#but also idk I want a more cohesive look if that makes any sense

[finex09]

been trying to get into astrology right and one of the things I’ve been looking into is trying to use my rising/Venus sign to add a lil oomph to my personal style and OUGH

I have two completely different signs for them, I’ve got a Leo Venus and a Cancer Rising and the aesthetics for the two signs are SO wildly different I feel. do not know how to merge both vibes.

SAD!

[pixelglam]

hey amelie! i just wanted to ask, how long did it take for you to learn how to build? did you watch youtube tutorials or anything like that? idk, i’ve always wanted to build a house for my own sims but it’s so hard for me to like what i’ve made. did you feel this way too? do you have any tips? sorry i’m such a yapper 😭 have a great day! <3

Hello! Watching simmers like bojanasims, lilsimsie and simlicy on youtube helped me a lot especially when I started building lots myself about one and a half years ago! I listed a few tips for you below!

I also received a similar message from another anon so I'll be answering both here. 🤍

'hiii i recently discovered your yt channel and i love your builds. how did you improve your building skills and how do you make your builds so realistic? 🩵'

Study Real Architecture: Look at real-life houses, apartments, and buildings to understand architectural styles, layouts, and details. This can give you inspiration and ideas for your own builds. My favorites are pinterest and real estate/architect websites.

Plan Your Build: Before starting, come up with a plan and layout for the build. Decide on the overall style (modern, traditional, etc.), number of rooms, color scheme and any special features you want to include.

Get Acquainted with The Basics: Understand the basic tools and controls in Build Mode. Practice using the wall tool, room tool, roof and terrain tools to create a solid foundation for all your builds. There are a lot of really informative tutorials on youtube! (important for beginners)

Pay Attention to Scale and Proportions: Ensure that rooms, windows, doors, and furniture are proportionate to each other. This helps in creating a realistic and cohesive look.

Use Realistic Colors and Textures: Choose colors and textures that are realistic and complement each other well. Consider the overall color scheme of the house and how different materials blend together.

Add Detailing: Pay attention to small details like trim around windows and doors, roof overhangs, and landscaping. These details can make a big difference in the overall appearance of your build.

Experiment with Roofing and Terrain: Roofs and landscaping can significantly impact the realism of your build. Experiment with different roof shapes, angles, and materials. Use terrain tools to create realistic slopes and landscaping features.

Furnish Thoughtfully: When furnishing your builds, think about how real people would use the space. Arrange furniture in a way that makes sense functionally and aesthetically.

Utilize Custom Content (CC): Explore custom content to expand your options for building, furniture and decorative items. This can often help to create a more realistic look as well.

Seek Feedback and Learn from Others: Share your builds in sims discord groups or on Simblr to ask for feedback and look for inspiration. Look at tutorials and speed builds by other players/creators to learn new techniques and tricks. (please don't copy or steal other people's builds to post online though)

Practice Regularly: Like any skill, building in The Sims 4 improves with practice. Experiment with different styles and challenge yourself with more complex builds over time.

Have Fun and Be Creative: Building in The Sims 4 is a creative outlet, so enjoy the process and don't be afraid to try new things in your designs.

[andromedastarrs]

Hey i have a request what would be the type of partner for miguel o’hara ? Thanks if you write this

Miguel O'Hara's Type (S/O) - SFW Headcanons

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Hey Anon!! You're my very first Anon lol this is so very exciting for me, I hope you enjoy my headcanons for Mr.O'Hara's type!!🤞💙❤️

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Miguel doesn't date people for the way they look - so if you're hoping for him to look your way because you're conventionally attractive you're outta luck.

What I mean by this is that he's definitely more of the type to look at someone's actions/inner beauty.

I think Miguel likes individuals that are independent, financially and whatnot. I don't picture him as the type to enjoy babying (I mean this as in taking care of everything for them lol) his partner. However that does NOT mean that he doesn't enjoy getting them gifts and helping them out when they need it.

I think he'd want his partner to be patient. It's no secret that he can be explosive when angry and can sort of act like there's a switch in his head when it comes to his emotions, so having someone that is naturally patient is something that he would definitely look for.

I think he'd look for someone who has different interests/hobbies than him. I feel like he gets bored easily, so having an S/O that has interests he knows little about would peak his curiosity and would sorta act like brain food?? Does that make sense?

In general he would look for someone who is the tender opposite of him, tender meaning that you'd have to be different enough to be interesting but not too different to where you guys have clashing opinions on absolute everything.

Miguel is noooooooot into excessive public PDA, so he'd look for someone who shares that same opinion as him. He doesn't mind hand holding, making each other laugh in public, etc, but he will absolutely never do anything raunchy in public-

Doesn't like pessimistic people.

He'd look for someone who puts effort into their hygiene and general public appearance. AGAIN he is not into people just for their looks, but he IS into people who care about how they present themselves. Does that make sense?? Like he doesn't care if you're Goth, Emo, Coquette, "Basic", etc - he'd be into any aesthetic as long as his partner smells nice and has a cohesive look. (I tried my best to explain but hopefully you get the pic.)

Definitely not into lazy people or people who lack life goals- he wants someone who has a reason to keep going at it in life. Also... don't make him your reason to keep going, he wants you to be independent of him, remember?

I think he'd like people who are into skincare because I headcanon that he's into that 😭🙌. No this does NOT mean he is only looking for someone with clear skin, people can have good skincare routines and still have acne, etc.

He'd look for someone who accepts his past obviously. Also I say this because I think that his backstory is something that's gonna have him traumatized till the end, meaning that idk how he'd feel about kids with his S/O...is it just me that thinks he wouldn't be into it? I think he'd be too scared of losing either you or the possible kid, so instead he'd rather avoid having them again.

(On that note, if you are someone who wants kids I think he'd slowly, but genuinely consider it. He'd probably go to therapy to make sure he's in the right headspace as well.)

Is it a controversial headcanon to say that I don't think Miguel would look for a specific gender to date? I think he'd just genuinely look for a connection.

He'd look for someone who's an early bird like him, he wants to wake up around the same time as his S/O. However I don't think this applies to bedtime, since he has work to do and probably stays up late, he wouldn't wanna hurt his S/O's physical health.

Sorry guys I do not think Miguel likes pets, I think he likes his home tidy and clean. I think he'd lose a sense of control after everything that happened to him, and having a clean home gives him back some sense of control of his life. Maybe a few years into the relationship (after you've moved in) he'd be ok with pets but definitely not at the start.

Also, just because he doesn't want pets doesn't mean he isn't good with animals.

He'd look for someone who is a foodie, I think Miguel is one himself, so he'd look for someone that has the same eating habit of trying new foods. He'd also want this because I think he'd like making them try out recipes. :')

He'd look for someone who doesn't mind quiet days where the both of you barely talk but enjoy each other's presence.

It's no secret that Miguel has an erratic schedule, so he'd love to find someone with a very flexible schedule so that they could always make time for eachother. :')

Unless you are genuinely mature for your age (21+ acting/behaving 26+, don't be weird, thanks) I don't think he'd go for someone significantly younger than him. 🤞Also I think him being 27 makes sense but idek how old this man is because I can't find a certain answer anywhere.

