#can't believe this blog is 5 years old already

[maximumkillshot]

You Earned It!

Warnings: Fluff, of the tooth rotting variety

Pairing: None

Characters: Chan, Felix, Kate, Minho, Yeji

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A/N: idklols asked:

Hey so my best friends bday is tmrw (Jan 17th) and so I don’t have any money so I’ve resorted to this (no offense I’ve read a story from u and it’s rlly amazing) but my bsf is in love with bang Chan (she also likes Felix) so i was wondering if you could make bangchan give her a surprised bday? (Also her name is Kate!! Tysm ig you get around to it!!)

Chan POV:

I have been trying to set this up for weeks and finally it’s happening. I hear my phone ring and I answer, balloons in hand. 

“Hey, have you heard from Kate yet?” I heard Felix ask. I could hear the background filled with activity as I loaded the car.

“Nothing aside from a good morning text, Yeji said that they were going on a shopping spree for her birthday, the others in Kate’s group are with them too. All Kate knows is that you, I and the boys are going to have a birthday dinner for her.”

I could hear the smile on his face as he said, “She has no clue this is going to be great,” I laughed with him as he said, “I just called to say the cake and brownies are almost done and Minho is getting started on prepping for dinner. So we are all on track over here.” 

I breathed a sigh of relief as I said, “Ok thanks Lix. I still have a few things to do. Then I’ll head over to decorate with Hannie and Hyunjin.” After I hung up I started the car and went on my way to grab some party favors. Kate has known us for a while. She was very young when we met, Barely past 10 years old. She was an aspiring idol. Just after we debuted, Kate came up to me in the practice room one day and introduced herself. I remember thinking how mature she was. 

She spoke with authority and confidence. She knew what she wanted. She wanted to learn, mature, adapt, and make it in this industry. I have always loved cultivating and teaching idols to do what they love, so when she asked me to mentor her, I was more than eager to help out. I can’t believe it’s already been 5 years. Now she has her own group that she leads. Their group is honestly astounding. The music is positive and uplifting, the moves are addicting, and much like my group, 98% of it is done by the members.

 After I pick up the favors I head to the DanceRacha house. The minute I park I am met with the members opening doors and grabbing items. I make my way in to find the space transformed into party central. The music is on low and Felix is filling a little table to the side with the sweets, including a cake that looked amazing, done by him, of course. Off to the other side of the living room are the beverages, and dead center is the dining table decorated in Kate’s favorite color. 

We also had a giant present pile over to the side. I made sure to put mine a little more forward in the pile. 

After I helped with the balloons I sent out the text to remind everyone that they had to park a little farther away to keep it a surprise. I had no clue why I was nervous. Maybe it had to do with the present. So many gifts were lavish, Louis Viton and Givenchy being bigger names in the pile. I don’t know if what I got was enough. 

Finally, once everyone was in it was time to have Yeji bring Kate back to the dorm. At the five minute mark we all took our positions, hiding well out of the way. The anticipation ramped up, to the point of us giggling every time we heard a car pull up. We get a knock at the door and Minho goes to open it non-chalantly. As soon as Kate walks in everyone pops up yelling “Surprise!!” That part took Kate off guard but she was tearing up and thanking everyone as she walked in. I was so excited for the presents. I really think that she’ll like it. 

After a few hours of food, dancing, and chatting, we got to blowing out the candles on the cake. After everyone got a slice she started opening presents. Some of them were amazing, designer purses, wallets, and glasses to match (Obviously Felix’s), all the way to designer belts, dresses, red bottom heels. The more of these I saw the more I wanted to just put my little envelope of a present back into my pocket and hide in the back. 

Before I could, she opened it. Minho demanded that she read it out loud. She started.. “Happy Birthday Kate!, I remember when I met you 5 years ago. You were a 10 year old promising talent. I remember you asking me if you had what it took to do what I do. I could see immediately that you had it. You work hard, you strive for perfection, and most of all, you always are willing to learn. I am so proud of you. You are a fantastic leader..” At that point I saw tears forming in her eyes as I smiled. 

She kept going, “You have an amazing heart, eye for talent, and not not mention you always are focused. You told me at that time, you wanted to be mentored by me. That you wanted to know if you made it or not from me only…” She looked up at me and I was fighting tears myself.

“That’s why I am happy to tell you that come your legal age, your group will be signed under our label. All you have to do is sign on the dotted line. Congratulations Kate! You made it! Happy Birthday!-Chan” She started sobbing along with her group. She didn’t know but I saw every move she made, and she’s ready, all of them are. That’s why I was rushing today. I went to my manager yesterday and we found the perfect manager for her group. We drew up the contracts today, which left me not a lot of time to finish the decoration hunt. 

A few seconds later I was taken out of my reminiscing by Kate thumping into my body, wrapping her arms around me as she said thank you… All I could say was “For what? You earned it!” 

It was true, she did earn it. The hours of practice, the drive to succeed. That was all her. Now comes the hard part, I know she’ll be fine though. I’ll always be here for her, I know she’ll be okay. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

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[ilsolefiesta]

my 2023 Solar Return chart or "Great Expectations"

my birthday is coming up next month, and that's why I wanted to check my Solar Return chart for this year to see if it had worked properly for me (spoiler: it didn't work out the way I had hoped). I attach the chart below. 1. first of all, my 1st house Solar Jupiter in the Natal 9th house. honestly, I expected this year to be a really prosperous and eventful one. there we no bad aspects either (actually, there were no aspects with other planets at all). probably, that's why the whole year appeared to be "empty" and tasteless as I see it now (maybe the 12th house Saturn is also responsible). especially, in terms of the issues related to the 9th house. I could make a far-fetched argument and say that passing my Korean exam could be counted as an achievement, but... is that really enough for Jupiter's influence? I expected more. Jupiter is also close to my Natal Moon... well, the number of times I've been depressed because I was unable to travel abroad has increased dramatically. 2. another disappointment. just listen: connection between the 1st and the 7th Natal and Solar charts, Vertex in the conjunction with the DSC, Mars and Moon in the 7th house, Solar Pluto in the Natal 5th house, Jupiter positively aspecting the 7th house, Natal Venus in the 7th Solar house... here I also expected something special. I saw a lot of articles where such placements were describing a year of significant change in your romantic relationships, and even meeting your future husband. again - N-O-T-H-I-N-G. probably, my 12th house Solar Neptune being in my 7th Natal house have led me to believe this, but it was not meant to be. I was wrong. oh, wait a sec - this year I had VERY painful and ABSOLUTELY irrational crush (I'm too old for this shit and I can't really understand why and how it happened) on the celebrity with crazy Scorpio stellium and, guess, having Capricorn as Rising (the 7th house Solar Scorpio Moon and Capricorn Pluto falling into my 5th Natal house). well, is HE going to be my husband or what? :))) 3. Pisces Rising. well, it met expectations. the whole year I've been extra-sensitive. I guess the reason is that my Asc and Dsc swapped places and the issues of Dsc have become dominant this year. I've never cried that much on some strange stuff like absence of relationship. I really felt very lonely this year. like "I'm not that bad but haven't been on a date for 3 years already. what's wrong with me? do I have real friends? am I a friend to someone?" (guess, I also should blame my 11th house Solar Pluto). however, I should also mention that my appearance this year really matched Pisces ASC, I've learned to express my creative side more often. I think of it as a sublimation...

4. active 6th house. Venus, Sun, Mercury, Juno, Lilith here... well, okay, work is all I can remember from this year. work, work, work - honestly, I'm so tired of my life being so boring. however, I started this blog and I'm still trying to write something here. I haven't given up on it yet, and it's become a routine for me - the ruler of the 3rd house is in the 6th house. I guess, Solar Mercury in the 12th Natal house determined astrology as the main topic of my writings. but maybe Part of Fortune in the 12th Solar house helped...

5. the 9th house in Sagittarius + Gemini IC with it's ruler Mercury in the 6th house. I moved from my hometown and began working at a new place. Solar MC in Sagittarius also explains the fact that I'm working for the company connected with foreign affairs. along with the 2nd Solar house being in the 9th Natal.

6. Chiron in the 1st house in Aries. as the 1st house is usually associated with our body, I can say for sure that during this year, I have changed my style several times (I can add Leo Venus here). as Chiron is connected with traumas and the healing of these traumas - this year I also made 4 piercing (thanks to Taurus transit, but that's another story...). it has an opposition with my natal Venus in Libra - well, I agree that piercing and my planned tattoo are not really matching this Venus, haha. moreover, I had some really dangerous, purely Aries-styled situations that could have led to serious physical damage for me, but in the end, I'm okay.

