#but i really wanted to share all of these images so my solution was 1 huge compilation

[scalierpepper]

Canaan crew appreciation post ^

(All scenes from Reinaeiry's Take Me to Church but it's EPIC video.)

Also, there was a lot of thought put into the details and compositions for this video, and it was like 4 months of my life so I want to talk abt it ! For lack of better place to do so I've dumped everything under the cut again:

Some details/process I personally enjoy:

I used images of pluto as my color scheme for the ninth house:

And last but not least, perhaps one of my favorite details of the whole project...we took inspo from religious and classical imagery for a big handful of the compositions or poses. The art I chose to pair with each scene was very intentional:

[0o-junebug-o0]

First Meeting

summary: You're having difficulty with some code so you stop by Penelope's house for help, unaware that she has a guest. Spencer takes one look at you and is immediately head over heels.

genre: fluff

cw: meet cute (is it a meet cute?) completely gn!reader (reader is not described at all), no use of y/n, autistic!spencer (because every spencer is autistic!spencer), season 1 spencer, university/college student reader, talk about research and coding, pov switch from reader to spencer

wordcount: 1.5k

a/n: this is an actual error I had this summer when writing my spectra analysis code

You lean back in your chair with a sigh, scowling at the code you’re trying to write. You’re still relatively new to coding, the first time you ever took a class on it was just under two years ago, so this code has taken you significantly more time to write than it would have taken Penelope. But you’ve written it. You read through the code again and rerun it. Everything runs fine, the code should work, but it doesn’t. 

You rub your eyes and groan with frustration. You should be able to get a wavelength solution out of this. The professor you’re doing research with told you what you need to do to get the wavelength solution and then how to use it to find the redshift of the lensed galaxy and the foreground lensing galaxy, but nothing is lining up!

You’ve opened the data, plotted the variation in flux for each line in the image, fit a Gaussian to it to get the brightest point, and converted the pixel value of that point to vacuum wavelength, but none of the wavelengths you’re finding match up with what lines should be present in the spectra for this lamp type!

You briefly consider emailing your professor but decide against it. Even though he told you that asking him things wouldn’t bother him and that it’s his job, you don’t want to take up more of his time than you already have. 

You look around your apartment for anything that might help. Your eyes land on your keychain and the spare key Penelope gave you because she enjoys it when you stop by. You quickly shut your laptop, tucking it under your arm, grab your keys, slip on a pair of shoes, and make your way down the hall to Penelope’s apartment, not bothering to lock the door behind you. 

_____

Spencer sits awkwardly on one of Garcia’s kitchen stools, tapping his fingers on the Tardis mug she had filled with tea and given him. He’s not exactly sure why Garcia invited him over. She said she wanted to bond, but they’ve known each other for almost two years now, and Spencer considers her a good friend, so he doesn’t really know what bonding entails. So far, Garcia has just been bustling around her kitchen preparing snacks and drinks for their Doctor Who marathon.

The lock clicks and Spencer’s head whips toward the door just in time for it to burst open. Spencer freezes and stares at you in awe and confusion. 

“Penny!” you cry, your voice a mixture of a shout and a whine. 

Garcia calls your name with a surprised look. “What happened? Are you alright?”

“What?” you ask. Then you wave your hand flippantly. “Yeah I’m fine, I just need help with some code.” Your eyes land on Spencer and he can feel his heart rate increase. He really hopes his face isn’t as red as it feels. 

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you had someone over,” you say. “I can, um, I can come back later.”

Spencer watches as your posture stiffens slightly and you start to fiddle with your keychain. 

Spencer opens his mouth to reassure you but Garcia beats him to it. “No, no, it’s fine,” she says. “I’ve been wanting you two to meet anyway.” You shoot Spencer a small, awkward smile and wave from across the room when Garcia shares your name. When she introduces him, your eyes widen and you look toward Garcia with an expression Spencer can’t decipher and mouth something to her that makes her laugh loudly. 

Spencer can feel himself flushing at your reaction and takes a sip of his tea to hide his face.

“Anyway!” Garcia says cheerfully. “Do you mind if I help them real quick?”

“Go ahead,” Spencer responds, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. It’s difficult with you there, though, all his thoughts suddenly seem much harder to grasp. Like your presence is forcing them aside. 

Your eyes seem to linger on him for a moment before you head over to the counter and set your laptop down. “Right,” you mutter, opening it and entering the password. Spencer listens intently as you describe to Garcia what your code should be doing and he can’t help but smile at the clear passion in your voice. It sends butterflies to his stomach. 

“What do you study?” Spencer blurts out. 

You close your mouth and cock your head at him for a moment. “I’m, uh, I’m studying astrophysics. Specifically strong gravitational lensing. I’ve already made preliminary models of the system and I’m just working on analyzing the spectra now.”

Spencer nods and leans over to look at your code. 

“Do you want to help Penny find the issue?” you ask. You sound a bit nervous and Spencer looks up and smiles what he hopes is a soothing smile.

“I would if I could. I really don’t know how to code, though.”

“Seriously?” you ask. Spencer cocks his head at the tone of surprise in your voice. “Sorry, it’s just that Penny has told me a lot about you and about how you’re a genius and have three PhDs, which is insanely impressive by the way, so I guess I’m just surprised you don’t know something.”

“There’s a lot I don’t know,” Spencer admits. “Coding and other technological things are some of it. I don’t know too much about astrophysics either.” That’s not exactly true but it isn’t a lie either. He’s read papers on several astrophysical topics but he’s never come across one on strong lensing before. But the truth of the statement is irrelevant, the only reason he said it was to find an excuse to spend more time with you.

You smile and Spencer’s stomach feels like it does a backflip. “I won’t be much help teaching you how to code, Penny would be better for that, but I can tell you about some astro stuff at some point.”

“Alright, lovebirds,” Garcia teases and Spencer’s face burns. “Let’s focus.” You nod, clearly also a bit embarrassed, and turn back to your laptop.

“How about I go line by line and tell you what it should do and you let me know if something doesn’t do what I think it does,” you say. Garcia nods and both she and Spencer follow along as you point to and describe each line of code. You get to a printed image of the data file you’re analyzing before Garcia stops you.

“Can you open the file on your computer?” she asks.

You nod and open the file in a new application and move it so it’s side by side with the image in your code. “Wait,” you mutter, glancing back and forth between the two images. “Is that seriously the issue?” Spencer leans forward to get a closer look, the x-axes of the images are flipped. 

You throw your head back with a groan and change the rotation of the file in your code. “I swear, if this works,” you growl. The clear exasperation in your tone makes Spencer chuckle slightly. 

You rerun the code and compare several of the outputs to a list of wavelengths before groaning again and letting your head fall onto the counter. “I hate Python,” you grumble. “Why does it have to switch the axes!” 

Garcia laughs and pats you on the back. You raise your head off the counter and tap your forehead against her shoulder in a gesture Spencer assumes expresses gratitude. “Thanks, Penny,” you sigh. “You’re the best.”

“Of course I am!”

“Oh, and Spencer,” you say, turning to look at him. “We should get lunch sometime. I can tell you about astrophysics and you can tell me about all the crazy things you know.”

“I-I would love that,” Spencer stutters, unable to speak clearly with you looking into his eyes. He's hardly able to wrap his head around the fact that someone as beautiful as you would want to spend more time with him. Spencer's not sure whether you’re asking him on a date or just to go out as friends, but he doesn’t care either way as long as he gets to spend more time with you.

“Great!” you say happily. You stand and cross the room to quickly grab one of Garcia’s pens before returning. You hold the fluffy pink pen with a smile on your face and hold out your hand for his. “May I?” you ask. 

Spencer’s eyes widen and he nods, setting his hand in yours despite his usual aversion to touch. The contact makes his heart feel like it’s about to burst from his chest. You scrawl your number across the back of his hand before handing Spencer the pen and holding out your hand for him to do the same. He writes his number on your hand and watches in a sort of daze as you gather your computer and keys and wave goodbye before leaving.

Spencer jumps slightly as Garcia ruffles his hair. He looks over at her to see a knowing smile on her face. Spencer blushes and hides his face in his hands. “Shut up,” he grumbles, embarrassed.

“No way,” she laughs. “Derek’s going to have a field day with this. Boy genius has a crush!”

_____

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

Taglist!: fill out this form if you want to be tagged when I post fics

@daryls-crossbow16 @roboticsuccubus83 @nemobee777 @dorcas4meadowes @spenciesslut @Idfk17 @pleasantwitchgarden @angeliccss @novaana @moonysreid @cynbx @dead-universe @starlighta

[krisp-xyz]

Was experimenting with halftone effects after watching this video and it almost has spiderverse vibes honestly. I actually learned some neat things about why printers use CMYK instead of just CMY so I thought I'd share !!