He'd look for someone who can make him laugh. 🥹 He needs more happiness in his life.

On that note he definitely likes people that are optimistic and happy, people who just radiate warm energy. People that are genuinely kind.

Does not like people who try to purposely annoy him, sorry folks.

Also, yes he's handsome. But I headcanon that he wouldn't want someone who's just into him because of the way he looks. And he can always tell.

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[mollyrolls]

idk how to make this into one cohesive thing I'm sorry tumblr user mollyrolls ily <3333

please god I need this for sakusa I am on my KNEES, gunslinger, wanted sign, you choose the overall theme just PLEASE go easy on me if it's angst I beg

here in LONESOME TOWN... @jadeoru and @nectardaddy are

✪ tied between a rock and a hard place

tags: sakusa x gn!reader, enemies to lovers, gunslinger, "left for dead", angst

warnings: implied abandonment, language, bodily harm, more i forget

an: too many words syndrome rears its head once more; thought too hard abt this, etc etc etc. sooo... this will be a part three lmfao. uhhh also not proofread or edited so be nice

wc: 881

PART ONE

mlist. ✪ event mlist.

“C’mon.”

“No.”

“We don’t have time for this.”

“I don’t care. I’m not going with you.”

Sakusa pinches his brow, clearly fed up with your antics. You’ve balked by his horse for the past five minutes, unable or unwilling to join him in the saddle to go home. 

Call it stubbornness, call it pride, whatever you want. You’d rather be back in the cave than be forced to ride with Kiyoomi for any period of time.

The heel of your boot slides against the gravel as you solidify your stance, arms crossed. 

Your final act of resistance seems to be the end of his patience, so he just shrugs. 

“Suit yourself.” 

He mounts the saddle in one fluid motion, barely giving you a courtesy look back. 

“I’ll probably end up at the inn just outside the canyons. If you manage to find your way out and come to your senses, find me there.”

With that, he spurred his horse on and they vanished into the inky darkness. Leaving you just as stranded as you were before. 

✪ ✪ ✪

“Stupid… Kiyoomi fucking… god.”

You’ve lost count of how long you’ve been out here. It’s been long enough that the sun has started to rise, alleviating some of the tension you’ve held all night. You felt safer knowing you had your gear, but a knife won’t do much good when a coyote’s already taken your leg off. 

It’s been a painful, restless night. And it’s your fault.

But that won’t stop you from blaming him. 

As you continue nudging the rock you’ve been kicking, you notice the road starts to change. Rather, the road starts to form in front of you. 

This means you’ll lose the tracks Kiyoomi left that you’d followed blindly, but at least you’re close enough to find something to eat. Maybe another stranger that can help you along, rather than be stuck riding with… him… all the way home.

A small building materializes on the horizon, large enough to be an inn of sorts. For the first time in ages, you start hoping to run into him again. 

It takes you a bit longer to get there, the building seeming more like a mirage the longer you walk. But you know this is at least the right track to getting home, so you trudge on.

Finally you approach the wooden building, and notice Sakusa’s horse tied up right outside. It’s impossible to miss. The all black coat, the memories lingering around her, the sleek saddle donning her back. 

Feeling a bit self conscious, you move towards the horse rather than the door. You’re not ready to eat crow quite yet.

“Hey there.”

Her ears whip around to identify you, but you know her tricks. She used to be yours, after all. 

Finding the crevice on her back that she loves the most, you start to pet her as a means of distraction.

“I… hmm. You were rig… I’m so- sorr. Ugh.”

Any attempts to prepare what you’re going to say fall short, feeling gross in your mouth.

You stay with her a bit longer, struggling to think of anything other than an insult directed towards him. After one particularly affectionate sigh from the horse, you momentarily consider stealing her back and leaving him stranded in the end. It would serve him right.

Rapidly deciding that this is the optimal decision, the two of you snap to attention when a floorboard creaks.

Sakusa is standing around the corner, looking caught. It seems like he’d been there longer than he’d let on and is silently swearing his readjustment. 

The open plains feel smothering as the two of you stand there once again, awfully reminiscent of past experiences. Last night, of course, and the night he broke your heart in the first place.

✪ ✪ ✪

You had noticed in your far off consciousness some movement to your left. It’s foggy, sleep was still overwhelming you, but you definitely felt the mattress rise as Sakusa left your side. 

Normally, you would have let it be. But gut feelings are nasty beasts, and even in your fitful sleep you could tell something was wrong. 

A few minutes passed, and he didn’t return. Not in the bathroom then. 

You had risen from the bed and followed his traces through the house. You finally came across him outside, untying your horse from her post.

“What are you doing?” You couldn’t help the accusatory tone that leaves you, despite trying to hold it back. 

He stills, reigns still gripped tight in his hands.

“I’ve… I’ve got a job outside of town. I shouldn’t be gone long.”

You had taken him for his word then. You knew what he did, and you knew it was not out of the ordinary to have an early morning assignment. 

You’d ignored the coiling in your stomach, kissed him goodbye, and returned to a fitful sleep. 

When he didn’t come back that morning, you’d naively assumed it was just taking longer than he thought.

When he didn’t come back the next morning, you’d accepted that he was dead.

But when you saw him just outside of town, three months later, galloping away at full speed atop your prized horse, you swore to all that was holy that you’d never forgive Sakusa Kiyoomi for breaking your heart.

to be continued...

taglist! fill out here

@nectardaddy, @aozui, @wyrcan, @jadeoru, @mjustag1rl,

@eggyrocks @bakery-anon, @chaotic-neutral-ig, @angee444, @introvertsince2003,

@kameyyy, @bakingcuriosity, @anniewings, @nobodybutnnoorr, @kr1nqu

[oskidontle]

Heya just discovered your AU recently and I'm really enjoying it I have some questions though 1. how did this start off? Like how did the hunger start manifesting and what were the very first signs? 2. is Mr boss evil? 3. what do the others think of the fact that pim starves himself of flesh? Do they encourage him to eat Orr? 4. Can they still eat normal food? And if so do they have like a strong adversion to it orr? 5. Who did the hunger take the biggest toll on mentally 6. Are you planning on making some sorta comic or some other to tell your story I'm pretty sure there's a story here but mabye I'm wrong idk 7. How'd you come up with the designs for their hunger forms and the AU in general?

OG AU Post for the confused

1. The very first signs are subtle enough no one notices, not even themselves. The only evidence something is off is animals start to steer clear. Maybe they sense something more instinctual, feral, about their aura? Scent maybe? However it is, animals with their superior senses know something is wrong.

They didn't start noticing anything themselves until they started to see things in the mirror for just slight glimpses. Glimpses of something but they could never make out what.

It's only days from there when the cravings start. But many times someone can crave something and not know what it is they crave until they find it. As you can imagine, because of this, each of their first hunts were unexpected. As such, people can get caught in the crossfire. Important people.

It was unlucky that Pim had to learn what he was craving when he did.

2. Mr. Boss is not evil. But he has a job to do, one that he has been tending to for many years. 18 years to be precise. He hopes to complete his job soon enough.

3. Allan and Glep care but they don't try to stop him. Instead they just check up on him often, bring some drinks, normal food. They don't really know how to approach him in a way they perceive as meaningful.

