#but by gum i'll try

[weekend-whip]

*slams hands on table* what was the inspiration behind Olivia’s character and how did you develop her/how has she changed over time

Once upon a time there was this seemingly unnamed yet intricately designed character in The Lego Ninjago Movie that I had always felt could’ve used a little extra polish, especially when it came to making the Shark Army much more of a threat. Upon doing a little research for Book 1 of Legacyverse (as I wanted to incorporate as much movie!DNA as possible, which is also why Jesse is now a whole thing come Book 2) and then learning she had a name, I knew I immediately wanted to use her. 

She would be perfect—a way to have an inside man on the opposite team even with Garmadon’s absence, a middle man to showcase the other side of the story, someone to actually give some heft to the Shark Army’s existence as a whole...

But how? For starters, how do you create a character out of someone who only has scraps of a personality made from about six lines of movie dialogue, one lil’ boss battle in a licensed video game, a love for smoothies/slushies, a penchant for being kinda lazy at a job you’re otherwise pretty passionate about, being somewhat sympathetic, yet still scarily dangerous, sinister, and borderline psychopathic when pushed too close to edge? 

...you turn her into Nya’s best friend, I guess. 

When I was first trying to incorporate Olivia into the world, there was the dilemma of how old to make her. She originally started as an adult (roughly around Tox’s age), but then I couldn’t come up with a non-generic, not necessarily Garmadon-ordered (and not-creepy) reason for why she would’ve been so focused on Nya in the first place, and it would’ve made it harder to make her sympathetic later on. 

So I bumped down her age to 16, put her in the high school with everyone else to allow for more opportunities to actually have her be a character, and turned her into Nya’s friend to establish that initial emotional connection and the eventual tragedy of their fallout *-*)9  

She...was originally going to be a lot colder and distant than she is now (and you can kind of still tell from Chapter 2 of Book 1 and bits of The First Day of School chapters in Book 2), but then her crazier, wilder, louder side started leaking out and her dynamic/rivalry with Kai turned out to be so much fun that I knew I wanted to build on that more, and it wouldn’t have been possible if she was entirely on “the dark side”. So now she is extremely morally gray and we’re vibing with it! Wild Card, baby! Chaotic Neutral!

...and that’s also partially why Bridget became an unintentional Ascended Extra, because someone had to fill the hole Olivia’s original plot line left behind :V

I also made her father the previous General #1 to ground her roots in the army more, and to provide a strong reason for why she’s so dedicated to Garmadon’s cause in the first place (and...why she would stick with it even after things happen). It’s not just what’s she grown up to be able to do; it’s what her father truly believed in, and things certainly haven’t gotten better with Wu hiding the truth of everything...so, what’s really wrong with letting Garmadon destroy the lies of society and starting anew? If she stops following Garmadon...the alternative’s not really much better, is it?

Anyway somehow she’s maneuvered herself into a secondary main character, which I love...but it’s also important not to forget that she’s still an antagonist, even despite having bigger fish to fry at the moment (ha). Like, have you SEEN her slasher smiles?! Nightmare Fuel. I’m not even kidding. Every time I dare to look at the worst ones where’s she attacking Lloyd there’s chills up my arms and I break into a cold sweat my god—

...Ahem. So, for now, let’s just say she’s aboooout 1/3 of the way through her arc. Maybe 1/4 if I wanna be kind. 

@shark-general-1 @asher-hyperfixation-hell I know you guys are Olivia fanatics so this one’s for you too snksnksnk

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, I recently went into the x-men and I found my own dead with Charles and Erik AND I NEED READ MORE OF THEM BUT I SO LOST AFTER POWERS AND HOUSE OF X SO I DON'T KNOW WHERE CONTINUE, can u help me?

