#i mean well duh but i've not been into that many youtubers like this. there's dan howell and drawfee and geoff castellucci

[rragnaroks]

hello. it is i, your friendly neighbourhood goblin that pops up every now and then to scream about something new.

i love damien haas.

this has been a psa.

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Meet the Writer Tag!

(Thank you so much to @mysticstarlightduck for tagging me! Sorry I took so long lol)

This is me!

(I don't normally wear this many accessories/jewellery lol. But I wish I did! I love it sm)

Three Fun Facts About Me:

I have never been in a relationship before. Ever. The only experience I have in that department is through other people's stories, not really my own. And by that, I mean that I'm used to watching my friends/people around me getting in and out of relationships, and listening to songs about romance and love and heartbreak... but not really relating to them due to not having any of those experiences myself (but it's alright, tho. It'll happen when it happens! In the meantime, I always have my made-up ships from my writing lol).

My favourite book growing up was "Matilda" by Roald Dahl. I thought Matilda was such a cool girl growing up lol. And lowkey relatable in a lot of ways. No, I wasn't a child genius. But she kind of fits into the archetype that I always found comfort in due to being that kind of person myself. Smart/intellectually curious, bookworm, introverted/independent, genuinely kind and has a heart in spite of being seen as cold by others (another example of this is Huey from Boondocks. Been rewatching some episodes of that show recently and wow... forgot how crazy it was lol. It's good, tho).

Christmas is my favourite holiday! 🎅❄️🎄I do get why some people may dislike it, I guess (like, my younger sister isn't a fan, and she's explained why... I get it. The over-commercialisation of it takes a lot of the "specialness" out of it, you know? Distracts from the actual meaning behind it and all. Plus, it can suck if you're just feeling sad and lonely during a time of celebration for everyone else. Aside from that, technically Easter is more significant if you look at it from the lens of which Christian holiday is most important). But I love the joyfulness and festiveness. Makes me feel all jolly and cosy inside. Plus, I love singing Christmas carols. And presents. And Christmas movies. I just love Christmas lol.

Favorite season:

Autumn. Or fall, as some others prefer to call it. That's when my birthday is!!

(Second place is summer because that's holiday season. Plus, that's when my sister's birthday is.)

Continent where I live:

I live in the UK, so Europe.

How I spend my (free) time:

Writing (duh)

Writeblr stuff (tag games, making OC playlists, answering questions, communicating with followers and having discussions with them about writing, etc)

YouTube (mainly watching videos... but I do want to start making videos myself at some point. Stay tuned for that, I guess)

Studying/school assignments (I'm in university)

Listening to music

Singing

Watching movies/TV shows

Reading

Eating lol

Are you published?

No. It'd be cool to be, though. Pretty sure I've mentioned this at least once before, but I want to self-publish the Stephanie Smith saga once I'm done with it.

Introvert or extrovert?

Introvert. 100% introvert lol. I feel most comfortable within myself when I'm by myself. As a kid, I was so painfully shy that the thought of going up to someone and asking a simple question would terrify me lol. As I got older, though, I was super duper lonely, and I realised that I had no real friends because I was keeping myself all closed off in a tight shell, so I'd literally force myself to open up and become more social and make friends with other kids. I practised it, like how you do with any skill. Now it's not so bad. I'd say I can carry a conversation with someone fairly well, even if I don't know them so well.

Favorite meal:

Ooooh.... this is hard. I love most foods lol.

I think I'll go with something a little bit more traditional. I'm Kenyan, and one of my favourite meals that I've grown up eating is chapatti and stew (any kind of stew, or soup. But my mum would usually make this stew with kidney beans. That was a big hit growing up). Haven't had it in almost a year, tho.

Aside from that, I love pizza. And Nandos.

Tagging: @clairelsonao3, @exquisitecrow, @mister-writes, @winterandwords, @mjparkerwriting, @e-everlasting-g, @erieautumnskies, @annethewittywriter, @writingwithfolklore, @ashwithapen

[theprodigypenguin]

Thank you @mugiwara-rosewolf for this question omg I'm almost certainly going to rant so I hope you're alright with that! I'd like to preface this by saying the only Pokémon game I've played through is Legends Arceus, and it's been ages since I watched the show, and the only card I have is Piplup cuz it's Piplup, so I am by no means an expert. Anyway let's goooooo!

I'm only gonna do one Pokémon for each character rather than an entire team! Many of these I chose after training them in game, watching YouTube videos about them, or purposely looking up their pokedex entries and lore. Some of these were chosen purely on vibes. Note: you can generally have a team of up to six, so these are only ONE of these characters Pokémon from their teams.

Lets start with Babo!

Sabo: Umbreon

So imma be real I gave him an Eevee because I Love Eevee. And because I wanted to give him a familiar Pokémon. The real decision was what his Eevee would evolve into. I decided on Umbreon because they evolve from high friendship, and friendship/family is insanely important to Sabo, so it made sense to me that his Eevee would evolve from that. Plus I really like Sabo having a dark type.

Koala: Swampert

Koala meets her Swampert when she's still pretty young, probably soon after returning to her home island. She's sitting at a stream when she hears crying and follows the sound to a trap where a Mudkip is stuck. She frees him, of course, feeling a strong understanding because she too had been trapped until recently. She names him Fish (after fisher tiger, duh) and they grow up together. She makes the decision to join the revolutionary army when he evolves the first time into Marshtomp. Swampert fucking adores Koala, that is his girl. He has a thin scar going around his back foot from the wire trap she saved him from.

Hack: Gyarados

Hack met his Gyarados by pure chance during a mission. He was traveling back to Baltigo under the water since he was alone, swimming to avoid marines or pirates. At one point he stops to enjoy his lunch, and notices that there's a weird looking fish floating nearby just staring at him. He doesn't realize the fish is a Magikarp, and when he greets it he gets no response (because it's a Pokémon, not a fish), so he just assumes it's shy and offers it part of his lunch (cuz Hack is a good guy). After finishing his lunch he starts swimming again, not realizing or maybe not caring that the Magikarp had taken a liking to him and was following him eagerly. At some point he crosses paths with a Sea King, but before he's able to get into a fighting stance, Magikarp swims in front of him, willing itself to evolve into Gyarados to protect Hack. That's when he realizes it's a Pokémon. Gyarados follows him back to Baltigo, and he just ends up with it as his Pokémon partner.

Betty: Espurr

So my thought process for Betty’s partner was that I really wanted her to have a psychic type, because I thought it matched beautifully with her Devil’s Fruit ability to encourage and pump people up simply by speaking. That's kinda psychic, right? What made me settle on Espurr was the lore that it's a Pokémon who struggles deeply with controlling its powers, is rather lonely and oftentimes on its own. It made me think of what Betty said about the revs being there for people willing to stand up for themselves. Espurr is trying super hard to control itself, and Betty sees that, so she's happy to encourage it and help it become stronger and more capable of controlling its powers. I think they'd mesh really well as partners. Plus, cmon, look at that face. There's something endearing about an adorable lil guy being able to fucking YEET your ass.