Charlie despite his desperation for a way to fix all of it still encourages Pim to eat. He reasons with him that there is no point in Pim or any of them starving themselves. After all it always ends the same way, a loss of control and an inevitable rampage. Why loose control and possibly hurt someone you don't want to hurt, when at the very least the hunt let's you know the victim ahead of time.

It's not much of a compensation. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Unfortunately it's his own choice at the end of the day.

4. They can eat normal food, in fact they still have to. The Hunger has just added another part to their diet that their body perceives as crucial for survival.

5. That's hard to answer, depends on what you put value on in this toll. In my opinion I'd say it's either Glep or Pim.

6. Maybe, maybe not. If I'm honest I don't know yet. I might make occasional snippets of moments I imagine happening. They wouldn't be in chronological order, just whenever I feel like making them. If I don't make a master post later on then I would leave the chronological order left for any interested to piece together using context clues I leave throughout different posts.

Like I said, this is a big maybe. Ideally I would make a fic but I have never been able to finish a single chapter of a fic in my life. I loose focus too easy.

I have a story to tell but I suppose I haven't decided how I want to tell it

7. If you want me to be truly honest, I didn't think that much. I built lore after designs. I wanted them each to have a sort of gimmick going on while being kinda cohesive simultaneously. I also knew I didn't want to go with a hyper detailed or overly realistic look.

In-universe they probably look terrifying but to you or I, they look just kinda uncanny. A little gross.

After making the initial designs I started to come up with lore and adjusted details accordingly.

As for why I came up with it?

Two words: For fun! :)

[splatsvilles-fashionista]

Idk if you’re doing outfit requests, but any ideas for any of the side order gear?

I'm always down to talk about gear, and Side Order had a whole bunch of interesting stuff, so let's talk about them!

Let's start with the Order Suit Replica and Order Boot Replica, because I feel like these are very hard to separate. If you're using one you just kind of have to use the other, or they'll always look a bit out of place, but there is at least a bit of flexibility in the headwear slot.

On the note of headwear, I feel like if you want to wear the Parallel Mask with anything and have it not look wildly out of place, it's with the Order Suit and Order Boots. It's so weird and stark it can only really work as part of a costume, if that makes sense.

The narrowness of the Order Suit and Boot is not shared by the Order Earring Replica which... I didn't realize until now is barely visible in this image, but it's there. Anyway, the Order Earring is just a silver earring, and has such little impact on your overall outfit that it goes with almost literally anything you can imagine. It's essentially just "Cooler fake Contacts."

The Order Regulator Replica goes really well with the Order Suit/Boots, but while I think it's a bit too sci-fi to pass as a regular headset I do think you can work it into anything that looks appropriately futuristic.

I feel like the Pearl Plushie is on the more flexible side, but you probably want to pair it with lighter pastel tones, and there's not a lot of those. You could also pair it with the Pearlescent Hoodie and Kicks for a different spin on the Pearlie 'fit, if you have those.

Meanwhile, the Controller VM is just.... weird. It's really big and clunky, and I think you need to lean into the hi-tech look for it to make any sense in your outfit at all.

Hopefully that'll give you some direction to go off, and remember that your outfit doesn't have to be cohesive unless you want it to!

[conkorse]

Can I ask how you pick your colors? I'm very fascinated by it and how well it works with your style

sure i will try my best 2 explain !!! >_<

typically i start drawing my main subjects on a grey colored background. this makes it so my color range is alot larger than if i sketched and colored on a white/lighter background because the colors that surround your piece will affect how they are perceived. i will attach an example below:

as you can see the drawing on the left (which is a wip i havent posted this drawing yet lulz) heavys skintone changes to match the context of the colors in the background which when you compare that bg to the bg on the right it is much darker in comparison. i also simply wanted to play around with colors coz i try not to restrict myself in any capacity. coloring is the most fun part of drawing to me and part of that fun comes from imposing zero limitations on myself which is why alot of my art has the most stupid ass color combinations u will eva see #live #laf #lov

this is what my drawings typically look like once i finish the actual main subject of the piece as you can see scout n pyro are in a grey void gidbles them. i typically do backgrounds last (which is something i should prbably change up sometime soon) because i tend to create them around the main drawing and it makes it easier for me to make everything more cohesive in the end because i can make the background however i want to fit the main drawing. i do not recommend doing this 24/7 becoz then u will struggle with environmental backgrounds/perspective shit and other stuff which is something i want to get better at but struggle with alot hashtag supaaa mega sad hashtag noob lyfeee

as for coloring itself and choosing colors its really just a combination of experimentation (and by that i mean i go through so much of the color wheel before i decide on something) and intuition. i already have an idea of what looks good together well in mind because well ive spent quite alot of time fine tuning ermmm idk what 2 call it i guess my color sense ??? hallppp but anyways i really recommend not just using bright/neon colors exclusively! the best way to make colors pop is to couple them with more muted ones so the contrast is better evident btwn the two. OH ANDD i tend to try not to use straight up black and white/grey to portray those colors. for example if a character has ermm lets say a white shirt i wont use white or grey colors to depict it but rather maybe a light cyan orrr yellowy green :p

i also overuse textured brushes and patterns in my art alortttt (see abovee) HALP so maybe try that??? i use clip studio paint and there are so many rly awesome textured brushes that i overuse coz they r SUPAAAA epik. IDK im just rambling but your biggest take away from this should be to GO EXPERIMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!! and have fun anddddd mix "ugly" colors 2gether coz u just can never know what will and wont work unless u try :33

ALSO I ALMOST FORGOT play around with this feature in csp if u have it coz its another way i create textures (my heavy mii shown as an example) and here is a link to a tumblr post where i link all of the brushes i use in csp 0 .o I HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEWHAT!!!!!!!!! SOZZZ I AM NOT THE BEST AT EXPLANING >_<

[three--rings]

So it turns out there were a lot of things from S2 I was waiting to pass judgement on until I saw how they played out and...I ended up not thrilled about. And it's all these little things that keep bothering me.

Things I'm not happy with in OFMD S2:

-Jim and Olu feel retconned into not being in love. Like I know we want to talk about happy polycule but it feels like they aren't even very close this season? They were even more of a secondary ship than Lucius and Pete in S1 but we got essentially no good Jim/Olu stuff in S2. Instead we got the Olu/Zheng Yi Sao romance which on paper sounds good, but lacked chemistry. Especially from Olu's side. I feel like they kept repeating that "break in your day" thing cause they didn't have anything else. IDK weird weird decisions were made. I don't mind the Jim/Archie stuff at all but that was also not given any real romance time. They kissed and then I guess that was that?

-While on the subject of Zhang Yi Sao...why was she there? Like, don't get me wrong, I love her character and her inclusion in the show, but while the build-up in the first few episodes was great, then...they did basically nothing with her. Her entire plan was foiled by a moron in a split second and then..IDK she's now just riding on the Revenge and not even in charge? She's come way down in the world and I don't like it.

-Izzy dying. I don't mind the death scene itself, (though i wanted Izzy's friends on the crew more involved) but I think having him die shifts the genre and is disappointing in a way that feels unlike this show. more to be said obviously but not in this post.

