#but from the way it's designed idk how safe or practical this would be

[sage-reads-things]

That is WILDLY unsafe O.O What's stopping you from rolling your own feet out from under you when you try to take a step? And what's more, it doesn't look like there are any braking mechanisms on those things—you'd never be able to stop moving! You'd be forced to skate around for the entire time you're wearing them, the way a shark can't stop swimming or it'll suffocate. Sure, it gives you speed, but at what cost?

[hoonvrs]

SECOND BUTTON — n. riki

PAIRING riki × gnr

GENRE fluff, confessions, coming of age

WARNING none

W. COUNT 0.5k

S. NOTES happy bday to my baby <//3 cant believe he’s growing up

finishing high school is a bittersweet feeling.

realising that you’ll never be in the same school as all your friends anymore, that you won’t be seeing them five times a week when everyone moves on with their lives attending different colleges. safe to say it isn’t the happiest day in your eyes.

halls filled with students crying and hugging, some with markers in their hands as they write their goodbye messages on each other's t-shirts, their own covered in colourful messages.

everyone roaming the buildings one last time as a high school student before they leave to officially enter their adult stages. thankfully exams were over so the weight on your shoulders had lifted slightly, making sure to cherish the last few moments you had in this stage of life.

“guess what? i heard that kei is going to give hana his second button,” your friend gossiped, filling the whole group with gasps.

“poor guy, she’s definitely going to reject him.”

every year there would always be a select group of boys handing their crushes the second button of their uniform, a common confession practice at the end of high school year. there’s something sweet about it, giving the person you like the button closest to your heart instead of outright saying it.

it feels youthful, too shy to speak but brave enough to do something so bold in front of the whole school.

so after witnessing keis rejection live, your friends decided to go out to eat not being able to handle the second-hand embarrassment from their classmate. you didn’t make it too far out the school gates before someone called your name.

“yn!”

turning around to see someone running towards you, nishimura riki. everyone knew of riki for his dance skills always shown through the multiple stages and events he holds yearly, and maybe you’d spoken to him a few times but nothing enough to be considered friends.

you can hear your friends mumbling behind you as you walk towards him meeting him halfway, “hi riki, what’s up?”

there’s no denying riki is cute. from the mole adorning his face and his pouty lips, anyone could see he was blessed with looks alongside talent.

“erm—“ you could see him nervously fiddling as he reached for something from his pocket, “i just wanted to give you this.”

in his hands was a single gold button engraved with your school's cherry blossom design. you look up, scanning his uniform to see all his buttons intact except one.

the empty space where his second button once was stared back at you, as riki was starting to feel his adrenaline wear down and embarrassment start to crawl up his body when he noticed your friends a few feet away giggling and talking amongst themselves.

“you don’t have to take it. actually, this is stupid. i’m—“

before he could finish his sentence, you grabbed the button before his hands could close around it, clasping your own around the metal and pulling it closer to your own heart, “thank you riki, i'll text you?”

under different circumstances, you would’ve been worried how red the boy had gotten in the face as he aggressively nodded his head before running back the way he came. 

maybe this next step is sweeter than expected.

perm taglist @mesopret @whoschr ​@haknom @shinsou-rii @redm4ri @lacimolela @llama-lyna @boyfhee @lazysmushi @flwoie @kocokookie @kyexvly @seongclb @dammit-jjk @flwrshee @produmads ​@teddywonss @aleiouvre @dneltrise @aleiouvre @nyxvrse @yohanabanana @whois-alexis @tinyegg @sserafimez @satsuri3su @yuemvi @chirokookie @idk-tbh777 @s00buwu @ynsvnte @isawritesss

[jesncin]

adding onto the conversation about Xanthe Zhou's outfit...

as another chinese-american, I see a lot of clothing that claims to be "inspired" but all it does is make western clothes in silk brocade or remake the same red qipao or tangzhuang people wear in old kung fu movies.

it's frustrating to see only those takes on traditional clothes when there are so many things to choose from! chinese history is expansive, to put it lightly, and even us ABCs have access to a range of traditional clothing.

my specific issue with Xanthe's is that, to me, it's just a reskinned version of Mulan's casual clothes in Wreck-It Ralph 2 (from 2018, while I'm p sure Xanthe debuted in 2023).

technically they have an undershirt with the mandarin collar, but it feels like almost an afterthought. it doesn't even differentiate itself with the slanted neck opening that goes to the side (idk what to call it, examples below from an article on hakka clothing)

the writer, Alyssa Wong, is chinese-american (as is one of the editors), and the penciler, Haining, is taiwanese, but that doesn't automatically make their work un-critiquable representation.

I don't doubt that it resonates with some people - my issue is that it's an incredibly safe design, one that doesn't introduce anything new to western audiences. the clothes they wear while hero-ing can be anything, and that's what the creative team chose?

I have other feelings about the fact that they chose to make Xanthe have spiritual powers, which feels like it is not helping the "Chinese people are a mystical kung fu people" stereotype in the US, (especially given how few chinese-americans are given their own comic run at dc), but I digress.

Yes to all of this!! I get why people like Xanthe's fashion as a character design, but in terms of creative innovation and a design that informs a character's narrative,,,Xanthe's clothes look more like an easy way to cosplay the character over anything else :I like you said, we've got this after-thought yellow mandarin collar and a bomber jacket with motif on it. It's giving "clunky way of combining traditional and modern". I even made the Wreck It Ralph Mulan outfit comparison too because it really isn't new!! It's such a mainstream safe look that Disney put Mulan in it. Not even a hanfu for Xanthe? Aiyah

Indeed! Spirit World has an majority-asian team of creatives and hey it's cool to see an entire creative team with their names written out in hanzi in the credits but that doesn't guarantee an infallible piece of fiction free of criticism. Including the representation. Especially when it comes to inter-community critique, we're more than allowed to be critical of the creative choices on display.

Exactly!! "Safe" is the key word when describing Xanthe and Spirit World. Like it's not outwardly horrible and offensive design (or story), but it's also not saying anything either other than bland "cool". Xanthe's in generic jeans for H'ronmeer's sake. The most fashion-safe statement of all time. For your non-binary Chinese character? Come on. Even Cass got a better outfit in Spirit World >_>

I agree on the whole Spiritual powers thing actually! If they're pairing Xanthe with Johnstantine, I wish they pulled more from Vertigo Hellblazer's approach to the occult and spiritualism. My friends here are practicing shamans, and I think having a Hellblazer approach to the stuff they go through would be so neat. But instead we got. Fighting spirits and demons in fantasy-spirit land with a giant sword spectacle. Like part of why I find the giant sword exhaustively trite is because it's just a signifier for folks to see a cool anime-looking weapon and see how it works in Hollywood-fu fight scenes. It has no deep storytelling purpose other than to look cool. Spectacle seems to topple the grounded reality of Chinese spiritualism here.

Generally I feel like Xanthe suffers the "Superhero first, secret identity second" problem- where the creatives were so focused on what would make a cool superhero that they let the interiors of Xanthe's life and culture fall by the wayside. We don't get to know how Xanthe came to terms with their culture as a Chinese American, or how that intersects with being non-binary. Or even how they choose to express that with the clothes they wear. Just look at the cool fight scenes.

[zarvasace]

Next is Depth! He is dark Sky. (He gets his own special dramatic portrait—the perspective mostly works? Idk I need to practice and find some good refs for this sort of thing.) So much rambling about him and his design under the cut.

Masterpost

The most striking thing about Depth is how normal he looks. Disregarding a few odd features, he looks like Just Some Guy, at least until he opens his mouth. He occasionally feigns being mute around others so he can keep the charade of being human up for longer, since his voice sounds truly awful. Depth is paler than Sky with much darker hair and orange-red eyes, but is otherwise identical. He doesn't mind that, and chooses to play it up a bit with very similar clothes, too. His tunic is rust-colored, opposite Sky’s spring green, and his chainmail is pointed and jagged on the ends instead of smooth. He wears a purple sash with more angular designs and lines, which matches the purple charm that keeps his cape on. 