(alsoIlikeyoursdrawingsiwishbeingsoconstantwithmycontentlikeu)

i'll be very candid with you my friend: i'm totally lost too !!!!!!! your comic-reading journey is about as green as mine and so i cant personally give you a super great guide- but beautiful people on the internet exist who've done most of the dirty work for us when sorting through the stories you 'should' read so i'm borrowing them to help us both

you can read this article to read about one person's advice with exploring krakoa and- in their opinion- its most 'significant' stories, though to summarize the issues they recommend looking into:

House of X/Powers of X (which you should have already done)

X of Swords event

Hellfire Gala

Inferno

X Lives and X Deaths of Wolverine

Second Hellfire Gala

Third Hellfire Gala

Fall of the House of X/Rise of the Powers of X (also should have already done, however...) +Single issue: X-Men (2021 series) #35 aka Uncanny X-Men #700 is featured at the end of the FoX omnibus, though the omnibus excludes an extra bit at the end involving a cliffhanger for Charles's fate after he's arrested

if you want to dig a little deeper though, you can check out this article from another individual which includes another wave of 'relevant' (word used loosely as some can be considered more poignant than others) krakoa stories and stories related to it or set during the period.

it's a lot longer and more in depth than the last article, so again i only really rec peaking at this one depending on how deep you wanna go, or if you decide you want to explore more after reading the more 'key' stories. def wouldn't hurt to give it a glance just in case you read some summaries that pique your interest!

all in all, don't take these as concrete rules or guides to follow: comics are meant to be fun, these are just good starting points if you're feeling lost or overwhelmed. at the end of the day, you decide ultimately what you want to read and which stories interest you the most

happy reading !

[unityrain24]

two important piercing questions that have rattled around my brain for a long time but are going to be more relevant since hopefully i'll get a job:

if i wanted to get a triple lobe piercing and get all three gauged (varying degrees),* what would be the best way to do so?

1. get all three pierced, wait for them to heal, then gauge them all at the same time 2. get all three pierced, wait for them to heal, then gauge them one set at a time 3. pierce and heal the first set, then gauge it, pierce and heal the second set, the gauge the second set, then pierce and heal the third set, then gauge the third set

is it possible to get a septum piercing that's like... at a thicker gauge. ? Like a hole punch almost. instead of stretching out the septum piercing over a long time, and by extension, stretching the skin & changing the nose shape, just taking a stamp out of it so there's no stretching/shape change??

uhhhh yeah.

*example of what i mean under cut:

(probably a little smaller than that)

[piipaw]

10 + 19 + 30 for gum :D

10. What would your Tav consider to be their greatest skill? Is this accurate?

Oh man this is a fun question bc it depends like at what point in his life you ask.

Pre-game living at the crèche he'd say his physical strength- and that is because a lot of his worth and survival comes from that. I'd say this stays true until about mid game where he starts growing with the others and realizes that like maybe his feats of strength aren't seen the same (ex. Laezel flirting w feats of strength is close to his values taught from his upbringing, but the others don't value that in the same way which cause misunderstandings and cause him to re-think how he's viewed.)

Post game I think he'd still say physical strength- but less for survival now and more because it helps him protect what he values.

As his parent/creator (lol) id say his greatest strength is his adaptability or willingness to learn.

19. What is your Tav’s greatest desire?

Honestly I think his biggest desire is to just kinda find some sort of inner peace/find himself. So much of his upbringing was untruthful and it's hard to untangle all those teachings. He comes a long way from pre-to-end game but it doesn't end there for him.

Living in a very aggressive/competitive environment fed easily into the camping lifestyle bc the goal was to just survive. So having an established plot of land to live in with people he cares for gives security and I'm not sure how long it would take to FULLY accept that.

30. What are your Tav’s intentions/goals after the end of the game?

Being that he's kinda still finding himself I don't think he'd have a set goal other than "survive/keep my close ones safe" but...

...OH BOY HOWDY do I have so so so much end game lore for my character but here are notable bullet points in a timeline:

-returning the crown (Mystra) and sword of the astral planes (Voss/Orpheus)

-gets married 🎉

-falls into a routine helping local churches and monasteries, occasionally traveling to nearby places (sometimes he'll have to leave for a week at a time, the others make due without him)

-rewarded by Mystra with a small (but important to him) boon/blessing

-????