-Speaking of that scene I grow more and more annoyed with Izzy saying "they love you, Ed." Not because it's not a great sentiment that would be narratively meaningful, but because it's NOT DEMONSTRABLY TRUE. Who loves Ed on that crew? Maybe Fang? There was absolutely no moments between Ed and crew after ep 3. They tolerate him for Stede's sake is all I can say. They love Stede. They love Izzy. And then Ed just leaves them and they are probably relieved.

-the way the central problem the whole season with Ed and Stede was communication but they never actually do anything about that, just declare victory.

-the way there was no climax or resolution with any antagonist in the last episode, they just barely escape, swear revenge like they're gonna head into battle, and then retire. Which makes ZERO sense and it bothers me SO MUCH.

-The lack of Stede and Ed costuming. IDK if it's because I've been writing a fic for a year centered around the clothing but like the show feels incomplete if they're not getting to dress up. I was looking forward to Ed wearing more than his leathers and we got a rice sack. This is entirely a personal gripe and not important but, yeah.

-Zero focus on the crew and no new info about any of them. I was really, really looking forward to getting more backstory, more personal info on characters like Roach, Frenchie, Wee John, but no.

And yanno, the thing is that I'm not unhappy with what S2 GAVE us. I like most of it. I love eps 1-6. Though 6 is showing the pacing issues badly. But what I miss is what we DIDN'T get. None of the stuff on screen was bad per se or couldn't have fit into a very excellent, cohesive season of TV. But I feel like all the connective tissue, all the thematic resolution, all the stuff that would have made it shine was missing.

Like they had a bunch of notecards of great scenes and filmed them but forgot to write the parts to connect them in a meaningful way? IDK this season feels a little like a first draft?

Not eps 1-3 though. I feel like they were perfect, and then they ran out of time/energy to polish the rest. (4-5 were also great, but they could have fit in with the rest better ultimately.)

I feel like people who are happy with this season are like 'we got this moment and this scene!' and that's great and cool and I also love that moment but I'm still left unsatisfied by the whole, yanno. Sigh.

[scarlet--wiccan]

(Slight spoilers in FotHoX in this ask) You’ve talked a lot about pietro’s costume lately, do you have any thoughts on Lorna’s? I feel like her og costume was pretty great, idk why she gets so many redesigns (although I really like her new one) especially compared characters like Kannon who direly need an updated look. Not sure what’s going on with her hat/helmet head/hairpiece, though

Lorna has had a lot of notably different costume designs. I think that's partly due to how often she's been mind-controlled-- she gets a new look whenever she's possessed by Malice, or manipulated by Eric the Red, or turned into a Horseman, etc, etc. A lot of these incidents happened relatively early in her history, so I feel like she just never got to settle on one iconic, defining look. She has this dark, kind of edgy aesthetic that comes and goes over the years, and she's also been shuffled around a lot of different X-teams, so she's worn a lot of different uniforms.

Her original costume is probably my personal favorite. The outfit itself is really pretty, and her headpiece is clearly evocative of Magneto's helmet while still retaining a unique look. The updated, 2006 version of this look is really popular, but I think it lacks the unique charm of the original, and I don't like how it makes her look like a green version of Wanda, especially with the simplified headpiece.

I want to like her darker, edgier looks more. The Dark Seduction design is amazing, in concept, but I never like the way it's drawn. The 2003-era Uncanny X-Men design feels better suited to a magical, fantasy character, and this purple-and-green look from 2010s X-Factor is just really ugly, which is unfortunate because I quite like the silhouette on her.

I think I'm in the minority of readers who really, really liked Lorna's X-Men (2021) design. Her writing in the Krakoan era was a little all over the place, but this outfit suits her personality in the book really well. It's cool, it's modern, it is a very successful example of how to incorporate a short dress into a superhero costume, which, next to early-Krakoa Jean, feels like a win. It stood out like a sore thumb because it was one of the only new designs in the book, but I think you could build a cohesive collection of team uniforms around this one design, if you wanted to.

That brings us to today, and the first issue of Fall of the House of X. Let's cut to the chase-- I love this look. It's beautiful, it's elegant, it's imposing, the details are very modern, and it brings back that darkness, which I think Lorna is going to be drawing on quite heavily this year. I don't like it when people reduce Lorna to just "girl-Magneto," but having her take on Magneto's mantle makes sense in moments like this, and I think this design still has a distinct personality. It feels like a very elevated version of this short-lived look from IvX.

[lemonhemlock]

Do you think S3 will be for the greens because this is not it. Rhaenyra and co are getting all the juice. They get a cohesive narration at least. Sure most of it doesn't make sense but the pov of her with Jace is far more compelling as a concerned mother and a son she loves and takes seriously vs Alicent and Aegon, who she thinks of as scum. The blacks are getting the sympathy vote. Maybe S3 will focus more on the greens though I can't foresee it going well after this abomination of a season. Seven hells and all that. How on earth they are going to save the greens after this Idfk. They are ruined. It was supposed to be Rhaenyra who slowly descends into madness.

So, I know there is a lot of talk going around about what exactly constitutes "bad writing" and what is just copium from fans who are simply disappointed that their headcanons didn't come true and, to answer this ask, I'm going to try and give my take under the cut.

To begin with, I think it's normal for people to whine and rant about the direction of the show, even if they're just disgruntled that the writers made different choices for the characters. It's early days! We are very much in the midst of things and there hasn't been enough time to go through the five stages of fandom grief or whatever. However, I do find it short-sighted and (I'm not trying to be mean, but I don't want to mince words either) childish how some are using this as a launching pad to present themselves as the the depositories of true media literacy, because their preferred interpretation of whichever character came true at the expense of another. All this, of course, to take swipes at people who had other interpretations they considered annoying or delusional. IDK, I am just of the opinion that it contributes to fostering an unwelcoming space where fans start feeling circumspect when it comes to engaging in the fandom because they fear committing to any opinion for fear of ridicule.

I would therefore ask people to consider that, the way TV shows are made, there probably existed in that writers' room various directions they could have taken (some complimentary and some contradictory) and it naturally follows that one version had to win out against the others. So, to think that because some people sat down in a meeting and decided to settle on Interpretation A instead of Interpretation B somehow means you were right all along and all the others were wrong and that makes your takes superior is just dilly-dallying. HotD as a media production has many decision-makers involved in its creation, it's not just one person whose textual hints you correctly deduced using reasoning skills: there are probably people in there arguing just like we are about what Aemond should do or what Alys should be like and they might also disagree with each other and have different ideas.

Anyway. I look at HotD as a living, changing organism that can morph according to who is involved in its adaptation, not as a fixed, pre-determined thing that I can "guess" at and correctly predict. What if they change the writers this summer and S3 retcons everything we've seen? What then? It's a ping-pong fandom blaming game that disguises a quest for self-validation through parasocial projections and I don't think is very productive. If you ask me, it doesn't seem to me that these writers have much a clue what they're doing half the time.

As a general rule, some changes from the book I am probably not going to like to matter what (and I think that tracks for most people; everyone has their particular preferences). But I honestly think I could have been OK with them in the end had they been executed better and I am going to give a couple of examples of what I believe constituted "bad writing".