Depth’s sailcloth is both a source of pride and a sore spot. He made it to contrast Sky’s, dark and tattered, but one of his very secret desires is to get one as beautiful as Sky’s, made by Sun, maybe dark, but functional and lovely and a reminder of her. 

See, Depth doesn't understand Sun—he doesn't actually know her, though he has memories from Sky. He wants her to be a damsel in distress that he can rescue, he dreams of her choosing him over his Light, but he doesn't realize that she won't. He loves his idea of her. While Depth follows [insert LU bad guy here]’s directives, he makes his own plans and he has his own agendas, and many of those plans aid him, in some way, to win Sun’s affection. 

However, as Depth has been growing into the leader role, he's starting to become attached to the other Darks. He's annoyed by them, but his plans have started to expand to benefit them in a way that doesn't necessarily benefit him, too. He might have a little altruism in him, after all. 

Despite that, unfortunately, Depth remains someone who would not save the world, but someone who intends to damn it over and over again. He doesn't flinch at the thought of Demise’s curse, in fact, he would welcome it. He likes the idea of having a purpose and a destiny. He wants to coddle the few people he cares about and would set everything on fire to do it. He says he loves Sun more than Sky ever could, but he would lock her away to keep her "safe."

Depth is the de facto leader of the group, since he's driven and has ambition. He has a very strict idea of what the other Darks should be doing and gets upset when they don't do it. He hates being touched and is ruthlessly practical. Once, when Nothing was being particularly annoying and tried to steal Depth’s sailcloth, Depth broke at least one of Nothing's fingers. He hasn't gotten close to injuring someone like that again, due to equal parts nobody bothering him like that again and him trying to be a little gentler. He doesn't hesitate to threaten injury to keep order, though. 

Depth knows about Ghirahim as a sword, and wants to wield it, but is under the impression that he needs to prove himself worthy first. (Whether or not [LU bad guy] actually intends to let him use it is a different story.) Depth is one of the more skilled sword fighters among the Darks, remembering formal training, but his sword isn't anything special. In a fight with Sky, they would be evenly matched if it weren't for Sky’s ability to use a Skyward Strike, and Depth's inability to block that much light. 

Depth’s special ability is his voice. In a mundane way, the others try to not make him use it, because it's almost painful to hear. In a magical way, Depth’s voice carries over long distances. When he sings, he can summon creatures like bats, crows, rats, and snakes, and they'll listen to him for a time. When he screams, his voice is a magical, short-range wave of destruction. Yes, he's an evil Disney Princess. Depth doesn't feel any strong affinity for the animals he attracts, but he doesn't let Dire or anyone else hurt them, and he doesn't send them to their deaths. He mostly uses them as spies and distractions. 

Depth is one of the more dangerous members of the Dark Chain—not because he’s physically imposing or particularly powerful, but because he can see beyond the next mission and is determined to ruin the Lights once and for all. He's one of those who would happily kill his Light—but only after Depth shows him how he has lost everything dear to him. 

[shutupineedtothink]

More Moiraine & Lan (and the Bond) thoughts, because I really just can’t help myself.

Just thinking about how we know every Aes Sedai and Warder share the Bond, but we don’t see any other AS/Warder teams using it as a form of communication NEARLY as much as Moiraine and Lan do.

Like these mofos are having full conversations with head tilts and tiny eyebrow raises and 3 seconds of eye contact from the jump. Sometimes not even looking at each other. And it’s extra great if you’re a show only like me because you only realize it when you go back later after all the stuff with the Bond is explained in 1x04/1x05. Like I remember thinking when I was first watching the pilot ‘wow, these two are really in sync, clearly they’ve known each other a long time,’ but it’s so much more than that obviously.

Now, one easy explanation for this is that we’re just seeing them the most, they’re main characters, and s1 especially does a lot of work hyping up the Bond and how important it is so that we get the full impact of them being cut off later. Makes sense.

But… idk like even Alanna and Ihvon and Maksim, who are actually in a romantic relationship, don’t seem to prefer the Bond as a way to communicate. We even see them have their little diplomatic discussion before Ihvon goes to follow Tomas. It’s an actual conversation. Maksim even prefers the Bond masked, so I guess in that way they kind of have to talk to each other.

Verin and Tomas are pretty quiet in general, but still it’s not emphasized that they use the Bond to communicate that much. Perhaps this is also highlighted by Tomas’s advice to Lan that the Bond isn’t the only common language they share with their Aes Sedai.

Except for Moiraine and Lan, it’s like AT LEAST 80%. It’s the primary way they communicate. Because 1. they’re both so naturally reserved on the outside (but feel very deeply on the inside), and 2. I imagine it comes in handy to be extra good at it when you’re on the road searching for the Dragon Reborn and you don’t want everyone around you to know what you’re about.

Then there’s Stepin’s comment from s1 to Kerene, “Can you imagine their dinners?” Which is funny but also very telling. To all the other Aes Sedai and Warders, Moiraine and Lan seem pretty cold and distant, to everyone else and each other. But again, that’s by design to protect their mission. They’re just having conversations no one else can see, even other Bonded pairs. It’s like most AS and their Warders use the Bond as insurance, a fail safe even, to understand and communicate with each other, with normal human communication (i.e. TALKING) as the primary method. But for Moiraine and Lan it’s the other way around.

My POINT BEING, that this adds weight to their storyline in S2. Like they are REALLY struggling because on top of everything else, this fundamental piece of their relationship and communication is just gone. And it opens a door for Moiraine to push Lan away, when she NEVER would have been able to before, practically or emotionally. And he reels from her attacks because he’s just not as good at understanding her without the Bond, when he would have seen right through that shit before, just from feeling alone. So Tomas can say to him, you need to really listen, but 20 years of shared emotional mind reading is not that easy to bypass. You don’t learn normal person communication skills overnight. Certainly not when there’s this gaping hole in your head/heart where another person you probably knew better than yourself should be but isn’t.

Anyway, I think it just adds even more credence to why they’re both so lost throughout most of S2, especially Lan. And what makes them so badass with the Bond but so absolutely uncoordinated without it. And why every other Aes Sedai/Warder thinks they’re fuckin weird. And why we love them, because who doesn’t want to be so fundamentally understood like that? Who doesn’t want their own secret language with someone that no one else really gets, but that person gets you on a level so real it can’t be replaced? That’s what we’re all reaching for, and that’s what they have with each other. For better or worse.

[alexxncl]

‼️NIGHTBRINGER LESSON 51 SPOILERS ‼️

masterlist | all lessons | season 3 | lesson 50.1 | lesson 50.2 | lesson 51.2 | lesson 52

omg look it's everyone's favorite characters

still salty they don't have official designs outside of the chat stickers but it is what it is 🫠 it'd be cute if they could give them a little d kind of picture

if something bad happens i'll end it all. it's canon atp that mc has good luck because of their pact with mammon like PLEASE don't retcon that they're gonna retcon it

"where luck is a matter of life and death" is an insane tagline to advertise a casino on

"have fun gambling away your life!" is an insane title card for a lesson

i get that it's spooky season and all but DAMN WE JUST GOT HERE

can't wait to see them all panic over mc though. they've skirted death so many times and shit might be catching up to them yk yk

but mc already gambled and won and the way to escape is gambling and winning ??? they have to gamble while they're physically inside the casino for it to count ????

i'd just give up atp bc i feel like they're gonna pull some "you only get one chance to gamble and since mc already went, they cant go again"

BUT if that's the case, simeon could always make a pact with mammon and use his guaranteed luck for all of them to get off scot free

they're practically brothers anyways, but idk the ethics of a fallen angel turned human turned pseudo demon making a pact with a fallen angel turned ruler of hell. like would that even work since simeon is losing the sliver of "humanity" he had?

this tangent is long enough lemme stop

i also need to stop taking so many mf screenshot bc i'm only like 3 parts in 😭

we (i) love the sprinkles of brotherly love in the story 🫶🏽 especially if the brotherly love is founded on murderous intent

self sacrificial ass bitches

mc's inclination to step up makes sense bc they're the only person here with a damn near guaranteed chance at survival, and them taking a chance would mean that the odds are most likely in their favor. they literally could've gone first, won, and this ENTIRE situation wouldn't have happened 😭

what if this entire thing is a ploy and they're all just being sent to their respective hotel rooms ??? like how fucked up would that be ????