Morley: Sableye

Reason one why I chose Sableye: he's fucking adorable. I think they must have met when Morley was imprisoned in Impel Down and digging the tunnels that eventually became level 5.5. Sableye had gotten stuck there somehow, but when it noticed Morley digging it decided to follow. Sableye would pick through the dirt and rocks that Morley pushed aside, and when Morley realized it was scavenging, she started to purposely look for tasty looking rocks and would hand them back to Sableye, who followed her through the entire process of tunnel digging. When Morley finally escaped, she brought Sableye with her. They've been friends for a VERY long time. Sableye likes to just sit on Morley's shoulder, but will hop down if Morley is digging/pushing the ground around, because that means TREATS!

Lindbergh: Heatmor

Heatmor is a fucking vibe, okay. The blend of organic and mechanical really made sense for Lindbergh, because I see Heatmor using its fire to help him when he's making one of his gadgets. Oh, you need to melt some metal? No problem Lind, Heatmor is here! I was torn between giving Lindbergh a fire type or a steel type and Heatmor's appearance really won me over for this one. The vibes are simply perfect. Here's a bonus fact, Heatmor is 4'7" and Lindbergh is 4'11" 🤣 I just love that they're basically the same height. Heatmor is Lindbergh's partner as well as his assistant when preparing gadgets. They have a really good dynamic I think.

Karasu: Corviknight

I mean *waves* duh. I wanted Karasu to have a flying type because I thought it would be sweet of them to fly together. Then I realized Corviknight existed. Initially I thought it was a little TOO on the nose, but Corviknight is literally perfect for Karasu both aesthetically and lore-based. Karasu met his Corviknight when he was just a tiny Rookidee. He raised the little guy by hand and even taught him how to fly. Corviknight is more like Karasu's child than his Pokémon partner tbfh. He enjoys perching on Karasu's shoulder and will nest in the feathers of his cloak when it's tired. He gets along with most of the other Pokémon as he's quite friendly, but he's got beef with Inazuma's Tinkaton.

Ivankov: Ditto

I dare you to tell me this isn't perfect. Genderless and able to perfectly change into a duplicate of its enemy, its ability to transform itself parallels unbelievably well with Iva's devil fruit ability. I think they met when Ditto chose to reveal itself to Iva voluntarily after seeing Iva transform. Maybe it thought Iva was also a Ditto, who knows? Either way it liked Iva's company and chose to travel with her, happily working alongside her. Iva of course has other Pokémon on her team, but Ditto refuses to be confined to a pokeball and Iva respects that, so just let's it follow her around freely.

Dragon: Smolive

"Prodi why did you give Dragon a smolive?" This is why ->

Anyway, they met one day when a lonely Smolive crawled onto Dragon's plate following the scent of food, and Dragon, not realizing, picked him up thinking he was part of the meal. It begins shrieking, alerting Dragon that this is a Pokémon, so he sets it back down while apologizing for almost eating it. After that Smolive decides to dedicate it's very tiny life to Dragon and they become friends. I genuinely believe Dragon gets along really well with grass types. Idk why, the vibes just fit. He has other partners more suited for battle, but the image of Smolive on his shoulders helps to trick unsuspecting enemies into thinking it'll be an easy fight. Meanwhile he's got a legendary on his team or something, idk, Dragon exists to surprise us.

Kuma: Blissey

I wanted Kuma to have a Pokémon with the same gentle, no nonsense personality. Something healing but willing to beat your ass, basically the exact same as Kuma. Blissey is literally perfect for him. Compassionate, hard working, gentle. Genuinely do I have to say anything else? Blissey was the one who was first drawn to a young Kuma back when she was just a Happiny because she could sense his good nature and quickly became attached to him. When Kuma leaves to join the warlords he leaves Blissey at Baltigo, much to Blissey's distress. She hates being apart from her partner, but Kuma knew from the beginning that this mission probably wouldn't end well and didn't want his beloved Pokémon to get caught up in it, so he entrusts her to Dragon and the other revs. She misses him very much and is often sad, but will brighten up when given the opportunity to take care of someone. Her full attention is on Sabo after he gets his memories back, because she can sense how distressed he is. She'll offer him her egg to try and help, but he swears he's okay. He does hug her a lot, though, because they both miss Kuma.

Ahiru: Bronzor

Another choice made by vibes. First of all I love that both Ahiru and Betty have psychic types, and I wanted Ahiru to have a partner that matched her aesthetic and her mechanical arm. I also think the legend its inspired by is incredibly powerful and fits with the overall theme of the Revolutionary Army. Bronzor will allow Ahiru to polish it, but only for a little bit, and won't let anyone else touch it.

Inazuma: Tinkaton

I really wanted Inazuma to have a steel type, and I loved Tinkaton for them but wasn't sure about the clashing colors. Then I read further on her lore. So yeah Inazuma has a Tinkaton. She's got mad beef with Karasu's Corviknight, but Inazuma is pretty good at keeping her from doing something murderous. Tinkaton doesn't like disappointing Inazuma and will droop her head when Inazuma scolds her for trying to commit homicide against the poor Corviknight who is just minding his own damn business. In a fight, Inazuma and Tinkaton are fucking TERRIFYING together. She gets along insanely well with Sabo, who can lift her ridiculously heavy hammer and is about as crazy as she it.

[felikatze]

Plusquam Chapter 7 director's commentary because i adore being a blabbermouth

hi hi hello. i am going to talk about my fic and nobody can stop me but i don't want to turn the ao3 author's notes into their own 30k novel so yelling on tumblr it is!!

if you are interested in SOME of the machenations of my enigmatic mind, feel free to read. If not. Well i don't care really it's your life. I'm writing this for MY enjoyment.

First of!! I dunno if I talked about them before!! (I have the memory of a goldfish). The silly codenames!!