For instance, I really wasn't wowed by the scene in which Otto gets fired. The plot and acting choices fell flat to me. Aegon is too... unresponsive and Otto's monologue falls apart at a minimal examination. It's not necessarily the idea of Otto criticising Aegon that I'm so turned off by - I know it is a talking point that the shattering of the image of the greens as a family is what's making others salty. But consider the fact that it's illogical and directly contradicting to Otto's own actions. Last season in episode 9 he was planning for a long time to have Rhaenyra assassinated, with the approval of all members of the small council sans Beesbury, and Alicent had to become angry and put her foot down to defend Rhaenyra. The whole dramatic "the King would not wish for the murder of his daughter" line. Now Otto is mad because Criston sent someone to assassinate Rhaenyra? It's been a few weeks between these events and nothing happened to Otto so that he might have a change of heart.

It just takes me out of the story and prevents me from enjoying any bollocking he might give. It's too goofy. These writers want the greens to have conflict, but they don't know how to create engaging and believable sources of conflict. It's baffling because the sources of conflict are so many, yet, instead of choosing a reasonable element that might create differences in opinion, they have to invent stupid shit that compromises the entire process. Otto could be mad at Aegon because Aegon has been making lots of rash decisions or is turning the Red Keep into a whorehouse or whatever. But he hasn't literally done anything. He is shown to be impatient and impulsive but has always heeded the advice of his councilors when they started arguing back, so what gives? What is so unbelievably bad that could cause Otto's and Alicent's attitudes towards him?

Speaking of Alicent, a short while ago, she stood in front of a dragon in a desperate attempt to protect her son. You might think a traumatic event like this would cause a person to re-evaluate their relationship. It would be a normal reaction for Alicent to think her son has been disappointing overall, but, even so, it looks like she really doesn't want him to die after all. At least in the short-term? But, no, it's like the even had no bearing on her and she keeps acting like Aegon is the worst king alive when he hasn't made any grave mistakes - has actually been acting quite tame since then.

This is what drives me up the wall so much - all these traumatic things happen to the greens and they have no reaction to them. Apart from Aegon crying over Jaehaerys, on the whole, they are so emotionally passive. Maybe when in the midst of something gruesome they are 15% sadder, but they get over it quickly and return to their baseline gloominess. This is so easy to see and criticise, yet I am certain there is someone out there who is going to read this and think that I just want them to wail and dramatically bellow out a Hamlet soliloquy. "Everyone grieves in their own way". And, again, I find that kind of conversation tiresome because I can't help but read a disingenuous intent behind it - there is no way they are not being dishonest in refusing to acknowledge that the lack of emotional dynamism is an element many people find deeply unsatisfying in fiction.

I've said it so many times now, but the writers are constantly shying away from associating the greens with any kind of positive emotion (apart from a couple of measly scenes like Aegon being happy when interacting with Jaehaerys and the Alicent/Gwayne scene - which came in episode freaking 6 out 8 btw). When you have an entire group of people whose emotionality is so static, their part of the plot falls flat, too, because it looks like there are no stakes, nothing matters, they're going to be as miserable no matter what happens to them, so why bother? It prevents the viewer from getting invested and it's just plain boring to witness. A scene like Alicent charging at Rhaenyra with a knife would never have happened this season the way these characters are being written. She would have gone straight back to bed after the maester stitched Aemond's wound.

And this is such a huge and pervasive problem with the show right now that it does feel gaslight-y and duplicitous to be counter-acted with arguments in the vein of "you're just mad because you disagree with the characterisation". I know it's not always coming from a place of malice, but it is a little frustrating, what can I say!

Coming back to the ask, I am in the minority now when I say that, on the contrary, I think TB are written in a more interesting way because at the very least they behave like people! They are shown having emotions commonly associated with people, not robots. They grieve together, they bond, they are devastated - Rhaenyra had an entire mini-arc of needing to find Luke's remains herself in order to grieve and they all held a funeral together and were quite touched). They fight for real or have mini-arguments or are disappointed in each other. They talk it out and sometimes they make-up and sometimes they don't (like Daemon fleeing Dragonstone). They have emotional range.

Yes, it can get a little boring sometimes - I do not necessarily disagree with those complaining that Rhaenyra is constantly shown being undermined by her Small Council. A queen struggling to be taken seriously and trying to please everyone while also looking for ways in which to minimize harm is not going to be the most riveting topic to watch, but it's also not not interesting, you know what I mean? Not a long while ago it was a hot topic of conversation to say that TV executives should bring back filler episodes because it allowed characters to breathe and everything did not have to be so dramatic all the time. Well, this is what a filler episode would look like.

Ultimately, this group of writers are not too far off D&D's level of understanding themes. The books were about how, beyond legal arguments, feudalism and patriarchy are systems in which sometimes even siblings start turning on one another because of issues like inheritance, to devastating effects: they are not systems conducive to happiness or prosperity. Instead, the show is about a villainous side vs a righteous side. They won't be able to get away from this fundamental bastardisation of the text, because they never bothered to understand what it's about and so they'll just change whatever they have to and introduce as many non-sensical elements in the adaptation to fit this misjudgment. As a result, I don't think they'll be able to satisfactorily correct S3, but I hope at least they will make it less annoying.

There are still two more episodes to go, but, my goodness, even disregarding themes, this season is scoring so low in the rewatchability department. It feels like drudgery to get through.

[shootingstarrfish]

Do you have any tips on how you do shading ?? Your art really inspires me and I literally suck at shading lmao.

hello anon!!! im honoured i can inspire you sdfhkjh it's crazy to me that i can inspire literally anyone :,DDD <33

tbh i do all my shading purely based on vibes/what makes me happy so im not sure im a good advice person but ill show you a breakdown of how i go about shading and hopefully that might help a bit? :o i've left it below the cut because i have too much to say and it ended up being really long LOL

of course if there's anything you want more details on i'm always happy to explain, just let me know!

okay SO ill use this asmo as my example, i think there's enough to talk about here that it should be helpful hopefully

so here's my lineart and flats! i do all my flat colours in one layer because i find it easier to make everything look more cohesive when the pieces arent separated (i usually like it when the colours bleed into each other a lil), but i also just dont like the process of having to switch between layers for everything too LOL flats are unfortunately my least favourite part :,D probably because my lineart is so messy hahah

as you can see, the shading is very minimal here, just some subtle stuff in the wings/sheer parts of the fabric and some blushing on the skin, i also stole the orange under eye/liner thing from TBHK because <3

and then i clean up any messy stuff by just painting over top of everything on a new layer, i also rendered the metal at this stage because i felt like it i guess???

i dont think i did a suuper good job at rendering the metal here (because i was lazy), it looks fine but something to note about metal is that usually you want to push the highlights and the shadows a lot more, as well as the reflections because it is so shiny and smooth this is why you'll see a lot of pink and blue in the metal, to show the reflections of his hair and the sky

i would recommend using reference to get a better idea of how metal ACTUALLY works but again, i was lazy lol so that's a simple explanation based on what little i know/have observed

the jump here is a bit drastic and you might be like woah starr where'd all this come from?? but this is all in one layer-