-????

-possible Githyanki egg/ withers and Morena shenanigans (undecided)

[vole-mon-amour]

.

[dawntheduckrb]

Ooo ooo also, my prof told us after class that there were a TON of supplies that ended up not being used, and said we could grab and keep as many as we wanted. It felt like theft but I guess they were a part of the class fees, and the prof didn't want them so it was cool. I waited until everyone else had grabbed what they wanted and picked from what was left. I don't even think my local art store carries these, and everything's more expensive online with shipping costs and whatnot, so just get a bunch of charcoal for personal use out of nowhere is super cool :O

He also let us take whatever paper was left in the class drawing pads. I got about 15 sheets since literally nobody else wanted them. I can always cut those giant pages down to size if need be haha, I'm never gonna turn down an offer for paper. Especially when some were mixed media??? That paper is so nice?????

Anyway expect more charcoal drawings soon because I'm not running out of charcoal anymore

Class was so fun today I'm gonna miss it :')

[gumjester]

am genuinely grappling so hard with the urge to make bunny an antagonist in the wonderland arc because i feel like it's such a petty culmination of my irrational six-year hatred of this harmless rabbit girl character but at the same time. we need another antagonist. maybe god really is just giving me this one for free. gwon lass, he says, flame the purple bitch. it's for the plot

[audiovisualrecall]

Constant pain only dulled for a whole day by daily taking full dosage of tylenol and also 1 advil even tho I'm not supposed to take NSAIDS

Miserable

[robinsnest2111]

brain just reminded me of a tiny inconsequential thing from work and now I feel absolutely horrible for no reason????

[actualbird]

hey this is a long shot but. has anybody here ever tried nicorette nicotine gum? and if yes, can you tell me if it actually TASTES GOOD?

cuz like yes i wanna slowly quit smoking but if the gum tastes like shit, my brain is not gonna want that at all and that means that nicotine gum might not be the best thing for me to use for pesky withdrawal symptoms aljhfvaksjfha

[krawdad]

So I've figured out that for whatever reason the ink that pentel packs in its brush pen cartridges comes out sloppier than the rapidograph ink. I think it might have been enough to put me off trying to use it more when I got it.

While it is beautifully dark and even, it feels like it leaps off the brush into the paper. I had chalked that up to user error since I didn't have any other point of reference. Surely that would get better with practice.

But I've felt the difference myself, the rapidograph ink doesn't do that. It's so much easier to control the beginning and ending of strokes what the hell.

[featherymainffins]

How is a person supposed to feel mentally well when the only constant is pain

[orcelito]

Flossing my teeth and getting in the gums like Yes I'm going to get a good grade in dental care. Which is normal to want and possible to achieve.

[ebodebo]

"Si, you owe me a new couch," you half-joke, trying to ease some of the palpable tension in the air, as you sit next to your boyfriend, Simon, on your couch, cleaning the gash on his side with a face cloth.

The poor guy had shown up at your door in the middle of the night with the nastiest gash to his side. It was a superficial cut, so nothing that needed immediate medical attention, but it still bled—a lot

He wouldn't say how he acquired the laceration, but you suspected it couldn't have been good. You kept your assumptions to yourself and have been tending to them for the last five minutes or so.

"I'll buy you any kind you like," he picks his head up from its place on the back of the couch. You catch his eyes boring into the side of your head as you continue cleaning the area, finally looking up to lock eyes with him. The sincerity in his eyes has you letting out a small laugh.

"You don't have to," you murmur as your eyes shift to the gauze to your side. You carefully open a fresh piece, place it on the cut, and secure it with paper tape. You gently press the sides, securing the tape to his skin. "All done. Good boy," you jokingly say, tossing the gauze's empty packaging onto the coffee table in front of you.

You feel his hand grip your chin, pulling you towards his lips. You are slightly taken aback, even making a noise of surprise, but you quickly reciprocate the kiss.