As I may or may not have mentioned before, the inspiration for this came from the Project Thabes mod for Awakening. In the ferox duel, the mod replaces the generics with inigo, severa, owain, and gerome. The awakening trio get their fates names (a coward's move, but one i understand), but gerome is named michalis, which i just enjoy soooo much???

so when i initially planned out for all the future kids to band together with lucina, i decided they all had to have codenames! otherwise there's really no point in lucina having one....

merric for laurent was the biggest no brainer of all of them, with caeda for severa being a close second. feel free to interpret why. gerome was obviously taken from the thabes mod, and the rest were... a challenge... to come up with!

owain actually gave me a lot of trouble. what WOULD he name himself? i've not finished shadow dragon myself (I only played the prologue so far... haha...), and most i know of the cast comes from mitosis. and scarf's new mystery lunatic reverse run on youtube. and it was that run that reminded me. that kris's confect is an item in the game. meaning that awakening era people know kris exists. except wasn't kris' deal that they like. did not want to be noted down in history.

hence kris being a "heavily debated historical subject". which of COURSE owain would name himself after an unsung but vitally important hero of the shadows.

others i may discuss as they come up? eh, we'll see. not every future kid is gonna be important (god knows that's way too many characters for me to handle), but they will be There. main focus of course being the fp3 squad, with the addition of two others. it is very obvious who it will be, i think.

next up, pairings!

most pairings werent set, outside the ones that are my obvious favorites (panne/lonqu, henlivia, chrobin (duh)). others were up in the air and just happened as i wrote. as i thought about gerome in this, and chatted about the subject with friends, frederick/cherche came to be for this fic! (and for the shrek au, oddly enough. it may have just been on my mind, and i thought chrom missing freddie's wedding was funny.)

it suited my purposes best if gerome had a stronger emotional tie to the blueberry siblings, and a knightly duty to protect them served just that. hence the dialogue of lucina being his liege. he's so utterly disinterested in getting to know the people of the past that i needed that extra bit to keep him coherent. he won't get close to anyone, but he'll do anything to support lucina's aims as though they were his own.

which brings me to the next subject, lucina's PoV! This is the first perspective switch in all of plusquam (not just because I couldn't meet my 4k benchmark with morgan alone this time). Since Morgan and Lucina act separately and won't encounter often, I needed the extra time to establish her character here. To me, there's a clear dissonance between how Morgan views her and how Lucina is. Both of them are unreliable narrators to varying degrees, yet how they differ is where the meat is.

Like, for example, Morgan completely rejecting that Lucina is Robin's child as well, and not just Chrom's, because Grima told them Lucina was different. As compared to the actual Lucina still deeply affected by Robin, and even engaging with grimleal theology on an even field because of him and the other plegian influences in her life.

there's also the matter of her narration style. I waffled back and forth on whether to give her second person narration as well, but ultimately decided on third person limited, with a catch - she exclusively refers to everyone, including herself, by their codenames.

in both their perspectives, i want to create separation between their original names and who they act as. With morgan, this succeeds because the viewpoint has no need to mention their name whatsoever, and with lucina, it succeeds because she's the one creating that distance in her own mind. it's fun to play with!

ah, siblings. so different, yet so similar.

as for the pronouns situation on lucina's pov. well. schrödinger's transgender.

minor thing. i hate adapting canon scenes close to script, hence me just freestyling when lucina and co meet chrom and squad. there's also just... no future portal risen roaming about, which would've made the point moot anyway. that's a very interesting consequence to play with.

having an endless army of generic undead is lame. having to draw on the actual dead of the immediate area - now we're getting spicy!

despite everything, i have grown attached to the risen wyvern and its chittering ways, but it sadly has to go. there's a reason morgan never named it. farewell my sweet prince. aurgh. i mean. this thing has been with morgan through the entire past so far. and it just fell apart more and more over time. crashing into a wall and breaking its neck, having half its throat torn out - poor thing. good thing it can't feel pain anymore.

that is, i think, all i wanted to blabber about? if you're a reader of plusquam, hi, i love you, i hope you have a great day, you may summon me for one turn of battle without expending an action and i will appear as a shimmering blue specter to protect you from harm.

that's all!! see you next time!! as usual, if anyone has questions of their own, or wants to yell at me for hurting their feelings, shoot me an ask, a comment, or anything at all! see ya!! ily!!

[witikli]

(very long but very important post, sorry in advance) hi uh. i know a lot of my recent posts have been more political than usual but um cope bcus its not gonna stop!

it's more important than ever to deprogram ourselves and confront internal biases based on culturally christian & capitalistic society. duh. i see a lot of people saying this but not many giving examples or advice on how to actually go about doing so, other than just "do the research urself." so i'm trying to share some resources to maybe help people get started. if you take the time to check these out and find them helpful, i urge you to share them with your friends and family as well.

second thought and genetically modified skeptic on youtube have some fucking amazing videos deconstructing christian and capitalistic ideas that most ppl probably don't even realize are ingrained so heavily into our society and are reinforced in almost every single piece of media, like, ever. both of them cite reliable sources and include links to all of them in their video descriptions. they explain things thoroughly and make it easy to understand (also they both put really good captions on all of their videos, but do sometimes reference images on screen without explicitly describing them or providing alt text, though these usually aren't essential to the point of the video). and remember to be critical of ALL media, including the channels i've linked and other anti capitalist or anti (cultural) christianity media. the channels i've linked are both run by cishet white abled men, and they're bound to make mistakes.

so anyways, i think a lot of ppl see criticism about cultural christianity/capitalism and assume it doesn't apply to them. myself included. i am an indigenous + asian queer disabled neurodivergent person and i consider myself an anarchopunk communist. i've done hours upon hours of research about this stuff. this does not mean i am immune to propaganda and internal bias, as much as i liked to think i was for a very long time. people always ask how they can help, how they can contribute, how they can possibly make any sort of an effect when they're just one person, who probably can't afford to donate large amounts of money to the people who Can take things into their own hands. the most important thing you can do is educate yourself. which, by the way, costs nothing but your time, and is often really interesting and enlightening. this doesn't mean you have to read depressing stories about people who are less fortunate (though i encourage you to do that as well). i understand news fatigue, hopelessness, and the want to distance yourself from social media as a means of self care. educating yourself doesn't have to be draining and emotionally demanding.

this has kinda turned into an essay but i wanna end it by saying the thing that prompted this was something as simple as that post saying "when are we going to overthrow the government," with a reply saying "y'all couldn't even boycott chick-fil-a." regardless of whether or not you still eat chick-fil-a, there are countless other companies that are much worse that we don't even bat an eye at. i haven't eaten chick-fil-a since i first found out about their homophobic shit, and i thought that gave me some moral high ground to stand on, despite the fact that i still ordered clothes from companies like fucking shein. i know not everyone can afford to stop buying from unethical but more affordable and accessible companies, i can't either. but everyone can at least be aware of the affect these things have, and spread awareness about it. i can do better, and so can you.