('hard light' - 62% opacity)

this is how that layer looks as a normal full opacity layer, for reference:

lately i've been using hard light layers to shade! they're very versatile because unlike multiply layers i can do my shading and my highlights within one layer (do you sense a theme of me disliking having too many layers lmao)

SO this is where i have a bit more to say about shading you'll notice the prominent shading colour here is blue, this is because the main environment here (the sky) is blue. i dont know if that's how things work in the real world but it works for me LMAO i usually prefer to have my shading lean cooler purely for aesthetic reasons, i like how it looks more

you might also notice some areas where the blue is a bit brighter, this is to imitate reflected light, again because the environment is blue light tends to bounce around on things and reflect back even into the shadows so this is the effect im trying to get, i like to typically go with a brighter blue cause it gives things a sort of shinier? quality that i enjoy aesthetically, idk if its very accurate to real life tho it also helps me to give depth to the shading since shading isnt usually just one flat blob, and this is a bit of a shortcut to having more dynamic (?) looking shadows

i also want to point out my use of bright reds on the edge of the shadows:

i believe this is called diffraction- there's a real legit scientific reason why it happens but i... dont know what that is i just know it happens in real life (maybe not to this extent?) and it looks cool so i do it SFHJKSFH i usually blend it into the shadows though as opposed to into the lighter parts, i find that tends to look better

some miscellaneous things-

don't be afraid to throw random colours around!! who cares about realism, it's fun lmao

this artwork is a spoiler for asmo's bday so shhhhh but i did want to quickly show that you can also use hard light layers to create a glowy effect, i literally just painted the pink/orange directly on the shadows layer and it helped to make his eyes more glowy

of course i do go in and paint over a little after and add some layer effects but it helps to have that base there

now that you've learnt that i dont know what i'm doing, i wanted to highlight a couple of resources that have helped me! i hope they help you as well <3

this video gives some really interesting insights into this artist's process and some problems they had throughout, as well as how they overcame them! it looks a lil clickbaity but i promise it's good!!

this tweet also shifted how i think about rendering when i want to do something with dramatic lighting!

+ an attempt i made to replicate this (i wanna try this again lmao it was fun)

i hope that helps even a little bit, i did my best to explain but sorry if it was mostly nonsense though :,DDD best of luck with your art, anon!! <3333

[brilla-brilla-estrellita]

An ask game for writers to procrastinate working on you WIP(s)

Whoaaaa thank you for the tags @shrekgogurt, @bookish-bogwitch, @thewholelemon, @cutestkilla, @monbons, @drowninginships, and @blackberrysummerblog! I'm pretty sure that's everyone! I love being tagged in shit.

1. 🦈Tell us the name of your/ one of your WIP(s): So you just like... have names for them? Before you post them?

I will say that for once, a name did come to me, so one of them is tentatively titled Fettuccine and Foreplay, but I might change it because Foreplay is misleading. I'm sorry to say that it is not smutty, and the events are questionably even foreplay. But the alliteration. And Fettuccine and Flirting just doesn't have the same ring to it.

2. 🍄Describe your WIP/one of your WIP(s) in the format of ���___ + ___ =___” God, why am I so bad at this?

Nevermore Academy + Penny = offensive assumptions, defensive students, and a magical breakthrough waiting to happen

3. 🌍What tags or warnings will one of your WIP(s) need if you intend to share it? uhhhhhh. I don't usually think about tags until I'm ready to post, so I am not prepared for this question... I can't really think of anything. Which makes me feel like my stories are hella boring.

Update after finishing and rediscovering an old wip: fluff! yay fluff.

4. 🧭An alternative title to one of your WIP(s)? Alternative titles??? So not only do you have titles, you also have extras laying about????

I guess I already talked about it in #1, but Fettuccine and Flirting. I do not like it.

5. ⚠️Which WIP you're most likely to finish or update next? Probably the Fettuccine one. It's a one-shot and a good portion done (almost ready for a beta, I think?). I like to write the whole story before I start posting, so the Wednesday x CO crossover is going to take a goooooood while. Idk how many chapters it is yet, I just know it's more than 3.

6. 💾What is your document of your WIP/ a WIP called? (not the stories actual title but what you’ve saved it as) I think my most interesting one is called Sundays With Gran. It's more of a drabble that I might work into a story at some point than it is an actual WIP though. But my actual WIPs have uninteresting names.

7. 🖍Post Any sentence(s) from your WIP.

It’s especially hard to believe in this reality when there’s a glow, a sparkle, a buzz around even the most mundane of sights when Simon is involved.

That's not even from a WIP I've already mentioned. I rediscovered this one while looking at document titles for this post!

8. ♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP. I have one fic, the one from #7, where I originally wanted musings from each of the main 4, which each describing what's happening through focusing on a different sense or set of senses. Like Simon would be taste or touch, Penny would be sound, Baz would be sight, and Shep would be touch or smell. But that felt too restrictive. Senses are still a big part of it, of course, and there may still be strong affinities for one sense over another for each character, but they'll experience with the most appropriate sense for the moment.

9. 🤔What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet? I really want to write more CO x Heartstopper (which we're calling Snowstopper because we're so clever) fics, but I'm making good progress on these other two and I'm afraid I'll lose the momentum if I start on the next Snowstopper idea. So I'll leave that for Kat to start in the meantime.

10. 🤡How many WIPS are you actively working on? At the beginning of this post, 2. As of #7, 3!

11. 🛠Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now? So many! I think I need to rewrite much of what started the Wednesday x CO fic. The entire first two chapters don't feel quite in character for Penny.

And then most of this rediscovered fic, for now called Tiny Dots. (Hey look! A title!) Like I said before, it's character musings, and I'm not sure how to string them together in a way that feels cohesive.

12. ❤️Not a question, just a second Kudos to send.

I feel like I procrastinated on this procrastination game for so long that everyone else has already done it! I'm sorry if you've already been tagged 100 times, and especially if you've already done it and I missed it, buuuuut: @onepintobean @martsonmars @facewithoutheart umm... if you haven't been tagged, but want to be tagged, consider yourself tagged (or tell me and I'll update this post with your tag and no one has to know).

[stellarspecter]

20 questions for writers

i was tagged by @devondespresso and @spicysix! thanks guys!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

68! oh shit my next fic is my 69th i gotta finish that smut fic STAT

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

191,966. crazy

3. What fandoms do you write for?

most recently, stranger things, but i've also written a lot for julie and the phantoms and be more chill. and then various other oneshots for random stuff

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Befriend the Bully - Nerdy Prudes Must Die, 868 kudos (and 3rd most kudos'ed fic in the hatchetfield fandom???)