7. Solar IC is in my Natal 10th house, and I currently live separately from my parents. however, this placement often indicates that family plays a significant role in matters related to housing.  my aunt (who is also my neighbor now) found a place for me. additionally, my younger sister is now living with me.

overall: I was expecting far more from this year based on the chart. some things have indeed happened, but others haven't gone as I had hoped. I'm looking forward to what my 24th year will bring (I plan to experience a huge glow up and popularity rise as I'll have Leo ASC in the 5 degree...) Thanks for reading! Picture credits: Pinterest

[bryndeavour]

I cannot express enough how much you need to take the part of your brain that NEEDS engagement on fic (kudos - comments - immediate satisfaction upon posting) and you need to sit it in a room in your brain and let it chill. Being seen and engaged is super important! But you can't control the world around you - all you can control is yourself and letting OTHER people dictate your relationship with your fanning and your media is NOT okay. I cannot express this enough - when you write unpopular pairings, crack pairings, or just minority pairings in any fandom. I cannot express enough that this also happens with popular pairings, especially when there's a high volume of content. I cannot express this enough when you write fic in a big fandom - your fic will get lost in the sea of fic. I cannot express this enough in a SMALL fandom - your audience is smaller and you have no control over peoples time or how they spend it.

What I can say is the same old adage - write things that you are happy to put out in the world - BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO ADD that you can seek out a small group of friends who can give you support. Even if its ONE friend. You literally just have to make the tiniest of efforts- Stop sending ANONS to people about fic meta and support- SEND THEM WITH YOUR NAME ATTACHED. This is already an anonymous website everyone. If you see someone talk about a discord - ask how you can join it. Whether it's small or large - as long as they have a writing channel you can mute the whole thing and only engage there if you want. If you have 3 people on tumblr who support you, chat with you, like your posts, or post about that thing you like - MAKE YOUR OWN CHAT WITH THEM. Its so so important to get friendly hype - especially when you don't feel represented or supported by the fandom at large.

I promise you that there are people EXTREMELY grateful for your fic. I promise you that if they don't get to it today or tomorrow that they WILL get to it eventually and they WILL be so happy to see the story or pairing that's rare show up for them. Stop living in the 'fandom only exists for 3 months' mentality - fandoms PERSIST beyond the trends. In a year someone is just getting around to that game - in 10 years someone is going to pick up that TV show to try it out and get obsessed with it - and that sounds soooo long but hey let me tell you, I have fandom blogs that are old enough to drink and rent cars. People on this damn webbed site pull up my posts to reblog from 5 years ago.

I promise your circle of 1 friend will grow to 3 to 5 to 15. Just hold onto these things you love. Keep putting them out there even when it feels like no one is listening, BELIEVE YOUR FRIENDS HYPE AND BELIEVE YOUR OWN HYPE. If you can sell if hard enough - you will sell people on it. Don't just STOP cause people don't reply or agree - that doesn't do anything but STOP the cool ass things from existing at all (and then no one gets any cool things and that just sucks).

[hedgiwithapen]

This is an odd one but Cisco as The Flash for AU headcanons?👀

I think I've read a fic with that premise (I know I have, I just. cannot recall Details like. title or writer.) So if I Plagiarize that fic by mistake please no one yell at me ok? ok. 1. now this IS partially from the fic I think, i'm already being a criminal, but like. it was still Nora Allen who died, not Ms Ramon (who I have named Pilar and no comics contradict me so!) and Eobard is very like. well shit, gotta adjust the Plans. on the one hand, can kill barry whenever, don't need him, but on the other hand what if I do? what if he also becomes the flash at the correct time for him, and this thing with Cisco doesn't work out and then I am stuck? bro's playing 5d chess against himself and it's not helping. so barry lives, for now, and Dante sits in an ugly plastic chair waiting for cisco to wake up. 2 I think for Cisco to get struck by the lightning it goes like this. Ronnie and Cisco both go into the accelerator. Two of us can get the vents (or whatever Ronnie was doing faster than one.) and the thing is it almost works. it almost works. almost is never enough. someone-- maybe hartley, in this au, maybe a distraught caitlin, closes the door at the 2 minute mark. all that energy goes up and out-- and the lightning bolt strikes into the heart of star labs along that same path. when the fema crews etc go shifting through, they find no sign of Ronnie--firestorm-- and Cisco, lightning scars branching down his body, comatose. 3. Cisco picks his name right off the bat. Barry starts writing about him-- and not very positively (barry had the blog in e1 and the writers forgot but I did not) because he what if that's the guy who killed my mom?? Joe, Joe /look/. And Cisco is a little offended! goes to confront Barry (who tries and fails to hit him with the CCPD's second shittiest microscope) and goes hey, could you not?? first " the man in the lightning " is a damn mouthful, I'd rather something like, i dunno, Sonic Boom, or The Flash, and furthermore I was all of 8 years old when your mom died so uh stop it??? there is a very tense moment and then they're Friends Now. Cisco doesn't understand why Wells is so deeply against having a CCPD liason??? we need one? this guy already believes in the impossible and also someone killed his mom and we can help! what do you mean no ??? ok fiiiiine. 4. Eddie, not Joe, is the one who sees Cisco fight Mardon. Eddie is more than happy to be the new liason to star labs, this is Great!!! he can use this to win over Iris and Barry! (he has big crushes on them both. potentially he gets over these crushes and he dates Cisco, I think that'd be fun.) 5. Cisco obviously does not build the cold gun, so Snart never actually manages to steal anything in central city, but he sure does try! it really does not work out for him. kidnapping an engineer to build you a weapon would be one thing if you could. you know. hold on to said engineer. Cisco Simply Dips. 5, right? fuck it one more for funsies 6. while cisco's in the coma Caitlin keeps a tv going with every episode of Star Trek queued up. constant background noise. Dr. Wells can't decide if he's learned his lesson about fucking with time or if he's so sick of the music he's going to go back even further the second he gets a chance and make them compose something else.

[jadedbirch]

The Three Musketeers (2023) - Part 1: d'Artagnan

Directed: Martin Bourboulon

Starring: Vincent Cassel, Eva Green, François Civil 

First of all, you do not know the struggle we had to go through to even get our eyeballs on this movie! Only die hard Dumas idiots like me would have even bothered 🤦🏻‍♀️. Finally, we had to buy it from AppleTV. Anywho, below is my live blog of the latest French nonsense! I make a point of tutoring myself watching as many 3 Musketeers adaptations as possible, regardless of the psychological damage, and I kind of have high hopes for this one despite the fact that I can already tell they cast more for 20 Years After than for The 3 Musketeers. But I'm willing to pretend there are no good, young actors in France (because there's no other way to explain these casting choices) for the sake of my own sanity. The rest of my babbling and movie spoilers will be below the cut!

I see we start the movie in 1627, which already makes me laugh 🤣. The book famously starts in 1625 and then they time skip a year and a half into the future because I guess Dumas remembered that the war starts in 1627. Alex was the king of inexplicable time skips and I see the movie has chosen to stick to history rather than literary canon 👌🏻.

Everything is cold, dark, and wet. I have no idea what's going on, or who this blond woman is, or why d'Artagnan is coming back from the dead. But I'm always in favor of immortal abominations 😈.

It does entertain me that Eric Ruf, who played Aramis in an earlier French adaptation, plays Richelieu in this one. Nice touch.

LOL d'Artagnan gate crashing the musketeer headquarters all "I'm not Soviet, the French do not stand in line!" Anyways, he's authentically obnoxious, which I like, although clearly also 20 years too old.

I feel like this is an AU that takes place before they invented soap and also dyes, which is hilarious because if they're going for historical accuracy, this is just what the plebs think looks "authentic". Why are these men all so dirty and old? At least they make fun of Athos being a thousand years old in the movie, but why is Jussac also so ancient? And still serving in the guards? Life expectancy back then was like 25, but surely no one would be serving in the army past the age of 50, which was like Ancient for the 1600s, even among nobility.

I must laugh at the fact that Athos straight up introduces himself to d'Artagnan as Athos de Sillegue, le comte de La Fère. So, I see we are just going to go there 🤭🤭🤭. This changes his story arc completely though, stay tuned for my whinging. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Absolutely incredible, legendary , A++, 11000/10: bisexual Porthos waking up in bed with a lady and a dude after a night of debauchery! Chef's fucking kiss! I forgive the fact that there are no young people in France.

Aramis, so far is very Murder Kitten. I do wish he'd wash his face more and do something about his guyliner (I feel like he should have just committed to MORE MAKEUP frankly because the guyliner alone is odd), but c'est la vie, I guess.

Plus one point for Athos getting wrongly arrested, minus twenty points for making Athos a Protestant WTF? And in what world would a nobleman of Athos' lineage get sentenced to death for stabbing an unknown woman? This is all so silly! (I do have to give Milady points for just like fucking with him so fantastically. Plus one revenge point to Milady.)

Aramis torturing a guy to save Athos is honestly 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 11/10 Murder Kitten, automatic plus one point.