So in our optimal little computer space, Cyan (0,255,255), Magenta (255,0,255) and Yellow (255,255,0) all multiplied together gives us a perfect black (0,0,0) Awesome! The issue is that ink colors irl arent exactly perfect like this, and color is a bit more complicated irl compared to how computers represent it, so they aren't the greatest at combining into black if they aren't those perfect CMY values:

Left: CMY

Right: CMYK

(thats not even black, its a dark blue in the original image but dark colors just look so much richer)

An important step to make sure you arent doubling up on the black values though is to divide the image by it's own "value" (the max of all 3 color channels) that way the value is equal to 1 everywhere, and you're letting the black ink take care of the value on its own.

Left: CMY (normalized value)

Middle: K (black)

Right: Combined

Now obviously the grids of dots cant be aligned perfectly with each other because you'd just get a bunch of black dots in unwanted areas, but if the grids are misaligned, then some dots become more prominent than others which tints the whole image. This was an issue because older printing methods didn't have great accuracy and these grids were often misaligned.

The solution was to rotate these grids such that they can move around freely while getting rid of that tint effect if they aren't perfectly aligned :D

(I have no idea how they came up with these angles but that might be something to look into in the future who knows)

SPEAKING OF MISALIGNMENT

I wanted to implement that in my own filter to get some cool effects, and I discovered another reason CMYK is better than CMY for lots of stuff !!

With CMY, you're relying on the combination of 3 color channels to make the color black. This means if you have thin lines or just details in general, misalignment can make those details very fuzzy. Since CMYK uses a single color of ink to handle value, it reduces color fringing and improves clarity a lot even if you have the exact same misalignment as CMY!

Left: CMY

Right: You guessed it! CMYK

(yes these comparisons have the exact same color misalignment, the only difference is using a fourth ink color for black)

ANYWAY I just thought there was a lot of cool information in this tiny little day project, I also just think it looks really neat and wanted to share what I learned :3c

EDITING BECAUSE THERE'S ONE MORE THING I WANTED TO ADD

So, I talked about how to get K in addition to CMY instead of just CMY, but how exactly do you separate CMY from an image in the first place?

Well, CMY is a subtractive color space, meaning the "absence of color" is white, compared to RGB where it's black. This makes sense because ofc ink is printed on white paper. You can use dot product to get the "similarity" between two vectors, and this can be used to separate RGB actually! Using the dot product of a color and red (255,0,0) will give you just the red values of the image. This is cool though because if we get the dot product of our image and the color cyan (0,255,255), we can get the cyan values from our image too! If we first divide our colors by their value to separate the value from them, then separate CMY using those dot product values, and using K for our final black color value, our individual color passes end up looking like this:

While it's called a "subtractive" color space, I find it more intuitive to treat white as the absence of color here, and then multiply all these passes together. It makes it much easier to understand how the colors are combined imo. Notice how cyan is the opposite of red: (255,0,0) vs (0,255,255) and magenta and yellow are the opposites of green and blue respectively! This means you can actually kinda get away with separating the RGB values and just inverting some stuff to optimize this, but this example is much more intuitive and readable so I won't go too deep into that. THANKS FOR READING I know it's a very long post but I hope people find it interesting! I try my best to explain things in a clear and concise way :3

oh thank you I realized I should probably add an eyestrain tag

[ash-says]

Hush Hush Honey:

A guide on how to regulate oversharing and balancing the conversation flow.

Each one of us has at least been in a situation where we accidentally ended up spilling more than we should. We do recognise the patterns but are unable to control ourselves. That's why your girl Ash-says is here to say a lot about it.

1) Find the why

What are you trying to achieve by sharing that piece of information? Drama? Attention? Get it off your chest? Is it important to inform them? Is it valuable to them?etc.

First tackle the why. Before you go in to reveal something ask yourself if it goes with the conversation flow and if yes is it really important to share it.

2) Are you a celebrity?

No like why? Who is interested in your life so much? Are those people paparazzi to broadcast your current events and bring you fame? No right. So shut up.

3) Who puts their dirty laundry on display?

When you overshare you are basically putting all your secrets, stuff that you do or did on blatant exposure. People are going to judge you. That's the very nature. So breathe and keep it inside.

4) Try to listen more

Train yourself into listening more than speaking especially in group settings or around people that you don't know much about. Gossip is real. You don't want to be the next tea time sensation.

5) Alternatives for talkative people:

Now I know you might be thinking can't say this can't say that then how the hell am I going to bond with people or what should I converse about?

I have developed a solution for you. It's Ash verified because I myself have been using it unknowingly for around 7 years of my life.

Never open your mouth for passing judgements, expressing your opinions on things that do not relate to you, your dirty laundry, secrets, family issues, relationship issues, your sex life, your goals and aspirations, your daily routine, your political standpoint,etc you get where I am going right?

Instead speak about the experiences you had while travelling somewhere, some goofy stuff that happened to you, your harmless vice for example: I am clumsy so I have a lot of incidents that occur due to it which can be told in a funny way. It adds a nuance to my perfectionist image plus helps people warm up to me. Movie shows, songs, etc here also there's a catch if you relate to a show/song/ piece of literature strongly never reveal it. The smart ones will understand the inner workings of your mind.

Never let them know your next move.

If nothing of this then goof around being nonsense. Do little hand gestures, funny faces if you are bored but never overshare.

6) Be mindful of interruption

Practise practise practise. Literally that's the only way. Try not to interrupt people while speaking. There's no roundabout way. It is what it is.

7) Be comfortable in silence

You have to be okay with the conversation dying down. Running your mouth dry will only result in one sided convo. It's more useless and harmful than the one mentioned before.

8) Know your limits

Fix in your brain what you can share and what you can't. Stick to it. Even over your dead body.

9) Be genuinely interested in people

Ask yourself are you asking questions to really get to know the other person or just looking for a chance to talk about yourself? Dethrone yourself first and then interact with others.

10) Put out stuff that you are over with

Always remember what you say can and will be used against you. Drill it and from next time when you speak be mindful that every word can stand against you. Do you have the capacity to handle the consequences? Yes then go ahead. No, then stop live streaming.

Bonus point: Be as private as possible on social media. People don't need to know what you are doing nowadays. Privacy is power. What they don't know they can't ruin.

Strategically put things out. I am not saying be inactive. In Rome you live like the Romans. Do it smartly.

That's all for today's show on ash-says. Stay tuned for more illegal tricks and explosive opinions.

[chantiying]

You have a new message, would you accept it?

How to choose? Take a deep breath, close your eyes, think about that/those person/people you have something inconclusive with (if you can't think about anyone it's ok, dw) then choose the image that calls to you better

1 2 3

Before to start, sorry for any mistakes or grammar error. English is not my first language

Remember tarot is not set on stone and you can change your path whenever you want. This is for entertainment purposes

This reading is general so if it doesn't resonate with you just let it go

Option 1

I know you're still upset about the way all of this happened. I know you don't understand why I had to go away. You think I let you alone and I didn't really care about it. I know you think I was selfish all I did was look out for my own good. I know you keep blaming me for the things I did to our family. I know that, even if I say to you my reasons they are still just excuses to your ears. I needed to walk away, I was tired. It was the best, it was fair. I had to understand who am I, I had to mature but it doesn't matter anymore, does it?

I'll be back, any moment. I know that hearing that scars you a lot, I know it bothers you "go back?" "For what?" "To destroy all the the life I built in your absence?" Yeah, I break your heart, I was the person you trusted the most , I broke our little world, I broke us, and you are still afraid of trusting in me again, but could you give me another chance? Take your time to respond my petition. I promise I'll understand if you don't want to see me again, but I'm serious about that I want to make things work for us this time.

For some of you, this could be a male figure in your family.

Two more messages for you.

Take a rest, honey. You don't have to be the one who is always fixing everything. The solution for the pain you're feeling right now is not overexerting yourself. Don't worry, things gonna be ok.

This could be from someone who passed away.

The last message could be an ex lover

Something that ended because of people talking in your back, hidden secrets that came to light. Tbh, I feel that this person don't have any interest in fix anything. Maybe they are happy that all of that happened and the way it all ended.

Additional information.

I feel like in this pile there's a lot of young energy. Maybe that person was too young or the separation occurred when both of you where young or you were young when all of this happened.

I feel that for some of you the root of all your failed relationships is because of the message of the first person

Maybe you've been suffering from sore throat or neck pain and I feel that it could be because you don't know have to express your emotions. It's ok to cry and scream, if you feel like crying, just do it, everything will be alright, ok?