imagine mc pulls something like "well i won outside of the casino and that counts as a win so everyone should be safe" and then they just end up zapping their soul too 💀

and with mammon saying he's gonna get revenge ??? yeah whoever took the boys is COOKED

when i kill everyone in this room and then myself, don't be surprised

none of them have any semblance of self-preservation when it comes to saving their family. it's admirable but it's also really fucking sad bc how expendable do you think you are ???

like the boys are always so ready to give up literally any and everything for each other, even at the cost of their own lives, but none of them take into account how utterly broken the rest of them would feel if even one of them were to die

i figured smth like this would happen if they tried to escape. the exit door disappeared and everyone can use magic. why would they not put up some sort of ward to prevent them from using magic to escape?

unless this is some corny kinda "think of where you want to be when you teleport, and you'll be there" type beat and the spell worked perfectly but they're all a bunch of saps

BULLSHIT

anyways as long as they figure out a way to use mc's luck at the same time they'll be fine

the way this happened a solid 3-4 times is hilarious to me. just take the L and move on 🫶🏽

[shadowtriovibes]

Just an idea but what how would the boys act to Mc doing things in class trying to turn them on???

Like it would be completely scandalous for the time which I think would hilarious just a sexually frustrated Ominis just trying to survive through charms while Mcs just running her hand up his thigh or something. He's praying to Merlin that no one noticed cause he's pretty sure his face is completely flushed.

Sebastian oh I can just see him try to match the energy while still being subtle just waiting for class to end.

Idk about Gerrith though???

let's be honest, MC is a menace to society in general but especially to these poor boys. curious as to how she ensures the three of them will never pass their N.E.W.T.s? read on:

tease me, please me

Pairings: Garreth Weasley x f!MC, Ominis Gaunt x f!MC, Sebastian Sallow x f!MC

Rating: M

Word Count: 1.7k

Garreth: Sometimes he wonders if you’re doing it on purpose, because you must be aware that much of your chest is visible. You’d feel it on your skin, wouldn’t you? (Merlin, he wishes he could feel that skin.) Ominis: Sharing a bench with you is a special kind of purgatory designed specifically for Ominis, who supposes he must have done something either wonderful or terrible in a past life. Sebastian: These days Herbology lessons are simply occasions for the two of you to attempt to outdo the other with subtle, salacious behavior. Sebastian is more than happy to take advantage of the fact that all the other boys – and more than a few girls – are too distracted by Professor Garlick’s presence to notice.

Garreth

Garreth sometimes thinks that putting the Potions classroom in a literal dungeon was a mistake.

Sure, it’s all well and good when Professor Sharp is simply going to lecture for the majority of the lesson about the different ways of handling Ashwinder eggs, as if Garreth hasn’t already poured over half a dozen books in the library pertaining to that precise topic.

But whenever there’s a practical class, it gets quite hot.

As soon as the flames are lit beneath two dozen cauldrons that will bubble away all afternoon, the room starts to fill with steam and the occasional fiery spark. This only worsens when students begin to fill their cauldrons and becomes nearly unbearable by the time their brews reach a rolling boil.

Everyone eventually shrugs off their robes, and the gentlemen are known to loosen their ties a bit if they feel they can get away with the impropriety of it.

(Garreth cares little for propriety, so he often takes the miserable thing off entirely.)

Ladies frequently choose to suffer the heat fully dressed, lest the churning rumor mill turn its vicious eyes toward them.

You, however, could give a damn, and Garreth adores it.

First, you gather your hair in a messy pile on top of your head and use a simple silk ribbon with your house colors to tie it back — a necessity for simply being able to see your cauldron through all the steam. Then your tie comes off, abandoned at your station and safely tucked away from any open flames.

Lastly, you undo not just the top button of your shirt, but the one beneath it as well.

Needless to say, Garreth always claims the station across from you.

As the hours slowly drag on, you tend to get more and more flustered – equally from the heat of the room and the complexity of your N.E.W.T.-level potions. When the heat becomes too much you’ll fan yourself with a stray textbook, but whenever your potions start to fail, you’ll curse under your breath and lean over the cauldron to peer frustratedly at the sickly-looking liquid.

That’s when Garreth gets treated to a very generous look straight down your shirt.

Sometimes he wonders if you’re doing it on purpose, because you must be aware that much of your chest is visible. You’d feel it on your skin, wouldn’t you?

(Merlin, he wishes he could feel that skin.)

He’s not subtle about looking, either. He’s practically slack-jawed whenever he catches a glimpse, once becoming so distracted by the lacy hem of your corset that he knocked over a full bottle of horklump juice.

Professor Sharp had been livid, especially since Garreth’s recent bought of distraction typically meant there were fewer disasters in his classroom than usual, not more.

While Sharp had berated Garreth and made him use a rag to clean his potions station by hand as punishment, you bit the inside of your cheek and slyly undid a third button, wondering if you could tease him into working up the courage to sneak away with you and undo the rest of your buttons himself.

Ominis

Like most of his classmates, Ominis had never found History of Magic to be particularly compelling. Having grown up in a wizarding family himself, he had at least heard of many of the significant territorial skirmishes between wizardkind and other magical populations over the years – though with much less objectivity, mind you.

As such, much of the class felt like old hat to him, and obviously it didn’t help that it was taught by the most dreadfully boring ghost to ever haunt the halls of Hogwarts.

He typically dreaded having to spend the afternoon fighting to maintain consciousness while Professor Binns droned on and on. Without visual stimuli to help him focus on anything other than Binns’ voice, staying awake the entire time was usually hopeless.

That is unless you’re also in class.

Compared to Ominis, you and Sebastian have a much less rigid interpretation of how much attendance is actually required at Hogwarts, so occasionally you’ll skive off and simply submit your inches of parchment to the Professor in his office. He’s never mentioned that you don’t often appear in his classes, nor does he seem to realize that Sebastian may never have actually attended despite having some of the best marks in your entire year.

Ominis much prefers when you do actually show up, even if you only seem to do so in order to torture him.

Sharing a bench with you is a special kind of purgatory designed specifically for Ominis, who supposes he must have done something either wonderful or terrible in a past life.

Lately, your favorite way to drive him mad is to covertly rest your hand atop his knee. Ostensibly this is to help him retain his cognizance – to give him something else to focus on other than the dull lecture. What a kind gesture, one might think.

But Ominis knows better. Slowly over the course of an hour, you slide your hand up the length of his thigh until your pinky finger brushes against the button of his trousers and your warm palm is cupped against where he’s achingly hard.

Merlin, he wishes you would simply open up his trousers and wrap your hand around him right then and there. He’s been worked up for nearly an hour now, so desperate for it that he couldn’t care less if anyone sees. He’d probably even beg if you asked.

So much for focusing on his studies – this is all he can think about. He’s mercilessly at your whim every time you use your thumb to trace a deliberate line up and down the length of him, or press your hand down and grind against him with the heel of your palm to help relieve a little bit of tension.

He’s hunched over the desk to shield your hand from view, and even when he occasionally lets out a soft whimper, anyone who might hear simply assumes he’s mumbling in his sleep.

In fact, he wishes he was asleep. Then instead of being painfully aware of every tiny movement in your hand, he could dream about what you’d do if you ever decided to take pity on him and give him some release right there in the room.

He’s been aching, leaking for so long now that you could easily slide your hand underneath the waistband of his trousers and stroke him off. He wouldn’t even mind if you simply left him with the mess – it’s pathetic, of course, but nevertheless true.

Maybe you’d even slide off the bench and kneel underneath the table. You could undo the front of his trousers and pull his cock out so you can use that sinful mouth on him while everyone around you is either sleeping or bored to the point of catatonia.

But you don’t. You just smirk to yourself and continue taking notes on some insignificant goblin rebellion from centuries ago, one hand on your quill and the other in Ominis’ lap.

(You’ll take care of him after class, of course. You always do.)