[kiisaes]

How do you draw anatomy so well? Please tell me your secret🙏🏾

If you actually respond/pay attention to this---

Thank You!

thank u for thinking my anatomy is good! ;o;

my "secret": i've been drawing bodies since like 2nd grade, and more "seriously" since 7th grade. i've done a multitude of live drawing studies (drawing nude figures in various poses) which helps way more than you could imagine. i'm an art nut so eventually i improved through sheer work; my body saw how much i was drawing, aka repeatedly bashing my head in a wall, and was like "ok FINE u can get better at art i guess" LOL

anyway, i never know how to answer this question properly because different artists have different approaches to anatomy. the way i draw a body might not make any sense for anyone else, and vice versa.

i've seen youtube videos that are like "DON'T do this! DO this!" and because there's so many of them, they constantly contradict each other. it gets so damn overwhelming because there's no way you can follow all advice provided to you, much of which are from stuck-up artists who think their way is the only right way. there is no only right way to draw!!! please remember that!!!

that being said, here are my tips that might help you, because they happen to help me:

1—

separate the body into shapes! when sketching, i tend to draw my limbs with blob-like "cylinders"/ovals and joints with circles, like so:

these look like messy mannequin limbs, but they get the general vibe down for me. not to mention, they apply weight to body parts by implying muscle/fat. i used to draw with lines and circles, but this subconsciously made me draw arms and legs a lot skinnier and "bone thin" than i preferred. even though these are just sketchy base doodles, it makes it easier for you to build more detail on top of them!

2—

if you want personality in your pose, a great way to allude to that is by using a line of motion! for me, these usually manifest with the spine:

...but they can also apply to the rest of the body by extending past the pelvis. it's up to you! but a general spine/line of motion, even if just a scribble, can imply a different emotion and pose quite simply. i like to draw the torso and line then add arms and legs, sometimes based entirely on vibe LOL

3—

and honestly the BEST piece of anatomy advice i can give you... is to KEEP DRAWING!!! study figures over and over again, go to live figure drawing sessions (or use an online site, there's a handful of free ones), draw a pose you made yourself in the mirror, study the anatomy pros from art books or tutorials, watch shows or animations or hell, comics — actually PLEASE read comics, often times you'll find a cool pose just there for you to analyze and draw — you get the idea! even though i told you these tips, they won't actually mean anything unless you put in the work.

i know "just draw" is a very basic piece of advice that's kind of a duh point, but it sincerely works. i took a figure drawing class my 3rd semester of art school and it helped me leaps and bounds — all it did was have us draw figures over and over! you can get advice from a thousand different artists, but ultimately what matters is what works for YOU. and you won't know what works for you if you don't draw! i know it can get discouraging if you keep drawing and drawing and you're not getting the results you want, but art is a gradual process. i still continuously struggle with art but i'm really glad i improved leaps and bounds in the past couple years, bottom line, i feel more comfortable with drawing bodies, and it's all thanks to my hard work! (or perhaps my relentless fear of failure, which forces me to keep drawing so i don't fall behind lol)

i hope these helped even a little bit!!!!! just remember: anatomy takes a LONG time to figure out and perfect, and any kind of progress is valuable progress! there also isn't one correct way to draw bodies; just use what works for YOU to achieve what YOU want :)

[ellenneedscoffee]

some asks

I saw @whiisker share this and thought I’d give it a go. Originally posted by @lilflowerkiddo

• 1. have you ever been in love?

I have and still am. I’ve been with my boyfriend going on five years now.

• 2. who is your favorite artist?

There are so many! Charlie Bowater, Shirley Barber, Yehuda Devir, the list goes on.

• 3. what is your favorite music genre?

I cant say i have a favourite. I like all kinds of music, except for country but Luke Combs is an exception.

• 4. have you ever had a penpal?

I have two. I've known them for about 8 years I think? One of them is a fantasy author and I’m creating the covers for her new series. 

• 5. are you single or in a relationship?

Yep. I’m taken.

• 6. what color are your eyes?

blue.

• 7. what is your favorite word?

antidisestablishmentarianism.

• 8. do you play any instruments?

No but i’d like to. 

Favorite color?

Purple but I also really like emerald green.

• 10. do you have any nicknames?

Not really. Some people call me Elle but that’s mainy my dad.

• 11. what is your favorite flower?

Orchids.

• 12. what qualities do you find attractive in a person?

Well, My current boyfriend is technically my first so I’d say I love his humor and and his smile. Although sometimes I hate his smile because it means hes about to be a cheeky shit and I should be worried.

• 13. do you have any pets?

I have a land seal- I mean a Blue Healer and 3 cats. 

• 14. have you ever traveled outside of your home country?

No but I am planning on going to Bali at the end of the year. I would also love to visit Japan and the US.

• 15. what language(s) do you speak?

English. I did learn Indonesian when i was in primary school and high school but I only remember the very basics like “Good Morning” and “thank you”.

• 16. who was your first crush?

The crush i can remember was I guy I “dated” when i was 12. Turns out he was best mates with my boyfriend before he decided to hit his girlfriend and threaten to come to my bf’s house with a crow bar. Yeah, we don’t speak to him anymore...

• 17. do you wear glasses?

I have glasses but i don’t need them. I swear they’re just clear lenses because they don’t do anything.

• 18. what is your favorite pastry?

croissant

• 19. do you prefer swimming in a pool or in the ocean?

ocean. 

• 20. bright, dark, or pastel colors?

Half of my wardrobe is black.

• 21. what is your favorite social media app?

Instagram.

• 22. what is your sexuality?

Straight.

• 23. do you have any siblings?

I have two sisters. I’m the middle child.

• 24. what is your favorite scent?

Strawberry and cream body wash. My god so good.

• 25. where do you want to travel to?

Japan and the US.

• 26. what is your favorite film?

West Side Story. 

• 27. who do people say you look like? (celebrity/family member)

I look really similar to my younger sister (well duh). Total strangers recognize me because they know her and vice versa.

• 28. who is your best friend?

I've struggled with friends over the years but I can say that my current friend group are my best friends. We’re like a family, My friend’s son calls me Aunty Ellen.

• 29. what is your dream job?

Full time Illustrator. (*sigh* It would be a dream)

• 30. do you know how to drive?

Yes I do. I've had my licence for 9 months now.

• 31. who is/was your favorite teacher?

My grade 3 teacher, Mrs Roach. She’s so lovely.

• 32. are you a feminist?

Yes.

• 33. what is your zodiac sign?

Cancer

• 34. do you enjoy reading?

I do. I really want to read more. I’m currently reading Gumiho: Wicked Fox.

• 35. do you have any hidden talents?

I can twitch my nostrils like a rabbit.

• 36. have you ever dyed your hair?

Defiantly. I cant even remember the last time I had my natural colour.

• 37. what is your favorite thing in your bedroom?

My laptop

• 38. what is your biggest fear?

Failure. 

• 39. can you whistle?

Yes. (take that Pepper Pig)

• 40. do you make your bed every day?

I try to.

• 41. do you have any tattoos and/or piercings?

No. I might get a tattoo one day but i cant commit.

• 42. have you ever been on a roller coaster?

Yes and it was horrible I hated it. 