Saint Frost - Rise of the Guardians, 593 kudos

Me Too - Percy Jackson & the Olympians, 392 kudos

Hopefully - Be More Chill, 286 kudos

All This Feeling Second Best, It's Got Me by the Throat - Julie and the Phantoms, 249 kudos

most of those are pretty old so it makes sense that they've had the time to accumulate kudos, but that means they were also written when i was in high school so it's kind of like 😬

5. Do you respond to comments?

i used to more, now i don't really unless they said something that i specifically want to comment on. i just kind of forget or don't have anything to say lmao

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

probably my troped round 1 fic, you look like you've just seen a monster (is that what i look like to you?). usually i like to have a happy ending but i wrote this in like two days the week of my first breakup. so uh yeah couldn't really think of happy ending for that one.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

pretty much anything else lmao. i love to write fluff and cuddles and shit like that so just go read any other of my fics

8. Do you get hate on fics?

the only hate on fics i can remember ever getting was back in my bmc days when i wrote meremine and someone was mad bc michael is gay and didn't like that i put him in a throuple with a woman. but like other than that clown behavior no not really lmao

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i have one (1) smut fic published and it is on a different account because i was so scared of jatp fandom being mean lmao. luckily i only got nice comments on it so i will share that you can go read it here. i mean it was probably kind of obvious that it was me because there are only so many ppl into that rarepair? but idk jatp mutuals lmk who you thought it was lsdfksjf

i have been trying to write steddie smut recently, i have a wip that i'm working on that i will hopefully finish soon. if anyone would like to beta that lmk lol 👀 it is pretty kinky i will say lol but like. that's steddie for ya

10. Do you write crossovers?

not really. i'm more likely to just make an au of something for whichever fandom i'm currently obsessed with

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i don't think so? ppl would be welcome to do so tho

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no. co-brainstormed and went crazy in the dms about it tho? oh yeah

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

evidence shows it to be steddie, at least for now. i'm a big multishipper so a better question would more be "what do i find myself most often in the mood for?" and the answer would still be steddie sldkfjs

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

vampire chrissy fic i want to do right by you i fear i may not.... i signed it up for the wip big bang tho so hopefully i do actually get it done

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue! i love writing dialogue. screenwriting is awesome because it's just dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

hrmm action scenes. repetitive prose. actually sitting down and plotting something cohesively

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

nothing against it but i'm only fluent in english so i'd consult someone else who actually speaks that language

19. First fandom you wrote for?

doctor who in middle school :) i wrote my fics in my little writing notebook and some of them are even on ao3 lol

20. Favorite fic you've written?

like i said earlier with the favorite ship question, this is tough to answer because i feel like it comes down to more what am i in the mood for most often. i'm pretty proud of my trans steve fic as well as aro bi reggie, both of them because i spent a long time trying to make sure i doing the representation right and i think i did a good job. also that sad bobby polycurve fic from the kudos question, i put a lot of myself in it and i feel very proud of how it came out.

no-pressure tagging: @wr0temyway0ut @zazujoy @sunsetcurvecuddles @chickwiththepurpleguitar @weneedglitter

@queenofthequillandink @jughead-is-canonically-aroace @innytoes @floating-in-the-blue @invisibleraven

and anyone else who wants to do it!

[margle]

just watched the prof layton trailer and im so happy its everything i wanted it to be

i didnt even think we would see any gameplay but we got a whole puzzle????? and it looks so good?????!??? using the environment for puzzles is something ive wanted more of for so long. AND puzzles that progress the story always make the game feel more cohesive. it feels like such a quintessential layton puzzle as well. im curious how writing on the switch is going to work without a stylus. probably just with a finger but maybe they'll make something. i mean its coming out in 2025 so it could even be next gen?? idk

the art style looks so good - i love that theyve retained the kinda hand-drawn vibe. the character model for the npc is great - i like the way theyve translated the exaggerated style and proportions into the cell shaded models. the professor and luke look a bit funny to me but thats just cos im not used to them yet. laytons blank resting smile is rlly funny to me. and theyve cuntified him with the little waist. BUT i like their silly faces and designs :)

also seems like every line of dialogue is now voiced, rather than just the main bits? but the flavour text/observations when you click on something is still unvoiced. this makes sense to me cos the voice lines would overlap/cut off if you clicked on things quickly.

also personality! theming! all so good! i like how now they are in america the characters are called shit like mr eggmuffin. so stupid and fun.

im fine about the fact its coming out in 2025. its fine. im fine.

[howtotrainyourrei]

anywho here are maneskins albums ranked according to which ones i like best, if you're also into them i would love to hear your thoughts (this is also LONG AS FUCK)

1. TEATRO D'IRA

this was the first one i listened to, i dont even remember why, i vaguely remember thinking of beggin' and being like,, omg i remember that song, i wonder if they have any good albums. so i googled which maneskin album was best and MY LIFE WAS TRANSFORMED. every single song on this album is such a banger there are no skips, like usually on albums i like there are at least a couple songs where i'm like,, ehhh could be better. NOT HERE. idk which song is my favourite i think it's a tie between IWBYS, coraline, zitti e buoni, and vent'anni (literally that is half of the album, that's how good it is).

anyway i love love love the hard rock sound, but it's also not just that, like there is so much variation but it's all very cohesive. maneskin is known for their unique sound so that makes sense but my mind is still sort of boggled. it has like some harder songs but they all feel emotional?? i dont even speak italian but without even looking up the translation i almost cried from coraline because it was so beautiful. and vent'anni is ON ANOTHER LEVEL. IT IS THE PERFECT SONG TO END AN ALBUM WITH. it like combines all the ideas of the album into one song, it has hard rock elements but it still almost feels like a ballad.? GOD I LOVE THIS ALBUM. i think it might be my second fabourite album of all time now,,, it's just actually perfect. i think it's the best album i've heard in 2024. FUCK ITS SO GOOD.

2. RUSH! (ARE U COMING?)

GOD GOD GODDDDD THIS ALBUM. this is a totally different sound to any of their other albums. it's also LITERALLY DOUBLE THE LENGTH OF THEIR PREVIOUS LONGEST ALBUM (il ballo della vita, which is 34 minutes) WHICH MEANS THIS ALBUM HAS ONE HOUR AND EIGHT MINUTES OF MUSIC. TEATRO D'IRA ONLY HAS 30 MINUTES!!!! YOU DONT UNDERSTAND THIS IS REVOLUTIONARY. okay so this album was at first released just as RUSH! with five less songs, but apparently as they continued touring and stuff they felt they had more to say so they added more songs (correct me if i'm wrong but i think this is what happened). I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS ALBUM, IT IS ONCE AGAIN VERY GENIUS. the songs are almosr completely english. i really love their italian songs, but they have always wanted to write in english so i understand why they're moving back to english.

SO!! this album is so good, it has a lot of extra depth that none of their previous albums had (musically),, except for maybe il ballo della vita. like in teatro d'ira it's basically just bass, guitar, drums, vocals, and tambourine. there might be a couple other instruments but the reason that album is so strong is because of the foundation and stuff. but with rush! there is not only a strong foundation but they also had so many types of songs!!!! there were ballads, there were harder songs, but there were also weird songs like bla bla bla and kool kids. i really LOVE kool kids, i love the punk sound. i think my favourite songs are HONEY (ARE U COMING), off my face, gossip, timezone, baby said, feel, and mammamia but EVERY SONG IS SO GOOD. just like the prev albums THERE ARE NO SKIPS!! that is so crazy for me because even with my one love (david bowie's ziggy stardust and the whatever lol) there is one skip, and måneskin has THREE ALBUMS WITH NO SONGS I WANT TO SKIP. THIS IS SO RARE FOR ME YOU DONT UNDERSTAND. i got off track there back to rush. this album is, also, SO COHESIVE. despite all the different styles they try it all fits together so well, it's such a magical experience to listen to this album. okay so this album was going to be number three on this list but i'm going to switch it now bc im currently listening to it and writing this is sort of changing my mind lol, ITS SO GODDAMN GOOD. tbh i would say this album is equally aa good as teatro d'ira but i have a sentimental attachment to teatro already lol and it's also more my usual style of music.