Sebastian

Across the board, Sebastian is a fantastic student – attendance issues aside, of course. He’s decidedly studious, remarkably clever and even more ambitious when it comes to achieving high marks than his house placement would typically demand.

Most of all he’s a hard worker, but thanks to the green thumb he’d inherited from his mother, Herbology is the one class where he can get away with slacking off just a bit.

It’s just as well, because at the start of term he’d quickly staked out the planter next to yours as his own. As a result, he usually expects to spend most of the lesson being distracted by you rather than his rambunctious chomping cabbages.

You’re a horrendous flirt, as it turns out. Sebastian couldn’t believe it when he’d finally met his match, having spent much of his fourth year attempting to charm girls who would inevitably go red at the slightest compliment and run off to giggle privately with their friends.

These days Herbology lessons are simply occasions for the two of you to attempt to outdo the other with subtle, salacious behavior. Sebastian is more than happy to take advantage of the fact that all the other boys – and more than a few girls – are too distracted by Professor Garlick’s presence to notice.

For example, he can usually get away with sliding a hand inside your robes and groping your ass whenever you bend down to get a scoop of fertilizer from the pot on the floor.

In retaliation, you’ll then lean in close and whisper something downright filthy in his ear while he’s gingerly attempting to move a finicky Dittany plant to a new pot.

Maybe something like, “Meet me in the Undercroft after this and I’ll see if I can get you off without using my hands at all.”

Sebastian curses under his breath and nearly tips over the pot – thank Merlin it wasn’t a mandrake.

Later on, while Professor Garlick is offering some tips to a captive audience about how much soil to pack alongside Mallowsweet plants, Sebastian sneaks up behind you and starts to kiss your neck, ego soaring when you sigh softly and tip your head back.

“You’re going to get us both in trouble,” he murmurs against your skin. “You can’t even wait for class to end, can you?”

“Do you think we could sneak away?” you breathe. “No one would even notice, I reckon.”

“We could,” Sebastian drawls. “But where’s the fun in that? I think we should wait.”

“Are you sure?” you demand, grinding your hips back against his. “I can make it worth your while, Sallow.”

“I’m sure you can,” he laughs in a low voice. “Just consider it payback for all the times you’ve gotten me worked up and ran off to go be brilliantly heroic.”

Then he presses his lips to your neck once again and quickly sucks a bruise into your skin before stepping away.

A few moments later, Professor Garlick sympathetically asks you if the mark on your neck is a stray bite from one of Sebastian’s cabbages, and you have no choice but to grit your teeth and nod while Sebastian looks on smugly.

He knows he’ll pay for that stunt imminently, but at that moment, it’s completely worth it.

[teardew]

-

im thinking about making a patreon because i .. uh .. i cant justify drawing for myself anymore and its killing me lmao

it takes me really long to draw so any time i hav should be spent on comms... iv been trying to fight off burnout by drawing things i like inbetween commissions like that sv anatomy practice and vampire/werewolf mngling was just for me but it still ended up setting me behind schedule because i had to rest my eyes and wrist afterward. but not only that i also wanna like. make a lot more things ...

like i wanna do animal, insect, architectural, jewelry studies and fashion and character design explorations and try designing icon packs and branch out trying embroidery with mixed media and clothes making and get into making like 3d things with clay and soft sculptures. i wanna make historical fashion coloring books with việt phục and fashion zines ...

also theres a lot of stuff i dont post bc im not sure if anyone would be interested in all the design concepts and notes i had for example the homestuck dreamer outfits or the various sha hualing designs and sketches i had before getting to the thing i posted? like i hav a bunch of different sqh outfit and hair designs but theyr more clothing based and not detailed character/face art ...

idk !! it sounds like an excuse. its like, who cares just post it ! i know i shouldnt value my art by the amount of numbers i get from posting on social media and i dont mostly but its kinda unavoidable ? to me ? i know i only post fanart and ppl follow me for that and its not a bad thing ! being realistic i just dont think anybody but me would be interested in it ??

i dont know. god. i dont know what this post is about. ''i dont think anybody would be interested in the things i really wanna make'' but im thinking about making a patreon for things i really wanna make anyway because thats the only way i can justify it is if i can profit off it in some way. i dont really want to, but with my financial circumstances i dont know. i never wanted to make my livelihood off my art. i dont even consider or call myself an ''artist'' really, i just want to MAKE art

i dont know why i still cant find a steady job after 5 months applying to everything and its making me miserable. its embarassing, they say to be persistent with jobs but calling and even walking in to check on applications and watching employers awkwardly try to turn me away without just flat out telling me no even though none of them hire me is an exercise in public humiliation. how bad do you want a job? bad enough to make a fool of myself with nothing to show for it. and i want to make art for myself to cope but it takes too much time and time is money

maybe this post is about my art anxiety under capitalism. i dont know

i think im safe enough now to admit my friends gofundme i was posting about months ago about helping their friend escape their abusive household was actually my gofundme because i was worried about them finding out and preventing me from leaving or internet stalking me afterwards. i did hav a scare when i got a phone call i thought was from my brother but ended up being a police officer, whos my mother's friend ...

but anyways. me admitting this is just to give context that. i ran hundreds of miles away from financial security and everything i ever knew and im still struggling to find steady income nearly half a year later. i just dont understand what im doing wrong. is it my name? is it because im not from here? iv been working continuously ever since i could legally my resume isnt BAD. am i just stupid? should i have just tried to make peace with my lot in life?

i thought getting away from my family would let me be in a better place to create more art, thats one of the things i was so excited about but this feels just as stressful as when i was the only earner supporting my family during covid. i just want a stable job so i can make art. i dont want making art to be my Job. i dont want to be a ''starving artist'' begging for people to care about my art i just want to make art. but fuck i dont know how to sustain any of this

sorry for this mess. insurance is different out here and i havnt been able to find a psych either so its not like i can talk about this in therapy instead of venting on my art blog. all my life i wanted to make things without the fear of it all being destroyed. the main reason i havnt branched out from illustrations is because its entirety can be saved digitally even if its physically ruined. my sketchbooks were thrown away or ripped apart by my family either from carelessness or anger to hurt me but now that im finally enough safe to have them again or make something i can hold in my hands without the fear that someone will come in break it and make me clean up its corpse i cant afford it

i dont know what to do. is it worth it? is making art worth it? i mean. its worth the rent this month. and i still love drawing god this is probably bad for business because i dont want people to feel bad for commissioning me or anything but not to be dramatic why does it feel like im fucking dying

[m1d-45]

you think genshin characters get their vision and then create an outfit to match it? or their vision just so happens to match their color palette?

but like,, what if their chosen signature outfit is blue themed and they're a pyro??? how will everyone know that they're a pyro vision wielder and not a hydro or a cryo????? god forbid its a teal blue and they're mistaken as an anemo and their friends are dead!!!!

- curse anon

on god fr, i have not given this anymore thought than surface level. random bullshit go

i think that the outfits we see aren’t their day to day colors. albedo’s is the closest one off the top of my head to what he typically wears, but most everyone else has… it’s like their more formal outfit?

like baizhu. man doesn’t have the time nor energy nor patience to go through all those charms, but for more formal occasions, such as news of the creator visiting the pharmacy…

ayato and ayaka may be an exception just cause they are both heavily involved in politics, but like. kujou sara? we all know how impractical the genshin outfits are, it’s insane sometimes

if i had to make a sort of ranked, non exhaustive list, then it would look kinda like this:

outfits closest to day to day wear: venti, albedo, xiao but that’s a bit of a stretch, the raiden shogun but idk if that technically counts

outfits are a ‘formal’ attire, but it’s still somewhat feasible that this could be somewhat daily wear: ningguang, kazoo, heizou, diluc, tighnari, a good proportion of the male cast

outfits are clothing reserved for special occasions/events: baizhu, yun jin, beidou, kokomi, noelle, nilou, a good proportion of the female cast (cause GOD knows how mhy feels about practical outfits for their fem characters)

the way i see it, they would want to make a good impression, typically by dressing up in their best! obviously there’s some bias what with hoyoverse and their failure of a believable design team, but we make do with what we have. i ranked them based off my entirely subjective opinion, so obviously this isn’t set in stone or any sort of authority, but hopefully that wasn’t a waste of your time to read.