• 43. surfing or skateboarding?

Neither.

• 44. are you a dog or a cat person?

Cat.

• 45. what is your favorite animal?

OTTERS!

• 46. do you have a skincare routine?

I guess. I use a green tea face wash and toner and then i like to use an eye serum.

• 47. what time do you typically go to bed at and what time do you wake up at? 

Lately I've been going to bed around 10:30 - 11:00 pm and waking up between 8:30 - 9:00 am. But I depends if i have work that day.

 48. what is your favorite memory?

It only happened this past weekend but dancing with my boyfriend at a friend’s wedding. It was the couple’s dance and I don’t know why but I got really emotional lol.

• 49. how tall are you?

5 ft 4

• 50. what is the best gift you’ve ever received?

My laptop and drawing tablet.

• 51. do you have a garden?

I do but its all weeds.

• 52. do you like bugs?

Not really? Moths freak me out. I hate how big they get and fly in your face.

• 53. what is your natural hair color?

Brown.

• 54. what is your favorite food and drink?

I loooooove seafood. Salmon sashimi, prawns, oysters give me now! and bubble tea.

• 55. do you want kids?

One day. Defiantly not now.

• 56. what is/was your favorite class?

Art and Photography.

• 57. what color shirt are you wearing?

Black. 

• 58. if you could time travel, what year would you go to and why? 

I do miss the 00′s. 

• 59. what is your skin color?

I’m very pale.

• 60. hugs or kisses?

Depends who’s giving them.

• 61. have you ever drank alcohol?

Yes, I get very drunk on Fireball but I love it! It tastes like a cinnamon doughnut. 

• 62. have you ever done drugs?

No but i’ve considered trying marijuana at least once. 

• 63. netflix or youtube?

Youtube.

• 64. ice cream or frozen yogurt?

Frozen yogurt.

• 65. succulents or flowers?

Succulents but all mine are plastic.

Original post by lilflowerkiddo

[rose-tinted-juls]

Twenty One Pilots Asks

What was the first Twenty One Pilots song that you heard?

Stressed Out. I really loved it, and checked out their other songs and by the time Heathens came around I was obsessed with them.

How did you first hear about Twenty One Pilots?

When Stressed Out became really mainstream (spring of 2016) and my classmates listened to it quite a lot in school and YouTube kept on recommending it.

What is your favorite Blurryface theory so far?

Blurryface theory? Oh, I'm a fan of theories, I don't have a favourite one, I love all.

Tyler Joseph or Josh Dun?

God, don't make me choose. I love both equally.

Which song are you most looking forward to hearing on Blurryface Trench?

Okay so this is an old ask sheet so I'm gonna replace it with Trench (though I already heard all songs). I think I was most looking forward to Chlorine and Morph. But actually? All of them, duh.

What is your favorite Twenty One Pilots vine?

I don't have a favourite.

Pick one; Fairly Local music video or Tear In My Heart music video?

Oohh gosh. I love them differently. But if I have to choose: Fairly Local. (Though I love Jenna in TIMH so muchh.)

Reply with a link to the best Twenty One Pilots cover you have heard?

https://youtu.be/2ZdnEnSNNxY

https://youtu.be/f5sBI1P4lyY

https://youtu.be/XeXjghr9FA8

I can't choose one so I just chose a top 3. But there are a lot more.

Do you have/want any Twenty One Pilots tattoos?

I don't have, but want to in the future.

Which album is your favorite so far?

Trench. Blurryface. Vessel. Self-titled. But Trench right now.

Which lyric(s) has the most meaning to you?

Ugh. Right now, it's this:

Find your grandparents or someone of age, pay some respects for the path they have payed. To life they dedicated, now that should be celebrated.

But actually there are lots of favourites here. Tyler Joseph is the best poet ever. The best songwriter ever. All of his lyrics are amazing. They always get straight to my heart.

Have you ever seen Twenty One Pilots live? If so, where?

Not yet, but I have tickets for the show at Sziget Festival on 13 Aug. I can't wait!!

Can you rap the second verse of Ode To Sleep?

Actually, sometimes I can, and sometimes I can't. I mean, it's not at all perfect and I often mess it up, but there were times I could do it.

What’s the largest amount of money that you have spent on Twenty One Pilots?

180 dollars I think, I'm a cheap ass european.

If you met Josh & Tyler, hug, handshake or fist bump?

All, duh. But probably hug. A hug that lets me tell them how much they and their music means to me and how much they helped me.

What is your favorite tweet from either Josh or Tyler or the band?

I was taking a bath.

Which of Josh’s hair colours do you like the most?

Pink. Or yellow. But right now I'm in love with this lovely shade of brown hair he has on his head.

Which song would you sing to serenade someone?

Smithereens.

What is your favorite Twenty One Pilots Tumblr blog?

I have a lot of favourites, I follow like 450 tøp tumblrs... (lockscreen makers, fanfic/imagine writers, fan art makers, picture edit makers, video edit makers, or just random blogs about them)

Which of Tyler’s tattoos is your favorite?

Every piece of tattoo on his left arm. (And the one he and Josh both have.)

Self-titled album or Regional at Best?

Self-titled, probably. But ugh, I love all their music.

What was the first Twenty One Pilots song that you learned all the lyrics to?

Stressed Out, probably. That was the first song I heard from them. OH WAIT. No. I think it's The Judge!

Have you made any good friends through the skeleton clique?

OH HELL YEAH. I met the bestest friend on Earth who's been my bff for a little more than 2 years on penpalworld after I searched for the keyword "twenty øne piløts". We immediately bonded and has been besties since then (though sadly we never met yet, I'm in Europe, she's in Australia).

Do you have either the self-titled album or Regional at Best on CD?

Nope, sadly, I don't have ANY albums by them on CD. Actually idek why. But I really want the vinyl versions of their albums. I love vinyls.

Have you ever been recognized in public for wearing Twenty One Pilots?

Not yet, but I've been trying. There's a girl in my geography class and she once wore an old tøp merch but I was too shy to ask her about it and then later I wore my own tøp merch to school and she wasn't there because of some illness... But I'm not giving up hope that someday someone from the skeleton clique will recognise my clothes.

How many of their albums do you have on CD or vinyl?

I have the Trench CD from the musical library actually which I haven't given back in time. I guess I'm keeping it lol.

No, I'm planning on buying all the albums on vinyl as I said before.

Would you rather see Twenty One Pilots in a small venue, a big venue or at a festival?

I prefer smaller venues. But it'd be amazing to experience a big venue as well. This summer I'm going to a festival so that will be checked off the list.

Have you ever been recognized by Twenty One Pilots on social media?

No, never. *loud sobs escaping my mouth* at least, not yet.

What is your favorite Twenty One Pilots song?