This is all incredibly Dramatique, as much as it strains credulity. I love it when modern directors decide that they can write better "action" than Dumas himself. I'm just sitting here screaming "Why would you have that conversation where anyone can hear you!" Minus one point.

I must say Constance and d'Artagnan have a much more believable romance here than in the book. Plus 5 non-creeper points.

(Please I can't stop looking at how old all these Musketeers are 😅😅😅)

Okay so they've also given Athos a BROTHER. Who is part of a Protestant conspiracy. This is all so fucking crazy, I don't even know what to say. Am I watching the musketeers or La Reine Margot? 🤔

Incidentally, the King also gets a brother! Everyone gets a brother! J/K at least the King really did have a historical brother. Athos just gets fucked with in this movie a lot. Automatic minus one point for unnecessary siblings.

WHY must you all insist on having these super SECRET conversations in the middle of a public square where literally anyone can hear you? Minus one dumbass point.

And now d'Artagnan must go to England.... Alone? Because it's more heroic this way? Ambushed by ghost squirrels in the woods? Oh no, that's just Athos, lurking in the woods, as one does. "All misery comes from love." Thanks, Old Man Lush.

This revisionist tale of Milady's past is all very convenient but I FUCKING HATE IT every single time they try to do this in modern adaptations. Let Milady Be Evil 2023! But I see that you will not. Listen, it's not "feminist" to turn the villain into the victim. I'm so tired. 🤦🏻‍♀️ These misguided attempts at feminism really do not do her any favors, she has a lot more agency as simply the Really Bad Girl who just wanted money and power. Minus 5 points for not letting Milady have any fun and minus another 10 points for giving her an abusive ex-husband!

As for Athos, IMO it's always much more compelling to let him be the guy who tried to kill his beloved wife for betraying him, than to make him the spineless man who turns her over to the authorities for Handwavium. Yes, it's pretty fucked up. But it's much more humanizing and makes him a darker, more interesting character. And I will always maintain that.

(This movie is so fucking dark, all the scenes take place at night or in some cthonic tunnels or prisons ffs have mercy on my eyes!)

Oh dear, here we go again. Milady taking a Dramatique - and completely unnecessary - dive off a cliff. Only this time, we know she doesn't die because.... She can swim? And definitely will not have all her bones broken by that 1000 ft fall. Minus 20 points for lazy writing.

(My God, everyone is so dirty, you would think they never did their laundry in France 🤦🏻‍♀️)

Ironically, the only well lit scene takes place in what looks like the Notre Dame which is just very silly as that place is a sepulcher.

(Once again, we are advancing the plot by having super secret conversations conducted in the middle of the palace with an open door where anyone can see and hear you plotting 🤦🏻‍♀️ Minus one petty point.)

Okay, so poor Constance has been kidnapped, and our young hero (who is already a Lieutenant because he and his pals conveniently saved the King's life in a plot twist that was very necessary in other to return Athos to favor in this version) lies unconscious in the streets. They probably didn't even try to kill him this time because they know he's immortal. And speaking of people who just won't die, in a mid-credits scene, it is confirmed that Milady is indeed, very much Not Dead Yet. Surprise! The scene is now set for war in The Three Musketeers: Part 2: Milady.

In summary:

I tallied up my totally random points and ended up with a score of -51, which is Not Good, my friends.

Okay, so I've seen much worse? It's better than Atrocity in 3D, for example, which was just barely watchable as a film and as an adaptation. But they changed so much about the plot and some of the main characters, that it doesn't really feel true to the spirit of the book at this point, which is my main criteria for measuring whether an adaptation is successful. And the main reasons for that are because it's much darker and grittier and less fun than the novel. Which - Quelle domage!

I know that as an unrepentant Athos fangirl, I tend to be biased, so I was trying to be on guard (heheh get it?) for my own biases while watching this. But it's really difficult when Ya Boy is such an integral part of the novel as well as this particular adaptation. And so I must regrettably come back to what a shame it is that they've cast a 60 year old Athos (Vincent Cassel is 57 and he's a fabulous actor whom I've loved in many of his worlks), and I feel like they had to rewrite his character to be more age appropriate and less of the drunken asshole he is in Dumas' first d'Artagnan book. But that's the asshole I fell in love with, and will stan forever. Without him going around beating his servant, indulging his gambling addiction, and being a sarcastic pain in everyone's ass, it's just a completely different story.

Pros:

Hot Eva Green!

bisexual Porthos!

d'Artagnan is given a much less creepy love story with Constance (and I assume he will also not be nonconning Milady in this adaptation)

The King and Queen are much more humanized and sympathetic here.

Cons:

Visually really drab, everything is brown, everyone is dirty.

Very little humor unlike in the novel and some other adaptations.

EVERYONE IS WAY TOO OLD, which changes the feeling of the story significantly, and IMO for the worse, because these people are just not allowed to have fun, and subsequently, neither is the audience.

I will still absolutely be here for Part 2 because I am a masochist!

Grade: B- as a piece of art, but a C as an adaptation of the Dumas classic.

[taikk0]

im crying ive been lurking your blog today after being curious enough to check your tumblr after constant watching of your videos on youtube and always thought how professional and clean your animations look and thought you were like oh idk 20+

then i stumble a post of you saying you're 15 and i 😭 💗 WHAT DO YOU USE TO ANIMATE PLEASE ANY TIPS FOR LIL OL 19 YR OLD THATS CURRENTLY NOT GOING TO COLLEGE BECAUSE OF WORK AND WANTING TO PRACTICE MY CRAFT BEFORE GOING AT IT *kneels and slowly merges with floor like melted plastic*

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE I'VE MET WHO THOUGHT I WAS 20 IS SO FUNNY IM SORRY IM FR JUST BLENDING IN WITH ALL THESE TAX-PAYING CITIZENS LIKE IM OUT HERE IN A BUSINESS SUIT GOING "HOW DO YOU DO FELLOW ADULTS" AT THIS POINT

but fr tho I'm flattered I can't believe someone would assume I'm at that level already 5 years in advance thank you 😭😭

as for what I use to animate I use Krita!! here is a tutorial I used to learn how to set it up + how Krita's animation feature worked:

Though this tutorial covers a lot of useful information and an animation tutorial, I do urge you to learn about the software itself in your own time. (VERY IMPORTANT TIP: if you don't understand how something works, or if you want to do something in the program but have no idea how regarding the tools it has to offer, it doesn't hurt to do your own research! I learned that the hard way unfortunately, and I hope other artists don't suffer the same fate. REMEMBER! DON'T BE AFRAID TO GOOGLE!)

and with animation tips I do have a few things I'd be happy to share

I made this playlist to help my boyfriend get into animation. What's special about this playlist is that I made it not just about how to make individual drawings move, but also videos that explain how and why individual design philosophies and decisions are made and how you can learn to use them to your advantage. I also added some videos in here that cover shot composition and storyboarding, since I figured that most animators strive for skill in more than one field. This playlist is still a work in progress and I'm obviously bound to add more in the future, but just know that most of the videos put on here are either videos that I think are REALLY helpful as an animator who wishes they had that kind of help in their beginner years, or videos that DID help me in my beginner years way back when.

The playlist is a bit short but quality over quantity amirite? Next up is a playlist that helped spark my love for animation and pushed me to pursue it myself: the Skribble Kibble series!

Not everything in this playlist is an animation tutorial, but I highly recommend it for someone with an untrained eye. This series has inspired me not only because it covered animation; a medium that I was already interested in, but also awakened my love for analysis when it came to visual mediums. what it does great, what it does poorly, what makes something unique, and what makes something the way that it is, and explaining WHY.

Animation Tip : Learn to observe! not just in life, but in other animated media as well. ask yourself questions, and break things down. try it out yourself and experiment! heck, go frame by frame if you have to! learn to learn!

which brings me to my next source: FramebyFrame

This account has been AMAZING. It's informative and presents visual guides. It's a great place to start when you want to train yourself to analyze animation in the moment. I always think of it as some sort of game, They always play the animation first before they show the breakdown, try to spot as many cool animation tricks as you can, and see how many are mentioned! They also recently did a breakdown on RotTMNT which I find to be super neat :]

Mikyomix's Personal Animator Tips (Great or Unhelpful? You Decide!):

wanted to make this it's own section because I had no idea how to properly fit this all in so it goes in here

Study first! I know this sounds super lame but I promise you it will save you so much suffering. It's better to already have a grasp on animation and its fundamentals before you actually start animating. I've gone into the pitfall of having really crap animation skills, feeling bad over it not looking right, going into a pit spiral of self-doubt, while simultaneously not putting in the effort to learn why it didn't look right and how to fix it. It took me a good while to sit down and actually learn everything before I officially started and had more confidence in myself to fix my mistakes and learn from past projects. I already mentioned it earlier, but again, don't be afraid to take notes and whatever information you find to be useful!