to address visions… perhaps that ties into the prior chart. bringing back up albedo, our lab-safe king, nothing about him really says ‘geo.’ you could recolor his vision to anything and it would likely fit him fine. his design isn’t centered around visions, its about character and practicality. he’s an alchemist, he wears a uniform, it’s all plain white so he knows when there’s a spill, he wears gloves and tall boots with low heels, i went on a rant about his design before and i’m .2 centimeters away from doing it again.

the archons get free passes on their colors for obvious reasons, and klee is a borderline pyromaniac so she gets one too. jean, lisa, amber, and kaeya (to an extent) all fall in the last category from before, which would translate as.. like a way to signal “hey, this is what i’m good at”? i’m losing the words for it, but a “this is my vision, this is what i offer” sort of deal?

of course, this is biased data since from a game design standpoint, hoyoverse would obviously want it clear that gorou is geo, yelan is hydro, hu tao is pyro, etc etc so it makes sense i can’t explain everything (barbara isn’t all that obviously hydro, yet keqing is clearly electro, and yet their characters would clash on that… but whatever i’m not an artist). however, from a purely sagau standpoint, the best solution i can come up with is sometimes it’s because their formal attire draws attention to their vision (notably lisa, ningguang), and sometimes they just have a sense of style that differs (heizou, beidou probably), or sometimes it’s just for practicality’s sake (razor, albedo), and i have a feeling this is directly proportional to how close their outfits are to day to day wear

[imogenkol]

For the Character Design questions, how about stillness, texture, & favorite for Imogen, and glance, arms, & alternate for Wicke?

stillness: How does your OC act while still? Are they fidgety? Do they have any common gestures or tics? Does their clothing affect how they hold themselves while at rest?

Imogen is a very still person in general when she's not in a fight. All of her movements are deliberate and she prefers not to waste time/energy with unnecessary motion. She does not fidget. She has no tics. When she goes still still, she's basically a statue and it's difficult to even see her breathe. A lot of people find her talent for this unsettling, which is the point. It's Imogen's way of being ready for anything while also appearing unpredictable - like a big cat that's stalking you, going utterly still with an intensity in its eyes that makes you hold your breath because you don't know if it's going to pounce or lose interest.

texture: Does your OC favor any specific kinds of cloth or textures? Is there anything they can’t wear or don’t like? What sort of fabrics do they prefer?

Imogen almost exclusively wears high end fabrics and leathers from all over the galaxy, with a slight preference for durable materials over comfortable ones. Her entire wardrobe is a mixture of expensive taste and practicality. The one thing she does compromise on is legwear. Certain materials can snag on her cybernetic leg, which can be uncomfortable at best and painful at worst and that can also restrict her movement in combat.

favorite: Does your OC have a favorite article of clothing or accessory? What is it? What’s the meaning behind it? Do they wear it all the time or do they wear it sparingly to keep it safe?

Imogen has an armorweave coat that she wears every single day for a bit of extra protection. She had it custom made not long after she started to rise through the ranks in the Bounty Hunters Guild, so she's pretty proud of it. It has a detachable hood and plenty of storage/hidden compartments for whatever can't fit on her belt. And she looks damn good in it.

glance: At first glance, what stands out the most about your OC’s appearance? What’s their distinguishing feature?

Probably her smile. Wicke has a wild, troublemaker type grin on her most of the time that makes you equal parts excited and a little worried. It's contagious though, especially when Wicke starts going on about her projects and ideas. Nora certainly loves to hang out in her little workshop and hear all about what she's cooking up. It's usually a new gun that can pack one hell of a punch.

arms: Does your OC have any weapons? What weapons do they carry, and how do they wear them when they’re not fighting?

While Nora usually gets the special toys Wicke makes (gf priviledge), she also modified a special lever-action rifle just for herself. Fondly dubbed "Jolene", you can always find the gun within reach of Wicke at all times, either slung over her shoulder or resting in a chair while she works. Sometimes.... sometimes she lets Nora borrow her, but only if Petrichor (the hunting rifle Wicke enhanced for Nora) needs repairs.

alternate: What would your OC’s alternate universe look be? If they’re a fantasy character, what’s their modern look? If they’re sci-fi, what’s their fantasy look? What AU would you want to see your OC in, and how would they dress themself?

It would be really fun to have a western au for Wicke. I already picture her having a bit of a southern drawl (idk why they're literally in boston but what the hell lmao) and seeing her in a cowboy hat, button up shirt, leather vest... woof. Maybe she just needs to make a trip across the country to New Vegas.

[theme-park-concepts]

If disney was to make a brand new theme park focused on “the magic of the movies” what lands would you have in the park?

I love that this prompt is not just "the movies" but "the MAGIC" of the movies. That's actually thematic, that's something you can construct a narrative around and emphasize that takeaway. Movies are magical and the park demonstrates that.

So why are movies magical? Well one obvious reason is they make impossible things real. All sorts of special effects and illusions. But I'm not sure that's the only reason. There's something particularly special about walking into that dark room with a flickering projector, popcorn, trailers, other people gathered with you excited to see something new for the first time before you all go in a trance for 2 hours...it's a ritual gathering...spiritual, not unlike a church or temple. So that's a thing we should keep in mind. What's else? Well there's something inherently magical about the movie/story itself and its ability to transport us someplace else, almost like a portal. And not just see other places but let us experience other feelings in a safe way. And maybe there's something inherently magical just about being able to control and conjur light, the ability to make an image and make it move and bend to our will.

And since this is a Disney park, maybe we should try to feature Disney movies.

So let's start with the icon and move out from there. Out of the observations we made earlier I think the fact that movies are a spiritual, church-like ritual experience that bring us together, connect us together...the magic of that...I think the centerpiece of the park has to be an elaborate movie theatre designed in such a way as to evoke a cathedral, mosque, etc. Elaborate, breathtaking, etc. and whatever experience is inside really needs to be a reverent love letter to movies (and tbh the great movie did a LOT of this thematic work both by choosing the Chinese theatre, and the ride itself). Not to get too into the details, but that's definitely the right track.

As for lands...keep in mind this is a tumblr post with not that much thought put into it. But my initial reaction is:

----a land specially devoted to illusions and special effects, both practical and digital. Attraction ideas would be a stunt show, some sort of guardians esque coaster where you get sucked into CGI and VFX computers, some sort of behind the scenes attraction maybe more akin to the horror makeup show or the old foley shows. There's also something really cool about being on set...idk how you'd channel that but would be great to implement somehow.

---a land devoted to color and light and sound/music. Torn between whether this should be an animation land, or whether this should be more abstract. I almost lean towards abstract and having it be the entrance land of the park. Where we start with amorphous blobs of color and sound and as we move towards the park icon it gets more controlled and specific and evolves into distinct structures. Would play really well for nighttime shows as well. But then again animation probably demonstrates our ability to control those things more than anything else. Maybe there's an animation attraction in the land. Probably staring sorcerer and streamboat Mickey because this is a Disney park after all.

And then maybe at the back of the park there's a series of mini lands all connected by various imaginative portals/transportation devices...the ability of movies to transport us to other words...maybe the movie cathedral is big enough these portals are at the back of it? And these could be various IP oriented worlds. Maybe some are tied to one specific IP, maybe others are more genre or studio based. I always liked the idea of a Pixar land, a Lucas Land, a Marvel land, a animated musical land. You could easily do it that way and keep the content more evergreen.

I've got a thing for symmetry though...maybe the color and light land should mirror the special effects/magic land. The other lands in the back, and there should be a separate entrance land in the middle? Idk what it would be. Like you could do Hollywood I guess but that's overdone and the theme is the magic of movies not Hollywood...Hollywood is just one place that makes movies. Haven't really talked about the camera yet...or editing...those are pretty critical unique bits about movie making...the ability to specifically direct the audience and make them see only what you want them to see, manipulate their perspective of time and space. Kinda magical to be able to construct a different reality. Could you make a land about that? Might be interesting to do something with a giant camera obscure or something. Idk. I like that road thematically but it might be almost too abstract to turn into a physical environment.