Option 2

I feel like this person is upset or mad. Probably the relationship ended because of an argument. One of you was not in their best moment (maybe one of you passed or is passing through depression or anxiety)

I had to go, it was for the better. This, the thing we had it had neither head nor foot. I do accept we had a lot of good memories, you were my sun, but it doesn't mean we were meant to be. Do you know what? Sometimes, when I think about us, the first memories that came to my mind are those where I felt tied to you. We were going to nowhere. We had different paths, different dreams, different goals. I actually think we share the blame in this one, and, I still blame you for the kind of love you gave to me. It was too suffocating. It was like when you water a flower, you know what I mean? You were drowning me. I needed to make a decision, the better for me, and I don't regret doing it

This could be a past friendship

This is another message it could be from a female figure.

Don't be silly. You need to be less immature and spoiled. Will you realize at some point that you are being your own worst enemy? I know you're thinking about me like a killjoy or like i'm bitter, but my only wish is for you to open your eyes and put your feet on the ground. Do you remember when you were happy only with what you had? Do you remember when you played with all your friends and relatives? Do you remember all the scenarios you imagined and all of those were easy to resolve just with laughs and superpowers? I want you to be that little kid again. I want to hear your laugh until your belly hurts. I want you to be more kind with yourself and with the others. I want you to let go whatever its making you feel bad. I want you to start dancing by your own, my love.

Some of you have a nickname inspired on nature "sun" "bunny" "peach" "twinkle" or you have a name related to flowers or stars.

I feel like some of you either are emotionally unstable or feel a little too much.

Maybe you are fan of Taylor Swift and like the rain

Option 3

I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for being the villain of your story. I feel so sorry for stealing your confidence. I'm so sorry because I know I'm the reason of your nightmares/insomnia. I'm sorry you don't feel good enough and all of that is my fault. It's horrible to be the person who hurt the one who most loved me. You were my wish came true. You were the madness I needed to keep me sane, it doesn't make sense, does it? I could have done better, I know. I'd have done better to give you all the things you deserve. I guess it's too late to own up to my mistakes. Now I've lost you

I don't want you to forgive me (maybe I do want to) I want to tell you that I love the person you are now. All of that is because of YOU. I just destroyed you. You had to pass through a lot. Sometimes I wish I could talk to you. Would you give me an opportunity? All the fights, all the arguments, all the screaming and crying. I'm so sorry, I'm really really sorry. I know I took you away from me. If it's worth it, I also wake up at night thinking I could have done better

I love you, I always have

I don't want to wreck your plans. I don't want to turn your world upside down. Am I being greedy for saying that I miss you? I know I'm the king of victimized myself, I'm aware of that. I'll try to change for better, even if it doesn't matter anymore. I have what I deserve and I hope you get what you deserve for loving someone who didn't know how to love you in return

This could be an ex lover but it could be a person who took "care" of you when you were a child too

Let your inner child to heal. Play with them, enjoy and do the things you want to do but you don't do for fear of being judged

I have a plan for you! What if you choose some animated movies, cartoons you liked when you were a child and enjoy your evening watching them?

You're so brave and strong, I admire you, keep going

I feel like you have a good taste on music

This is my first reading, hope you all like it

Alic (Chanty) 🪽

[abeloth]

Novel Planning/Writing Programs/Sites

I wrote this mostly for myself as I've used many different things over the years with varying success, but I think it might be useful for others as well. Not sponsored. All below the cut. If you want the TLDR, scroll to the very bottom.

1. Google Docs

Free. Just regular ol' Google Docs for writing and organizing. If you lose a Doc, you can contact Google and they're pretty prompt about getting it back for you if you accidentally delete something and then empty your trash.

For writing, it helps to get one folder and then have a bunch of folders inside that folder for drafts. It also helps to make one Doc that's just for background information you might need or for outlining. For this, I've just made tables or used Google's built-in outlines. However, this is the model of an eleven year old and it can get pretty messy trying to keep track of too much.

2. Airtable

Free with paid version available. Not for writing, but good for organizing. There's a novel template as well. I like that you can link records together. I've been using it for awhile for things like species, scenes, locations, etc.

For family trees, I recommend changing the view from "Grid view" to "Kanban" and categorizing it by "Generation" (Gen 1, etc). This works really well for planning things out and world building in general. You can add images really easily as well. It's very user intuitive and I recommend playing around with categories and fields until you get it to your liking. Btw, if you sign up with the above link I get referral credit on the site! I'd appreciate it if this post proves helpful.

3. Notebook.ai

Free with paid version available. This is one of those programs that's technically free, but you need to pay for it to be really usable in some respects. I really like how it organizes characters and asks you questions that prompt you to think more about your character. Same with locations. So it's great for characters and locations, but not for stuff like species or races. If you want to write fantasy, I would not use this alone (but I would take a look to see if any of the questions help you with world-building or characterization). I'd use it in conjunction with something like Airtable.

4. novelWriter

Free. This offline software is great for novel-writing! You can move chapters around which is nice. It has all your work in this nice lil' collapsable list. It also has options for you to note stuff about the plot, characters, location, etc at the bottom. Not super user intuitive, but it's not very hard to figure out and their site can help you out. Also, the next several are very similar to novelWriter (similar features and are not browser-based), but with more features.

5. Manuskript

Free. Same as above, but it includes an analyzer that can tell you how often you used a word or phrase. It also has some neat features like a distraction-free mode you can customize and a novel assistant–though I have not used that feature. The devs recommend having backups because it's still in early development. However, you should have backups regardless. I’ve personally had some issues losing progress and my .msk file not loading completely within the program. I’m trying to play around and find a solution, but I might lose motivation since I haven’t had this issue with Quoll or novelWriter.

6. Quoll Writer

Free. Great for novel writing. It also has bonus features like a fullscreen distraction free mode you can configure and a guide meant to identify problems with your writing. You can easily do text annotations as well. It has stats to view your productivity AND an editor mode that includes sharing with others. There is also a warm-up feature that comes complete with writing prompts, though I’ve never used this feature.

7. Atomic Scribbler a.k.a SmartEdit Writer

Free. Great for novel writing, especially if you're super used to Microsoft Word. It has the same look and feel, so if you're considering transitioning, this is a great fit. Just like the ones above, it lets you go chapter by chapter and scene by scene so you can easily view your novel and rearrange it to your liking. Disclaimer that I have not used this because I hate Microsoft Word so much it's unreal.

8. yWriter

Free. yWriter seems pretty similar to novelWriter, but is only for Windows. I have Mac, so I haven’t tried this one but it looks nice and uncomplicated.

9. NovelEasy

Free. Browser-based, so you can use this if you have a ChromeBook (4-8 require Mac or Windows to run). It has a similar set up and some similar features, but it goes by chapters, not chapters and scenes. However, it does still have the option to see your daily progress with word count, time spent writing, etc. Disclaimer that I have not used this, but it looks like a good alternative if you can't run the aforementioned programs.

I haven't tried Scrivener (since it's paid), but I've heard good things about it. I'm not sure if there's anything included you couldn't get elsewhere for free. Campfire is free, but I'm unsure if it's free like Airtable or like Notebook. If I check it out, I'll update this post with my thoughts on it.

TLDR: What I’ve been using to write is Airtable (#2 on the list) for worldbuilding, characters, and outlining, Google Docs (#1) for at least the first draft, and novelWriter (#4) for the second draft onward since it’s so much easier to move scenes around and see what else you need to edit.

[femmmie]

THE ISLAND

Here is the first chapter of my 25k Smosh fanfic. I'm so excited to share it with you 💓 I will post a new chapter every day until the story is over. If you rather read it all in one go, that's okay too, it's all up on AO3.

Chapter 1: The campaign

Ian gets interviewed about his run for president of the USA. Amanda, an attractive and sharp reporter, catches his eye. Meanwhile at Defy HQ, someone else's adventure begins...

Chapter word count: 1.194

Rated: I guess general, or teen?

"So, you in fact did NOT have sex with your staff worker's sister?"

"What? Hell no! Why would I even? Okay look, I know it's very exciting for you and every other outlet that asked me this same question. Wow, a presidential candidate is single. But at least be a little classy? Don't go and snoop around my love life."

"Of course, mister Hecox. And what will you do, as president of the United States, to combat the climate disaster?"

"Look, miss Lehan-Canto, I think we both know I'm no expert on the subject. But I've been in talks with research institutes who devote all their time to finding solutions. That's who I listen to now, and I'll continue to listen to them when I'm in office."

"Very good. Thank you for this interview. People.com readers will be happy to hear you care about the future of our beautiful planet."

"Of course I care. Musk and Gates may have left orbit, but I'm sticking to Earth, thank you very much. As president I'll fight every day for our right to exist!"

"One last question..."

"Alright?"

"Then why are you taking money from Defy Media, the consortium spreading propaganda for Big Oil?"

"Ah, I see you've done your homework. But, like, what am I to do? Not take their billions? I need to get my message out to the people, so they know their choices. And, as you well know, that costs a lot of money."

"But doesn't it compromise your integrity?"

"That's for the voters to decide. I think my platform is straight-forward."

"Thank you for your time, mister Hecox."

