abstract gremlin. I really like how the future hammer is only a nub in this stage; it looks somewhat hammer-y but also resembles a rattle, giving it a slightly baby-ish vibe without going overboard with it.

Visually, I like the super funky mouth (Forretress, eat your heart out). However, I do think the colors are a bit weird; pink on Slightly Lighter pink makes for barely-visible shading, and it's strange that the hair is like half pink and half cream rather than it just being all cream like its evos.

I'm also not a huge fan of the metal diamond on the chest. It's really weird that it goes down past the start of the legs and above the neck; it creates a lot of weird tension points and overall looks way to big relative to the rest of the body. The eyes also look weirdly flat, mostly because the line for the highlights is diagonal instead of curved. It's got the right idea, but could've been refined a bit.

Tinkatuff comes dangerously close to bland transitional middle evo, but I think it just barely scrapes by. This is mostly because of the hair style (ponytail instead of longer hair), the hands being all-pink without the cream of Tinkaton, and the in-progress hammer.

I do think it could've been visually differentiated a bit more however. Tinkatuff has the same metal bits around its waist as Tinkaton, just less of them; it could've easily had metal "boots" or bracers; something that's substantially different than the other stages. I also feel like the legs could've had some cream on them, or the hair to be rounded at the base instead of zig-zagged; once again, just stuff to differentiate it a bit more.

I also wonder if they could've done something more fun with the hammer at this point. It doesn't really look like it should be able to hit things with it at this stage, and while I get the idea of it being "built up", I feel like it could've been a bit less literal about it. Maybe the hammer is more of a baseball bat at this stage; some other blunt-force weapon that makes sense in-between that could be something unique for Tinkatuff to own. None of this is a huge deal obviously—it's not bad as is—it just would've helped to make it stand out a bit more on its own.

All that said, I have virtually no quibbles with Tinkaton's design. The stupidly oversized hammer is delightful, and I love the shape of it and how you can clearly tell it's cobbled together out of a bunch of different parts. I also like how the metal bits around the waist resemble blacksmithing tools, appropriate for its concept.

Tinkaton also has a lot more cream in its design than its pre-evos, which work to break up the body. This is also helped by the zig-zag markings in the hair, which are paralleled by the top of the hammer. The shape of the hair also gives a more unique silhouette than Tinkaton's otherwise very simple body would allow for.

If I had one minor nitpick, it would be that the thumbs being pink feels a bit random and makes them feel disconnected from the rest of the hands; it probably would've made more sense for them to either be cream or have all the fingers be pink-tipped for consistency. Everything else, however, looks solid.

Overall, while there are a few small things I think could've been improved with the pre-evos, this is a very strong line with unique visuals and a brilliant concept. Instantly iconic.