Pick your animated projects wisely! Listen, I know it's tempting to do that music video you always dreamed about with your not-so-simply-designed OC. But personally, I advise steering away from large-scale projects and animations that require more than your current skill level if you're a beginner. I know it sounds harsh, and I'm not telling you to give up on your dreams or anything, but just know that animations like that might be more than you bargained for, and could result in burnout and a final product you might not be proud of. You could easily tire yourself out if you're a beginner learning as you go, and I understand that many people actually advise it for the learning experience, but in my personal experience, it didn't really end well. LOTS of unfinished projects, time sunken in on something that I no longer wanted to finish, bad memories associated with the project, etc. Of course, everyone is different and you might not experience the same things I did, but just be aware of the cons. Instead, I highly recommend you-

-Design and create at your own personal convenience! If you're a beginner, I advise you to go simple. I know not everyone is interested in the bouncing ball or the flour sack, but there's no rulebook that says you're prohibited from designing a simple character to animate! Not everyone starts out the same way, and that's completely valid, I first started animating my furry OC's and I'm sure other young animators started in a similar way, animating the things they want! though there was one thing that I did keep in mind, and that was I designed my OC's to be easy to draw over and over again. easier for me to animate, and easier for me to draw them consistently. So if you're first starting out, don't be afraid to simplify! remove minute details if you have to. You can figure it out later no pressure! Just animate things because you want to, not because you have to. and that includes the tiny details that would be difficult to keep track of as a beginner. This is a bit of a smaller point that didn't need its own thing, but while you're at it, learn effective character design! not just for aesthetics and narrative purpose, but also for functionality.

Remember that you are not obligated to practice the old-fashioned way! Not everyone finds animation exercises fun, and that's okay. But whatever you choose to do, putting everything you learned into practice, IT STILL COUNTS AS PRACTICE. Every little animation you make counts no matter how short or unfinished it is, and your efforts deserve to be praised. why? because you're learning little by little and it is still very valuable! despite how small and minute or large and noticeable the improvement in animation quality is, you're still making strides in learning to be a better animator than you were before. Don't listen to what those old geezers say, you do you! animation is supposed to be a labor of love and passion. and being forced to do something under the obligation that its "industry standard" is frankly, baloney.

Animation Stuff (THE JUICE.): shorter stuff that also deserves their own section

12 FPS is great for beginners

Ease-in's and ease-out's are your BEST FRIEND

Timing Charts. you might not be inclined to write them properly, but it's useful if you're jotting things down. use them.

PLEASE. LOCK YOUR LAYERS WITH FINISHED ANIMATION WHEN YOU DON'T INTEND ON TOUCHING THEM FOR A WHILE AND YOU'RE WORKING ON A SEPARATE THING ON THE SAME PROJECT. I'VE LOST. SO MUCH...

Don't be afraid to mix tweeting with frame-by-frame. Sleepykinq tweening isn't the only form of tweening + tweening is great if you want to keep something consistent. Though if you want to go frame-by-frame with the convenience of tweening but without the visual integrity of tweening, tween on one layer as a guide and animate on top, so it's still frame-by-frame.

Unlimited layers? use them. Is a certain part of rough inbetweening giving you trouble? make another layer and animate it on there if you don't want to mess with the main roughs, then merge it down.

More frames does not equal smoother animation, it risks making it look slower. work with the FPS, not against it

Name your layers. save the tears.

Anyways, PHEW that was long. Sorry about that, I just have a lot to say about animation. I'm not NEARLY qualified enough to actually teach animation, nor am I linguistically intelligent enough to get the points I want across (I think). But I really hope that you and a few other people found this to be helpful.

I wish you the best of luck ^^

[theha1r]

🔥 - i'm evil ... so ... steve

( send the fire emoji for an unpopular opinion )

oooh boy oh-ho-ho, okay buckle in everyone - this is gonna be a long ride -

1 - gonna go ahead & get this one out of the way ... steve would in no universe, under any circumstance, in any way - shape - or form ... date fucking b.illy h.argrove. i really feel like i don't need to explain this one but yeah thanks, he would never. he wouldn't even CRUSH on him (eddie is his one & only (canon) bi awakening thank you!!!)

2 - steve is not an asshole. he can be bitchy, he was a douche in school & definitely not the greatest person - but he is not an actual mean person. like - maybe if he was in a bad mood or in a fight with someone, he could say something really mean - but it's not something he'd do normally. like he's not just some giant asshole who treats people like shit

3 - steve wouldn't accept anyone being an ass to nancy. he wouldn't accept robin shunning her bc of their past. he forgave nancy a long time ago & expects other people to as well. just because she hurt him, if he forgave her - they need to as well. after all it's HIM she hurt & it's not like it was done intentionally

4 - steve isn't stupid. he struggles with learning & school, yes. he's not the most booksmart, yes. but he's not fucking stupid. he's not some braindead idiot who can't tell right from left. he might not always spell things right, he might not know big words but acting like he's a five year old child who's never been on the planet earth before is a bit much. not to mention he canonically showed off his smarts SEVERAL times. everyone forgets if it wasn't for him, they never would've figured out the russians were working at/under the mall

5 - steve being in love with nancy still, or again, in s4 was lazy & stupid writing & never should've happened & makes no sense. he was canonically over here & trying to move on a season before. literally admitted while on TRUTH SERUM that he wasn't in love with her anymore. it literally shows no growth for him to just reduce him back to a shipping box & have him revolve around nancy again. especially when nancy herself has moved on & is in a happy relationship

6 - everyone claims steve is the d.uffer bros favorite, but he is NOT. he might be a fan favorite but the duffers don't give af about him. they wouldn't have done above if they did. they wouldn't continuously put him through hell & back if they did. he's literally a marketing ploy to them/st in general/netflix. they know everyone eats him up & uses those stupid 'steve harrington has to live' or whatever type marketing things to bring in the money

7 - calling steve a 'fan favorite' is even a bit of a stretch because genuinely most people only like him because he's hot. or bc joe is. & they crush on him & think he's attractive & the whole babysitter thing does it for them. or they also just think of him as 'haha goofy stupid funny hot guy who gets beat up all the time'. that's how most people outside of the actual steve stans see him, people don't give him depth - including the writers themselves

8 - FOR ST/CANON/80S VERSE SPECIFIC - i genuinely don't think steve would know what being bi was or that 'liking both' is an option or whatever without meeting robin. or another 'already have figured out they're queer' person. like i just simply don't think he'd just have that already known without some help. like - maybe he could know he liked guys for certain ships getting together pre-robin & all but i don't think he'd know the details of stuff already without a queer person in his life

9 - slight usfw but probably one of my most controversial, in the steve/steddie/st fandom at least, STEVE IS A SUB, & HE'S ALSO A BOTTOM. THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

10 - this is going to be the most controversial thing i've ever said on this blog bc it's going to surprise & shock the fuck out of so many of you & no one's going to believe i'm actually saying it but .....................

steve should've died in s4 instead of eddie. NOW HEAR ME OUT - obviously there's no universe where i want steve to die & this is ONLY IF someone 'had' to die. but i think it should've been steve. steve is a character that's been around since s1, who was - in fact - supposed to die in s1. we know him, we love him, but we've got to watch a life for him play out on screen before us. maybe not the best life. but still. he was canonically in a good place by the end of s4, for the most part. like generally seemed happy & all. he gave that whole speech to nancy that literally screamed a 'i'm about to die' speech. it would've been sad as fuck, but i think it would've been a better narrative. to watch a character we've gotten to know & have at least four or more so years with die. & it still would've given dustin the whole 'losing older brother type figure' situation. we'd get to watch the characters grieve someone we actually knew, not someone we only knew for nine (eight? idk i'm tired i forget how many s4 eps rn) episodes & most of the characters barely knew -. it would've been a lot more impactful & shown that the duffers weren't afraid to take risks & actually kill off their mains & show us no one was safe. & then eddie could've stepped into steve's role & wouldn't have lived such a short time & would've shown that the duffers could break out of their 'we're gonna kill off this character you just me this season' trope ...

[aziraphales-library]

hihi, i hope you're good day, i wish to thank you a bunch for your lovely blog which causes me to cry tears of joy daily because it's fantastic.

i was wondering if you know any fics with Aziraphale falling in love first?

ive read Trip the Light - summerofspock and was looking for more of that sweet pining :)

Hello and you’re welcome! You may enjoy the fics on our #pining aziraphale tag. Here are some which focus on Aziraphale’s feelings for Crowley over the years...

Angel Eyes by Slow_Burn_Sally (T)

Aziraphale struggles for centuries to contain his love for Crowley until he simply can't any longer.

5 Times Aziraphale Quietly Fell in Love by Taravarsh (G)

...and the one time he did it out loud.