ALL. But okay, I'll choose one, that's the point of this question. Legend. I... it just sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it.

Have you introduced Twenty One Pilots to any of your friends?

I tried to, they didn't really like their style(s?).

What is your favorite quote from Josh or Tyler?

Excuse me, could you please leave?

Can you rap Zack’s verse of Kitchen Sink?

No. Once I tried but it was complete failure. Since then, I'm trying to gain the bravery to try again.

Ukulele or piano?

Oh. Both. I've been learning to play the piano for 10 years now in music school, and I've been learning to play the ukulele on my own in my room for 5 years. And I love both. But maybe ukulele.

How many Twenty One Pilots shirts do you own?

Only one. My parents don't want to buy me more and they also don't let me buy what I want because like it's too expensive? Which they actually are, so I'm searching for the cheaper stuff that look good and that my cheap self can actually afford.

Which song do you want to see a music video for?

SMITHEREENS or Legend.

Goner or Truce?

Truce.

Are you seeing Twenty One Pilots live this year?

YES FINALLY I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR SO LONG. I really hope nothing will come into my way.

On a scale of 1-10, how much do you love Jenna Joseph?

15? She's the most gorgeous, amazing woman ever. I love her with all my heart. (Also, #Jyler forever)

What is your favorite thing about Josh Dun?

His adorableness and talent.

Oh my. This was quite long but I enjoyed answering these questions because

1. I felt like I'm some famous person during an interview

2. I enjoy everything that connects to my smol beans.

Peace.

STAY ALIVE EVERYONE.

[2bstudioblog]

Thoughts on Composer forums, no more negativity...

But before we begin, let’s make it a straight and clear... I don't want to out anybody, but I guess it isn't news because we are all aware that these community/forum problems/people exists, no matter the content or platform.

In the community of film-composers, game-music composers, Audio-directors, Sound-designers and perhaps music supervisors, the film-composer forum/community has been one of the first stepping stones to help and most of all build new relationships with people in the industry.

I’ve always had the image of this community to be about being equal, nobody was above or below, but talking to each other on the level. All that was required to enter was 1 IMDB credit (Internet Movie Data Base), get it verified and then you were in this very exclusive groups.

But so far, the idea was sound, we started to establish a group of a mix of westerners and Japanese composers, and the idea was to share ideas, help people who wants to break into the Japanese scene and the AAA-gaming industry. However, we only had a few meetups and 2 of them happened in a very interesting place in Korean Town in Tokyo. We ended up in the home of former On Tour QUEEN Keyboardist Morgan Fischer, who in turn was one of the first names I remember on an instruction manual for the Yamaha DX7. The first gathering brought about 7-8 members and we talked, showed each other what we do and then we enjoyed general talk, jamming and had a lot of fun. There I also ran into another young guy, who just scored an iPAD app. Let’s call him R2.

A few months later I was contacted by someone from the U.K community chapter, a young lad, with ideas on how things should be and he asked me if we should meet up and talk a little bit since he knew I’ve written music for Resident Evil 6 at this point, so I felt honored and thought let’s help each other out. Let’s call this guy D2.

D2 is now at first glance, I thought he was an OK guy, and I showed him around the city, we talked a little about ourselves and then I had to get back to my ordinary job as a teacher afterwards. He’s very focused on keeping up a fashion and to look cool... all the time. At this I didn’t really care, but I told him that if you want to have a chance at pitching to get into the industry, perhaps he should meet one of my agents. So I arranged that, brought him over to the agency, took about 1 hour, sitting down talking to one of the toughest and impressive women in the industry. She asked about his ambitions and why he was in Japan for a casual tourist visit and in the end the question came: - “What game would you like to write music for in the future?” -”Metal Gear...” was his answer.

He already told me before the meeting that he always wanted to work on a MGS project but I felt a little bit guilty but I told D2: -”I can’t guarantee anything about the chances of getting that kind of gig as a first from that agency. But they’ll try to find something up your alley.” The agent said that would be hard one to get him into because they only like to work with established artists on their MGS franchise, so getting it would seem to be impossible at this point, since we didn’t know that it was being developed at the moment, or so it had been in secret.

He returned back to Europe and I was on my own again. But we promised that we’d follow each other on the platforms and he said he’d try to promote me to get a few more followers on twitter (Duh, he didn’t, naive as usual.) and give a shout-out on his “incredible” YouTube channel devoted to his brand of a software/kontakt library creator. Nothing came to fruition on that front. I sure did give him a shout-out and told people about him, but I got nothing in return.

A few months later he returns and he decides to meet with me again, so I thought, what is it this time? Well, turns out he was back in Tokyo again for a business meeting or something, however he also met someone last time he was in Tokyo and decided to say hi to his girlfriend.  So we all 3 went out to a cafe in Shinjuku area and we sat down and talked about film, games and music since we all were kinda in that industry. But since I know he is passionate about “EPIC” music as he would call it, we (me and his girlfriend) started to talk about Star Wars and he was .... incredibly ignorant. I told him, if you want to hear EPIC music, these are the films you have to see.

I told him: -“John Williams is the reason I am here. The reason I started to do film-scoring and bringing that into cinematic games like Resident Evil 6.” -”Who's John Williams? Never heard of him...” was his response.

Me and his girlfriend were completely flabbergasted of this guys total ignorance of a film-defining classic that changed film-music for science-fiction, approaching it with an operatic execution, giving characters themes, music that flowed with the action like those old golden-era film styles, but modernized for a new generation of movie-goers. It was the biggest risk, bringing in an orchestra for a sci-fi fantasy, but it paid off. Orchestral music was COOL again. Without John Williams, we wouldn’t have one of the first hybrid-action scores in Return of the Jedi with big thick synthbasses in Jabba’s Palace for that ominous uncertain character that turned out to be Leia unfreezing Han Solo from his carbonation chamber. Minimal amount of synth, but it was there.

The ignorance of D2 started to show. But I didn’t want that to be the moment, so I told his girlfriend to sit down and watch those films together. Not sure if they did, but it was here I started to feel the “British twit” mentality, the “I am better than thou”, the “I’m in my 20′s and I have already figured out the meaning of life...” All he had was his own business back home generating the dough in making sample-based kontakt-libraries. Good on him.

Then a few month’s later, I saw something on his YouTube channel that really started to kill my vibe for the dude. Whenever when I work for big companies like Konami, Capcom or Sega, I always sign an NDA. That mean’s I’m not allowed to record or show off my work for projects that are in progress. But here he is, talking about his cues he’s composing in real-time on YouTube. My first thought was, maybe I should tell anybody about this, but I don’t want to be a buzz-kill. I decided I didn’t want to butt in. Perhaps he would learn something from that mistake. Or did he?