The room was very bright, with big windows and a high ceiling. It was perfect to take presidential-looking shots to publish along with the article.

Ian Hecox sat down on a modern, green arm-chair.

A tall, young man wearing a bandana took the pictures. "Uh-huh. That's perfect."

With every flash, however, Ian's mind conjured up all kinds of horrible scenarios.

FLASH

His eventual and utterly unavoidable assassination.

FLASH

Or if his adversaries wanted to be sneaky, a 'sudden' and 'unexpected' death.

FLASH

How many minutes would he last as president?

"Mister Hecox," Bandana implored Ian. "You're looking very regal, but maybe a couple of shots of you looking relaxed would help your image of being a, you know, a more approachable guy?"

The reporter stayed around during the shoot. She gave Ian a look, like she knew something about him he himself didn't even know. It was strangely intriguing.

They wrapped up.

"Wow, you have REALLY blue eyes, man," miss Lehan-Canto said, taking Ian aback. "I was trying to ask some tough questions, but I kept getting distracted haha."

"Uh, thanks?" Ian stifled a nervous burp and tried to laugh it off. But the reporter walked up to him, until they stood closely together. She was very tall.

"I promised I wouldn't pry into your love life anymore... But I have to ask. How come you are still single?'

"Haha. I- Well," Ian tried to look anywhere except straight in front of him. "I don't know either. It's not like I haven't tried. It just hasn't worked out before. But truly, miss Lehan-Canto-"

"Please, call me Amanda." Amanda was rubbing Ian's arm with her perfectly manicured nails. It was wildly distracting.

"Okay, Amanda. And please also just call me Ian. Ever since I announced my campaign, I haven't had any time to date, or anything. I'm, I'm sorry. You're very beautiful. Gorgeous even. Ten out of ten. But I, I have to think of the people who put their trust in me to give it my all. To try and finally steer us in the right direction."

Amanda traced Ian's shirt's neckline, a disappointed pout on her face.

"I understand. Well, if you become president-"

"WHEN I become president." Ian gave her the old smolder. It worked, because she giggled. Her smile was white, wide and inviting. The skin around her big, brown eyes crinkled.

"-When- you become president, will you give People.com an exclusive?"

Ian softly put his hands around Amanda's waist and looked her in the eyes. "I promise."

"Very good." Amanda smiled as she turned around and walked away. Before exiting the door, she turned around once more and gave Ian a wink.

~

"Ian, that was very nice and all, but..."

"I know, I know."

Ian’s campaign team had been observing the whole interview from a corner of the large room. Shayne, his advisor, always worried most about optics.

"Do you, really? If that photographer took any footage of you cuddling it up with miss Lehan-Canto, they have blackmail material against you now!"

"Like I give a fuck if people see me flirting with a beautiful woman!"

"People need to know you are focused on your job, Ian."

"That was exactly what I was telling her, Shayne."

"That was what your mouth said, but your eyes and hands told another story," Courtney – Ian’s campaign manager – interrupted, trying to lift the mood.

"Ah, what can I say. I'm a red-blooded, all-American guy. And you two should talk! You guys have each other."

Ian’s campaign team was very close-knit. It was basically him, Shayne and Courtney. They also had a merch team led by Kiana. They’d developed a mutual trust very fast and were goofing off like this most of the time, when they didn’t have to be serious. Shayne turned to face Courtney, putting his hands around their waist, exactly like Ian had just done with Amanda.

"Oh, miss Lehan-Canto, you're so tall and beautiful! Please, will you kiss me?"

"Why, mister Almost-President! Anything for MY Commander in Chief!"

Shayne and Courtney started fake making out, but their body language couldn’t lie. They were really enjoying this.

"Alright, you made your point. Now go back and do your job!"

"Yes, sir."

They got their bags and went outside, down the hill where their vehicle was parked.

The surroundings were beautiful. Subtropical flowers everywhere, old trees and shrubs and a cobbled pathway downward. The heat made it difficult to enjoy the view, though. Wading through the outside was hell these days.

~

The Defy HQ boardroom was not much more than your standard office with a nice view. The table was fancy though, and the chairs just a little more comfortable than those in the rest of the building. One guy stood up, gesticulating while speaking to the rest of the board. They were all men in suits. But the guy just wore a shirt with rolled up sleeves, and glasses which were rimmed at the top.

“You know, in this crazy digital age, presidential campaigns need something to appeal to the younger demo.”

“What are you suggesting, mister Dilford?”

“I’m talking crazy memes and cheeky tweets!” Sweat was seeping down Dave Dilford’s temple. “We have to embed ourselves in pop-culture, swim in it! Or we risk losing to Watcher’s candidate.”

“You’ve got a point there. So, how much do you need?”

“That’s what I’m talking about! Together, we will make the electorate giggle all the way to the ballot box.” Dave walked around the room, fist-bumping every board member.

[avaeeart]

well

that expansion sucked

salt and opinion incoming

i don't have a lot of thought because there was nothing to even think on about this flat expansion, but here are my thoughts - also quick apology because English is not my first langauge, plus this is my own personal opinion:

The Commander has no vital role in this. We were a mascot to the cause that we had no sentimental or important value in. Yes there are people who don't want the Commander to be the main focus, and that is a valid opinion, but we were very much just the audience to a running movie with no impacting opinion whatsoever.

A majority of the opinions I read here on Tumblr and reddit share the same view: The beginning and launch of SotO had strong foundations: A new mystery faction, a new cast of engaging cahracters of various, ancient races shrouded in mystery and an otherworldly threat. Except. Uncooked. Unseasoned, Underbaked. SotO moved on way too fast, with barely any time to get to know these people, reunion with Zojja (who, oof, gets completely forgotten despite her image being in the launcher), and of course, one of the interesting cast members gets killed.

Onto the Kryptis. ?????? They were reskinned orphans from Divinity's reach. Why were aliens from the Mist, dream demons, written like poor people who needed our help to ... get water and bandaid? Where is the worldbuilding? Where is the hostility and curiousity of demons meeting an entire different race walking into their homeland? Why is monarchy all the same in the demon realm? It is just a lazy and uncreative solution to introducing a new threat and race

Eparch, uh. What threat did he pose beside a fighting achievement under five minutes. Who was Labris again beside a fighting achievement too. Again. Major threats, major antagonists get a huge build up but once it is their time to shine in the spotlight. They get nothing but a reskinned model and five minutes of talking. As much as Labris' death had an impact on Eparch in his voice lines, there was not much ground for me to get invested in their connection.

Peitha is written incredibly flat. Her plans of ruling and usurping are as solid as soup. Yes she may throw out really cool lines, but in the whole fabric of planning a revolution, where is the consistency and foundation? The Wizards have to plan an assault and all the logistics, the other generals and Ramses doing the relocation of things, and Peitha is just. Saying things, while we protect her and do the job. She says she is caring for her people but where do we see that, beside her complementing her killing choices in 1-2 lines? Where do we see her passion for revolution, her hatred against the status quo? She quickly fell flat and cheaply written (beside her sexy baiting lines) once she got revealed. As much as the writing makes me dislike her, she deserved better.

the cannibal demons were not cannibalistic enough.

the wizards were not wizard enough.

In general, the story was nothing new, no exciting twists and the pacing is out of place (the months between those very short chapters did not help it either). it is a X formular marvel-esque movie.

from a gameplay perspective:

soto has nothing to offer.

theres the legendary armor (which i farmed for from the start), convergences, rifts - But for the casual player, who may never intend to farm for the Obsidian Armor, it brings nothing. The Rifts as fun as the gameplay may be, dont offer gold or good material (beside the essences). the Convergence has some good drops if you are lucky but again, only for essences. But hey, Skyscale fireball fun right?

What makes me frustrated is, SotO has potential, so much good foundation and build up. But such expectation of a whole new lore was never reached and the story rushed. May blame it on the new cash grabbing model. It is a bland mid expansion with too many boring moments and do X amount of events. Maps are great tho, missing Jumping puzzles though.

3/10 reused wyvern model

[ella-norah]

Ella watching Love Sea episode 1 (part 1)

Finally having some free time (exam weeks are hell as usual) and i decided to watch the first episode of Love Sea. And I also had an idea to share my thoughts after each episode, so well - here it is.

One thing that caught my attention is the way Mut run his hand through his hair and well, I'm gone from this world.... How can someone be so hot doing it??? (the images below are my very interesting screenshots)

Also, I already love Rak! He is so pretty!!

Rak's reaction when he realizes Mut's the one picking him up is so funny to me. Of course, I understand where Rak's coming from (he's from a big city, he's not used to small town dynamics yet).

More of Mut running his hand through his hair - that's gonna make me feral whenever I see it... at least I think so

Mut's solution is definitely good, but Rak's not happy about it, is he?

Rak is so perfectly dramatic and I love him for it!

Mut's smile is absolutely gorgeous! (Fort's is too, when I am at it!)