Ok so maybe the park needs an entrance land, maybe color/light/music land is enough. And the park is just lopsided or has space for expansion. That's what you get. Phase 2 lol.

[beetleviolet]

How did you come up with there designs??

- previous anon

HELLOOOO ANON! :D

THANKS SM FOR THE ASK HHEHEHE I LOVE TO RAMBLE!

WOW this is a loaded question. Idk if you know what you just signed up for loll.

Short answer: Vibes

Long answer:

First I just chose 4 species of turtles i thought were cool. I did a project Alabama Red Bellied Cooters (Leo) so it was already in my brain, after some research I found the yellow bellied slider (donnie) which is just SO PRETTY, Mikey is a mud turtle, which is a super small turtle and has these gorgeous orange spots, and Raph is a northern diamondback terrapin, because ahhh they have polka dots!

The turtle types i chose were purely aesthetic, and then i just assigned one for each turtle in a way I thought looked nice. The clothes and how the characters present themselves is really what I worked the most on.

I wanted to focus a lot on the characters differences and similarities. People dress differently depending on what they do, where they go, climate, sensory needs, personal style, etc. Its important to kinda balance practicality and something that makes sense for the character vs something that just looks cool. I talk about designs under the one for each character, but here I'll hit the highlights from a purely design standpoint.

Leo: The tallest of the brothers as he accepts his role of the oldest and carries it with him wherever he goes. I thought his stripes being over his eyes would be a nice nod to rottmnt leo. For his outfit, he wears his mission outfit (ninja pants and straps), just most of the time just the pants with no straps. Leo experienced some pretty intense trauma at a young age (i will get more into this in the comic) resulting in him never really feeling safe. This is why he is constantly in his battle outfit, ready in case something goes wrong. His straps for his mission outfit are the base for the rest of the group.

Donnie: Donnie really looks up to Leo, and wants to make it up to him for stuff that happened in the same traumatic event. He wants to be someone his brother can be proud of, and from his perspective, this means being like Leo. This is why things like their face shape, stripe pattern, and height mirror eachother. Donnie wears overalls because he needs lots of pockets, plus they are cute, but what says the most about him is his mask. Leo wears a more classic tmnt mask, and in an attempt to be like him, Donnie does the same, except it gets really annoying on his face, so he pushes it up on his head like a headband. This is my favorite detail! He wears his mask when trying to be impressive or serious, but you can see the real Donnie peaking through when he pushes it back. This happens already in one of the early updates of the first part of the comic.

Donnie's strap for his mission outfit is very similar to Leo, except his Hamato crest is put on his chest, and it attaches to a tool belt instead of his pants.

Raph: so admittedly I didn't put as much time and thought into raph and mike as I did Leo or Donnie, but whatever. Raph typically wears dark colors, sweatpants, t-shirts, tank tops, and hoodies. Clothes aren't super important to him, and he just wants something he can move and be comfortable in. Like all Raphs, he is a bit of a rebel, and is angsty, so this kinda translates into his clothes. Since Raph doesn't put much thought into what he wears, neither do I. Oh, and he wears his bandana like a kerchief on his head, so it's out of his face like Donnies.

His straps go in a V because I ran out of shapes.

He is shorter then Donnie even though he's older, because I'm short and projecting.

Mikey: Mikey is the smallest of the group, since a lot of his arc is trying to stand out and be treated more like his age. Fun fact: he and Donnie are twins, but people, especially those outside of his fam, treat Donnie with more respect because he appears and presents older.

Mikey loves to wear bright colors. Like, so much that you can barely see him under them. He wears big t-shirts that he tie dyed himself and mismatched leg warmers. I can't wait to show his "going to the surface outfit" because it is just so much fun. His mask is around his neck like a cowboy because 1. He's more childish 2. Leo and him are obsessed with a comic about Space Cowboys.

Mikey's mission outfit straps are an x over his chest like a safety harness. (I also just got this idea, but an X over someone's chest in ballet means death. This might come into play later)

Side note: the characters bandanas will help symbolize their arcs. When a character goes through development, their bandana will change, for better or for worse.

April O'Neil: Actually the first design concept i came up with. Thinking of the original April O'Neil yellow jacket, I wanted to give her a battle jacket. Because it's a comic I couldn't get in too much detail, but I'll probably do a full design at some point. Probably.

April wears combat boots, pants with patches, and she dyed her hair since April O'Neil was originally a red head, except in mine April's hair is the color of a fire truck. Her outfit is good for school and tramping through the sewers, and the smiley faced knee patch is a nodd to Mikey from rottmnt.

Splinter: I've only seen brown or gray Splinters, but a lot of the pet rays I've seen are white or spotted, so I decided to give him spots. I wanted the characters to have a stable parental figure, and most of their unresolved trauma resulted from that event I keep talking about (aka "the incident") and a lack of proper acknowledgment afterward.

Splinter has his fancy robes, but he also has his Dad Outfit, which is Khakis and a polo. It was very important to me that he was rocking a Dad bod, because every good Dad need a dad bod. He has 4 ninja children to rangle, after all!

LONG LONG STORY SHORT SHORT:

Never design a character before you get to know them. Learn stuff about them before determining what they might like. Draw a bunch of little thumbnails, experiment, have fun! Draw or doodle all your characters next to eachother to see if their vibes make sense, even if they contrast. Draw your characters doing things. Focus on their verb. What does your character do? What do they need to wear to make that work? And how can you make that cute? And don't be afraid to have them change over time!

Well, that's all I got. Thanks for the ask!

[joys-of-everyday]

So did LQG abuse children?

First of all, this is a joke. The true answer is no, of course not. But this is funny, so let's do it.

This is brought to you by a collection of anecdotal evidence, with varying levels of experience in doing martial arts as a childhood hobby. Please do not take it as legal advice. It will not help you.

Highlight of the conversation:

Contact sports aren't illegal. Martial arts can be practiced by children. This can include both children practicing techniques on each other, and the instructor demonstrating techniques on children. This may cause light injury (scrapes and bruises). This is fine.

More serious injuries in sport do happen (sprains, broken limbs etc. Concussion is far more serious than fiction tells you - if you hit your head, please get medical advice). That being said, any decent sports instructor should have training in practicing sports safely. A karate person pointed out to me that karate has a lot of focus on control, so if you're causing injury in practice, you're doing something wrong, but also said they weren't sure about other martial arts. The only martial arts I've done is MMA very briefly, and I never got to the stage where anyone was capable of causing anyone serious injury, but we were given a briefing on day 1 about not hurting people. (If people are more knowledgeable about this, please chip in!) So LQG sending floods of children to Qian Cao is quite bad. There was, however, lack of consensus as to whether this would be illegal, but whatever the case, you would probably get in trouble for one of the following:

Safeguarding practices

Harassing, threatening, bullying, or intimidating students is absolutely no-go, obviously. (idk what the legalities are though, although it will get you fired from any decent institution.) So LQG's brutish ways leaving students shivering in fear gives him minus points.

Discriminating students for their background, ethnicity, gender, sexual-orientation etc. is also not okay. So more minus points for discriminating against demons.

Safeguarding is serious stuff. Places that work with children (at least in the UK) should have a designated safe guarding lead, to whom which safe guarding concerns can be passed on to. Students should have a way of raising concerns to higher levels (no matter how high up in the organisation the person of concern is, so may involve contacts outside of the organisation.) Cang Qiong Mountain does not seem to have any of this in place (*cough* student-teacher relationship *cough*), or any method of preventing bullying, so even more minus points here.

Endangerment of Children

It turns out it is not okay to endanger children!!! (Can you imagine how many fictional characters need to be arrested?) So no, you can't get kids to shoot guns at each other. This is illegal. Cang Qiong Mountain gets minus points for sending their kids to the Immortal Alliance Conference, or on life-threatening missions.