A few months later D2 came back, now the game was pretty much in it’s final stages and he decided to meet me up together with R2 and we went out to yet another cafe, talking about software and stuff. Before we even met up with R2, D2 started to ask me if I had any registration keys for some software he didn’t own... I’m now getting even more confused. Is he asking me for pirate copies??? I just can’t make this one slide, so I’ll just stay quiet. R2 shows up, they start to make fun out of my English, my use of words in fun ways. I know the Britt’s and the Australians share the dry word humor, but I told them that I really like to perform on real hardware and twisting knobs for cutoff filters and stuff. All they wanted was to make fun out of me using the words “I like to turn knobs” (English slang for wanking off people, not my intention since we are talking about synthesizers...) R2 however was sucking up to D2 due to his huge following on YouTube and Twitter, so my point of view was completely irrelevant for R2. I had made valid points, but D2 shot me down, R2 is right behind him like a narcissists flying monkey.

This was the moment where I felt I should distance myself from D2 for trying to acquire pirate software keys, asking me if I had any cool software etc. He’s bloody rich. He should buy the software like everyone else, especially guys like me. I pulled a small ploy and pretended I got a phone-call from an agency going;

*hanging up the phone* -”...Sorry guys, it’s seems to me something important has just landed in my lap and I have to leave you here, but I wish you all good on your ventures. Take care and talk to you guys later.”

From that moment, I was just exhausted from R2 and D2. They are a perfect fit for each other. But the ignorance and bluntness from D2 lost all of his credibility for me and I just said to myself quietly I just have to keep fighting my own battle in an uphill, serving D2 with the best kind of courtesy I’ve learned from the Japanese and being shit on in the process. He doesn't respect many of us, so I’ll now don’t give a damn.... I need closure. And with a snap of my fingers, all the bad went away.

After leaving these thoughts to you, I’m ready to let go and start a new future in the land of music production. But one thing is for sure, I'm done with the charade.

Of course there are times when enough is enough. And I've had enough.

[mikuplushes]

fuck it i'm infodumping

this is all because my friend made a really cool animatic. it had miyashita yuu's cover of bitter choco decoration by syudou. and i thought the song was really cool so i was like "ok maybe i'll try to find it on spotify!" and for a moment i was confused because i didn't realize the animatic used a cover i was like "oh.... miku..........!”

so i started listening to syudou a LOT like he's got vocaloid for edgy bitches (AND THE LYRICS yes they are in japanese which i do not know but i will still not recover from miku saying “but the biggest piece of shit here is you, dumbass” tyvm) and its TOTALLY my vibe, he's really good with writing drums, the drums in warui hito make me lose my MIND it reminds me of set it off's song one single second.

a day or two later i was on youtube trying to find more stuff via recommended videos and magically i come across miyyuu's cover of wozwald! and for some reason! idk i could tell i liked it at first listen but the way it was produced made my audio processing go "I CANNOT HEAR THE SONG. I CANNOT HEAR IT" and it took me three listens to fully process but MAN. THE VIDEO GOING WITH IT. YUU'S VOCALS. IT'S SUCH A JAM. I'VE HAD TO LISTEN TO IT EVERY DAY FOR THE PAST WEEK AND A HALF STRAIGHT. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

i don't know why i love his voice so much. i mean i kind of know but. his voice is just so versatile. it's not very masculine, slightly more towards androgynous, he's really good with going between smooth, kinda whispery, kinda growly, sounding completely unhinged, mocking, and doing a female duet with himself by just. sounding like uhhhh i can't think of the better term but a cis woman. and he does it SO WELL. I DON'T UNDERSTAND. HOW DOES HE DO ANY OF THIS I DON’T EVEN LIKE MY NORMAL SINGING VOICE THAT MUCH. ALSO HIS UPPER VOCAL RANGE IS RIDICULOUS?

and so i slowly start looking at some of his more popular covers and go "oh he did a cover of bitter choco decoration! love that song!" and then realized he was the one that my friend used for the animatic and went OH HAHA. OHHHHHHH and went to that friend and went HEY GUESS WHAT

OH AND THE BIG THING DUH HIS VOICE GIVES ME GENDER ENVY. and like i've only ever been able to find like two photos of his full unobscured face and it's not even like that plays a part. it's just his voice. and as you all know! the line between gender envy and attraction is so thin it’s practically non-existent! and i discovered a day ago that yuu was in a band briefly called doctrine doctrine and i havent even listened to more than one song because i am experiencing it so hard. and his vocals are making me lose it. help. lo fi times really goes off and i swear to god i have DEFINITELY listened to it over 100 times in the 24 hours that have passed since i found it.

OH ANOTHER THING ABOUT SYUDOU i’m learning call boy.... and i’m gonna butcher the japanese pronunciation but i’m gonna do my best and do like an unofficial utaite style cover, not even gonna post it on my youtube channel but itS SUCH A FUN SONG. ITS GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN TO SING once i learn the words but there are SO MANY SYLLABLES THAT GO SO FAST IN THE CHORUSES. and since i dont know japanese i can’t process them as words, just syllables, and each of the choruses and verses have different words and rhythms. help

ANYWAYS I THINK THAT’S MOST OF IT if anyone wants to let me drag them down into this hmu i’m hyperfixating

edit: just listened to his cover of s.i.u. and hm. HOW THE FUCK DUDE

HEY WHO WANTS TO LET ME INFODUMP

[josephbr911]

Build Something!

As many of you know, woodworking is one of my hobbies (chores if my wife makes me do it). In the grand scheme I'd say I'm certainly an amateur, but I've still built things that I'm proud of. And whatever your skill level may be, it can be such a rewarding endeavor (not to mention a money saver). Anyone's who's relished in the sweet smell of fresh cut cedar or had their eyes open wide when they apply that first coat of stain and watch that grain come to life knows what I mean. It just makes you want to make more. Whether they're trinkets or decorations or furniture, my house or other people’s homes are starting to get littered with products of my wood shop (garage).

Whenever I build something new, I inevitably get asked from others one of two, if not both questions:

1. Can you make me one? (Quick answer: Yes, if you help out, supply (or pay for) materials, and provide the beer.

2. How did you get started doing this (and how can I start doing this)?

I'll use this post to answer question 2 and hopefully get you on the path of making some sweet sawdust of your own!

A. Get some tools and supplies. When possible, get power tools. Power makes the world go round. NOTE: I'm only going to list building tools and supplies. Finishing supplies is a whole other can of worms.

Mandatory:

Wood -- Duh. I have found that all kinds of beautiful things can be made out of cheap construction timbers (knotty pine) with a little finesse.  Birch plywood is great for large panels and looks beautiful with stain.  MDF is also a great material for large panels, but you can’t stain it (gotta paint it), you better pre-drill your screw holes, and it makes a awful mess when you cut it.  Cut it outside and wear a mask.  Beyond that, you can spend as much as you want on higher end boards like poplar, oak, maple, walnut, cherry, etc... but prepare for a little sticker shock if you need several board feet.