More of Rak's dramatics, which I completely love without a single doubt about it. The phone call and multiple repeats of how he wishes to go home are absolutely perfect. Rak's dramatic, so deliciously dramatic, and I am so here for it!

The way Mut just casually picks Rak's suitcases and carries them behind Rak, without Rak even paying any attention to it - amazing! Even when Rak calls Mut an idiot during the phone call with Connor and Mut just smiles shaking his head. Gosh, I already love these two so much.

Mut, darling, I adore you! He just took Rak's phone without a single care about it - perfection! purest perfection there is! and the smile Mut gives Rak - *screaming internally*

While Connor and Mut speak, Rak is positively fuming - so annoyed that they talk about him, while he can't do anything to stop them.

But to be fair, having his expression be called "kitty eyes" could definitely annoy Rak more.

The island being called Heaven on Earth is so suitable! The visuals are absolutely gorgeous - the beach, the ocean, the nature! Everything's so gorgeous! I'm in love honestly!

No wonder Rak's reaction is teary eyes and simple comment of how beautiful. (I agree, Rak, I agree)

The way Mut keeps using southern dialect of Thai to speak to Rak - such a tease Mut is! Love that about him! Especially since he used the central dialect to speak to Connor.

So quick to chase Mut away, are you, Rak? Would that even work?

But also, not understanding what Mut is saying is quite a problem, isn't it?

Is Rak really that mean, huh, Mut?

After all, it's not Rak's fault he doesn't understand you, Mut, is it? But yes, Rak has a very pretty face.

Oh, my!! Already getting under Rak's skin! That's gonna be interesting!

A few deep breaths should definitely help, shouldn't they?

Mook's appearance makes me smile so much! She's a cutie, and she's very hard-working!

Aya speaking in English is such a good detail - she's a very good secretary!

And I adore her smile - it's such a beautiful smile!

Poor darling, she's so overwhelmed already - and it's just the first day.

Oh, and Chanya's appearance as Vi - she's such a gorgeous woman! And obviously means business.

Poor Mook, she is definitely not happy about being ordered around by Vi. And no one listens to her, poor sweet girl.

I love that Palm is all like - what a beautiful man, he's just my phi's (Mut's) type and then Rak is all like grumpy about Mut.

This moment, when Rak looks aside and says "Who would want to know?" is reminding me of Sky so much!

Rak trying his best not to look interested in what Palm is telling him, but he still failed at one moment, when Palm mentioned that Mut is open to guys too. Of course Mut is somewhat of an island celebrity and of course that everyone finds him so hot and swoons over him. That doesn't surprise me one bit.

Still fighting it, Rak? Well, not that I'm surprised about it, but still. It makes me giggle. It's gonna be so damn good when Rak finally gives in. And what drama would that be if it's too soon.

For someone who's not interested in Mut, Rak is definitely not letting Palm leave. so interesting

Why would Palm think Rak would be interested? Hmmm.... maybe because he's just trying to talk all the best about his phi? Or maybe because Rak is showing more interest than he thinks.... all the possibilities there are endless

I love how Palm is so pleased with himself! Like aaaaaaaaa, man, you are so pleased, that smirk says it all!!! And I love the slogan - The treasure of this island goes by name Mahasamut. It is such a cool slogan.

Honorable mention to the poor pen that fell into the ocean in the beginning of the show, left there and forgotten. RIP pen (i laughed so much about this, maybe too much...)

Because it's so late, I'm gonna stop with part one now. Watching this episode feels much longer than I planned (maybe because i keep replaying the scenes... just maybe), but anyway, part two of the the episode will come tomorrow, at some point of the day.

Peat is absolutely gorgeous in this show! I am losing my mind over how gorgeous he is!

Actually, I am losing my mind over this show in general!

[inknanda67]

( the Image was created by A.I, and edited by me)

Voices in the Dark - A Wonderlamb AU fanfic.

Au created by @bamsara

Hello! All good?! I hope you like it, it's the first time i'm posting some fanfics here, I don't know if this one will be exclusive here, or if I'll put it on Wattpad too lol!

But this will depend on how this goes, I apologize in advance for any English mistakes, my typed English is terrible, but I'm learning.

Without further ado, enjoy the first part of the fanfic :3

Single chapter, part 1/3:

"Whispers."

"I don't know what to do with them anymore!"

A long sigh followed by a painful sob resounded through the walls of the old house. "They keep talking about voices, dreams, strange creatures! We've tried everything! I don't know what else to do for my poor little lamb."

"Even the herbs didn't work?"

" No Rom! Nothing! There is no tea that can cure them! There are no camellias that can bring sanity to my little sheep! I, I am exhausted... They will be adults soon, but they are still tormented by this, I don't know anymore husband, I do not know what to do anymore!"

The sheep sobbed, covering her snout with her hooves, her husband hugged her with shared sadness, while the sheep's crying and sniffling diminished, but the despair in her voice did not, she was still distressed for her son, who was inert in his thoughts. in his room, listening to the conversations of adults that were nothing more than whispers in his sensitive ears.

"But... We still have an option Lanny."

There was a sigh and then a fight, well, that idea was absurd, they really tried every possible method, and every doctor that the merchant family could afford, but...

"I will not allow them to open my son's head!"

Lobotomy was the only solution left untested by the couple. Honestly, if Lambert understood their mother's distress, they was always so inert between reality and those voices, they no longer disturbed or scared they, like they did in their childhood, the only thing they could say that "changed" in these brief years until their almost greater age, was that the voices at some point became screams, and screams became hallucinations to such an extent that in these weeks they could see a one-eyed mouse surrounding their family garden, stealing the lamb's pants and one of the pairs of their horseshoes, it seemed to want to call them, always throwing their things too close to the dense forest not so far, from their home.

Once the mouse was more daring, going so far as to make a literal trail with the balls of wool stolen from their mother's large basket, who accused them of scattering those good balls in the middle of the mud, even though they begged that it had been that mouse, none of them of their family had seen him.

"Hmph~" The lamb groaned, dragging their hooves from the sides of the bed, to rub their exhausted face, those herbs were only good for making them fall asleep, after all, with each passing year it became more difficult to sleep, with their name reverberating through every corner of their skulls.

Lambert!

Lambert! Lambert!

Lambert! Lambert! Lambert!

Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert!

Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert!Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Little Lamb~Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert!Lambert! . Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Follow Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert!Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! The. Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Mouse...Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert!Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert! Lambert!

"Oh for the holy ancients, Lambert!"

Their sister's higher pitched voice woke them up from their reverie, they covered their ears as usual, making a nervous grimace, as they tried to focus on the youngest girl's shrill voice that competed (and miserably lost) with the various hoarse voices that they called them by name.

" By the divine, get up and go bathe! You're opening up a pigsty in here! "

She complained, opening the door and windows of the small room, previously destined for some kind of family storage, but because it was the only door and window that they had braids and locks, they thought it best to transform that old warehouse into a room for their sick children. Just to keep them safe and away from any article of clothing or merchandise, in which they might throw into the forest again and blame on such "a stylish mouse with a clock ".

"What?"

They whispered, turning towards their step sister who continued to chatter, saying something about, bath? Blankets?

No, she was talking about helping their mother in the kitchen, no, not going to the kitchen, the mother was fighting with their stepfather again, no, they should stay there and find the mouse, no, they should bathe, get some air, and find the mouse, no, they had to listen to their sister, their mother, the well, yes, they should help the well in the kitchen, so that it would stop shouting at their mother, so that their bucket would always be filled with cold, smelling water. Such water could wash away the tears of the suffering sheep face, just like yours, just like...

When did they stop outside?

"Ahm..."

They blinked in confusion, seeing themselves in front of the well, partially wet, with the wool heavy on their bodies, how long had they been bathing there?

"Camellia?"

They called for their step-sister, looking around, there was no one at the back of the house except the lamb itself.

They blinked again, the voices were miraculously silent, for the first time in weeks, they could hear the croaking of the frogs that slept in their garden behind the damp well where they were bathing, the rustling of the herb bushes they had in front of them. every house planted for them, all sorts of insects, crickets, cicadas, was it too late? Hadn't your sister gotten you out of bed early in the morning?

Before they could get up, the lamb felt a soft hoof touch their shoulder, sliding its hand to her neck, pulling the wool a little and cutting it.

" Mommy?"

" Yes my love?"

" I was dreaming."

They said, shaking their sensitive ears, listening to the slight metallic sound of the mother's shearing scissors as she cut his wool, especially from his head, a little lower than usual.

" Was it? Is it about the rats again? "

"No, I'm talking about frogs mom, there are a lot of them and it's cold."

"Yes Lamby, it's cold and there are a lot of frogs, but you told me you were dreaming, this is reality."

She explained in her usual sweet and calm voice, Lambert blinked.