If it's your responsibility to look after a child, you should (surprisingly enough) look after said child. LQG seems to spend most of his time off the peak, and notably not looking after children. On the other hand, we are aware of other instructors on Bai Zhan peak - Ji Jue makes an appearance in the airplane extras, who is of the same generation as Liu Qingge. So evidently, there are some older people around to take care of the kids when Liu Qingge is off doing whatever. (Which would make sense, because no way is Liu Qingge correcting form and stuff) So we'll give him benefit of the doubt here.

So in summary LQG is (probably) not guilty of child abuse. However, he is definitely guilty of child endangerment. (As well as discrimination, reckless endangerment, arson, assault, hate crimes against demons etc.) Moreover, you could probably sue the whole of Cang Qiong Mountain for being unsafe and neglecting kids. Health and safety man. Gotta take it seriously👍

[finsterhund]

a bigger post more about the Boogeyman movie I guess.

Continuation from this: here

When the Boogeyman destroyed the spherical nightlight it made me so sad. The poor nightlight. It was like one of the moon ones yeah? Kinda. FUck him.

Interesting that they're playing into the Boogeyman being capable of voice copying as well as the shape shifting. So this feels like a simpler IT.

I always like to think about if these supernatural things actually evolved naturally and the fact that a creature with seemingly impossible mimicry abilities would evolve to fit the "preys on humans" niche that our houses and cities have caused to have been left vacant for so long. It uses familiarity to get close and blend in, and then it eats children who are unattended in "the safety of their own homes" because we're so comfortable in how our dens are safe have been for so long, and when natural survival instinct is filed away under "neurosis that must be cured" hmmm. An opportunist that evolved to permeate the safety of our nests, relying on us having gone soft. Something that adapted to the specifications of our own protective measures we're so confident works on everything in nature. Now I'm just thinking about the speculative evolution brainstorming I've been doing for my Underbed project again. How I'm torn between just how much the creatures of Underbed are naturally evolved and how much they're supernatural. I'm leaning more into "they were animals… at one point… perhaps evolved originally on Earth… but that's not where they live now… as in maybe they've completely adapted to being forced to live in this other dimension and only capable of coming into the now hostile alien world known as Earth from humanity's empty liminal spaces. Hahaha. Wish I could actually write the damn story though.

The visuals are pretty great in my opinion. The sketch of the entity is pretty cool while not being over the top. Spectre-esque, and the infecting tendril roots it puts down in places it's taking up residence are very good looking. I hate to come back to Skinamarink all the time but something like that, some more obvious more unnatural fucking with the house's appearance beyond removing exits and slightly fucking up stuff would have been cool to see just in the corner of a shot for like, less than a minute at a time to really add to it. More stuff like the hand I thought was so well done. But budget restraints of a tiny micro indie title I suppose. But then again if Kyle had a friend who was into textile arts and special effects on the project a whole lot could have been done practical. Idk. I hope for his next project he stays super indie but gets like, a gang of friends who each has like, a different visual medium special interest. I'd love to see those big goopy practical effect slime blood monster puppetry smoke and mirrors of old again.

This part: "it needs the dark to stay hidden… fire was the first thing man used to see at night" "it's really been around that long?" "I think it's been around forever" fucking sick as hell. So cool. Loved that.

The home movie lullaby scene got me crying a bit. Props to the dad not pushing his own way of grieving too much on the kids. When the older sibling gets after him for wanting to get rid of the mom's art supplies he actually APOLOGIZED and allowed her to keep them. Even if she had to put them in creepy basement.

I'm really hoping the mom becomes some sort of Spot Power not-exactly-an-entity that can fight the boogeyman. Also older sibling has an almost "Andy mullet bowl cut" hairstyle and I didn't notice until she had the house party.

Our first substantial look at the monster and the design is pretty good too. Has a partially mummified humanoid face with milky white eyes that have just enough luster to them that they glow in lower light in that way that has the potential to fuck with me but coincidentally it would seem the total absence of pupils nullifies how scary I find "human eye white glowing in the dark" so huh.

The bullying is also pretty realistic in this movie. You know this fucker was just trying to push the boundary as much as she could on how much abuse could she "accidentally" direct at the girl with the dead mom she wanted an excuse to demonize. She fully deserved that fucking slap. But then she immediately played the victim waaaahhhh wahhhhhh you hit me. And she gets to be in the right because she's the "calm one who never resorted to violence" oh no, just secretly instigated the entirety of the thing… 😒 God.

FUCK. THE SCENE WITH THR YOUNGER SISTER FIRING A WEAPON IN THE VIDEO GAME BECAUSE IT LIT UP MORE OF THR SCREEN BRIGHTER AND SHE WAS TOO SCARED TO GO AND GET A BETTER LIGHT SOURCE SO SHE TRIED TO IMPROVISE AND ADAPT WITH THE TV AS A LIGHT SOURCE SHE DID HAVE ACCESS TO UNLOCKED SOME PRIMAL REPRESSED MEMORIES OF SIMILAR. OH MY GOD.

Of course then I had to think about how I still intuitively on instinct do that shit with phone and computer all the time 😬😬😬😬 great. Just. Nyctophobia moments. I guess.

The shot of the bogeyman perched on top of the TV was so good. I got fucking chills. Then it cut to the scene of it actually jumping into the glow of the TV and moving and bruh… actually seeing its anatomy and how it moves. It's just like, quadrupedal Slenderman/the rake and the effects don't look "there" enough. Like it doesn't feel like it actually takes up space. It's a 3D model. Such a great shot but then immediately I'm broken out of it. For some reason I thought her getting thrown into the TV looked funny. I blame that gangly fuck.

Using a child as bait. Lmaoo oh my god that got serious fast. "I finally figured out how to kill this thing. I'll need … … YOU." DJGJDHDJFJS the fact that the floor candles were a thing that was established was cool on its own but then how it showed them getting systematically blowing out which signified the encroaching entity in the space. God. That's good. The architecture in this movie is really nice too. The way the house is built really pairs well with the shadowy spiderweb roots on the walls and ceiling.

Again, low light and from in front the creature design looks incredible. Really fucking good. But then you see it's full body fully in frame and illuminated and it's just an awkward thing. If they would have made it more anatomically hominin or more alien and unnatural in either direction it'd work better but it's right on the middle of "ehhhh it just looks a bit wrong but like in a design way not a body horror way" man. I wonder if making it black and muddling the visibility would improve this.

Love the use of heavy drums in the soundtrack.

Also how it still fucks with adults. Not as lazy as IT lol.

The scene where there's a fakeout death with it just lying on the ground was surreal to me. Don't see that all too often anymore. Just have the whole ass monster out there meme death posed degrading itself for the hopeful jumpscare payoff. Also the shots of its body stationary look creepier and more visually believable than the shots of it in motion. Huh.

Older girl's logic of "I saw it bleed" (like predator lol) doesn't really stand up considering she also saw it get shot like 20 times including four or so with a shotgun at point blank range. Like yeah you saw it bleed. Does that matter though?

The younger kid going around wearing the blinking Christmas lights is iconic to me. I did that sorta shit. That's Cayden armed to the teeth to pet some spectres type shit.

Literally fire kills it. Fire is literally the answer. (As a worldbuilding design that is fucking cool as hell. Early man figured it out. How to keep this thing away. But then we forgot) but also it did end up having like a sorta (same vein as Spot Power tbh) the mom's lifeforce being what stopped it. As symbolized by the fire. I liked that. I like how it's ambiguous as to the full extent of the mom's spirit. Would fire have worked otherwise or is it special magic dead mom Spot Power fire. Sad to see the house and mementos go though. Always sad. I will try not to think of love being consumed by flames I think about that enough.

I stand by the monster design being good but just doesn't end up meshing well and how obscuring it more would have helped. Maybe other people find weird almost spider human fucked up anatomy thing more scary than me but idk.

Pediatric psychiatrist: hey older kid now that this is all over just one more thing can you come back into my office alone haha no reason haha

Me: oh fuck oh shit the original story ending!! (But no. Lmao)

Was good. Loved the scenes of it hissing back away from the fire/light and when it skittered across lit spaces just enough. So much of the light and darkness effects are just really good.

I really lived the two houses but that's a given because knowing Stephen King this movie was set in the state with both an excess of cool houses and fucked up demons in it.