Six Thousand Years, And You're Still Too Fast For Me by iamanidhwal (G)

Aziraphale was the type of angel who wrote his thoughts and feelings down whenever it started to overwhelmed him.

It's only happened around ten times in the course of six thousand years. All of them after meeting with a certain demon, Crowley, and their interesting interactions in between points of history.

----

OR: Aziraphale's thoughts and feelings about Crowley over the course of six thousand years.

Five Nice Days (And One Accurate Confession) by improfem (E)

For most of their millennia-old acquaintance, Aziraphale has been aware that he is utterly, deeply in love with Crowley. For the entirety of their acquaintance, he has also been aware that demons, do not, in fact, experience love. So when a sick Crowley is in need of help, he is prepared to put centuries of pining aside and, once again, avoid talking about his feelings at all costs. That is, until the alcohol intervenes.

Starstruck by Atalan (T)

Aziraphale wasn't one of the angels tasked with creation. He wasn't ever expected to create anything new, but as it happened, he already had, though no-one (including him) realised it.

He had, completely on his own and with very little fuss, invented being desperately, hopelessly in love with someone who didn't even know his name.

AU. Aziraphale gets a shock when he runs into the Archangel Raphael in the Garden, especially since he's calling himself "Crowley" and pretending to be just any old ordinary angel. Meanwhile Crowley just wants someone to appreciate him for himself without all the convoluted power games of Heaven...

Someone New by freyjawriter24 (T)

I see your ‘Aziraphale forgets what Heaven was like Before but Crowley remembers’ and I raise you ‘Aziraphale remembers Crowley before he was a demon, but he believes he has fundamentally changed and will never be that person again, while Crowley remembers very little of his former life, and does not recognise Aziraphale’.

***

It had been rather more than seven days since the War in Heaven had sent a large portion of the population plummeting downwards. It wasn’t long to get over the grief of a lost loved one, but it was enough to lessen it slightly, and just enough to grow used to the idea that you’d probably see them again very soon, but that they would be different, no longer who they used to be.

Still, it was unsettling when Aziraphale realised who the Serpent of Eden was – or rather, had been.

And the one you mentioned...

Trip the Light by summerofspock (M)

What if it was Crowley that sheltered Aziraphale under his wing in Eden?

OR

What if Aziraphale fell in love first and Crowley took a little longer? Or a lot longer...

- Mod D

[opinated-user]

Something that makes a lot of sense now that we know Lily is obsessed with Courtney is the presence of art by amakaraiaji in every single Sankaku account's favorites. amakaraiaji does more shota than loli, but an ongoing theme in amakaraiaji's work is seductive, hypersexual kids who seduce adult or teenage family members, almost always brothers and fathers, and actively enjoy having sex with them. In amakaraiaji's art, eight year olds crawl into their brother's beds and are just so sexual that their brother can't help but give in and fuck them.

I think this is why that's one of the few artists there in every single Sankaku account. Lily can't look away from it because when she sees amakaraiaji's latest 30 second animation, she sees wish fulfillment.

The fact that she has access to children scares the shit out of me. Because I'm very sure that, if she hurt a child, she would tell people later that they started it. And Lily's family has proven that they will not go to the cops when this shit happens, they'll just shrug and try to avoid a scandal.

Sometimes I think about how on amakaraiaji's blog they claim they "instigated a relationship" with their father as a 5 year old and wonder if Lily wishes Courtney could be like this - so thoroughly gaslit that they no longer understand that they didn't start it/deserve it/enjoy it. And I'm sure you think that's just me being too cynical about this because it sounds like a stretch. But I think Lily really likes that idea, the concept of someone having been so thoroughly abused they no longer even can see themselves as a victim.

And then I remember she has access to children as young as amakaraiaji was when they were first abused. And my blood runs cold.

(PS: I know amakaraiaji uses gender-neutral pronouns in Japanese so I'm using they/them as a rough equivalent but I'm not NB, actual NB people feel free to tell me if that's offensive and I'll stop. I'm not trying to be NBphobic, language is just complicated. Also I really hope I don't sound like I'm one of those assholes who goes "oh well if someone grows up to draw this stuff then they deserved to be abused" when discussing these two people because to be clear neither amakaraiaji nor Lily deserved to be abused as a child. No one deserves sexual abuse, ever.)

(sankaku anon, is that you? are you okay, did you have a good break? hopefully you're doing okay! you were missed!)

for the record, if they were using gender neutral pronouns in Japanese then it's correct to use the gender neutral version in English, unless they themselves established a preferences. But I think Lily really likes that idea, the concept of someone having been so thoroughly abused they no longer even can see themselves as a victim.

i believe you hit the nail on the head with this one. people who were already victimized and traumatized are more likely to fall with predators because they have a harder time establishing boundaries or knowing what to do even if they can see a red flag. it takes a lot of work to develop those skills even for the average abuse free person, but for someone who was already taught that their boundaries don't matter... which is exactly why LO preys on those people by pretending like she's a champion for survivors. it's the perfect honey trap. that's exactly what she did with Patch and we all know how that ended up.

[skysometric]

why, thank you for asking! i've been thinking it through for the last few days, i just wanted to make sure my answer was all written and ready to go first. all... checks notes... 4,000 words of it.

ICYMI, last week i sent asks to a bunch of my friends with a simple question: "what's your favorite game you played this year?" as i hoped, y'all gave a bunch of EXCELLENT answers, all of which i reblogged on my side blog @autumatically! (if you didn't get an ask like this and you want to join in, ping me – i sent too many asks to keep track of and i probably just forgot to send one your way!)

of course i wanted to answer this myself, but i wanted to write about more than just one game! and when i sat down to write, i just kept going, and going, and going...

so we're splitting this up! every day this week, i'll be counting down my top 5 games that i played in 2023. not all of these are games that i've streamed, and only one of them has shown up on anyone else's lists so far, so i'm really excited to reminisce and share my experiences this year 💖

maybe you'll even find a new game to try out? i'm certainly really excited to dig through y'alls lists and try some of the ones i missed out on this year!

to kick things off, let's start with:

Honorable Mentions

two games came out this year that i would probably put in my top 5, no competition. so why didn't i? because i didn't actually play them!

see, as much as i love to play video games, oftentimes i also like to watch them just as much. this has always been great for games that i never intended to play in the first place, like the Final Fantasies and Fortnites of our day… but lately it's also let me take turns with my partner on who plays which new releases.

in fact, for both of the games i'm about to list, i watched my partner play them in full and i've watched no less than two separate people stream them as well. which means, with all that oversaturation, it's probably gonna be a while before i play them myself…

either way! here's my top two games that i didn't play in 2023.

Pizza Tower

this one likely needs no introduction! Wario Land 4 is one of my favorite games of all time, and the way Pizza Tower extends those basic concepts is a masterclass of game design. the moveset is perfectly geared toward accessible speed tech, the level layouts are top notch, the different forms are unique and funny, the art style is GORGEOUS, the combo system adds incredible replay value and pushes the player to their limits…

honestly the only thing stopping me from playing this right now is that the levels are too fresh in my mind, and i'd like a little time to let those memories fade before i dive back in and experience everything in a wave of nostalgia. seeing so much of the game already was totally worth it, though – i had the distinct pleasure of watching my partner learn how to P Rank most of the levels, and the simple joy of watching her build up her skills is one of my standout memories of 2023. proud of you, love!

god, Pizza Tower is a perfect slice of video game. i can't WAIT to play it myself!

Super Mario RPG

as a young kid, i always wanted a physical copy of this game. i could never justify it, though, because i already owned it on Wii Virtual Console, and it was one of the more expensive SNES games i had my eye on… a whole $40 in 2007 money! fast forward to the modern day, and not only do i no longer have easy access to that old Wii copy, but a physical cart now goes for like $90???

blessedly, along comes the Switch remake. i still can't believe this exists – it's a perfect remake in every way, shape, and form! the sprite-based animations are lovingly recreated, the battle system is rebalanced in fun ways, and the music is PERFECTLY re-arranged. even the dialog, which i expected to be completely retranslated… it's smoothed over, but mostly unchanged! the original game's unabashed weirdness and charm is fully intact, and i did NOT expect that out of modern Nintendo.

this is one that i didn't mind watching others play; Super Mario RPG is all about the vibe, and this remake captures that vibe perfectly. i'm excited to play it myself once it's had time to settle! but, for now, i'm perfectly content just vibing with others~

[gealach-in-a-misty-world]

1888. Five years after they met in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, Thaniel Steepleton, an unassuming translator, and Keita Mori, the watchmaker who remembers the future, are traveling to Japan. Thaniel has received an unexpected posting to the British legation in Tokyo, and Mori has business that is taking him to Yokohama. Thaniel's brief is odd: the legation staff have been seeing ghosts, and Thaniel's first task is to find out what's really going on. But while staying with Mori, he starts to experience ghostly happenings himself. For reasons Mori won't--or can't--share, he is frightened. Then he vanishes. Meanwhile, something strange is happening in a frozen labor camp in Northern Japan. Takiko Pepperharrow, an old friend of Mori's, must investigate. As the weather turns bizarrely electrical and ghosts haunt the country from Tokyo to Aokigahara forest, Thaniel grows convinced that it all has something to do with Mori's disappearance--and that Mori may be in serious danger.