"Am I not dreaming? It's cold and there are frogs..."

"Just frogs my love?"

They stated with a soft chant, hearing a sigh of relief from their mother as she finished the shearing.

"Just frogs, cicadas and crickets, without clothes, or... "

They stopped, listening to the brief rustle of the camellia bushes a little away from the well, where a slightly golden glow caught the attention of their misty eyes.

"This is good my baby."

The mother comforted them by stroking their ears very zealously.

"It's very good"

She whispered, kissing the top of her lamb's head with the same affection she always had.

They blinked again, trying to see what had fallen from the bush, it looked like an average gold coin, but their parents would never leave money out, or maybe they did? It must have fallen out of the goat's pocket when he returned from the market a little early.

"We will go to the capital tomorrow Lambert."

She called her lamb, touching its nose with gentle touches of her hooves, in order to draw her children's attention from wherever they were looking.

A small hand grabbed the coin and pulled it under the leaves, hidden from the view of the sheep that were further away, Lambert gasped, opening her mouth to scream, but Lanny pulled their faces towards hers, making them bleat with fright.

"Lambert, can you hear me?"

She asked, still in a low but firm tone.

" little sheep, tomorrow, we will be going to the capital... There... There must be a doctor who can help you. "

She said, looking a little reluctant with the idea. Could it have something to do with the idea of opening his skull? Was she taking them to die? Had they really already become such a huge burden?

"Mom, the mouse, they.."

"Lambert, did you hear me? Doctor, tomorrow. Capital."

She said in a slightly more stern tone.

" Doctor?"

"Yes, it will be our last attempt, I promise."

She said pulling her child into a hug, even though they were wet and confused, they accepted the affection followed by a hoarse and tired purr from their mother.

"I just want to see you well, my little lamb, you know that, don't you?"

She whispered close to her lamb ear, disturbing the already very sensitive organs, due to Lambert's barely controlled grip on their poor ears with each crisis.

" I love you a lot. "

"I love you too mom."

They replied, twisting their faces slightly at the whisper. Triggering the explosion of voices again, which little by little took over the brightness of the lamb eyes with was black as the night.

Those voices reverberated through the lamb's head with the naturalness of only someone who would possess that skull, and this certainly wasn't Lambert. The lamb looked intently at the brown rat's tail, which was gently waving towards him, there was no sign of the rat, but they knew they were there, that they were waiting for the oldest to enter the cabin before stealing more items to convince them to explore the forests.

[gemmahale]

gemma! hi friend. for talk shop tuesday, i have questions! Horizon Mirages

knowing your penchant for research, what's something new and interesting you've learned in researching the wild west?

how did you pick the occupations for the love interests?

Righteous Fury

without spoiling anything, is there a redacted screenshot of the timeline you mentioned here? 👀

Random

spooky season is fast approaching. which of your projects is the spookiest? 👀

care to share the latest line you wrote?

Talk Shop Tuesday!

Hello Sy! I shall endeavor to answer your Questions. (Gosh these are good questions.)

I'm throwing them under a cut because it's long as heck and there are spoilers for the following: (I also hope that gif blocks the spoilery images from showing up in previews or anything.)

Horizon Mirages

Righteous Fury

7 Sins Bookstore (Minor)

Feylands (Minor)

The Contract (minor)

Horizon Mirages

I'll admit, I have always lived and breathed Westerns. Laura Ingalls Wilder was part of my bread and butter growing up, I now live in a cattle-dense part of the country that was directly affected by that part of US history, I loved the hell out of watching Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2, the "wild west" has called to me so viscerally. I think part of it is that my families settled here in the Midwest. Now, specifically related to Horizon Mirages - the information on shepherds and such has been really interesting to get into. They (and by proxy our Shepherdess) live in structured wagons to keep up with the sheep on their rotations across the plains. The similarities and differences between cattle and sheep has been really interesting to get into.

I thought about who would have interesting stories to tell. I don't actually know if they're all love interests yet, or if they become platonic. I also looked for foils to the 141, but that was kind of last-minute when I tacked on their relationships to the 141. I wanted a way to bring together some of my special interests - beekeeping, distilling, sewing, fiber arts) into the story in a way that made sense. Because if I'm going to write things, I might as well write about things I have some knowledge of, lol. The Shepherdess was the first one out of the gate, nearly fully developed at idea creation. The other three have gone through a number of changes and morphs to what you see today (and they very well may change between now and publication. The General Store Owner started as a homesteader, for example. The Seamstress was just a widower, husband lost to a rogue shoot-out, but had no career (or maybe she was the school teacher? I don't remember now).

Righteous Fury

Ha. This post. Let me see what a bit of post-screenshot editing I can do.

Okay, the quality is 💩, but hopefully it's legible and not too spoilery. I learned how to redact PDF's today! Neat! (I was hoping to be able to blur it out, but alas, this was the fastest solution I could find on company time. 😅) Screenshot to PDF back to screenshot kinda tanked the quality lol.

Re: the timeline. I fudged the years a little bit. I think I kept canon years where they were, but I made Soap a little older. I just...I was struggling to write him as a 20-something, so I made him 6 months older than me. Because artistic license. Also worth noting: those are not all siblings of his. Some are cousins.

I really hope there's not too many spoilers here, and that you're more excited than disappointed when the truth's revealed. This is just one aspect of the story anyway.

Random

Which of my projects is the spookiest? Yeesh, I suppose it depends on how you define spooky. Feylands has a few spooky vibes in it, so does The Contract. 7 Sins Bookstore does too, now that I think about it. But none are intentionally spooky in the Halloween sense. Just spooky in the eerie/something's not quite human here way.

Last line I wrote: From Righteous Fury

“MacTavish, a word. Everyone else, dismissed.” The clatter of chairs and the slaps on the (good) shoulder do little to bolster John’s mood.

[burnwater13]

Boba Fett wearing his armor in his private chamber. His bacta tank is visible in the background. Image from The Book of Boba Fett, Season 1, Episode 1, Stranger in a Strange Land . Calendar from DataWorks.

Grogu had to agree with Peli. He did not want Daimyo Fett to get mad at him about anything. Not because he wasn’t a reasonable man. Grogu knew he was and honorable. Not because he wore Mandalorian armor either. Grogu had gotten used to Mandalorian armor and it was just what Mandalorian’s wore. No, it was all about his face. 

While his dad, Din Djarin, still kept his helmet on almost all the time, Boba Fett did not. Typically Grogu was grateful for that. The Daimyo’s eyes crinkled at their corners when he laughed.  His smile could light up a room. And when he was teasing someone, usually Fennec or even Din Djarin, Grogu noticed the subtle tells that whatever the Daimyo had just said was a joke. 

Like the time Fennec had come back from a quick trip to Mos Eisley to report that flash frozen froglets were no longer readily available due to a trade problem between Sorgan and Naboo where they were processed. The Daimyo then suggested to Fennec that she travel to Naboo and see if she could influence the trade discussions in a positive manner. 

Grogu knew the Daimyo was joking. He could tell because the very corner of the Daimyo’s mouth ticked up just the tiniest bit. His face was very calm, which was almost never the case. Finally, he raised his left eyebrow just a fraction of a centimeter. But if you didn’t know Boba Fett that well or if you happened to be looking down at your datapad when he was making his comment, well, you missed it. 

“Boss, I think you’ve been out in the suns on that rancor of yours one too many times. I can’t negotiate a truce between Naboo and Sorgan just to get the kid breakfast cereal.” Fennec complained.

“Really, Fennec, and here I was thinking that there was nothing you couldn’t do.”

Grogu did all he could not to laugh when Fennec look affronted by the Daimyo’s comment. 

“Now, now. Fennec. I’m joking. I’m joking. I have already tasked the Majordomo to work out a solution to the problem. It does not require your skill set.”

Grogu couldn’t not laugh at the face Fennec made and when the Daimyo turned to scold him, Grogu noticed Fennec stick her tongue out at them. He fell down he was laughing so hard. 

When he finally got some control over himself, he apologized to the Daimyo.

“Thank you young one. Of course I accept your apology. It is one of my rare pleasures to put one over on Fennec. Your presence was essential for that to work. We Mandalorians must stick together.”

Grogu agreed. Mandalorians should stick together. But his dad didn’t agree that meant that helmets were optional now. That was a pity. Grogu wanted to get to know his dad’s face as well as he new the Daimyo’s face. After all, his dad got to see his face all the time. It just wasn’t fair.

“I know what you mean. I had millions of brothers I have never met. They all shared my face or I should say, my father’s face. And our voice. I have been many places and people, if they were the right age, remarked upon it as soon as they heard my voice. I am grateful that the Empire did not keep my brothers employed in their non-sense. I would hate to think how many of them I would have ended.”