3. Chosen (this is an ep but whatever)

so this was their first album thing they ever released, it's mostly covers but there are two originals which are the first two songs. the originals are SO GOOD expecially for being some of the first music they ever released????? im obsessed with chosen (the song), i really REALLY love the line "this is not music, this is my life, this is what i live for." IT FEELS SO TRUE BC THATS HOW I FEEL ABOUT MUSIC (i literally do not make music i just like it lol but its like an important part of my life idfk but this line just hits hard) anyway i think the reason i like this album sm is because it's a lot more lighthearted?? i really like the style of their music, how it all feels connected even though it's mostly covers. also i think i like this album so much too because i found this english translation where they competed on x factor and most of these songs were there (if anyone wants the link lmk).

my favourite song by far tho is SOMEBODY TOLD ME. GOD FUCKING DAMN THEY EXECUTED THAT SONG SO WELL. and their FUCKING PERFORMANCE on x factor that went with it was SO GODDAMN GOOD. i love watching choreography and stuff, its my fucking jam, but i dont usually feel actual emotions about it?? like obviously it was very attractive, damiano is stunning, but also it was just so gorgeous..?? i felt real emotions watching that one performance, it was so good. im going to put the link at the bottom of the post bc GOOD LORD. god that was a brilliant performance. anyway i just love the sound of this ep, it's very raw and i really love that it was when they were first starting out,,

also the goofy little intros on both of the original songs on these albums are SO FUNNY why did he do that

4. Il ballo della vita

we've reached the final album :(((( i honestly feel bad for putting it at the end, but the reason it's all the way down here is because there's actually a couple songs i don't love, so i'll say those first. the first one is immortale. i cant tell if its a bad song or not, but i think its good, i just personally dont love it lol. but the other one is "are you ready?" this song is not even that bad it's just kind of goofy, but once again, it's not my usual style of music and it's not something i think i would listen to if it wasn't maneskin.

okay now we can get into WHAT I LIKE!!!! WHICH IS LITERALLY THE REST OF THE ALBUM. this album's style is very similar actually to the chosen ep, except it's all originals, and it's also VERY EXPERIMENTAL. i love love LOVEEEE that. like you can tell this is their first lp by how many different things they try. they're finding their style BUT IT STILL REMAINS EXTREMELY IDENTIFIABLE. on x factor their little music coach guy kept emphasising that when the other judges commented on how maneskin should try different styles and saying that its more important to be recognisable, but MANESKIN DID BOTH!! they tried so many tyoes of songs with different structures and stuff, but they also remained maneskin. obviously damiano's vocals are a huge part in that, he has a distinct af voice, but it's also the other instruments, i particularly noticed vic's bass, and i love LOVE thomas's riffs OMG. this isn't even just on this album. i dont play guitar so i have no idea if he's technically skilled (i think he is???) but i LOVE HIS STYLE AND THE CLASSIC MANESKIN RIFFS OMGGGGG. anyway tho the reason this album is so good bc it has so much variation, although i would say it's not as cohesive as the other albums, even chosen. my favourite songs tho are definitely torna a casa, fear for nobody, and close to the top. torna a case is a BEAUTIFUL ballad. it's brilliant and amazing,, i LOVE that song.

also, they made a documentary about the making of this album which was so so interesting. it was very real, and you kind of get an insight into their dynamic as a band, which was just so SHAJAISISI. but it definitely made me appreciate this album more when i could actually get a look into its production. anyway listen to torna a casa it's gorgeous.

OKAY!!! this was so fun to write actually, i doubt anyone is going to read it because it's so goddamn long but if you did i am kissing you on the lips. here is the promised link to their performance of somebody told me by the killers covered by måneskin https://youtu.be/ADcTUnUJnGs?si=3Iht9sLZn2ZRbuAW

seriously, this band is so good. i'm obsessed with them yeah but they're honestly revolutionary. not only are they basically the only world famous italian band (that i know of at least?? lmk if there are any), but they do so many INTERESTING THINGS. i have been SEARCHING for a modern band who takes old music, particularly 70s bc that's what i'm into, and takes inspiration from it but still makes something original. they are doing so much for music nowadays, obviously there are lots of amazing modern rock bands, but the fact that maneskin is SO popular is crazy to me, it makes me so so happy. and not only that, it's also so amazing that there are two queer band members (vic and ethan) who (especially victoria) talk about being queer. they also act very modest in interviews and stuff, which i really appreciate, and they're all very well-spoken and good at communicating their thoughts even though it's in a second language, which can be SO FRUSTRATING sometimes bc you know what you want to say but it can be so hard in a second language. they are just very eloquent and they act very wonderful (i say "act" and "seem" bc i understand it's a parasocial relationship lol, they could all be assholes, but they seem very, VERY genuine). they all impress me a lot and i am so excited to see what they do next.

damn this is so long im sorry but i had to say this I AM OBSESSED WITH THESE GUYS, maybe if you're also into maneskin or want to get into them you could dm me to talk about them........??..?🥺🥺

[sunskate]

JGP Solidarity Cup 2024 in Gdansk Poland Sept 27-28, 2024

i'm so behind again lol and going out of town tomorrow so will be even more so -

getting a lot from Mark's commentary - he talked about teams who do more complex holds and how that *should* be reflected in the GOE

he did however say as a general thing, the male partner is more interested in the tech score, and the female more interested in the presentation 😬😑😩 c'mon Mark, that's the skating equivalent of things people say that make girls think they're bad at math, or boys think they can't show their feelings 💀💀💀 he's usually very good, but this was a really backwards thing to say when there are a lot of excellent performers among the male skaters in the JGPs

Laura Finelli/Massimiliano Bucciarelli from Italy had a strong RD getting all their key points in the Paso

Mouaden/Bigot, only 14/15 yo - natural performers and musical. matching knees and nice flow for such a young team - some good things happening in France. i'm curious what they're like live. also how long they've been together, because there's an ease between them

Wolfkostin/Tsarevskiy had the competition they'd been hoping for since July - they look like a team who have been to seniors and back, in ice coverage and maturity. idk why any dance team would want to skate Moulin Rouge, or why Charlie White would approve this for them- when the music cue from VM's MR comes up during their spin, you can't help seeing VM. but i do like them - he's a good partner, and she's flourishing with him

Gauthier/Thieren are looking sharper and faster - hopefully they're recovered from their concussion. their RD music still feels more like a concept than something that makes sense together (a Jagger song, a Bowie song, a Jagger/Bowie song). this through the legs move- teams are doing this nearly as much as the CPom spin this season:

their FD still looks stamped from the Olivia/Adrian Zorro template, before it looked like an imitation, but it’s working for me now- they’re selling it more, it looks more cohesive