"Grace is not a thing you performed, but a weight you carried".

Natasha Pulley's The Lost Future of Pepperharrow is the stunning conclusion to the duology that began with The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. The journey of Thaniel and Mori, together with their adoptive daughter, reaches new highs and lows as we learn more about Mori, his morality and the lengths he's willing to go to to protect who he loves.

Mori is such an intriguing character because in another book, he could easily be a villain (in fact, some characters think he is). But we see him through Thaniel's loving eyes, we see his vulnerabilities and strengths, and we can't help but be completely enamored with him, with his quiet strength and his resolve. His are the lines that make us dissolve into a sobbing mess, his the trials and tribulations, in the pursuit of something he eventually can't even remember.

Thaniel gets a much needed depth too, and it's fascinating to see how he navigates his relationship with Mori, with the orphan Six, and with the new character Pepperharrow, a tragic and compelling figure. All the new characters felt alive and believable, with complex motivations of their own, and I was delighted to even find some old faces from the first book.

This sequel was so much better, both in composition and pacing. The prose was of course lovely already in the first book, but the author has such graceful writing, like a warm hug even in the direst circumstances. I loved that we got some more information about how Mori's clairvoyance works, and the ether, and glimpses of this alternate history. I especially loved the change in setting, with the author taking us to Japan and demonstrating a deft hand in painting the country through the eyes of a stranger. I enjoyed her choices in terms of dialogue and her note about it at the end.

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow is a masterful conclusion to a lovely duology.

✨ 5 stars

.

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* The Kingdoms, by Natasha Pulley

for: memory, time

[You can find more of my reviews about queer speculative fiction on my blog MISTY WORLD]

[pregnantinplaid]

alright let's try this again

welcome back!! new blog!!

Yay~~~.....

I'll set up some rules in order to make a good experience for both you and me 🙂

1. This is an NSFW blog, meaning anyone under 18+ needs to get out

2. don't send me pics of you trying to get my attention, I'll ask you to not do that and if you do it again.... well, sorry but I'm not replying anymore.

3. No Dick pics! That should be self explanatory... dick= block

4. I'm a human being too and I got a life outside tumblr, if I don't reply right away is because I'm either at work or I'm doing something else, don't think I'm ignoring you unless you broke rule no. 2

5. I'm only putting this one because it has already happened and I can't believe I'm saying this but... don't ask me to describe my pussy, seriously man.... that's creepy.

6. No I don't wanna meet irl

7. Please respect my gender, I know I may be a “futa” to some but talking about my genitals is just not appropriate. Specially without consent. A lot of us struggle with dysmorphia and we don’t like talking about it. So just keep it on the low

8. Any images and pics I post here are watermarked, I do not wanna see them used by a fake account. I will ask you to remove them if I do find out.

I wanna have fun too and I wanna be able to enjoy this as the pervert that I am 😁 I also wanna interact with all of you! I love replying to dms and asks! That's one of my favorite past times so please let's be fair and let's have some fun!!

Kink list

-pregnancy {obv}

- multiples

-breeding

-rapid pregnancy

-alien pregnancy

-cuminflation

-belly inflation

-noise play (as in not allowed to moan during sex)

-burping

-weight gain

-force feeding

-bdsm kinks such as spanking (yeah i’m not ashamed) bondage, CNC, orgasm denial, begging, degradation, being used, dominated.

-teasing

here is a list of stuff i’m not really into but don’t mind them:

-birth

-bursting

-water inflation

-animal breeding

-anal

here is a list of hard no’s

-underage

-cutting

-hot wax

-anything that would scar me

I might expand the list as time goes on but there it is!

FAQ:

-what's your ideal pregnancy size: triplets

-are you a feedee?: no

-do you want to...: no I don't want to be one

-sure?: yes

-are you pregnant?: I wish

-will there be a universe in the existential plane where humans are not the dominant species in our earth?: possibly

-you like marvel?: yes

-which movie?: yes

-you like sex?: yes

-how many times a week?: yes

-How big you wanna be?: yes

-how did you get into pregnancy?: I've always been into it as far as I can remember. It flourished in my teenage years when I finally realized seeing women in big bellies turned me on and wished to be like them. I fell in love with the idea of being pregnant and carrying around a pregnant belly with a baby inside.

-Are you pregnant?: no

-Is it pretend?: yes

-you sure you're not pregnant: I'm pretty sure

-do you wanna be?: I'll let you figure that out

-are you suuuuuure?: yes

-that belly looks real: it's fake!

-what are your kinks?: check my kink list

-How old are you?: check bio

-do you love me: I like you as a fan

-can I be your boyfriend/ girlfriend?: no sorry, I'm taken

-can I still be?: no

-please?: NO

[aliesawaheeda]

Why do you ship lukagami

I really like both of the characters heck they're still my top favorite character despite I don't enjoy watching Miraculous anymore. I always have been quite positive about them since they were first announced (I've been in this fandom since 2016) even welcoming the upcoming rival ships from those two as much to the dismay of other fans at the time.

I didn't think to ship them although I reblog a few awesome Lukagami fanart available as I really like the two characters so much. Here's the first Lukagami fanart I reblog. I began shipping those two together when Frozer came. Sure that episode didn't have them interact with each other at all (holy crap I can't believe we had to wait for 4 years to have them actually talk to each other in season 5 which is unbelievable :/ ) but them being good ice skaters really started up my shipping brain and realizing the appeal of this ship especially when this post simply points out the contrasting personality between the two, I was on board. On top a few fanarts of the two especially this from the same artist of my first reblog and this!

Honestly, I don't think I would be super into this ship if it weren't for these two artists, @/15megapixels and at Instagram lilbeanie.artz / smol_bee.doodles that had created many contents for this rare pair especially the former. Here's my favorite art from 15megapixels (a picture of only their hand linking each other is quite touching for me which reminds me of that popular ladynoir hand holdings fanart and the caption related to S4 Truth and Lies) while this comic from lilbeanie.artz is my fav overall because I like it revolved around "second chance" which is one of the few things that specific phrase connects to both characters. The artist also created a Lukagami Bad Little Boy animatic which is awesome to see and should be checked out.

I began doing more Lukagami fanart of my own (unfortunately you can't find it here as I had deleted my old art account and restarted a new one due to the blog for some reason getting shadow banned) until 2020 when my interest shifts to another fandom. Not as great as the previous two artists because I'm quite a rookie in drawing but still it does inspire me to make content of my ships. Hence why I do have such fondness for this pair. They had been the first ship that fuels and explore my creativity which I didn't realize until my late teens.

I'm not going to list out the reason and appeals for this ship as this post is already too long but most of the posts I've seen listing out the reasons, I most likely agree with their points, and makes much more sense in my personal opinion than the canon ship they went for Kagami. I hope if there's a reboot for this show, the future writers see this ship's potential.

[maruke2003]

I posted 1,154 times in 2022

That's 1,153 more posts than 2021!

173 posts created (15%)

981 posts reblogged (85%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@moonlightdancer26

@halfblood-princes-crown

@somesnapefan2

@zephahhhh

I tagged 329 of my posts in 2022

#severus snape - 121 posts

#pro snape - 88 posts

#harry potter - 55 posts

#elloona - 39 posts

#anti james potter - 38 posts

#anon ask - 33 posts

#anti marauders - 30 posts

#snape - 30 posts

#severitus - 28 posts

#the elloona fam - 25 posts

Longest Tag: 125 characters

#smh you're probably some old ass man in his mothers basement telling teen girls to kill themselves because you can't get laid

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Ugh something that infuriates me about the marauder stans is when they say Harry should have named his second son 'Remus Regulus' or 'Rubeus Remus' or 'Regulus Remus'.

Do they not realize that Harry named his children after the people who have impacted his life in some way or another.

James Sirius- James, whom he's been compared to his entire life. Both the good and the bad. Harry's patronus takes his father's animagus form. And Sirius his Godfather who tried his hardest to be there for Harry despite his own shortcomings and short time together. He did everything for Harry (except when he ran after Peter instead of dealing with Harry but that's a different story).

Albus Severus- Albus after Dumbledore. Dumbledore (despite all the headcanons out there) who care for Harry and was sort of like a father/grandfather figure in his life. Severus after Snape. Snape who literally saved Harry's life more then we all probably realize, who used his last dying breath to give Harry the last piece of information to finish the war. (He quiet literally stopped trying to stop the blood flow once he saw Harry). On top of that remained in a spying position for 17 years. Snape also was childhood friends with his mother.