Wow. That was something Grogu hadn’t considered. He had met Clones. Many of them. Before anything went wrong at the Jedi Temple. He had never thought about their voices before, but they did all sound like the Daimyo. They often removed their helmets when they were in the Jedi Temple as a sign of respect and if he closed his eyes, Grogu could see them. 

Their faces were the Daimyo’s face, only younger, much younger. Not so much in years, but in wear and tear. They hadn’t had as many burdens to bear. No one had bumped them into a sarlacc pit. A lot of the young men, Grogu never met a female Clone, were happy and smiled when he waved at them. He was always glad of that. 

He wondered if that’s why he liked the Daimyo so much. Boba Fett reminded Grogu of Rex and Cody. He saw those two clones briefly with Master Kenobi during the war with the Separatists, well before the Temple fell. While they looked like one another, they were certainly easy to tell apart. Rex looked like a younger version of the Daimyo and Cody looked like the older version. That is to say, Rex had dark hair and Cody… well, he shaved his head. It was a convenient distinction. It also helped that Cody had orange details in his armor and Rex had blue. 

As much as all the clones were from the same original template, they were like Mandalorians and put their own stamp on their armor, equipment, and even their bodies (lots of tattoos) so they could tell each other apart. Now that was no longer necessary. Clones aged twice as fast as their template. The ones who hadn’t fallen during the early part of the Empire had been hunted down or simply passed on due to age. The thought of that made Grogu sad.

He ran across the room and jumped up and hugged the Daimyo. A little awkwardly because the best he could do was hang onto to the taller man’s cuirass.

“Hey, what’s this all about?”

Grogu just leveraged his position and tapped the Daimyo’s head with his own.

“Ah. Yes. I miss them too when I least expect it. I am glad to have you as part of my family now, Grogu. We Mandalorians really should stick together.”

Then the Daimyo smiled and Grogu saw the faces of all the Mandalorians he’d met recently and a long time ago. This is the Way.

[slocumjoe]

Actually, I'll take a moment to describe what my image of Gage is, as someone who has never played Nuka World and can't (poor), and hasn't dug through all of his in-game lines (time consuming)

My 'fix' of Gage was exclusive nuka-world (I think that was their user) and another tumblr user who posted Gage specific reacts. Nuka-world was the Preston stan who had Tracy, pretty popular artist. You've definitely seens remnants of their work, but they deleted i believe. They portrayed Gage as, like, a weird, lemme teach you crime kind of uncle/older brother who liked lizards and simple mischievous pleasures.

The other tumblr who I do not remember the name of portrayed him as this...very nuanced individual, full of contradictions that he justified to himself? So, that Gage was closer to Canon Gage, from what I can tell, but he was written to very clearly not belong with raiders.

That Gage had good people in his life, growing up, that taught him strict morals; some of which he kept. He held doors open for women, he hated raiders as much as he thought that way of life was the only viable one, he was loyal to those who earned his respect and trust. He wasn't a good guy, but he could have been. If you scraped off the raider shit, underneath that jaded exterior was just a normal guy.

So, my interpretation of Gage is a somewhat weird, off-kilter, but no-bullshit man who didn't want to be doing what he was doing deep down, but was never shown a different way to survive, and even if it meant being the problem, he refused to sit and let himself be a victim. If he had a choice between problem, victim, and solution, he'd have picked solution. But he never saw that choice. And maybe if there was a choice like that, presented to him now, and that choice had some real spine to it, he very well would still choose different.

Now, that's almost certainly OOC. But that was still a character I liked; it reminds me of many people I know IRL. Not people I'd call good, because they've made questionable decisions and have odd views of the world. But they aren't bad either, because they have heart and try to do their best with what they have, which is little. This version of Gage isn't a good person, or a bad one. He's just a person.

More specifically, the way I always described him, mentally, is that he's "a wolf trying to become a sheep so the sheep stop headbutting him."

So, my Gage doesn't care for any raider shit. He's concerned about hygiene, he has tastes for the finer things in life that you can't brute force, he wants to do his own thing and be left alone, and doesn't necessarily want to bother anyone else. My Gage thinks economics are important, understands politics, supply and demand, the benefits of raider life VS the life of peaceful communities working together. He just sees that the raider way comes on top.

The way it would play out in my Sole's story, if she ever went to Nuka World, is she'd fuck with him, and force him to make that choice again.

Isadora would go in, kill Colter, talk to Gage, and realize: Oh. This guy doesn't belong here. This guy doesn't want to be here at all, really. He wants something this life cannot provide and couldn't sustain, because it opposes it on a fundamental level. But my Minutemen and my cities, they could. But he won't come willingly.

So she kills Colter, and tells Gage: I am going to come back with my army, and do whatever I have to do to save the people you are oppressing. I have the ability to do this as a weekend vacation; my men outnumber yours 20 to 1, and they don't share my compassion and understanding for your kind. But I can see that you are not like 'your kind.' I will give you the chance to unite and prepare for a siege, or to leave Nuka World and come back with me, as one of my personal unit.

And Isadora walks while Gage laughs her out of the room. He hates that he's left as Overboss, now, but that's his only worry. Farmers with guns? Pfft.

Then he starts hearing talk of the Minutemen, the first bit being "one of our guys spied on one of their bases and they have a lot of sentry bots."

"...how many?"

"He cant count past ten, since that's all the fingers he has."

Because Isadora is a robots expert. She makes robots. She did this for a living before the bombs. 1 sentry bot? Bad. 2? Fucking bad. Three? Nope, you're dead. 4? 5? 10? More? Overboss Gage is worried about the bots, but they can outsmart them, use mines, maybe get an EMP thing going...the farmers will drop like flies then.

"Farmers? No, we're hearing its a military."

"Pfft, a military."

"They have trucks and shit. Tanks. Vertibirds."

"...w-well, those sure do explode nicely...which they will..."

"They're all wearing combat armor and are armed with guns that make our pipe shit look like kids toys"

"...fine. We'll partner with local raiders and take them out as one unified force"

"They killed all local raiders. There are no raiders over there."

"Fucking what."

"There isn't even merc groups anymore because the Minutemen deal with everything"

"Fuck sake. Okay. Well their economy and whatever has to be shit"

"They have no poor people, no rich, no one goes hungry, everyone is clothed, and has access to Healthcare and education. They're having a lot of kids and people get old there. Some people are writing books and music and stuff. Making art again."

It takes maybe a few people reporting back with info before Gage realizes who has plot armor and who doesn't. And Gage, as much as he hates everything that is happening, wants to be an essential NPC. He gets the gangs together, tells them they're fucked if they don't do this right, and they kinda just blow raspberries at him.

Gage is at the Castle doorstep cussing out Isadora's name within a week, and he's the newest adopted adult within a few days.

He fucking hates Isadora and she just kinda treats him like an aggressive purse dog. "Oh, don't mind Gage, he doesn't bite!" (GAGE SNARLING AND FOAMING AT THE MOUTH IN THE BACKGROUND)

"Isa. Is that a fucking raider"

"yeah I found him on the front door I think someone left him :( and it's so cold lately and he looked hungry" (GAGE PISSING ON A MINUTEMAN FLAG AND MAKING BARF NOISES)

"isadora that is a grown man who is a fucking raider"

[sophieswundergarten]

uno reverse! do you have any favorite fun facts/infodumps you would like to share? :D

Hoo boy, an open invitation to ramble about something that gets my brain excited? I hope you won't regret this. (Also, thank you, Milk :>)

Today we're going to be talking about Deb Cook!!!

Deborah Cook, as she is usually credited in films, is the head of LAIKA's costume department. She has worked on every LAIKA film that has been made, from Coraline (2009) to the upcoming Wildwood (2025).

The thing about stop-motion animation is that there is a massive amount of planning that needs to be worked out before the actual filming process even starts. Part of this is the costume designs for all the puppets, so that they fit into the world and can be used as vessels for a cohesive story.

Cook does a lot of research into historical elements that can be used in costumes, as well as using computers and collaborating with other people in the art department to create her own version of textiles that are perfect for the character. She takes her job very seriously, and works to consider what each character's personality is so she can create a fitting look for them.

But, the!! The thing is, these puppets are generally about eight to twelve inches tall!! So you can't just go to a craft store and buy any old fabric, because the weave might be too rough, or when a camera is focussed on a piece of clothing so small the colors are distorted. So there is a necessary level of detail that must be adhered to, otherwise the final product will be kind of disastrous. You can't just make tiny jeans out of regular denim, you have to find a fabric that looks like denim, but is light enough that it'll be flexible when placed on a tiny puppet.

Now, there are a lot of insanely talented people who create all sorts of miniatures and have come up with ingenious solutions to this that can be pointed out. HOWEVER, a great deal of these are because of how much work LAIKA has put into that field of art in the last seventeen years.

In Coraline, some of the costumes were made out of a child's sock. A sock. And it worked because Deb Cook is a fantastic and dedicated artist who works really hard to do her best in literally everything. But, now that LAIKA has had over a decade of experience and accolades and new highly clever artists joining them, they have come up with many new ways to use technology to help.