Tape measure and speed square -- these will let you accurately measure out and mark cut lines. The speed square can also be used as a handy fence to make quick and straight cross cuts with a circular saw.

Hammer and rubber mallet -- uses of the hammer are obvious. The rubber mallet is very handy for "coaxing" tight pieces into place without marring them.

Safety glasses, ear protection, and shop apron -- self explanatory.

Clamps, clamps, and more clamps -- a woodworker can never have enough clamps. You can get a lot done with a variety of sizes of bar clamps, C clamps, and spring clamps. To save some dough, pick up the cheapies at Harbor Freight. I've got tons of them and they've served me well. Seriously, get a lot of clamps.

A supply of wood glue and nails/fasteners -- TiteBond II is the glue you want. Just always have some on hand. The fasteners will accumulate as you buy more for specific projects.

Cordless Drill/driver -- Any homeowner should already own a decent one. Bonus point if you pick up an impact driver. While not necessary, an impact driver makes driving large screws a breeze and makes stripped out heads a thing if the past. Once I used one I wondered how I lived without it.  Of course with these tools you'll need an assortment of drill bits and driving bits. They can be bought in affordable kits. In my experience, Ryobi bits suck.

Circular saw or Jig Saw -- A circular saw (go corded to start out) is very versatile and can perform a variety of cuts... except curved cuts. A jig saw excels in making curved cuts in thinner materials and smaller, more intricate cuts (good for arts and crafts). I'd start out with a circular saw and perhaps add the jig saw as funds become available.

Power Sander -- Some may argue this is optional, but F that. Life is too short to sand shit by hand. Get either a pad sander or random orbital sander and a variety of sanding disks or paper. 80, 150, and 220 grit (or close to those numbers) should cover 98% of your sanding needs.

Cold beer and tunes -- what fun is working in the garage without a pop and Metallica in the background?

Optional:

Kreg Pocket Hole Jig -- I suppose this is one of the "optional" items, but seriously, just spend $100 and buy the K4 system. It is basically "wood joints for dummies". Ask anyone who owns one and they'll echo my sentiments. I wish I'd have known about it when I started woodworking. it allows you to easily fasten pieces together with a fairly strong joint while skipping complex wood joining methods.  Buy it.

Miter saw AKA chop saw -- A chop saw will make fast, accurate, and repeatable cross cuts all day long. It can also make angled cuts (either miters or bevels, and both at once). Most simple 10" saws will cleanly cut up to 2x6s and 4x4s, but you'll need a 12" or sliding saw to cut larger pieces. I have a 10" and it's plenty for 95% of what I want to do. While very handy, I would not get only a chop saw and skip the circular saw. Get the circ saw first (it can perform more tasks) and add a chop saw when your ready.

Router and variety of bits -- a router is what can really take your finished projects to professional looking. While a router can perform many tasks, I mostly use it to put a decorative profile on the edge of pieces, like a table top. A simple round over or chamfered edge make your projects look finished. While you can buy a fire-breathing router with a table, I've been plenty satisfied with a "trim router" that accepts 1/4" collet bits. Getting a plunge base with it will further enhance its abilities.

Shop vacuum -- Cutting wood makes a damn mess. If you want, I suppose you could get by with a broom and dust pan, but a capable shop vac makes life easier. But which one? My answer is simple. When you're browsing the selection at your local Home Depot or Lowes, get the one that costs $100.00.

Nail Gun -- If you already have an air compressor at home (for filling tires, basketballs, blowing things off, etc...) you’re halfway there.  I picked up an open-box 18ga brad nailer off of Amazon a while ago.  It is awesome for tacking on small trim pieces and barely leaves a nail hole.  Highly recommended if you can swing it.

Advanced:

Table saw -- while many say that a table saw is the heart of any wood shop, for most of us it isn't going to be an early purchase or practical. I've been fortunate enough to have anytime access to one thanks to my neighbor (thanks Lloyd!) and recently picked up a small one from a garage sale. They excel at rip cuts and are extremely versatile. With certain sleds and accessories, you can do almost anything on a table saw. But they can be pricey and can take up a lot of room.  If you have extensive rip cuts that you need done but don’t have a table saw or they may be too big a task for your circular saw, ask the friendly faces at Home Depot or Lowes to make a cut for you.  When you buy lumber you’re allowed two free cuts per, and you can usually sweet talk them into more.  Just leave them a nice review.

Planer -- This machine let's you control the thickness of your materials. Very nice for if you're making a table top out of multiple boards and want to ensure they're all the exact same thickness, among other things. They can also remove surface imperfections and leave the planed surface clean and almost finish-ready. They also make one HELL of a mess. Use it in your driveway with your shop vac on hand.

There are of course more advanced tools you will see in professional wood shops, but I'm not trying to cover that full scope. This is for the hobbyist.

B. Get a plan. Some people are good at throwing caution to the wind and cutting wood and slapping shit together. I am not one of those people. Thankfully we live in the age of YouTube, Pinterest, and websites like Ana-white.com and rogueengineer.com . There are all kinds of plans and projects on these sources with materials lists, cut lists, finishing tips, etc... Even if the project isn't to your scale, you can always crunch the numbers and adjust to your needs. Brush up on your fractions. I have a little notebook where each page is grid paper. I like to sketch out projects to double check my measurements and make sure the math adds up.

C.  Don't be afraid to make a mistake. You learn by doing and you learn from your mistakes. I get better with each project by learning from my previous mistakes. And for the most part, wood is cheap. Of course, by this I don’t mean throw caution to the wind when it comes to safety, which brings us to...

D.  BE CAREFUL!  Power tools are dangerous.  Hell, regular hand tools can be dangerous.  I have a few scars to prove that, but thankfully still have all my fingers.  In my opinion, two tools you should have a healthy fear of are the table saw and the router.

E. A few tips I’ve learned over the years:

“A little putty and paint makes a carpenter what he ain’t”.  A sander, some putty or filler, and some paint can fix a lot of boo boos.

A sharp knife is a safe knife.  Too true.  If you try to force work pieces against dull blades, you are greatly increasing the risk of something slipping and sending that blade into your fingers.  Keep your tools sharp.

If you have access to some of the advanced tools like a planer and table saw, you can make good use of salvaged wood (just watch for nails!).  For example, the trestle coffee table pictured towards the top of this post was make exclusively from wood I found behind a dumpster.  That's right, I was dumpster diving.

Work with a friend or neighbor if possible.  It will lessen the physical load, give you another set of hands, and put two brains together when trying to solve a problem.  Besides, who likes drinking woodworking alone?

That's all for now.  Have fun making sawdust!

-JR