Lily Luna- Lily after Harry's mother of course. Luna isn't actually in her name to be named after Luna Lovegood. Luna means moon (in some language I don't remember and am too lazy currently to google) so Luna is essentially named for Remus.

147 notes - Posted August 11, 2022

#4

I've been itching for awhile to argue with a Tik Tok Snater 👀. I've finally got one so let's goooo.

First of all, James didn't slay, he never did. He was canonically a bully, no matter who they're bullying it's still wrong. Second of all the whole "what sa" or "it wasn't sa" is so wrong. Because it is, it is sa. Saying it wasn't or blaming it on Snape is horrible. I'm not even going to go down the road of the victim blaming that goes on here.

"walking on a corpse to hug a dead girl he was obsessed with"

Girl- calm down. First of all that's movie canon not book canon. Even if it was book canon do you really think Snape would have stepped on James's body, stepped on him?! Like do y'all hear yourself. The man would probably slip and fall on the stairs if he had stepped on him 😂.

See the full post

155 notes - Posted August 25, 2022

#3

What are your thoughts on the fact that marauders stans are essentially taking all of Snape’s character traits and shoving them into Regulus

I love this question 👀.

Honestly it's not even the only character they've done it for.

They've taken Snape's spy position and given it to Regulus

They've taken his abuse and neglect story and given it to Sirius. (Not saying Sirius wasn't abused, he was, they just like to take Snape's story and give it to Sirius as if it's his when he himself already has an abusive childhood)

They've taken The Half Blood Prince's book and claimed it was James'

It's stupid. It's delusional. Like you claim you don't like a character and list all their faults and then give it to other characters.

They claim Snape was still a Death Eater/blood supremacist despite defecting because of Lily. He remained in a position to spy on the dark side for almost two decades of his life. And in the process he started believing in her cause. They claim it's bullshit and call him a Neo Nazi or a Wizard Nazi.

But then.

Then they turn around and say Regulus who defected for his house elf, who was a known blood supremacist, who was obsessed with Voldemort, is not a Nazi. "Regulus black was an abused boy who joined the death eaters to take him down from the inside. He was never a blood supremacist. He was in love with James Potter and was friends with all the marauders"... Like girl no.

They also claim that if Regulus was the spy and not Snape and that Regulus taught potions and was head of house he would have been nice to the students, including Harry and Neville and Hermione. No. Snape wasn't nice because the remaining death eaters wouldn't like to hear Snape playing daddy figure to the boy who lived. Or the child to both a known light family and the boy who could have been the chosen one. As well Hermione a muggleborn, need I say more? He couldn't have been nice because of his position. He would have lost it.

Don't even get me started on the whole "James is the Halfblood Prince thing" anyways I've gotten off topic.

Marauder fans/stans know Snape is amazing and badass but because he doesn't fit into their "hot/attractive" ideology he isn't worth it. So they take his entire life, his personality, his accomplishments and give it to his tormentors (not Regulus).

My final opinion is that it's far fetched and ridiculous. Regulus Black decided to defect in a single moment and when he did he died. If Voldemort hadn't used his house elf to plant his horcrux he wouldn't have known any better and nothing would have changed for him.

162 notes - Posted August 9, 2022

#2

I'm on Pinterest doing a thing with Seph (@halfblood-princes-crown) and found this and I'm wheezing 😭😭😂😂

Apparently this art belongs to @waterlouper so credit to them (if I'm wrong let me know)

314 notes - Posted August 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

James Potter didn't "change" he didn't stop bullying Severus Snape. He just graduated and supposedly never saw him again.

617 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[howtotrainyournana]

All We Do anon here, this first part is directed to both you and the da capo anon—I would highly, highly recommend taking a listen to "Sun" and "Taste" if you haven't already. Please. They're songs that, like All We Do, are very much celebrations of humanity (which is also what I associate with this blog).

Oh I love SAL's Enneagram songs too! My favorites are 1, 5, 8, and 9. That's literally almost half of the songs but who cares?! It's all so good.

I am very bad at music. I have learned how to play instruments before but I have very poor relative pitch and my rhythm is always slightly too fast. Also not a singer. All this to say that while I don't quite relate to your perspective on SAL's work when it comes to personal renditions of it I still find it really interesting! SAL is one of those artists I'm very very hesitant to share with other people because of how precious they are to me, so I don't really get to hear others' thoughts on them.

Also I can't believe I didn't make the connection to Neptune! Da capo anon thank you for picking up the slack on my end!

I have not had the chance to listen to the playlists yet because 1) I don't use Spotify and must familiarize myself with it and 2) combined they are over 8.5 hours long. I have looked through the songlists though and would like to say: The Oh Hellos!! The Crane Wives!! I love them both!!! They both have such wonderful songs (and you have such wonderful taste!)!!! Also:

I see you have "Hello My Old Heart" in one playlist. Have you heard the most recent version? If not, I'd highly recommend it. It has a very different feel to it but it is also amazing.

I've recently been rediscovering my love for the Crane Wives so I'm just going to list A Bunch Of Songs: Take Me to War, I Talk in My Sleep, Never Love an Anchor, Allies or Enemies, Tongues and Teeth, Metaphor, High Horse, Empty Page, The Garden, and so so much more. These are all very different songs, but they're all very very good.

Since it's tradition now (if twice can count as such), I'll recommend another artist! Hozier!!! He has a lot of good music too! I wouldn't say it shares the same vibes as SAL or All We Do (and that applies to a lot of the Crane Wives songs as well), but I would absolutely still deem them amazing. Some of my favorite Hozier songs are "Nina Cried Power," "In the Woods Somewhere," "Like Real People Do," "Shrike," "Almost," "From Eden," and "Movement."

I realize now that this is legitimately a ridiculous number of songs to recommend all at once but I do genuinely mean it when I say they are all wonderful (although since they differ quite greatly from SAL and "All We Do I" I can't exactly promise you'll love all of them).

This is getting a bit too long so I'm just going to add that I'm very very happy that you also shared the playlist for hold me softly!! It's another series of yours that I love greatly and I didn't expect to see it in your response so the fact that it was there made me very very happy!

May you also be very very happy!

omg omg omg you have NO IDEA how happy this ask is making me right now!!! I was literally gushing about you and da capo anon to my partner earlier when we were chatting about fic and writing and how nice it is to get feedback / enthusiasm from other people!!!!! no but truly, you and da capo anon have given me some energy back when it comes to writing, and specifically for the fics you both have given me feedback for and engagement with. This past year or two is the first time in my life I've actually had the mental time and space to really build good daily writing habits, and this fandom and these fics I've been working on have been the first time I've been able to tackle and accomplish big writing tasks and actually, you know . . . accomplish them. It's been a fun bit of growth to go through, and I mean that genuinely. Thank you for being a part of it.

(also the fact that you and da capo anon and I are having a full conversation through asks is making me cackle with joy because it's so fun)

I HAVE SEEN THE NEW VERSION OF "HELLO MY OLD HEART". I LITERALLY SPENT AN HOUR RAMBLING TO MY FRIEND ABOUT IT WHILE ON A DATE WITH HER, AND YELLING ABOUT THE FIRST VERSION AND THE DIFFERENCES AND MEANINGS, AND SHE WAS JUST GRINNING THE WHOLE TIME. IT WAS FANTASTIC.

I do a lot of singing while I work, and a lot of my repertoire is The Oh Hellos and The Crane Wives, among other traditional folk songs. Folk music my absolute beloved. Scribefindegil here on Tumblr has a great catalog of folk and filk (fiction folk music) and I highly recommend checking out all the stuff she and Nate (astriiformes) have done. Eregyrn also has lots of good recommendations for folk and filk on her blog, and also awesome art. There are lots of others who have lots of really great stuff - I've reblogged a decent amount of folk and filk music at some point or another, so if you search it on my blog it should be tagged. Lots of neat stuff and creative people!!!

More music to check out!! Bless you!

Hozier's music is great - I've listened to a lot of his stuff off-and-on, but I'll have to put your recommendations on my work playlists so I can listen to them again.

All We Do anon I am hugging you with all my might, the fact you hold me softly makes my heart light up with glee. It is and always will be my baby in terms of fics and fic series, because it was my first real foray back into fic writing after several big life changes. It's also the first big story I've ever composed that's actually made it onto paper and not just spent time as spoken or imagined tales. There's so much more still to come in that world and that story, and with some luck and hard work I will get to tell it. I hope you'll be patient with me until I can.

For now - in return for your benevolence, have a section from the next installment of hold me softly. Title and excerpt under the cut.