But Deb Cook is an artist and she will go out of her way to make something look as authentic as possible. For the iconic beetle crest on Kubo's clothing in Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), she dyed rice paste, painted the fabric, and then carefully washed it off to leave the image.

So, after all of that, and the meticulous attention given to every thread, you must remember that they have to animate all this. That means rigging in skirts and weighted sleeves and armature in capes. Each and every piece of clothing, in addition to needing to be replicated or else durable enough to be used for the two or so years required to make a stop-motion film, must be controlled down to the tiniest motion. In addition, the costume department she manages has to be able to make repairs or tiny alterations when something is damaged or an animator needs to get at the inner workings of a puppet.

There are so many more things that need to be considered in stop-motion versus live action, since the majority of the materials and designs are made from scratch in the studio.

And yet, despite all this, the woman hasn't won any awards

SO. That was my insane, unpolished rant about how much I love Deb Cook. Sorry and/or thank you if you made it this far, and if you want to learn more here are some resources:

> 1

> 2

> 3

> 4

> 5

[degozarumyu]

okiiii ep90 spoilers timeeeeeee (very long very rambly very image-filled post ahead)

ohhhhhhh my fucking goddddddddddddddddd aaahahjahjajhhjhudsghiuydaghuygduysajhgdjsahdha (shaking) (crying) (vibrating at dangerous speeds)

this episode completely changes the context of valvelgear not being yuuhi's disk in the s3 visual and I am!! not ok!!!!!!!!!!!!! they may be 8.88 million faceless npcs but they are my 8.88 million faceless npcs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

grrrrggahrggharhgarhghgargharaghrgaghjeagrahjgadfgdashgfghahgsda ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

HEY GUYS CHECK OUT HOW HARD I CAN CRY like ueueueueueue see kuaidul? you didn't need to become someone else to be loved by the creator bc he already loves you :((( gwahhhhhhh

can i also just appreciate how consistent they made the animation this ep like u can tell that some scenes at the end for example seem to be done by the person in charge of a lot of yuuhi duels e.g. vs tell/vs yuuna by the way they do yuamu's hair and background faces but its a lot more 'on model' than usual lol, I love their style regardless but they rly put in a lot of effort this time!!! <3<3 thank u gr staff i love u and owe u my life 💕💕💕

also. BRUH

yuuga stop disappearing for 2 seconds challenge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wonder if its bc now that kuai is 'dead' the creator is released? and there can only be one of them existing in that 'reality' at a time for some reason?? 🤔 or he just straight up got yoinked in the world switch lol (or with the preview showing the hat parasite aliens attacking maybe the non-kaizo parts of his weird goha president helmet thing had something to do with it haha)

after seeing it mentioned by a jp fan on twitter I've started to wonder if they rly are in some sort of alternate reality/parallel universe to 7s tho given the 'inconsistencies' e.g. questionable kamijou family timeline, luge and zaion being aliens but luke and neil being (presumably) human, aliens/mik/uts seeming to not exist in 7s era....... i'm still not even halfway through 7s so I can't speak on any of this at all lol but I found it interesting! plus they mentioned rovian and london being cousins and romin and roa also being cousins wouldn't make sense if they were descendants/ancestors :thinking:

I love basing theories and speculation purely off of 'wouldn't it be cool if...' B)

ANYWAYS the way kuai made his final perfect monster representing his ideal (merged) self in transamu prime full armour nova and yuudias could Still manage to take it from him :)))))))) can't have shit in kuaidul spacetime

haha. im so normal guys.

its a very simple solution really, love someone but are also jealous of them? simply absorb their soul and become them! gg ez

how to get the approval of your father figure that you absorbed in 1 easy step!

oh yea speaking of full armour nova who else up staring at the card art for 15 hours straight

btw i am also normal about how in this imagined fusion of their soul galaxies while it has aspects of both transamu rainac and prime the actual body is yellow bc kuai wanted to become the milky way to be closer to the creator but not necessarily become yuudias because he wanted to receive that love and acceptance for himself :))))))))

eldest sibling kuai who was made to do the hard work and raise (literally create) his other siblings without appreciation vs. 'perfect' youngest sibling yuudias who was the favourite child given everything the oldest could never have from birth................

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

im really so glad they let kuai redeem himself in the end by choosing to let himself die (?) rather than taking advantage of yuudias' kindness and possessing him.... as much as I would have adored keeping him around by letting them share the body lolol

on that note yuudias!!!!! I know boundless generosity and honesty and kindness and most significantly 'virtue' is like. the entire core of his character but bro!!!!!!!!!!!!

pls have more concern for ur own wellbeing,,,, pls,,,,,,,,,, cri

unrelated but it was interesting that the dudi ducasse aliens r actually considered velgearian too! like its something thats pretty obvious now that they've said it since like. they're literally from the velgear star cluster but still lol

the way yuuga always speaks so calmly and like he's detached from everything is so funny lol 'some problems' i mean. yeah

average sibling interaction

btw this was the face where I was like 'ohhhh' abt the lead animator bc this is The Luke Face (i just rly like how they do the lines around the sides of the eyes :3)

average sibling interaction part 2

random thought i wonder if yuuhi will still have darkness jointech tyrant after all this? or is it a card that only existed in the spacetime... did yuuhi even have a corresponding card in kuai's prime deck??? hm

look how pretty :] (too bad they fuckin. killed him LOL) (i am sad)

this is obviously nothing but.... the colours of the galaxy gem thing kinda match lol

this was cute :3 their relationship has changed so much recently that I'm still a little confused if they're meant to be like. friends or not at this point?? or if its like a 'we've been this close for this long that even if we air out our grievances and try to go our separate ways we're still in sync' kinda thing which is cute

and speaking of cute duos luge and zaion stood (i use the word stood very loosely) directly next to each other this time 🔥🔥🔥 zailugers stay winning

#nishawsweep (if velgear acts like a surname for velgearians is dudi actually a name adopted by everyone from the dudi ducasse system rather than a personal name? 🤔)

i know its been 3 eps of this now but aaa im not over how cute it is that everyone's so small compared to yuudias so they kinda look like little fairies :((((( so adorable.......... 💕💕💕

yuuga who tf r u........ who tf is the creator.......... who/what tf r the oudous........ where is everyone's parents actually

ok i have sadly hit the image limit so I will stop my ramble spam now.... grrrahhrahgrhghgarhahhrgghrgrghghgh i really really enjoyed this episode and this duel as a whole and especially kuaidul as a character!!!!!!!!!

but before I leave i just wanna say isn't zwijou's galaxy so pretty?? its like a reverse of the crab nebula... idk i just think orange and teal is one of the most colour combinations of all time :)

[kishigunpla]

Talking about the doujinshi archive blog. Not an actual update or anything, just rambling.

I've been facing the uncomfortable realization that I will not be able to continue this project without creating a full website to support it. As in, a registered domain name with a host, not just a free blog like I have now. Things will be okay as they are for a little while, but it's simply not sustainable in the current form long term.

Space limitation is the big one. WordPress gives you 1 GB to work with as a free member. Until I hosted some of the images elsewhere, I was already at ~25% with just the articles I have now. And that other hosting solution is the equivalent of trying to hold a car together with scotch tape. I'm not sure how long it'll last.

The other is adult content. Obviously I would never translate and share anything illegal or horribly objectionable. As it is now, however, I can't show anything too suggestive (this is a rule set by WordPress), which means I have two options - heavily censoring or leaving content out completely. Though I was somewhat fine with this at first (the Personal Theory IV article is an example of that - I left quite a bit of the spicier details out), I realize I'm doing both my audience and the original work a disservice by doing so. In a way it feels like disrespecting the artist, even. I'll be honest, one of the tipping points that made me write all this up was realizing I would have to censor Fictional Opera, and I REALLY do not want to do that. With upfront and detailed content warnings, I believe I can share just about any work in it's original form.

Moving from a free blog to a website will solve both of these problems. I found a web host that allows mature content and basically unlimited storage, for a fee of course. The learning curve to actually building the site will be pretty steep, but I don't mind that aspect. Plus there are so many more ideas I have that I could bring to fruition - hosting full backups of my scans is a big one.

Is this the right thing to do, though?

I talk a lot about archiving and preservation and sharing old or rare fan works with a larger audience, as if it's this grand ideal. Perhaps it's vain of me to think of what I'm doing as important enough to justify all of this. Is there enough of an audience for it to be more than that? Am I just an idiot with big unrealistic dreams? I don't really know...

I haven't even touched on the money aspect yet, and I probably won't until I decide if it's right to go through with this.

So I'm at a crossroads. I can either fight my way around restrictions, or go all in and create something hopefully really cool - but accept the fact if I go that route, there isn't any going back.