[cantdanceflynn]

Alice has gods in her control!? What do they look like?

UHHHHHHH WELL DEPENDING ON THE TIME PERIOD SHE TECHNICALLY HAS SOME LEVEL OF CONTROL OVER ALL THE GODS IN THE MAIN AU I USE HER FORE(THE DEITY AU), BUT MOSTLY CANDACE AND MYSTERY, CANDACE BASICALLY. JUST. LOOKING LIKE HER CANON SELF. MYSTERY HAS SOME SLIGHT DESIGN CHANGES, HES THE GUY WITH THE SKI MASK IN THE ANIMATIC I SENT YOU IF IT WASNT CLEAR.

CANDACE IS TECHNICALLY A FIRE GODDESS, WITH HER CAPABILITIES RANGING FROM "WHOOPS MY SKIN IS UNATURALLY WARM" TO "CAPABLE OF PYROCLASTIC WAVES ON A WHIM IF SUFFICIENT POWER IS BUILT UP/ SHES EMOTIONAL ENOUGH ABOUT IT". HER VAMYRISM IS ALSO TERRIFYING AND MEANS SHE CAN FUCKING FLY AND HAS TWO!!!! TWO(2) VERY EASY TO TRIGGER STATES OF BEING WHERE ALICE HAS COMPLETELY CONDITIONED HER TO OBEY NO MATTER HOW HORRIBLE FOR THE IDEA OF BEING "PURE"

AND MYSTERY IS TECHNICALLY AN IDENTITY AND MIND BASED GOD? LIKE, HOW DIFFERENT RELIGIONS HAVE GODS THAT WERE BORN FROM OR USUALLY REGARD DIFFERENT BODY PARTS OR CAPABILITIES? IDK I COULD GIVE YOU A WHOLE TEN INFODUMPS ON THE INTRICACIES OF THE MADEUP RELIGION WE'VE GOT FOR THIS AU. BUT BASICALLY, WHILE HE DOESNT REALLY GET THE FULL EXTENT OF HIS POWERS UNDER ALICES CONTROL, ITS SAFE TO SAY IT RANGES BETWEEN "MADE A PRETTY PROJECTION OF A MENTAL IMAGE OR A TELESCOPE OR SOMETHING" TO "COMPLETE CONTROL OVER YOUR MIND, YOUR CAPABILITIES AND YOUR BODY, ALL USUALLY AT THE WHIMS OF ALICE, WHO WOULD EITHER USE YOU TO DESTROY YOUR FRIENDS OR BASICALLY DO THE BIPPER THING OF "WOW, YOURE JUST SO "HUMAN"? TIME TO MAKE YOU A MONSTER :DDD BUT IN LIKE A FUNNY WAY 50% OF THE TIME". YES THIS INCLUDES ANY OF THE OTHER GODS. SO. TECHNICALLY ON PAPER SHE COULD CONTROL ALL OF THEM. NOT REALLY THAT SIMPLE IN PRACTICE OBVIOUSLY BUT. SHE COULD

[edge-oftheworld]

aaaaaa yes all of this where do i even start to reply to? but oh. i feel like whenever someone is a public personality with not everyone being a musician we forget the nitty gritty of musician life: all the practice they have to do, all the ways they have to feed their creativity--like, of course ash would talk about it, it's his whole life. why do we as the public forget about it? but also like i'm glad it has been a safe space for him (and all of them) to practice their craft. and they've always(nearly) been authentic tbh it's one of the best things about them. i genuinely don't think they know how to be anything else and you know what? good for them. it's tiring to be fake. they don't need that. they work too much already.

and where did he say that about the songs he writes for luke? like oh that is adorable but also--this is why they joke about being codependent. this is where i start to get worried for them. this is where they're super self-sufficient and really admirably community sufficient but also music isn't an alternative for therapy how many of us need to hear that and ash is so protective of all of them being the oldest but. i'm the oldest too of my siblings and the one who ends up always looking after my friends to and it's like, you gotta take care of yourself too. you gotta have someone doing that for you or conserve your own resources if you don't have it; you can't just keep pouring yourself out. i honestly admire the way they've all sustained themselves and kept everything together over the years, especially coming from a place where i've had to quit so many things due to burnout even though i fought so hard to make them work and accommodate myself and do everything right--i've had to leave entire communities because i was exploited and i had no idea that wasn't normal or sustainable. like i can see that they're doing alright now. and i can see how when you go through that together it is really really special (i'm actually so jealous but anyway). reminds me of ash saying 'a band is like a trauma bond' in 2020 like he used that word incorrectly but we know what he means and it made sense in context

and oh that about calum was so sweet. like the way that they all just truly know each other and who each other truly are--tbh it's a theme i've seen in a few of their songs including the ones about romantic relationships as well, reminds me of ash's part in HAZE where he's like 'ventura was a wasteland, the city broke my heart' followed by 'and then you pick me up and i don't have to play pretend, and i am human once again'. i esp love how calum is so true to his values--that's so hard in an industry that wants to tell you what they should be. i'm a little (read: lot) inspired. and i wish ash wouldn't beat himself up for wanting slightly more mainstream things, for enjoying things that are material as well as spiritual--but it's okay to admire calum for that! and oh i had no idea he had felt like that--like he's a super super talented vocalist and everyone knows him? solo career is right there if and when he wants it. and to get to do that while also being in the band with his best friends and selling the candles and whatever else he thinks of when he's like 'oh i never banked on this lasting'. like i hate that he ever felt like that what if we could design a drum set he could jump around on stage with the others with what then

anyway this was so solid and so real and like? not often you have anyone really being honest about life and how to stay afloat in it all like that, someone i personally can relate to in terms of outlook in life and how my brain works idk if it's similar for you but. i think this is what he's always tried to do with his music too, connect with fans like that and it takes such a dedication to being real and making something that's kind of as i describe it usable emotional capital out of it and he seems overall pretty at peace with it which i love for him. and joel of course is always cool and pretty much the same in that too and tbh i can imagine he's super proud of ash and all of 5sos especially having worked with them way back on sgfg

your reblog on my sideblog post was just <3 <3 please tell me your fave part of the artist friendly episode!

hi !!!!!! i get so few asks these days so every time i get an ask i'm like for ME?????? 😊😊😊😊

i haven't listened to the artist friendly episode in full for a while but there are SO many little moments i adore from it. i really love hearing ashton talk about his artistic process as a whole, because i find he's so unbearably passionate about it, in a very sincere way. i always get this sense of authenticity from him that i feel doesn't really come across often with many other artists!

my first favourite part is obviously when he talks about his writing relationship with luke. of course, we know they write hit songs together (and like they are hit songs), but the fact that he describes it as a safe zone for him is so sweet. like it's very clear they're comfortable with one another, and hearing how deep their connection is, was just very nice. ashton's also talked about before how he "writes songs he thinks luke needs to hear" sometimes so, that's also incoherent screaming inducing cause wow their relationship is just so so so special.

second fave part was when ashton was talking about calum and their musical relationship! i think it's so heartbreakingly beautiful that he feels like he and calum are connected on a soul level, with their music. as a former band and choir kid, i feel like it's so so underrated how making music together and performing it just bonds you like no other, and there really is a language made between bandmates. it's also special with 5sos in particular because they are one of the only bands that sort of came up in their "scene" that pretty much equally share writing and singing duties. when they get into that "groove zone" or however ash described it, it feels different from other bands because it's like oh! this is all music that we created from start to finish together, and isn't that just beautiful

finally, i really love ashton's take on just being in the industry, as a growing artists and as a drummer in general. especially with more of an optimistic look upon it. he's said in interviews for superbloom, that before 2020, there was a really long time where he thought that his role as a drummer in the band was suffocating. something along the lines of "i'm going to sit behind this drum kit and drum until i die and that's all i'll really be". but now, he really views the band as a vessel of creativity and that it is open and flexible to his ideas and own projects. and it feels like he's adopted more of a role as a guiding force in the band, and a creative, and i just think that sort of growth is amazing !

thank you for the wonderful ask and yk if you want to chat about this stuff i would be so open 🥰