An excerpt from the fic "so build me a cottage of sunlight and stone" from the fic series "hold me softly (kill me softer)" by howtotrainyournana on Ao3.

Summary: On the residence of king Eret in the cottage of one Dream. Or: Dream earns the last name “Was Taken” by kidnapping a king. Dream is not amused. Eret, however, is having a great time.

. . .

Eret did not wake up this morning expecting to be kidnapped.

To be fair, it has been a very long time since someone has tried, so he doesn’t usually wake up expecting to be kidnapped. He thinks he’s a fairly good king, all things considered; he’s neutral in all conflicts, but not uninvolved. He seeks peace and fairness and justice, and he sees to his people and his lands and their needs. He holds a hands-off approach for most things, preferring to give people their freedom so long as they are good to each other. It’s been a good approach for staving off kidnappings and assassinations and other unpleasantness that generally comes with being a monarch, even one in name but not function.

So, the kidnapping is a surprise.

He’s blindfolded, which is inconvenient, but his ears aren’t muffled and he’s not gagged. He flexes his wrists and shuffles his legs and is pleasantly surprised to find that while his arms are bound, his legs are not. He doesn’t know if he was drugged or not, because while he remembers going to sleep he doesn’t remember being tied up or transported, and he’s quite sure he would have woken up at some point during all that. He’s not a heavy sleeper.

Eret takes a moment to try and suss out what he’s laying on – something soft, maybe a bed? There’s a pillow under his head and he thinks he’s laying on old quilts by the feel of them, so probably yes. It’s very comfortable. He listens closely to the sounds around him, but when all he hears is birdsong and a breeze through windows and the distant sound of running water, he figures it’s safe to reach up and undo his blindfold.

He blinks in the light and takes in the cottage around him.

It’s a small thing, one room, and stuffed full to the brim with just . . . everything. Every bit of space is meticulously utilized, and Eret’s rather impressed. The rafters are hung with baskets and herbs and meats, hooks and shelves fill every wall, and the windows open outward to give more space inside. The door is open too, which is a pleasant surprise.

Eret stands – on steady feet, so a drugging seems unlikely, which begs the question of how he got here – and wanders about the room. The most curious thing about the whole place is the costumes – and the masks. There’s a little dining table absolutely crammed with sewing supplies. There’s a little redstone-driven sewing machine of a design he’s never seen before.

He might try to figure out how to take it with him.

There’s spools of thread and stacks of neatly-folded fabric and a pincushion absolutely glittering with needles. Thimbles and buttons and hooks and clasps peek out from an overflowing sewing basket on the back of the table, and a half-empty bag of stuffing and scraps is stuffed haphazardly itself under the table next to the little stool. There are costumes in various states of completeness folded or hung up or laid out around the sewing corner, but what really draws Eret’s eyes are the masks.

There’s a delicate golden mask with curling ram’s horns. There’s a feathered half-mask, all black and silver and with a wicked beak. There’s a monkey mask, and a fish, and a horse, and a dog, and one with a strange geometric pattern that’s hard to look at. One is split neatly down the middle, half black, half white. One is a simple white porcelain circle with a smiley face on it; another is nearly its mirror image, but the mouth is open and laughing. Another yet is the smile turned sideways, another only a smile with no eyes at all. There is a beautiful blue mask of scales and fur, another of white bone and sharp teeth and six horns. There is a mask that is simply a smooth black dome, reflecting the beholder back at themselves. Eret gets lost in it for a moment, or maybe longer than a moment, because he startles back into awareness when something soft brushes past his legs. The light has shifted a bit, crept that much closer to midday.

There is a calico cat purring and rubbing against his legs.

“Oh, hello there little one, I didn’t see you there,” he says, bending down to pet her. She purrs louder. He pulls his hand away, and she meows in protest, so he gives a chuckle and sits on the rug, patting his leg. She walks over his lap and begins kneading bread on his legs, purring like a motor.

“Nice place you have here,” Eret remarks. “I don’t suppose you’re the one who kidnapped me, are you?”

“No, that would be me,” says a voice from the doorway, and Eret startles again. The cat leaps off his lap and runs over to the man at the door. He scoops her up in his arms and pets her, tilting a masked face and very obviously considering the king seated on his floor. The mask is a pale wood, Eret notes, with a smile similar to the porcelain ones. There are thin, branching antlers reaching out from the crown of the mask.

“Did you have a good rest, Your Majesty?” the man asks, and his voice is familiar.

“I did, thank you for asking,” Eret replies. It never hurts to be polite to your captors. “Who might you be?”

The man tilts his head the other direction, and Eret can tell that he’s smiling even though he can’t see a bit of his face.

“Myself,” the man says, like it’s an inside joke between the two of them. Eret feels like he should know him, but for the life of him he can’t place the voice.

“And who might she be,” Eret asks, gesturing at the cat purring in the man’s arms.

“That’s me,” the man says, laughter in his voice.

“So I guess that makes me I, does it?” Eret jokes back.

“No, that’s me,” the man says, pointing at the cat, “and you are I, not me.”

Eret breaks into a grin.

“I think I might like being kidnapped this time,” he says, and the man laughs.

“Careful, you’ll ruin the reputation I’m trying to build, talking like that.”

The man walks over to the fireplace, depositing the cat on a little climbing shelf on his way. She disappears up into the rafters. The man swings the kettle over the fire. Maybe they’re going to have tea? Eret wouldn’t be opposed to it.

“And what reputation would that be?”

The man keeps fiddling near the kettle. Two porcelain cups get unhooked from the wall; a jar of crushed herbs uncorked; and a gleaming jar of honey opened. Tea it is, then.

“The thief who stole a king,” the man replies.

Eret hums as he stands.

“That’s quite a bold reputation to be seeking. Tell me, what’s it for? Fame? Money? Status? A sense of power?”

The man turns back, steaming mugs of tea in hand. The mask is lifted, pushed upwards into curling dark gold hair. Eret sucks in a breath, because - his eyes. Eret knows those eyes, knows that face, knows that voice. But it's not the Creative God standing before him. Eret knows that, like he knows when the wind will turn and the seasons will shift, like he knows when the tide of battle is reaching a fever pitch, like he knows when his breath stills at last he will breathe anew somewhere different in a new body and an old life.

"Fun," the man says and yes, yes this will be, thinks Eret.

He accepts the tea graciously and grins at his unwitting host, demure and graceful and already plotting. The man grins back. Oh, to be a young fool again. Eret sips his tea again before he speaks. Let the games begin.

"So, what should I call you?"

. . .

[nalyra-dreaming]

I like referencing book canon to make predictions but let's not forget that the show is a separate thing. The changes they made, however surface level they may appear at first (age, race, time period), still significantly alter the characters and the story.

In the book, Claudia is 5 years old in appearance and she can't survive on her own or even move through the world without a guardian. She says in Merrick that she basically did a coin toss on which of her daddies she was gonna kill and went with Louis because he was easier to manipulate. And she stays with him out of necessity despite her resentment towards him.

That's not the same for show Claudia who is 14 and could pass for 16, in a time period when girls could already marry and work at that age. She can more or less survive on her own, and she was ready to leave without Louis until Lestat forced her back.

Another thing that her age changes is that on the show, Lestat eventually stops seeing her as his child and starts viewing her as a romantic rival who wants to steal Louis away from him and that's not something that is really present in the books.

There's also the race aspect to consider. The bond Claudia has with Louis is deeper from the very beginning because they are of the same race (daddy Lou vs uncle Les) and Lestat is resentful of that. Not to mention the mental connection they share, from which Lestat is also excluded because he is their maker.

Show Claudia does not return to Louis for convenience, she does it out of love (and that's directly from her own diaries and not Louis's unreliable memories). And here Claudia doesn't just kill Lestat because she hates him for turning her or for being controlling, she kills him because of how he treats Louis (she comes to her decision shortly after they witness his ongoing affair).

I think show Lestat still cares for Claudia in his own twisted way, and he thinks what he does is for her own good, but he also resents her and sees her as a rival for Louis's affection which explains some of the decisions he makes on the show. I believe Lestat genuinely intended to hurt her the night of the ball because he was that desperate to keep Louis.

My point is, we can't just transpose book canon on the show characters without taking into account how they are, in many aspects, drastically different and have totally different dynamics as a result.

(sorry if this is too long)

All good re length.

But please actually take a look at the link I shared before to the post which draws most of its conclusions from show canon, informed by book knowledge, yes, but based on the show.

I … really don’t know where this need to tell me of the books and background comes from (not just by you). I don’t mean this in any mean way, you seem to want to help, but have you (they) actually looked at my blog? My background? My posts?!!?

I honestly feel a bit belittled here, and while that may not be your intention, but seriously??? WTF.

I literally do (almost) nothing else on this blog than look at the show with background knowledge.

The show ticks all the important boxes - wildly loyal. It is its own thing but… not separate.