He tasted of Nicorette gum and cigarette smoke with a hint of liquor. You would scowl at him later for the cigarette smell since he had supposedly quit, but right now, you could feel by the way he gripped your face he craved a taste of you.

You raised your hand to grip his jaw, trying to bring him closer. He senses your desire, gripping your hips and swinging you over his legs so you are now straddling him, never once disconnecting his lips from yours.

While you adjust to the new position, your knee grazes his gash, making him grunt into your mouth. You pull back slightly to speak; both of your chests are heaving. "Am I hurting you?" Your brows furrow in concern as you gently bring your hand to rest in his messy hair.

He knots his hand in your hair, lips brushing against yours. "Only if you stop,” he pants, deepening the kiss.

You smile into his lips, gripping his jaw, feeling his teeth clash against your own. One of his hands lingers over your hip once again, kneading the fat of it. The other lingers from your hair to pull down your shirt on your shoulder, revealing your collarbone.

His lips hover over your clavicle, eyes flicking to take note of a new, very small ‘s’ inked into your flesh. He brings his hand up to brush his fingertips over the tattoo.

“You got this for me?” He enunciates the ‘me,’ like it was just so unable to believe you would ever want to taint your skin for him.

“You like it?” You chew on your bottom lip, giddy with anticipation. He leans back against the back of the chair, shifting his torso a little. You let out a slight moan when you feel how hard he is.

“Do you feel that?” He gruffs, gripping your waist and grinding you against his clothed hard-on. You grip his shoulders with each of your hands tightly, hissing through your teeth, “How could I not?”

He leans forward, lips hovering over the shell of your ear so you can feel his hot breath against your skin. “I fuckin’ love it.”

a/n: a little fic just bc it's been a hot sec<3 divider!

[mintmatcha]

cw: kids, reader has birth control implant

"Do you have something to tell me?"

Bakugo still has half of his hero uniform on, smudges of grime and soot across his face and neck. There's a clear, white demarcation where his shirt was and a trail of dirt behind his boots.

"I just fucking vaccuumed."

"I'll do it later." He quickly dismisses, even as he begins to kick off his shoes. "Why are there condoms on the grocery list?"

You shrug and go back to parusing on your phone. "We'll need them."

"For fucking what?"

You shoot his a glance, one eyebrow lifted. "For sex, dumbass."

"Dumbass." He repeats back, tone high and mocking. "We've never used a single condom our whole relationship-- you let me cream you the first fucking date."

You wrinkle your nose, even though he's right. There hasn't been a day since that first date that you haven't felt the delightfully uncomfortable wetness of cum sliding around inside you.

"Don't say it like that- you're gross." You raise your arm and gesture to the little scar there. "My birth control has to come out- its at the end of its life."

He rolls his eyes with a grunt, arms crossed tight over his torso. "That's it?"

"You were the one who said a kid 'maybe next year,' so we'll need condoms until then."

Bakugo plops down on the couch next to you, throwing your calves over his thighs. "We'll just move up the timeline. Start making one now, baby for the summer. No condoms."

"No."

"No?"

"No. I don't want to be pregnant in the summer. It's too hot to be carrying another human-- and I want to drink on the beach."

Bakugo looks at you with a grimace, lip curled up to show gum. "Are you fucking serious?"

"We can start trying in, I dunno." You count on your fingers, trying to do the math. "End of August."

"August?!" he gapes. "Motherfucker. I gotta call Kirishima."

"About condoms?"

"I gotta ask him about saving his brats onesies." He leans back on to the couch, brow knitted tight. "There's no way I'm not knocking you up by accident before August."

You shoot him a glare.

He meets your eye. "Keep giving me attitude and you'll have a bun in the oven by next month."

[persianflaw]

just got excited bc i thought i was almost at 20hrs fasting but i think it might be more like 19-19.5 😔 i don't remember if i last ate at 6pm last night, or if it was closer to 7:30-8 since we watched television and i had some popcorn